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.
#2 Rancid said . . .Good rant Jeff. (it was good, but I'll admit I said that just as a segue). Picking up from the last thread, the 49'ers pretty much spent the last few years doing what the Bears did - trying to make a 1st round draft pick at QB work. I'd say we did better than they, since we made it to a SB with ours. And since theirs was an overall 1st pick in the draft, they can be forgiven for holding on even more than us. But this journeyman, JT O'Sullivan, is clearly a better QB at this point than Alex Smith. Say what ever you want about preseason, it was just obvious. I'm still betting that the 49'ers will have a much improved offense this year under him, and under Mike Martz.
I'm also betting we're going to have a much improved offense this year under Kyle Orton. Amidst the defensive breakdowns I posted yesterday, I didn't mention the fact that our offense matched theirs stride for stride. And we did it with significantly worse play calling, and a significantly worse line.
Kyle's going to be our JT O'Sullivan this year, our David Garrard, our Jeff Garcia. He's going to be competent, and everything's going to run so much smoother, on all sides of the ball, because of it. It's going to start in Indy.
August 24, 2008
#3 jdawg said . . .Supposedly these guys write this way because that's what the people want, controversy and dogmatic opinions, and apparently in Chicago, they must also be perpetually negative. Firstly it is annoying that these writers are not held accountable for what they write (should our D have a monster year, Haugh's piece will be forgotten). But my main question is that if Mariotti and now most other writers are giving us this because it's what people want, then why do most if not all of us here detest them and more importantly feel as if we have no honest source of information until we can watch games for ourselves.
I used to hate reading Da Site because I felt you couldn't trust the content since it came straight from Da Bears office. Now I go there frequently. If I'm gonna be stuck reading bias innacurate reporting, I'd just as soon it have a positive bias.
A friend here at work attempted to convince me that my (and others) outspoken hatred of Mariotti is what keeps him employed. His huge following of detractors is viewed from a media standpoint as popularity. I sure hope that's bullshit. Since when did sports writing become an art form. The great writers of the past used to write a sports story and sometimes it was so great it became an art form. Today's bastards start out with the goal to write a piece of art, or to appear super intelligent and all-knowing, and then they create shitty art. I don't want shitty art. I want decent reporting.
August 24, 2008
#4 jeff said . . .I haven't read a word of Marriotti in over two years and actually shield my eyes from the headlines of his articles.
A lot of sports writers today seem to me to be sensationalists and drama queens. They could probably cover a 7th grade science class over the course of the year and make it seem that the whole school has gone, in the words of Tropic Thunder, "full scale retard" by the time they're done.
When I read Haugh, Biggs and Crist I try to figure out what may actually be going on.
Case in point: the QB competition.
Their view -- it was a farce and a charade. Grossman was sucker-punched and was played the fool. There was no way in hell he was going to start.
My interpretation -- the coaches were leaning in Orton's direction and Grossman needed to show marked improvement over his deficiencies.
Anyway, enough of that.
August 24, 2008
#5 PolygonHell said . . .you know what, jdawg? not a single sportswriter wrote that rex didn't have a chance until after the seattle game. all of a sudden, they knew everything.
and yet roy gets shutdown for trying to show us what's happening.
August 24, 2008
#6 Shady said . . .To some extent it's the nature of the internet. Everything the organisation does is under the microscope and when there is nothing to write, you pick a element of the team and tear it apart.
I don't live anyway near Chicago, the local press in San Francisco aren't anything like as negative as the Chicago press. The same was true for the local press around the Sea Hawks when I lived in Seattle.
I have a pet theory, I think that 1985 leaves every Bears team with something they can't live up to. It defines how the team must be perceived (win with defense, run off the bus), and it makes writing negative pieces about todays team very much easier than writing positive ones.
August 24, 2008
#7 Al In WI said . . .I'm just curious, why and when did you speak to Haugh?
August 24, 2008
#8 Decatur Staleys # 7 said . . .For as long as I've been a Bears fan the chicago media has always had a villian to pick on. Sometimes like in the case of Wanny or McNown it was deserved. Other times it was not. But if you think it about it they've always had one.
For most of the last two years it was Rex Grossman, and frequently Cedric Benson. Well, Grossman has been benched and is probably done in Chicago long term. Benson is gone, and that chapter is closed, so they need a new foil, or whipping boy depending on how you want to look at it.
My prediction is that it will eventually be Ron Turner. But for now they are still searching for one, and for this week it's the defense.August 24, 2008
#9 jdawg said . . .The Bears have to have their roster down to 75 to reach a league imposed limit by 3PM this Tuesday. The have waived six.
Marcus Monk WR
Josh Gattis S
Ryan Grice-Mullen WR
Leslie Majors CB
Rod Wilson LBThe next cut back will be this Saturday when teams have to be down to 53
August 24, 2008
#10 Steven said . . .I'd actually read a couple hints about the competition being rigged, but I don't believe it was put into a major col. prior to Seattle.
Anyway, there's rigged and then there's rigged.
In my opinion Grossman's play the last 1.5 seasons did a lot of the rigging.
August 24, 2008
#11 jdawg said . . .I haven't got to see the last preseason game. Is there anywhere that I could go online to watch it?
I've always liked O'Sullivan. I wanted the Bears to keep him around when Ero went under. I thought he was obviously the best Q.B. in Europe, not saying much, and I think he'd make a better 2 stringer then Grossman.
August 24, 2008
#12 Taylor said . . .I suggest everyone trot over to the Suntimes sports section and check out Biggs' col. stating that every team knew Williams had a herniated disk before the draft.
Where did this info come from?
Chris Williams.
August 24, 2008
#13 Minnie mad dog said . . .Should we just assume that everything that Lovie and Angelo say is just bullshit? I'm thinking yes.
They have flat out lied about Williams. Every media outlet in Chicago has said that Orton won the QB "competion" before it even started. Booker has called them secretive.
''I haven't gotten many plays in any of the games,'' Booker said. ''I'm trying to figure out what is going on. I've asked them and 'they have a plan.' I don't know what it is. It's secretive around here.''
At this point, I really hate the way this organization is run.As far as the D goes, I'm not ready to hit the panic button, but you can't completely attribute the poor play to just "vanilla" preseason play. The missed tackles, lack of pressure put on the QB, and blown assignments are very bothersome.
For those of you that say defenses never play well in preseason, then using that same logic, do we not give any credit to KO and the offense for playing well? Cuz they were going up against "preseason vanilla play".August 24, 2008
#14 Shady said . . .J-Dawg
I don't know about a herniated disc, but it was known, prior to the draft, that he had some back problems. I read that is why some teams wouldn't even look at him.
August 24, 2008
#15 jdawg said . . .So I ran into Kyle Orton today at Golfsmith, I recognized that beard right away and knew it was him. I was on my way out and managed to yell out a, "I'm rootin' for ya buddy, go get 'em." and I think he yelled back "thanks".
I know, I was lame - but I didn't have much of an opportunity to say anything else. He seemed pretty focused on improving his game... golf game anyway.
August 25, 2008
#16 Shady said . . .minnie
go to the website:
http://www.suntimes.com/sports/football/bears/1124028,williams082408.article
August 25, 2008
#17 beardown1982 said . . .I just don't understand why the Bears selected Williams when they had several other options at the same position WHO DIDN'T HAVE A HERNIATED DISC! I don't blame Williams at all for being drafted by the Bears, injuries are part of the game. But if you're Chicago, you draft someone who can come in and start RIGHT AWAY with no questions asked!
While Williams might in fact return in time to help this team reach the playoffs (playoffs!?) the reward will most likely be not worth the risk. I still can't understand why the Bears would make this decision if they had this information ahead of time, kinda makes you wonder as a Bears fan...
August 25, 2008
#18 jeremy9 said . . .If this Williams stuff is true...good lord. I guess you pick what you deserve sometimes.
August 25, 2008
#19 jeremy9 said . . .maybe our doctors are not as good as others...i doubt that but we were really high on this guy, injury or not, I will be ready to see how good he is....surely we think his injury is no major concern and he will be really good someday, it sucks he's injured now but lets not over react, i know i have before on this
as for your popular sports reporters and the way our culture and media is right now....i really can't bear to watch a show like around the horn....reporting a our major sports news coverage on tv needs to change sooner than later
August 25, 2008
#20 jeff said . . .Anyone else worried about the next Randy Moss of the NFL in our division again.....Calvin Johnson. I have been high on this guy since he got here, not that he was/is a secret, but I feel he can put up huge numbers and help the Lions win plenty of games. That and Vikings got AP..and I hear that the Vikings D is going to be even better this year....I am a little worried about the competition in our division this year.
August 25, 2008
#21 Phil from SATX said . . .shady, a couple years back about a news story i BROKE to him.
August 25, 2008
#22 Z said . . .Jeff, if you were trying to link, it didn't work. That was a really weird interview - that is absolutely the most defensive and paranoid I have ever heard Jerry Angelo be. I think he may be really under the gun, based on that.
The comments from Booker, I think we've heard these before, and they are always from the offensive side of the ball, aren't they? So what does that say to you? RON TURNER. On D, when players aren't playing well, they know it, their coordinator apparently tells them. RT is the one who is behind the secrecy and lack of communication. That's at least how I read it.
August 25, 2008
#23 jdawg said . . .Yeah things are a little weird and covert ops in Bears land it seems.
My hopes for Bears success seem more and more to be in spite of our coaches instead of because of them. I have faith in the D and ST. Every other aspect of our team is a crap shoot. Will they help or hurt the D and ST in leading us to victory?
With some of the huge injuries in preseason striking the league again this year and with all the OTA's, do we really need 4 preseason games? I would rather have slightly rusty players at the beginning of the season than roll the dice with the possible injuries in preseason.
Hopefully Strahan stays retired and the Giants are hurting this year. I think the Cowboys lost an O-Line starter. How bad is Clark hurt for us?
August 25, 2008
#24 Minnie mad dog said . . .Clark has a mild sprain and should be ready for the opener.
This Williams thing looks to be not as bad as it origianally sounded. He hurt his disk 3-plus years ago at Vandy and played with it with no problems for 3 seasons.
August 25, 2008
#25 Phil from SATX said . . .J-Dawg. Thanks for link. That is exactly what I had heard during the draft regarding Williams. I still wonder why we chose to run that risk? I sort of recall there were other decent O-line candidates.
On another matter, this crap about Marty Booker is kind of upsetting. I have always liked him and think he plays with real balls, when healthy. If Bears organization is treating him like shit, that is a real shame. Wouldn't surprise me, though.
August 25, 2008
#26 Pankster said . . .I think Morrissey wrote a great, although negative, article today about Lovie.
This is when you have the possibility of the local media helping you as fans - maybe this will light a fire under Lovie, maybe it will light a fire under the D in support of Lovie, maybe it will do neither but now the spotlight is firmly on the issue if the D sucks this year.
Sometimes the negativity can help, and I think Morrissey was spot on in his analysis of Lovie.
August 25, 2008
#27 Pankster said . . .DOES ANYONE THINK GROSSMAN WILL BE CUT? WHY HASNT D-ANGELO WENTON THE WIRE AND PICKED UP ANY VET O LINE HELP? CHANCES WE BEAT THE PANTHERS IN WEEK 2 i mretired army living here now and hate the panthers tar heel ect im bears cubs and big 10 for life OAK PARK BORN AND RAISED!!!!!!!
August 25, 2008
#28 Pankster said . . .DOES ANYONE THINK GROSSMAN WILL BE CUT? WHY HASNT D-ANGELO WENTON THE WIRE AND PICKED UP ANY VET O LINE HELP? CHANCES WE BEAT THE PANTHERS IN WEEK 2 i mretired army living here now and hate the panthers tar heel ect im bears cubs and big 10 for life OAK PARK BORN AND RAISED!!!!!!!
August 25, 2008
#29 Pankster said . . .DOES ANYONE THINK GROSSMAN WILL BE CUT? WHY HASNT D-ANGELO WENTON THE WIRE AND PICKED UP ANY VET O LINE HELP? CHANCES WE BEAT THE PANTHERS IN WEEK 2 i mretired army living here now and hate the panthers tar heel ect im bears cubs and big 10 for life OAK PARK BORN AND RAISED!!!!!!!
August 25, 2008
#30 JWilson said . . .CUT GROSSMAN NEXT
August 25, 2008
#31 Phil from SATX said . . .This whole thing about Angelo knowing that Williams was already hurt really bothers me. What GM in their right minds takes a guy they know is hurt? Not only that, the guaranteed money. That's the part that makes the least amount of sense. If Chris turns out to be a big time pro bowl player, i guess it all turns out. I think Jerry has made some good defensive picks, but we need help at offense. We need someone that has the brains to draft good offensive players too. Or sign free-agent players. Maybe all will pan out this season. As it looks now Jerry and Ron might need to be replaced next season.
August 25, 2008
#32 JWilson said . . .I have to admit, I collect reports of other teams' preseason injuries like they're Olympic pins. It's not nice, it may not be sporting, but having been on the receiving end of this as a Bears fan, it would be an understatement to say I don't mind when it happens to other teams. I feel like it's luck evening out. The Giants are screwed big time right now, and we'll see how their depth is. Cowboys lost an offensive line starter (although likely the worst one on the line given all their Pro Bowlers) plus receivers.
Anyone else think this way or is it only me?
August 25, 2008
#33 JWilson said . . .Phil-
On the next televised Cowboys game we'll get to hear about all the injuries they have being the reason they are having a poor season. All from Aikman and Joe shut the Buck up.August 25, 2008
#34 Viva said . . .I can't stand either one of those guys!
August 25, 2008
#35 JWilson said . . .JW -
I believe Angelo's offensive success has come by the way of Free Agency, understanding that this offense was even more abysmal when he inherited it than it is now. Here are some of his FA pick-ups:
John Tait
Thomas Jones
Fred Miller
Des Clark
Brandan Ayanbedejo (Special Teamer)
Mushin Muhamed (uggh...)and here are some of the offensive guys he's drafted that have panned out:
Marc Columbo (Starting in Dallas)
Bernard Berrian
Devin Hester
Josh Beekaman (Jury still out)
Greg Olsen (Jury still out)
Kyle Orton (Jury still out)
Forte (Jury is still out)
Williams (Jury still out)
Kirk Barton (Jury still out)
Kellen Davis (Jury still out)and guys that have not panned out:
Cedric Benson - Draft class of 05 will go down as one of the worst draft classes in history.
Rex Grossman - Again 03 was a year we NEEDED to draft a QB and there was not much there. We could have had Leftwich or Kyle Boller....talk about painting yourself into a corner.... bye the way...evryone missed the boat on Romo who was an undrafted rookie that year.
In my opinion Angelo has done a remarkable job building this team. He built the Defense first through the draft, and has slowly been putting the O together. His biggest mistake early on was entusting our offense to Terry Shea (read Johnathan Quinn), but he fired him after 1 season. He has taken his lumps, but for every miss he has made at least two hits.
I think the one thing that should not go unsaid is the fact that our coaches must take some responsibility for coaching these guys up. If a prospect has the talent and desire - our staff needs to get the most out of him.
August 25, 2008
#36 jdawg said . . .VIVA-
PR guy for Jerry Angelo? Seriously, I agree with some of what you have said. Last year's and this years guys we don't know anything about yet. And most of the FA picks have been good but,
John Tait is still good,but is 65 yrs old.
Thomas Jones-No longer with team
Fred Miller-No longer with team
Des Clark-Great Player
Brandan Ayanbedejo-No longer with team
Mushin Muhamed-No longer with team. And needs to get jacked by our D in week2.
All of which may have been good pick ups, not much help for this years team.I'm sure it will all come together, and Angelo will look like a genius down the road. But, right now it is real frustrating to hear the whole Williams stuff right now on top of the Benson bust and the soon to be Grossman Bust.
Williams knew he was hurt. Knew he had been hurt for a while. He should have did the right thing and had the surgery at the end of his college season. And could have been ready for his pro season by week 3 or 4. Maybe sooner. I'm not saying he's the savor of the o-line, but having him in there couldn't hurt. Exspecialy if Beekman turns out to be a good player. Getting them both in there could only help the growth of Forte, Bennett, and Orton. If Forte and Bennett both come in and have great rookie numbers, than I'll feel better about Jerry.
August 25, 2008
#37 Phil from SATX said . . .man -- inhale y'all.
Williams played with that "injury" for 3 seasons at Vandy and didn't miss a practice. According to the Score (threw up a little in my mouth) it was diagnosed as a stable herniated disk. If its stable and not causing a problem don't put your back under the knife. I think I have a pinched nerve. It acts up once in a while. I will not have surgery to fix it.
Williams had the condition for 3 seasons and played LT in the SEC with no problems.
August 25, 2008
#38 craig said . . .I'm thinking back to one of Jeff's comments - why there can't be 64 good QBs in the league. I think the reality is this is the single hardest position to fill (like someone else mentioned), maybe in all of sports. That means you need to give teams a pass for trying to stick with developing guys. Did you see that Matt Leinart just got demoted? We had all been shocked at the time to see him drop to 10th in the draft, when people assumed he'd be in the top 3. And Titans are sticking with Vince Young, probably because he sells tickets and is exciting, but I think most of us now feel he'd be a long shot to develop into a really good QB. Alex Smith, #1 pick in the draft, is now demoted to bench in favor of a long-traveled veteran.
Look at the list of QBs in Miami behind Pennington - John Beck, Josh McCown, Chad Henne's the new guy - but history shows he's got a very slim chance of making it, just like every other aspiring NFL QB. To say it's not easy to pick the right guy is an enormous understatement. Speaking of QBs, what's happening with Chris Simms I wonder?
August 25, 2008
Last I heard Chris Sims expects to be cut this week.
August 25, 2008
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