Is Ron Rivera The Next Bears Head Coach?

Also bad player managment has contributed to these latest bad seasons and poor offensive calls have cost us on both sides of the ball .

As the HC, isn’t Lovie is responsible for these as well?

You seem to be a glass half empty guy so the questions seem relevant . Not comin at ya just makin an observation .

You seem to fail to recognise that there’s a league beyond the NFC North who thinks we’re mediocre at best. Not having a go at you, just making an observation.

I’ve supported the Bears emotionally and monetarily for 35 years. It would be nice to see ownership decide to give me the best product they can. That whole, sit down, shut up and take it cause you love the Bears argument is BS.

I hope that Lovie Smith manages to hire a real staff to support him, and takes this team to 6 straight Super Bowls. But that doesn’t change the fact that Smith has sucked it up over the past 3.

As to your Rivera arguments……In 3 seasons Rivera started 41 players at the 11 standard defensive positions. 15 in ‘04, 11 in ’05 and 15 in the Super Bowl ’06 season. Babich/Smith have started 42 players at the 11 standard positions in the three years since, 13 in ’07, 13 in ’08 and 16 in ’09. There’s not a whole lot of difference, bro. So having healthy players isn’t an issue that you can use to cover for Smith.

And the poor offensive calls argument holds even less water, as Rivera’s 3 seasons saw 2 of the 3 worst offensive seasons the Bears have offered since the 16 game seasons was implemented. meanwhile, ‘07, 08 and ’09 were the 9th, 8th and 4th worst seasons defensively in the 16 game era (which has now seen 32 years). The numbers don’t match your argument.

Bad player management I’ll give you…………

I don’t see the glass is half empty. I wrote a post defensing the talent level on this team less than a week ago. I think Angelo is salvageable with some help in offensive drafting. I see the possibility that Smith, who I happen to think is a great guy that I would love to sit down and talk football with, can turn this around with the right hires. But based on his personnel moves so far, I’m not holding my breath.

The Brass screwed us to save some bucks, and I think that gives the loyal fan-base the right to complain rather loudly, considering that we pay the bills.

None of that means that I will root against my Bears. I can’t even justify doing that for draft position in a horrible year =). I’ll live and die, weekly, by the Bears this season as I have every other. But suggesting that I’m somehow less of a fan, rooting against my Beloved Bears, because I disagree with the ownerships choice to save money and give us what is very likely (though by no means definitely) to be a wasted season and more pain, isn’t cool. It’s no more realistic than me suggesting that your shilling for the team and Lovie Smith helps the team to fail and makes you a worse fan.

I truly hope I’m eating my words at the end of the season, but none of it will change the fact that regardless what Smith and his new crew do in the future, he has screwed the pooch the last three seasons and has provided us with some of the worst offensive and defensive efforts this team has had……those are the facts. I just hope the facts of 2010 are different.

The offense has kept drives going; the defense has shut them down.

By CHIP SCOGGINS, Star Tribune

Last update: December 2, 2009 – 1:26 PM

Tarkenton: Overview of opinions
The Vikings have run 80 more offensive plays than their opponents this season, a significant gap that underscores their success on third down.

Third-down efficiency is one of the more important statistics in football, and the Vikings are excelling in that area on both sides of the ball. The Vikings lead the NFL in third-down defense and rank second in third-down offense.

The last team to lead the NFL in both third-down offense and third-down defense in the same season was the 1975 Vikings, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

“You look at traditionally what wins games and it’s third down and turnovers,” Pro Bowl left guard Steve Hutchinson said. “If you can eliminate turnovers and make the majority of your third downs, you’re going to be all right.”

The Vikings ability to convert third downs on offense and stop them on defense no doubt has contributed to their 10-1 start. Coach Brad Childress said the two work “hand in glove.”

“It’s a perfect storm when you can do that,” he said, “when you can stay on there as long as you want to.”

Not surprisingly, the Vikings have shown dramatic improvement on third downs with quarterback Brett Favre. They finished 19th in the league in third-down efficiency last season at 39.4 percent. They are at 48.7 percent this season, trailing only the Indianapolis Colts (49.6 percent).

The Vikings were 12 of 18 on third downs against the Bears on Sunday, and that included one kneel-down at the end of the game.

“It’s partly play-calling and partly execution on our part by the players,” wide receiver Sidney Rice said. “We’re just supposed to go out and execute on the plays that the coaches give us. Third downs [are] one of the things we talked about ever since the beginning of training camp.”

Favre is the NFL’s second-ranked passer on third down and has completed 77 of 112 passes (68.8 percent) for 1,020 yards and eight touchdowns in those situations.

His ability to spread the ball around has made the Vikings less predictable on third down. Consider:

• Rice ranks third in the NFL in third-down receiving yards (307) and rookie Percy Harvin is fourth (292).

• Chester Taylor leads all running backs and is sixth overall in third-down catches (19).

“Our wide receivers are doing their job, and Brett is doing his job,” tight end Visanthe Shiancoe said. “Our offensive line, they are doing their job of holding up the protection, protecting our quarterback. Our running backs are protecting our quarterback allowing him time to throw the ball to the wide receivers. It’s no longer where our wide receivers can’t get open. They have the ability now, and they are showing it.”

That has allowed Childress and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell to be more aggressive with their play calls. Third-and-long no longer seems impossible for the offense. The average distance on their 12 third-down conversions against the Bears was 6 yards.

“Usually we’re not bad from 3 to 6 [yards],” Childress said. “If we can get it down to manageable, we’re not bad. And you have to make your share when you have a third-and-13.”

The Vikings defense was one of the league’s best on third down last season and is slightly better statistically this season. Their opponents have converted only 32.8 percent of third-down opportunities.

The Vikings also have held opponents to 43 three-and-out series on 127 possessions, which is the highest percentage (.339) in the NFL.

“That’s very critical,” cornerback Cedric Griffin said. “We pride ourselves on stopping the run, and then making the offense have a long [distance] to get down the field — third-and-7, third-and-12. That’s just a high-percentage advantage for the defense. So if we can put those guys in that position, we’ll take it all day.”

they returned the comment I made prior to the comment I made below.