A dissenting opinion on Lovie Smith

Lovie, by his very demeanor, is one of the worst coaches I've ever seen on an NFL sideline. True, Landry never broke a sweat or cracked a smile, but Lovie's not in Tom's league by a long shot.

This is because Lovie is obtuse, and stubborn to a fault. He refuses to adapt his scheme according to his player's strengths, and his absolute inability to make adjustments during a game is infuriating.

He said that we should trust his omnicient wisdom when he ran Rivera out of town and replaced him with that sock puppet, Babbich.

That was almost two full seasons ago, and I have yet to see the dividends.

Am I missing something here?

Wow. Ricky, please hand the reigns back over to Roman. Ok, let's dissect this.

"Everyone thought they would suck this year"

Not really. Most people figured the defense, now that everyone was healthy, would return to its '05-'06 form and Hester would remain Hester and that it would be enough to squeeze into the playoffs. There were a lot of unknowns on the offense but the feeling was with Benson gone we had improved at RB, the TEs were solid, and that Orton could manage a game well. Many predicted a season similar to '05 where the games were won in spite of the offense.

"I think the torches and pitchforks approach is a little ridiculous at this point."

You're absolutely correct. We should have picked up our torches and pitchforks last season.

"I get it, last week's game really was that bad, but it seems more like an angry gut reaction approach than a logical one."

Sure, watching our once proud defense self-implode game after game after game, dating back to last year, and listening to Lovie adamantly defend the Cover-2 and his BFF coordinator, is just a silly-nilly, angry gut reaction we fans have. Maybe if it keeps happening for the next three years then, maybe, we should at least raise an eyebrow in concern.

"Last season was the only time during Lovie's reign when the Bears disappointed..."

So 2004's 5-11 record was the feel good story of the year? I'm not saying it was an easy year with the QB issues, but you make it sound like that season never happened.

"Lovie's only real mistake he's made here was firing Rivera"

Ooh, this could take a while. Let's see, mistakes...well, off the top of my head:

-Not only did he fire Rivera, he brought in his ole' buddy whose only previous experience was building a tree house with Lovie and riding their bikes to the local drug store every weekend i.e. being best buds with the Head Coach. That's called nepotism folks and I guess no one really objected because it's all the norm here in the magical land of C(r)ook County. It's nothing but a minor mistake though. We've only seen the D crumble from top 5 form to somewhere around the bottom of the league.

-Squib kick. 11 seconds.

-Lovie's stubborn belief that the Cover-2 = BEST SCHEME EVAH! I keep thinking back to our last meeting with the Vikings. We were up 17 in the 4th, and the defense goes into a straight-look Cover-2. A few minutes later, we were only up by 7.

-"Rex is our quarterback." And SuperBowl XLI is a deeply repressed memory for me.

-Seahawks game 2007. Benson busts lose with 63 yards on 2 carries. Lovie pulls him out of the game. Plan before the game was to give A.P. some playing time. Bears lose.

I could go on and on with these absolute blunders Smith has made, the type that you really feel would not have been committed by some slob named Carl sitting at home stuffing his face with beer and doritos aka ANYONE who's at least seen one friggin' football game in their life. Ricky, really, no hard feelings. But you asked for reactions and I gave you mine. On the plus side, this post should get a lot of traffic.

Ricky responds: a) The Cover-2 is the Bears' system. What are you going to do, scrap the entire thing in the middle of the year because Ogunleye can't provide a natural pass rush? The players on the defense were attained to fit into the Cover-2, sure it's having some problems right now, but to scrap in the middle of the season with the team in first place is kind of crazy, in my opinion.

b) I'm not sure how much you can criticize Lovie for sticking with Rex. If you remember, Rex and Griese split snaps in practice before the Rams game during the Super Bowl year. If Rex would have screwed that game up, Griese would have been the starter the rest of the year. Hester ended up taking two kicks back for touchdowns and the Bears won, in the process saving Rex's job. It's not like they were going to bench him after a win, or, even worse, after one of the playoff victories. The next year, Rex got pulled after the third game. I think that was fair.

c) The rest of your points are valid ones, but no coach is perfect. Everyone is going to make some mistakes.

d) If you check the archives of this here weblog, everyone was very down on the Bears heading into this season. Most people thought they would win six games.

e) I'm not saying Lovie is a premier head coach, but I don't think he's horrible. The venom that has been shot his way this week is a little nuts, in my opinion.

f) Roman handed the reigns to me, I didn't take them! Just helping a brother out, ya know? Feel free to disagree with anything here, sports are one thing you're supposed to argue about, so go crazy kids.

I hope this game makes a statement, but I'm flexible as to what that statement should be.

If they win, I hope that it's a blow-out, and sends them in the right direction.

But if they lose, I also hope that it's a blow-out and not a close, last second field goal defeat.

If they lose I want the loss to be so devestating that it propels them in a different direction alltogether; sans Smith and Babbich.

I don't know if there is any thing else to say after about Lovie after Roman's post from last Sunday "Lost faith in Lovie"
There were 113 comments to that one even though it went off topic when somebody decided that the world is racist unless they love them some Lovie.

He is not a good coach but he is signed for several years so he is probably here to stay. Do they have the talent to overcome his bad coaching? Not really.
They did in 2006 but this is 2008 and things have changed.
Babich has ruined the defense (see Mark Anderson for example) while trying to make Hester a WR has done the same to him.

It figures that the moment the Bears have a QB that can do more than throw picks and trip over his own feet the D goes straight to hell and Hester becomes Cedrick Benson returning kicks.

"a) The Cover-2 is the Bears' system. What are you going to do, scrap the entire thing in the middle of the year because Ogunleye can't provide a natural pass rush? The players on the defense were attained to fit into the Cover-2, sure it's having some problems right now, but to scrap in the middle of the season with the team in first place is kind of crazy, in my opinion."

Dude, then this goes back to the coach! It's not like we are just beginning to find out the Cover-2 is really Cover-Crap. That was evident in the Super-Bowl. So where's Plan-B? Shouldn't Lovie have a backup plan and have his players prepared for all situations i.e. plan A has been figured out? Opposing offenses max protect and pass it along the seams and sidelines and convert on 3rd and 25 (Falcons), 4th and long (Vikes) etc. against us. Why wouldn't you ditch that? I think it's crazy to be sticking with a plan that consistently fails.

"b) I'm not sure how much you can criticize Lovie for sticking with Rex."
Actually I don't think it was so much his decision to stick with Rex but his continuous "Rex is our quarterback" remarks making most wonder if he should continue coaching football or be placed on a carnival ride along with the other animatronic puppets.

All joking aside, he should have pulled Rexy out of the Bowl when it was clear he couldn't even handle a snap, couldn't hold on to the ball. It's a bold move, but will a coach step up and lead the team to victory or stand on the sideline and twiddle his thumbs?

We learned post-game the Colts' D coordinator knew Rex was scared and ordered his guys to bring pressure. That meant his mind gone. And in the wings we had comeback king Brian Griese, a 10 year vet who had outplayed Rex in the preseason, standing idly. Even Kyle would have been a better option b/c again, Rex's nerves were shot. He was useless.

And it's not hindsight on my part, I was yelling this at the TV on that dreary February night.

"c)...but no coach is perfect. Everyone is going to make some mistakes."

Yes, but the mistakes I cited were those that lacked pure common sense. Things that, again, my obese, hygenically-challenged, hypothetical friend Carl would be able to do right.

And what's so frustrating about Lovie's personnel mistakes are how badly they reek of nepotism. Archuleta comes in, Chris Harris moves out. Rivera gets canned, Babich shows up. What do they have in common? Why, they're both friends of the good coach.

d)"...everyone was very down on the Bears heading into this season. Most people thought they would win six games."

Ok, fair enough. I guess it depends where you look and at what time. Before preseason, there was more optimism than during it and again that changed with the Colts game. Generally Bears fans are going to be optimistic in the offseason when their team is fresh off a SB appearance.

"e.)The venom that has been shot [Lovie's] way this week is a little nuts, in my opinion."

Lovie's past blunders were a powder keg. The Packers game was simply a lit match.

"f) Roman handed the reigns to me, I didn't take them! Just helping a brother out, ya know?"

I guess good help really is hard to find. Nah, I'm just playing O'Donnell! This post is a lightning rod, it's fun! You do a good job. Keep it up! -mike

Wow, I'm a total sports NERD.

Ricky,

Are you smoking crack??!! Read Roman's Blog:"Lost faith in Lovie" and you'll get every reason in the world to justify Lovie being fired.

After you're done reading then answer these questions:

1, What has Lovie done well or even right? Give me any examples of good coaching, personnel management, game preparation or game day adjustments.

2, Name one player that Lovie has developed or made better with his system.

3, Tell me why he fired a great Defensive Coordinator and replaced him with a friend who is totally unqualified ad has done a terrible job.

4, Name even one thing Lovie does better than other NFL coach.

5, Give me an example of one game when Lovie has out-coached the opposition.

6, Give me one example of Lovie's coaching being the difference between victory and defeat.

7, Have you ever heard of any NFL Coach current or past who ever said: "It's tough to prepare for a Lovie Smith coached team."?

8, In your opinion do other Teams have to adjust to the Bears or are the Bears always having to adjust to them?

9, How many top Defensive Teams in the last 10 years have been Cover 2 teams? Have you ever noticed that the Teams who always have great defenses, Pittsburgh, the Patriots, the Giants us their linebackers to put pressure on the quarterback unlike the Bears who drop their linebackers into coverage 90% of the time?

10, Explain how and in what way Lovie has been getting the most out of his roster. Keep in mind he wanted these players to fit his system. Which receiver has he gotten the most out of? Which cornerback? Which Defensive lineman? Which quarterback?

11, Explain why it would be a bad idea to scrap the Cover Two defense right now. Could any other Defensive Scheme they try produce worse results than they got last Sunday?

12, Did it ever occur to you that the Bears don't have a pass rush because the offensive line and tight ends of the opposing teams only have to worry about pressure from the defensive lineman and they only have to worry about the player right in front of them? Watch the Giants this week. Notice how the the offensive lineman from other teams are constantly looking around because they know they have to not only block the defensive lineman but worry about pressure from Linebackers, Safeties and cornerbacks. Do you think Lovie's Cover 2 Defense scares any other Team the way the Giants do?

13, Explain how Lovie could believe that Rex was better than Kyle the last three years.

Lastly, explain why you want someone who is average as the Head Coach of the Bears. Why don't you want someone who is capable of leading them to a Super Bowl title?

Lovie = square peg in round hole attitude. Many of you are right. He can't adjust or won't. And that is the sign of a bad coach...it demonstrates a lack of intellect and leadership. Why are Bellichick and Parcells two of the best? Because they put their players in the best position to win. They don't force them to fit a certain scheme. Sure they have a style. But when Bellechick didn't have the horses, he went to a 4-3 instead of his 3-4. And one year, he has a running offense, the next a passing offense. Great coaches adapt. Lovie tries to force his method down out throats and it's not working...period. Don't even get me started on the whole "trust me" fiasco with Rivera. Lovie is not smart enough to coach in the NFL. Tell me when HE has ever coached a great D. Never.

Oh, talk about setting the bar low, the bears should be able to beat the Rams even with Lovie calling the plays. Unless of course the Bears players have really quit on lovie and bobbich. So, if lovie is truly an elite nfl coach then the bears should roll.

I dont expect the bears to fire lovie, or for lovie to fire babbich. Remember how Jauron wouldn't fire shooP? Well, this is what you get with a rookie head coach, every mistake and lesson has to be learned the hard way. Especially with a first time gm, and first time team president, not to mention the owners. So, by the time all this gets sorted out at all these levels, we'll all probably be drooling on our bears jerseys.

The bears are playing against the twin cities, green bay and detroit, they can be competetive in the North with no coaching. They can even win with a defense everyone in the league gave up on two or three years ago. And it's not just the two deep zone part of the cover 2 that is it's fatal flaw, that's just where it gets it's name. The flaw is in the play of the linebackers and the line. See sacks in last 4 games and rushing yards vs green bay. Teams can play a two deep zone, and everyone does, but with different and varied fronts. This is where lovie's defense is deficient. Rivera was willing to vary things and keep offenses off balance. Lovie is stubborn and just blames the failure of his d on his players (need to stay in their gaps). How many defensive draft picks does he think he needs? How much defensive salary?

Maybe if lovie had pro bowl players at every position and they were still getting beat he would finally have to admit that it isn't the players' fault, its the coaches'. Angelo drafts loads of defensive players to fit lovie's scheme and when they disappear or can't get on the field, they just do it again. Not like they needed a tight end for about 4 years before drafting olsen, or like they couldn't use a wide receiver or O lineman about now.

It will take years to fix this.

No work today, so I guess I'll hang out at the health club. I'm sure the game will be on every television screen in the complex, so there'll be no escape.

But this game poses an interesting set of circumstances. Excuses can be made for losing to teams like the Titans, and Packers; but what will be Lovie's rationalization for losing to the lowly Rams, should this come to pass?

Also ... I don't hear much talk out of Hallas Hall about a certain Jets running back who was deemed unworthy of starting in the Bear's backfield. How did that trade work out for you Jerry?

Is there anyone out there who wouldn't want Thomas Jones and his 10 touchdowns / 4.5 yard rushing average, along with his league leading 854 yards from the line of scrimmage? He was the hardest working, best conditioned athlete on offense while he played here, and they dumped him in favor of a lazy bum like Benson, who had never done anything as a pro to deserve the job.

Kinda like Babbich.

The scariest thing about Lovie Smith is that even with the benefit of hindsight, he'd probably still take Babbich over Rivera. You'll just have to "trust me" on this one.

Ricky have you been up too many hours cramming for exams and burning the midnight hooka? Pay attention son....first of all there isn't a loss since the SB that hasn't been blamed on Lovie's lack of ability to adjust. And trust me torches and pitch forks will only be at the front of the mob backed by the ones with the tar and feathers and the ones carrying the rail to run him out of town on. the McCaskey's would be right behind him if fans could fire owners, unfortunately they can't.

I think it's more than a gut reaction. Lovie has left himself open to this. Every quarterback the Bears have played against, has played like a hall of famer. In the end, he to blame for Babich's hire, if this doesn't get turned around. The scheme has been proven to work, and is, in other places (ie Tampa). This is where Lovie needs to stand for something or fall for everything.

Having read the prior comment's, I believe the fan's have a better grasp of what is happening than Lovie Smith does ! Since the Bears signed Lovie to a long term contract after the SuperBowl we are stuck with him for now, {see Dave Wannastadt ; Dick Jauron} but if Jerry Angelo , who ultimately is responsable for the current state of the orginization, has ANY brains, he will MAKE Lovie dump Mr. Babich and hire a coordinator who has some knowledge of PROFESSIONAL football. Jerry should also be put on notice that HIS job security is hanging by a thread !!

After reading all these attacks on Ricky, I feel obligated to offer some support, even though I like Roman's approach better. I said in previous blogs that coaches cannot play on the field; players have to do that. The people who should know, the players, are not attacking Lovie; they're stating honestly that their playing smelled up the place. Coaches make too easy a target on which to focus. The one player beyond the non-passrushers I would focus on is Urlacher. He seems to always be out of position, is easily blocked, and all too often is standing around watching. A. J. Hawke last week looked a lot more like an all-pro than Urlacher, and he was playing the position for the first time.I have always been a big fan of Urlacher, but this year and last he simply has not come close to living up to his hype.Blame Babich for not benching him.

Not defending Babich or the choice to hire him. This is just a thought. How do we really know it was Rivera that made the D so good those years and not Lovie? If Rivera was SO good, wouldn't he have been hired as D-Coord somewhere fast after he was let go? After being hired as only as a position coach, Now he his in charge of the D in San Diego and where are they? 27th overall. Maybe there is more the the story than is out there.

we all know whe he was hired,cheap and a miniorty, he had good talent when he came here and simply was over his head,should be in texas coaching H.S.football!

You can fire all the coaches you want but it won't change the fact that many players on this defense have regressed terribly due to old age or complacency after getting paid or whatever. Look at the d-line...Tommie Harris is a shell of his former self. That causes a chain reaction. If defenses don't have to double him anymore, they can focus on stopping Ogunleye and Brown, who have been ghosts this season (and I know they got to Green today...that means nothing, the Rams have possibly the worst O-line in the NFL now that Pace is out again). Continuing down the chain, no pass rush means that receivers have time to find the soft spot in the defense and any NFL QB will find them if they are not pressured.

You can change schemes, but the Bears have drafted for years now to fit this one. They don't have the personnel to run a 3-4. You need a big nose tackle and pass rushing linebackers. The Bears have smaller DTs and pass coverage linebackers. You can try to blitz more, but the Bears did everything they could last week against Green Bay and still got NO pressure. The fact is that without pressure, no scheme will work. (Remember 2006? It worked pretty well then).

Obviously everybody deserves some blame for what has happened but I believe some critical thinking is in order instead of mindlessly calling for Lovie and Babich's heads. Everyone sees that the defense got worse when Rivera left, so they assume Babich is the reason that it's bad now. But it was Lovie's defense then, just as its Lovie's defense now. Its the players that have changed (even though most of the names on the backs of the jerseys remained the same).

Lovie's not the best coach in the world, and leaves something to be desired with respect to his game management, but I would say he's in the top 10 coaches in the league.

Expectations were low this year because Lovie did such a poor job last year. Don't give him credit for exceeding low expectations that he created. Why did it take him so long to bench Rex? Plus, for him to use injuries as an excuse for a bad season is embarrassing. You think Tomlin, Bellichick or Fisher would blame a season on injuries?

Lovie has confidence issues, demonstrated when he fired Rivera and being so defensive with the media. He acts like he's under attack even when he's not. Believe me, I love the Beloved, and I am rooting for Lovie to turn things around. Yet my confidence in him is at an all-time low. Let's at least agree that he is a poor game time decision maker, and I will concede that at times he gets a lot out of his players.

My prediction for the Lovie era is that he will eek along around .500 until his contract runs out in 2012, then Michael McCaskey will take over the franchise, fire Ted Phillips, and install an old Bear as coach. Most likely he'll choose Singletary or Rivera, both of whom have strong ties to M. McCaskey. Lovie, prove me wrong.

Matt ... You are prophetic.

Kevin's comments are the best of the bunch this go-around. I'm not sure all of these guys are over the hill, but they look like it at times. As for Rivera, he now is the defensive coordinater for the Chargers, and their defense looked better last night ( his debut in that position ) than they have all year. If the defense is all Lovie's, as was said in one of the comments, why even have a defensive coordinater or position coach?

I agree Ricky. I don't know what is wrong with people. Give me a coach that is cool under pressure any day than a raving lunatic. Looking angry has NEVER meant a thing. Everyone knows real bad boys do very little talking but a lot of walking. Besides DITKA, no other Bears coach has taken us to the SB except Lovie.

And Villy, you really need to stop the Laundry comparisons. Lovie has never had that kind of talent on the Bears. Roger Staubach (and I won't go any further). Are you kidding me? Just say you don't like the man.

Ed in Richmond - there are only THREE stat that matters in this division - WINS, PLAYOFF Wins, record vs. PACKERS. Now go back and compare Lovie to anyone who has ever been here and he stands tall.

Ricky I think I gave the Bears 10 games this year. I KNEW what our problem WAS - it was the butter-fingered interceptasaurusRex!

I've been saying to folks, even in the Super Bowl year that they lost, this is the worst coach we've had in years not Wannie bad but close to it. 1. He fails to make adjustments during the game. How could a supposed defensive coach allow his defensive players to not stunt, have blitz packages that back off and then run directly into tacklers, and change his defense which other teams have figuered out. 2. You have two of the greatest athletes on the planet Briggs and Urlacher that you have back peddling while the opposing team is running slant patterns till the cows come home. This is why the OL of the other team pushes the DT outward and they run up the middle all day. 3. Lovie very rarely looks at plays or talks to his coaches in the press box. Unless they are the greatest prepared teams of all time changes need to be made and DONT WAIT TILL HALFTIME. Get involved in the game. 4. Teflon Lovie has hired the coaches and been involved in player decisions don't put it all on Angelo. 5. He keeps saying we need to look at the tape. What did you do the previous week when you were this calm guys who prepares his team. They look lost out there. 6. I dissent with many who say the Line isn't good. I believe with better Line coaching they would get more sacks. Lesson 1 if you get blocked get your hands up and try to deflect passes. Idonje is one of the few that does it. 7. I've been to his training camps and its like a camp for retired players. 8. Stretch the field. Allegedly, Hester Oh my thats a another Lovie disaster, has the speed to get down field. 9. How in the world don't they pass to Olson. 10. This guy is stubborn and arrogant don't let the cool demeanor fool you he detests the media and will not change until they do the best thing, Fire this guy and bring in a head football coach we have to get on the job training like Wannstedt, Jauron and Smith.

Let's just keep it real fellas I had the same knee-jerk reaction to last week and this season as it stands to date, but looking around the league there is slim pickins for better than Lovie and anything better is going to cost more than the McCaskeys are going to pay. Lovie has proven with the right personnel he can win but, thats were the rubber meets the road. Jerry Angelo has failed miserable to provide and Lovie has failed to improvise. So all the fans and their fantasies and wishes are good for blogging and conversation but as far as real change NO WAY, NO HOW welcome to Chicago (family) football they make money the old fashion way off of fans like us.

For the record...you can see all my thoughts and comments on this exact same topic, posted on Romans thread Titled..

LOSING FAITH IN LOVIE
http://blogs.suntimes.com/fullcourtpress/2008/11/losing_faith_in_lovie.html

OH MY GOD!!! RICKY DOESN'T WANT LOVIE TO BE FIRED?!?!?!

ZOMG RACISM!!!

(just wanted to beat the mouthbreathers to it.)

/threadjack?

Well here is my nickels worth.
I have to admit I would like to see a more animated or interested coach on the side lines.
The Bears has some talent and on a good day aint half bad,but no one seem to be challengeing the players...ie,kick butt ala Mike Ditka.
This group has gone south for the winter and is looking for a nice cozy place to hold up in until next summer camp to watch t.v. and sign autographs...no work outs all injured.

So I think its time to clean house...keep Lance Briggs,and Israel Idonjie on defense.
Keep Matte Forte,and start over ..All the way to Jerry Angelo.

But that will take guts.