All of chicago will be watching; Bears-Packers Part 3

Well, once again not even the most optomistic of bears' fans could have predicted what will happen this sunday. First the bears will be playing for the chance to play in the superbowl. (Its surreal to even type that). And the bears will be playing the packers in this game. Nothing could make advancing to the superbowl sweeter for either franchise then doing over their bitterest rival. This game will be special and here is how the bears can advance.

Key Matchups:

Olin Kruetz v. Cullen Jenkins - No matter what anyone says Cullen Jenkins is the packers best defensive lineman. Sorry, BJ Rajii. Jenkins can be disruptive and can penetrate and give the packers an inside push that can terrorize an offense. It will be Olin's job to most of the time to double on Jenkins and sometimes block him one on one. If the packers and jenkins can get that inside push then it will force Cutler deeper in the pocket and make him an easy target for the rushing OLBs.

Bryan Bulaga v. Julius Peppers - The last time these teams met Peppers forced Bulaga to false start 3 times. Those penalties can be huge and realistically Bulaga shouldnt be able to handle Peppers which can only create problems for the offense. Peppers needs to dominate Bulaga as he did in the regular season finale.

Innovation v. Execution - These teams know each other. They know the systems they run and are pretty much prepared for everything that might come their way. Now, i think the teams might try some different looks or plays but they need to not let it get out of hand. The game will be decided by which team executes the best. Lets hope that is the bears.

Key's for the Bears:

1. Win the turnover battle. This game will be tight. The bears have to force and win the turnover battle. The bears actually were a -1 against the seahawks and a repeat of that will probably see the bears lose. The defense has to create turnovers against the packers.

2. Run Matt Forte. If the Bears run 45% of their plays they win. In fact this year, they are10-0 in any game that they have run 45% of time and 2-5 in any game that they run under that. Plus add in the fact that Culter has thrown 3 ints against the packers when they have 5+ DBs on the field. Martz must run the ball even if its not as effective as he wants it to be.

3. Quick Start, Milk the clock. I have complete confidence in the bears defense! With that said, you would have to be stupid to not want to minimize the chances Rodgers gets. If the bears can put points on the board early and get some time consuming drives, it will keep Rodgers off the field and that can only be a good thing.

Hero of the Day:

Robbie Gould.

I expect great things from Cutler and Forte but the simple fact is the packers dont give up TDs. So the right leg of Robbie will have to accurate in what may be terrible conditions for kicking. I think on his golden right leg the bears come away with this game.

Prediction

Bears 23, Packers 20.

It is going to be a back and forth, knock down, drag out game that will be a pleasure to watch. These defenses are great and Culter and Rodgers will give us a preview of how great they will be for the next 5 years. Robbie Gould and a fg in the 4th quarter win it. Go BEARS!!!

Buckle up, Bears Fans, Here comes the Playoffs

Well, this is what you play the regular season for, right? The chance to get in the playoffs and make it all the way. In the seahawks, the worse playoff team ever, the bears couldnt have gotten an easier opponent in the playoffs. But it is the playoffs and anything can happen as evidenced by the seahawks beating the saint last weekend.

Key Matchups:

1. Russell Okung v. Julius Peppers. So, I'm sure all of you have heard that Julius Peppers probably had his worse game as a bear against Seattle. 1 tackle and he really didnt create any havoc. Well, to steal a line from Stacey King, "Big time players make big time plays!". And that what Pep is paid to be, a big time player. He has been very good this year but in the playoffs he has to step it up another level. I dont need huge sack totals from him but the bears need him to play so well that the whole offensive line is constantly worried about him and it put everyone else in 1 on 1. He has to dominate the rookie LT Okung. HAS TO!

2. Jay Culter v. Earl Thomas. Another rookie for seattle that doesn't play like it is. Thomas is an aggressive safety and a big hitter. Those quality are great but the saints showed that he is susceptible to double moves or to the pump and go. Either way Cutler has to be aware that Thomas will be trying to gamble on a int and Jay needs to take advantage of it.

3. They are going to kick to Devin!!!! I can't believe anyone would actually kick to hester but the guy has 14 return tds. Pete Carroll said he was going to kick it to Devin and live with the consequences. I dont know if that is just a smoke screen or it will actually happen. But if they do kick to Devin, it makes punts the most exciting plays and potentially momentum changers of the game.

Bears' Keys:

1. Hit Mike Williams. It made me sick to see Williams get 10 catches against the Bears earlier in the season. I know he is a big WR but the bears need to punish him for going across the middle and making catches. He isnt a deep threat and he is pretty much gonna make his living across the middle and on short routes. With how much zone the bears play, the safeties and LBs should have shots on him and make him regret catching the ball.

2. No crazy Mike Martz. Did anyone else's blood turn cold this week when Cutler said the bears may throw the 60 times? Look the bears need to run this ball atleast 20-25 times and just pound the small seattle defense. This is not a good defense and the bears can wear it down and win the time of possession battle if they run the ball. Plus, as i have been saying all year, Matt Forte is your best offensive weapon. He needs to get the ball more.

3. Play well in cold weather. This bears team hasnt been good in cold weather. The conditions on sunday should be perfect for this team. It will be cold but no snow. This is a team that is built for speed on both sides of the ball and they need to learn how to use it in the cold.

Hero of the Day:

Greg Olsen. He hasnt been making many catches but i have a feeling Martz has something up his sleeve to use Olsen. I see at least a TD from Olsen and maybe 2 with a couple of deep routes.

Prediction:

Bears 27, Seahawks 23

Of course I'm taking the bears but i really did mean buckle up bears fans because i dont think this one is decided till the end of the 4th quarter. In the end, the bears are the better team and that hopefully comes through but it wont be easy. But, this sets up a dream matchup of the Packers v. Bears in chicago next week. BEAR DOWN!

Greatest Show on Grass?

Is this what we are gonna be calling the bears offense soon? Maybe if the last two weeks were an indication of what the Martz offense can do for the bears. Look, it was a great win yesterday against the Jets and the bears did it by leaning on the offense something that is entirely foreign to us Bears fans. The bears are in the driver's seat for a first round bye and have won 7 out of their last 8. Shaping up to be a great season. Positive, negatives and thoughts on yesterday's game below.

The Good

1. O-line. The much maligned O-line looked like studs vs. the Jets. Cutler had all day to complete throws and we saw what happens then with 3 tds in the 3rd quarter. Plus, Forte was the first 100 yd rusher against the Jets this year. A lot of that credit goes to the O-line for blocking up people. If the line can play like this then sky is the limit for this offense.

2. Matt Forte. As mentioned above, Forte is the 1st back to go over 100 yards against the Jets D this year. And only the 2nd back to do it in the last 2 years. Forte had some excellent blocking but he picked up a ton of yards after 1st contact and he looks like the back he was in his rookie year. He is the most dangerous weapon on the bears offense.

3. Jay Cutler/Devin Hester. Ask Jay how easy it is too look good when you usually only have to go half the field for a TD and you have a running game. The bears offense was clicking on all cylinders and Jay showed why he was brought into be the franchise QB. And not enough can be said about Hester and the advantage he gives the bears. The bears have the best average starting field position in the NFL and it is because of #23. Also, he has caught TDs in 2 consecutive games. Can he get the MVP?

The Bad

1. D-line. Did the bears D-line actually play yesterday? It was pretty hard to tell because im pretty sure Mark Dirty Sanchez was pretty much untouched besides some LB blitzes. I dont want to hear that this D-line has problem with their "get-off" on the soldier field grass. Arent there pills for that? Anyway, the bears know they play on turf and that they play in the cold so this just cant be an excuse for no pash rush. I was having flash backs to last season's defense. Not good.

2. Defensive play calling. Alright, I by now understand that Lovie's system doesnt work when you have to rush more than 4. But does that mean the defense just has to give up when its not working? In the 2nd quarter and really until the 4th quarter, it looked like the bears had no idea what to do when their front 4 couldnt get pressure. Finally, in the 4th, we saw urlacher and briggs coming on blitzes which were somewhat effective. Can I ask why it took till then for the blitz to become an option? That adjustment needed to be made a lot earlier given the way Sanchez was carving up the bears.

Random Bear Thoughts

Peanut Tillman has to be winding down his days as a cornerback. I mean we have all seen his inability to cover fast WRs anymore and he has pretty much become a liability in most man to man coverage situations. I personally love Peanut and proudly display his autograph in my room but I think realistically if he is still with the bears his future will be at safety. I mean he says on the field because of his ability to punch out fumbles and putting him at safety would mean he is around the ball more and he can use his size and strength against TEs and backs. It could re-invent his career much the way it did for rod woodson and charles woodson. Either way CB must be an offseason priority for the bears.

Why is the packers game important? Because if the packers win, it would likely mean that the bears get the #3 seed and would play the #6 seed who would be........the Packers. As great it would be to see a Bears-Pack playoff game, they will probably be the most dangerous NFC team in the playoffs.

Bears v. Tom Brady

I mean really can anyone name someone else on the patriots? They really have Tom Brady and a bunch of role players around him. When you look at their statistics they are just an average team but here they are at 9-2. Their offense is 13th in yards, 11th in passing, 13th in rushing but somehow they rank as the #1 scoring offense in the NFL at 31.6 pt/game. Their defense is average too ranking 19th in the NFL. So, this should be an easy win for the bears right?

Key Matchups

1. Jerod Mayo v. Jay Cutler. Cutler's improved play is really the reason for the offensive improvement since the bye week and I expect him to only be better against the Patriots. The Pats are ranked 31st against the pass and i think we may see the bears call more deep routes this game than the last 4 combined. But, I have the suspicion that Mayo, the Pats best LB, may be doing some spying/shadowing of Jay Culter given Jay's nimble feet of late. Mayo is really the one that drives the Pats defense and if Cutler can recognize what he where is on the field, it can negate his impact and make the Pats defense look pedestrian.

2. Urlacher v. Pats TEs. The Pats have two excellent rookie TEs in Hernandez and Gronkowski and the majority of their plays will involve both TEs. They love to run vertical down the seam and have the speed and hands to do so. Brady will spread the ball around but he definitely look to these guys for big plays down the center of the field. I suspect the bears will be playing a whole lot of cover 2 so Urlacher will have to get a good drop down the middle of the field in order to be in position to break up pass to these TEs.

3. Patriots v. Soldier Field turf. Hey, so the turf is crappy but what do I can when it neutralizes the opponents speed? It certainly worked against the eagles, maybe the fastest NFL team. And now we can hope it hurts the Patriots. Their offense is based around YAC or run after the catch so heres hoping on sunday its just falling after the catch.

Keys for the Bears

1. Tackling. Unfortunately this is probable the worst matchup for the bears defense in the NFL. The Pats are a patient, short passing team which absolutely kills cover 2 defenses. Maybe we will see some more blitzes and man 2 man from the bears but I heavily doubt it. So, in order for the bear's cover 2 to beat brady & co., they must tackle extremely well as the Pats are all about YAC, as stated above. The first guy must stop the ball carrier or at least slow him down.

2. DT pressure. Tom Brady is awesome in the pocket. He isnt very mobile but he slides/moves extremely well in the pocket. This allows him to side step a lot of pressure and step up on any pressure from the outsides. If the DTs can get pressure up the middle then Brady has no where to step up and we could see him take some sacks and it disrupt their passing game.

3. Big plays keep coming. The offense has been great the last couple weeks but not exactly what we expected from them. It has been consistently driving the ball and every once a while a big play will pop. But from the Martz offense, I was expecting a lot more big plays and quick scoring. I think this game will be higher scoring than most because the problems the Pats will present for our defense. With that said and the Pats D not having much of a pass rush, i think its time to start going deep early and often. Yep, this could turn into a disaster of inceptions and turnovers but this offense needs to show that it has that capability in order to be a playoff threat and probably to win this game.

Hero of the Day

Jay Cutler. Its the first time this year I have chosen Jay to have a big game. This probably as big of game in his career that he has played and he really needs to come out and show that he can perform against a good team. I think either he goes off for 3 or 4 tds and probably a int or he throws a real stinker and we start wondering if he can handle the big games/stage.

Prediction

I really want to take the bears. I know im that big of a homer but I just cant bring myself to do it. I wanted to take the Bears 31 to 27 on a last second season defining TD drive by Culter. But, i just cant. I think it will be a close game but Brady in the 4th quarter will hurt the bears and they will fall. Pats 27, Bears 24.

Impressed yet, Bears' Fans?

Count me in the impressed column. I'm not sure I have words to describe how impressed I am by the bears play yesterday. Although the game ended with the bears only winning by 5, the game really wasnt close in the 2nd half. Here's some thoughts and ramblings on the game.

The Good

1. JAY CUTLER. Well, he threw 4 tds. No picks or turnovers. and only had 1 "what the shit are you doing" pass. Plus he continued to move well in and out of the pocket and avoid the rush when possible. And i will count his great little shovel pass to Matt Forte, but only because it worked. This is probably the best game Jay has played as a bear really. He was 8 of 10 against the Eagles blitz and was so effective that they just stopped blitzing. Also, he hit his WRs in stride and made throws that only he is capable of making. Basically, he was a Franchise QB.

2. Matt "Big Play" Forte. Doesn't it just look like every hand off to Forte that he might break it for 20+ yards? Or is it just me being a homer cause he is on my fantasy team? Either way, Forte had a great game. He broke big runs and had over 100 yds against an Eagle defense that had not allowed a 100 yd rusher. If the bears continue to be able to run the ball, we see how the passing game opens up and the points get on the board.

3. Defensive Line. Give these guys the game ball. Vick is one of the best athletes in the NFL and was contained and harassed by the DL all day. The best sacked him 4 times on the day and had numerous more hits on Vick. Peppers had a great game and did anyone really think Idonije could be this good? He was almost unblockable yesterday. These guys won the game for the bears and made the defensive game plan of dropping into coverage possible.

The Bad

1. Chester Taylor - Maybe i'm being nit picky here but Chester hasnt looked good the last 2 games. He has 7 yards on 17 carries in the last 2 games and had -3 yards yesterday. Chester is still reliable in the passing game and a good blocker but I was expecting more explosion from him. He is more of a cut back runner than Forte and behind this line it may be hard to find daylight anywhere else than the designed hole. I know he is just the backup but the bears billed him as helping to create a 2 headed monster in the backfield. That just isnt the case right now.

2. Kick coverage. I could have picked Brandon Manumaleuna trying to juke a defensive back instead of just running over him (you're 300 lbs for pete's sake) or the offensive line completely blowing blitzes on a couple of plays. But, I was very disappointed in the special teams coverage. I know that the eagles have a good return team but the bears still gave up too many large returns and it hurt field position. Plus there was a penalty on a kickoff return which negated a big Danieal Manning return.

The Stunning

8-3. Thats the bears record and represents a tie for the 2nd best record in the NFC with the saints. The bears have beaten the eagles and packers who are right behind them in the NFC with 7-4 records. The bears have to be in the conversation for who is the best team in the NFC and have a legit shot at not only winning the division but also getting home field advantage in the playoffs. No one would have predicted this and lets just hope it keeps getting better. Up next week - the Lions.

Bears v. Vikes - Game that defines a year?

Bear-Vikings -- where fans root for their teams to win and also root for their teams to fire the coaches. - Sam Rosen, chicago tribune, 11/10/10

I couldnt put this game in any better words. But all joking aside this game is could be season determining for both teams. As of right now the bears are 2-0 within the division and if they win 3-0 would give them the upper hand on winning the division. The vikes are 3-5 overall and 1-1 in the division and if they lose to the bears you can almost write them off in the division and for any chance at a wildcard because you are gonna have to go atleast 9-7 to get a wildcard berth. So, lets everyone get excited for this game.

Key Matchups

1. Kruetz v. Williams Mountains - Every bears fan know that the Williams DTs kill the bears. The questions is can the bears block them well enough to have some semblance of the running game and to give Culter a pocket to step up into? It will be up to Kruetz and the guards to take care of these guys and drive this offense.

2. Favre v. Tillman & Jennings - The bears have been playing a lot of cover 2 and zone this year because they have had the opponents in 3rd and longs a ton. The zone is good because it lets the defensive players play an area and keep looking into the backfield. This lets the defense see where the ball is going and drive on the play. However, this weekend the king of the pump fake, Favre is in the backfield. The bears have to play disciplined coverage and not try to jump every route or pump fake which is hard for a defense that is so focused on getting turnovers. Otherwise, they could be beat deep a lot.

3. Adrian Peterson's hands - The bears have caused 8 fumbles on defense this year. Peterson has fumbled zero times this year. He has however fumbled 3 times in the last 2 games versus the bears. If the bears can get the ball to pop out, they should win the turnover battle and then likely the game.

Keys for the Bears

1. Unleash Jay. Yep, this is exactly what I have pretty much have been adovacating the past couple of weeks. But realistically, the bears dont have a good running game and its incredibly hard to run against the vikes. But, they can be had in the pass game. Some playaction and deep balls should available for the bears. I say this is the week to really see if Martz's offense can work. It may be a gamble but realistically the bears are going to need an explosive offense in the 2nd half to make the playoffs.

2. Contain AP. I'm not sure you can really stop the "Purple Jesus" as some call him. But you can make him work hard and contain him. He has historically had big games against the bears but if you keep him to 4 yds per carry and no big runs, it should be considered a win for the bears defense.

3. Maximize your weapons. Its simple on offense. Put your guys in the position to do what they do best. That means look for Greg Olsen to stretch the defense down the seam and in the redzone. Throw a couple deep balls to Johnny Knox to loosen up the defense and see if he can break one. Get Hester the ball out in space and see if he can run past people. And use Forte and Taylor out of the backfield to create mismatches. By now, Martz should have figured out what his guys to best and now he needs to show us he can use them in that way.

Hero for the Day

I could be a total homer and pick Matt Forte cause I just traded for him in my fantasy league but instead I will say Greg Olsen. I think he got back on track last week and I look for at least 1 td and a couple deep balls down the middle to him. Time for him to show that he can be an impact TE in this league.

Prediction

I think this will be too close for comfort at halftime with the bears possibly even losing. The vikes know they have to win this game and they will come out swinging. But, i think the bears are the better TEAM right now and will come out ahead.

Bears 24, Vikes 21

Week 9 Bears Review

The bears beat the bills. It wasnt an exciting game. It was close the whole way and the bears managed to pull it out in the end. However, there were some very encouraging signs from the bears. Sidenote: Lovie's teams still arent noticeable better coming off a bye.

The Good:

1. The offensive line - Yep, this is probably the first time of the season the O-line was a positive. Look this group will never be great. Heck, they might not even be good but they can become a serviceable or average offensive line. Thats pretty much what they were which was a huge improvement from what they have been. They only let up 1 sack and wore down the bills defense in the 2nd half. Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come.

2. Jay Cutler's feet. Cutler had a great day of movement. Not just his scrambling ability on which he picked up 2 first downs was impressive but the way he moved around in the pocket. He rolled both ways and moved in the pocket effectively to avoid pressure. He looked like a quarterback who was comfortable in the pocket and in the offense.

3. Tim Jennings. I'm not sure enough can be said about his play at corner this year. Not only did he make a great inception but the guy constantly sticks his nose in run support and did pretty well in coverage. He gets his hands in on a lot of throws and likes to hit guys. About all you can ask for in a corner in Lovie's defense.

The Bad

1. As good as Jennings has been this year, (and it pains me to say this) Peanut Tillman has been almost as bad. I love Peanut and he has a unique ability to punch the ball out (most forced fumbles in the in last decade) but he probably shouldnt be a starting corner. He has lost a step and Bills WR Steve Johnson had a career day mostly matched up against Tillman. I'm not sure the bears have a better option at corner with zack bowman injured but I think very soon Tillman should be moved to free safety or nickelback to make this defense better.

2. The DTs. One of my keys to this game was Peppers so I specifically watched the D-line most of the game. Peppers and Idonije were being chipped or double teamed most of the game which would have left the bears DTs 1 on 1 against O-linemen. Sadly, the DTs didnt make many plays and got almost no pressure up the middle. They have been stout against the run but they havent gotten penetration either in the run or pass game. Tommie Harris is a ghost of DT and Adams and Toeneia are solid players but with Harrison not dressing there isnt a whole lot of talent at DT and it shows.

The Encouraging:

1. Martz, I want to shake your hand cause that was a great game plan. You ran the ball 25 times and called passing plays that allowed your QB to make quick decisions. You also called roll outs and got the ball to your best playmakers. Olsen was targeted 8 times and caught a TD. Taylor was used near the goalline and ran one in. I hope this type of game planning continues because in the weather of december at soldier's field this will win us games.

2. Earl Bennett. For me, there is no question who the bears's best WR is. Mr. Bennett. He runs good routes, is always wear he needs to be (runs past the first down marker on 3rd down) and catches everything. He keeps improving and is the type of WR that Martz's offense needs. Look for better and better things from Earl.

Week 9: Bears, please dont ruin my sunday

Sunday the bears play the only winless team in the NFL. The bills arent good but they have taken their last two opponents into overtime. The bears are coming off a bye and should be over prepared for the Bills. Here's what to look for:

Matchups:

1. Forte v. Bills - The bills have the worst rush defense in the league. I'm praying that Martz used the 2 off weeks to realize this and rams the ball down their throat. If Forte and Taylor dont have a combined 25+ rushes this week, then Martz is dumber than we thought and something has gone terribly wrong with the game.

2. The Harvard Grad v. Bears' safeties. Ryan Fitzpatrick, the bills QB went to Harvard. This probably makes him smarter than Chris Harris & Danieal Manning combined. Their passing game has been on fire and they have a couple of deep threats in Johnson & Evans. If Fitzpatrick can figure out want the bears safeties will be doing pre-snap, the pass defense could be in big trouble.

3. Dynamic Return Men. The bills have Roscoe Parrish and the bears have Hester and Manning. All of these guys are threats to take it to the house whenever they touch the ball on returns. One of them will have a big return impacting the outcome of the game. Lets hope its a bear.

Keys for the Bears:

1. Run the ball. I would Lovie had to go to Martz in the bye week and say that this team is better when it runs the ball. It helps in all facets of the game. The bears need to have some semblance of balance in play calling to help stop other teams from just strictly rushing the passer. Look for what I would hope that we will see running plays called atleast 45% of the offensive snaps on sunday.

2. Julius Peppers, get on the board. Pepper has been good but he last had a sack in week 4. That was 3 games ago. The bears didnt pay him as the highest paid DE in the game to be good. He has to great and get sacks!! Put the QB on his ass, i dont care if he is getting triple teamed.

3. Win the turnover battle. No, I swear I havent been taking cues from Lovie. But the bills only have 1 interception on the year and their offense is prone to being careless with the ball. The bears should be able to force turnovers and hold on to the ball and win this battle in a big way.

Hero of the Day: Matt Forte

Call me crazy but I really do believe the bears are gonna come out running the ball. I think this can be a huge game for Forte much like the Carolina game. I expect atleast 100 yds and a TD. The better he is the more pressure it takes off Culter and the offensive line.

Prediction: Bears 24, Bills 17.

This is tighter game than I wanted to predict or than I have seen experts picking but I have watched parts of the Bills game the last 2 weeks and their offense has really impressed me. I think this is a more dangerous game than people are giving it credit and I think it will be a tight one until the bears can finally wear away the Bills defense in the 4th quarter. Bill Brumett, your favorite team is going down.

Where do we go from here??

Well bears fans we have reached the bears bye week and I'm pretty sure we are all more confused about this team than we were before the season. This will be a season-so-far recap mostly because if i just talked about yesterday's game there will be too much swearing. A few words about yesterday's game. Classic bears. Defense good. Offense pissed away the game. The game left me wondering if this team really does have a chance to make the playoffs and if I might be partially rooting for the bears to lose in order to get rid of Lovie. But here is a look at the season so far:

Encouraging:

1. Defensive turnovers. The defense as a whole has been impressive and pretty much as good as advertised. They have keep the bears in every game and they are creating turnovers like the '06 bears. No one is better than Peanut Tillman at punching the ball out and the pressure created by Peppers and Co. have forced errant throws and made it hard for the quarter to identify the coverage. Urlacher and Briggs are still at the top of their games and the defense is getting valuable contributions from Idonje, Jennings, and Chris Harris. Perhaps the 2 most impressive things have been the bears ability to mask coverages and therefore confuse opposing offenses. (Lovie's defense has never been big into disguising what they are doing). Danieal Manning has been very surprising with his safety play. He has played great in run support and his coverage has been so good on TEs that none so far have had a good day against the Bears.

2. Matt Forte and Chester Taylor. I know the bears dont run the ball much (see below) but this combo of backs has really impressed me with their versatility and consistency. They make people miss and are great runners after getting the ball in their hands. In my estimation, these 2 guys are the best play makers on the offense and need to touch the ball more either on running or passing plays. I would like to see these 2 get 30+ touches combined a game as we saw in the Carolina game and the Bears will win those games.

Discouraging:

1. O-Line. I understand they have not started the same O-line in more than 2 games but that is not an excuse. These guys are paid professionals and are just getting beat on a consist basis. There really arent encouraging signs for this group because it is mostly low draft picks/free agents without much potential. They have been unable to communicate more than getting beat 1 on 1. I would say half the sacks so far are attributable to miscommunication or lack of communication in pass protection which is really only shooting yourself in the foot. This communication has to be fixed right away because this line is gonna get beat some based on their talent level. This line will never be good. It can maybe an average offensive line but it has a long way to even reach that. Prayers are welcome to try and improve this.

2. Jay Culter & his WRs. I said in my season preview that Martz's offense depends heavily on the QB & WRs being on the same page. Well from their play Culter and the WRs might have been given different playbooks. I know Martz's offense is very complicated and has like a million plays but these guys are professionals and need to sort this out. The 4 picks yesterday half were the WRs fault and half were Culter's. Cutler has played alright this year minus yesterday's game considering every time he drops back he has to believe that his head has a chance of being removed from his shoulders. Culter can play better and the WRs have to play better and make the tough catches that make their QB look good. *Sidenote: I think Earl Bennett has been the only WR that has performed better than expected. He seems to get the offense and runs very precise routes and has great hands.

3. Coaching................or lack there of. This isnt just Lovie that I'm talking about. This falls on every coach on the team especially the offensive coaches. Jerry Angelo and Lovie Smith have said many times that they have the talent needed to win on this roster. But there are some major problems that are lacking with this roster. Either Lovie & Angelo are full of it (entirely possible) or the bears' coaches arent coaching up or getting the best out of the players. Martz has refused to compromise his system to the talent he has on this roster. His offense is running the ball 36% of the time (if you exclude the Carolina game). His offense is not scoring either. Once they get inside the 30, they have shown an inability to put the ball in the endzone. Shouldn't the genius that we were all told Martz was be able to dream up plays to score? Mike Tice's offensive line is a mess. Darell Drake's WRs are running the wrong routes and dropping passes. And Lovie is letting Martz run the offense totally on his own and now looks like a tool because he doesnt know what is going on on that side of the ball. Plus, Lovie is a bad in game coach. He makes terrible challenges (see this week) and is terrible, terrible at managing the clock.

Where now?

I dont know where this team goes now. I think they have the talent to compete and win this division but not the coaches or the system. In an earlier post, I said that if the bears could go into the bye week 5-2 they will be likely to win the division. Now, at 4-3, their record is the same as the packers and their schedule is incredibly tough the 2nd half of the season. Unless there are great giant steps made over this bye week, the bears are staring directly at a .500 record and being left out of the playoffs for the 4th straight year.

And the only undeated team in the NFC is...

Da Bears. I have sat here all day trying to mull over what exactly last night's win over green bay means besides that the bears are only 1 of 3 teams left unbeaten in the NFL. Does this mean that I believe they have the best team in the NFC or top 5 in the NFL? Nope sorry even my homerism cant go that far. Do I believe this team is the best in the division? Nope, sorry. I still think green bay is a better team. Does this win set up the bears to control the NFC north the rest of the season? You bet it does and I now believe the bears will make the playoffs. But, I am still not quite sure of what to think of this team and how to project it. A look at the upcoming schedule though does make me think that the bears will be atleast 6-2 by week 9 (bears have a bye in there). Which wow that exceeds even what i thought were lofty preseason predictions. As for last night's game, here is what I saw:

The Good:

1. Hello, Devin Hester! Yep he is back. Everyone was starting to wonder if he had lost his return ability and he pretty much won the bears that game. Not only because he took one to the house but because of his 28 yard return (on which he got tackled by the punter, the punter!!) before the half set up the bears offense for a TD. If he can be a game breaker on punt returns again, this team can be very very good.

2. Crash test dummy Jay. I cant say enough about how impressed I have been with Jay Cutler this year. The guy gets killed back there every week and not only am I impressed that he pops back up but you never see him yell at an offensive lineman. I mean I have to think he wakes up after every game black and blue from head to toe but you dont even see him react to missed blocks or assignments this year. Plus, his althetic ability is just off the charts and how bout him faking that packers defender out on the scramble and gaining an extra 5 yards. Wow what a difference a year makes.

3. Stars on defense. Urlacher and Briggs look fantastic and better than ever. Not only are they back there wacking guys across the middle and pursuing to the ball but they are penetrating the line of scrimmage and making plays behind the line. Can't say enough about their play this year. And Julius Peppers is awesome. I know he only has 1 sack so far but his presence disrupts the entire offensive line. The MNF guys said a lot about this last night but what is even more impressive is watching Peppers' first step because he is so quick and big that most of the time he is almost already around the tackle with that first step.

The Bad:

1. A run game please. Look i know the bears are moving the ball on offense and Cutler has looked great but please for the love of god Mike Martz discover some sort of run game. I would be happy with 80 yards a game and it doesnt count if your QB has 37 yards in a game as Cutler did last night. I'm not sure the bears havent just changed Forte and Taylor's listed positions to WRs. To have a great passing game is good but the bears will need to have some sort of semblance of a running game to beat teams in the playoffs. Plus, with no running game, it kills the bears on time of possession, wearing down your defense. Last night - Packers 35:49 Bears 24:11.

2. 1 sack is all im asking for. Yes, Peppers had a good game but at the end of the day. Rodgers threw the ball 45 times and not once did the bears pull him down. Someone, anyone on the defensive line has to step up and be better pass rushers. I have liked what i have seen out of Henry Melton so far but he hasn't been on the field all that much. I mean come on, 45 times and no sacks are the bears counting to 5 banana before they start rushing? Pressure and maybe a sack is all im asking for.

3. Long drives. As stated above, the bears got killed in time of possession and it really wears on your defense, even a defense that rotates as many players as the bears. While partially the offenses' fault for not holding on to the ball longer, it is still up to the defense to stop the opponent's offense and while the bears didnt give up a lot of points, they gave up very long and sustained drives to the packers. I understand the defensive philosophy of bend but dont break (which I'm pretty sure, I and every other bears fan hates) but the defense still has to make plays to get off the field.

The Ugly:

They won, shouldn't this section be "the splendid"? Nope sorry folks, I saw 2 things that must be changed right away or I dont think this team can make the playoffs.

#1 = goal line offense. 2 out of 3 weeks in a row the bears have failed to put the ball in the endzone from a yard away. I dont know what the bears' percentage inside the redzone is this season but i know they look bad inside it. When Martz cant spread the field with multiple WRs, the bears seem to have no idea how to put the ball in the endzone and without a running game they cant power it in. They need to figure this out quickly!

#2 - Lovie is an idiot. First off, he is stupid for challenging whether bennett was in the endzone because everyone watching that live and the replay knew that a packer had touched bennett before he rolled into the endzone. Not only did Lovie lose a timeout in the 2nd half of a tight game but he lost the ability to challenge anymore calls the rest of the game before the 3rd quarter was done. Now, what if the refs' had ruled that the fumble recovered by jennings had gone out of bounds. Guess what the bears where out of challenges and it would have been packers ball and probably a very different result of the game. But most importantly, why does Lovie refuse to take the points??? The bears again went for it on 4th down at the 1 and failed to get the TD. Yes, with a good throw they do score but they didnt score. Plus, Lovie in case you havent been watching the games your team can run the ball in short yardage and they arent that good at scoring TDs, why dont you take the points??? I just cant understand how you dont take the points to tie a game in the 2nd half. Lovie, its gonna cost you one of these games and being lucky over good will only get you so far in the NFL.

Hello, D.J. Moore!

I had to let the bears victory over the cowboys sink in for a while before i wrote this, otherwise it would have been to homerific and optimistic. The Bears won in impressive fashion against the Cowboys yesterday there is no doubt. The real question is how good is this bears team and we should get an indication on next Monday versus the Packers in Soldier Field. Either way the bears have started better than pretty much everyone (including myself) expected them to.

The Good:

- Jay Culter. A couple more games like the first 2 and we will be talking about Culter not just being in the pro bowl but starting it. Honestly, Im not sure Jay could have been more impressive than he was in this game. He made the right reads, he was spot on accurate and he took some nasty hits but got right back up. He looks like the franchise quarterback that everyone has hoped he will be.

- DBs. The bears gave up a lot of passing yards but that show how impressive Zach Bowman, Peanut Tillman and the rest of the crew were in the secondary. When a team throws 51 times you are gonna give up some yards. But DJ Moore had 2 picks and Tillman punched another fumble and this team is all about turnovers. But more so than just turnovers, the cowboys didnt get big plays. Romo checked the ball down a lot and the bears DBs played good coverage so there was no opportunity for good plays.

- Frank Omiyale. I dont particular like the player that "Ole" Omiyale has been with the bears. But he had a spectacular game on sunday. He switched over to the left tackle after Williams went down and he played very well. His play was a big reason why the line settled down after the first 2 series.

The Bad:

- No run game. To be a good team, the bears are gonna have to figure out how to run the ball. They averaged below 3 yards per carry yesterday and that is just not acceptable. I'll give Martz credit, he stuck with the run but he needs to come up with a way of the bears being more effective on the ground.

- The OL's start. After the first 2 series, I was almost hoping they would pull Cutler because he literally was gonna get killed. But to the O-line's credit, they somehow pulled together and had a decent game. They still couldnt block DeMarcus Ware but no one really can. Still I'm sure Jay is waking up today black and blue.

- No sacks. I dont need 12 sacks a game but i would like consistent pressure. Besides Peppers, who was basically double teamed every play, the bears didnt get a lot of pressure on Romo. Toenia and Melton gave some noticeable pass rush push but almost everyone else on the D-line had a subpar game. Tommie Harris may be healthy but he isnt the tommie harris that went to 3 straight pro-bowls anymore. The bears still need to find more consistent pash rush.

The Splendid: Devin Hester and your WRs. They were great all day and made big plays and the right adjustments. Not only did Cutler have maybe his best game as a bear but the WRs might have had their best day as group. This is a dangerous group and I think they can only get better and you will be seeing more run after the catch from this group as defenses become more frighten of getting beat over the top. And how bout that Hester 1-handed TD grab!

Week 2 v. the team america hates

Alright so i dont know if America hates the cowboys. But, they should and I sure do. They are right behind the Packers and Vikings on my hate scale. The Cowboys are coming off a pretty embarrassing loss to the Redskins. They were heavy favorites in the game and their supposedly high power offense did nothing and looked terrible doing it. They might have more questions on the offensive line then the bears do. So, here are the matchups to watch, the keys to the bears success and my hero of the day.

Matchups:

1. Chris Williams v. DeMarcus Ware. All Ware has done is record 11+ sacks in the past 4 years including 20 in '08. All Chris Williams has done is look like shit all preseason and in the first game when going against good pass rushers. No team can block Ware 1 on 1 and hope their QB lives through the game. The bears will double team, cut block and chip with backs and TEs all day but occasionally Ware will be 1 on 1 with Williams. Can Williams do enough to not get Cutler killed?

2. Tommie Harris & Anthony Adams v. the guards of the Cowboys. There is no question that Peppers will provide pressure from the outside he. He is that good that you can count on it every game. But will the huge man that is Leonard Davis, listed at 370, and the rest of the Cowboys huge interior line consume the bears' DTs? If the bears cant get penetration up the middle then the cowboys will run all over the place and with their dynamic passing attack be pretty much unstoppable for the bears D.

3. Devin Hester v. Terrence Newman. This isn't because hester has gotten so much attention this week for only catching 1 catch last week. Its because it seems that other teams deem Hester the bears #1 WR and put their best corner on him. The cowboys bring a lot of pressure and a lot of blitzing with their front 7 so Newman is constantly left 1 on 1 with the other teams top WR. If Hester can beat Newman a couple of times in the game, it will make the cowboys dial down the blitzes and give Cutler more time.

Keys for the Bears:

1. Get off the bus running. The bears ran the ball 31 times last week but only for a 3.3 yd avg. That needs to improve and they need to be able to pick up chucks of yardage on the ground against the 'boys. It will prevent hits on cutler and it will slow down the pass rush. The line must figure out how to run block against a 3-4 defense.

2. Contain Jason Witten. There was no question that last year the bears were vulnerable down the middle and to good TEs. Witten is about as good as they come at TE and he is questioned Romo's favorite target. Urlacher, Briggs and the safeties must locate Witten and not allow him to pick up big chunks of yardage down the middle of the field. Nothing is more disheartening to a defense.

3. Special teams be "special". For years the bears have had one of the best special teams units in the NFL but in week 1, they looked average. I think for the bears to win this game the special teams must come up with a big, momentum changing play, be it a long return or kick block or forced fumble. This is one area where the bears probably have more talent than the cowboys and it needs to show up.

Hero of the day: Johnny Knox. As i said above the cowboys bring a lot of guys on the blitz and leave their corners 1 on 1 with WRs. Knox and Cutler should have a few shots at deep balls in man coverage and Knox can out run any of the 'boys secondary. Look for a big shot over the defense's head and for Knox dancing in the endzone if Cutler can recognize the coverage/blitz and have time to put it up.

Final Score: I think this will be a very close game. A lot closer than the nine points that the cowboys are favored by. In the end, i think it will come down to a score in the 4th quarter to pull ahead and i have no idea which team that will be. I'll take the cowboys just because i think they have too much talent on the offensive side of the ball even though they didnt show it last week.

Cowboys 24, Bears 21

It sure doesn't feel like a win...

but it counts as one. Bottom line is that the bears are 1-0. The lions lost the game on technicality which i dont agree with but I and the bears will take the W. Now my general impressions of the game was mostly positive for the bears.

The Good: The offense looked good/better than i thought it would. They moved the ball on the Lions and racked up a ton of yards. The offense looked to be in sync and I was impressed with Martz's play calling. It was as good as advertised.

- Jay Culter was very good in yesterday's game. Yes, he threw an inception and had a fumble but he was poised in the pocket after he got hit a lot. He even threw the ball away a couple of times where his WRs were covered after forcing the ball on his inception. He even took a couple of sacks in those situations where last year he would have chucked it up. This is the type of improvement that I think every bears' fan has been looking for from Jay. Plus he threw for 370+ yards. I would give him a B+ for the game.

- Brian Urlacher & the defense - Urlacher looked like the guy that won a Defensive Player of year award. He was everywhere and huge on sunday. He looked faster and hitter harder than I have seen him since 2007. There was no question that his presence on defense made a huge difference. The line keep the O-line off of him and he flew through the gaps and made big impact plays. The defense as a whole was very impressive. Not just because they held the Lions to 1 first down until the last drive in the 2nd half. But because they pretty much shut down Calvin Johnson who is ridiculously good and they held the lions to 20 yds rushing. They had pressure on the QB and Peppers knocked out Stafford. They made plays and created turnovers and only allowed the Lions to convert on 29% of their 3rd downs. We never saw the defense look this good last year. It gives me hope for the rest of the season.

The Bad: Turnovers - The bears turned the ball over 4 times and twice in the red zone. It cost the bears what should have been a blowout. Also, the only points that the Lions scored happened right after a bears turnover. Most games you cant turn the ball over 4 times and win. Forte had 2 fumbles in what was an otherwise spectacular game. Greg Olson also had a fumble and I swear I feel like he is gonna fumble every time he gets hit. The bears must protect the ball better next week to win and as a result put more points on the board.

- Run blocking - Did the bears run block? I'm not sure there was a hole for Forte or Taylor had to run through. The line did alright pass blocking too but they only averaged 3.3 yds per carry. Maybe the Lions' defensive front is that good this season with Suh and company. And did i mention they couldn't pound in the ball from the 1 in 3 tries. The run blocking needs to improve a lot.

- Devin Hester - Was Devin even on the field with the offense? On a day which Culter threw for 372 yds, Hester caught 1 pass for 7 yards. Either Devin did something to piss Culter off or he just wasnt able to get open against a Lions' secondary that was burned by all the other bears. Hester has too much break away ability to only touch the ball once a game on offense. Martz & company need to remedy this for next week v. Dallas.

The Ugly: I think Lovie is a fucking moron for not kicking the FG to go ahead in the game and his explanation after the game was even more idiotic. If your justification is that your defense has been stopping the Lions the whole game then how you do you not take the lead and then let your defense stop them??? Just a stupid decision.

Also, Lovie's bears with the lead have always gone into what i like to call their "shell" defense which is really a cover 3 or quarters pass defense and it drives me insane. Here the bears had been killing the Lions all afternoon by only allowing them 1 first down the entire 2nd half but instead of keeping your aggressive defensive style, they drop into passive coverage and allow the Lions to dink & dunk their way down the field. It kills me and they do it all the time and it should have cost them the game. I will never understand it and they do it every time they have the lead and the other team is forced into passing drive to try and win it. It is just so stupid to all of a sudden change the type of defense you have been playing all game!

The bears played better than I thought they would and except for their own mistakes, they would have won this game by a lot more. I happy to say it was a good first game and I look for more improvement next week.

Bears Season Preview

Honestly, this could be an 8 page post but I will struggle to keep it brief as possible. I will go on the record right now and say I'm not a big Lovie fan and didn't agree with the hire of Martz. With that said, every sunday I go into the game thinking that they will win. It's gonna be a very interesting season that I know for sure with a ton of ups and downs.

Offense

QB - We all know that Lovie is full of it when he says that "this team still gets off the bus running". The offense of Martz's has always depended on the QB and this team will depend on Cutler's right arm. Cutler has all the talent in the world and we can only hope that he will turn it around in his 2nd year in the bears' uni. He will throw a boat load of interceptions there is no doubt but he should be up in the 30s in TDs and should average 270+ yards per game. This team will lean on Jay and he has to step up and respond. This season has the chance to propel him into the elite tier of NFL QBs. As for the backups, Cutler has been as durable and if the Bears see Todd Collins or Caleb Hanie on the field for more than 1 game then you can kiss this season and Lovie's job goodbye.

RBs - So, the last time Chestor Taylor went to a team to split carries with a back, the back turned into the machine known as Adrian Peterson. Could this be a repeat theme with Matt Forte? I certainly hope so (othewise, i wasted money on that Forte jersey!). Seriously, though both Forte and Taylor are exactly the type of RBs needed for Martz's offense. They are both great in space and have good hands. Martz will run the ball probably because Lovie has told him he has to and so that Cutler wont get hit every play. I dont think either back will get 1000 yds rushing but the bears running attack should be vastly improved just because of a healthy Forte and because draws will work when you throw 70% of the time. Also, look for Martz to really use Forte and Taylor in the passing game to offset some of the lack of running. Screens, designed swing passes and deep routes for the RBs are frequent in the Martz offense and fit nicely with the bears' backs skill set. Bell and Wolfe provide some nice depth but really should factor into this season besides maybe on special teams.

WRs - I'm not sure if this Martz offense makes WRs look good or vice-a-versa. But either way Martz's WRs have a history of having big years. Now, this is the position that I really think will make or break the bears offense. The bears have talent at the position with Knox, Aromashadu, Hester, and Bennett. The question is can they be on the same page as Cutler because this offense is all about timing with them running their route precisely and not allowing the defense to disrupt their timing. If the WRs are not on the same page as Jay and off with their routes, this offense wont be as successful as we have seen in the past and hope it will be this year.

O-line: I'm not gonna beat a dead horse here. The line needs to be better than it was in preseason. I think Lance Louis and Frank Oh-my-god wouldnt start for a lot of NFL teams but that is who the bears are stuck with and we must hope the line can work as a unit together. I dont think they will ever be a great O-line and maybe not even a good O-line but they can be an average O-line which would be enough for the bears to win quite a few games. Under Martz historically QBs get sacked around 2-3 times per game. (yes this stat includes his time with the rams). So, we know Cutler is gonna get hit and sacked. The biggest question is can this line run block and can Jay have enough confidence to stand in the pocket and not get happy feet? I have no idea to the anwers but i hope yes.

Defense - They arent the monsters of the midway anymore and they wont regain the title either. But they have enough talent to be a top -10 defense in the league.

D-line: Peppers is a stud and should get 10+ sacks. Tommie Harris looks to be somewhat healthy and can maybe play the whole season without getting hurt. But now in the NFL, you have to have atleast 3 good pass rushers on the team and i dont whether/if the bears can find the 3rd one. I have given up on Mark Anderson, Idonije will be solid player but nothing special, and Anthony Adams is a solid middle filler but not a pass rusher. The bears must hope that Henry Melton, Marcus Harrison, Matt Toenia or Corey Wotten can take a huge step forward and provide the pass rush that is needed in the NFL today. The bears have always stopped the run when healthy and it will be more of the same this year. Its really all about getting to the QB.

LBs: There is no question that this is the most talented position on the bears and when healthy they have 3 potential pro bowl LBs in briggs, urlacher, and tinoisamoa. The questions are two-fold. 1 - Can they stay healthy? 2 - Can they just be allowed to play LB? #1 is kind of out of anyone's control and we just have to hope for the best. But what i mean by #2 is that the bears LBs are not at their best when they are blitzing or having to take on OL men and shedding the blockers. The bears LBs and specifically Urlacher and Briggs are best when they can see the play and attack the play with their speed. Their ability all comes down the Dline really. If the Dline is able to absorb/engage the offensive line then the LBs can roam and attack the ball. (why Urlacher had his best years with people eaters like Ted Washington and Keith Traylor on the Dline). Also, the LBs are pass rushers and their strength isn't blitzing either. If the D-line can get get pressure then the LBs should be allowed to roam and we should see atleast 2 pro bowlers from this group.

DBs: This is the bears thinist position talent wise. Bowman on the corner could be a very good player and Peanut Tillman will be solid although not great in man to man coverage. After that the bears have no depth at CB. If bowman or peanut have to miss significant time, it will get ugly. The bears have to hope that an improved pass rush will take some pressure off the CBs. At safety, the bears are unsettled. To start the year, Chris Harris will start at Free safety a position that he doesnt have the speed to play and Danieal Manning will start at Strong safety. I think sooner than later you will see Major Wright start at Free and move Harris to strong where he can be alright player. Manning has all the talent in the world but cant seem to put it to good use. The overall point of the bears DBs is that there isnt a play maker among them. Unless Bowman or Wright emerge as playmakers, this secondary is at best average and the defense will need the front seven to be good to great to cover up the secondary.

Special teams: The bears have had one of the top special teams units in the NFL for years and that shouldnt change this year. Robbie Gould is automatic and Brad Maynard is skilled at directionly punting which the bears value over leg stregnth. Hester, Manning and Knox will all be returning punts and kicks and i would look for 2+ TDs from them combined this year and pray that Devin can regain his 2006/7 form.

The Schedule: The bears schedule goes in waves with incredibly hard stretches followed by easy games. After much agonizing, here's what i think will happen this season.

Week 1 - Lions at home -- W (34-21 The lions are better but still not good)

Week 2 - at Cowboys -- L (The cowboys have too much talent and too good of pass rush)

Week 3 - Packers at home -- L (The pack is the class of the division and sadly they will win big)

Week 4 - at Giants -- L (Same as the coboys, too much talent and too much pass rush)

Week 5 - at Panthers -- W (Bears shut down the run & run all over the panthers, plus revenge game for peppers)

Week 6 - Seahawks at home -- W (Seahawks are terrible)

Week 7 - Redskins at home -- W (McNabb will be hurt by then)

Week 8 - bye

Week 9- Bills in toronto -- W (Bills are like a triple AAA football team)

Week 10- Vikings at home -- W (They have split with the viking 7 out of the 11 seasons)

Week 11 - at Dolphins -- L (Their defense will disrupt Culter & the passing game)

Week 12 - Eagles at home -- W (Kolb will have many bumps along the road including this game)

Week 13 - at Lions -- W (The lions still arent good)

Week 14 - Patriots at home -- W (Its not the same Pats team of years past and yep this is a gut call)

Week 15 - at Vikings -- L (I hate that stupid horn they have)

Week 16 - Jets at home -- L (Can the bears get more than 150 yds against the Jets D?)

Week 17 - at Packers -- L (Unless the pack doesnt need this game for playoffs, this will be a L)

Overall Record of 9-7. Yesterday I had them at 8-8 with losing both to the vikings but the vikes looked bad last night and i think the bears can steal one from them. Still they wont be in playoff contention because i think year in the NFC you need to win 10 to get the playoffs and their schedule in december is brutal. We will see flashes from the offense but the defense will be up and down every game. There might be a chance to sneak in the playoffs but the real suspense will be, does 9-7 save Lovie's job?? Let's settle in for a season of ups and downs and it will glue all us bears fans to the TVs every week.

Click-a-Bull (Boozer; Rose; Noah; Melo) + Bears (Cutler) + WhiteSox (Manny)

Big batch of links from yesterday: Click-a-Bull (Team USA; Center Rankings; Rose on Boozer & Noah; Melo; Trophies; Trade Deng?; Noah Improving)

And don't miss D-Rose highlights from Monday morning against Brazil: USA v. Brazil: Derrick Rose Highlights (Reverse Layups!)


-----------------------


One on One with Carlos Boozer

Why the Chicago Bulls? What made you choose them over other teams?

CB:

They had everything in place and have championship DNA. They got a lot of young players like Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Luol Deng and, for me, it was the perfect fit. I was contemplating other teams and also thought of staying in Utah, but I was overwhelmed by Chicago’s professionalism and how bad they wanted to win again, and not just one championship but multiple championships. They want to get back to that, and I’m looking forward to being a part of it.

Fast Breaks: USA-Slovenia

A star is born. A Derrick Rose-shaped star. Watching international opponents chase Rose in the open floor is like watching a Volvo try to keep pace with a Ferrari. With the U.S. defending the three-point line well (Slovenia connected on 20.8 percent of their threes) Rose was a monster in transition, scoring seven points and dishing out five assists, several of which went towards the U.S.' 20 fast break points. In the halfcourt Rose and Russell Westbrook assaulted the rim almost at will; their speed and power with the ball completely overwhelmed Slovenia's guards and their strength enabled them to overpower the big men at the rim.

Bright future keeps Rose cruising along in career

Derrick Rose hasn't hit many speed bumps in a professional career that began as 2008's No. 1 pick. And this summer has been even better.

Chicago's front office flanked Rose with their best team since that statue outside the United Center roamed the United Center. He's finishing up the offseason as a starter for the U.S. team at the FIBA World Championships.

Rose is living right, right now.

The waters were somewhat murkier a year ago.

Sanctions had devastated the University of Memphis, Rose's one-and-done college of choice. And though he was never publicly named in the NCAA findings last August that stripped the Tigers of their magical (at the time) run to the 2008 title game, Rose's reputation and image didn't go unscathed.

He was the focal point of an eligibility mess that dated back to his days as a Chicago high school phenom. Rose didn't address the matter much at the time or since, other than maintain his innocence. University officials at Memphis, including the athletic director, backed Rose.

The NCAA's investigation had dogged Rose for most of his first season, but not enough to derail a Rookie of the Year campaign. Another minor headache arose last June when a photo surfaced from Rose's time at Memphis of him apparently flashing gang signs. Rose quickly apologized, hammering home his "anti-gang, anti-drug, and anti-violence" stance.

Rose navigated through the negative headlines with the same poise and assuredness that splits a backcourt trap. He remained focused on his job, giving critics little else to chew on and foes plenty to worry about. By not completely acknowledging what happened at Memphis, it could be argued that Rose ducked responsibility and essentially got off scot-free.

For Rose, it was about moving forward. The Bulls were his priority, and he took on last season determined to stay on course. An ankle injury that wiped out his preseason didn't derail Rose for long. He took command of the team, earning his first All-Star nod and took his game to a higher plane in the playoffs.

Yahoo: Joakim Noah is cool with just about everything

 


Bulls discussing Melo with Nuggets [as are a variety of others]

Per Jon Rothstein (MSG) twitter:

#Nets look like favorites now but are fighting including lopez...Harris, Favors, and picks are package

#Nuggets would prob. want Kaman and Eric Gordon from #Clippers 4 Melo....that deal would make LAC much worse

#Nuggets discussions w Chicago involves a package of Luol Deng and Taj Gibson

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Jay Cutler & Kristin Cavallari Dating?

There's a rumor going around today that Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler is dating Thigh of the Week alum, Kristin Cavallari. Even if they're not officially "dating", they were reportedly seen making out like crazy at a club in Chicago last night:

Manny unlikely to be the solution

Adding Ramirez is a low-risk move, but the Sox have too many other problems




I wish I could be in Cleveland to see Manny Ramirez's debut in a White Sox uniform and watch his new team struggle to handle his old team, the lowly Indians.

But I watched Monday's game in my basement, where I plan to catch Ramirez's planned debut as well. It really does emulate the "When do the Buckeyes play?" crowd at Progressive Field, seeing as I'm here by myself.

I filed a more optimistic column as the Sox headed into the bottom of the ninth before Bobby Jenks gave up three runs to send the game into extras Monday.

But there's no reason to think this team is just one hitter away from catching the Twins and making noise in October.

Robbie Gould missed 2 FGs??? I dont believe it.

So all day I've been trying to focus on the positives from the bears 3rd preseason game and unfortunately, I have really struggled. The starting offense and defense played into the 3rd quarter and for the most part it was discouraging for a bears fan. The offense looked out of sync and the defense didnt have a strong performance and Robbie Gould really did miss 2 FGs which i still cant believe. So, here's the good and bad/ugly from the game.

Good

1. The bears have a pass rush and its name is Julius Peppers. He made Levi Brown, the cardinals

OT, look like he was playing for the bears offensive line. He was unblockable and as a result, he

made the rest of the bears D-line better. Tommie Harris also appears healthy and was playing with

some of his old explosion. The D-line had a good game and Peppers looks as good as advertised.

2. You cant run on this team. The bears have been excellent at stopping the run and it was no

different in this game. The defensive line was getting penetration and forcing the running back

to shuffle his feet in the backfield killing any of his momentum. I think the bears will be a top 5

defense at stopping the run this year.

3. The bears have 2 good running backs. Both Taylor and Forte have shown good bursts and

elusiveness this preseason. They both can catch and carry the ball and should have big games this

year.

The Ugly

1. #6 - No one looked worse on the field than Jay. Not only was the offense as a whole confused

but Jay looked like a lost rookie out there. (I was gonna say Dan LeFevour, but he had a really good

game). It was the most inaccurate I have seen Cutler be and he tried to force plays that werent

there. In his midgame interview, he even admitted that he "left a lot of opportunities out on the

field". To be brutally honest, it looked like he was afraid in the pocket. He had happy feet, was

never set when he threw a pass, and wouldnt step up into the pocket when he needed to. He got

sacked 4 times and honestly, I put three of them on Cutler. If he played like this in the regular

season, he would have been benched.

2. The timing offense. The only time that the bears were on the same page about they needed to

get this game over fast. From the 1st play when 2 WRs ran to the same spot, the offense was a

clusterfuck. I actually think the line blocked better but still not good. But the offense routinely had

the playclock down under 5 seconds and Martz has always stressed quick offense so something was

wrong. Cutler even said guys were lined up in the wrong spots on multiple plays. Really?!?!? This

was your regular season preview and you have guys lined up in wrong spots on multiple plays!!

They have 14 days to get on the same page or this is gonna be a long miserable season on offense.

3. Injuries will kill the bears. The bears arent a deep team no matter what Lovie says. Briggs went

out with an ankle injury and you saw a completely different defense without him and Urlacher on

the field. The cardinals(derek anderson & matt leinart) coverted over 40% of their 3rd downs on

the defense. League avg last year was 27%. The cardinals checked the ball down and without those

two guys in the middle of the defense with their speed the cardinals WRs ran for most of the 1st downs.

Lovie's defense requires the LBs to be fast and sure tacklers and without them, it just doesnt work.

I'm praying to the injury god already for briggs and urlachers' health.

There is more that i found ugly from this game (Chris Harris, Tim Hightower says your jock is back

on the field where he juked you out of it. The spot of the 2nd time he did it, not the first) but

dont have the heart to keep tearing apart the bears. The bears play this thursday and the starters

wont be in for more than a series or 2. There are some interesting players to watch though like

the battle for the last RB spot between Garrett Wolfe and Khali Bell, Dan Lefevour and the young

D-line man. Look for my bears season preview to come sometime early next week.

What to watch for

So, the bears' 3rd preseason game happens this saturday and the starters are slated to play into the 3rd quarter against the Cardinals. The teams will actually game plan for the other team which they dont do for the first 2 preseason games. This is pretty much the game that best reflects how the team will play in the season so there are some things that we all should be watching for:

1. Can the O-Line block anyone? - This one is pretty easy to see. As Cutler goes, so goes the bears. Can the O-Line bounce back after a bad half against the Raiders?

2. The timing between Cutler and his WRs - As has been said repeated times over the offseason, Martz's offense is all about the timing between the QB and WR's routes. Martz preaches to throw to a spot on the field because the WR should be there which is really hard to cover if the WR is there. The defenses have always tried to disrupt the WRs and QBs by blitzing or jamming the WRs. Are the bears' WRs good enough to run a precise route and get off a cornerback's jam at the line? Can Culter be under control enough to throw to a spot and trust his WRs? Watch and see how much Cutler has to pump and then pull the ball down because some WR isnt in the right spot? Hopefully not a lot.

3. Don't let up D - The last couple of years the bears' defense has let the opponent convert on too many 3 downs. And on a lot of 3rd down and longs. The Raiders carved up the bears on the third down. Many things can be pointed at as the reason for this trend but most importantly its the safeties and pass rush. I have no doubt that Peppers will get consistent pass rush but what will the other linemen do? And are the bears safeties good enough in coverage to play man and let others blitz and not just drop back in zone coverage? Watch and see if the bears can get off the field on 3rd down.

Positions to Watch - The bears dont have a whole of questions at who is gonna start but they do have some interesting questions as to who will contribute behind the starters.

1. The slot WR - I'm interested in seeing what the bears do here because i dont think there is any question that Hester, Aromashodu and Knox are their best 3 WRs. But, they want to have Olsen on the field a lot and people have been praising Rashied Davis' camp and he has gotten quite a few snaps in the preseason. Who is gonna get snaps as the 3rd WR and how many will they be? This will be the first chance we have to see how Martz will juggle all the players?

2. Left side of the D-line - We know that Tommie Harris and Peppers will start on the right side. Now who will join them? Will it be Mark Anderson or Idonije at the other end (im praying for Izzy)? And who will be in the DT rotation? We know that Anthony Adams will play in run situations because he is solid against the run but who will be the nickle and pash rushing DT next to Harris? Harrison, Melton and Toenia all have a shot to win that job and it should be interesting to watch how they all perform this week. If anyone can make an impact, they will guarantee themselves more snaps and more time come the regular season.

3. The safeties - Like I've said before, I dont think the bears can win with Harris starting at free safety and Danieal Manning at strong safety. It looks like the bears safeties are healthy for the most part and maybe we will see someone else step up and take the free safety spot so that Harris can be moved back to strong. Watch to see on the deep throws to the sidelines and see if how quickly a safety gets there to cover and maybe we will have an answer to the bears safety questions.

4. O-line - Not sure, I need to say much here. They just need to block better because I'm not sure the bears realistically have any other options for players to start on the roster. They must just get better as a unit. Pray for this!

Enjoy the closest thing to real Bears football until September 12th.

Bears Preseason Game 1 Review

Hello to all the readers out there of BBS. Im glad I have been asked to contribute and bring thoughts about my favorite chicago team Da Bears. I'll also be posting with some random blackhawks thoughts and maybe if i can get away with it, cubs thoughts. I hope you all you readers enjoy or it pisses you off so much that you comment. Anyway, without further ado, here goes my first post......

I have a been a bears fan from birth and i am one of probably only 5 fans who enjoy watching pre-season games. I enjoy it because you get to see the team really come together and to get a chance to watch some of the young guys on your team play and see if they can be play makers down the line. So, yes i watched all of the bears 1st preseason game. Here are some random impressions from the first game:

Encouraging

1. Culter and most of the skill position players on offense didnt play more than 1 drive but in that drive they moved the ball down field for a FG. They all seemed to be on the same page and they got to the line of scrimmage quickly and there was no confusion as to the plays. With Martz's new highly complex offense this is more than i would have hoped for. For such a small sample size, it has the bears' offense trending upward.

2. The WRs - All offseason Martz has been saying that the Bears have maybe the most talented group of WRs he has ever had. I may start believing him after saturday night. Johnny Knox looked pretty much uncoverable with 2 catches for 51 yards and Devin Aromashodu looked to picked up where he left off at the end of last season and he wasnt even playing with the #1 offense. I dont think there will be any question that Knox will emerge as the bears #1 WR this year.

3. Major Wright - The kid can play. He made 7 tackles and was consistently around the ball and play. The fact that he was says some not great things about the defensive performance (not good to have the ball get to your safety/last line of defense) but he looks like a player. He also looks like he wants to hit people which is exactly the type of safety that bears fans have been craving since Mike Brown's departure. His apparently scheduled to have surgery on a finger injury he sustained in the game but still should be ready to play come the regular season. http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2010/08/bears-keeping-major-lid-on-wrights-finger-injury.html Whether or not, he starts Bears fans will quickly notice when wright is on the field in a good way.

Discouraging/headscratching

1. The offensive line - The starters actually played most of the first half together and it was a mixed bag of results. The pass protection was pretty good and this was against a 3-4 defense which they hadnt game planned for. The run block was just terrible. The entire game the bears had 21 rushes for 48 yards. I dont care what game it is, your line has to be able to run block better than that. The bears are suppose to still be a running team but we all know that really isnt the truth with Cutler and Martz now. But, they still need to be able to run the ball effectively. This game only did nothing to quiet my fears and those of many bears fans that they didnt improve the O-line enough in the offseason.

2. Still no pass rush. The bears didnt have much of push from the front 4 at all. I thought Peppers was suppose to cure this. In a sideline interview, Peppers said that the chargers were throwing the ball too quickly for there to have been a pass rush. Geez, somehow that type of excuse out of a guy you are paying $18 million a year doesnt reassure me. Without more pass rush this year, the bears will be toast and i will be the only one watching in december. lets hope this trends upward quickly.

3. The lack of depth. The bears dont have a lot of quality depth except for at the LB and WR positions and it shows in pre-season games. Now most NFL teams dont necessary have starters in their 2nd units but usually they have some quality backups. The bears dont. There is a huge drop off at OT, QB, CB, S and DE for the bears and it shows. This just means that they will have to avoid significant injuries to keep playoff hopes alive.

There you go, my impressions from the 1st preseason game and i got through the whole article without even ripping on Frank "I suck hard" Omiyale or Mark "I have to hope the OT jumps because thats the only contribution i can make" Anderson. Check back for more bears updates soon.

Bears Week 11 Preview

From the BBS Bears Season Preview

-11- Nov. 22 PHILADELPHIA, 7:20 p.m., Ch. 5

2j – Actually a really tough game, D has to prepare for Wildcat/Vick rather than a standard offense. This will be a great test to see where the Bears are really at compared to a tough team from the NFC East. Bears 17, Eagles 13

Kmart – We never play well against McNabb This reminds me of the time me and Jantz got smashed for the 2001 playoff game and McNabb was running all over the field on us while I passed out in sub-zero temperatures. Eagles 30, Bears 27

DC –This will be one of the defining games of the season for the Bears. If the Bears come in with a record as good as I predict with a solid Eagles team coming into town for a night game in November, this one could be a classic. The Bears will have a big advantage coming off a long layoff after the Thursday night game in San Fran. I see the crowd being absolutely vicious and spurring the Bears to a huge victory. Bears 27, Eagles 10

Bears' defense needs to make a stand

Jay Cutler seems to have found a way to keep his bad games from following one another, and while he has struggled in prime time, none of his stinkers have come at Soldier Field.

It stands to reason that the quarterback will bounce back from his rocky five-interception effort last week at San Francisco that pushed this season to the brink as eight NFC teams have more victories than the 4-5 Bears. There is little room for error remaining, and they simply cannot afford to lose another conference game that could come back to haunt them in a tiebreaker.

Chicago Bears suffer from personalities disorder

Because Jay Cutler is being protected from blame in Chicago better than he is from pass rushers, we apparently need to consider other culprits for the Bears' lousy 4-5 start. So let's start with Gaines Adams.

Adams has two assists and a batted pass in limited action since the Bears traded a second-round draft pick to the Bucs for him Oct. 17. But the defensive end's poor production isn't the point. There's no doubt the deal for the fourth overall pick of the 2007 NFL draft will help the Bears in the future.

Just as certain, the trade hurt their present.

Madden Forecast: Eagles secure win on Cutler turnover

The good news: Jay Cutler only throws one interception for the Bears. The bad news: That interception is flipped into the game-winning points for Philadelphia as they beat Chicago 17-10.

Donovan McNabb threw for 374 yards for an Eagles team that consistently moved the ball against the Chicago D, but Philly had trouble scoring touchdowns until the final drive of the game. That's when McNabb hit Jeremy Maclin for a ten-yard TD with a little under two minutes left on the clock, giving the Eagles their sixth win of the season.

For the Bears, the loss drops them to a disappointing 4-6. Talk about a team that is failing to live up to expectations.

Key matchups, predictions: Chicago Bears vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Cutler's struggles at night have been well-documented, with 11 interceptions in three evening contests. His problems have contributed to the Bears' ineptitude in the red zone as they rank 26th in the NFL in that category. Samuel remains among the top corners in the league and is tied for third in the league with five interceptions. The seven-year veteran has had a pick-6 in each of his first six seasons.

LT Orlando Pace vs. DE Trent Cole

Pace said he is fine after suffering a mild concussion against the 49ers, and he'll need to be at his best against the Eagles. The 6-foot-7, 325-pounder laughs at any suggestion that he has problems bending to slow down shorter, quicker defensive ends. Cole (6-3, 270) classifies as such an end, and his 11 multi-sack games are tied for fourth-best in team history. Cole is tied for third in the NFC and tied for eighth in the NFL with 7 1/2 sacks.

Week 10 Grade: Jay Cutler

Giving the Bears' grades is usually DC's area, but I have to make a preemptive strike. I did not even see the first half because of a softball game, but I still know what grade Jay Cutler deserves ...