CrackerDog

OMFG! The chicken little brigade, led by NFO, King Chicken, is at it again... What the Bears have done this off season already pleases me. 1.) They hired a solid DL coach who ought to get a lot more out of the substantial talent we have there. 2.) They've effectively demoted an ineffective DC and replaced him with Lovie Smith, a guy who clearly had a tad bit of success running the Cover 2 in his previous life 3.) The GM has made it known that QB play on this team (which I actually had little issue with this year given all else) wasn't up to snuff and he intends to bring the heat to that position. Something, if you'd all get your heads out of your asses, that ought to excite you! 4.) The O this season was pretty darned productive with NO wide receivers. NONE. If we can address that, step up the QB play either via free agency or just threatening Orton with a challenge to the position, we ought to see a nice improvement from the O! 5.) Forte is the shit. We're good there for a decade if he stays healthy. 6.) We still need to improve the O Line depth and basically start replacing some of the old guys. Center is my biggest concern now as Olin is a fossil. A few choice picks here and there in the draft will clearly focus here. The sky isn't falling girls. We went 9-7 this season which is dead on for where this team was projected by the optimistic among us. With a few key changes and better production out of the talent we already have, they can revamp quickly and be right back in the swing next season. I'm not saying they will, but damn dudes... Let the actual off season moves take place before you sign the death warrant for 2009. Please! PS. I do/did think the Babich dual role was ridiculous until I found out that Lovie was going to step into a more active role there. I agree with those that say Lovie should've gotten off his ass faster during the season. But that's an opinion based on nothing but a guess that he didn't. Nobody here knows if he was a lot more involved in the late season game plans for the D. NOBODY. And we had a pretty good run at the end of the year until the last game... After Brown was hurt.

Ridiculous.

Which was my point as well. I too doubt it will happen.

How can you say that after Marinelli was hired to be a position coach? You're right, he's still a HC but that's only because they're in the process of hiring a GM and they want the GM to pick the new HC or have him be the one that keeps Edwards. The expectation is that Herm will be cut loose.

Tebow has a windup to his throwing motion that makes Dontrelle Willis look conservative.

Despite what NFO and some others here say, I think this is outstanding. This IS the position Marinelli is best at coaching. I said this a few weeks ago when we were discussing bringing him in as DC and we were all generally against that. Let's face it, our DL sucked shit this season. Is it Tommy Harris disappearing for most of the season or coaching? Some combination of both? Probably. But good coaching in the DL will impact the entire D. Unlike some here, I don't think the Cover 2 is doomed. It's about how good the players in it are and how well coached they are such that you can feel confident with being aggressive. My biggest fear is the players we have on D have gotten old and they just aren't that good anymore. If that's the case; scheme and coaching won't mean dick.

I agree with this. That said, he'll have plenty of options at DL coach. One would think we'd have the "edge" since he and Lovie have a history. But money will probably talk loudest. Our line has the talent to be a lot better than it was this year. Something has to change there or we're doomed to repeat 2008 again. Or worse. Lovie likes to say we were a few plays away from being an 11 or 12 win team. I look at the way this team played this season and feel we were also a few plays away from being a 5 win team. This squad needs help and a solid DL coach is a great start.

I said: and You took one line about my liking Lovie in general and blew off the rest. I realize this is probably just a tactic to get me to waste a lot of time arguing. I won't. The fact is, this isn't a black or white issue. There are a lot of things I like about Lovie. I think he can continue to grow and improve. But he's surrounded by mediocrity and this won't help him in the long run. And yes, Babich is his OWN damn fault! You'd think a guy Lovie promoted would be able to out-coach the guy he replaced but it hasn't happened. I put a lot of faith in that transition and let's put it bluntly, Riveria is ten times the coach Babich is. I don't love Turner either but at least he can say he's limited by the WR talent on the team. Which is true. Babich has the horses, for the most part, and this defense, outside of a few games, has been hugely disappointing and inconsistent. Getting no pressure at all on the QB for 90% of the game and then pulling a surprise party where you get 3 or 4 sacks in the next two series means you can create pressure but choose to hold back. Is this genius or stupidity? My solution: Cut Babich and bring in a better D coordinator. Sign a legit WR via FA. Shore up the O Line some more. See if a healthy Vasher can return to form, if not, replace him. Move Hester back to ST only and if he fails, cut him. He's paid too much to suck. Use him occasionally in certain formations, as a surprise, and hey, here's a crazy idea, actually GIVE HIM THE BALL on one of those end arounds instead of just faking it all the time!!! Has he run it once this year? If you do these things and Lovie doesn't get it done, the window has closed on this team anyway, time to rebuild. And for the dreamers out there, wake up, Cowher ain't coming to Chicago under any circumstances. Won't happen.

I love my son. Not sure how that precludes me from holding him accountable. Must actually take an internet GM because I'm missing something.

Because the NFL is pathetic. This marginal team has no place being this close to the playoffs. What keeps us there is our suck shit division and the fact that while the Vikings are very talented, their coaches are probably the worst in the division. And they don't have a QB as good as Orton, which is friggen amazing. Hey, in many ways I agree with you. Jason has always fancied himself a better GM than Jerry Angelo. But while I really like what Lovie Smith brings to the table, I can't stand either coordinator. And frankly, I'm giving Angelo one more year before I start bitching about him since he's actually had a couple of good offensive draft picks in the last few seasons. This team still needs to build the O Line and find a WR or two worth a shit. If they can accomplish that this off season, the O is capable of winning games again. I think Orton will improve with better receivers. The D is now the issue. Urlacher has a season or two left in him. Briggs is still playing at a high level and probably has longer than Urlacher at a high level. Vasher literally disappeared this year. Peanut is getting old. Our D Line is good but not great. Of course, I think Babich is partly to blame for that. And Lovie for hiring his lame ass. I don't know what the future holds for Hester either. This coaching staff literally took the most exciting player I've ever watched play the game and turned him into a terrible WR. I mean, isn't it supposed to work the other way? Aren't players supposed to be "coached up" not down? Has a QB ever developed in Chicago? Orton is playing well but his deep ball is MIA and you could've put a damn skirt on him against Green Bay last week. He looked like he didn't want to be there, afraid of the cold. Hell, it was COLD but my 10 year old son and I hung in there! This coaching staff needs to develop leaders, particularly at QB. And I don't see it. So, no, I don't have all the answers and I don't think I could do a better job than JA or Lovie, like some here do, but I do know this team isn't to be lauded because they're within striking distance of a playoff spot. The division was there for the taking, on a silver platter, and we're sitting here hoping the Giants don't take the week off. That isn't seizing victory in my book. That's the seasonal version of playing not to lose that I hated so much about Jauron.

Merry Christmas everyone! Even if you were naughty this year, we all got a "gift" on Monday night! By the way, my ten year old son and I went to that game. And yes, it was CRAZY cold. Here's to playing in January! That'd be a happy New Year!

TJ is their #1. I'd take him in a heartbeat.

Better to get a WR via free agency or trade. Perhaps Boldin is still pissed at the Cards? Drafting a WR is a craps shoot and they aren't worth a shit for 3 years, regardless.

I've posted recently on my thoughts on Bill. As I stated then, I think he's a disgusting human being but a great coach. I won't go into more details since you can find my last post if interested. Anyone who loses a talent like Brady and still has his team playing well enough to challenge for that division title has my respect. The point is, however, that there simply aren't many great coaches anymore. And the Bears have Lovie at the top, who I really like and respect, and then a bunch of guys who represent mediocrity below him. I'm not sure we have one position coach worth a damn. And our coordinators aren't getting the job done. All of this is just my opinion, of course, your mileage may vary.

Thanks. I was proud of that line, as well. LOL

Let's face it guys, this Bears team isn't very good. Our QB play is reasonable and we have a solid young RB. But out O Line is old, beat up and not exactly great these days. Our receivers SUCK bigtime. On D, we can't tackle. We can't seem to play 3rd down either. At times, teams run at will on us and at others, we play the run well. Our special teams aren't very special anymore. Oh, and our coaches are so vanilla it makes me sick. But that isn't what this post is about. Our guys are our guys and I love them, regardless. And if a Packers fan said anything I've said above I'd beat him senseless... But with all of our obvious flaws, we're 7-6 and still in the playoff hunt. Hell, I thought the Lions were going to beat the Queens today and put us back into a tie for first in the division. Too bad they didn't. Shit, with a little better luck this flawed team could be 10-3 right now! THAT'S THE POINT. This team and many like it have records well ahead of their talent and ability. I'm sitting here watching the Sunday night game and if it were any more boring I'd puke. This isn't really anything new. The game has been in decline for decades now. Every week 20 teams (or more) take the field just BEGGING to be defeated. And often they play other teams that suck as bad as they do. What are the main three causes for this? Free agency? Probably. Specialization? I think so. Look at Hester. He was a "special" player and now he's a joke. Bad coaching? Sure as shit! You look at good coaches like Bellichick and he could take a team of high schoolers into the playoffs in this league. Great coaching is almost a thing of the past! I think, maybe, because players come in making millions, they're uncoachable so maybe the coaches don't have a chance to be great anymore. Guys like Ditka would have 5 heart attacks a month coaching these asshole players. I think another factor is the amount of money in the game. I'd like to see the NFL and all other professional sports take a huge hit during this recession (or depression) we're in. Having these guys see their salaries shrink 50% or more would make me as happy as a pig in slop. And no, I've never held it against them for getting everything they could. But that was then. And the crazy money seems to have had a horrible influence on the game I love. So maybe it's time to adjust. If ticket prices and TV money decreases, we'll see prices at the grocery store go down and maybe a mom and dad could afford to take their kids to a f*cking game again! Sorry for the rant gang, but watching the games today was really frustrating. It just isn't fun watching crap teams.

I'm sick of his BS. He can't run the right routes... He can't return kicks... And now he can't even field a friggen punt! He's a guy who got the big check and started to play it safe. He's a pussy! I say bench his ass for a few games until he gets his head straight. I know we don't have anything else, really, at WR, but I'm sick of Hester's lack of production. He's got no heart.

I don't agree and yet I do agree... I think Turner and Babich both deserve to be fired. That said, Lovie hired them. So, damn... I like Lovie but his choices at coordinator sure leave a lot to be desired. I'm sure they'll all get one more season... And then Jerry, Lovie and everyone else will get fired together. Which is how it ought to be, if things go down, everyone ought to go together.

Damn, glad I could jinx Belichick today. He got SPANKED!

He's probably the emergency QB which means he's still available.

G Terrence Metcalf, DT Matt Toeaina http://www.kffl.com/hotw/nfl

Don't get me wrong, I hate the guy. He's a heartless robot. His teams run up the score and he's been caught cheating. But damn, I look at the scoreboard every week and it doesn't seem to matter how much talent he has left on the field. He loses his QB, no biggie. They march on. His won/loss record has to be right up there. He's won a number of championships and had the undefeated season going last year until the final game. I think his legacy is tainted by the cheating thing and the biggest choke of all time losing last year, but he's probably still going to finish up his career thought of as the best ever. This is "on topic" in that Papa Bear is obviously one of the other top contenders for "best ever". Thoughts?

Dear Packers.... AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!!!!!11111111111

Babich and the D line are the soft spots on this team. I'd also say Hester is a HUGE disappointment but he isn't causing losses, just not adding wins right now.

Beer. My favorite hard drink would be a vodka martini. But I also enjoy a margarita every now and again.