What This Weekend's Bears Game Mean

Despite having nothing left to play for, the Chicago Bears go into this weekends game against the Detroit Lions with a lot of questions that can be answered.

For Starters, a great game by Jay Cutler will not erase the pain from the 2009 season, but it will go a long way to helping build the fans confidence in him for 2010. Does it matter to Cutler if the fans have confidence in him? Not really, since Cutler has made it clear that he plays for the team and not the fans. But we still follow the team and going into 2009 we had high hopes for the season despite the lack of talent at the receiver position. The season proved that position is due for an upgrade in 2010.

A bad game for Cutler against the lowly Lions might also seal the fate of Bears GM Jerry Angelo, along with coach Lovie Smith. Angelo might be on the firing line for investing in Cutler without the much needed pieces around him. This doesn't mean the deal for Cutler was a bust. it does mean, however, that making this deal with a lack of talent on the offensive side of the ball would be a waste of draft picks, especially considering that the Cutler trade will now give the Denver Broncos a pick in the top 15 or possibly top 10. Couple that with the horrible Gaines Adams trade from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and now the Bears have zero picks till the 3rd round. Granted, Angelo has had a lackluster track record in the early rounds since coming to the Bears, but losing a high pick for a bust isn't a great sign.

As for Lovie, Bears fan have gotten tired of the poor decisions made by him, not only in game management, but in also his choice of coaches. Firing Ron Rivera after making it all the way to the Super Bowl in 2006 was the beginning of his bad mismanagement. Promoting Bob Babich to the position of Defensive Coordinator only to take it back this season and running the defense himself instead. Lovie was a great D coach in both Tampa under Dungy and St. Louis under Mike Martz, but being a head coach and D coach this season has proved to be too much for him to handle. Hiring Rod Marinelli to be the defensive line coach hasn't panned out yet since the pass rush and run defense hasn't improved yet, but with only a year of teaching, I don't know if you can properly grade him. Ron Turner is a non-factor for 2010 since he will undoubtedly be fired after the 09 season, but he's proven that his play-calling leaves a lot to be desired, especially since at this point in the season the fans know we don't have a top flight wideout and yet he insists on calling plays that rely on someone to make a play. Not to mention calling running plays that have proven time and time again to not work with the bad offensive line in front of Matt Forte.

What to look forward to in 2010? If it turns out to be an uncapped year because of a lack of Collective Bargaining Agreement, there might be a lot of changes on the Bears roster. An uncapped year would allow the Bears to cut ties with Nathan Vasher, who's contract extension has proved to be useless. Whether from injuries or getting older, Vasher has proven that he's not even as suitable for a Nickel back spot on this roster, let alone the #1 DB like he's being paid. Olin Kreutz might be another casualty of an uncapped year, though his days as a Bear might be over regardless. Kruetz hasn't handled a higher octane offense this season, mishandling shotgun snaps routinely. He's also forced bad exchanges with Cutler, proving that not all the fumbled snaps were Rex Grossman's fault while in town. Could Devin Hester be included? He got a contract extension before the 2008 season, with the belief that he will still be the best return man in football and grow to be the #1 WR on this team. Unfortunately, he's grow into neither. In fact, he's no longer dangerous on punt returns, averaging less than 10 yards a return and not meshing with Cutler on offense.

What's out there? Well, the most intriguing name might be Brandon Marshall, Jay Cutler's former #1 target in Denver. Unfortunately, he's going to cost a lot. Dante Stallworth might get released from the Cleveland Browns this offseason, but he's not exactly the most reliable of characters and he might still get suspended for a portion of the 2010 season, once he gets out of jail. But the Bears biggest needs are on the O-Line. And without high draft picks, the Bears will have to rebuild through free agency, which is always tougher to do. And sadly, none of the options out there will knock your socks off and the ones that would be good fits will most certainly be resigned by their teams.

From Bad to Worse

According to Chicago Tribune, in a response to a question about Brian Urlacher's wrist injury, he replied through text message, (no doubt with just one hand, which texts messages are hard to type that way) "Season's over."And while he certainly meant that as his status for the season, it's sadly a reflection on what the results might be for the Chicago Bears as well.

While one game does not make a season, the inept playcalling from the offensive mind of Ron Turner, who undoubtledly wanted to show off his shiny new toy in the backfield, forgot about the shiny new toy from last year Matt Forte for most of the 1st half. And when they did run in the second half, the Green Bay Packers defense was quick to greet him mostly in the backfield. Running for 55 yards on 25 carries, Forte was mostly a mystery in the offense from the get-go. Zero catches from you're top reciever from last year isn't going to get a whole lot done, not when the Bears are trotting out wideouts who don't seem to complete their routes. And while we hope that Cutler will get better (he has to, right?) without anyone besides Greg Olsen and Desmond Clark to throw to (and they're not immune from bad play either; Olsen with a drop and Clark stopped running in  the endzone), it's going to be hard for the Bears to do anything if they don't get Forte involved.

The Defense however, has been the heart and soul of this team since Lovie Smith rode into town and declared that they will beat the Packers. The once great defense has take some hits recently though and last night only exemplified and shown that it might not be the strength it once was. Nathan Vasher looked dreadful on the touchdown to Greg Jennings, but when you have 8 in the box to stop the run, that leaves single coverage on the outside and Vasher doesn't play corner like he did a couple of years ago when he got his payday. And now you have lost arguably the leader on defense, possibly for the season with a wrist injury. Urlacher isn't the stud from 2004 anymore, but he's still one of the top 5 or 10 middle linebackers in the game and will be sorely missed. This is the time when Lance Briggs, coming off a Pro Bowl year after getting his big contract, will need to step up and be the leader that the Bears are paying him to be. And even then, I'm not sure it will even be enough.

The Cutler Era Looks Like the Grossman Era

With supposedly the first "real" quarterback since Sid Luckman, the Chicago Bears looked like they had 'Sexy' Rex Grossman throwing in the pocket instead of the 'franchise' Jay Cutler. But he wasn't in the pocket for long when he was back there with the Green Bay Packers consistently getting pressure on Cutler through most of the 1st half. And it really was a tale of two halves. Cutler threw 3 picks in the first half and one in the second. In the second half, Cutler had time to throw the football, something he couldn't get in the first. But the blame doesn't all lie in the hands of Cutler.

All offseason, pundits, fans and just about anyone with a pulse and an understanding of football knew that Cutler was throwing to Greg Olsen (who also played poorly), Desmond Clark (who had a nice catch, a terrible blown route in the endzone) and a bunch of nothing. Countless times receivers were not where they were supposed to be, ran the wrong route or just gave up on the route. Cutler also made some mistakes, throwing across his body to the middle of the field, not throwing the football away when nothing was there and not trying to find Matt Forte out of the backfield. He lead the team in catches last season and doesn't have a catch this game. All in all, a poor performance. And why is Nate Vasher still on this team?

Honeymoon Over at Halas Hall?

On a day where the Minnesota Vikings take center stage with an end to the Brett Favre saga, the Chicago Bears QB Jay Cutler made some noise over the weekend that hurt Devin Hester's feelings. It was the truth, but I guess it riled some people up. And what upset Hester is exactly what I tweeted while watching the game on Saturday night. In case you don't click the link, here's what I said:

"Hmm, Cutler looked like Grossman throwing off his back foot a bit there. Of course, doesn't help that Hester doesn't fight for the ball."

Which was true. Cutler shouldn't have tossed the ball up there like that, but Hester didn't bother trying to break it up. So, here's what Cutler said:

"Devin is more of a go-get-it guy; he is not really a back shoulder or jump-up-and-get-it (guy),'' Cutler said Saturday."

So, what he's trying to say is this: Hester will outrun someone to the ball if you throw it far enough, but won't go up for a jump ball. Which is precisely what's wrong with him as a Wide Receiver. Hester has amazing speed. He can outrun anyone to the ball in the NFL and make a catch in stride. But sitting at 5'11", he's not going to out jump people for footballs and won't help QB's by breaking up passes. Bears fans have been saying this since the decision to give him more playing time at wideout then returner. But instead of being a 3rd WR or 4th, the Bears are paying him and playing him as a #1, which is the biggest mistake. The man was a standout return man and while their shelf life in the NFL might not be a long one, there is a long list of return men who were called in to try another position instead of the spot that made them the threat. And Hester is ruined now because of that.

So, Jerry Angelo Does Know the Offseason Began

Not only did Jerry Angelo finally awake from his Winter Slumber to make a deal for a Franchise Quarterback that I've never seem in my 29 years on Earth, but he picked up someone to protect his blindside while in the pocket. Not a bad haul for one day.

In case you were not aware, the Chicago Bears acquired QB Jay Cutler from the Denver Broncos, along with a 5th round pick, in exchange for Kyle Orton, the 18th overall pick this year, 84th overall this year and a first round pick for 2010. And while it seems like this might be a lot to give up, you must first consider that since Angelo has taken over the Bears, the number of hits in the first round is considerably smaller than his misses. Since 2001, only 3 of the 1st round picks are still currently on the Bears, all drafted since 2006, DT Tommie Harris, TE Greg Olsen and T Chris Williams. Secondly, if the Bears now make the playoffs in 2009, that 1st round pick would be somewhere from 21st to 32nd and with Angelo's track record, a pick in that range would be most likely traded down into the 2nd round.

Of course, Cutler by himself doesn't yet make the Bears a playoff team. It does put them on the right path and if they can find a #1 wideout to throw the ball too, they just might have enough weapons to make that playoff push. And today, to go along with Cutler, the Bears signed LT Orlando Pace to a 3-year contract. Pace, 34, isn't the same caliber player he was a few years ago, but if he can stay healthy for the next two years, he most certainly would be upgrade over anyone the Bears would be able to put there to keep from Cutler getting decapitated.

Bears Snatch Defeat From The Jaws of Victory

With a 10 point lead and 3 minutes to go, you would figure that even the worst of teams should be able to hold onto for at least a 3 point win. But these Bears are bad.

And that's not the worst of it. In overtime, scored tied 24 all, Brad Maynard punts the ball and pins the Bucs inside their own 10. And on 3 and about 9 or so inside their own 10, the Bucs try and short pass that is stopped by the Bears defense. But these Bears aren't only bad, but they are dumb as Charles Tillman decides to get into a scrum that is happening after the play, no doubt started by the Bucs to entice the Bears into a penalty and sure enough, Peanut(brain-size?) Tillman happily obliges them and shoves a player, in front of a ref no less and draws a 15-yard penalty, giving the Bucs a 1st down and allowing them to march downfield and kick a game winning field goal.

But the game wasn't all bad. Kyle Orton played much better in the 2nd half, throwing for 2 touchdowns, one to running back Matt Forte and the other to wideout Brandon Lloyd. The Bears have been looking for a #1 wide receiver all season and may have finally found him. Loyd finished with 6 catches, 124 yards and a 2-pt conversion to go along with his TD. And Matt Forte had another solid game, gaining 89 yards on 27 carries and also catching 7 passes out of the backfield for 66 yards with the touchdown. But Orton did have a poor 1st half including throwing a TD pass to the Bucs defensive lineman while he was wide open.

Defensively, the Bears played the type of defense you would expect from a playoff contender for 55 minutes. But those last 5 minutes of regulation and all of overtime showed once again why this defense isn't getting better, just older.

But it wasn't entirely their fault. When your defense causes 4 turnovers and the offense only manages 24 points during the entire game, there is something wrong. Sure, the Bears scored 18 points off those turnovers, but that means the Bears offense only scored 6 points when the ball was handed to them. And if the Bears plan on running first and passing after that, they need to do a better job of scoring when they do get the ball.

By the way, if anyone has seen Tommie Harris, can you please give him directions to Soldiers Field? He seems to have not been able to show up so far this season.

Bears Finally Beat The Colts

It's just too bad that it happened week one of the 2008 regular season instead of during the Super Bowl in 2007. But a win is a win and in the past week, they're about the only team in Chicago that has been. And yet, they might be the only team of the three playing right now that won't make the
playoffs.

With the "passing" of Kyle Orton and the return of the 2006 defense, the Bears came away with a strong opening game to the 2008 season and defeated the Indianapolis Colts in their brand spanking new Lucas Oil Stadium. A 29-13 victory against what is now one of the favorites to win the AFC is great start to the season, but is it a bit of misleading?

Colts quarterback Peyton Manning came into the game without taking a snap throughout the entire preseason and for an offense that heavily relies on timing to dominate the opponents defense, it showed just how much work the team needs together. Maybe part of the problem was that the Colts were starting a rookie at Center, a key position on the offensive line for Manning and the way he changes plays at the line. But I'm sure if you ask Manning, he would tell you that whoever starts at center isn't important, it's how he passes the football that matters. And he didn't pass all that poorly. He was 30 of 49, with 1 TD and 257 yards. But Manning burned timeouts like they were going out of style, including using two in the same 1st quarter drive. You can tell that he just seemed out of sorts.

And the Bears played well enough to win, dominating on the ground and mixing in a ball control passing game to help control the amount of times the Colts offense was on the field. But the most telling stat for the Bears was the zero turnovers. The one thing the Bears must do this season if they plan on competing is cut down the number of fumbles and interceptions they give up this season. And having Orton at QB will help.

Orton isn't the type of passer to take chances. Sure, every once in a while he will try to go down field and take a chance, but nowhere near the number of times Rex Grossman might. And that's the type of quarterback play that the Bears are looking for. And at some point as a Bears fan, you have to wonder when they might actually start to go for quarterbacks that can win you ballgames, not just quarterbacks that will keep you in games. But I guess when you're best wide receivers are in fact your tight ends, you have to wonder if the quarterbacks play the way they do because the have to.

Running back Matt Forte became only the second rookie running back since 1975 to start on opening day and stepped up with a 123 yard game, including a 50 yard TD run. But that TD run makes his stats a little misleading. You take away that rush, and he ran for 73 yards on 22 carries, not exactly something that instills confidence in the running game. But still, it did it's job Sunday night and helped propel them to a surprising opening night victory, and hopefully the first of many on the way to a return to the playoffs.

Football Starts Next Weekend, Will Anyone In Chicago Notice?

For the Chicago Bears sake, they better hope not. This is a very odd time of the year in Chicago. Usually, at least half of the sports fans are getting amped for football to start and dominate the television sets. But unfortunately this season, it seems that the Bears are on the backburner with both the Cubs and White Sox holding Chicago's interest. For the 2008 Bears, that's a good thing.

The 2008 Bears strike very little resemblance from the 2006 team that lost the Super Bowl to the Indianapolis Colts, the team they play on Sunday, September 7th. Instead of trying to improve the team over the past couple of seasons, it seems as if GM Jerry Angelo has hoped that the players that they still have can return to the form of 2006. But I'm not sure what he sees that would make him think that is going to happen.

The Bears are continually getting weaker each season. After going 7-9 last season, you would hope that the Bears would try and improve the offense some and upgrade the team in a few key positions. But instead, they will continue to trot out the same old thing at QB this season, except instead of Kyle Orton playing because of a Rex Grossman injury, they just handed him the starting job instead. What Orton does great in the pros is manage a game, which would be fine if they had the top defense in the league still, but last seasons defense ranked towards the bottom of the league last season and nothing has changed. Just a year older.

The runningback and wide receiver position are both counting on big contributions from two first time starters. Matt Forte and Adrian Peterson are competing for the starting RB job after the Bears cut Cedric Benson after a couple of arrests during the offseason. The Bears are hoping that former Detroit Lions RB Kevin Jones can come back from knee surgery and be able to carry the load for them this season, but they all face the same problem. They are running behind an aging offensive line that had one of the worst yards per carry average last season at 3.1. With former league MVP Shaun Alexander still available, it's a wonder the Bears didn't bring him in and give him a shot at RB. Can't be any worse than what we have right now.

And with Bernard Berrian bolting for a bigger bank account in Minnesota, the Bears are counting on return ace Devin Hester to be able to step up and become a #1 wideout. But at 5'11, Hester is on the small side, still very inexperienced at running routes and has shown that he will drop some easy passes. As a change of pace, that would make him a great weapon. But the top WR, that might make for a long season on offense.

Once the strength of the team, the only thing that has happened for the Bears is the team getting older. The front seven will have the same starting lineup from last season, with the exception of Dusty Dvoracek playing DT, if he's healthy, which he has shown the ability to be the exact opposite so far in his short NFL career.

The corners are the strength of the team, with two pro bowl caliber defensive backs, but Charles Tillman and Nathan Vasher won't be able to do much if the Bears don't mount much of a pass rush and give the DBs time to adjust to routes and passes. Mike Brown is back at safety again and I'm sure will be injured again by week 9.

I don't think it would be much of a stretch to think that the Bears would be lucky to 5-11 this season. This team should be in rebuilding mode at this point, but I'm not sure if Angelo has gotten the message yet.

Too Little, Too Late?

Quite Possibly. When I started this blog a couple of weeks ago, I wanted to talk about the things in my life that interest me the most. And so far, I've talked about the things that do. One of the things that I didn't expect to talk about was the Chicago Bears, because quite frankly, they have sucked. Bad. And they still aren't very good, but they got a win today to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. I don't think they will make the playoffs, but they still have a slight chance.

The 37-34 overtime win today against the Denver Broncos was something that the Bears desperately needed and the second half that QB Rex Grossman played was something he needed to keep his chances of starting the rest of this season. He had a poor first half and rebounded nicely, leading the Bears on a nice 2-minute drill to tie the game and a very good opening drive in overtime to set up the game winning field goal. Of course, Rex wouldn't have been in that position if it wasn't for the outstanding special teams play and especially WR/KR/PR/Superman Devin Hester.

Hester is really like a good girlfriend. Sure, there are bad times, like when he muffs a punt or has it bounce off his shin, but then he goes and returns 2 kicks for a TD and suddenly, you just can't stay mad at him. Of course former Bear mental midget Todd Sauerbrun had a lot to do with it.

After saying earlier in the week he wasn't afraid to kick to Hester, Todd did just that. And Hester burned him twice. On a punt return, Hester deked him so bad that all Todd could do was lay down and Hester jumped over him on the way to the endzone. On a kickoff return, Hester deked him again and Todd might have gotten a chance to see the brand of cleats Hester was
wearing on his way to laying on the ground, again. Todd finally got smart and decided to try kicking it towards the sidelines he turned to his right and decided to kick it into the arms of CB Charles Tillman. Unfortunately, Tillman was right in front of Todd and blocked the punt.

It wasn't all sunshine and daisies for the Bears as their poor run defense was exposed, again. The Bears have not been able to stop teams from running on them and a lot of that is because of the loss of Safety Mike Brown who was injured earlier this year, again. Brown has become the Mark Prior of the Bears. Much like Prior, when he's healthy, he might be one of the best
players on his team. But, like Prior, he hasn't been able to stay healthy. And because of that, the Bears don't have that dominating S to help with the running attack. The Bears were hoping that Adam Archuleta would be that safety to help on the run, but it seems that every week he gets caught out of position on running plays and misses a tackle.

The Bears running offense all year has been non-existent this year either and they lost RB Cedric Benson early in the game to an ankle injury. The extent of the injury is unknown right now, but if he's unavailable to play, RB Adrian Petersen would become the feature back and while he played well today, he's never been the feature back for longer than a couple of games
here and there. Let's hope he can play better than Benson has this season and give the Bears a better option out of the backfield.

Switching gears, nothing new this weekend when it comes to the Chicago Cubs. Along with the Houston Astros, they seem to be the front runners to landing 2B Kazuo Matsui and I would imagine a decision will come this week. Here's hoping he chooses the Astros. Another japanesse free agent the Cubs have been looking, P Hideki Kuroda might make a decision by this coming
friday and while the Cubs are contenders for him, I would place money that he lands with the Seattle Mariners for 4 years and 48 million dollars.