Lovie, Angelo locked up

Roman - The negative coverage on the Smith contract discussion was extremely excessive. And a lot of it was coming from the national media - I attribute it to football headline withdrawal. Let's face it, ESPN can't just have 24x7 Dickie V - people would kill themselves.

Football news gets so damn slow post-Super Bowl that I half-expected hearing a rumor that media maven Jerry Jones was going to name Larry Birkhead the new Cowboy's head coach - just to get the press for a few days. Actually, considering Jones' final choice, the Cowboys might have been better off with Birkhead.

Yeah, you could say it was a bit excessive. You could say that about every subject covering this drama-filled team. However, Im glad the deal is done, now we can move on to the next episode. This season could've easily won an emmy if it were a reality show.

I guess Carol Slezak will have to come up with something new and goofy to write about.

Romo!!! How could you break this news?? Now Jermaine and William R Donald will have to come up with some other racially motivated conspiracy! Lets see....well the Blackhawks have never had a non-white coach.

Roman responds: One thing I always try to stay away from is pretending to know what it's like to be black in this country. I always remember what Chris Rock said in concert to a packed house. He said, "There's not one white guy in here who would trade places with me, and I'm rich." And secondly, Dirk Graham is not 100 percent white, so you're wrong.

I think that Mr. Donalds and Jermaines comments about race are correct. Can you name an old bloated white guy who went through the same humiliation of not being appreciated for their practically made from scratch success? BTW I am an old bloated white guy.

your kidding yourself if you think the Bears drama is over now that Lovie's contract has been extended. Tank Johinson still has charges pending....what other if any coaching moves does Lovie have in mind? how is Tommy Harris's rehab coming along? and the list goes on. there may not be daily headlines because the season is over and God forbid that the Bulls or Cubs or Sox get a little more press now (oh yeah almost forgot to mention the Blackhawks) but there will be plenty of off-season press about the Bears. the bottom line here here though is the Lovie got what he deserved and that is a good thing for the Bears. now let's see him be the first head coach to return to the Super Bowl and win after losing the previous year!

First of all Jerry,

I never made a big deal about race in this contract saga. I tried my best to stray away from that. Like I said in my last post, racism is too stupid of a suject for me to discuss personally. Like Roman said, if you're not of color stay away from that. Being african american myself, I try to keep that subject away because, like I said before, its stupid. So I have to disagree with you, my post were never racially motivated. In fact, I was amazed at the amount of ignorance being displayed by many. William made a lot of valid points in his post, and I commend him for always being positive. So go back and read my post if you want. If you were offended, then I can't do anything about that.

And secondly...

I'm not a Blackhawks fan. Just Cubs, Bears, and Bulls.

Also. I don't think Virginia McCaskey has found out he is black yet. She was right next to him after the Saints game. However, they gave her those 'blinding' glasses. Everything is white and rosey when you look through them.

Great to have Lovie signed to a contract. however this could spell the end for a score of sportwriters (hopefully) who's pea brains can only write about how cheap the Bears are. perhaps now they can comment on how cheap they themselves are.......go buy your own lunch and double martini's maybe then you might come up with somethig orginal to write about.

Roman,

Tuesday in your newspaper Jay Mariotti wrote the Bears are cheap. Carol Slezak wondered if the Bears are racists. Today the Bears sign Lovie to the contract he deserves. Maybe the McCaskeys and Ted Phillips do read the Sun-Times. Next up is signing Lance Briggs to the contract he deserves.

Let me go on record that I would like to be the first bloated white guy to be "humiliated" by getting a new contract for $5M annually - one year before my contract was up. It's called negotiating Wisconsin guy...was the better strategy for the Bears to give him a blank check? As Romo said, they started negotiating again a week after the SB and they got it done a few weeks later. This all started by his agent saying they weren't even close, and the media jumped all over by suggesting it was racially motivated (that would be our Carol).
Good grief...

I think all the conspiracy theories and tinfoil hats can be put away, at least for the time being. Did anyone honestly think the Bears were stupid enough not to sign Lovie to an extension? They could only LOSE money doing something like that (even if they were saving a couple million) because of the severe backlash it would cause. I should have put my helmet when I went outside, because these guys were telling me the sky is falling. Everyone panicked and overreacted by the comments made by Lovie's agent... and after only a few days we all saw it was just business as usual. Breathe a sigh of relief, people, and realize this isn't the Bears of 1988.

It's so nice waking up to good news. The media coverage of the contract talks was probably excessive, but it was much easier reading about that than about how bad the Bears actually played in the Super Bowl. We live in a big city - we are going to get more media coverage of everything. At least we have Lovie and the Bears! It wasn't so brutal. It would have been much worse in New York. Anyone hear about the ridiculous Billy Wagner/Mariano Rivera 'Enter Sandman' controversy? that lived in the NY media for weeks. now that's excessive!

P.S. I don't like to think about old bloated white guys. No offense, stuckinwisconsin...

REAL racial issues are about respect and equal treatment. I trully don't think the average person knows that. Roman and stuckinwisconsin have made some refreshing comments. You ask yourself plainly if Lovie was treated like his counterparts and be honest. Brass can call it what they want, but it is what it is. There is only 1 coach in Bears history that has done better than the current coach. For this to drag on as long as it did merrited all of the discussion and speculation as to WHY it took so long. Words like "no-brainer" came to mind as we pondered this situation. Noone could figure out what they could be discussing or dragging their feet about. We assume that this all started AFTER the superbowl, but this contract has been in negotiation since Lovie won his first NFC trophy. The die was cast then. Bears knew they had a coach that deserved more even back then. In Chicago - just being in the playoffs warrants a good salary. Ask Scott Skiles who is in the smaller NBA. Lovie's agent sure knew what time it was and he used the ONLY bargaining chip he had....the media. And that is a white flag in negotiations. I'm happy for Lovie, Players, and Fans, but it didn't take all of that. So excuse some of us for not doing any backflips. They have taken a depressing loss in the Superbowl and just made it linger somehow.

This whole issue was overblown by the media... but you figure, this is a head coach that has improved your team every year he has been year, and just brought your team to the super bowl... what was there to think about? I have to say, I know head coaches will get the blame in losses, but will also get the accolades when they win... it just seems with Lovie, he doesn't seem to get any credit for the success and improvement they have had in the past 3 years (at least from reading these blogs from "real" bears fans). C'mon, we've lived through the wannie and jauron years, this is light years better!

Anyways, NOW we can have some continuate in both the front office and head coaching position! With the pieces we have in place, this is what the bears needed... not go into next year with the distractions of a lame duck coach, and possibly a new coach the following year, starting from ground zero again... Now they can focus on the players (free agency, draft) and what they need to get better!

Now the Ditka-philes and those folks who just didn't like Lovie because of his name or because he doesn't yell and scream like a 5 year old on the sidelines OR because of his skin color (You know you're out there), you're just gonna have to live with it!

Congrats Lovie and Angelo, well deserved!

Maybe the Bears had the right idea in letting Lovie leave without a contract. I mean this was said best on ESPN "who wouldnt want the Chicago job? That team is young and telanted" Meabing that Lovie would never have left it. His defense at times has been suspect, I hope that gets better.

I'm more than willing to let things go. I did not speak out because I wanted to start a firestorm or controversey. For the most part, I've been nothing but positive about a lot of things that I've said about just about anything in these blogs. Go back and read them since August. It's a shame that one of the respondents in this blog was one of the people I was talking about on being prejudiced against minorities. I'm not like that person. I don't hate anyone. I only speak out when I feel that someone is responding in a slanted manner. I've defended Rex about as much as I've defended Lovie. So has Jermaine. I've defended Ron Turner as well.I'm not going to let someone who casually troll these blogs looking for a fight to impugn my dignity. There are a lot of things that happen against people that make you question the intention. Name one other person in the world of sports that had to agree on a DNA test to sign a contract. My wife who is a nurse saw it as invasive and against any moral objectivity. And I didn't have a problem with the Bulls asking. I felt that they were protecting their investment. Now I wonder why. There are a host of situations that make you go "hhmm",and when they add up enough you openly question it. I never questioned the Urlacher contract or the Jauron contract in it's whole context. After someone else raised the questions it made you wonder. People think that we go looking for race related issues. But in reality we try like hell to avoid it. We could never be fans of anything because we would actually hate every team out there because every sport in Chicago has white memebers. It's not easy to come out and question if something is racially motivated. No one wants to hear anything else you have to say because you lost them at the words race or color. You lose friends by accusing anyone of racism and I think I have a lot of "blogging friends" on this blog of all colors and sex. I don't question that stuff day in and day out. Imagine living life wondering if every slight you encountered was racially motivated? You'd just be a hateful indivdiual. I think I've proven that I'm not that kind of person. I just wanted my team to keep getting better and sustain this positiveness that some of us see. I wanted Dick Jauron to succeed because he was a nice guy. I never came down hard on him because I knew he didn't exactly have great players to work with. He was the anti-Ditka when it came to fans support. I never had a forum to send my support for him. This is my way of supporting the coach who's getting the job done. It was a great decision on the BEARS part. They actually showed the NFL that they aren't just a mom and pop organization. Everyone in the media clowned them because they were dragging their feet. I didn't see anyone in the media who sided with them on taking their time. I love my team and anyone questioning why I said what I said earlier can just WONDER what my intentions were. I know who I am.

Stuckinwisconsin....WHO raised the issue in the media and started all of this nonsense? It was Lovie's agent. At what point did the Bears EVER say that they wouldn't get to an agreement? Let's not forget Lovie signed this deal and it had 1 more year to go. YES, it's typical that coaches get re-upped before the last year and that's what the Bears did. They did a deal for $5M+ annually just a week or so after negotiations started...yeah, that's is outright humiliation!

Lovie's agent through that comment out there to a national guy and it was just a matter of time before "other" noise got out there. Local writers like Slezak jumped on it...I'm guessing you won't see a mea culpa from her anytime soon.

today jay marrioti blasted the Bears for not ripping up the last year in Lovie's contract and making his pay raise immediate. if I am not mistaken marrioti was also very vocal when scottie pippen wanted to re-negotiate his seven year contract with the Bulls, critisizing pippen saying he shouldn't have signed a contract for that many years if he wasn't happy with it. even MJ told pippen to honor his contract and he'd get what he deserved in the next one and he did. it wouldn't surprize me if the sticking point that Lovie's agent was refering to when he said they were worlds apart in the negotiations was referring to that last year of Lovie's current contract and Lovie being the gentleman that he his spoke directly to ted philips and agreed to honor the last year of his contract with a substantial raise in the next. big union contracts are negotiated during the final year of each contract; many right up to the eleventh hour; yet NEVER has any terms of the final year of the current contract been at issue. why should this have been any different? I applaud Lovie for honoring the final year of his current contract .

Lets hope the Packers, Vikings and Lions could finally start improving so maybe we can see what kind of players they have and what kind of coach Smith is. BTW, didn't Smith invite Jesse Jackson to Miami as his guest at the superbowl?

Wait, what? A sports agent using the media to exert pressure on management to expedite the signing of his client?

Seriously?

Wow...man, I'm tellin' ya; what is this world coming to?

The Bears got fleeced......they only looked at the recent Bears record and not the Achilles heel of Smith - his stubborn decision to stick with Grossman. They got scared about the reaction of the media and fans if they didn't extend him.

Mark my words, the Bears will waste all of the talent that Angelo has brought them because Smith will never bench Grossman, no matter how badly he plays. Players will leave and free agents will stay away because of it. The most important decision a head coach can make is who to play at quarterback, and Smith has failed miserably.

Prediction: the Bears will make the playoffs next year (barely) and Grossman will screw up again, and the Bears will extend his contract because "Rex gives us the best chance to win" and the Bears management will get scared again because we won't want to lose the "stability" we have at that position.

And then we'll be stuck with him for the next four years and the overall talent of the team will dwindle, and we'll all look back at what might have been.

The extensions for Lovie and Angelo just solidified our dominance of the NFC for another 5 years. By then, Rex is going to be a pro-bowler, Urlacher will have 2 more Defensove POY awards (and maybe a sack or two), and the Bears will have 2 SuperBowl rings. Lovie is an absolute class act and leader of men while Angelo knows how to build and sustain a team with continuity, character, and talent. All of the published fuss about frugality and racism was ridiculous.

On a side note, how can Lance Briggs and Thomas Jones possibly be unhappy? Lance needs to realize that making the average of the top five LB salaries in the NFL is a ton of money. Lance- Do you want to get paid, play next to a Hall of Famer who makes you exponentially better, and be an integral part of a special team within a storied organization located in the best city on earth? Or do you want to make an extra million a year to lose on a bad team in a crappy city and most likely never return to the pro-bowl? Thomas- Do you want to continue being successful, healthy, productive, and respected or do you want to be a "workhorse" averaging 2.9 yards a carry for the four-win Houston Texans and fade to oblivion? You should be thankful to the Bears for making you productive and Cedric Benson for keeping you fresh throughout a greuling season. You're winning, putting up numbers, and relevent in the league. Remember the Cardinals? Not much fun, right? Fellas, we appreciate you, now please, appreciate the organization.

I really feel that a lot of people are looking at this too deeply.This organization did what every team in the nfl do and that is try to get the best deal for both sides.It is still a business and right business choices need to be made.This is so small compared to a lot of other coaching salary disputes the last 5 years.How many times has torre,parcells,jimmy johnson,cowher go thru worst scenerios in their careers.The man got what he deserved and he even took next years pay because he is a man of his word.I wonder when the last time a super bowl coach was the least paid coach the next year?So give both sides the due they deserve.This might be the start of long happy ride in chicago.

When a person is trying to get paid equal value for the same job, with a better winning percentage than other coaches(white)who are being offered more money with less experience, or being paid more money without the success of this person, IT DOES MAKE A PERSON WONDER!

With inception of the historical background of this country, how can individuals not wonder if other external factors (such as race) were not playing a part in the negotiations?

BTW, I know the Chicago Bears is a well-known penny-pinching organization. This did not bode well for them public-relations wise, not Lovie Smith. He done everything asked of him, succeeded in spite of the well paid-under achieving quarterback. Mr. Smith stayed within the corporate structure and did not waver, though we all would have like to have seen Brian Griese given a chance when Grossman was flailing the ball all over the field.

To those who think the race card was being used, or making statements such as "There was still one year left on his old contract!", maybe this is why others (reporters & laypersons)thought RACE was the issue.

AS MR. ROMAN ELOQUENTLY STATED:
Roman responds: One thing I always try to stay away from is pretending to know what it's like to be black in this country. I always remember what Chris Rock said in concert to a packed house. He said, "There's not one white guy in here who would trade places with me, and I'm rich." And secondly, Dirk Graham is not 100 percent white, so you're wrong.

When Whites come any where close to understanding this perception instead of thinking, it is not that bad, or forget about the historical significance of Slavery, Jim Crow and Segregation, this is when REAL PROGRESS is being made.

Please don't take this as an endorsement of 'Here goes another, "Because I am Black, they are treating me so and so kinda way", speech'

Example: Think Barack Obama needs to be reminded he is a Black Man or his mother is White? ...I fall out laughing at this some times...

Lovie Smith doesn't need to be reminded he is Black. GET IT GUYS & LADIES!

Now that the Bears have Lovie all Locked up, they should sign Lance Briggs. Also They should make a serious run at Joey Porter. I saw today that Pittsburg released him today. He would be a serious upgrade from Hillemeyer. What do you guys think? I mean imagine B-LAC, Lance Briggs, and Jerry Porter...

Good, the contract issue is settled. The race card was played well and had the desired effect. That's what greedy people do when it's their turn to grab the cash. It's nothing new and was no surprise. I feel sorry for Lovie because now he's going to have to earn that big money. There's only one way he's going to be able to do it. Keep hiring and firing coordinators until he finds the right ones to get the job done for him. I feel sorry for Angelo because he'll probably be the one to have to fire Lovie in about 3 years when it finally becomes obvious to all that he can't cut it. But who knows, luck is better than skill in this game much of the time. With parity, a good squad of players can have a chance every season to get close to the title like the Bears did this season. But without luck, it's a good coaching staff that makes the difference. This is where we're out of luck. Hold on to your rabbit's foot.

Now, a new season is ahead. I want the Bears to be successful. If I see a problem I'm going to bring it up. If the problem is Lovie, I will say so. Then you will have a chance to practice what you preach. You new bloggers that are still around can see for yourselves. I know some of you are ready to put this past season on the shelf and look forward to next season. So am I. I ask you to stop the hating of those that have a different view than you and just express your own opinion. That's the right way to do it. Give it a try. I'll start fresh if you will. Go Bears!

If the BEARS stick with Rex how are they being fleesed in reagrd to Lovie's contract? Any coach who comes to Chicago will have to have Rex as their QB. It's what Angelo wants. He's the boss. If the Bears fail next year due to the organization sticking with Rex then I would say that the whole organization is failing. It doesn't come down to just Mr. Smith failing. If Angelo can fire people for standing by someone you'd think that he can make a decision that if a person wanted to stay in their position they would have to back the right horse. Some of you fail to realize that Angelo also thinks that Rex is the right horse. If he went out last year and got us a former starter and paid him starter money,wouldn't it be in his best interest if that guy went out and played? He's not in the business of wasting money and that can be viewed as wasting money. It's like you guys can't see the writing on the wall,sometimes. No head coach of the BEARs ever had final say in his roster. If it wasn't Mr.Halas as the coach the coach with this team always worked with what his G.M. gave him. Even Ditka. Ditka didn't trade McMahon or trade for Flutie. He took whatever they gave him and worked with them. This organization is rising together. If it fails next year it fails as an organization in total.

JohnF,

I Know Lovie stuck with Grossman this year, but I don't think any coach would've gave up on Grossman. Sure he stunk up a few games, including the SB, but he also played very well in many games. Remember the Bears wouldn't have made it to the SB if it wasn't for his performance in the Seattle game. However, the pressure will be on both Grossman and Lovie Next year. Grossman needs to limit his Turnovers and Lovie to be able to yank Grossman if he has one of those games where he's throwing multiple ints. And I guess thats whats so frustrating about Grossman. I really hope he learns from this past season. I defended him all year in the good games and bad. I have a gut feeling that Lovie knows he has to earn his $$ now. If Grossman has one of those games where he is throwing ints all over the field, Lovie will yank him. With this talent all Grossman has to do is limit his TOs. He doesn't have to be Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, or any of those QBs. Just don't lose the game.

Comment 1: The race card was played well and had the desired effect. // Why do you think race was a factor? Did Lovie Smith not do an excellent job within three years?

Comment 2: That's what greedy people do when it's their turn to grab the cash.// Did race make this person greedy? Or did the capitalist, money-making, grab-it-while-you-hot attitude of being in sports or any entertainment venue which AMERICA has made a hot commodity while the getting is good?

Comment 3: I feel sorry for Lovie because now he's going to have to earn that big money. // Are you saying he did not earn the previous salary, and deserve a bigger salary as other NFL coaches or co-ordinators are receiving presently, who have not done half as well coaching a NFL team?

Comment 4: But who knows, luck is better than skill in this game much of the time. // Is LUCK not a component in any sport? Staying healthly the entire season is luck, regardless of how much off-season training a person does. Were the Chicago White Sox lucky none of its pitching staff had any arm problems in 2005 Championship season. Were the Chicago Bulls not lucky in the fact the major players never had serious injuries during its Chamionship three-peats? I am confused by this statement, especially when the Bears quarterback played some lack-luster games, but the Bears still won 2 out 3 of those games. LUCK don't you think?

Comment 5: But without luck, it's a good coaching staff that makes the difference. This is where we're out of luck. // Wait a minute we can have luck, but without a good (White) coaching staff this is the difference maker? Black coach, take NFL team to Super Bowl in three years, but the coaching is NO GOOD!...hhhhmmm...OK, if you say so.

Comment 6: I ask you to stop the hating of those that have a different view than you and just express your own opinion. That's the right way to do it. Give it a try. I'll start fresh if you will. // NOT HATING, JUST EXPRESSING AN OPINION! Also, start fresh as soon as possible, don't wait until training camp.

Lets Play Nice People or Roman will cut a swarth the size of Lake Michigan on our posts...

I disagree that all Grossman has to do is not lose the game because he has a lot of talent around him. I think the offensive talent on the Bears is average, and it is old. Check out their roster and look at the birthdates of the offensive starters. It has to be one of the oldest starting offenses in the league.

Well, looks like the little clown car is now fully loaded with the bears management team: the purse holder, the bean counter, the conman and the poser are all aboard.

I don't think the bears will get close to the superbowl again with this bunch of inexperienced first timers ensconced in their positions. Its a shame that bears fans will have to witness the perils of nepotism first hand as this team circles the big top. Watch how anyone with real credentials and slightly independent viewpoints is shown the door and the place is filled with family members, old friends, yes men and sycophants of all persuasions.

Notice how appearing to be right is more important than doing the right thing. Watch how delighted and suprised they are when something actually goes right and they aren't repeatedly out maneuevered, out negotiated, out coached and out played.

Vikings and Packer fans are getting giddy seeing the real players like briggs and jones not get contracts and all the money go to lovie and his buds.

Well, at least urlacher got to play in one superbowl, maybe he'll get another chance somewhere before his career is over.

Common sense isn't their strong suit right about now. Couldn't they have waited until they released the schedule to say "by the way,we're also raising ticket prices". By doing the ticket price raising they are basically saying that you guys are gonna have to pay for Lovie's contract. It doesn't matter that they piggy-back Angelos' signing with Lovie's, the perception is still on Lovie. And please note that I said it was their common sense that I question,not anything else. Every once in a while they need a REAL P.R. person to tell them how to keep it real. Because right now it's a mistake to do what they did in that timeframe. Why the big rush to raise prices so soon after?

Roman responds: No, it's pretty SOP. Teams do it after good news, usually, and ALWAYS on late Friday afternoons. It's a slow news cycle.

"Good, the contract issue is settled. The race card was played well and had the desired effect. That's what greedy people do when it's their turn to grab the cash."

Absoluetly nothing has changed in the past two days. Lovie didn't get a new contract. He was handed an "extention", an empty paper promise. The Bears could easily get one more year out of him "practically for nothing" and then dump his extension after next season. Don't worry, Lovie Smith will be the last black head coach to ever work for the Chicago bears. You won't have to worry about us black people taking you to the Superbowl or demanding that we be paid more than a coach who's never even finished a season in the NFL, let alone gotten to the superbowl.

Chicago won't see another superbowl for 40 years after Smith is gone. Why would a talented coach want to work in a team that would risk ruining it's own organization over something so small? No black person ever made this a racial issue. Lovie Smith and his agent didn't mention race. Not even Tony Dungy made this a racial issue. It was white people-white journalists and white coaches-who recognized what was happening and did what they could to try to reverse it. They really didn't have to stick their necks out for Lovie, but they did.

"Smith will never bench Grossman, no matter how badly he plays."

" The most important decision a head coach can make is who to play at quarterback, and Smith has failed miserably."

Maybe Lovie Smith will surprise you at next years superbowl by going over to the Colts bench and telling Peyton Manning to replace Grossman at quarterback.

"didn't Smith invite Jesse Jackson to Miami as his guest at the superbowl?"

Maybe they're good friends.

"...when scottie pippen wanted to re-negotiate his seven year contract with the Bulls, critisizing pippen saying he shouldn't have signed a contract for that many years if he wasn't happy with it. even MJ told pippen to honor his contract and he'd get what he deserved in the next one and he did... big union contracts are negotiated during the final year of each contract; many right up to the eleventh hour; yet NEVER has any terms of the final year of the current contract been at issue ... I applaud Lovie for honoring the final year of his current contract ."

Go on, what happened after that? Why did MJ finally end up leaving the Bulls?

I noticed that you never even mentioned Jauron's name. That's quite funny seeing as he would be much more relevant to this situation than a basketball team or a labor union. It is quite easy to applaud a man for working practically for free, especially when you can make lots of money off of him.

I sure would like to see something from this team that makes me proud to be a Bears fan again. All the whining and crying about respect... we're going to do this and that and then they don't... tons of total b.s. spewed all over the place... players embarrassing us all... That's not Bears football to me. We've been looking more like the Vikings of recent years. It's one thing to play and coach your butt off and come up short. I can live with and respect that. But doing a flat out crappy job with a bad attitude and bad effort with guys shooting their mouths off and saying stupid things just does not cut it. I don't care how many less talented teams they barely beat. Do it the right way or get out so someone else can come in and get it done.

Nobody in these blogs has any idea what goes on in the clubhouse, the practice field or the sidelines with the Bears...The writers write and the fans react...The Bears are a good TEAM...They have each other's backs and to be personally frank, don't give a hoot what the writers or the fans think of them...They are pro's...They had the EASIEST schedule (based on the final winning percentages of each team) in the NFL this past season...They should have been in the Super Bowl...Fans need to not believe everything they read and Fans need to put more emphasis on their own lives instead of counting on a sports team to fill up every part of their life that needs filling...Get a grip and get a life...Lovie Smith got a great contract and if that has any affect on how you treat your family or do your job, then you need help...Anyway, next year the NFC will be far better than this year...Yes the Vikes, Lions, PACKERS, 49ers etal., will all be better...As will the Bears...They made it to the Super Bowl and, to me, were just a few plays from winning that game...Believe me, they will remember that with every single second of next year's off season traing, pre-season and THE season...The only drama with this team is in the heads of the people who react to it like it is drama...When people get bored, they make things up to create a little excitement...That's human nature...Every animal on the planet goes out of its' way to find something to get itself "high"...Don't fall fall for the little scenarios some writers create...Look at the stas...Watch the games...and make up yer own minds...The Bears will be tough next year...Every single person involved with the day to day of the Bears knows exactly what they need to do to get back to the Super Bowl...Trust me, barring unforseen injuries, the Bears are going to be the lowlight of every opponents schedule...Relax fans...I'll guarantee you none of you can feel as disappointed as the players who lost that game to the Colts...Don't fall for jive that writers try to stir up...Enjoy your sping and summer because it starts all over again next fall...Like pre 1985 when the Bears lost to the 49er's before their Super Bowl winning year, you can be sure that the player's will be ready...Fight On!!!