madlithuanian

In all honesty, we can call it anything...whatever D Smith is running does not work.

Bingo! Deja vu all over again...

Lloyd: You mean, not good like one out of a hundred? Mary: I'd say more like one out of a million. [pause] Lloyd: So you're telling me there's a chance... *YEAH!*

I hear ya. But this staff probably won't do it. We should have seen Bennet last year. History w/ this staff dictates that we won't see enough change until it's far too late.

I'm willing to give Toub a pass. Don't forget who his boss is... Attitude is contageous... However, with that said, how many coordinators would be salivating at the job with guys like Maynard, Gould, Hester, Knox, Manning, etc...? I've got to think a few.

Is it time to see more of Steltz?

They played very little defense period...

If that's all Angelo's going to do, he needs to be fired. Granted, I agree Smith won't be fired. But he damn well should. It's going to be a long 24 weeks including next season. Then we may just see the cutting of ties with Smith with only one year to go.

Refs tend to give calls to the better team. The Cards are much better...

Seems logical to me. So I seriously doubt the coaching staff would implement this.

Sorry, I'm not familiar with the term...do you mean collusion? To me, the trade looks to be really be Johnson for Westbrook. Advantage ot the guy getting Johnson. But I don't think it's a huge advantage. In the league I play in,m which has a pretty substantial buy-in...we don't allow trades. Only free agent pick-ups. THis eliminates any possibility of that. Not to mention, it rarely occurs in the real NFL. It also makes managing the leage easier with no need to vote/raitfy/approve trades.

Too bad we can't turn back the clock... I don't think fans are jumping the ship per se...I just think the weight of reality is starting to make istelf apparent, and Atlas is shrugging... It's hard to expect greatness when you see ineptness.

I wish I sucked so bad at my job and made so much money that I couldn't be fired!

I could be wrong, but I think the term sacrificial lamb in this case is a dig at Smith, that he should really be the one to go. It also implies all others under him go as well...

Well said. We just painted outselves in a corner this upcoming off-season with no 1st or 2nd round picks. We'll have no choice but to go after a FA OT/G. And we'll probably have to over-pay for it. But, hopefully they choose youth ad someone that pans out...all the while drafting something in hopefully the 3rd all else being equal. And then next season you prep for drafting OL in the first and second to make up for it. The pendulum needs to swing back...

Agreed... ...and it's not like this current group can really run all that well.

Agreed! He's a true stud in his job!

Huh? Where did you read that the Bears are one of the most physical teams in the NFL? Seriously. Maybe 3-4 years ago, but these past few seasons? Really? I need to see some sources. Ochocinco was being nice since he was going out and about town with Jay and Greg... And yes, Briggs and Tillman get props. But, those are 2 really good players, not the whole team. Did his guys show up in Atlanta? In Green Bay? Those 2 weeks, the team looked poorly prepared an unready to play. In fact, they didn't look ready to play against CLE. it took 5 possession before one of the teams got their first 1st down! Yes, the D looked good...agasint CLE mind you. You're probably right about the defensive stars. Harris was one I loved and now loathe. Honestly, the Bears really haven't come out to play in ANY game this year. How many points do we have in the 1st Q and how many have we given up? I think you meant Coughlin, not Fassell. He won a SB...he has some good will built up. Look how long it took Billick to get ousted in Baltimore. Sometimes the change is good. Look what harbaugh is doing for them now. One of my best freinds is a NE guy...and after that game, he did want Billicheck fired! However, the season played istelf out and ended up as good as it could for them. I'm not saying get rid of Smith right now, as tempted as I might be... I want to wait for season's end. I want to give him that. I'm not concerned about blowouts... Walsh had up, Knoll had 'em Parcell had 'em, etc... it's how the team responds, and how everything was going up until that blowout. If we were playing kickass ball and playing samrt ,etc...i think we'd all roll with it. But after getting 2 weeks to prepare for ATl, starting poorly and ending poorly there...and having what happened in CINCy...it just doesn't look good as a trend. Cleveland's anice band-aid. Let's see what happens this Sunday. It'll be very telling one way or another. PS - I love your passion! It's good to see some positive viewpoints... But I'm just not in a buying mood this week.

Smith is in charge now, and we're still struggling. I do think Turner will be gone after the season. He did win a lot...a number of years ago. it's not happening for the past 3 seasons. We're bsically a .500 team since he had those numerous wins. I really could care less how respected he is around the league. I care what he's doing for the Bears...and I don't like it. No he's not the exact persona that's needed. It's been proven that every type of personality has won at a high level in this league. I really don't know what to believe in the locker room. All I know is what goes on on the field, and it ain't good enough. I have no problem with you wanted to stick up for Smith. There is enough in his repretoire that one could make a case for it through this year regardless of outcome. Hoever, please don't act as though there no case to be made for his ousting at season's end. Obviously if we run the table, etc...that changes everything. I've made mention many a time that we must be careful to not jump out of the frying pan and jump into the fire. Getting just another coach doesn't mean better than Smith. We must get a coach better than Smith. Smith may well find work as a HC if we let him go. If Mangini can be hired again, anyone's got a shot. And if he has succes, then so be it. It's like benson. He's simply out grown his stay here. That's just my feeling on it...

I've not seen anyone complaining what was done prior to the SB year. I made mention that there were some complaints during that season. Please. Lovie has never admitted anything! He couldn't dare fire Babich! He just took over play-calling. Yes, reality says that's what happened, but he never admitted to it. He's done better than Wanny and Jauron, but to me that's not good enough. Look, if a guy like Shannahan can be fired, who actually won 2 SB's, then a guy who took a team there to get beaten and then proceeded not not make the playoffs for the next 3 years can certainly be fired. It's not what did you do for me, it's what are you doing for me now. And right now, Smith ain't doing much to earn his lofty salary. The D was pretty good under Jauron too...in fact I think his overall scheme is superior to Smith's. We still live through the 85 Bears. 2006 will be known only for starting Grossman, AZ's meltdown, Hester, miracle defensive plays, and watching Manning finally get his ring. I want nothing to do with 2006. That's done, and it failed. And I see nothing from this current regime that will get us there again and win it this time. Everthing about Smith reeks of soft. Soft camps. Bad tackling. Preach stripping instead of tackling. Speed vs strength. If not for a few stud players, this team would be in dire straits.

Bottom line, is this team is still making too many mistakes, come too unprepared, don't line up the correct personnell available to them, and aren't calling correct plays. Tack in age, injuries, etc...and you have the perfect storm. Smith isn't completely to blame for this season. He and many others are. And it's not just this season. We are seeing the same errors year after year with similar results. To me, it's unacceptable. And it is top to bottm.

Sounds sound.

Thanks! Good read!

I read that this morning! Great stuff! However, since we mortgaged our draft this coming year for Cutler and Gaines Adams...we only have FA to go.