chitownman

I just saw an email to me from Mad Lithuanian in regards to an article I wrote for a Cubs fan website that I blog on once in a while. Mad asked me to share the link I sent out to a group that I am a part of that is based in Southern California. So here is the link to the article I wrote about Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks. I hope you all enjoy it. http://worldseriesdreaming.com/2015/01/24/i-am-sad/

Like someone stated earlier in the thread, John Fox maybe a good coach however, he is not a great coach. I have seen some of the stats and his record as a head coach and it is barely above .500. I understand the thinking that having a young GM it may be good to match him up with a more experienced head coach yet, it seems like Fox is still a retread. If the latest rumors are accurate, Fox wanted to establish more of a running game versus a passing game. With Elway being a former passing QB, their OC wanting to stay with more passing and Manning griping about have more of a passing game versus a running game tells me that Fox maybe a good choice. Not sure who to definitely bring in and it looks like we'll more likely than not wind up with Fox in place. As much as McCaskey and Philips said that the status quo was not acceptable, this in a way does feel like the status quo to me.

Like someone previously stated, Shanahan has not won a playoff since prior to Cutler's arrival in Denver. Personally I do not want a retread former top coach as it probably won't work. Shanahan fizzled out in DC (yet anyone would with Daniel Snyder) and it seems that the game has passed him up a bit. I am not keen on Rex Ryan either. I just hope that there is not another Trestman type experiment waiting to happen out there.

I watched the press conference as many others did as well. The comment or line that stuck out the most to me was when someone asked George McCaskey how his mother Virginia has felt during this whole process. George got a bit choked up which was nice to see some emotion and said, "She is in agreement, has been supportive.....She's Pissed Off!" Not sure that still having Ted Philips in any Football Operations position is good thing however, it seems like the family is starting to get it on how we the fan base feels and hopefully it will be the start of a true move in the right direction!

Kap & Haugh are talking about that right now! It will be good if that does happen and George hires a true football person to be the face of the franchise for the family and rebuilds this team. They are talking about going the way of the Ricketts family with the Cubs and rebuilding the Bears. If it really is happening that will definitely change the culture of the team for the positive!

I like the news so far out of Lake Forrest and it is exciting. Listening to Danimal with Kap & Haugh this morning and Danimal is fired up as well. I agree as well with many that Sweaty Teddy needs to be reassigned to business operations and get a true football person in charge as President & C.E.O. reporting to The Family! Nice start to the off season of such a disastrous season! The Experiment failed and signing that QB without having him prove himself this year was to much to overcome for a so called GM and it should cost Sweaty Teddy his position as figure head. George is showing something so far however, it is far from done!

I would not mind the team losing every game at this point to end the season. Rookie mistakes by Minnesota left them short of beating this current representation of this team. A couple of the other wins could have easily been loses. I saw an article somewhere online (I think from Facebook) that talked about needing to end a relationship especially if it has soured completely. Trestman was supposed to be this QB Whisperer yet, what if Cutler decided to no longer buy into Trestman's system? I also think that there are more problems than the coaching staff or players and we all know about that as well.

Seems like an interesting list of potential replacements for Head Coach. Personally I would stay away from the re-treads at this point just because it seems like that is not the solution. Not sure that Shanahan would be that good other than he has dealt with Cutler previously and both Cowher and Gruden have stated that they are not leaving the network positions they respectively have. My thoughts on potential coaches rankings from your list: 1. Dave Toub (Special Coordinators do make good coaches. Ex: George Allen) 2. Jim Harbaugh (if we are able to find the truth about what's happening in SFO) 3. Darrell Bevell (if the Seahawks and Pete Carroll will allow it) Beyond these three I am not sure who else. I am not a fan of bringing in a college coach just because of some success at that level. (remember Nick Saban or Bobby Petrino) Rex Ryan is falling apart in NYC and if there was a way to get his brother Rob instead, that would be an interesting idea. Mike Smith is having problems in Atlanta at this point and not sure where the blame for the Falcons fall. Pep Hamilton has already attempted to work with Cutler and not sure that would be a good thing. I don't know enough about Adam Gase at this point. Another name I'll throw out there and I know he only has experience in the Arena Football League yet, what about Doug Plank? I would even consider bring The Samuri home to coach this team as well. Ideally someone that is old school with a modern way about himself and is able to communicate with his players.

We are definitely all in agreement on this. I remember sending a letter to Mikey way back when Curtis Ennis was drafted as him to step down as he was killing Papa Bear's franchise. I also mentioned in that letter that they should have sold the team to the investment group that Sweetness was the front for when Sweetness was doing his best to purchase the St. Louis franchise before the Rams moved there. Why Sweaty Teddy (kudos to the person who came up with this) is still the one who is running things for this team and why the Family feel that an accountant is the right guy to run this team is still beyond my comprehension. The Family needs to either find a true football individual (Polian or someone in that mold) to run the team or sell the team with the understanding that the new owner must keep a member of the family around in some kind of Board of Directors position to keep the name alive by a member of the Family. Today's victory was ugly at best and the commentators (granted Brennaman is still pissed off with WGN and the Cubs) were mentioning that Cutler is still suspect at best as he could not move the ball enough to secure the win. Fortunately the defense got lucky even with letting our former backup QB throw for over 325 yards. Still a lot wrong with this team and as the saying goes, it starts at the top and flows downhill from there.

Really??!!! There is a team out there that wants this so called player??!!! Let the trade happen on February 2nd!!!!!

I saw somewhere that was comparing Cutler to former so called NFL QB Jeff George! LOL!!!

That is when I started disliking Briggs as well if not the whole contract hold out B.S. that he played as well. I forget which came first however, still waiting for him to leave and hope that the door does hit him in his a$$ as he heads out!!!

It boggled my mind that there was no one fired late Sunday or yesterday. Unfortunately it is the status quo with the McCaskey family and we're stuck with Trestman et al until the end of the season if we're lucky. I had hope for Cutler yet, this season I am understanding more and more why he was excited as a Broncos fan that the Broncos traded him to Jerry Angelo and our team. The numbers last year can now be easily disputed as being the "Real Jay Cutler" and all of his so called talent. I loved listening to what Jim Miller said on Sunday during CSN's Post Game Live, "Cutler Coughs It Up Like A Pez Dispenser" plus Danimal was not to kind and Mike Brown is chipping in on how embarrassing Sunday night's loss was. Wish I had the money to start the website www.firetedphilipsphilemerymarctrestman.com!!!!! I will always bleed Brunt Orange & Navy Blue however, it is extremely painful right now and we still have three National broadcasts out of the remaining seven games. Four of those seven games are against the Lions and Vikings too. UGH!!!!

Jarrett Payton is so correct on his assessment of this team.

The only one I really know about is Pat Narduzzi at Michigan State as that is where my wife graduated from and she still bleeds Green & White. Narduzzi has help MSU maintain a stranglehold on the Top 5 in rankings for the FBS Defensive stats. MSU is near the top in defense and their battle against Ohio State on November 7th will tell a lot about this team. Will see what Narduzzi decides after the college season is open yet, if MSU does not compete for the National Championship Narduzzi may not leave MSU feeling there is unfinished business to complete for MSU.

Without a doubt C-Dog you are pretty spot on. I just listened to an interview of Rodney Harrison by David Kaplan of CSN and David Haugh of the Tribune. One thing that Harrison stated is that the team did not look prepared and seemed lost. It just saddens me that the most storied franchise in the NFL is being run so poorly still to this day. How do some of these other teams continue to compete year in and year out? The McCaskey family continues to be accepting of the status quo. The Bears in my opinion are fortunate to be 3-5 at this point. The three wins just shows that the Bears did not make as many mistakes as the 49ers, Falcons and Jets during those match ups. Like most everyone here, I am in this for the long haul as this is truthfully the only team worth while in the NFL. The team for some reason does not want to understand or fight for that distinction which makes it harder to cheer on mediocrity or worse. Emery and Trestman should be on the unemployment line at this point however, the family won't agree to it and like others have stated, we're stuck with Trestman and company plus Cutler for at minimum one more year.

I agree that the Family needs to really look at what is happening with this team. I think that Trestman should be fired at this point as well. Everyone states that last year was decent offensively and that this year the defense looks improved yet, the team really is not going any where any time soon. IMHO it appeared that the majority of the team did not look motivated or cared about the fact that they were playing a game that could have said, hey we're better than our record currently shows. Preparation falls on the coach and if after one and one-half seasons that the head coach is not able to prepare his team, then why keep him as a coach? It is sad that Emery rushed to extend Cutler at this point and time without having Cutler really earn the money given. Now the team is locked in for a long period of time for a QB who is not as elite as people want to believe. Trestman was brought in because of what he had done previously as an OC and is not able to get through it appears to Cutler. Telegraphing your plays to a team that is pretty smart or the average fan is able to recognize is only a recipe for disaster. How Forte got the yards rushing today that he did is still somewhat surprising and we'll see what happens on the night of November 9th. Right now the season is not doing well and there needs to be some sort of changes made to help right the ship. A no-name hire is a no-name hire. There has to be someone worthwhile to help turn things around.

Have not been on the boards in quite a while and I just wanted to see what was being said especially about Cutler. Yes Cutler did make some bad decisions yet also did have some good ones. I will not blame the loss completely on Cutler. I think Trestman is not as great of a head coach as it was stated to make us believe. Maybe that is why he wound up in the Canadian League when no other team would give Trestman an opportunity to be a head coach. The play calling left a lot to be desired and the lack of discipline as the game wore on comes from poor coaching as the game plan fails the team which creates frustrations and emotions get out of control. Why Mel Tucker continues to be employed for such dismal defensive calls is frustrating. Is there a reason why the hell you can't call a blitz or stop a run of a team that lost its two best running backs for the season to injury? Special teams is not much better either and it continues to go downhill. So in Trestman's second year is underwhelming, our "D" coordinator should have been fired after the 2013 season and the ST Coordinator is not worth anything. So where does the blame go then at this point. I blame Phil Emery who IMHO is starting to flame out worse than Jerry Angelo who I despised for a long time. Spending double to triple on offense and somewhat ignoring defense is not a recipe for success. I'll even go a bit further and put the blame back on the McCaskey family for the people they have in place to run this team. I still do not understand why Ted Philips who is technically an account, is running this team. Do the McCaskeys still believe he is the right one to have as much power within their organization as he does? I am one fan that says that he is not the right one and that the organization of this team needs a total housecleaning and culture change in order to get things going in the right direction. I will love this team to the day I die yet, I do not have to happy with the way things continue to go.

Another problem for me is that I am stuck in the state that they think Suh is still a GOD and can do no wrong. They chalk it up to that he is a great player and knows how to play. His mouth, his actions and his lack of brains should get him into more trouble than it does. I most definitely agree that it starts with their so-called head coach. Plus an owner who is out of touch with reality. Remember, this owner hired Matt Millen as his GM without any experience to rely on. The Lay Downs have been a bad organization for a while and will continue to be especially if they allow inappropriate comments to be heard that are made by players who don't have a brain. I am frustrated by the NFL as the way it has become (truthfully in all sports) and they way the franchises act, it makes me wonder how smart it was to have Roger Goodell inserted as commissioner. It is all showing how sad it continues to be and that professional athletes get away with more and more.

Congrats on the birth of your daughter!!

I have to agree that the press conference of what I was able to see from the beginning until I had to leave was impressive. Phil Emery seems to have a more detailed and clearer understanding of his job and how to ideally approach it and of what I remember of Jerry Angelo, I really like what Emery is saying and doing his best to do to help out this storied franchise. One season under his belt and we'll see how it continues. In regards to the Trestman, I am a bit excited about this hire. Trestman definitely seems to have a bit more passion about the great game of football than Lovie Smith did upon his arrival. Trestman did not state anything outrageous or would make my cringe as a die hard fan of this team. For the first time in a while I am excited to see how the rest of the off season will go and what differences that Trestman will bring to the team. I like the fact as well that Trestman is going to hold himself and his staff accountable on all aspects of coaching the team. Sounds like he is going in the right direction and maybe able to somehow improve the one or two games we needed to have made the playoffs this year. Time will tell for sure however, I am excited to see how this all goes. So far so good in my book and I am anxious for training camp and the season opener to get here this year.

I am in agreement with everyone on this topic. Emery is continuing to impress me with the way he has handled everything since replacing Angelo. If the rest of the league is upset because he is apparently doing his due diligence in searching for who he feels will be the right fit to lead this team on the field, then too damn bad for them. There is a rule in the NFL that requires interviewing minority candidates and it does not say that Emery is not able to interview anyone he feels is a potential candidate in his mind. Kudos for everything Emery is doing and hopefully as it continues to go he will ideally get us to talk about him in the same breath as Jim Finks and JerryVainisi when all is said and done.

Alaska, I understand what you are saying however, I look at the whole picture. I am very grateful that Smith was hired back in 2004 as I did feel he was the best coach available at the time for the Bears. He has achieved a winning record that leaves him only behind Papa Bear & Da Coach. When you look at the resent trend over specifically the 2011 plus 2012 seasons, there were glaring problems that fall directly on the head coach. How many times did either players or Smith state that they were not properly prepared for the opponent of the day that they lost to? Quite a few if I remember correctly. I also remember a lot of times this season that Smith stated that, "We are not quite where we want to be and we have to work on getting there and playing a full 60 minutes of football." Then the real kicker to me that should be glaring to every Bears fan out there, after the lose to the Cheese Heads on December 16th at home Smith said, "This Was Not A Must Win Game For Us." Do not know what planet Smith was coming from at that point however, playing the most storied rivalry in the history of the National Football League if not all of professional sports is always a Must Win especially when it is also a divisional game and does have playoff implications should always be a major thing year in and year out. Things started out well in Smith's tenure however, missing the playoffs in six of nine seasons plus having four different offensive coordinators and four different defensive coordinators is beyond tolerable for most other teams in the NFL. I had a friend mention on my Facebook profile that no team in the NFL is afraid to play the Bears as they will find a way to self destruct. Going 3-5 to end the season and relying on said rival to win to help you get in should never be acceptable. The Bears truthfully controlled their own destiny and the coaching staff let their team down in regards to preparation. I understand that there where injuries however, the Cheese Heads had injuries two years ago that were the worst in recent memory in the NFL and they still won the Super Bowl. So yes, I am going to celebrate a bit that a change that I have felt was needed for a couple years and glad that it has happened.

I keep waiting to hear this news of Smith being shown the door. Has anyone in the City heard anything for sure at this point? It would be a very good thing if it finally does happen. According to CBS Sports, Chucky is willing to come out of the broadcast booth at ESPN to return to the sidelines. May be an interesting hire in Chicago.

By January 2, 2013 at the latest. Tomorrow would be best and it would show to must of us that Emery has balls.