THE DOMINOES FALL: Phil Emery gone, Trestman gone.

[blumeany]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/ZachZaidman/status/549574081591640064[/tweet]

Zach Zaidman ‏@ZachZaidman 1m1 minute ago
Several NFL sources confirm that the #Bears have fired GM Phil Emery

[blumeany]

Trestman gone: [tweet]https://twitter.com/JayGlazer/status/549575875742949376[/tweet]

[RedBulls23]

The Mccaskey's are not **** around!

[emperorjones]

Boom Goes the Dynamite

[emperorjones]

We now face a 5 year rebuilding project.

[RedBulls23]

We now face a 5 year rebuilding project.

You think they will Trade players like Forte and Marshall for draft picks?

[blumeany]

I think they could rebuild in 2 or 3 years. The NFL is a little easier to rebound in than other leagues. I think a lot of their problems were with coaching and a void of leadership. If they can trade Cutler and get at least a decent QB with a good arm and leadership skills, they'll be ahead of where they were this year. The key is though - they need to get a 'football guy' in charge at the top. He needs to have carte blanche to trade or sign anyone on the roster. He needs to bring in his GM and then work with his GM on getting the coach. Teddy and George need to just sit back and make money.

[blumeany]

We now face a 5 year rebuilding project.

You think they will Trade players like Forte and Marshall for draft picks?

I don't. I think they'll want to have at least a decent season next year. I see them trading Cutler before anyone else. I think they'll search for another QB, and probably a speedy receiver via trade or draft, as well as a RB to eventually take over for Forte. No one is going to give you much value for an older RB. Better to just use him up. As for Marshall, I think he's still a good WR and unless they know of him being an extreme locker room cancer, he's worth keeping for now. Big focus will need to be on rebuilding that D - and what to do with the guys Emery drafted on that side. Deciding on whether they are just bad or victims of bad schemes/coaching.

[emperorjones]

We now face a 5 year rebuilding project.

You think they will Trade players like Forte and Marshall for draft picks?

No. Trades are tough in the NFL. You won't get much for Marshall at his age and contract. And Forte only has a couple years left by NFL standards. Maybe you can get a 2nd round pick for Cutler - I'd be ecstatic with that.

I just think we will be bringing in all new coaches who will need to bring in their type of players - mostly on defense. If we switch to a 3-4, we basically need to revamp - which takes a couple years. In a couple years, that offense will be full of holes on the O-Line, at RB and WR. If we stick with a 4-3? Geez....we need 2 DE, 2 LBs, a CB & a S. Trying to replace 5-6 starters on one side of the ball on the fly is basically impossible. So the next crew will announce a build through the draft program. 1st on defense, then on offense.

This is a massive failure.

[chitownsports4ever]

I dont even feel like bothering to find my post but I called this the day of Trestmans hiring when they got to gushing over Cutler . In situations like this its almost never the first guy that gets it right when you come in with the proverbial blinders on like they did with Cutler . Now the next regime will do what they didn't do which is move on from jay bring in a couple of pieces and win primarily with the talent that the previous regime brought in .

[clancyphile]

We now face a 5 year rebuilding project.

You think they will Trade players like Forte and Marshall for draft picks?

No. Trades are tough in the NFL. You won't get much for Marshall at his age and contract. And Forte only has a couple years left by NFL standards. Maybe you can get a 2nd round pick for Cutler - I'd be ecstatic with that.

I just think we will be bringing in all new coaches who will need to bring in their type of players - mostly on defense. If we switch to a 3-4, we basically need to revamp - which takes a couple years. In a couple years, that offense will be full of holes on the O-Line, at RB and WR. If we stick with a 4-3? Geez....we need 2 DE, 2 LBs, a CB & a S. Trying to replace 5-6 starters on one side of the ball on the fly is basically impossible. So the next crew will announce a build through the draft program. 1st on defense, then on offense.

This is a massive failure.

Trestman, it seems, lost control of the locker room. But the real fault is on the front office. For about 2-3 years before this, they knew Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs, and other star players on defense were going to retire and failed to even try to draft and develop their replacements. Tucker, to some extent was the fall guy.

My big question: How much of the problems at defensive end were due to a lack of talent, and how much was injury/illness? Jared Allen was struggling with pneumonia this past season, and Lamarr Houston and Willie Young got hurt. Between Young and Allen, some rebounding can be expected from DE, and David Bass looks like a sharp young player (three sacks in limited playing time, after showing a couple of flashes in 2013). Christian Jones looks to be a free-agent steal at linebacker, and you can do worse than Jon Bostic.

Shea McClellin... I dunno. Do you give him another shot, especially since he was hurt, and seemed to flash some moments of brilliance during his time in Chicago? That three-sack game against the Packers in 2013 was one (he also notched 1.5 against the Pack in a game in 2012), there was that tackle for an 11-yard loss against the Vikings... plus his 4th quarter sack of Kapernick during the SF game... against Dallas, he had five tackles, one for a loss of five. He's involved in seven tackles against the Patriots (2 solo, 5 assists). He's worth a look in training camp.

That said, I think that the Bears need an infusion of young talent. Trading the #7 overall for Cleveland's two first-rounders (#12 and #19) would probably help in that regard. Getting a second-round pick for Cutler would be gravy as well.

[Jake0890]

Guess the Bears are still pitching to Harbaugh to steal him away from Michigan. Yes please.

[RoundMoundOfRebound]

Well it is as start. I while it needed to happen I was not sure ownership would write the checks to clean house.

[Sonny_D1]

Guess the Bears are still pitching to Harbaugh to steal him away from Michigan. Yes please.

God, I hope not. His offense is terrible, his defense when he his "studs" have been hurt has been mediocre, and his players tune him out after a while. He's a perfect college coach. 4 years and a new bunch comes in. Rinse and repeat.

For me it's either Darrell Bevell, Adam Gase or bust really. I've watched all of Seattle's games and absolutely love the play calling and execution of the offense. For me, I know I'm watching a hell of a coach at work when I tend to agree with most if not all of the plays called, especially in certain situations. I love Bevell's play calling.

Same goes with Gase. He's a great young mind and I like his personality on the side line. Can never go wrong working with/for Peyton Manning.

Anyway, I pined for Mike McCoy or Bruce Arians during the last search. I hope we don't get it wrong again with the likes of NFL retreads like Shanahan or Ryan.

Give me Bevell or Gase.

[clancyphile]

Guess the Bears are still pitching to Harbaugh to steal him away from Michigan. Yes please.

God, I hope not. His offense is terrible, his defense when he his "studs" have been hurt has been mediocre, and his players tune him out after a while. He's a perfect college coach. 4 years and a new bunch comes in. Rinse and repeat.

Three NFC championship game visits in his four years at SF... maybe he did something right. In any case, he's worth a shot.

For me it's either Darrell Bevell, Adam Gase or bust really. I've watched all of Seattle's games and absolutely love the play calling and execution of the offense. For me, I know I'm watching a hell of a coach at work when I tend to agree with most if not all of the plays called, especially in certain situations. I love Bevell's play calling.

Same goes with Gase. He's a great young mind and I like his personality on the side line. Can never go wrong working with/for Peyton Manning.

Anyway, I pined for Mike McCoy or Bruce Arians during the last search. I hope we don't get it wrong again with the likes of NFL retreads like Shanahan or Ryan.

Give me Bevell or Gase.

Jim Harbaugh as head coach, Rex Ryan as defensive coordinator, Mike Shanahan as offensive coordinator.

[BR0D1E86]

Trestman, it seems, lost control of the locker room. But the real fault is on the front office. For about 2-3 years before this, they knew Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs, and other star players on defense were going to retire and failed to even try to draft and develop their replacements. Tucker, to some extent was the fall guy.

Tucker was set up to fail in that the dismissal of Lovie and the way the coaching search went down caused Marinelli to resign and alienated the players. He's also an absolutely abhorrent defensive coordinator, so that didn't help either.

My big question: How much of the problems at defensive end were due to a lack of talent, and how much was injury/illness? Jared Allen was struggling with pneumonia this past season, and Lamarr Houston and Willie Young got hurt. Between Young and Allen, some rebounding can be expected from DE, and David Bass looks like a sharp young player (three sacks in limited playing time, after showing a couple of flashes in 2013). Christian Jones looks to be a free-agent steal at linebacker, and you can do worse than Jon Bostic.

You have to hope the DLine's problems were because of injuries and poor coaching. Jared Allen I think you can directly trace his lack of performance to the illness. He'll rebound somewhat next year. Houston was a valuable player before he came here, with some halfway decent coaching I think he's a piece. And Willie Young if he can come back and play a reasonable amount of next year is a good piece. You need some youth infused, especially at DT, but I don't think you can make the defensive line a priority this offseason. There are too many other holes and you can't fix them all in one season. You need to hope for a return to health for some guys.

Between Christian Jones and Bostic I think you hope that you can make one starter out of them. That means you need two more starters at linebacker, and one of them needs to be a signal caller type. No idea who that will be though. I'm not up on the FA market.

Shea McClellin... I dunno. Do you give him another shot, especially since he was hurt, and seemed to flash some moments of brilliance during his time in Chicago? That three-sack game against the Packers in 2013 was one (he also notched 1.5 against the Pack in a game in 2012), there was that tackle for an 11-yard loss against the Vikings... plus his 4th quarter sack of Kapernick during the SF game... against Dallas, he had five tackles, one for a loss of five. He's involved in seven tackles against the Patriots (2 solo, 5 assists). He's worth a look in training camp.

I think that experiment is over. Cut him loose. He's not an NFL player. He was an odd pick at the time and has shown nothing to indicate that he's improving or making a positive impact on the field.

That said, I think that the Bears need an infusion of young talent. Trading the #7 overall for Cleveland's two first-rounders (#12 and #19) would probably help in that regard. Getting a second-round pick for Cutler would be gravy as well.

[/quote]
If that trade is available I make it 10 times out of 10. If the Bears don't like any of the OT's enough to pick them at 7 I'd aggressively be looking for a trade down. You need to find two starting safeties, two starting linebackers, at least one new offensive lineman and a speedy wide receiver this offseason. It's a lot of positions you need to hit on. A couple will be through FA, and they don't all have to be superstars, but they must be legitimate starters. The more picks the better.

[patryk7754]

Doug Monroe oped out of his contract. He's proven to be a very good coach and he won't take Cutler's BS.

[chitownsports4ever]

Doug Monroe oped out of his contract. He's proven to be a very good coach and he won't take Cutler's BS.

Isnt that insane that after getting the Bills to their first winning record in a decade that Orton retires and Marrone opts out ?

[clancyphile]

My big question: How much of the problems at defensive end were due to a lack of talent, and how much was injury/illness? Jared Allen was struggling with pneumonia this past season, and Lamarr Houston and Willie Young got hurt. Between Young and Allen, some rebounding can be expected from DE, and David Bass looks like a sharp young player (three sacks in limited playing time, after showing a couple of flashes in 2013). Christian Jones looks to be a free-agent steal at linebacker, and you can do worse than Jon Bostic.

You have to hope the DLine's problems were because of injuries and poor coaching. Jared Allen I think you can directly trace his lack of performance to the illness. He'll rebound somewhat next year. Houston was a valuable player before he came here, with some halfway decent coaching I think he's a piece. And Willie Young if he can come back and play a reasonable amount of next year is a good piece. You need some youth infused, especially at DT, but I don't think you can make the defensive line a priority this offseason. There are too many other holes and you can't fix them all in one season. You need to hope for a return to health for some guys.

Houston may be an option at DT. Not super-young, but the Bears did spend picks on Ego Ferguson and Will Sutton, and Paea's not super-old.

Between Christian Jones and Bostic I think you hope that you can make one starter out of them. That means you need two more starters at linebacker, and one of them needs to be a signal caller type. No idea who that will be though. I'm not up on the FA market.

Jones looks like he is a starter, and has shown a lot. Bostic's had his share of good games as well - and was second on the team in solo tackles.

Shea McClellin... I dunno. Do you give him another shot, especially since he was hurt, and seemed to flash some moments of brilliance during his time in Chicago? That three-sack game against the Packers in 2013 was one (he also notched 1.5 against the Pack in a game in 2012), there was that tackle for an 11-yard loss against the Vikings... plus his 4th quarter sack of Kapernick during the SF game... against Dallas, he had five tackles, one for a loss of five. He's involved in seven tackles against the Patriots (2 solo, 5 assists). He's worth a look in training camp.

I think that experiment is over. Cut him loose. He's not an NFL player. He was an odd pick at the time and has shown nothing to indicate that he's improving or making a positive impact on the field.[/quote]

Shea, like Bostic, has shown flashes during his time in Chicago. To me, the real question is, how much of his 2014 transition to SLB was derailed by a broken hand? For a player expected to make tackles, that's a bad injury to have. At this juncture, do you try one more year, with the understanding that if it doesn't work out, you can let him walk? With Houston and Willie Young coming off serious leg injuries, he may be useful as a pass-rush specialist for 2015, even if Bass is a better DE by far. When he was drafted, the guy who came to mind for me was Mark Anderson (remember him of the 12 sacks in 2006?), someone who'd let you move a Jared Allen or Julius Peppers inside to DT on passing situations.

That said, I think that the Bears need an infusion of young talent. Trading the #7 overall for Cleveland's two first-rounders (#12 and #19) would probably help in that regard. Getting a second-round pick for Cutler would be gravy as well.

If that trade is available I make it 10 times out of 10. If the Bears don't like any of the OT's enough to pick them at 7 I'd aggressively be looking for a trade down. You need to find two starting safeties, two starting linebackers, at least one new offensive lineman and a speedy wide receiver this offseason. It's a lot of positions you need to hit on. A couple will be through FA, and they don't all have to be superstars, but they must be legitimate starters. The more picks the better.[/quote]

I think Mundy and Conte aren't bad... but Conte's missing five games in 2014 is a worry. Mundy was not a bad safety, either. I'm more worried about cornerback. Jennings took a step back, and Tillman needs to make the same shift from cornerback to safety that Charles Woodson made.

I put top needs as:
Middle Linebacker (Shaq Thompson?)
Two Cornerbacks
Center (Garza's getting old)
Guard (Someone to bump Kyle Long to RT)
KR/PR/4th WR - Gee, we had that in Devin Hester... letting him go was NOT a good move
QB

[heir_jordan22]

Just because Jennings took a step back doesn't mean you don't count him as a valuable player. He can be an excellent nickel. And he was definitely out of position all season playing the #1 receiver every week.