SB Nation - Darrell McClover

Taking Inventory: Bears Have a Mess to Clean Up

Dane Noble — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:27:12 -0000

Now that the 2009 season is dwindling down towards an unsuccessful campaign, it's time to start looking at what we have in house that would be beneficial to carry over into 2010. We know that we have a lot of holes to fill, and that we will have to hit the next free agency period pretty hard, but it makes sense to first see who needs to weeded out of our current roster.

Brad Biggs does a good job of compiling some names of who will be RFAs and UFAs, and who he thinks might be worth bringing back in 2010.

Who does he think the Bears might bring back?

LB Nick Roach

From Biggs:

Defensive end Adewale Ogunleye, who leads the team with six sacks, is in the final year of his contract, and Angelo hasn't ruled out bringing him back. He's the only starter among six unrestricted free agents -- a list that includes Josh Bullocks, Cato June, Darrell McClover, Adrian Peterson and Pisa Tinoisamoa.

Strong-side linebacker Nick Roach will be a restricted free agent. Defensive end Mark Anderson, nickel back Danieal Manning and reserve linebacker Jamar Williams, members of the 2006 draft class, will be unrestricted if there is an extension of the collective-bargaining agreement before March. If not, they'll be restricted free agents heading into an uncapped year, and that will give the Bears the chance to control their rights.

From a defensive standpoint, we saw that Rod Marinelli seemingly made an impact at the beginning of the season with the pass rush, but in the latter weeks of the season has become ineffective. Is this a byproduct of the lack of talent on the DL?

Perhaps Marinelli just needs a full year under his belt before seeing the kind of improvements we hoped for, but we certainly have some personnel issues regardless.

As far as the linebackers go, seeing Urlacher, Pisa, and Briggs go down certainly hurt us, but having Jamar and Nick step up has been a good thing.

Looking at Biggs' information, who do you think would be expendable, and who should we bring back?

Top Three Issues That Have To Be Addressed

Dane Noble — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:37:07 -0000

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Of course, no one ever wants to panic, and as Bears fans, we are used to plodding through season after season of barely getting by, putting band-aids on things, and having our leaders tell us "We're okay". Well, right now, we're not okay, at least in some spots on the roster.

We all know that we are close, really close, to fielding a football team that can be legitimate contenders in the NFC. But, we have some personnel issues right now, and we've got to figure out what to do about them.

Most pressing issue- Offensive guard:

I was afraid that Frank Omiyale was getting hit a little too hard by Bears fans, thinking we just needed someone to place some blame on. But, after watching a replay of the Bears game in Atlanta, we need to do something different. While no one person is to blame for our lack of running game, Omiyale is not getting the job done. He does decent in pass coverage, but is getting dominated during runs. We cannot rely 100% on our passing game to take us to the playoffs... we have to have a running game.

So what's the solution? Josh Beekman is the next guy in line, and I don't think he is the answer either. Beekman is a young guy, who may have something to contribute one day if our coaches can develop him, but we saw last year that Beekman is not the answer. And honestly, a lot of folks have said that Frank Omiyale at left guard was an experiment, but I don't buy that. He started because the Bears coaches felt he is better than Beekman.

Bottom line: With only three offensive guards on the roster, and two of them being below average, this is a position that could cause us problems for the rest of the year.

#2 Most pressing issue- Linebacker

With Brian Urlacher out for the year, and Pisa Tinoisamoa likely out as well, we are looking at three linebacker positions with only four guys to fill them: Lance Briggs, Hunter Hillenmeyer, Nick Roach, and Jamar Williams. Tim Shaw and Darrell McClover are also on the roster, but they are considered special teams players.

We know that Briggs has the WLB spot tied down, and the Bears are expecting Hillenmeyer to be ready this week to fill in at SLB for the injured Tinoisamoa. Roach will make the start at MLB, as Lovie Smith said he was pleased with Roach's performance filling in for Urlacher. That only leaves Williams on the bench.

Bottom line: The Bears may have rushed Tinoisamoa back a little too early, and you have to wonder the same about Hillenmeyer. Say what you will about playing with cracked ribs, but that is an injury that can be made much worse by playing before it is completely healed. Like offensive guard, we are too thin at linebacker.

#3 Most pressing Issue- Running back

The Bears running game is off to a dreadfully slow start (see: issue #1), and it doesn't help that our roster, which started with four RBs, is down to two. With Kevin Jones on the IR, and Adrian Peterson nursing an injured knee, we are left with only Matt Forte and Garrett Wolfe. If/ when Peterson does come back, how much can we expect him to contribute considering he suffered a significant sprain to his knee?

The Bears need a strong, short-yardage RB. Wolfe is fine to give Forte a break (which the Bears have said they will do), but he is not a compliment to Forte in short yardage situations. Ron Turner said himself that he called the pitch out on the goal line in Atlanta (that Forte fumbled) because he didn't think we could punch it in between the tackles.

Bottom line: The Bears not only need to get the running game going, but also need to be able to make a big push in critical short yardage situations. We can't run pitch outs all year long.

In summary, we have three critical personnel issues that need addressing if this team is going to make a serious push for the playoffs. And if we do make it to the playoffs, we have to be able to contend. Right now, we have sub-par left guards who are hurting our running game, we have to hold our breath that Hillenmeyer is 100% ready to come back, and we have to cross our fingers that we don't have an injury to another RB.

And honestly, no serious contender should have to wonder, worry, and hope for luck to get them through the season. The trade deadline is 4pm today. While Jerry Angelo is busy adding more pass rushers, maybe he should be looking around for other positions that we are in need of.

Bears Cut DeAngelo Smith, Sign Darrell McClover

Dane Noble — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:08:09 -0000

Looks like Derrick Brooks won't be in the mix afterall. From Brad Biggs:

In another sign that the Bears believe they will be healed up soon at linebacker, the club has made a roster move at the position with an eye toward special teams and not the defense.

That means Derrick Brooks is not coming to town. Instead, veteran linebacker Darrell McClover has been brought in for the second time in just more than a month, according to a source close to the player. McClover was signed by the team and takes the place of DeAngelo Smith, who was claimed off waivers from the Cleveland Browns two weeks ago. The Chicago Tribune first reported Smith would be cut. McClover can help on special teams immediately, an area that has been thinned out because of the injuries at linebacker. The Bears signed Tim Shaw was as a young guy who could come in and help out on special teams after Brian Urlacher was lost for the season. McClover can also do that and he's probably more familiar with the defense than Shaw.

Last Chance: Players on the Bubble

Dane Noble — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 18:00:15 -0000

Tonight's game versus the Cleveland Browns will provide one last chance for a lot of players to make their case for a spot on the final 53 man roster. Some positions are pretty clear, while others have yet to be figured out. Here's an article from the Tribune that identifies certain players that may be on the outside looking in.

Excerpt:

Linebacker

How many: 7.

Projected odd men out: Marcus Freeman, Kevin Malast.

Prognosis: At the team's deepest position, veterans with starting experience such as Nick Roach, Jamar Williams and Hunter Hillenmeyer figure to stay. That's a good second team. Newly signed Darrell McClover is a commodity on special teams, and that gives him an edge over the rookie Freeman. Freeman could land on the practice squad despite a preseason that fell short of expectations.

Also mentioned in the article are Brandon Rideau, Trumaine McBride, Craig Steltz, and others. Make sure you check out the rest...