Will the Chicago Bears’ Key Moves Equal Wins?
Published by Bryan Dietzler on May 22, 2010
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
The Bears made some significant offseason moves this year (to date) in hopes that it will bring them back to where they were just a few years ago (in 2006) when they went to the Super Bowl. The Bears offseason has been filled with some uncharacteristic moves, including spending a ton of money on three free agent prospects as well shaking up the coaching staff a little bit. Will these things help them get to the Promised Land?
Like him or not, new offensive coordinator Mike Martz is going to be good for the Bears’ offense. Chicago has never had a coordinator that has wanted to pass the ball so much and Martz is going to utilize what he thinks are the strengths of the Bears and put the ball in the air much more often.
He will succeed as long as both his quarterback and wide receivers can stay on the same page and the offensive line can block. Right now it may look like those two units will struggle but we should all be surprised at what they will be able to do next year.
While the Bears may be coming into the 2010 season with the same people at the wide receiver position and on the offensive line we saw last year, there is something important to keep in mind. After gaining a year of experience together, both of these units will be much better in 2010.
They will have gained some experience catching some passes from Cutler. The offensive line will have gained some solid experience having played together for one season so perhaps things could be okay there.
The defense should be much better next season thanks to the addition of former Carolina Panther players, defensive end Julius Peppers and safety Chris Harris. Just having Peppers in the lineup alone should help free up some of the other players on the defensive line to make plays (because Peppers will end up drawing double teams).
This will mean more pass pressure on the opposing quarterback meaning more mistakes and more turnover opportunities. This is exactly what the Bears need to win.
Now many of us might think that the Bears will take a step back this season (on offense) because they have a new offensive coordinator but that may not be the case. Many people seem to think that the Bears wide receivers aren’t going to be able to grasp what has become one of the more complicated offensive schemes known (when Martz ends up as an offensive coordinator).
However, if you listen to what Martz has to say he feels that there will be no problem with the wide receivers and that they will excel in his offense. This may be a smokescreen but looking at the facts will tell us that this is indeed something that can happen.
Now to throw a little water on the fire. Every single player on offense has to re-learn an offensive scheme in one offseason. Not that they can’t do it, but with such a complicated offense (like Martz likes to run) it’s going to take a lot of learning and practice to get it down. There are bound to be a few slip ups to start the season but hopefully this group will be able to get things together and play good offense.
As another Bears mini-camp continues, we will be able to gain some additional insight into the team and how things may look heading into training camp to start the season. So far, there haven’t been any huge surprises in this mini-camp and there may not be any big surprises until training camp.
Injuries are always a concern but there haven’t been any major ones that we have to worry about so that is also promising. An injury to any member of the team at any position could hurt this team greatly so let’s hope for good health this offseason.
After watching what has happened at training camp so far, things look pretty promising for the Bears. Things appear to be coming along well on both sides of the ball and we should be able to expect a lot of good things out of Chicago in 2010.
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