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Bears personnel director brings some new idea
Bears personnel director brings some new ideas to table
Among other things, Ruskell has organization looking at potential draft picks with help of scouting service
Dan Pompei On the NFL 7:09 p.m. CST, March 1, 2011
INDIANAPOLIS — What do you do with a roster that was good enough to get to within one game of the Super Bowl but still has significant holes and is not as young as you would like?
That is a question for Bears director of player personnel Tim Ruskell. This is the first offseason Ruskell has a chance to put his stamp on the Bears.
Ruskell starts with the premise the Bears are a good team with good players, and he respects what general manager Jerry Angelo and Ruskell's predecessors have built.
"There isn't a position that doesn't have to be addressed going forward, but we have players who can play and they work together well," Ruskell said. "The chemistry, how they work together and their passion for the game (aren't) always appreciated, but this team has a unique thing going.
"It's not by chance. It's Jerry's system in getting players who have character as it relates to football and passion for the game. Some of the players may not be the most talented, but they are way up there in terms of maxing out what they have and being coachable. That will take you a long way in this league."
The first opportunity to augment those players likely will be the April 22-23 NFL draft, given that free agency is expected to be postponed because of labor problems. This draft is more important than most for the Bears because they didn't have first- or second-round picks in the last two drafts.
"We know we have to have a really good draft," Ruskell said. "And we will. It's a good draft, especially on the interior lines. We have all our picks except the seventh. The scouting staff is too good. The coaches work too well with them. Everybody is on the same page in terms of what we want."
And that's one of the reasons Ruskell is in Chicago. Ruskell worked for Angelo for 13 years with the Buccaneers. He also worked with coach Lovie Smith and defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli there.
Though Ruskell and Angelo are similar philosophically, Ruskell is bringing new ideas to the Bears. For instance, Ruskell sounds interested in moving up in the first round if the opportunity is right. Angelo has traded away draft picks and he has traded down in the first two rounds. But he never has traded up with the Bears.
"I don't have the final call, but I wouldn't have any problems moving up or down if something sounded right," Ruskell said. "If you can get an impact player right now, you have to look at that hard. I have a history of doing that."
In the 2008 draft, Ruskell, then the Seahawks' general manager, had a deal worked out to move from the No. 28 slot in the first round to the No. 15 slot to take running back Jonathan Stewart. As it turned out, Stewart was the Panthers' surprise pick at No. 13.
Ruskell also convinced the Bears to subscribe to the services of National Scouting, which pools information for 22 teams. The Bears had not been affiliated with a scouting service since Angelo severed ties with Blesto in his first year in Chicago.
The primary benefit of belonging to a scouting service is it frees up a team's own scouts to concentrate solely on the current crop of available draftees. National already is providing information on the 2012 class to Bears scouts well before the 2011 draft.
Ruskell also suggested the team wait until after the combine to evaluate the top half of the draft board this year. As a result, when Bears scouts met two weeks ago, they evaluated only the bottom half of the board — which includes many players who weren't even invited to the combine.
Now that the combine has concluded, scouts and front-office men, armed with combine test results, medical information and interview notes, are meeting again at Halas Hall and lining up the top half of the board.
Some might argue the top half of the Bears' board should be heavy with defensive players, given the age of some of the key defenders. But Ruskell doesn't see it that way.
"The plan is not to say, 'The defense is old, let's do something about it,'" Ruskell said. "It's more wide ranging than that."
The plan is for the Bears to spray to all fields this offseason. And they might even take a big swing or two.
dpompei@tribune.com
Last edited by dabears54; 03-02-2011 at 06:58 AM.
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Ruskell analyzes Bears' needs
INDIANAPOLIS — How the Bears self evaluate and prioritize needs will be influenced to a large degree by new personnel director Tim Ruskell.
This is how he sees some of the hot spots.
Offensive line: "We still have some things to figure out, some unanswered questions, and we'll look both at the draft and free agency."
Wide receiver: "We like our group, it's solid. But we'll always look to improve where we can.
Backup quarterback: "We don't have the numbers at the position, so we'll look at it in the draft and free agency to get us back up to speed."
Defensive line: "When you look at that defense and the way we play, you really have to concentrate on the front. That's the engine that drives the train. Whether we look for someone inside or outside, that's Rod (Marinelli's) call. Anything we can do to make us more explosive, and the coaches are on board. They aren't set that we have to have one thing."
Linebacker: "We don't' have enough bodies (with Pisa Tinoisamoa, Nick Roach, Brian Iwuh and Rod Wilson having expiring contracts)." We like the group we had last year, but we'll have to see how it all transpires."
— Dan Pompei
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Though Ruskell and Angelo are similar philosophically, Ruskell is bringing new ideas to the Bears. For instance, Ruskell sounds interested in moving up in the first round if the opportunity is right. Angelo has traded away draft picks and he has traded down in the first two rounds. But he never has traded up with the Bears.
"I don't have the final call, but I wouldn't have any problems moving up or down if something sounded right," Ruskell said. "If you can get an impact player right now, you have to look at that hard. I have a history of doing that."
In the 2008 draft, Ruskell, then the Seahawks' general manager, had a deal worked out to move from the No. 28 slot in the first round to the No. 15 slot to take running back Jonathan Stewart. As it turned out, Stewart was the Panthers' surprise pick at No. 13.
Ruskell also convinced the Bears to subscribe to the services of National Scouting, which pools information for 22 teams. The Bears had not been affiliated with a scouting service since Angelo severed ties with Blesto in his first year in Chicago. well nice to see at least the possibility og moving up and change in how business is done, we shall see if happens, also like that using blesto again, not that info that much different BUT it tells you how "other teams" using the service is ranking players, so gives more info on who i likely to be targeted when. sort of the "self-fufilling prophecy"
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This sounds really good and like a nice change from the way things were done.
But the proof is in the pudding and we will see on draft day whether it works out or not.
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Originally Posted by
WindyCity 
This sounds really good and like a nice change from the way things were done.
But the proof is in the pudding and we will see on draft day whether it works out or not.
Yep.. but the first step in any solution or betterment is recognizing there is a problem, which the bears have done and taking the steps to correct it, IMO a very good sign
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Originally Posted by
WindyCity This sounds really good and like a nice change from the way things were done.
But the proof is in the pudding and we will see on draft day whether it works out or not.
Yep. They are just saying they could do anything and not tipping their hand as they should. It's saber rattling until draft day.
Arguing on the internet is like winning the special olympics, even if you win your still messed up.
Restore the roar!
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Offensive line: "
We still have some things to figure out, some unanswered questions,
and we'll look both at the draft and free agency." Wide receiver: "We like our group, it's solid. But we'll always look to improve where we can.
Backup quarterback: "We don't have the numbers at the position, so we'll look at it in the draft and free agency to get us back up to speed."
Defensive line: "When you look at that defense and the way we play, you really have to concentrate on the front. That's the engine that drives the train. Whether we look for someone inside or outside, that's Rod (Marinelli's) call. Anything we can do to make us more explosive, and the coaches are on board. They aren't set that we have to have one thing."
Linebacker: "We don't' have enough bodies (with Pisa Tinoisamoa,
Nick Roach, Brian Iwuh and
Rod Wilson having expiring contracts)." We like the group we had last year, but we'll have to see how it all transpires."
— Dan Pompei
Does the bears need more time to figure out that the OL is bad?
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High Fives / Like - 1 BEAR DOWN!, 0 Dislikes
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Originally Posted by
4th and 26 Does the bears need more time to figure out that the OL is bad?
believe it or not some people dont think we have a bad oline...........hell some fans dont just look at all the praise Webb gets lol
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Originally Posted by
motownbear believe it or not some people dont think we have a bad oline...........hell some fans dont just look at all the praise Webb gets lol
Motown, seriously I dont know if anyone that thinks we have 'GOOD" OLINE .. who is saying that?... think some , like me, just do not think its as awful as its portrayed here at times.. doesn't mean good, and needs at least 2 upgrades, BUT that doesn't mean its good.. who here thinks its good? I must have missed that.
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High Fives / Like - 1 BEAR DOWN!, 0 Dislikes
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Originally Posted by
dabears54 well nice to see at least the possibility og moving up and change in how business is done, we shall see if happens, also like that using blesto again, not that info that much different BUT it tells you how "other teams" using the service is ranking players, so gives more info on who i likely to be targeted when. sort of the "self-fufilling prophecy"
I was happy to see that too. With huge needs at both LT and UT and the fact that there are impact players like Liuget and Carimi who appear to be great fits for the Bears I would love to see them move up to get their specific guy rather than taking second best as they've done before.
I think Ruskell is in a position of being able to improve the Bears approach to personnel and hopefully he takes advantage of that. The very fact that he was Angelo's hand picked successor to Gabriel and DePaul says to me that at the very least he should have a strong input on the draft and FA and that he should be listened to. Let's find out whether or not he's a difference maker.
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