It Is Time

For the past few years it feels like Bears fans have been held hostage to the same routine. The team struggles, fans demand the head coach's contract be terminated, a certain coordinator becomes the scapegoat, and the front office up at Halas Hall vows that the next season will be better due to the offseason moves. And yet, every year, the team struggles and the emotional roller coaster ride continues.

Now there were a few exceptions that prolonged this miserable fan experience. In 2006, we smelled the heavenly aroma of the Lombardi trophy, but after being too preoccupied with his contract extension, our head coach failed us. In 2010, the pieces appeared to be there. However, in week 17, instead of accomplishing what he promised in his original acceptance speech - beat the Packers - the Pack ultimately came back and made us pay in the NFC Championship game.

However, this season is different than every other season Lovie Smith has coached. We have a new General Manager who seems willing to make changes if given the opportunity and a true #1 Wide Receiver and yet somehow, we still might not make the playoffs. That is why Lovie needs to go.

This team started out 7-1. Many people went all-in and booked tickets for the Super Bowl. Don't forget, many were making comparisons of this year's defense to 2006 and yes, even to 1985. Others said they're not as good as the record indicates and they didn't deserve to be 7-1. But in order to make it to the Super Bowl, in order for other teams to respect you, you beat the teams you are supposed to beat and you make no apologies for it. Good teams beat the bad teams and any way you looked at it, 7-1 in the standings is nothing to be ashamed of.

And then the wheels fell off. You lose two games in a row, without your starting quarterback for 1.5 of them and everybody hits the panic button. But there was no reason for serious alarm. You're still a very respectable 7-3 with six games remaining. If you split the remaining games which is much worse than what you should do, your record is still a very decent 10-6 and more than likely you will find yourself as a wildcard team with a chance to make it to "The Big Show".

But there's no reason for a split. You're better than that. Right? Lovie? Hello?

You come back with a win, at home, against Minnesota, like you should. Seattle has been awful on the road but for some reason you allow scoring drives of over 90 yards to rookie quarterback in the final minutes. (Oh and by the way, it's generally a good idea to call a timeout when you're preserving a lead and your defense is gasping for air. I don't know, I thought it was common sense to give guys a chance to catch their breath especially in crucial situations. But that's just my opinion and I'm no doctor.)

But here is the kicker, The reason why most people are preparing for Armageddon. You go into Minnesota, a tough place to play. You spot them 14 points in the first quarter. Yes its a hill, but not an insurmountable one. You get a quick score before the half and suddenly it's a one touchdown game. In the postgame press conference Lovie said, "That opening drive put us on our heels and we never ultimately recovered". But that's just not true. After being down 14-0 the Bears took all the momentum back. They cut the lead and hung tough until an interception returned for a touchdown proved to be too much to overcome. But in a defensive system that preaches, pressure the quarterback with the front four and force turnovers, you are simply failing to achieve your goals.

The reason fans want Lovie fired is this, there was no reason to panic after the 7-3 start. He had full control of a team playing very good football. And yet, he pushed the giant red button underneath a sign that said, "DO NOT PUSH".

You see, the fans are frustrated. We see the Green Bay Packers defense with their exotic blitzes pressuring quarterbacks into making bad decisions and recording sacks and we say "Why can't the Bears do that?" We see Aaron Rodgers thrive behind an equally pathetic offensive line and wonder, "What are they doing that allows them to succeed?" The mantra in the locker room is stale and the excuses have gone moldy.

However, beware of one thing Bears fans, if we clean house and fire all coaches, that will be Jay Cutler's FOURTH offensive coordinator in FIVE years. It's hard to succeed as an offensive player when you have a new coach every year. But can Phil Emery can remove Lovie without the entire Jenga tower collapsing? I'm not sure but it it time to find out.