Bears Blitz

Published by Bob Warja on December 31, 2011
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

NFL coaches are intensely competitive by nature. It’s a “win or else” mandate from their bosses, the fans and the media.

But the desire to win now must be balanced with the best interests of the longer-term future of the organization.

It’s with this in mind that I am addressing Bears head coach Lovie Smith’s recent proclamation about the importance of beating the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

Despite the lack of playoff implications, Smith says they are getting ready for the Vikings just like they would for any other opponent, as opposed to playing the younger guys to see what they have for next year.

Standing in his shoes, it’s fairly easy to understand why he feels this way. For one, he always wants his players to play hard and play to win and uses every opportunity to reinforce that philosophy.

And, let’s face it, coaches are judged on their W-L records and 8-8 just sounds better than 7-9. With a win, Smith can claim the Bears did not have a losing season in 2011.

But the reality of the situation is what it is—a meaningless game that will not carry over to next season regardless of whether the Bears win or lose.

Sure, the Bears would like to end the season on a positive note, and more specifically, end that five-game losing streak.

But a win, especially against an undermanned Vikings team, won’t change the fact that this was an extremely disappointing season for Chicago.

Recognizing that, I say the Bears have nothing to gain by playing Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs and some of the other so-called “stars” of the team.

Instead, they should start players like Nick Roach, Dom DeCicco and others who have not seen as much playing time this season in order to judge whether they can be counted on to contribute in 2012.

Plus, why risk injury to one of your starters in such a meaningless game? It just makes sense from a risk-reward standpoint to sit these guys.

Look, we already know what Urlacher can do, and we have seen Roach, so why not start DeCicco at MLB and see what he can do? After all, Smith claims he is the third-string option at the position.

Another thing I’d like to see is for Nathan Enderle to start the second half at quarterback.

Yes, we do need to see at least a half from Josh McCown to validate whether his performance last Sunday was simply a mirage or something sustainable.

But if the Bears are going to continue developing Enderle, it would be nice to see how he performs in a real NFL game situation.

Otherwise, you end up with another Caleb Hanie issue.

I don’t know about you, but the outcome of Sunday’s Bears-Vikings matchup is not going to alter my view of the 2011 season.

Likewise, if the Bears win, it will not make me feel any more hopeful for the 2012 season.

The concept of momentum, even if you believe in such things, is silly in this case because that momentum would have to carry over for more than nine months.

The more prudent thing would be to rest most of the starters and give other players a chance to perform. But apparently Smith does not agree.

Another way to look at this is to think that perhaps Smith already knows what he has and doesn’t like what he sees. That would another indictment of GM Jerry Angelo.

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