Mike Downey in the Trib. Click on that and read it. Forget my rantings below.
Mike Downey, I thank you. You are the cool head of composure in the asylum.
#2 BRIANsong said . . .The whole NFC is overrated all the teams the bears beat with exception of seattle are terrible. Just don't think any team really pose a threat to any of the afc teams. If the bears where in the AFC they might be looking for a playoff spot. Charger, pats, colts, ravens, Broncos, bengals, jags, steelers, titans, and cheifs are all tough matchup for the bears. Look at the AFC playoff seeding this year only one team with 9-7 record. Thats saying something about the quality of players and teams in the AFC. Any year i think when 8-8 teams go to the playofffs is a joke. The only upside is the bears weren't a complete joke. We can all agree if the game was played in a dome then we wouldn't be talking about how bad grossmen was, but that would be advantage indy. At least the bears held thier own against Indy.
February 10, 2007
#3 Megan said . . .No one's making arguments for the NFC. But I don't care if the game was played in them middle of Historic Route 66, you fumble two snaps in the Super bowl and people are going to talk about how bad you are.
February 10, 2007
#4 Midway Monster said . . .I have also heard the Bears compared to the Choking of the Buckeyes in the BCS Championship game. Like the Bears Choked?
We held the colts to 22 pts on their offense. We were not blown out.
I think part of it boils down to is that "others" are used to the blow-outs generated by past Bears teams? I dunno, but I don't think the Bears deserve the verbal abuse of the media/rest of the football watching community.
I know that they are tough skinned and I know that they can take it. Heck, it seems to help them play better. Intersesting what Bob Newhart said. Maybe Midway and Mr. Newhart are together in rehab??
February 10, 2007
#5 jdawg said . . .Yeah Bob (aka, Mr. Newhart) is here. He leads our Group from time to time. Folks here in rehab are not pissed in the sence of we want blood (as Mike Downey says). We are just recovering fans.
We all expect to released in the near future, and we'll don our Bear attire and be back in the swing of things. We just need time (and some of us, stronger meds).
--Midway--
(rumor has it we have a field trip planned next week)February 10, 2007
#6 The War Hammer said . . .I read Downey this morning and agree.
Shit. We did make it to the superbowl and I'm fucking sick and tired of all this bullshit talk about how this was our best shot. Bullshit. Who's the oldest player on D? Is it 54 at 28? Ogun? Repeat after me -- we’re a young team set up for 4-5 great seasons.
Yeah Yeah Yeah. Grossman pissed us off in the big game but it was his first full fucking season (or first full season fucking). He should be better next year but what's going to be a drag is the fact that the local sports media has turned into Fox News. Grossman's struggles are news but Jesus Christ, give me a break. I can already see the live reports from training camp this summer -- “Today it was widely reported that Rex Grossman missed Bernard Berrian on a deep route as we enter day two of training camp. Back to you dick�
... and I'm ready for a beer and a valium.
February 10, 2007
#7 Coxy said . . .Maybe Cory Lidle can take Rex up in an airplane for a tour of New York City.
February 11, 2007
#8 craig said . . .Can't wait for Devin Hester next year. Just had a circus 70 yard return against the best special teams players in the league.
February 11, 2007
#9 jdawg said . . .speaking of the Pro Bowl, anyone else see Suggs' scumbag hit that dislocated Brees' elbow? i mean, I love defense and i love hard-hitting, but everyone else is sort of 'taking it easy' at the Pro Bowl and in the four minutes that i saw, Suggs threw at LEAST two cheapshots on Brees.
February 11, 2007
#10 Max said . . .Hey War Hammer,
That's pretty funny.
In case you guys don't remember, Cory Lidle died when his plane hit a building in NYC. I can't believe how funny that was. That was really funny.
Jeff, please read:
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/bears/2007-02-02-grossman_x.htm
February 11, 2007
#11 Midway Monster said . . .I was at the Pro Bowl and the hit that Sean Taylor had on the punter on the fake punt attempt was awesome.
Also, on the NFC's last drive, the entire Aloha Stadium crowd gave Tiki Barber a standing ovation, and ya know what? . . . He deserves it.
I like Tiki. I think he represents himself, his teammates, and his team very well and I am sorry that he will no longer be playing in the league
And yes, Hester is a freaking madman
February 11, 2007
#12 JacktheSquid said . . .jdawg, from reading that article sounds like Urlacher is lock step with your thinking.
"The thing about it is the guy is 15-3 as a starter this season," he says. "I don't know how many other quarterbacks in the NFL can say that. He had a great year. I don't care what his numbers are, what he does or what people say about him. The only thing I worry about is the win and loss column." --Brian Urlacher
As for the Pro Bowl, sounds like this year we had some people actually playing football. I didn't watch it since I've always seen it as a big joke.
--Midway--
(in Rehab)
February 11, 2007
#13 jdawg said . . .Yeah, Mike Downey has it right. I think the Bear bashing can be defused with a good run in '07 due to the strength of schedule. This team is solid. The execs are doing what needs to be done with respect to personnel and the players seemingly will run through a mine field for their head coach. Rex remains a work in progress as he should be after less than two full seasons as a starting qb. He needs work in several areas, none more than getting some mobility within the pocket to open up the passing lanes and prevent painful losses. Can that be taught?
The national media seems to want to bury the Bears with the talk of the worst superbowl team ever, the worst performance ever, and the worst quarterback ever. To what end is unclear, but it will hopefully fuel the fire that will eventually motivate the '07 squad to reach it's ultimate goal of NFL Champions. Congrats to the Bears on the NFC Championship and a fine 2006 season.February 11, 2007
#14 Chi Town Delight said . . .Hey Midway,
Here's another passage I thought was interesting:
A missed blocking assignment can leave a passer terribly vulnerable. If a receiver breaks off a route in the wrong direction, the quarterback can find himself throwing directly to a defender.
According to Berrian, such breakdowns happened numerous times. Yet Grossman refused to let on that someone else had goofed.
"He stood up there on the podium and took 100% of the blame. That just speaks volumes about his character," Berrian says. "As a teammate, you definitely don't like guys who throw people under the bus. He's thrown himself under the bus plenty of times, and you definitely can do nothing but respect that."
February 11, 2007
#15 The War Hammer said . . .Can Devin Hester play QB?
February 11, 2007
#16 Max said . . .Wow, what Brian Urlacher said really surprised me....I expected him to come out and say, "Yeah we had opportunities but Rex threw two picks both at key points in the game. I sure wish Jim Miller was back." I mean, come on people. So for now on, whatever anyone says during an interview we must believe. I'm sure Brian Urlacher is saying in his head, "We don't need an upgrade, Rex can get us there." Yea, as long as the defense plays lights out and scores twice a game, and Hester returns two kicks for touchdowns. Rex will come up small time and time again, the sooner we upgrade the better.
February 11, 2007
#17 Windyyy said . . .you can read minds?
February 11, 2007
#18 flo said . . .The Bears should trade for Cleo Lemon.
February 11, 2007
#19 Bill said . . .See, next year, they will play a much tougher schedule where you HAVE to play up to the comp. And stay up against that years scrubs. Or we know right away that it will be another cold winter in Bearville. Next year is the BIGGEST year for this group...Grossman, Briggs, Philips, Angelo - they ALL have to step it up. Hell, #30 too. If I were a betting man, I take a serious look at the Bears.
flo
February 11, 2007
#20 Bill said . . .I heard there is a Coke commercial where Indy fans say they'd like to thank the QB that made the SB win possible - and then they show a picture of Rex Grossman and they say "Thanks, Rex"!
OK - so what is that REALLY saying? Take that along with Downey's article and you get nothing but DISPRESPECT... for the COLTS!
They were favored by nearly everyone - Manning was supposed to be ready to shine on the national stage - and all this talk and jokes and all make it seemed like the Bears were supposed to win and blew it. That the Colts didn't win, the Bears lost. That the Colts didn't deserve to win, didn't deserve to be favored, didn't deserve to be there and were lucky they got to play the Bears else they woudl have lost.
If I was a Colt fan, I'd say "what do we have to do to get credit for winning the Super Bowl?"
February 11, 2007
#21 Mikey said . . .PS -
I hope Rex realizes that his lack of poise and lack of focus is labeling him as a joke. He brought this on himslef imo. Don't throw until you know the corner bit on the fake. Stay in there and make sure you get the snap.And Ron Turner - 2nd and 1 may end up being his "1.8 seconds" that Scottie Pippen was known for. (I didn't realize they had an empty backfield at the snap. Yeah - Lovie and him had a real "inferiority" problem in that game - they were dead set on having Rex make a big play somewhere not matter what. It was dumb and selfish and not respectfule of the team.
February 11, 2007
#22 Bill said . . .At least "nfc sucks" got it right when he said the exception was the Seahawks.
A healthy Seahawks team would have beat you in the playoffs...
But, you'll be in our house next season to get the "welcome" you deserve.
February 11, 2007
#23 Mikey said . . .Mikey - I always try to avoid talk like that. A healthy Seahawks team would have...
OK - a healthy Bears team (with Tommie Harris and Mike Brown) would have won in regulation. (By the way who was hurt in that game? Any Pro Bowlers?)
A healthy Bears team woudl have won the SB.
A healthy Bears team would have gone 16-0 and would have shut out the Seahaks, Saints, and Colts.
A healthy Bears team woudl have set the bar so high they woudl have to break up the team and start them all over again!
Or maybe not...
February 12, 2007
#24 Bill said . . .Please... when we came to Chicago, Hasselbeck (PRO BOWL, duh) had a torn shoulder, 2 broken fingers, and a sprained knee. Shaun Alexander (just last years NFC MVP) still had broken bones in his foot... plus ALL of our starting cornerbacks were out, Bobby Engram, Darrell Jackson, Marcus Tubbs, etc. etc.
So spare me the sob story about these two guys.
Your team can be the healthiest in the world, but you barely beat us in the playoffs, and the Colts exposed your defensive weaknesses - (unable to pressure the QB, average run defense up the middle) oh yeah, remember the two Shaun scored on you in the playoffs?
But hey, the folks on this blog already told me they'd rather have Rex Grossman than Matt Hasselbeck because Rex has more "upside." I saw that in the Super bowl... the upside is tremendous.
Well, don't worry... everyone has your number now... and with an offense like yours you'll be lucky to win 8 games next year.
February 12, 2007
#25 Pissed off said . . .Yeah - football is a tough game; people actually get hurt and by the end of the year a lot of teams aren't at full strength. Maybe they shoudl shorten the season, but that won't happen. So it's part of the game. Playing "what if..." is meaningless.
Hasselbeck was never on the injury report; in fact ProFootballTalk used him as an example of how teams "cheat" when it comes to reporting injuries. But the point is this - your team wasn't at it's best; neither were the Bears, neither were the Cowboys probably or the Saints or the Eagles or the Giants or teams that didn't even make the playoffs. What's the point?? Shoudl there be adjustments to the score based on injuries?? I mean REALLY - what is the point??
Defensive weakness - run up the middle; wait - where do Tommie Harris and Mike Brown play. Oh yeah - the middle.
Bear fans admitted the whole second half of the season that the defense had gotten weak. It was annoying to me that all the "experts" kept saying how strong our defense was, when we were giving up 350 yards a game regularly. The Colts didn't "expose" the defensive weakness - it was exposed weeks before that.
The Bears will win more than 8 games next year.
I don't know who said they'd rather have Grossman thean Hassselbeck, but to be honest I'd rather have Hasselbeck.
So what? I'd rather have each player on our defense (except Tank) than any player at the same position on Seattle. Again - so what?
I hope losing a Super Bowl doesn't make Bear fans like you- making excuses and wishful claims with no logic (the Bears will be lucky to win 8 games??)
February 12, 2007
#26 Still said . . .Some of you act like we are used to having superstar QBs. (war hammer, etc) Why is that?\
I boycotted the Pro Bowl this year, didnt watch a minute, didnt see any stats. I was to eat while the game was going on and as I was leaving I saw on a TV that Kaeding kicked the game winning FG. Other than that I know nothing about how the Bears players did. By the way how many Bears actually played? I know most of them dropped out.
Wow Hawks fans are still coming here after we beat them down....find something to do and quit whining about Hass, when he's healthy he sucks more than he did that day.
February 12, 2007
This is good stuff by Downey, but I scooped him. I'll quote me from the day after the big game.
"As for this season, I think we already were rewarded. How many of us really thought we would end up in the Superbowl back in August? We hoped, but we did not expect.
Did we really expect huge contribution by the rookie class? Did we really expect Grossman to give us many quality starts? Did we really expect to leave the Meadowlands undefeated? Did we really expect that Peanut would develop into a stud after last years playoff game? Etc...
I'm proud of these guys. I think they will back."
As everyone heals, remember this: next year is only a year away.
February 13, 2007
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.