Schuster: Bulls Provide Perfect Model For Stumbling Bears
By David Schuster-
(CBS) It seems that the Bears and the Bulls have been trying to follow the same floor plan the last few years as far as building their teams. Both have been trying to build around a franchise player while also getting men of character. One has obviously succeeded while the other has seemingly flopped.
Derrick Rose and Jay Cutler are the central characters for their respective teams. Rose pretty much fell into the Bulls laps when they won the draft lottery a few years back. Everyone from this area knew of his talents and it was a no brainer decision to select him over Michael Beasley. Rose is almost too good to be true with both his talents and his humble persona. He has garnered numerous awards and accolades already and just yesterday was signed to a new five-year contract.
Even though Rose was a gift with the Bulls winning the lottery, the franchise has done a very good job building around him. The team needed a power forward and signed Carlos Boozer. This off-season they needed a shooting guard and signed Richard Hamilton. They also needed a coach who would get them to championship level and Tom Thibodeau appears to be that man. And they have built depth on the roster protecting them from injuries and that bench will win them numerous games this season.
The Bulls have also preached having players of high caliber who stay away from trouble. Mission accomplished on that account too. There have been a few small incidents with Rose and others but for the most part these guys truly have been upstanding citizens.
And then there is the flip side, the Bears. They also have a franchise player in Jay Cutler but have done a poor job in building around him. A quarterback can't do it all and Cutler has not been provided with the necessary help. The offensive line has been in constant flux and his receiving corp has not been of the level it should be. And whereas the Bulls have protected themselves from injuries with their depth, just the opposite is true with the Bears. Last season the Bears were lucky and avoided injuries but this season they have been nailed hard and have had few players step up. The worst example has been at quarterback. Once Cutler went down the season was pretty much over.
As for the character issue, the Bears mean well with their selections but obviously in many situations it just hasn't worked out. Sam Hurd is the latest and best example of having a guy on the roster whose character is the lowest of the low. That is unless having an alleged drug dealer who aspired to be the No.1 dealer in Chicago is considered to be a good thing.
Sometimes luck plays a part in having success but mostly it's having good and capable people make sound decisions. The track record speaks for itself. The Bulls have done a very good job over the last few years. The Bears, on the other hand, surely have not.
