Stuck In The Middle With You

Let's talk about Lovie Smith real quick. Is he the worst coach in the league? No. Is he one of the worst coaches in the league? Debatable. Is he becoming increasingly arrogant and daft to the point where he's putting this football team even further into the nosedive they've been on since Super Bowl XLI? Absolutely!

Let's start with the news of the day, the abrupt release of Mark Anderson, and signing of Charles "Starcaps" Grant. As most astute and observant Bear fans would agree, Anderson has been a disappointment after his rookie season where he was effectively used as a situational pass rusher. Most Bear fans knew that Anderson was not going to touch those numbers ever again, and wouldn't be effective in the Tampa 2. There was only one problem, the one guy who DID think Anderson could be effective...is the Bears Head Coach!

Here's the worst part though, Lovie has now TWICE been proven wrong about Mark Anderson! He tried this before in 2007 when he gave the starting defensive end position to him instead of Alex Brown. Anderson was invisible throughout all of 2007 and Alex Brown was the starter again by 2008. Flash forward to the 2009 offseason, and the Bears cut Alex Brown shortly after signing Julius Peppers, with the belief that Anderson would take advantage of the single blocking he would see with Peppers drawing the double teams. Anderson responded by posting ZERO sacks and 8 tackles in 4 games.

So now the Bears are left with neither Alex Brown or Anderson, and have now resorted to signing Charles Grant, who is not only the same type of player Alex Brown is, but it still looking down the barrel of a suspension for using Starcaps, not to mention he "witnessed something" that got him arrested. Great job Lovie, way to make the same mistake twice...while you're at it, why not re-sign Tank Johnson?

If that weren't bad enough, Smith decided to further show just how out of touch he is with the current climate in the NFL as it relates to his franchise QB's health. Jay Cutler now has 3 - repeat - 3 known concussions as a player. First time coming at Vanderbilt in 2003, second time in a 2006 game against the 49ers (the last game Darrent Williams played before being killed that night incidentally), and now this past Sunday against the Giants. When asked about it, the all knowing and caring Lovie Smith said :

"It seems like he's in pretty good shape right now...There are no visual signs or anything that I can tell. He seems like he's OK."

Sounds to me like Captain Daft plans on playing Cutler next week. Thankfully, it won't be up to Lovie since Cutler needs to be cleared by both the team doctor and the independent physician in order to play. Still, for it is really off-putting to see Lovie shockingly have no clue:

1. How serious concussions are
2. How sensitive the league is handling each concussion case
3. How Cutler might have damage that Lovie himself cannot see.

Add all that up, and it make being stuck in the Lovie Smith Era even more unbearable (pun).

What We're Looking At

Don't pay attention to Lovie Smith's strange and seemingly undermining comments he made today about Devin Hester still being a number one receiver and Greg Olsen still being a major part of the offense this year. All that tells me is that the Bears are trying to trade either one or both for a chance to move up in the draft. Mike Martz only really has a use for one of them (Hester), and that's as a third option/slot receiver. That being the case, both players could help the Bears move up in the draft, and the best way that could happen is if you try to sell the rest of the league on how valuable you think they are, thereby inflating their value on the trade market. As we all know, potential trades that seem unlikely during normal business hours, have a strange way of seeming like a good idea during the chaotic period of the NFL Draft. Lovie's comments seem the be planting seeds in other team's ideas about their own personnel decisions.

Speaking of Mike Martz, I had long heard rumors about how thick, long and complicated Martz's playbook was, ever since he was Offensive Coordinator of the St. Louis Rams in 1999. It's full of unique formations, routes, cadences that are a throwback to the Air Coryell era, while providing synergy to the modern passing game. Well after a nice and quick little google search, here is a copy of the Mike Martz Playbook for you to digest. I'll provide a permanent link on the right side of this blog so if you have a little down time, you can go over it and decide what will or won't work with the Bears this season. One thing I will say - and I say this not knowing for sure if other NFL Playbooks often dictate the huddle formation or not - it's a very detailed playbook. Martz also expects EVERYONE to know it backwards and forwards just like he does.

The Beard isn't worried about Jay Cutler being able to know it cover to cover, but he has suspicions and concerns about guys like Johnny Knox, Earl Bennett, Devin Aromashodu knowing it though...

Upcoming Redemption, or All The Kings Horses??? (Part I)

Today was the day that someone with real power spoke at Halas Hall. His name was Ted Phillips, and when he spoke, both sides of his mouth were moving. He was (fortunately or unfortunately depending on your perspective) joined by Jerry Angelo and Lovie Smith, and announced that while 2009 was his most frustrating year as Bears Team President, he believes that continuity is the quickest way to bring the Bears back to the level of Super Bowl Contender. I guess firing the Ron Turner and 5 other assistants is a part of "continuity" in Ted's world, but let's not get sidetracked with that detail at the moment.

The Bears have done either one of two things. They have either begun their self stated "bolt tightening"...whatever the hell that means, or they have decided to try shoving this massive amount of elephant excrement under the carpet to see if it goes away. Time will tell what eventually was or wasn't accomplished today. The one certain is that the Bears are now in the market for both an Offensive and Defensive Coordinator. For now in Part I, let's take a quick look at some of the names that have popped up for O.C.:

Mike Martz : Martz wasted no time expressing his interest in the Bears O-Coordinator opening. Just months after getting on the Bash Jay Cutler bandwagon, he now says he's "excited" at the possibility of working with Jay. While The Beard won't pretend to know anything about X's and O's, the job should not be given to Martz. Aside from the amount of kissing Martz would have to do if he were to get the job, there are other, much more relevant reasons to not give the job to him. Namely, the lack of field turf as a playing surface in Soldier Field, the bad history quarterbacks have of getting destroyed by the lack of protection/very deep routes receivers are asked to run, Matt Forte not being Marshall Faulk, and Martz's variation of the Air Coryell requiring a rank and file pocket passer, instead of a rollout/throw on the run, veteran QB like Cutler.

Charlie Weis : Hahahahahahahahaha!!!! Seriously, Charlie is rumored to being going to the Chiefs. Good luck having to tolerate someone who was responsible for some of the most dubious losses in Notre Dame history and still acts like he invented football.

Al Saunders : Al is the one name that is intriguing, and coincidentally he's another Air Coryell disciple. Saunders' variation of the scheme seems to be much more of a conservative approach than Martz's, with a stronger emphasis on protection and running game. As evidenced by the success he had as K.C.'s offensive coordinator with Priest Holmes. Al's scheme also doesn't seem to need dominant receivers like Martz's variation either, as it's focus isn't stretching the field deep to open up the running lanes up front.

Again who knows who they will hire? The key will be that whoever they give the job to, will have to understand not only Cutler's strengths and weaknesses, but also the 10 other guys on the field with Jay. Essentially this means being the opposite of Ron Turner which involves coming in with a system and trying to shoehorn the pieces into it.

All Hail Jay Cutler, but Lovie and his D still both suck and blow

Nothing really new to post here after today's Bears victory over the Lions that hasn't been posted before. Jay Culter once again carried this team to victory despite Ron Turner's play calling, and Lovie's inept at best, godawful at most accurate defense. Lovie's vaunted Tampa 2 made Daunte Culpepper look like a competent QB this week...repeat...DAUNTE CULPEPPER! Culpepper hasn't done anything since 2004, yet against the Bears Defense went 23/34 for 262 yards and 2 TD's.

It's going to be a very interesting week at Halas Hall. The Beard is predicting Lovie will be retained, Ron Turner will be sacrificed, and the Bears will say their defense was bad because they didn't have Urlacher this year, but it will be fine next year. Obviously there is plenty of room for disagreement regarding the defense, but again it will be an interesting and defining week at Halas Hall...

Contest Part II

And then there's the Bears...Lovie Smith is in a similar situation as Vinny Del Negro, but there are way more complications involved. This Blog is one of many outlets who have called for Lovie to be fired. Last Monday Night's victory against the Vikings seems to have breathed some life into Smith's job status for next year. That hasn't stopped Lovie from being asked about his job status more than he cares to talk about it. His status appears to be up in the air going into this weeks finale against the Detroit Lions. Appearances can be deceiving though, especially when it comes to the Bears.

So here's the situation in The Beard's view. This is the third straight year the Bears haven't made the playoffs since Lovie told everyone "trust me" after the Super Bowl. He has fired assistants that didn't need to be fired, and he promoted assistants that didn't deserve to be promoted. He has lobbied for Jerry Angelo to sign players such as Adam Archuleta, when everybody knew he couldn't play football anymore. He has continuously been on the losing end of challenges, and (worst of all) sticks with a defensive scheme that isn't interested in stopping the run or the pass.

This, along with various other issues, injuries, personnel decisions and incidents, has led to numerous blowouts, lackluster/uninspired play and overall embarrassment this season. It's also led Jerry Angelo to go out of his way to pull a GarPax and tell everyone that Lovie is under review, after the Ravens game. Whether or not Jerry Angelo is flexing power he may not even have since he might be under the gun too, is irrelevant. What is relevant is Lovie's contract is signed for two more years.

That being the case, the question then becomes, if Lovie goes, who will be brought in? All signs point to Bill Cowher heading to Tampa, and Mike Shanahan heading to Washington. Does Jerry Angelo wait for other guys like John Fox to get fired, quit, or suddenly become available? If any of these coaches are available, how much will it cost to bring them in? Whatever it would cost, there is a lurking, and all signs pointing to unavoidable, Lockout in 2011. The Lockout would also lead to the salary cap being lifted in 2010. So not only would the Bears be paying Lovie to not coach for two seasons, but whoever the Bears bring would also eventually be paid not to coach as well, for however long a potential Lockout would last. While the Bears have relatively shed their reputation for being cheap recently, it still doesn't seem to make a lot of financial sense to fire Lovie now.

If they decide to go with the more economical route and retain Lovie, what happens with his assistants, particularly with the Offensive Coordinator position? Ron Turner seems to be about as popular as rug-burn these days among both fans and players. Cutler had the chance to say he wants Turner back next year, and he took a pass on that. Personally speaking, that's a big deal when the QB doesn't vouch for the Offensive Coordinator. Huge. Can you imagine John Elway, Dan Marino, Joe Montana, or Tom Brady not commenting on whether they want their Offensive Coordinator back? That coach would be fired that same evening.

Also, what about the Defensive Coordinator position? Who would be available, and what type of scheme would they run? The Green Bay Packers broke away from their commitment to the 4-3, unearthed the corpse of Dom Capers, and placed him in charge of their defense this season. The results of his 3-4 scheme have been a #2 total ranked defense in the NFL, two Pro Bowlers in Charles Woodson and Nick Collins, and a developing rookie in Clay Matthews who has 10 sacks this season. Maybe bringing in an innovator with a completely different and forward thinking defensive philosophy would be enough to make the Bears a playoff team? Nobody knows for certain, but it would certainly help.

One thing that is certain, Lovie Smith will not be in charge of hiring either of the coordinators, Jerry Angelo will be. Whomever Jerry hires, will definitely be put in a position to become Lovie Smith's replacement if things do not turn around the way the Bears and Jerry Angelo anticipate. Either way, this is a one FINE mess the Bears are in, and it will be far from boring to watch them try to dig their way out of it.