Lamarr Houston: Forgotten Man?
Many figured Houston would not be part of the Bears plans in 2017. Patrick Finley opines otherwise in the Sun-Times:
The Bears think Houston still can be a pass-rushing threat three seasons after then-general manager Phil Emery signed him to a five-year, $35 million contract. They signaled that by not signing or drafting any significant outside linebackers this offseason.
After rehabbing in New York during the offseason, Houston has participated in OTAs. He said his recovery is on schedule, though he hesitated to predict when he would be at full strength.
‘‘All you can do is work day by day and try to get better,’’ he said. ‘‘I work to be impactful, and I work to be the best at what I do.’’
Outside linebacker Willie Young, for one, can’t imagine how he would have handled tearing both his ACLs in a span of three seasons.
‘‘That says a lot about who he is as a man, and it says a lot about what this game means to him,’’ Young said. ‘‘It doesn’t get any tougher than that. Anything he deals with from this point on is going to be a cakewalk.’’
Healthy, Houston can play. And a team can never have too many good pass rushers.
Jahns on Glennon
Glennon has said and done all the right things since the Bears drafted Mitch Trubisky. He has acted like every bit the high character guy he was said to be when the Bears paid him to be their starting QB in 2017. Adam Jahns does a nice job differentiating the 2017 Bears from the 2016 Eagles in this Sun-Times piece:
Comparisons have been made between the Bears’ situation at quarterback and what transpired last year with the Philadelphia Eagles and quarterbacks Sam Bradford and Carson Wentz. Long story short, Wentz went from the No. 2 pick to third string to the Eagles’ Week 1 starter over a span of several weeks. Bradford, who had signed a lucrative two-year deal with the Eagles, was traded to the Minnesota Vikings.
But there are important differences in the two situations — beyond Wentz benefitting from playing in a pro-style system at North Dakota, whereas Trubisky is coming from a shotgun-centric offense at North Carolina. For starters, Bradford skipped two weeks of organized team activities after Wentz was drafted. Whereas Glennon was merely surprised by Trubisky’s selection, Bradford was irate about Wentz’s arrival. Bradford’s agent, Tom Condon, went on the record saying that Bradford didn’t view himself as a “stopgap-kind of quarterback.” A trade was demanded.
PFF on Pass Rush
The @ChicagoBears pass rushing duo came on strong at the end of the 2016 season.
Will they be the NFL’s top duo in 2017? pic.twitter.com/W1kyqVSSnu
— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) June 4, 2017
Quick Hits
- Mike Tanier on the most underrated players in NFL history. My first thought when I heard the title was “Neal Anderson!” Tanier agreed.
- Trubisky will get most of the attention but Moon Mullin argues the most important development for the Bears in 2017 could be the emergence of Kevin White. White knows his time is now.
- Brad Biggs on the details in the Victor Cruz Bears deal. Spoiler alert: there’s no guarantee he will make this team.
