Thoughts after the last Bears loss

After last nights loss, the Bears are 100% officially out of it. Not that we didn't know that prior to this, but at least mathematically it has been officially ruled out. I am glad that the Bears did decide to use Kyle Orton over any of the others that could've gone. We saw a similar performance from what he did two years ago. Manage the game and try to limit any mistakes if possible. He wasn't spectacular then and he definitely wasn't last night. 

What this does is gives the Bears a more clear cut look at some major improvements they need to make. And most of them are offensively. The quarterback position is a much needed change. But the offensive line is also in disrepair. Fred Miller needs to go away. For good. He was never that good and now he's getting slower and drawing more penalties than any other linemen for the Bears. The focus for the offseason should start with a QB improvement and move on to the offensive line. An improvement of those two places would be welcome and change the options for the Bears. If the line becomes better, pass protection becomes better and even bad QB's can be decent with a good line. But the running game can also improve with better blocking and protection, which is pretty obvious.

One major change that has to happen is Ron Turner must go. He is not creative in his play calling and he definitely doesn't accentuate the positives of his offense and the individual players. Greg Olsen should've been on the field more. Split him out wide or go with a two tight end set. He should've been better utilized to help out struggling QBs. A solid tight end could mean high percentage passes and tough completions for first downs. Hester should've been used as more than just a reverse or short swing pass receiver. Believe me, teams are looking for those types of plays. Thats why the long bomb from Griese to him earlier in the season worked so well. They weren't expecting it and left him in single coverage here he burned the corner.

Ron Turner is not a smart football coordinator. Look what happened with Illinois after he left. All of the sudden they are a contending team with lots of promise. I never trusted bringing back a coordinator on offense for the Bears and I am glad my instincts were right. The Bears should be moving forward from now on and Turner needs to go. Something needs to be shook up in in the offensive scheme for the Bears and it needs to happen soon.

Another area that needs addressing is the safety position. With Mike Brown an uncertainty and none of the starters since being a major factor on the game, we need to upgrade there. While we have some experience from McGowan and Manning, they aren't producing enough and consistently to really be considered locks at the safety positions. Adam Archuleta can't tackle people. He got demoted on the Redskins because he was a disappointment and the same thing happened here. Let him go away as well.

Obviously the offense needs more attention then the defense. If the moves they make in the offseason and the draft are geared towards making a better and smarter offense, than the Bears have a legitimate shot if nothing is done on defense. If they made improvements to the defense, then they will obviously be a much better football team. Jerry Angelo and Lovie Smith need to bring in a good offensive mind to help them select good offensive players in the draft, trades and free agency. Turner and Smith are very defensive minded people who have done well with that. But now, we need some heavy duty changes.