Post by prossman on Feb 14, 2009 18:28:58 GMT -7
BEARS FACING A DECISION ON Safety-MIKE BROWN
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BEARS FACING A DECISION ON MIKE BROWN
Posted by Aaron Wilson on February 11, 2009, 2:57 p.m.
The Chicago Bears are facing a dilemma on whether to re-sign veteran safety Mike Brown, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Due to Brown’s age (he turns 31 on Friday) and lack of durability (44 missed regular-season games in the past five seasons), it seems logical that the Bears are moving on from this unrestricted free agent.
According to Sun-Times beat writer Brad Biggs, it’s a tougher call than it would look to be on the surface for General Manager Jerry Angelo to make because of the general lack of stability at the position. Per the article, the Bears have changed their starting free safety 16 times and their starting strong safety 14 times over the past five years.
“If you just go on the reaction of Angelo at this time last year, it’s unlikely the club will ask Brown back,” Biggs writes. “Angelo had moved on and then some time between his end-of-season comments and the opening of free agency, the Bears reversed course. Brown restructured his contract and returned for a season in which he almost made it through. He finished fourth on the team with 101 tackles, the third-highest total of his career.
“What quarterback has been to the offense, safety has been to the defense. The Bears have had a revolving door there and as [Rex] Grossman’s injuries contributed to much of the turnover at quarterback, Brown’s injuries contributed to even more change in the secondary.”
And Bears coach Lovie Smith sounds like he’s ready for someone to hold down a safety spot on a regular basis.
“Concern because you just look at our history with the amount of safeties we end up playing each year,” Smith said shortly after the season ended. “We seem to get hit injury wise with it. It’s a tough position physically on guys that play. We’ll always be looking for good safeties to add.”
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BEARS FACING A DECISION ON MIKE BROWN
Posted by Aaron Wilson on February 11, 2009, 2:57 p.m.
The Chicago Bears are facing a dilemma on whether to re-sign veteran safety Mike Brown, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Due to Brown’s age (he turns 31 on Friday) and lack of durability (44 missed regular-season games in the past five seasons), it seems logical that the Bears are moving on from this unrestricted free agent.
According to Sun-Times beat writer Brad Biggs, it’s a tougher call than it would look to be on the surface for General Manager Jerry Angelo to make because of the general lack of stability at the position. Per the article, the Bears have changed their starting free safety 16 times and their starting strong safety 14 times over the past five years.
“If you just go on the reaction of Angelo at this time last year, it’s unlikely the club will ask Brown back,” Biggs writes. “Angelo had moved on and then some time between his end-of-season comments and the opening of free agency, the Bears reversed course. Brown restructured his contract and returned for a season in which he almost made it through. He finished fourth on the team with 101 tackles, the third-highest total of his career.
“What quarterback has been to the offense, safety has been to the defense. The Bears have had a revolving door there and as [Rex] Grossman’s injuries contributed to much of the turnover at quarterback, Brown’s injuries contributed to even more change in the secondary.”
And Bears coach Lovie Smith sounds like he’s ready for someone to hold down a safety spot on a regular basis.
“Concern because you just look at our history with the amount of safeties we end up playing each year,” Smith said shortly after the season ended. “We seem to get hit injury wise with it. It’s a tough position physically on guys that play. We’ll always be looking for good safeties to add.”
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