The question came from Andy, a fan at this weekend’s Bears annual Fan Convention at the Chicago Hilton and Towers, and it got offensive coordinator John Shoop and other Bears coaches rolling Saturday. The question, voiced by a number of fans in various forms, concerned the Bears’ conservative approach to offense.
“I want to emphasize playing error-free and playing physical, which I believe will be winning football. Winning football,” Shoop said, voice rising. “The idea of playing not to screw it up or a `preventive’ offense … nothing could be further from the truth.”
Last season’s Bears compiled a 13-3 record and were the least penalized in franchise history and the least sacked in the NFL. Indeed, if what the Bears have done under Shoop is conservative, then “conservative” is just fine with the rest of the staff too.
Under previous offensive coordinator Gary Crowton, the Bears were among the teams that passed the most in the NFL. They were also 9-20. Since Shoop took over the offense in late 2000, the Bears have gone 15-4. “So maybe `conservative’ isn’t bad,” offensive line coach Bob Wylie said.
Shoop acknowledged a fan’s observation that the Bears did not audible often, preferring instead to use “check-with-me’s” in which two plays were called in the huddle and the quarterback would call one based on what he saw at the line.
And if sometimes the Bears seemed stubborn about running the ball into a defensive alignment with eight men up to stop the run, then it was with a reason, Shoop said.
“There’s going to be a time in the NFL when you run the ball when you want to run the ball,” rather than simply reacting to what the defense dictated, he said. “You’re right; there are times when they have eight men in the box and we’re going to say, . . . run it anyway.
“And when you’re up 14 points in the second half and our head coach is standing next to me saying, `You snap this ball with one second left on the play clock,’ you make sure of that,” Shoop said. “When Dick Jauron says that, he doesn’t have to say it twice or say it real loud. I’m screaming it.”
Coaches also offered inside glimpses of how certain players were handled last season. There had been questions as to why Anthony Thomas, who finished with a Bears rookie-record 1,183 rushing yards, was not inserted into the starting lineup until the sixth game of the season. Running backs coach Earle Mosley outlined the underlying, “gradual” plan that the staff put in place for Thomas.
“Sometimes you throw them into the fire too quickly, they don’t do well and they go into the tank,” Mosley said. “Every week we had certain things that we wanted him to do. Once he reached that hurdle, we had different things the next game. By the time of the Cincinnati game, he was ready to go.”
Thomas replaced starter James Allen during the Bengals game, rushed for 188 yards and went on to be voted NFL offensive rookie of the year.
If there is a concern hanging over the 2002 offense, it is the return of wide receiver Marcus Robinson, who had surgery on a torn anterior cruciate ligament a year after he missed time with a back injury. Although players are not due at Halas Hall for several more weeks to begin the off-season strength and conditioning program, Robinson has been a daily visitor for rehab, Shoop said.
To make up for any loss due to Robinson’s injury, the Bears will turn more to David Terrell. Terrell missed the early training camp and finished with a disappointing 34 catches last season, at times falling behind D’Wayne Bates and Ahmad Merritt on the depth chart. Receivers coach Todd Haley said Terrell is expected to be part of the entire off-season program.
“The one thing about the NFL is that you either get better or you get worse,” Shoop said. “We learned a great deal from 2000 and 2001 and I promise you we are going to work our tails off and get better in everything.”
