What player impressed and disappointed the most?

[scs787]

Sadly his mediocrity is similar to Cutler's 'vast improvement' if measured on the same scale. Consistently over the years we haven't seen much in the way of consistently good play...until this year. And even then it's at a 'game manager' level.

 

 

 

Apparently that memo wasn't sent to Brady, Russell Wilson and Alex Smith (who lost a huge piece of their offense when Charles was lost).

 

And once again, I believe he's been turned into a game manager because of injuries and a sub par OL. Kevin White is supposed to be an explosive playmaker, you don't think the offense looks a little different with him out there? You don't think the team looks better with a healthy Alshon Jeffery, who even while hampered most of the year has still managed to be 27th among WR in the league? Even Eddie Royal as a #3 would have changed things a bit.........then factor in Long looking overmatched much of the season. Ducasse and OMG looking pretty bad at OG. Grasu looking every bit like the center who the staff thought would need a red shirt year to get stronger. Leno has played beyond my expectations, but he still hasn't been THAT good.......Jay has played within what the offense will allow him to do. What the OL and WR are allowing him to do is be nothing more than a game manager.....Just like the OL and WR are allowing Aaron to do in GB.

 

Brady/Bellicheck are just unreal. Doug Baldwin and Tyler Locket are better than what we've thrown out for the majority of the season. Plus he's incredible with his feet.....Smith is kind of an odd comp seeing as Jay has better numbers despite playing in a game and a half less.

[Lucky Luciano]

Bad : Martellus Bennett, Robbie Gould, Alshon Jeffrey, Eddie Royal, Marc Mariani, Christian Jones, Antrelle Rolle and the decision to move Kyle Long to Right Tackle a week before the season!

Bennett holdout and what looked like a lack of focus at times plus to much mugging for the cameras for a sound bite. You're not worth the headache!

 

i have to respectfully disagree with the assessment on mariani. as any kind of return man he is done. totally agree. but... as a #3 or a #4 slot receiver i believe he has done above average. he has good hands, he runs good routes and seems to nearly always get good separation plus he knows where the first down markers are. also he plays tough, can take a hit and stays healthy which NONE of our receivers seem to be able to do.

 

in my opinion there is a spot on this team for him as a receiver and i would keep him if possible.

 

I'm not impressed with Jay Cutler's play because he should be playing the way he's playing now and should have been several years ago.

 

whether cutler is as good as originally thought is basically a debateable point. i would say he was not but still was a very good qb. we will never know because the problem was that there was absolutely no supporting cast thanks to our GM and nearly the worst coaching staffs i may have ever seen. he had THE WORST offensive line i have EVER seen on any professional football team and limited to no viable passing weapons to support any kind of passing game. the ONLY thing that cutler had that was worth a tinkers dam was mat forte, period. he was virtually beaten to a pulp in chicago.

 

I hope I'm not starting a firestorm but, right now he is playing like a game manager trying to avoid mistakes. Yesterday's game should have been billed the Conservative Bowl because both coaches were trying to keep mistakes to a minimal. WTBS here is my take on the likes and dislikes of 2015. I'll call it like one of my favorite movies of all time The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

 

there are two reasons he is playing like a game manager:

 

1. this is the game plan from the existing coaching staff.

 

2. with the lack of talent AND injuries (see below) it is the smart way to do it and have any hope of success. he has no time to set up deep passing routes and the only factor keeping him from being smashed every other play because of poor line pllay is the quick release. add to this factor the quality of his receiving corp (see below). there just is not the horses to run a legitimate NFL offense like you may or may not want or at the least have the option to do so.

 

OFFENSIVE LINE: if continuity means anything to an offensive line there has been only ONE position the entire season with the same player at his starting position, RT kyle long, and his play has been sub average.

 

RIGHT TACKLE starter kyle long - below average RT

 

the RIGHT GUARD position has been filled by starter ducasse and i believe omameh for a while after an injury?. neither are even average players.

 

the CENTER position was filled by starter montgomery (average at best) who was injured in game 4 (replaced by slauson who is an average at best center) and then replaced by grasu who is way below average until he was injured and replaced again by slauson.

 

LEFT GUARD position was filled by slauson (who is in my estimation an above average LG only) by omameh (who is a sub par LG) when slauson moved over to center.

 

LEFT TACKLE position was filled by starter bushrod (a below average LT) and replaced by leno who is better but still a below average LT after bushrod's injury.

 

First Number equals number of games played in. Second Number equals games started

 

Center:

 

Will Montgomery - 4 - 4

 

Hroniss Grasu - 8 - 8 Rookie

 

Matt Slauson G/C - 15 - 15

 

Right Guard:

 

Vlad Ducasse RG - 14 - 10

 

Patrick Omameh - LG/RG - 13 - 8

 

Left Guard:

 

Matt Slauson G/C - 15 - 15

 

Patrick Omameh LG/RG - 13 - 8

 

Right Tackle:

 

Kyle Long RT - 15 - 15

 

Left Tackle:

 

Jermon Bushrod LT - 11 - 3

 

Charles Leno LT/OG - 15 - 12

 

 

WIDE RECEIVERS CORP: none of the starting receiver corp has played in every game (or even close). the most consistantly healthy player is mariani who is a #3 or #4 reciever. other than him, all have been injured (including wilson) and out for multiple games and played with nagging injuries. we have started walk on's and practice squad receivers at best as our multiple starters each game.

 

Kevin White WR - 0 - 0

 

Alshon Jeffery WR - 9 - 8

 

Eddie Royal WR - 9 - 9

 

Marquess Wilson WR - 11 - 6

 

Marc Mariani WR - 15 - 4

 

Josh Bellamy WR - 15 - 2

 

Cameron Meredith WR - 10 - 0 Rookie

 

Deonte Thompson WR - 6 - 0

 

 

TIGHT ENDS: our starting tight end has missed multiple games and has had significant injury in many that he actually started in. miller took up a lot of slack but still you need more than one to be successful especially in the type of offense we were running or were forced to run.

 

Martellus Bennett TE - 11 - 11

 

Zach Miller TE - 15 - 14

 

Khari Lee TE - 15 - 6

 

 

 

 

 

[scs787]

Rodgers has been mediocre at best and it is amazing he has not received more flak in the media. After their 6-0 start, the Packers are 4-5 (and really should be 3-6 if not for that ridiculous game against Detroit). In the 4 wins, they beat OAK, DAL, DET, and MIN.

 

In the last 9 games he has a 56% completion pct, and is only averaging 226 yard/game and 5.8 Y/A. He has also been sacked 30 times in those 9 games.

 

Rodgers has clearly showed what happens when you lose or don't have a true #1 WR, a bad O-Line, no running game, and sketchy play-calling. Cutler has dealt with a combination of those and more over his Bears career. He has had a revolving carousel at OC, HC, and has also had some brutally bad defenses.

 

Really when you look at their season as a whole, they haven't been that good.

 

They barely beat the Bears in a close 1 week 1... Beat a Seahawk team who really struggled early on....They beat a KC team the Bears beat in week 3....They beat a San Fran team that the Bears SHOULD have beat week 4....They beat a RAms team the Bears destroyed....They beat a San Diego team the Bears beat....They beat a raiders team the bears beat....They beat a terrible Cowboys team.

 

They came really close to being 0-2 against Detroit, if not for the ridiculous game you mentioned that they won. If we beat the Lions this week we'll both be 1-1 vs them.

 

Them beating Minnesota is about they only "Good" win they had.

[jason]

i have to respectfully disagree with the assessment on mariani. as any kind of return man he is done. totally agree. but... as a #3 or a #4 slot receiver i believe he has done above average. he has good hands, he runs good routes and seems to nearly always get good separation plus he knows where the first down markers are. also he plays tough, can take a hit and stays healthy which NONE of our receivers seem to be able to do.

 

in my opinion there is a spot on this team for him as a receiver and i would keep him if possible.

 

whether cutler is as good as originally thought is basically a debateable point. i would say he was not but still was a very good qb. we will never know because the problem was that there was absolutely no supporting cast thanks to our GM and nearly the worst coaching staffs i may have ever seen. he had THE WORST offensive line i have EVER seen on any professional football team and limited to no viable passing weapons to support any kind of passing game. the ONLY thing that cutler had that was worth a tinkers dam was mat forte, period. he was virtually beaten to a pulp in chicago.

 

 

 

there are two reasons he is playing like a game manager:

 

1. this is the game plan from the existing coaching staff.

 

2. with the lack of talent AND injuries (see below) it is the smart way to do it and have any hope of success. he has no time to set up deep passing routes and the only factor keeping him from being smashed every other play because of poor line pllay is the quick release. add to this factor the quality of his receiving corp (see below). there just is not the horses to run a legitimate NFL offense like you may or may not want or at the least have the option to do so.

 

OFFENSIVE LINE: if continuity means anything to an offensive line there has been only ONE position the entire season with the same player at his starting position, RT kyle long, and his play has been sub average.

 

RIGHT TACKLE starter kyle long - below average RT

 

the RIGHT GUARD position has been filled by starter ducasse and i believe omameh for a while after an injury?. neither are even average players.

 

the CENTER position was filled by starter montgomery (average at best) who was injured in game 4 (replaced by slauson who is an average at best center) and then replaced by grasu who is way below average until he was injured and replaced again by slauson.

 

LEFT GUARD position was filled by slauson (who is in my estimation an above average LG only) by omameh (who is a sub par LG) when slauson moved over to center.

 

LEFT TACKLE position was filled by starter bushrod (a below average LT) and replaced by leno who is better but still a below average LT after bushrod's injury.

 

First Number equals number of games played in. Second Number equals games started

 

Center:

 

Will Montgomery - 4 - 4

 

Hroniss Grasu - 8 - 8 Rookie

 

Matt Slauson G/C - 15 - 15

 

Right Guard:

 

Vlad Ducasse RG - 14 - 10

 

Patrick Omameh - LG/RG - 13 - 8

 

Left Guard:

 

Matt Slauson G/C - 15 - 15

 

Patrick Omameh LG/RG - 13 - 8

 

Right Tackle:

 

Kyle Long RT - 15 - 15

 

Left Tackle:

 

Jermon Bushrod LT - 11 - 3

 

Charles Leno LT/OG - 15 - 12

 

 

WIDE RECEIVERS CORP: none of the starting receiver corp has played in every game (or even close). the most consistantly healthy player is mariani who is a #3 or #4 reciever. other than him, all have been injured (including wilson) and out for multiple games and played with nagging injuries. we have started walk on's and practice squad receivers at best as our multiple starters each game.

 

Kevin White WR - 0 - 0

 

Alshon Jeffery WR - 9 - 8

 

Eddie Royal WR - 9 - 9

 

Marquess Wilson WR - 11 - 6

 

Marc Mariani WR - 15 - 4

 

Josh Bellamy WR - 15 - 2

 

Cameron Meredith WR - 10 - 0 Rookie

 

Deonte Thompson WR - 6 - 0

 

 

TIGHT ENDS: our starting tight end has missed multiple games and has had significant injury in many that he actually started in. miller took up a lot of slack but still you need more than one to be successful especially in the type of offense we were running or were forced to run.

 

Martellus Bennett TE - 11 - 11

 

Zach Miller TE - 15 - 14

 

Khari Lee TE - 15 - 6

 

So much truth in this post.

 

[AZ54]

Sadly his mediocrity is similar to Cutler's 'vast improvement' if measured on the same scale. Consistently over the years we haven't seen much in the way of consistently good play...until this year. And even then it's at a 'game manager' level.

 

 

 

Apparently that memo wasn't sent to Brady, Russell Wilson and Alex Smith (who lost a huge piece of their offense when Charles was lost).

 

 

Apparently Belichick and Brady haven't had your memo for several years and this is just one player's impact:

 

http://espn.go.com/blog/statsinfo/post/_/i...e-without-gronk

[Alaskan Grizzly]

Totally ignoring part of the title to this post and recognizing who so far has impressed within the Bears organization (instead of limiting it to just players). I think Ryan Pace should be considered for the title. Considering he's a rookie in this category and of his six picks in the draft, four ended up starting this year. And he assembled a pretty solid coaching staff in Fox, Gase and Fangio. I'd say the team is in pretty capable hands. At least for the time being.

 

As far as the most disappointing (and sticking within the ranks of non-players) I'd go with Jeff Rodgers...hands down.

[adam]

Totally ignoring part of the title to this post and recognizing who so far has impressed within the Bears organization (instead of limiting it to just players). I think Ryan Pace should be considered for the title. Considering he's a rookie in this category and of his six picks in the draft, four ended up starting this year. And he assembled a pretty solid coaching staff in Fox, Gase and Fangio. I'd say the team is in pretty capable hands. At least for the time being.

 

As far as the most disappointing (and sticking within the ranks of non-players) I'd go with Jeff Rodgers...hands down.

I agree, Pace has impressed, and Rodgers and the Special Teams has been a disaster. Now to his defense, he gets to use the bottom of the 53-man, and he saw a pretty good carousel of players to make into a unit.

[adam]

Sadly his mediocrity is similar to Cutler's 'vast improvement' if measured on the same scale. Consistently over the years we haven't seen much in the way of consistently good play...until this year. And even then it's at a 'game manager' level.

 

Apparently that memo wasn't sent to Brady, Russell Wilson and Alex Smith (who lost a huge piece of their offense when Charles was lost).

 

Alaska, what is the common denominator with all those players and teams? A stable coaching staff and a great defense. Brady and Bill forever with a top 10 defense every year and Gronk, Edelman, Welker and Moss to throw to. Wilson hasn't had the top flight WR's but Tate wasn't bad, Baldwin has been on fire, and they had Graham for a good portion of the year. For them, again it is a great defense, a running game, and opportunistic QB in the same system with the same coach. Smith? 3 years with Reid and they finally put it together with a dominant defense and guys like Maclin and Kelce to throw to.

 

This year Cutler has had a below average defense, the first year in another system with new coach, a revolving O-Line and starting lineup every week and yet he has improved. I can't see any of those QB's you mentioned or Rodgers doing much better given the circumstances.

 

 

[ASHKUM BEAR]

Alaska, what is the common denominator with all those players and teams? A stable coaching staff and a great defense. Brady and Bill forever with a top 10 defense every year and Gronk, Edelman, Welker and Moss to throw to. Wilson hasn't had the top flight WR's but Tate wasn't bad, Baldwin has been on fire, and they had Graham for a good portion of the year. For them, again it is a great defense, a running game, and opportunistic QB in the same system with the same coach. Smith? 3 years with Reid and they finally put it together with a dominant defense and guys like Maclin and Kelce to throw to.

 

This year Cutler has had a below average defense, the first year in another system with new coach, a revolving O-Line and starting lineup every week and yet he has improved. I can't see any of those QB's you mentioned or Rodgers doing much better given the circumstances.

Agree!

I believe the Bears put down a good first foot at establishing what those teams have. This is not a one year turn around. It has to start from the top on down and Pace was handed the keys. He has done well year one. Sure he had a couple blunders, but his base building block was a good one. Follow next season up by adding the second level to that base and so on. Next years focus should be having a winning season, if playoffs happens, then that is a bonus. By year 3, they should be contenders. That is a lot to ask for patience, but if he plays the system the right way it can happen.

[Alaskan Grizzly]

Alaska, what is the common denominator with all those players and teams? A stable coaching staff and a great defense.

 

An argument could be made that Jay came to a team with a "stable" coaching staff and a "great" (if not consistently top tier) defense. Although his first year they went 7-9 his second year found them 11-5, 1st in the NFC North and despite his infamous "performance" in the NFC Championship game still managed to lose by only 7 points. The next season found them going 8-8 followed by another winning season of 10-6. Unfortunately it wasn't good enough to make the playoffs (seems so long ago) and that was the last year under Lovie. Until then, things were rather stable in overall coaching terms and there's almost no question about how dominant the defense was. (There were 12 pro bowlers from the defense during that same span).

 

This year Cutler has had a below average defense, the first year in another system with new coach, a revolving O-Line and starting lineup every week and yet he has improved. I can't see any of those QB's you mentioned or Rodgers doing much better given the circumstances.

Not sure others couldn't "improve" given the staff currently in place. Obviously Jay has improved (if not slightly and ... Finally). So if they (coaches) can work this miracle surely they could with others of similar abilities. As I've said before the test will be whether Cutler can maintain his improvement.

[adam]

An argument could be made that Jay came to a team with a "stable" coaching staff and a "great" (if not consistently top tier) defense. Although his first year they went 7-9 his second year found them 11-5, 1st in the NFC North and despite his infamous "performance" in the NFC Championship game still managed to lose by only 7 points. The next season found them going 8-8 followed by another winning season of 10-6. Unfortunately it wasn't good enough to make the playoffs (seems so long ago) and that was the last year under Lovie. Until then, things were rather stable in overall coaching terms and there's almost no question about how dominant the defense was. (There were 12 pro bowlers from the defense during that same span).

 

 

Not sure others couldn't "improve" given the staff currently in place. Obviously Jay has improved (if not slightly and ... Finally). So if they (coaches) can work this miracle surely they could with others of similar abilities. As I've said before the test will be whether Cutler can maintain his improvement.

Lovie didn't touch the offense. Jay had to deal with: Ron Turner, Mike Martz, Mike Freakin Tice, Aaron Kromer/Marc Trestman.