At Least Bears Have More Elite Players Than Lions
National Football Post‘s Michael Lombardi is getting all Nick-Nolte-and-Shaq-movie on us, and putting his finger on who, in his view, are the “blue-chip” players for every NFL team. What exactly is a “blue-chip” player, you ask? Well, Matt Forte is one, so apparently it’s another way of saying really, really good.
According to Lombardi, a blue-chip player is identified by the following:
Player has abilities that can create mismatches vs. most opponents in the league. Is a featured player on the team and has impact on the outcome of the game. Not one player can take him out of the game. Each week, he has a consistent level of performance. Plays at a championship level performance. He rates in the top ten at his position in the league. (Ed note: Bold for emphasis)
Lombardi labels three Bears as blue chips: Forte, Cutler, and Hester; and two as almost, but not blue: Urlacher and Briggs. But, what Lombardi fails to mention is that he HAS NO IDEA WHAT HE’S TALKING ABOUT.
Is Briggs really not one of the top-10 outside linebackers in the league? Is four straight Pro Bowl appearances not enough to meet Mr. Lombardi’s consistency standards? What about Olin Kreutz or Orlando Pace? Have both fallen off the wagon so hard that neither deserve a place even under the “almost” group?
But, to be fair, Lombardi is pretty stubborn with all teams … and is Michael Lombardi.
No, no, I won’t end it like that. In fact, I’m not a regular reader of his, so I can only merely speculate on ordinarily, how off base his opinions are. But, what do you guys and gal–surely, there’s one–think? Are the blue-chip ratings fair? (No, they aren’t.) Do they even matter? (No, they don’t). More importantly, am I talking to myself? (You betcha!)
