Lovie Smith FIRED as HC

[DABEARSDABOMB]

I don't think he said he was relying on one stat to determine the success of a player. What he said was that sometimes it's hard to have an unbiased opinion on a guy that plays for the team you are managing, and having worked with some of the people down at STATS INC and Pro Football Focus, he was able to gather how some of those programmers view tape, and how they go about rating players based on facts and statistics. He trusts their statistics. That doesn't mean he doesn't evaluate the player himself.

 

He specifically mentioned the offensive line needs to get better, but at the same time pointing out that it's important to make sure you weigh these stats with how it impacts winning. The 49'ers are one of the best teams in football, yet they rank worse than the Bears did in terms of pass protection. He was using that as an example to cite that he doesn't feel like it's ALL about how an offensive line performs in that area that determines the outcome of football games.

 

I trust Phil Emery's opinion on Jamarcus Webb and Gabe Carimi a whole lot more than any of us. I happen to think Webb had a better year than most people want to give him credit for. I think he's an easy target and is seen as the scapegoat for the offenses inability to put up points. Emery also mentioned that drops and not utilizing Forte's ability to catch the ball played a huge part in that as well; pretty much took a shot at Mike Tice, and seemed angry just talking about it.

Agree with you on all counts. And for someone to say Louis was mediocre is laughable. The guy was an above average guard prior to the injury.

[ASHKUM BEAR]

i understand your feelings on this and although it IS too early to judge and in truth he didn't have the time or his scouts in place the reality is that he SHOULD have recognized the need on our OL as a top priority to protect our franchise player in cutler.

 

even IF every tackle on the board for 4 rounds was worse than webb (which i truly find impossible to believe) then a primo guard was the top priority EVEN in the first round and at the worst down to round 4. i will give him the #2 pick in a projected very good WR but even that pales to the reality of protecting your qb.

[/quote

I agree I would've taken DeCastro in round 1 and was pissed because I didn't see Shea as high as nfl gms did. Round two, I think he made the right move. Round 3, I think Hardin has athletic abilities and size that out of norm, he is a wait and see. I think of conte when thinking hardin. Round 4, well if he was to be used like Hernandez in NE, then it could turn out but Tice wasn't creative.

Emery thought the interior was fine with what we had last year, which can be argued. He had tackle as a top need in his interview along with pass rushing end and wide reciever. He took care of two last year, just not the most important. But look at what was available Rieff/Schwartz at tackle, and he thought Shea would have more of an impact.

[DABEARSDABOMB]

Riiight. Perception is reality for a lot of people. That's why most people aren't General Managers of NFL franchises.

 

Not everything can be measured with an eye test. Especially when it's coming from an eye of an someone that knows nothing about scouting or how to critique it correctly. Again, what Phil said is that he values everything on how it relates towards winning. The offensive line has to get better, but it is not the only reason for the offenses ineptitude. If it was all about pass protection, then there wouldn't be 3 teams rated worse than the Bears that are in the playoffs right now.

 

As for Jamarcus Webb and Carimi. I don't have the luxury of going to Pro football focus or STATS INC that can paint you a bigger picture on how a player is performing, but I do know that Webb only committed 6 penalties this year compared to 13 last year, and only allowed 9 sacks from 14 the year before. Gabe, I don't really have much good that I can say about him, based on the statistics available for free or what I saw on the field. I will differ to the real football aficionados on that one, of which I am not, and neither are you, no matter how great you think your eye is.

No other way to say it other then Gabe was awful. Worse tackle in football. Only thing you can hope as a fan is that this was due to him not being at full strength. He was just manhandled at the tackle position.

[rockren]

Riiight. Perception is reality for a lot of people. That's why most people aren't General Managers of NFL franchises.

 

Not everything can be measured with an eye test. Especially when it's coming from an eye of an someone that knows nothing about scouting or how to critique it correctly. Again, what Phil said is that he values everything on how it relates towards winning. The offensive line has to get better, but it is not the only reason for the offenses ineptitude. If it was all about pass protection, then there wouldn't be 3 teams rated worse than the Bears that are in the playoffs right now.

 

As for Jamarcus Webb and Carimi. I don't have the luxury of going to Pro football focus or STATS INC that can paint you a bigger picture on how a player is performing, but I do know that Webb only committed 6 penalties this year compared to 13 last year, and only allowed 9 sacks from 14 the year before. Gabe, I don't really have much good that I can say about him, based on the statistics available for free or what I saw on the field. I will differ to the real football aficionados on that one, of which I am not, and neither are you, no matter how great you think your eye is.

 

 

A lot of that has to do with Cutler being a bit of a jedi-ninja, though.

 

Seriously, this whole offensive line needs to be turned over in some way shape or form. Everytime 6 dropped back and planted his foot he didn't have the luxury of actually scanning the field, but running for his life. When Cut rarely did have time to scan the field....he was deadly.

[DABEARSDABOMB]

A lot of that has to do with Cutler being a bit of a jedi-ninja, though.

 

Seriously, this whole offensive line needs to be turned over in some way shape or form. Everytime 6 dropped back and planted his foot he didn't have the luxury of actually scanning the field, but running for his life. When Cut rarely did have time to scan the field....he was deadly.

Their will be changes to the oline. No doubt about that. But you can't replace 5 guys. My guess is we will see 2 new starters on the oline. You also have to hope that Carimi can get his shit together.

[balta1701-A]

Their will be changes to the oline. No doubt about that. But you can't replace 5 guys. My guess is we will see 2 new starters on the oline. You also have to hope that Carimi can get his shit together.

Louis if he's able to come back would help also. The question with Carimi is what position they'd try him at, whether they'll give up on him in pass blocking and put him at Guard to try to protect him in that.

[rockren]

Their will be changes to the oline. No doubt about that. But you can't replace 5 guys. My guess is we will see 2 new starters on the oline. You also have to hope that Carimi can get his shit together.

 

I hope they take a deep look at Long. I know there are a few posters here that aren't thrilled at the idea of Long, but my friends in Florida say Long just got sick of everything having to do with the Fish and that he's actually a Beast.

 

If Long is brought in to play LT and they maybe swung Ja Webb to RT while maybe attempting to develop Carimi at RG, keeping Garza at C and drafting a new LG to compete with Louis as he comes back may not be a terrible overall solution.

 

I would still prefer Webb to be a backup swing T as I believe that is what he is best suited for.

 

Just my .02.

[Lucky Luciano]

Riiight. Perception is reality for a lot of people. That's why most people aren't General Managers of NFL franchises.

 

just so i get this right... you have no idea how any professional athlete is playing or compares to other athletes in quality unless you hear it from a coach or GM? you have no idea what any professional teams needs are unless the owner, GM or coach tells you what they need? you believed everything lovie smith and jerry angelo stated to the media? is that correct?

 

Not everything can be measured with an eye test. Especially when it's coming from an eye of an someone that knows nothing about scouting or how to critique it correctly. Again, what Phil said is that he values everything on how it relates towards winning. The offensive line has to get better, but it is not the only reason for the offenses ineptitude. If it was all about pass protection, then there wouldn't be 3 teams rated worse than the Bears that are in the playoffs right now.

 

ok, if i see our TE davis drop 50 passes in a season and lovie smith tells me in a press conference he compares to the best TE's in the NFL i should believe him because he is an expert? do you? if lovie smith tells me rex grossman is our starting qb and is a top quality player that can win a superbowl for us i should have believed him? did/do you?

 

on another note i don't know anything about flying a 747 either but if a pilot drunk-on-his-ass tells me he can fly that day as good as if he was sober i should believe him and get on board because he is an expert?

 

As for Jamarcus Webb and Carimi. I don't have the luxury of going to Pro football focus or STATS INC that can paint you a bigger picture on how a player is performing, but I do know that Webb only committed 6 penalties this year compared to 13 last year, and only allowed 9 sacks from 14 the year before. Gabe, I don't really have much good that I can say about him, based on the statistics available for free or what I saw on the field. I will differ to the real football aficionados on that one, of which I am not, and neither are you, no matter how great you think your eye is.

 

in other words seeing webb miss about 100 blocks and nearly get cutler killed over the last 2-3 years isn't a big enough picture for you to determine if he is good or bad unless emery or angelo told you that he was bad?

 

dude, statistics are a useful tool to coinside with many other useful tools in making analysis. but the litmus test is seeing with your own eyes. and if you don't believe what you see and just believe what someone tells you you saw, no matter WHO it is, that is concerning.

 

[rockren]

just so i get this right... you have no idea how any professional athlete is playing or compares to other athletes in quality unless you hear it from a coach or GM? you have no idea what any professional teams needs are unless the owner, GM or coach tells you what they need? you believed everything lovie smith and jerry angelo stated to the media? is that correct?

 

 

 

ok, if i see our TE davis drop 50 passes in a season and lovie smith tells me in a press conference he compares to the best TE's in the NFL i should believe him because he is an expert? do you? if lovie smith tells me rex grossman is our starting qb and is a top quality player that can win a superbowl for us i should have believed him? did/do you?

 

on another note i don't know anything about flying a 747 either but if a pilot drunk-on-his-ass tells me he can fly that day as good as if he was sober i should believe him and get on board because he is an expert?

 

 

 

in other words seeing webb miss about 100 blocks and nearly get cutler killed over the last 2-3 years isn't a big enough picture for you to determine if he is good or bad unless emery or angelo told you that he was bad?

 

dude, statistics are a useful tool to coinside with many other useful tools in making analysis. but the litmus test is seeing with your own eyes. and if you don't believe what you see and just believe what someone tells you you saw, no matter WHO it is, that is concerning.

 

 

Eh- can we end this argument? All he said indirectly is that we shouldn't pretend to know more than scouts. He's right.

[Grouchy Bear]

My God, you are alive,

 

Great to see you post! miss hearing from you.

 

Been very busy with my internet marketing trying to stay afloat. Have not had much time to post but come to the site daily to get caught up on my Bears' news.

 

 

 

Pix, How in the hell have you been ? I posted in the water cooler of how I miss most of the guys who were with us at Bearstalk . God bless my friend !

 

P.S. Whew I thought was the only elder left here to remember the days of watching Sayers n Butkus.

[balta1701-A]

Of course...the other reason he might defend the guys on his current line is so that if he is calling a lineman at 12:01 on the day free agency starts, maybe another GM doesn't make the same call to try to beat him to the punch.

[rockren]

Of course...the other reason he might defend the guys on his current line is so that if he is calling a lineman at 12:01 on the day free agency starts, maybe another GM doesn't make the same call to try to beat him to the punch.

 

If he's waiting until 12:01am to call an OL he's waiting too long.

 

The NFL would have had a cow if they knew what the Bears did talking to Peppers agent at the combine the way they did a few years back. We need to tamper and not get caught....you know this.

[Lucky Luciano]

Of course...the other reason he might defend the guys on his current line is so that if he is calling a lineman at 12:01 on the day free agency starts, maybe another GM doesn't make the same call to try to beat him to the punch.

 

dude... that i could live with. but the detail he put into it didn't sound that way.

 

here's to hoping you are right.

 

salut'

[Lucky Luciano]

Eh- can we end this argument? All he said indirectly is that we shouldn't pretend to know more than scouts. He's right.

 

i'm not pretending anything. if you want to exclusively believe what any 'expert' tells you over what you have seen with your own eyes then more power to you.

[Bears4Ever_34]

I went back and watched the bit on the offensive line discussion again. It seems as though you either didn't listen to the press conference, or you are simply interpreting his message in the wrong way.

 

- Said he needed to take emotion out of it, and remove himself a bit because he's a fan too.

 

- Needed an unbiased eye, which is why he went to Pro Football Focus and STATS INC

 

- Said sometimes the toughest thing to do is to evaluate your own team, because of the emotions involved.

 

- He asked himself, "How can I look at this in an objective way," but still specifically mentioned that they paid attention to their own scouting and coaches grades.

 

- STATS INC reports facts and statistics in a very moneyball way

 

- Mentioned the Bears ranked 26th in pass protection, but wanted to see how that impacted winning, where he then took a look at total disruption % based on every pass attempted. Then asked himself if those numbers meant they had to get better as an OL and is it the sole reason for impacting winning?

 

- Said the 49'ers ranked 25th with a difference of like .10 %, so he can't absolutely say that it's ALL on the offensive line that determined our success or not.

 

- He then looked at different areas; at % of drops. Bears were 22nd. Below the Bears were 6 playoff teams.

 

- Then said the OL has to get better because they can't be in the 20's to be a championship contending team on a consistent basis.

 

- Says sacks and drops are a factor but not the ULTIMATE determining factor. He thinks it comes down to # of playmakers you have compared to the team you are playing.

 

-Then goes and takes us back to the process; evaluated team needs, #1 need was to build around Jay. He needed weapons. Also a complimentary pass rusher, and to get better on the offensive line. Then it becomes a matter of seeing whether those resources are there in the draft and UFA market.

 

- Got his weapon in Brandon Marshall

 

- Looked at the UFA market for offensive tackles.. asked himself "How do I look at that objectively?"

 

- Said they did go after a couple FA OT's, but the 3 best didn't play ball this year. 2 were medical, the other retired (Didn't mention who they were). He was pleased with Scott's performance, giving up zero sacks in 6 starts. Scott was ranked 2nd best on their list of available tackles. Locklear from New York was #1.

 

- Looked at guys that played atleast 33% of team's reps in UFA market that didn't sign back with original team.

 

- Said it's very difficult for a team to give up Offensive Lineman if they have one, and last year there wasn't any Franchise LT's that existed.

 

- In the 2nd round they thought they needed a 2nd receiver that could compliment Marshall, but still looked at some guys who's names I can't spell (Kaleechy, Asomele?) and Mike Adams. They weren't going to give up half their team for Khalil. The only other RT that was taken ahead of them was Schwartz, who went to CLE at 37. He said two tackles were their greatest need on the offensive line.

 

- Asked himself if there was going to be any of the other available tackles that was going to be better than any of the young ones he had already (Webb Carimi). He tried to take the bias out of it and saw there were no LT's available that graded out better than Webb. Only one RT came out better than Gabe, but wasn't by that significant of margin so they decided to go after the play maker in Alshon.

 

 

 

I'm not sure how one could be so upset from these comments. He clearly laid out the reasons for why he did what he did, and why the notions of him not looking to fix the offensive line last year were untrue. He did not proclaim Jamarcus Webb or Gabe Carimi as the next great tackle tandem in NFL history. Hell, he went on for 10 minutes talking about how he was basically trying to find their replacements. You can pretend to believe what you want. That's not what was said. They looked at all options that were available to them in free agency and the draft and determined that most of it was crap.

 

There's a better tackle market this year in free agency, and another opportunity in this year's draft. Not everything can be done overnight, which was exactly his point, in case you couldn't figure that out by now.

[Lucky Luciano]

I went back and watched the bit on the offensive line discussion again. It seems as though you either didn't listen to the press conference, or you are simply interpreting his message in the wrong way.

 

- Said he needed to take emotion out of it, and remove himself a bit because he's a fan too.

 

- Needed an unbiased eye, which is why he went to Pro Football Focus and STATS INC

 

- Said sometimes the toughest thing to do is to evaluate your own team, because of the emotions involved.

 

- He asked himself, "How can I look at this in an objective way," but still specifically mentioned that they paid attention to their own scouting and coaches grades.

 

- STATS INC reports facts and statistics in a very moneyball way

 

i did listen to the press conference and maybe i am interpreting it the wrong way but this is what i have taken umbradge with:

 

that he implied he couldn't be objective because he is close to this team or is a fan so obviously wasn't able to evaluate the results. that he would have to rely on an outside firm to confirm in his mind that there were real problems with this offensive line.

 

to me this is his job. that is what he gets paid to do. to detach himself from personal feeling to evaluate the real talent level of this franchise and react accordingly. it was stupid to say something like this.

 

with that said, a press conference this time of year could be just smoke, mirrors or misdirection, i get that. but trying to justify not drafting offensive linemen last year to me was ludicrous. the entire world knew this was a bad OL at last seasons end and most 5 YEARS before this. our QB was beaten to a pulp and our running game was seriously bad. even with a poor FA market for offensive linemen he SHOULD have realized the situation and improved it in the draft.

 

it's true that carimi was still an unknown and replacement was not a viable option in the first 3 rounds without more information. that does not excuse webb at LT even with no options in free agency. add to that IF there was no options better than webb in the draft at LT (which i seriously question) the smart GM's move was to draft a very high prospect, impact guard or even center. this would have been instant improvement throughout the line to protect the only franchise player on this entire team.

 

if they drafted a guard he is of the quality (even as a rookie) better than every guard on our roster by default (yes including louis). if he drafts a center we improve two spots on this nightmare. we place garza back at a position he came to chicago to play - LG.

 

i hear people saying "well, we can't replace all five linemen in one year". that is probably correct. so why in the hell would you NOT at least start revamping the weakest and most important positions on your team last season? this is the exact mindset that jerry angelo applied for 10 years and we are now reaping that whirlwind.

 

 

 

Mentioned the Bears ranked 26th in pass protection, but wanted to see how that impacted winning, where he then took a look at total disruption % based on every pass attempted. Then asked himself if those numbers meant they had to get better as an OL and is it the sole reason for impacting winning?

 

- Said the 49'ers ranked 25th with a difference of like .10 %, so he can't absolutely say that it's ALL on the offensive line that determined our success or not.

- He then looked at different areas; at % of drops. Bears were 22nd. Below the Bears were 6 playoff teams.

 

again i take umbrage: he SHOULD be able to understand and see where the problems are without any assistance. he is a former scout for god's sake. he was paid then to evaluate exactly what he saw on the field and on game film. his comparison to the 9ers is just plain stupid and should never have been made. if this guy is worth jack s&!% he should KNOW that any of these other items like dropped passes etc. are NOT viable if you are evaluating linemen.

 

YES if you are evaluating your receiving corp AND/OR your quarterback it's important but how can that possibly be pertinent as to how long a lineman can hold a block or even MAKE one? it's just silly and talking down to us like idiots.

 

- Says sacks and drops are a factor but not the ULTIMATE determining factor. He thinks it comes down to # of playmakers you have compared to the team you are playing.

-Then goes and takes us back to the process; evaluated team needs, #1 need was to build around Jay. He needed weapons. Also a complimentary pass rusher, and to get better on the offensive line. Then it becomes a matter of seeing whether those resources are there in the draft and UFA market.

 

- Got his weapon in Brandon Marshall

 

- Looked at the UFA market for offensive tackles.. asked himself "How do I look at that objectively?"

 

- Said they did go after a couple FA OT's, but the 3 best didn't play ball this year. 2 were medical, the other retired (Didn't mention who they were). He was pleased with Scott's performance, giving up zero sacks in 6 starts. Scott was ranked 2nd best on their list of available tackles. Locklear from New York was #1.

 

- Looked at guys that played atleast 33% of team's reps in UFA market that didn't sign back with original team.

 

- Said it's very difficult for a team to give up Offensive Lineman if they have one, and last year there wasn't any Franchise LT's that existed.

 

isn't this an oxymoron? again, this is the angelo mindset. a priority on playmakers. although playmakers are a factor you can not ignore your lines or you will forever end up like what you have seen from this franchise for years. it took us since kramer to even field a qb of quality that could win it all on his hook and yet we do nothing to preserve his health or career since he has been here.

 

of course it's difficult to find offensive linemen in FA. you have to draft them. there is no other way in this day of salary cap you can afford more than one primo FA lineman. how can he justify not doing so?

 

 

 

- In the 2nd round they thought they needed a 2nd receiver that could compliment Marshall, but still looked at some guys who's names I can't spell (Kaleechy, Asomele?) and Mike Adams. They weren't going to give up half their team for Khalil. The only other RT that was taken ahead of them was Schwartz, who went to CLE at 37. He said two tackles were their greatest need on the offensive line.

 

- Asked himself if there was going to be any of the other available tackles that was going to be better than any of the young ones he had already (Webb Carimi). He tried to take the bias out of it and saw there were no LT's available that graded out better than Webb. Only one RT came out better than Gabe, but wasn't by that significant of margin so they decided to go after the play maker in Alshon.

 

first of all, RT was not even a draft need THEN with our previous first round RT just coming off injury. it was LT or interior linemen!!!

 

I'm not sure how one could be so upset from these comments. He clearly laid out the reasons for why he did what he did, and why the notions of him not looking to fix the offensive line last year were untrue. He did not proclaim Jamarcus Webb or Gabe Carimi as the next great tackle tandem in NFL history. Hell, he went on for 10 minutes talking about how he was basically trying to find their replacements. You can pretend to believe what you want. That's not what was said. They looked at all options that were available to them in free agency and the draft and determined that most of it was crap.

 

There's a better tackle market this year in free agency, and another opportunity in this year's draft. Not everything can be done overnight, which was exactly his point, in case you couldn't figure that out by now.

 

like i said previously i know a lot of this is BS before we hit free agency and the draft and that DOESN'T bother me as long as it is BS. the real problem i had was his identification of our needs before we drafted last year and his insistence, whether crap or not is to be determined, of the same pitfalls he made last year this year also.

 

and finally, i'm not trying to wrack you or break your balls on this but even you are saying "everything can't be done overnight". i realize that and that is why it should have started LAST year to correct a position that usually takes a year to three to see top notch results. i at least have figured that part out. hopefully he has too.

[Bears4Ever_34]

Why would you draft an offensive lineman you feel that isn't any better than the ones you currently have now? You don't just draft a position because it's one of your needs. If the right guy isn't there, you don't waste a pick on someone you aren't sold on. That would be the absolute wrong move to make.

 

Last thing, before I end this pointless argument, because it's clear one of us is having trouble understanding the message here. Emery sounds like a man that knows what he's doing. He will ultimately be judged by how well he is able to draft, and whether it translates into winning a lot of football games over the next couple of years. If you disagree with his methodology behind the decisions he makes, that's up to you. I was strongly encouraged by what was said this morning, and I would hope most Bear's fans would be too, based on the wealth of information that he so eloquently laid out there. I have no reason to believe there won't be some pretty significant moves made this offseason to improve all the areas that we seem to be lacking in. If we know one thing after today, we should know that it wasn't for a lack of trying.

[Lucky Luciano]

Why would you draft an offensive lineman you feel that isn't any better than the ones you currently have now? You don't just draft a position because it's one of your needs. If the right guy isn't there, you don't waste a pick on someone you aren't sold on. That would be the absolute wrong move to make.

 

i agree with your statement. i am not specifically talking about a LT but i really can't imagine one with less talent in rounds 1-4 than webb wasn't available.

 

but is it even possible a quality first round pick guard or even a 2nd round pick guard isn't seriously better than anything we have? even a real killer first round all-world center aka like pouncy in pitt would be well worth the pick whether 1st - 4th round. that was the pick if a REAL left tackle prospect wasn't there.

 

Last thing, before I end this pointless argument, because it's clear one of us is having trouble understanding the message here. Emery sounds like a man that knows what he's doing. He will ultimately be judged by how well he is able to draft, and whether it translates into winning a lot of football games over the next couple of years. If you disagree with his methodology behind the decisions he makes, that's up to you. I was strongly encouraged by what was said this morning, and I would hope most Bear's fans would be too, based on the wealth of information that he so eloquently laid out there. I have no reason to believe there won't be some pretty significant moves made this offseason to improve all the areas that we seem to be lacking in. If we know one thing after today, we should know that it wasn't for a lack of trying.

 

i am NOT anti emery at this point. i too liked a lot of what he said and his demeanor. i like the fact he ended lovie's contract right away instead of dragging it out like in the past. i am just commenting on some red flags that need to be watched to be sure we don't end up with another mike mccaskey/angelo scenario.

[madlithuanian]

I think that's it. Emery doesnt want to really show his hand. Based on that, I'd think we may be a lock to be a 3-4 D... Put the hunting dogs on a different scent...

 

dude... that i could live with. but the detail he put into it didn't sound that way.

 

here's to hoping you are right.

 

salut'

 

[jason]

i agree with your statement. i am not specifically talking about a LT but i really can't imagine one with less talent in rounds 1-4 than webb wasn't available.

 

If he honestly thought nobody graded out or would do better than Webb, then I seriously question not only his evaluation ability, but also his eyesight.

 

It's gotta be all smoke and mirrors. Webb has graded out as one of the worst starting OL of the last few years.

 

 

[selection7]

If he honestly thought nobody graded out or would do better than Webb, then I seriously question not only his evaluation ability, but also his eyesight.

 

It's gotta be all smoke and mirrors. Webb has graded out as one of the worst starting OL of the last few years.

According to Emery, using the stats website he used for evaulation, you can check it yourself. He said no player drafted from our second round pick down graded out better than Jamarcus after these last 16 games worth of play. And only one graded out ever so slightly better than Carimi. I'm too lazy to check myself but I'd be curious to read about someone else fact checking him.

[jason]

According to Emery, using the stats website he used for evaulation, you can check it yourself. He said no player drafted from our second round pick down graded out better than Jamarcus after these last 16 games worth of play. And only one graded out ever so slightly better than Carimi. I'm too lazy to check myself but I'd be curious to read about someone else fact checking him.

 

Hopefully those are not the only numbers he is using to evaluate (I doubt he is), because I suspect some seriously flawed data. It's the old "stats lie" thing.

 

Of course, it could be in the words...

 

Did he say no player from OUR second round pick down graded better than Jamarcus? If so, then that's easy. SMC, Rodriguez, Alshon, Hardin, Frey, McCoy...all had disappointing years. But if he's talking about ANY player from ANY team from the second round down, those stats are full of shit.

[Pixote]

He said basically that the players (OTs) who remained of the board at the time we traded up to get Jefferies did not prove to grade out better as OTs than Webb & Carimi this year. There was one he said graded out a "little bit" higher. This, IMO, was not an endorsement of our OTs, just trying to excplain the decision to go Jefferies instead of OL.

 

I went back and listened again to the portion of the news conference that Emery held discussing the offense, the OL, the reason we went with Jefferies instead of OT in the second round, etc... It is my favorite part of the one hour conference held on Tuesday. Emery, IMO, showed such knowledge in the 18 minute segment that I was blown away in the detail and rationale of his moves last year in the off season. This guy has his eyes wide open!

 

He fully understand and acknowledges our need to:

 

Improve out OL

Get more play makers to help our offensive production, especially in "mid field".

Better utilize Matt Forte

 

If you have not listened to this segment, here is the link to the part of the news conference I am referring to:

 

http://www.chicagobears.com/multimedia/vid...8a-b6e76f7a5337

 

Please take time to listen to it if you have not already. I think this speaks volumes as to why we seem to be targeting HCs prospects with offensive backgrounds. I think this is going to be a very interesting off season for us who wants to see us become a better offensive team while holding our own on defense and special teams.

 

 

[DABEARSDABOMB]

You can cross Ron Turner off the list. He took a job to be the head coach of Florida Atlantic. Was working with Josh Freeman in Tampa previously.

[rockren]

You can cross Ron Turner off the list. He took a job to be the head coach of Florida Atlantic. Was working with Josh Freeman in Tampa previously.

 

Oh my- Ron pulling his name out of the hat early.