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Archuleta has No. 1 concern
Confident new Bear eager to prove why he'll be the starter
March 23, 2007
BY BRAD BIGGS Staff Reporter
A year as a free-agent bust in Washington taught Adam Archuleta a great deal about humility, he said.
It didn't, however, rob him of his confidence.
''I'm the strong safety on this football team,'' Archuleta said Thursday when he took a physical to complete his trade to the Bears from the Commanders in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick. ''At no point has anybody ever indicated that I would be a backup.''
That hints to one of two things, and maybe both. In a best-case scenario, the Bears have Archuleta on the field in the position and defensive scheme he flourished in under Lovie Smith when they were with the St. Louis Rams. Next to him will be veteran Mike Brown, who will return to his old position of free safety, the spot at which he was voted to the Pro Bowl in 2005.
But if Brown's recovery from a torn Lisfranc ligament in his right foot is delayed -- it's more than five months away, but he could be a candidate to begin the season on the physically unable to perform list -- Archuleta will play next to Danieal Manning. It's not that the team wasn't pleased with Manning's development at safety, it's that the coverage skills he displayed might ultimately suit him better to playing cornerback. Therefore, the Bears could play with the veterans, when Brown returns, at safety.
''I think it's a perfect fit, it's where I belong,'' said Archuleta, who underwent minor offseason ankle surgery and is running again. ''I'm looking forward to getting back to playing good football and playing like I should.''
He signed the richest contract in history for a safety last season, getting $10 million guaranteed over six seasons from the Commanders, but was relegated to special teams for the second half of the season, a bad fit in a bad defense. The Bears will pay him $8.1 million over the next three seasons.
''Last year was pretty much a life-altering experience,'' he said. ''I hit rock bottom, so I learned a lot about myself. There's a lot of life lessons that I learned about last year and I think that I'm a better person and better as a football player because of it.''
While declining to get into the specifics of what went wrong, Archuleta said communication was not ideal and that he knew by the end of training camp it was not going to be what he expected after picking Washington over Smith and the Bears in free agency. Now, he gets into a scheme he will not have to learn and will be working with Smith and new defensive coordinator Bob Babich, whom he also knows from St. Louis. If anything, he said the Bears' scheme is even more simple.
He realizes he is getting a quick opportunity to rekindle his career, not something everyone who signs a big-money deal in the wrong place gets.
''I took quite a beating last year,'' he said. ''My reputation in all phases took a beating and there's a great deal of humility that was learned last year. So there's a lot of detractors, but as far as I'm concerned, at certain points in my life I've had detractors and I've always come out ahead. I definitely have a lot to prove to everybody, but one thing that I have always done is that I'm going to bet on me.''
He hopes to show the Commanders, too. The Bears will play in D.C. this season.
''You know what I'm looking forward to?'' he said. ''I'm looking forward to the fans of Washington, they could actually see what I'm capable of doing and letting them see what I could have been doing in a Commanders uniform.''
LINK
Confident new Bear eager to prove why he'll be the starter
March 23, 2007
BY BRAD BIGGS Staff Reporter
A year as a free-agent bust in Washington taught Adam Archuleta a great deal about humility, he said.
It didn't, however, rob him of his confidence.
''I'm the strong safety on this football team,'' Archuleta said Thursday when he took a physical to complete his trade to the Bears from the Commanders in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick. ''At no point has anybody ever indicated that I would be a backup.''
That hints to one of two things, and maybe both. In a best-case scenario, the Bears have Archuleta on the field in the position and defensive scheme he flourished in under Lovie Smith when they were with the St. Louis Rams. Next to him will be veteran Mike Brown, who will return to his old position of free safety, the spot at which he was voted to the Pro Bowl in 2005.
But if Brown's recovery from a torn Lisfranc ligament in his right foot is delayed -- it's more than five months away, but he could be a candidate to begin the season on the physically unable to perform list -- Archuleta will play next to Danieal Manning. It's not that the team wasn't pleased with Manning's development at safety, it's that the coverage skills he displayed might ultimately suit him better to playing cornerback. Therefore, the Bears could play with the veterans, when Brown returns, at safety.
''I think it's a perfect fit, it's where I belong,'' said Archuleta, who underwent minor offseason ankle surgery and is running again. ''I'm looking forward to getting back to playing good football and playing like I should.''
He signed the richest contract in history for a safety last season, getting $10 million guaranteed over six seasons from the Commanders, but was relegated to special teams for the second half of the season, a bad fit in a bad defense. The Bears will pay him $8.1 million over the next three seasons.
''Last year was pretty much a life-altering experience,'' he said. ''I hit rock bottom, so I learned a lot about myself. There's a lot of life lessons that I learned about last year and I think that I'm a better person and better as a football player because of it.''
While declining to get into the specifics of what went wrong, Archuleta said communication was not ideal and that he knew by the end of training camp it was not going to be what he expected after picking Washington over Smith and the Bears in free agency. Now, he gets into a scheme he will not have to learn and will be working with Smith and new defensive coordinator Bob Babich, whom he also knows from St. Louis. If anything, he said the Bears' scheme is even more simple.
He realizes he is getting a quick opportunity to rekindle his career, not something everyone who signs a big-money deal in the wrong place gets.
''I took quite a beating last year,'' he said. ''My reputation in all phases took a beating and there's a great deal of humility that was learned last year. So there's a lot of detractors, but as far as I'm concerned, at certain points in my life I've had detractors and I've always come out ahead. I definitely have a lot to prove to everybody, but one thing that I have always done is that I'm going to bet on me.''
He hopes to show the Commanders, too. The Bears will play in D.C. this season.
''You know what I'm looking forward to?'' he said. ''I'm looking forward to the fans of Washington, they could actually see what I'm capable of doing and letting them see what I could have been doing in a Commanders uniform.''
LINK