[CBFF] They finally extended Lovie!!!

[Steve Behrens]

Ok, I am now prepared to say that the Chicago Bears are, indeed, an elite
football squad with top notch talent, *and* management.  I can't believe I'm
saying this, but getting Angelo re-signed as well is a very good move.  (Did
I just say that?)

Grossman gets better (more consistent), and the return of Harris.....  I
like our chances next year.

-Behr


On 3/1/07, Ross McCoy <ross.mccoy at amd.com> wrote:
>
> Jerry,
>
> I think your last statement stands alone as a true statement:
>
> "If the Bears make it back to the Super Bowl next year, it would be
> extremely impressive."
>
> That being said, I take the opposite view from you on the pre-season
> view of last year vs. this year.
>
> 2006 Concern: Rex is an unknown at QB which is injury prone and not much
>   better than a rookie QB. Likely will have to fall back to the jouneyman
>   Griese.
> 2006 Reality: Rex made it through the whole season and looked impressive
> at
>   times. There are still unknowns here, but the kinds of errors which he
>   made could easily be due to lack of experience.
> 2007 Outlook: Rex is still not where we need him to be from a consistency
>   perspective, but overall it is more likely he can be our QB long term
> than
>   we knew at this point last year (at least this is my take when you strip
>   away the media berating).
>
> 2006 Concern: Our line is getting old with very little depth behind them.
> There
>   is a high probability we will lose guys due to injury and our QB will
> get
>   killed.
> 2006 Reality: Line remained healthy and was one of the better offensive
> lines
>   in the league.
> 2007 Outlook: (see 2006 Concern...)
>
> 2006 Concern: We only have one proven WR in Muhammed and nothing else.
> Media
>   is killing us for not doing something here in FA.
> 2006 Reality: Berrain was solid and Bradley showed flashes, but still
> seems
>   injury prone and inconsistent. Davies was a solid 3rd in a 3 WR set.
> 2007 Outlook: We could live without getting someone to bolster this
> position
>   and be ok. Much like the LB position, it is more of a want to upgrade
> than
>   a need to upgrade. Also depends on whether you see Hester as an option
>   here...
>
> 2006 Concern: We have no tight ends! Media constantly reminds us the sky
> is
>   falling and we better do something in the draft...
> 2006 Reality: We got decent production out of Desmond Clark and he was a
>   legitimate option in the offense.
> 2007 Outlook: We could still use a tight end. I don't have any confidence
>   in Reid or any of the other guys behind Clark, but I doubt picking
> someone
>   up here will have any real impact other than give us depth.
>
> 2006 Concern: Who will take Azumah's nickel CB role?
> 2006 Reality: Manning (once cleared of legal problems) had more
> interceptions
>   than his predecessor and seems like a good addition to the team.
> 2007 Outlook: We still need depth here for 4 WR sets and as a backup
> because
>   there is a pretty big fall-off from Manning to Wesley.
>
> Who really thought we would be in the SB at the beginning of the season?
> I figured we would be a good team and the defense could carry us like they
> did in 2005, but once Mike Brown and Tommie Harris were out, I wouldn't
> have given them a chance to make it that far from an objective perspective
> (i.e. putting down the Bear's Kool Aid mug).
>
> Maybe I am overly optimistic as it is incredibly difficult to make it to
> the Super Bowl once, but I would say we are in a far better position to
> make it this year than last. IF we can keep healthy and IF our young
> talent
> continues to improve. If there was one position that I am really squeamish
> about (if it wasn't obvious), it is the offensive line. The line is
> getting
> very old in football terms and I don't have a lot of confidence in our
> backups.
> RB if we lose Jones, it would be a blow, but if Benson stays reasonably
> healthy, I can live with Peterson as a backup (and presumably this will
> open
> up an additional draft choice if Jones is traded, so maybe you pick up
> someone else there). Here is what my FA and draft wish list would look
> like
> (in order of importance from my perspective):
>
> FA:
> 1) OL - I would love to get a backup tackle, but I am not convinced we
> would
>   get anyone better than St. Clair in a reasonable price range on the
> market,
>   so a OC/OG would be fine.
>
> 2) SS - We really don't need another young guy at this position, but
> depending
>   on what your expectations are for Mike Brown staying healthy, we could
>   consider bringing in a little higher dollar player as a possible
> starter,
>   but you can only do this if you are willing to give up on Brown (or can
>   get him to renegotiate his contract with playing time incentvies). If
>   you don't touch Brown's contract or status I don't know that you will be
>   able to upgrade from Todd Johnson/Chris Harris in a backup's salary
>   slot. You would just have to hope they they mature into the role (as we
>   are already doing with Danieal Manning).
>
> 3) CB - With the frequency of 3 or 4WR sets we really need 4 decent
> quality
>   CBs and we have 3 (Vasher,Peanut and Manning). Unless you really think
>   Hester can step up in this position, we need someone else (preferably
>   with some experience because I don't think there will be any rookies
>   where we are picking which will be able to step into this role).
>
> Draft:
> 1) OT - This is a player which you almost have to draft to not overpay and
>        hope they can evolve to a starting quality player.
> 2) TE - Like I said beyond Clark there isn't much here
> 3) CB - This would be the easiest of the 3 above positions to put a rookie
>        into because all of your other guys are veteran.
> 4) LB - Depth (although I honestly don't know much about the guys we
>        have on the roster since the LB corps have been healthy)
> 5) OL - Did I mention offensive line? I would do this even if we pick up a
> FA
>        and a tackle early in the draft.
> 6) WR - Assuming Hester isn't evaluated to be a WR, someone else here
>        wouldn't be bad (time for Gage to go).
>
> Other thoughts/opinions?
>
> Ross
>
> Jerry Madsen (jerrywm at gmail.com) writes:
> > In spite of my mixed feelings about Lovie Smith, this is a good thing
> > for the Bears.  Getting both Angelo and Lovie inked brings some
> > continuity to the Bears for the 2007 season, which I estimate to be a
> > difficult road ahead.  I don't think continuity is something we're
> > going to see a lot of with this club between now and next season's
> > end.
> >
> > There have been several coaching staff changes.  Thomas Jones is
> > likely gone.  Ruben Brown's contract situation is up in the air.  The
> > Lance Briggs situation may result in who-knows-what.  Mike Brown may
> > be back but you never know for how long.  We don't know how well
> > Tommie Harris will bounce back from a major injury.
> >
> > Add in the fact that recent history hasn't been kind to recent Super
> > Bowl losers and the tougher schedule, and there is plenty about the
> > 2007 season that already looks nothing like the 2006 season.  For that
> > reason alone, the continuity of Lovie and Jerry is important.
> >
> > If the Bears make it back to the Super Bowl next year, it would be
> > extremely impressive.
> >
> > Jerry
> >
> > On 3/1/07, Jim Ferolie <ferolie at charter.net> wrote:
> > > That's still below market value, which is fine as long as Lovie is
> happy. I
> > > think Tom's makes a good point.
> > >
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From: "Kenny Claxton" <kenny.claxton at gmail.com>
> > >
> > >
> > > > He received a 2 or 3 million (too tired to look it up) dollar bonus
> for
> > > > this
> > > > year in addition to his salary.
> > > >
> > > > On 3/1/07, Tom Shannon <tshanno at gmail.com> wrote:
> > > >>
> > > >> I guess what I'm saying here is, at minimum, it was a fair
> deal.  But if
> > > >> I
> > > >> had to choose one side that "won", I'm inclined to think that the
> Bears
> > > >> are
> > > >> getting a top ten coach for what will turn out to be less money
> than
> > > >> that.
> > > >>
> > >
> > >
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> > >
> >
> >
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>
>
>
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