A few things I have learned this season....

[richig07]

I think offensively, trash the whole goddamn thing.

Constantly trying to make cutler into a prototypical pocket passing throw to a predetermined spot type QB has and most likely will always prove fruitless.

FFS, he destroyed us running the goddamn option in 2007. throwing on the move - both planned with bootlegs/rollouts, and improvisation are his strong suits. Why does it always seem that a broken play always seems to be escape and let the upper deck people read the lettering on the ball as it whips by?

Meh. Least we still have hockey to be cheerful about.

I was at that 2007 Denver game. I totally forgot about him running the option that day. Whacky game. Bears were totally dismantled, yet won because of two Hester return TD's, and a blocked punt by Peanut Tillman when they trailed by two TD's with 5 minutes left.

 

[cubzzzfanincali]

I think offensively, trash the whole goddamn thing.

Constantly trying to make cutler into a prototypical pocket passing throw to a predetermined spot type QB has and most likely will always prove fruitless.

FFS, he destroyed us running the goddamn option in 2007. throwing on the move - both planned with bootlegs/rollouts, and improvisation are his strong suits. Why does it always seem that a broken play always seems to be escape and let the upper deck people read the lettering on the ball as it whips by?

Meh. Least we still have hockey to be cheerful about.

I wouldn't totally rule this idea out, but the Bears aren't really built for that kind of offense. Cutler should be the type of QB who benefits from pocket passing more than scrambling, and the offensive linemen we have are not really fast enough for open field scrambling type offense. I am not counting on Garza since he has to be gone soon, but especially with the money we have tied up in Slauson and Bushrod, that seems like a tall order.

Of course, this isn't exactly tearing it up either, but before scrapping the offensive roster we have over a few badly executed games, I would try it awhile longer. The number one problem with this offense really is turnovers.

 

[JoeyTourettes]

I predict the offense will look decent against the Packers- (they did in the first half in GM1) Still won't be able to keep up with ARod with our defense. They will have some "get healthy" games- some bad defenses... that will/might bring some much needed Reprieve from the "offense/Cutlers fault" story line that everyone just loves to write. As long as they don't turn it over.

 

[anotheridiot]

I wouldn't totally rule this idea out, but the Bears aren't really built for that kind of offense. Cutler should be the type of QB who benefits from pocket passing more than scrambling, and the offensive linemen we have are not really fast enough for open field scrambling type offense. I am not counting on Garza since he has to be gone soon, but especially with the money we have tied up in Slauson and Bushrod, that seems like a tall order.

Of course, this isn't exactly tearing it up either, but before scrapping the offensive roster we have over a few badly executed games, I would try it awhile longer. The number one problem with this offense really is turnovers.

I dont agree. Cutler is as good as his mechanics, when he is on a called boot he at least usually throws off the back foot more consistently than he does in the pocket.

 

[cubzzzfanincali]

Intuitively, I did not agree with this comment. Cutler is probably better at the "bad mechanics" scrambling QBs suffer from than the average QB, and he is worse at basic footwork when he stays in the pocket than the average QB, but any QB has worse mechanics on the run than in the pocket. The advantage if scrambling is not that it magically fixes one's footwork.

But rather than rely on intuition, I looked it up. Here, check this site out:

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2014/06/04/qbs-in-focus-drop-back-rollout-scramble/

Cutler's completion % and accuracy % drop from 63.8% and 74.1%, respectively, to 47.1% and 66.7% when he is on the run. And his Interception % is a LEAGUE-WORST 5.9% when he scrambles! That's just a total dealbreaker right there. (and really, is that stat that much of a surprise?)

Now, he is (as anyone watching him would intuit) better than average on the run, but he is still (as is every QB in the league except for one...Colin Kaepernick) a worse QB when scrambling than in the pocket. Almost every QB has lower QBRs when they run than pass. Wilson drops from 101.3 to 74.6.

I think the advantage of a good runner is it keeps the defense guessing more (opening up more holes in running), and of course when line blocking falls apart it is a nice skill to have, but even teams with mobile QBs are trying like crazy to corral their guy into the pocket more. To say nothing of the much increased injury risk to the scrambling QB and the extra fatigue on the line guys who now have to hold their blocks longer than 3 seconds all game long.

 

[Wounded Bear]

Intuitively, I did not agree with this comment. Cutler is probably better at the "bad mechanics" scrambling QBs suffer from than the average QB, and he is worse at basic footwork when he stays in the pocket than the average QB, but any QB has worse mechanics on the run than in the pocket. The advantage if scrambling is not that it magically fixes one's footwork.

But rather than rely on intuition, I looked it up. Here, check this site out:

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2014/06/04/qbs-in-focus-drop-back-rollout-scramble/

Cutler's completion % and accuracy % drop from 63.8% and 74.1%, respectively, to 47.1% and 66.7% when he is on the run. And his Interception % is a LEAGUE-WORST 5.9% when he scrambles! That's just a total dealbreaker right there. (and really, is that stat that much of a surprise?)

Now, he is (as anyone watching him would intuit) better than average on the run, but he is still (as is every QB in the league except for one...Colin Kaepernick) a worse QB when scrambling than in the pocket. Almost every QB has lower QBRs when they run than pass. Wilson drops from 101.3 to 74.6.

I think the advantage of a good runner is it keeps the defense guessing more (opening up more holes in running), and of course when line blocking falls apart it is a nice skill to have, but even teams with mobile QBs are trying like crazy to corral their guy into the pocket more. To say nothing of the much increased injury risk to the scrambling QB and the extra fatigue on the line guys who now have to hold their blocks longer than 3 seconds all game long.

Really good post. Thanks for looking that up, CFIC.

 

[thunderspirit]

Really good post. Thanks for looking that up, CFIC.

Have a drink on me!

 

[Dirk]

Yeah, thats a nice set of data there. Pretty much shoots down my thought line there lol.

I do have some arguments about it though, but nothing worth putting effort into