Changing of the Guards: Does the Punishment Fit the Crime?

Chicago Bears offices were swarmed in chaos on Tuesday, as Jerry Angelo and Mike Martz were relieved of their duties.   This news has come just days after the Bears finished their disappointing 8-8 season.  While the coaching and managerial staff was certainly not without its' concerns, these two were seem to be the whipping boys for a season plagued with unfortunate circumstances.  Is their apathy worthy of unemployment? 

The 2011 Bears were bound for the playoffs.  They had a 7-3 records, and its offense was firing on all cylinders; making the absolute most out of a mediocre, at best, offensive line.  Whether you love him or hate him, Jay Cutler provided a sold backbone for the team.  Steady workhorse Matt Forte also lended his best performance since his wunderkind rookie season.   The defense was strong as usual, and  This all changed quickly however, as week 11 gave the entire Bears organization a harsh reality check.  Cutler went down with a broken thumb on his throwing hand.  Unfortunately, this minor break in a major spot abruptly ended his season.  A couple weeks later, Forte went down with a season ending MCL sprain.  Combine that with the agonizing back injury to Johnny Knox (and his backup's agonizing drug trafficking charges), and the Bears finished the season 8-8; a mere shell of an NFL football team.

Angelo needs consequences assessed for his languor in the situation.  He is the primary reason why the Chicago Bears were left so painfully unprepared when its main ships went down.  Fans patience were further tested when he rested on his laurels, opting to use Caleb Hanie, a decent QB, but profoundly unready for professional level of play.  While some of his great acquisitions of the past, most notably Cutler, and defensive powerhouses Julius Peppers and Orlando Pace, are what brought the team back to the NFC Championship game (narrowly losing to subsequent Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers), the crime of apathy that cost them a playoff birth. 

  

Despite this, should this cost Angelo his job?  While he was flat-footed in the face of disaster, this season would not have ended well regardless of the backup situation.  Even with quality backups, the Bears could not have compensated for a completely shattered offense.  The team may have not lost five games straight, but they could not have went far.  It was just too many luckless events to give way for successful playoff performance, if they did make it to postseason.  Perhaps resting on his laurels, and chalking this up to a ill-fated year wasn't that terrible of an idea. 

Mike Martz really seems to be a scapegoat in the situation.  The reasoning for his departure was vague...claiming he and head coach Lovie Smith had "different philosophies."  Considering what Martz was working with, few offensive coordinators could have done better.  In the past two seasons, he led the Bears to the aforementioned NFC Championship, and a great 2011 season before the shocking amount of injuries.  He brought the best out in his team, and most fans would agree that the offense was coming together as a single unit.  The notion that he could be faulted for an unfortunate chain of events seems unreasonable by even the most critical fans.

Perhaps changes needed to be made.  Where ANY professional team would have made quick changes, and well equipped standbys, the Bears had nothing but regret, and time for its players convalesce.  The reality,however, is that there was no direction to point the finger.  It was bad luck, and the old Chicago adage remains, 'just wait 'til next year."