AZ54

I said earlier if there is one thing older Bears fans know about Singletary it is that he is studious and willing to accept criticism and work hard to improve himself. I can't believe he hasn't learned some things and improved since his days back in SF. When it was reported that he'd interview for HC I also felt at that time he was interviewing for a potential DC role. Not shocked at all by this rumor.

I expect that Marinelli would first want to sit down and talk with Trestman before making any decision. I assume that happened today. I can't imagine Trestman will wait more than 24hrs for his decision as there are so many recent hires for HC in the league that getting his DC in now is a priority.

You are going to be looking for that person for a very long time and you have no quotes on this board for anyone promoting that. What you described as the Lovie-2 is exactly what Lovie ran when he made himself DC and it was horrible. Marinelli clearly has changed things to be more aggressive but he is not Rex Ryan. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other thoughts... We did run quite a few stunts last season so I'm not sure why there is so much complaining that we don't do that. Melton is young, had a back injury the second half of the season and still made the Pro Bowl and still some don't like him. Surprising. Without him we had no interior pass rush. We better sign him as he is the first sign of life our interior Dline has had since Harris' Pro Bowl days. Marinelli ran a horrible prevent defense against the Seahawks and ruined my first trip back to Chicago in 5 years. Or was that Lovie's decision? For Lovie's entire tenure Lovie has put our D back on their heels late in games when we had the lead when all we had to do was just keep playing the same solid D we had played all game. Bottom line is we don't know what Marinelli would do unchecked by Lovie. We also don't know who our new HC would bring in as his coordinator so speculating that he, or in this case with no names as candidates, anyone, will be better than what Marinelli has done is pure conjecture. Marinelli gave us a top 10 defense. So the challenge for the new guy is pretty steep. This is especially true because we now are 100% certain we are hiring an Offensive-minded HC. Kinda like hoping Lovie will fix the offense because he can't bring in anyone worse than Terry Shea. I'm not saying a new DC wouldn't do a better job than Marinelli but those who view that as a sure thing, or that any change has to be better than what we have, are wrong IMO. Read the article on Trestman's last couple seasons in Montreal to see his difficulties with the defense.

Given that the defensive personnel will be nearly identical next season how will a significant change in DC and scheme improve the D? I see our best chance at winning in the playoffs as keeping or slightly improving our D while dramatically improving our offense. I can't see where a significant change in scheme, something players like Tillman, Briggs, Urlacher (if he's back), Jennings, Roach, Conte, Wright, Melton, Wootton, SMC, and Paea have never run will make the defense better next year. If we're talking about long term then yes. I look at our offense with a good QB, Pro Bowl WR, Pro Bowl RB and tend to think a few good moves (Oline) and better scheme/coaching can change things for the better now. While our defense might not be dominate they are good. IMO that is our best near term combination to win in the next year or two.

Davis is a horrible route runner and that won't be changing any time soon, if ever. He just has no instincts for the passing game regardless of his ability to catch the ball, which is marginal.

We only had to listen to Emery's press conference after firing Lovie to understand the details he went through to analyze Lovie's performance. This wasn't a simple ...he didn't make the playoffs deal. In just one example, he evaluated Oline performance and compared that to other successful teams. As he said, (paraphrasing) every team has shortcomings on their roster but some know how to overcome them. We didn't. All that data and analysis leads right into the job interviews where he no doubt got more analysis free of charge.

Stoned people may not be out there picking fights but as far as what I've seen in my life they are still doing stupid things. Having seen a couple friends get addicted to marijuana and what it did to their motivation to work and many of the bad decisions they made because "they knew the meaning of life" it's not something I want in a 1st rd pick. Recreational use IMO would be no different than recreational alcohol use but would people say the say thing about a college player who had alcohol abuse issues...draft him anyway? I doubt it. James Brown had addiction issues with marijuana and it affected his work ethic. Vontaze Burfict had issues and it affected his work ethic (just going by his words). I'm not against legalizing marijuana and as more governments go broke more will legalize it so they can tax it. It won't be long before it's a national debate. Not sure where all this data is about alcohol being 10x worse than marijuana. It's already been proven that 1 or 2 beers a day, or a glass of red wine each day, has significant health benefits. In some ways not much different than the fact marijuana has known medical benefits. I agree with BT's point that you have an elite athlete knowingly doing illegal activities. How smart is that knowing they could lose millions of dollars? It says they don't use good judgment in their daily decisions, especially if they've been caught twice or more, and that must be weighed in the decision to draft that guy and hand him millions and risk the future of your franchise on them. Our personal beliefs don't change the rules and laws the players must abide by so we can't ignore how that could impact the team.

There isn't much new in that article regarding Trestman's personality or style as I think that was rumored to be the case last week but it does offer more clarity in terms of his HC focus. It seems to me that after Trestman's interview is when the rumors of Marinelli staying started. I'd have to go back and check the timing to be sure. If that's correct then it fits what that article states: Trestman doesn't know defense and doesn't want to deal with the defense. Why not hand him a proven DC who already has his players and system in place and playing well. I can't believe there are no rumors as to who is coming back for a second interview. If Emery wants to close a deal by Fri then he had to make contact with the second level candidates today.

Just as I was watching and wondering if he was big enough and strong enough to play inside for us he stopped Lacy cold at the goal line. Can't argue the athletic ability at all.

I'd say Hoke, who helped develop Jennings into a Pro Bowl CB and improved the play of a couple young safeties, will get some quick attention around the league. Tice will too, probably not as an OC but as Oline coach absolutely. Bears failures here will be chalked up to lack of talent. Marinelli will be hired too, and quickly if he wants to keep coaching. Mike Phair Dline coach. Helped develop Melton into Pro Bowl player, Wooton turned in his best season, and even SMC turned in an adequate year, his first at a new position. He has to get out from under the Marinelli shadow though but I expect he'd draw some interest around the league.

Kaepernick folds under pressure but we haven't seen much of it because his Oline is so good. Go back and watch some highlights of their last game against Seattle for evidence. Can he get better in this regard? Of course, but the book isn't written on him just yet.

Actually J'Marcus started playing better in games after that incident. But you know, getting in someone's face never works and that's why Peyton Manning and Tom Brady never do that. Cutler has his problems be it ignoring fundamentals in throwing technique, lack of throwing the ball away while hoping for or trying to force a big play, ignoring open receivers underneath the coverage. Nonetheless it still amazes me that some people are more concerned about his interview skills and/or demeanor. Not once explained is how interview skills win football games and they don't make you a leader in the locker room, they make you a leader in the media's eyes. He criticized J'Marcus Webb. Wow. He criticized Brandon Marshall publicly during an interview. Oh my! Brandon continued on to be our best WR ever. If I'm wrong explain how Urlacher is the leader of our defense because his interview skills are worse than Cutler's. Urlacher even criticized us fans and I ripped him for it. He's still the leader of the D. As far the media opinion goes there are few, if any, I trust or care about. Imagine if Cutler had said the same thing Urlacher said about Bears fans? Julius Peppers is a great interview too. People put up with Peyton Manning's crassness because he wins. People put up with Eli Manning's seeming indifference on the sidelines (it's a strength for him but not for Cutler) because he wins. I'll focus on Cutler's performance on the field when criticizing him because I believe improving those things will lead to more wins. Improving interview skills or smiling for the cameras while on the sideline so the media likes him better will not.

I don't have one favorite but I do have several who I think will or should be at the top of the list. Trestman, McCoy, and Arians. I think Trestman is going to get a second interview. I respect his CFL success a lot more than many here seem to. Even if it's not at the NFL level, though he's proven he can get it done in the NFL too, it's an impressive record. I see a few dismiss this success but IMO for a guy who was successful coaching in the NFL and then take over as HC in a different league, with significantly different rules and lesser talent, and quickly go on to dominate that league tells me he understands how to get the most out of his roster in any situation. He's not just a "this is my system" guy. Even his QB has had his best years after the age of 35 under Trestman. I look at McCoy and think how in the world did he win a playoff game with Tebow? How did he change his offense so quickly from Orton to Tebow? How did he lose a playoff game with Peyton Manning? (had to say it ) I'm not naive to compare those QBs just saying he managed to adapt his offense to dramatically different talent at the QB position over the years and had success. Again, ability to understand your team's stregths and weaknesses as well as matchups against your opponent is something I want in a HC. Never really saw much of that under Lovie for either Offense or Defense. Can we run the ball against the Packers? He, Lovie, is more of a "this-is-my-system guy". For this reason I think McCoy will be near the top of the list. Arians has had good success at the coordinator level but what he did this past year filling in as a HC taking over a team that wasn't really off to a good start and going on a great run shows a lot of that organizational and leadership ability that you want in a HC. Some of the other OCs like the Texan's (can't recall his name) ...has a good system but it seems every year once an injury (talking one here like Arians or AJ) hits his roster it seems his offense takes a big step back. From the outside looking in it feels the same as life with Lovie. Can he adapt and/or develop talent? Don't know enough about him or the Texans to be confident in that statement but it feels that way to me. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Off on a coaching tangent for a bit... Speaking of Lovie being a system guy. Who did he develop on his watch before Marinelli came along? Perhaps Briggs. Marinelli failed as a HC but as a DC he has developed Melton to Pro Bowl level, two CBs have developed into Pro Bowl players. For years on this board we lamented the fact we never develop the diamond in the rough into elite talent, which the top teams must do to stay competitive year after year. I see a couple young safeties developing too. Wooton turned the corner too. Marinelli benched Wright last year. Benched Jennings too. Both guys took a step up this year. Haven't seen this on offense (yo Mr. Drake). Perhaps Lance Louis' development under Tice is the closest thing but he's not at an elite level. I think there's something to this and that is why I don't mind Marinelli staying around.

I understand Toub could feel that way but why does he get special treatment over the other coaches who would also like to be FA and look for their next job (even if it might end up being with the Bears)?

From what I recall back in the NFC Championship game Cutler wanted to stay in the game and the Bears decided his injury put him at too much risk of a more serious injury. I agreed with that then and still agree today. The head coach decides who gives his team the best chance to win but also has to decide who gives his team the best chance to win long term. That might have been RGIII at the beginning of the game but by halftime I doubt it was. Who was the idiot who called for a QB run when it was obvious to the world the guy couldn't even plant on his back foot to throw? After seeing him run like that in the second half why would Shanahan keep him in the game? Didn't he (Shanahan) just prove he had a good backup QB just a few games earlier in the year? Now the same idiots put out that he'll be ready to go in about 8 months after having his knee reconstructed. Meanwhile in Chicago the Bulls refuse to put a public timeline on Rose's return saying only that he'll return when he's ready. I like that approach.

Hardin was drafted to be a safety. While he can run I don't think he has the quick change of direction needed by a CB. Should be a good fit for TE coverage and when you go against teams who like to have two pass receiving TEs (ala NE) then we can keep him on the field with Conte/Wright and still have some decent size to handle the running game (just my opinion there). I disagree with Terra on the safety play. I thought both guys played well this year. Not great but they were not liabilities on our roster and in fact Conte's deep coverage ability to prevent the big plays was very effective. Both players made improvements in tackling ability and I think they'll only get better next season.

I believe Carimi was given some looks at LT early on, likely minicamps and the Bear quickly came to the decision that he's a RT. That is likely what they drafted him for anyway so no big deal in terms of intentions. Reading the scouting reports everything fits IMO. Carimi is a guy who lacks quickness but could rely on his strength to handle pass rushers. Take away one full offseason of weight training and replace it with knee injury rehab that goes nearly into training camp and it's clear he did not have his usual functional strength. That matches what I saw...a guy who couldn't get the push he did as a rookie in his first couple games, and one who was pushed all over the field by every DE he faced. I'm not quitting on the guy yet but he needs a full offseason of workouts to get his strength back. In the meantime we need to go grab the best option at OT we can this offseason and put an end to this issue (no pun intended) at least for one side of our Oline. Bring back Jonathan Scott and let the 3 guys (Webb, Carimi, Scott) fight it out for the final two roster spots.

I have no problem with a franchise respecting it's past great players. If Singletary requested an interview and the Bears obliged I think that's great show of respect for what a former Hall of Fame player did for the organization. Singletary's approach obviously failed in SF but given how hard he studied and worked as a player, and even as a coach to achieve his goals I can't believe he hasn't learned something from his mistakes. I'm not saying he's my favorite in this search but I can't be upset for Emery giving him 3hrs of his time to listen to what he has to say. For all I know Singletary could end up being our next DC. That might not be a bad thing.

I agree, I've used my DVR occasionally to review games and focus on the Oline and Dline play. You can pick up a lot in just the first 2-3 seconds of each play before the cameras break away. It is time consuming flipping back and forth to watch individual players but for a coach they have a total of perhaps 5min of actual game film to break down because assistants pull the various footage together for them.

He can get away with this for a little bit in part because he knows the Bears have the best job available. Also, Emery has kept the schedule fast interviewing someone every day or nearly every day so the wait won't be that long to interview 10 guys. However, he does have competition and if he really likes someone he can't risk losing him either. He can't go much longer than probably this weekend before deciding who he wants to bring in for second interviews.

Never was that impressed with Te'o. He's not a bad football player but I haven't seen him be a dominate player like he's made out to be, although I've only watched him in a couple games.

Emery has never done this before and it's clear to me that he's interviewing plenty of successful offensive coaches I think in part to help himself have enough background before making his decision on his finalists. At least I'll give him credit for having his initial list of candidates ready the day he fired Lovie and then moving rapidly to interview. JA, and the Bears organization in general, always seemed like they were stuck in the mud during past GM/coaching searches.

Lovie already has been contacted by 4 teams lining up interviews for head coaching positions. While many were thinking it would be hard for the Bears to pay him the last year on his contract (myself included) it's possible the Bears suspected he'd be in demand elsewhere in the league. A gamble perhaps but with 10 HC openings around the league it's quite likely Lovie ends up somewhere at least as a DC if not HC. That softens the financial impact.

While you are busy criticizing me for wanting my team to go in a new direction you should put together a similar paragraph on Lovie's offensive success, if that's possible. Credit due: Lovie has put together some good defenses while at the same time he's put together some of the worst offenses in the NFL...despite having some Pro Bowl talent on the roster. I believe last offseason Lovie was allowed to prioritize what we did. We went after DE talent and bypassed good Oline talent that was available both in FA (pursued Jaguars DE) and draft (took SMC converted LB to DE). He went after building an elite defense believing that would get him back to the playoffs while neglecting the most glaring need on offense. We'll never know what was said in those private meetings but from all reports last offseason Lovie and Tice were relatively content with our Oline roster as it was. You may be correct on Cutler, he is not an elite decision maker. However, that's what you need a coach to help him become. It hasn't happened under Lovie, time to try someone else.

Lovie got Lovie fired. Too many years of inept offense despite enough talent to at least be average. Other teams have Oline problems too, no different from us yet they find ways to put points on the board. As far as yelling at his players, no that's not necessarily needed but this is a passionate game and quite often over the years Lovie has not been good at holding players or his assistants accountable and it showed on the sideline. He only forced accountability when he was on the hot seat the last couple seasons but even then the elite players seemed to be safe from that including Cutler who often needed someone in his face reminding him to take the easy plays and stop forcing the ball upfield. While Bates and Tice have filled that role this year if the HC is not echoing their efforts it won't work. I have no problem at all with the decision to move on.