Dream draft

[Guest TerraTor]

I really love this guy. Hope we have a shot

It seems to me that he has absolutely no comprehension of the word "Can't" and refuses to fail at anything

Also, I think we can re-establish a little bit of the respectability we have lost over the past few seasons with idiots like Cedric Benson, Tank Johnson, Ricky Manning Jr (Denny's Bandit), and mostly just the overall feeling of loosing and mediocrity

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=880DxfiJU88&feature=fvsr

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHOlDZO1ksQ

(late second to fourth round range)

[Mongo3451]

I really love this guy. Hope we have a shot

It seems to me that he has absolutely no comprehension of the word "Can't" and refuses to fail at anything

Also, I think we can re-establish a little bit of the respectability we have lost over the past few seasons with idiots like Cedric Benson, Tank Johnson, Ricky Manning Jr (Denny's Bandit), and mostly just the overall feeling of loosing and mediocrity

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=880DxfiJU88&feature=fvsr

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHOlDZO1ksQ

(late second to fourth round range)

Seems like a great kid. He's got hard work and intelligence on his side.

[defiantgiant]

I'd love to have Rolle if we could also get somebody else, somebody with better ball skills, to play FS. Then we could let Rolle compete for the SS job, which I'm sure he'd win, since that's really where he belongs. He's assignment-sound, he doesn't make mental errors, and he's definitely a hitter. He looks like an impact player at safety, he just doesn't really get his hands on many passes, which the Bears really need more of in the secondary.

[nfoligno]

I know little about Rolle, but if he isn't a center field safety, I want no part of him. IMHO, that has been a big problem of ours. We continue to draft prototypical SS', and try to play them at FS. It worked w/ Mike Brown, who was once considered a solid SS prospect as he didn't have the speed to play free, but made up for that w/ intelligence, anticipation and angles, but he was the exception, not the rule. We have continually tried to add in-the-box safeties and ask them to play FS, and their coverage skills were very lacking.

 

I am not saying we have a stud SS on the roster, but between Afalava, Steltz and Payne, I am far more comfortable w/ our SS prospects than FS. My concern is having one from this group play FS, or add another similar player to play that coverage role. We don't need to add yet another in-the-box safety. We need a damn centerfielder.

 

I'd love to have Rolle if we could also get somebody else, somebody with better ball skills, to play FS. Then we could let Rolle compete for the SS job, which I'm sure he'd win, since that's really where he belongs. He's assignment-sound, he doesn't make mental errors, and he's definitely a hitter. He looks like an impact player at safety, he just doesn't really get his hands on many passes, which the Bears really need more of in the secondary.

 

[defiantgiant]

I know little about Rolle, but if he isn't a center field safety, I want no part of him. IMHO, that has been a big problem of ours. We continue to draft prototypical SS', and try to play them at FS. It worked w/ Mike Brown, who was once considered a solid SS prospect as he didn't have the speed to play free, but made up for that w/ intelligence, anticipation and angles, but he was the exception, not the rule. We have continually tried to add in-the-box safeties and ask them to play FS, and their coverage skills were very lacking.

 

I am not saying we have a stud SS on the roster, but between Afalava, Steltz and Payne, I am far more comfortable w/ our SS prospects than FS. My concern is having one from this group play FS, or add another similar player to play that coverage role. We don't need to add yet another in-the-box safety. We need a damn centerfielder.

Oh, I completely agree. But Rolle has range and instincts that most of our current SS guys seem to lack. If we could find a way to bring a real centerfielder into the fold, I'd be OK with drafting Rolle to play opposite him. Kevin Payne has apparently forgotten how to wrap up, Steltz hasn't been able to make an impact outside of special teams, and while Afalava showed some promise, he also blew some big assignments, which we already get too much of from Danieal Manning. I think Afalava could still develop into a league-average SS, but Rolle looks like he could be a difference-maker at the position, which I don't see in Afalava.

 

That said, we'd probably have to use our 3rd rounder to get Rolle, which makes it unlikely that we'd be able to get a centerfielder at free safety too. The free agency options aren't great, either: Ryan Clark from the Steelers, Jermaine Phillips from the Bucs, Sean Jones from the Eagles, Mark Roman from the Saints. None of those guys are real ballhawking free safeties. Unless somebody on our current roster magically steps it up, I think Rolle's going to be a luxury we can't afford. Which is a shame, because he looks like he's going to be great.

[Mongo3451]

Oh, I completely agree. But Rolle has range and instincts that most of our current SS guys seem to lack. If we could find a way to bring a real centerfielder into the fold, I'd be OK with drafting Rolle to play opposite him. Kevin Payne has apparently forgotten how to wrap up, Steltz hasn't been able to make an impact outside of special teams, and while Afalava showed some promise, he also blew some big assignments, which we already get too much of from Danieal Manning. I think Afalava could still develop into a league-average SS, but Rolle looks like he could be a difference-maker at the position, which I don't see in Afalava.

 

That said, we'd probably have to use our 3rd rounder to get Rolle, which makes it unlikely that we'd be able to get a centerfielder at free safety too. The free agency options aren't great, either: Ryan Clark from the Steelers, Jermaine Phillips from the Bucs, Sean Jones from the Eagles, Mark Roman from the Saints. None of those guys are real ballhawking free safeties. Unless somebody on our current roster magically steps it up, I think Rolle's going to be a luxury we can't afford. Which is a shame, because he looks like he's going to be great.

I think Rolle is a FS.(not positive) Honestly, I think he may be pretty good there. If you say he looks like he's going to be great, I'd be all over him in the 3rd. Going back to Florida State, before he went Rhodes Scholar, he was a bubble player to be drafted, because he wasn't considered special. However, he really did impress folks at the Senior Bowl. So, he may have matured as an athlete or simply picked up what they were doing faster than everyone else due to his smarts.

[HoofHearted]

No matter how much you wish it or like the kid, I will right now say he is no more a FS than any Bear on the roster. Watch his game tape and you'll see a guy who has a good chance to be a SS with good coverage skills but his coverage skills and tools don't come close to what I want in a FS. His "eye opening" week in Mobile still showed off his deficiencies in the M2M drills. He's just too tight an athlete for that job in the pros, IMHO.

[Mongo3451]

No matter how much you wish it or like the kid, I will right now say he is no more a FS than any Bear on the roster. Watch his game tape and you'll see a guy who has a good chance to be a SS with good coverage skills but his coverage skills and tools don't come close to what I want in a FS. His "eye opening" week in Mobile still showed off his deficiencies in the M2M drills. He's just too tight an athlete for that job in the pros, IMHO.

Thanks for the insight.

[Guest TerraTor]

No matter how much you wish it or like the kid, I will right now say he is no more a FS than any Bear on the roster. Watch his game tape and you'll see a guy who has a good chance to be a SS with good coverage skills but his coverage skills and tools don't come close to what I want in a FS. His "eye opening" week in Mobile still showed off his deficiencies in the M2M drills. He's just too tight an athlete for that job in the pros, IMHO.

 

ok, so a good SS with coverage which we dont have, all our safeties (F+SS) are special teamers.

[defiantgiant]

ok, so a good SS with coverage which we dont have, all our safeties (F+SS) are special teamers.

Yeah, I'm with you. I just don't see any safeties on our roster that are above replacement level. If we can fix the FS position so we could afford to draft Rolle, I'd love to have the guy: he's clearly head and shoulders above Payne/Steltz/Afalava in terms of talent.

 

Also, Rolle's big, and that would be a welcome change. One of the reasons (I think) that the Bears have had such an awful time trying to nail down the safety position is that we keep drafting these undersized guys like Mike Brown, Danieal Manning, and Brandon McGowan...it seems like every Bears safety is 5'10" and a biscuit over 200 pounds. And none of them can stay healthy. Meanwhile, Rolle's 6'2" and after he cut way down for the Senior Bowl, he still weighed in at 218 pounds. I could see him playing at 225 in the NFL, and that size difference could make him a durable safety, which the Bears badly need.

[nfoligno]

Ours safeties aren't "that" small, at least not the SS'. Steltz, Afalava and Payne are all around 210-215lbs. Afalava is the shortest at 5'11,then Payne a 6' and Steltz at 6'1. That is smaller than Rolle, yes, but not 5'10 200lbs.

 

For me our problem at finding a FS is this assanine belief that our safeties are interchanbable, thus leading us to continually add players everyone else out there views as in-the-box safeties, and yet we ask them to drop back 20+ yards and play deep zones. If we want a safety that can cover, then we need to freaking add a coverage safety, and not these box-safeties.

 

As for Rolle, here is my key isssue. He may be good, hell, maybe great, I don't know, but while he may well provide a very significant upgrade to what we have at SS, how great of an impact would an upgrade at SS truly have on our team? I am not saying we have a great run D, far from it, but to me, the key issue lies in our inability to cover. We can't rush the passer and we don't have the secondary to compensate. QBs seem to pass at will on us. Rolle may well be an upgrade, but IMHO, an upgrade at SS would not have the overall impact needed.

 

I guess it goes back to your strategy or school of thought. Some simply believe you draft the best player available, regardless of need. I believe you have to factor need, and then try and find the BPA w/in your set of needs. That doesn't mean you reach for a player at a single need position, but if we go into the draft w/ a list of needs like OT, OG, DT, DE, CB and FS, then I think it likely you can draft a BPA within that set of needs. Drafting BPA regardless of need, IMHO, is a luxury solid teams may be able to afford, but a team that hasn't reached the playoffs in 3 years needs to better address needs.

 

Yeah, I'm with you. I just don't see any safeties on our roster that are above replacement level. If we can fix the FS position so we could afford to draft Rolle, I'd love to have the guy: he's clearly head and shoulders above Payne/Steltz/Afalava in terms of talent.

 

Also, Rolle's big, and that would be a welcome change. One of the reasons (I think) that the Bears have had such an awful time trying to nail down the safety position is that we keep drafting these undersized guys like Mike Brown, Danieal Manning, and Brandon McGowan...it seems like every Bears safety is 5'10" and a biscuit over 200 pounds. And none of them can stay healthy. Meanwhile, Rolle's 6'2" and after he cut way down for the Senior Bowl, he still weighed in at 218 pounds. I could see him playing at 225 in the NFL, and that size difference could make him a durable safety, which the Bears badly need.

 

[Guest TerraTor]

 

 

Im with ya on the BPA. Considering the 3rd round, If the BPA falls in our needs at all (which in my opinion is everything but QB and RB) you take him.

 

Speaking of dream scenario, Do i finally live my dream of never seeing Danneal Manning in bears uniform again?