Image Image Image Image

Player Development? - Former anonymous Bears coach speaks

Moderator: chitownsports4ever

User avatar
emperorjones
Retired Mod
Retired Mod
Posts: 4,591
And1: 133
Joined: Jun 16, 2006

Player Development? - Former anonymous Bears coach speaks 

Post#1 » by emperorjones » Tue Jan 12, 2010 3:44 pm

Interesting read - more at the Link

http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/nfl/columns/story?columnist=isaacson_melissa&id=4814118

Bears lack in player development


With 11 ex-Bears playing for six playoff teams -- some enjoying a career resurgence -- it also begs the persistent question regarding player development.

Bears general manager Jerry Angelo kept that discussion relevant late in the season when he said the team he gave Lovie Smith and his coaching staff was a good one. In other words, the coaching staff blew it for not developing its players......

So which is it? And how much is there to the development question?.......

To find the answer, we did what all self-respecting reporters with a crayon at the ready do, and offered a former Bears assistant coach -- whom we respect and who has no more bitterness than the next guy -- speak on the subject anonymously, on the off chance he should want another job in the NFL again.

"I don't think there's a lot of it happening," the coach said of player development. "I think what happens during the season is that coaches get caught up in the preparation of the games, then all the younger players go by the wayside, and at the end of the day, the younger players go home."

The advent of hiring assistants for position coaches (which about 50 percent of the league now has, as do the Bears at most spots) has helped, but it isn't always enough. Those assistants must be qualified and willing to work solely with young players before and after practice on fundamentals and technique, and must do more work on Fridays and more work off the field as well, with lessons such as how to study film, something many players do not master.


"They never fault scouts for bringing in bad players; it's always the coaches' fault for not developing them," the coach said. He said scouts, particularly in the Bears' front office, are generally preoccupied with athletic ability.

"They'll say a guy can jump, run a 4.5 40, or he's too short or doesn't have long enough arms," he said. "[Coaches] don't give a [hoot] about that. I want to know how productive he is. And with quarterbacks, I want to know about his decision-making ability. Then let's see how tall he is or hear about his arm strength or footwork."


"There are a lot of great coaches out there if you take the time to look for them," he said.

Unfortunately for the Bears, he said, everyone in the business knows the coordinators' jobs are "a one-and-done deal [next year]. You think you're going to get Green Bay's defensive coordinator? It isn't going to happen. [The Bears] have to restructure the whole organization."
User avatar
Balance-a-Bull
Bench Warmer
Posts: 1,347
And1: 2
Joined: Mar 28, 2006
Location: Somewhere angry and lost in the Bulls brass psyche, where offense is an afterthought

Re: Player Development? - Former anonymous Bears coach speaks 

Post#2 » by Balance-a-Bull » Tue Jan 12, 2010 4:54 pm

It is evident and clear that the Bears must clean house from the top down, but we have to wait until next year to see if that happens.
A plea for post scoring is a plausible Bulls plan, but plainly isn't a priority. In response to a post player's dismay about his lack of points in the paint, Paxson said.... "I'm not nearly as concerned about the offensive stuff as he is."
Icness
NFL Analyst
Posts: 16,964
And1: 129
Joined: Apr 30, 2001
Location: Back in the 616
Contact:
   

Re: Player Development? - Former anonymous Bears coach speaks 

Post#3 » by Icness » Wed Jan 13, 2010 2:41 am

I have a very good idea who that ex-coach is and I agree with him 100%. I've heard Berrien dance around that issue too, talking about how different it was working with "nurturing" coaches in Minnesota.

In a way I find this a by-product of their scouting and draft philosophy. They look for very speicifc types of players to fill very specific roles, and quite often those players already fit into the box the Bears desire them to. They don't need to develop them that much because they're not asking them to do things outside their rigid system, on defense anyways. There's not another team in the league that could use Mark Anderson as much as the Bears do--but in a way it works for the Bears because he fits that hole they peg him for. The more physically gifted guys that fly the coop and blossom elsewhere are oten a product of more opportunity to do more, and they seize upon it.
It's not whether you win or lose, it's how good you look playing the game

Return to Chicago Bears