Debate the Chicago Bears’ offseason needs in The Football Fan Spot
2010 Preview:
The Chicago Bears’ offense is going to try a Mike Martz approach this year, after hiring him as their offensive coordinator. Martz has had some success in the past, but with a turnover prone quarterback like Cutler and a weak offensive line, I don’t think it’s the best scheme for them. One of the downfalls of the Martz scheme is that it causes quarterbacks to throw picks. Jay Cutler already does that well enough on his own. It’s also extremely pass heavy so defenses can blitz more often. This offensive line did alright last year, but overall lacks the talent to hold up in a Martz scheme the way you’d like it to.
All that being said, Martz should get the best out of his two pass catching backs, Matt Forte and Chester Taylor. A Martz scheme needs pass catching backs like that and they’ve got them. Martz also has had plenty of success in the past, despite the downfalls of his scheme. He turned Jon Kitna into a 4000 yard quarterback for crying out loud. He’ll help Cutler as much, if not more, than he hurts him.
Defensively, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be better this year overall. Their secondary still has a few holes, but the addition of Julius Peppers to the defensive line will help take the pressure of off the secondary. Rookie Major Wright also figures to be an upgrade at free safety. A fully healthy Tommie Harris will help both their pass rush and their run defense and Brian Urlacher, who missed most of last year with a wrist injury, is back to solidify their defense. They’ll be better overall, but they’re still going to be looking up at the Packers and the Vikings. Those two teams are too complete right now for Chicago to overtake them.
Projection: 9-7 3rd in NFC North
Power Ranking: 15
Last season: 7-9
Grade:
#75 S Major Wright (Florida)
Wright fills a need and, while there were better safeties, Wright has more upside than any of those safeties. He is a bit of a boom or bust pick, but that’s okay in the 3rd round. He needs some work, but he could be a solid starter for them, though Wright does not have the positional value of a cornerback, or fill as much of a need as taking an offensive lineman would have.
Grade: B
#109 DE Corey Wootton (Northwestern)
Wootton is a good value in the 4th, but didn’t the Bears just cut Alex Brown, while he was still a capable player, because they didn’t need an defensive end. Wootton is not a great fit for the defensive scheme either, but he does have positional value and he is a value according to my board. However, with so few picks and so many needs, using one pick on a non-need is not smart.
Grade: B
#141 CB Joshua Moore (Kansas State)
I didn’t have Moore getting draft and I don’t think he was worse a 5th round pick. I understand they needed cornerbacks, however, they really needed to get an upgrade at the guard position to open up more holes for their running backs and you can still get serviceable guards in the 5th. I’d rather have a #1 guard than a #3 or #4 cornerback like Moore.
Grade: D
#181 QB Dan LeFevour (Central Michigan)
LeFevour is a fine value, but the Bears already had 5 picks to begin with. Backup quarterback was not as pressing of a need as guard or any of their offensive line.
Grade: C-
#218 OT J’Marcus Webb (West Texas A&M)
While I didn’t have him in my top 300, he was on the borderline and not too much of a reach here. The Bears needed offensive line depth with Orlando Pace leaving.
Grade: B-
Overall:
The Bears only had 5 picks, but I thought they could have done a lot better. There was nothing wrong with taking Major Wright in the 3rd, but they used two picks on guys who don’t fill needs, a cornerback who I don’t like, and only took one offensive lineman, and he wasn’t even a guard, which they needed badly. They could have gotten a future guard in the 5th, but they didn’t.
Grade: C+
Key undrafted free agents:
S Quentin Scott (Northern Iowa)
RB Brandon Minor (Michigan)
WR Freddie Barnes (Bowling Green)
CB Cornelius Brown (UTEP)
Positions of need:
Wide Receiver:
The Bears have some decent receivers, but overall their receiving corps were very mediocre and lacking a true #1 guy with size. If they don’t sign either Antonio Bryant or Derrick Mason in the offseason, they could look for a receiver with their first pick, which unfortunately happens to be in the middle of the 3rd round. Maybe a guy like Demaryius Thomas or Eric Decker will be available at that point. If not, they have so many other major needs and so few picks that they may just completely ignore their need for a #1 receiver for another year.
Cornerback:
Nathan Vasher is always hurt and neither Charles Tillman nor Zachary Bowman had a particularly impressive year last year. They need some depth at the position and considering how thick this cornerback class is in the 2nd-4th round range, they could get a 2nd round prospect in the 3rd or a 3rd round prospect in the 4th.
Drafted Joshua Moore (#141)
Defensive End:
The Bears needed defensive end help so they traded their 2nd rounder to Tampa Bay for Gaines Adams. Unfortunately, Gaines Adams passed away this offseason. Sadly, life moves on in football and the Bears still need help at the position. The Bears cannot be a dominant defense again until they have more than 35 sacks as a team.
Signed Julius Peppers, Drafted Corey Wootton (#109)
Safety:
Danieal Manning is a hell of a kick returner, but not a great free safety. In fact, the only reason they used him last year was because they had no other choice. Luckily, like the cornerback class this year, the safety class is full of depth in the middle rounds so they can snag a good future starter in the 3rd or 4th depending on how quickly safeties are coming off of the board.
Drafted Major Wright (#75), Traded for Chris Harri
Offensive Guard:
Matt Forte stunk last year, but that wasn’t all his fault. Frank Omiyale was one of the worst guards in the league last year. They need a new left guard fast, otherwise next year will be more of the same. They should target one in the 3rd round range, but unfortunately, they have a ton of other needs they could and should target in that range. I really believe it’ll all be a case of who falls to them.
Offensive Tackle:
I know Chris Williams was a 2008 1st round pick, but neither he nor Kevin Schaffer were particularly impressive last year and after cutting Orlando Pace, they don’t have very much depth at the position either. They will look for a swing tackle with upside in the 5th or 6th round. A guy like Adam Ulatoski would be a good value for them in that range.
Drafted J’Marcus Webb (#218)
Running Back:
Matt Forte didn’t try too hard last year, especially after the Bears started struggling. Why would he? After all, the Bears had absolutely no one good below him on the depth chart. He could be awful and start get all the touches. The Bears even tried to scare him by giving some carries to Kahlil Bell, but Bell is nowhere near talented enough to put any fear into Matt Forte. Taking a running back early could. Also, running back depth is always very important in this league because of how easily it is for a running back to get hurt.
Signed Chester Taylor
Free agents:
QB Brett Basanez
RB Kevin Jones
RB Adrian Peterson
FB Jason McKie- signed with Saints 1 year
OT Orlando Pace
DE Adewale Ogunleye
DE Mark Anderson (restricted)- resigned 1 year 1.7 million
DE Alex Brown- signed with Saints 2 years 6 million
DT Matt Toeaina (restricted)- resigned
DT Dusty Dvoracek (restricted)
OLB Pisa Tinoisamoa- resigned
OLB Nick Roach (restricted)- resigned 1 year 1.6 million
OLB Jamar Williams (restricted)- traded to Panthers
CB Nathan Vasher signed with Chargers 2 years 4.5 million
S Danieal Manning (restricted)- resigned 1 year 1.1 million
S Josh Bullocks (restricted)- resigned 1 year 1.2 million
Offseason moves:
Bears sign OLB Brian Iwuh
Bears re-sign S Danieal Manning
Bears waive QB Brett Basanez
Bears re-sign DE Mark Anderson
Bears trade S Kevin Payne to Rams for conditional 7th-round pick
Bears acquire S Chris Harris from Panthers for OLB Jamar Williams
Bears re-sign OLB Jamar Williams
Bears re-sign OLB Nick Roach
Bears re-sign OLB Pisa Tinoisamoa
Bears cut DE Alex Brown
Bears re-sign DT Matt Toeaina
Bears cut CB Nathan Vasher
Bears sign CB Tim Jennings
Bears cut FB Jason McKie
Bears re-sign S Josh Bullocks
Bears cut RB Kevin Jones
Bears sign DE Julius Peppers
Bears sign RB Chester Taylor
Bears sign TE Brandon Manumaleuna
Bears tender OLB Jamar Williams
Bears tender DE Mark Anderson
Bears tender OLB Nick Roach
Bears cut OT Orlando Pace
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