Some of them work out (Reggie White, Deion Sanders), and some of them don't (Albert Haynesworth, Javon Walker). When they work out, they can result in Super Bowl titles. When they don't work out, they can set your franchise back in very frightening ways.
Each signing is significant, one way or another, but no matter who signs where, the prospect of your favorite NFL team getting bright shiny new toys to play with, will always get fans excited about the upcoming season.
Which brings us to the Chicago Bears. The Bears stand $22.6 million under the cap, and by all accounts are itchy to spend it. On the one hand, they can go the obvious route by pursuing a #1 wide receiver in Vincent Jackson or Marques Colston, while concurrently pursuing a Carl Nicks or Ben Grubbs to shore up an offensive line desperate for depth. On the other hand, they can give into temptation by pursuing Mario Williams thereby forming a front four with two of the most elite pass rushers in the game today.
Cutting to the chase as quickly as I can, I believe the Bears should roll the dice and aggressively pursue Mario Williams, and I'll give you my reasons:
First of all, I don't like Vincent "2 DUI's" Jackson, or Marques "My Knee Is More Fragile Than I Let On" Colston. Despite what their stats will tell you, I don't believe either one of them are the elite receivers Jay Cutler needs, not to mention the track record of teams breaking the bank on Free Agent Wide Receivers is not a good one in terms of winning Super Bowls. Did I mention Muhsin Muhammad?
Secondly, Phil Emery is known for being a college scout specialist. So hopefully that means he has a better idea of what to look for in the draft than Jerry Angelo. The Bears also have 8 draft picks this year, including two 3rd round picks. I believe the Bears can find a suitable receiver with their second or third round pick(s), which would be a much better bet than heavily investing in Jackson or Colston.
It should also bear mentioning that Vincent Jackson was a late second round pick in 2005 - and he was also the TENTH Receiver taken in that draft! Some of the names drafted ahead of VJAX? Braylon Edwards, Mike Williams, Reggie Brown, Matt Jones, and (drum roll) Mark Bradley.
Thirdly, Mario Williams is an elite pass rusher. Essentially he's a 27 year old version of Julius Peppers: freak athlete with unbelievable size and quickness who consistently gets to the quarterback despite constant double teams. Mario already has 53 sacks in 6 seasons, which is roughly the same pace Peppers had at age 27, but that's not the point. The point is what Mario would do with the Bears.
Mario Williams would open up so many possibilities for this Bears defense. Mario's mere presence would make it impossible for opposing offensive lines to double team both him and Peppers. Teams would have to pick their poison with their blocking schemes, and the match up problems become even more difficult since Peppers occasionally lines up at the 3 Technique, and Mario has no issue with being a stand-up linebacker/edge rusher on third downs like he was last season.
Finally, in this pool of available free agents, Mario Williams is the safest bet in terms of acquiring a game changer. Quite Frankly, this free agent pool is very sub par if you think about it. I've already gone over what I don't like about Jackson and Colston. If you feel Cortland Finnegan, Red Bryant, Matt Flynn, Brandon Carr, or Pierre Garcon are better bets than Mario, that's fine, but I'm not comfortable spending large money on them versus Williams.
If we're really being honest about how bad this pool is, lets discuss the fact that a guy with 4 neck surgeries in 18 months - including two fused vertebrae and a damaged nerve that may or may not regenerate, and hasn't been seen throwing a football in two years......is about to get at least $20 million from somebody simply because he's Peyton Manning.
Add all of that up, and Mario Williams makes a lot of sense and hopefully a lot of Bears dollars.
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