How Bout Dem Bears?

SameOleJay

What would it take to get down to 101? Because this lad seems the consensus best player left.

I'd be happy either way. We're getting to see just how deep this class is so I'm not annoyed we've held fire on going up thus far.

kennyb3

SameOleJay wrote: »

You must be happy enough then pal.

2 DTs in the first 3 is too much imo. If you don't rate the safety class fine but then take a linebacker, another huge need for us.

With this level of investment we better hope the D-line tears it up next year and hides weaknesses behind. Here's to a big day 3 anyway.

Cheers mate. Happy with how I called it - getting our first pick down to Pryor and fuller above that. Then naming mainly dline men and seeing us take two I noted.

On phone, will do a full post before work Monday morning. Pretty happy with the draft now.

Would like a MLB (Skov if he can somehow make it to us), a safety and a RB now.

Weirdly I'd feel better had it been Sutton then ferguson - hard to get head around ferguson in second but still it would be same end result. I did mention ferguson but thought development prospect. A day w guy should really start. Has such limited experience and tape. Not sure that pick will work out, looks an nfl body just not sure if he has the play or brain.

Really surprised we passed ealy and Martin on the board at that stage - both screamed phil players but clearly we weren't in market for another DE. Houston clearly staying at LDE.

It's clear makes a board and trusts it. For all the talk of trading up or down, think we've only ever traded up for Jeffrey.

Sutton is a super pick - he was basically Donald in 2012 until he put on the weight, picked him as a value binkie on the board earlier this week. Went 68 spots after Donald which is crazy. Nice pick. Hope our double dipping works better than lat years LBers. Though we should see big improvement from them behind this line.

Our dline looks excellent now and will mask our safeties, never works the other way around Imo. Definitely looks like we are going the Seattle rotation route.

And no 4dt's **** up this year - we ll have paea, Ratliff, ferguson, Sutton and collins. Teams going to find it hard to run on us with ferguson and paea/Ratliff and Houston and young outside on running plays.

Love the fuller pick, much prefer drafting a cb when Tillman and Jennings are still on the roster and can influence him. Excellent all round player,good in both zone and man, good in run support. Will be great in 3 receiver sets. His tape is excellent. Only concern is durability - looks bit light and has had issues previously too.

Big negative is I really like the vikes draft- so didn't want them to get teddy of all the qb's as he's miles better than the others. Patterson will have a serious year getting quick ball from teddy.

kennyb3

Love the Carey pick!

kennyb3

Not as much time as I hoped so quick reflections;

- Really like the draft overall. We addressed needs at CB, DT, FS, RB, backup QB, punter and added O line depth.

- Like the Christian Jones pick up as an UDFA, I mentioned I didn't want him in an earlier post but that was me worrying they'd spend a 4th on him or something like that.

- None of the picks were spectacular, all have a good chance of contributing and the defensive ones will make us better and younger on defence, which is badly needed going forward. Both our DT picks have big risks attached but also big upside, i hope they work out.

- Fales looks like a great fit as backup QB - short, quick accurate passes. At the very least he'll protect the ball. They see him as a cheap backup, hence the confusion re Emery's comments on drafting a QB. Hopefully he won't have to start and Cutler might stay healthy for a change.

So where are we now after FA and the draft?

- Well our Dline is miles better than last year - this should help mask other issues (see below) - and we've 3 number one corners, no bad thing in our league.

- I think Carey will be way better then Bush, and we need to give Forte less carries and share the load if we don't want him to decline prematurely.

- I still worry about our LBer's a bit - Briggs and Williams are the only ones with real experience, and at any given time it's quite possible at least will be injured (especially DJ who I just don't trust to get through a 16 game season). That leaves us with 2 of Bostic, Greene & McClellin on the field. Wish we had one more veteran LBer - even if they are just average. Still that's a 1st, 2nd and 3rd round pick - so surely we need to be getting at least 1 good player and one average player out of that. If we don't well it's drafting like that, that will give major roster issues.

- I'm not sure if we've got better at safety, I think Mundy will be better than right Wright and our Dline (and hopefully LBer's) will help in the run game particularly. I'm still not sure at FS - not sure Vereen is the answer - the short arms (not hugely tall either) and small hands are a worry.

- Overall on defence I think we can have a mid ranking defence, we just need to hope we've less injuries (we need Ratliff, Houston & Briggs in particular healthy) and Tucker doesn't continue to be a disaster. He has the talent now, hopefully he can use it.

Seriously what other DC has been given 3 new DE's (2 high profile ones too) in FA, 2 new DT's in the draft, a first round CB, a 4th round safety? What more could he want!

I think our season will come down to that and Cutler staying injury free and continuing to progress under Trestman (and hopefully not regress).

It's pretty s'hit now that we've to wait around for ages for football to start again. I'll have to look up when rookie training camp starts and follow that and training camp to get my fix!

No doubt it will be a lot quieter until then. Hopefully actually - as hopefully we aren't discussing injuries or off the field issues.

SameOleJay

Our LB corps has the potential to be awful imo. Someone elsewhere pointed out that Wright and Conte formed part of a top 3 Defense but we had a dominant front 7 then. Now, at best, we’ll have a strong front 4.

I do love the stacked line though. The FA , draft and coaching additions are very reminiscent of the job done on the O-line last year. I love having three strong corners too.

If we have a top 5 offence and a mid-ranking D we should compete. I’m confident of both. If Tucker sh1ts the bed again we have a ready-made replacement sitting there.

padraig_f

A few independent observers liking the Fales/Trestman hookup. Looking forward to seeing him in pre-season.

Trent Dilfer ‏@TDESPN: Not one bit surprised that #QBWhisperer Mark Trestman was the HC to pick David Fales.Gr8 spot to learn from Jay & @JwPalms #SomeJustGetIt

NFLosophy: (Video) A real scout's breakdown of a guy that I think could be THE pick of this draft: http://t.co/WSuaPbHQmf

smartfootball: .@NFLosophy Trestman's Bears a great landing spot for Fales. Mark doesn't need QB with a gun; brains and accuracy are more important for him

2014 NFL Draft all under-drafted team: David Fales leads the list of sleepers

SameOleJay

Seems a decent fit alright- we have the best posession receivers in the league. No miracles needed if Jay goes down- just smart, efficient play.

Oat23

padraig_f wrote: »

NFLosophy: (Video) A real scout's breakdown of a guy that I think could be THE pick of this draft: http://t.co/WSuaPbHQmf

Bit off-topic but I think the bears have the best media setup in the league. The new studio they built last year when HH was being upgraded is great. There is some great content put up for fans now compared to a few years ago.

kennyb3

For anyone needing reassurance as to why investing so 2 picks in our line wasn't a bad idea;

- In 2012 PFF ranked Major Wright 19 of 88 safties in the league
- They ranked Conte at 56th overall (should have been higher but for 4 penalties which all led to 1st downs) but 17th in coverage.

- In 2013 Wright went to dead last, and Conte bottom 5.

Obviously good linebackers help too.

kennyb3

Oat23 wrote: »

Bit off-topic but I think the bears have the best media setup in the league. The new studio they built last year when HH was being upgraded is great. There is some great content put up for fans now compared to a few years ago.

The content is great. I love the Bears sight, very handy around TC to see the photo's and videos. You can often tell who is really in shape and who is not.

padraig_f

Oat23 wrote: »

Bit off-topic but I think the bears have the best media setup in the league. The new studio they built last year when HH was being upgraded is great. There is some great content put up for fans now compared to a few years ago.

I must visit it more, seems like the content is pretty good alright, more than the usual fluff you get on most official sites. They had a draft review with Emery yesterday, and I noticed recently they have a decent enough podcast.

kennyb3 wrote: »

For anyone needing reassurance as to why investing so 2 picks in our line wasn't a bad idea;

- In 2012 PFF ranked Major Wright 19 of 88 safties in the league
- They ranked Conte at 56th overall (should have been higher but for 4 penalties which all led to 1st downs) but 17th in coverage.

- In 2013 Wright went to dead last, and Conte bottom 5.

Obviously good linebackers help too.

Yeah, I'm happy enough with selecting two DTs. Injuries to the d-line last year was the main problem. Tucker and the safeties weren't without blame, but when guys were running straight through the d-line for 5-10 yards at a time, it was an impossible task for everyone else.

It's insurance against injuries, give competition to the two rookies (decent chance of one of the two excelling). And if they rotate them like the Seahawks do, reduced snaps can keep the injury count down in the first place. One thing I found pretty amazing when the team was in for Michael Bennett, was that Bennett only played 600 snaps last year, compared to say Jared Allen's 1100.

kennyb3

http://www.windycitygridiron.com/2014/2/13/5408074/chicago-bears-set-dates-otas-veteran-mini-camp-offseason-calendar

Schedule for what's upcoming to keep us going.

Oat23

Sounds like Sutton is turning heads the first two days of rookie camp. Good to be reading stuff like that.

Oat23

New contract for B Marshall. Signed it on some show called 'The View'



3 years/$30m acording to Marshall. Schefter says it is 3 years/$40m.

Yay.

SameOleJay

To add context that's considerably less than Dwayne Bowe and Mike Wallace.

I winced when he was discussing the hometown discount a few weeks back. The fool I was. I love Brandon Marshall.

Realt Dearg Sec

This is a great deal and Marshall is a great guy to have on the team and a vital component if we're going to progress in the next few years. But what on earth was he doing on the view? Needed to burn off some oestrogen?

Oat23

Realt Dearg Sec wrote: »

This is a great deal and Marshall is a great guy to have on the team and a vital component if we're going to progress in the next few years. But what on earth was he doing on the view? Needed to burn off some oestrogen?

Talking about mental health I believe. He donated $1m to charity on the show according to twitter.

kennyb3

Delighted to have him around for years to come - total legend. Not only a great player but what he's done with Jeffrey and Wilson has been awesome.

A very good news day!

Realt Dearg Sec

Oat23 wrote: »

Talking about mental health I believe. He donated $1m to charity on the show according to twitter.

Fair play to him so. He really was a fantastic acquisition, picked up just at the moment he was moving from being a troubled player to a real leader as demonstrated by the way he helped bring Jeffrey along last year.

padraig_f

Great news, about my favourite player on the team and $10m/year is great value. He could've got more so I think definitely gave the team a discount.

padraig_f

Bit on a signing that didn't get much press, Brian De La Puente...

Secret Superstars 2014: Chicago Bears

kennyb3

OTA's start today As usual all reports will be hugely positive so large dash of salt required.

kennyb3

First day first injury - Hixon tore his ACL and will retire (3rd ACL).

Innish_Rebel

kennyb3 wrote: »

First day first injury - Hixon tore his ACL and will retire (3rd ACL).

Yeah saw that... Sorry for the guy.

On the defense - I hope it is not just pure optimism but thinking about the improved front (D-Line) it has to ripple through the whole defense as the linebackers & secondary should be able to concentrate on their own jobs and hopefully be facing QB's that are under slightly more pressure from the pass rush & the fact that the RB isn't running through holes the size of the grand canyon... Big make or break year for Tucker & a good few others on the D!!!

SameOleJay

One interesting note from yesterday was Jennings slotting inside with Fuller at corner in the nickel packages. I’d be happy to see this as I think Jenning’s skill-set is ideally suited inside while Fuller has to be groomed as the long-term number one.

Slauson is injured too, will be out till training camp.

kennyb3

Also if anyone hasn't seen it there is a half decent video (about 2 mins) with some clips of yesterday's OTA's. Greene looked a lot less fat than last year which is a positive.

Apparently the new D coaches are hard ass and take no s'hit.

The Fuller & Jennings thing makes sense for making it easier for Fuller to adapt plus he has the better length - still never seems a great idea to move around a pro bowl corner even if he did play slot in Indy. As always it's first day and everyone will have loads of opinion on it (it writes column inches) but every chance we will see the opposite look (fuller inside) at some stage too.

SameOleJay

Wilson is seeing action in the first team 3-receiver sets. Hopefully it’ll be himself and Alshon on the outside mostly with Brandon inside. Wilson will get eaten alive in the slot but he could carry a very decent vertical threat outside.

The most annoying angle of the OTAs is the press Shea is getting. We need to forget about him. He’s a bust and had he been a late-round pick he’d be out of the league by now.

SameOleJay

A nice little piece on the league’s next stud receiver.

http://www.daily-chronicle.com/2014/06/03/wide-receiver-wilson-learning-from-the-best/ac87chs/

Oat23

I hope Clausen wasn't added because Fales has been disappointing in OTAs.

I'm happy he has been given a shot though. 2nd round pick thrown in at the deep end in Carolina and then they picked Cam. He's an ND guy as well so I hope he has a good camp.

kennyb3

Hard to figure out the thought process on it. 4 qb's for trest to coach means splitting more time. Has there been any quotes on it?