azbearsfan

And alot of that is fair. Plus it was Buffalo's second pre season game so that makes a huge difference. There were some encouraging things and some disappointing things but I will be looking for improvements next game.

The thing I noticed from Rideau is that he runs slowwwwwwwwwww. Like I had to make sure he wasn't jogging or half assing it. On that weird throw from Hanie that went in between him and Davis, if he had any burst at all its a TD. Now I can see why he is not been given a chance, He really needs to step it up to make the team IMO.

Yeah WTF was that bullcrap.

Do you guys have any thoughts about the online dynasty portion? I play that mode on NCAA 10 with some people and I love it. But if it sucks on Madden I would not buy it.

Shoot. Last year my plan was to take him late because return yards count and he was gone in the sixth. I couldn't frikin believe it. But I picked up Warner, Deshaun Jackson, Eddie Royal, Chris Johnson, and Steve Slaton during the first week and won it all. Lucky year for me.

This kind of backs up my belief that Gilbert was drafted as a potential replacement for Tommie. I think if this stuff keeps up he is not long for a Bears uniform. We have not received a good return on the investment.

Aromashodu was a name that caught my eye in the offseason because of his height and 40 time. It was thought he was brought in just for the special teams aspect, but it would be nice if he and Rideau can make the team and throw some height into the equation at WR.

I check it every day. Especially Dickerson's blog.

Good find. Thats a ton more than Biggs.

Dude, you rip the guy for running reverses, Wolfe up the middle, and the fullback play, but you wanted him to use rollouts with Orton? ?????????????????????????????????????????????

lol

It was just a joke, chief, take your own advise.

Thanks to everybody who is putting up pics, video, and giving eye witness reports. Its much appreciated, especially here in the AZ. Fumbled snaps, huh. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Come on, Pix. Its hard to believe Url said something stupid. When has the guy said anything smart? I've grown tired of Url's act. The whole "pay me" and then play mediocre is old. This defense needs a leader, so he needs to put up or shut up. If he is mad that Cutler is the talk of the town or whatever junior high bullcrap he is doing, he needs to get over it. Sorry, but that just the way I feel about it. And there is a difference between calling people stuff to their face and saying it to your "Viking" friend.

Another fantastic quote from our fearless "leader". Way to ruin the feel good atmosphere. When are we going to get some actual leadership on the defense?

Agree. The guy is a number 2 receiver at best anyway. I say he is ranked too high.

I assume thats why we drafted Gilbert. If Tommie can't get it together, his time is short.

Its a good look at the line to be sure. Another thing I dont think it includes is a missed assignment and someone coming free and hitting the qb. Like if Kruetz helped Beekman with a block but let a blitzing LB come through. Stuff like that. So like you said, its a good look but not the end all be all.

Good find Grizz. Nice read.

Agree I would much rather see our young guns at WR.

Pass. Cutler wasn't even a big fan of his crap in Denver.

You make it sound as if it's just a matter of people liking or disliking the scheme. You are right about one thing, people are mad because this defense IS something it's NOT meant to be, it's unsuccessful. I don't think anyone on this board cares one way or another whether we run, a 4-3, 3-4, 46, Cover 2, what ever as long as it's successful. For the last 2 years it HAS NOT worked, they have failed. The objective of any and every defense in the NFL is the same, stop the other team from scoring. The better you do that, the more games you will win. A more important question is why has the defense been bad? Do you know why (and dont just say "the league has figured it out". Thats the ignorant thing to say)? Do you know that since the Super Bowl we have actually run less and less of a pure Cover Two scheme? This is the main reason why think Lovie is taking over the defense and brought in Roddy M. They are going to try to get back to pass rush with the front four, people in there zones, tactical blitzing, pressure, turnovers, defense scoring, etc. Hey, Lovie Smith has everything a HC could ask for, he has his original DC choice onboard, he's got better than average defensive talent, he now has a franchise QB, a very good to hopefully great RB, a healthy back up RB in Jones, a revamped o line. He's building on a 9-7 record. All he has to do is win. If he wins, he's the man. If he can't win, we need to find someone who can. It's not like he hasn't been given a fair chance. I agree. This is a huge year for him and I think Lovie is excited for it.

Can't totally agree. I do agree that, even when working well, a Lovie defense is not likely to be tops in the leauge in terms of yardage. At the same time, I do think it fair to question whether we are fully utilizing talent. I remember that Az game a few years ago when a rookie Leinart was tearing us up in the 1st half. 2nd half, our defense did a lot of things different, aggressive. It was like the "Remember the Titans" quote about not giving up an extra yard. The defense looked pisses when they would gain a yard. IMHO, the 1st half and 2nd half defenses were examples of a Lovie defense and a Rivera defense. In many games, that Lovie defense may be enough to win, but I would also salivate at the thought of what the defense could be. Ridiculous. Both halfs were Rivera's defense. So it is safe to say that either Rivera allowed his defense to enter that game complacent or he himself was complacent in his preparation against a rookie quarterback. Please dont make it seems line Arizona was this awesome offensive team that we shut down in the second half against all odds like some movie. They were garbage and any half way decent defense should have killed them. Of course they looked pissed, they were being embarrassed on national TV by a crappy team. "What have you done for me lately". You may not like that statement, but it is hard to argue. We went to the SB. Great. That was 3 years ago. What happened since. Coaches with more skins on the wall than Lovie find their respect drop. lol He went 7-9 with a crappy RB, a worse line (by your own admission), a revolving door at QB, and a defense decimated by injuries. Then this year he went 9-7, one game out of the playoffs, with a rookie RB, no WR, a crap DL and secondary. "You made your own bed...." I am not saying the SB was all Rivera, and Lovie was just along for the ride. But, as I believe Mongo pointed out, Lovie famously said, "trust me" when he allowed Rivera to walk. We are talking about a Chicago Bear from the glory days, and the man many felt was integral to the defense that helped carry us to the SB. But Lovie wanted his BFF and said, "trust me". Since then, our defense has been a joke, and we have missed the playoffs the two years since that SB loss. You can point to 20 or more excuses/reasons, but at the end of the day, Lovie made a very controversial decision, told fans to trust him for the move, and it blew up in his face. How about "hindsight is 20-20"? He hired Babich who was up for other D-Coord jobs in the league. So it wasn't just Lovie who thought Babich was coord material. Obviously, a bad move looking back. And it is also obvious that Rivera wasn't long for Chicago anyway. He was interviewing all over the league. Could he have overcome the injuries the defense had the following year? We really dont know, but I'm sure you think he could have sprinkled some magic 1985 fairy dust on Tommie's knee, the oline, Bensen, etc since he is from the "glory days". I never really commented on the 20th ranking. Frankly, I never thought it that big of a deal. It was someones opinion. Most here are quick to dismiss the opinions of the hacks that work at the big networks. It was about as valuable as power rankings. Well that was really the point of the thread. I have never been a big Lovie fan. I don't take away credit for the SB, but at the same time, I do feel he was the main reason Rivera is gone, and further, I do feel Rivera's loss was a huge factor in why our defense has tanked. Fan or not, its hard to argue what Lovie has done to bring us back to relevance in the NFL. That being said, I'm glad he has taken back the defense as there will be no excuses this year. If it tanks, we will probably have a new coach (although I dont know if we would shell out the money for a Shanny or Cowher) and it does great then we will be competing for a Super Bowl.

If he tanks again like he did the last time we went to a SB and lost, then we need a new HC. Yeah I did. Please dont act like you give Lovie credit for wins now. You always say the team wins in spite of him and kill him for losses.

Thats true for any defense. If the offense executes, any defense is toast.