SB Nation User Blog: SackMan

Is David Haugh reading WCG?

SackMan — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 15:14:34 -0000

Just one day after my post titled "Bears GM for a Day: Top Off-Season Targets," David Haugh's morning article seems to be echoing some of my remarks.

I had commented on how the Bears might have their own Darren Sproles in Garrett Wolfe, and need to get Wolfe more involved in the offense. I said, "Sproles was drafted by the Chargers in 2005, and it really took him until his 3rd season in the NFL (2007) to show his value... and his 4th season (2008) to make a huge impact. It's about time the Bears start understanding how to use their own Darren Sproles..."

This morning, David Haugh writes:

From a Bears perspective, Sproles' success naturally elicited comparisons to Wolfe, starting with their smallish stature. But Wolfe hasn't shown the explosiveness in the regular season to give anybody reason to think he will emerge in his third NFL season the way Sproles did in 2007.

I also wrote about how important the safety position is to Lovie Smith's Tampa 2 defense... saying, "Given the fact that Lovie Smith is married to the base Cover 2, the safety position is critical to the success of the Bears defense." And I suggested that the Bears target USC safety Taylor Mays with their #1 overal pick.

This morning, David Haugh writes:

The Bears' Cover-2 functions at its highest level with safeties capable of controlling games in stretches, a reality that would make a player such as free safety Taylor Mays of USC hard to overlook at the No. 18 spot if Mays enters the NFL draft. ...

Bears GM for a Day: Top Off-Season Targets

SackMan — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 23:05:22 -0000

OFFENSE

QB
Jerry Angelo wants to bring in a QB to compete with Kyle Orton. Instead of settling for one of the "available" options in free agency such as Kurt Warner, Kerry Collins, Jeff Garcia, Chris Simms or J.P. Losman, I suggest Mr. Angelo better get a little creative and enter the trade market. Here's a list a QBs who "could" be available for the right offer. But, you'll never know unless you make that offer.
Trade possibilities:

Donovan McNabb, Eagles (to build instant success)
Carson Palmer, Bengals (to try and rehab from injury)
*Kevin O’Connell, Patriots (another Patriot's QB with classic pocket passer size at 6'5" 225lbs)
*Colt Brennan, Redskins (a heck of a passing machine in college, who may not get a chance for a while behind Jason Campbell)
Vince Young, Titans (a reclamation project, who may be helped by a change of scenery)
Chad Henne, Dolphins
Matt Hasselback, Seahawks
Marc Bulger, Rams
*Troy Smith, Ravens (added to this list due to popularity)

*O'Connell and Brennan are my top two choices here, as they'll be able to compete with Orton in '09, and may develop into the franchise QB we're looking for. O'Connell has spent his rookie season studying under Belichick with Brady and Cassel, and Brennan has spent his rookie year in Washington with QB guru Jim Zorn. The Bears are horrible at developing QBs, so why not bring in some good talent who's already being shaped by the better QB tudors in the league.

O-Line and RB
If Lovie Smith wants to call his team a "running team," then perhaps he should assemble an offensive line that can run the ball with some authority, and acquire another running back to compliment Matt Forte. According to the fellas at Football Outsiders, the Bears O-line finished the 2008 season ranked 27th in "Stuffed Rank." That means... well, they get stuffed more often than 26 other teams in the NFL.

Vernon Carey, RT/G, Dolphins, Free Agent
Former 1st round pick. A big 350lb mountain, who played guard at the "U" of Miami. He's flopped between G and RT in the NFL, and has been starting at RT for the Dolphins this season. Carey is the type of lineman who could really help improve the Bears running game.
Stacy Andrews, T/G, Bengals, Free Agent
At 6'7" 340lbs, Andrews would a be good consolation prize if the Bears are unable to land Carey. Andrews has been a versatile lineman for the Bengals, used in a similar manner to how the Bears use John St. Clair... except he's significantly bigger (my goal as imaginary Bears GM is to add major size to the O-line to run behind). The Bengals placed the franchise tag on him last year, and it's undetermined if they'll use the tag on him again.
John St. Clair, T/G, Bears, Free Agent
Re-sign Mr. St. Clair, who did an admirable job in 2008, even though he was forced to play out of position at LT. The Chis Williams era will begin for the Bears in 2009... boom or bust. But, St. Clair is versatile enough to provide the Bears with depth on both sides of the line, and may even be an in-house candidate to win a competition at RT over John Tait, if the Bears do not add a new RT in free agency.
Paul Fanaika, G, Arizona State, Projected 3rd-4th round pick
At 6'6" 337lbs, Fanaika is an excellent run blocker who paved the way for Arizona State's top two RBs to average over 5 yards per carry last season.
Michael Bush, RB, Raiders, Trade
Former Heisman candidate at Louisville. The Raiders drafted him with the first overall pick on day two of the 2007 draft (4th round), and red-shirted him last year, while he recovered from injury. This year, the 245lb RB has returned to form, and nearly got traded to the San Diego Chargers in mid-season at the trading deadline.
Rashad Jennings, RB, Liberty, Projected 3rd-4th round pick
A big back at 6'1" 232lbs... Jennings is projected to run a 4.46 40. He ran for exactly 1,500 yards last year on 5.7 ypc and scored 19 TDs. He also caught 24 passes out of the backfield. He'd be my ideal RB with big size to compliment Forte, if we can't acquire Michael Bush. Video
Garrett Wolfe, RB, Bears
If you've been watching football this year at all, you've surely become familiar with the name Darren Sproles, who at 5'6" 181lbs, was as electrifying in college as Garrett Wolfe was. Sproles was drafted by the Chargers in 2005, and it really took him until his 3rd season in the NFL (2007) to show his value... and his 4th season (2008) to make a huge impact. It's about time the Bears start understanding how to use their own Darren Sproles... Wolfe is a play maker and elusive runner, when he gets the ball in the open field.

WR
Unfortunately, it's slim pickings in this years free agent crop of WRs. And that's a big problem for the Bears, as their group of WRs is among the worst in the league and is in dire need of talent. Adding further insult, is that it'll be hard to convince the #1 WR in this year's free agent class, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, to come play in Chicago, when he'll likely have offers to go elswhere with better QBs and a better opportunity at a Super Bowl. The Bears will have to get creative in order to add an experienced WR.

Anquan Boldin, WR, Cardinals, Trade
Not much of an explanation needed here... Boldin wants to get paid, and that's not going to happen in Arizona. It would likely cost the Bears multiple draft picks based on recent trades (Randy Moss, T.O., and Roy Williams), however it may not require a 1st round pick.
Shaun McDonald, WR, Lions, Free Agent
McDonald has been a quality receiver in this league for 6 years now, and has played behind Torry Holt, Roy Williams, and Calvin Johnson. He had 79 catches in 2007, under Mike Martz's offense in Detroit, but dropped off this year for the 0-16 Lions. He's not very big at 5'10" 185, but he gets open and catches the ball... more than we can say for Rashied Davis. He'd be a big improvement, and give our QB a reliable target.
Jacoby Jones, WR, Texans, Trade
Jones (6'2" 210lbs 4.4) was drafted by the Texans in the 3rd round in 2007... and has done next to nothing for them except tantalize them with his electrifying speed. WR coach Daryl Drake has a done a pretty good job developing Bernard Berrian (who was all raw speed when we drafted him), and has made progress with Devin Hester. Perhaps Drake can work with Jones, who has more pure speed and size than any other WR on the Bears.

DEFENSE

Safety
The Bears have had a revolving door of mediocre football players at safety over the last two seasons (Adam Archuleta, Brandon McGowan, Kevin Payne, Daniel Manning, Craig Steltz). Given the fact that Lovie Smith is married to the base Cover 2, the safety position is critical to the success of the Bears defense. With Mike Brown aging, and possibly not returning to the Bears in 2009, acquiring a top talent and leader at safety should be among the top priorities of the off-season. Lack of talent at safety may have been the primary reason why Bob Babich's CBs played a very soft cushion off the line of scrimmage, allowing WRs to get into their routes very easily this year. This is a major contradiction to one of the main rules of the Cover 2: jamming WRs at the line.

Charles Tillman, CB, Bears
When the Bears first drafted Tillman, Greg Blache's opinion was that #33 could be a pro-bowler at either CB or S. Well, after a sub-par season in pass coverage, I say it's time Tillman moves to FS, where he can roam more like a ball hawk and also continue to force fumbles. With his move to safety, Corey Graham, Trumaine McBride, Nathan Vasher, and Zachary Bowman can man the depth chart at CB, while Daniel Manning serves as the nickel back, and utility DB.
Taylor Mays, S, USC, Projected 1st round pick
The 6'3" 230lb Mays could be a force in any secondary... his supposed 40 time of 4.32 seconds is sure to get Lovie Smith's attention. He's played FS at USC, but his size makes him an ideal SS at the NFL level. Mays is currently projected to be a mid-first round pick, and likely the first safety taken in the draft.

DT
With the Bears needing to use 8 men in the box all season long (accompanied by blitzes) to stop the run, it's time for Lovie to evolve his one-gap front, and add a run-stuffing DT to compliment a healthy Tommie Harris. The line performed a lot better when Dusty Dvoracek was replaced by non-prototypical fat man Anthony Adams. Aside from top FA, Albert Haynesworth, this year's free agent class is void of run stuffers, and there aren't many big men in this year's draft class either.

Marcus Tubbs, DT, Seahawks, Free Agent
The former 1st round pick out of Texas in 2004 is a heck of a talent... but Tubbs has been plagued by injuries which have forced him to miss almost all of 2007, and left him completely out of football in 2008. At only age 27, Tubbs (6'3" 320lb) could be a comeback player of the year candidate for someone if he regains his form. Would be a low risk, high reward type of signing.
Shaun Cody, DT, Lions, Free Agent
Assuming that Rod Marinelli joins the Bears coaching staff, he may ask to bring along Cody, who hasn't quite fulfilled his potential yet in the NFL, after being a force in college at USC. At 6'4" 310lbs, he's not the massive run-stuffer I'm looking for, but still gives the Bears a little more size and could be a good rotational player. The Lions drafted Cody with the 37th pick overall (2nd round) in 2005.

Bears fire DB coach Wilks

SackMan — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 02:33:47 -0000

Promoted Fan Post:

The Bears have made their first coaching move, releasing defensive backs coach Steven Wilks. Wilks joined the Bears prior to the 2006 season.

Nickel back Danieal Manning was surprised to hear the news about Wilks.

``Wow, that's a shock,'' Manning said. ``That's the only DBs coach I ever knew, the guy I came into the league with. We came in together. We got our bumps and bruises together.

``I learned a lot from Coach Wilks. I learned how to be a professional. That was his big thing: being professional on and off the field. And he always talked about tunnel vision, about staying focused on the team goals.''

Manning expected a chance to occur, just not in this form.

``Coach Lovie Smith told us after the last game that this wasn't going to be the same team,'' Manning said. ``You expect players to change, but nothing like this so soon. ... I'm quite sure that Coach Wilks is resilient and that he'll bounce back.''

How ironic that they quote Daniel Manning here. Exhibit A: Manning didn't learn diddly squat on how to play defensive back in the NFL.

"I Predict" - Your Top Off-season Predictions for 2009

SackMan — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 19:37:40 -0000

Mark them down here fellas... just so you can record your "I told you so's," and rub them in later.

The predictions can range anywhere from the Bears... to NFC North division rivals... to across the NFL. They can be related to coaching moves, draft predictions, FA signings, surprise cuts, rules changes, or anything else your imagination can come up with.

No need to elaborate, or back your prediction... just state it.

I predict: Rex Grossman signs with the Dallas Cowboys to back-up Tony Romo.

Angelo needs to re-take full control again, and put Lovie in the back seat.

SackMan — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 15:52:08 -0000

OK... we can talk all we want about free agency and the draft... but this thing starts at the top, and that's where it needs to be fixed.

When the Bears first hired Lovie Smith, the man who knew little about offense proclaimed he "would run an offense similar to St. Louis' high-powered scheme," and named Kansas City's Terry Shea his Offensive Coordinator. Angelo countered, by naming the Eagles Ron Rivera as DC. That forced Lovie to work with a DC from another system, and brought some much needed different opinion to the table.

The Terry Shea move was so horrible, that Angelo fired Shea after his first season and hired Ron Turner, without needed Lovie's two cents. The much maligned Turner has done a very admirable job since arriving, given the dismal talent that Angelo has provided for him.

The Bears then went 11-5 and 13-3 in back-to-back seasons with Turner's more conservative offense and Rivera's defense. After the Bears made it to the Super Bowl as a "running team," (as Lovie is so often quoted as saying now), they awarded Smith with a new contract, and gave him more say in the decision making process.

Lovie's first moves were to fire D-line coach Don Johnson, and Ron Rivera... name teacher's pet Bob Babich as DC, promote Mark Anderson to starting RE over Alex Brown without competition, and sign Adam Archuletta. Yep... those all worked out very well (sarcasm).

Rumor has it, that as a compromise for forcing Lovie to retain Ron Turner as OC, Jerry Angelo had to concede on the DC, and let Lovie promote his "yes man" Bob Babich.

Now that the Babich experiment can be labeled as a complete failure, Angelo needs to take the reigns back, and either force Lovie to give up his crappy opinion on staff and personell, or force Lovie out of the picture all together.

So, let me recap some of Lovie's choices really quick:

1. His first and only choice for Offensive Coordinator, Terry Shea, lasted one horrible season in the NFL as an OC, running the NFL's 32nd ranked offense, and has since returned to coaching obscurity.

2. His first choice for Defensive Coordinator, Rod Marinelli, just became the first head coach in NFL history to finish 0-16. Thankfully, the Bucs wouldn't allow the Bears to interview Marinelli at the time.

3. His second choice for Defensive Coordinator, Bob Babich, inherited a dominant defense (ranked 5th in '06), and turned it into mush (ranked 26th in both '07 & '08) .

There will be a lot of firings in the NFL over the next 10 days or so... leaving the blood shed of some very good football people all over the NFL landscape. Babich should be fired immediately this week... so Angelo can send a message to Lovie, and the Bears can send a memo to the NFL: "experienced DC needed."

Now, there will likely be some coaches related to the Dungy Cover-2 coaching tree out there: Herm Edwards, and Rod Marinelli... both coached with Lovie in Tampa, and Marinelli was Lovie's first choice as DC. For that exact reason... I say Angelo has to stay away from all Tampa 2 coaches and bring in an outside opinion... as he did initially when he hired Rivera.

One name that interests me the most: Wade Phillips. After the debacle in Dallas, Phillips may get the axe. He is no doubt one of the better defensive minds in the game, and is just over is head as a HC in the NFL. When he took over the defense in Dallas midway through the season, they suddenly became dominant on that side of the ball for most of the second half.

For a team that I consider to be the least effective blitzing defense in the NFL over the last 5 years, Wade Phillips would be a very welcome addition. I know Phillips runs the 3-4... but that's another discussion.

If you want to visit the Parcells/Belichick coaching tree... you'll see Eric Mangini and Romeo Crennell...Jerry Angelo BTW, is also part of the Parcells tree, as he started his NFL career with the Giants in the 80s.

If you want to really do the whole thing correctly, you can fire Lovie Smithand offer the world to Bill Cowher, who's teams were nearly always winners.

Bears Holiday Wishlist: Players from around the league you'd like to have in '09

SackMan — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 19:23:24 -0000

Ok... as the season winds down... we all naturally start to think about free agents, the draft, and next year. However, when making our wishlists for the Bears, we often neglect to add "sleeper" players from other teams... and quite frankly, so do the Bears.

It's so typical to say "I want Alan Faneca ('08)", or "I want Anquan Boldin ('09). So, I propose a challenge to you guys:

Gimme a player who's under the radar.... a guy who's stuck behind a top draft pick or pro-bowler on somebody else's roster (kinda like Michael Turner, although he's not the best example since we all knew he was a pro-bowl caliber player). Maybe a 3rd year WR who's due for a breakout? Or a guy who's being neglected or mis-used on his current team?

Last off-season, the Bears were in desperate need of WRs. All we added were Brandon "Friggin" Lloyd and "Old" Marty Booker. We could've signed Antonio Bryant... but apparently had zero interest. Wow.

I'll start it off: aquire Michael Bush from Oakland in a trade to compliment Matt Forte and give us some Thunder in the backfield.

If you need some help with Free Agents, here's a link: FREE AGENTS 2009

Should Cubs season ticket holders have their license revoked for scalping?

SackMan — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 01:17:27 -0000

A Cubs season ticket holder has been scalping nearly all his season tickets for the past several seasons as a business. He sells his tickets at prices over face value, does not have a broker's license, and does not report this income to the IRS.

Now, as a general practice, all MLB teams claim that this type of behavior may result in having your season tickets revoked. And, with a simple Google search, one can find instances of other teams such as the Yankees or Red Sox, enforcing these policies and revoking season tickets.

The Cubs used to enforce this practice, however the creation of their own scalping business, Wrigley Field Premium Ticket Services Inc. makes things a little interesting.

Of note, former White Sox player Eric Soderholm, who has been running a ticket scalping business since 1985 or so, was taken to court by the Cubs in the past.

*453 Naturally, the Cubs plan was met with hostility. The existence of Premium seemed to contradict the Cubs stance of
ticket scalping. [FN134] Traditionally, the Cubs were against all forms of ticket scalping. If security reports indicated that a
ticket holder was reselling his or her tickets at an inflated value, the Cubs would send a letter warning the ticket holder that if
the practice did not stop, they would be in jeopardy of having their seat license revoked. [FN135] This was not all talk. The
Cubs did indeed go as far as revoking season tickets of persons found engaging in the practice. [FN136] Yet, the existence of
Premium seemed to catapult the Cubs directly into the same secondary market they forbade their season ticket holders from
entering. [FN137]

[FN135]. Solerholm v. Chi. Nat'l League Ball Club, Inc. 587 N.E.2d 517, 518 (Ill. App. Ct. 1st Dist. 1992).

[FN136]. Siporin, supra note 52, at 739-40; see generally Solerholm, 587 N.E.2d at 518. The Cubs revoked all but six of the
plaintiff's eighteen season tickets after it became known that he was engaging in ticket scalping by reselling his tickets at
prices above face value.

*Loyola Consumer Law Review 2006 Student Article
435 TICKET SCALPING: SAME OLD PROBLEM WITH A BRAND NEW TWIST
Jonathan Bell

So, here are my questions to you:

1. Is the scalping of season tickets as a business, generally accepted as common practice?

2. Or, should these kind of scalpers, operating without a license, be alerted to the Cubs Ticket Office?

Terrence Metcalf suspended 4 games by NFL

SackMan — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 20:48:41 -0000

Reporting on the SCORE right now... Lovie's Monday press conference live. Apparently Terrence Metcalf has been suspended for 4 games by the NFL, for violating the league's banned substance policy by taking anabolic steroids of some kind. What the Bears would like to know is: What did Metcalf take? And how can the rest of the team avoid taking the same worthless supplement that obviously doesn't help guys get any better at playing football?

Bears cut Mark Bradley to add a CB

SackMan — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 22:25:38 -0000

The Bears have finally cut Mark Bradley to add Tampa Bay CB Marcus Harrison. Harrison was activated by the Bucs from their practice squad last Sunday to play against the Bears... then cut later.

I HAVE NO FRIGGIN CLUE WHAT WE ARE DOING.

A couple weeks ago, we signed Fred Friggin Miller and released our recent draft pick, tackle Kirk Barton. Why in the world did we release Barton, who was immediately signed by Bill Parcells, when we could've released Bradley instead? And, why in the hell did we finally release Bradley to add another DB, which is supposed to be an area of strength for this team?

This team is going nowhere... fast.

BREAKING NEWS - SOTO going in for X-rays

SackMan — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 16:40:50 -0000

According to WSCR... Geo Soto has left the ball park during BP, to go have x-rays on his swollen hand.

Reports are he hurt his hand yesterday prior to hitting the HR in the 9th. Let's corss our fingers and hope everything is OK!!!

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