Author: Tom Shannon

Sean Jensen at the Chicago Sun-Times writes about the fact that quarterback Jay Cutler needs an off season with offensive coordinator Mike Martz to correct his problems.  That means Bear fans should be praying there’s no lockout.  This is a very, very good article and its worth the read.  But I’ll bottom line it with the principal quotes from former Bears quarterback Jim Miller:

“’The problem with Jay is, because he’s so athletic, you don’t want to curtail him too much because that takes from that part of his game,’ said Miller, an analyst for Comcast SportsNet and Sirius NFL Radio. ‘But I get upset watching him because he could be so much better. He could be lights-out if he cleans up his footwork and fundamentals. All those things are correctable.’”

“’Jay can get there, but he has to have the ‘want to’ to be great, and the discipline to be able to do that.  He did a much better job this year of checking himself and not throwing dumb interceptions. Now if he can take it to the next level, with his footwork and things like that, then he can play to the level of an Aaron Rodgers.’”

Over and over again I’ve tried to point out that Cutler’s problems with leadership, with the media, with his peers, all reflect one fundamental difficulty.  That despite his immense physical talent, people doubt whether he has what it takes to do the little things he needs to do as a player to be great.

That’s what Miller means when he uses terms like “want to” and “discipline”.  He’s not talking about “toughness”.  He’s talking about what keeps a man in front of a screen until midnight watching tape.  He’s talking about, not spending 20 minutes twice a week working on footwork but spending hours on it, drilling and drilling and drilling.

Renowned psychiatrist Anna Freud once said, “I was always looking outside myself for strength and confidence, but it comes from within. It is there all the time.”

Cutler needs more time with Martz, who is probably the first decent quarterback coach they’ve had since Greg Olson left.  But he needs a lot more than that.  He needs the desire and force of will that it takes to overcome all obstacles and be the best.  That can’t from a coach.  It can only come from within one’s self.  We can only hope that it is buried somewhere deep within Jay Cutler.

Brad Biggs at the Chicago Sun-Times continues his positional analysis with the cornerbacks.  He describes the Bears fundamental problem:

“The thing to keep in mind is Cover-2 based defenses don’t put a high premium on the position. That’s not to say cornerbacks are not valued. But it’s a zone-based scheme so the Bears aren’t out looking to invest in shutdown corners like Nnamdi Asomugha, who command huge salaries.”

The Bears find themselves at an important junction at cornerback.  Biggs is absolutely right about the cover two and in the past its obvious that general manager Jerry Angelo has followed the philosophy described the article.  Concentrate on the pass rush and pick up your zone cornerbacks after that.

But having said that, the Bears probably played more single coverage this year than they ever have before.  They had to.  Teams are getting too good at setting up mismatches and picking apart zones if you don’t occasionally mix up the defense.  The Bears had success doing that this year but they occasionally came up short simply because they couldn’t cover, particularly when it came to keeping up with good slot receivers.  Wes Welker in New England makes a living off of mismatches created in this fashion.  That’s why the only way to beat them is to do what the Jets do – play ferocious man-t0-man defense and challenge every throw.  Green Bay does the same thing with whoever they decide to line up in the slot on a play-by-play basis.

If the Bears are going to continue to play so much man-to-man coverage underneath, they are going to need more and better cover corners.  Where they are going to find them while still filling their other holes is a real problem.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell gave his state of the league address yesterday.  Amongst the things he talked about was the proposed 18 game regular season:

“Repeatedly, the fans have said the quality of the preseason doesn’t meet NFL standards. That is … the basis on which we started to look at the 18-and-two concept, by taking two of those low-quality, non-competitive games and turn those into quality, competitive games that the fans want to see.”

He’s got a point about the preseason.  But I’ll say that he might be surprised (as I was) by the number of fans who would rather just see those two games eliminated.

I, personally, think the more football the better.  But many fans I know disagree with me because they are worried that the quality of the game will be diluted.  That seems to be supported by the results of this poll from the Associated Press:

“Of everyone surveyed, 27 percent strongly favor or somewhat favor adding two regular-season games and dropping two preseason games. When the group is narrowed to those identifying themselves as NFL fans, support for the change rises to a total of 45 percent — yet only 18 percent who strongly favor it.”

There seems to be little doubt that fan support for an extension of the season is weak.  And, of course, anyone who has been paying attention knows that the players as a group hate the idea.  But I think everyone is asking the wrong question.  It seems clear that the owners aren’t going to easily agree to anything that doesn’t include the two extra games.  So let’s try this one:

Which would you rather have?  Eighteen games in 2012 or a lockout where there are less than 16 games 2011?

That one shouldn’t be a tough choice for anyone.

Bolshevik revolutionary and Marxist theorist Leon Trotsky once said “Old age is the most unexpected of things that can happen to a man.”

No one is calling for the Bears to draft a linebacker high in the draft.  That includes me.  But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a need.

Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune continues his excellent positional analysis series with the Bears linebackers:

“While this doesn’t look like a need position, it is because [Brian] Urlacher, [Lance] Briggs and [Hunter] Hillenmeyer are the only linebackers under contract for next season.”

Its a shame the Bears don’t have high round draft picks to invest in every position on the field.  They seem to have a lot of needs to a team that just won their division.

This is an aging unit and its going to need an influx of youth soon.  Urlacher is 33, Briggs is 30 and, if they bring him back, Pisa Tinoisamoa will be 30 next season.  Biggs thinks that Urlacher has “enough spring in his legs to remain at a high level for a couple more seasons”.  I think so, too.  But I thought Brett Favre had another year in him after a wonderful performance in 2009.  Instead he went from old to too old in a snap.  And its worse for position players who rely more on their athleticism than the typical veteran quarterback.

I’ve even seen it in my own work.  One year a person is perfectly healthy and doing the job they’ve always done.  The next year they have 3 or 4 health problems, each building off of the last and each making the other worse.  Its a scary situation.

The fact that the Bears don’t have any youth here is largely due to the failures of past draft.  General Manager Jerry Angelo has invested in defensive lineman after defensive lineman – and rightfully so.  But the fact that he hasn’t hit on one in a very long time means that he can’t afford to stop drafting the position in favor of other needs.  Eventually the Bears are going to pay for his failures and it might well be here.

The guess here is that this need slides again in favor of more immediate problems.  But the linebacker position is one that we will want to keep an eye on.  Age isn’t something that always gradually shows up over time.  Instead it creeps up on you in the dark takes you from behind when you least expect it.