Well, August is here, and while baseball is just starting to get interesting (with the post-season looming and both teams contending for their respective divisions), I have to say that my mind is already turning to those fall Sundays when we sit back and watch the pigskin fly. The Monsters of the Midway have made some pretty gutsy moves this offseason, placing the focus for the first time in team history on the offense rather than the defense.
Key Additions:
1. Jay Cutler, QB - The Bears really lucked out with this. Cutler was the guy in Denver and it should have stayed that way. Fortunately for the Bears, new coach Josh McDaniels tooled around with Matt Cassel, pissed off Cutler, and sort of forced Denver's hand in dealing their star QB. I'm not really sure where to even begin describing Cutler. He is the first really good quarterback the Bears have had since Sid Luckman in the '40s and '50s (McMahon and Harbough were ok, but not of Cutler or Luckman's caliber). Cutler has a cannon for an arm and is very elusive in the pocket. He's a smart player but sometimes can try to force throws. Also, due to the elusiveness, he has a tendency to get happy feet in the pocket, which affects his throws. Overall, this firms up a position that has for so long evaded the Bears (just look at any member of their QB carousel over the past ~12 years) and really allows them to finally attempt to open up the passing game.
2. Orlando Pace, LT - The guy is HUGE (6'7'', 325 lbs.) and is a very good player (7 time Pro-Bowler, 4 time First Team All-Pro selection, 6 time All-NFC). He was hurt in the 2007 season and release by the Rams to save $6 million on their cap space. I know that the guy is probably past his prime, but his physical gifts are undeniable and he can still play at a high level. This signing was huge (like Pace) in order to protect Cutler's backside. This should also hopefully give Chris Williams sometime to develop and hopefully slide over to the LT spot when Pace vacates it.
3. Frank Omiyale/Kevin Shaffer, OT - Omiyale is someone who showed great promise while in Carolina filling in for Jordan Gross. He's still young and has a lot of upside and will push Josh Beekman to stay at the top of his game at LG. On the other hand, Kevin Shaffer is a known entity who has spent time with both the Falcons and Browns. What I like the most is his durability (started every game in for the past 5 season except 1). These guys should be key to suring up the line, especially Shaffer at RT, to give Forte holes to run through.
4. Pisa Tinoisamoa, OLB - This guy has a proven track record of being a good tackler and leading his team in tackles. After injuries in the 2006 and 2007 seasons, he returned to form with 104 tackles and 3 sacks in the 2008 campaign. Signing Tinoisamoa finally ends the long search for who to plug into the strong side LB spot. Nick Roach, Hunter Hillenmeyer, and company just have not been getting it done the last few years. Now, pairing Tinoisamoa with Urlacher and Briggs, once again gives the Bears a very smart and capable second level that is able to shoot the gaps and bring runners down for losses on run plays, as well as cover a lot of ground when the opposing team decides to pass.
Key Losses:
1. Mike Brown, FS - When he was healthy, he was a big hitter and feared safety. Unfortunately, he just couldn't stay healthy. This is for sure the biggest loss because of the heart and soul that he brought to the defense. His passion for the game will most definitely be missed and hopefully someone else will step into that role quickly for the D.
2. 18th Overall Pick - This wasn't really much of a loss because the Bears are AWFUL at drafting in the first round. Here are the last 16 years of first round picks:
- Alonzo Spellman – (1992)
- Curtis Conway – (1993)
- John Thierry – (1994)
- Rashaan Salaam – (1995)
- Walt Harris – (1996)
- Curtis Enis – (1998)
- Cade McNown – (1999)
- Brian Urlacher – (2000)
- David Terrell – (2001)
- Marc Colombo – (2002)
- Michael Haynes – (2003)
- Rex Grossman – (2003)
- Tommie Harris – (2004)
- Cedric Benson – (2005)
- Greg Olsen – (2007)
- Chris Williams – (2008)
3. Kyle Orton/Rex Grossman, QB - These were major losses (especially Orton) for team chemistry purposes. A lot of the guys really believed in Orton and bought into him being the guy in charge in Chicago. His departure saddened and shocked a lot of the players. Also, by losing both guys in one offseason, you lose the 2 guys who know the offensive system the best. So, there is always a question as to how quickly the new guy is going to be able to grasp the system. Well, I think it's safe to say that Cutler is learning quickly and will be just fine by opening kickoff of Week 1.
4. John Tait/John St. Clair, OT - These guys are well known players in the league and are good at what they do. Unfortunately, both are definitely getting older and have passed their prime. These are key losses because anytime you change out established players for some younger talent (i.e. Beekman and Williams), there is always the chance that the line may fall apart. While this is a possibility, it's a necessary gamble in order to infuse some youth into the group.
Players Who Need to Step Up:
1. Matt Forte, RB - I know you're asking yourself why Forte is on this last after how well he played last year. He's here because he really can't afford to have much of a sophomore slump this year. The line is rejuvenated and the Bears finally have someone who can heave the rock. Thus, it's going to be more critical than ever that Forte succeed in order to set up play action and keep the defense honest. And, as we all know, Adrian Peterson (not the good one) is still the backup, so there isn't much to replace Forte with is he doesn't produce.
2. Devin Hester/Earl Bennett, WR - If someone threw a pea in the air, I'd bet that Jay Cutler could hit it with a football from 35 yards away. With that kind of accuracy, you can only hope that there are people on the other end that are going to be able to actually pull in those passes. Hester and Bennett are both going to need to elevate their game in order to legitimize the passing game so that defenses don't stack 8 in the box against Forte. The hope is that Bennett can use his history with Cutler from Vanderbilt to establish a repoire early and make him into more of a possesion receiver. That way, defenses will have to gamble at times with coverage or commit 2 players to cover Bennett, which would open up routes down the field for Hester to exploit when he has single coverage in front of him. The load on these guys will be eased somewhat by Ron Turner's love of TEs and RBs in his passing attack. Greg Olsen and Forte will see a lot of balls come their way as well, but Hester and Bennett are still going to have to pull their weight in order for Turner's system to function properly.
3. Chris Williams, RT - Now that he's supposedly completely healed from a herniated disc and has been around the system for a year, it's time that he steps up and protects Cutler's front side. This guy was very highly touted coming out of Vanderbilt and will hopefully live up to that reputation. He's production will be key to not only protecting Cutler and giving him time to throw, but also to opening up holes on the right side and sealing out DEs so that Forte can get to the 2nd level.
Impressions from the 1st PreSeason Game:
- Al Afalava is everywhere. He reminds me a lot of a young Mike Brown in the sense that he is able to read and react very quickly on both passing and running plays. I want to venture a guess that it was about 5 or 6 plays in a row that his name was called on defense as being part of the stop. This is great news since the Bears could use as much help as they can at the safety position. The coaches seem high on this guy and so am I.
- The 1st team defense looked pretty good. The LB trio looked pretty good with Tinoisamoa knifing through the line to make some tackles and Briggs commanding the weakside. Vasher seemed a little bit lost out there and hopefully will shake out the cobwebs before real action starts. Definitely need to get more QB pressure but overall a good start for the 1st preseason game.
- Cutler looked nervous. I know that he only played a few series, but he just didn't look like he ever got into a game rhythm. He had a few nice passes and threw that one pick (He likes to take chances and heave the ball down the field and I'm okay with that). He nearly threw a second INT when he got some pocket happy feet and threw it right at a defender. In all, I don't think there was enough to really assess his play on. He only got 1 actual series with all of his 1st string lineman, in addition to the fact that Olsen and Forte (most likely, his 2 biggest targets this year) didn't play.
- Hester sort of looked like an actual receiver. He ran some good routes and got himself into open space, exactly what a receiver should do. While I'm excited by this, I was sort of sad to not see the crazy dekes or jukes to make guys miss in the open field like he used to do. But I guess I'm just going to have to deal with that.
- Garrett Wolfe should be the 2nd string back. Behind 2nd and 3rd string lineman, the guy just kept trucking. He made some people miss and just straight up ploughed through others. He might not be the 'freak athlete' that Adrian Peterson is ( so the coaches say) or have the experience of Kevin Jones, but he's a damn good, downhill runner who keeps his legs moving. Here's to hoping he moves up the depth chart soon.
- Henry Melton, a DE that was just drafted a few months back, was allowed to return a kickoff during the game. I love it. The guy wanted a chance to show off his moves and Lovie gave it to him. This is the kind of stuff that keeps players happy and the morale in the clubhouse up. It was fun for the fans to watch and probably hilarious for the players on the sidelines.
Year predictions:
The Bears have a tough road ahead. They have non-conference games against the Steelers and @Ravens, as well as the @Falcons, Cardinals, @49ers, and Eagles on the docket. None of these will be an easy feat. Also, Green Bay and Minnesota will be no easy victories either. I think that by the time the regular season starts, the offense will be clicking and the defense will be figuring it out. My main worries are defensive related. They are (1) the ability for the front 4 to get pressure on the QB and (2) the ability for the CBs and safeties to maintain good coverage. I think that it will be a very entertaining season with a lot of scoring.
The Cure predicts an optimistic 10-6 record for the Bears this season and that they will make the playoffs.
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