Bears Blitz

Published by Bryan Dietzler on June 16, 2011
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

The NFL lockout is still ongoing, and there hasn’t been much of anything going on in regards to what teams are doing or capable of doing. 

The draft is over and teams can’t even talk to those drafted players.  Free agency is on hold and there won’t be anyone implementing anything new for the upcoming season for the foreseeable future.

So what does all of this mean for the Chicago Bears?

The Bears are one of the lucky teams that don’t have to go through a coaching or coordinator change this offseason. This means that they won’t have to worry about some of the things that other teams will have to be concerned about. 

For example, the Carolina Panthers had a coaching change and have to implement a whole new system.  Without the time that is usually spent working with the players during the offseason to help them learn the new system, Carolina will be behind when/if the season finally starts.

The Bears won’t be able to implement any new wrinkles or any new things into their offensive and defensive schemes, so not having an opportunity to work out during the offseason definitely hampers that.

Players also use the workout period to stay in shape and while there are groups of players working out right now (including some of the Bear’s offensive players) just how productive will these workouts be? 

They can be productive because of the fact that the players are building up relationships and additional camaraderie without the coaching staff being present.  Guys will get used to one another better, and that could translate to their performance on the field.

Not having a recent playbook will hurt but the Bears shouldn’t be making too many changes to their offense or defense, so that may not be as big of an issue as it would be for other teams.

Not being able to bring in and try out undrafted free agents is going to be something that could set this team back as well.  Undrafted free agents not only help provide depth in training camp (allowing the starters to rest), but there also may be one of those “diamonds in the rough” that the team finds and that player ends up making the team. 

This happens all of the time.

And with needs in the secondary as well as with additional needs on the offensive line, the Bears will be at a disadvantage in being able to find additional talent in that manner.

The training camp period is vital for helping the coaching staff to put things together and get the team ready for the next season.  Although there are some that feel that it’s not as important as it’s made out to be, this time of the season is very important. 

It’s needed by coaches and players to get everything ready for the new season.

Any time that is missed is clearly a detriment to the any team.  Teams will be much less prepared for the coming season than they normally would, and this will cause several things to happen. 

First, the quality of play will be clearly diminished because of the lack of preparation time that NFL teams would have getting ready for the season.  These teams would not be well organized enough to play with clear precision, and that would make the 2011 season a sloppy one.

Second, the fans may be wary of the quality of play and not attend games in person.  Knowing that it’s possible that teams could be playing bad football, fans may not want to spend the money to go and see a less than perfect product. 

Fans may also not want to spend the money on a sport that had such difficulty fielding teams for 2011.

But football is football right?  And any football is better than no football.

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You can also see more of my work on the Chicago Sports Authority website.

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