Had a chance to look at the game this morning after spending last evening swimming in a bristling pool of alcohol and ladies at the Jersey Shore. Some things are just more important than the National Football League.
THE CHICAGO BEARS SHOULD GIVE NEW ENGLAND A FIRST ROUND DRAFT CHOICE FOR DEION BRANCH RIGHT NOW. Why? Because (a) we're shitty first round drafters. (b) he'd thrive oppositie Muhammad. (c) our first round pick this year will most likely be in the last ten and we'll inevitably need a receiver. (d) because the guy is a fucking Super Bowl MVP.
As for the game...
1. I wouldn't worry about the offensive line. They were one of the best units in the NFL a year ago and they just looked like they were half-assing it last night.
2. Alex Brown's injury could become a concern. He's rumored to be doubtful for the opening against those 53 kid touchers that play ball in Wisconsin.
3. Grossman looked fine. He's not spectacular. He's not bad. Until he costs them football games, we won't be seeing Griese...who plays smoother than Don Cheadle at a disco.
4. Defense isn't in full form yet but they still have two weeks. My rule for the preseason is you don't judge proven commodities on their performance (for Chicago, it'd be the running game and the defense). You DO judge the passing and kicking games.
5. On that note, why aren't we all talking about Robbie "Don't call me Elliot" Gould? My nigga looks confident and he's just not close to missing. Kudos to Jerry Angelo on finding this kid.
6. So...who is our starting running back?
7. We'll know there's a problem with chemistry in the Bears locker room when players start leaking stories to us.
8. I asked a friend who works for Deion Branch's agent what the situation was and he said he couldn't talk about it. I then asked, as a good journalist does, if that was a no comment. He didn't respond. And I realized that saying no comment IS a comment and saying nothing is, in fact, no comment.
9. The Bears need to open 3-0 and stake claim to the division from the very beginning. Put your foot on their necks, boys, and don't take it off unless the last wimpers of air have percolated from the mouths of the NFC North.
10. Charles Tillman sucks.
#2 11. said . . .Here's my hope.
Lovey, based on the last week with Benson, is one of those hyperparanoid control freak coaches who thinks that with enough restrictions and rules on his coaches and players he can control where the sun rises and sets.
This reality colored last night's performance because the Bear's are holding back on just about everything this preseason. And since they're not going with a regular scheme/playbook, the players aren't bringing their A game.
Jesus do I sound like a Cub's fan.
Anyway, they looked average against the Cardinals -- THE CARDINALS FOR FRIGGIN' SAKE!!! And so I can hope.
How 'bout my boy Ditka calling out the QB controversy. Second year in a row. Atta boy Mike.
August 26, 2006
#3 Noah said . . .We have no tight end.
August 26, 2006
#4 jeff said . . .This team is allergic to tight end.
August 26, 2006
#5 The Duke said . . .What was the name of the guy who caught a TD pass for the Cardinals...
Fucking Leonard Pope. The only player I WANTED the Bears to draft this year.
But Jerry Angelo said, "I only draft guys who return kicks"
August 26, 2006
#6 fred said . . .Two poor performances against two teams they're going to play again in the regular season. I'm not making excuses for them, but keeping it neutral before you play for real ain't a bad idea.
Okay, maybe I am making excuses for them.August 26, 2006
#7 Max said . . .Is lovie getting soft with discipline on this team? With all the penalties and not doing much to Benson for what he did I am beginning to wonder.
August 26, 2006
#8 Noah said . . .Maybe he is taking the Dusty Baker approach to coaching. . . But i will hold off on that until the season starts. Until they start losing regular season games by playing ugly, i will keep the negativity down. . . maybe
August 27, 2006
#9 jeff said . . .Yeah, seriously, every time a team goes undefeated in the preseason they end up sucking, how important can it be?
August 27, 2006
#10 DaBearsBiggestFan said . . .I just realized that a week from now I'll be able to write IT'S PACKER WEEK. Nice.
August 27, 2006
#11 jeff said . . .Grossman has cost us games, although they were in exhibition, he has proven he can't get the ball in the End Zone, while we all know Brian Griese can.
He already has more picks than TD's which is losing ratio!
Lovie Commented that Grossman is our #1 guy... What is wrong with Mr Smith.??? Is he losing his site or just his abilty to non biasily analyze his player's talents!???
Alex Brown is a big loss, we all remember the sacks he produced last season. With Greenbay's weak O-Line and slow sitting duck in the pocket, Favre, we need Brown healthy. He could be a game changer.
Any three of our running backs will do just fine with Lovie Smith's Smash Mouth running scheme, but which one has the best hands. My opinion is, Thomas Jones.
I think Benson is our short yardage man, and Adrian will be in and out all game to break Jones.. You'll probably see all 3 of them share the responsibilty.It all comes down to the QB controversy!
We won the conference without him last year!
We will when the conference without him this year!
The more time Rex Grossman gets, the lesser our chances of being a championship team are!
If we won with Orton, we could possibly go undefeated with Griese!
August 27, 2006
#12 revdad said . . .I've decided to give him those first three games in September.
If he sucks, I'll start writing a play Griese column every day.
August 27, 2006
#13 jeff said . . .Anybody who hasn't read the Don Pierson column (linked from Da Bears Blog main page) should do so. But here's the nut sentence: "If sloppy, uninspired play is the way to snap the Bears out of their off-season, their plan is working."
I love ya, Jeff -- all props for the way this blog is taking off -- but I think the preseason glass is half empty.
And re the QB controversy: What Da Bears ought to do, but won't, is play Grossman a lot in the last preseason game. If beating up on second-string defenses is as easy as Griese makes it look (and, for that matter, Kyle Orton did last year too), Grossman ought to feast on the Browns' scrubeenies Thursday nite. If he does, it's a confidence-booster for him, he gets much-needed reps, and the QB controversy is over. If he doesn't ... well, the QB controversy is still over.
August 28, 2006
I hear ya, Pops, but I think our disappointment is a product of our raised expectations...and if you look around the league....Carolina, Giants, Washington, Seattle...none of them have played particularly well in the preseason.
Sept. 10. That's the thing.
August 28, 2006
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