I might be okay with this

[jason]

At least as of right now, I may be the sole person holding Smith and JA as big problem that can't be overcome.

 

I refuse to drink Kool Aid right now. Even a watered down glass.

 

I may relent later depending on how things play out. But, all this is fantasyland speculation until the actual hires occur.

 

I'm in the same camp, MadLith. I've had it with these guys, especially Lovie. And I'm sure we'll be even sicker if the guys who come in as replacements all have ties to old Lovie Smith days.

['TD']

I'm in the same camp, MadLith. I've had it with these guys, especially Lovie. And I'm sure we'll be even sicker if the guys who come in as replacements all have ties to old Lovie Smith days.

Here's the main thing I can't get past. Minus Brian Urlacher, we saw the absolute ceiling of what this roster can do with the Lovie 2. This is Lovies scheme and by gah, he ain't a changin'.

 

This year was the triple distilled version of the Lovie 2. It just doesn't get any more pure.

 

The way I look at it Rivera was the first distillation. It was the Lovie 2 but it had a lot, and I mean a lot of impurities. This was his first experience with the system. The second distillation would obviously be Bablich. Now we have alot less impurities. He's a Lovie 2 guy through and through and his defense stunk so bad that he got demoted. Well this year we got to see the Lovie 2 in its purest form and it was god awful.

 

There is only one one thing we can hope for as fans this year. We need to hope for a coach that can actually coach. One that can prepare the players better and motivate them. The kind of a guy that finds a way to get all he can out of them. There's not much they will be able to do come game day for his hands will be tied in the Lovie 2. If they can find that guy, maybe we can hope for a little better than the Bablich version but I don't think it can come near the Rivera version.

[lemonej]

Well everyone after enduring the likes of Halas(at the end),Jim Dooley,who led us to a one win season,Abe Gibron,Jack Pardee,Neil Armstrong,Mike Ditka(Thank God),Dave Wannstedt,Dick Jauron and now Lovie,I have taken a wait and see approach. Of the list of coaches I have watched in my lifetime minus Halas and Ditka, Lovie has coached more playoff games than all the others combined. Yes I know that is like saying your the tallest midget but he is actually third in team history in wins.Six of the eight previous coaches had atleast one or 2 HOF players on their roster with Ditka having a windfall of 3 and possibly 4 or 5(If Dent and Covert get in).Currently there is one maybe two possible HOF players on the roster(Urlacher and Briggs).I don't care who is coaching you need talent and this roster is lacking in that. So in that regard Lovie has done just okay by staying above 500.

 

Now when it comes to Lovie the reason why I wanted him gone is because of these things:

1) Stubborness-His insistence on sticking with his base defense win or lose drives me nuts. Look at Mike Tomlin, the defense he ran as the Vikings DC was the Cover 2 but he has excepted Dick LaBeau and his blitzing 3-4 and won a SB with it. Its also obvious his preference for smaller DL and OL has a big effect on the lack of success running the ball and stopping the run. If you are spewing out a catch phrase"We get off the Bus running" then put some meat on the line and let them pound on the opponents.

 

2) Game management- Too many times timeouts are used because of plays not getting in on time or Lovie's terrible approach to Play Challenges.He rarely wins any of them. Knowing when to call time outs to conserve time during a 2 minute drill is another big flaw in his coaching. The only guy I saw worst is one of the OC candidates Mike Martz. Imagine those two bufoons trying to manage the clock.

 

3) Changing Players Positions- This may be one of the biggest flaws of his tenure. 2 Wrs started out as DB/KRs,the starting LG never played the position before,the RT was drafted as a LT,one of your DBs is a SS,FS,CB,Nickel and KR either he is stupid(Thats what I think) or confused. Your GM drafts a DE and you play him at DT. You have a TE that is not the best blocker in the world so lets line him up at H-back and make him a lead blocker on some run plays.You draft a raw DE and what do I see at TC ? This DE standing back on a kick return unit instead of polishing up his pass rush moves. This constant changing of positions and making all backups learn more than one position I believe only creates more confusion when the players actually get on the field. Corey Graham's regression this year is a direct result of his being switched in OTAs.

 

I was not surprised that he was retained because the McCaskeys' don't eat contracts plain and simple and the most sickening thing about that fluff press conference was that the 3 stooges were patting themselves on the back saying they got it all figured out when we all know that the reason that this team is in a shambles is because all 3 of them are out of position. Lovie HC -LB coach, JA GM -Scout and Teddy Pres- Accountant and contract negotiator.

 

 

 

 

[nfoligno]

Honestly, we all get hung up on the scheme, as do I. The scheme is part of it, but as often is said, we only run the cover 2 30% (or whatever) of the time. We can go back and forth about the scheme, but I think the biggest issue is the playcalling.

 

We run several schemes. Sure, the cover two, or I would add simply soft coverage schemes, are the most used, but I have seen us run many. I have seen our corners at times press. We have play a safety in the box, or even dropped a DE into coverage.

 

Our problem is playcalling. Simply put, Rivera was a better playcaller than Babich or Lovie. That doesn't mean Rivera was perfect, but better. Also, as much as we talk about how predictable Turner was, I think Lovie was more so. Teams knew from watching tape that when they were forced into 3rd and long, we would run X (usually a very soft cover two) and thus teams could call a play to beat that. Rivera mixed it up more, and thus it wasn't so easy for an OC to know what to call.

 

That is a big reason why I think that we can still be decent/good on defense, even w/ Lovie. That doesn't mean I want Lovie around, but just that I think if we had a good playcalling DC, it can happen. Further, unlike w/ Lovie, a DC like Fewell who holds players accountable would be a nice change.

 

Here's the main thing I can't get past. Minus Brian Urlacher, we saw the absolute ceiling of what this roster can do with the Lovie 2. This is Lovies scheme and by gah, he ain't a changin'.

 

This year was the triple distilled version of the Lovie 2. It just doesn't get any more pure.

 

The way I look at it Rivera was the first distillation. It was the Lovie 2 but it had a lot, and I mean a lot of impurities. This was his first experience with the system. The second distillation would obviously be Bablich. Now we have alot less impurities. He's a Lovie 2 guy through and through and his defense stunk so bad that he got demoted. Well this year we got to see the Lovie 2 in its purest form and it was god awful.

 

There is only one one thing we can hope for as fans this year. We need to hope for a coach that can actually coach. One that can prepare the players better and motivate them. The kind of a guy that finds a way to get all he can out of them. There's not much they will be able to do come game day for his hands will be tied in the Lovie 2. If they can find that guy, maybe we can hope for a little better than the Bablich version but I don't think it can come near the Rivera version.

 

[madlithuanian]

I hear ya...

 

The only advantage of brining in the cronies...is that it could expedite departures.

 

I'm in the same camp, MadLith. I've had it with these guys, especially Lovie. And I'm sure we'll be even sicker if the guys who come in as replacements all have ties to old Lovie Smith days.

 

[madlithuanian]

Thanks for the good perspective!

 

Well everyone after enduring the likes of Halas(at the end),Jim Dooley,who led us to a one win season,Abe Gibron,Jack Pardee,Neil Armstrong,Mike Ditka(Thank God),Dave Wannstedt,Dick Jauron and now Lovie,I have taken a wait and see approach. Of the list of coaches I have watched in my lifetime minus Halas and Ditka, Lovie has coached more playoff games than all the others combined. Yes I know that is like saying your the tallest midget but he is actually third in team history in wins.Six of the eight previous coaches had atleast one or 2 HOF players on their roster with Ditka having a windfall of 3 and possibly 4 or 5(If Dent and Covert get in).Currently there is one maybe two possible HOF players on the roster(Urlacher and Briggs).I don't care who is coaching you need talent and this roster is lacking in that. So in that regard Lovie has done just okay by staying above 500.

 

Now when it comes to Lovie the reason why I wanted him gone is because of these things:

1) Stubborness-His insistence on sticking with his base defense win or lose drives me nuts. Look at Mike Tomlin, the defense he ran as the Vikings DC was the Cover 2 but he has excepted Dick LaBeau and his blitzing 3-4 and won a SB with it. Its also obvious his preference for smaller DL and OL has a big effect on the lack of success running the ball and stopping the run. If you are spewing out a catch phrase"We get off the Bus running" then put some meat on the line and let them pound on the opponents.

 

2) Game management- Too many times timeouts are used because of plays not getting in on time or Lovie's terrible approach to Play Challenges.He rarely wins any of them. Knowing when to call time outs to conserve time during a 2 minute drill is another big flaw in his coaching. The only guy I saw worst is one of the OC candidates Mike Martz. Imagine those two bufoons trying to manage the clock.

 

3) Changing Players Positions- This may be one of the biggest flaws of his tenure. 2 Wrs started out as DB/KRs,the starting LG never played the position before,the RT was drafted as a LT,one of your DBs is a SS,FS,CB,Nickel and KR either he is stupid(Thats what I think) or confused. Your GM drafts a DE and you play him at DT. You have a TE that is not the best blocker in the world so lets line him up at H-back and make him a lead blocker on some run plays.You draft a raw DE and what do I see at TC ? This DE standing back on a kick return unit instead of polishing up his pass rush moves. This constant changing of positions and making all backups learn more than one position I believe only creates more confusion when the players actually get on the field. Corey Graham's regression this year is a direct result of his being switched in OTAs.

 

I was not surprised that he was retained because the McCaskeys' don't eat contracts plain and simple and the most sickening thing about that fluff press conference was that the 3 stooges were patting themselves on the back saying they got it all figured out when we all know that the reason that this team is in a shambles is because all 3 of them are out of position. Lovie HC -LB coach, JA GM -Scout and Teddy Pres- Accountant and contract negotiator.

 

[azbearsfan]

"Further, unlike w/ Lovie, a DC like Fewell who holds players accountable would be a nice change. "

 

 

This has been my number one issue from the start.

 

Hopefully, if they get Fewell, the players will stop being ok with mediocre play.

[madlithuanian]

I like it in theory. But unfortunately, it's just thoery right now. Until we see a venture from Smith's Smith-y-ness, I can't truly think that Fewell will make a huge difference.

 

But, as far as a guy we could realistically get...I don't mind the choice of him.

 

But, I also have alterior motives!

 

 

 

 

"Further, unlike w/ Lovie, a DC like Fewell who holds players accountable would be a nice change. "

 

 

This has been my number one issue from the start.

 

Hopefully, if they get Fewell, the players will stop being ok with mediocre play.

 

[bowlingtwig]

I like it in theory. But unfortunately, it's just thoery right now. Until we see a venture from Smith's Smith-y-ness, I can't truly think that Fewell will make a huge difference.

 

But, as far as a guy we could realistically get...I don't mind the choice of him.

 

But, I also have alterior motives!

Fewell is the guy that I want because we are sticking with the Cover 2 and Fewell has experience with the Cover 2 both here in Chicago and even outside of here as well. I am pissed that Lovie is determined to live and die with it. If he was willing to change schemes I don't know who I would want and I don't think I would want Fewell as I would like to change schemes all together.