nfoligno

I saw the Sun Times piece, and quickly dismissed it after realizing who wrote it. IMHO, she has tried to fill the shock jock role others like Bayless and Mariotti played in Chicago for years. In fact, I think she is worse. I would be sick if we signed Vick. Honesty, and I do not say this lightly, I would truly consider boycotting all things bears if we signed him.

- Colombo is not FA. His contract has been extended for 4 more years (and I doubt he would like to return to Chicago). Dang, good catch. I freaking live in Dallas, but missed that one as it happened around Christmas. Okay, take him off the table, but I still like our options at RT. And for the record, I don't think he would have had a problem returning. We carried him for years w/o any return. As I recall, there were no hard feelings when we let him go, and he in fact said he totally understood. And as I said before, if we could get Briggs to play happy, and Booker to return, anything is possible. - Matt Birks future in Minnesota is not certain. I've read a lot of rumours of him nor returning. With a supposedly good draft for centers coming up, they might go that way and save some cap dollars there! Maybe, but if they replace Burk w/ a rookie, I will be fine w/ that. That would be a huge hole for a rookie to fill.

I personally like warner. I think, even w/o his great weapons, he can be a very good or great QB. But I do believe he needs a great OL. He has a good OL in Az, and a great WR duo. Whether he has the weapons or the OL, I think he can excel, but I do not think he would offer much w/o either. Here, what do we have? I am not sure our top WR is even a starter for most teams. Our OL is flat out awful. If he were to come here, assuming no other additions, I think he would get killed. Now, I will say this. If we added Warner as part of a greater overhaul of the offense, I might in fact be for that. If we added a package, for example, of Warner, TJ Hous & Max Starks (or pick your favorite RT), while also drafting an OG and another WR, I would be all for bringing Warner in. But I have little hope we will add these other pieces. I really believe Angelo feels our offense simply lacks a QB. I think Angelo believes our OL is solid, and will be great w/ Williams next year. I really believe Angelo feels we have loads of potential at WR, and simply lack a QB to bring out their potential. So, if our big offensive signing were simply Warner, I think our offense would take a step backward. But if, and its a massive if, he were part of a greater upgrade package, I would have no issue at all.

I honestly don't know. I imagine the huge money paid to Smith makes kicking him to the curb difficult...but I thought JA has the balls to do it. I really don't think he does. I get the feeling of a lot of hot air. Even all his stmts regarding QB, Urlacher...etc. I think it's all smokescreen. This team has not been honest in the media. I see no reason to think they are being up-front now. I have theorized before that Angelo and Lovie are tied at the hip, thus I do not feel Angelo can fire Lovie. When Lovie's time is done, so is Angelos. I think he knows that, and thus simply can not fire him. At the same time, as w/ Jauron, I did expect Angelo to step in more w/ regard to Babich. He has done it in the past. He was all over Jauron about Shoop. Even w/ Lovie, he was (as I recall) key to our sending Shea packing after one season. As bad as the D has been the last two years, since Babich took over, I really felt Angelo would pressure Lovie to make a move. At least to me, it appears friendship is simply too great of an asset now. It's really confusing. We are SO behind Rex damn the torpedoes missing out on guys like Warner,etc...but now, after a pretty decent season, Orton is on the hot-seat? Not that he shouldn't be...but where was that when Rex was killing us year after year? Agreed 100%. I have no issue w/ saying we are not sold on Orton and sending him a message that he needs to do better, and we are not ready to give him a bunch of money. At the same time, (a) w/ the defense as bad as it was, going out of your way to spotlight the QB seems questionable to me, and ( where was this attitude all those years w/ Rex, who we didn't even want to provide competition as we were afraid we would hurt his feelings?

ESPN and the Sun Times did a bit of Salary Cap work for the NFC North. Below are the figures for the four teams: Detroit: $26.8 million Minnesota: $20.4 million Green Bay: $19.09 million Chicago: $17.4 million These numbers do not reflect cap credits each team will get, including as much as $9m we are due to receive in credit for CB Marcus Hamilton. $9m for Hamilton? Wow. So we are looking at about $26M, and you can bet the others will be due increases also. What I didn't feel was mentioned much though was how each team is set up entering FA in terms of current players the team needs to sign. The bears have the following players due to hit FA. Mike Brown, Grossman, Lloyd, Fred Miller and St. Clair. I think it fair to assume Grossman, Lloyd and Miller are absolutely gone. I know some would like to keep Lloyd, but after his spat w/ the staff, I just see no chance of that. Mike Brown is most likely gone, though I personally would consider re-signing him on the cheap to play SS. St. Clair I think could be looked at, but again, not for big bucks. Point here is, we should have around $26m, but w/o many players of our own hitting FA, and frankly, few to no players we will be looking to extend. In past years, we have used up a ton of cap to extend players on the team, but who is left? Thus, most of our cap can actually be used to add to this team. Detroit FAs. DT Shaun Cody OT George Foster K Jason Hanson RB Rudi Johnson MLB Paris Lenon WR Shaun McDonald MLB Ryan Nece QB Dan Orlovsky TE John Owens OG Stephen Peterman CB Stanley Wilson In this list, I note numerous starters or key players. Additionally, this team has so many holes, it makes swiss cheese look whole. Simply put, they could have $40m in cap space, and it still would not seem like enough. Minny FAs. DT Kenderick Allen C Matt Birk QB Brooks Bollinger S Michael Boulware DT Fred Evans MLB Heath Farwell WR Robert Ferguson CB Charles Gordon DE Otis Grigsby TE Jim Kleinsasser CB Benny Sapp S Darren Sharper DE Kenechi Udeze A pro bowl center. Several defensive starters, and numerous key contributors. They have $20m listed, but is a team known to load up on credits, so I would expect them to big higher. Still, they have a lot of work to do in their secondary, where they are were not great to begin w/, and have several starters hitting FA. Further, Birk will cost a lot to retain, and they need serious help at QB. Green Bay FAs. S Atari Bigby RF DT Colin Cole TE Bubba Franks DE Michael Montgomery OT Mark Tauscher Their list is not big, though Tauscher is going to be a big one by himself. I have read several reports talking about him as one of the top OTs in FA, and if GB wants to keep him, it will cost a lot. If they want to replace him, that too will cost a lot. Other than Tauscher, their offense is pretty solid, but their D is simply bad and has a lot of work. They too are going to find themselves needing every bit of their cap to deal w/ current holes. I guess the point here is two fold. One, we are looking very good w/ an expected $26m (or there abouts) in cap space. We are also looking very good in terms of how many players we have hitting FAs, as well as the lack of current players we are going to be looking to extend. At that same time, just looking at our own division, the other teams are in decent position too. I would say Det is in the worst position, simply because it has so many holes. Minny and GB have solid cap space, but each has at least one big ticket player to re-sign (Birk/Tauscher), while Minny has several lesser starters as well. I think we and GB are each in the best position, though I think we get the nod for best due to their having Tauscher hitting FA. W/ $26m, I think we have more than enough money to make a big impact. I still believe (Free Agency) we should be looking at WR and OT first and foremost. QB and OG are not included due to quality available. Not due to an idea we are set there. On defense, I think DE and FS are the top needs. DE is difficult to add in FA, and I think we are more likely to look at the draft there. But I think a FS is possible. My FA hopes (not predictions). WR - TJ Housyourmama. Sorry, but I just see no one else that is even close. He would do as much to help our offense as just about any other player would could hope to add. OT - Frankly, there is a decent list of FA OTs I would like to look at. I do not think we will be looking at the top tier (Gross, Tauscher, Smith) as we have Williams. We will be looking for a RT. Columbo, Carey, Starks, Stincomb, Barnes. Point is, there are more than a couple solid RTs to choose from, any of which I think would be an upgrade to Tait. FS - Otogwe. He is one of the few, very few, bright spots on a bad St. Louis defense. He is a solid, young FS. He is a playmakers (5 ints/6 FFs this year and 8 ints last). He would be a great addition to our defense, and probably the first true FS we have had in a LONG time. W/ these additions, we could focus on OG and DE in the draft, as well as maybe a QB and RB. Of course, I am sure Angelo will use the money for an over the hill QB, yet another TE, a WLB and a SS he believes can play FS.

What you are saying makes perfect financial sense, but how often have you seen owners simply take a much more short-sighted outlook? Sucess leads to greater profits. That has always been the case, yet history has seen (often) teams go cheap to save money, even though spending more would equal more. I think it become more complicated when you factor the $10m loss is factual, while the believed potential for greater profit (due to sucess and playoffs) is theoretical. Just because we dump Lovie, does not automatically mean we will have a better team. In fact, the team could look at Lovie's tenure w/ the team, and say they have had more sucess under him, and more winning seasons and playoff wins than in the last what, two decades? While I would totally agree w/ you, Lovie has done more financially for this team than the previous two decades worth of staffs. Honestly, while everyone is assuming another season w/o the playoffs would mean Lovie is fired, I am simply not so sure. If he has another average season, but misses the playoffs, I am simply not sold he would be fired. Now, if the team takes a major step backward, and ends up w/ like 5 or 6 wins, or fewer, than the odds increase, but if he ends w/ 7, 8 or 9 wins and no playoff, I am simply not sure he is fired. I also think Angelo is a factor here too. I personally believe Lovie and Angelo are tied at the hip. I do not see us firing Lovie and keeping Angelo. Thus, it is a big move to fire both, and I think we will have to really tank next year to see that happen.

Maybe expecting him to know all three WR positions his first year as a true WR is asking too much, but I still think we could have done far more to help him. Having him go in motion to me would have been a great way to help him. Putting him in motion would serve two purposes. One, it would allow him to get off the LOS clean, which he really struggled to do. Two, when you send a WR in motion, a defense is often forced to "show" what their plan is. Are they playing zone or man. You know this w/ a WR in motion. Is the S going to specifically double cover your speed WR, or play a deep field zone. How the FS moves when the WR goes into motion will show this. You also often force the LBs to motion to one area or the other, which again, provides a tell. Sending a WR into motion is something many offenses do, and for the reasons listed above, but how often did we see use try to use Hester that way. The only player I really saw us send in motion was Olsen, and he happened to be one of the few who didn't struggle against press coverage.

1. we don't have the player personnel to run the cover 2 correctly. we don't have any corners who can play bump and run, we don't have fast safeties (especially at free safety) who can cover, and NOW we don't have a d-line to rush the qb. yet with all this we see no changes in philosophy by our coaching staff on how to utilize the talent we do have. I have two different takes on this. The first is, I am not sure I agree we don't have the personnel to run the cover two. I am still a believer that the vast majority of our problem is Babich, and his inability to run our defense, than personnel itself. This same group of players carried the team to the SB only two years ago. This same group had a top 5 defense. This season, more and more, you heard players speaking out, and IMHO, they were speaking about against Babich. You say our corners can't bump and run, but are you sure that is necessary for the cover two. Under Lovie, our corners have never even tried to bump and run, regardless what corners we are talking about. So are you so sure it is a matter of inability, or being told not to. Vasher himself said he lines up where he is told. As for fast safeties, all I can say is it is Lovie (Mr. Cover Two himself) who has always said the safety positions are interchangable in this system, implying you can use two SS', or at least not a true FS. I have always disagreed, but that is what he said his system uses. And finally, the DL. While I am not saying all our DL is pro bowl, I am saying they all have seemed to go downhill since Babich and Brick took over. So I guess my point is, I still believe our issues on D are FAR more about coaching than simply about talent. As to the second point, that our staff does not alter their philosophy, there is frankly no argument to this. Whether it is due to our not having the horses to run the scheme or not, it wasn't working, and yet we saw few changes. In fact, I would argue the changes we did see only made matters worse, like having our LBs standing over the DL. 2. MOST importantly, the cover 2 defense just plain doesn't work anymore and hasn't for the last 3-5 years. it's been figured out by offenses how to beat it. the problem is our coach is not good enough to change the scheme because it is all he knows. without it what can lovie contribute as a head coach? he knows nothing about offense and nothing but the cover 2 type of defense. While I am not, and have never been, a fan of the cover two, I am not sure I would flat say it doesn't work. It has worked, and still can IMHO. Doesn't Carolina run a version of the cover two. Doesn't TB? It can work, but I think the key is a defenses ability to disguise. I mentioned yesterday, but the Score replayed an old (like from week 3) interview w/ Madden, who said QBs too easily knew when we were in the cover two, and would too easily adjust to a pass play that was nearly automatic. If we were in a cover two, it was an easy slant or quick out. If we were a cover one, the QB would hit downfield. Point is, I have seen other defenses use the cover two w/ sucess, but I just do not think our coaches are capable of doing that. Now w/ that said, again, I am not a fan of the cover two. I think it can work, but you need the ideal personnel to run it, and a far superiour ability to disguise what you are running. Further, when I look at other teams that use the cover two, they do far more than just the cover two. They mix it up more, which I always felt we did w/ Rivera. I have read we actually use the cover two only about 30% of the time, so to me, the cover two is not the problem so much as simply the coaching as a whole.

Everyone is so quick to assume that if Lovie has a bad year next year, he will be fired, but: (a) while we did not make the playoffs, wanna bet how much we will hear about how we did finish w/ a winning record? While few on this board would call this season a sucess, it would mean a bad 2009 would NOT be a 3rd losing season in a row, but only a 1st. ( Even after 2009, Lovie will still have something like $10m still owed on his contract. Don't be so quick to assume we will eat the money. If we have a bomb season, I can see it. But I am not sure 7-9 (for example) gets ownership to eat $10m. Also, I am just not sure why so many assume Lovie can be fired, and Angelo will stick. Why does everyone believe Angelo is thought of so highly. Angelo came out and said, "It is all about the QB", but it is he who has drafted and signed the wrong men, and failed to find that franchise QB. It is Angelo who has drafted many busts, and signed more in FA. And it is Angelo who has consistently paid players who have not lived up to their new contracts. Sorry, but I just do not see why so many believe Angelo would stick if Lovie is fired. I think the two are joined. If we get to the point of firing Lovie, I think we will also see Phillips step in and pink slip Angelo. I think if we hit the point of letting Lovie go, we will see Phillips clean house.

I'm sure Lovie has input as to the positions he wants added, but I am not so sure Lovie has massive input into the actual players drafted. Lovie is not a scout, nor does he have (that I know of) a scouting background. I have a feeling Lovie has a lot to do w/ establishing team needs, and such, but in so far as actually deciding which players to take, I am not so sure he has as much of an opinion. Is he even in the war room on draft day? I didn't think he was.

But seriously, why should we have any more confidence in Marinelli? He has never been a DC or an in-game playcaller. The one time he had control, he was a massive failure. And I am tired of hearing, "well, its detroit". If Det stunk, but his defense was at least decent, that would be one thing, but his defenses ranked bottom of the league. I get some coaches fail as HCs, but are still great at a lower level, but I just have to question why we think he would be any better as a DC than Babich. To me, this is just another matter of Lovie wanting to hire yet another buddy of his.

I am not going to rehash the SB loss, but when you say Rivera has been gone 2 years, lets move on. My response is why? Shit. This is still the fan base that goes back more than two decades to talk about a coach, as well as another HC/DC conflict. While I am not comparing the two, the point is, I don't see us "moving on". When Rivera was allowed to walk so Lovie could hire Babich, it was inevitible the two DCs would be linked and compared. When we draft player X instead of player Y, you can bet the two will be compared against for years, and that is not even as strong a connection as this. The even greater reason this is still a discussion, IMHO, is because the man who made the decision is still here, and further, you can see similar thinking in how he continues to run the team. His BFF DC is a bust, but still has a job. And now, we are looking at bringing in another BFF of his. This is a very legit discussion. It may be history, but you know what they say about learning history so as to not repeat.

I saw it, and replied myself. While their friendship is hitting some bumps, I still think the two are BFFs, just BFFs who are starting to wonder about each other. Think about this though. If Jauron were the HC, and not Lovie, do you think Angelo would not step in and say something?

In Jerry Angelo's press conference, he made the bold statement that it all comes down to having a QB. I seen that statement as an attack back at Lovie for bringing up the fact of losing BB/MM. The attack on the QB could have many meanings, like telling Orton not to even think about demanding a new contract or it could go back to training camp when the "fair" competition didn't go JA's way (Grossman). Angelo also mentioned how he didn't understand why Earl Bennett didn't get to see the field. His speech IMO showed retaliation on Lovie. To me, if that comment is an indictment on anyone, it would be Angelo himself. Who drafted Grossman? Who drafted Orton, who he is not 100% sold on? Who brought in all the veteran hacks? While I do NOT want to be in a position to defend Lovie, he can only work with what he is given. Angelo has failed to give us a franchise QB. He drafted Rex, and then basically put all his eggs in the Rex basket for the next half decade. So when he talked about how it is all about the QB, to me, he was only indicting himself. What the two have said recently makes me believe that there not completely on the same page and this is costing us fans. Right now, I tend to be on JA's side b/c like he mentioned about Earl Bennett, it makes me wonder about some of the other draft picks/players. Lovie also moved Riveria out to make room for his pal Babich who has looked incompetent and brought this team down making JA/Bears D look bad. Now we have Marinelli in the picture and even though Marinelli/Lovie are pals, Marinelli/JA have a connection also and I hope he signs to maybe put pressure on Lovie's back. Marinelli may have failed in DET, but could be JA's last resort if Lovie can't get on the same page. Could this be a sign? Since JA has 1 more year of contract than Lovie, Angelo won't start another scheme, but may try another coach if Lovie don't turn it around within the next 1-2 years. I agree the happy marriage is a bit on the rocks. Angelo would have to be an absolute idiot to still have full and absolute confidence in Lovie. And I am sure Lovie looks around at the failed draft picks and FA additions, and thinks to himself he can only do so much. Where I am not sure I agree is that Angelo will have another opportunity after Lovie. Regardless of contracts, I think the two are tied to each other. Lovie is Angelo's 2nd coach, regardless of the fact the first was not his choice. He might have a better case to see it through another coach firing, but I don't think his drafts and FA signings have panned out enough for that.

There are many parts to it. Scheme and coaching are a big part, as you mention. The Score today replayed, from after the first couple weeks, Madden talking about how QBs could see our defense pre-snap, and easily adjust. If the QB saw us in a cover two, it was a near automatic play for the QB. I am sure that is true in many areas as well. I also agree the DL was often hurt by the scheme and how we used our secondary. At the same time, I OFTEN watched QBs sit in the pocket for far too long, as our LBs were hung in blocks on the LOS. Think about it. Stats Inc., or whoever, said we blitzed more than any team in the league. Now think about how often our LBs got through the LOS. Even if the QB gets rid of the ball, if the LB got through, you would at least have seen more QB hurries or hits. But no. Most often we saw QBs standing tall, unfazed, after the ball was gone. It was not just our CBs or secondary, or how we played them. If a blitz is successful, the LB would at least be in the picture. But our LBs are blocked, plain and simple. They are hung up on the LOS and getting no where slowly. So while I full well understand there are many factors, I yet still believe our LBs have been pathetic on blitzes, and feel our LB coach (another Lovie buddy) should be further scrutinized.

And how ironic is it. It was simply not that long ago we seemed to have a similar situation. We had a coordinator who was a failure, but the BFF of the HC. Angelo insisted that coordinator be fired. HC refused, and was instead fired. That was a statement. So what is the difference now? I guess Lovie is Angelo's BFF, so like Babich, Lovie is safe. In all the time Lovie has been here, Rivera is probably the only coordinator who it can be said was a legit success. And he is let go. Yet we continue to dole out extra chances for failures. I heard a rumor that after the NFL, Angelo, Lovie and Babich are intend to enter politics, as they all seem to have the knack for friendship as having more value than quality.

Yea, because it has worked so well in the past. Once upon a time, did you say, "Hey, I don't mind if we suck next year so we can get rid of Wanny". Once upon a time, did you say, "Hey, I don't mind if we suck next year so we can get rid of Jauron". Now you are saying, "Hey, I don't mind if we suck next year so we can get rid of Lovie". I understand the thinking, but can't agree. I always want to win. If we have 2 wins on the year, and a final game loss gives us the 1st pick and a final win drops up out of the top 3, I still want to win.

Have you ever had a dog? When you have a puppy, and it craps in the house, it doesn't work to wait a week and try to teach the dog the crap it took a week earlier was wrong. You stick the dogs nose in the fresh crap and swat its arce. This team just took a crap in our house, and you want to wait? You want to give it time? Do we not seem to say the same things every year? We hit FA and sit on our hands, but fans say, "hey, FA just started. Give it time. Have patience". When we watch other teams address their coaching situations, you call for patience? Have you seen what some of the players said after the Houston game and in season ending news conferences? To me, it seems like they are begging for change. They are begging for accountability. Well, where is it? To me, the players, fans and media are being sent one message. Accountability takes a back seat to friendship.

Your right. The lack of continuity is not the same. At the same time, I feel there is still reason to question our LB coaching. In Lloyd Lee, we have yet another Lovie boy. Lee was a defensive scout (I believe) from TB when Lovie was their. Lee was hired as a quality control guy, who helped our here and there. I have not read about anything he really did to deserve a promotion other than being a Lovie guy. I just feel that our LB coach gets a free pass due to Urlacher and Briggs, but should be looked at w/ a harder focus. In Lee's only year as the LB coach, urlacher has potentially his worst year as a pro. Further, while we blitzed our LBs a ton, the results were pathetic.

The Texans, who finished the year (thanks to us) at .500, didn't do well on defense, and fired a handful of their defensive coaches. Expectations for this defense were never high, but after finishing 22nd in the rankings, it was low enough to make a statement. GB had greater expectations entering the season for their defense, and after finishing 20th in the rankings, basically fired all defensive coaches. Now, those are two programs I would say made statements. They finished the season and said changes were necessary after not playing well. We entered the season w/ high expecations, at least for the defense. Two years ago, the D helped carry the team to the SB. Last year, our D stunk, but it was written off as being largely due to injuries. This was supposed to be our comeback year. W/ the exception of ONE player (Tank) we had all of our SB defense back. While Tank was gone, we had Dusty ready to go, and a rookie w/ high expectations also ready to fill in. But not only did our D fail to return to top 5 form, they were not even top 20. The defense flat out stunk, and this time was w/o the injury excuses. So what statement do we make? We fire our DB coach, and begin a search for our 4th DB coach in the last 6 years. We also are likely to lose our DL coach (Thank God) but only because he has an offer elsewhere. This is not what I call making a statement, which is simply sad. I had no expectation that Lovie would depart, but I truly felt there was a more than decent chance Babich would be on the outside looking in. Not only has that not happened, but the lead story is about the potential of Lovie hiring yet another of his friends. Sorry, but this is ridiculous. I really hoped Angelo would step in, but it appears Lovie is running the show. He is not going to fire his friends, and in fact, only plans to hire more friends. Sorry for the rant. I know this doesn't really add much of anything new, but after reading about how GB cut loose their defensive coaches, I just needed to vent.

Yea, many talked about how Hester "could be" similar to Steve Smith. Smith has a similar frame, speed, and also was a huge weapon on returns. So the reasons for comparison were valid, in so far as pointing to a WR w/ similar attributes. But that doesn't mean the two players were ever truly compared, as some begin to believe. Its sort of like before the draft. When looking at a scouting report, many will point to a player w/ similar makeup. That doesn't mean the rookie-to-be is being touted as the next _________. It just is giving a point of comparison or reference. To me, the comparison is fine. Not to mean Hester will ever be as good as Steve Smith, but I would use Steve Smith as an example of how we should be striving to use Hester. While Hester has a LONG way to go, I would like to point out that Carolina does a lot more for Smith that could benefit Hester. For example, I remember reading a couple years ago about how teams were playing Smith. They would put a physical corner on Smith at the LOS. This would serve two purposes. One, it would not ever allow Smith an easy or clean release, and two, it hindered his ability to catch easy slants and turn them upfield. They would also then devote a safety to play the "over" position on Steve Smith. Carolina began to move Smith around more. They moved him between the X, Y and slot positions to free him up. They also began to use him in motion a lot more. By doing all this, they allowed him better matchups and were able to get him off the LOS more easily. I can't say I recall us doing this at all w/ Hester, even though I saw teams often pressing him at the LOS. Again, this is not to say I think Hester could ever be Steve Smith, but I do think the point of reference is okay, and just wish we would try to play Hester more like Carolina does Smith.

Forgot about Nickerson. So we are on our 3rd LB coach, and looking to be on our 4th DB and DL coaches. That is some poor continuity. This is just bad. LB is the only coach that doesn't draw heat, but IMHO, he should. It is embarassing how poorly this team blitzes, particularly from the LB position, and I just have to believe the LB coach has some responsibility in that regard.

Something else that bugs the hell out of me is our LB coach(s). We have a pair of pro bowlers at LB, so there really has never been much discussion about our LB coaching, but I have to question that area anyway. Urlacher was long developed before any recent LB coach entered the picture, and I think the same for Briggs. While Urlacher and Briggs are great, what about the rest? Jamar Williams was supposed to be Briggs replacement, and yet do we see him other than special teams? Could he not play SLB? Okwo failed miserably. Remember Leon Joe? But developing talent is not so much the big reason I am pointing out our LB coach(s). W/ Briggs and Urlacher, and before his downturn this year, Hunter, I understand it some as there wasn't much time to spread around to youth. My issue w/ our LB coach(s) is due to our LBs total inability to blitz. I saw a stat that showed we blitzed more than any other team in the league. Wow. And yet, look how many sacks we have to show for it. We blitz a lot more than people realize, but our LBs simply get held up at the LOS, and thus, if you are watching the QB, it doesn't look like we blitzed. While the HC and DC obviously get blame for this as well, should the LB coach not also get blame for our LBs being so totally incapable in terms of blitzing. Of course, as I type all this, it does come back to me who our LB coach was prior to Lee. Babich. Actually, Babich took over DC two years ago, while Lee only took over this season. I don't recall who our LB coach was immediatly after Babich was promoted.

While I think Crabtree is worthly of a #1 pick, I would agree 100% that we could not pass on one of the QBs (assuming Stafford comes out). I like Orton, but if we had the opportunity to get a legit franchise QB, I can not see any other pick even making sense.

Good. No, strike that. Great. While I expected scapegoats, I truly felt Brick needed to go. He took over after the SB, and since then, what have we seen on our DL that is positive? Despite the love, I still think Brown is his old inconsistent self, and Wale has only regressed. Brick took over and had a rookie coming off a great season (Anderson) but Anderson has been a bust since. Harris' play has gone downhill since Brick took over. Dusty never developed, and frankly, I didn't feel Harrison developed as much as I would have expected. I am not saying it was all Brick, but key for me was his inability to develop our young players. I am thrilled he is gone. Something from the article made me laugh/cry. Smith is seeking to find his fourth defensive backs coach in six years, and when Haley departs he'll be looking for his fourth line coach in the same span. 4 DB coaches and 4 DL coaches in 6 years. At some point, does Angelo not begin to think the assistants are not the problem?