Lovie Smith ripped in PFW article

[Wolverines Fan]

http://www.profootballweekly.com/PFW/The+W...07/wwhi2218.htm

 

The Bears’ necessities

Improved coaching is the key to cleaning up defending NFC champs’ disappointing act

 

Nov. 5, 2007

 

In his first full-scale press conference in the Bears’ bye week, head coach Lovie Smith didn’t waste words.

“We’re 3-5,” he kept repeating. “And the blame starts at the top with me.”

 

The way we hear it, well-connected sources around the league couldn’t agree more with Smith’s self-assessment, as they survey what has become a sorry scene that they believe really took root after Smith received a lucrative new contract shortly after the Bears’ Super Bowl loss to the Colts.

 

Quickly, Smith started asserting his newfound power in ways that many close team observers feel have proven to be detrimental to the team. Not only did he revamp his coaching staff with longtime allies whose performances so far this season have been, in some cases, disturbingly shaky. His voice also grew stronger in personnel matters — a kiss of death that has backfired in the face of many a head coach in recent years.

Smith’s suspect abilities as a personnel evaluator go way back to his days as the defensive coordinator for the St. Louis Rams, when he emphatically endorsed free-agent addition Jamie Duncan as a replacement at middle linebacker for departed free agent London Fletcher — an obviously inaccurate call that Rams insiders tell us is as responsible for that team’s decline in recent years as any.

 

Smith’s personnel shortcomings with the Bears have been most noticeably on display in the case of beleaguered RB Cedric Benson, whose 3.1-yards-per-carry average over the first eight games sticks out like a sore thumb on what has become an inconsistent and often dysfunctional offense. According to our sources, Smith has been, and continues to be, the biggest backer of the Bears’ 2005 first-round draft pick, who has not been able to replace the traded Thomas Jones as expected. “Benson has been a major disappointment,” one longtime pro talent evaluator told PFW. ”He drops the ball all the time in the passing game because he’s worried about getting hit, he’s below average as a pass protector and is an average-to-below-average runner.”

 

The early assessment leaguewide on the Bears’ 2007 draft, in which Smith had considerable input, is equally critical.

“They got nothing out of the draft except the first-round pick (TE Greg Olsen),” one source told PFW. “(No. 2 pick) Dan Bazuin has been a complete bust. He may have been cut if he were not injured.”

 

There are other personnel decisions the first half of the season that have proven costly — most notably moving Danieal Manning back and forth from safety to corner and asking him to know the responsibilities of two positions in only his second year and starting Mark Anderson, a subpar run defender who is best-suited to be a change-of-pace situational pass rusher, ahead of Alex Brown.

 

“They have been their own worst enemy,” another league source said. “They are just out of sync right now. The only thing that has been consistent from last year to this has been the special teams, and now Robbie Gould is missing short field goals.”

 

Smith’s reputation as a player’s coach has also come back to haunt him, according to one team insider. “A lot of the players have taken advantage of him,” he said. “Too many of the veteran guys have gotten practice days off or have just gone through the motions in practice. Dating back to training camp, the starting offensive linemen, all of whom seem to have gotten old overnight, all missed multiple practices.”

 

Our sources believe the defense’s consistently poor tackling, the O-line’s consistently shaky blocking, especially in run situations, and the receivers’ inability to hold on to catches — after leading the league in fewest drops with 12 last season, they already have 22 through eight games — are hardly a coincidence.

 

The bottom line?

 

“Lovie created his own mess,” said one league insider. “And if he doesn’t get it cleaned within another year with the caliber of talent on the roster, he could be old news by the end of next season with a new captain running the show in 2009.”