Chisoxfn

QUOTE (iamshack @ Oct 21, 2014 -> 07:59 AM) Steve, so let me get this straight...you've been working for this company for a few years now...I have followed this thread and read that you have been promoted several times in the last 18 months or so, your salary has more than doubled, etc. So at some point, the powers that be identified you as a top talent/successful leader/innovator and tapped you to lead a team to create and implement a separate product than what the core business of the company is, which is this digital marketing arm which you have successfully launched, but are still looking for your first client. Now, these same powers that be are thinking of pulling the plug on this project after like 3 months. Is that basically it in a nutshell? So say they did pull the plug, are they pulling the plug on the entire company or just the digital marketing arm you spearheaded? If the latter, will they pull you back into some other position within the broader company, or will they send you packing? Ultimately, you've got to watch out for Steve and Steve's family. I understand this is sort of your baby, but you've got a real baby on the way. Start looking or let it be known that you might be looking. My feeling is if these folks are bailing on this thing after three months, that this isn't going to be the last time you're going to be put under stress like this. I work for a utility company, and while I can start daydreaming about working for an organization that is a bit more dynamic or organic, there is something to be said for stability. There is something to be said for knowing the check is going to be in the bank every two weeks and it's going to clear. And there is something to be said for being on a career trajectory that is pretty much known, give or take a few variables. I watched a feature on Bill O'Brien, the coach of the Texans last night, and they were talking about how he took the HC position at Penn State after the Paterno/Sandusky mess, stabilized it, but then left for Houston after only two years. He was highly criticized in Pennsylvania for the move. Well, it turns out that Bill O'Brien has a son with a rare genetic disease and Texas Children's Hospital happens to be the largest children's hospital in the country, with many specialists who treat this very same disease his son has. The moral of the story is that jobs are just jobs. You make the best decisions for your career you can, and that may include loyalty to a company or to employees, but ultimately, you've got to watch out for Steve and Steve's family. Do what you think is best for them, and everything else be damned. This is a great post.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Oct 20, 2014 -> 06:05 PM) We could be talking a month, I was told today. Great management by the guys in charge. I think it would not be prudent to at least have your eye out there for what other opportunities exist. That doesn't mean you don't bust your butt with what you have going on, but nothing wrong with seeing what else is out there too.

What is in the board book? Is it very many pages?

On a sidenote, I still expect ND to lose another game this year and make it a moot point but I like Brian Kelly. Seeing so many of this big or so called big programs miss on various guys, I am A okay with Kelly and figure at some point we'll win a title with him and at least we'll pretty much always be in the top 25 with him here.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Oct 20, 2014 -> 12:41 PM) Sure, but the same can be said of Cutler. To be honest, I don't think that was the case last year. Cutler did not benefit from near as many Jeffrey WTF catches as McCown did. And this year, I can think of about 1 WTF catch on the season which was that Marshall catch in the San Fran game. Otherwise I can think more about our wideouts big drops then big plays, which is sad in an of itself.

QUOTE (bmags @ Oct 20, 2014 -> 12:40 PM) Frankly Jeffrey should get more opportunities for bail out catches, that's what makes him special. I agree and it baffles me that we don't try it. See end of 1st half where we decided, with what is supposed to be a great O and trailing, that we DID NOT WANT AN EXTRA POSSESSION. Really just mindblowingly stupid.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Oct 20, 2014 -> 12:38 PM) He's not THAT good, at least not yet. He really needs another year. Another year under BK would do wonders for him. I can't imagine a QB his size gets drafted early enough that it makes sense for Everett to leave for the pro game. He has become a pretty accurate passer though and just an overall good reader of the defense. He clearly has to work on cleaning up his handling of the football, especially when he's running, etc. Plus how he handled his off the field issues and how much he developed while away from the game, is impressive, and a positive indicator if I'm an NFL scout regarding his ability to work, overcome adversity, etc.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Oct 20, 2014 -> 12:06 PM) See last year when Trestman and the Bears had the best QB in the league for 6 games. And you know what he didn't do in those games? Turn the ball over. I think he had 8 td's to one interception. McCown got very lucky with that ratio. He threw a lot of dropped picks and had quite a few bail out Jeffrey catches.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Oct 20, 2014 -> 10:35 AM) There are so many issues I don't even know where to point fingers. The whole organization outside of potentially the GM seems to be ineffective right now (and by default, that pretty much makes him ineffective). I can't say this is on the players, or the coaches, or the defense or the offense. They suck all-around one week, play well enough to make us change our minds the next, I just don't get it. To me, it ultimately comes down to a lack of leadership, if I had to guess, and that falls on Trestman, as he is the HC. I also really question our in game personell moves. I don't understand DJ Williams playing. He's had little impact on the season and we saw positive impact out of younger players yet stick with Williams. I do like our LB coach as we have seen progress at a position with a limited talent pool but question who we started. I also have a hard time how open guys tend to be against our defense. Our coverage, both in the secondary and at LB is just bad and I think some of that has to do with the scheme. Tucker seems to get pants from a pure X's and O's standpoint most weeks. This week it looked like we had literally no idea that Tannehill was athletic and they run a lot of those zone reads. I also want to point out that when Holmes is in the game, for whatever reason, we tend to play very very poorly. Anything in the remote direction of him tends to be a disaster. Not blaming Holmes per say, just stating that we have got to find another option or figure something out because the productivity out of our top wideouts has been bad as it is, let alone any production from depth guys. I realize no / limited training camps from both Holmes / Morgan, but at this point in the season, whether its Jay or others, they got to figure out a way to right this ship.

QUOTE (pettie4sox @ Oct 20, 2014 -> 10:32 AM) I agree with a lot of points. I personally like Trestman. He's still a little rough around the edges with his coaching ability. However, Jay has a tendency to be a boom or bust QB. When's he hot, he's hot and when he's not he's not. He is just too inconsistent of a QB to be paid what he does. The one thing that kills me, is by and large, this year Jay has actually been very good. Unfortunately other issues have cropped up that have put further magnitude on some mistakes that he makes and that most QB's make. His QB rating has been very strong in all of his games and this really was his worse game but it also appears that in many games we have hand cuffed him with question play calling. It also seems like in all of our losses we have certain drives killed by other offensive players coughing up the football after a Jay turnover too, which further amplifies the issue. My point being, we are not a very precise team across the board. Yes, players deserve blame for that but so do coaches. This past week was the worst game of the season for me because we literally didn't look prepared. I was upset with other games, with the other one being the Carolina game where I feel our play calling, amongst other things, singlehandedly lost us that game. Buffalo game I give some excuses for since we were pretty much playing without our top wideouts for a good chunk of the 2nd half. There is no excuse for what happened against Miami and against Carolina. None. Even GB, I'll give some excuse cause our defense has no chance against Rodgers.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Oct 20, 2014 -> 09:40 AM) I'm sure it's just a coincidence that the warning always gets issued right after the anti-ND side gets in another jab before I can respond. I am a Notre Dame fan. Killed me that we lost a game which we outplayed them most of the game (especially in the first half). That said, I tip my cap to Winston for getting hot and just dominating our defense in the 2nd half (and they did out play us in the 2nd half, just not as greatly as we outplayed them in the 1st half). I'm ending the argument because everyone has had ample opportunities to debate their point and at this point, it is time for everyone to move on to further discussion (vs. beating a dead horse further dead). Everyone has had ample discussion on the issue, now it is time to move on.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Oct 20, 2014 -> 10:21 AM) I don't really see Trestman being the fall guy here. I know in reality he's hooked to Jay, so if Jay is run out of town, so will he, but there's no way the Bears are giving up on Trestman after 2 or 3 seasons. They're putting up historical franchise numbers. An offense the franchise has never seen before. The system is fine, it's the player (QB) running it that's the problem. That's not to say Trestman doesn't have some faults - his time out usage, his end of half management, etc. are all a little puzzling (at least there's a theory behind it, even if I don't agree). And even his play calling seems too boom or bust (calling a bomb on 3rd and 1 instead of just getting the first down.) But that's not the MAIN problem on offense. The problem with this team is Cutler. And yeah, that might be my anti-Cutler homerism coming in to play a bit, but when the guy doesn't turn the ball over, the team wins. And they score a ton of points. When he plays like s***, the defense is on the field way too long and they lose. It's that simple. It can't be ALL the coach if the same plays result in wins and scoring and big plays when the QB makes the right decision. For next year, my wish is that Rex Ryan gets canned in New York and agrees to be the DC in Chicago like his daddy. We are 20th in the league in offense. That is unacceptable under any standard and if we stick at that point, with all the other stuff, including intangibles, then things need to change. If we finished the year with a top 8 offense and a bottom 10 defense, I'm okay with Trestman staying around. However, a poor offensive production, without legitimate excuses such as significant injuries, is just unacceptable when combined with everything else. Rex Ryan would be great for our defense but he likely gets another head coaching gig.

QUOTE (bmags @ Oct 20, 2014 -> 10:16 AM) I'll trust PFF after thinking it was dumb for calling Mills horrible, when as soon as we stopped helping him in protection in favor of Bushrod he promptly is a sieve. I still wonder how Briggs gets that good of a grade on the season though cause he's had a few solid games but also some stinkers. I agree on Mills. I think it is time for Ola to start. Not writing Mills off, just saying we need to make a change there because there were a few times where Mills couldn't hold his block and a split second longer and we have a different outcome. There were a couple open big play shots that weren't able to happen because of Mills. Either way, we've seen this team be resilient and we need them to be after that performance. Come back and get back to .500 with a win on the road against New England and you again keep some opportunities around, especially with plenty of divisional games left.

If San Fran lets Harbaugh leave, I'll be the first to welcome him in Chicago! I don't care who likes you as long as you consistently win football games and don't have off the field issues.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Oct 20, 2014 -> 09:10 AM) Well news flash to the media, screaming an yelling goes on in locker rooms, in every sport, on every team. Also, not all players get along all the time, on every team, in every sport. Probably most so in football. So many different personalities and so many players.

Alright, I'm issuing a warning. The ND argument is done. On both sides. Its over. Its been two days, give it a rest. Everyone has had plenty of time to chat through their opinions. Any future posts on the matter will be removed and warnings / suspensions issued.

QUOTE (bmags @ Oct 20, 2014 -> 08:58 AM) I agree. Trestman's offense is just way too complicated. There are way too many sight adjustments to turn a 5 yard play into a 7 yard play and instead it ends up being an INT. I was thinking yesterday, if Mike Martz or Ron Turner had this offensive talent, would they be better or worse than this? I honestly am not sure it would be worse. Jay would get sacked a lot more under Martz, but he also had an offense with Knox and Hester as WR1 and WR2, and Webb as starting LT look pretty damn good through 10 games before Jay broke his finger. I'm just very frustrated at this point. That was an excellent coaching class that we quite possibly swung and missed on. I feel like the bears just drafted Darko. I'm with you. In reality, these next few weeks are going to be key to Trestman's and Cutler's career. Trestman can survive a season with strong offense and poor defense but both he has no chance of sticking around (or at least shouldn't). And at the same time, Jay doesn't deserve to stick around either if that happens. If we go with a new coach then we need to figure out a way to get rid of Jay too. He doens't get to play with another coach. That said, they have time to get the offense righted and I don't know if some of this is Kromer calling plays vs. Trestman or what. I don't know but the offense has to be fixed. 2 carries, odd as play calls on 3rd and 1. We consistently are outcoached and poor clock management. I really don't like the fact that Jay has no idea what was wrong with the pick to Marty saying taht is where he should have thrown the ball. I had zero clue where that ball was going but was hoping somehow he underthrew it to Holmes or something cause there was no way that ball is completed to Marty (what an awful read). He could have said I thought it was X, but Y happened, but he literally said that is where the ball should have gone. Sorry buddy, not on that play. PS: It is too bad things went bad in those other games cause that is why this loss hurts so much more. Bears pull out a couple of the games they should have and the talk is about this being Cutler's bad game, blah blah blah. Difference between winning and losing is very minimal and that is why execution and playing with professionalism is so important. Mags, one last point, you hit the nail on the head to me. It seems like there is a lot more variability in routes in this offense then a typical offense and that can lead to many more instances of miscommunication where QB reads one thing, WR another.

PS: I really like Robbie Gould http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/footb...1020-story.html

On a sidenote, was it just me, or did it look like we weren't prepared to play on either side of the ball. Between Trestman's clock management and the fact that he kept Tucker and Decamillis around...if this offense keeps playing this poorly, we might be looking at a new coach next year. If we are scoring this few points per game without legitimate excuses as to why, I think it is time to consider the fact that the league was right about Trestman and he isn't head coaching material. I'd also say the same thing about Jay. They better get this offense rolling.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Oct 19, 2014 -> 05:53 PM) Which is pathetic. Fans have a right to boo when they overpay for tickets and the team (0-3 at home) does not do **** when expectations were so high. The fans were pathetic. In the first half there were numerous times on 3rd down the bulk of the stadium was and the noise in general was quiet. Not the fans fault but still pathetic none the less.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Oct 19, 2014 -> 11:09 AM) So I guess Trestman's not going to call time and try to drive the ball with 45 seconds? I was so pissed when we were down 14 and had a shot to get the ball back with 2 more timeouts left (after using one to stop the clock at 45 seconds). That was just a disaster....so was the rest of the game on all phases. I am pretty much speachless. Horrific. We weren't ready to play and a lot of guys didn't show up. Jay deserves the heat for this one too. It was his worse game of the season.

Not sure how it works but I think you could trade for him and pretty much cut him if you were Bears but that 10M base contract is pretty high for Harvin, given the other guys we have and his injury history. I do expect us to draft a wideout in the first 3 rounds this year, unless of course Wilson takes off.

QUOTE (bmags @ Oct 17, 2014 -> 02:57 PM) Bears don't have luxury of trading picks for a 3rd receiver. Is that what pick it is or is? When I see conditional mid round pick, I figure that means if he kicks butt he's a 3rd or 4th round pick, otherwise even less. While I agree we don't need to invest much in him, the reality of trading players in the NFL means that the Seahawks take the brunt of the cap hit (doesn't all of his guaranteed money get fronted via the trade and thus Seahawks take a killing and now new base is much lower for future teams who sign him) thus making Harvin pretty minimal impact on our cap (I believe). No idea what his contract is like but his element happens to fill a major need in our system.

I would have added him to the Bears at that price. Perfect fit in the slot and to help our atrocious return game.

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ Oct 17, 2014 -> 11:25 AM) Just touching on Dayan's "room for growth" -- look at his comps through 25 on b-ref: Willie Montanez (971) George Hendrick (968) Jeremy Hermida (964) Rick Reichardt (958) Dick Kokos (955) Carmelo Martinez (954) Charlie Spikes (954) Andy Van Slyke (953) Cliff Floyd (950) Luis Gonzalez (949) Not exactly a row of guys that turned into average or even above average players. Hendrick had a nice career but he put together a season (124 OPS+) at 24 that Dayan could only dream about. Van Slyke obviously was on teh complete opposite side of the spectrum with defensive value. Dayan reminds me of Wily Mo Pena. Crap defense, crap running, solid power, even good power, but no on base skills, no contact skills. Mo washed out of the league after he proved he couldn't hit enough to stick as a regular. I can see Dayan going to Japan in a few years and having a good career, but I can't see him having a good career in MLB without a major, major jump in contact skill or patience. Things that just aren't likely to happen. Technically speaking, those last three players on that list all had some pretty impressive runs.