December 8, 2009

Why Do The Chicago Bears Still Call Themselves a Running Team?

As a Bears fan, this has been a struggle of mine for years now. And with actual talent at the quarterback position for the first time in two decades, we still hear from the coaching staff every week, "We're a running team, and we're committed to running the ball." Even the announcers scoff at this while pulling up stats that rank the Bears dead last in terms of total run offense.
So why not just become a West Coast offense now that you have a QB who could handle it? Because no one else on the team knows how.
Just like a business, every football team needs a mission. Something that you move toward with every decision you make. You hire coaches based on their expertise running particular formations you're building your team around. You're drafting lineman out of college based on their familiarity with and how they would fit running certain schemes.
It's not just about utilizing whatever's available. It's about building toward something. Now you can argue that they should change their mission statement. But, that's a bigger process than just saying it.
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