Bears keep fine-tuning their pedigree of futility
January 4 Chicago Tribune columnist Rick Morrissey
"It was quite the active week for the Bears, though none of the developments had anything to do with the act of putting on uniforms and playing football, which really is the bottom-line indictment of the franchise. Some teams are still playing; the Bears aren't.
I use the word "indictment" because, with so much parity in the NFL, not making the playoffs is a stark reminder that you're a failure. If you don't secure a postseason berth, it's not because somebody else is that much better than you. It's mostly because you goofed up.
Which brings us, circuitously, to the strange-bedfellow team of the Bears and the Lions. Going 0-16 in this era should be impossible. And yet Detroit managed to do it in 2008. In response, the Lions fired head coach Rod Marinelli, and in response to that, the Bears immediately wanted to hire him, apparently based on his ability to be Lovie Smith's close friend. It's the same God-given talent that got Bob Babich the Bears' defensive coordinator job.
Marinelli was at Halas Hall for an interview last week. His agent also represents Smith and Babich, which is certainly convenient.
This is the same organization that fired Ron Rivera as defensive coordinator after its trip to the Super Bowl two years ago. Sometimes you just shake your head when it comes to these Bears. A lot of times you just shake your head.
There was much head-shaking last week as people tried to figure out what linebacker Brian Urlacher and general manager Jerry Angelo were trying to say. At least when Smith speaks, you don't have to do much interpreting. It's like interpreting porridge.
Angelo said at a postseason media gathering that the Bears had to get the quarterback position right. Allow me to ask a question: With all the things that went wrong this season, especially on defense, does anyone look back and say Kyle Orton was the problem?
All those years when the Bears were steadfast in their support of the mercurial Rex Grossman and now they decide that everything starts with the quarterback position?
Angelo said it's not about going out and getting a wide receiver—it's about making sure Orton is the right guy. How could anyone know whether Orton is the right guy when he has to throw to Rashied Davis, Marty Booker, Brandon Lloyd and Devin Hester? And if people want to continue believing Hester is rounding into a great receiver, be my guest. But his best talent seems to be getting the occasional pass-interference penalty called on a defensive back. What do you call that? Flag football?
Clearly, Angelo's comments were his way of telling Orton he wasn't going to get a big contract anytime soon. It's an understandable strategy. No one knows whether Orton is The One. You can't pay him yet. And after Angelo dumped so much money into a poor defense the past few years, perhaps the Bears aren't in the spending mood."Link
Calendar
