“And with the 19th and 79th pick… Chicago picks… pain for Cutler.”
Going into the draft, I was chasing my annual Fool’s Gold, known as hope. “This will be the year,” I told myself, as most Cubs fans do every year. “Hope” that, despite years of shaking while red in the face, laughing while furious, saying outloud, “Who!? WHY!” to nobody; the most glaring flaws in the Bears would be addressed. No Tackles signed in free agency? “No worries,” I told myself, “Phil Emery (the Bears’ new GM) has it covered, he can see it’s a problem, right? He’s drafting a Tackle.”
Prior to J’Marcus Webb starting, the biggest turnstile in Chicago was the Quarterback position. Somehow, they landed Cutler and we didn’t have to wonder which QB was starting every year. All of the fans can see that Webb cannot defend, literally, this once in a lifetime quarterback. Personally, at Tackle, I think an orange traffic cone would do a better job at a fraction of the cost. I know as a fact it would causes far less false starts and holding penalties, but the blocking results would be about the same.
With Jerry Angelo watching the draft from his couch, the same couch from which he watched the playoffs, we all thought that this was the year that we would get serious about the draft. The Bears do not have the luxury of drafting the best player available when there are so many glaring holes all over this team. The most glaring of all; Left Tackle. New GM, same wrong picks… but is it his fault?
Don’t get me wrong, these picks could turn out great but it’s not what the Bears need the most. I’m so tired of the defense getting first and only priority while the offense gets the hand-me-downs. They did get Alshon Jeffery, a solid WR in the second round but how is Cutler going to get the ball to him while being ear-holed, staring up at the sky, grimacing from another savage blindside hit that Webb let slip by? Then, in the third round, with a number of Tackles still available like Bobby Massie (graded 85) and Zebrie Sanders (graded 82.7), they feel that, with 10 members of the Secondary already on the roster, ‘Hey, let’s add an 11th,’ picking Brandon Hardin. J’Marcus Webb is a 7th round pick… who is awful. How can the Bears look the fans in the face and tell them that Massie or Sanders are not better than Webb? Instead, Lovie gets another man in the Secondary. Apparently, with the masterminds on defense, it takes 11 guys to find four starters, while at the Tackle position on offense, they get three guys to fill two positions…?
My frustration is the arrogance of always picking the defense first and letting the the offense “figure it out.” With such a “guru” like Rod Marinelli and the personal attention by Lovie Smith, one would assume that they would not need to draft and sign so many Safeties to find their two starters. However, they’ve had enough time of “trial and error” – ENOUGH. If you cannot find your guys, then let someone else have a turn. Instead, it’s like Lovie and his “defense only” mentality are at the trough while the offense is starving, begging for some help.
With Cutler’s contract coming due shortly, they had better show him that they are going to get serious about protecting him or he’s not going to waste his career in Chicago.
