Ranking the Changes - Bears 2009 to 2010
Posted on: August 21, 2010 2:32 pm
When you think about the 2010 Bears, you draw a natural "link" to the 2009 team. Most analysts have given the Bears a very low power ranking (Not that I care). The general reasoning is that there is some sort of unwritten thesis in the NFL that says a team that is bad in one year, will automatically be bad the next.
But we know that is not the case. The Bengals were one of the worst teams in the NFL in 2008. The Saints were last in the division. The Cowboys didn't even make the playoffs in 2008. And the Packers only won 6 games.
With that, the Bears of 2009 should not be thrown into the same "general ranking" of the year end 2009 team. The Bears have made more changes than most teams in the NFL. The theory is that they are all for the better. The question is whether that pans out to be true. So here is my "impact" ranking of the changes from team we saw closing out 2009 to the team we are seeing to start out 2010.
1) Brian Urlacher is back. This definitely counts as a major change. I also think it is the most overlooked by analysts. The Bears defense was one of the worst 3rd down teams in the NFL in 2010. The primary reason, in my mind, was that we could not plug the middle deep hole. Having Urlacher back in pass defense is, in my opinion, the single biggest improvement this team has made.
2) Julius Peppers FA Pickup. A very close second in my impact ranking. Adding Peppers (and dumping Ogunlea) solves 2 issues. First it gives us a legit pass rusher who should consistently pressure the QB. Second, he should definitely allow the Bears to have success in their Nickel package by not forcing us to have to bring in a DB or LB to put pressure on the QB.
3) Chester Taylor FA pickup. We lost Kevin Jones in the last game of the preseason in 2009. Matt Forte also got banged up. We had NO ONE to help out. Forte played with a gimpy hammy and knee all year. This year, with Taylor, should Forte get hurt, we have a legit back-up. Also, when considering the Bears horrible short yardage offense, adding a true 3rd down power RB is huge.
4) Mike Martz hired. There are tons of people around who will tell you that Mike Martz is washed up. Most of these people live in Detroit or San Francisco. The truth is, his offense is one of the most dynamic and feared offenses in the history of the NFL. Teams don't like playing Martz offenses because they cannot be "game-planned" for. You can't key in on a guy, and you can't watch tapes to see what might happen - as the same exact play called in exactly the same situation in 2 different games may yield different routes, cadences, primaries, and even pre-snap shifts.
5) Chris Harris is back with the team. Another huge pick-up. The Bears trade Jamar Williams for Harris. Harris, a guy who can play either Free safety or Strong, is a big pickup as Kevin Payne and Al Afalava were somewhere between medium and bad last year at Safety. If Major Wrights development continues on pace, I see Harris taking over the Strong safety position by mid year. As a side note, if Lance Briggs didn't get hurt for a game late last year, this trade would have never happened. Williams was stellar at Will in Briggs' place.
6) Roberto Garza to Left Guard. Well... I don't know how I feel about this. My preference would have been to keep Garza at a position he has played his last 60+ games. But, the Bears are looking to better protect Jay Cutlers blind side - especially considering the disaster Omiyale was at the position last year. The impact of this move is huge. Whether it is positive or negative is yet to be determined.
7) Frank Omiyale to Right Tackle. This is another one of those huge impact moves. As with the other offensive line move, the jury is still out on whether it will be a good move or a bad move. The truth is, we should expect Omiyale to play better at RT than he did at LG. The problem is, he was a complete bust at LG...
8) Mark Anderson at Right Defensive End. Replacing Alex Brown. In 2006, Anderson came in on Nickel packages and played D.End. Going 1 on 1 with the RT, with one goal: Get the QB, he dominated, and got 12 sacks. He's been a disaster since. In 2010, he will likely be the recipient of a lot of single teams. In watching him last week, he looked decent at getting off the snap. The big question mark will be his ability fight off the tackle and make stops on runs his way.
9) Devin Aromashodu is named as a starter. This one confuses me, because he has been named a starter, but have yet to apply the #1 or #2 title. He was still listed as #4 by the end of last year, but has clearly pushed ahead of Earl Bennet for the #3. He is challenging Knox and Hester for the #1, #2 role.
10) Charles Tillman swaps with Zack Bowman. Tillman has never been a shut down corner. He has also never been confused with a ball-hawk. But he has always been "fair" in pass coverage. Considering he is matched up with the #1 receiver 75-80 percent of the time, mostly relies on his wits, and post catch hands to punch the ball out. They tried this experiment last year and it was a disaster. Hopefully Bowman can handle the hot receiver. He was burned last week, and if that continues, this experiment might change yet again.
Honorable mentions: There are several more changes the Bears have made including putting Lance Louis at RG, starting Anthony Adams at DT, moving Clark to HB, getting Pisa back, etc... the truth is the Bears of 2010 are nowhere near the same as 2009. The question is how well all these changes will play out.
Category: NFL
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