Phil Emery assumed the General Manager post of the Chicago Bears under clear blue skies following Hurricane Jerry Angelo. Angelo made some fine moves, we all know that. He traded for Jay Cutler. He signed Julius Peppers. He drafted Matt Forte and Devin Hester. But Angelo was disliked by nearly the entire fan base and disrespected by 75% of the media (the latter caused by a serious of puzzling statements made over years of press conferences). His dismissal was met by the thundering applause of one of America’s greatest cities

It did not take Phil Emery long to realize what Angelo had to deal with in Chicago. Before he was hired the fans were calling him the “safe selection”. (Hell I was doing that too.) Hub Arkush was arguing on radio that Emery would not have the power to make football decisions due to the presence of Ted Phillips. (An argument never made during Angelo’s tenure.) The columnists who shall no longer be named on this site insisted that ownership’s decision to retain Lovie Smith meant Emery would be the French president of a Vichy government at Halas Hall.

Wrong. All of us. Fans. Arkush. Columnists. Today Phil Emery pulled off a highway robbery and acquired Jay Cutler the number one wide receiver we’ve all clamored to see in Soldier Field. Whether it was the actual case or not, Emery landed the Bears a top tier receiver in lieu of the the league’s premiere defensive free agent: Mario Williams. He listened to the voice of his quarterback; the man who is guaranteed a presence in Chicago beyond the 2012 season.

Emery could have done this the easy way. He could have cut a large check to Vincent Jackson and put a major talent in navy and orange. Instead he pulled the wool over the eyes of a dozen NFL writers and half a dozen Chicago beat mean who’ve done nothing but cover pending free agency for weeks. He worked out a smooth trade for Brandon Marshall and now he’ll pay a perennial Pro Bowler just 9 million a year over the next three years having given up only a couple of third round draft picks. It was a masterstroke and hopefully the beginning of a brilliant tenure in Chicago for Emery.

Here are some more thoughts on the major deal of day one:

• Can you imagine what the receiving corps will look like in 2012 if Michael Floyd is still on the board when the Bears draft at 19?
• Having saved 3-5 million a year by acquiring Marshall and not Jackson, Emery still has wiggle room when it comes to the free agency market.
• Rumors abound that Jason Campbell will be coming to Chicago to back up Jay Cutler. I’ve advocated this for months and hope to see it happen.
• I do not rule Mario Williams completely out for the Bears though the full court press from the Bills is disconcerting. If Williams wants to become the highest paid defender in NFL it will not happen in Chicago.
• I don’t believe the Bears will ignore the offensive line. There are some veterans tackles on the market now and we’ve seen that approach lead to a Super Bowl run.

Great day.

In a stroke of genius by GM Phil Emery (that I predicted and advocated on this site) the Bears have acquired Brandon Marshall from the Miami Dolphins. This reunites Marshall with his former pal Jay Cutler and alleviates any concerns fans have when it comes to this club’s lack of a #1 receiver.

A great day. That has just begun.

Will the Bears land a big ticket item today like Mario Williams or Vincent Jackson?

Will the Bears solidify their backup quarterback spot by looking to Detroit’s Shaun Hill or overwhelming former Bear Kyle Orton with long term security? (I still support bringing Rex Grossman back to Chicago.)

Will Phil Emery continue to undervalue talent in the secondary or will the Bears be players for the Finnegan, Carr, Landry…etc.?

If anything breaks I will have a full column up in response. Otherwise you can follow my minute-to-minute thoughts by checking the Twitter feed on the right side of this page or follow me by CLICKING HERE.

It is the obligation of everyone who covers a football team from a non-beat writer’s perspective to take a stand when it comes to said football team’s approach to free agency. In that spirit I state the following: if the Bears must decide between pursuing Mario Williams and Vincent Jackson, I hope they fix their scope squarely on the chest of the elite defensive end from North Carolina State.

Yes I acknowledge the Bears have a lack of explosive talent on the outside. Yes I believe Vincent Jackson is a very good player and would continue being a very good player in Chicago. No I would have no problem with the Bears announcing they’ve signed Jackson to a lengthy, lucrative contract just seconds after the opening of the free agency period.

My preference is just that – a preference. If the Bears HAVE to select one or the other to pursue (the contention of most analysts), I prefer Williams. The reasons are simple. Jackson is very good.Williams is elite. And he is elite at what might be the second most important position in the modern NFL. If you were to poll franchises around the league and ask them whether they’d be more afraid to face a Bears side with Vincent Jackson or one with Mario Williams opposite Julius Peppers, I believe the result would be overwhelmingly for the latter.

Would I like both? Yep. Would my dream scenario be signing Mario Williams and trading for Brandon Marshall? You betcha. (This scenario may gain traction as rumors circulate about Peyton Manning not wanting to play with Marshall.) But if the Bears plan this March is to land one major free agent, I’m hoping they take the best player on the open market. That is Mario Williams.

One weekend remains until GM Phil Emery embarks upon this all-too-important 2012 free agency period. How does he add the pieces necessary to elevate a very good 2011 Bears team (with healthy quarterback) to full blown championship contender? How does he do so while also beginning to construct depth at aging positions across the roster? How will he spend the nearly $30 million in cap promised to the roster by McCaskey/Phillips as they announced a hike in ticket sales?

Here’s one thing Emery can’t do if he hopes to gain favor in the court of public Bears fan opinion: wait. No Chicago Bears season has ever ended quite the way 2011 did. Anticipation reached a feverish pitch as the Bears reached 7-3 but the guidos left the beach as Roy Williams dropped a ball at the goal line, Marion Barber ran out of bounds and Caleb Hanie did a whole bunch of Caleb Hanie things. (This will hopefully be the last mention of Hanie in this column.) Bears fans wanted the 2012 season to start before the 2011 season ended.

Emery must act decisively. If Bears fans are forced to sit silently in front of their televisions as Vincent Jackson signs in New England and Mario Williams moves to the Meadowlands, they will grow impatient. If Bears fans are forced to hear carefully-worded rationales as to why Kamerion Wimbley and Pierre Garcon actually make the Bears better (at cost) they will grow impatient. Fans know where the roster holes are in Chicago and they want those holes filled. They know the Chicago Bears have money and they want that money spent. (Especially in the absence of a long term Matt Forte contract.)

Just imagine the clock striking midnight on Tuesday March 13th. You’ve put your kids to bed hours ago. The wife is snoring on the couch. You jump on the old Twitter feed or check ESPN News one more time before lights out and read, “Bears, Mario Williams Finalizing Contract.” Talk about playing the remainder of the offseason with the house’s money.

Yesterday was Franchise Tag Day in the NFL. (Apparently that’s now a day on the NFL calendar.) It joins the ranks of the start of free agency, the announcement of the coming year’s schedule and the NFL Draft. Yesterday we saw the free agency market come into clarity. Vincent Jackson, Mario Williams, Marques Colston and Cortland Finnegan will be available. Dwayne Bowe, Stevie Johnson, Cliff Avril and apparently a half dozen kickers will not.

What this spurned on Twitter was a lengthy (seven hour) debate about what the appropriate approach for Phil Emery should be for the Chicago Bears 2012 offseason. Here were a few proposals:

1. Sign Vincent Jackson at ANY cost. Use first round draft pick on the edge of the defensive line and look for good receivers during 2-7 rounds.
2. Sign Mario Williams at ANY cost. Use first round draft pick at wide receiver and perhaps look at the lower tiers of free agency to strength the outside as well.
3. Spend the $30 million of cap space on both players and retain Matt Forte for 2012 on the franchise tag. Draft whomever you want in the first round.

Note: All of these ideas include attaining a backup quarterback capable of winning games.
Now the question. What’s your approach? How would you run the next two months if you were Phil Emery and charged with building the 2012 Chicago Bears?

4:00 pm EST is Franchise Tag Deadline

There are two players Bears fans should concern themselves with when it comes to today’s applications of the franchise tags: Vincent Jackson and Dwayne Bowe. Kansas City, it is believed, will tag Bowe if they can’t work out a deal by the middle of the day. A.J. Smith and the Chargers brass, however, are said to have little interest in using the tag and are said to be willing to allow VJax to enter the marketplace. If they do the Bears can’t allow themselves to be outbid. They must use the full court economic press and bring Jay Cutler the size and speed he requires on the outside. Signing Jackson would not only strengthen the receiving corps but also give Phil Emery tremendous versatility with his first round draft pick.

On Bounties…

Here is my big problem with the Saints bounty story. A year ago, during labor negotiations, the players preached solidarity. They preached they were a single organism and ownership was out to limit to their economic intake during their short-term NFL tenures. They were against the 18-game schedule for health reasons and never allowed the issue to be put on the table. They are still against rigid HGH testing and many believe it is because players depend on HGH for muscle regeneration. (Being that football is just 300-pound guys hitting each other repeatedly, I get it.) Now we find out that 1 of the 32 teams was benefitting economically from sending players to the sideline. Not just quarterbacks, either. This was tight ends and linemen and backups. Guys who play less than five years on average in the league. If you knocked ANY player out of a game, you were worthy of a bonus.

I don’t get on the moral high horse with these types of issues. But if the Bears had done this I would be incredibly embarrassed.

Sure Seems Like Mario Williams is Going to Hit Open Market

ProFootballTalk does a nice job breaking down the situation between Mario Williams and the Texans:

Given that the final year of Williams’ rookie deal had a cap number that would push his franchise tender above $22 million, that’s highly unlikely.

Making it even more highly unlikely is the fact that the Texans and Williams have yet to engage in serious negotiations, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

The Texans could tag Williams by 4:00 p.m. ET Monday, adding $22 million to their cap commitments.  The team then would have to embark on a one-week effort to clear cap space.  Candidates for restructured deals and/or pay cuts include receiver Jacoby Jones ($3 million base salary in 2012), linebackerDeMeco Ryans ($5.9 million), quarterback Matt Schaub ($7.15 million), receiver Kevin Walter ($3.5 million), and tackle Eric Winston ($5.5 million).

There are three other reasons to not keep Williams.  First, in a 3-4 defense, outside linebackers can be capably filled by a much less expensive player.  For years, the Steelers had a revolving door at the position, letting “star” players walk and reloading with guys who had the ability to take advantage of a potent three-man defensive line that ties up the blockers.  The Texans will have a hard time justifying the extra money it will take to have an elite player like Williams in that role.

Mario Williams is an elite pass rusher. The whole league will want him.

Thanks to reader (and new friend of Da Blog) Keith Ellett we have a tavern partner for DaBearsBlog’s NFL Draft party on Thursday night, April 26th. Here are the details:

• We’ll be at Cortland’s Garage in Bucktown. 1645 W. Cortland Street. (To visit the bar’s website, CLICK HERE.)
• Da Blog (me) will be giving away two (2) lower tier tickets to a Bears game at Soldier Field next season. I won’t know which game until the schedule comes out in April but it will most likely be in the second half of the season. Side note: I’ll be attending the game with you. Aren’t you excited? 
• For $5 you’ll be entered into a drawing to win the tickets. (Not bad when you consider you’re getting two seats worth $200-300 a pop.) To win the tickets, you have to be there when your name is called at the end of the first round. We’ll start accepting entries at 6 pm CT. The draft begins at 7 pm CT.
• The $5 gets you a single entry and you can only buy in once. But you’ll have opportunities to increase your odds by answering draft-based trivia over the course of the night. There will be some other prizes as well.
• Cortland’s Garage will be offering a $25 open bar to those entered in the ticket giveaway. For just $25 you can drink all the canned/bottled beer, well liquor, house wine and soft drinks you want for the entire duration of the first round. (From the start of the Colts’ clock til the Giants selection.) Last year that was nearly four hours!

It’s gonna be a great, cheap, fun night. Hope to see as many of you there as possible.

Party Update No. 1

We will have the Chicago location of the NFL Draft first round party selected, I hope, by the end of next week. We will have several prizes but the grand prize will be two terrific seats (beside me) for a Bears game next year. I won’t be selecting that game until the schedule is released in early April but it will almost certainly be in either November or December. Once we have the location set, I’ll provide all the details needed. It will be a very fun night.

Bears Raise Ticket Prices and That’s Fine

I know some fans want to yell and scream whenever the franchise they support raises ticket prices but don’t complain when it comes to minimal increases at Soldier Field. (1) Soldier Field is the NFL’s smallest stadium and in order to maintain the intimacy that makes it one of America’s greatest sport venues it is imperative for ownership to adjust to the market. (2) The interesting quote from Ted Phillips is this one:

“Player spending, if one year you are a little higher, typically you will be a little lower (the next),” Phillips said. “Last year, the plan was not to be in the bottom quartile of spending. A lot of that, frankly, is we were setting aside some money for Matt Forte, which didn’t transpire.”

If money was set aside for it to happen why didn’t it happen? And does this quote not lead one to conclude perhaps the organization was upset Jerry could not reach a deal with Matt’s people? I would imagine if ownership curbed spending last offseason in preparation for a large Forte contract and that contract never materialized, they would be pretty upset. This is an ownership group that has all but shed their frugal reputation over a half decade of big contracts and I wonder if Jerry’s lack of progress with Forte wasn’t their final straw.

Why I Like Plaxico Burress 

I know, I know Plaxico has stated ad nauseum he’d like to play for the Philadelphia Eagles but I feel confident stating the giraffe will play for whatever team cuts him the biggest check. Plax is no longer the outside threat he once was but he can provide two desperately necessary elements for Cutty. (1) Cutty tends to sail passes high over the middle. It is impossible to throw the ball over Plax’s head. (2) A dynamic threat in the red zone. Plax was great for Mark Sanchez in 2011. I don’t believe Burress should be perceived as the answer for the Bears at wide receiver in 2012. But he could be an answer towards developing a top tier receiver corps.

I don’t spend more than a minute or two reading about the Combine. I don’t even spend that long writing about it. I watch three or four college football games every Saturday during the fall and rarely miss the college ball played during the week. Since I went to New York University and our football program consisted three dope dealers and a Nerf ball in Washington Square Park I have no horse in any of the races. I watch college football primarily to scout potential pro talent. (Hence my hatred for the read-option offense and any coaches who use it.) I base my knowledge on football players by watching football games.

Am I wrong? Of course. I thought David Carr would be an elite quarterback in the NFL. I thought Mike Nugent was going to be one of the best kickers the NFL ever saw. But I also knew Matt Leinart wasn’t very good and Maurice Jones-Drew was. Drafting is a crap shoot. Talent doesn’t always translate. But using 40 times and leaping ability to evaluate a player is no more effective than watching ball games. So I’ll stick to the games. I like them more.

And I watch a lot of Notre Dame football. I don’t know why. I don’t particularly care if they win or lose but I’m a sucker for teams with history. And nobody has more history in the land of college football than Notre Dame. Having watched so much ND over the last few years made one thing very apparent: Michael Floyd has an it factor and the Bears would do wonders to draft him with the 19th pick in the draft.

Why? Because every time he ran a route, he seemed open. And every time the Irish needed a big play, he made it. Without a good quarterback under center at any point in his tenure, Floyd thrived in whatever system was implemented. As a football player, as a wide receiver there is nothing this kid can’t do.

But there is something else about Floyd that I think the Bears require. Flash. Pizzazz. Razzle dazzle. Other phrases that mean the same thing. A presence on the outside the Bears have not possessed since Willie Gault left football for a life of securities fraud. Even the productive wide receivers of the last twenty years, Marty Booker and Marcus Robinson being perhaps the finest, were workmanlike talents. They were productive and reliable but they were workmanlike.

Floyd is not workmanlike. He’s electric. He’s the kind of playmaker Phil Emery seemed obsessed with in his introductory press conference. I just hope he’s obsessed with him on a certain Thursday night in April.