Thread: Pompeii's Mailbag; Q&A on Bears From Readers Like Us.................

Reader Q&A: Dan Pompei's Bears mailbag

The Tribune's Bears columnist fields questions on Earl Bennett's orange cleats, the lack of national acclaim for Lovie Smith and more in his weekly mailbag.

Earl Bennett takes the field Sunday in orange cleats for the Bears' game against the Lions. (Scott Strazzante, Chicago Tribune / November 13, 2011)

By Dan Pompei Chicago Tribune reporter 12:18 p.m. CST, November 17, 2011


A number of readers responded to my column about Devin Hester's "flu game" Sunday by asking about another flu game. I was remiss for not mentioning Walter Payton's famous flu game in the story.

On Nov. 20, 1977, Walter Payton played a game against the Vikings with a severe case of the flu. He was vomiting before the game and feeling very weak. Bears offensive tackle Ted Albrecht later told the Tribune he remembered propping up Payton in the huddle between plays with help from receiver James Scott. "He was so tired, pretty quiet, didn't say a whole lot," Albrecht said. "I kept saying, 'Historical day. This will be for all time.'"

Why was it so historical? Well, when it was over, Payton had rushed 40 times for a then-NFL record 275 yards. (Walter may be gone but he still serves as an inspiration to players today)

Will the NFL really instruct the refs to kick Earl Bennett out of the game in a few weeks if he continues to wear orange cleats? Brian J. Balkam, from Twitter

It is possible, but I have a strong (educated) hunch that we have seen the last of Bennett's orange shoes. Here is how it the system works: A first-time offender of the uniform code is fined $5,000. A second-time offender is fined $10,000. Bennett is a two-time offender for his orange shoes. A repeat offender beyond the second violation could be fined more. But the NFL tries to help players avoid those fines by having a uniform inspector at each game. The uniform inspectors almost always are former players. At Soldier Field, Brian Baschnagel is the uniform inspector. The inspector will approach a player in violation before a game and either warn him, or tell him he will not be allowed to take the field. Once the game has started, the uniform inspector will not get involved, but the officials can remove the player from the game. (BB the 1st is the Bears uniform Nazi???? Oh bad gig!)

If you just look at the numbers, Lovie Smith should be mentioned with the best NFL coaches but you never hear his name nationally. Why? Jermaine Jones from Twitter

It's a good question. The only active coaches who have won 70 games faster than Smith are Andy Reid and Mike Shanahan. I agree that Smith doesn't seem to be respected as much as he should be. Some of it might be that Smith doesn't do a very good job of promoting himself. Some of it may be that he is perceived as a "system" coach, as opposed to an innovator or creative thinker. And some of it may be that hardly any coaches are very well respected anymore. Reid is under fire in Philadelphia. Shanahan is in trouble in Washington. Even Bill Belichick, who widely is regarded as the best coach in the NFL, has been criticized recently for his personnel moves. It seems as if every NFL coach is just one bad streak away from being unemployed. Smith not being respected much may be more of a reflection of where the league is, and our society, than the job Smith has done. (Not surprising as seeing how even Bears fans have a love hate relationship with him. Who besides me is for firing Mike Martz after the season is over and offering the OC job and Asst. HC to Shanny?)

From what you've seen, is Lance Louis a better tackle than he is a guard? If so, I think we should keep him there permanently. I know he's obviously undersized for the position, but somehow, magically it's been working ever since he was put out there. Plus, if you look on the other side of the line, Dwight Freeney is barely over six feet and he's a borderline Hall of Famer. George M., Libertyville

We haven't seen enough of Louis at guard to make the ultimate determination about whether he's a better guard or tackle. But I still suspect he's better suited for guard based on his body type. Louis is 6-3, 320. Those are guard dimensions. Most teams look for tackles who are 6-5 or taller. It's one thing for a pass rusher to be short; it's another for an offensive tackle. A pass rusher can use a lack of height to his advantage by getting underneath the pads of blockers and obtaining a leverage advantage. An offensive tackle has to block too many different kinds of pass rushers to be able to get by without good height and long arms. A short pass rusher is particularly compromised against speed rushers because it becomes difficult for smaller blockers to reach fast pass rushers who take a wide angle to the quarterback. All that being said, Louis has held up pretty well at right tackle so far. (I'd sure give him an A for effort so far if not for results. The guy has handled some of the best pass rushers in the league the last four weeks and that I know of hasn't given up a sack. I'm still sure he'll be moved back to RG when Carimi returns though but it's nice to have a guy who can line up at both spots and do the job. I'd say he's won himself a permanent home here.)

"I have been as critical of the OL as anyone over the last three seasons" and I feel now that I have been proven wrong. This unit has played really well and looks young and physical. Would you consider J'Marcus Webb, Lance Louis and Gabe Carimi as long-term building blocks for this team? Conrad, Chicago (OK, which one of you guys is Conrad from Chicago, LOL)

It's starting to look that way. It's a little early to say any of the three is proven, though. They need to play more and play well consistently before anyone can say without hesitation that they will be future stars. Webb has had a pretty good season and has shown steady improvement. Louis has shown versatility and toughness. Carimi showed a lot of potential before getting hurt in the second game. (Can't disagree with those observations. They're playing better now that they were at the end of the 2010 season)

I know that Olin Kreutz not being a Bear anymore is old news but I was wondering if the Bears had given Olin a new deal, do you think he would have left the team like he did the Saints? Brandon, Wisconsin (What's it to ya'"cheesehead"? )

I would bet big money that if Kreutz had re-signed with the Bears, he'd still be the team's starting center. Kreutz "lost his passion" for the game mostly because of how his role was developing in New Orleans. He didn't fit in with the Saints like he did with the Bears, and that led him down the retirement road. (The real question now that Garza and Spencer have done so well is whether or not we'd be better with him or as we are without him. Still sorry to see him go. That's one guy I think should haved been able to leave the game as a Chicago Bear)

I have not heard any gripes about the Solder Field turf lately and we are well into November. Is this because the players think it has become better compared to past years (and preseason) or is the media not obsessing over it? George, Norfolk, Va.

The grass has not been terrible, in part because the weather has been good. I talked to a couple of players who said they have found the grass at Soldier Field to be about what it normally is. But as the weather gets worse, the field is going to get worse, too. That's just a fact of nature. (The turf has looked pretty good but the growing season is just now ending so let's see where we're at a month from now. If it's still good then since George McCaskey found a new turf supplier maybe he can find a new GM who knows how to find good OLineman and Wide Receivers in the draft.)

With as little confidence as Jay Cutler clearly has in most of his wide receiver cast, why not give Sam Hurd more of a shot? Good hands, tough. Philbeart, from Twitter

It seems as if Hurd comes through every time he's given an opportunity. That follows a pattern for Hurd, who did the same thing in Dallas. You may be onto something. Hurd may not be as physically talented as the Bears' other receivers, but he gets the job done. (That's the very same question I've been asking Philbeart. He's roughly RWill's size but has more speed, gets open and catches the ball when it's thrown to him. The only thing RWill has over him is about 15 lbs and in RWill's case it's all located in his ego)

This has been bothering me ever since Week 2 when that head-hunter Roman Harper speared Earl Bennett in the chest. There was no penalty and no fine on the play. Bennett missed five and a half games. Did the Bears even bother to inform the NFL to review this blatant hit? Ron Natale, Batavia

The Bears were not up in arms over the hit, and the NFL did not deem it to be an illegal hit. I don't think it's fair to call it a "spear." It was just an unfortunate hit in the wrong spot for Bennett. Part of the game. (Agreed. I think he caught him just right and badly bruised his sternum and it would have been real painful to keep getting hit there if he'd played before it healed. Deep briuses take a long time to heal)

The age of the Bears defense (especially Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs, Charles Tillman and Julius Peppers) may mean that they only have two or three years left before rebuilding. If the Colts get Andrew Luck and refuse Peyton Manning's option, "would it be crazy" to step in, bet the farm and sign Manning for three years, trade Jay Cutler for a first/second or wide receiver and go for it? Perhaps with Matt Forte, a strong defense and Mike Martz, this would be an ideal place for Manning. JK, Marietta, Ga. (Yes it would be very crazy since Maning may be one game away from being finished as a player)

I don't think that would be a sound approach. Going for broke and trying to win it all in a short period of time hardly ever works out well. A more balanced way of doing it is trying to be competitive every year. That means reloading on the run, bit by bit. You never want to get to a point where the cupboard is bare if you can avoid it. If Cutler continues to progress, it doesn't make any sense to trade him. It's hard to plug in a quarterback, even one as talented as Manning, and have automatic offense. Continuity will help Cutler, the Bears offense and the team overall be the best they can be. (What a defense full of aging stars who will be difficult if not impossible to replace means is that Cutler and the offense will need to get stronger during the next few years. We can't depend on this level of defensive play forever)

When was the last time the Bears won a road playoff game? Jerod Ruleaux, from Twitter

It's been a while: 17 years, to be exact. The Bears' last road victory was on Jan. 1, 1995 when they defeated the Vikings 35-18 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Dave Wannstedt was the head coach and Steve Walsh was the quarterback. (Two names I'd almost forgotten until you brought them up Dan)
dpompei@tribune.com

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