BearFan2000

I agree, and have noticed over the past three seasons he has leaned less and less on Marshall. Partly due to adding new targets, but also developing a report with them as well. Just adding a new target however you do so doesn't instantly translate into more spreading the ball around but it does start the trend as QB and WR or TE get more familiar with more practice and in game reps. When Marshall got here he had chemistry with him having played together before so it was natural to lock in on him, and 37% is a high percentage and defenses knew that if Marshall wasn't the first option on a play Jay would still quickly look his way. As Jeffery got more acclimated and Bennet got more reps with him the ball went around more. Also think with Trestman's system a lot of balls went Forte's way too especially last year. At the end of the day the deal is done and he's not here now. All we can do is speculate based on what we've seen personally and what's been reported. The situation isn't new for Brandon, there is a trend of him wearing out his welcome with a team.

I agree that it's likely Tillman's gone wouldn't be surprised if he ends up with the Tampa Bears along with Briggs. Cutler though I highly doubt we will find a trade partner with the albatross that is his contract. It's going to hurt us to cut him, and hurt us to keep him financially, so you might as well let him play in 2015. I would be shocked if he was cut or traded this offseason. Not saying it can't happen, just doubt it will. Forte, I don't really see the the need to cut/trade him. He is getting up their in years and milage, but he's got one year left on his contract and is still playing at a high level and has been pretty darn durable considering the milage on his body. We might start to see more of a 50/50 split with him and Carey in 2015, or if we draft or pick up a FA RB. As the team figures out who will take over for Forte when he's done here whether it be Carey or a draft pick or FA. I expected the Marshall trade and was on the fence as to wanting him back, I think there were pros and cons to both keeping him and getting rid of him. Definitely does feel like a house cleaning that started with the firing of Emery and Trestman. It's not unusual for a new GM and coaching staff to evaluate and clear out guys that don't fit their philosophy or their vision for the team. Angelo did the same thing when he arrived, clearing out what he felt was dead weight. I don't think we are in total rebuild mode but I think we are in a transition stage as Pace and Fox work to reshape the roster to their liking.

Could be the kind of key pickups in FA that my not be splashes but it's about adding pieces that make the team better and if you can find the right bargains it would sure help in narrowing our draft priority. Something Pace mentioned about adding FA that allow you to draft BPA and give you more freedom in that regard. look at NE they constantly seem to be able to find guys who were virtual no names or guys who had limited exposure that filled crucial roles on their team. Wether it be starters, depth, rotation type guys who also add talent to your special teams by having a solid bottom end of the roster.

Perhaps we have passed the torch to SF for league laughing stock. Regardless of how things went down they happened and I'm thrilled they happened. We finally have a professional level coaching staff, it's now up to the players to play at a pro level. As Adam mentioned the offense under performed, the D was just bad, and it's hard to really tell if there's usable pieces or how many usable pieces are there it was that big of a mess. We could be close to fielding a competent D or we may be a long way off from that. That said if true it proves what we know about forcing a coach on a potential head coach or GM or whatever. Any HC or GM worth is salt will want to have his pick of who he wants to build his staff. If he wants to keep the guy you like great but let him make that call not have that call taken from him. You severely limit your options and in many cases put yourself out of the running for some of the best candidates out there. The Tomsula thing is more or less the York family wanting a puppet who's just a yes man. He's essentially an unwitting pawn who seems to have no awareness of just how in over his head he is. It's mind boggling to think that they went from Harbaugh to this dolt. A team that was making a serious run at the title recently may now be plunged into new lows.

He also played behind a solid and healthy offensive line. Unlike last year where it was musical chairs.

I've said before the environment was not helpful. When the locker room is in anarchy cause the man in charge is spinless and clueless, that's not the ideal situation for someone like him, it's like taking a former alcoholic to a binge party. Not that it makes his behavior right. But the players walked all over Dr.Death like a throw rug. If we're going to get rid of him get something for him, I don't expect he'll bring a lot given his age, his recent injury history, and his history of issues along with this past year or so.

I find I'm looking forward to the Draft and FA this offseason with a renewed sense of hope, not hope we don't royally screw things up yet again, and hope that with dumb luck things get better. I have hope that the Bears are moving forward with a unified plan, a goal to build through the draft, a goal to bring in winning draft classes rather than classes that have more wtf picks than ones that make sense. A new look at FA to actually smartly add pieces that can help the team to supplement rather than bandaid. Then after the draft/FA looking forward to a real professional coaching staff getting their hands on this team and putting them in a position to succeed.

No to Manzel, why trade crap for crap?

poor clock management made that even worse. Twice they had to burn time outs because the play clock was ready to expire. By the time they got to the one they had one time out, had they not had to burn them the would have been able to make multiple run attempts. But even with that you still had one time out and should have run it. if you get in you win, if you don't you call the time out or hurry up and run it twice then burn a time out. But to call that play at the 1 with compressed routes made no sense. If your going to throw it, do play action or read option after you run it at least once more. Really did look like our type of play call. Then even after you blow it you give up an offsides and basically make their job easy to just kneel. Then you start a fight when the game is over. Going into this game I couldn't decide really who I disliked more and who to root for. But to blow the game and then pick a fight in the Super Bowl of all games. Real classy Seattle, but then again consider their coach.

is hard to pick one when you don't like either. My hatred for the pats outweighs my hatred of the seahags. Plus the Seahags knocked the team I hate most out of the playoffs. first quarter was boring second quarter more interesting. Gotta say gutsy call with 6 seconds left to take one crack at the End zone rather than just send out the kicking team. Paid off with a TD. with around 30 seconds left in the half I liked (and was jealous of the aggressiveness. Having watched my Bears have the ball with over a min left several times and always content to let the time run out.

we can argue in circles about this the entire offseason and still end up in the same place. We can discuss the numbers as much as we want. But at the end of the day it's up to Fox and Pace to decide if they think we can win with Jay, if we should cut him and when to do so, or seek trade offers. My guess is they are looking at all the possibilities. And will decide which one is the best for the team now and future. In a lot of ways Jay is what he is. I don't think there's much growth potential for a 32 year old 10 year vet. His issues, and limitations are known and at this point winning with him involves an offensive scheme that plays to his strengths rather than asking him to be what he isn't. I think Trestman's system asked him to be what he isn't. How many of us watched the offense the last two years and wondered why we don't do more roll outs, bootlegs, etc to use his mobility. An offense that asks Jay to be a pure pocket passer or statue does not play to his strengths but rather exposes his weakness. A pass happy offense doesn't help either. In the past I think we've coaches that were either stuck on their system or didn't have a clue how to organize an NFL system and tried to fit the players to their scheme whether they fit or not and some players were of the square peg/round hole ilk. I feel for the first time in a long long time we have a real professional NFL staff here. So I trust their Judgement. I also feel that this staff will tailer their schemes to what we have on the roster and who we draft or bring in during FA. The ultimate goal is to build for the long term and if we happen to win now or turn things around quickly while doing so great, but I don't see us mortgaging the future to win now. I'm content to sit back and let Fox, Pace, and Gase decide Jay's future. I do feel in the right setting/offense we can win with Jay by playing to his strengths rather than ask him to be something he's not.

I would be for Tillman returning at the right price and if is fully healthy. He definitely seems excited and this team could use some enthusiasm and energy. Briggs... I'm split on this, I would lay down specific points that need to be met for him to come back. He has been an ass in the past but last year he was even more so and possibly the leading one on the team. He's had a brilliant career here, but his durability has become an issue, his commitment to the team has become an issue, and these are all fair concerns for bringing him back. I would on'y consider it if 1. He is all in and committed. That means he works his ass off to get himself in the best possible shape and arrives at camp ready to get to work. 2. He agrees to play for a fair price for the Bears. 3. He keeps his attitude in line and doesn't pull the crap he pulled last year. I would keep him but on a very short leash with an incentive laden contract that will not hurt the Bears to cut him if he doesn't shape up and stay in line. At the end of the day both these guys futures here are up to Fox and Pace, if they feel the risk is worth it and feel like they can get a good year or two out of these guys, I'll trust their judgement. Fox won't put up with the crap Trestman allowed. So the culture is different this year than last two years.

http://chicago.suntimes.com/bears-football...eeting-john-fox Tillman excited after brief meeting with the staff. Is excited about the direction the Bears are headed and would like to return. Wants to play for Fox.

Draft like a pro. Really that's the biggest thing coming up for him and the Bears is a successful first draft as GM. When he was first hired I was like "who?" But I've really been impressed with this guy, he is a go getter, he's diligent and like Fox has an engaging personality. Where as Emery and Dr Death were a personality vacuum. and Angelo was a bit odd. This guy seems to have a good head on his shoulders and a real genuine passion. Seems mature beyond his years. As he said in his press conference he's going to be aggressive and explore all avenues to bring guys who can help improve our team. The Draft will be his next big test and a very critical one if we are to start building through the draft so we only need to supplement with FA rather than use FA as a bandaid to make up for bad drafting. We have much to be positive about going forward. When was the last time most if not all here at talk bears and the Bears fan base as a whole was on board after a GM/HC change. Especially after how low this team sunk the last two years. We went from a time where we as fans were as angry, and disinterested in the Bears as I've seen in a long time, to a fan base who now sees hope. Could this be the end of firing losers only to hire then next batch of losers? Gotta end the vicious cyle, here's hoping that Pace and Fox are the first big steps to that end.

Saw that article earlier and thought about posting in here about it. It confirms what most of us have assumed or thought from the outside looking in. While no doubt Trestman knows his offensive x's and o's he lacks the ability to lead a team in a larger capacity like head coach. I would qualify that by saying he has a great mind for offense in a vacuum, but doesn't adapt well to his surroundings. His offenses stagnate and decline after the first year. It's pretty clear that he never fully had the locker room, and never really gained the respect of the team as a whole and thus they didn't care to follow him and in some cases acted like that child who doesn't respect their parent and constantly pushes the boundaries to see how far they can push. I'm sure to some on the team it became a joke, he became a joke. Sure glad George pulled the toilet handle and flushed these two turds out of the building. Also agree about Cutler, no doubt he's a tough SOB and when he's motivated leads by example but is not the type to step up in the locker room and be the leader there or on the sidelines, and that only works if that void is filled by someone else, and we don't really have that someone else. That indeed was the value Brian brought to the team his body may have started to fail him, but the leadership, and ability to act as a coach on the field or from the sidelines became his greatest asset towards the end. Once gone there really was no one left to fill that role. So we were left with a spineless head coach with his toolbox of football concepts trying to 'grow the man' rather than lead the team. And a QB this is like a personalty black hole. it's no surprise the result was chaos. I'm just thankful George, Virginia, and the Bears ownership recognized the problem and elected to perform the emergency surgery to save the patient. I'm glad Dr. Death, and Emery are no longer our problem.

The point about the Indy game likely not the only time they've pulled this they just happened to get caught doing in the indy game. That often gets lost because the Indy game was such a lopsided win that "it does't matter" because it had no bearing on the game. True, but if they have in fact been doing that regularly you only need to look one game back to where something like this could indeed have had an impact on the outcome. And the impact is greater than just a game or that they deflated balls, it's that the Patriots have a history of cutting corners, and cheating, and they get little more than a slap on the wrist. The pats from top to bottom are a win at all costs organization and will take any opportunity to get a competitive edge in any phase of the game or business. Then you have Bilecheat and Brady up there acting like they didn't even know there were rules about it and knew nothing about it when a week earlier they were bragging about how well they know the rule book and how smart they are. They are quite content to act dumb, and let anyone but them take the fall for it. That to me more reprehensible than the act itself. I too am sick of hearing about this every friggin day it's all over the news it's every where you turn.

Sounds like Vic's D did things like that in San Fran, the could change the front week to week, in game, whatever needed. I like that I like a D that is built on the versatility of being able to adapt to what's needed. Say one week your opponent is best attacked with a 3-4, and the following week your opponent is more vulnerable to a 4-3, and even mixing things up as the game goes say after the half to keep them guessing. Granted you can scheme the best most versatile defense but you still need the players to execute it so it'l be interesting to see what kind of talent is brought in and what we're able to do in this respect. Might be wise to start with a 4-3 base and throw in some 3-4 fronts and looks till we get enough talent to make the 3-4 our base.

Who's Mel Tucker?

Not sure what Emery took seriously other than overspending on disappointing players. And sharting the bed in the draft room.

When you establish the run and then are able to make play action and roll outs effective along with not making Jay the focal point of the offense, he can be serviceable to good. Jay is and never has been a pure pocket passer. His legs have been one of his better assets and he does throw well on the run. He did that a lot in Denver. This past year our offense was so predictable, the line was a mess, and Trestman rarely changed the launch point. Thus trying to use Jay as a pocket passer that is not the kind of QB he is. Defenses knew that 1. they could get to Jay due to poor pass protection, 2. Jay would almost always be in the same spot, 3. Jay doesn't have the best pocket awareness, and 4. Jay tends to hold the ball too long. Its a recipe for disaster. You stick a guy who struggles to feel the pressure till that "oh shit" moment, and even when the protection is there has a tendency to hold on to the ball, and then ask him to stand back there like he's Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady with a deflated ball is asking for trouble. When jay was at his best here it was when we had the run game going, we didn't ask him to be the focal point of the offense, we ran the ball, and we stopped the run. Year one of Trestman we had a highly effective offense in general, but the D couldn't stop a nose bleed. If you have a team like that you need a QB that can lead you in a shootout. That's not Jay. Last year the D was maybe only marginally better if at all. Trestman's lack of adapting when it was clear the rest of the league had the offense figured out. We were doomed and I don't think it'd have mattered who was under center last year.

I very much doubt Jay is in the Bears long term future plans, Yeah he may be here next year simply cause he may be the best option this year. I don't think this staff like in years past are being assembled to cater to a guy who is likely not on the team after next year. May still not be on the team this year. Just because a coach has worked with or has a connection to Jay in any way means that was the reason he's here. It may be an added bonus that he has worked with Jay before and may have more to do with in forming the teams decision on whether to keep Jay or not rather than whether we hire a coach or not. I get a sense that this staff thinks differently than past staffs. Who came out from the get go saying "he's our QB" and paying all kinds of lip service compliments. Neither Pace or Fox were committal in the least when asked tells me they are not going to play into the public game. Both want to hold off deciding till the situation has been properly evaluated with the full staff. There has been a strong emphasis that everyone be all in and be on the same page. I think it's dumb to hire coaches just because they worked wit one player in a last ditch hope to salvage a player you are likely to dump at the earliest convenience. It is dumb for a staff to be assembled to cater to that kind of player. IMHO I feel like the Bears have had enough of dumb, and fired dumb and dumber on black Monday. From that moment it seems like the Bears are changing their culture and the status quo. To be honest, I don't care if Jay is here next year or not… I really don't. As long as there is a clear plan of action going forward, If what's best for the team is to keep him this season and then cut/trade him and there is a purpose to that I'm fine with it. If the staff determines what's best for the team is to cut/trade him this year and start that rebuild process I'm fine with that too. My expectations for next season aren't Super Bowl, aren't playoffs, but want to see this team show improvement, direction, and have a sense that we are laying the foundation to rebuild the team into a perennial contender. Wanted to add another scenario There is a third possibility which is probably the longest shot, is that say we keep Jay and by way of miracle he finally gets it and starts to turn his career around. Again very long shot chance, there is so much playing against that, his long formed habits, his age he's in his 30's now, and the diabetes that may play more of a role in his random brain farts than we may know. QB's have turned things around late in their career but I don't see Jay being one of them. But I can't say it's impossible.

Quite possible that Dr. Death's lack of control and discipline did a lot to open the door and enable some of the stupid things that Marshall can say and do. He has a reputation of becoming a locker room cancer everywhere he's been. But when he got here he was on good behavior and seemed to be turning a corner on his borderline personality disorder. Really hasn't been a distraction till this year that I can recall. And the best word to describe this past year's team and locker room is Chaos. Not the best environment for a guy who has a tendency to do and say dumb things. Not saying the things he did were ok or right, but it's possible they were enabled by Dr Death's lack of discipline and control of his players. A guy like Fox who won't put up with that kinda crap, may just be the right person to restore order here and perhaps that includes Marshall staying in line. I'm 50/50 on keeping or cutting him, I love what he does on the field, but if he negatively impacts the locker room then I question if it's worth it. Like many other aspects of our roster, etc. remains to be seen. But back to the main topic I like the hire of Gase (didn't want Weis and breathed a sigh of relief that I wouldn't have to root for that turd to be successful). All in all this staff like others have said is quite possibly one of if not the best staff's we've ever had, at least on paper. So much different than the days where we would have bad coordinators and fire them only to promote one of their underlings who was also bad. My hats off first of all to George McKaskey who said enough is enough, this team needs a drastic change from top to bottom and we need to burn this thing down and rebuild the structure. He brings in Ernie (a real football guy) to aid in the search for a GM, they brought in a bright young guy who's worked his way up the ranks in a successful organization in Ryan Pace. Pace wastes little time getting on the task of hiring the best HC for the job. I would like thank Elway for being an idiot and a pshyco for blowing up his coaching staff making Fox available at just the right time for us to snag him. Fox brings instant credibility and we are able to attract some of the best coordinators and position coaches available. Gase, Vic, Donatell, etc. There definitely feels like a culture change here and I like what I've seen from the moment they let Phil and Marc go. The Bears have been on a mission to not just make the obvious firings and then hire the next set of stooges. They went out on a mission to hire the best they could get. Really looking forward to this coming draft with renewed optimism. A few good drafts and the Bears could see a return to greatness that we haven't seen in a long time.

sure would be a first for us having teams looking to poach our coaching staff before they are fired. I like that Fox isn't afraid of hiring someone that may in a year or two might get lured away.

They can have him and his toolbox of football concepts. Let him try to grow the man there. LOL