Bear(ing) the News – A Chicago Bears Blog

Rick Telander at the Chicago Sun-Times quotes cornerback Tim Jennings in a moment of candor when asked about the “new” Bears offense:

‘‘‘Let’s see how the season starts, let’s see how [head coach Marc Trestman] gets things going, how he reacts to pressure, when bodies start flying and everything starts to be real. I’m real curious to see how he manages the offense, and manage the whole team as well.’’’

‘’‘It’s very intense,’ said Jennings of the offense he watches from his DB position. ‘It’s up-tempo, and they’re working so hard.’’’

“But he added, ‘I can’t really tell the difference from last year, because all offenses kind of look the same to me. But the way they get in and out of the huddle, there’s intensity.’’’

I can’t tell the difference, either. Not exactly.

Oh I know there’s a difference between good offenses and bad offenses. Anyone who watches the San Francisco 49ers can tell. Any one who watched the old 49ers with their classic West Coast offense under Bill Walsh can really tell. But the question is “What’s the difference?” Like Jennings, I think they all more or less look the same with some variations.

Jennings seems to think it might be about “intensity”. But perhaps “concentration” would be a better term. The guess here is that if we’re going to see an improved Bears offense this year, it’s going to come down to execution. That’s both on the level of the individual player and how they work together as a team as a whole.

Yes, we talk about the X’s and O’s. General manager Phil Emery talks about how former offensive coordinator Mike Tice didn’t use the middle of the field. And that did hurt. But, really, the single biggest reason the offense failed last year was because quarterback Jay Cutler lost faith in his other receivers and fed the ball to Brandon Marshall in the air when he wasn’t handing it to Matt Forte on the ground. All 11 guys weren’t working in harmony with the coaching staff in a coordinated offense. If the Bengals come out in man coverage and the receivers can’t get open again, it’s not going to matter what Trestman does.

My guess is that it’s about keeping 11 guys all on the same page doing their jobs and limiting mistakes. One weak link and the whole process falls apart. That seems kind of obvious but it really isn’t. And even assuming you accept that, how you accomplish that goal is a whole different issue. Increasing the intensity with which you concentrate on what’s going on and what you are doing is probably a good place to start. But that’s certainly not where it ends. As Jennings reaction to the question demonstrates, the difference is a fine line that’s dependent on a lot of factors. No one can really tell if you’ve crossed it or not until you are actually under fire. That’s where the Bears offense will be on Sunday.

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a good offense in Chicago that wasn’t an opponent. It hasn’t happened in my lifetime. And yet it’s fascinating that a veteran Pro Bowl cornerback who has been around the league and pretty much seen it all is as clueless as I am as to exactly where the Bears offense is at this point. Like Jennings, we’re all just waiting to see.

Mark Potash at the Chicago Sun-Times addresses a choice which will tell us the direction which the Bears are to take this year. At least initially:

“D.J. Williams or Jon Bostic?”

“Williams has earned the respect. He’s a nine-year starter who led the Denver Broncos in tackles five times. The Bears likely will be better with him at middle linebacker — at least at the beginning of the season.”

And that’s the bottom line isn’t it? Bostic, like many young linebackers, has a tough time taking on blockers against the run. And the Bengals are exactly the kind of team that will run over him up the gut over and over until he learns to stop it. And he will learn. But not after some growing pains. For all of us.

I’m going to bet they start Williams and try to win now. If the find themselves with a losing record at the halfway point, they may reconsider. But I think the only thing that puts the Bears rookie on the field now is if the injury to Williams is still affecting his play.

But I could be wrong. The choice before the Bears is a defining one, not just for the middle linebacker position but for the team overall. The Bears may decide to go with the future now and live with Bostic until he gets his feet under him. If they do, its going to tell us something about this season and what to expect. Its going to be about future Super Bowls rather than present playoff berths.

I think Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune probably has the right of it on the release on tackle Jon Scott:

“The Bears signed Scott after the Week 1 game last season because they did not want to be on the hook for his full season’s salary in the event they decided to make a change. The plan could be to bring him back in a week or two when his knee is healthy. The departure of Scott makes Eben Britton the swing tackle for this week and the foreseeable future.”

There’s no reason to carry Scott on the roster for week 1 if he can’t play. The Bears likely thought it was worth the risk that another team would try to pick Scott up in the meantime. So we will likely see Scott back for week 2 or 3 if all goes according to plan.

Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune writes about the possibility that the Bears will start two rookies, Jordan Mills and Kyle Long, on the right side of the offensive line. This quote from offensive cooridnator Aaron Kromer stood out as being odd:

“’There are a lot of good players picked late in drafts, and the biggest key is if a guy knows his limitations,’ Kromer said. ’If a guy is smart enough to know what he can’t do, he can be effective at what he can do. That’s the No. 1 thing a young guy has to learn. What you physically can’t do, don’t put yourself in that position.’”

What, exactly, are the limitations that Kromer is thinking of in this case? Is he talking about Long or Mills (more likley) or both? Or is talking about seventh round pick J’Marcus Webb?

Teams do limited game planning in pre-season game 3. Whether its this week or the season opening week, it will be interesting to see what happens when other teams try to take advantage of this situation.

1. It was definitely the pre-season for Chris Berman. He (or the people in the booth) had a tough time identifying a few players. Trent Dilfer was relentlessly positive.
2. I am already disappointed in Jay Cutler. He started the first possession by holding the ball instead of getting rid of it quickly, on time to a receiver. He and Brandon Marshall resorted to last year’s offense for the rest of the night. Its only pre-season game number two but if he continues to do that, they’ll be looking for a new quarterback next year.
3. Shea McClellin look’s like he’s using his speed better this year. He’s maintaining distance from the blocker and he’s not as likely to be engulfed. I’m waiting to see how he’s going to defend the run.
4. Matt Forte is running with good vision. This offense will be good for him (if Cutler runs it).
5. Devin Hester’s showed his achilles heal with his indecisive fair catch on his only punt.
6. Lots of up and down tackling out there. I’d say some work needs to be done, especially with the special teamers.
7. J.T. Thomas had to showe up on special teams and he did. Still no sign of Devin Aromashodu.
8. Armando Allen’s roster spot has to be in serious jeopardy. Michael Ford once again looked like he belonged.
9. I’m not sure what Josh McCown was doing in there in the fourth quarter or what that means for Matt Blanchard.
10. The rookie linebackers were up and down. Khaseem Greene struggled more and though Jon Bostic certainly had his moments he also looks like he’s going to have a hard time getting off blocks and stopping the run for a while.

• Steve Rosenbloom at the Chicago Tribune wonders when quarterback Jay Cutler will challenge Marc Trestman the way he has challenged offensive coordinators in the past:

“[Here is] your Cutler-Trestman flashpoint: Will Cutler still spread around his passes when Marshall is on the field for his usual number of snaps?

“There are several compelling reasons to doubt it.

“First, Cutler and Marshall have a thing working going back to Denver, and it works to the point that Cutler is happy enough to throw the ball up and believe Marshall will come down with it, and Marshall always seems to, and that’s a hard habit to break.

“Second, Cutler isn’t long on patience with people or game plans. He thinks he can fit a pass into any opening on the field. So, it will be somewhat life-changing to see him methodically dump off passes or take the first quick read while waiting to strike down field. Again, this matters most when Marshall is on the field because Cutler will be required to show the discipline not only to wait, but also to go down field to someone other than his boss fave wideout.”

I disagree. First, Cutler won’t challnge Trestman because Trestman is head coach not coordinator and Cutler is in the last year of his contract. The Cutler landmine will me much more likely to go off if he gets a long-term contract in the offseason. Of course, if he gets that contract, it will mean he bought in and it worked so it may not be a big issue at that point.

Which brings us to my second point: if there’s a conflict this year, it will the same same one he had with former offensive coordinator Mike Martz – one which he was allowed to win. Cutler will be expected to throw the ball quickly, on time with anticipation. If we see him holding the ball and waiting for receivers to pop open the way that he did with Martz, we’ll know he’s once again conflicting with the coach in charge and that his days in Chicago are numbered.

• Hub Arkush tells Adam L. Jahns in this video for the Chicago Sun-Times that he not only thinks wide receiver Joe Anderson has made the team, he thinks he might be the number 3:

• Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune notes that guard Matt Slauson got work at back up center yesterday. It might be reading too much into it but the usual (and currently listed) back up, Edwin Williams has been having a quiet camp. Slauson played some center for the Jets.
• Speakng of the depth chart, I thought it was notable that former number 8 overall pick with the Falcons, Jamaal Anderson, is last at defensive tackle. Looks like the Bears might not be getting much help there.
• The best laid schemes of mice and men, go often awry, and leave us nothing but grief and pain, for promised joy! The Packers shuffled their entire offensive line in the offseason. One injury to left tackle Bryan Bulaga – the one they could least afford – and the whole plan is shot to hell. It seems a little early for it but it looks like the Packers are already buckling up to overcome adversity.

Bears training camp only opened Friday and we won’t really have an idea of what is going on with the Bears offense at least until the pre-season games. Nevertheless information on the new Bears offense is already coming to light based upon the few practices they’ve had. John Mullin at CSNChicago.com writes a nice article describing the difference between last years offense. where the receivers had to make sight adjustments based upon the defensive coverage, and the offense this year where such adjustments will be minimal:

“Because receivers are not expected to make myriad ‘sight’ adjustments, they are able to focus on the whole and where their route, as called, fits the ‘concept’ of the play.

“'[Not having to read coverage] allows you to play faster and also to understand the whole concept of what’s going on offensively,” said wide
receiver Earl Bennett. “If you have a route that stays ‘on’ no matter what happens, I’m running my route to either get the ball or to free somebody else up.'”

“Now the receivers have their assignments, quarterback Jay Cutler knows them all and he makes decisions –- fast. The receivers make the concept happen by selling their routes –- hard.

“’If unconsciously you know that you’re not going to get the ball, your shoulders come up, which kills the play,’ Winslow said. ‘Because the moment your shoulders come up, that free safety looks someplace else.

“‘When you’ve got your shoulders down, running your route full speed no matter what the coverage is, maybe one read inside or outside, then it picks up the pace and puts pressure on that safety, who now has to pick somebody, and then your quarterback makes his decision.'”

Presumably not having to worry about sight adjustments will allow the receivers to concentrate more on such details running their routes.

Its also worth noting here that requiring the quarterback and the receivers read the defense the same way in order for everyone to be in the right place is a recipe for disaster in a situation where the quarterback already lacks trust in the receivers. This was rather obviously the case with Cutler last year. Eliminating these adjustments can only help that situation.

Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune also wrote an interesting article on the possibility that we may see more read option in the offense this year:

“From the shotgun formation with an offset running back, quarterbacks Jay Cutler, Josh McCown and Matt Blanchard have used mesh-point action that would be the starting point for a read-option play. It’s the kind of fake handoff designed to hold the second-level defenders or strong safety just a split second.

“Maybe it’s a sign of things to come in the build-a-Bears offense that Marc Trestman still is supplementing at Olivet Nazarene University.

“The quarterbacks have been running a dash (half roll) off the play fake, moving outside the pocket where a throwing lane should open off play action. When they hand the ball off, it’s an inside zone play much like what the Packers do with Aaron Rodgers on occasion.

“In the progression of a play, the next step would be a zone read for the quarterback, the kind of offense that shook up the NFL last season and sent defensive coaches scurrying to the college level this offseason for answers to stop it.”

“‘I don’t know,’ [back up quarterback Josh] McCown said. ‘We’ll see what happens with it. Obviously, it’s prevalent in our league right now so there are merits to practicing it if anything just to give your defense a look.'”

I have little doubt he could do it but I do very much doubt that the Bears will risk Cutler often by making him run the read option. Nevertheless, it is an interesting wrinkle to look for in what promises to be a more than usually interesting pre-season and season.