Gaines and Losses: Bears react to Adams Trade

One Gaines was added and another was lost.  In order to make room for defensive end Gaines Adams, the Bears released 4th tight end Michael Gaines.  Something symmetrical about that, huh?  Gaines was brought in during the offseason to compete and tight end and essentially push Kellen Davis.  Michael Gaines was considered to be a strong run-blocker, but his role was limited this season.  Four tight ends is a little excessive, so it’s not a big surprise that Gaines was let go.

The Bears coaches chimed in on the newest addition, courtesy of chicagobears.com.  Here’s Lovie Smith:

"“He’s a guy with a lot of ability,” said coach Lovie Smith. “He’s got good speed and quickness. We did a lot of research on him. We also did a lot of work on him back when he came out in the draft. He’s a young defensive lineman who’s been productive.”"

His position coach Rod Marinelli has high hopes for Adams:

"“Athletically, talent-wise and movement-wise, he’s special,” Marinelli said. “He’s very good in those areas. He’s got the skills and the tools to be outstanding. But that’s not the issue. The issue is getting him to play outstanding, and that just starts with day-to-day work at practice.”"

GM Jerry Angelo also believes that this is a great fit:

"He’s prototypical of what we look for in a defensive end, particularly on the right side,” Angelo said Saturday. “When you think of him, the first thing you think of is his athleticism, and obviously you have to have a high level of that to be a pass rusher in this league.“We just think that getting back into a scheme that facilitates his traits, given how we feel about our coaches and our defense, makes him a good fit for us.”"

Angelo also addressed the 800 pound gorilla in the room, the notion that this trade signals the beginning of the end for a couple of incumbent defensive ends:

"“It’s a big-picture decision,” Angelo said. “This wasn’t knee-jerk and us just looking at it for the now. We’re looking at it now and going forward. Does that mean we won’t have Mark or Wale back? I’m not saying that at all.“At the end of the year like we do every year we’ll make the decisions based on what’s in the best interest of the team. But certainly we like those two players very much.“This was done because we like [Adams] and how he fits for us. You can’t have enough good players and we felt the price was right for us. That was the impetus on why we did what we did. And from a business standpoint, it has some good ramifications too.”"

And the newest Bear Gaines Adams had this to say from Halas Hall on Saturday:

"“First of all, I want to give the Buccaneers thanks for drafting me,” he said. “But right now it’s time for a new start. I’m glad to be in Chicago. There are some key players on this team that have been very successful in this league.”"

As for my take, I think it’s a decent but not great move.  The Bears get an insurance policy at the DE position since they have a couple of players headed for free agency at that position.  My first reaction was that of surprise, but mostly because I wouldn’t exactly put defensive end at the top of the list of Bears needs.  I think the price of a 2nd round pick is a little high, especially considering Tampa’s record and Adams’ productivity to date.  Adams can prove me wrong by living up to his draft status.

With all of the TO trade talk earlier in the week, there has even been some speculation that this move could be a stepping stone to another move.  We won’t have long to wait, with the trading deadline coming up on Tuesday.  But first things first.  Let’s take care of Atlanta first on Sunday night.

BEAR DOWN!!!

Through the month of October, my usual BEAR DOWN signoff will be in pink to raise awareness for National Breast Cancer Awareness month.