Bear(ing) the News – A Chicago Bears Blog

Last Month I constructed a post entitled “Everyone Sees the Problem. The Question Is How to Solve It.” We now know the answer to that question, at least as far as the 2014 Bears are concerned.

Adam L. Jahns at the Chicago Sun-Times describes one major reason why Bears defensive coordinator Mel Tucker was retained yesterday for at least one more season:

“Another important factor is that Tucker, by some accounts, was able to reach some of [former head coach Lovie Smith’s] loyalists and defensive leaders, who are signed past this season. That includes linebacker Lance Briggs, whom [head coach Marc] Trestman and [general manager Phil] Emery intentionally commended earlier this month.”

It's been speculated by many (including myself) that Briggs didn't buy in to the change in coaching staffs. If he didn't, it appears that Tucker was able to get the best out of him early in the season regardless of the fact.

What I didn't like about both Jahn's account and that of Dan Weiderer of the Chicago Tribune is that they both used injuries as an excuse for Tucker's failure, something which no coach does and no fan should. Injuries happen on every team and good teams perform despite them. According to Dan Pompei at the Bleacher Report the Colts, who won a playoff game before being bounced in the second round on Saturday, had 17 players on injured reserve this year, the most in the NFL. Who beat them to make the AFC Conference Final this Sunday? The Patriots, who had 14 on injured reserve placing them behind only five teams.

So why did the Bears retain Tucker by using injuries as an excuse? The answer is that they didn't. Instead, they responded to the defensive lapse by identifying the reasons for it as being in other areas. Its no secret that the defensive performance in all three levels of the defense was subpar. Defensive line coach Mike Phair and linebackers coach Tim Tibesar paid the price for the lack of improvement in young players that needed to step up in the face of injuries, namely middle linebacker Jon Bostic, outside linebacker Khaseem Greene and defensive end Shea McClellin. Apparently the job of Bears defensive backs coach Jon Hoke was saved by his history of excellence with the team and the good play of the cornerbacks despite a drop off from veteran safeties Chris Conte and Major Wright. The Bears will, instead, try to improve this position by bring in more players and doing a better job of creating competition.

So after weeks of meetings and what was undoubtedly endless film watching, we now know what the plan is. There may be things like scheme change on the horizon but the real problem with the Bears defense was the individual performance of the players. A change in scheme would have made very little difference last year. This is, in essence, the guts of how the Bears plan to fix the defense: better coaching of yonger players at the level of the position coaches and more competition for jobs. It isn't rocket science. How the plan is executed over the course of the off-season and in to next year will tell us if the Bears went far enough in their evaluation.

Dan Pompei at the Bleacher Report addresses the Browns coaching search with this interesting nugget:

"The Browns have a group of interviewers dealing with head-coach candidates. Included in the group are team CEO Joe Banner and general manager Mike Lombardi. But the man heading up the interviews and calling the shots, according to a source who knows, is Jimmy Haslam. After the Browns struck out on Rob Chudzinski last year, Haslam wants to make sure they are hiring the person he feels is best for the job this time. Haslam’s involvement could be partial explanation as to why the Browns and Josh McDaniels went separate ways. What’s happening in Cleveland is part of a bigger trend of owners taking more control of their teams.”

Team owners getting involved in the down and dirty aspects of team operations is always trouble. The further down he has to go to "get things right", the worse things get.

If Haslam can’t trust his CEO and his general manager to hire the right coach, his “search” should be for a new CEO.

Rich Campbell at the Chicago Tribune addresses the future of rookie linebacker Jonathan Bostic. As he does so, he drops a piece of news about defensive end Shea McClellin:

“[Bostic’s] future could be at outside linebacker, Emery has said, because of his ability to cover ground and tackle. And with the Bears expected to move defensive end Shea McClellin to outside linebacker in running situations next season, according to a person with knowledge of the Bears’ plan, McClellin, Bostic and Khaseem Greene are positioned to compete for the strong-side spot. If the Bears re-sign [D.J.] Williams, which they would consider if he is cleared medically, Bostic would have to battle for time at middle linebacker as well.”

The move of McClellin to linebacker isn’t completely unexpected but its going to have its draw backs. Instead of concentrating on one position, he’s now going to be responsible for learning two. This is something that players might have to get used to doing, at least situationally as indications are that the Bears are considering changing to a hybrid defensive scheme.

The Chicago Tribune reports that the Lions will interview former Titans head coach Mike Munchak for their head coaching position. Some will remember that Munchak was refused permission to interview (and probably hire) former Bears offensive coordinator Mike Tice for their offensive coordinator position. Not a good sign for Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford. And for Lions fans.

Dan Wiederer at the Chicago Tribune discusses the Bears offense going forward:

“The Bears allowed only 30 sacks and finished fifth in the NFL in passing yardage at 4,281 and sixth in passer rating at 96.9.

“A big part of that, [general manager Phil] Emery believes, stemmed from the quarterbacks’ ability to spread the ball around and, of more importance, [head coach Marc] Trestman’s understanding of how to uncover safety valve targets over the middle.

“Said Emery: ‘Our quarterback needed more targets in an immediate area he could count on, so when he did have pressure from the rush, he was able to place the ball in an area right in front of his eyes. We greatly improved in that area.’”

Jacob Long at Yahoo Sports discusses the possibility that the Bears will move to the 3-4 defense.

This is a good analysis. The Bears are closer to 3-4 personnel than I thought.

I think I’m starting to entertain the idea that they might just do this. Maybe.

Adam L. Jahns at the Chicago Sun-Times quotes head coach Marc Trestman on whether defensive coordinator Mel Tucker will be retained:

“’I haven’t had a discussion with Mel,’ Trestman said. ‘The coaches need a chance to rest. The last thing you want to do is start making decisions three days after a very, very disappointing loss.’”

Translation: Tucker’s in serious trouble.

I’m going to say that coming off of that terrible performance against the Eagles followed by what would be at best termed an uneven performance against the Packers, that Trestman and/or general manager Phil Emery’s first instinct was to fire Tucker. But they don’t want to make a decision in the heat of the moment that they may later regret. So they are waiting a week or two to allow time to gain perspective. Add the fact that they are seriously considering a scheme change and you get a situation where Tucker’s job is hanging on a thread.

Rick Telander at the Chicago Sun-Times addresses yesterday’s Jay Cutler signing. The Bears bet big on Cutler, signing him to a seven year deal (though rumor has it that it’s only a three year deal with what is practically a club option for years four through seven). Telander hits upon an interesting point though it’s not exactly the one I would make:

“’The team elected him captain,’ [head coach Marc] Trestman reminded us there at Halas Hall. ‘He carries the weight of the team on his shoulders.’’

“The saintly allusion notwithstanding, it seems clear that Cutler has become a better teammate, a better, more mature person with time. His wife, Kristin Cavallari, the former reality-show star, sat in the corner of the room to Cutler’s right.

“She looked lovely in her camel-hair coat and high heels, particularly considering she is pregnant with the couple’s second child.

“Could this be the Bears’ Yoko Ono, ready to drive Trestman and his main pupil apart? Doubtful, even though Cutler said that he was now making so much money he didn’t know how to spend it, though Kristin probably did.”

Telander’s main thrust is that he is willing to believe that Cutler has matured to the point that he can lead the team to a Super Bowl even though he actually still has his doubts. I find myself in the same boat though I thought the final performance against the Packers was encouraging. He did a much better job than usual playing within the offense, throwing the ball through the end zone rather than forcing it on their best drive of the first half and at least trying to throw the slant route with anticipation.

I also agree with Telander (and Trestman) in that I found Cutler to be generally more mature this year both on the field and in the interview room (despite a breakdown or two). Telander jokes about Cavallari. But far from being a disruptive force, she might be more the cause for this change in attitude. Marriage, one kid with another on the way. It has a way of giving people perspective over time that they lacked before. I was just old enough to watch this happen with my own parents and I believe that it is not uncommon.

It’s been interesting to watch Cutler grow in Chicago, going from the young, single star quarterback who hit the bars with his favorite tight end (drinking alcohol despite being an advocate for diabetes) to – we hope – the stable young husband and father with responsibilities. And like it or not, we’re going to have ample opportunity to watch him, and the team, grow side by side for a long time to come.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers has hired former Bears coach Lovie Smith as their new head coach. Smith is a good head coach with a solid defensive mind who got the most out of his players on on that side of the ball. But a few other fleeting thoughts also crossed my mind:

1. Who will Smith hire as his offensive coordinator? Smith never got this right with the Bears. Rumor has it that he has Jeff Tedford in mind for the job – indeed his Wikipedia page already indicates that he has it. Tedford would be a potential improvement over Smith’s Bears hires in that he has experience coaching quarterbacks and the Bucs have a young one to bring along in Mike Glennon. But Tedford is typical in other ways that are not as positive. I always had the feeling that Smith was afraid of hiring his own replacement with the Bears. Tedford has never played or coached in the NFL. His major qualification might not be so much that he is the best available guy but that he was a guy who won’t overshadow Smith.
2. Who will be the general manager? It is, in my opinion, always, always, always a bad idea to hire a coach before a GM. Especially when it comes to Smith. Rumor has it that forder Bears general manager Jerry Angelo believed that his drafts were not successful partly because of compromises he made with the head coach. He couldn’t take a guy that Smith didn’t agree to and apparently Smith wasn’t shy about disagreeing. In any case it is evident that it was a constant struggle. Now, to make matters worse, Smith was hired first with the Buccaneers. That limits their choice of GM to men who agree with the Smith hire. It also give Smith and the public the impression that he was the more important hire and therefore that he holds the upper hand in the relationship. This could be very bad.

There’s good reason why Bears general manger Phil Emery fired Smith after a 10-6 season. Those reasons aren’t evident to those outside of Chicago where many are praising this hire. Buccaneer fans are excited and to an extent they should be. Smith will get the most out of the defensive talent on the Buccaneers and they might have some short term success with the guys they have. But long term, in a league where offense is king and the ability to draft young talent determines sustained success, I don’t like their chances.