Just watched the game again (it is currently 5:18 AM) and a lot of thoughts to go around...
(1) Let's start with Kyle Orton. Anyone who looks at KO and doesn't see the promise of a terrific NFL quarterback, doesn't want to see it. Sure Kyle made mistakes tonight - mostly due to his lack of pocket presence - but he also made some absolutely wonderful throws. All three touchdown passes were spectacular passes and the Hester drop would have certainly led to more points. Kyle's not "there" yet but I'm pretty damn excited to see where "there" is.
(2) Alex Brown was the player of the game. But right behind him on the defensive side was Israel Idonije. Idonije was commanding double teams all game long and more than made up for the absence of Tommie Harris.
(3) Mark Anderson is a lost cause. His over-pursuit on the early Desean Jackson end-around was laughable. I'm starting to wonder what scenario would put him on the field.
(4) Hey Brian...knock it down! The first Eagles touchdown was thrown between three Bears defenders, each of which could have knocked the ball to the ground. Mr Urlacher was too interested in catching the pass and thusallowed the six points. Knock the damn ball down, please.
(5) Charles Tillman and Brandon Lloyd are terrific football players. If they're seriously injured, we're in trouble.
(6) Matt Forte is a hell of a blocker. Even John Madden pointed out that Forte's blocking was responsible for the Booker TD. Last Bears running back that blocked this well wore 34.
(7) Get Hunter Hillenmeyer out of pass coverage. Now. He's awful.
(8) If the Cover-2 is susceptible to every throw over the middle, let's stop running it.
(9) Greg Olsen running vertical routes is better than Greg Olsen not running vertical routes.
(10) 2-2. Tied at the top of the NFC North.
#2 Prefontaine said . . .First!
Great team effort. Both sides of the ball picked each other up.
I'm please with the way D came back and took ownership of the second half. REFUSE to lose.
For all the shit everyone gives Angelo in his draft busts, everyone should be throwing bouquets at him for picking up Forte (in the second round). The kid's a stud. It's more than that his performance is juxtaposed to Cedric Benson, the kid's a playmaker. He picked up a key first down, when there wasn't one to be had.
I'm excited about KO's potential. Nicely thrown balls right where they needed to be. The Olsen TD pass and the Hester TD pass were right on the mark. I don't know if you all noticed, but he audibled into the screen play for Forte in the 4th Q to pick up the first down. I just want to start seeing consistency. Also, against the most creative blitzing team in the NFC, he held up ok. Rex would have wilted or gotten hurt in a game like this.
Bear down!
September 29, 2008
#3 RandomName said . . .Interesting that a team that prides itself on running the ball straight off the bus, went 3/3, 59 yards through the air on the opening possession. Maybe we should get off the bus passing the ball and then add in some Forte.
I still like Kevin Jones and know he can help this team.1 big mistake but he did some positive things too.
Bear Down. That was the goal line stand that I wasn't sure this team could make anymore.
September 29, 2008
#4 BearDown1982 said . . .that "fumble" i'm curious about, did he know he was supposed to get the ball?
September 29, 2008
#5 Game Managers Win Championships said . . .I think we will all agree on Alex Brown. That was an amazing individual effort on the 4th down play...without Alex, he gets in the end zone for sure. I'm still a bit surprised that the Eagles did not challenge whether the ball broke the goal line...looked pretty damn close to me.
Israel Idonije did a great job filling in for Tommie. I like our defensive tackles. It might be a good idea to give Tommie a little more rest for a while and have him fresh for the second part of the season. I trust these guys that much. Without Tommie's explosiveness, this isn't a great defense in my opinion. However, he will never get it back if has to play on one leg every week. Maybe we can at least get him to 85-90% healthy and reap the rewards.
Any update on Lloyd? Clearly, he is our best receiver and it would hurt to lose him right now.
Pretty much agree on everything else. I think we should all get used to watching close games like this all season.
September 29, 2008
#6 RandomName said . . .It was a good win, no matter who wasn't playing for the other team. A win over the Eagles is going to be a pretty big thing to have in hand down the stretch.
Good to see some urgency from the Bears in the second half. I'd rather they not wait so very long into the second half to show it next game. Good for now, though. Baby steps.
September 29, 2008
#7 Urlacher FTW said . . .Ok this game was a must win for the bears, as i heard said in the media by lovie smith something like; 2 and 2 is a big difference from 1 and 3 .
go bears!! good win.September 29, 2008
#8 mikebdot said . . .Good win!
I was happy to see the cuffs come off of Orton, I thought the O-line could have been stronger both in sticking with the run and protecting Kyle. Thought there should have been Illegal Contact on the Linebacker on Ortons pick in the red zone but I guess bottom line is he shouldn't have thrown it. Let's keep some perspective though; our line was better than Pitts and Orton looked better than Rothlesberger. We have a lot of potential on Offense. And.. OUR FN D IS BACK!
Man the NFL tightened up this week, only the Bills, Titans, and Giants are undefeated after week 4... wow.September 29, 2008
#9 marc said . . .Seriously, does anyone remember seeing Kreutz actually knock a defender on his ass? On the Hester end around did you see how Kreutz fell on HIS ass? What a slow piece of shit. I know Hester is fast and all, but god, that whole fucking side of the field was open. Might as well start Patrick fucking Mannelly.
Sorry to be a negative nancy, but ferchrissakes he and Garza need to be shot in the running game and St. Clair and Tait need to be shot in the pass game. I thought Beekman played really really well, but I need to watch again. I only remember sacks coming off the edges, and one sort of through Garza/Tait, overloaded though.
I still think McKie sucks nuts. Knock some people down...let the bodies hit the floor! And all that.
That goal line stand at the end of the game was fucking beautiful. I got chills and everything. Our D FINISHED it. They played really well the entire game. Some big pass plays and all, but they came to play.
Ron Turner's atrocious play calling at our own goalline (when we started at the 4 after Hester ran straight sideways) made me want to puke. McKie up the middle on 3rd and 11? I thought to myself, "self, they're going to run it to McKie". Sho' nuff. You could see Andy Reid thinking "jesus fucking christ, man, could you be any MORE predictable?"
I agree with Jeff about Orton. He is a guy I can root for. He seems to actually learn from mistakes. You see him throw it at the feet of D Clark on a busted piece of shit play? I liked seeing the fire as he mouthed "jesus christ" as the play call came in, as if to say "goddamnit, Turner, you're retarded". I liked seeing an actual useful audible.
Our run game was awful tonight. Our better tight end just didn't feel like cutting towards the middle of the field with a decent cut. There is another D Clark in the league that makes that 2nd Kyle pick a fucking TD. There are way too many Bears making bad plays. Coach the players up you wanker! (directed at Lovie)
We're tied for the division lead. What an awful division right now. We need to take advantage of that. It starts with the Lions next week!
September 29, 2008
#10 Willie from chicago said . . .We played four great teams this season and BEAT them all. We should be 4-0! i like the way the O played in the first half and the D was great all game! GO BEARS!
September 29, 2008
#11 Anytime said . . .Great D last night, that was one of the best goal line stands ive ever seen.
What is with this offensive line, Orton was knocked off his feet on every play. Those interceptions he threw were both due to the pocket colapseing. Orton got happy feet after the 3rd quarter.
Overall it was a great effort
BEAR DOWN!!
September 29, 2008
#12 NY Bears Fan said . . .Who got horse trailer player of the game?? I missed it.
September 29, 2008
#13 Urlacher FTW said . . .@Anytime....the entire defense was put on the horse trailer. John Madden loved that game!
September 29, 2008
#14 BearDown1982 said . . .Trailer went to all 11 on the D in on 4th and 1 stand.
September 29, 2008
#15 Urlacher FTW said . . .I think they gave the horse trailor to the whole Bears defense...I personally thought it should have gone solely to Alex Brown.
September 29, 2008
#16 Decatur Staleys # 7 said . . .Yah, I was in total agreement with Madden about the take the Orton bootleg and the vanilla cover 2 out of the playbooks comment. And holy crap Lance isn't doing anything this season except playing his guts out and laying people out; 4 games in and you could already put together a seasons worth of big plays and big hits for Briggs; good to see there isn't any post-contract letdown with him. Now the D just has to keep that chip on their shoulder the rest of the season, and Turner for God's sake, if something is absolutely killing them, ie.. the screen pass that went for at least 8 yards every time you ran it, don't stop doing it (and I am not considering that horrid pass to Clark in the center of the line crap a screen)!
One thing this league looks too highly on is passing yards; it really annoys me. They are nearly meaningless, look at both our wins, the opposing QB threw for more yards. Look at what Brett did this weekend, 6 TDS in less than 300 yards but warner gets like 400 with 3 ints in a loss. The main battles are field position and red zone performance on both sides of the ball. Speaking of that Maynard is back too, he played a great game.September 29, 2008
#17 BearDown1982 said . . .i Know Turner been hated by alot of Bear Fans(myself included),But the one thing I notice from last year to this year is he lets the QB audible into a different play.
He been pretty ridged that he call the play an they just run the play an whatever results you get was fine,This year he still make the some of the same bonehead play calling.But maybe there is more to Forte that allows Turner to be more flexible in how the Offense is ran.
If he keeps this up Iwont have to keep egging his house on Mondays.
September 29, 2008
#18 Viva said . . .FTW you are absolutely correct about Lance Briggs. He has had an awesome season so far. Did you see the replay of his Buckhalter decleater? Just awesome. He is our best linebacker right now and I'm glad we kept him on the team.
I thought we actually tackled pretty well yesterday. I can't even remember a time when McNabb scrambled yesterday...kind of surprising.
Our front 4 still needs to do a better job of getting pressure on a more consistant basis. I was pleased with how we used Manning and Brown on blitzes though...especially in the first half. Manning drives me nuts, but his speed can make him a lethal blitzer.
September 29, 2008
#19 Joseph said . . .1st half Offensive game plan was sound. Tempo and Surprise paid off big time. Why we abondoned it in the second half I have know idea. When you have the bad guys on their heels keep them there.
Good to see Turner give the ball to Forte when we needed yards. That 3rd and 6 was huge late in the 4th. Also, KO called a beautiful audible on a key 3rd down (the screen to Forte) that set up the field goal.
Also, hats off to Turner for opening up the playbook for Orton. (I agree with post 7 Urlacher). They gave him the offense now they need to continue to give him their trust that he can execute...
That Int in the end zone that Orton threw should have been an illegal contact call, clearly the MLB set a pick on Dez (illegal contact past 5 yards)...
September 29, 2008
#20 The Duke said . . .I absolutly agree FTW...Maynard had a Damn Good Game!! He pinned the Beagles inside the 20 almost the whole second half!!
This win sets up the Bears to go 5-2 going into the Bye week. Lets keep the wins rolling Bears!!
That was our problem last year...we couldn't put together back to back wins if our lives depended on it!
Next stop...Canada's Arm Pit
Detroit!!
September 29, 2008
#21 The Duke said . . .If you told me we'd be 2-2 after the first four games of the season I'd assume the two losses would be to the colts and eagles. we should be 4-0, and that's tough to think about. but we got through an incredibly tough opening schedule on top of the north. now let's roll through the 2nd quarter of the season. hope Tillman and Lloyd are alright. And what's Tommie Harris' status? is it just me or are all the guys we give new contracts dropping like flies?
September 29, 2008
#22 Crown said . . .If you told me we'd be 2-2 after the first four games of the season I'd assume the two losses would be to the colts and eagles. we should be 4-0, and that's tough to think about. but we got through an incredibly tough opening schedule on top of the north. now let's roll through the 2nd quarter of the season. hope Tillman and Lloyd are alright. And what's Tommie Harris' status? is it just me or are all the guys we give new contracts dropping like flies?
September 29, 2008
#23 Brad said . . .The Bears finally closed on the third game in a row that they had in their grasp. The play of the game was of course the goal line stop by A. Brown. But, the seal on the deal was Forte's first down run where he scampered for 10+ yards. What vision and cutback speed this guy has. It's nice to have confidence in a RB to keep the chains moving and to pick up critical first downs when we need em. Urlacher would have had the ups to pick off that 1st Philly TD 4 years ago circa his Paris Hilton days. Cory Graham has filled in nicely off the bench. Does anyone have an update on Lloyd or Peanut's injuries??? Great win in a wide open division. Rodgers might have a separated shoulder and the Vikings were the most overrated team going into this season. KO proved that he can throw the ball accurately in that 3rd level that everyone was talking about (15 yards or more down the field.) He did not have the pocket presence and awareness of pressure that he usually does, but he was playing a very good Philly defense. I am proud of this makeshift O-line for battling a fierce Eagles D all game. No more Rex talk.
September 29, 2008
#24 Luke said . . .We need a reciever! If it wasn't clear after Brandon Lloyd went down, then I don't know what is. Let's see if we can get Torry Holt from the Rams. Orton looks like he is making progress, but we need to give him more weapons.
One note: The out routes are not a strength for Olson. We must get him running north and south on his routes. He is showing the potential to be a weapon, if we just use him properly.
September 29, 2008
#25 Ronaldo said . . .You say Torry Holt, I say Anquan 'knocked the fuck out' Boldin or Roy 'this kid's stealin' my thunder' Williams
September 29, 2008
#26 BearDown1982 said . . .I'll be upset if we're not drafting a new Center next year. Clearly, Kreutz is on the downside of his career. He's a liability on a good day, a disaster on most.
September 29, 2008
#27 Luke said . . .The wheel route to Olsen in the red zone is a beauty...especially when a linebacker doesn't get any safety help like yesterday.
I'd like to see him catching more passes down the field than in the flats. He isn't the type of tight end who will run someone over anyways and we all know he has some issues with holding onto the ball.
September 29, 2008
#28 zmac said . . .KO is definitely showing potential at QB. He just seems to have such a work ethic. He works SO hard to get better. Imagine him in a new offensive system. I can't wish more for Chris Williams to play. Has LeCharles Bentley been picked up. I'm sure he has, but if not.... I used to call Kreutz 'O-Line Kreutz' because he had the ability to knock 2-3 guys out of every play...What the fuck?!? Let's hope this Williams kid will be that glue that everyone needs to get back on track. Beekman's showing starter tendencies, and what we thought was good about our line is turning out to be the weak point.
Next week against Lions: Matt Forte - Running:147 yards, 2 TDs Catching:6 catches 60 yards and 1 TD
September 29, 2008
#29 Global Nomad said . . .It was great to see the offense take advantage of the D- 3 n outs early and the fumble, but 1/2 way through the 2nd quarter until the end of the game it looked like offense what throwing the game. Its great to year you are excited by Orton's potential... didnt Rex show the same kind of potential. Orton played a quarter and a 1/2 of good football. The rest was crap. Thank god the defense played this whole game or we would had seen yet another early lead, lead to a late loss.
What I want to know is why they didnt screen a hell of a lot more?
Overall I am happy they won... but it felt ugly.
September 29, 2008
#30 What's the matter zmac said . . .I totally understand what you mean when you said KO has the potential to be a great QB. However, that is what they said about Grossman and the fans have been burned before. We know how this movie is going to end.
Anyway Broseph, I was at the game and the Eagles bused about 600 people from Philly to the game. A huge number of them were on the steps of the Field Museum chanting "E-A-G-L-E-S." It was a site to see and it got me all fired up and excited before the game. I think a lot of the fans at the stadium felt the same way. It was Sunday Night Football, the game was on NBC, and their were a lot of Philly fans confident that they were going to win. I tell you, that during through-out the whole entire game, the energy of the fans was something that I never seen at a Bears game. Maybe the game was a release of some of that pent-up energy that everyone has with the economy. It was an awesome game. I never cheered so loud in my life. And the best part was that my friends and I were chatting "E-A-G-L-E-S sucks, E-A-G-L-E-S sucks, E-A-G-L-E-S sucks!" and taunting all those fans.
September 29, 2008
#31 mikebdot said . . .Not enough to hate about Orton? Don't worry. We will need Rex before the season's over and I hope he plays like we all know we can. I notice you didn't mention that KO faced jailbreak all night long.
September 29, 2008
#32 JAB said . . .Honestly zmac, I would have been good with either QB. Now I cheer on Orton. It's really no different than any other year. I always see what I want to see...ain't gonna lie. There were some really awful looking plays, but with 5 or 6 defenders in your face, egads. I liked seeing his fire. He never seem shell-shocked like Grossman has looked before. That's actually what I liked about Griese. The fact that no matter how bad he played, he was always ready the next time he came onto the field. We were up in his face on occasion last week, but just never got the sack. It forced at least one pick and one should-have-been by Vasher. That's the key, getting in the grill. Orton handled it like most QBs do. When Manning or Brady get hit, they turn the ball over. It's not a big surprise. Same with Grossman. Our line was not as good as everyone seems to think it was in '06. The only good thing about our team in '05 and '06 was the RB at the time gained positive yards nearly every play because he fell forward. Forte is the same type of back. He is hardly ever stopped for a loss, even with a large amount of penetration (insert Beavis and Butthead "he he he" here). Benson obviously did not fall into that category. I always thought he would though. Oh well, good riddance.
September 29, 2008
#33 Bill said . . .I noticed no one has mentioned Lance Briggs in these posts (unless I missed it). How big was his play yesterday? That guy is the one linebacker out of the bunch to actually step up and play like a man. Is it me or does Urlacher look old this season and Hillenmeyer can't even cover a tight end. Briggs is now the star of this linebacking corp. and is definitely earning that big contract. Step up and play Urlacher.
September 29, 2008
#34 To JAB #32 said . . .About the goal line stand - if the D had given up the yard (actually less) I still would be commending them for controlling the game. Just as I squarely blamed them for the loss last week, I woudl have to pin this one on the offense had the Eagles scored.
The Bears show a very bad tendency to be unable to react to other teams half time adjustments. That is, the Eagel D shut down the Bears in the 3Q (Zero first downs) and the Bears O had no answer for too long.
Still - it was a happy ending. Kyle did fine, Hester was a (net) difference maker - and Turner recognized the Eagels were set on stopping the run and actually made them pay for it.
September 29, 2008
#35 zmac said . . .Absolutely right. Briggs was absolutely super all night. Last night's game posts recognized it but from us Bears fans:
THANKS Lance. We needed that!!!
HOF quality game.September 29, 2008
#36 Urlacher FTW said . . .#30: What are you talking about? Sorry I didnt mention every last thing I noticed about the game. I tend to leave that up to Jeff. The 1000 word comments get real boring to read real fast. As far as facing "jail break" he didnt seem to handle it all that well like we were told he would, so whats your point?
September 29, 2008
#37 Where's Phil SATX said . . .I agree whole-heartedly on the fact we didn't run enough Forte screens at them; esp. since one of the ones we did run was an audible. I kind of like the principal of keep running a play until they stop it, esp. if they are going to blitz so much and that is a perfect counter. Pray for Lloyd to ba back, that would be a big loss, he isn't the best in the league but he and KO sure seem to have chemistry and trust.
I think Urlacher will be back to form pretty quick, he did have neck surgery in the offseason; Brown, Ogunleye, and Briggs are just plain amazing and this Payne kid is great, I don't continually wine to my friends at the bar anymore about letting Chris Harris get away. I hope Peanut is okay too, he is a spectacular athelete although imho we have a much more capable sub for him than for Lloyd.September 29, 2008
#38 Bearman on the Sangamon said . . .I miss that magnificent bastard on a beautiful Monday like this.
September 29, 2008
#39 Bearman on the Sangamon said . . .I don't know what happened. The Defense played angry. I mean, they were pissed the fuck off. They knew that for two weeks all the dickhead Chicago sports media was lamblasting the Defense for giving up the lead, "clutching defeat from the jaws of victory," I think is how Biggs put it. And deservedly so! But that Bears Defense was at peak performance. They held McNabb to how many 3 and outs? When it mattered they stopped them. Got the ball back into the hands of the offense and were PISSED when the offense turned it over (evident when Urlacher was cussing the offense while they came back onto the field after the botched Kevin Jones handoff). That was the greatest goal line stand in a generation.
Offense did okay. Orton great then Orton bad, but he is still better than the Gross alternative, and he is improving every single game. I cannot think of a performance of his which was considerably worse than the week before. Forte didn't put up big numbers, but he did a phenominal job, most notably the first down he rushed for in the final Bears possession. Kevin Jones showed us all what he can do with that nice 15 yard run.
Is it just me or has Turner's play calling become a little more liberal? That Marty Booker WR Option play in the second half for one. We need more shit like that. Make it fun for the players and the fans.
September 29, 2008
#40 To zmac #35 said . . .I don't know what happened. The Defense played angry. I mean, they were pissed the fuck off. They knew that for two weeks all the dickhead Chicago sports media was lamblasting the Defense for giving up the lead, "clutching defeat from the jaws of victory," I think is how Biggs put it. And deservedly so! But that Bears Defense was at peak performance. They held McNabb to how many 3 and outs? When it mattered they stopped them. Got the ball back into the hands of the offense and were PISSED when the offense turned it over (evident when Urlacher was cussing the offense while they came back onto the field after the botched Kevin Jones handoff). That was the greatest goal line stand in a generation.
Offense did okay. Orton great then Orton bad, but he is still better than the Gross alternative, and he is improving every single game. I cannot think of a performance of his which was considerably worse than the week before. Forte didn't put up big numbers, but he did a phenominal job, most notably the first down he rushed for in the final Bears possession. Kevin Jones showed us all what he can do with that nice 15 yard run.
Is it just me or has Turner's play calling become a little more liberal? That Marty Booker WR Option play in the second half for one. We need more shit like that. Make it fun for the players and the fans.
September 29, 2008
#41 Urlacher FTW said . . .My point is you just want to whine about KO. I guess if it were Rex you would want to whine about him too.
Sorry but KO handled the Eagles rush better than you would ever admit. Might check out how Pittsburg and Big Ben did.
Enjoy your whining. I'm done but I notice you didn't respond (so far) to mikbdot. Too much to read I guess.
September 29, 2008
#42 Phil from SATX said . . .zmac, I think the problem with Rex was that his progression went backwards; he went from player of the month and a huge QB rating in September to WTF is he doing out there by November. I think his immediate flash in the pan success spoiled us to think that any QB worth a crap should just come out and get 100 rating every game; Orton shows improvement especially with touch on his throws every week, he hasn't had a rating under 70 yet; which with the bears is way better than a few 100s then a few 30s. And situationally, look at just QBs the Eagles D faced this season, Orton had a better rating than Marc Bulger or Ben Rothlisberger and threw as many TD passes as Romo, Tony had a slightly higher rating but situationally Orton was better (Romo threw a pick 6 and fumbled in the endzone for another 6). So really , he has been arguably the best QB the Eagles faced all year, by far the most composed. How can people even be thinking about Rex? When Rex dropped back, I was always worried which circus was going to unfold, when KO drops back I only worry that the line can give him 3 seconds to pick apart the D.
September 29, 2008
#43 zmac said . . .Time for a 1000 word post - zmac pull out a Sodoku or something! Animal, I'm guessing that was you, appreciate the callout - work's running me ragged today, on a day where all I want to do is write and talk and read about DA BEARS!
I am freaking flying high - literally had about 16 hours of sleep total over the last 4 nights, at Ground Zero (Chitown baby!) for my 30th high school reunion - what a blast! While I sorely needed sleep last night, very little was found because I was a witness (through my TV screen, unfortunately) to a TRULY GREAT GAME of football. MUST WATCH TV.
Global, I envy you, my friend - what it would have been like to be there - our best game to be at since the NFC Championship way back in early 2007 - congrats! What was it like to be there for the 4th and nothing play? The white noise wall of sound, I'm sure - hair standing on end.
I loved the D getting the Horse Trailer wall - and they deserved it for more than just the goal line stand, too - for their 60 minutes of supreme effort in this game. No Tommie either - and none needed, apparently. As mentioned by others, stout work on the inside by three very capable players in DD, the great Izzy, and the glad-Jerry-drafted-him Marcus.
Briggs, Briggs, Briggs... I Love You Man! That was one of the first prime time interviews I remembered him giving, and he was great! I used to wonder if he could even talk, he was so quiet. And I want to give some credit to Ur, while seems pretty evident to me that he is now beginning his inevitable decline, even a something less than 100% of his prime Brian Urlacher is one helluva linebacker. How about the sight of those guys bristling with the pre-snap energy before that 4th and 1 play? You could practically hear the hum of their engines over the crowd noise.
But the game wasn't over, was it? We needed a first down, even if I believe that D was ready to stop their charge 5 times over if necessary - they were that motivated. But the Bears AS A TEAM needed the offense to be a part of such a special spectacular game, and not just in the first half, either. The O in the second wasn't much to behold, that's for sure, but the 3 points were critical, and then there was...
MATT FORTE TO THE RESCUE. 3rd and 4. Everyone knowing the play was a running play. Matt finds a pretty darn big hole (for that game, anyway), slashes through it, finds himself face to face with a linebacker, does his soon-t0-be-patented Forte Shoulder Shimmy, beats that linebacker BAD and rattles off another 7 or so -
FIRST DOWN!
Does Forte do an imitation of Usain Bolt after that critical play? NO!
Does he at least make a Moose-like First Down! signal? NOOOO!!!
Does he even pump a little fist (certainly excusable given the circumstances) ? HELL NO!!!
No, Mr. Forte hands the ball to the ref, adjusts his helmet and shoulder pads, and runs back to the huddle - dude's got more work to do, doesn't he?
I LOVE YOU MATT FORTE!!!!!!!
A WHOLE CITY LOVES YOU!!!!!!
THANKS FOR BEING HERE!!!!!!!Got another nick for him - he's been The Answer, yes he is The Future -
How about The Alpha and Omega?
(could be AO, or The AO)or
A2Z
I didn't mean to spend so much time on him but couldn't help myself.
And how about a salute to our quarterback, Kyle Orton. He's no kid, he's a man. Not the most experienced NFL quarterback, but one who is showing that he is a quick study. Inexperience showed in the second half, but we should all know by now that the difference between him and Rex is how he reacts after mistakes - great point by Mikeb about his similarity with Griese in this. Only one superbad play (pick in endzone) - the rest was more done by the intense rush. He's getting better in the audibling, none better than the 3rd and 7 audible to Forte which picked up 17 and kept the drive alive, ultimately resulting in the winning 3 points.
Even RT was pretty good in this game - not great, but pretty darn good - he's improving, and learning better how to use these players.
Hat's off to you Kyle - 3 touchdowns in the first half, a beautiful thing, and all earned by VERY nice passes, especially the last Hester one. [Sidebar - take my little popup Bear Fan quiz - it goes like this - are you talking about Rex after this game and dogging Kyle? If you are, you're a Rex fan first and a Bear fan last.]
Kyle has upside, folks, he really does - he's showing it to us. He's improving. Now he needs to win two games in a row, which HE WILL. Kyle, thanks for proving me wrong - keep-a-going, boy!
Only downside of game to me (aside from potential injuries) was my realization that our tight ends are not as good as I thought they were. Des Clark has apparently aged and has trouble getting open, Greg Olsen will apparently NEVER have any yards after catch, so the combo is a significant worse from where I thought we were. On the other hand, O-line is better than I thought, Forte is way better than I even hoped, and Lloyd is also way better, so we can adjust to that. I'd like to see K. Davis hit the field - can he block?
GREAT WIN BOYS! STIRRING, INSPIRING, SEASON-CHANGING!
John Madden said it best, in an extremely pointed and meaningful compliment, coming from him -
ONCE IN A WHILE YOU NEED A GAME THAT REMINDS YOU WHY YOU LOVE THE NFL.
He's right, and I'll amend that -
Once in a while you need a game that reminds you why you love
THE CHICAGO BEARS!
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#1 with a bullet!
September 29, 2008
#40: WOW are you serious? Sorry I missed someone elses comment and did not immediately respond. I am not saying Rex would have been better. I just dont see Orton with the rose colored glasses as much as you do I guess. I can not like Orton without calling for Rex. I liked Rex, but we would not have played well under that pressure. Just like Kyle didnt play well. The opening drive was awesome, but he needs to learn to adjust and he is far from "picking apart a defense". I think Orton is a fine stop-gap. I think Rex would be just as fine of a stop-gap. I dont think either are good enough to be the face or future of the franchise.
September 30, 2008
Here at DaBearsBlog, you are free to kill us or the Bears as you so wish. You are not free, however, to be an asshole. So if you spew racism or ill-meaning foul language (cursing about football is just fine) or anything of that ilk, your comments ain't gonna last long, jerk.