Wake up, Bears: Target Mendenhall, not OT
Forget safe play at tackle; local kid's the back to make offense go
Maybe I'm mistaken, but to have a running game, it helps to actually have a running back. The Bears own no such creature, unless we're counting Cedric (Three Yards and a Cloud of Bust) Benson -- and I'm not. Without a ballcarrier, they're placing ungodly pressure on Rex Grossman or Kyle Orton to stimulate the offense, a daunting thought in and of itself and even scarier considering there are better wide receivers in Lincoln Park weekend leagues.
The good news is that a solution is in our midst, right there in the northern suburbs, where Rashard Mendenhall will sit in his living room Saturday and wait for a call from his hometown team. Last we saw him, in the Rose Bowl, he was thrashing through the NFL-style defense of the USC Trojans, flashing enough doses of power and speed for Illinois that opposing coach Pete Carroll raved about him as much as his own victorious team. Some very sophisticated football men think Mendenhall will be a better back than Darren McFadden, whom Bears general manager Jerry Angelo calls the best player in the draft.
(AP file)
Wake up, Bears: Target Mendenhall, not OT
So ... local kid ... Illini product ... knows coordinator Ron Turner's system ... no character issues ... respectful and humble ... stock on the rise -- isn't this a natural choice if he remains available at No. 14 in the league's annual meat-on-the-hoof, vertical-leap-and-hip-swivel parade?
"The Bears did feel like home, maybe because it was home. It felt good," Mendenhall said of meeting Lovie Smith and the Halas Hall crowd. "I know everybody around me wants it to happen. I think it would be pretty cool. Chicago was my favorite team growing up, and I love the city of Chicago. Lovie is one of the best guys I've ever met in my life."
Ah, but with the good news, there tends to be bad news when it comes to Angelo's scattershot drafting history. Unless a GM with no detectable track record of bluffing suddenly is playing poker, Angelo would prefer taking an offensive tackle with his first-round pick and wait until later rounds to snag a running back. This is classic, in-the-trenches thinking in a year when the best tackles will go quickly and running backs are said to be plentiful in the top three rounds. But while I'm sure Jeff Otah, Chris Williams and Ryan Clady have their charms, Angelo thought the same thing about the last offensive lineman he drafted, Marc Colombo, who faded away amid injuries before resurfacing in Dallas. And I seem to recall a ceritifiable bust named Stan Thomas, a would-be savior up front in 1991 until Mike Ditka let the world know that Thomas was the boneheaded selection of one Michael McCaskey, who never should have been allowed within two zip codes of a war room.
Yes, the Bears have had a rotten streak with first-round running backs, too. Curtis Enis, Rashaan Salaam and Benson belong on the league's all-time list of draft busts, with all sharing immaturity and concentation lapses as character flaws. But anyone who has been around Mendenhall realizes he has no such problems and knows he already is talking wisely about how he'll invest his early fortune, which will include a signing bonus of around $15 million. Angelo sounds prepared to gamble and draft a runner later, saying of the lineman/back quandary, "If you said both players are needs, then obviously you want to take the best player. You look at what the second tier at that position will offer you, and sometimes that makes your decision. If you feel like you can get a player, maybe not of that value but close to that value, and he'll be there in the second or third round, [and] the other player you look and you're really falling off the cliff, then that becomes the tiebreaker."
But having already missed badly on Grossman and Benson -- at the two most vital positions on any offense -- Angelo owes it to Bears fans to keep trying to fix those black holes. The man is in denial, continuing to believe Grossman or Orton can win a Super Bowl when a 10-year-old in the stands knows better. The offense, without a proven playmaker beyond a raw Devin Hester on the flank, desperately needs immediate bullets. Angelo could have filled the running-back need by spending some of his ample salary-cap money on Michael Turner, who probably would have preferred his native Chicago to Atlanta if only the Bears had produced an offer. Instead, Halas Hall is stuck with several offensive holes to fill Saturday, and if Angelo's previous six drafts are a general indication, he'll succeed defensively and miss offensively.
If the Bears like Mendenhall and think he'll be a productive starter for the next six years, then, by all means, take him and find your tackle later. And if it means trading up a couple of spots to get him, fine. The running backs who will be available in the second and third round all have "buts" beside their accolades. Ray Rice? Lacks a breakaway burst and is just 5-9. Matt Forte? Not elusive, played against suspect competition at Tulane. Tashard Choice? Not a burner. Jamaal Charles? Maybe not an every-down back. Chris Johnson? Fast, but might have durability issues. The best back is McFadden, whose well-chronicled character issues could push him to the Jets at No. 6, followed by Mendenhall and workhorse Jonathan Stewart, who should be there at No. 14 if Mendenhall is gone.
It's time for Angelo to walk on the wild side, take some high risks for the sake of high reward. The Minnesota Vikings, clearly the favorites in the NFC North, traded three high draft picks for sackmaster Jared Allen and now have a monstrous defensive line. And even without Brett Favre, the Packers are decidedly better than the Bears. Conservatism might work when a team is on the rise, but the Bears are in decline and ache for a difference-maker. Jeff Otah isn't an instant difference-maker. Rashard Mendenhall might be.
The Bears like Matt Ryan, but the draft's best quarterback probably wll be taken by Atlanta at No. 3. They're also said to be intrigued by Chad Henne and might select the Michigan man if he's still available in the second round. But if they take a lineman and a quarterback, then the running back has to wait until the third round or later. Which means Benson, coming off a leg problem and still nursing an attitude problem, would remain the lead back, no doubt because Angelo can't admit his colossal error in drafting him fourth in 2005 and paying him more than $22 million so far.
Let's hope -- pray -- that he doesn't have interest in Shaun Alexander. Ever see a franchise player erode so quickly? Worn down by injuries, 2,400 career carries and a soft reputation, the former All-Pro back was dumped by Seattle. If people think Benson is a sluggish head case, Alexander would drive you to drink. He can't block. He isn't a good pass receiver. He falls or runs out of bounds on contact. Jamal Lewis may have revived his career in Cleveland last season, but Alexander cannot.
Less than 15 months removed from a Super Bowl that I'm not sure ever happened, the Bears are at an organizational crossroads. Between Brian Urlacher's attempted salary grab and other issues, this team might not see a winning season for some time. A football town needs an injection of hope, a reason to get jacked.
And Joltin' Jerry is going to serve you by taking a tackle.
Blah.
