Will the Bears make any trades on the first day of the draft?
— Mashun T. Walls, from Facebook
I would highly doubt it. There are two reasons why it is improbable the Bears will move into the first or second round. The first is they don’t have the trade ammunition unless they want to give up their first round pick next year. I can’t see that happening. Going three straight years without a first round pick would not be very pragmatic. The second reason is there is not a prospect in the draft within their range who they believe without a doubt could make a difference on their team this year. So why trade up? They should be able to find a player in the third round who can help. It’s a deep draft.
— Steven Ferrell
Guards, almost by definition, are better run blockers than pass protectors. And really, every system demands that the guards be more proficient at run blocking while the tackles be more proficient at pass blocking. So I have no doubt many of the guards in the draft would be very nice fits in Mike Martz’ offense. It’s the tackles that are the biggest concern in a Martz offense.
Have the Bears ever had the first pick of the draft? If so, who was it? — Tim Miller, Endwell, N.Y.
The last time the Bears had the first pick in the draft was 63 years ago, and they only have picked first twice. In 1941, they chose halfback Tom Harmon, who never played for them. And in 1947, they chose halfback Bob Fenimore, who played one year and gained 189 yards.
The best Bears free safety on the roster is Charles Tillman (a cornerback) — why on earth not make this position change now? — Jeffrey J, Des Moines, IA
I share your belief that Tillman would make a very good free safety. But there is one problem with moving him — who is going to play cornerback? It’s not like the Bears have a surplus at the corner position, which arguably is more important than the free safety position. For the Bears to move Tillman, they would have to acquire a corner who is at least equal to Tillman from a skills perspective, and then they would have to acquire another corner who isn’t far behind. It’s probably easier to find a free safety.
Is Craig Steltz the favorite to be the starter at strong safety this year? I think he should be given every opportunity to start given that both Payne and Afalava started for almost a full season each and apparently didn’t impress enough for the coaches. I remember when he was drafted Mel Kiper said Steltz reminded him of Doug Plank. Do you see that and do you think he can be an above-average starter in the league?— David Littlebone, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Bears coaches rate Steltz as one of their top two safeties at the moment — at which position is less clear. But from what I’ve been hearing they want to see him at free safety. Steltz did a nice job when he played late in the season. He has good instincts and he does not make mental mistakes very often. He also is a big hitter — hence the comparison to Plank. But I don’t believe he has the speed, range and coverage skills the Bears need in a free safety. That’s why they still are looking. Eventually, maybe he settles in at strong. The bottom line is we have not yet seen enough of Steltz to really know what he can or can’t be.
Do you think that the Bears will wait till June 1st to make a move for safety O.J. Atogwe? I feel like just adding his energy to to our defense would cause others to step up. Am I wrong? — Brandon, Woodside, NY
I have been an advocate of signing Atogwe since the start of free agency. But I don’t think the chances of it happening are very good. I believe the Bears hope to fill their safety need in the draft. I suppose it’s possible that if the draft breaks wrong and they don’t get the safety they want, they will have to revisit the free agent market. But the problem with Atogwe is he’s going to be pretty expensive — and the Bears probably have already made all the big investments they are going to make in 2010.
I have a follow up question on your response last week regarding Hester and the return game. If we accept the logic of having Hester only handle one part of the return game, why punts instead of kickoffs? To me, kickoff returns give Hester a better opportunity to make a major impact because you can’t take him out of the game by kicking out of bounds or forcing a fair catch. Also, a kickoff returner usually has time to build up speed and set up blockers. Of course, unless a game is high scoring, there are fewer kickoff return opportunities but it still seems to me that Hester would have far more opportunities to return kickoffs for touchdowns than punts. What are your thoughts on that? — Marc Blumer, Chicago
At his best, Hester was a better punt returner than he was a kick returner. In 2006 and 2007, the two years when he was a rock star return man, he scored seven punt return touchdowns on 89 returns and four kick return touchdowns on 63 returns. Returning punts enables players to use more instinct and creativity. Kick returners, as a rule, just have to hit it hard and follow the blocks. Plus, the Bears have two other outstanding kick return men in Danieal Manning and Johnny Knox. I don’t believe they have an outstanding punt return man other than Hester.
The Bears should get Torry Holt to teach the young receivers how to run good routes with there speed. — Ronald, Richmond, Va.
The Bears have Darryl Drake to teach their receivers how to run routes. That’s a job for coaches, not other players. Torry Holt was a great player once. He’s not a great player anymore. And from what I hear, he can’t practice much because he’s too beat up. I would rather give the practice reps and the game snaps to young receivers with potential like Johnny Knox, Devin Aromashodu and Juaquin Iglesias than to Holt.
Do you think one of the important reasons for Jay Cutler and the offense performing badly last season was due to the fact they had a bad defense to practice against. I feel that every time Cutler went into practice, he probably never threw an interception, because the practice squad on the other side of the field was inferior. Or am I way off base? — Viscon V, San Francisco, CA
I think you are way off base. Way, way, way off base. If Cutler didn’t throw as many interceptions in practices, it probably was because he didn’t have to make hurried decisions under pressure. As far as I am concerned, Cutler can’t blame most of those interceptions he threw on anything or anyone other than Cutler.
Do you see any scenario where Adewale Ogunleye is in a Bears uniform this year? — Lonnie Stoltenburg, Pierre, S.D.
The only way I could see Ogunleye back is if one of the current defensive ends suffered a season-ending injury in the next month or so. Otherwise, I would expect Ogunleye would hook on with another team shortly after the draft.
