REMINDER! DABEARSBLOG IS MOVING! We are leaving ChicagoNow effective November 1st. We will be housed exclusively at www.dabearsblog.com from that date (and perhaps sooner) on. 

I disagree entirely with the Reverend’s Rant this week. I believe if Marc Trestman can evolve the Chicago Bears into a perennially top five offensive unit, Bears fans should accept a decline in defensive and specials performances. The Bears are no longer a team driven by defense. Get over it. They need to be serviceable, turn the ball over and make a few stops in big fourth quarter situations.

REMINDER! DABEARSBLOG IS MOVING! We are leaving ChicagoNow effective November 1st. We will be housed exclusively at www.dabearsblog.com from that date (and perhaps sooner) on. 

The Saints are 4-0 and seem to have recaptured their offensive magic with the return of the game’s best play-called, Sean Payton. They now come to Chicago in early October, in fine conditions, to see if they can finally beat the Bears at Soldier Field. So why do I like the Chicago Bears this week?

I always like the Chicago Bears.

BUT WHAT FOOTBALL REASONS, JEFF?

• Saints don’t run the ball with any effectiveness and teams will have a hard time beating the Bears in Chicago with a toss-it-every-down approach. There are just too many opportunities for the secondary to get their hands on the football.
• Jay Cutler historically rebounds well from poor performances and the Saints secondary is not an elite group. This Bears team has the opportunity to be the most explosive in franchise history, with weapons all over the field, and I expect them to continue their ascension each week.
• Matt Forte.
• I love the way Marc Trestman responded to the Bears loss in Detroit. He is an intensely positive man but stands on the podium and addresses errors with a refreshing openness and honesty. Where Lovie Smith would have said “None of us played well” in response to Cutler criticism, Trestman talked about Cutler “let his fundamentals go”. It is one thing to respond well mentally to a loss but how will the Bears respond physically? I expect a spirited effort. The entirety of the Trestman quote is here:

“I see him do so many things in practice, moving his feet and doing the right things. But he’s got to hang onto the ball on the quick throw he had to the left backed up. He dropped the ball down. He put it in one hand. He’s got to have it in two hands, and he’s got to throw it away or move on. He was trying to make something happen late and he let his fundamentals go. These are things he’s done better this year, and we’re going to work at them. We’re in Game 4 and know we’ve got to get better. That’s what we’ll attempt to do this week.”

• The Saints are 4-0, yes, but three of their first four games have been at home. Their one road game was a poor performance and a 16-14 victory over a Bucs team that can’t get out of their own way. That Sunday the Saints didn’t score a touchdown in the final three quarters. Saints are a team whose splits tend to tell two different tales. I expect that trend to continue.
• If Izzy Idonije gave the Bears an advantage last week how does the presence of Aaron Kromer and Marc Trestman not give the Bears an advantage? Kromer was head coach of the Saints a year ago during the dark times and Trestman was a consultant for Sean Payton in years past. I don’t think they’ll be surprised by anything the Saints try to do Sunday.

DA BEARS CONCERNS

• Concern #1: Darren Sproles and Jimmy Graham are special talents and matchup nightmares for the entirety of the NFL. The Bears won’t be able to shut down either player but they must find ways to limit the damage. This means safeties Chris Conte and Major Wright must keep the game in front of them – something they struggled awfully to do a week ago in Detroit.
• Concern #2: Adam Podlesh has taken the cash earned from his first half against the Cincinnati Bengals and spent it all on Fruit Stripe gum. (It starts delicious but the flavor is gone by the fourth chew.) Podlesh is now being rated by all accountable evaluators as the worst regular punter in the sport and that doesn’t bode well for a contest against a dynamic offense.
• Concern #3: This is a very important ball game for the defensive confidence of the Chicago Bears. For the first time in recent memory the local media and fans are preparing to lessen their expectations on the unit. But one thing to note about the Bears defense: when people quit on them is when they tend to deliver their finest performances. Will that be the case Sunday?

THE MATCH-UP OF REMARKABLE IMPORTANCE

• Mel Tucker v. Sean Payton. On paper it’s a wild mismatch. Off paper it is too. Payton will undoubtedly attack the Bears defense in ways the Bears do not expect in an effort to grab an early lead and drain the enthusiasm from the Soldier Field faithful. How Tucker responds, in-game, will be pivotal. If the front four is not reaching Brees, Tucker must create pressure. If linebackers and safeties are losing jump balls to Graham, Tucker must deploy his tall corners. The Bears have been a better defense during the second halves of their first four games but against a team like the Saints the second half may be too late. Tucker must be ready to adjust well before the thirty-minute mark.

GREAT QUOTE

Jay Cutler, from Michael C. Wright’s piece on ESPN Chicago:

“You never really are in the present in the NFL. You’re either talking about what’s coming up or you’re talking about what just happened. You’re never really living in the moment and talking about the now, and ‘What can we do now to get better?’ That’s what our job is as players, and that’s the perspective we’ve got to keep. Obviously you’ve got to look at what’s ahead of you. But after that game is over, you’ve looked at it, it’s over with. The only thing right now that we can control is getting ready for the Saints. I think we learned a lot about our team already in the second half of that Detroit game; the way that offensively we kept fighting.”

THE MOST INTERESTING PLAYER ON THE FIELD

• Bears LB James Anderson has been one of their best defensive performers over the first month of the season but the Saints pose the league’s most difficult challenge to a coverage linebacker. Will Anderson ever be isolated on Graham or Sproles? I couldn’t tell you. But he’ll need to be active in space for the defense to have any success.

THIS PHOTO HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS WEEK’S GAME

(Photo courtesy of Dan Patrick Show producer and friend of DaBearsBlog, Paul Pabst.)

A BEAUTIFUL SONG ABOUT LOUISIANA

A SINGLE STAT PREDICTION (2-2)

• Julius Peppers has been playing brilliantly the last two weeks and this week he sees the fruits of his labor with 2+ sacks.

WRAPPING IT UP IN A FEW SENTENCES

• We begin to see the Bears offense take steps towards the upper echelon of the league as Jay Cutler responds to his poor performance in Detroit with a pair of touchdown passes and clean turnover sheet. Brees still gets his but the Saints’ inability to run the ball/run the clock gives Trestman and Cutler too many opportunities.

FINAL SCORE

• Chicago Bears 30, New Orleans Saints 23

REMINDER! DABEARSBLOG IS MOVING! We are leaving ChicagoNow effective November 1st. We will be housed exclusively at www.dabearsblog.com from that date (and perhaps sooner) on. 

QUESTIONS FOR YOU, THE READER

Three questions I’d love to have answered by readers as we begin our shift away from ChicagoNow.

1. What is the least intrusive way to incorporate advertising into your experience? We have been contacted by several potential advertisers and I’m interested to know from you – those they are advertising to – what is your ideal experience?
2. Do you consider it tacky for a website to solicit reader sponsorship? If DBB placed a PayPal button on the screen, would you pay $1, $5 or $10 for the content/experience provided here?
3. What is an element you’ve always wanted from a sports blog but have not seen? Where have other sports blogs missed the boat when it comes to providing a unique experience?

As an overwhelming majority of you do not engage us in the comments section, please take a few moments to email jeff@dabearsblog.com and share your opinions. All opinions, not just those of the commenters, are needed.

ROOT ROOT ROOT FOR THE…PACKERS?

Three Tweets from yours truly:

Bears fans face a conundrum Sunday but they shouldn’t think twice about rooting for Packers beat Lions at home.

This is arguably the hardest game remaining on Lions schedule. Should they beat GB, Bears will have to dogfight them for division all year.

Understand historic nature of rivalry but GB win will still leave them behind Bears in standings. Bears have two shots to beat em down road.

Unfortunately the Lions v. Packers game is also in the early slate so Bears fans will have little opportunity to root at all.

CHICAGO BEARS COAT DRIVE CONTINUES…

From Da Site:

The Bears have once again teamed up with Jewel-Osco, The Salvation Army and Wm. Meyers Movers for the 25th Annual Chicago Bears/Jewel-Osco “Coat Drive.” New and gently used coats can be donated at all Jewel-Osco locations throughout Chicagoland from October 1 through December 15. A store locator is available at www.JewelOsco.com. Thousands of coats will be collected this year as part of the 25th Annual Chicago Bears/Jewel-Osco “Coat Drive” benefiting The Salvation Army and public schools in the Chicagoland area.

So bring that Starter or Apex Bears jacket down to the grocery store and make somebody warm as the winter approaches.

WHAT ABOUT KERRY RHODES?

As I watched Chris Conte and Major Wright struggle mightily Sunday and fielded emails about the Bears targeting a safety in next year’s draft all I kept thinking was, “How does Kerry Rhodes STILL not have a job?” So what if he’s gay? So what if the media will obsess over that for a week? Rhodes was one of the highest graded safeties in 2012 and he’s still definitively a starter in the NFL.

If the Bears were willing to bring in ever available punter off the street for a tryout after a disgraceful Adam Podlesh performance, why not tryout Rhodes to send a message to the safeties that their positions are not secured? Can his contract demands really be that high?

To read Deadspin’s piece on the Kerry Rhodes business, CLICK HERE.

OTHER LINKS POSSIBLY WORTH READING

• You can bid to win Bears v. Giants tickets (and a host of other things) for a good cause by VISITING THIS SITE. It is a cheap bid price considering the prize.
• Friend of DBB Dave Birkett’s piece on Bill Ford referring to the Bears as “a bunch of thugs”.
• The Times-Picayune is a shell of what it used to be and here is what their game preview looks like. (Spoiler alert: it’s poorly written.)
• “In Malawi and all over Central Africa preparing and cooking of food are women’s responsibilities. They learn the art of cooking at very young ages by watching and helping their mothers. A good wife from Malawi should know how to cook delicious meals using whatever ingredients are at hand. Apart from Nshima, a woman has to know how to cook several types of Ndiwo. The common vegetables used as ingredients in relishes are: cassava leaves, sweet potato leaves, bean leaves, pumpkin leaves, cabbage, mustard leaves, rape leaves and kale leaves.” That’s right. Rape leaves.
• Bears v. Saints is now being listed as a pick em and I fully expect the Saints to be favored by Sunday.
• One of the big questions I was asked this offseason is whether the Bears could become a top fifteen offense in year one under Trestman. Through four weeks, they are 12th.

Enjoy Bills v. Browns tonight. Suddenly it’s a game where the winner finds themselves in the thick of the playoff chase.

After some technical difficulties I was able to connect and chat with Bears star return man Devin Hester. He discusses the conversations had with coaches this offseason, why good return men don’t need very much coaching and gets into some of the details of the return process (I loved this part). Hester wanted no part of the Hall of Fame discussion so I told him flat-out where he stands.

Be sure to check out Hester’s new charitable organization, Anytime 23 Empowerment Center by CLICKING HERE.

After a substantial delay due to (mostly positive) circumstances, DaBearsBlog is leaving the confines of the Chicago Tribune and the ChicagoNow network effective November 1st 2013. Starting November 1st (and perhaps sooner), THE ONLY PLACE DABEARSBLOG WILL BE AVAILABLE IS DABEARSBLOG.COM. (Change your bookmarks or whatever people use now.)

This change finally happened because of you. I have heard every complaint you’ve raised about the experience at CN and all that prevented me from acting was time. As this season began I could no longer use time as an excuse. I made the time to make your experience better. I believe I do good work here. I believe I do unique work here. But I believe my efforts are meaningless if the experience of those who’ve stood by me for years is not an enjoyable one. I apologize for not making this move when I promised – 10 months ago.

We thank Jimmy Greenfield and the CN folks once again for their support over these last few years.

Above you will see our new logo. It is modeled after my favorite storefront in all of Chicago – the Green Mill Lounge. An image of the original is here.

For the next thirty days we’ll remain here at ChicagoNow. Then we’re off.

I never liked the Bears to win this week in Detroit but I must admit the way they lost surprised me. A bunch of pre-tape thoughts are coming here. Remember these are based on initial viewing only:

• Jay Cutler was awful and he knows it. “I just missed the throws,” said Jay Cutler. “They are throws I’m accustomed to making. I just have to make them.”  Cutler wasn’t making poor decisions Sunday in Detroit. He was making poor throws. It’s a rarity for him.
• Cutler missed Alshon Jeffery on that last interception by about ten yards. And Jeffery was wide open.
• Lance Briggs has been terrible in pass coverage and it seems he’s constantly isolated in the middle of the defense.
• Adam Podlesh performed brilliantly against the Cincinnati Bengals. He’s been dreadful since.
• Martellus Bennett and Jeffery are legitimate second and third options. They played great in this loss.
• Where is Shea McClellin?
• Where is the interior of the Bears defensive line against the rush?
• Where is the Bears kick coverage thus far in 2013?
• Two weeks ago the questions was whether Julius Pepper was done. Now he’s the only defensive lineman showing up on game day.
• Sure looked like Kyle Long played a brilliant game against Suh and Suh still almost broke Cutler’s leg.
• The Bears forced turnovers in this game. They just didn’t recover the fumbles. If Stafford doesn’t recover his own fumble on the goal line, is it a different game?
• Didn’t expect that kind of performance from Reggie Bush. Most impressive professional game I’ve seen him play.
• Is that really the best onside kick Robbie Gould has to offer? Lord.
• Jordan Mills looked like a rookie. That’s not a bad thing. It’s a normal thing.
• What was that punt return about when Devin Hester left the return post and Weems took his place? Was it the old, “You think the greatest returner ever will be involved but, nope, WEEMS!” move?
• Chris Conte’s whiff on Reggie Bush is one of those moments a player dreads in the coming film study. How can you fault a defensive coordinator when his play call is perfect and the safety does what Conte did?
• Someone explain to me why Charles Tillman played this game. It is September. He is the team’s best defensive player. Why are they risking further injury? Give the guy two or three weeks off if he needs them.
• I heard a lot about Nate Collins this week. I heard very little about him Sunday.
• Missed tackles are a growing trend of the 2013 season. Say what you want about Lovie Smith but his defenses did not miss tackles.
• Major Wright seems to hit a lot of people in the head.

Overall a poor performance. But the Bears are 3-1 through 4 games and there isn’t a Bears fan alive who would not have signed for that. Bears need no worse than a split of the next two and they’ll have set the table for a successful 2013 meal.

Final thoughts:

• If the Bears win this game there will be a legitimate buzz around this team as they head back home for their next two against the Saints and Giants. If they split those games they’d be 5-1 with ten days off to prepare for an awful Redskins defense. The schedule gets progressively more difficult as the year goes on but this would be an undeniably brilliant start.
• Root for the Texans to beat the Seahawks. If the Seahawks start winning their road games with regularity the NFC title may become an unreachable star.
• Bear down a little bit. Everybody’s doing it.

Here is something I’d like to read in the comments section below:

Are you comfortable with the Bears abandoning their long standing identity as a defensive-minded football team? Would it be okay with you if the Bears moved into the bottom  half of the league defensively if it meant a high octane offense?

All signs this week point to a letdown for the Chicago Bears. They are 3-0, riding high, coming off an emotional prime time victory over a desperate team in hostile conditions. They are surging up meaningless Power Rankings. (They are fifth! They should be fourth! How can they be sixth?! Who gives a shit?) Vegas agrees. They are now underdogs for the first time this season.

So why do I like the Chicago Bears this week?

I always like the Chicago Bears.

BUT WHAT FOOTBALL REASONS, JEFF?

• I think the Bears will be making a strategic error if they come out Sunday and attempt to run the ball into the heart of the Lions defense. I think Coach Trest knows that and will come out firing to silence the crowd keep the defense off-balance.
• I keep hearing about the Lions having turned a corner…but are we sure? From PFT: “Detroit is 2-1, with two wins against 0-3 Minnesota and 0-3 Washington, and a loss to 1-2 Arizona. So the Lions haven’t shown they can beat a good team yet.” Maybe they show it Sunday. Maybe they don’t.
• I don’t see much talent on Detroit’s defense beyond the middle of their defensive line. Glover Quin? Chris Houston? Darius Slay? Sure, Delmas is a solid safety but he’s not a game changer at the back of their defense. If the Bears can attack with their short passing game and soften the Lions rush they’ll be able to get the ball down field.
• The emergence of offensive weapons has been one of the inspiring trends for the Bears. First it was Marshall and Martellus Bennett. Then Matt Forte. Last week Alshon, Earl and Michael Bush. It would seem the Bears enter the fourth week of the season with their full compliment of weapons at least somewhat implemented into the system and they’ll need all of em.
• I made the argument early in the week that Nate Burleson’s emergence as a legitimate number two was the key to the Lions aerial attack against the Redskins a week ago. If defenses don’t respect the other side of the field they can slide coverage to Calvin Johnson. I’d expect the Bears to stay single high (at least) to CJ’s side all afternoon.
• Julius Peppers tends to show up for these Detroit games and has a habit of ending Stafford’s season.

• How many years did seeing Jason Hanson step onto the field mean a made field goal? Basically his entire career. David Akers, who looked done a year ago, has already missed 2/3 of his FGs from beyond the forty and I don’t expect that trend to change.
• Only slightly more than half of Detroit’s kickoffs have gone for touchbacks this season. Does that put Hester in play?
• I feel like Jim Schwartz is one of those coaches who’ll botch the “don’t kick it to Hester” thing.

DA BEAR CONCERNS

• Concern #1: If you’re not concerned with Calvin Johnson, you are a silly goose. The Bears have faced two top shelf receivers thus far in 2013 and yielded 18 catches, 358 yards and 4 touchdowns to them. Calvin Johnson is better than both A.J. Green and Antonio Brown by a significant margin and if Bears safeties continue biting silly pump fakes Johnson will find the end zone multiple times.
• Concern #2: It is almost unbelievable the Bears are 31st in sacks allowed with Cutler only landing on his back three times. The Lions are 32nd, having surrendered two sacks in three games.  The Bears lack of pass rush from the front four means they’ll need to involve linebackers to ruffle Matthew Stafford. If they overcommit they will be diced up by Reggie Bush, Joique Bell, Tony Scheffler and even Fauria/Pettigrew in the passing game. (Bush should frighten the Bears far more in the passing game than in the run game.)
• Concern #3: It may not matter after the fourth game of the season but I think Detroit will be motivated by the knowledge a win Sunday puts them in first place heading into October. Their fans certainly will be. Detroit is the little brother with an inferiority complex and – when they’re struggling – that complex plays out in personal fouls and dirty shots from Suh. Bears will need to weather an early emotional storm.

THE MATCH-UP OF REMARKABLE IMPORTANCE

• There is no reason to be creative in this category. When Ndamukong Suh is matched up with Kyle Long it will be one of the rare times in an NFL season when John Q. Fan’s eyes are fixated on the right guard position. Long has come into the league with a reputation for toughness but toughness won’t be enough to stop Suh from wrecking the run game and harassing the quarterback. He’ll also need technique – technique he quite possibly doesn’t possess yet. Bears fans should not expect Long to beat Suh Sunday. Suh is the far better player at their current career points. But if Long can fight to a draw, make the ringside judges think about it, the Bears have something special.

GREAT QUOTE

From a July 13th 1990 article in the Orlando Sentinel:

Bill Murray, comedian, on Detroit Tigers slugger Cecil Fielder, who leads the major leagues with 28 homers: ”He played last year in Japan . . . He’s all crazed up on sushi.”

THE MOST INTERESTING PLAYER ON THE FIELD

Last week I selected Major Wright and he played a pivotal role – both positively and negatively – in the contest.

• When is the last time Jay Cutler was saddled with the “tough” label? All week the discussion around Cutler was not his casually reckless throws into traffic or smuggy sideline demeanor. The discussion was about whether or not his lowering a shoulder into Robert Golden for the most important first down of the team’s third win was a display of toughness over intelligence. Now Tough Jay Cutler faces what I believe will be a real, old timey, OK Corral shootout. He put the game in the wicker basket and sent it up the river Sunday night in Pittsburgh. Can he go point-for-point in the Motor City?

THESE VIDEOS HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH FOOTBALL

Detroit knew how to do music.

So did Chicago:

A SINGLE STAT PREDICTION  (1-2)

•  Five different players will score a touchdown.

WRAPPING IT UP IN A FEW SENTENCES

• Bears have not shown an ability to stop opposing pass games and if they do Sunday it would have to be viewed as a surprise. Both quarterbacks have big games but – as always – it’s a timely turnover created by the Bears secondary that is the difference. Stafford throws a late TD to tighten things up.

FINAL SCORE

•  Chicago Bears 38, Detroit Lions 35

POMPEI WRITES LOVELY PIECE ON CUTLER

This is an article about how the evolution of a human being, a man, and less about football. (Thanks to Michael C. Wright for spreading the word on Twitter.) It is an absolutely must read and it contains passages like this:

Trestman, McCown and Marshall were among the guests who attended Cutler’s June wedding to reality television star Kristin Cavallari in Nashville.

“I was very, very impressed with the humility of the entire affair,” Trestman said of the ceremony, which took place at Woodmont Christian Church, and the reception at Houston Station. “It was a very unpretentious environment of people who really liked each other. It wasn’t over the top. Very simple. It was a loving environment. I probably said too much already. I was appreciative of being there and getting to know some of the people in his life.”

It seems clear marriage and fatherhood — Jay and Kristin are parents of 1-year-old Camden Jack Cutler — have been factors in Cutler’s growth. The same face that cameras have captured sneering at teammates recently has been caught making baby faces. Yes, teammates have observed Cutler cooing at Camden via FaceTime at Halas Hall. He also has been observed reading parenting books, and books on marriage.

“Spending as much time as I do with him, sharing meals at his house, watching him be a dad, I think it’s really cool,” McCown said. “When a man embraces leading his home and that area of his life, I think other areas of his life should fall into place. You are starting to see that with him.”

CLICK HERE to read the entirety of the piece. It’s on so web site I’ve never heard of called Sports on Earth – which is the definition of a catch-all.

JEFF GARLIN: BEARS FAN

Another article that somehow slipped by me was Jeff Garlin’s 10 Things I Think I Think piece for Peter King’s newly-formed TheMMQB. (Can someone explain to why King and SI didn’t just buy out MMQB.com for the ten grand it would have cost instead of tagging on the ridiculous article at the start? This just seems like corporate cheapness.) Here are a few favorites from the Garlin piece:

1. I think if you’re not from Chicago—I am—you might not understand the Bears are more popular than the Bulls, Blackhawks, Sox and Cubs combined. It’s insane.

2. I think when you ask me my favorite Bears moment, it’s this: any time Walter Payton ran the ball. Oh my God, I saw him do all these different things—running to his right, changing, running to his left, then pounding the crap out of someone. The idea was, I’m gonna hurt you more than you hurt me. I met him once. I couldn’t believe I was in the same room as him. I said, ‘Hi! Nice to meet you.’ My voice went up. It cracked. He was retired. I was in awe.

3. I think one of my memories of the Super Bowl in ’85 was walking back to my apartment in Chicago after the game and just freezing. Freezing. And naked people running through the streets. More than one person. Zero degrees. Naked people!

4. I think the Bears were better the next year. But the team and Mike Ditka started to believe the hype. When that happens, the fall isn’t very far away.

Then he starts talking about fantasy football and I lost interest.

DEADSPIN DISSECTS THE ESPN-CREATED STORY

If you’ve ever wondered how something as stupid as Jaws saying Colin Kaepernick could become one of the greatest quarterbacks ever becomes news, Deadspin broke it down piece-for-piece:

Step 1: Ron Jaworski goes on SportsCenter Wednesday at a little after noon and says something absolutely ridiculous: “I truly believe Colin Kaepernick could be one of the greatest quarterbacks ever.”

Step 2: SportsCenter replays that clip less than an hour later. “Strong words from Jaws!”

Step 3: A reporter at 49ers camp asks Colin Kaepernick, “Ron Jaworski said today he thought you could be the greatest quarterback of all-time, the best quarterback ever. How do you deal with praise and stuff in this off-season and what not?” That full question—and Kaepernick’s response—are later broadcast on SportsCenter.

Step 4: Steve Levy goes on the 11 p.m. SportsCenter and talks about what Jaworski had to say.

Step 5: Steve Young comes on SportsCenter to do a spot on Jaws’s opinion.

Step 6: San Francisco’s ABC affiliate does a segment dedicated to it. ABC and ESPN are both owned by Disney.

Step 7: SportsCenter replays Jaws’s hot take several times overnight. SportsCenter anchor Jonathan Coachman reports that Kaepernick is “humbly appreciative of all this greatest-ever talk.” All this greatest-ever talk.

Step 8: The AP writes up a story about Jaworski’s take. (So does SI.)

Step 9: ESPN picks up the AP story.

Step 10: ESPN puts the AP story on the front page of ESPN.com with the headline, “Jaworski praises Colin Kaepernick.”

Step 11: ESPN Radio’s Mike Golic plays the clip and dedicates one of his first segments to it on Thursday morning.

Step 12: A topic for the morning SportsCenter. “Jaws made a little bit of news yesterday!” Jaworski comes on with Adam Schefter to talk about what he said. And then Jaworski says that Kaepernick answered the question—that is, a question from the reporter about Jaworski’s take—perfectly.

Step 13: Jaws goes on another edition of SportsCenter. “I’m going to stick to what I said!” he said, laughing hysterically.

Step 14: Jaworski goes on First Take to talk about it with Skip Bayless. “You put it on Tebow,” Jaworski tells him.

It’s shrewd. It’s maniacal. And it’s why ESPN has the power it has in the sports world: they control the conversation.

CUTLER FIRST DOWN RUN VS PITTSBURGH

If you had a chance to listen to my conversation with Steve Maneri yesterday you heard how excited he got discussing this run by Cutler. It inspired the sideline. Here’s what some ex-quarterbacks thought about the play and I think the discussion is fair:

FIVE ADDITIONAL LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT

1. PFF continues to track the ROY race and Kyle Long is currently in the sixth position. Nice to read an article actually analyzing the rookie class.
2. I’m not sure fans care about Brian Urlacher’s media career but this an article about Mike Tyson giving  54 a boxing lesson on Fox Sports 1.
3. Rashad Johnson lost the tip of his finger playing football and Tweeted a picture of the monstrosity.
4. Nate Burleson wasn’t texting and driving when he wrecked his car. He was distracted by pizza sliding off the front seat.
5. Not only should Michael Bush be getting more playing time but I would start working Michael Ford into the game plan. The Bears need Matt Forte in December and January. 30 touches a game will be hard to sustain.

YOU WANTED TO HEAR TIM CURRY SING DAVY CROCKETT?

I know you did. Do yourself a favor and listen to this: