The Bears picked the wrong finalist

[DaSuperfan]

Arians is 60....but Trestman is 57. Arians just looks like he's in his 70's and Trestman looks like he's in his late 40's. But the difference in their ages isn't that significant and no one seems to be concerned about Trestman's health.

[Mikefive]

Wow. I swear it's been reported that Arians was 64. I swear!

[NEBEAR]

Arians is also 64. How long can we expect to have him before his health becomes a reason for him to step down?

The reality is, Trestman has a 3 year window to take this team to the next level... If Cutler is our QB going forward, I think Arians would have a better chance of being successful in the short term... My gut tells me that McCaskey and Phillips were leaning toward Arians, but Trestman was PE's guy and ultimately it was his decision...

[jamus34]

Arians was OC with the steelers for years and never got an HC offer. And they had a MUCH more potent offense than we had in the same period.

I think the Colts got EXTREMELY lucky (no pun intended and I'm not refferring to Luck here) in the draft and Arians was a beneficiary of that.

That said I don't necessarily think Trestman is perfect either however if he is as detailed as everyone claims he is I think he can get rid of the wasted timeouts AND actually find a use for Hester in the offense (if we keep him).

I think the amount of times we blew TO's because cutler couldn't get the playcall on time was borderline criminal

[PC Load Letter]

. If Cutler is our QB going forward, I think Arians would have a better chance of being successful in the short term.

I don't understand why people keep saying this, especially when you factor in how pathetic our line is. Arians has a history of getting his QB killed when he's calling plays and doing nothing scheme-wise (ala Mike Martz) to change that.

2007 - Big Ben - 47 sacks (2nd highest in the NFL)
2008 - Big Ben - 46 sacks (2nd)
2009 - Big Ben - 50 sacks (1st)
2010 - Big Ben - 32 sacks (Ben only played 12 games)
2011 - Big Ben - 40 sacks (3rd)
2012 - Luck - 41 (4th)

[BearsFanInMN]

Arians was OC with the steelers for years and never got an HC offer. And they had a MUCH more potent offense than we had in the same period.

I think the Colts got EXTREMELY lucky (no pun intended and I'm not refferring to Luck here) in the draft and Arians was a beneficiary of that.

That said I don't necessarily think Trestman is perfect either however if he is as detailed as everyone claims he is I think he can get rid of the wasted timeouts AND actually find a use for Hester in the offense (if we keep him).

I think the amount of times we blew TO's because cutler couldn't get the playcall on time was borderline criminal

Good post. I really can't say who was a better choice. I think there's as many arguments against Arians as Trestman, but its all speculation. Ditka was on the Score when Lovie was hired and didn't like the hiring and now he doesn't like the firing. Carroll and Belechik were flops their first time through. Proven HCs had flops on their 2nd or 3rd jobs. People thought Petrino and Saban were going to be able to replicate Jimmy Johnson and were terrible. I'm optimistic, but who knows for sure?

[Aube]

I wanted Arians. He's the only candidate who beat the Packers as a HC. Hopefully I'm wrong, but I was right about Tice, Shea, and, well, mostly everything else.
I have very little faith in the Bears. Emery's first draft was a disaster.

[Wounded Bear]

I wanted Arians. He's the only candidate who beat the Packers as a HC. Hopefully I'm wrong, but I was right about Tice, Shea, and, well, mostly everything else.
I have very little faith in the Bears. Emery's first draft was a disaster.

I want to cook you on a spoon and shoot you into my veins.

[NEBEAR]

I don't understand why people keep saying this, especially when you factor in how pathetic our line is. Arians has a history of getting his QB killed when he's calling plays and doing nothing scheme-wise (ala Mike Martz) to change that.

2007 - Big Ben - 47 sacks (2nd highest in the NFL)
2008 - Big Ben - 46 sacks (2nd)
2009 - Big Ben - 50 sacks (1st)
2010 - Big Ben - 32 sacks (Ben only played 12 games)
2011 - Big Ben - 40 sacks (3rd)
2012 - Luck - 41 (4th)

I don't think you just look at the amount of sacks in a vacuum... Especially when the bottom line results were 5 playoff appearances, 2 Super Bowl Appearances and a Super Bowl Title... Arians is great at scheming around QB's that like to hold onto the ball, extend plays with their feet and then use their big arm to make plays down field... That is exactly what Big Ben and Cutler have in common... The very nature of that playing style is going to yield more sacks... Trestman, in spite of what he says, is going to try and get Cutler to get rid of the ball faster and throw to spots before he actually sees the Wr break open... If Cutler buys in, the Wrs get on the same page- the offense will probably improve relatively quickly... But those are Big "IF'S"...

[PC Load Letter]

I don't think you can look at the playoffs and Super Bowls in a vacuum, either...especially when their defense played a greater role in their success.

Those sack numbers do not lie. At some point an OC also has to scheme around the opposing defense knocking the snot out of your QB and doing what you can to keep him upright. Just because Jay can extend plays and move around doesn't mean your protection (I'm speaking in terms of gameplanning) should go out the window.

Jay was able to move around and throw on the run in Denver and he was never hit nearly as much as he has here, or as much as Ben or Luck.

Denver
2007 - 27 sacks - first year as a full-time starter
2008 - 11 sacks - on a whopping 616 attempts!
Chicago
2009 - 35 sacks - with Turner
2010 - 52 sacks - with Martz
2011 - 23 sacks - played 10 games
2012 - 38 sacks - with idiot Tice

So no, I do not see Cutler as a QB whose play leads to sacks, and his short time with a competent OC and decent line reflects that.

[Aube]

Ha!

i want to cook you on a spoon and shoot you into my veins.

[pellepelle10]

none of us know for sure, of course. but i disagree with you on Arians over Trestman.

moreover, i don't think what he ran in Oakland is an ironclad indication of what he'll run in Chicago. it's certainly not what he ran with the Alouettes.

I say no to Arians because he would have completely changed the Defense and I can't say if that would have had a negative impact on what we already had defensively. He wasn't keeping Marinelli and I doubt he was going to keep the rest of the defensive coaches we had. While offensively I think we could have improved I have a TON of questions marks whether he would have done anything positive on the defensive side of the ball. We made the best choice IMO.

[NEBEAR]

I don't think you can look at the playoffs and Super Bowls in a vacuum, either...especially when their defense played a greater role in their success.

Those sack numbers do not lie. At some point an OC also has to scheme around the opposing defense knocking the snot out of your QB and doing what you can to keep him upright. Just because Jay can extend plays and move around doesn't mean your protection (I'm speaking in terms of gameplanning) should go out the window.

Jay was able to move around and throw on the run in Denver and he was never hit nearly as much as he has here, or as much as Ben or Luck.

Denver
2007 - 27 sacks - first year as a full-time starter
2008 - 11 sacks - on a whopping 616 attempts!
Chicago
2009 - 35 sacks - with Turner
2010 - 52 sacks - with Martz
2011 - 23 sacks - played 10 games
2012 - 38 sacks - with idiot Tice

So no, I do not see Cutler as a QB whose play leads to sacks, and his short time with a competent OC and decent line reflects that.

If you don't see Cutler as Qb that likes to hold onto the ball, see what's in front of him and then extend plays with his feet if needed- I think we must be watching different games... Also, you have failed to indicate in your analysis that his lowest sack total for a full year with the Bears was under Turner- which also happened to be his worst year statistically... Trestman is going to employ some of the same WCO staples that Turner did and that was by far the worst year of his career... I have no doubt Cutler's sack totals will probably go down next season, but Im more concerned about his interception totals and overall efficiency as QB... The other thing that you have discounted is the fact his sack totals have dropped significantly with the 2nd year under the same O Coordinator (although 2011 was just a partial sampling, my memory tells me that his sack totals dropped significantly after the first 5 games or so in 2011 and were definitely trending in the right direction before he got injured)... The 2008 Broncos had made significant upgrades to the Oline that offseason including the drafting of Ryan Clady- so wasn't just all Shanny's playcalling...

[PSUmtj112]

If you don't see Cutler as Qb that likes to hold onto the ball, see what's in front of him and then extend plays with his feet if needed- I think we must be watching different games... Also, you have failed to indicate in your analysis that his lowest sack total for a full year with the Bears was under Turner- which also happened to be his worst year statistically... Trestman is going to employ some of the same WCO staples that Turner did and that was by far the worst year of his career... I have no doubt Cutler's sack totals will probably go down next season, but Im more concerned about his interception totals and overall efficiency as QB... The other thing that you have discounted is the fact his sack totals have dropped significantly with the 2nd year under the same O Coordinator (although 2011 was just a partial sampling, my memory tells me that his sack totals dropped significantly after the first 5 games or so in 2011 and were definitely trending in the right direction before he got injured)... The 2008 Broncos had made significant upgrades to the Oline that offseason including the drafting of Ryan Clady- so wasn't just all Shanny's playcalling...

This!

[PC Load Letter]

If you don't see Cutler as Qb that likes to hold onto the ball, see what's in front of him and then extend plays with his feet if needed- I think we must be watching different games... Also, you have failed to indicate in your analysis that his lowest sack total for a full year with the Bears was under Turner- which also happened to be his worst year statistically... Trestman is going to employ some of the same WCO staples that Turner did and that was by far the worst year of his career... I have no doubt Cutler's sack totals will probably go down next season, but Im more concerned about his interception totals and overall efficiency as QB... The other thing that you have discounted is the fact his sack totals have dropped significantly with the 2nd year under the same O Coordinator (although 2011 was just a partial sampling, my memory tells me that his sack totals dropped significantly after the first 5 games or so in 2011 and were definitely trending in the right direction before he got injured)... The 2008 Broncos had made significant upgrades to the Oline that offseason including the drafting of Ryan Clady- so wasn't just all Shanny's playcalling...

I clearly said Cutler is a QB that has the ability to use his feet to extends plays (obviously extending plays would mean holding onto the ball longer)...I'm watching the same games. What I am saying is that ability does not automatically translate to him as a QB that should be near the league lead in sacks. According to you, his style of play yields more sacks, yet I showed that while in Denver it did not.

I'm not sure of the point you're trying to make by saying his lowest sack total (which was still 35 and near the top of the league - and oh by the way - Arian's QB led the league) was also his worst year statistically? I would think the fact that he was on a new team with new players and a sub-par OC had more to do with his stats than him "only" being sacked 35 times. Just because both have WCO staples doesn't mean anything. Every offense in the NFL runs the WCO

Jay's sack totals went down in 2011 because Lovie had to force Martz to actually run the ball. Correct, Jay and the team were playing better, that is usually the case when you keep the opposing defense honest.

Of course, Jay had a better line in Denver so it was not all on Shanny. Jay's also had the worst line in the NFL during his time here. I think that and our OCs have been the biggest problem, not Jay's style of play leading to more sacks. I happen to think that trend would have continued if Arians was hired (and more than likely calling plays) so I do not think it would've been a good fit. I see him more of a Martz that tries to fit everything to his system rather than fitting his system to his players, even if it means his QB gets killed. No thanks.