The things he's had to say about the offense are nice, but all he's really doing is speaking common sense.
Have we really come to this, Bears fans?
Just a few short weeks after being promoted to the offensive coordinator position, and narrowly missing the opportunity to interview for someone else's Head Coach position, Mike Tice is already being very outspoken about how he intends to run his offense.
The only problem is that the things he's saying aren't earth-shattering...they're just common sense.
A lot of people, the Bears included, seemed to have drawn the conclusion that Mike Tice is the only real bridge between the Martzfense and the future for the Chicago Bears. While this indeed may be true, and many people clamored for him because he'd utilize the strengths of his players, it should hardly be enough to get us riled up.
Let's take a look at some of the things Tice had to say to Brad Biggs.
"The biggest strength we have is a quarterback who can make all the throws," Tice said. "We text, we talk on the phone, almost daily. Extensive texting. He's asking a lot of questions and I'm giving him straight up answers. He either likes the answers or he says, 'Oh, OK,' which means he doesn't like some of the answers.
No argument on the first part...we all knew that. Hell, everyone knew that. It's part of the reason the Broncos drafted him, and part of the reason Angelo gave up what he did to get him here. It's great to hear that they're texting and chatting and best buddies, but at the end of the day, they need to get it done. And the things they're saying they're going to do?
"I am tailoring what I am doing to what I've done, which is common sense," Tice said. "Why run it when they have one more guy than you can block? Why not throw it when you have free access and you have a guy who can beat single coverage?
"… To do that you have to have the ability to check at the line of scrimmage, you have to have the ability to have a short passing game. And then I'm a no-huddle guy and we don't have no huddle. … I want to be able to go no huddle and change the rhythm offensively."
It appears, friends, that his big plan is to utilize common sense.
These comments amount to the things that most football fans already know. If the box is stacked, audible to a hot read. Need to keep the defense on it's heels? Don't give them time to regroup. Can your line block deep drops? No? THEN DON'T MAKE THEM BLOCK DEEP DROPS.
We are at a point right now as Bears fans, where hearing people say they're going to use fundamental concepts of football makes us excited. That's not right. We should expect more from the organization, and hopefully they will develop the wherewithal to deliver soon.