Vasher Extension

Along the same lines as Tank, haven't posted any links to this. My gut reaction: mixed feelings.

Statistically, Vasher is awesome. He had 10 picks in 2005. Ran back a missed FG for 108 yards & a TD. Made alot of highlihgt reels. But having great hands is a nice ocmplementary skill for a DB, not a necessity. And his INTs dropped off considerably in 2006. And we have a much better playmaker in the return role these days.

I look at it this way. In our Defensive scheme, you want two cover-2 type corners, who are great covering short routes, great against the run, and can hold their own on middle routes, and 1 nickel back, who is more the small, fast, playmaking type guy.

We have one of the top nickel guys in the game, in RMJ. He got a long term deal, that job is his as long as he is healthy (and he should be kept there, where he excels, not mvoed to an outside corner position).

So with that locked up, we look to the two cover-2 types. Right now, we have Vasher and Tillman, who are a pretty good pair. And conventional wisdom says we can only keep 1 long term, since paying 3 corners big money isn't really expected (although if we let Briggs walk, who knows). So if I have to pick between Vash & Tillman, for this system, I pick Tillman. He is bigger & stronger, plays much tougher in the short passing game, and is much tougher against the run. He can also match up with a big receiver (think how he always dominated Randy Moss, or how he shut down Plaxico Burress in a must-win game in 06). His skills fit the bill for what we need in this defense, better than anyone else on our roster.

So ideally, we'll keep them both. But if conventional wisdon prevails, and we only keep 1, I think Vasher was the wrong guy.

Tank is gone

Not gonna put any of the 5,000 links out there to this story, but they Bears let Tank go today. I've had mixed feelings about the whole situation, but at this point they had to do it. The guy has F'ed up too many times and made too many bad decisions.

I was a little surprised they cut the cord today, seeing as the blood test isn't due back for at least another week. But I guess the simple act of being out at 3:30 AM was enough for them to say 'enough is enough.' Truth be told, I'm known to be up at 3:30 on alot of Saturday nights/Sunday mornings, but I'm not driving, and I'm sure as hell not doing it when LITERALLY millions of dollars are at stake if anything goes wrong. I'm all for partying, and I certainly wouldn't want to be judged by my employer based on how I spend my weekends (would anybody?), but in a profession where your health & well-being are paramount to even having a chance at success, and you are already essentially on probation with both the league and your team, you gotta walk the line until the suspension is up at the very least.

It was a necessary mvoe for the Bears to maintain credibility. The gave Tank the rules he had to live by, and he crossed them (even thoguh he may not have done anything truly illegal), so they let him go. A ballsy move by the team, and one that sends a message that this isn't an organization that allows itself to be messed with (attn Mr. Briggs).

As far as the future, this is painful. Tank had a starting spot locked up once he was healthy and his suspension was served. His loss, plus the losses of Ian Scott (which I wish hadn't happened) and Al Boone (not a huge deal), put our DT rotation at risk. Tommie is still the man, Anthony Adams should be a decent rotation guy, Dusty has a ton of potential (I see him as another Mongo), and Garay has been solid in the action he's seen (could be another Al Boone, best case scenario maybe another Ian Scott). Hopefully Alex Brown/Israel Idonije are able to get in a few reps on passing downs, to keep the other guys fresh.

Looks like new D-line coach Brick Haley has his work cut our for him. Let's hope he's a step up from the last guy.

Ditka and Duerson

About a week ago Da Coach hung up on Dave during a radio interview. The specifics of that disagreement aside, I find myself thinking: this is one instance when I might actually side with a union.

The profession of NFL football player is a brutal one. Guys get hurt in every game, even if we the fans don't see it.

Let's face it: the old players are the ones who helped build the National Football League. In many cases, this is actually taking years off of their lives, considering that the average life expectancy of an NFL player is 55 years.

This is properly an issue between the player's association and the owners, but here's hoping that both parties agree on an equitable plan going forward to care for the health of players after their playing days are over.

Messing With Blogger

I'm trying to do some stuff with the profiles, so it's going to look different.

Haven't decided if I'm going to keep the changes...

MT

More Updates

I was thinking that the last post could have been: "Tank Johnson: Out of the Tank." This one would then naturally be: "Tank Johnson: In the Penalty Box."

So this is old news by now, but Tank's out for 8 games. Give Goodell credit, he's taking a tough stance with players and sticking to it. Tank might be able to reduce the suspension to six games through some undisclosed good behavior.

(thinking... )

(Lord forgive me...)

You know, maybe like walking dogs or something? Seeing as how he's not keeping them around the little ones any more.

OK, I'm done, that was piling on and totally uncalled for. Whatever it is you've got to do to get out of the (I can't help myself)... doghouse... you just better do it, big fella.