Banged-up Giants still dangerous

Roman... that's pretty much all there is to it. If we can't exploit their DL injuries then our coaches need to be reprimanded. It's way past time for the coaches to show us something. This has to be the last chance for them to be considered actual, effective coaches. Let alone the silly notion of them being considered very good or great.

Roman responds: I don't agree with the Lovie bashing. I think his plan of putting together an elite defense first, then focusing on the offense has worked. It was his plan to get smaller, quicker, more athletic defenders. It's worked. They're 7-1. I like Lovie's demeanor. I like the fact he's stuck with Grossman. I like the Cover 2. I think he's done a good job. It's hard to argue with results. Bill Parcells wishes he had a 7-1 record right now.

Alright… here we are… 7-1 and facing the other top team in the NFC. That's an opportunity to prepare for the NFC Championship game. If I'm the coach I throw down the gauntlet to my team right away by telling them this is gonna help us get to the Super Bowl. We have to beat the best the NFC can muster up against us to go to the Super Bowl. We're gonna practice and play like this is the real NFC Championship game! And we're gonna win and keep on winning to the very end!

I believe that a talented squad like the Bears could come together and make improvements in their game and power their way to the Title. I'd give my bottom dollar to see that happen.

I pick the Bears to win a close one. With the better talent they should win by 20 or more but... just go take it from them for cryin' out loud. Do your jobs!

I think Bill Parcels wants to win the SB and doesn't care about his regular season record. Winning the SB makes things like your record moot. He wants his team to play better so he is in their face till it happens. He's doing his job. He's not trying to give everyone a warm fuzzy feeling. That won't win the SB, will it?

btw... to think I was Lovie bashing means you have misinterpreted the intent of my writing.

Roman responds: Here's the thing. Lovie is in his third year as an NFL head coach. How much better could the guy be doing? He inherited a team that went 11-21 in the two years before he arrived. He had an absolutely brutal QB situation because of injuries and Jerry Angelo not giving him a good back-up last season. Yet he still guided the team to the playoffs. And this year he is 7-1. It is about the record at this point. That's how they can secure home field, which is important. And one thing I didn't mention before was how I'm impressed I am with the play-calling this season. The Bears have utilized the tight end more than any other season I can remember. There's variety and balance and creativity. If there are specific mistakes Lovie is making, and there may be, I'm all ears.

Whoa! I wasn't even going to respond but when I read the "It is about the record at this point" comment I feel compelled to say I disagree completely. It's all about progressing to a championship level. Right now our record means nothing at all, nothing!

And we're not progressing!

Hence the criticism of the coaching staff who are responsible for results. Results of the progression, not what our record is. Do you want another 1st round defeat? I don't!

Roman responds: OK, specifically, what is Lovie doing wrong?

Why do you keep coming back to Lovie? You see, you did misunderstand me. You think I'm picking on poor Lovie but I was talking about the entire staff as a whole. Yes, that includes Lovie as it does every coach on the team.

To address your question, there are several specific things Lovie has done wrong. All coaches do. Are you really unaware of all of them? How can that be? I'll let the other bloggers offer any specific things they would like to shed some light on.

I say Bears beat Giants 19-17 on a last second Gould FG. Bears ahead 16-3 in the second-half. NY comes back and leads 17-16 but Rex & Robbie pull it out.

Yes the Giants are Dangerous, but I have to go with the Bears. I believe the game will be close at first, but the Bears pull away and win by 10. 27-17. I just don't see them having 2 bad performances in a row like last week. I think the defense will be fired up for this game and will put consistent pressure on Eli. Tommie Harris is past due for another great game.

This will show what kind of coaching the bears have. With berrian out and Urlacher banged up it wil be intresting to see what kind of game plan the coaching staff comes up with. If rex plays like he did last week they are dead. How long do you think smith will stick with grossman if he has another bad game? If the season and playoffs are in jeapordy does he makes the move then or let the season go in the tank just so he can see how grossman responds to pressure.

Again, I think you guys are pushing the panic button a little too soon. We're 7-1 and in no danger yet of missing the playoffs. Yeah Rex had a bad game, but he has proven that he can come back and have a good game. The question is can he do it on the road? Now if we were 4-4 or 5-3 we could speculate replacing the Qb. Right now it ain't broke, it's a little loose, but it ain't broke. Besides, you guys screaming for Griese really don't know what you're asking for. Yeah his #s were great in the preseason, but Denver, Miami, and Tampa didn't let this guy walk for nothing.Anyway, Now we will see if our boys are ready. I believe they will be.

I think the giants match up with the bears well but boy did buress screw up.You don't call out this d and expect not to come away with a ass whippin.I wrote after last weeks debacle against the fins that the bears need to start hitting people in the mouth,and this is the perfect opportunity. If they don't beat up on this team after the disrespect that they have been shown they will not get to it any where in the league. If they players don't feel that way then its up to lovie to light that fire and get these men into beat down mode.The giants are a good team and could win this game but i think the bears have too much to prove to let this game get away
.

I still have full confidence in Rex. The play calling is still not good enough and there are obvious signs that our players are not well coached. You want examples? Here are a few... Rex's mechanics, TJ's running style, too many bone-head penalties, WRs dropping the ball and running routes poorly, poor tackling, lazy attitudes, unprepared for the current opponent. I could give you more but geez... isn't that way too much already? As far as panicking goes... that does not apply to me. I knew from day one that with our level of talent and easy schedule that we would make the playoffs and I knew that unless we improved significantly we would not win the SB. We're still stuck where we were since the Carolina loss last season. So to me nothing has really changed since then except winning a few easy games causing the media and the cheerleaders to grossly over estimate our performance.

Roman responds: Look, I'm not saying the Bears are perfect. But if you're going to blame the coaching staff for a couple of missed catches, Rex throwing off his back foot too often and missed tackles, who do you credit for the team having the No. 1 offense, defense and special teams in the entire league? Terrell Owens dropped a TD pass the other day. Parcells' fault? The Steelers absolutely suck. Cowher no good? Same with the Skins and Joe Gibbs. Lovie Smith and his staff have put together a really good team that is 7-1. Then again, the White Sox had second-guessers all the way to the last out of the World Series. I guess it's what sports and blogs are all about. So enjoy.

You misunderstand me. I am not blaming the coaches for isolated, one-time errors like T.O. dropping a pass, come on. That is just human error or a lack of focus. But when it happens consistently over time then YES IT IS the coaches fault, period. I don't care what a bunch of fickle baseball fans do or say. It has nothing to do with football.

And credit the coaches with what? Really... what? Good stats? Getting smacked by Miami and blowing a chance to go unbeaten just because they had their heads up somewhere? That one was on Lovie. They have very good talent across the board and have gotten them to play at their potential only a few times against inferior competition. They should be 5-3 but have been lucky to win a couple extra. You don't coach luck. You either have it or you don't. It comes and goes. I don't know what stats you look at but they are 13th in total offense and 1st in defense. That's still pretty good but really means squat.

As for the Steelers maybe Cowher isn't doing a good job this season. It doesn't mean he isn't any good anymore or never was. Just not doing a good job lately. Maybe he's tired and wants to retire and can't give it the usual effort. If he hadn't won the SB LAST YEAR he'd probably be one of the "coaches on the hot seat", as you guys like to say. Everybody says the problem is Big Ben and whose decision was it to put him in so soon and leave him in? Big Bill's that's who. The head coach.

Most of these million dollar players love a soft coach and don't want discipline. They'll praise him all the way to the bank just so he can stay and keep things cushy. But the guys that want to be champions know you've got to push hard all the way and a soft coach is going to let soft players ride the gravy train. Eventually there will be a derailment.

I'm not gonna praise Lovie just because its PC. Yes, he's the lovable, polite, gentleman head coach. Those traits are nice for you kid's 1st grade teacher or your wife's gynecologist but a football coach needs other qualities. I'm not seeing them.

Roman responds: I don't care about being PC or the fact Lovie's a gentleman. I liked Dusty Baker, too, especially after I got to know him a little. But I didn't think he was a good manager. I think Lovie's very good. When I look at guys like Desmond Clark, Bernard Berrian, Mark Anderson and some others, I see the Bears getting as much as possible out of those guys. And the offense was ranked No. 1 in the league for most of the season. Anyway, you're entitled to your opinion. And the beauty of the Cowher situation, and the reason they won the SB last season, is because the organization stuck with him through bad times. He's a good coach, always was, always will be. It's an important lesson. Blog on.

I am waiting for the Bears to convince me they are actually gameplanning for each individual team and not just relying on a read and react defense. When they play the talented and complex offensive teams in this league you just can't go vanilla. I would love to see the Bears blitz the crap out of Manning for 2 series, then threaten it for the next 2 quarters. Maybe it's my imagination, but I think we'll see just what a difference between teams that rely on just their talent and teams that scheme like mad scientists (Pats,Giants), in the next few weeks.

I think it's more about game-planning than play-calling. Ron Turner and Lovie need to put Rex in situations that he can succed in. For the most part the play-calling has given Rex the chance to do this but with the Giants following the Arizona blueprint of blitzing Rex and creating pressure, the coaches need to have a plan to protect Rex or run the ball and throw quick passes to exploit the blitzes. Without Berrian the Bears need to focus on Des Clark becasue he has been huge for us and offers Rex a nice security blanket to get rid of the ball. Also we need to run the ball alot more to wear down the Giants and to set up the play action that has worked so well for the Bears. My prediction: Rex bounces back and the D steps up. Bears 28 Gmen 10
This game is about pride and standing up for each other. I have a feeling the D will make Plasticman Burress pay for his comments. GO BEARS!!!!

I want to see two things tonight. A Bears win and some evidence of progress. If I had to choose between the two I'd take progress. We're gonna have enough wins to make the playoffs. Your seeding makes no difference if you can't even win at home in the post season. If we don't make significant progress from where we are right now there will be no post season wins. If we keep letting things go hoping the problems will just go away we're gonna get eliminated in the first round. I don't want that. Coaches and players please do your jobs better than you have been. Stop talking and acting like you've already achieved a championship level. You have not! Ignorance is bliss.

Play calling is how a team executes its game plan. If it wasn't they would just be pulling plays out of their butts. So the terms are somewhat interchangeable. Anyway, it does seem we aren't well enough prepared for the current opponent. Been that way since '02.

I hear a lot of people talking about what NY players are saying and what the Bears should do about it. I hope Lovie is telling the team not to pay attention to it otherwise NY is just out smarting us. They want you to focus on their crap talking to distract you from doing your job on the field so they can win. If you play along, you are dumb.

This team is a joke. Does anyone still believe they will win the superbowl? It is half time right now and grossman looks bad as ever. Nobody can take care of the ball. Nobody can run the ball. Nobody can catch the ball. This team is B A D. Smith is a joke. Jones is a joke. The o line is a joke. The recievers are a joke. Now that they are playing good teams they are being exposed for what they are, average. Denny Green was right on the money when he implied that they are not that good and now everyone is seeing it!!!!!!!!!!!!

What about manyard. Evertime we have a chance to pin them deep he screws up. He either puts in the endzone or, like this last one, fair caught at the 20. He's puning from his 45 and they get it at the 20. He is terrible!!!!!!!!!

Well, end of the game. Bears looked better but, still have a ways to go. Smith once again made some stupid coaching moves. Why waste a timeout on a challenge you know you cannot win? At least it was a great bear victory. Grossman looked better in the second half and jones turned it up. I hope I am forced to eat my earlier words and the bears go all the way but, it is going to be tough . We need to tighten up that run defense. GO BEARS!!!!!!!!

What do you know... a little better play calling, actually made some adjustments, a lot less hopscotching and we get a nice win. This is a step in the right direction. Don't let it go to your heads.

OK,that's more like it.The BEARS played absolutely great in the 2nd half.Other than Tiki busting 46 on one run and the Giants scoring fairly easy,WE did exactly what most of the bloggers said we had to do.Sure,we have to keep up the good work,but that goes without saying.The 2nd half was some of the best ball we played all year.Hester is a true Jeckyl and Hyde.Sometimes he plays like you'd expect an all-pro to play and then he plays like a rookie in his first game.Another all around team win.The Giants are banged up and you can say we helped them get that way.Neutralizing Tiki in the first half after he was doing so well was impressive.I'll give him those garbage yards if we can eek out a win.I thought it was a closer game until you see we almost doubled their total output.HH looked pretty good at times.And Jones quieted his opposers for at least one week.It was good to hear Madden and Company give him credit when he sure deserved it.Brian was Brian and I think Peanut shut Burress up like we needed.Our Safety Johnson is still looking like a Matador.The only thing missing was someone yelling "ole" when he came up to tackle.No one looked too bad other than Fred Miller was a couple of IM penalties.I give the crowd credit for those because I've never seen him do that so much. 3 Xs.Great game BEARS.That said,GO BEARS!!

First--Roman, thanks for pointing out the obvious about Lovie and his crew--BBB (bigbadbear?) seems to be missing the boat on this.

Second--while it's a shame that the Lovie-bashers are going to put an asterisk on this victory due to the Giants' injury woes, it was nice to watch the Bears put it together in a game they needed to win, if only to shut the naysayers up.

It's a shame it's not over yet. Can you believe we're only nine games into the season? For all the heart attacks I've been having, you'd think it was playoff time.

I just don't get it. Either you like Lovie and the Coaching Staff, or you don't. The Bears just whipped the Giants and I bet some of you will still say "the coaching was bad!" What gives? what does Lovie have to do to win over some of you guys in Chicago? If we end up winning the SB, which we probably will, I bet you will still have something to gripe about. I mean all I keep seeing you type is "progress." Last year this time I think we were 5-3. Now we're 8-1. You keep saying the Regular season means nothing. It does mean something. You have to play and win the games to get into the playoffs. And once the Playoffs start, you ride that momentum to the SB. Last year the Bears Sat there starters and got creamed in Minn before the Playoffs.They ended up being 11-5. This year they have a shot at being 15-1, because they can beat every last remaining opponent on their schedule. Im trying not to look ahead, but all this "the coaching needs to improve" BS is getting old. I can see if we were 4-4, but we're 8-1 and is in great position. And on the Giant Game, Like I said earlier, The G-men was Talking trash all week, and by their body language, all game, and got their @$$#@ handed to them! I love it! and the Bears did it with class. They never came in with the Rah rah. They just went in and handled their business. And I attribute that to Coaching and players.

Peace

No Darryl... I'm not missing a thing. Thanks!

They have put themselves in a good position now. Very good! I saw a few things done a little better so that's a good sign. They need to keep working hard and take the next step. To not get all full the hype and stumble backwards again. They should feel right at home next game vs NY again.

Roman responds: Few things done better? For nearly the entire first half they looked horrible. Rex and Jones were awful. Tiki was running wild and Burress caught everything thrown at him. But they adjusted at halftime (coaching?) and pulled it out. This was nowhere near as good a performance as they had against Seattle. But they're 8-1. That's all Bears fans should be concerned about.

Smith doesn't see replay like we did.He only had a moment to make that decision.He was trying to keep them out of field goal range.Why was that dumb or stupid?Dumb and stupid was going for a 52 yard field goal in the rain or on a slick surface.And then not having your team defend the miss.We've done that twice in two years.Run back a team's miss for a TD.It wasn't a bad call because it looked like he reeled it in with his knee touching the ground.I thought it might have gone either way. I didn't think we would condemn coaching when we win by 18 points.In Jersey.Hostile territory.After we were down before the half.I guess you'll say that coaching had us down.The absolute best 3 year start for a coach in our history and some guys are still ragging on him.Maybe,before the game,but not after.Every where you turn teams are losing except Indy so far.Go Lovie and Da BEARS!!!

Absolute best 3 year start? I don't think so. After 41 games Ditka won a playoff game and advanced to the NFC Champs. After 42 games Lovie hasn't won a playoff game yet. I'd say winning in the playoffs is more important than a few regular season wins.

Roman responds: Lovie Smith is 24-17 in the regular season and 0-1 in the playoffs. Mike Ditka was 21-20 in his first 41 games. Ditka didn't advance to the playoffs until his third season, when he beat the Redskins before falling to S.F. in the NFC title game. It can be said that at this point, Lovie is ahead. He'll have to win a playoff game to remain ahead.

You just repeated what I said but spinned it to your perspective. Ditka's 42nd game was a playoff win. A playoff win in the books puts Ditka ahead after 42 games. Spin that!

Roman responds: I agree Lovie won't win a playoff game next week against the Jets. The fact Ditka's first season was just nine game skews the comparison a bit. But the fact is it took Ditka until his third season to win a playoff game. Lovie's in his third season, so you have to see how he does in this year's playoffs.

I'm just disagreeing with the "absolute best" comment. I'd never even bring this topic up if not for that comment. This is why there are some comments made that sound critical but a lot of them are just responding to someone trying to pass their opinion off as fact. If I make some off-the-wall comment or blow reality out of proportion I'd expect to get called on it. Anyway, I'm entitled to my opinion and so are the rest of you. If you disagree then say that, don't try to say I'm wrong or I shouldn't say something.

I said START.No one was calling Ditka as many foul names as people have called Lovie.I'm saying it was the BEST start.Not advancing IN the playoff isn't much different than being 8-8 in some folks eyes.Somebody need to drink some of FRANK LEE's Kool-Aide in its various forms.GO BEARS

Regardless of what's happened so far the fact is that we're now in a very good situation with a four game lead with seven to go. I do give the Bears credit for having the best record in the NFC. But it will not matter if we can't win in the playoffs. There is still a lot of progress that needs to be made to get to that level. I saw a little bit last night. I hope there's more to come.

All I addressed was the START. No mention of '85 at all. People were all over Ditka since day one. I was very upset with him most of the time from '86 on. Lovie has been handled with kid gloves from the beginning.

You know,I don't know who was all over Ditka from the start.He came in and people expected him to make the BEARS into his image.From the start he did just that.If anyone got down on him after 85 I didn't see it until the year before or the year he got canned.If you were down on on him after 85,Man,that's a lot of years to be pissed at the Coach.Look,Lovie took his team to the playoffs in his 2nd year.This after having a serious losing record and losing streak.You can't say winning a playoff game really matters if you don't win the Superbowl.As far as I can see if you can't get the trophy and go to Disney-whatever all of it doesn't matter.Winning on more than a few occasions make the season go great.You have your ups and downs all season long but when do you stop and enjoy it.I'd hate to be frowned up for the 25 weeks it take to go from training camp until the Superbowl.You have to enjoy something along the way.If you don't have a crystal ball and you can't see how it ends;what are you waiting for?Even if you had a crystal ball would you really want to know and could you still enjoy watching?Wouldn't that be like recording the game and making sure no one told you the outcome and then watching it while fast-forwarding through the commercials?Anyway,just try to enjoy the games and try not to be so critical.One day you'll wake up and it'll be baseball season.I miss watching them play,i wish the season was longer but who could play after all those games.I still say that it's best to look forward to something than looking back on what you enjoyed.That said,GO BEARS!!!

Did not see the replay? That's why good coaches have their team take their time in the huddle or on "D" the rest of the coaches in the booth let him know whats up or when the ref comes over to find out what you are challenging this should give you plenty of time to see the play and then you can change your mind. I know on the road sometimes they are slow to put up the replay but, I think it was a bad move.

Gaining playoff experience is very valuable even if you lose. Winning one and playing another is even better. I think its funny how someone can say the regular season means so much but winning a playoff game doesn't really matter if you didn't go all the way. Hilarious!

Dude,YOU say that everyday.Not WINNING the SUPERBOWL means your season doesn't matter.You've said it a million times.Just about all your blogs state that this season won't matter if we don't get a ring.Now when I said it doesn't matter if you make the playoffs and not win the Superbowl- doesn't matter- now it's twisted.As long as Ditka made the playoffs in his 3rd season and got knocked out after one game it's fine.Because Lovie made it the 2nd year and got knocked out early it's bad.Make up your mind.It's just another excuse for you to rag on Lovie.Also,Frank if the D is slow to get out of the huddle it doesn't make a difference.All the offense has to do is line up and go.They do not have to wait for the D to line up.Home teams get the benefit of replay.If it's close they won't run it for the opposing team to see.The coach does not have the benefit of replay like people at home.Only the refs can obtain replays that can be used to overturn a play and look how long that takes.No,the coach doesn't have long to make that decision.Teams line up quick to get plays from being overturned.With the naked eye it looked close.And I could have sworn that when the game ended we still had 1 or 2 timeouts left.Taking a chance to keep a team out of field goal range and giving them a 3rd and long is worth it.Chipping away at a lead is how teams eventually lose.Keep it close and anything can happen.That said,GO BEARS!!

Also Frank once you challange and the ref comes over,it's a done deal.You can't pick the challenge flag up and say never mind.Even GOOD coaches lose challenges.

Roman resonds: I believe Mike Holmgren has the worst percentage of all coaches when it comes to challenges, and he's considered one of the best.

William... you misunderstand again, what a surprise. I have not been saying that a teams entire season means nothing if they don't win the SB. I've been saying that things like your regular season record, team/individual stats and all the silly things you and others keep spewing will mean nothing.

I have never said that there was anything great about any indiviual achievements by any one player.I've never singled out anyone for greatness.I've only been geeked about the team.The whole team.I'm not one to say that a player is awful all the time.When they play awful I have faith that they'll bounce back.I guess you misunderstand me and I misunderstand you.You have a way of saying things and I have mine.We go about our faith differently.I don't begrudge you for anything.Man,I have more pressing and important things to do than go back and forth with you.That said,GO BEARS!!!

If you challenge a play and the ref tells you it cannot be challenged you can pick up the flag(obviously) OR you can throw the flag, ask what the call on the field was, THEN tell the ref you were not sure and decide not to challenge. it has been done in the past several times. Yes, of course on "D" you have to be ready thats why I said IF your coaches are on top of the play, while on defense, you can call a timeout. If the offense is all of a sudden "running" to the line to hurry and get the next play off, it usally means they know, if challenged, the play is not going to go their way. Smith is learning and maybe he will be great. Only time will tell. I just think he has a long way to go. I am just glad they came back and won. From now on I am going to enjoy the rest of what is shaping up to be a great season. All the moaning in the world is not going to change it at this point so, I might as well enjoy it!!!

I've only seen the refs tell coaches when they can't challenge a play.I've never seen a coach say I change my mind.They tell them if it's a play that can be reviewed.But the coach can't change his mind after thinking about it.Why call a timeout if you can just get the challenge and lose the timeout on a nonreversal.I too am trying to enjoy this season.I just implore everyone to not jump to conclusions.Let's try to be fans and not credits.It's ree to be a fan and nobody pays us to be critics.If I'm wrong about Challenges it's because so many refs change how things go during any given game.Go BEARS!!!