[CBFF] Bears' rise and fall

Fri Nov 23 21:23:33 MST 2007

Apples and Oranges. No GM at the time. The only nucleus we had was Urlacher
and Brown (we have a bigger nucleus now). Even dimmer prospects at QB. Much
worse coaching staff.

However, I don't disagree that there will be major changes. I'm just
suggesting it will be a youth movement. Hard to say if we'll fire the
coordinators, but I'm betting at least one will be gone. I'd prefer it be
Babich. He's done a worse job than Turner. Turner at least has the poor
o-line as an excuse. As far as I'm concerned, the defense has consistently
let this team down this year - even moreso than the offense.

-
Jason

On 11/23/07, Jim Ferolie <ferolie at charter.net> wrote:
>
> I disagree. I thought it was spot on considering it was a national writer.
> The organization is as close to chaos (long-term meaning future, not past)
> as it's been since the year Jauron was fired. Remember following 13-3 with
> Daniels and McQuarters getting injured and the death spiral that continued
> throughout the muck in Champaign? And I thought that was because of
> injuries, because of travel, yadda yadda.
>
> This is like 2002 all over again, and that's where organizational shakeups
> begin. Do we do like the Seahawks? like the Panthers? The Eagles?
>
> Returning to playoff form is not good enough. If this team is not a
> championship contender this year or next year, the organization failed
> miserably in its post-Super Bowl plans.
>
> Like you say, NFL fates rise and fall quickly, and we could be back next
> year or in two, but certainly not with a retreading of this year's team.
> No,
> there need to be major changes. And that bites.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jason Cetina" <jason at cetinas.org>
>
>
> 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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