Bears Trade for Gaines Adams

[Howling Mad]

By no means do I think Angelo screwed up any of the last trades he made (Cutler/Gaines), but forcing himself into such a bad position, and being as aggressive as he has been, I think its going to back fire.

Both trades were good but if certain guys can't pick up their play, we won't have enough cash to fill the holes in FA. I do agree O-line has to be the top priority, in turn that will fix a lot of other things. Now I know this is bold to say, but I think we're fine with Forte and the rest of the RBs. I actually think we still need a WR, a stud one. I mean, if we're throwing this much, we might as well stack up. Not like what we've got is top notch, Cutler just throws to whos open. I wanna see him with a stud target.

[Cliff Levingston]

I actually think we still need a WR, a stud one. I mean, if we're throwing this much, we might as well stack up. Not like what we've got is top notch, Cutler just throws to whos open. I wanna see him with a stud target.

Who wouldn't? But you're not going to see Cutler throwing too much to him from his back.

You could make an argument that Pace and Kreutz are both done, at least as starters, by the end of this year at the latest. At the same time, Omiyale has been a disaster at LG. There's 3 guys you need to replace, though you may have two replacements in house with Beekman (center) and Shaffer (RT). That would also force us to live with Garza for next year unless we replace him as well.

Realistically, we're going to need at least one more guard and one more tackle this offseason. Not sure about Shaffer, but we could use a stud right tackle and left guard, then Cliff Levingston would feel at least somewhat comfortable with the line.

LT: Williams
LG: ???
C: Beekman
RG: Garza
RT: ??? / Shaffer

...Omiyale can be the main backup tackle or maybe the right tackle if that's his more natural position.

[Icness]

and now for the rest of the story...

One of the big reasons Adams got moved was cap related, but not for the usual reason. Tampa was going to fall short of spending enough $$ this season to meet the salary floor and they didn't want to take on any more salaried players with any sort of commitment. By trading Adams--who IMO is neither as bad as Tampa fans believe or as potentially good as Bears fans think--they got to "eat" the escalator clause in his deal. It forced them to guarantee the remainer of his initial signing bonus and put it on the books for this season. That was something like $6.3M and that put them just over the salary floor. Had they not met the floor they faced losing draft picks and/or fines.

I can also confirm that the Bears chose Adams over Derrick Johnson, who was made available to them for that same pick. Got confirmation from both sides of the deal and the Bears had little interest in him at that price. IMO Johnson >>> Adams but I understand the rationale from JA, that Johnson best fits where Lance Briggs plays and he's no Mike backer...that's why (among other reasons) KC wants to dump him.

[Howling Mad]

and now for the rest of the story...

One of the big reasons Adams got moved was cap related, but not for the usual reason. Tampa was going to fall short of spending enough $$ this season to meet the salary floor and they didn't want to take on any more salaried players with any sort of commitment. By trading Adams--who IMO is neither as bad as Tampa fans believe or as potentially good as Bears fans think--they got to "eat" the escalator clause in his deal. It forced them to guarantee the remainer of his initial signing bonus and put it on the books for this season. That was something like $6.3M and that put them just over the salary floor. Had they not met the floor they faced losing draft picks and/or fines.

I can also confirm that the Bears chose Adams over Derrick Johnson, who was made available to them for that same pick. Got confirmation from both sides of the deal and the Bears had little interest in him at that price. IMO Johnson >>> Adams but I understand the rationale from JA, that Johnson best fits where Lance Briggs plays and he's no Mike backer...that's why (among other reasons) KC wants to dump him.

That is some great stuff. Thanks icness.

[Cliff Levingston]

and now for the rest of the story...

One of the big reasons Adams got moved was cap related, but not for the usual reason. Tampa was going to fall short of spending enough $$ this season to meet the salary floor and they didn't want to take on any more salaried players with any sort of commitment. By trading Adams--who IMO is neither as bad as Tampa fans believe or as potentially good as Bears fans think--they got to "eat" the escalator clause in his deal. It forced them to guarantee the remainer of his initial signing bonus and put it on the books for this season. That was something like $6.3M and that put them just over the salary floor. Had they not met the floor they faced losing draft picks and/or fines.

I can also confirm that the Bears chose Adams over Derrick Johnson, who was made available to them for that same pick. Got confirmation from both sides of the deal and the Bears had little interest in him at that price. IMO Johnson >>> Adams but I understand the rationale from JA, that Johnson best fits where Lance Briggs plays and he's no Mike backer...that's why (among other reasons) KC wants to dump him.

Cool, thanks. Do you like Adams to realize a bit of his potential under Marinelli, or should we not get our hopes up?

[Chewie]

Jeff made his POV pretty clear if you read his $.10 for Week 6 article and I can't say I disagree much aside from his prediction on what his career Bears stats will be at the end (did you have your Barry Sanders jersey on when you wrote that part, JR ? ). On a side note I read that the early word is Gaines already needs to hit the weight room...

One such trade already consummated on Friday, with the woebegone Buccaneers shipping disappointing defensive end Gaines Adams to the Bears for a second round pick. Adams was the fourth overall pick in the 2007 draft, but has not played anywhere close to that potential and is visibly getting less effective instead of improving. The new regime in Tampa had seen enough to know that Adams was not part of the future, and sent him packing for one of those delectable draft picks.

Chicago's point of view is the intriguing part of this deal. The Bears already have a very effective defensive end rotation with Alex Brown, Wali Ogunleye, and Mark Anderson; it's inarguably the strength of their defense. They already dealt away their first rounder next year as part of the Jay Cutler trade, and now they have to sit out the second round too. Had they spent that pick to address a more pressing need (say, defensive tackle or safety or #2 running back or backup quarterback or veteran mentor wide receiver or linebacker), parting with the pick absolutely makes sense. But adding a fourth defensive end -- and a badly underachieving one at that -- is a superfluous move with little immediate reward at a potential high cost. I understand their thinking that their coaching staff can be the ones to get Adams to blossom, but that leads to another point.

The delusional organizational mantra that their coaches or culture can turn around the fortunes of heretofore busts never ceases to amaze me. There's a very sound reason why a team desperate for young impact talent like Tampa Bay gives up such a potential player so quickly -- they have seen him practice, they see him in meetings and they don't see any hope of turning him around. This is not to single out the Bears, because many teams fall victim to this arrogance that they will be the great redeemers. That's why guys like Mike Williams (the fat tackle, not the fat wideout), Jerry Porter, and Byron Leftwich keep getting so many opportunities to keep failing. The cold hard truth is that teams are almost never wrong when they give up on the Gaines Adams's of the NFL world, and the new team tends to figure that out even quicker than the last. Bears fans might like this deal now, but when Adams nets 1.5 sacks and 17 tackles for the rest of his Bears career, and the pick they sacrificed to get him develops into an above-average starting right tackle in Tampa...

[Icness]

I'm a Chris Spielman guy, Chewie. My #20 Lions jersey says "Sims" on the back. FWIW I have a Shaun Gayle Bears jersey I found at an estate sale for $10, always liked that guy.

I looked back to my pre-draft evaluation of Adams. Here's what I thought then:

Gaines Adams, DE, Clemson. 6'5", 268 pounds.
Strong point-of-attack base end. Sets and holds the edge well, though his anchor strength could improve. Has a nice shoulder-fake move and enough quickness to slide to the "B" gap to follow it up. Not real fast around the edge but can set up the outside move well. Good instincts, quick to diagnose screens and draws, doesn't bail on backside containment. Has a good feel for when he's beaten on the pass rush and will innately drop back and try to play in passing lanes. Good tackler, keeps his head up and shoulders square. Good backside pursuit of screens (see SC game). Not as fast as advertised and not quick off the snap consistently. Will allow more aggressive blockers to dictate his actions, though some of that appears by scheme design. Can't do much once the blocker gets arm extension, not real creative with his hands. Generally keeps good pad level but has a habit of putting his head down when trying to bull rush or break off blocks, and the play can go right by him. Is one of those players where he doesn't appear to be giving max effort all the time, though his coaches insist he's a dedicated worker. Projects best as a 3-4 RDE if he can add some bulk.
NFL Comparison: Justin Smith, Bryan Thomas.

I had him pegged in the 10-15 overall range but he jumped up with a good Combine, which was helped by him being a good interview. I actually had him and Adam Carriker flip-flopped in my penultimate mock before I knew the Bucs were taking him. IIRC (and I might not), the Bucs knew they had to replace DeWayne White and Simeon Rice and that's why they went DE.

[Friend_Of_Haley]

I just have two small complaints with Icness's breakdown:

While our DE rotation is good: 2/3 of it are free agents this year.

and..

There's only 3. We lack depth. One of those guys goes down and we're playing Idonije and Gilbert at DE, or whatever scrub we can pick off someones P.S.