Lovie Smith Saved by His Players

While many Bears fans were unhappy that coach Lovie Smith was not among the personnel let go by the organization earlier this week, I think the ownership made the right decision.

Letting go of Ron Turner was long overdue. While I’m sure he is a capable offensive coordinator, I don’t think he had a clear vision of what he wanted to accomplish with the Bears’ offense, nor did he have the most talented players to work with. It is clearly time to bring on someone else on board who can look at things with a fresh eye.

On the other hand, Smith can thank his players for keeping his job. The players rallied to win the final two games of the season to finish 7-9, and many of them spoke out in his favor in the days leading up to Tuesday’s purge. Sometimes as fans, we are so focused on seeing results on the field that we overlook the importance of the relationship between a coach and his players off of it.

Firing Lovie would have hurt this team more than it would have helped them, especially in terms of morale and rapport. Knowing how much the players respected their head coach was, I’m sure, a key factor in their decision to keep him on board. While I’m sure both Lovie Smith and Jerry Angelo were given ultimatums – “win or else” – I predict that both will be part of this team a year from now, and fans will be grateful that Smtih wasn't fired. I expect the Bears to be rejuvenated as a result of some of the changes in the offensive coaching staff, and that should help them perform better overall. Look for the 2010 season to be a big improvement over 2009.

Bears-Hawks Ads Blacked Out by NFL

The National Football League has pulled the plug on an innovative ad campaign (which I wrote about in early October) that was being developed featuring members of the Chicago Blackhawks and Chicago Bears, according to Phil Rosenthal of the Chicago Tribune. The ads were shot in October and were in production when word came down from the league that the ads are a No-Go.

Apparently, the NFL prohibits the use of team marks and logos to promote other sports. That’s too bad. I was really looking forward to seeing the ads featuring Jay Cutler and Jonathon Toews trading passing tips.

The cancelled campaign hurts the Bears more than it does the Hawks, who are the best game in town at the moment. After a subpar performance on the field this season, the Bears could use a little bit of the Hawks’ magic.

Bears, Hawks Launch Ad Campaign

I’m eager to see the new series of ads that will promote the Chicago Bears and Chicago Blackhawks. The ads, which will begin airing in a few weeks, will feature members of both teams in various scenarios. For example, Bears’ quarterback Jay Cutler and Hawks’ captain Jonathan Toews exchange tips on passing.

The ad campaign is unique in that the teams are aligning their brands to reach their fan base, something they apparently share. According to a Chicago Tribune story, 92 percent of hockey fans are also football fans.

The Hawks wanted to reach out to this fan base and approached the Bears to see if they were interested. They even offered to foot the bill for production and air time. The Bears have nothing to lose since they are already well-known worldwide. The Hawks, on the other hand, are trying to capitalize on the buzz they created last year when they surpassed everyone’s expectations in reaching the NHL’s Western Conference finals before losing to the Detroit Red Wings.

If these ads do well, I’m willing to bet the other teams in town -- the Cubs, White Sox, Bulls and Fire – will look to join forces to cross-promote their brands.

Orton's Success Should Come as No Surprise

Bears fans who watched the Denver Broncos’ overtime victory over New England yesterday are probably wondering, “Why couldn’t Kyle Orton have played this way when he was with the Bears?”

While I’m as surprised as everyone else that the Broncos are unbeaten at 5-0, I’m not as surprised to see Orton perform as well as he has. In my blog last April after the Orton-Cutler trade, I wondered if Orton would have enjoyed better success in Chicago if he had better receivers to throw to, a younger, quicker offensive line to protect him, and a game plan that featured his strengths as a quarterback.

During his three years in Chicago, Orton was much maligned and underrated. Yet, for all his flaws, he posted a 21-12 career record with the Bears and had a .667 regular season winning percentage, the fourth highest among Bears quarterbacks since 1961. Being traded to Denver in the offseason provided the perfect opportunity to jumpstart his career. Now he has a chance to play every week with many of the players and offensive schemes that helped Cutler be so successful last season.

While it’s still early in the 2009 football campaign, it appears that this trade has worked out well so far for all parties. Cutler’s talents and leadership on the field is forcing the rest of the Bears team, especially the receivers, to raise their game to his level. Meanwhile, Orton, who went to a team with many offensive weapons already in place, has raised his game to match theirs.

If Orton’s performance so far this season proves anything, it’s this: Football is still a team sport. Winning depends on having a balanced attack: offense, defense, special teams and coaching. When all these elements are in place, you don’t need to be the most talented quarterback on the block to win in the National Football League. You just have to be a smart one.