jason

The 4th down call, which had Lovie's conservative play-calling influence stink all over it, will always be a situation that kills the Bears as long as you continue to neglect the OL. Year after year this is the Bears' weak point, yet you continually ignore it as if LTs just come off of practice squads. Get a clue Angelo, or you'll be leaving with Lovie at the end of the year...which, after the Lions game, seems all but a guarantee.

Really? You're still defending this clown? After multiple seasons and multiple games of horrendous decisions, atrocious clock management, and a complete inability to adjust in real time? Lovie must wear a diaper, because there's no way he'd make a decision to sit on the toilet early enough to stop the shit from staining his shorts. And if he did have enough time, he'd probably think holding it would be the best idea, and he'd go for it...kind of like he did with the 4th quarter.

Lovie is a walking, talking joke. The 4th down call was ridiculous, and the prevent defense at the end was so predictable that I was nearly positive the Lions would win. Luckily, an absurd rule in the NFL saved the Bears. The passing offense looked great, but the rushing offense looked horrible still. If that doesn't change, the opponents will simply put one or two more back into coverage to give Cutler problems, because the OL clearly can't open holes.

Bears 34 Lions 21 Sorry guys, but they are still the Lions. Cutler is going to have a field day. Cutler - 360yds, 3TDs Forte - 23 carries, 80yds; 2 rec., 40yds Taylor - 4 carries, 15yds; 3 rec., 20yds Aromashodu - 4 rec., 80yds, 1 TD Knox - 9 rec., 125yds, 1 TD Hester - 6 rec., 75yds Olsen - 2 rec., 20yds, 1 TD 1 D/ST TD.

This is the definitive argument. It's ignorant to argue against the premise that more picks in the first round gives a team more chance to succeed. There is a reason the draft happens the way it does, and that is because more talent is in the first round than the second, the second than the third, and so on. Finding hidden gems in the later rounds, having superior coaching, or anything else doesn't overcome an abundance of first round talent (unless the first round talent is continually drafted at the same position, like WRs and the Lions).

Yeah, there's a reason my sig has remained what it is for the past three years.

Hopefully this will finally be the year the football gods take their vengence out on Brett Farv after his deal with the devil expires.

Hit by pitch.

I'll believe it when I see it. And since I saw most of these guys play like garbage before, I'm thinking I won't end up believing it. The koolaid would taste sweet, no doubt, but I just don't have confidence in anyone from Lovie Smith up to find, develop, or coach offensive line talent. Hopefully Tice will prove his talents otherwise.

You make some valid points about draft positioning, but the one in bold is laughable. He's respected because he's a nice guy and a friend to the players, maybe even a good defensive coordinator, but I don't trust any of his decisions when it comes to the OL...because the Bears have had a garbage OL for Lovie's entire tenure. Despite this OBVIOUS fact, he continues to push for defensive players while avoiding selections for offensive line talent.

I could care less about the rest of the posts because most things are up for debate...but you have to be smoking some good stuff to actually believe the Bears have anything other than a bad OL that has been bad for multiple years. Nothing you said about testing players and putting them on an island in the preseason is false, but you've gotta be kidding me if you actually expect anyone who has seen this team play to believe the OL is not one of the worst in the NFL.

No thanks. I'd prefer it if the Bears actually invested a modicum of time towards the development of the young and talented WR corp already on the roster. If a good OG or OT becomes available, however, Lovie and Angelo should get whiplash from jumping towards the possibility.

Completely agreed. Aside from an errant pass or two from Cutler, the Bears offense looked good against the Cardinals in the first half.

Please, please, please...

Dude...you gotta be kidding me. I understand glass half full, but you're borderline drunk on the koolaide. All the talk out of camp about the DL looking awesome was probably a lot more of the OL looking horrible than action by the DL. The first three snaps against the Raiders - an average DL - showed us that. Snap #1: Caved in to and a run gets stuffed Snap #2: Crushed up the middle for the sack Snap #3: Dismissed on the edge for a sack There is no doubt that Martz' offense puts the QB in more jeopardy, but the Bears' OL is one of the 5 worst in the NFL, and it showed. If Cutler gets hurt this year, the fact that it wasn't addressed in the draft is borderline criminal, and the Bears' front office could all be accomplices to assault charges.

Things I liked: -Tons of formations -Multiple WR sets -Various formation shifts that had obvious intention -WIDE open WRs -A WIDE open TE on an out route (that reeks of play design) -Decent pass blocking -Aromashodu looks great, shields with his body well, and has rock solid hands. He MUST start. Things I didn't like: -QBs took hits, hard ones -Hanie looks completely lost, and "nobody is open" when he's in the game...if you know what I'm saying -Hanie has bad vision. On the DA touchdown, he completely overlooked Ta'ufo'uo standing by himself at the goalline Unrelated: -Did not like the running calls -Did not like the run blocking

Love this thread so much.

I've been saying it for years. I think the Bears have got very little out of WRs who could have been much better.

I'm with MadLith. This worries me, A LOT. You are changing where the focus should be. This is not about how good the DL is doing, this is about how poorly the OL is doing. It's hard to judge how well you are playing when your opponent is unquestionably inferior. Mark my words. This is one of those "playing against lesser competition" things, and it's going to hurt the Bears in the season if it continues.

Thank you for saving me the time. Spot on.

Not nearly as annoying as watching the Bears get constantly outcoached and watching the Bears' players so frequently go underdeveloped...and consequently underperform. Lovie isn't to blame for everything. Like most things in life, there is a medium that probably holds the truth. It comes down to percentages. What do you think Lovie's percentage is for the various failures (e.g. coaching, timing situations, hiring, player development, player usage) during his tenure? I'd say it's closer to the 100% ceiling than the 0% floor.

Truest post in this thread. Worth multiple rereads.

The rest after the bold is really unnecessary.

Disagree all you want, but Martz ALWAYS brings more points. 1-Completely rewrote the passing game in St. Louis, adding almost 15PPG his first year. Then he added another point the next year. 2-Added 3+ points his first year in St. Louis, and then 2+ more the next year. 3-Added 7+ points his first year in San Francisco If he has QB stability, the Bears are GUARANTEED to score more points. The defensive points are valid, but I don't think there is any doubt that the offense will score more this year.

I understand and agree with the skepticism, but 26th is just F'ing retarded. No way in hell the Bears are the 26th best team. With an offense that is GUARANTEED to score more points this year (Martz always improves points), and a defense that gets Pepp, Url, and Pisa added on, not to mention the fact that Hester will be returning focus to ST, there is just no way they are the 26th best team. Top 15 would have been more realistic.