2009 Chicago Bears offseason

[Mark Priors Calves]

The reason Earl Bennett did not see playing time last year: he says he didn't know the plays until week 6 or 7. He must have Devin Hester disease.

 

.http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/chi-19-bears-bits-chicago-mar19,0,3686415.story

 

another reason we shouldn't have cut moose, he could have told both hester and bennett where to line up.

 

There were absolutely zero reasons not to cut Moose.

what about "hanging with the moose" on comcast?

[WrigleyField 22]

I think they've set themselves up where they absolutely have to take a tackle in the first round. They are dead set on Hester being the #1 receiver. The defensive line improvements are supposedly coming from better coaching. They've outright said Omiyale is the RT "for now". Had they really planned on starting him at RT, don't you think he would have started mini-camp at RT while JSC was still an unsigned free agent? They are going to draft a guy, then have Omiyale try to win a guard spot.

I don't think they are "dead set" on Hester as the #1 receiver. Although, even if they spend their first pick on a WR, he likely won't be a #1 receiver right away, so Hester becomes #1 by default. The only way we'd have a different #1 is if we did something like sign Tory Holt.

 

And if they're confident that Williams is the LT, and are looking for a RT, they might rather wait until the second round for Loaholt, rather than take someone like Britton at 18.

 

I think the Bears could go multiple directions with the first few picks.

[YearofDaCubs]

The Bears never should've moved Hester away from PR/KR in the first place.

[jersey cubs fan]

The Bears never should've moved Hester away from PR/KR in the first place.

 

Why? He wasn't going to be an amazing kick returner forever. And you don't build longterm success via the return game. The Bears were in desperate need of WR talent, and Hester was one of the few options they had.

[Wilson A2000]

The Bears never should've moved Hester away from PR/KR in the first place.

 

I agree. They should never have told him he could be the number one receiver. Why would you want to move possibly the best returner in NFL history out of that position? This one is on Lovie.

[YearofDaCubs]

The Bears never should've moved Hester away from PR/KR in the first place.

 

Why? He wasn't going to be an amazing kick returner forever. And you don't build longterm success via the return game. The Bears were in desperate need of WR talent, and Hester was one of the few options they had.

Because he had A LOT more value as a returner. I personally don't think he has the WR skills to be a true #1 WR anyway.

[jersey cubs fan]

I think they've set themselves up where they absolutely have to take a tackle in the first round. They are dead set on Hester being the #1 receiver. The defensive line improvements are supposedly coming from better coaching. They've outright said Omiyale is the RT "for now". Had they really planned on starting him at RT, don't you think he would have started mini-camp at RT while JSC was still an unsigned free agent? They are going to draft a guy, then have Omiyale try to win a guard spot.

I don't think they are "dead set" on Hester as the #1 receiver. Although, even if they spend their first pick on a WR, he likely won't be a #1 receiver right away, so Hester becomes #1 by default. The only way we'd have a different #1 is if we did something like sign Tory Holt.

 

And if they're confident that Williams is the LT, and are looking for a RT, they might rather wait until the second round for Loaholt, rather than take someone like Britton at 18.

 

I think the Bears could go multiple directions with the first few picks.

 

Sure they could go multiple directions. But OT always has been, and still is, the most obvious glaring need. Smith talked up Hester emerging and performing as a number 1 late last year. They've shown no interest in what has been a fairly large number of available free agent WR. They could take one in the first, but I seriously doubt it. The offensive line is a place where you need 5 starters and probably at least 2 capable fill-ins. You only need 2 starting receivers and maybe 3 in any game. They need lineman and they need them badly.

[rawaction]

The Bears never should've moved Hester away from PR/KR in the first place.

 

I agree. They should never have told him he could be the number one receiver. Why would you want to move possibly the best returner in NFL history out of that position? This one is on Lovie.

 

Maybe because you want your player with the most ability to score touchdowns to have more than 3-4 chances to score? Teams were kicking away from Hester already. He wasn't getting near the returns he should have.

[jersey cubs fan]

The Bears never should've moved Hester away from PR/KR in the first place.

 

Why? He wasn't going to be an amazing kick returner forever. And you don't build longterm success via the return game. The Bears were in desperate need of WR talent, and Hester was one of the few options they had.

Because he had A LOT more value as a returner. I personally don't think he has the WR skills to be a true #1 WR anyway.

 

In the short term, and maybe the very short term. Returners don't have long shelf lives. And while he affected games big time in 2006, his 2007 didn't do anything to change the downturn. WR are far more important than return men. It was unrealistic to think Hester would maintain the pace he started out his career with. Over the longterm, he probably has much more value at receiver. He may never be a 90 catch 1000 yard 10 TD receiver, but he can be very productive, if they get decent QB play, a line that can block and another receiver to complement him.

[Wilson A2000]

The Bears never should've moved Hester away from PR/KR in the first place.

 

Why? He wasn't going to be an amazing kick returner forever.

 

Maybe not. But I would never take away opportunities from him until he shows that he can't do it anymore. This is akin to Lovie saying, "We changed our offensive strategy because we knew the defense would stop us, and we wanted to change it up before they could." Stick with what works until it doesn't work. In 07 the Bears led the league in field possession. Who knows what could have happened last year.

[jersey cubs fan]

The Bears never should've moved Hester away from PR/KR in the first place.

 

Why? He wasn't going to be an amazing kick returner forever.

 

Maybe not. But I would never take away opportunities from him until he shows that he can't do it anymore. This is akin to Lovie saying, "We changed our offensive strategy because we knew the defense would stop us, and we wanted to change it up before they could." Stick with what works until it doesn't work. In 07 the Bears led the league in field possession. Who knows what could have happened last year.

 

The point is it didn't work in 2007. They had an amazing returner and were still mediocre. They needed offense. Return games don't make winning teams.

[Wilson A2000]

The Bears never should've moved Hester away from PR/KR in the first place.

 

Why? He wasn't going to be an amazing kick returner forever.

 

Maybe not. But I would never take away opportunities from him until he shows that he can't do it anymore. This is akin to Lovie saying, "We changed our offensive strategy because we knew the defense would stop us, and we wanted to change it up before they could." Stick with what works until it doesn't work. In 07 the Bears led the league in field possession. Who knows what could have happened last year.

 

The point is it didn't work in 2007. They had an amazing returner and were still mediocre. They needed offense. Return games don't make winning teams.

 

The offense was better this year than in 07 and Hester didn't have that much to do with it. At least it was until Orton got hurt. It didn't matter how good Hester was without a QB who can throw an accurate long ball.

[jersey cubs fan]

The offense was better this year than in 07 and Hester didn't have that much to do with it. At least it was until Orton got hurt. It didn't matter how good Hester was without a QB who can throw an accurate long ball.

 

First off, he was their best receiver, so clearly he had something to do with it. And how does this defend the stance that they shouldn't have moved him. Moving him helped the offense and the team was better. They need line help and a healthy Orton or better QB.

[Wilson A2000]

The Bears never should've moved Hester away from PR/KR in the first place.

 

I agree. They should never have told him he could be the number one receiver. Why would you want to move possibly the best returner in NFL history out of that position? This one is on Lovie.

 

Maybe because you want your player with the most ability to score touchdowns to have more than 3-4 chances to score? Teams were kicking away from Hester already. He wasn't getting near the returns he should have.

 

But the Bears were getting the ball at the 40 every time they did that. I'll take that.

[Wilson A2000]

The offense was better this year than in 07 and Hester didn't have that much to do with it. At least it was until Orton got hurt. It didn't matter how good Hester was without a QB who can throw an accurate long ball.

 

First off, he was their best receiver, so clearly he had something to do with it. And how does this defend the stance that they shouldn't have moved him. Moving him helped the offense and the team was better. They need line help and a healthy Orton or better QB.

 

Hester is easily replaceable as a receiver. You get a receiver who has height, some speed, and knows the plays and he can reproduce what Hester does. I am not against making Hester a WR, but not an every-down receiver until he proves he cannot return kicks and punts. And I would like him to prove that without first tiring him out as a receiver. He deserves the chance to show that he can't do it anymore.

[jersey cubs fan]

The Bears never should've moved Hester away from PR/KR in the first place.

 

I agree. They should never have told him he could be the number one receiver. Why would you want to move possibly the best returner in NFL history out of that position? This one is on Lovie.

 

Maybe because you want your player with the most ability to score touchdowns to have more than 3-4 chances to score? Teams were kicking away from Hester already. He wasn't getting near the returns he should have.

 

But the Bears were getting the ball at the 40 every time they did that. I'll take that.

 

The other team got the ball on the 5 sometimes as well.

 

The bottom line is you don't build a sustainable contender on the back of a kick returners. You need a real offense. Hester is the Bears best reciever, and he's not at all easily replacable. He can still return the occasional kick, but they have other guys who are pretty darn good at that gig.

[Soul]

The offense was better this year than in 07 and Hester didn't have that much to do with it. At least it was until Orton got hurt. It didn't matter how good Hester was without a QB who can throw an accurate long ball.

 

First off, he was their best receiver, so clearly he had something to do with it. And how does this defend the stance that they shouldn't have moved him. Moving him helped the offense and the team was better. They need line help and a healthy Orton or better QB.

 

Hester is easily replaceable as a receiver. You get a receiver who has height, some speed, and knows the plays and he can reproduce what Hester does. I am not against making Hester a WR, but not an every-down receiver until he proves he cannot return kicks and punts. And I would like him to prove that without first tiring him out as a receiver. He deserves the chance to show that he can't do it anymore.

 

I guess PR, but on KR Manning looked pretty good to me. Actually, I believe Manning had his best year as a pro last year, and it looked to me like part of that was the confidence he gained by being able to contribute as a KR.

 

I'm actually going to support NOT moving Hester back to KR now. At this point they've come so far down the "make him a WR" road -- why switch him back again? Why keep having him straddle 2 completely different roles when they know he struggles with it? Just keep drilling him on WR skills. Even if he doesn't wind up a #1, he should always be able to be a deep threat.

[Wilson A2000]

The bottom line is you don't build a sustainable contender on the back of a kick returners. You need a real offense. Hester is the Bears best reciever, and he's not at all easily replacable. He can still return the occasional kick, but they have other guys who are pretty darn good at that gig.

 

Which is why Jerry needed to get another WR. Hester is slightly above average. Slightly above average WRs are easily replaceable.

[jersey cubs fan]

The bottom line is you don't build a sustainable contender on the back of a kick returners. You need a real offense. Hester is the Bears best reciever, and he's not at all easily replacable. He can still return the occasional kick, but they have other guys who are pretty darn good at that gig.

 

Which is why Jerry needed to get another WR. Hester is slightly above average. Slightly above average WRs are easily replaceable.

 

I'm not sure how he qualifies as only slightly above average, and I'm not sure why anybody would assume Hester will never improve upon what he did last year.

[WrigleyField 22]

I think they've set themselves up where they absolutely have to take a tackle in the first round. They are dead set on Hester being the #1 receiver. The defensive line improvements are supposedly coming from better coaching. They've outright said Omiyale is the RT "for now". Had they really planned on starting him at RT, don't you think he would have started mini-camp at RT while JSC was still an unsigned free agent? They are going to draft a guy, then have Omiyale try to win a guard spot.

I don't think they are "dead set" on Hester as the #1 receiver. Although, even if they spend their first pick on a WR, he likely won't be a #1 receiver right away, so Hester becomes #1 by default. The only way we'd have a different #1 is if we did something like sign Tory Holt.

 

And if they're confident that Williams is the LT, and are looking for a RT, they might rather wait until the second round for Loaholt, rather than take someone like Britton at 18.

 

I think the Bears could go multiple directions with the first few picks.

 

Sure they could go multiple directions. But OT always has been, and still is, the most obvious glaring need. Smith talked up Hester emerging and performing as a number 1 late last year. They've shown no interest in what has been a fairly large number of available free agent WR. They could take one in the first, but I seriously doubt it. The offensive line is a place where you need 5 starters and probably at least 2 capable fill-ins. You only need 2 starting receivers and maybe 3 in any game. They need lineman and they need them badly.

Smith almost always supports his players, ie- "Rex Grossman is our QB". I would never put too much stock into that. It could just be posturing. Besides Jerry always surprises in drafts. How many years did we clamor for a TE before we got Olsen. He never goes with an obvious need, and he certainly isn't afraid to pick a later pick with the intent that they will be a main contributor or starter.

 

We may still go OT in round 1, but it will depend on whats there. If Maclin falls and Britton is the best OT, does Jerry pass that up? I don't think so, he takes a WR and waits in round two for someone like Loadholt or a Guard. If some really good DE or DT was available I wouldn't put it past Jerry to take him even though its not our most pressing need. Even a DB I could see Jerry picking if the value was right.

 

I think the odds are WR:35%, OT:35%, Other/BPA:30%.

 

As far as your point about needing 5 lineman and 2 WR:

 

We have 1 WR good enough to start. We have 3 lineman who started every game last year, a first rounder, and a guy we gave a pretty decent sized contract to. Which one looks more complete?

 

Finally, I think its much more likely that we find a starting OL in the second vs. a starting WR in the second.

[jersey cubs fan]

Besides Jerry always surprises in drafts. How many years did we clamor for a TE before we got Olsen. He never goes with an obvious need, and he certainly isn't afraid to pick a later pick with the intent that they will be a main contributor or starter.

 

The only people that clamored for a first round TE were people who didn't pay attention to the fact that they had a good capable TE on the roster already. That was never a need in the first round. Angelo isn't all that surpsing. Last year's Tackle pick was obvious, the Olsen pick was obvious as well.

 

Teams in need of a starting WR right now rarely ever find them in the first round of the draft. The Bears won't find one this year. They could find a guy capable of starting at tackle, and they absolutely should draft one. The line is a mess, and it doesn't matter who plays receiver if the line stays as is.

[WrigleyField 22]

I agree a high WR pick isn't likely to have an immediate impact.

 

However, depending on the draft plays out, we can grab a high risk WR and still get an OT in round 2 who better fits our specific line needs.

 

Let's just say the choices were:

 

Rd 1- Britten

Rd 2- Robiskie or BPA (and we'll assume this BPA isn't someone who was expected to go earlier and fits another need like Delmas at FS or Ayers at DE)

 

or

 

Rd 1- Maclin or Heyward-Bey, maybe trade down slightly for Nicks or Britt

Rd 2- Loadholt

 

Okay, so obviously we won't know who will actually be around in the second round, but you can take a calculated risk with relative certainty that a player will be available. But just looking at those two scenarios:

Either Britten or Loadholt should be able to start. I think Loadholt fills our needs better. We lack size on the OL. Loadholt could anchor our run game in a way that Britten wouldn't. Britten is pretty similar to what Williams would offer. Loadholts contrast would make for a more well rounded line.

 

At the WR spot neither is really likely to be an immediate starter, but the guys available in the first round sure have great potential to be impact players in the future.

 

Again, I'll stress that when we make the first pick we won't know exactly whos going to be available, but when you have multiple needs you have to consider what may be there with your later picks.

 

Maybe Oher drops, and in that case you go with him. Someone like Britten, I'm not so sure. You may take the risk with a WR or DE and hope Loadholt is around in round two. If Loadholts not around theres a good chance you can find a starting quality guard in the second or third round and Omilaye plays tackle, which he is capable of doing.

[WrigleyField 22]

Hypothetical Scenario:

 

How would you guys feel if the Bears selected Pat White in the second or third round to be used as a Wilcat QB, backup WR, and third string QB?

 

Note: I personally can't see the Bears drafting White with the intention of regularly running a Wildcat formation. However, the draft expert at RealGM.com has had White as the Bears second round pick for the past few updates, so maybe there is something there. Or maybe the Bears just like him as strictly a QB?

[Soul]

Besides Jerry always surprises in drafts. How many years did we clamor for a TE before we got Olsen. He never goes with an obvious need, and he certainly isn't afraid to pick a later pick with the intent that they will be a main contributor or starter.

 

The only people that clamored for a first round TE were people who didn't pay attention to the fact that they had a good capable TE on the roster already. That was never a need in the first round. Angelo isn't all that surpsing. Last year's Tackle pick was obvious, the Olsen pick was obvious as well.

 

Teams in need of a starting WR right now rarely ever find them in the first round of the draft. The Bears won't find one this year. They could find a guy capable of starting at tackle, and they absolutely should draft one. The line is a mess, and it doesn't matter who plays receiver if the line stays as is.

 

I don't deny going OT in the first round would be a viable choice. But it certainly isn't the only direction the Bears could go, and still have a good draft.

[Wilson A2000]

The bottom line is you don't build a sustainable contender on the back of a kick returners. You need a real offense. Hester is the Bears best reciever, and he's not at all easily replacable. He can still return the occasional kick, but they have other guys who are pretty darn good at that gig.

 

Which is why Jerry needed to get another WR. Hester is slightly above average. Slightly above average WRs are easily replaceable.

 

I'm not sure how he qualifies as only slightly above average, and I'm not sure why anybody would assume Hester will never improve upon what he did last year.

 

No height, no brain, no size. He has speed and maneuverability. This equals slightly above average when all is said and done. He has the Steve Smith skill set, but will never be Steve Smith.