Bears’ GM should be right, not rushed
After Phil Emery fired Lovie Smith, he was a hero to a large portion of Bears Nation.
But in the two weeks since, the Bears GM has become the village idiot in many precincts.
It seems that because Emery is taking his time with the search for a new coach, he has already failed.
It seems that because Emery has interviewed so many candidates, he has already failed.
It seems that because he hasn’t named a coach yet, he has already failed.
It’s odd, because every one of these criticisms could be viewed as a positive.
So the number has reached at least a dozen thus far. Who cares? Let him interview a bus filled with nuns if it helps Emery learn something about what he needs in his next coach, or something about the opposition.
So he interviews Mike Singletary as a favor to the McCaskey family and to the Hall of Famer himself. So what? There’s no harm in it and it only costs him a few hours.
If Emery learns one tiny fact about the Vikings which might help the Bears down the road, it’s worth it.
But it’s not as though Emery has to rush. In fact, as long as he doesn’t miss out on the guy he really wants, he ought to talk to every man he can from every great offensive or defensive team in football.
In the meantime, he’s getting scouting reports on every one of his own players and bleeding his opponents for valuable information.
Sounds like a substantive strategy, and hardly the stuff of idiots.
Has he lost out yet on the one candidate you felt he had to have? The truth is it doesn’t matter how long it takes to get a new head coach. He doesn’t need to rush. He needs to get it right.
Emery fired Smith because the league has gone on the offensive, and the Bears have been left behind. What Emery is doing now is making certain he knows what he needs next by grabbing as much intel as possible from those who do it best.
This is a rare opportunity, and Emery is making the most of it.
“We haven’t had the balance,” Emery said the day after he fired Smith. “We have not had consistency on the offensive side of the ball.
“We have gone through a number of coordinators. We have searched for answers. The end result is that we did not have enough consistency.
“That part and not getting to the playoffs on a consistent basis, being able to meet our organizational goals, to be in a consistent spot, to be in the hunt to win championships, (is why) I made the change moving forward.”
So Emery takes his time and undoubtedly watches the postseason and sees that the Bears are not close from an offensive standpoint.
The best quarterbacks and offensive schemes go a long way these days, but there is still some simplicity in the NFL that goes back a very long way, and that’s also been apparent the last 48 hours.
Yes, you must have offensive brilliance, with all the bells and whistles of this century, but you must also be able to give your quarterback time to throw. Take that away, as the Niners did to Aaron Rodgers on Saturday, and even a Hall of Fame quarterback struggles.
So there is the offensive line and there is also the defensive line. There is keeping the defense off balance and confused, and there is keeping the quarterback off balance and confused.
Offensive and defensive line play has been huge, and that’s been around as long as the NFL. Keep your quarterback clean, get a lead, make the opposing quarterback uncomfortable, and then attack the QB instead of sitting back and getting picked apart.
The Niners did just about everything right after an early stumble Saturday, but it was stunning to watch them attack the Packers on offense and defense.
They got a lead and instead of sitting on the ball they went after Green Bay, piling up the points. They got a lead and instead of playing it safe defensively they went after Rodgers with even more ferocity.
It was an NFL clinic and is the opposite of how the Bears have played football the last decade.
Here’s hoping Phil Emery had the time to see it.
brozner@dailyherald.com
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