Pretty much the only slam dunk pick was Matt Forte
Don't forget Tommie Harris and Lance Briggs
In regards to his Defense though, what did he run in CHI? It was enough to be dominant to be sure, but do we have the players on the OL here to do with it what they could not? (Should he build it that way.)
He's Schiano with a more likeable personality.
LMAO. Please tell me you're kidding.
I think if Mason Foster can be our "Urlacher" then most of the pieces are in place. We just need that edge rusher.
In regards to his Defense though, what did he run in CHI? It was enough to be dominant to be sure, but do we have the players on the OL here to do with it what they could not? (Should he build it that way.)
We have a pro bowl caliber player in every level of this defense. There is no reason imo why we shouldn't be a top 10 unit at the very least.
I think if Mason Foster can be our "Urlacher" then most of the pieces are in place. We just need that edge rusher.
I think another factor, too, is that we are younger than the aging Bears.What we need after adding that pass rush is to make sure Tedford's O can run smoothly. Heaven knows we have our RB's...we need to shore up the QB situation and fix the OL to be able to do what the Bears never did.
Completely agree... aside from pass rush, O-Line is our most glaring issue. I hope that we draft OL several times in this draft to make up for Dominik's years of incompetence.
Glennon deserves a chance at a complete year behind a revamped offense... he has earned it.
We will have to see as well if Lovie is the type of guy that molds the scheme to fit the players or vice versa. Schiano had a habit of never evolving his game even when we couldn't play it that way.
In regards to his Defense though, what did he run in CHI? It was enough to be dominant to be sure, but do we have the players on the OL here to do with it what they could not? (Should he build it that way.)
Originally, yes he did install the "Tampa 2" and ran with that which is the reason why he went out and got his UT and OLB combo which made the Bears a huge success after being garbage for awhile. Of course over the years as opposing offenses developed, so did his defensive principals. They played both zone/man and presented different looks. Remember how Lovie waxed our asses in that London game? And how Urlacher was jumping Kellen's routes?? So don't get wrapped up in the language - Lovie will have this defense dominant.
Dammit, that was so frustrating. I think our Free Agency moves and Draft will tell us a lot about what Lovie is trying to accomplish.
He did succeed with the Bears.
this
Yes. I think Trestman's offense had Cutler playing very well prior to getting hurt. My question is, can Lovie if necessary let Glennon go and find the best way to move on?With Bears fans, it seems they never understood why he stuck with Cutler. I just hope Lovie doesn't get too stubborn in how he does things.
My concern too. Hopefully he'll NOT put shackles on Tedford/Glennon.
The only thing about Lovie Smith that bothers me is what happened at the end of 2006 with Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson. Benson was the 4th overall pick in 2005 and they had made their mind up that Benson was going to be their guy in 2007 and Jones would be gone. They tried to force feed Benson carries in the Super Bowl when he didn't deserve it. Bears were up 14-6 and going in again with Jones already having 54 yards on just 4 carries. Instead of feeding Jones they put Benson in and he fumbled. After seeing how bad the Colts run defense was and how hard Jones was running I'm convinced they win that game by 3 touchdowns if Jones got 30 carries. It was a myth they fixed it in playoffs. Johnson, Lewis, Dillon and Jones combined for 5.1 ypc. Corey Dillon pulled his hamstring on a long run otherwise Pats win that game going away and for whatever reason Lewis only got 13 carries. Thomas Jones finished with 15 carries for 112 yards and was traded to the Jets. Benson bombed with the Bears.
I think Lovie did pretty well in Chicago considering that he never had a dominate quarterback like Payton, Brees or Brady. Injuries tend to dictate the type of season you can have, but I don't remember him ever being criticized for being out-coached. Like others here, I think the GM is going to be very critical to his tenure. I always liked Angelio, but his drafts and trades with the Bears were very suspect. Even if Smith has control of the draft, I hope he can get a good talent evaluator as a GM. So far, I wouldn't be opposed to having the GM position split between a contract guy and a personnel guy (like Stokes). We really need another good draft or two to really go on a strong run and we have some good players that are going to be wanting big contracts in a few years, we may have to pick and choose who to keep and who to let go and we need good replacements behind them.