Who do you feel is the most important Bear currently, who they cannot win without? Why? Graham Hotard, from Twitter
I love this question. Last year, in hindsight without a doubt it was Jay Cutler. It may be again this year just because of how good he can be and the importance of the position he plays. But there is a difference this year. The Bears have a veteran behind Cutler who has had a degree of success in Jason Campbell. They should be able to overcome losing Cutler more easily than they did a year ago, when they fell to pieces and lost five straight games. If Campbell were a Bear in 2011, there is no way the Bears would have lost all five games. I guess they would have won three of them. Over the last two years in Oakland, Campbell was 11-7 as a starter. So if Cutler is not the most indispensible Bear, who is? Brian Urlacher could be. He is the Cutler of the defense. The depth at linebacker is OK, but there would be a huge dropoff without Urlacher on the field, both from a talent perspective and a leadership perspective.
Julius Peppers could be. Pass rush means everything to the Bears defense, and he is the only established pass rusher on the team who forces defenses to adjust to him. I think Shea McClellin should be pretty good pretty fast, but until I see it I’m not counting on it. Without Peppers on the field, it’s likely the Bears would have to blitz way more than they are comfortable doing, and that would leave them vulnerable in coverage. And here is my surprise candidate: Brandon Marshall. He hasn’t even played a snap yet, but already he means a lot to the Bears offense. Assuming Johnny Knox is out, the Bears’ receiver corps would look very thin without Marshall. If you think Cutler or Urlacher or Peppers or Marshall was the most indispensible Bear, you would not be wrong. Each could be. Given the system the team plays, I would vote for Peppers.
I can readily see why Da Bears picked up Jason Campbell as Cutler’s primary back up being a top free agent QB. And I understand his signing for the good financial rewards offered . What I don’t get, why did they sign him to just a one year contract? Chuck D., Guilin, China
Because Campbell would not have signed a multi-year deal. Campbell’s hope is that he can resurrect his career by looking good as a Bear. He wants to be a starter again. He knows it’s probably not going to happen in Chicago. But if Cutler goes down and Campbell lights it up, Campbell could get a shot with another team.
Love your work with the Bears and the NFL in general. I noticed that you are a part of the NFL Hall of Fame Selection Committee and I was wondering what are the benchmarks for a Hall of Fame-worthy linebacker? I find myself defending Brian Urlacher’s eligibility for the Hall of Fame when he retires. I’d like to know how you determine if he is worthy. What do you look for in a Hall of Fame linebacker? Thank you and continue the great work. Matt Ferguson
That is a difficult question to answer, Matt. The problem is hall of fame voters have to compare players from different eras, different systems and difference circumstances. So there are no specific benchmarks that I say — if he has these, he is a hall of famer. Generally speaking, I’d ask this question: did he dominate? Did he make teammates better? Did he force opponents to change their gameplans because of him? Did he have sustained success? Those questions aren’t always easy to answer either. But it’s the job of a hall of fame voter to answer them.
Dan, can you tell me why offensive linemen can go an entire game without being substituted for but defensive linemen have to have a rotation in every game? Are the guys on the O-Line simply superior athletes than the guys on the D-Line? Jay Pyle, Twin Falls, Idaho
It has nothing to do with athleticism. It has to do with energy. Defensive linemen expend a lot more of it than offensive linemen on a given snap if they are doing their jobs right. Pass rushers have to go all out on every play. Offensive linemen usually are asked to move less. Defensive linemen frequently are subbed so they can stay fresh and a defense can continue an all out attack on the offense throughout the game. Another important point is offensive linemen are more tied into working with the men next to them than defensive linemen are. An offensive line would not function as well with players coming in and out of the lineup.
Every time I see the words “spinal fusion” I picture that play in which Johnny Knox was injured and cringe. I thought the guy who hurt him should have been tossed and fined. It certainly looked to me as if he drove through Knox with no regard for recovering the ball. It also defies logic how he could have expected to do what he did and not cause serious injury. It was either stupid or malicious, take your pick. I hope I am wrong about that last part. Do you have any thoughts on that aspect of the play? Greg Hack, Gurnee
I didn’t think Anthony Hargrove did anything wrong on the play, and if anyone associated with the Bears thought Hargrove was out of line, I have not heard about it. Hargrove was diving for a loose football. What was he supposed to do, concede the loose ball to the Bears? You have to play football with a degree of reckless abandon. You can’t play trying to avoid injuries. You have to play within the rules though. Hargrove did that. As an interesting sidebar to the story, Hargrove, who was with the Seahawks then, has been suspended for the first eight games of the season because he allegedly was one of the ringleaders of the Saints’ bounty system when he was with the team in 2009 and 2010. Hargrove left the Seahawks in the offseason and now is a Green Bay Packer.
Will the Bears be able to consistently be able to go deep with the Knox’s absence? David, from Twitter
Good question. I think the Bears will miss Knox’ deep threat if he can’t play. The only true speed receiver the team has is Devin Hester. People think of Brandon Marshall as a big play receiver, but his career average per catch is 12.6. That’s lower than the career average per catches of Knox (16.6), Earl Bennett (13.4) and Hester (13.2).
We were led to believe that under the Mike Martz offense, once he called the play it had to be run, no matter how the defense was stacked, no audibles. Is that true? Under the Tice offense how much latitude will Cutler be given? Every great quarterback must be able to read defenses and audible when defenses are totally stacked against the play originally called. Bill Mueller, Huntley
Cutler will have considerably more power to change the play at the line or to adjust the play than he did last year. Tice is a big proponent of empowering the quarterback under center. It is going to be a significant change in the Bears’ offense. But it’s inaccurate to say Cutler had no ability to adjust at the line under Martz. Cutler changed some plays at the line last year, but nowhere near as frequently as he will be changing them this year. He did it silently with signals based on presnap reads. The Bears also had a “check with me” system, in which the quarterback goes to the line with two or three plays, and the quarterback decides which one to use when he is under center. They did not use check with mes often, however. The other point to understand about the Martz offense is it used a lot of shifting and motioning essentially instead of audibles. Shifting and motioning makes it easier for a quarterback to read the defensive intentions, and to know what to attack and what not to attack.
I came across a theory that said the three technique in Lovie Smith’s position essentially requires one of the league’s best defensive players–like Ndamukong Suh of Detroit. The only time the Bears’ defense thrives or operates as it should, they are creating interior pressure. It’s an interesting idea: Can the Bears really afford just an OK player at that position? I can’t imagine anyone else playing that position the way Lovie wants, other than Suh. Darius J, Chicago
Would the Bears be better with a dominating three technique like Suh? Absolutely. Could they be a very good defense with a below average three technique? Doubtful. Can they be a very good defense with a good three technique like Henry Melton? Absolutely. It is a very important position in the Bears’ scheme. But it depends what’s around the three technique too. If you had 10 all pros at the other positions, you might not notice a lousy three technique.
Do you really think Chris Conte is up to the task to be a starter? Tony Bracken, Wheat Ridge, CO
Yes I do. I thought Conte played very well for a rookie and has the potential to play better. He has everything you want in a free safety, including a good feel for the game. He hasn’t played enough to give a true picture on everything he can and can’t do, but I like what I’ve seen so far.
dpompei@tribune.com Twitter@danpompei
