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http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news/fanball/20020626/fanball-nfcnotesbadnewsbears.html
[In case the link above goes dead, read the article below. Taken from Yahoo sports...]
NFC Notes: Bad News Bears
by Rick Kamla - Senior Editor, Fanball.com
Wednesday, June 26, 2002
I’ll spare you the clever movie hook and get right down to business in this week’s NFC Notes, as there is plenty of bad news to talk about when it comes to the Chicago Bears. And coincidentally, every ounce of the negativity involves the passing game.
It started when the Bears blew off Drew Bledsoe and Trent Dilfer so they could re-sign Jim Miller to a five-year, $12 million contract. Well, not only is Miller a stiff, now he’s an injured stiff.
Thanks to a stretching injury (that’s right, Miller hurt himself while warming up) that led to tightness and spasms in his left side, coach Dick Jauron held his “starting†QB out of the team’s most recent minicamp.
"We start July 25, and that's when we want him ready to go," Dick Jauron told the Chicago Sun Times. "I'll be very cautious with him on this one. He may not like it, but that's the way I'm going to approach it."
The injury gave Chris Chandler the opportunity to take most of the snaps with the first-team offense. Ah, a glimmer of hope for a team destined to come crashing back to earth after winning 13 games a year ago. Sorry, but the 2001 Bears might have been the worst 13-win team in NFL history. And if you ask me, their only chance to return to the playoffs in 2002 is with Chandler -- not Miller.
But wait, it gets worse.
Earlier this month second-year wide receiver David Terrell was charged with misdemeanor simple battery following an alleged altercation with valet attendants outside a Chicago nightclub.
God only knows why Terrell became involved in the situation, but it is not good news for a player who should be all about getting better -- not getting into trouble. Still, this mildly negative news is the least of the Bears’ worries right now.
A much more pressing concern is the health (or lack thereof) of wideout Marcus Robinson, who is trying to recover from ACL surgery on his left knee. Not surprisingly, Robinson was limited to running on the side during the same minicamp Miller missed.
"Marcus is still right on schedule and we're saying somewhere in the middle of training camp or preseason he'll be ready to come back," Jauron told the Chicago Daily Herald.
Because Robinson suffered the injury in week six, it’s hard to see him contributing before November. Knowing this, Robinson took a pay cut last spring in order to stay with the team. Smart move. That said, it remains to be seen if the Bears made a smart move in keeping a player with a “damaged goods†tag hanging off his ear.
And speaking of potentially bad moves, what the hell were the Bears thinking when they gave Marty Booker $28 million over seven years?
Yes, Booker, who turns 26 in July, is a budding young receiver who runs well for his size (5-11, 208). And yes, Booker did set the club record with 100 catches last year. But four mill per year?
Didn’t the club learn a lesson when it signed Robinson to a similar deal following his breakout season in 1999?
Listen, if you can’t see Booker’s downside entering the 2002 season, either you’re blindfolded or more delusional than Tatum O’Neal. (By the way, announcing that the rail-thin John McEnroe used steroids is kinda like accusing Laura Flynn Boyle of pounding B.K. for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.)
From quarterback issues to Chicago’s run-first offense to the letdown after getting paid to the career-year theory, you might as well call him “Bust†Booker this summer.
So let’s break it all down for you.
At quarterback, the Bears have a starter who can’t start and a backup who’s one hit away from retirement. At wide receiver, the Bears have an up-and-coming problem child, a PUP in the making, and a bust waiting to happen. At tight end, the Bears have no one. Yes, that includes “starter†Luther Broughton and backup Fred Baxter. At running back, Anthony Thomas looks like a stud, but he’s going to hate running into eight- and nine-man fronts all season.
I realize the Bears have the offensive line and defense necessary to remain competitive, but they do not have the offensive personnel (especially at quarterback) to keep fantasy owners consistently happy.
If you’re looking for a win-loss prediction, I’ll generously give the Bears a 9-7 record in 2002.
Bring on the hate mail and look out below…
Rick Kamla can be reached at rkamla@fanball.com
[In case the link above goes dead, read the article below. Taken from Yahoo sports...]
NFC Notes: Bad News Bears
by Rick Kamla - Senior Editor, Fanball.com
Wednesday, June 26, 2002
I’ll spare you the clever movie hook and get right down to business in this week’s NFC Notes, as there is plenty of bad news to talk about when it comes to the Chicago Bears. And coincidentally, every ounce of the negativity involves the passing game.
It started when the Bears blew off Drew Bledsoe and Trent Dilfer so they could re-sign Jim Miller to a five-year, $12 million contract. Well, not only is Miller a stiff, now he’s an injured stiff.
Thanks to a stretching injury (that’s right, Miller hurt himself while warming up) that led to tightness and spasms in his left side, coach Dick Jauron held his “starting†QB out of the team’s most recent minicamp.
"We start July 25, and that's when we want him ready to go," Dick Jauron told the Chicago Sun Times. "I'll be very cautious with him on this one. He may not like it, but that's the way I'm going to approach it."
The injury gave Chris Chandler the opportunity to take most of the snaps with the first-team offense. Ah, a glimmer of hope for a team destined to come crashing back to earth after winning 13 games a year ago. Sorry, but the 2001 Bears might have been the worst 13-win team in NFL history. And if you ask me, their only chance to return to the playoffs in 2002 is with Chandler -- not Miller.
But wait, it gets worse.
Earlier this month second-year wide receiver David Terrell was charged with misdemeanor simple battery following an alleged altercation with valet attendants outside a Chicago nightclub.
God only knows why Terrell became involved in the situation, but it is not good news for a player who should be all about getting better -- not getting into trouble. Still, this mildly negative news is the least of the Bears’ worries right now.
A much more pressing concern is the health (or lack thereof) of wideout Marcus Robinson, who is trying to recover from ACL surgery on his left knee. Not surprisingly, Robinson was limited to running on the side during the same minicamp Miller missed.
"Marcus is still right on schedule and we're saying somewhere in the middle of training camp or preseason he'll be ready to come back," Jauron told the Chicago Daily Herald.
Because Robinson suffered the injury in week six, it’s hard to see him contributing before November. Knowing this, Robinson took a pay cut last spring in order to stay with the team. Smart move. That said, it remains to be seen if the Bears made a smart move in keeping a player with a “damaged goods†tag hanging off his ear.
And speaking of potentially bad moves, what the hell were the Bears thinking when they gave Marty Booker $28 million over seven years?
Yes, Booker, who turns 26 in July, is a budding young receiver who runs well for his size (5-11, 208). And yes, Booker did set the club record with 100 catches last year. But four mill per year?
Didn’t the club learn a lesson when it signed Robinson to a similar deal following his breakout season in 1999?
Listen, if you can’t see Booker’s downside entering the 2002 season, either you’re blindfolded or more delusional than Tatum O’Neal. (By the way, announcing that the rail-thin John McEnroe used steroids is kinda like accusing Laura Flynn Boyle of pounding B.K. for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.)
From quarterback issues to Chicago’s run-first offense to the letdown after getting paid to the career-year theory, you might as well call him “Bust†Booker this summer.
So let’s break it all down for you.
At quarterback, the Bears have a starter who can’t start and a backup who’s one hit away from retirement. At wide receiver, the Bears have an up-and-coming problem child, a PUP in the making, and a bust waiting to happen. At tight end, the Bears have no one. Yes, that includes “starter†Luther Broughton and backup Fred Baxter. At running back, Anthony Thomas looks like a stud, but he’s going to hate running into eight- and nine-man fronts all season.
I realize the Bears have the offensive line and defense necessary to remain competitive, but they do not have the offensive personnel (especially at quarterback) to keep fantasy owners consistently happy.
If you’re looking for a win-loss prediction, I’ll generously give the Bears a 9-7 record in 2002.
Bring on the hate mail and look out below…
Rick Kamla can be reached at rkamla@fanball.com
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