Gabriel: Bears Are Lacking Leadership, Heart
Sept 27, 2016 11:40:15 GMT -6
AlexM, riczaj01, and 1 more like this
Post by JABF on Sept 27, 2016 11:40:15 GMT -6
What do you guys think?
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Gabriel: Bears Are Lacking Leadership, Heart
By Greg Gabriel–
(CBS) A few days before the beginning of the 2016 NFL season, I thought that this year’s edition of the Chicago Bears would be an improvement over the 2015 edition. I thought the worst this team would be was 8-8. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
With the addition of veteran free agents like Akeim Hicks, Danny Trevathan, Jerrell Freeman, Josh Sitton and others, the Bears looked promising on paper. The problem is, the game isn’t played on paper. It’s played on the field, and this team doesn’t play with any intensity or enthusiasm, which was once again demonstrated in a listless 31-17 loss to the Cowboys on Sunday night that left the Bears at 0-3.
Why is this happening? I wish I had the answer, but I think that we can go back to some moves during the offseason and wonder if they were really were the right moves to make. What the team lost may be larger than what they gained.
There were some key veterans let go. In most of the cases, they were players who not only performed well but were key in the locker room. As strong leaders, they were highly respected by the other players.
I understand the 30-year-old Matt Forte is on the back nine of his career. That said, he was and still is an every-down back and a top competitor. Playing for the New York Jets, Forte has rushed for 261 yards and caught nine passes. That’s more productive than any back the Bears have on their roster.
Through three games, rookie Jordan Howard looks to be the Bears’ best running back. He’s a tough inside runner, can move the pile and has good hands, but he’s still a rookie and makes rookie mistakes.
While it really wouldn’t have made a difference in the score of Sunday’s game, Howard made two huge mistakes on the Bears’ final drive. With under a minute to play and the clock running, Howard twice caught passes and instead of trying to get out of bounds, he ran toward the middle of the field. Those are awareness mistakes and could also be classified as instinctive mistakes. Does Howard have the instincts needed to be a full-time contributor? We’ll have to wait and see.
Matt Slauson was also 30 and had athletic limitations, but the tough veteran could play two positions and was the absolute leader of the offensive line group when the Bears cut him last spring. Looking at the offensive line today, couldn’t it be said that if Slauson was starting at center, the line and the offense would be in much better shape?
What’s disappointing about this football team is that it lacks an identity. Getting rid of key veteran performers who were respected by their peers looks to have been a mistake. Would this team have won more games this season had Forte and Slauson been kept around? No one knows the answer to that question, but they sure know it wouldn’t have been worse.
The season is only three games old and the Bears have suffered injuries to key players, but that can’t be used as an excuse. Every team suffers injuries and loses key players. The Cowboys lost their starting quarterback in the preseason and are playing with a bunch of no-name defensive ends due to suspensions, but they still kicked the Bears’ butt.
If they’ve overcome adversity, why can’t this Bears team? I believe the answer is this Bears team has no heart and no leadership. That’s inexcusable.
Greg Gabriel is a former NFL talent evaluator who is an on-air contributor for 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @greggabe.
Greg Gabriel is a former NFL talent evaluator who was the director of college scouting for the Chicago Bears. He also previously served on the NFL College Advisory Committee that gives feedback to college players who are considering entering...
Gabriel: Bears Are Lacking Leadership, Heart
By Greg Gabriel–
(CBS) A few days before the beginning of the 2016 NFL season, I thought that this year’s edition of the Chicago Bears would be an improvement over the 2015 edition. I thought the worst this team would be was 8-8. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
With the addition of veteran free agents like Akeim Hicks, Danny Trevathan, Jerrell Freeman, Josh Sitton and others, the Bears looked promising on paper. The problem is, the game isn’t played on paper. It’s played on the field, and this team doesn’t play with any intensity or enthusiasm, which was once again demonstrated in a listless 31-17 loss to the Cowboys on Sunday night that left the Bears at 0-3.
Why is this happening? I wish I had the answer, but I think that we can go back to some moves during the offseason and wonder if they were really were the right moves to make. What the team lost may be larger than what they gained.
There were some key veterans let go. In most of the cases, they were players who not only performed well but were key in the locker room. As strong leaders, they were highly respected by the other players.
I understand the 30-year-old Matt Forte is on the back nine of his career. That said, he was and still is an every-down back and a top competitor. Playing for the New York Jets, Forte has rushed for 261 yards and caught nine passes. That’s more productive than any back the Bears have on their roster.
Through three games, rookie Jordan Howard looks to be the Bears’ best running back. He’s a tough inside runner, can move the pile and has good hands, but he’s still a rookie and makes rookie mistakes.
While it really wouldn’t have made a difference in the score of Sunday’s game, Howard made two huge mistakes on the Bears’ final drive. With under a minute to play and the clock running, Howard twice caught passes and instead of trying to get out of bounds, he ran toward the middle of the field. Those are awareness mistakes and could also be classified as instinctive mistakes. Does Howard have the instincts needed to be a full-time contributor? We’ll have to wait and see.
Matt Slauson was also 30 and had athletic limitations, but the tough veteran could play two positions and was the absolute leader of the offensive line group when the Bears cut him last spring. Looking at the offensive line today, couldn’t it be said that if Slauson was starting at center, the line and the offense would be in much better shape?
What’s disappointing about this football team is that it lacks an identity. Getting rid of key veteran performers who were respected by their peers looks to have been a mistake. Would this team have won more games this season had Forte and Slauson been kept around? No one knows the answer to that question, but they sure know it wouldn’t have been worse.
The season is only three games old and the Bears have suffered injuries to key players, but that can’t be used as an excuse. Every team suffers injuries and loses key players. The Cowboys lost their starting quarterback in the preseason and are playing with a bunch of no-name defensive ends due to suspensions, but they still kicked the Bears’ butt.
If they’ve overcome adversity, why can’t this Bears team? I believe the answer is this Bears team has no heart and no leadership. That’s inexcusable.
Greg Gabriel is a former NFL talent evaluator who is an on-air contributor for 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @greggabe.
Greg Gabriel is a former NFL talent evaluator who was the director of college scouting for the Chicago Bears. He also previously served on the NFL College Advisory Committee that gives feedback to college players who are considering entering...
