Bears Offseason Thread (Trestman new HC, pg 37)

[davell]

gregg rosenthal ‏@greggrosenthal

Jermon Bushrod billed as a savior is free agency lunacy.

 

Who in the heck is billing him like that besides meatheads?

The percentages of meatballs dwarfs us normal folk.

[Banedon]

Brad Biggs ‏@BradBiggs

So, contract for Bushrod falls closely in line with what #Giants paid to keep Will Beatty, just a little bit less.

 

Of course Beatty was far better last year.

 

Yeah, his +22.3 just barely beat out Bushrod's +1.5.

[Magnetic Curses]

Congratulations guys. Bushrod's departure from the Saints now means they have another gaping hole to fill.

 

That said, a lot of people here were much more upset to see Carl Nicks go last year than Jermon go to the Bears. Many credit his success to Brees' quick release and pocket presence, not because he's a great pass protector. I am genuinely curious to see how he handles the turf, the weather, more of a running scheme and having to protect a more statuesque QB. In any case, it sucks for us.

 

jay more statuesque than brees? you don't watch the bears very much.

[rawaction]

Congratulations guys. Bushrod's departure from the Saints now means they have another gaping hole to fill.

 

That said, a lot of people here were much more upset to see Carl Nicks go last year than Jermon go to the Bears. Many credit his success to Brees' quick release and pocket presence, not because he's a great pass protector. I am genuinely curious to see how he handles the turf, the weather, more of a running scheme and having to protect a more statuesque QB. In any case, it sucks for us.

 

jay more statuesque than brees? you don't watch the bears very much.

 

Brees has had the advantage of more open receivers and fewer occasions of multiple rushers coming at him.

[Magnetic Curses]

so here's the deal, bushrod played the toughest position on the 7th ranked pass-blocking line last year, they were 3rd in 2011, and 5th in 2010 and 4th in 2009. i have to believe that he's a major step up considering that the pressure the line was under to stop people from killing brees on every play, knowing full well he was going to pass.

[Butterscup1679666578]

Great day. Would love to add another OL in FA then have lots of freedom in the draft. Good stuff, Emery.

[Magnetic Curses]

i'm thinking we're going ILB in the first round and then OG in the second.

[davell]

I could see us going WR in the 1st or 2nd.

[cubbyvirus00]

so here's the deal, bushrod played the toughest position on the 7th ranked pass-blocking line last year, they were 3rd in 2011, and 5th in 2010 and 4th in 2009. i have to believe that he's a major step up considering that the pressure the line was under to stop people from killing brees on every play, knowing full well he was going to pass.

 

Bushrod was left solo on 80% of Drew Brees drop backs with 6 penalties in over 1100 snaps. Yea he's a definite upgrade.

[cubbyvirus00]

Great day. Would love to add another OL in FA then have lots of freedom in the draft. Good stuff, Emery.

 

Any interest in the newly released Heyward-Bey as our #3 field stretcher?

[Guest]

so here's the deal, bushrod played the toughest position on the 7th ranked pass-blocking line last year, they were 3rd in 2011, and 5th in 2010 and 4th in 2009. i have to believe that he's a major step up considering that the pressure the line was under to stop people from killing brees on every play, knowing full well he was going to pass.

 

Well explained. The new coaching staff will be much more pass happy. They've already added a pass catching big target in Bennett. They will likely utilize Forte, who is a fine receiver himself, more in the passing game, and will likely add a speedy target through the draft while also improving the offensive line. A more aggressive and effective passing attack should take pressure off of Cutler, who can also still run pretty well. I'm kind of hoping that this coaching staff can make better use of Evan Rodriguez as well.

[Guest]

so here's the deal, bushrod played the toughest position on the 7th ranked pass-blocking line last year, they were 3rd in 2011, and 5th in 2010 and 4th in 2009. i have to believe that he's a major step up considering that the pressure the line was under to stop people from killing brees on every play, knowing full well he was going to pass.

 

Don't get me wrong, he's a definite upgrade over Webb (and Webb/2013 Carimi a definite upgrade over 2012 Carimi/Scottt).

[rawaction]

Great day. Would love to add another OL in FA then have lots of freedom in the draft. Good stuff, Emery.

 

Any interest in the newly released Heyward-Bey as our #3 field stretcher?

 

Wow, that's surprising. Not really interested. I'm a firm believer that there are 4 positions you don't pay big money to as free agents: RB (dime a dozen), LB (dime a dozen), CB (usually severely overpaid) and WR (performance largely depends on QB and scheme). Can draft a similar WR to DHB.

[Banedon]

Sean Jensen ‏@seankjensen

 

Salary cap number for #Bears LT Jermon Bushrod for 2013 is $3.01 million, according to league source. #Bears had $7.01 million on Monday.

 

Sean Jensen ‏@seankjensen

 

Safe bet that Martellus Bennett cap number for 2013 is around or even below Bushrod's. As I keep saying, they can always create more...

 

Jason La Canfora ‏@JasonLaCanfora

 

Before diving in deep on Bushrod, Bears made exploratory call on Bryant McKinnie as fallback option. STL, PHI, MIA, ATL still in OT market

[Magnetic Curses]

so here's the deal, bushrod played the toughest position on the 7th ranked pass-blocking line last year, they were 3rd in 2011, and 5th in 2010 and 4th in 2009. i have to believe that he's a major step up considering that the pressure the line was under to stop people from killing brees on every play, knowing full well he was going to pass.

 

Well explained. The new coaching staff will be much more pass happy. They've already added a pass catching big target in Bennett. They will likely utilize Forte, who is a fine receiver himself, more in the passing game, and will likely add a speedy target through the draft while also improving the offensive line. A more aggressive and effective passing attack should take pressure off of Cutler, who can also still run pretty well. I'm kind of hoping that this coaching staff can make better use of Evan Rodriguez as well.

 

bennett is also a great pass blocker. rodriguez gives them flexibility as an h-back and has been working out with marshall and jeffery this offseason.

[NOLA]

I've seen tons of Bears games in the past few years. One of my best friends is from Chicago and I've seen quite a few. I never said Bushrod wasn't an upgrade, and in fact I'm sorry to see him leave town. I just hope you guys aren't thinking you're getting the caliber of left tackle that one would think when they see the Pro Bowl selections. He was beaten badly when he faced elite rush ends, and the lack of sacks can be attributed to Drew. He's got a knack for getting rid of the ball when he feels pressure.

 

By "statuesque", I mean Cutler takes tons more hits than Drew, partly because of a shitty line, but also because he doesn't throw the ball away. Also, Drew always had a Sproles, Pierre Thomas, Ingram or Ivory to dump the ball to. This inflated Bushrod's reputation, IMO.

[Guest]

I always understood statuesque to mean someone who just stands in the pocket and doesn't have athleticism to move around, which certainly isn't Cutler. Cutler doesn't have Brees' release, weapons or o-line, but he's more mobile and is better at escaping pressure than Brees.

[NOLA]

I always understood statuesque to mean someone who just stands in the pocket and doesn't have athleticism to move around, which certainly isn't Cutler. Cutler doesn't have Brees' release, weapons or o-line, but he's more mobile and is better at escaping pressure than Brees.

 

Maybe bad terminology on my part.

 

All that said, Bushrod is pretty good, not great. That's better than what we have, which is suck, ala Charles Brown.

[rawaction]

Sean Jensen ‏@seankjensen

 

Salary cap number for #Bears LT Jermon Bushrod for 2013 is $3.01 million, according to league source. #Bears had $7.01 million on Monday.

 

Sean Jensen ‏@seankjensen

 

Safe bet that Martellus Bennett cap number for 2013 is around or even below Bushrod's. As I keep saying, they can always create more...

 

Jason La Canfora ‏@JasonLaCanfora

 

Before diving in deep on Bushrod, Bears made exploratory call on Bryant McKinnie as fallback option. STL, PHI, MIA, ATL still in OT market

 

That cap number is nice this year, but it's probably ugly in the future.

[WrigleyField 22]

Yea we probably overpaid a little, but this is okay. As far as future cap hit, well in Cliff Stein I trust.

 

I am worried about Bushrod a little. He was down last year. But compared to other guys who may have big injury concerns, you probably were risking something. I think I'll risk a talent rebound over a injury rebound like Long.

 

He certainly isn't a savior. This feels a bit like the Tait signing.

 

Getting Bennett hopefully means Davis' days are numbered, probably Spaeth's too, as Bennett isn't a receiving only TE. Hopefully Garza is cut, and at this point you probably are still in okay cap space and might as well just hold on to Hester. Shore up depth and the LB spot, but probably no other big signings. And no pressing needs for Rd1 or Rd2 in the draft.

[cbbryan]

That cap number is nice this year, but it's probably ugly in the future.

 

 

I don't doubt that at all. Many of these contracts you can rip up after the first couple years though.

 

I think it's a great move. The Bears had to upgrade the line, especially the LT position. Bushrod may not be the best in the league, but he's certainly better than J'Marcus Webb.

[Magnetic Curses]

bushrod organized a harlem shake last week in new orleans and then left town.

 

[Soul]

Webb was also compensated for, greatly. He may look decent in some numbers, but people need to remember that the Bears spent an awful lot of time giving him help, and Jay spent a lot of time keeping an eye out to his side for free runners. Sure, he got a little better -- just as anyone would. But he's one of the worst LT's in the league, and I've got to believe Bushrod is a significant upgrade -- even if Bushrod only brings the position back to average.

 

Also, with the signing of Bennett, it seems clear that Emery & Trestman are determined to protect Jay Cutler. Through Bushrod blocking, or Bennett helping with his excellent pass blocking. The priority is now clear, and I'm definitely happy about that.

[davell]

This is quite a bit different than how Angelo operated and I love it. Will this result in some dead money, at some point? Very likely. But, you can restructure and keep putting it off as well. Which is what I think should be done with a team that is very close to contention. 4-5 years from now, Emery isn't even guaranteed to be here and we filled 2 very big holes today without spending 7 mill in immediate cap space. Who knows? We may still be after Moore or Booth, plus resigning a few of our own as well. Hopefully we've got some extensions and restructures coming up. But just cutting Davis, Spaeth, maybe Hester or Garza, could be all thats necessary to get under enough for our draft class and a few resigns.

[rawaction]

Baker back to the Falcons, was probably never realistically going to leave.