NightLink: Rod Marinelli Making Things Happen
by Dane Noble on Jul 23, 2009 4:49 PM CDT
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There are plenty of people who point to the 0-16 record of the 2008 Detroit Lions when Rod Marinelli's coaching credentials are brought up. And others who say that Bears fans are expecting too much from Marinelli, stating that he is no "savior" for our defensive woes.
Personally, I am as excited about the acquisition of Marinelli as I am of Jay Cutler. I don't put either one of them into a "miracle-worker" category, but I certainly do have a strong belief that they are both a solid part of the foundation that is being built right now at Soldier Field... a foundation that is likely to reap benefits for many years to come.
Marinelli's thoughts on his 2008 season in Detroit:
Tremendous opportunity for me. Tremendous people in Detroit. I always put it on myself. I did not do the job.
And if you remember press conference after press conference last season, after each week another loss, Marinelli would stand in front of the podium and essentially say the same thing. He has always handled it that way, but is now undoubtedly as happy as he could be in Chicago.
This is a special place for me, a quality organization, and it's special because of Lovie (Smith). It's one of the real driving forces behind this. We had the chance to work together so much before. We were part of the beginning of change in Tampa Bay in 1996. We share a strong belief in the system. It's in place. There are good players. I hope I can inspire, provide a base of knowledge and improve each man's game.
That always seems to be a common denominator when talking about Coach Marinelli- he's got a ton of knowledge, and is a great teacher. Former NFL head coach Herman Edwards seems to think the same thing.
"I think this is one of those coaching moves of this entire season that is going to bring big dividends," Edwards said. "Rod is one of the best, if not the best, defensive line coaches in the league. I look for Rod to help that entire defense overachieve."
Our offense is looking better than it has in a long time, but it is the Chicago Bears defense that has always set the tone of a game. Last year, we had several defensive issues, with the biggest one being the lack of pass rush. I don't know about you, but I am thinking our pass rush is going to improve vastly in 2009. Defense wins championships... and it all starts in the trenches. Cliche? Sure. But true nonetheless.
In wiltfogjr's post today, Tommie Harris was listed at the #3 most important Bear heading into the 2009 season. One thing we continue to question is Harris' health. Is he healthy? Marinelli hints that he is.
"Tommie is strong, motivated, bright, perfect for the system," Marinelli said. "He was banged up last year. He seems pretty healthy. He's done it. This group is going to compete. It is exciting to see them come together."
Read into that however you will, but I'm on board. I'm fired up about this 2009 season more than I have been in years. I'm buying into it. I believe in Lovie Smith, and I believe in Rod Marinelli. Our offense is ready to go, and our defense is going to step back up and play to the fullest potential. Let's do this!
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I hope he pays dividends early and often.
In our scheme, there is no way we can continue to blitz as much as we did last season and be successful. Our D is just not set up for it and it puts too much stress on the rest of the secondary. If Marinelli can get consistent pressure out of our line like we had a few years back, the rest of the D will fall back in line and we won’t need to blitz extra defenders. Which means that the seam route that we got beat on consistently last year won’t be there anymore for the opposing offense.
Marinelli is pretty convincing
and its not like we have no talent on the D-Line. Man, to see Mark Anderson beating walter jones to make a tackle makes my hair stand up lol i hope Marinelli helps him sort out his crap.
by Staleystan595455 on Jul 23, 2009 6:21 PM CDT reply actions
I really want to believe you Geaux...
I have great hope for Harrison and Adams playing beyond their talents because of Marinelli. I think Anderson will get back his form and Izzy will continue to be that all-around D-line force. Brown and Ogunleye will perform well. And I even see Melton and Gilbert makign some plays as the season wears on.
But I just think Harris is either gonna get hurt early and be out for the season, or play at 60% all year, but sparingly on 1st and 2nd down. He is the engine that makes this defense go and I am sold on the entire D-line but him. Can you convince me otherwise?
Nonetheless, thanx for the video montage, I am still geeked for this season to start.
“It’s such a fine line between stupid, and clever.”-David ST. Hubbins-Spinal Tap
Marinelli is only a coach
Some are getting WAYYYYYYYY too carried away with the impact of a coach.
Cubs will win 79 to 83 games. Season has been over for weeks. St. Louis will eventually run away with this division. And you can print it. BLou (7/21/09)
Bill Walsh was only a coach
So too Buddy Ryan. Bobb McKittrick. Dick Rehbein (ask Tom Brady about Rehbein) And on and on it goes.
The talent level is spread pretty thin in the NFL.
Coaching . . . matters. A lot.
by GeoMak on Jul 23, 2009 8:41 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
I understand that
But Marinelli is a defensive line coach. He shall be largely a product of what he has to work with on the defensive line. And to be honest, our defensive line candidates are middling at best. Tommie Harris was awful and disinterested in 2008 (ba humbug the constant injury excuse), Alex Brown already maximizes what he has to offer, Mark Anderson is an under-sized one year wonder, Israel Idonije is a serviceable and versatile fill-in player, Jarron Gilbert and Henry Melton are rookies, Adewale Ogunleye is nothing special still milking the one big sack year in Miami.
Cubs will win 79 to 83 games. Season has been over for weeks. St. Louis will eventually run away with this division. And you can print it. BLou (7/21/09)
time will tell
everyone he’s ever coached says the same thing… he pushes the right buttons and has all teh answers for the D-Line… we’ll see in a few weeks the impact he has
by Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. on Jul 23, 2009 10:46 PM CDT up reply actions
Hence why the Detroit Lions had an awful defense the past several seasons and went 0-16 in 2008????
I like Rod Marinelli too. But I significant dose of reality is in order. Fact is Marinelli shall be a product of the defensive line talent he has to work with in Chicago. And that talent is far from a sure thing.
Cubs will win 79 to 83 games. Season has been over for weeks. St. Louis will eventually run away with this division. And you can print it. BLou (7/21/09)
When a guy like Marinelli becomes
a HC, his ability to work in his area of expertise (D-Line) is severely curtailed.
As HC of the Lions he was probably able to devote little time to the D-Line.
With the Bears (as with the Bucs) he was/is able to devote 100% of his time to the line.
This is basically just common sense.
0-16
What buttons did he push in detroit?
by Ryan21 on Jul 24, 2009 11:20 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions
Bobb McKittrick/Buddy Ryan
was maybe the best O-Line coach and one of the best assistant coaches in NFL history.
During the glory days in SF, I think the Niners had one 1st round draft pick (Harris Barton).
Here’s what DE Gerry Philbin said about Buddy Ryan, his D-Line coach: “I played under him at the University of Buffalo and with the Jets. It got mean, cruel. I’ve never seen anyone better at bringing the animal out of you. If you didn’t hit as hard as he wanted, he’d humiliate you in front of everyone. Guys like me loved him, though. He was just so brutally honest.”
That paragraph says it all.
There’s too much talent on this defensive line to underachieve again this year. I have been hearing nothing but positive things about Marinelli from the defensive line especially from Alex Brown. I like the way Marinelli is going about things in camp and have the up most confidence he will improve this line.
by Dominique Blanton on Jul 23, 2009 9:19 PM CDT reply actions
Addition by subtraction too, I hope.
With Lovie taking over the play calling on defense I hope we will see more consistency on that side of the ball. And not consistently bad either.
If you can't laugh at yourself you must not be very funny.
Nice video
All that kept running through my mind was watch the QB’s run away and it was almost as if you could here them yelling…“Blow the whistle” "Blow the whistle.
Rashied Davis in his theatrical debut, I bet you can guess which one he is.
Link
I'm teaching fools some basic rules.- MR.T
LOL
I had to do it.
I'm teaching fools some basic rules.- MR.T
by Ditkavsworld on Jul 24, 2009 8:51 AM CDT up reply actions
i think i'm in the twilight zone
for some reason my wife asked me what that football movie with sinbad was called yesterday. then when i got home and flipped through the guide it was on last night. now you post a clip of it…something very strange is going on here. there should never be three random occurrences of Necessary Roughness in two days for anyone.
can anyone tell me if this is some kind of sign?
Funny thing
I had no idea it was on tv until after I posted the clip. Something strange is going on around here…
I'm teaching fools some basic rules.- MR.T
by Ditkavsworld on Jul 24, 2009 9:20 AM CDT up reply actions
Help, I'm stepping into the Twilight Zone
The place is a mad-house, feels like being cloned
My beacon’s been moved under moon and star
Where am I to go now that I’ve gone too far
Soon you will come to know
When the bullet hits the bone
Twilight Zone – Golden Earring
I couldn’t help but think of this when I was reading this exchange. Haha.
"A lot of fans were drawn to me because they knew that whatever the score was, I was going to run as hard as I could on every play. You don't have that now, you have guys waiting for next week or even next year." - Walter Payton
by Ashley Czuba on Jul 24, 2009 11:23 AM CDT up reply actions
Nice.
Not very often you get a Golden Earring reference.
I'm teaching fools some basic rules.- MR.T
by Ditkavsworld on Jul 24, 2009 11:44 AM CDT up reply actions
I know he was loved down here in Tampa
The staff liked him and the players all loved him. There were a lot of people who were really upset when he left.
"Well, we didn't block real good but we made up for it by not tackling."
- John McKay
rod marinelli cant make anything happen
they guy was 0-16 for god sakes
GO BULLS
by FAN of the BULLS on Jul 25, 2009 12:18 AM CDT reply actions
and Jay Cutler has never had a winning season as a QB in college or the pros,
because different surroundings, circumstances, teams,etc. couldn’t possibly have a bearing on what a person’s past performance has been. Obviously, we are completely hosed on both sides of the ball.
Come on, give these guys a chance!
Marinelli has long been considered one of the finest DL coaches in the business. THAT is what we hired him to do. If you want to go by his past performance, you should focus on that and not on what he did as a head coach.
At this point, I’d like to point your attention to the quote attributed to Bertrand Russell in my current signature…..
"The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt." - Bertrand Russell
at this point,
i’d like to point your attention to my signature…..GO BULLS
GO BULLS
by FAN of the BULLS on Jul 26, 2009 12:07 AM CDT up reply actions
On a Bears blog?
That would explain a great deal, commencing with your, ah, insight.
"The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt." - Bertrand Russell
You can't judge someones ability as a position coach
based on their HC performance. There have been several coaches who were great position coaches or coordinators and who never achieved greatness as a head coach (Buddy Ryan comes to mind, amongst others.) Marinelli went from being a d-line coach to a head coach position without any experience as a coordinator, which I’ve never thought was a good idea. And it was in Detroit for gods sake, with Millen for a GM. They had gaping holes at almost every position so it’s not like he could devote his time to any one area. God or Ditka himself couldn’t have been successful with what he had to work with.
"Well, we didn't block real good but we made up for it by not tackling."
- John McKay
You're probably right about the one guy, you mentioned, not being able to do it, but it was blasphemous
to say that about Ditka, my friend.
May Coach forgive you.
When Steve McNair was unfortunately killed, he obviously went to football heaven.
Who would be there to greet him but Johnny Unitas. “Oh my god, Johnny Unitas” McNair said.
Unitas: Welcome Steve, I’m sort of the appointed welcoming guide of football heaven. Let me show you around.
McNair: Wow, that would be great!
Unitas: Look over there Steve…
McNair: Is that….(rubbing his eyes in disbelief) is that Bill Walsh?
Unitas: Ha, ya Steve. That’s Coach Walsh. He’s been drawing some plays up for you… pretty cool right?
McNair: Man, I’d say so.
Unitas: Well, come on… there is more to see…
McNair: NO WAY, is that Walter Payton…. Sweetness… that’s Sweetness!
Unitas: Yes Steve, the one and only!
McNair: Wow, he was one of my favorites growing up.
Unitas: I understand…
McNair: Wait a second, Walter Payton is with Mike Ditka…. but he’s not dead.
Unitas: No, That’s God…. He just thinks he’s Ditka.
by rdent4hof on Jul 26, 2009 9:40 AM CDT up reply actions 3 recs
Wreck for overall awesomeness.
I'm teaching fools some basic rules.- MR.T
by Ditkavsworld on Jul 26, 2009 9:49 AM CDT up reply actions
JerBear
Buddy Ryan took over a crappy team in Philadelphia and built them up into an excellent team.
The had a dominant defense and a high scoring, exciting offense.
They went to the playoffs his last three years there. Even Mike Ditka, no friend of Buddy’s, at the time said that it’s hard to get rid of a guy that went to the playoffs three straight years.
Yes they lost all three (though one was the ‘FogBowl’) but many. many ‘great HC’s’ started out slowly when it comes to winning playoff games.
I'm not saying Buddy had no success or was even a bad HC.
I was just trying to make the point that your ability as a position coach, or in his case as a coordinator, shouldn’t be diminished by your record as a head coach. You are right though that Ryan may not have been the best example to use.
"The time has come to get deeply into Football. It is the only thing we have left that ain't fixed." - HST
I totally agree with your
opinion on assistant coaches/HC’s. There are so many more responsibilities as HC (especially with the media) that assistants don’t deal with that they are almost completely different jobs.
Marinelli’s failure as a HC in no way diminishes his abilities as a D-Line coach.
Dick LeBeau is one of the best DC’s in football. He was a failure as a HC in Cincinnatti.
I just love some of the ‘many misconceptions’ floating around the NFL universe. Like these:
The ‘85 Bears were all defense. (Actually they had the highest scoring offense in the NFC that season. I’ve seen people compare the ’85 Bears offense to the 2000 Ravens offense, which went FIVE straight games without scoring a single offensive TD. Pure stupidity).
The ’80’s 49ers were a finesse team. (Actually they were usually top 5-10 in defense every year. They weren’t a power running team, but they weren’t a finese team either).
Bill Walsh used to beat Ryan’s 46 defense. (Actually, head to head, Walsh was 2-3 against Ryan. And one of those was the ’84 NFC Championship game, when the Bears had to play back-up QB Steve Fuller in place of the injured Jim McMahon.
Buddy Ryan was a bad HC or he wasn’t a very good HC. (Total Nonsense. He drafted a ton of Pro-Bowlers in Philadelphia. And late round picks, like Seth Joyner in the 8th round and Clyde Simmons in the 9th round. No team looked forward to playing his Eagles).
Ryan’s Eagles were all defense and no offense. (Two of his first three #1 draft picks were on offense (Keith Byars and Keith Jackson). His offense in Philadelphia was a high scoring, exciting offense).
I hear ya
I get so pissed when people talk about the 85 team being all defense. Obviously some of the scoring came off of turnovers, but it’s almost like they forget about Payton and Suhey, not to mention McMahon carving people up. People always use that as an argument as to why the 72 Dolphins were better and it drives me nuts.
As far as the 49ers thing, I think a lot of people refer to it as finesse because they used that original (almost) West Coast formula. It was a lot of short yard high percentage passes, so it gets stuck that label since it wasn’t a power running or a heavy vertical team, although it worked beautfiully when they went deep with all the DB’s cheating up. And as far as I remember, Roger Craig and Brent Jones were always willing to run right up, over, or through your ass and out the other side which doesn’t strike me as finesse either.
"The time has come to get deeply into Football. It is the only thing we have left that ain't fixed." - HST
Seven TD's were scored by the defense and KR's
along with three safeties.
The Bears scored 456 points that season. Taking away the 48 points that came elsewhere leaves 408 points, for a 25.5 point average, for the offense.
By comparison the 1984 49ers scored 475 points with 24 coming from elsewhere for 451 points and a 28.2 point average by the offense.
The ’84 49ers offense averaged less than a FG (2.7 points) a game more than the Bears offense.
People say that all the time (the Bears were all defense) and it just shows their stupidity.
Semantic point
Ignorance, delusion and misconception are not necessarily the same thing as stupidity, though.
"The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt." - Bertrand Russell
Yes, but repeatedly spouting off in spite of ignorance
is often a symptom of stupidity.
"The time has come to get deeply into Football. It is the only thing we have left that ain't fixed." - HST
Things that make you go...
Hmmmmm. Being optimistic about getting anyone associated with an 0-16 team boggles my mind.
Why does it boggle your mind?
Marinelli’s track record as a D-line coach is stellar.
I wouldn’t want Wade Phillips as a head coach…. ever.
As a defensive coordinator….. in a heart beat. Other examples, Norv Turner, Mike Martz, Greg Williams, Dom Capers and the list could go on and on.
D-line is his specialty, which is exactly what the doctor ordered, for this Bears team.
assistant coaches
Mike Ditka (the coach) said in an interview once, "I never won a Superbowl without him, ( Buddy Ryan) and he never won one without me, maybe we where meant to stay together. I hope Marinelli is the Buddy to Lovie in that they are meant to be together.
Dynasty Builders
I have been a Bear fan since the early 60’s. I have not seen a dynasty building offseason like this since Halas (God rest his soul) passed on. The pieces are in place, It’s time for a 4-6 year reign as Champs.
Marinelli, not unlike Ryan in the 80’s was braught here with a need to fill. Cutler, not unlike McMahon is here for a reason. The stars are starting to align, we need to find a little bit “o” Willie Gault in one or two of our recievers.
I am psyched for the season men! …………….Psyched!
That would be nice
we need to find a little bit "o" Willie Gault
As long as it’s not the bit ’o Gault that pissed himself when he heard footsteps. The part where he left people in the dust would be preferable.
"The time has come to get deeply into Football. It is the only thing we have left that ain't fixed." - HST
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