defiantgiant

Adding to that, the guy's got pretty impressive lateral range, even if his timed speed is so-so. Watching him run down that reverse early in the highlight reel, he takes a kind of questionable angle to the ballcarrier, but he really turns on the jets when he gets close to the hash marks and ends up making it to the right spot. My main worry would be that he doesn't look to have a real complete game, at least not from the film here. Like Mongo said, he plays a lot of deep centerfield and not much else. He sure is a ballhawk, though.

Bingo. Bulger's been a train wreck the past three seasons. He's like David Carr - the guy was clearly good at one point, but he's just too shell-shocked to make decisions on the field. I would have loved to bring in a guy like Shaun Hill to back up Cutler, but the Lions got him. Hill's basically the ideal backup: he's proven that he can hold down the fort, but he's OK with not having a legit shot at the starting job. Guys like that seem to be hard to come by, though. I can't think of many ideal backup QBs apart from Hill, Chad Pennington, and maybe Kerry Collins.

I guess I should amend that: I haven't seen anything from Kolb in the NFL that makes me think he'll be as good as Rodgers, but it's a small sample size. He had one stellar game against an awful Kansas City defense, and one pretty up-and-down game against New Orleans. He could definitely be good, but I'd be surprised if he ends up being as good as Rodgers. That's not saying a whole lot, though, since Rodgers is arguably a top-5 QB right now. Yeah, and as good as Brees is for the Saints, it's hard to say that the Chargers made the wrong move. I guess sometimes you need to move on from a good player if the guy you drafted to replace him is ready to go. Provided that the new guy is actually good, of course. Yeah, they should. They can bring in a veteran like Bulger to back up McNabb, but Campbell's a starting-quality player. They could get significant value for him from a team like Buffalo.

Here's an interesting bit from Pro Football Weekly on Martz's pass-protection and the punishment his quarterbacks have to take: Personally, I'd like to see Martz make use of Cutler's mobility the way Shanahan did - get him out of the pocket and on the move, where he's harder to defend. None of Martz's previous QBs have been as mobile as Cutler, and he'd be dumb not to take advantage of one of his players' obvious strengths. That said, Cutler's a tough guy and clearly doesn't mind taking a shot or two. I'm sure he'd be able to stand up to the punishment if Martz asks him to hang in the pocket and get hit.

If he is, that'll be huge, because the Bears don't have a high pick to spend. Aromashodu stepping up could solve a lot of problems. If they could sign Atogwe or some other free safety and they don't think one of our current receivers can step up, I wouldn't mind Angelo taking a flyer on in the 3rd or the 4th. He could easily fall that far, despite being a first-round talent. He reminds me a lot of Ocho Cinco, actually: big strong receiver, sets up his routes really well, hard to bring down after the catch and great in the red zone. If he can get his head on straight, he could be a huge steal in the middle rounds.

If it were me, I'd move Beekman back to guard and put Omiyale in at right tackle. Martz asks his tackles to hold up in pass-protection long enough for all of his deep passing plays to develop and, for all his flaws, I think Omiyale's probably a better pass protector than Shaffer is. When Shaffer played on the left side in Cleveland (and last season before Williams took over for Pace,) he struggled a lot, whereas Omiyale was at least an adequate fill-in at left tackle in Carolina. I'd be OK with Omiyale on the right side, especially with Manumaleuna lining up next to him. And Beekman's definitely dependable and steady at left guard. He's nothing special, but he gets the job done. Williams-Beekman-Kreutz-Garza-Omiyale-Manumaleuna could be a good enough line to make Martz's deep passing game function.

Yeah, I think the Eagles were in a way worse version of the problem that the Packers had with Favre/Rodgers. Except that McNabb wasn't trying to retire and Rodgers is worlds better than Kolb. I'll be interested to see if the Skins deal Campbell now. He's better than some of the starting QBs out there.

I wasn't trying to imply that you don't, not at all. I'm just throwing the target numbers out there, since it's not a stat that ESPN or NFL.com reports and I think it's relevant. I was just pointing out that Hester's production isn't attributable to him being the only option in the passing game. Cutler spread the ball around a lot last season. I totally agree, but I think that ceiling is pretty good. When I watched Hester play in 2008, he looked like a major project. He had trouble lining up, getting his routes right, etc. When I watched him in 2009, he looked like a 1000-to-1200-yard receiver who wasn't getting the ball enough. If that's all he ever turns into, I'm OK with that. He's not a superb technician by any means, and I don't think that's going to change. But he separates more easily out of his breaks than most NFL receivers, he sells his routes pretty well, and he's developed good hands. I agree that Chad's a more polished receiver, but not all good receivers have to be polished. Look at Joey Galloway - he was a great threat just by virtue of being fast and athletic. Chad's great at setting up DBs, he's hard to jam at the line, and he's very physical after the catch, but Hester's much faster, way more sudden changing directions, and (surprisingly, to me) significantly more reliable catching the ball. Pound-for-pound, Hester and Chad are about equivalently productive in this stage of their careers, they just get it done in very different ways. Hester might never be as good as Chad when he was in his prime, but Chad in his prime was an All-Pro receiver. I don't think Hester has to be an All-Pro to be a valuable contributor on offense. Also, Chad at his best had Housh lining up on the other side of the field. We haven't yet seen what Hester can do with a starting-quality wide receiver lining up across from him. In a top-tier passing game, there'd be another receiver at least as good as Hester in the starting lineup: #1, #2, whatever...there'd be another quality option. But that's an argument that we need the OTHER receiver spot to be better, not that we need Hester to be better. I think Hester's doing a much better job than people give him credit for, and if the rest of the passing game (Cutler, Olsen, the other receivers) could get in gear, Hester would be a solid #1 option or a great #2. Aromashodu is an exciting prospect, but I think he has a lot to prove. He wasn't as reliable catching the ball as Hester was, and over half of his production came in one game, where he was going up against Antoine Winfield's broken foot. Baltimore's less-than-great secondary held him to 2 catches for 10 yards, and he was starting that game. I like his potential, and I think he should be given every opportunity to nail down the starting job across from Hester, but he hasn't proven it yet. I just don't see any reason to reduce Hester's role in the offense when he's our most productive receiver: we need more production from the receiving corps, not less. Unless Aromashodu and Knox both develop into better receivers than Hester, which they aren't right now, the offense will get worse by reducing his role in the passing game.

Moot point now...he's a Lion.

I'm kind of curious about Hamlin too. He's clearly not a ballhawk at FS, but I wonder if he might be an upgrade over what we've got at SS.

EDIT: Double post.

That's not true. If I understand you right, you're saying that Hester's numbers were inflated because the other receivers weren't doing their jobs, so Cutler threw to Hester a lot and everybody else very little. Regardless of the other receivers' performance, that wasn't the case. Here's the number of times each Bears receiver (TEs and Forte included) got thrown to in 2009: Devin Hester: 91 targets Earl Bennett: 88 targets Johnny Knox: 80 targets Devin Aromashodu: 43 targets Greg Olsen: 108 targets Desmond Clark: 34 targets Matt Forte: 72 targets Hester's numbers weren't inflated by the lack of production from the other receivers. Just the opposite - Cutler was hurting Hester's numbers by spreading the ball around, when Hester was by far the most productive receiver on a per-target basis. The reason Hester put up pretty good numbers isn't that a huge number of passes went his way, it's that his catch percentage and YPC were both VERY solid. He did exceedingly well with what he got, despite the fact that Olsen, Bennett, Knox, and Forte were all significantly cutting into his targets. Last season, a whopping 41 wide receivers got thrown to more often than Hester did. A lot of those guys weren't even the first option in their team's passing game. The Cardinals, Pats, Packers, Chargers, Vikings, Steelers, Seahawks, Giants, Bills, Jaguars, and Jets all had 2 receivers who EACH got more passes thrown to them than Hester. That includes everything from high-end #2 receivers (like Boldin, Hines Ward, Nate Burleson and Donald Driver) to middle-of-the-road guys (like Chris Chambers and Bernard Berrian) all the way down to guys like Torry Holt and Mario Manningham. All those guys got more targets than Hester, and we're not talking about just high-powered passing games, either (see Bills/Jets/Jaguars.) If Hester had gotten as many targets as your average #1 receiver, he would have put up numbers like a #1. I'm thinking of Ocho Cinco's 128 targets: if Hester had been targeted 128 times, he'd have had 80 catches for 1065 yards. That's actually better than the numbers Ocho put up (72 catches, 1047 yards) on the same number of passes. If Ocho had only gotten 91 passes, like Hester did, he'd only have had 51 catches for 744 yards (compared to Hester's 57 for 757.) Hester's numbers are pretty good not "by default," but because he made the best of fairly limited opportunities.

Maybe PFR hasn't updated his stats since Week 4?

Plus, Marshall nearly got cut by Shanahan over his inconsistent route-running. How's that going to play out in Martz's offense? I'm OK with trading future picks, but not for a position that's among the deepest on the team (right up there with linebacker and TE) and not for a guy who might not fit into the offense.

Earnest Graham would be good fit for what you're talking about, if he could be pried away from the Bucs. He's not the traditional FB from a size perspective (5'9" 225 pounds) but he's a quality lead blocker and a good short-yardage back, plus he can catch. He's 30 and due $3 million, and the Bucs have other options at FB and a platoon of running backs, so they might be willing to trade him for a late-round pick.

I really think Nate Allen would have a shot at the first round in any other year - he's the fourth-ranked FS prospect behind a once-in-a-decade prospect (Berry,) a phenomenal athlete (Mays,) and a free safety with enough speed and coverage skills that people are projecting him as a starting-caliber corner (Thomas.) If Earl Thomas doesn't fall to the Cowboys at #27, they could easily take Allen there. Here's his scouting report: Read & React: Comes downhill to attack tight ends between the linebackers. Reacts quickly when a corner is in trouble and has the speed to catch free receivers from the opposite hash. A step slow to pick up misdirection and bootlegs but recovers nicely; still typically makes the play a few yards downfield. Man Coverage: Good straight-line speed and fair change of direction abilities, but struggles to stay with receivers downfield when lining up in the slot, as you would expect from a safety. Slow, high, choppy backpedal. Should match up well against NFL tight ends in the flat. Zone Coverage: Good range to get from the hash to the sideline on deep throws. Good height and vertical to win jump balls. Solid last line of defense, bringing his hips to stop receivers in their tracks. Will pound a receiver over the middle. Will take incorrect angles to the sideline at times, relying on his speed too often. Makes quarterbacks pay for underthrown balls, stepping in to make the interception more often than not. Closing/Recovery: Will get to the ball when it's in the air, knocking the receiver or the ball to the ground. Doesn't always take correct angles when the play is in front of him, but has the speed to recover - preventing a big play from becoming huge. Run Support: When allowed to attack the line, Allen is an explosive, reliable in-the-box tackler. Good last line of defense to prevent breakaway runs. Will add himself to the pile and push back the runner to prevent the extra yard. Not physical enough to get off tight end blocks on the edge. Gets sucked in too far on runs, failing to keep the runner from getting the sideline. Tackling: Generally a secure tackler in the secondary. Gives good effort, and many times is the second man in on a tackle. Gets frozen and loses battles against elusive running backs in the open field. Played a lot of deep Cover-2, and played behind an active front seven - leading to fewer opportunities for tackles in 2008. Aggressiveness and secure tackling; will be a solid special teams player at the next level. Intangibles: Very good student. Sets the defense on the field. Loves the game; works hard on and off the field to improve. I mean, I don't think it'd be a bargain to spend a 2nd and a 3rd on Allen, but I don't think it'd be a bad deal either.

Yeah, the Seahawks fans that I've talked to have said that the o-line sucked, but Sims was the best player on it, and that he's a decent starter. Seattle's front office has made some questionable moves in terms of letting guys go (see Nate Burleson) and it sounds to me like a lot of the fans want them to keep Sims. I don't think Sims would be a standout player or anything, but even an average young starter would be a huge upgrade for the Bears' left guard spot.

Yeah, depth wouldn't be a huge issue after that move. We'd have some decent line depth, and some good young talent: 1st string: Williams-Sims-Kreutz-Garza-Omiyale/Shaffer 2nd string: Marten-Louis-Beekman-?-Shaffer/Omiyale Basically, we'd be in the market for a developmental RG to bring up behind Garza, but every other position would have a quality young player, either as the starter or on the 2nd string behind a vet. Shaffer or Omiyale (depending on who wins the starting RT job) would be the swing tackle in case somebody gets hurt, and Beekman could be the swing backup on the interior line. It'd certainly be a better depth/youth/talent mix than we've had in the past several seasons.

Well, but we signed Eddie Williams, who's definitely got an H-back type of skill set. I think it could be that we keep 3 RBs, 1 FB, and 4 TEs, as opposed to last year where we had 4-1-3. I mean, I'd certainly rather keep our 4 best TEs than any candidate for the 4th RB spot: the guys at the 3rd and 4th TE spot are just better players. We could probably sneak Kahlil Bell onto the practice squad without too much risk.

Yeah, but "badly enough" translates to "more than seven million dollars a year" at this stage in the game. That's a massive amount of money - close to a market-setting deal for a free safety. Don't get me wrong, I'd be fine with overpaying for him given the need, but I don't think the front office is going to do it.

If he's healthy and available for less than a 4th, or for a conditional pick that only goes up to a 4th, I don't see any reason not to do that trade immediately. The Seattle fans I've talked to have said that he's nothing too special, but he's at least above-average when healthy. It sounds like the only reason that he's getting the axe is that Carroll wants to run a ZBS, and Sims is only a fit in a man-blocking system. Whatever the reason, if he's available that cheap and they're confident that he's over his injuries, they need to go get him.

Well, but we also traded Jones because he wanted more money than Angelo was going to pay him, and to clear the way for Benson. Wasn't the deal between Jones and Angelo basically that if he kept quiet and played well for 2006, we'd deal him to a team that would pay him what he wanted? In any case, Olsen's at the off-season program, and it doesn't sound like he's in a comparable situation to the one that got Jones dealt. I'd be much happier trading a future pick for a 2nd this year: if it were me, I'd move our 3rd and a 2nd next year to grab Nate Allen or Morgan Burnett in the 2nd. I mean, what are the odds that a free safety class like this one comes around again next year? Guys like Allen or Burnett, in a normal year, wouldn't have Eric Berry, Taylor Mays and Earl Thomas ahead of them, pushing them down in the draft. And if getting a similar quality FS in a subsequent year would take a higher draft pick, that makes trading a future pick seem like not such a bad idea. A 2nd and a 3rd isn't too much to pay for a borderline 1st-round talent at a huge need position.

Here's a pretty helpful article on Atogwe's contract situation. Basically, the guy thinks that nobody's making an offer for Atogwe because they don't want the Rams to match, and that teams figure St. Louis will have to let him hit UFA after June 1st (rather than pay him $7 million) so they're waiting until then to start pursuing him. The author also makes it sound like Atogwe's going to drag his feet until June 1st and force the Rams' hand. We'll see...

Two out of those three players aren't DEs, they're 3-4 outside linebackers. Harrison has never played DE that I know of, and Dumervil was a fairly limited player when the Broncos ran a 4-3 and played him on the line. He wasn't as one-dimensional as Mark Anderson, but he wasn't the prototype DE at all, and he was a much better fit once they moved him to OLB. Height and reach aren't as important for a 3-4 OLB as they are for a 4-3 DE - a lot of OLBs can make up for being short, as long as they're fast. Reach can be pretty important for a pass-rushing DE - look at Peppers' tape and how often he gets a sack or a TFL by laying out full-length or reaching around his blocker. With a guy Peppers' size, even when he's blocked, you have to stay out of his immediate area because of his height and reach. Obviously, Freeney is an incredible player, but he's definitely the exception, rather than evidence of some kind of trend. I mean, I'm not going to point to Robert Mathis and say there's a trend in the NFL for DEs to weigh less than 250 pounds. Mathis is smaller than some fullbacks - the fact that he's successful as a defensive lineman doesn't mean that anyone else his size will be. The Colts have two very, very gifted players who are great all-around defensive ends despite having very nontypical frames for the position. Most guys in the NFL aren't Freeney or Mathis. I'm not trying to say that I know enough about Melton to know whether he'll be a success at DE. Not by a long shot. But just looking at his frame, he looks more like a nickel DT to me.

Plus Bernard Berrian, Jarron Gilbert, Garrett Wolfe, Chris Harris, etc. Then there are the late-round small-school guys like Corey Graham, Brandon McGowan, Adrian Peterson. All in all, I can't get mad at most of Angelo's picks from lesser-known football programs. Most of them have turned out to be good value for where they were chosen.