Vaughn McClure reports that Brian Urlacher is now publicly lobbying for a contract extension for his head coach, Lovie Smith, and hopefully his opinion means nothing to the ownership of the Chicago Bears.  Brian Urlacher has been coached by two men: Dick Jauron and Lovie Smith.  Not surprising he believes Lovie is the man for the job.  There are very few worse times over the course of a season for this to be a topic of discussion.  Needless to say, the entire conversation is redundant currently.  If Lovie Smith beats the Green Bay Packers Sunday, he might be receiving a contract extension before kickoff of the Super Bowl in Dallas.

Martz Takes Blame for Week Seventeen  

Mad Mike is quoted in the Tribune, commenting on his work in the final week of the season: “Did not do a good job.”  Biting self-criticism.  There’s something very interesting about Mike Martz.  He’s got a Jekyll & Hyde personality.  He’s Jekyll when being interviewed by the press and Hyde when coaching football games.  This is the week for Martz to turn to the “C” chapter of the playbook.  Conservative.  Short passes, screens, runs.  Control the pace of play.  Take shots when they are there.

Mike McCarthy calls Devin Hester “the best player” on the Chicago Bears.  I don’t know if he’s right but he’s certainly the best returner in the history of the NFL.  The Pack’s ability in Week 17 to keep Hester contained and force the Bears to travel long fields was the reason the Bears struggled to score points.  The Bears are kind of a half-court offense.  If the Pack can repeat their success in the punt game, this time on the road, I’ll be impressed.