The Silver Lining in a Lost Season

But I’m afraid Jerry as well as the entire front office will play the injury card to save their respective butts and use it as an excuse to not do anything meaningful in terms of seeking improvements to the team, especially to the receiving corps.

injuries for sure killed the Bears’ season, but that can’t be used as an excuse by the management. Hopefully George McCaskey feels the same way and takes the neccessary actions.

I don’t think special teams has missed Mannelly as much as we thought they would. Tyler Clutts is a beast

I can’t stand the thought of the entire offense and new additions, having to go through another philosophical and terminological change.

Jay was just starting to become an elite QB. It would be a mistake to stunt his growth yet again.

Biggest needs:

WR, OT, CB, LB, backup QB, and DE (in that order).

I agree with your view on the Martz’s offense. In addition, many people see the offensive scheme issue in a very black/white terms. Actually though, the Bears have never run a true Martz offense throughout his tenure here. Someone on the coaching staff has always had to keep Martz in check. Since the Monday night disaster and throughout the 5-game winning streak, the Bears have been employing a considerably modified offensive gameplan. (1:28) It’s clear that Martz is burdensome, and a new offensive scheme would be a very laborious task. Our best option could very well be promoting one of our current members on the coaching staff.

Only today. And we pissed that away….

Next season should be “All-In”. If we survive the year mostly healthy and without regression on defense, anything less than a Super Bowl appearance will be a disappointment.

5) Whose to say that next year we won’t sustain similar injuries?

4) yes, a higher draft pick is nice, but I disagree about the whole “JA returning is okay business”. It’s not okay. He’s had a decade to build a team, and has nothing to show for it other than should’ve would’ve could’ve seasons. Furthermore, ask yourself if you really trust JA with his drafting. If the answer is no, then he should be removed. Also, when will Chicago let go of 1985 as being acceptable as our last year to win the Superbowl and start demanding a winning team now?

3) Last year we reached the NFCCG, and most of us around here thought JA would make a FA splash to push the Bears over the hump. Roy Williams was his answer. Basically, all I’m saying is don’t get your hopes up. I figure if JA sticks around we’ll be discussing more retreads next year.

2) Agreed. Martz’s system has been flawed, and I don’t see how a “genius” is so “genius” that everyone has figured out his system and how to stop it. Furthermore, even if it would work, we don’t have the O-Line or WRs to make it run. I’d prefer a West Coast offense back in Chicago again tailored to Cutler’s strengths as a mobile QB.

1) I don’t view an easier schedule as either a plus or minus over the long run. Sure, it may help us reach the playoffs easier next year, but I want the Bears to become a perennial contended capable of beating any team, not just the 3rd string teams in the league.

5) Health is a given. ALL NFL teams get a clean healthy slate coming into a season. This is not a net gain. Injuries happen and you need to have depth.

4) Better draft pick? What exactly is JA going to do with a better draft pick? Besides, this is no consolation. A better draft pick means your team sucked and more often than not you watched them lose. I’ll take 11-5 and a shot at knocking Green Bay off than a high draft pick.

3) More willing to make a big splash in free agency? What are you basing that on? Why wouldn’t they have done that THIS year? There was no bigger need than offensive line and wide receiver last off-season and the Bears did not achieve any success in either one of those areas. In order for Martzfense to work, you need receivers who can run routes and block down field and an Oline that can give the QB time for the play to develop.

We’ve gotten very little of either this year. There is zero reason to believe that either one of these things will be addressed in a meaningful way this off-season. I’ll give JA credit for bringing in Peppers and Cutler and having some depth at running back. Unfortunately, we don’t have adequate depth at most positions and our O line is still bad.

2) More speculation. The Bears could also fire everyone and bring in Cowher and begin the rebuilding process. The Bears could talk Tony Dungy out of retirement and bring Favre in as a QB coach/ 3rd string emergency guy. Plan on Martz being here until you hear otherwise from someone not in your contacts list.

1)Non sequitur. These easy schedules are thing of the past. We beat the teams no one expected us to beat and lost to teams we should have whipped. Next year, these bad teams might make the splash in free agency that you think the Bears will make. Or come back healthy. This is a non-sequitur as it relates to the very arguments you laid out as to why the Bears should be better.

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Here’s the bottom line: all we needed was for Caleb Hanie to hold down the fort for 4-5 weeks. We didn’t need him to come in and be a pro-bowler. We needed him to manage the game and not turn the ball over. Martz didn’t put him into a position to do that and I’m not sure he could have anyway. Either way, this was an epic collapse.

We were 7-3 with winnable games coming down the pipe looking at 11-5 possible and 10-6 very probable and we blew it. That’s the bottom line. That’s not wallowing in anything, that’s just the harsh truth.

This sucks, we are going to finish 7-9. That’s about it.

I am not a fan of Martz. I feel he should be replaced next year and we as fans should not worry about the Bears or Cutler learning a new offensive system. The ugly fashion they have lost and Hanies lack of improvement over the last four games has proven Martz cannot adjust his system to the players he has at hand. A recent report also has Dane Sanzenbacher claiming the offensive play package changes from week to week, essentially saying they add a large portion of new plays each week. Hanie is a poor backup QB, but he showed flashes of being able to run a drive. I would think you need to build off those small successes he was having, however small and infrequent, from game to game to piece together a plan that fits Hanie. John Fox is proof you can adjust on the fly as he sure did a good job of adjusting to Tebow’s strengths. Hanie is bad, but I think it could be that he isn’t properly coached because his OC spends all his time at the drawing board or he is too stupid to remember NFL basics. Perhaps it is both.

Hanie is gone, and I think at this point we should see if Enderle is any good, for next year’s back-up role.

That has the possibility (even if Angelo is the 1 drafting) of the Bears getting some impact players. I also expect the salary cap to jump way up. With the new CBA in place, all the networks re-upping, record ratings; this has to mean huge revenue increases. If the Bears are in fact under the cap now, they’ll continue to be, even with them re-upping Forte, Okoye, and others. I hope JA does go all in and chases after a good guard or LT, a good WR, a good safety or corner, or all 3.

When he was brought here, it was well known his playing style requires a very specific skill set in all positions. How many of those were fulfilled by the front office? Look, I can find the best architect in the world. but if I ask them to build a house, and give them a plastic shovel and a tiny bucket with some sand, do you really think he will do anything? And if the front office willingly brought him here expecting him to work around his style of play, why him and not a guy used to work with a good moving QB and a great RB and questionable in allbother positions? Martz has a lot to answer for, but a lot of the shortcomings we’ve all seen are result of the front office being run by monkeys with a typewritter.

Anyway, rant over.

5) Let’s see how the injuries impacted the players on the long run.

4) We have a monkey drafting. We all know JA is going to get cute with the draft, and waste at least two of the four top three round picks with a “promising project” and a guy why two busted knees.

3) EVIL EVIL MONKEEEEEEEEEEEEY

2) back to my rant.

1) relative. those potential opponents are thinking EXACTLY the same thing.