jason

I actually posted this because I wouldn't mind seeing Tebow in a Chicago uniform. I'd like to see him as a #3 with a chance at a #2. At the very least he could be used to mix things up, keep the defense off balance, and breathe new life into a stagnant offense when things get to that. Of course, all this relies on a new OC with a bright mind for using talented players in methods that best suit their abilities.

For one reason or another, I ended up on Jamarcus Webb's Facebook page. And, let me tell you, it's definitely full of his personality. So what's wrong with that? Allow me to extrapolate... He doesn't seem to be a very serious person. Everything seems to be a big game, a big joke to him. It all seems to be about smiling, doing internet contests, and giving away free tickets. He makes regular, late-night runs to fast food restaurants - something I doubt someone like Adrian Peterson or Thomas Jones does. I guess what I'm saying is, I don't like his attitude. For that much money, I expect more. For that much money, he should be more professional, more dedicated. For that much money, and that atrocious play, I'd think he would spend the majority of his time improving his craft, his fitness, his physique, his strength, his knowledge of the game, etc. Matt Forte posted videos of some of his brutal workouts in the offseason, and it showed he was busting his ass to improve. I highly doubt Webb did anything near as difficult. Maybe I'm reading too much into it.

Looks like there are two QBs available this offseason. http://espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/story/_/id...cording-sources Any interest in either?

Amen. But there were people who believed adding a backup QB, goal-line RB, and WRs would solve all the offensive woes. Granted, it was nearly unanimous that the OL needed work, but there were still some who thought washing and waxing the car without repairing the engine would make it run better.

I thought the thread was going to simply say "resign."

A decent summary from Telander... http://www.suntimes.com/sports/football/be...snt-know-o.html

No kidding. I once went to a Philadelphia Phillies game where they booed everything from the umps, the teams, the ball boys, a guy in the stands who didn't catch a foul ball, a girl on the field competing in a between-inning competition, and the thunder. Yeah, they booed thunder because they knew it would result in a rain delay. Briggs and Urlacher should STFU and play football. Maybe we aren't insiders and don't play the game, but they're not fans who have to constantly deal with subpar play. The difference is, if they fix their end, our end is fixed. If we fix our end, it has no immediate impact on what they do.

Add Bush to IR, just like Connor predicted. Everyone in the organization that deals with health, strength, and conditioning should be fired along with Lovie at the end of the season. There are way too many injuries that happen to Bears players for it to be bad luck. It probably has a little bit to do with Lovie's "Club Med Training Camp," but the injuries the Bears get are just inexcusable.

Not sure. I noticed that too and thought it odd.

I got it from Pro Football Reference. I typically trust their numbers since that's all they do as a "job," but you never know.

I looked at some stats today and found a nugget of interesting data. But first, what does the media spew out all the time about "Lovie Smith's defense"? OMG! They're going to strip the ball. They're going to get turnovers. Well, guess what? They're tied for 13th in the NFL in terms of forced fumbles with 14. And on top of that, only three teams in the top 16 recover less of those forced fumbles. >TEAM FF REC PER KC 15 16 106.67% DEN 14 13 92.86% PHI 23 21 91.30% NYJ 18 16 88.89% BUF 15 13 86.67% PIT 19 15 78.95% ARI 14 11 78.57% TEN 17 12 70.59% MIA 18 12 66.67% SD 19 11 57.89% CAR 16 9 56.25% CHI 14 7 50.00% IND 19 9 47.37% STL 15 7 46.67% WAS 16 6 37.50% Since Tillman has 10 of those FFs, and his FFs led to 2 of the recoveries, I'd expect Lovie to get Tillman a VERY big Christmas present/bonus this year. Because without Tillman, the Lovie Smith defense gets exposed more than it already has been.

Ultimately, that's my point. The NFL guys make no secret about what/how they call fouls, and why they throw flags. This is readily available information for all the NFL players and coaches. And since Jeffery clearly didn't know/care about one of the tell-tale signs (i.e. extending an arm to create separation), it's on Drake, then Tice, then Lovie. Like the calls or not, they fit into the definition of OPI in the NFL Rulebook, and they fit specific criteria used by the NFL officials when making an OPI call. It's a no-brainer, and you're going to see the flag 9 out of 10 times when it's that obvious. BTW - I don't know which one you are saying created no advantage, but it has to be the second one. The first one the defender ended up on the ground, and the last one was full arm extension with separation towards the sideline that was as text-book OPI as you can get.

1. And if that 10-12 yard chunk is covered? What then? 2. I agree he should have probably thrown it after a few seconds or so. Just put it up into double (triple?) coverage to Brandon Marshall and taken a chance. But, in his defense, he would have been butchered for that as well because it would have been interpreted as "Cutler doesn't care about actually winning." He was in a no-win situation really, and you're nit-picking him because he was trying to keep a slim hope of chance alive by looking for a WR who was actually open, rather than one covered by multiple defenders, in a situation where he should never have felt a hint of pressure.

Call me out all you want, but if the Bears win it will be a mixed bag of emotions for me. I'll love the win, but hate the fact that it's false hope (they'll get killed in the playoffs), and it's a small arrow in Lovie Smith's quiver.

Completely agree.

Thank you http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/chicago...ie-smith-121612

THIS X 1,000,000

I'm just telling you how things look from an officiating perspective. He's a good announcer, but he honestly doesn't know what goes into the rule book in his own game. None of the announcers are nearly as versed as they'd like you to think. There are countless hours that go into officiating at the NFL level. Those guys usually have video review on the plane home after their game. They are graded very harshly. All that and more is why they have to have legitimate reasons for throwing flags, or they stop working NFL games. The result is that they rely on key signs, developed through a nearly unlimited film review, that says "when DPI happens, it is usually because of..." and "when OPI happens, it is usually because of..." If the officials see those criteria, they know the flag should be thrown. All of this is stuff that Aikman and other announcers aren't privy to, aren't aware of. It's the precise reason why guys like Pereira and Gerry Austin have been brought into the broadcast booth as advisers.

So two guys, side by side, where one ends up putting both of his hands on the opponent, and the opponent ends up on his back, and the result is a TD, happens every game?! I don't think so.

I don't see how you can say that. It's craziness. With 5 blockers and 2 rushers he should feel confident he can sit in the pocket as long as it takes to find an open receiver. Period. He shouldn't have to get outside the pocket because the pocket should never be threatened. He shouldn't have to run for the exact same reason. Taking the sack is something he should not have done, but under the situation I don't see what the alternative was. Throwing it away would have been colossally ignorant considering the score, field position, and game clock. So now he's back to either running or throwing. Running is also a dumb decision considering the score, field position, and game clock. The only possible chance the Bears have of actually pulling off a play that can get them the score is a deep pass. Therefore, he had to basically wait for a receiver to break open. While doing so, he had two choices: 1-wait in the pocket, 2-wait outside the pocket. Either way he should never have seen a hint of pressure.

1. He shouldn't have had to get rid of the ball when there are 3 more blockers than defenders. 2. Why should he get rid of the ball when it's one of the last two or three plays of the game and they're down a score? That would have been a horrible decision. He 100% should not have just gotten rid of the ball in that situation.

1. They whiffed big time on the non-call against Jeffery. That should have been a DPI. But that doesn't mean the OPI calls were incorrect. 2. You misunderstand what I'm saying. He probably knows more about football than most of the refs, but he doesn't know more about the rules than most of the refs. That's fact. Players and coaches are notoriously ignorant about the intricacies of the rules, and the officials out there are virtual rule books. They've literally got 99% of the rules memorized. So when he comments about what an official should see, should throw a flag on, etc., he's got no leg to stand on. He simply doesn't know what it means to be an official, and he almost certainly doesn't know the rules as well as the officials.

The third one, from an officiating perspective, was probably the easiest one. He clearly made contact with his hand, extended his arm, and that extension is what gave him the separation.

Exactly. Typical Lovie. Watch, next week the Bears will officially be removed from the playoffs, and they'll win the very last game of the season while playing all of their starters. Same as the last two, damn years.