Spent some time today profiling Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator Todd Haley, one of the hot assistants in the league right now, so we're running late with the mailbag once again. What else is new? Haley was the Bears' wide receivers coach from 2001-03 and under his watch Marty Booker became the first (and only) Bears receiver to reach the Pro Bowl since 1972. That story will be in Thursday's edition of the Sun-Times, and includes an interesting John Shoop nugget that may not be well known.
Moving forward, let's jump into Four Down Territory.
Q: What kind of buzz is there about Larry English, the defensive end from Northern Illinois?
Scott T., Aurora
A: There's more and more buzz every day about English, who prepped at Marmion Academy in Aurora. He's turned heads all week at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., and right now he's in the top five of a lot of lists at defensive end. English was the MAC MVP and defensive player of the year and produced 31 1/2 sacks during his career in DeKalb. The thing scouts are going to have to do is project him at the NFL level, something the Bears didn't do a very good job of with another MAC pass rusher in Dan Bazuin. English has good size at 6-3, 255 pounds and in the most recent mock draft by ESPN guru Mel Kiper Jr., he had English going in the first round.
Here is what ESPN.com's Todd McShay had to say about English today:
"Northern Illinois OLB/DE Larry English continues to make a case for himself as one of the premier pass-rushers of the senior crop. English turned another strong performance during one-on-ones, showcasing a variety of pass-rush moves. He displays the ability to bend when coming off the edge, which makes it extremely hard for tackles to get their hands on and control him. He has also lined up at defensive tackle at times, using his explosive first step to disrupt a play in the backfield on one snap and surprisingly driving Oregon C Max Unger back into the pocket on the next play. That's not all either. Texas DE Brian Orakpo skipped Senior Bowl week and English has seized the opportunity to step into the spotlight and making a name for himself."
Sounds like he's turning in a terrific week in Mobile. Watch for him during the game Saturday.
