Rozner: Expectations no worry for Bears

Under-promise and over-deliver is something of a John Fox philosophy that he has obviously passed along to Ryan Pace as the head coach molds the young Bears GM in his own image.

Thing is, it doesn't work.

It's a long-debated business philosophy that rarely fools anyone and at the same time fails to motivate employees to surpass expectations.

Besides, Bears fans know what they're looking at and managing fan expectations should not be among the top concerns for this front office since - at this point - there really aren't any.

It's a 6-10 team that lost four games in 2015 by a field goal or less and six games by 6 points or fewer.

An obvious lack of playmakers on defense was certainly part of it. The inability to get a stop when needed was due in large part to the scarcity of big plays from a weak secondary.

Perhaps the defensive backs are more talented than they were at this time a year ago, and they will be helped by an improved front seven, but there are so many issues a little more than a week into camp that it's rather difficult to see a path to playoff contention.

Actually, a jump to .500 would be reason for optimism and that's just the way Pace and Fox would like you to approach the 2016 season.

They have lost playmakers like Matt Forte, Martellus Bennett and Brandon Marshall over the last couple years and Alshon Jeffery continues to have trouble staying on the field.

The receiving corps has barely practiced with injuries to nearly every one of their best pass catchers, and their best tight end - Zach Miller - has missed time with a concussion.

So with Jay Cutler already wondering who will catch the football, now the offensive line is a concern again.

The decision to cut Matt Slauson didn't make sense when it happened and it looked even worse after Saturday's practice at Soldier Field, where starting center Hroniss Grasu suffered a knee injury.

The Bears had a lot of questions coming in about Grasu, rookie left guard Cody Whitehair and left tackle Charles Leno, and Slauson was a security blanket, admired by his fellow linemates and praised by his quarterback for his complete knowledge of the system.

The Bears' offense was its best last season with Slauson at center, and when he was in the middle he made sure the line understood its assignments.

While developing Grasu for the future - he was a third-round pick last year - was the right thing to do since the Bears don't figure to go anywhere this year, dumping Slauson was not.

He is now in San Diego as the starting center and to no one's surprise has become the leader of the line and earned rave reviews from QB Phil Rivers and the coaching staff.

So a rough week of camp got worse Saturday, a dangerously thin roster taking another hit still more than a month from the start of the season.

This is the hole Pace is trying to dig out of after more than a decade of terrible drafting, years that gave Chicago the likes of Shea McClellin, Gabe Carimi, Chris Williams, Dan Bazuin and Cedric Benson, to name just a very few of the very many terrible picks.

And now Pace must hope that Phil Emery's last top pick, Kyle Fuller, can become a player, while needing his own first-rounders, Kevin White and Leonard Floyd, to become monster playmakers.

It's really that simple.

If you don't draft well, you're going to suffer the way the Bears have, winning three playoff games in 20 years while you watch the division rival from Wisconsin not just draft well, but continually get production from undrafted free agents.

Pace and Fox need time to get this program on track and winning games.

They don't shrink from reminding you of that.

brozner@dailyherald.com

• Listen to Barry Rozner from 9 a.m. to noon Sundays on the Score's "Hit and Run" show at WSCR 670-AM and follow him @BarryRozner on Twitter.