Month: September 2015

Cardinals Darren Fells Will Be Player to Keep and Eye on Sunday

The Cardinals have a great deal of speed at wide receiver with Larry Fitzgerald and John Brown. That’s going to be bad enough against a Bears defensive backfield that lacks overall speed. But Rich Campbell at the Chicago Tribune emphasizes another threat that the Bears defense will have to deal with:

“Cardinals tight end Darren Fells never played college football, but you wouldn’t know that from his Week 1 stat line: four catches for 82 yards and a touchdown.

“The 6-7, 281-pounder played basketball at California-Irvine and professionally in Belgium, Finland and Argentina. He spent the majority of 2013 on the Cardinals’ practice squad and since has developed into a threat.

“‘The biggest thing for a basketball player is: will he stick his face in the fan? Is he going to block anybody?’ coach Bruce Arians said. ‘Once he bought into how to block … he has become a really reliable player.'”

Darren-FellsFells will be a serious threat to a Bears linebacking corp that frequently looked lost in coverage last Sunday against the Packers. Bears fans will be looking for that to improve both this week and over the course of the season.

Bears Offense Under Pressure from a Blitzing Cardinals Defense

Rich Campbell at the Chicago Tribune reviews a few keys to Sunday’s game against the Cardinals. One thing that you expect to get from them is a lot of blitzing:

“The Cardinals blitz about 40 percent of the time, running back Matt Forte said. That’s a relatively high rate. Their frequent stunts and picks up front will test an offensive line operating with Kyle Long in only his second game at right tackle.”

“‘How you get people out of doing that is picking up the blitz and hitting plays on them,’ Forte said. ‘We have to not be afraid of, ‘Oh, they’re going to blitz,’ but, ‘OK, if they blitz, we have to hit them where it hurts.””

Campbell emphasizes the adjustments that have to be made along the offensive line. But at least as important will be quarterback Jay Cutler‘s ability to read the blitz in concert with his receivers to burn the defense. Both Cutler and the receivers have struggled with this in the past and frequent miscommunications have occurred. In particular, Cutler has a bad habit of missing free blitzers coming off the edge, especially from his left. Performance in situations where the Cardinals bring more men than can be blocked will be a key to Cutler’s success.

This will be another opportunity for the Bears coaching staff to show themselves to be superior to others the Bears have had here over the past two decades. The players certainly looked better prepared last week than we’ve seen around here in a while, especially offensively. Whether they can take the next step against a dynamic defense like the Cardinals is going to be a good question. I look forward to finding the answer.

Kansas City – Denver: What We Learned

Jan 5, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; General view of the NFL Wild Card logo on the field before a game between the Houston Texans and Cincinnati Bengals during the AFC Wild Card playoff game at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports ORG XMIT: USATSI-119966 ORIG FILE ID: 20130105_sal_ad1_152.JPG
Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
  1. Peyton Manning‘s arm is shot.Yeah, I know. He threw a dramatic game-winning touchdown. And he also threw a number of other nice passes.  But he also threw quite a number of balloons, especially in the first half. When everything is perfect for Manning and he’s got his feet underneath him with a clean pocket, he’s fine. But he’s no longer the playmaker that can make up for other team deficiencies. Which brings me to the next point.
  2. The Broncos need to adjust to Manning’s obvious physical deficiencies. He’s still a smart, savvy quarterback who is one of the best in the business pre-snap. But he’s not going to be able to completely adjust to head coach Gary Kubiac‘s new offense by continually getting under center and running play action. At least not yet.  Manning was a different quarterback when Kubiac put him into the shotgun more often and/or when he was in the two minute offense. Suddenly Manning was reading the blitz and getting the ball out before the Chiefs could touch him. Kubiac is going to have to shelve some of his offense, at least temporarily, until Manning gets his feet back under him.
  3. The Chiefs have a pair of very good tight ends, at least one of which has come out of nowhere. Travis Kelce I’d at least heard about but James O’Shaughnessy was a complete surprise. Both of these guys are athletic and dangerous. It should be fun watching them this year.
  4. These are two of the best defenses in the NFL – we knew that going in. But, even given that, I’m very concerned about both of these offensive lines, especially Denver’s. The Broncos gave up three sacks and the Chief gave up four. Most significantly, Denver had only a paltry 60 yards rushing. That ‘aint good, folks.Denver did a lot of shuffling alone its offensive line in the offseason and its possible that they will gel as the season goes on. But for now, a bad offensive line combined with a physically limited Peyton Manning isn’t a good mix.
  5. On a related note, someone has to settle the Broncos down as they gave away so many personal foul penalties in the first half that all Kansas City had to do was collect them and, as former Chiefs coach Hank Stram put it, “matriculate” their way down the field. I appreciate physical play but you still have to make them earn it, boys.
  6. Also on a related note, is there any doubt that Denver defensive coordinator Wade Phillips is one of the best in the game? He does nothing but win everywhere he goes. He’s one of those guys who is simply born to be a coordinator instead of a head coach. He won a chess match last night against a great offensive mind.And that brings us to Andy Reid.  I’m beginning to wonder if Reid also isn’t simply a born coordinator. He certainly doesn’t appear to be a big game coach and some of the decisions he made from the sidelines last night were head scratchers. I appreciate aggressiveness but putting the game in the hands of Alex Smith by throwing the ball, especially right before half time, was bad news. Reid may have taken the Chiefs as far as they’ll ever get with him as the coach.
  7. Turnovers kill. Jamall Charles and Alex Smith. Protect football. ’nuff said.

Everyone’s a Critic

Chicago Bears head coach John Fox watches from the sideline during the second half of an NFL preseason football game against the Cleveland Browns, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
                                                                                                                                                 AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh

Adam Kilgore at The Washington Post writes a thought provoking article on head coaches make such apparently “stupefying” game-management decisions.

The bottom line is that Kilgore claims that the job is too big for one person. The typical NFL sideline is a mass of confusion where head coaches are forced to make time-sensitive decisions in a pressure-packed environment.

I’m on board with that. What I’m not on board with is one of his examples of poor game-management last weekend:

“Late in the fourth quarter, trailing by 15 against the Packers, the Bears scored a touchdown. [Head coach John] Fox made the same inane choice almost every coach makes. In a nine-point game, Fox elected to kick the extra point instead of going for two, making it an eight-point game.

“The decision stemmed from the backward process of favoring hope over practicality. The Bears choose to keep it a one-possession game, but at no benefit. It still needed a two-point conversion to tie. But now it had sacrificed the chance to know whether it would require only a touchdown or a touchdown and a field goal. The Bears surrendered the opportunity to know how aggressive it should play strictly for the sake of appearance.”

That touchdown “late in the fourth quarter” was scored with 34 seconds left in the game. To suggest that this is enough time to score a touchdown and a field goal to me is, itself, “stupefying”. The truth is that if Fox had chosen to go for a two point conversion and failed, the game would have been over. He chose to take the one point instead, thus keeping it a one score game and giving his team hope that they could still pull it out.

I neither heard nor read any criticism up until I read this article over Fox’s decision. The best you could do is argue that this decision was a coin flip. But I’m inclined to support Fox on this one.

There Are “Injuries” and Then There Are “Injuries”

brain-injuryAdam Jahns at the Chicago Sun-Times is off base with this comparison between quarterbacks Jay Cutler and Carson Palmer:

“But [Arizona head coach Bruce] Arians is the perfect coach for him at the perfect time. The No. 1 pick in 2003, Palmer just happened to connect with Arians in his 30s, a decade into his career.”

“The point is, it’s never too late for a quarterback to find that right fit, especially at a time when college schemes have impeded their development and most NFL teams desperately need them.

“It’s an interesting notion to consider as Bears quarterback Jay Cutler prepares for his second start under coach John Fox and offensive coordinator Adam Gase.

“Can Fox and Gase finally be the right guys for Cutler?”

This doesn’t fly with me. Palmer was always a pretty good quarterback whose career was simply derailed by injury. He happened to hit upon both Arians and a pretty good Arizona surrounding cast at the same time to revive his career. Cutler’s only injury is in his brain, which simply isn’t wired in a way that’s likely to generate wins.

 

I’m much more inclined to agree with Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune, who was spot on this morning when he said that “…Jay Cutler is in Year 10 and has won one playoff game. If you don’t believe the quarterback you have can win the Super Bowl for you, you’re spinning your wheels until you get one.”

Wondering Why the Bears Shouldn’t Build Through Free Agents? Look at Their Current Signings.

Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune answers your questions:

“How do you add talent to this team quickly? Do you think GM Ryan Pace will spend in free agency given how the Bears may have a ton of cap space next year? — @HumanSabre from Twitter”

“There is no quick fix to years and years of poor drafting and developing. I expect the Bears to have oodles of salary cap space after this season. Enough to do whatever Pace wants to in terms of re-signing players currently under contract and pursuing free agents on the open market. But the Dream Team approach rarely nets positive results. The Redskins have been super aggressive in free agency over the years under Daniel Snyder. That hasn’t worked so well.”

Could not agree more. As Biggs points out, Bears free agent signees have rarely made a difference in the win-loss column. Players are available on the street for a reason and that includes the ones that appear from the outside to have worked out.

martellus-bennett

For instance, Martellus Bennett is a marvelous tight end – a Pro Bowler. But from the rare report in newspapers that address or imply that any player’s behaviour off the field might not be up to snuff, it’s evident that Bennet is immature, has a serious problem with authority and, if we read further between the lines, might allow some of his other interests to distract from football. If you doubt my opinion here, look no further than the fact that the Bears by all reports were trying to trade the undeniably very talented Bennett last spring rather than deal with the headache he’s turned out to be.

Cover_of_Martellus_Bennett's_Year_of_the_Orange_Dinosaur,_2014
Cover of Bennett’s mixed tape Year of the Orange Dinosaur, release in 2014

The Bears need to draft well and draft consistently well. That way they will be using that cap space to extend the players they want to keep rather than having to throw money at other teams’ castoffs.

Regrets: Adam Gase Would Have Handled the Red Zone Differently

gaseRich Campbell at the Chicago Tribune relays comments that Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase made on Thursday. He discussed why the Bears threw four straight passes against the Packers in the fourth quarter on a goal-to-go set of downs that began at the 6-yard line:

“‘It’s one of those deals you wouldn’t have called them if you didn’t feel great about them,’ he said. ‘You’d like the execution to be a little better. Probably one of those calls I wish I could have had back. But at the end of the day, whatever we end up calling, we’ve talked about it. We’ve worked on it. Nobody should be surprised by those things, and we have to execute them.’

“Which pass did he want back?

“‘I don’t want to tell you,’ he said with a smile.”

It certainly doesn’t have to be done this way but standard red zone procedure at times like this is to run the ball a couple times, then hit the defense with a play action pass, often to the tight end. The Bears were running the ball well and Martellus Bennett was having a reasonably good game. This seemed like a good spot for that.

Photos of Jason Pierre-Paul’s Hand Hit the Web. And Other Points of View.

Bears

  • Mark Potash at the Chicago Sun-Times points out that Adrian Amos had a generally solid NFL debut against the NFL’s best quarterback. I was surprised that the Packers didn’t challenge him more. But maybe they had so many other spots to exploit that they couldn’t get to them all.
  • Kevin Fishbain and Arthur Arkush do an exceptionally nice job of breaking down the Bears in this video (which, unfortunately, they won’t let me embed). They quickly hit all of the major problems to be corrected in the coming weeks – red zone offense, downfield passing, getting off the field on third down and getting pressure on the quarterback. Plenty of things to watch for and plenty of room for improvement to look forward to with this team.
  • Sunday’s most significant accomplishment? Probably the play of tight end Zack Miller, who went 1,429 days between appearing in regular-season games.
  • Dan Wiederer at the Chicago Tribune does a nice job of breaking down the Bears problems in the red zone. Look at it here, it appears that the problems were varied and its hard to put it down to one particular thing. Tough there’s no doubt in my mind that they needed to be able to run the ball more down there. Perhaps trying to get the ball to tight end Martellus Bennett, a large red zone target, would have helped as well.
  • Quarterback David Fales was added back on to the practice squad as predicted here.

Elsewhere

  • Those who find their way into MetLife Stadium during a New York Jets game this season can now enjoy a breakfast bagel for the low, low price of $50.img253004201
  • Giants players are sticking up for quarterback Eli Manning after running back Rashad Jennings let it out that Manning had told him not to score in the final drive of their game against the Dallas Cowboys. Manning did not know that the clock wouldn’t start again after a declined penalty within 5 minutes of the end of the game. He therefore assumed that the Giants would be able to run down the clock as long as they kept possession.What really made this maneuver dumb was that had the Giants scored a touchdown, they would have made it a two score game with about a minute left. They should have taken the touchdown under any circumstances where that is the case.
  • If you’ve got a strong stomach you can see photos of Jason Pierre-Paul‘s hand here.

One Final Thought

Peyton Manning‘s teammates are calling the media reports questioning his arm strength “blasphemy”. What can I say?

How to Replace the Irreplaceable?

Reid Hanson at Sports Dallas-Fort Worth explains how to replace the irreplaceable. Guess what he’s going to say. You can’t:

“It’s hard to understate the loss of Dez Bryant, yet that very thing seems to be happening everywhere. Numerous columns are calling the [Randy] Gregory loss bigger than the Bryant loss. This couldn’t be further from the truth.”

“With no Dez, teams can pack the box to stop the run. Opposing defenses have been daring the other Cowboys receivers to beat them for years, and yet they’ve still struggled to get open. Terrance Williams is facing a big challenge these next few weeks as defenses shift more attention to him.

“Can we rely on Williams to be a legitimate big-play threat now that defenses are more focused on him? Jason Witten will get his plays, but when was the last time you’ve seen him pick up consistent yardage after the catch (YAC)? Nope, Witten gets open and catches the ball. He also gets tackled immediately. It’s a valuable asset, but nothing remotely close to what Dez Bryant provides.”

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant (88) is tended to on the sideline after injuring his foot during the second half of an NFL football game against the New York Giants Sunday, Sept. 13, 2015, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)
AP Photo/Brandon Wade

That’s a pretty bleak (and pretty realistic) assessment of the situation. Dallas has a wonderful offensive line that I thought performed very well against a lousy New York Giants defensive front last week. So I was shocked to find out that the Cowboys had a terrible game on the ground.

And that was with Bryant for much of the game.

That offensive front is going to have more pressure than ever to provide huge holes to the mediocre running backs that the Cowboys have collected on their roster. Whether they can do that or not will be a major story in week two of the NFL season against the Eagles and beyond.

Geno Smith: A Case of Misdirected Anger, Misdirected Hope

Screen Shot 2015-09-17 at 9.31.55 AM

Jets quarterback Geno Smith (above, left) on getting his jaw broken in a fight over a $600 debt with another player.

“‘I’m extremely [angry],’ Smith told Newsday in the Jets locker room Wednesday. ‘But I have to keep my temper down. I can’t exhibit that in the locker room, I can’t exhibit that on a daily basis. I just feel for my family more because they enjoy seeing me out there.'”

Smith should be angry. At himself.

I had a long conversation not long after this incident with a Jets fan who was beside himself at losing Smith for the start of the season. He knows that, though far from perfect, current starter Ryan Fitzpatrick is better than Smith. But he still sees Smith as a young player with a higher ceiling who might have been better in a new offensive system this year with the Jets.

Here’s the problem with that reasoning.  Yes, Smith is younger. But his ceiling isn’t that high. The reason is simple. He’s the kind of guy who is stupid enough to get his jaw jacked because he refused to pay a $600 debt – and then not recognize that he’s entirely to blame for the problem. Case closed.

I get that its a quarterback driven league and fans have to  pray for a better quarterback situation to get their team over the hump. The problem is that they wish for it so much that they see things that aren’t there. To a certain extent, that’s what’s going on with quarterback Jay Cutler (above, right) in Chicago. But you have to move on. And its time to move on in New York.