Author: Tom Shannon

Ndamukong Suh’s Performance Doesn’t Match Big Mouth and Other Points of View

Bears

  • John Mullin at CSN Chicago also makes the point that the key to slowing down the Eagles will be to stop the run.   I would add that the key will be not just to stop the run but to do it without bringing an eighth man down in the box.  Its tough enough to sep a balanced offense like the Eagles.  Once you put a defensive back into the run defense you compromise the pass coverage and allow Michael Vick to utilize those weapons more effectively.
  • In Philadelphia they apparently think the offensive line is going to be the difference as explained simply in a cartoon form that every Bear fan can understand:

“Midway through the season, how do you see the 2012 draft for the Bears? Are they going to take another offensive lineman or do they trust the young group to improve? Without knowing much about J.T. Thomas, the linebacker position looks old and without much depth. Are they going to take a linebacker who can compete from Day One? Or is it going to be defensive line? Henry Melton is more down than up and Matt Toeaina and Israel Idonije, while stable, aren’t producing much. — Mortensen, Denmark

“A lot can change between now and next April, but if the draft were to be held tomorrow, I’d say you pretty much hit it on the head. The Bears would have to be most concerned with drafting a young, building-block offensive lineman (maybe a center/guard), another pass-rushing defensive lineman (an end would be preferable to a tackle) and a linebacker who can be groomed to eventually replace Urlacher or Lance Briggs, who, don’t forget, wants to be traded after the season. The Bears also could look at cornerbacks and wide receivers.”

I would also say that this fan nailed it.  But the truth is that, like last year, the Bears could go in almost any direction in the draft and no one would argue it based upon need.  The only set positions are quarterback and running back and the running back part depends upon just how stubborn Matt Forte is ready to be.  The Bears might take a back to prepare for his eventual departure even if they can use the franchise tag for a couple years, yet.

“It was a rapid fall from grace for Harris, I will grant you that. But a few things were working against him. The Bears had two young safeties they wanted to play. Harris was in the last year of his contract. And he had played poorly this year. At 29, Harris looks slower than he did at 28. It’s not unusual for safeties to start to deteriorate quickly and at a young age. Their bodies take a lot of abuse. It’s possible Harris hasn’t been completely healthy and that he’ll get some of his burst back. I’ve talked with some people with the Lions who are excited about having him. But for the Bears, it was time to move on. I understand their perspective.”

  • Brian Urlacher continues to cry over the new rules.  Its worked so well so far, why stop now?  Via Michael David Smith at profootballtalk.com.
  • I honestly thought left offensive tackle J’Marcus Webb was playing OK.  But offensive line coach Mike Tice felt the need to tell Mark Potash at the Chicago Sun-Times that he has been battling injuries.  I suppose the braces are obvious but it’s not something Bears players and coaches are generally allowed to talk to the press about.
  • Offensive coordinator Mike Martz on receiver Earl Bennett.   Via Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune.

“What Earl has that people don’t realize until they play him is that he has real speed,” Martz said. “He made so many key plays in key situations for us last year. I call him Mr. Third Down almost. It’s almost a foregone conclusion you throw him the ball it’s going to be a completion. It’s good to have him back.”

“Fortunately, though, Jerry Angelo now has a chance to prove to the league that the Bears take care of their players. If they want to get more guys like Forte to come to Chicago, then Angelo needs to show everyone that talent doesn’t go to waste in the Windy City. He needs to make a statement with Forte’s contract. And it needs to be the right statement. Because this isn’t about business anymore—it’s about respect.”

  • But Steve Rosenbloom at the Chicago Tribune doesn’t:

Jerry Angelo’s Bears have done enough dumb things through the years. Angelo’s Bears will continue to make mistakes.

But this time, Angelo has it right. Angelo is playing it smart. Maybe that’s why some Bears fans are so mad and have started a website to get Forte paid: They’re not used to seeing Angelo do things right.

“What Melton admitted noticing was a possible difference from his speed of play from last year, when he was a reserve coming in with a high motor and high impact, and this year, his first as an NFL starter.

“It may have been the difference between the way a starter works in baseball, planning to go seven innings or more, vs. the way a closer operates, in abruptly but firing all-out from the moment of entering the game.

“’Your mindset doesn’t change,’ Melton self-analyzed, ‘but when you look at the film, it does look like sometimes you’re not sprinting as hard as you were, when you’re getting in limited snaps.'”

  • Much has been made of Smith’s apparent decision to single out Melton for his play.  But I’ve got a feeling that he’s not the only one hearing it from the head coach.  When Biggs sought out Smith for comment on Anthony Adams‘ problems with gout, Smith shrugged it off and said Adams “needs to play better”.  Smith obviously expects more from the defensive line than he’s getting.
  • Eagles special teams coordinator Bobby April on Bears special teams coordinator Dave Toub via Biggs:

“You know, just the culture is that those guys don’t get recognized, those special teams coaches don’t get recognized like somebody else. You know, whoever, ‘They have a really good year on offense and this guy’s one of the greatest coaches in the league (and) he should be a head coach. Why isn’t he?’ (I think) Toub should have that consideration I think because that’s what he’s done.”

I could not agree more.  If I were hiring a head coach in this league, Toub would be near the top of my list.

“I can see why some people don’t like Tim Tebow because he’s so in your face about his faith,” said Cutler. “But I’m not an evangelical Satanist. Have I tried to win a few teammates over with pregame sacrifices? Sure. From time to time. But I don’t push anyone. I just try to live my life as miserable as possible and hope that darkness consumes those around me. And if not, well, they’ll burn in hell alongside me one day anyway, so what does it matter?”

Elsewhere

“Only one win away from clinching the NFC West!”

“Peterson has gained a higher percentage of his total yards (57.3) after first contact than any other NFL running back. That speaks both to his relentless running style and the relative lack of room his offensive line has afforded him.”

This stat more than any other tells me that Peterson is the best pure running back in the NFL and it tells you why he’s the first choice of most NFL experts.  A running back should be judged by the yards he makes on his own.  No one does that better than Peterson.

“Stafford has thrown an NFL-high 256 passes out of the shotgun formation. That’s 85.6 percent of his total attempts and a clear illustration of how the Lions have shifted to a spread offense. Even so, the Lions have still been effective in play-action. They’re averaging about one touchdown for every 7.5 play-action passes (seven touchdowns in 53 attempts).”

“Defensive tackle—Ndamukong Suh, Lions. Lots of good ones to choose from, including Geno Atkins, Marcell Dareus, Jay Ratliff and Richard Seymour. But none of them impacts games as much as Suh.”

Many writers, most notably Don Banks at Sports Illustrated, think Suh is under-achieving.

One Final Thought

Speaking of Suh, Warren Sapp thinks he needs to shut up.  (Via Biggs at The National Football Post.)

“We’re talking about taking credit for a quarterback that you didn’t sack, you didn’t take to the ground. His offensive lineman stepped on him. Remind me, didn’t Atlanta win this game?

“I’m really trying to find the karma. The quarterback missed two plays, come back in and torched you for the rest of the game … and you don’t get him on the ground, and now it’s karma?

“Why are you prancing all the way to the commissioner’s office and you almost ripped somebody’s helmet off? Are you kidding me? You don’t know that’s against the rules? That’s a wasted trip. … He almost ripped Jake Delhomme’s head off. That doesn’t make any sense.”

Pompei, who is apparently a Suh fan. had this to say on the matter:

“Warren Sapp telling Ndamukong Suh to shut up is like Kim Kardashian telling one of her sisters to stop seeking the limelight.”

That doesn’t mean he’s not right.

I couldn’t agree more with every word that Sapp said.  Never have I seen a team waste so much national good will going into a season like the Lions have.  Too many members of the team have gone over the edge from competitive to mouthy (and in Suh’s case – whiney) jerk over the course of the season.  I couldn’t tell you exactly why but I can say that the personality of the team often reflects the personality of the coaching staff, most the head coach and, in this case, the defensive coordinator.

Is Matt Forte Getting Good Advice?

Bob LeGere at the Daily Herald comments on Matt Forte‘s contract situation:

“However, I’m beginning to think Forte is getting bad advice by not accepting the Bears’ offer for a contract extension. He’s not going to get Chris Johnson-type money ($53.5 million for four years with $30 million guaranteed) from the Bears. And he’s not going to get it from anyone else. If he doesn’t agree to an extension before next year’s free agency, the Bears will surely slap the franchise tag on him, at least for 2012.

“If Forte wants the security of a long-term deal with a big chunk of change up front, he should stop whining about it and take the $14-$15 million or so guaranteed that the Bears are offering. If he suffers a serious injury this season, he’ll never see anything close to that.”

I, also, am starting to question whether Forte is getting the best advice.  He was all over the television and radio commenting about these negotiations during the bye week.  Exaggerations like the suggestion that they’re pounding him “into a pulp” are not helping him.  I know I’m not the only one that got very tired of it.

Though I don’t really believe it, myself, the more we hear from Forte on this, the more the idea that he’s playing primarily for the money and not for the love of the game and his teammates takes hold.  At minimum, Forte needs to stop commenting and the agent, Adisa Bakari, needs to be the one doing the talking.

The fact that this hasn’t been the case makes me wonder about how these negotiations are being handled on Forte’s end. These tactics might work against the Jacksonville Jaguars but I’ll tell you right now that they aren’t going to move the Bears an inch.  All they do is damage Forte’s public image.  I’d hate to see Forte find that out himself the hard way.

Should Gabe Carimi Start Monday? And Other Points of View

Bears

  • Mark Potash at the Chicago Sun-Times quotes Lovie Smith on the possibility that Gabe Carimi might start at right tackle Monday:

‘‘’We don’t have to make any of those decisions yet,’ coach Lovie Smith said. ‘We’ll let him tell us exactly how far he’s come along. [He] looked good today, looked good last week. I assume we’ll have him available, and we love making those kinds of choices later in the week.’”

Smith might claim to not have to make that decision he technically right.  But that’s deceptive since someone has to be designated to take the first team reps this week.

Current right tackle Lance Louis seems to block with an attitude and he looks pretty good in pass protection. But Carimi looks like a bigger and better run blocker. I doubt that the noise level at Lincoln Financial will match that in that domes in Detroit or New Orleans, where I’d hate to put a guy in his first game back.  Given that to be the case, I’d start a healthy Carimi at right tackle and move Louis back to guard.

“As always, the game will come down to how well the Bears can play on defense and special teams. The Eagles want to score on big plays and make teams throw against their pass rush. The Bears need to counter by taking the ball away. Michael Vick has been a fumbling machine and stellar running back LeSean McCoy also keeps the ball away from his body.

“‘That is something we have noticed,’ cornerback Tim Jennings said. “That’s the style they run and (McCoy) feels comfortable when he gets hit, he’s tucking it. He’s not fumbling, but it’s out there. It’s out there so we are going to take our shots.”’

“‘He’ll be surprised when I hit him,’ Conte said with a laugh.”

“Since the NFL expanded to eight divisions in 2002, there have been three playoff teams from the same division only three times. Most recently, in 2007, theEagles, Giants and Redskins made the postseason from the NFC East and the Colts, Jaguars and Titans did likewise from the AFC South.”

“With long runs from [Matt] Forte (22 and 32 yards) and Marion Barber (29 yards), the Bears had touchdown drives of 81 and 79 yards against the Buccaneers. That gave them six touchdown drives of 79 yards or longer this season. In 2010, they had four all season.”

Elsewhere

“Since October 17, 2010, when a rash of illegal hits by defensive players on defenseless offensive players forced the league to enforce the rules more aggressively, players have been expressing confusion, disagreement, and/or outright defiance regarding rules that, frankly, aren’t that hard to understand.  Teams — and, specifically, coaches — are in position to tell the players in no uncertain terms what is and isn’t allowed.

“But it’s not in a coach’s interests to risk neutering players, especially when coaches aren’t fined for the illegal hits.  So coaches could be subtly manipulating their players, privately expressing confusion, disagreement, and/or outright defiance with the rules, which results in players publicly doing the same.  More important for the interests of the coaches, the players continue to play aggressively on defense, which helps the coaches’ teams win more games.  Which helps the coaches remain employed and, for the coaches that succeed, get paid a lot of money to do so.” 

  • According to multiple media reports, Minnesota governor Mark Dayton along with key members of the legislature have concluded that there’s going to have to be a referendum on the sales tax needed to build a new stadium there.  The local officials concerned had already approved the new tax.The earliest date for such a vote would be November, 2012.  The Vikings lease is up on January 1 and they have indicated that they will not sign a new one without the promise of a stadium.  Florio comments:

“And so, when it’s time to write the story of why the Vikings left Minnesota, point to the legislature’s decision not to allow a community whose leadership is willing to embrace a sales tax for the privilege of hosting the stadium. All that’s left to figure out is whether the logos and the colors and the name and the records will be put into mothballs when owner Zygi Wilf moves the team to Los Angeles in 2012, where they’d play at the Rose Bowl or the Coliseum while waiting for a stadium to be built downtown or at Grand Crossing in the City of Industry.”

I can only agree.  I understand the difficulties of raising revenue for such a project in the current environment.  But this almost certainly dooms the chances that the Vikings will stay in Minnesota.

  •  How underrated was Buffalo running back Fred Jackson before the season?  He couldn’t even get any respect in his own house.  Jackson’s wife Danielle took Michael Vick in the first round and even took running back Michael Turner before finally drafting her husband.  Via the Buffalo News:

“‘[I told her] I’m not going to continue to sit here if you’re skipping over me in these rounds. If you don’t take me, I’m going to call your brother and tell him to pick me up,’ Jackson said.”

  • Former NFL safety Matt Bowen takes us inside of a key play from the Steelers-Patriots matchup for the National Football Post.The Patriots were playing cover two on this play as they did throughout the game.  Poor tackling while allowing conversion of third and long after third and long doomed the Patriots in the first half as they failed to hold the Steelers to field goals.  It was interesting to see this team trying to adjust their defensive philosophy to match the Bears when most Bear fans would just as soon see the team abandon the scheme.
  • Former Bears head of college scouting Greg Gabriel, now at the National Football Post, rips into former Tribune columnist Skip Bayless, who is currently masquerading as a television personality at ESPN.  The only thing I’ll say about him is that he’s better at that than he was here in Chicago.  He is the only writer in America whose name tells you what to do with his columns.

One Final Thought

Kenny Mayne at ESPN instructs Nate Buleson and Calvin Johnson on the definition of a catch.

How about this? If you get up off the ground, turn around and hand the ball to the referee like Walter Payton did every game of his life, its definitely a catch.

End of story.

Jay Cutler (Finally) Gets Comfortable and Other Points of View

Bears

  • Vaughn McClure at the Chicago Tribune writes this fluff piece on quarterback Jay Cutler.  This comment from defensive back D.J. Moore about Cutler’s improved off field attitude was interesting:

“It makes people like you more,” he said. “When people like you more, they root for you more. When people root for you, I think you do better. Good people win. You can’t just walk around and be an (expletive) and then be like, ‘Now I want you guys to come out and support me.'”

This excerpt might say more about Caleb Hanie‘s insecurity than about Cutler:

Part of offensive coordinator Mike Martz‘s teaching philosophy is never to scold the starter but get points across through berating the backup. Hanie feels the brunt of Martz’s admonitions.

“Last year was pretty rough with that,” Hanie said. “You just feel like you’re in the doghouse. And I think Jay took pleasure in seeing me get yelled at. This year is a little better but last year, I think that was entertainment for Jay.”

Other interesting points:

1) All of the players, including Cutler, eat “organic stuff” from Whole Foods.
2) Cutler takes Dane Sanzenbacher to dinner every week.

Overall we get a picture of Cutler as someone who isn’t particularly quick to fit in with others but who is finally starting getting comfortable in the environment of the Bears locker room.

“A year ago at this time, the Packers and Giants were in the hunt for a playoff spot. Aaron Rodgers (12 touchdowns, nine interceptions, 85.2 rating) and Eli Manning (14 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, 88.3) were having Cutler-like seasons. In the second half, Rodgers stepped up (13 touchdowns, two interceptions, 122.4). Manning did not (17 touchdowns, 14 interceptions, 83.0). The ­Packers edged the Giants for the last wild-card berth. And the rest, very literally, is history.

“It might be too much to ask Cutler to be Aaron Rodgers. He just has to be closer to Rodgers than he does to Eli Manning — and [Rex] Grossman — in the second half.”

“He needs to avoid sacks and stay away from desperate, ill-advised throws that can be intercepted. If he does that, he can win some games in the fourth quarter, as he must.”

Cutler has generally performed well the last few weeks but he seems to throw at least two or three dropped interceptions every game. That needs to be cleaned up.

  • Pompei also evaluates the offensive line in the same article:

“The two major shortcomings have been pass protection (21 sacks allowed is tied for third in the NFL) and penalties (20 false starts — six more than the next closest team).”

“This unit has the potential to play better. In fact, the trend already is toward more efficient blocking.”

I would agree. I would also add that the two places that the offensive line has struggled the most are in the two domes they’ve played in, Detroit and New Orleans. It’s when the Bears have to go to a silent count and the linemen lose their one advantage that you find out how much talent you actually have. The Bears have been sadly lacking in these noisy environments. Fortunately the only dome the Bears have left on the schedule is in Minnesota and we can hope that if that team continues to lose, the stadium won’t be as raucous as the others the Bears have played in.

“[J’Marcus] Webb looks like a right tackle to me with those big, long arms but somehow he gets the job done,” the scout said. “I thought he did an exceptional job against [Vikings defensive end] Jared Allen. It was one of those emotional games, and I think the level of emotion was higher for the Bears than the Vikings for whatever reason. But I still think he has done a good job. He’s holding his own there.

“You’d think they’d put [Lance] Louis over on that side because he’s a little more of an athlete, but he’s holding his own at right tackle.”

  • Back to Pompei as he goes on to evaluate the cornerbacks:

“The corners have given up some yards against better receivers, especially against the Panthers.”

Meaning “especially Steve Smith“. The problem is the same one they had last year. They can’t cover good receivers man-to-man. As a result the Panthers were able to move Smith around and to get into favorable match ups. The Bears are eventually going to have to address this issue if they are going to compete consistently with some of the better teams in the league like the Patriots.

  • Finally, another good point from Pompei:

“Devin Hester may have fewer return opportunities [in the next nine games] because he has been on too many highlight reels lately.”

The Vikings did an excellent job of pinning Hester to the sidelines and limiting his returns. We saw a lot of that during Hester’s last prolonged slump and I can almost guarantee that we’re going to see a lot of it in the future.

  • I do take issue with one contention that Pompei makes about the defensive line:

“Losing Corey Wootton for all but 12 snaps so far has hurt this unit. The Bears need him.”

The Bears are definitely hurting interms of depth here. But otherwise I’d say that we haven’t seen Wooton enough to make any judgments in terms of the quality of his play. And perhaps that says more about him than anything.

  • Mark Potash, writing for the Chicago Sun-Times, makes the point that the Packers game on Christmas day is a critical one for the Bears. Though I acknowledge that this is always an important game I think we have to also acknowledge that the Packers are clearly a better team and the Bears aren’t likely to beat them for the division title. The game in the second half that, in my opinion, the Bears must win is Nov. 13 against the Lions at home. Generally speaking the Bears still must show that they are better than this team More specifically they are likely going to need to come out on top of them in terms of tie breakers if they are going to make they playoffs.

Elsewhere

“What he’s overlooking is the fact that he wasn’t benched due to his play or because he’s the scapegoat for a 1-5 start punctuated by a blowout loss at Soldier Field that ran the team’s road record against the Bears to 1-10 since 2001. Chrisian Ponder is playing and McNabb isn’t because the Vikings realize that the playoffs are a pipe dream, and because the Vikings need to know what Ponder can do. Especially if that 1-5 (now 1-6) becomes 1-10 and worse, giving the Vikings a crack at Andrew Luck.”

I might add that McNabb really needs to step outside himself and take a good look at his performance. That game in Chicago was awful and he’s now with a team that can’t cover for his deficiencies.

  • Sam Farmer, writing for Tribune News Services puts together a profile of former Bear quarterback Jim Harbaugh. The comments from former 49ers quarterback Steve Young might say as much about the Bears as the 49ers:

“What I love about Jim is he’s an offensive-minded coach and he knows quarterbacks, and in this town that’s three-quarters of the work,” said Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young, who won the 1995 Super Bowl with the 49ers. “I really love that he takes chances. He’s a bold play-caller, and you just don’t see many of those around the league.

“He calls a game to help Alex, and if Alex is playing well everyone is playing well. That’s the way Bill [Walsh] used to do it. Anything that looks like Bill Walsh, I’m excited about.”

  • It’s Dan Pompei day here as also he makes some interesting points in his Sunday Blitz column for The National Football Post.

“Nobody knows for sure at this point if Jim Caldwell will keep his job. But what we do know is Colts management is not blaming him for the performance of the team.”

Assuming this is true, and I think it is, then the blame lies squarely on general manager Bill Polian. Polian has not exactly stocked the team with talent through some mediocre drafts and that lack is now being exposed.

  • Pompei also had this to say about Brad Childress:

“Former Vikings coach Brad Childress is looking like a better coach with each passing week. A few months ago, some people were predicting Childress would never be a head coach again. Front offices are starting to take a harder look at what Childress accomplished in Minnesota within the context of how the Vikings are performing now. It will be an upset if Childress isn’t a candidate for a head coaching job or two in the offseason.”

Childress was a poor head coach. The Vikings have been competitive inmost games this year despite being stuck with McNabb, then rookie Christian Ponder at quarterback. Childress had Brett Favre and that has exposed him on two fronts. First, Favre was a abetter quarterback. Second, his preferential treatment of him (e.g. driving to the airport to pick him up) showed how little understanding he had of the team concept. As intelligent as he is, Childress just didn’t understand how to manage people and even Favre had little or no respect for him in the end.

  • One more thing from Pompei:

“Terrell Owens needs two things to justify his existence: the football and an audience. Oh well, he still has a football.”

I really do think Owens has some good football left in him. But it’s obvious that he just isn’t worth the personality problems anymore.

One Final Thought

ESPN NFC North blogger Kevin Seifert on the Lions being “entertaining”:

“I guess everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I think you’re taking it too far if you think Lions linebacker Stephen Tulloch was mocking the act of prayer and/or God by “Tebowing” after a sack in the first half Sunday. I’m guessing Tulloch got some pushback from somewhere, because Monday he tweeted: ‘I have a love & passion for the game of football. Football is a form of entertainment. Have a sense of humor, I wasn’t mocking GOD! #Tebowing.’ Yes. Let’s everyone lighten up on this one.”

Of course he wasn’t mocking God. I guess I’m wondering when it became OK to mock other players. #nosportsmanship #norepect

Time for Forte to Accept a Not So Hard Reality

Adam Schefter at ESPN tweets that the Bears plan to use the franchise tag on running back Matt Forte. Certainly no one would be surprised if that were true. As the Chicago Tribune‘s Brad Biggs has pointed out, the Bears are starting to consider extending their many potential free agents in an effort to get them signed before the end of the season. That means they have to start planning how they are going to apportion their remaining cap space.

Forte has claimed for some reason that he doesn’t think the Bears will do this. He apparently thinks that the Bears will want to pay him what he’s worth and has claimed repeatedly that they are simply undervaluing him because they don’t believe in him.

I really doubt that is true. From the first time I saw him and heard him speak I’ve believed that Forte is everything a professional football player should be. What I’ve seen since certainly supports the notion. Forte is always the first one to run over to congratulate a teammate on a good play. In turn they always go to bat for him in the media, are always campaigning for him in his contract run, are always talking about what a great back he is and pointing out what a great person he is.

But Forte is only 25 and he certainly doesn’t yet understand many realities of life. He’s about to come to grips with one that everyone eventually faces: No one – and I mean no one – ever gets paid what they are worth. Certainly no one ever gets paid what they think they are worth. Not me, not you, not Lovie Smith, not Jerry Angelo, not even the Bears ownership. If we are realistic, most of us can accept that we are getting paid what is fair based upon the business situation of everyone involved. But it’s never what we’re worth.

Forte risks injury every game he plays. And the truth is that no one ever feels rich no matter how much they make. Most of us get used to it early on and we become grateful if we are lucky enough to be comfortable. Forte needs to accept a long term deal for what is still a very good salary to play with teammates who love him. No one will ever do better than that.

Release of Chris Harris As a Personal Matter and Other Points of View

Bears

“Letting [Chris] Harris go, Lovie Smith and the coaching staff put a lot of faith in a pair of unproven players. [Major] Wright, a third-round draft pick in 2010, has started four career games and endured his share of injuries. [Chris] Conte, a rookie third-rounder, will make his third start when the Bears return to action at Philadelphia on Nov. 7.”

I don’t think the Bears are taking that big of a risk. The safeties are making too many mistakes. I think Bears head coach Lovie Smith probably concluded that if that was going to be the case, he might as well play the young ones.

“But Detroit (5-2), which has been trampled by running backs in recent weeks, has struggled in the secondary for years and the Lions will take a shot with the 29-year-old. Detroit has a talented free safety in Louis Delmas (CQ) and could view Harris as a solution for some of the team’s struggles in the box. The club currently lists Amari Spievey (CQ) atop the depth chart at strong safety.”

ESPN‘s NFC North blogger, Kevin Seifert,  also makes the good point that Harris probably has valuable information to pass along to the Lions.

My gut feeling in that Biggs is right.  The Lions obviously see Harris as a solution in schemes other than the cover two which requires both the instincts and the athleticism that Harris has not shown this season.  This may, however, lead teams to attack him in the passing game in apparent running situations.

“(Bears S) Brandon Meriweather has played exactly like he did in New England. That’s why Bill Belichick got rid of him. If (Belichick) thought (Meriweather) was going to improve, he would’ve kept him. Just because a player is voted to a Pro Bowl does not mean he played like a Pro Bowler. … We would not touch him for the veteran’s minimum (salary). I was shocked what he got (from the Bears).”

“Strongside:  Motivated by extreme fear of human contact.”
“Weakside: Can do it all but just runs around with a football instead.”

‘‘First off, we start upstairs,’’ he said, referring to the coaches in the press box. ‘‘If we think we have a legitimate gripe, or we think we’re going to win, that’s a part of it. But if it’s close, and it’s a critical situation, I’m going to challenge it.’’

Many will criticize Smith’s use of the challenge but I continue to marvel that football is the only sport where the head men have to not only coach their team but do the officiating, too.

‘‘It’s all about being at the right place at the right time,’’ Clutts said. ‘‘This offense fits my skill set. They don’t ask me to do things I’m not capable of doing. But the things they ask me to do, I feel I do well. I couldn’t ask for a better situation than being here.’’

My own observations confirm that the Bears have been using Clutts effectively. But it also makes me wonder about all of the things that we have read about the demise of the fullback and how Bears offensive coordinator Mike Martz prefers to use tight ends. More than ever, I’m wondering if offensive line coach Mike Tice is the one calling and designing the run plays for the Bears.

“Will Mike Martz be back next year? Tom from Twitter

“There is a chance, maybe even a good one, that Martz will not be back with the Bears, no matter what happens the rest of the season. Remember, Martz rejected the Bears’ low-ball extension offer in the offseason (they offered no raise, a $1 million salary for the 2012 season). He will be out of contract. If his offense sputters, the Bears may say sayonara. If the offense thrives, Martz may say sayonara.”

I, personally, will go on record already as saying that I hope Martz and the team can come to an agreement.

    1. I don’t like the idea of transitioning to yet another system
    2. Smith will be a lame duck and, like the last time they were in that situation, they may not be able to recruit a good offensive coordinator under that circumstance.
    3. They may find, once again, that they can’t find anyone who wants to work with Jay Cutler.
    4. I’m pretty sure that Martz system will work a lot better as the talent gets better (if it gets better).

Bottom line, I think Martz is about as good of an offensive coordinator as they are going to get.

  • Jensen takes a look at the number of snaps Bears players have taken over the course of the season so far.  Many have concluded that Roy Williams has gotten fewer balls because quarterback Jay Cutler doesn’t have confidence in him.  But the truth is that Williams has been in the game for just over half the snaps that Devin Hester has and for almost 100 fewer than Johnny Knox.  Even Dane Sansenbacher has been in the game for almost 25% more snaps.  So I’m wondering how much confidence the coaching staff has in him as well.  Williams habitually drops a lot of balls.

In addition, D.J. Moore has played 25% more snaps than Nick Roach.  As many writers have pointed out, this speaks to the fact that the Bears are probably playing a lot of nickel.  They may be playing it more than any other alignment.

Elsewhere

  • For those who thought the Bears should run out and sign Bernard Berrian, we have this from Tom Pelissero at 1500ESPN.com:

“When coach Leslie Frazier met with Berrian on Monday, the 30-year-old receiver said he still wanted to help the Vikings win — and Frazier couldn’t believe him anymore.”

“‘The thing you have to be concerned about is, if he’s a starter, how is he producing? And then, what’s the attitude?’ Frazier said, speaking generally after Thursday’s practice.

“‘If he’s not producing, but he’s practicing hard, playing hard, doing everything you ask — you’ve just got to find ways to try to help that guy be a productive player for you. But if the production isn’t there, the attitude isn’t right, then you’ve got to say, ‘OK, is he giving us anything in the locker room?””

“That was never Berrian’s style either. Aloof and introverted, he had a reputation for caring more about fashion and celebrity status than football. One former teammate said he’d be willing to bet Berrian didn’t even know several other players’ names.”

I’m sure all of the Bear fans who watched Berrian refuse to go over the middle or to block the year he was headed into free agency are shocked.

“Defensive tackle — Ndamukong Suh, Detroit: For a guy who dominated games during his rookie season, Suh hasn’t really delivered the same impact this year. You talk to NFL personnel evaluators and they’ll tell you he’s getting blocked out of plays more effectively this season and disappearing for stretches of games. The numbers bear this out: After his monster 10-sack, 66-tackle season of 2010, with three passes defensed, one interception and one forced fumble, Suh has just three sacks and 23 tackles in seven games, with no takeaways or passes defensed. Suh set the bar very high as a rookie, but he hasn’t matched that production level in year two.”

“One of the main reasons the Texans have been playing better — the offensive line is functional. That is the best thing Gary Kubiak has done since he arrived. He fixed the line.”

One Final Thought

Steve Rosenbloom at the Chicago Tribune wonders if the release of Harris wasn’t personal:

“Recall that in the middle of his descent from starter to street clothes, Harris tweeted that he was all for accountability as long as accountability went for everybody. Harris didn’t name names. It wasn’t a kill shot on, say, Smith or defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli, but it was probably Harris’ best hit of the season.”

I missed this tweet but it would certainly explain a few things.  Certainly Bears defensive back D.J. Moore agrees with Rosenbloom (via Jon Greenberg at ESPNChicago.com):

“”If you look at the tape, [Harris] was doing what’s he supposed to do,’ Bears defensive back D.J. Moore said. ‘Like everybody you make bad plays and whatnot, but like everybody you could probably tell it was bad blood somewhere, I would think. If you go from starting to not starting and then all of a sudden, you’re just gone, there’s got to be ego somewhere.'”

Now I’m wondering when Moore will be cut.

Just kidding.

Maybe.

 

Game Comments: Bears at Buccaneers

Offense

  1. Tampa Bay looked alert for the screen for most of the game. Good scouting there as that seems to be the primary mechanism the Bears use to slow the rush.
  2. Matt Forte looked great.  He ran with patience and vision and made a lot of yards on his own.   As has been the case this game was about the Bear running game.  Once Forte got going it opened up the pass which the Bears had less success with but which they were able to sue to at least keep moving the ball.
  3. Speaking of the run, nice game Marion Barber.
  4. Tampa’s reaction to Forte’s runing was to do what they should have done from the beginning of the game.  They started by trying to play seven in the box but eventually they started stacking and crashing the line of scrimmage to stop the run and pressure Bears quarterback Jay Cutler.  This made the Bears have to beat them with the pass, something they aren’t as good at.
  5. Roy Williams had a bad drop but otherwise I thought he had a reasonable game.  I particularly liked the block he threw on Forte’s touchdown in the first quarter.  Generally speaking I’m not prepared to be too critical of the receivers this game though they continue to be pedestrian.
  6. I’m sick and tired of seeing the Bears pull lineman in short yardage situations.  Its too slow to develop and it doesn’t work.  I’m assuming this is how Roberto Garza ended up getting shoved into Forte in the end zone on the safety.  Really poor. EDIT: I watched the replay Sunday night and Garza did not pull on the play. He just got knocked back from the center position.
  7. Tampa Bay really didn’t play that well defensively.  They made a lot of mistakes.  I’m thinking in particular of the Barber touchdown run where the Tampa Bay safety got caught in the misdirection and failed to fill his gap.  Things like that are a killer.
  8. Generally speaking I once again thought the offensive line did reasonably well today.  They got less help in pass protection and still generally protected Cutler OK though there were plenty of gaffes to clean up still.  The run blocking was pretty good until the fourth quarter.

Defense

  1. The Bears started in the cover two on first down but they started gradually blitzing more often until the fourth quarter. This actually had an effect on Tamp quarterback Josh Freeman who appeared to me to be looking for it even when it wasn’t there.  About midway through the third quarter the Bears stopped blitzing all together and went into the cover two shell almost entirely.  This made the fact that the Bucs were allowed to come back and make this into a game at the end particularly inexcusable.
  2. There was some poor tackling initially but other than that I didn’t think the Bears looked sluggish or jet lagged.
  3. Freeman really had a bad, bad day. It wasn’t just the interceptions.  His accuracy was awful.  Much of this probably can be chalked up to the pressure the Bears got on him.
  4. Speaking of the pressure, it was pretty good until the fourth quarter.  That’s when the Bears went into their cover two shell and the Tampa offensive line got comfortable.
  5. Chris Harris showed his deficiencies once again but I thought the coverage by the defensive backs was generally good otherwise.Charles Tillman stood out.
  6. Tampa Bay converted too many third downs today.

Miscellaneous

  1. I watched this game at a bar so admittedly it was a little tough to hear them but it seemed like Daryl Johnston, Kenny Albert and Tony Siracusa did a good job. In particular it sounded like Johnston’s thoughts were paralleling my own.
  2. I know you don’t want to kick to Devin Hester but I thought conceding the opening kick off to the forty was taking it too far.
  3. Tampa Bay punter Michael Koenen was great today. He kept pinning Hester up agains the sidelines and limiting his returns and he hit some booming punts.  He and Ronde Barber were maybe Tampa Bay’s best players today.
  4. I was amazed at the number of Tampa Bay injuries today.  I’m tempted to say it had something to do with the way they prepared for the game by staying with free run of a resort but I wouldn’t bet my life on it.  It might have just been bad luck.
  5. I won’t say there were too many drops but the ones the Bears had certainly seemed to hurt.  The drop by Roy Williams leading to another by Barber for a pick six was a particularly damaging sequence.  Again, the Bears have to clean this up.  they can’t have plays like that.
  6. I won’t say that there were too many penalties, either, but they were really damaging to both teams.  There isn’t a worse time to commit a senseless block in the back than on a pick that was taken down to the one yard line.
  7. There were too many turnovers on both sides.  Tampa Bay practically gave the game away with them but the two the Bears had were damaging, too.  Again, one of these days someone is going to kill Cutler on those dangerous throws.  He’s living on the edge.  Nice job by the Bear defense here.
  8. There are a lot of things I could emphasize in this final point.  The running game continuing to carry the Bears offense.  The turnovers the Bears finally seemed to start getting.  The poor cover two defense that led to the Tampa Bay comeback.  But I’m going to choose to focus on something else.  The Bears badly need safety help but when Brandon Merriweather started displaying poor discipline, they benched him.  Aquib Talib is a very talented defensive back for the Bucs who has displayed a lack of discipline on and off the field but the Buccaneers have chosen to continue to play him despite that.  I’d say that it came back to hurt them today as Talib committed a damaging personal foul with 3 and a half minutes to play.  Though Johnston chose to frame it as the Buccaneer defense “bailing Talib out” by holding the Bears to a final field goal, that penalty cost the Buccaneers a minute and a half of valuable time at the end of the game.  The difference between what you can do with 3:30 left and 2:00 left offensively is huge.  Bottom line I’m glad the Bears have taken the stand on Merriweather that they have.  Sometimes the game really does come down to what’s right and what isn’t.

The Bears Are Going to Have Some Trouble Adjusting to London

Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune writes about the jet lag that comes with traveling overseas:

“If the Bears feel anything on Friday afternoon like a group of sportswriters did Thursday afternoon, it could make for a rough practice in final preparation for Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers at Wembley Stadium.”

“It’s a primary reason why the Bucs departed Monday morning for London.”

I was sitting at lunch in Chicago with two friends yesterday, one from Autralia and the other from Wales.  Both are obviously very experienced world travelers and I’ve made such trips a couple times myself.  So I asked the question, “The Bears play Sunday.  They’re leaving today.  Will they be ready to…”  Before I even finished I was cut off.  My Welsh friend said, “No way,” with the Australian nodding.

My own more limited experience jibes with theirs.  Some players are going to handle this really well.  But some aren’t and it only takes a few to make for some really bad football.

Jay Cutler Must Grow, Get on the Same Page with Mike Martz

Fred Mitchell at the Chicago Tribune describes an incident which has been building locally into a real story over the course of the week:

“Jay Cutler acknowledged Wednesday that he shouted an obscenity that was directed toward Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Mike Martz during last Sunday night’s victory over the Minnesota Vikings.

“The NBC field microphone and camera picked up the voice of Cutler telling quarterbacks coach Shane Day to relay a message to Martz in a Soldier Field booth: ‘Tell him I said (blank) him.'”

Two different columns were written today which gave different perspectives on the episode, one by the Chicago Sun-Times Mark Potash, the other by Dan Pompei at the Tribune.

Let’s start with Potash:

“Jay Cutler usually can’t hide his disdain for uncomfortable or annoying subjects during his weekly news conferences. With a dismissive attitude, curt responses and body language that says he rather would be anywhere but in the media room at Halas Hall, he has a habit of making things worse than when he started.”

“But Cutler at least made a plausible case that it’s much ado about nothing. And that, in itself, is significant progress for Cutler, who is on a roll with back-to-back games of 99.6 and 115.9 passer ratings.”

“‘I’m not going to make a big deal of this; it’s not a big deal. We’re all on the same team in this building. We’re [trying] to win football games.'”

“‘I’m a competitor,’ Cutler said. ‘So is he. So is everyone on this offense. Whether we’re up three touchdowns or three points, a second- and third-down call is as important as any one in the game.

‘So … it is what it is. We’re good. We’re moving on. Excited about his week’s game plan and excited to go play in London.'”

Potash went on to say that the incident was a symptom of the greater problems surrounding the Bears offense.

Pompei, on the other hand, saw this as a personal failing on the part of Cutler.

“The Bears quarterback claims the media is making something out of nothing. Not sure what planet he comes from, but in my world I don’t often hear a subordinate talk to his superior that way.

“How long would you be in your starting lineup if you gave your boss that message?”

“The message Cutler really sends — to his coaches, his teammates, his opponent and the public — is that he lacks respect and self control. Cutler doesn’t have to agree with the call, or how it was made, but he does have to show courtesy to the people and the process.

That’s not football, that’s life.”

“For him to be an effective leader, he will need to mature more. Or, if you prefer to attribute his behavior to his ‘fiery’ nature, he will need an occasional bucket of water thrown over him.”

Whatever you say about Cutler he evokes strong reactions. Even in people not named “Kristin”.

At least both of these columnists agree on one thing – Cutler deserves credit for addressing the issue and telling the truth. We constantly say we want honesty in our athletes. Then we bang them as hard as we can as soon as they do it.

You can argue that, nevertheless, Pompei’s column has some of that in it. The answer to Pompei’s question is that if I ever did what Cutler did with my boss, I might as well start packing up my desk in preparation for a new career in waste management. Having played competitive sports, part of me wants to say that Cutler’s situation is different. The other part of me wonders if he would ever verbally sodomize head coach Lovie Smith in the same situation.  It seems to me that Cutler does have a specific problem with Martz.

At least as important in the big picture is the issue of Cutlers growth.  I’ve never bought into Cutler as a good leader and I usually lean in Pompei’s direction when the subject comes up. But to my eye Cutler is doing better this year in an effort to fill the void left by the departure of former center Olin Kreutz. He is certainly at least trying with some success (via Potash):

“‘We are a team, and whenever [Cutler] gets fired up, we get fired up,’ center Roberto Garza said. ‘We started playing well, and all that excitement comes from our quarterback. He leads our team. Whatever he does, we do.’”

Cutler’s case that this incident and the events surrounding it this week are a non-issue may have been “plausible” but it doesn’t fly.  Good or bad, it would seem that he is a leader for this team now.  And that means he has to think carefully where he leads them to.  There are clearly some things here that need to be dealt with.

Game Comments: Vikings at Bears

Defense

  1. The Bears played 8 in the box (at least) on first down.  It looked like a good move.  Stop Adrian Peterson and make the rest of the team beat you.
  2. Nice job Stephen Paea on the McNabb safety.  He was helped by a neat little stunt that fooled the Viking offensive line.
  3. The Bears tackling was good tonight.  It needed to be with Peterson running the ball.
  4. The Bears got a fair bit of pressure when they blitzed.  The pressure was more sporatic when it was the four man rush but it was there.  Some of the Bears pressure came on some clever stunts.  For instance, it seemed that Julius Peppers had good success stunting up the middle.
  5. Speaking of Peppers, considering the fact that he was playing on a bad knee, I thought he had a good game.  He seemed to get fair pressure on McNabb and, of course, sacked him.
  6. I see that Donovan McNabb is still throwing bounce passes to his receivers.  He looked better in the second half but it was too little too late.  By the time they got to midway through the third quarter, the Vikings had to throw and the Bears defensive linemen were laying back their ears and strictly rushing the passer.
  7. I thought the Vikings started to get their feet underneath them at the end of the first half.  The Bears were so committed to Peterson that the Vikings had an easy time of it passing against them.
  8. Hard to say much about Chirstian Ponder.  I’d say he was up and down.  He was certainly more mobile than I thought he’d be.  He’s got a real quick release.  But I don’t think you start him unless you’ve really officially given up on the season (i.e. nine losses).

Offense

  1. The Vikings are also stacking the box but thats with the Bears having running personnel and lots of guys in to protect Jay Cutler.
  2. I’m really surprised that Cutler found Devin Hester open on the first touchdown.  There should have been plenty of guys there to cover and, indeed, he looked like he was double covered.  I can only conclude that there was some really poor coverage on that play.
  3. Cutler was hanging better in the pocket this week.  Probably all of the extra protection gave him more confidence.
  4. You might qualify the pass protection because the offensive line got lots of help tonight but I think everyone would say that they did a good job of run blocking, as well.  Here’s hoping they can start doing that on the road.
  5. I thought offensive coordinator Mike Martz took better advantage of the running game this week by calling more play action.
  6. No complaints about the wide receivers tonight (though see the dropped passes comment below).  For the most part I thought they really went out and fought for the ball tonight.
  7. I would agree with color man Cris Collinsworth that Lance Louis did a fine job stablizing the right tackle position tonight.  I can see why offensive line coach Mike Tice likes him.  I also liked that they highlighted the play of Chris Williams who has quietly done a decent job for most of the season.  Really as good or better than anyone other than Roberto Garza.

Miscellaneous

  1. Al Michaels, Michele Tafoya and Collinsworth were professional.  I hate night games as a rule but at least having the best quality announcers helps.
  2. There were plenty of dropped passes tonight.  There were two dropped passes for the Vikings on the first two third downs.  That’s brutal.  There was a bad drop by Hester at the end of the first half.  There was another one by Dane Sanzenbacker near the goal line in the third quarter.  Matt Spaeth dropped a touchdown.  Those have to be cleaned up.
  3. There were still too many penalties tonight.  There was an illegal formation call in the first half.  There were more false starts.  It’s really hard to move the ball running it when you are starting first and 15.
  4. I wouldn’t say that turnovers were a problem but there was the bad Cutler fumble at the beginning of the first half that led to a Viking touchdown. There were a few near interceptions and that fumble by Tyler Clutz Clutts in the first quarter looked like it should have been Viking ball to me.
  5. Good special teams play tonight by the Bears.  The Hester touchdown was particularly good because it came after the Vikings cut through the Bears defense like a hot knife through butter for a touchdown.
  6. I love to watch Sam Hurd play ball.  The guy gives it everything he’s got and he just seems to genuinely enjoy every minute.
  7. Nice work by the offensive line tonight and it made all the difference.  But the real test is on the road and that’s where they need to perform if they want to impress me.  You could say the same thing about the whole team.  There were a lot of mistakes that didn’t didn’t burn the Bears because they were playing a Vikings team that had a bad night.  But there were plenty of dropped passes and penalties.  Make those near interceptions into real ones and you’ve got a problem when you’re playing good teams.  I can’t complain on a night when they win convincingly like this but the Bears better keep working to clean this stuff up.