CHICAGO BEARS: Hello Marc Trestman!

Felipe M

"WE WANT GRUDEN! COWHER! REID!" Seemed to be the Bears' fans' cry of the offseason after long-time Head Coach, Lovie Smith was fired. Among the attributes and characteristics that Bears' fans were demanding from General Manager Phil Emery are as follows:

• It is IMPERATIVE that the new head coach have a strong, offensive background. 
• The coach MUST be a proven winner.
• Preference for a FIERY coach to bring a new spark to the veteran team would be ideal.

Marc Trestman is the Chicago Bears' new head coach and has all ready started to fill out his coaching staff, hiring Aaron Cromer as his Offensive Coordinator and Jim DeCamillis as the new Special Team's/Assistant Head Coach.  He has gotten high praise from the likes of Steve Young, Jimmy Johnson, and Bears' Wide Receiver, Brandon Marshall.

But does Trestman pass the Bears' fans' seal of approval?

For starters, Trestman has had plenty of success developing offenses that accumulates lots of yards and puts lots of points on the board in the NFL. He's gotten credit for helping tutor and develop NFL quarterbacks like Young, Rich Gannon, and Bernie Kosar. He's even worked with current Bears' QB, Jay Cutler--which might have been the ultimate advantage for Trestman to get the job over the dozen or so candidates that Emery interviewed. Along with a porous offensive line, another major issue this offseason is trying to fix Cutler's game and hold him more accountable. (What is wrong with Jay Cutler?  You can read my grievances, here).

So the background is there, but there's this one discrepancy that Bears' fans will probably won't overcome: his most recent gig was coaching in the Canadian Football League. Kudos to Emery for thinking outside the box and not limiting himself in this hire, but the same fans who were screaming for "GRUDEN! COWHER! REID!" are the same fans who will be asking, "Does this Testaman or Tressnan--or however the hell you say it--know the American game?  What the heck are Da Bears doing hiring a Canadian?" So far, Trestman has gotten mighty endorsements from paramount NFL minds who cite his success in the collegiate, NFL, and CFL levels.

Ok, but is he a winner?

How does a 59-31 record along with 2, CFL Grey Cups sound?

And the final hurdle he must pass: will he bring the fire and brimstone that desperate Bears' fans still seek, even long after former coach Mike Ditka roamed the sidelines?

How does this pregame speech sound to you (or fast forward to the 12:00 minute mark on the video below)?

So the Chicago Bears hired a "great offensive mind," a proven winner, and Bizarro Lovie Smith--the offensive version of Smith, if you will.

Many fans were tired of Smith's lack of personality and emotion during press conferences, interviews, or simply him just standing on the sidelines not doing much of anything, but...head coaching--It drove them nuts!  They wanted to see an animated coach, who chewed out his players when they did something wrong, and who can come up with pep talks, before, during, and after the game to inspire and motivate his players to perform beyond optimal level.  They wanted the reincarnation of Ditka. Or at the very least "GRUDEN! COWHER! Or REID!"

Trestman is simply not that type of person:

• His players loved him (just like the Bears' defense loved Smith).  Definitely a players' coach based on first impression--just like Smith. 
• Young in his praise did mention that Trestman is "not gonna scream at people" (just like Smith).
• A former player of Trestman's described him as "cool, calm, and collected; characteristics that could be used to describe Smith. 

This would be the third consecutive coach that the Bears have hired that does not fit the "fire and brimstone" profile that many Bears' fans yearn and miss about Mike Ditka (Dick Jauron being the other head coach). Ownership has clearly gone out of their way to disassociate themselves from the iconic, short-tempered Ditka--not from a personal standpoint, but from a personnel standpoint.

Whether fans accept Trestman or not will depend upon wins and losses, naturally. However, this is a great move by Emery and a step in the right direction for the organization.  There's a mission in place, full of short-term and long-term goals that everybody from the top-down understand and are in full acquiescence. Emery hired the ideal coach that fit his predetermined paradigm. The head coach and GM agree on the latter's recommendations to fill out the rest of his coaching staff (something that pretty much doomed Lovie Smith in the last 2-3 seasons as head coach of the Bears: an inability to land favored candidates to fill out coaching vacancies on his staff).

There's finally organization on this team! As a Bears' fan, that is something I'm going to have to get used to.  Will see if streamlines well with the players and produces points, yards, and wins on the field, but this certainly is the start of a new era--even if the coach fits the profile of the last 2 head coaches the team has hired before him.

For more on the Chicago Bears, click here.

THE BARE OFFENSE: What happened in Chicago?

Felipe M

We have discussed Lovie Smith being fired from his position as Chicago Bears' head coach focusing that the move was made because GM Phil Emery wanted to start fresh with a new head coach and because, unlike the defense that played under Smith through much of his tenure, the offense wound up being mediocre at best under his watch. The perceived notion is that in 2012, the new GM brought in Brandon Marshall via trade, drafted Alshon Jeffery as the 2nd receiver, re-signed Matt Forte to a long-term contract, signed  Michael Bush as a legit backup to Forte, signed Jason Campbell to backup Jay Cutler to improve the offense this year.  

Unfortunately for Smith, instead of improvement, he oversaw the same unorganized trash that has plagued the team since he took over as head coach. The team finished 28th in total offense. While all the roster improvements on the skill positions were made, Emery did very little to improve a position that has been killing this team for the past 'x' amount of years: the offensive line.  

Its fairly obvious what Emery must do this offseason if he wishes to see a better offense in 2013. He can bring in whatever coach he likes, whether it's Mike McCoy from Denver, Mike Sullivan from Tampa, Tom Clements from Green Bay, or Bruce Arians from Indianapolis--all of them offensive coordinators (so much for GRUDEN! COWHER! and REID!)--none of them will be any more successful than Smith if the offensive line isn't addressed this upcoming offseason. 

Besides the o-line, however, 2012 also exposed this offense under a different light. Even though many fans and media members alike believe that a new head coach will whip this offense into shape, there were enough discrepancies in 2012 that showed that perhaps this team's offense needs more than just a new a coaching staff:

• Jay Cutler was quoted in saying, before Smith was fired, that he would like to have some consistency in terms of offensive coordinator. Cutler has had to work under a lot of offensive coordinators in his NFL career and the same theme is prevalent: Cutler is a stubborn, arrogant person who was drafted in the 1st round because of his cannon-like arm, but has shown poor decision-making skills and fundamentals. 
• The closest coordinator that was able to utilize Cutler's abilities and show glimpses of his full potential was Mike Martz. Though, Martz's downfall, ironically enough, was his stubbornness and arrogance in his play-calling when backup Caleb Hanie became the starter because of a season-ending thumb injury to Cutler in 2011, he did wonders with Cutler's ability and forced him to step out of his comfort zone to let the system complement his arm strength.  
• On top of that, he forced Cutler to do away with some fundamental flaws in his game and help to slightly improve his technique, footwork, and mechanics as a quarterback.
• After Martz was fired, the Bears promoted Mike Tice as offensive coordinator and promised a more conservative approach and an emphasis to move Cutler out of the pocket to take advantage of his mobility and ability to throw the ball as he scrambles. On top of that, unlike Martz's offense that emphasizes timed, passing routes, Tice succumbed to Cutler's request to throw the ball to open receivers.  
• Unfortunately, Cutler reverted back to all those flaws that Martz had tediously help break as the team's offensive coordinator.
• Cutler, visibly, showed very little respect for Tice as a play-caller (especially during nationally televised games) and reports leaked that Cutler, along with Brandon Marshall, would go out of their way to dismiss Tice and would revert back to the plays that made the duo a "success" in Denver. 
• Despite Marshall having a great year, Cutler threw 14 interceptions and only averaged 200.2 yards per game--his lowest output since 2006 when he was a rookie for the Denver Broncos. 
• Instead of Marshall helping Cutler become a better QB, Marshall, unintentionally, enabled Cutler to pick up the bad habits he has shed throughout his NFL career and continued to target the big WR numerous times while virtually avoiding the team's other receivers.

• Despite the team's defense and special teams providing great field positioning for Cutler and his offense, more often than not, in 2012 they failed to capitalize on those advantages.
• Coming into the 2012 season, it could be argued that Cutler was ranked as the 11th best QB in the NFL, looking to move up the ladder and cement his place among the game's elite passers.  Instead, the Bears ended up getting a player who posted stats that closely resembles a "game-manager"-style QB (think Kyle Orton) and continued to make ill-advised throws because he continues to rely heavily on his talents, abilities, and physical traits.
• Mike Tice will more than likely not return to the Bears next season, giving Cutler yet another offensive coordinator to work with.  What can a new coordinator do for an NFL quarterback who has a history of dismissing authority, comes with a pompous, apathetic attitude, and refuses to improve his game?  According to many Bears' fans, Cutler will somehow, miraculously, convert into the elite QB his untapped potential projects him to be. 
• In reality, while Bears' fans and local media alike dream on, Cutler will undoubtedly continue to drop in the QB rankings as the rookie QB class of 2012 will make a run to leap-frog Cutler in the individual rankings and help their individual teams move up in terms of the standings. 
• The offensive line was a big problem this year giving up 38 sacks when Cutler was the QB. But when he did have protection, Cutler still made terrible throws that were intercepted.  The game against the Minnesota Vikings is a perfect example of Cutler not facing much pressure, but still making dumb mistakes that cost the team a chance to win games.

So after dissecting the Bears' offense in 2012, it's safe to say that if the team is expecting to see improvements in 2013 it's going to need more than a new coaching staff, more talent, or even more help on the offensive line. Lovie Smith was fired because Emery believes that the next coach he hires will finally set up an offense that will bring this team back into Super Bowl contention. However, any Super Bowl aspirations begin with Jay Cutler. 

In Denver, Jay Cutler was drafted to be the next John Elway. The Bears traded for Cutler as the missing piece to bring this team back into the Super Bowl. Instead, Cutler has been playing and acting like a former 1st round bust who also played quarterback in the NFL: his name was Jeff George. If Cutler stops progressing and continues to regress as an NFL quarterback, he will be nothing more than a Jeff George clone--a player with all the physical traits to be a successful QB in the NFL, but can never lead his team to the ultimate goal: a bust.

THE CURIOUS CASE OF: Lovie Smith (The Defense)

Felipe M

The firing of Lovie Smith marks the end of an era in Chicago Bears' football, no doubt personified by a defense with a style of play not seen since the 1980s.  As the former head coach looks to be almost guaranteed a job in the NFL in time for the 2013 season, most of the defensive players will remain in Chicago to give it one or two more attempts to play as a unit and bring home a title to a championship-starved city.  

Unfortunately, with an aging defense and with most of the defensive coaches more than likely not coming back for 2013, it's hard to visualize this team to continue to be one of the elite defenses in the NFL. Nevertheless, we will take a look back on this vaunted defense and take a glimpse of its short-term future as the Bears look to hire a new head coach to take this club to the Super Bowl.

• The Bears' defense did not look like an elite unit throughout the offseason and preseason stages of 2012. With the team aging rapidly, this team looked like it was on its last legs. Blessed with a soft, early-season schedule, however, the defense carried the Bears to a 7-1 record as they performed vintage Lovie Smith defense--not to be confused with vintage Bears' defense.  "Lovie football" would be on full display against the Tennessee Titans in Week 9 of the NFL season.
• Charles Tillman would go on to force four fumbles and Brian Urlacher ran back an interception for a touchdown despite not possessing the same speed he once had that made him one of the game's best linebackers.
• Since Smith was first hired as head coach in 2004, he basically inherited a Super Bowl-type defense with speed, discipline, and conservative consistency being the team's reputation.  Once Smith was hired, he added another dynamic element that would cement him as one of the best defensive minds in the NFL. It was not the installation of the Cover-2/Tampa-2/Lovie-2 defense (former head coach, Dick Jauron had all ready implemented a version of that defense before Smith was hired); it was the major emphasis on the defense taking a proactive and aggressive approach to not only force turnovers, but to become the closest thing the NFL has to a high-speed, transition offense in the NBA: to score points on defensive turnovers by the truckloads (the goal was usually 10 defensive touchdowns per season). 
• The first 8 games of the season, albeit against weaker opponents, showed the defense still believing and applying the fundamental philosophy of Smith's emphasis to rack up takeaways. 
• Despite the fact that Smith's "Cover-2" defense was a conservative approach to not give up big plays, the Bears' defense, throughout much of Smith's tenure, gave up a lot of yards, as the team's average rank for yards allowed  is about 14th place. However, the team's average rank was in the top 10 in terms of points allowed and his insistence on getting the ball back by any means necessary has statistical support as the team ranks 1st in takeaways, three-and-out drives forced, and third down percentage since he took over the team in 2004.
• The irony here is that despite local fans and media loathing the conservative "Lovie-2" defense, the Bears aggressively took chances to force fumbles and garner interceptions with the full intention to score as a defensive unit. No other team since Smith was hired placed so much importance on this notion. All of this created an exciting brand of football at a time when the NFL was marketing and promoting the passing game.
• As mentioned before, the new coaching staff will now inherit a declining team defense and the most unique part of the Bears' defense will probably disappear as the defensive coaches who helped preach Smith's approach will be gone and most of the Bears' defensive core will start leaving via free agency, retirement, etc. 
• It was reported that many, if not all, defensive players refuse to speak to the media after they had learned that Smith had been fired. With the success these players had under Smith, it's very understandable.  
• As mentioned before on this site, the support the Bears' players showed Smith, especially on defense, is undeniable. 

The new coaching staff will have their work cut out for them as they will not have the luxury to solely concentrate on improving a terrible offense. As well as the defense played for the most part in 2012, the prophecy by most experts that this defense was on the decline were deferred in the 1st half of 2012, as Smith had the unit playing to its maxed potential. Unfortunately, the defense showed their age and diminished abilities for the rest of the year.  

Unless new GM, Phil Emery works his miraculous magic in acquiring new players via trades, free agency, and the draft to reload this defense, the current unit will continue to stroll into the sunset and all that will remain will be the memories of a once proud defensive unit--no matter which coach he ultimately decides to hire. 

THE CURIOUS CASE OF: Lovie Smith (The Legacy)

Felipe M

What can be said about recently fired, Chicago Bears' head coach Lovie Smith that hasn't been said all ready?  The consensus seems to be that, though, he had a championship caliber defense, he failed miserably in getting his offense going. But is it really as simple as that?  

New Bears' GM, Phil Emery believes so. Emery echoed the sentiments of everybody when he stated that Coach Smith failed to build an offense. Hard to argue with a man whose former team, the Kansas City Chiefs, sent 5 players to the Pro Bowl despite having a miserable season (on and off the field)--no doubt, Emery had a hand in acquiring those players. So let's assume that Emery, indeed, has an eye for pro football talent--why did he fail miserably in acquiring help for the offensive line (the team's #1 concern since the Bears last made the Super Bowl)? Why did his draft look like former GM, Jerry Angelo conducted it (with unnamed sources stating that Emery and the Bears were indeed using Angelo's draft board to conduct the 2012 Draft)? And what kind of coach will he be looking for to replace Smith who ranks #3 in wins for this historic franchise (fans are screaming GRUDEN! COWHER! REID!)?  

The focus here will be on Smith, but the point I'm trying to make is, although many Bears' fans got their long-time wish of seeing Smith ousted from his position, this mess could have been avoided in the offseason with better personnel decisions and a direction that everybody in the organization--from the owners down to the vendors--could follow without hesitation.  Remember, this Bears' team was supposed to finish 2012 no better than 3rd place in the NFC NORTH Division.  There were no realistic Super Bowl aspirations.  Coming into kickoff 2012, this team looked old and slow on defense and very sluggish on offense. 

However, once the season got going, the Chicago Bears turned into the 2012 Chicago White Sox--a team with low expectations coming into the season who suddenly sees themselves contending for a division, only to choke it away in the end. The differences between both Chicago teams are obvious, the most important being that Smith, despite having the ability to get the most out of his players to begin the season,  had worn out his welcome after 9 seasons with the fans, media, and the team's front office; while rookie manager, Robin Ventura will not be tethered to a tight leash for a long while.  

Smith's faults are many: a pompous attitude towards media and fans that many of his players picked up on and showcased as well (Brian Urlacher being his strongest supporter and imitator); a conservative approach on offense ("we're a running team. We come running out of the bus."); terrible clock management; an inability to make halftime adjustments as mentioned before on this site; not winning in December; not being able to beat the Green Bay Packers as promised; not being able to come up with an adequate offensive line; the list goes on and on.

On the plus side, his achievements are worth mentioning one more time: 3rd place among Bears' head coaches in terms of wins; coaching a defensive squad that rivals any other great defenses in NFL history; making it to the Super Bowl; having a disciplined team; cultivating a culture where there was no finger-pointing or players blaming other players for the team's short-comings (which we have seen, in the NFL, that is a very common occurrence among most teams); the unhesitant support from his players, from both sides of the ball, through success and failures (once again, in the NFL, once players stop believing in a coach, that coach is doomed). 

Many Bears' fans were overjoy when news of Smith's firing became official, but among the NFL fans across the U.S., they were left pretty perplexed at the move by Emery. Despite the low expectations, the Bears were still a Minnesota Vikings' loss from making the playoffs. Of all the coaches that were fired on "Black Monday," Smith was the only coach who finished 2012 with a winning record. Smith's club was also the only team that finished with 10 wins and not make the playoffs. However, Emery was determined to hire his own coach to start his administration as Bears' GM and this was the perfect reason to ax Smith. Can't really blame Emery for wanting to start his career with his own, hand-picked head coach. The only reason Smith was able to start the 2012 campaign as head coach was because Bears' ownership did not want to pay millions of dollars for Smith to stay at home and collect paychecks from his former employer. 

So while Bears' fans wonder who will be the new head coach for their beloved team, we try to figure out, with each subsequent article, what really went wrong for the team and what the firing means for the future of the franchise.

Part II of the Lovie Smith saga can be read here.

Why the Green Bay Packers Scare Me

Felipe M.

The Packers go into Sunday's NFC title game as 3 point favorites. The way I have observed these two teams playing, the Packers might be able to win by at least 7. Here are some reasons why the Packers might make this Sunday another huge disappointment in Beasrs' playoff history:

• That defense is ferocious. Especially against the Bears, who last I checked, only scored one offensive TD against this team in both of their regular season games. Many experts would say that the Bears were lucky to win the first game and should have lost by more in the second game. Also, it seems that the Bears don't do very well against 3-4 base defenses where Dom Capers' complex zone-blitz schemes seem to confuse and rattle an already suspect Bears' offensive line. Plus add that Mike Martz really hates succumbing to a short pass scheme to counteract said blitzes, and Jay Cutler's stubborness and tendencies to make questionable throws and this game might get ugly really quickly.

• Let me ask you this; which coaching staff would you trust more? Lovie Smith's or Mike McCarthy? Last January, the entire city of Chicago wanted Lovie to be terminated from his head coaching position and a lot of the coaches who call the offensive and defensive plays were Lovie's desperate hires after all of his first choices snubbed his offers to coach for this team and move on to greener pastures. I personally like Lovie Smith, but he sometimes seems to be overmatched in terms of scheme and strategy, especially in the 2nd half of games.

The Bears defense has been great, but a lot of weaknesses were exposed against Seattle, mainly that Tampa 2 defensive base that Lovie continues to stubbornly use despite getting burned in games against the top-passing teams in the NFL. Lovie's 4-3, cover 2 defense works fine when all 11 players are highly talented and are in sync with each other. However, they face the hottest QB in the NFL in Aaron Rodgers and he is packed with healthy weapons at receiver and at running back. The Packers also have a porous offensive line, but the Packers have killed the Bears in the past (no matter who their QB is) with screen plays to counteract a highly aggressive, Bears' front four that is lead by Julius Peppers. Even more worrisome, the Packers no longer have to set up screen plays to mimick a lackluster running game because their running attack has been finally established at the right time with James Starks running the ball enough to keep opposing defenses honest and giving Rodgers more time in the pocket to make big plays.

So that is why the Packers scare me for this Sunday's game. I've been burned before by other Bears' teams hosting playoff games before and I have a really bad feeling about this one. Lucky for all of us, my "bad feelings" are usually valid 50% of the time. Please feel free to comfort me as I go to bed with nightmares of Aaron Rodgers mutilating the Bears' zone defense.



GO BEARS!!!!!