jason

Great post.

Don't worry; you know he'll lose.

Does anyone have a link that clearly shows what he's saying, or has audio to hear what he's saying? Thus far the audio is nonexistent, and the video is VERY inconclusive. I've watched it about 30 times and I still can't see the words being reported.

Agreed completely.

You don't know that. The St. Louis offense is in shambles. It's pretty difficult to assess a player's ability in that sort of situation. Kind of like the Bears' passing offense.

True or False: McDonald led the Lions in receptions? True. You can't argue that because it's a statistical fact. I don't care how you think it happened, or why it happened, or how in the world it relates to Favre. It happened. McDonald was #1 on that team in receptions. Period. There is no debate about the Bears not having a legit #1. But as the previous note proves, Kitna spread the ball around a lot and took advantage of multiple other receivers who weren't really that good, and put up huge stats. The #1 guy would help (like the Lions), but you saw what happened last night WITH an OL that protects and WITHOUT a #1. The Bears beat that ass because Cutler spread it around, just like Kitna did. I contend that Kitna spreading it around was a mix of "good OL" and "better WRs" than the Bears, but I also believe, and last night supports, that the "good OL" part of the equation makes not having a #1 minimally painful. Further, I believe that since guys like McDonald and Furrey did so well, the #1 is still not as important as an OL that protects adequately. Once again, last night supports that concept. I think I've stated pretty clearly why good OL and average WRs make an offense work. I believe last night supports it. The Lions example is a decent one for your cause of WR>OL, but I think you severely discount the OL they had. The sacks are misrepresentative because of the sheer number of dropbacks in the Martz offense. The sacks are inevitable. I agree with you that we don't need elite OLinemen, but we need something much better than what we have. I believe last night versus the Vikings was an aberration, and we'll see dark clouds over Cutler's head soon enough. As for your final thought regarding this year's talent, that may be the best reason to support your cause of targeting WR over OL. Even as strong a proponent of OL as I am, if somehow one of the stud WRs fall into the Bears' laps, and no equal talent is there, it wouldn't kill me if a WR was selected. Of course, I'd expect 2 of the next 3 picks to be OL (unless we had some firm hooks on FA OL).

Wow. Some of you must be professional lip readers. I didn't see or hear anything that told me a thing. However, if Cutler hates Martz, I'm more inclined to side with Cutler. He's the franchise player, and needs to be protected and treated as such.

But he got massive production out of McDonald and Furrey! Which means the Bears can surely get great production out of the current cast of WRs if the OL is fixed. Last night against the Vikings should have shown you that the OL was/is more important. Cutler and the WRs had time, and they raped the Vikings secondary as a result of that time. Look, do you want another WR and a continued beating for Cutler (like Kitna on the Lions team you continue to use as an example), or do you want a healthy Cutler picking apart opposing defenses? To me it seems obvious: protect the franchise player. Kitna took a beating those years with Martz in Detroit, despite the stats he put up. I'd prefer if Cutler didn't continue to take a beating. The key to making the Martz offense better is OL play (like 99% of all offenses). Because apparently (McDonald & Furrey), just about any WR can be thrown in for easy stats as long as the QB gets time to throw every once in a while.

As I've been saying for quite some time: Cutler + OL that can give him any sort of time and pocket = Successful offense. I noticed that WRs were open ALL NIGHT LONG. Would I like a #1 like Megatron? Yes. But last night should prove once and for all that if given some time, the WRs can get open and Cutler can throw to them. Even on a few bad throw incompletions the WRs were open.

Interesting write up, but nothing terribly new. We know a perfectly running Martz offense needs: 1) Accurate QB 2) Good-great OL 3) WRs that can get open Arguably, the Bears have #1. I would even submit that they are close on #3. But just about every time #1 and #3 attempt to work well, they step in #2.

The facts: -Rice would have been the Bears best WR ever, but would have not put up the stats he did. Nowhere near. The reasons why are plentiful, but mostly they deal with the Bears 20 year drought at QB, and recent failures at OL. The original comment was in regards to this specific team. And on this specific team, he would have excelled in short/intermediate gains, but would not have had time to develop longer routes. -You're simply wrong on the WRs for Detroit that year. You can't argue the fact that McDonald led the team in receptions and Furrey had more than Calvin. The point to me bringing it up is that Kitna spread the ball around and didn't simply key in on his big WRs, which is what you and many others imply would happen if the Bears went out and got a big #1. If that were the case, then Kitna would have done the same thing and simply defaulted to Roy and Calvin. Problem is, he didn't, so it kind of invalidates that line of flawed reasoning. -I know 1st Rd stud, which is why I put "stud" next to the guys' names who actually are/were studs. You can't argue that Backus, Woody, and Raiola are a great three-man foundation for any OL.

Simply agree to disagree on both. Jerry Rice wouldn't have been able to run the multitude of routes he was able to run with the Niners because our QB can't drop back to 5 or 7 step drops. Therefore the offense is limited to shorter dropbacks and inevitably shorter passes, most of which Rice would have undoubtedly hauled in. As for OL compared to WR and your bad analogy, I think you've conveniently overlooked that Shaun McFreakingDonald led that team in receptions and Mike Furrey had more than Calvin Johnson. The fact these two nobodies contributed so much also takes away from the "Rice would have been just as good and put up just as many stats" line of thought. Also, you COMPLETELY ignored the following: Jeff Backus - OT - 1st Rdr, stud Damien Woody - OG/OT - 1st Rdr, stud Dominic Raiola - C - 2nd Rdr, stud And a few assorted, semi-talented guys like Edwin Mulitalo, George Foster, and Manuel Ramirez. Kitna succeeded because he got ample time to succeed. He wouldn't have gone for over 4000 yards otherwise. Look at his career and show me where else he's had anywhere near that impact. There is no denying the Martz offense gets the QB sacked a lot, but you have to weigh that against the positives. I'd say his stats for those two years speak to this (i.e. lots of yards, best percentage of his career, lots of sacks).

He'd most certainly do better than 50 catches, but he sure as hell wouldn't have turned out to be the Jerry Rice we know. He would have been a great player who never amounted to what he should have. As for an elite WR being as important as an elite OL, I simply disagree. No WR put on this Bears team will turn into an all-star as long as the OL is incapable of protecting for more than 2 seconds on a consistent basis. On the other hand, put together an elite OL and the WRs on this team will have the time to get open. This two may work together, but the WR success depends on the OL more than the other way around.

Bolded: Exactly Lovie: I think the players like playing for him because he is a nice, fairly undemanding HC. That doesn't make him a good coach. That just makes him a nice guy the players like. Martz: Fixing the 57 Chevy with a wrench isn't going to work, that's not on him. So he should make adjustments, right? Well, switching to a screwdriver isn't going to work either. The team just doesn't have capable players to run any competent offense. And don't let the last two games fool you. The rushing attack picked on a very weak Carolina rush defense for big yards, and had a very inconsistent game versus the Lions (half of the runs were for 2 yards or less). Running is working better than passing, but that's because the blocks required take less time. It's not Martz's fault his players suck bad enough that he can't implement a big boy offense of both rushing and passing. Tice: Same as Martz. If Martz gets heat, it's the same for Tice. The success of the OC is dependent on the OL Coach. If Martz is supposed to make these miracle adjustments, then so should Tice. Maybe instead of what he's coaching he should look at some old Denver Broncos game film and teach the OL how to exclusively cut DLinemen. But he has got to get better tools in the toolbox. Marinelli: Fire him. I don't care about his reputation. He, or his coaching, or his scheme, or Lovie's scheme, has turned Peppers into a player not nearly as dominant as he was, and moved around assorted DT, DE, DB, and S players like pawns instead of knights, limiting their movements and possibilities so that they rush without beneficial purpose, cover area without awareness, and tackle without fundamentals. There is a reason every QB the Bears' have played thus far has either torched the defense or had an easy day completing passes, and it's not all on the players. Lovie and Marinelli need to listen to the opposing QBs who say in post-game interviews that the Bears don't change up anything or even attempt to confuse. That's absurd from a coaching perspective.

I like this new guy. I wouldn't mind a probowl WR, but A] It ain't Brandon Lloyd, and B] I don't think the OL will provide Cutler enough time to properly utilize a probowl WR. Until that's fixed, we'll continue to wish we had a #1 WR, because even #1 WRs brought here will flounder. Remember what MuhMuh said, "Where WRs go to die."

You know, some of those are GREAT IDEAS! 1) He'd suck there as well. And he'd take away valuable time from a better player. 2) Great idea! 3) Great idea! And he's tall! 4) Great idea! Could be the hard-nosed backup needed. 5) So-so idea. I still have hope for Melton 6-8) Dislike 9) Bad idea, but funny. "Interception AGAIN from Cutler! Tillman strips and recovers, AGAIN!" 10) I say keep him as ST Coach, but make him the advisor for the OL, just to see if he can get things rolling. Making him the OC implies that he still lets Tice have some freedom with the OL, which is a bad thing.

Has Peppers been on vacation, or has the system and coaching limited him? It's not like he had a ton of talent around him in Carolina, but he seemed to put up ridiculous stats. Now in Chicago he has much better talent around him, but the stats diminish. Double digit sacks pretty much every year before he came to the Bears. And it's not like he wasn't being double-teamed before coming to Chicago. I'm convinced the Bears' coaches ask the DEs to rush to the outside 99% of the time, and probably tell them that containment of the outside edge is more important than pressuring the QB. To the cover-2 coaches, the DTs are supposed to cause pressure when the DEs shorten the length of the pocket. The problem is (if they are doing anything like that), it severely limits an athletic freak like Peppers to just go out there and beat his man. The only things that have changed are the city, the teammates, the field, and the coaches. I don't think the city has anything to do with it and the teammates are improved. Since he's not racking up sacks during away games, I can't blame Soldier Field's sod. So pretty much all that's left is the coaches.

He needs to sit down with Marinelli and look at these two websites: This is one of the ways in which the Bears' defense gets exposed http://smartfootball.com/passing/how-do-yo...-count-the-ways This is almost exactly how the Lions got their second passing TD: http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle...the-dig-pattern

Well, for starters, they could have thrown the checkbook at either Logan Mankins or Matt Light. Or both. It would have been tough for NE to compete in a bidding war with another team for two of their players. I'd go into more detail, but the possibilities are nearly endless. The point is, more could have been done. A lot more. This is a good source (just look for OG, OT, C): http://walterfootball.com/freeagents2011recap.php

Thank you for saving me the time of replying. Anyone rationalizing this OL into something other than "one of, if not the worst in the NFL" is either not watching the games or completely lying to themselves.

I'm positive I've seen a few guys in a few semi-pro games that are better, more aggressive, and more fundamentally sound than Frank Omiyale.

I agree, which worries me. Because then the Bears will skate by, the management will probably think all is great, all the coaches will probably get extensions, and we'll have a virtual repeat of everything from this year. The following could easily happen: Minnesota W (3) TB W (4) Philly L Detroit W (5) SD L Oak L KC W (6) Den W (7) Sea W (8) GB L Min W (9) That does nothing but give the Bears an early exit in the playoffs and a middle-late draft pick.

If that's the truth, then it shocks me.

1. The OL sucks. This is not up for debate. 2. JA should at least be on the hot seat for not addressing the problem. 2a. Tice should be on the hot seat for not producing more. 2b. Martz should be on the hot seat for not calling plays that mask the inadequacies of Tice and JA, but he shouldn't be blamed as much. 3. The cover-2 defense, or whatever variation the Bears run, is flawed and has been for quite some time. 4. The Bears still don't have a FS. They have a bunch of SS wannabes. 5. Marinelli is not a DL genius. If anything, the Bears have regressed under his tutelage. 6. Lovie and his staff are player's coaches, meaning the players love playing under them. Most likely it's because they are moderately demanding, and choose to be friends first and coaches second. 7. Omiyale should be cut. ASAP. 8. Webb should be told he's close to being cut. 9. Hester should be exclusively used on kickoffs and punts. Enough with the WR stuff. Concentrate on your specialty, and remember to run forward, not laterally. 10. The Bears + MNF = Bad Games. This seems to have been the truth for quite some time.

Yeah. I highly doubt Lovie goes over to Tice and tells him when to put players in and out. If so, he'd have to do that the entire game with multiple positions. If that's the case, then why would you have assistants? Sorry Brian, but Tice has the handle on who is in and out on the OL.