Jerry Azumah Retires

Thursday, March 23, 2006 | Dave

After a quiet opening to the free agency period, in start contrast to recent years, Halas Hall has suddenly seen a burst of activity. Not all of it good. Jerry Azumah will announce his retirement today due to the reoccurring neck injury he initially suffered in 2004. Now I know I am one of those fans who frequently give players undue loyalty because they play for the Bears (see: McQuarters/Gage/Forsey) even when it makes sense to let them go (Booker/Washington/Traylor) but Zoom's retirement really is a sad moment. A Pro Bowl return man 2 seasons ago he wasn’t the same this year after his hip surgery, either as a return man or a corner. Nevertheless he was a leader in the locker room, a solid and dependable player and one of the leaders of a defensive unit that is really starting to make a name for itself. I am sorry that #23 wont be picking off any passes for the Bears anymore.

The good news is we have a solid backup quarterback who can really push Grossman and can step in successfully if Rex goes down again. (I really can’t imagine him getting hurt again. At this point it’s like one of those Final Destination sequels, you just run out of new ways for disaster to strike.) I like Griese, I like him a lot. He’s a good dependable QB with a lot of experience as a starter and a backup. Marriotti is an idiot. Drew Brees was never gonna happen and rightly so. We have been committed to Rex as the starter for two years, both of which were interrupted early on by injury. We owe one more season to see if Rex's brief flashes of potential can be realized for a full season. He doesn’t perform or he gets hurt again then its time to move on, but I saw the way he electrified the team in the Sunday night game against the Falcons, I saw him direct three long TD scoring drives in the second half of the playoff game with the Panthers. I really think Rex can be a great QB next season.

My one complaint is that the backup QB situation is the only personnel situation that has really been dealt with so far. We desperately need quality depth at cornerback. We knew it was likely Zoom would be gone, but we haven’t acted and now we are left with one guy who hawks balls, one peanut who has a tendency to lose concentration at critical moments, the guy "who fell down" and some glorified special teamer from the Panthers. Our weakest point last season was our return game. Bobby Wade is mercifully gone but we failed to get anyone to take his place. Nothing against Berrian or Vasher but with a team like the Bears, where field position is so vital, a return man with big play potential (and an ability to catch the ball) should have been a top priority this off season. We also need another solid veteran receiver, a tight end and some depth for an aging O-line. Some of these needs can be filled in the draft but the window for success in the NFL is very small and we don’t have a few seasons to waste while rookies learn the ropes. Certainly when its a defense as young as ours in need of some veteran presences. I understand we tried and the Redskins just overpaid for several people (my mystification as to how the Redskins with their cap problems managed to throw that kind of money at a number 2 receiver and a solid but unspectacular safety is a post all to itself) but we didn’t seem to have a good plan going into free agency.

In other good news all charges against Tank Johnson involving the second gun incident have been dropped. The police officer involved declined to press charges. I have to say I really want to know why. Were they dropped for legitimate reasons? And if so what really happened? Did Tank really threaten the cop? Did Olin pay a visit to the cop's house on Tank's behalf?

Finally in response to some of Jeff's questions/comments yesterday:

I agree that going to the Colts was an asshole move for Vinatieri.

I think Bill and TO will get a long fine this season cause TO will be on his best behavior for the next season or two and then Bill will retire before TO reverts to his old ways.

Its mind boggling that the Vikings got rid of Moss and Culpepper in consecutive seasons for nothing but a wide receiver, a linebacker they might be getting rid of and some low draft picks. That said I think they have done pretty well so far in the free agency and think they will be the Bears' toughest opponent in the NFC North

I also love how Culpepper defended himself from allegations of sexual impropriety on the Love Boat by loudly claiming he spent the whole time shooting dice.

I am really interested to see what the Lions do in the draft and to see how they perform next year. I bet they exceed everyone's (admittedly low) expectations.

I think Brett Favre is an asshole, the Packers are in some serious trouble, and I am really enjoying it.

Miami is going to be amazing this year. I expect them to win the AFC East and make a solid playoff run. They showed a lot of potential last year. They have made some good moves this off-season and Nick Saban is really going to shine in his second year.

I think the Browns are another team that has made great moves in the free agency, which combined with a year under Romeo, and the return of Winslow and Braylon Edwards should make them a pretty good team. I think that the AFC North will be one of the hardest divisions in football this season.

My Pre-draft NFC playoff teams are the same as Jeff's: Seahawks, Bears, Vikings, Panthers, Cowboys, Redskins (though I think of those the Cowboys are the most on the bubble)
My Pre-draft AFC playoff teams: Dolphins, Colts, Bengals, Broncos, Chiefs, Pats. Palmer is a concern certainly but I think he will return in time to win the division. I think the Steelers will follow the curse of the Super Bowl losers and not make the playoffs. They barely squeaked in last season requiring a 4 game win streak and they have lost some talent and some valuable locker room presence.

The only reason for getting rid of Brees is that his arm is more banged up then they let on. Or else Rivers has some incriminating photos. Either way I think getting rid of him was a disservice to a team that could have been solid playoff contenders. Actually that’s a bit of an overstatement. As long as they have that coach they wont have success in the playoffs. Case in point: playing Brees in that meaningless week 17 game where he suffered the shoulder injury, when he should’ve been using it as an opportunity to get Rivers some experience.

I don’t care what kind of TE Vernon Davis is, it’s not worth giving up next year's first round pick for.

This year's draft in Radio City Music Hall. Seems like a kind of strange location. Don’t know if I like the idea.

I discovered I get Sports New York and watched part of an Arena Football game. Horrible. Awful. Shouldn’t be allowed to call itself football.

The pre-season seems so far away