Oakland Raiders at Chicago Bears Game Thread
“Oakland wants to run the clock down here…they’re going to go hurry up though.”
-Something Chris Simms actually said while calling Raiders v. Browns
If you’re looking for a single reason to be excited for Bears v. Raiders, this is it. Mack rarely moves off left side of the defensive line (if at all) and that means a showdown between two of the best young players in the sport for sixty minutes. Mack has the advantage of being a pass rusher for the last half decade while Long has been a tackle since Labor Day. If Long consistently wins this battle it will reaffirm the belief of many that he’s destined to be one of the best tackles in the sport for years to come.
They come….
Raid, raid, pillage and plunder!
…young and hungry…
Raid, pillage, pillage, raid!
…a western horde…
Plunder, pillage, raid!
…ascending to the top of the hill…
Raid. Pillage. Plunder.
Note From Jeff: We are going to keep experimenting with the Wednesday space until Andrew feels right. Today is a massive tone change. Hope you like it.
• Oakland rookie receiver Amari Cooper has been awesome this season, which should make Bears fans excited about Kevin White’s potential. Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel does some great pre-draft work having scouts rank the players. Cooper came in as the top-ranked receiver totaling 12 first-place votes and 88 points, while White received seven first-place votes and 82 points, way ahead of the rest of the field.
• It sure looks like Mel Tucker is coaching the Bears special teams. Players make mistakes that lead to big plays on the field, but when different players keep making the same mistakes, it’s a sign that the coach isn’t doing a good enough job of coaching them. The Bears allowed two 40-yard kick returns in Week 1 and have allowed return touchdowns in consecutive weeks. This comes after last year when the one thing they did better than anyone else was cover kicks, leading the league in average allowed yards per return.
There is very little drama to writing about yesterday’s performance by the Chicago Bears. It was a simple game to dissect. Let’s get right to it.
FrontRowTickets.com has been a great sponsor of the game previews this season. I encourage all our readers to give the above image a click and check out what they have to offer. (I’m imagine prices will be quite reasonable by the time the weather changes.)
In a caffeinated city, darkened by the nimbus of perpetual rainfall
An umbrella is raised.
Quietly. Sadly.
As if by a man apologetic for wanting to remain unsoiled by the coming drizzle.
There is a growing movement of individuals wishing for the Bears to “tank” the season to increase their draft position. This is a flimsy position. Here’s why:
It wasn’t all bad.
Really, it wasn’t.
Without their best wide receiver and with a makeshift offensive line, the Bears drove down the field against one of the best defenses in the league and scored touchdowns twice.
Then Cutler got hurt.
David Fales may be shit. He may be no closer to a starting NFL quarterback than Caleb Hanie or Jonathan Quinn or Henry Burris or, hell, Henry Rollins for that matter. A look at the image above reveals three words that ask a million questions: “No stats available.” Fales is an unknown. But an unknown is better than a known when that known is…
Jimmy Clausen is shit. Everyone knows this. And the Bears, according to multiple reports across Chicago, will be starting the ex-Notre Dame signal caller for as long as Jay Cutler is unable to take to the field. It’s a mistake. And another example of the Bears taking a short-sighted view of the 2015 season instead of playing the long game.
We wanted to see improvement. We wanted to have hope. No improvement. Hope gone. Season over? Reactions…
