Off
Season moves impact on ex-Buckeyes in the NFC North
Barton, Hawk,
Pickett, Walter, and Winfield and the NFC North
By Bill Smith
Chicago
Barton,
Kirk G/T Rookie 7th round choice 247 – The Bears offensive line
is—well offensive. Add in a gaggle of struggling
QBs and a rookie starting running back, the 07 starting WRs both going to other
teams and you have the formula for a real mess.
The Bears offensive line last year was a disaster of injury and under
performance. The guard position was
manned for years by Ruben Brown who will likely be headed to Canton soon.
He is a free agent and will likely retire. The best tackle (and that isn't saying much),
Fred Miller was cut after he failed the physical. That is addition by subtraction. John (he wasn't even good enough to make the
Rams) St. Clair played turnstile at left guard.
RG Roberto Garza is about as mobile as a skyscraper. The only vet that is a threat to start at
guard is Josh Beekman but his best position is C.
Barton
should be used at guard but is the only RT on the team as of now. There were no worthwhile cuts on June 1 so
unless the Bears pick up someone during the preseason, Barton could end up
getting the position by default. In any
case he will make the team and at the very least will get playing time in the
preseason and a good shot at starting.
Detroit - no
ex-Buckeyes
Green Bay
Hawk, A.J. OLB 3rd Year Hawk
should make the pro-bowl team this year.
He should have made it last year but just missed. He has shown the speed, tackling ability and
the nasty streak that made him such a fan favorite at OSU.
Pickett, Ryan DT 8th year
Pickett suffered with groin strains in 07 and it hurt the ability of the Pac to
stop the run. He is the nose tackle and
will start. The question is who will
start at the under-tackle next to him.
Williams is now a Brown via a trade.
The best bet now is Colin Cole who was a restricted FA that was resigned
or Johnny Jolly the third year vet from Texas A&M that would be happy to
get the job (sorry about the pun).
T/G
Tyson Walter played in only 5 games for the Pac last year and was not
tendered as UFA and is no longer with the team.
He has yet to sign with another team.
Minnesota
Winfield, Antoine CB 10th year
Winfield is a perennial pro-bowl candidate and will start as the shutdown
corner on one of the best defenses in the NFL.
Don't let the fact that the Vikes ranked so low in passing D fool
you. No one even tries to run on the
Vikes but the team does not get a lot of pressure on the QB. As a result, Winfield and his compatriots in
the backfield have to stay with the opponent receivers longer and more often
than most teams. But Winfield is
outstanding and will be a star for another 5 years or more.
Next Friday—NFC South
Bill Smith is a former
coach of several semi-pro teams and has scouted talent. He is a senior writer for http://BrutusReport.com. He has
also published several novels on http://ebooks-library.com/index.cfm and
edits http://fryingpanpolitics.blog.com