madlithuanian

Also, my understanding from listening to Cowherd this morning on my drive in, was that he immediately called the police and told him what happened. It's not a sign of a guy trying to shirk responsibility for his horrible action... 30 days and house detention may seem light, but if Stallworth is a decent human being overall, he will have to face this nightmare on a daily/nightly basis for the rest of his life, just as the deceased's family will. It is just horrible accross the board.

I'll give you that. As much as blame for errors, I should accept giving credit for positives. I do see similarities between him and Jauron...and I think that's why I'm a bit gun-shy to call Smith good or great. ...for all the reasons you basically mention. Personally, the most bitter pill for me to smallow was after the SB loss. He got his loot, got his lackey in, and things have gone downhill since with the sole exception of Kyle and Forte I feel. I trusted him, like he asked me to, and I have been let down. He kept his word early on, but recently he has not. I just have a hard time trusting him now. Henceforth why I question every move. He simply has lost my carte blanc trust. I think I'm on board on your assessment of the "other factors". There is a real theme there and as you mentioned in a previous post, it stems back to the ousting of Mikey McCaskey. Thankfuly, I am a believer that it starts at the top. And in that department, we appear to be on the right track. I imagine as long as that continues to be a positive, everything else should fall into place. Winning franchises like the Pats and Steelers have good front offices...and now we appear to be getting closer to that than before.

Very true. I do think there is a fine line as you mention. You don't want a jerry jones atmosphere, but also, you want to know your HC will step in when it seems to be needed. I honestly don't feel that Smith has ever done that. At least I can't think of an instance. You mentioned a few more areas Smith was good at that I missed! The young players point was good, but conversely, why not Bennett/ There just seems to be as many questionable non-starts as starts. Maybe no different than any other team... I'm still not sure how much credit Smith gets for last year, other than by default. And that, I can't argue with. Maybe the decision alone to let Kyle play over Rex and the surprise of how good Forte was was all... I do think Smith's a smart man...I just hope he learns from it, and doesn't let ego thwart that. I'll gladly re-embrace him as long as I feel he is successful being adaptive and not being stubborn to a fault.

agreed. And that's where Smith failed...he did not adjust. When the elites went down, you must change your ways.

Glad you did. Didn't seem like it. Oh, I still think many of the wins came in spite of his coaching. In fact, I'm not really sure he coaches at all. He seems to let his coordinators do all the work, with no interjection that I can see. The few things I can give him credit for are that the players seem to like and respect him, he does appear overall to have the players in condition, he does seem to have a very good "start of the game" game plan, and he's delivered on some promises (beating Green Bay, going to the playoffs and SB...) I also believe he is a smart man. I think he can learn from his mistakes if his ego will let him. I don't foresee any action by the GM to let him go after this season. I think the Bears will do well and make the playoffs. We'll see if it's despite or in tandem w/ Smith. I think it'll be obvious in the end. I just hope that if Smith doesn't change his ways to become more adaptive, especially within games, that the management insn't lulled into thinking he can take us the distance. If Smith does make a change in some of his philosophy, then I think he find success even in the eyes of a crumudgeon like myself. We've all seen what the Lakers did with Rudy T and with Phil... A good coach makes a huge difference, even if the pretty good coach gets them pretty far.

OK, sold. Edwards would be a dream....

HAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!! Brilliant line!

Some clown from Mississippi...

Did you even read my post? Here's exactly what I wrote... "Then we keep on truckin' and chalk it up to a bad game. However, we should not offer Smith another extention... If he tanks again like he did the last time we went to a SB and lost, then we need a new HC."

I think I'm following you now as well! If our O is better, which I think we're all assuming will be the case, and the D again sucks, I think Smith should be on the hot seat. The implication behind that the D sucks, I think it that we aren't good enough for playoffs, etc. And circling back to the success thing, I agree that it does all boil down to record and playoff berth. As long as we win the SB, we could give up 900 yards rushing and 12 TD's passing. Smith would still be safe. Albeit a jokeline...but safe. Winning solves/masks everything! I do disagree about what standards HC are held to. I do agree that the end result is what matters. However just playoff berths don't count. One must do something with them. Martyball is a great example. He was ousted out of everywhere eventuall, even though he continually made the playoffs. My basic premise is that the end record is not good due to the failure of one side of the ball. On top of that, Smith has rec'd his chance. He demanded Babich, and after 2 years of failing, he didn't even oust him and instead takes control . To me, that is is second hire. If he fails again, it's time for a new HC. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Here's hoping it doesn't come to that!

Then we keep on truckin' and chalk it up to a bad game. However, we should not offer Smith another extention... If he tanks again like he did the last time we went to a SB and lost, then we need a new HC.

I don't think it's silly, it just is. When HC's get chosen, they usuallky do so on strength in one area. Either an O or D Coordinator. Sometimes ST in a rare situation. Given that, there is an expectation that this side of the fence will be OK. And that one can expect the other side to take a while before it gets good. The whole things rest on success. If a team wins a SB, then it's all somewhat moot. Look at Billick. He came in as an offensive guru, yet the D won them their SB. So, regardless how poor his O was, he got a pass for winning the SB. You stated: It sounds like you're basically saying "a defensive coach is hired to build a good defense. If the defense is bad, the coach gets fired. Therefore, if the coach wasn't fired, the coach built a good defense." I belive it's basically true. All else being equal. That's assuming the offense is bad, the team doesn't win the SB, etc... Generally speaking, if a HC is hired, his expertise (great at D) is expected to be a benefit. If his expertise (D) proves to be a hinderance (the D now sucks), he will be on the hot seat. a DC is a HUGE part of that as I've mentioned earlier. But, the HC is ultimately responsible for what his DC does. I never said Tampa would have had a great D w/o Kiffin. What I said was that Tampa needed to have a good defense reagdless of who was the DC for Dungy to retain employment. Obviously his O wasn't very good. in Indy, he lucked into Peyton and also improved their poor D over time. henceforth, he did what one would expect from a guy w/ a defensive background. So, are you saying that no matter how crummy a D becomes, as long as the HC just hires a new guy, it's OK? At some point, that HC needs to be held accountable, no? Especially, if his expertise is on that side of the fence. If I'm great at doing taxes and you make me a CFO, you'd think our tax dept would be solid. If it's not, don't you think my job is on the line no matter who I hired to do the job? There is an assumption that even if I'm not doing it, I know the right person to do it. If they can't, isn't that on me? I think Marinelli has essentially taken over as DC. Sure he'll be focussed on the D Line, but I figure he'll be consulting Smith quite a bit. Babich has basically been demoted to LB coach w/o losing his title. I think Rod may be just what we need. What I'm basically saying is that if this team fails yeat again, then it has to be on Smith. he has made all the decisions, hirings, etc...and it's not working. I hope it does! I'm just saying, if it doesn't...

Not quite. He was hired as a HC because I'm sure JA and the gang thought he could be one. However, I'm certain that a part of that figured that his success w/ D would be one of the benefits of his hire: that the D he inherited from jauron would be strong. As a HC, you are responsible for EVERYTHING. D is a part of that. And in the view of the public, if not within the organization, usually you are held to a higher standard from which you've been successful before. (Example: No one expected Buddy Ryan to turn into an offensive guru in Philly. The expecation was that the D would be kick ass. He gets a slight pass for O, and not much wiggle room for poor D.) The same holds true for Smith or any HC for that matter. If Billichick's D were poor, he'd have been on the hot -seat. Turned out they've been quite good through the years there and lucked into Brady as well for a solid O. You even make the case yourself. Tomlin is a D guy. The D is doing well. If it weren't, don't you think he'd be on the hot seat? Again, Tampa...good D. Kiffin or not. If the D were poor, Dungy would have been fired far sooner. All the guys you keep mentioning continue to have good to great D's on their respective teams. But not us. We've fallen. Having a great DC is surely a HUGE part of it. And Smith's own hand chosen guy turned out to be a miserable failure. Now he's chosen himself. I hope his choice isn't as bad as his last one...

Babich needs to be ousted if the D fails yet again. It would be on his watch for 3 years straight of poor showings. He is still the DC at least in title.

But wasn't Smith hired for his D prowess? If he can't do that, and has shown he couldn't get along w/ staff he disagrees with (Chico), is he really a stong HC? Or lucky that he has good coordinators/players?

Then pink slips must ensue for everyone involved in the D... In fact, they should bring Mr. T over to personally throw Babich out of Hallas Hall...

I follow. I thought you were looking at semi-viable options...

Regardless if this is a PR move agasint the flak he got not signing eBay items at the bar at Wrigley Field, this is a nice move on his part. Kudos to Jay... I'm glad he's our QB and not the whining bitter old man that wants to stick it to the team that made him who he was... http://www.suntimes.com/sports/football/be...gallery?index=1

I think you're just putting TO in there so you can marvel at your own writing! I think putting up Matt Jones would have added more value to the discussion. Since he is out there and had has his share of off-field issues. I do agree w/ your assessment. If I had to choose between Burress or Marshall, I'd take Burress. I think his time here would be limited and by then, I'd hope one of our younger guys would be ready to be an all pro. Marshall has the greater up-side and longevity, but I just get the feeling, I think like you do, that he is a douchebag. (No offense to douche bags...) He seems like a bad seed. Now, if you said, would you take Marshall or nothing...I'd take marshall and hope that maybe he has matured. Although, I just have a general issue w/ d-heads that insist on hitting women. In all honesty, I think Matt Jones is the best one to take a chance on. He'll serve no suspention, no potential jail time, and his crime was a personal one where he was his own victim. I'm sure he's not the first NFL player to get caught w/ blow. The cops now bust these guys instead of whisking them off and asking for signed jerseys once they drop them off at home.

http://www.profootballtalk.com/category/rumor-mill/ Schefter: Brandon Marshall Asked To Be Traded Posted by Mike Florio on June 15, 2009, 2:56 p.m. Adam Schefter, who technically still works for NFL Network but who soon will be jumping to ESPN, continues to keep his finger on the pulse of the NFL. Or, as the case may be, against its prostate gland. In a Monday morning segment with 850 KOA in Denver, Schefter said that Marshall asked owner Pat Bowlen to be traded during their Friday meeting. Per Schefter, Marshall told Bowlen, "I think I'd like to be traded." Schefter said that Bowlen asked Marshall to take some time to consider whether he wants a new contract or a trade, and that Marshall is expected to stick to his guns. Schefter also said that there are other teams in the league (the Bears?) that are ready make a play for Marshall. So stay tuned.

While i'd like to hear nothing but glowing repoerts on everyone, I think this is all to be expected. We need to see what heppens right before the pre-season starts. If by then, there are concerns, then I'll worry!

Thanks for the post!

As long as one solid guy comes out of this class, I'll be ecstatic! If it's knox over iglesias, so be it! We've not invested heavily in either...