Lachavious Simmons was the Bears last pick in the draft, picked immediately after fellow offensive lineman, Arlington Hambright, and the debate immediately started. Which offensive lineman has the better name? I think Lachavious Simmons, but I do have to give the edge to Hambright, and I think that's how the Bears decided on who to draft first with their back-to-back picks.
I'll be honest, I didn't catch a ton of Tennessee State this season, so I wasn't sure what Simmons brought to the table. A Bears scout made the laziest comparison ever when he said he could be like fellow Tennessee State graduate, Richard Dent. I guess that means that his play will lead to a lot of sacks? I decided that I needed to do my own scouting and took a look at the tape.
Simmons moves very well and totally overwhelms defenders.
Here, he makes a strong move off the snap to get to the nose tackle and uses his angle to plant the defender into the ground.
He definitely has some pop in his blocking.
Not only does he give a good help block on the nose tackle, but he still has enough to get off that block and give a good pop to the linebacker without the benefit of building up any steam.
On the downside, I will never not laugh when I see a highlight video where the guy gets beaten badly.
He cannot play tackle as he simply does not have the physical tools to handle legitimate edge rushers. He gets blown by here and just barely gives him enough of a shove to keep him from getting to the quarterback. This is not a pancake, this is desperation, so he should probably stick to the interior if he wants to carve out a role in the NFL.
Overall, he's a seventh round pick out of a small school so there's a lot of rawness to his game. He definitely shows some intriguing physical tools, and if he can develop quickly in training camp he could make the roster and hopefully turn into a passable starter down the road. Offensive line depth is never a bad thing to have, so here's to hoping Lachavious can make an impact for the Bears.
Arlington Hambright. Now that's a damn name. A tackle out of Colorado who the Bears drafted with their first of two seventh round picks. Hambright played all over during his college career, starting at Garden City Junior College where they improved from 3-8 in his freshman season to an 11-0 National Championship in his sophomore year. He then went to Oklahoma State, but got hurt halfway through the year. They were 5-1 with him, and 2-5 without him. Finally, he went to Colorado where he led them to a...complete season in the PAC-12. Maybe he needed a second year for the Buffaloes to truly work his magic.
He was not invited to the combine, so I'm not totally sure about the physical attributes. As for the game tape, I had the choice of watching 12 minutes of Colorado taking on Oregon or a 81 second highlight video. Yep, I chose the latter.
I will say I'm always a fan of guys who played tackle in college who were definitely better suited to be a guard. It usually means they were a very good athlete, and I think that it can translate to being very good with a switch to the interior where the smaller frame will not be as big of an issue.
With that switch to guard in mind, I really like how he moved and was able to get to the second level.
This is a great play as he gives a shove to 51 on the defnesive line to help out his guard before making it to the next level and blowing the defender away.
He also showed good hand use in pass blocking, but it was a grand total of one play, so I probably shouldn't make any final conclusions off of that.
Oh, and in case you didn't watch the highlight video, the last 28 seconds of the 81 second video is just an ad for the Bears website. They did my man dirty on that one.
Overall, I like the idea of adding offensive line depth late in the draft and taking a chance on why a guy might be undervalued. He only played one full season of major college football, and he was playing out of position at tackle when his frame is built more for guard. This is a smart chance to take, and let's be real, his name is Arlington Hambright, he could have been a one-legged kicker, and I still would have said this was a great pick.
Darnell Mooney probably isn't the best prospect that the Bears acquired in the 2020 NFL Draft, but he might be the most exciting. During his junior season, he ended up with 993 yards on just 48 catches, averaging 20.7 yards per catch. For his career at Tulane, he was still at an incredibly impressive 16.7 yards per catch. That speed is for real as he showed at the combine.
That 4.38 time is very nice and he did very well in the vertical and broad jump as well. He's not a big guy at just 5'10" and 176 pounds, but he does have large hands to help him make catches in traffic. So let's see how that translated to the field by looking at his game against Florida International last season.
I love the footwork at the beginning of this play to immediately make the corner play catch up in his coverage.
The cornerback never has a chance to make any sort of play on the ball after getting turned around at the line of scrimmage. Mooney then makes a good adjustment on the ball and uses good technique to complete the catch.
Adjustments on the ball were not an area where I expected a small speedster to shine, but he does a great job of tracking the ball on this touchdown catch.
He has the defender beat deep, but the ball is underthrown, and he not only adjusts to the ball, but attacks the ball out of the air at the high point to make the catch. Even if the defender had better coverage, it is going to be very tough to stop a receiver who can do that down the field. I'm not saying he's Steve Smith, but the above catch is a very Steve Smith looking play.
He needs to do a bit of refinement on his route running, but he does have some fancy footwork off the line of scrimmage to help him with that. He also was at least a willing blocker, even if it wasn't a strength of his.
For a late fifth round pick, this is tremendous value. He's fast, and he can catch; that already makes him more appealing to me than KJ Hamler who was a second rounder. He can stretch defenses and can at least fill part of the role that Taylor Gabriel has had the last few years. I am very excited to see him in a Bears uniform this season.
As loyal readers know, the output these last couple months have been pathetic at best. Honestly, I don't even deserve to call myself a Blogger with my recent performance. Thank God I'm married as Blogger was basically my only way to pick up chicks at the club. The only thing I've even posted this month before yesterday was a sponsored post, whaddup $40! But I didn't get into blogging for the money or the chicks; I did it for the love of the game. That is why I need to explain my (lack of) actions.
Basically, I've just been traveling a ton lately. That's it. Nothing too exciting, just general exhaustion from constantly traveling and not having the grit to still get it done while on a plane, train, or automobile. Over the last seven weeks, I went to Chicago, Iowa, Chicago again, Salt Lake City, Jacksonville, Delaware, Philadelphia, survived Hurricane Irma, and finally just chilled this weekend. Over the next few weeks, I'm going to New York, Seattle, Savannah, and Palo Alto. Then I think (hope) that I can get a couple weekends to just chill at home. But because of all of that travel, the blog has taken a back seat, and for that I apologize.
But I still figure I should get some content out of all of those trips, so let's do quick reviews of every place that I visited.
Chicago - This was for a work trip, and I actually stayed in Wheeling, Illinois, which is a good 45 minutes from the city. Therefore, I did not have time to go into the city. As for Wheeling, they have a really nice bike trail right along the river, but that was flooded, so don't go to Wheeling.
Iowa - Hometown visit to see the family. Parents are good, and Grandma is complaining about too many old people at the nursing home. I also had Harris Pizza, so this was probably my second favorite trip.
Chicago - Again for work, and again not in Chicago, as we were way out in Itasca, Illinois. Itasca sucks. They don't have sidewalks near where we stayed, so I was running against highway traffic. I can barely remember anything from the area; I just remember it sucking.
Salt Lake City - Salt Lake City was awesome. Good food, watched some baseball, and did some really awesome hiking. We even got within about 30 feet of a damn moose, which was slightly terrifying at the time, because he was about ten times my size, but after he left, it was pretty damn cool. You should go to Salt Lake City; just don't go there for the beer.
Jacksonville - Visited friends, went to a few breweries, hung out with the dog. I really can't argue with that.
Delaware - Visited my wife's siblings. Drank some beers, played some laser tag, and watched Iowa beat Wyoming on my phone, that's pretty much all I need in a weekend.
Philadelphia - We were here for like 12 hours. I saw the Liberty Bell and ate two cheesesteaks. One was very good, one was not very good. I don't think I need to go back to Philadelphia again.
Hurricane Irma - We only lost power for two days and didn't suffer any damage to our house, so I've certainly got no complaints.
Weekend at Home (no hurricane version) - After all that travel, this weekend definitely hit the spot.
Recently, the Chicago Cubs made a trade with the Colorado Rockies to acquire right-handed pitcher, Eddie Butler. The Cubs gave up nothing of significance in the deal which makes sense since Butler is going to be 26 years old in a month and had an ERA over seven last year. On its surface, there is little reason to care about this move.
But the Cubs made this move, and people believe that matters. They believe this matters because in 2013, the Cubs traded for another pitcher with an ERA over seven, and this man rediscovered his top prospect pedigree and became a Cy Young and World Series winner after joining the Cubs. Eddie Butler was once also a top prospect, so can he turn into the next Jake Arrieta?
No.
The answer is definitely no.
But that doesn't mean he can't still be valuable. He still has big time velocity, and for velocity whores like myself, that's always enough to build a little excitement. Still, he hasn't been a dominant pitcher since he was taking care of three levels of minor leaguers back in 2013. Back then, he was using a fastball/changeup combo that kept both hitters off balance. Then he stopped using his changeup in favor of a below average breaking ball, and welp, that ain't enough to get out major league hitters.
But what if he rediscovers that above average changeup to go with his plus velocity. Well, that's a combo to dream on. I think he's probably only a two-pitch pitcher if he's going to be successful so his future is still in the bullpen, but he could be an important piece there. It's unlikely to be a dominant closer, but it's not crazy to think he could be a solid setup guy.
You could find the case that the Cubs front office is filled with the most brilliant men in the world, and they were able to see something in Butler that the rest of the world couldn't. He's not Jake Arrieta, but there's still something to dream on.
Not sure if you heard about this in between all of the celebrity deaths and a nincompoop winning the presidential election, but the Chicago Cubs won the World Series. This is a pretty big deal, because it had been quite a while since they had won one of those. People in Chicago were pumped; in fact, people all over the country were pumped as the number of Cubs fans have increased exponentially over the last two years. I'm not sure what caused that, but everybody loves the Cubbies these days.
I am a lifelong Cubs fan. I remember those years where Les Lancaster was a legitimate reliever, when I thought Rick Wilkins was a legit catcher, when Mickey Morandini and Jeff Blauser were a legitimate combo up the middle, when Brant Brown was a thing, when the Cubs acquried my favorite non-Cub, Rich Harden, and thought for sure that the drought was over (they got swept in the first round of the playoffs). I could probably list at least another 500 things I remember about this stupid team, as I have spent an unhealthy amount of time watching and thinking about the Chicago Cubs.
A few years ago, I moved away from the Midwest to Florida to set up permanent shop. I remembered the essentials, like my wife and my dog, but admittedly, my entire Cubs fandom didn't make the trip. I'm an adult in Florida, and not even near a stadium that the Cubs make a trip to every year. It's just hard to keep up that level of fandom, so I didn't. I mean, I still followed along, knew everything that was happening, but I wasn't there. I was here, away from things.
I watched the playoff games, but I'll admit, I fell asleep before the last out for most of them. This didn't really bother me too much, as it was actually a pretty boring postseason. People forget that the World Series games kind of stunk until Game Seven. That game was amazing, but I was out of town on business, and I had been up since 4:00 AM. By the time the first pitch was thrown, I had been up for over 16 hours and was working for 12 of those hours. I watched the first half of the game around strangers before retiring to my hotel room to watch the rest in the comfort of my temporary bed. I managed to stay awake until the end, but by the time it was over, I used my last bit of energy to whisper "Awesome" before rolling over and falling asleep. It was not the raucous celebration I imagined.
That bummed me out. I loved the Cubs, but I wasn't sure if I still loved the Cubs. I mean, it should have meant more. A couple weeks later I went home and visited my family. I tried to talk to my Grandma about the Cubs winning the World Series, but she has been having health troubles, and at 96, she really didn't have the mental or physical strength to really take it all in. I think we were both left with an empty feeling. It made me wonder if it's all worth it.
Let's face it. It's probably not. We don't care about sports because it's the logical decision. We spit in the face of logic when we cheer for players and teams, and that's part of the fun. Escaping the rational world to act irrationally and passionately about things that shouldn't actually matter in our day-to-day lives.
I wanted that stupid feeling. I needed to try to find it. So I waited a few months, and last week, I rewatched the final game of the World Series in its entirety, from the pregame analysis from Joe Buck, to the ups and downs, the rain delay, and the celebration. I wasn't sure if it would matter, but I at least wanted to try.
The first batter of the game was Dexter Fowler, and even though I remembered how that at bat ended, it didn't stop me from getting goosebumps when he launched the ball over the center field fence. It wasn't the home run itself, but it was the moment after Fowler rounded first base during his home run trot to turn backwards and point at the Cubs dugout as half of the crowd was erupting in cheers.
I was hooked.
Usually, I'll read a lot while watching baseball games, because baseball games are rather uneventful, but despite this game being two months old, I couldn't take my eyes off of it. Here were the most affecting moments during the game.
Good - Dexter Fowler home run
I already talked about this one.
Good - Jose Ramirez being picked off
Because there were a lot of big moments, I feel like this is going to get overlooked as time goes on, but picking off a runner is enough of a rarity where it felt special, like nothing was going to go wrong for the Cubs and destiny (the abstract idea, not the stripper) could take them to the title. Bad - Javier Baez dropped ball when trying to turn a double play
The Indians had just tied the game at one, and Baez dropped what could have been an inning ending double play. Instead the Indians had two runners on and one out. All of my confidence from Fowler's home run and the pickoff move were gone.
Good - Kris Bryant's base running
Kris Bryant's two runs involved some of the best baserunning of the postseason. He scored on a very shallow fly ball that Rajai Davis misplayed to not give himself momentum into his throw and Bryant was barely able to slide under the tag. Then, when he managed to score from first on an Anthony Rizzo single, because of a hit and run, that was just incredible. The Cubs took a 4-1 lead shortly after that, and things were looking rosy yet again.
Bad - The passed ball that caused two runs to score
The Cubs were up 5-1 and in control and for some reason, they pulled Kyle Hendricks after allowing a two out walk in the fifth. They were almost too into the idea of Lester being a postseason hero, so they brought him in, and he gave up two runs on a David Ross passed ball when Kipnis hustled all the way from second to score on the play. It was then 5-3 and the Cubs inevitable World Series win didn't feel inevitable anymore. Good - David Ross home run
Uh, yeah, if old ass David Ross is hitting a bomb, then yeah, I'd say this one is in the bag.
Bad - Rajai Davis home run to tie the game
I watched this two months later, and when Rajai Davis hit that home run, my hear legitimately sank into my stomach. Against all logic, I felt sickness when I saw that ball exit the park knowing full well that the Cubs still won the game. I knew what happened, and I couldn't help that feeling.
This was my favorite moment when rewatching the game, because this is when I knew that it still mattered. Yeah, I know it doesn't matter as much as it did in 1998 when I cried after the Cubs got swept by the Braves. And yeah, it probably doesn't matter as much as it did six years later when I got goosebumps when Glenallen Hill told me that had they gotten past the Braves, they would have won the World Series. But it still matters.
After that, there were obviously still more good moments. But it wasn't the baseball that stood out. When Zobrist hit the double to help the Cubs take the lead, the part that stood out most was Rizzo with his hands on his helmet in disbelief as he stood on third. And the replay of Zobrist leaping into second base out of pure excitement. It wasn't Montero's RBI single, it was the dugout erupting in cheers as it happened, and Montero turning to scream in their direction after reaching first.
And then there was the final out. The out was great, but the reaction is what really brought it home. The Chicago Cubs had finally won the World Series. My Chicago Cubs.
Derrick Rose was our guy. I say was, because yesterday, Derrick Rose was traded from the Chicago Bulls to the New York Knicks. When I first saw the news, I felt a bit of numbness. I know Derrick Rose hasn't been the player he was before his injuries, but I was still hanging on and hoping that one day he would come back and relive those former glory days. So it stopped me in my tracks when I saw it. I'm going to miss Derrick Rose.
There's not many athletes that have meant as much to Chicago sports fans as Derrick Rose. In basketball, there was nobody that could touch his popularity since Michael Jordan. And for all of Chicago sports, the only person that can compare since Jordan is probably Brian Urlacher. Derrick Rose was our guy.
Let's not forget that the Bulls had no reasonable chance to get him but still somehow won that lottery. Derrick Rose was our blessing. And he was a hometown guy. He was a super athletic point guard in a league that was fading away from the dominance of big men. He was literally the perfect superstar to bring the Bulls back to glory.
And the crazy thing is that he did it. He brought the Bulls back to levels they had not seen since MJ. With Tom Thibodeau coaching, the Bulls had a hard-nosed team that were a nightmare for any team to play. Thibs and Noah led the defense, and Derrick Rose was the offense. In their one opportunity before the injury, the Bulls cruised to the Eastern Conference Semis to take on the Miami Heat. Everyone in the world was rooting for the Bulls, and they came out and smashed the Heat by 20. They dropped the next two, but with time ticking down, Derrick Rose had a shot at the buzzer to take game four. It rimmed out, and the Bulls lost in overtime. They then barely lost at home in game 5. People remember it as a dominant 4-1 Heat win in that series, but man, had Derrick Rose just had that one break with the ball rolling in instead of out, it could've been far different.
And that pretty much sums up Derrick Rose's career to this point. It's a lot of what ifs, and so closes but not quites. I could try to go through all of them, but that would make this post incredibly long, and more importantly, I think it would just be too painful. Derrick Rose gave me so much hope, but his career has been emotionally draining to me as well. That's what happens when we care too much. It's stupid and completely illogical to care this much, but I can't help it. Derrick Rose was our guy.
God, this is really sounding like an obituary, so let's remember that he just got traded. He's gone, but we can still see him every now and then. I'll still be rooting for him, as he grasps for that glory that constantly seems just out of reach. But it won't be the same. He's not a Bull anymore. He's not a Chicago lifer. He's not the problem, and he's not the solution. But let's not forget, Derrick Rose was our guy.
One thing that never stops astonishing me is how great pro wrestling was. i just kind of assumed that I was a dumb kid who was easily amused. This is actually also true, but looking back on things, there were so many guys doing great things that I did not pick up on when watching it the first time around. Lex Luger is an excellent example of this as he is basically just remembered as just a muscled-up dude who was only important because he was the only muscled-up dude WCW had. He had a good look but offered nothing else. That is definitely not the case.
I think this is partly because of The Narcissist and Lex Express era in WWE when he never really was able to build momentum, although winning the 1993 Body Slam Challenge is a legendary accomplishment that still holds up today.
Still, instead of getting him a win over Yokozuna, they found some convoluted way to instead get the belt on Bret Hart while letting Lex Luger slowly fade away.
It looked like WCW was going to use him in the same way as he debuted on the first episode of Nitro and made an impact by...standing there?
Yeah, he just stood there. I guess he kind of looked around a little bit. It kind of took away from the impact when he did finally do something in protecting Hulk Hogan from the Dungeon of Doom. Then, he challenged Hogan, lost without ever having a real chance at winning.
But then something amazing happened. Lex Luger became the most inexplicable member of the Dungeon of Doom. This sounds terrible, but it actually led to the best stretch of Lex's career. He never really split from the Dungeon, but they kind of faded away from each other. Still, Lex Luger played the gutlees heel to perfection. There is no moment that better exemplifies this than this interview with him and Sting interacting with The Road Warriors. Everything Lex Luger says here is amazing.
Quickly, here are the four best things about Lex Luger this interaction.
4. "Stinger, tell 'em I'm from Chicago."
3. When the Road Warriors come out, Luger immediately gets behind Sting.
2. "If you want a Chicago Street Fight, you got it...what is a Chicago Street Fight anyway?"
1. "We'll pro wrestle you anywhere, anytime."
We'll pro wrestle you anywhere, anytime. We'll...pro...wrestle...you...anywhere...anytime. Every word is perfect. I will never stop laughing about that sentence. I would divorce my wife and marry that sentence. This may be one of the ten best promos of all time.
One time, he missed out on a title shot, because he got stuck in traffic and couldn't make it to the arena on time. He got another title shot the next week, so he camped outside the arena the night before to make sure he wouldn't miss it again.
He still lost, but at least he had plenty of potassium.
Still, that Lex Luger was putting together things like this and was still somewhat involved with the Dungeon of Doom sucked some ass, not any fault of Luger's though. I mean, just look at what he does during Road Block's Monday Nitro debut.
Luger did get him up on the third try, but I have a feeling he would have kept dangerously dropping the poor guy and shrugging his shoulders all night long if he had to.
Somehow, 1996 Lex Luger fulfilled all of the potential that one would assume when first looking at the guy. He always had the look, but he finally combined a perfectly realized character along with a hilarious worker who endangered jobbers for the entertainment of the fans. 1996 Lex Luger, you truly were The Total Package.
The Bulls are one of the most fascinating teams going into this offseason. Derrick Rose's health is the biggest question, but all Bulls fans can do about that is hope, pray, and wait to see what happens. Almost as big of a story is whether the Bulls will make a big move to bolster their lineup. There are a lot of options out there, but what is the best option? Let's look at some likely scenarios.
1. Do Nothing
This is the one that scares Bulls fans, and although I don't love it, I'm also not totally against it. Everyone assumes that the Bulls will amnesty Boozer, but the Bulls are notoriously cheap, so throwing away $15 million doesn't seem like it would be at the top of their list of things to do. Still, if Nikola Mirotic finally comes over from Spain, there really isn't a place for the Bulls to play Boozer, as Gibson can play the traditional 4 and Mirotic can be used as a stretch 4. That would mean they have no money, but considering they have two first round picks, they could hopefully find a solid wing and a backup center. That's a team that will probably need some luck, but LeBron's supporting cast is getting older, so are the Spurs, and OKC has Scott Brooks, whose skill with Xs and Os starts and ends with Tic-tac-toe. Still, this plan would drive Bulls fans crazy, and yet wouldn't totally surprise me.
2. Trade for Kevin Love
This seems to be the option that gives Bulls fans wet dreams. Love is definitely the best player that the Bulls could add, but that's pretty easy to say since he is one of the 10 best players in the league. Obviously, he would be a great addition, but I'll admit that it would still be bittersweet. I, like many Bulls fans, love Taj Gibson more and more every year. The reason he is so valuable is that when other teams go small, they can keep Taj at the four, dominate the boards, and still have him hang with a wing on defense. That is a really valuable commodity. Also, I have been dreaming of Mirotic for years, and have already decided that he is a poor man's Dirk, which gives the Bulls all kinds of fun options. But it's still Kevin Love, so even if they traded Gibson, Mirotic, and two first round picks, they would still be putting themselves in a better position to win a championship in the next few years. Also, it would ensure that Boozer would be gone, which Bulls fans seem to need at this point.
3. Get Melo
After thinking about it, I have joined Joakim Noah as saying this is the move I want the most. Carmelo is not perfect, but he is very much needed for the Bulls and fills their biggest need. He can score from the wing, and that is what the Bulls need. He is a force with the ball in his hands, so not all the offense would have to fall on Derrick Rose in crunch time. They'd have to amnesty Boozer and probably get rid of Dunleavy to have enough money to bring over Mirotic, but these are all realistic possibilities. Also, I would expect Carmelo's defense to improve since he will finally be playing for a coach that cares about that side of the ball (I admit this is slightly unfair to Mike Woodson, but he's not on the level of Thibs). In the draft, the Bulls can add depth and be ready to bring the championship back to Chicago.
I am way too optimistic about the Bulls. Even in the first scenario, I could see them competing for a championship. With Love, their odds increase, but I still like Carmelo Anthony the most. A lineup of Noah-Gibson-Melo-Butler-Rose is probably the best starting five in the league. Thibodeau has shown he can turn just about any bench players into solid contributors, so I really don't see how the Bulls would not be the favorite for the title if they can stay healthy. My childhood was filled with six championships, so I will never be too mad at the Bulls. But as a Cubs, Bears, and Bulls fan, it has been 16 years without a professional title (really wish I liked hockey), so I feel like I am due, and the Bulls are my best shot at that. Bring on Melo, and me and Lala can make jokes about Carson Daly. Everybody wins, especially the city of Chicago.
For all but Saints and Colts fans, football season is over.This is a great time to look back on the positives and negatives of your favorite team.Looking back on the Bears season, the positives were that they beat Brett Favre and the Vikings and…um, shit, not much else.
Lovie Smith Showing He Knows Nothing About Defense
Jay Cutler’s Leadership
Also, the off-season has gotten off to a stellar start with nobody wanting to be a coordinator for the Bears.On offense, they are going after a bunch of people with no proven track record, and none of them will even consider the position.Meanwhile, the one person with a proven track record of always having great offenses, Mike Martz, is practically begging for the job, and the Bears refuse to give him an interview.
But back to Jay Cutler.He sucks.The guy has never won.He didn’t win in college; he didn’t win for the Broncos.He is a loser.He has a very strong arm, and people really get excited about that, but he can’t read a defense to save his life (I’m not sure if he could read a book to save his life either).
Most people have jumped on board with the Jay Cutler Sucks Bandwagon, but there are still those people that feel he just needs a #1 Receiver to be great.I have great news for those people, the Bears first round pick this year is currently projected to select:Dez Bryant, WR, OklahomaState.Dez Bryant is arguably the best receiver to come out of college since Calvin Johnson, as most scouts prefer him over last year’s top wide receiver, Michael Crabtree.Holy shit, that’s awesome news for the Bears, but, what?Wait a minute.Oh, that’s right; they gave that pick to the Broncos.
My personal plan would be for the Bears to blow everything up and get rid of everyone.Trade every valuable player they have for future draft picks, and I would prefer to not even get 2010 or 2011 draft picks, I want them to look into 2012 and 2013, because this team is going to suck for a while, so the key is to focus on 2014 and beyond.What many people don’t realize about the salary cap is that it also creates a salary floor, and since there will be no cap this year, the Bears could technically go down to a $60 million dollar payroll if they wanted (This year’s salary floor was 112.1 million).This would be awesome, but there is no way that Jerry Angelo would do this, because even as cheap as Bears’ ownership is, they won’t stand for the team to be Detroit Lions bad.
My realistic plan would be to first try to sign Brandon Marshall as a restricted free agent. He is clashing with McDaniels, so there’s a chance the Bears could get him for just a first rounder or just a second rounder, but even if they gave up a first and a third, the plan still works.Get Marshall at all costs.Put a clause in there that if he plays 6 or more of his games at above 5,000 feet above sea level, then his contract becomes guaranteed which means the Broncos won’t even have the choice of matching it.
Next, trade for a bunch of 6th and 7th round picks for these next two drafts.Preferably, I would like the Bears drafting somewhere between 8-10 times in the final two rounds.The NFL could easily go to a 12 round draft and teams would happily be selecting quality players with those picks.I want the Bears to strictly draft offensive linemen with these picks.People are really piss poor at scouting linemen, so there are always quality guys in later rounds that end up making multiple pro bowls. If the Bears find two starters, then they’ve done well with their picks as far as I’m concerned (Also, depending on the level of tender, Jammal Brown of New Orleans might be a good restricted free agent to get as he has been out for the year and replaced by Jermon Bushrod who is cheap and has been very solid this year.If it’s a second round tender, then they should definitely go for it).
I don’t think the defense is nearly as bad as they played this year, but they aren’t too good either.As long as Hunter Hillenmeyer doesn’t play, they are guaranteed to look better.If they can stay healthy and get a run stopping defensive tackle.This class is extremely deep in defensive tackles, and some good ones should fall to the second round, oh wait, the Bears traded their second round pick for Gaines Adams.Nice job, Bears.Nobody great is going to be there in the third, but the Bears do a good job of finding quality cornerbacks late, so maybe they can snag a quality guy there.The Bears should also abandon the Cover-2, and hire somebody from Baltimore, Philly, New Orleans, or the Jets and go blitz crazy on people.They don’t have the talent to get pressure with a straight up defense anymore, so they need to start to scheme any way that they can.
They would not have a dynasty with these changes.Nowhere near it.But they would have a rich man’s Jake Delhomme in Jay Cutler, and the Panthers managed to make a Super Bowl by having Delhomme strictly throw to Steve Smith, maybe the Bears can do the same when reuniting Marshall and Cutler.
Will the Bears do any of these things?Probably not.Will they suck for the next four years? Probably.Don’t worry Bears fans, 2014 is just around the corner.
-Joe
P.S. If they decide to sign John David Booty, they could definitely have themselves a dynasty.For anyone not familiar, JDB played varsity football in SEVENTH GRADE.I think the only other people to do that were Shane Falco and Willie Beamon.Hence, a recipe for success.
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