Change Needed in Chicago

The Chicago Bears look pathetic. The Thursday night game against the 49ers was very sloppy and uneventful. The Bears received Jay Cutler at the start of the season and he has not been living up to his expectations at all this season. But that is not the problem. Any good business needs to set their employees up for success, and the Bears are not setting up their quarterback up for success. The offensive line is light and getting pushed around, the wide receivers are not fighting for balls, and the run game is extinct. There are a few things the Bears need to do by next season.

1) Fire Offensive Coordinator Ron Turner
His play calling is awful. The Bears came out throwing the first three possessions of the game and they never gave Matt Forte the ball on the edges. Jay Cutler is a west-coast style thrower. What this means is a lot of no huddle, short passes moving the chains and keeping the offense in rythym. Forte is a great pass receiver and he would fit into a great west-coast style system, and Turner is not allowing Cutler and the Bears to accomplish that. Again, we need to set up the team for success, and Turner is not doing that.

2) Fire Lovie Smith
He shows no expression on the sidelines. If we fuck up, he just stares, if we do well, he just stares. He is calling the plays on defense and they actually worked, but for how long? We played a shitty 49ers team that has Alex Smith at QB, I mean come on, we should have had more turnovers and taken control of that game with consistent offense. He led us to a Super Bowl with Rex Grossman, I don't know how he did, but it happened, and it is not going to happen again unless he gets changes in personnel on the offensive side of the ball.

3) Get Forte on the Outside
The Bears never pitch the ball. When is the last time you have seen Forte on a sweep? He needs to showcase some of the speed the Bears coaches talk about, and the Bears need to string it out to keep defenses from clogging the middle all the time. If I was playing against them, I would stuff the box with 8 all day. This stems from playcalling (see #1).

4) Cutler Needs to Make Better Decisions
Regardless of bad playcalling, lack of offensive line, and no run support, Cutler needs to learn to just relax and throw the ball away or take sacks. A sack and a third down is better than a pick and return in our zone. He has been forcing balls into receivers and tight ends and it is not helping the team succeed. Again, we need to set up our players to succeed, and Cutler is not helping the receivers out, and the receivers are not helping Cutler out either. Listen, Cutler has a great arm and with the right system he will be successful, but not right now under this system with these receivers.

Here's the bottom line. The Bears can't trade anybody or any draft picks for a receiver or offensive lineman, so Chicago is stuck trying to suck it up and try to win games for the next couple seasons. For initial improvement, the Bears need to look for new coaching staff. I love Mike Shanahan. He is a Chicago native (Oak Park) who knows how to run the football. With Forte under Shanahan's system and a coach who knows how to win, this seems like a perfect fit. Oh and Cutler had career highs in passing yards (4,526) and touchdown throws (25) under Shanahan in 2008.