-
With Cutler Out These Six Need to Step Up...............
With Jay Cutler out, these six Bears need to step up
by rick telander rtelander@suntimes.com November 22, 2011 9:10PM
Updated: November 22, 2011 11:22PM
The ripple effect started as soon as Jay Cutler’s thumb was broken and surgery scheduled. We can count six concentric rings of urgency spreading for the Bears even as Cutler goes under the knife Wednesday morning with the hope of returning by the post-season:
1. Jerry Angelo.
The general manager has basked in the radiant success of his aging defense, the now-cohesive offensive-line play and the stellar passing of Cutler, whose last game was a doomed beauty. There has been no drumbeat to fire Angelo recently, despite some of his drafting mistakes and the way nobody likes GMs. (Not even gonna comment or put Angelo down anymore than I have but at least one other person still thinks he hasn't done enough to assure success)
Success covers all. You think the risky swap of then-starting Bears QB Kyle Orton to the Broncos for the talented but immature Cutler three years ago was a good one? Well, it was brilliant, up until Sunday.
Now, in one of those goofy football ironies, Orton has been released by the Broncos, and Angelo wants him back. But not at any price. You don’t blow up your salary structure for a fill-in quarterback. The Bears have untested, onetime undrafted free agent Caleb Hanie set to step in for Cutler, but it’s for certain he can’t do what Cutler did. Hanie’s arm is to Cutler’s as a popgun is to a Glock. (Not a good comparison at all. Hanie may not have Cutler's arm strength, few do, but he doesn't have a pop gun for an arm. That would be Orton)
Angelo knows all this about Hanie. He also knows Orton has not played in the Bears’ new offensive system. Orton’s offensive coordinator during his Bears years was Ron Turner. Also out there as possibilities are retreads and has-beens such as Josh McCown, Jeff Garcia, Trent Edwards, Brodie Croyle and P.T. Barnum — I mean, J.T. O’Sullivan.
What does Angelo do? To save this 7-3 team, he needs to do something.
2. Matt Forte.
The talented, all-purpose running back who is living on thin ice — does he get his big contract before he gets injured? — needs to carry the ball more than he ever has, to become the heart of the offense.
Last Sunday, Forte carried the ball 20 times and caught four passes. Now he will need to do more of each, especially the running, and not just when the Bears are killing the clock, as six of his carries were against the Chargers.
Does the 25-year-old want to do that? Will he be allowed to? Forced to? (Of course he will nobody on that team has anymore heart than Matt Forte. He'll step up and help his team)
3. Mike Martz.
The offensive coordinator with the playbook that could double as a government document on nuclear fission will need to change his ways.He will need to dumb down, to edit into reality an offense that is built around security and ball control rather than fireworks and scoring. (Now that's funny. The part about his playbook I mean. The rest is dead serious and he better if he wants a job here next season)
He may have to work with a quarterback he has never met. Can he bring out the best in sub-par helmsmen? (He's met him but he just doesn't seem to prefer him. Hanie is not a sub-par backup either and I think even Martz realizes that. This author should too.)
Or is his ego too large and his demands too great? (Of course they are but Hanie's mama is even worse so don't expect him to wither under that, LOL)
4. Brian Urlacher.
The resurgent middle linebacker who’s playing as well as he ever has and has guaranteed his spot as a future Hall of Famer must now become a sort of defensive quarterback.
The Bears’ defense, in a way, is now the Bears’ offense. The defense should have a goal of scoring or creating at least two touchdowns per game. And Urlacher must be the one to create that urgency, to make his teammates see this as an opportunity rather than a burden. (The team is down by one leader so the other has to pick up the slack for both. This is where Urlacher starts taking over games like he has in the past. Picks, fumble recoveries, and key sacks are the recipe for the defense now)
Urlacher and pal Lance Briggs could both be Hall of Famers were the two longtime linebackers to lead this 7-3 team to another Super Bowl. Possible? Isn’t football all about never giving in? (To Lombardi and Halas is was)
5. Devin Hester.
The Bears’ transcendent kick and punt returner needs to give the appearance of being able to score on every change of possession. He is that threat. He, too, will be a Hall of Famer, something nobody thought a special-teams guy should be. (What is this "give the appearance bullshit"? He already does more than that. He is able to score everytime he touches the ball so what more proof do you need. Where the hell have you been all this time Telander.....Mars???)
Can he scare the other teams into punting out of bounds? Can he rack up yards so the offense doesn’t have to? Does the Indy car have an 11th gear? (Yes, yes and who the hell cares about Indy cars? He has the best overdrive in the return game.)
6. Lovie Smith.
The coach has, like Angelo, been given a pass since his team has recovered from its 2-3 start and won five in a row. Nobody was calling for Lovie’s head after things settled down and Martz became controllable and the loss of rookie Gabe Carimi at the critical left-tackle spot was smoothed over. Amazing, but Smith is now in his eighth season as the Bears’ coach, and his excitement knob still only goes to about 2 or 3. Folks don’t care, as long as the W’s flow. (Of course! Do you know anything about Bears fans and Bears football and Bears traditions at all?)
But nothing is the same now. Cutler has simply continued the Bears’ desperate search for a franchise quarterback who can stay in control for many years.Jim McMahon couldn’t stay healthy back in the day. And nobody else has had the talent and the fire that Mad Mac did. Except Cutler, the most talented ever. (Yeah and damn sight more durable than Mac at his best. Cutler isn't 6'1 and 190 lbs)
What Lovie has to do now, quite simply, is coach. Hard and well.
Can he do that? (Yes I believe he can. I have more faith in the "new Lovie" than I ever have had before. Just someone please drug him on the sidelines during the game the next time he wants to "ice the kicker" on a 50 yard FG or try a fake punt up by 11 points in the final two minutes of a game)
I'm getting to that age where a lifetime warranty just doesn't mean as much to me anymore as an afternoon nap. 
Honey Badger Don't Care. Honey Badger Don't Give a Shit.
-
-
Jerry Angelo can do this team mucho good right now by assuring he has the right pieces in place to keep the roll going. Personally I thought he should have signed the vet OT Tice had worked with before they had in for a tryout, Jordan Black, but if he wasn't in playing shape and Horn was I'm probably just as happy. Maybe even more happy if Horn turns out to be a keeper. We need young lineman more than 31 year old vets just as long as their skills are comparable and as long as it keeps OMG off the field I'm a happy camper.
The vet QB landscape is pretty bleak right now but maybe God felt bad for that Packer favoring dirty trick he played on us by breaking Cutler's thumb so he had the Broncos cut Orton just in time for us to renew old acquaintances. Pull the trigger Jerry. There probably aren't enough good reasons not to except his paycheck and you of all people should be able to con you way around that.
Matt Forte and Brian Urlacher will take up the charge and help Caleb Hanie keep this streak alive. Forte is a gutsy player with huge talent and he'll find a way to make it easier for the offense against these next few teams. If they blitz the hell out of Hanie then Forte gets in the way of some nice screen passes and takes at least one for major yardage per game. Draw plays work nicely too and if the Broncos send Dumervil and Miller on search and destroy missions you can easily run inside them. The Bronco defense is soft up the middle.
Uralcher needs to be one some sort of personal mission to pick, sack cause and recover at every possible opporunity and he can also get Briggs and Pep to join in to make life hell for QB's and RB's. Wright and Conte get the CB's backs up the middle so we can press more and take away the pass. We don't face another Vincent Jackson until Greg Jennings comes along.
Martz will be Martz but at the very least he seems to be Martz on a leash now. Above all he has to get much better with his playcalling inside the ten. Hanie can't fit the ball into the windows that Cutler can. Using those 6'7" mini tackles you have with the 80's numbers on their backs might be a good idea Mike. Why not put what's been working against us to work for us. No wonder Briggs is so bad at covering TE's on the goaline. He never gets any practice at it.
"In Lovie we trust". I like this new improved version now that I know what he's been seeing and how he's dealing with it. If this team makes it to the NFCC Game again win or lose he gets my vote for "Coach of the Year". He still needs a fulltime gameday consultant though to tell him when to challenge, when not to challenge, to call his timeouts for him and intercept signals for fake punts when leading the game in the final two minutes. Other than that I trust him.
I'm getting to that age where a lifetime warranty just doesn't mean as much to me anymore as an afternoon nap. Honey Badger Don't Care. Honey Badger Don't Give a Shit.
-
what a joke of an article.
How can Forte give more than he already has?
Same with Hester on his returns.
Angelo can't really do shit right now as there are no more trades and nothing worth while in free agency
Urlacher is playing like he is still in his prime
And Lovie has gotten this team playing better than we have seen it in years (including last year it seems)
someone just had nothing else to write about
-
High Fives / Like - 4 BEAR DOWN!, 0 Dislikes
-
This team can still be as good as last year's team down the stretch even without Cutler. Remember when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Well, I do. Damn Huns. I knew that they were up to no good.
But all kidding aside, I think this team is already better than last year, and that even without Cutler, they are at least as good as last year's team simply because the offensive line is light years ahead of what it was like this time last year. I don't think we will win more than four games the rest of the way, but that still opens us up nicely to finish 11-5, and that should easily get us into the playoffs. Detroit will lose at least two more games (both to the Packers). We should wind up with the fifth playoff slot.
-
High Fives / Like - 1 BEAR DOWN!, 0 Dislikes
-
Originally Posted by
Dagan81 
This team can still be as good as last year's team down the stretch even without Cutler. Remember when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Well, I do. Damn Huns. I knew that they were up to no good.
But all kidding aside, I think this team is already better than last year, and that even without Cutler, they are at least as good as last year's team simply because the offensive line is light years ahead of what it was like this time last year. I don't think we will win more than four games the rest of the way, but that still opens us up nicely to finish 11-5, and that should easily get us into the playoffs. Detroit will lose at least two more games (both to the Packers). We should wind up with the fifth playoff slot.
And that was before they developed the ultra long-range bombers. They were gonna go after Japan next themselves.
I'm getting to that age where a lifetime warranty just doesn't mean as much to me anymore as an afternoon nap. Honey Badger Don't Care. Honey Badger Don't Give a Shit.
-
High Fives / Like - 1 BEAR DOWN!, 0 Dislikes
-
Originally Posted by
soulman And that was before they developed the ultra long-range bombers. They were gonna go after Japan next themselves.
Now you're talking like the Germans were going to go on a "Doolittle Raid" like campaign.
I'm starting to grow more confident about how things will go Sunday. I'm definitely going to be up for watching the Packers/Lions game. At this point, I am all for Green Bay whipping the Lions because that would put us firmly in control of the fifth playoff spot. I really don't know who can beat the Packers at this point in the season now. No one, and I mean no one, seems to have a defense capable of stopping Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers is his own worse enemy, and he called this past Sunday's performance a terrible one. Wow. 299 passing yards, 2-3 touchdowns, and a whopping interception accounts for things being bad? Fuck that!
-
Originally Posted by
Dagan81 Now you're talking like the Germans were going to go on a "Doolittle Raid" like campaign.
I'm starting to grow more confident about how things will go Sunday. I'm definitely going to be up for watching the Packers/Lions game. At this point, I am all for Green Bay whipping the Lions because that would put us firmly in control of the fifth playoff spot. I really don't know who can beat the Packers at this point in the season now. No one, and I mean no one, seems to have a defense capable of stopping Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers is his own worse enemy, and he called this past Sunday's performance a terrible one. Wow. 299 passing yards, 2-3 touchdowns, and a whopping interception accounts for things being bad? Fuck that!
Well what good is world domination if you have to share it with a bunch of little guys who like raw fish instead of sauerbraten and kraut?
I'm getting to that age where a lifetime warranty just doesn't mean as much to me anymore as an afternoon nap. Honey Badger Don't Care. Honey Badger Don't Give a Shit.
-
Originally Posted by
The Benjamin what a joke of an article.How can Forte give more than he already has?Same with Hester on his returns.Angelo can't really do shit right now as there are no more trades and nothing worth while in free agencyUrlacher is playing like he is still in his primeAnd Lovie has gotten this team playing better than we have seen it in years (including last year it seems)someone just had nothing else to write about
My thoughts exactly! He named the ones on the team that already do step up. How about this list.... Obviously Hanie. ... I'll agree with Martz. The wizard needs to design some plays that work with Hanie. ... E. Will needs to make few mistakes in his new role at LG. ... The combined young group of safeties... Spaeth and K. Davis... The interior Dline.... Roy W...
-
High Fives / Like - 2 BEAR DOWN!, 0 Dislikes
-
Originally Posted by
The Benjamin what a joke of an article.
How can Forte give more than he already has?
Same with Hester on his returns.
Angelo can't really do shit right now as there are no more trades and nothing worth while in free agency
Urlacher is playing like he is still in his prime
And Lovie has gotten this team playing better than we have seen it in years (including last year it seems)
someone just had nothing else to write about
Yeah, one of those "if you give a million monkeys typewriters" kind of articles. Looks like he had very little to do and almost nothing useful to say. Telander writes like he hasn't got a clue about the reality of it all. Comparing Hanie's arm to a "pop gun" is just way wrong. Somebody told him he owed the paper a column so this is what they got.
I'm getting to that age where a lifetime warranty just doesn't mean as much to me anymore as an afternoon nap. Honey Badger Don't Care. Honey Badger Don't Give a Shit.
LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
Reply With Quote
