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Audibles From the Long Snapper

| April 26th, 2010

Is it really time to stop talking about hypothetical talent and start talking about things that might influence the 2010 season?  I think so.

Bears Should Sign Faneca
Alan Faneca is nowhere near the player he once was but the Bears would be foolish to not consider bringing in the veteran to solidify the middle of the offensive line.  Whether one believes the diminished skill argument or not, one thing is clear: everywhere that Faneca has played, the team has shown a dominant ability to run the ball.
Brad Biggs has a few more tidbits on his current contractual status:

The New York Jets, who released the nine-time Pro Bowl performer on Sunday, owe Faneca $5.25 million guaranteed. That money will have no affect on his contract with his next employer because as Andrew Brandt of the National Football Post reported, there is no offset in the contract. That means that the $5.25 million is pocketed by Faneca now instead of it being applied to his next NFL contract and funded by the Jets.

It’s similar to the big money quarterback Jake Delhomme collected when he was released by the Carolina Panthers and subsequently signed with the Cleveland Browns. Both Faneca and Delhomme are represented by Chicago-based Priority Sports.

Faneca has Ruben Brown written all over him.  We may not get more than a year or two out of him, but they’ll be a good year or two.


Cutler Sees Olsen as Part of Offense
Buried at the end of Vaughn McClure’s column about Jay Cutler’s expectations for the 2010 season are his comments on the marriage of Martz and Olsen:

With rumors swirling about the possible trade of tight end Greg Olsen, Cutler talked up his good friend’s role in the new offense, too.

“One of (Martz’s) specialties is trying to find ways to create matchups for guys, and Greg is the ultimate matchup guy,” Cutler said. “You can put him on corners, safeties, linebackers. Once we get into this, and (Olsen) sees how many different ways we can use him, he’s going to be excited.”

Sometimes I feel like the lone voice on this issue but I’ll write every day that any efforts to deal Greg Olsen are misguided and will ultimately prove disastrous.  


Stay Tuned To DaBearsBlog…
I’ll be coming with our second BlogRadio interview with Bears beat writer Brad Biggs in the coming days.  We’ll recap the draft picks, talk about Lovie and Jerry’s job security and try to pry some good stuff out of the best around.