NFL Season 2010 - Page 31

On September 19 2010 10:10 SweeTLemonS[TPR] wrote:


I don't think history like that matters to a guy like Cowher, because I believe all great coaches think that they can be the first. If he doesn't have that belief, then he shouldn't come back to coaching... ever.

I think it's more likely that he'd end up in Chicago than anywhere else, for a very simple reason: there's more potential in Chicago than anywhere else. They have the QB, the have the HB, they have young WR's (some of whom look like they're going to develop nicely), their OLine is rough, that's a given. They have a very talented defense, save for a couple of holes in it right now. With a safety, LT, and maybe a CB, the Bears have all the talent to make a Super Bowl push. It's the best opportunity available today, if it were to become available today.

My guess is that Martz will be the next HC, though. Sadly, Martz is a guy that should never get another HC job for the rest of his life. I just don't think he's cut out for it.

On September 19 2010 11:04 Aquafresh wrote:


Cowher would definitely be right at home in Chicago. That team has historically had a defense first identity that stressed physicality and toughness. Cowher comes from a team that has the same philosophy, and is known for two things, being a run first defensively minded hardass, and losing AFC championship games. The former would definitely ingratiate him with veteran guys like Urlahcer, who have recently lamented the fact that their new air offense image just doesn't feel much like traditional Bears football.

Martz would be a disaster though. He has a permanent three ring circus going on in his head. I just hope he isn't calling the plays for you guys this year or your going to have to get used to him calling cutesy bullshit on 3rd and short and then talking about how fast everyone looked in his press conferences.

On September 19 2010 05:21 SweeTLemonS[TPR] wrote:


It's a bad time to be a Broncos fan too. Hahaha. It's okay though, I really feel like the Bears are going to right this ship soon. For the most part I liked what I saw out of the offense. The OL still had issues, but I LOVED what I saw from Cutler, minus that one triple coverage pass. Pulling the ball down and running it, as opposed to just throwing into heavy coverage was such a change from last year. His RZ play was intelligent last week too. I'm definitely excited about this offense. If Lovie is gone after this year, I really hope the next coach keeps Martz around, for continuity purposes if nothing else.

On September 19 2010 12:26 junemermaid wrote:


Yeah, I really liked how Cutler played. He makes some really aggravating mistakes sometimes, but I believe he'll be a really good QB for the Bears. Well, he better be, cuz we dumped a bunch of draft picks for him. There's some really good talent in that defense but they haven't been able to execute since the superbowl in '06.

I don't know if Lovie is to blame or not, but hes the fastest coach to 40 regular season wins I believe. I'd hate to see him go; I really like his presence on the field.

On September 19 2010 13:37 SweeTLemonS[TPR] wrote:


I side with Zach Zaidman and Hub Arkush on this topic, which is that, while the lack of talent certainly can't be blamed on Lovie, the lack of adaptation of defensive scheme can be. He ousted Ron Rivera, who saw the weaknesses in talent that the team had, because of schematic disagreements, and the defense has been down hill since.

The Bears lack a dominant 3-tackle, which is REQUIRED to run a Cover 2 correctly. Since they lack that, they need to apply additional pressure by blitzing the other team. Lovie, however, typically does not like to do this, which puts a lot of pressure on his secondary and LB's to stay in their zones and not lose their guy. But the C2 has holes in the zones that are exploitable given enough time.

So, combine the lack of pressure with exploitable holes and you get a bad defense. Lovie has done everything but verbalize an unwillingness to adapt his schemes. C2 is a great system with the right talent... the Bears don't have that talent... can't use the system. And that is 100% on Lovie. There's no excuse for it other than arrogance and hardheadedness, and the latter is a direct result of the former, so one could just say he's an arrogant ass.

On September 19 2010 13:54 Qatol wrote:

Actually, the defense started going downhill before Rivera left. It started going downhill when Tommie Harris busted his knee. However, I think Rivera would have made more changes to the defense than what Lovie has done. I hate that Lovie refuses to adapt his scheme to his personnel. Instead, he prefers to force his players to fit into his scheme, even when they don't fit well (*cough* Danielle Manning *cough*). The lack of defensive production since Rivera left is totally on Lovie. Since Rivera left, the DCs have been Babich (Lovie's minion - let's face it, this was really Lovie), Lovie himself, and Marinelli (Lovie's minion again).

However, that isn't even the most stubborn thing he does. The worst thing he does is refusing to change his gameplan during the game when it is obvious that something is not working the way he thought it would. I STILL have nightmares about that Carolina playoff game from 2005. Ugh.

On September 19 2010 14:04 SweeTLemonS[TPR] wrote:


The D was going down in 2006 when they went to the Super Bowl? I think most people would disagree with that. Rivera was out before the start of the next season.

On the bottom, it's hard to say on that. It's rare for a team to change something fundamentally in the middle of a game. They typically continue to do the same thing, and stress proper execution. It depends on just what we're talking about. If we're talking about switching from man coverage on Steve Smith to doubling him when your backup rookie CB that hasn't played all year is getting toasted, then yeah, that needs to be changed. I guess as a general statement what you're saying is correct, but I have to hear about "midgame adjustments" all the time from my incredibly uninformed family. They refuse to listen to what pro football players have had to say about such an idea, which is that they don't exist, you pretty much do whatever the game plan says, but do it better than you were before. I'm pretty sure it was Phil Simms that said something like "Hmm, halftime adjustments.. you know, I don't recall a single adjustment that was ever mentioned in the locker room." That's not an exact quote at all.

When you're getting wrecked by something, yes, something needs to be done, but as a fan it's a lot easier to say what should be done because we aren't aware of the micro-management of the game. The players and coaches know better than us in most cases; thus, they can make the decision of whether it's simple missteps that are costing the issue, or lack of proper scheme.

I hope that makes sense.

On September 19 2010 14:56 Qatol wrote:

Yes, the defense started declining about midseason before they went to the Super Bowl. You can look at the stats if you don't believe me.

Yes of course you don't make "halftime adjustments." It doesn't make sense to wait until halftime to adjust your gameplan. However, you DO generally see adjustments from drive to drive (or play to play) based on what is and is not working or the schemes you are facing. The thing is, I never seem to see Lovie changing much up to exploit/fix what he is seeing other than the standard stuff like putting in the nickel on a passing down. The 2006 Super Bowl was a great example of this. How does he go the whole game without taking away that stupid slant?

On September 19 2010 15:14 SweeTLemonS[TPR] wrote:


Okay, yeah, I mean... it's bound to happen though, when your first six games are the best first six games in the history of the NFL. Also, Rex Grossman started throwing a LOT more picks, putting them on the field a LOT more often, which almost necessarily leads to increased yardage/scores against. I don't think it's a fair assessment, but I can't really argue that statistically they went down. I just don't think statistics tell the whole story of that season. In any case, there was a dramatic change between the '06 defense, which was pretty fantastic all year, and the '07 defense. It wasn't slipping from first D to fifth D, it was slipping from fifth D to 28th D. They have been steadily climbing back up the ranks since then, though, so something that Lovie has done was right. 21st in '08, 17th in '09. Currently number two, but we'll see how long that lasts. I figure they'll end somewhere around 13-15.

I'll also concede that their defense kinda looked like shit against the Cardinals in week 6. They got shredded by Matt fucking Leinart that day. How pathetic is that?

The whole halftime adjustment thing was like an auto response to the stupid shit that gets said at my house on a regular basis. My one brother and I are the only ones who regularly watch the NFL, and he's WAY more biased than I am about everything sports related. The other two men that live here (my mom does not watch sports, nor does she partake in sports related discussion) sporadically watch games and throw around a ton of misinformation. So, now, any time I hear someone speak about adjustments I go on auto-pilot to that discussion.

On September 19 2010 11:43 InToTheWannaB wrote:
Martz should never be a OC again let alone a HC. This guys offense ruins QBs in the long run. If it was up to Martz he put a quarterback, a center, and 9 WR on the field. QBs don't need blocking! Just get the ball out fast!. Took Warner about 4-5 years to get his game back.

On September 19 2010 11:59 sung_moon wrote:i'm really on the fence with Naanee. he had a good game vs chiefs but considering benching him this week. switch him out for either of my benched rb's? ( fred jackson, chester taylor, beanie wells)

On September 19 2010 17:04 nGBeast wrote:


Mike Martz offense utilizes tight end play, not WR though :/ as a bears fan though I don't see much being done to compensate for our shitty offensive line.

On September 19 2010 11:59 sung_moon wrote:
my fantasy team starters are atm
Joe Flacco, Steven Jackson, Tim HighTower, Legende Naanee, Anquan Boldin, DJackson, Jermicheal Finley, Eagles D, Akers

i'm really on the fence with Naanee. he had a good game vs chiefs but considering benching him this week. switch him out for either of my benched rb's? ( fred jackson, chester taylor, beanie wells)