Chicago Bears Second and Third Round Picks
The Chicago Bears selected a defensive tackle and a safety with their second and third picks. The Chicago Bears gave up their fourth-round pick to move up in the second round to grab Washington’s pick at 53 from their spot at 62. Interestingly enough, this same fourth round pick was controversial because Baltimore was demanding the pick after the Chicago Bears reneged on a trade thus having Baltimore skip its pick.
In the second round, the Chicago Bears grabbed Oregon State’s Stephen Paea. He’s a big strong inside presence that is a high-motor guy. He’s penciled in to be Tommie Harris’ replacement. While Harris has sucked the last few seasons, he was a top player at one time. Paea will have big shoes to fill, but some feel he can do it. I love his effort but don’t think he’s quite pre-injury Harris. But very few can do that. A safe pick and a guy that has some upside. He set a combine record with 49 reps at 225 lbs. and runs a 4.98 in the 40-yard. Big strong dudes that can move have a spot on my team.
In the third round, the Chicago Bears grabbed Cal safety Chris Conte. He’s played many different roles at Cal including corner and linebacker. He’s a jack of many trades. I’m not sure how he’ll fit in with the Chicago Bears, but he was productive last season and is continuing to develop. I love his size, but I’d like to see him bulk up. He also has solid speed. I could see him being a solid nickel safety and special teams standout. But, he might develop into something better. I like this pick.
So far, the Chicago Bears have taken three solid football players. I like guys that are productive. And these three should step in right away.
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The Real Tommie Harris
When he first entered the league, Tommie Harris was a frightening man. As a three-technique in the cover-two defense, this man could create all kinds of problems for opposing teams against the pass and run. Harris was also a spiritual man that appeared to say and do all the right things off the field.
That was then, this is now. The Tommie Harris we all fell in love wasn’t the same man after injuring his leg during the 2006 season. He struggled to regain the form that made him one of the league’s premier football players. So what happened to Tommie Harris?
Let me give you some background. I broke my ankle two summer’s ago. I decided to try an alternative therapy called ARP (accelerated recovery performance). Without going into specific details, it provides and intense direct current into an injured area to increase healing. Many professional athletes (including Patrick Mannelly that I met) use this for both training and recovery purposes. It an extremely painful but effective method for healing. It helped my ankle but freaking hurt like someone was shooting me in the leg.
OK, enough about me, when I walked into the facility, Harris’ jersey was hanging in the front of the store along with a testimonial to the effectiveness of the ARP. I got to know the people at the facility fairly well, so I asked questions about Harris. They said that Harris was lazy and not committed to the program. He saw results with it early but didn’t stick with the treatments. I also found out that he had some unpublished off-the-field problems that I will not mention for the sake of protecting my source.
I’m not a professional athlete, but I knew that I needed to do something about my ankle. Literally I would get tears in my eyes trying to heal my ankle. Mannelly and other athletes have found great help with the ARP system. One of its original clients was Tommy John. Not only did the man have a surgical procedure named after him, but he used this system to keep himself in shape. It’s an effective treatment.
According to my trainer, Harris became less interested in healing from his injuries and working to get back to his original form. While Harris signed a huge contract with the Chicago Bears, he became much lazier as time went along. The Harris we all fell in love with became a menace to himself. I was told that Harris was given an ultimatum by the Chicago Bears and failed to live up to most of it. So when he was released yesterday, it didn’t come as a surprise to those people close to the situation. Instead of working hard, he took the easy way out.
Tommie Harris will go down as one of the biggest falls in Chicago Bears history. It’s too bad, because he could have been one of the all-time greats.
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Chicago Bears Release Three Players…Tommie Harris Tops the List
Tommie Harris was a major contributor to the 2006 Super Bowl run by the Chicago Bears. After being hurt during that season, he was never the same player. In recent times, he’s had some off-the-field issues that overshadowed his football skills. The Chicago Bears saw enough and released Harris today along with Hunter Hillenmeyer and Kevin Shaffer.
Hillenmeyer was also a part of the 2006 Chicago Bears. He was slotted to be one of the backup linebackers this season until a concussion suffered during the preseason was serious enough to keep him out of action for the whole regular season and playoffs. It has surfaced that Hillenmeyer hasn’t had many good things to say about the Chicago Bears, but frankly, he was payed for a full season instead of being released which was a strong possibility. He needs to man-up and realize that at the end of the day, he wasn’t very good. Additionally, his status as union representative kept him around as well.
Kevin Shaffer, we hardly knew ya…He had some moments but really is on a long list of forgettable Chicago Bears. While he played OK at times, obviously there’s more to the Kevin Shaffer Story we’ll never know.
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Grading the Chicago Bears…Defensive Line
Julius Peppers was given the richest contract in NFL history for a defensive lineman (until Richard Seymour received a larger one from the Raiders this year). He was brought into Chicago to be a difference maker for the Bears, and certainly exceeded expectations. The knock on Peppers was his play against the run and moments of taking plays off, he certainly didn’t show this for the Chicago Bears. Peppers was a dominating force for the Chicago Bears at defensive end all season.
On the other side was Israel Idonije. Well it didn’t quite start off that way, considering Mark Anderson was stealing a paycheck from the Chicago Bears for the first part of the season. Idonije had a strong season including a team-leading eight sacks (tied with Peppers). Idonije was an unsung hero on this defense and a stabilizing force at end. Corey Wootton probably had the most memerable sack of the season when he finally knocked Brett Favre out against Minnesota. Put that one in the memory bank…who was the player responsible for finaly ending Favre’s career? The Chicago Bears are excited about Wootton and hoping he finally can get over the knee injury that cost him high-draft pick status (he was a fourth round selection). He was a beast at Northwestern. Henry Melton played very well as as swing-lineman down the stretch as well. He had some memorable plays this season.
On the interior, Tommie Harris entered this season with a lot to prove. And while he had a few moments, I would say he was a disappointment this season. Anthony Adams was solid in the middle. Matt Toeaina is a journeyman that certainly doesn’t kill you as a fourth lineman. Marcus Harrison continues to get worse and really doesn’t seem to have much of a role with this team
Overall, I give this unit a B+. Peppers was in the team photo for best defensive player of the year and the other guys also made plays. While I debated on giving this unit a higher grade, I would like to have seen more sacks and pushes up the middle.
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Chicago Bears Defeat the Philadelphia Eagles 31-26
Yesterday was football Sunday in my household. With the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers games being on back-to-back, I knew it was can’t miss football. And from a Chicago Bears’ fans standpoint, none of us were disappointed.
As it turns out, the Chicago Bears won and the Packers lost. With that, the Bears are now 8-3 atop the NFC North and the Packers sit one game behind the Bears at 7-4. That looks even better in print.
Of course, all of the so-called “experts” on Fox’s pregame show picked the Green Bay Packers to win and the Chicago Bears to lose. As has been the case for most of the season, the Chicago Bears received very little in the way of respect yesterday. As the nation learned, the Chicago Bears are a legitimate contender in the NFC and one of the top teams in football.
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Lovie Smith and his coaching staff deserve a lot of credit for the current state of the Chicago Bears. After two bad losses at home to the Washington Redskins and Seattle Seahawks, the following bye week was used to correct many issues with this team. Since that time, the Chicago Bears have made huge strides and continue to get better.
There are so many positives to take out of yesterday’s game. Before I through my credit around, forgetting the person, Michael Vick has become a hell of a quarterback. I knew he got better but wow, the man is really something special. He made some throws yesterday that I’ve seen few quarterbacks even attempt. But I still hate his guts and think he’s garbage.
Let’s throw our first game ball to Jay Cutler. The guy played a flawless game yesterday. He was 14 for 21 for 247 yards and four touchdowns. For the first time since he’s been a Chicago Bear, Jay Cutler showed us why the team made the investment in his services. He did not make one bad throw yesterday and continued to get big yardage with his feet when needed. His former college teammate Earl Bennett received two of his touchdown tosses. Cutler was a pleasure to watch yesterday.
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Matt Forte is proving me wrong when I called him one of the most overrated players in football. He had 117 yards rushing and 22 yards receiving. Keep in mind that this Eagles defense has been solid all season, and with the state of the Chicago Bears offensive line, it is impressive that Forte continues to get better as a running back this season.
Julius Peppers yesterday played like the NFC Defensive Player of the Year. His statistics do not tell the whole story (he did get one sack yesterday), but he was creating havoc all afternoon for the Eagles. His most impressive play came in the fourth quarter when he tripped-up a running Michael Vick with one hand as it looks as if Vick was going to break off a huge run. This is why he’s a franchise player.
Tommie Harris has made himself an easy target with his lackluster performance this season. I am also throwing him some love. He made the absolute play of the game when he tipped a Vick pass in the red-zone to a waiting Chris Harris in the end-zone. This was not only a game changing play, but Vick’s first interception of the season. Here’s to hoping the old Tommie Harris is back. At this point of the game, the Bears were winning 14-13 and the Eagles seemed to be taking control of the game.
The Eagles actually held the ball for longer than the Chicago Bears. But it should be noted that one of the biggest keys for the Chicago Bears was a long and methodical drive in the third quarter that took 17 plays for 83 yards and ate over ten minutes off the clock. It was capped off by a Robbie Gould 23-yard field goal.
It’s getting serious ladies and gentlemen…and with the state of football these days, anything can happen. The Chicago Bears just took a huge step and are now sitting at the big kid’s table.
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