From the Soldier Field seats in the southeast corner came a voice that cut through the crowd: "You're done, Lovie!''
Another echoed the sentiment: "Where's Ron Rivera?''
You only imagine what blistered Lovie Smith's ears on his way into the locker room at halftime of Sunday's 31-7 first-half disaster.
Every ounce of outrage was appropriate, every boo deserved.
Sunny and 65 degrees at kickoff, this was a beautiful day for football.
Not sure what game the Bears were playing but that wasn't football.
RosenBlog: Everybody -- except Cleveland -- gets well against the Bears
You can't blame all this on Tommie Harris. But it's a good place to start.
Harris delivered the dumbest play of the year for the Bears when he slugged Arizona guard Deuce Letui in the face at the end of a play. The two had mixed it up one play earlier, but that doesn't matter. It also doesn't matter if Letui wouldn't let Harris up off the ground. There is nothing Harris can say after the game to justify his reaction.
It was the fourth play of the game in the most important Sunday of the season. You have to stay on the field and in the game. You cannot get ejected, as Harris was after the altercation.
His loss deflated the Bears. But good defenses recover. The Bears obviously are not a good defense. They can't stop the run, can't cover the pass and can't pressure the quarterback. Other than that, they're close.
Close to already planning for 2010.
The Bears cannot even miss a field goal without nearly letting the Cardinals score. (Maybe Robbie Gould could show the Bears defensive backs how to make open-field tackles, by the way.)
The Cardinals picked up first downs on 10 of their first 14 plays. If Kurt Warner finishes with one of his trademark Pro Bowl-caliber seasons, he can point back to this game as the one he got back on track. The guy who threw five interceptions a week earlier looked like the quarterback with the familiar quick release.
And this was without injured wide receiver Anquan Boldin. Had Boldin played against the Bears secondary, it wouldn't have seemed fair.
If the Bears defense doesn't work, nothing else matters. It is the battery to their car. Without it, they go nowhere. Not Sunday, not this season.
Jay Cutler has done what he could to keep the first half from being a total embarrassment. The offensive line has protected him better than the past couple weeks and Cutler has bought some time himself. The 42-yard reception to Devin Hester was pretty. The 33-yard TD pass to Greg Olsen was overdue.
But the defense was so bad that the Bears could have done that three more times and only been tied at halftime.
The Bears' first half at Cincinnati was bad. This was worse. This was at home.
What's wrong with this team? Only everything.
Arizona's Greg Toler and the Bears' Israel Idonije go for the ball after a Bears punt. (AP / Nam Y. Huh)
It was the Bears' offense we spent all week worrying about, right?
Not the defense? I just want to be clear about that. Because what I'm
watching now seems to be a dismembering of that same wonderful Bears
defense that shut down the Browns a Sunday ago.Come to think of it, the Browns were really awful, weren't they?
Sunday's first-half downfall started with what has to be one of the more stupid things I've seen on a football field, and that says something, football players being football players. Bears defensive tackle Tommie Harris wound up and threw an uppercut at a prone Deuce Lutui. It got Harris ejected from the game. Did I mention how stupid that was?
From there, the Cardinals went on to a touchdown, something they would do a lot in the first half. Kurt Warner was great. So was Larry Fitzgerald, mostly at the expense of the Bears' Charles Tillman. But if you're looking for an explanation as to why the Bears trailed 31-7 going into the locker room, know that the Cardinals had 131 rushing yards by halftime. It also helps to understand that Arizona came into the game as the worst running team in the NFL. When receiver Steve Breaston gained 25 yards on a reverse, the crowd booed.
When Warner hit Anthony Becht for a 15-yard TD a play later, the boos went to another level.
The Bears' poor tackling habits were on full display when Arizona's Antrel Rolle returned a blocked field-goal attempt 59 yards, setting up a Cards' field goal as time ran out in the first half. Those earlier boos I talked about? Amateur hour. The Bears got more of them as they ran off the field, and they deserved every one.
You want good news? The much-maligned Bears offensive line did a nice job of protecting Cutler. See? You just have to look for positives.
Register with Chicago Tribune and receive Bears, Bulls, and Blackhawks newsletters for free. 
When sports news breaks, be the first to know. (To get alerts on a mobile device, text CHISPORTS to 31286.). 
Get our updates on 
First of all I'd like to thank Fox for taking the bears game off the air.
Second I'd like to put my vote in for Jon Gruden. If he would come to the Bears.
Living in Oklahoma all I heard was how lucky the Bears were to get Tommie Harris. It looks to me like Harris is pulling the same crap that Benson did. Get the money, sit on your ass and move on to another team to get your ring. Did I mention the questions about his sexual preferance while at Oklahoma
Cutler is God... the Super Bowl is the Bears divine right. Horrible team, perfect fit for a loser like Jay Cutler.
ROFLMAO
I TOO AM A PROPONENT for trading BRIAN URLACHER in the post season, once he is rehealed and can pass a physical which another team would accept. He's been decent in the past, but the past couple of seasons, he's been living off his past !!!
Well, at least they havnt given up. With Cutler there's always a chance. This defense, not so much.
This kind of game makes you want to forget about watching football every again. I know I will come back but at least I can gather sports related viewing entertainment from the Sox and the Bulls. This is atrocious. As I posted after last weeks game its time to clean house.
Lovie has always sucked. He can't coach his way out of a paper bag. The entire coahing staff should go and this means LOVIE, he's worthless. And why we are at it git rid of that under achiever and over rate BRAIN "I suck alot" URLOCKER.
As bad as today has been, nothing has suddenly changed. The Bears are weak in the trenches on both sides, and digressing game to game. fix the lines, get a new Offensive coordinator, and be competitive.
I think I'm going to take savannahbigcat's advice, and go outside to cut my grass for it's about 75 degees here in Maryland because I feel like I'm 120 degrees inside the more I keep watching this game.
Is it me, or did the Bears start going downhill the minute Lovie fired Ron Rivera, which seemed to be a move percipitated by the two men's egos than results on the football field. And things are only getting worse now that Lovie has taken over play calling on defense. I think it's time for him to go. Charlie Weis will be looking for work soon.
FIRE LOVIE SMITH BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE !!!
FIRE LOVIE SMITH BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE !!!
FIRE LOVIE SMITH BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE !!!
WHAT PART OF THE AFOREMENTIONED MESSAGE DO YOU "NOT" UNDERSTAND JERRY ANGELO ???
PERHAPS THE MCCASKEY FAMILY SHOULD MAKE AN APPEARANCE AND FIRE LOVIE SMITH SINCE JERRY ANGELO DOESN'T GET IT; THEN FIRE ANGELO BECAUSE HE DIDN'T GET IT !!!
THE BEARS "DID NOT" GO TO THE SUPERBOWL "BECAUSE" OF THE LOVESTER, THEY WENT THERE "IN SPITE" OF HIM !!! WHOEVER HAD THE IDEA OF HIRING SMITH IN THE 1ST PLACE SHOULD BE EXAMINED BY A PSYCOLOGIST !!!
JUST IMAGINE; IT MIGHT BE 70 DEGREES IN CHITOWN TODAY, BUT IF IT WERE 15 DEGREES BELOW ZERO, IT WOULD ALSO BE 70 DEGREES BECAUSE OF THE STEAM COMING OFF PAPA BEAR'S CASKET !!!
Are chicago sports fans that dumb. They should get rid of all the pro sports teams in this town. They all suck from the BEARS, to the CUBS, to the SOXS, even the BULLS and Hawks will even disappoint you in the end.
Cutler, Olsen, Forte, Mannelly, Gould, and Hester can stay. Fire Lovie and his cast of "coaches" with the rest of the team.
I like how the title of the Chicagosports home page says You're Done Lovie, I would like to add to that, THE BEARS DEFENSE IS DONE, VERY DONE. PERIOD!!!. And to think being a Bears fan I wouldn't say this about my favorite team but the frustration of this crap football is just mounting with every game they play like this. At this point I think Northwestern can beat this Bears team.
I would have to say if I was the Bears general manager I would be putting Tommy Harris on notice for his idiotic actions early in this game. There is no reason to go overboard punching an opponent like he did. This is the same guy who right now needs to be proving himself to be a pro bowl football, and not a bum. As for the rest of this teams defense they need to start stepping up right now as there season is slipping away very fast with the resurgance of Green Bay, and Minnesota playing as good as they are, this team needs to know that the playoffs is no longer going to happen for them with this type of football performance. It's not like there going to be playing the Browns every Sunday so they're going to have to play a lot better tha this. All I know if they continue to play like this all season long, I would look for the Bears to rebuild this whole entire team's defense whether it's through the Draft of free agency but knowing that we can not keep this junk defense for another year. Also let me add one more thing here, before Jay Cutler gets killed on this team, maybe Bears management also needs to get him some more defensive help on the other side of the ball too. As of this moment this team really looks lost, and if I had to rate them, I would put them in the league with the Redskins, Panthers, Raiders, Lions or even the Browns.
Is that a Vikings fan talking about chokers? That is pretty ironic.
If I said what I am thinking, I would be called prejudiced.
I am so tired of these great athletes that cannot think.
Look to a picture of the 85 Bears. Physically they look nothing like the clowns we have now. There is no heart on this team.
hey chicago ! hows that superbowl looking, remember all you idiots drooling over cutler and the bears... superbowl this superbowl that! "chicago the city of chokers"
Out here in the east the Fox network just switched to the Green Bay game. That about says it all. Now if the Chicago Bear fans would just follow suit and stop supporting a losing franchise maybe things would change. Pro sports is a business... if they feed you garbage and you keep coming back they will continue to feed you garbage... simple economics.
I feel sorry for any fan that stands behind this crap "outfit". A complete breakdown in all defensive phases. Just hope that Cutler does not get hurt. Coaches and several players should not be here next year or next week for that matter!
I feel sorry for any fan that stands behind this crap "outfit". A complete breakdown in all defensive phases. Just hope that Cutler does not get hurt. Coaches and several players should not be here next year or next week for that matter!
FIRE Lovie today!!!!!!
Lovie has got to go - get Shanahan today
and then Angelo
Thanks for the a nice High #1 draft pick!
It got so bad, the A-holes that gave us Glen Beck at Fox, switched to the Green Bay Tampa Bay game.
The game is so bad they just switched to the packer game here in kauai. so long lovie
No Love for Lovie!
Bears fans, you have our deepest sympathy.
Denver Bronco Fans
you are the idiots that voted for me! remember who has the last laugh. hahahahahahahahahaha
The Bears just got to figure out how to play Cleveland every week. At least they still have a game left against the equally pitiful Lions.
Okay, who broke the Bears? What the heck is going on? Lovie you have to feel that it's getting warmer on your seat after a pathetic display today...
Lovie and Barack have a lot in common:
All talk and no substance.
Feel good rhetoric and an ignorance of reality.
In position for years to come, and nothing anyone can do about it.
We can only hoe their will be change.
We are worse than the Redskins. What a disaster....
"Well maybe the will get a clue and get field turf for that excuse for a football field. At least they will be half way to a real franchise."
The Bears dont own nor maintain the field, the Chicago Park District does.
Pathetic!
When you are brought in for your defense, have nothing to do with the offense, and are calling your own plays you need to play good defense. Otherwise, really, what's the point? Lovie is still one of the highest paid coaches in the league so his job is secure. I do wonder if Angelo's contract makes him just as secure?
I will now watch with interest, how the Bears handle this situation. I remember the end days of Ditka and how the team tuned him out as he became inneffective as a head coach. It's quite obvious that players are not playing hard for Lovie which has been his trademark as a Bears coach. The defense is critically broken and I have little faith that the current group of coaches can fix it. The season is probably over and the Bears will now have to avoid the reality of being "fun bad".
Awful--just awful. I watched part of the first half and decided life is too short to waste it watching this poor excuse for a football game. McCaskeys--if you don't look for a new staff, you are more foolish than even I gave you credit for.
I think they just showed the Cardinals punter on the sidelines eating a beef sandwich.
P.S. Pace is through. Cut him tomorrow.
ahh hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
At least Abe Gibron had personality and style. He was fun to watch even though his teams weren't.
Lovie Smith shows no passion and no heart. Everyone in Chicago has known that the Bears have an aweful Defense for the past three years.
The down fall for this started when they fired Ron Rivera, made Devin Hester a full time wide receiver and never properly replaced Jim Big Cat Williams. That guy was huge.
On defense, they changed the make-up of the defense when they did not replace their version of the Williams Brothers.
The team sucks and the organization sucks. They don't have a first or second round draft choice next year. They refused to go out a pay for quality offensive lineman and Defensive Ends.
Everyone knew that the Bears needed another running back. Jerry Angelo and Lovie Smith need to be fired. This team seems to play poorly when they are on National TV.
The Bears will not win another game for the rest of year.
shows what we the die fans know,talent level on TEAM
not very good at all !
all I can is "we're get them NEXT YEAR " !!!!!
CHICAGO'S SPORTS THEME SONG !!!!!!!
A BEAR FAN ALL MY LIFE , FROM THE DAYS OF WHEN THERE WAS NOBODY IN THE STANDS TO SUPER BOWL BEARS !
MAN, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE McCaskeys will do for us next!!
go bears !!!
Why are there still fans coming out to support this horrible franchise? And, it's time for the ownership to start asserting itself and intervening in this mess. Fire people, get involved in press conferences, say there are going to be changes, and then hire people who can evaluate talent. And get some players who have size, some speed, and some athletic ability. Enough with the midgets in the pass-catching unit; enough with the small guys on the defensive line; enough with the no-brains, perpetually injured guys like Harris. They need help at about every position.
OK, I opened a beer, I can comment now. Lovie's defense is easy for a savvy QB to pick apart. It is interesting though that even though the offense has played reasonably well, the game turned on a boneheaded offensive play call. It was 14-7 and the Bears were marching again after going 90 yards on the opening drive and they run a reverse. I'm no expert, but my understanding is a reverse should be in response to the defense abandoning their gaps to overpursue the running game. How can a reverse be set up when you haven't run the ball at all?
If the Bears score on that drive it is a different game.
Cut the crap Lovie, we suck again.
Why is Marinelli getting a free pass?
Wasn't he the most valuable free agent we got this year?
We must be at the bottom of the league on D-Line play.
This time, I hope the Chicago media buries Lovie Smith after the game. Nut hey, at least we beat the Browns. One more win this season (the lowly Rams). Denver and Tampa Bay are going to get some great draft choices from the Bears ignorant trades. Gaines Adams, what a freaking joke! At least Cutler has talent, no brains but at least some talent.
It's a beautiful day. Stop watching TV. Go outside and play.
Do they have to play on Thursday night? Can't they flex them to another dimension? Maybe 2010?
It's embarassing to be out of state and admit to being a Bears fan.
I think this might be Lovie's last season.
This is absolutley emabarrasing. I can't take it anymore. Its time to gut the team and try and start over around Cutler.
I have been a bears fan since 1945 and I can not believe what I am seeing. The bears would have twice as good a team if they drafted the Texas Longhorns whole team. Lovie Smith can't coach and he can't inspire. Offensive coordinator is truley offensive and inept. And the general manager has to be the worse. With the way Benson is playing for Cincinatti you must realize it is coaching. Get rid of the whole offensive line who can't open holes or protect the passer. Lovie is a perfect example of the Peter Principle. He is risen to is highest level of ineptitude. Please get rid of the entire team and start over. It will be worth the wait.
Bear fans at the non game should get up say nothing and leave just as I am turning the game off and going out and do something else with my time instead of watching a joke.
If the Bears organization care about its fans, they would fire Lovie Smith and Jerry Angelo immediately after the game. I wish all fans would leave the game at halftime. This Bears team and coaching staff is only paralleled by the Abe Gibron era. A TOTAL EMBARRASSMENT.
Why get upset, the Bears have a cheap rate O man, have gone thru how many D guys since Rivera, and have not drafted well...I am not surprised.
Cheap stupid owners do not hire quality....this regime is half you know what. Angelo was a long time failure with TB, Smith is a D Man only, give me a break.
Until the McKaskeys sell nothing will change.
Well maybe the will get a clue and get field turf for that excuse for a football field. At least they will be half way to a real franchise.