Former players

[NAMEDSONPAYTON2]

These are some players,who I believe use to be with us,who are starting somewhere else and for the most part are doing pretty good. John st Clair, Casey Wigeman, Mark Columbo, Gandy, Berrian, Benson, Thomas Jones, Tank Johnson, Orton and there might be more. I was just thinking the other day what we had and what we have now. Also we used to have the best return man in the history of the NFL (Hester) and still have him,but man do I miss what he used to do. To me it seems that our players under the L.Smith regime (how do I say this) have a lot of say so, are not disiplined enough,can tell the coach who they like on the team and who they don't like,have no urgency in games we are behind, half the o.line does not clap at the huddle break (I hate that) specially when I hear and see other teams do it in such,cohesiveness. I also hate it when our running back is stood up and the O.line just stands there waiting for the whistle to be blown,instead of pushing the gang foward for more yards.There are many other little things (that add up) that I notice that piss me off. It's probably just me, but man do I hate the little missed things.

[nfoligno]

I pretty much agree all around on the "little things" we do not do. I too have gone nuts watching our OL just stand (really sit as they have been knocked down often) as the play goes on. Also drives me nuts when defenders slow down or stop chasing when they think they can't catch the ball carrier, even though sometimes that guy ends up changing direction downfield. When we spear a guy rather than wrap up. Yea, we simply don't see to do many little things.

 

With regard to some of the players you mentioned:

 

St. Clair - To the best of my knowledge, except when facing the bears, he has looked like crap.

 

Wigeman - Man, he was let go a decade ago, and frankly, for good reason. We simply choose Kreutz over Wigeman, and I don't think that can really be questioned as Kreutz has seen numerous pro bowls.

 

Columbo - Still not sure how much I fault the staff. He could not stay healthy, and as I recall, his injury was on that was deemed chronic and not something he was expected to see a full recovery. I could be wrong, but before signings w/ Dallas, didn't he spend a little time out of football. Maybe not, but the point is, he just couldn't stay healthy and the team moved on.

 

Mike Gandy - Frankly, this one hurts. Up and down OG for us, who was even played some at LT out of need, but stunk when tried. Now I believe he is the starting LT for Az. Considering our OL woes, this one really hurts.

 

Berrian - This one just doesn't hurt for me. He wanted upper tier WR money, and what has he done to earn that? Do you realize we have THREE WRs who have more receiving yardage than Berrian?

 

Benson - Hurts, but well discussed.

 

Thomas Jones - See above.

 

Tank - Finally gave up on an ex-con who couldn't stay out of trouble. He was a so-so player for Dallas, but now seems to be playing well. I don't know. Yea, it would be great to have him today, but if he was not released, how do we know whether or not he would have changed his ways.

 

Orton - I would much rather have Cutler

 

There are others. Gage, Bradley and Wade are often mentioned, but I think we have as good or better right now. Harris, who went on to be a solid S for Carolina may be another example. Polite I believe was a solid FB for Miami too.

 

At the end of the day, every team in the NFL can play this game. Every team in the NFL lets go of or loses player who end up having better success elsewhere. For me, it is less about those we lost and more about the lack of what we have done w/ their replacements. When you look at a team like Pitt or NE, they seem to lose good players every year, but simply do a far better job replacing them.

 

These are some players,who I believe use to be with us,who are starting somewhere else and for the most part are doing pretty good. John st Clair, Casey Wigeman, Mark Columbo, Gandy, Berrian, Benson, Thomas Jones, Tank Johnson, Orton and there might be more. I was just thinking the other day what we had and what we have now. Also we used to have the best return man in the history of the NFL (Hester) and still have him,but man do I miss what he used to do. To me it seems that our players under the L.Smith regime (how do I say this) have a lot of say so, are not disiplined enough,can tell the coach who they like on the team and who they don't like,have no urgency in games we are behind, half the o.line does not clap at the huddle break (I hate that) specially when I hear and see other teams do it in such,cohesiveness. I also hate it when our running back is stood up and the O.line just stands there waiting for the whistle to be blown,instead of pushing the gang foward for more yards.There are many other little things (that add up) that I notice that piss me off. It's probably just me, but man do I hate the little missed things.

 

[GakMan23]

Don't forget Brandon McGowan, who is having a nice season playing safety in New England

[flea]

Wiegeman was pretty much a tossup yeah? He & Kreutz were around the same age, Kreutz got the job, both have had good careers

 

[nfoligno]

Wiegman is actually 4 years older than Kreutz. Kreutz was a 2nd round pick (I believe) and after a year or so, won the starting job, and the Bears let Wiegman walk. I don't recall if they cut him or if he was a FA, but the team decided to go w/ Kreutz. Can't say as that I blame them. While Wiegman has had a very solid career, I didn't think he was ever that special for us.

 

Wiegeman was pretty much a tossup yeah? He & Kreutz were around the same age, Kreutz got the job, both have had good careers

 

[NAMEDSONPAYTON2]

Wiegeman was pretty much a tossup yeah? He & Kreutz were around the same age, Kreutz got the job, both have had good careers

But I think he could play either gaurd and possible some tackle. He helped out Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson.And I believe he is still doing good for Denver. He might be doing better than anybody we have right now.

[DrunkBomber]

Dont forget Chris Harris. We didnt need him because we got AA. We dont need a safety now anyway.

[Ed Hochuli 3:16]

Rod Hood has 2 INT's for the Titans already.

[madlithuanian]

We're such good judged of talent...

 

Rod Hood has 2 INT's for the Titans already.

 

[ParkerBear7]

Since we still don't have a good full back - we had Polite now with the Fins.

[Connorbear]

At the end of the day, every team in the NFL can play this game. Every team in the NFL lets go of or loses player who end up having better success elsewhere. For me, it is less about those we lost and more about the lack of what we have done w/ their replacements. When you look at a team like Pitt or NE, they seem to lose good players every year, but simply do a far better job replacing them.

Exactly.

 

Peace

[defiantgiant]

Mike Gandy - Frankly, this one hurts. Up and down OG for us, who was even played some at LT out of need, but stunk when tried. Now I believe he is the starting LT for Az. Considering our OL woes, this one really hurts.

 

Gandy's the starter at LT for Arizona, but that doesn't mean he's any good. He's a well-below-average starter, and if Warner didn't get the ball out as quickly as he does, Gandy would be giving up a ton of sacks. Even considering Warner's quick release, Gandy still gave up 6.5 sacks last season, which ranked him 20th in the NFL. He's like a poor-man's Matt Light: a mediocre starter who benefits from a good quarterback who makes reads and throws very quickly.

 

That's not to say we couldn't use him inside at guard, but he wouldn't be that big an improvement at tackle. At best, he could replace Beekman at LG so Beeks could move to center.

 

The guys I really miss are Thomas Jones and Chris Harris. Harris was a hell of a strong safety, and we haven't had a real difference-maker at that position since he got traded. The Jones issue has been done to death, but man did we back the wrong horse on that one. They should have paid him whatever he was asking for and kept him here for the rest of his career.

 

EDIT: You're right nfo, Colombo was out of football for a little while before Dallas signed him. His injury (dislocated kneecap that caused nerve damage in his lower leg) was a really nasty one, and I don't fault the staff for thinking that it would end his career. He'd missed most of the previous two seasons at that point. If there's one guy who I wish we'd had a crystal ball for, though, it would be Colombo. Who knows how he came back from that injury, but he's been a very good right tackle for the Cowboys, and he hasn't missed time since they got him.

[nfoligno]

The guys I really miss are Thomas Jones and Chris Harris. Harris was a hell of a strong safety, and we haven't had a real difference-maker at that position since he got traded. The Jones issue has been done to death, but man did we back the wrong horse on that one. They should have paid him whatever he was asking for and kept him here for the rest of his career.

 

I was never a big Harris fan, but at the same time, I agree his absence was missed. Thing about Harris though, he was never as good for us as he was for Carolina. It reminded me of Parrish. If you recall, for us, Parrish was a great in the box safety but the belief was he was awful in coverage. He goes to SF, and suddently he was (at one point) leading the league in interceptions and looked like an all-around safety. Similar w/ Harris in Carolina. When in Chicago, Harris was a solid enough in the box safety, but look weak when asked to play FS or cover. After the move to Carolina though, he suddenly seemed to have coverage skills. As we are talking about two totally different staffs, its hard to say there is a common reason, but it really did hurt both times to watch.

 

Honestly, I think Angelo has mis-managed the S position since he arrived, and I would point to two reasons. One, I think Angelo (and Lovie) believe the safety positions are inter-changable. They are not. While there are the rare players like Mike Brown who can excel at both, that is the exception, not the rule. We continually added SS' and expected them to also be capable of playing centerfield, which they simply could not do. Two. I personally believe that Lovie simply does not value the S position that much. Just look at how he has drafted, as well as FA. He has drafted quite a lot of safeties, but views them as a mid to late 2nd day draft pick value. Further, most of our FA additions were low end guys as well. Arch was an exception due to his past w/ Lovie. DM too was an exception IMHO, and frankly, I think Angelo saw DM as a potential CB more than simply a pure safety.

 

EDIT: You're right nfo, Colombo was out of football for a little while before Dallas signed him. His injury (dislocated kneecap that caused nerve damage in his lower leg) was a really nasty one, and I don't fault the staff for thinking that it would end his career. He'd missed most of the previous two seasons at that point. If there's one guy who I wish we'd had a crystal ball for, though, it would be Colombo. Who knows how he came back from that injury, but he's been a very good right tackle for the Cowboys, and he hasn't missed time since they got him.

 

Yea. For many players, you can really place the blame on the staff, but I just can't do it w/ Columbo. I think it was very understandable that we let him go. Just like I have a hard time ripping a GM who drafts a player w/o any injury history, but who then blows out his knee (for example) and never lives up to draft status, I just can't fault the bears here for Columbo.