JA's 3rd Rounders-This is Scary!

['TD']

Well I tried to reply, but it said there was too much text there between what I was quoting and what I wrote in reply.

 

Oh well, I'll keep it short and simple, btw I actually saw the domino's commercial with puffery and it's definition while I was replying.

 

To me, a 3rd round bust isn't an indictment against a gm, I mean we are talking about the 65-100 players picked in the draft. There are a lot more Metcalfs in there than Briggs's.

 

I think that if a player can be brought in near vet minimum that will likely come close to matching what you offer the team in production/ability at your position, then you are a bust. A pick was used to draft the player that didn't need to be spent.

 

 

[jason]

The list starts with Terrence Metcalf, Lance Briggs and Bernard Berrian from 2002 to 2004. At that point not bad hitting on 2 out of 3 with 1 All Pro and a decent play making WR. After no 3rd rounder in 2005 the picks get shaky at best. From 2006 to 2009 JA has picked 7 players in the 3rd round with Earl Bennett and Marcus Harrison being the most productive out of the bunch. Thats not up to par with how he did in the beginning. So when we try to predict what he will do, I wouldn't be surprised if some way the Bears acquired an additional 3rd rounder which has been his trend recently. I'm not quite sure how the compensatory picks are given out but, Wale's impending free agency might net that extra 3rd rounder. Whatever the case may be, this is one of the rounds he has taken chances in. Whether it be character issues or simply reaching for someone ahead of other scouts projections this is the round he does it in. He needs to hit on one this year or it will be "Business as usual".

 

Here is his 3rd round body of work:

 

2002 Terrence Metcalf

2003 Lance Briggs

2004 Bernard Berrian

2005 No Pick RMJ ?

2006 Dusty Dvoracek

2007 Garrett Wolfe, Michael Okwo

2008 Earl Bennett, Marcus Harrison

2009 Jarron Gilbert, Juaqin Iglesias

 

The one thing that seems to be a recent trend is drafting a DL to play DT 3 out of the last 4 years and the last 2 in a row.

 

Good post. I think the last four years are as big of an indictment on the coaching staff as JA.

 

OFFENSE

But I still believe Wolfe has talent unseen because of bad coaching. Never inserted into a position to excel, he was screwed by the VERY limited offensive minds in Chicago. Similarly, Bennett sat on the bench for no real reason, never getting a shot until last year. And he only turned into a very reliable possession WR, which is what damn near everyone knew he would be come. Let's not even get into Iglesias - a pick I wasn't ecstatic about because I knew the Bears had underused and misused talent at WR - because he's just stuck right now in a depth chart battle.

 

DEFENSE

Dusty had/has injuries, so that's just bad luck. Harrison and Gilbert have also been severely limited by coaching. Given that the staff favors the DT rotation so much, and the rushing/blitzing schemes are more vanilla than the handshake agreements in the pro-bowl, it's not wonder they haven't put up very good stats. Their job in the "bend but don't break"-style of D that Lovie likes is to keep their ground, get minimal pressure, and slowly push the pocket with the hopes that the QB is getting hit by the DEs who ALWAYS take the outside looping route to the QB.

 

I'm not saying any of these guys would have been world-beaters, but with this coaching staff it's difficult to determine just how good a player on the Bears could have been over the past few years. The entire coaching mindset is "play not to lose" rather than "play to win," and if affects not only how players develop, but also the stats they get.