Bears4Ever_34

Yikes. This team is decimated with injuries to their key players. Thank god he'll be able to play.

Sign em all! Lol.. But yeah.. Clady would be my obvious #1 choice if he ever hits the market (Which doesn't seem likely). Sounds like Jake Long really could become a free agent this year, but then the question becomes if he does, is that actually a bad thing? Why wouldn't Miami want to re-sign a perennial pro bowl player? Franchise LT's just don't come available because teams know how valuable it is to have one. I'd caution myself a little bit. He hasn't played very well this year, and it's obvious that his back isn't allowing him to play as well as he's accustomed to. If I'm the Bears, I do some heavy research and figure out if he's worth the risk. Further more, if the Bears can come out of free agency with 2 starters on the offensive line, they have come out of it looking really good. You need at the very least 1 sure fire guy, and would be lucky to get 2. Then take one at some point in the draft and suddenly the line could be looking much better.

True. Although I don't think we are a better team without Urlacher, because Nick Roach sucks as a MLB. He has definitely slowed down a great deal.

This game is going to be intense! Urlacher fired back just a little bit ago. Pretty good stuff.

He's been good and bad. More bad than good, in my opinion. He was handed a more talented offense this year than what Martz had last year, but the results have been far worse across the board. This can be attributed to a number of things. It's a collective effort, and not a zero sum situation. Some of the things I like from his offense are, as the OP mentioned, the roll outs, the ability to audible, and moving Marshall around all over the field to make it more difficult for teams to double cover. It's not all bad. However, having said that, the things that have frustrated me the most have been the lack of a screen game, not getting Forte involved as much via the pass, and having absolutely no creativity whatsoever. To steal a quote from Trent Dilfer, in regards to the Bears-- It's a very remedial offense. There's a lot of max protections, a lot of one man routes etc.. Do I think Mike Tice is the answer to our prayers to having a good offense? No I do not. I thought going into this year he'd be a better option over Martz for protection reasons and getting the ball out of Cutler's hand quicker, and to a large degree, he's done that. They just haven't produced enough points. You have to score in this league, especially now, with the rule changes and the evolution of the passing game. There are quarterbacks in the league now that are picking teams apart by running a lot of read option offense.

Pretty much nailed it. Dare I say, Martz's offense the last two years was better/more productive than this years version of offense, under Mike Tice? It definitely was, for reasons I can't put my finger on. I think some of it has to do with Earl Bennet's regression as a WR, Forte playing like he got paid, and throwing to Kellen Davis more. Jeffery's absence hasn't helped either. Cutler is throwing interceptions at a higher clip than he was last year, and overall, has been worse. He hasn't even clipped the 2,500 yard mark after 12 games. That is a rarity in today's NFL. In my opinion, it's a giant clusterfuck between a lot of people, including the OC.

I didn't say they did have anything to do with passion. I said some of the comments he makes give you more of a reason to hate him. He insults our intelligence.

I would say no to Kelly. #1 Cutler isn't RGIII like, in his ability to run a spread option at the NFL level, and #2 I worry about guys that have never coached anything at the NFL level. There is a huge risk to take on Kelly that could fall flat on its face quickly, to any team that hires him. My list of potential coaches, assuming Lovie is gone are as follows.. 1- Sean Payton Dur. Sort of a no brainer here if you can get him, which is highly unlikely. I'd be on his front lawn with a semi load, filled with bags of cash, if he were ever to entertain the idea of leaving New Orleans. I think his contract situation is more of a formality and will get taken care of in short order. Though it is fun to dream 2- Bruce Arians What he's done in Indianapolis is remarkable. Granted, the schedule hasn't been the most difficult, he's got that offense #7 overall in the NFL, with a rookie quarterback that's been very up and down all year. He hasn't even completed 56% of his passes.. That's saying something. Arians has a lot of experience being on the sidelines at the NFL level. He had a good offense in Pittsburgh before he left, I think he could turn this franchise around to a more offensive oriented team, like it should be. 3- Mike Holmgren He might even be my #2 option if he hadn't already retired once before. It's also unknown whether a guy like Holmgren would demand power over personnel decisions, which would obviously be a major no-no for Phil. Assuming that's not the case, how could you not like Mike Holmgren? Who takes Seattle to a Superbowl, honestly? The guy is a hell of a coach, and he knows how to teach offense. If you brought him in here I guarantee you the offense would run smoother. 4- Greg Roman Currently the offensive coordinator for the 49'ers. As I've mentioned in other posts, the 49'ers run some of the most creative run sets that an NFL team has seen in a while. Of course, the 49'ers offensive line doesn't come in a package deal (Wish it did) but you get the guy that knows how to design these plays. He'd be a risk, just like the others I'm about to mention, in that he's one of the hot names being tossed around, and a lot of times, you can't really trust that. 5- Rob Chudzinski Another offensive coordinator. We seem to be establishing a theme here. He really got the whole spread option, NFL stuff, going again with Cam Newton. He was more of a hot name last year, but he also was responsible for making the Browns offense relevant a couple of years ago to, when they were 8th overall. 6- Bill Obrien Anytime you have a disciple of Bill Belichick, you must proceed with caution. Everybody that becomes a Head coach, after working with Bill Belichick, has failed miserably, which is why he's at the bottom of my list. I do like how he runs an offense though. He likes to run a lot of two TE sets. We'd obviously need to find someone that can catch a pass though before we start actually using them.

I know what you mean. I think the reason for a lot of Lovie hate also resonates from the way he answers questions about his team. Things like, "We like where we're at" following the loss to Minnesota just pisses me off. As does saying "Kellen Davis can do everything all the great TE's can do in this league", and the unforgettable "We believe Devin Hester is a #1 receiver." The sad part about those quotes is that I think he really believes what he says. How else could you explain how Hester and Davis keep getting opportunity after opportunity? Just speaks to his hideous track record of bad talent evaluation.

I think you got it backwards, in regards to Peppers. I remember the word on the street about him is that he wanted to play in a 3-4 system as an OLB so it would be easier for him to rush the passer. New England wanted him real bad. The only reason he chose Chicago is because of the $$$$$. Even so, at his current age, he probably wouldn't be the greatest OLB that he could have been 3-4 years ago. Considering you'd have McClellin already as the designated pass rushing OLB, you wouldn't need two. The other guy is more responsible for covering the TE, and that wouldn't be something you'd want Peppers to do. Had Peppers been in a 3-4 during his prime, he would have played the role McClellin is suited to play. Fortunately, he's big enough to be a DE in either scheme.

If you're the Bears you have to assume you're going to be in the playoffs. You always want to give your key players a chance to come back. The postseason is 4 weeks away. Hard to imagine he wouldn't be ready to go by then, unless of course, the injury is so severe that he needs to have surgery. You just don't see that many cases of calf injuries being season enders. Weird too, considering Gould said it wasn't really that bad.

IR'd? The hell? Is his injury really bad enough that he couldn't come back for the postseason?

The most important game of the season might come against the Detroit Lions in the final game.

I had to get this in here, because it's just too good to pass up. Look what they caught Rodgers wearing at the game last night! Is that a black thong? Looks like it.

Updated playoff picture now that all the teams in the race have played their games.

Yeah, both Clay and Raji right? For some reason, Raji sucks now, and hardly even played as a rookie. My feeling is if you get the right guys at the crucial positions of the defense, everything else falls into place. I think McClellin can be a really good pass rushing 3-4 OLB. Finding a disruptive DL is the next thing you'd need to figure out if a 3-4 is the type of defense you're shooting for.

They weren't that good before they made the switch to the 3-4. When Capers took over in 2009, their defense went from 21st to 2nd overall in one season. Then the following year they won the Superbowl. The Houston Texans, under Wade Phillips, went from being the worst pass defense in NFL history to 2nd overall in one season. It's not a magic pill, but the notion of some people that such a transition would take years to develop is nonsense. Get a good coach, find yourself a pass rusher and make it work.

If Nick Roach is our answer then we better bring Urlacher back. I've always thought that whichever rookie we take in the 1st or 2nd round is hopefully a MLB capable of starting. Urlacher isn't even close to what he used to be, but he's still better than Nick Roach. My guess is that Lovie will be back, and they'll re-sign Urlacher to play for at least one more season. My hope is that Lovie is fired, and we get a coach that won't sit on his hands when teams adjust. I would prefer a hybrid style that uses elements of the 4-3 and 3-4 together. I believe you can make anything work with good coaching. Players can adjust to play different schemes, it's about coaching and teaching. Remember when the Packers made their switch to a 3-4, everybody was saying that they didn't have the right personnel to make it work. It can work if you know what the hell you're doing, and Dom Capers did.

Bruce Arians name is going to be popping up. He's been tremendous in Indianapolis. Wouldn't mind giving him a shot if Lovie gets the boot. Mike Holmgren would be another guy to keep an eye on. The only thing I worry about with him is the fact that he's already retired once, he's not a long term answer. I just like his offensive philosophy.

Jeffery has exceptionally good hands. I wonder how much the broken hand is affecting him now. I don't remember him having too many drops before that injury.

Sadly, I agree. The sad part being just getting in the postseason means he keeps his job. I hope Emery is looking at the bigger picture here rather than just saying, "Oh look, we're in the playoffs, lets sign him to a 3 year extension!" Anything less than a playoff victory should equal a firing, in my opinion.

It took them 3 years to realize Frank Omiyale wasn't any good, so we shouldn't really be surprised.

I don't have the slightest idea what the Bears think they have in Kellen Davis. He should have been cut months ago when they found out he couldn't block or stay on his feet to catch a pass. Hester is and always has been a horrible receiver. I've said that from the beginning, and every year we get stupid articles from stupid people that think he's going to all of a sudden be this great receiver because of his ability to run routes in training camp where he's not going to get hit.

Just wait until the offseason when all the players, coaches, and beat writers start hyping him up again on what a wonderful job he does at running routes.

And.. That's the season. Next weeks loss to the Packers should put an end to our playoff hopes.