Was the Chicago Bears Losing in the NFC Championship Game to the Green Bay Packers A Bad Season?
Several Green Bay Packers fans have suggested to me that the Chicago Bears losing in the championship game was a disappointing season. It’s their way of taking their boring lives of milking cows and eating brats and trying to ruin the lives of us that live in a cool city and can actually read. Besides the Packers, do they really have anything else to do besides stare at livestock?
But, was it a disappointing season? In a single elimination tournament anything can happen. If Lovie Smith didn’t totally screw things up and played Caleb Hanie the whole second half instead of Todd Collins for a few series, maybe things would have gone differently. The Chicago Bears weren’t dominated but they were outplayed. And certainly outcoached.
The New England Patriots, Minnesota Vikings, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants and New Orleans Saints were all teams projected to do better than the Chicago Bears. And yet, they didn’t.
I’m not upset. I’ll take a shot at the Super Bowl every year. Hopefully, Smith doesn’t screw up again.
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A Case Against the Lovie Smith Contract Extension
I am totally against extending Lovie Smith’s contract. I’m not suggesting it’s time to fire him, but I don’t think he’s warranted an extension. Here’s my case…
Smith did a solid job this season until the Todd Collins fiasco of the Championship Game against the Green Bay Packers. This in my opinion is grounds for near-dismissal or a serious reprimand. The Chicago Bears could have won that game if Smith wasn’t caught with his pants down. Plus, by not shedding light on Jay Cutler’s injury contributed to the public beating suffered by Cutler.
Smith also upgraded his coaching staff this season. By bringing in Mike Martz and Mike Tice to coach the offense and offensive lines respectively as well as promoting Rod Marinelli, he had one of the most experienced and successful staffs in the NFL. Certainly picking a staff is part of a coach’s job, but his staff choices were poor in the past. I believe much of the team’s success came because of his new coaches and less from his decision making skills.
Is there a head coach who’s worse with challenges and timeouts? His decision making in these situations is horrific and has cost his team games.
To be fair, Smith was the key reason why Julius Peppers is wearing a Chicago Bears uniform. His players, free agents and other people around the league respect the hell out of Smith. I’ve met Smith and he’s a classy man. As a person, you couldn’t ask for a better coach.
What happened to the days of former Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda signing a one-year contracts? He did this because either the Dodgers or he could walk away anytime. Smith probably would have been fired last season except his contract was too rich. Now, the Chicago Bears are putting themselves in the same boat. The Vikings extended Brad Childress’ contract after his run in 2009. How did that work out?
I’m not sure there’s a better coach on the market. Everyone wants Bill Cowher, but I think his expectations will be unrealistic and he’s been out of the game for a while. Jeff Fisher frankly isn’t that much better of a coach than Smith. So maybe the Bear’s motivation is to protect themselves. But I don’t see Smith as a sexy hire for other franchises. He’s just doesn’t have that appealing personality.
I’m curious to hear your thoughts.
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My Reaction to The Super Bowl and the Chicago Bears
First of all, congratulations to the Green Bay Packers. They earned this title and it was commendable considering the injuries they overcame even during the game. This obviously hurts me as a Chicago Bears fan, but sometimes the truth is known to do so.
After reflecting on all the events of today, I’ve decided how angry I am at Lovie Smith. I’m angry because his monumental mistakes in the NFC Championship game two-weeks earlier denied the Chicago Bears even a shot at this opportunity. I’d go so far as to say he did the franchise, fan base and the NFL a disservice by his mistakes. I just get angrier by the minute towards him and hope the Chicago Bears don’t extend his damn contract.
Two words people…Todd Collins. How could Smith in his right mind think that this piece of crap could ever lead the Chicago Bears to anything? Collins is so bad that he tried his hardest to give the Carolina Panthers a win.
Let’s go back to the preseason where this whole mess started. After Caleb Hanie injured his shoulder against the San Diego Chargers in the first preseason game, the Bears panicked and basically had to beg Collins to come out of retirement and play for the Chicago Bears. Meanwhile, Smith and crew played rookie Dan LeFevour a ton during the preseason and eventually cut him. While I grant you LeFevour wasn’t too impressive, he certainly had more upside as a number three quarterback than Collins did as a number two.
Just like the saying goes in baseball, the ball will always find your weakest defender when you least want it to do so. Well, thanks to having that cancer to my eyes Collins as the number two quarterback, it found him in a big way. Meanwhile, Hanie played well enough to almost lead the Bears back in the fourth quarter against the Packers. What could have been wasn’t thanks to Smith.
An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure. They got that ounce from the Carolina game and failed to take the damn medicine. Smith is a stubborn jackass that turned a blind eye on how horrible Collins played. There had to be a better alternative out there somewhere and Collins should have been launched immediately after that game. A lot of this also falls on Jerry Angelo, but Angelo isn’t an in-game manager, that falls on Smith.
After the championship game, when Jay Cutler was being treated like a voodoo doll for the national media and idiot fans, Smith didn’t come out and defend his quarterback. We’ve learned that Cutler tried to gut this one out, but Smith wouldn’t discuss the injury. Instead of shedding light on the situation, his lack of backing his starting quarterback made the situation significantly worse.
Up until the championship game, I ate a lot of crow suggesting Smith should have been fired during the preseason. Now I’m not completely sure I was wrong.
A part of me feels bad unloading on Smith like this; he’s a class act and he just lost his mother. But poor job performance is poor job performance.
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Brian Urlacher is the Best
Brian Urlacher is a stud. He’s the best defensive player I’ve seen in a Chicago Bears uniform. I saw the 1985 Bears defense, and Urlacher’s better than anyone on that unit.
Despite his amazing abilities and play-making skills, there are still some that doubt his place in history. I’m floored when people talk about his weaknesses. Sure, he can get blocked by tight ends, but as of late in his career, he’s even learned to shed those blocks. Let me get a little more extreme. Is Urlacher the best defensive player of his era? I’m starting to think he very well may be.
Let’s start with his ability in coverage. Urlacher is a great cover linebacker. He has the speed to keep up with any tight end and can also stay in stride with many wide receivers. Imagine a linebacker that can run down most ends? It’s even more impressive when you see him do it.
How about against the run? Urlacher is like a panther hitting the hole looking for a running back. Not only does he make plays, he can lay the wood to players. He will pursuit guys to the outside and finish plays. I’m still in awe of this ability to catch even the nimblest of backs in the open field.
What about rushing the passer? He’s not asked to do so as often as other linebackers, but the man rarely misses a quarterback. Ask Michael Vick who has said that he’s never been hit as hard as by Brian Urlacher. We’re not talking about a statue in Vick. So quite a compliment.
Finally, let’s talk about a leader. His teammates, coaches and opponents show him the utmost respect.
I’ve presented my case and I’m sure others will or won’t agree. It’s your constitutional right.
In a sad note, I want to send my condolences to Lovie Smith for the passing of his Mother at age 77. People may have issues with him as a coach, but he’s a class act and I’m sure made her proud.
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Being Jerry Angelo
Like Lovie Smith, many fans share mixed feelings on Jerry Angelo. He’s been credited with doing some good things while general manager of the Chicago Bears, but also gets a lot of criticism as well.
This past off-season, Angelo cleaned house within his scouting department and brought in former Seahawk general manager Tim Ruskell to help with player scouting and evaluation. Obviously, there’s been a problem somewhere within the organization, and as my wife likes to say, poo flows downhill.
Regardless of these moves, I think it’s fair to evaluate Angelo based on him being the boss. I think it didn’t take a rocket scientist to find Julius Peppers. He showed guts giving up Kyle Orton and three draft picks for Jay Cutler and a fifth round pick that eventually became Johnny Knox. The Cutler trade will be his defining one for his tenure with the Chicago Bears.
I highlight these two moves because these are the highest profile moves he’s made. Frankly, his track record with free agents is sub-par at best. And that’s being unbelievably generous. Peppers really wasn’t much of a risk. He brought in train wrecks like Muhsin Muhammad and Adam Archuleta. The Archuleta move was particularly disturbing because he traded Chris Harris in anticipation of it. While Harris is back, it just didn’t make any sense to get rid of a good young safety for the worst one I’ve seen in my lifetime.
He’s made some good moves that haven’t been as publicized. The addition of Pisa Tinoisamoa and Anthony Adams were solid pickups on the defensive side of the ball. Offensively, Roberto Garza and Frank Omiyale have proven to be solid NFL offensive linemen. But, the whole Thomas Jones/Cedric Benson fiasco really marred him as a general manager. While Matt Forte may be better than both, the whole scenario just worked out poorly.
Being a general manager in the NFL is an extremely difficult job. Very little praise will come your way and the crap hits the fan when things fall apart. I’ve got two concerns with Angelo, its his evaluation of offensive talent specifically on the line and receiver positions.
While Chris Williams worked out respectably as a guard last season, he was drafted to be a tackle. That is the only high draft pick in many years the Bears have used on an offensive lineman. Granted, they traded a lot of picks the last two seasons, but the commitment wasn’t there before either. While I’m not pleased with the lack of offensive line depth or development, J’Marcus Webb may have been a steal as a seventh round pick. Kudos on that selection.
The Bears still don’t have anyone in the stable of receivers that strike fear in opponents. While there’s some speed, there’s not a lot of tough guys that will make a tough catch. Earl Bennett showed that potential towards the end of the season, but I’m not exactly ready to call him an elite receiver. This is something the Bears desperately need and fast. If Cutler is going to take that next step, he needs a top-tier wide receiver. Guys like Knox and Devin Hester will be great complementary receivers, but aren’t elite guys. As far as I’m concerned, bringing in an top receiver is priority number 1A this off-season along with improving the above-mentioned offensive line. Honestly, I’m not terribly confident in Angelo’s ability to do either one. Defensively, the Bears could use a better three-technique due to Tommie Harris’ decline in that role. But this isn’t as much of a priority as wide receiver and offensive line.
Basically, it comes down to wins and losses with any front office person (minus Jim Hendry). I feel as if I’ve given some fair and constructive feedback as a fan of Angelo’s performance. While I don’t think he’s a disaster, I’m not sure if he’s done enough to warrant sticking around when his contract expires. This will be his most critical off-season. Considering the type of season the Chicago Bears had this year, a few key additions may be enough to put them over the top.
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As much as I do not like the Chicago White Sox, I received a nice shout out from the guys at www.paleandhosed.com. They’re your one-stop shop for the latest and unbiased White Sox needs and notes.
