The Lovie Smith-coached Bears expect to do things differently and faster than the Dick Jauron Bears on both offense and defense.
But as coordinators Terry Shea and Ron Rivera outlined points of their systems Thursday, the inescapable question was whether the current players can execute the schemes or will the coaches have to cut back their plans?
Players will be required to master styles of play many may not be able to execute, and if they can’t, they are likely to be former Bears by the end of training camp. Then again, the talent level may have more to say about what the Bears run than the coaches’ plans.
“In my mind, it’s all about the players you have and the skill levels they bring,” Shea said. “Not all of them are going to meet the system, so we will adapt to our strengths. I’ve been down that other road. It doesn’t work.”
Shea said the offense intends to throw 60 percent of the time on first down, with the goal of creating shorter second- and third-down situations. The expectation, however, is that quarterback Rex Grossman will complete at least 60 percent of his passes.
More importantly perhaps, Shea said the receivers will be responsible for so-called “sight adjustments” based on what the defense shows at the line of scrimmage and as the play unfolds. Sight adjustments were a staple of Jauron’s first offensive coordinator, Gary Crowton, and neither Cade McNown nor many of the receivers could handle the sometimes sophisticated modifications.
Can David Terrell, for example, be expected to master the Shea offense and its mix of Kansas City and St. Louis concepts when he struggled to run precisely the routes prescribed under John Shoop?
One of the first things Shoop did upon succeeding Crowton was to throw out sight adjustments, simplifying the receivers’ routes to allow them to play faster without the burden of a thought process. Shea will demand that receivers play fast and master the adjustments along with the quarterback.
“This offense is built, in terms of the passing game, around `hot receivers’ (based on blitz recognition) and sight adjustments,” Shea said. “That allows us to get five men out [on patterns], and that’s what makes this offense really dynamic.
“Our receivers are going to have to learn to play fast. They’re going to have to demonstrate great skill at getting off the line or they will slow this offense down.”
Shea said the offense will run traps, draws and screens, ostensibly putting new demands on an offensive line generally built around power and straight-ahead blocking.
Whether tackles like Aaron Gibson or guards like Steve Edwards will have the quickness for the new scheme will play out this off-season.
But even as he was outlining the plan and stating he thought there was sufficient quickness on the offensive line, particularly with Pro Bowl center Olin Kreutz, Shea was qualifying his goals. If the tackles can’t run traps, for example, the plays won’t be in the offense.
Likewise, tailback Anthony Thomas, an above-average receiver his rookie season, will be expected to have the quickness to break draws and be also to get out on screen passes, a play poorly executed in the offense under Shoop.
Defensively, where the middle once was controlled by goliaths like Keith Traylor and Ted Washington, whose prime directive was to keep blockers off linebackers, now the emphasis will be on “downhill, gap control,” Rivera said. Instead of tackles being primarily responsible for tying up blockers, the defensive linemen will have one assigned gap and be expected to get penetration up the field to disrupt offenses.
But can run-plugger Alfonso Boone, for example, signed to a long-term extension, play with the inside quickness and burst Rivera and Smith demand? On the other hand, Bryan Robinson, a defensive end for the first several years of his career, may flourish at tackle with a simpler, more up-field assignment.
“There will be accountability,” Rivera said. “The key is, these guys have to run. They have to buy into what we’re telling them, and they have to believe it can be done.”
Said Smith: “We talk about make-a-difference plays. For those things to happen, it’s all about speed.”
– The Bears hired Torrian Gray, a three-time All-Big East selection while at Virginia Tech in the mid-1990s, as assistant defensive backs coach Thursday. He joins the team after two seasons as the defensive backs coach at the University of Connecticut.
![At a recent wedding reception in Chicago, guests gathered to toast the newlyweds at the bar. Glasses were lined up in front of them, but no alcohol was poured. Instead, marijuana vapor was pumped into the upside-down glasses, which were then lifted and inhaled in unison. “A lot of people were surprised,” bride Aja Heinlein said. “They didn’t even know that was something they could do.” In the new world of cannabis, consumption at private events like weddings, holiday parties and corporate events is becoming more common. The state law that legalized recreational use of marijuana for adults 21 and […]](https://www.chicagotribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ctc-L-Illinois-marijuana-wedding15_187593870.jpg?w=525 "At a recent wedding reception in Chicago, guests gathered to toast the newlyweds at the bar. Glasses were lined up in front of them, but no alcohol was poured. Instead, marijuana vapor was pumped into the upside-down glasses, which were then lifted and inhaled in unison. “A lot of people were surprised,” bride Aja Heinlein said. “They didn’t even know that was something they could do.” In the new world of cannabis, consumption at private events like weddings, holiday parties and corporate events is becoming more common. The state law that legalized recreational use of marijuana for adults 21 and […]")
