An ugly victory and a homely future for Bears
Lovie Smith defended the aesthetics of his team's win against the Browns the same way 31 other NFL coaches would have. Smith bristled when play-by-play man Jeff Joniak suggested people were terming the 30-6 victory ''ugly'' on WBBM-AM (780).
From a coach's perspective, a win is the only objective.
I'm still going with ugly. Sleepy also works. Uninspiring. Whatever adjective you slap in front of it, it wouldn't be complimentary.
This season, however, is measured by something more meaningful than wins and losses. Whatever your expectations were, what's most important is the development of younger players. You want a reason to believe there will be bluer skies ahead.
But the forecast is ugly. Again.
Jay Cutler is the only proven commodity on the Bears' offense. Cutler also needs to get better, but it's close to impossible to evaluate his progression. The Bears don't protect Cutler, and they're near the bottom in rushing for the second straight year. Cutler's young receivers, and the list begins with tight end Greg Olsen, have underwhelmed.
Cutler was supposed to make everybody around him better. That isn't happening. It's tough to have that kind of effect from a horizontal position.
The Bears' lack of progress offensively has Jerry Angelo's fingerprints on it. Drafting so-so talent and bad free-agent signings are in the recipe for ugly. Which Band-Aid move was worse, Frank Omiyale or Orlando Pace?
Smith's assistants have not established a record of developing many players, either, especially on offense. It isn't just coordinator Ron Turner, the most convenient target.
Do we have proof receivers coach Darrell Drake has suggested his pupils continue to run on rare occasions when Cutler isn't wearing a pass rusher's buttocks for a hat -- when he's scrambling, looking for an open man? Do the false starts, from a position at which that is never acceptable, bother Drake? Johnny Knox's premature burst on the first play of the second series Sunday wasn't the first time we've seen that from a Bears wideout this year.
Is running backs coach Tim Spencer getting the best out of Matt Forte? Forte is scuffling as a ball carrier and in protection. I'm not the only one who has noticed Forte seems sheepish in a sport defined by violent collisions. Nobody's demanding (the Vikings') Adrian Peterson, but it would be nice to see Forte willing to just get in the way once in a while.
I also have been wondering if defensive line coach Rod Marinelli slipped out of town and didn't tell anybody. His ''rush men'' have disappeared since early-season dates against turnstile tackles.
So if a 24-point win is -- by consensus -- unsatisfying, and the final record isn't paramount, what is?
Development. Young players getting better. Maybe even getting good.
We didn't see a good performance against a doormat last weekend. And if the Bears play that poorly Sunday against the up-and-down Cardinals, they won't have to worry about finding the right words to describe a victory.
Streaky as Arizona is, Kurt Warner's offense won't go three-and-out on its first three possessions. Karlos Dansby and Adrian Wilson will spend the day in the Bears' backfield eviscerating Cutler.
Most of us didn't expect to see the Bears back in Miami this February, but we wanted them to show us that a Super Bowl in a year or two is a possibility. There isn't much of a chance of that if the franchise quarterback doesn't get just a little help.
We desire improvement. Efficiency in the red zone. More than a 3.5 yards-per-carry average. Consistent pressure, so Danieal Manning and Charles Tillman don't have to make acrobatic picks against quarterbacks who have all day to survey the field.
It would be encouraging if the Baby Bears led us to believe they could grow up into nasty Bears.
Right now, they're ugly. Like the future appears. Scores and records have nothing to with it.
Dan McNeil hosts a sports-talk show from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. weekdays on WSCR-AM (670).