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Just a quick point to add to this bog for anyone who may read it. A big complaint about Angelo and Smith from Bears fans has been that they get locked into a certain philosophy, and are unable to make adjustments. Since Angelo's "we are fixated on the quarterback" statement, this offseason has shown a real shift away from that behavior, with a lot of agressive, outside of the box, and uncharacteristic moves- as well as some real candor about the state of the Bears roster. The fact that Lovie Smith is openly floating the idea of moving Graham is another encouraging sign that the thinking in the front office and coaching staff is no longer quite so rigid. I believe that this is an important development, regardless of whether or not Graham makes the move.

I think your analysis make sense

Well, moving Graham to FS makes even more sense now that McGowan just signed with the Pats.

I agree with the team philosophy seeming to change, but I believe it started before the "qb fixation" comment. I think it began with Babich being demoted back to LB coach, and Lovie taking over the defense. This showed to me that Lovie was going to be 100% accountable for the defensive performances each game. He's pretty much putting his job on the line this year, and that's refreshing to me.

That's a good call, Budz, that probably was the turning point. This offseason has been all about Lovie and Jerry fighting to keep their jobs, and so far, they are both doing an admirable job of it.

I didn't expect McGowan to come back. Personally, I liked him, but he is another guy who is better at SS than FS. Plus, I can't say that he's better than the laundry list of guys the Bears have in that category. And he always struggled to stay on the field.

I think they let him walk, much like they let Mike Brown walk, because there is a sense that the Bears need to find two guys back there that can be depended on to play the majority of the snaps this season and in the years to come. They need two safeties that they can commit to and develop. I can see the best of Graham/Bullocks and Payne/Steltz/Afalava developing into that combo (fingers crossed).

I agree bgduece, and I think that Payne, Steltz, and Afalava all possess the potential to become that player. Of course, potential doesn't mean anything- they have to go out and do it.

That said, I think it is just as important that the Bears find a safety that can play the deep middle, can make sure that no one gets behind him, and can play the ball in the air.

Ideally, the Bears will find someone who is both- an intimidator with ball skills. But these players are rare.

For now, I think that they can survive with one enforcer and one centerfielder. Hopefully, they have one of each on the current roster. Time will tell.

As always, thanks to anyone who stops by, and please, leave comments! I am making an effort to make this site more active for Bears fans. I have set a goal to put up at least one post per week, so keep checking back!

id rather see charles Tillman go to the saftey spot and have Corey Grahm and dj more and nate vasher batlle for the corner back spots

I think moving Tillman does make sense in some ways, but not in others.

I worry if playing safety would put more stress on his shoulders, particularly coming up in run support. He seems a little fragile in that area.

Plus, he is still a pretty good corner- and good corners are hard to come by.

I think he'll probably move to safety at the end of his career, but I don't think he's there yet.

I agree with you that the Bears are doing the right thing by keeping their best corner (Tillman) at cornerback. For the same reason, I think the Bears should keep Graham at corner because he's probably our second best corner. Vasher either needs to return to form or get out of a Bear's uniform. The Bear's should move Vasher back to nickel because that was the position that he played when he first earned the nickname "interceptor." Problem now is he's making too much money to just play nickel.

I think you are right to assume that Graham is a better corner than Vasher as of today. But a healthy Nathan Vasher is a better corner than Corey Graham- we just haven't seen that player in awhile.

I am guessing that the Bear's strategy is this- wait and see if Vasher looks good, if he doesn't, dump his salary.

If he does look good, then moving Graham to free safety is a good move. Like I said, a healthy Vasher is better than Graham, and complements Tillman nicely on the other side. Manning showed a lot of good things at nickel last year. D.J. Moore is going to be a player. So you have Tillman, Vasher, Manning, Moore and a combination of guys like McBride, Bowman, and Hamilton battling it out for the fifth corner. There's nothing wrong with that depth chart.

If he doesn't look good, I think that he's gone. At that point, Graham probably stays at corner. And it is probably Bullocks at safety, with the possibility of Manning moving back, which I don't think is a good idea.

The only way I see Graham moving in this scenario is if Moore walks into camp and is clearly a better corner than Graham. Unlikely, but not out of the realm- some scouting services gave D.J. Moore a first-round grade entering this draft. Then the depth chart is Tillman, Moore, Manning and fourth and fifth guys coming from that McBride/Bowman/Hamilton grouping. That is still not a bad depth chart if Moore is ready.

But the best scenario is clearly if Vasher can get back to being his old self. It is a big key to the Bears' season, and something for Bears fans to hope for.