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Plax and the Law

| June 6th, 2009

Nobody like ESPN less than I do.  Nobody.  But credit goes where credit is due and Sal Paolantonio is the finest journalist they have on-staff.  (I think his How Football Explains America is the most informative and entertaining book written on the sport since George Plimpton’s Paper Lion.)  SalPal refrains from the network’s trademark controversy-mongering while showing a deft ability to capture the spirit of two of the nation’s more passionate sports regions: New York and Philadelphia.

SalPal breaks down Plax’s legal situation on their site and it’s the clearest assessment I’ve read.  Here’s the essential information: Plax is going to try and get a trial postponement until after the 2009 season and hope – in the meantime – that Roger Goodell does not impose a league suspension until after the case is decided.  It seems there will be something of a resolution by the 15th, when the case is heard by a Manhattan judge.  Plax is not a repeat offender of the conduct policy so I can’t imagine Goodell hammering him with an eight-game suspension if he’s not convicted prior to the season.

The Bears, Jets and Bucs are believed to be interested in his services and…(wiping tears from my eyes)…I would think our stability at the quarterback position would make us the most desirable destination.  Chicago is no longer where receivers go to die, but instead where receivers go to catch Jay Cutler missiles.  With the cap room and roster need, the Bears should be embarrassed if the giraffe makes someone else a contender. 

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A Thursday Rodeo

| June 4th, 2009

Just the Plax, Ma’am
Brad Biggs writes today about the Bears’ seeming interest in attaining Plaxico Burress, free agent wide receiver and amateur gun enthusiast.  I’ve written it before and I’ll write it again: Plax is a pain in the ass but he’s not an evil guy.  If you think he’s the only professional football player carrying concealed weapons, you’re out to lunch.  He is, however, the only one who doesn’t know enough to wear a pair of jeans.  Des Clark sums up what Giants players repeated often about Plax:

“Talent is talent,” Clark said. ”But the one thing you don’t want are
bad guys. Just from people I talk to, everybody says he is a really,
really good guy.”

Plaxico Burress wouldn’t make the Bears better.  He’d make the Bears an immediate Super Bowl contender (if they’re not already).  I know we’re starting to be fed the company line regarding the young wide receivers looking brilliant with Cutler during OTAs.  Save it.  I’ll wait for Earl Bennett to catch a professional pass before I buy the jersey.  If the Bears believe Plax will suit up in 2009, he should suit up in navy and orange.

Dear Mr. Holier-than-Thou, Shut Up
I don’t like Tony Dungy.  I never have.  I think he lost too many games with too-talented a defense in Tampa Bay.  I think he escaped moral responsibility for his leaving his eighteen year-old, pre-diagnosed, manic depressive son half a country away and turned the event into some kind of springboard for lecture tours and Sunday sermons.  It may not be a popular opinion but it its mine.  Now, aside from showcasing a brilliant knowledge of maturity, Dungy is showing his football acumen may not be so hot.

“[They got] Cutler because of Green Bay’s defense and all of the press
and man coverage,” Dungy said, according to the Tribune. “[The Bears]
have to have that threat.” 

The man doesn’t know a thing about offense and never has.  Jay Cutler doesn’t make the Bears better against man-to-man.  He makes the Bears better against every single defensive alignment the league can produce.  I’m sure in his head the Indianapolis Colts beat the Chicago Bears for his only Super Bowl title because of his team’s maturity or his unrelenting faith in Jesus.  Neither is true.  His team beat our team because we couldn’t stop the run and they had the real quarterback.  We fixed the run defense.  Then the quarterback.  Apparently, that’s not good enough.  And so Tony Dungy remains lost while his opinions are treated like they flow from the mouth of Buddha.

On a positive note…   
Everybody’s talking about Jamar Williams.  This team has to have the deepest linebacking corps in the league.

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Sign Mike Brown

| June 3rd, 2009

I’ve been waiting three months for word that Mike Brown was making an official visit to a professional football team so I could write the following:

SIGN MIKE BROWN.  NOW.

“Brown told another source he is motivated to prove he remains a starting-caliber player,” according to Brad Biggs.  If that’s the case, he should attempt to prove it on Lakeshore Drive.  The Bears have a significant need at the free (and strong) safety position and enough cap room to bring in “risks” like #30.

I don’t necessarily believe Brown is capable of staying healthy for sixteen games or being the elite player he was in the early part of the decade but I do believe his leadership in the defensive huddle is worth a one-year deal.  I also believe his signing would align perfectly with Jerry Angelo’s 2009 off-season approach of loading positions with as much competition as possible.

Think about it this way.  If Brown were to show up at camp this summer, do any of you doubt he’d win a starting job?  Isn’t that reason enough to sign him?

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The Marshall Plan?

| June 2nd, 2009

David Haugh teased it last week and ESPN is rumoring it today but the Bears do seem logical entrants into the Brandon Marshall sweepstakes come the end of the 2009 season.  Marshall – according to the Denver Post – was unhappy with the Broncos’ treatment of a nagging hip injury he dealt with throughout the 2008 season and, of course, doesn’t like what his contract has in store:

[His agent Kennard] McGuire acknowledged concern about
Marshall’s long-term security. Marshall is in the final season of a
four-year contract that will pay him $2.2 million this year. But
instead of having unrestricted free agency waiting for him at the end
of this season, NFL owners reopened the new collective bargaining
agreement — a labor strategy that would make fourth-year players such
as Marshall a restricted free agent after this season.

A restricted free agent tops out at one year and $2.792
million. The NFL top receivers make from $7 million to $10 million a
year

It should be noted that Brandon Marshall is worse than Ochocinco, Plax and T.O.combined.  Those guys may be locker room cancers and self-inflicted gunshot wounds waiting to happen but Brandon actually beats women (or specifically one woman) on a regular basis.  This is the very reason that Denver has been unwilling to sign one of the best receiving talents in the game long-term.

Why bring this up now?  Because the Denver Broncos should be a pretty terrible football team in the 2009 season.  John Clayton believes they have been “acting like the equivalent of an expansion team. They made 14 unrestricted free-agent signings and already have cut two.”  If things get ugly quickly for the Broncos in 2009, unloading a problem-child wide receiver for draft picks might become an October priority.  And Marshall should be eager to re-join Cutler after a couple months with Chris Simms and Kyle Orton, specifically because Jay has proven to be one of the only folks around capable of getting through to him.

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Jay & Me

| May 31st, 2009

Somehow I knew it would pick up steam.  As I read through David Haugh’s harmless column in the Tribune yesterday, I knew one of the 10 things he knows would not go gentle into that good night.

5. I know Cutler already has alienated enough small pockets of fans at various appearances in Chicago to produce a flurry of furious e-mails, such as the one from a guy at Wrigley Field last week who criticized the quarterback for waving off autograph seekers. “His lack of appreciation for fans will be his undoing in Chicago,” Glen. R. wrote me.

We’ll see, but if Cutler experiences an undoing in Chicago it will have more to do with the people on the field than in the stands. Generally speaking, the same folks complaining about Cutler’s insouciant behavior will be cheering him on his first 350-yard Sunday.

Sure, Cutler could do himself some favors by exuding more charm or suffering the occasional fool with a little less outward disdain. But those who have been Bears fans for two decades, or two generations, need to remember Cutler has been here for two months. There will be — and has been — a degree of culture shock. Denver isn’t Chicago. Eventually, Cutler will adjust because he will learn life is easier that way in this tradition-rich football city. If he doesn’t, then he will get what he deserves.

But it’s too early in his tenure to predict that.

Sure enough the top headline on ProFootballTalk reads: “CUTLER ALIENATING BEARS FANS?”  The combination of Florio/Wilson at PFT look for (an in some cases create) controversy and have swiftly become the most influential website in the sport.  We can pretend this is a non-story but the minute it appears on their site, it is.

I, for one, don’t care if Jay Cutler signs autographs at Cubs games or Fire games or performances of American Buffalo at Steppenwolf.  (I don’t understand the fascination with autographs to begin with.)  I don’t care if he’s nice to the media.  I don’t care if he has intercourse with every woman in the city of Chicago.  I don’t care about Jay Cutler’s life outside his preparation or his play.  Preparation.  Play.  That’s what football is about.

Rex Grossman didn’t lose the fans because he refused to sign autographs.  He lost the fans (including myself) because after a ballgame where he should have been focused on sending Brett Favre into the sunset with a loss (wasn’t I naive?), he was focused on everything else

“And the situation was I felt like I was going to play about a half, and it was the last game, it was New Year’s Eve — there were so many other factors that brought my focus away from what is actually important, and that’s something that I am never going to do again.

“There is too much I am responsible for to not give it 100 percent during the week and just the full attention,” Grossman said. “It’s another lesson.”

Everything about Jay Cutler is going to be scrutinized by the Chicago media.  Not here.  Here we’re going to scrutinize what Jay Cutler does on the football field – practice and game.  We’re going to request Cutler be what he’s been advertised to be: the greatest quarterback in the history of the franchise.  We’ll require touchdowns not autographs.  Victories not handshakes.  Super Bowls not smiles. 

And twenty-five years from now, we’ll all wait in line to pose with Jay at the grand opening of his second Prime Cutler’s Steakhouse in Lincoln Park.  Believe me, he’ll sign autographs then.

 

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A Pisa Da Pie

| May 29th, 2009

The Bears have signed linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa to a one-year deal.  I like it for three reasons.

1. Tino is a versatile player and speedy in coverage – pivotal for playing the strong side.  Tight ends destroyed the Bears defense up the middle in 2008.  He’s also got multiple interceptions in three of his six seasons.

2. In 2008, Tino led the Rams in tackles and recorded 3 sacks.  If the Bears are going to amp up their pressure on quarterbacks in 2009, they’ll need to involve the linebackers.

3. This is the first substantial (possible starting)  addition to the defense this off-season.  They’ve collected bodies for the offensive line, brought in a Pro Bowl quarterback and debated wide receivers with the media.  All they’ve done for the defense is hire the first head coach to go 0-16.  This sends the message that we’re refusing to enter 2009 with the same eleven guys that failed in 2008.

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Wale Extension? Not So Fast My Friends.

| May 29th, 2009

Note: My best to ESPN College Football analyst Lee Corso, who suffered a minor stroke a few days ago.  College Gameday is – without question – the best studio show in all of sports and Corso is a major reason why.  I extend my selfish hope for a speedy recovery so that I can see Lee throw on that oversize Gator head in front of the Seminole faithful, drawing the boos you just know he adores.

With the Bears announcing a two-year extension for Israel “Don’t Call me Palestine” Idonije, Anquan Boldin’s former agent Drew Rosenhaus is hoping to parlay the thrifty negotiation into a deal for Adewale Ogunleye. 

“Israel is very excited about continuing his career in Chicago,”
Rosenhaus wrote. “It was a smooth negotiation with the Bears and
hopefully we can have the same type of success with Israel’s teammate, Adewale Ogunleye.”

Jerry Angelo should not touch Wale’s contract.  The Prince – while being a favorite person and player of mine – has underperformed an already-lucrative contract.  He has struggled against elite offensive tackles, watched his sack totals nosedive and disappeared on the pivotal third-and-longs that haunted the 2008 Chicago Bears.  Wale – to his unsurprising credit – agrees he might not be a priority for the club:

“I’m in agreement with Jerry,” Ogunleye said
Tuesday. “Last year, we gave out a lot of extensions and a lot of
contracts to guys, and we didn’t win. So you can’t expect that to
happen two years in a row.

“I’m not going to stress it out. I know what I bring to the table.
What I’m going to do is go out there and have the best year I can have.
Maybe then hopefully before the season is over, we’ll get something
done. Or maybe when the season’s over. But I would love to be in
Chicago, finish my career here.’

Let Adewale Ogunleye join the club that includes Lovie Smith, Ron Turner and Brian Urlacher – individuals whose futures on Lakeshore Drive will be determined by the 2009 season.  If Ogunleye returns to his 2005 double-digit sack form, then reward him with a contract that will allow his career to end in Chicago.

If not, nice guy or otherwise, move on. 

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Finding a Backup Quarterback

| May 28th, 2009

I’m not down on Caleb
Hanie’s ability or potential. I like the kid and I’m hoping he becomes
the Frank Reich to Jay Cutler’s Jim Kelly (with the possible exception
of winning Super Bowls). But for the security of the
2009 campaign, the Bears need Hanie holding the clipboard. Here are
some options for the second banana on the QB tree…

The Tampa Two-Step
The quarterback collection agency known as the Tampa Bay Bucs
signed Byron Leftwich and drafted Kansas State’s Josh Freeman. This
leaves either Luke McCown or Brian Griese as the odd-man out when it
comes to the regular season roster and both would be a considerable,
professional upgrades over Hanie. (Although things didn’t necessarily
end well with Griese here.)

Damon Huard, San Francisco
Huard’s ten-game stint with the Chiefs in 2006 proved he is capable of
holding down the fort for an NFL franchise. He’s not a starter anymore
but – with a solid offensive line and running game – he’s not going to
throw a season away. And with Shaun Hill and Alex Smith expected to
compete for the starting job, Huard might be attainable for a low-level
draft pick (7th).

Rex Grossman, Free Agent
This has disaster written all over it. The fans can’t stand him. He
can’t stand the fans. The organization clearly wants to move on. But
with no teams in the NFL showing even the slightest interest in the
kid, isn’t the foundation in place for reconciliation? Grossman knows
the offense. He knows the players. He knows (I hope) that he’s not on
the same level with the current starter. I don’t want to see #8 fumble
snaps at Soldier Field any more than you do, but I’d take a fallen
leader with something to prove over an unproven, second-year kid any
day.

J.P. Losman, Free Agent
Also a free agent, Losman is an intriguing option for the Bears. Call
him “Diet Cutler”. He’s a strong-armed, confident kid with excellent
mobility. He’s Rex Grossman without the stigma of being Rex Grossman.
And what could he possibly cost? I’d think he’d be thrilled with the
opportunity to come into camp and compete with Caleb for the shot to
suit up each Sunday. And at this point in the year, the organization
should be looking for competitive bodies at the position, not potential
MVPs.

Brad Johnson, Free Agent
Ugh.

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A Thursday Rodeo

| May 21st, 2009

Editor’s Note: I have no idea why I call these things “rodeos” but I certainly like it.

Corey Graham to Free Safety
Moving CG to safety
is a sound move if Nathan Vasher plays like he did a few years ago and
not like he did during his miserable 2008 campaign and either Tru
McBride, Zack Bowman or a possibly-signed Rod Hood emerge as a viable
nickel option. I’m assuming that the Bears (and the rest of the league)
believe Mike Brown is no longer capable of being a professional
football player or it would make very little sense for him to still be
a free agent. His leadership alone would be worth a one-year deal.

The Best* Thing About Jay Cutler…
…is perfectly described by Ron Turner in Dan Pompei’s Trib column:
“We’ll definitely move the pocket more with him,” Turner says. “He is
good at it when it’s called to move the pocket, and he also is good at
creating a play, extending a play when nothing is there. That’s
something I’m really excited about. If everything is not perfect —
protection, you don’t get the coverage you want — he can create
something by moving around.” The knock on Kyle Orton was his inability
to improvise beyond the first or second read and thus it limited how
creative the play-calling could be. We were vanilla and predictable in
the passing game. Those dogs no longer hunt.
*besides the multiple Super Bowls he’s going to win here.

Our Message to the city of Chicago: Go to Hell
It seems every time municipalities get into trouble, working people end
up making up the difference. In New York, during every economic cash
crunch, I end up paying more money to ride the goddamn subway. Now the
city of Chicago would like to retroactively amusement tax
season ticket holders for their personal seat licenses – a ludicrous
hat on top of a ludicrous hat. The Chicago Bears should do everything
in their organizational power to put a halt to this. Think of it as a
business transaction and ask yourself: do you want fans entering
Soldier Field with or without that five hundred bucks at their
disposal? Or think of it from a human standpoint: how far do you think
you can push fans before they stop coming to the park?

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Don’t Eat Their Porridge

| May 9th, 2009

The story of the three possible Bears…

Pisa Tinoisamoa
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch details the reasons for his release
from the Rams. Tino’s speed and versatility would make him a perfect
fit for the Lovie Deuce but I’d just like to see them add some new
blood to the unit. If the Bears enter the 2009 season with the 2008
defensive roster, they’ll be watching the Andre Johnsons of the world
keep them from the playoffs again.

Amani Toomer
My favorite line about the Bears’ interest in Amani Toomer comes from Vaughn McClure:
“Maybe the Bears should get back in the Anquan Boldin sweepstakes. The
Cardinals receiver remains a trade possibility, as agent Drew Rosenhaus
stated from his Twitter account.” (1) Twitter was invented for Drew
Rosenhaus. (2) Jerry’s attempted deal for Anquan on draft day wet my
whistle and I can’t let it go. (3) Toomer would be a solid replacement
for Rash in the slot but he can’t be expected to make a significant
game impact.

Michael Gaines
This would be a remarkably smart signing if it happens. It sounds like Lovie wants to turn Gaines into a Chris Cooley-type
player – lining him up at both fullback and tight end. This would
provide Captain Cutler a solid target around the goal line and also get
Jason McKie off the field.

.