It was been rumored that DePaul and Lovie Smith often didn’t see eye to eye.  So does DePaul’s ouster mean that Lovie is actually gaining power this offseason?  What is this, Bizarro World where up is down and black is white?  It just doesn’t make sense.

Sure, DePaul had his share of misses, including last season’s questionable pickups along the offensive line like Orlando Pace and Frank Omiyale.  But consider the multitude of draft busts at the feet of College Scouting Director Greg Gabriel.  How do he and Angelo keep their gigs, not to mention Lovie, while DePaul gets the escort out of Halas Hall?  The more I get to know the organization, the more I realize it’s totally fucked.  Happy offseason!

Reason #499 to hate Jared Allen

If the fact that he’s a Viking and that stupid mullet aren’t reason enough, check out this post on the Vikings blog. Hey Jared, you’re not rushing against John St. Clair or John Tait any more.  We’ll see what Orlando Pace has to say about that!  By the way, where you from Jared?  Texas?  Only two things come out of Texas, steers and queers and I don’t see no horns under that mullet!

What’s Greg Olsen thinking?

In case you’re ever interested, check out #82′s blog on the cleverly named Greg Olsen Official Site.  Where do these sites come up with those names?  Interesting to see how he heard about the Jay Cutler trade here.

Pre-Draft Interview

With the draft just a couple of weeks away, the folks over at www.thescore.com (not related to my favorite radio station in Chicago) wanted some thoughts on the Bears as they prepare for the draft.  I was happy to oblige.   Give it a read, it’s chalked full of Jay Cutler and Bears draft analysis from yours truly.  Thanks to my guy Brad over at Goal Line Stand for the opportunity.

Say no to Plaxico

Here’s why Carol Slezak has replaced Jay Mariotti as the dumbest person in Chicago.  You’ll recall Carol also advocated for the Bears to go after Michael Vick.  Is she going for the all-convict team?

Pre-draft position by position analysis – Wide Receivers

Dan Pompei has started an in-depth position-by-position analysis over at the Tribune.  Especially interesting to see his top wide receivers.  When I say in-depth, I mean in depth.  If the Bears draft a guy not on his list, he is WAY under the radar.

2009 Schedule Announcement next week

In case you haven’t heard, the NFL is announcing the 2009 schedule in prime time on Tuesday, April 14th.  If that’s not reason enough to get out of bed, I don’t know what is.  Of course, we’ll have all the details including our predictions here next week.

BEAR DOWN!!!

I don’t get it.  How could this guy be a better choice at safety than Mike Brown?  I know Brownie has a medical file the approximate size of Alaska, but wouldn’t it be worth the risk compared to what’s out there?

In case the Bears were short on a cornerback to blow a lead in the final seconds (you’re welcome Atlanta), they signed Marcus Hamilton to a 1-year deal.

Finally, John Tait was moved from the active roster to the reserve/retired list today.  While it’s no surprise, I was still holding out hope that maybe the Bears could convince him to play one more year before retirement.

Must be nice to be 34 and retired.  I’m getting flashes of Kramer at the Seinfeld’s retirement community at Del Boca Vista, Phase II.  Like I said, hilarity ensues.  Now back to your nap Jerry.  Angelo, that is.  Seinfeld not so much.

• Word over the weekend that starting right tackle John Tait is thinking retirement. This leaves ‘rookie’ Chris Williams and undrafted free agent Cody Balogh as the only tackles signed to the roster. Methinks free agent tackle John St. Clair’s price tag just went up.

• The Bears cut ties with wide receiver Marty Booker and veteran safety Mike Brown. Book was largely ineffective in his return to the Bears last season, but did make this highlight reel catch against the hapless Lions earlier this season:

• Meanwhile the oft-injured Mike Brown spent more time in recent years on the sideline than on the gridiron. I’ll never forget the back-to-back INT returns for scores in overtime games back in 2001. I was at the Cleveland game and had all but given up. Check out this Best of Brown list here. Thanks for the memories Brownie!!

These departures  highlight a few of the areas where the Bears need to add depth during this offseason. Hopefully GM Jerry Angelo can make better adjustments to his draft plan than his coaching staff can make to their game plans. If not, it could be a rough 2009 season.

• Meanwhile, over on the Free Agent QB carrousel, add former Buc Jeff Garcia to the mix.  I’ve never been a fan of Garcia from back in his days in San Francisco and the journeyman signal caller certainly is not the long term answer, but if he’s looking for a place where he could start right away…
• Over at the Tribune, David Haugh suggests including face-of-the-franchise middle linebacker Brian Urlacher in a trade to get  Cardinals receiver Anquan Boldin here.  A few years ago, I probably would have gotten in my car and driven down to Tribune Tower to slap David silly.  It’s not such a crazy idea now, but I guess my only thought is that the Bears might be selling low.  ‘Lach for Boldin straight up – take it and don’t look back.  Urlacher and their first round pick for Boldin and I might be more hesitant.

I’ll be “out of the office” for a couple of days as Mrs. Boomer will be delivering the newest Bears fan within the next day or two, so most likely the next time I check in, it’ll be as “Papa Bear” Boomer.  Wish us luck!

It’s time to start the building process for the 2009 Chicago Bears.  Jerry Angelo hasn’t exactly been a master builder in recent drafts, but whenever draft talk comes up, he seems to talk enough about floors and ceilings (of players) that you’d think he was a carpenter and not a GM.  Since the Bears announced that they won’t be raising ticket prices in 2009, I don’t expect any big splashes in Free Agency, so the bulk of the work will have to come through the draft. (more…)

Quarterback

Kyle Orton manned the most important position on the field admirably for the better part of the season, though he wasn’t quite the same after the ankle injury sustained Week 9 versus Detroit.  I think it’s important to keep everything in perspective.  A few years of Grossman may have blinded Bears fans as to what a real QB is supposed to be.  Other than not being Rex, did Orton really do that well?

The Bears offense ranked 21st in passing with 191.5 passing yards per game. Some of that may be attributed to the lack of WR’s, but we’ll get to that later.  Orton finished with 18 TD’s and 12 INT’s with a QB rating of 79.6.  Hardly mind-blowing numbers.  Does Orton deserve an extension?  I say no.  Let him play in a contract year with a sense of urgency and earn some new paper. (more…)

Low and behold after resigning with the team for a one-year contract worth $830,000 (he was due $4 million before the Bears cut him in the offseason) he announced he played last year injured.  Prior to last season, Miller had surgery on his ankle and had one of his worst years as a player.  Yesterday he announced that after taking out bone spurs and leaving cartilage floating around, he was probably only playing at 40 to 50 percent.  He added he’ll never be 100 percent after the surgery but he’s at about 90 percent now as opposed to last season. 

This comes as a big blow to the Bears, who say this is the first they’ve heard of it, and to Bears fan who wanted answers why the offensive line broke down so quickly.  In one season the offensive line of the Bears went from Super Bowl caliber to barely able to get across mid-field.  If Miller would have expressed his lingering problem the Bears probably would have kept him and possibly would have taken a different approach in the draft.  Instead, the Bears have Chris Williams on the bench indefinately and Fred Miller needs to get back into game shape.

It’s also an interesting move since I thought John St. Clair played admirably at the left tackle position against Dwight Freeney on Sunday.  Freeney got a sack on Kyle Orton but St. Clair did a good enough job to keep him away from Matt Forte and Orton most of the game.  You know a lineman is doing well when you never hear their name and St. Clair’s name was called only once in that game.  However, the Bears have never had and appear never will have confidence in the ability of St. Clair to be a starting tackle. 

There’s no doubt the Bears will plug Miller into the offensive line, it’s just a matter of how long it will take to get him in game shape and at what position.  Veteran John Tait is currently at right tackle and John St. Clair is playing left tackle.  Fred Miller prefers the right tackle position and the last three years Tait offered to play left tackle, even though he much prefers right tackle.  When asked earlier in the year about the possibility of Miller returning, Tait didn’t appear happy.  Tait has spent all offseason preparing for making the switch from left tackle to right tackle, which he says is no small effort.  Lining up on the left or right side of the line involves lining up on the different side of your body and working different muscles in a different, fluid motion to stop defensive ends and linebackers.  Tait played almost his entire career with Kansas City as a right tackle and made the switch for the Bears so Miller could play right tackle. 

Tait is a good natured player and has always brought a team first attitude.  Since Miller is the new guy it would only be fair for him to take the left tackle spot and figure it out.  Whether he gets his right tackle spot back depends upon how pissed Tait will be about having to make yet another switch. 

As of right now, the Bears have Miller listed as back-up tackle behind St. Clair and Tait.  There is no set time table for how long it takes an NFL lineman to get back into game shape.  I would be suprised if he sees any game time on Sunday against the Panthers.  I would realistically give him 2 or 3 weeks before even considering plugging him into the line.  However, in the world of pro football, things have a tendancy to get put into fast forward when coaches want it to happen.  Only time will tell. 

In the meantime, if Miller can play like the guy he was two years ago when the offensive line could control the ball and the game, he is welcome back.  I don’t know if this ankle injury is an excuse or an attempt to apologize to fans for what he knows was a terrible performance last year.  Either way, all will be forgiven if he can get back to form. 

Left guard Josh Beekman had a quiet day on Sunday, which again is a good thing.  However, he’s only in his second year and came out of nowhere to win the spot after spending all last year on the bench and only playing in the season ending game against Green Bay.  If Miller gets back into game shape the Bears may opt to plug St. Clair into the left guard spot since he has more experience.  It looks like it will be at least another month before the offensive line will have stability but if they keep playing like they did Sunday then it won’t matter.