Free Agent Moves
This article was supposed to be about my feelings on the upcoming Bears season, but wouldn’t you know it but the Bears threw all of us a major curve ball. The Bears brass told all of us that they were not prepared to make a major move in free agency, but they lied. So allow me to give you my two cents on the three new Bears.
Brandon Manumaleuna (TE)
All I can say is ha Minnesota! Not only did the Bears add a great running back to the roster, but weakened the Vikings. This guy is a talented back that will push Matt Forte to want it a little more. Plus, this now means that Adrian “Fumble” Peterson will now have to carry the ball a few more times. Couldn’t hurt to see him giving the ball away.
Julius Peppers (DE)
The cream of the crop. The best free-agent out there…and he is a new member of the Chicago Bears. Do I even need to say anything else? Mr. Peppers can play. He wanted to be a Bear and wasted little time signing on the dotted line. This was a great move…no one can argue that!
OK, so the Bears have improved. While getting a good safety would have been nice, these three are a start. Jerry Angelo, Ted Phillips and the boys deserve some credit…OK, class dismissed!
Five Reasons to Be Pessimistic about the Bears
The Chicago Bears had an extremely disappointing season in 2009 with a 7-9 record and a franchise-type quarterback that threw the ball to the other team as often as he threw touchdown passes. While the Bears defense performed as to be expected in the front seven minus Brian Urlacher, the secondary (except Peanut Tillman) were horrible. Here are five reasons why the Bears may be horrible next season.
1. The Return of Lovie Smith
As the famous saying goes, “coaches are hired to be fired”. Well Lovie certainly tried his best to make this statement a reality last season. If I was not at the famous timeout/challenge/timeout game against the Packers, I would not have believed it. Based on that brilliant move alone, he should have voluntarily resigned. So instead, we are stuck with him for another season. While I do not suggest that Lovie owes us anything, his smug attitude and condescending tone seems really out of line for a coach that turned a Super Bowl team into a mid-level draft pick contender.
2. The Front Office (more…)
Reason # 5 to be Optimistic
Replacing Director of Player Personnel. OK, this may be re-arranging deck chairs on the Titanic, but it is good to see the Bears are firing a guy in Bobby DePaul that frankly has made some questionable moves the last few years. While the Bears credit him with the Jay Cutler trade, he has brought in some other duds and made other weak personnel decisions. Here are two that I can think of…
1. Losing Bernard Berrian and not replacing him
2. Signing Frank Omiyale
These two moves were frankly horrible. While Berrian was overpaid by most people’s standards, the Bears have been way under the cap the last several years and did not really have a plan “b” in place. Omiyale is brutal. So with no high draft picks this year and what appears to be several needs, it was time to give someone else a shot.
Reason #4 to be Optimistic about the Bears
Wide Receivers & Tight Ends. Finally after around 14 games the Bears identified Devin Aromashodu as a productive NFL receiver. Devin Hester has a lot of talent at the position as well (I am sure some would disagree with me on this, but for a guy that has played it for only a few years he keeps making strides…this is the optimistic part, I will have something to say about this in the pessimistic part as well). Earl Bennett showed some flashes as well. Greg Olsen by most people’s counts is a great tight end (again, wait until my pessimistic rants). Desmond Clark is not too shabby either. So Cutler may have something to work with and with a year under his belt with these guys, this may actually work out.
Reason Number Three to By Optimistic about the Bears
Close finishes. Last season, the Bears were in position to win four games (Green Bay in the first week, Atlanta, San Francisco and Philadelphia). If they would have won two of those, they would have had nine wins. Now this was the same song as last season, but if the the offense can improve so can the wins. In each of the above mentioned games, a timely turnover really hurt the effort. If Mike Martz can work his magic, it may be a nine or ten win season. Remember folks, this is the optimistic section.
