There are some who’ll argue that Kyle Orton’s presence at quarterback Monday night means about as much to the future of the Chicago Bears as the three-digit bet I’ve got on the game (couldn’t let the 9 ½ slide by). There are some who’ve already decreed Orton nothing more than a space-filler for these final three games; a hapless disaster who lucked his way to a 10-5 rookie record. But Orton is undeniably more in this – the most disappointing season of the Super Bowl era. He’s hope. He’s the play-saving third act, allowing us to walk to the bar down the block from the theatre, telling our friend, “The play sucked but WHAT AN ENDING!�
2007 may look terrible on paper when things wrap up at Halas Hall around New Year’s but it certainly won’t have been a wasted season. It will be the season Devin Hester established himself as the greatest return man in the history of the sport, literally changing the way coaches approach special teams. It will be the season Greg Olsen began his Hall-of-Fame career. Orton’s start Monday night brings with it an opportunity to quell the Chicago Bears fan’s greatest thirst: confidence in the quarterback. If he plays well over these final three games against significant opponents – each with something to play for – he will allow the front office to focus their off-season attention where that focus belongs. Running. Blocking. Tackling.
Maybe that starts Monday night in Minnesota. Maybe we wake up Tuesday morning and feel a little different about these 2007 Chicago Bears. Far-fetched though it may seem, you can not argue with the presence of the opportunity. The opportunity belongs to #18. And for me, well, that's enough to fire me up for another goddamn football.
#2 Al in WI said . . .First!
Amen, Jeff!December 15, 2007
#3 jeff said . . .Not to be ass but his record was 10-5 in 2005.
I hoping you are right Jeff. I want him to play well enough to be the backup next your or even a competitor of Rex in training camp.December 15, 2007
#4 Midway Monster said . . .change made al...i brain cramped.
December 15, 2007
#5 wheresolsen? said . . .Coffee! Coffee! Someone sober up Kyle! He starts Monday night!
Gotta beat these opportunistic Vikings hungry for a playoff slot. I need to be able to walk into my dinner Tues morning with my head up (as I stated prior; the owner is a Vike Freak). And you know that Tues morn will be Green Bay Week. Hell, thats much more exciting that Christmas eve!
But first things first - we gotta hit on D and freaking get a ground game going to give Kyle "Jack & Coke" Orton a fighting chance.
-- Midway --
December 15, 2007
#6 Willie from Chicago said . . .just got tickets to the green bay game for christmas i cant fucking wait
December 15, 2007
#7 Willie from Chicago said . . .Jeff's right guys, this season was not a complete waste. Hell it was one of the most exciting Bears seasons that I've ever seen. Even the games that we've lost were exciting.
Ill tell you what guys if we win this game here and the Skins loose @ the Giants, and the Lions loose @ San Diego then we still have a legit chance. I mean these are the teams in the chase for that 6th spot.
Minnisota
New Orleans
Washington
Arizona
Detroit
Carolina
Chicago
PhillyOF COURSE ASSUMMING THE BEARS WIN OUT Out of those 8 teams you can right away eliminate Philly (Bears have the tie braker), New Orleans (Play the bears and will loose the tie braker), and Carolina (To hard of a schedule).
Now assuming Detroit (@San Diego) and Arizona (@New Orleans) loose, the bears will win a tie braker over Arizona and Detroit has Kansas City and @ Green Bay left so they will loose at least 1 of those 2 which will put the Bears ahead of them.
Washington is playing @New York on Sunday night so if they loose then the Skins will play the Vikings.
Whoever wins that game has a hard game to finish out. Washington plays Dallas and Minnisota plays @ Denver. I think the Broncos will beat the Vikes at home especially if they are still in the wild card chase.So if the Skins loose this week and next week @ Minnesota they will be out and if Minnisota looses this week vs the Bears and @ Denver in the last week, that will give Chicago the tie-braker over Minnesota (Division Record). However if Washington beats the Vikings then they will play Dallas at home so they will have to loose that game which is pretty hard to loose (Since the starters are only playing 1 half for the Cowboys).
Now first things first we have to win out which I think is possible if we win this week because they play a Packers team that will not play all 4 quarters and the Aints which may not have a healthy Reggie Bush.
WE CAN DO IT! But first BEAT THE VIKINGS!
December 16, 2007
#8 Pet Peeve said . . .Hey wheresolsen? enjoy the game dude I might even see you there.
December 16, 2007
#9 Willie from Chicago said . . .Hello Willie.
December 16, 2007
#10 Pet Peeve said . . .Hello Pet Peeve lol.
December 16, 2007
#11 Megan said . . .Makin' a list,
checkin' it twice,
gonna find out who's naughty and nice....
December 16, 2007
#12 Chad said . . .! NAUGHTY!!
December 16, 2007
#13 Chad said . . .I have no problem with Orton starting in this situation but don't compare this to 2005. The defense in 05 was the best it's been since 86. 06 wasn't as good of a d.
December 16, 2007
#14 jeff said . . .Oh, he was only 9 -5. Grossman beat Atlanta and Green Bay.
December 16, 2007
#15 Al in WI said . . .orton left the atlanta game at halftime. leading. he gets that win.
December 16, 2007
#16 Willie from Chicago said . . .Chad, you are right on there about the difference in defenses between then and now. It annoys the hell out of me when Orton suporters continue to drone on and on about his 10 wins as a starter. When in fact in all but 2 or mabey 3 he was a passenger on the train. And these same people seem to want to discount that Grossman won 15 games in 2006.
But anyway, the thing to watch for in evaluating Orton Monday and presumably the rest of the season is accuracy. Also keep an eye on his touch passes. KO has a strong arm and has good size. But what really got exposed the longer he played in 2005 was that he wasn't accurate on medium range throws, and he lacked any touch at all in throwing the deep ball or the soft swing passes. He tended to throw the ball flat on a line to whoever he was throwing too.December 16, 2007
#17 Willie from Chicago said . . .Hey Arizona is loosing.
December 16, 2007
#18 Heywood Jublomey said . . .Check out this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrEYIs4g1-I
December 16, 2007
#19 wheresolsen? said . . .I can't believe anyone here thinks the Bears still have a chance.
Orton is starting so that the coaching staff can evaluate his value for management decisions that will soon have to be made for next season and beyond.
I interpret Orton getting the nod as starter as a tacit admission of failure this season. Essentially, the Bears are waiving the white flag. If the Bears truly cared about making the playoffs this year, Orton would not be starting.
December 16, 2007
#20 wheresolsen? said . . .willie - that video is depressing. the D has more TO's in that clip than this whole damn season.
December 16, 2007
#21 Midway Monster said . . .every player on this team should watch that youtube clip. urlacher hasnt had that entensity all year, let alone the rest of the team. and vasher. depressing. random - heres to a healthy 2008 season for MIKE BROWN as a BEAR. if they get rid of him id weep.
December 16, 2007
#22 Al in WI said . . .Heywood:
Yeah man.. If there is any damn chance, even a snowballs chance in hell, we'll be holding onto it. You couldn't pry it from our cold dead hands. Live with it.
Beat the damn purples!
-- Midway --
December 16, 2007
#23 Windy City Packer Fan said . . .Anybody else sick and tired of the damn packers playing garbage teams every week and getting every break possible along the way?
Anyway, I have an extra ticket available to Monday's game. I got it for face value and that is what I'll sell it for if anyone on here is interested. Post a responce with your email and I'll be in touch.December 17, 2007
#24 Packer Fan said . . .Yeah Al, now you know how I felt last year.
Did you realize that the Bears only beat 2 teams that had records over .500 last year? If that's not a 'garbage schedule,' I don't know what is.
About the 'getting every break possible,' review the film from the Arizona game last year.
We only play the schedule we are given.
December 17, 2007
#25 A lump of coal from Santa said . . .Hey Al in WI...
You need a crash course on the NFL scheduling format. Division rivals have 14 opponents in common. The NFC South opponent and the NFC West opponent are the only non-common opponents between the Bears and Packers, or anyone else in the NFC North for that matter. The Packers drew the Panthers where as the Bears drew the Saints. Those two opponents are about even. The Packers drew the Rams whereas the Bears drew the Seahwawks. I'll let you gripe about that one. But the other 14 games consist of 2 games with each other and 12 games against exactly the same teams. So with the exception of the NFC West and South opponents, the Bears have the same garbage opponents on their schedule as the Packers have on theirs. So quit your griping.
December 17, 2007
#26 NY Bears Fan said . . .I'm coming your way, Megan.
December 17, 2007
#27 Rancid said . . .That video really makes me miss Thomas Jones!!
December 17, 2007
#28 Phil from SATX said . . .I would consider myself an Orton supporter AND a Rex supporter. Not sure why some think the two have to be diametrically opposed to each other. Do we realize that there is a possibility NEITHER of them could return next year? If someone offers Rex more $ and Orton looks bad for these three games, it could happen. I just don't get the animosity. It frustrates me.
Rex is not starting because of injury. I think it's fairly safe to say that he would have the job tonight if he were healthy. So this is the case of having to start a backup. The decision was between BG and KO, Rex wasn't involved. If there were BG supporters left at this point, they can get mad and pout on here. That would make sense. Yet somehow the decision to start KO is an attack on Rex. And somehow anyone who dares hope he plays well enough to boot BG or God forbid be good enough to challenge currently unsigned Rex for the #1 is a fool. Like I said, I just don't get it.
I've already said it here, ideally we go into next season with the post benching Rex we saw this year as our QB, that's our best shot. But I'm still pulling for KO to become a quality QB on this team.
December 17, 2007
#29 Pissed Off said . . .Rancid, no worries, there are NO BG SUPPORTERS left on this site, or anywhere else, for that matter, maybe his family, but even there...
In the immortal words of Cheech and Chong:
Only my mama loves me, BUT SHE COULD BE JIVIN TOO!
I totally get your point and agree with it 100%. There's still leftover shit from the last 16 months around here about Rex love and hate. Hating those who hate Rex, hating those who love Rex, hating/loving any QB who gets a start besides Rex. I have trouble imagining that there was ever a more polarizing player than him.
I'm back to liking Rex and supporting a new contract, IF IT'S POSSIBLE (which as you point out may not be the case), but that still doesn't mean hating on Orton or even BG. Or next year's draft pick, which I unfortunately can predict will happen on this site. Witness the premature Joe Flacco hating.
Let's pledge to get over this for 2008. Support whoever gets the start for the Bears. Support the next guy when he gets in. Support em all.
Go Bears! Beat Vikings! Force Minnesota to change their state spelling to Minnisota, just for Willie! (jk Willie)
BTW haven't read the weekend's postings but Joe Flacco looked pretty great to me! Very impressed by him, I was. Unfortunately others will be too.
December 17, 2007
#30 Bill said . . .Hey Willie its Monday, give us the lowdown on the playoff picture now that all of Sundays games are complete.
I hate to say it but we have a better chance of getting to the playoffs if we were to start Griese. Starting Orton basically says we are evaluating him for the future and that we are no longer chasing the playoffs. I will eat crow if I'm wrong and he comes out and plays well helping us to win out but I dont see it happening.
December 17, 2007
#31 mikebdot said . . .Hey guys and gals - I haven't seen much about the person who is really on display in this game - Bob Babich. With the last game being last Thursday, he's had an unusually long time ot prepare. I relaize the D is beat up - but it's up to him to figure out a way to game plan against their AP AND motivate the players ot execute it. As far as I'm concerned, this game is more about him than it is Orton. Yeah, he's a new coordinator, but this is game 14. Time to show improvement.
December 17, 2007
#32 RandomName said . . .PO'd: I thought you hated Griese and that he single-handedly lost games for us. Orton only had two games throwing more than 1 INT his rookie season (i.e. one game where he lost the game, 5 INTs against Cin and another with 2 INTs). Yes, he had other performances that were pretty bad, but once again, Justin Gage was on the field that season. Gage and Moose.
Holy crap, 11 of his 13 interceptions were thrown while in the single back formation.
Of course, that was with a severly limited playbook, etc. Now, though, it's two years later and he has nothing to lose, except, of course, a chance at the starting job of any NFL team ever.
He's literally playing for his career the next three games (assuming he plays them all).
If he comes out looking poised and relaxed and gets some first downs, I will be impressed. Our offense has sucked this whole season. Regardless who has been back there. If he looks even mediocre he'll give us a better shot at winning all three games than either RG or BG.
Now if he could just affect how well our D plays...
December 17, 2007
#33 Al in WI said . . .Da Bears , ok turns out as of today we're not technically eliminated. i just learned that.
realistically i dont see the bears winning this one. but realistically i'm a bears fan till math proves they're out; in wich case i'd root for a bunch of season ending trick plays/bending the rules of pride and prep for 2008.
Go bears.
useless note: meniscus/cartilage problems Really suck. please people without these problems dont get them / dont run on concrete...just say no!
December 17, 2007
WCPF,
Your schedule the last 5 weeks includes one decent team: Dallas. The rest is Carolina, Detroit, Oak, and the Rams. That will make one mabey two decent opponents in the final 8 games of the year. The packers have been lucky this year in catching teams at the right time. That isn't a knock on them really, it's just a source of frustration in a lost year for my team.
And as for the breaks which you did not try an address, yeah...... If you won't me to go back and look at 1 game from last year fine. But while I'm at it, check out the eagles (muffed punts) Redskins (dropped td's by moss, and of course Wodson td), Vikings 1 (PI non-calls end of game), Denver (Cutler clock management and missed wide open td at end), games. There are others but I'll stop there, and dare you to say the Packers haven't gotten a lot of breaks to get where they are. They are the 2001 Bears where everything went right.December 17, 2007
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