jason

This I agree with. If the DL had more pressure, the DBs would look better. If the LBs were coached into a void, the DBs would have better underneath support. If the CBs were coached to be anywhere near the opposing WRs, the Safeties would be better able to cover their area. It's all pretty simple, and the Bears screwed it up big time. Besides, until the Bears don't suck on offense - which they have forever - the #1 flaw on the Bears has to be on offense. And that obviously starts with the OL. Until the OGs are tough, and until the ice-skates are taken off of the OTs, the Bears will never know how good their RBs, WRs, or QBs are, or could possibly be. When Orton - who is not really mobile to begin with - has to worry about being planted on nearly every play, it's natural for the passing plays to be less effective. And we won't even get into the travesty that this OL has created with the running game over the last five years or so. Fix the OL; that's the number one priority.

LOVIE SMITH CHICAGO BEARS Considering most league observers predicted before the season that the Bears would be hard-pressed to crack the .500 mark, Smith deserves an above-average grade. Often criticized for his bland, low-key demeanor, he deserves credit for keeping his team fired up during its last-ditch drive to make the playoffs. Offensive coordinator Ron Turner has done a nice job this season handling a unit with limited resources, and a strong case could be made for Dave Toub as the league's best special-teams coach. But the late breakdowns by Bob Babich's uneven defense in losses to the Panthers, Buccaneers, and Falcons were inexcusable. Grade: B-minus I don't know about you guys, but I completely expected this. 1) Most league observers don't know half as much as it seems they are given credit for. I'm convinced all they do is watch Sportscenter and make an opinion. 2) He kept his team fired up?! News to me. 3) I'd say Turner did an average job at best. 4) At least they got the part about Toub right. He deserves credit. 5) See ya Babich.

That last part pisses me off. And it shows why Lovie and Turner should be held much closer to the fire than they will be. There is no excuse for Bennett not seeing the field. None.

I like the latter option as well. Build the OL, because it sucks. Add a WR. Give Orton a better chance to succeed. But I think that also means the Bears should go after a mid to late round QB. So many possibilities. I still wish the Bears would have grabbed the kid out of Hawaii last year. Chase Daniels Mark Sanchez Nate Davis Graham Harrell Drew Willy Others?

Ok, now that you are hooked and ready to rip me apart for suggesting Tebow, just know that I'm not thinking about the Bears drafting him. I'm thinking about the Vikings drafting him. I don't know about you guys, but that scares the hell out of me. For some reason I think he would do some serious damage for the Vikings. Thoughts? Is he not a perfect fit for them?

Here's my not-so-serious attempt at making a draft board for the Bears that would have a list of great names for all fans. To be honest, I wouldn't be terribly upset with this draft. 1st - Colt McCoy, QB, Tex - I have never heard a name sound more like a quarterback name 2nd - Phil Loadholt, OT, OU - Just admit it...he has a cool name. 3rd - Fenuki Tupou, OG, Oregon - It's about time the Bears brought in an Islander. 3rd - Javorskie Lane, FB, Tex A&M - Javorskie is cool on it's on, and sounds like a Bear player's name. But the last name of Lane as a FB is like having Dunk as a basketball player's last name. 4th - Stryker Sulak, DE-OLB, Miss - How do you not like a DE/LB named Stryker!? He immediately takes the spot opposite of Briggs on name alone. 5th - Willie VanDeSteeg, DE, Minnesota - If that doesn't sound like the last name of a porn star, I dont' know what does. 6th - Marko Mitchell, WR, Nevada - I see great potential for hilarious "Marko, Polo" references. 7th - Al Afalava, S, Oregon State - You know Alafalava is really a foreign curse word. Those who just missed the cut Darius Passmore, WR, Marshall - Guess what he wants? Alan-Michael Cash, DT, NCState - Cash money baby! Moise Fokou, OLB, Maryland - Oh yeah?! Fokou you too! Captain Munnerlyn, CB, SC - Honorary Team Captain?

I agree somewhat with this line of thought. I'm not all that excited about the FA OL prospects. Getting Suggs would be awesome. Collins probably isn't leaving Tennessee, however, and the Bears would be better served to look elsewhere. As for Weaver and FB, I pass. I want the Bears to draft Javorsky Lane, because he's a brick shithouse with legs, and he has a cool name. >

Obviously, but the point of the thread is that Orton can't throw the long ball with any sort of precision. If he could, I wonder how that would have changed Hester's stats, and as a consequence, changed various games this year.

I'll just run him twice, from within our own five yard line, straight up the middle, against the biggest and best rush defense in the NFL. -Ron Turner

You and me both AZ. I'm been saying it since the middle of last year. But the Bears' coaches and their perpetually 25th+ offense are doing so well as is.

I said: "don't make it completely unrealistic".

I just got to thinking about how poorly Orton throws the long-ball, and how it affects the overall offense. That made me think, "What would Devin Hester's stats look like if he had a QB who could throw the long ball?" -Lee Evans, who does nothing but catch the long-ball it seems, really benefitted from JP Losman throwin the longball. Insert Trent Edwards and the longball disappears. -Remember what Randy Moss looked like with Daunte Culpepper? -Remember how Marcus Robinson made Cade McNown look like a decent QB because the one pass Cade seemed to throw well was the rainbow deep ball? Devin Hester finished the year with 45 catches, 580 yards, and 3 TDs. Suppose Orton could throw the deep ball with consistency. What would Hester have finished with? Anyone willing to do the research for this season to recall which passes should have been long-bomb TDs? I'm guessing there were about 6 or so plays where Orton's inability to throw deep costed Hester the TD. With garbage extrapolation, that puts Hester at 51 catches, 880 yards (50 ypc avg.), and 9TDs. Is that really that unreasonable? Could that have easily happened? I can't go back to the games, and I don't remember the specific play by play well enough, but I bet it's pretty close to what could have been.

Good question. The answer is Yes. I know most would consider it a mistake, and normally I'd agree, but let's be honest here...when has the Bears' QB been really good? When lately? With a decent defense, a great OL and RB, even a garbage QB *cough* Tavaris Jackson *cough* can "lead" his team to the playoffs. I'm sick of seeing the same garbage every year. I say the Bears should just roll the dice and stockpile QBs every year, looking for the gem. So many other teams seem to be able to do it, but never the Bears. I say the Bears should try to do it until it's accomplished. Consider it a New Year's Resolution: Draft Successful QB.

Good point...but Lovie yet again pulled out this gem, "We'll evaluate where we are and go from there." Classic Lovie.

Isn't the 7th round a wasted pick most of the time anyway? Might as well go for a guy who has some huge upside. If Willy is there in the 7th, that's a great pick. You never know. He'd probably beat out Hanie. To be honest, that round doesn't matter to me...any player is fine. I'd be OK with a FS, DT, DE, OLB, QB, WR...anything really.

So I'm sitting here watching Darren Sproles rip Denver a new A-hole, and I wonder aloud to myself, "Why don't the Bears give Garrett Wolfe a chance? He's essentially the same type of player as Darren Sproles. Yet, they worked Forte to the ground this year and gave the left over carries to Adrian Peterson for some reason." Wolfe 5'7" 177lbs 5136 rushing yards in college (three years) 4.39 forty at his pro-day Sproles 5'6" 181lbs 4979 rushing yards in college (three years and change) 4.47 forty at the combine I sure hope Turner can get even the slightest bit creative next year and figure a way to get Wolfe into the game. Watching Sproles destroy the Broncos is just frustrating, because there is no doubt in my mind that Wolfe could have the same type of impact.

Post your dream draft. Don't make it completely unrealistic, but allow yourself to dream about the what-ifs that happen every year in the NFL draft. Here's my dream draft: 1-16: Duke Robinson, OG, OU (I don't mix words. The Bears need OL, and with an improved OL the rest of the offensive players will be better, including the WRs that everyone seems to hate.) 2-48: Phil Loadholt, OT, OU (With the OG position taken care of, the Bears still need at the very least a OT, if not another OG. Getting Duke's teammate would be huge.) 3-81: Mark Sanchez, QB, USC (Projected as a 2nd to 3rd rounder, this would be perfect for the Bears. If Bradford, Stafford, Tebow, and McCoy are all in the draft, Sanchez has a chance to fall. If he's there, he has to be snagged. He's got the tools, the talent, and he's a winner from an established program.) 3-97: Derek Pegues, FS, Mississippi State (I only saw him once or twice this year on TV, and the kid looked pretty good from what I remember.) 4-112: Jorvorskie Lane, FB, Texas A&M (Meet the new Lorenzo Neal. This guy would be loved in Chicago, and create massive lanes for Forte. 5-145: Marko Mitchell, WR, Nevada (Saw him play once. Great size, good speed, makes good football plays. Great YAC.) 6-176: Willie VanDeSteeg, DE, Minnesota (Off the field problems [assault] will cause him to take a massive drop. He'd be a massive steal - a sack machine.) 7-209: Drew Willy, QB, BUF (QBs should be drafted every year until the Bears find multiple gems. This one is odd because I've seen him rated really low, but also as high up as the 4th.)

I can buy that. It's a slight disagreement, but something I could live with provided the Bears' went hot and heavy for OLinemen in FA, the Draft, or both. Orton can be good, if not great, behind a stud OL, but with the current OL we may have already seen his plateau. Here's the question: Do you think it's easier to find a late round steal to fill the DE athlete role, or is it easier to find the late round steal to fill the QB role? I'd say there are far more athletes in the late rounds than QBs, and the chance of finding a hidden gem is greater when simply looking for an athlete.

This draft won't completely anger me, but the first pick would. I don't think the Bears should go DE in the first round. DE isn't even in the top five need positions for the Bears (e.g. OT, OG, QB, WR, FS).

Good write up Noots...as always. A few thoughts... 1) The defensive coaching should be an F in my opinion. For this stat I keep seeing all over the place about the Bears blitzing more than any team in the league, their blitzes sure do get picked up regularly. Speaking of the blitzes... 2) The DL and LBs get nearly no pressure on a consistent basis. It sure would be nice to see something from the DL that actually tried to confuse the opposing offense instead of just saying, "Screw it! We're gonna run what we run BETTER!" 3) I wonder how well the secondary would cover if there was ever any sort of consistent pressure?

Agreed. I actually think that Orton has the arm strength to make the throws, but he lacks the accuracy. Of course, it's hard to really know when 3/5 of the OL sucks and there is a good chance that Kyle is scared of being disabled on nearly every snap.

I'd like to see the coordinators given the axe, with people brought in to bring in new ideas. Lovie seems like a guy everyone likes, and has had success, but there are definitely changes needed.

I'm in complete agreement. I think Kyle is like Rex in many ways. Some games good, some games bad. Kyle minimizes mistakes more than Rex, but he doesn't have the homerun aspect. Kyle is a great backup, but the Bears obviously need something more. I'd love it if the Bears got McNabb.

It's a difference of opinion of course, but I'm in near total disagreement with your statement. I don't think the negatives outweigh the positives 2 to 1. I called it preseason, during the season, and I will stick by it: The Bears are a 10+ win team, but their coaches are bad. Take out the Bears' coaches, and I don't even think it's close. There were 3 or 4 games just left on the field this year as a result of coaching, at least that many.

2.) Greg Olsen: He had 1 terrible game against Carolina, but he's established himself as a top TE and a great receiving threat. When you have a TE that NFL CB's have trouble defending, you have something good. I guess you missed his two drops today. I don't care whether he's covered or not, he has got to make those catches. Are you serious!?! I guess you have a different definition of "drop" than others. If any thing, I'd call those a "well defended". You can't expect the guy to come up with all the tough catches. He's made several this year, but those weren't drops. Those were two good defensive plays by a DB who got his hand in the mix.