Thursday, January 17, 2013

BEAUTY, EH?

Bob and Doug McKenzie.jpg

Coo loo coo coo, coo coo coo coo!
 
I can hear Bob and Doug McKenzie, of Strange Brew/SCTV fame, chanting that right now as one of their adopted sons in the Great White North has just accepted the coaching position with the Chicago Bears.

You have made a run for the border once again, Marc Trestman.  Say goodbye to the extra large field of Canadian Football League and hello to the National Football League.

The Bears took the long road to finding a replacement to the fired Lovie Smith.  They seemed to be taking the American Idol approach and just having everyone come in for an audition and then decide if they were worthy of going through to the next round. 

I have to give Phil Emery credit.  He was obviously thorough in his search.  I have to admit my confidence in him was waining when the list crept over to 13 and it didn't look like he had a clue what he was doing. 

The vision he obviously had was well focused, though, on the offensive side of the ball.  The Chicago Bears.  The Monsters of the Midway.  All that crap.  They have hung their collective hats on defense for sooooo long that there group of quarterbacks are still compared to Sid Luckman, right.  For those of you old enough or lucky enough to have family who tell great stories of past players exploits. 

Emery wanted an offensive minded coach.  Not only to turn this sorry bunch of offensive talent into a production unit.  But they needed someone who was successful with working, not just well, but tremendously with quarterbacks in their experience. 

Marc Trestman fits the bill.  He has worked with a long list of quarterbacks ranging from Steve Young, Rich Gannon (MVP with him in 2001), to Jay Cutler coming out of college. 

Trestman is known as a "Quarterback Guru", pictured below.



This is what this team needs.  I have written before that Jay Cutler is the best qb the Bears have had in ages.  I realize he has his faults but with the amount of chaos he has endured over the past three seasons he needs someone on his side and with knowledge of the position that has been lacking in Halas Hall.

Cutler was asked about his feelings on the hire and his experience when working with him before his draft year and he was quoted as saying, "you could just tell how knowledgeable he was about the quarterback position and offense in general...It's a great hire. I couldn't be more excited. He's been successful wherever he's been..."

It isn't the end all be all of getting Cutler's approval for the Bears hiring Trestman, but it doesn't hurt matters.  I am excited to have Trestman's knowledge and his experience having been very successful with quarterbacks in the past.  Hopefully Jay and Brandon will continue to be be all smiles with Trestans ability to teach the quarterback position so well.

Not only having Trestman in the fold but with the addition of former New Orleans Saints interim head coach Aaron Kromer as offensive coordinator and offensive line coach will no doubt create positive offensive production. 

There aren't to many more exciting offenses in the NFL than what the Saints have been able to produce with their pass happy scheme. 

Brandon Marshall should be salivating at the chance of catching more passes this next season.  However, I actually hope he has less catches and yards only because it means someone else has emerged as a viable target for Cutler.  Maybe Alshon Jeffrey?  Just as long as he learns to no push off on defensive backs to create space.

The Bears upper management have clearly sent a message to the entire team they wanted change in the Windy City. 

If Trestman can convince Rod Marinelli to stay as defensive coordinator and have some continuity with the current defensive roster then it could bode well for them going forward. 

You put your focus on bringing in an offensive mind and you don't want to lose sight of the defensive side of the ball.  You don't want to patch a hole and then create another one in the process.

He will want to build up the offense into what all Bears fans envision it to be.  He will also want to build upon the current veteran defensive players who have been carrying this team for years. 

What you want is a balance on your team and not have one aspect that overshadows the other.  This is why Lovie lost his job and Marc now has his first NFL head coaching gig.  

Trestman has made his living in the CFL since 2008 and has guided the Montreal Allouettes to three Grey Cups with wins in 2009 and 2010.  He was awarded CFL coach of the year in 2009.

He obviously has shown an ability to be successful in his endeavors.  There have been some former players (wide receivers) who have been vocal in their negative experiences with him as a coach.  Former player Tim Brown, while with the Oakland Raiders, was vocal in that he didn't feel Trestman was head coach material in so many words. 

I don't put much stock in his ramblings, as he was still productive, played along side Jerry Rice added to their offense that year, and they made it to the Super Bowl as one of the best offenses that year with QB Rich Gannon, under Trestmans tutelage, won MVP honors.  Wideouts have egos larger than anyone and when they don't get the ball ALL THE TIME they complain and whine.

See Terrell Owens, Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson, and especially former player and author of Just Give me the damn ball, Keyshawn Johnson, pictured at left.    

Trestman has worked with NFL teams in the past and has a well documented career of success.

I think the meticulous nature of Phil Emery's interview process should pay dividends in the Bears not to distant future.

So as Bob and Doug McKenzie would say to any of his doubters out there...

"Take off, you hoser!"

And to the Chicago Bears nation of followers...

"Beauty, eh?"






5 comments:

  1. Mr. Maxeymum,

    I haven’t seen an update on the Illini for some time.

    How about a blog on that born leader of men and inspirational coach, John Groce.

    You could tell about how he, unlike Bruce Weber whose team collapsed after a great start, has been able to avoid disaster in the Big Ten.

    At the same time, you might update everyone on that drudge, Bruce Weber, and how his team is doing in the Big 12.

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    Replies
    1. I am in the process of an update. I wanted to see the start of the Big Ten season and boy have we seen it. Stay tuned.

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    2. Weber sniffer is back! Glad to see you are happy. Enjoy it! Weber's firing was the best thing that ever happened to him. He left nothing in Champaign-Urbana. He inherited a nice squad in Manhattan, KS. We'll see what is going in 3 to 4 years. That's how long it takes to fairly evaluate a change in a program. Three or four months does not make a successful or unsuccessful tenure.

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  2. Ooh, I must have hit a nerve. But, name calling changes nothing. Illinois cannot recruit big name players or big name coaches.

    Having been at the Illinois-Northwestern game and watching the Illinois fans leaving the stadium early like rats deserting a sinking ship, I hope YOU are happy. Learn to love it. This is the way it will be for a long, long time.

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  3. Keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better about defending Saint Bruce. I'm glad you have a 'crystal ball' that can accurately predict the future. Don't forget about all of Weber's successful recruits to Champaign. He sure did get the most of the athlete he brought in. After Dee Brown graduated, the Illini were 50-56 in Big 10 play. His 'big time' recruiting sure worked. Keep in mind that Iowa, Michigan, and Indiana were struggling in those years and he still couldn't win.

    Bruce is having a nice year at Kansas State. His success will probably continue next year. I remember him winning Big 10 titles in his first two seasons at Illinois. Then the winning percentage dropped. Bill Self left some talent for Bruce in Champaign-Urbana. Frank Martin has left some talent for Bruce in Manhattan, KS. Bruce left a bad situation for Mr. Groce. It will take time to rebuild Illinois and the Big 10 is much tougher now.

    Thanks for your reply.

    Oh, by the way. I do not blame Bruce for the Jereme Richmond saga. He was a big time recruit that Bruce should have recruited. He was/is just a bad kid that Bruce tried to help. It just didn't work out.

    ReplyDelete