I did some research and put together this article, I didn't even know how crazy the turnover rate on the offensive side of the ball had been until I looked it up on my own.  It was more surprising than even I was prepared for. 

The information from there gets even crazier once you dig deep into the Bears' offense

There's A Lot More To the Offensive Problems Than Ron Turner

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Midway Illustrated Blog

I'll just comment on the last paragraph..
Saying that someone is not as bad as 3 other someones, doesn't mean that the first someone is good. As a matter of fact, there are millions of people that would do this job worse than the original someone. They, however, don't coach in the NFL....
And neither should the original someone...

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great ARTICLE! u nailed it

Not a very good blog.

Some of us have been calling for Turner's head for years, that is not a "knee-jerk reaction". We've had either years of failed players or we've had years of a failed OC... although based on how players go elsewhere and produce or no matter the level of talent brought in - they under-perform here... this points to having years of a failed OC.

The blame is finally where it belongs. If I was an office manager and my employee's production started to taper off, my boss would probably want to know why. There's only so long that I can blame it on a slew of different employees, eventually my boss will figure out that the problem is actually me. Especially if my boss brought in a hot-shot new secretary and she started to under-perform.

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"Nothing that anyone else says or does to you has anything whatsoever to do with you - it has only to do with who they are - their perceptions, their conditioning, their experiences - the way they are accustomed to reacting to the world around them"

Our every offensive problem CAN and SHOULD be blamed on Ron Turner, because he's ultimately responsible for the play of our offensive unit. Our offense is terrible year in and year out no matter who comes and goes. Is that purely coincidence? Nope, it's not coincidence at all. It's because Ron Turner could very well be the worst offensive coordinator in the NFL.

Why should Turner get endless opportunities to fail? He's shown us time and time again that he's terrible at his job, so why continue to give him a free pass? Thank god his contract is up after this season. I hope like h*ll that we're done with him forever...

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Fire the coaching staff. Drop the entire offensive line. Drop the entire defense (aside from Briggs). Trade Cutler, Forte, Olsen and Briggs for draft picks. Start over from scratch...

He is the main problem with the offense. As bad as the O line is, the offense should sill be so much better. Just watching the offense out there, they look so held back. His play calling is horrible and he keeps trying to force them to play "power football" even though they CLEARLY do not have the offensive line to do it and the fact that we have smaller and faster WRs. He puts them in a position to fail.

There is too much talent on this offense to perform the way they have even with the O line playing as bad as it it. It is OK to run that offense when you can. Last season, we did not have much talent around the offense, but at the very least, the O line played decent. The dump offs, short routes, and runs (struggled in this department anyway) hid some of the offenses main problems. The conservative play calling and plain offense hid the lack of talent all around the offense.

However, it's flipped around this season. Hester got so much better as a WR and Bennett and Knox look very solid. You have an elite talent in Cutler who can move around and make any throw. Arguably the best TE group in the NFL. Forte can do it all.
yes the O line is very bad this season, but with the talent around it, a good OC can find a way to still make it work a bit. Being more creative and playing to the STRENGTHS of the players helps make up for the offensive line. It's pathetic to watch him do the same freaking thing week in and week out without realizing that he is doing it wrong. How is it that people around the league and even FANS and media can see that he is bad but he doesn't see it himself?

HARDLY any counters, draws, reverses when it comes to running which would help the struggling O line. He uses Forte and wolfe poorly as well. He puts them out there for entire drives instead of mixing it up down by down and mixing up the play calling. He uses Wolfe the same way he uses Forte despite Wolfe being a scat-back type of RB.

He has a 6'7 TE in Davis who has good receiver skills and is big and strong. He looked good when he was playing, but since Dez came back, he has not been out there much. How do you have that kind of talent and stop using him? With our red zone offense struggling like it is (since Davis has been out *wink wink*), you would think he would try and use more size. But no. Lets keep running the same formations, calling the same plays, and stop using what worked before.

With our O line playing so poorly combine with Cutler's mobility and ability to trow on the run, you would think that we would move the pocket a little more than we normally do, right? That's not what Turner thinks, apparently. He keeps calling these plain plays and forces Cutler to take hits.


I seriously could go on and on. He is so stupid and clueless that it almost seems intentional. I don't get it. I am SO happy this is the last year of his contract and I think the rest of the offense, especially Cutler, feel the same way. You would think with his job on the line, Turner would try and save it by any means necessary. Does he think anyone beyond pop warner is going to want to give him a shot after all of this?

Why do these defenders of Ron Turner boil his job down to just sending in the plays?  If that were so, there'd be more blame to be shared.  But it isn't.  Ron is the OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR.  He is responsible for EVERY ASPECT of the Offense.  And when the offensive line struggles, the QB can't complete plays, the WRs are lost in their routes, and the RBs can't get a decent run off, IT'S THE OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR'S FAULT.  When the entire Offense sucks, it's because it's not being run properly.

Turner is responsible for the overall focus and motivation of the offensive squad.  He is responsible for the position coaches under him doing their jobs properly, training players in the proper method and technique, teaching them how to execute, correcting flaws in their mechanics, adjust mistakes in their mental approach. 

It's all on Ron.  It's what he gets paid for...

Typical responses with no facts to back it up.  Statements of conjecture, and opinion and anger. 

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Midway Illustrated Blog

MonstersoftheMidway51:

Typical responses with no facts to back it up.  Statements of conjecture, and opinion and anger. 

That's all you have for a response....... ?

"There was a point in time where most fans in the city of Chicago appreciated this level of honesty and bluntness about it's team, apparently not anymore.  Now that the fan base has essentially turned on their offensive coach no amount of straight talk or blunt criticism will suffice."

The problem with his "bluntness" is that he put it all on the players and took NO responsibilty for the failures himself.

 

 

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"There is only one man I embrace when we meet. And only one I call Coach - George Halas." - Vince Lombardi

Never Die Easy - R.I.P. Walter Payton

No facts to back it up?  The fact that our offense has sucked for quite a few years now with RT as the coordinator is a fact! 

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Jerseyboysback:

i have chose to be the smart one. i will no longer root for the bears until lovie and his regime is gone.

Dennis:

Why do these defenders of Ron Turner boil his job down to just sending in the plays?  If that were so, there'd be more blame to be shared.  But it isn't.  Ron is the OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR.  He is responsible for EVERY ASPECT of the Offense.  And when the offensive line struggles, the QB can't complete plays, the WRs are lost in their routes, and the RBs can't get a decent run off, IT'S THE OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR'S FAULT.  When the entire Offense sucks, it's because it's not being run properly.

Turner is responsible for the overall focus and motivation of the offensive squad.  He is responsible for the position coaches under him doing their jobs properly, training players in the proper method and technique, teaching them how to execute, correcting flaws in their mechanics, adjust mistakes in their mental approach. 

It's all on Ron.  It's what he gets paid for...

Well said.  It's called "accountability" and there is a serious lack of it on the Chicago Bears.  Ultimately someone must be accountable for underachieving and failure.  This is just as true in the private sector and not just professional sports teams.  If you continue to fail as a manager, you lose your job.  And if a business fails to do this, then ultimately the business itself fails.

I really have a problem with people accepting a mediocre performance because "x" number of years ago "we had a good year" on offense.  I also have a problem with folks who "rationalize" mediocre performance by saying.....well, at least we're better than _____________ (just fill in the blank).  The bottom-line is that you perform at a high level or you don't.  Period.

 

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Go Bears!

ThadtheBear:

I'll just comment on the last paragraph.. Saying that someone is not as bad as 3 other someones, doesn't mean that the first someone is good. As a matter of fact, there are millions of people that would do this job worse than the original someone. They, however, don't coach in the NFL.... And neither should the original someone...

Yeah that mentallity drives me nuts, whether it's people talking about how Turner is better than our previous OCs or how Lovie is a good coach because he is better than Wanny and Jauron. There are plenty of QBs in the league worse than Orton, that didn't stop us from going out and upgrading the position

daniel_savage:

Our every offensive problem CAN and SHOULD be blamed on Ron Turner, because he's ultimately responsible for the play of our offensive unit. Our offense is terrible year in and year out no matter who comes and goes. Is that purely coincidence? Nope, it's not coincidence at all. It's because Ron Turner could very well be the worst offensive coordinator in the NFL. Why should Turner get endless opportunities to fail? He's shown us time and time again that he's terrible at his job, so why continue to give him a free pass? Thank god his contract is up after this season. I hope like h*ll that we're done with him forever...

This all the way.  Good post.

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Member #72 of the Official CBMB Jay Cutler Fan Club
http://sevvy.sportsblognet.com/

MonstersoftheMidway51:

Typical responses with no facts to back it up.  Statements of conjecture, and opinion and anger. 

What facts do you need?  I'm going to go ahead and assume that you watch most Bears games.  And with that... THERE YOU GO!  There is all the proof you need.

I don't know about everyone else, but often times I do some film study after a game.  I'll watch our games a couple of times and focus on different things at different times.  This offense is a nightmare.  It's partially about execution, but a lot of it has to do with schemes, plays, lack of creativity, not adjusting to what the defense is giving, etc.

I could go on for days about how bad Ron Turner is.  It's just his time.  And we'll all be better off for it.

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Member #72 of the Official CBMB Jay Cutler Fan Club
http://sevvy.sportsblognet.com/

MonstersoftheMidway51:

Typical responses with no facts to back it up.  Statements of conjecture, and opinion and anger. 

Why post if you can't handle critisism.  The fact is many fan's have wanted a new style of offensive cordinator for some time now, calling it a knee jerk reaction was just stupid on your part or trying to force your own opinion that fan's are over reacting and placing all the blame on one man.  Just because others are to blame to doesn't clear a bad coach in Turner.  He just doesn't understand how to get the best out of his players, he is always trying to fit square pegs into round holes. 

Overall a good article but not without faults and off base in some areas.

 

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MonstersoftheMidway51:

Typical responses with no facts to back it up.  Statements of conjecture, and opinion and anger. 

Facts:

Turner has never coordinated an above average offense. In fact, it is well below average most of the time.

He is very stubborn with his play calling and mentality

OUTSIDERS AROUND THE NFL do not think very highly of him.

He does not know how to use his players or their talents. If he does, he is apparently too dumb to use them.

Cutler is visibly and verbally getting a bit more and more unhappy with Turner every week. You can see him getting frustrated on the field with the signal calling and plays. He is also clearly holding back how he really feels when he comments on the offense and Turner. You can read between the lines. Heck, Turner even said he was going to scale the offense back a little bit then decided to change his mind. I doubt he simply decided it wasn't a good idea. I am pretty sure Cutler and the other offensive players would not have liked the offense being "scaled back."

He is in the last year of his contract and JA is clearly in no hurry to give him an extension. I wonder why.

scotty54:

ThadtheBear:

I'll just comment on the last paragraph.. Saying that someone is not as bad as 3 other someones, doesn't mean that the first someone is good. As a matter of fact, there are millions of people that would do this job worse than the original someone. They, however, don't coach in the NFL.... And neither should the original someone...

Yeah that mentallity drives me nuts, whether it's people talking about how Turner is better than our previous OCs or how Lovie is a good coach because he is better than Wanny and Jauron. There are plenty of QBs in the league worse than Orton, that didn't stop us from going out and upgrading the position

I like the part in the article where it says "it isn't fair" to blame Turner.  It isn't "fair"  not "fair"?  Well who the heck DO you blame?  I love this quote:

"this offense lacks in execution and plenty of mistakes."

But the guy goes on to say it's a "knee jerk reaction" to blame this on poor old Ron.  Knee jerk?  Isn't he the guy in charge of this mess?  I think the last time I checked he was being paid to be our offensive coordinator - right?  Well he's sure been "offensive" in his job performance.

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Go Bears!

You do make some good points, but here is a fact.  We go deep twice in the opening game of the season, both for long completions, and have maybe tried 2 deep passes since.  Also, Forte's numbers would be almost identical to last year at this time if he was carrying the ball the same number of times as last year.  Both of those are on the OC and thats just 2 major things out of many others that fall on RT and his playcalling.

You say he has all these new players...one thing he does know.  We have 2 fast as hell receivers, yet we dont try to get them the ball deep.  I know Cutler doesnt have a lot of time, but on a go route, he doesnt need much...just a couple of seconds, then launch the ball.  That is definately on RT's shoulders!

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Jerseyboysback:

i have chose to be the smart one. i will no longer root for the bears until lovie and his regime is gone.

Digits:

MonstersoftheMidway51:

Typical responses with no facts to back it up.  Statements of conjecture, and opinion and anger. 

What facts do you need?  I'm going to go ahead and assume that you watch most Bears games.  And with that... THERE YOU GO!  There is all the proof you need.

I don't know about everyone else, but often times I do some film study after a game.  I'll watch our games a couple of times and focus on different things at different times.  This offense is a nightmare.  It's partially about execution, but a lot of it has to do with schemes, plays, lack of creativity, not adjusting to what the defense is giving, etc.

I could go on for days about how bad Ron Turner is.  It's just his time.  And we'll all be better off for it.

Exactly.  Watching these offenses the past few years is like enduring a "root canal" procedure at the dentist's office.  I cringe just watching the ugliness.....man it is pure "butt ugly" to watch.  It's a feeling like you get when you accidentally step in dog poop.  Man it stinks....just like Ron's offense stinks.

Yes, SOMBODY must be accountable for this mess, and I'd suspect it's the guy who's paid as the offensive coordinator.....but hey, that's just me.  Just saying. 

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Go Bears!

ChitownFlyer:

MonstersoftheMidway51:

Typical responses with no facts to back it up.  Statements of conjecture, and opinion and anger.

Why post if you can't handle criticism.

+1

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"Nothing that anyone else says or does to you has anything whatsoever to do with you - it has only to do with who they are - their perceptions, their conditioning, their experiences - the way they are accustomed to reacting to the world around them"

I wouldn't say any of this calling for Ron Turner's firing a knee jerk reaction. Most people have realized long ago that Ron is not a very good coach. He doesn't know how to use the personnel he has and he has no feel for how the game is unfolding and as always when things aren't going well with Turner's system it's time to scale back the playbook instead of adjusting.

MonstersoftheMidway51:

Typical responses with no facts to back it up.  Statements of conjecture, and opinion and anger. 

Ron, go back and get the boys ready for the Cards.  You're wasting time here.  Post after the game....and good luck on Sunday. 

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Go Bears!

i'm not a ron turner fan or apologist but i can't join the masses who are calling for his head because "our offense sucks".  i keep hearing over and over about his play calling and lack of innovation, but my eyes tell a different story: execution.  granted, as coordinator he's responsible for getting the players prepared to execute the plays as called, and be able to improvise when necessary, but he has to work with the talent he's been given.  having said that, can anyone honestly say that we've had an offense with top 10 talent in the last 5 years?  maybe we've had a player or two who could fit in that category but have we had even close to 6 out of the starting 11 who could be considered in the top 10 at their position?

another thing that has been on my mind, especially when it comes to the criticism of turner's play-calling, has been what we have or haven't been doing to mitigate the poor play of the offensive line.  teams are blitzing us quite a bit, especially in obvious passing downs, which should leave someone in single coverage or leave a soft spot on the field somewhere.  why aren't cutler and/or our receivers seeing this and making the hot read (that teams seem to run on us all the time)?  why isn't kruetz (who makes the protection calls) recognizing where the pressure is coming from and adjusting accordingly?  does the fact that kruetz, garza and forte are the only remaining starters from last year have anything to do with it?

anyway, i think turner is probably gone at the end of the year and we'll probably be looking at a new offensive scheme next year, but i'm still going to wonder if turner deserves as much blame as he's getting.

misterchi:

i'm not a ron turner fan or apologist but i can't join the masses who are calling for his head because "our offense sucks".  i keep hearing over and over about his play calling and lack of innovation, but my eyes tell a different story: execution.  granted, as coordinator he's responsible for getting the players prepared to execute the plays as called, and be able to improvise when necessary, but he has to work with the talent he's been given.  having said that, can anyone honestly say that we've had an offense with top 10 talent in the last 5 years?  maybe we've had a player or two who could fit in that category but have we had even close to 6 out of the starting 11 who could be considered in the top 10 at their position?

another thing that has been on my mind, especially when it comes to the criticism of turner's play-calling, has been what we have or haven't been doing to mitigate the poor play of the offensive line.  teams are blitzing us quite a bit, especially in obvious passing downs, which should leave someone in single coverage or leave a soft spot on the field somewhere.  why aren't cutler and/or our receivers seeing this and making the hot read (that teams seem to run on us all the time)?  why isn't kruetz (who makes the protection calls) recognizing where the pressure is coming from and adjusting accordingly?  does the fact that kruetz, garza and forte are the only remaining starters from last year have anything to do with it?

anyway, i think turner is probably gone at the end of the year and we'll probably be looking at a new offensive scheme next year, but i'm still going to wonder if turner deserves as much blame as he's getting.

Name ten better players for each position on the offense... I think we've got 3-4 players that are in the top 10 for their position (QB, RB and both TEs since we run a 2 TE set). Most others are above average for their position and we also have a few that are below average for their position. This offense should at the very minimum, be average.

Execution is dependent on a few things... if I ask you to run a mile, you can probably execute... but if I ask you to run a mile with a 70lb rucksack, we might have a different story. This is where play-calling and scheme become important in the execution equation. Players are more likely to execute when in a situation that is conducive to being successful. Turner places his players in bad situations and hence the players have trouble executing consistently.

The OL problems are because of poor utilization of the personnel and poor play-calling. Where are the counter-blitz plays? Where are the misdirections? Where are the in-game adjustments? Where is the ingenuity/creativity with the personnel? I could go on and on...

If DEs are beating our OTs off the edge, start running plays that attack their containment responsibilities... eventually they'll have to adjust to stop running themselves out of the play. There's a ton that an OC can do to fix out offensive woes... that doesn't involve players having to play perfectly to win their individual battles.

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"Nothing that anyone else says or does to you has anything whatsoever to do with you - it has only to do with who they are - their perceptions, their conditioning, their experiences - the way they are accustomed to reacting to the world around them"

Digits:

daniel_savage:

Our every offensive problem CAN and SHOULD be blamed on Ron Turner, because he's ultimately responsible for the play of our offensive unit. Our offense is terrible year in and year out no matter who comes and goes. Is that purely coincidence? Nope, it's not coincidence at all. It's because Ron Turner could very well be the worst offensive coordinator in the NFL. Why should Turner get endless opportunities to fail? He's shown us time and time again that he's terrible at his job, so why continue to give him a free pass? Thank god his contract is up after this season. I hope like h*ll that we're done with him forever...

I love this part of it, the offense sucks no matter who is here year after year. 

Kyle Orton sucks or doesn't?  Which is it, he either sucks or doesn't suck...

Cedric Benson was garbage here, and that was all on him, Benson wasn't happy to be a Bear when he got here. 

The passing attack that has been horrible through Rex, Kyle, Griese, etc etc.  Those guys being so horrible that's Turner's fault too right?

Here's what seems to be missed, each and every player that has been booted off this team and the amount of turnover you have seen is a direct result of their lack of performance. 

Why is Kyle Orton performing better in Denver?  Orton isn't he is playing at the same level he was always capable of.  His completion percentage of passes over 20-yards is like 11-percent and everything below those 20-yard passes get progressively more accurate for Orton. 

Same thing for Orton here in Chicago, why did Orton suddenly go to crap last year?  His ankle injury, no one wants to listen to that or hear that excuse but that's what happened. 

Why do other players leave here and perform better elsewhere?  Because they no longer have  Rex and Kyle throwing the football for them, or they no longer have John St Clair etc blocking for them. 

It's not as if Turner has sat on these worthless players year after year.

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Midway Illustrated Blog