Last Years Offense, This Years Defense? Not Possible..

tricky5544

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The 2013 pieces were already in place, With Cuttler, Forte, Marshall all in tact Emery built around them. signing two PROVEN free agents with Slauson, and Bushrod. The only question marks, Alshon and Kyle long. Would they be productive enough... Obviously they exceeded all expectations. So now Emery must do the same, instead its the defense that needs transformed. The problem is, this defense does not have the pieces in place as the offense did in 2013. Who can we build around? Jennings? That's about it. So that's one problem. The other, is all the FA hits we took, which may involve Melton as well. Yes we added some solid contributors but no superstar signing. I'm ok with this, I support Emery. I believe he knows that we can be a powerhouse if you will, within a couple years, so wait tell then, find the right player on free agency then sign, work the draft a couple years to mold a future dynasty, perhaps. Point being, Emery cannot change the defense to last years offense in the time he did so in 2013, not possible.

The Bears do not need the Defense to be great or even very good. They need the Def to be above average...Lets say ranked some wear in the mid to late teens(15-19) if Emery can do that with this explosive Offense, then the Bears have a real shot at doing something this season. And with Jennings, Tillman, Briggs, Williams, Houston the def has enough veterns to build around for a seaon or two
 

Kazu2324

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I think the situation is a bit different. It took Phil 2 offseasons to fix the D. He started with only Forte, Cutler, and Garza in place. He traded for Marshall, drafted Jeffrey, got Bush, etc, but he didn't have nearly as many players to build around as you're saying. The failure of draft picks are hurting us, but plenty of players figure it out and have it click after a few years. Melton's a perfect example of a player who started doing well with a change in position, why not for Shea McC? If him, Bostic, and Greene can improve slightly while having players like Frey continue to develop and draft some good players, we won't be terrible. Then next year, the FAs and bigger name players we get will have an average/above average talent to play with.
 

The Kaiser

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Good OP. I completely agree. We need to hit on a couple of draft picks to turn this D around and we need some guys to shine where we didn't expect it. Seattle's defense is filled with guys that were solid late round picks who panned out Chancellor, Sherman, etc.

Right now, I think there are a few guys on this roster who could really surprise:

1. David Bass: This is my big time dark horse. He flashed as a rookie despite coming into the org after missing all of camp. He didn't know the coaches, the system but we still saw some flashes. I think Oakland will rue the day they tried to stash him on their practice squad.

2. Willie Young: Potentially will emerge in Webster's unabridged ad the definition of a "Late Bloomer." He has been very solid and very productive in the limited time has had. He's young enough but experienced enough to be a difference maker. Great length and speed and has looked genuinely like a difference maker.

3. McClellin: Has the potential to completely resurrect his young career. There is no question that he has the motor and the speed to make a difference. He was our best pass rusher last year playing at a position he shouldn't have never been in. If he gets a chip on his shoulder and Tucker can define a better role for him in a hybrid scheme where he is timing his blitzes , spying mobile QBs and dropping into coverage from a SAM position, I see him possibly becoming a difference maker on this squad.
 

Desperado34

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The rebuild should have been a lot better off with pieces like Melton, Wootton, Chandler Jones, and Alec Ogletree in place. Things that were so obvious for everyone on this board weren't so obvious for the man in charge.
can't disagree at all
 

The Kaiser

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The rebuild should have been a lot better off with pieces like Melton, Wootton, Chandler Jones, and Alec Ogletree in place. Things that were so obvious for everyone on this board weren't so obvious for the man in charge.

Meh... Not so sure this rebuild would have been better with two injured players (Melton and Wooton) that nobody else seems to want to sign. Ogletree was not an option when we were rebuilding our OL last year (thus the Long pick.) And yeah, Jones was a better option than Shea but let's see how things go this year.
 

bearsfootball516

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I swear 95% of the posters on hear have to be Cub fans. It's always next yr or two yrs from now.We have the offense now,may not in 2yrs. What happenned to the D in 2yrs waiting for O to catch up?

The just wait mentality is called a bunch of losers! You have the big one waiting for you now, so get what you need and win it all now! Not next yr,next yr loser mentality.

Jerry Jones, is that you?
 

Starion

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Simply avoiding another outlier season of more than 1/2 of the Def. starters out with injuries (w/ practice squad and street signings starting) will = addition by subtraction.

The brass is and will address the causes that can be controlled so don't over-react and let hope to avoid the injury bug cause of last year's anomaly of record-setting futility. Sky isn't falling. Average Def. with anything close to last year's very good O will = a good season. Assuming the OFF stays healthy, Cutler included year 2 in could offer even more points.
 

fatbeard

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Simply avoiding another outlier season of more than 1/2 of the Def. starters out with injuries (w/ practice squad and street signings starting) will = addition by subtraction.

Quiet you. That was clearly all Mel Tucker's fault.
 

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