Interesting stuff from Dan Pompeii on former Bear Bernard Berrian. Some of it was surprising to read.

I had no idea that Berrian’s massive contract from the Vikings “made him the 10th-highest-paid wide receiver” in the league. Do you think he’ll be the 10th best receiver in the league? Here’s a quick ten that I believe will be better than him in 2008: Owens, Fitzgerald, Moss, Houshmandzadeh, Roddy White, Braylon Edwards, Colston, Burress, Brandon Marshall, Boldin.

“Bernard is something we wanted to add—vertical speed and playmaking after the catch,” Vikings vice president Rick Spielman said of the player he guaranteed $16 million. “Besides [ Randy] Moss, he was the next-best vertical guy on the market. So it was taking a good player from a division rival. We were willing to go out and get him.”

Than I can understand overpaying him some. But this also caught my attention:

“He’s a lot tougher than I gave him credit for,” Childress said. “Certainly he is a talented guy who can stretch the field, but he has a good feel for shallow crosses and slants too.”

I can’t find stats on dropped passes but I remember Berrian being one of the main culprits on a Bears team that dropped a lot last year. And as I recall they were mostly on those types of routes. It will be interesting to see if Berrian becomes the multi-faceted receiver the Bears thought he could be.

“Before free agency, Spielman consulted with Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier. He asked Frazier if he had to adjust the Vikings’ scheme for Berrian when they played the Bears. The answer was yes.

Vikings opponents will be more reluctant to adjust their schemes for Berrian because of the presence of Rookie of the Year running back Adrian Peterson.”

Makes sense. But we’ll see. With such an incredible run game and o-line, Berrian should get 10 TDs, right? I guess we’ll find out if Berrian was held back as a Bear.

[tags]Bernard Berrian, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears[/tags]