Saturday, December 08, 2007

Maybe Ron Turner could succeed in High School coaching?

"They came after us pretty good,'' said offensive coordinator Ron Turner. "It took awhile to adjust.''
Oh how sadly true that is. The Bears started the game with Rex and AP in the backfield, after 5 minutes it was time to adjust. As Rex limped to the locker room the Bears offense was taking the field again with Kyle Orton excitedly leading the charge. Well that's what the team one loss away from being eliminated from the playoffs should have been doing. Instead Brian Griese and his 10 interceptions walked onto the field devoid of hunger and spirit. After 2 more INT's it seemed impossible that Orton wouldn't be leading the charge after halftime. But Orton was inactive leaving the Bears nation to watch the season finally wither away like Griese's arm.
How could this mistake be made, is there a reason that Orton was demoted back to third-string inactive? Not according to Turner's press-conference in which he said, "I've got a lot of confidence in Kyle; he had a really good preseason and training camp. I think Kyle's going to be a real good player in this league." So why did Turner think that a player who already proved he's not a good player in this league get another shot ahead of him?
There were still chances, but Griese can't throw a fade to Olsen over a 5'8" DB. On "first-and-goal on the 1, we've got a chance to score there," Turner said. "You tie it up, and it's a different ballgame. You have to finish the drive and put it in the end zone, and we didn't do it." Maybe Orton could throw a fade where Olsen can catch it; unfortunately we won't find out until at least next monday when Orton will surely start, right? "I don't know," Turner said. "We don't make those decisions right after games. We'll talk about it and see where we are." The Bears can talk about it all they want, but rigidity has already knocked them out of the playoff race.
Orton says he will be ready to go if he ever gets the chance. "I don't know if it's going to happen or not, but when it does happen, I feel like I'm ready and confident, and I can play well." I doubt Turner will give him much of a chance to succeed; he's already ruined Hester and Wolfe's years. Despite the fact that Turner claims to "know what Devin can do with the ball, he's one of our playmakers and we have to continue to bring him along, and we definitely have to get him in there." You'd think after 10 months they could be more than trying to bring Hester along. He should weeks ago have been a full-fledged weapon and not just a toy. And really, how hard could it be to figure out that Wolfe is the fastest back in the backfield? Maybe he could have gotten a few more touches when the defense was obviously going to play soft and leave him open space to get into. Turner won't figure this out, but maybe there will be enough film that the new head coach offense/offensive coordinator will know what he has before the draft arrives.

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