lemonej
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Posts posted by lemonej
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Every year the draft has strange twist that are unpredictable. This year I have a feeling that it will be even more strange this year.According to the talking heads OT and WR is going to dominate the first round with about 6 picks each that leaves 20 picks for the other posititons. I believe only two DTs Rajii and Jerry are locks for the first round with Hood and Brace following close behind. At DE Orakpo,Brown,Ayers, and Tyson Jackson should have cards turned in in their name along with "tweeners" English, and Maybin also.That leaves 12 picks.Pencil in Stafford,Sanchez,and Freeman at QB that leaves 9. Aaron Curry,Ray Maleuga,James Laurinatis and Clay Matthews leaves 5.Knowshon Moreno and Beanie Wells leaves 3 and I have Max Unger and Alex Mack at the back end of the first round so that leaves one wild card pick and I believe it will be Connor Barwin who played TE and DE in college at Cinci and is the type of versatile player that a franchise like NE covets.
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I understand it takes longer to develop a rookie WR, but they don't need to know the whole playbook to contribute. Give them a few plays each week that lead to a few snaps every week. Our coaches, I believe Turner in particular, get locked into players. IE: Forte's over-use and Bennett's under-use.
Agreed! At some point you have to take the numbers for what they are. You simply can't draft that many slow learners. The coaches must be held accountable for getting the players on the field. Dummy down the playbook, put a foot in their ass and get them a few snaps a game.
Mongo we are eye to eye on both your points and thats what I'm getting at.Some times you need to adjust your scheme to your personnel.Every week you dummy down the playbook to pin point how you will attack your opponent.So what this says is that the few plays that this team has WRs invovlved in certain situations weekly are too complex for a rookie or young player to decipher.This team in last year's TC practiced a whole lot of 3 TE sets so if you are a WR on those plays what should you be doing? That set alone is another reason that he was inactive for most of the season as Kellen Davis was live every week.
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On nfldraftscout,com Herman Johnson is actually rated one number ahead of Loadholt as an NFL prospect at 65 and 66 which puts both of them in the top of the 3rd round.
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Last season Bennett also told Bear Report he was having trouble learning the plays. This isn't anything new for rookie WRs around the league. Blaming the coaches is popular in Chicago lately, but it's pretty naive to think that Drake can make his receivers "internalize" their assignments so they can play at NFL speed. He can show them what to do (lead them to water), but he can't make them execute (can't make them drink).
Once the season begins, coaches barely have time to analyze the last game and grade the players, form their game plan for the next week, and show the starters what they're supposed to do for that contest. The backups are pretty much on their own, as any coach will attest.
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Okay it may be popular to bash coaches in the Chi but thats not my style.I point to how long it has taken for every WR the Bears have drafted that he has come in contactwith that does not get on the field at all or are completely inactive.Here's the list:
Bobby Wade and Justin Gage
Jamin Elliott
Bernard Berrian
Ariese Currie
Mark Bradley
Earl Bennett
That's seven guys who Drake and or Turner have had and most of this list spent a great deal of time inactive early in their careers.If Devin Hester wasn't the league's best KR he might have been inactive as a WR also.
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I don't know. In space, he is going to get beat. But inside, he has so much size, I think it is simply going to be more difficult to get "around" him or "through" him.
Look, I don't think he is a prospect anyone "loves". I just think Bear fans are tired of smaller OGs getting pushed straight back by bigger and stronger DTs, and the idea of Johnson simply is appealing.
Here is a pretty good scouting report on him, actually comparing him (though less athletic) to Stacy Andrews.
Okay as a compensatory pick maybe take a chance but even the scouting report I just read confirms that he will not be on the field on the first game of the season and with all the comments about his conditioning,I could see him inactive for most of next season.Stacy Andrews is going to be starting next to his brother Shane for Philly at OT so when they compare an OG to an OT what does that say?
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As happy as I was the DL coach was let go, and Babich was demoted, I was equally disappointed we kept Drake. Not only in development, but our WRs are all the time running the wrong routes, screwing up blocking assignments or just botching plays. How do we not hold "their" position coach responsible. Is Drake still around due to the Texas ties?
I am not 100% letting Turner off the hook, but I really think the bigger problem is Drake. It is not Turner's job to make sure each and every one of his offensive players learns the playbook. That is what we have position coaches for.
I thought I was the president of the dump Darryl Drake club.I believe that Lovie is going to far at times when he tries to give COLLEGE COACHES a chance like Dungy did for him. Drakes body of work to my knowledge consist of Roy Williams who has yet to realize his potential.
As for Turner under Wannie's tenure had Ivan Fears who was respected enough that the Patriots hired him to coach their WRs after he left here.
I'm not quite sure but I believe we had Todd Haley here as a WR coach in the past.
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One, Loadholt in the 3rd? Why just just say we draft Nicks in the 2nd? Come on. Loadholt is the 6th rated OT behind Britton, who is expected to be drafted around our pick. You think Loadholt that goes the back part of the 1st, the entire 2nd, and half of the 3rd w/o being drafted? To be honest, after solid workouts, I think Loadholt will go the route of Duane Brown last year, and end up going in the late 1st.
Two, if we draft a DE in the 2nd round, I will puke. Yea, let's go get a 4th DE (AGAIN) before we have starters at other positions.
Nfo I'm not saying this is right I'm actually trying to predict what JA is going to do.
The thing about Loadholt that makes me fieel he will be there in the 3rd round is because he can only play the right side. I also am basing my opinion on what position I think there is going to be a run on in the second round and that is safety.Right now there is not much buzz about the safeties being coveted.The only thing I've been hearing is that Jenkins may be drafted and converted to safety. This means Chung,Moore,Delmas and Pegues will all be sitting there in that round.
As for drafting a DE,JA has drafted one almost every year except the year he traded for one. Alex Brown, Michael Haynes, Mark Anderson,Claude Harriotte and Dan Bazuin.A forth rounder,a 1st rounder ,2 fifth rounders and a 2nd rounder.So I hope you have your barf bag ready.
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Take a look at the below linked scouting report on Nicks (and you can also use this to check out DHB and whoever else). It is very detailed,
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/1117392
They compare Nicks to Keyshawn Johnson (far cry from Bennett) and DHB to Ashlie Lelie. Nicks also gets a overall grade of around 7.3, while DHB is around 6.7 (I think that is more similar to Robiskie and more of a 2nd round grade).
DHB is a great looking prospect, but the kid is just so raw it is sick. I am tired of going after track stars and athletes and want to begin focusing on football players. That means we look at some who may not have the best 40 time or 3 cone or vertical, but put them on the field and they can simply play. Put them in pads and they show burst, rather than the guys who look like freaks in shorts.
Nfo two great posts I watched Nicks in a game against West Va where he made plays similar to what Holmes and Fitzgerald did in the Super Bowl.He did exactly what you described and took the ball out the air. The other thing that seems to be lost in this is that I'm not hearing much about how he seemed to be the best offensive player on his team and he was still able to make plays. I consider him the number 3 WR while the top 2 both have QBs who will be drafted this year.
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But how often is an OG set up in a game to go one on one? He's always getting help from a tackle or a center because on 3 or 4 man fronts there's an extra OL.
I'm basng my assessment on the Bears blocking scheme which I believe is a zone blocking scheme where on some plays you might be expected to block more than one player and at his size and the way he moves(stiff) I can't see him being effective inside.Also the one on one drills lets you know whether he can play in space like most OTs have to.
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I see a lot of you are speaking highly about Herman Johnson but he IMO is a project.This is a guy who is 6/7 and over 320 pounds and plays inside.That is not a good fit.He tends to get straightened up to fast and he struggled in one on one drills at the Senior Bowl against Rajii,Brace and Jerry.What do you think would happen when he lines up opposite an Albert Haynesworth or the Williamses at Minn? He is being projected at OT because of his size but honestly he doesn't move that well.His only great distinction right now is that he was the largest baby born in the state of Louisiana at 15 pounds.
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I remember Curtis Conway and Marcus Robinson struggling under Turner when he was here before.I also believe that the position coach should be responsible for trying to get players up to speed with the playbook.That's why I'm convinced that Darryl Drake might be on the hot seat this year.I remember that Moose was telling Devin Hester where to lineup on certain plays his last year here. You would think that both Marty Booker and Brandon Lloyd would have assumed mentoring roles for Bennett since thats why they were brought in here. That might be the main reason why both of them are no longer here along with their injuries and lack of production.
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Round 1 Hakeem Nicks WR fufills the Bears need to add another playmaker on offense.
Round 2 Lawrence Sidbury DE this adds a young fresh talent to be groomed to replace one of the Bears aging DEs and also is the traditional small school pick that JA takes in the 2nd round.
Round 3 Phil Loadholt RT this fills a glaring need on the right side of the O-line and gives the Bears a huge Big Cat type player with youth.
Round 4 Tyronne Green OG this players stock has been rising since the Senior Bowl and may not be here but if he is he would add some more youth to the interior of the line.
Round 5 Drew Willy QB I believe that you should add a QB via the draft every year and I believe this is an overlooked prospect.
Round 6 Morgan Trent DB the Bears have gotten a lot of mileage out of DBs on the second day of the draft and he fits their scheme.
Round 7 Gartrell Johnson RB he came into prominence in the New Mexico Bowl and practiced well at the Senior Bowl.He would provide a good contrast to Forte.
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Is it your belief then ownership is running the show? If not, I do not see what the point of the 80s bears is.
Does Pitt build through the draft? Yes. But my point is difference between TB and Pitt is TB puts a higher priority on re-signing their own players. They do so, often, by early extensions, which is something Pitt does not do. You mention Ward, but in fact, he was in a VERY hot dispute w/ ownership not long ago because he wanted a new deal, and ownership said it was their policy to not extend players w/ more than one year remaining on their contract. Ward stewed for a year, then finally got his deal done, but many many others have simply been allowed to walk away.
When you draft/coach as well as Pitt, you can get away w/ this. Frankly, I am not sure there is a team in the league that resembles Pitt. Most any other team in the league that would allow as many upper tier players to walk away would not sustain a high level of success, but that is what Pitt has been doing. They draft well. They coach well. They ignore players requests for extensions until they only have one year left. Even then, they don't get extreme in their contracts, which is why so many choose to wait another year and max out in FA.
Angelo is different. From the start, he was looking at players w/ multiple years left on their deals for extensions. He was quite to extend Azumah, and tried to extend Holdman and Colvin when both had two years left.
I can see why some would look at Pitt, or NE, as examples we try to follow. Each build their team primarily through the draft. Angelo is similar in that regard. But I think a big difference is in player retention, which we advocate far above either NE or Pitt, and are far more like TB when Angelo was there.
That was my point really,when I brought up the Bears' of the 80's and the fact that they basically chased off two GMs(Finks and Vanisi) as Mikey got more involved.JA has a background with TB but he also has a background with the NYGs where Parcells and Belechick come from and if you look at how the Giants were run back during the Parcells years you can see similarity to NE today. So what I'm really saying is that the Bears are run in a manner that takes aspects of both organizations personnel styles.This is a lot better than when Mikey and Wannie tried the Jerry Jones style in the 90's.
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No thanks. While I like Duke, just say no to DHB. I like him overall as a prospect, but what makes anyone think we can develop such a raw talent. If we draft him, I think we will see a great player, but not until he leaves the bears. He is simply too raw, and if we are going to draft a WR, I think it has to be a more developed/polished one.
I agree 100% with that assessment because DHB's hands are a little suspect and that was proven at the Combine in drills.This is why I'm higher on Nicks and Robiskie than some of the other WR's.They both are polished route runners and both come from schools that like to run the ball which automatically makes them understand they have to block. Right now DHB reminds me of Troy Williamson.
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Agreed on Britton. IMHO, he is a higher rated prospect than given credit for, but as pure RTs are not valued as high, his value is lower than it should be.
I have no problem w/ the idea of moving up for Nicks or even Robiskie, but I am not a fan of Hicks. Too many drops and a reported lack of concentration worries me. We have had enough issues w/ WRs who struggle to catch the ball to draft one who enters the NFL w/ such questions.
If you have actually watched Hakeem Nicks play in a game like I have ,you wouldn't be talking about him having too many drops.This kid may not have blazing speed but his hands are outstanding.He is one of the guys that believes that the ball is his when its in the air. I think this guy could be similar to Donald Driver at Green Bay.I am a big fan of Nicks and believe he is the number3 WR in the draft behind Crabtree and Macklin.
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W/ the understanding I want to draft OL all the way, I am not sure your statement is true anymore.
Used to be, WRs took 3 years to develop. It was near freakish how exact this was, and across the board. But for some years now, more and more rookie WRs either (a) provide legit production to help their team or (
become major parts of the offense, and even stars, as a rookie. The list only expands if you look at 2nd year players. Why the change, i am not sure, but I think it is definitely there. As for OL, I think it is a tad bit of a misconception that OL is easier to just slide in as a rookie. Heck, Angelo himself said he views OL as one of the hardest position to transition, and used that logic to explain why he preferred veterans over drafting OL.
Agreed and you might think that he might be a little more apprehensive since his to OT number one picks have had injury issues.There is only a couple of skill positions left that JA has not selected in the first round since he has been here and WR is one of them.He has not drafted any players on the perimeter in the first round be it WR,CB or OLB.
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Here's a list of the WR's drafted in rounds 1and 2 since 2004:Bear Picks*
2004
Round 1 Round 2
Larry Fitzgerald Devery Henderson
Roy Williams Darius Watts
Reggie Williams Keary Colbert
Lee Evans
Michael Clayton
Michael Jenkins
Rashaun Woods
2005
Round 1 Round 2
Braylon Edwards Reggie Brown
Troy Williamson Mark Bradley*
Mike Williams Roscoe Parrish
Matt Jones Terrence Murphy
Mark Clayton Vincent Jackson
Roddy White
2006
Round 1 Round 2
Santonio Holmes Chad Jackson
Sinorice Moss
Greg Jennings
Devin Hester*
2007
Round 1 Round 2
Calvin Johnson Sidney Rice
Ted Ginn Jr. Dwayne Jarrett
Steve Smith
2008
Round 1 Round 2
No Wrs Picked Donnie Avery
Devin Thomas
James Hardy
Eddie Royal
DeSean Jackson
Malcolm Kelly
Limas Sweed
Dexter Jackson
Nine of these players were in last year's playoffs and two of them put on one of the best performances in the most recent Super Bowl. So why not draft a WR in the first or 2nd round? It seems like the most mistakes on this list have come from teams from the NFC North.
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Nfo I know what JA has said about which franchise he has come from and has pointed to but that franchise has taken some of the aspects that one of the most cosistent winning franchises over the last 35 years which is longer than Tampa has even existed.The defense that both the Bears and Bucs run was the base defense for the Steelers when they were winning 4 Super Bowls during the 70's the Cover 2.This defense was learned by Tony Dungy as a member of the Steelers secondary and then as a coach on Chuck Nolls staff after his playing days. If we look at the way the Steelers run their franchise today I do recall Hines Ward getting deals renegotiated a couple of times during his career and this past season they franchised one of their OT's.Also they have made a couple of significant additions through trade with Jerome Bettis and Kevin Greene both coming via trade. The bulk of their roster is basically through the draft with a few additions like Charlie Batch,Tommy Maddux and Byron Leftwitch via FA.Back in those days all teams built through the draft and trade here and there because there was no FA.Back in the 80's when the Bears dismantled that team what franchise did they resemble more Tampa or Pittsburgh? When they allowed the likes of Gault,Marshall,McMahon,Dent,Duerson and Wilson leave the team.We still have the same ownership no matter who supposedly is picking the players
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That uncapped year is what is really confusing the issue to me.If you sign a guy and give him a good bonus you should be able to spread it over this year and next and if he sucked this year and you wanted to cut him next year the cap hit shouldn't make a difference since there is no cap.I'm sure the uncapped year may have rules in place for salary guidelines but I wonder how much of Albert Haynesworth and DeAngelo Hall's signing bonuses are front loaded for this year and next to manage the cap for the Skins going forward.
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I don't know that NE is the role model Angelo tries to copy. I think it is simply TB. Take a look at what TB did when Angelo was there. They built through the draft, adding some FAs here and there, but those they build through the draft and only used FA to add to the team, not build it. Further, I think TB more than NE made a much harder push to re-sign their own FAs.
To me, TB is far more our model. We run the Tampa two defense, or a similar scheme. We base our team around defense first, special teams next and then offense, which I think also fits with how Angelo has tried to build this team. And Angelo builds the team through the draft, and player retention, w/ a smaller number of FA splashes.
That may not be how TB does things today, but it is what TB did when Angelo was there under McKay, and was the system under which he learned.
Tampa under McKay went after FAs Simeon Rice,Brad Johnson and Keyshawn Johnson at the time all top tier at the time they went after them. They also did a tremendous job in the drafting of players like Brooks,Sapp,Lynch,Barber,Alstott,Dunn etc.
The only top tier FA that the Bears pursued was Musin Mohhammed.Jon Tait was a sought after player that the Bears over paid for at his position which was RT which backed other teams off. All the rest have been minor deals.If I had to say what the Bears model is it would be more like the Steelers with an emphasis on the draft and resigning your core players.The Bears just haven't developed their talent as well as the Steelers.With both these teams being run by families whose sole source of income is the team you can see why they might be similar in how they approach business.
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Guys position chnges are an NFL way of life and once again this is mini camp more than a month before the draft.Why not see what versatility your roster has before you make a final evaluation on players you have targeted in the draft.
Bowman during his Senior Year was injured which is why he was a 2nd day draft pick last year.He spent the beginning part of the season on the practice squad and was activated for the Minnesota game when both Vasher and Tillman had injury issues.Since he was on the practice squad maybe they were giving him reps at FS on Scout team.Either way he played the one game and got injured for the season. To me when players are being asked to switch positions sometimes its a message being sent to current players at those positions. Like maybe Stelz and Manning for instance at safety. At DT moving Idonije back to DE only maybe a vote of confidence for Anthony Adams and a slap at Mark Anderson who has been invisible since his rookie year.
I think desperation would be moving Manning to WR.
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That is so true and the same can be said for assistant coaches getting HC jobs tied to that one guy's success.
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The league cannot afford any kind of work stoppage because of some of the stadium deals that they are on the hook for including the Bears' stadium. IMO there will be some significant movement this year because of the impending uncapped year coming up.The small market teams don't want to compete with Dan Snyder and Jerry Jones for players in an uncapped year.A CBA must be in place for the following year in order to keep salaries in order.
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Some of these trade possibities that are being proposed are interesting but,Im not so sure that a deal couldn't get done if the Bears gave up a 3rd rounder and a starting DE like Ogunleye. I wouldn't give up the first rounder unless I got Denver's 2nd in return.With that being said these head coaches whose reputations have grown because of their associations with star QBs is just hilarious.Holmgren and Shanahan had Montana.Mariucci,Gruden and Reid had Farve.Charlie Weiss had Tom Brady and now Josh Mc Danials has Matt Cassel a one year wonder who hasn't even reached the playoffs.So what does he do.He gets his new gig and immediately pisses off his Pro Bowl QB by trying to bring in a guy who he was familar with at NE.If I'm a rookie HC the first guy I'm trying to get on the same page with is my star QB.This is that NE arrogance.How's Charlie Weiss done with out Brady?How is Crennel done without Bruschi,Seymour and the rest of that bunch?Unless you are getting Belicheck who is running the show in NE ther rest of those guys gone along for the ride.I really want to see what the new Denver HC does without all those great players on the Patriots roster who made things easier for all backup players to step up their game when they are called upon to play.
Overlooked Prospects
in Bearstalk
Posted
These are the guys who I watched play and think are NFL caliber players that are not being talked about as much as they should be. The list:
Quarterbacks
Brian Johnson Utah -his Height and durabilty are in question but he has taken snaps for 4 years and if you saw how he performed in the Sugar Bowl against Alabama you would think he has an ability to develop on the next level.
Drew Willy Buffalo- his level of competition is in question but IMO he is a more polished prospect than the much more heralded Nate Davis of Ball State from the same conference(MAC).
Mike Reilly Central Washington- his school alone and its location makes him over looked and at the Senior Bowl he showed that he could make a lot of the "NFL" throws but again the level of comp comes into play.
Running Backs
Javarius Williams Tenn State -in the Senior Bowl he showed that he could run hard catch the ball and hold his own with the big boys.I like this guy as a change fo pace back.
Rashad Jennings Liberty- nice size decent speed and runs hungry.This could be a 2nd day steal for a team that is looking for a 1-2 punch at RB.
Herb Donaldson Western Ill-at 5-10 225 the first guy that comes to mind is Aaron Stecker who is also a former Leatherneck alum.This school tends to sneak a plyer in the NFL every once in a while and he could be the most recent one to follow the likes of MNike Wagner,Bryan Cox and Stecker.
Wide Recievers
Deon Butler Penn State-his height is the knock against him but his speed and ability to go up and get the ball in the air is what I like about him. I see him as Bobby Engram with more speed.
Jamarko Simmons Western Mich, With this school having a pro prospect at QB that will be highlly rated next year you have to take notice as to who he is throwing to an Simmons who lacks foot speed is very similar to the previous Bronco WR that made to the NFL Greg Jennings.I'll also give a shout out to Tony Schefler Jay Cutler's TE that was a 2 sport star at WMU.
Tight End
Jared Bronson Central Washington-if Mike Reilly can be a prospect,who was he throwing to? This was his favorite target he showed that he has decent hands and like all TE prospects his blocking could use some work.He is a high energy guy.
Defensive End
Lawrence Sidbury Richmond-He has a tweener body but has the frame to carry more weight .Right now he is a rush specialist that should develop into a Roosevelt Colvin type player.
Defensive Backs
Dominique Johnson Jackson State at 6-2 he has the size that teams covet at CB but he needs to prove that he has legitmate speed to run with the top WRs
Sherrod Martin Troy- tenacious is what I can say about this guy and if you have been following what this school has been doing since the De Marcus Ware days they will play defense and they have been developing NFL type players.