2009 Chicago Bears offseason

[apete6]

Didn't Peterson miss some games?

 

Nope. He had at least 17 carries in every regular season game.

 

Also, Chester Taylor had to have gotten more carries than Kevin Jones/bad Adrian Peterson did on the Bears.

 

What were their respective yards per touch? I'm guessing APs was much higher.

 

Yards per touch

Forte 4.5

AP 4.9

 

Carries

Forte 316

Jones 34

AP 363

Taylor 101

 

AP was better last year, but not by an enormous margin, unless we look strictly at rush stats.

 

Cool, thanks for the stats. I agree with the other guys that receptions give Forte an obvious advantage and he is still about 1/2 yard behind AP. Forte is still a very good player, but if I had to pick, I'm still taking AP.

[jersey cubs fan]

I agree with the other guys that receptions give Forte an obvious advantage

 

Sure they give him an advantage, but it's not like it's an unfair advantage, it's a strength of his game.

[Magnetic Curses]

I agree with the other guys that receptions give Forte an obvious advantage

 

Sure they give him an advantage, but it's not like it's an unfair advantage, it's a strength of his game.

 

yeah, it doesn't make much sense to penalize his ability as a receiver. nobody penalizes westbrook's ability as a receiver when they call him the best all-around back in the game.

 

i'm not going to be a player-hater and say that i prefer forte to peterson, but i'm very satisifed with the RB position going into the season.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

It doesn't make sense to penalize him, but it doesn't make sense to compare reception yards to rushing yards with no accounting for the major drawback of the passing game, the potential for incompletions.

[Magnetic Curses]

It doesn't make sense to penalize him, but it doesn't make sense to compare reception yards to rushing yards with no accounting for the major drawback of the passing game, the potential for incompletions.

 

then weight them. but then you also have to account for the o-line, too. then it becomes really subjective.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

It doesn't make sense to penalize him, but it doesn't make sense to compare reception yards to rushing yards with no accounting for the major drawback of the passing game, the potential for incompletions.

 

then weight them. but then you also have to account for the o-line, too. then it becomes really subjective.

 

And we've once again gotten to the point where we have to acknowledge that football doesn't easily lend itself to statistical analysis.

[Magnetic Curses]

It doesn't make sense to penalize him, but it doesn't make sense to compare reception yards to rushing yards with no accounting for the major drawback of the passing game, the potential for incompletions.

 

then weight them. but then you also have to account for the o-line, too. then it becomes really subjective.

 

And we've once again gotten to the point where we have to acknowledge that football doesn't easily lend itself to statistical analysis.

 

too many moveable parts.

[CoolHandLuke]

Anyone have a magnet schedule to sell me?!

[Butterscup1679666578]

My friend was at camp today and sent me a few notes.

 

Chris Williams was getting absolutely demolished on line drills. He finally started looking decent towards the end, but it was against some of the lower depth chart guys.

 

I asked how Cutler looked and all he said was "he throws [expletive] hard." He said Hanie looked awful and Basanez looked decent, should be his backup spot to lose.

 

Anyone know who the other kicker in camp is? I think he's #10, my friend said he was just booming balls out of the back of the end zone on kickoffs for touch backs. Richmond McGee maybe?

[David]

Reports I've heard says Hanie looks improved and sharper than last year and Basanez has made reporters wonder how he has managed to stick around on an NFL roster this long.

[Butterscup1679666578]

Reports I've heard says Hanie looks improved and sharper than last year and Basanez has made reporters wonder how he has managed to stick around on an NFL roster this long.

 

Interesting. Thanks.

[Soul]

Reports I've heard says Hanie looks improved and sharper than last year and Basanez has made reporters wonder how he has managed to stick around on an NFL roster this long.

 

Interesting. Thanks.

 

I found it interesting and perhaps a little confusing that Basanez was getting the reps with the 2nd string today, and Hanie didn't get reps in the 11 on 11 drills. Perhaps they were just alternating for now.

 

Hanie looked much better to me than Basanez in Sunday's practice.

[Soul]

Here's a few notes/observations from my 3 days at camp:

 

1) Chris Williams looks like he needs work. He was getting beat by Ogun regularly in Saturday's practice, and again in drills on Monday. Didn't watch him much on Sunday. I'm not concerned yet.......but he needs work, that's all.

 

2) Orlando Pace looks great. He's fully participating in everything. No taking plays off, no sitting out of drills. Man, I don't think I realized how huge he is until I saw him in a Bear uni. Monster.

 

3) Marinelli is fun to watch. He walks with a bit of a limp, you can pick him out right away. But he's very engaged, if that means anything. From what I can see (and compare from previous camps), he's got the D Line running a little more, working on footwork, etc. Hope it pays off.

 

4) Bowman looked good to me. It's hard to tell what would really happen in games, but he made several nice coverage plays while I was there.

 

5) Tillman looks sad :(

 

6) Harrison indeed looks fat. I'm not sure what the reported weight was, but yes, he looks so big he couldn't have really worked out during the offseason. Or maybe he just didn't do enough. Lovie said he's getting closer to being ready. Right now he's off to the side, doing running drills and such with an individual coach.

 

7) People were saying Tommie Harris was limping, but I watched him and he looked fine to me. He isn't in on all plays though, but I didn't think he looked gimpy. They were also talking about Forte missing Monday's practice, but he was out there. He looked fine to me, but what do I know? He was there, and working out, and looked like Forte.

 

8) Jones looks quick and ready to go. Hopefully he can take some of the load off Forte. Looked like he's ready to give it a good shot.

 

9) Predictably, the D is overall ahead of the O right now, IMO.

 

10) Alright, Cutler. Here's what I see. The man's throwing motion is effortless. He doesn't appear to have to stress himself very much, even on the long throws. His feet look very "quiet" to me (in my unprofessional opinion). He doesn't stammer when he's ready to toss the ball. He stays very still. People have told me he looks down his receivers, but I clearly watched him going through his 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th reads regularly. He appears to do so quickly. He makes every throw with the correct amount of touch, as far as I can see. Nothing is thrown way too hard, or too soft. If it needs to get there quickly, he gets it there quickly. If it needs to be lofted in, he lofts it in. To me, he's the goods. Easily the best QB I've seen at a Bear camp -- I know that's not saying much, but there you have it. I'm impressed.

 

11) People are saying they are impressed with Earl Bennett. To me, he has looked OK. However, I don't see anything about him that makes me go "wow." I'm not saying he won't succeed. I hope he does.

 

12) Knox had some great moments, and then some shaky moments too.

 

13) Look for the Cutler to Olsen connection. The two are hooking up regularly even this early. I was encouraged to see it. I'm a believer that Olsen can break out and be a pro bowl TE with Cutler throwing to him. Nothing I saw makes me feel different.

 

14) People are questioning Hester, but I have to say: he looks like the best WR in camp to me. His cuts look sharper than the others, his hands looked good, his speed top notch. It's hard to compare, but I left with the impression that he's the #1 because he deserves to be, not just because of his name and the contract. Maybe he wouldn't be more than a slot guy on a team with great WRs, but on this team, he seems to be clearly the best WR we have right now.

 

15) I know I've been critical of Vasher, but he looked healthy and quick to me. Hope that means he will be back to form.

 

16) Not sure who that new kicker is (#10 -- didn't show up on the roster cards while I was there), but Gould looks like the same Gould to me. I'd be very surprised if the "new guy" sticks around for more than a few weeks, unless Robbie starts to look much worse than he did while I was there.

 

17) How does Urlacher look? He looks healthy, in shape. I doubt he's really going full speed right now, but he looked happy and ready to go. Briggs looked like he was easing himself into the routine for now. Williams looks like he's in great shape.

 

18) Lots of the rooks understandably look like they are feeling out the ropes. Gilbert, Melton, Moore -- looking like they are working themselves into it, but still figuring things out a bit. Gilbert is a physical specimen, as advertised. It's hard to say what will happen. Moore is quick. Dropped a few quick tosses in drills, then looked really good on a few. Melton returned a kick on Monday, which was kind of cool.

 

That's all I can think of. Please don't take this as me thinking I know everything. I realize all of this is just one guy's opinion from the sideline. It's just a brain dump.

[da bears]

Soul, that was an awesome review. Thanks a lot for posting that. How'd Iglesias look? I haven't really heard much about him thus far.

[Omar]

How does Pisa Tinoisamoa look? Could he possibly start over Hillenmeyer?

[rawaction]

Wow...this is high praise:

 

Matt Forte is the next Brian Westbrook. His 5.4 YPA on runs with zero Point of Attack (POA) block losses last season was superb. He is also a terrific receiver (63 receptions for 477 yards) and can pass block quite well. If the Bears can apply the Eagles’ approach to using Westbrook to Forte, he could supplant Adrian Peterson as the best running back in the N.F.C. North as early as this season.

 

http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/03/the-bears-beyond-cutler/

 

He goes on to say.....

 

Part of why I say that about Forte is that Chicago also has one of the strongest sets of run-blocking guards in the league. Roberto Garza posted a superb 88.3 percent POA win rate and Josh Beekman wasn’t far behind at 85.7 percent. This duo should be able to open plenty of between-the-tackle holes for Forte.

 

I referenced this a few days ago. I don't know where these stats are coming from though.

[Soul]

Iglesias looked fairly solid to me. I was watching him because I heard he "wasn't getting it" or something like that from a few people.

 

But he looked fine to me. He had a drop or two on Saturday under the lights, but nothing that the other receivers didn't have, too.

 

Pisa looked fine to me. I didn't center in on him much, but he's certainly more of a physical specimen than Hillenmeyer. I wasn't fortunate enough to be really close to the linebackers when they were doing their individual drills. I did see him in on 2nd team, and some on the 1st team. I can't really say where they will go, but just my opinion -- I'd try him out over Hillenmeyer. We'll see.

[Soul]

Wow...this is high praise:

 

Matt Forte is the next Brian Westbrook. His 5.4 YPA on runs with zero Point of Attack (POA) block losses last season was superb. He is also a terrific receiver (63 receptions for 477 yards) and can pass block quite well. If the Bears can apply the Eagles’ approach to using Westbrook to Forte, he could supplant Adrian Peterson as the best running back in the N.F.C. North as early as this season.

 

http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/03/the-bears-beyond-cutler/

 

He goes on to say.....

 

Part of why I say that about Forte is that Chicago also has one of the strongest sets of run-blocking guards in the league. Roberto Garza posted a superb 88.3 percent POA win rate and Josh Beekman wasn’t far behind at 85.7 percent. This duo should be able to open plenty of between-the-tackle holes for Forte.

 

I referenced this a few days ago. I don't know where these stats are coming from though.

 

Right. KC Joyner is the same guy who made up the "failed decision rate" and used it to say Cutler will fail in Chicago. I'm not a big fan of the guy. He seems to be one of these guys who is trying to invent a new stat set for football. I'm a believer that football can't be quantified with statistics as baseball can. But whatever. POA is a made-up Joyner stat.

[rawaction]

 

1) Chris Williams looks like he needs work. He was getting beat by Ogun regularly in Saturday's practice, and again in drills on Monday. Didn't watch him much on Sunday. I'm not concerned yet.......but he needs work, that's all.

 

Pace has made some nice compliments about him. I still think if Shaffer gets a legit shot, he might beat out Williams, but it may be a case that you have to give Williams every chance to lose the job when games count.

 

10) Alright, Cutler. Here's what I see. The man's throwing motion is effortless. He doesn't appear to have to stress himself very much, even on the long throws. His feet look very "quiet" to me (in my unprofessional opinion). He doesn't stammer when he's ready to toss the ball. He stays very still. People have told me he looks down his receivers, but I clearly watched him going through his 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th reads regularly. He appears to do so quickly. He makes every throw with the correct amount of touch, as far as I can see. Nothing is thrown way too hard, or too soft. If it needs to get there quickly, he gets it there quickly. If it needs to be lofted in, he lofts it in. To me, he's the goods. Easily the best QB I've seen at a Bear camp -- I know that's not saying much, but there you have it. I'm impressed.

 

Pretty much my impressions from watching on TV. Can make every throw with ease and precision. Brandon Marshall wasn't one of the best WRs after the catch because he's that great. Cutler consistently puts the ball where it needs to be for his WRs to do something with it. But he can also make the throw into coverage away from the defenders.

 

11) People are saying they are impressed with Earl Bennett. To me, he has looked OK. However, I don't see anything about him that makes me go "wow." I'm not saying he won't succeed. I hope he does.

 

OK isn't a bad thing on the 4th day of camp for a guy who most fans didn't see do anything last year. He's not a "WOW" type WR. Him knowing the plays, running good routes, and catching the ball is good enough for him to be a strong contributor to this team.

 

Also, I have read on other boards that people don't expect much out of him because he didn't catch any passes last year and good WRs are guys that come in right away and catch a lot of balls. Sure, guys like Rice, T.O., and Moss all had big rookie years. And Bennett was in the same draft that produced 90-catch rookie, Eddie Royal. But there are plenty of guys who didn't do anything as rookies who became really good WRs.

 

Jimmy Smith - 0 rookie catches

Keenan McCardell- 1

Amani Toomer- 1

Joe Horn - 2

Cris Carter - 5.

 

Granted none of them are Hall of Famers outside of Carter, but they all finished in the top 40 all time in receptions. Carter finished 2nd.

[Banedon]

Right. KC Joyner is the same guy who made up the "failed decision rate" and used it to say Cutler will fail in Chicago. I'm not a big fan of the guy. He seems to be one of these guys who is trying to invent a new stat set for football. I'm a believer that football can't be quantified with statistics as baseball can. But whatever. POA is a made-up Joyner stat.

 

Yeah, I knew that was the same guy, and I don't really believe that Forte is gonna be better than AP, but I do think Forte will be one of the elite backs in the league before we're all said and done. I don't know if this will be the year he emerges as such, or if it will take a year of the team getting to know Cutler first....we'll see.

 

I definitely like Football Outsiders stats better than Joyners.

[Soul]

 

11) People are saying they are impressed with Earl Bennett. To me, he has looked OK. However, I don't see anything about him that makes me go "wow." I'm not saying he won't succeed. I hope he does.

 

OK isn't a bad thing on the 4th day of camp for a guy who most fans didn't see do anything last year. He's not a "WOW" type WR. Him knowing the plays, running good routes, and catching the ball is good enough for him to be a strong contributor to this team.

 

Also, I have read on other boards that people don't expect much out of him because he didn't catch any passes last year and good WRs are guys that come in right away and catch a lot of balls. Sure, guys like Rice, T.O., and Moss all had big rookie years. And Bennett was in the same draft that produced 90-catch rookie, Eddie Royal. But there are plenty of guys who didn't do anything as rookies who became really good WRs.

 

Jimmy Smith - 0 rookie catches

Keenan McCardell- 1

Amani Toomer- 1

Joe Horn - 2

Cris Carter - 5.

 

Granted none of them are Hall of Famers outside of Carter, but they all finished in the top 40 all time in receptions. Carter finished 2nd.

 

Even on the Bears, we recently had Berrian, who took a bit to get going. Marcus Robinson hung around the depth chart for a couple seasons before blossoming for a year or two. We'll be fine if Bennett can just be a solid guy who runs decent routes and doesn't drop the ball when called upon.

 

I don't really care about the hall of fame. I think those people are using a false comparison. We don't need Earl Bennett to follow the career path of Jerry Rice.

[David]

Iglesias looked fairly solid to me. I was watching him because I heard he "wasn't getting it" or something like that from a few people.

 

But he looked fine to me. He had a drop or two on Saturday under the lights, but nothing that the other receivers didn't have, too.

 

Pisa looked fine to me. I didn't center in on him much, but he's certainly more of a physical specimen than Hillenmeyer. I wasn't fortunate enough to be really close to the linebackers when they were doing their individual drills. I did see him in on 2nd team, and some on the 1st team. I can't really say where they will go, but just my opinion -- I'd try him out over Hillenmeyer. We'll see.

 

 

Pretty sure Pisa was named the 1st team guy toward or at the end of OTAs, so that's almost certainly where they'll go unless he really screws up.

 

Thanks for the report!

[Banedon]

Not a shocker or anything, but Olsen is officially the starter over Clark.

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/chi-04-haugh-on-bears-chicago-aug04,0,4679677.column

 

"Over the course of the last few months I have taken notice of a certain chemistry between Jay Cutler and Greg Olsen and think that it's something good in the making there," Clark wrote on 2009bears.blogspot.com.

 

"I look at Greg as a Pro Bowl-caliber starting tight end in this league, and that made it easier to deal with than if he was a first-rounder and they were just trying to get him in the lineup because of that," Clark said.

 

That was the reaction Bears coach Lovie Smith anticipated after he informed Clark.

 

"It says what type of guy Dez is," Smith said. "Real pros handle it that way, especially when you have a special player in Greg Olsen."

[Banedon]

Ha! The Chiefs apparently took a look at David Terrell....

 

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/afcwest/0-3-2544/Sources--Chiefs-may-sign-Toomer.html

[Magnetic Curses]

Not a shocker or anything, but Olsen is officially the starter over Clark.

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/chi-04-haugh-on-bears-chicago-aug04,0,4679677.column

 

"Over the course of the last few months I have taken notice of a certain chemistry between Jay Cutler and Greg Olsen and think that it's something good in the making there," Clark wrote on 2009bears.blogspot.com.

 

"I look at Greg as a Pro Bowl-caliber starting tight end in this league, and that made it easier to deal with than if he was a first-rounder and they were just trying to get him in the lineup because of that," Clark said.

 

That was the reaction Bears coach Lovie Smith anticipated after he informed Clark.

 

"It says what type of guy Dez is," Smith said. "Real pros handle it that way, especially when you have a special player in Greg Olsen."

 

dez knows that he's getting older in a young man's game, he knows that the bears gave him the opportunity to start and he repaid them for that chance. he also understands that it's olsen's time and that there is still a place on the team for both of them.