I can't begin to describe my anger at the fact that this site is blocked at my workplace... yet Myspace continues to go rolling on unchecked. In the home, distractions abound... in the office, a tournament to see who can bounce a foam Progressive truck off the wall and catch it with one hand has become a way of life. But, I still have time to steal Harpo's plan for teams that didn't make the playoffs. The Position by Position Grades.
I guess it should start with the trademark position of their trademark... side of the ball.
Linebackers
Brian Urlacher - I'm probably on the outside on this, in the fact that I've always liked Urlacher and never really found him to be abrasive to the point where I wanted him to fail. Nor have I ever thought him truly over-rated. It's strange how this season, when the defense faltered quite a bit, this whole issue about him not getting many sacks over the past few seasons was a big issue. It wasn't an issue when the defense was great, but it is now? It's just too bad that this back thing is the beginning of the end for him. I think he did lead the team in tackles, and had a good number of interceptions. But, the defense sucked, and he's the guy people think is the leader... so... B-
Lance Briggs - I still think this dude is basically just Roosevelt Colvin with more discipline in zone coverage. The dudes playing next to Urlacher have made millions off tackling dudes running away from him and getting big tackles on hot read backs because of the size zone Urlacher can cover in the middle. Briggs will probably be the best one to leave, but he's not changing anyone's defense, short of fucking up their salary cap. Dude did have a season though... and he came back... and I like car wrecks. B.
Hunter Hillenmeyer - I never could place why this guy made me laugh until Raven's All-Name team that time. I feel this guy can never be fairly rated by me as I always just think of him as the guy who plays because they don't have anyone else, whom I always replace with a rookie after the first draft in Madden. But, it's not like there were any defining plays where he really screwed the pooch this year... so... solid C.
Miscellaneous Others - Of name... Brandon Ayabagingo or whatever is probably the only one who consistently makes an impact with solid special teams play. Making the pro-bowl for special teamer is like a lifetime ticket too... as long as you never try to be more than that. The incumbent advantage is huge. Blame Steve Tasker. As far as the other guys go, Jamar Williams is the dude they leveraged Briggs with, so I'd assume he'll be starting next year... and it should also test the Urlacher theory. Darrell McClover is the last dude they have that I always thought would be better, as he had really good speed coming out of Miami back when that last meant something. B-
Overall: Their defense sucked and it was tough to really say why, but I have a theory that will later be addressed, and part of that theory is not blaming the linebackers for what happened. But, they also didn't do anything to crawl out the C+ range. The sum should be greater than the parts, but it just wasn't this year. Aforementioned C+.
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