Players send the love to Lovie
Taking a team to the playoffs that was picked by many to finish third in the NFC North has gotten Lovie Smith some coach of the year consideration.
After three straight years out of the playoffs, the Bears' 10-4 record has gotten Smith more attention this season, but his players say he's the same coach he's always been.
“He's the same all the time. That's what we love about him,” middle linebacker Brian Urlacher said. “We like playing for him. He hasn't changed. He told us how good we were the first day, when we do our talk in the spring, and he was right. We've been pretty good this whole time.”
In his seventh season with the Bears, Smith is 62-48 and will be making his third postseason appearance.
“The biggest (thing) for Lovie is probably to not change, to stay true to his beliefs, his coaching,” weak-side linebacker Lance Briggs said. “When we think during training camp we'll have an extra practice or we'll have less practices, he's consistent. That's the type of play that he demands from his men, consistent play.
“He's got my vote for coach of the year. There are a lot of coaches out there that deserve it. He's definitely one of them.”
Smith has always been known as a players' coach, and that hasn't changed regardless of wins and losses.
“As a player, the thing you've got to like about Lovie is that he's the same all the time,” Urlacher said. “He lets you know where you stand. I know the media doesn't like him very much because he doesn't give all the information. But as players, we like that. He doesn't sell us out, doesn't tell any information that doesn't need to be out there, keeps it in-house for the most part.
“We appreciate that. He keeps it in our family.”
Group effort:
Quarterback Jay Cutler has been sacked just three times in the past two games after hitting the ground 41 times in the previous 11 games.
According to offensive coordinator Mike Martz, there are several reasons for the improvement, in addition to Cutler making his reads quicker than he did early in the season.
“I think the consistency around him has improved,” Martz said. “We're better in all areas. As we get better, it allows him to speed up as well.
“The receivers are a lot more sure of themselves in terms of what we're trying to do, and the protection, we've had the same line in there now for quite some time. They've gotten better and better every week. We've got some young guys in there that are really growing fast. J'Marcus (Webb) is doing a great job. That's helped him immensely.”
Webb, a 22-year-old seventh-round rookie from West Texas A&M, took over from Kevin Shaffer at right tackle in Week 5. Three games later, Roberto Garza returned from a two-week absence following arthroscopic knee surgery and switched back to his familiar spot at right guard after spending the first five weeks at left guard. In Week 6, Chris Williams permanently moved into the left guard spot.
With Olin Kreutz at center and Frank Omiyale at left tackle, today's game will be the eighth straight with the same combination on the offensive line.
Looking for help:
After Devin Hester set the NFL record with his 14th kick-return TD on Monday, Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco tweeted: “Bruh, can you teach me how to return punts and kickoffs in the off-season?”