Nas wrote:
Can someone please explain to me what Jerry is doing? I would really love to understand. The Bears sucked on offense at the end of the season. They had a roster full of #3 and #4 WR's with one having the potential to be a #2. They had a quarterback that from my seat looked like the rest of the NFL figured out and whose accuracy fell off after 10 yards. An offensive line that is old and crumbling. And a rookie RB that was worked like a mule. Now going into the draft their offensive line is worse and there were no improvements in any of the other areas. How does he expect this team to win? He is setting up his coaches to fail with his draft only strategy.
At this point in free agency, I think it's safe to assume that the Bears are not going to make any moves that will make the team better on paper heading into the draft. It's really going to come down to the players on the team (Orton, Forte, Hester, Olson and Bennett) improving, and Angelo having a solid draft.
Let's also not downplay that the Bears feel that re-tooling their defensive coaches is going to result in players playing better, and the strategy being improved.
So, the simple answer to your question is that the Bears believe their defense will improve next season, play more like they expected it to (Top 10) and the offense won't have to score 30 points to win games.
Receiving Corp:
1) Improve From Within - Devin Hester played very well down the stretch of the season. It's easy to say he sucks, and he shouldn't be a WR, but the facts are that he did improve as the season went on. From Week 12 to Week 17, he had 57, 67, 80, 46, 12 and 85 yards receiving. How many passes did Kyle Orton miss to an open Hester down the stretch of the season as well? That was a weekly story line for Orton - missing Hester on a deep pass. I'm not going to predict that Hester is going to be Steve Smith. He's not, but he can be a very good WR.......Greg Olson should continue to be a dependable option for Orton over the middle and occassionally down the field when matched up with a slow defender. I don't think it's a stretch to say he'll continue to improve.....Matt Forte will be a reliable option out of the back field as a safety valve for Orton as well. Finally, Earl Bennett has a great opportunity to step into a role next season. It could turn out that he's absolutely horrible considering he couldn't crack the rotation with last year's WR's, but if his main competition is Rashied Davis, he would stand to have a solid chance to become a rotation player.
2) Draft - Jerry Angelo is going to add a WR in the first 3 rounds of the draft. At this point, I would guess a Round 2 selection. As we know, this position tends to produce projects so we may not have a lot of impact for next season from a pick here. Still, you can't throw a blanket on a player drafted in Round 1 or 2, and automatically refer to him as a project without seeing his development.
3) Free Agency/Trade: I don't hold out much hope for A.Boldin being traded to the Bears. I don't think the Bears would ever sign Terrell Owens, and Holt is probably a long shot. Best hope here is just sign a veteran WR to be another body. So, we can see that Angelo is obviously depending on Hester/Olson/Bennett to improve next season while finding more talent at WR early in the NFL Draft.
Offensive Line:
Jerry Angelo is rebuilding the offensive line. With the signing of Frank Omiyale, it would appear the Bears prefer to play him at Josh Beekman's Guard spot, and making Beekman a backup Guard and Olin Kreutz's future replacement at center. Obviously, Chris Williams will be the LT next season, and drafting a RT is probably still very high on the list, even if they resign St.Claire. The Bears could go into next season with 2 rookies (I consideer Chris Williams to be that) at the tackle spots, Omiyale at a guard spot, and then Garza/Kreutz as the crusty old veterans. I like what Angelo is doing here, assuming he drafts an OT in the first 3 rounds.
QB:
Kyle Orton is a one year rental at this point. If he plays well, he'll be resigned. If he regresses or is average, he'll either be allowed to walk by the Bears or real competition, as in, another 1st round QB will be brought in next season. He's really the key to how much rebuilding Jerry Angelo will have to do. If he plays consistently, the Bears will feel that they have a solid QB who they can win with, and he'll be resigned. If not, it's back to the drawing board.
RB:
Matt Forte played very good as as rookie. Now, let's hope they don't run him into the ground. Either resign Kevin Jones with the intention of giving him 10 carries a game or find someone else to do that whether it's Garrett Wolfe, another rookie, or a veteran off the scrap heap.
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