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| Dennis Hobein. 11th May, 2005 - 1:37 pm
 After another pitiful offensive season, which saw the Bears at or near the bottom of every offensive category, the Bears went into the off-season determined to revamp the offense. The Bears will begin the 2005 season with their 3rd offensive coordinator in as many years. Ron Turner, the former head coach of the University of Illinois, will take over for Terry Shea, who never had the opportunity to run his offense with a healthy QB or offensive line. For a young QB, like Rex Grossman, it’s complicated enough to learn 1 offense, let alone 3 in your first 3 years in the NFL. Needless to say, Bears fans are a bit skeptical about the hiring of Ron Turner, who didn’t exactly turn U of I into a Big Ten powerhouse.
If you ask the casual NFL fan who led the NFL in receiving last year, typical answers would probably include Owens, Moss, or Marvin Harrison. The casual fan would be wrong, because the answer is Muhsin Muhammad. With 1,405 receiving yards and 16 TDs last year for the Panthers, Muhammad was the premier free agent WR available.
This pick-up partially fills the Bears most pressing need: a play maker at WR. The Bears also released David Terrell to the surprise of nobody. The elaborate celebrations after making a 6 yard reception won’t be missed at Soldier Field.
The Bears also “tried” to add some fire-power to the WR position in the draft. However, 2nd round pick Mark Bradley of Oklahoma only started 4 games for the Sooners and only caught 23 balls on the season. Oklahoma was stacked at WR, but shouldn’t your second round pick at least be a consistent starter at the collegiate level? On the plus side, he possesses amazing quickness and play-making ability which is an obvious weakness for the Bears offense. In the 5th round, the Bears took Airese Currie of Clemson, another burner who is height-challenged. Mike Williams was still on the board when the Bears had their #4 pick and went with Cedric Benson. This could be a draft-day blunder Bears fans won’t soon forget.
Speaking of that #4 pick, Cedric Benson seems to fit nicely into Ron Turner’s power-running game. Durable, tough, and productive, Benson should contribute right away for the Bears. Benson averaged 5.6 yards per carry, and over 150 yards per game his senior season for the Texas Longhorns. Of concern however, is his attitude and work ethic. When asked by a reporter last year whether he would rather win the Heisman Trophy or beat Oklahoma, Benson replied, “The Heisman”. Let’s hope that he comes up with the right answer if a Chicago reporter asks, “Would you rather beat the Packers or win Rookie of the Year?”
The Bears also made some much needed changes to the offensive line. If you remember last year, Craig Krenzel and Chad Hutchinson were actually saying prayers instead of the cadence before the ball was snapped. Former Super Bowl champ Fred Miller was signed to fill an OT opening. He has started 102 straight games, which is important, because the Bears were considering posting offensive line jobs on monster.com last year. OT tackle Marc Colombo continues his trek back from a serious knee injury, and took some very positive steps last year on special teams. Olin Kreutz, Rubin Brown, and Terrence Metcalf will anchor a much stronger line this year. Rex Grossman should actually be able to reach his 3 step drop this year before scrambling.
Maybe the biggest steal of the draft this year was the 4th round pick of Kyle Orton, the QB out of Purdue. With Grossman’s injury history, this was a shrewd pick up for the Bears. Orton features a strong arm and makes outstanding reads. He will be a vast improvement over Craig Krenzel, who looked like a deer in headlights last year.
Overall, the Bears did a fine job this off-season to remake a pathetic offense. With the additions and subtractions made, this Bears offense shouldn’t be quite so, well, offensive. |
