Let's get right into it...
1) How will Devin Hester's holdout hinder his development at receiver?
I was flabbergasted by some of the reaction to the Urlacher situation (more on that in a sec), so I wonder how everyone feels now about Hester. After all, Urlacher didn't really complain as much as some would like to believe and never missed a day of camp. Now here's Hester- the people's champ- blindsiding the Bears by skipping day one of Bourbonnais without notice. Really, I have no problem it. Here's what Hester told another news outlet:
"I can't go out and play this year making $445,000. Come on, man.''
That sure sounds reasonable to me, especially for a guy like Hester who probably faces the chance of injury more than most footballers. Of course, Hester doesn't need training camp to continue his role as the greatest return man in NFL history, something he could probably do that with his eyes closed. Where this is troubling, obviously, is in the Bears' plans to make Hester a full fledged wide receiver. I wasn't totally sold on the idea from the start, but if Hester misses a significant amount of time now, the idea should definitely be shelved. Getting Hester's hands on the ball is always a good idea, but you can't take him away from doing with he does best, something I hope Lovie and crew realize. If Hester ends this holdout quickly, sure, throw him in the slot a bunch in camp so he at least knows what he's doing this time around. But if this baby drags out, I guess the Bears will have to settle for Hester only being the most dynamic return man in league history.
2) Is Urlacher set for a killer comeback?
To this, I have vote an emphatic yes. Urlacher wasn't nearly as bad last season as some would like to believe and his offseason situation was nothing out of the ordinary. We all realize that contract disputes happen every hour in the NFL, right? Just ask the Eagles who are currently trying to deal with Brian Westbrook and Lito Shepard.
Urlacher never missed anything meaningful, and the worst part of the ordeal (when he considered retirement) happened because of good reporting, not an intentional leak from Urlacher's camp. Anyways, most of the money the Bears gave Urlacher counts against the cap this year. You know, money the Bears had leftover. If the Bears had leftover dollars, wouldn't you rather have it in the players' pockets than the owners? Of course. Urlacher has been nothing but a great football player and great guy since he has arrived. People blew his contract dispute 100% out of the proportion. The reaction by some fans and media members was laughable ("NOW BRIAN HAS TO EARN IT!", gimme a break). A happy Urlacher is probably much more productive than an upset one, and I expect a big season out of him and the entire defense.
One more quick thought on the Urlacher dilemma: Though I'm a little young to remember, there seems to be parallels between the Urlacher situation and the one the Bulls faced with Scottie Pippen. Both cases saw a star sign a long-term contract (his choice), outplay it, then see the market sky rocket. I believe the Bulls chose to tell Pip "Hey man, you signed the contract, live with it", as was there right. But you know what happened? The Bulls dynasty ended prematurely because Reinsdorf wouldn't swallow his pride and rework the deal. Kudos to the Bears for rewarding the best player they've had since Walter Payton when they really didn't have to. Here, the Bears did the right thing by paying Urlacher, and fans should be happy about this, not upset.
3) Does inserting rookie Chris Williams at left tackle and sliding John Tait over to the right automatically improve the offensive line?
Here's where things get tricky. Honestly, I have no idea if enough was done to fix the Bears' weakest area from last season. So much of football is decided in the trenches, but the offensive line is clearly the hardest position for outsiders to evaluate. Anyone can tell you the Bears offensive line was a joke in 2007, and maybe Williams will make all the difference. But I'm not positive. For a team with a bad quarterback (yes, until further notice Rex and Kyle both qualify as bad, since whoever wins the derby is probably still the league's least desirable starter) and a rookie running back, this offensive line better be good. Let's hope Jerry Angelo did enough.
I think there's a song "On my way to Bourbonnais"
If there isn't, there should be!!!
Jerry as usual stopped short of finishing the job. LeCharles Bentley is still attainable and a Pro Bowl offensive line man would look real good next to a rookie even to bring a healthy Rueben Brown or a disgruntled Larry Allen would be a good temp fix and mentor for the Gaines Adams and Beekmans of the roster. Jerry needs to fix this before the defense needs the same type of overhaul the offense needs.
Angelo says he's surprised Hester would hold out since they are negotiating but the question is if they weren't very far apart from reaching an agreement would Hester be holding out? It tends to make one think they're nowhere close. Face it as long as Soldier Field is sold out every sunday the owners don't care.
1. Hester couldn't remember the playbook last year. Sitting out won't help that situation any. Look for a sub par year if the holdout lingers.
2. Urlacher is only as good as the d-line in front of him. If the d-line is solid (ie, no Mark Anderson), then Urlacher will have a good year.
3. Does Joanie love Chacie? Does Archuleta miss tackles? Yes, the line improves just by getting younger. Will that lead to improved game day performance? Only time will tell. The Bears should feature a two tight end offense set early in the season to help Williams out. They have two good tight ends, one who runs almost as fast as their receivers (and faster than Booker). Help the rookie out for the first few games, then run more of a pro set.
Of course, this assumes we have a wise and crafty offensive coordinator. But we have Ron Turner.
Devin Hester's mere presence on the field with the offense is a weapon for the Bears as defenses look to find him and let each other know he's out there, 'double-team' him, and put their best 'cover' guy on him. If Hester can work to become more 'fundamentally and technique' sound as wide receiver then he'll be more dangerous for the Bears offensive attack.
I believe Ron Turner should 'wear out a path' to Jerry Angelo's office to get Hester a raise and into camp ASAP. The whole Bears offense benefits with him in the game plan, even if he's used a decoy. Then, Turner can plug in the other offensive players into a 'offensive' plan and not make play-calling a 'guessing game' or 'crap-shoot' again.
If Hester isn't signed ASAP and worked into the offense soon, it's doubtful any of the other offensive players will draw 'double-teams' and open up the field for Kyle Orton or Rex Grossman to exploit and pick apart. Plus, not having Heater in the game is a sure bet for games to be 'low-scoring, field goal' games.
When it comes to sports, it's funny when people try to justify greed and selfishness with "market value". The concept of HONORING A CONTRACT is always forgotten. That's all I gotta say about that. Here are my answers to the questions for Day 2:
1. Yes, the holdout will hinder Hester's development as a wide receiver. The problem here is that Hester probably wants to be paid like an elite wide receiver, but he's not there yet, not even close. The Bears have reportedly offered him to be the highest paid special teams guy in the NFL, so what's really the truth here? All I know is that Hester is under contract for 2 more years. If he excels at the receiver position, the guy can make a killing in salary at the end of the contract. Otherwise, take the Bears' offer to be paid as the top special teams guy in the league (if this is true) and stay freakin happy with your money for a couple more years while you develop as a receiver. Now that's fair.
2. Caving in to Urlacher's whining set the precedence for other star players on the team to follow his act and now the Bears are paying for it with Hester in the form of a Training Camp holdout. So call it what you want... cater to the stars or side with team business philosophies. This is an endless debate among many sports fans. As for Urlacher's killer comeback, we'll find out if his injuries last season doesn't carry into this season. It all depends on whether his neck and back problems are truly chronic or not.
3. Nothing is ever automatic, but it looks better on paper. I would have liked to see the Bears step up their efforts in improving the O-Line by signing someone like Alan Faneca, but like the Bulls, they are not known for shelling out huge bucks to outside free agents. Let's hope that it can't get any worse than last season, but difficult to tell right now. We'll know soon enough from the preseason games. I know Ricky and his pals enjoy the constant ribbing on Rex and Kyle, but I'd rather have both of them over Kitna, Tarvaris Jackson, Aaron Rodgers, Kyle Boller, JP Losman, Cleo Lemon, Byron Leftwich, Chad Pennington, Brodie Croyle, Josh McCown, Damon Huard, etc. among others any day. You can put Carson Palmer in this Bears offense right now and I guarantee you he'll get crushed back there as well. Like I said before, give those 2 a better surrounding cast and then we can better assess how bad or good they really are or can be.
Is it true Dusty Dvoracek is known as 'HGH' by his teammates? (He Got Hurt)
I have a question..
How can the ST both Change the Format of this blog and also force me to wade through 8000 words of written throwup from guys who take Wolves pre-season tickets as payment and still expect me to post my press shush...thoughts?
What has two thumbs and aint posting again this summer until Roman is back?
THIS GUY!!!
Proviso - If someone says something so stupid that I cant contain myself, then I may post again, but thats it.
Ricky responds: Only three exclamation marks and just two words in all caps? I'm disappointed. The bculz I used to know and love- the one wearing the pink White Sox hat- would have capitalized every letter. Just when you think you know someone, right?
Would you guys prefer three sentences that involve no interesting thoughts or opinions? Because, you know, I can do that, and it's a lot easier than doing it this way. Sorry for attempting to give people something to read. Especially when my only compensation is preseason Wolves tickets (how'd you know!?)
I'd also like to point out that Koster is a staff writer, so his posts should be a notch above written spew. Me? Well, I got that that sweet fantasy blog...
Must I remind all the Bears fans out there (In this blog, I am naming myself here as well) that Hester is only a kick/punt returner? He caught a couple of passes last year, but Jeez, I can't help but remembering how he casually let a perfect touchdown pass from Rex Grossman, the Rex Grossman everyone has made the offensive scapegoat, hit his left shoulder pad, and fall harmlessly to the ground last autumn. The Lad needs to stop listening to Deion Sanders, and get his head out of his A$$ and go PROVE he can be an NFL reciever. He was not drafted #1 overall, and he neds ot prove himself. Idiot...
How about #4...when does Lovie start coaching like a muli-$M head coach?
In part to his decisions around drafting and new contracts we still have:
- bad QBs...
- bad O line
- bad RBs
- bad receivers
- OVERated D
7-9 at best this year
As Norman (The Couch Slouch) Chad would say; "Pay the man Shirley!"
All Hester's agent has to do is walk into Angelo's office and ask a simple question:
"Insofar as putting points on the board is concerned, name me one other game changing / difference maker that you currently have on your roster."
He could then interupt the ensuing silence by naming his terms.
Notes from Day 2:
So Seedy, I was waiting for you in the parking lot of the Steak & Shake in Bourbonnais today after practice. You said you'd come looking for me and the sure-to-be broken down Rexwagon, and in fact, I got a flat tire there. I'm trying to ignore the ominous and ironic twist to this, because Rex didn't look half bad today. (notice I only said half) If it weren't for the frequency of his catastrophic mistakes in real games, he'd appear to be the front-runner in this little QB competition we have here. Now if the goal is to make somewhat consistent passes that are no more than 20 yards deep and you have a thing for facial hair, I'd go with Orton.
Chris Williams lasted 45 minutes, then walked off with a slight limp. Apparent back spasms, but is anyone else thinking "here we go again"???
The WR merry-go-round is laughable. I predict Earl Bennett's going to be a major stud, the rest of 'em are, well we know who they are. Wondering if Brandon Lloyd played for Ron Turner @ Illinois?
Matt Forte is much bigger than I expected. He was breaking tackles and blocking better than any other back on the field.
Kellen Davis is going to hold his own at TE, and I'm not just saying that because he's a Spartan. He was catching balls all day long - did not look like a rookie. He's also very big.
Robbie Gould is still quite proficient at those 0-49 yard field goals, but not an inch more. He and Brad Maynard should take up knitting or mah jongg or something to pass the time during practice.
As usual, if you are able to go to training camp, you totally should - it was a blast. Except for the flat.
Julie B:
Thanks for the up close and personal assessment from the land of bourbon.
One question: You said Wrecks wasn't half bad. Was it the half from the neck up or the half that's from the neck down? I'm betting it's the latter.
I think Bennett will be the surprise of our draft.
We already have studs at tight end. Can Kellen Davis play left tackle?
Btw, I saw you pulled over at the S&S. I was really torn over whether to stop and help out or continue to follow a flock of hot chicks on Harleys who happened to be wearing bikinis. Guess who won out?
I promise to do better next time.
1. Not at all.
2. Yes.
3. Definitely.
Well Ricky, his holdout won't do too much damage.
The B.U. Scottie Pip scenarios are similar except a few things. This is a Bears' town, Scottie was not even the best player on his team at that time, There was no salary cap. MJeff was a more ominous distinction, his underpaying was really wrong. Players who transend the game, and know that negotiations are a game, realize all you have to do is wait your turn. Brian, Devin, Scottie, Lance, most holdouts do not realize that your time will come. Mike realized that, and he just waited and recouped all those lost millions along with the rings for being smart about it. His endorsement money trumps any millions he lost over the time of his career, because people saw him as a good person who played without complaining. This was before all the other stuff(and it is quite a bit of stuff.)
To answer #3, yes, you solidify a weakness, and you plug a hole with a decent player on the left side, which is very hard to do. The team was not as bad as their 7-9 record last year, they will bounce back if our coaching staff just picks one direction and drives that way instead of going whichever way fans and the media feel.
Please, don't ever change quarterbacks after week 3 again. That one move threw the whole season in turmoil, Kyle Orton was not the talent Brian Urlacher was at this stage of his career.
Nor was Brian Griese, or Rex Grossman.
Looking at Hester's situation, I'm beginning to side with Rodger Goodell about the ridiculous sums of money the NFL throws at untested rookies who have yet to take a snap.
Chris (my aching back) Williams got almost $10 million up front, and it's my guess that his final year base salary is probably worth more than Devin's entire rookie contract.
Hester is without a doubt the most productive scorer on the team, but his salary isn't enough to even cover the taxes on the money Williams is being paid.
Something's wrong with that picture.
It amazes me the sideline spectators always seem to opine - "Honor the Contract you sign!" That would be idealistic if the owners would not go up on ticket prices every other year if not every year, or demand a new stadium or refurbished the old antiquated one with threats of leaving town, at PUBLIC TAX-PAYERS EXPENSE. Also, if televison execs did not charge ASTRONOMICAL PRICES for a 30 second commercial air-time slot during a game maybe the salaries could be reasonable - whatever that would be for thrashing your body around wrecklessly.
If a player such as a DEVIN HESTER can ELECTRIFY a crowd he deservses another contract. Now some people harp about his receiving skills being not up to par, BUT THAT AIN'T WHAT DOES BEST!
Think and ask yourselves why did Indianapolis win the Super Bowl? Because they refused to kick the ball to HESTER! They were not afraid of the Chicago Bears offense, dam-mint! Hell even during last season look at how great the staring position for the offense was but still not able to score points in bunches. If you are given the ball on the forty yard line, it shouldn't be that hard to move to the opponent's thirty yard line at least to set up a field goal attempt.
Damn right he deserves more money and his receiving skills will flourish when it happens. Quit allowing the Bear's cheap organization NOT consistently acquired the best FREE AGENT WIDE RECEIVER WE NEED!! You know, the real ONES! And then Devin can slide in and learn from these types of players while memorizing the damn playbook. If he's confused maybe the opponent's defense will become confused and the REAL receiver breaks free for the touch-down.
Micheal Jordan had and still has Nike! Hell, he still doing Hanes commericals while GATORADE really got a huge boost in sales don't ya think people? Enough said on why MJ didn't whimper about the low-ball contracts! Ask his ex-wife is she feeling the gas crunch!
Sorry Mike didn't mean to bring up the ole lady - but some of you give asinine opinions! The same as the Sun-Times makes us input secret codes to post a comment. What the hell is this now, NSA? Are we reviewing NASA secrets or something?...*smile*
Anonymous, sign your name if your comment is so accurate, I don't post to cowards.
Chuck:
On behalf of "Anonymous" (not me this time!) ... every once in awhile some of us clear our browsers of the flotsam and jetsam that accumulates over a period of time.
Pertinent personal information is often jettisoned in this process, along with whatever unwanted detritus the purging was intended to dispose of.
Then we go back to our usual haunts and post; unaware that the information field on the particular blog we're responding to is blank.
Whenever I do it, it's unintended, and I try my best to fess up to my anonymous anonymity, but we all slip up every now and then.
Edgar on July 24, 2008 10:43 AM,
Edgar this is football and they underpay guys. Holding out is the only way to make them pay you. They know your value and wont come to your agent and say..."we are giving him a raise based on his outstanding performance" like it works in the world. Even big brown gets a carrot or a cube of sugar. But one injury and Devin Hester's career (and maybe life) is over. He's the smallest guy on the field and everyone is gunning for him.
By Villano on July 24, 2008 4:34 PM
That is exactly how negotiations are supposed to go. Devin Hester is the reason the Bears schedule changed to prime time. He is the show pony, and his agent is slow. I would have gotten his raise after the opening kickoff of the superbowl. Angelo would have showed me the money a long time ago.
Anonymous on July 26, 2008 12:06 PM
Ditto!!!!
I agree with Anonymous from July 26. I won't call you a coward and Chuck that was uncalled for. People who keep saying honor your contract are the same ones who hate their jobs and are free to find another one but can't. It should always come down to who actually put those fans in the seats and electrify a crowd. If a guy did the contract complaining every single year then by all means ignore him. But tell me what seperates Devin from Brian when they did the same thing for him without him barely asking? Some guys get it easier than others. Jordan did wait while others cried about it because those guys didn't have a cash cow in other places. I haven't seen too many Hester commercials but there is one on everyday for Urlacher and still for Jordan there are quite a few. I don't see anything wrong with it when a lot of people can see that he is worth it. The one guy who made the Super bowl worth watching and the last two years worth a damn shows up every game and you wait to see what he's going to do next. Who else do we have that gives you that same feeling? Your spouse may be the best cook in the world but they've burned a few things along the way and that's what comparing Hester dropping a wide open pass is. Even Jordan missed dunks and Urlacher missed tackles. You want Hester to be Superman to justify him getting more money and that's not fair. Scoring points on this team should equate what he does enough. He gave the offense plenty of reason to be higher scoring than it has. He shouldn't be belittled because he scared teams into doing stupid things and we couldn't capitilize on it. Who else on this team is everyone scared of? Those who want to keep saying only Urlacher are not watching the games or listening to the dumb announcers. Pay the man.
Got ya Mark, it happens to me as well. Just waiting for some organ-i-zation to fess up that they are anonymous so I can commence to cutting up their weak argument. Their baseless argument of lies and half truths....Anonymous, anonymous, come out and plaaaaayyyy-yay.
Wrd, if you noticed I spoke of not only Hester, but of Lach, Scottie, Lance, and others. I disagree with goong the Curtis Enis route and ruin your career, all I'm saying is wait your turn(among other things). Does Hester deserve a new deal, YES!! Did Briggs deserve a new deal, YES!!! Urlacher, no! But, outside of Hester, who like Jordan is unstoppable when he puts his mind to it, the other fools held out, and cried all over town about being disrespected.
Scottie signed that dumb deal years ago, an Jordan was even the second highest paid bull on the team, did he cry, no. He honored his contract. I respect that. Hester deserved to get his contract torn up, but it is not his place. When they signed him, no one really knew what he would do. Teams take a chance, he panned out, pay him, no prob. Enis held out too. How many complained about how miserly the team was, until he tore his knee, and career up being out of shape.
Scottie no tippin Pippen almost derailed the last championship talking about holding out for the whole season, because he wanted a new deal, Mike talked some sense to him, and he got paid. Signing a 7 or 8 year deal is always a gamble, but the security is just too much for some. The problem in the NFL is, there is a salary cap, and holding out for more money, means less money for other positions. We have resigned 3 players to big deals, and a lot of money is gone that could've been used elsewhere, I have no qualm with people wanting more money, but holding out is not the way to do it.
There is a difference between a pro player, and anyone else. I study math, there are thousands of schools, and millions of jobs in the security sector of private industry for me, I have plenty options, and make a fraction (1/100) of the salaries of pro sports players. There are about 1,600 NFL jobs(roughly), no comparison between leaving Chicago and moving to Vegas for a teaching job, and holding out, and making no money. My job will last me to old age, NFL players quit around my age now. I understand get what you can, but be a man about it don't hold out, when workers strike for more pay, we call them selfish, when an athlete does it, we call them heroes for standing up to their bosses, I don't get it.
I already knew who anonymous was...the PARTIAL SENTENCES IN BOLD LETTERS, and the sentence structure gave him away, but I wanted to see him put his name on, just for laughs. It's ok, he's still my guy, and maybe coward was a bit too much, sorry -----. I just got a little frustrated, cuz when I was working at the PO, they wanted to strike for more pay, and everyone was calling us selfish, and complaining about how we already made such good money, and the like. Now Briggs and others, (who made more in 1 year before holding out, than I did in a 10 year career) are honored, just the hyprocisy of it. My shoulder, knees, and back still hurt at times, the anthrax scare, bombs in mailboxes, thw worries about someone running up and shooting you in the head after 2001. I just say, don't be so quick to put all of us who do not like holdouts in one lump.
Villano, July 24th, 4:34 P.M.
That's Classic!!!
ok..i admit it....
i want a new contract too!!!!
its weird...i think if you ask the NFL players themselves, they all say, its part of the business. and they dont get mad at each other, even when it starts to bleed into the season.
Its a free market...and it should be.
Dont go to games, dont buy jerjeys, dont watch it on tv or buy the advertisers products and then you can complain about their so called "outrageous" salarys, but otherwise, your just playing into the system too. and why shouldnt the TALENT who fills those seats get paid the MOST?
why should the owner and the sponsors familys keep it all?
THis isnt Russia is it Betty?
By Anthony Navarro on July 29, 2008 12:55 PM
Villano, July 24th, 4:34 P.M.
That's Classic!!!
___________________________
Twern't nothin'.
*staring at the floor and shuffling my feet with that, "Aw shucks" look on my face*
The thing about going the Enis route is that at the time Enis couldn't see how wrong he was. Just like Scotty signed the one contract and didn't think it through. He was going for the security of it. Being mad at being underpaid sometimes is a matter of pride. You may know you're better than the next guy but if he's making much more than you then its hard to accept it. I can imagine that these guys in the lockerroom compare their toys and material things. It's not always about getting a routine down or plays down during practice. You have to accept that they are big kids with a lot of time on their hands who go overboard on every emotion that we have. Their careers are fleeting and they only want to live it up before they end up like the majority of them do anyway: broke and used up by everyone. We constantly go the route that they are overpaid because it comes down to the fact that we envy them. We wish we could be just like them. When we hate on them we're just hating because they have what we want. They made it doing what we would love to do. They may not even like it but they still get to count their obscene amount of money doing what we would love to do.
The thing about going the Enis route is that at the time Enis couldn't see how wrong he was. Just like Scotty signed the one contract and didn't think it through. He was going for the security of it. Being mad at being underpaid sometimes is a matter of pride. You may know you're better than the next guy but if he's making much more than you then its hard to accept it. I can imagine that these guys in the lockerroom compare their toys and material things. It's not always about getting a routine down or plays down during practice. You have to accept that they are big kids with a lot of time on their hands who go overboard on every emotion that we have. Their careers are fleeting and they only want to live it up before they end up like the majority of them do anyway: broke and used up by everyone. We constantly go the route that they are overpaid because it comes down to the fact that we envy them. We wish we could be just like them. When we hate on them we're just hating because they have what we want. They made it doing what we would love to do. They may not even like it but they still get to count their obscene amount of money doing what we would love to do.