The writers at the Chicago Tribune are interviewing the former college coaches of the various Bears draft picks. I particularly liked this one from Dan Wiederer with Minnesota defensive backs coach Jay Sawvel on safety Brock Vereen. It went beyond the usual “He’s really, really tough and really really competitive” level.
“Q: What are the areas for improvement that need targeting?
“JS: I think he can become a better blitzer. I think that’s one thing that he’s got to be able to do with some of the things that the Bears are going to ask him to do. He’s had some issues there, false-stepping and things like that, getting off the line on his blitzes and stuff. As a safety, for him, he became really effective. He had a good year at safety (in 2013) until we had to move him. He tackled. He’s surprisingly good in the box. You roll him down in the box and he’s better than average at that. … But I’d say the biggest things with Brock is that he can continue to develop his ball skills. I think there are times out there when he fights a higher, deeper ball. That’s something he’ll need to continue to improve on. He does track balls pretty well. He does break on balls pretty well. And he’s a really disciplined player. So the one thing about him is if he gets beat on a play, he’s going to be there. You’re just going to have to beat him on that play. That’s the biggest thing. That was a very big relief as a coach. And he helped our other players with that.”
Ditto on Rich Campbell‘s interview on quarterback David Fales with San Jose State offensive coordinator Jimmie Dougherty:
“Q: And the completion percentage?
JD: ‘I think being football smart and reading coverages and knowing where to go with the ball is the first part of it. Then, from a physical standpoint, he’s got it. He’s always on balance. His feet are always in the proper place, and his eyes are always in the right place. When you’ve got those two things, you’ve got a really good chance of being accurate with the ball, along with knowing where to go with the ball on each snap.
“‘So he’s a guy that sees down the field. He can feel the rush, slide around the pocket. A lot of guys can throw balls and be accurate if it’s an odd-man situation or a pro day or whatever it is, but he translates exactly what he is in those situations onto real-life game situations—guys rushing after him, having to slide around and keep his balance and move around in the pocket. He’s a good enough athlete to get that done, too, and continue to keep his eyes down the field and make accurate throws.’”
One thing Dougherty repeatedly came back to was Fales mobility in the pocket. That’s one of the things that sets great quarterbacks like Tom Brady apart. Not that I would expect him to be Brady. But I consider this to be a good sign.
“Who on the roster should be worried about their job based on the draft? — @gcflatt from Twitter
“The NFL is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately business. With the exception of a few elite players with major contracts, every player is being pushed on the roster for a job. The Bears certainly added needed depth on the interior of the defensive line and that should push a veteran like Israel Idonije. The selection of offensive lineman Charles Leno Jr. in the seventh round probably pushes James Brown and Eben Britton. No question cornerbacks Kelvin Hayden and Isaiah Frey will be challenged more with the addition of first-round pick Kyle Fuller. Running back Michael Ford has a challenge from fourth-round pick Ka’Deem Carey. The challenges are across the board.
I’ve heard some rumbling amongst the fans who think that Idonije’s job might be in jeopardy. His age (33) works agains thin but the Bears brought Idonije back because of his versatility. He can play both tackle and end and he fits what the Bears are trying to accomplish on defense. I wouldn’t count him out.
Bears general manager Phil Emery says that new defensive tackle Will Suttonis responsible for Kyle Long being a Bear.
“Soon after the Jets made their final draft selection Saturday, Coach Rex Ryan spoke for every coach or general manager or scouting director in the league.
“‘Did we get everybody we wanted?’ he said. ‘As far as you guys know, we did.'”
“4. Schwartz and the fans. Maybe this is too high because it is fresh in the mind, but Schwartz yelling at the Lions fans for booing after taking a knee to go to overtime was a standout moment this season. You don't see a coach scream at fans in the middle of a game too many times. Schwartz lost his cool and then it took question upon question for him to admit anything the next day talking to the media. If anything locked up his fate no matter how the season ended, that episode was it.”
No. It wasn't too high. It was too low.
This is the last time I'm going to get a chance to take a shot at Schwartz so I'm going to make it count. His team was defined by a lack of discipline that emanated from the head coach and worked its way down. That lack of discipline was exemplified by this incident. It encapsulated what was wrong with Schwartz's teams during his tenure from poor self-control on the field to poor handling of the public pressures that came with that.
Never have I seen a head coach who so deserved the blame for failure of his team to perform.
Lions defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham had some interesting comments for Tim Twentyman at detriotlions.com about the read-option offense, how to play it and what affect its having on the league.
“‘It’s a big thing in the league now, and that’s why we’ve got bigger corners, because they’re going to have to tackle,’ Cunningham said. ‘The ball is going outside, they’re spreading you, and quarterbacks are running the ball.'”
“The read-option puts pressure on the defensive end to make the right play and then the cornerbacks to come up and make a play out wide.”
“‘The key is you need extra people to stop the run because they spread you out,’ Cunningham said. ‘So, you end up playing some man-to-man or shorten your safeties down and if the quarterback can really throw the ball, that’s where we get into trouble.
“‘Miami couldn’t do that with Rickey (Williams) and the other kid that was running the option (Ronnie Brown). But their design was as good as I’ve ever seen in my life and then it got away from them for whatever reason.'”
Cunningham has never been one of my favorite NFL coaches but he’s spot on here. I don’t know that cornerbacks necessarily have to get bigger but everyone, including the corners, is going to have to be able to tackle better at a time when physical contact in practice for refining technique is more and more limited. Being bigger certainly would make you more durable, however, and, as Cunningham rightly points out, shut down corners who can handle receivers in single coverage with a safety in the box are also going to be at even more of a premium than they are now.
The whole interview makes me wonder if zone defenses like the one the Bears have relied upon for so long aren’t going to become more and more difficult to run. Even the Bears spent more time in single coverage in recent years and we’re likely to see it even more. The days of the classic cover-two cornerback may be numbered.
[Head coach Jim] Schwartz didn’t take the off-field nonsense seriously last year. It reflected his head-coaching inexperience. Commitment is a 24/7 proposition in the NFL. It isn’t a light switch you can flick off when you’re not at minicamp or OTAs and then flip it back on when reunited with your teammates and coaching staff.
It always bugs me when I’ll write something about an off-field problem with a player and fans will come back at me with “I don’t care about what kind of citizen they are. I just want a good player on the field”. The problem is that you are talking about players as whole people. There is no “here’s how I am off-field” and “here’s how I am on the field”. Its always just “here’s how I am”, period.
Bottom line, a lack of discipline off-field will almost always show up on the field in some way. It won’t always hurt you as badly as it has the Lions. But it will hurt you.
“The Browns’ draft board was arranged alphabetically, which is very unorthodox and can make it difficult to make decisions on the fly. Front office men around the league were buzzing about the unusual board last week. Also noteworthy is that the Browns did not allow the majority of their scouts in the draft room. But they are not the only team that locks out scouts.”
I never heard of this board arrangement. I’ll be interested to see if the purpose behind it ever comes out.
Pro Football Focus published a list of the top 101 players of 2012. I’m sure it works out this way statistically but I can tell you this. In the real world I’d take a Calvin Johnson at 12 and Brandon Marshall at 30 over an awful lot of the players ahead of them. Lance Briggsdidn’t make the list.
“‘We feel protection starts from the inside out,’ said offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer, who came to the Bears in the offseason from the Saints, for whom he was the offensive line coach. ‘With the Saints we really felt we needed to keep the interior part of the defensive line at the line of scrimmage in protection, so we put a big emphasis on our guard position to do that. We feel that same way here.'”
“Interior protection probably was more important for the Saints than it will be for the Bears because of the quarterbacks involved. Drew Brees, at 6 feet, is a good 3 inches shorter than Jay Cutler. Shorter quarterbacks have more vision issues when defenders are pushing the pocket.”
Cutler is also considerably more mobile that Brees. By emphasizing the interior, the Bears are likely to let make it easier for teams to keep him in the pocket. This puts a big onus on the receivers to get open because Cutler won’t be scrambling as much to give them more time.
On the other hand, a clean pocket could help Cutler an awful lot. We could see a more systematic and reliable offense this year, if fewer improvisations on the fly from the quarterback.
Brad Biggs, also at the Chicago Tribune, list 5 players who need to make an impression this offseason. He may not fit into this category quite as Biggs wrote it but I’d say Shea McClellin needs to have the offseason of his life if he’s going to play to his potential next year.
Kyle Long will play right guard ]because it will match him up against Ndamukong Suh](http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/chi-chicago-bears-rookie-minicamp-20130512,0,5177275.story?track=rss) when the Bears play the Lions.
“I am still trying to find the best five and where they fit best,” said offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer, who is also the line coach. “Suh plays over the right guard and we have to win the division first. Obviously, at Green Bay they flip their tackles, so they could have B.J. Raji on both sides. We want to make sure that we have good matchups in these games. We drafted these guys to win the division first.”
John Mullin at CSNChicago.comquotes Long on his move to right tackle for a set of reps over the weekend:
“We were just short on guys today a little bit so they needed some versatility. Jordan Mills went inside. That’s another guy that can move around a little bit. We’ve got a lot of those.”
“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 Robinsonis 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 Cornwellas 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.
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.”
Dan Pompei at the Chicago Tribune and I absolutely see eye-to-eye on his views on the new Bear head coach, whoever that may be:
“You can’t hire a head coach simply because he is a good play caller or quarterback coach. He has to be more than that. But it sure would be ideal if you could get a candidate who is a good play caller and quarterback coach with the ability to lead, administrate, communicate and sell. That’s what the Packers did when they hired Mike McCarthy. It’s what the Saints did when they hired Sean Payton. It’s what the Texans did when they hired Gary Kubiak. It’s what the 49ers did when they hired Jim Harbaugh. But many, many other teams have tried to go down the same path and found they coach they hired wasn’t everything they hoped he would be. Those coaches still get dirt under their nails doing work they did when they were assistants because nothing is more important than a productive quarterback. But they also delegate much of what they used to do to others.”
These are my thoughts exactly. Its not that people like Hub Arkush who are disappointed more defensive coordinators or coaches without a quarterback coaching background like Ken Whisenhunt haven’t been interviewed don’t have a point. They do. Your head coach has to be a leader above all.
But if possible the Bears need a coach who will permanently fix the quarterback position. I’m not just talking about Jay Cutler. That would be too short-sighted. I’m talking about developing future quarterbacks for years beyond that.
If you are counting on hiring an assistant coach like that, you are inevitably going to lose him to another team in search of a head coach. And finding one isn’t a trivial task as Lovie Smith could tell you. Doing it once would be hard. Doing it more than once would be much, much harder.
In my view the ideal model is the Ted Thompson-Mike McCarthy relationship in Green Bay. It’s not an ideal that would be easy to achieve. But I think you need to shoot for it or something similar. That means a head coach who can coach quarterbacks if at all possible.
Dan McNeil at the Chicago Tribunemakes a fair point about the emotional upheaval surrounding the Bears head coaching search:
“If it’s fair to postpone the evaluation of a draft class for at least two seasons, it also is fair to be open-minded to a veteran assistant coach getting his first crack at serving as headmaster.
“A head coaching search, coupled with the roster overhaul Emery has in front of him, give me ample reasons to be patient with Emery. It would be silly to gnash teeth and wring hands over the virtual unknown who’s going to stand at the lectern answering questions about his new job sometime in the next couple of weeks.
“Somebody will, but it won’t be me. I wanted Jerry Angelo and Lovie Smith jettisoned long ago.
“I have nothing but time and patience for the Bears to keep evolving.”
I’m impressed that Bears general manager Phil Emerythought to interview Marc Trestman (From the NFL Network via Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune).
Mike Florio at profootballtalk.com thinks Bruce Arians makes a lot of sense as the next Bears head coach:
“Arians makes plenty of sense for the Bears, given that they have a quarterback who is a bit of a handful in Jay Cutler. Arians has extensive experience dealing with a difficult quarterback. In Pittsburgh, Arians and Ben Roethlisberger didn’t simply coexist; they were close friends.
So when job No. 1 (or close to it) in Chicago is finding a coach who can work well with Cutler, Arians could be the right answer.”
Whether Cutler actually needs a friend as a coach is a legitimate question. But I tend to agree with Florio that Arians is a good candidate for the job.
Former NFL head coach Marv Levy makes a good point via Mark Potash at the Chicago Sun-Times:
“‘The general manager of the Alouettes told me that when I went to Canada, I could have 12 men on the [field]. Then I found out the other teams could, too,’ Levy said with a chuckle. ‘The same things win. It isn’t the Wildcat offense or this or that. If you run, throw, block, tackle, catch and kick better than your opponent — the fundamentals.'”
I’m as guilty as anyone of concentrating too much on X’s and O’s and they are a factor. But I think everyone should always keep in mind that the major difference between winning and losing is good fundamental football and, I might point out, making sure the defese played good fundamental football may have been Lovie Smith‘s biggest strength. Let’s hope, whoever the new head coach is, that we don’t see a step back in that area.
Sean Jensen at the Chicago Sun-Times reports that Vikings coaches Mike Piefer and former Bears middle linebacker Mike Singletarywill interview for the head coaching position.Pompei indicates that Singletary’s inclusion on the list may be at the suggestion of the McCaskey family which wouldn’t be a surprise.
David Haugh at the Chicago Tribune is off base with this assessment:
“That is the message for whatever Halas Hall meddler coaxed Emery into adding Bears legend and Vikings linebacker coach Mike Singletary to the growing list of candidates for the head-coaching position. This could not have been Emery’s idea or else we all have been terribly fooled in Chicago. When did Emery start letting his heart overrule his head?”
Singletary’s not a bad candidate. There was a time when I would have done hand springs to see the Bears interview an ex-player. He’s a bright guy and the odds are good he learned a great deal from his failures in San Francisco. Singletary’s got the same problem Dennison has. No experience coaching quarterbacks. But other than that he’s a fine candidate. Pompei put it best:
“Granted, Singletary is a long shot, but he has earned the opportunity at least to sit before Emery.
“In addition to being one of the greatest players to wear a C on his helmet, Singletary also was the best leader I’ve ever seen on the Bears.
“And isn’t the head coach position primarily about leadership?”
“‘I think he’s been ready for awhile,’ Kubiak told reporters on Monday. ‘I think Rick is a very smart guy. He’s selective. I’ve been called on him for about three years in a row now, but I think Rick knows what he wants to do with his life and if he’s going to take an opportunity to be a head coach, he’s going to be selective in what he does. He’s got a great background in the National Football League. He’s a 10-year defensive player in the National Football League. He’s been a special teams coach in the National Football League. He’s been an offensive line coach. He’s been an offensive coordinator. There’s nothing this guy hasn’t done.'”
Except be a quarterback coach. And that’s a problem in a quarterback-driven league.
Jensen passes along what Cutler said on his weekly radio show. I found Cutler’s phasing when asked about current Denver offensive coordinator and Bears head coaching candidate Mike McCoy interesting to say the least:
“I think we had two meetings together, and then [the Broncos] kicked me out… I liked Mike. Knows a lot about football, very flexible.”
As I remember Cutler wasn’t “kicked out”. He ran away and quit. Interesting how his mind works.
“The good thing is it’s easier to find blockers for a zone scheme than it is blockers for a man scheme because of supply and demand. There are way more teams that use a man scheme. There also is this to consider: NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has made it clear the league is thinking about making chop blocks on running plays illegal. The backside chop is a staple of zone blocking teams, and could affect their running games significantly.”
Pompei runs through the long list of players whose fate at least partly depends on who the new head coach is. The most intriguing will be Brian Urlacher. It used to be that cutting Urlacher would be a problem with the fans. But given that Urlacher felt the need to express his true feelings by trashing them in the media late in the season (without an apology), that shouldn’t be a problem now. Hopefully they’ll do what they think is best without making the mistake of thinking this is still a consideration.
“Coming off his first Pro Bowl nod, how good do you think Henry Melton can be ultimately? Better than Tommie Harris before his injuries? Can he be the best defensive tackle in the NFL? Also, he has to be our No 1 priority when it comes to re-signing our own players, right? — Charles Laughton, New London, Conn.
“The thing about Henry Melton that is unusual is he still has considerable room for growth at the age of 26 and four years into his NFL career. So I would expect him to keep getting better. I’m not sure he’ll ever be better than, say, Ndamukong Suh, who is in another league talent wise. But he should remain among the best defensive tackles in the league. As for the comparison to Harris, he was a special, special player before his injuries. It is possible Melton can be that kind of player. Considering he was a fourth round selection, Melton may have been Jerry Angelo‘s best draft pick.”
Melton is good but he will almost certainly never be Tommie Harris. The Bears will never miss Melton the way they missed Harris after he was injured. The defense was never the same after he went down.
Biggs points out that special teams coordinator Dave Toub is in demand as he interviews for the same poisiton with the Panthers and Chiefs. That’s fine but, as Biggs points out, Toub is under contract here and I’d say he’s going nowhere unless the new head coach doesn’t want him – and I’m thinking there’s a fair chance that he will.
Elsewhere
According to Sam Farmer at the Los Angeles Tribune Saturday’s game against the Packers is being seen as a referendum on 49ers head coach Jm Harbaugh‘s decision to replace quarterback Alex Smith with Colin Kaepernick earlier in the season:
“Harbaugh chose the path of greater resistance, and in the process bumped up the stakes.
“‘If it all blows up on Saturday, that will take a lot of goodwill out of the bank,’ [former 49ers quarerback Steve] Young said. ‘Now, that doesn’t change much. I mean, [Harbaugh] is still going to be around, still going to be a great coach. But it’s a high-risk situation.'”
Pompei has the Packers ranked second in his power rankings. I like the Packers but that’s awfully high for a team with a suspect defense. The Packers are going to have to continue to play the kind of good fundamental ball I saw last week against the Vikings before I’ll believe. I think Pompei is right on the button with the first ranked Broncos and, like Pompei, I like the Seahawks a lot better than most people seem to.
The schematic Xs and Os that former NFL safety Matt Bowen writes up for the Chicago Tribune are always interesting but I thought this article breaking down the Packers offensive options against the 49ers pressure was particularly good.
This Audible from Pro Football Weekly has the ring of truth:
“Jon Gruden wants full control. It’s the same as Bill Cowher and Joe Gibbs and Bill Parcells and any established coach worth his salt who is considering coming back. The problem is — there are not a lot of GMs that want to concede that authority. Why do you think Mike Holmgren is backing down and saying he’ll be happy to just coach?”
“A priest administered last rites. Following kidney removal surgery, his football coach told him he would never play again. He was lucky to be alive. He responded by petitioning the school to be allowed to suit up. The player’s name? Mike Shanahan.”
My mother of all people sent me this joke. A little to close to the truth over the last year if you ask me…
The coach had put together the perfect team for the Chicago Bears. The only thing that was missing was a good quarterback. He had scouted all the colleges and even the Canadian and European Leagues, but he couldn’t find a ringer who could ensure a Super Bowl win.
Then one night while watching CNN he saw a war-zone scene in Afghanistan. In one corner of the background, he spotted a young Afghan Muslim soldier with a truly incredible arm. He threw a hand-grenade straight into a 15th story window 100 yards away.
KABOOM!
He threw another hand-grenade 75 yards away, right into a chimney.
KA-BLOOEY!
Then he threw another at a passing car going 90 mph.
BULLS-EYE!
“I’ve got to get this guy!” Coach said to himself. “He has the perfect arm!”
So, he brings him to the States, teaches him the great game of football and the Bears go on to win the Super Bowl.
The young Afghan is hailed as the great hero of football, and when the coach asks him what he wants, all the young man wants is to call his mother.
“Mom,” he says into the phone, “I just won the Super Bowl!”
“I don’t want to talk to you, says the old Muslim woman.”You are not my son!”
“I don’t think you understand, Mother,” the young man pleads. “I’ve won the greatest sporting event in the world. I’m here among thousands of adoring fans.”
“No! Let me tell you!” his mother retorts. “At this very moment, there are gunshots all around us. The neighborhood is a pile of rubble. Your two brothers were beaten within an inch of their lives last week, and I have to keep your sister in the house so she doesn’t get raped!” The old lady pauses, and then tearfully says,
“I will never forgive you for making us move to Chicago!!!!”
“‘He’s ready. He’s paid his dues,’ Manning told Tom Kensler of the Denver Post. ‘Mike’s a good leader. He’s got some good coaches that have been mentors to him, different coaches that he’s worked with in the NFL that I think he’s incorporated some of their leadership philosophies and his own philosophy.'”
“‘I tell you, he’s a worker,’ Manning said of the 40-year-old McCoy. ‘We spend a lot of hours together — early mornings, late nights — trying to get our game plan in place. There is no substitute for work ethic, and Mike certainly has that. In my opinion, he deserves a shot at one of these head coaching jobs.'”
But its Denver left guard Zan Beatles who probably said what Emery wants to hear. Via Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune:
“He’s really a guy that can set his ego aside and really mold something around the guys that he has. Obviously, he has done a good job of that the last couple years being as different as these offenses have been. He’s willing to listen and take input and stuff like that.”
“‘I learned from Dan Henning a long time ago that if the quarterback doesn’t like something, or he can’t do it, you eliminate that from the game plan. Same with the running game. If there are schemes up front that our offensive line runs better, why try to force feed something else? I always say I don’t care what we want to do, but what can our players do well? That’s where it all starts.'”
The story about Lovie Smith‘s interview with the Bills had some interesting wording. From Sean Jensen at the Chicago Sun-Times.
Steve Rosenbloom at the Chicago Tribunehas a point:
“Call [former Packers head coach Mike] Holmgren in Arizona. Find out if the guy who tamed Brett Favre and made him a winner can do the same with the Bears’ version of the early foolish and stubborn Favre.
“Jay Cutler has been compared to Favre in terms of physical talent and gunslinger mentality. Favre, of course, learned. Cutler, so far, has appeared unfazed by coaching. I don’t know if he thinks coaching is beneath him, but it certainly has eluded him.”
“Holmgren made the playoffs seven straight years in Green Bay. He made the playoffs five straight years in Seattle. He has coached 24 postseason games, winning nine in Green Bay and four in Seattle. By comparison, The Bears have won four playoff games since Mike Ditka.
“Oh, and don’t forget one Super Bowl and two NFC titles.
“If Cutler can’t respect that and develop under a coach whose resume includes Favre, Joe Montana, Steve Young and Matt Hasselbeck, then it probably wouldn’t be the fault of the coach. Connect the dots, people. Anyone too dumb to learn from a coach who is that accomplished also is too dumb to quarterback the Bears.”
“As for Holmgren, he was a special coach in his prime. Whether he still would be one at the age of 65 and after four years away from coaching would have to be determined.”
Adam L. Jahns at the Chicago Sun-Times suggests that Jeremy Batesshould be retained:
“Quarterback Josh McCown, a 10-year veteran who has worked with Cutler, Bates and Mike Martz, said it was easy to see the chemistry between Bates and Cutler.
“‘No question,’ McCown said. ‘They have great chemistry, and that’s a credit to [Bates]. He understands what he wants to get accomplished but also players are all individuals, and we’re all different. He knows one guy has to be taught differently than the next guy and so on and so forth. He’s willing to do anything it takes to get the message taught.
“‘Jay responds to [Bates’] teaching style.'”
Cutler’s mechanics generally were considered to have taken a step back this year. He certainly was more inconsistent.
“Cutler has not proven he deserves to be paid like one of the elite quarterbacks in the National Football League in my opinion, but he probably thinks he has. So it might be difficult to reach agreement with him on a long term commitment at this point. If I were in charge of the Bears’ roster, I would probably let him play out the last year of his deal in 2013. If he plays well, they can pay him then. If he plays OK and they don’t have a better option, they can franchise him. If he plays poorly, they can let him walk.”
“[Carimi] can’t be judged on his 2012 season for a couple of reasons. The first is he came into the season after knee surgery and was affected by it, especially early. As his knee came around, it became apparent that both his lower body strength and confidence had suffered. He never did get comfortable. What Carimi needs is time — time to rebuild his physical and mental strength. My bet is he ends up being a very good right tackle in the NFL.”
“Now what becomes important is, do I feel like Shea’s got the motor, the athletic ability, the savvy to be a good starting player in the NFL? Yes, I do.”
What he doesn’t have is the size. It will be interesting to see what happens to his body in the offseason.
“If Jones makes a change at coach, here’s how we think it will happen. He’ll line up a successor quietly before firing [head coach Jason] Garrett, like Jones did when he lured Bill Parcells to Dallas while Dave Campo was still the coach.
“The name to watch continues to be Jon Gruden. As mentioned on Monday’s Pro Football Talk, Jones was spotted a few weeks ago in Tampa, where Gruden lives.
“If not Gruden, Mike Holmgren remains a possibility.”
Jay Gruden, Jon’s brother, has been speculated to be a candidate for a number of job. He’s coaching Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton and is apparently doing a pretty good job. Via Vaughn McClure at the Chicago Tribune:
“‘Andy’s a quarterback who makes all the throws and stays alive,’ [Houston safety Danieal] Manning said. ‘And he’s smart, so there’s not much disguising you can really do to him. Last year we were able to disguise a little bit. This year, he’s picking up all the disguises.'”
“The biggest decision Capers has to make is whether to leave Woodson at safety full time or continue to move him into a slot corner position when he goes to the nickel or dime scheme.
“[Casey] Hayward has proved to be an outstanding slot corner with a team-leading six interceptions, and it would be a mistake [not] to use of his cover skills.
“In addition, Woodson hasn’t tackled anybody in 2½ months and [defensive coordinator Dom] Capers probably doesn’t want him constantly at the line of scrimmage in the slot position prepared to take on running back Adrian Peterson. So, he could just keep him at safety and let Hayward play the slot.”
“Running back James Starks (knee) probably won’t play against the Vikings, but he has been helping the cause.
“Starks has lined up as Peterson with the scout team a good portion of the week, hoping to give the defense a reasonable look at what to expect. This is the first step in Starks getting back on the field, but he’ll need the Packers to win to have a shot at playing again this season.”
The only way Starks is really going to help is if he can get them to improve their fundamentals and tackle better. Because from what I saw last week, that is the major problem.
Curtis Crabtree at profootballtalk.com points out that there is no love lost between the Seahawks and the Redskins as they nearly came to blows last year during the coin toss. All of the sudden I’m looking forward to this game more than I was.
“Some NFL executives have questioned whether or not Chip Kelly’s style of offense will play in the pros. Kelly, however, has been putting this message out through back channels: He would not run the same offense he runs at Oregon if hired by an NFL team. Instead, he would run a pro style offense, but with a faster tempo than most and with a good dose of no huddle. The NFL model for Kelly might be similar to what the Patriots run. Also in question is the way he makes his practices grueling. One NFL front office man said Kelly would have to lighten up the practice pace, especially later in the week, or he would have no players left by the middle of the season.”
Kelly is rumored to basically already have the Cleveland job.
Todd Haley might be a little smarter than I would have given him credit for. From Josh Alper at profootballtalk.com
On a related note, the fact that former Eagles head coach Andy Reid has been hired by Kansas City isn’t going to stop me from posting this from profootballmock.com:
Most of the time, having a coaching search with a wide variety of candidates is considered to be a good thing. But the Eagles head coaching search might a little TOO broad. From The Sports Pickle.
Rex Ryan has an unusual tatoo. I’m’ surprised that she isn’t wearing Sanchez’s shoes. From the New York Daily News.
“The tattoo does make sense in one regard. In expressing last week that the Jets are the only team he wants to coach, Ryan said, ‘Let’s face it. I wear Jets stuff every single day, every day.’
“Clearly, he was not kidding.”
One Final Thought
And The Sports Pickle brings us this video under the headline “Drunk Packers’ Fan Cheers, Dies”:
Dan Pompei at the Chicago Tribune asked 5 personnel men to evaluate the NFC North by position. The Packers were voted to have the best head coach in Mike McCarthy. But the scouts had some interesting things to say about Bears head coach Lovie Smith:
“Every ballot was the same except one, in which a personnel assistant ranked the Bears first, ahead of the Packers.
“His justification?
“’Lovie Smith has had to deal with quarterback issues, job speculation and inconsistencies that Mike McCarthy has not,’ he said.
“Another front office man voted the Bears staff second but said, ‘Lovie does a nice job. He is steady and that is a team that is well coached, well prepared and ready to play.’”
Michael Bushon his new role with the Bears. Via Pompei and Brad Biggs:
“Asked if he dislikes that role, he said, ‘No one likes to be a battering ram. It just happens that way.’”
Also via Pompei and Biggs, Dave Toubis confident that D.J. Moore can take the departed Corey Graham’s place as gunner on the punt team:
“’We are going to hope to depend on him,’ Toub said.”
It’s early but this nugget from same article could be significant:
“Tight end Kyle Adams had a place on first-team kickoff return, a good sign for second-year player from Purdue.”
Starting cornerback Tim Jenningshas a fight on his hands for his starting cornerback position. From Sean Jensen at the Chicago Sun-Times:
“[Kelvin Hayden] was the one DB that stepped up (Sunday), locking down Brandon Marshall so tightly on one rep that Jay Cutler didn’t even throw the football. When Marshall’s turn came around, he yelled for Hayden to get back out there and cover him, even though it wasn’t Hayden’s turn. Unfortunately, the horn ended the drill before Round 2 could take place.”
On the other hand we have this from Vaughn McClure at the Chicago Tribuneafter Tuesday’s practice:
“’Each day we see a few guys who step up and make a few more plays,’ Lovie Smith said. ‘Like what Tim Jennings was able to do today (and) Charles Tillman. Both of our corners were able to get a pick. There are good football players on the other side, so it’s a challenge for them every day.’’”
So sounds like some good things are happening there.
McClure highlights a trend that I also noticed this year in the draft as he talks to defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli about new safety Brandon Hardin:
“Hardin already has quite an adjustment to conquer. He played cornerback in high school and in college at Oregon State. The guy in front of him, [Chris] Conte, made the same transition last season and drew rave reviews.
“Marinelli explained the philosophy behind drafting corners to play safety.
“’It’s athleticism,’ he said. ‘People are spreading the field on you more, opening the field up. That day of the guy wearing the big neck roll and coming down tackling is not there. You need athleticism.’”
“If anyone unexpected stood out in pass-rush drills, it was defensive end Corey Wootton, whose standing on the team is jeopardized by McClellin’s arrival and two previous years of minimal production. Wootton looked quick and confident on the edge.”
That’s fine but I think we’d all like to see it the games at some point.
“Fellow rookie Alshon Jeffery looked OK but was absolutely stymied at the line of scrimmage by cornerback Kelvin Hayden on one play. Hayden is big, physical and understands the elements of the Cover-2 scheme.”
Like most rookie wide receivers, Jeffery obviously has a long way to go. But the’s big and he should eventually do better against veterans like Hayden. Teams that have played aggressive man coverage on the Bears have given them a very hard time. Hopefully the acquisitions of Marshall and Jeffery are the first step towards changing that.
“As for the overall line, I think it can be efficient enough. It’s not going to be a great offensive line, but the days of great offensive lines may be over. If you look around the league, there are not many impressive offensive lines. Most of them have question marks like the Bears do. It is a reality of the NFL in this day and age.”
Mike Mulligan at the Chicago Tribune makes a good point:
“Outside the division the Bears play five of the eight worst returning offenses, including the bottom three: Colts (30), Rams (31) and Jaguars (32) — all in the first five games. The defense has a chance to establish itself early and hit that top-10 standing that has been so crucial in Smith’s tenure.”
Elsewhere
Jenny Vrentas at the Newark Star-Ledger says that Tim Tebow is already hearing it from Jets fans. There were moans and groans at wobbly and under thrown balls in a deep-ball passing drill and it didn’t get better:
“Later, during the 11-on-11 team period, Tebow received a few more jeers. On one play when he held onto the ball for too long, a couple fans called for him to ‘Throw it, Tebow!’ Later, on a shaky incompletion, they called out, ‘Tebow, come on!’ and ‘That’s a Tebow ball!’”
“Rex Ryan knows that when you are a defensive coach and you are inside the 5 or 10, you don’t account for the quarterback. When Tim Tebow is on the field, now you have to account for the quarterback. It’s much more difficult to get away running cover zero (man) and pinching the ends. With Tim Tebow, Cam Newton, Michael Vick or Robert Griffin, you have to account for the quarterback — so it takes one less player away from stopping the run. The other thing Tebow brings — as a defensive coordinator, even if it’s only five or seven plays, every team will now have to spend X amount of time preparing for a package with Tebow. If you don’t, he can make you pay. And even if you do, he might still catch you off guard. He can be a weapon.”
“Watching Danieal Manning in Houston (last year), he has great instincts. He’s a smart player. He just kept moving positions in Chicago. It was a question of development — not instincts. He is very talented.”
“The Lions announced that Schwartz had signed a “multiyear” extension June 29. Schwartz has been steadfast in his refusal to speak about his contract status and remained tight-lipped in his first public comments about his contract.
“Early in his 35-minute news conference, Schwartz and reporters engaged in verbal jousting.
“Reporter: ‘Why won’t you reveal the length of it?’
“Schwartz: ‘It’s my choice.’
“Reporter: ‘But why?’
“Schwartz: ‘It’s personal to me. Do you make your contract terms public?’
“Reporter: ‘I don’t have a contract.’
“Schwartz: ‘You choose to reveal that.’
“Reporter: ‘I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.’
“Schwartz: ‘I don’t play that game.’”
Here’s a prediction: Detroit will be shocked when [insert name of latest troubled Lion player here] is in hot water with the league for being uncooperative with the press.
Michael David Smith at profootballtalk.comnotes a reported incident in which Schwartz laid into receiver Ryan Broyles for getting in line for a drill without buckling his chin strap:
Speaking of bad head coaches, Andy Benoit at The New York Timespulls no punches on Andy Reid as he previews the 2012 Eagles:
“The real reason the Eagles underachieved was they never figured out how to properly piece their tremendous individual parts into a fine-turned machine. It had nothing to do with “attitude” or “focus” or “desire.” It had everything to do with strategy and execution. The offense relied too much on big plays and did not always feature enough of LeSean McCoy, even though he had become arguably the best all-around running back in the N.F.C. The defense was stale and ill-conceived, featuring the now infamous wide-nine front looks that worked perfectly to highlight Philly’s weaknesses at linebacker. The star-studded secondary was incongruent, thanks to youth at safety and miscast players at cornerback (Nnamdi Asomugha in the slot!?). These are the things that lead to losing five games just on blown fourth-quarter leads alone.”
“If all this sounds like a description of bad coaching, well…it is.”
ESPN’s NFC North blogger Kevin Seifert says that the Packers are emphasizing tackling in their camp. They should. From what I say it was 85% of their problem on defense last year. If they can just reduce their missed tackles they’ll be consideerably better.
Forty-niners owner Jed Yorkgets it. From Sam Farmer at the Los Angeles Times:
“What are some of the high-tech features [of the planned stadium]?
“Some stadiums focus all their money on the scoreboards. That’s a hardware solution. You can only show certain things on a scoreboard. There’s only one screen, or two, three or four. If you have a tablet or some kind of smartphone device, it will be, what do you want to learn? You might like the offensive-line battle. And it’s hard for you to see that, and that’s not something that’s going to be on the scoreboard. But you might want to watch Justin Smith maul an offensive guard and figure out, what’s he doing? So to have a Justin Smith-cam that you’re going to be able to watch on your tablet, those types of things are going to allow you to connect to the game in ways that you want to connect to the game.
“A lot of people would rather watch games on TV than pay to see them live. And what about the fans who have fantasy teams and want to watch all the Sunday games?
“One idea is to put the Red Zone Channel on the scoreboard for the early games and let people in the stadium. One of the things we’ve talked about is opening concessions before the game at reduced prices. When you look at the food and beverage consumed on a Sunday at a football game, 50% is consumed in the parking lot before people actually come in. So why not open that up and have sort of a tailgate atmosphere inside the stadium and watch games?”
“’It’s such a shame to see such a promising young talent fall victim to a multi-year deal with the Bears,’ said ESPN’s John Clayton, adding that he had to look away when Forte announced the painful signing. ‘We’ve unfortunately seen this fate befall so many players through the years and while some of them try to recover, after a few years spent battling with a Bears contract, nobody is ever the same.’”
