[CBFF] Bears Kool Aid from Don Pierson

[Jim Ferolie]

Two devil's advocate rebuttals to that:

He won't be an every-down offensive player, at least not yet. Teaching him 
how to react to a short list of plays should be easy. I mean, really, if 
your man leaves you, you find an open spot. And that's really up to Rex.

The other is that he did spend time as a running back, so I don't know that 
open space is an absolute necessity. I doubt he'll figure out right off the 
bat how to deal with the jam, but unlike drafting a non-football track star, 
his roster spot isn't a complete waste while he's training.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tom Shannon" <tshanno at gmail.com>


>I respect Don Pierson a lot.  But I have to say that I'll believe in Hester
> on offense when I see what other teams do to stop it.  The first thing 
> that
> occurs to me is an automatic blitz any time he's in the game.  That would
> likely mean he would either have to block or read the blitz and adjust his
> route.  I, personally, doubt he can do either.  But maybe they can work
> around it by surrounding him with the right personnel.  We'll see.
>
> Then there's also the fact that he won't have anywhere near the room to 
> work
> in space that he does as a returner.  Again, we'll see.
>
> Tom S.
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: cbff-bounces at chicagobearsfanforum.com [mailto:cbff-
>> bounces at chicagobearsfanforum.com] On Behalf Of Victor Waldron (CBFF)
>> Sent: Saturday, May 26, 2007 11:48 AM
>> To: CBFF
>> Subject: [CBFF] Bears Kool Aid from Don Pierson
>>
>> (one key element he doesn't mention here is improvement by young Bears
>> players. My list of key guys who should be better in '07 include
>> Grossman, DManning, MAnderson, Berrian, Bradley, Benson)
>>
>>
>> Hester's flip tightens grip on weak NFC
>> His move to receiver gives Bears leg up in lagging conference
>> Don Pierson
>> On Pro Football
>>
>> May 20, 2007
>>
>> Super Bowl losers usually have a difficult time recovering. The Bears
>> have three advantages: They play in the wide-open NFC, are in the weak
>> NFC North and have the new and improved *Devin Hester*.
>>
>> Like the Seattle Seahawks last year, the Bears might have a hard time
>> avoiding success.
>>
>> Despite problems and potential problems, the Bears can find plenty of
>> miserable company around them in the NFC. As the Bears contemplate what
>> to do without *Lance Briggs*,for example, the Atlanta Falcons are
>> contemplating what to do with *Michael Vick*.
>>
>> Last year, injuries to nine offensive starters cost the defending NFC
>> champion Seahawks a total of 48 starts. The Seahawks lost two games to
>> rival San Francisco, and won four games with last- minute field goals,
>> yet still won the NFC West with a 9-7 record.
>>
>> The Seahawks became the first Super Bowl loser since the 1999 Titans to
>> return to the playoffs the next year.
>>
>> The Bears will find out it's never easy. For one thing, they have to
>> play the second-easiest schedule in the league instead of last year's
>> easiest.
>>
>> The Bears are going to find out about life with *Cedric Benson *and
>> without *Thomas Jones*.They only can hope to play with Briggs, *Tank
>> Johnson *and *Mike Brown *and have to prepare to play without them.
>>
>> But the Bears still have Hester, their favorite memory of the Super
>> Bowl, who they convinced to play receiver.
>>
>> After his spectacular mini-camp debut at his new position Friday, when
>> he sped through all kinds of routes, didn't drop a pass, drew oohs and
>> aahs from teammates and at least one low-five from coach *Lovie
>> Smith*,Hester has upgraded the Bears at a position that is a concern on
>> many teams.
>>
>> Consider some of the Bears' NFC competition:
>>
>> .Green Bay: As the Packers open Year 3 of the transition from *Brett
>> Favre *to *Aaron Rodgers*-or maybe it's *Ingle Martin*-Favre has
>> expressed disappointment the Packers were unable to sign receiver
>> *Randy
>> Moss*. Favre is frustrated the Packers' rebuilding program may be
>> moving
>> slower than his body clock. The question is how much the Packers really
>> care about what Favre thinks.
>>
>> Favre had to decide between attending mini-camp while recovering from
>> ankle surgery or staying in Mississippi where a daughter is graduating
>> from high school. He picked mini-camp.
>>
>> .Minnesota: The Vikings just hired their 23rd assistant for *Brad
>> Childress' *staff. That means they might have more coaches than
>> players.
>> They have no established veteran quarterbacks or receivers.
>>
>> Their quarterback is *Tarvaris Jackson *of Alabama State backed by
>> *Brooks Bollinger * and *Drew Henson*.Their top receiver is *Bobby
>> Wade*.
>>
>> The team that has been trying to get along without Moss and *Daunte
>> Culpepper *now appears to be trying to get along without their
>> positions.
>>
>> To underscore their shift in philosophy, they drafted the best running
>> back, *Adrian Peterson*.
>>
>> .Detroit: Lions coach *Rod Marinelli *said he doesn't care that he's
>> the
>> eighth Detroit coach in 20 years to express optimism. Sooner or later,
>> the law of averages is going to justify one of them.
>>
>> Likewise, the Lions keep collecting wide receivers in the hope they
>> will
>> prove useful someday. Their latest, *Calvin Johnson, *joins *Roy
>> Williams*,who led the NFC in receiving yardage, and *Mike Furrey*,who
>> led the NFC in catches.
>>
>> What do they do with Johnson? Well, Williams had to leave a recent
>> practice with a slight muscle pull.
>>
>> .New Orleans: The team the Bears beat for the NFC title also made a
>> wide
>> receiver their top pick. *Robert Meachem *reported to mini-camp out of
>> shape and went to the training room with an ankle injury.
>>
>> The Saints also made a high-profile free-agent signing when they took a
>> chance on wide-profile defensive tackle *Walter Thomas*,a 6-5, 375-
>> pound
>> project from Northwest Mississippi Community College.
>>
>> Thomas lasted 12 minutes into mini-camp before needing an intravenous
>> solution. The Saints took him into the training room and said goodbye.
>>
>> "He had a brief career," coach *Sean Payton *said.
>>
>> .Seattle: The team the Bears succeeded and also defeated in the
>> playoffs
>> in overtime made the unusual move of trading leading receiver *Darrell
>> Jackson* to the 49ers.
>>
>> It's not so much the Seahawks needed a receiver. They have *Deion
>> Branch
>> *and had grown weary of all the practices and games Jackson was
>> missing.
>> It's just that the 49ers were in dire need of a receiver and Seattle
>> coach *Mike Holmgren *really didn't want to get rid of Jackson because
>> he likes to collect receivers almost as much as the Lions do.
>>
>> .Carolina: The 2003 NFC champs gave the Bears their best receiver,
>> *Muhsin Muhammad*,and still are trying to get back to the Super Bowl
>> without him. They signed *Keyshawn Johnson *last year and just cut him
>> after drafting his USC clone, *Dwayne Jarrett*.
>>
>> The Panthers also signed ex-Texans QB *D**avid Carr*, revealing second
>> thoughts about *Jake Delhomme*.
>>
>> .Philadelphia: Quarterback *Donovan McNabb *led the 2004 Eagles to the
>> Super Bowl and started only 19 games in the next two seasons. So it was
>> a surprise when he expressed "shock" coach *Andy Reid *made quarterback
>> *Kevin Kolb *his first draft pick.
>>
>> Last year, the Eagles discovered they didn't really need receiver
>> *Terrell Owens *after they signed ex-Saint *Donte' Stallworth*.Now
>> they're going to find out if they need Stallworth, who signed with New
>> England. The Eagles added ex-Rams backup *Kevin Curtis*.
>>
>> .St. Louis: Another NFC Super Bowl loser that hasn't returned, the Rams
>> added Tennessee's top receiver, *Drew Bennett*,and now will boast a
>> formidable trio of Bennett, *Torry Holt *and *Isaac Bruce*.
>>
>> .New York Giants: To help replace their best player, retired running
>> back *Tiki Barber*,the Giants traded their underachieving third
>> receiver, *Tim Carter*,to Cleveland for journeyman running back *Reuben
>> Droughns*.
>>
>> Also Super Bowl losers who haven't returned, the Giants hope 32-year-
>> old
>> receiver * Amani Toomer *comes back from a knee injury and that their
>> second draft choice, USC wide receiver *Steve Smith*,gives them
>> something.
>>
>> .Atlanta: In 2001, Vick was drafted to get the Falcons back to the
>> Super
>> Bowl they lost after the 1998 season. Now Vick is embroiled in a
>> dog-fighting probe. Part of Vick's inability to get his team beyond a
>> conference title game is blamed on a lack of wide receivers, so the
>> Falcons added 35-year-old ex-Saint *Joe Horn*.
>>
>> .Dallas: New Cowboys coach *Wade Phillips *called Terrell Owens by name
>> in his first news conference, which means Owens should pose no problems
>> at all for his fifth head coach in the last six seasons.
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Check out the CBFF Blog:
>> blog.chicagobearsfanforum.com
>> CBFF Homepage:
>> www.chicagobearsfanforum.com
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Check out the CBFF Blog:
> blog.chicagobearsfanforum.com
> CBFF Homepage:
> www.chicagobearsfanforum.com