Conte

[Connorbear]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/footb...0,5241439.story

 

Peace

[Alaskan Grizzly]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/footb...0,5241439.story

 

Peace

 

I feel another "whiff" along the lines of Steltz or Afalava with this guy. Although, of the two previously listed I would have liked to see more of Afalava. Besides, both Wright and Harris are probably going to adequately fill the roles at SS and FS. Although I can also see Manning giving them both a run for their money, especially at FS.

 

So in short....don't expect to see Conte making it to the 53 man roster.

[LT2_3]

I feel another "whiff" along the lines of Steltz or Afalava with this guy. Although, of the two previously listed I would have liked to see more of Afalava. Besides, both Wright and Harris are probably going to adequately fill the roles at SS and FS. Although I can also see Manning giving them both a run for their money, especially at FS.

 

So in short....don't expect to see Conte making it to the 53 man roster.

 

I think that it's one of the toughest positions to find a really good player for, not to mention, keep healthy. It takes a unique combo of size, speed, tackling, and instincts. Steltz has the tackling and instincts, but not the size and speed while Manning has the size and speed, but not the tackling and instincts. Afalava, I have read somewhere, was injured. One of those shoulder injuries with nerve damage that was just never likely to be right again. (I can't find a link now - it may have been a beat reporter on the radio or some other source)

 

I have no idea how this kid will pan out but I like his size and speed and hope he has the instincts and continued health to give him a CHANCE to pan out. I'll be hopeful about him until I see see him as inactive on game day with some injury that we never heard about at which point I'll figure we broke him and need to draft another replacement.

[Wesson44]

I think that it's one of the toughest positions to find a really good player for, not to mention, keep healthy. It takes a unique combo of size, speed, tackling, and instincts. Steltz has the tackling and instincts, but not the size and speed while Manning has the size and speed, but not the tackling and instincts. Afalava, I have read somewhere, was injured. One of those shoulder injuries with nerve damage that was just never likely to be right again. (I can't find a link now - it may have been a beat reporter on the radio or some other source)

 

I have no idea how this kid will pan out but I like his size and speed and hope he has the instincts and continued health to give him a CHANCE to pan out. I'll be hopeful about him until I see see him as inactive on game day with some injury that we never heard about at which point I'll figure we broke him and need to draft another replacement.

If Josh Bullocks can make the team so can this guy!!!!!!!!!!! And Bullocks is a FA this year and more than likey

will not be back

[Connorbear]

I feel another "whiff" along the lines of Steltz or Afalava with this guy. Although, of the two previously listed I would have liked to see more of Afalava. Besides, both Wright and Harris are probably going to adequately fill the roles at SS and FS. Although I can also see Manning giving them both a run for their money, especially at FS.

 

So in short....don't expect to see Conte making it to the 53 man roster.

He makes the 53 man roster easily (we carried Gilbert and Iglesias for a year and they didn't do crap). Harris contract runs out at the end of the year and I question whether we will re-sign him. At the very least, I see him contributing on special teams. Besides, I would rather have him than Josh Bullocks.

 

Peace

[Ed Hochuli 3:16]

Yeah, Conte seemingly has everything you need to be a good player in the league. He can hit and he can run. He was ranked higher for the Bears than for other teams, but so be it. Corey Wooton was almost taken in round 1 a few years back by Dallas. I like Mike Mayock, and he seems to love Conte.

 

I think this means that D.Manning is gone, Harris gets a 2-3 year extension, and Conte is the future at the position, or so we hope.

[AZ54]

I"m not sure it means DManning is gone but it means we felt it necessary to at least prepare for that possibility.

[Guest TerraTor]

guy will make a few appearances this season then become like our other 3rd rounders and get cut.. Pick in the 3rd was just awful

[ASHKUM BEAR]

I have no problem with the pick, but I hoped for an interior offensive lineman. With the plethora of mediocre OT's we collected, maybe Tice feels he has some starting caliber players left to play G. If Conte can be groomed into a starting FS, no one will be complaining. The kid has some great features with size, speed, ability to come down and tackle, and coverage. How many times have we seen one of our safeties take the wrong angle and miss a tackle. Miss his assignment on picking up a cover2 zone switch which made Tillman looked like he got burned. Get out jumped on a deep ball from a bigger WR which our division has plenty. Conte might become a big time name in year 2 if we stick him to one position and actually groom him. Lets hope we have 2 safeties that can play that position for many years now.

[Guest TerraTor]

how is a 4.55 - 4.6 FS considered good speed?maybe if he was 230 it would be different. I hope the kid succeeds but cant convince me he wouldnt have been there in 5th....we needed a G/T

[ASHKUM BEAR]

how is a 4.55 - 4.6 FS considered good speed?maybe if he was 230 it would be different. I hope the kid succeeds but cant convince me he wouldnt have been there in 5th....we needed a G/T

 

His low and high 40 times were 4.43 - 4.64

He will probably play around 210 pounds

 

 

Conte has trimmed to 197 pounds to maximize his speed. He was as heavy as 225 pounds while playing cornerback as an underclassman and said he was between 210 and 215 as a senior. "I can put it back on if I have to," Conte said.

 

 

Conte compared to some other FS/S

Chris Conte 6-2 197 4.53

Troy Polamalu 5-10 206 4.40

Ed Reed 5-11 201 4.57

Nick Collins 5-11 206 4.36

Eric Berry 5-11 203 4.47

This years Safety crop in the draft

 

Hgt. Wgt. 40 Reps Broad

Ahmad Black Florida 5'9 1/2 184 4.76 18 9'11

Quinton Carter Oklahoma 6'0 5/8 208 4.62 23 10'1

Chris Conte California 6'2 3/8 197 4.60 18 10'7

DeJon Gomes Nebraska 5'11 1/2 208 4.51

Eric Hagg Nebraska 6'1 3/8 209 4.66 10'1

Will Hill Florida 6'0 3/4 202 4.65 10'3

Jermale Hines Ohio St. 6'1 1/8 219 4.62 19

Jaiquawn Jarrett Temple 5'11 7/8 198 4.62 9'5

Jeron Johnson Boise St. 5'10 1/4 212 4.56 23

Shiloh Keo Idaho 5'11 1/4 219 4.73 24

Joe Lefeged Rutgers 5'11 5/8 210 4.43 10'2

Mark LeGree Appalachian St. 5'11 1/2 210 4.56 21 9'8

DeAndre McDaniel Clemson 6'0 1/8 217 4.65 9'8

Rahim Moore UCLA 5'11 3/4 202 4.62 11 9'7

Robert Sands West Virginia 6'4 3/8 217 4.57 12 10'4

Tyler Sash Iowa 6'0 211 4.62 11

Da'Norris Searcy North Carolina 5'10 5/8 223 4.58 27

David Sims Iowa St. 5'9 1/4 200 4.56 24

Jerrard Tarrant Georgia Tech 6'0 3/8 204 4.62 14 9'6

Deunta Williams No Carolina 6'2 205

Nate Williams Washington 6'0 211 4.71 17 9'6

 

[defiantgiant]

Yeah, after reading a lot about this pick, I kind of understand it. This guy isn't another Craig Steltz, just the opposite: he's an unpolished guy with limited starting experience but a lot of upside due to his athletic ability. Steltz was considered a pro-ready guy, long-term starter at a high level of competition, but who had probably hit his ceiling and didn't really have elite range or athletic ability. If Conte can get back up to 210-215 without losing speed, he'll have a pretty great combination of range and size. Also, I trust Clancy Pendergast when he says the guy is a prototype NFL safety. He's worked with some good ones, so he would know. Who knows why the previous regime at Cal didn't see it.

 

The one thing I like about the pick: between Conte and Wright, we now have two young safeties with the range and speed to play FS and the tackling ability to play SS. Since Lovie likes to say that the Bears' safeties all have to play both spots, that makes a lot of sense. Plus, it could give the defense some more options in disguising coverages. I have some questions about both of them in terms of ball skills, though. Neither of them really picked off a lot of passes in college. Wright, in particular, seems to be from that Ronnie Lott/John Lynch school of pass defense: he doesn't play the ball, he'd rather level the guy right as the ball arrives. If neither of them develops in coverage, we may see a lot of tackles and passes broken up but very few turnovers.

 

What I really don't like about the pick, though, is that we spent a Day 2 pick on the safety position at all, when it could have been used elsewhere. Nothing against Conte, but why not just re-sign Manning? So what if the guy wants a paycheck? He's earned it with the way he played this year. It was a long wait for him to put it all together, but he's finally an effective starting-caliber safety. Plus, he's extremely durable, which is a gigantic plus for a team that can't seem to keep safeties healthy. Meanwhile, that 3rd-rounder could have been a guard or a wide receiver to help Cutler out. After all we've invested in the guy, it doesn't make sense to keep scrimping on the rest of the offense. I'm OK with Conte as a prospect, and I hope he turns into a great player, but the offense still needs help.

 

[madlithuanian]

I tend to agree... Here's hoping he's a solid contributor!

 

Yeah, after reading a lot about this pick, I kind of understand it. This guy isn't another Craig Steltz, just the opposite: he's an unpolished guy with limited starting experience but a lot of upside due to his athletic ability. Steltz was considered a pro-ready guy, long-term starter at a high level of competition, but who had probably hit his ceiling and didn't really have elite range or athletic ability. If Conte can get back up to 210-215 without losing speed, he'll have a pretty great combination of range and size. Also, I trust Clancy Pendergast when he says the guy is a prototype NFL safety. He's worked with some good ones, so he would know. Who knows why the previous regime at Cal didn't see it.

 

The one thing I like about the pick: between Conte and Wright, we now have two young safeties with the range and speed to play FS and the tackling ability to play SS. Since Lovie likes to say that the Bears' safeties all have to play both spots, that makes a lot of sense. Plus, it could give the defense some more options in disguising coverages. I have some questions about both of them in terms of ball skills, though. Neither of them really picked off a lot of passes in college. Wright, in particular, seems to be from that Ronnie Lott/John Lynch school of pass defense: he doesn't play the ball, he'd rather level the guy right as the ball arrives. If neither of them develops in coverage, we may see a lot of tackles and passes broken up but very few turnovers.

 

What I really don't like about the pick, though, is that we spent a Day 2 pick on the safety position at all, when it could have been used elsewhere. Nothing against Conte, but why not just re-sign Manning? So what if the guy wants a paycheck? He's earned it with the way he played this year. It was a long wait for him to put it all together, but he's finally an effective starting-caliber safety. Plus, he's extremely durable, which is a gigantic plus for a team that can't seem to keep safeties healthy. Meanwhile, that 3rd-rounder could have been a guard or a wide receiver to help Cutler out. After all we've invested in the guy, it doesn't make sense to keep scrimping on the rest of the offense. I'm OK with Conte as a prospect, and I hope he turns into a great player, but the offense still needs help.

 

[lemonej]

I support the pick but still don't like it because I too think they should have went elsewhere with the pick. With that being said the team's constant search for a John Lynch type is really annoying me. If Conte makes plays for this team I'll be a happy fan but I'll be interested to se what is happenning with the players who were taken after Conte. We all know this drill and have done it before.

[bradjock]

I think this means that D.Manning is gone, Harris gets a 2-3 year extension, and Conte is the future at the position, or so we hope.

 

Don't forget that D Manning has also been pretty good at free safety. This pick could mean we're thinking about starting DJ Moore opposite Peanut. DJ Moore is short, but his vertical leap more then makes up for it.

 

I still don't think we like Chris Harris . . .

[Stinger226]

I support the pick but still don't like it because I too think they should have went elsewhere with the pick. With that being said the team's constant search for a John Lynch type is really annoying me. If Conte makes plays for this team I'll be a happy fan but I'll be interested to se what is happenning with the players who were taken after Conte. We all know this drill and have done it before.

Ive been in South America for the last two weeks so havent been able to comment. I like the Latina. I think we could have addressed a more pressing need at this spot but now that he is here. Look at the potenial. I think we drafted him that high is because a 15 year nfl coach Penergrass sees a potenially blue chip safety out of position in college. I dont know much about him but will have to rely on his opinion as the Bears did. I would say a boom or bust selection with a possible of being a blue chipper. Maylock liked him and Im am finding he is pretty accurate with his opinions. Lets hope they scored with the risk as a third round pick.