I always love when newspapers do the thing before the Super Bowl where they rank each team's players from 1-53. Well, the Bears bloggers just took a stab at it over at espn.com/chicago, and I think they screwed it up pretty badly. Jay Cutler at No. 1? Robbie Gould all the way down in the 30s? Um, sorry guys, but this is insane.
Here are my corrected rankings of the Bears, top to bottom. Where I disagree with the ESPN guys, I will note their ranking.
1. Lance Briggs (3)
2. Julius Peppers
3. Jay Cutler (1)
4. Brian Urlacher
5. Tommie Harris
6. Charles Tillman (7)
7. Devin Hester (9)
8. Robbie Gould (33)
9. Olin Kreutz (6)
10. Chris Williams
Briggs is the rock of this team and the emerging leader of the defense. Cutler still has a lot to prove. Urlacher and Kreutz are on the decline and may be overrated this high, while rating Robbie "Good As" Gould at 33 was an absolute travesty - he has been easily one of the best Bears over the last several years.
11. Matt Forte
12. Chester Taylor (14)
13. Chris Harris
14. Israel Idonije (29)
15. Greg Olsen
16. Johnny Knox (12)
17. Devin Aromashodu (21)
18. Josh Beekman
19. Nick Roach (19)
20. Anthony Adams (23)
Idonije is a stalwart on this Bears team -- he hasn't been *just* a special teamer for years, and even when he was, he was still crucial. It's great to have Chris Harris back. Adams' play was underrated last year.
21. Earl Bennett (25)
22. Roberto Garza (16)
23. Zach Bowman (8)
24. Desmond Clark (22)
25. Brad Maynard (40)
26. Frank Omiyale (17)
27. Mark Anderson (24)
28. Pisa Tinoisamoa (19)
29. Hunter Hillenmeyer (31)
30. Patrick Mannelly (53)
Again, the ESPN guys undervalue special teams. I had to bump Mannelly and Maynard, they've been great for the Bears for years. I dropped Bowman because although he's talented, he has gotten hurt way too often. The kid's gotta start more than a few games in a row before I'm ready to have much confidence in him.
31. Kevin Shaffer (35)
32. Corey Wootton (42)
33. Danieal Manning (27)
34. Major Wright (26)
35. Corey Graham (39)
36. Rashied Davis (50)
37. Caleb Hanie (30)
38. Marcus Harrison (32)
39. Brandon Manumaleuna (28)
40. Al Afalava (54)
These are a lot of guys who will either end up having to start a game or three at some point, or make a surprise impact, or excel on special teams. As for the rest of the roster, other guys I think can contribute include...
41. Tim Shaw (38)
42. Tim Jennings (41)
43. J'Marcus Webb (57)
44. Jarron Gilbert (36)
45. Kellen Davis (37)
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I couldn't believe that they had Henry Melton ranked lower than Eric Peterman (wr). If you're asking who the hell is Peterman, I was too, and still am. It was as if they got someone who knew nothing about the Bears, or the NFL for that matter, and had them pick the players based on who they have heard of. Eric Peterman being from Seinfeld, logically was above Melton (was Elaine's boss named Eric Peterman?).
ReplyDeleteEric Peterman played wide receiver for Northwestern and was a starter (and beast) during the Alamo Bowl year - he was on the practice squad all last season. Of course, I would know that.
ReplyDeleteMelton is a Project - fullback/de/dt? what is he? if he was really that good at any, wouldn't he be playing?
Honestly, I have Peterman ranked ahead of Juaquin Iglesias in my personal WR Ratings. Though Freddie Barnes is the key - only one of those three guys will make the team, if any of 'em do.
Yeah, the guy who made the list seemed like he was ranking the Bears most important players not the best. I love me some olin kruetz, but after the move to LT, Williams was far and away our best OL last year.
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying Melton is that good at DE (which I think is his position). But unlike Peterman he made the 53 man roster. Unlike Peterman he was drafted too. So, knowing nothing more than that, we can assume he is more valuable to the Bears organization.
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