Post by Deleted on Jun 24, 2018 7:14:07 GMT -6
Chicago Bears: Greatest Reclamation Projects in Team History
by Erik Lambert1 day agoFollow @eriklambert1
Part of being a successful NFL franchise is being able to find good players where other teams can’t. At times the Chicago Bears have been good at this.
In fact, some of the best teams in franchise history were spearheaded by players who were considered failures on other teams. So here’s a fun question. Who would qualify as the best Bears reclamation projects ever? In order to get a grasp on this, it’s important to clarify what a reclamation project is.
If one goes purely by stats, then it’s easy to miss Emery Moorehead. His numbers were never outstanding. Not compared to other tight ends of his era and especially later, but he was such a forgotten key to those great Bears teams of the 1980s. In the first four years of his career between the Giants and Broncos, he had just 250 yards total.
It’s difficult to mention Erik Kramer now because of his ongoing troubles off the field since retirement. First, it was near suicide and now he’s facing arrest for domestic violence problems. One can only hope he gets things figured out because by all accounts he was a good teammate, leader and an underrated player that the Bears, of all teams, got the most out of.
For the early part of his career, Kramer was an on-again-off-again QB who could never seem to keep the starting job either due to injury or lack of faith from the coaches. The Bears took a chance on him in 1994 and after another health issue, he broke loose to have the best season ever by a quarterback in team history. He finished with 3,838 yards and 29 touchdowns to just 10 interceptions.
The magic lasted one season, but it was fun to watch.
The Pittsburgh Steelers aren’t prone to making big mistakes when it comes to wide receivers, but they made a huge one when they gave up on Jeff Graham too soon. After going over 700 yards in 1992, he dropped a bit to under 600 the next year. Pittsburgh felt he’d peaked as a performer and chose to trade him to the Bears rather than wait another year. They no doubt wish they had.
Now one of the primary targets in the offense, Graham broke out with 944 yards in 1994. That was merely the warmup though. In 1995 he became almost unstoppable with 1,301 yards and averaging 15.4 per catch. To this day people wonder what might’ve happened at the Bears been more aggressive trying to re-sign him. Instead, he left for the Jets in 1996 and never reached those heights again.
The man never got enough credit for the contributions he made to the last successful era of Bears football. Roberto Garza came from humble beginnings. He was a 4th round pick who went in and out of the starting lineup for the Atlanta Falcons for four seasons. Then he was discarded in 2005 despite helping the team to an NFC championship the year before.
The Bears didn’t complain. They quickly scooped him up and Garza went on to become a fixture of their offensive line for the next 10 seasons. During that time they won three division titles, reached two NFC championships and the Super Bowl in 2006. He played all three of the interior line positions during that span but never got the credit for the good player he was.
When most people think of Doug Atkins, all they see is him terrorizing quarterbacks in a Bears uniform followed by a brief stint in New Orleans to finish up his Hall of Fame career. What people don’t remember is that Atkins was considered a failure as a former 1st round pick. Not many remember he actually spent two years with the Cleveland Browns in 1953 and 1954.
However, their head coach Paul Brown wasn’t willing to deal with Atkins’ unruly and outspoken personality. So in 1955, they traded him to the Bears for two draft picks. George Halas felt the talent Atkins obviously possessed was worth the risk if he could handle the attitude problems. It wasn’t easy, but the good news was Halas had greater patience than most coaches.
He was soon rewarded. Atkins became the fixture on one of the best defensive units in Bears history. One that led the way to the 1963 NFL championship. He reached all eight of his Pro Bowls in Chicago. To think he was almost a blip on the football radar.
by Erik Lambert1 day agoFollow @eriklambert1
In fact, some of the best teams in franchise history were spearheaded by players who were considered failures on other teams. So here’s a fun question. Who would qualify as the best Bears reclamation projects ever? In order to get a grasp on this, it’s important to clarify what a reclamation project is.
Put simply it’s a player who wasn’t able to stick with his previous team or teams for whatever reason, came to Chicago and found almost immediate success. There are definitely some overlooked names that fans should be reminded of. Here are the top five.
#5: Emery Moorehead
If one goes purely by stats, then it’s easy to miss Emery Moorehead. His numbers were never outstanding. Not compared to other tight ends of his era and especially later, but he was such a forgotten key to those great Bears teams of the 1980s. In the first four years of his career between the Giants and Broncos, he had just 250 yards total.
When the Bears scooped him up in 1981, he never saw the field. That changed when Mike Ditka became the head coach the next year. He saw Moorehead’s potential along with his dedicated work ethic and gave him a shot. Soon the tight end became a reliable target for young quarterback Jim McMahon. Not only that, but he was also a valued blocker in those great rushing attacks too.
#4: Erik Kramer
It’s difficult to mention Erik Kramer now because of his ongoing troubles off the field since retirement. First, it was near suicide and now he’s facing arrest for domestic violence problems. One can only hope he gets things figured out because by all accounts he was a good teammate, leader and an underrated player that the Bears, of all teams, got the most out of.
For the early part of his career, Kramer was an on-again-off-again QB who could never seem to keep the starting job either due to injury or lack of faith from the coaches. The Bears took a chance on him in 1994 and after another health issue, he broke loose to have the best season ever by a quarterback in team history. He finished with 3,838 yards and 29 touchdowns to just 10 interceptions.
The magic lasted one season, but it was fun to watch.
#3: Jeff Graham
The Pittsburgh Steelers aren’t prone to making big mistakes when it comes to wide receivers, but they made a huge one when they gave up on Jeff Graham too soon. After going over 700 yards in 1992, he dropped a bit to under 600 the next year. Pittsburgh felt he’d peaked as a performer and chose to trade him to the Bears rather than wait another year. They no doubt wish they had.
Now one of the primary targets in the offense, Graham broke out with 944 yards in 1994. That was merely the warmup though. In 1995 he became almost unstoppable with 1,301 yards and averaging 15.4 per catch. To this day people wonder what might’ve happened at the Bears been more aggressive trying to re-sign him. Instead, he left for the Jets in 1996 and never reached those heights again.
#2: Roberto Garza
The man never got enough credit for the contributions he made to the last successful era of Bears football. Roberto Garza came from humble beginnings. He was a 4th round pick who went in and out of the starting lineup for the Atlanta Falcons for four seasons. Then he was discarded in 2005 despite helping the team to an NFC championship the year before.
The Bears didn’t complain. They quickly scooped him up and Garza went on to become a fixture of their offensive line for the next 10 seasons. During that time they won three division titles, reached two NFC championships and the Super Bowl in 2006. He played all three of the interior line positions during that span but never got the credit for the good player he was.
#1: Doug Atkins
When most people think of Doug Atkins, all they see is him terrorizing quarterbacks in a Bears uniform followed by a brief stint in New Orleans to finish up his Hall of Fame career. What people don’t remember is that Atkins was considered a failure as a former 1st round pick. Not many remember he actually spent two years with the Cleveland Browns in 1953 and 1954.
However, their head coach Paul Brown wasn’t willing to deal with Atkins’ unruly and outspoken personality. So in 1955, they traded him to the Bears for two draft picks. George Halas felt the talent Atkins obviously possessed was worth the risk if he could handle the attitude problems. It wasn’t easy, but the good news was Halas had greater patience than most coaches.
He was soon rewarded. Atkins became the fixture on one of the best defensive units in Bears history. One that led the way to the 1963 NFL championship. He reached all eight of his Pro Bowls in Chicago. To think he was almost a blip on the football radar.
