The Bears just dominated the Packers 35-7. Good game.
The running game was in effect (over 100 yards for Adrian Peterson), and the special teams were dominant. The defense played really well. Tillman excelled on special teams again. Alex Brown stood out on defense, and Urlacher had an 85 yard INT return for a touchdown.
Orton played well in bad conditions and didn't have any of the problems that his counterpart did with dropped snaps.
Where have these guys been all year?
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Email Exchange
Mike & I have both been busy lately, so the blog's been a bit 'under-maintained'... my apologies. Here's the text of an email exchange we've had over the past couple days, which nicely summarizes both of our thoughts on what needs to be done to fix the Bears.
Mike: Bears – what can you say that hasn’t already been said? Goats: Moose for missing that block on the Hester pass play, Fred Miller for being Fred Miller, whoever decided to get rid of Thomas Jones, McGowan for missing that tackle on A.P. Studs: Vasher, Urlacher, maybe Tillman too.
MN might make the playoffs, but the Bears just put on a clinic on how to stop that offense. Anybody who can run the ball and consistently hit the 7 yard slant (like Seattle) will rout that Vikes team. They’re not that good.
Pat: MN is mediocre. They have a winning record in a terrible NFC. In a way, it might be good for us to lose games like this. My hope is it plants the seeds in alot of these guys heads that they rested on their laurels coming off the super bowl. They just expected to go back to the super bowl by showing up, and everyone would be scared of the big bad Bears. Maybe now it will light a fire under some of these guys asses in the offseason, so they head into 2008 healthy and fully prepared to play. I can't help but think that alot of the vets had too much a sense of complacency this year. The truth is, we aren't that far from competing for a Super Bowl next year. Special teams are solid, we just need to re-sign Ayanbadejo. Defense, we need everyone back healthy, 1 new safety, and something at WLB (Briggs or at least a good replacement). Offense...I say bring back Rex & Cedric, blow up the o-line (Kreutz at C, Tait at RT, and 3 new guys) and perform some major surgery at WR. Bring back our tight ends. All that, stay relatively healthy, and there's no reason they cant be competitors in the NFC next year.
Mike: Yeah, easier schedule next year, better players and not so cocky. Why they ever benched Alex Brown is beyond me. Ever see him get out of position on the run? Good to see Vasher back – look at the difference it makes to have your guys healthy and playing. I’m with you on the offense – unless there’s a Michael Turner available, I’d stick with Ced.
Pat: That's what's driving me nuts...there are so many media meatheads complaining about the defense, but they're a few tweaks away from being a top 10 defense again. Think about it:
Resign Briggs
Draft a safety somewhere in rounds 2-4
Get Urlacher healthy
Get Vasher healthy
Get Mike Brown healthy
Get Tommie healthy
Get Dusty healthy
Get Garay healthy
Get Adams healthy
Do all that (which isn't much, really) and your D is in very good shape heading into next season. Special teams, just re-sign Ayanbadejo, and allow the returning starters to funnel your quality backups onto special teams, and you're all set there too. Offense, major surgery needed. We need to replace Fred Miller and probably both guards. We need either Rex Grossman or Donovan McNabb as starting QB...guys like Orton & Griese just can't WIN games for you. Grossman & McNabb can. We need to upgrade WRs, and maybe bring in 1 new RB. I still think Benson will be solid, but Peterson is a #3/special teams guy, and Wolfe is a niche player we never should have drafted.
Mike: Not brain surgery. Or rocket science. Or anything… um, difficult like that.
Just getting healthy will be a huge plus. Consider that the guys who are getting playing time on the DL now will make for excellent depth next year.
But the O needs an overhaul. I’d go after McNabb and offensive linemen. Make some free agents rich, big deal; it’ll seem well worth the cost if we’re back in the Super Bowl. When they won last year there wasn’t a single time where I thought: you know, they spent too much on this offensive line. If there’s money left over after those priorities, then I’d address RB and maybe WR. I think with the guys they’ve got, if we had a good line either Rex or McNabb could get the ball to those guys (minus one or two who haven’t earned the chance to come back). I’m more concerned about our lines – that’s the strength of winning football teams. If you can run the ball and control the clock and grind out long drives (which result in touchdowns), your defense can tee off on opponents.
Pat: All excellent points (refering to Mike's last email).
Mike: Bears – what can you say that hasn’t already been said? Goats: Moose for missing that block on the Hester pass play, Fred Miller for being Fred Miller, whoever decided to get rid of Thomas Jones, McGowan for missing that tackle on A.P. Studs: Vasher, Urlacher, maybe Tillman too.
MN might make the playoffs, but the Bears just put on a clinic on how to stop that offense. Anybody who can run the ball and consistently hit the 7 yard slant (like Seattle) will rout that Vikes team. They’re not that good.
Pat: MN is mediocre. They have a winning record in a terrible NFC. In a way, it might be good for us to lose games like this. My hope is it plants the seeds in alot of these guys heads that they rested on their laurels coming off the super bowl. They just expected to go back to the super bowl by showing up, and everyone would be scared of the big bad Bears. Maybe now it will light a fire under some of these guys asses in the offseason, so they head into 2008 healthy and fully prepared to play. I can't help but think that alot of the vets had too much a sense of complacency this year. The truth is, we aren't that far from competing for a Super Bowl next year. Special teams are solid, we just need to re-sign Ayanbadejo. Defense, we need everyone back healthy, 1 new safety, and something at WLB (Briggs or at least a good replacement). Offense...I say bring back Rex & Cedric, blow up the o-line (Kreutz at C, Tait at RT, and 3 new guys) and perform some major surgery at WR. Bring back our tight ends. All that, stay relatively healthy, and there's no reason they cant be competitors in the NFC next year.
Mike: Yeah, easier schedule next year, better players and not so cocky. Why they ever benched Alex Brown is beyond me. Ever see him get out of position on the run? Good to see Vasher back – look at the difference it makes to have your guys healthy and playing. I’m with you on the offense – unless there’s a Michael Turner available, I’d stick with Ced.
Pat: That's what's driving me nuts...there are so many media meatheads complaining about the defense, but they're a few tweaks away from being a top 10 defense again. Think about it:
Resign Briggs
Draft a safety somewhere in rounds 2-4
Get Urlacher healthy
Get Vasher healthy
Get Mike Brown healthy
Get Tommie healthy
Get Dusty healthy
Get Garay healthy
Get Adams healthy
Do all that (which isn't much, really) and your D is in very good shape heading into next season. Special teams, just re-sign Ayanbadejo, and allow the returning starters to funnel your quality backups onto special teams, and you're all set there too. Offense, major surgery needed. We need to replace Fred Miller and probably both guards. We need either Rex Grossman or Donovan McNabb as starting QB...guys like Orton & Griese just can't WIN games for you. Grossman & McNabb can. We need to upgrade WRs, and maybe bring in 1 new RB. I still think Benson will be solid, but Peterson is a #3/special teams guy, and Wolfe is a niche player we never should have drafted.
Mike: Not brain surgery. Or rocket science. Or anything… um, difficult like that.
Just getting healthy will be a huge plus. Consider that the guys who are getting playing time on the DL now will make for excellent depth next year.
But the O needs an overhaul. I’d go after McNabb and offensive linemen. Make some free agents rich, big deal; it’ll seem well worth the cost if we’re back in the Super Bowl. When they won last year there wasn’t a single time where I thought: you know, they spent too much on this offensive line. If there’s money left over after those priorities, then I’d address RB and maybe WR. I think with the guys they’ve got, if we had a good line either Rex or McNabb could get the ball to those guys (minus one or two who haven’t earned the chance to come back). I’m more concerned about our lines – that’s the strength of winning football teams. If you can run the ball and control the clock and grind out long drives (which result in touchdowns), your defense can tee off on opponents.
Pat: All excellent points (refering to Mike's last email).
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Open Query
Why does it seem like I'm covering all of the losses, at least as of late? Bummer!
Well, the Bears have the Redski... can we still say that? Have the thought police not taken that away?
(consults counsel)
As I was saying, the Bears have the Redskins tomorrow night, and if they win, I'm doing the recap!
Well, the Bears have the Redski... can we still say that? Have the thought police not taken that away?
(consults counsel)
As I was saying, the Bears have the Redskins tomorrow night, and if they win, I'm doing the recap!
Monday, December 3, 2007
Game 12 - Bears/Giants
I'm still in shock - the Bears got beat after dominating much of the game. At 5-7, they're done. Last one out, please hit the lights. This loss hurt more than usual, just given how well they played in the beginning of the game.
The defense didn't play poorly. They didn't make a stop when they needed to, but, AGAIN, they spent way too much time on the field. The Bears had way too many 3-and-outs in the second half. Grossman's attempted heroics aside on that last drive, it should never have come down to the last drive.
While it has become fashionable in a sense, and I'm such a contrarian that I can't imagine doing something fashionable, I can't find blame with anyone other than Ron Turner and the coaching staff. Yes, it hurt that the Bears running game couldn't be counted on late in the game to eat up the clock and get 1 or 2 first downs. But at some point, the guy who's calling plays has to be held accountable for what's happened this season.
Breaks my heart to say it, but all would have been forgiven if Hester made that catch. Suddenly, it's a whole different ballgame. He can't be held responsible, though, since the Bears had outstanding field position because the Giants wouldn't kick to him.
Please tell me that no one is still talking playoffs. Yet, maybe a bad season only sets the table for the Bears to get back to the big game next year. It looks like we know where we're weak (offensive line, defensive depth, running back) and where we're strong (um, quarterback, special teams).
Rex Grossman's proving himself to be a better football player than anyone gave him credit for (me included) at the beginning of the season. Couldn't be happier for the guy or happier that I was wrong about him.
The defense didn't play poorly. They didn't make a stop when they needed to, but, AGAIN, they spent way too much time on the field. The Bears had way too many 3-and-outs in the second half. Grossman's attempted heroics aside on that last drive, it should never have come down to the last drive.
While it has become fashionable in a sense, and I'm such a contrarian that I can't imagine doing something fashionable, I can't find blame with anyone other than Ron Turner and the coaching staff. Yes, it hurt that the Bears running game couldn't be counted on late in the game to eat up the clock and get 1 or 2 first downs. But at some point, the guy who's calling plays has to be held accountable for what's happened this season.
Breaks my heart to say it, but all would have been forgiven if Hester made that catch. Suddenly, it's a whole different ballgame. He can't be held responsible, though, since the Bears had outstanding field position because the Giants wouldn't kick to him.
Please tell me that no one is still talking playoffs. Yet, maybe a bad season only sets the table for the Bears to get back to the big game next year. It looks like we know where we're weak (offensive line, defensive depth, running back) and where we're strong (um, quarterback, special teams).
Rex Grossman's proving himself to be a better football player than anyone gave him credit for (me included) at the beginning of the season. Couldn't be happier for the guy or happier that I was wrong about him.
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