The Official Vrabel vs Ben Johnson Discussion Thread

[RobertWeathers]

Yeah.... Honestly one of the big advantages people were saying about Vrabel was that he

1. Had a rolodex of coaches
2. We wouldn't have to wait for him to get started

But Ben's already got his staff coming together and is getting big names while we are just sort of guessing who may or may not be coming onboard. Not stoked about that.

Rather get it right than rushed .

 

[signbabybrady]

Rather get it right than rushed .

We need to start coaching these guys though lol

 

[Ras-IR Dowling]

Best hire the bears could’ve gotten. Huge for Caleb’s development.

 

[Tunescribe]

Yeah.... Honestly one of the big advantages people were saying about Vrabel was that he

1. Had a rolodex of coaches
2. We wouldn't have to wait for him to get started

But Ben's already got his staff coming together and is getting big names while we are just sort of guessing who may or may not be coming onboard. Not stoked about that.

Is this the way it's going to be with you? Pump the brakes a bit, Vrabel has been on the job only eight days and the conference champions haven't even been decided. If it makes you feel any better he already has hired PFF's second-rated special teams coordinator, with the added bonus of lending some continuity.

Folks who are so "dazzled" by Ben Johnson's alleged OC wizardry conveniently forget how little overall experience he brings to the table. There is no telling if he has the chops to translate as an effective head coach.

 

[PatsFan2]

Best hire the bears could’ve gotten. Huge for Caleb’s development.

Ben Johnson likes the Offense they have the Players in place.

 

[Stu Pidassle]

We need to start coaching these guys though lol

To your point that the players need to be developed ASAP, it's good to see that they got the strength and conditioning coach in place.

 

[Stu Pidassle]

Best hire the bears could’ve gotten. Huge for Caleb’s development.

It seems to be the perfect pairing of a QB and HC with great potential. The reality is that both have a lot to prove and may not live up to their potential. It could be a historic success or equally historic failure. Either way it is good for the fans of the NFL.

 

[Huckleberry1]

Rather get it right than rushed .

Beyond that the reality of the matter is that fans have no idea who the good assistant coaches and coordinators are. What we know are the bigger names, but no one knows who good assistant coaches are unless they get reputations like Scar had. The people who know are the coaches themselves, who have working relationships in the business. Vrabel could hire a staff of complete unknowns and they could turn out to excellent coaches and coordinators, or he could hire a bunch of bigger names and they could fail or move on and cause constant turnover.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

It seems to be the perfect pairing of a QB and HC with great potential. The reality is that both have a lot to prove and may not live up to their potential. It could be a historic success or equally historic failure. Either way it is good for the fans of the NFL.

If the Bears don't get an offensive line it will not matter who the coach or QB are.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Beyond that the reality of the matter is that fans have no idea who the good assistant coaches and coordinators are. What we know are the bigger names, but no one knows who good assistant coaches are unless they get reputations like Scar had. The people who know are the coaches themselves, who have working relationships in the business. Vrabel could hire a staff of complete unknowns and they could turn out to excellent coaches and coordinators, or he could hire a bunch of bigger names and they could fail or move on and cause constant turnover.

It's maddening. It's freaking January 21st. Football season isn't even over yet.

 

[Huckleberry1]

It's maddening. It's freaking January 21st. Football season isn't even over yet.

I agree. I honestly don’t get it. Since the last whistle of the Bills game the Patriots have turned things around completely. Where there was rightful despair about the state of the program there should now be joy at the firing of Mayo and his staff, and the hiring of Vrabel. Where last offseason they couldn’t convince anyone to come here they now have significant draws in both the Quarterback and Head Coach, who, when you listen to his former players, is a guy players want to play for. They have a great draft situation, and 135 million to spend in free agency, and really no “ must keep” players hitting free agency. And although it will lead to fewer good players on the market, I would expect that cap number to increase by at least 10 million when the league announces its new cap number. Yet for some reason fans are gnashing their teeth and bemoaning the team’s state of affairs despite everything positive that is going on here.

There are many knowledgeable fans on this site, probably more than any other team message board out there, which is why fans from other teams make their way here to talk football, even knowing the **** they will take for doing so. But to really know who the good young coaches are, and to be able to discuss that hiring process knowledgeably, you would have to go in depth on the subject the way Miguel does with the salary cap, or Bacongrundlecandy does with the draft, and not just spit out the best known names, and then act like they have struck out hiring coaches when they don’t bring those coaches in. To my knowledge no one here has done that.

For the first time in the last 5-6 years things are really looking good for this franchise, and it’s really surprising how many fans don’t see that.

Franchise QB-Check

Franchise Coach-Check

Draft Situation-Check

Salary Cap Situation-Check-Best in the NFL.


It’s really hard to see what some fans are upset about.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I agree. I honestly don’t get it. Since the last whistle of the Bills game the Patriots have turned things around completely. Where there was rightful despair about the state of the program there should now be joy at the firing of Mayo and his staff, and the hiring of Vrabel. Where last offseason they couldn’t convince anyone to come here they now have significant draws in both the Quarterback and Head Coach, who, when you listen to his former players, is a guy players want to play for. They have a great draft situation, and 135 million to spend in free agency, and really no “ must keep” players hitting free agency. And although it will lead to fewer good players on the market, I would expect that cap number to increase by at least 10 million when the league announces its new cap number. Yet for some reason fans are gnashing their teeth and bemoaning the team’s state of affairs despite everything positive that is going on here.

There are many knowledgeable fans on this site, probably more than any other team message board out there, which is why fans from other teams make their way here to talk football, even knowing the **** they will take for doing so. But to really know who the good young coaches are, and to be able to discuss that hiring process knowledgeably, you would have to go in depth on the subject the way Miguel does with the salary cap, or Bacongrundlecandy does with the draft, and not just spit out the best known names, and then act like they have struck out hiring coaches when they don’t bring those coaches in. To my knowledge no one here has done that.

For the first time in the last 5-6 years things are really looking good for this franchise, and it’s really surprising how many fans don’t see that.

Franchise QB-Check

Franchise Coach-Check

Draft Situation-Check

Salary Cap Situation-Check-Best in the NFL.


It’s really hard to see what some fans are upset about.

 

[archstanton543]

They have a great draft situation,

In a draft with very few blue chip guys, being the #4 pick isn't really all that great.

 

[RobertWeathers]

In a draft with very few blue chip guys, being the #4 pick isn't really all that great.

It is if the blue chip talent is in the top part of the 1st round....which it is.

 

[Huckleberry1]

In a draft with very few blue chip guys, being the #4 pick isn't really all that great.

I agree, but 2 of the top 4 picks will be QB’s that don’t realty belong night the top 4, which means they should get a top 2 player in this draft at 4, be it Hunter, Graham, or Carter. Or they could trade down to around 8, take Warren, pick up a 2nd, and then use that to trade back up for an OL. IMO it’s actually going to be a really interesting draft, with teams moving around a lot to address specific needs with specific players in the first round. And I’m starting to see Hunter dropping down to them in some mocks.

 

[Huckleberry1]

It is if the blue chip talent is in the top part of the 1st round....which it is.

If they stay at 4 they should get a top 2 player.

 

[ViperGTS]

We need to start coaching these guys though lol

They can't talk to them. Part of the rules. I don't know if they can talk to them at all until the offseason program starts and even then its pretty strict.

 

[NE_Zealot]

Is this the way it's going to be with you? Pump the brakes a bit, Vrabel has been on the job only eight days and the conference champions haven't even been decided. If it makes you feel any better he already has hired PFF's second-rated special teams coordinator, with the added bonus of lending some continuity.

Folks who are so "dazzled" by Ben Johnson's alleged OC wizardry conveniently forget how little overall experience he brings to the table. There is no telling if he has the chops to translate as an effective head coach.

We also have to take the ****tiness of the Bears org into consideration. They have a reverse Midas Touch with hiring coaches and GMs. Most likely Johnson washes out in 3 years. The McCaskeys are the definition of incompetence

 

[Love The Drake]

We also have to take the ****tiness of the Bears org into consideration. They have a reverse Midas Touch with hiring coaches and GMs. Most likely Johnson washes out in 3 years. The McCaskeys are the definition of incompetence

Mike martz called Johnson a once in a generation coach.

 

[lancerman]

I agree. I honestly don’t get it. Since the last whistle of the Bills game the Patriots have turned things around completely. Where there was rightful despair about the state of the program there should now be joy at the firing of Mayo and his staff, and the hiring of Vrabel. Where last offseason they couldn’t convince anyone to come here they now have significant draws in both the Quarterback and Head Coach, who, when you listen to his former players, is a guy players want to play for. They have a great draft situation, and 135 million to spend in free agency, and really no “ must keep” players hitting free agency. And although it will lead to fewer good players on the market, I would expect that cap number to increase by at least 10 million when the league announces its new cap number. Yet for some reason fans are gnashing their teeth and bemoaning the team’s state of affairs despite everything positive that is going on here.

There are many knowledgeable fans on this site, probably more than any other team message board out there, which is why fans from other teams make their way here to talk football, even knowing the **** they will take for doing so. But to really know who the good young coaches are, and to be able to discuss that hiring process knowledgeably, you would have to go in depth on the subject the way Miguel does with the salary cap, or Bacongrundlecandy does with the draft, and not just spit out the best known names, and then act like they have struck out hiring coaches when they don’t bring those coaches in. To my knowledge no one here has done that.

For the first time in the last 5-6 years things are really looking good for this franchise, and it’s really surprising how many fans don’t see that.

Franchise QB-Check

Franchise Coach-Check

Draft Situation-Check

Salary Cap Situation-Check-Best in the NFL.


It’s really hard to see what some fans are upset about.

The issue is you listed 4 things where 3 were true over the last 12 months. We had Maye for most of the season, it led to 1 win with him at the helm. We had a slightly better draft situation last year. We had a ton of cap last year.

The coach is the difference, and not everyone is as bullish on him as you are.

The reality is the team has a long way to go, it has to prove free agents will pick here over other teams, Kraft has to show he is willing to spend, Wolf needs to prove last year wasn't an aberration and he can get it right, to some of us Vrabel needs to show that he's not just as good as his OC like he was on the Titans and can take a step forward.

They have so much to do that not everyone is going to be enthusiastic after 5 years of sucking until they see real results. I get some people got what they wanted with the HC hire and want everyone to be 100% positive over it and think it is the answer to all the problems, but this team has had golden carrots of "well if we just change this, it will fix things" for years.

The Patriots aren't going to get the benefit of the doubt across the board. They have to actually prove they are on the right track. I'm not going to get excited because one guy I wasn't crazy about to begin with got hired. Especially when they made the mistake of not having a real search last time and then just zeroed in on their guy and had the fastest HC hiring of the last 5 years BESIDES the Mayo hire.