Enough With the 2014 Draft Stuff…

We say it here all the time but NFL fans are guaranteed sixteen games a season. That’s all. And I will never understand these fans that seemingly can’t wait to give up on a current season and plan for the next. It won’t be happening here.

This is all supposed to be fun, folks. We’re supposed to enjoy the games. And even though a team is injury-riddled and more than likely not a title contender doesn’t means the remaining 9 contests should be ignored. Some of my favorite modern Bears games were played when the team was completely out of it! Adewale Ogunleye’s safety against the Titans in overtime, 2004. Edinger knocks the Lions out of the playoffs in 2000.

The Bears have a tough road coming but they still have a road. And I’m going along for the ride.

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The Bears offense has emerged as one of the best in football in only seven weeks. Seven weeks was all it took to seemingly erase a decade of offensive futility. Yesterday it took a devastating injury to the starting quarterback  for that fact to become apparent. As Josh McCown stepped into a high-pressure, low-probability scenario, Bears head coach Marc Trestman dialed up smart play after smart play. He put the football in the hands of his Emery-assembled weapons and they rewarded him with a near-flawless second half. For Jay Cutler’s tenure in Chicago, an injury to the lead signal caller meant an offensive implosion and consistently dreary output. Yesterday they rallied – on the field and on the sideline.

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Did you ever think the day would come? Did you ever think we’d be sitting here post game discussing an offense so good they can put up forty with a backup quarterback and a defense so bad they can’t make that number stick? Well that’s exactly where we are.

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Three final thoughts on the ball game:

1. A lot has been made about the expectations surrounding rookie MLB Jon Bostic. I sure hope fans and media do not let this game become a referendum on him. In this defensive system a lot is asked of the position manned by Brian Urlacher for a decade and Bostic should not be expected to find a comfort level in the defense after a few meaningless preseason games and nine days of practice. Bostic should not let the nerves/excitement of his first start stir his penchant for over-aggressiveness. Stay disciplined. Play within the system.
2. I missed the stories in the lead-up to my game preview but the Washington Redskins have struggled mightily on special teams thus far in 2013. If there was ever going to be a week for Joe D to figure out the team’s coverage and blocking issues, this is it. (The more I look at tape of the Bears special teams units the more critical I become of Joe D’s work.)
3. I watched the Jay Cutler press conference live. Jay was asked if he had any specific comments about facing DeAngelo Hall again. Jay said Hall was “just another player”, meaning he was preparing to face Hall like he’d prepare for Kerrigan or Orakpo or me. Of course Pro Football Talk runs this headline: JAY CUTLER ISN’T IMPRESSED BY DEANGELO HALL. This is what PFT – once the most important website in the NFL – has become. Cutler vs. Hall should be trumpeted this week as a grand football rematch. But we don’t have that media unfortunately.

Bear down. The action of a new generation. And since you all wanted a chat room…

Injuries have dominated the conversation surrounding the Chicago Bears since their hold on for dear life victory over the Giants at Soldier Field. They have not been a good defensive club and, as expected, their offense has yet to put together four consistent quarters of football. So…

Why do I like the Chicago Bears this week?

I always like the Chicago Bears.

BUT WHAT FOOTBALL REASONS, JEFF?

• Washington’s defense is 27th against the run, 24th against the pass and are allowing 28.6 points per game. This has to be considered the most disappointing unit of the 2013 season. We can go into all the details imaginable but the Bears have no excuse not scoring between 28-35 points at a minimum. That is what a good offense does against these Redskins.
• Robert Griffin isn’t right. He is tentative stepping up into pressure and delivering the ball down the field. He has lost his acceleration as a runner. You beat this Bears defense, even in current form, with accuracy and patience. You have to be willing to stand in and take the 7-10 yard throws over the course of a ten-play drive. Is Griffin currently that player? He hasn’t been in 2013.
• Washington enters Sunday coming off an emotional, lifeless loss to the Dallas Cowboys. The only thing keeping them out of last place is the existence of the New York Giants. Chicago enters Sunday off ten days rest and a chance to get a starting corner and defensive tackle back on the field. They are tied for first. If Washington punches early, I think the Bears have the motivation to fight back. If Chicago punches early, I question whether Washington does.

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Yes I am spending a third day at the DBB focused on the piece I wrote Monday regarding Brandon Marshall’s green cleats, the NFL fine and the league’s embarrassing mental health record. If you haven’t had an opportunity to read a rare piece of journalism from this part of the internet world, please CLICK HERE and do so.

Why a third day? Because I believe it wrong to succumb to the 24-hour news cycle and let a piece I am proud of and truly believe in be swept into the “yesterday’s news” category. And the responses I’ve received from a wide range of individuals leads to believe the column had a nice impact. So, really, what’s one more day? Could I really make a larger impact with this week’s installment of Audibles From the Long Snapper? (This week’s game preview will be posted first thing Thursday morning.)

Responses have been wonderful and what follows are some of the responses I’ve personally received. Please feel free to send along yours to jeff@dabearsblog.com.

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Yesterday in my column about about the NFL fining Brandon Marshall, I wrote:

What if the word concussion did not exist? What if the NFL was forced to label the injuries sustained in football games as what they are: traumatic brain injuries. Would there be traumatic brain injury-related symptoms? Would they put traumatic brain injury in parentheses like hip or ankle?

Limited: Matthew Stafford (Traumatic Brain Injury)

Last year I did an interview with Cameron Worrell that I hadn’t intended as a discussion on concussions. But that’s where the conversation went. What he revealed was quite frightening and I think it is a perfect addendum to yesterday’s piece.

Three things that need to happen for….

BROWNS OVER LIONS

• Even if Calvin Johnson does play he is sure to be limited with injury and Matthew Stafford looked like a shell of himself without the best receiver in football on the field. If the Browns can get some consistent pressure they can control the pace of the game.
• Brandon Weeden (sound it out) can’t have one of those Brandon Weeden games and throw the ball to the Lions three times. Use Willis McGahee, use the screen game and Jordan Cameron, Jordan Cameron, Jordan Cameron.
• Cleveland’s had a top ten defense against the run this year, allowing less than a hundred yard a game. That must continue. If the Lions start gashing the Brown in the run game Stafford won’t need Johnson to move the ball through the air.

RAVENS OVER PACKERS

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In newsrooms and men’s rooms and conference rooms around Chicagoland conclusions have been reached following the Bears 27-21 victory over the New York Giants. The Bears can’t play defense anymore. Dave Toub’s exodus to Kansas City has left the special teams units in shambles. The offense can’t put together four successive quarters. There are no question marks at the end of the diehard sports fan sentences. These are facts and they are indisputable.

Except they’re not.

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