Bears Draft Preview
What's that you say, the Cubs have lost Derrek Lee for 8-10 weeks? The Bulls are in the playoffs? The White Sox have a chance to win 120 games?
So what! It's NFL Draft week.
Like the old phrase goes, hope springs eternal every year. Come April in NFL Land, every team's players and fans have the opportunity to dream about adding that one player who can carry the team over the top to the Super Bowl (or if you are the Cardinals, to a .500 record). David Carr can dream about offensive linemen (not likely).....Rex Grossman can dream about receivers (possibly).....and J-E-T-S fans can dream about quarterbacks (at least according to Mike Greenberg).
So, as I promised, here is my assessment of the Bears' priorities in this week's annual cattle call.
High Priority:
Defensive Back (Safety and CB)
Medium Priority:
Tight End (starter)
Linebacker (depth)
Offensive Line (depth)
Wide Receiver (depth/starter)
Low Priority:
Defensive Line (depth)
Quarterback (depth)
Running Back (depth)
So, do I think the Bears will pick a defensive back in the first round of the draft? Maybe. If you believe the reports from Halas Hall, the Bears will select the best available player who fits their perceived needs. In my opinion, that player should be a safety. Chris Harris is an up and comer who will only improve during his second year in the league. Mike Brown is considered by some to be the heart of the defense. That's fine, but he has a problem the other parts of his body, like his knee, ankle, ribs, etc. Todd Johnson is fine hitter, but he is slow in coverage and thus a liability in a Cover 2. At least the Bears no longer have to call Mike Green's name anymore. Ricky Manning, Jr. is most likely going to be either the starting CB opposite Nathan Vasher or the starting nickel back. The bottom line, in the defense the Bears play the team needs more talent and depth at the safety position.
Who is likely to be available to the Bears at safety? The two most likely players are Jason Allen (Tennessee) and Donte Whitner (Ohio St.). Look for their names on draft day. If both of them are available when the Bears select, look for them to trade down to add the pick they forfeited by signing Manning.
What else am I looking at?
The media has created the perception that WR is a position the Bears need to address via the draft. Are the Bears' WR's great? NO! Are they serviceable? Sure, you bet. Muhsin is getting older, but I cannot see him getting any worse than last year. Mark Bradley should be completely healthy coming off his knee injury and he was starting to have some break out games last year. Bernard Berrian and Justin Gage are entering their 3rd and 4th year in the league. Most experts believe that a WR's 3rd or 4th year is a make or break year. Many WR's see huge jumps between their 2nd and 3rd year once they learn how to run routes correctly and play against bigger, more physical DBs. Plus, we apparently have the world's fastest man returning from injury in the form of Airese Currie. In other words, if we can get a WR that is an immediate starter that would be great, but we have stronger needs in other positions and we do not need another #2 receiver.
As for TE, due to the Bears style of play they have historically undervalued the TE in the passing game (with the obvious exception of Da Coach). However, to make their passing offense less predictable (slant right, WR screen left, repeat) they need another threat to spread the defense. At the end of last year you saw LB and S jumping the Bears' routes since they had seen them so frequently. A TE with speed and good hands would definitely help combat that problem. Marcedes Lewis from UCLA is an attractive option for the Bears in the 2nd round. Trivia - in what 80's movie was a character named after a Mercedes?
Linebacker and O-line are similar positions from a needs perspective. If everyone stays healthy, we should have no problems for 2006. However, both positions lack a reliable back up at key positions and none of the stalwarts is getting any younger. Plus, I am a big fan of building a team from the inside-out, so having good O-linemen in the developmental pipeline is crucial. If the Bears can resolve the Briggs contract this week it will move this position down slightly, but they could still use some quality depth.
As for the final 3 positions, I am fairly confident in the Bears' rotation at D-line, RB and QB. We have 6 quality defensive linemen who found a terrific rhythm last year in their rotation. The RB position has widely publicized depth with all 3 of the "major" contributors returning from last year. Finally, the Bears seem committed to the 3 QBs they will bring to camp in July. I can only see them selecting one if they thing he can replace Orton, which is unlikely given his success last year. Of course, there is always room on the practice squad/NFL Europe to develop a young player who is a borderline talent but possibly worth the risk.
Let me know if you agree or disagree with my assessment of the Bears' needs and strengths.
So what! It's NFL Draft week.
Like the old phrase goes, hope springs eternal every year. Come April in NFL Land, every team's players and fans have the opportunity to dream about adding that one player who can carry the team over the top to the Super Bowl (or if you are the Cardinals, to a .500 record). David Carr can dream about offensive linemen (not likely).....Rex Grossman can dream about receivers (possibly).....and J-E-T-S fans can dream about quarterbacks (at least according to Mike Greenberg).
So, as I promised, here is my assessment of the Bears' priorities in this week's annual cattle call.
High Priority:
Defensive Back (Safety and CB)
Medium Priority:
Tight End (starter)
Linebacker (depth)
Offensive Line (depth)
Wide Receiver (depth/starter)
Low Priority:
Defensive Line (depth)
Quarterback (depth)
Running Back (depth)
So, do I think the Bears will pick a defensive back in the first round of the draft? Maybe. If you believe the reports from Halas Hall, the Bears will select the best available player who fits their perceived needs. In my opinion, that player should be a safety. Chris Harris is an up and comer who will only improve during his second year in the league. Mike Brown is considered by some to be the heart of the defense. That's fine, but he has a problem the other parts of his body, like his knee, ankle, ribs, etc. Todd Johnson is fine hitter, but he is slow in coverage and thus a liability in a Cover 2. At least the Bears no longer have to call Mike Green's name anymore. Ricky Manning, Jr. is most likely going to be either the starting CB opposite Nathan Vasher or the starting nickel back. The bottom line, in the defense the Bears play the team needs more talent and depth at the safety position.
Who is likely to be available to the Bears at safety? The two most likely players are Jason Allen (Tennessee) and Donte Whitner (Ohio St.). Look for their names on draft day. If both of them are available when the Bears select, look for them to trade down to add the pick they forfeited by signing Manning.
What else am I looking at?
The media has created the perception that WR is a position the Bears need to address via the draft. Are the Bears' WR's great? NO! Are they serviceable? Sure, you bet. Muhsin is getting older, but I cannot see him getting any worse than last year. Mark Bradley should be completely healthy coming off his knee injury and he was starting to have some break out games last year. Bernard Berrian and Justin Gage are entering their 3rd and 4th year in the league. Most experts believe that a WR's 3rd or 4th year is a make or break year. Many WR's see huge jumps between their 2nd and 3rd year once they learn how to run routes correctly and play against bigger, more physical DBs. Plus, we apparently have the world's fastest man returning from injury in the form of Airese Currie. In other words, if we can get a WR that is an immediate starter that would be great, but we have stronger needs in other positions and we do not need another #2 receiver.
As for TE, due to the Bears style of play they have historically undervalued the TE in the passing game (with the obvious exception of Da Coach). However, to make their passing offense less predictable (slant right, WR screen left, repeat) they need another threat to spread the defense. At the end of last year you saw LB and S jumping the Bears' routes since they had seen them so frequently. A TE with speed and good hands would definitely help combat that problem. Marcedes Lewis from UCLA is an attractive option for the Bears in the 2nd round. Trivia - in what 80's movie was a character named after a Mercedes?
Linebacker and O-line are similar positions from a needs perspective. If everyone stays healthy, we should have no problems for 2006. However, both positions lack a reliable back up at key positions and none of the stalwarts is getting any younger. Plus, I am a big fan of building a team from the inside-out, so having good O-linemen in the developmental pipeline is crucial. If the Bears can resolve the Briggs contract this week it will move this position down slightly, but they could still use some quality depth.
As for the final 3 positions, I am fairly confident in the Bears' rotation at D-line, RB and QB. We have 6 quality defensive linemen who found a terrific rhythm last year in their rotation. The RB position has widely publicized depth with all 3 of the "major" contributors returning from last year. Finally, the Bears seem committed to the 3 QBs they will bring to camp in July. I can only see them selecting one if they thing he can replace Orton, which is unlikely given his success last year. Of course, there is always room on the practice squad/NFL Europe to develop a young player who is a borderline talent but possibly worth the risk.
Let me know if you agree or disagree with my assessment of the Bears' needs and strengths.
posted by Bearister at 1:36 PM
1 Comments:
Don't underestimate the need for even more depth on the D Line. Tank Johnson could miss a substantial portion of the season with his injury and you just never know when he is going to drive his car over a group of school children or do something else to find himself in trouble with the law.
The answer to your trivia question is License to Drive with the two Coreys.
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