The Bears have made final cuts to get down to the mandatory roster limit of 53. No major surprises here but the Bears did decide to hang onto Caleb Hanie. It was reported the guy was living at a hotel with this wife. At least now he can get an apartment or something...geez.
Some of these were previously reported late last week but here is the full list of guys looking for work:
FB Lousaka Polite, WR Brandon Rideau, DE Dan Bazuin, LB Michael Okwo, G Tyler Reed, G Anthony Oakley, WR Mike Hass, TE Fontel Mines, S Leonard Peters, RB P.J. Pope, LS Thomas Gafford, P Zac Atterberry, DE Ervin Baldwin, T Cody Balogh, CB Trey Brown, DE Joe Clermond, DE Nick Osborn, LB Joey LaRocque, G Ryan Poles, TE Marcus Stone, and G Chester Adams.
The Bears will go into the season with 7 offensive lineman that are healthy. That is the one area that scares me a bit but we'll see if anyone gets plucked from another teams list of cuts. The season is upon us ladies and gents.
-Pissed Off
I’m heading down the Jersey Shore Saturday morning and will be there till Tuesday night. Not going near a computer during that time and – quite frankly – I need some hours away from the Chicago Bears before they completely take over my existence. We start our regular season work on Wednesday and I’ll have new posts every day leading up to Sunday night in Indianapolis.
If you’re in the New York area, I hope you’ll be at Josie Woods on the 7th. Football’s opening day is my my favorite holiday of the year.
As for final thoughts on the preseason…
Despite David Haugh's insistence, I'm just not overly concerned with the defense. Judging the running de without both starting defensive tackles and Mike Brown seems silly.
I’ve seen enough to keep six receivers on the roster. Skunk is God. Brandon Lloyd has out-performed the field all summer. Booker is reliable. Mark Bradley’s speed and big-play ability is undeniable. Duke of Earl isn’t going anywhere. Rash Davis has been a major third down target his entire career.
The future of the Chicago Bears at quarterback may very well be Caleb Hanie and they can do nothing to jeopardize that future. This kid has Tony Romo ability and needs two or three years to develop. That means he’s on the sideline, holding the clipboard every Sunday. Not on the practice squad.
If having both of those things means Dan Bazuin and Tru McBride or Zack Bowman don’t make the active roster, I’m fine what that.
The Bears treatment of Rex Grossman last night tells you what they think about him. One great drive and out of the game. This team knows that a confident Rex makes the club better. Mark my words. There's one more great run of starts in #8's future with the Chicago Bears. I saw a professionalism in him last night that impressed me.
But have no fear, children. All our major concerns - run defense, left tackle, quarterback...etc. - will be answered on the 7th of September. The boogie man isn't going to hide in the closet. He's going to sit at the kitchen table and drink tea with ma. The national television primetime attention does not allow you to hide your flaws and if they're significant, Dwight Freeney, Joseph Addai and Bob Sanders will be exploit them. Then there's always that Manning guy...
Enjoy the last real weekend of the summer. I'm looking forward to another great season with all you guys.
They start counting in ten days.
I'm live blogging this game for about as long as I can stand it (which might be about a quarter) or until I switch my face over to NC State vs. Spurrier in the first actual football game of the year. Note: I'm listening to Joniak on WBBM and watching some funky European stream where they keep referring to this as a "match".
7:32 - WBBM commercial just said, "If you drive drunk, you mine as well have the word 'loser' tattoed across your forehead." Can you imagine if that was the actual punishment for a DUI? Nobody would EVER drive drunk.
7:34 - National Anthem. Remind me, if I ever meet you, to show you what "ramparts" is in sign language.
7:35 - Orton and Grossman not playing much tonight, according to Joniak.
7:42 - Payne and Jersey City out there together.
7:43 - Pretty easy drive here for Cleveland. I can smell another ten days of overreacting. No Tommie Harris or Mike Brown as far as I can tell.
7:45 - That's enough now. Get Ogunleye, Vasher and Urlacher out of this game right now.
7:51 - Tom Thayer praising Matt Forte's excellent pass protection on the Kellen Davis drop.
7:53 - John St.Clair false starts twice in a row. This is the kind of shit bothers you, whether the score counts or not.
7:54 - THEY JUST GOT A 3RD AND SUPER LONG WITH A SCREEN PASS! Is it September 7th yet?
7:56 - Interception. Okay, that's enough. Everybody to the sideline. Ya'll can kill Jerry Angelo all you want but Matt Forte looks like a stud - even on funky European streams.
7:58 - Bears need to get better against the cutback run.
7:58 - Danieal Manning blitzing from the nickel spot and looks terrific doing it.
7:59 - I can't handle the barrage of ads on this radio broadcast. Every word out of Thayer's mouth is a spot.
8:00 - Get Vasher out of this game. Please.
8:01 - Get Urlacher out of the game. Please.
8:01 - The most horrific radio commercial of alltime just aired warning girls to stop posting pictures of themselves on the internet because "some man will spend alone time with your topless photo."
8:03 - Like to see Jersey City make solid tackles at the third level. That's what he's going to need to do all season.
8:08 - This defense is so silly. Why are they so good in the red zone?
8:14 - I'm done. Once Forte (my new favorite player) leaves, so do I.
See ya'll tomorrow.
We're going to be objective here on DaBearsBlog. Even though we've picked the Bears to win every Sunday for the past three years. Even though we believe in our hearts that this team can win it all this season. Even though we're the furthest thing from objective.
Today I present an honest look at the four teams in the NFC North, presenting their primary strength and fault - as I see them. As a Bears fan it's unnecessary to look at anything beyond these three teams. Beat them and you make the postseason.
Hate: Third Down Defense. With instability at the nickel corner spot and safety (especially if we lose #30 again), the Bears need to find ways to stop allowing big plays on third down. What does this mean? I’ll say what I always say. Lovie Smith must abandon his arrogant belief that he can generate a pass rush with only his front four and incorporate Spagnulo-esque blitz schemes in big situations.
Hate: Pressure on Aaron Rodgers. I’m usually not a believer in the extraneous factors but I can only imagine what Rodgers will face in Green Bay should he get off to a slow start and Favre starts strong for the New York Jets. A bad September for this team could spiral.
Or at least they better because…
Hate: Tarvaris Jackson. I just don’t think he’s a very good football player. He doesn’t strike me as dynamic enough to make big plays down the field or accurate enough to continually move the chains (“manage” the offense). Let me also add that Adrian Peterson hasn’t played a full season since he was about twelve years old. Tarv Albert will have to make plays.
And they’re going to need to because…
Hate: Name the defensive line for the Lions. Can’t? Jared DeVries, Chuck Darby, Cory Redding, Dewayne White. If you don't hit a hundred yards rushing against Detroit, stop running the ball.
And this is not a joke... the story was on the Tribune's website first. Believe me. I was there when it broke.
To paraphrase Jerry Angelo in what I assume will be Jay's final column, I was never one of his biggest fans. Stop. Wait a minute. Is he dead? No? Then let's be honest. Jay Mariotti is a shit columnist now and has been a shit columnist for an awful long time.
He was everything I despised about modern sports journalism. He pounced on athletes from the moral highground usually reserved for Trappists monks. His contrarian "approach" was nothing more than negativity-mongering; a cheap attempt to gain attention through meanness of his spirit. His opinions were never accurate and never were they held accountable by his peers. He missed the true beauty of sports in his eagerness to find the ugliness of its participants. Worse than all that, he was never that good at making sentences.
Jay's reason for quitting is simple: the newspaper business is dead. He's right. The internet has taking over. But you'd think a man who loves newspapers so much would understand how pivotal their role will be in a medium of frightening ambiguity and anonymity. Now, more than ever, we need the editorial concept. We need journalistic checks and balances. I've read almost everything Jay Mariotti has written in the last ten years. I've held a copy of the Chicago Sun-Times in my hands four times. The "paper" might die but the "newspaper" never will - especially if they come to embrace their identity on this crazy magic box.
Ultimately though, Jay buries himself. "To see what's happened in this business...I don't want to go down with it." He exits the stage as he always graced its wooden planks - with cowardice.
ADDENDUMS:
Steve Rosenbloom believes Ricky Manning Jr. had no business being cut and actually refers to him as our "best nickel corner." Whatabout his 2007 stats leads to this conclusion? The no interceptions? The one, one, ONE pass defended? If Ricky Manning were cut Saturday with the rest of the rest of the pink slippers, this would not have been a news item. But it happened on a slow Tuesday so Rosey's going to make it a big deal.
SI has the Bears going 6-10. They have the Eagles in the Super Bowl. Two years ago theyhad the Dolphins in the Super Bowl. I repeat that this is a better football team when nothing is expected from it.
Was awoken this morning by a frantic Reverend phone call regarding Brandon MacGowan's rumored usurping of Danieal Manning for the nickel corner gig. Two things: (1) Slow Wednesday for the Reverend. (2) I know I'm mighty tired of seeing Danieal miss tackles so if this puts him on the field less, it's worth a shot.
Apparently it's Rex Grossman Day in the Chicago papers! Hope you brought your party hat to work. Brad Biggs writes a pretty fair piece on the mindset of a player forced to accept an unfamiliar role and David Haugh writes a love letter to a player he and his Tribune cohorts have massacred for two years. Of course both write silly things too:
Biggs: "The Bears are 12 days away from the beginning of the regular season, and while there has been public sentiment for the organization to cut ties with Grossman, it's unlikely to happen." WHAT?! Did Mr. Biggs do a survey I'm not aware of? Neither this nor any of the other major Bears blogs have proposed cutting ties with Grossman, especially now that he's arguably the most viable backup quarterback in the conference. Snicker at that phrase for a few seconds. Then make the list.
Haugh: "Does he regret returning to the Bears on a one-year deal instead of trying to win the job somewhere else, such as Tampa Bay or Miami?" Got any information that supports this bonehead claim, David? (1) What would Gruden do with a player who has never set foot in his system - the most complicated offensive system in the NFL? (2) You don't know football if you think Bill Parcells wants Rex Grossman. You just don't know football.
Ricky Manning Jr. wants out of Chicago. Is Ricky Manning Jr. still in Chicago? If so, okay.
The Olympics are over and I'm very happy about that. The downside? Jay Mariotti's back. I've got no problem with someone criticizing a GM's draft but Jay Mariotti once blew a gasket because WE DIDN'T DRAFT BYRON LEFTWICH!
Read this piece of utter trash on Sports Illustrated's website and you'll realize why I hate both fantasy football and what sports "journalism" has become. The fact that SI's editors can put this garbage on the same site should have Peter King looking for a better outlet for his terrific NFL coverage. You want an example from this masterpiece?
"Bust: Santana Moss. If you draft Moss hoping for a strong WR2 he's going to disappoint you. If you draft him as a decent WR3 or, better yet, as a WR4 with some WR3 upside, you'll be much happier. The choice is yours."
Take that, Lupica.
Apparently Kevin Jones chose the Bears this offseason (and not vice versa) because he thought he could start. Even he has been impressed with Matt Forte. It looks like a mirror image of 2006 - with Forte as Thomas Jones and Kevin Jones as Cedric Benson.
Call me stupid but I'm just discovering how good Tom Waddle is on the radio. Yes, I love Tom Waddle. Yes, I'm biased. But Waddle conducts himself with the same balance and poise he did on the football field. I'll be with them all season.
Wake me up when Chris Williams plays football. Until then, I don't want to read about him.
You guys beat me to this but here's the Sun-Times cut projections by Brad Biggs. Two thoughts: (1) I'd definitely keep Matt Toeaina over Dan Bazuin because I've seen Big Toe do it in the real games and (2) I think it is imperative that Caleb Hanie not be allowed to leave this organization. I just like the kid.
The NFC East are battling some major injuries this summer. Cowboys lost a starting guard for a month, the champs lost arguably the best pass rusher in the league for the season, Philadelphia lost a starting receiver and Jason Taylor has begun a year of more sidelining than playing.
We're days away from my season projections. Easily, the most pointless column written in America all year.
One of the fun parts of writing on the internet is being able to cover the coverage and the coverage of the Chicago Bears has been lackluster at best as we head into the 2008 regular season. My biggest regret is that the defense didn’t show up Thursday night because they let all the local sportswriters – who’d crucified the offensive line for seven straight days – off the hook.
The Tribune’s David Haugh is a successful beat man. I’ll also tell you from my brief phone conversations with him that he’s a nice guy. But he’s a terrible columnist. Look at the final sentence of his latest:
“But it is realistic, fair and imperative to expect that Smith and his coaching staff will find ways to get more out of a Bears defense that isn't injured but, obviously, still is hurting—itself.”
That is some shit writing. I mean…that is some shit writing. First. If you actually read that how it's written, you'll think you're having a stroke. Second. The dramatic pause he expects readers to take before he sticks the “itself” landing is plenty of time to use that page of the newspaper to wipe your ass. (I’m cantankerous today, kids.)
The Bears defense HAD nothing to prove Thursday night against the San Francisco 49ers and HAS nothing to prove this week against the Cleveland Browns. These are fake games. Not real. Fake. Not one of their major defensive talent - specifically Urlacher, Harris, Vasher and Brown – should see a down of action Thursday night.
Why? The same reason it’s inexplicable that Devin Hester has returned a single kick this preseason: nothing good can com from it. What are they going to prove against a Browns offensive unit that has looked porous this summer and will probably use starters for all of one series?
The Bears defense has their most difficult test all season long in the September 7th national television spotlight of Indianapolis. When the ball is kicked off that evening, no one cares what you did in the summertime. The entirety of this team’s focus should be on Peyton Manning. Reggie Wayne. Joseph Addai. Marvin Harrison. Dwight Freeney. Bob Sanders.
So what's the actual point of the Haugh column? The Bears defense should be better. Thanks, David. I'll put your Pulitzer in the mail.
The problem with the 24-hour ESPN/Internet age is that people think they have to constantly say something. Sometimes there is nothing to say. When this site goes vacant for days, it’s not out of laziness. It’s out of emptiness. It's when these guys try to just fill space that they end up saying idiotic things. And why not? No one holds Jay Mariotti accountable for killing the Bears' failure to draft Byron Leftwich. Nobody will criticize this Sports Illustrated moron for believing that track and field is going to sweep up America. The world of sports writing used to actually contain writers but now all you need to do is write "Fire (place offensive coordinator's name here)" and you get a national column.
Mr. Haugh believes the third preseason game has proven that injuries weren’t our problem on defense last year and they just might be poor. This coming LESS THAN A WEEK after he wrote, "Looking at this offense, the Bears' "D" just might have to be second to none." So the offense is fine now? You've learned all this from two fake games?
I think I'd rather Mr. Haugh and the rest of the Chicago writers go back to doing what they did throughout training camp.
Nothing.
And we'll see each other Monday morning, September 8th.
Apparently there is still one battle left waging in camp as Brandon McGowan and Kevin Payne will do battle for the right to start opposite Mike Brown (for the five weeks leading up to his annual vacation to Six Flags IR). Joke that it may be, both of these guys will inevitably play together at some point during the season.
Rick Telander in the Sun-Times is particularly frisky this summer but he had one line I like in his latest column. "It was almost sad to see Grossman enter the game and do almost nothing, then get wildly booed by the crowd." Grossman has become a tragic figure of sorts: the rise and fall of a quarterback.
Hey Jerry Angelo! Quit being full of shit. In his short press Q&A, he actually said of Kyle Orton: "This wasn't anything different than what we've seen in the past." Who? What? What now? This was everything we hadn't seen in the past. This was the finest performance he ever delivered in the laundry. Don't sit there now and pretend you knew. It insults reporters and it insults the fans.
Maybe you don't think this way but I do. Here are the backup quarterbacks in the NFC North: Bears (Rex Grossman), Packers (Brian Brohm), Vikings (Gus Frerotte), Lions (Drew Henson). I don't understand. Are there really not sixty-four great athletes in this country that can play quarterback?
Max really like Rash Davis. You should too.
Michael Silver over at Yahoo! Sports writes an indictment of the Gene Upshaw era. It's good to see a sports journalist reporting with absolute integrity and not conforming to the ESPN/Disney sugarcoating of the sports world.
The Packers got banged up Friday night. And Mr. Brohm didn't complete a pass.
Nine thoughts on last night's performance:
1. I wanted Kyle Orton to play well but I did not expect that. Orton looked brilliant. His first touchdown pass to Rash was as precise a throw as I've ever seen him make. He also threw the ball away when he needed to. But it was his poise and passion that struck me most. He played his best football knowing that a bad performance would be front page news the next morning. I never doubted the guy taking snaps. When's the last time that happened?
2. Two words: Kevin Jones.
3. Hey Peanut. You know I love you. You have two weeks to remove your head from your ass.
4. So Devin Hester is God. Rash Davis had his coming out party (Congrats Max). Duke of Earl has tremendous potential. Brandon Lloyd was out there blocking punts. Every time Mark Bradley gets on the field, he does good things. So my question? Is Marty Booker getting cut? If not, where has he been?
5. Our special teams aren't good. They're the best I've ever seen in the sport.
6. I'm going to watch the game again in a few minutes but on first sight I was impressed by John St. Clair.
7. Greg Olsen. Not so much with the blocking. They missed Desmond Clark last night.
8. One complaint about Ronald McDonald: too much running right up the middle on first down. This offense is a different unit when they're not digging out of second and longs.
9. God it was nice to watch the Bears play football.
DAILY ADDENDUMS:
There are real reports now coming out of Indianapolis that Peyton Manning may not start against us week one. The Bears could open the season by facing the Colts and Panthers and avoiding Peyton Manning and Steve Smith.
Rod Wilson broke his arm and he's out for the year.
Shawne Merriman is weighing season-ending knee surgery. Damn, this came out of nowhere.
Until now Bears fans and Chicago media types have displayed a seething intensity usually reserved for that collection of perennial losers who play ball up in the Motor City. But put into perspective, it’s not hard to understand. The Bears are coming off one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history - fraught with injury, controversy and losing. Even the energy and excitement of a tremendous finish has been replaced with question marks, second-guessing and cockamamie conspiracy theories.
Tonight, the healing begins.
I’m not going to make a list of the things I want to see this team do because the list would be one sentence (and I’m bored with that format). I want to see them go into halftime having scored more points than the other team. Sure, I’d like to see no turnovers or sacks. I’d like to see Kevin Jones look like he did as a rookie. I’d like to see Devin Hester sail passed the safeties for easy scores. But ultimately, my football rule is a simple one: I wanna score more than the other guy. There are no bonus points in football.
Me: Hey Mr. Belichick?
Bill: Yes, Jeff.
Me: What does winning games all year by thirty get you?
Bill: The thirty-first pick in the draft.
No matter how well they play tonight, people will still find a reason to complain - I know that more than anyone. And don’t kid yourself into believing there aren’t Bears fans and writers who WANT this team to perform poorly – some gracing our very own comments section. Newspapers like disasters and fans like to complain.
And if they don’t play well, specifically on the offensive side of the ball, go somewhere else tomorrow for your Doomsday Report. That’s not what we do here. Not in the preseason. If they play poorly, they’ll have sixteen days before the games start counting. Nobody writes a theatre review in rehearsals and juries don’t lay down verdicts at arraignments hearings. I'll give them the courtesy of sixteen days. I won't give them seventeen.
Even still, tonight I’ll be three seats from the left end of the bar at Josie Wood’s watching the Bears play a football game. It might not count but it's still a lot of fun. Here’s to a couple touchdowns early.
The following is a piece I simply felt I had to write, even though it’s relationship to the Chicago Bears is tangential at best. Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo left the Mike and Mad Dog radio program Friday, a decision which made me profoundly sad. This is my response. Tomorrow night I’ll return to Bears commentary with a preview of the third preseason game. Thanks for obliging.
I became a sports fan in the backyard of 66 Pleasant Place in Kearny, New Jersey as the 1980s – without so much as a warning - became the 1990s. Plastic yellow wiffle ball bats draped across half a basketball court in the shadow of the best damn swimming pool a kid could dream up. There was me. A couple of parents who may or may not be speaking to each other. Two brothers definitely not speaking to each other. And a small radio playing – for six hours a day – the endlessly speaking Mike Francesca and Chris Russo. They weren’t just talk show hosts - isolated in a studio in some foreign land called Queens. They were part of the family.
As I got older, my relationship with them evolved as any good relationship does. I remember driving my mother’s Volvo on Route 3 (just because I could), their voices providing the soundtrack to my automotive freedom. (Replace Harry Nilsson’s reassuring vocals on Everybody’s Talkin with the screeches of a lunatic and pomposity of an always-in-the-right father).
Holed up in an AM radio-deficient Manhattan dorm room, I moved to the internet with them – something neither of us seemed to understand as it was happening.
As I began writing professionally for the theatre, they’ve become a constant television companion, allowing me to write alone without feeling isolated. Those same two guys from the backyard reminding me where I came from.
Mike Francesca and Christopher Russo made it okay to love sports so much it made your heart bleed.
They made it okay for my twelve year-old brother to cry when Bruce Coslett’s Jets were bounced from the 1990 postseason by the Houston Oilers. Made it okay for my father to cry when Edgar Martinez knocked the 1995 New York Yankees from the playoffs. Made it okay for me to fail at containing myself as I filled fifty plastic champagne cups, celebrating a brilliant Chicago Bears victory over the New Orleans Saints, sending them to XLI.
Say what you want about their opinions – which ranged from remarkably honest to odd to downright idiotic – they loved sports. Their passion was infectious. In this disheartening era of American culture, those who legitimately change the world (George Carlin) are seemingly given less media attention than those who achieve nothing beyond giving me my first hard-on (Anna Nicole Smith) or interviewing folks (Tim Russert). In the words of Linda Loman, “Attention must be paid.”
Mike and the Mad Dog changed the sports world forever. They invented talking sports on the radio. They created a generation of kids like me who never felt ashamed to consider a ball club an important part of their life. My love of the Chicago Bears (and subsequently this site) might not have existed without them. For that I am truly thankful. And I will miss them.
Dear Kyle,
Hi. My name is Jeff Hughes and I started writing this site a few years back because I really, really like the Chicago Bears. It's caught on a bit in recent times and we're excited about that...but this isn't about me. This is about you.
Thursday you will become the starting quarterback of the Chicago Bears and contrary to the popular assertion of many local writers and more vocal fans, this is not by default. You've earned this opportunity. You earned it by stepping in as an unready rookie in 2005 and putting this team in position to make the playoffs. You earned it by handling your demotion to clipboard carrier with class. You earned it by taking the reins at the end of last season and providing fans with their first back-to-back victories since the previous post-season.
Thursday night is not the opportunity to prove this decision was warranted. That can come over time. What we've waited for is a steadying hand under center and Thursday night you can provide that. Make smart decisions. Make accurate throws. Don't throw the ball to the over team. Why? I'm glad you asked.
Because last season our offense was very reminiscent of poop but here's a statistic I quite like (see if you can follow the logic):
In games where we threw less interceptions than the other team, we were 4-2.
In games where we threw the same number as the other team, we were 2-2.
In games where we threw more, we were 1-5 (beating only a terrible Chiefs team in week two).
Navy blue and burnt, Kyle. Those colors are yours now. And they should also be the colors on the jerseys of the guys you throw the ball to. Any other color is no good. Can't get it there? Throw it to one of the folks cheering you on in the fourth row. Don't worry...we'll throw it right back.
Sincerely,
jeff
It's very easy to look at a ballclub after a preseason game and ring the doomsday bell. This team is nowhere near that point, folks. Two years ago in the infamous "they are who we thought they were" game - the Bears defense was torched by the Arizona Cardinals, en route to a magical season and a Super Bowl appearance. I can't repeat it any more than I have: it's the preseason. Nine thoughts...
1. The offensive line is this team's primary concern over the next three weeks as they prepare for the Colts. These five guys have only been playing as a unit for a week or so. It'll be interesting to see how they look Thursday night with the coaches installing an actual game plan. Believe it not - and I watched very carefully - the line mprove greatly by the end of the first half. The Bears need to develop a consistent screen game to counter the blitz packages. From everything I've seen, it's happening.
2. Kyle Orton is going to be the starting quarterback. In two series, he looked pretty damn comfortable - his ball to the outside is quicker and more accurate. All I kept thinking was, "What throws can't he make that Rex can?" Listen, I believe Rex Grossman has tremendous ability but last night proved that this team is going to head into the season with a great defense and (hard as it is to believe) better special teams play than a year ago. They can't afford to throw the ball to the other team. I expect Kyle to be announced the starter Monday morning.
3. If Brandon Lloyd didn't beat Mark Bradley to a roster spot last night, I just don't know anything about football. Lloyd looked like the sure-handed 49er of a few years ago and he seemed to have a solid rapport with KO.
4. Good to see "Return of" Jamar Williams playing into the second half. He's got terrific speed and looks like he'll be an ace in coverage.
5. Great to see #30 out there. Knock on wood...
6. The Bears may have the next Tony Romo on their hands in Caleb Hanie. He needs a few seasons to develop but he could (I stress could) be special. His third quarter escape and scramble was impressive as all hell. Turning nothing into something is a trait Bears QBs have lacked since - oh, I don't know - I was born.
7. No more Adrian Peterson. Haven't we seen everything this guy can do? He's just not that good. It's not a crime to be mediocre. He's mediocre. He's a special teams asset and a hard worker but he's 3.1 yards a carry waiting to happen.
8. The more I see Hungry Like the Wolfe with the ball in his hands, the more I want the ball in his hands.
9. Why is Devin Hester returning anything in a preseason game? Does he have to win the job? Not a single positive thing can happen by him returning a kick. All that can happen is injury. Sometimes I wonder if I'm the only one thinking this.
And because most of you will read this on Monday morning:
Bob Verdi in the Tribune wrote the most honest and compelling portraitofthe Favre ridiculousness I've ever read (somewhere other than this site). It is a must read.
Your song for Monday morning. Hall. Oates. For Wayne out in LaLa land.
So with the announcement that Lovie Smith plans to use his starters into the third quarter Saturday night, I thought it an appropriate time to take a "State of the Bears". What do we know? What don't we know? And perhaps most importantly, what can Saturday night tell us?
WHAT WE KNOW
(1) We know the Bears defense has a chance to mirror their 2006 success if they can only stay on the field.
(2) We know the Bears will enter the 2008 season with depth at running back that doesn't involve the name Cedric Benson and doesn't rely on the noble yet less-than-thrilling play of Adrian Peterson.
(3) We know there's zero reason to believe the Bears will relinquish their place atop Rick Gosselin's special teams rankings. (For those of you who don't already, start reading Gosselin in the Dallas Morning News. He's far-and-away the best football writer in the country and he loves Tommie Harris.)
WHAT DON'T WE KNOW
(1) We don't know if Devin Hester can hold up under the physical duress of being an every down receiver. Problem is, we won't know until he either goes down with a serious injury or makes it through the season. This is the hold-your-breath, wait-and-see, fingers crossed subplot of the entire 2008 season.
(2) We don't know if John St. Clair can actually be a starting left tackle in the league. We'll know September 7th in Indianapolis because Dwght Freeney is good at teaching lessons of this sort.
(3) We don't know if Ronald McDonald will find a way to exploit the clear mismatches the speed of Hester and Greg Olsen create for opposing defenses. Based on his track record, it's Prognosis Negative (prize if you get that reference).
AS FOR SATURDAY NIGHT...
Five questions heading into the game.
1. Will Rex Grossman seize the opportunity and take control of the quarterback battle?
2. Will a #2 receiver please stand up?
3. Will the offensive line continue to build on a surprisingly solid performance in the first exhibition game?
4. Will the Bears defense get off the field on third downs, especially considering Matt Hasselbeck is not expected to play?
5. Is this not one of the greatest summer songs ever written?
ALSO OF NOTE: The Bears unveiled a new marketing campaign today, featuring the slogan "One City. One Team." Though I would have gone with "One Town, One Team" for alliterative purposes, it could have been worse. As a matter of fact (and this is true, folks) the two other phrases in competition were: "Nothing Booze Can't Distract You From" and "Fuck Dave Wannstedt."
PRAYING TO ST. CLAIR
Mike Mulligan in the Sun-Times and half the Chicago beat writers seem to believe that John Tait should move back to left tackle due to the Chris Williams injury. The article is full of pointless conjecture from Mully and lots of contrary informaton from the coach. In the Sun-Times? Shocking. My thoughts on this:
1. If John St. Clair has been performing well at left tackle throughout training camp, hasn't he earned the starting job? Who declared that rookies automatically start due to a large signing bonus. (O-line coach Harry Hiestand - moronically called "beleaguered" in the article - echoes this sentiment.)
2. If the Bears believe Chris Williams is going to come back by mid-season and be effective, it's incredibly smart to leave John Tait on the right side. Offensive lines thrive on continuity, repetition and unity. Why change two positions when you can only change one? Then again, that's logical.
REX TO START SATURDAY NIGHT
Contrary to Roy's opinion, even Larry Mayer on DaSite (very pro-Rex) hesitates to give #8 any advantage in the quarterback battle. What does Rex need to do Saturday night? Exactly what he says: “I’d love to get a couple touchdowns right away and get into a rhythm, move the chains and be efficient." If Rex doesn't end the competition Saturday night, I have a feeling he won't see a snap in Indianapolis on the 7th.
MOOSE AND TANK
Today's rant is about Muhsin Muhammad and Tank Johnson, both of whom have taken shots at their former employers in the last few days. (For specifics, click on their names)
Moose said that Chicago is where receivers go to die. That may be true. But apparently it is also where receivers go to collect thirteen million dollars a year to drop a third of the balls thrown their way. Thirteen million dollars = death? Kill me now. Muhsin Muhammad was paid to be a number one receiver and was consistently out-played by Bernard Berrian and out-hustled by Rash Davis. I was planning to go back and paste all of the comments from fans upset when he left the organization but apparently my unicorn at them. Keep talking, Moose. Let's see what those numbers looks like in Carolina weeks one and two with Steve Smith suspended. Prick.
And ah, Tank Johnson. Chicago didn't support your degenerate lifestyle enough? Didn't give you enough chances? Should the fans have pooled their money together to buy you several gun racks so that at least you could take your semi-automatics off the floor, where they lay casually beside small children? Or are you mad that you were cut due to Jerry Angelo's rigid "Full Inning" policy, i.e. nine strikes, you're out. I spent many-a-column defending you and hoping for recovery. Wasted energy. You're a scumbag. You're a loser. And if it makes you feel better to insult a man whose only crime has been to throw some ill-advised passes and fumble a few snaps, then so be it. I'll take a hundred Rex Grossmans on this roster before a single Tank Johnson. You're right where you belong.
I thought about it and I got nothing...
Has there ever been a quarterback with more pressure on him in an exhibition game than Aaron Rodgers has on him tonight for the GreenBay Packers?
This isn't Young replacing Montana. (Montana was clearly on the downslope of his career.) This isn't Griese replacing Elway. (Elway retired from the game and stayed out.) No, this is a player who - fair or not - will be looked at by history as the man who pushed Brett Favre out of Green Bay and into North Jersey. This is a player whose statistics in a Family Night scrimmage were scrutinized on NFL Live. This is a player not only replacing the individual emblematic of a franchise renaissance (though incorrectly credited for it) but also replacing a man whose level of media worship is comparable only to Tibetan people's for the Dalai Lama.
That's what makes tonight so much fun for a Chicago Bears fan. If there is a football God, tonight begins what should be a decades long quest for the Packers to find their next guy. Tonight starts the string of Rick Mirers and Kordell Stewarts and Craig Krenzels and Cade...woops, almost said his name. Tonight the Packers follow Moses into the arid wasteland of bad quarterback hell only to find nothing on the other end of the parted sea. And you know what? Good. You deserve it. You've had fun for too long. I'll have my television on tonight and Aaron Rodgers you better not let me down. I want a disaster. I want the Hindenburg. I want the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel headline, "What Did We Do?"
And just for good measure, I wouldn't mind an out for 4-6 weeks either. "No, Jeff, you can't root for injury." "Damn it, Jeff, we don't want anybody hurt!" I do. For Jim Miller and that prick Hugh Douglas. For Rex Grossman's preseason crack on the night I opened my first play - receiving a call from the Reverend in the dead drunkenness of a beautiful night. For Mike Brown goddamnit. Mike Brown.
Good luck, Aaron.
Don't underestimate the Chicago Bears preseason contest in Seattle on Saturday night, especially in regard to the "battle" taking place at the quarterback position. Though there's no reason for Lovie and company to anounce a starter until Friday, the contest will go a long way to deciding who is under center in Indianapolis on September 7th.
If Rex starts, he'll get his fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes to win the starting job. That's it. That's all. The Bears will need to run their prospective number one offense in the third game and Grossman will assuredly need to crack that lineup in game conditions and not in the half-pad atmosphere of training camp practice.
If Kyle starts, expect things to stay that way. Kyle will play Saturday night like a golfer moving onto a Sunday back nine with a five stroke lead. He'll hit fairways. He'll lay up. He won't force putts. He'll tell himself even par to the end wins. And he'll do just that...win.
I thought about this seemingly obvious fact and realized, "Yeah. Kyle can do that. Can Rex? " Kyle can limit his errors and take what's there. Kyle also proved at the end of 2007 against the Saints that he can reach Devin on the deep ball. He also doesn't lose very often, does he?
It's with these running thoughts that DaBearsBlog officially endorses Kyle Orton as quarterback of the Chicago Bears (and reserves the right to change their mind at any time).
MONDAY MORNING MISERY ALERT: Blow on your coffee. Unwrap your bacon, egg and cheese. And spend the next nine and a half minutes...watching this.
*The season is - in fact - not over. Yesterday was actually just a meaningless exhibition game played after only about a week of practice. Nevertheless, things shall be discussed.
1. Sorry I missed this Chicagoans, but the Bears have outlawed tailgating this season. Why? Unruly behavior. Unruly behavior? Really? Now I don't want to get off on a rant here, but if we can't be unruly at a football game - where can we be unruly? To quote David Mamet's great Glengarry Glen Ross, "This is not a world of men." There used to be a time when we were allowed to throw a couple back, watch a ball game and curse at will. Now everything is sanitized. Everything's about children and families. Everything's about political correctness. You know what I say? Fuck all that. Sports are the great get-away and the Disneyland/Park Avenue NFL can do everything in their power to pussy-it-up but I ain't biting. Sell that shit to the Germans when you start playing the games in Frankfurt.
2. I'm not going to kill Jerry Angelo for the Chris Williams pick because a lot of us wanted him. And I went back and read the posts...none of us mentioned a chronic back ailment. Then again, none of us are paid to mention it. That being said, why don't be just wholesale trade our first round picks for good players? Do we really need to go through this every season? (On a side note, don't pull a Marc Columbo with this kid. Keep him. Get him healthy. Play him.)
3. Here's the one thing I'll take from last night's game (and the Roy videos): the Bears have made a concerted effort to develop a screen game, throwing 9 passes to backs. Hungry Like the Wolfe is going to become this team's Leon Washington.
4. You know what Devin Hester is? He's the first Bears offensve player in about twenty years that opposing defensive coordinators have to game plan against. He's going to require two bodies on him at all times. If Ronald McDonald and company can't capitalize on this, then the Bears need to find somebody who can.
5. What Kyle did last night is what Kyle does. Eight yards per completion. No turnovers. A couple points.
Goosebumps, baby. Goosebumps.
We'll leave this post up going forward and let the conversation take place below. I'll update this with my thoughts - based mainly on the opinions of others and various streams I'll be looking at. If you're going to the game tonight - AND STAYING FOR ALL FOUR QUARTERS - feel free to email me a nice column about the experience and what you saw (jeff@dabearsblog.com). I'll throw it on the main page sometime tomorrow.
Final thoughts on Favre going to the New York Jets:
1. Even if it doesn't make the Jets considerably better, it makes them considerably more exciting.
2. On a negative note, the Jets are now THE STORY in the National Football League this year. They'll lead the highlight packages and newspaper headlines. They've stolen the thunder from the Super Bowl champions that share their house. I just don't think the Jets are good enough to handle that pressure.
3. Roger Goodell is spending today at St. Patrick's Cathedral. Why? He's praying for a Jets-Packers Super Bowl.
4. Hate him as much you want (and I certainly do), Brett Favre not being on the Minnesota Vikings or Green Bay Packers is a victory for the Chicago Bears.
Brett Favre is a New York Jet.
If Brett Favre ends up being traded to the Tampa Bay Bucs, Jeff Garcia is not going to be happy moving down Jon Gruden's depth chart. Good quarterbacks know they only have so many good years in the league and Garcia - a player I had little respect for pre-Tampa - will fight his way out if only to give himself a chance to start ANYWHERE. Yes the Bucs may look to keep him and deal Chris Simms but I think this will have much more to do with an aging player looking for a place to play.
What is Garcia? A player who'll be able to weasel out of situations created by a shaky offensive line with his ability to scramble and throw on the run. A player who'll lead from the huddle. A player who might not be able to capitalize and the Devin Hester sprint speed but certainly will throw the ball to the other team at a lesser percentage than our current options. A winner.
He won in San Francisco. He won in Philadelphia. He won in Tampa Bay. The defense he'll be acquiring in Chicago will be the best he's ever had.
He'll win here too.
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