College football's bowl season kicks off tonight as Utah takes on Navy in the Poinsettia Bowl. While Illinois will capture the attention of most Chicago sports fans, there should be interest in Chicago outside of the Rose Bowl. With the Bears sitting at 5-9, they have positioned themselves for a possible top 10 draft pick. Here are some college players to watch in bowl games on the offensive side of the ball. You never know, one of them might be wearing a Bears jersey next season.
Quarterbacks
Not sold on Grossman, Griese, or Orton? Hopefully Jerry Angelo isn’t either. The Bears could use their first selection on a quarterback, and three senior signal callers have emerged from the pack, though only two will be playing in a bowl game. Brian Brohm and Louisville Cardinals didn’t qualify, finishing only 6-6.
Boston College’s Matt Ryan takes on Michigan State in the Champs Sports Bowl on December 28. Considered a Heisman candidate for much of the season, Ryan is tall (6’5) and accurate.
Quarterback Andre Woodson led Kentucky to a surprise season in the SEC that included an upset win over LSU. Woodson is big and mobile, and has drawn comparisons to Donavon McNabb. The Bears should also like that Woodson rarely throws interceptions, as he set an NCAA record with 325 passes thrown without an interception. Catch Woodson’s final college game on December 31 when Kentucky takes on Florida State in the Music City Bowl.
Running Backs
Cedric Benson may have been the most disappointing Bear in 2007, and Adrian Peterson and Garrett Wolfe don’t look like every down backs. There is a strong likelihood the Bears select a running back in the first three rounds to take pressure off Benson next season, and there should be good depth at the position.
While Fighting Illini fans might not want to see go, Rashard Mendenhall has established himself as one of the country’s elite running backs. If he decides to forgo his senior season, he could be on Jerry Angelo’s radar come draft day. I could tell you to watch Mendenhall and Illini in the Rose Bowl on January 1 against USC, but I think you may just watch it anyways.
Darren McFadden gets a lot of the publicity at Arkansas, but the Razorbacks have another talented runner in junior Felix Jones. Jones averaged over nine years per carry this season, and could be welcome addition in the Bears’ backfield. See if Jones impresses you when Arkansas takes Missouri in the Cotton Bowl on January 1.
Michigan’s Mike Hart and Georgia Tech’s Tashard Choice are two seniors who have been productive for years. Both running backs are projected to go in the second or third round and could be a steal for the Bears. Hart and Wolverines take on Florida in the Capitol One Bowl and Choice’s Georgia Tech squad faces Fresno State in the Humanitarian Bowl on December 31.
Offensive Line
In this humble blogger's opinion, offensive line has been the Bears biggest weakness in 2007. While taking an offensive tackle may not be as exciting as a quarterback or running back, they are surely as important. Michigan senior Jake Long may be long gone when the Bears choose, but several other talented players should be available. USC’s Sam Baker takes on Illinois in the Rose Bowl, and Boise State plays East Carolina in the Hawaii Bowl on December 23 with a line anchored by junior Ryan Clady.
While a higher draft pick is a small consolation for a disappointing season, the Bears do have the pieces to get on the Super Bowl track next season. An impact rookie could help turn things around quickly. Catch these college players while you still can, because they will soon be in the NFL. Maybe even in Chicago.
By Ricky O'Donnell
Roman Modrowski is the online sports editor for the 
O-Line is where the Bears need to go with their first pick. Their quarterback problem will be solved in free-agency as Angelo will take on a "re-loading stage" as oppose to "rebuilding." Unfortunatly, since they have so much money invested in Benson, the franchise may feel obligated to steer away from Mendenhall, who MAY be the only running back worthy of a top-12 pick not named McFadden. Nice job Ricky.
Roman sez: "Darren McFadden gets a lot of the publicity at Arkansas, but the Razorbacks have another talented runner in junior Felix Jones. Jones averaged over nine years per carry this season, and could be welcome addition in the Bears’ backfield."
With the average professional career of an NFL player being just slightly over four years, taking a player who averages nine years per carry could be risky.
He'd be pretty much finished after his second touch, and Angelo would be forced to trade him during the first quarter of the season opener.
Then we'd be right back to Bensen.
Felix Jones takes 9 years per carry..... No thank you. Next!
Bring Felix Jones and make him wear#20 so my jersey would be appropriate.
Well, we know who this subject had in mind.
Hitman, better sharpen that pencil (and I believe BCulz would prefer that you write in ink).
For what it's worth, Romo, I think you have the order reversed. The Bears need to focus on rebuilding their o-line first. Otherwise, the millions you spend on a QB in the draft could be wasted as our current line can't pass protect or run block. Fortunately, the Bears should be able to rebuild the line via free agents and that might produce a quicker revival than drafting an unknown commodity in a college offensive lineman.
At running back, taking someone in the second or third round is fine. Again, if the o-line gets better in 2008, Benson will have a better year and so will the rest of the offense. However, it would be great for the Bears to get someone in the 5'11" 210 lbs. range who has good speed and would provide a good change of pace to the backs we currently have. If he can catch, all the better.
QB -- you look at some of the top QBs in the league -- Brady, Favre, Romo, P. Manning, Hasselbeck -- and you wonder whether drafting a QB in the 1st round is worthwhile. I believe only P. Manning was a first round pick. Of course, developing a lower round QB means that we need a coach to develop them and that -- as we all know -- is an organizational blunder of the greatest magnitude for the Bears. In addition, until the Bears change their QB philosophy from wanting a QB to "not lose the game" to creating a game plan that takes advantage of the QB's skills to win the game, I think investing in a 1st round QB is foolish. Lovie and Turner will lobotimize the QB and pull him down to their level.
Lovie Smith, Brian Billick, Mike Martz, Andy Reid all seem to play from the same playbook. Only one side of the ball gets the attention. With Smith, Billick and Reid, it's the defense (you could throw Tony Dungy in this group as well when he was in Tampa Bay). Each of their teams have had solid defensives (some bordering on astounding) but they always lacked complete offenses. Each made it to the SuperBowl one time, with Billick the only winner. Martz made it twice to the SB and won once with the "greatest show on earth."
Now, you look at the recent dynasties in the NFL -- the Steelers, the Patriots, the Cowboys, the Bills, the 49ers. For the most part, each of these teams have maintained good offenses and good defenses. They also have shown the ability to trade, release or otherwise replace good, but potentially disruptive players with younger and ultimately better players. For the most part, each team was able to remain competitive (and I mean at a very high level) over a decade -- if not longer.
I'd like to think the Bears "brain trust" (hee, hee) would try to emulate the game plan of these teams, but they seem to be following in the footsteps of the Ravens, the Eagles, etc. A good team for 2-3 years followed by 20 years between SuperBowl appearances.
Angelo, Smith, Turner and Babich's personnel decisions this season have been highly suspect -- to put it lightly. They have seemed to play "pets" over performers. I will keep my fingers crossed as they attempt to rebuild the Bears, but my gut tells me the next SB the Bears play in could be in 2026.
Great Post!
What about Matt Forté ?? From Tulane?? Is he coming out this year?
I saw some Hi Lights of him...and I was STUNNED. More so than when I first saw Adrian Peterson (the real one)his frosh year.
Hitman....is this kid on your Radar?
and while you're watching the bowl games and compiling your wish list..
If DaBears get a top ten pick (they will) and don't trade out of it to 18,19, or 20 (they wont)...
(ie..Houston, Washington, and Tennessee all could want to move up)...
I realized yesterday that breaking down the draft for a front office and coaching staff who won't play their best players...
ummm....
because they don't know how to draft (never draft in top ten unless you're positive or can't trade out...Benson? if ya don't know how to write a scouting report, read one...watch a game, maybe)...cut him
don't understand FA (great job landing TJ/better job F'n it up) (check a freaking box once in a while, moron)Ba-bye Warrick/John Tait is now worth what? lol...run Lance run
well, as you can see.. it's a waste of time...and right now..I wouldn't wish the Bears unOrganization on anyone...
too late for me, though..
my draft board is done...FA is next...then I'll dismantle the roster...and wait for the big screw up in April...
Todays vomit-inducing LovieSpeak..."We're Close"
Yeah.."close to square one"..(ie..your drafting a LT and talking about a QB)....that's 'square one'.... insulting....
bring RexandCed back while you're at it...
Forte is a Senior...Jan 26th Senior bowl will be my first look at him... his draft stock will explode after he works out..
Senior...NICE!!!! Lets keep an eye on him.
The Bears have so many weak spots that one wonders how Lovie can say they were too close to make wholesale changes. I opt for the offensive line focus. With decent holes, maybe even Cedric the entertainer can average five or so yards a carry, and maybe a quarterback can throw a pass without getting flattened either before or immediately after he releases. I still see Rex potential,though,so automatically anything I say will be considered inane.
Seedy Backslash:
"Lovie Smith, Brian Billick, Mike Martz, Andy Reid all seem to play from the same playbook. Only one side of the ball gets the attention."
I agree that Lovie hasn't paid nearly as much attention to D as he has O. But compared to the other coaches we've had since Favre Started in Green Bay, Lovie has made the offensive production more of a priority.
"Angelo, Smith, Turner and Babich's personnel decisions this season have been highly suspect -- to put it lightly. They have seemed to play "pets" over performers."
Why hasn't anyone mentionoed Toeina at all since monday?
I don't watch college ball, so I won't be able to give any opinions on who they should draft.
You know what Paul; If we get a good athletic Tackle to replace Tait on the left then we can run Wolfe outside to the left or behind Garza. I'm not too crazy about wholesale switching, but it might work.
In order to restore order, the offensive line HAS TO BE FIXED. Though the quarterback holds the keys to the offense, everything STARTS with the 'O' line. A healthy defensive line and the possible emergence of this 'out of nowhere' for one game Toeaina, along with ONE strong tackling safety strengthens our defense tremendously. 'O' line, 'O' line, safety, quarterback. Those are the needs in order. Having been a signal caller myself, I would love to see a change A.S.A.P. at that spot. Also hated running for my life and living the rest of it with tendons behind my knee instead of ligament. I'll take some offensive linemen, thank you. Boy, did I love Dennis Dixon. What a shame. Hopefully he comes back from the A.C.L. injury pretty much full strength. Ryan had 10 ints. his last five games against the tough part of his schedule, Woodson makes questionable decisions at times and his accuracy wasn't sharp when men were wide open, and Brohm is IMMOBILE but the best of the three. I'm sorry, but from what I've seen, the Bears should have NEVER let Chris Leak go. You can judge size, arm strength, speed, whatever, til' you're blue in the face, but I'll take pocket presence and playmaking any day. This kid may have played sparingly against third stringers, but he also played WITH third stringers, and more importantly, made all the right decisions, put passes in unbelievably accurate spots, and played with a presence that showed me potential. Hopefully they pass on the aforementioned three Q.B.s and wait for an Ainge to fall into their laps after stopping the bleeding. Thinking about the draft spurred some fodder in my thoughts. Roman, is it just me or is Penn State juiced with 'bad luck' and 'over-rated' players like no other major?
Good Call Keylan..Im sure the #1 priority for the Bears this off season will be figuring out how to Run Garrey Wolfe outside the tackles!!!
Toeina? One game does not a career make.
Look at Mark Anderson. Rookie surprise with 12 sacks. Second year -- not much of a surprise -- and he's getting steamrolled on the run.
Love to see Toeina succeed, but that success has to be apparent across more than one game and two plays. Plus he was lined up against the right side of the Vikes' line. That's the weaker side of its o-line.
Same rationale goes for Orton (I'm hoping with fingers and toes crossed)-- that last week's game was not a harbinger of things to come.
Worth a Look Unrestricted Free Agents...Enjoy
Offensive Line..Travelle Wharton UFA Carolina Panthers/Max Starks, UFA, Pittsburgh Steelers/Jordan Gross, UFA, Carolina Panthers/Alan Faneca, UFA, Pittsburgh Steelers/Ryan Lilja, UFA, Indianapolis Colts/Floyd Womack, UFA, Seattle Seahawks
RB's.....Michael Turner, UFA, San Diego Chargers/Julius Jones, UFA, Dallas Cowboys
DB's....Mike Doss, UFA, Minnesota Vikings/Ken Hamlin, UFA, Dallas Cowboys/Bob Sanders, UFA, Indianapolis Colts
If the Bears get lucky and the planetary alignment is favorable enough for the Bears to beat the dork-led Packers, I'll consider the season at least a partial success. With a second victory over the Packers, we can at least nostalgically contemplate what might have been.
I don't know, Keylan, Wolfe is pretty small and wouldn't hold up trying to block a Strahan. A.D. hasn't shown all that much, but he does block better than Fred Miller.
I am really surprised nobody is talking about the defense. Urlacher has arthritis in his back, we lost our all pro free safety to injury again, Archuletta was a bust, and our run defense stunk it up in a fair number of games this year. Yes, our O line is old, but with all the injuries on the other side of the ball, we need defensive backfield personnel and another wide body to pick up for the loss of Tank Johnson. There are many needs to fill for this coming year, but Chicago has always been known for it's defense.
Without taking into account possible free agent moves, my 7 picks in the draft would be, in order:
1. OT
2. WR
3. Safety
4. RB
5. OG
6. DT
7. LB
Here's how you make the Bears instantly competitive. You trade 2nd, & 3rd round picks to the Eagles & get McNabb. You draft an O-lineman with the 1st round pick, then you pay up & get Mike Turner away from Stay Classy San Diego & put him in as the feature back & move Ced Benson back to the 3rd down back till you can trade or cut him. Then we could compete with the Patriots....but still not beat them.
RB: I'm not sold on McNabb. He's taken a lot of hits, knees are close to being shot, if not already there. Plus we would probably have to give him 2-3 guaranteed years and he might be productive for one and on the sidelines for the other two. We would take a salary cap hit and not be able to afford to replace him.
I like the Turner idea, but again, we need an o-line for him to run behind. A Turner/Benson mix with a decent o-line in front of them could take a lot of pressure off the QB, whoever it is. Of course, we are also going to need some receivers, especially if Berrian doesn't re-up.
It does not matter because Angelo will trade down in the draft once again and then take players that they do not need.
For every Tommie Harris that Angelo drafts he picks up five stiffs like Cedric Benson, Kyle Orton, David Terrell, michael Haynes, Rex Grossman, Airese Currie, Leon Joe, Craig Krenzel, Bobby Wade, Justin Gage... What a sorry bunch of players.
Other than Greg Olson, last years draft was a complete waste. Can't wait till Dan Bazuin, Michael Okwo, Kevin Payne get the chance to replace Ogunleye, Briggs and Brown.
With the players that will be coming back from injuries. The Bears will need a quarterback, a right tackle and a good running back in the draft. The biggest problem this year, was that Lovie would not play his first string in training camp. Their conditioning could not have been worse going into the season. That is why the Bears had so many injuries.
All of you, ahem, so called experts are forgeting 1 thing. Lovie 'Howell' will still be the head coach, and will destroy any draft pick Angelo gives him. I mean if Angelo can do anything right...Oh, and Turner and Boobitch are still coordinators...Please help us GSH!!!!