A lot of you guys have been very high on Emery and I am not sure for what reason.  His first draft was ok and I agree it is too early to really tell.  Signing Marshall was a good move and Marshall turned out to be better than even the most enthusiastic Bears fan could have hoped for. 

However, despite his long explanation earlier this year he did not address the OL, nor the TE position.  Two notoriously weak positions.  I can give on the TE but any smart coach knows that teams start with a good OL and a good DL or they don't go anywhere.

This off season the Bears have a lot of decisions to make and how these decisions turn out will define my rating of Emery.  Sign Urlacher?  Sign Melton?  What about Cutler? Trade or sign one or two experience OL'men.  The whole OL sucks really - what does he do about that. What about Roach?  Who does he draft this year?  He has his coach, now what.

I like enthusiasm just as much as the next Bears fan but I think we were all pretty enthusiastic when JA was hired.  I think this off-season will be Emery's defining off season.  What decisions he makes or doesn't make will tell the tale of how good he actually is.

Well yeah, but for the time he's had and the handcuffs on him he's done MOST of what we wanted.
Our WR AND OL were bad and he basically fixed one of two bad spots in one year by signing Marshall and drafting Jeffrey. (yeah, could still use a burner, but hey, our WR are now respectable as is.
Then when he was able he fired Lovie Smith.

So he's doing what he CAN.
There just wasn't much out there in the OL in Free Agency last year, although I am with all those others who would have rather drafted OL than taken Shae in the 1st, we can't have everything and it's not our job to run the team.

So yeah, so far the signs are good.

And yeah.

We won't really know until 2 or 3 years down the road.

405134 wrote: A lot of you guys have been very high on Emery and I am not sure for what reason.  His first draft was ok and I agree it is too early to really tell.  Signing Marshall was a good move and Marshall turned out to be better than even the most enthusiastic Bears fan could have hoped for. 

However, despite his long explanation earlier this year he did not address the OL, nor the TE position.  Two notoriously weak positions.  I can give on the TE but any smart coach knows that teams start with a good OL and a good DL or they don't go anywhere.

This off season the Bears have a lot of decisions to make and how these decisions turn out will define my rating of Emery.  Sign Urlacher?  Sign Melton?  What about Cutler? Trade or sign one or two experience OL'men.  The whole OL sucks really - what does he do about that. What about Roach?  Who does he draft this year?  He has his coach, now what.

I like enthusiasm just as much as the next Bears fan but I think we were all pretty enthusiastic when JA was hired.  I think this off-season will be Emery's defining off season.  What decisions he makes or doesn't make will tell the tale of how good he actually is.

He has us going in the right direction.  At least that is what I believe at this time.  He has signed some good players, made moves to fix a number of problem areas, and tried to field a winning team.  Time will tell.  I still believe in the guy until he proves he isn't fit for the job.

Ugh...it's his 2nd year as the GM. His first in which he wasn't handcuffed by a coaching staff.

There really is no excuse for not addressing the OL. BUT, I think that blame should be directed more towards Lovie and Tice, than Emery. Tice's ego and Lovie not knowing sh*t about offense, I feel were the deciding factors in the OL being ignored. Tice felt that his offensive scheme and coaching alone could make up for the serious lack of talent on the offensive line.

As for TE, Lovie and Tice both spoke highly of Kellen "Dick Fingers" Davis and they both wanted him back. They felt that his measurables and "potential" alone, would make him a stud, while they ignored the simple fact that the guy hasn't been good since, ever. I never thought he flashed any potential to earn a 2nd contract with the Bears, but Lovie and Tice did so Emery gave them what they wanted and it obviously backfired (44 targets, 8 drops, 19 catches last season...8 drops was tied for 4th most in the league last season fyi...truly pathetic!).

I'm not an Emery apologist by any means, but I think last season was more about Lovie and Emery did what was asked of him, to help Lovie get the Bears to the Super Bowl. It didn't work, so now Lovie is gone and so is almost that entire coaching staff. NOW, Emery gets a fresh start with a HC that he hand-picked. Yes, there are a ton of questions/issues that need addressed, but I don't see any of that as being Emery's fault...he's just the guy who is going to have to figure out how to answer them, such as;

1) Cutler/QB position...he hired a guy who is said to be the right man for the job. I honestly think this season is make or break for Jay Cutler. I truly believe the reports that Cutler is going to be challenged more than he ever has and I say GOOD! Cutler has some serious work to do and it seems that even former members of the coaching staff feel that he lacks leadership, but he is working on it (see Drake, Toub interviews). It's time to put up or shut up for Cutler and that is not a bad thing in my opinion.

2) The OL has to be addressed, period!

3) The TE position needs to be addressed.

4) Some big contracts to guys who have under-performed or can't stay healthy (see Earl Bennett, Matt Toenia, Dick Fingers, Spaeth etc.). What does Emery do about them?

5) The aging defense. I really think this might be the most important. For an organization built on defensive excellence, Emery can't allow the defense to fall apart. This team is hopefully going to be solid on offense, but it's going to be Emery's job to make sure the defense continues to shine.

I think Emery is on the right track, but we'll see how it turns out in the next 2 or 3 seasons. I'm not jumping on the bandwagon just yet, but I'm not ready to call him a bad GM either.

Uh Oh, GM Fanboy will be along shortly to scold you for this thread.

yr one got a impact player on offense marshall drafted a possible good wr in alshon hopefully we groom shea to be a starter on the dl draft e.rodriquez who coming out of college was a pass catching te that the bears moved to the new hybrid fb/te

i understand what your saying about the oline but also take this into consederation c.spencer play was bad gabe was a rookie this yr and the bears moved him across the oline so he didn't really get a chance to settle at one postion chilo quit on the team/was kicked off the team

and knox was out all yr he

address what he thought were the most imported needs in yr 1 now there's more work to be done he went 10-6 in yr 1

With several key roster shaping decisions due and an entire year to shape the program the way he wants it, this will be the year that we find out what this guy is about.

I'm cautiously optimistic.  I didn't expect him to address everything in 1 off season.  We'll see, but yeah, I'll be disappointed if there isn't an OL drafted in the first 4 rounds and at least one good or better FA signed there.  Plus a pass catching TE added.  Spaeth was really good as a blocker last year, so I'd be happy with him as the #2.

Emery provided the old coaching staff with the offensive players to make it work.

They were all (mostly) fired because they failed to produce with the talent provided.

Evidence:
- Same OL players, worse run blocking
- Same Matt Forte, no HB screens
- Better TE/FB (E-Rod, Adams & etc.), not utilized
- Better WRs, no effective weekly game plan for getting them the ball
- Same OL players, worse pass protection even with "Max-Protection" play calls.
- Same starting QB, worse QB play
- High priced back-up QB, worse back-up QB play

Those are the reason the staff was turned over.

You and lightborn were meant for each other.

Anytime23 wrote: You and lightborn were meant for each other.

LOL!

40 I have no idea if you heard the post season press conference I believe was on New Years day after the season ended.

He went question by question.

I think he spoke for a while exactly what his thinking was about what he did and didn't do on the offensive line.

His reasoning was good enough for me.  It's easy to sit back and say....it should be better.  But it's not as simple as that.

Kellen Davis they got hand cuffed on.....The Steelers I believe offered them a big contract, they had nothing else, and there wasn't much out there.....So they matched the deal.  It didn't work....Every Deal isn't going to work.

Emery way more than Angelo....it feels like he sees the same issues as everyone else.  IN his first three months, he saw the biggest need was receiver.....He went out and got Brandon Marshall.  

He knew FOrte was an issue....He went out and got Michael Bush, who did well until he got hurt.  ALso gave them even more leverage in to re-signing Forte at a good deal for the Bears.

I like the direction he is going

gcoop33 wrote: 40 I have no idea if you heard the post season press conference I believe was on New Years day after the season ended.

He went question by question.

I think he spoke for a while exactly what his thinking was about what he did and didn't do on the offensive line.

His reasoning was good enough for me.  It's easy to sit back and say....it should be better.  But it's not as simple as that.

Kellen Davis they got hand cuffed on.....The Steelers I believe offered them a big contract, they had nothing else, and there wasn't much out there.....So they matched the deal.  It didn't work....Every Deal isn't going to work.

Emery way more than Angelo....it feels like he sees the same issues as everyone else.  IN his first three months, he saw the biggest need was receiver.....He went out and got Brandon Marshall.  

He knew FOrte was an issue....He went out and got Michael Bush, who did well until he got hurt.  ALso gave them even more leverage in to re-signing Forte at a good deal for the Bears.

I like the direction he is going

+1

One of the best press conferences I ever heard a GM give. He talk for nearly an hour going over question after question in great detail and was incredibly honest.

And you absolutely cannot question the "process" he used in finding the Bears new HC. I am fine with people questioning his pick in Trestman (though I think all new hires should be given a bit of slack) but I really don't see how a local minority are trying to pick apart the searched he implimented.

if emery does not get the O line fixed this off season, then it will be fair to bitch about him ! you can,t do it all in one off season !!!!!

I think the biggest one that most here can agree on is that he recognizes the problems of the team that many of us saw. For some that is a great breath of fresh air. But there was no way possible for him to cover all the problems in one off season. That is unrealistic. Think about it. Last off season we needed 5 offensive linemen plus developmental guys along the line, offensive playmakers, depth at QB, depth at corner, Safety, LBs to groom behind Briggs and Urlacher, a back up for Forte, replace Knox on special teams, and a DE to groom. That is a whole lot to get done and if you expected him to address all the needs in one off season then you are delusional.

And as mention by others, the initial goal was to try to see if this team, as constructed, could take a shot at the title. Remember, the year before the talk was that if we could have competed right now if not for the lack of a true back up. He gave Lovie his shot, saw that he was that the team would not be able to move forward with him in charge and made a change.

Now he has his own coach in place. The evaluation process has begun. The defense will largely stay the same, which, needless to say, many here was worried about. His coach brought in talented assistant coaches on both sides of the ball and he has reached out to our star players. For the first time in a while, we have a regime in place who are not gonna stick their collective noses at us. That they will be both candid and thorough. Will they make mistakes? Sure. No one is perfect. But if the reasoning behind it is sound, it will be less criticized than the whole we are meatheads and too dumb to understand.

Emery has done a good job so far but I think that a lot of also has to do with George McCaskey.  It might be too early to begin to like a McCaskey (I've disliked his brother for years and I'm having a hard time giving anyone in their family props since Halas) but he looks like he actually knows WTH he's doing.

Frankly, I didn't hate JA as much as most of you guys, and I didn't fall in love with Emery to the same extent as some of you guys.

Emery has made a few good signings, drafted some prospects, filled some wholes, and generally tried to build a better team, but JA did some of the same things.

It's too early to tell.

Like others have said, this off-season will be a defining one for Emery.

Cubfan41 wrote:

And you absolutely cannot question the "process" he used in finding the Bears new HC. I am fine with people questioning his pick in Trestman (though I think all new hires should be given a bit of slack) but I really don't see how a local minority are trying to pick apart the searched he implimented.

Neither can Jimmy Johnson.

If its too early to judge his drafts I suppose its too early to judge the man himself. It's just as fair to be critical as it is to chalk up a win every time he makes a good move. Everyone knows I didn't love his first draft. Overall he's probably been more good than bad but if Trestman doesn't work out I think he should probably still get one more chance like Jerry did.

Even if your a Lovie hater you have to admit that overall he was a pretty darn good coach. He was clueless on offense but when you compare him to someone like numb nuts Schwartz you have to think Lovie was a pretty good dude. Also, Lovie was handed some bad drafts himself.

If Emery can draft better and set Trestman up we could be in good position with guys like Marsh, Cutler and Forte.

My problem w/ Emery is that he drafts like Angelo - he takes players and puts them in different positions (McClellin, Hardin, ERod). Emery cannot have another mediocre draft this year. IMO, only Jeffery has the potential to be anything. It's pretty bad when teams behind us outdraft us each and every year. 

405134 wrote: A lot of you guys have been very high on Emery and I am not sure for what reason.  His first draft was ok and I agree it is too early to really tell.  Signing Marshall was a good move and Marshall turned out to be better than even the most enthusiastic Bears fan could have hoped for. 

However, despite his long explanation earlier this year he did not address the OL, nor the TE position.  Two notoriously weak positions.  I can give on the TE but any smart coach knows that teams start with a good OL and a good DL or they don't go anywhere.

This off season the Bears have a lot of decisions to make and how these decisions turn out will define my rating of Emery.  Sign Urlacher?  Sign Melton?  What about Cutler? Trade or sign one or two experience OL'men.  The whole OL sucks really - what does he do about that. What about Roach?  Who does he draft this year?  He has his coach, now what.

I like enthusiasm just as much as the next Bears fan but I think we were all pretty enthusiastic when JA was hired.  I think this off-season will be Emery's defining off season.  What decisions he makes or doesn't make will tell the tale of how good he actually is.