Change is in the air with Bears' new offense

Sporting News, The, June 28, 1999 by Chris Jenkins

Two straight seasons of 4-12 football will test the patience of any city's fans, but it wasn't that simple in Chicago last season. Bears fans lost any remaining shreds of confidence in the team's management

Then they lost interest People stopped coming to games, with 15,000-plus no-shows becoming the norm. Many even stopped watching on TV, and one game was nearly blacked out Even longtime radio voice Wayne Larivee jumped ship for ... Green Bay? In the good old days, back when gum cost a penny and Aerosmith didn't play power ballads, Larivee would have been labeled a traitor to the city. But in today's Chicago, where kids roam the streets wearing green No. 4 jerseys without fear of having their lunch money stolen, Larivee still broadcasts Bulls games.

But how can a fan stay passionate about a team that botches a coaching hire? That's the NFL front-office equivalent of wearing suspenders with a belt. The Dave McGinnis fiasco was so embarrassing, team president Michael McCaskey was forced to resign. The team has a new top man in Ted Phillips and a new head coach in Dick Jauron. But can Chicago's football coma be lifted?

Of course it can. Don't be distracted by the success of MJ's Bulls or 30,000 sun worshippers masquerading as baseball fans at Wrigley Field. This is a football-first town just aching for the Bears to recapture their imagination. And what better way to spark a football city's interest than to pour some tabasco on a gardenburger offense?

That job belongs to new offensive coordinator Gary Crowton, a man with no previous NFL coaching experience but plenty of wild ideas. He can't promise everything he's going to try will work. But no matter what happens this year, we can safely assume it won't be boring. As the head coach at Louisiana Tech last season, Crowton designed and directed an offense that averaged an NCAA-best 429.8 passing yards per game.

Is this city ready for the Air Bears? Chicago has its traditions. Pizza comes in a pan. Offense comes on the ground. But Crowton thinks fans will love it. "I hope it's exciting, and I hope we can move the ball well and get a lot of people involved," he says. "They'll really see a variety of different things."

And Crowton is used to taking on the big boys with lesser talent, a skill that will come in handy here. Tech lost last year's season opener at Nebraska but grabbed the nation's attention by passing for 590 yards. An NCAA-record 405-405!--of those yards went to receiver Troy Edwards, who became the Steelers' first-round pick in April. "I think it was an offense utilized to give them a chance to compete against top people, which they did very well," says Max McCarmey, who scouted Edwards for Pittsburgh.

Dominant offenses don't have to be sneaky. But teams like the Bears have to make up for a lack of talent by out-scheming opponents, something they didn't do very well last season. The focal point of Crowton's offense will be generating mismatches--say, a wide receiver in man coverage against a big safety or linebacker-then have his team recognize those mismatches and exploit them.

And Crowton will try anything to create those mismatches. Three-wide formations will be common. There will be four-wide sets and even a five-wide set with no running back. Three tight ends at once? Why not? Expect lots of motion, the no-huddle and gadget plays such as wide receiver screens. These are big changes for the Bears, and they won't be easy to make. But after running through the offense in two minicamps, the players say they love it.

"The main thing is that we're going to have the mind-set of just press," quarterback Erik Kramer says. "Force the issue. Put pressure on the defense, instead of telling (us) not to give the game away. We want to play smart and effective, we don't want to turn the ball over, but we're not thinking, `Let's just maybe get a first down here and punt and play field position."

Crowton's playbook, finished just a few weeks ago, is a mixture of what he did at Louisiana Tech and during assistant stints at Boston College--where he tutored Glenn Foley under Tom Coughlin--and Georgia Tech. Crowton might not have any pro experience, but most of his college schemes came from studying NFL game tape during the summer. He also had input from other members of the Bears' new staff.

In addition to being fan-friendly, Crowton says his offense is user-friendly. In fact, he says it's easier to learn than many NFL offenses. But learning the offense is one thing, and executing it is another. Here's what the Bears will have to do to make Crowton's offense a success:

* Think fast. Snap decisions at the line will be crucial, making Kramer's health a key. Kramer still isn't 100 percent after injuries kept him on the sideline for much of last season. First-round pick Cade McNown is obviously the quarter-back of the future, and his mobility will be a great asset to this offense. But for now, they need Kramer's veteran eye and leadership.

* Run. Crowton's a passing guru, but he realizes he needs to run the ball to win in the NFL. Actually, the focus on the passing game should help the running game, spreading the field and forcing teams to play a lot of nickel. If Curtis Enis can get into the open field and start plowing over defensive backs, the Bears' offense will have a whole new dimension. Enis should be a factor in the passing game as well.