Thread: If There's Any Reason At All For A Coaching Change This Is It..............

Need I say more. Hell, they even out gained us on the ground!

Team Statistics

Team Statistics	Green Bay Packers	Chicago Bears
First Downs	19	10
Total Yards	391	190
Turnovers	2	1
Time of Possession	33:23	26:37
First Downs	19	10
Passing	14	6
Rushing	3	2
Penalty	2	2
Third Down Efficiency	7-17	0-9
Fourth Down Efficiency	2-2	0-1
Total Net Yards	391	190
Total Plays	71	48
Average Gain Per Play	5.5	4.0
Net Yards Rushing	113	83
Rushes	32	23
Average Per Rush	3.5	3.6
Net Yards Passing	278	107
Completions-Attempts	23-36	12-21
Yards Per Pass Play	7.1	4.3
Times Sacked	3	4
Yards Lost to Sacks	13	28
Had Intercepted	0	1
Punts	5	6
Average Punt	41.6	39.8
Penalties	8	10
Penalty Yards	104	91
Fumbles	2	1
Fumbles Lost	2	0
Time of Possession	33:23	26:37

The only satisfaction I get from this is that it puts an end to another painful and frustrating season that started out with more promise than any I'd known for many years. But it was all a sham. Mike Tice's "explosive offense" and his "Hester Package" were all nothing but a sham. This failure was even worse than Martz's because this one came WITH Cutler healthy and after the addition of guys like Marshall, Bush and Campbell.

Looking back on it I just wonder if Lovie wishes he's made that change in play callers and reduced Tice's role in the offense three weeks ago like he should have. Another year goes by and another lost opportunity due to his stubborn attitude and overly rosy outlook in place of seeing the reality that every fan at home can see far more easily than he seems to be able to.

I guess Phil Emery will have a very tough decision to begin making a few weeks from now and I hope he considers two things above all else. One is that Lovie has now failed completely in his first mission and the one he clearly stated when he became the Bears coach nine years ago. The Packers own him not the other way around and the addition of offensive talent did nothing to change that. The other is that for three years running what began as a season with hopes of a potential championship dissolved into disappointment after disappointment as the seasons wore on.

Three years ago we played for the NFC Championship and lost. Last year we missed the playoffs entirely and this year that appears to about ready to happen again. Even a playoff berth is little assurance of anything but a one and done. The bottom line is that the team has not improved despite the addition of talent and coaching changes on the offensive side of the ball. In fact it's only gotten worse. In six losses the Bears have scored exactly 67 points. An average of 11 points per game. How do you beat anyone scoring 11 points per game!!!!

It's pretty damn obvious a change has to be made. I'll go along with keeping Lovie on for his 10th season and give him one more shot at it, but no extension. That's completely out of the question right now. I'll also go along with signing Urlacher for another year or at most two if he'll accept a deal with a "hometown discount" in exchange for one more shot at getting a ring for himself and a few other guys who deserve one as well. I can still see a possibility of that happening provided the necessary changes are made as far as the offense is concerned. Even missing several key players and with injuries limiting others the defense hasn't totally cratered and I don't think it will in 2013 either.

I would prefer that Mike Tice either be given the option to resign as OC or be let go as of tomorrow morning. I also realize that it's unlikely that will happen but it's about the only thing that could be done right now that might give fans some glimmer of hope that should the Bears win these last two games and sneak into the playoffs that we might have some sort of an offense to offer just enough production to actually compete with whoever we draw in round one. Continuing with the status quo is just complete and utter insanity. It's not even enjoyable or worth the time to even watch them any longer.

So if Lovie stays with one year remaining then promote Jeremy Bates to the OC role and let him select a staff under him who he believes can turn the offense around next year. He's already under contract for 2013 and really the only choice when you have a "lame duck" HC in the last year of his deal when it really will be a "win or else" situation for Lovie and his entire staff. Marinelli is good to go as is Dave Toub so all that remains to be dealt with is the OC post and Bates is the only logical choice. He did a great job in Denver with Cutler and Marshall and I believe he deserves a shot at turning the Bears offense around.

Forget about anyone else with any better credentials. They aren't coming to Chicago on a one year deal. Promote Bates, let him chose his staff and then he and Lovie and Emery need to sit down and look very hard at the personnel needs of the offense and how to best fill them. Changes on the line, the blocking schemes and the coaching are at the top of the list. TE comes next. These are both areas that need immediate improvement and the only way you can be somewhat sure of that is by signing FAs with experience. A few of the present group of lineman and TEs are probably salvageable but for the most part we need about a 50% turnover all across the board.

There's really not anymore to say. I began this thread with stats that pointed out just how poorly the Bears offense has performed in it's five losses and I maintained that today's game would simply be a carbon copy of that and it was. You can toss blame at the feet of a lot of players but the bottom line is that it's very clear Mike Tice's offense doesn't work and the players have lost faith in it. The execution and will to make it work just isn't there. They don't believe in the offense or themselves in it. Today's stats only confirm what I've already posted.

Tomorrow should be a day of change at Halas Hall but in all likelihood it will not be and we'll keep on hearing that same old crap we've been hearing for these past four weeks for a bit longer. I would be shocked if it was different but if there ever was a time for Phil Emery to stand up and make a showing that above all he's the boss and far more prepared to make the tough but necessary decisions than his HC is then this week would be the perfect time to do it. I've really lost all faith in Lovie anymore and I'm just hoping to hell that Emery doesn't disappoint all of us as well.

Originally Posted by Riczaj01

Stop w/the Bates bs, please. Get a real OC in here. If you give him a bye for the problems in Sea/Chicago, how do you give him any credit for what happened in Den when he had Shanny to help him? Bates sole purpose for being here was to set up the passing game; how has that worked out? It hasn't. I want a real damned OC in here, not some has been or never was.

Tice does need to go, I agree w/that, but the whole staff needs to go, Smith on down need to go, and that includes the guy that installed this sorry ass passing game; Bates.

OK Ric, then you tell me just how you plan to get anyone better to take the job with only a one year commitment. Tell me, I'll wait!

The only way you get another is to either extend Lovie before next season (bad idea) or fire him after this season (maybe an even worse idea) and bring in a whole new coaching staff. Use your brain brother. Who in the fuck is gonna leave the team they're with to come here with Lovie on a one year leash? If not Bates then all you get as far as candidates are guys like Martz who have failed elsewhere and have no job or a college guy whose an up and comer.

If you have a better idea let's see your "A" list of OCs you think would be willing to sign on for a year and install their offense in win or else one year shot. I love it when you lay out the criticism but you never have any better answers. That's an easy bitch isn't it. If you're gonna knock my suggestion let's hear yours!

You know jack shit about Jeremy Bates and the work he did here in Denver yet you keep saying it was mostly Shanahan and not Bates. Well I saw it differently and I saw it first hand. How about you? Bates did not install his passing game. What you've been seeing is a Mike Tice offense not a Jeremy Bates offense. All Bates has been has been a liaison between Tice and Cutler.

Actually the part of the passing game that included Marshall has worked. If we'd have had an effective #2 and used Bennett more when he wasn't injured it may have worked better. But then there's also the matter of Mike Tice's OLine too isn't there. When Bates coached in Denver the line was able to protect Cutler and the TEs were a big part of the passing game. The fact that they haven't been this year is another indicator that his isn't Bates way of running an offense.

Ric your whole problem is that you make most of these arguments with only half the knowledge and thought that needs to go into them. You want another guy other than Bates fine! Gimme a list. In fact give us all a list of names and if you will also include the reasons why you think that guy would leave his current team to take over this sorry bunch with a great bunch of skill players but no offensive line for them to work behind.

Like I said, I'm waiting.

Originally Posted by claymore58

I've never been a fan of Lovie,I've stated that many times before.
If you are happy with what you are getting from the Bears;keep him.
If not,get him out.
I'm about to the point of not caring,it's that depressing.
Every year,the same hype and BS.
This was Lovie's season to prove himself,has he?
Not to me,just more of the same...
and the same just doesn't get it anymore.

That's pretty much the way I see it too claymore. I've stopped watching the games because I can't stand reruns and each succeeding week has been nothing but a rerun of the previous ever since the Houston game.

I expected it to take 5 or 6 games for the offense to get consistent but I don't think anyone expected it to get worse as the season progressed instead of better. They've completely lost any and all belief that they can execute what they're being asked to and win a game themselves without significant help from the defense.

You can't beat anyone on a TD and FG or two per game and that's all they've been capable of doing now for the last month or so. The defense bailed them out in the first Minnesota game or they may not have won that one either! I've seen some pretty pathetic Bears offenses over the years but never one this pathetic from a team with this much talent at QB and the other skill positions.

If Mike Martz was a failure at getting the most out of what he had to work with, and now looking at the additions that were made since then, I'd say that Mike Tice has been an unmitigated disaster as an OC. Just 190 yards in total offense? Hell you'd think we had Henry Burris at QB instead of Jay Cutler. They're not even close to a competent offense.

I won't have any regrets if Lovie is let go but I won't have any more regrets if Emery decides to give him just one last year to succeed provided all say in the needed offensive coaching changes are not Lovie's to make. He's had nine years to put a decent offense on the field to pair with his defense and he's failed. He simply cannot find a competent OC so let's stop going down that road.

FWIW I believe that there are great offensive minds that simply won't come to Chicago while he's the HC. I don't claim to know all of the reasons for it but every time we've been searching we get turned down by the top candidates on our list. Bates turned us down three years ago before agreeing to come back in a secondary role and if I remember correctly the top three guys we approached last spring all turned us down before Tice finally got it by default and as much out of desperation as anything.

I still say if Lovie stays then Bates is likely to be the best and probably the only option. If we want another then Lovie will have to go. I honestly believe there are guys that simply will not come here to work for him and it may be that the Rivera deal years ago is the reason why. There's an aloofness and a stubborn hardheadedness in the man that I believe turns some coaches off in the same fashion that it has turned many fans off, myself included.

Regarding Bates as OC, I'm ok - IF - he's the best we can get to come here. He has to be an upgrade over Tice. I hope anyway.

We've had to settle for crap OC's for years now - and maybe Bates will work out. Soul, I do see what you're getting at. If they keep Lovie for one more year, and with him on thin ice (probably 1 year from being fired) then we won't get anyone to come in as OC. Just crappy OC's like we've had for years.