Week 7 - Bears (4-2) @ Humanskins (1-3) 12 pm CT FOX

[sneakypower]

found a Rotoworld article, from 4/12

 

Second-round quarterbacks since Brees:

 

Andy Dalton (Bengals), 2011

Colin Kaepernick (49ers), 2011

Jimmy Clausen (Panthers), 2010

Pat White (Dolphins), 2009

Brian Brohm (Packers), 2008

Chad Henne (Dolphins), 2008

Kevin Kolb (Eagles), 2007

John Beck (Dolphins), 2007

Drew Stanton (Lions), 2007

Kellen Clemens (Jets), 2006

Tarvaris Jackson (Vikings), 2006

 

*No quarterbacks were drafted in the second round of the 2002-2005 drafts.

[UMFan83]

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/79389/things-fall-apart-the-demise-of-the-chicago-bears-defense

 

Grantland story breaking down why the Bears defense sucks

[Guest]

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/79389/things-fall-apart-the-demise-of-the-chicago-bears-defense

 

Grantland story breaking down why the Bears defense sucks

 

WOO lemme read that!

[Guest]

I'd be OK with drafting a QB in the second round this year and defense everywhere else.

 

I'd like to get at least one offensive lineman. A center, preferably.

 

You can get a good one in the third or fourth round, allowing you to focus on defensive starters in the first few rounds.

[Guest]

Agree; outside of Bridgewater, Mariota and maybe Hundley, the list looks like a bunch of backups. Manziel is interesting, but Murray, Boyd, McCarron...not exciting.

 

Carr and Fales are interesting, maybe Mettenberger (has the arm and this weekend notwithstanding, has made a lot of progress).

 

Not a fan of Murray or McCarron. They're doing well because of the other 10 guys on the field.

[rawaction]

Man, any Bears talk just makes me depressed. The short term and long term outlook for this team is.....not good.

 

The offense looks very good and it's still early in its development. It isn't exactly young but it isn't old either. It's also possible to alleviate the defensive problems with one really good draft (obviously will take some luck).

 

The offense is definitely in its prime years with the defense needing to be rebuilt, it has happened before with a one year turnover with less talent in that previous year.

 

I think the defense needs at least 3-4 new starters + young talented bodies to create depth. By the time the Defense can bridge the gap with the talent level on the offense Cutler, Forte and Marshall will be near the end of their prime. Not sure if that is extremely negative, or just realistic.

 

First of all, the defense will look a lot younger when the old guard leaves. Peppers and Tillman may be gone this offseason. Briggs at most is here thru 2014. I think a decent foundation for the future D is in place. Wootton, Bostic, Frey, Paea, Greene are in place. You hope they can salvage something out of MCClellin andConte. I think the first round pick will be spent on the DL. And u could still bring back Melton.

 

On offense, not concerned about the age. A QBs prime extends beyond mid-to-late 20s. Cutler could conceivably have 5-7 good years left. As good as Forte is, he's at the most replaceable position in the league. Marshall 's replacement is basically already in house and WRs are pretty replaceable if u have a good QB.

 

As for the 3-4 new starters, you have the 2 early picks (1st and 2nd rounders) and tons of money for free agents. I'd expect one on each end of the D, a pass rusher and probably a S to replace Wright or challenge Conte.....even if the FA isn't a huge name.

[rawaction]

Agree; outside of Bridgewater, Mariota and maybe Hundley, the list looks like a bunch of backups. Manziel is interesting, but Murray, Boyd, McCarron...not exciting.

 

Carr and Fales are interesting, maybe Mettenberger (has the arm and this weekend notwithstanding, has made a lot of progress).

 

Not a fan of Murray or McCarron. They're doing well because of the other 10 guys on the field.

 

Big fan of Carr. Bears like him too from what I hear. Of course I think David Carr would have been good if not ruined by 80 sacks as a rookie.

 

Murray is Jimmy Clausen redux. McCarron is a poor man's Sam Bradford.

[pitchcs]

I would want nobody less than Aaron Murray...what is he, 1-12 vs. good teams?

[UK1679666180]

The two QBs I like in the mid to late rounds are Garoppolo of EIU and Mathews of Cornell.

[rawaction]

The two QBs I like in the mid to late rounds are Garoppolo of EIU and Mathews of Cornell.

 

Yeah, big fans of both. Those are my 2 favorite QBs after the 2nd round. People are really talking up Garropolo as maybe a late 1st/early 2nd round pick (all 32 teams have gone to see EIU play already this year), but that's not going to happen unless most of the big names stay in school. I've heard Matthews as early as 4th round, but he looks to be a 5th or 6th rounder.

[Banedon]

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/79389/things-fall-apart-the-demise-of-the-chicago-bears-defense

 

Grantland story breaking down why the Bears defense sucks

 

WOO lemme read that!

 

Spoiler alert:

 

The defense sucks.

[jersey cubs fan]

The two QBs I like in the mid to late rounds are Garoppolo of EIU and Mathews of Cornell.

 

Yeah, big fans of both. Those are my 2 favorite QBs after the 2nd round. People are really talking up Garropolo as maybe a late 1st/early 2nd round pick (all 32 teams have gone to see EIU play already this year), but that's not going to happen unless most of the big names stay in school. I've heard Matthews as early as 4th round, but he looks to be a 5th or 6th rounder.

 

Ewww, a Cornell QB? No thanks.

[Rex Buckingham]

I know that Peanut is getting old, but do we think he could drop back to safety? I know someone mentioned it a page or two ago... No, he's not a Charles Woodson level corner, but he's darn good and always seems to be in the right place, just that his body is breaking down a bit. Would that help squeeze a couple more years out of him?

[mul21]

I know that Peanut is getting old, but do we think he could drop back to safety? I know someone mentioned it a page or two ago... No, he's not a Charles Woodson level corner, but he's darn good and always seems to be in the right place, just that his body is breaking down a bit. Would that help squeeze a couple more years out of him?

 

Putting him in a spot where he's more likely to have to tackle RBs on a regular basis than at CB seems counter intuitive to me when you're trying to keep him away from injuries.

[rawaction]

I think Tillman is every bit the CB that Charles Woodson was. Woodson has some very down years on his resume in Oakland and wasn't always good in GB. I don't know that Tillman's best is at Woodson's best, but he's definitely had better lows.

[Banedon]

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9867853/washington-redskins-support-brandon-meriweather-scoff-martellus-bennett-brandon-marshall-chicago-bears

[rawaction]

Tired of NFL Network and most of the internet saying that Briggs is the biggest Bears' injury. In what universe is losing any LB bigger than losing your starting QB? Your VERY GOOD starting QB?

 

What's the worst that can happen to the defense? They're already bottom 3 in the league. 30th to 32nd ain't that big of a drop. The offense has a lot more to lose, regardless of how McCown played against another terrible defense.

[jersey cubs fan]

Pat Kirwan ‏@PatKirwanCBS 45m

I really think the players, coaches and fans need to hear from Ted Cotrell on why Meriweather's suspension was reduced

[Soul]

I know that Peanut is getting old, but do we think he could drop back to safety? I know someone mentioned it a page or two ago... No, he's not a Charles Woodson level corner, but he's darn good and always seems to be in the right place, just that his body is breaking down a bit. Would that help squeeze a couple more years out of him?

 

Putting him in a spot where he's more likely to have to tackle RBs on a regular basis than at CB seems counter intuitive to me when you're trying to keep him away from injuries.

Maybe, but safeties seem to acquire injuries regardless - probably for the exact reason you described. It wouldn't be just a Tillman thing if he spent time injured.

 

I think he'd be good at it, for a couple years. It depends on how the Bears look at it and how much he's paid.

[Banedon]

Here's Emery on Shea and Peppers from earlier in the week:

 

“I’ve seen improvement in Shea, particularly in his strength against the run,” he said. “The primary thing to remember about our defense, as opposed to how some others are structured, is we’re a one-gap fit defense. Generally our ends are C-gap players. In our defense, the most important thing is gap discipline and doing your job first. I’ve seen drastic differences between him from a year ago in being able to maintain that leverage on that gap, to be able to drop his hips, extend his arms and hold his ground so that the ball is turned into another gap. So in terms of playing team defense, Shea is doing a great job at that.

 

“Julius, in his words and my words, we want him to continue to improve where he’s at as a player. I’ve seen some great individual plays and I think he wants to improve his consistency and so do the rest of us.”

[UMFan83]

Man this is a terrible article IMO:

 

http://nfl.si.com/2013/10/23/nfl-trade-rumors-jared-allen-justin-blackmon/?sct=hp_t1t_a2&eref=sihp

 

The first trade they suggest is Washington trading Fred Davis to the Bears for a conditional 6th rounder. This makes no sense at all to waste a late round pick for another TE when there are 100 other holes (mostly injury related) preventing this team from being a contender.

 

The other one that stood out to me was Jags trading Justin Blackmon to the Ravens for a 3rd round pick. Blackmon was the 5th pick in the draft just a year ago and has actually appeared to actually live up to his high pick. Why would they take one of their only valuable resources and trade him for a 3rd?

[JonJayCutler]

"I predict Jay Cutler will be back in two weeks," Brandon Marshall said. "They say four-to-six, but we've got the right people around Jay right now so we'll get it done."

[UMFan83]

Just looking over the DVOA rankings. Somehow the Bears are still 8th in the rankings overall, 7th offensively, 17th defensively and 9th special teams.

 

Breaking down the rankings:

 

Offense:

Last week - 9th

This week - 7th

Pass offense - 9th

Rush offense - 7th

 

Defense:

Last week - 13th

This week - 17th

Pass defense - 21st

Rush defense - 11th (weird, I thought it'd be reverse)

 

ST:

Last week - 19th

This week - 9th

[ConstableRabbit]

Just looking over the DVOA rankings. Somehow the Bears are still 8th in the rankings overall, 7th offensively, 17th defensively and 9th special teams.

 

Breaking down the rankings:

 

Offense:

Last week - 9th

This week - 7th

Pass offense - 9th

Rush offense - 7th

 

Defense:

Last week - 13th

This week - 17th

Pass defense - 21st

Rush defense - 11th (weird, I thought it'd be reverse)

 

ST:

Last week - 19th

This week - 9th

Pittsburgh.

[BigSlick]

double post Edited October 26, 2013 by BigSlick