It’s been a busy day for the Chicago Bears.

Just hours after the team announced that it had fired long time general manager Jerry Angelo, offensive coordinator Mike Martz announced his resignation. After his meeting with head coach Lovie Smith, Martz announced that he would not return to Chicago citing “philosophical differences over how the team could run its offense.” In a move not unrelated, quarterbacks coach Shane Day also chose to not return.

Right off the bat, commentators and fans alike wondered if Martz and the Chicago Bears could co-exist. Martz has always been a pass-oriented coach, while the Bears entire organization has always been committed to being a running team. Martz’s tenure was full of questions surrounding his play calling and pass/run balance. It seems that the discrepancy between Martz and the organization has finally caught up and they have chosen to go their separate ways.

While I’ve certainly had my questions about some of Martz’s decisions over the last two seasons, you wonder how this move will affect the development of the Bears offense. If I’m honest, prior to the injuries of Jay Cutler and Matt Forte, the offense looked decently threatening. For the first time in Martz’s time with Chicago, the offense starting looking like they were “getting it.” Combining with Jay Cutler’s clear improvement in the ball protection category, the offense looked like one that was good enough to carry the team far. It speaks to Jay Cutler’s quality that all of the Bears receivers virtually disappeared once he went down. Hopefully, the fact the players will all have to learn another offense won’t set back the progress they have made. Though, I have a feeling it will.

I would have liked to see Martz stick around. Had Cutler and company actually had a strong receiver to lead the corps and a consistent offensive line, I think they would have excelled. As it was, the final five games prior to Cutler’s injury saw the Bears score 39, 24, 30, 37, and 31 points. This was an offense that was getting the job done with virtually no consistent presence at receiver and an offensive line that varied greatly in quality from week to week. Whether that was Cutler, Forte, Martz, or a combination, the results were there. I hate to see Martz go right now. While I don’t have major problems with either, I think I would have rather seen Lovie Smith go before Martz.

It’s a business I guess.

Brian is a lifelong Chicago Bears fan, having lived in Illinois his entire life and having followed the NFL throughout.

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Martz Resigns

Despite the Chicago Bears’ season ending with a meaningless game against the rival Minnesota Vikings, the game might have meant something in an indirect way.

First a little about the game itself. The Bears fell down 10-0 early on only to come back and make it 14-10 on a touchdown pass from Josh McCown to Roy Williams and an interception return touchdown by Charles Tillman. The Bears wouldn’t trail again. The Bears ended up with a 17-13 victory, but it took some timely plays (Julius Peppers blocking Ryan Longwell’s field goal attempt) and some fortunate ones (the Vikings botching a snap on another field goal attempt). The Bears tried to give this one away a couple of times. In the end, after D.J. Moore intercepted Joe Webb’s pass at the Chicago 30, it was over.

The game itself meant very little. Both teams were out of playoff contention and were locked into their respective third and fourth place finishes within the NFC North. However, one side note that could come out of this game is the settling of the Bears backup quarterback situation next season. While Josh McCown hasn’t performed extremely well in his two starts, he’s been surprisingly competent for a player who hasn’t played steadily for four years. With another solid enough start (15 for 25, 160 yards, one touchdown, and one interception), McCown has seemingly secured the backup position for next year. Combining his performance with Caleb Hanie’s lackluster one, McCown seems a little more secure.

Ideally, Jay Cutler won’t get injured next season and the choice of McCown won’t mean anything. My hope is that the Bears will try and add a piece or two (and sign Matt Forte to a long term contract) to a team that was legitimately strong prior to injuries. If the Bears can stay healthy and upgrade at a position or two, the Bears could make good on Brian Urlacher’s claim of the team vying for a championship.

For now, the victory is a dim ray of pleasure on an otherwise disappointing season.

Brian is a lifelong Chicago Bears, having lived in Illinois his entire life and having followed the NFL throughout.

Sources

Bears Top Vikings

In what has been a Jekyll and Hyde type season for the Chicago Bears, offensive coordinator Mike Martz has expressed interest in returning to Chicago next season. The question is do the Bears want him?

While you don’t want to lean too much on excuses, I think it’s fair to say much of the Bears’ collapse this season was due to the unfortunate amount of injuries they sustained to key players. When healthy, the Bears looked like a formidable opponent. The point is taken that injuries are a part of the game and a team should be prepared to carry on through them, but it can’t logically be thought that a team can sustain itself consistently when losing a starting quarterback and running back —especially when they are as essential as Jay Cutler and Matt Forte are to the Chicago Bears.

The point I’m getting at comes back around to offensive coordinator Mike Martz and his recent comments on his desire to stay in Chicago after this season. Essentially, you can’t really blame Martz for what happened to the offense post-Cutler and Forte. In reality, the Bears offense actually looked middle-to-upper tier prior to Cutler’s injury. During their five game winning streak prior to losing Cutler, the Bears scored 39, 24, 30, 37, and 31 points in those five games. Those are good point totals. Additionally, coming from someone that watches a whole lot of Bears football, these are nutty numbers for the Bears —who often have relied on a methodical, clock-controlling offense. Is this from Martz? That’s hard to say, but since he’s at the helm, he gets some credit. However, since Martz left his powerhouse St. Louis Rams in 2005, the highest yardage ranking his offenses have managed is 19th (2007 Detroit Lions) and the highest points scored ranking is 16th (’07 Lions). These certainly aren’t “offensive mastermind” numbers.

Most of the above looks like criticism. It’s not really meant to be, just some light number crunching. There are clearly countless unmentioned factors that go into all the numbers and stats listed above. Martz’s coaching history is full of gaudy numbers —mostly put up by the once-potent St. Louis Rams and their “Greatest Show on Turf.” The offenses he coaches don’t seem to have consistent results. Usually, the results come from having exceptional personnel on the field. While I will admit that to be the case in most instances throughout the NFL, Martz certainly falls into it. Regardless of why offenses succeed or fail, the Bears’ offense was unquestionably better this season prior to all the injuries. That’s enough for me to be alright with Martz coming back for another go. I also know it takes time for players to learn an offensive scheme.

As long as the Bears keep upgrading personnel and can stay healthy, they should continue to improve offensively. With that in mind, I’ll take Martz for another year.

Brian is a lifelong Chicago Bears fan, having lived in Illinois his entire life and having followed the NFL throughout.

Sources

Martz, Williams Want to Return

I’ve been a Chicago Bears’ fan for over 55 years. I’ve been a Chicago Cubs’ fan for over 55 years. I’m one of the very few people who also cheer for the Chicago White Sox as well.

Ever since Chicago has had the Bulls I have been a supporter and every year I’ve come to love the Chicago Blackhawks more and more.

There are other Chicago teams I care about as well but my point is that coming from downstate Peoria, Illinois, I was raised to be for Chicago teams and as an adult have continued to wish them the best.

I tell you this to try and convince you that I have no reason at all to wish the Chicago Bears bad luck. I have no desire to try to be negative in my comments about the Bears or their future.

I am forced to say however that the Bears have no future for at least the next couple of years.

Matt Forte:

The Bears refused to lock Forte into a contract according to Melissa Isaacson of ESPN Chicago despite his prowess as a player. It appears from Isaacson’s comments that Forte felt the Bears didn’t feel loyal towards him. Then Forte was injured.

Now the Bears have an injured star whose future abilities are unknown. Further if you think Forte is “bearing” Chicago any love right now you may want to think again.

This is not a situation where the Bears are simply going to pick up next year where they left off physically or emotionally with their star running back.

Jay Cutler:

Jay Cutler was also injured and had to have thumb surgery. Is he going to be able to throw as well in the future?

Bears Receivers:

Johnny Knox was severely injured. Roy Williams was a huge disappointment. These are just a couple of issues.

Other Issues:

The Bears have ongoing problems with their offensive line and for the life of me I don’t know what has happened to the defense other than to say perhaps it’s time for a change, an “upgrade.” Man to man coverage is really better but you have to have a consistent pass rush and we don’t.

As far as the coaches go I respect Lovie Smith and Rod Marinelli. However I think Mike Martz has lost his touch and indeed think the Bears need a coaching overhaul. It is simply time for a change. We have seen many instances over the years particularly with quarterbacks where the coaching decision to change came way to slow.

As I look at all these issues, physical, emotional and functional, I don’t see a team capable of returning to sound competition for at least two years, probably three.

Reference:

ESPNChicago.com, Melissa Isaacson, “Matt Forte doesn’t feel Bears’ loyalty”

NBCChicago.com, Maggie Hendricks, Bear Bites: What Forte’s Injury Means”

SportingNews.com, Gene Chamberlain, “Bears Johnny Knox injured back on hit, won’t return”

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The 2011 season will be a painful one for Chicago Bears fans to remember. Not long ago, the Bears were 7-3 and rolling toward the playoffs. However, the team has lost five straight games due in large part to some major injuries. Chicago officially hung up the towel on their two most important offensive players. Matt Forte and Jay Cutler were both placed on the injured reserve list. That means that neither player will appear in the regular season finale against the Minnesota Vikings.

Neither of these moves should be a surprise. It was widely assumed that Cutler was out for the year when he injured his thumb against the San Diego Chargers in Week 12. It was also considered a long shot for Forte to return for the season finale. He sprained his MCL in Week 14 in a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. However, the Bears kept hope alive by keeping both players off the injured reserve list. That hope is officially over.

Cutler had pins removed from his hand recently and there was no way he was going to play in this game. He should make a full recovery and be fine going forward. However, his thumb injury was serious enough to warrant the surgery that essentially ended his season. Meanwhile, Forte’s injury figured to take more than a month to recover from. A running back with a sprained MCL needs time to heal. The Bears would have been risking a lot by bringing him back for this game. By putting him on the injured reserve list, the Bears will give Forte rest and ensure that he can return healthy in 2012.

The season started slipping away when Cutler was hurt. Chicago did not have a capable replacement in Caleb Hanie and promptly lost a couple of games. Things got even worse when Forte was injured. As such a huge part of the offense, Forte might have been a league MVP contender before he got hurt. Without him, Chicago could manage nothing. They haven’t even looked competitive with both players out of the lineup. By officially ruling them out of the final game, the Bears can start thinking about a 2012 season in which both players are healthy.

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