After draft Bears can say they're most improved team in NFC
Apr 29, 2018 8:15:07 GMT -6
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Post by riczaj01 on Apr 29, 2018 8:15:07 GMT -6
www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-spt-bears-haugh-draft-expectations-20180427-story.html
Sports Football Chicago Bears
Column: Everything relative, but after draft Bears can say they're most improved team in NFC North
David HaughContact Reporter
Chicago Tribune
4/28 12:35pm
In the middle of Friday’s introductory news conference that made the strongest possible first impression, Roquan Smith politely acknowledged playing against Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky in college.
But what the Bears’ first-round draft pick neglected to say about Georgia’s 33-24 victory over North Carolina on Sept. 3, 2016, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta said everything about Smith. The linebacker never mentioned making a tackle in the end zone for a safety with 48 seconds left in the third quarter that pulled the Bulldogs within 24-23 and shifted momentum for good. Smith passed on a chance to bring more attention to himself.
That humility will go a long way in the locker room. And if Smith quickly emerges as the leader the Bears believe he can be, his understated substance-over-style approach will set the tone for a young team that quietly has become the NFC North’s most improved this offseason.
Shhhhhh. The Bears suddenly look capable of making some noise.
Keep in mind that everything’s relative. Nobody in the division needed help more than the Bears, who have missed the playoffs every year since 2010 and lost 10 or more games four straight seasons. But neither the Vikings, Packers nor Lions did any more than the Bears to improve every aspect of the organization, from the day after Week 17 when they fired coach John Fox through this weekend’s NFL draft.
It would be hard to find a team in the NFL, in fact, that has reason to feel better about the last three months than the Bears. The only debatable front-office move came in the Bears tendering wide receiver Cam Meredith low enough for the Saints to swoop in with an offer sheet too rich for general manager Ryan Pace’s blood, but that barely impaired the overall progress. Every move addressed glaring needs and put the Bears in position to flirt with .500 in a league defined by parity. Feel free to use the P word — playoff — when setting expectations for 2018: Playoff contention awaits the Bears if they stay healthy and get some luck. Regardless, this is the smartest the Bears have looked in April since before former GM Phil Emery arrived in 2012 with his overly eccentric ideas for change.
The Bears’ climb back toward respectability began in January by upgrading the staff with coach Matt Nagy, a breath of fresh air who promises to modernize the offense as much as he has energized the building. Nagy hired an innovative offensive coordinator, Mark Helfrich, and a respected old-school offensive line coach, Harry Hiestand. Of most importance, Nagy brought an aggressive mindset to the field so infectious that the Bears also applied it to free agency and the draft. Everything revolved around helping Trubisky succeed.
Landing their No. 1 free-agent target, wide receiver Allen Robinson, reflected that bold way of thinking. Adding tight end Trey Burton and speedster Taylor Gabriel to galvanize the passing game only reaffirmed it. Defensively, the Bears’ top-10 unit preserved continuity by retaining coordinator Vic Fangio and re-signing cornerbacks Kyle Fuller and Prince Amukamara. Taking Smith eighth overall was the obvious choice as they nabbed one of the surest things in the draft.
“I’m glad we attacked needs,’’ Pace said at the end of the third round. “But we also took the best players on the board at need positions.’’
By the end of the NFL draft’s second day, the Bears had added three likely starters. An edge rusher remains a pressing issue, but a 5-11 team can’t solve all its problems in one draft. This draft makes such an immediate impact on the the depth chart I asked Pace if he agreed with my opinion he had taken more accomplished, NFL-ready players with what scouts call higher “floors” than in previous years.
“I would,’’ Pace said. “It feels like it worked out that way, but a lot of it is just the way our board fell.’’
With the 39th overall pick, the Bears selected fundamentally sound Iowa lineman James Daniels, a promising 20-year-old who arrives with Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz’s stamp of approval. The move thrilled everybody in the Bears organization except perhaps backup center Hroniss Grasu, the overmatched third-round pick from 2015. Daniels must add strength, but Pace plans to move him to left guard opposite right guard Kyle Long and to keep Cody Whitehair at center — a curious decision given Daniels was the draft’s highest-rated center.
“Young man looks like a player to me,’’ tweeted Olin Kreutz, a Bears center who made six Pro Bowls.
So does the young man Pace traded back into the second round to draft: Memphis wide receiver Anthony Miller. The Bears gave up their 2019 second-round pick and the 105th overall selection this year for the right to take Miller at No. 51 — six spots lower than where the Bears took Alshon Jeffery in 2012.
Miller gives the Bears a potential complement to Robinson and another weapon for Trubisky, a disciplined route runner with big-play capability. He also possesses an abundance of confidence, on display in the open letter to NFL GMs published last week in The Players’ Tribune.
“My name is Anthony Miller and I think I’m the best wide receiver in this draft class,’’ Miller wrote.
Hopefully, Miller’s hands are as strong as his ego.
“He’s a fun guy to watch on tape because of how he plays,’’ Pace said.
Miller’s presence doesn’t necessarily threaten Kevin White’s spot on the team as much as it will reduce how much patience the Bears have with the star-crossed, injury-plagued former No. 1 pick.
The roster competition has stiffened.
The franchise perception has shifted.
It bodes well for the new reality.
Sports Football Chicago Bears
Column: Everything relative, but after draft Bears can say they're most improved team in NFC North
David HaughContact Reporter
Chicago Tribune
4/28 12:35pm
In the middle of Friday’s introductory news conference that made the strongest possible first impression, Roquan Smith politely acknowledged playing against Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky in college.
But what the Bears’ first-round draft pick neglected to say about Georgia’s 33-24 victory over North Carolina on Sept. 3, 2016, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta said everything about Smith. The linebacker never mentioned making a tackle in the end zone for a safety with 48 seconds left in the third quarter that pulled the Bulldogs within 24-23 and shifted momentum for good. Smith passed on a chance to bring more attention to himself.
That humility will go a long way in the locker room. And if Smith quickly emerges as the leader the Bears believe he can be, his understated substance-over-style approach will set the tone for a young team that quietly has become the NFC North’s most improved this offseason.
Shhhhhh. The Bears suddenly look capable of making some noise.
Keep in mind that everything’s relative. Nobody in the division needed help more than the Bears, who have missed the playoffs every year since 2010 and lost 10 or more games four straight seasons. But neither the Vikings, Packers nor Lions did any more than the Bears to improve every aspect of the organization, from the day after Week 17 when they fired coach John Fox through this weekend’s NFL draft.
It would be hard to find a team in the NFL, in fact, that has reason to feel better about the last three months than the Bears. The only debatable front-office move came in the Bears tendering wide receiver Cam Meredith low enough for the Saints to swoop in with an offer sheet too rich for general manager Ryan Pace’s blood, but that barely impaired the overall progress. Every move addressed glaring needs and put the Bears in position to flirt with .500 in a league defined by parity. Feel free to use the P word — playoff — when setting expectations for 2018: Playoff contention awaits the Bears if they stay healthy and get some luck. Regardless, this is the smartest the Bears have looked in April since before former GM Phil Emery arrived in 2012 with his overly eccentric ideas for change.
The Bears’ climb back toward respectability began in January by upgrading the staff with coach Matt Nagy, a breath of fresh air who promises to modernize the offense as much as he has energized the building. Nagy hired an innovative offensive coordinator, Mark Helfrich, and a respected old-school offensive line coach, Harry Hiestand. Of most importance, Nagy brought an aggressive mindset to the field so infectious that the Bears also applied it to free agency and the draft. Everything revolved around helping Trubisky succeed.
Landing their No. 1 free-agent target, wide receiver Allen Robinson, reflected that bold way of thinking. Adding tight end Trey Burton and speedster Taylor Gabriel to galvanize the passing game only reaffirmed it. Defensively, the Bears’ top-10 unit preserved continuity by retaining coordinator Vic Fangio and re-signing cornerbacks Kyle Fuller and Prince Amukamara. Taking Smith eighth overall was the obvious choice as they nabbed one of the surest things in the draft.
“I’m glad we attacked needs,’’ Pace said at the end of the third round. “But we also took the best players on the board at need positions.’’
By the end of the NFL draft’s second day, the Bears had added three likely starters. An edge rusher remains a pressing issue, but a 5-11 team can’t solve all its problems in one draft. This draft makes such an immediate impact on the the depth chart I asked Pace if he agreed with my opinion he had taken more accomplished, NFL-ready players with what scouts call higher “floors” than in previous years.
“I would,’’ Pace said. “It feels like it worked out that way, but a lot of it is just the way our board fell.’’
With the 39th overall pick, the Bears selected fundamentally sound Iowa lineman James Daniels, a promising 20-year-old who arrives with Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz’s stamp of approval. The move thrilled everybody in the Bears organization except perhaps backup center Hroniss Grasu, the overmatched third-round pick from 2015. Daniels must add strength, but Pace plans to move him to left guard opposite right guard Kyle Long and to keep Cody Whitehair at center — a curious decision given Daniels was the draft’s highest-rated center.
“Young man looks like a player to me,’’ tweeted Olin Kreutz, a Bears center who made six Pro Bowls.
So does the young man Pace traded back into the second round to draft: Memphis wide receiver Anthony Miller. The Bears gave up their 2019 second-round pick and the 105th overall selection this year for the right to take Miller at No. 51 — six spots lower than where the Bears took Alshon Jeffery in 2012.
Miller gives the Bears a potential complement to Robinson and another weapon for Trubisky, a disciplined route runner with big-play capability. He also possesses an abundance of confidence, on display in the open letter to NFL GMs published last week in The Players’ Tribune.
“My name is Anthony Miller and I think I’m the best wide receiver in this draft class,’’ Miller wrote.
Hopefully, Miller’s hands are as strong as his ego.
“He’s a fun guy to watch on tape because of how he plays,’’ Pace said.
Miller’s presence doesn’t necessarily threaten Kevin White’s spot on the team as much as it will reduce how much patience the Bears have with the star-crossed, injury-plagued former No. 1 pick.
The roster competition has stiffened.
The franchise perception has shifted.
It bodes well for the new reality.