Bears Blitz

Published by Bryan Dietzler on May 9, 2011
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

There are still Bears fans that are wondering just why their team selected California safety Chris Conte and West Virginia linebacker J.T. Thomas. Granted, Chicago could have used the depth at both positions, but did they need to draft these two players in particular? Were there better options on the board?

The biggest problem with Conte is his last of experience.  He has started just one season at the safety position (although he ended up winning First Team Pac-10 honors) and has been said to be very weak at covering receivers in the secondary. 

Remember some of the breakdowns in pass coverage last year as a result of blown assignments by Bears playing the safety position? If anything, the Bears should have invested the time to find a safety that can play in the passing game as well as be a physical force up front.

Conte does have his good side, however. He has the size to play the position and was one of the strongest safeties in this year’s safety class and had an extremely productive senior season. While he does have problems in coverage, once in the backfield he has the instincts to make sure that his part of the field is covered. He can get up high to knock the ball away from receivers and has good form when making tackles.

Aside from the lack of experience and his problems dropping back into coverage, Conte struggles playing man-to-man coverage and needs to work on his pass defense mechanics.

Can Conte contribute to the Bears right away, if at all? The nice thing about him is that he can play the run well and that’s what head coach Lovie Smith likes in his safeties. The Bears defense has the safeties playing close to the line and they have to support the rushing defense and if Conte can do that then he just might work out well for the Bears.

So can he contribute on defense for the Bears? His status as a third-round pick will make him impossible for the Bears to let go even if he doesn’t work out, so consider him a lock to make the team in training camp. It’s likely that the Bears will let either Josh Bullocks (currently not under contract) and/or Craig Steltz go in end and keep Conte on the roster.

With Pisa Tinoisamoa and Nick Roach not under contract right now the Bears have virtually no talent at the outside linebacker position opposite Lance Briggs. It’s likely that the Bears will be able to sign either Roach and Tinoisamoa (or both) so that will help keep the continuity there, but the depth is much less desirable than the Bears would like to see.

Enter Thomas, a player that many draft experts had felt wouldn’t even be drafted in this year’s draft. He came into the draft rated as the 20th-best outside linebacker in this draft meaning that he probably shouldn’t be drafted.

He does come with good speed, nice athleticism and a strong work ethic (which the Bears will really like) and can cover slot receivers, running backs and tight ends. He tackles well, has stayed healthy and plays hard all of the time.

But Thomas does have his problems. He can’t break off blocks well and isn’t very well adept at rushing the passer (for an outside linebacker). He doesn’t have the burst to get to the quarterback and doesn’t have a lot of ability to be versatile on defense.

The Bears still saw something in Thomas that made them draft him. At least in the interim, if he does make the team, he can play special teams and help add some depth at the outside linebacker position but if it comes needing him to come in and start, the Bears could be in a lot of trouble.

Let’s hope that they can get either Roach or Tinoisamoa (or both) back.

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