12/25 - Chicago Bears @ Green Bay Packers

[David]

Just thought I'd pass this on for those who might be interested. It's actually from last week, but I hadn't seen it and figured you guys might not have either. I know most people here (if not all) were already for the QB switch, but it's still interesting.

 

http://www.protrade.com/insight/InsightArticleDetail.html?sp=KRC636805&sp=S%2Fprotrade%2Fstories%2Fanalyst%2Fjeff+ma%2F&x=x

 

Sans Kyle Orton, the Bears are the NFC's team-to-beat. And not because they're that good, but rather, because he was that bad.

 

Very, very, very bad.

 

That's Orton, the second-worst offensive player in the NFL according to PROTRADE's Expected Scoring ("ES") system, who was so horrid that while charged with guiding Chicago to score points, he instead cost his team five touchdowns this season.

 

Specifically -- Orton's play through 15 games was worth negative 32.97 points to the Bears, as measured by ES. Only rookie QB Alex Smith (-34.17), guiding the two-win 49ers, has been worse, and after that nobody else ranks even close.

 

The next "worst" QB starters to Orton and Smith this season have been Houston's David Carr (-5.05), the Jets' Brooks Bollinger (-3.45), and Baltimore's Kyle Boller (-1.94). All haven't helped or hurt that much either. But all also play for last place teams.

[cubweiser03]

BTW, for those looking for a TE, here's a scouting report on Marcedes Lewis

 

Height: 6-6

Weight: 256

4.75 40-time

 

Strengths:

Has excellent size with long arms and the frame to easily add more weight...A superb athlete with good quickness and leaping ability...Has outstanding hands and can adjust to the poorly thrown ball...Gives great effort as a blocker and does a better job there than he is given credit for...Has solid speed and can get down the middle and stretch the seam...Very productive and was the top pass catching threat on his team...Still developing and has a lot of upside.

 

Weaknesses:

May not have elite timed speed...Could stand to add some weight and looks frail on the field due to his lanky build...Lacks explosiveness and may have trouble separating at the next level...Needs to hit the weights and get stronger...Still relatively raw as he devoted a lot of attention to basketball in high school...Needs to refine his technique and master the nuances of the position.

 

Notes:

Was a part of the famed 2002 Long Beach Poly high school class that also included Winston Justice (USC), Darnell Bing (USC), Hershel Dennis (USC), and Manuel Wright (Miami Dolphins)...Is like a wide receiver trapped in a tight ends body...Not yet a finished product but could be the type of weapon in the passing game that pro teams are falling all over themselves to add these days.

 

 

If we can get him and get him to put on 10+ pounds, he could be huge at the TE position. I like to read that he is a very good blocker too. I've quickly fallen in love with this guy.

 

i don't like the idea of drafting a TE who needs to add so much, or is as raw as this guy sounds.

 

i still wake up in the middle of the night after a flashback nightmare of the john allred draft.

 

..And Dustin Lyman. Trying to convert a LB to TE was a bad experiment. Bears really suck at drafting TE.

[Jon]

Tickets for the Bears divisional playoff game go on sale Jan. 3 at 10 a.m. CDT and are available online or over the phone only.

 

Tickets, priced from $85 to $365, are available on Ticketmaster.com or by calling 312-559-1212. There is a limit of four tickets per customer.

 

The game will take place Jan. 14 or 15 with an opponent and game time to be determined.

Considering that ticketmaster fees will tack on at least another $10, if you're lucky enough to get them, you'll be paying $100 a ticket at the minimum. Plus there aren't very many tickets in the $85 range.

[burnt out cubbie fan]

I put this together for another site but I found it pretty interesting. I took the sack and pass attempt numbers from nfl.com.

Team             Sacks        Pass Attempts        PA/S
Bengals	       20             506               25.300
Packers	       24             589               24.542
Colts            18             438               24.333
Dolphins         24             521               21.708
Broncos	       21             443               21.095
Giants           26             534               20.538
Patriots         27             536               19.852
Chargers         25             490               19.600
Seahawks         23             449               19.522
Titans           30             555               18.500
Lions            30             487               16.233
Chiefs           30             478               15.933
Jaguars	       29             456	            15.724
Panthers         27             424	            15.704
Eagles           38             578               15.211
Redskins         30             456               15.200
Cardinals        42             628               14.952
Bears            28             395               14.107
Saints           37             516               13.946
Ravens           40             526               13.150
Raiders	       42             543               12.929
Rams             44             567               12.886
Falcons          34             414               12.176
Steelers         31             363               11.710
Buccaneers       40             462               11.550
Browns           41             460               11.220
Bills            41             422               10.293
Cowboys	       45             461               10.244
Jets             49             450               9.184
Vikings	       54             470               8.704
49ers            45             360               8.000
Texans           68             413               6.074

 

This doesn't exactly show the whole story of how good an offensive line the team has since QB play and run blocking aren't taken into account. It does give a pretty good view as to who the best pass blocking lines are. Quite a few surprises imo.

[Magnetic Curses]

I put this together for another site but I found it pretty interesting. I took the sack and pass attempt numbers from nfl.com.

Team             Sacks        Pass Attempts        PA/S
Bengals	       20             506               25.300
Packers	       24             589               24.542
Colts            18             438               24.333
Dolphins         24             521               21.708
Broncos	       21             443               21.095
Giants           26             534               20.538
Patriots         27             536               19.852
Chargers         25             490               19.600
Seahawks         23             449               19.522
Titans           30             555               18.500
Lions            30             487               16.233
Chiefs           30             478               15.933
Jaguars	       29             456	            15.724
Panthers         27             424	            15.704
Eagles           38             578               15.211
Redskins         30             456               15.200
Cardinals        42             628               14.952
Bears            28             395               14.107
Saints           37             516               13.946
Ravens           40             526               13.150
Raiders	       42             543               12.929
Rams             44             567               12.886
Falcons          34             414               12.176
Steelers         31             363               11.710
Buccaneers       40             462               11.550
Browns           41             460               11.220
Bills            41             422               10.293
Cowboys	       45             461               10.244
Jets             49             450               9.184
Vikings	       54             470               8.704
49ers            45             360               8.000
Texans           68             413               6.074

 

This doesn't exactly show the whole story of how good an offensive line the team has since QB play and run blocking aren't taken into account. It does give a pretty good view as to who the best pass blocking lines are. Quite a few surprises imo.

 

how much higher would the bears be if orton could make his reads more quickly?

[CaliforniaRaisin]

I've only seen Vernon Davis 3 times, but Marcedes is definitely the better pass-receiver and Davis the better blocker. Vernon is defintely more raw than Marcedes. He definitely could add 10 lbs. His blocking has improved a lot. I expect one of Vernon or Marcedes to be available when the Bears pick and hope they take one of them. I'd be in heaven if that one was Marcedes. :D

[Brian]

I've only seen Vernon Davis 3 times, but Marcedes is definitely the better pass-receiver and Davis the better blocker. Vernon is defintely more raw than Marcedes. He definitely could add 10 lbs. His blocking has improved a lot. I expect one of Vernon or Marcedes to be available when the Bears pick and hope they take one of them. I'd be in heaven if that one was Marcedes. :D

 

I've seen several Mock Drafts that have Bears selecting him :)