I dont think Lovie is a great coach by any means, but I think he's clearly the best in the division. I would say somewhere in the 9-12 range if I had to rank him. I do find it funny how some Bears fans think Lovie and Angelo are TERRIBLE at their jobs. If thats the case, how is it even possible to explain their success over the past four years? If the coach sucks and the team is winning, the players must be pretty good therefore the GM probaby is good. If the GM sucks he probably didnt put together a good roster therefore the coach must be pretty good in order to win. I think Angelo is better at his job than Lovie is at his, but I dont see understand the vitriol for both at times.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Did you forget Angelo for 2-3 years would refuse to spend money on a decent backup at QB?
Chad Hutchinson,Jon Quinn,etc. He trades away Thomas Jones for no good reason. He never has shown anything involving guts with his drafts. He was always content trading down.
I'm sure there is more,but I'm sleepy.

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

No excuses for the backup QB situation. I think his only continuous flaw as a GM is his inability to address the QB position, and he finally did that, although still dont have a backup QB. I was against TJ being traded away because I never liked Benson from Day 1, but he didnt do it for no good reason. They invested alot in Benson and RB is not a position you want to be paying good money to two RBs for, and they thought he was ready. He wasnt. Maybe they never draft Forte if that decision wasnt made, and he's better than both of them.

You mention trading down as a bad thing. Belichick routinely trades down. Most football experts will tell you this is a positive trait, not a negative one. Especially for a GM who has had much more success after the 1st round then in it.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

I think he has more excuses for the QB situation than the RB situation. Every year, the Bears went with what was the most reasonable solution at QB, starting with the 2003 draft and Rex Grossman, who was easily the best QB on the board (unless you count Tony Romo, which is kinda unfair).

2004- 1st round QB draft pick, two veterans brought in to stem the tide.
2005- Time to turn over the reins to the draft pick, but a developmental QB is taken in the middle rounds.
2006- The need for a veteran back-up is apparent, so Angelo signs the best one available. It's way too early to draft a QB, as no one has seen Grossman on the field much.
2007- Bears go into the season with the QB that took them to the Super Bowl, the veteran backup they signed a year before, and Orton. With the 31st pick, no great QBs are still on the board, and there are bigger holes to fill. No other quality veterans are available.
2008- Once again, there's a hole at QB, but arguably even bigger holes on offense at O-line and RB. The best QB on the board is Joe Flacco, who'd be a major risk. Orton ends up being surprisingly mediocre.

Good, veteran QBs don't just become available (the only one I can think of that could have been signed was Warner, and that was in the middle of when there was still way too little on Grossman to tell one way or another. Also, Warner had been quite bad). Draft picks are a possibility, but the last few years have been very shallow in draft picks, and the Bears never had a high enough pick to snag a worthwhile QB. Then, the first opportunity he had to snag a game0changing QB, he did it, regardless of cost.

Now, the RB situation I won't excuse him for, because the Benson pick was a disaster and should never have been made.

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Fire Phil Emery

Who you crappin'?

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You know me like that.

I stand by what I said before, but 1.) arguing winning percentage is easier, and 2.) over the long term, with enough of a sample size, talent should start to even about a bit, especially in the salary cap era. There are some fights I'd rather not refight though.

EDIT: should have read "salary cap era", not "salary cap easier". Last day of finals. Forgive the brain freeze.

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Fire Phil Emery

I would simply argue that the Bears haven't had the 6th best talent in the NFL over the last 4 years.

Only a complete moron ranks Lovie 20th on that list.

Typical meatball fan hates him because he lacks fire and passion.

Typical meatball fan thinks Singletary has proven himself a better coach. Based on what? 9 games? (Not saying he's not but to say he's shown enough right now is the ultimate in idiocy. Because it's completely based on the fact that he was a former Bears great. And Singletary is my 2nd favorite Bear of all time after Payton).


He beat freaking Sean Payton in the NFC championship game and the sainted no pun intended Drew Brees at Quarterback with Rex Grossman!

It's because Lovie didn't listen to the media and the meatball fans they went to the Super Bowl. If the meatball fans had their way they lose the Seattle game in the first round with your beloved Griese at quarterback.

These are the same fans that if the Bears lose game 1 55-54 with Cutler going 30-39 with 600 yards and 7 touchdowns we'd hear it was his faut because he threw one interception and if your beloved Orton wins the Denver game 10-7 despite all points being by special teams or D and he throws 3 picks we would hear how Orton would have us 1-0.

These same meatballs if we had Joe Montana in his prime and Elmhurst Steve as his backup there'd be calls to the Score demanding Steve start. (Steve don't mean to pick on you your the first name to come to mind).


And again my point is HE GOT TO THE SUPER BOWL WITH REX AS HIS QUARTERBACK!

I know people give the sainted Ron Rivera all the credit because he's a former Bear but if he was such a super fantastic head coach why did it take him so long to become one? It's as bad as the Steve Stone for GM argument.

Hi Cubbiegirl,
Good post! I am a meatball fan that DOES like Lovie. I thought that ranking
was a joke,too! I do beleive in the "fire & the passion",but I understand the
quiet,respecable coach ,too.

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

Stop writing "only a moron..." Reasonable people can disagree on a lot. I agree the Lovie Smith bashing is groundless, but still, don't be an ass about it.

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Fire Phil Emery

I don't even know what this thread is about. I was just messing with you.

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You know me like that.