www.BearGear.info

Wondering about a player, a past game or another issue involving the Bears? Senior writer Larry Mayer answers a variety of email questions from fans every day on ChicagoBears.com.


It seems that Central Michigan quarterback Dan LeFevour almost fell into the Bears’ lap during the draft. I didn’t think they were looking for a quarterback, so was it more of a best-player-available-regardless-of-position pick or did the organization decide before the draft that quarterback was a priority?

Pat C.
Montgomery, Illinois

The Bears didn’t intend to draft a quarterback. They just couldn’t pass up Dan LeFevour because of the value of the position and the grade they had on him. They were very surprised that LeFevour was still on the board in the sixth round. He put up some monster numbers both passing and running at Central Michigan and is a very intriguing developmental pick. The Bears received glowing reports about LeFevour from Central Michigan offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Mike Bajakian, who served as offensive quality control coach with the Bears in 2004-06. General manager Jerry Angelo told reporters: “If any of you talk to Mike I think you are going to hear very, very positive things. If you have seen the guy play he has done some pretty incredible things, not only with his arm but with his feet too. He ran a 4.65 at the Combine; [he] was the fastest quarterback there.”

Do the Bears have any interest in former Jets guard Alan Faneca? And if so, do they still have the financial flexibility to sign a player of his caliber? He seems like a perfect fit at a position of need.

Adam P.
Tremont, Illinois

Alan Faneca would look great in navy and orange. Unfortunately, the NFL isn’t the same as fantasy football. After signing free agents Julius Peppers, Chester Taylor and Brandon Manumaleuna to very lucrative contracts, I doubt that the Bears would be able to afford to add someone who will command as much money as Alan Faneca. With that being said, general manager Jerry Angelo didn’t entirely dismiss the idea, saying: “Who would not consider Alan Faneca if you had a need at the offensive line? Again, we’ll look into some things like we did before the draft. We looked into Rob Sims. We looked into a couple other guys and it didn’t work out. We’ll continue to look. We do like the players that we have there. I think coach [Mike] Tice has told me that—if he’s not said it publicly he certainly has told us in our meetings—that he’s comfortable with our line. But again, we’ll continue to look.”

I love reading all the mock drafts before the draft but never hear anything about who was the most accurate in their prognosticating. What can you tell us about who was right and who was wrong?

Phil T.
Berwyn, Illinois

The HuddleReport.com grades dozens of first-round mock drafts, assigning one point for each player correct and three points if the player is assigned to the right team. Out of 88 mock drafts, the top five were: Draft Breakdown’s Spencer & Engle (50 points), Mocking the Draft’s Dan Kadar (49), ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. (48), RookieDraft.com’s Joe Everett (47) and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Bon McGinn (46). Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News, who finished eighth with 45 points, had the most players correct with 29 out of 32.

Email your question to Larry