The Chicago Bears Fan Forum

Neil Hayes wrote a nice piece on defensive coordinator and all around good guy Rod Marinelli for the Chicago Sun-Times.  I found this story to be interesting:

“‘He would stop and put $5 worth of gas in his car every morning,’ chuckled former 49ers and Lions coach Steve Mariucci, who commuted with Marinelli when they were coaching at California during the 1980s. ‘It used to drive me crazy. Why not fill up the tank? Well, he always thought the price might go down the next day.’”

Which explains that eternal optimist’s thinking when he decided that Mark Anderson might be good enough to start this season despite all previous evidence to the contrary.

Sadly it all becomes clear.

Mike Mulligan at the Chicago Sun-Times had some interesting quotes from Jay Cutler along with his own take on how Cutler may have grown after surviving his first season with the Bears:

“‘I knew I was in for a different deal — I don’t know if I knew I was in for that rough of a deal,’ Cutler said of his first year as a Bear. ‘The road was definitely bumpy. There were some games I look back on … but that’s how it goes. I was talking to [offensive coordinator] Mike [Martz] about it this summer, and he thought it was a great thing. He feels it is a good thing for a quarterback to go through years like that, just so you endure it and get a little bit tougher.’

“Toughness is an under-appreciated quality, an essential for any quarterback hoping to be successful. There is physical toughness — taking a beating and continuing to play. There’s mental toughness, needed in letting go of negative plays. And there’s emotional toughness to accept or ignore criticism and scrutiny and continue to work away.”

Many will recall Martz’s criticism of Cutler on the NFL network last year after a four interception performance against Green Bay.  Martz said that Cutler “just doesn’t get it”:

“He doesn’t understand that he represents a great head coach and the rest of those players on that team … somebody needs to talk to him.”

In my opinion, it is apparent that somebody has.  And apparently that somebody was Martz.

Cutler appears to be embracing a leadership role on this team. Not that he didn’t do that last year but he seems to be going out of his way already to put himself out front to represent his teammates.  He’s been doing more interviews than ever with radio and television media outlets – good interviews with a good attitude.  According to Sean Jensen, also at the Sun-Times, Cutler was in Bourbonnais all of 20 minutes before making himself available to the media on Thursday.

We won’t really know how much Cutler has matured until the games start.  It was his apparent attitude both on the field during the poor performance and in the press conference afterwards that set Martz off last year.  If Cutler appears to start pouting on the sideline or lets the team’s poor performance on occasion appear to get him down, we’ll know things haven’t changed.  But if instead he appears to try to inspire confidence that he can lead them out of their problems, we’ll know that Mike Martz might be the best thing to have ever happened to Jay Cutler.  And that by teaching him something much more important than his high-powered offensive scheme ever could.

So when I heard yesterday that new Washington HC Mike Shanahan failed Albert Haynesworthon his conditioning test because he made him run three 300 yard sprints instead of two, I figured there might to be more to the story.  The Redskins don’t gain much by going out of their way to antagonize an already unhappy Haynesworth.  Sure enough this comes from The Washington Post (via profootballtalk.com):

“The Washington Post confirmed that the Redskins failed Albert Haynesworth during his two-part conditioning test on Thursday after he needed a “lavatory break” during part two, probably so he could go number one. Jay Glazer of FOX first reported Haynesworth failed the test.

“When Haynesworth returned to the field, he was unable to complete the entire test from start to beginning.”

Yes, that makes more sense.  What do you want to bet that Haynesworth pulled the same stunt last year and Jim Zorn let him get away with it?

There’s a new sheriff in town in DC.  Can’t wait to see where this drama goes, especially if they start losing early.

I’d like to highlight another Sean Jensen report from the Chicago Sun-Times, this time focusing on Devin Hester.  Hester has been working out with former Rams WR Isaac Bruce and believes he’s in the right frame of mind going into camp:

“It’s on a whole different level now. I’ve got a swag now. This is going to be my breakout year. I’m going to shock a lot of people.”

Though I still feel he’d be better in the slot, I sincerely hope that Hester is right.  But I can’t help but remember the words of former Bears lineman and current analyst Tom Thayer regarding Hester (via Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune):

“Devin is going to be a thinker, he is always going to have to think after he breaks the huddle. I don’t think things are going to be natural for him.”

I have to agree.  Hester is not an instinctive player at WR.  He’s going to have to overcome that to play at an elite level.  Perhaps he can but I’m having a hard time imagining it happening this year in a new offense.

Sean Jensen and Neil Hayes at the Chicago Sun-Times compiled a report in which Lovie Smith said the following about DT Tommie Harris:

“Like I said, all our players are ready to go. When I say ready to go, I mean practicing every day. We’ll adjust guys as practices go along. Tommie went through every offseason workout. He’s healthy. We’re not talking about his injuries anymore. It’s all in the past.”

First of all, Harris did not go through every offseason workout unless you count sitting on the sideline.  Second of all we’ve heard this stuff before.  Smith believes that injuries are not an excuse for poor play – and rightly so.  They are a part of playing pro football and you can’t let them stop you.  But that leads him to make misleading statements like this one.

Harris is “healthy” only in the sense that his knee is as good as its going to get.  It means not that he’s ready to play at an elite level but only that he’s not going to be allowed to let it stop him from doing so.

His injuries might be “in the past” in Smith’s mind and maybe even in Harris’s.  But I’ll believe they won’t stop him from performing when I see it.

The Bears added James Kirkland to their pro department as an assistant.  I honestly don’t know what that means but since Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune thinks its newsworthy, I’m going to assume he has some responsibility.  Kirkland was assistant director of pro personnel in Cleveland before being let go when Mike Holmgren took over there.  The pro personnel department didn’t exactly cover itself with glory there.  From the Audibles at Pro Football Weekly:

“When you look at (former Browns GM) Phil Savage‘s tenure in Cleveland, what it shows is that he could find college players. It was his pro personnel moves that killed him. He gave up picks and overpaid (DL) Corey Williams, who was best-suited for a (rotational) role in a “30″ front. When (DL Johnny) Jolly went on I.R. (in Green Bay), (Williams) wore down fast. (Savage) paid (OG Eric) Steinbach like a top-five guard when he is far from it. He’s just not tough enough. They traded a fourth-round pick the first year (Savage) was there for Trent Dilfer and gave big money to Derek Anderson, who then demanded to get out of there because he could not stand the offensive coordinator. Even when Anderson was at his best, he was not very good. He cannot move his feet. Oh yeah, and (Savage) traded up for Brady Quinn. (Savage) could never get the QB situation squared away.”

I’m not feeling good about criticizing this move when the guy has barely arrived.  Let’s just say that for all of our sakes I hope things go better with the Bears.

Bears HC Lovie Smith says he still wants to blitz allot despite the addition of DE Julius Peppers, who should improve the pressure from the front four (via Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune):

“I am excited about us being able to blitz more. We’ll be able to blitz more when we can get that pressure (from the front four) but also be able to cover a little bit more. That’s why to see Charles Tillman and Zack Bowman, our two starting corners, play the way they are capable of doing, will help the front an awful lot.”

All fans like to hear this kind of talk.  We recognize implicitly that you have to be aggressive in an inherently aggressive game.  But having said that, I think I speak for everyone when I say I’m a little tired of seeing the Bears “blitz” consist of Brian Urlacher going straight up the middle 50% of the time.  Smith hasn’t exactly been Jim Johnson.

Here’s hoping the addition of Peppers allows them to be a little more creative this year.

My favorite column is out again this week.  The Audibles at Pro Football Weekly always have something interesting to say.  For the uninitiated, this column is made up entirely of quotes from NFL scouts, coaches and front-office personnel, speaking on the condition of anonymity.  This one was at the top of my list:

“Pete Carroll knew what was staring him in the face (NCAA sanctions). He played it right and got out. I think this will be his last job. He will never coach again after this one — and I don’t think it will end well. They traded for LenDale White and Kevin Vickerson. White is already gone, and Vickerson will bring a lot of headaches for a backup DT. They signed (WR) Reggie Williams and already cut him. They have made a lot of moves since (Carroll) has taken over, but how many will prove worthy? There was a reason Pete did not want (Patriots senior football advisor) Floyd Reese in the building. Pete wanted control. … Every expert in the country gave Seattle’s draft a glowing recommendation, but throw on the national championship game and watch Earl Thomas try to tackle those NFL backs (on Alabama). He whiffed at least five times. He will be run at all day. I’m looking forward to playing him.”

Carroll is really on my fecal material list right now.  He ran like a coward from a situation at USC which was of his own making, then (in my opinion) lied like a dog saying that the sanctions which were imposed there had nothing to do with why he left.  How can you possibly preach accountability to your players when you have demonstrated none at all yourself?

On top of all of this, as stated very well above, the indications are that Carroll learned nothing while he was away from the NFL.  I see a whole lot of losing in this man’s future and as far as I can tell its very well deserved.

Dan Pompei at the Chicago Tribune has apparently let the burnt orange and black Koolaid infuse some optimistism into his brain (possibly along with a hefty dose of alcohol):

“So maybe I’m caught up a little in this feel-good time of year. But as the players are packing their pillows and gadgets for training camp, I like what I see in this Bears team. In fact, I feel better about this Bears team’s makeup than I’ve felt about any Bears team in recent memory.”

I liked this article.  I kind of needed it.  I’m not very optimistic about the Bears going into this year and I’m starting to feel the need to look at the reasons why I should ignore my instincts and be more positive:

1.  I respect Pompei’s opinion.  I trust it at least as much as my own.  If he sees reasons to believe then I’m good with that.

2.  Almost every single national writer I’ve read has the Bears ranked below 20th in the league.

These guys are trying to watch 32 teams at once.  They almost always base their “predictions” on what happened the year before because some if not most of them just don’t know anything more about it.  Oh, sure, you can look at the stats.  You can take note of the fact that they signed this guy or didn’t sign that guy.  But unless you’re actually watching the team day-to-day and week-to-week you just can’t make a judgment.  So you do the easy thing and go by what they did last year.

Probably the one thing that you can count on like clock work year-to-year in football is that the national writers will be dead wrong wrong – especially about the Bears.

3.  Luck plays a huge role in all of this.  All any team really has to do to surprise is stay healthy.  Do I think the Bears will do that?  Positive thoughts… positive thoughts…

4.  I had the Bears going 5-11 in 2006.

5.  Most importantly,  as Pompei put it very well:

“..it’s going to be a very interesting football season in the Midwest. There is no way it can’t be.”

Dan Pompei got back to answering fan questions for the Chicago Tribune. Here are a couple highlights:

“As usual, every year the (experts) do not give the Bears the hype that they should get. I never quite understand why — after all, the Bears are one of the founding teams of the great sport of football. I see a lot of a resemblance in the situation with Green Bay when they signed Reggie White. Don’t you see a same similar situation now that we have signed Julius Peppers? Carlo Martin, Elmwood Park

“I think Peppers was an excellent pickup, but there is no way I would compare the Bears signing him to the Packers signing Reggie White. Peppers is one of the best defensive ends in the game, but he is nowhere near the player White was. White may have been the greatest defensive end ever. I’d say he’s the best I’ve seen. So I would not expect Peppers to have the same degree of on-field impact. And more importantly, Peppers can’t possibly be expected to have the same degree of off-field impact. When White joined the Packers in 1993, he was the first superstar to change teams in the new free-agency era. He could have gone almost anywhere — and he went to Green Bay — the place where no one wanted to go. He legitimized the Packers franchise in the free-agency era. He also gave a team without direction excellent leadership. White going to the Packers was probably the most important veteran player acquisition in modern NFL history. I think the Bears’ acquisition of Peppers is more comparable to the Vikings’ acquisition of Jared Allen, even though Allen was traded for. We’ll see how Peppers stacks up.”

I totally agree with all of this with the possible exception of the Jared Allen part.  I think Peppers might be every bit as good as Allen if he’s motivated – which this year I think he probably will be.  But I don’t see him having the same impact because he doesn’t have Pat and Kevin Williams inside to help him out.

“Dan, I don’t understand why Kevin Shaffer isn’t mentioned more often in terms of taking over the tackle position opposite of Chris Williams. At the end of last season he did a great job holding down the right side. His size at 6-foot-5 is not conducive for a guard spot. I watched Kevin in Cleveland and thought he did a better than average job on a poor team and was excited that the Bears stole him as a free agent. Omiyale is good size but lacks the speed to contain the outside corner. Shaffer has decent foot speed and long wing span to hold off the corner rush. Lars, Worcester, Mass.

“When the Bears signed Frank Omiyale last offseason, they signed him to be a starter. When they signed Shaffer last offseason, they signed him to be a backup swing man. It’s clear this team thinks Omiyale has more potential than Shaffer. We’ll see how it plays out in camp. If Omiyale struggles, Shaffer is capable.”

This answer is very well phrased and, in my opinion, it highlights a problem that most fans that I know identify about the Bears.  Omiyale was signed to be the starter.  He’s going to start.  Shaffer will start not if he’s better but if Omiyale “struggles”.

I don’t think the Bears have any business biasing their evaluations because the front office “paid someone to be the starter”.  They have a bad habit of letting such issues influence them rather than evaluating the talent on the field in an unbiased manner.  The only way that any organization – football related or not – can afford to operate like that is if they are right in their evaluations the first time all the time.  That’s just not possible for anyone.