The Bears Offseason Thread

[Soriano12]

Like his offensive counterpart, Riveria's game plan was brutal. I can understand the strategy at the beginning of the game, (deep cover 2) not giving up the big play, but when it became apparent that Manning would have no problem shredding that coverage with the underneath stuff, he refused to adjust.

 

After halftime, I would have gone with all out blitz packages and trusted Peanut and Vash to answer the call. It may have worked, it may have not, but you just cant sit back and get your ass kicked without doing anything! If you are gonna go down, go down swinging.

 

Doesn't Lovie have to agree with the defensive and offensive game plans going into the Super Bowl?

 

I'm sure. Actually for Riveria, I should probably be griping about his in game adjustments, which I'm sure he is responsible for.

 

As for Turner, I'm pretty sure Lovie wanted to run the ball more than they did.

[gflore34]

Like his offensive counterpart, Riveria's game plan was brutal. I can understand the strategy at the beginning of the game, (deep cover 2) not giving up the big play, but when it became apparent that Manning would have no problem shredding that coverage with the underneath stuff, he refused to adjust.

 

After halftime, I would have gone with all out blitz packages and trusted Peanut and Vash to answer the call. It may have worked, it may have not, but you just cant sit back and get your ass kicked without doing anything! If you are gonna go down, go down swinging.

 

I believe the blitz packages should have been the call from the start, at one point Phil Simms questioned why the Bears didn't go with the blitz more often. Why react to Manning? Its the Super Bowl, be aggressive, make Manning react to your actions!!

[CaliforniaRaisin]

The blitzes weren't working, they were so predictable. Here comes Briggs up the middle and he gets sucked up by the blockers. Every time.

 

This wasn't like the Seahawks and Saints game where they almost sacked the QB multiple times, getting some hurries and knockdowns. If they were going to blitz, they had to be more creative - something I haven't seen Lovie/Chico do.

 

Of course, not blitzing doesn't mean drop the LBs 20 yards behind the LOS.

[CuseCubFan69]

The blitzes weren't working, they were so predictable. Here comes Briggs up the middle and he gets sucked up by the blockers. Every time.

 

This wasn't like the Seahawks and Saints game where they almost sacked the QB multiple times, getting some hurries and knockdowns. If they were going to blitz, they had to be more creative - something I haven't seen Lovie/Chico do.

 

Of course, not blitzing doesn't mean drop the LBs 20 yards behind the LOS.

 

It seemed to me they wanted to keep the Colts in front of them and the missed tackles screwed up that strategy.

[TB_11]

How big of a loss will it be if Ron goes to Dallas???

 

Apparently linebackers coach Bob Babich is ready to step in if Rivera heads to Dallas.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

The blitzes weren't working, they were so predictable. Here comes Briggs up the middle and he gets sucked up by the blockers. Every time.

 

This wasn't like the Seahawks and Saints game where they almost sacked the QB multiple times, getting some hurries and knockdowns. If they were going to blitz, they had to be more creative - something I haven't seen Lovie/Chico do.

 

Of course, not blitzing doesn't mean drop the LBs 20 yards behind the LOS.

 

It seemed to me they wanted to keep the Colts in front of them and the missed tackles screwed up that strategy.

 

Even without the missed tackles, that strategy hurt - Peyton took the stuff underneath all day and the defense was on the field way too long.

[Soriano12]

I don't know if this has been posted, but I read a rumor in the Sun Times, that the Bears are gonna go after Eric Steinbech this offseason.

 

woot!

[goonys evil twin]

The blitzes weren't working, they were so predictable. Here comes Briggs up the middle and he gets sucked up by the blockers. Every time.

 

This wasn't like the Seahawks and Saints game where they almost sacked the QB multiple times, getting some hurries and knockdowns. If they were going to blitz, they had to be more creative - something I haven't seen Lovie/Chico do.

 

Of course, not blitzing doesn't mean drop the LBs 20 yards behind the LOS.

 

It seemed to me they wanted to keep the Colts in front of them and the missed tackles screwed up that strategy.

 

Even without the missed tackles, that strategy hurt - Peyton took the stuff underneath all day and the defense was on the field way too long.

 

The defense was on the field too long because of all the turnovers, not the strategy. The Bears have been a bend but don't break team all season. They've given up yards, but they relied on not giving up big plays and getting turnovers of their own. It would have worked if they didn't turn the ball over as often as they did.

[rawaction]

Steinbach I would like. I also want them to draft an OT at the end of the 1st round (or beginning of 2nd if they trade down as usual). There are a few guys available that can play both tackle and guard. Ultimately, the draft pick would play LT, with Steinbach at LG, Kruetz, Garza and Tait on the right side, where he is better.

[rawaction]

The blitzes weren't working, they were so predictable. Here comes Briggs up the middle and he gets sucked up by the blockers. Every time.

 

This wasn't like the Seahawks and Saints game where they almost sacked the QB multiple times, getting some hurries and knockdowns. If they were going to blitz, they had to be more creative - something I haven't seen Lovie/Chico do.

 

Of course, not blitzing doesn't mean drop the LBs 20 yards behind the LOS.

 

It seemed to me they wanted to keep the Colts in front of them and the missed tackles screwed up that strategy.

 

Even without the missed tackles, that strategy hurt - Peyton took the stuff underneath all day and the defense was on the field way too long.

 

The defense was on the field too long because of all the turnovers, not the strategy. The Bears have been a bend but don't break team all season. They've given up yards, but they relied on not giving up big plays and getting turnovers of their own. It would have worked if they didn't turn the ball over as often as they did.

 

That's been the case most of the year, but Sunday they started the safeties 20 yards back and backed them up. The LBs were also backpeddling at the snap. The strategy was clearly the reason they couldn't do anything on defense. They tightened up in the redzone, simply because there was nowhere to backpeddle to.

[YearofDaCubs]

David Carr would look mighty good in a Bears uniform next year.

 

I love David Carr. I think he's a great talent. I'd love him on the Bears, but I would never in a million years pay him that salary and trade the talent it would take to get him.

 

Seems like a 3rd or 4th rounder might be all it takes, which isn't that steep (though JA's 3rd rounders are gold).

 

Trade a 3rd rounder for Carr, then ship off Rex or Griese for a late draft pick to make up for it. Rex would probably be easier to ship off, with Griese's contract lasting 4 more years and Grossman's just one. Plus, we'd have to open up #8 for Carr ;)

I'd take Boller over Carr for a 3rd rounder IMO.

 

Why?

When Boller first started out he was plain terrible but this year he played very well when McNair was out but was mediocre last year. He's got potential.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

David Carr would look mighty good in a Bears uniform next year.

 

I love David Carr. I think he's a great talent. I'd love him on the Bears, but I would never in a million years pay him that salary and trade the talent it would take to get him.

 

Seems like a 3rd or 4th rounder might be all it takes, which isn't that steep (though JA's 3rd rounders are gold).

 

Trade a 3rd rounder for Carr, then ship off Rex or Griese for a late draft pick to make up for it. Rex would probably be easier to ship off, with Griese's contract lasting 4 more years and Grossman's just one. Plus, we'd have to open up #8 for Carr ;)

I'd take Boller over Carr for a 3rd rounder IMO.

 

Why?

When Boller first started out he was plain terrible but this year he played very well when McNair was out but was mediocre last year. He's got potential.

 

But over Carr if the draft picks were equal?

[YearofDaCubs]

David Carr would look mighty good in a Bears uniform next year.

 

I love David Carr. I think he's a great talent. I'd love him on the Bears, but I would never in a million years pay him that salary and trade the talent it would take to get him.

 

Seems like a 3rd or 4th rounder might be all it takes, which isn't that steep (though JA's 3rd rounders are gold).

 

Trade a 3rd rounder for Carr, then ship off Rex or Griese for a late draft pick to make up for it. Rex would probably be easier to ship off, with Griese's contract lasting 4 more years and Grossman's just one. Plus, we'd have to open up #8 for Carr ;)

I'd take Boller over Carr for a 3rd rounder IMO.

 

Why?

When Boller first started out he was plain terrible but this year he played very well when McNair was out but was mediocre last year. He's got potential.

 

But over Carr if the draft picks were equal?

Tough decision. One thing I will give Carr is he really never had a line to protect him. Both IMO have potential. I would personally go with Boller but to be honest I'd be happy with either to compete against Grossman. I don't like Griese or Orton. Both supposedly can be had for 3rd rounders which isn't bad.

[Chocolate Milk]

Listening to the Score and just heard Ted Phillips say that Grossman taking the Bears to the Superbowl in his first season starting is a great acheivement, Grossman isn't going anywhere, and he's happy that Rex is the Bears' QB.

 

Sounds like fans have to hope he's going to develop.

[jaydee]

Listening to the Score and just heard Ted Phillips say that Grossman taking the Bears to the Superbowl in his first season starting is a great acheivement, Grossman isn't going anywhere, and he's happy that Rex is the Bears' QB.

 

Sounds like fans have to hope he's going to develop.

 

Why wouldn't he develop?

[soapy]

fwiw, i was watching the replay of the superbowl on the nfl network (i'm a glutton for punishment) and they mentioned on one of the breaks that the Texans owner was "non-committal" on Carr's status next year and that it depended on what they could acquire via free-agency this offseason.

 

i thought it was worth mentioning since his name has popped up in this thread.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

David Carr would look mighty good in a Bears uniform next year.

 

I love David Carr. I think he's a great talent. I'd love him on the Bears, but I would never in a million years pay him that salary and trade the talent it would take to get him.

 

Seems like a 3rd or 4th rounder might be all it takes, which isn't that steep (though JA's 3rd rounders are gold).

 

Trade a 3rd rounder for Carr, then ship off Rex or Griese for a late draft pick to make up for it. Rex would probably be easier to ship off, with Griese's contract lasting 4 more years and Grossman's just one. Plus, we'd have to open up #8 for Carr ;)

I'd take Boller over Carr for a 3rd rounder IMO.

 

Why?

When Boller first started out he was plain terrible but this year he played very well when McNair was out but was mediocre last year. He's got potential.

 

But over Carr if the draft picks were equal?

Tough decision. One thing I will give Carr is he really never had a line to protect him. Both IMO have potential. I would personally go with Boller but to be honest I'd be happy with either to compete against Grossman. I don't like Griese or Orton. Both supposedly can be had for 3rd rounders which isn't bad.

 

Carr is leaps and bounds ahead of Boller and has done a commendable job with no line and Andre Johnson and nothing else (while Boller was awful with weapons like Heap and Jamal Lewis and a solid OL in years past). If everything else is the same, I'd much prefer Carr to Boller.

[Soul]

Listening to the Score and just heard Ted Phillips say that Grossman taking the Bears to the Superbowl in his first season starting is a great acheivement, Grossman isn't going anywhere, and he's happy that Rex is the Bears' QB.

 

Sounds like fans have to hope he's going to develop.

 

Why wouldn't he develop?

 

I don't see why he wouldn't.

 

Many great QBs didn't take their teams anywhere near the Super Bowl in their first full years. I won't bother naming names because I'm not going to try to compare Grossman to great QBs, but it's true nonetheless.

 

And "he had a great defense" excuse just doesn't cut it. The Bears defense was quite mediocre throughout the entire 2nd half of the season, and in the playoffs.

 

Grossman should develop, so long as he doesn't let the hack job artists into his head. Those who said Grossman would never take this team to the Super Bowl are desperate for him to fail now that they've been shown to be wrong. Even if it hurts the Bears, many in Chicago will try their hardest to unseat this player.

[CubColtPacer]

Listening to the Score and just heard Ted Phillips say that Grossman taking the Bears to the Superbowl in his first season starting is a great acheivement, Grossman isn't going anywhere, and he's happy that Rex is the Bears' QB.

 

Sounds like fans have to hope he's going to develop.

 

Why wouldn't he develop?

 

I don't see why he wouldn't.

 

Many great QBs didn't take their teams anywhere near the Super Bowl in their first full years. I won't bother naming names because I'm not going to try to compare Grossman to great QBs, but it's true nonetheless.

 

And "he had a great defense" excuse just doesn't cut it. The Bears defense was quite mediocre throughout the entire 2nd half of the season, and in the playoffs.

 

Grossman should develop, so long as he doesn't let the hack job artists into his head. Those who said Grossman would never take this team to the Super Bowl are desperate for him to fail now that they've been shown to be wrong. Even if it hurts the Bears, many in Chicago will try their hardest to unseat this player.

 

The question is-is he developing fast enough? He might have been in his first full season last year, but he also will be 27 before the start of the year next year. While that's certainly not old for a QB, he's certainly at a cross-roads in his career-most QB's don't start developing that late, even those who haven't had the starting experience. He really has to show that development next season, or he'll be written off like some of the other QB's of his draft class have already (Boller, Leftwich). He could develop and be a very good player, or he could fail to take the next step as those two QB's did and settle for being a backup most of his career-only time will tell I guess.

[Handlebar McSkullet]

 

Are you kidding?

 

Career QB rating: Ben 87.9, Rex 72.4

Completion %: Ben 62.4, Rex 54.4

Yards per Attempt: Ben 8.25, Rex 6.66

TD/INT: Ben 52/43, Rex 27/26

 

 

You were right about one thing - statistically speaking, the comparison between them is a joke.

 

You could have saved yourself time and read the subsequent posts. I was referring to this year only, but was proved wrong on that assessment.

[Magnetic Curses]

i would compare the development of rex to the development of brees, another short QB. brees is more mobile, rex has a better arm.

 

brees was terrible his first couple of years as a starter, but soon found his comfort level in the pocket.

 

when rex learns how to buy himself some time in the pocket by sliding around a bit, he'll excel, but he doesn't have the ability to do that yet.

 

when he's good, his receivers are getting open and he's making good reads. when he's bad, his receivers aren't open and he's trying to fit in impossible throws. when he's okay, he's throwing the ball away when his first 3 reads are covered--or he's dumping it off to a safety valve for minimal yardage.

[Handlebar McSkullet]

Listening to the Score and just heard Ted Phillips say that Grossman taking the Bears to the Superbowl in his first season starting is a great acheivement, Grossman isn't going anywhere, and he's happy that Rex is the Bears' QB.

 

Sounds like fans have to hope he's going to develop.

 

Why wouldn't he develop?

 

I don't see why he wouldn't.

 

Many great QBs didn't take their teams anywhere near the Super Bowl in their first full years. I won't bother naming names because I'm not going to try to compare Grossman to great QBs, but it's true nonetheless.

 

And "he had a great defense" excuse just doesn't cut it. The Bears defense was quite mediocre throughout the entire 2nd half of the season, and in the playoffs.

 

Grossman should develop, so long as he doesn't let the hack job artists into his head. Those who said Grossman would never take this team to the Super Bowl are desperate for him to fail now that they've been shown to be wrong. Even if it hurts the Bears, many in Chicago will try their hardest to unseat this player.

 

The question is-is he developing fast enough? He might have been in his first full season last year, but he also will be 27 before the start of the year next year. While that's certainly not old for a QB, he's certainly at a cross-roads in his career-most QB's don't start developing that late, even those who haven't had the starting experience. He really has to show that development next season, or he'll be written off like some of the other QB's of his draft class have already (Boller, Leftwich). He could develop and be a very good player, or he could fail to take the next step as those two QB's did and settle for being a backup most of his career-only time will tell I guess.

 

Doesnt it seem that franchise quarterbacks (im not saying grossman is....yet) either start right away or sit for two or more years? For every brady, manning who started immediately there was mcnair, pennington, hasselbeck, bulger who spent two or more years sitting.

[CubColtPacer]

Listening to the Score and just heard Ted Phillips say that Grossman taking the Bears to the Superbowl in his first season starting is a great acheivement, Grossman isn't going anywhere, and he's happy that Rex is the Bears' QB.

 

Sounds like fans have to hope he's going to develop.

 

Why wouldn't he develop?

 

I don't see why he wouldn't.

 

Many great QBs didn't take their teams anywhere near the Super Bowl in their first full years. I won't bother naming names because I'm not going to try to compare Grossman to great QBs, but it's true nonetheless.

 

And "he had a great defense" excuse just doesn't cut it. The Bears defense was quite mediocre throughout the entire 2nd half of the season, and in the playoffs.

 

Grossman should develop, so long as he doesn't let the hack job artists into his head. Those who said Grossman would never take this team to the Super Bowl are desperate for him to fail now that they've been shown to be wrong. Even if it hurts the Bears, many in Chicago will try their hardest to unseat this player.

 

The question is-is he developing fast enough? He might have been in his first full season last year, but he also will be 27 before the start of the year next year. While that's certainly not old for a QB, he's certainly at a cross-roads in his career-most QB's don't start developing that late, even those who haven't had the starting experience. He really has to show that development next season, or he'll be written off like some of the other QB's of his draft class have already (Boller, Leftwich). He could develop and be a very good player, or he could fail to take the next step as those two QB's did and settle for being a backup most of his career-only time will tell I guess.

 

Doesnt it seem that franchise quarterbacks (im not saying grossman is....yet) either start right away or sit for two or more years? For every brady, manning who started immediately there was mcnair, pennington, hasselbeck, bulger who spent two or more years sitting.

 

Well, technically Brady didn't start right away-he didn't come on for relief of Bledsoe until Bledsoe got hurt during Brady's second year. You are right though that there are a significant number of QB's who have sat the bench a couple of years before starting-the key is those QB's usually get a lot less latitude then somebody who starts from his rookie year. If they didn't put up a good season in the 1st two seasons that they started, they probably would never have gotten a job again, and many of them did well their first season starting.

[Butterscup1679666578]

Well, Rivera isn't going to Dallas...to be head coach :D

 

League and Cowboys sources have told ESPN's Chris Mortensen that Chargers defensive coordinator Wade Phillips will be named Dallas' head coach. Phillips traveled from San Diego to Dallas on Wednesday night after being told that he was their choice to replace the now-retired Bill Parcells.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2758164

Edited February 8, 2007 by Butterscup

[Brian]

they can still hire him as Defensive Coordinator.