The perceived talent gap between the Bears' and Green Bay Packers that was a factor in Jerry Angelos firing could narrow this season, from the Green Bay end.
Free agency typically takes a toll on successful teams. The Packers loss of defensive end Cullen Jenkins to the Philadelphia Eagles was a major setback to a Packer defense that lamented its lack of pass rush after the playoff loss to the New York Giants.
Other problems could be looming.
Longtime pal and Packers' beat guy Tom Silverstein up at the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that moving Pro Bowl cornerback Charles Woodson to safety cant be ruled out, a step thats being considered because of problems in the Green Bay secondary.
(Of course, for those worried about Charles Tillmans productive time being at an end at age 31, its worth a chuckle to note that Woodson will be 37 next season.)
Spoon also has an intriguing blog post on the prospect of Jenkins again being back on the market if the Eagles' elect not to pay a 5 million roster bonus at the outset of free agency.
Jenkins was No. 2 on the Bears' target list for the defensive line last off-season, behind only Baltimores Haloti Ngata (subsequently franchise-tagged). He could represent an upgrade at defensive end in Chicago while pre-empting the Packers' from bringing back a solid edge player.
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But theres more.
Green Bay coaches are on the candidates list for positions elsewhere. Linebackers coach Winston Moss is on the Oakland head-coaching list of GM Reggie McKenzie and offensive coordinator Joe Philbin and defensive coordinator Dom Capers are also considered prospects there. Philbin is in the discussion for the Miami head-coaching job.
Thats three top assistants in play out of town. No assurance that they leave, but there are two chances (Miami, Oakland) of it.
More important, tight-end Jermichael Finley is an unrestricted free agent. So is Pro Bowl center Scott Wells. Left tackle Chad Clifton battled injuries and will be 36 just to name a few.
And chances of the Packers' retaining backup quarterback Matt Flynn are shaky, since it likely would require use of the franchise tag, and do they really want to pay a backup 14 million?