We take a moment away from the 2009 season to discuss a topic currently making the Chicago media rounds.   The Chicago Park District has announced they are against the placement of a Walter Payton statue in the area outside Soldier Field.  From the Tribune:

According to a Payton family spokeswoman, park district officials
explained that Soldier Field and the area surrounding it is to be
preserved strictly as a memorial to war veterans. There also is concern
a Payton statue outside of Soldier Field might diminish the stature of
other former Bears Hall of Famers.

The park district, which oversees Soldier Field and its grounds,
reportedly offered to have the statue placed at any other Chicago park.

While there will surely be an outpouring of support for Sweetness from the city of Chicago, count my vote on the ‘nay’ side of the issue.

Before I explain, let’s throw out the idea of Soldier Field being predominantly a salute to veterans.  Soldier Field is a football stadium and its significance in military history is merely symbolic.  It is a beautiful, fitting symbol but a symbol nevertheless.  The statue outside the nation’s premiere football facility should reflect the game played inside.

As for their second point…it’s a good one.  When you place a statue outside a ballpark, the statue should represent everything the organization stands for, on and off the field.  In that regard, Payton fits the bill.  But the player immortalized should also reflect the team during it’s finest days and that argument can not be made for the era in which Payton played.

Why?  Because of George Halas.  Halas won 324 games.  He won 6 NFL championships.  He was named coach of the year twice in the 1960s.  Football – and that means Soldier Field – are in Chicago (and arguably America) because of George Halas.   Halas, in his trademark hat and glasses, belongs outside Soldier Field.  (He served in WWII from ’43-’45 if that helps.)  Too many people have asked me over the years what the “GSH” on the uniform stands for.  Too many people are quick to forget the history of this great game in favor of scoring fantasy points.  If a statue will great us at the entrance, let it be of the man responsible for our being there.  Let it be of George S. Halas.

There will be no more words wasted on this site about the Chicago media’s current infatuation with Jay Cutler’s facial expressions.  Writers like the Tribune’s Rick Morrissey are why most people around the country have little respect for the town’s sports writers.  Morrissey, like Mariotti before him, think dour is interesting and prey upon the local fan’s propensity to be pessimistic.  In my opinion, it’s cheap journalism.  And unsurprising.

Bowman Was Healthy?
According to Vaughn McClure, Zack Bowman was entirely healthy Sunday night and doesn’t seem to have any idea why he didn’t play down the stretch.  About the only positive thing that came out of the last two minutes at Lambeau Field is the fact that the entire organization should now be able to move beyond the Nathan Vasher reclamation project.  They should start the healing process Sunday or face the prospect of a Santonio Holmes choreographed dance number in the Soldier Field end zone.

Most Telling Statistic
Matt Forte.  Zero catches.  Look no further than the success of Tom Brady and Phil Rivers Monday night to understand the importance of checking down to a pass-catching back.  Kevin Faulk and Darren Sproles won those games Monday night and Matt Forte should have been given a shot Sunday night.

I watched the entirety of Jay Cutler’s postgame press conference, which has apparently drawn the ire of a few former coaches/friends of Lovie Smith.  What I saw was a player terribly disappointed in his poor play but by no means defeated by the experience.  I saw a player who knows enough not to put an entire season’s stock in a game one performance.  I didn’t see an “immature” individual who “didn’t care” about his team’s loss.  But then again, I’m not Mike Martz.

Mike Martz is a douchebag but he has a long history of being a firm judge of character.  Oh wait…no he doesn’t.  The St. Louis-based website Dump Martz! tracked Martz’ unwavering support for Leonard Little throughout his DUI arrest in 2004.  Why is this important?  Because Little killed a woman while driving drunk six years earlier.  So let’s summarize.  Mike Martz does not like it if you don’t show faux-sadness in a press conference.  He does like it if you’re a completely evil fuck. 

Jay Cutler is an easy target for sports writers and television pundits because he’s not charming.  He’s not easygoing.  Peyton Manning and Brett Favre are what these kinds of guys fall in love with as they project a perfect combination of bullshit coachspeak (“It’s about those blah blah blah in the locker room”) and Aw Shucksiness.  Don’t discount their conservative southern demeanors and family-first lifestyles either.

What should Jay do?  He should cut off the media entirely.  No more press conferences, interviews, sound bites…etc.  Go dark.  Just win ballgames.  These non-stories will continue to be stories if he allows bloated, white men to interpret his body language.  Go dark.  Win ballgames. 

The talk of the town is Brian Urlacher’s season ending wrist injury and the talk is extensive.  David Haugh thinks the Bears will survive and I agree with him.  Neil Hayes believes the injury represents a changing of the team leadership guard.  Brad Biggs and multiple fans are wondering why 54 can’t play with a cast on his wrist.  My phone lit up yesterday with text messages of condolence.  Football friends from around the country were calling me to get a response on the matter.  My response varied.

I understand what Brian Urlacher means to the Chicago Bears and I was excited for the career resurgence the club was expecting this season.  Urlacher is one of the most popular players in Chicago sports history.  Why?  It’s not complicated.  He’s a white guy playing middle linebacker for the Bears.  Is he a Hall of Famer?  I don’t think so.  I think his athleticism and propensity to make big plays has always usurped his overall production – especially since Keith Traylor and Ted Washington left town.  Brian Urlacher is a great athlete.  Lance Briggs is a great linebacker.

The mourning must end.  We can argue about Urlacher’s value until kingdom come but it won’t change the fact that the champs are coming to town Sunday afternoon.  A loss to Pittsburgh will send the Bears to a rejuvenated Seattle the following week, hoping to avoid an 0-3 start.  One can only hope that the entire organization echoes the sentiments of Adewale Ogunleye and re-focuses their attention on the field.  A win Sunday and Brian Urlacher’s injury becomes a non-story.  A win Sunday and Jay Cutler’s four picks were a short roadblock on the yellow brick road.

I hope Urlacher will be the type of injured player that Mike Brown always was.  On the sideline.  Cheerleading.  Coaching.  Being present.  I like the guy.  But he’s no longer on the fifty-three man roster.  Nick Roach is.  Jamar Williams is.  Hunter Hillenmeyer is.  Brian Urlacher can’t help the Bears beat the Steelers.  Those three guys can.

Bear down.

Note: If you’d like to send Wale an email, it’s adewaleogunleye93@yahoo.com.  He’s been answering fan questions on his blog.         

Vaughn McClure is reporting that Brian Urlacher is out for the season with a wrist injury.

Sad.  But not devastating.

Brian Urlacher has been the heart of this defense for a decade but his best years are well in his past.  In the second half last night, against one of the best offenses in football and without Urlacher, the Bears allowed a total of eleven points.

Now I’m not arguing that the Bears defense will be more productive without 54.  They’ll miss his ability to get sideline-to-sideline and he still can be a force in coverage.  But Nick Roach and Jamar Williams are good, solid back-ups and linebacker is the deepest position on this roster.  If you’re going to lose a star, Brian was the one to lose.

If fans make the choice to throw in the towel and stop watching on Sundays, that’s fine.  It ain’t my thing.  I think the Bears are going to beat the Steelers on Sunday afternoon.  The coming media and fan write-off of 2009 will be a big reason why.  This team – throughout this era – plays best when they’re dragging themselves out of the shit.  And guess what?  They’re in it.

• The fake punt is arguably the dumbest moment in sports history.  Why? Even if Pat Mannelly thought there were twelve men on the field, the penalty only makes it 4th and 6.  You’re still punting.  And I don’t understand why he snaps it to Wolfe.  The play starts on the snap.  Send it to the damn punter.  (Side note: why have coaches at all if the long snapper has the ability to do this?  He’s on the field 6 times a game!)
• Jay Cutler and these receivers need to figure something out fast.  Outside of the brilliant play by Jolly, the interceptions involved a quarterback and receiver moving in opposite directions.  The Jackass route at the end of the game was pathetic.  Fix it.  Today.
• Is everybody still worried about Devin Hester?  Because I’m not.
• Nathan Vasher didn’t fail to cover Greg Jennings on the touchdown.  Nathan Vasher CAN’T cover Greg Jennings.  But while the world kills Vash’s work on the play, I ask “where the hell was the safety?”  Lovie can worship at the altar of the Cover 2 all he wants but what good is it if you’ve got Nathan Vasher man-to-man with an elite receiver with the game on the line?
• If you’ve been following this club, the final two minutes were not surprising.  What beat the Bears?  Poor secondary play and inexperience at wide receiver.    

I would love to spend the entire day chewing out Jay Cutler for throwing mindless interceptions.  Or Ron Turner for abandoning the run game in a hostile road environment.  Or the offensive line for not blocking.  Or Pat Mannelly for the single stupidest thing I’ve ever seen done on a football field in a non-motion picture.  But I won’t.  Because it’s first game of the season.

Were there awful moments last night?  Absolutely.  But they are – with the exception of injuries – fixable.  There were also some terrific moments.  Adewale Ogunleye delivered a performance for the ages.  Devin Hester and Earl Bennett looked like they might develop into a pretty good starting receiving corps.  Kevin Payne and Danieal Manning held the secondary together. 

And that’s where the focus should be.  The Bears have six days until the champs come to town and there’s no time to dwell on a missed opportunity to win a division road game.  Some games are best moved on from.  Last night was one of them.

Listen, life is tricky for everybody.  Some folks have parents to take care of, entering those complicated years of their lives that Shakespeare called “second childishness and mere oblivion.”  Some folks have banks bearing down for the mortgage, universities sending tuition letters and not enough coming in to cover what’s going out.  Some people are losing love.  Some don’t know why they can’t find it.  Some people can’t seem to find the right job, get the right grade, kill the right pimple.  Some people can’t figure out the dramatic impetus for a character to sing in a particular scene (okay, that’s just me).  We all have things, the banalities, the minutiae, the annoyances in life.  It’s what Mel Brooks was thinking about when he called the movie “Life Stinks”. 

Then we have this thing.  This little thing.  This football team called the Chicago Bears.  We’re given sixteen times a year to sit and let the world be about fifty-three men most of us have never met.  We let our emotions be swayed and our lives be altered, even in the slightest way, by a group of men that represent us on the gridiron.  For some of you, that representation is about geography.  I’ve always been jealous of that but one day I’ll be in Chicago more than I am now.  For others, like myself, that representation is about how we live.  The Bears aren’t a football team.  The Bears are get down to it and do your fucking work.  That’s Halas.  That’s Ditka.  That was Payton – though I’m not sure he cursed.  

Why am I awake?  Because I know today could be the first day of THAT year.  And I can’t wait till twenty years from now when I remember writing this post at 5 AM.  Having the first ever breakfast burrito at Josie Woods.  Pacing around the pool table while the rest of the league takes care of its business.  Hugging Brian and Noah and Stephanie at 11:59 PM and knowing we’ve got something special.  This can be one of those days.

I love this feeling.  I love this team.  And some folks might find that insane but believe me…I’ve been called worse.  Kurt Vonnegut (two literary quotes in one post?) said, “The insane, on occasion, are not without their charms.”  Wherever you are tonight, charm the shit out of everybody around you.  Charm them with your insanity. 

And while you’re at it…bear down.