As I See It: There IS Always Next Year!

  Unless you live under the Millennium Park Bean, you know by now that the Chicago Bears lost to the Green Bay Packers in a initially lop-sided game 21-14. In a rather speechless afterglow I reflect now on the season past and look to the future for hope and optimism.

  The good thing about the end of one season, is the beginning of another. Free agency, the NFL Draft..., trades and resigning. Most importantly of all these events might just be the hiring and long overdue firings. I know with every fiber of my being that Lovie Smith & Co. (Jerry Angelo) stay. The coaching staff could be downsized by the lure of head coaching or more "lucrative" assistant coaching jobs. Word on the street as well, is that Devin Hester and Danieal Manning are the two top players that might be expendable via trade to beef up the receiver position. The belief with Manning is that Major Wright will quickly be able to adapt to the Cover 2 concept and will breathe younger life into the defense. The Devin Hester rumor is just a head scratcher. As all of these scenarios play out in the offseason, I lead you into the my Bears crystal ball and give you a take on some of my offseason moves.."As I See It".

•   Todd Collins undoubtedly should be the first head on the offseason chopping block. For him to be the second string quarterback in the NFL has to piss off some MVP Arena league quarterback. Sixteen years in the NFL and what I saw was that of "Young Frankenstein Makes The Team". Every time he takes the field its a disaster and he was actually promoted to 2nd string ( See: Jerry Angelo, Mike Martz ). Collins did not throw a touchdown pass the entire season, and actually almost threw as many interceptions as he did attempts. To say that he was a 2nd string, or even a actual current NFL quarterback is a stretch. That was a bad move from top to bottom.

•   Discounting Devin Hester and Earl Bennett, the entire Bears receiving roster is expendable. Devin Hester is a primary return man and should not see much time at the receiver position moving forward. He is too much of a weapon and a game changer at that position. Something which the football world has never seen. Teams must gameplan their entire games strategy off the possibility of Hester creating good field position. Devin Aromashadu has obviously lost the trust of the coaching staff.  Let him go and try and help another team and stop wasting what talent he does have on the inactive list. Rashied Davis has not worked out, due to the lack of opportunities and blown one's once presented. He is a big reciever; something that the Bears need, but can't get it done when it counts and is not trusted to do so anyway. Johnny Knox is not a bust, just not adapting to the nuance's of the NFL offense's and defense's to the rate that the organization needs him to. His size is a problem and it shows with lost fights against defensive backs for under thrown balls and when pressed at the line by corners.  He is not a one or two on 75 percent of the teams in the league. The threat of a lockout is imminent, so who really knows what kind of cash or confidence the front office has or wants to issue going forward into the unknown. Knox would be better spent in a trade package for a big time offensive weapon that Jay Cutler can trust.

•   The offensive must be made over, maybe even starting with its coach Mike Tice. Tice may undoubtedly be more stubborn than Mike Martz, in his reluctance to adapt to complex defensive schemes. At times appearing to be mystified and lost, Tice did not coach or assemble the proper rotation of players the entire season. Outside of a few Jay Cutler bad decisions, the offensive line single handedly put Jay Cutler at risk week in and week out. Ultimately, putting Jay out in the most pivotal game of the season. During the beating Jay took during the regular season via sacks (52), the O-line was under constant scrutiny about the lack of protection for their quarterback. There was not a single game anyone can point out that the line held its own during the entire season. Unfortunately, the Mike Tice can't block for Cutler, so the hefty portion of the blame goes to the players themselves. Frank Omiyale and J'Marcus Webb keep... Everybody else goes. 

•   This may be the death of the Cover 2. It is either the personell or the scheme. The NFL without a doubt is now a quarterback league. Passing is key to success and effectively running the ball is key to winning. No team in recent history has had truely dominant rushing and won the Super Bowl. Teams are no longer using the Cover 2 as a base defense, it might be time for us to hang it up as well... Just thoughts. When the Cover 2 faces a great quaterback, the bend but don't break philosophy only goes so far when the quaterback doesn't break. It appears now more than ever that in the current state of the NLF, the Cover 2 gives up more than just gaudy passing statistics. It gives up games. 

  No matter how this all plays out in the next few months, savor the feeling we all had on this ride. Savor the haters saying we wouldn't even make it to this point. It hurts when you have something to prove. It hurts more when you really want it. It hurts the worst though, when you don't even make it... Bear Down! Let's get em' next year!