jason

That's true, there has been a switch of sorts. But it doesn't change the philosophy of the defense, and regardless of where the safeties are, Lovie's M.O. is to have the LBs bail out into coverage, rely almost exclusively on a 4-man rush, and hope for turnovers. It's a great strategy when the opposing QB gets an itchy trigger finger or when the turnovers come, but it's horrible to watch when the opponent just sits back and picks apart the zone all day.

This reminds me of the Jauron situation with that idiot OC he loved (Shoop). Provided they don't make the NFC Championship game (that's the cutoff in my mind), if Tice is not gone at the end of the year, then both Lovie and Tice should be fired.

Wait a few weeks, they will be. It happens every freaking year. It's as if many Bears' fans, the majority of sports media, and certainly all mock draft sites don't have long-term memory and just look at the end of year stats.

Tice just called a delayed handoff on 4th and 1?

HOLY SHIT! Davis not only caught the ball, but he caught it in traffic and actually held on to the ball. Whoa. Good thing he was one yard short of the sticks on third down. Wouldn't want him to do everything right on one, single play in any single game this year.

HAHAHAAHA!!! Gruden just listed off something I've said numerous times on this board. Carimi is a LT playing RT. Garza is a OG playing C. Rachal is a RG playing LG. Webb is a bum playing LT. [my correction]

And it sickens me that all I can really think of is, "I told you so." I'm not directing it at anyone, but this is something many on this board have said over and over again. 1. The OL sucks. 2. No matter who gets in there at QB, it won't matter much. 3. No matter who gets in there at WR, it won't matter much. 4. The D is the only reason the Bears are as good as they are. 5. The D has been good because they have had a near-miraculous number of turnovers. 6. The Lovie Smith D is extremely exploitable when the turnovers aren't coming. Let's go ahead and add these to the truths... 7. Mike Tice is not a good OL coach. 8. Mike Tice is in way over his head as OC.

Precisely.

Wow. Carimi is on roller skates. Webb is on broken roller skates. Rachal apparently doesn't realize a ball in the end zone is a TD for the Niners if they recover it. And Tice is calling minimal protection passing plays from inside his 1 yard line.

The only real positive I've seen in this game so far: Urlacher looks suddenly fast again. He's all over the place. Is he finally over the injury?

You want to say that, but it's simply not true. I've stated numerous times on this board for numerous years that it wouldn't be all OL, but I certainly would fix the OL problem instead of ignoring it or disregarding it. In regards to the "you'd be coaching"-nonsense, that's simply not true. There are countless reasons why one person goes into coaching and one does not. Lovie was involved with football at a higher level, and had connections that piqued his interest. I did not. And if you think you have disproved the "draft OL early"-concept you're sorely mistaken. First, look at all the 1st round talent trucking over the Bears' vaunted D right now. Second, go look at the last time the Bears had a Super Bowl team and tell me what rounds the OL that year were drafted. Third, please learn something about LTs in the NFL, and realize that the prize possessions go early. Most starting LT studs don't come from the 7th round. You'll then begin to see a correlation. Someone in the other thread did mention, however, that it's odd that Williams and Carimi have degraded since arriving in Chicago. I've never been a fan of Tice, and I agree that coaching has a part in all this.

Serious question: Is Hester mentally handicapped in some way?

Very good points. And, yet, people continue to say Tice is some offensive line genius. That lie has got to die at some point, right? I mean, how many other teams have you seen give up career games to DEs on a consistent basis? It seems there are four games a year where a DE absolutely has a career-changing game, and the talking heads never catch on to the fact they almost always seem to have them against the Bears. Coaching or talent? Chicken or egg?

Have you noticed Hester seems to ALWAYS go to the short side of the field? This reminds me of two or three eyars ago when he couldn't figure out how to go north-south, and kept going sideways.

I'm wondering if Webb will be credited with a sack for that one. After all, he's the one that hit Campbell.

Call it what you want, but anyone who wants to draft a QB for the Bears this year, unless it's a late round pick, doesn't have a damn clue about football. QB is probably lower than 10th on the list of needs for the Bears. And spare me the tired "you should do it" argument. That's simply not feasible, and it's a weak non-excuse for the flaws that continually get displayed year after year after year under Lovie.

Wow. That series was ATROCIOUS! First play, Forte has nothing. Second play, WTF was Garza looking at? Third play, when the hell has the RB screen ever worked for the Bears?

Open your eyes man. This has happened many times during Lovie's tenure. A QB that's supposed to be subpar comes in and performs well because the Bears defense is known quantity that has been admitted many many times. Everyone knows what the Bears are running 95% of the time, and it's just a matter of the other team executing correctly. Hell, I remember a game when two Bears QBs that this board has absolutely TORCHED did pretty well against the Bears defense. Todd Collins lit this defense up! And in the same game, so did, guess who, Jason Campbell! Billy Volek did it years ago. Brian Griese did it. I'm sure there are others but I just can't think of them right now.

Wow. What is that strange slant play the Niners keep using with such great success? It's almost like I recall a certain team in green and yellow successfully using it against the Bears numerous times over the years.

How many times does this question have to be asked during the Lovie Smith tenure?

Sadly, I'm sure it's not. Same thing every year...distracted by the pretty, shiny things and the functional, dirty things get ignored.

This is less about the Niners O and more about the Bears D. The Bears, as always under Lovie, have been a defense that allows an opponent to move the ball fairly easily. Even when scrub QBs get in the game. Remember when Griese absolutely torched us?! This is nothing different. The defense has holes, and as long as the turnovers don't come in bundles it's very vulnerable. Actually, this game is a perfect example of what many on this board have talked about in terms of an attacking defense and a passive defense. The Bears have a passive, albeit opportunistic, defense. The Niners, on the other hand, have an aggressive, attacking offense. Witness the difference.

Horrible idea. And since you don't want me to tell you why, I'll leave the thread.

I don't remember seeing/reading that anywhere. No doubt Manning helps tremendously - he may be the best QB of all time - but their OL was pretty good with Tebow. It's just that their offensive scheme, and perhaps Tebow's style, said "if first read not available, take off running."

That defense just had the Jags explode on them. The Jags! They've been overrated, and the Bears should have done more against them.