BearFan PHX

yeah its you at soldier field, it worked. Google how to clear your cache, or try reloading the page, or just waiting a few days too.

Well, if you do that, then it becomes more expensive to cut him later. It sounds like they're willing to tie themselves to him for three years.

No, we remained a 1 gap front, which put McClellin, Conte and Wright into gaps that they didn't control. To another post: I don't think it's even feasibly possible to change the front mid-season. I do think Tucker had a hard time trying to keep an older system, but I understand why they tried. They couldn't fix both sides of the ball in one season anyway, so why not see what the vets could give you? Hell, without all the injuries we might have been pretty good. I say fire Tucker. I think they'll do it tomorrow. The new guy can build whatever system he wants to. Unlike last year, it's a pretty desirable job to get this year. Maybe we can attract a caliber of candidate that would have been less interested last year. I'd say that when they took the gamble last year to try to keep the 1 gap front, they knew that if it didnt work, they'd be in a much better position to build a defense ground up than they were last year. It's wide open on the defense. I wonder what's next. All of this makes me think we keep Cutler, with a little more discipline, and a strong defense, we could well win championships, even with his shortcomings.

Yeah, you're right "Freedom of Speech" is a legal protection from the government, and not individuals. However, it also stands for a generally long held cultural tradition of having tolerance for other people's religions. Also, in some cases being fired from a job for a religious view is illegal in that it's discriminatory. Now me personally, I lean more Libertarian than anything, so I have no problem with the guy saying it OR the network removing him OR them caving to pressure from the consumers. It's all good as far as I'm concerned. I'm just saying, I'm 100% for gay rights, and at the same time, I don't think he said anything terribly bad either.

double post

Gay rights have come a long way in the last 20 years. Gay rights are a no-brainer, and I do think most people would accept a gay player and those that wouldn't would be challenged in their beliefs by having powerful role models. That said, I still think people have a right to their religious opinions as well. When the Duck Dynasty guy said what he said, I thought he had a right to feel that way. Freedom of speech and religion is really important in any democracy, and that includes people with whom you may disagree. Still and all, Gay Marriage is a done deal, it's obviously constitutional, and given time, I don't think many people will be any more upset by it than they are by mixed race marriages, or mixed religion marriages, and that % of people diminishes greatly with every generation. I hope Rodgers IS gay, that'd be great. Even if no one did laugh at my Xmas message coming out as a Packer fan LOL

Yeah I agree, I know we fight sometimes, but like any family, we stick together too. Also, like any family, sometimes one member has to say something that's hard for the rest to hear. I have to come out to all of you tonight. I know some of you won't accept this, but I need to be myself, and i hope in the spirit of Christmas, youc an all accept for for who I am. It's taken me a long time to work up the courage to tell you all this, but a heart wants what it wants, and I can't live the lie any more. Therefore, I need to tell you all that I love you, and there something about me you need to know. Despite having acted very manly here, and participating in the conversations, I have been hiding a part of myself. So I need to tell you guys now the truth. I'm a Packers fan. HAHAHA no I'm not! Merry Christmas you Bear loving people!! Kyle

Exactly

OK, Im still not sold on Cutler. I know how it FEELS with him in there. I wonder if he will ever stop making throws into double coverage. Still, the stats don't lie, and they tell a different story. I dunno. I just dunno. http://voices.suntimes.com/sports/interact...e-quarterbacks/

Yup.

I actually don't really disagree with Cracker. The word moxy was misused in my post. I meant that for HIM, going to the scary place might be doing less, playing within the offense more. You're right, the best and worst things you can say about Cutler are that hes tough, bullheaded, a competitor. He gets compared to Brett Favre, some say he has a gunslinger's mentality. For better or worse, that is definitely tough, so Cracker is right. What I meant, was that he needs to show that he can run the system the way Trestman wants it. Cutler looks heroic to me at times, but rarely smooth. For Trestman, this decision will define the QB position for his tenure as coach. I can't see him taking a guy with physical tools who won't do the progressions the way Trestman wants it done. So the question for Trestman, and for me too, is can Cutler do that? Or maybe will Cutler do that? I'm sure that if Trestman thinks he can get into Cutler's head and mold him where he wants to go, that Cutler will be a Bear for a long time and win a Super Bowl. I don't see them in meetings etc. I don't know what Trestman thinks about Cutler's play, and what his ceiling is. Good thing is, Trestman knows, so I'm inclined to follow whatever he does. ANyway, Im not particularly optimistic about Cutler's ability to do this, but if he does it, I will certainly cheer for him. Cracker was right tho, people who question Cutler's heart are wrong, and Im not one of them, even if I sound like I was. Still, I'd be thrilled with a rookie under McCown and a revamped defense next year if that's where Emery and Trestman take us.

Well I think you've hit it right on the head, and the people FOR Cutler and the people AGAINST him, are all saying the same thing. We're all saying let's SEE if Cutler can get more disciplined and play within himself and the offense like McCown did. What separates us is our prediction. But that's OK cuz if he doesn't mature quick, most of the PRO Cutler people will agree when Trestman goes another way, and if Cutler DOES "grow up" and execute Trestman's system, then Emery will keep him, and all the people AGAINST him will be converted. Basically, it's wait and see. But here's the thing. Two more games is enough to see if he's failing, but not if he's succeeding. They will look at ALL the tape on Cutler, and every week he leaves us with a mixed bag, and keeps the question open, is another week towards his end in Chicago. Trestman knows what good QB play is, and there's no way he's going to hitch his future as an NFL head coach to a guy that won't run his plays the way he wants them run. Jay better show some real moxy, and extend this 2 game audition so as to get more good playoff performances on tape. If he does that, then he will prove he can still develop, and the sky is the limit for him and Trestman. If not, I'm all behind whatever Trestman and Emery decide. I mean, if I was appointed GM of the Bears today, knowing only what I know now, and I had to decide what to do about Cutler, my first phone call would be to Trestman.

The two long term choices are: Go with Cutler Let Cutler go and draft a rookie while McCown starts. The decision hinges not on Cutlers talent, which we all can see, but on whether Trestman and Emery believe he can acquire discipline and play within the system. This year we DID see improvement in Cutler's discipline, but, in my opinion, not enough. I'm sure the coaching staff wants to see if he will continue to grwo in that direction. He has three games to prove he won't try to squeeze the ball into bad places, and hold on to it too long. Listen, Jay Cutler is physically better than Joe Montana, OK? But he's not Joe Montana, or Tom Brady, or Peyton Manning etc etc Let's also not overlook McCown's superior pocket presence. That more than anything has been the reason he has looked so good. So yes, starting Cutler again is the right thing to do, even if McCown is the better choice for the rest of this year. I think Jay is on a short leash, and the coaches are looking to let him play himself into a long term contract, not with flashes of talent, but by proving he can play within himself and the offense win OR lose. Or, if he doesn't, there won't be any controversy when they let him go next year. Had they kept him on the bench and started McCown, we still wouldn't be winning a super bowl this year, and we would be in a much murkier position going into the offseason. My prediction is that Cutler performs well, but keeps making poor choices, and McCown starts while we develop a young QB next year. We brought Trestman here to create a killer offense, and he has shown that he can that, so let's let him choose his own QB, especially when the wonder boy plays so recklessly, and McCown provides such a good example of how a lesser athlete can be successful if he plays smart disciplined football. For the record, I would be thrilled if the light came on for Cutler and he started playing disciplined football. I'd keep THAT guy in a heartbeat. I just wouldn't bet on it.

I dunno, I support taking a knee at the end of a game when I'm winning even though it doesn't produce positive yards. I support running out the clock, even not going to a long 3rd down to punt instead. I don't feel strongly either way, but I can understand rooting for a strategic gain even if it means a tactical loss. We all want to see the Bears become a dominant team. I really do think Trestman and Emery are on a good path.

Right on, guys. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone here, even those that would trade the Turkey

I just think there was an emphasis on building muscle rather than how flexible people are, and it might have something to do with all the injuries. If I oversold the idea to make the "article" more interesting, then well... yeah maybe

Why are the Bears struggling so hard to win games this year? The Offensive and Defensive rosters were full of experienced talent, and we finally had coaches with a scheme that can put up points. The answer was the Bears biggest offseason loss, and it's someone you might never have heard of. Rusty Jones was the Bears Strength and Conditioning coach from 2005 through spring of 2013. During that time, the Bears were relatively injury free. Here's a Story from Sports Illustrated about Rusty Jones, and his philosophy of training to avoid injuries, as contrasted with training to gain maximum strength. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writ...programs/1.html Rusty retired this past year, and we brought in Mike Clark from Kansas City. He was described as being of the opposing school of thought, and interested in "maximizing power and explosion" in the players. http://www.windycitygridiron.com/2013/6/3/...r-and-explosion Now we are looking at that same roster of experienced players on the sideline with injuries, missing at least some games. Melton, Paea, McLellin, Briggs, DJ Williams, Tillman, Peppers comprise the heart of the defense and all have missed games due to injury this season. On Offense, Jay Cutler is out with muscle pulls and now an ankle that was probably injured due to limited movement because of his groin. In fact, none of these players broke a bone. In all cases it was a pulled or ruptured muscle or tendon. If all those players had remained healthy on defense, I wonder what our defense would like like now, as they started to gel. I wonder what the destination of the healthy 2013 Bears squad would have been. How badly do we miss Rusty Jones?

I think the real point here isn't Cutler vs McCown, It's Cutler vs someone else, maybe a rookie. We see Cutler is a tremendous athlete. We know that if he made good decisions, he could be one of the best. We also see that Cutler doesn't play within himself, and tries to do too much McCown's success is just evidence that the Trestman system will work better than a gunslinger, even with a 2nd tier QB running it. Imagine what it would look like if Cutler ran it correctly. Amazing, but is that really one of the choices? Can Cutler learn? Certainly this staff will know the answer to that better than we can. McCown's success serves to highlight that if Cutler continues to make bad decisions, and this INCLUDES audible-ing away form Matt Forte and the run too much, that we might be looking for a new QB next year, and in that case, maybe McCown will steer the ship while the rookie learns? Would Cutler play with heart for the Franchise tag one year, after the Bears draft a rookie QB in the first round? Cutler is better than most QBs in the league, but I'm not sure he's better in the long run than a top rookie candidate with a Trestman graduate degree. McCowns success raises that question more than a direct threat to Cutler. Very interesting stuff.

That doesn't make sense. That's saying that Cutler is better this year because of the players that surround him, and would still surround any other QB that replaced him. That's a point the bears would make, not Cutler's agent?

I actually LIKE the one gap scheme. When it works, it's extremely effective. But it takes time to learn, so new players and coaches don't usually excel in it early.

Yes. Finally. This is exactly what's happening. It happened in Urlacher's first year too. I predicted it on this board at the beginning of the season. A one gap front has 8 guys responsible for 8 holes. A two gap, like most of the league plays, is where the DL is responsible for the gap on either side of him. In a 2 gap, the LBs are like little safeties. The are a second line of defense, and the safeties are the 3rd line. In our front, there is no second line of defense. THe good of it is that the DL doesnt have to stay where he is to read holes, he can get right upfield into his gap. This theoretically means more plays for losses and more pressure on the QB. It deosn't leave room for error when someone is out of their gap or gets beat. In that case, the first man to make the stop will be a safety for an 8 yard run. We saw a lot of those early with Lovie too, until players learned their gaps. That we've had injuries and new players, both free agents in their first year, and pickups to replace injuries, means that we see more of this. When it works, its no gain. When it doesn't, it's 8 yards. The good news is that football rewards consistency (gotta keep making 1st downs) more than inconsistency with big plays, so a few no gian plays sets up passing situations, and then we can pass rush. Problem is, people are out of gaps, and frankly, some people in gaps are just plain getting beaten too. emery did well with the LB & OL groups. Im sure he'll work hard on the DL next year.

This is what's going on. I predicted it before the season started. In a one gap system, it takes time for new players to learn their run fits. Also, some people, even if they are in the right hole, are getting blown out by superior blockers. That's because of the rash of injuries on the DL specifically at DT. I don't blame Briggs for this at all.

What, Webb again?

I disagree. I thought Bostic was excellent in coverage, but had trouble getting off of blocks in the run game from what I saw.

I didnt read his comment to mean he was frustrated that Cutler wasn't choosing him, but that he was getting double teamed. I don't have any problem with what he said. I think Marshall is a good guy.