TMT's

This week's theme------- Random.

1. The ESPN army for Monday Night countdown went on and on about Mendenhall stating that he was going to have a good game against Baltimore and how that would upset Baltimore. They then proceeded to play a clip of Bart Scott getting upset that Mendenhall said he would have a good game against Baltimore.

First, what is Mendenhall supposed to say? "I think I am going to have a bad game". Secondly, enough with the bulletin board material shit that teams love using. How big are these bulletin boards? Because it seems almost everything said by any opposing player could be used as bulletin board material these days. Lastly, it doesn't matter what someone says. Just like you can never take to heart what a middle east politician says about anything, you can't take to heart what an NFL, NBA, MLB, etc., player says about anything. Honestly, if Chad Ocho Cinco guarantees a victory before a game, does that mean anything? Would we listen to him if he said that he found a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow?

2. Buffalo and Tennessee are either a) not going to the playoffs are b) destined for a first game exit in the playoffs.

3. Baltimore/Pittsburgh makes you feel like its 1912 again and they just invented the forward pass.

4. When your fantasy team goes 1-3, you start to convince yourself that fantasy football is stupid and a waste of time. Thus, I think that fantasy football is a waste of time.

5. There is nothing more annoying than watching your favorite football team play with a close friend, who constantly yells and screams because his fantasy football player just scored a touchdown, while your douche bag QB of your beloved team just threw an interception. I'm not into the whole man rules thing, but I do think there should be a moratorium on rooting for fantasy players while watching your home team play. Just saying I-truth.

6. Bret Favre is a peace of f'n shit. I hope he breaks a hip. I thought I was through with that Levis wearing bastard after he left the Packers. But no, 6 f'n TDs against my fantasy team. How on earth does he go from shitty and crippled in one week, to throwing 6 TDs (a career best) the next week. On that note, the Cardinals should be banished from the NFL. They should take the approach that European futbol leagues take. The worst teams get relegated to college football and the best two from college get elevated to the NFL. Take out the Cardinals and Bengals and give me Ohio State and USC. Wouldn't that be more enjoyable?

7. Kyle Orton is disgusting. Physcially, mentally and as a player.

8. Tony Romo is starting to make me wonder whether he is a good QB. I still think he is though. I think when you have to try to throw the ball to one WR, it just messes you up. 17 pass attempts to TO, with only 7 completions. 10 attempts and 7 completions to Whitten. I just don't think you can force these things.

9. Lat week I thought I had a draft day steal with the ascension of Mendenhall (i.e. injury to Willie Parker). Today? Seriously, nothing is going well for me in Fantasy.

10. Mat Millen is gone. Thats a good start. When are they going to fire the rest of the owners, coaches and players?

Bears: Better lucky than Good

For the life of me, I can't understand how we managed to win the game last night. We turned the ball for what seemed like 10 times. Our defense played 90% of the second half. And our offense was as incompetent as Sara Palin. I guess after undeservedly losing two games we should have won, good luck finally caught up with us. I'll take 2-2. And as Lovie will say (read in thick southern idiot accent), "Its the first quarter of the season, we're 2-2 and in 1st place". Spoken as if we're going to the Superbowl. Alright, quick thoughts on the game.

1. Our offensive line is not that good. We had trouble running the ball against the 8-9 man fronts and they constantly got beat in the passing game. I fault Orton for being a bad QB, but a lot of his turnovers and problems had to do with the shaky line play.

2. Speaking of Orton. He made nice throws on the TDs. But basically again, I think what we see are receivers making great plays to get open and catch balls. Orton's passes to Olsen and Hester showed some good touch. But again when you play a team that is simply taking away your running game, blitzing and stacking the box, this is what a QB should do; throw the loft ball over the top. The one great throw was the throw to Booker for his TD. However, Orton still doesn't do it for me. He waited to long to read the defense on blitzes, throwing costly turnovers (the one in the end-zone killed me), and fumbling the ball a few times. If we're grading him as a game manager, the guy gets an F. Lastly, I really want to punch him in the face when he does that smile/grimace look after he throws a terrible pass. I can't stand that f'in look.

3. In the second half our offense was simply incompetent. The offense made my point last week that the Bears are basically the Bush administration- i.e. incompetent. Orton's fumbles, the INT in the End zone, and the inability to make a simple hand off. I could only imagine what was going on in the mind of Urlacher after that play. I think the offense even went into Sara Palin territory. Palin thinks she understands foreign policy because she can see Russia from Alaska. I think the Bears believe they understand how to run an offense because they've seen tape of the Colts offense. Just terrible. Its a win, but this isn't playoff offense we're seeing here.

3. The defense played great yesterday considering that they played 90%of the time in the 2nd half. They still can't manage to get pressure by rushing four (which leads to teams easily dissecting the Cover 2), but they still got it done. The goal line stand was great.

4. Going along with number 1 above. We need to do something about giving Forte some holes to run through. Whether its stretching the passing game or just figuring out how to deal with the 8 man front, I think we're wasting the talent of our best offensive weapon in Forte. The guy is good. But if there are no holes, you can't run.

5. I'm glad Devin Hester was back last night. You could tell he wasn't 100% on the returns b/c he just didn't have that extra burst or wiggle. But, his speed was evident on offense. Great touchdown play by simply outrunning the DB. He also should have had another TD, but dropped a pretty easy pass.

I'll take 2-2. Sometimes it is just better to be lucky than good.

Chicago Bears and the Bush Administration

During last Sunday's debacle against the Bucs, my dad repeatedly asked me why the Bears couldn't get a normal QB to the lead the team. I-Truth asked me why the Bears repeatedly allowed mediocre Bucs WRs the slant option, after Griese's 60th attempt to throw the short slant. They asked these questions as pleas to Lovie Smith, as if he was in the room. On behalf of Lovie, I responded simply, "We like the guys that we got'". A non-answer for sure. But, no doubt this is the stance of Lovie and the BEars. Stay the course and don't make changes. It got me thinking; The Bears are just like the current administration. Here's why.

Bush Admin: Staying the course in Iraq with eyes shut despite constant reassurance that the war is a disaster costing both American and innocent Iraq's lives.

Bears: Staying the course with terrible QB despite constant reassurance that Kyle Orton is an Arena league back-up QB.

Bush Admin: Lead by a southern figurehead who can't distinguish the difference between Al-Qaeda and so called Iraqi insurgent freedom fighters.

Bears: Lead by a southern coach, who can't distinguish the difference between a good CB (Ricky Manning) and a terrible one (Danieal Manning, Trumane McBride).

Bush Admin: Believes that 'machismo' and ego should supersede rational thought. I.E. Lets blow up an entire country because (1) we can; and (2) because 19 terrible people committed a terrorist attack, so lets punish an unrelated country and entire population because, well we can.

Bears: Lets obtain stupid personal foul penalties called during important parts of the game (I'm talking to you Charles Tillman and Mr. Kreutz (who will inevitably get called for a few this year), simply to defend your ego and "protect your house".

Bush Admin: Failure to recognize that your policies (unprecedented spending, cutting taxes and going to war) are hurting the average American.

Bears: Failure to recognize that your policies (Cover 2, obtaining a competent QB, etc), are hurting every Chicago Bears fan.

Bush Admin: Talking down and lying to the American people about almost everything, thinking that said people are idiots.

Bears: Lovie Smith and Jerry Angelo talking down to us fans and lying about injuries and the quality of the team, thinking that we are idiots.

Bush Admin: Thinking that by simply existing in a certain area of the world, we are somehow in a position to win the war.

Bears: Thinking that because its only the "1st quarter" of the season and we're only 1-2, and that by simply existing, we are somehow in a position to win the Super Bowl.

Honestly, like real life, lets hope both this country and the Bears get a change of administration.

Oh yeah, a McCain analogy.

McCain: Picking an incompetent inexperienced idiot as your VP candidate.

Bears: Picking an incompetent inexperienced idiot as your defensive coordinator.

Chicago Bears: We let Brian Griese Beat Us.

Wow. We somehow managed to let Brian F'in Griese beat us. Ordinarily, I wouldn't be able to get out of bed after a Bears' loss, but you can't be too upset when your team losses when you know that they aren't a good team. True, the Bears should be 3-0 at this point after blowing two consecutive wins they should have won. But, in reality, the Bears just aren't an elite football team. 1-2 or 2-1, whats the difference when you know your team is likely to be bounced in the 1st round of the playoffs? Alright, now to the points.

1. There were so many opportunities to win that game yesterday, its baffling just trying to recount them. But I'll try. 1. 4 turnovers created. 2. Inability to score touchdowns in the beginning of the game after said turnovers. Score should have been 14-0 in the 1st quarter and likely the end of the game. 3. Kyle Orton's stupid, stupid interception return for a touchdown. 4. Kyle Orton's terrible accuracy on long throws. The interception to Forte should have been a TD. Forte had his guy beat by 5 steps. Instead, Kyle throws it behind him. 5. Rashid F'in Davis drop off of a great thrown ball by Kyle Orton, which would have given us a 1st down and likely the end of the game. 6. Nathan Vasher's failure to catch an interception thrown directly at him with no WRs in his field of vision. 7. And of course, Peanut's loony personal foul call in OT. Just stupid. I know what your thinking, there are probably 10 more stupid plays that would have sealed the deal here- I don't want to get into all of it. Its depressing.

2. Kyle Orton has been downgraded. He is a below average QB. His interception that was returned for a TD, was soo f'in stupid. He can't stretch the field and make plays in the passing game. Okay, but we gave him credit for managing the game. But he can't even f'in do that. Orton threw one great pass yesterday, a pass that was dropped by Rashid Davis. All of his other throws were inaccurate and only caught due to a great play by the WR, not Orton. Think about it. Brandon Lloyd must have had his guy beat 10 times yesterday, but each time he had to make a circus catch, because of Orton's often under thrown ball. The TD? The long pass? All plays made by the WR, in spite of Orton's throw. I don't like this guy. Give me Grossman. At least he'll make a few spectacular throws.

3. Matt Forte is the real deal. Not only is he the real deal, buy Ascento (yes, I like it), is our entire offense. He can do everything, run, catch, and even likely punt and pass. I'm falling for him. No homo of course.

4. Defense played great at times, and off course terrible at times. In their defense, they just looked really tired. Brian Griese threw the ball 67 times. Almost 70 pass attempts? Thats crazy. I didn't even know that was possible.

5. Is it me, or is everyone punting the ball 10 extra yards this year? MAynard's suddenly got the leg of a Futbol goalie.

6. Brandon Lloyd has been upgraded from serviceable NFL WR, to NFL wide receiver.

7. Rashid Davis has been downgraded from special teams player, to Arena football league water boy. Can we end the Rashid Davis experiment? Please put in your most explosive WR Bears. His name is Mark Bradey. Sure, he will get hurt. But he's got to be better than Rashid Davis.

8. Mike Brown hasn't made an impact this year. Where is Mike Brown?

9. Kevin Payne reminds me of a slower and less experienced version of Chris Harris.

10. Danieal Manning didn't have a terrible game last night. Surprising to me.

Well, there we have it. In the end, Brian Griese beat us.

Chicago Bears vs. Tampa Bay: Don't let Brian Griese Beat You

In my gmail chat with I-Truth this morning, he left me with some immortal words, "The Bears cannot let Brian Griese beat them". Oh dear god, what if Brian Griese and the Bucs beat us Sunday?

I know Griese isn't a terrible QB. Its not like he's Tim Rattay, Alex Smith, or Kyle Orton (just had to throw that last one in there). He's just a notch below average. But there's something about him that just screams, incompetent, sort of arrogant, not that good at passing- QB. I don't know, all I am saying is that we can't lose to a Brian Griese led Bucs team. We're at home, our home opener, playing an okay team led by an average QB. Seriously, Bears don't f'in lose to Brian Griese (as if the Bears read this).

Anyway, I'm not into predictions like the morons on TV and papers who couldn't out-predict a monkey, so here are my thoughts on the game.

1. Bears D, please hurt or damage Brian Griese. I hope the defense continues its aggressive strategy of crowding the line and giving the QB different looks. Its worked pretty well. Stick with it.

2. Give the ball to Mathew Garrett Forte (Forte is spelled with an accento over the e. This is just cool. Maybe his nickmame should just be accento, not as an accent, but like ascension? So Ascento. Hmm, I'll try it for this post. Ascento needs to get his carries, but stay fresh. I think we used him a little too much last week. I hope they insert Kevin Jones for one or two more series, just to keep Ascento fresh.

3. Once Ascento tears up the Bucs D, use the play-action pass and hit (insert no-name WR here) for a deep pass or two. If Orton is QB, we got to stick to the running game, but we have to make them fear the long pass. I figure that if Jim Miller could throw the long ball, so can Kyle Orton.

4. Devin Hester. Or as I like to call him, DH or our Designated Hero. If he's hurt, let him rest. I'd rather see him fully healthy than play half-hurt. But if he's ready to go, I say we use him more in our offense. What, are we afraid we'll take playing time away from Rashid Davis? Marty Booker? Go all out with the guy. What else do we have to lose.

Alright, thats all I really got. Its the Bucs for crying out loud.

Football Perceptual Map

I found this pretty interesting. In the marketing world, I believe this is what they call a perceptual map. For instance, if it were Beer, the axis would be labeled Premium/Value and Tasty and light. So Guinness would be in the upper right corner as Tasty and Premium. Anyway, just a little B-school stupidity applying to my life.

Tuesday Morning Thoughts

The Bears lost and my Fantasy team put up the following points: Hasselback- 4, LT- 3, Ryan Grant-2, Edj James, 5, Chad Johnson-3. Needless to say, I'm really not in the football kind of mood today. So lets just go with 5 thoughts for now.

1. When did the NFL become the Arena League. Cowboys/Eagles, Pack/Lions, Chargers/Broncos, all crazy, high scoring games this week. I guess it makes for great football drama, but to me, I don't think it makes for good football. Football shouldn't be like basketball where you can skip the initial 3 quarters and tune in for the last second possession. Nor should so many points be put on the board by both teams. Maybe I'm old fashioned, by I like my football to be played in the 20s and under. And every once in a while, I love a 45 to 3 like victory. 45-37, just seems like a poorly played big-ten basketball game, with the exception that a big ten basketball game has great defense.

2. Speaking of defense, do NFL teams play defense anymore? Are they fielding their special teams units on defense now? All of sudden, average offenses like San Diego and Denver are playing Brady-Pats like offense. I don't get this. Is it because the NFL doesn't let corners touch WRs anymore? This would make sense. In the last few years we've seen the emergence of the little short speedy WR that can dominate a game. 20 years ago, the little short speedy receiver would have been in the hospital (See Tom Waddle). Or maybe its that offenses are spreading the field (ala college football these days) and taking more chances. Last night the Eagles basically played with 5-6 WRs every play by making Westbrook an extra WR. Finally, maybe defenses just suck.

3. I've said this before (and likely sounding a little Marrioti-ish right now), but I simply don't get the Cowboys are America's team concept. They are fun to watch this year. But, I don't root for them. I root for the Bears. I also suspect that Eagles, Steelers, Lions, Packers, etc fans' root for their own teams as well. To me, unless your from Dallas or Texas (or have some connection to that place), rooting and wearing a Cowboys jersey, just makes you a douche bag. Its like a kid in Iowa sporting his Kobe Lakers' jersey.

4. Fantasy Football has become totally random. And yes, I say this because my team sucks. But its become unpredictable. Jay Cutler and Philip Rivers have outplayed Peyton Manning, Hasselback, Brady and Drew Brees. RB, C. Johnson of Tennessee has outplayed LT. Kurt Warner put up 35 points in my league. And Eddie Royal outscored Braylon Edwards for two straight weeks. Although this is an exaggeration, I feel that I would have probably done just the same, if I drafted my players from a hat on draft day.

5. Sportscasters. I loathe Kornheiser and dislike Cornheiser. I like Jaworski. I love Tommy Waddle on NFL network. I dislike almost everything ESPN. On one last note, during pre-game introductions for last nights' MNF, ESPN employed the following people - Berman, Chris Carter, Tom Jackson, Ditka, Meshawn Jackson, Chris Mortenson, Stuart Scott, Steve Young, and Emmit Smith. Not to mention, Michelle Tafoya and I believe Suzy Colber on the sidelines. Thats 11 football personalities dissecting one football game. Add in the three in the booth and that makes 14. 14 people? Is this really necessary. How about we just cut the following people, Tafoya, Emmit Smith, Ditka, Meshawn, Stuart Scott, Steve Young, and Kornheiser. Thats 7 people, still leaving 7 others to handle the duties. In my opinion, not only would the pre-game and commentary be a lot better, but I also just saved ESPN at least $1.4Million (I assume these guys avg. $200k a year. Just a guess) in salaries. This just makes sense to me.

Chicago Bears: No Room for Error

If we learned anything from yesterday, it was that the Bears can't afford to turn the ball over. 2 costly fumbles by G-Reg of the 7th floor crew costs the Bears the game on Sunday. The first fumble prevented at least three points on the Bears best offensive possession of the game. The 2nd fumble, gave Carolina the field advantage and momentum to put up the points that eventually won the game.

Absent those two mistakes and a poor throw by Kyle Orton to a wide open and streaking Marty Booker (you don't hear wide open and streaking and Booker in the same sentence too often), the Bears would have achieved their 2nd win and 2nd straight road victory.

But, fumbles do occur and QBs overthrow their WRs. Why should this have completely cost the Bears the game? Its simple, the Bears have no room for error. When your offensive philosophy is to run the rock and minimize the responsibilities of your QB, you need to take advantages of your few opportunities. The Bears successfully pulled this off for 6 quarters (Colts and 1st half vs. Carolina). But then mistakes happened and we found ourselves down by 3.

Down by 1 would have been good enough. Our offense, to their credit, have played well. But, this is no come from behind offense. Sorry, but Kyle Orton is rarely going to lead your team to victory through the passing game. He is a game manager, which is perfect when the score is 0-0 or Bears 17-7. Its not so good when your down 17-20. If the Kyle and Co., can't figure out a way to open up the passing game in "must passing game situations" (ugh), then the Bears will win a few and lose a few. Now some thoughts.

The Good.
1. Matt "insert nickname here" Forte sure seems like a special running back. There were a few plays yesterday that he had no business converting into positive yardage. Yet, a subtle juke or cut got him 3-4 yards. He is impressive.

2. The Bears Defense played another great game. Unfortunately, due to the poor offense in the 2nd half they just couldn't prevent the inevitable. Dusty D. looked great. And Urlacher played well. The only real negatives were our CBs letting below average WRs (and I mean Moose) catch a few balls.

3. Brandon Lloyd looks like a serviceable NFL WR.

4. The OL had an okay game. Not to much pressure on Kyle and they opened up some nice holes.

5. For the first half at least the offensive and defensive play calling was fantastic. A WR reverse to Rashid Davis for a 1st down. Play action passes to the running back/fulback's in the flat. And Defensive pressure and blitz calls were great.

The Bad.

1. G-Reg. Enough said.

2. Kyle Orton. Just couldn't get it done when he needed to step up. Only down 3 points and he couldn't get us past the 50 yard line. He missed a wide open Marty Booker which would have resulted in a TD if it was perfectly thrown. Not good. He also through the ball into some pretty tight coverages and should have been intercepted at least twice.

On that note, I wonder if we could institute some 2 QB system. Sounds stupid, right? Well,what if we gave the ball to Kyle to manage the game. IF we're up, great, keep him in there. But, if we need a come from behind win, lets give the ball to Grossman. I still think he is the better passer out of the two. Crazy, I know. But honestly, ask yourself, who would you rather have at QB when you need a come from behind win?

Tuesday Morning Thoughts

On with the TMTs.

1. Whats with the One City One Team ads by the Bears? I like the nostalgia, but is this the most creative slogan they could come up with. Hmmmm, "well we're in Chicago, which is one city and well we only have one football team... I got it. One City One Team!". Sorry, but its lame. I get the play on the divided city Cubs/Sox thing, but its football. They're not competing with MLB viewers.

2. Mike Ditka makes my ears bleed. Honestly, I can't fathom why anyone pays this guy to talk. I'm not sure he completed one sentence last night during MNF Part II.

3. It is not smart to start a QB and RB of the same team on your fantasy roster. For the second straight year, I have employed a QB/RB on the same NFL team. This is stupid. They just split up your points. Rarely are Ryan Grant AND Aaron Rodgers going to have monster games on the same night. I am an idiot.

4. Speaking of Fantasy Football, its also not wise to draft a QB high in the draft, when said QB does not have one healthy WR to throw the ball to. Matt Hasselback was just not a smart move. P.S. If your a WR in Seattle right now, do you even try to suit up? Your going to get hurt (Burleson is out for the season now). Honestly, let that hamstring injury persist for a few more weeks until they find a cure for the disease.

5. The best fantasy strategy might just be getting the RB who plays the Lions every week. Ryan Grant should have a monster week this Sunday.

6. Life just seems better without Jay Marriotti. I can actually read the Sun-Times sports section (online off course) without having to gloss over Marriotti's gibberish.

7. The Bears were angry at the media for picking Indy to beat them in week 1. Here's a suggestion, don't play like retards in the pre-season and the media won't bash you in week 1. If you want the media and fans to support you, its simple, just play like you did against Indy, every Sunday.

8. Can someone explain to me why its a good idea to hire recently retired football players for pre-game shows? Does Michael Strahan, Tiki Barber, MeShawn, etc., really add value to our viewing pleasure? I think not. Plus, I simply don't understand the transition. One career, football, requires athleticism, while the other, broadcasting, requires writing and verbal skills. How does one go from professional football player to professional broadcaster in one day?

9. A big part of me is pleased that Tom Brady is out for the season. This is cruel. Brady seems like a nice, hardworking guy. But, with the terrible QB history of the Bears, it just seems fair that Brady is out for a long time. To make things even more just, Peyton Manning should break a hip and Favre should lose a head.

10. Lets say you had Brady on your team, he's out, do you go out and get Cassell off the waiver wire? It seems legitimate. But, its Cassell isn't it. He couldn't do much against the terrible Chiefs. Isn't Travarios Jackson or Trent Edwards just as viable an option? But, I guess having Randy Moss on your team automatically makes you a legit QB. However, that didn't work in Oakland either. I just don't know.

Chicago Bears Adopt Blueprint Created in 1932.

Last week I wrote the following,"We (Bears) win because (a) we can run the rock and (b) we play great defense. This depends largely on our OL and DL play. Let’s just get an OL good enough to give our average QB time to make a few throws, while our running game dominates and our defense holds opponents to low scores." Last night, the Bears ran the rock, dominated on defense and gave our average QB a chance to make a few plays. Well, done Bears.

I'm not re-hashing my quote above to honor my football savvy. The simple truth is that the Bears, since the beginning of time, have always succeeded by running the ball, playing great defense and using the play-action game to make a few good throws. This is nothing new. They probably did it in 1932. Again, run the rock, play great defense, and give our average QB enough time to make a couple of nice throws. Alright, now to some insight on the game last night.

1. Matt Forte is solid. Darn he looked good last night. It was nice to see the OL man-handling the Colts-D. It seemed like every carry gave us at least 5 yards. Even better, Forte made a lot of Colts players miss last night. He showed great footwork and good speed. Its only been one game, but we now need a nickname for Forte. Hmmmmm. Matt "truck" Forte? No stupid.

2. Kyle is our Quarterback. Alright, I'm not a big fan of the guy. But, I'll give credit to Lovie and the coaching staff. They took the ball out of his hands and gave it to Forte and Jones. After we ran on them all night, the passing game was wide open for Orton to make a few nice throws. Its clear the Bears offense is going to be a run offense spattered with a few play-action throws. Thats fine with me.

3. I hate on these guys a lot (Lovie and Babich), but I loved their defensive scheme last night. They got right up in the Colts faces. Unlike the terrible and soft Cover 2 they played in the Super-Bowl, the Bears used a lot of different looks, crowding the line and blitzing. It was a perfectly called game. Good stuff coaches.

4. To people who criticize Hester's play last night. Agreed it was stupid. But that's Devin. You can't be surprised he did that last night. 4/10 times that stupid looking play in the end-zone goes for 6 points for the Bears. I don't like the downside, but I love that upside.

Alright, so what about the bad things? No real bad things in a greatly played game, but....

1. What if we play a team that can stop the run? The Colts have always been a poor run stopping defense. So I wonder what happens when we play a defense that can stop the run. Can we give the ball to Orton and ask him to win games? I doubt it. Can our OL dominate a better DL? I don't know.

2. Peyton Manning didn't look like himself last night. A lot of that was due to great defense. But, even with all the blitzing and different looks we didn't have great pressure on the guy. Absent a sack from Alex Brown and great coverage sack/pressures, I don't think we got it done yesterday. Bears DL needs to get more pressure on the QB.

Anyway, great game Bears. It certainly surprised me.

Chicago Bears' Myths by Lovie Smith

Chicago Bears’ Myths by Lovie Smith.

The Bears get off the bus running. This just seems like an accident waiting to happen. 53 large men running the second they get off the bus. That’s a lot of risk for million dollar assets. I suggest you just walk off the bus like the rest of us. On a serious note, just because you say running the ball is important, doesn’t mean that it is important. I love how Lovie likes to wear his offensive coordinator hat sometimes when it seems clear he never touches the offensive side of the football. Turner is the coach of that offense and his motto is more like “we get off the bus and fall flat on our asses”.

“Rex is our quarterback” or “Kyle is our quarterback” and we’ll look at the video tape before we make any conclusions about their play. Lovie Smith is the king of deflection. He refuses to comment on any players poor performance until he “reviews” the video tape. As if he didn’t notice the 4 interceptions and 2 drop snaps that Grossman had during a game. Lovie, you don’t need video tape to tell you when one of our QBs or players has a shitty game.

The QB will determine whether the Bears are good are not. I hate this myth. It’s the Chicago f’in Bears for goodness sake. We’ve never had a good QB. We win because (a) we can run the rock or (b) we play great defense. This depends largely on our OL and DL play. So can we just cut it with the QB bashing? History suggests we will never have a great QB, so let’s just move on. Let’s just get an OL good enough to give our average QB time to make a few throws, while our running game dominates and our defense holds opponents to low scores. I’m not saying that we will never have a great QB. Its entirely possible. But, empirically history suggests a .1% chance of this occurring.

Special Teams will win games for you. This myth is somewhat true in that special teams can win a few games for you. But, this is no way should be a strategy for a football team. If you have to rely on your special teams to win games, then you are a bad football team. Lovie Smith relies on his special teams to win games. This is not good.

Athleticism is the only indication of whether a player is a good football player. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Just because Danieal Manning (for some reason I always feel dirty spelling his first name) is athletic, it doesn’t follow that he is a good football player. Safety and corner are also very much about anticipation and reading the QB. DM has neither of these qualities.

You can take a 30 plus has-been WR and make him into your #1 receiver. Let me make this straight Jerry and Lovie, Mushin Mohamed was a disaster free agent acquisition. We paid him #1 receiver money and he gave us 4th stringer production. So why do you think the same can happen with Marty Booker, Lloyd, etc.? Why must you continue to employ strategies that consistently backfire?

Players from “division 3 like” schools or unknowns make perfect early round draft selections. Dan Bazuin 2^nd rounder, Danieal Manning 2^nd rounder, Garret Wolfe 3^rd rounder, Michael Okwo 3^rd rounder, and Roosevelt Williams 3^rd rounder. All of these players either (a) were driven out after 2 or less years and/or (b) still haven’t lived up to their draft status. Why do we go after these types of players? Someone please shed some light. I get it, maybe R. Williams, Dan Bazuin or DM, are sleeper picks. But why not take them in rounds 5-7 like normal thinking people? Why do we consistently take large risks on unproven players in early rounds? Do Lovie and Jerry Angelo honestly think they are smarter than the rest of the league? Oh yeah, we just cut Zack Bowman our 2008 draft pick. At least he was a 5^th rounder.

The Cover 2 worked before, so it must work now. This is a partially true statement. The Cover 2 has been proven to work (Bucs and Colts). However, just because the Bucs and Colts won SBs with the Cover 2, doesn’t mean that the Bears can do it as well. First, the Colts have Peyton Manning. Secondly, the Bucs are the Kings of the Cover 2. Each team has different players, so it’s difficult to gage whether it’s the Cover 2 that works or the players that made it work. I am not saying that the Cover 2 is terrible and we shouldn’t use it. I’m just pointing out that the Cover 2 does not guarantee our defense will be great. As an outsider with admittedly lower football IQ, it’s just my impression that the Bears with their players would be just as good if they played a different defensive system (ala 2001 and pre Lovie). So, I guess what I’m trying to say to the Bears is-don’t be afraid to mix things up, we don’t have to be a Cover 2 defense, we can likely do other things just as well.

What’s important is that we beat the Packers. Sorry, I still never understood why we Chicagoans have this rivalry with Green Bay. Have you seen Green Bay? Why do we lower ourselves to this armpit city? Okay, you say its about football not cities? True, but the teams are never good at the same time. Its always been a lopsided rivalry. To me the Vikings are our toughest rival. But absent this discussion, beating the Packers doesn’t really matter. Beating the other 14 teams on the schedule means more.

Player X is hurt, but we think he will be fine and ready to go. If you hear this from Lovie or the Bears, this certainly almost always means the player is gone for at least 4-5 games or is seriously injured. Examples you ask? Chris Williams, Mark Bradley (repeatedly), Mike Brown, Terrence Metcalf, etc. and most recently, Tommie Harris, who’s knee is somehow “more serious than we thought” according to the Tribune. Agh. Why can’t we have a competently run franchise?

Chicago Bears 2008 Season Predictions

The season is just a few days away, so its prediction time. Here is a game-by-game prediction of the Bears Season.

1. @ Colts: 0-1. It always seems like the Bears start the season on the road and/or playing against a good opponent. Whether its away at Baltimore (year after they won the SB), San Diego last year, or Colts this year, why does this great franchise always have to start with an away game? And this year, the Bears not only go to Indy on the road, but its the opener for their new stadium. I dislike Colts fans and their basketball like stadium feel (why do you need a dome in Indy?), but that place will be rocking.

2. @ Panthers: 1-1. I actually think the Bears go in here and pull out a win. Steve Smith's out, Delhomme's arm is gone, and I think Devin Hester wins the game with a PR/KR touchdown.

3. BUCCANEERS: 2-1. I like the Bears chances against Jeff Garcia. I just don't see this team being an elite team. Bears D dominates and we run the ball on them.

4. EAGLES 7: 2-2. McNab seems to relish playing in Chicago. Our Defense can't stop him and Orton gets run over with Eagles blitzing.

5. @ Lions: 2-3. Its tough to put down an L here, but I feel like Detroit's got our number on the road.

6. @ Falcons: 3-3. Well, they are the Falcons.

7. VIKINGS: 3-4. Best all-around team in the NFC North. They can run the ball and stop the run. Isn't that the blueprint for NFC North winning football?

8. LIONS:: 4-4. This is a must win game. If we lose to the Lions at home, we might as well pack our bags.

9. TITANS: 5-4. I've never liked running quarterbacks. Why do you need a running QB, when you have running backs on your team? I like athletic QBs, but you got to throw the ball to be a good QB in this league. It will be a close game. I think Bears win it by a field goal. (Again, Devin Hester runs back a PR/KR).

10. @ Packers: 5-5. Ugh. Even without Favre, the Pack gets it done.

11. @ Rams: 6-5. I don't like the Rams. I don't think they are going to have a good year.

12. @ Vikings: 6-6. Again, too tough on the OL/DL lines.

13. JAGUARS: 6-7. I think this will be a close one, but Jaguars are great at winning close games.

14. SAINTS: 7-7. I just think we have the Saints #.

15. PACKERS: 8-7. In a nice surprise, we beat the Packers.

16. @ Texans: 8-8. In an even worse surprise, we lose to the Texans ending our season.

Final Thoughts: Before I started this I thought the Bears were headed for a 5 or 6 win season. But the Bears are playing some pretty mediocre teams (Atlanta, Rams, Lions, Bucs). 8-8 is probably their ceiling, but you never know.