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Bears Sign 7 After Tryouts, QB Matt Blanchard is One.QB Blanchard among 7
QB Blanchard among 7 players signed by Bears
 Wide receiver Alson Jeffery, QB Matt Blanchard with QB coach Jeremy Bates. (Phil Velasquez / Tribune Photo / May 13, 2012) |
By Brad Biggs, Tribune reporter 5:07 p.m. CDT, May 13, 2012
The Bears liked what they saw in their draft picks, saw glimpses from their undrafted free agents and were intrigued enough by some tryout players to offer contracts.
The club announced that seven of the 34 players who were in rookie minicamp over the weekend on a tryout basis have agreed to terms on three-year contracts, including Wisconsin-Whitewater quarterback Matt Blanchard.
Blanchard, who led Wisconsin-Whitewater to consecutive national championships, looked solid in training camp as did Indiana State quarterback Ronnie Fouch, who will not be signed.
"Oh man, they were students of the game," quarterbacks coach Jeremy Bates said. "They took the meeting room and came out here and on a short term basis and played football and executed well. It was fun to watch these guys."
Unofficially, the Bears had 87 players on the roster so some moves will likely have to be made to fit the seven newcomers under the 90-man limit. Also signing will be Texas Southern wide receiver Joseph Anderson, Illinois State tight end Brandon Venson, Concordia tackle Tyler Hendrickson, Central Florida guard Nick Pieschel, Boston College punter Ryan Quigley and Connecticut kicker David Teggart.
The expansion of roster limits from 80 to 90 will more easily allow teams to take players like Quigley and Teggart to training camp as "camp legs" that take some of the pressure off regulars Adam Podlesh and Robbie Gould.
"When you start a camp like this, you're anxious to see what you have as far as the new guys are concerned," coach Lovie Smith said. "Our draft picks were pretty much what we thought they would be. All of them stood out some time during the camp. Some of the undrafted players made their mark.
"But the group of tryout guys that came here without a contract, I'm always anxious to see what we have from those and a few of the guys really made us take notice. This was an excellent group of guys that hopefully can contribute in some way to us."
The Bears will continue the voluntary offseason workout program Monday at Halas Hall and then OTA's kick off beginning May 21, affording coaches with a better chance to evaluate players. The rookies are eligible to compete in the workouts.
bmbiggs@tribune.com
Twitter @BradBiggs
Copyright © 2012, Chicago Tribune
I'm getting to that age where a lifetime warranty just doesn't mean as much to me anymore as an afternoon nap. 
Honey Badger Don't Care. Honey Badger Don't Give a Shit.
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I'm very glad to see them keep Blanchard around. I watched him play in those Div III playoffs and he has pro skills and a pro arm.
Enderle did nothing to impress me last preseason and I think he's the absolute wrong type of QB for the Bears. I'm hoping Blanchard might stick as a developmental guy and then become a backup or 3rd string by next year. Both McCown and Campbell are only one one year deals.
I'm getting to that age where a lifetime warranty just doesn't mean as much to me anymore as an afternoon nap. Honey Badger Don't Care. Honey Badger Don't Give a Shit.
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I'm perfectly happy keeping our QB hierarchy as status quo for now. We have one of the deeper QB hierarchies in the league right now; let's not change that.
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Originally Posted by
Dagan81 
I'm perfectly happy keeping our QB hierarchy as status quo for now. We have one of the deeper QB hierarchies in the league right now; let's not change that.
Not likely that Blanchard would be anymore than a PS developmental guys Dags and to even do that he would need to beat out Enderle, which actually shouldn't be that hard. I'm looking at him for 2013 and beyond as a potential backup not 2012.
I'm getting to that age where a lifetime warranty just doesn't mean as much to me anymore as an afternoon nap. Honey Badger Don't Care. Honey Badger Don't Give a Shit.
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Originally Posted by
soulman Not likely that Blanchard would be anymore than a PS developmental guys Dags and to even do that he would need to beat out Enderle, which actually shouldn't be that hard. I'm looking at him for 2013 and beyond as a potential backup not 2012.
I really don't get your Enderle hate. And please no more of the "mobile passers are the present and future" stuff, make a list of the top 10 QBs in the league and you'll see a list of guys who make 99% of their money between the tackles. He may not run a 4.5, but he stood rather fearlessly in the pocket and delivered some really strong throws for us in his limited time last PS. I'm willing to give him a chance at developing.
Blanchard has some nice tools, but I have never seen him spin the ball in a game so I can't really comment on him. All I know is that he has plus mobility, accuracy and decision making (in D3) to go along with question marks surrounding his arm and ability to make NFL throws.
Last edited by lklrlolnlilklsox; 05-13-2012 at 11:14 PM.
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High Fives / Like - 1 BEAR DOWN!, 0 Dislikes
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Originally Posted by
soulman Not likely that Blanchard would be anymore than a PS developmental guys Dags and to even do that he would need to beat out Enderle, which actually shouldn't be that hard. I'm looking at him for 2013 and beyond as a potential backup not 2012.
I was talking about keeping Josh McCown on the roster, not Nathan Enderle. I like having McCown as our third string QB. He did pretty well against the Packers and the Vikings considering the fact the offensive line simply failed him. I know from what I've read for the past month that Blanchard would make a fine backup at least on the practice squad.
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Originally Posted by
lklrlolnlilklsox I really don't get your Enderle hate. And please no more of the "mobile passers are the present and future" stuff, make a list of the top 10 QBs in the league and you'll see a list of guys who make 99% of their money between the tackles. He may not run a 4.5, but he stood rather fearlessly in the pocket and delivered some really strong throws for us in his limited time last PS. I'm willing to give him a chance at developing.
Blanchard has some nice tools, but I have never seen him spin the ball in a game so I can't really comment on him. All I know is that he has plus mobility, accuracy and decision making (in D3) to go along with question marks surrounding his arm and ability to make NFL throws.
What sox, I heard that the NFL was slowly transitioning to the Triple Option out of the wishbone (Oklahoma/Texas/Alabama style), flexbone (Air Force, Georgia Tech), Power I (Nebraska), and the plain-Jane I-Formations (Ohio State and Michigan back in the 1960s/1970s/1980s). If that's the case, then I agree with soul in that the mobile quarterback is the wave of the future!
To be something other than facetious, I will say that you are wrong in your assessment that mobile quarterbacks aren't "the bee's knees." Look at the newest crop of successful quarterbacks in the league from the past fifteen years (Peyton Manning, who does scramble around in the pocket on designed roll outs and boot leg patterns and has done so since his college days at Tennessee; Donovan McNabb; Michael Vick; Aaron Rodgers; Jay Cutler; Cam Newton; and now Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III, who were both drafted this year) and see for yourself the growing trend of scrambling quarterbacks. Hell, go back further and look at Fran Tarkentan and Steve Young. Sure, there weren't nearly as many solid scrambling quarterbacks twenty-five to fifty years ago, but it's been a slowly growing trend in the National Football League for quite sometime now.
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Originally Posted by
Dagan81 What sox, I heard that the NFL was slowly transitioning to the Triple Option out of the wishbone (Oklahoma/Texas/Alabama style), flexbone (Air Force, Georgia Tech), Power I (Nebraska), and the plain-Jane I-Formations (Ohio State and Michigan back in the 1960s/1970s/1980s). If that's the case, then I agree with soul in that the mobile quarterback is the wave of the future!
To be something other than facetious, I will say that you are wrong in your assessment that mobile quarterbacks aren't "the bee's knees." Look at the newest crop of successful quarterbacks in the league from the past fifteen years (Peyton Manning, who does scramble around in the pocket on designed roll outs and boot leg patterns and has done so since his college days at Tennessee; Donovan McNabb; Michael Vick; Aaron Rodgers; Jay Cutler; Cam Newton; and now Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III, who were both drafted this year) and see for yourself the growing trend of scrambling quarterbacks. Hell, go back further and look at Fran Tarkentan and Steve Young. Sure, there weren't nearly as many solid scrambling quarterbacks twenty-five to fifty years ago, but it's been a slowly growing trend in the National Football League for quite sometime now.
Peyton's mobility is MAYBE a five foot halo in the pocket. What he does better than anyone is sense the pressure and know his pocket and where to step to. Great pocket mobility, but he moves about as well as my metal-hipped grandpa outside of it. Just because he has those awesome tap dancing happy feet doesn't change the fact that he would get caught by the slowest DT in the league one step outside of his tackles. Vick blows, Luck and RG3 have yet to prove a damn thing in this league, and McNabb and Rodgers both spin/spun the ball in the pocket first and foremost regardless of their ability to escape it and make plays.
Manning, Manning, Brees, Brady, Rivers, Ryan, Schaub. All QB's who almost exclusively do their work between their tackles. Big Ben and Rodgers make, extend and change plays with their mobility, and that's great -- but they still do the vast majority of their passing inside the pocket. I'll say it again, you throw the ball with success in the pocket and you can play in this league -- period. Having the whole package at QB is great, but great QBs come in all shapes, sizes and athletic abilities.
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Originally Posted by
lklrlolnlilklsox Peyton's mobility is MAYBE a five foot halo in the pocket. What he does better than anyone is sense the pressure and know his pocket and where to step to. Great pocket mobility, but he moves about as well as my metal-hipped grandpa outside of it. Just because he has those awesome tap dancing happy feet doesn't change the fact that he would get caught by the slowest DT in the league one step outside of his tackles. Vick blows, Luck and RG3 have yet to prove a damn thing in this league, and McNabb and Rodgers both spin/spun the ball in the pocket first and foremost regardless of their ability to escape it and make plays.
Manning, Manning, Brees, Brady, Rivers, Ryan, Schaub. All QB's who almost exclusively do their work between their tackles. Big Ben and Rodgers make, extend and change plays with their mobility, and that's great -- but they still do the vast majority of their passing inside the pocket. I'll say it again, you throw the ball with success in the pocket and you can play in this league -- period. Having the whole package at QB is great, but great QBs come in all shapes, sizes and athletic abilities.
I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.
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Originally Posted by
lklrlolnlilklsox I really don't get your Enderle hate. And please no more of the "mobile passers are the present and future" stuff, make a list of the top 10 QBs in the league and you'll see a list of guys who make 99% of their money between the tackles. He may not run a 4.5, but he stood rather fearlessly in the pocket and delivered some really strong throws for us in his limited time last PS. I'm willing to give him a chance at developing.
Blanchard has some nice tools, but I have never seen him spin the ball in a game so I can't really comment on him. All I know is that he has plus mobility, accuracy and decision making (in D3) to go along with question marks surrounding his arm and ability to make NFL throws.
I wasn't impressed with Enderle or his game sox and I doubt I'll see anymore from him that would change my mind. He's big and he has a decent arm but so did Jonathan Quinn. How'd he work out for us? If you listen to what Tice and Bates have planned offensively then the answer of why he doesn't fit lives there. He's not mobile enough to run the offense they intend to run. That doesn't mean he may not work elsewhere but I would take it to mean that he may not work so well here.
I did watch Blanchard play in the Div III playoffs and the kid is a natural QB. He's smart, he's mobile, he's fearless, he connects with his receivers and he knows how to win games. At that level he's proven himself not once but twice. About 30 years ago we drafted a guy with some of those same traits but he also had question marks surrounding his arm strength and his ability to make all the throws. We won a Super Bowl behind him.
I'm just talking about a developmental guy here not our heir apparent to Cutler which I don't see Enderle as having any chance of being anyway. So the two of them compete and may the best man win. For my part I'll be pulling for Blanchard since I think he's more of a fit. JMHO.
I'm getting to that age where a lifetime warranty just doesn't mean as much to me anymore as an afternoon nap. Honey Badger Don't Care. Honey Badger Don't Give a Shit.
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