As if yesterday's horrible loss to the lowly Liedowns isn't bad enough, lost in the Urlacher nonsense and Griese's 4 INTs is that this team's future is starting to look very grim for the Mediocres of the Midway. The Bears have dominated the bumbling NFC North for several years. That reign does not look like it is going to continue.
The rest of the division had no choice but to get better. While Detroit has no defense, they have some really talented skill players. Same with the Vikings. Adrian Peterson is going to be a force in the NFC North for a decade if he stays healthy. Green Bay has a solid, very young defense. Now let's look at the beloved in several key areas.
Quarterback: What can you say. Watching the Patriots last night I fantasized about what it must be like to have a legit pro quarterback. The Bears quarterback woes are legendary. Rex is, well Rex. He won't be here next year. Griese is clearly not the answer. If he is the starting quarterback at the beginning of camp next year expect no better than 8-8. Angelo needs to take the heat for Rex, he is definitely a 1st round bust. Speaking of busts, let's move on the running back position.
Running Back: Lovie Gump almost incoherently repeats that the Bears get off the bus as a running team. Forget that they just don't give Benson enough carries or that they bench him in the fourth quarter. This guy does nothing well. He can't pass block, he can't catch the ball, he has no burst, he can't hold onto the ball. Can someone please tell me what Benson can do? He is another 1st round bust.
Receiver: What can you say about this group? Dropped passes, bad routes, not one receiver that would be starting on a contending team. Another place where Angelo must be faulted. It's hard to pin all the offensive woes on the quarterback when the skills position players are so woeful.
Offensive Line: Old, creaky and no young players in the pipeline. The entire offensive basically needs a total reboot. You just can't do that in a year or two. This could be a 4 or 5 year rebuilding effort. And that assumes Angelo can hit on some offensive players. A skill he hasn't shown he possesses.
Defense: Let' start with Urlacher. Is his time as a dominant player coming to an end? Whatever this back injury is, he does not look like the same player. Brian has been the glue in the this defense, with him at less than full strength, this punctures the core of the defense. Even the national media can tell that this is not same defense that helped Kyle Orton win 10 games. They just aren't getting the takeaways anymore. They aren't dominating teams like they have in the past 3 years. The window is closing on the defense.
There you go. Last year might just have been the beginning of the end. The Bears had a dominating defense for several years and an anemic offensive. Amazingly, Angelo has made the offense even worse while the defense is inevitably starting to decline.
Where is the ray of light for this team? Where are tomorrow's stars waiting in the wings? Simply put, they don't exist. The pantry is bare. It might be for a very long time indeed.
2 comments:
Their pipeline looks a lot like Pfizer's. Their blockbusters are about to come off of patent. Again, the bears best hope may be a crap division. Green Bay will probably fade and the viks and the lions are really still horrible. Bottom line- no playoffs!
with green bay winning in ot last night, the hole is growing bigger.
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