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Looking back at the Lovie Smith era to date....and forward.
When the Bears hired Lovie he was green as a gourd with no head coaching experience. He looked it too. It was quite an ordeal to watch him during his on-the-job training filled with more than his share of mistakes. But he seems (to me) to have matured into a decent head coach. He's learned from his mistakes overall.
I'm now realizing, in hindsight, that he has had too much mediocre draft talent (and some significant "misses" in free agents). Jerry Angelo crippled this team talent-wise. To the point that it's going to take a few drafts to completely overcome the damage. I hate the Packers. But I clearly see that franchise as one that successfully builds through the draft. Sure, they have misses too. But overall they have a rock-solid foundation of young talent.
Anyway, I'm now thinking that if Emery turns out to be the draft/talent guru people predict, then Lovie Smith could be a solid coach for us for years to come. Man, I'm thinking our woes are not so much coaching, but rather too many missed draft picks and FA busts (some have been epic busts).
Last edited by JustAnotherBearsFan99; 05-24-2012 at 09:17 PM.
Trestman - Kromer - Tucker - DeCamillis
I'm looking forward to seeing these guys coach. Hope they're good.
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High Fives / Like - 1 BEAR DOWN!, 0 Dislikes
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Junior Member
Vernon Gholston approves of this message.
I, as a newer spectator, appreciate your insight and opinion 'Fan99. Emery sure does look the part, will be interested in the "Looking back at the Phil Emery era" in a few years... Is Angelo really the escape goat many of you are pointing towards? (Everyone has misses, see Gholston)
I am still learning about Lovie and have not gone back to the early years. Sorry, not much I can add to this post. Looking forward to seeing what other opinions are out there and what people remember or have noticed so far under Head Coach Lovie's leadership.
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Lovie has come a long way as a coach. He has my respect.
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High Fives / Like - 1 BEAR DOWN!, 0 Dislikes
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One name from Lovie Smith's rookie year sticks in my mind, Terry Shea. Maybe the worst OC we've ever had during the Lovie era. he was a lot like Martz.
Lovie has come along way and I think we can all agree that he been handicapped by some of Angelo's mistakes. For as many times that he got players like Pep and Cutler we can look at his lack of success drafting as one of the reasons we needed to trade for talent or pay the long price in FA. Emery appears to be a totally different breed of cat.
I believe Lovie will get his extension next year and that he'll continue as the Bears coach. We could do so much worse.
I'm getting to that age where a lifetime warranty just doesn't mean as much to me anymore as an afternoon nap. 
Honey Badger Don't Care. Honey Badger Don't Give a Shit.
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Lovie already ranks 3rd in most wins by a Bears coach, and if he gets a SB he'll probably end up being the 2nd best coach. What Ditka did to bring this team back from the edge is what Lovie will have done.
Lovie still has his head scratching moments on the field, but he's getting better. He still also comes off very aloof and arrogant(same as JA did) but winning forgives all that. And his Lovie buddy system almost cost him(Archuletta, Pace, Babich over Rivera, Martz etc etc). But I think he's finally got it down.
It hasn't all been talent, but a vast majority of it has.
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First and foremost, I agree that Lovie has grown as a coach and he HAS gotten better, no question in my mind. I also think he is a great leader of his men. I don't necessarily care for like his stoic persona; I don't want a Ditkaesque screamer, but I would like to see a bit more passion (see Mike Tomlin), however, he appears to lead well and who am I to argue with that.
The problem I have is the continued pass Lovie gets for the personnel issues. In fact, some people even give him MORE credit because of the job he's done with limited personnel. My friends, Lovie Smith is the Head Coach and whether people want to believe it or not, he has had significant say in the very issue (personnel) that he's given a pass on. In fact, since 2007 there are many beat reporters that have hinted, if not outright said that Jerry Angelo would get Lovie whoever he wanted within the budget, and they usually have paid very close to the cap since Lovie has been here.
I think Lovie is a fine coach, but if you have had issues with personnel choices, then the issues you have had should be equally pointed to both Angelo and Smith. It's disingenuous to blame one and not the other. So if you give Lovie credit for succeeding with subpar talent, you have to consider that much of that talent was on him.
If we do well this year, then Lovie gets an extension, but if we miss the playoffs again this year, that would be 5 out of 6 years sitting at home for the playoffs. I don't care how blinded by admiration one may be, that is unacceptable.
The Greatest form of revenge is MASSIVE success.
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Well whatever the cause in the past, the personnel situation is being handled much differently now. Whether or not Emery is out getting the guys he believes we need or it's a joint effort we're finally getting who we need so it's kind of natural to saddle JA with most of the blame for the past.
Last edited by soulman; 05-24-2012 at 05:30 PM.
I'm getting to that age where a lifetime warranty just doesn't mean as much to me anymore as an afternoon nap. Honey Badger Don't Care. Honey Badger Don't Give a Shit.
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Still don't understand "Rex is our quarterback"...smh
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Originally Posted by
Henry Burris 
Still don't understand "Rex is our quarterback"...smh
If you don't understand then maybe you should look at the kind of crap that the Bears had as backup QBs those Rex years.
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With Lovie and JackAss, maybe Lovie would say the PLAYER he wanted for a position and JA got it. Now with Emery, maybe it will be what position you want upgraded and I'LL find you the player. I don't know,just my two cents.
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