Hmmm, let’s see, what about my Bears…
Coming off that Super Bowl loss everything went all pear-shaped.
We got into a pissing match with Lovie Smith. Mind you, I’m not one who thinks Lovie is indispensable. His players love him and play hard for him which is no small feat, however I found myself questioning his decision making numerous time during the season and I never felt like we won games with a gameplan, instead we simply were more talented. Again, he probably deserves some credit for finding and coaching players who can play at a superior level but just once I’d have liked to feel that my coach could draw up a play in the dirt and/or make a gutsy call which would turn the tide in a game. Often our coordinators seemed to be making wrong-minded choices which Lovie never seemed to overrule. We rarely if ever made game-changing adjustments at halftime. So, I suppose on balance keeping Lovie was a victory, but I don’t think that all the drama around it was warranted. I hope the animosity it created didn’t spill into the locker room and I hope Lovie doesn’t see it as a justification that his current way of doing things is ideal.
We lost Ron Rivera, which I think will probably be worse for morale than it will anything else. The players liked him and played extremely hard for him on defense. It’s very difficult to know how much of the defenses success was Lovie’s doing and how much was Rivera’s. And really that’s the issue with his leaving the team. You probably don’t want to lose your Defensive Coordinator when your defense practically carries you to the Super Bowl but we never used the schemes which he was educated in, namely the Buddy Ryan/Jim Johnson aggressive blitzing style, and that leads me to believe his impact was minimal. I would have loved to see Lovie and Rivera find a way to blend the Tampa-2 and the Eagles attacking style into some crazy Frankenstein monster but it never happened. They played almost exclusively a bend but don’t break cover-2. As a result we never really dominated against the run and were susceptible to accurate QBs who could exploit the middle of the field. This style was successful when we had pro-bowl caliber talent at just about every position but when a few key injuries popped up I didn’t feel like the coaching staff was able to compensate and adjust. That to me was an indictment of the coaching staff. Long story short, I’m not heart broken about Rivera’s loss. Let’s hope he was part of the problem and not a solution holding together a even more flawed system. Time will tell.
It’s not a change, but since I’m discussing the coaching I should mention Ron Turner’s offense. He’s got to get better. I liked the plays he drew up and I liked his aggressiveness in the passing game, but he did a poor job of picking his spots. Throwing deep in poor conditions when Rex was struggling. Moving away from a successful running game, substituting the useless Cedric Benson in key moments. I feel like he knows how to exploit a defense and I feel like he and Rex Grossman can grow together but he needs to get a better sense of timing and has to take a larger view of teh game in his play calling. Of course, it’s Lovie’s job to veto bad plays and direct when to run and when to go deep, so perhaps these issues are more a Lovie issue than a Ron Turner issue.
As for player news in free agency, nothing major to report yet.
LB - Lance Briggs got franchised and isn’t happy about it. Still most indications are that a longer term deal might get done and he’s expected to be around for a while.
The next priority is retaining OG - Ruben Brown which by most accounts will happen. Solidifying those two positions should allow us the flexibility to draft the best talent available instead of reaching for needs.
The rest of the FAs are largely expendable. WR - Justin Gage is useless and FS - Todd Johnson is a fair backup and a great special teams contributor who I’m happy to have, but he’s played tons of minutes due to injury as a starter and has shown that he’s really not good enough to play full time in this system. If he’s cheap, they should probably keep him so long as he doesn’t take a roster spot that could be used on a safety with more upside.
DT - Alfonso Boone is the toughest choice I think. He is similar to Todd Johnson in that he’s a effective role player backing up and spelling the younger front line, he’s probably maxed out as a player so he’s is what he is. Big, gap clogging DTs are pretty rare so he’s more valuable than Todd Johnson but the Bears need a player who can shed blocks better and play faster at the point of attack to work in with Tank Johnson and Tommie Harris. For a huge run stuffer, he doesn’t make enough tackles in the run game. He eats blocks well, but can’t shed and wrap up ball carriers. The Bears defense is best when teams are forced to run off tackle which lets them use the elite team speed. So, I would like to see an upgrade at this position and a younger player who can develop would be preferred but if that’s unlikely Boone is still an asset if the price is right.
DT - Ian Scott is nearly a carbon copy of Boone and falls under the same rationale. Scott is however younger and more athletic and has the potential to improve against the run and develop into a more reliable role player. For that reason, given a choice, I’ll retain him and let Boone go. Still, I don’t know that either player is worth paying a premium for.
The Bears have a few important needs to address in free agency. Historically they have relied on the draft to bolster their depth but there are a few players available in the market who would be ideal fits.
RB - Michael Turner tops my list of desires. He’s a local guy who would probably be thrilled to come to Chicago and he’s got that speed and receiving ability that the already solid Bears backfield sorely needs. Thomas Jones has been great and as an everydown back he’s been terrific but he just doesn’t have that break away speed. There were too many occasions this season where the O-line opened up a huge hole and Jones only managed a 8 or 10 yard gain, a back with additional speed would have made it to the third level and threatened to go to the house. Speed out of this position would make an already good running game flat out dominant. Also, Turner would immediately become the best receiver out of the backfield for us which, assuming Rex and Ron Turner can learn to use it, would become an ideal security blanket for the QB position. The system’s propensity for the deep ball would make those swing routes very productive at moving the chains. I fear that the investment the team has in Cedric Benson (not to mention Jones’ tendency to get bitchy when he feels slighted) will make it unlikely that they’ll make an aggressive move like this. They may choose to settle for a good current running attack instead of striving for great. Turner would open up so many options beyond just rushing yards, it would turn a somewhat predictable offense into one that comes at you from all angles.
FS - Ken Hamlin would fill a needs the Bears have without breaking the bank. Every year in recent memory the Bears have augmented their secondary through the draft and they have a knack for location talent this way, however they tend to expend mutilple draft picks on the position. It’s a primary reason why their special teams are so good. Still, often it feels that the sacrifice depth at other positions in doing so. When healthy our secondary is one of the very best, but our Safeties are notoriously fragile. Mike Brown is simply the best in the league but he’s has season ending injuries for 3 straight years and our backups simply don’t have the talent to replace him. I like Hamlin’s ability to play both the free and strong safety positions and he’s a perfect fit in the cover-2. He tackles very well, plays well in run support and pairs well with Mike Brown. Hamlin has been very durable and I feel like he could take the place of a pair of DBs and put Chris Harris and Danieal Manning into backup/nickel roles which they are better suited for. There’s a fairly rich market out there for Free Safeties this offseason so hopefully the Bears could land this guy without overpaying. With a team as good as the Bears I think adding experienced talent can be what pushes them over the top.
Assuming they fortify those two needs they can focus their draft on adding Linebacker depth and O-line depth. Both are likely to be good values at the end of the first round. I’m not sold on Pozlusny which is the popular rumor, but I think they have the flexibility to go for the best talent available. Offensive Tackle and Guard would both be shrewd additions for the future as well as a Defensive Tackle with size. Under utilized positions like TE and FB would be good targets for later rounds.
I really want to get Michael Turner. With so many more seasoned RBs on the market like McGahee, Dillon. Rhodes, Henry and Ahman Green, Turner might just be affordable and as a Restricted Free Agent the Bears might be one of the few teams willing to part with a draft pick to get the job done.
