The basic assumption with the drafting of Marcus Freeman, the linebacker out of Ohio State that the Bears took in the sixth round, was that he would compete for the SAM linebacker spot.

Word out of rookie mini-camp this weekend, however, has Freeman listed as a WILL linebacker—rightfully so by my estimate, in that Freeman is built like a WILL at only 6-feet, 239 pounds.

He is not the type of player who fits the ideal mold for a SAM linebacker in the 4-3 defense.

That leaves the question, who exactly is going to compete with Hunter Hillenmeyer for the SAM spot?”

That spot in the line up struggled to show a consistent level of production last year.

Sure, it’s not as important as a position as the WILL spot that perennial Pro-Bowler Lance Briggs mans. But the Bears don’t need weak links in the defense piling up year after year either.

Last year Hillenmeyer began the year as the starter but eventually was replaced by second year man Nick Roach.

Roach however isn’t built like a SAM backer and better fits the mold of a WILL backer as well. At only 6’1″, 234 pounds, Roach doesn’t have the size of the strength to hold up against the RT/TE combination on the strong side shift of the offense.

The same also goes for Jamar Williams, who has been spoken of in high regard as a linebacker who can play all three spots. But if can he play all three successfully is another argument.

Williams is yet another 6’1″, 237 pounds, fleet linebacker better suited to make plays in the open field utilizing his speed to cover a lot of ground in the flats.

Then there was rookie backer Joey LaRocque, a special teams demon who might be tall enough at 6’2″ to match up well with tight ends. But he’s only 226 pounds, further cementing his standing as a likely special teams player if he stays on the 53-man roster.

So really, is there a former draft pick on the roster who has the size, the build, and the strength to hold up against the strong-side shift on running downs and is able to—if need be—cover a tight end down the field on passing downs?

When looking at the roster the answer clearly is no.

Hillenmeyer himself has not always been a good player, but he’s been good enough and made enough plays in critical situations to keep his job.

But now it appears that he is on the downside of his seven-year NFL career and could be in a position to be replaced.

The only real player that looks like he’s a SAM backer on the roster opposite middle linebacker Brian Urlacher is free agent signee Mike Rivera.

Rivera, as I talked about in previous blog posts, seems like the obvious choice to be in competition to replace Hillenmeyer. Rivera is listed as 6’3″, 254 pounds, so he is the linebacker best built to hold up against the run.

But it may be asking a lot of an undrafted free agent signee to make the roster.

So that leaves the Bears in a bit of a pickle as they head to camp.

Clearly there must still be a level of confidence that Hillenmeyer can bounce back and revert to his 2007 season form.

However, if Hillenmeyer again struggles with injuries or just isn’t as productive as he was in 2007, the Bears could be looking for at a SAM backer as a draft option in 2010.

I gathered information from various sources yesterday on how the rookies looked on the first day of mini-camp today. Obviously it’s very exciting when you have some of your newly-minted, fresh-out-of-the-box studs out there and Lovie Smith covered as much after practice.

The players who stood out were the best of the first few picks. Jarron Gilbert is big and athletic, still some room to grow on his frame and if he gets with Israel Idonije and picks up his work out habits he could be an unstoppable force on the defensive line. Henry Melton looked good, showed his burst and speed off the edge and it’s where you would like for an NFL-level defensive end.

Lovie Smith was impressed with both of these players and said,  “It’s good to see your first pick Jarron Gilbert, a lot of athletic ability both he Henry Melton both moved well today.”

Coach Marinelli was also equally impressed with his class of rookie defensive lineman. Two the first four picks were used on the line and Marinelli is known for being able mold some of the game’s best defensive lineman. Marinelli stated in various reports that he was highly impressed with how athletic Gilbert is and how tall he is, but what makes a great lineman is their ability to bend and get low to the ground to generate power. Gilbert has that flexibility for a 6-foot-5 defensive tackle, that ability to get low and generate power from his hips.

Most defensive tackles you see in the league aren’t usually over the 6-foot-4 mark because they taller they are the more easier it is for them to get stood up. But because Gilbert is such a unique athlete for his size he’s able to play the under-tackle position and generate a lot of power and leverage to drive opposing blockers and make plays.

You can tell from the various reports on chicagobears.com and the Tribune, where Marinelli gave the most time, that he’s excited with Gilbert.

“It’s kind of what we saw through the evaluation process,” Marinelli told chicagobears.com.  “For a guy that tall, he can bend, and that’s the key; you’ve got to be able to bend your knees. If you’re tall and stiff, you can’t bend down and you play tall and you have no power.”

Marinelli expanded on Gilbert, telling the Tribune about where the young tackle is at in his development.

“You like to see some position flexibility,” Marinelli said. “He’s an ‘under’ tackle right now. He’s got the movement, the power and the hands to be a left end. He can do some of that. But you don’t want to give him too much.”

“These guys are very talented athletes,” Marinelli said. “When I talk about talent, I mean short-space quickness. Then I look at them being tall and being able to bend. A guy like [Gilbert], if you can jump out of a pool, you’re in pretty good shape to bend.

“If you can bend and your feet are quick, that means you can play with a good base. They run extremely well. They’re coordinated. Now I have to coordinate them into a rush mode.”

While all eyes may have been on the first pick the Bears had last Sunday, most fans also want word on how wide receivers Juaquin Iglesias and Johnny Knox looked in his drills. The reports are positive regarding Iglesias as well.

He stood out for how well he’s put together at around 6-foot-2, 212 pounds and he showed good quickness coming out of his breaks in the route running he was doing, and showed great hands catching numerous balls in practice.

Knox is as fast as advertised and his hands are at a level that if he put it all together mentally he could be a good receiver for the Bears. Knox come in like former Bear Bernard Berrian, a mid round draft selection from a smaller school with a ton of raw athletic potential good hands, but just needs to be polished up some over the next couple of years.

“I liked what our receivers did, Juaquin Iglesias and Johnny Knox,” Smith said. “Both have a lot of upside and can run well.”

Iglesias and Knox were excited to be out there for their first day of practice and spoke with the media afterward about how proud they are to be wearing a Chicago Bears uniform.

Iglesias talked about what his mind set was coming into practice.  

“No matter what they had (in the way of openings to play) I think I was going to come in here and work as hard as I can and try to play regardless of who is here,” Iglesias said.  “I’m just trying to do the best I can and get as much as I can from Coach Drake.”

Knox also got his time with the media.  

“I’m really excited,” Know said. “Just trying to get the feel for the field because it’s different up here than it is down there in Houston. Just trying to get used to it.”

Both Iglesias and Knox were a bit overwhelmed with the difference between the NFL playbook and their college playbook, but they mentioned to the media how they are doing their best to pick it up.  They hope to be able to digest it and then utilize what they’ve learned out on the field in practice this weekend.

The playbook is what hamstrung fellow rookie Edgar Bennett last year and both Knox and Iglesias seemed pretty determined to not let that happen to them. They realize that there is an opening that exists on the roster for a receiver with their skill set. Iglesias is a tough, physical, over the middle, first down machine with great hands. Knox is a speedy receiver with great burst, the hands to go deep, and is a threat to score on any given play.

It should be a very exciting weekend for the Chicago Bears as weekend rookie mini-camp rolls along, and as always you can count on some of the most in-depth coverage of camp, from any blog on the net right here at MMI.

In part two of the interview Bears general manager Jerry Angelo expands upon the value of some of the prospects who were drafted afterr Juaquin Iglesias.

Talking about the value of fourth round selection D.J. Moore who fell primarily because of his 5-foot-9 inch height Angelo talked about why he is such a good value. “He plays a lot taller than his height, as you know there are players in the league who play a lot taller than what they are and he is one of those players. He’s got tremendous ball skills some of the best ball skills I’ve seen since Vasher. He’s got really good leaping ability, he can go up and get the ball at it’s highest point.” Angelo definitely mentioned how Moore has first round ability but fourth round height and a lot of teams reached for players with the height because of the height of the receivers these days.

While it is true that you do like to have a CB who has good height, a player who plays taller than his height, and who has the ball skills and talent that Moore has is of equal importance.

The next question comes regarding the perceived lack of a true free safety in this draft. Silvy feels that Al Afalava is more suited for a strong safety rather than a free.

Angelo became pretty adamant in saying that they like Craig Steltz, the coaching staff feels really confident in him and feel he is the starting point for the discussion. They also brought in Josh Bullocks as another person to come in and player. It appears that Steltz is going to get the first crack at the free safety spot. Steltz leaves a lot to be desired athletically but he did prove that he is a gamer and someone that won’t give up on a play. Hopefully the learning curve is something he’s crossed in moving into his second year in the league.

Angelo went on to point out that in a one-gap scheme that the Bears utilize a safety has to be good tackler first and foremost. He has to cover his gap and help out in the running game primarily. It’s also true that the Bears’ defense was typically better when Mike Brown came up in run support and the pass defense was better when there was a better pass rush.

To understand where Jerry Angelo is coming from, yes there were blown coverages last year that led to touchdowns, but the most important aspect for the success of the defense is the pass rush first and foremost. There is no argument that can be made against a weak secondary when there was such an anemic pass rush generated by the front four. This is why the Bears drafted Gilbert and Melton to specifically better the pass rush which in turn makes the safeties better.

Yes it would be ideal to have a safety who is great in the run and a great center fielder, but those types of safeties are rare. There are not a lot of safeties in the league that have the combination of great ball skills and dynamite tackling ability in the run game.

The next question that popped was in regards to Charles Tillman being moved to safety and Brian Urlacher being moved to outside linebacker. Angelo talked about it be a possibility further into their careers but right now they’ll remain at their current positions. Tillman specifically was talked about how he was a safety coming out of college and they feel if he were to make the transition to safety he’d be an excellent safety. From what they saw of him as a kid coming out of college they felt he had corner skills so they felt they would try him there at CB and if that didn’t work out he’d be an excellent safety.

Urlacher there are no immediate plans to move him to SAM. Though Angelo expressed he could be successful just about anywhere you put him. If you moved him to tight end he could probably have an impact there.

To wrap up the interview the focus was on the receivers and Angelo feels that they like the group of receivers they have, they think they have a good balance of players with size and speed. He hopes one can emerge into the complete player the Dairy Queen referenced player with a twist and sprinkles. Right now they are going forward with the group they have and they think they’ll get good production from them.

I don’t think the words Angelo used necessarily put the receiver position at ease or into stable territory. I don’t think the rotation out there is chiseled in stone and going forward they can add to it as necessary. They are not starting camp tomorrow and don’t play a game for a few more months so things can change between now and then.

Posted in Chicago Bears Draft Tagged: 2009 NFL, 2009 NFL Draft, Chicago Bears, Chicago Bears Draft, Chicago Sports, DJ Moore, football, Henry Melton, Jerry Angelo, Johnny Knox, NFL, NFL Draft, Sports, wide receivers

Jerry Angelo joined the Waddle and Silvy show yesterday to talk Chicago Bears football after the NFL Draft on Sunday. It’s one of the first interviews Angelo has done with local sports talk radio in a few years and it was great to hear where some of his motivation lies in regards to making this team better.

In part one of the interview we cover what steps the Bears made to trade for Anquan Boldin and cover the motivation behind trading down out of the first day of the draft.

To start things off it’s fair to say that everyone should recognize and mostly does recognize that this draft wasn’t about any of the players taken, but rather about Jay Cutler. The talk of the draft and it’s impact essentially starts and stops with Cutler.

A point that should be made that maybe hasn’t been touched on as much as it perhaps should be, is that lack of overall great talent in this draft. The value in the players from the Top-5 arguably all the way down to the top of the second round wasn’t all that much different.

Evidence in this can be seen in some of the players who fell out of the first round and into the second. Ray Maualuga considered by many as a Top-5 talent fell out of the first round. Everette Brown precisely the same thing, arguably a top-10 level pick who fell to nearly the middle part of the second round.

So the talent and the depth not being as strong as it was in past years made it all the more easy for the Bears to trade out. There are players in this draft that are hard to project and have a very high boom or bust factor that was likely taken into consideration when the idea to trade for Cutler came around.

The Bears also made a trade phone call to the Arizona Cardinals about Anquan Boldin. Angelo could not and didn’t want to get into all the specific details surrounding the trade talks (Boldin is still under contract) and he wants to be able to keep a solid reputation around the league with other GMs.

Angelo could have said explicitly what prevented the trade from Boldin from happening, but that in turn would hurt any future endeavors he may have in the trade market. He wants to keep a good solid working relationship so the refusal to go into specific details is easy to understand.

A certain level of respect needs to be maintained and he didn’t want to throw the Cardinals under the bus or affix any blame for any possible outrageous demands the Cardinals may have made etc.

However the point of emphasis should that Jerry Angelo did everything within reason, and within his power to explore the possibility of landing Anquan Boldin. Angelo definitely feels that Boldin would make the Bears a better football team and with the line of thought being that the Bears want to win now, Boldin is a player that would help him achieve that goal.

The next segment flowed into the decision to trade down out and out the first round of the draft. Angelo was pretty explicit with this answer as well in that the Bears had an idea of what player they would take at 49 and what type of player gave them the most value at 49.

The focus obviously being on the big three receivers that we had all hoped would slide into the second round. In my Chicago Bears Draft Day Thoughts Blog I touched on the exact line of thinking that Angelo went with. The dream scenario being all three receivers fall into the second round, giving the Bears a better chance to grab one at 49.

The more likely scenario I gave obviously is the one that panned out and I was right on target with where I thought the Bears could target either Massaqoi or Iglesias. Iglesias turned out to be the player taken at 99th overall in the third.

Angelo did the best thing for this football team by trading back and picking up an extra third and an extra fourth round pick. The third round pick netted him high value prospect Jarron Gilbert (arguably a first or second round worthy target).

This immediately boosted the position on the team that cause the most losses on the team in a direct way. The pass rush defensive end problem that was again addressed in the fourth round with the Henry Melton selection.

Angelo touched on the Jarron Gilbert selection by talking about a few points:

A) Jarron Gilbert is a player that they plan to play at defensive end “versus the run but when we get into our third down situation he’s going to shift inside just as he was in his senior year. He’s been exposed to playing defensive end a bit.”

Dick Tomey (San Jose State’s head coach) as Angelo went on to explain has been a college football coach for a number of years. Tomey has been a specialist in developing defensive lineman for a number of years at schools that he’s coached. Tomey is probably most famous for the Arizona Wildcats’ “Desert Swarm” days when the UofA had one of the best and most consistent defensive lines in the country.

Tomey is unquestionably a good football coach and any NFL coach or GM (Angelo in this case) receiving advice from him should take it to heart because he’s one of those coaches that’s been around the block a few times. Tomey feels that Gilbert’s best potential is still ahead of him and he’s just beginning to scrape the surface of what he can do on the football field.

I think some of the points to look at here regarding Jarron Gilbert and Henry Melton is the the idea of getting a lot of speed and athleticism up front. The big fad right now in the NFL is the 3-4 because it’s the defense the Pittsburgh Steelers won the Super Bowl with.

However what is consistently overlooked is the New York Giants won the Super Bowl title merely a year ago with the 4-3 defense in place. The Giants led the NFL in sacks with a 4-3 defensive scheme.

The point is and always will be to get the most pressure you can from your front four. This is always accomplished best with speed off the edge and athleticism up the middle. The song remains the same and you could argue that it has since the days of the Bears’ dominating pass rush utilizing the 46 scheme.

It’s about getting to the quarterback plain and simple, giving him little no time to throw the ball, it doesn’t matter if it comes from the 3-4, 4-3, 4-4, 5-2, 46, flex-eagle look, ANYTHING that you want to throw out there. The song remains the same get to the quarterback on third down.

Adding speed like Gilbert to the middle of the defense and speed of the edge with someone like Henry Melton is geared specifically towards that idea. The Bears don’t need to switch to a 3-4, they just need to have more speed and with a front four of Israel Idonije, Marcus Harrison, Jarron Gilbert and Henry Melton that is a very fast and athletic front four geared to get to the QB on third down.

Much the same way the New York Giants focus their defense so much on speed, the Bears are attempting to do the same things.

With Juaqin Iglesias the Bears wanted to get an established receiver. With Mark Bradley they looked at his ceiling and where he could go. Bradley was a defensive back and was moved around before he was the third best receiver on a team that had two other WRs drafted.

Iglesias was THE man at Oklahoma, the established number one target and Angelo felt he really compliments what they are trying to do on offense. It’s not taking an expert to see why the Bears targeted these prospects based on what we saw and what the Bears lack on offense and defense.

Posted in Chicago Bears Draft Tagged: 2009 NFL, 2009 NFL Draft, Anquan Boldin, Chicago Bears, Chicago Bears Draft, Chicago Sports, football, Henry Melton, Jarron Gilbert, Jerry Angelo, NFL, NFL Draft, NFL Scouting Combine, Sports

Well, after about 48 hours of digesting the Bears’ 2009 NFL Draft, I have come to a simple conclusion. I don’t care right now who they drafted where, and I won’t care until I see these players do something on the football field.

I can read all the draft grades and evaluations in the world, but it’s not too different from reading a lot of the pre-draft hype. What matters is how these players look on the football field during the preseason games. That’s then we’ll get the best idea of what each one of these players is really capable of.

For now, it’s all still names, heights, weights, and 40-yard dash times on a piece of paper, maybe with some college stats mixed in. We know that the players drafted were the best players in college football, but we also know that doesn’t mean it translates them into being the best in the NFL.

For all the hype and excitement of Jarron Gilbert jumping out of a swimming pool onto the deck from the shallow end, it doesn’t mean he’ll be able to go toe-to-toe with Steve Hutchinson on Sundays.

For all the speed and athleticism and potential that have been linked to Henry Melton, it doesn’t mean he’ll have the NFL work ethic to become a contributor to this defense.

And for all the great catches Juaqin Igelsias made at Oklahoma, it doesn’t mean he’ll be able to get separation and get open against NFL-level DBs.

Right now, we can say that these were the players the Bears felt were the best available at the time. Right or wrong, the team is stuck with them for a while; wemust simply hope for the best coming out the weekend.

 

I can say without question that not one of these draft picks will be a starter on the field against the Green Bay Packers on opening night.

Juaquin Iglesias has the most potential given the lack of overall depth at the WR position, but the giant learning curve receivers go through during the transition from college to the NFL will almost certainly prevent him from being on the field as the game begins.

I just hope these players will play their best football during the preseason. That is typically where most young players begin to stand out and show what they have in terms of NFL ability and promise.

If given opportunities during the regular season, I want to see them make the most of those chances, like Marcus Harrison did last year. I’d love to see Gilbert, Iglesias, and Melton as starters in three years.

The rookies’ task right now is developing good work and study habits and understanding that their job is primarily to learn. There is enough talent ahead of them that they should be able to apply themselves and develop to the point that they can become successful players in this league.

Hopefully, they know that they do not carry the weight of the world on them; the expectations for them (for now) are extremely low. There is no pressure to contribute on Day One. The pressure is to just show that you belong on the 53-man roster.

 

Learn from the veterans ahead of you who have been around for more than four years. Listen to what they have to give you in the way of advice, and know that you are not expected to be a starter from the beginning.

Getting a big role very soon would just be gravy. But in reality, the presence of these youngsters represents the future of the Chicago Bears’ franchise, and not a chance to win the Lombardi trophy in 2010.

 

This is as close to a mock draft as you’re going to see out of me today. I honestly just don’t see the point of making a wild prediction or even a slightly educated prediction about every team that is likely to select a player today.

However given that I have been steadily covering the Bears’ draft needs and off-season activity since Day-1 of the NFL combine I will provide just some thoughts of how this day and the draft may develop for the Chicago Bears.

First of all, I’ll cover some basic thoughts on the needs. The Bears obviously need a wide receiver, an offensive lineman with a bit of versatility (able to play more than one position) a free safety and a pass rushing threat.

The good news is there is a plethora of talent available at those positions that are likely to be there with the Bears select at the 49th pick overall in the second round.

Most Bears fans who have followed this blog and other media outlets covering the draft hype up until this point know precisely what I am about to write next and for the most part everyone is about unanimous on the idea of who the Bears should take if things roll as we all hope they do.

There is a group of wide receivers that I have now taken to calling the big three. Not because they’re the three best WRs in the draft, nor the biggest players overall.

They are the big three because they have been talked about and scouted and analyzed extensively by myself and just about every other Bears outlet. The big three are obviously Kenny Britt, Hakeem Nicks and Brian Robiskie, players that we hope and pray will fall out of the first round.

All three are considered first round worthy selections, but the good news is not all three will be drafted in the first round. The question is if one of the three goes in the first round will the other two quickly follow in the early part of the second round?

That’s the ultimate and primary question Bears fans want to know and they’ll follow closely as the draft wears on.

Most fans will be out working hard today with spring clean up projects, fertilizing the lawn, pulling up thatch, clipping off dead parts of plants and trees. All the fun stuff you do on a Saturday during the spring.

Then the draft will start later this afternoon and fans will sit and start to watch the coverage on the NFL Network or ESPN.

Each time a WR is taken off the board in this draft fans will start to grind the gears as to what the possible implications are for later in the draft.

Most fans hope that a lot of the first round is dedicated to players who don’t necessarily fit the needs of the Bears.

Three QBs going in the first round would be a positive development. A slide in the draft by Percy Harvin would definitely hope the Bears out. A few DTs going in the first round would help out the Bears so on and so forth.

The key to the entire draft may be what happens from about pick 22 to 48 for the Bears. That is the area of the draft where members of the big three are most likely to go. A span of 27 picks that could arguably make or break the draft for the Bears in 2009.

Dream scenario: The members of the big three fall out of the first round leaving 17 picks between the Bears and landing the wide receiver needed to help put this offense over the top for the next three to eight years.

One of them is left on the board at 49 the Bears make that selection and then start planning to fill the rest of the needs from the third round on.

Likely scenario: One or two of the big three will go to either the Colts, Giants, Vikings or Titans. The Colts would like to find someone to replace Marvin Harrison and while not a lot of experts have the Colts grabbing a WR in their draft slot, no one predicted Anthony Gonzales would be the pick a few years ago either.

The Titans have been working hard to get a receiver the entire off-season. Every time the Bears are mentioned as a suitor, the Titans are usually named in the same report.

The Torry Holt sweepstakes, the Anquan Boldin trade talk, the Titans are in the mix. I have a feeling that either Britt or Robiskie will be the pick at 30.

What to do if all three of the big three are off the board? Well the Bears will not likely touch one of the next two receivers on the board that they have been linked to the most.

Juaqin Iglesias and Mohammed Massaquoi while second-round worthy are just as likely to be there at 99 as 49. That’s a lot of players between then and now.

Plan B: If the big three are gone the Bears can go after safeties Louis Delmas and Rashad Johnson, DE Michael Johnson or OT Phil Loadholt or Guard Duke Robinson.’

There is also talk of other pass rusher types being available af 49 that the Bears may look at. Larry English, Lawrence Sidbury are two that may be thoughts at that point in the draft if they fall that far.

Plan C: Trade down a way into the later part of the second round, grab a safety like Patrick Chung from Oregon and add a second third round pick. If the nine players most closely linked to the Bears are gone at 49 it may be a good time to consider trading down in the draft to avoid making a reach.

Recouping a loss third from the Denver trade may give Jerry Angelo the chance of landing four future starters from this draft. Angelo’s plan is already to get three from the current crop of draft picks he has, the opportunity to add a possible fourth future starter may be too enticing to pass up if the value at 49 is gone.

The likelihood that one of the big three falls to the Bears at 49 is less than 50% and probably closer to 20%. Meaning that the other scenarios in this draft are a lot more likely.

The Bears can get better value in the third and fourth round at WR if big three are off the board. Plus with other teams likely wanting to target players the Bears aren’t as high on, trading down remains a 50-50 option in my opinion.

Posted in Chicago Bears, Chicago Bears Draft Tagged: 2009 NFL, 2009 NFL Draft, Brian Robiskie, Chicago Bears, Chicago Bears Draft, Chicago Sports, collegefootball, football, Jerry Angelo, Kenny Britt, NFL, NFL Draft, Phil Loadholdt, Sports

Well sports fans, it’s finally here, the day of the 2009 NFL Draft. The official end to the second season of the National Football League. Make no mistake this IS the second season. It may sound like silly cliche to explain the hype surrounding the NFL Draft, but make no mistake the league survives because of the second season.

Take, for instance, just the coverage that the draft gets on a monthly basis leading up to weekend of on ESPN. Mel Kiper Jr. has a solid career and perhaps the most famous hair cut on TV because of the draft.

With the invent of the internet the draft has taken off into a completely different world of hype and coverage.

Now comprehend the magnitude of the Mock Draft phenomenon a database by a Washington Redskins site lists 221 mock drafts.

This doesn’t include all the updates that constantly occur from the end of the college football season until the day of the draft. Fans just can’t get enough of the draft coverage.

So the question is why? Well the popularity of the NFL for one. It’s the most popular sport in the U.S. and with all the marketing opportunities that stem from it appealing to the most marketable class of people in the country (18-35 year old males) it’s easy to see why an entire second season can spring up just from the draft hype.

The amount of draft hype is insane given the rare success of first round draft picks and the even further failure of draft picks there after. Less than 50% of first round picks wind up with a successful NFL career.

But if you were to listen to all of the scouting experts just about every player drafted from one to 75 in the league will have a long tenured career of 10 or more years in the draft.

Then the level of hype is magnified ten fold over a period of roughly four months. Non stop coverage, talk of the combine, Pro-Days, personal workouts, private workouts, official visits, and analysis so thorough it would make the folks at NASA envious.

However even with the more recent recognition I have had in the fact that most players don’t live up to the hype I still can’t escape it.

The Chicago Bears traded away their first round pick for the next two years in the Jay Cutler trade yet myself as well as many other Bears fans have not dropped in our collective level of excitement.

I still want to see who the Bears draft at 49 and I’ll be faithfully watching the draft unfold pick by pick up until the Bears make their selection.

So while I recognize the gigantic level of ridiculous hype and the enormous lack of clarity shown by most fans and analysts and experts during this period of time. I still recognize it is the NFL and any football is GOOD football.

Posted in Chicago Bears, Chicago Bears Draft, NFL, NFL Network Coverage, NFL.com Tagged: 2009 NFL, 2009 NFL Draft, Chicago Bears Draft, Chicago Sports, collegefootball, football, NFL, NFL Draft, Sports

Word, as most draft fans know, is beginning to circulate that Florida wide receiver Percy Harvin tested positive for marijuana use at the NFL combine back in February.

Harvin, by most accounts, is considered perhaps the most explosive offensive weapon in the draft and arguably a Top-15 pick in this weekend’s draft.

So already speculation has been building as to the possibility of Harvin sliding all the way to the Bears at the 49th slot of the second round. I can answer this question emphatically and in a way that hopefully will put all of the speculation to rest. Harvin will likely not fall out of the first round of the NFL draft because too many teams see to high a value in him as a prospect and a player.

Charlie Casserly reported tonight on NFL network’s path to the draft show that three teams he already spoke with said if Harvin begins to slide into their area he is their guy at that draft slot. Surely they will have to answer to Harvin’s positive test, but the risk/reward factor for them will be to great to pass up. Harvin is an extremely valuable and multi-dimensional talent that will make a group of fan’s very happy when he does begin to fall in the draft.

For me personally, I think Harvin is overrated and think he’ll be one of the 50 percent failure rates that happen every year in the NFL draft. I see Harvin and I see Peter Warrick from Florida State. The speed and the ability in the open field is uncanny and it’s why I look at him with a huge skeptical eye. For me, the character concerns even compound the fact that I wouldn’t draft him all that high.

Now the next question generated by the speculation surrounding Harvin might be, does he fall far enough to the point where the Bears can trade up to get him later in the first round?

As I discussed in this previous blog post about the Bears’ trade options in moving up, that idea is also nearly impossible. Most of the ammo the Bears had to trade up with they gave up in the trade for Cutler.

Now with that first part of this blog out of the way, there is reason to believe that Harvin’s positive drug test can positively effect the Bears’ chance of landing a good player in the draft at 49th overall.

A few scenarios I’d like to touch on real quick are pretty easy to follow and likely make the most sense regarding our Chicago Bears:

A) Percy Harvin Could Slide in the Draft to a Team That Likely Would Have Taken a Hakeem Nicks, Brian Robiskie, or Kenny Britt.

What I am saying here is that the Bears have been targeting three solid receivers who project well not only for the Bears’ draft needs, but could have realistically slid to the 49th spot in the NFL draft prior to the Harvin news.

Now that the Harvin news has come out, there is a team in the first round that will pass on  Harvin for another player who has Harvin’s overall value in round one. They will grab the next best player that fits into their needs that is on their big board. This will cause Harvin to begin his slide in the NFL draft to a team that may be likely to take one of Nicks, Robiskie, or Britt in the first round.

B) TB) That team will draft Harvin instead of one of those three Since Nicks, Britt and Robiskie will begin to slide in the draft as a consequence to Harvin’s sliding it means one of those three will be closer to where the Bears are drafting at 49th overalll in the second round. A team that would otherwise be taking Nicks, Britt, or Robiskie late in the first round will now pass on them. Taking Harvin late in the first round and causing…

C) The Increase in the Likelihood That Britt, Robiskie, or Nicks Does Fall to the Bears at 49.

There was already by most accounts a chance that one of the “big three” will fall to the Chicago Bears. The three that have been scouted over, discussed, profiled, worked out by the Bears coaching staff and scouting personnel over and over again. These three perfectly fit the type of receiver the Bears are looking for in the first place. They fit that role that is open opposite Devin Hester who more closely resembles Harvin’s game-changing explosiveness in the open field.

The likelihood has now increased, by how much? I can’t precisely say, and no one really knows. But the good news for right now is that helped the Bears out at least indirectly. Hopefully on Saturday it will be come a direct positive effect in which the Bears benefit by landing one of the big three receivers that we have been discussing since the end of the NFL scouting combine nearly two months ago.

Posted in Chicago Bears Draft, NFL Network Coverage Tagged: 2009 NFL, 2009 NFL Draft, Andre Smith, Brian Robiskie, Chicago Bears Draft, Chicago Sports, collegefootball, football, Hakeem Nicks, Jerry Angelo, Kenny Britt, NFL Draft, NFL Scouting Combine, Sports, wide receivers