Making all the wrong moves
Since appearing in 2007 Super Bowl, personnel decisions have dragged down Bears
It's difficult to believe these stumbling, bumbling Bears are just three seasons removed from the Super Bowl. What happened to the promise of 2006?
You remember the '06 Bears. They weren't necessarily a great team, but they were good enough to win the NFC championship. They had an excellent defense, a solid if unspectacular running game and terrific special teams play. It wasn't a stretch to expect them to return to the playoffs in the succeeding years. But they haven't been back since, and they're not going anywhere this season, either. It's time to put the '06 team, and the promise it held, behind us.
(Tom Cruze/Sun-Times)
How did that team go from the Super Bowl to mediocrity? It's not as if the roster has changed dramatically since then. It's not as if the rest of the league got that much better. Looking back, it's apparent that the organization made a lot of mistakes. Following, in no particular order, are the biggest ones:
The team made it to the Super Bowl on the strength of its defense, but parted ways with defensive coordinator Ron Rivera afterwards. Head coach Lovie Smith was behind this decision. He wanted his good friend Bob Babich to coach the defense. No, that didn't work out too well. We can question Smith's judgment. We can also question whether general manager Jerry Angelo and president Ted Phillips gave Smith too much power.
Thomas Jones or Cedric Benson? Hmm ... how about neither? Both were an integral part of the '06 success, and both have gone on to find greater success elsewhere. Why did the Bears use a first-round pick on Benson when they already had Jones? That mistake dates to '05, but it led to all the drama that followed. To make matters worse, after saying good-bye to both Jones and Benson, Angelo had to use a second round pick on yet another running back (Matt Forte) last year. No matter how you feel about Benson, or Jones, or Forte, the situation was completely mismanaged -- and these kinds of mistakes are always costly.
Granted, most drafts are a combination of hit and miss. But the Bears' drafts since the Super Bowl appearance have not been fruitful. I don't think tight end Greg Olsen was worth a first round pick in 2007. The jury's still out on offensive lineman Chris Williams, the team's first round pick in 2008. Forte may not have been worth a second-round pick in '08, and Garrett Wolfe was a reach as a third-rounder in '07. And does anyone remember '07 second round pick Dan Bazuin? Angelo also has failed to find any hidden gems in the later rounds.
Most would agree that if the '06 team had one major shortcoming, it was inconsistent play at quarterback. Rex Grossman was the lead guy back then, and Kyle Orton was the backup. The quarterback situation finally was remedied this year when Angelo acquired Jay Cutler. But the Bears entered the 2009 season without a legitimate wide receiver for Cutler to work with. In Bernard Berrian and Muhsin Muhammad, Grossman had more polished and experienced receivers than Cutler has. The Bears seem to neglect certain positions for years on end, then must scramble to fill holes when things get really bad. And this method really hasn't worked so well for them. But would it work for any organization?
The three best players on the '06 team were defensive tackle Tommie Harris and linebackers Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs. But by '08, when Urlacher demanded and got his raise and extension, he already was becoming increasingly injury-prone. And why did Harris get that rich, four-year deal last season when everyone knew about his knee issues and about his sometimes erratic behavior? Of the three, only Briggs still has any long-term value left -- and the Bears almost let him get away.
The Bears knew Ruben Brown wasn't going to play forever. And that Fred Miller and John Tait were getting up there in years. And that Olin Kreutz wouldn't last forever. Then why haven't they had a plan for the offensive line? They've been busy plugging holes in the line since the '06 season without finding permanent solutions. Williams, last year's first round pick, is supposed to be one long-term answer. We'll see about that. Meanwhile, most of line is past its prime.
Devin Hester was the biggest breakout star of the '06 season, and should never have been converted to a wide receiver. In making that move the Bears instantly weakened both special teams and the receiving corp. What they should have done is draft a No. 1 wide receiver, or signed one in free agency. But they didn't go that route, and still haven't developed one in-house. And in the meantime, they lost a brilliant returner.
After the '06 season, many thought that if the defensive core was kept intact and the offense held its own, the Bears would make at least one more playoff run. But that window has closed. Now the Bears have a quarterback, and little else. The hope is that someone up there at Halas Hall has a plan, and the ability to execute it.