Category: Atlanta Falcons

Something for Everyone and Other Points of View

Bears

  • Amongst the less than stellar performances for the Bears on Sunday against the Falcons, that of right tackle Jordan Mills stood out. Rich Campbell at the Chicago Tribune elaborates:

    “The starting right tackle committed a false start before the game’s first play from scrimmage, a harbinger of his struggles throughout the game. He was beaten for a sack and was penalized three times for 15 yards — twice for false starts and once for an illegal formation. Jonathan Massaquoi beat Mills around the edge for a sack of Cutler on the Bears’ second series. Two plays later, linebacker Paul Worrilow beat Mills to set the edge against a [Alshon] Jeffery end-around. Defensive end Kroy Biermann beat Mills late in the first half, forcing Cutler to step into a sack by cornerback Robert McClain.”

    In fairness to Mills, I’m wondering if some of his struggles are due to the fact that left tackle Michael Ola, who was subbing in for the injured Jermon Bushrod, was getting the majority of the help. Though I haven’t gone back to look, the guess here is that Ola got the most help from a chipping Martellus Bennett or Matt Forte, something that may have been more prone to happen on Mills’s side with Bushrod healthy.

  • One of the things that stood out Sunday was the nice play of the “backups” who were on the field due to injuries to the starters. I thought this quote from linebacker Darryl Sharpton was to the point. Via Kevin Fishbain at chicagofootball.com:

    “‘[The coaches] do such a great job giving everybody the confidence – they don’t treat anybody like a ‘backup’ or a secondary-kind of player – everybody gets treated with a great level of respect. That’s one thing I love about this organization.'”

    No doubt the coaches are concentrating hard on training the non-starters this year after last year’s disaster when injured starters went down and the replacements couldn’t handle the load. Its apparently working.

  • Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune quotes cornerback Tim Jennings on the play of nickel back Demontre Hurst:

    “‘That was a great job by Hurst,’ Jennings said. ‘He prepared great all week and he was where he needed to be. He had an opportunity to make a play and with hard work that is what happens.

    “‘It’s definitely him. It’s his job. As long as he continues to prepare each and every week and make the plays he is supposed to make, it is his to take.'”

    It’s hard to watch defensive backs on television but to my eye Hurst did a pretty good job. It’s obvious that Jennings wasn’t comfortable with the move to nickel before the injury to Charles Tillman forced him outside. Unless his play falls off for some reason its very possible that Hurst might be a permanent fixture at the position from here on out.

  • Biggs also had this nugget:

    “Demontre Hurst wasn’t the only inexperienced defensive back pressed into action. Al Louis-Jean, the undrafted rookie from Boston College who was promoted from the practice squad this past week, got four snaps when Tim Jennings was briefly shaken up.”

    This isn’t quite the minor point that it might seem to be. Louis-Jean is a tall, athletic cornerback who is exactly the type that the Bears are looking for. He couldn’t possibly have made less of an impression on the Bears coaching staff during the preseason than he did on me. I think he, too, might have a future with the team.

  • One of Biggs’s 10 thoughts after the Bears victory Sunday:

    “The best quote I got that I didn’t find a place to use after the game came from left guard Matt Slauson. ‘To have second-half swagger back was really great.’ The Bears can call it swagger when they responded with two touchdown drives after the Falcons had tied things up.”

    The key part of this was, “after the Falcons had tied things up”. The Bears defense has been a sieve at the beginning of the second half. I’m not sure what’s going on but they need to work harder to keep the ground that they are being handed in the first half. I thought the Bears offense had to work way to hard to rebuild the game from the rubble that was left midway through the third quarter. The defense has to tighten things up coming out of half time.

  • Here’s an encouraging statistic that flew under the radar. Via Mark Potash at the Chicago Sun-Times:

    • “According to Pro Football Focus, they had three missed tackles against the Falcons. That’s the fewest they’ve had this season. They had 14 against the New York Jets.”

Elsewhere

  • Biggs quotes an anonymous scout on suspended Georgia linebacker Todd Gurley:

    “First round and I don’t give a crap about the kid signing autographs.”

    One Final Thought

    Rick Morrissey at the Chicago Sun-Times assesses the state of the Bears:

    “The Bears are in that murky who-knows category. I see a 3-3 team that will be up and down the rest of the year. Many of you see a defensive line finally coming together, an offense that can amass a lot of yards and maybe, just maybe, a playoff team. Let’s agree to disagree.

    “I see a Cutler who no doubt will revert back to his maddening form. You see a Cutler who is evolving into the precise quarterback he was against the Falcons. Let’s agree you’re wrong.

    “The best thing the Bears have going for them is that there are a lot of teams that look like them. They’re somewhere in the middle, not bad but not great, either. The league has given them reason to believe.”

    There’s a lot to be said in favor of the above. But let me start by disagreeing about Cutler. I think we’re going to see the version that you saw last Sunday for the rest of the year. Maybe, just maybe, we’ll see some turnovers late in games where the Bears are behind and with Cutler trying to make a play. But other than that, I think we’re going to see what we saw a great deal of last year and last week. I think Cutler is much smarter than that and I think he has bought in on head coach Marc Trestman. He’s going to take care of the ball.

    Having said that, I generally agree (and have repeatedly said since the preseason) that what we’re looking at is an 8-8 team. I have two very simple things to watch that will cover everyone who doesn’t agree:

    1. For those who are more pessimistic, keep an eye on the turnovers. If Cutler does revert to previous versions of himself and the interceptions and/or fumbles lost increase, the Bears are doomed to a losing record. Even if the defense starts to create more turnovers, themselves, I don’t think it can make up for the offense handing it back over nor do I think the defense is the type that’s going to be able to hold a decent offense consistently on a short field. I don’t see this happening and I don’t think the offensive turnovers are going to be intolerably high from here on out but, hey, you never know.

    2. For those who are hoping for better, watch the penalties. The Bears are committing them at a rate that they simply can’t afford. Teams have their number and you can expect everyone from here on out to try to force them to take the underneath stuff, to execute and to work their way down the field. You can’t do that if you are committing penalties. The guess here is that they’re going to continue to do it simply because it’s been a problem for weeks now and if they could have solved it, they would have by now. This lack of discipline seems to be a part of the character of the team that isn’t likely to be coached out of them at this point. But, again, perhaps I’m wrong and I’m underestimating them.

    We shall see. It’s going to be very interesting to see. If that’s not why you are watching, you shouldn’t be watching.

    Game Comments: Bears at Falcons 10/12/14

    Offense

    1. The Bears have had a lot of trouble with zone defenses, especially the cover two. But to my great surprise the Falcons came out in man defense. They were only playing zone on third down. Personally I thought it was idiotic but it didn’t burn them through the first quarter. Eventually it did as Brandon Marshall caught one deep midway through the second quarter to set up a touchdown. The Falcons eventually ran more zone later but failed to completely stop the Bears from throwing deep as previous opponents have done.
    2. It’s interesting that at a time when most offenses are picking up the pace, the Bears have been consistently running the play clock down to the last 5 seconds.
    3. Atlanta was well prepared for that end around to Alshon Jeffery that the Bears like to run.
    4. Having said that I thought the Bears ran the ball better today than they have in some time. Probably an effect of the presence of both Roberto Garza and Matt Slaughson along with a weaker than usual Atlanta defense.
    5. I also liked the way that the Bears attacked the edges of the Atlanta defense. They took the underneath stuff as they have been doing and hoped to execute better than they have been.
    6. Jordan Mills had a miserable day committing penalties and missing blocks.
    7. Good to see Josh Morgan get involved in the offense with a touchdown.
    8. Was I the only one remembering the Bears last time threatening to score at the end of a half with no timeouts left? Good teams need to turn that into a touchdown but at least they came away with the three points this time.
    9. I thought that Jay Cutler showed good mobility today. It’s a shame he had to show it so often. The pass protection left something to be desired as the Falcons generated plenty of pressure.
    10. The Bears have got to work on the screen plays. Atlanta had them read all the way all day.

    Defense

    1. The Falcons came out obviously thinking they could run the ball down the Bears injured linebacking corp’s throats. They didn’t have a great deal of success early but it did set up the play action pass.
    2. The Bears obviously decided that pressuring the Atlanta offensive line was the thing to do. They brought an extra man frequently relative to previous games. It worked as the Bears got plenty of pressure.
    3. Once again the Bears had a tough time when the opponent went no huddle as the Falcons started picking up yardage in huge chunks in the second quarter. Fortunately they weren’t finishing at the time.
    4. Having said that I do think the defense played reasonably fast. There was obvious high effort out there.
    5. Like Carolina last week, I thought the Falcons had a miserable time on third down, constantly shooting themselves in the foot throughout the first half. They had an egregious number of dropped balls. Like last week the Bears defense broke down in the third quarter letting the Falcons convert on third down almost at will.
    6. Perfect call on the third quarter Atlanta touchdown as the Falcons caught the Bears in a blitz with a great screen play.
    7. The pass rush really showed up once the Bears got 14 points ahead as they could tee off and simply go after Matt Ryan.
    8. Stephen Paea had a big game. Chris Conte just can’t stay healthy.

    Miscellaneous

    1. Justin Kutcher was fine. So was David Diehl who performed much like last week. Diehl missed the fact that Paul Worrilow was called for a personal foul for hitting Jay Cutler helmet-to-helmet and failed to recognize that Kutcher had the right of it but I won’t beat him up over that. Diehl is OK, just nothing special. He hit all of the major points and did a solid job.
    2. The coverage teams limited Devin Hester but I bet I’m not the only one wishing that the kick return team would just take a knee in the end zone and take the ball at the twenty. The missed extra point was uncharacteristic but any more of these kicking failures will become disturbing.
    3. The Falcons dropped so many balls they should be ashamed of themselves. The Bears had some balls you could argue could have been caught but generally they would have been tough. Martellus Bennett had a bad drop to stop a drive in the first quarter.
    4. Far, far too many penalties in this game and the Bears continued to try to shoot themselves in the foot over and over. There was a false start Mills on very first play. That wasn’t a good sign for him or the team.
    5. I was happy to see Jay Cutler throwing the ball away more. He took better care of the ball today. Turnovers were limited on both sides until Demontre Hurst’s interception in the fourth quarter.
    6. I had to smile as the Bears defense cranked up the Bears fans in Atlanta to make more noise. Hopefully Lamarr Houston will remember the experience before he takes to Twitter again.
    7. I’m happy with what I saw in terms of improvement from the Bears compared to last week in this win. Not as much as I’d like but definite progress. Although they are still killing themselves with penalties they did a better job of overcoming the deficits that they caused today with big third down plays. And, most important, they took better care of the ball.

    One Step Back, Two Steps Forward and Other Points of View

    Bears

    “The Bears that got [former head coach] Lovie Smith fired won 10 games. Would fans – and the organization – view anything less in 2013 as a disappointment? Would missing the playoffs again be more acceptable if noticeable offensive strides are made under Trestman, but a defense facing turnover at certain spots (while generating fewer turnovers) can’t match what it did this year? That would’ve been difficult even if Smith, Rod Marinelli, and that staff remained intact. “

    My own answer is “No, it would not be a disappointment if the Bears took a step back” and not because I expect less out of the defense. The truth is the Bears didn’t beat anyone who I thought was really good when they played them. Certainly they showed themselves to be definitively inferior when they played the top teams in the league, including Green Bay, San Francisco and, to an extent, Seattle. A good part of that was and is lack of talent and I don’t consider a quick turnaround to be likely.

    Bottom line, it all depends on the circumstances. A lesser record with definitive progress where the Bears play better against the better teams in the league would be more acceptable than a soft 10-6 where its evident that the team was never going to progress into the top echelon of the league.

    • Here’s a little positivity from an Audible in Pro Football Weekly:

    “Marc Trestman is a natural for [general manager] Phil Emery. Phil will appreciate guys who are really intelligent, organized and prepared and very careful with what they say — that is Trestman. He already has a relationship with Jay Cutler. There are a lot of positives about the hire.”

    “[Rich] Gannon’s first two Oakland seasons with Trestman were the two most accurate of his career. His two with Trestman in Minnesota were decidedly pedestrian despite having Anthony Carter and Cris Carter as his receivers.

    “[Steve] Young’s two seasons with Trestman were very good but neither were as good as the 1994 season before Trestman or 1997 after Trestman. Bernie Kosar had a Pro Bowl 1987 with Cleveland but 1988 was right about Kosar’s career averages for passer rating, completion percentage, etc. as he lost some time to injuries.”

    • Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune thinks Michigan quarterback turned wide receiver/punt returner Denard Robinson is an intriguing prospect:

    “With offenses becoming more dynamic, it’s all about finding ways to utilize athletic players in space, and that’s what makes Robinson intriguing. Take a player with his skill set and turn him loose.”

    “The Bears are keeping Tucker off limits to the media at the Senior Bowl, but word is he will keep the status quo with virtually all facets of the defense. Even though Tucker has experience in both a three- and four-man fronts, he is not expected to make any radical changes in Chicago.

    “In fact, a source said he even is retaining Lovie Smith’s terminology, meaning he will have to adjust more than his players.”

    There’s a lot of good information in this article. It recommended reading.

    Elsewhere

    • As many Bears fans will testify, Carolina quarterback Cam Newton isn’t the only guy who deserves the criticism leveled at him in this Audible from Pro Football Weekly:

    “(San Francisco QB) Colin Kaepernick can run faster than any quarterback in the league. He is faster than RG3 [Robert Griffin III] running the ball down the field, and he is a whole lot stronger and more physical. He can take a hit and pop back up. I really liked him when he was coming out. He is a leader. That was the difference between him and Cam Newton. Cam is a frontrunner who is good when things are good. When it’s (bad), he’s part of the reason and will make it worse.”

    • There are probably a whole lot of Bear fans out there who will agree with this Audible as well:

    “You know what I don’t get. There are a lot of smart people around this league. I’m surprised they have not figured it out yet. If you want to have success, why not go get a guy who has done it already and is willing to do what it takes. Why not pay a guy like (Falcons GM) Thomas Dimitroff or (Niners GM) Trent Baalke a little extra money to be your president. It’s happened with a lot of coaches — Mike Holmgren and Bill Parcells. Teams will pay these head coaches $6 (million) or $7 million. Why not go pluck the guys who have done the best job stacking rosters and building the culture in the locker room and finding the right talent? They have proven they can run the ship. You can put a plan in place to delegate authority on the other side of the building. If you can find the right coach and find the right quarterback, you have a chance every year. If I’m an owner looking for someone to run my franchise, I’m looking for the guy who has proven he can fill those roles with the right people. That’s the key to this whole thing.”

    “Matt Ryan did not get any further with Tony Gonzalez, Julio Jones and Roddy White than Jay Cutler did with Earl Bennett, Devin Hester and Johnny Knox. When you are guilty of an interception and unforced fumble within 20 minutes of a Super Bowl, it’s not about ‘weapons;’ it’s about the plays you make or don’t make when it matters…”

    • I’ve been as critical as anyone can be of Lions head coach Jim Schwartz. But I totally agree with him here as he argues against changing his defensive scheme. The Lions defense could have done better, no doubt, but the wide 9 alignment they the problem. This fascination with the 3-4 defense by fans and media puzzles me, especially in a situation like this one where more discipline and better play within the existing scheme is so obviously what’s needed. Via Michael David Smith at profootballtalk.com.
    • Let’s just say that the NFL Coaches Association might a problem with NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith. Florio quotes NFLCA executive director David Cornwell as he apparently goes on the rampage in response to some implied criticism from Smith:

    “‘DeMaurice Smith is the best thing that has happened to NFL owners since they became NFL owners,’ Cornwell said in a statement provided to PFT.

    “‘De controlled both the NFLPA and the NFL Coaches Association from 2009 to 2012. During this period, De threw 3 generations of NFL players under the bus in exchange for a photo op with Roger Goodell and Robert Kraft; threw the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys under the bus to conceal from NFL players the truth about the declining salary cap; and, De threw NFL coaches under the bus when he: (1) sat silently as NFL teams unilaterally changed coaches’ retirement benefits; (2) filed an unauthorized legal brief under the NFLCA’s name during the NFL lockout; (3) kicked the NFLCA out of the NFLPA’s offices for challenging the filing of the brief, and he rolled the bus over NFL coaches when he snatched $308,000 in coaches’ dues money and sued the NFLCA because NFL coaches understandably want competent representation.

    “‘I intend to address all of the issues that confront all NFL coaches and clean up the mess that De left behind. While I do, perhaps De will answer these questions: When you controlled the NFLCA, did you fight for uniform retirement and health benefits that will follow NFL coaches from team-to-team? Why does the salary cap continue to decline while League revenues and team values continue to increase? If you stand by the CBA that you negotiated, why do you shift money from other player benefits to the salary cap to create the illusion that the salary cap is flat or slightly rising?'”

    • Patriots head coach Bill Belichick takes finding unknown players and maximizing their talent to a whole new level. From The Onion.

     

    One Final Thought

    Want to see something sick? According to footballsfuture.com 28 teams needed to find offensive line help in the 2012 off-season. That’s not counting teams that were looking for depth. Know how many offensive linemen are in Scouts Inc.‘s top 32 prospects this year? Four.

    Not many scouting services have released lists of team needs yet this year but as they roll out over the next month or two the bet here is that, if anything, there will be more teams on that list of line needy teams not less. With that in mind, Pompei takes a look at the likely first and second round offensive tackles here. Mullin adds this encouraging thought:

    “The Bears added a highly regarded Central Michigan lineman in the 2007 draft but it was defensive end Dan Bazuin, not Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Staley, who went to the 49ers three picks before the Bears chose Greg Olsen. The Bears, coming off a Super Bowl appearance with an offensive line four-fifths free agents, picked Bazuin 62nd overall before Marshal Yanda went to Baltimore 86th and tackle Jermon Bushrod went to New Orleans 125th.”

    “[S]econd-guessing is easy, and Jerry Angelo conceded that finding offensive linemen was not a strength of his regime. If anything, the bigger point is that the likes of Yanda and Bushrod, both Pro Bowl selections, were taken in mid rounds of drafts.”

    Life, the Universe and a Head Coaching Change and Other Points of View

    Bears

    “There are big-room coaches and little-room coaches, or at least that is how they are referred to in some NFL circles. Little-room coaches are effective communicating with smaller groups of players and excel as position coaches and coordinators. The fear when hiring someone without previous head coaching experience is they will lack the charisma to motivate the entire team.

    “While Trestman and [Bruce] Arians have proven they can do that, making them safer bets…”

    • I thought former 49ers quarterback Steve Young‘s comments on Trestman via Mark Potash at the Chicago Sun-Times were interesting:

    “Can he work his magic with [quarterback Jay] Cutler, who despite his athletic ability has been a tough nut to crack for NFL coaches.

    “‘There’s no question about that,’ Young said. ‘That’s why I’m so happy they’re looking at Marc, for many reasons. Marc’s capable of doing much more, but one of the things that he can really do is break down the quarterback and build him back up.

    “Now the real question is, do you have a willing participant? Because there’s a lot of great athletes in the NFL and one of the things that keeps them from I think getting to their full potential is this idea that, ‘I’m such a great athlete that I just go out and play. I’m that good.’

    “‘And some of them are that good, but they never reach their full potential unless they go to school. And especially at quarterback. So if you have a willing participant in Jay Cutler and Marc Trestman, you could make some good music.'”

    • On a related note, I’d say these comments from former Raider quarterback Rich Gannon, who also played under Trestman, bode well. Via Brad Biggs and Dan Pompei at the Chicago Tribune:

    “‘One thing about him that is a strength is his ability to listen,’ Gannon said. ‘He takes feedback. Marc has always been the type of guy who can sit down with you and talk about things. What do you like about this? What don’t you like? His feedback is excellent. And he has an ability to be honest with you. Somebody needs to be honest with Jay Cutler.'”

    “In the CFL, players are also only allowed to be at work for four hours a day, so Wolfe said Trestman has learned to be much more efficient. He ‘had to maximize every bit of time. So his time management will be amazing.'”

    • You can search everywhere on the Internet and never find more insight into people like Trestman than you’ll find right here in Chicago from Dan Pompei. We’re lucky to have him. This was an outstanding profile on Trstman.

    “You get a sense the Bears knew this hire would not go over so well when they issued the news release at 4:07 a.m. Wednesday. That’s because their man hadn’t coached in the N.F.L. since 2005, having traded in a rather bumpy ride through some quarterbacks coach/offensive coordinator jobs for coaching the C.F.L.’s Montreal Alouettes. Clearly the Bears wanted a guru who would unlock the mystery of quarterback Jay Cutler, and for some reason they believed he was hiding in Canada for the past five years.”

    Not to worry. Zynser hated almost all of the other ones as well.

      • Barry Rozner at the Daily Herald doesn’t believe general manager Phil Emery should have been rushed through the coaching interview process. I agree. Frankly, I think the people who were critical of Emery here are idiots. The only valid point to be made is that you generally don’t fire a guy unless you know you have someone better already in mind to replace him, in which case you go get that guy immediately. Its entirely possible that he had his guy(s) in mind but was doing what scouts do – being extremely thorough and exploring all avenues before making a decision, as suggested by this tweet from ESPN‘s Adam Schefter:

    “Two HC candidates that interviewed with Chicago said they never have interviewed with anyone as prepared and detailed as Bears GM Phil Emery”

    In line with that, here’s what former Bears special team coordinator Dave Toub said about his interview for the job via Biggs::

    “Toub described his interview with Emery for the head job as ‘intense.’ He was appreciative to be considered.

    “‘It was very thorough,’ he said. ‘He is what everyone thinks he is. He is a very thorough information gatherer. I know I was in there for three hours with him. It was pretty much straight through. We took a five-minute break. It was him and I question-and-answer for three hours and it went by quick. By the time we were done, I said, ‘Wow.’ It was impressive. Very thorough. Covered everything. There wasn’t anything we didn’t cover.'”

    And who the heck has a problem with that?

     

    “How did an offense that gave Cutler a lot of what he wanted end up worse than ever?

    “Cutler not only gained old friend [Jeremy] Bates as a personal quarterback wrangler, but also escaped the seeming death march of offensive coordinator Mike Martz and was reunited with Pro Bowl receiver Brandon Marshall.

    “And the Bears offense scored three touchdowns in a game once in the last two months of the season.”

    “Maybe that was the big question in the interview process and maybe Trestman answered it better than Bruce Arians and Darell Bevell.

    “Even if it wasn’t asked and answered, that in fact is the big question. The only question.

    “Why did the Bears offense get worse?”

    “Running a team and calling plays at the NFL level are two different things. I get it. You should to. But what the Bears have right now in Trestman is a start to developing a big boy offense around their quarterback.

    “That sells in January.”

    “What separates him from Martz is his flexibility. Having passed the Florida bar in 1983, he is a lawyer, a mediator. He won’t shoehorn Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall into an offense just because it’s what he knows best. He found ways for slow-footed Bernie Kosar, uber-athletic Steve Young and aging Rich Gannon to succeed despite their divergent skill sets.”

    Pompei continues:

    “This is what Trestman is going to do.

    “He is going to break down Cutler, take him back to the beginning. Strip all the layers of paint. Sandpaper away the roughness.

    “Then he is going to build him back up again, one fundamental at a time.”

    “We’ve seen this approach with Cutler before. It was taken by Mike Martz, another outstanding quarterbacks coach and offensive mind. Trestman reminds me of him in some ways.

    “But there are some differences. Trestman is more flexible in his approach. And he is more likely to demand that his protections make his quarterbacks look good as opposed to vice versa.

    “From where we sit now, we can say Martz and Cutler never were a good match. Martz’s system calls for his quarterback get rid of the ball quickly and on time and that he do precisely what the play sent in from the sideline calls for him to do.

    “That’s not Cutler. Or at least it has not been Cutler.

    “Trestman probably cannot make Cutler something he never has been, but he can minimize his weaknesses and accentuate his strengths.”

    Which brings us to Steve Rosenbloom and his comments on the Bears offense under Trestman:

    “Moving right along, there is one more reason for Cutler to buy in to Trestman’s ideas — one more reason that ought to be part of Trestman’s sales pitch:

    “You don’t need a great offensive line if the ball comes out quickly.”

    As Pompei points out, that’s not even a question. The question is whether Cutler is capable of getting it out quickly. He’s hasn’t shown the ability to do that and he probbly never will (though trust in his receivers would certainly help).

    What we may be about to witness is a facinating tug of war between Trestman’s ideals and Cutler’s ability to meet them. Pompei suggests that Cutler can’t and I tend to agree. But has Marc Trestman come to that conclusion? I would suggest that he has.

    According to Potash the Alouettes improved from a CFL-worst 68 sacks allowed to a CFL-best 22 with the same offensive line in 2008, Trestman’s first year as head coach. But he did that by having quarterback Anthony Calvillo go to the short passing game, getting the ball out quicker. Indications are he’s taking a different tack with the Bears as he has stressed that the Bears offensive line has to get better. From Biggs:

    “Often described as a quarterback guru, Trestman laid out his goals to make Cutler an efficient passer and was emphatic that can happen only if he has adequate protection.”

    Bottom line, I think that Trestman has a good idea of what he’s dealing with in Cutler. Its encouraging that he still thinks he can use his skill set to get the best ou t of him. Here’s hoping Emery manages to put together a line that can rise to the occasion and allow that to happen.

    • Trestman on whether Cutler is a franchise quarterback:

    “‘Jay Cutler is a guy who loves football. Jay Cutler is a guy who’s willing to learn,’ Trestman said. ‘Jay Cutler, to me in my very short time with him, wants to do everything he can to help this franchise and please our amazing fans.

    “‘That’s where we’re going to start. We’re going to work one day at a time in a proactive way with a sense of urgency to get him to be the guy that he wants to be and we want him to be.'”

    That’s not a “yes”.

    • Trestman was asked whether he would promote defensive backs coach Jon Hoke to defensive coordinator. It’s not that Trestman was a lot more informative than former head coach Lovie Smith. But straight forward answers like this explaining why he’s not being more informative will get him pretty far. Via Jahns:

    “‘I’m going to go in here and sit down with [general manager] Phil [Emery] and talk about where we are with our staff,’ Trestman said. ‘Things could have changed over the last few days. I’m willing to talk about that a little bit down the road. But I don’t want to put myself or our organization’s position [out there] until we sit down and discuss where the coaching situation is, because things change so fast in the National Football League at this time of year.'”

     

     

    Elsewhere

    • Pompei’s weekly power rankings look about right to me. I’d love a 49ers-Patriots Super Bowl and I’ve a sneaking suspicion that’s what we’re going to get.
    • Bowen explains at least one big key to the Falcons if they want to beat the 49ers:

    “Both defensive ends, John Abraham (RE) and Kroy Biermann (LE), must rush with contain principles to keep [quarterback Colin] Kaepernick in the pocket. If the Falcons allow Kaepernick to escape the pocket, or step through open rush lanes, the quarterback has the open-field ability to pick up an explosive gain on the ground.”

    • Here’s an Audible from Pro Football Weekly that has the ring of truth:

    “If you think back to all the New England teams that won Super Bowls, the trademark was vigilante leadership. It was Mike Vrabel, Tom Brady, Rodney Harrison, Larry Izzo, Richard Seymour. They did not have the most talented teams when they were winning Super Bowls early on — but if there were any issues or problems that came up in the locker room, they were policed on their own. It is such a key ingredient to winning football.”

    • Former Bears and current Ravens safety Corey Graham probably didn’t mean this as a swipe at former Bears head coach Lovie Smith. But it is. Via Sean Jensen at the Chicago Sun-Times:

    “Coach [John] Harbaugh gives guys a chance to come out and play. He told me before I signed here that if I deserved to play I would. He is a man of his word. He has given me the opportunity to play and that is all I’ve asked for.'”

    • I’d say this quote via the Chicago Tribune pretty much tells the story of the 49ers-Packers game:

    “Put simply by Packers receiver Greg Jennings: ‘We lost to a better team today.'”

    Just as the Packers were simply the better team when they played the Bears this season. The Bears have a long way to go.

    Having said that, I think ESPN‘s NFC North blogger Kevin Seifert had an interesting point of view on this game:

    “In the end, I’m not sure whether there would have been a schematic solution to counter [49ers quarterback Colin] Kaepernick on this night. We saw a breakout performance on a national scale. But by most accounts, the Packers didn’t look hard enough for an answer. The Packers played as if they were waiting for their game plan to kick in rather than trashing it once it became clear it had failed.

    “Several players implied as much in the postgame locker room, and no one was more blunt than defensive back Charles Woodson.

    “‘We didn’t make any adjustments,’ said Woodson, who later added: ‘I just think when the game is going the way it is, you’ve got to try something different. It’s hard to just continue to do the same thing over and over again, and continue to get burned. … We need to figure out: Could we have done something differently as far as our game plan was concerned?’ “

    “Woodson said the Packers are playing ‘the right defense’ but consistently qualified his comments by noting a lack of adjustments. At halftime, Woodson said, the Packers talked only about ‘trying to execute the defense we were running.’ In the end, Woodson said, ‘If it works, then it works. If it doesn’t, then maybe you change.’ “

    I’m going to cut defensive coordinator Dom Capers a little bit of slack on this one. A spy helps but the key to beating a mobile quarterback has always seemed to me to be a disciplined pass rush that leaves him no running lanes to escape. Admittedly the Packers aren’t built that way and admittedly you have to be well-coached to do it so to some extent it does still come back to Capers. But having said that, Xs and Os-wise doing the same thing better may not have been the wrong answer here.

    “As good as the 49ers have been this season, they have not won three in a row. They will need to win a third straight game to get to the Super Bowl.”

    Lovie Smith took a lot of heat as Bears head coach as well he should. But his even manner led to an amazing degree of consistency in the performance of his team. Fortyniners head coach Jim Harbaugh, on the other hand, is very emotional leading to up and down performances from the 49ers. The 49ers are, in my opinion, the best team left in the playoffs. But can a guy like Harbaugh keep a team high enough to put together enough victories to win a Super Bowl? We’re about to find out…

    • Vikings runningback Adrian Peterson has taken a unique approach to the coming 2013 season. From The Onion.

     

    One Final Thought

    I thought the fact that Trestman’s teams in the CFL made the playoffs all five years he was there was impressive. Then I read this from the Chicago Tribune:

    “There are eight teams in the CFL, divided into two divisions. Six teams make the playoffs.”

    Way to kill my buzz, man.

    That aside, there was a lot of talk about Trestman as an intellectual before he was hired. I heard him compared to guys like former Bears head coach Dick Jauron and, in some quarters, even Smith and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. In listening to his press conference, I can say that Trestman doesn’t sound anything like any of those guys. I distinctly remember Jauron looking nervous and afraid to even open his lips at his introductory press conference. Belichick and Smith never say anything if they can help it.

    No, Trestman is a talker. Not that he actually said all that much but its evident that he’s not at all afraid to show his enthusiasm for the game and for the process of getting better to compete in it. Indeed, the person that Trestman most reminded me of was Phil Emery. Which is probably why he was hired. Mike Mulligan at the Chicago Tribune would seem to agree:

    “[L]istening to Emery during a surprisingly introspective introduction of Trestman at Thursday’s news conference, one thing became immediately clear: The general manager sees something of himself in his new coach.”

    I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not because I don’t know enough about Emery yet to make that judgment, much less Trestman.

    Only one thing is certain. A new era has definitely started around here and I’m both excited and grateful. I suppose its an indication of my maturity as a fan when I say that I’m not too worried about whether it works or not. The important thing is that my life – all of our lives – just got a lot more interesting.

    I can’t wait to see what happens.

    Everything Rides on the Effectiveness of Alshon Jeffery and Other Points of View And Other Points of View

    Bears

    “It’s not like we were playing against the 31st-ranked defense or anything. It’s a tremendous football team on that side.”

    True that. There’s no shame in losing to the Texans. They’re a good football team that played like a good football team. I thought the Bears generally played reasonably well. Yes, there were too many turnovers and that drives me crazy. But for once that’s not what lost the game. The Bears actually played better than expected in a lot of areas (eg. the offensive line).

    When you are playing good competition, in this case better competition, you aren’t going to win them all.

    “Despite solid protection, Campbell threw to his ‘check-down’ receiver too soon at times. For instance, when he threw to tight end Matt Spaeth for a one-yard loss late in the fourth quarter, [Brandon] Marshall had gotten open after a defender slipped.”

    Question. Would you rather have Campbell checking down or having Cutler throw two or three interceptions inot coverage? Apparently Pompei had the same question in midn when he wrote this:

    “On the final drive, when the Bears had nothing to lose, Campbell kept checking down. The situation justified risk taking, and it would have been better to go down with an interception than a series of short passes.”

    I lean in Pompei’s direction on this. Still, its debatable. A completion underneath also gives a receiver a chance to make a play with his feet.

    “Forte said offensive coordinator Mike Tice is still trying to figure out how to use his assorted weapons.

    “‘Once we figure that out,’ Forte said, ‘I think we’ll be OK.'”

    It’s Week 11, boys. If you haven’t figured it all out yet, you probably ain’t going to do it.

    “There can be no bigger indictment of the Bears offense. The squib kicks looked like a national taunt, and the embarrassment might not stop until opponents get burned.”

    “Altogether, the Bears offense started nine drives beyond their 35-yard line. Nine, do you hear me?”

    “Here’s how those nine possessions ended: fumble, fumble, interception, field goal, interception, punt, field goal, missed field goal and downs. Drive home safely.”

    • I wasn’t really upset about the hit of Tim Dobbins on Jay Cutler until I read this quote from Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune :

    “‘You want to try to aim for the hip, you get the legs, the body goes down with them,’ Dobbins said. ‘But with him, he was trying to deliver the ball so I really tried to hit him up high so I can mess up the throw as well.'”

    Players are told repeatedly that they have to lower their target. Dobbins admitted knowing that. He admitted purposely aiming high instead.

    He should have been suspended.

    “Linebacker Brian Urlacher caught heat from some fans when he congratulated Houston Texans safety Danieal Manning after an interception.

    “Urlacher wasn’t too thrilled that anyone would question him for doing that.

    “‘That was a nice play. I could give a crap about what people think on the street,’ Urlacher said on ESPN radio. ‘Get mad at me all you want.

    “‘He’s my friend. I wish he wouldn’t have caught it, but he did, so nice play to you.'”

    Sometimes I really worry about people. This really goes beyond being friends. As Urlacher said, you don’t have to be happy about it but I don’t know why its such a bad thing for an athlete to show a little sportsmanship every once in a while.

    Manning obviously believes he’s been vindicated. He hasn’t. The Bears had a plethora of strong safeties. He has the talent to play free safety and the Bears deperately needed him there. His lack of discipline wouldn’t allow him to deliver.

    No matter how well he plays for the Texans, there’s no getting around the fact that he let the Bears down.

    • And kicker Robbie Gould opens his mouth once again and crap comes out. He had this ot say about the Soldier Field turf Sunday via Jahns:

    “I have a year left on my contract. I hope to stay a Bear. And those will be situations that I’m going to take into [consideration]. I don’t know if I want to deal with that as I get older as a kicker.”

    Want to cry about the turf? Fine. Join the club. Want to threaten to leave because of it and think everyone is going to run around in a panic and change the situation just because of you? See ya’ later, buddy.

    “Brian Urlacher looked like he had a keg of beer on his back when he returned that interception (against Tennessee). The Bears might be the luckiest team I have ever seen on tape. There is a skill to popping the ball out, but only one guy is doing it. Is Charles Tillman‘s contract up? He is a machine. It’s amazing what he is doing this year. I’ve never seen it before.”

    49ers

    “It could get interesting when special-teams standout Blake Costanzo, who rarely goes a game without mixing it up with somebody on the other team, faces his former 49ers teammates Monday night. Costanzo, who leads the Bears with 10 special-teams tackles, was second on the 49ers last year with 17.”

    • “Nose tackle Isaac Sopoaga struggled, getting blocked twice by tight end Lance Kendricks. Kendricks flat-backed him the first time and then buckled him the second time on Steven Jackson’s second-quarter 7-yard touchdown run. Sopoaga also got moved out by center Rob Turner on another 5-yard run by Jackson. Maybe the 49ers are not as good against the run as last year because Sopoaga isn’t as stout.”
    • “When the Rams were running wild in the first quarter, inside linebackers Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman were also getting blocked, particularly Willis.”
    • “[A] 19-yarder was the only pass [QB Alex] Smith threw that traveled more than 10 yards in the air.”
    • “Smith was blitzed six times. He was sacked once, forced to run once (which ended with the Jo-Lonn Dunbar hit) and he also completed 3 of 4 passes for 45 yards and a touchdown against the other blitzes.”

    Elsewhere

    “Adrian Peterson erupted in the fourth quarter. He was the beneficiary of some fantastic blocking. His 61-yard touchdown may have been the best display of well-executed run blocking this season. RT Phil Loadholt did a great job blocking down on Ndamukong Suh; C John Sullivan landed a block cleanly at the second level on MLB Stephen Tulloch; and RG Brandon Fusco (who struggled with sustaining power throughout the game) did a great job in his short-area pull. Peterson is, by far, the game’s most explosive runner to and through the hole.”

    “I think Andy Reid is done. I don’t know how he can even want to go forward with what he is dealing with right now. His offensive line is the worst in football, hands down, not even close. And he loved Juan Castillo. I don’t care what anyone says — I don’t think it was his decision to let him go. The move was dictated from above. I understand the reason for it, but Juan wasn’t the problem. It’s the quarterback’s turnovers in the red zone.”

    “(Jacksonville QB Blaine Gabbert) does not like to get hit. He does not step up in the pocket. He throws with a wide base. You can watch a quarterback’s footwork and tell whether he is accurate or not. The good quarterbacks shift their weight like a pitcher. Gabbert throws flat-footed with a wide base — you can’t be accurate that way. The best thing he did this year was cut his hair, but he still plays (scared).”

    One Final Thought

    Jensen quotes head coach Lovie Smith on injured wide receiver Alshon Jeffery:

    “Smith noted that rookie receiver Alshon Jeffery might return for the Monday night game against the San Francisco 49ers.

    ‘[He’s] making a lot of progress,’ Smith said. ‘I don’t know for sure on him, but we can use all guys now.'”

    I’ll say it straight out. I’ve heard fans make excuse after excuse for this team’s failure to perform against good competition and that’s fine. Everyone has their opinion and they are welcome to it. It isn’t like I’ve never been wrong.

    The team has its share of problems – every team in the NFL does. For instance, the offensive line play has improved almost every week but you can still expect problems on the road in places like Detroit and Minnesota. But I’m telling you now, the root of the offensive problem – the one that isn’t going away and is going to be there game after game – lies in the fact that they have only one receiver who can consistently get open against man coverage and that’s Brandon Marshall. If Alshon Jeffery comes back and can’t do it, the Bears are going nowhere in the playoffs – assuming they make the playoffs. And yes, I think it’s that serious. That’s a lot to put on the shoulders of a rookie. But that’s how I see it.

    The Bears Show that Good Defense Is Not that Complicated and Other Points of View

    Bears

    • I laughed out loud when I read Sean Jensen ‘s interpretation of this comment from Brian Urlacher for the Chicago Sun-Times:

    “It’s getting cold outside and it’s been a long time since the Bears played a game, but the most discussed knee in Halas Hall should be just fine come Monday night against the Detroit Lions.

    “‘It’s the same either way,’ said linebacker Brian Urlacher, who continues to work his way back ­after spraining the medial collateral and posterior cruciate ­ligaments in his left knee in the regular-season finale last year.”

    • Mark Potash at the Chicago Sun-Times quotes Rod Marinelli on safeties Chris Conte and Major Wright:

    “The biggest thing is that they tackle. And they tackle in space. Not tackle in a box. You have to tackle in space. And that takes great athleticism. You eliminate a lot of big plays by tackling in space. We’re very, very fortunate to have players of that caliber.”

    “A primary focus for Webb this season has been improving his footwork, specifically his second step with his outside left foot. He had a tendency a year ago to step in the bucket and that created a more direct path to quarterback Jay Cutler. That led to hits, hurries, sacks and times when Webb simply had to lunge and grab. It’s something offensive line coach Tim Holt consistently is drilling into Webb.

    “‘You get yourself in trouble when you turn at the line of scrimmage and give that defensive end a short corner to get to your guy,’ Webb said. ‘It’s a conscious effort when you’re tired, a conscious effort all the time.'”

    “With all the talk about Henry Melton getting a contract extension, why is there no talk about one for the best player on the other side of the line, Lance Louis? Louis has been the most dependable, consistent offensive lineman this season by far and should be a cornerstone for the future. Agree? — Danny Jones, Iowa City, Iowa

    “Good point Danny. Just because we have not heard any talk about extending Louis’ contract does not mean there hasn’t been any talk behind closed doors. And even if the Bears have not spoken with Louis’ agents about an extension, that does not mean they won’t prioritize re-signing him before he hits the open market. The thing about Louis is he is a developing, emerging player. So it might make sense for all parties to wait until after the season to best gauge his value to the team. But he clearly is not a player the Bears should allow to leave. They can’t afford to let a good offensive lineman walk after spending four years developing him.”

    • Bears running back Matt Forte makes a good point via Jensen:

    “‘As you see in the last game when they played the Eagles, [the Lions] got constant penetration, and that kills the run game,’ Forte said. ‘So up front, we’re going to have to try to stop that. They do a lot of different run blitzes, so we’re going to have to do play-actions to try to calm that down.

    “‘But it really just starts up front with not allowing penetration.'”

    “Is there any chance the Bears will look at Minnesota to find ways to utilize Devin Hester the way the Vikings are using Percy Harvin or take some plays from Green Bay and their utilization of Randall Cobb? They all seem to have the same skill set but the Vikings and Green Bay seemed to have figured out how to use their dynamic players, and if they haven’t considered it can you please suggest they do so. Devin Hester taking direct snaps out of the backfield would be awesome. — Isaac Sykes, Woodbridge, Va.

    “I’m sure the Bears have studied how the Vikings use Harvin and how the Packers use Cobb. These are three different players though. Harvin is much stronger and more difficult to tackle than Hester. Cobb has a better feel for the game than Hester. And Hester may be the fastest of the group. So you really can’t use Hester quite the way the Vikings use Harvin or the way the Packers use Cobb.”

    • I’m not entirely where this comment from Benjamin Hoffman‘s preview of the Bears-Lions matchup for The New York Times comes from but I thought it was worth noting.

    “Chemistry is supposed to be vitally important in football. The Bears seem to prove that false each week. The team’s offense and defense appear to hate each other and yet the Bears keep winning.”

    Lions

    “… If he is going up in the air and leaving the ground to make a catch, he’s going to have to pay for it. Guys have to rally to the ball and it’s not just one guy hitting him. … Put something on his mind that can distract him from catching the ball. Anything.”

    “The splits of the wide receivers are a top priority when you break the huddle as a defensive back. Here, both Johnson (Z) and Nate Burleson (X) are aligning inside of the numbers with the ball at (or near) midfield. Studying the Lions offense, this should be an automatic alert to play for a vertical shot down the field.”


    “‘Once the ball’s put down and it’s whistled ready for play, man, it’s another game, it’s a different game,’ Stafford said, downplaying any hatred between the teams. ‘The beauty of the NFL is every week is different, and you have to approach it that way.'”

    Fortunately for the Bears the Lions never have. With a head coach like Jim Schwartz fueling the flames with fist pumps and emotional sideline demonstrations after wins like the one last week, the likelihood of a let down becomes considerably higher.

    • An already miserable Lions defensive backfield promises to be worse than usual as the Lions are down to three healthy corners for Monday Night’s matchup. Via Darin Gantt at profootballtalk.com.

    Elsewhere

    • An interesting point to look for today as the Jets play the Patriots. The Jets are concerned that officials are allowing the Patriots to substitute in their no huddle offense without allowing the defense time to do the same. By rule this is illegal. Via Mike Florio at profootballtalk.com
    • We have a good Audible from Pro Football Weekly:

    “Mike Nolan was known for running the 3-4 defense in Baltimore and before he was in Baltimore, he ran the over/under 4-3. He didn’t have that stout nose or the personnel to make it work in Atlanta so he switched to the wide “40” and lined (DEs Kroy) Biermann and (John) Abraham (and Ray Edwards) outside in a wide-seven (technique). If you look at their (defensive) tackles — (Jonathan) Babineaux, (Peria) Jerry and (Vance) Walker — none of them can play the nose. That is great coaching.”

    • I really don’t give a hoot about the Saints bounty scandal. But some people still do so… from Pompei, this time writing for the National Football Post:

    “Everybody wins with the appointment of Paul Tagliabue to hear the appeals of the four players in the Saints’ bounty scandal. The Saints win because Tagliabue is not just an extension of Roger Goodell. And Goodell wins because he washes his hands of the mess while providing a credible arbiter.”

    “There’s 4 total passengers on my flight n I just farted. That’s a quick game of ‘Who-Dunnit’, lets see if they catch me

    “— Jared Odrick (@JaredOdrick98) October 19, 2012”

    One Final Thought

    And finally, we have one more revealing quote from Pro Football Weekly‘s Audibles section:

    “There is a reason the Bears’ defense is as opportunistic as it is — when they snap the ball, count how many guys are looking at the ball. All 11 of them are keyed on it and ready to pounce. The linebackers are always zeroed in on it. They do a great job of pursuing. They don’t overcomplicate it.”

    Gabe Carimi Is Not Quite Back Up to Snuff and Other Points of View

    Bears

    • Sean Jensen at the Chicago Sun-Times quotes a scout on offensive tackle Gabe Carimi for the Bears Extra section:

    “He just doesn’t look strong enough. Maybe part of that is the injury. He plays like he’s a 34-year-old.”

    I would agree that Carimi hasn’t looked right and he’s been struggling. I don’t think its his strength so much as his quickness. He looks to me like he’s having a hard time keeping up with speed rushes to the outside. Like the scout, I suspect that the knee injury from last year hasn’t fully healed.

    “Asked why quarterbacks no longer call their own plays, Tice said, ‘Because they don’t sit in meetings on Monday and Tuesday night and put the game plan in.’ But without hesitating, he added, ‘We did have some no-huddle [against Jacksonville] where we gave Jay some really, really good chances to do ‘either/or,’ and I thought he did a great job with the no-huddle. It was the most extensive that we had. It was another drive that stalled when we had something going, but we’re going to do more of that. We like him managing the no-huddle.’”

    Using the no huddle does, of course, make sense. But other than that, expecting modern quarterbacks in the heat of battle to call plays with longer term planning and goals in mind is too much to ask. Most Bear fans will remember that former Bears offensive coordinator John Shoop couldn’t even do it just while standing on the side lines.

    • Potash does make a good point that the way the play calling is handled now leads to delays.

    “The complicated nature of play-calling in the NFL that prevents Cutler from calling his own plays also causes its own problems. Offensive coordinator Mike Tice, a first-year play-caller, relays his call to quarterbacks coach Jeremy Bates, who gives the play to Cutler. If it gets there too late, it’s a problem. How many times have we seen an irritated Cutler walking back to the sideline after calling timeout because the play clock was running down?”

    Passing plays through the quarterback coach made sense when Mike Martz was the coordinator because he spent his time in the booth. But with Tice on the sidelines, this makes less sense. My suggestion for cutting out the middle man would be cutting out Bates.

    • Potash can’t let go of the idea that Shea McClellin belongs at linebacker.
    • Dan Pompei at the Chicago Tribune suggests adjustments for the season after the bye. Here are a couple that I was in particular agreement with:

    “I would not suggest that Brandon Marshall has been thrown to too frequently, because throwing to him has almost always been a good thing.

    “But other Bears — [Devin] Hester, Earl Bennett and Matt Forte especially — are going to have to do more than they have as receivers at various points of the season.”

    Good teams (like the Packers) are going to find ways to take Marshall away. That’s when the other guys have to get open against single coverage.

    “Up until last week, the Bears relied heavily on Cover-2. They broke out a little bit against the Jaguars in an attempt to get eight men in the box.

    “For their defense to be all it can be, it will have to be able to play more than Cover-2. It will have to be able to keep offenses off balance by blitzing, mixing in man-to-man, single high, quarters and man free.

    “Whether the Bears can be more diverse will depend on how cornerbacks Charles Tillman, Tim Jennings and D.J. Moore and safeties Major Wright and Chris Conte hold up when given assignments that may be a bit out of their comfort zone.”

    This is critical. Every team in the league knows the cover two beaters. Bear fans have seen them so often we dream them in our sleep. It works well against bad teams (or good teams playing badly) because they fail to execute. Against a good team on its game, though, its not going to fly. Not only do the Bears need to diversify their coverages in those situations but they have to do a good job of disguising them as well.

    Lions

    “The Lions, over their last 16 games (not counting pre-season, or exhibition, as it used to be called) are a 6-10 team. Is that an accurate predictor of this season? Can it be worse or will they get better?–Stephen, Windsor, Ontario

    “I really expected them to be better, honestly. They have a great young quarterback and maybe the best receiver in football. Their defense should be awesome, certainly not 26th in points allowed. Certainly I didn’t see the rise of the Vikings, either, so that explains one loss – but to lose to the Titans, who are struggling, too?

    “It’s not going to get any easier with the Eagles this week in Philadelphia and then the Bears in Chicago. And they still have both games against the Packers, who will be equally desperate, Houston and Atlanta. Unless the defense starts producing some turnovers – they have zero interceptions – I don’t see how things improve much against a very tough schedule.”

    • Of course the Lions beat the Eagles so that’s step one. Watching that game last weekend was a slow form of torture, especially in the first half. You would be hard pressed to find two sloppier teams. The Eagles were constantly bitten by negative plays and turnovers. The Lions consistently failed to take advantage as they were constantly killing themselves with penalties and undisciplined play. Both teams are an incredible waste of talent.
    • The lack of discipline on the part of the Lions was particularly evident along the defensive line. They got a lot of pressure on Michael Vick and they look like they are every bit as good as they were last year if not better. But they were rushing the passer like a blind dog in a meat house with many personal fouls and offsides penalties.
    • Having said that, beware the Lions in the fourth quarter. They woke up and starting moving the ball literally right when the quarter began as if they were just edging up to the starting line before that. Quarterback Matthew Stafford, who was inconsistent despite being under very little pressure all afternoon, suddenly woke up and started finding wide receiver Calvin Johnson underneath. The next week against the Bears could be very interesting, particularly if the Lions somehow manage to clean up their act for such an important divisional game.
    • Pompei, this time writing for The National Football Post writes about the “Wide 9” defensive philosophy where the defensive ends in a 4-3 sceme line up far to the outside. The Lions play it and the Vikings dabble in it.

    “There are two primary benefits to the Wide 9. One is it makes it difficult for offenses to run outside. But the real reason teams use it is it gives the defensive ends excellent angles to get to the quarterback.

    “‘It puts the fear of God into the offensive tackles if you have guys like Jason Babin, Jared Allen, Tamba Hali, Cliff Avril, Kyle Vanden Bosch, Lawrence Jackson and Willie Young,” [Lions defensive coordinator Gunther] Cunningham told me. ‘All these guys were some of the top speed guys coming into the draft and when you align wide, the OTs have to double kick on pass protection to block the edge. The double kick went out a few years back and now everyone is straight line dropping in the pass, meaning the OTs are holding space to stop the three technique, so the DEs that are wide have a straight line to the 7 ½ yard spot for the QB’s five step drop.'”

    “The knock on the Wide 9 is it can leave a defense vulnerable to the inside run. In order for the Wide 9 to work, a defense needs a solid Mike linebacker and a good strong safety, because those two players often are going to be responsible for the B, C and D gaps. That’s why the Lions went after Stephen Tulloch last year, and why the Eagles traded for DeMeco Ryans this year.”

    Elsewhere

    “Can the officiating and broadcast crews keep up with Patriots when they play their accelerated no-huddle offense? If defenses are instructed to obstruct offense players after the whistle, will the refs call penalties?–Rufus T. Woodrow, New England

    A.
    I’m sure the broadcast crews were struggling – there’s certainly no time to show replays – because I was struggling. I would look down to jot down a note about the previous play and I’d miss the next one. I can only imagine what the defenses must feel like. Good question about the defenses obstructing players to slow things down – I would guess the officials will keep a close eye on that. That’s not supposed to happen, but it certainly does. Also wonder, as the no-huddle spreads around the league, if you’ll see players faking injuries to stop the clock.”

    “How would you list the N.F.L.’s top ten coaches?–Frankly32

    “Do I really have to? This is a minefield. This is in no particular order, but here are a few: [Tom] Coughlin, [Bill] Belichick, both Harbaughs [John and Jim], [Mike] Tomlin, Sean Payton, Jeff Fisher, [Andy] Reid, Mike McCarthy, and then some mix of [Mike] Shanahan/Mike Smith/Gary Kubiak – Shanahan has had great success but that was a while ago and he hasn’t had a quarterback until now to be in the same league with Elway, and I want to see Atlanta and Houston make deep playoff runs before elevating Smith and/or Kubiak despite their recent regular-season success.”

    I like Batista and she’s one of the reasons I read the Times. And she does say she doesn’t want to do it. But suggesting “some mix of Shanahan/Mike Smith/Gary Kubiak” over Lovie Smith?

    One Final Thought

    I realize that this is only high school football but it really is amazing.

    The Emery-Smith “Marriage” May Result in More of the Same. And Other Points of View.

    Bears

    “Asked if he thought he would be able to play in the 2012 season, Knox tweeted, ‘Im focusing on getting 100% first!’”

    I don’t think anyone would blame Knox for a second if he never played again.  That was just about the scariest hit I’ve ever seen a football field.

    “‘I was one of Jerry’s kids,’ he said. ‘Not to be funny but I was one of the guys Jerry [Angelo] drafted so from that standpoint I got a contract through him. He was good on his words with myself. What George McCaskey or Ted Phillips do upstairs, that’s what they get paid to do.’”

    Elsewhere

    • Those who plan on purchasing jersey’s before April should beware.  Via Mike Florio at profootballtalk.com:

    “In April 2012, Nike takes over the apparel contract from Reebok.  And on the day that the switch was announced in October 2010, Nike Brand president Charlie Denson told Darren Rovell of CNBC that significant adjustments are coming.

    “‘We plan on changing the NFL jersey dramatically just like we’ve done with the college programs, using new thinking and the greatest technology available,’ Denson said. ‘The NFL program hasn’t had the same type of advancement in recent years.’”

    “In past years, a player-initiated number change would have been met with a requirement that the player refund Reebok for the existing inventory of jerseys with the number he wants to abandon.  With the new Nike jerseys coming soon, there’s a chance that it will be open season for the shifting of numbers.”

    • Mike Vandermause at the Green Bay Press-Gazette says that the Packers have cancelled their fan fest again this year.  It was cancelled last year due to the lockout.

    “The event sold out quickly the first two years, but in 2009 and 2010 it didn’t sell out. That is one of the factors the Packers are evaluating.”

    Packer fans are at least as fanatical as Bear fans and you can’t keep Bear fans away from the annual convention here.  I’m having a hard time believing the Packers couldn’t sell this event out if they really were trying.

    “Time has taught him that on Super Bowl Sunday, he best keep his eyes on Giants safeties Kenny Phillips and Antrel Rolle pre-snap.

    “’The safeties never lie in coverage,’ Welker said.”

    “I wish I could take all you guys to Indy with us,” Brady told his fans. “We’re going down there, and we’re going down there for one reason. We’re going to give it our best and hopefully we have a lot more people at our party next weekend.”

    Here’s the headline at ESPNNewYork.com:

    “Brady planning victory party.”

    Typical.

    “Giants:  ‘No pressure, but if you lose, Albert Haynesworth gets a Super Bowl ring.’”

    “Patriots: ‘Convince Tom Brady that his life will somehow get even better if he wins.’”

    One Final Thought

    Unlike most Bear fans I know, I’m not entirely happy with what I’m hearing out of Halas Hall with the hiring of new general manager Phil Emery.  The following quote from Bears president Ted Philips is an example.  Via Mark Potash at the Chicago Sun-Times:

    ‘‘’The reality is just as with Jerry [Angelo] and Lovie [Smith],’ Phillips said. ‘When I hired Jerry, I said this; when I hired Phil, I said this: ‘I expect not to ever have to pick up your contract and read the language between you and Lovie.’ The idea is you work together to find the best team for the Bears.’’’

    This attitude of cooperation was confirmed and well described in an article by Pompei:

    “Emery’s predecessor, Jerry Angelo, used to refer to the general manager-head coach relationship as a ‘marriage.’  Emery did nothing to make it appear as if he and Smith are merely living together.”

    “Emery even wants Smith to have a loud voice in the draft room. When asked about how he intends to make player evaluation decisions, Emery talked about the value of listening and opening your mind to what others are seeing. But he also said at a point toward the end of the process, it will be he and Smith who will develop the plan as far as who the Bears will draft or attempt to sign.”

    This sounds good on the surface.  You make decisions by consensus.  But what do you do when that isn’t working?

    Here’s what former Bears college scouting director Greg Gabriel had to say about the hiring.  Gabriel would have had a chance to closely observe how Smith and Angelo worked together while he was with the Bears.  Via Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune:

    “’Phil is going to have his own thoughts,’ Gabriel said. ‘He is not going to get railroaded into doing something he doesn’t think is the right decision. Not a doubt in my mind. He’s very, very strong-minded.’”

    “Railroaded”?

    This certainly implies Smith had undue influence over personnel decisions.  But that’s just one man’s opinion.  Let see what Falcons president Rich McKay had to say.  Both Angelo and Emery worked for him at different times.  From Jensen:

    “‘I think it’s a really good situation for [Emery]. And the most important thing is, he’s really comfortable with all those people.’

    “But McKay quickly offered a warning.

    “‘That doesn’t mean he’ll just agree,’ McKay said. ‘He will not be a man who just says yes. He’ll be one to challenge people to make the right decisions.’”

    Again, we have the indirect implication that Angelo may have “just agreed” too often.  Its obvious that these men who are in a position to have some idea of what’s been going on detect some bitterness about the compromises Angelo made with Lovie Smith.

    Given this situation I can’t help but agree with this comment from Steve Rosenbloom at the Chicago Tribune:

    “Emery talked around who has the final call on drafting and signing that talent before finally saying it’ll come down to him and Smith. Funny, but that sounds like a GM’s call.”

    I think Phil Emery probably can evaluate talent. However, the problems will arise when he and Lovie Smith disagree on a prospect. If you are still leading by consensus (and it certainly sounds like that continues to be the case) then many of Jerry Angelo’s problems may well continue.

    What I wanted to hear from Emery was, “I’m in charge. I’m going to consult with the head coach but I’m going to pick my own guys in the end.” Instead I literally heard, “Lovie and I will make the final decisions together.”

    Your organization is only as good as its weakest link. When it comes to player evaluation, I think Smith is probably that link. Based upon the quotes above, I don’t think I’m alone.

    As it stands, it sounds like Smith is going to have to be convinced that the proper picks are the proper picks before they are made. We’ll see if Emery can do that.  Otherwise, all I see is more of the same.

    Game Comments: Bears Vs. Falcons, 9/11/11

    Offense

    1. It definitely looked to me like the Falcons started the game selling out to the run. The Bears did a nice job of passing and loosening them up but I never did think that they used the play action like they could have.
    2. There were little picks with the offensive line here and there.   Game commentators Daryl Johnston and Tony Siragusa kind of got on Gabe Carimi and I thought there were times when J’Marcus Webb looked over matched against John Abraham as well. But generally speaking I thought the offensive line was adequate. They did a better job of picking up blitzes and stunts than most pundits thought they would.
    3. There was some awful tackling out there on the part of then Falcons.
    4. Matt Forte did everything he could to prove that he’s worth every dime. He’s not flashy and it’s deceptive in that respect. He made an awful lot of yards on his own today.
    5. Kudos to Roy Williams. Reasonable performance. No dropped passes.
    6. The Bears did a marvelous job of spreading the ball around today. Kellen Davis got a lot of balls. Even Dane Sanzenbacher got into the act.
    7. Jay Cutler looks great. Just great. Couldn’t ask for anything better in terms of accuracy and anticipation.

    Defense

    1. The Bears didn’t seem to be too thrown by the Falcons no huddle offense.
    2. The Bears got plenty of pressure on Matt Ryan. They showed what the coaches have been saying all of training camp. That the defensive line is improved.
    3. What gets me about Atlanta is that sometimes they make plays that are practically impossible to stop. Ryan is deadly accurate. But they don’t do it consistently. Some of the dropped passes and poor execution, particularly in the second half, were inexcusable.  They’re a dangerous team if they get themselves together.
    4. Major Wright again got himself in trouble. He got blocked out of a long run that Michael Turner broke in the third quarter.
    5. Kudos to Charles Tillman for the job he did with some tight coverage today. He played about as well as I’ve ever seen him.
    6. Anybody seen the great Julio Jones? Maybe he caught one ball. Hardly what you trade away your draft for.

    Miscellaneous

    1. Johnston, Kenny Albert and Siragusa did a decent job today.  It wasn’t anything special, perhaps, but its always nice to have one of the better announcing teams in town.
    2. Five minutes into the game and the field already looked awful.
    3. Pretty clean game for penalty-wise except for special teams on both sides.
    4. Very few drops for the Bears. A lot for the Falcons. It made a big difference in the game. Again, kudos to Williams for having on to everything that came his way.
    5. Special teams for the Bears were much improved over the preseason. Of course it helps if your kicker is putting it out of the end zone. Kudos to Corey Graham. He was all over the place.
    6. Obviously the Bears broke out of their preseason slump to got out and get some turnovers. Brian Urlacher‘s interception was wonderful. Jay Cutler’s late game interception didn’t hurt but in other circumstances it could have. It’s also worth pointing out how many near interceptions Cutler threw. Maybe they need to clean that up a bit.
    7. If I’m a Falcons fan, I’m pretty upset right now.  That was a poor game from a team that’s a lot better than that.  Poor execution, poor tackling.  These are the things that lose games.  However, I’m not a Falcons fan.  I’m a Bears fan and I’m pretty happy.  The offense looked every bit as good as they did in the preseason against what is ordinarily a good defense. The Bears defense looked as good as they usually do.  I had to sit all summer and listen to “experts” trash the Bears and predict that they’d “take a step back”.  That’s because no one outside of Chicago has been really looking at what’s been happening here, especially on offense.  I hope those experts are sitting up and taking notice now.  This might be a very good team in what might be the best division in football.

    Lance Briggs Continues to Act As If He Has a Choice And Other Points of View

    Bears

    “On the business side, if the organization and management says that they’re not willing to talk about my deal or willing to deal with my deal now or during the season or during the end of the season or next year, then I know that my days here are numbered.’’

    I’m sure that I’m like everyone else when I ask exactly what he means by “my days here are numbered”.  My gut feeling is that Briggs estimates his value to be considerably higher than the Bears (and many of their fans) do.  As Mike Florio at profootballtalk.com points out, Briggs would likely be forced to return a portion of his signing bonus is he did held out, meaning he’d be losing  money he’s likely already spent.  Right or wrong, I’m pretty sure the Bears will let him do so and pay him nothing if that’s what he and his many dependents prefer.

    Of concern was the fact that runningback Marion Barber didn’t return meaning his calf injury might be more serious than the team (publicly) thought.  As expected, Corey Wooton also wasn’t ready to practice yet.

    • How much immediate help new Bears safety Brandon Meriweather will provide is an open question.  He’ll need to learn how the Bears play defense.  The Chicago Sun-Times quotes Chris Harris:

    ‘‘As a safety you have to learn ­everything that’s going on.  A corner doesn’t have to learn the entire ­defense. As a safety, you need to know what this linebacker’s doing because of run gaps. You need to know what this linebacker’s doing because of pass coverage or what this corner’s doing or what the other safety’s doing.”

    But I doubt Meriweather will have much trouble.  Via Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune:

    “We do things differently, we call things differently,’ [head coach Lovie] Smith said. ‘But once you kind of get by some of the different terminology, most coverages are pretty much the same. Most defenses are pretty much gap control. When the ball’s in the air, you go get it. When a guy’s running with the ball, you go tackle him. There will be some challenges, but when you have a veteran like that they normally pick it up pretty quick.’” 

     

    • You have to wonder how much the signing of Meriweather has to do with the paucity of turnovers the Bears have generated in the preseason.  Meriweather is a risk taker who can give up big plays but he’ll also make big plays.
    • Much to my surprise, the Bears chose to waive cornerback Joshua Moore rather than one of the many undrafted free agents they left on the roster (again, from McClure).  Moore, who was essentially redshirted in 2010, isn’t particularly big at 5’11” but the Bears knew that when they drafted him.  Apparently he didn’t show enough in terms of making plays in camp.
    • Pro Football Focus asks four NFC North questions of four analysts.  I don’t have a last name for “Ben” but I like his thinking in this excerpt.

    “Who is the one player from this division you see having a breakout year?”

    “Ben: With Pisa Tinoisamoa gone from the Bears the door is open for Nick Roach to really make an impression this season. Roach has impressed in limited action at both MLB and SLB in the last two seasons and with a full time starting spot now apparently his, even as a two-down linebacker, this is the year that the Bears re-discover a strong linebacking trio. Brian Iwuh could get a chance to make a similar impression if Lance Briggs’ injury and contract issues continue to be an concern through the season.”

    • Scouts Inc.  previews every NFC team.  Here’s what they had to say about the defense of the Bears first opponent, the Atlanta Falcons:

    “Pass Defense:
    “Atlanta’s conservative 4-3 scheme is especially vanilla in the secondary. Without an elite cover group, it plays assignment-oriented football. That shifts pressure onto the front four to generate a rush, but the Falcons had only 31 sacks last season, 13 coming from DE John Abraham.

    “Rush Defense:
    “The goal of the D-line is to eat up blockers while the back seven fly to the ball. But the Falcons gave up 4.6 YPC last year, so a healthy Curtis Lofton must be a game changer at LB.”

    Schematically this sounds like an ideal defense for the Martz offense to attack, especially in the first game when a confusing mix of blitzes might be disastrous for an inexperienced offensive line.

    Elsewhere

    • The penalty from the StarCaps case has finally come down.  Kevin Williams and Will Smith are paying big time for the delay.  each is suspended two games but they are being fined four game checks.  According to Mike Florio at profootballtalk.com had they taken the penalty in 2008, they would have each paid roughly one-fourth of what they are paying now given their current salaries.  Add in the legal fees and your talking big money.

     The only winner in the deal was Pat Williams who, as we all know, was simply delaying the penalty until his career was over so he wouldn’t have to pay.

    • William C. Rhoden at The New York Times writes about the “Dream Team” Philadelphia Eagles.  Vince Young stupidly put a target on their backs when he used the term to characterize the team which will always be over rated as long as he and the inconsistent Michael Vick are playing quarterback.

    This team has set itself and its fans up for some serious disappointment.

    “Fans in every NFL city think the Super Bowl host jinx is just a myth until it lands on their town. But there’s a variety of reasons why no team that has provided the stadium for the big game has ever played in it. And at the rate they’re piling up reasons, the Colts — host of February’s title game — might be the first knocked out of the running even before the regular season kicks off.”

    • Rafael Vela at the Cowboys Nation blog takes an interesting look at a couple of the blitzes that the Cowboys will see tomorrow night against the Jets.
    • Omar Kelly at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel points out the dangers of carrying two quarterbacks.  This is becoming a more common practice throughout the league but it could be a particular problem for the Dolphins.  Why?  Because they’ve gone from the starter to the third QB in a game twice in the last two years.  Not a good trend…

    One Final Thought

    Bengals runningback Cedric Benson is happy to be out of jail.  Via Joe Reedy at the Cincinnati Enquirer:

    “I didn’t want to spend my bye week sitting in jail and wanted to get it behind me and focus on football,” Benson said.  “I’m not fit for jail. No one is. When you experience that you realize how much you don’t want to experience it again. It was a nice little wake up call so to speak and it was nice to taste that and hopefully never have to do it again.”

    “hopefully”? “have to do it”?  Like its not avoidable and there might be another time when you have to do it?

    I’ve got the under on whatever the length of time it will take Benson to stupidly get in trouble again.