If you're Lovie Smith and the Chicago Bears, these two games make or break your season. Why? Three reasons...
1. Two wins put you at 8-0. There isn't another team in the conference with less than two losses at this point. Either the Giants or Cowboys will have three losses after tonight. The Panthers have Dallas next week. Seattle has no Hasselbeck for a month. This conference is now theirs for the taking. You take it by winning the games you are supposed to.
2. This team needs to build some offensive momentum for the coming road trip. Ronny Turner and Grossman need to solve the problems from Arizona immediately. They'll be able to get away with mistakes at home against Alex Smith and Joey Harrington but not on the road and not in difficult places like the Meadowlands and Foxboro.
3. Todd Johnson is now auditioning for the lead in Chicago. Play hard and hit some people, Todd. The best offense on the schedule is three weeks away.
Anybody got anything else?
#2 fred said . . .8-0 would be a huge milestone for this team. I can't say that I see the Bears going 16-0, but 8-0 is a great start and the way the Vi-Queens are playing right now, I'm glad we got out of the Dome with a W. Prediction, the Bears go 2-1 on the 3 week roadtrip beating the Giants and Jets. For the season, 13-3. Can't wait to bury Favre for good in the Soldier Field Turf on New Year's Eve!!
October 23, 2006
#3 Still said . . .If this team is as good as I think they are, the offensive problems should be fixed.
No excuses with two weeks off to work on it.
Todd needs to play smart, look alive, and hit somebody early and establish the fact that he is for real. They will probably go right at him(I would). He's no Mike Brown but he can play football.October 23, 2006
#4 jeff said . . .I think make or break is a bit much, but I will be PISSED if they lose either of these games. Miami obviously sucks ass and how can we loose to Joey? The 49ers have given up 30 pts or more in every game. If Turner and Grossman blow against their lame asses, that will be a sad day indeed. But like any NFL team, we could easily recover. It just will end the dream season where Da Bears stomp on all the weak team's asses, pull out a few from the fire and dominant in the playoffs. That's what we want again. I am not not worried about Miami and San Fran until they give me a good reason. Losing a guy you should have expected to lose at some point during the year is not a good reason to worry. Loosing a guy you should expect to lose was a good reason to shore up the position in the draft instead of drafting a tight end. It was also a good reason to tell your tight end to lose a few pounds and catch the damn ball. The Beloved did both, so I am not worried at all.
The last thing we want is for the 49er coach to be able to stand glibly at the podium and say "they were who we thought they were" because they just handed the Bears the first defeat of the year.
October 23, 2006
#5 jeff said . . .larry mayer with a funny line on bears.com: "Proving that he is indeed a mobile quarterback, Rex Grossman spent the Bears bye weekend in Chicago, Louisville, Boston and Bristol, Conn. The fourth-year pro was also all over the map last Monday night against the Arizona Cardinals and is determined to rebound from his lackluster performance."
October 24, 2006
#6 jeff said . . .hey parcells. you know what you get when you put a guy named tony romo in at quarterback? you get a guy like tony romo playing quarterback.
October 24, 2006
#7 big rob said . . .but he's more fun than bledsoe
October 24, 2006
#8 Jhov said . . .he is a bastard and might have just lost me my fantasy game..... he better get it together
October 24, 2006
#9 jeff said . . .I'm watching the Giants whoop Dallas's ass. The Giants DO have some offensive stars. Tiki, Tooomer, Plexico, Shockey, and Eli.
and so I'm looking at the Bears schedule.....can we go undefeated?
Mike Brown is out.
The undefeated season comes down to what FS Harris (46) can do. He was hurt last week. He'll be back after the sorry 49'ers get spanked. He'd have 3 weeks to take it easy on his sore quad.After watching the Giants, the Bears can slow down Tiki. Tommie must continue to command 2 blockers and Urlacher has to continue to make tackles, but we can handle the run.
We will also put plenty of pressure on Eli's bitch ass. He will be hurrying throws to two good receivers (Plexico and Toomer.) And we all know Vash can cover, but Peanut loves to get burned. And in the absense of Mike Brown, Harris must be good. He must help to stop the run. And he must help cover up for Peanut Tillman toast-able butt.And this all comes into play, in a similar way, when the Bears play the Jets, the Patriots, and the Rams--Pennington to Coles..."the 6th Round draft Choice" Brady to his receivers....Tory Holt. Peanuts is gonna get challenged. And Harris MUST help.
The D-Line will also have to continue to be healthy and dominating. They are the key.
And if Grossmen EVER throws for more than 23 passes, the Bears should fire their play caller and hire ME! The new goal of the team should be to utilize the EXPENSIVE offensive line and get T Jones 1100 yards and Cedrick over 400 by the end of the season. It's the new challenge to the Offense.
Come on Rex, hand the ball off and then play-action deep to Berrian or Mousy a couple times.
The Superbowl is a achievable. And I think the perfect season (come on guys, don't give up on it) rests on Harris's shoulders--as long as we stay healthy.
October 24, 2006
#10 Josh said . . .tell ya the truth, the perfect season won't starting meaning anything to me until they get to 11-0 after the three game stretch on the east coast. the championship is what i want.
they need to worry about san francisco right now because that is a young team that would love to take out the bears.
October 24, 2006
#11 Brian said . . .It all depends on how we are mentally and physically when we play the first two teams (49'ers & Dolphins). Even though I think we can take the three road teams, a loss may be something we need to keep that hunger sustained. A perfect season means nothing, just ask the Colts from last year. It's all about the superbowl.
October 24, 2006
#12 jeff said . . .The Bears have potential to be GREAT, but we have also seen this year that they can be average (Minn and Ariz). A loss to either SF or Miami might make eveyone actually remember the Vikings game (which we all have convienently forgotton was a loss for all practical purposes) as well as make everyone focus on just how bad 95% of the Arizona game was. My point is this....if we lose to SF it could be said that we could just as easily be 4-3 as opposed to 6-1. No one is a bigger believer in the Bears than I am, but as a lifelong Chicago resident I am more than cautious with my optimism (see: Game 6). This team still needs to prove themselves and I am sick of the Media telling them they have already made their point. You want to be the best team in a decade of the NFL??? POUND SF AND MIAMI AT HOME...don't just squeek bye with a defensive miracle....FUCKING POUND THEIR ASSES INTO SUBMISSION!
October 25, 2006
#13 Dave said . . .you can not say the vikings game should have been a loss. they gave them the game on a stupid INT and then took it back. people should stop forgetting we're giving games away with a rookie quarterback.
October 25, 2006
#14 James said . . .You all are dreamin. Their ain't going to be no undefeated season, and there ain't going to a superbowl victory.
You watch. These fucks will choke just like last year and every other year. These guy's are the NFC version of the Colts.
I read all your shit talk on here and that's all it is. SHIT.
Friggin BEARDOWN, what a stupid ass. He can't wait to bury Favre's ass on Soldier Field. Hell, I'll bet the guy couldn't bury cat shit with a shovel.
But I detect a little reservation in some of your comments here. Some of you are just sitting back and waiting for the ship to sink.
Well don't worry its coming. By years end, and you all will be home in that god forsaken city of yours watching some other team from the NFC, lose to an AFC team.
Dream on MF'ers
October 25, 2006
#15 jeff said . . .Sounds like winter is coming early to Green Bay, Dave
October 25, 2006
#16 Criminal Appeal said . . .i have a lot of reservation, dave. as for burying cat shit with a shovel, i'm betting BEARDOWN can do that.
October 25, 2006
#17 jeff said . . .The Saints are 5-1, so there is another NFC team with fewer than two losses. But the Saints D is mediocre and they played dead even with Green Bay and Tampa Bay, so it's hard to consider them elite. The Giants and Eagles could challenge the Bears in the playoffs, but the road is wide open to home field advantage. And, Dave, any level headed analysis has to conclude that the Bears have played the best football in the NFC this year. I think they've played the best football in the league. Does one crappy game against Arizona mean more than outstanding performances against Green Bay, Detroit, Seattle and Buffalo? The Bears have an above-average offense, a great defense, and the best special teams in football. It's not a bold pick to take the field against the Bears, Dave. Obviously, the Bears are more likely to lose at some point than to go all the way. That's true of every team. But right now, I'd take the Bears head-to-head over any team in the NFL.
October 25, 2006
#18 Justin said . . .DaBearsBlog and its authors choose not to acknowledge the Saints and their success believing it to be a government controlled conspiracy. It is the same conspiracy that has prevented the Bears from winning a playoff game the last decade and a half.
CrApp is right. Right now I think I'd take the Bears at home over any team in football. The next 10 games are about one thing: securing that the road to the Super Bowl goes through Soldier Field and hoping we don't see Steve Smith or a ridiculous sunny day in January.
October 25, 2006
#19 jeff said . . .Dave = who are you? Reveal yourself damnit! or stop coming on a bears blog a trash talking...For some weird reason I think Dave is actually Jeff's alter ego codename or something..
October 25, 2006
#20 Dave said . . .dave is who i become when you feed me chicken.
October 25, 2006
#21 jeff said . . .You caught me. I'm actually Jeff's alter-ego. Perhaps the one that will make the pain of losing another season in the first round.
I'm actually not talking trash. I'm providing mental tharapy to all the suffering Bear's fans have been going through this the past two decades.
I'm just trying to help you keep yourselves in check, so come January, it won't hurt so bad.
Consider it a gift to all Chicagoan who read this stuff.
October 26, 2006
#22 Midway Monster said . . .dave, don't get defensive. we are one in the same. it is time the world knew.
October 26, 2006
#23 jeff said . . .The Beloved will kick (_|_) and go into NJ undefeated. I'd love to see Urlacker take it to Manning. In fact, I've already emailed my buds who are Gmen fans directions from the Meadowlands to Hackensack Hospital for them to distribute as necessary. The key to get through the next 2 "tune up" games and beat the Gmen.
October 26, 2006
UrlacHer...UrlacHer...EVERYONE AT ONCE...UrlacHer...no K...and if eli needs a ride to hackensack medical center, i'd be happy to give him one.
October 26, 2006
Here at DaBearsBlog, you are free to kill us or the Bears as you so wish. You are not free, however, to be an asshole. So if you spew racism or ill-meaning foul language (cursing about football is just fine) or anything of that ilk, your comments ain't gonna last long, jerk.