Chicago Bears: Analyzing the 7 Biggest Camp Controversies so Far

With a shortened camp after the long NFL lockout, you may have expected there to be fewer controversies in Bear Country.  With so little time, there will surely be fewer water-cooler moments from the Bears front office and so much less to talk about, right?  But fear not, Ursa-faithful!  There is plenty to debate!

Not wanting to deprive the fans of anything, the Bears and General Manager Jerry Angelo have created several situations—and have not addressed several more—that have been, and will continue to be, criticized or debated in pubs and on sports forums everywhere.

Yes, Bears fans, your trusty GM has been throwing the dice around and has provided you with some head-scratching personnel decisions that will provide you with months—and possibly years—of ammunition when attacking/defending Angelo and the Bears honcho squad.

To be a bit more serious, the real question is whether these moves are scalp-scraping in their genius or in their insanity.

Follow me as we delve into some of the most interesting and controversial developments of the Bears' preseason so far. 

And don't forget to let us know what you think about these or any other camp issues in the comment thread below!

Who the Bears Haven't Chased

The Bears came into the offseason, despite having played to within a touchdown of the Super Bowl, with a lot of perceived needs.  From corner and defensive tackle on defense to linemen and wide receivers on the offensive side of the ball, the Bears had holes to fill.

And with an estimated $27M in cap room available, many thought the Bears would be making a big splash in free agency or by trade.

The truth is that the Bears' fans were spoiled over the past two seasons.  They watch the Bears cat the biggest stone into the talent pool the last two seasons, acquiring Pro Bowl quarterback Jay Cutler in a blockbuster trade in 2009 and then nabbing top free agent Julius Peppers in 2010.

Names like Nnamdi Asomugha, Chad Ochocinco, Sidney Rice, Santonio Holmes, Jonathan Joseph, Carl Nicks, Willie Colon, Justin Blalock, Harvey Dahl and Brandon Mebane were available through fee agency or trade, yet none were signed.  In fact, the Bears didn't sign a single free agent who isn't looking for redemption or wasn't surrounded by question.

But the Bears do not operate in a vacuum.  We've heard a few rumors about whom they pursued, but there just isn't any way of knowing whom they lost to other teams.  We know that the bears were interested in Willie Colon, but lost the bidding war.  How many other players were the Bears chasing?

This was not a fantastic year for free agency.  After the top couple of players at each position, there is a significant drop-off in talent.  And in some cases there were serious questions about even the top prospects.  Wide receiver is a perfect example.  

After Santonio Holmes, who was resigned by the Jets before teams could talk to other franchises' free agents, the top prospects came with questions.  Was Sidney Rice more than a one-hit-wonder?  Can Braylon Edwards be a true No. 1 receiver?  Can Mike Sims-Walker stay on the field and is he capable of taking the next step?

Additionally, in a shortened offseason, newly acquired players will have to hit the ground running and learn playbooks as they go.  For this reason, teams are looking for players who are already familiar with their systems, limiting their options.  This is especially true of the Bears, whose offense is among the most complex in the league.  

The Bears nabbed Roy Williams after the Cowboys dropped him because he has played in Martz's system before, which allows him to contribute much quickly than Mike Sims-Walker or Sidney Rice.

The Bears were fairly cautious in free agency this year, avoiding saddling the Bears with any long-term contracts that might not work out.  This was probably a smart move considering the salary floor doesn't go in affect until next season.

Retreading 1st Round Flops

The Bears seemed to make a point this year of bringing in players drafted by other teams in the first round who, for whatever reason, haven't lived up to their potential.

The Bears signed former first-round selections DE Vernon Gholston, DT Amobi Okoye and WR Roy Williams all to one-year deals.  They also added C Chris Spencer with a two-year contract.

These are all inexpensive low risk/high reward moves.  Many are panning the Bears for taking this route, but these could end up being the smartest moves the Bears made since the lockout ended.

Consider this:  If the former first-round busts all fail, GM Jerry Angelo did nothing more than take a low budget on four players with huge potential.  Not many will hold it against him in a couple of years if none of the four pan out.

But if even one becomes a moderate success, Angelo comes out looking smart.  If two or more make an impact, Angelo becomes a genius.

Gholston was drafted into the wrong defensive scheme. Okoye has been reasonably productive in a horrible defense.  Williams has produced Pro Bowl numbers as a part of Mike Martz's offense in Detroit. And Chris Spencer struggled at canter—a position whose success is often reliant on the quality of the players to your left and right—on an offensive line that has struggled for quite a while, similar to the situation Olin Kreutz found himself in last season.

In other words, it is not out of the realm of possibility that one or more of these players could succeed in Chicago.  

Interestingly enough, the Bears have left a lot of room in their cap situation and many are wondering why.  It's possible that Angelo is leaving cap space available to allow for the resigning of these players if needed.  If Roy Williams has 700 yards and five TDs and Vernon Gholston supplants Izzy Idonjie after registering seven sacks by the time the bye week roles around, Angelo has the cap space available to make sure both are extended, and thus never see the free agent market next year.

The Bears have doled out a lot of one year contracts this year.  If this team makes a Super Bowl trip, how mad would the fan base be to watch it picked apart in free agency next offseason because the Bears didn't leave enough cap room to get the job done? 

Devin Hester Named the No. 1 Receiver

After reviewing tape of last season's performances, offensive coordinator Mike Martz believes that Devin Hester was the best wide receiver the Bears fielded last season.  In fact, Martz believes Devin was good enough to warrant being named the starter in camp this season, leaving last year's leading receiver Johnny Knox out of the starting lineup.

Last season Hester's role in the offense was deliberately diminished so that he would focus more on returning to his Hall of Fame caliber form in the return game.  And it worked.

So many are questioning why Hester is being returned to a starting role when he so obviously benefited both in the return game and as a receiver from the decline in offensive snaps last season.

Hester is a threat every time the ball touches his hands.  The desire to make that happen more often is understandable.  But considering the improvement he showed in both aspects of his game, it's a bit surprising that the Bears would return to the ideas they had for him in 2009.

But it should also be remembered that Hester is a converted cornerback.  The process of learning how to be a wide receiver in the NFL isn't an overnight occurrence.  It's generally expected that a rookie WR will take three years to acclimate to the NFL, so expecting a converted corner to figure out the position quicker was always a bit unfair.

Devin has shown improvement every year since the switch, and this might be the next logical step.  Time will tell.

Roy Williams

With so little time to learn the playbook, the Bears decided to take a chance on a receiver who already knew the playbook but was a flop in his last change of venue.

Roy Williams has performed at a Pro Bowl level in Mike Martz's offense in the past, and the Bears are banking on him being able to do so again.

But the move isn't one that sits well with many fans or the media.  Williams was a complete flop after the Cowboys traded first, third and sixth-round picks to Detroit to acquire his services in 2008.

Williams appeared lost in the Cowboys offense and became known more for dropped balls than touchdowns.

Williams was released in a cap cutting move that was cheered by Cowboys fans and headed immediately to Chicago to see if he could redeem himself by rejoining Mike Martz. 

Many Chicago fans have not been kind about their disdain for this signing with so many other receivers that they perceived to be higher value on the market.  Guys like fragile but potential laden wide-outs Sidney Rice and Mike Sims-Walker were on the lips of fans leading up to the start of free agency, and the signing of Williams instead was disappointing to many.

In the long term, Williams could be viewed as a risk.  But in the here-and-now, this should be considered a smart pick.  

Williams signed a one-year deal, giving the Bears a former 1000 yard receiver that already knows the playbook but who isn't going to bury the Bears if he doesn't perform as they expect.  Receivers not familiar with the system would likely have not started immediately.  

We all saw the problems in this offense with receivers who don't know the scheme last season.  Martz's complex routes and timing based system require a receiver to know the playbook well enough to read the defense and react without having to think about about where they are supposed to be.  Williams offered the best chance of bringing in a receiver who could help in the grueling early-season leg of the Bears schedule.

No Competition on the Offensive Line

According to Mike Tice, the Bears offensive line is set and players will have to earn their way off of the starting lineup.

This wouldn't be such a controversy if not for the names listed as starters.  Roberto Garza will move to the Center position from his usual guard spot.  Gabe Carimi is slotted in as the right tackle and J'Marcus Webb will be manning the blind side.  Chris Williams will remain at the left guard position and Lance Louis returns to the right guard spot.

Notice that only one player on that line wasn't a starter at some point for the Bears last season.

The fact that Chris Williams is still manning the LG spot is one huge point of contention.  Williams hasn't managed to break away from the bust moniker and last year his play from the guard position wasn't exactly awe inspiring.

Also notable is that Olin Kreutz's perceived replacement isn't starting.  Chris Spencer appears second on the depth chart behind Garza.

So how are the bears comfortable starting so many linemen who served as matadors last season on the league's worst line?

Youth and inexperience plagued the line last year.  Chris Williams has yet to play an entire season in one place on the line and was learning the guard spot on the fly last year.  J'Marcus Webb was starting out of necessity when most considered the raw rookie to be physically dominant but in need of a year or two of technical training.  Lance Louis was young and completely inexperienced at the NFL level as well.

Each has a year of practice as well as some game day experience under his belt.  These young players are no different than any others in the NFL. If they were on other teams, they would be looked at as promising. 

But then other teams wouldn't have been playing that many inexperienced players on one line.  And therein lies the problem.  None would have looked so bad if they were the player learning on an experienced and established line.  But when you combine so many, it becomes difficult to look past their flaws.

Still, the idea that these linemen have to earn their way off the line rather than fighting to stay there in competition seems a little backwards.

Will these linemen gel and grow together into a respectable line?  Only time will tell.

Spencer and Spaeth

There are a lot of bad feelings revolving around the departure of Olin Kreutz and Greg Olsen.  But teams move on, and Chicago did just that, replacing Olsen with more Martz-friendly TE Matt Spaeth and Kreutz with C Chris Spencer.

The problem?  Neither, as of yet, has made anyone think these were good moves.  In fact, neither is even listed as a starter at their position.

Spaeth wasn't a starter in Pittsburgh, so this isn't much of a surprise.  He's a blocker first and the Bears aren't looking to TEs to make or break the team.

But Spencer sitting behind guard-turned-center Roberto Garza, who himself is aging and learning in a new position, is sure to cause some controversy.  This will ring especially true if the line falters.  

Fans and players alike were disgruntled by the Bears parting ways with Olin Kreutz, and watching his replacement ride the bench is not going to make Jerry Angelo any fans.

Matt Forte Contract Situation

Matt Forte is being paid far less than his backups.  He's set to make $550K this season, which is about half of Chester Taylor's 2011 salary and in the area of a quarter of newly-acquired Marion Barber's 2011 compensation.

Forte is now threatening to hold out of preseason games until his contract extension is resolved.  And looking at what Forte has done for Chicago, he has a point.

Forte has all the leverage right now.  He is an ideal fit in Mike Martz's offense and it could be argued that he is every bit as important to this offense's success as Jay Cutler is.

If Matt is injured in a preseason game, especially if that injury is serious, it will diminish his value.  This is a contract year for Forte, so this possibility must weigh heavy on the young back's mind.

But Forte could be leveraging himself out of some money, too.

The Bears recently brought in Marion Barber.  While there are questions as to whether Barber's punishing style of rushing has shortened his career, Barber can still perform.  Barber is a strong runner but also an under-rated receiver out of the backfield.  If Barber comes in and, in Forte's absence, proves that he can be a feature back in this offense, Forte will see his leverage drop quickly.

While Forte had an outstanding year in 2010, it isn't lost on the Bears that he was nothing special between the tackles, especially in short yardage situations.  It also isn't likely that the fact that Forte never crossed four yards a carry in a season before 2010 is lost on the Bears front office.

Forte improved dramatically last season, though, and that won't be overlooked in this "what have you done for me lately" league.

But if Forte holds out and Barber impresses, Forte's stock could fall quickly.  And if Chester Taylor can show that he can mimic the skills that Barber cannot, Forte's leverage is all but gone.  And none of this is out of the realm of possibility.

Also questionable, though, is the Bears' decision not to hasten the young rushers extension.  With so much cap room available, why are the Bears not getting this extension done quickly and thus avoiding more locker room strife, especially in the atmosphere created by the departure of Olin Kreutz? 

There's a lot going on in the front office with the mad scramble that followed the end of the lockout, and Forte is already under contract.  It's understandable, to some extent, that the Bears management feel that this can wait, especially considering that they promised Forte that it would get done.

But, considering the ill-will they fostered in the locker room with the way the Olin Kreutz negotiations were handled, it might have been wiser to place a slightly higher priority on making Forte happy and earning some credit with the players than they seemingly have.

Let's hope this situation is resolved quickly.

Now it's your turn, ladies and gentlemen.  Step up on the soapbox below, known as the Comment Thread, and let your voices be heard!