Soldier Field is empty as this is being written. Like the Bears’ future, the yard lines and goal posts are only vaguely visible from the press box. Only a few lights remain on for the Dick Jauron regime.
I have just watched Jauron’s Bears fall to 0-3. The score should have been worse than 14-7, but the New York Giants botched field goals of 35, 42 and 32 yards and lost a fumble at the Bears’ 8. The Bears couldn’t run, couldn’t make a big play on offense or defense or a return and couldn’t stop the Giants, who controlled the ball and the clock.
This was as thorough a 14-7 whipping as you’ll see. Jauron’s team was outprepared, outexecuted and outmuscled in a turning-point home opener. The Bears looked to Jauron for a new wrinkle, a lineup change, a go-for-it mentality on an early fourth-and-short. Instead they got predictable Robot Dick. Nothing changed, including the outcome.
With his credibility on the line, Jauron let his team down even more than his franchise quarterback and high-pick running back did. Now what? “All we can do,” said Robot Dick after his seventh loss in his last eight games, “is go back to work.”
This is a recording. With Jauron you begin to wonder if there’s any there there.
With division rival Washington looming next Sunday night, the undefeated Giants could have afforded a loss to a desperate Chicago team lifted by a crazed crowd on a beautiful Chicago day. Instead the Giants rather routinely took care of business while the Bears groped and flailed. Cade McNown couldn’t provide a spark. Neither could Curtis Enis.
So Bears fans achieved their biggest buzz while tailgating before the 3:15 kickoff.
And here I sit, trying to dredge up one last drop of passion for one more Play Jim Miller column. But the depressing truth is that it’s too late. Miller should have started at Minnesota. He should have played at Tampa Bay. And introducing Miller–a team and fan favorite–as a surprise game-time starter Sunday would have hit Soldier Field like lightning on a cloudless day.
But no, Jauron stubbornly pressed on. McNown will be a star. Enis will be a force. These square pegs will fit in what is becoming the black hole that is Gary Crowton’s offense. This is a recording.
No one bought into the Bears’ preseason hype more than Jauron, who can be parts Yale arrogant and nice-guy naive. The sad truth is that his starless team simply isn’t good enough, especially with McNown and Enis in the backfield. Jauron fooled some observers–and himself–last season when Crowton’s attack caught some teams off guard. Of the six wins, Shane Matthews won three, Miller two and McNown beat Detroit by throwing bombs to a high-jumping Marcus Robinson.
What McNown does best is launch prayers. But now he’s losing his faith and feel for gunslinging, which can happen to 6-foot sidearmers against veteran defenses like the Bucs’ and Giants’. Three times Sunday McNown badly overthrew receivers who had their man beaten deep. Twice he missed Robinson, once Macey Brooks. Too much adrenaline, not enough poise.
Long and short, McNown’s accuracy comes and goes. Sometimes he sees blitzers, sometimes he gets creamed. Sometimes he looks most comfortable in the two-minute offense, which produced a tying touchdown at first half’s end. Sometimes he loses his bearing and cool, as he did in the game-ending hurry-up.
So the offense lurches along with its hyper, flighty flinger. This ball-control passing game needs to be run by a Cool Hand Luke, by a Miller or a Matthews. But at 0-3 where are you going with older QBs? Miller or Matthews would give the Bears a better chance now, but neither is quite talented enough to become the 10-year starter who always gives you a Super Bowl shot.
That is what the Bears drafted McNown to be. Sunday, even McNown’s coach added to his struggle. Jauron’s defining moment to date came on fourth and less than a yard early in the second quarter. Trailing 7-0, McNown’s offense had advanced to the Giants’ 31.
In hustled Crowton’s short-yardage blockers. The Giants bought time by asking for a measurement. Jauron reconsidered. Instead of firing up the crowd and his team by going for it, Jauron opted for a 49-yard field-goal attempt. So much for his confidence in Enis. So much for momentum, which sailed wide right.
So much for one more Play Jim Miller plea. Too late.
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