OregonBuckeye
Semper Fi Buckeyes
Very refreshing to hear comments from guys like Marcus when you see guys like Eben Britton and Rey Maualuga bitching about falling into the 2nd round.
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Buckskin86
Moderator
May 26, 2009
Assimilation process a thrill ride so far for Freeman
By: Larry Mayer | Last Updated: 5/26/2009
Rookie linebacker Marcus Freeman, a fifth-round draft pick from Ohio State, will share his thoughts in a weekly diary on ChicagoBears.com. The following is the first installment:
It?s been exactly one month since I was drafted by the Bears, and the experience so far has been like a roller-coaster. You come in with the rookies and you?re like, ?Hey, I?m starting to get a grasp of this. I think I?m starting to get better and better.? And then when you come back the next week and work with the veterans, you realize, ?No, man, I?m just back at the bottom of the totem pole.?
But I?m fortunate to be in a situation where I get to learn behind some of the best players in the NFL in Lance Briggs and Brian Urlacher. You just try to see what makes them so good and take away as much information as you can.
Marcus Freeman was selected by the Bears with the 154th overall pick in the draft.
The highlight for me over the past month has been just getting a chance to meet some of these guys and put on this Bears uniform and realize that right now I?m a Chicago Bear. It?s been a lifelong dream to be in the NFL and to actually sit in the same room as some of these guys and hear some of the stories of where they came from, it?s been awesome.
In becoming an NFL player, there?s a lot of learning involved. The mental aspect of it is huge, but you?re prepared for that. People always say that the NFL?s a faster game, and I can tell you that it?s really, really fast. Trying to guard some of these tight ends and running backs, these guys are twice as fast as anybody I saw in college football. So it?s a huge challenge, but it?s something I think we?re all looking forward to.
I?ve been staying at a hotel with the rest of the rookies, and as a group we?re bonding together because we?re with each other 24/7. It kind of seems like it?s us-versus-everybody else. Getting to know the different personalities and hanging out with the guys has been fun. It?s been a growing experience.
Assimilation process a thrill ride so far for Freeman - Chicago Bears
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Buckskin86
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good run down of the Bears LB situation after their recent FA signing...
Weekly Musings from a Tired Blogger?(6/1) - Windy City Gridiron
Weekly Musings from a Tired Blogger?(6/1) - Windy City Gridiron
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Buckskin86
Moderator
June 2, 2009
Rookie linebacker Freeman digesting defensive scheme
By: Larry Mayer | Last Updated: 6/2/2009
Rookie linebacker Marcus Freeman, a fifth-round draft pick from Ohio State, shares his thoughts in a weekly diary on ChicagoBears.com:
The OTA workouts that we?re continuing this week at Halas Hall are very similar to college spring ball. You don?t wear pads, but the mental reps we?re getting are unbelievable. When I first heard about OTAs, I thought we were just going to go out there and do a little workout. But you?re actually practicing and learning and really getting to know the system and your scheme and what you have to do to be successful.
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Marcus Freeman has been working at both outside linebacker positions with the Bears.
In terms of learning to play linebacker in this defense, it?s just like any other position. There?s so much to learn, but once you start to grasp the scheme, you start understanding your responsibilities more and more. The goal is to not just know what you?re doing but to know what everybody else is doing. If you understand all of that, it will help you learn what you have to do a lot faster.
I?m learning both outside linebacker positions, the Will and the Sam. But if you can learn all three spots, it makes you a more versatile linebacker. If somebody goes down in the middle and the coach feels like he can put you in the middle, it makes you a more valuable football player.
When you?re in the film room or the meeting room, it?s really easy because you sit there and think, ?This is what you do. You go here and there.? But then when you go outside and the bullets start flying and everything gets going, it?s like, ?Oh, man, what do I do?? It?s all about repetitions; continuing to do something over and over and trying to nail it into your head that this is what you have to do.
The Bears defense is similar to the one I played in at Ohio State in terms of the schemes and the techniques. But the terminology is different. When you start getting a grasp of things, you start to say, ?This is kind of like what we did at Ohio State.? You try to put it together like that.
Rookie linebacker Freeman digesting defensive scheme - Chicago Bears
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Buckskin86
Moderator
June 10, 2009
Freeman learning about life in the NFL in Rookie School
By: Larry Mayer | Last Updated: 6/10/2009
Rookie linebacker Marcus Freeman, a fifth-round draft pick from Ohio State, shares his thoughts in a weekly diary on ChicagoBears.com:
I?m learning a lot both on and off the practice field in my first few months with the Bears. The team has this great program called ?Rookie School,? which teaches us about life in the NFL. Different people have talked to us about several important topics like managing our money, how to work with the media and even how to dress. We?ve also worked with kids in the community, gone to a Cubs game and taken a tour of Chicago.
Rookie linebacker Marcus Freeman works with a young Bears fan during a recent visit to The Boys and Girls Club of Lake County.
Rookie fifth-round draft pick Marcus Freeman works out with a recruit at the Great Lakes Naval Base.
When you leave college and enter an NFL program, you realize that there are more things you have to consider than just playing football. I think the most important thing we?ve learned so far is how to save our money. When people hear that you?re in the NFL, they automatically think that you?re a millionaire and it?s all about, ?What can I buy now?? But it?s really about saving your money and setting yourself up for later in life.
The media training was definitely something that helped a lot of us. Luckily for me, I came from a big school and am used to being interviewed and working with the media. But some of our guys who went to smaller schools hardly ever worked with the media.
The talk about how to dress was a lot of fun because you don?t want to be that guy that everybody?s making fun of. The tip they gave us was that you don?t need multiple outfits, but you need a good three or four solid colors. You have to be able to mix and match your shirts and have the same color shoes, belt and socks because if you don?t, the vets on the team will definitely ride you.
One thing I enjoyed the most was a Q&A we had with four veteran players. We had Robbie Gould, Nick Roach, Zackary Bowman and Cody Balogh talk to us about what it was like being in the NFL. When you hear speak about their experiences, it really makes you think.
The one thing that Nick Roach was preaching was save your money because he said at any second you could be cut, get injured or be out of the league, and you?re going to have to start a new life. Robbie Gould told us to work hard. He was told that he would never make it in the NFL, and look at him now. He said that no matter what anybody says, you work hard and if you don?t make it knowing that you gave it your all, then you could be satisfied.
Freeman learning about life in the NFL in Rookie School - Chicago Bears
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Buckskin86
Moderator
June 16, 2009
OTAs helping Freeman get up to speed with NFL game
By: Larry Mayer | Last Updated: 6/16/2009
Rookie linebacker Marcus Freeman, a fifth-round draft pick from Ohio State, shares his thoughts in a weekly diary on ChicagoBears.com:
The OTA practices, which conclude this week, have been very valuable in my development as a rookie. The most important thing has been just being on the field; getting used to the game speed, playing with my new teammates and trying to translate everything you learn from the classroom onto the football field.
Marcus Freeman was chosen by the Bears in the fifth round of the draft, 154th overall.
As much as you want to be consistent, I think for any rookie the OTAs are a roller coaster. You have days when you feel like you?re doing a pretty good job out there and then other days when you feel like you don?t know anything. The whole point of OTAs is to learn, and I?m happy that I?ve been able to learn more each day and learn from the guys who have been in front of me. I feel like after these practices that I?ve definitely become a better football player.
In terms of the biggest difference between college and the NFL, the players here are a lot more athletic. In college, you?ve got some guys who are pretty good football players, but they?re not as athletic as you would think. But here everybody?s athletic and fast. You?re not going to be able to just outrun many people or use your speed to catch up to many people. You?re going to have to take good angles and use your mental skills to help you with your physical skills.
Switching gears, it's been fun spending time downstairs at Halas Hall in the rookie locker room. When you first walk down there, you?re like, ?Oh, this isn?t going to be good.? We?re down here in this basement, and it?s just us with no TV and no nothing. But four weeks later, that?s home for us. We go down there and we?re all comfortable with each other. If you walk down there and see where and how guys take naps, it?s hilarious. But the rookies are all sticking together. Being together like that helps you realize that you?re not doing this alone. It keeps you levelheaded and it keeps you going.
After OTAs end later this week, I?m going to go back to Columbus. I?m so excited to see my two kids. I haven?t seen them in five weeks now. I just want to go home and be a father and take a couple days off and then get back into it. Like coach [Bob] Babich said, ?You?ve gotten up to a certain level over these practices. The goal when you go home is not to drop and to come back at the same level.?
To me, that means mentally studying and physically being out on the field running so I can come back in the best shape possible. I?m going to take the weekend off, but then starting Monday I?m going to go into the weight room at Ohio State, run around with the guys a little bit and just try to improve my skills as a football player. It?s important to keep that edge when we?re not here and nobody?s pushing us.
OTAs helping Freeman get up to speed with NFL game - Chicago Bears
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Buckskin86
Moderator
With offseason program over, Freeman happy to be home
By: Larry Mayer | Last Updated: 6/23/2009
Rookie linebacker Marcus Freeman, a fifth-round draft pick from Ohio State, shares his thoughts in a weekly diary on ChicagoBears.com:
I?ve been home here in Columbus since last Thursday when we finished our offseason program by going bowling as a team. It was a lot of fun getting to chance to spend some time with my teammates away from Halas Hall. We hung out and had a lot of good food. It was really a lot of fun.
Marcus Freeman is happy to be able to spend some time at his home in Columbus with his two kids.
I go bowling every once and a while when I?m home. But before Thursday, I hadn?t bowled in probably four or five months. The first game I struggled a little bit. I think I scored a 130-something. But then I kind of warmed up in the second game and posted a 205. I thought that was pretty good.
As far as working out, I took Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday off. The Bears told us to take this week off, but I wanted to get a head start, so I actually started working out on Monday. I?ll probably go four days a week running and lifting weights. I?ve been doing the weight program the Bears have us on and I?ve been running with the Ohio State team a little bit and also doing some on my own.
It?s cool being back at Ohio State as an NFL player. A lot of guys look up to you and they want to know what it?s been like. I?ve told them that football is football, but that it?s a lot quicker in the NFL. I?ve tried to explain that those seconds you have to react come very fast. I?ve also told some of the guys at Ohio State that everybody there has a chance to make it to the next level as long as they work hard.
When I was driving from Chicago to Columbus last Thursday, I spoke on the phone to two of my former Ohio State teammates, James Laurinaitis and Beanie Wells. James is with the Rams and Beanie is with the Cardinals. They?re both enjoying themselves and getting more accustomed to their systems.
We?re so involved with football around the clock that we like to talk about other things and catch up on life when we talk. I?m looking forward to talking to both of them next week when I go to the NFL?s rookie symposium.
It?s been a lot of fun being home the past few days and getting a chance to play with my two kids. I get just as tired playing with them as I do at practice. They keep me on my toes. But it?s great to hear ?daddy? being yelled and great to spend time with them at home.
With offseason program over, Freeman happy to be home - Chicago Bears
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