Media Still Piling on Bears
The draft has come and gone, and the Bears even a bunch of other players after the draft, so you would think their fans and the Chicago media would be placated for at least a few days. You would be wrong. You see, this is Chicago we’re talking about. Chicagoans take their sports very seriously, and they especially love their Chicago Bears. As such, anytime the fans and media feel something is mishandled, they believe it is their right to take the team to task over their grievances. Since the Bears didn’t get a quarterback this draft, this is an article taking the Bears to task for not getting a quarterback.
The Bears are taking a big gamble. They’re betting that their initial talent scouting of their young quarterbacks was not flawed. It’s not that Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton don’t have what it takes to be NFL quarterbacks. The real problem, according to the Bears front office (if you look at their action in the draft) is that the Bears need a better offensive line and run game, as well as more playmakers to get the ball to. Only time will tell if this is true. However, the media rants will continue until the Bears find a QB who can step up. Here’s hoping Grossman can finally deliver.
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Bears Stocking Up
The Chicago Bears are fresh off a draft that has gotten mixed reviews from fans and analysts. While the consensus does seem to be that the Bears deserve an overall draft grade of somewhere in the B range, there are many detractors out there who will tell you that this draft was phenomenally incomplete. The most common concern voiced by Bears fans is that the team failed in their quest to find a new franchise quarterback. The Bears responded by picking up 10 undrafted rookies today, including two undrafted quarterbacks.
I’m not quite sure if the Bears legitimately believe that this should quiet the rumblings of their fans. I can’t tell you if the Bears truly feel that by signing two undrafted quarterbacks that most people have never heard of, they have solved their QB issues. While it still remains to be seen if the Bears actually have found some kind of diamond in the rough with one of these players, you can bet the farm that Bears fans will have plenty to talk about until the beginning of the 2008 season. It’s going to be a very interesting offseason.
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Draft Leaves Bears Fans Scratching Their Heads
The Chicago Bears have given their fans yet another confusing draft. In case you’ve been living on the moon and missed it, the NFL draft happened over the weekend, and many a team has now picked their brand new superstars, or at least they hope they’ve picked their brand new superstars. Bears fans seem to believe their team did not have a great draft. While it bears noting that it is legitimately impossible to say whether or not a draft is a success until many years down the road, that hasn’t stoped Mel Kiper Jr. over at EPSN.com from delivering his immediate post-draft grades for each and every team. Kiper gave the Bears a B, in case you were wondering.
The Chicago Bears received a B from Mel Kiper Jr., but their fans seem angered by the draft. I think a lot of the issue seems to be that the Bears didn’t go after one of the top tier quarterbacks in this years draft. Let me just say now that the Bears got a lot of really great offensive players to put around their quarterbacks. It appears to me that they are giving the quarterback situation one more year to play out before they go back to the drawing board. By putting more pieces around the QB, the Bears may be able to finally get Rex Grossman to play up to his potential. Of course, if they don’t, the Bears will likely have a solid chance to get the best QB on the board in the next draft.
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Bears Fans Want Mendenhall
On the eve of the draft, we have this story about how the Bears need to draft Jake Mendenhall. The writer makes many excellent points as to why the Bears should draft the possible franchise running back, but the fact remains that I still am not convinced that Mendenhall is the best possible pick for the Bears. The Bears are a team with many holes on their offense. They have multiple issues that must be addressed. I’m not entirely sure that drafting a running back with their first pick is the best possible move for the Chicago Bears this season.
The issue I have with the drafting of Mendenhall is that he is a risk. While I know it’s easy to convince yourself that Mendenhall is a sure thing, I would ask you to look no further than Cedric Benson - a draft bust the Bears have already apparently given up on (or at least the fans have given up on him). History shows that drafting linemen in the first round is generally safer than drafting a running back. As I’ve said before, Bill Parcells has a strict “no first round running backs” rule, and I tend to trust that guy’s judgment.
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Bears Sign Davis to Extended Deal
According to reports out of ESPN.com, the Chicago Bears signed backup wide receiver Rashied Davis to a 3-year contract yesterday. Davis was recently signed to a one-year deal, but apparently the Bears felt that he was worth keeping around. Davis gets most of his work as a backup corner and return man, but he can also play wide receiver. This was his position in the Arena League. Davis has been a good backup for the Bears, and they apparently felt that all his hard work - while mostly unnoticed by a casual fan - was worthy of a contract extension.
Of course, the fact that the Bears just chose to give Davis an extension will certainly play into the Urlacher saga. While the two events should be viewed as completely unrelated, it is bound to rub Urlacher the wrong way when he finds out the Bears have extended the contract of a comparative nobody while stonewalling one of their greatest linebackers ever. It bears noting again that these two events are completely different and cannot be viewed against one another. However, the timing could not be worse.
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Bears Won’t Budge on Urlacher’s Contract
According to Jerry Angelo, the Chicago Bears will not be making another contract offer to Brian Urlacher. The Bears have offered to extend Urlacher’s contract one year, paying him a signing bonus of five million dollars and earning him an extra million dollars per year, provided that he plays at least 85% of the Bears defensive snaps. This is the best Urlacher can hope for. He can’t legitimately expect the Bears to pony up huge sums of money to pay him extra when they have to rebuild an offense. Toss in the fact that Urlacher is coming off neck surgery, and you can see the Bears’ dilemma.
Unfortunately, Urlacher doesn’t see it this way. He wants multiple years added to the end of his contract with more guaranteed money. This has gone from a small disagreement to a somewhat public dispute in which there can be no winner. Urlacher needs to accept the generous offer the Bears have made (they didn’t have to offer him any more money) and get back to playing football. if he continues to hold out, he is only hurting the team. The Bears have made their stance very clear. Now it’s up to Urlacher to make the next move.
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Bears May go for Mendenhall
The Chicago Bears’ draft day needs continue to perplex pundits, journalists, analysts and experts alike, as Bob LeGere of the Daily Herald now writes that the Bears may not be able to pass up Rashard Mendenhall if he’s still available when their number is called. LeGere sites the possibility of a quick snatching up of all the solid offensive linemen as the main reason the Bears would be justified in picking up Mendenhall. While I do see the point LeGere is trying to make, I don’t believe his scenario will play out. I still believe the Bears need to get better along their line before they go after skill players.
I know how difficult it can be for Bears fans out there to pass up a power runner like Mendenhall. I know that when you see a running back like this on the board, it fills your head with dreams of possibly winning the NFC North next season and making an improbable run at the Super Bowl again. However, there is no magic wand the Bears can wave (or draft for that matter) to just save their team and next season. The Bears need to build their offense intelligently and logically, and that means picking up the best possible player they can get. That player could be Mendenhall, but the odds are against it.
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Urlacher Denies Threatening to Quit
In the latest chapter of the story that just refuses to die, Brian Urlacher is denying reports that he threatened the Bears in an effort to move forward his contract talks. I have to say that I’m not quite sure what to believe at this point, but I don’t think Urlacher has resorted to underhanded tactics just to get paid. Urlacher has done more than enough in his time as a Chicago Bear to prove his devotion to the team. One gossip column running some unfounded story about him threatening the team should not be enough to truly damage his image or credibility.
While Urlacher is definitely threatening to hold out of certain voluntary team camps and workouts, he has yet to even publicly state that he would miss a day of the mandatory team practices. This situation is hairy, but it’s not irreparable. Unfortunately, certain members of the media feel the need to stir the pot, so to speak. This type of “reporting” doesn’t help anyone. It hurts Urlacher, the Bears as an organization, the Bears as a football team and the fans as well. Nobody wins when we sling mud at one another. Better to just let this situation play out on its own.
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Bears Don’t Need Chad Johnson?
There’s a real great knee-slapper on ChicagoSports claiming the Chicago Bears don’t need Ocho Cinco. This is laughable. I’m not even going to waste any time actually going over what is actually said in the article. I will say that while I agree that Johnson would be a bad fit in Chicago. However, the idea that bringing in a perennial All-Pro who immediately makes your team better and translates into at least a couple more wins isn’t good for your team is just ridiculous. It’s been some time since I’ve seen something that insane actually printed in the sports pages.
The knocks on Ocho Cinco in this article are just plain idiotic. They accuse Chad Johnson of being all about the paycheck. Anyone who has been paying attention to this situation knows that this isn’t about Johnson getting paid. Don’t worry about 85 getting paid. That will take care of itself. Johnson wants to win, and he doesn’t believe the Bengals can get to the Super Bowl. With the state the Bears are in right now, they’d be lucky if Ocho Cinco would consider coming to their team this season and giving them a chance. Sometimes, Chicago journalists are just plain out of their minds.
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Predicting the Bears’ Season
With the Bears schedule released, it’s only natural that journalists will now start in with their prognostications about the Bears’ upcoming season and what it holds for the beloved Monsters of the Midway. Unfortunately, this journalist believes the Bears will only win four games next season. That’s a bit harsh, but it underlies the larger point he’s trying to make. That point would be that the Bears don’t exactly have the easiest schedule in the world next season, and their team still needs some work if they want to get back to the elite level.
I love the Chicago sports media. It’s sincerely feast or famine with them and the Bears. If the Bears don’t look like they’re going back to the Super Bowl, the Chicago print media immediately decides they’re a lottery team. It’s ridiculous. The Bears may not be Super Bowl material next year. Only time can tell with that, but there are certainly other talented teams who will be vying for the same prize. However, they certainly aren’t going to be so bad that they only win four games next season. They’re a much better team than that.
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