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Bear Weather. A long-storied, often touted theme for the Chicago Bears. They're from the "Windy City", their stadium is on the lake. The cold and the snow and all of the accompanying weather oddities always factors as a plus for the Chicago Bears, making their opponents tremble in fear. These conditions are supposed to be the key for the Chicago Bears, especially as they try to clinch those always important late-season victories.
But is the idea of "Bear Weather" still relevant for the 2010 Chicago Bears? As disappointing as it may be for you to hear, fellow Bears enthusiasts, the answer is "No."
From their inception, the Bears have always maintained the image of a hard-nosed, tough-playing, always-fighting cold weather team. With a gameplan typically predicated on staunch defense, and a punishing, pounding defense, Adverse weather conditions often played right into the (sometimes) well-laid plans of various coaching staffs.
The "Bear Weather" sensibility is one of those mantras that is continually repeated by coaches, players, and fans alike. Much like making sure your favorite jersey is on, and you're sitting in your favorite chair with the remote in the exact right spot, it is, for lack of a better term, sports-meatball type of thinking that just doesn't jive with where the organization is at this point.
The Chicago Bears are no longer really built for this style of play.The defensive scheme they have in place is predicated on smaller, quicker guys with quick feet getting to ball carriers and making plays. Rain, sleet, and snow do not lend well to this mantra. While the conditions affect both teams, it's particularly tough for an undersized defensive end to gain leverage and and edge on a guard or tackle who is much larger than they.
Even more concerning...the offense isn't built for this style of play any more. The Martzfense (which I plan on making stick), historically, is constructed around quick, crisp route running, and an awful lot of passing. This simply doesn't gel with the idea of smash-mouth, between the tackles running that "Bear Weather" typically required
In short...the speed and athleticism of this team is its biggest strength, and old notions and silly phrases aren't going to help them succeed. So let's melt the idea of "Bear Weather" once and for all.
(Though it never hurts to be able to play in the cold. Those late-season Lambeau games can be brutal...just ask Tom Coughlin.)
