Camping Out: A Man To Man Talk About the Chicago Bears
Published by Gene Chamberlain on July 27, 2009
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
It’s time to man up.
Bears training camp practices begin in Bourbonnais at Olivet Nazarene University Friday and coach Lovie Smith delivers his annual state of the Bears address to media Thursday afternoon.
Camp is always about trying to find a few good men—53 to be exact. This year the manpower problems facing the Bears are different than in any past season since the Jim McMahon era. Having a man calling signals like Jay Cutler pushes that position into the background.
Or does it?
I’ll be at this year’s training camp every day with daily reports and occasional stories here.
These are the key men as I see it as this year’s drama unfolds:
Man in the Glass Booth
Cutler has never received the kind of scrutiny he’s about to face. The Bears need him to go from whiner to winner. After complaining his way out of Denver, Cutler’s attitude will be closely watched by national and local media.
A Bears signal caller always will have his production—or lack there of—scrutinized, and Cutler has yet to show he can be a mistake-free passer. He has thrown 37 interceptions in 37 games.
Compare that to Rex Grossman’s 35 interceptions in 36 games. He makes big plays, but the Bears are going to have to live with his mistakes.
Man on the Edge
Orlando Pace, the former All-Pro left tackle from St. Louis, joins the Bears’ offensive line at age 33.
The Bears have a history of squeezing a few years out of offensive linemen at the ends of their careers. They did it with Ruben Brown and Fred Miller. Pace is critical not only because he protects Cutler’s blind side, but because he gives the Bears freedom to play other linemen in different spots.
First-round 2008 draft pick Chris Williams can play right tackle, with a little less pressure in his first season following a rookie year spoiled by what amounted to a season-ending back injury. The Bears were tinkering with the idea of Frank Omiyale at right tackle before, but now can use him at his natural guard position.
Man in Limbo
Is Devin Hester a receiver or a return man? He’d like to be both, but has admitted it’s probably not realistic to think he’ll be able to be spectacular at both.
The Bears need him to be their No. 1 receiver because he’s paid like one. It’s easier to come up with good return men, albeit not the freakishly good type that Hester was in 2006 and 2007. The Bears have one of those already in Danieal Manning on kickoffs.
Man with Ax to Grind
Adewale Ogunleye is really the contract question floating at this point, with the possible exception of a renegotiated deal for Cutler.
Ogunleye came to Chicago from the Miami Dolphins in a trade for Marty Booker and is in the final year of a $33.4 million deal. He’s had 37 sacks in a four-year Bears career with a high of 10 in 2005. Whether he gets a contract depends almost entirely on his production or the production of others at his position.
Invisible Man
Mark Anderson has had two sacks in his last 21 games after producing 12 in his rookie season.
The defensive end’s contract expires after this season and it would appear his future is linked with Ogunleye’s. Whoever produces, stays.
Strong Man
It would appear the Bears have two strong safeties but no starting free safety. Craig Steltz and Kevin Payne are both solid hitters without the deep center field experience needed to be a free safety in the cover-2 defense. How the Bears solve this manpower problem will be an issue throughout the early season.
Man Behind the Man
After waiting so long to get a starting quarterback, it might seem silly to nitpick over this, but does anyone have real confidence backup Caleb Hanie can be an adequate replacement if Cutler gets hurt?
The ideal NFL backup is someone with starting NFL experience who can be ready quickly in an emergency. Hanie hasn’t even played a game let alone started one.
Odd Man Out
With Hunter Hillenmeyer, newly acquired Pisa Tinoisamoa, and Nick Roach available to play starting strong side linebacker, it’s likely one will be walking the plank.
Hillenmeyer got a five-year, $13 million contract extension in 2006 and if he’s not completely outplaying Tinoisamoa or Roach enough to win the starting job outright, he might need a life jacket when roster cutdowns come.
Man down
Losing left cornerback Charles Tillman for training camp and possibly longer due to back surgery is a disaster, considering the Bears’ secondary already will have a pair of inexperienced safeties. Starting right cornerback Nate Vasher is going to have to perform like he did in 2005 and 2006 to help them through the early season.
Man on the Hot Seat
It’s not Lovie Smith—yet. Offensive Coordinator Ron Turner is in his fifth season and ninth season overall as a Bears offensive coordinator (he worked for Dave Wannstedt in 1993-96).
So far, Turner’s Bears offenses have finished in the top 10 once (1995) and in the top half of the league twice (‘95 and 2006). They’ve been 21st or worse six times. His contract expires after this season.
If Cutler bombs or is mediocre, they’re not crucifying GM Jerry Angelo for failing to get Cutler a wide receiver because Angelo’s contract runs through 2013. They’re not blaming Smith because he’s got his hands full as the head coach and de fact defensive coordinator.
Certainly they’re not blaming Cutler after waiting all these years for a quarterback with his kind of potential.
Turner needs a good year. Period.
Man on the Hot Seat in Waiting
Smith. His contract expires after 2011, and it’s unlikely he could do anything so quickly to get into hot water after taking the team to a Super Bowl and two division titles. But rumblings from Bear Nation about his lack of emotion and the passive cover-2 defense are always present in the background during the NFL season.
Smith has taken over defensive coordinator duties and he has to show he is the defensive genius the Bears thought he was when they hired him to replace sleepy Dick Jauron following the 2003 season.
