Bears sign Brian De La Puente
 

Adam Schefter @AdamSchefter






Bears announced an agreement with former Saints C Brian de la Puente on a 1-year deal.
Bears add veteran center Brian de la Puente

Re: Bears sign Brian De La Puente
 

Good Luck to him, but like just about all Linemen we let walk; his performance will lack

Re: Bears sign Brian De La Puente
 

1 year deal? Looks like there was virtually no interest in his services. I have a feeling we'll be better off with Lelito.

Re: Bears sign Brian De La Puente
 

This front office knows a thing or two. I'll bet you're right.

Re: Bears sign Brian De La Puente
 

Agree. And this:

"As explained by Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, de la Puente is expected to back up Roberto Garza in Chicago"

Re: Bears sign Brian De La Puente
 

Only to back up? Wow. He wasn't that bad....and Garza's not that good.

Re: Bears sign Brian De La Puente
 

Lelito isn't the answer. Draft a center.

Re: Bears sign Brian De La Puente
 

Says it all.

Re: Bears sign Brian De La Puente
 

vet minimum. $65,000 signing bonus and $100,000 base salary guaranteed.

Re: Bears sign Brian De La Puente
 

Being a starting C is more than just blocking. He was a serviceable blocker, looked lost at times in the screen, and Drew was calling the line.


It's not just a Saints opinion. He is headed to his sixth team and isn't expected to start.

The o-line seems to puzzle some fans, they think DLP is a keeper and Grubs is horrible.

Re: Bears sign Brian De La Puente
 

Best of luck to DLP, but he won't be hard to replace.

Re: Bears sign Brian De La Puente
 

I think we can find a good C in the 3rd round.

Re: Bears sign Brian De La Puente
 

Yes, he was that bad!

Re: Bears sign Brian De La Puente
 

Anyone know how this affect's our cap space good or bad?

Re: Bears sign Brian De La Puente
 

he was an unrestricted free agent, has no effect on our cap

Re: Bears sign Brian De La Puente
 

Wow....he took a backup job. I didn't expect that. That means there was no interest at all from the Saints. I actually thought he might be drawing interest from someone. Regardless, we can get better at that position.

Re: Bears sign Brian De La Puente
 

See ya sucka!!

Re: Bears sign Brian De La Puente
 

WELL, WELL 2nd round center after we get the best DE/olb on the board in the first

Re: Bears sign Brian De La Puente
 

I've been in seemingly hundreds of disagreements with people about just that. So many people just don't get it. If they don't see a guy giving up 3 sacks a game, they assume he must be alright. I do think Grubbs can play better, but he's not horrible and I think a little help would do him some good.

Re: Bears sign Brian De La Puente
 

I believe the old saying "actions speak louder than words" applies to DLP quite well.

It's also proof that PFF grades can be misleading.

Re: Bears sign Brian De La Puente
 

Re: Bears sign Brian De La Puente
 

Now that the father of the boards has said it maybe people will believe it.

Re: Bears sign Brian De La Puente
 

sorry if the saints start Lito it will just another of a long of cute stupid moves on the OL all over again.

i fear they have not learned their lesson. please show me i am wrong for Drew's sake.

Goodwin is still out there and he still rates as serviceable

Re: Bears sign Brian De La Puente
 

Good luck to DLP. We should be able to find a good C in the 3rd round if SP doesn't feel like Lelito can handle the job.

Re: Bears sign Brian De La Puente
 

Or, there is this theory. They are looking to fill the hole at center with someone other than Lelito and simply haven't found him yet. Good starters don't grow on trees, and so if they stick with Lelito it may just be a case of him being only slightly better than DLP. It doesn't necessarily mean they trust him long term. I'm not even sure that we can prove how much the Saints trust Strief despite re-signing him. It took a while before they signed him. Again, finding a good or even decent starter at a price the Saints can afford is not easy.

They went after a player in Jairus Byrd who is a proven turnover machine. We haven't had that in a while, but the last time we did it proved greatly instrumental in winning a Super Bowl. With as much money as they paid Byrd, it's not hard to understand that we might have to sacrifice a few other positions. There is no perfect team.

Re: Bears sign Brian De La Puente
 

I'm thinking Payton all ready knows who he is looking at, at Center, if I were a betting man, which I' m not, he has probably decided with not keeping DLP. Now my personal choice at Center lies in the draft, now wheather me and Payton are on the same page or not remains to be seen but if I was to pick and keep in mind I play with house money would be Marcus Martin-C- USC. Every now and then USC has some pretty good linemen.

Bears sign Brian De La Puente
 

There are three possibilities here.

1. To say Lelito can or can't play C is completely unfounded. We do not know either way. One can only surmise that if a serviceable C was allowed to walk at vet minimum the people that should know, do. Payton and Loomis have never been known for letting puzzle pieces walk for minimum.

2. We are going after a C very early, only way to remotely know you're getting a starter.

3. We as fans are overvaluing the C position.


Only 1/3 of an offensive linemen's job is protecting the QB.

Offensive Linemen and Catcher, I've played both and they are the most misunderstood positions in their respective sports.

If you want to understand o-line play watch hips, hands, and feet.


There is a reason PT is very good at the screen. It's called the o-line.

Re: Bears sign Brian De La Puente
 

Sounds more to me like a tremendous lack of self confidence by Aaron Kromer, more than anything else. Is he really telegraphing that he can't succeed in Chicago, without the same players he had in New Orleans?

Re: Bears sign Brian De La Puente
 

This is how PPF graded out DLP.

Overall Score - 4 16th in the NFL - serviceable mid pack
Pass Blocking - 2.7 12th in the NFL with 3 hits, 3 Sacks, 3 Hurries
Screen blocking - 1.5 surprisingly 6th in the NFL
Run Blocking - (-3.7) 23rd in the NFL.. Fairly poor
Penalties - 4 21st in the NFL

Re: Bears sign Brian De La Puente
 

Grubbs had palyers on both sides of him that are no longer on the team.

Re: Bears sign Brian De La Puente
 

The team needed somebody who could run block up the middle. How many ssuccessful runs up the middle did you see last year? Guarantee you will see a lot more with DP out. He was decent on the drop back coverage, but when the team needed yards up the middle he was next to non existent.

Re: Bears sign Brian De La Puente
 

And conversely if they see a player get burned 2 or 3 times a year in coverage, he must be a total liability and will be exposed all game every game.;)

Re: Bears sign Brian De La Puente
 

Re: Bears sign Brian De La Puente
 

To be fair, Collins blew quite a few blocks in those "up-the-gut" situations, which I guess is why he's also no longer with the team.

Re: Bears sign Brian De La Puente
 

I'm amazed at how popular players get a pass for bad play, yet unpopular players get hammered for ones they had nothing to do with.

I was never a big Jed Collins fan but a lot of people kept saying how awesome he was. He was no Heath Evans.

When your RB is surrounded by 3 defenders two yards behind the LOS on 3rd and 1, someone ain't doing their damn job.

Re: Bears sign Brian De La Puente
 

And scary to think, but he wasn't the receiving threat that Mike Karney was :shock:

Erik Lorig seems to be pretty balanced

Re: Bears sign Brian De La Puente
 

DLP is solid. Durable. Wish him the best of luck. The Saints can't pay everybody. I would have spent the money on him instead of Bush though. Starter vs. backup. Now center is a hole they have to fill along with depth across the whole OLine.

Re: Bears sign Brian De La Puente
 

Thanks Brian, good luck with your new team.