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.
#2 Phil from SATX said . . .Jeff what time do you write these at? You are either very nocturnal or a super early riser.
Chicago media is a pretty bi-polar bunch. Gotta talk shit to sell papers I guess. Shock value over in-depth, un-biased analysis. How can you criticize both sides of a two sided issue? Unless what should be done each year is add a third viable (or at least potentially viable) choice. Enough about QB's. Lets see how Orton has improved and give him a chance. Although how high of a pick + R. Mannning Jr. to get Chris Simms do you think? Will Quinn and JT O'Sullivan make D. Anderson and A. Smith expendable soon? Are either of them good enought to pursue? I guess a Bears fan can never be done talking about QB's.
We should defintely keep Big Toe, DT has ended up thin 4 us a lot recently. If Bazuin gets yanked off the practice squad so be it. Damn the BT's pride. It is so much more intelligent to admit an error and begin working to rectify it as quickly as possible than to cling to an unlikely hope that it will magically remedy itself when the evidence points to that not being the case.
All I want for Christmas is some O-line depth and the Bears in the playoffs. Hopefully I get my presents a lot earlier than that.
Oh yeah insomniac's get FIRST!!
Go Bears!!
August 26, 2008
#3 Da Coach said . . .Since we're talking about the media, I actually was kind of enjoying the Mariotti piece (no I won't link it here) - because he was underlining something I had noted yesterday about how unusual the Angelo interview was - and of course he took credit for it - but after enjoying such lines as "Jerry Angelo, you are ridiculous!" - very clever placement if you read the piece - I got to the part where Mariotti shows why the truth is HE'S ridiculous. And he also exposes something which actually vindicates the Bears, not that anyone has yet mentioned it.
Check this out:
The NFL draft is nothing if not trendy. And as the opening round reached the middle stages, a predictable run on offensive linemen was taking place. When Denver chose left tackle Ryan Clady at No. 12, the Bears were pressed to take the next-best player available at the position. In retrospect, if they knew about Williams' back problem, why didn't Angelo work harder to trade up and snag the superior, healthier Clady? Not only did Williams have injury issues, so did two other tackle options, Jeff Otah and Sam Baker, who would go later in the first round.
Let's hear that last sentence again - NOT ONLY DID WILLIAMS HAVE INJURY ISSUES, SO DID TWO OTHER TACKLE OPTIONS, JEFF OTAH AND SAM BAKER, WHO WOULD GO LATER IN THE FIRST ROUND.
He follows this with "The situation seemed fraught with peril, which leads to a pressing question being asked by media and fans alike: Why even go there?"
Well, Jay, the answer is of course, because he needed to. The Bears needed a top level tackle. Did you not realize that you were helping Jerry's cause immensely by reminding us that 3 of the top 4 tackles worthy of first round picks ALL HAD PREVIOUS INJURY ISSUES? And the one that didn't went ahead of us? So what - they were supposed to not even try to draft a tackle because of that? I guess that means the Panthers and Falcons shouldn't have gone there either?
Jay suggests that of course, Jerry should have moved up in the draft to get Clady, not mentioning the fact that Clady was NOT supposed to be there at 12, most drafts had him significantly higher than that. This is classic Jay hindsight bashing. He also pulls another classic Mariotti, in saying "Williams had surgery that will sideline him for most, if not all, of his first season." Well I guess that's really front page news, if its true - Williams will miss most, if not all, of the season? I hadn't heard that. It's possible that it could happen, but 10-12 weeks is what the team said, which is the end of October. This is just typical of him - shade your pieces with hyperbole and inaccuracies and worst-case assumptions whenever possible.
Anyway, I'm glad I read the piece, because it actually helped to clear Angelo in my mind, at least - could it be that offensive linemen typically have injury backgrounds because of the physicality of their positions? If Otah and Baker had injury backgrounds I have no problem with the Bears picking Williams. Thanks Jay.
August 26, 2008
#4 Phillip from NYC said . . .I actually was finding myself agreeing with Mariotti a few times in his article. He makes some pretty good points about the lack of offensive signings this offseason.
Hopefully things on the defensive side of the ball get corrected once the season starts and the offense jells more and more each game!
August 26, 2008
#5 Phil from SATX said . . .O/T for this thread, but thanks Jeff for pointing to Waddle & Silvy yesterday. Listened to three of the podcasts so far and they're GREAT! I've never been much of a sportsradio person (except for listening to the occasional live game on WGN when I lived in Chicago) but there's some wonderful commentary and analysis.
Thanks!
August 26, 2008
#6 Rancid said . . .Here's a much better article.
http://www.suntimes.com/sports/football/1125872,bowen082508.article
New guy (to the paper) who played for 7 years in the NFL. Says now is not time to worry about the D. I love former NFL players who turn into writers - he brings credibility to his opinions, unlike some of the other guys.
Good article - check it out. Also highlights a different way to watch the preseason games.
Very interesting cuts to be made - agree with Jeff that giving up on Bazuin would be very surprising, but no way should we cut Tru McBride, at least not without getting something for him. Michael Okwo also a casualty? That would mean 2007 included 2nd and 3rd round mistakes. Not good.
August 26, 2008
#7 jdawg said . . .Screw Mariotti. I actually started reading it and didn't finish. I wasn't angry, I simply have reached the point where I can't even read his stuff anymore. I want him to go away. I want him to cover women's field hockey, or trampoline (which I just learned is actually a real sport) or something. Just leave.
I have found myself coming to the blog much more frequently but posting comments much less. I just need games that matter NOW! I am tired of talking about what might happen. Let's just throw the shit at the fan already.
August 26, 2008
#8 craig said . . .yeah -- sports writers in Chicago seem almost like cable news experts -- not experts and much more interested in titallation than reporting.
They don't really talk about football. What makes this player good or bad, just jr. high drama.
I have to say, Crist over at Scout has gotten better. You used to get the feeling that he relished calling the Bears O pathetic, but at least he's looking for news instead of gotcha stories. Also, while not defending Rex's play he had some very sympathetic things to say about him.
August 26, 2008
#9 Rancid said . . .Yeah, I'm sick and f#cking tired of all this fantasy bullsh!t being mixed in with coverage of the real, actual game.
August 26, 2008
#10 animal said . . .I won't lie. I play fantasy football, and I really enjoy it. However, I am Bears fan first and foremost. I also strongly agree that fantasy football should be kept off the main sports pages. Why is it so hard to maintain a separate site for fantasy articles? I think fantasy has a place, I just hope it doesn't encroach on what true sports fanatacism should be about: Real actual football teams, that play in a real actual league. As long as fantasy is a fun side game with friends (that's what it is for me) then I like it.
August 26, 2008
#11 jeff said . . .I love fantasy football, but I hate reading about it. You don't have to hate fantasy footballl to hate when it taints real football.
August 26, 2008
#12 Da Coach said . . .z... i linger in the darkness.
i'm trying to make this one-stop shopping for bears fans moving forward. so you don't have to surf the net looking for bears info.
i'm getting better. not there yet.
August 26, 2008
#13 KentuckyBearsFan said . . .Phil - Nice find on that article it was a good one. Good hearing from a former player that intensity is usually way down compared to a regular season game pretty much what I always figured anyway.
Also agree that fantasy football does need to be kept separate from main sports pages. There is a time and place for everything but front page of sports is not where fantasy football belongs.
August 26, 2008
#14 jeff said . . .Don't care the slightest about FF.
I remember the first few hundred times I saw the words "Fantasy Football" on the internet, I thought it was an ad for naked football cheerleader videos.
But then the term showed up on mainstream sites like espn, which confused me or made me think espn was desperate to sell internet ads. Up until about two years ago I thought it was some type of weird lottery type game.
August 26, 2008
#15 Shady said . . .KBF, you nailed it. men 18-49 love fantasy football.
August 26, 2008
#16 jeff said . . .So, where is RMJ? He didn't show up to practice today...
And Jeff, did you really link to jetblue?
August 26, 2008
#17 Shady said . . .we can now assume RMJ is getting cut.
August 26, 2008
#18 jeff said . . .Why wouldn't they trade him and try to get some value for him?
August 26, 2008
#19 Shady said . . .cuz he stinks. what are we going to get? and it's a cap hit.
August 26, 2008
#20 craig said . . .I thought it was a cap hit only if they cut him, but not if they could trade him.
I see $ is a problem though:
http://www.windycitygridiron.com/2008/8/26/601583/ricky-manning-jr-to-be-rel
August 26, 2008
#21 Phil from SATX said . . .Biggs just Twittered that a source close to Ricky Manning, Jr. has confirmed that he's been released
August 26, 2008
#22 Jimbo said . . .That one might have been as much of a waste of money as Cedric was, although not nearly as publicized. At least he didn't cost us a draft pick, not that draft picks have that much tangible value to us anymore. As testy and thin-skinned as Angelo is right now, the next story he doesn't want out there is the failure of the 2007 draft class with Bazuin and Okwo cut. We'll see how much nad he has, because it sounds like those guys need to go.
I don't know how much of Manning's $15MM contract he's already gotten paid - how can we find that out?
August 26, 2008
#23 Shady said . . .I never thought i'd say this: i think we need fred miller. false starts aside... he was banged up last year, and would give our line some type of depth. Whats the chance every one of those starters plays every meaningful snap for 16 games??? i'd say damn near zero.
He is probably going to be better, as a backup, then any other option.
August 26, 2008
#24 jeff said . . .Losing Fred Miller this off season has been a case of addition by subtraction.
I guess that would mean subtraction by addition?
I don't know why, but the Bears are putting fans' expectations for this offense in the garbage right now.
August 27, 2008
#25 Shady said . . .i think fans are doing that themselves. if the bears acquire fred miller, which is only an if, it'd be to add a veteran backup to the mix. in my mind - smart but not entirely necessary.
August 27, 2008
#26 jeff said . . .Don't lose perspective on where the line was at the end of last year compared to where it is now. What's the difference? If I told you at the end of last season that the Bears would have the same o-line personnel in 2008 as they did in 2007 you'd flip out. Don't forget how you felt in 2007 about this line and what had to happen in order for this group to be better in '08! Normally I would say it couldn't hurt to add a body on the line, but in this case I can make an exception for Fred "drive killer" Miller, take a look at what we were saying about Miller back at the end of last season. And after an off season of softball and other retirement activities we're supposed to welcome this move. Gimme a break.
August 27, 2008
#27 Shady said . . .shady, enough complaining about nothing!!!! IF IF IF IF IF he signs, it's only for depth purposes....the bears like john st. clair at left tackle....the only people who don't are the people who judge players based on the second of four fake games....
and the personnel is the same, that's a bid misleading. starters at three of the five positions are different than 2007.
August 27, 2008
#28 jeff said . . .You're right, 3 out of the 5 ARE different.
St. Clair at LT - I give the man credit for stepping up when the Bears needed him, but talent wise St. Clair isn't... Wait a minute have you SEEN John St. Clair? There is no way I'd say anything bad about that guy. St. Clair, I love ya but you DO protect the QB's blind side so try not to get him killed.
Beekman at LG - I suppose there is some potential there, being that he hasn't started a NFL game yet... Ruben Brown had a big part in the run game over the years, and it's going to be tough for Josh to fill those big Brown shoes.
And I'll give you Tait at LT even though he was certainly part of the '07 o-line debacle.
But the point is out of all, ALL the needs this off season there was ONE that stood above them all and it was repairing the O-LINE. Even though the Bears lost 2 starters from '07, JA decided to secure only one this off season, and now that guy is hurt. If JA had addressed this glaring problem appropriately, we wouldn't be talking about re-signing Miller to add DEPTH.
Maybe it's just me, but this is about as close to re-signing Adam Archuletta as you can get, but you guys would be OK with that too, right?
August 27, 2008
#29 enderwiggin said . . .you're really upset about the prospect of hiring this guy to be the backup right tackle?
August 27, 2008
#30 Shady said . . .wow, how do you compare Tait to Archuletta? Where you goin with this Shaydy? Jeff, i think we need a new post, all this negative mind boggling who knows what cocamamy whatsit is driving me nuts.
August 27, 2008
Tait? no, wtf - MILLER!
Who was the biggest Liability on the team last year? FRED MILLER!
August 27, 2008
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