Seriously...it's not even worth looking up this bums name. Who the hell is he? Why is he starting? And why did he look slower than Jamarcus Russell, post-weight gain, running on the beach? No way in hell that guy should be the starting return man. All joking aside, I think there is a good chance several people on this board is faster than he is.

Marc Mariani. Former pro bowler who was pretty damn good in preseason.

I've been advocating the Bears to draft a specialist ever since they got rid of Hester. They really need a game changer there.

Marc Mariani. Former pro bowler who was pretty damn good in preseason.

 

I thought he looked good in preseason. I didn't really pay attention to kick returns this game. Hoping to catch a replay this week.

That's the bears.... preseason and practice

That's the bears.... preseason and practice

 

 

Well I guess if you only watch preseason and practice you won't have much to bitch about!

Marc Mariani. Former pro bowler who was pretty damn good in preseason.

 

Well, he looked horrible in the actual game. He looks like he must have been on a serious dose of xanax or something like that, because there is no way his 5.0+ speed should be returning the football in the NFL.

Far from the biggest issue we need to fix. Any draft pick dedicated to finding a return guy should go toward another shot at fixing any of a number of issues on this roster from Oline, Dline, safety, OLB to improve the pass rush, even QB.

His forty time was sub 4.5. He has been a probowl returner and looked good returning for the Bears late last season. Ever think that maybe he was going a little slower because he was waiting for some blocking to develop ahead of him? This isn't some scrub special teams guy. When he's been healthy (which has been the big if in his career), he has been a playmaking returner in the NFL. He has 3 return TD's in 39 games played.

Far from the biggest issue we need to fix. Any draft pick dedicated to finding a return guy should go toward another shot at fixing any of a number of issues on this roster from Oline, Dline, safety, OLB to improve the pass rush, even QB.

Amen on that.

Amen on that.

By the way, I echo these sentiments as well.

Seriously...it's not even worth looking up this bums name. Who the hell is he? Why is he starting? And why did he look slower than Jamarcus Russell, post-weight gain, running on the beach? No way in hell that guy should be the starting return man. All joking aside, I think there is a good chance several people on this board is faster than he is.

 

As long as he doesn't fumble and if he returns it on KOs he makes it at least past the 20....who cares?

I don't recall him having many opportunities to return kicks because most of the kickoffs by the packers were touch backs.

It's not the biggest issue, and he may have a good history, but man he looked slow. If he continues to look slow, I hope they just give someone fast a chance to return the ball. Great field position - we learned from Hester days - is a HUGE difference.

It's not the biggest issue, and he may have a good history, but man he looked slow. If he continues to look slow, I hope they just give someone fast a chance to return the ball. Great field position - we learned from Hester days - is a HUGE difference.

 

I think Mariani is more than solid, but your "someone fast" got me interested in seeing if we even have any "fast" guys on the roster. Right now, not really. Everyone is in the mid 4.4s.

 

Senorice Perry runs a 4.38 but he's hurt.

 

I'm not sure where they got the number from but nfldraftscout has Jalen Saunders(practice squad) with a "40 low" at 4.27. Ran a 4.42 at the combine so I'm not sure I trust that number.

I think Mariani is more than solid, but your "someone fast" got me interested in seeing if we even have any "fast" guys on the roster. Right now, not really. Everyone is in the mid 4.4s.

 

Senorice Perry runs a 4.38 but he's hurt.

 

I'm not sure where they got the number from but nfldraftscout has Jalen Saunders(practice squad) with a "40 low" at 4.27. Ran a 4.42 at the combine so I'm not sure I trust that number.

 

Not to overthink this but I don't think speed is the cure-all for an effective return man. A lot of factors go into doing well. Although Hester was fast he was also elusive and could see the holes that he needed to hit in order to get that good return. Or was it the scheme? Toub was able to get Hester, Knox and Manning to effectively return under his system. And none of those three had the same skill set as the other. As another poster pointed out, Mariani has been to the Pro Bowl as a returner before and that seems like a legitimate pre-requisite for someone we'd want as the returner. (By the by, he set to Pro Bowl return records the year he went - 2011. One for number of returns and the other for total yards *source Wikipedia). Before breaking his leg in 2012 he had a 4.48 40 which to me is pretty fast. I'm pretty sure most of us couldn't do that.