I stumbled upon this and it speaks about Antrel Rolle and how he may not be good in the system the Bears have in place. It lists possible alternatives to Rolle as well. Strangely there's nary a mention of an OLineman, DT or WR. It seems the Bears have their priorities set and are ready to at least humor fans with talk of pricey FA's and talk that makes them seem like they actually know what they're doing.

http://blogs.suntimes.com/bears/2010/02/why_the_bears_may_deviate_from.html

This is a link to an article I found on si.com. It's from profootballweekly.com and it makes a whole lot of sense and it seems legit. It's an overall look into what went wrong with the Bears from insiders around the league and can maybe shed some light as to what is happening up there at Halas Hall.

http://www.profootballweekly.com/2009/12/28/bears-smith-unable-to-handle-wide-ranging-power

Another Bears loss via blowout with 2 games left to go in one of the worst seasons in recent years. A season that started out with so much hope has become a nightmarish season Bears fans won't forget anytime soon. Cutler got picked off another 3 times, Forte and Knox fumbled twice (two by Forte) and another disgusting defensive display against a slightly better than average offense. The Ravens are not elite, although Ray Riceis a complete beast. The defense isn't what it used to be and Joe Flaccohasn't really grown into an elite QB yet, although you would never know by today's game. But i'm not going to dissect the loss because quite frankly it was expected. Real sports fans stick by their team through thick and thin. Only delusional fans fail to see the realities of their teams predicament, i.e Cubs fans. Most of us on this thread are seeing the problem yet there are those who still believe the Bears can be contenders. These people need to open their eyes. Yes we have an amazing QB, although judging by this years performance many people would gladly return him for Kyle Orton, and most importantly those two 1st round picks. I wouldn't though. I will restate the usual, Cutler has no O-Line, no running game, sub-par receivers and a horrible offensive coaching staff. Yes his mechanics and decision making are poor but that can be fixed with good coaching. The defense seems to have given up on Lovie and on themselves. Lovie's stubbornnessto stick with the cover-2 shows just how bad he really is with the defense. He refuses to change it or to alter it during games. The fact of the matter is that Lovie has lost the entire team. When I read that report about Lovie keeping his job I cried foul. He didn't receive a public backing from the team and Angelo has all but confirmed that Lovie's time is running out. I think that the organization is starting to wake up and smell the Lovie hate. The consequences of bringing Lovie and his staff back are catastrophic. If the team gave up on him mid-season, imagine having to play for him another year. Can you say 0-16? Lovie is an adequate coach but the issue with him is that he rode the coattails of his other coaches during the '06 season and was given unfair credit for it. That year we rode a hard-hitting defense, brilliant special teams and strong running game to the Super Bowl. So what happened when he was given all the credit? His ego came to the surface and fired Ron Rivera. Lovie is rightfully on the hot seat and should be fired but let's be honest, I don't see it happening.

Now comes Jerry Angelo. I pride myself on being able to look at all sides to a story and that's what I'm about to do with my assessment on Angelo. Forgive me Bears fans but I have to touch on this subject but personally I don't believe it, yet it may be the truth. Perhaps Angelo isn't as bad a GM as we all thought. Maybe his picks were the right ones. Maybe his free agents could've been better. Let me explain: Angelo has drafted players that were deemed fit to Lovie's system both offensively and defensively. No draft pick is a sure thing but maybe he had faith that the coaching staff would be able to bring these guys up to potential. Not every player can be a natural stud, many need coaching. Perhaps Jerry's biggest mistake was believing in a terrible coaching staff. How is it that Chicago "busts" have found success elsewhere? Or that decent acquisitions have failed miserably here? Coaching is the answer. How do you keep DA inactive and not Rashied Davis? Special Teams is important but Davis is not what makes the unit great. DA could've used game experience and could perhaps blossom into a good receiver. But Lovie chose to not let him play. How about Gaines Adams? I believe that was a mistake on both Jerry and Lovie. Lovie wanted a cover-2 DE and Angelo was dumb enough to give up a 2nd rounder for him. If that is the case here, maybe Jerry doesn't have THAT big of a role in the decline of this team. He has a sizeable role, but not a massive role. That would fall squarely on Lovie's shoulders. Now I am not excusing Jerry at all. Some picks were just bad but that happens to every team. Also his failure to fix the O-Line is by far the biggest mistake he has made. He spent a king's ransom to get Cutler yet assumed Jay wouldn't need help to succeed. And he was the guy who gave Lovie too much power over personnel decisions, i.e firing Ron Rivera. This is all hypothetical of course because I believe Angelo is clueless as a GM. But perhaps he has been warned by the organization, so he is ready to throw Lovie under the bus. Firing Lovie would be a desperation move on Angelo's part and I for one will not complain if that happens. With a new coach comes a new identity and hopefully Angelo works with him to fix this team. Maybe the Bears can succeed with him as a GM. The signs point to no but crazier things have happened. But the first step is firing Lovie. Today brings that closer to reality. Here's hoping that long-awaited change comes sooner rather than later.

Hope is the word Jerry Angelo is choosing to describe the future of the Bears organization. Hope is a good thing but there is only so much hope to hold onto before one must take action. If Angelo is ready to wait for this team to improve, he's in for a long wait. I've about had it with this staff. There is ZERO accountability in the organization for the demise of a once promising team. Our "franchise" QB is a shell of himself on this team. The receivers he was supposed to improve are an undisciplined bunch of clowns. Yes they have exceeded expectations but those expectations were pretty low to begin with. Our "stud" TE can't block, can't catch simple passes and is just a wimp. Our running game is non-existent because our "stud" RB has a case of happy feet, does not hit the holes hard and can't make anyone miss. And most of his failings are directly related to our offensive line, which is the WORST line in the NFL. They can't block, they can't push and they sure as hell can't protect. Now the defense. Our DL is a laughingstock. Our stud tackle Tommy Harris seems to show up to play when it's convenient for him, our DE's can't get a sack against good OLines and our secondary has more leaks than the Iraqi navy. Are there a few bright spots? Sure but given the track record those bright spots aren't making anyone feel better. Our LB's are solid but asides from Lance Briggs they aren't anything special.  So my question is who is to blame for the ineptness of our team?

One can argue Lovie and his staff are to blame for not bringing the best out of his players. Lovie is way too soft on his team. Easy practices and training camps, no tackling drills, no player punishment, poor game preparation, non-existent game adjustments, stubborness and just overall stupidity. Lovie is also beyond stubborn and is a megolomaniac. He hires friends, fired a great DC in Ron Rivera and turned a once feared D into a laughingstock. A big issue is that Lovie fails to admit and to see the failures he is responsible for. The Cover-2 is a flawed scheme that is no longer working for this team and Ron Rivera saw that. So what's the logical decision? Fire Rivera for not buying into Lovie's system. Or how about playing guys out of position? Making career Tackles in Guards, playing Safeties out of their natural positions or how about turning CB's into Receivers?  My biggest issue is the fact that Lovie is a player's coach. He is way too lenient. I understand that Cedric Benson was not the most model employee but for him to allow his players to rough him up on purpose shows that he has NEVER had control of this team. Not only that but he never had the guts to punish Benson and teach him humility. Now Cedric Benson is one of the top RB's in the league for another team. It's clear that the Bengals knew how to teach Benson about being a team player. I understand there are fights amongst teammates but you don't let your guys try to kill each other. Look at the 49ers. Michael Crabtree should be DESPISED by his teammates after his selfishness and long holdout and there was probably a bit of tough love BUT they never tried to take him out. That says 2 things, they are a much more disciplined team and that Singletary is a better coach for instilling that discipline.

Or is the problem Jerry Angelo. This guy is running neck and neck with Matt Millen as being the worst GM in NFL history. Years of wasted and "experiment" picks, coupled with poor FA signings has left the organization with virtually no future to build on. Yes he has gotten some gems but for every Briggs, there's a Bazuin and David Terrell. And how about naturally assuming that getting that long-awaited franchise QB would instantly make everything better? It takes a blind man to ignore the dire needs on the OLine. Yes we potentially have our future LT in Chris Williams but what about the rest of the Line? The horrible signings of a beyond washed-up Orlando Pace, Frank Omiyale and Kevin Schaefer makes it seem that Angelo does not believe that the OLine is important for our offense to succeed. 2 of these guys were cut by two of the WORST teams in the league and the other was a backup. Why does he think the answers to the OLine woes can be answered with stop-gap solutions? How about the fact that Kreutz is old and done? Or that Garza is getting there? Not only that but how about the fact the he refused to get a big receiver for his star QB? Despite of what people say, we need a big receiver.

I feel better after a bit of ranting but sadly no change is on the horizon at Halas Hall because the real problem lies with Ted Phillips. He hired Jerry Angelo, who in turn hired Lovie Smith. Not only that but he has stood by and let this team rot away. He has refused to question the direction that those 2 have taken this team in. He gave extensions to 2 undeserving men. Yes we went to a Super Bowl but it was because of 2 other men who have not gotten credit for it: Ron River and his Defense and Dave Toub and his Special Teams. And now Phillips refuses to see that as long as JA and LS are in charge the team will continue to be terrible. He has the power to fix the situation yet he won't because in the end, Ted Phillips in a glorified accountant who could care less about this team and its fans. The only change that will come is the firing of Ron Turner and hopefully Pep Hamilton. These 2 should have never been given jobs in the first place but Lovie doesn't like competent coaches on his staff because they show how incompetent he is. That's why he'll hire Mike Martz because he's a friend and won't take his job. So Bears fans do not hold your breaths for a huge change. The best case scenario is both men are fired but they won't be. Possibly Lovie will be fired in a vain attempt by Angelo to save his job but I doubt it. Judging by his latest interview there seems to be no sense of urgency by the Bears so that probably means Angelo AND Lovie are safe. And if that's the case we can all thank Ted Phillips.