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The Stakes of Thursday Night

| November 16th, 2010

The Philadelphia Eagles, and most specifically Michael Vick, put the NFC on notice last night in Washington.  Delivering the finest performance the conference has seen this season, Andy Reid’s team looked dominant on offense and advantageous on defense – doing to the Redskins what Jay Cutler and the Bears could not do three weeks ago.  They dominated an inferior opponent.  I’ve been as critical of Andy Reid as anybody but his teams continue to make the postseason by doing what they did last evening.  (Next Sunday – now in the prime 4 PM time slot, the Bears will get their crack at the Eagles).

Thursday night the Dolphins will most likely be without their starting quarterback.  Their backup quarterback suffered a career-ending type shoulder injury on the third play this Sunday.  That leaves them starting the able yet flaccid Tyler Thigpen.  And you know what they say about Tyler Thigpen?  If Tyler Thigpen beats you, you deserve to lose.  (The Dolphins are also supposed to be without Jake Long but I’ll believe that when I see it.  Jake Long is one of the toughest guys in the sport.)
We all know the Bears, during the Lovie Smith era, have not been great on short weeks.  We also know how bad Jay Cutler has been once the sun goes down – explanations ranging from color blindness to diabetic comas.  But this season has been a different kind of Bears season.  When they are expected to win, they lose.  When they are expected to lose, they dominate their opponent.  And now they have put themselves into position to make a run at the postseason.  The dreaming of August has become the reality of mid-November. 
The Bears also must win Thursday night to put pressure on the Green Bay Packers Sunday.  The Pack will be in Minneapolis to face Last Chance Brett and the cast of As the World Turns and if you don’t think the purple will reach into the barrel for this one, you’re crazy.  We’re at that part of the season where scoreboard watching becomes as much fun as game watching and nothing will make me happier than being able to sit in front of TV Sunday and know a Packers loss gives the Bears a one-game advantage.
So prepare them, Lovie.  And throw it to your team, Jay.  And leave Miami at 7-3.        

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The Bears Have Life

| November 15th, 2010

Quick turnaround for us and the site this week.  Here are my thoughts on yesterday’s ultra-fulfilling contest.

  • Two mistakes cost this from being a masterpiece.  Chris Harris can’t blow deep coverage on the Percy Harvin touchdown grab.  He has only one assignment on the play and Harvin was the only viable receiver on the Vikings roster yesterday.  And Jay Cutler can’t throw the interception in the end zone.  When the Bears get down around the goalline, Martz needs to let Jay improvise less.
  • Lovie Smith and his entire coaching staff had a hell of a day, starting with the about-time decision to move Devin Hester to kickoff returns.  We shouldn’t give Lovie too much credit for admitting his two-year mistake but we should applaud him for abandoning the stubborness that has marred his tenure.
  • Olin Kreutz looks old whenever he is required to pull to the outside but he can’t commit two (two!) careless, nearly drive-killing penalties for no reason.
  • J’Marcus Webb is going to be very good.
  • I think Chris Williams is not.
  • If Johnny Knox were six inches taller, he could be the best receiver in the league.  But both he and Devin Hester need to learn how to come back for the football.
  • And I give Lovie Smith a lot of credit for the development of Israel Idonije, who has become a bonafide defensive end in this league.
  • Henry Melton and Matt Toeaina just make plays.
  • Tommie Harris is good at recovering fumbles.  That’s the best thing I can say about him.
  • 51 yards rushing for AP?  You’d need to make quite an argument for me to believe we don’t have the best linebackers around.
  • Something about wearing #30 for the Bears, perhaps, because DJ Moore is always around the ball.
  • It warmed my heart to see Rashied Davis and Corey Graham make big plays on special teams.  It dropped my jaw to see Rashied Davis make a catch in a big spot.
  • Don’t be fooled by his one terrific strike.  Brad Maynard is having a terrible season.
  • Robbie Gould being inconsistent is not something I like.
  • Outside of the end zone pick, Jay Cutler showed yesterday why he can be one of the elite quarterbacks in the league.  It’s always been said that he needs to be coached and the Bears seem to be coaching him these past couple weeks.

The Chicago Bears are in first place in the NFC North.  And the Vikings season is over.  Feels good, doesn’t it?

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DaBearsBlog Saturday Show!

| November 12th, 2010

The official spreads for the DaBlog Picks Contest.  
Home team in CAPS.  
Remember, you can not use the combinations used by either of my brothers or myself.
BEARS +1 Vikings
COLTS -7 Bengals
JAGS -1.5 Texans
Titans -1 DOLPHINS
BILLS -3 Lions
Jets -3 BROWNS
BUCS -6.5 Panthers
Chiefs -1 BRONCOS
49ERS -6 Rams
CARDS -3 Seahawks
GIANTS -14 Cowboys
STEELERS -5 Pats
Eagles -3 REDSKINS

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Vikings at Bears Game Preview

| November 10th, 2010

With the season at the crossroads, the division within their grasp and the worst football player/human being in American history entering their home, Sunday is a big football game for the Chicago Bears.

YOUR POSSIBLY RESURGENT 2010 CHICAGO BEARS
OVER
Brett Favre and some other guys
Why do I like the Chicago Bears this week?
  • I always like the Chicago Bears.
  • Jay Cutler looked poised in the pocket against the Buffalo Bills, who are nowhere near as good up front as the Minnesota Vikings.  I think Cutler is beginning to understand that he can move the chains consistently by dumping the ball to backs, hitting his hot routes and using his legs when the protection breaks down.  Frank Omiyale will not block Jared Allen and Cutler will know that coming in.  (Or at least he should)
  • Brett Favre throws 3-5 passes a game that not only could but should be returned to the house for six points.  The Bears – especially Jennings and Moore – have shown a knack for finding the football.  I think they’ll find it Sunday.
  • The last three games in this rivalry at Soldier Field:  34-31 Vikings, 48-41 Bears and 36-30 Bears.  Keep your opponent under 30 and you win.  I think the Bears do it.  
  • The way to beat the Bears defense consistently is the way Favre used to in Green Bay.  Quick slants force the corners up and then you take shots under the safeties and to tight ends in the seam.  The tight end scares the hell out of me but I don’t fear a hobbling Rice, achy-headed Harvin and Bernard “I stink” Berrian – especially Berrian.
  • Playoff atmosphere at Soldier Field.  Write it down.
  • Julius Peppers has been saving his finest performance for this one.
  • Robbie Gould won’t miss another big one this year under 50 yards.
  • The Bears re-realized how useful Greg Olsen and Chester Taylor are to this offense on Sunday and I think you’ll see increased impact for both of them this week.  Then again, the pattern has gone the opposite way.
  • This is the game Devin Hester wins late because Brad Childress is no good and he’ll kick to him.
Chicago Bears 27, Minnesota Vikings 26

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Three Ways To Beat the Vikings

| November 10th, 2010

Prevent the Big AP Run
I never believe in the statistics when it comes to the Bears rush defense, especially against AP.  Peterson has had a knack for playing possum throughout a first half and then breaking an 85 yarder and breaking open the football game.  For me, this responsibility falls squarely on the shoulders of the linebacking corps – Briggs, Urlacher and Tinoisamoa.   If the Bears commit a safety into the box, they will watch Visanthe Shiancoe dominate them down the seam for double-digit catches.
Hit Brett Favre Early 
I know this sounds strange to say but early in the game the Bears attackers need to be willing to earn a mid-week letter from the NFL notifying them that they owe the league $25,000.  Brett Favre is a brittle man right now; more brittle than he’s been over the duration of his why-won’t-it-just-end career.  Julius Peppers and the resurgent Israel Idonije need to make Favre pay for standing in the pocket.  If he’s going to strike deep, they need to execute him for his execution.  And yes, they need to embrace the Butkusian concept of hitting a quarterback late to send a message.  15 yards is a slight price to pay for three and a half quarters of Tarvaris Jackson.
Dominate on Special Teams
I believe the Bears have the best special teams in the league but they’ve yet to dominate a game like they did during their heyday in 2006 and much of 2007.  Devin is Devin but he’s been the only superior performer.  The kick returners are a respectable 9th in the league but they haven’t scored.  Robbie Gould missed a huge field goal in Toronto and has been inconsistent on his kickoffs (though better with touchbacks).  Brad Maynard has been 85% terrible this season and will have whoever is coaching the team next year bringing competition to camp.  It is time for everyone’s A game.  It is time for Bears specials to control field position, momentum and the pace of the game.  If we’re meant to expect our best to play their best, it starts with our special teams.   

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My Kind of Game, This Sunday is…

| November 9th, 2010

I’ve been trying each week to give some kind of moniker to that Sunday’s game.  I believed then and still believe the Redskins game was a must-win if the Bears wanted to keep from chasing the standings the remainder of the 2010 season.  I believed the Bills game could have easily spelled the end of Lovie Smith’s tenure if the Bears had not escaped Canada with a win.  This Sunday.  At home.  Against the Minnesota Vikings.  This is the kind of game that makes me love being a Chicago Bears fan, a football fan in general.  It’s the kind of game that will keep me awake on Saturday night, nervous with anticipation.  Why?  

Because I believe, and most Bears fans believe, the Minnesota Vikings are a superior football team.  They’ve played terribly, especially the zipper-down quarterback.  They coached worse and the conflict between head coach and quarterback has played out in front of the media like the best of American political rivalries.  Doris Kearns Goodwin famously referred to Lincoln’s political confidantes as a “team of rivals” and that seems to be what the Vikings are.  The players dislike the coach.  The coach dislikes the players.  And until now, it’s worked just fine.
Until now.  The Bears don’t just have an opportunity to move into first place on Sunday with a much-needed home victory.  The Bears have an opportunity to end the season for the Vikings and most likely the coaching tenure of Brad Childress.  The Bears have an opportunity to end Brett Favre’s career on the down note it deserves.  The Bears have an opportunity to send an entire organization into turmoil.  All it might take is scoring one more point than the other guys.  One more point than the Vikings.  
At the tail end of the 2009 season, with a frozen Jeff Hughes in attendance, the Bears mustered their finest effort of the season and defeated a better version of this Vikings team in primetime.  That is the performance the Bears need Sunday.  They can not allow a miraculous fourteen-point comeback at home against the Cardinals regenerate the Vikings season.  They need Devin Hester to take the opening kickoff to the house.  (I know.)  They need Cutler/Martz to find the rhythm they had early in the season.  They need Julius Peppers to send Brett Favre to IR before he’s had an opportunity to mount a comeback.  
So what to call this game?  I don’t care.  But if the folks in that stadium don’t treat it like it’s the Super Bowl, I’ll be mighty disappointed in us.

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Hester to Kickoff Returns. Now.

| November 8th, 2010

The following is a column I have written about 92 times.

The Bears converted Devin Hester to wide receiver because they wanted him to touch the ball more than the half dozen times a game he would on special teams.  (He has 25 touches on offense this season, a tad more than 3 a game).  They wanted to use his speed to stretch defenses vertically, keep defensive linemen honest with the occasional end around and get him the ball in the open field – where he’s most dangerous.  They were willing to abandon the game-changing skill and crowd-inspiring thrill his returns provided on an almost-weekly basis.  And the Bears did get their speedy wide receiver.  They drafted Johnny Knox with the 140th overall pick in the 2009 NFL draft.

Knox and Hester are essentially the same player with the same skill set and playing them both is becoming an exercise in redundancy.  Knox is a more accomplished route runner.  Knox is a better threat down the field.  Knox has more reliable hands.  Knox is, quite obviously, a better wide receiver than Hester.  And you know why?  Because he’s been playing wide receiver for a much longer time.
And if the argument has been that Devin Hester no longer returns kickoffs as a means of concentrating his attention on playing receiver, I’m advocating instituting that policy for Knox.  The rotation of Danieal Manning and Johnny Knox on kickoff returns has been reliable and damn good but it lacks the electricity and coach-defying presence of Devin Hester.  Teams used to boot the ball out of bounds to avoid Hester.  They would dribble these nonsense kicks to the thirty.  Hester not only dominated on Sunday.  He dominated Tuesday through Saturday in opposing meeting rooms.
I’ve been fighting this fight for too long now and I’ll never stop.  Devin Hester is the greatest kick returner in the history of the NFL.  Every time someone else in a Bears uniform returns a kickoff it should be considered a poor in-game decision by Lovie Smith.  Every time an opposing coach is able to kick the ball off to our deep man without worry, it should be considered a poor game-planning maneuver by Lovie Smith.  For me, the decision to move Devin Hester off kick returns is the defining decision of the Lovie Smith tenure.  And if Lovie is serious about this new Era of Accountability, he should start by recognizing his own mistake and move Hester back to the goal line against the Minnesota Vikings.  The three touches he might have are not reward enough to risk cloaking his all-world ability.  
Make the right decision, Lovie.  It might just be the decision that earns you a new a contract.

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Many Thoughts on the Canadian Escape

| November 8th, 2010

  • This was exactly the game Cutler/Martz needed to have and they were aided by an improving offensive line (although we’ll learn how improved next Sunday).  Cutler was efficient and smart with the football, making a couple spectacular throw when he had a chance to set his feet and hurl it.  Those few extra seconds the offensive line give him allow him to make the choice to run and his legs were the reason the Bears won yesterday.
  • When Earl Bennett is running routes and Devin Hester isn’t, the Bears are a better team.
  • I have to admit I was dead wrong about one thing this preseason: the safeties. Danieal Manning has had an excellent year and I never would have believed this group would be a strength of the team while getting nothing from Major Wright.
  • Chan Gailey’s late fourth-quarter challenge was Lovie-esque.  Man that was stupid.  How is it that so many of these coaches don’t understand clock management?  There should be a budget line to hire a guy to stand next to the coach and say, “Don’t do that.  It’s stupid.”
  • If Robbie Gould kicks the first-half field goal, it’s a different game.
  • I know it was a game the Bears could have easily lost but they played tougher yesterday than they have in a while.  They played with real guts.  And it was good to see.
  • Israel Idonije is quickly developing into a solid defensive end and I don’t think I’m overstating the point by saying that if he continues to develop at this rate the Bears may end up in the playoffs.
  • I wouldn’t trade our linebackers for any group of linebackers in the league.
  • I wouldn’t trade J’Marcus Webb either.  I think that kid may end up being something special.
  • Somebody tell Roberto Garza the snap count.
  • Somebody step up in practice and beat out Frank Omiyale already.
  • You know what the Bears need to establish a solid, tough running game?  A fullback.  Remember those.  They work.  Every great running team in the league currently has a solid fullback.
  • I have nightmares now about bending but not breaking.  The broadcast booth was dumbfounded by the Bears corners playing off the marker on every third-down situation but I wasn’t.  How could I be?  I just accept opponent third-down conversions now because my head coach certainly does.
  • The Bears are an unsatisfying 5-3 but satisfaction may be just around the corner.  While Green Bay is soaking in national praise, the Bears can move back into first place with a home win over the Vikings next week.  And they are underdogs to boot.