Lucky Luciano

just so i get this right... you have no idea how any professional athlete is playing or compares to other athletes in quality unless you hear it from a coach or GM? you have no idea what any professional teams needs are unless the owner, GM or coach tells you what they need? you believed everything lovie smith and jerry angelo stated to the media? is that correct? ok, if i see our TE davis drop 50 passes in a season and lovie smith tells me in a press conference he compares to the best TE's in the NFL i should believe him because he is an expert? do you? if lovie smith tells me rex grossman is our starting qb and is a top quality player that can win a superbowl for us i should have believed him? did/do you? on another note i don't know anything about flying a 747 either but if a pilot drunk-on-his-ass tells me he can fly that day as good as if he was sober i should believe him and get on board because he is an expert? in other words seeing webb miss about 100 blocks and nearly get cutler killed over the last 2-3 years isn't a big enough picture for you to determine if he is good or bad unless emery or angelo told you that he was bad? dude, statistics are a useful tool to coinside with many other useful tools in making analysis. but the litmus test is seeing with your own eyes. and if you don't believe what you see and just believe what someone tells you you saw, no matter WHO it is, that is concerning.

i understand your feelings on this and although it IS too early to judge and in truth he didn't have the time or his scouts in place the reality is that he SHOULD have recognized the need on our OL as a top priority to protect our franchise player in cutler. even IF every tackle on the board for 4 rounds was worse than webb (which i truly find impossible to believe) then a primo guard was the top priority EVEN in the first round and at the worst down to round 4. i will give him the #2 pick in a projected very good WR but even that pales to the reality of protecting your qb.

i agree with your overall judgement on this but i HAD to comment on the red flags that are popping up.

to me that is disturbing. how could you watch the tape over the last 3-5 years on this offensive line, how could you watch the games live this season and not be able to make a real unbiased judgement on how this offensive line is playing and the quality of the starting players??? even if it were your own brother on the field you have to call it like you see it. there is no bizzaro world or alternate universes to cloud your vision, it is what it is. NOTE: i agree this stats inc. could be a valuable tool but my god, don't you rely on what you actually see? in regards to the 49ers reference... 1. this stat quoted for pass protection is misleading as most stats can be without real individual context... who is the qb? how much experience? how much time has he to throw? how quick is his release? where is the pressure coming from? how often? how much pressure was from an individual game (competition)? how mobile is he? are injuries factored in to your line play? how young is your offensive line? how many knock downs? hurries? and on and on. 2. the bears are rated 16th in run blocking and in my opinion that is a stretch considering their 3rd and short statistics and their failure rate in the red zone. do you know what the run blocking rating for the 49ers is? they are rated first in the nfl for run blocking. that goes a long way in comparing two different teams offensive lines and emery should know better than quoting such nonsense. http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/ol sorry but i don't value anyones opinion higher than mine when i can see with my own eyes the reality of any situation. webb was not bad, he was horrendous. carimi was not bad, he was horrendous. whoever our left guards were were bad. garza was NOT good. if emery really believes that then welcome jerry angelo v 2.0 in regards to our offense. summary: i DO like a lot of what emery has said and his attitude but some of this really has raised at least one red flag to go along with his draft which i consider not very good at this point. i know it will take time to fully evaluate it but to me picking a tweener DE in the first round and a whatever useless position rodruges (sp) is in the 4th round when we have REAL need for a center AND guards is simply unacceptable. this is true espcially since we cut clutts to bring this Hback or whatever he is into chicago for a limited nothing role that did NOTHING to help our offense.

a few things he said about this teams offense and offensive line gave me reason to pause. his reliance on this 'stat'? analysis to determine how our offensive linemen played was not what i wanted to hear. his assessment of webb, if i heard this correctly, was mindboggling. in my opinion this guy is the worst tackle in the nfl or close to it. how could you rate nearly anyone lower than him and not DRAFT someone even on a longshot pick to replace him? his assessment of key offensive players (RB OR WR) seemed to eclipse the reality of how to build around the KEY, key player who is a qb and keep him HEALTHY. what good is it to have these 'key' type players if your quarterback is on IR and you are playing your third stringers? how can you make the qb position work efficiently with no running game due to poor run blocking? it's astounding this came out of his mouth. he mentioned specifically our tackles needing consistency while saying we had adequate talent at our interior line. HUH???? you can't possibly be serious. we need not just one guard we need TWO and a freaking real CENTER!!! garza is average at BEST, louis is average at best and unknown, spencer would struggle to average and did he forget about chileo? in another breath he lauded davis as our TE. how is that remotely possible?? what is this guy watching??? i am hoping this was just some lip service of not burning your bridges just yet but if not... whew, we still have some real problems in upper management.

here are the top coaches i would like to see in chicago (sean payton is off the market): 1. bill cowher: although defensive minded this guy still can coach and knows how to surround himself with good personnel. maybe the only defensive minded coach i give the keys to the franchise to. 2. andy reid: i understand the problems in philly but this guy can still coach and has tons of experience. a new venue may be just what he needs to succeed. 3. mike holmgren: another very good coach but BAD gm/coach. in truth i would bring him in with NO reservations at all as a head coach. he knows qb's and knows how to get the most out of an offense. brings in good support coaches also. i would also like him in the position that sweaty teddy is in even with the cleveland situation. 4. a dark horse is seriously jimmy johnson. this guy can work with a very young group of players and sift out the flotsam. a proven winner with an offensive mind. 5. a very dark horse... brian billick. never did a lot with the ravens offense but i still think this guy knows offensive football. just maybe. i have chosen the above because... i want a good proven coach who has done it before. call them retreads or whatever you want. i am TIRED of on the job training for head coaches. at this point we need someone to move us UP the ladder. we have never hired a head coach in this franchises modern history who has been a head coach in the NFL. it's time. some others will surface but for now this is my short list.

shirley you jest? although both of these hammerheads would fit the chicago bear definition of a franchise qb, if we ever want to see a superbowl in this century just say NO to these types of pretenders. tim tebow? bobby douglas was better than this guy. he's not a starting qb, not a #2 qb and not a #3 qb. sanchez? didn't we already have him here in cade mcnown? if either one of these qb's turns into even a 'good' qb it will be a decade from now and if i'm wrong i'll eat my own foot. for god's sake if we are THIS desperate for a qb hire about 10 GOOD scouts over the next 3 years just to evaluate good quaterback talent in the college ranks and DRAFT them!! EDIT: which we SHOULD do anyway!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i have been a strong advocate for hiring a GOOD progressive (not ditkaish) offensive minded head coach with NFL experience for a long, long, time and i still am pushing for this scenario especially in light of today's NFL rules. shanny is the case in point or even kubiak (our GM's/owners missed both giving lovie their support and "confidence"). but... there are a few really good head coach candidates in the NFL that i could and would/would have, targeted HARD who are defensive minded but bring a lot more to the table than the lovie mindset of complete ignorance of the offensive side of the ball. they understand what it takes to win in the nfl and surround themselves with 'superior' talented coaches to compensate and work in their system. one was jeff fisher who we passed on to continue with the lovie death spiral. you can say whatever you want, this guy can put together very good staffs who work very well together on both sides of the ball. he also puts together a good system when losing key coaching personnel and players and has worked with idiot owners before so would have been able to work in chicago well. he also motivates players to play hard. the other is bill cowher. from what i have seen he is a great player motivator who gets his teams ready to play on sunday afternoons. he can adjust well not ONLY in weekly game prep but can adjust on the fly during a game. he doesn't need to look at the game film 3 days later to see what isn't working. he has coached in one of the toughest divisions over the years and done more than just ok. his biggest attribute might be his ability to bring good coaching staffs together who really know how to coach players to be better. even through attrition he lands on his feet with good coaches when his staff might move on to other teams and good ball players when he loses key players to free agency or injury. in my opinion, since shanny is gone, this is my absolute top pick for the bears head coaching position to move this franchise up the ladder to win superbowls and not just 'make the playoffs' or lose that miracle superbowl appearance every 10 years. if our GM is worth a can of spit and can supply cowher with good draft picks we could start challenging the rest of the NFL for that top spot within the next 3 years. the second choice for me would be payton. he has a ton of experience coaching and the results are credible. a TOP choice pick for chicago to move ahead. next: i really would like andy reid as our head coach and if he is mentally ready to continue at this point with all the turmoil in his family then he is my third choice. it might be a hard call on him though at this time. it would take some serious conversations with reid through our GM to determine this. my next choice would be a flyer on bruce arians. it's a fair sized gamble at this point as he has never put together a staff of his own. he does have a lot of NFL coaching experience though and is an offensive minded coach who has worked with the best qb's. a LOT would depend upon emery as to whether arians would succeed or not. after this it is a crap shoot on coordinators moving up. i would seriously stay away from any college rank coaches to lead this franchise from where it is at right now. it's just to risky especially considering the absolute lack of quality players currently on this team.

right now marshall is the best player on offense in both performance and attitude. NOBODY, with the possible exception of cutler, tries harder to move the chains than this guy. it's his attitude that he will not be stopped and fights for every inch on the field. we need about a half dozen more players like him.

those are good choices. also throw the moon cowhers way and get him out of retirement. even as a defensive minded coach he surrounds himself with good coaching talent. in my opinion if we had launched lovie and company 2 years ago and gone after shanny we would be sitting pretty well right now. we also missed the boat in my opinion on passing up on fisher. whatever happens we need a change for the better and not some knucklehead with his first NFL job cause he works cheap.

we had nearly 10 years of poor drafting that has left this franchise with nearly nothing in drafted talent. our roster is swarming with 2nd and 3rd tier players on BOTH sides of the ball and players at the ends of their careers. the only talent what-so-ever with maybe 1-2 exceptions has been brought in as free agents or drafted by someone else than jerry angelo. to let that GM continue on as long as he did falls DIRECTLY onto CEO mike mccaskey and his crony ted phillips. they have run this franchise into the freaking DIRT that will take a good GM 3-4 years to turn around in the draft even IF we currently have one!!! the coaching staff in this franchise should have been FIRED at the very least 2-4 years ago. yet the mccaskey family gave lovie and his garbage coaching staff(s) their vote of confidence and support. this falls directly on them. so... you can blame lovie (who sucks) or any of his staff (who sucks even harder) for this mess but in reality it's the people who hired him and kept him here for nearly a decade. so thank the mccaskey family from the top down for NOTHING!!!!!

i agree with most of what you stated. little bum to me is and has been a very good defensive coordinator throughout the decades but has the buddy ryan syndrome as a head coach. i would have taken (and still would) phillips in a new york minute as our DC. to me he is light years ahead of lovie and lovie's entire system of defense. capers seems to me to be capable as DC and appears to be able to figure out whatever coaches and personnel we throw at the packers. we have been out-coached and out-ownered/VPPP/GM'ed year after year for decades and it shows that we have no clue how to plan ahead further than the immediate season.

i will concede i am poor to say the least at math. but if i did it correctly, i used these percentages as the NFL as a whole which included the 33 teams. maybe these are wrong too? LOL... like i said math is not my forte. it looks way more convincing with your out of the top 20 percentages though.

i too am not going to count carimi out just yet. we'll wait and see and HOPE he pulls out of this rookie slump. although... a serious concern came up for me in the last game. it's a question of balance. it's one of the most IMPORTANT things a rb or offensive lineman can have to become good +. at times he was just off balance and plain knocked on his arse. this should NOT happen.

i'm not sure this link to the bleacher report is supporting your assumptions. Bleacher Report - Top 20 Offensive Tackles in the NFL: Using Advanced Stats to Select the Best OTs 20. Marcus Gilbert - 2nd round - RT 19. Joe Staley - 1st round - RT, LT 18. Matt Light - 2nd round - LT 17. Michael Roos - 2nd round - RT, LT 16. Duane Brown - 1st round - LT 15. Andre Smith - 1st round - RT 14. Trent Williams - 1st round - LT 13. D’Brickashaw Ferguson - 1st round - LT 12. Eric Winston - 3rd round - RT 11. Bryan Bulaga - 1st round - RT 10. Andrew Whitworth - 2nd round - LG, LT 9. Tyron Smith - 1st round - RT, LT 8. Sebastian Vollmer - 2nd round - RT 7. Jake Long - 1st round - LT 6. Eugene Monroe - 1st round - LT 5. Branden Albert - 1st round - LT 4. Joe Thomas - 1st round - LT 3. Jason Peters - undrafted free agent - TE, RT, LT 2. Tyson Clabo - undrafted free agent - bounced around on practice squad till falcons - LT 1. David Stewart - 4th round - RT what this reads like to me is... 1. that of the top tackles left or right in the NFL 11 of these were drafted in the first round; 5 were drafted in the 2nd round; 1 in the 3rd round; 1 in the 4th round; and TWO were undrafted free agents. a total of 51.5% of the top tackles were first day draft picks (rounds 1-3). a total of 3% were drafted in round 4; and to cap it off 6% were undrafted. those are staggering percentages. 2. left tackle: over 27% were first round draft picks; 9% were 2nd round picks; 0% were 3rd round picks; 0% 4th round picks; 6% were undrafted. or a total of over 33% of the best of the best were first day picks and in this case rounds one and two. these percentages speak volumes of where you want to look for high quality offensive tackles.

i agree with both. is tice the next human sacrifice to fall on lovies sword? fisher to me is one of the better coaches in the NFL today and that situation in tenn was dismal.

agree but it just isn't a surprise. isn't the definition of insanity of doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results each time? this is on our management. letting mikey run this franchise as the CEO into the sewer after his 'demotion' for running this franchise into the mud previously. this is on the owners for hiring a president of football operations who knows even less about football than they do in ted phillips. this is on sweaty teddy for hiring jerry angelo and giving him his confidence long after he should have been fired. this is on the mccaskey family for hiring a ticket promoter relative in george to REPLACE mikey the idiot child who gave angelo AND lovie smith his seal of approval. this is on jerry angelo for poor drafting and and even worse coaching hires and standing firmly by his poor decisions. this is on lovie smith who has never had a creative football thought in 10 years. he has never realized that a GOOD team will dismantle your style of defense with scalpel precision CONSISTENTLY. ignore the offensive side of the ball in an era when it has evolved into an offense oriented game. lovie who has overseen the hiring of multiple coaching staffs by friends and cronies instead of hiring competent coaching staffs. of being incapable of any input or direction on the offensive side of the ball when it's obvious it is going down in flames for MULTIPLE years. this "D" has been figured out since the turn of the century. every team in the NFL can use last years game film to devise a game plan against us. our DC is the same learn-on-the-job coach as our OC is. where is the genius in marinelli's play book? are our defensive linemen really any better than when he started as our DC? is the scheme any better or different than lovies from 8 or 9 years ago? how about tice? who on our OL is better? they can't even scheme the basics. how is tice an offensive line guru after seeing what has transpired? look at our LT. has carimi gotten better? as i have said for the past umpteen years all of our linemen are playing different positions than they should be. gruden may be the only announcer to comment on this i can remember. we have a 'decent/average' though aging LEFT guard playing center and before that RIGHT guard. a 7th round RT playing LT, a college LT playing RT, a RG, chilio, playing LG. it just seems ludicrous that these people don't get it or at LEAST try changing it after this long.

i can't imagine our OC didn't try to compensate with a different blocking scheme or maybe switch tackle positions? how could it have possibly have made it worse? i can't imagine that our OC didn't send SOMEONE in to replace either of our tackles by the 2nd quarter to at least SEE if they could be worse and if they were then they are truly wasting a roster spot. maybe move garza over to replace chilio at left guard and put spenser in at center but for god's sake do something even if it was wrong. our tackles were horrendous, our guards weren't much better, and our center? at best he was just bad. carimi was just plain getting beaten like a rented mule but it was hard to determine if he was worse than webb. at one time both our tackles got pushed 5 yards behind the LOS and met at our QB for a sack at the same time. i don't think i have ever seen that before. after seeing just how really, really bad our starting offensive line is, how bad must our back-ups be? how could they possibly be collecting an NFL salary if our offensive coach will let something like what we saw continue? can't anyone in this entire franchise judge offensive line talent? how could they possibly believe this OL was solid going into the season??

then the bar is way to low. if just making a one-and-done or even winning one wild card game is enough to give this staff a contract extension it's criminal on the management side of this equation. not happy with tice? why is he here in the first place? who has the final say on how this team plays on sundays (or mondays for that matter) how many years do we have to see the same losing coaching philosophy before someone in charge of this is fired?

here's a newsflash.... YOU are the one who in your previous posts stated how well the OFFENSIVE LINE looked. not the TE's, FB's or RB's along with our tackles to doubleteam this watt guy or anybody else. i never stated it was new or unusual but if you NEED to double team a guy nearly every play can you really say that offensive lineman whose ASSIGNMENT is to block that guy and he can't do it on an island played excellent that game? really? that's not nit picking, it's the reality of the situation. did carimi play well and better than the last two previous games? SURE for the most part with HELP i agree. but... i ALSO have to look at what he did when the game was on the line... with 2 min left in the GAME and we are down by 7 it's 2nd down and 13 on our own 35. on a completion by cambell to hester for 7 yards carimi gets a holding penalty (uhh who did he hold on this play?). we now are backed up to our own 25 yard line and it's 2nd down and 23 with 2:06 to go instead of 3rd down and 6 from our 42 yard line. we never recover from this penalty - game over. does that count into your "excellent" performance? will he get better? i think he can be a good tackle in our future but right now he is not "excellent" by any stretch of the imagination. he needs more playing time to find the groove of NFL play just like nearly any new offensive lineman. what leads you to believe the run blocking was not as bad as it looked? i don't understand that statement. it looked AWFUL to me except for a few plays. in my opinion forte had nothing to work with for open lanes to run through. his cutting ability in those conditions does not exist so there is no bouncing out of a filled hole to make something happen with speed or elusiveness. our guards (with a POSSIBLE exception of lance luis) and center did nothing to get a push off the LOS. our tackles were barely holding the LOS with the help of a TE or HB let alone blasting any semblance of a hole for our backs to run through. and bush? in my opinion this dumb coaching staff missed the boat again. this is the straight ahead guy we supposedly use in the red zone because of his power and size. yet in these conditions our power back gets >>3 did i say that? my contention is that this type of game in this type of weather with those key players missing is NOT a yardstick on the quality of the performance. they played well/average CONSIDERING the circumstances that effected the game for both teams in pass protection. they did NOT run block well or anything close to well... period. if you want to call this OL performance excellent that is your right to do so. to each his own. but to me it was not excellent and the facts and statistics support this if you want to look at them.

i see your point but... lovie seems to have a doghouse for specific players. if we benched marshall for every dropped ball or cutler for every INT we wouldn't win a game. sure i was crying when bush fumbled but in real football you send the guy back out to regain lost confidence and prove it wasn't a fluke. if it happens again then rethink your position. in my opinion bush has really lived up to his price tag and one fumble in a night like last night just is not enough evidence to bench him especially when he gives you the best chance to win the game. if he really was benched because of the fumble it is just another nail in our coaching staffs coffin as to why they don't deserve to coach here in chicago. EDIT: sorry i just had to add this... how long ago would webb have been riding the pine if we benched him for getting cutler sacked? LOL

nit picking? no, they did not play extremely well. at best they MAY have played average. see my post in earlier in this game thread. the texans were short 3 defensive key starters, jj watt was getting doubled up with help from our TE’s and RB’s. webb again was average at best. he also was getting some help at times and some other times tried using the good ole headlock block or just plain watching the DE pivot around him. how many penalties did we stall drives on created by our offensive line? the conditions were not ideal for the pass rush to state it mildly. our running game was non-existant with nearly NO holes opened up by the OL for our backs to squeeze through a crease. so how is that considered extremely well? that cutler wasn’t sacked 6 times in the first half in a sea of mud? really? the first half we rushed for 23 total yards? if that’s not bad just how bad IS bad then? didn’t you see the pile up at the LOS nearly every running down? forte would need a pole vault pole to get over the fatties!! nobody was getting cuts of any kind in that slop. that’s why bush was the better horse in the mud. here is the first half play by play… read it and weep: quarter #1 1st possession - pass to davis - fumble 2nd possession... forte over left guard 2yds pass to bennett 9yds forte over left tackle 2 yds pass play and cutler scrambles for 7 yds 3rd and 1 and they call a pass play to hester who completes it for >0 4th down - bush for 11 yds and fumbles at the 27 yard line of houston 3rd possession... short pass to marshall 14 yds forte over right tackle 1 yd pass deep right to davis - intercepted END 1st quarter 16 YARDS RUSHING in 4 attempts by our RB’s - 7 yds by our QB scrambling – 4 short to intermediate depth passes w/ 4 completions. 1 deep pass intercepted quarter #2 1st possession... forte right tackle 4 yds forte right end 1 yd pass – deep to marshall incomplete 51 yd FG 2nd possession... pass deep right to hester incomplete pass short left to marshall 7yds pass incomplete deep left to hester punt 3rd possession... forte over right tackle 2 yds forte over right end -1 yd pass short middle to hester who runs for 42 yds. penalty on cutler for LOS violation. cheap shot by texans offset penalty. CONCUSSION for our QB thanks to the linebacking thug on the texans. pass - cutler scrambles through left guard hole for a concussed 11 yds 2 minute warning pass short right to forte no gain pass short left to marshall INT 4th possession... 51 seconds in half from their own 21 cutler scrambles through LG hole for 19 yds. NOTE: a pattern emerges when cutler is concussed. he runs a LOT and rarely slides. his decision making abilities AND depth perception in passing plays suffers GREATLY. is this a real surprise to ANYONE? pass from our own 40 incomplete deep middle to forte 25 seconds in half pass short left to hester 4 yds END 2ND QUARTER 4 rushing attempts for 7 yds rushing by our RB’s – 11 yd scramble by the QB – 4 deep passes with >0 END HALF - total 23 yds rushing by our backs with 8 attempts - cutler 26 yds rushing with 16 passing attempts including his scrambles. anybody see the pattern? in this garbage field conditions of mud and pouring rain for an entire half we gameplanned 8 running plays vs. 16 passing plays. 5 of these passes were deep routes. bush our big bruising back who is a better mudder than the lighter forte and should do better in a stacked box in straight ahead running gets one carry. genius!!

thomas or whoever this piece of floating crud is should have been ejected from the game and given a suspension by the league. that was as flagrant a foul as i have seen since mcmahon. the guy was purposely trying to hurt cutler by hitting him in the head. there is just no other way to read it.

i am starting to believe the coaches don't know what they are. seriously, would anybody else like to see any sense of urgency lining up for a play? anyone like to see a change of pace in the freaking snap count? do we ever quick snap it? how about a hurry up offense before the game is in it's death throws? hmmm... has our coaching staff heard that you can go with a no huddle offense before the two minute warning?

i have to disagree or maybe not depending upon what their "best game yet" would compare to. other than 2 or 3 runs over right tackle/guard the offensive line did nearly nothing to create holes for our backs to run through. it was like a scrum on the LOS. when the qb has more rushing yards than both of your backs for an entire half that is not good. how good was our pass protection? it is unknown. 1. the field conditions were so poor it nearly negated the pass rush on both sides to about 3/4 speed. it was slowed down considerably for both teams. 2. if doug and OB were correct, the texans were missing 3 key starters on defense. our offensive line SHOULD have done well pass protecting. they also should have done well run blocking. 3. if i'm not mistaken our left guard had two penalties, a motion penalty and a holding penalty. our right tackle had at least one drive ending holding penalty. i saw webb make at least one horrible play blocking on a run over left guard. instead of drive blocking his man out of the play he stood there upright thinking his job was done and watching the dt spin and tackle our running back that just went through the hole. these are mental mistakes that should not exist by game 10. 4. we max protected quite a bit. i have to agree cutler did and has looked bad throughout the season in the first half. that leads me to ask... why? why are we coming out so cold in the first half game after game after game? is it preparation/practice? game plan? this has to fall on the coaching staff for this long of a period of time. either the game plans are flawed or our practices are a complete waste of time. obviously the superbowl taught lovie nothing about how an offense should play in inclement weather. tonight... the field is slop, it is raining hard and we have our qb throw multiple deep routes downfield? if you look at our completion percentage on long balls even in optimum field conditions it is dismal. the crap they played in tonight there is no way the timing on these routes gives you any reasonable chance for it to work. it's just plain stupid. a waste of critical downs. what did work? SLANTS!! and how many times did we use them? once? twice? what would have given us the optimum chance of a working passing attack in this weather? short passes AND intermediate deep pass plays of 12-15 yards to open up our running game and get the 8 in the box to back off. maybe work these off of play action? hmmmm. the advantage was to the receiver tonight as the footing was bad yet we never capitalized on it. how many games is this coaching staff going to send out our TE's in passing routes when they have proven multiple times they are NOT reliable. can anyone here understand why clutts is cut and we give davis a new contract? how many times are we going to give hester these critical chances in our passing game? he is like the TE's, inconsistant. these dropped balls are drive killers. we have to open lanes for our backs to go through and we just are not doing it. add this to the fact they are stacking the box against us and barry sanders couldn't squirm his way through the mass of bodies the entire length of the OL. agree he does have lapses but that has been true throughout his career. what he does bring is a guy who, unlike the rest of this offense, has the desire to make the plays and give it all for that extra yard. he fights for every ball and is smart enough to know when to play defense on poor throws. afterall, he is double teamed consistently and still is our best receiver by a mile. i don't think i could have been more amazed by this guys performance tonight. we gave this guy the money that SHOULD have gone to a guard or tackle and for what? haney couldn't have looked worse than cambell tonight. it was abysmal to say the least. these dink and dunk 1 and 2 yard passes at crunch time are mindboggling. he looked like he has never played a down in the nfl. STRIKE TWO EMERY!! this stuff has to fall directly on our coaches and how they prepare these players for gametime. this is our turf and we should know how to play on it no matter what the conditions are better than some warm weather team that plays in a dome.