QUOTE:  “Everything and everybody is sooner or later identified, defined, and put in perspective. The truth as always is simultaneously better and worse than what the popular myth-making has it.”  -- William Saroyan, “Memories of the Depression,” 1981

TGIF, everyone. The big free-agent signing in the offseason was Albert Haynesworth by the Redskins, and the big trade was the Bears’ deal to get Jay Cutler. Let’s look at those moves from a slightly different point of view — from what’s left for Tennessee and what can be expected from the Bears. 

THE PLAYER

Jason Jones, DT, Tennessee   

Jason JonesAPJones will fill the pass rushing role vacated by Haynesworth.

No one person is going to replace Albert Haynesworth in the defensive line for the Titans. However, some will be able to fill certain roles, allowing the sum of the parts to be greater than one.  Jones can fill a role for the Titans in pass rushing alone. What I love about him is his length, which enables him to make plays even when he’s not always in the best position. Arm length is vital in a one-gap scheme because when the play starts, gaps become distorted, causing seams in the run fits.  On a blackboard, it may appear that all the gaps are covered, but on the field it doesn’t always match up. Jones has the arm length to play big inside; he may not play with the power that Haynesworth displayed, but he will use his quickness and arm length to create problems. 

Jones has an ability to use his length inside, which, along with his quickness, gives guards problems. He has an ability to gain the line of scrimmage with his first step off the ball. He then can use his length to create leverage, which offsets his lack of girth. Length and quickness inside is a hard combination to deal with for most guards in the NFL. In addition to those qualities, he has a feel for the pass rush; he can move his feet and hands in unison, which sounds simple but is often very hard for defensive linemen, especially those who can’t rush the passer. 

Jones had five sacks in his brief playing time last season. I suspect he will have a huge year, along with Tony Brown. The Titans will find other ways to offset the loss of Haynesworth. 

THE ASSISTANT COACH

Ron Turner, Chicago Bears

Ron TurnerAPTurner has a new offensive weapon in QB Jay Cutler.

Turner is in a unique position because rarely does a team trade for a young quarterback who has a proven history on the field. He’s like a race car driver who is able to jump in a car in the middle of a race. Coaches often ask themselves how they can best develop a player. Turner, however, has spent the OTA days and mini-camps thinking how lucky he is -- along with asking the question, “How can we score more points with Cutler?” 

Cutler will be the best thing that has happened to Turner’s career as an assistant coach. He gets a player who’s eager to prove to some that he was badly treated in Denver. He gets a player with a chip on his shoulder (trust me, Cutler’s chip is a good-sized chip) and who’s competitive.  Cutler welcomes the challenge that awaits the Bears’ offense. The best thing for Turner is that he doesn’t have to change what the Bears do; he will just be able to do it more effectively. 

Everyone seems to think the Bears need to improve on the outside at receiver — and to some extent, they do. However, with Cutler, running back Matt Forte and tight end Greg Olsen, the Bears can be very effective controlling the middle of the field. With Desmond Clark as the blocking tight end and Olsen as the Dallas Clark-type tight end, the Bears will be able to force teams to stay in their base defense, thus allowing them to exploit defenses. 

With the Bears’ running game, along with their desire to run the ball, they can create all kinds of problems for teams just being very basic. Turner has never been afraid to keep calling plays that work (you’d be shocked at the coaches who won’t run the same play twice), so in theory, less is more with Cutler. Like the Colts, being in a simple run-enabling formation will force teams to keep their nickel defense on the sidelines, allowing Cutler to get many first down-type throws — which he’ll complete at a very high rate. Olsen will be a problem for teams to match up with each week because of his size and route running. 

So for all the talk about Cutler making the Bears’ offense more diversified and complex, it’s my belief that Turner will keep it very simple, very basic with his formations; he can create a host of mismatch problems each week. The mismatches create the diversions; the complex nature of the offense, not the plays. Once he decides to make Devin Hester more like Wes Welker and less like Randy Moss, this offense can be scary good — even without a No. 1 wide receiver. 

For all you Soprano fans, do you remember when Uncle Junior was worried about dying because he felt that bad news comes in threes?  How true has that become? 

It was a sad day yesterday, losing Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett and, before them, Ed McMahon. Our hearts and prayers go out to all the families. It’s strange how life unfolds, how precious each day is for all of us. Make each day a great day. 

Have a great weekend, and check back for Sunday at the Post.