Thursday, April 7, 2011
Posted: 2:43 p.m.
By John Mullin
CSNChicago.com
DaQuan Bowers is having one of the more intriguing pre-draft rides of any prospect. The Clemson defensive end has been everywhere from the No. 1 overall pick to a second-rounder, based on a suspect knee and just one mega-year (15.5 sacks as a junior, 4 total his first two seasons).
Pro Football Weekly draft analyst Nolan Nawrocki summarized the concerns very succinctly this week and it would not surprise Nolan to see Bowers sliding down as far as 29th, where the Bears live.
The fluctuations will stop in three weeks when Bowers is drafted, undoubtedly somewhere between the two previous extremes. But two Bears defensive ends have figured in his being where he is and will be.
One was the late Gaines Adams, who was like a big brother to me, Bowers said. We were very close. Hes one of the reasons I chose Clemson. I was hit real hard by his death, but I had to go on.
The other is Julius Peppers. Bowers has held Peppers up as a football model for himself, but with realistic limits. He is one of the premier defensive ends in the NFL, Bowers said, laughing, and I am just a scrawny little defensive end coming out of college attempting to play like him and be half as good as him.
NFL
The Bears are determined to upgrade their pass rush (rare is the season and team that doesnt annually list that as a priority) and some scenarios would have Bowers still around when the Bears turn comes at No. 29. If hes available, he becomes an interesting possibility, particularly because that could mean at least one team has presumably taken an offensive lineman ahead of them rather than Bowers.
Theres talk of talk
NFL players have sent a letter to U.S. District Court Judge Susan Nelson, who is handling the court action by players seeking an injunction to end the lockout. The gist is that the players are embracing her recommendations to participate in mediation under court oversight.
View from the Moon will refrain from lengthy discussion and description of the myriad details here and elsewhere in the process. But there are a couple of different mediation options and the owners arent expected to be in favor of this one. So its movement, sort of...
Grain-of-salt time is upon us
Florida CG Mike Pouncey tweeted (@MikePouncey) that he would be shocked if hes not in a Dallas Cowboys uniform next season, obviously based on the hugs he got while visiting there. Actually, if he is in a Dallas uniform, a pretty high percentage of the football world will be dealing with the shock. The Cowboys pick No. 9 and no draft preview has Pouncey going nearly that high.
Pouncey can be forgiven, though, for letting himself believe the platitudes of a visit. The Bears have lavished the same things on prospects; so have other teams. Thats just part of pre-draft visits. As Mike Florio notes at ProFootballTalk.com, Randy Moss once had that same impression from the Cowboys, prior to the 1998 draft, when Dallas was picking eighth. They didnt take Moss, who stayed around until No. 21 when Dennis Green and the Minnesota Vikings took him.
For what its worth, Pouncey at guard while brother Maurkice was at center, before going on to a Pro Bowl rookie season with the Pittsburgh Steelers rates at the top of at least one list.
LSU defensive tackle Drake Nevis, a keep-an-eye-on player for the Bears according to draft expert Wes Bunting at National Football Post, said Maurkice was the best single blocker Nevis faced in college and Mike is good, too, Nevis said, adding, When they were at guard and center, that was a tough batch. And a lot of people would say that was the best one-two tandem they ever faced.
John "Moon" Mullin is CSNChicago.com's Bears Insider, and appears regularly on Bears Postgame Live and Chicago Tribune Live. Follow Moon on Twitter for up-to-the-minute Bears information.
