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Sportswire via Getty ImagesWindy City Gridiron is the voice of the Chicago Bears
fans, by the fans, for the fans, and we feel we have the best NFL community in
all of SB Nation. Our fans have passion, but we’re also level headed. Sure there
are a few outliers either way, but for the most part our fanbase can talk
football with anyone. Just like we did a year ago, we’re starting up another
season of FanPulse, which is a collection of the best Bears’ fans on the planet
to provide their plugged-in voices to a set of poll questions each week. We had
a lot of fun with these a year ago, so if you aren’t already signed up, then do
it now to let your voice be heard. You guys can sign up here through Survey
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once all the votes are tabulated, SB Nation will share with us the results and
we’ll share them on WCG. I enjoy not only sharing the results from us Bears’
fans, but it was fun watching the confidence level from the Vikings, Packers,
and Lions fan take a roller coaster ride each week. The delusion form those
other fanbases was enjoyable to watch each week as well. If you were a FanPulse
member a year ago, then there’s no need to re-join, but if you want to get
involved with thousands of NFL fans and let your voice be heard, then CLICK HERE
TO JOIN NOW. Phil Emery left behind a lot of frustration in Chicago. However,
with a bit of perspective, it’s possible to see that the former GM for the Bears
had at least a few victories."Phil Emery served as the Bears’ general manager
for only three years, and his time is mostly remembered
Richard Dent Jerseys 2019 , justifiably, as a disaster. However, he actually drafted better than most fans might appreciate.Consider this—of the nearly 800
players drafted in the NFL during the time that Emery was a GM, a bit less than
a third of them were active through 2018 (252/763). By comparison, 7 of Emery’s
20 draft picks were still active through 2018. That’s just a bit more than a
third, but it functionally suggests that Emery was about average for the league.
Already, Emery is doing better than most of his critics might suggest, and it
actually gets better for the man’s advocates (if any such creatures exist).Only
91 of the 763 drafted players have been selected to Pro Bowls in some capacity.
That’s about 12% of the total. Meanwhile, four of Emery’s picks were selected
for the Pro Bowl; that’s 20%. The 2012, 2013, and 2014 drafts combined for 188
Pro Bowl selections. That’s good for 0.24 Pro Bowl selections per player taken.
Phil Emery’s players combined for 6 Pro Bowl selections, good for 0.30 Pro Bowl
selections per player taken. No matter how I work the numbers, Emery
consistently found top-end talent more often than might be expected, and that’s
impressive since his worst draft position was #14. Likewise, Emery’s selections
have had staying power, too. A bit more than a third of players taken during
this time (258) have played in at least 64 games, or the equivalent of four full
seasons. Meanwhile, 8 of Emery’s selections (40%) have made that same mark.
Given that Emery himself did not last four seasons, this suggests that his
players have stayed because of their talent, not because of favoritism. In
short, Emery was a bit better than the average for the league when evaluated in
terms of his ability to find top-end talent and players with the potential to
stay in the league.That seems wrong, but it holds true when the individual
drafts are considered, as well.2012 was bad. Shea McClellin, taken with the 19th
pick overall
White Mike Ditka Jerseys , is tied for the 79th most valuable player in that draft per Pro Football Reference’s CAV metric. That seems generous, but it also
suggests that he “should have” been a third-rounder, and that seems fair.
However, that same draft also saw Alshon Jeffery get selected in the second
round. Jeffery is 16th in CAV out of that draft, and he’s second in that draft
class for overall receiving yards, first in receiving touchdowns, and (despite
his various troubles staying on the field) in the top thirty when it comes to
starts coming out of that class. Whatever his struggles might be, Jeffery was a
solid pick, and Emery found him in his first year. However, Jeffery is both the
beginning and the end of Emery’s early successes. This seems to validate the
idea that a GM’s first year can often be a source of frustration for the fans of
a franchise.2013 was impressive, though. Emery drafted three players in the top
64 when it comes to CAV, even though he was in the 20th draft position. This is
the draft that saw the Bears take Kyle Long (13th in CAV) and Jordan Mills (17th
in CAV) in the same draft, suggesting that Emery knew a thing or two about
offensive linemen, if nothing else. While it’s fair to say that Jordan Mills had
his limitations, it’s also fair to point out that he’s a fifth-round pick who
has played for six full seasons in the NFL, making it as a designated starter
for five of those seasons. So who is the third? Jonathan Bostic with 46 starts
comes in at 61st in terms of CAV, and while Bostic has had trouble sticking with
a team, the fact is that only 34 players in his draft class have more seasons as
a designated starter than Bostic. By the measure of finding players who could
stick in the NFL as starters, Emery’s work in 2013 was ahead of the curve.2014
was even more interesting. Bears fans should appreciate All-Pro Kyle Fuller’s
selection in that draft at 14th overall, even if he is only 30th when it comes
to CAV. If you want a more direct measure of football impact than Pro Football
Reference’s franken-stat, just note that Kyle Fuller leads his draft class in
interceptions, and even with his missing season (which hurts his rank in a lot
of regards), he is still 60th in games played out of that draft class. However,
the true steal was Charles Leno. Taken with the 246th pick in the
draft
Mike Ditka Jerseys 2019 , Leno is a Grabowski in the best sense of the term. He did make the Pro Bowl recently, but more importantly he has played in 70 games and
started 62 of them. He is technically one spot ahead of Fuller in CAV, and
locking down a left tackle position with steady (if unspectacular) play for
years suggests that he was a solid pick. In fact, whether you judge by Pro
Bowls, starts, or CAV, Leno is the fourth-best tackle taken in 2014, despite
being the eleventh selected. An honorable mention should also go to Pat
O’Donnell. Taken in the 6th round, he has demonstrated that sometimes it’s
better to take a steady contributor on special teams, like a punter, than to
take a player unlikely to make a roster. O’Donnell has more game appearances
than any other 6th-rounder in his class, and he has at least been steady.Phil
Emery had significant limitations as a general manager. He deserved to be let
go. However, he actually beat the averages when it came to the draft, and the
Bears still count on three of his players to be starters (Long, Leno, and
Fuller) while gaining solid contributions from another player (O’Donnell). Three
more players (Jeffery, Mills, and Bostic) were still making substantive
contributions to their teams.Was Emery a good GM? Probably not. Did he make some
surprisingly good draft picks? Upon further review, it really seems like he did.
His selection of head coaches, on the other hand...
