Game 10 - BEARS @ San Francisco 49ers - 7:30 MNF

[Banedon]

There is no quick solution and that is the answer no one wants to accept.

I'm not really sure what the point of this comment is. Does Biggs want to take the role of the "you have to accept reality" Cubs writer who basks in the glory of a complete rebuild? The fact is that yes actually, talent overhauls can be done quite quickly by competent NFL personel men and coaches. The Bears have enough talent right now to be 7-3, so they are not completely devoid of talent. There are quick fixes to patch the problem, if not completely solve it. Schemes can be designed weak to weak to take advantage of opponents and at least partially offset your own issues. If SF can scheme an offense with a backup QB to completely dominate the Bears defense, despite being a poor pass blocking team themselves, then it can be done. Lovie is to be blamed for the offense in so far as he preached defense, special teams and running the ball above passing for so long. And he is to be blamed for his own poor decisions in drafts when he got more power after the super bowl. And he is to be blamed for the coaching deficit they have on the offensive side. But that doesn't negate the fact that Tice is the GD offensive coordinator, and that Tice gave his thumbs up to the Carimi acquisition, and that Tice tossed aside his best lineman from last season, and that Tice has insisted he could get more out of this line than he has gotten.

 

It should not have taken as long as it has taken for the offensive line to get fixed. And it should not take very long in the future to fix it. If it does take time, heads must role. This is a fixable and addressable issue if the Bears finally decide to actually address it with competent decision makers at the control

 

I agree, however it is not fixable quickly if Lovie is to remain as Head Coach. He has not proven that he can adjust and hire competent position coaches let alone quality OCs. Lovie is also a horrible talent evaluator and every time he hand picks a player to play his scheme, that player fails. I think for this organization to take that next step and embrace 2012 big boy offense, Lovie Smith must go. It doesn't help that Emery had a questionable draft his first time around. Outside of Jeffrey, I've been disappointed with the draft selections.

 

McClellan has been a good pick so far (concussion notwithstanding). Rodriguez has been pretty good in a FB role. After that, it's pretty sketchy.

[Guest]

There is no quick solution and that is the answer no one wants to accept.

I'm not really sure what the point of this comment is. Does Biggs want to take the role of the "you have to accept reality" Cubs writer who basks in the glory of a complete rebuild? The fact is that yes actually, talent overhauls can be done quite quickly by competent NFL personel men and coaches. The Bears have enough talent right now to be 7-3, so they are not completely devoid of talent. There are quick fixes to patch the problem, if not completely solve it. Schemes can be designed weak to weak to take advantage of opponents and at least partially offset your own issues. If SF can scheme an offense with a backup QB to completely dominate the Bears defense, despite being a poor pass blocking team themselves, then it can be done. Lovie is to be blamed for the offense in so far as he preached defense, special teams and running the ball above passing for so long. And he is to be blamed for his own poor decisions in drafts when he got more power after the super bowl. And he is to be blamed for the coaching deficit they have on the offensive side. But that doesn't negate the fact that Tice is the GD offensive coordinator, and that Tice gave his thumbs up to the Carimi acquisition, and that Tice tossed aside his best lineman from last season, and that Tice has insisted he could get more out of this line than he has gotten.

 

It should not have taken as long as it has taken for the offensive line to get fixed. And it should not take very long in the future to fix it. If it does take time, heads must role. This is a fixable and addressable issue if the Bears finally decide to actually address it with competent decision makers at the control

 

I agree, however it is not fixable quickly if Lovie is to remain as Head Coach. He has not proven that he can adjust and hire competent position coaches let alone quality OCs. Lovie is also a horrible talent evaluator and every time he hand picks a player to play his scheme, that player fails. I think for this organization to take that next step and embrace 2012 big boy offense, Lovie Smith must go. It doesn't help that Emery had a questionable draft his first time around. Outside of Jeffrey, I've been disappointed with the draft selections.

 

It shouldn't be hard to replace Tice competently - they have a good play caller already on the coaching staff (Bates).

[Guest]

There is no quick solution and that is the answer no one wants to accept.

I'm not really sure what the point of this comment is. Does Biggs want to take the role of the "you have to accept reality" Cubs writer who basks in the glory of a complete rebuild? The fact is that yes actually, talent overhauls can be done quite quickly by competent NFL personel men and coaches. The Bears have enough talent right now to be 7-3, so they are not completely devoid of talent. There are quick fixes to patch the problem, if not completely solve it. Schemes can be designed weak to weak to take advantage of opponents and at least partially offset your own issues. If SF can scheme an offense with a backup QB to completely dominate the Bears defense, despite being a poor pass blocking team themselves, then it can be done. Lovie is to be blamed for the offense in so far as he preached defense, special teams and running the ball above passing for so long. And he is to be blamed for his own poor decisions in drafts when he got more power after the super bowl. And he is to be blamed for the coaching deficit they have on the offensive side. But that doesn't negate the fact that Tice is the GD offensive coordinator, and that Tice gave his thumbs up to the Carimi acquisition, and that Tice tossed aside his best lineman from last season, and that Tice has insisted he could get more out of this line than he has gotten.

 

It should not have taken as long as it has taken for the offensive line to get fixed. And it should not take very long in the future to fix it. If it does take time, heads must role. This is a fixable and addressable issue if the Bears finally decide to actually address it with competent decision makers at the control

 

I agree, however it is not fixable quickly if Lovie is to remain as Head Coach. He has not proven that he can adjust and hire competent position coaches let alone quality OCs. Lovie is also a horrible talent evaluator and every time he hand picks a player to play his scheme, that player fails. I think for this organization to take that next step and embrace 2012 big boy offense, Lovie Smith must go. It doesn't help that Emery had a questionable draft his first time around. Outside of Jeffrey, I've been disappointed with the draft selections.

 

McClellan has been a good pick so far (concussion notwithstanding). Rodriguez has been pretty good in a FB role. After that, it's pretty sketchy.

 

I don't think you can say McClellin was a good pick based on what he had done pre-concussion.

[jersey cubs fan]

I agree, however it is not fixable quickly if Lovie is to remain as Head Coach. He has not proven that he can adjust and hire competent position coaches let alone quality OCs. Lovie is also a horrible talent evaluator and every time he hand picks a player to play his scheme, that player fails. I think for this organization to take that next step and embrace 2012 big boy offense, Lovie Smith must go. It doesn't help that Emery had a questionable draft his first time around. Outside of Jeffrey, I've been disappointed with the draft selections.

 

McClellan has been a good pick so far (concussion notwithstanding). Rodriguez has been pretty good in a FB role. After that, it's pretty sketchy.

 

Lovie's first coaching staff was garbage, it was all college assistants. But he's gotten better, especially on defense. Having Marinelli is quite good. The offense is where the coaching sucks.

 

Rodriguez has done nothing. They should have and could have drafted an offensive lineman at any point in the first three rounds and gotten a player better than at least 3-4 of their current linemen, if not all of them. I was disappointed with the draft and remain so, but the Hardin pick is really the most indefensible.

[Banedon]

I don't think you can say McClellin was a good pick based on what he had done pre-concussion.

 

Ok, but he hasn't been a bust either.

 

Most analysts pegged McClellin as a lock to be drafted by a team running a 3-4 defense, but the Bears shocked everyone when they grabbed him with the 19th overall pick. McClellin showed the ability to play as a 3-4 OLB in college, but he’s played exclusively as a defensive end in Chicago. They’ve eased him into the action as a nickel pass rusher where the results have been around league-average (-0.3 pass rush). He’s notched 11 QB disruptions (two sacks, two hits, seven hurries) in his 105 pass rushes, while picking up a -2.6 run stop grade on 34 snaps against the run.

 

I understand wanting more than league average out of a first round draft pick, and so from that perspective, I understand not liking the pick. But hopefully as he develops he'll be a positive asset for this team.

[jersey cubs fan]

I don't think you can say McClellin was a good pick based on what he had done pre-concussion.

 

Ok, but he hasn't been a bust either.

 

Most analysts pegged McClellin as a lock to be drafted by a team running a 3-4 defense, but the Bears shocked everyone when they grabbed him with the 19th overall pick. McClellin showed the ability to play as a 3-4 OLB in college, but he’s played exclusively as a defensive end in Chicago. They’ve eased him into the action as a nickel pass rusher where the results have been around league-average (-0.3 pass rush). He’s notched 11 QB disruptions (two sacks, two hits, seven hurries) in his 105 pass rushes, while picking up a -2.6 run stop grade on 34 snaps against the run.

 

I understand wanting more than league average out of a first round draft pick, and so from that perspective, I understand not liking the pick. But hopefully as he develops he'll be a positive asset for this team.

 

Yeah, hopefully he'll help eventually.

 

The biggest problem was and remains the lack of any offensive linemen, again. That was inexcusable. They had an offensive line devoid of talent and there were plenty of opportunities to pick one in a justifiable spot. They need to take 2 a year for the next 3 years.

[Guest]

I don't think you can say McClellin was a good pick based on what he had done pre-concussion.

 

Ok, but he hasn't been a bust either.

 

Most analysts pegged McClellin as a lock to be drafted by a team running a 3-4 defense, but the Bears shocked everyone when they grabbed him with the 19th overall pick. McClellin showed the ability to play as a 3-4 OLB in college, but he’s played exclusively as a defensive end in Chicago. They’ve eased him into the action as a nickel pass rusher where the results have been around league-average (-0.3 pass rush). He’s notched 11 QB disruptions (two sacks, two hits, seven hurries) in his 105 pass rushes, while picking up a -2.6 run stop grade on 34 snaps against the run.

 

I understand wanting more than league average out of a first round draft pick, and so from that perspective, I understand not liking the pick. But hopefully as he develops he'll be a positive asset for this team.

 

One thing to be noted is he's only played part time, placed in situations where he can succeed (and to his credit, he has gotten to the QB in those situations). But he has shown little to believe he can be more than a situational pass rusher in a 4-3 and that's not acceptable from a first rounder.

 

I wasn't too down on him being picked on draft day since he was a late riser and pegged to go in the area. He's just a poor match for the Bears and there were better options, both at DE and in the OL.

[UMFan83]

You know whose name ive barely heard all year? Julius Peppers. Him and the defensive line, despite a poor performance today are probably the 150th thing to be worried about after this one but its just so odd for him to not have a noticeable effect on the defense in so many games. There were stretches the last 2 years where it was impossible not to notice him out there getting to the QB and making other heads up plays. But now I go weeks without even thinking about him.

[rawaction]

The entire offense almost has to be fixed completely this offseason, if this team is going to win anything in the near future. I'm not one who has bought into the whole "defense getting old" argument, as the Bears have plenty of young talent on D. But there will be change on the defensive side of the ball in the near future. They aren't going to keep playing at a record setting TO turned into TD pace. Can't afford to have Cutler hurt anymore. Granted, the last 2 injuries were after throwing an INT and an illegal hit outside of the pocket (both ironically in games he got almost faced no pressure in). But the Bears have most of the pieces now that good offenses have.

 

They have the QB, they have a stud WR. As I mentioned, I'd like to see the offense designed to use Marshall to make everyone else better (seriously, Eddie Royal caught 90 balls w/ Marshall next to him). But the Bears are at the point (been there actually) where they have to go offense-heavy in the draft and free agency. Draft OL 1st round. Hell, draft TE in the 2nd (Ertz) if you have to. Sign an OL-man. Draft OL later (4th-6th round). I'd probably even draft a WR at some point to take even more reps from Hester and even Bennett if necessary.

 

Bears offense next year should look like:

 

QB- Cutler, ?, ?

RB- Forte, Bush, Allen

WR- Marshall, Jeffery, Bennett, drafted WR, Weems, Hester (just because I don't think they have the balls to cut him)

TE- draft pick/FA signing, Adams, Rodriguez

LT- draft pick/FA signing, Webb

LG- draft pick/FA signing

C- Edwin Williams/draft pick/FA signing/not Garza

RG- Louis, backup

RT- Carimi (he's been terrible, but gotta give him more time)

 

Shouldn't be that hard to replace 3 starters from outside the roster.

[Banedon]

The entire offense almost has to be fixed completely this offseason, if this team is going to win anything in the near future. I'm not one who has bought into the whole "defense getting old" argument, as the Bears have plenty of young talent on D. But there will be change on the defensive side of the ball in the near future. They aren't going to keep playing at a record setting TO turned into TD pace. Can't afford to have Cutler hurt anymore. Granted, the last 2 injuries were after throwing an INT and an illegal hit outside of the pocket (both ironically in games he got almost faced no pressure in). But the Bears have most of the pieces now that good offenses have.

 

They have the QB, they have a stud WR. As I mentioned, I'd like to see the offense designed to use Marshall to make everyone else better (seriously, Eddie Royal caught 90 balls w/ Marshall next to him). But the Bears are at the point (been there actually) where they have to go offense-heavy in the draft and free agency. Draft OL 1st round. Hell, draft TE in the 2nd (Ertz) if you have to. Sign an OL-man. Draft OL later (4th-6th round). I'd probably even draft a WR at some point to take even more reps from Hester and even Bennett if necessary.

 

Bears offense next year should look like:

 

QB- Cutler, ?, ?

RB- Forte, Bush, Allen

WR- Marshall, Jeffery, Bennett, drafted WR, Weems, Hester (just because I don't think they have the balls to cut him)

TE- draft pick/FA signing, Adams, Rodriguez

LT- draft pick/FA signing, Webb

LG- draft pick/FA signing

C- Edwin Williams/draft pick/FA signing/not Garza

RG- Louis, backup

RT- Carimi (he's been terrible, but gotta give him more time)

 

Shouldn't be that hard to replace 3 starters from outside the roster.

 

LT has to be the priority. Agree about Carimi. If you had other strong areas on the line, you could have a shorter rope with him, but as things stand, you have to pray that he gets better. I'd really like to get a QB drafted, but you also have to start drafting some depth on the defensive side of the ball. At some point here, we have to draft Urlacher's replacement.

[RynoRules]

I'd give Carimi another year inasmuch as he looked good before getting hurt last year, so what's happened this year doesn't make a lot of sense. But I'd probably send everyone else packing, except maybe Garza if you are concerned with maintaining some level of cohesion.

 

Draft as follows: OL, TE, LB, OL, DE, OL, LB

 

Free agency: WR, TE, OL and backup QB. Here's a few possible targets (asterisk next to my preference)

 

Matt Moore

Drew Stanton*

 

Fred Davis

Dustin Keller*

Jared Cook

 

Danny Amendola*

Wes Welker

 

Ryan Clady*

Brandon Albert

Brandon Moore*

Andy Levitre

 

EDIT: Keep in mind that Idonije and Melton are FA's.

[Soul]

With Carimi we are pretty much forced to give him more time. There's just too many other pieces on that line that need to be fixed. If he doesn't show improvement next year, it's a disaster.

 

Hard to believe. I was overjoyed at that pick. Sure, he didn't project as a LT but if Gabe Carimi isn't a solid OL pick then I just don't know what to say. He should have been just fine.

[UMFan83]

This is going to be a big offseason for Emery, that's for sure. If he manages to ignore the offensive line a second year in a row, then he's no better than the guy that came before him. I am still dumbfounded that the Bears did nothing to fix the line last year. Did Emery really think that getting a stud WR would erase all the other issues the offense had? I'm not saying he shouldnt have gotten Marshall, and he does obviously make the offense better, its just that his impact is lessened because of the line.

 

And I don't want a couple of lowly regarded projects or something and call that addressing the line. I want for the mainstream media, every single time they discuss the Bears offseason, to lead off with "The Bears really made a strong effort to completely revamp their offensive line this season".

[DivineBovine]

I'm no football expert. I don't evaluate offensive line talent. But it seems to me like a total copout to blame personnel for all the offensive line woes. So easy to blame Carimi and Webb. The last 2 Super Bowl champions have had games early on where the QB was getting killed and the lines looked like they had 4 Jmarcus Webbs.

 

I blame the coaching. So many convenient excuses. The QB. WR. Oline. Have the Patriots always had a great offensive line? That Peyton Manning always seems to get lucky with his offensive line.

[rawaction]

I've always said the Bears had a bad combo of an OL that couldn't pass block for very long and WRs that couldn't get open very quick. I thought either getting an OL or getting a WR would work. And honestly it should....with a competent OC. Gotta work with what u have. We saw Marty make the offense work in Dallas a couple years ago. We saw a legit offensive team for 5 weeks before Cutler got hurt last year. Why can't this [expletive] be competent with better WR talent? This is a lot on coaching, but that doesn't mean the personnel is good enough.

[Soul]

I've always said the Bears had a bad combo of an OL that couldn't pass block for very long and WRs that couldn't get open very quick. I thought either getting an OL or getting a WR would work. And honestly it should....with a competent OC. Gotta work with what u have. We saw Marty make the offense work in Dallas a couple years ago. We saw a legit offensive team for 5 weeks before Cutler got hurt last year. Why can't this [expletive] be competent with better WR talent? This is a lot on coaching, but that doesn't mean the personnel is good enough.

 

Then the Bears created 2 problems at the same time by promoting Tice: they moved Tice away from OL coaching where he was at least decent, and moved him in as OC where he's incompetent.

[ManCrushOnNomar]

I've always said the Bears had a bad combo of an OL that couldn't pass block for very long and WRs that couldn't get open very quick. I thought either getting an OL or getting a WR would work. And honestly it should....with a competent OC. Gotta work with what u have. We saw Marty make the offense work in Dallas a couple years ago. We saw a legit offensive team for 5 weeks before Cutler got hurt last year. Why can't this [expletive] be competent with better WR talent? This is a lot on coaching, but that doesn't mean the personnel is good enough.

 

Then the Bears created 2 problems at the same time by promoting Tice: they moved Tice away from OL coaching where he was at least decent, and moved him in as OC where he's incompetent.

It's the Peter Principle in action.

[Soul]

Oh god you're right.

[Pushfrog98]

I'd give Carimi another year inasmuch as he looked good before getting hurt last year, so what's happened this year doesn't make a lot of sense. But I'd probably send everyone else packing, except maybe Garza if you are concerned with maintaining some level of cohesion.

 

Draft as follows: OL, TE, LB, OL, DE, OL, LB

 

Free agency: WR, TE, OL and backup QB. Here's a few possible targets (asterisk next to my preference)

 

Matt Moore

Drew Stanton*

 

Fred Davis

Dustin Keller*

Jared Cook

 

Danny Amendola*

Wes Welker

 

Ryan Clady*

Brandon Albert

Brandon Moore*

Andy Levitre

 

EDIT: Keep in mind that Idonije and Melton are FA's.

If Amendola stays healthy, I would LOVE him on this team. He would be a great 2-3 guy. Not afraid to run into traffic. As he currently stands, he's the Rams' #1 guy though. I think a lighter load would do him wonders.

 

Clady will not reach FA, unfortunately. That guy is a beast.

[Guest]

Isn't Jermichael a free agent?

[Guest]

Yeah, Amendola in this offense would be fantastic.

[jersey cubs fan]

I'm no football expert. I don't evaluate offensive line talent. But it seems to me like a total copout to blame personnel for all the offensive line woes. .

 

Why? It is personnel. They ignored it for nearly a decade then drafted second rate guys. It's a 5 man unit that needs 6-7 in a season, and if you do it right only one or two are weak spots. The bears have 5 weak spots on the line. Not one good guy. No talent. They thought they could coach the suck out of them because they think are great coaches. But it's an unshinsble turd.

[UMFan83]

Clady will not reach FA, unfortunately. That guy is a beast.

 

A beast that the Bears were apparently ready to draft instead of Chris Williams if he had fallen 2 more spots. He was picked 12th by Denver, while the Bears settled for Chris Williams at 14.

 

BTW, that was a heavy 1st round for Offensive lineman....lets see how they turned out.

 

1.1 Jake Long (4 time Pro Bowler)

1.12 Ryan Clady (2 time Pro Bowler)

1.14 Chris Williams (Oft injured, switched positions several times with not much success, cut by team this year)

1.15 Brandon Albert (consistent starter for the Chiefs, was considered one of the bigger Pro Bowl snubs last season)

1.17 Gosder Cherilus (consistent starter for the Lions, but not better than average at best)

1.19 Jeff Otah (Started his first 2 years but has barely been on the field because of injuries since. Was pretty good when he played)

1.21 Sam Baker (oft injured his career, but finally able to start for the Falcons at LT this year and has impressed...on the fringes of the Pro Bowl discussion if you ask Falcons fans)

1.26 Duane Brown (consistent starter for Houston his career, started getting some recognition last year and was named a Pro Bowl alternate)

 

So we're looking at 2 legit Pro Bowlers, 3 additional fringe Pro Bowlers (Albert, Baker and Brown), 6 players who have either been consistent starters or are starting currently, and then you have Chris Williams and Otah who have battled injuries (both) and ineffectiveness (Williams). All of these players are with the teams that drafted them except Williams and Otah (who is also currently a FA).

 

So there were 8 offensive linemen taken in that first round, and 6 of them stuck. The Bears had the 3rd pick of OT's and picked one of the 2 busts. That said, I think Albert is the only one that really stands out as someone the Bears should have picked instead of Chris Williams. Although considering the state of the Bears line the last 3 years, any of them except Otah would have been enough to improve the line as it stands now.

[rawaction]

Isn't Jermichael a free agent?

No but he's due 8 million and will likely be cut from a team with some cap issues and maybe trying to resign Jennings.

[DivineBovine]

I'm no football expert. I don't evaluate offensive line talent. But it seems to me like a total copout to blame personnel for all the offensive line woes. .

 

Why? It is personnel. They ignored it for nearly a decade then drafted second rate guys. It's a 5 man unit that needs 6-7 in a season, and if you do it right only one or two are weak spots. The bears have 5 weak spots on the line. Not one good guy. No talent. They thought they could coach the suck out of them because they think are great coaches. But it's an unshinsble turd.

 

I explained why. I wouldn't say they've totally ignored it. Have there been a lot of teams who have used 2 first rounders in the past 4 years on O line and paid millions to FA's?

 

I think good offenses can scheme their way out of personnel issues at the line. Peyton Manning avoids sacks by getting rid of the ball, not by sitting in the pocket 10 seconds and having a great line block for him. The Packers line has looked as bad as the Bears at times, and they won a Superbowl and went 15-1 last year.

 

I think its too simplistic to say get better blockers and the problems are solved. Just line it was too simplistic to say get some WR's, or a franchise QB. How about get a competent offense?