Thread: Phil Emery Reflection/Assessment

Good observations by Casserly on Forte. I just can't envision DeCastro or Reiff lasting to #19 as we've said before.

Bears’ Emery off to awfully good start

Bears GM Phil Emery gets passing grades for his work so far. Associated Press

By Bob LeGere



In the first 10 days of the league season, in his first season as a general manager, Phil Emery orchestrated a flurry of activity in his initial effort to close the talent gap between the Bears and their NFC North competition in Green Bay and Detroit. That was the mandate from Bears president and CEO Ted Phillips when he fired Jerry Angelo and hired Emery in January.




“We intend to compete next year,” Phillips said the day he fired Angelo. “(The) decision was made that we need to keep up the pace with our division rivals. We want to close that talent gap.”


So far, so good. Most of the early returns have been positive; some fans are practically giddy. But no one believes that Emery’s work is completed.


Brandon Marshall, while he comes with a buyer-beware tag, elevates the Bears’ passing offense to a level not seen in the Lovie Smith era. Jay Cutler and Marshall both made the Pro Bowl when they collaborated for two full seasons in Denver.


Both are better, more experienced players now. Marshall cost the Bears just two third-round picks, and the $27.5 million he’s due over the next three years is about $2 million a year less than Tampa Bay will pay Vincent Jackson, who is a year older. Jackson has three 1,000-yard seasons; Marshall has five in a row. In that time, Jackson has 4,242 yards, while Marshall has 5,938, and he leads in receptions 474-242. Marshall has 32 TD catches, 1 more than Jackson. (Passing game takes a giant leap forward as a result of this move. Now let's just hope he's turned the corner on his behavioral issues)


Unrestricted free agent Michael Bush is the best backup running back on the Bears’ roster since Cedric Benson played behind Thomas Jones in 2006. Incumbent starter, franchise player and world-class whiner Matt Forte may not think picking up Bush was a good idea. But he was arguably the best back on the market, and he gives the Bears peace of mind if Forte gets hurt or decides he’s too insulted by his $7.742 million salary to come to work. (Bush was a need, not a want and Forte should realize the fact that this may well extend his top productivity a couple of years. At the rate he was being used he'd have been lucky to last two more years at his peak)


With the addition of quarterback Jason Campbell and the re-signing of Josh McCown behind Cutler, the Bears’ backup quarterbacks have a combined 103 NFL starts, 70 by Campbell, who was a starter in each of the past five seasons.


Considering the Bears averaged 26.8 points in the 10 games that Jay Cutler played and scored 30 or more in six of them, the team may finally have an offense that the defense can be proud of.


Cutler, though, won’t stay healthy and he won’t have time to get the ball to Marshall unless the offensive line improves. No talent has been added in an area that was a sore spot in 2011. The expected return of last year’s first-round pick, Gabe Carimi, will help. But more help is needed before the O-line can be considered a playoff-caliber unit. (No matter what they may be saying about the Oline not being a priority something needs to be done to upgrade and create more competition. FA had no answers this year and the draft has it's limits as far as expecting immediate help so Tice has to hope coaching and the benefits of playing together coupled with Carimi's return boost their performance. This is a pivot point for the offense)


Improvements at the skill positions will be undermined if the guys up front don’t perform at a higher level.
The Bears also lack a proven pass-catching tight end, a position that has become an effective weapon for most of the other teams in the NFL over the past few seasons. (Every team lacks one until a guy or guys they have on the roster step forward. Who heard of Jermichael Finley until two or three years ago, or Rob Gronkowski before the Pats drafted him. Davis has Gronkowski like size and skills)


The Bears need to realize that throwing to the tight end isn’t a fad that will go away. Emery re-signed incumbent Kellen Davis, hopefully with the intention of having him catch more than 18 passes this season. Five of those receptions went for touchdowns,so maybe Davis is the guy who can give the Bears a tight end weapon that other teams have utilized. The best way to find out is by throwing him the ball. (Does anyone else think that not throwing more to a guy who converts catches into scores as well as Davis has done has to be one of the most idiotic missteps of Martz's entire tenure as OC?)


The defense hasn’t gotten any better yet. Re-signing unrestricted defensive end Israel Idonije helps maintain the status quo, but it doesn’t help the pass rush, which was a weakness last season. There’s not much left in free agency, so any pass-rush improvement, and any help for the O-line help will have to come from the draft at the end of April. (I see this as his final challenge and in the Bears defense it's a very important one. We didn't upgrade anything as far as pass coverage is concerned so it has to come from the draft and the possibility that Wootton or someone else on the roster steps up. This year will most likely be Wootton's last chance to prove himself so let's hope he can stay healthy)


That’s where the pressure will really be on Emery to outdo his predecessor. “Obviously we want to do better in the early parts of the draft,” Phillips said back in January. Closing the gap depends on it. (With three picks in the top 100 players he should be able to get at least one good starter and two contributors out of the first three rounds.)

Originally Posted by short faced bear

Good observations by Casserly on Forte. I just can't envision DeCastro or Reiff lasting to #19 as we've said before.

I don't see it either shorty but we didn't see Carimi lasting until of pick last year yet he did. Casserly's draft has Coples going to the Bills but after signing both MWill and Anderson that probably won't happen. DeCastro is such a sure thing that OG or not I just can't see him slipping far out of the top 10. Same with Reiff. He's a guy who could actually come in and start day one at LT and by years end you'd have that spot locked up for 10 years.

If either of those guy were there it would be real tough to pass on them but I don't really think that will be a concern. I think Coples will be gone too so I'm betting it comes down to Mercilus or Perry on one and maybe we pick up some Oline help in two or three. With the combination of players we enhanced the offense with and a restructuring of the whole offensive approach I think the line will look better anyway. There are probably few teams whose lines could have done all that much better working in that system last year.

Originally Posted by motownbear

It could be cause okoye is in Africa right now but idk if that fact makes me comfortable enough to think when he comes back he is a bear

Didn't know that. Can't Emery bang him out an offer on some tribal drums?

Originally Posted by BigBadPapaBear

Damn, he's gonna need to pack some weight on again before camp starts. Does anyone know if Nigeria has applied for an NFL franchise or is there any rumors floating around that have the Rams relocating there?