I hate to say it ladies, but the Bears suck.
Quarterbacks, injuries, drops, terrible coaching, even worse running game.
I know that it doesnt matter now, and its definitly too early to tell...but I have to say, I think I was right about this qb switch, in that it shouldnt have happened. I agree that in the long run, we will probably end up with more wins under Greisie, but who cares at this point? I'm hoping beyond all hope that Greisie really turns around the season, but does that seem like a futile dream to anyone else?
Having Greisie under center changes what is threatening about the bears offense...it leaves nothing threatening at all.
There is no vertical threat with the deep pass (Rex is at least considered capable of throwing these by opposing teams, however unsuccessfully), he cant run (just like rex), hes inaccurate at times (just like rex), he offered no real leadership qualities (just like rex)
The whole reason the switch was made was so that we minimized stupid mistakes at that position. Obviously in this particular game, that was not acheived by the switch.
Now I understand that Greisie will not play this way (oh my fingers are crossed) in future weeks as long as it is just rustiness. But it doesn't change the fact that hes just as capable of making terrible decisions as Rex is. Did we really gain that much in switching to a veteran decision maker, when you consider how many aspects of our offense we lost? Or how important to the offense those aspects are? Especially when our running game is suffering as it is? Grrrr...I just don't think it was a very sound decision.
At my very basic Fan level - I would rather have exciting games and lose, as long as the full capability of our offense is at least POSSIBLE, whether its dependant on one position's level of play or not.
Greisie, will probably give us a better chance at consistency...but really...what good is going to come from consistently coming up too short?...not being able to explode?....taking baby steps down the field?
Its great to be able to be methodical...but is it that great for that to be the only thing you can do? Absolutely not...
From an opposing coaching strategy perspective, the Bears will be simple to defend against with Greisie.
With Grossman, we killed ourselves with mistakes but we could also explode at any time with a very potent level of talent...
with Greisie, we will be outsmarted, outplayed, outdone, PLUS have the potential to make those same mistakes. Greisie has a smaller range of plays that he can accomplish. Can he consistently accomplish them? Sure, but how hard is it for an opposing coach to see what types of plays those are, and focus his defensive strategies on jumping those types of routes?
I guess I really cant possibly know what Greisie is capable of quite yet. For all I know, he has a great arm and can open up the field vertically very similarly to Rex...I just havent seen it, and from what I hear, it would be rare at best. And that does not comfort me.
I know that he deserves this chance...but it is my opinion that it will not accomplish the goal of the switch. AND if it DOES resolve consistency, it adds a boatload of other negative effects. When I weigh it out in my head...it just doesnt work for me. We lose the same as we gain....if not more.
It sounds crazy...but I am completely serious about this. If Lovie felt that there HAD to be a switch..for whatever reason, I personally would be much more satisfied (if it was not going to be Rex...it just COULD NOT be Rex); I would be much more satisfied with a decision to mix it up with Orton.
On paper, he may not lead anyone to believe that he can win more games than Griese. But if you want a spark...I dont think there is even a question. Orton, to me, seems to add more potentially positive unknown factors to our team than potentially negative known factors.
This is where the difference between Orton and Greisie is for me. Let me lay it down, to explain my reasoning on this:
GREISIE:
What we know...
We KNOW Greisie is old, we know he is not much of a deep threat, we know he cant run, we know he hasnt started in ages, we know he has less on that throw than the younger guys.
Potential positive unknown factors?:
after the rust comes off - better decision making?, consistent accuracy? leadership? no "technical" mistakes (snap miscues, etc,)?
ORTON:
what we know...
We KNOW that as a rookie he was fairly successfully able to manage games with a worse team than we currently have, he has an average arm, he is young, he learned a lot very early in his football career, he has a great beard.
Potential positive unkown factors?:
development since we last saw him under center? better decision making (he did okay before)? accuracy (who knows these days)? spark factor (this is big for me)? underdog factor? hes fast...can he still scramble (god knows thats all he did a couple of years ago)? leadership (again, hes done it before)? benefits of watching all this time...all the struggles, learning from others mistakes (has he)? less "technical" mistakes?
To me its simple...if your moving away from Rex, your not going with your most talented QB...I think Lovie would admit that.
If your not going with talent...why not go with what would be interesting...what would give a potential spark?
There comes a point in a season, where you have to start getting crazy...you have to start pulling stops and mixing it up. I'm not saying this is the way to do it. You could throw Hester into your offence MUCH MORE OFTEN. You could throw in a lot more trick plays. You can get a little crazy with your play calls. You can make riskier decisions.
We are there in my eyes...the old conservative Bears gameplan is NOT going to work with this offense. Lovie needs to get crazy and he needs to STOP worrying about the consequences of a risky play that does not go his way. Losing games all the time (no matter how close we came to winning) will have much loftier consequences, be it from fans, critics, or his career.... than the consequences of making this team exciting and mixing it up in there...even if the risks dont pan out.
It shows a willingness to do anything to win... that will make it very difficult for opposing teams to prepare for games against us. A willingness to be unpredictable and spontaneous is the key to eventually (<-key word) winning most strategic games...
...you may have some bad beats here and there, like in poker, but eventually being more aggressive pays off as long as the decision to be aggressive is well timed and executed correctly.
If I had my way...if I were coaching the Bears right now - I would change the gameplan...screw conservatism.
I would bench Griese so fast it would not be funny. Sexy Rexy would be back in - and if the fans didnt like it, then fine I'll use Orton - it wouldnt really matter to me. I would throw conservatism out the fucking door and just go for it.
Let Rex loose... tell him, "go out there, depending on what you see choose play A,B,C,or D...this is when you want to use A... this for B...blah blah blah. YOU make the call. Whatever is most comfortable for you. Wait for that Defense to show you something, and choose the play that gives you the best chance to succeed against it."
I would make sure he was NOT always worried about screwing up by portraying that attitude myself. If you (as a coach) ALWAYS choose conservative plays, and your QB messes up and ends up with a very un-conservative result...he (the qb) wont take another single risk because he knows how important that gameplan is to you as the coach.
If you show your qb that every now and again, your willing to take a risk with your play calls...that makes the QB ten times more likely to be willing to take a similar in-game risk if he feels it might benefit the team.
Lovie needs to stop trying to be a micro manager type of leader, and let the young QB's on his team make some decisions that have some major consequences for the team...it gives them a sense of responsibility and a greater inspiration to make sure that everyone is going that extra mile to make sure this works.
It's a system of "you get that ball near me and I'll catch it because you believe in me" vs. "oh shit, I hope this works otherwise coach will be upset at all of us".
Its the players working together to win vs. trying to collectively not displease a person (the coach).
PLEASE! The motivations for this team right now are all screwed up. And to me, the easiest way to fix that is to get someone in a leadership role that is making their own decisions, in gameplay situations, so that team-members have someone to rally behind, answer to, be inspired by, BESIDES Lovie.
A behind the scenes leader is not enough. The President can decide wartime strategy...for example, where and when we attack. But in the field you need someone to lead the troops...to actually be NEXT to the soldiers (out there with them) and make decisions based on what actually happens out there. Does this make sense to anyone else? I am at a loss as to why this is not being considered the major problem with this team, because to me...its that simple.
It has nothing to do with talent of the quarterback...it has EVERYTHING to do with their ability to lead (or being ALLOWED to lead with any sort of real authority), being free to lead, having authority to make decisions based on their own observations, having trust to know that if things dont go your way you wont be immediately berrated for it and treated like a two year old having all of your decisions being made for you.
Rex was trying to have a steak dinner, and Lovie is sitting their cutting up his meat for him....thats no way to learn how to do things yourself...its no way to grow...its being coddled because your not trusted with a knife. GIVE HIM THE FUCKING KNIFE!! ARAGAGGGGGRRRGGGHHH!
I seriously cannot believe that this was allowed to happen. This mess is completely a coaching issue. No foresight. No delegation skills. Terrible management. Disaster....and of course its all Rex's fault. BS if you ask me.
Wow- even I am surprised at how long this ended up. Can you blame me? An avid Bears fan like myself being forced to watch that crap yesterday. I'm going to get fired up, I'm sorry.
Please feel free to comment. I'm interested to know if this hits home with anyone else, or if people think we are on the right track and it will just take some time?? Be honest...I could be totally wrong, I dont know.
DLP
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