Chicago Bears counting on coaching up Josh Bullocks
March 13
Chicago Tribune columnist David Haugh
"It figures to be a beautiful day in Chicago when U2 plays Soldier Field on Sept. 12. But it also likely means the Bears will open the NFL season one day later on the road for the fifth straight season.
Here are 10 other things I know.
1 I know it inspires little confidence in the Bears' newly signed safety, Josh Bullocks, when he is the player featured in the YouTube video labeled "How Can a Safety Be This Bad?", a 1-minute-39-second montage of his missed assignments, bad coverage and terrible tackling.
It's debatable whether such a small sampling of plays is an unfair reflection of Bullocks' ability, but there is no question the evidence is unflattering. Bullocks struggled last season, losing his starting free safety job to Kevin Kaesviharn in a Saints secondary considered the team's weak link.
But the Bears believe a change of scenery and new secondary coach Jon Hoke will transform the player. Bullocks does have 49 NFL starts, is just 26 and could benefit from the deeper alignments the Bears like to play their safeties.
2 I know if the Bears are willing to overlook Bullocks' recent decline for his experience then they should use the same rationale in making decisions on castoff wide receivers, offensive linemen and quarterbacks.
Instead, the team has shown no interest in the likes of Laveranues Coles, Mike Furrey or soon-to-be-cut Torry Holt. Nor have any of the offensive tackles on the market compelled the Bears to pick up the phone, with injury risk Orlando Pace the latest guy on whom they passed. Now, Panthers cornerback Ken Lucas is a salary-cap casualty.
Seems a team as close as coach Lovie Smith insists the Bears are would be more willing to pursue stop-gap options aggressively despite the inevitable risk involved.
3 I know without taking calculated risks on a few NFL retreads, the Bears probably wouldn't have played in Super Bowl XLI.
Guard Ruben Brown was cut by the Bills before coming to the Bears in 2004. Tackle Fred Miller was cut by the Titans before signing with the Bears in 2005. Wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad was cut by the Panthers before landing in Chicago in 2005. Even running back Thomas Jones was on his third NFL team and 14th alibi when the Bears signed him in 2004.
But the post-Super Bowl experiences with personnel misses on castoffs such as Darwin Walker, Adam Archuleta and Marty Booker apparently have scarred the Bears enough to alter their philosophy—an overreaction, in this view.
4 I know if they suddenly did decide to look beyond the NFL draft to add to the league's thinnest receiving corps, two suggestions come to mind:
•Strongly consider whether Saints possession receiver and restricted free agent Lance Moore, who caught 79 passes for 928 yards and 10 touchdowns from Drew Brees last season, would be worth a second-round draft pick.
•Investigate the health of recently released Browns receiver Joe Jurevicius. Here is a guy who could be as valuable in the locker room as he would be catching passes on third downs.
5 I know offensive line is more important long term for the Bears and perhaps a higher priority in the first round, but it's impossible to ignore the way Maryland's 6-foot-2-inch, 212-pound Darrius Heyward-Bey has dazzled NFL scouts.
Heyward-Bey, whom ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. had going to the Bears at No. 18, "nailed" his position workouts in front of 50 scouts at Maryland's pro day, according to NFL.com.
6 I know I would rather have Byron Leftwich penciled in at quarterback than Sage Rosenfels or Tarvaris Jackson of the Vikings, Kellen Clemens of the Jets, Shaun Hill of the 49ers and Luke McCown of the Buccaneers. "
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