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Seems like the right amount of years. Happy we didn't go crazy with another 5

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Team Cutler.

I just don't get this decision. He certainly deserved to be retained but I don't think his performance was that awesome to warrant an extension. Beating the worst playoff team in NFL history and then losing to the Packers isn't exactly a legendary performance. Regular season was good though.

Maybe this wasn't his fault, but I think Lovie Smith's biggest mistake of the year was letting Todd Collins be the backup QB after we saw how bad he was. I don't care about that veteran QB stuff. Hire a coach that is a veteran QB who can call signals in and talk with Cutler on the sideline. Todd Collins was a clueless fool out there against the Packers. Hanie also looked unprepared but that's expected when you aren't getting any snaps. Hanie came in and showed some ability. Who knows what he does if he's given the advantage of actually being important in practice instead of pretending to be Aaron Rodgers for a week.

If that was Martz's call then he should have been fired. That was the worst coaching decision of the whole year and it was also the most important. Hanie may not have been able to win that game either but he certainly gave us a better chance than Todd Collins.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Im good with this

This works for me. If they play next year, and for some reason he totally
fucks up the 2011 and 2012 seasons the Bears would be more willing to
eat that last one year rather than 2 or 3. I'll just be interested to see
if he can back up a successful season with another one. They need a
good draft this year with a few of our stars aging quickly.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

What makes you guys think that outside of winning only 4 games next year that the Bears would fire Lovie? He was given 3 non-playoff seasons after the Super Bowl loss. Losing in the NFC title game probably buys him the entire length of this contract.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I like it. It is not a long crazy extension. Just enough to tell him good job this year, but do not get too comfortable and keep working hard. Also, it puts the end of the deal at the same time as Angelo's deal.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

At least the length of the deal makes firing him a possibility if some unmitigated disaster occurs that exceeds whatever 2009 was.

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Team Cutler.

This organization is the definition of mediocrity.

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There goes one over the fence..Tru Link Fence..Beauty, Privacy Security....Call Tru Link.
Murph's Union 76 Truck Stop....A great Thanksgiving Tradition!!!!

WOO LIFE!!!!

A 2 year extension is just what I thought they should do. It's never a good idea to let a coach go into the seasonn as a lame duck after winning the division.

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I don't think they would fire him after one year if the Bears fall on their faces with less than
6 wins. I was just happy to see they didn't give him 4 or 5 more years. Also, as mentioned
above, his deal runs out exactly the same time Angelo's does which was good thinking.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Bob,
I have mixed feelings. I always supported Lovie. I have the "be careful what you wish for" sentiment. Chicago gets a young (cheap) coach to come in here and next thing we know,the Bears are 3-13. I felt this year,they should have just left him alone. Let him earn it by putting the Bears in the playoffs 2 years in a row. How soon we forget 7-9,9-7. Not ALL Lovies fault. No coach in the NFL can get more with less. That's what Lovie has been doing with the crap players Angelo drafts.

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

Why?

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

I'm happy with this

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You never miss your wealth, till your well went dry
Seem like only yesterday, you were here smiling
Now you gone away, but I know you in a better place
No traces of you, what can I do?
Alone and confused

Why would you think that?

They weren't willing to eat the final year of his deal this past year. They just replaced everybody else.

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You know me like that.

I didn't say that they would do it but if they completely tank two years in a row, which
I wouldn't expect them to do, I think it would be easier for them to pull the trigger. I also
didn't realize that the extension would have he and Jerry running out at the same time so
that being said, I am sure if they want to make a change they would want to change it all
together.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

He had 2 years and $10M left on his deal. The guys they replaced contracts were up.

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Even the best coaches can lose the locker room if they are put in a position like that. Fans are pissed a Lovie for being mediocre even though his teams had a ton of injuries those 7-9 and 9-7 years and no talent at all. The Bears still don't have a lot of talent but Lovie has shown that he will coach his team to a playoff bye if you give him a little talent. I lay more of he blame on Angelo for the lack of talent. If the guys they released go on to other teams and have good careers it falls on Lovie. So far there isn't a player that has been released by the Bears that has gone on to have success somewhere else. You may be able to say Marc Colombo but that has a little more to do with injury.

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Cedric Benson.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I stand corrected.

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So the whole reason is that you have potential to lose the locker room?
Is that really a problem? I was under the impression that Lovie was one of those great Player's Coaches, in fact that's one of his major selling points, isn't it?

I really want to see how he would have reacted this year, contract year, gelling offense, a shot at fixing easily identified issues on offense.

And someone has to pay in my opinion for Collins. If it's Jerry it's Jerry or Martz but damn that was bad. Real bad. We should have known in the Carolina game that dude was DONE.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

RW McQuarters

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This is my signature...

Players like him but they also know when a coach has power and when he doesn't. Giving him a couple of years was the safest thing to do unless the Bears didn't really want him back.

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Thomas Jones?

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Chris Harris may qualify too.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

No. We're talking about players that were drafted and sucked that left the Bears and had success with another team. Thomas Jones is a guy that wasn't really good and came to the Bears and played at a high level. McQuarters wasn't drafted here and even though he won a SB with the Giants he had more individual success her than he had with them or the Lions. Benson is the only guy. I'm not sure I would blame that on coaching either but I can't dispute that he had his best season once he left.

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Justin Gage had a couple decent seasons in 2007 and 2008.

http://www.drafthistory.com/teams/bears.html

Here's a list of their draft picks. It's surprising to see so many names still there, but no one jumps out as a success elsewhere.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

add brandon lloyd to list... lovie smith has input on draft day... and on free agents like adam archuletta , angelo and smith will both be gone in 3 years and will win nothing.

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Most draft picks that are cut from the team that they are drafted from don't do much anywhere else.

One could argue that a certain QB would qualify on your list too, but that was a trade.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!