[CBFF] Bears' rise and fall

[Jason Cetina]

Bad column, IMHO. The Bears are not in the "midst of long term chaos". 
At the moment, they have had a bad season. They still have a talented 
core they can build around. As most teams have shown, a well managed 
off-season can turn things around quick. Sure the NFC North is better. 
Its hard for it not to be. But the Lions have lost 3 in a row, and the 
Vikes are miserable at QB. The Pack is good this year, but Favre has 1-2 
more years left in the tank at most (if he doesn't pack it in after this 
season). We may even yet come out of this season with a serviceable QB.

I think media types are fascinated by the quick unraveling of a team, 
but if this doorknob had put any thoughtful analysis into this article, 
he would've pointed to the glaringly obvious problem of a bad o-line, 
which can be retooled.

But that doesn't sell ad space.

Teams in the midst of long term chaos include: Oakland, Miami, possibly 
Detroit, and the 49ers.

My prediction: Angelo will address the o-line, safety, and coaching 
problems in the off season, and return the Bears to playoff (but not yet 
SB) form.

To me, this means Turner will be on notice, Babich will be gone, Briggs 
will be signed, Archuleta, Moose, F. Miller and R. Brown cut, Tait moved 
back to the right side. We will draft linemen in the first and third 
rounds, and a safety in the second. Plan on seeing us trade down for 
more picks. Mike Brown will be back, but with an adequate backup. The 
fates of Turner, Grossman and Berrian are linked, IMHO, and their status 
with the Bears will be determined the the remaining 6 games. If Grossman 
is back, Griese will be cut in order to allow Orton to continue to develop.

-
Jason

mactbone wrote:
> SEATTLE – Olin Kreutz was glaring at a reporter in the same disgusted refrain that has defined the Chicago Bears locker room this season. The moment came after yet another disappointing loss, with a sting that was quickly enflamed by another question about how this season had gone so wrong. 
>
> Kreutz furrowed his brow at the question. 
> "I don't wonder about anything," he said. "I just … it's just …" 
> He paused and shrugged. And with that, the interview was dead. 
>
> Kreutz's reaction might as well have extended across the shoulders of the entire franchise, which has seemingly been in a collective shrug since the season began. In a little more than 13 months – 413 days, to be exact – this team has nearly exhausted the NFL's cycle of life, going from birth to death as a legitimate Super Bowl contender. 
>
> Those 413 days mark the span of time between Chicago's 37-6 thumping of Seattle on Oct. 1 2006 and last Sunday's likely playoff-killing 30-23 loss to the same Seahawks franchise. With only a few flips of the calendar and sparing roster changes, Chicago went from the cusp of a world championship to the midst of long-term chaos. 
>
> For the uninformed, this is a franchise in significant turmoil. Not only for the remainder of 2007, but potentially far beyond. Despite keeping the vast majority of last season's Super Bowl roster intact, Chicago's championship window hasn't closed as much as it has simply collapsed. 
>
> "I'm sure there are going to be a lot of things figured out about the team and the direction the rest of the season," cornerback Charles Tillman said. "That's why we have GMs and coaches and presidents and pro personnel directors. That's everybody upstairs. I'm sure that's in the backs of some people's minds, the whole 'this is the last year of so-and-so's contract, what are they going to do?' And that might be in the back of everyone's mind by the end of the season." 
>
> Surely, there are bound to be some jarring realities that set in for the Bears over the season's final six games. With the rest of the NFC North seemingly getting better (Green Bay and Detroit) or adding game-changing talent (Adrian Peterson in Minnesota), Chicago faces some stark realities. 
>
> The offensive line is showing its age and there doesn't appear to be a franchise quarterback in sight. The starting running back, Cedric Benson, is in the third year of a five-year, $29.96 million contract and averaging only 3.3 yards per carry. Two significant building blocks, wideout Bernard Berrian and linebacker Lance Briggs, will be hotly pursued unrestricted free agents at season's end. Another young star, defensive tackle Tommie Harris, continues to have knee issues. 
>
> And if all of those problems weren't enough, the team superstar and face of the franchise, linebacker Brian Urlacher, is engaged in an embarrassing standoff with the Chicago media, highlighted with him glowering and giving answers in Morse Code. Apparently upset at how the team has been criticized by local media, Urlacher has come off as passive aggressive at best. At worst, he's appeared childish and unprofessional. Critics were free to take their pick after the Seattle loss, when his thoughts on Rex Grossman amounted to "He did well," and his theory on the defensive struggles ended at "Too many yards." 
>
> Not that there was much definition to be had in other places on Sunday. Briggs refused to talk to the media, as he has for much of this season. Others were simply shaking their heads over the litany of questions that can't seem to be answered. The offense has been up and down as it has gone from the management of Grossman to Brian Griese and back to Grossman again. And the defense has lost the big-play ability that made it so feared. Last season the Bears had 44 takeaways in 16 games, but this year have managed only 17 through 10. Interceptions are a major part of that decline, with only six though 10 games, sharply off the pace of last season's 24 in 16 games. 
>
> "It's been like that all year," defensive end Alex Brown said of the inconsistency. "For some reason we're not getting it right. I don't know. I can't go on about it, because I really don't know. I'd just be babbling." 
> Asked if he could have envisioned such a significant fall by the franchise in only one year, Brown recoiled. 
> "I'm not answering silly questions, OK?" he said. "Come on. I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to entertain (it)." 
>
> It was a typical reaction in a locker room that seems either too confounded to put the struggles in perspective, or too upset from facing steady criticism. Not that there aren't opinions to be had. Yahoo! Sports tapped three NFC sources – two coaches and one general manager – for their opinions on the Bears' fall. All three have seen film on the franchise this season, and despite widespread criticism of coach Lovie Smith and his coordinators, all three placed the majority of the blame on the talent development and management. 
> Asked about the turnover on the coaching staff and the play-calling, once coach said, "I wouldn't point at that. For the most part, they are running the things that made them successful last season." 
>
> Added another coach, "I didn't see fundamental changes (in scheme). But I do think you have some spots that haven't improved. The quarterbacks are erratic – take your pick. Berrian and (Muhsin) Muhammad, I guess you could say the receivers as a whole, aren't better. … Benson is definitely a step down from the rotation they had last year. He backfired on them. (Thomas) Jones was getting four yards (per carry). Not being able to keep him or whatever the situation was, that probably hurt as much as anything." 
>
> An NFC general manager pointed to injuries as the culprit for the defensive problems. After losing defensive tackles Alfonso Boone (free agency) and Tank Johnson (released), and then trading away safety Chris Harris, the Bears were left at a pinch in both spots. Tommie Harris has struggled all season with knee swelling, while starting defensive tackle Dusty Dvoracek and strong safety Mike Brown were lost to season-ending injuries in the first game of the season. Urlacher has been slowed by a sore lower back, and cornerback Nathan Vasher has played in only three games with a groin injury. 
>
> Meanwhile personnel decisions have only highlighted the deficiencies. Sack specialist Mark Anderson was promoted over Alex Brown at defensive end, but hasn't been able to duplicate last season's lighting in a bottle, while also appearing to be a liability against the run. Defensive tackle Darwin Walker has had little impact after being acquired in a September trade, and Danieal Manning struggled switching between safety and cornerback. And who can forget strong safety Adam Archuleta, who has disappointed as a historic liability in pass coverage. 
>
> "If they were healthy, I think you could say it would be a different story, but that's how it all goes," the general manager said. "You have to deal with injuries in this game. What I think is interesting is how confident they were. I guess you could say they were cocky. That was right from the top (of the coaching staff). You can talk about being a great team, but injuries tend to show what you are as an entire organization. If you're going to be so confident like they have been, the people upstairs (in management) better make all the right decisions." 
> And with the Bears' playoff hopes fading (though they're only one game back in the loss column behind the sixth-seeded Lions), the jury of public opinion has already begun to weigh in on all of the decision-making – from general manager Jerry Angelo to the coaching staff and to the players on the field. It hasn't been pretty either, with the media questioning play-calling on a weekly basis and fans flooding Chicago radio stations to second-guess the contract extensions given to Angelo and coach Lovie Smith in the offseason. 
>
> Interestingly, Smith finally broke away from his clockwork press conference cliché of trumpeting the team's "one game at a time mindset." Talking to reporters on Monday, he talked of winning out and making the playoffs and how the season has become "a single-elimination tournament." 
>
> "We looked at the big picture," Smith said. "Normally we just look at one game at a time. But I want the team to see the big picture, too." 
>
> The big picture, Smith said, is about getting to 10 wins and pushing for the playoffs. But with personnel concerns piling up and criticism building, this is a team on the verge of something that looms even larger. 
> The future of the next several seasons hangs in the balance, starting now and extending into the offseason. 
>
> How the Bears react to the mounting question marks means everything. 
>
> And from this point on, the collective shrug can't be the answer. 
> Charles Robinson is a national NFL writer for Yahoo! Sports. Send Charles a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.
>
>
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