Earl Bennett (1 Viewer)

[Lash]

Haven't even heard his name mentioned in months despite having him on a bunch of dynasty rosters

any news?

heck even if bad news, i'd take that right now as at least i'd know what to do

Tennessee Vol fan and this guy was a terror in college, great routes, great hands ... i know you are supposed to be patient with rookie WRs but usually you hear at least SOMETHING by now good or bad

 

[mbuehner]

Haven't even heard his name mentioned in months despite having him on a bunch of dynasty rosters

There's your answer. He cant even get dressed with the worst WR corp in the league. The real question is Bennett that worthless or are Lovey and the Bears just hysterically unwilling to give chances to rookies. The answer is probably both.

 

[Ron_Mexico]

Haven't even heard his name mentioned in months despite having him on a bunch of dynasty rostersany news?heck even if bad news, i'd take that right now as at least i'd know what to doTennessee Vol fan and this guy was a terror in college, great routes, great hands ... i know you are supposed to be patient with rookie WRs but usually you hear at least SOMETHING by now good or bad

Zeroes across the board this season, very disapointing. He must have really struggled in practice.I would stash him at the end of your dynasty roster if you have any room.

 

[candymanvandyfan]

He's a young player at only 21 years old. I think that's part of it. He's five years younger than anyone else the Bears have on the active roster at WR.

Another part of it is that he's not superfast, superquick or supertall in a league that understandably likes those attributes in a wide receiver.

What he does do well gives him a nice chance to be something in the league by the time he's 25:

He's a grown up. He can really catch that ball with his hands. He will block. He understands space. (Not in a NASA way, but you know...) He will fight back for the ball. He has a good kinesthetic sense. He avoids traffic well in the middle of the field after he catches the ball, and isn't afraid to run the over the middle routes. He starts, stops and changes directions well. He goes forward at the end of the play. He is fearless and tough. You got the sense from watching him that he liked to play and was sturdy.

 

[scrumptrulescent]

He's a young player at only 21 years old. I think that's part of it. He's five years younger than anyone else the Bears have on the active roster at WR. Another part of it is that he's not superfast, superquick or supertall in a league that understandably likes those attributes in a wide receiver.What he does do well gives him a nice chance to be something in the league by the time he's 25:He's a grown up. He can really catch that ball with his hands. He will block. He understands space. (Not in a NASA way, but you know...) He will fight back for the ball. He has a good kinesthetic sense. He avoids traffic well in the middle of the field after he catches the ball, and isn't afraid to run the over the middle routes. He starts, stops and changes directions well. He goes forward at the end of the play. He is fearless and tough. You got the sense from watching him that he liked to play and was sturdy.

That last paragraph was a nice copy/paste job. I really thought he'd be on the field by now since he was supposedly the most NFL ready WR coming into the draft. I thought it was a steal for the Bears on draft day but maybe the jump from college to pro was too much for the guy. It remains to be seen I guess, but this is not a very good start.

 

[candymanvandyfan]

He's a young player at only 21 years old. I think that's part of it. He's five years younger than anyone else the Bears have on the active roster at WR. Another part of it is that he's not superfast, superquick or supertall in a league that understandably likes those attributes in a wide receiver.What he does do well gives him a nice chance to be something in the league by the time he's 25:He's a grown up. He can really catch that ball with his hands. He will block. He understands space. (Not in a NASA way, but you know...) He will fight back for the ball. He has a good kinesthetic sense. He avoids traffic well in the middle of the field after he catches the ball, and isn't afraid to run the over the middle routes. He starts, stops and changes directions well. He goes forward at the end of the play. He is fearless and tough. You got the sense from watching him that he liked to play and was sturdy.

That last paragraph was a nice copy/paste job. I really thought he'd be on the field by now since he was supposedly the most NFL ready WR coming into the draft. I thought it was a steal for the Bears on draft day but maybe the jump from college to pro was too much for the guy. It remains to be seen I guess, but this is not a very good start.

What are you suggesting here? You show me what I copied and pasted from, you liar.

 

[scrumptrulescent]

He's a young player at only 21 years old. I think that's part of it. He's five years younger than anyone else the Bears have on the active roster at WR. Another part of it is that he's not superfast, superquick or supertall in a league that understandably likes those attributes in a wide receiver.What he does do well gives him a nice chance to be something in the league by the time he's 25:He's a grown up. He can really catch that ball with his hands. He will block. He understands space. (Not in a NASA way, but you know...) He will fight back for the ball. He has a good kinesthetic sense. He avoids traffic well in the middle of the field after he catches the ball, and isn't afraid to run the over the middle routes. He starts, stops and changes directions well. He goes forward at the end of the play. He is fearless and tough. You got the sense from watching him that he liked to play and was sturdy.

That last paragraph was a nice copy/paste job. I really thought he'd be on the field by now since he was supposedly the most NFL ready WR coming into the draft. I thought it was a steal for the Bears on draft day but maybe the jump from college to pro was too much for the guy. It remains to be seen I guess, but this is not a very good start.

What are you suggesting here? You show me what I copied and pasted from, you liar.

Looks exactly like scouting reports I read on him before the draft.

 

[candymanvandyfan]

He's a young player at only 21 years old. I think that's part of it. He's five years younger than anyone else the Bears have on the active roster at WR. Another part of it is that he's not superfast, superquick or supertall in a league that understandably likes those attributes in a wide receiver.What he does do well gives him a nice chance to be something in the league by the time he's 25:He's a grown up. He can really catch that ball with his hands. He will block. He understands space. (Not in a NASA way, but you know...) He will fight back for the ball. He has a good kinesthetic sense. He avoids traffic well in the middle of the field after he catches the ball, and isn't afraid to run the over the middle routes. He starts, stops and changes directions well. He goes forward at the end of the play. He is fearless and tough. You got the sense from watching him that he liked to play and was sturdy.

That last paragraph was a nice copy/paste job. I really thought he'd be on the field by now since he was supposedly the most NFL ready WR coming into the draft. I thought it was a steal for the Bears on draft day but maybe the jump from college to pro was too much for the guy. It remains to be seen I guess, but this is not a very good start.

What are you suggesting here? You show me what I copied and pasted from, you liar.

Looks exactly like scouting reports I read on him before the draft.

Which one did I copy and paste from? You show me.

 

[Ron_Mexico]

:battle royal:

 

[dmac37]

I really thought he'd be on the field by now since he was supposedly the most NFL ready WR coming into the draft. I thought it was a steal for the Bears on draft day but maybe the jump from college to pro was too much for the guy. It remains to be seen I guess, but this is not a very good start.

I heard the same thing about being NFL ready and also thought there was no better situation to get early playing time. I plan on holding on to him and see if he can develop, it also seems like besides Forte the Bears tend to hold off playing many of their young players.

 

[BobbyLayne]

Saw him make a nice tackle on a kickoff last weekend. I was like "Oh, yeah...forget about him".

First and only time I have noticed him on the field since preseason ended.

 

[NorrisB]

I think its safe to drop him, he cant beat out marty booker and marty booker sucks

 

[scrumptrulescent]

He's a young player at only 21 years old. I think that's part of it. He's five years younger than anyone else the Bears have on the active roster at WR. Another part of it is that he's not superfast, superquick or supertall in a league that understandably likes those attributes in a wide receiver.What he does do well gives him a nice chance to be something in the league by the time he's 25:He's a grown up. He can really catch that ball with his hands. He will block. He understands space. (Not in a NASA way, but you know...) He will fight back for the ball. He has a good kinesthetic sense. He avoids traffic well in the middle of the field after he catches the ball, and isn't afraid to run the over the middle routes. He starts, stops and changes directions well. He goes forward at the end of the play. He is fearless and tough. You got the sense from watching him that he liked to play and was sturdy.

That last paragraph was a nice copy/paste job. I really thought he'd be on the field by now since he was supposedly the most NFL ready WR coming into the draft. I thought it was a steal for the Bears on draft day but maybe the jump from college to pro was too much for the guy. It remains to be seen I guess, but this is not a very good start.

What are you suggesting here? You show me what I copied and pasted from, you liar.

Looks exactly like scouting reports I read on him before the draft.

Which one did I copy and paste from? You show me.

Apologies. My intention was not to offend. It's a nice write up hitting on what were considered to be his strengths coming out of college. Any scouting experience in your past?

 

[NatronIsMean]

He'll certainly get a shot at some point if he can block well, has really good hands, and is willing to go across the middle. He probably needs to add size and strength for such a role in the NFL, and I think the biggest problem in Chicago is that there aren't great WRs, but there are lots of 'em. Think about the fact that the Bears cut Mark Bradley and Bradley already has a starting gig in KC. Also keep in mind that they kept Earl over Bradley.

He'll get his chance at some point if only because the Bears won't pay much to their WRs. Anyone that starts showing serious upside will therefore leave Chicago to get paid.

 

[DevilDog919]

I remember a guy I was extremely high on a few years back also, Mark Bradley. He wasn't given too many chances because the Bears said he was injury prone or whatever, but when given those chances he did well and it seemed the Bears never wanted to promote him to starter. Well, they flat out released him and Muhsin Muhammad calls and PERSONALLY recommends him to the KC Chiefs. A few weeks later, he's the WW pickup of the week...

Needless to say, I don't think the Bears know how to handle rookie WR's, or so it seems.

 

[maxwelledison]

Haven't even heard his name mentioned in months despite having him on a bunch of dynasty rosters

There's your answer. He cant even get dressed with the worst WR corp in the league. The real question is Bennett that worthless or are Lovey and the Bears just hysterically unwilling to give chances to rookies. The answer is probably both.

I'm not picking on you mbuehner but this approach is unsound and all too common in the Shark Pool. I can't tell you how many times i have heard "Well, x can't beat out y so x must really suck because we know y is not very good". The problem is that this thinking rests on an unsound premise: that the people making personnel and/or lineup decisions are making the correct decision. While this seems like a safe assumption given that this is a multi-billion dollar industry, it just isn't true. Especially in Chicago. In just the past year they have seen fit to re-up a washed-out Urlacher, give replaceable players like Vasher and Tillman top-tier dollars and take a unique asset like Hester and render him impotent by making him a #3 WR. And I am a Bears homer. When one considers how this franchise has been colossally mismanaged over the past 25 years it is probably a good idea to presume they are making the wrong decision, not the correct one, in most instances. How that relates to Bennett I don't know yet but I hardly consider it an indictment of his ability that this franchise has yet to discover what he can or cannot do as a rookie WR.

 

[PsychoMan]

He's a young player at only 21 years old. I think that's part of it. He's five years younger than anyone else the Bears have on the active roster at WR.

Another part of it is that he's not superfast, superquick or supertall in a league that understandably likes those attributes in a wide receiver.

What he does do well gives him a nice chance to be something in the league by the time he's 25:

He's a grown up. He can really catch that ball with his hands. He will block. He understands space. (Not in a NASA way, but you know...) He will fight back for the ball. He has a good kinesthetic sense. He avoids traffic well in the middle of the field after he catches the ball, and isn't afraid to run the over the middle routes. He starts, stops and changes directions well. He goes forward at the end of the play. He is fearless and tough. You got the sense from watching him that he liked to play and was sturdy.

That last paragraph was a nice copy/paste job. I really thought he'd be on the field by now since he was supposedly the most NFL ready WR coming into the draft. I thought it was a steal for the Bears on draft day but maybe the jump from college to pro was too much for the guy. It remains to be seen I guess, but this is not a very good start.

What are you suggesting here? You show me what I copied and pasted from, you liar.

 

[PsychoMan]

i have heard NOTHING about this guy and i listen to chicago radio all the time. it baffles me since our WR corps is so awful.

cannot be a good sign for him.

 

[Ron_Mexico]

Muhsin Muhammad calls and PERSONALLY recommends him to the KC Chiefs. A few weeks later, he's the WW pickup of the week...

Who did Mushin call, and why wouldn't he recommend him to the Carolina Panthers ?job security ?

 

[ConstruxBoy]

Haven't even heard his name mentioned in months despite having him on a bunch of dynasty rosters

There's your answer. He cant even get dressed with the worst WR corp in the league. The real question is Bennett that worthless or are Lovey and the Bears just hysterically unwilling to give chances to rookies. The answer is probably both.

I'm not picking on you mbuehner but this approach is unsound and all too common in the Shark Pool. I can't tell you how many times i have heard "Well, x can't beat out y so x must really suck because we know y is not very good". The problem is that this thinking rests on an unsound premise: that the people making personnel and/or lineup decisions are making the correct decision. While this seems like a safe assumption given that this is a multi-billion dollar industry, it just isn't true. Especially in Chicago. In just the past year they have seen fit to re-up a washed-out Urlacher, give replaceable players like Vasher and Tillman top-tier dollars and take a unique asset like Hester and render him impotent by making him a #3 WR. And I am a Bears homer. When one considers how this franchise has been colossally mismanaged over the past 25 years it is probably a good idea to presume they are making the wrong decision, not the correct one, in most instances. How that relates to Bennett I don't know yet but I hardly consider it an indictment of his ability that this franchise has yet to discover what he can or cannot do as a rookie WR.

You have a valid point, but it can be taken too far. Those of us who sat on Ryan Moats or Jerome Harrison for years know the pain. It doesn't matter how good you think he is if his employer doesn't think he's that good. I used to think that Opportunity was overrated by owners in Dynasty leagues, and I think for a time it was. But now it seems it's underrated by the Talent component. Sitting on a guy for 2 or 3 years because you're sure he's got talent and surely he'll eventually get the opportunity is not a winning strategy in most cases.

 

[mbuehner]

Its like I said, i'm sure Bennett isn't really so bad he can't make the gameday roster. BUT i'm also pretty sure he isn't so good he should be a starter, even on this team. If Bennett was lighting it up in practice and outplaying the other 5 WRs, we'd hear about it.

Lovie's philosophy would seem to be all thing being equal, go with the more senior player. For a championship caliber team that might make sense. For a struggling team, especially a team glaringly bad at the position in question, its pretty ludicrous. Clearly at this point in the season a good coach would be throwing everything and the kitchen sink at the wall to see what sticks. That is a fundamental dysfunction in this organization. Aside from picking players that flat out can't play with first day picks, they tend to put them on the bench while guys who are marginal NFL players get to prove they don't belong. That's foolish, by the time you figure out you have a big problem its too late to rectify. The good franchises in the league get people on the field and make their evaluations quickly. If there is no sign of improvement they dump em and try somebody else, while looking to bring in some new faces. The Bears seem to despise free agency and if you can't draft well thats a big problem.

 

[DevilDog919]

Muhsin Muhammad calls and PERSONALLY recommends him to the KC Chiefs. A few weeks later, he's the WW pickup of the week...

Who did Mushin call, and why wouldn't he recommend him to the Carolina Panthers ?job security ?

It was mentioned when he signed, can't find much on google results now though..but I did find a good article relating to him and the Bears about why they never played him. About midway through you'll see it says Muhsin unsolicated phone called in and recommends him to Herm Edwards. Seems a few others had some things to say about him as well. There's a reason I nabbed him in every league Syd http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2008/oc...inside-nfloct12

Not sure why he wouldn't recommend him to Carolina, maybe it was job security...seems to make sense.

 

[maxwelledison]

Its like I said, i'm sure Bennett isn't really so bad he can't make the gameday roster. BUT i'm also pretty sure he isn't so good he should be a starter, even on this team. If Bennett was lighting it up in practice and outplaying the other 5 WRs, we'd hear about it.Lovie's philosophy would seem to be all thing being equal, go with the more senior player. For a championship caliber team that might make sense. For a struggling team, especially a team glaringly bad at the position in question, its pretty ludicrous. Clearly at this point in the season a good coach would be throwing everything and the kitchen sink at the wall to see what sticks. That is a fundamental dysfunction in this organization. Aside from picking players that flat out can't play with first day picks, they tend to put them on the bench while guys who are marginal NFL players get to prove they don't belong. That's foolish, by the time you figure out you have a big problem its too late to rectify. The good franchises in the league get people on the field and make their evaluations quickly. If there is no sign of improvement they dump em and try somebody else, while looking to bring in some new faces. The Bears seem to despise free agency and if you can't draft well thats a big problem.

I completely agree. The Bears seem to prefer to make personnel decisions with as little information as possible.

 

[maxwelledison]

Haven't even heard his name mentioned in months despite having him on a bunch of dynasty rosters

There's your answer. He cant even get dressed with the worst WR corp in the league. The real question is Bennett that worthless or are Lovey and the Bears just hysterically unwilling to give chances to rookies. The answer is probably both.

I'm not picking on you mbuehner but this approach is unsound and all too common in the Shark Pool. I can't tell you how many times i have heard "Well, x can't beat out y so x must really suck because we know y is not very good". The problem is that this thinking rests on an unsound premise: that the people making personnel and/or lineup decisions are making the correct decision. While this seems like a safe assumption given that this is a multi-billion dollar industry, it just isn't true. Especially in Chicago. In just the past year they have seen fit to re-up a washed-out Urlacher, give replaceable players like Vasher and Tillman top-tier dollars and take a unique asset like Hester and render him impotent by making him a #3 WR. And I am a Bears homer. When one considers how this franchise has been colossally mismanaged over the past 25 years it is probably a good idea to presume they are making the wrong decision, not the correct one, in most instances. How that relates to Bennett I don't know yet but I hardly consider it an indictment of his ability that this franchise has yet to discover what he can or cannot do as a rookie WR.

You have a valid point, but it can be taken too far. Those of us who sat on Ryan Moats or Jerome Harrison for years know the pain. It doesn't matter how good you think he is if his employer doesn't think he's that good. I used to think that Opportunity was overrated by owners in Dynasty leagues, and I think for a time it was. But now it seems it's underrated by the Talent component. Sitting on a guy for 2 or 3 years because you're sure he's got talent and surely he'll eventually get the opportunity is not a winning strategy in most cases.

I'm not suggesting you hang on to a guy for years if he is out of favor within his organization (for whatever reason). I am saying that reaching a conclusion about a player's ability based on his organization's view/use/handling of him is a bad idea when that organization, historically, has not made wise decisions.

 

[az_prof]

I traded up in the third to get Bennett because I had read alot of positives about him during draft. But I dropped him about four weeks ago. While I agree that it is too early to know if he will be good or not there is an opportunity cost to hanging onto an unproductive player--how many other good FA players do you miss out on while you wait for the guy?

On the other hand, I am still hanging onto Robert Meachem. Why? He was a first round pick and when he has played this year he has looked good. I don't know why he isn't playing more but I think in general guys who are first round picks are more likely to eventually produce. I made the mistake of dropping Matt Jones this past season.

You have to consider that most of us probably drafted Bennett in the late second or early third round. There will be another group of similar players next season in the late second or early third and one of them may be the next Anquan Boldin. Bennett it would seem is not likely to become a Boldin. He may eventually develop into an NFL starter but it will likely take a few years and he will not likely be a top 20 WR--those guys usually show something the first year, especially if they are not first round picks.

 

[ConstruxBoy]

Haven't even heard his name mentioned in months despite having him on a bunch of dynasty rosters

There's your answer. He cant even get dressed with the worst WR corp in the league. The real question is Bennett that worthless or are Lovey and the Bears just hysterically unwilling to give chances to rookies. The answer is probably both.

I'm not picking on you mbuehner but this approach is unsound and all too common in the Shark Pool. I can't tell you how many times i have heard "Well, x can't beat out y so x must really suck because we know y is not very good". The problem is that this thinking rests on an unsound premise: that the people making personnel and/or lineup decisions are making the correct decision. While this seems like a safe assumption given that this is a multi-billion dollar industry, it just isn't true. Especially in Chicago. In just the past year they have seen fit to re-up a washed-out Urlacher, give replaceable players like Vasher and Tillman top-tier dollars and take a unique asset like Hester and render him impotent by making him a #3 WR. And I am a Bears homer. When one considers how this franchise has been colossally mismanaged over the past 25 years it is probably a good idea to presume they are making the wrong decision, not the correct one, in most instances. How that relates to Bennett I don't know yet but I hardly consider it an indictment of his ability that this franchise has yet to discover what he can or cannot do as a rookie WR.

You have a valid point, but it can be taken too far. Those of us who sat on Ryan Moats or Jerome Harrison for years know the pain. It doesn't matter how good you think he is if his employer doesn't think he's that good. I used to think that Opportunity was overrated by owners in Dynasty leagues, and I think for a time it was. But now it seems it's underrated by the Talent component. Sitting on a guy for 2 or 3 years because you're sure he's got talent and surely he'll eventually get the opportunity is not a winning strategy in most cases.

I'm not suggesting you hang on to a guy for years if he is out of favor within his organization (for whatever reason). I am saying that reaching a conclusion about a player's ability based on his organization's view/use/handling of him is a bad idea when that organization, historically, has not made wise decisions.

Agreed.

 

[candymanvandyfan]

He's a young player at only 21 years old. I think that's part of it. He's five years younger than anyone else the Bears have on the active roster at WR. Another part of it is that he's not superfast, superquick or supertall in a league that understandably likes those attributes in a wide receiver.What he does do well gives him a nice chance to be something in the league by the time he's 25:He's a grown up. He can really catch that ball with his hands. He will block. He understands space. (Not in a NASA way, but you know...) He will fight back for the ball. He has a good kinesthetic sense. He avoids traffic well in the middle of the field after he catches the ball, and isn't afraid to run the over the middle routes. He starts, stops and changes directions well. He goes forward at the end of the play. He is fearless and tough. You got the sense from watching him that he liked to play and was sturdy.

That last paragraph was a nice copy/paste job. I really thought he'd be on the field by now since he was supposedly the most NFL ready WR coming into the draft. I thought it was a steal for the Bears on draft day but maybe the jump from college to pro was too much for the guy. It remains to be seen I guess, but this is not a very good start.

What are you suggesting here? You show me what I copied and pasted from, you liar.

Looks exactly like scouting reports I read on him before the draft.

Which one did I copy and paste from? You show me.

Apologies. My intention was not to offend. It's a nice write up hitting on what were considered to be his strengths coming out of college. Any scouting experience in your past?

I accept your apology and thank you for it.

 

[Sweetness_34]

Its like I said, i'm sure Bennett isn't really so bad he can't make the gameday roster. BUT i'm also pretty sure he isn't so good he should be a starter, even on this team. If Bennett was lighting it up in practice and outplaying the other 5 WRs, we'd hear about it.

Lovie's philosophy would seem to be all thing being equal, go with the more senior player. For a championship caliber team that might make sense. For a struggling team, especially a team glaringly bad at the position in question, its pretty ludicrous. Clearly at this point in the season a good coach would be throwing everything and the kitchen sink at the wall to see what sticks. That is a fundamental dysfunction in this organization. Aside from picking players that flat out can't play with first day picks, they tend to put them on the bench while guys who are marginal NFL players get to prove they don't belong. That's foolish, by the time you figure out you have a big problem its too late to rectify. The good franchises in the league get people on the field and make their evaluations quickly. If there is no sign of improvement they dump em and try somebody else, while looking to bring in some new faces. The Bears seem to despise free agency and if you can't draft well thats a big problem.

Really? Forte, Devin Hester, Charles Tillman, Nathan Vasher, Daniel Manning, Marc Colombo, Bernard Berrian, Lance Briggs, Kyle Orton, Justin Gage, Bobby Wade, Cedric Benson, Grossman, Bradley, Dusty D, Tommie Harris etc (and I can name so many more) were all drafted and got to play early in their careers (most of them by the 2nd year if not first) and many of them turned out pretty solid. In Grossman, Colombo, Mark Bradley, Dusty D and Benson's case, they all got injured during their early evaluations (multiple times for Grossman, Dusty D and Bradley and pretty brutal for Colombo). Yet the Bears stuck with them for as long as they could. Also, they let Tank Johnson get on the field early, he ran into off field issues couple of times, so they let him go (which is opposite of what you are saying in terms of making evaluations quickly). Chris Williams got injured this year, and St Clair is playing ok right now (except when he goes up against Allen). I a sure though that if the Bears fall out of it here in the next couple of weeks, they will put the rookies in more. One more thing, the only time the Bears did not start a rookie during Lovie's tenure was when they were coming off the SB year and they were returning every single starter on O and D except Thomas Jones.

 

[Max Power]

Its like I said, i'm sure Bennett isn't really so bad he can't make the gameday roster. BUT i'm also pretty sure he isn't so good he should be a starter, even on this team. If Bennett was lighting it up in practice and outplaying the other 5 WRs, we'd hear about it.

Lovie's philosophy would seem to be all thing being equal, go with the more senior player. For a championship caliber team that might make sense. For a struggling team, especially a team glaringly bad at the position in question, its pretty ludicrous. Clearly at this point in the season a good coach would be throwing everything and the kitchen sink at the wall to see what sticks. That is a fundamental dysfunction in this organization. Aside from picking players that flat out can't play with first day picks, they tend to put them on the bench while guys who are marginal NFL players get to prove they don't belong. That's foolish, by the time you figure out you have a big problem its too late to rectify. The good franchises in the league get people on the field and make their evaluations quickly. If there is no sign of improvement they dump em and try somebody else, while looking to bring in some new faces. The Bears seem to despise free agency and if you can't draft well thats a big problem.

Really? Forte, Devin Hester, Charles Tillman, Nathan Vasher, Daniel Manning, Marc Colombo, Bernard Berrian, Lance Briggs, Kyle Orton, Justin Gage, Bobby Wade, Cedric Benson, Grossman, Bradley, Dusty D, Tommie Harris etc (and I can name so many more) were all drafted and got to play early in their careers (most of them by the 2nd year if not first) and many of them turned out pretty solid. In Grossman, Colombo, Mark Bradley, Dusty D and Benson's case, they all got injured during their early evaluations (multiple times for Grossman, Dusty D and Bradley and pretty brutal for Colombo). Yet the Bears stuck with them for as long as they could. Also, they let Tank Johnson get on the field early, he ran into off field issues couple of times, so they let him go (which is opposite of what you are saying in terms of making evaluations quickly). Chris Williams got injured this year, and St Clair is playing ok right now (except when he goes up against Allen). I a sure though that if the Bears fall out of it here in the next couple of weeks, they will put the rookies in more. One more thing, the only time the Bears did not start a rookie during Lovie's tenure was when they were coming off the SB year and they were returning every single starter on O and D except Thomas Jones.

I don't think you need to look much deeper than this last game vs the Vikes. Both Williams and Bennett are healthy but yet the Bears still trot St.Clair and Rashid Davis out there. St.Clair was a human turnstyle last week and Davis dropped several catchable passes. I can give the Bears a pass for last week as that was a big game and I understand wanting to have the vets in there. That said, last week really sealed the deal that Chicago is not a playoff team. Now is the time the organization NEEDS to get these guys on the field.

 

[The Man With No Name]

Booker and Lloyd probably won't be back, so Bennett should get a chance for significant playing time. Got his only target of the season in week 17. He is the career receptions leader in the SEC, had 75+ receptions all 3 years at Vanderbilt and was the 70th player drafted for a reason.

 

[TitusIII]

Agreed, nice sleeper in very deep leagues...

 

[Buffaloes]

I thought Bennett was going to be one of the better WR out of last year's draft and a rookie year is obviously not the greatest sample size but 1 target all year? Anyone else think this might be a case of an average college WR reaping the draft day benefits of playing with a stellar college QB a la Marcus Nash w/ Peyton Manning at Tennessee?

 

[Matt Waldman]

He's done nothing and not a peep from anyone in the Bears organization - bad sign? Possibly.

He's done nothing and not a peep from anyone in the Bears organization - good sign? Not likely.

Construx makes a great point about dynasty leagues. If you have a deep roster, he's still worth keeping because there are plenty WRs who made little to no impact in years one and two and wound up pretty good, but if you don't have much room or the luxury to keep him, there's not point in pining for his talent to turn into production.

Chad Johnson didn't do much in his first year and couldn't beat out Peter Warrick, Darnay Scott, and Ron Dugans. He was still competing with those three in 2002. Not exactly an inspiring depth chart there. Marty Booker is arguably a better receiver than Scott.

I liked Bennett's potential and to be no news doesn't necessarily mean he's a bust. If you have room to be patient, then be patient. If you don't have room, then get what you can for him or move on and don't fret about it if you wind up missing out.

 

[Sweetness_34]

You will have to be patient here. Bears coaches always take time to get WRs on the field. Berrian did not do much in his 1st year/Bradley never got to play much and then showed he is not that bad in KC when he was healthy/Gage did not do much with the Bears and then showed production at Tenn/Bobby Wade was ok with the Bears and has been ok with Minny

Bottom line....wait it out unless you really need the roster spot. 2nd year WRs are typically a better bet than a rookie WR anyways. Look at all the rookies last year who did nothing - Hardy, Manningham, Cincy rookie WRs, Burton, Washington's rookie WRs etc etc....long list there.

Also, remember how many WRs did nothing in their 1st year and then blossommed out of nowhere. See Roddy White for recent eg.

 

[Hoss_Cartwright]

If he played for the Colts and the Colts didn't have AG, he would be their WR #3. I bet Manning could make him look better than Orton BTW, I don't own Bennett in any league.

 

[candymanvandyfan]

Earl is a Vandy guy, so I saw a lot of him in practices and games and enjoyed watching him play. I can't emphasize his youth enough. He's 21 and won't be 22 until March. I don't know what you can expect from a 21 year old in his first year in the NFL. Perhaps someone has some numbers on how many 21 year old wide receivers have lit up the league. I don't. I think maybe Randy Moss was 21 in his first year. He definitely lit up the league that year.

In the times when Earl was on the field with Chicago this year, Earl appeared heavier and less shifty than he was in his Vandy years. I don't have any weight/strength stats on that, just an observation.

In my opinion, Earl would be better with a quarterback with a stronger arm. He's unlikely to achieve a huge amount of separation in man coverage and, to be fair, Kyle Orton isn't going to win any velocity contests. Earl's very good in zone coverage though and finds seams well.

I wouldn't give up on him yet, but it's just not a good sign that he couldn't get on the field with that group of wide receivers playing in front of him. My own bias notwithstanding, that really surprised me. Maybe a year in the system will do him some good. We'll see.

 

[az_prof]

I own him and right now he is in my Watch and Wait group. If I hear good things from the off season workouts and if it sounds like he is getting alot of practice reps and if the team doesn't draft a WR high in draft, then I will hang onto him another year. Some guys take a while to learn how to play the position in the NFL because you can get by with sloppy routes in college but in the PROs you really need to be precise and you need to read defenses and know when to run your HOT routes and so on. Some young guys take two or three years to pick up those things. But in dynasty you can only wait so long on a guy, especially one who wasn't a first round pick and who doesn't play for an elite offense. He needs to show something early this spring or he will be on a lot of waiver wires.

 

[RnR]

I thought Bennett was going to be one of the better WR out of last year's draft and a rookie year is obviously not the greatest sample size but 1 target all year? Anyone else think this might be a case of an average college WR reaping the draft day benefits of playing with a stellar college QB a la Marcus Nash w/ Peyton Manning at Tennessee?

Say what?He played one season with Cutler as a true freshman. He broke the SEC receptions record in 3 seasons. 160 of his 236 career receptions came from someone other than Cutler.

 

[Buffaloes]

I thought Bennett was going to be one of the better WR out of last year's draft and a rookie year is obviously not the greatest sample size but 1 target all year? Anyone else think this might be a case of an average college WR reaping the draft day benefits of playing with a stellar college QB a la Marcus Nash w/ Peyton Manning at Tennessee?

Say what?He played one season with Cutler as a true freshman. He broke the SEC receptions record in 3 seasons. 160 of his 236 career receptions came from someone other than Cutler.

I thought he played with Cutler for more than a year.

 

[HoTnickZ]

Is it just me or is Earl a mega sleeper this year?

 

[mbuehner]

Is it just me or is Earl a mega sleeper this year?

I would remind you the guy didn't even dress for half the games last year. Something weirds me out about his whole situation. But for a guy going in the 14th+ round, I have to agree, he has tremendous upside. I just wouldn't get your hopes too high or reach for him too far.

 

[HoTnickZ]

Is it just me or is Earl a mega sleeper this year?

I would remind you the guy didn't even dress for half the games last year. Something weirds me out about his whole situation. But for a guy going in the 14th+ round, I have to agree, he has tremendous upside. I just wouldn't get your hopes too high or reach for him too far.

I agree but I think with Cutler + Hester deep threat + Olsen + Forte + what appears as a nice receiving schedule, there is some opportunity and upside here. I got him near the end of the draft.

 

[Biabreakable]

He's a young player at only 21 years old. I think that's part of it. He's five years younger than anyone else the Bears have on the active roster at WR. Another part of it is that he's not superfast, superquick or supertall in a league that understandably likes those attributes in a wide receiver.What he does do well gives him a nice chance to be something in the league by the time he's 25:He's a grown up. He can really catch that ball with his hands. He will block. He understands space. (Not in a NASA way, but you know...) He will fight back for the ball. He has a good kinesthetic sense. He avoids traffic well in the middle of the field after he catches the ball, and isn't afraid to run the over the middle routes. He starts, stops and changes directions well. He goes forward at the end of the play. He is fearless and tough. You got the sense from watching him that he liked to play and was sturdy.

That last paragraph was a nice copy/paste job. I really thought he'd be on the field by now since he was supposedly the most NFL ready WR coming into the draft. I thought it was a steal for the Bears on draft day but maybe the jump from college to pro was too much for the guy. It remains to be seen I guess, but this is not a very good start.

What are you suggesting here? You show me what I copied and pasted from, you liar.

Some serious bidness going on here. Is this a case of plagiarism or slander?

 

[az_prof]

Is it just me or is Earl a mega sleeper this year?

I would remind you the guy didn't even dress for half the games last year. Something weirds me out about his whole situation. But for a guy going in the 14th+ round, I have to agree, he has tremendous upside. I just wouldn't get your hopes too high or reach for him too far.

I disagree and what happened last year is a long way away now. We found out that he had trouble learning the plays, but that was because the Bears didn't let him focus on one position but asked him to learn all three WR positions. What I am looking for is a consistent picture and it is starting to come into focus: Bennett is a future possession WR for Bears. If you see my post above I was mildly skeptical myself in January and wanted to see how he did in OTAs, camp, and preseason. Well, he had great reports from coaches during OTAs and the team did not spend a high draft pick on a WR or go out and get a FA Wr. That tells you that they think Bennett might be for real. The addition of Cutler was great news because of their history. Then more good reports during camp and Bennett starts preseason as a starter. During preseason he looks very good as starter. Put that all together and I like his prospects. Personally, I think he will be the most consistent fantasy receiver for the Bears, although Hester may have more highlight plays.

 

[mbuehner]

I don't doubt you're right. But its the same organization liable to make the same dubious decisions.

The Bears paid Hester like a WR1 and they are going to shoe-horn him into that role come hell or highwater. I think that is as likely to affect Bennett's touches as anything. I agree he will be productive, but how often will he be targetted is the question. This is a team with 2 excellent TE, and a pass catching RB, that wants to run the ball. If they end up forcing the ball to Hester more than is necessary, Bennett may simply not see enough touches consistently enough to be startable. I worry about his consistency in putting up useful numbers. He could score 2 TDs one game and not have a catch the next two. Again- good risk at the point in the draft, but don't count on him until further proven in real games.

 

[Defending Champs]

I don't doubt you're right. But its the same organization liable to make the same dubious decisions.

The Bears paid Hester like a WR1 and they are going to shoe-horn him into that role come hell or highwater. I think that is as likely to affect Bennett's touches as anything. I agree he will be productive, but how often will he be targetted is the question. This is a team with 2 excellent TE, and a pass catching RB, that wants to run the ball. If they end up forcing the ball to Hester more than is necessary, Bennett may simply not see enough touches consistently enough to be startable. I worry about his consistency in putting up useful numbers. He could score 2 TDs one game and not have a catch the next two. Again- good risk at the point in the draft, but don't count on him until further proven in real games.

I believe you found a way to wrap up my feelings on this guy in one solid post.

 

[Yitbos69]

Bennett is the WR to own on the Bears...Hester sucks

 

[Hipple Long Ware & Peete]

This reminds me of Rashied Davis last year. speaking of, how's he doing?

 

[Tornacl]

I'm pretty high on him, too. Cutler just isn't a guy that checks down to the RB, so I see Bennett and Olsen being the main beneficiaries. Add to that the fact that Bennett was his favorite target for a year at Vandy, and I think he'll do much better than others around where he's being drafted. I don't expect anything close to Royal last year, but I think he's a good player to target in dynasty leagues or as a late-round flier.

 

[BoulderBob]

Hester doesn't suck, in fact, I think he is solid(good hands/speed/etc) for a #2/#3 WR in this league. He is certainly no #1, and I do not think Cutler will force feed him the ball.

Bennett looks smooth, very Marty Booker-esque....

60 for 600-700 yards and a 3-5 TD's, imo, if he does get the starting job. If he has what it takes to stick, he should find a Bobby Engram type role, but time will tell.

Not worth a spot in re-drafts, but he is a fine dynasty prospect. Sunday's game will give us all a better idea of the pecking order of Bears WR's...