And he has a name eerily similar to the head coach.
So for those of you looking for the hot seat...you've got one at Halas Hall.
#2 Idonije said . . .FIRST! Lovie should do a better job.....
January 14, 2009
#3 CA BEAR FAN said . . .I really like this move. Shows some leadership from either Lovie or Angelo. The defense was subpar last year and either Lovie said he wants to fix it himself, or Angelo told Lovie to get in there and fix it. Some well need accountability.
January 14, 2009
#4 enderwiggin said . . .Yeah I think it is good also....it puts Babich back at mainly Linebacker Coach...Lovie should do alright...
January 14, 2009
#5 CA BEAR FAN said . . .Wow, I didn't see that coming. Is this a desperation move? or is this a big headed move? or is this a mind boggling what the heck is he doing move?
January 14, 2009
#6 Sausage said . . .well is Lovie has to take over the play calling duties, Then what does this tell you? mmmmm it tells me that someone(BABICH) cant do his job......So why dont we fire him and then bring in a REAL DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR! FUCKING STUPID THATS WHY!
January 14, 2009
#7 Urlacher FTW said . . .the D will be horrible next season
and lovie will be fired
bittersweet
January 14, 2009
#8 Shady said . . .Personally, I really like this move. I think there was no great glaring upgrade out there to bring in if you fire Babich, Babich was a good LB coach and you needed one of those, Lovie was a good DC and you really need some help there. I think this kind of fits all the bills, plus if you are one of the people who wants Lovie out of town, this is pretty much going to be a defining season for him one way or the other. He has thrown down the gauntlet now so I am excited to see what happens next year regardless.
January 14, 2009
#9 The Duke said . . .No excuses now Lovie, get it right or your ass is out.
January 14, 2009
#10 The Duke said . . .correct me if I'm wrong but all Lovie said was he'd be taking a more "hands on approach". Nowhere does it say he'll be calling the defense or better yet he'd be the D-Coordinator. For all we know he won;t be changing a thing and this is just a PR move requested by Angelo to address the repeated calls for Babich's head. They "had" tp do or say something, and this was the idea. No way Lovie takes away that much fo the play-calling from Babich. This is purely to settle the fans down.
January 14, 2009
#11 BearDown1982 said . . .correct me if I'm wrong but all Lovie said was he'd be taking a more "hands on approach". Nowhere does it say he'll be calling the defense or better yet he'd be the D-Coordinator. For all we know he won't be changing a thing and this is just a PR move requested by Angelo to address the repeated calls for Babich's head. They "had" to do or say something, and this was the idea. No way Lovie takes away that much of the play-calling from Babich. This is purely to settle the fans down and we're all falling for it.
January 14, 2009
#12 Urlacher FTW said . . .Not sure what this will correct. I guess it is good if only because Babich can concentrate more on being a position coach.
More important than any coach is how healthy Tommie Harris will be next year. If he has to gimp around on one leg for the entire season, Lovie's defense won't work. Period.
January 14, 2009
#13 Rancid said . . .Actually Duke Lovie specifically states that will will be making more play calls on the Defensive side of the football, he says he has made calls in the past but that role will expand.
chicago bears site:
"Asked to clarify whether he will call plays, Smith said: “Yes, that’s exactly what I said. I have been involved a little bit. My involvement will be a lot more now in that situation. … I think this is what will help us get back to where we need to be.”"January 14, 2009
#14 Albert In Tucson said . . .I like the coaching changes made on Defense. I am thinking that Babs retains his title as DC simply so they don't have to deal with the paycut, demotion embarrassment of it all. I am hoping that Lovie basically is the DC, and the other position coaches function as "assistant head coaches". This would be a vastly improved situation.
Now for my annoyance with the RT section og Haughs piece (you knew this was coming). Haugh and others are full of shit for saying that RT did this amazing fantastic job with so little that the front office gave him to work with. The same people making this argument also advocate getting a safety and a passrusher as out main priorities offseason. They leave the offense basically untouched for next year except they add a WR and promote Chris Williams which is a no brainer since its assumed it will be his job entering camp anyway. So its nearly the exact same offensve players. RT should not get a pass for having no weapons. He has the best TE tandem in the league, he had Hester who constantly drew double teams and yet we really didn't capitalize on that enough, and he has a RB who looks to be in the mold of Westbrook with the threat as a receiver or getting yards the old fashioned way. Everyone knows we need a solid WR, but being one guy short at WR doesn't give RT a pass for the whole season. His calling sucks, and while I have yet again realized and am beginning to accept that he's not getting fired, it pisses me off to no end that he's actually get praised for an entire fucking season of bullshit playcalling like he single-handedly saved us from a losing season or something. HE IS AN ASS. Wake up people.
January 14, 2009
#15 Phil from SATX said . . .I approve. They could not stand pat. Babich has basically been left with his title and salary. This would appear to be Lovie's left-handed way of admitting that the scheme was NOT good!
January 14, 2009
#16 johnny said . . .I'm awake, Rancid. And you're totally right, of course.
But leaving RT alone for a second, this is the best possible news for Bear fans short of a Lovie step-down. FINALLY!!! Lovie's taking responsibility for the defense, Babich is being returned to his best position (not often you get the chance of reversing Peter Principle moves - although I guess it happens more often in coaching than in any corporate environment). It's actually also reverse-Peter-Principling Lovie too (IMO).
Lovie and Rod, working together on D - I have high hopes for HUGE improvement on D next year, regardless of personnel changes.
On O, it looks like we're stuck. But here I think Jerry Angelo needs to have a big impact - we know the needs, and in my opinion they are far more important personnel-wise than the defense.
If somehow, some way Jerry is able to rebuild this O-line into an above-average run blocking line while retaining the same QB protection (which may not have been perfect, but was good enough for Kyle) -
and then add an above-average receiver while developing (hopefully) Earl Bennett
and add a reasonable second running option to Forte
and upgrade our fullback to at least AVERAGE
Do all of these things, and we can have a decent ball control and scoring offense, EVEN WITH RT at the controls. I don't want him there, but he's staying, at least for one more year. That sounds like a long list, but it's really not -
do your best in the FA market for WR
FA guard or tackle would be fantasticif you fail at either/both, those two needs have to be the highest picks
a RB can be drafted in later rounds
an average fullback can be drafted late or picked up FA pretty cheapIt can all be done. The more you get done at FA level, the more you can do what Lovie wants, which is take a pass rusher or safety with a really high pick.
This is a great move for the Bears, and I am happy today. Thank you Lovie, for standing up! Thank you Jerry, for your cattle prod to get him to stand up!
January 14, 2009
#17 Urlacher FTW said . . .i love this move, the defense is going to improve. i think this is a smart move by Lovie. the organiztation is saving money by not going out and getting another shitty dc. Lovie is a proven DC and hope he can change this defence...good for Lovie...
January 14, 2009
#18 Bears Fanatic said . . .Rancid if you don't think a WR can make a huge difference to a team, go look at Tom Brady and the Patriots and the difference it made when they aquired Moss. Yes RT does some stupid crap, yes the FB dive is FNG, yes the screen pass to the TE who is standing behind the center, yah those suck but still it all boils down to talent that the DC has to work with. Coming in RT had a pasted together Left side of the O-line that noone had any hope for, a rookie RB out of Tulane who noone knew about, a QB who noone thinks is good enough to start, and not one single actual #1 quality WR, not even close.
Now as the year went on, Hester developed, Forte shined, Orton did pretty good (until the ankle) but still no dependable WR for Orton to rely on hinders the O a great deal. Lloyd and him started to get something going and he goes down, Booker makes some big grabs then his knee goes, Hester came along with route running about the same time as Orton got hurt but even when they could synch up Hester drops a lot of passes.
I thought I saw some promise in Lloyd, only WR we have that gets seperation and has good hands. Hester is a keep because of raw speed and he is actually learning routes, he just needs to learn to get on the same page with KO and catch. I saw several times even during the last few games when KO would audible or they would show blitz, Olsen or Booker would still tell Hester what to do, he needs to just know.
So I say Keep Lloyd and Hester, hopefully Bennett or Rideau one can step up and be a solid 2 option and go get a #1 WR aggressively. I really think Hester should be in the slot or 2 spot to stretch the field and draw off safetys. He is overworked at #1 WR and it steal from his ST performance. In the slot he could get back to form and help both units.January 14, 2009
#19 CSauce said . . .I don't think the defensive play calling will be much different, regardless of who's calling the plays. Lovie brought the Cover-2 to Chicago. It's probably all he knows since his philosophy comes from his days in Tampa with Dungy. Most of his assistants are buddies who come from the same background, so it's probably all they know, too. Funny how Rivera was run out of town but improved the SD defense without their star player. He used SD's 3-4 system. Must be a pretty good D-coordinator to excel in 2 vastly different systems. Our guys can't get it right with one system they're all familiar with. If players aren't healthy, we're in for another long year because the system won't change much.
January 14, 2009
#20 Phil from SATX said . . .I agree with many of you - this move bodes well for the '09 season. Let's look at some of the standout names on our coaching staff:
Dave Toub, ST Coordinator: Arguably the best in the business.
Lovie Smith, D Coordinator (can we just call him that, now?): Also one of the better coordinators in the business. Knows the Cover-2 inside and out.
Bob Babich, LB coach: For what it's worth, he was the coach when Urlacher AND Briggs reached their peak as a tandem. They were absolute beasts a few years back.
Rod Marinelli: Widely regarded as one of the top D-line coaches over the past decade+ in the NFL.I believe that we have the talent on the field (on the Defensive side..). Now I believe that we have have talent on the sidelines - in their natural positions. Call me optimistic (and maybe then some), but I think this unit could take the team far into the playoffs. No joke.
On the other side of the ball, I think that Ron Turner is going to have as good (or as bad) of a year as Jerry Angelo lets him. We don't need any more 'projects'. We need an impact player at WR. With the talent we have at other positions on offense (RB, TE, Hester), we're one game-breaking WR away from an offense that can exert its will on most any NFL defense.
You're fully entitled to your own view of the situation, but I'm pretty goddam excited.
January 14, 2009
#21 Rancid said . . .This will be huge. It will. Babich did not know how to call plays. That was obvious. Lovie is a delegator, we know that now, and would not be sending in plays. Now he'll be calling them. Plus he's very likely to get in-game input from Rod.
Rod is going to help Lovie with scheme, and with matching up the personnel in the right way. Sounds like the new DB coach is good and experienced as well.
We already called it before - when your players are consistently underperforming, you have to look at coaching. And coaching has now been addressed. How about Sapp talking about coaching Tommie as soon as the SB is over? That is nothing but awesome.
And if any of you have been watching the Tony Dungy retirement and Lovie's commentary about it and him, you now have all the insight that you need about Lovie's "emotionless" coaching style. It's taken straight off the manual from Dungy. It's all about showing class, treating men with respect, and coaching without raising your voice. It's practically a religion to Lovie. So let's stop asking for him to get emotional or start screaming - it ain't going to happen. He doesn't believe in it.
I'm all for the adoption of a Tony Dungy style. He's one of the really great guys of the NFL. The problem I see with Lovie patterning himself after Tony is he has the style right but that's about it. He's not following it with the coaching chops, or the motivating leadership. It's like some guy following Abraham Lincoln around and deciding he's going to be just like him by growing a beard, wearing a top hat and talking in a low, gravelly voice. That doesn't make you Abraham Lincoln, and adopting Tony Dungy's coaching STYLE doesn't make you as good of a coach as Tony Dungy.
We'll see whether Lovie has any coaching chops left next year. I'm hoping he does. If he doesn't, well we'll know it, won't we, and we'll get a new coach in 2010. Lovie's under the gun right now just like Rex was last year.
Let's see what you can do, Lovie. We're done trusting you, now it's time for you to show us.
BEAR DOWN LOVIE!!!! SHOW US!!!!!
January 14, 2009
#22 DTB said . . .Urlacher - You make it sound as if my post was about how we don't need a WR. It was about RT escaping criticism for his role this past season. Do you think RT is a great OC? Do you think we should give him a raise? I never said we don't need a WR, I never said having a good WR didn't make a difference. All I said was that the WR issue alone is not enough to give RT a pass for the crap playcalling we were frustrated by all season, let alone heap praise on him and say he deserves a raise. That's foolish. That's my point. Yes, the offense needs some help, but even with that, RT will continue to be an ass. That's what asses do, continue to be asses.
January 14, 2009
#23 Anytime said . . .From Urlacher FTW perspective, wide recievers make quarterbacks. He'll argue until he's blue in the face that Orton is a superstar in waiting if only we could get a O-Line, some recievers, an entire defense and a coaching changes across the board.
But more seriously Rancid, all we have to do is thrown that FB dive out the window and we're already making progress. I would dare to say that Ron Turner is to blame for some of the defenses inadequacies from this past year let alone the offense. He and Kyle Orton need to figure out a way to control the clock and that ain't gonna happen unless the offensive personel is adressed.
And I completely agree, those people that are screaming blow up the defense should be slapped right in the mouth. We don't need to bring in more players on that side. Maybe a tweak or two but that's it. Give Turner some players that can cover up for his retarded play calling for christ sake.
January 14, 2009
#24 Urlacher FTW said . . .Lovie will be back through 2010 no matter how shitty the team or defense is next year. He is stilled owed too much money and Virginia is not willing to shell out money for a new coach while still paying for her old one. Come on guys she still thinks you can go to a "picture show" for a nickel.
January 14, 2009
#25 Phil from SATX said . . .Rancid, I don't like RTs offense very much at all, especially the FB dive and TE screen behind the center. However I also don't think the Offense needs a complete overhaul. I think with a great WR and a line that can run block, you automatically creat lanes for throwing and running and buy time for Orton. So really with a small line shuffle and a big threat #1 WR, I think the offense gets way better . That's what I disagreed with about your post. I do think with the TE pair we have and Forte's skill receiving we should have done better on moving the chains this year. But I do think he should get a bit of breathing room considering the personnell problems at WR, O-line moves, and Orton's injury.
DTB, I don't think Orton is a superstar QB. I just don't think you can judge him or anyone else until you clean up the major issues with the O-line and WRs. I do think he's good enough to win a superbowl and keep this team in games, even come from behind once in a while. I also disagreed with you that Lefty was a good option to bring in since he has never throughout his entire career put up numbers even as good as Orton did this year on a bum ankle. Those are facts, look it up on nfl.com, comparing stats has no reflection on my overall outlook of a player it's simply math.
Which team left in the playoffs had a WR with at least 900 yards. All of them. Which team left in the playoffs had a WR lead the team in number of receptions, all of them.
Guess which one of those we fit, neither; our leader in receptions was our RB and Hester didn't even get 700 yards. So yes I think that position is equally important to the QB.January 14, 2009
#26 Phil from SATX said . . .Anytime, I don't agree with you but that was really funny.
Let's all get together and help out 'ole Ron. Brainstorming time!
Urlacher listed two of the favorites to axe for a better offense:
1) The infamous fullback dive
2) The soon-to-be-infamous screen to a huge tight end bottled up behind a washed up center whose legs are as effective at moving as parking lot bollardsWhat else is there? How about all runs straight into the line? How about the fade in the end zone to Olsen (never works)?
How about the stuff he doesn't do, but should?
More creative use of Hester.
More line stunts on running plays.
More, and better designed, screens.
More plays designed to take advantage of Kyle's throwing strength, clothesline darts in the middle of the field.
More play action in the red zone.Most important, WAY MORE NO-HUDDLE OFFENSE! Let Kyle do it - he's proven himself in that offense, and the hurry-up neutralizes the defensive line's typical head-to-head advantages against our cobbled-together poor man's offensive line!
Anybody else want to chime in? No charge Ron!
January 14, 2009
#27 Al In WI said . . .I'm going to add something about the fullback dive.
There's nothing inherently wrong with that play. That play should be a staple of an offense in short yardage situations.
Our failures in using that play aren't about the play, but about the people involved in the play. The failure of that play is a complete indictment of Olin Kreutz and Jason McKie/Davis. Probably some Garza to blame too.
We don't need to lose that play - we need to lose the two people most responsible for why that play doesn't work. Olin Kreutz CANNOT run block. Just ask Mikeb if you don't believe me. And Jason McKie cannot run anyone over.
New center, new fullback, and a new guard is really needed. Maybe with a new center, Garza could be better. I don't know, but I doubt it.
January 14, 2009
#28 jdawg said . . .I can't like too much about this move except that it seems like it could hasten the exit of Lovie Smith. Which I for one can't wait for. I want to call early dibs on the "FireLovie," moniker.
What bugs me about this though, is that now Turner is even more entrenched as the "head coach of offense." Ugh......January 14, 2009
#29 Pankster said . . .I think what some people might be missing here is that Lovie has basically said the defense stunk last season, took responsibility for it and taped a big target to his back by assuming more responsibility for it. He's saying that if the D fails this season its his fault, no one elses.
Just because he didn't put it in those word, or break his hand punching a locker, doesn't mean he's not admitting problems.
January 14, 2009
#30 animal said . . .If we had a caliber Fullback with some size and speed it would work we have a slow fat ass, Lovie will need some agression of sorts when his secondary gets toasted and what I mean one "Peanut Tillman" him or Vasher.
When are we gonna get some lock down corners who are ball hawks? Also I agree upgrade the WR position and o line, safety and check all free agents by the looks of things we could come up big!
Bear Down Chicago Bundle up and god Bless!!!January 15, 2009
#31 animal said . . ."lockdown corners" and "ballhawks" are not always the same thing. often they can be opposites. Dicks like DeAngelo Hall are "ballhawks" who sit back and break on routes, usually by guessing, trying to get INTs. Their stats look good but teams hate them because they blow coverages and give up big plays.
Lockdown corners stay with their man and play sound, within the scheme. A true lockdown corner just tried to prevent the catch, and doesn't gamble.
VERY few guys can be both. Look at most corners with high INT numbers- they are often actually not well respected.January 15, 2009
#32 Anytime said . . .Let's make it official, make Lovie the D coordinator and hire a Head Coach...
Why do we need a new O-line? I don't get that?
1. St. Clair is a hero for overachieving when we all knew he was overmatched. He will be a great backup for almost all positions.
2. We have a first round pick waiting to be the future LT. And he got the rare luxury of spending a year watching and learning the NFL game. Money in the bank.
3. Up and comer Beekman is solid. Garza is solid.
5. Tait is aging but still solid.
6. Kreutz needs to be replaced.So, overall, we need a new center and possible upgrate at guard. We will need to draft the future Tait at some point.
I see Williams and Tait as solid starting tackles next year, with Beekman, St. Clair and Garza in the mix at guard. If we get a new center, or move Beekman there, is that such a bad line?
January 15, 2009
#33 animal said . . .We cannot count on Tait for to many more season. it is coming to the point where we need to get saome reserves for that RT position as well. I don like Garza and St. Clair at guard though
January 15, 2009
#34 animal said . . .So we draft/sign Tait's replacement in the next couple years. I think overall we have a solid like.
Throw in an upgrade through the draft in the first 4 rounds, and/or someone in free agency, and we are set.
Of course this all assumes Williams will be healthy, and actually play like the 14th pick.
Look at the other guys we salivated over last year: Clady, now in Denver, and Otah in Carolina. Both had solid, above average years. We just need Williams to play comparable to the guys drafted around his spot.January 15, 2009
#35 CA BEAR FAN said . . .solid LINE not solid like.
January 15, 2009
#36 shonbear said . . .ANIMAL: Garza is anything BUT SOLID! most of the sacks this year came from his side.....and on run plays he got blown up....this is what our line should be
LT williams LG beekman C Kreutz RG ? RT Tait...I
January 15, 2009
#37 shonbear said . . .This interview with Dan Pompei on the Score 670 was insightful.
http://imgsrv.670thescore.com/image/wscr2/box_imgs/RecentProgramEpisode/play_button.gif
January 15, 2009
#38 jdawg said . . .Propagandist LM had a good one and we've been talking about TOP on and off the last week or two. See below:
"While the Bears offense made major strides this season, it seems to me that they didn’t do a good job of hanging onto the ball. Where did the Bears rank in time of possession in 2008?
Drake K.
Plainfield, IllinoisThe Bears ranked 28th in the NFL with an average time of possession of 28:07. That’s their second lowest average since the statistic started being tracked in 1978. The Bears’ lowest average over the past 30 years was in 2002 when they possessed the ball for an average of 27:42. Interestingly, the only teams with a lower average this season—the Chiefs (27:56), Browns (27:33), Lions (26:59) and Seahawks (26:30)—had a combined record of 10-54. But I wouldn’t place the majority of the blame on the Bears offense. I think it should be shared with a defense that struggled with consistency, especially against the pass."
Bottom line on this argument either way is the Defense allowed too many 3rd and long first downs and the Offense had too many 3 and outs. Who had more, probably the offense, but who had more at the most critically important times of games that should have been won, probably the Defense.
January 15, 2009
#39 Urlacher FTW said . . .good teams are built from the inside out. Both of those stats point at the failings of the respective line play.
January 15, 2009
#40 shonbear said . . .Williams, St. Clair, Kreutz, Buenning, Tait
Hold Beek and Garza for backups and draft a Tackle to backup/groom for Tait.Did you guys hear TO will be released? That would be a project worth looking into. Yes he is a jerk, yah he shoots his mouth off, yah he causes some content; but um yah he does this thing called creating space and another thing called catching the ball. The guy is a beast and creates matchup problems in every game. I think he's worth a gamble if it's an option.
January 15, 2009
#41 Al In WI said . . .No way, he complained about Garcia, McNabb and Romo not getting him the ball, how much more would he complain about any Chitown QB, whoever it might be. In addition, he did have dropping problems too, especially last year. No thanks. If we were going to deal with someones mouth I'd rather it be Ocho Cinco.
January 15, 2009
#42 Rancid said . . .For once Rosenblog actually nailed some things:
http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/rosenblog/2009/01/lovie-gets-out-his-shovel.htmlJanuary 15, 2009
#43 Phil from SATX said . . .I can agree with a lot of the Lovie bashing in that piece, but not the KO bashing. Did KO play perfect, no. Did he siglehandedly lose games to keep them out of the playoffs as Rosenbutt implies, no. The guy hurts his credibility by having to add his axe to grind to an otherwise decent piece of legit criticism for Lovie.
January 15, 2009
#44 JohnnyElPaso said . . .The reason we are 4th from the bottom in ToP, looking from the offensive side of things, is the nearly complete failure of our line as a run blocking unit. They did a more than acceptable job protecting the QB, they just did NOTHING to help Matt Forte. And unfortunately I have to believe that every single member of the line is part of that.
I place the biggest blame on the center, right guard and right tackle. Those guys were all playing last year (although Tait on left), and the run blocking sucked then too, just as bad.
This team is too loyal to Kreutz to admit the obvious - he is literally at the center of our run blocking failures.
I don't know if St. Clair would be a good guard, it's been argued here that he's too tall for that role. But for current effectiveness, I think he is the most effective lineman, with Beekman next.
Williams will be installed next year, Tait needs to be a backup, let St. Clair take over right tackle, Beekman should become the new center (but it won't happen), and we need two new guards, or one plus Buenning (don't know anything about him).
Speaking of TO, I mentioned a while back that I believe we could have a chance at taking Roy Williams (WR) off the Cowboys. I think Jerry regrets this move, and it cost him his first and third picks in this upcoming draft.
Would you trade our first round pick for him? I would.
January 15, 2009
#45 Rancid said . . .Phil from SATX , I totally agree with trying to get Roy Williams.....He would be a threat to this offense if we could land him.....this guy would be a perfect fit in this offense.. this offense is missing a deep threat reciever. he would be a good gamble to make...can you imagine hester,williams, olsen, forte,clark, on the field at the same time.....they would be a threat to any defense in short yardage or deep......a Terrell Owens would only worsen this team...
January 15, 2009
#46 Rancid said . . .Does anyone know about Beekman's real ability to play center? Has he done it in camp, preseason, or practice. If I remember right from when he was drafted BC only played him for 2-3 games at center in order to make their line more interchangeable and improve his draft stock. I'm not questioning his talent, I'm just a bit worried that we're assuming he can do the job, and I don't know if his ability to play center has been proven or just potential.
January 15, 2009
#47 jdawg said . . .Johnney - I don't believe we're missing the speedy deep threat receiver. That's Hester. What we need is a big tough possiession receiver who runs solid routes and can catch over the middle.
January 15, 2009
#48 Phil from SATX said . . .Beekman played some center during preseason.
yeah, we don't need a burner WR, just one who can get separation, run routes and hold on to the ball.
January 15, 2009
#49 DTB said . . .Roy Williams should be able to do all of that. He's 6'3" with huge hands.
I remember when we drafted Beekman that the word was he could play either position, which reportedly was the reason we were interested in him. For whatever that's worth.
January 15, 2009
#50 Urlacher FTW said . . .Will you all just get over the WR thing, please. We've had a slew of WR's aquired by Angelo either through the draft or free agency that did not put up numbers here. Moose, Berrian, Wade, Bradley and Gage. All of these guys are competent, starting recievers on playoff teams with the exception of Bradley. All of which have found themselves comfortable with QB's that we assume to be worse than KO. Why is it that receivers dont put up numbers in Chicago. It's the quarterback, period. Orton isn't that good, neither was Rex or any other bum they've put under center throughout my 25 years as a fan. Check out Hines Ward here, please...
http://blogs.suntimes.com/bears/2009/01/hines_ward_defends_wr_coach_i.html
January 15, 2009
#51 Max said . . .Al in Wisconsin, I guess he didn't really nail much to me at all. I'm not even sure what point he was edging at with the Cowher thing.. Lovie is demoting himself to bring in a new head coach? That's not very logical, the premature end of the competition, are you serious? Did you watch Rex in preseason? Did you watch Rex in the Titans game? Even the non-Chicago media were saying it's very apparant the right QB won the job, Rex is awful. I can't wait til he is gone gone gone.
DTB, In that article, he says the problem is a lack of stability at the QB position here. So that would mean.. stop rotating QBs. Stop trying to find your next QB and develop the one you have.
Interestingly enough Roethlesberger (Wards stable QB) played in one more game than KO this year and threw less TDs and more picks than KO. Do you think Pitt should bring someone in to compete with Big Ben would that help? Or do you think they need to fix Oline problems? I guess since he played crappy they should just go get a QB, I mean it all centers around that, if he played badly it was all his fault; losing a pro bowl guard and not replacing him probably didn't factor in. The difference is that Pitt's Defense didn't crap the bed in all the close games and give away 17 point leads in a single quarter.
Yes we need a quality backup in case something happens we don't want to be stuck with hopelessness, Garcia or Collins would be perfect; but we simply need to give KO another year, try to surround him with a playmaking WR and a good run game, and see if this is a good fit or if we need to move on. Bringing in competition every single season seems silly, I'm sure Cassell was brought in for emergencies not competition. How good would you be at your job if you were rated every day on everything you did and might get fired at your first mistake?
January 15, 2009
#52 Mike Phipps said . . .Whew. . . here i was all worried that Lovie would be around for another couple years because he is a mediocre coach, but this guarantees that either the defense will get better or Lovie will be canned. I am quite happy with this move.
Oh, and its nice to be back.
January 15, 2009
#53 Phil from SATX said . . .Is Roy Williams a FA this year? I thought so???
January 15, 2009
#54 DTB said . . .DTB, I would amend your statement - can we all please get off the Orton sucks thing? In this, his first year handed the job since 2005, we did not give him any wide receivers. Really, none. Greg Olsen and Matt Forte showed what Kyle could do if his receivers could catch the freaking ball. They caught all of them.
Brandon Lloyd looked and looks to be the real deal. He looked like as real receiver. No one else on our team looked like a real receiver this year. Hester is starting to get it, but is laughably far from a #1 receiver unless you happen to have EXTREMELY low expectations.
Berrian was good with us, but he dropped catchable balls and wasn't worth anywhere near what he signed for. Dumping Moose was a mistake, it looks like now. Dumping Bradley WAS a mistake, many of us thought then and think now.
Wade and Gage SUCKED when they were with us. Now they've worked their way up to mediocre, a bunch of years later.
Give Kyle something to work with, PLEASE!!!! Urlacher, that was a great post, agree 100%.
January 15, 2009
#55 DTB said . . .Big difference between Ben and KO. Ben's won a Super Bowl and is in line to win another. He doesn't have to prove anything to anyone in Pittsburgh, unlike Orton here in Chicago.
In regards to Ward's statements, you don't just settle on a guy to settle on him. You have to do your due dilligence to find that QB to stick with. Not only have we not found that guy but we are still looking for one, with good reason.
And now that you mention Cassell, what about him? Would he be an upgrade? It's also silly that you'd allude to Orton being comparable to Brady. So moving forward, let's just stick with our safeties, D-line and O-line. It would be silly to provide cometition at those positions if we're not going to do it at Qb. Let them just play as hard as they want to play for fear that someone might actually be better than them.
And in regards to a 9-5 job. I am graded every single day. That may be why I see competition, even from someone that may be less or more qualified, to be benificial to the overall buisness. Bears buisness should never be protected. Bring guys in and let them fight it out. And let the best Bear win. Or in the WR's case let them move on and be productive elsewhere.
January 15, 2009
#56 Urlacher FTW said . . .Phil, I never said that Orton sucked, nor am I on that bandwagon. My point is that he is merely adequate with obvious limitations and could benefit from bringing in someone that wants his job. We all saw how he responded comming out of camp, why not keep that pressure on him.
January 15, 2009
#57 JAB said . . .DTB,
What does winning a superbowl mean as far as being a great QB? So in your opinion Brad Johnson is a better QB than Marino.. hmm, DTB.. are you Jerry Angelo?
since you like Hines Ward quotes so much here's one from him that would seem to lean a different way that in that article.
“It was easier for Ben last year (as a rookie) because we had veterans, guys like myself, 'Plex' (Plaxico Burress) and Antwaan, ... This year, myself and Antwaan are really the only veteran guys. Cedrick is coming in from a new system, and Lee hasn't played much. But I'm not too concerned. It's just a matter of us getting on the same page.”
So hmm losing Plax made Ben a worse QB then since the receiver's he had as a rookie had nothing to do with his decline.
I didn't compare Orton to Brady simply the teams situations. Brady is a starting QB, Cassell is a backup QB, look I don't really have time to explain on here if you email me sometime I will educate you. And no I doubt Cassell would be much of an upgrade since he threw 3 more TDs than KO and he had Moss and Welker as targets.
And no your not graded every day.. or you'd probably get fired for posting on here so much. :)
January 15, 2009
#58 Phil from SATX said . . .Ben Rothlisberger has as much to do with the Steelers record as I do. He is a product of a great defense, which is how the Bears used to be. The only thing he does well is throw the deep ball. He holds the ball too long and doesn't handle pressure well. He has won a Super Bowl but I believe his stats were as follows. "Roethlisberger had one of the worst passing games of his career, completing just 9 of 21 passes for 123 yards and two interceptions; his passer rating of 22.6 was the lowest in Super Bowl history by a winning quarterback." Hardly the reason the Steelers won the Super Bowl I would say. All I'm saying is get the defense back on track and all will be good in Bears country again.
January 15, 2009
#59 DTB said . . .No, it's not Pile on DTB day, it just seems that way.
DTB, you certainly DID suggest that the reason our WRs suck is due to bad quarterbacking, and you included Kyle this year. I strongly disagree.
Last year, the WRs had a beef because they had to deal with three different starting quarterbacks, four different QB changes throughout the year. That would be a tough deal.
So we dumped all of those guys and replaced them with...
What DID we replace them with?
S C R U B S.
I don't know if Urlacher's take is correct, whether Jerry A. actually meant that we needed to commit to a QB rather than get a better one. I hope he's right, and I agree with that sentiment.
Bring in a veteran, but Kyle's de facto starter and needs to take all first team snaps in preseason.
January 15, 2009
#60 Urlacher FTW said . . .My contention is that there is no de facto anything with anyone. JA would be doing the Bears a disservice if he chose to not bring in a QB to challenge KO. The problem is, as suggested by FTW, if we bring in a Collins or a Garcia they both could beat Orton out, thus giving us less stability at the position as suggested. My contention all along has been that you dont need to build, you need to catch lightning in a bottle and the best way to do that is to bring in competition.
January 15, 2009
#61 Anonymous said . . .DTB, the problem is just that, we need to let Orton play another season and see what we have. I don't think Collins did anything special this year that would guarantee him a spot, that's why I would bring in whoever I bring in with the understanding that they are the backup and KO is the guy until he disproves that. You got me wondering when you said I was comparing Brady to Orton, so I did, look at these comparisons of QBs; I threw out each of their rookie seasons and compared numbers from their first full season knowing they were the starter.
Cmp% Yds TD Int Lng Y/A Rate Sk
63.9 2843 18 12 91 6.9 86.5 41 TB
60.8 3284 17 16 52 6.2 76.9 24 DB
58.5 2972 18 12 65 6.4 79.6 27 KO61.7 3388 22 9 57 7.4 92.0 27 PR
Now Brady got sacked a lot, wow but outside of that all the stats are pretty much a wash, and thats Rivers, Brees, Brady and Orton. I am not sure he is going to turn into a guy like that but it is certainly not out of the question. We owe him at least another season as our starter and if we are going with that then we should look for a backup and give him some talent around him not start the whole QB competition mary-go-round again.
January 15, 2009
#62 Mr Know it ALL said . . .Orton does not suck, but he is mediocre.
How many errant throws before you believe this?
How many times does he audible at the line and send a play into the teeth of a D?
How many games did our opponents stack eight in the box because Kyle can not stretch the field?
How many pass interference calls will we get in our favor to advance the ball next year? (How many 3rd downs did we convert because an under-thrown pass caused a defender to interfere with Hester?)
If mediocre is what we have to settle for at the QB position in the interim (or, a lifetime in Chicago), for any reason, then so be it...that is football. We can not have, nor afford, superstars at every position. But to suggest that Orton is something that he is not, is asinine.
We should never give up the hunt to find a great QB. He just has to be able to play great in the sun/rain/wind/snow.
January 16, 2009
#63 mikebdot said . . .Personally I think Babich still needs to go and so does, more than anyone, RON TURNER!
I'm new and catching up on this blog, so if I repeat forgive me....
Phil from SATX........You are absolutely right about Forte and Olsen. So why don't we see the TE option more on third down? Because as RANICD ranted, RT SUCKS. He cost us at least two games right off the bat with his shit ultra conservative play calling on third down putting all the press on the D. I would have been in favor of Lovie and the whole staff being gone! Maybe the D coaching moves will work out. Mike Brown makes a huge difference but obviously can't stay healthy. We need him or a new Mike Brown and Tommy to be healthy.
On the O Hester is coming along but I think it turned out to be at the exspense of his return game. I'm not sure I would trade what we had in the return game for what we get as a wideout from him. Orton looked good early....I'm hoping a healthy ankle will return him to early season form. One more thing....THROW THE BALL TO OLSEN and FIRE RT!!!
January 16, 2009
#64 Mr Know it ALL said . . .You all know what I think is indefensible? Not playing Chris fucking Williams for more than a single series the entire season. I don't give a shit how "well" St. Clair played. The fact that our yards per carry was a paltry 3.9 (27th in the league) should show everyone that something needed to happen. Forte is much better than that and deserves a tackle of the future and we wasted half the season on a kid that was our first round pick. InDfensible.
I'm not sure whose call that is to make, but I would assume Turner had something to do with it. He's such a fucking pussy and always goes the conservative route. The logic must have been "oh, well, we don't want to disrupt the chemistry" or some such bullshit. I say "bullshit" because a line that produces running averages like that has no chemistry whatsoever.
Or, perhaps the defense is "Well, Chris Williams hasn't showed anything in practice to make us think he's ready". Well, either way, we're fucked. We better select some a lineman or two in the high rounds.
I'm not sure I can even watch the Bears anymore until Olin Kreutz is no longer there. He upsets me on nearly every running play. I have no qualms with his pass blocking ability. I still have severe reservations about his ability to hike the fucking football. How sad is that? Remember when everyone was pissed off about Rex's lack of fundamentals throwing off the back foot, etc.? What about Kreutz's continued inability to hike the fucking football? Season after season. There were multiple false starts and fumbled snaps this season and I continue to put that on Kreutz. You think we'd be in shotgun more if Kreutz wasn't such a putz? Maybe Turner has no confidence in our line and thus his play calling sucks nuts?
January 16, 2009
#65 Phil from SATX said . . .mikebdot.......Good strong points. I have thought about the continued snap problems as well. Rex got to much shit for that. Turner is a pussy!
January 16, 2009
#66 Murph said . . .Right there with you Mikeb, and Mr. KIA. We have to look at Ron Turner as the continuing culprit for these constant personnel missteps - all of which involve not letting able-bodied players get on the field. The dude has some kind of problem with this, whether it's the ultra-conservatism Mikeb suggests or whatever, he has a problem, and he hurts us. This same thing doesn't happen much on the other side of the ball - yes the D makes intraseason errors, but they fix them.
The offense is a different story. Two of our top four picks barely made the field this year, and it certainly wasn't because the guys playing out there were too good. There was no fathomable reason for Earl Bennett not to be out there, not when our so-called "receivers" SUCKED SO BADLY. He had at least a colorable argument for not playing Williams, since pass protection was okay and it could have been a real risk bringing in Williams. But he still should have gotten a bunch more snaps than just extra points. Did Garrett Wolfe see the field this year? And how about someone no one's been talking about - Kevin Jones? When I watched that guy early in the season, he ripped off some pretty great runs. Enough to show a reason to use him. Where'd he go? We know where Mark Bradley went - to another team who recognized that he was a starting WR.
Last year, it was no Beekman or Hass or Rideau, AFTER THE BEARS WERE MATHEMATICALLY ELIMINATED!!!!
WHY DO NO BEARS REPORTERS TAKE RT TO TASK FOR THESE NO-PLAY NO-BRAIN DECISIONS??????
January 16, 2009
#67 Phil from SATX said . . .I'm not so sure that its the blocking of Kruetz, or the run blocking scheme of Turner. If his assignment is to block some lineman 50lbs heavier than himself, one on one, he aint gonna have much success. Soon the draft class will be known, the rankings will come out....hope will takeover our despair and another season will be here and Lovie will say "Kyle is our quarterback"
January 16, 2009
#68 Phil is all fired up today said . . .I'll tell you the reason why.
Ron Turner is ball-less. A eunuch. A perfectly normal man in all respects except where it counts, in his scrotum, where he is two orbs short of a full sac.
He coaches scared. He deploys personnel scared. He is afraid to make a mistake, to trust people, and you know what we get from his fear and lack of testicles?
28th ranked offense. And highly drafted picks who don't play, and eventually go to other teams.
Why is Ron Eunuch Turner still employed by the Bears?
January 16, 2009
#69 I am comment #69 said . . .Here, here man. You got a little Dikta flowing through the veins.
While we fire RT, Babich, Drake and give Lovie and JA their last chance can we fire Vinny Del Negro and trade half the team for just 1 or 2 pieces that fit with our other super stud rookie.
We all know what positions need to be filled. Do it JA. No BS this year. I heard we have 25 mil in cap space. Get some bad asses in here.
January 16, 2009
this comment is brought to you by the reminder that
Lose is what we do not want the Bears to do anymore and
Loose is the kind of women this comment reminds me of
And you can often lose with loose women. (Also known as not all things that are easy are good) or good for you.
Bear Down!!
January 16, 2009
Here at DaBearsBlog, you are free to kill us or the Bears as you so wish. You are not free, however, to be an asshole. So if you spew racism or ill-meaning foul language (cursing about football is just fine) or anything of that ilk, your comments ain't gonna last long, jerk.
