BearFan2000

is hard to pick one when you don't like either. My hatred for the pats outweighs my hatred of the seahags. Plus the Seahags knocked the team I hate most out of the playoffs. first quarter was boring second quarter more interesting. Gotta say gutsy call with 6 seconds left to take one crack at the End zone rather than just send out the kicking team. Paid off with a TD. with around 30 seconds left in the half I liked (and was jealous of the aggressiveness. Having watched my Bears have the ball with over a min left several times and always content to let the time run out.

we can argue in circles about this the entire offseason and still end up in the same place. We can discuss the numbers as much as we want. But at the end of the day it's up to Fox and Pace to decide if they think we can win with Jay, if we should cut him and when to do so, or seek trade offers. My guess is they are looking at all the possibilities. And will decide which one is the best for the team now and future. In a lot of ways Jay is what he is. I don't think there's much growth potential for a 32 year old 10 year vet. His issues, and limitations are known and at this point winning with him involves an offensive scheme that plays to his strengths rather than asking him to be what he isn't. I think Trestman's system asked him to be what he isn't. How many of us watched the offense the last two years and wondered why we don't do more roll outs, bootlegs, etc to use his mobility. An offense that asks Jay to be a pure pocket passer or statue does not play to his strengths but rather exposes his weakness. A pass happy offense doesn't help either. In the past I think we've coaches that were either stuck on their system or didn't have a clue how to organize an NFL system and tried to fit the players to their scheme whether they fit or not and some players were of the square peg/round hole ilk. I feel for the first time in a long long time we have a real professional NFL staff here. So I trust their Judgement. I also feel that this staff will tailer their schemes to what we have on the roster and who we draft or bring in during FA. The ultimate goal is to build for the long term and if we happen to win now or turn things around quickly while doing so great, but I don't see us mortgaging the future to win now. I'm content to sit back and let Fox, Pace, and Gase decide Jay's future. I do feel in the right setting/offense we can win with Jay by playing to his strengths rather than ask him to be something he's not.

I would be for Tillman returning at the right price and if is fully healthy. He definitely seems excited and this team could use some enthusiasm and energy. Briggs... I'm split on this, I would lay down specific points that need to be met for him to come back. He has been an ass in the past but last year he was even more so and possibly the leading one on the team. He's had a brilliant career here, but his durability has become an issue, his commitment to the team has become an issue, and these are all fair concerns for bringing him back. I would on'y consider it if 1. He is all in and committed. That means he works his ass off to get himself in the best possible shape and arrives at camp ready to get to work. 2. He agrees to play for a fair price for the Bears. 3. He keeps his attitude in line and doesn't pull the crap he pulled last year. I would keep him but on a very short leash with an incentive laden contract that will not hurt the Bears to cut him if he doesn't shape up and stay in line. At the end of the day both these guys futures here are up to Fox and Pace, if they feel the risk is worth it and feel like they can get a good year or two out of these guys, I'll trust their judgement. Fox won't put up with the crap Trestman allowed. So the culture is different this year than last two years.

http://chicago.suntimes.com/bears-football...eeting-john-fox Tillman excited after brief meeting with the staff. Is excited about the direction the Bears are headed and would like to return. Wants to play for Fox.

Draft like a pro. Really that's the biggest thing coming up for him and the Bears is a successful first draft as GM. When he was first hired I was like "who?" But I've really been impressed with this guy, he is a go getter, he's diligent and like Fox has an engaging personality. Where as Emery and Dr Death were a personality vacuum. and Angelo was a bit odd. This guy seems to have a good head on his shoulders and a real genuine passion. Seems mature beyond his years. As he said in his press conference he's going to be aggressive and explore all avenues to bring guys who can help improve our team. The Draft will be his next big test and a very critical one if we are to start building through the draft so we only need to supplement with FA rather than use FA as a bandaid to make up for bad drafting. We have much to be positive about going forward. When was the last time most if not all here at talk bears and the Bears fan base as a whole was on board after a GM/HC change. Especially after how low this team sunk the last two years. We went from a time where we as fans were as angry, and disinterested in the Bears as I've seen in a long time, to a fan base who now sees hope. Could this be the end of firing losers only to hire then next batch of losers? Gotta end the vicious cyle, here's hoping that Pace and Fox are the first big steps to that end.

Saw that article earlier and thought about posting in here about it. It confirms what most of us have assumed or thought from the outside looking in. While no doubt Trestman knows his offensive x's and o's he lacks the ability to lead a team in a larger capacity like head coach. I would qualify that by saying he has a great mind for offense in a vacuum, but doesn't adapt well to his surroundings. His offenses stagnate and decline after the first year. It's pretty clear that he never fully had the locker room, and never really gained the respect of the team as a whole and thus they didn't care to follow him and in some cases acted like that child who doesn't respect their parent and constantly pushes the boundaries to see how far they can push. I'm sure to some on the team it became a joke, he became a joke. Sure glad George pulled the toilet handle and flushed these two turds out of the building. Also agree about Cutler, no doubt he's a tough SOB and when he's motivated leads by example but is not the type to step up in the locker room and be the leader there or on the sidelines, and that only works if that void is filled by someone else, and we don't really have that someone else. That indeed was the value Brian brought to the team his body may have started to fail him, but the leadership, and ability to act as a coach on the field or from the sidelines became his greatest asset towards the end. Once gone there really was no one left to fill that role. So we were left with a spineless head coach with his toolbox of football concepts trying to 'grow the man' rather than lead the team. And a QB this is like a personalty black hole. it's no surprise the result was chaos. I'm just thankful George, Virginia, and the Bears ownership recognized the problem and elected to perform the emergency surgery to save the patient. I'm glad Dr. Death, and Emery are no longer our problem.

The point about the Indy game likely not the only time they've pulled this they just happened to get caught doing in the indy game. That often gets lost because the Indy game was such a lopsided win that "it does't matter" because it had no bearing on the game. True, but if they have in fact been doing that regularly you only need to look one game back to where something like this could indeed have had an impact on the outcome. And the impact is greater than just a game or that they deflated balls, it's that the Patriots have a history of cutting corners, and cheating, and they get little more than a slap on the wrist. The pats from top to bottom are a win at all costs organization and will take any opportunity to get a competitive edge in any phase of the game or business. Then you have Bilecheat and Brady up there acting like they didn't even know there were rules about it and knew nothing about it when a week earlier they were bragging about how well they know the rule book and how smart they are. They are quite content to act dumb, and let anyone but them take the fall for it. That to me more reprehensible than the act itself. I too am sick of hearing about this every friggin day it's all over the news it's every where you turn.

Sounds like Vic's D did things like that in San Fran, the could change the front week to week, in game, whatever needed. I like that I like a D that is built on the versatility of being able to adapt to what's needed. Say one week your opponent is best attacked with a 3-4, and the following week your opponent is more vulnerable to a 4-3, and even mixing things up as the game goes say after the half to keep them guessing. Granted you can scheme the best most versatile defense but you still need the players to execute it so it'l be interesting to see what kind of talent is brought in and what we're able to do in this respect. Might be wise to start with a 4-3 base and throw in some 3-4 fronts and looks till we get enough talent to make the 3-4 our base.

Who's Mel Tucker?

Not sure what Emery took seriously other than overspending on disappointing players. And sharting the bed in the draft room.

When you establish the run and then are able to make play action and roll outs effective along with not making Jay the focal point of the offense, he can be serviceable to good. Jay is and never has been a pure pocket passer. His legs have been one of his better assets and he does throw well on the run. He did that a lot in Denver. This past year our offense was so predictable, the line was a mess, and Trestman rarely changed the launch point. Thus trying to use Jay as a pocket passer that is not the kind of QB he is. Defenses knew that 1. they could get to Jay due to poor pass protection, 2. Jay would almost always be in the same spot, 3. Jay doesn't have the best pocket awareness, and 4. Jay tends to hold the ball too long. Its a recipe for disaster. You stick a guy who struggles to feel the pressure till that "oh shit" moment, and even when the protection is there has a tendency to hold on to the ball, and then ask him to stand back there like he's Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady with a deflated ball is asking for trouble. When jay was at his best here it was when we had the run game going, we didn't ask him to be the focal point of the offense, we ran the ball, and we stopped the run. Year one of Trestman we had a highly effective offense in general, but the D couldn't stop a nose bleed. If you have a team like that you need a QB that can lead you in a shootout. That's not Jay. Last year the D was maybe only marginally better if at all. Trestman's lack of adapting when it was clear the rest of the league had the offense figured out. We were doomed and I don't think it'd have mattered who was under center last year.

I very much doubt Jay is in the Bears long term future plans, Yeah he may be here next year simply cause he may be the best option this year. I don't think this staff like in years past are being assembled to cater to a guy who is likely not on the team after next year. May still not be on the team this year. Just because a coach has worked with or has a connection to Jay in any way means that was the reason he's here. It may be an added bonus that he has worked with Jay before and may have more to do with in forming the teams decision on whether to keep Jay or not rather than whether we hire a coach or not. I get a sense that this staff thinks differently than past staffs. Who came out from the get go saying "he's our QB" and paying all kinds of lip service compliments. Neither Pace or Fox were committal in the least when asked tells me they are not going to play into the public game. Both want to hold off deciding till the situation has been properly evaluated with the full staff. There has been a strong emphasis that everyone be all in and be on the same page. I think it's dumb to hire coaches just because they worked wit one player in a last ditch hope to salvage a player you are likely to dump at the earliest convenience. It is dumb for a staff to be assembled to cater to that kind of player. IMHO I feel like the Bears have had enough of dumb, and fired dumb and dumber on black Monday. From that moment it seems like the Bears are changing their culture and the status quo. To be honest, I don't care if Jay is here next year or not… I really don't. As long as there is a clear plan of action going forward, If what's best for the team is to keep him this season and then cut/trade him and there is a purpose to that I'm fine with it. If the staff determines what's best for the team is to cut/trade him this year and start that rebuild process I'm fine with that too. My expectations for next season aren't Super Bowl, aren't playoffs, but want to see this team show improvement, direction, and have a sense that we are laying the foundation to rebuild the team into a perennial contender. Wanted to add another scenario There is a third possibility which is probably the longest shot, is that say we keep Jay and by way of miracle he finally gets it and starts to turn his career around. Again very long shot chance, there is so much playing against that, his long formed habits, his age he's in his 30's now, and the diabetes that may play more of a role in his random brain farts than we may know. QB's have turned things around late in their career but I don't see Jay being one of them. But I can't say it's impossible.

Quite possible that Dr. Death's lack of control and discipline did a lot to open the door and enable some of the stupid things that Marshall can say and do. He has a reputation of becoming a locker room cancer everywhere he's been. But when he got here he was on good behavior and seemed to be turning a corner on his borderline personality disorder. Really hasn't been a distraction till this year that I can recall. And the best word to describe this past year's team and locker room is Chaos. Not the best environment for a guy who has a tendency to do and say dumb things. Not saying the things he did were ok or right, but it's possible they were enabled by Dr Death's lack of discipline and control of his players. A guy like Fox who won't put up with that kinda crap, may just be the right person to restore order here and perhaps that includes Marshall staying in line. I'm 50/50 on keeping or cutting him, I love what he does on the field, but if he negatively impacts the locker room then I question if it's worth it. Like many other aspects of our roster, etc. remains to be seen. But back to the main topic I like the hire of Gase (didn't want Weis and breathed a sigh of relief that I wouldn't have to root for that turd to be successful). All in all this staff like others have said is quite possibly one of if not the best staff's we've ever had, at least on paper. So much different than the days where we would have bad coordinators and fire them only to promote one of their underlings who was also bad. My hats off first of all to George McKaskey who said enough is enough, this team needs a drastic change from top to bottom and we need to burn this thing down and rebuild the structure. He brings in Ernie (a real football guy) to aid in the search for a GM, they brought in a bright young guy who's worked his way up the ranks in a successful organization in Ryan Pace. Pace wastes little time getting on the task of hiring the best HC for the job. I would like thank Elway for being an idiot and a pshyco for blowing up his coaching staff making Fox available at just the right time for us to snag him. Fox brings instant credibility and we are able to attract some of the best coordinators and position coaches available. Gase, Vic, Donatell, etc. There definitely feels like a culture change here and I like what I've seen from the moment they let Phil and Marc go. The Bears have been on a mission to not just make the obvious firings and then hire the next set of stooges. They went out on a mission to hire the best they could get. Really looking forward to this coming draft with renewed optimism. A few good drafts and the Bears could see a return to greatness that we haven't seen in a long time.

sure would be a first for us having teams looking to poach our coaching staff before they are fired. I like that Fox isn't afraid of hiring someone that may in a year or two might get lured away.

They can have him and his toolbox of football concepts. Let him try to grow the man there. LOL

just threw up a little in my mouth.... My gut reaction is I don't want that fat, arrogant, arse hat anywhere near my Bears. I know he's had success in different places as an OC in the NFL but if Fox can keep him under control and mostly out of sight/media, maybe I could stomach him. He'd be on the bottom of my list cause I don't like him as a person. I know it's more than just about personality, but not sure if his character is the type that would be good for the locker room considering one of Fox's tasks will be to restore order and sanity to the locker room.

Both Pressers were full of loaded questions. Pace's and Fox's and they both essentially said the same thing that they have not yet had the time to meet with all the players and fully evaluate the roster. It is to be expected though because the Cutler situation is such a hot topic both with the fans and the media. Pace's response was more concise while Fox's was a bit more wordy, neither would commit to say yes he is the QB or no he's not. But really till the staff is in place and He and Pace have a better feel for Jay and how he fits into the plan or doesn't. Can't really make that statement. It may or may not be a sticking point with potential OC candidates and true some may want to not involve themselves with it. That can't be helped now it is what it is. Any Candidate that interviews is going to need to present his plan for the offense as a whole, not focus on one guy to the exclusion of the other 10. The other loaded questions about who's got control of what, when it's been spelled out that Ryan has full control of football decisions, Fox will report to him and together they will work on evaluating the roster, who stays, who goes, what kind of players they want to bring in via the draft and FA. Till all the pieces are in place I don't think it makes sense to publicly answer direct questions about Jay or anyone else. To be honest stating Jay is the QB next year or Jay isn't the QB next year can also effect candidates because I'm sure they are going to want some say in deciding who starts/who sits. Making a decision without their opinion can send the wrong message that "we want you to be the OC but, we're going to decide who plays and who doesn't."

Marc Trestman is out there LOL You know I'm kidding though

I tried to listen to that press conference and could only stomach 10 or so min of the full hour long thing lol. After about 10 min I feared for my IQ and instead listened to the condensed versions. What are they thinking? They go from Harbaugh to promoting this boob? I too first heard about it on the Score and man…. if your ever feeling bummed about your team… watch that lol

Disagree that the Packers played like the better team the whole game except for one play. They controlled the first half but Seattle came out with intensity and desire in the second half and fought back to win that game. This was a second half collapse by the Packers. outscored 22-6 in the second half GB didn't even sniff the end zone in the second half. Both FG's were 48 yards. I'm not a fan of either of these teams but gotta give the Seahawks a lot of credit to fight back and win. Packers made some critical mistakes on key plays, the almost pick, the 2 pt conv, the onside kick, etc but those plays were key because Seattle put themselves in position for them to be key moments. That second half and overtime was probably the most enjoyable football I've seen this year. Always love it when the Packers look like dopes. But as others have pointed out the media will spin this with all kinds of excuses. Sherman played with one arm for a good chunk of the second half, but I bet we hear more about Rodgers being dinged up than Sherman.

Anyone else enjoy the second half of the NFC title game? That was a heck of a comeback by Seattle outscoring the packers 22-6 in the second half and scoring the winning TD in overtime. Packers came within a favorable call of getting knocked out last week and this week they got off to a good start but got owned when it mattered. I kept waiting for some BS call to bail out the Packers but it didn't come and they are sent home with no super bowl.

That's what makes this all so hard to fully grasp just how big this shift has been and how decisive George has been taking the bull by the horns and leading the charge. And the sheer timing of it all not long after our new GM is in place and coaching vacancies star getting filled in the annual game of coaching musical chairs. A proven guy becomes available in time to interview and hire. Could this be our turn to catch some breaks and see this team returned it's place of honor? Time will tell, but this is the most hopeful I've been in years. I was impressed to hear that Pace flew out to Denver to get more time to talk and do a second interview with Fox. Pace has been reported as a go getter and we're seeing that play out.

whoever we get I trust Fox's judgement and something that makes me smile is that our team will have an identity, a sense of direction. Last year it was hard to figure out what we were trying to do or thinking it just seemed like a chicken with it's head cut off. One thing Fox and his staff will bring is a sense of order and direction.

If that's the case you won't be alone in that category, let's hope for all our sakes that we finally may see our beloved return to greatness.