Ugh - Bearing Down Indeed

"BERNARD GO BYE BYE IN SKY NOW!"

Well, if Sunday's suckfest taught us anything, it's that this offense wouldn't be any better with Bernard Berrian right now. Not only is Berrian nursing some aches and pains, but I don't think even Devin Hester could catch up to Orton's overthrown passes. Berrian, we miss your time spent in the Grossman era, but having you here does nothing.

Also, Brandon Lloyd made some Orton turds look, well, catchable. I especially like the badly underthrown one (which one was that?) he caught behind his helmet for a big gain. If you were listening to the game on radio (or on TV for you blind readers out there that get the Dong in your daily Braille Mail), all you heard was "look at the great adjustment Lloyd made on that pass by Orton." In English, that means that Lloyd had to change directions in mid-air and backtrack for an underthrown wobbler.

Still, how about that second half line, eh? Aaron Rodgers can suck it!

Bye Bye Berrian

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why you use the franchise tag. In one quick move, Berrian is now a Viking, with $16 million guaranteed. What do we get? Nothing.

Had we gone with the non-exclusive tag, we could have signed Berrian for much less than he just made, and traded him to the Raiders for their first round pick. Or even to the Vikings.

Basically, we just got robbed.

They had better be talking to Briggs right now...

The Moose is Loose

That just about sums it up

If you didn't already hear the news, Muhsin Muhammad was released yesterday. This clears the Bears of nearly $4 million dollars that Moose would have gotten by staying with the team through 2010. This is, however, only half the story. If Moose were a "clubhouse cancer" or "me-first" type player, I would understand the move. Likewise, if Moose were on a team filled with younger players that could outshine him, it would also be logical to move an older player.

The problem is, none of these things are true.

Moose was one of the lone defenders of Grossman during his struggles, and took the work ethic of the receiving corps to new heights. He took most of the blame for any loss upon himself, and finished 2005 and 2006 as the team's leading WR (Berrian took those honors in 2007, but with the offense as dismal as it was, that's nothing to cheer about). Not only was Moose a solid player amid a mess of inconsistencies, but there really isn't anyone else on the squad who can overtake him as the WR1 or WR2 on the depth chart (and they don't want to risk running Hester every play, so don't even try telling me that).

The real reason, I believe, is to better allocate his salary (much like the cut of Fred Miller) into one of three places:

#1. Re-signing Lance Briggs. This is the correct move, as Briggs proved last year that he can be everything Urlacher is and more. With Urlacher having the dreaded neck surgery, Briggs will be more valuable than ever. Give him every penny because, hey, he's earned it. This also allows the Bears to use the unrestricted free agent tag on Berrian (more on that here), netting them some return instead of just letting him walk.

#2. Re-signing Bernard Berrian. While not the best move, it would certainly explain the willingness to part with Moose so hastily. The Bears could then bring in Marty Booker on the cheap, and have a similarly potent 1-2 WR corps for half the price of Moose and Berrian. This, of course, allows Briggs to walk -- not my favorite resolution.

#3. Letting both walk and using the money on something else entirely. Very possible. The Bears have a few players that are now on the chopping block because of money (Griese and Darwin Walker just to name a few), and have expressed interest in bringing back players such as Grossman. It's very possible that a lot of players get shiny new restructured contracts, and the Bears sign only Marty Booker just to fill the gap Moose left.

However this turns out, I think the Bears may have gone into "double edged sword" territory. As much as I won't miss Moose dropping the easy catches (above) or his slowing routes, I will miss his work ethic and consistency.

Here's hoping this one doesn't come back to bite us in the ass...

Book(er) It

You're sending me where?

I always liked Marty Booker -- he was a great receiver with the Bears, and made the loss of Marcus Robinson seem like nothing (much the way the acquisition of Mushin Muhammad was completely negated by Berrian stepping up his game). Then we traded him. The Bears lost Booker and a 3rd round pick (2005) in order to get Ogunleye, and it looked like the passing offense was doomed.

We all know how Ogunleye has turned out -- he's been an absolute monster, and we love him. Booker went to Miami where he was unused, unloved, and generally ignored in favor of Chris Chambers and this year, Ted Ginn Jr. Oh, and that draft pick? Channing Crowder. He's a solid LB, but he'd never start on a team with Urlacher and Briggs. Also, he enjoys driving his truck into trees. Maybe he would be an adequate replacement for Briggs.

This could easily be the Bears' personal "Harold Baines" trade.

Booker has publicly mentioned that he would like to return to the Bears. As he was recently (and unceremoniously) dumped by the Dolphins, it's just a matter of a quick signing to get the job done. Booker is a bit older than I would like (he's turning 32 this year), but he could come very cheap between the off-year and the hometown discount.

What to do with Booker is a different story. We have a lot of young talent (Bradley, Hester, Davis...etc) that should be able to fill in nicely, but we'll have a problem with a bonafide #1. I expect Berrian to be gone this offseason, and I don't know if Mushin Muhammad can really keep the pressure off of another receiver to make this offense function. If we bring in Booker, we have some experience and depth to play with, and maybe someone to open the field like Berrian does (or did).

Or, hey, get Randy Moss.

That's OK with me.

Franchise Tag

Yes, that really is Bernard Berrian

You already know my feelings about what to do with Bernard Berrian, but it seems that thing may have taken a detour now that the Oakland Raiders have shown interest in him. The story goes that the Raiders need a legit WR threat (Ronald Curry can only do so much -- and don't even get me started about what a bust Porter has turned out to be), and that the Bears are probably going to use the Franchise Tag on Berrian instead.

I'll be perfectly honest -- I really didn't have a good understanding of how the tag worked, and odds are that some of you still don't. Here's a quick crash course on what the Franchise Tag is, how it works, and why Berrian will get the non-exclusive tag:

Every year, each NFL team gets ONE Franchise Tag that can be used on any player that is about to become an unrestricted free agent. It's generally used to keep players out of free agency long enough to negotiate a longer contract, or to get an extra year out of a player who deserves a huge raise. We used this trick last year with Lance Briggs (likely gone this year).

There are two types of tags: exclusive, and non-exclusive.

The exclusive tag requires that the contract be equal or higher than the average of the top five salaries at that position of this year, or a 20% raise of their current salary -- whichever is more. In exchange, the Bears get Berrian for another year, and he can't talk to other teams. To do that with Berrian, we're looking at at least $8 million, easy.

The non-exclusive tag is almost the same, except that the contract must be equal to or higher than the previous year in position contracts (or the 20% increase -- whichever is more). This helps offset huge increases in player price -- to put it in baseball terms, imagine having to pay a 3B before A-Rod signed and screwed up the average, or after. It's also why Grossman won't get a tag because his FA price will be much less than the QB average (at least $12 million).

A non-exclusive player can still talk to other teams, but if he gets an offer, the original team is allowed to try and match it. If the original team chooses to not match the offer, they can take two 1st round picks as compensation from the other team.

Now, with that said, what happens to Berrian? If the Bears were to use a tag on him (non-exclusive), he might go to the Raiders anyways. Oakland has been racking up high draft picks for years, and might provide the Bears with some nice 1st round talent (Otah?). Probably the best option for both squads, as the Bears get to retool the line in the draft and the Raiders get an immediate impact player without losing anyone currently on the team.

If, for some reason, the Bears decide to trade Berrian to the Raiders, I can't imagine for what. The Bears "need" a runningback, but why get one from the Raiders? Between Fargas and Jordan, you have two promising guys that can't stay healthy -- and the Raiders probably wouldn't part with Fargas anyways. As bad as our QB situation is, theirs is worse -- I would rather have Orton, Griese, or Grossman than any one of those guys. Their offensive line is filled with downgrades for us, and the same goes for their defensive line. The only possible trade I can see is if the Raiders parted with one of the top players from their secondary -- and that seems unlikely.

Will we see Berrian in a Bears jersey next year? Only time will tell, but don't be surprised if the Bears move him anyways. We have talent in the sure-handed Muhammad, speedy Rashied Davis, and some guy called Devin Hester that we're trying to work into the offense. I envision Hester replacing Berrian in every way -- running fast, dropping the easy catches and making the great ones look easy.

Monopoly Money

If this doesn't cover those paternity suits, I don't know what will!

With $20 million to play with, the Bears could stand to spend some money this offseason -- we have some key contributors that are headed to free agency (Briggs, Berrian), and a perpetually troubling QB deficiency. With the cap increase, the Bears are actually in a position to make some moves. Here are some likely possibilities:

#1. Bears get a QB in the form of Losman, Anderson, or McNabb, and sign them to a long-term deal. Probably the most likely of events, but let's face it -- the problems we have aren't going to get a magic fix just by changing the QB (and these guys aren't much better than Grossman anyways). I think we should roll Grossman/Orton in 08 using a conservative offense and use the money for...

#2. Sign Briggs to whatever the hell contract he wants. I don't care if we dump Benson and Clark to do it -- Briggs has shown that he's worth every penny. He makes the plays, and keeps Urlacher looking like, well, Urlacher. Also, while we're at it, give Mike Brown an extension. This guy has had some bad luck (IR for most of the past three seasons), but when he plays, he makes a world of difference. We don't have anything even close to his skill set, and he might come cheaper after another injury-plagued season.

#3. Let Briggs, Berrian, Grossman and Brown walk. Promote Hester to WR2 (behind Moose), and have him flip/flop with Rasheid Davis. Start Garrett Wolfe at runningback. Use the money to rebuild the offensive line, and lock up key players. Get some depth at the O-Line, and get a new offensive coordinator. With a great pocket, you really have only the QB to blame if you screw up the passing plays -- we can finally gauge some talent.

Then again, all of this means nothing if we (shudder) sign Julius Jones:

"Marion! No! Don't leave me -- take me with you!"

Let's face it -- as bad as our running situation is, Jones is over the hill. He'd be good for MAYBE one season, and then we'd probanly be starting Wolfe anyways (not to mention eating Benson's contract for NOTHING). Let Wolfe start, and put Benson as the 3rd down back -- when we had Thomsa Jones (and a respectable run game), Benson really thrived in that role.

Weekend at Berrian's

"Making catches look easy since 2004"

I like Bernard Berrian. He's fast, can make great plays, and ultimately provides a safety net for Grossman's deep balls (that came out wrong). In the Grossman offense, Berrian is a necessary component. Rex heaves the short balls to Clark, the short-middle to Moose, and everything else to Berrian.

Interestingly, Berrian is a FA at the end of this season. He's on pace for 80 catches and almost 1,100 yards -- big numbers for a Bears receiver, and certainly worthy of the big bucks. In a Grossman offense, he's worth every penny.

Let someone else pay for him.

Call me crazy, but I don't think that retaining Berrian is going to help improve this team -- especially with Grossman on the way out. Hester has shown that he's an explosive offensive force, and he's faster than Berrian. Let him run those streaks with Rasheid Davis. Incorporate Mushin Muhammad into the offense more -- you know, that guy we signed for a huge contract not too long ago? Let's get our money's worth.

As a matter of fact, that style of offense can work. Look at Berrian's numbers when Griese was at the helm -- average of 5 catches for 60 yards and one touchdown over four weeks. Very solid, but nothing absurd. Moose, on the other hand, averaged 3 catches for 35 yards and almost a touchdown a week -- his only three touchdowns of the season came in that four-week span.

Along with Muhammad, Greg Olsen has put up better numbers without Rex, too. In those four weeks, Olsen averaged 4 catches for 40 yards and a 50% chance of scoring a TD. Again, Olsen's only two touchdowns and best games of the season came during the Griese reign. Even Kyle Orton managed to use Hester more on Monday Night than Grossman did all year (Hester can actually run a route that doesn't involve him running in a straight line like he was shot out of a cannon).

I'm not saying that Berrian is bad. I remember watching when Marcus Robinson and Marty Booker left the team, and I missed them dearly. On the other hand, I really think the rest of the team can flourish with multiple receiving threats instead of one. Berrian's best numbers came with the Sex Cannon, and with Rex likely out of town (or at least riding pine), Berrian becomes expendable.

I'll miss you Bernard -- just don't make the mistake those other guys made and go to Miami -- if you need an idea of how their QB situation has looked, Cade McNown was once on that team too.