Afalava cut plus more surprises

[bowlingtwig]

LeFevour picked up by Bengals, Shaw by Titans

Good for Lefevour. I hated that draft pick and always will. Can't fault the Bears for taking a flyer with him though because he was highly successful in college and its not like he was a 1st and 2rd draft pick. Good luck 2 denver though with getting good value out of there 1st lol

[jason]

So we have shitty WR's or thats what you are saying, yet that crap was still apparently better than Iglesias.

 

And you know what, I got a feeling that Mike Martz knows a whole hell of a lot about offensive talent so I'm going to have to take his word on things and trust that a bulk of the offensive decisions (cuts/kept) were made by him and his coaches (including a very much respected Lovie Smith in regards to Beekman).

 

I'm incredibly dissapointed that we missed on so many 3rd round picks as of late, but we hit on Knox late and that works. And at the time, people were happy we get Iglesias since some places had him projected as a 1st rounder.

 

Turns out he just wasn't able to pick up things that quickly in Chicago. Maybe in time he develops elsewhere, but I can't fault our staff for dumping him. Most of the beat writers said he didn't look that great in camp, etc.

 

You make some valid points about draft positioning, but the one in bold is laughable. He's respected because he's a nice guy and a friend to the players, maybe even a good defensive coordinator, but I don't trust any of his decisions when it comes to the OL...because the Bears have had a garbage OL for Lovie's entire tenure. Despite this OBVIOUS fact, he continues to push for defensive players while avoiding selections for offensive line talent.

[ChileBear]

Oh and do I need to mention how the brilliant Jets want pretty much nothing to do with Joe McKnight who they took around the same time as Iglesias/Gilbert. And he was drafted this year.

 

I think its actually better that we are cutting our losses immediately and I think part of it is because we now have better offensive coaches (Tice and Martz are elite).

 

My biggest fear is that our offense makes strides throughout the season (it will start slowly) but they'll end up getting outsted when we bring in a new coach and will have to start all over (because as a whole we will not be very good).

 

I really like what we have on the offensive side of the ball from a coaching perspective.

Looks like no one wanted Iglesias. He is back on our practice squad.

[madlithuanian]

I stand corrected...

 

 

Angelo drafted Tillman, Vasher, and Bowman. If you want to say he can't draft safeties, I am in agreement.

 

Peace

 

[Alaskan Grizzly]

Good for Lefevour. I hated that draft pick and always will. Can't fault the Bears for taking a flyer with him though because he was highly successful in college and its not like he was a 1st and 2rd draft pick. Good luck 2 denver though with getting good value out of there 1st lol

 

Both of theses guys leaving is a bad deal for the Bears. Shaw going is very similar to when Ayanbadejo left. I remember watching how much more effective Hester was when Ayanbadejo was around and after he left for Baltimore, things for Hester dropped...at least on the ST side of things. Ayanbadejo was one of those "ST aces" you always hear about and I think Shaw is one of those, who can also benefit the Defense as a backup. But I guess now somebody else will be able to use his services. I would be willing to bet the Bears were hoping that he would be around still to put on the practice roster.

 

With LeFeavour I saw someone that could develop well. I am sitting here now watching the replay against the Browns and he again continued to improve, just like in Arizona. He is a stout "stand in the pocket" QB, something I am a big fan of. And his judgments are pretty sound for a rookie. I guess most of his leaving had to do with the Bears adding Collins and having Hanie still on the rolls. And because Hanie is injured they couldn't release him(??)

 

Good luck to both Shaw and LeFeavour.

[DABEARSDABOMB]

You make some valid points about draft positioning, but the one in bold is laughable. He's respected because he's a nice guy and a friend to the players, maybe even a good defensive coordinator, but I don't trust any of his decisions when it comes to the OL...because the Bears have had a garbage OL for Lovie's entire tenure. Despite this OBVIOUS fact, he continues to push for defensive players while avoiding selections for offensive line talent.

 

 

That was a typo, it was supposed to say Mike Tice (Who I respect heavily when it comes to identifying oline talent).

[lemonej]

I agree on the cuts being surprising with two former 3rd Rd picks being cut after just one season. Throughout the offseason we had a lot of discussion about the shakeup at Halas Hall and one thing that leaked out was that after the Superbowl Lovie had a lot of input over the draft picks. That changed this offseason and the Bears cleaned house among the lower levels and it seems they removed some of Lovie's authority over the draft (I'm sure he still has input). While I'm pretty upset we wasted two more 3rd round picks the fact both these guys got cut so quickly does imply some shift at Halas Hall, either in power, or talent evaluation, or both. The last time I remember JA bailing on a 3rd Rd pick so quickly was (I think) Roosevelt Williams.

 

As far as Gilbert: He showed very little and I really don't see why we even tried to stick him at DE. In his place the former RB Henry Melton makes the squad but by all accounts Melton not only looked better in preseason he's a hard working guy. Same goes for Toeaina. Again, I bet if they are on special teams these guys put more effort into it than Gilbert.

 

I am not surprised Beekman is gone. He looked pretty bad at Center this preseason and that's the main reason we've been keeping him around. Clearly Tice has had significant influence in the line in terms of who we kept around.

 

I am surprised we kept 4 TEs. As I said in another post this appeared likely when we cut Iglesias, prior to that it seemed we might be headed this direction when Clark was listed as an H-back. Seems clear protecting Cutler is a priority (as it should be) and we'll do that often via 2 TE sets. Given that need the coaches decided they could use a combination of Olson and/or RBs lined up at WR instead of the 6th WR.

 

The most surprising guy to make the roster for me is Wolfe. Back when we signed Martz I would have bet we'd keep 6 WRs and 3 RBs instead we get 5 WRs and 4 RBs. Wolfe didn't make it based on his running so it came down to him being the special teams ace we kept instead of Shaw.

 

We have a lot of depth at LB! Perhaps someday we'll say the same thing about Safety.

Dan Bazuin was drafted in what round? He was an early pick also.

 

[lemonej]

Angelo drafted Tillman, Vasher, and Bowman. If you want to say he can't draft safeties, I am in agreement.

 

Peace

DADB I'm not sure about who was drafting but I do know that Tillman and Briggs were in the same draft with Ian Scott,Todd Johnson,Tron LaFavour(Henry Melton) Joe Odom(Brian Iwuh), Brock Forsey( Garrette Wolfe) and Bryan Anderson(Ja Marcus Webb).

[Connorbear]

DADB I'm not sure about who was drafting but I do know that Tillman and Briggs were in the same draft with Ian Scott,Todd Johnson,Tron LaFavour(Henry Melton) Joe Odom(Brian Iwuh), Brock Forsey( Garrette Wolfe) and Bryan Anderson(Ja Marcus Webb).

It was Angelo's first draft. Grossman and Haynes in that draft as well. Ian Scott and Todd Johnson were both very good role players. The other were crap but it was actually a pretty good draft when you consider you got 2 blue chip starting defensive players and a starting qb. Obviously, Haynes was a bust which bring down the value of the draft but I would score it as a B looking back on it.

 

Peace

[lemonej]

It was Angelo's first draft. Grossman and Haynes in that draft as well. Ian Scott and Todd Johnson were both very good role players. The other were crap but it was actually a pretty good draft when you consider you got 2 blue chip starting defensive players and a starting qb. Obviously, Haynes was a bust which bring down the value of the draft but I would score it as a B looking back on it.

 

Peace

I thought Angelo's first draft was Marco Columbo,Roe Williams, Terrence Metcalf, Alex Brown, Bobby Gray , Bryan Knight ,AP, JUamin Elliott and Bryan Fletcher.

[Connorbear]

I thought Angelo's first draft was Marco Columbo,Roe Williams, Terrence Metcalf, Alex Brown, Bobby Gray , Bryan Knight ,AP, JUamin Elliott and Bryan Fletcher.

I think you're right. That draft would be a C-. Columbo panned out after the injury but was long gone. Brown was a very good DE and AP was a great special teams player but not much more.

 

Peace

[Bears4Ever_34]

So we have shitty WR's or thats what you are saying, yet that crap was still apparently better than Iglesias.

 

And you know what, I got a feeling that Mike Martz knows a whole hell of a lot about offensive talent so I'm going to have to take his word on things and trust that a bulk of the offensive decisions (cuts/kept) were made by him and his coaches (including a very much respected Mike Tice in regards to Beekman).

 

I'm incredibly dissapointed that we missed on so many 3rd round picks as of late, but we hit on Knox late and that works. And at the time, people were happy we get Iglesias since some places had him projected as a 1st rounder.

 

Turns out he just wasn't able to pick up things that quickly in Chicago. Maybe in time he develops elsewhere, but I can't fault our staff for dumping him. Most of the beat writers said he didn't look that great in camp, etc.

Don't trust Martz.

[flea]

Don't trust Martz.

 

 

Don't trust any of the coaching staff

[DABEARSDABOMB]

Don't trust Martz.

No offense, but Martz has a pretty good track-record of developing offenses. Substantially better than your track record.

[madlithuanian]

I personally think the distrust in Martz is valid.

 

What has he done for us? Until he actually does something better than Turner during real games, everyone supporting the navy and burnt orange has reason to distrust him.

 

I think he has potential, and serious upside, but I do see some potential pitfalls...

 

1. He had obvious success in STL...helps when you have HoF'ers and serious probowlers on offense

2. He had succes with Kitna in Detroit, but not so much in SF. Friends that are SF fans say that he was trying to fit square pegs in round holes...which sounds eerily similar to many a coaching mistake lead by our current regime.

3. Our O line is crap. So anything he tries could be de-fused by an aggressive pass rush, thus negating everything but a dump off.

4. He was brought in by Smith and Angelo. I do not trust them, so by default, another "pal/chum/buddy" has me worried.

 

How, with all that said, I do thinkg Martz will be an aimprovement, and that we will see the fruits of that labor midseason on. However, the start will be tough and ugly. However, it may all be for nothing as we may finish with a por enough record to oust everyone inovled and start anew with another staff.

 

No offense, but Martz has a pretty good track-record of developing offenses. Substantially better than your track record.

 

['TD']

If he was proven enough to be trusted, he would have been hired to run offenses that weren't bottom of the barrel. I mean the Lions = horrible when he came in, San Fran = Horrible when he came in, the Bears last year = horrible. If he is taking those gigs, it's just desperate teams taking a gamble on his St. Louis days and the good teams don't want him.

[madlithuanian]

Good points...

 

And let's not forget how long it took us to finally take him...

 

If he was proven enough to be trusted, he would have been hired to run offenses that weren't bottom of the barrel. I mean the Lions = horrible when he came in, San Fran = Horrible when he came in, the Bears last year = horrible. If he is taking those gigs, it's just desperate teams taking a gamble on his St. Louis days and the good teams don't want him.

 

[Daventry]

Good points...

 

And let's not forget how long it took us to finally take him...

 

 

From what little I read, Martz was seen to be arrogant and difficult. Regardless, I am happy to give him a chance, his credentials overshadow all who have preceded him for many years. Let's hope that he can kick some butt this year! I wish we could have him with LS and most of his crew...

[madlithuanian]

Yep, that's what I've read as well. No doubt. I'm happy to give him a chance too. He certainly has far more up-side than Ron Turner, et al ever did. The guy won a SB as on O coordinator. Granted, with a stacked deck...but he still devised that O.

 

I apologize, but I'm not sure what you mean in your last sentence...

 

From what little I read, Martz was seen to be arrogant and difficult. Regardless, I am happy to give him a chance, his credentials overshadow all who have preceded him for many years. Let's hope that he can kick some butt this year! I wish we could have him with LS and most of his crew...

 

[bradjock]

I personally think the distrust in Martz is valid. What has he done for us? Until he actually does something better than Turner during real games, everyone supporting the navy and burnt orange has reason to distrust him.

 

On one hand you're correct, on the other, why not drink the kool-aid? I'm blissful in buying what he's selling. The offense sucked because we didn't game-plan. On Sunday vs. Detroit we'll be lights out (I'm choosing to ignore how bad the line is and what will happen when we face a real defense in week #2 . . . )

 

1. He had obvious success in STL...helps when you have HoF'ers and serious probowlers on offense

 

True, but man that offense sucked the year before Martz and Indy was thrilled to dump Faulk. Lots of stars aligned just perfectly. Living not too far from St. Louis, I'll tell you not even Ram's fans expected the team to do what they did. Checking back at nfl.com, in '98 the Rams were 4 & 12 and had the 24th best offense. The next season they're 13 & 3, with the greatest show on turf. Nobody saw them coming.

 

2. He had succes with Kitna in Detroit, but not so much in SF. Friends that are SF fans say that he was trying to fit square pegs in round holes...which sounds eerily similar to many a coaching mistake lead by our current regime.

 

Disagree. Other then benching Alex Smith, I don't remember Martz having much say in personnel. Then Singletary takes over, and he wants to pound it and ground it. We let Martz prioritize that a blocking TE & RB were key and he appears to be in complete control of the offense.

 

The biggest question IMO is whether he can co-exist with Cutler. I'll admit that scares the the hell out of me.

 

3. Our O line is crap. So anything he tries could be de-fused by an aggressive pass rush, thus negating everything but a dump off.

I might be foolishly optimistic, but I think Martz has been ordering bad schemes to not show our hand . . . I admit you might be right.

4. He was brought in by Smith and Angelo. I do not trust them, so by default, another "pal/chum/buddy" has me worried.

 

On the bright side, at least JA didn't appoint Lovie as offensive coordinator

 

How, with all that said, I do thinkg Martz will be an aimprovement, and that we will see the fruits of that labor midseason on. However, the start will be tough and ugly. However, it may all be for nothing as we may finish with a por enough record to oust everyone inovled and start anew with another staff.

 

Martz has to be better then Turner. I still don't think Lovie gets fired since he's owed too much money and there will be a threat of a lock-out. Martz has 2 years, Lovie has 2 years . . .

[madlithuanian]

1. My kool-aid bottle is empty. It was re-filled a bit with Peppers, but it's the sugar free version. It tastes funny. However, agasint Detroit, there is a chance we could shine...

 

2. You are right, no one saw the Rams coming. However, the reality is that that did have studs. Especially for that system.

 

3. Agreed on SF. But how much input does Martz have w/ our offensive personnel? He inherited our guys. However, I do feel that the keys to the car have been given to him, at least for the here and now.

 

4. Cheers indeed!

 

Anything not resulting in a Smith firing is time wasted... I just don't see him changing enough to be a SB winner. Leopards don't change their spots.

 

I personally think the distrust in Martz is valid. What has he done for us? Until he actually does something better than Turner during real games, everyone supporting the navy and burnt orange has reason to distrust him.

 

On one hand you're correct, on the other, why not drink the kool-aid? I'm blissful in buying what he's selling. The offense sucked because we didn't game-plan. On Sunday vs. Detroit we'll be lights out (I'm choosing to ignore how bad the line is and what will happen when we face a real defense in week #2 . . . )

 

1. He had obvious success in STL...helps when you have HoF'ers and serious probowlers on offense

 

True, but man that offense sucked the year before Martz and Indy was thrilled to dump Faulk. Lots of stars aligned just perfectly. Living not too far from St. Louis, I'll tell you not even Ram's fans expected the team to do what they did. Checking back at nfl.com, in '98 the Rams were 4 & 12 and had the 24th best offense. The next season they're 13 & 3, with the greatest show on turf. Nobody saw them coming.

 

2. He had succes with Kitna in Detroit, but not so much in SF. Friends that are SF fans say that he was trying to fit square pegs in round holes...which sounds eerily similar to many a coaching mistake lead by our current regime.

 

Disagree. Other then benching Alex Smith, I don't remember Martz having much say in personnel. Then Singletary takes over, and he wants to pound it and ground it. We let Martz prioritize that a blocking TE & RB were key and he appears to be in complete control of the offense.

 

The biggest question IMO is whether he can co-exist with Cutler. I'll admit that scares the the hell out of me.

 

3. Our O line is crap. So anything he tries could be de-fused by an aggressive pass rush, thus negating everything but a dump off.

I might be foolishly optimistic, but I think Martz has been ordering bad schemes to not show our hand . . . I admit you might be right.

4. He was brought in by Smith and Angelo. I do not trust them, so by default, another "pal/chum/buddy" has me worried.

 

On the bright side, at least JA didn't appoint Lovie as offensive coordinator

 

How, with all that said, I do thinkg Martz will be an aimprovement, and that we will see the fruits of that labor midseason on. However, the start will be tough and ugly. However, it may all be for nothing as we may finish with a por enough record to oust everyone inovled and start anew with another staff.

 

Martz has to be better then Turner. I still don't think Lovie gets fired since he's owed too much money and there will be a threat of a lock-out. Martz has 2 years, Lovie has 2 years . . .

 

[Daventry]

Yep, that's what I've read as well. No doubt. I'm happy to give him a chance too. He certainly has far more up-side than Ron Turner, et al ever did. The guy won a SB as on O coordinator. Granted, with a stacked deck...but he still devised that O.

 

I apologize, but I'm not sure what you mean in your last sentence...

 

 

Sorry, I meant to say it is too bad that we can"t have him WITHOUT LS and the most of the rest of the coaches.

[flea]

The Rams before their superbowl year were fighting with the Bengals to be the loosingest franchise of the decade

[madlithuanian]

Agreed!

 

Sorry, I meant to say it is too bad that we can"t have him WITHOUT LS and the most of the rest of the coaches.

 

[madlithuanian]

No doubt. They did prettymuch luck (good or bad) into Warner, but they did get Faulk, drafted talent on hte O-line and at the WR position. Thus making up all the toys Martz needed. Once the O was putting on a clinic, the D needed only bend and not break. It took a virtual miracle for them to hold TEN out of the end zone in their SB win. But, the O was strong no doubt. One of the strongest ever.

 

The Rams before their superbowl year were fighting with the Bengals to be the loosingest franchise of the decade