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2014 Chicago Bears Offseason Thread

sweetpeteman

By sweetpeteman,
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I'm having trouble prioritizing defensive need for the Bears. They need players at just about every position. Best defensive player available for the first round?

 

If Nix III is there at the 14th, I'm having a hard time thinking who I would pick over him.

 

If you went by that mock offseason in page 2 in this thread, HaHa or a CB (who is the #1 CB in this draft anyway??)

 

I think it's probably Justin Gilbert from Ok State.

 

Would love to see Nix on the Bears. That guy is a monster. HaHa would be interesting. I feel like we've seen what big time safeties can do recently with Vaccaro, Berry, Earl Thomas, etc. going early and being impact players... not saying HaHa is anywhere near Berry or Thomas, but he's a well-regarded safety along the likes of Vaccaro (different positions though, right?) who helped the Saints D tremendously

 

The top of the CB position is really good, IMO. Also very tight as to who is the best. I personally still like Bradley Roby from Ohio St, he's the athletic freak though he got lit up at times this season. Gilbert has the ball skills and is a great returner, but seems to make boneheaded mistakes. Ekpre-Olomu is a stud from Oregon, but is probably a little undersized. Still I think he's every bit as good as Trufant (and similar size), who the Bears liked last year. I also like Dennard from Michigan St. He was a shutdown CB the last 1.5 years, but doesn't have the great athletic ability like the other 3.

 

Also, love Nix. He'd be my ideal pick at 14. He can play 3-4 NT, but his quickness make him better in a 4-3 gap shooting D for me. I like Hageman too, but not as much at 14. Tuitt is interesting too, if the Bears play any 3-4. But I also wouldn't mind him as a big 4-3 DE on run downs (though he's not that great of a run defender).

 

Clinton-Dix is pretty good. But not quite as good as those guys. I wouldn't pick him at 14. He's more of a late 20s talent, unlike those other guys who were top 10-15 guys.

 

Nice assessment. Nix is my favorite target at 14, whether the Bears stay in a 4-3 or switch to a 3-4. Also completely agree about Clinton-Dix. He's not at the same level of the recently drafted top 20 safeties.

 

With the CBs, I love Dennard. He reminds me a bit of Tillman - physical, technically sound but not necessarily the most athletic guy around. It sounds like Gilbert has cleaned up those mental mistakes this year. Roby is so intriguing but man, he looked brutal against Wisconsin and Northwestern.

Have a seat, Neifi Draft Eligible

Have a seat, Neifi

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A few additional points concerning the Bears' off-season roster construction from PFF's recap of Sunday's meltdown:

 

For all the fuss about the Bears defensive tackles woes this season, they very well may have found a capable starter who was just mired in a position crisis all season long. Corey Wootton has not fared well switching back and forth between end and tackle, but that doesn’t mean he was bad at his newfound tackle position. In fact, in the snaps he’s taken at defensive tackle this season, Wootton has an overall grade of +4.7 in 535 snaps compared to a grade of -9.6 in 327 snaps at defensive end. On Sunday playing all but three snaps inside the tackles, he was once again the defenses most disruptive player with three pressures, two stops, and a grade of +1.6. The stats say that Wootton is just a more effective pass rusher inside with a Pass Rushing Productivity three points better inside (6.5, which leads Bears tackles vs 3.5). If I’m Phil Emery and need to upgrade my interior defense next season, I’m starting by re-signing the free agent Wootton.

 

Couldn’t Have Been Worse

 

While it is just a one game sample, Eben Britton’s play on Sunday had me scratching my head for a long time after the game. The fifth year right tackle came in after Jordan Mills went down on the third play of the game and Britton allowed just one pressure and finished with a grade of +3.1. Mills is PFF’s third lowest graded tackle this season at -31.1 and has been the main hindrance to an otherwise solid offensive line. Mills has made strides in recent weeks, but he’s allowed the most pressures in the NFL this season (78). In only one game has Mills allowed as few pressures as what Britton did on Sunday. It’s hard to believe that Britton, a former second round pick who had a grade of +3.4 in his only year as a starter in 2009, couldn’t have done better than Mills.

And don't worry, Wright / Conte took home the title belt as PFF's lowest-rated safety duo in the league this season. Impressive.

Banedon GOAT

Banedon

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Apparently Chris Conte shut down his twitter, and Barry Rozner is saying that there's a Chris Conte reporter that was mistakenly getting tweeted some really awful things.
Banedon GOAT

Banedon

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Cutler really said great things about Mel Tucker on his radio show and doesn't think he's going anywhere, for whatever you think a QB praising a defensive coordinator is worth.

 

Also said Jordan Mills played at a pro bowl level this year....

RynoRules Knoxville Smokies

RynoRules

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Cutler really said great things about Mel Tucker on his radio show and doesn't think he's going anywhere, for whatever you think a QB praising a defensive coordinator is worth.

 

Also said Jordan Mills played at a pro bowl level this year....

 

That sounds like a guy who is coming back. He's not right about Mills, but appreciate the sentiment.

bukie All-Star

bukie

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Posted
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Cutler really said great things about Mel Tucker on his radio show and doesn't think he's going anywhere, for whatever you think a QB praising a defensive coordinator is worth.

 

Also said Jordan Mills played at a pro bowl level this year....

 

That sounds like a guy who is coming back. He's not right about Mills, but appreciate the sentiment.

Maybe he meant Mills plays every game like it's the Pro Bowl, no contact.

rawaction Chicago Cubs

rawaction

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Am I mistaken that Eben took some snaps as emergency center? Could an offseason of work there make him an upgrade to Garza?

 

I don't know. I thought Slauson was the emergency C. But maybe, Britton has played every other position on the OL in his career. He's pretty valuable as the 6th lineman if he's going to block like he did Sunday.

UMFan83 GOAT

UMFan83

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This reddit post looks at overall records over the last 10 years....

 

http://imgur.com/a/Lgl5X

 

Bears had a record of 89-71, good for 12th in the NFL and 6th overall

 

There are 6 teams within 2 games of them recordwise, the Saints (91), Falcons (90), Giants (90), Eagles (89.5), Seahawks (88) and Cowboys (87). The Saints made 5 playoff appearances, Falcons 5, Giants 5, Eagles 6, Seahawks 7, Cowboys 3 and the Bears 3. Makes sense that the Cowboys and Bears would be tied with the least number of appearances of those teams since they seem to be the ones mired in mediocrity year in and year out.

 

Oh, and if those 10 year records were set up as an actual season, the Bears would miss out on the NFC's 6th seed by 1/2 of a game over the Eagles, which seems fitting.

Banedon GOAT

Banedon

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Posted
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This reddit post looks at overall records over the last 10 years....

 

http://imgur.com/a/Lgl5X

 

Bears had a record of 89-71, good for 12th in the NFL and 6th overall

 

There are 6 teams within 2 games of them recordwise, the Saints (91), Falcons (90), Giants (90), Eagles (89.5), Seahawks (88) and Cowboys (87). The Saints made 5 playoff appearances, Falcons 5, Giants 5, Eagles 6, Seahawks 7, Cowboys 3 and the Bears 3. Makes sense that the Cowboys and Bears would be tied with the least number of appearances of those teams since they seem to be the ones mired in mediocrity year in and year out.

 

Oh, and if those 10 year records were set up as an actual season, the Bears would miss out on the NFC's 6th seed by 1/2 of a game over the Eagles, which seems fitting.

 

About 10 posts up or so. :)

Formerly Snayke ACL Cubs

Formerly Snayke

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And don't worry, Wright / Conte took home the title belt as PFF's lowest-rated safety duo in the league this season. Impressive.

 

Quarterbacks had a 146 rating throwing Wright's way. Only Thomas DeCoud in Atlanta was worse among safeties taking 75 percent of the team's snaps.

jersey cubs fan GOAT

jersey cubs fan

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Pompei thinks Frazier could bring Singletary with him. Is Singletary a good LB coach and not just a little weird? http://sulia.com/channel/chicago-bears/f/cc98aeae-1fd0-4f10-949d-ebb65c0d431a/?source=twitter

 

I agree with Pompei though, that I don't think Tucker being fired is a sure thing.

 

I get that it is not a sure thing, but it absolutely should be. Say what you want about the decrease in talent via age and injury, but the talent of anybody in the NFL is good enough that a defensive scheme should be able to occasionally not be awful. They were routinely terrible game in and game out, with no adjustments to improve.

Banedon GOAT

Banedon

Community Moderator
Posted
Posted
Pompei thinks Frazier could bring Singletary with him. Is Singletary a good LB coach and not just a little weird? http://sulia.com/channel/chicago-bears/f/cc98aeae-1fd0-4f10-949d-ebb65c0d431a/?source=twitter

 

I agree with Pompei though, that I don't think Tucker being fired is a sure thing.

 

I get that it is not a sure thing, but it absolutely should be. Say what you want about the decrease in talent via age and injury, but the talent of anybody in the NFL is good enough that a defensive scheme should be able to occasionally not be awful. They were routinely terrible game in and game out, with no adjustments to improve.

 

Yeah, I wasn't arguing for his job safety at all. I just think they're likely to give him another year after trying to give him more to work with.

jersey cubs fan GOAT

jersey cubs fan

Old-Timey Member
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Yeah, I wasn't arguing for his job safety at all. I just think they're likely to give him another year after trying to give him more to work with.

 

I actually think Tucker was just a weird forced hiring. Everybody from the previous regime just bailed on the team after Lovie left, and Tucker sort of became of the default DC, not the first choice. Trestman's job was to fix the offense immediately and hope the defense just stay relevant. Now that he's back in the NFL and his offense proved to be NFL caliber, he should be able to have a better opportunity to hire a new DC.

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