madlithuanian

I think everyone that could be fired should be. That means Teddy on down. If we could fire the owners, I would. JA should be fired. Ted is probably a great finance guy, but should not be president. We need real football minds... Not accountants. Your dismall assessment I fear is spot on. I'd settle for JA firing Smith...it would at least be a start. But JA is equally responsible, if not moreso for this hot mess.

I hope so...

I'm truly torn... Right now, it looks like we were fleeced. But, given a good staff around him, I think he can be salvaged. The problem, is that a good staff will not be put around him. So in that regard, we would probably be better served by JA wasting 1st round picks...

Agreed. This mess needs to be blown up, and the sooner the better. Too bad, it won't. Prep for another 2 years. We'll get a new OC, flounder around, and then possibly Smith goes. Or we smoke n mirror it to 9-7 and Smith goes one more year. So Cutler will have at minimum 3 OC's in a 3 or 4 year period. Nothing like consistency...

Didn't see that coming a mile away!

I hear ya. It's the "connor" take! Winning is all that matters. I look more at the big picture...I also look at my folks as an example. My mom and dad no longer follow vehemently. They watch when they can,etc... My dad is curious as to what the problem is. He's not scouring newspaper articles (since he lives in California), or blogs, etc... He casually wants to know. (Obviosuly, besides me telling him...) An interview with the GM would be good for people like him. By not doing so, he senses a problem. Football is more than sport. It's entertainment. And it is also quasi-tax supported and protected under anti-trust. So, there's a part of it in which fans, from casual ro rabid want info, and feel they are owed it. That feeling may be wrong, but it is still there. But not providing the interview, the Bears are basically failing to entertain. (And they obviously haven't been entertaining on the field unless you've been an opponent...) I too am from the school of just win...but I think that's a given in every post.

Good points. To me it juest boils down to a few things... 1. It is a pure given that we all could care less if wins were hapenning. But, they are not. So, therefore, when times are bad, everything is under scrutiny. 2. Declining an interview during these tough times for the team just reads as circling the wagons to get away from negative press. It's pleaing the 5th. We all know that when one does so, it does not mean guilt. But, sometimes the impression could be just the opposite and that someone is hiding. 3. I hate to say it, but it's not just the media that wants the interview. I WANT IT! want to hear Costas ask the tough question and have JA or Smith answer it. I have no issue with Cutler declining...to me a player before the week if fair to say I'm not soing it, I already spoke on Wed and I need to get ready for the game. I could almost even give Smith a pass...if the team were not doing so poorly. But really, for JA to decline, as you mentioned, is pure hiding from the issues. 4. If the team wins on Sunday, some of the negativity could be brushed off. However, if they lose, the miscroscopes will be focussing even closer. And I'm sure other outlets other than Costas and NBC would like to ask some tough questions. Every loves to bash the media. I do it too. But I also realize they are needed. The readers need to attempt to keep the media in check by calling out BS, etc...but overall, don't fall into the trap of discounting the media as a kneww jerk reaction. 5. I'm sure the Palmer character has some issues... He was asked to go stand in a sotrm by Mikey-boy afterall! Regardless, he still might be onto something. Do you really in your heart of hearts feel that Mikey is out of the picture/ We can debate how involved, but I think he is involved. And if he's not, whoever is calling the shots over Teddy is f'ing this this up big time. The big hope that I got out of the article is that there is thought of selling the team... Again, could be pure BS, but it's honestly the one big hope I have for this team. Otherwise I fear continual repeating of past mistakes by the regime since Finks' departure...

Sounds about right... Thanks!

True enough. But even drunk, spiteful idiots can be right sometimes...

Do you know what the current spread is?

http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/professor/...-of-nbc-is.html Bears bunker mentality nothing new; snub of NBC is .Brad Palmer on 11.19.09 | 1 comment | .The Bears have long had a bunker mentality at Halas Hall. It is born out of arrogance and insecurity, bordering on paranoia and can be traced to Michael McCaskey (the man behind the curtain) and Jerry Angelo. A decade or so ago, I was doing a live-shot for Channel 7 in the comfort of one of the Bears meeting rooms at the original Halas Hall, having been given permission by the public relations director because of a snowstorm. McCaskey happened by and said I should be outside, snowstorm or not. I asked him if he thought any other company would take that stance toward a major media outlet providing it with free publicity. McCaskey's response, "We don't need the publicity." I could almost hear George Halas groan. There was a time when the team's founder hand-delivered his releases to the newsrooms of the city's newspapers. Little has changed in the ensuing years under McCaskey's reign, and now the Bears have decided to ratchet their anti-media posture up a notch. According to Sun-Times beat writer Brad Biggs, the Bears have denied NBC-TV access to any of their people for sitdown interviews for Sunday's pregame show, "Football Night in America." What are the Bears afraid of? Looking more foolish than they already are? Probably. The Bears are in denial. By bunkering in, they don't have to submit themselves to any questions that might prove embarrassing or acknowledge any failures. The problems with the Bears start at the top. That would be Michael McCaskey, not Ted Phillips. While Ted has the title of President and CEO, he is just a buffer for Michael. Ted was elevated to his position for one purpose, to get a stadium deal passed. Mayor Daley refused to deal with McCaskey, finding him too arrogant and unreasonable. McCaskey wasn't so much "fired" by his mother, Virginia, as he was "bumped" upstairs where he would be able to maintain a lower profile. He's been flying under the radar ever since. But make no mistake, he remains the man in charge of the overall operation. McCaskey gave in to his lack of expertise on football matters by hiring a headhunter to locate his general manager. Jerry Angelo, who worked in the player-personnel department of the Tampa Bay Bucs, got the nod. The move received a lukewarm response around the league. The Bears storybook season of 2001 under Dick Jauron put Angelo's desire to name his own coach on temporary hold, but when the Bears reverted to form, Angelo fired Jauron and tried to hire LSU coach Nick Saban. But Saban wanted control of player acquisitions and Angelo wasn't about to give that up. So, he hired Lovie Smith, a former colleague at Tampa. The results pretty much speak for themselves. The Bears did reach the Super Bowl in 2006, thanks in part to an easy schedule and the magic of return specialist Devin Hester. The Bears only played three games against teams with winning records during the season (2-1) and had the benefit of a first-round bye and two home playoff games in January against Seattle and New Orleans. Since then, it's been all downhill. They've let a lot of good players get away while failing to find suitable replacements. Jim Finks, the archiect of the 1985 Super Bowl champs, always made the offensive line a priority in the draft. The only offensive linemen on the Bears roster that were drafted by Angelo are Chris Williams and Josh Beekman. The situation does not promise to get any better anytime soon. The Bears have already traded away next year's first and second-round picks. They continue to insist they are a "running" team and continue to operate a "dink and dunk" passing game with their so-called franchise quarterback. So long as the McCaskeys own the team, don't expect any significant changes. Jim Finks didn't want to work for Michael, and I doubt any other high-profile general managers or coaches will either. Don't think league insiders aren't savy about the goings on in Chicago. The only meaningful change would be for the McCaskeys to sell. And that's something the family has been considering, not that they'll ever admit it.

It seems like such a waste... We needed so much help elsewhere. This seems like many a pick... Reaching for upside while disregarding others....

One of many... I was really hopoing to see something of Wolfe this year... I hope he returns OK. I'd like to have an OC that know how to utilize him better.

Yep. It's good to see it out and about...

I hear ya...I was very close to getting Brown jersey myself... However, is it random bad luck yet again that a former injury prone Bear is playing well non-injured somewhere else?

That's why they always say to keep business and friendship seperate...

Sad. Turner will be ousted. A new OC will come in, confuse up Hester more, then be off once Smith is riden out of town, and start it over once again...

I see the author is now up... BY MARK POTASH | Commentary Kudos to Potash for telling it like it is...

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/football/be...sman-19.article 6 reasons why the Bears' franchise is inept November 19, 2009 Even if Rex Grossman's dad is wrong, does that make the Bears right? Whether or not the Bears failed Rex Grossman or Rex Grossman failed the Bears, the point is still the same: the Bears haven't had a "franchise" quarterback since Sid Luckman. In fact, the Bears haven't even had an offense that ranks higher than 15th in the NFL in Jerry Angelo's nine seasons as general manager. They've been 26th or lower in seven of his first eight full seasons. Sorry, but that's a far bigger problem than Dan Grossman. The Tribune rushed to the Bears' defense a day after their own Fred Mitchell wrote a column in which Dr. Grossman, the father of Rex, blasted the Bears for their "black hole" at quarterback. Frankly, though it wasn't flawless, it was as cogent an argument as any of the defenses for the Lovie Smith, Ron Turner or anybody with the Bears that I've read in any local papers. Did Rex Grossman fail the Bears, or did the Bears fail Rex Grossman? But that's not the point. The point is that Jay Cutler's obvious regression this season is yet another sign of systemic problems that start at the very top and run to the very bottom of the Bears' organization. How many years do the Bears have to be in the bottom seven of the NFL in offense to not see that? And until they solve them, their best hope to become a factor again is to wait for everybody else to come down to their level. They are headed in the wrong direction. Here's why: 1. An inability to identify offensive talent. If Rex Grossman is to blame for his failure as the Bears' quarterback, whose fault is it that he was here in the first place? The Bears not only thought Rex Grossman was their quarterback, they thought Cedric Benson was their running back. They thought John St. Clair could replace John Tait. Their current No. 1 receiver was drafted as a kick returner and defensive back. In seven seasons, Jerry Angelo has yet to draft an offensive player who had made the Pro Bowl. With Angelo draftees Greg Olsen, Josh Beekman, Chris Williams, Matt Forte and Earl Bennett starting in an offense with a Pro Bowl quarterback, the Bears just scored six points against the 19th-ranked defense in the NFL last week. But it's not just the draft. The Bears thought Orlando Pace still had something left. They thought Frank Omiyale was good enough to start. Only one offensive player acquired by Jerry Angelo has made the Pro Bowl, and Ruben Brown (who made it in 2006) already was an eight-time Pro Bowl player when he came to Chicago. 2. An inability to develop offensive talent. What Bears players have become stars in this offense? And even more indicting, how many players have shown flashes of ability and never been able to sustain it? Rex Grossman, Cedric Benson, Justin Gage, Mark Bradley and it won't be long before we can add Matt Forte, Devin Hester and Johnny Knox to that list. Hester's second catch ever as a wide receiver went for an 81-yard touchdown in 2007. He had three plays of 55 yards or more in his first 52 catches. In his last 67 catches his longest play is 42 yards. On Thursday night he had seven catches for 48 yards, 6.9 yards per catch. That was a bad day for David Terrell. Bernard Berrian is the shining example of a "breakout" player drafted by the Bears. He never had more than 71 catches, 951 yards or six touchdowns. The Chiefs' Dwayne Bowe beat that as a second-year player last year (86 catches, 1,022 yards, 7 TDs) with Tyler Thigpen throwing to him. And now we have Jay Cutler, who after throwing five interceptions against the 49ers last week has a career-low 76.0 passer rating -- 24th in the NFL. In his last five games, Cutler has thrown six touchdown passes and 12 interceptions. He's thrown 17 interceptions in nine games this year -- one less than he threw all of last season with Denver. If that's not regression, I don't know what is. 3. The Bears struggle to rehabilitate injured players. Maybe it's because Lovie Smith doesn't have his team hit very much in training camp or maybe it's not, but the Bears seem to have more than their share of injuries and an inordinate amount of early injuries -- 21 players have gone on injured reserve by Sept. 30 in Smith's six seasons -- including Urlacher after Game 1 this season; Brandon McGowan after Game 2 in 2008; Dusty Dvoracek and Mike Brown after Game 1 in 2007; Dvoracek after the last preseason game in 2006; and Mike Brown after Game 2 and Rex Grossman after Game 3 in 2004. Maybe it's just coincidence, but Brown and Brian Urlacher had played 65 consecutive games for the Bears when Smith became head coach in 2004, suffered injuries early in the 2004 season and have struggled with injuries ever since (though Urlacher has done a great job of playing through them). But it's not just the amount of injured players, it's what happens to them after they get injured. Players who get hurt almost always get hurt again (Brown, Urlacher, Harris, Grossman, Dvoracek, Vasher, McGowan and Pisa Tinoisamoa); and injured players rarely, if ever, are as productive when they come back (Harris, Urlacher, Bradley, Vasher, Dvoracek). Urlacher and Brown both had Pro Bowl seasons after their initial injuries, but that's a rarity. Both were injured again and never the same. Even less significant injuries have long-term repercussions: Kyle Orton was 11th in the NFL with a 91.4 passer rating when he suffered an ankle injury against the Lions in Week 8 last year. He returned after missing one game but was never the same. He had a 70.3 passer rating in the final seven games and finished at 79.6, 25th in the league. And maybe worst of all, other teams seem to have better luck with the Bears' injured players: Marc Colombo couldn't recover from nerve damage after a devastating injury when he was with the Bears. He started 59 consecutive games for the Cowboys before he suffered a broken leg last week; Mike Gandy was cut by the Bears when he was slow to recover from a hamstring injury. He's started the last 77 consecutive games for the Bills and Cardinals; McGowan was primarily a special-teams player who couldn't stay healthy with the Bears. He's now a starting safety with the Patriots and tied for the team lead in tackles. The Bears are given a pass for giving up on Cedric Benson by many experts, who rationalized that Benson was a dog who paved his own way out of town with a bad work ethic. It turns out at least part of his lethargy was due to Celiac Disease, a form of gluten-intolerance that saps the body of protein and causes fatigue. Benson adjusted to a gluten-free diet, has lost weight and now feels better than he ever did in Chicago and is sixth in the NFL in rushing. He reportedly was diagnosed just before he was cut by the Bears. Bad luck, bad timing, I guess. 4. Lovie Smith has mismanaged his coaching staff. From the odd hiring of Terry Shea as offensive coordinator when Smith became head coach in 2004 to firing Ron Rivera in favor of Bob Babich after the 2006 season, Smith has had a coaching staff made up mostly of coaches who have little or no experience at their position in the NFL. He brought in Ron Turner after Shea was fired in 2005, but that has produced little. The Babich-for-Rivera trade was a bust. He recently upgraded the staff by taking over the defensive play-calling from Babich, hiring Rod Marinelli as defensive line coach and John Hoke as defensive backs coach. But after an initial boost from the defensive line in the first four games of the season (14 sacks), those moves appear to be futile -- overwhelmed by organization-wide, bigger-picture problems. 5. Poor player management. In the 2006 Super Bowl season, rookie defensive end Mark Anderson had 12 sacks. Most of them were in optimum pass-rushing situations -- third-and-long or in games that where the Bears had a big lead. But the Bears thought they had their pass-rusher and made Anderson the starter in place of Alex Brown, who only had seven sacks in 2006, but also 71 tackles. two interceptions, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. In 2007, Anderson had five sacks, 36 tackles (five tackles-for-loss), no interceptions, one forced fumble and no fumble recoveries in 14 games before suffering a knee injury. In a reserve role in the same span, Brown had 2 1/2 sacks, 47 tackles (five tackles-for-loss), no interceptions, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. In two starts after Anderson was injured, Brown had nine tackles, two sacks, an interception, four pass-breakups, four quarterback hits, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. The Mark Anderson experiment was over. That might be the most egregious player-position misjudgment, but not the only one. Lovie Smith chose Rex Grossman over Kyle Orton, Cedric Benson over Thomas Jones, Adam Archuleta over Chris Harris ... even Frank Omiyale over Josh Beekman has been a bust this season. The Bears just don't seem to know who their best players are. They gave Brian Urlacher and Tommie Harris big contract extensions, even though both were injured, yet played hardball with Lance Briggs, who is clearly their best defensive player. 6. The Bears have nobody who can identify systemic problems. Perhaps the biggest problem the Bears have is that they're a family-oriented organization that thinks everybody is doing a heckuva job. Lovie Smith raising his voice to his team at halftime is considered "accountability." From top to bottom, the Bears hierarchy is the Peter Principle run amok. Team president Ted Phillips is a director of finance/contract negotiator. Jerry Angelo was a director of player personnel. Lovie Smith was a defensive coordinator. They' were all new to their present job when they were hired. It was easy when the Bears reached the playoffs in 2005 and the Super Bowl in 2006. But with a likely third consecutive payoff-less season, somebody needs to see that the arrow is pointing straight down. But who? It takes a complete disaster for Lovie Smith to acknowledge an underpeforming player -- he still thinks the Bears are a running team. How long will it take Jerry Angelo to acknowledge an underperforming coach? Or Ted Phillips to acknowledge an underperforming general manager. And if you think the McCaskey's are going to be able to quickly acknowledge an underperforming team president, you have more faith in the Bears than I do.

Bingo! I think he lacks "flow". He cannot get a "feel". Instead, he's just a ace student basically (and I may be giving him too much credit for his knowledge). Knows all the plays, when you should make them, etc...but only in a textbook kind of way.

Agreed... I understood the move, but now I question why injured players for us have issues here...and seem to recover well elsewhere?

Mike Brown named AFC defensive player of the week Posted by Michael David Smith on November 18, 2009 10:41 AM ET Kansas City Chiefs safety Mike Brown picked off two passes in Sunday's win over the Oakland Raiders, and today he learned that he's been named the AFC defensive player of the week. It's the second player of the week award of Brown's career; he won an NFC defensive player of the week award in 2001, when he played for the Bears. Brown is the first Chiefs safety to win the award since Jerome Woods in 1997. Both of Brown's interceptions came off Raiders backup quarterback Bruce Gradkowski, who came in after JaMarcus Russell was benched. The first interception came at midfield and set up a Chiefs field goal, and the second (which bounced off the hands of Raiders receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey) came at the Chiefs' 10-yard line with 38 seconds left to seal the win. Brown has started all nine games for the Chiefs this season, his first year in Kansas City after playing nine seasons for the Bears

I couldn't agree more...

I'll take your disagreement, and disgaree! Why hide? People hide when they are in fear. Why is the organization in fear? For the game itself, it won't mean a hill of beans difference. But how this team is precieved by the world will be impacted. I am in agreement that this has nothing to do with Cutler. We all know he loves pressers as much as most guys love rectal exams... But for Smith and JA to be silent, to me, speaks volumes. As much as we all harp on the media...some do do their job and report. Many don't, but some do. As nfo mentioned, most of us hear can read the difference between the real and the BS, but in generally, those without our insight will read it all as fact. And I'll bet that the lack of showing up will be put into a negative spin by NBC as it has with every sports news outlet that's reported it so far...

Like most cases, pleaing the 5th usually gives the impression of guilt to some degree. Doesn't mean guilt, just gives the impression thereof.