[CBFF] Zen and the Art of Self-Hypnosis - Mile High Report - Sent using Google Toolbar

[Tom Shannon]

Zen and the Art of Self-Hypnosis - Mile High
Report<http://www.milehighreport.com/2009/5/25/886209/zen-and-the-art-of-self-hypnosis>

Zen and the Art of Self-Hypnosis

 [image: Grizzly_tiny] by
broncobear<http://www.milehighreport.com/users/broncobear> on
May 25, 2009 1:30 PM
MDT<http://www.milehighreport.com/2009/5/25/886209/zen-and-the-art-of-self-hypnosis>
[image:
Comment] 14 comments

*Nothing is easier than self-deceit. For what each man wishes, that he also
believes to be true - Demosthenes, Third Olynthiac, sec. 19 *

Jerry Angelo of the Chicago Bears was quoted in the Sporting News daily
before the draft, talking about his team's quality and chances next year.
The same discussion was quoted by Matt
Bowen<http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/2009/05/talking-football-with-jerry-angelo/>in
the National Football Post:

"Well, I think that it will be better just given the fact that our
quarterback is going to play better," Jerry Angelo told the Chicago
Sun-Times. "I feel that will be something that is going to help that
position and really the whole offense overall. If we stay status quo and
nobody gets hurt, with our present receiving corps - and when I say
‘receiving corps you guys have to bring in the tight ends, too - I feel
we'll be OK.

Angelo conceded that the Bears need to add depth to the wideout unit,
whether through the draft or as an acquisition after the draft. He was
serious, and Chicago drafted wide receivers Juaquin Iglesias in the 2nd
round and Johnny Knox in the 5th round as well as Derek Kinder in the 7th.

"The receiver position is certainly something that we're looking at strongly
for the obvious reasons, but I don't want to rule out other players at other
positions," Angelo said before the draft, "We're never going to rule out
defensive linemen."

Chicago would add two defensive ends and offensive line developmental
project Lance Louis out of San Diego State.



[image: Star-divide]

For those who like an older phraseology, Angelo's original remark was called
‘whistling past the graveyard':  the process of ignoring something in order
to keep from fearing it. To quote Chauncey Billups, "Winning is fun, man."
Losing isn't. You don't necessarily get more wins by bringing a vertical
game QB into a ball control system which is totally unsuited for him and
expect miracles. Chicago doesn't throw a lot of vertical passing plays and
their system to date has relied on a lot of checkdowns (in part due to poor
receiving talent, something that the Cutler trade didn't address) and passes
to the running back, Matt Forte. I hope that Orlando Pace stays healthy and
that Chris Williams matures, but neither has happened so far. Chicago's
tight ends are good, but their receivers have been subpar.

I like and respect Cutler's skills. The fact that he was often lousy in the
red zone might have been partly the play calling, but Jay was a big part of
that problem and despite lesser weapons, Orton was far better in the
shortened field. Does Jerry take into account Cutler's weaknesses? If so, we
haven't heard a peep about it. Saying that the QB position will be better is
a big jump. Will it be different? No doubt. Better? Perhaps.

Still, at the very least, Angelo needed another good receiver or two,
another running back to add to Matt Forte, a few prayers for the offensive
line's play and health and a different offensive scheme. At that point, if
you can fix the poor play of the defense you're in a good situation. The
three young receivers he drafted at least give Chicago a better chance -
Juaquin Iglesias is a fine young receiver and may also add a returner skill
that the Bears need as Devin Hester attempts to go from brilliant All-World
returner to mediocre WR. But without a change in scheme that takes advantage
of Cutler's vertical passing skill, the Bears outlook won't be promising.
It's the role of the coaches will be the central element that has the best
chance of turning the tide for the Bears in 2009.

There was this disclaimer from the NFP:

"Is Cutler in the same mold as a guy like Favre? And do the Bears have the
type of receivers, such as Devin Hester - who Angelo thinks needs to take
another step forward at the position - who can come together as a group and
excel under a talent like Cutler?

Angelo thinks they can. "We have a good receiving corps that complements one
another," he said. They also added Oklahoma rookie Juaquin Iglesias, whom
Angelo is high on after selecting him in the third round of the draft.
"Iglesias gives us that big guy across the middle."

The verdict is still out on this group, and I'm on the fence too, but Angelo
believes he has the tight ends in Greg Olsen and Desmond Clark to complete
the package. "When you talk wide receivers, you have to count the tight
ends," he said, something he discovered when talking with Patriots coach
Bill Belichick about the struggles the Patriots had trying to contain
Chargers TE Antonio Gates."

This last part is a fair point that I've made before - that the Bears TEs,
former Bronco Desmond Clark and Greg Olsen - are a big strength - but a
moment before, Angelo had been talking about the vertical passing game, and
generally the TEs aren't much help there. Clark and Olsen are good, but as a
standard part of the vertical game, they aren't the answer. So, what is
Angelo actually saying?

 "Our receiving corps has a chance to be decent," said Angelo. "But, we feel
good about our offense."

Our receivers *might get decent* but, we feel good? That was a wonderful
slip of the tongue in which Angelo reveals that he doesn't think that their
receivers are that good either.

Well, unless the receiving corps is better, there's no reason to feel all
that different about the offense. Let's break this down: no one so far has
argued that Orton was incapable of throwing to the TEs or to Forte, nor that
Clark and Olsen were the problem. The claim was that the problem with the
Bears offense was Kyle Orton, ostensibly because he couldn't throw the long
pass. If you just got Cutler in order to have him make the same throws,
you're wasting a lot of money. But this is a ‘magic bullet' solution that
has gained substantial national fervor. If you have a new QB with certain
strengths and some weaknesses, but ones that are different from the QB you
had, suddenly all is well. You need a new perspective, a new offensive
scheme and new approaches to make this trade worthwhile.

Why am I nattering on about the Bears, Angelo, receivers and Orton? In case
you were wondering, here's how that reflects on the Broncos: *The biggest
thing that Josh McDaniels had to offer the Broncos may have been an outside
perspective, getting them past the ‘whistling past the graveyard' stage that
permeated offseason discussions in Denver over the past few years*.

Management fiddled around while the Broncos defense burned our chances of
success. Having that situation be over is a gift by itself. The Broncos hd
reached the point where the constant believe that they wre just a few pieces
away from winning it all had actually kept them from winning. There comes a
point in the evolution of things where you have to cull the deadwood and
permit new things to grow and flourish. The Broncos seem to be in that
phase. Hopefully, new things will emerge for them and will prove that this
path was well worth taking.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://chicagobearsfanforum.com/pipermail/cbff_chicagobearsfanforum.com/attachments/20090603/82d19d58/attachment.html>