The whole backup quarterback issue really is still the hot button and it was good to visit with Matt Spiegel and Lawrence Holmes (sitting in for Danny Mac) on The McNeil and Spiegel Show on WSCR-AM 670 for our regular 10 a.m. Thursday chat.
An overriding issue, as Ive discussed on Bears Talk, is somehow coming back to Mike Martz, his system and his philosophies. The fact that Josh McCown is starting at quarterback Sunday in Green Bay and Nathan Enderle is still considered not ready after 15 weeks of season plus training camp and preseason, says not-good things about the Martz system and approach.
I threw out the Kyle Orton experience in 2005 where a rookie mid-round-pick quarterback took over under Ron Turner and did more than just survive. The way Turner made it work was to give Orton a Cliff Notes playbook and keep the offense even more controlled than even the normal West Coast.
And in a year when rookies Andy Dalton (Cincinnati), Cam Newton (Carolina), Christian Ponder (Minnesota), Blaine Gabbert (Jacksonville), and Jake Locker in Tennessee have played, some of them well, what is it all saying about Martzs system?
And is it also points a light on Martzs predisposition away from young quarterbacks and preference for veterans. It was why Martz wanted a Todd Collins last year and unquestionably part of why McCown is preferred over Enderle despite the obvious lack of current NFL work.
The guys brought up Tim Jennings, who talked Wednesday about the fragile state of the cornerback position. He was pulled and replaced after a costly deep completion by the Seattle Seahawks, as Zack Bowman was last year for mistakes in the first Green Bay game.
My response here is that youre seeing a typical response when things turn sour with losing. Any player whos taken out is going to feel scapegoated, and both Bowman and Jennings are playing for contracts next year.