The conventional wisdom seems to be Angelo and comrade-in-arms Lovie Smith aren't going anywhere, certainly not this season and likely not next. I've heard all the common-sense reasons they should stay, but I keep coming back to what the Bears -- what all professional sports franchises -- are supposed to be about. FULL STORY Chicago Bears must cut losses to win -- chicagotribune.com
In all honesty I think Jerry Angelo must go instead of Lovie Smith. Angelo is the one with ego issues, needs to feel like a big man and is the one who does the shopping. Lovie, ultimately is trying to do the best with what they've got. You can't make Fillet mignon out of chopped beef. I strongly feel that Angelo should never have let Ron Rivera go after their Superbowl appearance. The defense never looked so good and has never looked the same since. They let him go to San Diego to take over the same position for a little bit more money. Angelo let Thomas Jones go to make room for Cedric Benson which also blew up in their face. Angelo also insisted that they stick with Rex Grossman when Kyle Orton showed to be the better fit and made A LOT less mistakes. I know your all saying Thomas Jones and Kyle Orton are scrubs but they fit well with the team and worked their asses off for Lovie. Thomas Jones went to the Jets and rejuvenated their running game even though they had problems everywhere else on the team. Kyle Orton goes to Denver and led that team to a 6-0 start with key wins over New England, Cincinnati, Dallas and San Diego while having only 1 fluke INT on a Hail Mary pbutt. The Bears need to get Angelo out and bring in a GM that's looking out for the team and not their image!!
you make a good point,but I dont see JA or Lovie going next...they should,but I dont see it. But they will have to change Lovie as DC,he cant do it..
I couldn't agree more letting Ron Rivera leave was a huge error in judgment because when Rivera left the Bears defense's attitude and swagger went with him.
I never felt like Rivera was doing anything all that amazing but there was certainly no reason to let him go when we did. And the reason for letting him go was simply so Lovie could install his good buddy Babich as the DC...which ended up being a flop of course. If you are going to make a replacement in that situation it better damn well be a clear upgrade. I do think the defense has looked better the last couple games as Lovie has went with a bit more press coverage and less soft zones. The first change certainly will be OC though. To give up what we did for Cutler and have the offense peform like this is unacceptable. And quite frankly we have all known that Turner sucks for quite a while now.
Yep, the change has to start at the top. Better players would have minimized some of the weaknesses that LS but Smith is still on the hook for poor coaches/on the field personnel all the way down thru the basics like clock management/challenges. I don't believe JA had a hand in Chico leaving. I think it had more to do with a philosophy difference where LS is more conservative/bend but don't break while Rivera was more aggressive by nature. I thought Rivera was OK but I do believe a good % of that Bear D success was more wrapped up in some of the lopsided scores from the early Grossman success & the Hester explosion year that saw opponents playing from behind & making themselves 1 dimensional or booting themselves out of field position time & time again cuz of #23 & giving the D longer fields to work with. So while I agree that he shouldn't have gone under those conditions, I'm sure he'd be suffering almost as much with all the holes on defense right now if he'd have stayed. I personally don't blame Angelo on the Benson thing but blame Benson himself for his antics & a few of the vets who didn't like the idea of Thomas Jones, a locker room favorite, being replaced & taking it out on Benson. If Cedric had more maturity, he'd still be here. Grossman? I blame JA AND LS for staying way too long with him but his early success did make for at least a reasonable effort to see if he could overcome opposing DCs adjustment. Still, I agree, way too long... I agree but having KO & TJ still here wouldn't have made a difference IMO. The damage is too great. JA has to go would be good for us all....of course, only if the Bear brass doesn't go laterally but up with the next choice.
Jerry Angelo has made some good decisions and some bad decisions, so i'm kind of on the fence when it comes to him. The Bears have had their chances this year. Four of six losses are by 7 points or less. Week 1: @Green Bay, lost by 6 Week 6: @Atlanta, lost by 7 Week 10: @San Francisco, lost by 4 Week 11: Philadelphia, lost by 4
