nfoligno

I liked Edinger too, and for a while, he was a very solid kicker, odd style not withstanding. Thing is, usually once kickers "lose it" they don't get it back. I don't know if it is purely mental or what, but it isn't often that kickers struggle and get back to form. Once a kicker starts missing (not talking about a game or two) they don't usually become good kickers again.

3 or 4 seasons? As I recall, we had ONE season under Jauron with a dominating defense (2001). The following year we lost like half our defense to injury, and it never regained form. Part of the issue IMHO was also Jauron and Angelo always being at odds. Jauron had one style of defense, but after 2001, Angelo began assembling talent for a very different defense. No argument about the offense, but I don't know how you get 3 or 4 seasons of our having very good chances at the SB, or having more than one season with a dominant defense.

I had not heard about a heart condition. I knew Dez fell because of getting into trouble with the NCAA, as well as general character concerns, but had not heard about heart issues.

Every team has drama. We are no exception there. Every team, and at most positions, has question marks. In discussing these units, for me it is more an issue of, do we have reason to believe? Some disagree, but I will point to WR as an example. Is WR is set unit, or known strength? No. Only Martz and Drake will try to make that argument. But is there reason to believe these two units will be a solid or strong position this year. I would make that argument, yes. At DL, I just don't see the reason for the expectations some have levied. Anderson was a breakout stud as a rookie playing a situational role, but that was back in '06. Since then? Even if you move past what happened when he was thrown into the starting role, last year there were all sorts of hype due to Marinelli taking him under his wing. The result was a flash here and a flash there, but not a hole lot to get excited about. Hell, some fans didn't even think he would be back with the team. Idonije is a player the team really wants us to believe can be a legit DE, but actions speak louder than words, and the actions of this staff has been to move Idonije all around. He is a nice backup/depth guy who can start in a pinch, but just not a guy you want to enter the season w/ as your starter. He is a plan B guy, not plan A. Melton showed nothing even prior to the injury, and was raw to begin with. Now we have another rookie in the mix. Where is the reason for expections here? And is it different at DT? Harris was once talked about as an elite pass rushing DT, but that was some years ago as well. He was on fire the first half of 2007, but disappeared that year, and has been inconsistent "at best" since. Late last year he showed some flashes, but like Anderson, they were few and far between. Harrison - This guy just pisses me off. He was all but given the starting job last year, and he basically failed to show up. If he cared, he would not have shown up in the shape he did. And even when his conditioning was right, he still failed to show off the talent he was supposed to have. This guy is a big reason why I am skeptical a bit about our rookie DE. I question anytime I hear about a player who had 1st round talent but fell for whatever reason in the draft. Rarely do those players exhibit the 1st round talent fans talk about. Adams is a nice player, and I like him far more than our staff, but he is simply not a full time player in this system, and offers little pass rush ability. Gilbert showed he can leap out of a pool, which was cool to see, but has yet to show he can play in the NFL. I just have not seen much of a glimmer from these guys to even provide a reason for hope. Does that mean there is no hope? No. It just means I am skeptical. Even at OL, I see more reason for hope than at DL.

No argument here. Team doctors are a great tool, but at the same time, not the only tool a player should utilize. I think this may be off point though. I believe the point was more an issue of the competency level of our medical staff. While I am not going to specifically say that our team medical staff are at fault (not in a legal sense) for the Gaines Adams or Freeman, I have argued previously that I didn't feel our medical staff was very good. I realize it may not always be our staffs fault, but when it happens often enough, I just have to feel they are at least "part" of the problem. Take Williams, who several teams actually took him off their draft boards due to medical concerns, and yet we drafted him anyway. Some may say it was Angelo simply taking a risk or disregarding the medical staff's comments. I personally think it may be more an issue of our medical staff not giving a strong enough opinion. Williams is just an example. You look at Pisa last year. He tries to come back too soon from injury and immediately goes back down for the year. This seems to happen every year. Maybe our medical staff is the best there is, and the rest of our staff are just too stupid to listen, but I have a feeling that at least part of the problem is within that medical group.

The ironic thing is, I have always argued how over-rated Alex Brown is. He usually ends up with 5 or so sacks, but does so in maybe 2 or 3 games where he plays great, but in the rest, he is a near non factor in terms of pass rush. He takes very wide angles and is easily pushed out of the play. At the same time, he was a decent enough all around DE. He was solid against the run, and decent enough vs the pass that he at least had the potential to be a factor. Now I see us planning to go w/ 2 DEs. One has "potential" as a pass rusher based on a great rookie year and some flashes last year, but is dreadful against the run. The other has potential as a run defender, but little as a pass rusher. We no longer have an every down DE. Further, while Brown was never a consistent pass rusher, I think he had more potential to play well if others played well. Even if Peppers is great, I am not sure either Anderson, or Idonije, elevate their play. Inside I am really worried. So many seem to be pinning a lot of hopes on Harris, but I question why. Harris has been pretty weak the last couple years, and even his motivation has come into question. Hasn't he been a healthy scratch for a game each of the last two years? After him, the question marks are even greater. Harrison was hyped as a 1st round prospect who slipped due to character flags. Last year, he was all but handed the job, but cared so little he showed up to camp over weight and out of shape, and was held out of camp. Even when he got his conditioning right, he still showed little to nothing IMHO. Adams is always a nice and solid interior guy, but just does nothing in terms of pass rush. After these two, we have some kids who have yet to show they can even play at the NFL level. We added a superior pass rusher in Peppers, but most everyone in the know will say you need multiple pass rushers to have a solid pass rushing DL, and after Peppers, I simply do not see where that 2nd, much less 3rd, pass rusher comes from.

Sarah Palin has a SLN skit, as do many others, so...... I know how most Bear fans feel, and in so many ways I do love Da Coach. At the same time, when looking at a coach, I have to ask if they did the most with what they had. Wanny had no talent to work with. You can blame him, but (a) that is knocking Wanny as a personnel guy and ( our organizational structure then was a joke, which he had to work within. Jauron didn't have jack for talent. Ditka had loads of talent to work with, and most bear fans would agree, that team should have been a dynasty, and not a one SB team. Yea, that one year was incredible, but it should not have been only one year. Do we win that SB if Buddy isn't the DC? Look at all the HOF talent on that team. It should have won far more, and more than most other reasons, I blame Ditka for the dismantling of that team. I know how controversial it is to say, but as great as that one season is, when talking about Ditka, I can't help but to think he is over-rated and if he were truly a good, much less great coach, we would have won so much more.

I think trying to blame this stuff on the team doctors is silly. It's not their responsibility. The don't work for the players. Their role is not to be each players personal HMO. You sure about this? Often businesses set up for a doctor to screen or do physicals for employees. More and more companies are doing this today as it falls under the preventative care philosophy. Find problems early reduce the costs later. Anyway, if I (through work) get a physical, there is an expectation of the individual the doctor has a responsibility to the individual, and not simply the company. I am NOT saying every test under the sun should be performed, or that ANYTHING missed by the doctor is the fault of the company. I am not saying that at all. But I do disagree if you are saying the doctor performing an examination on the employee doesn't have a responsibility to that employee as an individual.

Exactly. There are plenty of cover corners in the league who can't catch a cold (like Carlos Rogers or Ike Taylor) and they still help their teams' pass defense more than a guy like DeAngelo Hall, who always tries to play the ball and gets burned constantly. Hell, Nnamdi Asomugha has only had 1 interception a season the last three years running, and I think we can all agree that he's an elite corner. There's some site (maybe it's PFF?) that tracks receptions allowed and what opposing QBs' rating was when throwing into a corner's coverage. That might be a better indicator of how well a CB is playing each game than a stat that, like you said, only shows up a few times a season. Vasher is a player I would point to. Even in his prime, Vasher was never a very good cover corner. He racked up some picks, and gained a reputation for it (even making the pro bowl) but I don't think QBs were ever afraid to throw against him. I always thought he was over-rated. I'm a little more on board with Wright learning free and strong than with Manning getting pushed all around the secondary or with Bennett learning all the receiver positions instead of getting locked in at one. Even in a non-Tampa-2 defense, when you blitz you often need to disguise which safety is going to be doing what. If we can ask the OLBs to play the Mike in some blitzes, I don't see why we can't ask the safeties to learn each other's roles, too. If they're just teaching him SS to the extent that any FS has to know it, I'm OK with that. That said, if Hoke honestly hasn't made his mind up where Wright is going to play, that's a problem. There's one need spot in the secondary, we don't have anybody adequate to fill it, just get the new guy locked in there. I have no problem with players learning multiple positions. My problem is putting too much on rookies. Think about the situation for a rookie. Many in college thrive, in part, due to playing so many lesser opponents. Florida gets a game against some school no one has ever heard of. Even when facing good teams, those teams are not stacked w/ all future NFL players. Once hitting the NFL, even the lesser players are on a much higher level. And the speed of the game is so much faster. They have to learn a new playbook. Some rookies get time to develop or a red shirt sort of year, but we are talking about a rookie we want to start day one. Rookie's have a huge mountain to climb, and IMHO, you have to limit what you throw at the rookie. I agree that it is good for a FS to also learn the SS position, but at the same time, I think that happens AFTER they first learn the FS position. Learn your position before learning others. Look at Bennett and Knox as prime examples. Is it beneficial for a WR to understand multiple WR positions (X, Y, Flanker, etc). Absolutely. But is it fair to expect a rookie WR to learn all the WR positions? I don't think so. Bennett is a smart player, and yet he essentially lost his rookie year due to the staff asking him to learn too much. On the other hand, when Knox came in, we simply asked him to learn one WR role, which he did, and he did well. Once he was comfortable in that role, we began to expand it, but not until he first got the first part down.

Columbo is a bit different though. I don't believe they traded for him, but rather they signed him as an UFA. Further, I think they gave him a very low contract. Its one thing to take a chance on a guy with injury risk when you don't give up anything. If he doesnt' work out, no big deal. If he does, awesome. We signed Garza when few other teams would consider him as it got out he has no ACL, or whatever, and thus it was believed he was a huge injury risk. While I still have my own opinions on Garza's overall ability, the injry concerns have not really played out.

Hated Player - So many to choose from, and so many solid candidates already discussed. I think I have to go with Mike Green. At the bar I have watched games at for years, my dislike for Green is an old joke. I hated the dude so much then, that now anytime I dislike a player, Green is brought up and everyone laughs. I always hated the way Green always seemed to take bad angles and try to drag a players down from behind, and at times would just fall off their backs as the ball carrier would seem to laugh at his attempt. Loved Player - Payton is simply too obvious of a choice, so I am going to go with one I have not seen mentioned, but has always been a top 2/3 favorite of mine. Mike Singletary. To me, this simply played the game like it should be played. He devoted himself off the field to always better himself and his game, and was maybe the most natural field general I have ever seen. Never the most gifted, but that never mattered. I always shuddered to think what the man would have been like if given Urlacher's natural, raw talent, or what Urlacher would have been like with Mike's non-skill characteristics. Disliked coach - Wanny and Lovie are again just too obvious, so I will go another route. While Ditka is so loved, he frankly ticks me off. The '85 Bears are considered one of the best teams of all time, that that team should have won multiple championships, and I blame Ditka so much for the destruction of that team. That team should have been a dynasty, but Ditka was a big part of killing that team.

Because a sucker is born every minute, and 2 every minute in the NFL. So often there seems to be an NFL team that either doesn't do their homework on a players health, or they simply believe a player can get better, and take a chance.

Something people need to remember is, when Harris was weak in coverage, it was often from playing FS, or being used like one. Even as a SS, there were times we played Brown in the box and played Harris more like a tradional FS. Either way, so long as we play him more like an in-the-box SS, he should be fine. I agree in theory about the coverage being less of an issue if we have an improved pass rush, but despite the addition of Peppers, that is yet to be seen. We added Peppers, which is great, but we need other DL to prove capable of stepping up, and I think there are considerable questions at all other DL positions. Anderson hasn't been a pass rusher since his rookie season, and Idonije has never really been one. Harris has not shown that explosive ability for some time, and showing "some" flashes later last year is far from the consistent level we need from him. And no other DT has shown crap in terms of pass rush. So while we added Peppers, we need at least one, if not two, other DL to step up for our pass rush to really improve, IMHO.

One. I just do not get the idea that unless your guy is expected to get 6 picks, he isn't a FS. Think about it this way. Throw out the number 8 (picks). That is a fairly huge number of total picks for a year, and yet would only be a pick every two games. I want to look at a stat that reflects far more than what a guy does every couple games. If the kid can cover and prevent the reception, I don't care if he has hands of stone. Two. Hoke's comments kind of piss me off. We have here a rookie we hope to start from day one. The last thing we need to do is put too much on this kid. Teach him to be a FS. Don't even think about, much less talk about, much less act on the idea of him as a SS. Don't even throw it out there. Put him at FS and let him develop. Haven't we made this sort of mistake time and time again. We put too much on rookies? Or we move players around and they never really develop at any one spot? Enough of this crap that the safeties are interchangable. It seems like the only people who still believe that is our coaches. How about doing it like the rest of the league. Get a FS to play FS and a SS to play strong safety. Hoke is really hacking me off. I wasn't on board with his hiring to begin with. The secondary was always an area of weakness in Houston, and he was the man in charge. He comes in and, from what I read, instantly felt Graham was too slow and thus doesn't even give him a shot to play CB. The kid played pretty well at CB his 2nd year (injured his first) and then isn't even given practice reps in camp the following year, and I read that was all on Hoke.

No argument about the HC being "insane," but for the purpose of this, I think we are more talking about Angelo.

Yeah, Danieal Manning was different, but he also fits in a category of Bears picks that we see over and over again: trait players. It seems like almost every draft the Bears pick a guy for being an outstanding athlete, even if he comes from a lower level of competition, doesn't have a true position, or both. It's fine to gamble on those kinds of players late in the draft (like Johnny Knox or Mark Anderson) but spending high picks on hit-or-miss guys is way too risky. Sometimes you'll hit and get Devin Hester, but a lot of the time you'll miss and get Danieal Manning or Jarron Gilbert. And you can't really make up for those early misses by taking football-smart guys with sub-par athleticism later in the draft, like Angelo did with Steltz and Payne. No arguments here. I have often complained about our taking guys that look great in shorts but don't translate to the fieldball field. Agreed also that it is fine to take shots at players like that later in the draft, but not so sure about earlier. Then again, one of our biggest "hits" was such a player. Urlacher came from a smaller school and lesser competition. He didn't have a true position entering the draft as he played a hybrid position (rover) in college. GMs were not sure whether he was a SS, FS, SLB, MLB or WLB. Tremendous athlete. That one worked out. But for every Urlacher (would also mention Kearse) you have far more Daniel Manning sort of players. That's why I really like the Wright pick. I'm hoping that he can kind of be the best of both worlds: maybe he doesn't have stellar athletic ability like Manning, but the guy's not limited like Steltz/Payne either, and he's supposed to be very football smart, which is more than you can say for Manning. I'm really hoping that Angelo's learned from his mistakes, but I don't think we'll know unless he's around for the draft next year, so we can see what he does on Day 1. Agreed that Wright seems different in that he appears to have more natural athleticism and coverage skills than most of the rest of the safeties we have drafted, but also being considered a "football player" rather than an athlete who plays football. I have numerous times read someone say he is a more athletic Mike Brown.

Couple thoughts on the "why now". One. Angelo has in the past tried to sort of take care of the players who will not be Bears. If Angelo simply did not believe Payne would make the roster, sending him packing now gives him an opportunity better than what he may have with us. Two. Someone offered something for him now. No guarantees that will be the case down the road. At the end of the day, I think Payne was simply seen as the odd man out (not likely to make the roster) but one who could get us something in return. I think Bullocks isn't likely to make the roster either, but as he likely has no value on the market, we can hand on to him in case something happens to another safety. What is just sad IMHO, is how we have continued to repeat our mistakes over and over again. We have continually drafted the same type of safety, and done so on the 2nd day of the draft (old format). All these guys were considered in the box safeties, yet we were surprised by their lack of cover skills. Gray 5th Todd Johnson 4th Harris 6th Payne 5th Steltz 4th Afalava 6th Daniell Manning was the exception, both in where he was drafted and in style. That didn't work out either, but at least that pick was different. The truly sad thing is, Angelo has drafted a safety in 8 of his 9 drafts, and we have never found a consistent starter, much less a good or pro bowl players. Here's to hoping Wright finally breaks that bad streak.

Okay, after writing (not posting) a reply, I decided to do a bit of research first. As I said, I just don't know a ton about Smiley. From what I read, he was "decent" and at times even solid when playing for Miami, but the team signed him knowing he was an injury risk, and that continued to prove true as he missed time each of his two seasons with Miami. In part due to a lack of confidence he can stay healthy, and in part due to not being a special enough player to warrant much patience, Miami choose to move him. Okay, that doesn't sound too bad. Injury concerns. Okay, but at the same time, we are not going to get a player at this point who doesn't come with some sort of red flag. Even if such a player hit the market, we couldn't afford him. So we have to look at damaged goods, and Smiley would seem to be in that damaged good w/ potential category. What does still bother me is this. Miami began shopping Smiley back in March, and found no takers. Not even so much as a nibble. Miami very aggressively was trying to trade him throughout the draft, and even more aggressively after the Jerry pick in the 3rd. Supposedly his value was so low that Miami could not even use him as leverage to move up a few spots in a middle round. Simply put, no one wanted him. Unlike Brown, we are not talking about an expensive player, so I think you have to step and and wonder why no one wants him. If he is cut, and a number of teams jump out to talk to him, then it could simply mean everyone knew he would be cut and waited. If he is cut and doesn't draw much interest, I think you have to wonder. At this point, I would say that if he is cut and can be signed for a minimal contract (not saying vet minimum but simply cheap) than I would be all for it.

Hey, its a good resource to have. Particularly with regard to the OL, there is little out there by way of resources. At the same time, I would not take their "stats" over the eyeball test. For example, Omiyale simply doesn't grade out as poorly as some other OL, and yet we all believe Omiyale was about as bad as you can get in terms of OG play. I would compare this to draft reports. Draft evaluates from the many sites out there are an awesome resource due to the inability to watch every game and every prospect. At the same time, when there is a prospect who was on a team you personally were able to watch a lot of, I would rather go with that personal evaluation than what some internet site talks about.

While I didn't want to go after a WR in FA, or really in the draft either, that doesn't mean there isn't room to add one. Davis sucks. Sorry, but he simply isn't that good as a WR, and has no upside. He made a name for himself as a special teams player, but has lived off the rep for a couple years now as his play on STs has been poor. He is similar to AP IMHO, but even weaker as a position player. Also mentioned, which I agree with, it was hard for a 4th WR to get on the field in Turner's system, but Martz is likely to use the WRs more, and thus the 4th and even 5th WRs could see increased playing time. Finally, also mentioned, most of our WRs have gone down with injury at one time or another, and thus depth is shown to be quite important. I know little about this kid, but generally speaking, I would simply argue there very much is room to add a WR.

Those stats aside, it seems like everything I have read about Smiley is pretty negative. There is a reason Miami was looking hard to upgrade his position, and believe a 3rd round rookie is an instant upgrade over him. If he were really expensive like Faneca, you might argue the financial side, but his contract isn't that grat. I honestly don't know. I can't say I have really watched him play, but OL stats aside (which I would argue we know can be deceptive based on Omiyale's stats) everything I have read about this guy out of Miami simplys seems to point to a player who is simply not very good.

What I'm wanting to know: 1. Will he play FS or SS? What does this mean for Danieal Manning? 2. IMO we've really upgraded the defense. When the hell do we address the o-line? This is the part that worries me a bit. I am sorry, but I honestly think fans have a tad bit of false memory here. Harris was often played as a FS for us, and he just wasn't that good. He was another in the long line of safeties that simply took poor angles and was slow to react on deep coverage assignments. As a Bear, he didn't load up the tackle numbers, and simply wasn't much of a playmaker either. Carolina move him to SS and give him different assignments, and he flourishes. He goes for a 50 tackle guy to 90 overnight. Further, that reputation he has earned as a ball stripped didn't come from his days in Chicago, where I believe he had none. It comes from his racking up 8 strips his first year in Carolina. When you look at his time in Chicago, and then what he did in Carolina, it shows that Carolina knew how to use him far better than we did. The question now is, do we insert him into his old role where he struggled and caused him to be dealt for a 6th round pick, or do we play him like Carolina did? I like this move so long as he lines up at SS, but if we line him up at FS, I think it was a mistake. As for the OL, what are you talking about. We added a OL in the 7th round, and you know Angelo's tremendous track record with those late round OL picks.

Jason, But remember, in Lovie's scheme, the two safeties positions are interchangable, and thus each of those SS' are also FS'. Yea right.

What a novel idea. Play the players where they perform the best. DM to SS was never a good idea. He stunk at FS as well as CB. Where he has done well was nickel and on returns, and that is where he should be played. I wouldn't worry about the team letting him walk or him not being around. He is already back-peddling on the holdout from what I have read. It is a humbling experience, but you know his agent was working the phones, and at the end of the day, no other team was interested enough to give up the pick for him. So now he is looking back to the bears, who are simply not going to throw money at him. Sounds like he is coming to grips with reality on this, and likely will end the holdout before long.

Personally, I like the idea of living in a world where people care about all the other stuff, but I think history has shown us what really matters to the players is money. There are some exceptions, but the majority of players would take a job w/ Oakland over NE for an extra million. Its pretty sad.