It wasn’t blind faith that told the Bears they should improve upon last season’s record of 6-10.
“The expectations we had in the preseason,” said tackle Mike Wells, “is what makes [1-6] so hard to take.”
Those expectations were based on some simple logic based on concrete facts that should have equated to optimism if only …
“We had a plan in place,” said personnel chief Mark Hatley. “Get a quarterback, put the offensive line together, get Marcus [Robinson signed] and Bobby [Engram]. Add a cover corner, draft a linebacker, get as much speed on defense as we could and get the kicking right.
“Why hasn’t it worked? Because we haven’t played to the level we need to play. Are guys good enough? That’s what we’re trying to answer right now.”
Here was the premise:
Theory: At 225 pounds last season, Curtis Enis was undersized and still not fully recovered from knee surgery the previous year. After two NFL seasons under radically different offensive systems, now healthy and at a weight (250) at which he said he was comfortable, Enis’ third year promised to be his best.
Reality: The Bears’ system and offensive coordinator Gary Crowton’s play-calling has all but taken the running back out of the offense. Enis wasn’t taken seriously in the preseason when he said he would play some fullback, and even coach Dick Jauron dismissed the notion.
But as of the third game of the season against the New York Giants, James Allen was the Bears’ tailback and getting the majority of carries, and Enis was the lead blocker, doing nothing to increase his yards-per-carry average.
At the time Enis injured his shoulder against Green Bay on Oct. 1, forcing him to miss the next two games against New Orleans and Minnesota, he ranked third on the team in rushing with just 52 yards in 22 carries.
“We always wanted a fullback, we always believed we needed a fullback,” Crowton said. “Who played it was the key and Curtis was our best blocker.”
Their choice, said Crowton, was between Enis, tight end John Allred and center Casey Wiegmann. “That was our original plan,” said Crowton. “Injuries forced us into having only one fullback and Curtis was too good an athlete not to be on the field somewhere.”
After tests Monday revealed his injured shoulder to still be significantly weaker than the healthy one, Enis was told he would not be making the trip this weekend to Philadelphia.
Hatley said Enis’ ineffectiveness in Crowton’s system hasn’t been a case of forcing the proverbial square peg into the round hole. “We didn’t draft Curtis to fit into Dave’s Power-I,” Hatley said of selecting Enis with the fifth pick of the ’98 draft, Wannstedt’s last year as Bears coach. “I thought his ability to run over and around people would be successful in any system.”
Theory: With three quarterbacks sharing the starting duties in ’99 but no one quarterback starting more than three straight games, all the signs pointed to more stability at the position. Jauron’s “experiment” of using rookie Cade McNown in a predetermined one or two series per game seemed likely to pay off as McNown showed signs of maturing.
Reality: McNown may know the offense, but that doesn’t mean he is in sync with his receivers. With eight interceptions and a passer rating of just 72.5, higher only than Troy Aikman’s 38.5 in the NFC, McNown is hitting his targets only slightly more often than he’s missing them.
The loss of Engram to a season-ending knee injury the third week of the season was clearly a big blow. As a sign of how unproductive the offense has been, Engram was still the Bears’ second-leading receiver as of last week.
Crowton said McNown is still adjusting to his receiving corps. “Early last season, Curtis Conway was the go-to guy, then it was Marcus,” Crowton said. “Now Bobby’s not there, the guy you trust on third down; Marcus is injured [missing the sixth week against New Orleans]; Eddie [Kennison] is new to the offense and [Marty] Booker is making big plays but he’s also young and inconsistent.”
Crowton said it may not look like it to others, but he notices improvement throughout the offense, including McNown. “Cade’s timing has been better the last two weeks,” he said. “He wasn’t throwing it up for grabs.”
Theory: Van Tuinei and Russell Davis split last season at right defensive end, combining for 4.5 sacks. How could free agent Phillip Daniels, an up-and-comer with the Seattle Seahawks, not be a significant upgrade? Obviously, the Bears thought so, signing him to a five-year, $24.5 million contract with an $8 million signing bonus.
Reality: Daniels is an upgrade, and a potentially significant one, with four sacks so far. But is he the havoc-wreaking pass rusher the Bears need?
Daniels says he is 10 to 15 pounds lighter than he was in Seattle (at 275, about 25 pounds lighter than left end Bryan Robinson) and not as strong this season, a result of not competing in power-lifting as he has done in past off-seasons.
“Push-wise, I can feel the difference,” Daniels said. “I remember last year going into guys and knocking them all the way to the quarterback. Now they hunker down and stop me in my tracks.”
Daniels, with a variety of physical problems ranging from a stinger to a deep thigh bruise to a sprained ankle, said he has had more injuries in the first seven games than he has had over his entire career. And he admits that he’s still learning the defense.
“Sometimes, I still forget a play call here and there, I draw a blank,” he said. “I’m hesitant because I’m thinking too much. It’s what you do your first year with a team. Next year, I won’t have to take that extra second to think before reacting.”
Theory: The Bears ranked 29th in the league in passing yards allowed and were torched by 17 pass completions of 30 yards or more. So among Hatley’s priorities was improving the secondary and again he appeared to do that by adding cornerback Thomas Smith and safety Shawn Wooden through free agency and drafting safety Mike Brown.
Reality: The free-agent market was thin at both positions and though the market dictated Smith’s five-year, $22.5 million contract, his interception-thin history did not support the expectations.
At safety, Brown was able to beat out Wooden, and though the rookie has played well, Smith has not made any big plays or even covered particularly well, which had been his strength. Hatley said the Bears thought they could improve Smith’s hands and were hoping Walt Harris would get some interceptions in the meantime, which he hadn’t through the first seven games.
“There are plays that have to be made in every game and for some reason we’re not making them in all phases,” said Hatley. “The talent is still developing, but if we’re not winning, I feel I’m not doing a good enough job getting the coaches what they need.”
Theory: The decision not to bring back punter Todd Sauerbrun, who never fulfilled his lofty potential as a Bear, appeared to be a step in the right direction. And even if place-kicker Jeff Jaeger did not return from injury, the Bears appeared confident they had an adequate replacement in either Jaret Holmes or rookie Paul Edinger. Anything had to be better than last year’s kicker carousel.
Reality: Brent Bartholomew was not, as it turns out, fully healed from reconstructive knee surgery last year and was no more consistent than Sauerbrun. As for Edinger, he missed one field goal from 30 yards and three others from 42, 49 and 42 yards through the first six weeks of the season.
While kicking may not have cost them any games this year, it hasn’t won them any either.
Theory: NFL parity was up, as was optimism with the surprising success of the St. Louis Rams, while the Central Division was down. What’s more, no Bears coach since Abe Gibron in 1972-73 has failed to improve from his first year to his second year. And the ’99 Bears under first-year head coach Jauron were a play here and a play there from at least two more victories.
Reality: They were also a play here and a play there from at least two more defeats even with the advantage of the surprise factor of Crowton’s new offense.
Teams have adjusted to the Bears’ flanker screen, among other things. The defense had serious flaws that were covered up by the new offense. The Bears have the second-youngest starting lineup in the league and injuries haven’t helped.
Now the challenge is figuring out how to win.
“We just have to stop making mistakes every week,” said center Olin Kreutz.
“Guys need to play with confidence,” said backup QB Jim Miller. “You see [Vikings’] Robert Smith break a long run and you can feel it on the sideline. It’s like, `Uh oh, here we go again.’ We have to get those negative thoughts out of our head.
“Losing stinks. It lingers. When you come to work, you can feel it.”
