Dan Pompei talks about Bears Depth

[nfoligno]

Pompei has an acticle talking about how this may be one of the deepest (depth) bears teams in some time. Do you agree? Not sure I do. I like the makup of several units, and like the prospects as well, but deep?

 

Offense.

 

QB - I think few would say we are deep here.

 

RB - Absolutely agreed, and I think most would too. Ditto for TE.

 

WR - I agree we are deep here, though others may not. We may lack that proven star, but at the same time, I think we are deeper with talent than in recent memory. I especially love reading that Iglesias has been playing well this offseason and could be a player to watch.

 

OL - Pompei mentions OG specific, and says that if neither Asaita, Louis or Beekman stand out, we could potentially rotate. Huh? If no one even steps up to play at a starter level, can you say you have depth?

 

I am not sure how deep I would say we are along the OL. It likely depends much on Omiyale as a starter and those young OGs battling. If Omiyale proves solid, and Shaffer is a backup, that gives you good depth at OG. If those kids battling inside prove the stories we are reading today (before they even strap on pads) true, than again, I would agree, but I am not sure we can say we have depth along the OL today.

 

On offense, I do see a fair amount of depth, but defense?

 

DL - Sorry, but I do not see the depth here. Simply having young bodies on the depth chart means little. To say we have depth is a jump as you have to assume/ believe players like Gilbert, Melton, Harrison and others who have proven/shown very little thus far are more than what we have seen.

 

LB - Yes, still one of our deepest positions, though I would argue there is a considerable dropoff from out starters to our depth.

 

CB - We have no depth here.

 

S - Sorry, but I disagree with Pompei, who believes we have depth at safety. The fact that Harris is working at FS speaks loudly to me about how lacking we are at that position. If no one else is capable of playing FS, how can we say we have depth. We may have depth at SS.

 

There are units we have depth, no question, but are they really that different from past seasons?

[bradjock]

I agree with pretty much everything you said. The bigger question is how deep are we compared to previous years?

 

In terms of sheer depth, 2010 compared to 2009. By position, in 2010 we are:

QB's--DEEPER: Hanie has more experience and LeFevour is a better prospect then what we've had

 

RB's--SAME: I'll say the same because we have more questions about Forte's ability then we had last year. Chester Tayor's a definite upgrade over Kevin Jones, but we let AP go and Wolfe is coming off an injury. Bell does not impress me either way.

 

TE's--DEEPER: Manumaleuna's the difference

 

O-line--NOT AS DEEP: Last year at this time most of us thought Pace would be average at worst. We've done nothing to upgrade the position

 

DT's--SAME: Not much has changed here. Another year of, "If Tommie's healthy . . . "

 

DE's--NOT AS DEEP: We gave up 2 starters and replaced them with one. It's an upgrade, but it doesn't help depth.

 

LB's--NOT AS DEEP: We have the same guys as last year except we traded Jamar Williams

 

CB's--DEEPER: Slightly. Bowman's improved and we did sign Jennings (although he might not make the team IMO). Calling this improved is a stretch.

 

Safeties--DEEPER: Chris Harris is an upgrade.

 

By my count we are deeper in 4 positions and less deep in 3 others. Not a big change.

 

Either way, I thought this was a fluff piece. Pompei is the beat writer for the Bears and there's not a helluva a lot going on.

 

Pompei has an acticle talking about how this may be one of the deepest (depth) bears teams in some time. Do you agree? Not sure I do. I like the makup of several units, and like the prospects as well, but deep?

 

Offense.

 

QB - I think few would say we are deep here.

 

RB - Absolutely agreed, and I think most would too. Ditto for TE.

 

WR - I agree we are deep here, though others may not. We may lack that proven star, but at the same time, I think we are deeper with talent than in recent memory. I especially love reading that Iglesias has been playing well this offseason and could be a player to watch.

 

OL - Pompei mentions OG specific, and says that if neither Asaita, Louis or Beekman stand out, we could potentially rotate. Huh? If no one even steps up to play at a starter level, can you say you have depth?

 

I am not sure how deep I would say we are along the OL. It likely depends much on Omiyale as a starter and those young OGs battling. If Omiyale proves solid, and Shaffer is a backup, that gives you good depth at OG. If those kids battling inside prove the stories we are reading today (before they even strap on pads) true, than again, I would agree, but I am not sure we can say we have depth along the OL today.

 

On offense, I do see a fair amount of depth, but defense?

 

DL - Sorry, but I do not see the depth here. Simply having young bodies on the depth chart means little. To say we have depth is a jump as you have to assume/ believe players like Gilbert, Melton, Harrison and others who have proven/shown very little thus far are more than what we have seen.

 

LB - Yes, still one of our deepest positions, though I would argue there is a considerable dropoff from out starters to our depth.

 

CB - We have no depth here.

 

S - Sorry, but I disagree with Pompei, who believes we have depth at safety. The fact that Harris is working at FS speaks loudly to me about how lacking we are at that position. If no one else is capable of playing FS, how can we say we have depth. We may have depth at SS.

 

There are units we have depth, no question, but are they really that different from past seasons?

 

[nfoligno]

QB's--DEEPER: Hanie has more experience and LeFevour is a better prospect then what we've had

 

Disagree. I would say this is a wash. LeFevour has proven nothing, and should not be considered an upgrade. Hanie has more experience reading playbooks and in practice, but I am not sure I would say the difference is enough to warrant an upgrade grade. To me, this is a wash.

 

RB's--SAME: I'll say the same because we have more questions about Forte's ability then we had last year. Chester Tayor's a definite upgrade over Kevin Jones, but we let AP go and Wolfe is coming off an injury. Bell does not impress me either way.

 

Disagree. There are questions about Forte, but as he played through injury last year, it seems there is not great reason to knock him too much. And frankly, as he is the starter, does it matter if we are having a discussion about depth. Taylor is a large upgrade over KJ. IMHO, even if KJ were healthy, Taylor would be an upgrade. And don't get me started on the very average AP. Taylor alone gives the bears better depth than what we had last year.

 

O-line--NOT AS DEEP: Last year at this time most of us thought Pace would be average at worst. We've done nothing to upgrade the position

 

One, I thought Pace would be a bust. That aside, Pace was a starter and not depth. To me, depth is little different as Shaffer was our top backup OT last year and this year. Beekman was our top OG backup last year, and likely again this year. I see little difference here.

 

DT's--SAME: Not much has changed here. Another year of, "If Tommie's healthy . . . "

 

Agreed.

 

DE's--NOT AS DEEP: We gave up 2 starters and replaced them with one. It's an upgrade, but it doesn't help depth.

 

Agreed. May be a better unit due to Peppers, but our top backup last year (Anderson) is a starter this year. We added one starter, but lost two.

 

LB's--NOT AS DEEP: We have the same guys as last year except we traded Jamar Williams

 

Disagree. We lost Williams, but also added Shaw (late in season) and added Iwuh, a veteran who was rated ahead of Shaw on previous team. I am not sure either are really lesser depth than Williams. Not saying we upgraded, but simply not sure I would say we really downgraded either.

 

CB's--DEEPER: Slightly. Bowman's improved and we did sign Jennings (although he might not make the team IMO). Calling this improved is a stretch.

 

Big stretch IMHO. Jennings was added, but he is really a nickel. Last year we drafted Moore, and believed he would be a backup, but thus far looks like a bust. I would say we had little to no depth last year, and ditto again. Discussing the changes is minor IMHO. Weak before and weak now, with any differences (either way) to minimal to really bother with.

 

Safeties--DEEPER: Chris Harris is an upgrade.

 

Agreed. Also have to mention Major here. Afalava was a starter last year, but will likely be depth this year. Steltz was depth last year, and could be again, but by all reports, seems improved. I am still not sure about our starting duo if Harris is at FS, but depth is improved.

 

Either way, I thought this was a fluff piece. Pompei is the beat writer for the Bears and there's not a helluva a lot going on.

 

Years agao, when Pompei was a draft guy with Sportingnews (back when their stuff was free and good) I really liked him and thought he did a very good job. Since joining the Trib as a Bears beat reporter, I have felt his stuff barely worth reading.

[madlithuanian]

Pompei seems to be mixing up "depth" and "volume"

[bradjock]

Disagree. I would say this is a wash. LeFevour has proven nothing, and should not be considered an upgrade. Hanie has more experience reading playbooks and in practice, but I am not sure I would say the difference is enough to warrant an upgrade grade. To me, this is a wash.

 

LeFevour looks like he has the tools to be a back-up NFL quarterback. Apparantly Hanie has those same tools. Last year we didn't have 3 QB's who could say that. Upgrade.

 

Disagree. There are questions about Forte, but as he played through injury last year, it seems there is not great reason to knock him too much. And frankly, as he is the starter, does it matter if we are having a discussion about depth. Taylor is a large upgrade over KJ. IMHO, even if KJ were healthy, Taylor would be an upgrade. And don't get me started on the very average AP. Taylor alone gives the bears better depth than what we had last year.

 

You're right. My only argument was that this is about sheer depth.

 

One, I thought Pace would be a bust. That aside, Pace was a starter and not depth. To me, depth is little different as Shaffer was our top backup OT last year and this year. Beekman was our top OG backup last year, and likely again this year. I see little difference here.

 

With Shaffer moving back to tackle, I'll say that positions the same. But who the hell's the starting LG? If Beekman's the starter, who's the back-up? Until Louis or the other guy proves they're not practice squad material, this position is weakened.

 

Disagree. We lost Williams, but also added Shaw (late in season) and added Iwuh, a veteran who was rated ahead of Shaw on previous team. I am not sure either are really lesser depth than Williams. Not saying we upgraded, but simply not sure I would say we really downgraded either.

 

Shaw is strictly a special teams guy. Jamar Williams is penciled in to start in Carolina. Iwuh's a special teams guy also. You could argue we upgraded our special teams, but our linebacker depth is not as good. Speaking of special teams, that is lessened with Idonije going back into the DE rotation.

 

Big stretch IMHO. Jennings was added, but he is really a nickel. Last year we drafted Moore, and believed he would be a backup, but thus far looks like a bust. I would say we had little to no depth last year, and ditto again. Discussing the changes is minor IMHO. Weak before and weak now, with any differences (either way) to minimal to really bother with.

 

We're talk about DEPTH. It's a small upgrade . . . small. The biggest improvement might be making Corey Graham the nickel back. Last year at this time he was a FS.

 

Years agao, when Pompei was a draft guy with Sportingnews (back when their stuff was free and good) I really liked him and thought he did a very good job. Since joining the Trib as a Bears beat reporter, I have felt his stuff barely worth reading.

 

Put a guy in the same locker room week in and week out and your vision is likely to be skewed. Not to mention, since Pompei writes strictly for Chicago, he probably can't be as critical as he should be. You can't piss off the guys you need quotes from . . .

[nfoligno]

LeFevour looks like he has the tools to be a back-up NFL quarterback. Apparantly Hanie has those same tools. Last year we didn't have 3 QB's who could say that. Upgrade.

 

If you want to call it an upgrade, fine, but it is such a slight upgrade I question whether it is even worth calling it that. At the end of the day, if Cutler goes down, I think most would expect us to be screwed.

 

You're right. My only argument was that this is about sheer depth.

 

This is in regard to RB, and I am really just talking about depth also. Quanlity over quantity. I think Taylor as the #2 is an upgrade over both KJ and AP.

 

With Shaffer moving back to tackle, I'll say that positions the same. But who the hell's the starting LG? If Beekman's the starter, who's the back-up? Until Louis or the other guy proves they're not practice squad material, this position is weakened.

 

Well, last year Omiyale was the starter w/ Beekman the backup. If we are talking depth, and I think all signs point to Beekman again being a backup, I would still argue the position has not really altered. Personally, I think our OL overall, both in terms of starter and depth, is better than it was last year.

 

Shaw is strictly a special teams guy. Jamar Williams is penciled in to start in Carolina. Iwuh's a special teams guy also. You could argue we upgraded our special teams, but our linebacker depth is not as good. Speaking of special teams, that is lessened with Idonije going back into the DE rotation.

 

I guess I understand what you are saying, but I would simply say this. We were deep at LB last year, and I think we still are this year. Yes, Williams was a solid backup LB. At the same time, we still have very solid depth at LB. Shaw was a special teams guy, but could be more. Iwuh was more than just a special teams guy, and was seen as a legit backup LB. Still have Roach and Hunter also, assuming Pisa starts. So even though you are right that Williams was better depth than who we added, I would still argue we are strong enough at LB that the difference doesn't matter much.

 

We're talk about DEPTH. It's a small upgrade . . . small. The biggest improvement might be making Corey Graham the nickel back. Last year at this time he was a FS.

 

Sorry, but I do not see how making Graham a nickel would improve depth at CB when (a) we already seem strong at nickel and ( we are weak in terms of CB depth. Further, I have read that we are actually again looking at Graham at CB rather than nickel. At the end of the day, I see this as the opposite of LB. I just don't think it worth calling this an upgrade. I mean, if you go from an F- to a F, you can argue it is an upgrade, but it is still a failing grade, so what does it matter?

 

Put a guy in the same locker room week in and week out and your vision is likely to be skewed. Not to mention, since Pompei writes strictly for Chicago, he probably can't be as critical as he should be. You can't piss off the guys you need quotes from . . .

 

I get that, but at the same time, his pieces have become so fluff that it is just sad.