I’ll be writing a full piece on Buddy Ryan’s legacy for tomorrow. No reason to rush a piece on a man who made such a powerful impact on the Bears organization.
Buddy Ryan (1934 – 2016)
I’ll be writing a full piece on Buddy Ryan’s legacy for tomorrow. No reason to rush a piece on a man who made such a powerful impact on the Bears organization.
ADAM L. JAHNS (THE L IS SILENT) ON KEVIN WHITE
From his piece in the Sun-Times:
How does Kevin White look?
Like a work in progress. His physical gifts are apparent. He’s fast and imposing. But his drops stood out, especially when Jeffery was out of town. White is under pressure to be a difference-maker and is clearly learning the finer points of being an NFL receiver. But I’ll say this: when Jeffery did return for minicamp, White’s play seemingly improved.
Many have larger expectations for White in what will be his rookie campaign. None of those expectations are possible if he doesn’t catch the ball. Whilst other writers – including one for this site – have been leading the White Hype Train, I’ll remain cautiously optimistic.
BIGGS (TOM) CALLAHAN
From his piece in the Tribune:
Cornerback Bryce Callahan, defensive end Akiem Hicks and, not surprisingly, wide receiver Kevin White consistently flashed during the spring. Callahan is the leading candidate to be the nickel cornerback, a position he played last season. He took advantage of ample time working outside while an undisclosed injury sidelined Kyle Fuller. Callahan led all defensive backs with four interceptions in the offseason, a statistic kept on the wall of their meeting room.
“That’s one of the main things Vic (Fangio) was preaching,” Callahan said. “We need more takeaways and more interceptions.”
Callahan has added nearly 10 pounds of muscle to his upper body, getting to him 193 pounds. He felt being under 185 might have led to getting dinged last season. While he’s not tall at 5-foot-10, he has a 41-inch vertical jump and is fluid in the middle of the field.
Callahan’s emergence would greatly improved the backend of the Bears secondary, still the team’s least talented meeting room.
I haven’t written much of late for one reason: I have very little to say. I’m a firm believer in football having a definitive offseason and for me that offseason is from the Monday after the NFL Draft until the start of training camp. But here’s a few thoughts on what’s been going on.
(1) Manny Ramirez retired. So that’s a depth piece gone from the middle of the Bears offensive line. Explain to me again why Matt Slauson is not on this roster.
(2) I’m starting to believe the unit that could hold the Bears back from being a playoff contender is the offensive line. 40% of the unit is a complete question mark. (And someone who wasn’t madly in love with Cody Whitehair could argue 60%.)
(3) Andrew Dannehy was critical on Twitter of Brad Biggs apparently stating Adrian Amos has a make or break season coming up. Didn’t hear the spot but here’s what I’ll say about Amos: he’s being put in the best possible situation to success. Hicks/Goldman up front. Trevathan/Freeman in the middle. Amos won’t have to clean up much in the run game and when he does he’ll be able to do what he does best and that’s hit people hard. (He’s never going to be great in the pass game.)
The following is a guest column by the artist known as Data, also going by the name Johnathan Wood. If you’d like to write a guest column for DBB, email jeff@dabearsblog.com.
General manager Ryan Pace has had 2 offseasons to shape the Bears roster the way he sees fit. There are a number of different ways you can look at his moves and draw conclusions about his priorities, many of which have been discussed in detail. Pace himself has talked repeatedly about wanting size, speed, length, and football junkies. He has shipped out locker room problems and replaced them with high character football players (Ray McDonald aside).
But when I’m looking at what a GM prioritizes, I look at how he allocates his resources. Who does he invest his high draft picks and big free agent contracts in? Looking at Chicago’s recent moves through this lens gives a clear answer: Ryan Pace wants to build a team that wins in the trenches.
As we find ourselves in the only downtime of the NFL calendar, it’s time for me to reach out to you – the reader – and find out what changes you’d like to see around here for the upcoming season. You can choose to use the comments section below or simply email me (jeff@dabearsblog) if you’re more comfortable.
“Your silent tents of green
We deck with fragrant flowers;
Yours has the suffering been,
The memory shall be ours”
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
(From his poem, Decoration Day)
Thanks to my friend Susan Myerberg.
Here are three questions in the early stages of the offseason program.
(1) Is there light at the end of the Alshon Jeffery / Bears organization tunnel? I’ve argued many times that if the Bears valued Jeffery as a top receiver his contract would take about thirteen minutes to complete. There are literally a dozen templates out there. The truth is they don’t – at least right now – and Ryan Pace seems not only content with Jeffery playing 2016 on the tag but that seems to be his preference. So…when does Jeffery show up?
(2) Who is lining up next to Adrian Amos at safety come September? If you look at this roster it might be the only position that is truly up for grabs.
(3) Can they stay healthy? No other question really matters until the Bears kick off in Houston on September 11th.
