December 30, 2013
2013 Bears Post-Mortem
Basically, the thing I was concerned with most has come to pass: the Bears got Lovie Smith back, but in an offensive guise. One side of the team did a great job while the other side floundered. I could argue that Smith had 1.5 sides intact if we include the stellar play of Dave Toub's special teams units, and that's actually an advantage over Trestman.
The mitigating factor, of course, is that Trestman is brand new as head coach, with an entirely new group of coordinators and position coaches. To get an entirely new system in place, along with a completely new offensive line, and be as effective as the Bears were (regardless of which QB was at the helm) was impressive.
On the other hand, to watch the formerly consistent defense completely flop was deflating. Like the offense with Coach Smith, the defense is what needs to be the measure of Coach Trestman. If the defense was merely mediocre, they could have knocked out the Packers a week before facing them. He was brought in to fix the offense, just as Lovie came to shore up the defense. So far, the Bears exited before the playoffs despite some outlying hope near the end of the season.
I can stomach losses, but I can't stand watching the conservative play of what's supposed to be a powerhouse offense. Turn those horses loose. Learn the unstoppable plays and run them at 4th and 8. Much, much worse is the sloppy, unprepared play of the defense that was #16 overall just two years ago. It's possible that the stars are too old and injury-prone now. It's possible that the guys with remaining contracts are just playing them out with little or no verve. Either way, no Lovie Smith defense would have let a live ball sit there on the turf.
The defense needs someone other than Tillman and Jennings at corner (to relieve them and eventually take over), they need a whole pile of safeties (clean house), not sure what to do about linebackers, and the line sucks, too. It's hard to tell how much of it is a talent deficit, and how much is a coaching deficit, though. Jon Bostic looked unstoppable in the pre-season, and could still be a great player, but he sure looked like a rookie in games later in the season.
Urlacher looked like a world-beater in his rookie season.
We'll see, but unless they get a new coordinator and a phenom or two in the draft, I'm not sure how long I'll stay engaged in 2014. All the bluster about who should be quarterback is wasting valuable time.
Gorillaz - All Alone
Seemed like a good choice for today. All is quiet on the days before New Year's Day when it falls on a Wednesday, I guess. Dead in the office, easy commute in, and likely no line for workout equipment, since resolutions don't kick in for a few days.
Enjoy, if you're in holiday seclusion like I am:
Enjoy, if you're in holiday seclusion like I am:
December 18, 2013
What Quarterback Controversy?
The problem with listening to sports talk radio is that there is a finite amount of interesting information at any given time. Even when sports overlap, there's only so much to discuss. So, I'm not sure if there really is a strong cry from fans to keep Jay Cutler benched, or if it's just bluster created by the media.
It's fantastic to watch Josh McCown succeed. He seems like a genuinely good guy. He was the only guy Cutler seemed to communicate with on the sidelines regularly in the past, and this year, he's prepared himself as though he were starting. So, when he got the call, he looked like he had been the starter all along. He's a good quarterback in a very QB-friendly system.
People forget, though, that the system is here because Jay Cutler is here. The Bears went out and got the tools for Jay Cutler, not McCown. And this is not to diminish McCown's contribution or skills, because I think they surprised lots of people this year, but even Josh is happy as the backup quarterback if you take him at his word.
I think part of the difficulty is how efficient he's been, but more importantly, how much he fits the mold of a Chicago sports hero. He's humble, but then he puts up big numbers. He congratulates guys when they score or do something big. I saw him yelling encouragement to defensive play makers this past week. He's in the mix, not brooding on the bench.
And that's not an indictment of Cutler. I don't care about his methods as long as he's the great QB he's shown himself to be. I don't have warm, cuddly feelings about Jim McMahon, but he's the only QB who brought home a Super Bowl win in my life time. And really, when you look back at all of Jay's "transgressions", he's had plenty of reasons to be crabby.
Cutler needed some refinement when he got here, and instead, he got pummeled and passed from offensive coordinator to offensive coordinator, learning a new system every year, it seemed. The list of OCs is ridiculous when you consider that at least one of them had less experience at the job than Jay himself.
Suboptimal coaches with terrible talent to work with (besides Cutler and Forte) made this a hostile work environment, and it was impossible for Jay to progress as a QB. So, under all new management, the coaching staff was cleared out and people with winning pedigrees were added to help Jay get to the next level. It was a little slow going at the beginning of the year, and then he was plagued with back-to-back injuries.
So back to the so-called controversy. Unless there are teams beating down the door for Josh McCown, everyone on the team should be happy with him as the most trustworthy backup QB that I can remember. And by their own words, they are. Especially after a win with Cutler back at the helm. He's been able to take a breath this season and watch some excellent QB play, which might be what he needed more than anything else. He's got all the tools in place, and now he's had a chance to watch them work.
To me, Jay Cutler, Josh McCown, Marc Trestman, Brandon Marshall, and probably lots of others, there is no controversy. Jay is the starting QB and Josh McCown is probably the best backup the Bears have ever had.
It's fantastic to watch Josh McCown succeed. He seems like a genuinely good guy. He was the only guy Cutler seemed to communicate with on the sidelines regularly in the past, and this year, he's prepared himself as though he were starting. So, when he got the call, he looked like he had been the starter all along. He's a good quarterback in a very QB-friendly system.
People forget, though, that the system is here because Jay Cutler is here. The Bears went out and got the tools for Jay Cutler, not McCown. And this is not to diminish McCown's contribution or skills, because I think they surprised lots of people this year, but even Josh is happy as the backup quarterback if you take him at his word.
I think part of the difficulty is how efficient he's been, but more importantly, how much he fits the mold of a Chicago sports hero. He's humble, but then he puts up big numbers. He congratulates guys when they score or do something big. I saw him yelling encouragement to defensive play makers this past week. He's in the mix, not brooding on the bench.
And that's not an indictment of Cutler. I don't care about his methods as long as he's the great QB he's shown himself to be. I don't have warm, cuddly feelings about Jim McMahon, but he's the only QB who brought home a Super Bowl win in my life time. And really, when you look back at all of Jay's "transgressions", he's had plenty of reasons to be crabby.
Cutler needed some refinement when he got here, and instead, he got pummeled and passed from offensive coordinator to offensive coordinator, learning a new system every year, it seemed. The list of OCs is ridiculous when you consider that at least one of them had less experience at the job than Jay himself.
Suboptimal coaches with terrible talent to work with (besides Cutler and Forte) made this a hostile work environment, and it was impossible for Jay to progress as a QB. So, under all new management, the coaching staff was cleared out and people with winning pedigrees were added to help Jay get to the next level. It was a little slow going at the beginning of the year, and then he was plagued with back-to-back injuries.
So back to the so-called controversy. Unless there are teams beating down the door for Josh McCown, everyone on the team should be happy with him as the most trustworthy backup QB that I can remember. And by their own words, they are. Especially after a win with Cutler back at the helm. He's been able to take a breath this season and watch some excellent QB play, which might be what he needed more than anything else. He's got all the tools in place, and now he's had a chance to watch them work.
To me, Jay Cutler, Josh McCown, Marc Trestman, Brandon Marshall, and probably lots of others, there is no controversy. Jay is the starting QB and Josh McCown is probably the best backup the Bears have ever had.
December 13, 2013
Bob Schaeffer - DEAD
I never hit the big time or made a record that went gold or played in front of thousands of people, but man, I had some fun chasing the rock and roll dream.
Once, early on, my friend Alex decided to take recording lessons through the university so that he could record our band more effectively. His homework was to book time at the university recording studio, outfitted with ancient (but awesome) gear, and record stuff.
We were used to being up late and there were very few daytime hours available, so we'd get tanked up, set up the mics and cables and stuff, and record until well after the bars in town closed. Since we didn't have any help, Alex would set the levels and hit record, then race into the main room, pick up his bass, and we'd count it in.
During one of the sessions, our friend Bob Schaeffer came in and recorded a few songs with me on drums and Alex on bass. It was in the keys of D, then E, then A, then D again. As you might imagine, it's called DEAD.
So, here's the song. Bob showed us the idea and we played it once for practice, then recorded the second take (this one). There might have been more takes or other songs, but this one made it through the years.
Some of the best times were when I had little or no idea what I was doing. This was one of those times. I feel very lucky and grateful to have landed in Dekalb when I did.
Once, early on, my friend Alex decided to take recording lessons through the university so that he could record our band more effectively. His homework was to book time at the university recording studio, outfitted with ancient (but awesome) gear, and record stuff.
We were used to being up late and there were very few daytime hours available, so we'd get tanked up, set up the mics and cables and stuff, and record until well after the bars in town closed. Since we didn't have any help, Alex would set the levels and hit record, then race into the main room, pick up his bass, and we'd count it in.
During one of the sessions, our friend Bob Schaeffer came in and recorded a few songs with me on drums and Alex on bass. It was in the keys of D, then E, then A, then D again. As you might imagine, it's called DEAD.
So, here's the song. Bob showed us the idea and we played it once for practice, then recorded the second take (this one). There might have been more takes or other songs, but this one made it through the years.
Some of the best times were when I had little or no idea what I was doing. This was one of those times. I feel very lucky and grateful to have landed in Dekalb when I did.
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