bigfan wrote:
veganfan21 wrote:
bigfan wrote:
Great point by Frank C!
That record day by Steve Smith of 218 yard receiving, 2 TD's, 12 catches, 36 rushing yards, was a fine example of great the 2 Deep system works against good players, in a fine example of Lovies playoff teams
So, coaches are to be criticized based on picking one game out of nine total years of work. Were you in hibernation during 2006? Did that year ever occur on your calendar? They beat the vaunted Saints offense to get there. What about leading the league the past nine years, cumulatively, in turnovers? Forget the Carolina game. There was one game in 2010 where the Patriots had like 38 points at halftime, so yeah, ergo Lovie blows.
I have never once said Lovie Blows. He is a solid coach, but his record v the upper (above .500) teams is terrible for a reason.
You point out the turnovers. Sure, they have some games where they got 3 and 4 against bad teams. You sit 2 deep safeties, I feel very good you will get interceptions, at the same time, they will travel down field.
There is also a reason the Lovie defense was always in the bottom 3rd for 3rd down defense, because teams threw under the coverage as needed.
This is why Lovies defense was good v Favre. Over throws were coming and he had guys back there. Then he was terrible v Rodgers
Look, I think we'd agree that the most important stat for coaches is wins, and while Lovie got some Ws along the way, he didn't get enough near the end of his tenure.
After that, in terms of defense, it's all about limiting the points you give up. Forget conversions, forget yards, etc. It's about points. And for most of the time, Lovie's D stopped other teams from putting up points - and that's all that matters. 17 in his last year here, 15 in his second or third year, and on average probably top 5 or 7 over the past nine years in the aggregate. Cover 2 against elite QBs like Rodgers worked because it limited them to FGs on the Bears' best days. They get down the field going underneath, then the field shrinks in the red zone, and as a result the offense stalls and/or kicks a FG. Mission accomplished against folks like Rodgers.
The TOs are not always a product of deep safeties. You're deliberately ignoring the coaching Lovie did to install a culture of stripping the ball away from players through gang tackling, as well as always playing to the whistle in order to ensure TOs aren't left on the field.
To be fair, he was rightly fired for not figuring out the offense. Defense was not an issue when he, as is necessary, had good players. It wasn't just about having Urlacher, it was about knowing how to use him to optimize his strengths