Emery and Lovie: What does the new GM mean for the coach?
by Sam Householder on Feb 3, 2012 3:00 PM CST
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The Phil Emery hire was a good one, and I like it, as a lot of Bears fans do, but he isn't exactly going to shake up Halas Hall or somehow drastically change the way things are done. The team and the man himself have already said this. Mainly everything is the same as when Jerry Angelo was in charge, except, the hope is that Emery can actually evaluate and pick good talent. One of the bigger things people have been harping on about is that Emery is stuck with, for better or worse, Lovie Smith for the 2012 season.
So then Lovie, let's see what you got.
So bringing in a new GM is a good opportunity for him. Lovie has had to work with the talent he was given by Jerry Angelo, and sure, he had say in the process too, he's in the war room on draft day but Angleo had FINAL say, just as Emery will.
Emery could and I think will, see things differently than Angelo, he'll look for different attributes and value certain things that maybe JA didn't. That's good for Lovie.
Just as we all seem to make excuses for Jay Cutler and why this offense hasn't taken off and he become an elite quarterback, Lovie has the same problem. What's he got to work with? His defense is usually pretty good, but just like Cutler, the team has no offensive line or wide receivers. There is only so much a coach can do. Plus, there really hasn't been a lot of consistent talent along the defensive line or safety spot.
Get on Lovie all you want for the revolving door at safety, you aren't wrong, but then again what's he got to work with? He can only get the best guys to play when they are healthy and even if they are healthy, he can only work with what the GM gives him.
Phil Emery cannot work miracles in one off season, there are a lot of areas and things he has on his plate right away and even some job openings he isn't going to be able to fill until after the draft. I am not saying that Emery is some how make this team the most talented roster in the league (although I am sure inexplicably Lovie and Urlacher will say this is the best team since the '06 team, even better perhaps).
I do think though that Lovie has gotten the most out of each and every team he has coached in his time in Chicago and I believe he's got two years now to prove just how good of a coach he is. Emery will hopefully bring in better-fitting puzzle pieces than JA did and Lovie can really cement his place in Chicago Bears coaching history.
He is running out of excuses though, and now, it's all up to him.
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right now Lovie has more problems than Cutler has.
in addition to a crappy Oline and no WR’s there are like 14 players from the current roster in F/A.
Phil hasn’t made any moves yet that would improve Lovie’s lot, and to be fair he has only been on the job a couple of days and F/A hasn’t started yet.
. "Most football teams are temperamental. That's 90% temper and 10% mental."
--Doug Plank
I could be very wrong
because I obviously have no insider information…but I think Lovie Smith struggles with evaluating and appreciating offensive talent, and needs to rely heavily on his offensive coordinators…I hope, with a coach who has an eye for O-Line & TE talent for sure, and has experienced working with elite RBs and WRs in the past, that the Lovie & Mike Tice relationship finally gives Chicago a chance to mature on BOTH sides of the ball. Lovie obviously knows Defense, and appreciates special teams as seen with how far the team has often gone to support the needs and wants of Toub…If we can at least reciprocate that a little bit to the offense, we could actually put out an annual contender.
Even in the off years (2008 & 2009 really, because 2007 though inconsistent was a still a rather good defensive year for Chicago) Smith has had at least a middle of the pack defense in the most important categories (3rd down defense, scoring defense, turnovers…all far more important than yards imo). I think Emery has a decent eye for offensive talent, having spent time in/around some of the teams he has worked with and players he has had a hand in drafting. That might be all we need.
I think Lovie, saddled with a talented O-Coordinator, and a decent talent evaluator, can be a Super Bowl winning coach. I doubt he has the full football grasp of a Bill Belichek, but knows enough and is good enough to get us what we want. but what do I know.
"just as Gary Fencik will go down as the last person to catch a Joe Namath pass, Wootton will be remembered in NFL history as the last player to sack Brett Favre." - John "Moon" Mullin
by Brendan Hess on Feb 3, 2012 7:08 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
I don't think your very wrong
you could very well be right
. "Most football teams are temperamental. That's 90% temper and 10% mental."
--Doug Plank
And that, is how Ed delivers a compliment!
I concur completely.
Above all; keep 'em guessing, never let them lose their sense of confusion.
ok Brendan is pretty awsome sometimes
. "Most football teams are temperamental. That's 90% temper and 10% mental."
--Doug Plank
I've been sayin that same thing for some time now . I'm just glad some .....
….. other folks round these parts are see that too !
" Everyone has a plan 'till they get punched in the mouth. " ~
Mike Tyson
by MidWayMonster54 on Feb 3, 2012 9:16 PM CST up reply actions
I am not sure...
that Lovie is going to be in Chicago beyond the 2012 season. Emery will have to hit on almost every player in FA and the draft to dramatically improve this team. While I do think Lovie has done an admirable job with sub-par talent, he just doesn’t have the tactical savvy to WIN without superior talent. I have said this enough times to add it to my sig line, but Lovie may not be the problem with the Bears team, but he’s also not going to be the solution. My prediction is that the Bears miss the playoffs at 9-7 next season and Lovie and Ted are both sent away. I hope at a minimum, Emery can start to build a team from the lines outward, but it is likely to be real ugly for about 2-3 years while he does.
There's a fine line between stupid...and clever!
you might be right but,
with a healthy Cutler & Forte Lovie went 19-9 recently, That is actually too good of a record to call accidental. Now Tice will likely run a more conservative offense that eats up the clock but scores fewer points than (he who shan’t be named), which in turn will help Lovie’s defense. Cutler and Forte stay healthy and it is not inconceivable to think the Bears will do better than 9-7. When Urlacher, Tillman, Briggs & Peppers retire would be a good time to gut the team and rebuild. Emery might find he works well with Lovie, or just the opposite it’s going to be no fun waiting for things to happen.
other than the continuous denouncements of (those who shan’t be mentioned)
. "Most football teams are temperamental. That's 90% temper and 10% mental."
--Doug Plank
the team we had in 2011
could have made the playoffs. Its easy to say could have, but losing a starting QB destroys a lot of teams. With that being said, we bring back Cutler, Forte, and Carimi. We have some holes to fill and some work to do, but this team is not in a big rebuild yet…and I doubt Smith gets canned if we are a playoff team.
"just as Gary Fencik will go down as the last person to catch a Joe Namath pass, Wootton will be remembered in NFL history as the last player to sack Brett Favre." - John "Moon" Mullin
by Brendan Hess on Feb 4, 2012 10:58 AM CST up reply actions
Nice read
I agree that Lovie is one of the better coaches in the league. He’s a very calm, collected guy who has the support of his players, which is absolutely invaluable
Depending on the moves we make in F/A and the Draft, the 53-man roster come September may in fact be the best Lovie has had to work with during his tenure here…
I thought he was auditioning for a
Subway “5$ Footlong” commercial…..
by David in Maine on Feb 3, 2012 3:58 PM CST up reply actions
give me 5 new WR's?
. "Most football teams are temperamental. That's 90% temper and 10% mental."
--Doug Plank
by ed_brown on Feb 3, 2012 4:03 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
Talk to the hand cuz the face don't wanna hear it?
by frenchbears113 on Feb 3, 2012 4:40 PM CST up reply actions
Lovie To Virginia Mccaskey
Imagine how this hand is going to feel on your body after the game
by dicksingletary on Feb 3, 2012 5:38 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
nice post
unfortunately, i think phil has a lot more on his plate than people realize. not only does he have the obvious and immediate needs at oline, wr and safety but 1/4 of the roster are free agents, and then there is the fact that all of the defensive anchors are in their 30’s (pep, urlacher, briggs and peanut). not to mention the fact that there is no clear cut back up for forte, no final answer at the corner opposite tillman, questions about jay’s back ups and the enigmatic d-line. when you think about it, there are probably only seven starting positions on both sides of the bal that are cut and dried – the rest are up in the air…
while i understand the frustration of many fans who wanted a complete purge at halas hall, i think that the mccaskeys (and phillips) actually did the right thing by not completely blowing things up, and they followed it up by picking a solid (although unspectacular) guy with an eye for the talent that we need to fill the gaps that angelo left.
If Emery gets Lovie just a little more talent (is one WR and one solid LT too much?),
the Bears will be back in the playoffs next year.
Well....
If you mean a body, then no, but if you asking for a team to find a real stud starting LT and WR in the same off-season who can perform immediately…then yeah, it might be.
"just as Gary Fencik will go down as the last person to catch a Joe Namath pass, Wootton will be remembered in NFL history as the last player to sack Brett Favre." - John "Moon" Mullin
not going to be easy to get the pro-bowler WR either,
players are usually willing to sign for less with their current teams so it’s not just about the money.
. "Most football teams are temperamental. That's 90% temper and 10% mental."
--Doug Plank
Depending on what line of thinking you follow we may not need a "stud" at receiver.
When we got Cutty this site was all, “Now we finally have a great QB. He’ll make our receivers better.” And he did. I really believe he did. But what he did was make 3rd stringers into modest 2nd stringers. We don’t need a home run on a receiver. Just someone very solid. And don’t count out Earl Bennett. He’s got great rapport with Jay.
Above all; keep 'em guessing, never let them lose their sense of confusion.
let's hope Emery can bring in a couple of WR's
of which Cutty can make one look like a #1
. "Most football teams are temperamental. That's 90% temper and 10% mental."
--Doug Plank
New to the site
Finding great o linemen in free agency is extremely difficult and I’m hoping Emery can make up for Angelo’s shortcomings in the draft. There’s a lot of good WRs in FA and they need to bring at least one here, not asking for an All-Pro but an above average guy that actually resembles an NFL WR which we don’t have
welcome!
When Mike Ditka calculates pi it's decimal representation ends.
by Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. on Feb 3, 2012 8:30 PM CST via iPhone app up reply actions
I agree with you on wide receiver
But I don’t think we “need a great” O lineman. We’ll get back last years first round pick who graded out very well before his injury. Plus we’ll improve at guard with the return of Williams. Add a solid tackle (good, not great and there are a few) and the line will be fine.
Above all; keep 'em guessing, never let them lose their sense of confusion.
true
I look at it as addition by subtraction, make the obvious decision and remove whatever you can get Carimi back and healthy and see what transpires once FA starts. As long as I don’t have to see J Webb get worked by every other DE thus getting our QB murdered I’ll be fine
by LatinoHeat88 on Feb 3, 2012 10:00 PM CST up reply actions
Welcome to WCG!
Jay Cutler is our QB, and I for one am proud of that
by Erik Christopher Duerrwaechter on Feb 4, 2012 8:13 AM CST up reply actions
Seems like some bull
Lovie is a great coach who has been hindered by Turner… no Martz… no Jerry… and Lovies has success in spite of them. Um no.
I seriously doubt Lovies hands aren’t dirty in the teams talent gap. Even if Jerry had FINAL say in drafts and FAs, I doubt Jerry and Lovie were duking it out about who not to draft.
That said I believe Lovie should have been shown the door last go round instead of extended. How does Emery and Harbaugh sound? Now that said I think keeping Lovie for 2012 is probably the right call. Lovie has the locker room support and a complete rebuild could be messy, especially when the status quo is the front office objective.
by TheMan1 on Feb 3, 2012 7:38 PM CST via mobile reply actions
Why are you so sure
That Harbaugh would have signed with the Bears? Coming from the head coaching gig at Stanford, he already was established in the Bay area. It was obvious that San Francisco already had a lot of talent. They just had an amazingly incompetent coach. (Sorry, Mike, I still luvs ya.) Harbaugh is clearly a talented coach, but for all that, he hasn’t reached the Super Bowl, which Lovie has done. And really, if you think about it, they had an amazingly similar team to the ’06 Bears. Both teams had amazing defenses, great special teams and average QBs. Although Alex Smith was a lot less Choketastic than Rex.
by Corncob Justice on Feb 3, 2012 10:58 PM CST up reply actions
Never said Harbaugh is better or would sign here
Just Harbaugh/Emery sounds better than Lovie to me. I have heard too many excuses stacked on top of excuses over the last multiple years. Personally I’ve had enough Lovie. Not saying he’s the worst coach or even a bad coach just that many here want to blame everyone but him and as the HC, it should start and end with him, team performance wise. Eventually he is going to need judged based on his teams performance not dismissed to due an injured player, OC, GM, beer not cold enough, field turf or whatever the newest excuse is.
I think we have seen how much pull Lovie has at Halas Hall and I connot concieve with all that pull, JA was picking players Lovie didn’t have a say in and that it’s poor Lovie getting the short end of the talent stick.
by TheMan1 on Feb 4, 2012 4:22 AM CST via mobile up reply actions
What does the new GM mean for the coach?
Phil Emery is poised like a gun to the head of Lovie Smith and his coaching staff; a not so subtle threat to Lovie that, his days as a head coach in Chicago are numbered if he doesn’t produce a playoff appearance. Granted, Emery has agreed to stand pat with Smith as HC – for now, however, the fact that Emery’s contract extends a lot longer than Smith’s gives him the upper hand. No matter that Emery and Smith are friends – this is a business, after all.
"Losers always whine about their best. Winners go home and f**k the prom queen."
where I come from friends don't hold loaded guns to the heads of their friends even over business.
so it is unlikely that they are friends.
. "Most football teams are temperamental. That's 90% temper and 10% mental."
--Doug Plank
re friends
I read elsewhere that Smith and Emery had a past history, and while they probably aren’t going to take long, hot showers together and swap spit, they are on friendly terms and not arch enemies bent on each other’s destruction. My point is that the metaphor is accurate and Lovie has got to know the Sword of Damocles is hanging over his head. How’s that for mixing metaphors, ed.
"Losers always whine about their best. Winners go home and f**k the prom queen."
Seriously, Every middle manager in America knows that feeling.
It is just a little less subtle in the NFL
. "Most football teams are temperamental. That's 90% temper and 10% mental."
--Doug Plank
Have I ever told you you're one of my favorite posters?
You and my dear Allie. Among a few others. That said, I agree. But I also agree with Ed on this. I doubt they are friends. They get along. Perhaps.
Above all; keep 'em guessing, never let them lose their sense of confusion.
you don't have to be friends to work well with your boss
actually it is easier if you are not friends.
. "Most football teams are temperamental. That's 90% temper and 10% mental."
--Doug Plank
i agree, ed is one of my fav posters too.
"Losers always whine about their best. Winners go home and f**k the prom queen."
He ment you Mael
I am one of his biggest headaches
. "Most football teams are temperamental. That's 90% temper and 10% mental."
--Doug Plank
Occasionally.
Sometimes we can play nice together.
Above all; keep 'em guessing, never let them lose their sense of confusion.
I too agree with this
What I also think this means is one major wake-up call for Lovie Smith to step up his efforts as the HC. This is a message that came from high management to both Lovie Smith and Ted Phillips, which might sound like this “Alright, we’ve fired one of you 3 stooges, now win or else!”.
Jay Cutler is our QB, and I for one am proud of that
by Erik Christopher Duerrwaechter on Feb 4, 2012 8:13 AM CST up reply actions
I agree with you but would add that even if they make the playoffs
I hope Emery doesn’t automatically extend Lovie’s contract. Especially if they they don’t get to the Super Bowl. I really feel like Lovie has to prove that he can be consistant in getting to the playoffs and not continue with this make it one year and miss a year or two or three.
I’m not saying fire him if he makes the playoffs, but just do it two seasons in a row before you give him another contract extension.
Agreed but
It really looks like the McCaskeys/Phillips have gone way out of their way to give Lovie nothing but the benefit of the doubt and extra chances. And recently, Phillips has talked about how he hopes to re-sign Smith after the season. I really think that the only way Lovie goes is if the Bears finish 8-8 or worse, again.
And even if we miss the playoffs, we will here a laundry list of exuses (things that happened that were beyond Lovies control), and how the players still played hard for him under tough circustances which just prooves that he deserves to stay.
You're probably right but I'm really sick of that "the players play hard for him" line.
As I’ve said a million times before, they said the same thing when Jauron was the coach. If they play hard and they are the right players, then the rest of what he does as a coach sucks. They are professional athletes and they should be playing hard because they’re paid to do so no matter who the coach is.
It’s that thought process that keeps us stuck in mediocrity, in my opinion.
+1
I’ve never bought into the “players like Lovie so that must make him a good coach, theory.” But the thing that no one on WCG seems to want to consider is: why do professional NFL players need to “like” their coach in order to “play hard?”
The bottom line should be results, not popularity with the players. Do the New England players all “like” Belichick? How “likeable” and popular is Coughlin with his guys? Yet who’s playing in the Super Bowl while the Bears are sitting at home?
New to the site.
I’ve been reading WCG for a while but have never commented. I don’t know if anyone has commented on this but it goes along the lines of Jerry Angelo and his draft decisions. I don’t recall where I saw this, but I think It was the 2010 draft and one of the scouts had RB James Starks on the phone. Jerry comes walking in while the scout is telling Starks that the Bears were about to pick him. Jerry tells whoever that person was that the Bears were going to take the LeFevour kid from Northwestern instead. The scout says “but I just told him we are going to pick him”…Jerry pretty much goes oh well. Starks goes on to play for “THEM who shall not be named” and gets a SB ring. Emery has to be better than JA…He has to be…
Welcome!
And that’s an interesting story. If you can find a link to that story, it would certainly be something to look into.
Jay Cutler is our QB, and I for one am proud of that
by Erik Christopher Duerrwaechter on Feb 4, 2012 5:43 PM CST up reply actions
hello people
who really knows, we wont be able to really decide how this fits until at least the pre season. Lets see what the team looks like after the new gm’s draft, the new oc’s improved system, free agents, etc.
I respect your OPINION but i also value the FACTS, To save time, lets just ASSume IM NEVER WRONG
by Tommy Ohyeah Mcduffie on Feb 5, 2012 3:27 PM CST reply actions
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