Some thoughts

[Connorbear]

Changes I would make for next yr:

 

1 - Olsen moves to WR. Let's face it, he cannot block and I don't want to see him try anymore. Thayer was saying Kellen Davis has improved. Keep working with him and draft another blocking TE.

 

2 - Draft a blocking FB or get the best one on the FA market. They come cheap and can normally play well even at the twilight of their career. McKie is gone.

 

3 - Sign at least one o-lineman in FA. Not a project but a proven vet that is considered in the top 3 available. Draft 1 to 2 more. Get rid of Pace and get road graters.

 

4 - Move Williams to LT. Lose Pace. Tell Omiyale he is competing for RT (Do not simply give him the job).

 

5 - Ogy gone. We do not have the luxury to give him big money and he is not that good to justify it.

 

6 - Vasher gone. I would much rather give reps to DJ Moore or Corey Graham.

 

7 - Bring back Turner. I know everyone is going to hate this but I think you will have a real hard time hiring a OC for 1 yr since I think next yr will be Lovie's last. I would rather keep consistency than have Cutler and the offense go through 3 coordinators in 3 yrs.

 

8 - Gaines Adams works with Rusty Jones all off season and puts on 10-15 pounds. He will compete with Anderson for starting LDE.

 

I did not mention changes in the coaching staff simply because I do not see it happening. However, you can dream...

 

Further - please get reps for Iglesias, Moore, Gilbert, and Toenai for the rest of the season.

 

Peace

[flea]

Changes I would make for next yr:

 

1 - Olsen moves to WR. Let's face it, he cannot block and I don't want to see him try anymore. Thayer was saying Kellen Davis has improved. Keep working with him and draft another blocking TE.

 

2 - Draft a blocking FB or get the best one on the FA market. They come cheap and can normally play well even at the twilight of their career. McKie is gone.3 - Sign at least one o-lineman in FA. Not a project but a proven vet that is considered in the top 3 available. Draft 1 to 2 more. Get rid of Pace and get road graters.

 

4 - Move Williams to LT. Lose Pace. Tell Omiyale he is competing for RT (Do not simply give him the job).

 

5 - Ogy gone. We do not have the luxury to give him big money and he is not that good to justify it.

 

6 - Vasher gone. I would much rather give reps to DJ Moore or Corey Graham.

 

7 - Bring back Turner. I know everyone is going to hate this but I think you will have a real hard time hiring a OC for 1 yr since I think next yr will be Lovie's last. I would rather keep consistency than have Cutler and the offense go through 3 coordinators in 3 yrs.

 

8 - Gaines Adams works with Rusty Jones all off season and puts on 10-15 pounds. He will compete with Anderson for starting LDE.

 

I did not mention changes in the coaching staff simply because I do not see it happening. However, you can dream...

 

Further - please get reps for Iglesias, Moore, Gilbert, and Toenai for the rest of the season.

 

Peace

 

 

Why not promote the Cal kid of the PS & give him some time?

[Connorbear]

Why not promote the Cal kid of the PS & give him some time?

I have no issues with that. We have a spot available (just IR Pisa).

 

Peace

[madlithuanian]

Good ideas...

 

 

 

Changes I would make for next yr:

 

1 - Olsen moves to WR. Let's face it, he cannot block and I don't want to see him try anymore. Thayer was saying Kellen Davis has improved. Keep working with him and draft another blocking TE.

 

2 - Draft a blocking FB or get the best one on the FA market. They come cheap and can normally play well even at the twilight of their career. McKie is gone.

 

3 - Sign at least one o-lineman in FA. Not a project but a proven vet that is considered in the top 3 available. Draft 1 to 2 more. Get rid of Pace and get road graters.

 

4 - Move Williams to LT. Lose Pace. Tell Omiyale he is competing for RT (Do not simply give him the job).

 

5 - Ogy gone. We do not have the luxury to give him big money and he is not that good to justify it.

 

6 - Vasher gone. I would much rather give reps to DJ Moore or Corey Graham.

 

7 - Bring back Turner. I know everyone is going to hate this but I think you will have a real hard time hiring a OC for 1 yr since I think next yr will be Lovie's last. I would rather keep consistency than have Cutler and the offense go through 3 coordinators in 3 yrs.

 

8 - Gaines Adams works with Rusty Jones all off season and puts on 10-15 pounds. He will compete with Anderson for starting LDE.

 

I did not mention changes in the coaching staff simply because I do not see it happening. However, you can dream...

 

Further - please get reps for Iglesias, Moore, Gilbert, and Toenai for the rest of the season.

 

Peace

 

[NAMEDSONPAYTON2]

Changes I would make for next yr:

 

1 - Olsen moves to WR. Let's face it, he cannot block and I don't want to see him try anymore. Thayer was saying Kellen Davis has improved. Keep working with him and draft another blocking TE.

 

2 - Draft a blocking FB or get the best one on the FA market. They come cheap and can normally play well even at the twilight of their career. McKie is gone.

 

3 - Sign at least one o-lineman in FA. Not a project but a proven vet that is considered in the top 3 available. Draft 1 to 2 more. Get rid of Pace and get road graters.

 

4 - Move Williams to LT. Lose Pace. Tell Omiyale he is competing for RT (Do not simply give him the job).

 

5 - Ogy gone. We do not have the luxury to give him big money and he is not that good to justify it.

 

6 - Vasher gone. I would much rather give reps to DJ Moore or Corey Graham.

 

7 - Bring back Turner. I know everyone is going to hate this but I think you will have a real hard time hiring a OC for 1 yr since I think next yr will be Lovie's last. I would rather keep consistency than have Cutler and the offense go through 3 coordinators in 3 yrs.

 

8 - Gaines Adams works with Rusty Jones all off season and puts on 10-15 pounds. He will compete with Anderson for starting LDE.

 

I did not mention changes in the coaching staff simply because I do not see it happening. However, you can dream...

 

Further - please get reps for Iglesias, Moore, Gilbert, and Toenai for the rest of the season.

 

Peace

Yah, everytime I see mckie on the field, I feel it is their 11 against our 10, he is useless.

[nfoligno]

Actually, he worked well last night. As a DECOY! He would block left, and Forte would then cut right:)

 

Basically, all McKie does is help the defense plug the hole. Even when our OL does open a small crack of a hole, McKie lead blocks and fills it.

 

Yah, everytime I see mckie on the field, I feel it is their 11 against our 10, he is useless.

 

[BearFan2000]

Yah, everytime I see mckie on the field, I feel it is their 11 against our 10, he is useless.

 

Every down already feels like 11 vs 4 or 5

[defiantgiant]

Some of my thoughts on your changes:

1 - Olsen moves to WR. Let's face it, he cannot block and I don't want to see him try anymore. Thayer was saying Kellen Davis has improved. Keep working with him and draft another blocking TE.

I don't think we should change Olsen's position, I think we just need to be honest about what he is. Turner keeps talking about how other teams will know what we're going to do if he doesn't keep Olsen in to block, but there are plenty of teams in the league that use a move TE or an H-back: look at Indianapolis and how they use Dallas Clark. I don't think I've ever seen that dude block, and he's very effective despite the fact that defenses know he's just a receiving TE.

2 - Draft a blocking FB or get the best one on the FA market. They come cheap and can normally play well even at the twilight of their career. McKie is gone.

I'd like to see us give Ta'ufo'ou a shot. He looks like the real deal as a blocking FB.

3 - Sign at least one o-lineman in FA. Not a project but a proven vet that is considered in the top 3 available. Draft 1 to 2 more. Get rid of Pace and get road graters.

Ordinarily, I would say yes, but I'm sick to death of Angelo bringing in free agent linemen instead of drafting at the position. That's the whole reason we have such a lack of talent at the position now: when you constantly bring in guys who only have a few years left, you're selling out your future. Unless some team lets a 25-year-old RT hit free agency, Angelo needs to start drafting o-line like everybody else.

4 - Move Williams to LT. Lose Pace. Tell Omiyale he is competing for RT (Do not simply give him the job).

Yeah, we need to stop playing guys out of position. Williams is a left tackle. Shaffer is a right tackle. Omiyale is a swingman/backup at both tackle spots, not a guard. We need to switch Williams to the left side, plug Shaffer in at right tackle, draft a right tackle to develop behind him, and restructure Omiyale's deal to something appropriate for a long-term backup.

7 - Bring back Turner. I know everyone is going to hate this but I think you will have a real hard time hiring a OC for 1 yr since I think next yr will be Lovie's last. I would rather keep consistency than have Cutler and the offense go through 3 coordinators in 3 yrs.

I agree with you 100%. Turner isn't the problem - he's not some offensive genius, but he's far from a bad coordinator. If we can fix the offensive line in the offseason, next year will be the first one where Turner's working with a starting-quality player at every position on the offense. I think he deserves a fair shot at success, and I hope he doesn't take the fall for this season.

8 - Gaines Adams works with Rusty Jones all off season and puts on 10-15 pounds. He will compete with Anderson for starting LDE.

Yeah, I'd like to see Adams bulk up: he looks like he could put on at least that much muscle. I wouldn't mind seeing him take Alex Brown's spot at right end, and have Brown move to the left side, since he's been surprisingly good against the run this season. Anderson, I think, should stay as a nickel rusher. We've all seen what happens when he has to play every down.

I did not mention changes in the coaching staff simply because I do not see it happening. However, you can dream...

If there's one coaching change I'd like to see, it's an aggressive, non-Tampa-2 defensive coordinator, a la Ron Rivera. Rivera learned under Jim Johnson before he came to the Bears, and we were definitely a better defense when he was on board. I'd like to see somebody else from the Johnson/Spagnuolo coaching tree brought in to work with Lovie on the defense. I think Lovie's done enough to keep his job as HC, but he clearly has too much on his plate trying to run the defense by himself.

[Bears4Ever_34]

Yeah, I don't think we need to move Olsen to WR. A better offensive line would hide his blocking deficiencies a little bit as well.

[jason]

I agree with you 100%. Turner isn't the problem - he's not some offensive genius, but he's far from a bad coordinator. If we can fix the offensive line in the offseason, next year will be the first one where Turner's working with a starting-quality player at every position on the offense. I think he deserves a fair shot at success, and I hope he doesn't take the fall for this season.

 

I agree with everything originally proposed, and everything you elaborated on, EXCEPT this. Sorry, but Turner is an unimaginative, borderline incompetent meat-and-potatoes OC who mismanages time and players while managing to completely ignore down, distance, and situation when making his play calls. He deserves SOME excuse leeway considering the OL, but his offense has been bad the entire time he's been here. Others have done more with much less, and this clown needs to be fired. The earlier the better.

[ParkerBear7]

If there's one coaching change I'd like to see, it's an aggressive, non-Tampa-2 defensive coordinator, a la Ron Rivera. Rivera learned under Jim Johnson before he came to the Bears, and we were definitely a better defense when he was on board. I'd like to see somebody else from the Johnson/Spagnuolo coaching tree brought in to work with Lovie on the defense. I think Lovie's done enough to keep his job as HC, but he clearly has too much on his plate trying to run the defense by himself.

 

 

I was thinking too bad Samurai Mike did not get a chance a few years ago to be the next head coach for the Bears, not the niners. I love his intensity from what I have read and observed on tv.

[defiantgiant]

Ordinarily, I would say yes, but I'm sick to death of Angelo bringing in free agent linemen instead of drafting at the position. That's the whole reason we have such a lack of talent at the position now: when you constantly bring in guys who only have a few years left, you're selling out your future. Unless some team lets a 25-year-old RT hit free agency, Angelo needs to start drafting o-line like everybody else.

 

Connorbear, your post got me thinking, and I went and took another look at the impending-free-agent linemen for 2010 (assuming that a new CBA gets done.) After looking it over, I might have to revise my statement a little: there are a surprising number of quality guys, many relatively young, who are about to hit the market. Obviously, Angelo needs to draft linemen in the future. But there are a number of potential FAs who could help us get out of this hole we're in right now.

 

Donald Penn and Jeremy Trueblood from the Bucs are both slated to be unrestricted free agents, and they're both young guys (at 26) which would make the pickup less of a long-term concern. Penn is playing on a one-year deal after he was an RFA last offseason. He's a very good left tackle, and has been a bright spot on a terrible Bucs team this season. I'd be very surprised if they didn't get a long-term deal done, or at least hit him with the franchise tag. However, that could mean that they have to give up Trueblood.

 

Trueblood is a huge guy (6'8", 320 lbs.) a beast of a run-blocker and at least average in pass protection, although he has been penalized some this season. Importantly, he's been a durable starter for the Bucs: Trueblood got the starting RT job in Week 4 of his rookie year, and he's started every game since. He's a Boston College guy (played with Beekman there,) which Angelo likes, and he's from Angelo's old organization. With the Bucs potentially having to choose between Penn and Trueblood, I could see this move getting done.

 

If we don't get Trueblood, there are definitely some other FAs who could be brought in. Both Harvey Dahl and Tyson Clabo (RG and RT for the Falcons, respectively) are going to hit free agency. They're older than I'd like at 28, but both guys are consistent, nasty, and do a great job in the run game. The Saints' RG, Jahri Evans, is slated to be a free agent, and he might be the best lineman on this list, but I'd be very, VERY surprised if New Orleans didn't at least franchise him. The Patriots could be letting their LG Logan Mankins hit FA, and he'd be worth a look, although he'll probably be costly.