Archive for April, 2011

There’s a phenomena in statistics called Regression to the Mean.  Here’s the Wikipedia definition: Regression toward the mean is the phenomenon that if a variable is extreme on its first measurement, it will tend to be closer to the average on a second measurement… In terms of the Bears draft, I’ll apply it this way – when the Bears hit two home runs with their first two picks in Gabe Carimi and Stephen Paea – you knew they would come back the norm with their final three picks. The 2011 draft will be deemed a success or failure largely on [...]

The Bears closed out their 2011 draft by selecting J.T. Thomas, linebacker out of West Virginia.  Thomas is considered to be a little undersized at only 6’1″ and 241 pounds at the pro level.  He started his last 39 games at West Virginia at weak side linebacker. Linebacker is clearly a position of need for the Bears since they only have Pro Bowlers Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs under contract.  It’s likely they’ll make a strong push to resign some of their own free agents like Pisa Tinoisamoa, Nick Roach, Brian Iwuh and Rod Wilson whenever that signing process can [...]

The first I heard of the Bears sniffing around for a quarterback was several weeks ago when they worked out TCU’s Andy Dolton.  I asked myself then and I’ll ask again – WHY??? I understand that they need to get a quarterback to develop behind Jay Cutler.  Isn’t that what Caleb Hanie is for?  Didn’t he show you that he’s developing fine in the NFC Championship game?  Didn’t the Bears blow a draft pick on quarterback Dan LeFevour last season, only to let him go trying to sneak him through waivers? It’s been made clear the Cutler is the starter [...]

The Bears head into Day 3 of the NFL draft with 2 more needs filled with 2 probable starters in first rounder OT Gabe Carimi and second rounder DT Stephen Paea.  They also added another safety to the mix in the third round by selecting Cal’s Chris Conte with the 93rd pick overall. The Bears are left with only two picks left in Rounds 4-7, very uncharacteristic for a Jerry Angelo led draft.  Here’s a reset for what they still have: 5th rounder (#160 overall) 6th rounder (#195 overall) Don’t forget that they already spent their fourth round pick – [...]

The Bears are turning selecting a safety in the draft an annual event, selecting Cal safety Chris Conte with their 3rd round selection, #93 overall.  It seems strange that the Bears would take another safety at this point in the draft, especially after trading back to bring Chris Harris back and drafting Major Wright with their third round pick last season. Conte projects as a free safety, so it’s very possible you would see him paired with either Chris Harris or Major Wright, both of whom fill the strong safety role.  He’s a converted cornerback and you can expect to [...]

The Bears were actually able to pull off a successful trade to move up in the second round, moving from the 62nd pick up to pick # 53 to select Oregon State defensive tackle Stephen Paea.  The Bears used pick #127, their 4th round pick that was supposed to go to the Ravens in their botched Round 1 trade and packaged it with #62 to move up and get another player ranked very highly on their board and very highly among many mock draftniks.  I guess the Bears figured they were playing with house money, so why not parlay it [...]

With a successful first round pick in the rear view mirror and a major area of need addressed, it’s on to Day 2 of the NFL Draft for the Chicago Bears and the other 31 teams.  Let’s take a look at some other areas where the Bears might look add some pieces. Defensive Tackle There was a lot of speculation that Jerry Angelo and the Bears might reach for their security blankie and take a defensive tackle in Round 1.  With Carimi still on the board that became an afterthought, but the Bears still have Tommie Harris’ shoes to fill.  [...]

There was quite a bit of chaos with the Ravens #26 pick in the first round.  As the Ravens time on the clock expired, the Kansas City Chiefs slid up to #26 to select Pitt WR Jonathan Baldwin.  The Ravens recovered and selected CB Jimmy Smith at #27.  As it turns out, Jerry Angelo and the Chicago Bears were the the direct cause of Baltimore missing getting the pick in on time. As Brad Biggs reported via Twitter, the Bears were set to trade their 4th round pick, #127 overall to the Ravens to move up from #29 to the [...]