The Chicago Bears' 10 Best & Worst Moves of the 2012 Offseason

The Bears have quietly (and not so quietly) had a very good offseason. Many of the moves that new GM Phil Emery made were under-the-radar additions, except for Brandon Marshall, who was easily the best addition of the offseason for Chicago.

GM Jerry Angelo was fired, in large part due to his draft record. But it also had to do with his not having an adequate backup to Jay Cutler. So Phil Emery went out and grabbed Jason Campbell, who should be able to actually win a couple games if he has to.

In all, it was a very good offseason for the Bears, who, despite a tough division, are right in the thick of the Super Bowl chase.

But not everything that happened this offseason was positive. That's true of all NFL teams. The draft, meanwhile, will take time to determine, but the Bears still have some critical gaps that were not addressed, such as the offensive line.

So let's take a look at the Bears' top offseason moves, both good and bad, and see what's in store for our team this season. (NOTE: these are not listed in any kind of order.)

GOOD: Trading for Brandon Marshall

The Chicago Bears actually got an honest-to-goodness No. 1 wide receiver, and he happens to be the guy who our QB, Jay Cutler, has worked with very well in the past. What could be better?

This was a stroke of brilliance for Phil Emery and a much-needed move for the offense. Marshall is a Pro Bowl wideout who will make the other receivers better just because of the double teams that will be on him when he's running his routes.

Plus, the Bears can slowly end the ridiculous Devin Hester-as-WR experiment. I know they say they're going to have a "Hester package," but if I was Devin, I'd be checking to see if that package is ticking. I'm sure they'd like nothing better than for Hester to stick to doing what he does best—and that's not running routes and catching footballs.

Of course, maybe—just maybe—Hester can learn from Marshall and utilize the attention to his advantage. In any event, this was the best move of the offseason for the Bears. By a long shot.

GOOD: Drafting Alshon Jeffrey

It was a strange draft, to be sure, but I feel that drafting Jeffery in the second round was easily their best pick in the draft. Combined with Marshall, Jeffery should give the Bears their best one-two combination since...well, ever.

Jeffery is not without his faults—his production suffered in his senior year—but he has already impressed the Bears coaches. He should be a terrific red-zone weapon, as he is a big target who is capable of going up and grabbing jump-balls.

The so-called draft experts considered Jeffery too slow to be a vertical threat, but the Bears timed him at 4.47 at his Pro Day, and they believe he can become an impact player.

GOOD: Signing Michael Bush

Another solid move by Emery this offseason was addressing the need for a backup to Matt Forte. I'm sure he will sign his franchise tag, but if he does decide to hold out, Bush will provide a capable alternative.

And after watching what happened last season, when players got hurt and the Bears went from a playoff team to one that struggled just to break even, Emery knew that backups at critical positions was a very important move for him to make. 

Now, for those of you who think the Bears would have been better off giving that money to Forte, you are wrong. There wasn't much guaranteed money in the deal to Bush, while Forte's agent is asking for guaranteed money that only an unrestricted player might get.

Meanwhile, Bush is coming off of an excellent season. Combined with Khalil Bell, the Bears have a deep, strong running game to go with their improved passing game.

The offense is very happy right now.

GOOD: Signing Jason Campbell

Speaking of having adequate backups at key positions, yet another great move by Emery was going out and acquiring the services of a QB who I am surprised couldn't get a better opportunity elsewhere.

Campbell spent the past two years in Oakland after playing his first four seasons with Washington and has started 70 of the 71 games he has appeared in. But he got hurt last year, and the Raiders brought in Carson Palmer.

He has completed 1,296 of 2,131 passes for 14,417 yards, 74 touchdowns and 50 interceptions in his career.

When Cutler went down last season, the Bears couldn't win a game with their backup, Caleb Hanie. They eventually turned to Josh McCown, who performed better, but he is better off as a third-string QB, as he is now with the Bears.

BAD: Corey Graham Signs with Ravens

One of the tougher offseason transactions for the Bears was losing Pro Bowl special teams gunner Corey Graham. He wanted to be paid as a starting cornerback, and the team just doesn't feel he is.

But Graham also played surprisingly well in the nickle package late last season following injuries, so he will be missed.

He signed with the Ravens. Special teams coach Dave Toub will certainly miss Graham, whose 75 special teams tackles since 2007 ranks third in the NFL.

In the Bears defense, they couldn't bring back everybody. They re-signed Israel Idonije, Tim Jennings and Craig Steltz, among others, and extended Lance Briggs. So there wasn't room for everyone, and Graham became one of the casualties.

But Toub always seems to find a way to keep his unit going strong, and in fact, Graham is not the first Pro Bowler that he has lost in his time with Chicago.

Signing Blake Costanzo as a free agent will help. The 27-year-old Costanzo is a special teams standout. Wide receiver Eric Weems is also a solid contributor on special teams.

BAD: Failing to Improve the Offensive Line and Defensive Tackle in the Draft

The draft may turn out to be a great one for the Bears. After all, no one will truly know how good or bad it is until several seasons go by. But at first blush, I was not impressed by it overall.

In the first round, the Bears stretched to take an outside linebacker better suited for a 3-4 defense in Shea McClellin. I'm not suggesting that McClellin won't be a good football player in time; rather, I'm saying that I would have preferred a true 4-3 defensive end.

While the 6'3 1/2", 260-pound McClellin may be a bit of a tweener, he has a track record for getting after the quarterback.

Meanwhile, Whitney Mercilus has his faults, but for one season at Illinois, he was the prototypical end. Did he face some weak offensive lines? Sure, but then again, all college players do at times. It's just the nature of the beast. And he only had the one big year. Still, I liked him more.

The rest of the draft was OK, but tight end wasn't as big a priority, at least to me, as the offensive line and defensive tackle, each of which was ignored in the draft.  

The team has a big hole at left tackle, where J'Marcus Webb was statistically the worst in the league last season.

And, since they released Anthony Adams and lost Amobi Okoye to free agency, they need depth at the DT position. The only experienced player they have other than Henry Melton and Matt Toeaina is second-year man Stephen Paea,

MIXED: Franchise Tagging Matt Forte

This was both a good move and a bad move. It was a no-brainer in the sense that the Bears couldn't afford to simply let Forte walk as a free agent. But signing him to an extension would have been better.

But it takes two to tango. Sure, the Bears' offer of around $13 million guaranteed may have been a bit of a low-ball offer, but then again, Forte's people want far too much for his services.

Now, there is no doubt that Forte is a top-five running back. But one, he wasn't an unrestricted free agent, and two, he had no leverage.

Meanwhile, it's not as if Forte won't be making a ton of money. As a tagged player, he will earn money equal to the average of the top five backs in the league.

But 2012 may be the last season for Forte in a Bears uniform unless they can sign him to a long-term extension. I highly doubt they would tag him again next season, when he would cost the Bears almost $10 million.

GOOD: Signing Jeremy Bates as Quarterbacks Coach

Anything the Bears can do to make their QB comfortable has to be a good thing, right? Cutler proved last year that he is the most vital cog in the Bears machine, so why not placate him as much as possible?

First, they fired (well, decided not to bring back) Mike Martz and his seven step drop offense. That should help keep Cutler upright, even though they didn't improve the offensive line.

Then, they brought in Cutler's friend and former teammate, Marshall, to give him a legitimate weapon to throw to.

Finally, they brought in Cutler's old mentor, Jeremy Bates, as QB coach. With Cutler having his third offensive coordinator in four seasons with the Bears, it should be nice for him to see a familiar face.

Bates was on the Denver Broncos’ coaching staff from 2006 to 2008 and was the quarterbacks coach when Cutler had his Pro Bowl season. 

GOOD: Firing Mike Martz

Technically, they didn't actually fire Martz, but you get the point. His offense just didn't fit the personnel in Chicago, and his seven step drops were killing Cutler.

Hiring Mike Tice as his replacement was probably the smart thing to do since Cutler needed to learn a whole new system like he needed a whole in his head. With Tice, the changes to the playbook are minimized.

Tice will also utilize the tight end more and help the offensive line be as good as it can be. And anyway, Martz wasn't running his full system so the whole thing never made sense.

In the end, I don't think Cutler and Martz were getting along. Tice makes sense for the Bears, and this was one of the better moves of the offseason.

GOOD: Firing Jerry Angelo

Immediately following the Bears' disappointing 8-8 season, which included a 1-5 finish, GM Jerry Angelo was fired. Given his dismal draft record, it was time for him to go.

And so far, so good, for his replacement. Emery has had a solid offseason. His draft record will tell the tale ultimately, but it's way too soon to know that.

No matter what, a change was necessary. And it signaled to Bears fans and the team that mediocrity was not to be tolerated.