Bear(ing) the News – A Chicago Bears Blog

Mike Mulligan at the Chicago Tribune says that linebacker Shea McClellin doesn’t attack down hill the way that linebackers need to be able to do:

“[T]he interesting statistic is that game statisticians determined that only 15 of his 45 tackles [against the run] came versus runs of fewer than 4 yards. Ten of those 15 tackles were assists, many on short-yardage runs. But only five of his 44 solo tackles came on runs of fewer than 4 yards, including just one tackle for a loss.”

I found the title of this article to be amusing, “Bears can do better than Shea McClellin at inside linebacker”. They can do better virtually everywhere on defense where they are performing reasonably well despite a distinct lack of talent. Linebacker is definitely not an exception.

Neither McClellin nor Christian Jones has the instincts needed to react quickly to what the opponent is doing. And you can’t attack down hill if you are still moving laterally trying to diagnose what’s going on. Their deficiencies are the reason why fellow linebacker Jonathan Anderson has gotten more playing time. Anderson shows up in the backfield to tackle runners for a loss far more than either McClellin or Jones.

It is possible that both McClellin and Jones will develop the instincts needed to play the position given time. But as the season wears on and we don’t see improvement, it’s becoming hard to be patient. Like every other position, it’s going to be interesting to see what the Bears do at linebacker in the offseason.

NFL Media draft analyst Lance Zierlein gives top needs for each team in the order that they would draft if the season ended today. His analysis of the Bears needs at number 15 overall is puzzling:

“Top need: Pass rusher

“Other needs: Quarterback, cornerback, left tackle, wide receiver ”

“Analysis: Chicago has had improved play from Jay Cutler as the season progressed, but after 10 years, he is who he is. The question for Chicago is where it will prioritize quarterback this year — or if it does at all. Wide receiver opposite Alshon Jeffery could be addressed within the first three rounds, but finding a pass rusher should be the Bears’ top priority.”

I’ll leave the Cutler criticism for others to comment upon. But a wide receiver opposite Jeffery? Has last year’s first round draft pick, Kevin White, been kidnapped or something?  Because otherwise, I can’t imagine what Zierlein is thinking.

I also find the need for a left tackle to be off base. Even if you think that Charles Leno doesn’t have a future there – and I think the Bears would disagree – the team still has both Jermon Bushrod and Kyle Long to fill that void. If anything, they have a glut at the position.

This was a mighty sloppy evaluation that obviously wasn’t very well thought out. It’s a living, breathing example of why NFL fans need to be careful about who they listen to when it comes to analysis of any part of the game. Far too frequently, we accept opinions like this without questioning who the analyst is or where they are coming from.

It’s true that if general manager Ryan Pace sees a quarterback that he likes, he has to take him. And the Bears do have a big need at offensive guard, something that somehow got past Zierlein. But otherwise I can’t imagine prioritizing anything other than defense in this draft.

Hub Arkush at chicagofootball.com damps down fans’ expectations for the Bears playoffs hopes while suggesting what the Bears need to do in the future:

“Muhammad Wilkerson is arguably the second-best five technique in the NFL right now – there is only one J.J. Watt – he will be a free agent, and with Sheldon Richardson and Leonard Williams under contract, it is unlikely the Jets can keep him.

“Sign Wilkerson, draft more pass rush, find inside linebackers in free agency and the draft, get [Pernell] McPhee healthy, keep pushing [Lamarr] Houston and [Willie] Young to their ceilings, and next year about this time Bears Nation just might have something legitimate to really cheer about.”

I think there’s plenty to legitimately cheer about now. To understand why, I’ll offer a little perspective on a completely different topic.

With the new Star Wars movie due out for the Christmas season, many of my friends and acquaintances are re-watching the first six movies. Here’s what one friend had to say on Twitter about them:

Zach & I rewatching #StarWars films. Empire is by far the best. A New Hope is the worst. My bro in law won’t let me in his house.

— Jay Soderberg (@TheRealPodVader) December 6, 2015

As the outrage spreads, only nostalgia and the fact it was first why peeps rank it above prequels. Prequels better than A New Hope. — Jay Soderberg (@TheRealPodVader) December 6, 2015

When trying to understand why people love Episode 4, the first Star Wars movie, so much, you have to try to look at where it came from.

In 1977 when I was a kid, my best friend’s father worked at McDonald Douglas. In other words, he was a geeky engineer/scientist who worked with other geeky engineers/scientists. One day he approached us and said he’d heard about this movie at work. He said he’d pay for us to go if we’d go with him to see it because, “that way if it’s not any good, you won’t be out any money.”

Can you imagine? He paid for us to see Star Wars because he was afraid it wouldn’t be any good.

Here’s this movie. It comes out of nowhere. No budget. No advertising. It opened in 32 theaters nation-wide. But it was something new and different that grew into a national phenomenon. It’s something that grew from nothing on a scale that we’ll never, ever see happen again. Certainly not in my lifetime. Can you imagine watching the movie from that perspective – without ever having seen any of the other episodes of the epic?

In terms of the movie, itself, it’s likely that I like it exactly for some of the reasons that my friend doesn’t. The first movie has a light quality that the others don’t. It doesn’t take itself anywhere near as seriously as, for instance, Empire does. It certainly didn’t have the eye toward marketing by creating cute little stuffed animals that make good action figures.

Though I didn’t at the time, I understand now why Empire and the other movies had to be what they were. These movies had to develop the necessary gravitas to carry an epic, six episode series detailing the environmentally friendly family history where that cute little kid gradually descends into darkness to become Darth Vader, only to be redeemed in the end. But I’ll always miss the light spontaneity of that first film that I saw as a kid. It was historic, impossible to reproduce and now it lives on only in the splinter of my mind’s eye.

I don’t expect to have changed my friend’s mind on this. But understand that this goes beyond the bounds of taste. It certainly goes beyond the bounds of “nostalgia”. It’s a question of art and history and perspective in the moment that goes beyond all that.

Why did I tell this story? Because there’s a lot to be said about the current Bears season in a similar vein. What’s happening is one of the most unbelievable coaching jobs I’ve ever seen. Certainly in Chicago. We have a gutsy group of no name players with nowhere near as much talent as the majority of teams in the league, especially on defense. And yet they continue to astound us by winning games no one thought that they could in spite of it. They play smart, tough football and they’ve bought entirely into the team concept body and soul. They’re a wonderful example of what can be done when that is the case, one that we can carry away with us and remember forever.

People respond to some of my posts and claim that I’m being negative by pointing out how slim the Bears hopes were/are of making the playoffs. But can’t you see, at least for this year, that it doesn’t matter? Can’t you sit back and appreciate what you are seeing as it happens on an entirely different – and much more important – scale?

As Hub suggests, the Bears might eventually get a lot better than they are now. They might make the playoffs for years to come, win multiple Super Bowls and achieve heights we could never have imagined this time last year. But some of us will always remember the feeling we have right now as we watch this team maximize it’s talent and achieve more than most of us thought was possible. For some of us, no matter what the future brings, this will always be our favorite team. And that, indeed, is worth cheering about. It’s worth a lifetime of it.

Hub Arkush at chicagofootball.com answers you questions:

“From @BFlores44: Can Christian Jones develop into anything other than an average linebacker?

“Based on on what we’ve seen so far it’s looking more doubtful each week. Jones certainly has the size, athleticism and body type to be a very good one. But after 11 starts this year we’re not seeing any of the instincts and playmaking the position requires.”

Christian Jones isn’t even average. From what I can tell based upon performance, the Bears have a pretty big need at inside linebacker (like pretty much everywhere else on defense). It appears to me that the team actually does like Shea McClellin, probably because he’s show the ability to hold up a bit better inside against the run than any of us thought he could. Arkush’s opinion is even lower than mine:

“Shea is not the athlete Jones is and unlike Jones, McClellin has clearly learned the position, is usually in the right place at the right time on the field and is well past being a prospect. McClellin just doesn’t make plays and when he does they are usually chasing the ball from behind or getting dragged after initial contact.”

Both of the starting linebackers are liabilities in coverage and both are slow reacting to the ball, making the Bears more than usually vulnerable to the run-play action pass game.

The Bears need better play at this position if they are to become truly competitive with the best teams in the league. I can’t imagine Jones being on the team much beyond this season.

Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune answers your questions yet again:

“What is the latest on Kevin White? Any chance he is activated and plays? — @GreaseMaul from Twitter

“White was involved in practice on Wednesday but I’d say it remains unlikely he is activated. Coach John Fox was asked about how White practiced and he responded that the first-round draft pick was ‘on target.’ When asked what he was on target for, Fox replied, ‘tomorrow’s practice.’ What’s been forgotten by some people is White has been out since early June. I don’t think a handful of practices over this week and next will be enough to get him ready to play this season. I believe he will first set foot on the field for the Bears in the 2016 season.”

Reports have consistently claimed that White won’t be playing this year. But its virtually impossible for them to know for sure without knowing exactly how much White is doing in practice and what he look slike while doing it. I would imagine that’s virtually impossible to determine in the limited time that practices are open to the media, particularly since Fox is probably trying to hide White’s true status.  Reporters are therefore likely getting most of their information from team sources that can’t be completely trusted.

There is something to be said for the question of how much White could help even if the Bears let him back on the field. He was thought to be the least ready of the top wide receivers in the draft, having a great deal of talent but needing a lot of work on things like route running and reading defenses. However, the guess here is that White couldn’t hurt. Even in his raw state, he’s probably better than the likes of Marc Mariani and Marquess Wilson on the outside.

Bottom line, though I’m inclined to think based upon the reports that White won’t play this year, I question the basis of those reports and I wouldn’t be too surprised if they turned out to be wrong. If they are wrong, the Bears will be better for it.