Lovie Smith

sportstalent said:
The Chicago GM said today, or maybe late yesterday that Lovie was fired because of the Offense and inability to get to the playoffs consistently. Two questions: 1. How long has the GM been there and 2. Isn't it his job to get players that are competent?

In the NFL today, it is rare to get to the playoffs consistently, Chicago getting there in the pattern they have is pretty much the norm. You have exceptions like New England who seem to have been there every year and the Colts when Manning was there. Those two teams have franchise QB's and average defenses, oh yeah, throw GB into that category as well.

The Bears have a good defense, but not a franchise QB, scream at me all you want about how great Cutler is, but there the two QB's mentioned above have had OL's similar to the Bears this season and have still made the playoffs. They haven't lasted long in the playoffs with that situation, but still got there and the defenses they had were far worse than the Bears.

Reiteration of this is a bad firing on the Bears part and that personnel moves haven't exactly been great with Chicago of late, especially on offense. You can argue that Cutler, Marshall, Forte are good players, not disputing that, but the game is one in the trenches and teams that ignore it fail. Look at Dallas, their OL is bad and Romo is not a franchise type QB, he has been the same player when he has had 3 pro bowlers on the line to zero pro bowlers on the line, a QB that can't get it done when it matters. There are numerous QB's like this in the league, Cutler, Romo, Flacco, Ryan just to name a few. In time, we will see how they all turn out. My best example of QB's carrying a team, look no further than Kurt Warner as well, where the Cardinals/Rams were before he got there and where they were when he was there and now after he is gone. The OL's on those teams weren't decorated with high profile OL players as well, but they weren't awful. Point to the weapons he had, look at the others listed, they don't have Marshall Faulk, but who did the Cardinals have at RB? Rams/Cardinals defense is a lot like the Bears, not great, but could get turnovers. Bears defense was great when they went to the Super Bowl, but is nowhere close to that today.

The thought that teams can win with an average QB is a rarity, just because the Ravens won with Trent Dilfer doesn't prove anything other than just how good a defense the Ravens had to win the Super Bowl with Dilfer as a QB.
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GM just completed his first year. That also plays into why Lovie was fired. I am sure Emery as a new GM wants to get "his own" coach in there.
 
I know Angelo got run about a year ago, but that dude was the biggest source of issues for the Bears. He way overpaid for some guys on defense and gave Hester top WR money. Teams that consistently have good front offices (Pittsburgh, NE, Indy, etc.) aren't immune from bad years especially when they have injuries or a ton of turnover, but you rarely see them saddled with the salary cap eating talent depleting contracts the Bears gave out and you rarely see them miss really badly in the early to middle rounds of the draft. Angelo failed at all of the things the good front offices do well and Lovie had to deal with it.

In the NFL, it is a lot easier for a decent coach to look like a genius when he's got talent and for a guy who looked like a decent coach to look terrible when he has no talent. Norv Turner was absolutely brilliant with the Cowboys, but has brought a house of pain everywhere else he went. Jimmy Johnson would have won nothing had he been in Detroit in the 90's. There are many examples like this. Good front office = good team. The Bears fell in love with guys coming off of their first contract, you never see good front offices doing that (other than at QB) because they know that the average dude in the NFL is only going to be good for maybe a year or two after his first contract but that guy will want a giant signing bonus (that will count against the cap for many years) and a long term deal in that second contract. Once you play that game, you're toast.
 
busabus114 said:
LOL Bears fans.

So you want Cutler gone? Please provide his replacement that would be better......exactly

And good luck drafting a rookie QB to do the job with that o line.
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Dude, the Bears have a proud history of drafting stellar QBs in the first round.
 
okeefe4prez said:
I know Angelo got run about a year ago, but that dude was the biggest source of issues for the Bears. He way overpaid for some guys on defense and gave Hester top WR money. Teams that consistently have good front offices (Pittsburgh, NE, Indy, etc.) aren't immune from bad years especially when they have injuries or a ton of turnover, but you rarely see them saddled with the salary cap eating talent depleting contracts the Bears gave out and you rarely see them miss really badly in the early to middle rounds of the draft. Angelo failed at all of the things the good front offices do well and Lovie had to deal with it.

In the NFL, it is a lot easier for a decent coach to look like a genius when he's got talent and for a guy who looked like a decent coach to look terrible when he has no talent. Norv Turner was absolutely brilliant with the Cowboys, but has brought a house of pain everywhere else he went. Jimmy Johnson would have won nothing had he been in Detroit in the 90's. There are many examples like this. Good front office = good team. The Bears fell in love with guys coming off of their first contract, you never see good front offices doing that (other than at QB) because they know that the average dude in the NFL is only going to be good for maybe a year or two after his first contract but that guy will want a giant signing bonus (that will count against the cap for many years) and a long term deal in that second contract. Once you play that game, you're toast.
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Great post and I could not agree more. The player personnel decisions fall on the GM and Angelo made some horrible draft decisions and free agent moves, especially on the offensive side of the ball. He went out and got a big name QB but failed to get a decent line or top wide receiver.

Again the knock on Lovie is his failure to hire a good offensive coordinator. He is a great defensive coach, would love to see him back as defensive coordinator but the head coach is responsible for the entire team not just the defense. All of those great defenses the Bears have had over the years went to waste since the offense sucked.

I do question the timing of this though. That Bears defense is aging, need a tight end, and the OL sucks unless they go out and get a lot of players via free agency it is unlikely the Bears will improve next season. They should brought Lovie back for the last year on his contract while the Bears are rebuilding and then brought in a new coach for 2014. Now Emery has to deal with negative public perception getting a new coach if the Bears do not improve next season. Firing a coach is much easier after a 9-7 season (or worse) than firing him after a 10-6 season. Evidently Emery must feel the Bears can make a run in 2013.
 
busabus114 said:
LOL Bears fans.

So you want Cutler gone? Please provide his replacement that would be better......exactly

And good luck drafting a rookie QB to do the job with that o line.
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Bears are pretty much committed to Cutler, especially after going out and getting his boy Marshall. The offensive line has to give Cutler more time to throw the ball, hopefully they can get a free agent and pick up a lineman in the draft. They also need a tight end, one that can actually catch the ball. But most importantly the Bears need either a offensive minded head coach or a damn good coordinator, one that can actually manage the game and call plays. Just being able to get the damn play called in a timely fashion would probably have gotten the Bears into the playoffs. Nothing more frustrating to watch Cutler have to burn a timeout and lose momentum because they cannot get the play in.
 
ssckelley said:
Great post and I could not agree more. The player personnel decisions fall on the GM and Angelo made some horrible draft decisions and free agent moves, especially on the offensive side of the ball. He went out and got a big name QB but failed to get a decent line or top wide receiver.

Again the knock on Lovie is his failure to hire a good offensive coordinator. He is a great defensive coach, would love to see him back as defensive coordinator but the head coach is responsible for the entire team not just the defense. All of those great defenses the Bears have had over the years went to waste since the offense sucked.

I do question the timing of this though. That Bears defense is aging, need a tight end, and the OL sucks unless they go out and get a lot of players via free agency it is unlikely the Bears will improve next season. They should brought Lovie back for the last year on his contract while the Bears are rebuilding and then brought in a new coach for 2014. Now Emery has to deal with negative public perception getting a new coach if the Bears do not improve next season. Firing a coach is much easier after a 9-7 season (or worse) than firing him after a 10-6 season. Evidently Emery must feel the Bears can make a run in 2013.
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They can't make a run in 2013, though. The defense is too old. They need to tank the next two years and rebuild through the draft. The Packers are too good and the Vikings and Lions are both decent. Free up cap space and be smart with the draft. Build for the next 3-4 year run that will come as the Packers age and fall off. If they try to keep the current tire fire burning, they will hurt the team a few years out. I told everyone major problems were on the horizon by mid season because that current team just wasn't built to win in Chicago in November and December because Cutler's a pretty boy and expecting too much out of the vertical passing game in December is foolish. The Bears need a good defense (which they had) but they need a good o-line that can lean on teams and close out close games in the fourth quarter. You simply can't build that in this upcoming offseason which is why I say they need to start fresh.
 
I would favor that strategy, but again another reason to keep Lovie for 1 more season. The problem is they have to much money committed to Cutler, Marshall, and Peppers and I doubt they find trade partners for them. So I do not think they will be able to blow the team up and rebuild like the Cubs did.
 
Sparky said:
When a team starts off the season 7-1 and ends up 10-6 it's pretty bad. Lovie has never been able to lead the team to closing the deal.
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So, if they had started 1-7 and ended up 10-6 he'd still have a job? Kinda silly when you think about it.
 
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