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Maybe Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher opted to voice his displeasure with his contract not by boycotting a mandatory minicamp, but by showing up — and spiking the Gatorade with vodka.
That’s the only way we can explain receivers coach Darryl Drake’s proclamation that the team’s corps of pass-catchers is actually better in 2008 than it was a year ago, when the Bears featured Bernard Berrian and Muhsin Muhammad at the top of the wideout depth chart.
”There’s a lot more explosion out here right now,” he said.
Okay, maybe Urlacher actually spiked the Gatorade with chili.
Berrian left via free agency and Muhammad was released. The Bears’ roster at receiver now includes Devin Hester, Brandon Lloyd, Rashied Davis, Marty Booker, Mark Bradley, and rookie Earl Bennett.
Bennett and the rest of the Bears’ first-year players will be visiting the Hall of Fame on Friday. It’s fairly safe to say that none of the current crop of wideouts will ever get there without paying the price of admission, unless Hester earns a spot via returning kicks and punts.
June 2nd, 2008 at 8:10 am
Now, I don’t think it is really fair to say that Bennett will never make it to the Hall. He is a rookie and was pretty good at Vandy, just overshadowed due to playing at Vandy.
I am not saying that he is definitely going to get there, but he certainly has as good of a shot as anyone else does. The sky is the limit for these young players because really all it takes is coming to practice and games ready to go and being as prepared as possible and a good attitude. If those two things occur then there is no limit as to what any player can do. Preparation, execution, and guts/grit can sometimes make up for a lack of natural talent.
In order for him to get there though, the Bears are going to have to figure out their QB situation.
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June 2nd, 2008 at 8:13 am
He must have gotten a hold of some really good stuff. I watched (or rather didn’t watch) Brandon Lloyd not play in DC for the past few years. As a Cowboys fan I was always happy with his level of non-play for the Redskins. He’s actually the only reciever that our Roy Williams is known to be able to cover.
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June 2nd, 2008 at 8:52 am
i never heard that were six stooges.
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June 2nd, 2008 at 9:23 am
You did watch Moose and Berrian play, right? They dropped more balls than a drunk juggler. Marty Booker easily is a better receiver than Moose. And yes, Hester dropped a few sure touchdowns, but in his limited play he also had some amazing catches. I don’t have any hope for Brandon Lloyd, but Marcus Monk and Earl Bennet have a chance to be something nice. It wasn’t like da bears had an all-star cast of recievers last year; don’t see any reason why the receiving corps won’t be better this year.
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June 2nd, 2008 at 9:25 am
Don’t sleep on Earl Bennett!
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June 2nd, 2008 at 9:27 am
The Bears WRs are better off without Berrian and Muhammad and the QB situation is better off by keeping Grossman and Orton.
What, has Matt Millen switched teams in the NFC North?
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June 2nd, 2008 at 10:09 am
If you actually paid any attention to the Bears recievers last year, Drake’s comments are not at all far-fetched. Moose may have been better in his prime, but right now Marty Booker is a clear upgrade at that spot. Berrian is a 1 dimensional receiver who shied away from contact & dropped too many balls. Hester & Bradley are both clearly more talented then Berrian will ever be. The question is if Bradley can stay healthy and/or Hester can handle the mental side of the things. If either of those happens, then Drake is absolutely right that the Bears will be better at WR this year. And this isn’t even taking into account the rookies.
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June 2nd, 2008 at 10:21 am
I wouldn’t say we are better off, but I also wouldn’t say we are any worse off. Berrian was overrated. All he is, is a deep threat. He was a burner who could get open, Hester can fill that role. Berrian never fought for the ball and dropped tons of easy catches. If he was willing to stay for a lower salary I would have no problem with him being here, but I knew someone was going to totally overpay for him.
I think the receiving corps has the potential to be a dynamite group. Booker is going to bring great veteran leadership, I’ve been a fan of Bradley since he was in college and if he stays healthy I think he can be a legit #1 in the league. The young guys, Bennett and Monk can definitely help us out. Add this group to one of the top TE tandems in the NFL and the passing game should be fine as long as our 2 hall of fame qb’s don’t suck!!!
Just a bit of sarcasm in that last sentence if you couldn’t tell!
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June 2nd, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Living in Chicago it gets old defending a Bears QB. I’m not really gonna defend them cause they frustrate the hell out of me sometimes but I think we should look at the offensive system being run there. It’s like the Bears don’t go out trying to win the game with a QB, they play to not lose. Hope the defense stops them and even scores some points and then pray the offense can score a TD and win 17-10 or 10-3 every week. Grossman led his team to the Super Bowl. Orton won 10 games as a ROOKIE. Watch the games every week like I do and you would wish the play calling was much better. They way Grossman/Orton get talked about it’s like they are the worst two QB’s in the league and have won 3 games between them while losing 50 others. Last year the O-line was horrible and we had no running game what so ever. Easy to defend the pass when the running game is stalled. Hopefully our first 2 picks in the draft can help the running game and open things up a bit. Benson needs to show up healthy and play like this is hist last chance. Brown & Harris need to stay healthy on defense. Briggs and Urlacher need to both shut up and play. On the WR side we need Booker or Lloyd to step up. If they both falter we are done. They need to throw more to our TE’s. We have one of the best 1-2 TE combo’s in the league, let’s use them more.
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June 2nd, 2008 at 12:24 pm
http://sports.iwon.com/nfl/stats/league/passesdropped.html
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June 2nd, 2008 at 8:13 pm
Bob Sacamano
Great post. I couldnt agree more.
I think Rex is not a very good QB. No offense, I think you guys got to the Super Bowl in spite of Grossman. (see the Arizona Cardinals game).
However, I think Orton could be something special. He played well his rookie season when no one really knew what to expect of him.
If Orton has learned anything over the past couple of seasons is that Grossman makes a lot of mistakes and has a history of injuries.
I think Orton could very easily come out of this pre-season as the #1 QB on the Bear’s depth chart.
I have often wondered why the Bears never gave him more of a look, I think he could surprise some people. Especially because the Bears defense and special teams are good enough to keep the games close and the opposition honest.
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June 2nd, 2008 at 8:14 pm
In addition, the bigger question is what are they going to do about the running game?
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June 2nd, 2008 at 10:55 pm
Wow. I guess the running backs coach said this is the best bunch of backs he has ever seen with the explosive Cederic Benson leading the way?
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June 3rd, 2008 at 5:52 am
I’ve been reading this site for two years and had to register for this genius comment. I would expect some actual insight from here, rather than regurgitating the same thoughtless BS that the mainstream media passes off for analysis of the Bears offense.
Berrian was the best highlight reel the Bears have had since anyone can remember, but that was it. He lost two games due to late drops where he was open and lost another on a total non-block for Benson at the goal line. He pulled off a number of Stinkston like moments when contact was inevitable and flat out refused to make a real effort to block when it was called for. Sad to say, but a WR willing to block is a necessity in Chicago considering that games are not won in the second half of the season there without a good running game.
Anyone who has watched the entire 2007 Bears season could not agree more that Berrian had to go considering the contract he was expected to get elsewhere.
Marty Booker immediately fills the Moose void. Mark Bradley, provided he can stay healthy, can indeed fill the void as a deep threat and provide the blocking that Berrian could not. Devin Hester is following the exact path that Steve Smith (remember his first 2 years in the league) took to being considered the best in the NFL. Rashied Davis is a dynamic slot receiver who has received little opportunity but made some big plays when given the chance. Marcus Monk and Earl Bennett only make this receiving corps better through providing depth and challenging for roster spots. Brandon Lloyd probably won’t make the team.
Please oh please, Mr. Florio, don’t repeat the same uneducated BS that the rest of the “real media” seems to when it comes to the Bears passing game. (FYI, 3rd in the NFL in catches over 25 yards last season).
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June 3rd, 2008 at 10:06 am
@RavensFan19 - You cite the Cardinals game for why Rex is bad, but what about the 7 games he had that season with 100+ QB rating (tied for 1st in the league)? Or what about about the clutch game winning TD pass he had against the Vikings in the regular season? How about the even more clutch pass to set up the winning FG in OT against the Seahawks in the playoffs? Rex most certainly did help the Bears get to the SuperBowl that year. The reality is that Rex played good to great in a lot of games that season. He had a handful of clunkers, most notably the Cardinals game and the SuperBowl, which happened to be nationally televised. So most people just saw those games and decided he sucks. Those of us that have watched all of his games know that he actually has a lot of talent, but tends to have the occasional really bad game which he needs to eliminate. This year is his last chance to show that he can do that.
As for what they’re going to do about the running game, you do realize they used their first 2 picks on OL & RB right? What else are you expecting them to do about the running game?
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