Chisoxfn

QUOTE (kjshoe04 @ Jan 5, 2012 -> 06:15 PM) I've been wondering for a while now why everyone hates Martz so much. Until Cutler went down this was the best Bears offense of my lifetime. #7 in points. I think the problem was there was a lot of internal issues between Martz and Cutler/Tice. I think Bates is going to be who the Bears end up hiring. It would mean Jay doesn't have to actually learn a new system, albeit, the rest of the offense would.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 5, 2012 -> 04:53 PM) I have a theory that Angelo was going to retire. Its pretty much been in the news for a couple of years. I think a lot of these rumors have legs. It was reported Martz was out weeks ago. I think the Bears realize how unpopular Angelo was and asked him to let them fire him instead. They pay off the couple of years left on his contract or another agreed upon sum, and the Bears come away looking proactive, they can say all the right things at the press conference and Jerry is basically retired with some extra gas in his tank. It might be totally crazy, but I think there's a chance its fairly accurate. The problem I see is Ted Phillips a non football guy, making this decision. The McCaskeys are forever indebted to Ted, for he is the one who got them Soldier Field redone and made their net worth leap considerably. He has a lifetime contract with them, no matter what happens. It might not eventually be working for the Bears, but the McCaskeys will make sure Ted is well taken care of the rest of his life. Would the Bears spend all that money to do that? Especially when they could have just allowed Angelo to retire and to be frank, it probably would make the Bears look better since it would not add so many questions around Lovie's tenure since the only reason they were looking for a GM was related to the retirement (which would be a better explanation for staying the status quo with your coach but not with the GM).

I'm very intrigued to see what happens. I love me some gavin Floyd but for the right price and McGuire and Drabek would qualify as that, I'd be happy. I would also fully endorse the Sox turning around and spending some of that money. I also fully expect the Sox will deal Peavy and Thornton at some point this year, Thorty probably sooner than later. I think Peavy is going to kick ass and actually be a pretty valuable trade chip, one that teams will be okay observing cash (specifically a team in contention who wouldn't be in the position to take long-term cash but could suck it up for one post-season run).

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jan 5, 2012 -> 02:51 PM) First of all, you discredit Harbaugh and then go on to credit Schwartz for doing basically the exact same thing as Harbaugh has done at Stanford and now San Francisco. Secondly, most of what you credit Schwartz for seems to me to be things the GM that replaced Matt Millen should get credit for. Everything you expect from a head coach, whether it be preparing the team to play, instilling discipline and sportsmanship in his players, keeping his teams from committing costly penalties, etc., the Lions, and Jim Schwartz by clear and direct extension, fail at. The Lions are an undisciplined, disrespectful, idiotic but incredibly talented team. Seems to me it is Schwartz's job to harness that talent and produce success. They started out 5-1 (but were lucky to have that record since they came out unprepared against Minnesota and Dallas), and finished weakly at 10-6, and made the playoffs only because Jay Cutler injured his wrist and the Bears collapsed. All excellent points. The Lions are an incredibly talented squad and I'll have Schwartz major credit for changing the attitude there as the coach but I want to see what he does because that team is completely undisciplined and it cost them significantly this year. Harbaugh gets more points for me, similar to Shack, for the fact that he showed how he could take a previously non-existent college football team and help make them sucessful.

While I can get excited at the names, I'd be pretty surprised if any of this talk is true.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Jan 5, 2012 -> 02:17 PM) I want to see this trade go down just to see your reaction It would be a complete opposite decision for what AA has done thus far in Toronto. Would Thornton, Floyd, and Beckham command that sort of package? I doubt it but was going to throw it out there.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Jan 5, 2012 -> 02:20 PM) According to BA, Drabek is not in their top 10, and McGuire is #8. IIRC, Gose was their #2, and Wojo was around 7? I could make the case that a Drabek for Beckham deal would be relatively fair. Both guys could probably benefit from a change of scenery and at one point in time were considered completely untradeable. Who do the Jays have slated to play 2B. I know they don't have Hill anymore. But the Sox aren't getting all of the other stuff for Gavin. That is completely insane. I still have a hard time believe they'd get McGuire and Drabek but I love Floyd so I can kind of believe that (Floyd has a fair contract too).

QUOTE (iamshack @ Jan 5, 2012 -> 12:01 PM) I'm sorry, but given what little we know about the hierarchy of the Bears coaching staff, other than their titles, the record is by far the most important thing, which you admit one cannot take issue with. He's been here for what, 8 years now? Anyone is going to have a list of errors that took place over the course of 8 years. Jim Schwartz? MARVIN LEWIS? John Fox is like Lovie's white twin brother! What are you talking about? Marvin Lewis had all of the talent in the world on some of those Bengals teams. He's the epitome of a mediocre coach who doesn't have near the accolades of a Lovie Smith. Jim Schwartz. Talk to me when he does something consistently over a period of time. All I see is a guy who is out of control and can't keep his players in check. Fox is a damn good coach. I probably should have included him in my top 11 or 12, but he did have his problems in Carolina so he isn't perfect (he had crap at QB too). But Fox is very similar to Lovie as shack has pointed out. Records are important and Lovie has not only a good record but he also has a great track record of having his teams ready to play week in and week out. That is the head coaches job. The head coaches job isn't always to make the play-calls, etc. Hell, there are plenty of people that make exceptional coordinators and terrible coaches and vice versa. Not all head coaches would make excellent (or even be the best) coordinators. It is a different skill-set and I think in the most important areas, Lovie does better than most. When it comes to in-game management, every coach f's it up and Lovie has improved over the years at it. His teams have made better adjustments and he has a hell of a good record when his teams are leading late and into the 2nd half. I just find it funny that most Bear fans (and I'm not putting you into this category Mark (Murcie)) hate Lovie because he doesn't yell on the sidelines or gives "coach speak" during press conferences. In regards to Rivera, he made a mistake and paid for it, but he isn't perfect. He did the same thing with Shea (and almost everybody lauded that decision at the time) and with Martz, he got burned (and It was a hire made against Angelo's wish). Lovie is at his best when he runs the show and he's a very good leader of the team and quite frankly, that is the head coaches job. He seems to have thinks turned in the right direction and I have full faith in him as the head coach (I am sincere when I say that two or three years ago, I wouldn't have said that, but I have really grown to admire him as a head coach). Hell, look at Steeler fans, they were ready for years to run Cowher out of town yet he's probably one of the best coaches of the past 30 years.

QUOTE (GoodAsGould @ Jan 5, 2012 -> 10:42 AM) I don't think Tomlin deserves to be in top5, hell our resident Steelers fan always seems to be b****ing about him. Reid to me is the same as Martz, he gets in his own way too often.... I think given how bad the 49ers were last season you have to Jim Harbaugh in the top5 and I think I'd round it out with John Fox. I don't know what to make of Fisher, It's hard for me to want a guy that insisted on starting Kerry Collins when despite all his problems Vince Young was clearly the better choice imo or even a ton of guys off F/A would have given more production than Collins. I'm not about to put guys in the top 5 based upon one year. John Fox is a solid coach but he also stunk his last couple seasons in Carolina. In regards to Reid, the dude has developed QB's consistently. McNabb played at a probowl level his entire career under Reid, the minute he leaves, he's a total bum. Kolb kicks butt in short stints and goes to Arizona and stinks. Vick passes like he's never passed before. Reid has done nothing but do a great job with his offenses. He's egotistical and cocky but he's a hell of a coach with a great track record. He unfortunately struggled this year and some people might be down on him for that, but the team came on very strong and its problems were on the defensive side (albeit the oline struggled too). And defensively, throughout most of his career, they have been solid (under the late Jim Johnson). harbaugh could get into the list but no way am I putting him there after just one season.

I would say this would be pretty damn solid value for Floyd, whom I happen to like a whole heck of a lot. I'm intrigued both those who are suggesting the Sox than sign a pitcher to replace Floyd (such as an Ejax). I highly doubt it would happen but it is an interesting concept. I'd say it would probalby make more sense a year from now after the Sox figure everything out (and figure out what they truly have) but if Kenny thinks getting Cepedes would help and they can compete this year it than would make sense to make a signing now. It would certainly make Konerko feel better, haha. If they deal Floyd, I'd have to think he'd be quietly indicating he'd like to be traded to a contender (one of his choice).

The odd one is the Sox giving back cash. That doesn't smell like a Kenny deal. I wonder if anyone can run a google and truly see if this guy is legitimately cousins with Floyd.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Jan 5, 2012 -> 01:39 PM) Well, the good news is that McGuire looks like a very solid young arm. The bad news is that Drabek seems to be a failed prospect. However, both are under team control until at least 2018, I believe. Hopefully Coop can pull a "Gavin Floyd" on Drabek and turn around a failed Phillies top pitching prospect. I like the idea of getting one good/solid safe prospect plus a failed top 30 prospect in all of baseball in Drabek. Drabek has some tools and I have faith in Coop.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jan 5, 2012 -> 10:03 AM) Not questioning your list, but the top 4 coaches have Brady, Brees, Big Ben, & Rodgers as their QBs. Do the coaches make the QB or the QBs make the coach? It most certainly helps. That is why I'm very impressed at what Reid has done (he is an exceptional coach in my mind and my personal opinion is that I might take him over everyone but Bellicheck). Lovie to an extent gets some credit for what he has done with a variety of QB's. Also, the more I think about it, the more I could make the argument that Lovie > Fisher. A couple years ago I didn't think I'd say it, but Lovie is truly a good football coach.

QUOTE (MexSoxFan#1 @ Jan 5, 2012 -> 08:11 AM) The Bears meathead fans are gonna want that...mustached guy who yells alot on the sidelines=wins. I'll pass. Fisher is a tremendous head coach and is one guy I would be completey on board with hiring over Lovie. Note: There aren't many guys I'd replace Lovie with in the league. I do think if you brought in a GM like the Ravens guy (who is the top candidate in the league) and the Bears loved him and he was in with the exception that he needed to have a shot to bring in his coach, than I'd probably do it. There are probably 5 coaches better than Lovie in this league: 1. Bellicheck 2. Sean Payton 3. McCarthy 4. Tomlin 5. Reid I think anyone else and you can make an argument Lovie is better. The next list, which includes Lovie, also includes Mike Smith, the Harbaugh Brothers, Shanny (I might include him in the top group), and Rex Ryan (who I happen to hate). You could also argue for Kubiak (who I'm a huge fan of). Which means, if you agree with my list, at worse, Lovie is the 11th or 12th best coach in the league. I happen to think he rates on par with everyone else on the list of this group of candidates and most definitely ahead of Rex.

QUOTE (SOXOBAMA @ Jan 5, 2012 -> 09:35 AM) I've a feeling Drabek will be a lot better next season.. Floyd to Toronto for Drabek & McGuire, would be a great deal for the Sox. I'd be on board with that sort of deal. I don't think the Sox get it, but I'd be on board with it. A package built around McGuire would be solid, but it is important to remember that upside wise, McGuire doesn't have wow you stuff. He is a good pitcher though. I'm not sure you can just pencil him into a rotation now though. The dude has pitched in like 4 games at the AA level.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 5, 2012 -> 06:13 AM) If that was sarcasm, then yes. Totally. The Iowa onewas a dead giveaway. I don't know the last time they won 2 straight big ten games let alone 2 straigt on the road. They did everything they could at the end to blow it too.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jan 3, 2012 -> 11:19 AM) Also agree with this, but if he has to go to get a good GM... Agree with that. I will say this, I don't want any head coach who also wants to be GM.

I have zero desire to ditch Lovie. He's a very good head coach.

I like lovie I just want a gm who is okay with keeping him

Are the bears going to hire bill polian and a fisher? Or are they going after cowher? Would love stay? I have no idea what the bears plan is now and am curious to see what happens.

How can anyone complain about this move? Sox didn't have a need for Fraser and got two guys with some potential. They aren't can't miss but who in the world would exPect that in this type of deal. Nice job Kenny.

QUOTE (DrunkBomber @ Dec 31, 2011 -> 01:48 PM) Ya it seemed like it. Everytime Rose touched the ball in the 4th quarter the crowd was chanting MVP. I did my part. Was fun watching that beatdown

QUOTE (iamshack @ Dec 29, 2011 -> 09:08 AM) Because he doesn't ever accelerate. He dances. Even on his punt returns, he usually opens up his holes by simply outrunning all the pursuit. He doesn't seem to be able to do this on regular offensive plays because there is not enough space. I've long said and gotten ripped for saying it, that while Hester is a special return men, Toub and the blocking schemes help make him. The Bears have had a lot of successful returners under Toub. And it was why I was always willing to deal Hester for a quality pick. The problem is the superfans in Chicago would all die of heartattacks when the trade was announced. I should add that I hate judging most of this year on Hester but at times he looked awfully slow and non-athletic. But I think that probably had a lot to do with his ankle. Or at least that is what I'm telling myself. I haven't seen the explosiveness out of D Hester in a while.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 27, 2011 -> 02:16 PM) One reason why Dwight Howard may want no part of the Bulls is that Howard and Rose are both signed to Adidas, and that would be very much disliked by that company. My wife got me Rose's shoes for Christmas. Was totally surprised but I needed new basketball shoes and I must say, they are really nice. It is the first time I've ever owned a players shoes. They are purely for indoor gym use only though (want this things to last a long time).

QUOTE (bmags @ Dec 27, 2011 -> 09:10 AM) 1) it's clear that GS has their number. The bulls can't resist playing that up tempo game and we can't keep up or seem to slow it down. 2) It seems thibidou is trying to run the offense away from rose a lot more. At the moment it doesn't look like everyone is on the same page. I also think there seems to be a tendency with some of the guys to want to show off what they worked on in the summer, and a lot of that is 1-on-1. They haven't had a chance to see if it's successful in the NBA live action games, and I think that's taking away from the flow of our offense. I'm surprised that our team, which has been largely the saame for 3 years, is the team that looks so out of synch, but west coast trips have always had the tendency to do that to us. One thing I'm glad I'm seeing is Joakim be more agressive offensively. He's shown a nice hook and he's willing to shoot his open baseline jumpers. While he hasn't been super efficient with it, I've seen some nice touch and it will be huge to have him confident doing that. He was doing that early last year and it made his game so much better (since it actually means defenses have to guard him, which will create better spacing for Rose and the rest of the offense). Add in a guy like Rip (who a defense has to play honest) and it should mean the Bulls will have an easier time scoring (since last year at times, Noah & Bogans were pretty much wastes of space on offense). However, for a team with all of the same guys, they definitely look off. I'm hoping it is because they are trying to work some new components into there game, plus finally work on getting Noah/Boozer playing comfortable with each other. There truly were very few games last year where the two of them were actually at 100%. Even during our playoff run you had Boozer playing on one leg.