...but I love white receivers.
My favorite Bear of all-time is Tom Waddle. My favorite receiver in the game today is Wes Welker. I loved Ricky Proehl and Ed McCaffrey and Phil McConkey and hell, I even like Brian Finneran. I root for these guys not because their skin is white but because they are the fiercest underdogs in the sport. The same reason I root for Tiger Woods and black hockey players and the Williams sisters and Brian Scalabrine. Their success seems to upset the apple cart. Over 90% of wide receivers in the league are black. And - to the best of my knowledge - there isn't a starting white cornerback in the game. This is because (SHOCK ALERT) it takes the best "athletes" in the sport to play these two positions. And guess what? White people aren't the best athletes in the sport.
This is why I'm in favor of the Bears going out and signing Mike Furrey. Not because he's a white guy but because he'll add an aire of the underdog to a club that needs to strip away its self-perpetuated delusion of greatness. Furrey's not a great player; not demanding of a double team. But he's capable of being the type of seven-catch-a-game guy that Marty Booker was at the turn of the century. The kind of guy who moves the chains.
And I hate to subscribe to the broadcasting maxim wherein only white players can be described as "blue collar" or "lunch pail" but that's what Furrey is. (On a side note, if there's a more blue collar player than Lorenzo Neal, I don't get the term.) The Bears don't need stars anymore. They need employees. They need workers. And Furrey will work hard to regain his 98-catch greatness of just a few years ago.
#2 animal said . . .Hi
January 29, 2009
#3 Mike said . . .go sign furrey. proven possession guy. he would help quite a bit.
January 29, 2009
#4 jdawg said . . .Can I just call you dumb, instead? We have plenty of number 3 WRs. Why add another?
January 29, 2009
#5 BearDown1982 said . . .because Furrey is better than all of our #3's.
January 29, 2009
#6 Mike said . . .Jeff, when I was maybe 10, I got to shake Tom Waddles hand and get his autograph. It was pretty cool.
I love Welker. What a perfect security blanket he is in that offense. Plus, he is just shifty enough that he can get some needed YAC.
Furrey...interesting...I loved it when he throw that TD at the Dallas star against the Cowboys a couple of years ago...
January 29, 2009
#7 Mike said . . .jdawg: Lloyd is better than him, Davis, Hester, and Booker are equivalent to him. Furrey's stats were inflated because Detroit had no other receiver who would have been even a WR3 anywhere else. Again, we have plenty of those, and they're all roughly equivalent to Mike Furrey talentwise. If we're going to get a WR, we should get a WR1, whether that be through the draft or through a trade.
January 29, 2009
#8 Urlacher FTW said . . .Also, re: Welker. Here is what makes Wes welker great:
A. HE PLAYS WITH TOM BRADY.
B. HE PLAYS ACROSS FROM RANDY MOSS.Sorry about yelling, but that really can't be overstated. He's got one of the two best QBs in the league throwing to him, and he's got one of the five best WRs of all time taking heat off of him. Of course he looks good in those circumstances. I like Welker, but his current value is overstated because of his perfect situation. Besides, we already have a security blanket for our QBs: his name is Greg Olsen and he catches everything that gets thrown at him. To repeat: we do not need a security blanket. We do not need a possession receiver. We need a home run threat.
January 29, 2009
#9 Divine Hester said . . .Mike - I disagree on several things:
1. Lloyd I can give you but the other 3 dropped way too many balls to be considered a 3rd down guy or a possesion guy.
2. We have a home run threat, his name is Hester. What we don't have is someone who can create space consistently and catch the ball consistently. Davis is good out of the break and can get seperation but this year he got bricks for hands
3. Cassell is not a great QB, more like above average and Welker caught plenty of balls this year too. The Moss thing you may have a bit of a point but you could say that about most #2 guys, it's why they are #2 guys.. Hous, Wayne, Boldin - none of those guys are quite as good without having to have your best corner on Ocho, Harrison, Fitz.To have a good passing game you need one of 2 situations:
1.) An amazing quarterback who can consistently force footballs into covered targets with precision throws that beats coverage with his arm.
2.) A really good receiver or receivers who can consistently create space and beat the coverage with their athleticism and an above average passer to get it to them.IMHO we have in KO someone who can make great throws, but not consistently; so without bringing in a guy who can beat coverage a few times a game and create some space for KO to throw; we will struggle in passing.
January 29, 2009
#10 jdawg said . . .Mike Hass anyone? Coaching staff should have developed him into a Wes Welker like player. Strong guy, good hands, willing to take a hit for some extra inches after the catch. I hope he can make a team somewhere in ยด09 .
January 29, 2009
#11 Mike said . . .I have lost faith in Davis. Lloyd has the heart of a fly and Booker is old
January 29, 2009
#12 Rancid said . . .UrlacherFTW:
1. Furrey is at about the same level, talentwise. He is not a receiver you want to be relying on to make a crucial 3rd down catch to keep a drive alive. He isn't that kind of talent.
2. Hester is an unreliable WR, which means he's really not much of a home run threat. When I use that phrase, consistency would be a requirement.
3. Cassel is an above average QB, with an excellent line, in a system that he's had three years to learn. Aside from all that, he threw mostly checkdowns this year, which of course went to Welker. And Welker isn't equivalent to any of those other #2's you mention.
I agree that we need someone to beat coverage and make KO's job easier. That's why I don't want Furrey. Jeff as much as acknowledge's this when he admits that Furrey isn't that althletically talented. Furrey is not the kind of guy who beats coverage on a regular basis. Furrey is the kind of guy who will sometimes beat a LB or nickleback, but not on a reliable basis. The Bears shouldn't spend a valuable roster spot, in a position of need, on a guy who isn't much of an upgrade over our current players.
January 29, 2009
#13 Willie from Chicago said . . .I liked Ricky Proehl a lot as well. I got a coat at a Salvation Army a couple years ago with a bunch of Bears autographs on it. Based on the coat design and the other autographs, I think one is Ricky Proehl, but it could be Bobby Neeley.
I'm not opposed to Mike Furrey, I just can't see it as a total fix to the WR issue. But getting him doesn't keep us from getting someone else too.
I still hate Lorenzo Neal for the Mike Brown injury a couple years ago. Bastard.
January 29, 2009
#14 Urlacher FTW said . . .Furrey would be great if we can add that #1 guy we desperately need. But Furrey alone will not fix anything.
Mike, did you see Welker play with the Dolphins? He played great without much help at quarterback or another WR to take some heat off of him.
January 29, 2009
#15 Anytime said . . .jeff , for a good column header and along these same lines, how bout
The Wrong Ram
When we took Adam Archuletta from St. Louis we shoulda taken Kevin Curtis. :)January 29, 2009
#16 Pankster said . . .Wes Welker was a stud before he came to new England, that is why Miama got a second round draft pick for him.
We didn't get Archuleta from St. Louis, he was on Washington right before where he sucked too.
January 29, 2009
#17 Murph said . . .. davis is a damn broke as he arena league
. Furrey is the offensive version of Adam Archuletta
I say if we wanna improve pay out the cash, or trade all that dead ass weight of bullshit players and get a Playmaker already!!January 30, 2009
#18 Thanks for waking me up this morning said . . .Archuleta came over from the Skins after he flopped there. He signed a big contract and left the Rams for Washington. Forget about Hester being a home run threat, K.O. cant make the throw and Hester can't make the catch, a bad combo for home run threats. We need a good mid range receiver that is elusive and runs extrmely well after the catch. Is Harvin that guy? Dont know if he can hold up long term in this league.
January 30, 2009
#19 BDG said . . .Kevin Walter is better than every player mentioned in this post. Can't think of a better white person. CAN'T DO IT...
January 30, 2009
#20 BDG said . . .I LOVED Waddle, Proehl got every bit of talent out of his body he could also, but you can't put Furrey in the same breath as those guys. Just because he's white doesn't allow him to hold Welker's jock. Signing him would do nothing for our club short or long term in my mind. If you want to get a possession guy get a proven one with a at least a couple years left like say Amani Toomer. I know he's black/colored lol but he's proven over the long haul and doesn't drop anything and still can go down field on occasion or out jump a guy in the red zone. We need a number one that's it bottom line the rest will take care of itself
January 30, 2009
#21 The Ghost of Halas said . . .continued. I guess my biggest problem with Furrey would be he is too much like what we have size wise. We need diversity. We have guys that can run the quick ins and outs Hester,Davis and Bennet. We need some big bodies that are threats Boldin, Edwards or can out muscle his man to make the tough catch consistently at the sticks like Toomer, Lloyd.
January 30, 2009
#22 Murph said . . .I've got to disagree with both Jeff and Animal (a first!). Mike Furrey is hardly a proven possession reciever. Went undrafted...9 years in the league/XFL...less than 200 career receptions. No.
We had our white guy in Mike Hass, and I'm sorry, but I was always a Mike Hass fan. I have no idea how Rashied Davis made that team and Hass never did. I've seen Hass at Bourbonnais and he can catch almost anything thrown at him.
If the triumvarite (Lovie, Angelo, Phillips) decided to sign Furrey, I wouldn't object, but he does not fill me with deep satisfaction and I see him as a waste of money and a roster spot.
By the way...completely agree on Tom Waddle. He is the single most underrated Bear of the post-Super Bowl era.
January 30, 2009
#23 NittyGritty34 said . . .Louis Murphy from Florida. Big strong guy,not huge numbers at Florida because of Harvin.....good times like 4.3 40 and will go late first or early second round, could be picked up with early 2nd if we trade our 1 away. IthinkBraylond Edwards reminds me opf David Terrell, loot of potential but cant catch worth a shit!
January 30, 2009
#24 jdawg said . . .About the only thing I agree on is Tom Waddle was the man. Man that guy could take a hit. Holy shit I loved watching him play.
January 30, 2009
#25 Urlacher FTW said . . .I don't think Furrey should be discounted because we already have guys like him. Harold Miner was just like Jordan, except he couldn't score or defend. Furry is just like Davis, but Furrey can catch the football.
Davis' problem wasn't that he was slow, or a slot guy, or a arena guy -- it was that he dropped too many passes. If you can replace a receiver who drops a lot of passes with one who is more likely to catch those same passes, call me crazy, but sign the guy that can catch the ball.
January 30, 2009
#26 jdawg said . . .Only thing that keeps buggin me is that I keep readin about how Booker and Davis won't be here but neither are FA, both are signed through next seasons, am I missing something?
January 30, 2009
#27 Urlacher FTW said . . .yes -- its called being released.
January 30, 2009
#28 Urlacher FTW said . . .so we keep paying them even though they aren't rostered? That seems silly.
January 30, 2009
#29 KentuckyBearsFan said . . .Oh I just saw on the 16th Micheal Okwo signed with the Colts, I missed that. Doesn't look like the Bears have officially released Booker or Davis.
January 30, 2009
#30 jdawg said . . .Furrey racked up a lot of yardage in a game against the Bears either this past season or the year before. Besides that, I don't know anything about him.
Is it because Lovie's game plan was to leave the white guy open??? ( that was a joke. a bad joke, but someone had to say it. Will Hollywood ever make a movie called "White Man CAN Catch?" Let's hope not.)
Furrey is definitely better than Rashied Davis, though.
January 30, 2009
#31 Anonymous said . . .I'm not saying their release is going to happen, but that's how you get rid of players still under contract. I don't think they'd take too much of a cap hit.
January 30, 2009
#32 do said . . .I really dont want da bears to take a wr in the first round because Crabtree will not be there and I really dont think Maclin is gonna be that good in the NFL Howver there will be a few interior linemen there that are the best at there position (alex mack and duke robinson). Some people say that taking an interior lineman this high is a reach and you know what I agree completely but its about need and value. The best value at our spot will probably be running back because we could get probably the best running back in the draft at 18 but we have NO NEED to take a running back this high.
So because I do not want to take a wr this early I thought that I would pass along 2 names of wrs that I would love to see on this team next year.
Kenny Britt a wr from rutgers, guy is 6-4 205 and is expected to run somewhere in the 4.45 range. This kid has sick numbers and is a physical specimen and could be that big wr that we all need. we could get him in the second for sure and he could even fall to the 3rd.
Ramses Barden I would love for da bears to pick this guy up. He is 6-6 230 and should run like a 4.5 or something like that. he has GREAT hands and can go deep or over the middle. Usually breaks the first tackle so yac possibilities are there. go youtube this kid and check him out he is sick.
January 30, 2009
#33 Urlacher FTW said . . .I really dont want da bears to take a wr in the first round because Crabtree will not be there and I really dont think Maclin is gonna be that good in the NFL Howver there will be a few interior linemen there that are the best at there position (alex mack and duke robinson). Some people say that taking an interior lineman this high is a reach and you know what I agree completely but its about need and value. The best value at our spot will probably be running back because we could get probably the best running back in the draft at 18 but we have NO NEED to take a running back this high.
So because I do not want to take a wr this early I thought that I would pass along 2 names of wrs that I would love to see on this team next year.
Kenny Britt a wr from rutgers, guy is 6-4 205 and is expected to run somewhere in the 4.45 range. This kid has sick numbers and is a physical specimen and could be that big wr that we all need. we could get him in the second for sure and he could even fall to the 3rd.
Ramses Barden I would love for da bears to pick this guy up. He is 6-6 230 and should run like a 4.5 or something like that. he has GREAT hands and can go deep or over the middle. Usually breaks the first tackle so yac possibilities are there. go youtube this kid and check him out he is sick.
January 30, 2009
#34 Anonymous said . . .If Wells is there at 18 the Bears should take him, I like Britt and Barden as well, I would think you could still get Barden in the 4th or 5th depending on his combine though.
I have no problem with the Bears taking a receiver #1, if Maclin or Bey are there, IMO thats the move they need to make. If they don't then I could only guess they have quickly gained tons of confidence in Bennett and Rideau because I haven't seen a #1 WR on the field.
January 30, 2009
#35 Duff Diggler said . . .Great white Chicago Bear Wide Receivers not listed:
1. Brian Bashnagel
2. Johnny Morris
3. Glen Kozlowski
4. Mushin Muhammed (well, he ran like he was white anyway...)January 31, 2009
#36 Duff Diggler said . . .After a phone call with BDG, we agree we need two huge moves. A 1st rd trade, and a ufa....
example: for a ufa, get Nnamdi Asomugha. Shut down corner. Move Tillman to safety. Rotate Vash, Graham, etc..... then trade 1st rdr for an Edwards/Boldin type player. Size is crucial. then we could use our entire draft to boost the rest of the D, save for an OLman somewhere in the middle rounds. maybe something like this:
2nd-DE
3rd-S
4th-OL
5th-CB
6th-LB
7th-DByou can flip this formula around any way you want as long as DL, WR, and DB are addressed with the 1st and 2nd rd picks, and at least one ufa.... it seems both do-able and logical (to us). does it not?
January 31, 2009
#37 BearDown1982 said . . .btw, Waddle was the shit, and continues to be, mornings, 9-12 ct, on ESPN 1000 radio Chicago (the Waddle and Silvy Show). For those of us not in the imediate Chicago area who wants to get hooked to some great Bears talk, tune in at http://stations.espn.go.com/stations/espnradio1000/show?showId=middays .....listen live or podcast. My gift to you....
January 31, 2009
#38 Hubstorm23xxx22 said . . .Mike...FYI...Welker had better numbers this season without Brady. So that kind of screws half of your argument with him. But yes, playing across from Randy Moss certainly helps.
February 1, 2009
#39 cfhighlightvideo said . . .We build our o-line through free agency, Vernon carey anyone? Dt and db first two rounds, order of best available. A guard and wr in the third( we will have two for the berrian thing). Btw Beekman was our most mobile lineman last year and will have learned from Kruetz for several years so we dont need a center. You can get good guards late.
February 5, 2009
#40 cfhighlightvideo said . . .http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHQF5Gt_D1M
highlights of Mike Furrey's forgotten season, he led the nfc in receptions and gained over 1,000 yards
February 8, 2009
and it would be great for the bears to pick him up considering the most consistent receiving threat the bears have is Greg Olsen a TE (that runs a 4.5 which is good enough to be a WR)
February 8, 2009
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