[CBFF] Bears still have time, but not much margin for error (Wojciechowski, ESPN)

[Victor Waldron]

The Bears are supposed to be a squeekier, cleaner organization.
Remember, JA wants good character guys in addition to talent on the
field. Right.

V

On 12/19/06, mactbone <mactbone0 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Every time someone suggests cutting Tank, I think about Ricky Manning Jr, Olin Kreutz, Chris Henry, Ray Lewis, Jamal Lewis, Terrance Kiel, etc. etc. Wonder why?
> -Chris
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Victor Waldron <victor19 at gmail.com>
> To: CBFF <post at chicagobearsfanforum.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, December 19, 2006 9:53:02 AM
> Subject: [CBFF] Bears still have time, but not much margin for error (Wojciechowski, ESPN)
>
>
> (Ouch!!!)
>
> Bears still have time, but not much margin for error
> By Gene Wojciechowski
> ESPN.com
>
> The Chicago Bears are going to finish the regular season 14-2, have
> the home-field advantage during the postseason and then, if they're
> not very, very careful, get eliminated in the NFC Divisional playoffs.
>
>
> Last season's playoffs didn't end well for Bears coach Lovie Smith and
> QB Rex Grossman.
> Have you ever seen a more dysfunctional, less-impressive 12-win team
> than these guys? Have you ever seen a coach who plays the paranoia
> card as often as the spectacularly tone deaf Lovie Smith? Have you
> ever seen fewer players unwilling to at least acknowledge what
> everyone else with at least a beer cup's worth of objectivity sees:
> that the Bears are walking a line as thin as the laces on a football?
>
> Sunday afternoon, as I was cleaning my cache of semi-automatic weapons
> and surface-to-air rocket launchers, I watched the Bears-Tampa Bay
> Buccaneers game with my kids and our 26 pit bulls. Oh, wait, that was
> defensive tackle Tank Johnson, who, incredibly enough, is still
> employed by the Bears.
>
> Anyway, the more I watched, the more I realized how flawed and fragile
> this team is. They're not posers. Posers don't go 12-2. They're not
> frauds. Frauds don't clinch a first-round bye as early as Game 14. But
> they're also not the NFL's best team. Or second best. Or third. Or
> fourth. Or maybe fifth.
>
> I know they have the league's best record. I know they're 4-0 in their
> division and 10-0 in their conference. But the other three NFC North
> teams are a combined 14-28 and in danger of being optioned to NFL
> Europe. And the rest of the NFC is so stressed out that it needs a spa
> day. It's the two-bagger conference, if you know what I mean.
>
> In mid-October, the Bears needed the collapse of the decade to beat
> gawd-awful Arizona on the road. Two months later at home, they needed
> overtime to beat a Tampa Bay team that scores less often than guys in
> leisure suits. If you have to struggle to beat the Cardinals and the
> Bucs on opposite ends of your regular season, you've got a major
> problem.
>
> The Cardinals' Dennis Green had it right when he went Danny DeVito
> after the Oct. 16 loss. "The Bears are who we thought they were," he
> raged. "If you want to crown them, crown their asses," said Green,
> YouTube's Sportsman of the Year. "They are who we thought they were
> and we let them off the hook."
>
> The Bears deserve a fist bump, not a crown. Of their 12 wins, 10 have
> come against teams with records of .500 or worse. Next up: the Detroit
> Lions (Hello, No. 1 pick! Goodbye, Matt Millen!) and Green Bay
> Packers.
>
> In a game of NFL word association, you'd say, "Bears," and I'd say,
> "Watching the Super Bowl on their home plasmas." You'd say,
> "Home-field advantage." I'd say, 2005 Divisional Playoff at Soldier
> Field: Carolina Panthers 29, Bears 21."
>
> You'd say, "Kyle Orton." I'd say, "Rex Grossman and his 1.3 quarterback rating."
>
> There are too many moving parts on this machine. The tailback tag team
> of Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson can barely tolerate each other.
> Grossman is like food on a cruise ship: You don't know if you're going
> to love it or ralph in your state room. And the defense suddenly needs
> mouth-to-mouth.
>
> The Bucs, led by third-string quarterback Tim Rattay, outscored the
> Bears 28-7 in the second half of Sunday's game. The Bucs.
>
> Six days earlier, the Bears gave up 27 points to the St. Louis Rams.
> If defense wins championships, then the Bears better find some help
> for Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs. And fast.
>
> Did I mention the injuries? Offensive tackle John Tait missed the last
> game, though it didn't seem fatal. Cornerback Nathan Vasher was out.
> Defensive tackle Tommie Harris is lost for the season. So is safety
> Mike Brown. Jones has some cranky ribs. Charles Tillman is nursing a
> sore back.
>
> And yet, Mr. "The Glass Is Completely Full" Smith acts as if it's a
> huge deal the Bears are unbeaten against the rest of the NFC North
> mopes. He recites the Bears' overall record like it's a weather
> update. Last week, 11-2. This week, 12-2. Next week, after they
> dispose of the Lions, 13-2.
>
> But it doesn't change some essential truths about this team. First of
> all, they aren't the '85 Bears. Never were -- even when they were
> winning big during the first six weeks of this season. Never will be.
> Aside from the fact that the '85 Bears would crush your thorax the
> moment you walked off the team bus, they were likeable, eccentric,
> charismatic.
>
> The '06 Bears reflect Smith. Mostly bland. Defensive. In a state of
> denial about all sorts of things, including, oh, I don't know,
> defensive tackles, assault rifles, and wee-hour fatal shootings.
>
> Four days after police raided his suburban Chicago home and found
> unregistered firearms, Johnson was still on the team. Three days after
> Bears management read him the riot act, and two days after his
> friend/roommate/bodyguard was shot and killed at a Chicago nightclub
> (with Johnson at the same club), Johnson was still on the team.
>
> Smith didn't absolve Johnson's actions, but during his weekly news
> conference Monday he did seem to suggest that the defensive tackle's
> Bears' career still had a heartbeat, however faint. If so, then Smith
> needs a refresher course on tough love.
>
> There is a lot to like about these Bears, but more to dislike. They
> are either five games from a Super Bowl championship or three games
> from a January playoff loss. Right now, I'm leaning toward the loss.
> Too much Bears' indifference, arrogance and self-importance.
>
> What's that phrase they tell alcoholics? The first step toward
> recovery is admitting you've got a problem.
>
> That's what the Bears have to do: admit they've got a problem. There's
> still time for recovery. Barely.
>
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