Thread: WCG at Halas Hall - "Bears Insider" with Lovie Smith, Phil Emery, and Ted P

Originally Posted by Riczaj01

Dagan, I don't doubt that he might turn into a decent player, he might. He'd be a hell of a SAM, or a OLB. He stands no chance of being elite though, he just doesn't have the strength. Hell they have to blitz a corner from the outside and drop Shea into coverage b/c he cannot get the pressure needed. We are altering the very nature of the D to compensate for his inability to get off the OT. But I am holding him to the standard that Emery put on him; a 4 down DE which he is not.

I think you fail to take into consideration that most players don't just blossom right out of the gate, even first rounders. I'll admit, though, that I wanted Mercilus, who looks like he's going to be a monster OLB for the Texans. Mercilus had the build and the strength to be that which Emery wanted, even if he was only a three down DE at first. He was a 4-3 DE at Illinois after all.

While I think McClellin has the potential to be something great with another year in the weight room under his belt, I think there was an ulterior motive behind Emery's decision to draft him in the first round. I think he's already 75% sure that Lovie Smith is not going to be coming back to the Bears next year. I think he wants to rebuild the team in his image, which could mean either a 3-4 or a 4-3 defense since he worked in two organizations in the Chiefs and the Falcons the utilized both schemes. Most likely, he's going to do the 3-4 since that is the scheme that seems to be the flavor of the moment.

Originally Posted by Riczaj01

Yttoc, I think it will be a major undertaking, but w/Urlacher closer to finished then in his prime, a rebuild is well underway on the D anyways. And DB's and OLB's are not as hard to find as True DE's. I don't think Peppers moves to the OLB though. And I think Izzy remains the other DE as a run stuffer, so it's really just the LB you planned to replace Ulracher with, and 1 more. The DB's are getting a turnover anyways b/c many aren't that good.
The O is actually set minus the OL. It will be a 2 or 3 year undertaking unfortunately. but when the door closes on Ulracher, it also does on the Bears SB hopes.

I know some positions need to take a few years, but I don't think RB or DL are one of them; necessarily, those are the 2 that should be the easiest to get day 1 guys out of.

I'll admit I was wrong on Mercelius, he's an OLB also, but C Jones would have been the best true DE we could have gotten, and is starter ready if that is the direction you're going.

I agree w/Dag's there is a larger reason the reached for McClellen, who was only sought after buy teams in a 3-4 that were also later in the draft. I'm actually not really comfortable w/letting Lovie walk though, he's the 3rd best HC we've had in Bears history, and it's historically been a rough go of replacing the good ones.

That is totally correct, including the part about Lovie. We've had other coaches who have won championships with the Bears (Hunk Anderson was one, but I can't think of the other(s)) but Lovie built this team into a yearly contender in the NFC North. Basically, I liken Lovie to someone like Jeff Fisher. Lovie is always going to keep you in the ballpark. The result might not always be desirable, but some years will result in big seasons, such as division championships and contention for the Super Bowl. I think anything less than a 10-6 season out of Lovie this year will result in his dismissal. I really think that Emery is just chomping at the bit for a new coach; just about every new GM does when he first gets the job because usually he's hired to clean up a mess and to change the culture and direction in which the franchise is headed.