Article for those who don't think Davis should make the roster

[nfoligno]

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/mulligan/17...mully26.article

 

Saw this on the Sun Times. Its an article about Davis. Now, Mulligan takes the position that Davis deserves more of an opportunity than he has been getting. At the same time, reading the article, it puts into question some things we have talked about.

 

- Some other articles seem to put Davis closer to the lock position. This article very much puts that into question. This article says Iglesias and Knox are virtual locks based on (a) draft position for Iglesias and ( 40 time for Knox. He implies Davis' roster security is far more up in the air than some others have been saying.

 

- Something I found a bit more telling though was the discussion of his reps. We have seen the games, and have seen how he doesn't get into the game until Hanie does. At the same time, we have seen Aromashodu (DA) and Rideau playing w/ Cutler. What was more interesting though was Mulligan implied that is how camp has been running as well, w/ Davis seeing the majority of his reps coming w/ Hanie rather than Cutler. That has to further beg the question as to how the staff views Davis.

 

IMHO, it is between Rideau and Davis. I think Aromashodu has really stepped up and taken advantage of his opportunities. More and more, the staff seem to talk about him, and more important, he seems to be the first receiver Cutler always mentions, which the staff doubtfully hasn't noticed. Rideau seemed hot early on, but I really have not heard nearly as much about him. There is still time, but IMHO, the staff is trying to decide between Rideau and Davis. Davis may win out, due more to his special teams ability, but I simply believe it is between these two, rather than Davis v Knox or Davis v Aromashodu.

[madlithuanian]

Seems like a good analysis to me.

 

I like Davis as a guy, but I'm not a big fan of his butterfingers...

 

I'd prefer Riddeau.

 

 

 

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/mulligan/17...mully26.article

 

Saw this on the Sun Times. Its an article about Davis. Now, Mulligan takes the position that Davis deserves more of an opportunity than he has been getting. At the same time, reading the article, it puts into question some things we have talked about.

 

- Some other articles seem to put Davis closer to the lock position. This article very much puts that into question. This article says Iglesias and Knox are virtual locks based on (a) draft position for Iglesias and ( 40 time for Knox. He implies Davis' roster security is far more up in the air than some others have been saying.

 

- Something I found a bit more telling though was the discussion of his reps. We have seen the games, and have seen how he doesn't get into the game until Hanie does. At the same time, we have seen Aromashodu (DA) and Rideau playing w/ Cutler. What was more interesting though was Mulligan implied that is how camp has been running as well, w/ Davis seeing the majority of his reps coming w/ Hanie rather than Cutler. That has to further beg the question as to how the staff views Davis.

 

IMHO, it is between Rideau and Davis. I think Aromashodu has really stepped up and taken advantage of his opportunities. More and more, the staff seem to talk about him, and more important, he seems to be the first receiver Cutler always mentions, which the staff doubtfully hasn't noticed. Rideau seemed hot early on, but I really have not heard nearly as much about him. There is still time, but IMHO, the staff is trying to decide between Rideau and Davis. Davis may win out, due more to his special teams ability, but I simply believe it is between these two, rather than Davis v Knox or Davis v Aromashodu.

 

[AZ54]

Again, we know what Davis is on the field, there's no reason to think differently. I think the coaches this year are doing the right things by giving young players who have shown ability in practice to get some first team reps to see if they have what it takes. We can't get a better roster if we keep deferring to veterans just because they're veterans, like we did last year. If at the end of the preseason the vet hasn't really stood out above the younger guy I think we have to start going in a new direction.

[madlithuanian]

 

I have no problem with that. There may be an odd exception to the rule every now and then. But for the most part, that should hold true.

 

If at the end of the preseason the vet hasn't really stood out above the younger guy I think we have to start going in a new direction.

 

[CrackerDog]

Again, we know what Davis is on the field, there's no reason to think differently.

 

I agree and disagree here. Having a better QB may make everyone better. And thus, if Davis isn't getting the reps with him he won't have the opportunity to prove it. Comparing Davis's history with Rex and Kyle to other WR's playing with Jay isn't fair to him and may yield inaccurate results.

 

 

If at the end of the preseason the vet hasn't really stood out above the younger guy I think we have to start going in a new direction.

 

And here I completely agree. Perhaps the coaches are seeing enough of Davis in practice to know what they need to know. But they're seeing what the young guys produce under fire. WR is a position you really need to learn how to develop, as a team. Like QB. And the Bears have historically been horrible at it. I don't recall a drafted QB other than McMahon that was worth a shit and I don't think they really "developed" him. He was what he was. T'zak and Harbaugh weren't too bad but we're still back in the Ditka era and I wouldn't say they grew much from when they were first drafted, particularly T'zak.

 

At WR we've developed ONE that I can recall... Berrian. OK, maybe throw in Booker too. Other guys have had one career year at most and then turned to shit.

 

The way to develop WR's is to have a good QB (and we stole one from Denver) and then work with the younger talent until they get it. Lots of times this can take 3 or 4 years, even on excellent teams. The idea being that you rotate out older guys and replace them with your younger studs as they get ready.

 

Davis has likely already hit his ceiling. I'd take the devil I don't know in this particular case unless he gives me a reason not to. Or the competition from the younger guys simply isn't that strong.

[nfoligno]

Davis has likely already hit his ceiling. I'd take the devil I don't know in this particular case unless he gives me a reason not to. Or the competition from the younger guys simply isn't that strong.

 

At the end of the day, I think this statement is what it all comes down to.

 

You say we can't go too much of Davis' history as he has never been paired w/ a QB like Cutler. To an extent, I agree. At the same time, I think Davis is a WR who really never had a high ceiling, and frankly, even when he was a slot receiver for us, he had already surpassed expectations. Even w/ a QB like Cutler, I think his ceiling is only so high.

 

We have a slew of young WRs, all of which likely are seen as having higher upside than Davis. As far as camp goes, Davis is good insurance if one (or more) of these young WRs do not look ready to step up their game sooner rather than later. Expectations were not great for Aromashodu or Rideau (outside this board). Iglesias and Knox are rookies. Bennett never caught a pass in the NFL. Hester is still relatively green in terms of development. There is a lot of talent, but its raw, and thus insurance is necessary. In fact, I think most would argue we needed a better insurance policy.

 

But a funny thing happened on the way to the regular season. Through OTAs and camp, those young WRs really impressed. Hester showed a true committment to the WR position, and worked hard to develop. Bennett began making plays, and showing some of the college chemistry he had w/ Cutler. Rideau picked up where he left off last year camp (which was on a high note). Aromashodu came out of no where, and seemed to become Cutler's favorite target. Iglesias and Knox have not taken as great of leaps, but each has shown significant ability, and I think are in line w/ early development expectations. Then throw in the consistent and solid play from our TE position, and the need for a middle of the road insurance policy is simply no longer necessary.

 

Davis may well keep his job, but I think it would be too bad if he did. Davis was a nice player for us, but to be blunt, we don't need him anymore.

[CrackerDog]

We have a slew of young WRs, all of which likely are seen as having higher upside than Davis. As far as camp goes, Davis is good insurance if one (or more) of these young WRs do not look ready to step up their game sooner rather than later. Expectations were not great for Aromashodu or Rideau (outside this board). Iglesias and Knox are rookies. Bennett never caught a pass in the NFL. Hester is still relatively green in terms of development. There is a lot of talent, but its raw, and thus insurance is necessary. In fact, I think most would argue we needed a better insurance policy.

 

If we only keep 5, which rookie gets the axe? I'd say Knox has shown more than Iglesias thus far.

[nfoligno]

I think Iglesias is a virtual lock. He hasn't shown a ton, but also seems to be burried on the depth chart. It appears the staff is taking a longer term development approach w/ him like they did Bennett last year.

 

If we only keep 5 (which I frankly doubt), Hester, Bennett and Iglesias I think are locks. I think Knox is a virtual lock as well. After that, you would have 3 WRs going after a 5th spot. If I had to guess right now, i think Aromashadu would be our 5th as (a) he seems to be higher on the depth chart by virtue of when he gets into the game ( he has made more plays © he seems to have more chemistry w/ Cutler, as well as Cutler's confidence and (d) I think he would be viewed as having more upside, and bringing something others doe not have. That would mean Rideau and Davis are on the outside looking in.

 

If we only keep 5, which rookie gets the axe? I'd say Knox has shown more than Iglesias thus far.

 

[bradjock]

Three things I picked up from the SCORE that are subject related:

 

1. When you think about it, Riddeau & Davis may not be battling with one another as much as they are the likes of Adrian Peterson & Michael Gaines. Do we keep 6 WR's, 4 RB's or 4 TE's???

2. According to Mulligan, against the Giants we played Olsen in the #2 WR spot and put Bennett in the slot frequently. Doesn't this diminish the value of adding a 6th WR?

3. The fact that nobody on the team is talking about Davis or Peterson could indicate they're both goners.

 

IMO:

1. We go with 6 WR's--Hester, Bennett, Knox, Iglesias, DA & Davis. The two rookies have done nothing to justify us cutting Davis.

2. We keep the 4 TE's--Davis has looked great and Gaines is the best blocker.

3. 3 RB's--I can't imagined we signed Kevin Jones with the intent of keeping Adrian Peterson.

4. We'll save roster spots for defense by going with 2 QB's and only 8 o-linemen.