More good news for the Pack.
One for the ages for Vikings fans today… 
Well, the Packers find a way to fuck the Bears even in defeat. Can’t say I’m shocked. Not all that bummed either. A Bears playoff game would have been a lot of fun I suppose and I would have liked to get another crack at the 49ers, but in the grand scheme they just didn’t have enough offense to make any real noise. I guess I should be more optimistic after seeing what wild card teams have done in recent years, but this offense is just too vanilla and limited.
I guess it’s time for the annual debate to start on if Lovie gets the boot or not. This year it looks like a lot of long tenured guys are being shown the door, Reid, Turner, Ryan maybe even Garrett too. Going to be a few other openings amongst the also-rans. Do the Bears want to shit-can Lovie and take their chances on the open market? Do they want to make a run at Cowher or Gruden? Would they consider Turner or Reid in the hope of invigorating the offense? Can they compete on the market for the big names with an aging roster, terrible O line and a QB with a terrible Q-rating and questionable coach-ability?
I’m not sure how I feel. I’ve been a Lovie hater for a long time. I think he’s a terrible game-day coach and is one of the least creative minds out there. He’s also bad at scouting: college, NFL and internally. That said, our players play really hard for him. There’s never any quit. We’re incredibly stable and for all the Lovie hate, our defenses are always average at worst and typically outstanding when healthy. That’s a credit to him, I’m just not sure that it’s enough to deserve to keep a job when it’ll never win you playoff games in this modern era.
I know I won’t weep if the Bears fire him, but I am legitimately worried that any replacement would be a step back. I don’t love the idea of Cowher or Gruden, I think both are pretty overrated but their records are pretty solid (at least when Gruden has a GM to help him out). Plus I have a hunch Gruden is happy to stay in TV and Cowher might just end up in Carolina if Rivera is canned.
Would Turner consider a OC job? I kinda doubt it, but that would probably be the best scenario for the Bears if they keep Lovie. Does Reid just need a change of scenery and would he need to be the GM too? Is there a college coach worth gambling on? I’d love Chip Kelly but I don’t think his style would work in Chicago (or be welcome by the powers that be) and if he goes pro it’ll probably be to San Diego or somewhere out west.
All I know is that the Bears need change. Cutler probably isn’t going anywhere and I don’t really want him to, though I’m curious how much of the offense’s limitations are due to his inability or unwillingness to stick to game plan. Forte isn’t worth the money and we need some youth in the backfield eventually. They need to find a left tackle and a left guard immediately. The WRs are actually looking pretty good though we need something more consistent in the slot. We also need a TE desperately. I think the offense is fixable, but I’m not convinced Tice is the guy to do it, the only time we were successful was when Cutler improvised or forced it to Marshall. We need to get more easy yards through matchups/strategy to be more consistent.
The defense is old as hell but still Super Bowl caliber. At some point we’re going to have to free up some of that money tied into Urlacher, Peppers and Briggs and give it to offensive lineman. The defense wins us games, but against good teams you need to score and injuries can really kill us at the end of the season. If Lovie goes I think it’s the beginning of the end for these veterans. If Lovie goes I bet Urlacher retires. If we rebuild I’d like to see Peppers traded while he’s still valuable too, but it’s probably not gonna happen.
I guess that’s a long-winded rambling way to say that I have no idea what the right decision is. We’re the only 10-6 team on the outside looking in. We’re not a bad team and we are probably a better team than 2 or 3 playoff teams. But the arrow isn’t pointing up anymore and it’s not like we’ve got any up-and-coming players in waiting. Lovie has proven he’ll never be able to fix this offense, but I’m not sure I want to sit through a long rebuilding process either. Can the organization replace Lovie without one? I doubt it, but do we have a choice?
Correction, All-Knowing One: The Vikings just fucked the bears into hibernation and the packers into a a game they never thought they’d have to play. Enjoy the time off to reflect on what should have been! Meanwhile, I’ll thoroughly enjoy a team exceeding expectations and playing games beyond their loftiest projections.
Adrian Peterson is the MVP. You all knew he was coming and you couldn’t stop him.
Agreed. As far as regular season games go, this one ranks pretty high. Sending the bears home in their supposed prime is pretty sweet. Also great to be the team to break the packers’ 12 game division win streak. The lions couldn’t do it. The bears couldn’t do it. The Vikings did it.
You have six days to enjoy it. Next Saturday, in Lambeau Field, the Vikings can begin prepping for next year.
Enjoy the 6 days prepping for the Vikings. Again. Instead of resting.
Usually the Packers piss me off by winning. It figures that when I want them to win that they piss me off by losing. I hated rooting for Green Bay today, and I’ll hate rooting for the Vikings next weekend.
Eh. This could coincide with my lack of care in football, but I’m fine with Schwartz staying a little longer.
Last night’s Packers-Vikings game would have been a hellava playoff game. Wow.
I fully expect the Vikings to get pasted in Green Bay on Saturday, but I don’t care - this really is one of those times when I’m just happy the Vikings give us one more week to see the greatest running back in the NFL right now. No expectations coming in - I had them at 6-10 or maybe 7-9, tops - but they played some great football the last month or so, particularly on the road at a very good Houston team and then against strong Super Bowl contenders.
Unfortunately, it’s painfully obvious that Rogers will be able to throw at will on the Vikings - the Pack put up 34 points in basically 3 quarters of football; he could do that in one half, at home in a playoff game.
But man, can you imagine what the Vikings could do with Percy Harvin healthy? I’m not convinced Ponder is the QB to get the Vikings to the promised land, but good god, look at his receiving corps! It might be the worst group in the entire league.
Which just makes Peterson’s running so ridiculous. How the HELL can you run for 200 yards a game when the opposing team can stuff 9 people in the box every down? Maybe Ponder’s long bombs yesterday (he threw four - four! - passes of over 15 yards, his most in a game IIRC. Rogers has that seemingly every quarter) will give the Pack something to think about…
Anyway, my playoff picks right now:
Houston over Cincinnati: Houston too good to lose three games in a row.
Green Bay over Vikings: Too much Rogers. Vikings a year or so away
Colts over Ravens: I’m not betting against Chuckstrong.
Redskins over Seattle: I’d go Seahawks if this was in Seattle.
Chicago’s record against playoff teams this year: 2-6.
Some “expert” in the bar yesterday said the Cowher deal was already done, just waiting to announce it. So by previous experience with idiots in bars you can pretty much count that one out. 
I wouldn’t be so hard on them, they won the same number of games against playoff teams as the Falcons, Redskins, Bengals, Broncos, and Ravens did. The Falcons were 2-0 against playoff teams, the Redskins and Bengals were 2-2, the Broncos were 2-3, and the Ravens were 2-4. How does one team play 2 games against playoff teams, while another plays 8 games?
Note that my counts may be incorrect, but I’m not going to double check.
Oh, and yay! Vikings.
Looks like Lovie is out.
As for the Packers, as well as the Vikings played, I kind of feel like the Packers gave that one away. The key play was Tramon Williams idiotic hands to the face penalty that essentially gave the Vikings a TD versus a FG. but there were plenty of other mistakes along the way. I do think the Packers win at home on Saturday, though.
In case you missed it, it’s official. Lovie is done.
Reports have the Bears looking to interview Mike McCoy the OC of the Broncos. I like the direction, though I don’ have a ton of insight into McCoy’s abilities.
I’m guessing he’ll catch on with another team at least as a DC. He is (and to a lesser extent his defense is) very good at taking advantage of bad teams making mistakes and at not losing badly. I think his worldview of NFL football (strong defense and special teams) is outdated and he needs special players at DE and MLB to make it work, but some team will give him a shot.
As to the Bears, I’m guessing they definitely go with a more offensive minded coach. It will be interesting to see how the dynamic between Jay and the new coach works out, because, as I’m sure you know, I think Cutler is a pouty little kid who needs to get his way or he gets all sad. Not that he’s any great shakes even when he gets his toys, but if the new coach has a system that doesn’t fit Cutler’s game or is a “my way or the highway” kind of coach, it could be fun.
Cutler’s contract is the next huge issue for the Bears now, and I think a good chunk of the issues surrounding that will depend on who the new head coach and OC will be.
Yup, you’re right. We’ll see if his new team reels in his power over the offense and forces him to adapt to the modern era. I think it’s a safe bet that he’s a HC in 2013. He might choose to take a year off, but I don’t see him as a DC. He’s overqualified and frankly he’s not a good enough game-planner/play-caller any more. Both Buffalo and Arizona make great sense for him.
I don’t think Cutler’s going anywhere and the contract will take care of itself. His average performance so far and bad rep will make him reasonably affordable as far as experienced, athletic QBs go.
The real change will be on defense. Urlacher will probably retire and if Tillman doesn’t fit the new scheme he might get traded. Melton will be a free agent and while they absolutely should try and bring him back it might be really expensive.
Hester might be done, and while it’d be a surprise if Forte were done this year he might be on a really short leash depending on the offensive system in place.
well part of it is that the Bears had two teams in their division that were playoff teams, while the Falcons had only one and it was them. So that’s 4-0 right there. teams in the playoffs are generally going to play fewer teams in the playoffs because they cannot play themselves.
Why in the world is a playoff team firing their head coach?
The Bears aren’t in the playoffs.