nfoligno Posted June 17, 2010 Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 Angelo had a little Q&A on the Chicago Bears web site. http://www.chicagobears.com/news/NewsStory.asp?story_id=6833 Most of it is nothing new, and not really worth discussion IMHO. One thing I did belief worth mentioning was his answer to the Atogwe question. LM: Now that safety O.J. Atogwe is a free agent, will the Bears try to sign him? JA: He’s a good football player. We’ve evaluated him and we like him. But at this point, we’re set. We drafted Major Wright and traded for Chris Harris. We also have Danieal Manning, Craig Steltz and Josh Bullocks, all of whom have started in this league. We have five pretty good safeties, four of whom have a goodly amount of experience within our scheme. We feel good about that position. Okay, no surprise he said he is happy with who we have, and further than we have no intention of signing him. I think we have all known that for a while. What I did find a bit surprising was, when listing our safeties, he did not even mention Afalava. Hell, he even mentions Bullocks, but no Afalava. He then goes on to specificially say we have FIVE pretty good safeties. Maybe it was just a momentary failure of memory, but it seems like recent reports have Afalava slipping out of favor, and a response like this seems to further that belief. Kid started most of the year as a rookie, and at this point, I think it fair to wonder if he even makes the team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradjock Posted June 17, 2010 Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 I almost posted on that when I read it last night. Why wouldn't JA at least mention Afalava? We've had plenty of real bad players and we still give the standard, "we like him" no matter how bad the guy sucks. This is pretty damn disturbing IMO. Not that the guy sucks, but that this is a typical trend. I'm still trying to figure out how as a rookie 6th round draft pick, Afalava beat out Payne, Steltz, Bullocks, and Corey Graham (who started out there in TC). That was a shock. For him to be out of the mix 1 year later is even more shocking. But we're supposed to feel good about Chris Harris? After we dumped him for Kevin Payne, and after Carolina was so impressed with him they were going to cut him? Unfreakingbelievable. Angelo had a little Q&A on the Chicago Bears web site. http://www.chicagobears.com/news/NewsStory.asp?story_id=6833 Most of it is nothing new, and not really worth discussion IMHO. One thing I did belief worth mentioning was his answer to the Atogwe question. LM: Now that safety O.J. Atogwe is a free agent, will the Bears try to sign him? JA: He’s a good football player. We’ve evaluated him and we like him. But at this point, we’re set. We drafted Major Wright and traded for Chris Harris. We also have Danieal Manning, Craig Steltz and Josh Bullocks, all of whom have started in this league. We have five pretty good safeties, four of whom have a goodly amount of experience within our scheme. We feel good about that position. Okay, no surprise he said he is happy with who we have, and further than we have no intention of signing him. I think we have all known that for a while. What I did find a bit surprising was, when listing our safeties, he did not even mention Afalava. Hell, he even mentions Bullocks, but no Afalava. He then goes on to specificially say we have FIVE pretty good safeties. Maybe it was just a momentary failure of memory, but it seems like recent reports have Afalava slipping out of favor, and a response like this seems to further that belief. Kid started most of the year as a rookie, and at this point, I think it fair to wonder if he even makes the team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nfoligno Posted June 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 On Afalava, I would also point out that one of the biggest "plusses" from him last year was his leadership. I recall how, even back in camp, veterans talked about how he would be back there in the secondary barking orders and plays at far more experienced players. He was providing the sort of leadership our secondary has lacked since the loss of Mike Brown. I know his play regressed as the season went along. At the same time, as you, it is shocking to believe how a rookie can come out of nowhere to earn a starting spot, not not only losing that job the following year but no longer being part of the mix. Part of me wants to think he simply missed (forgot) one player. Hey, it happens. But (a) he specifically said "five talented safeties." You don't come up with a number w/o either thinking about it or already knowing it. Neither case is good for Afalava. And (, seriously, he remembers Bullocks and not Afalava? Does this not sort of remind you of Graham? Graham becomes a starter his 2nd year (missed rookie year w/ injury) due to starting going down with injury, and plays pretty well. Following year, he is not even allowed to be part of the mix, and even moved to a different position. Last year was a joke of Graham as he was shuffled between FS and nickel, only to know be again looked at as a CB. But w/ Afalava, if he is not part of the mix at S, does he even have a role on the team? As for Harris, I would feel great about him if we were planning on playing him at SS. That is what I simply do not understand. He did not play well at FS for us, so we traded him. Carolina plays him as a SS, where he does so well Bears fans scream over his loss. We bring him back, and rather than play him where he did well (SS), we move him back to FS where he once already failed and where we just spent our top pick to fill. This simply does not make sense to me. Just start Harris at SS. Let Steltz and Wright battle for FS. I say Steltz because I have read about him having a great camp, otherwise I would simply give the job to Wright and let him learn on the job. I really have to pin this on Lovie as these sort of issue pre-date any one (current) position coach. Over the years, we have continually shuffled players along the DL and in the secondary, rarely allowing them an opportunity to truly develop. I almost posted on that when I read it last night. Why wouldn't JA at least mention Afalava? We've had plenty of real bad players and we still give the standard, "we like him" no matter how bad the guy sucks. This is pretty damn disturbing IMO. Not that the guy sucks, but that this is a typical trend. I'm still trying to figure out how as a rookie 6th round draft pick, Afalava beat out Payne, Steltz, Bullocks, and Corey Graham (who started out there in TC). That was a shock. For him to be out of the mix 1 year later is even more shocking. But we're supposed to feel good about Chris Harris? After we dumped him for Kevin Payne, and after Carolina was so impressed with him they were going to cut him? Unfreakingbelievable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daventry Posted June 17, 2010 Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 On Afalava, I would also point out that one of the biggest "plusses" from him last year was his leadership. I recall how, even back in camp, veterans talked about how he would be back there in the secondary barking orders and plays at far more experienced players. He was providing the sort of leadership our secondary has lacked since the loss of Mike Brown. I know his play regressed as the season went along. At the same time, as you, it is shocking to believe how a rookie can come out of nowhere to earn a starting spot, not not only losing that job the following year but no longer being part of the mix. Part of me wants to think he simply missed (forgot) one player. Hey, it happens. But (a) he specifically said "five talented safeties." You don't come up with a number w/o either thinking about it or already knowing it. Neither case is good for Afalava. And (, seriously, he remembers Bullocks and not Afalava? Does this not sort of remind you of Graham? Graham becomes a starter his 2nd year (missed rookie year w/ injury) due to starting going down with injury, and plays pretty well. Following year, he is not even allowed to be part of the mix, and even moved to a different position. Last year was a joke of Graham as he was shuffled between FS and nickel, only to know be again looked at as a CB. But w/ Afalava, if he is not part of the mix at S, does he even have a role on the team? As for Harris, I would feel great about him if we were planning on playing him at SS. That is what I simply do not understand. He did not play well at FS for us, so we traded him. Carolina plays him as a SS, where he does so well Bears fans scream over his loss. We bring him back, and rather than play him where he did well (SS), we move him back to FS where he once already failed and where we just spent our top pick to fill. This simply does not make sense to me. Just start Harris at SS. Let Steltz and Wright battle for FS. I say Steltz because I have read about him having a great camp, otherwise I would simply give the job to Wright and let him learn on the job. I really have to pin this on Lovie as these sort of issue pre-date any one (current) position coach. Over the years, we have continually shuffled players along the DL and in the secondary, rarely allowing them an opportunity to truly develop. I thought of Graham immediately when I saw this thread, surely Bullocks is well more expendable than Afalava? I wish we knew the story behind these kinds of stories...maybe the staff thinks he has a character issue? Drugs, alcohol, women, guns, who knows? Regardless, I truly believe that if we had kept D Manning at one position he would likely be a solid player at the very least, he is too talented not to be IMO. And I shudder to think of Wright as a starter....you can wruin a good player placing him in that much pressure, not to mention he was only a 3rd round pick....let's be careful we don't end up having another year of moaning when another new safety tandem sucks... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nfoligno Posted June 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 I thought of Graham immediately when I saw this thread, surely Bullocks is well more expendable than Afalava? I wish we knew the story behind these kinds of stories...maybe the staff thinks he has a character issue? Drugs, alcohol, women, guns, who knows? No doubt. That is why it is sometimes interesting when, years and years later, some coaches or players come out with books. Sometimes teams/staff are able to keep a lid on things, like maybe a player had bad work habbits or was banging the coach's daughter, that we simply never hear. Regardless, I truly believe that if we had kept D Manning at one position he would likely be a solid player at the very least, he is too talented not to be IMO. I don't know about that. I agree it didn't help him continually moving him around. At the same time, while loaded with physical talent, he simply lacked the instincts needed. Remember, he came from a small school and faced far lesser competition, thus physical skills can often overcome weaker instincts, but at the NFL level, pure physical skills are simply not enough. What kills me is that, once the team seemed to find the players niche, they still continued to move him around. There is simply nothing wrong with being a very good nickel DB (especially in today's pass happy league) and upper tier/elite returner. Once he established himself so well in this regard, the team should have stopped experimenting with him, but no, here we go again, and this time at SS? And I shudder to think of Wright as a starter....you can wruin a good player placing him in that much pressure, not to mention he was only a 3rd round pick....let's be careful we don't end up having another year of moaning when another new safety tandem sucks... Disagree. While I agree you always want to be careful when dealing with a rookie, I do not see it as being wrong to simply throw him out there. You can take some of the pressure off by letting him know he will make mistakes, but that is part of development, rather than make a big deal when he blows an assignment. But by being out there, he will have a greater chance of developing than just sitting on the bench. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madlithuanian Posted June 17, 2010 Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 Yup... I'd like to pin a pink slip on Smith's shirt... I really have to pin this on Lovie as these sort of issue pre-date any one (current) position coach. Over the years, we have continually shuffled players along the DL and in the secondary, rarely allowing them an opportunity to truly develop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nfoligno Posted June 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 To subtle. Lovie would assume you just want him to support breast cancer awareness. Yup... I'd like to pin a pink slip on Smith's shirt... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madlithuanian Posted June 17, 2010 Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 Ha! True enough! To subtle. Lovie would assume you just want him to support breast cancer awareness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason Posted June 21, 2010 Report Share Posted June 21, 2010 Yup... I'd like to pin a pink slip on Smith's shirt... I'd like to pin it to his kidney...provided he has an extra one to spare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madlithuanian Posted June 21, 2010 Report Share Posted June 21, 2010 Or his ass, as the door hits it on the way out! I'd like to pin it to his kidney...provided he has an extra one to spare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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