Bears sign Tim Day

[Sweetness_34 0]

Now stop crying Bear fans

 

http://www.registerguard.com/rgn/index.php..._ducks_drafted/

 

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BIO: Three-year starter awarded All-Conference honors after his junior and sophomore campaigns. Totals last season included 22/201 after career numbers of 35/457/8 the prior season.

 

POSITIVES: Nice-sized tight end developing a complete game. Finds the open seam in the defense, adjusts to the errant throw and makes the reception in stride. Stays on his feet running after the reception, carrying the pile for extra yards. Solid position blocker who controls opponents at the point.

 

NEGATIVES: Lacks top playing speed and not a consistent deep threat. Over-extends into blocks or ducks his head which adversely affects his ability to finish off defenders.

 

ANALYSIS: Suffering from a change of offensive systems as a senior, Day had been a consistent player the previous three seasons at Oregon. May slip through the cracks in April yet could be one of the draft.s better bargains on Day Two.

 

PROJECTION: Late Third Round

 

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Tim Day Draft Profile

TIMOTHY "Tim" DAY

Tight End

University of Oregon Ducks

#85

6:03.1-267

Las Vegas, Nevada

Western High School

 

OVERVIEW

 

Day is a big target with good short area receiving skills, but is still a work in progress as a blocker. He has had a history of nagging minor injuries, especially chronic tightness of his calf muscles that required surgery during 2005 spring ball to correct. In addition to his injury, he played his season with a heavy heart, as his father passed away during August camp.

 

The Las Vegas product was a two-year starter and team captain who excelled at defensive end and tight end for the Western High School Warriors his senior year after starring as an offensive guard in 1999. He was a first-team Southern Nevada All-League choice after he pulled down two touchdown catches as a senior in addition to recording 12 quarterback sacks.

 

Day redshirted as a freshman in 2001 at Oregon. He appeared in every game as a reserve tight end in 2002, finishing with three catches for 18 yards and a score. In 2003, he started 11 games, missing the Utah game with a right shoulder injury. He caught 23 passes for 318 yards and three touchdowns that year, earning All-Pac 10 Conference honorable mention.

 

As a junior, Day was bothered early in the year by calf and ankle injuries, but still managed to catch 35 passes for 457 yards and eight scores. He began the 2005 season as an H-back, shifting back to the more traditional tight end position by the fourth game. He finished with 11 starts, ranking fourth on the squad with 25 receptions for 215 yards (8.6 avg) and a touchdown.

 

In 48 games with the Ducks, Day started 31. He caught 86 passes for 1,008 yards (12.0 avg) and 13 touchdowns. He also recorded three tackles (2 solos).

 

ANALYSIS

 

Positives: Has a well-built frame with very long arms, large hands, thick muscle definition throughout his chest and shoulders and good balance and body control...Compensates for a lack of sudden speed with a smooth, fluid stride throughout his patterns...Shows good hand/eye coordination extending for the ball and has the change of direction agility and loose hips to elude after the catch...Very effective using head fakes to bring the defenders out of their backpedal and has the strong hand punch needed to defeat the press...His ability to stem and move the defender makes him an inviting intermediate-range target...Shows good cutting ability breaking off his routes and is slippery enough to escape contact and settle into the soft area of the zone...Does a good job of turning his head and looking the ball in over his shoulders...Shows good field awareness, getting back to the ball quickly when the quarterback is pressured.

 

Negatives: More quick than fast and needs a free lane in order to get into his routes quickly (lacks explosion coming off the ball, compensating with good stem-and-move ability)...Very physical and aggressive combating for the ball in traffic, but seems to throttle down that aggression when asked to block...Prefers to finesse and position rather than attack and use his hand strength to lock on, wall off and sustain when in-line blocking...Spends too much time leaning into the defender and the quicker opponent with effective club and swim moves can easily slip off Tim's blocking attempts...Does nothing more that get in the way of a linebacker when blocking upfield, taking poor angles and failing to use his hands to lock on and steer...Uses good head fakes and shoulder moves to escape the defender at the line of scrimmage, but will take some false steps breaking off his route at times...Was not relied upon much as the season progressed due to dropped passes and the success of the team's spread offense, which did not feature the tight end position.

 

Day has a very thick frame with room for even more growth. He possesses well-built arms, chest and shoulders, with thick thighs and calves, very large and natural hands. He lacks ideal speed, but compensates with his fluid running motion and good hand extension to escape the jam and prevent from being rerouted. He is more of a receiving threat in the short area, as he fails to generate the second gear needed to elude defenders in the open.

 

Day is sometimes late coming off the snap and lacks explosion, but uses good head and shoulder fakes to set up the defender. Despite his size and strength, he needs to be active with his hands in order to gain good yardage after the catch, as he fails to open up his hips properly in attempts to elude.

 

Day makes good adjustments on the move and times his leaps well to get to the ball at its high point. He shows very good hand/eye coordination to track the ball in flight and shows enough flexibility to catch the football in stride over his shoulders. When he does catch the ball, he is very determined to secure and protect before heading upfield.

 

Day is especially effective as a receiver on crossing, post-corner and seam routes. As a blocker, you would expect a player of his size and strength to simply maul defenders. However, he prefers to finesse and wall off when working in-line and can be beaten by a strong rip or club move. He shows effort as an upfield blocker, but due to a lack of speed, is often late getting to the linebacker and will try to lunge or overextend in order to compensate.

 

After four years, he is still a non-factor in run support due to marginal his blocking skills and he is too much of a liability in that area at this point. He is an inviting target in the short passing game, but possibly due to his father's death prior to the 2005 season, he just seemed to be going through the motions on the field. Unless he continues to progress as a receiver and makes any type of improvement as a blocker, he could still be on the board late in the 2006 draft.

 

INJURY REPORT

 

2001: Suffered a left knee meniscus tear during a mid-November (11/15) practice on the scout team. 2003: Sat out the Utah game due to a right shoulder contusion (AC joint, 10/03). 2004: Suffered a right foot fracture during spring camp (3/15)...Did not start the season opener vs. Indiana (9/11) due to an ankle sprain...Limited to eight plays vs. UCLA (11/13) due to a calf strain. 2005: Underwent gastrocnemius release surgery to repair chronic tightness in both calves (2/01).

 

CAREER NOTES

 

The three-year starter also saw some playing time as a defensive end during his freshman year...Totaled 1,008 yards with 13 touchdowns on 86 receptions (11.7 avg) in 48 games with the Ducks...His eight touchdown catches in 2004 are the most ever in a season by an Oregon tight end.

 

AGILITY TESTS

 

Campus: 5.05 in the 40-yard dash...2.97 in the 20-yard dash...540-pound squat...375-pound bench press...34 1/4-inch arm length...10 1/4-inch hands...Right-handed...13/32 Wonderlic score.

 

HIGH SCHOOL

 

Attended Western (Las Vegas, Nev.) High School, playing football for head coach Rich Stevens...Two-year starter and team captain who excelled at defensive end and tight end for the Warriors his senior year after starring as an offensive guard in 1999...First-team Southern Nevada All-League choice after he pulled down two touchdown catches as a senior in addition to recording 12 quarterback sacks.

 

PERSONAL

 

Family and Human Services major...Son of Levon and Gene Day...Born Timothy Gene Day on 9/03/83 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

[Walter34 3]

 

I'm all out of tears - no more crying.

[Sweetness_34 0]

Teams that stick to their draft boreds always do well in drafts. Hence, I have no doubt the Bears draft will be solid. It may not be spectacular, but when you are drafting that late in every round, it means your team does not need spectacular. Time will tell....let's revisit this 3 years from now. Also, the TE position does not need to produce Gates or Gonzo like #s (not many TEs can do that in the NFL). With a significantly better QB (Grossman/Griese over Orton as a rookie), Clark will do better than 200+ yards and 2 TDs, if he can stay healthy.