Congratulations, Dick Jauron and Mark Hatley. Your collaboration has produced an even more disgraceful day than any wrought by former coach Dave Wannstedt.
Sunday, on their pockmarked sod, Jauron’s Bears gave an all-time lifeless and hapless performance. This was even more hopeless than the 41-0 loss at Tampa Bay a month ago. At least that was a team with Super Bowl potential playing in its own hothouse.
Sunday’s dreary debacle was even more humiliating than Wannstedt’s low point, a 48-22 loss at Minnesota in 1998 remembered for the way Dwayne Rudd taunted the Bears before crossing the goal line. At least that came in the Metrodome’s echo chamber with backup Steve “Look, Ma, No Arm” Stenstrom at quarterback. At least those Vikings nearly made it to the Super Bowl.
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Sunday’s daytime nightmare featured the QB of the bleak future, Cade McNown, who manages to get worse by the week. This time 1-3 New Orleans, a 5 1/2-point underdog, beat Jauron’s home team every which way you can, 31-10.
Where were you when the lights went out? Sunday’s power outage included McNown’s offense, which failed to score a touchdown. Thank God for our backup generator, the Northwestern Wildcats.
It’s difficult to tell who looks like the more franchise-wrecking bust, McNown or Jauron. Stop me if you’ve heard this one. Cade was once again an arcade of underthrows, overthrows and cross-eyed scrambles and sacks. Cade McClown.
As the divots and empty seats mount at Soldier Field, how can this franchise ever hope to sell personal seat licenses to rebuild this dinosaur of a stadium with McNown as the drawing card?
The booing of McNown–and chanting for Jim Miller–escalated through the game. So how did McNown try to defuse the abuse as he hustled with security guards toward the locker room? He stopped briefly to put an arm around Macey Brooks, who dropped a couple of his passes. This served 1) to refocus attention on Brooks, who looked as if he’d been hugged by a leper, and 2) to show what a good guy he, McNown, can be.
The few hundred fanatics hanging over the tunnel weren’t buying the act. McNown was bombed with insults and a couple of cups.
But fans are misdirecting their wrath. The man who picked McNown, personnel director Hatley, scooted undetected into the tunnel. Boo Hatley. Jauron, who still comes across as too gentlemanly to condemn, should take equal responsibility for playing McNown from the first game forward and sticking with him until the season was lost. Boo Jauron.
For that matter, blame the man who hired Hatley and Jauron–Michael McCaskey. Blame the woman who put son Michael in charge in the first place–Virginia McCaskey. How much longer before this woman and her husband realize it is time for them to do their civic duty and sell this football team?
Until this happens, the buck stops nowhere with these bottomed-out Bears. Sweet Virginia can’t be held accountable. Michael’s replacement, Ted Phillips, knows far more about politics and accounting than football. Hatley never should have been hired in the first place. Jauron is officially and utterly lost.
Sunday confirmed that the win at Green Bay had more to do with the Packers’ decay and ineptitude than any Bears progress. Thank goodness for the Packers, whose Dec. 3 visit just might give the 1-5 Bears a chance to wind up 2-14.
Sunday also helped confirm that last season, Jauron’s first, was a Gary Crowton-fueled mirage at 6-10. Teams weren’t ready for Crowton’s offense, especially when run by Miller and Shane Matthews. Now McNown–the 6-foot sidearmer, the hyperactive scrambler without much speed–is a piece of carrot cake.
By not playing Miller, Jauron has taken the heart out of his veterans. Yes, losing home run hitter Marcus Robinson on top of .300 hitter Bobby Engram was a blow, but this is where other teams would have rallied ’round their coach and QB and protected their home turf against a 1-3 team. Jauron, the compassionate “players’ coach,” couldn’t motivate sharks to eat bloody meat.
Jauron’s postmortem was as passionless as the locker room. No anger. No tears. This below-average team knows it has little chance with McNown and that Jauron is committed to living or dying with him.
Now, Miller fans should hope the rest of the season is dedicated to proving Jauron and McNown are going nowhere together.