FanNation

Grading the Bears' offseason: April Progress Report

About three months ago, I wrote a blog entitled How can the Bears fix their glitches?  I did my best to tell the Bears what they can do to make themselves a better team in 2008 and beyond (in my completely unprofessional opinion, of course).  Well the draft is done and the teams have had their rookie mini-camps, so I thought I'd take a look at how the Bears are doing according to...   ME!  ;)

Below you'll find my original blog text in italics, with new comments thrown in between the different points.  In this first section, I cropped the original text for the sake of the gentle readers' sanity. 

Sneaky Pete Grades the Bears' Draft Picks

Round 1, Chris Williams, LT, Vanderbilt, B+

No one will lose their spot to Williams.  The Bears already made room for him!  John Tait will move back to RT, Williams will start at LT as a rookie.  Since the other OTs were getting snatched up so quickly, I think this was the best pick the Bears could've made. 

Round 2, Matt Forte, RB, Tulane, B+

At least with this draft pick, Jerry Angelo is sending a message to Cedric Benson: Get off your arse and start producing!  I don't even care if Forte turns into anything, as long as he heralds the end of the "Benson Era!"

Say it ain't so, Brian! The Urlacher Soap Opera

Special thanks to Tommy T for posting a link to a Tribune story on Truth and Rumors.  That got me started on this blog...

Brian Urlacher has been taking a beating on Truth and Rumors and in the Chicago newspapers lately.  It's probably well-deserved because Urlacher's been unwilling to deal with the media since the middle of last season AND he's complaining about his contract.

Check this out:

4/18/08 "Brian Urlacher situation is tricky business for Bears. Agents ask Bears for trade while LB threatens retirement" is written by Mike Mulligan of the Sun Times.

The Origin of Sneaky Pete

I really should address this, since I am NOT particularly sneaky or even subtle.  I am NOT duplicitous in nature by any stretch of the imagination.  As a matter of fact, I tend to think BY speaking (or typing) rather than thinking BEFORE speaking (or typing), which leads people to think I'm unintelligent and/or rude at times.  I also have a habit of sharing very personal information with people I barely know.  Does that sound sneaky to you?  I thought not.

State of the Bears? Please don't get your hopes up!

[This rant turned out to be a LOT longer than I originally planned.  If your eyes glaze over somewhere in the middle, feel free to skip to the end for Sneaky Pete's No B.S. State of the Bears!]

Random thoughts on the Bears' off season:

Departures:  Fred Miller, Ruben Brown, Mushin Muhammad, Bernard Berrian, Brendon Ayanbadejo, Brian Griese. 

Miller was a disaster last year, and at his age (33 or 34 years old) it's not likely that he's going to improve much.