Determining that action is the best reaction to 0-3, Bears coach Dave Wannstedt said Monday he had no choice but to replace his starting quarterback and right cornerback, and told his players that more changes may be forthcoming.
“With the circumstances of the team right now and our record, we can’t stick our heads in the sand and say we’ll be OK this week doing the same thing,” Wannstedt said. “We don’t have many options.”
Or as Erik Kramer, who has lost the starting quarterback job to Rick Mirer, put it: “It’s like rubbing a genie bottle. Maybe something will pop out.”
Mirer’s view was somewhat different. “I can get it done,” he said.
What emerged Monday was Wannstedt’s announcement that Mirer will be the Bears’ new starting quarterback, while veteran James Burton will move into Walt Harris’ starting right cornerback spot.
“I’m not a personnel director, but I guess the coaches looked at the film and they knew changes needed to be made, and I guess more changes are going to be made too,” Burton said. “I don’t know. That’s all (Wannstedt) said was changes (would come).”
Mark Hatley, who is the personnel director, said not to expect any significant moves outside the team for now. “A lot of teams start 0-3 and rally around and still make the playoffs,” he said. “You can’t start making wholesale changes.”
Hatley said there was plenty of soul-searching Monday at Halas Hall and it began with him.
“Everybody wants to blame somebody, but the blame for 0-3 goes to all of us–players, coaches and personnel people,” he said. “There are guys out there who if I (had signed them) might have made the difference in one of these games.”
Clearly, Kramer did not make a significant enough difference this season to justify Wannstedt’s decision to name him the opening-day starter, and the veteran begrudgingly said he understood.
“I certainly don’t feel I’m the one to blame for why we’re 0-3,” Kramer said, “but I understand that the perception is that the quarterback is the guy who should be replaced, or that’s the place the team should try to shake things up. These are desperate times for the team as far as trying to get a win.”
And it only gets more desperate for Mirer, who comes off a shaky debut in a quarter and a half Sunday to face undefeated New England on the road this week.
“I was brought here to help this team win games, and unless I’m playing, I can’t do that,” he said. “Anybody can beat anybody, and right now we have to suck it up and get a win.”
Wannstedt and Bears offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh took pains to say the move should not be considered a demotion for Kramer, who completed 51 percent of his passes in three games with three touchdowns and two interceptions.
“I didn’t think Erik was playing all that badly,” Cavanaugh said. “But we said when we started the season that we’d try to give us the best chance to win early, and we haven’t won.”
The Bears traded their first-round pick to Seattle for Mirer. But at the end of training camp, coaches said he wasn’t ready and that Kramer gave them the best chance to win.
“I just think his development was such at that point that when we were ready to open the season, we didn’t think he was quite ready to step in against Green Bay,” Cavanaugh said. “Three weeks into it, now is the time to put him in there and find out.”
Wannstedt said simply that any spark will do.
“Hopefully with Rick out there, it gives us another dimension with his mobility,” he said.
Wannstedt said he does not plan on “going back and forth each week” between quarterbacks, but did admit that with a new quarterback, center, guard and rookie tight end getting more playing time, he will “scale back” and simplify his offense.
“I haven’t done a whole lot in the last three weeks, so seeing guys flying around live and taking shots at you and stuff, that’s definitely stuff that takes getting used to,” Mirer said. “I don’t think anyone is expecting this to be the answer to all our problems.”
Neither is Mirer, who started 51 games in four years at Seattle–with the Seahawks winning 20 of those–.
“I don’t expect anybody to hand me anything,” he said. “I know how it works. You have to play well to be playing, and that’s where my focus is. I don’t want to make it a decision for anybody. I want to make it clear that I know what I’m doing.”
