Game 13 - BEARS @ Minnesota Vikings - 12 PM

[SABR Gamer]

Emery did well with getting Marshall. Everything else he's done has kind of sucked. That's a huge win (BM), but way too much suck.

I've liked what I've seen of Jeffery while he's been on the field.

 

Forgot about Alshon. Yeah, he could end up being really good. So 2 wins, rest bleh.

 

Shea doesn't stink, but he does as our 1st round pick.

[cubbyvirus00]

Emery did well with getting Marshall. Everything else he's done has kind of sucked. That's a huge win (BM), but way too much suck.

I've liked what I've seen of Jeffery while he's been on the field.

 

Me too, I'm just completely down on Shea being an impact type of player. You don't draft a DE in the first round as a situational third down rusher who doesn't project as a full time starter.

[Guest]

Sucks that Irvin went when he did. We were set on taking him.

[cubbyvirus00]

Sucks that Irvin went when he did. We were set on taking him.

 

Irvin is more of a third down pass rusher and a situational player in my eyes. I think Chandler Jones was the perfect fit as a 4-3 end.

 

 

This just confirmed: Urlacher expected to miss the rest of the season with a Grade 2 hamstring strain.

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/breaking/chi-chicago-bears-brian-urlacher-hamstring-strain-20121204,0,882544.story

[SABR Gamer]

I would be disappointed, but he really looked close to worthless last week anyway.

[Banedon]

Annnnd Urlacher is possibly done for the season.

 

Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher is expected to miss the next three games and possibly the rest of the regular season with a Grade 2 hamstring strain, according to two sources familiar with his injury status.

 

EDIT: Oops, missed the link above.

[Old Style]

Annnnd Urlacher is possibly done for the season.

 

Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher is expected to miss the next three games and possibly the rest of the regular season with a Grade 2 hamstring strain, according to two sources familiar with his injury status.

 

EDIT: Oops, missed the link above.

Dammit. Have we seen the last of him in a Bears uniform?

[Mark Priors Calves]

Where does drafting a MLB rank in the other position priorities this offseason?

[Banedon]

Annnnd Urlacher is possibly done for the season.

 

Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher is expected to miss the next three games and possibly the rest of the regular season with a Grade 2 hamstring strain, according to two sources familiar with his injury status.

 

EDIT: Oops, missed the link above.

Dammit. Have we seen the last of him in a Bears uniform?

 

No. They said he should be ok for the playoffs. Outside chance he could play the Lions game, but I'd imagine that'd only be if they had to have that game.

[cubbyvirus00]

Where does drafting a MLB rank in the other position priorities this offseason?

 

Behind OL and next to TE followed by WR/CB.

[rawaction]

Where does drafting a MLB rank in the other position priorities this offseason?

 

Behind OL and next to TE followed by WR/CB.

 

MLB is an interesting position to have to fill in Chicago. Not only is this the Bears, Middle LB capital of the NFL. But this is Lovie's defense. The MLB is pretty important in what Lovie likes to do. Granted, the Bears play more and more man coverage every year, but I think he would go back to mixing more coverages if he had Urlacher's old athleticism to play with again.

 

If you replace Urlacher, you might have to do it with an early pick. That's the only way you're going to come close to possibly replacing Urlacher's ability. Manti Te'o will probably be long gone by the time the Bears pick.

 

Possible replacements in the draft would be (that I like):

- Alec Ogletree, UGA. I like him more at SLB (Bears could use one of those too as Roach is a FA), but he looks like a late 1, early 2nd round pick. Looks like a potentially excellent pass defender and potential blitzer.

- Kevin Minter, LSU. Good tackler, good instincts, decent speed. Not sure how he is in pass coverage. Leadership. Might be there late 2nd.

- Kevin Reddick, UNC. Super athlete. Never has made the big splash plays at UNC that his talent dictates he should. But he could be as good as any LB in this draft, and could probably be had for a 3rd-4th rounder at this point. If he tests out of the gym at the combine, may be a late 2nd rounder.

- Jonathan Bostic, FLA. Really stepped up into a leadership role on a very good Gators D this year. Can run, can hit, leadership ability. Decent coverage skills in zone. Probably a 3rd-4th round pick.

- Nico Johnson, Bama. May be drafting him more on potential than production. Never has really taken on a leadership role or been a 3-down player consistently. But he looks the part. Don't know that I'd trust him calling the defense in the 4-3. Probably better as a 3-4 ILB. Could go 2nd-4th round.

 

Unless Urlacher comes back in the playoffs and looks like a new man, the Bears can't risk bringing him back for anything resembling big money. Best case scenario, Roach looks good the next 3-4 weeks at MLB. Urlacher comes back in the playoffs, gives everything he has, looks good doing it, Bears win the SB and he retires on top (hinted at retiring if he gets a ring). Re-sign Roach. Draft a LB in the 4th round or so to either compete with JT Thomas at SLB or potentially play MLB with Roach moving back to SLB.

[rawaction]

For the record, I'm very interested to see how Roach does at MLB the next few weeks. I will go into more detail in my blog, but Urlacher has kind of been exploited a little in the run game.

[Guest]

Nice post, raw. I posted in the draft thread about guys I like. Didn't think of Roach sticking at MLB, that would allow a cheaper SLB replacement since the SLB doesn't play as much and sits when they go nickel.

 

I like Skov in round 2 and prefer Mosley to Johnson since he's actually produced at Alabama. But 3-4 questions are there for both.

 

ETA: Might as well just move my post here -

 

Manti Te'o won't be there when the Bears pick but Alec Ogletree, CJ Mosley, Kevin Minter and Shayne Skov could be suitable MLB options in the first or second rounds. A few of them play 3-4 in college right now (and all but Skov are underclassmen).

 

Offensive line still takes precedence.

[cubbyvirus00]

Nice post, raw. I posted in the draft thread about guys I like. Didn't think of Roach sticking at MLB, that would allow a cheaper SLB replacement since the SLB doesn't plaahea much and sits when they go nickel.

 

I like Skov in round 2 and prefer Mosley to Johnson since he's actually produced at Alabama. But 3-4 questions are there for both.

 

ETA: Might as well just move my post here -

 

Manti Te'o won't be there when the Bears pick but Alec Ogletree, CJ Mosley, Kevin Minter and Shayne Skov could be suitable MLB options in the first or second rounds. A few of them play 3-4 in college right now (and all but Skov are underclassmen).

 

Offensive line still takes precedence.

 

I think Free Agency this year is more important now then ever for this franchise. We have way too many needs to be filled by the draft. You need to get a quality Tackle in FA or a solid Tight End that will allow us more flexibility in the draft and properly fill out our needs. There are just too many critical positions on this team for the draft to keep us from going down next year with gaping holes.

[Guest]

Nice post, raw. I posted in the draft thread about guys I like. Didn't think of Roach sticking at MLB, that would allow a cheaper SLB replacement since the SLB doesn't plaahea much and sits when they go nickel.

 

I like Skov in round 2 and prefer Mosley to Johnson since he's actually produced at Alabama. But 3-4 questions are there for both.

 

ETA: Might as well just move my post here -

 

Manti Te'o won't be there when the Bears pick but Alec Ogletree, CJ Mosley, Kevin Minter and Shayne Skov could be suitable MLB options in the first or second rounds. A few of them play 3-4 in college right now (and all but Skov are underclassmen).

 

Offensive line still takes precedence.

 

I think Free Agency this year is more important now then ever for this franchise. We have way too many needs to be filled by the draft. You need to get a quality Tackle in FA or a solid Tight End that will allow us more flexibility in the draft and properly fill out our needs. There are just too many critical positions on this team for the draft to keep us from going down next year with gaping holes.

 

Plus no 3rd rounder.

 

I think TE should be easy to acquire via FA.

[Banedon]

I know they've been preaching the "he's a DE" thing, but could Shea be an MLB?

[Guest]

I know they've been preaching the "he's a DE" thing, but could Shea be an MLB?

 

I think he could be an OLB in a 4-3 but definitely not an MLB. He doesn't have the pass coverage ability needed to play MLB. But that might not work under Lovie since he wants his defenders extremely fast at the expense of size and McClellin would be the opposite of that.

[rawaction]

I know they've been preaching the "he's a DE" thing, but could Shea be an MLB?

 

Yeah, they've been adamant about Shea NOT being a future MLB, but they consistently play him....like a MLB. He plays standing up at least half the time. He could hold up much better vs. the run standing up. I think he has enough speed to play LB. I just don't know though.

[rawaction]

Nice post, raw. I posted in the draft thread about guys I like. Didn't think of Roach sticking at MLB, that would allow a cheaper SLB replacement since the SLB doesn't plaahea much and sits when they go nickel.

 

I like Skov in round 2 and prefer Mosley to Johnson since he's actually produced at Alabama. But 3-4 questions are there for both.

 

ETA: Might as well just move my post here -

 

Manti Te'o won't be there when the Bears pick but Alec Ogletree, CJ Mosley, Kevin Minter and Shayne Skov could be suitable MLB options in the first or second rounds. A few of them play 3-4 in college right now (and all but Skov are underclassmen).

 

Offensive line still takes precedence.

 

I think Free Agency this year is more important now then ever for this franchise. We have way too many needs to be filled by the draft. You need to get a quality Tackle in FA or a solid Tight End that will allow us more flexibility in the draft and properly fill out our needs. There are just too many critical positions on this team for the draft to keep us from going down next year with gaping holes.

 

I think it gets overstated how many "holes" the Bears have on the team. At some point it's going to be a miserable number of holes, but this isn't a team that's far away from a Superbowl winner. It's not out of the question they could do it this year, despite obvious flaws on the OL, at WR, TE, and possibly DL and LB depending on the week. One really good lineman and 1 more playmaker on either side of the ball could realistically make the Bears the best of the best, provided no huge dropoffs elsewhere.

 

But at some point the draft and player development is going to have to pay off in a major way. This team is where it is because of trades (Marshall, Cutler) and draft picks from 10 years ago (Tillman, Urlacher, Briggs). I wouldn't overdo it in free agency, that's not going to take care of the real issue with this organization. Give me a really good lineman in FA (LT or LG) and draft young players at TE, OL, CB, WR, LB, DL, whatever. Hopefully, a couple those guys step up along with guys like Jeffery, Carimi, Hardin, Rodriguez, etc. stepping up and all of a sudden you have 6-10 draft picks over the last 3 years contributing along with the core players like Cutler and Marshall.

[Guest]

The Bears do have a few young contributors in Paea, Wright and Conte. I think Jeffery has a good chance of being a meaningful contributor too. They really need Carimi and McClellin to not bust, given the age at DE and the general crappiness of the OL.

[rawaction]

The Bears do have a few young contributors in Paea, Wright and Conte. I think Jeffery has a good chance of being a meaningful contributor too. They really need Carimi and McClellin to not bust, given the age at DE and the general crappiness of the OL.

 

Melton too. Wootton and Collins have also shown flashes. Add a couple of young guys in the back 7 and you have a decent young core on D, if McClellin steps it up.

 

 

BTW, blog has been updated. I think it's pretty good this week!

 

http://www.mr-irrelevantpgh-chi.blogspot.com/

[Banedon]

Could Urlacher have played his last game with the Bears?

 

"I do not think that's going to happen,'' he told Ch. 32. "But, if it does, I have had a really good and long career so I would be sad, but I would not be crushed."

[cubbyvirus00]

Has anyone else heard the Bears songs Danny Mac has been singing on The Score? They're golden.

 

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/tag/mcneil-and-spiegel-holiday-song/

[BigSlick]

This is from the last page but I also think the Michael Bush signing was pretty good, he hasn't had a ton of opportunities, but he's a great complement to Forte, and in fact I'd say he's outplayed Forte thus far. His average isn't outstanding, but he's been in a good amount of short yardage and goaline situations that don't benefit you're P/C average, and from merely my subjective eye, he's been succesful in these situations. (In fact, the advanced stats bear this out- his success rate is 50%, which is better than Forte's 41% http://footballoutsiders.com/stats/rb )

 

I'm also not all that crushed by the Urlacher injury, though the drop off could still be dire if the other linebackers can't handle their new duties. We just need someone that can physically handle the job now.

 

It'll be nice having Jeffery back.

[cubbyvirus00]

This is from the last page but I also think the Michael Bush signing was pretty good, he hasn't had a ton of opportunities, but he's a great complement to Forte, and in fact I'd say he's outplayed Forte thus far. His average isn't outstanding, but he's been in a good amount of short yardage and goaline situations that don't benefit you're P/C average, and from merely my subjective eye, he's been succesful in these situations. (In fact, the advanced stats bear this out- his success rate is 50%, which is better than Forte's 41% http://footballoutsiders.com/stats/rb )

 

I'm also not all that crushed by the Urlacher injury, though the drop off could still be dire if the other linebackers can't handle their new duties. We just need someone that can physically handle the job now.

 

It'll be nice having Jeffery back.

 

I know he's been a little banged up but that Forte deal looks like bad money to me. He doesn't look like the same guy as last year