Greg Gabriel Comments on Caleb Hanie.........

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07-11-2011, 12:29 PM
soulman

Greg Gabriel Comments on Caleb Hanie.........

Forget about the topic. Gabriel makes some great observations about Hanie and his future in the NFL. More than anything else this HOF Game will be a chance to watch him lead Martz's offense.

Hall of Fame game will be worth watching -- if it's played. Greg Gabriel
http://s7.addthis.com/static/btn/sm-share-en.gifJuly 08, 2011, 04:00 PM EST
7 Comments

http://cdn.cloudfiles.mosso.com/c191.../static/NL.png If the lockout ends soon and training camps open on time, the first game we will be able to watch is the Hall of Fame game with Chicago playing St. Louis. Because it’s an extra game, the Bears will probably play backup QB Caleb Hanie much of the night. If you recall, Hanie played fairly well in the second half of the NFC Championship game last January.

I could not figure out why he was the third QB during the season. He clearly was more talented than last year’s backup, Todd Collins. In his three years in the league he has played consistently well in the preseason, showing mobility, arm strength and good decision making. Last year when the Bears had a new offensive coordinator (Mike Martz) and scheme, the feeling was they needed a veteran backup who new Martz’ offensive system in case something happened to Jay Cutler. Having never been around Hanie, Martz did not know how talented he was, and when he hurt his shoulder in preseason, the Bears went out and signed Todd Collins. Collins had proved for years that he wasn’t a good NFL player and in my opinion the signing was a waste. All it did was slow Hanie’s development. In the few games that Collins played during the season he was terrible! I was around Hanie for two years and I know he is a winner, a gamer and a leader. He just needs experience. I have no doubt that he can be an NFL starting quarterback in the future.

On the Rams roster, the players I want to see are Sam Bradford, receiver Mark Clayton and first-round pick Robert Quinn. Bradford was a leader of the Rams’ lockout workouts and with a year of experience under his belt he should be able to take charge from the get go. Things are no longer new to him.
http://cdn.cloudfiles.mosso.com/c191...bert-Quinn.jpgICONRobert Quinn missed the 2010 college season, but he's an intriguing defensive prospect for the Rams.

Clayton did not get to play much last year before he was injured. He has the opportunity to be the Rams’ number one receiver and be a big help to Bradford. Quinn hasn’t played since the 2009 college season. In a situation like this, his natural talent and instincts should take over if he is in good condition. We know because of the lockout, he will know little about the Rams defense. I want to see what his natural pass rush talent is and he should have opportunities in this game. He probably will be going against the Bears first-round pick, tackle Gabe Carimi. It could prove to be an interesting matchup. What could prevent this matchup is after we get a new CBA the rookies are slow to sign. Here’s hoping that both the agents and management work hard to get all the rookies in camp quickly.
07-11-2011, 12:35 PM
soulman

Great compliments on Hanie and his abilities as an NFL QB. The Bears would be very smart to get him signed to a lengthy extension. If by chance Cutler fails as the Bears QB or gets injured we'll have a very good backup in place. If not then Hanie will probably have significant trade value in another year or two and if Enderle has shown that he's a capable NFL QB too either he Hanie may fetch higher draft picks in trade.

I'm a huge Caleb Hanie fan and personally I hope that we don't trade him but if it's inevitable because he's a guy who could start for other teams then at least I want to see us get a good price for him. There's no way we should let him become a free agent IMO.
07-11-2011, 02:35 PM
short faced bear

Gabriel's comments only seem to lend more credence to the fact that Collins was a giant fail as well as calling into question Martz's ability to accurately judge the supposed thing he has a knack for- evaluate qb's. I give him a pass on not knowing what he had in Bennett as he claims b/c of injury but this gets the doubts up a bit.
07-11-2011, 02:59 PM
soulman

Quote:

Originally Posted by short faced bear

Gabriel's comments only seem to lend more credence to the fact that Collins was a giant fail as well as calling into question Martz's ability to accurately judge the supposed thing he has a knack for- evaluate qb's. I give him a pass on not knowing what he had in Bennett as he claims b/c of injury but this gets the doubts up a bit.

For as short a time as he had been the OC I think Lovie and JA gave Martz far to much power and authority at the beginning of last season as far as the offense was concerned. I think that came about because of their own lack of knowledge on the offensive side of the football. Something we've all known to be true.

Luckily we also had Mike Tice who as a former college QB and NFL HC did have the requisite offensive knowledge to suggest that Lovie reign Martz in a bit. Martz's play calling improved but his biggest sin was still stubbornly insisting on using Collins after he'd proven so ineffective in the Carolina game. Instead of keeping his #2 spot he should have been cut and then he would never have even been a factor in the Championship Game.

I've never been a big Mike Martz fan. I thought he was a very poor choice for OC when they hired him and if he doesn't significantly improve the offense this year I hope they don't extend his deal and turn the offense over to Tice or anyone else more suited to run an offense based on the personnel we have rather than what we don't have.
07-11-2011, 08:17 PM
Riczaj01

While it would suck for Cutler, I don't disagree, Martz was another Buddy hire by Smith and Co. And for all the praise he got, his O was worse then any RT O statistically speaking, and RT had Rex, Orton, and Cutler on top of a shitty OL.

I really hope the O improves and Martz figures it out, only for Cutlers sake.
07-11-2011, 10:25 PM
soulman

Quote:

Originally Posted by Riczaj01

While it would suck for Cutler, I don't disagree, Martz was another Buddy hire by Smith and Co. And for all the praise he got, his O was worse then any RT O statistically speaking, and RT had Rex, Orton, and Cutler on top of a shitty OL.

I really hope the O improves and Martz figures it out, only for Cutlers sake.

He needs to reign in that ego of his and mold his offense around what he has not what he hasn't got. The guy is an offensive genius but unfortunately for him that genius can't be used effectively in the NFCN. He should already have learned that. The Bears are not and never have been a great passing team. In the entire history of the team we don't have one QB or one WR on any all time leader list.

Given the weather and field conditions we play in late in the year this team needs to win with a balanced offense that emphsizes the run and ball control. Couple that with our defense and we win games. Depart from that, like he did early last year, and we lose. I want to see him improve Cutler and our passing game but not to the point that he tries to do a Ram style makeover. It just won't work IMO.
07-11-2011, 10:44 PM
short faced bear

Quote:

Originally Posted by soulman

He needs to reign in that ego of his and mold his offense around what he has not what he hasn't got. The guy is an offensive genius but unfortunately for him that genius can't be used effectively in the NFCN. He should already have learned that. The Bears are not and never have been a great passing team. In the entire history of the team we don't have one QB or one WR on any all time leader list.

Given the weather and field conditions we play in late in the year this team needs to win with a balanced offense that emphsizes the run and ball control. Couple that with our defense and we win games. Depart from that, like he did early last year, and we lose. I want to see him improve Cutler and our passing game but not to the point that he tries to do a Ram style makeover. It just won't work IMO.

Good points Soul. I think Martz would be more of a "mad" genius if he was able to use a conventional offense (making him "unconventional" in a sense) and controlling his tendencies.
07-12-2011, 10:58 AM
soulman

Quote:

Originally Posted by short faced bear

Good points Soul. I think Martz would be more of a "mad" genius if he was able to use a conventional offense (making him "unconventional" in a sense) and controlling his tendencies.

Succesful coaches are flexible enough to mold their team around it's strong points and not try to make weak points strong when they don't have the horses to do it. Martz's rep was built around indoor passing teams. What he has now is an outdoor running team and if he can't adapt his offense to that he's not the guy we need as our OC. My guess is that if he doesn't improve the offense this year they won't bring him back next year. At least that's my hope.
07-12-2011, 11:06 AM
short faced bear

Quote:

Originally Posted by soulman

Succesful coaches are flexible enough to mold their team around it's strong points and not try to make weak points strong when they don't have the horses to do it. Martz's rep was built around indoor passing teams. What he has now is an outdoor running team and if he can't adapt his offense to that he's not the guy we need as our OC. My guess is that if he doesn't improve the offense this year they won't bring him back next year. At least that's my hope.

Well we've been hearing of the "jump" in productivity from year 1 to year 2 so just by that metric they may keep him. I hope the extra time helped him to perhaps work on new dimensions to his tendencies. But like you say I don't think he is the right OC for us.