Chicago Bears Continue to Add Reclamation Projects; Colts Find Solace in Their Own

The Chicago Bears have had an interesting offseason as I chronicled yesterday. Today they continued to delve into mediocrity (as fans on forums have put it) with the signings of RB Marion Barber and Texans DT Amobi Okoye. The Bears are relying on their defensive coaching to get the most out of former 10 top draft picks Amobi Okoye, and Vernon Gholston. Gholston is labeled a major bust and a player has made some analysts revist the way they scout players (Wes Buntin of the National Football Post, is one who has written that Gholston’s failure has taught him about scouting).

Okoye entered the league has a very raw player, even though he’s been in the league four years already he just turned 24 in June. Okoye also has been far more successful than Vernon Gholston was, playing on an average Texans defense Okoye registered 3 sacks last year and has 11 for his career. Those are not the type of numbers that teams expect from high first round picks, but at the very least he could be a solid rotational player for the Bears. I like the signing.

The Bears also signed Marion “the Barbarian” Barber. A player the Cowboys had high hopes for after a pretty stellar 2006 and 2007 has a rotation back. In those two seasons Barber totaled 24 rushing touchdowns and averaged 4.8 yards per carry as well as chipped in four receiving touchdowns and 60 catches. But since then Barber has only found the endzone 20 combined rushing and receiving touchdowns and averaged 3.7 yards, 4.4 yards, and 3.3 yards per carry in the next three seasons. Even though Barber has struggled a bit the past three years, he could be a nice compliment to Matt Forte, and Barber is also an above average pass catcher which will fit in nice with what the Bears like to do on offense.

The Colts on the other hand have focused on retaining their own. They gave Peyton Manning a huge three year contract and then resigned running back Joseph Addai. Joseph Addai is one of my favorite under-rated players in the league. Playing behind a porous Colts offensive line last year, Addai averaged 4.3 yards per carry. He also had 19 receptions, but battled injuries last year. Addai is a plus blocker, and just a smart all around player. I think he could succeed in any type of offense on almost any team in the league. More importantly former first round pick, Donald Brown has shown nothing inspiring since being drafted (over Hakeem Nicks, who was thought to be a favorite target for the Colts heaidng into the 2009 N.F.L. draft). Brown had averaged 3.8 yards per carry since entering the league and has 5 total touchdowns.

One last quick note: Adam Schefter tweets that Nate Clements has signed with the Bengals (to replace Jonathan Joseph). A preminum is being put on cornerbacks this off-season and I expect to see that continue in free agency and the draft moving forward.

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