I’m going to watch the game again tomorrow morning and provide some details but these are my ten gut responses to the brilliant, brilliant, brilliant first half.

1. If Denver wants another first round draft pick, they can have it.  I know it’s the preseason but we’ve never – in the history of the franchise – had quarterbacking like that.

2. I’m this close to believing in this Marinelli bullshit they’ve been feeding us for six months.  The pass rush was dominating; punishing the Giants’ starting offensive tackles and making the game unplayable for Eli Manning.  Can we finally stop taking Alex Brown off the field on third downs?  AB is – without question – our best defensive lineman.

3. Congratulations to Nathan Vasher.  Seriously.  The coaches, media and yours truly have massacred this guy for weeks and I thought he played a solid, aggressive half.  He charged the football and made sound tackles.  Keep working, man.

4. Earl fucking Bennett, huh?  Unbelievable.

5. I’m not letting this Johnny Knox get away.  That is an explosive talent.

6. Devin Hester lacks the instincts of a great receiver but that’s about all he lacks.  Once Cutler and Hester get on the same page, we could be looking at a lethal offensive weapon.

7. Biggest flaw?  Run defense up the gut and run offense up the gut.  The middle of this team looked a bit soft tonight and that needs to be remedied.

8. Mark my words.  One day we’re all going to talk about how good Kevin Payne was.

9. Did Osi Umenyiora or Justin Tuck make a play?  The combination of our tackles and the quarterback’s elusiveness is a bit inspiring.

10. Devin Aromashodu is not just making the team.  He’s catching a ton of passes this season.  I think Mr. Davis might not be sticking around much longer.     

Bonus #11. Did you guys see Jay Cutler?  

I’ll be on here throughout the early part of the game tonight, providing my stirring mix of comic musings and football commentary.  Tomorrow morning I’ll be watching the recording of the game and doing some more in-depth stuff.

A few day-of things to think about…

Vaughn McClure has a pretty interesting piece about Jamar Williams’ quest for playing time among some of the best linebackers around.  With the man in the middle gaining in years, I’d start expecting to see Lovie move to something of a rotation with this corps.

David Haugh mentions in his column that he’d like to see the team get Matt Forte going.  I couldn’t disagree more.  Get Matt Forte in for a series and then off the damn field.  We know what we have in the Double Deuce and risking any type of injury in these fake games is drinking the devil’s bubbly. (Side note: I just made that phrase up.)

Watch the starting defensive lineup tonight because Brad Biggs believes “it’s possible the Bears insert Graham into the starting lineup vs. the Giants with Trumaine McBride on the other side.”  If Nathan Vasher isn’t on the field early tonight, I can imagine a scenario where Vasher isn’t on the roster come the end of the month.

And I am going to hold Lovie Smith to his word:

Smith told players in the locker room after the game last week —
and has reiterated all week — that the biggest jump is from the first
to second game in preseason. He wouldn’t say how much starters will
play, only that he’s looking for some positive momentum in the second
quarter before taking them out.

”We’re not ready to play the Packers yet,” Smith said, referring
to the regular-season opener at Green Bay on Sept. 13. ”We’ll know a
lot more this week. This week will tell us a lot.”

Tonight there are some expectations.   

The New York Giants are the kind of team you want to play in the preseason.  They have the best defensive line and one of the best offensive lines in the sport.  If you’ve been going easy on tackling this summer, Brandon Jacobs will change that in a hurry.  They’ll test your corners with short routes to speedy receivers and they don’t make an awful lot of mistakes.  You wanna gauge your progress?  Play the New York Giants. 

Last week I put Caleb Hanie, Nathan Vasher and Chris Williams under the microscope.  Hanie was terrific.  Vasher was atrocious.  Williams finished the game healthy – a bonus in my opinion.  This week the focus shifts…slightly.  Four to watch:

Orlando Pace / Chris Williams
Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck.  Block those two guys consistently and you’re a great player.  Don’t block them and you’re just like everybody else.  Williams should have success against a half-speed Tuck but are Orlando Pace’s aging legs capable of containing the hungrier-than-hell Osi?  The season may rely heavily on the answer.

Jay Cutler
Would a poor performance from Cutler lead to boo birds?  No.  It’s the preseason.  But Jay is making his debut in front of a fan base that has clamored for a quarterback with his ability for half a century.  Cutler needs to feed off the Soldier Field energy, complete something like 10 of 15 passes and put some points on the board.  Nothing flashy is necessary.  Just precision.

Earl Bennett
Eventually the Duke of Earl needs to be more than hypothetical potential.  He’s got zero regular season catches and has been gifted a starting position because he did beer funnels in college with the current quarterback.  How about something real?  Beat a corner to the sticks?  A big third down catch over the middle?  Drag those feet in the corner of the endzone?  Just something…anything. 

Who did I forget?

Steve Rosenbloom wants to see the first team offense play tomorrow night and he’s right.

I can’t believe the Bears are cocky enough to think Cutler and the
offensive line don’t need several quarters worth of snaps in anger with
Forte in the backfield, Olsen in the pattern and whatever detritus the
Bears have at wideout trying to fake like they’re capable.

It doesn’t just magically happen. You can’t just put all these guys
together and expect them to be good without seeing them do it under
duress. I have it on good authority the Packers aren’t going to play
two-hand-touch-below-the-waist in the fourth quarter the night of Sept.
13.

Well according to Jeff Dickerson at ESPN Chicago, the Bears are set to suit up Greg Olsen and Matt Forte Saturday night against the New York Giants.  This means that we’ll all get a look – for at least a series or two – at the eleven men slated to start against the Packers on the 13th.

David Haugh basically summarizes a month worth of columns in today’s Trib.  And for the first time this summer, someone asks the question:

3 who missed opportunities…
Rashied Davis, WR: He hasn’t stood out as much as Devin Aromashodu, Brandon Rideau or Bennett. How many wide receivers can the Bears keep?

I thought, coming off the first preseason game, that Rash was a lock to make this roster.  But considering the team’s four running backs and three quality tight ends, I’m wondering whether the Bears will carry what they carried in 2008: six receivers.

Since there’s no reason to speculate on roster decisions, let’s just say this: Rashied Davis needs to start making plays and needs to start Saturday night.  And I know I’m not in the minority when I say I’d be more-than-willing to move on.

From Brad Biggs:

”I think he is going to be a Pro Bowl-caliber player,” Kreutz said. ”He can be a Pro Bowl left tackle, or he can be the best right tackle in the NFL. No matter where you put him, it works out well for you.

”He’s a hard worker, a football player, just an O-lineman. He’s got what the great ones have got. He wants to be an O-lineman, but the great ones are cut above the rest. They’re athletic, they’re big, they’re strong, they’re fast and they’re smart.”

If you’re like me, you take everything Olin says as gospel and this just gave me goosebumps.  It’s starting to look like this team’s going to have a fucking terrific offensive line.

The Denver Post is reporting that Brandon Marshall’s tumultuous relationship with the Denver Broncos may be coming to a breaking point.  Per the article:

Marshall has previously expressed —
through a post on his blog — distrust with the team’s medical staff
over a nagging hip injury from last season, and now said he is unhappy
with the team’s public relations staff. Marshall said he was
“disappointed” to hear from teammates they were told not to publicly
say they were happy Marshall was acquitted of misdemeanor battery
charges last Friday. Front office officials apologized to Marshall
Monday.

“Some things you can’t control, and that situation, we feel like we
tried to handle that the best we could after that came up,” coach Josh
McDaniels said. “Just trying to get everyone’s mind back on football
and practice and doing what we need to do to get ready for Seattle.

The Daily News is reporting that the Jets are contemplating making a deal and various other clubs, including the Ravens, have been rumored to be interested.  With the Bears lacking the a 2010 first round draft pick, one wonders if depth on the defensive line or at linebacker might be used to get into the conversation.  This would be the kind of acquisition that would solidifiy the last question mark on the offense for many years to come.

Omiyale Wins Starting Guard Job
According to Brad Biggs, Josh Beekman’s run atop the depth chart at left guard has come to an end and Frank Omiyale will start against the New York Giants Saturday night.  I can’t applaud the timing of this move more.  The Giants’ defensive line is the best the team will face all season and it’s imperative to have the projected starters out there against Osi, Tuck and company.

The real question is…are there any competitions ongoing this summer?  With the corners solidified (and injured) and the offensive line structured, are we only awaiting the announcement that Pisa has defeated Jamar on the strong side?

Jerry Finds the Problem
When asked by Larry Mayer to evaluate the defensive performance against Buffalo, Jerry nailed the issue that plagued the club in 2008:

…we didn’t get off the field on third down. They had
long drives. We played 80-plus plays on defense. That’s way too much.
We’ve got to get off the field. We got them in third-and-medium and
third-and-long situations, and we weren’t able to shut them down. So
that’s got to get cleaned up.

Our corners play five yards off every receiver.  Our pass rush is non-existent.  This is how not to be successful on third down.