ChicagoSportsBlogs : Non Compete

I've been consumed with March Madness as well as real life lately. It has kept me from analyzing the White Sox pitching problems, setting up our Mock Draft, and figuring out where I should go on vacation. The Bears have also kept me from sleeping well at nights. We've lost a few players in free agency, low balled our coach before signing him to a long term deal, and proceeded to franchise our 2nd best linebacker thus costing him at least $15 million in signing bonus monies. Let's cut the bull - the Bears offseason has been riddled with stories. Tons of crap has been going on since our loss to Colts in the Superbowl. None of these things have been good. Up until now.

I woke up to the news that Adam Archuleta is now a Chicago Bear. We traded with the Redskins to acquire the strong safety for a 6th round pick in this year's draft. I think this is a steal. He barely played in Washington last year so he should be fresh. Plus, he has always been one of Lovie's favorite defensive players. I'm sure we all remember Archuleta in a Rams uniform right?

This transaction is clearly the death knell for poor, oft-injured Mike Brown. I don't see Brown playing another down with the Bears unless he takes a pretty huge pay cut. Mike was a great player. It took me years to realize this fact. I was always in the camp that expected more from him. I guess I've grown used to the fact that the Bears defense should score 14 points a game. 2 interceptions for touchdowns a year wasn't good enough for me. No matter how spectacular his effort was, I always thought he could do more. Then I started looking at the numbers. It was clear that Mike Brown's presence in the locker room and on the field only improved the Bears performance on defense. Dramatically at that. I guess I was just greedy. I wanted more touchdowns from him. How sad is that? It is as if I expected him to single handedly keep us in the game. But that's in the past. Today the Bears made the single positive move I expected them to make (not unlike the Ogunleye trade) to improve our D.

We basically just traded a 6th round pick for a healthier version of Mike Brown. I'd take that deal any day.

BEAR DOWN

It is posts like this that I dread. Something big happens, and you are confronted with a choice as a writer. You can either take a stand on your milk carton and shout that the Bears have made a horrible move, or you can find a way to hedge your bet that this is exactly what the team needed.

9 months from now people will look back at this post and either say I was an idiot for agreeing with the trade of Thomas Jones to the Jets, or they will think I was an idiot for crying about it. It all depends on Cedric Benson. There are sports writers across the city having this same debate inside their heads. "Do I want to look like a genious, or do I want to be honest and take my medicine if I am wrong?"

I'm going with the honest approach. If I am wrong I'll deal with it.

This is a bad move. The Bears give up Jones, the heart of our offense, and the second round pick (63rd) for the Jets' 37th pick overall. I used to wonder what we would get for Thomas Jones. I always thought we could get a 3rd rounder for him. It turns out it was a second rounder, plus an extra pick in the second round. I guess Jerry Angelo is "picking a top" as they say in financial trading. A bold move. There has to be something at the top of the second round that Angelo really wants. The question I have is this: is it another running back?

This trade leaves the Bears with Cedric Benson as their starting running back. Benson showed flashes of what we all hoped would be the start of a beautiful relationship this past season. Some people would say it was only flashes because he split carries with Jones. I disagree. I was always a big fan of having both these guys on the team. I liked the change of pace. Jones was a great back that always seemed to be one move away from breaking a monster run. Benson is the opposite; a bruiser that ran right through you. Working Benson into the offense slowly seemed to pay off for the Bears last season. Sure, he didn't do anything but hurt himself on his first play of the Superbowl but he did have a few decent runs in the NFC championship. I can admit that Benson would have earned his ring last season if we would have actually showed up and one the big game.

As for Jones, I can't say enough good things about him. His performance in the Superbowl speaks for itself: 15 carries for 112 yards and 7.2 yards a carry. He will be missed as fans in Chicago start to wonder if Jerry Angelo has been hanging out one too many times with Kenny Williams.

Good luck Thomas. You're going to be missed:

Jones Video

I made a list a few years back of the top 10 things I wanted to see before I died. Most of these wishes, or dreams, involved gorgeous Swedish models. Some items on the list were career related, like starting a hot dog stand. Yea, I want to sell hot dogs for a living. You think I want to be a desk jockey my entire life? All kidding aside, the list was really the top 10 sports related items I wanted to experience before I died. It was a simple list. Here, I'll give you a sample (in no particular order)

 

• White Sox win a World Series (check!)
• Experience a parade after a huge championship! (White Sox parade! Check!)
• Kiss the Stanley Cup (after the Hawks win it. Never going to happen, got close in '92)
• See the Cubs win a Series. Yea, I never removed this from the list. You're telling me YOU don't want to experience bedlam in this town? It would be the single GREATEST story of our lives. Don't get me started on this one Southsiders...
• Bears Superbowl ! (Got it this year! Check!)
• Bears WIN the Superbowl (Technically got it too, CHECK! - I was alive in '85. And no, I wasn't shitting my diapers either)
• Loyola goes to the Dance

Let's stop right there on that last one. Loyola going to the dance? Hell yea. I've been waiting for this to happen since I finished my undergraduate degree from this fine institution. The Ramblers got close one year against the UIC Flames. It was 93 or was that 98? It was a double overtime loss that kept the Ramblers from dancing that year. It has been the closest they've gotten to a post season in 22 years. (yea, I've got to spend more time googling this stuff...) Fast forward to Friday's matchup between the Flames and Loyola and you should be getting the sense of my excitement. Blake Schilb leads the Ramblers towards our last, and probably best shot to make it to the dance.

If these guys had any idea how important this was to me, maybe they would play that much harder. So, I'm leaving this breadcrumb out for all you Ramblers: Beat the Flames on Friday. Beat them silly. Beat them like you beat the 13th ranked Butler Bulldogs last Thursday. This is the best team Loyola has put together since that '85 team that actually made the sweet 16. I believe that was Patrick Ewing and Georgetown that killed the dream back then.

Tomorrow begins March 1st. It's time for the Madness kids. It's time to go to the dance.

GO RAMBLERS.