What can Brown do for you?

(Picture from http://www.chicagotribune.com/)

Apparently if you are the Chicago Bears, nothing.

The eight year veteran was released by the Chicago Bears this afternoon; meaning they are fully willing to roll the dice on Mark Anderson in hopes that he returns to his rookie form. They will also be leaning heavily on Israel Idonije, who has seesawed back and forth between defensive tackle and defensive end the past few seasons under coach Lovie Smith.

I don't quite understand why the Bears have released one of the most durable and dependable guys on that roster?

Sure he has never been able to rack up sacks like Jared Allen or Dwight Freeney and has yet to become the elite defensive end Chicago thought they were getting; but are the Bears better off starting Mark Anderson's corpse and Israel Idonije?

I don't think so.

Brown was one of the most steadiest players in the league and as a fan you knew what you were going to get, 6-8 sacks, 45-60 tackles and maybe a forced fumble or two.

He also gave you more than stats. What about the effect he had on the locker room? What about the lessons he could teach these young guys? He was a natural leader and that aspect of his game is going to missed.

I know that "God" Marinelli is extremely high on Mark Anderson, but come on. Does anyone remember the last time Chicago tried to depend on and promote Anderson as a starter (2007)? He failed miserably, with only five sacks and 31 tackles; that was after his rookie season where he tallied up twelve sacks, and in the last three seasons combined, he has yet to reach that number again.

To me, releasing Brown doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Mark Anderson is more Hot 'N Cold than Katy Perry and nobody has any idea what we are going to get from him (though I would bet we are in store for a whole lot of nothing).

If the Bears are being cost conscious now and are looking to get rid of guys that aren't worth a dime, why not part ways with Tommie Harris? You know, the guy that has been on a downward spiral for the past few seasons? You know, the guy that only had 24 tackles and 2.5 sacks last year? You know the guy that was held out of the Bengals game this past season?

I understand that right end is a tough position to play, and Brown was average at it. As a right end, a player has to have great speed, amazing feet, quick hips and a pure finesse; and frankly Brown only had parts of that.

But isn't that why the Bears signed Julius Peppers to that gigantic deal? Brown would have been moved to the left side and if "God" Marinelli is really the terrific defensive line coach people say he his, why couldn't Alex Brown still make improvements on the left side, where the demands are more lax.

This is going to bite the Bears in the ass. Call it a feeling. Call it a hunch. But Alex Brown is five times the man Mark Anderson will ever be and he that defensive line is going to suffer without him. He was Mr. Reliable, he was a leader, he was the anchor of that line and he played the game right.