Welcome to WebDomains4u.com. If you are visually impaired and would like to check the availability of a domain, make a purchase, or just have questions please call us at (904) 714-0759. You may also email us at scottlog1@comcast.net to request a website service callback.  We are currently in the process of implementing more accessibility for our visitors so feel free to check back in the near future. Thank you for your interest in our company.
WebDomains4u.com

Home Features Mock Drafts Rankings Team Columns Contact Us Premium

NEWLY INTRODUCED:  Discuss the latest draft happenings on the NFL Draft Blitz Message Boards

 
Chicago Bears Column


By:
Dave Crippin

*Would you like to cover your favorite team for NFL Draft Blitz?  Any column which hasn't been updated in one month's time is considered open and able to be claimed.  Click Here to put in a request to cover your favorite team! 

*Once a columnist has established themselves here, we can offer them further opportunities,
including but not limited to conducting player interviews and doing radio and TV spots for the site.

5/8/08

The Dirty Dozen
 
1-14)  LT Chris Williams, 6060 315 5.17, Vanderbilt
Excellent overall physique and measurables.  Two years as starting LT after 1 at LG.  Intelligent and team captain.  Like Tait, a better pass blocker than run.
 
2-44)  HB Matt Forte, 6013 217 4.46, Tulane
Compares as a significantly better version of Anthony Thomas.  Won’t wow you with amazing athleticism/speed/escapability, but very solid.  Tall, somewhat upright, solid build, powerful runner.  Good hands, blocking, effort, and character.  Can be an immediate everydown starter.
 
3-70)  FL Earl Bennett, 5114 209 4.48, Vanderbilt
Solid character, started 2.5/3 yrs.  Ordinary size and speed, good hands and production.  Projects to be Booker’s apprentice for a couple years before taking over.
 
3-90) DT Marcus Harrison, 6026 317 5.06, Arkansas
Very talented, but 2 knee injuries and character problems.  Not clear if they envision using him more at UT, NT or both.  Could be Tank’s replacement in more ways than one.
 
4-120)  SS Craig Steltz, 6013 213 4.63*, LSU
Smart, intense, offbeat individual.  Only started 1 yr, although still logged a lot of picks as nickel back.  A bit of a tweener – has the ball skills of a FS, but not the necessary speed, isn’t as physical as you’d expect from a player of his size.  Will probably be in the mix at a very unsettled SS position.
 
5-142) DB Zachary Bowman, 6001 197 4.39, Nebraska
Has great size/speed ratio and comes from a major program.  Not very experienced (9 starts), as he started out in a junior college and was hurt a lot after transferring (1 for each knee).  A significant project and risk.  Could be moved from corner to FS.  Would be nice if they could find an excuse to stash him on IR for a year.
 
5-158) TE Kellen Davis, 6064 262 4.60, Michigan State
Great physical specimen, but comes with a rep for being soft and lazy.  Should immediately play a little as a short yardage blocking TE.  Has the upside to be a lot more, if he ever gets the desire.
 
7-208) DE Earvin Baldwin, 6’1** 270** 4.80**, Michigan State
Reasonably productive, but undersized and on pretty much nobody’s radar.
 
7-222) G Chester Adams, 6’4** 325** 5.30**, Georgia
Played RT and G.  Technique and desire need improvement, but not out of the question to make a roster someday.
 
7-243) LB Joey Larocque, 6’2** 225** 4.80**, Oregon State
Really, really not on anyone’s radar.  Purely a future special teams candidate.
 
7-247)  G/RT Kirk Barton, 6043 310 5.01*, OSU
RT in college.  Muscular, fast, experienced, dedicated, and a team captain.  Has some injury problems, particularly his knee, which was hurt a year or two back and then required another surgery late in the 07 season.  Only health concerns could have caused him to slide so far, and he could be a real steal if he can put them behind him.
 
7-248) WR Marcus Monk, 6042 222 4.63, Arkansas
Almost came out after jr year, lost most of his sr year to a knee injury.  Much faster 40 (4.42) at Pro Day, which probably got him drafted, but doesn’t have great game speed.  Intelligent, good hands, long arms.  Questionable effort/heart.  Probably projects best to FL and will compete for the 5th/6th WR spot, but more likely to start on IR or the PS.
 

UDFAs – contribution from here is pretty rare (from 07 only Mines and Fassitt remain – they are both on the PS with no talk of them being in the mix for a roster spot this year), particularly in a year with 5 7th rounders.  This year’s crop is particularly underwhelming.  However, one will likely make the roster as the 3rd QB, unless another team’s cut comes in.
QB Caleb Hanie (6’2** 235**  - , Colorado State) – Unimpressive stats, but very strong arm with a weak supporting cast as a possible excuse.
QB Nick Hill (6’3** 215** - , Southern IL) – Impressive stats, but mechanics need some work.
CB Trey Brown (5’8** 186** 4.65**, UCLA) – Skilled, but short and slow.  Father played pro ball.
CB Leslie Majors (5095* 168* 4.54*, Indiana) – Passable measurables.
DE Joe Clermond (6022* 253* 4.96*, Pittsburgh) – Double-digit sacks at Pitt, but small and slow.
K Shane Longest (5100 177 -, St Xavier) – Could stick on PS if he looks good and Gould’s new contract gets sticky.
DT David Faaeteete (Oregon), WR Curtis Hamilton (Western Kentucky), DE Nick Osborn (San Diego State)
 

* Not Combine data.  NFL.com Pro Day info.
** Neither Combine nor NFL.com Pro Day data.
 
Draft Analysis
 
Things played out amazingly well for the Bears in R1 – not unlike 2004, when it was feared all the elite DTs would be gone, but the Bears got their pick and came home with Tommie Harris (also at 14).  When faced with a lot of choices, the Bears made the smart one and took the guy who’s sure to play LT.  There was a rumor right before the draft that Williams had medical issues with his back/spine – it’s believed this was a deliberate fabrication by an unknown team to try to scare other teams away.  You can see how much teams value OT by looking at what came after:
15 Albert, a good athlete teams hope can learn LT
17 Cherilus, RT
19 Otah, a RT/G
21 A laughable reach for Sam Baker.  Drafting a player moving to G in R1 is terrible value.  Thinking he’ll be a quality T is truly wishful.
26 Another hilarious reach, for Duane Brown.  He had nice Combine times and all, but how many good 6’4 OTs are there in the league these days?  Again, he could be a very good G, but you don’t take Gs (particularly position changers) in R1. 
We made out like bandits here, getting a LT, possibly the best LT in the draft, and not really having to pay all that much, by starting LT standards.
 
Forte got selected a tiny bit early, but he was really the only guy left, outside of maybe Choice in R3, who fit what we needed.  Days before the draft, I predicted this pick correctly, because it was such an obvious fit.  I don’t know if he’ll start Game 1, but I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t lead the team in carries for 08.
 
At this point I was expecting G, QB, DT and hoping for G or FS (knowing full well I wasn’t getting it).  The pick surprised me – after bringing in Booker and Lloyd, and extending Davis, I thought the team was pretty well done with WR.  That’s not necessarily a complaint, as R3 is a great spot to find future starting WRs.  I even had him rated a shade higher (late 2), and it’s not often Angelo gets players later than I have them.  Going to be a big crowd and heavy competition at the bottom end of the position.
 
Next was a predictable selection.  I had DT pegged for R4-7 in ‘my draft’, but figured Angelo would hit it R2-4. 
 
Two short trades down came next - for an extra 7th and a R6-R5 pick swap of 17 places.
The only surprise on the next selection was that it came a little early – yes, the annual Louisiana SS.  (In the 7 drafts he’s had here, Jerry’s taken a SS in R4-6 5 times, with 4 from Louisiana .  Linebacker is the position you ought to make a practice of taking one in 4-6 almost every year, not SS, but I digress.)  He’s not an awful prospect or anything and the team is a mess at S, but the overkill on SSs is simply flat-out pathological.  Five in seven years.  Last year, it was such a ‘need’ that after drafting one, we were then forced to trade one away (Harris), because we had more bodies at the position that we could carry.  As of now, we have 4 SSs on the roster.
 
Surprising luxury pick on Bowman.  4 of the 5 positions are pretty much locks, and replacing Ricky Manning doesn’t seem to rank as high priority.
 
Strong TE was a necessity.
 
It was a funny draft in that the first 3 picks were all very safe picks, while 3 of the next 4 were very risky.  Similarly, while the Bears pay lip service to character – in their actual draft, the top 3 picks were high character, but most of the next 4 had some significant flaws.  Another theme was 4 great athletes who were hindered by serious knee injuries.
 
Contrary to my usual opinion, Jerry did an ok job of taking the right kind of player with the late picks.  Barton and Monk have a lot of potential for late selections, Adams and Baldwin have slight upsides, Larocque is the only one I really can’t buy.
 
Most of the selections were fine values in and of themselves – no big reaches like Wolfe or Okwo, for example.  The biggest flaw in the draft is the things that didn’t get addressed.  QB I don’t mind so much – early or nothing significant is what I recommended and it’s what they did (although Ainge and Woodson both fell to the points I would have been happy to bite on them, after all).  FS, on the other hand, got pretty much ignored, as usual.  Bowman could be moved, but he’s an injury question mark to begin with and would need time to convert, so that’s no real help.  They might claim Steltz can play both sides, but they’re full of crap if they think a 4.63 guy is a good bet to play well at FS.  The real biggie, though is G.  The roster is just full of nothing there.  The top guy, Garza, is a marginal starter.  St Clair is their only T backup.  Metcalf is regressing, if anything.  Beekman couldn’t get on the field last year (which means he’s either terrible or the team made a bad decision in not evaluating/seasoning him at the end of 2007).  It’s a giant mess.  This was listed as one of my pre-draft fears – that OL would get its usual shortchanging.
 
Overall Grade: B
(Which is probably the highest I’ve ever given.  Which is probably the kiss of death…)
 
Misc
 
After signing his tender offer, Rashied Davis and the Bears agreed to a 3 yr deal instead. 
 
News has finally leaked out that Metcalf had a broken hand when he was struggling, and ultimately benched, last season. 
 
The whispers about Benson’s leg and commitment to rehab swelled to a roar shortly before the draft.  It’s entirely possible he’ll be on IR or given an injury settlement.
He’s also currently enmeshed in an arrest incident that isn’t likely to help his cause any.
 
Roster
( ) contain contract years left.  +1 shows RFA and +2 ERFA status after their current contract expires. PUP is the Physically Unable to Perform list, and INJ is used for a player who ended the season with a significant injury, had/will have off-season surgery, or is in some way a health question mark.   Bold denotes star players, Underline shows a solid starter, Normal for substandard starters to decent backups, and Italics for poor/raw/ST only players.
 
OL
Williams<R1>, Metcalf(4), Kreutz(3), Garza(4), Tait(2)
St. Clair(1), Oakley(RFA?), Beekman(3), Barton<R7>, Adams<R7>
Reed(PS), Jones(PS), Gibbons(PS)
 
QB
Grossman(1), Orton(2)
 
WR
Bradley(2), Booker(2)
Hester(2), Bennett<R3>
Lloyd(1), Davis(3)
Hass(1+2?), Monk<R7>
 
TE
Clark(3), Olsen(4), Davis<R5>
Mines(PS)
 
HB
Forte<R2>, Benson(2-INJ), Peterson(2), Wolfe(3)
Pope(PS-INJ), Allen(PS)
 
FB
McKie(4), Polite(1)
Hill(FA?-INJ), Runnels(?-INJ)
 
DL
Ogunleye(2), Harris(1-INJ), Dvoracek(2-INJ), Anderson(2)
Brown(4), Adams(3), Harrison<R3>, Idonije(2), Bazuin(3), Toeaina(?), Baldwin<R7>
Oshinowo(PS), Frome(PS)
 
LB
Hillenmeyer(3), Urlacher(4-INJ), Briggs(6)
Williams(2), Wilson(1+1?), Okwo(3), McClover(RFA?), Roach(?), Larocque<R7>
 
S
Payne(3-INJ), Brown(1-INJ)
McGowan(RFA), Manning(2)
Archuleta(2), Gattis(1+2)
Steltz<R4>, Peters(PS)
 
CB
Tillman(6), Vasher(5-INJ), McBride(3), Manning(3), Graham(3), Bowman<R5>, Jimoh(1-INJ)
Fassitt(PS)
 
LS
Mannelly(3)
K
Gould(1)
P
Maynard(3)
 
KR
Hester, Davis
PR
Hester
 

2008 Shopping List
 
 
Rank.....Position.....Rounds it could be successfully addressed in.....Comment
 
1)……….OT………1-2……………Only 2 bodies and 1 starter. 
2)………..G...……..2-5…………….No one that deserves to start.  1 is a necessity, 2 would be ideal.
3)………..FS?...…..1-4…………….Really bad news, but they never really seem to recognize it
4)……….HB...……1-4……………. Is JA willing to admit we don’t have a HB, even after spending a top 5 on Benson and R3 on Wolfe?  Is Benson’s leg/ankle more serious than outsiders knew?
5)……….WR.…….1-4…………….Berrian gone, Bradley has been a non-factor, and Hester still doesn’t know the formations.   Also, no one too promising behind Booker on the other side.
6)……….QB……..2-7…………….Bears will deliberately be in the unenviable position of carrying 3 young, developing, unproven QBs at once
7)……….DT……...4-7…………….Toeaina and Idonije are the only backups to Tommie. Bear obsession with DL could push this much higher than it ought to be.
8)……….TE………4-7…………….Gilmore gone and Mines isn’t a good complement to the other 2
 

 2009 Shopping List
 
 
Rank.....Position.....Rounds it could be successfully addressed in.....Comment
 
1)………..QB?…….1-3…………….Rex and Kyle aren’t very promising.
2)………..G………2-5……………..No one that deserves to start.  1 is a necessity, 2 would be ideal.
3)………..RT?.…...1-3…………….Tait’s aging and St Clair is a FA.
4)………..FS?...…..1-4…………….Brown and Manning are big question marks.
5)……….WR?…….1-4…………….Might not have a starter-quality SE in the bunch.
 

 

4/24/08

Misc
 
Lovie has made the god-awful ignorant suggestion that they intend to use Hester less on kick returns while playing him more at WR.  First off, teams kick away from him so much (which still results in great field position) that he doesn’t make that many returns anyway.  Second of all, you want to take one of the most impactful players in the game away from what he does best to have him do something he doesn’t do as well?
 
Lovie also said the team is wanting Idonije to bulk up and be a pure DT.
 
Urlacher is bitching and moaning about needing a new deal – despite having 4 years left on the current one.
Even after coming back for a long-term deal, Briggs is still pouting and skipping minicamp, too.  Robbie Gould joins them in not joining their teammates.
 
Rashied Davis signed his RFA tender.
 
Draft Boards
 
Here’s the final version I’ll get to post. 
 
 
Positions are where I feel they fit best as a pro.  () are other possibilities. 
[RT] indicates tackles only suitable for the right side
I used [FL], [SE], [SL]  to help sort all the different WRs.  Flanker denotes a larger, slow, possession receiver, SE a taller, fast, explosive type, and slot for the little (mostly fast, but not all, once you reach the late rounds) guys.  That’s not at all to suggest that they’re limited to that position, or even that that’s their likely position - it’s merely a way to help identify different physical types out of a large group.  I could have called them type A, B, and C, but this is easier to remember.
h-Bs are tweeners somewhere inbetween WR/TE.  They have ball skills, and you throw to them, but the lack the speed and size to be an every down player at either spot.
[SS] denotes safeties that are either big and big hitters, or too slow to play FS well, or both.  Sometimes you’ll find a slow guy at FS out of necessity, but it rarely works well.  Mike Brown is the only exception I can think of, and (post-injuries) he may have slowed down too much to do it anymore. 
At LB, S/M/W are 4-3 Strong/Middle/Weak slots, O/I are 3-4 Inside/Outside positions.
On DL, E suggests a player suited to 3-4 DE.
* shows wildcard players whose slot/value is especially hard to forecast, due to injury concerns, position uncertainty, character issues, high measurable but minimal experience, etc.
+s indicate players that I like better than other people seem to and could go lower.
-s indicate players that I like less than other people, and are likely to go higher than I rate them.
 
 
My Bears Anxiety Closet
 
Last column I talked about where I thought good values could be had.  This time around, I’m sharing what I suspect the team will do.
 
I know they absolutely will draft some OL – even they can’t ignore it this time.  But I do fear they won’t go after it hard enough. 
Also at S – I’ve been preaching help there for 2 years now and I have the feeling they’re going to neglect it again.  I see them using a 4-7 at best and counting on guys like Brown, Payne, and Manning – who do have some chance at doing the job, but it’s just not high enough to stand pat again.
At HB and QB, my philosophy this year would be “go big or go home”.  If you get a good value on one early, maybe pull the trigger, but if you can’t get a great one, push it back to next year’s list.  I have a feeling they’re going to address both now by getting mediocre guys, then realize in 1-2 years that they still need an upgrade there and have to draft them again.
DL and LB ought to be almost totally written out of draft plans – maybe a late DL backup at most.  But I won’t be shocked to see them go after one higher.
A 3rd TE late is likely.  Probably one early WR will happen, too.
 

Roster
( ) contain contract years left.  +1 shows RFA and +2 ERFA status after their current contract expires. PUP is the Physically Unable to Perform list, and INJ is used for a player who ended the season with a significant injury, had/will have off-season surgery, or is in some way a health question mark.   Bold denotes star players, Underline shows a solid starter, Normal for substandard starters to decent backups, and Italics for poor/raw/ST only players.
 
OL
Tait(2), Metcalf(4), Kreutz(3), Garza(4), St. Clair(1)
Oakley(RFA?), Beekman(3)
Reed(PS), Jones(PS), Gibbons(PS)
 
QB
Grossman(1), Orton(2)
 
WR
Bradley(2), Booker(2)
Hester(2), Lloyd(1)
Davis(1), Hass(1+2?)
 
TE
Clark(3), Olsen(4)
Mines(PS)
 
HB
Benson(2-INJ), Peterson(2), Wolfe(3)
Pope(PS-INJ), Allen(PS)
 
FB
McKie(4), Polite(1)
Hill(FA?-INJ), Runnels(?-INJ)
 
DL
Ogunleye(2), Harris(1-INJ), Dvoracek(2-INJ), Anderson(2)
Brown(4), Idonije(2), Adams(3), Toeaina(?), Bazuin(3)
Oshinowo(PS), Frome(PS)
 
LB
Hillenmeyer(3), Urlacher(4-INJ), Briggs(6)
Williams(2), Wilson(1+1?), Okwo(3), McClover(RFA?), Roach(?)
 
S
Payne(3-INJ), Brown(1-INJ),
McGowan(RFA), Manning(2)
Archuleta(2), Gattis(1+2)
Peters(PS)
 
CB
Tillman(6), Vasher(5-INJ), McBride(3), Manning(3), Graham(3), Jimoh(1-INJ)
Fassitt(PS)
 
LS (1)
Mannelly(3)
K (1)
Gould(1)
P (1)
Maynard(3)
 
KR
Hester, Davis
PR
Hester
 

2008 Shopping List
 
We did get a number of late compensatories – 3 at the tail of R7.  That leaves us with:
14, 44, 70, 90, 110, 142, 175, 222, 243, 247, 248
 
Rank.....Position.....Rounds it could be successfully addressed in.....Comment
 
1)……….OT………1-2……………Only 2 bodies and 1 starter. 
2)………..G...……..2-5…………….No one that deserves to start.  1 is a necessity, 2 would be ideal.
3)………..FS?...…..1-4…………….Really bad news, but they never really seem to recognize it
4)……….HB...……1-4……………. Is JA willing to admit we don’t have a HB, even after spending a top 5 on Benson and R3 on Wolfe?  Is Benson’s leg/ankle more serious than outsiders knew?
5)……….WR.…….1-4…………….Berrian gone, Bradley has been a non-factor, and Hester still doesn’t know the formations.   Also, no one too promising behind Booker on the other side.
6)……….QB……..2-7…………….Bears will deliberately be in the unenviable position of carrying 3 young, developing, unproven QBs at once
7)……….DT……...4-7…………….Toeaina and Idonije are the only backups to Tommie. Bear obsession with DL could push this much higher than it ought to be.
8)……….TE………4-7…………….Gilmore gone and Mines isn’t a good complement to the other 2
 

Participatory Mock 2
 
Trade 14 for 20 + 83
 
20) OT Cherilus
T in R1 is just unavoidable for us. There's no alternative.
 
44) S Smith
Seemed like a nice steal at the time. After his poor workout and how ridiculously far some of the other safeties went, I'd really like to take it back.
 
70) QB Woodson
Wasn't in my plans, but also couldn't pass here with the killer tandem of Rex and Orton.
 
83) G Schuening
This is back to plan. [Another GM] spoils my attempt to steal Zuttah twice in a row.
 
90) FS Quintin Demps
All the HBs and WRs got plundered right after 70. Smith's bad time leaves me feeling like I still don't have a FS.
 
110) G Kirk Barton
Major need.
 
142) WR Marcus Smith
All the badly undervalued players on the board at positions I can't use (DL, LB) is killing me in these middle rounds.
 
175) CB Michael Grant
2nd time I've taken him here, even though I'm full up on DBs. I'm just not buying that he's a 6 or worse.
 
222) HB Jalen Parmele
2nd time I've done this, too. How can no one value him any higher? Ah, well - last year I was getting guys like Gerald Alexander and Mario Henderson in the 7th, too.
 
243) TE Darryl Strong
3rd TE needed. Has some upside with good physical potential
 
247) DT Barry Booker
Competes with Toeaina for a 9th DL or PS spot behind Tommie
 
248) LB Steve Octavien
PS and possible future ST replenishment
 

Late Round Fun
 
The late rounds are where you should be looking for:
a) inexplicable sliders
b) role players who can contribute (special teams, FB, 3rd TE, etc)
c) players with high ceilings, that could surprise, in spite of serious negatives like injury, character, inexperience, etc
 
As I’ve complained before, Angelo rarely follows the script and goes after entirely the wrong sort of late-round players.  This year, we’ve got an abundance of late-round picks and the bottom of our roster is really pretty solid.  So here’s some ideas for Sunday night fliers.
 
Morelli and Keller
If we don’t get QB early, we’ll need a body here.  They’ve got their knocks, but the physical tools (size, rocket arms) are there.
Haynos and Strong
 Gilmore is gone, so there’s an opening for 3rd blocking TE.
Blake
Once an elite prospect, he’s a big question mark now.  Missed time as a senior (rumored to be due to bipolar disorder), weight has fluctuated dramatically since, and is not well-conditioned right now.  Even though we’re loaded at DE, we could maybe get him on PUP/IR for a year.
Arnold
 Tough guy at G has had his own injury problems
Brown
 Decent S prospect will miss most/all of 08 with a ruptured Achilles.
Boatman
Plenty of starting LTs in the league have equal or lesser physical tools.  Put him on the practice squad and see if you can develop him.
Carr and Cary Williams
Small-school CBs with coveted size/speed combos.  They’ll keep on the PS while they adjust.
Redd
 Small-school DE with great measurables.
Calucrick, Peterson, Lokey
We have plenty of bodies at FB, but since our offense never gives them any touches, we may as well just get a big physical powerhouse.
Ikegwuonu
Rumored to have threatened to sit out and re-enter the draft if not taken in the first 3 rounds.  With 3 7ths, we could gamble, though.  Losing a year off his career hurts him about as much as the salary difference between a R3 and R7 rookie contract.  Probably more, actually, if he’s as good as he thinks he is.
 
Mailbag
 
Interesting column, as always. Does seem like we may be on a cusp where the LTs we’re presumably targeting could all be gone by 14. Curious though how your hypothetical draft yielded that result. Seems to me there are 7 sure picks before us – 2 Longs, Gholston, Ellis, Dorsey, Ryan and McFadden. Most mocks also have Clady going in the top 10 and at least before us. Most also, however, have Rivers and 2 corners going before us, which, if accurate, means one of Williams, Otah or Mendenhall would be available at 14. Assume we’d want a tackle, even though it’s probably a year before any of them would be materially better than St Clair. I think Mendenhall would help quite a lot and right away, but there also would be contributors at HB in the 2nd and 3rd rounds, and Angelo won’t want to concede a 1st round HB bust, i.e., Benson, and even worse, from his perspective, risk another. Tackle will be the safe pick and likely do little if anything to help in 2008. The interesting thing will be if your forecast comes true, and they’re all gone at 14. Hate to think we’d reach for Cherilus. On the subject of BC tackles, you should at some point comment on how Colombo was thrown on the scrap heap only to emerge as an RT on one of the league’s better offensive lines.
 

Here’s the way that particular draft shook out (about 4-6 weeks ago):
 
1.Miami Dolphins-Chris Long, DE, Virginia
2.St. Louis Rams-Glenn Dorsey, DT, LSU
3.Carolina Panthers (from Atlanta)-Jake Long, OT, Michigan
4.Oakland Raiders-Vernon Gholston, DE, Ohio St.
5.Kansas City Chiefs-Sedrick Ellis, DT, USC
6.New York Jets-Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas
7.New England Patriots (from San Francisco)-Ryan Clady, OT, Boise State
8.Baltimore Ravens-Matt Ryan, QB, Boston College
9.Cincinnati Bengals-Rashard Mendenhall, RB, Illinois
10.New Orleans Saints-Keith Rivers, LB, USC
11.Buffalo Bills-Leodis McKelvin, CB, Troy
12.Denver Broncos-Chris Williams, OT, Vanderbilt
13.Atlanta Falcons (from Carolina Panthers)-Brian Brohm, QB, Louisville
 
And here’s the next (0-2 weeks old):
 
01. Miami - OT: Jake Long - Michigan
02. St Louis - DE: Chris Long - Virginia
03. Atlanta - QB: Matt Ryan - Boston College
04. Oakland - DT: Glenn Dorsey - LSU
05. Kansas City - DT: Sedrick Ellis - USC
06. New York Jets - DE: Vernon Gholston - Ohio State
07. New England (San Francisco) - RB: Darren McFadden - Arkansas
08. Baltimore - CB: Leodis McKelvin - Troy
09. Cincinnati - LB: Keith Rivers - USC
10. New Orleans - CB: Aqib Talib - Kansas
11. Buffalo - DE: Derrick Harvey - Florida
12. Denver - OT: Ryan Clady - Boise State
13. Carolina - OT: Chris Williams - Vanderbilt
 
I’m really expecting Williams and probably Mendenhall to be gone. Otah should be there, but I really don’t like him all that much.
 
I’ve been speculating the same thing about HBs, but the Bears have had dinners, interviews, and private workouts with almost all of the elite backs – Mendenhall, Forte, McFadden, Jones, and 1-2 more, I think. If they aren’t seriously considering it, they’re working really hard to give that impression (and that kind of effort at misdirection hasn’t been their previous MO).
 
It’s true HB would yield much faster results than T, but to me that’s a relatively meaningless point, as I would pretty much write off 2008 as a rebuilding year. Even if they do crack .500, there’s no genuine contention in the cards. To the Bears, maybe not, though. If they’re really, really determined to do whatever they can to give Rex the best chance they can to succeed – and historically, they’ve always made that their #1 priority, ranking it even higher than sending their best players out on the field to compete in the playoffs and challenge for a Super Bowl – then they could very well conclude that HB will help him most now in his last, last, we really mean it this time, final chance.
 
Cherilus is a bit of a reach at 14, but not nearly as much as people seem to think, IMO. This is a guy who ran 5.21 at Combine and 5.05 at Pro Day (that’s about .3 better than Otah and same/better than Clady, Williams, and Albert), is a 4 yr starter at a major program known for offensive line, a team captain, and has enormous arms and hands.
 
All in all, I think we’ll probably see OT and HB in the first two picks, probably in that order.
 
As for Colombo, his Chicago story is a mixed bag.
Selecting OT in 2002 was an obvious decision, after Brockermeyer’s injury.
Choosing Colombo himself was an excellent call, as most experts (present company included) had Mike Peterson rated higher.
The injury was unavoidable bad luck.
Doing nothing about OT in 2003, when it was excruciatingly obvious Colombo would contribute little to nothing that year, if ever again, was a stupefyingly bad move (even more so with Big Cat’s retirement leaving no one on the other side, either).
Keeping Colombo around for a lengthy rehab was a fine decision, since he was able to eventually recover.
Not realizing that he was recovered and capable of immediately stepping in and playing well right at the time when they gave up and cut him was bad evaluation.
 

 

4/7/08

More FA
 
Late season fill-in DT Jimmy Kennedy was signed elsewhere.  No loss, and depending on the contract, he might even qualify for a comp next year.
 
Berrian did indeed sign elsewhere.  His contract was too large to match, but his loss does really, really hurt an already miserable offense.
 
Briggs did indeed return.  Unless Urlacher retires very soon, that’s a big waste of money that could have been better spent elsewhere.  And it will also cost us a 2009 R3 compensatory pick we would have gotten for losing him.
 
In a shocking development related to Briggs, the 49ers were found guilty of tampering by contacting Briggs about contracts last year.  Goodell penalized them a draft pick, but also made them swap 3rd rounders this year with us.  That nets us 5 slots earlier, in an area of the draft where it could end up mattering some.
 
The Bears actually got something by dangling Griese – a 2009 R6 pick.
 
Marty Booker will be returning to take over Moose’s job.  He’s maybe a slight improvement, but also on the wrong side of 30, and just a stopgap solution.
 
Ayanbadejo left when the Bears pulled their offer, following Briggs’s signing. 
 
Brandon Lloyd was brought in to reunite with college coach Ron Turner.  He’s a formerly high paid player, who didn’t pan out and developed a rep for a bad attitude.  For a 1yr veteran minimum contract with no bonus, the Bears are hoping his old coach knows how to handle him.  It’s a fine no-risk proposition, but our WR unit is still pretty unimpressive.
 
Antonio Garay remains unsigned, with no talks at this time.
 
Draft Boards
 
Here’s v1.  These are with Combine performances included, but in almost all cases, not with Pro Day performances considered yet.  I’m late getting these out this year, so there’ll probably be just 1 more/final version before the Draft, with Pro Day numbers, last minute rumors and developments, and other misc updates and adjustments.
 
 
Positions are where I feel they fit best as a pro.  () are other possibilities. 
[RT] indicates tackles only suitable for the right side
I used [FL], [SE], [SL]  to help sort all the different WRs.  Flanker denotes a larger, slow, possession receiver, SE a taller, fast, explosive type, and slot for the little (mostly fast, but not all, once you reach the late rounds) guys.  That’s not at all to suggest that they’re limited to that position, or even that that’s their likely position - it’s merely a way to help identify different physical types out of a large group.  I could have called them type A, B, and C, but this is easier to remember.
h-Bs are tweeners somewhere in between WR/TE.  They have ball skills, and you throw to them, but the lack the speed and size to be an every down player at either spot.
[SS] denotes safeties that are either big and big hitters, or too slow to play FS well, or both.  Sometimes you’ll find a slow guy at FS out of necessity, but it rarely works well.  Mike Brown is the only exception I can think of, and (post-injuries) he may have slowed down too much to do it anymore. 
At LB, S/M/W are 4-3 Strong/Middle/Weak slots, O/I are 3-4 Inside/Outside positions.
On DL, E suggests a player suited to 3-4 DE.
* shows wildcard players whose slot/value is especially hard to forecast, due to injury concerns, position uncertainty, character issues, high measurable but minimal experience, etc.
 

By Round
 
R1 (pick 14) is definitely not shaping up well.  Out of our prime needs (QB, HB, OT, WR, G, FS), the right players aren’t there.  Any G at 14 is always a bad idea.  There’s no S remotely worth 14 in this draft.  Mendenhall would be a good choice, but odds of him lasting aren’t great.  Ryan shouldn’t be there at 14 and Brohm really doesn’t warrant it.  There aren’t any elite WR prospects.  There’s a slim chance Clady could fall after a reputedly poor Wonderlic, but pretty unlikely.  Reaching for Williams looked like our best option for awhile, but it’s starting to look like counting on him to be there isn’t even a safe bet.  You could hope that Albert can play T, but that’s a big gamble for R1.  If Mendenhall and Williams are gone (which is exactly what happened to me in a recent participatory draft), we’ve got nothing to do here.  Trading down to around 25-30 would probably be the next hope.
 
R2
QB, WR, HB will certainly have plenty of options.  But if we didn’t get OT in R1, then Nicks (if he’s there) ought to be a requirement.
 
R3
Two picks here.  A HB or QB could slip.  3rd is always a great round for WR and G.  Also a good spot for S in this draft.
 
R4
Good spot to be opportunistic for a surprise slider.  Also good for G (or another G, given the crap we have).  WR could have some good left.
 

Sneak Preview?
 
Here’s how an online draft I did (with very knowledgeable participants) went.
 
1 – OT Gosder Cherlius
As noted earlier, everyone we needed was gone, and I wasn’t available to engineer a trade, so got stuck with a serious reach here.
2 – WR Devin Thomas
Nice steal here that I wouldn’t count on in real life.
3 – FS Quintin Demps
I don’t expect the Bears to be serious about S this year either, but I like this a lot.
3 – G Jerramy Zuttah
Even having to move inside, probably an instant starter, with our line.
4 – G John Greco
Experienced college LT can play G/RT in the pros.
5 – QB Erik Ainge
I was planning to wait until R7 to use a throwaway pick (to be a #3 now, and then a high pick in 2009 if and when Rex/Kyle fail), but this was too much value.
6 – DB Michael Grant
Couldn’t pass on 2-yr starter, 3int/yr avg, major program, sub-4.4 speed, experience at corner and safety.
<still in progress>
 
The Picks
 
I was surprised that online Compensatory guru Adam predicted the Bears for up to 4 7th rounders from some unheralded losses I didn’t think would qualify (Boone, Todd Johnson, Worrell, Gage, Ian Scott).  Official announcement should come any day now.
Also moved up slightly in R3, in the Briggs deal mentioned earlier.

Contract Lengths:
As of 10/17/07

Quarterbacks:

Brian Griese - 2010
Rex Grossman - 2007
Kyle Orton - 2008

Running Backs:

Jermaine Allen - 2007
Cedric Benson - 2009
Quad Hill - 2007
Jason McKie - 2011
Adrian Peterson - 2009
Lousaka Polite - 2008
P.J. Pope - 2007
J.D. Runnels - 2009
Garrett Wolfe - 2010

Wide Receivers:

Bernard Berrian - 2007
Mark Bradley - 2009
Mike Hass - 2008
Devin Hester - 2009
Muhsin Muhammad - 2010

Tight Ends:

Desmond Clark - 2008
John Gilmore - 2007
Fontel Mines - 2007
Greg Olsen - 2011

Offensive Lineman:

Josh Beekman - 2010
Ruben Brown - 2007
Roberto Garza - 2011
Olin Kreutz - 2010
Mark LeVoir - 2007
Patrick Mannelly - 2010
Terrence Metcalf - 2011
Fred Miller - 2009
Anthony Oakley - 2007
Tyler Reed - 2007
John St. Clair - 2008
John Tair - 2009

Defensive Ends:

Mark Anderson - 2009
Dan Bazuin - 2010
Alex Brown - 2009
Isreal Idonije - 2009
Adewale Ogunleye - 2009

Defensive Tackles:

Anthony Adams - 2010
Dusty Dvoracek - 2009
Antonio Garay - 2007
Tommie Harris - 2008
Babatunde Oshinowo - 2007
Darwin Walker - 2011

Linebacker:

Brendon Ayanbadejo - 2007
Lance Briggs - 2007
Hunter Hillenmeyer - 2011
Darrell McClover - 2008
Michael Okwo - 2010
Brian Urlacher - 2011
Jamar Williams - 2009
Rodriques Wilson - 2008

Cornerbacks:

Rashied Davis - 2007
Greg Fassitt - 2007
Corey Graham - 2010
Ade Jimoh - 2008
Ricky Manning - 2010
Trumaine McBride - 2009
Charles Tillman - 2013
Nathan Vasher - 2012

Safeties:

Adam Archuleta - 2009
Mike Brown - 2008
Josh Gattis - 2008
Danieal Manning - 2009
Brandon McGowan - 2007
Kevin Payne - 2010
Leonard Peters - 2007

Kickers/Punters:

Robbie Gould - 2008
Brad Maynard - 2010

 Bears Needs  

Which position should the Bears address first in the 2008 NFL Draft?

QB
RB
FB
WR
TE
LT
RT
OG
OC
DE
DT
OLB
ILB
CB
FS
SS

 



NFL Draft Blitz Podcasts on iTunes

Get all new episodes of our podcasts and new interviews or subscribe to our feeds
100% free on iTunes.


You may
Contact Us with questions or comments about this web site


Copyright © 2008 NFLDraftblitz.com. All rights reserved.

This website is fully independent and is not affiliated with The NFL or NCAA in any manner.