BigDaddy

Sounds like Brady is going to need more surgery and might miss next year as well. The might almost be smarter to renegotiate a deal with Cassel early to avoid the tag but that deal would have to be responsible and affordable based on Cassel's level of play. He's been throwing to Moss and Welker as well so you gotta take that into consideration. As has been mentioned, looking at what happened to Derek Anderson after getting his big deal probably takes alot of the polish off a Cassel deal. I don't think he's worth a first rounder and wouldn't want the Bears to even consider that deal.

First things first. I brought this up earlier this year about Smith bringing in Sapp as a Consultant to help this d line. WTF took him so long? Second, working with Tommie is great but what about working with Adams, Harrison (Who might be more Sapp like than any of them) Izzy and Dusty?

Agreed here. I can only hope he provides the vehicle to get more QB pressure. If we don't get him, we REALLY need to look outside the Tampa 2 world for a guy whose been around the block a few times. That's what made Rivera so valuable to this scheme, he had experience in the other defenses like the 4-3, 3-4 and 46 so he could find ways to tweak the scheme. I just got a bad feeling that we're gonna see a repeat of this year and nothing will change. Of course, then hopefully that means Lubbie the Loser and his crew is gone and his buddy Angelo has gone with him.

I was hoping someone else caught that comment. You'd really have to work to find a group of WRs worse than ours.

I'm with you on Lovie. I only hope that if we're going to tank, we do it quickly and consistently enough that there will be NO question that Smith screwed up yet again and it's now time to clean the entire house. Angelo as well.

This organization is a joke. I cannot wait until Lovie Smith and Jerry Angelo get fired.

You make a good point about the 10M but you also have to look at it from a purely business perspective. Do you want to spend 5M or 10M when you know the product is bad and waste 2 more years or do you take your lumps and get on with building a hopeful winner now? Yeah, it does cost 5-10M anyway, but probably not since Lovie is so highly thought of, we should get some help with the salary. The bigger issue in ALL of this to me is the time factor. If they let lovie hang 2 more years, it might be 4-5 more years then until these guys get back to the playoffs and THAT is only if they make the right moves. Playoffs = revenue so 10M won't hurt that much.

It's a safe bet for them. They have an assurance that if Brady does not come back next year and I heard the other day that there may be another surgery required, that they have continuity at the QB position. If Brady comes back strong, they can trade Cassel for a premium so they win either way. Besides, if the Surgeon screwed up, there will be a hefty malpractice suit from both the pats and brady so they won't lose alot of money. Obviously, they will eat the cap space but when has that ever been an issue for new England?

I hate the waiting as well. This football organization spends way too much time fixing mistakes. I've said before that if there is a wrong way to do things, by God this organization will find it and make it an art form. I don't really like to revisit the Ditka era but it does give you an idea of how far the expectations in this organization have fallen. Ditka was here 11 yrs. He had 3 losing seasons in that time span. He went to the playoffs 7 times, won 7 divisional titles and a SuperBowl and was fired after a 5-11 season that followed 2 years at 11-5 and let's face it, the McCaskeys dismantled that 85 Super Bowl team that should have won at least 2 more titles. It doesn't take a genius to see that this defense is broken and Smith and Babich are at the root. If it is the players then they needed to demand replacements OR just as easy, do much earlier in the year what they did later, activate guys like Adams who immediately improved this d line play. Any way you look at it, lovie Smith does with the players what he does with the coaches, protect and play his favorites and that is an incredible injustice to the players, fans and Bears organization. I wonder if anybody ever thinks what might have been if Mike McCaskey was booted out of the way when Ditka was still the Bears HC. Is it possible that these two forces could have coexisted for many years to come if there was a GM left in place who knew football? I know this. Ditka's heart was broken after the Bears let him go. I believe it was the ONLY HC job he ever wanted but he certainly wasn't the same afterwards and lets look at the Bears, have they ever seen an 11 yr period with more consistency since Ditkas been gone? Bottom line. Lovie, you have 1 year to get it right. If you don't go to the playoffs next year. YOU ARE FIRED!!!!!!! And good riddance.

It looks as if the honeymoon is coming to an end but as far as these two being tied to each other, if Smith makes no change with Babich this year, brings in a couple alsorans as d line and secondary coaches and doesn't win next year, he WILL be fired. Angelo is not going to risk his job by backing Smith another year because then they WOULD be locked at the hip. Hey, I haven't given up hope that there will be a battle in the coming days with Angelo and Smith over the DC position and it results in Smith resigning and taking his addlepated buddy with him. Hey, it's all I got...

Pappy Yokems is Lil Abners Pappy from Dogpatch (Sandy Tx) USA. It's all I could think of that would be derogatory. I was reaching.

I'll take it one further...Shanahan in Denver getting launched for not making the playoffs 3 yrs running and HE has some SB rings. I am waiting for this to all play out but this is so vintage Bears. If there is a wrong way to go, they'll find it somehow, if there's a wrong decision to make, they'll make it. And it's not so much that they do these things but it's at the worst possible times. You've got guys like Cowher, Shanahan out there, Holmgren. But we'll stand pat for another year with Pappy Yokems and his band of misfits and miss the opportunity to get some qualty coaching here all because the Bears have all that money committed to Smith. Hey, logic says the long term return on launching him and bringing in a guy like Cowher will giv us 10 times that return not to mention we could probably launch Angelo as well. We are wasting that money on Smith just by employing him another yr or two. We can flush it all down the toilet because this guy doesn't have a clue. It is frustrating watching the mistakes but it's even more frustrating when you see the solutions just sitting out there and nothing is done. Unfortunately, this whole organization is in denial from the top down.

Rhodes rushed for 113 and addai for 77. Just to clarify. If my wife screws my neighbor, I think she's just more guilty of having horrendous taste but what that has to do with a guy following the NATURAL FREAKING CAREER PATH IN THE NFL is beyond me. I guess launching every coach that has aspirations of a better life should become common practice in your world? Well, that will certainly guarantee the Bears are on the right path by hiring garbage that nobody else would want. Mission accomplished, of course you forget one small thing...OUR DEFENSE WILL ALSO SUCK!!! You are right, Rivera should thank lovie for setting him free and I'm sure he will the next time these two teams meet each other. Lovie on the other hand should be kicking himself in the ass for letting Rivera go and promoting Rainman Babich.

No we haven't agreed that Angelo's strength is defense. If it were, why have we been ranked 28th and 21st in the league the last 2 years with all the money we're paying these bums? I do agree that Angelo should be FORCED to employ and offensive consultant and I am becoming suspect of his defensive prowess as well. Maybe the REAL answer is launching Angelo first, bring in Holmgren as GM.

Great question...

No, I don't think that dumbshit knows when his guys are ready, whether they are giving their best effort or what their best effort is. Don't hand me that bullshit about these guys being professionals. Professionals don't get major paydays and then do nothing. AND a HC with his fingers on the pulse of his team doesn't let that happen.

This really has nothing to do with getting fired up. This has everything to do with keeping a pulse on your players and knowing whether they are ready to play. I think it's obvious by now that we don't have a leader on this team or if we do, he sure is keeping a low profile. You saw ray Lewis and Ed Reed in their game against Dallas? THAT is a leader. As I've said before, I think lovie Smith has neutured these players just like he's neutured the coaching staff. I don't give a shit whether Smith EVER gets animated. I just want to know that he has his head in the game and knows whether his guys are giving their best effort and I don't think he does.

What would have happened if Pittsburgh gave up in 1998? They would have given up on a coach who took them to 5 division titles in 7 yrs, the playoffs 6 yrs straight AND 3 AFC chanmpionships and 1 SB with a winning PCT of 633. But let's look at what makes Cowher different, aside from the fact that his record of success is undoubtedly better. Cowher was known as a guy who could adjust very quickly IN-GAME, he was constantly challenging his assistants to challenge him, keep him on his toes and the communication was open. While his skills as a talent evaluator were ok, his skill at getting the most out of his players is his most important trait. This is also a guy who would tell his players, hey, I made a mistake but I'm learning, stick with me guys. Lovie Smith, after 5 years has nowhere near THAT type of resume and I doubt after 7, it will be near what Cowhers was. One other thing stat really stood out about Cowher was when I watched the Tennessee-Pittsburgh game last week, I watched Cowher as he remarked about the Titans stamping on the terrible towels and you could see the bile rising in him and he said HE would not forget that and THAT would be where he would start motivating his guys. The REAL concern I have about Smith is that he just does NOT seem to understand the in game adjustment part of this business. His defensive scheme is failing and he's doing nothing but defending it, HE doesn't have it in him to admit he made a mistake and maybe that's because he he's too stubborn to listen to anyone else. He launched the one guy who could tweak his scheme and make it work but THAT guy challenged him and he didn't like it. Hey, just look at the Packers game. Here is the biggest game of the year, at home, playoffs hopes, rivalry and HIS team came out flat. Nothing. Could you imagine Lovie Smith invoking some old fashioned venom in his players? Hell no. He doesn't have it in him. I don't know what he said at halftime and I don't care, if he had been in tune with his coaches and his team, he would have known by Thursday that they weren't ready to play. His attitude is too laid back, he has no sense of urgency and THAT is what makes him an average coach. The great ones have a sense of urgency and believe there is no tomorrow, they don't have to get to the must win game to know that. They operate with that mentality. If nothing else, we need new Coordinators and Lovie better do something THIS off season or next season will definitely be his last.

Phuck the Analysts, if our football team plays to it's potential, we beat the vikings 6 out of 10 times. Give orton 1 premier WR and we beat them 7 out of 10.

I wasn't calling your post a load of crap. Just that comment about the Vikings having more talent. THAT is a load of crap.

Of course the Giants will show up Sunday. It's not in Coughlins nature to want to go into the playoffs coming off a loss. They will give their best effort. They probably won't play Jacobs or Tuck unless they are healed and ready to go but they are coming to play and I don't believe for ONE PHUCKING MINUTE that the Vikings are a better team than we are so this nonsense about them wanting to win so they could face us is a load of crap. We're in this position because we lost games we shouldn't have and our coaching staff has no clue how to prepare this team to play EVERY SUNDAY as if it were our last game. If they had done this back in September, we'd be looking at a different team right now. We are where we are because we didn't perform and probably don't deserve a playoff spot.

First of all, I think one thing Lovie said was very telling. It was along the lines of, "I didn't expect it, with so much at stake, the rivalry, I thought we'd come out on fire." First of all, ANY coach worth his salt pays attention to the mood and actions of his players. One that is in touch with them can get a feeling when things aren't right. Don't tell me that these guys were not giving any idications that they weren't ready. Hell, I certainly know when the guys that work for me have something going on or when they are just going thru the motions. I have seen them at their best AND their worst. I can spot it immediately. These are the words of a coach who is out of touch. And neither the OC or DC felt anything was wrong for these guys to come out so flat? Again, a coaching staff who is on top of their game pays attention to those things. This is the very thing about lovie Smith that I have hated, he just does not seem to be a big game coach. A good coach would have had his team ready to kill these guys. You want a lesson in motivation, look at the ravens when they came to play the last game against Dallas at Texas Stadium. You heard the players saying thats all we talked about all week was Dallas thinking we were some patsy or cream puff. Well, was there any phucking doubt the ravens came to play saturday night? HELL NO!!! They smashed the Cowboys in the face and kept pounding all night long. THAT team was motivated. And YES, I absolutely throw blame for this at Urlacher, Brown, Harris, and ANY other veteran on this team who for whatever reason is afraid to assume the role of team leader. Urlacher should have assumed that role. He's the so-called face of the franchise and what was he doing? Nothing. If nothing else Brown should have taken it but I don't know whether this coaching staff has neutured this team to the point where nobody wants that role. Whatever is going on in that lockerroom needs fixing real damn quick. Sorry but as happy as I am with the win, somehow it feels like we've sold our soul to the devil and any problems will be masked by a victory.

The only thing keeping me from going off on this guy is the fact that our WR do suck, our OC has to go and the O line is not that good. I am only hoping that the reason he UNDERFUCKINGTHREW that SURE TD to hester in OT is because he is injured. The only reason we got that PI call was because hester had to damn near stop to try and catch it. If Not, I want a guy who will be able to capitalize on the ONLY thing hester IS capable of doing, getting open deep. If Orton can't do that , we need to shitcan him.