FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Well, I made it through 3 weeks with trying to write something regular. Then a vacation derailed my best plans, and I haven't written anything since. A lot of good things have happened around the Bears, a lot of bad things have happened around the Bears. Here is a catchup on the last several weeks: Good: Kyle Orton looks like a real NFL QB. He even made the no-name group of receivers look passable. Matt Forte is also a player. So did Anthony Thomas after only one year, but I just have a feeling that Forte is a bit better than that. And while he has been a non-factor on special teams, Devin Hester has shown flashes of becoming a good wide reciver. Finally, Greg Olson might just be a real tight end. All of this means that the Bears might....and I stress the word MIGHT...have a real offense for the next couple of seasons. Bad: An injury to Orton means a reminder of how much fun it is to watch Rex Grossman play quarterback. If you can't detect the sarcasm there, let me spell it out for you. I wanted to like Rex, and after '06, I was ready to embrace the guy. He wasn't a poor man's Brett Favre like many were saying he might be, but he was a guy that could manage a game and take just enough chances to get the job done. But, we all know now how foolish that idea was. Bringing Rex back after this season would be cruel -- both for Rex and for Bears fans. I still think he might end up being a passable QB for at least a season or two, but it will never be as a Bear. The defense has also been a major disappointment. They can stop the run, and they still do an above average job of getting turnovers. But with no pass rush and poor coverage, they will let too many teams stay in games, get back into games, etc. Blame the coach, blame the players, I think you're right on both fronts. Which brings me to Lovie. I like him, and I want him to succeed. But in spite of that, I just can't say that I think he is a very good coach. I thought too much was made of Ron Rivera's departure and I didn't want to believe that Bob Babbich was as bad as his defense looked last year. I am starting to rethink that. The biggest problem, though, is that we've got a coaching staff that is horrible at adjusting to games. We have success running the ball in the first half, then we stop going to the run in the second half. We stop the run on defense, and we never adjust coverage to shut down the passing game. I could go on but you get the idea. Compounding this problem is the fact that the front office seems incapable of drafting talent that fits the schemes that this coaching staff wants to run. The Bears want to be a running team, but until Forte, there hasn't been a running back signed or drafted that looked capable -- oh, except for that guy we traded away to the Jets. Looking for a QB? They drafted Rex in the first round, and look how that has turned out. Offensive line help? We don't know on the latest draft pick because he hasn't been able to make it to the field yet. There have been "hits" on D, but some that looked like hits early are starting to look like misses now. Successful teams have a front office that compliments what the coaching staff wants to do on the field. For the Bears, you get the feeling that the two parties are rarely reading from the same script...that is unless they are getting defensive at a press conference. For all of my complaining, I will say that I think the Bears are a playoff team. That is more of a comment on the division than the team, but you play the hand you're dealt and go from there. So maybe things will gell, and the Bears will surprise in January. I am doubting it, but you never know.