New Bears QB Nick Hill: An In-Depth Look

Have to say I was pretty happy with Bears draft overall. If they picked Mendenhall instead of Williams I would have been unbelieavbly pissed. You're not going to run the ball to any amount of success without displaced Fred "Why won't my feet move?" Miller. I would have prefered to see them draft Ray Rice instead of Forte, but I'll let the offensive drafting guru that isn't Jerry Angelo have a chance to prove himself on this one. Well, as you know the Bears passed on chances of selecting a Brian Brohm, a Josh Johnson and a slew of others, they did pick up two QB's after the Radio Hall Bonanza. And seeing as how I covered the Saluki football team inside and out for four years, yours truly watched Nick Hill in person for a full year (his junior year). I'll break it down for you with some strengths and weaknesses that are backed by what I saw.

STRENGTHS:
- First and foremost, Hill can move in the pocket very well. Unlike the Sex Cannon or Jack Daniels, Hill has a good feel for area around him when things start to collapse, and has no problem gaining positive yards with his feet. He's got above average speed and is athletic enough to break what would look like a 3 yard gain into something like 15, which is something Bears fans haven't seen in oh say 30 years. Hill was also on the basketball team; he originally got a scholarship to Western Kentucky for Hoops, but transferred to SIU after a year there. Hill only really got garbage time, but it goes to show he's pretty talented.

- While he is a lefty, he throws pretty acurately when he sets his feet. On the move, not as much, but still decent. Keep in mind though, that while the Gateway conference in Div 1-AA (still refuse to join this FCS/FBS Bullshit) is arguably the best overall; it's not even in the realm of the Big Ten.

- The guy is definitely a leader on the field. Unlike Grossman who gives stupid ass smirks no matter what happens, Hill has the demeanor that he expects you to run your routes without stopping, finish blocks, and make the extra effort.

WEAKNESSES:
- As I mentioned, he doesn't have great accuracy on the move. I can think of a couple times in different games where he had a man wide open and either threw it at his feet or a little over his head. While he was much more accurate then previous QB Joel Sambursky and had better arm strength to the out patterns, he's not going to throw a 60 yard strike on the money. I would say anything within 40-45 yards would be his range of being able to get a good ball in a tight window. That would worry me too with Hester on the field. If Hester can break away, Hill may not be able to hit in stride, and while the receiver is generally at better odds with an underthrown ball then a cornerback, a safety playing over the top would nullify that play quickly.

- I wouldn't so far as to say the guy is streaky, but he does need to establish himself in the passing game early. Now, Hill's completion has always been high (64-68% range) but these aren't intricate reads here. You don't really have to hold a Missouri State Safety in place to lock on to your primary receiver on an inside slant route. That's why he's going to struggle with the speed in training camp.

OVERALL:
Hill was a great SIU quarterback that took the torch from Sambursky and carried it well for two years. As I stated before, his mobility is a huge plus for him because he can pick up a second and three and keep the chains moving. Character wise, I found Hill to always be pleasant; whether be after a loss, or even at Pinch on a Friday night. However, I don't know if he has the complete tools to make it happen on the next level. His arm strength was good enough for Div 1-AA, and probably good enough for the Big Ten, but the NFL...I don't think so. The intanigbles? Yeah, he's got a competitor spirit in him that doesn't fuck around and wants to win. I think if he were to be in the system for at least two years, he could make a case in his third year of the 3-year contract he signed. No matter what happens, I'll be pulling for my fellow alum. Good luck, Nick...you'll need it.

A Quick Explanation on the Pissed Statement

Well, the Cubs starting rotation has been named, with Marquis getting 5th spot, Dempster getting the 3rd, and Lieber heading to bullpen. Even though it's documented with our favorite tag of "Fuck the Cubs" we're not exactly in cahoots with the north side, that's what I would have hoped for as a Cubs fan. I was thinking about posting on it, but after some thought, thats about all there is to besides a besides the usual outrage about how Lieber is sooooo much better (No he is not you fucking crybabies, you have your choice between vanilla and vanilla with sprinkles, it's all the fucking same.) Also, Kerry Wood will be the closer for the next four games until he's shut down for the year.

Instead, I thought you would like to know what
inspired the WE'RE PISSED sentiment. For that, let's roll back the clock to the spring of 2003 on the campus Southern Illinois University Carbondale...

During this time, the faculty was on the brink of a contract strike which would have been cool for no classes for a while, but sucked when I would have to pay for another semester when I didn't have to in the first place. Anyways, there's plenty of protests going on at this time for the University to finally open up the check book.

Me, spending 98% of days completely stoned to the bejesus belt, decided to attend class for some odd reason, most likely being that I:
A: Had nothing to watch on TV for the next hour
B: Had already played Madden 02' for such a disgusting amount of time that felt compelled to do something that made it look like I gave a shit or
C: Said what the hell, I'll go

Anyways, upon returing back to the dorms, or Vertical Africa as we called it, I saw some of the picketers out in front of one of the buildings on the path back to my weed layer/dorm. Nothing special, just some tools and some TA's walking around with some signs...until the greatest sign ever unveiled at a protest was unleashed to my glassy eyes...the sign contained only two words, but perfectly summed up everything one could assume of the situation: WE'RE PISSED.

I fucking fell to the ground laughing for a good 2 minutes. Sheer genius. Plenty had signs with little jabs and barbs, but nothing really hit home like WE'RE PISSED. I still laugh as I write this. And when I told Noce the story, I decided to do a reeanctment here for the weekend. Granted, it is nowhere near as funny it still gave me and Noce a laugh that we posted it.

Speaking of Southern, I'm on my way down there this weekend, so I'm sure I'll have some good stories to share with you which will most likely involve:

- Me getting blacked out drunk telling an 19-year old I make six figures in the hopes to wake up in said Vertical Africa once more;
- Quatro's Pizza, the gem of Carbondale,
- Me contemplating the risk vs. reward of punching someone in the mouth becuase the Jack Daniels is egging me on.

More to follow soon

(PS: For those wondering, that's Eastern Illinois in the background of the picture above...and I would have shot myself in the face if I went there)

Arizona St. 65, Southern Ill. 51

When Life handles you Lemons, make lemonade..and I've been wanting to make lemonade all day...

I'm glad I didn't stay up to watch the game. What a terrible fucking season for a team picked 21st in the preseason polls. A couple of shitty losses factored in with A.J. Graves hitting a 30 footer at the buzzer for a Butler win sent the Salukis on the downward spiral. Fare thee well, Randal Falker. Baseball is just 8 days away...

The Postseason Rematch Tonight: SIU vs. Oklahoma St.

Most of you won't give a flying fuck about this rather seeming less 1st round match-up in the NIT tonight. However, this is all about revenge for me. Oklahoma State delivered the knock-out blow to my beloved Salukis 3 years ago almost to this date in the NCAA's 85-77 thanks in part to James "PissOnBoise" Curry. And also to players like Joey Graham and Ivan McFarlin. What are they doing now? Curry's in the NBDL pissing on everything in sight, Joey Graham is working at a 7-11 and McFarlin is addicted to crack. In fact I gave him a dollar on the Michigan Ave. Bridge just the other day to help him get his next fix.

Anyways, if you have nothing to watch tonight, I invite you to watch as the game will be on ESPN2 at 8pm CST. Fuck, what else are you going to watch? The play-in game? Fuck that. WifeSwap? Please.

On a sidenote, I still have not paid Noce his 54 Mexican Pesos I owe him for fucking Purdon't choking on dick. I will never again bet on or root for Purdon't. I also I owe him a pack of Camel lights. The tab continues to grow.