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Audibles From the Long Snapper: Wrapping Up the Monday Nighter

| October 24th, 2012

FIRST, SOME BUSINESS…

Look above. Those are the official tee shirts of DaBearsBlog. They are fantastic. And you have until October 31st  to own one. Or three. Or thirty. CLICK HERE and go get one. The shirts will not be available again until the end of the regular season and – most hopefully – the beginning of the postseason. How can you rationalize NOT owning one?

LET’S GO RAPID FIRE.

  • Jay Cutler was hurt as the second quarter was coming to an end. And no matter what anyone around Halas Hall tells you Cutler had no business playing the second half. But the coaching staff knew it was important for Cutty to stay on the field and they managed the game accordingly. They were not going to risk his health until Detroit pushed the issue and a series of costly turnovers kept that from happening. Sometimes it’s not all about play calls and scheme. Sometimes it’s about understanding the moment. Lovie and Tice did an excellent job of that Monday night.
  • The Bears need to get more out of Adam Podlesh. His foot goes limp deep in Bears territory and he’s terribly at pinning the ball inside the ten. Great punters can make a huge difference in the types of games the Bears will soon be playing. I don’t think Podlesh is one.
  • Hey Jay Cutler. Slide.
  • With about thirteen minutes left in the second quarter, Cutler hit Marshall on a bullet slant from the Bears 1. 18 yard gain on 3rd and 11. I think it was the single most important offensive plan of the night. (If Bears punt out of end zone they are in trouble.)
  • What is going on in Gabe Carimi’s head? Why so many thoughtless penalties? He has become the biggest liability along the offensive line.
  • I see why Mike Tice likes Chilo Rachal. He’s a street fighter.
  • What’s the record for false starts by a center? Roberto Garza may break it this season.
  • You know who the best player on the offensive line is? Lance Louis.
  • I thought Nick Harris had a spectacular night punting for Detroit.
  • I thought Brian Urlacher had more burst at the point of attack that he’s had all season.
  • If Kellen Davis can’t catch the ball, send someone else into the routes. Give Kyle Adams a shot to make plays. I don’t need to see #87 drop any more balls this year. I’m good.
  • I’m not as opposed to the Bears pulling Hester off returns as others. Sometimes it is very evident Hester doesn’t have his head in the game and he looked awful on returns early. Bears were trying to create some field position on specials and Hester wasn’t even fielding the ball.

THESE NEXT TWO GAMES…

…are must wins for me. Of course they could lose one of them still make a deep run in the postseason but they could be essential wins from a psychological perspective. Beat Carolina and Tennessee. Get to 7-1. And then all you’d “need” is a final eight split to reach 11 wins and a sure thing trip to the tournament.

BRANDON MARSHALL ON FIRST TAKE

I don’t watch First Take on ESPN2. Why? Because I would rather have my eyes gnawed out of my face by a toucan than intentionally spend thirty seconds with either Stephen A. Smith or Skip Bayless – never mind both simultaneously. But Brandon Marshall’s Tuesday appearance garnered some attention and he’s terrific. Here it is.

JUST READ THIS SHORT PIECE

From USA Today:

We’ve tended to highlight some of Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler’s morequestionable antics around these parts, so it’s only right to point out when he goes out of his way to be a stand-up guy.

According to ESPNChicago, Cutler invited the family of the Bears fan killed in Jacksonville prior to the team’s road game against the Jaguars in Week 5. Christopher Pettry, 42 and a married father of three from Lake Villa, Ill., was stabbed at a restaurant in the Jacksonville Landing area.

Cutler gave Pettry’s family tickets to Monday night’s game against Detroit and spent time with them prior to kickoff. The Bears defeated the Lions 13-7.

“We wanted to reach out and bring them to the game,” Cutler told ESPNChicago. “It’s a tough situation. There’s nothing I or anyone can say that can really ease their pain or bring anybody back. Hopefully we were able to let them have an enjoyable time for three or four hours and kind of forget their loss and just have a good time and help them in that way because it’s hard.”

Don’t judge a man’s character by how he responds to questions from people like David Haugh.