Thread: Emery Won't Stray From Scouting Roots..........

I like his approach. You can look at all the car ads in the world but until you go out and "kick the tires" you don't really know what you've got. Emery is a "tire kicker" which I think is a good thing.

Good. Sounds like the better way to go about it, rather than this 'we like this player's potential' crap we've had to put up with.

Well at least we have a GM who knows how to evaluate talent and I imagine this whole draft will be built around that. I think we'll see some picks we wouldn't have expected Angelo to make. Plus, it will be much harder for coaches to argue against the guy who has seen these guys play in person.

One big thing that always bugged me about Angelo is I remember reading an article once about how he focused more on a player's basement rather than his ceiling. So, instead of going for that player that may be a bit risky but have a very high ceiling, he would err on the side of caution by picking the guy who was safer and wouldn't bomb as bad. That philosophy mixed with the many selections of track stars or athletes instead of football players led to a pretty average team during JA's tenure (with the obvious exception of a couple years). I'm looking forward to this new, Emery-led team. We should start seeing picks with more upside, more toughness, more desire and more football smarts. If we were able to make it to a super bowl and a conference championship with JA at the helm I have to imagine we should have an even better shot at actually winning a title (or two?) with Emery, if he does as well at this job as he has done in his past jobs. They're exciting times in Bear Nation right now and I just hope we don't wind up disappointed!

I have had the opinion over the last few years that Jerry Angelo was given too much of the blame for poor personnel moves and Lovie has been given a relative "pass". I know the GM has "ultimate" say on personnel, but since Lovies 2007 extension, I think one could see a change in personnel moves and I beleive Lovie had a much larger role in that as a SB coach with new paper usually gets.

I like the Emery selection and I think he has the makings of a fine, if not good GM, but I pause in going too far until we can see how things go. If our draft looks a lot like our drafts of the past three or four years, then I suggest that Lovie still has too much power and it doesn't really matter who the GM is. If our direction changes, then I'll be happy, but until then, I think I'll just remain cautiously optimistic.

Originally Posted by 4DaBERS

I have had the opinion over the last few years that Jerry Angelo was given too much of the blame for poor personnel moves and Lovie has been given a relative "pass". I know the GM has "ultimate" say on personnel, but since Lovies 2007 extension, I think one could see a change in personnel moves and I beleive Lovie had a much larger role in that as a SB coach with new paper usually gets.

I like the Emery selection and I think he has the makings of a fine, if not good GM, but I pause in going too far until we can see how things go. If our draft looks a lot like our drafts of the past three or four years, then I suggest that Lovie still has too much power and it doesn't really matter who the GM is. If our direction changes, then I'll be happy, but until then, I think I'll just remain cautiously optimistic.

That is a good point. At the very least we have a guy at GM who appears from his background that he will fight and stand his ground on his personnel choices. At least w/JA gone Lovie's latitude may have been lessened.

Originally Posted by 4DaBERS

I have had the opinion over the last few years that Jerry Angelo was given too much of the blame for poor personnel moves and Lovie has been given a relative "pass". I know the GM has "ultimate" say on personnel, but since Lovies 2007 extension, I think one could see a change in personnel moves and I beleive Lovie had a much larger role in that as a SB coach with new paper usually gets.

I like the Emery selection and I think he has the makings of a fine, if not good GM, but I pause in going too far until we can see how things go. If our draft looks a lot like our drafts of the past three or four years, then I suggest that Lovie still has too much power and it doesn't really matter who the GM is. If our direction changes, then I'll be happy, but until then, I think I'll just remain cautiously optimistic.

If this is the case, and it may well have been, then there was a need for a stronger personality in the GM office anyway. If he knew his stuff well enough he couldn't have been talked out of or into some many bad decisions. As PB was saying, Angleo claims he focused heavily of a players downside but despite that he's had so many failures and under performers.

Not everything the guy did was bad. The trade for Cutler, while expensive, showed that he had some balls. Signing Pep, although I was opposed to it before it happened was a stroke of genius. But after these deal it's like it just sat back, folded his arms across his chest and rested on his laurels. He never finished the plans he started. Claiming that Cutler would make everyone around him better is only true to a very small extent. He can't get then to stop dropping passes or running a route so sloppily that he gets picked and he sure as hell can't block for himself although Angelo must have thought he could that way he ignored the Oline.

JA was not guilty of sins of commission. He was guilty of the sins of omission. It's what he didn't do that got him fired. Talent wise he was always playing too close to the edge and last year was the final and fatal error of doing it that way. I'm not saying Lovie didn't influence some bad decisions but I'm sure Jer made a few all on his own and I have to ask how many times Lovie asked for a specific player or a help at a specific position and was denied. During his tenure the Bears have probably done as well with less talent than any other team in the NFL. We have a handful of blue chippers and a whole lot of journeyman filling the gaps.

What I want to see out of Emery is the drafting or signing of a few more impact players and a general upgrade in the ranks of the journeymen. Smart drafting and having the balls to make some key moves in FA should get that done. We should get a pretty good idea of his success with that approach right off the bat. We have $$$ to spend in FA and 5 picks in the top 100 players. Out of that we should be able to upgrade at least 5 positions for this season so let's see how he does.

Originally Posted by soulman

If this is the case, and it may well have been, then there was a need for a stronger personality in the GM office anyway. If he knew his stuff well enough he couldn't have been talked out of or into some many bad decisions. As PB was saying, Angleo claims he focused heavily of a players downside but despite that he's had so many failures and under performers.

Not everything the guy did was bad. The trade for Cutler, while expensive, showed that he had some balls. Signing Pep, although I was opposed to it before it happened was a stroke of genius. But after these deal it's like it just sat back, folded his arms across his chest and rested on his laurels. He never finished the plans he started. Claiming that Cutler would make everyone around him better is only true to a very small extent. He can't get then to stop dropping passes or running a route so sloppily that he gets picked and he sure as hell can't block for himself although Angelo must have thought he could that way he ignored the Oline.

JA was not guilty of sins of commission. He was guilty of the sins of omission. It's what he didn't do that got him fired. Talent wise he was always playing too close to the edge and last year was the final and fatal error of doing it that way. I'm not saying Lovie didn't influence some bad decisions but I'm sure Jer made a few all on his own and I have to ask how many times Lovie asked for a specific player or a help at a specific position and was denied. During his tenure the Bears have probably done as well with less talent than any other team in the NFL. We have a handful of blue chippers and a whole lot of journeyman filling the gaps.

What I want to see out of Emery is the drafting or signing of a few more impact players and a general upgrade in the ranks of the journeymen. Smart drafting and having the balls to make some key moves in FA should get that done. We should get a pretty good idea of his success with that approach right off the bat. We have $$$ to spend in FA and 5 picks in the top 100 players. Out of that we should be able to upgrade at least 5 positions for this season so let's see how he does.

I can't (and won't) argue with a single syllable. I personally believe that when Lovie began having more say, JA slowly became a yes man. For that alone he (JA) should have been fired just as you so eloquently stated above. My biggest issue with the whole Angelo/Lovie team are fans that claim Lovie has done so well with so little to work with over the past several years and place all the blame on Angelo. Lovie Smith and his coordinators have had a large say in the "so little to work with" category. I actually had a guy tell me once "The problem with the Bears is not Lovie, but Angelo and Company". My response was "Who the hell do you think the "And Company" is?" I have no problem with the Bears getting rid of Angelo because he deserved it. I just don't think the fully solved the problem unless Emery is truly in charge of personnel. I expect him to consult with our coaching staff, but I think HE should do his own evaluation of the talent we have and HE should get the FA's and make the draft picks that HE thinks will make this team better, not just do what Lovie thinks.