Beekman resurrects

[ASHKUM BEAR]

Josh Beekman Resurrects

 

When the Chicago Bears selected Josh Beekman in the 4th round of the 2007 draft, most fans were very pleased with the selection. They thought they got a player who was projected to go as high as the 2nd round in the 4th round. Jerry Angelo started the process of injecting youth into the aging offensive line. The Bears had high expectations for the 2008 season, especially on the offensive side of the ball. No one expected the Bears offense to recess like it did, and a big factor was the breaking down of the offensive line. Players played injured until it was time to fold the cards. Ruben Brown played most of the season with a torn shoulder, literally trying to stop defenders with one arm. John Tait and Fred Miller both sat out games due to ankle injuries. They played through the injuries even though it was evident they were a main reason for the poor showing on the offensive side of the ball. When the Bears decided to insert John St. Clair and Terrence Metcalf, many were questioning why not give Josh Beekman a shot. Was Beekman another one of Jerry Angelo's awful offensive line picks? There must be a reason why Beekman didn't see one snap during the 2007 season. One reason for Beekman's absence was his strength. He posted 24 reps on the bench press at the combine and since he's undersized as it is at 6-1 307, the Bears wanted to see him get stronger before putting him against NFL caliber players. Beekman was basically redshirted like fellow draftees Dan Bauzin and Mike Okwo. Jerry Angelo has a knack for drafting players and hiding them for a year and Beekman was no different from any of the others. With a year under his belt training with Rusty Jones, Beekman will enter the 2008 season ready to compete for a spot on the offensive line. He will most likely be competing against Terrence Metcalf for Reuben Browns vacant LG position and may have the edge on the 6 year veteren. The Bears still need more youth for the offensive line and will look early in the 2008 draft for an offensive tackle. The Bears would like to find there LT to solidify there line for years and this is the best draft in recent history to do that with. With Beekman now in the mix, the Bears need to replace Reuben Brown is not as high a priortity, but don't rule out finding another guard talent in RD4 like they did with Beekman to add competition for Garza for the 2009 season.

 

Quick Josh Beekman facts:

-Beekman started on the Amsterdam (NY) varsity football team as an eigth grader, playing defensive line.

-2006, received the Jacobs Blocking award for being the most valuable blocker in the ACC

-Honored with the Scanlon Trophy, the highest honor given to BC senior football players that exemplifies scholar, athlete, gentleman, and friend.

 

Josh Beekmans website

[jason]

Nice writeup and history. I enjoyed the thoughts.

 

The one thing I'd say, however, is that if Beekman is so weak he couldn't beat out a one-armed veteran past his prime, or a collection of other guys who literally looked invisible during long stretches of the season, then a year with a strength coach is not going to stop him from getting plowed by Defensive Tackles in the NFL. And if he's that weak, I sure as hell hope the Bears are not putting much faith in the guy plugging any holes any time soon.

[balta1701-A]

Nice writeup and history. I enjoyed the thoughts.

 

The one thing I'd say, however, is that if Beekman is so weak he couldn't beat out a one-armed veteran past his prime, or a collection of other guys who literally looked invisible during long stretches of the season, then a year with a strength coach is not going to stop him from getting plowed by Defensive Tackles in the NFL. And if he's that weak, I sure as hell hope the Bears are not putting much faith in the guy plugging any holes any time soon.

The post doesn't necessarily say he was so weak he couldn't beat out a one-armed veteran, it says that they made a decision that they were going to redshirt him and take their sweet time with him. If they consider that a valid development method, then it makes sense that they'd follow it.

[ASHKUM BEAR]

The post doesn't necessarily say he was so weak he couldn't beat out a one-armed veteran, it says that they made a decision that they were going to redshirt him and take their sweet time with him. If they consider that a valid development method, then it makes sense that they'd follow it.

 

Exactly. Since Rusty has joined the Bears, they've been redshirting players. The Bears have been redshirting the players were they have depth to do so (Bazuin, Okwo, Williams, Dvorecek) and with Beekman, he was mostly inactive until they sat John Tait for his ankle injury. I don't think it's a coincidence we've been claiming IR on so many draft picks, but a strategy to let these players develop there bodies for the NFL to help avoid future injury.

 

Most scouts had Beekman rated as a 2nd RD grade, he did slip to the 4th, which was probably due to his strength, but if he does commit to the program and comes back stronger he should be able to compete for a G position this year and IMO he will beat out Metcalf.

[Mongo3451]

Nice writeup and history. I enjoyed the thoughts.

 

The one thing I'd say, however, is that if Beekman is so weak he couldn't beat out a one-armed veteran past his prime, or a collection of other guys who literally looked invisible during long stretches of the season, then a year with a strength coach is not going to stop him from getting plowed by Defensive Tackles in the NFL. And if he's that weak, I sure as hell hope the Bears are not putting much faith in the guy plugging any holes any time soon.

Bravo!

It said nothing of increased size, strength, skill or ability to compete. That article was complete PR bullshit, with all the substance of a "popcorn fart".

[nfoligno]

Where is this from?

[nfoligno]

Thank you. This piece was pure fluff. The whole time I was expecting to read about how after a year of training w/ Rusty, his new weight is this, or now he benches 30+ times, or whatever. Nope. Not a bit of info on his current strength. The other thing that stood out for me was the part that said w/ him and Metcalf in the fold, LG is not a need. LOL. You have to be kidding me. Who wrote this, his mom?

[BearSox]

Thank you. This piece was pure fluff. The whole time I was expecting to read about how after a year of training w/ Rusty, his new weight is this, or now he benches 30+ times, or whatever. Nope. Not a bit of info on his current strength. The other thing that stood out for me was the part that said w/ him and Metcalf in the fold, LG is not a need. LOL. You have to be kidding me. Who wrote this, his mom?

I think he wrote it.

[brletich]

You have to be kidding me. Who wrote this, his mom?

 

Worse...His agent

[ASHKUM BEAR]

Worse...His agent

 

 

Sorry guys, I wrote this myself. It was not a PR fluff, just pointing out that the Bears were redshirting Beekman like many other Bear draft picks. So many write him off like he is not even in the mix of things. Go back and read what the scouts had to say about him coming out of college. This kid is a good kid that plays with a mean streak. I still want to bring in another guard, but it won't be any higher than a 4th RD selection IMO

[Controlled Chaos]

Sorry guys, I wrote this myself. It was not a PR fluff, just pointing out that the Bears were redshirting Beekman like many other Bear draft picks. So many write him off like he is not even in the mix of things. Go back and read what the scouts had to say about him coming out of college. This kid is a good kid that plays with a mean streak. I still want to bring in another guard, but it won't be any higher than a 4th RD selection IMO

Nice write up. The lack of any statistical improvement isn't your fault...you don't have any yet. You did enlighten me a bit on how the Bears were handling the situation. Hopefully, when we see Beek in the future months we'll see that the training regimen has paid off.

[Clenched_CLAW]

A plan to actually groom an O-Lineman to start:

 

Josh Beekman Resurrects

 

... With a year under his belt training with Rusty Jones, Beekman will enter the 2008 season ready to compete for a spot on the offensive line. He will most likely be competing against Terrence Metcalf for Reuben Browns vacant LG position and may have the edge on the 6 year veteren.

 

 

I'd be even more impressed if he was a solid starter at Guard while they were preparing him to eventually succeed Olin.

[azbearsfan]

Sorry guys, I wrote this myself. It was not a PR fluff, just pointing out that the Bears were redshirting Beekman like many other Bear draft picks. So many write him off like he is not even in the mix of things. Go back and read what the scouts had to say about him coming out of college. This kid is a good kid that plays with a mean streak. I still want to bring in another guard, but it won't be any higher than a 4th RD selection IMO

 

 

lol I love Bears fans. Any bit of positive info and they are climbing over each other to trash it.

 

Pay no attention to the morons Ashkum. It was an appreciatted write up and good analysis on the known facts.

[nfoligno]

Sorry, but the way it was posted, it looked to me like you were quoting someone. If it was from some media source, I would call it a fluff piece. But simply a write up by a fan, I would simply call it an optimistic post, or one written through rosie goggles.

 

Couple points I would make though:

 

One. Beekman was not red-shirted the same as Okwo and Bazuin. Those two were put on IR, thus when the team stunk at the end of the year, they were not allowed to get any PT. Beekman was never IR'd. He was available to play, but the staff choose not to play him. The is an important issue IMHO, as the previous red shirts were put on the IR early on (sometimes questionably IMHO). Beekman was not.

 

Two. How long does it take to build up strength? Beekman was not on IR, which means he should have been working out w/ Rusty throughout the season. So he had 3 months or whatever to build up strength. Even if he did improve his strength, does it not mean something the staff still considered him too weak?

 

Three. A key point w/ other prior red shirts is they were in a number jam. Okwo was our #3 WLB, behind a pro bowl starter and also behind another young player. Bazuin was even deeper down the chart. Similar for other past red shirts. I am not so sure Beekman would have been considered so far down the list. Metcalf (wrongly) was probably ahead of him, but you usually want more than one backup OG. So I do not believe he faced the same number crunch other red shirts faces, which tells me it was more about his ability than previous red shirts.

 

Four. Final point has to do w/ our moving forward. You mention how Beekman will battle Metcalf for the spot, but why should this give us confidence? Metcalf was an utter failure last year when given the opportunity to step up, and had not stepped up in the what, 6 years he has been w/ the team. I think it a huge mistake to even factor Metcalf in our plans. So the question is, do we really want to go into the season w/ Beekman basically slotted to play OG? I liked the pick myself, but he has not shown jack, and I see no reason we should not be looking to upgrade our OG position. I would happily take Albert in the 1st round w/ the intention of playing him at OG for a year, and then hopefully moving him to LT. This is not a great year for OGs, so after Albert, there may not be an OG we like before the 4th (which is the round you talk about) but if there was an OG we liked, I would have no problem taking him in any round.

[Iguana]

I still think it's completely retarded he didnt get any play time.

[madlithuanian]

I'd tend to agree. However, at least there appears to be a glimmer of hope that he can fill in a spot.

 

I still think it's completely retarded he didnt get any play time.

[madlithuanian]

All good points nfo...however I keep coming back to the ineptness of our staff. I don't know why...I just do.

 

Sorry, but the way it was posted, it looked to me like you were quoting someone. If it was from some media source, I would call it a fluff piece. But simply a write up by a fan, I would simply call it an optimistic post, or one written through rosie goggles.

 

Couple points I would make though:

 

One. Beekman was not red-shirted the same as Okwo and Bazuin. Those two were put on IR, thus when the team stunk at the end of the year, they were not allowed to get any PT. Beekman was never IR'd. He was available to play, but the staff choose not to play him. The is an important issue IMHO, as the previous red shirts were put on the IR early on (sometimes questionably IMHO). Beekman was not.

 

Two. How long does it take to build up strength? Beekman was not on IR, which means he should have been working out w/ Rusty throughout the season. So he had 3 months or whatever to build up strength. Even if he did improve his strength, does it not mean something the staff still considered him too weak?

 

Three. A key point w/ other prior red shirts is they were in a number jam. Okwo was our #3 WLB, behind a pro bowl starter and also behind another young player. Bazuin was even deeper down the chart. Similar for other past red shirts. I am not so sure Beekman would have been considered so far down the list. Metcalf (wrongly) was probably ahead of him, but you usually want more than one backup OG. So I do not believe he faced the same number crunch other red shirts faces, which tells me it was more about his ability than previous red shirts.

 

Four. Final point has to do w/ our moving forward. You mention how Beekman will battle Metcalf for the spot, but why should this give us confidence? Metcalf was an utter failure last year when given the opportunity to step up, and had not stepped up in the what, 6 years he has been w/ the team. I think it a huge mistake to even factor Metcalf in our plans. So the question is, do we really want to go into the season w/ Beekman basically slotted to play OG? I liked the pick myself, but he has not shown jack, and I see no reason we should not be looking to upgrade our OG position. I would happily take Albert in the 1st round w/ the intention of playing him at OG for a year, and then hopefully moving him to LT. This is not a great year for OGs, so after Albert, there may not be an OG we like before the 4th (which is the round you talk about) but if there was an OG we liked, I would have no problem taking him in any round.

[nfoligno]

Totally valid and fair point, IMHO. But my reply would be this. Who is our coaching staff heading into 2008?

 

If we changed staff, I might think different. Then I fight think a player the staff was down on could get new life. But w/ the same staff returning, I see no reason to believe Beekman will become a favorite of the staff.

[madlithuanian]

There's not much we can do about it but just hope it improves somehow. I'm not sure it will, but I hope it does.

 

Well, in all fairness, the staff seems to change their tune as often as the wind changes direction through the loop... Bradley was in the doghouse, now he's #1... Cedric's the man, now he has to prove himself. (Granted, that one was an easy flip flop!) But I'm sure there are other instances that just aren't popping into my cranium at the moment.

 

I really have no idea what to expect of this staff. Heck, Beekman could surprise us all if he actually gets a chance to show what he has.

 

All this post is really saying is that it doesn't look like a bust, and has the potential to help this team. No guarantees, but hope.

 

Totally valid and fair point, IMHO. But my reply would be this. Who is our coaching staff heading into 2008?

 

If we changed staff, I might think different. Then I fight think a player the staff was down on could get new life. But w/ the same staff returning, I see no reason to believe Beekman will become a favorite of the staff.

[nfoligno]

I personally have no problem w/ Beekman. He was among my favorite picks in our draft. I thought then he could be a solid OG, and even after his lack of PT, still think he can develop.

 

My key issue is w/ the logic in the original post that Beekman and Metcalf provide enough such that Brown's departure doesn't create a big hole, or that we need not look at OG prior to the 4th round. I like Beekman, but no way do I see OG as anything but a high need.

 

And Metcalf should not even be mentioned in our plans. He has had 6 years, and has never looked like he should be our starter. Can't even just rip the staff, as Metcalf did play last year, and played so poor we moved St Clair inside to replace him.

[madlithuanian]

I hear ya. I just really would have liked to see him (and a few other bears) out there at the end of the season when all was lost anyway.

 

But I think I'm just getting myself worked up over the staff again...

 

It's a bit too easy to do.

 

I personally have no problem w/ Beekman. He was among my favorite picks in our draft. I thought then he could be a solid OG, and even after his lack of PT, still think he can develop.

 

My key issue is w/ the logic in the original post that Beekman and Metcalf provide enough such that Brown's departure doesn't create a big hole, or that we need not look at OG prior to the 4th round. I like Beekman, but no way do I see OG as anything but a high need.

 

And Metcalf should not even be mentioned in our plans. He has had 6 years, and has never looked like he should be our starter. Can't even just rip the staff, as Metcalf did play last year, and played so poor we moved St Clair inside to replace him.

[jason]

I still think it's completely retarded he didnt get any play time.

 

Bingo. Red-shirt a guy all you want. Sounds like a good idea to me. But when your present starting OL is filled with guys who should be in the hospital or the training room, then the red-shirt idea is dumb as hell, and hindering the development and assessment of other players.

[Lucky Luciano]

I personally have no problem w/ Beekman. He was among my favorite picks in our draft. I thought then he could be a solid OG, and even after his lack of PT, still think he can develop.

 

My key issue is w/ the logic in the original post that Beekman and Metcalf provide enough such that Brown's departure doesn't create a big hole, or that we need not look at OG prior to the 4th round. I like Beekman, but no way do I see OG as anything but a high need.

 

And Metcalf should not even be mentioned in our plans. He has had 6 years, and has never looked like he should be our starter. Can't even just rip the staff, as Metcalf did play last year, and played so poor we moved St Clair inside to replace him.

 

here's the problem....

 

1. beekman is either so terrible that he couldn't replace a one armed guard and THEN couldn't replace metcalf who is probably one of the worst offensive linemen we ever had in chicago!! OR.....

 

2. if beekman is worth a tinkers dam then this coaching staff is so inept that they can't even TELL the difference between good or bad linemen.

 

that's maybe the scariest thought of all!!!

[madlithuanian]

It's hard to soar like an eagle, when you work for a bunch of turkeys...

 

Bingo. Red-shirt a guy all you want. Sounds like a good idea to me. But when your present starting OL is filled with guys who should be in the hospital or the training room, then the red-shirt idea is dumb as hell, and hindering the development and assessment of other players.

[madlithuanian]

The coaching staff is where I'm placing my bet...and yeah, it is scary.

 

here's the problem....

 

1. beekman is either so terrible that he couldn't replace a one armed guard and THEN couldn't replace metcalf who is probably one of the worst offensive linemen we ever had in chicago!! OR.....

 

2. if beekman is worth a tinkers dam then this coaching staff is so inept that they can't even TELL the difference between good or bad linemen.

 

that's maybe the scariest thought of all!!!