So far the offseason has been horrific.
-A guy you were counting on to start died
-After swearing massive changes you promoted from within for the D Coordinator
-Hired Mike Martz to run the offense
I don’t like the hiring of Mike Martz. I don’t feel like Martz’s scheme will play in Chicago. It failed in Detroit and in San Fransisco. Martz’s offense requires perfect timing and precision in routes and assignments. Jay Cutler has proven to be at his best when improvising out of the pocket and making plays with his arm and athletism. Not to mention that Soldier field come November is a sloppy track that will make life very difficult to try and run the Martz offense with receivers slipping all over the field. Also, I am not sure if anything short of a playoff appearance can save Lovie Smith. Does this look like a playoff team to you? I did’t think so. Lovie and his staff, that included Mike Martz, get fired. That means that next year at this time Jay Cutler has to learn his 3rd offense in as many years. It’s never good to keep changing the scheme on a young QB.
The Bears are in need of the following with the biggest needs bold-ed.
Starting Right Tackle
upgrade at starting left guard
Depth at running back
#1 receiver
Starting Defensive End
D-Tackle depth
Starting CB
Starting FS
overall depth
The Bears also do not have a draft pick until the 3rd round. Their #1 pick was sent to Denver in the Cutler trade and their #2 went to Tampa Bay in the Gaines Adams deal. So That is a lot of holes and basically no picks to fix them. In the interest of bringing solutions not problems there are a couple of things the Bears could do. I am not convinced they should do them, but they do deserve a long look.
Trade Greg Olsen for draft picks-
Olsen is a pass catching tight end. He is a very dangerous weapon in the passing game. His combination of size and speed is outstanding. However, he is a bad blocking tight end. In the Mike Martz offense the tight end’s main job is to block. Martz would rather have another WR on the field than a pass catching TE. With that said Olsen does have value. You may be able to get a #2 or a #3 and a #4 for him. You can use those picks to try and fill your depth issues. The down side is if Martz is not around for the 2011 season you just traded a major weapon and a year later may wish you never made that deal. He really is the only bargaining chip you have but is this deal worth it? I am not sure. If there was a greater commitment to Martz and that he was going to be here for 4-5 years I would say yes. But odds are he will be gone after 1 year. So think long and hard about this one.
Trade for Anquan Bolden-
Rumor is AZ wants a #2 for Bolden. But teams have only offered #3s. You could say fuck it, we have no picks anyway lets go get a true #1 WR and try to band aid everything else. You could offer your #3 this year and maybe a #5 next year as part of the package. You use your late round picks on offensive lineman and DBs. Those positions usually have some decent players left late in the draft. You give Cutler a true #1 and hope the O-line can protect him. I actually like this idea. Bolden is far better than any player you would be taking in the 3rd round. He fills a glaring need and their is not much downside to picking up Bolden.
Other than that the Bears need to try and fill out their roster via free agency. Knowing the Bears they will need to find value guys and hope some of them develop and play better than they have up to this point in their careers. Maybe splurge on a DE or OL.
Guys that I like are…
Running Backs
Jerome Harrison, Jerious Norwood-
Offensive lineman
Tony Pashos, Jammal Brown, Chad Clifton and Max Jean-Gilles
D-Ends
WIll Smith
Kyle Vanden Bosch
