OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - Keep picking on my bears... just wait till next year

Slackker · 11-30-2004, 08:43 AM

I'm not sure about Chicago, but it used to be the Red Sox motto. Maybe the Cubs, too!

As for the Bears.. they've definitely got some holes they need to take care of if they wanna have a shot next season. We've seen what the Bears can do with their defense, and it's not bad. About average, in my opinion. Now what everyone knows they need is offense. They've already been outgained by a thousand yards this season. I won't touch on fullback, since several offenses run just fine with that position pretty much phased out of their game.

QB - Grossman - I'm not sold on Rex, but he's still young and deserves a chance with some actual weapons. He definitely has a bigger upside than Quinn and a still-aging Jeff George. Krynzel is an option I wouldn't mind seeing if Rex can't get the job done. I'm expecting the Bears QB situation to turn into somewhat of a Feely/Fielder fiasco, where both wind up biting.. hard. Grossman's 67.9 QB Rating is far from inspiring, but higher than anyone else they've thrown in there.

HB - Thomas Jones is the obvious choice here, and I don't see any reason for the Bears to even consider anything else in this spot. Really, he's been one of the only offensive bright spots for the Bears lately.

TE - Being a Broncos fan I got to see quite a bit of Desmond Clark. This is a position you definitely want to look at upgrading. His blocking is hit or miss, and he tends to slack off when blocking on the back side of running plays. Even if he was twice as good.. he'd still be just slightly above average, and there would be no room, if I was running the team, for a so-so guy who gets lazy. The Colts have three decent tight ends, and I think the Bears would be well served to try and snag one cheap. The other option, obviously, is trying to pick someone up in the middle rounds of the draft.

WR - The biggest weakness on the team. Glaring. If you want your quarterbacks to be good you really need to give them wide receivers to throw to. Bobby Wade is a decent slot receiver, but nothing more from what I've seen. Bernard Berrian needs a chance to prove himself, so the Bears can figure out exactly what they have with him. Justin Gage was a "sleeper" for a lot of fantasy owners, and he's still sleeping. I'm not sure if he's had injury problems or what, but if not.. play the kid more! They need a go-to-guy, badly. This should be their choice with their first rounder this spring.

Offensive Line - The only guy I trust on the whole O-Line is Olin Kreutz. Tait and Mitchell have started every game this year, too, so I'll trust that the Bears see something in them. That leaves the two guard positions. Honestly, without watching many Bears games, I can't assess them too well.. but if teams are getting a boatload of inside penetration that needs to be fixed. At least you can run inside against an outside rush, but if teams come up the middle that puts your quarterback and running game in serious danger. Early hits result in more fumbles, too.

So there's my evaluation of the Bears offense. Leave the defense alone, they've proved they're at least good enough. I know someone said they see the Bears winning 7-8 games, but I think that's overestimating a bit. If they won 8 games this year they'd have a playoff shot! They're 4-7 right now, with games remaining: Minnesota, @Jacksonville, Houston, @Detroit, Green Bay. Optimism gives them two wins out of that bunch, likely just one. At 5-11 the Bears would get them somewhere between pick 5 and pick 9 in the draft. There's a huge clutter at 4-7 in the league right now. Honestly, 4-12 is about the best thing you can hope for the Bears. That should net them a #3 or #4 pick.

11-30-2004, 08:43 AM	#8
Slackker All Star Reserve Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Connecticut Posts: 777	I'm not sure about Chicago, but it used to be the Red Sox motto. Maybe the Cubs, too! As for the Bears.. they've definitely got some holes they need to take care of if they wanna have a shot next season. We've seen what the Bears can do with their defense, and it's not bad. About average, in my opinion. Now what everyone knows they need is offense. They've already been outgained by a thousand yards this season. I won't touch on fullback, since several offenses run just fine with that position pretty much phased out of their game. QB - Grossman - I'm not sold on Rex, but he's still young and deserves a chance with some actual weapons. He definitely has a bigger upside than Quinn and a still-aging Jeff George. Krynzel is an option I wouldn't mind seeing if Rex can't get the job done. I'm expecting the Bears QB situation to turn into somewhat of a Feely/Fielder fiasco, where both wind up biting.. hard. Grossman's 67.9 QB Rating is far from inspiring, but higher than anyone else they've thrown in there. HB - Thomas Jones is the obvious choice here, and I don't see any reason for the Bears to even consider anything else in this spot. Really, he's been one of the only offensive bright spots for the Bears lately. TE - Being a Broncos fan I got to see quite a bit of Desmond Clark. This is a position you definitely want to look at upgrading. His blocking is hit or miss, and he tends to slack off when blocking on the back side of running plays. Even if he was twice as good.. he'd still be just slightly above average, and there would be no room, if I was running the team, for a so-so guy who gets lazy. The Colts have three decent tight ends, and I think the Bears would be well served to try and snag one cheap. The other option, obviously, is trying to pick someone up in the middle rounds of the draft. WR - The biggest weakness on the team. Glaring. If you want your quarterbacks to be good you really need to give them wide receivers to throw to. Bobby Wade is a decent slot receiver, but nothing more from what I've seen. Bernard Berrian needs a chance to prove himself, so the Bears can figure out exactly what they have with him. Justin Gage was a "sleeper" for a lot of fantasy owners, and he's still sleeping. I'm not sure if he's had injury problems or what, but if not.. play the kid more! They need a go-to-guy, badly. This should be their choice with their first rounder this spring. Offensive Line - The only guy I trust on the whole O-Line is Olin Kreutz. Tait and Mitchell have started every game this year, too, so I'll trust that the Bears see something in them. That leaves the two guard positions. Honestly, without watching many Bears games, I can't assess them too well.. but if teams are getting a boatload of inside penetration that needs to be fixed. At least you can run inside against an outside rush, but if teams come up the middle that puts your quarterback and running game in serious danger. Early hits result in more fumbles, too. So there's my evaluation of the Bears offense. Leave the defense alone, they've proved they're at least good enough. I know someone said they see the Bears winning 7-8 games, but I think that's overestimating a bit. If they won 8 games this year they'd have a playoff shot! They're 4-7 right now, with games remaining: Minnesota, @Jacksonville, Houston, @Detroit, Green Bay. Optimism gives them two wins out of that bunch, likely just one. At 5-11 the Bears would get them somewhere between pick 5 and pick 9 in the draft. There's a huge clutter at 4-7 in the league right now. Honestly, 4-12 is about the best thing you can hope for the Bears. That should net them a #3 or #4 pick.