Thread: Bears need McClellin to become force as 3rd defensive end

Originally Posted by BigBadPapaBear

Very interesting points my man.

The one thing that has me concerned about Shea is that he looks like he needs to spend a heck of a lot more time in the gym.

Yeah, when you look at him compaired to some of the other prospects that were taken in the mid to late 1st round Shea does not stand out as a physical specimen. However, it is like competing in a tournament with a golfer who has an unusual or ugly swing. You can say all you want, but at the end of the day your most likely going to find out the reason you were paired up to begin with.

One of Emery's comments after the selection was on how he really began to stand out
once they started breaking down tape from college. Shea moves well, he has good instincts, and it is not very often he will take 6 steps when 4 is required. He is also quicker and more athletic than he looks. From what I understand, McClellin changed his weight about 12 lbs. from senior bowl to combine; showing that his body can respond and he is willing to put in the work when required. He is being advertised at 6'3" and 260 lbs. with 32 3/4" arm length so he's still a big boy. He is was not blessed with Jason Pierre-Paul or Julius Peppers size, but that is known.

His strength was a low point of the combine, so your point is not lost. Is that where his productivity hits the wall at the next level? I'm not sure how much weight to place in the gym. One thing I do know is that the Bears did not need to draft another Vernon Gholston.

On the College game I'm not worried about comments of BSU strength of schedule (McClellin played will in the big games), I have been thinking about the overall strength on thier defensive line, four DL players made it into the NFL. Now is that something that would have him looking better than deserved, or is that something Shea should be credited for?

I'm a Shea Nut (see avatar) so I'm exited to find out how things pan out.

Edited 7-27-12 because I was listening to Coach Pete talk during an interview during Mtn. West Media Days. Five Players from that D Line are getting paid and participating in NFL training camps, impresive.

Originally Posted by bearsinhouston

I'm still worried about Shea until I see him disrupting plays in the preseason. I just can't help wondering...
What would the Bears have done if they had done a deal with Forte right before the draft. Would they have had enough cap room to lure Mario Williams without breaking the piggy bank? Would Williams have picked Chicago if the money were closer? Would Emery have gone with one of the OL studs that was still on the board?

If I remember right, the previous offer to Forte was at about that time frame indicating that they might have been trying to clear cap before the draft. If Mario was the reason, I have no way of knowing, but all still intriguing. Of course, it doesn't matter in the least, but still....

Once I saw what Buffalo gave MWill I knew we couldn't even come close. The kind of money we would have had tied up at DE between him and Pep wouldn't have choked us too many other places. He would have given us another monster size DE opposite Pep but neither of them are sack machines in the same vein as Jared Allen or DeMarcus Ware. Pep and MWill average about 10 sacks per year vs about twice that for Allen and Ware but they're both better all around players and the get a lot of pressures that still disrupt passing games.

There's no way between Izzy and McClellin we don't get more than 10 sacks out of the LDE spot and I can see the extra help maybe adding a couple more for Pep and the DT's. McClellin should be able to get 8-10 himself and Izzy another 5 so we go from 5 sacks to maybe as many as 15 out of LDE without handing out a $100 mil deal to get them.

I think the difference maker was not getting Mincey who was affordable. He was ready to come to the Bears when at the last minute Jax kind of matched the deal and he stayed put. Maybe he likes warm weather and lots of insects. If we'd have signed Mincey I could see where we may have drafted DeCastro instead but as much as we wanted it and as much as it was rumored that he was interested I don't think we could have even gotten close to what MWill got money wise.

The wisdom of rebuilding or upgrading on the fly Bears style is becoming pretty apparent now. We covered a lot of bases without overspending on any one position which allowed us to acquire outside talent and keep our own. If you look at all of the signings both others and our own it's pretty astonishing they got all that done and still have cap space left where other teams could do little or had to release key guys to get under the cap. Here's a list as best I can recall.

Kellen Davis - Starting TE (our own FA)
Tim Jennings - Starting CB (our own FA)
Craig Steltz - Backup Safety/Core ST (our own FA)
Izzy Idonije - Rotational DE (our own FA)
Kahil Bell - Backup RB (our own RFA)
Eric Weems - KOR/WR/ST Gunner (new FA)
Blake Costanzo - Core ST (new FA)
Jason Campbell - Backup QB (new FA)
Michael Bush - Backup/Rotational RB (new FA)
Nate Collins - Backup/Rotational DT (new FA)
Matt Forte - Starting RB (our own FA)
Kelvin Hayden - Backup CB (new FA)
Geno Hayes - Backup/Starting LB (new FA)
Brandon Marshall - Starting WR (in trade)
John McCargo - Backup DT (new FA)
Cheta Ozougwu - Backup DE (new FA)
DeMario Pressley - Backup DE (new FA)
Chilo Rachal - Backup OG (new FA)
Devin Thomas - KOR/WR/ST Gunner (new FA)
Jonathan Wilhite - Backup CB/NB (new FA)

That was a pretty good job of holding onto our own key guys while at the same time bringing in some vet upgrades and competition most of which couldn't have happened had we signed MWill. I'm disappointed we couldn't make it work but we simply didn't have the kind of money to burn that teams who have underspent their cap for several years did. So we lost out on a couple of very top tier guys but we added to our depth and our core across the board and those guys are just as important if not more important to winning a championship I think.