Rex is our Quarterback, we think...

Well, it looks like the Bears have decided to not decide what to do about the most important position on the field, the Quarterback. Rex's one year deal does nothing to solidify the position or clarify what roles Brian Griese or Kyle Orton will have. It continues a long tradition of the Bears refusing to understand that without a solid, stable quarterback to build the franchise on, you will never have lasting success. As far as the deal goes, one year for 3 million is not a bad financial deal, but it will be bad for the team.

Another poor decision by Lovie and the brain trust. Next year, we are probably looking at 8-8 at best. Sad, just two years removed from a Super Bowl.

once more into the breach

One of the most reviled successful QB's- in terms of regular season winning percentage- is back @ the helm of the Bears. Welcome back Kyle Orten to taking snaps on the Bears. Since Rex came back in the last game of the year in 2005 to reclaim the starting job, Orten hasn't had a snap during a game that counts.

Although we know he was deeply over matched as a rookie in 2005, he did lead the Bears to a 10-5 record. However, he did so so comically that it is hard to take him seriously as a starter- or even as a third stringer. You think Rex looked bad when he is in the bad Rex mode? Shit, you'd have to tag Orten as Stunningly Shockingly Horrible Orten. But, two years later, he's back. And I, for one, welcome him back.


Oh, but there is a problem: there is still a season to go. I know that the Bears are 5-8, but they are only two games out of a playoff spot. Playing the third stringer- well, he's second on the depth chart rite now- means that the white flag is being raised. However, even though I am Diehard Hilts, I fully realise that this year the team is probably not gonna beat the Colts or Patriots, or even the Giants or the 1976 Tampa Bay Buc's, so I'm more than willing to give him a shot.

But: does he have a future in the NFL? He has worked in the Bears system for three years now, and there are a lot of familiar faces around him. Presumably he has grown - but we don't know. So, I will be interested Sunday, and not just during Hestertime. I have a feeling we are going to witness the second coming of Henry Burris- or, rather, the second coming of Kyle Orten- and I think we will get the same results.

I always felt bad for any of the Bears when they turn up laughingly bad. Hopefully he has used his two years in the wilderness to good effect. We'll see. I hope he stuffs it in my face and comes up with a decent game. It is baby Drax's first Bears game, after all.

Devin Hester, the next president of the United States of America

With a notable exception or two, the Bears looked like shit against the Broncos. Probably most alarming was the great gaps in the defense. Seven yard run here, 65 yard pass there, 432 yard run everywhere. The offense looked anemic as well- until the end. When Rex lost a fumble in the fourth with the Bears down 14, it surely looked over. Sometimes a team can hang around for an entire game even being outplayed, and deservedly win it in the end. I really can't say that in this game.

A clear chain of impossible events conspired to keep this season alive- for another week at least. Hall of Fames two kick returns for TD's were obvious points of divine intervention. The blocked punt. Adrian Peterson was stopped short of the goal line- but then the Bears' lines push wasn't whistled dead until the ball was in the end zone. And the final drive was kept alive with a ' very lucky to be called ' penalty on fourth down and one of the most spectacular and clutch touchdown catches in N.F.L. history by Bernard Berrian. And: nice pass, Rex- is this not a sign of God's help ??

And what are we to make of Hall of Fame? He had an NFL record six returns last year, plus another TD on the longest play in NFL history -the 108 yard missed field goal run back- and the KO return in the Super Bowl- the fastest points ever scored in the Super Bowl. That's eight last year - and four this year. He has more TD returns than Billie "White Shoes" Johnson and Gale Sayers. And his rate of TD/returns is the highest in NFL history. I believe that if he retired today, he should immediately be enshrined in Canton. What- there's ever been better??

More than anything, it was Hall of Fame that kept the patient alive. The Bears wanted to let it get away, but he brought them back. He didn't allow the Broncos get away. On the Tillman punt block, I thought right away that that ' fear of a Hester planet ' somehow made the block possible- later views on the Sunday nite recap shows shows that to be correct. It was way more than just him, but a supreme player elevates those around him. What time is Sunday's kickoff??

And the playoffs are still in reach. Waited forever for the Sox this past season, and am waiting still for the Bulls. But maybe just maybe they can stay alive this season and turn a corner. As it is, they are tied with six other teams at one game out of the wild card position. Many have said the Bears will have to win out, but It's possible nine wins will do.

The Giants are next. They are 7-4, but were just beaten by the Vikings. The Bears mite be able to do it next week. The Bears also have to play Green bay, who has only one loss (to the Bears) this year. The other games are winnable- but only if the Bears can start to win. They haven't won two games in a row this year, and nothing (other than miracles) suggests they can again. But there is still life.

HALL

OF

FAME

Frankie Vegas' Picks Week 10

2nd Half Left. Time to dice up your guy.
If even Doug Buffone can slip in his percentages, no one is infallible.


Picks appear in blue.

NFL Sunday, Nov. 11

Indy -3.5 at San Diego
48.5 over

Chicago -3 vs. Oakland
38 over

Pittsburgh -10 at Cleveland LOCK!
47.5 under

Carolina -4 vs. Falcons
36 over

Dallas -1.5 NY Giants
49 under

Tennessee -4 vs. Jacksonville
35 over

Green Bay -6 vs. Minnesota LOCK! (buy a half point and win)
40.5 over

Baltimore -4.5 vs. Cincinnati
44.5 under LOCK!

New Orleans -11.5 vs. St Louis
46.5 under

Washington -3 vs. Philadelphia
38 under

Arizona -1 vs. Detroit
45 under

Monday, Oct. 29

Seattle -10 vs. San Francisco
39.5 over

Buster Benson!

Does Halas Hall have to admit another complete failure as a number 1 draft choice. First there was the inevitable discarding of Rex and now they must finally pull the plug on Benson. Another poor performance 13 carries for 50 yards and the usual 4th quarter benching.

Lovie preaches in his stubborn way that its the run, run, run that sets up everything, but this hasn't materialized since Jones went to N.Y. Who out there except for the Lovie Regime couldn't see that it was Jones that got them to the Super Bowl last year. Jones had the run in the NFC championship game and Benson simply tried not to fumble as he filled in.

Their QB situation is what it always has been, but Benson was yet another mistake at #1 and he ensures that the Bears will not make the playoffs. Niether he or Peterson can catch and continue to fumble at opportune times. When will Lovie admit another failure?

The minute fiftyseven drill

Only watched the second half of the Bears game, but liked several things from what I saw.

The defense held. Although Philly got a T.D. late, the defense didn't fall apart in the second half. It was a tough game, but they held their own till the end.

Cedric Bensen looked like he was a running back in the second half. he was running with spirit and hitting the holes. Final stats indicate only 46 yards on 17 carries and one catch for 19 yards (terrible), but I like the way he looked running.

The "anti Hester policy" deployed by teams to avoid kicking to him. He was become such a World Historical Force in football these past 22 games or whatever that teams have finally started to avoid him completely in the kicking game. He had no returns at all- but for the Bears, it wasn't all bad= when they kick to avoid Hester, invariably the Bears got great field position. I love to watch Hester run, so that sucked- but getting the ball on the 4o was great too. It'll be offset a bit by his continued and growing use in the offense. When he knows all the plays by heart (give'm some time!), he'll be silly dangerous on every play. We're lucky we have him.

Gotta love the winning drive. The Eagles have a pretty good D, and it was a relief to see the offense MOVE when it HAD TO. Great confience in Griese that was missing from Rex.

Dicey win, but something to build on.

Teetering!

This game was supposed to be a gimme. Griese and company looked good, Hester looked great and the defense looked like a shell of their supposed reputation.

The spin is that the Vikings rook rb, Peterson is the next coming of Barry Sanders. This defense has been getting a pass for two years. Last year wasn't as good as 2005 and this year is a joke! Someone call Rivera quick.

Griese is doing what he should be doing- running an average efficient offense. Hester is perhaps the next Gayle Sayers. I can't ever remember such excitement about a punt return. Without him this game would have been a boo bird blowout.

The Bears are 2-4 and in serious trouble because of their division losses and Green Bay. .500 will not win this division and the wild card will certainly not come from the NFC North. That leaves the Bears on the outside looking in for the playoff picture. Quite an embarrassment.

Next year will be hear very quickly unless the Bears or the Packers fortunes change quickly.

ARRRRRGH !!!

Well, they didn't look so bad that first half, did they?

What worries me most is the beating up of the defense in the second half. I'm used to Rex being, well, Rex: but even though the Bears struggles the first two games, the D held up.

But, and I hate to say it: they looked like a beaten team that was deserving of the 3TD + beatdown. W/ 10m left, they looked like they wanted to quit. The last ten minutes were all quit.

And the injuries. The entire 53 man roster will be out in 3.4 weeks, @ the present rate. Nitemare!! Key players lefat and center and rite, all shipped off to the hospital. And I haven't really even brought up Rex.

REX!! Fuck, I have no clue. I'm always a "Let'm try, he'll work it out!" If I had my tepid way, Bobby Douglas would still be the Bears starter. However, I'm not sure greasycat is the answer anymore than Rex.

we'll see next week, now not expecting the Bears to win but hoping some miricles come our way.

Yeesh!!

The Tank Era comes to a drunken end

The Bears released Tank Johnson today ending what was arguably one of the more embarrassing episodes of the Lovie Era. Not as emabarrassing as Lovie's constant belief in Rex Grossman, but pretty bad nonetheless.

Bad News Bears: Tank Sentenced to Prison

Instead of this Bears offseason being focussed on returning to the Super Bowl, the bad news hit parade continues. The latest bad news is Tank being sent to the tank. He has been sentenced to 4 months in jail for a probation violation. Actually, this seems a wee bit ridiculous to me. I think he is being forced to the big house because of the other shady stuff he has been involved in, which doesn't seem fair. Then again, he shouldn't be given special treatment just because Lovie Smith showed up at his sentencing.

The firing of Rivera, the loss of their best offensive player, Lovie's contract foibles, Briggs threats and now this, the Bears are looking like a 9-7 team next year. On second thought, maybe that's not fair, after all they do still have the Sex Cannon. Better make that 7-9.

Its Ced's World Now!

Thomas Jones finally calls Phillips bluff and bolts for NYC. He's expected to get 12mill guaranteed. Good for him- the Jets will love his work ethic. The Bears have clearly had issues with Jones for the last two years. Why? It certainly wasn't his numbers, durability, cohesiveness, or work ethic. Again, it always comes down to money with the Bears.

Cedric Benson gets all of the spotlight now. He's got enough foot-mouth disease from the bench, wait till he gets all of the camera's. But the bottom line with the Ced will be numbers. He hasn't been durable even on a part time basis to put of Jones like numbers. Obviously, Adrian Peterson will be back and spell Benson as soon as he goes down. Though low profile, Jones was the Bears MVP last year- they wouldn't have made the big game without him.

This trade brings to mind the Edge leaving the Colts last year. Adai came in and the Colts didn't skip a beat. The difference with the Bears, is that their O line is aging and we've already seen that the Ced is no Adai.

Ced is the man of excuses who now has none. The two back system worked like Franco and Rocky last year. The most disturbing part of Jones leaving is we have to see more of Rex. Laughing already?

Lovie Gets Paid

Looks like things are working a little differently up in Halas Hall. The Bears have just agreed to pay Lovie Smith $22 Million for four years. That's $5.5 Million a year! They also signed Angelo through 2013. That is a seven year extension!

I guess all the pundits were wrong after all. Lovie can finally afford a house up in Lake Forest.

Bears Failing to Get Lovie on the Cheap

ESPN is reporting that the contract talks with Lovie and the Bears have broken down. Billick, the Ravens coach just got a five year $29 million deal. John Fox, of the Panthers is making $5 million. There is no way the Bears are going to come up to these type of numbers. Maybe Lovie will be gone next year...

Read the whole article here.

McMahon to McNabb?

Understandably, much of the consternation around Chicago following the Super Bowl centers on the quarterback position. Greg Couch has a great article on why the Bears should dump Grossman in the Sun Times. Jackson has claimed that the Bears are 1-and-done as far as Super Bowls are concerned, whilst the black captain or Deux Visage has said we should stay the course. I believe that bold action is needed and staying the course won't do. What do you do if next year Rex is terrible again? Now you have wasted three years on the this quarterback fiasco. Stays at the top in todays's NFL don't last that long. The Bears might have a slightly longer window because they play in the worst division in the league. I also believe that with a very weak NFC and a strong young foundation the Bears can repeat. Here's how: Trade for Donovan McNabb!

Can you imagine the hometown hero coming back to Chicago to lead the beloved back to the Super Bowl. With Peyton finally winning one, McNabb now holds the dishonour of 'Best Quarterback Never to Win the Big One'. If Philly thinks they are better with Garcia, let them have him. I think Donovan is unhappy with how he has been treated in Philly and they are definitely on the downward slope of their run. The Bears might just be in the middle of theirs. We've had one Irish quarterback lead us to the promised land. Why not the descendant of slaves that were owned by Irish masters as well?

What would it take? I'm not sure, but I'd be willing to give quite a bit. How about Rex and Ogunleye? I'd even throw in Thomas Jones. The Eagles need a power running game to go with Westbrook. What it takes really doesn't matter. The NFL is definitely a quarterback league and shooting yourself in the foot, or waiting to watch Rex ruin another year is pure folly.

Be Bold Lovie, go get McNabb. Your fans will thank you!

In praise of Rex

Bad Rex was on display in front of the world wide audience, and the team paid for it. He sucked. We lost. But, just give him some time. I believe it may be well worth our while. The question is : if we had Luckman or Nameth or even Jimmy Mac, would we have won the Super Bowl? Maybe (even probably), but these types of payers do not grow on trees.

Given Rex's total playing time of 23 games (my constant harp this year), I'm willing to wait another year for him to develop. Rex needs time to grow, and shouldn't be judged wholly on these 23 games. He looked terrible in some, but he also looked great in others. Given that some of his great games were against shitty teams, but he had enough to show me some promise.

But do the Bears have time? Jackson has posted in these pages that 2006 may have been this generations shot @ the Super Bowl. Very maybe. In todays NFL, teams seem to be good for 2-3 years before they fade. The Bears the last two years have been very good, and that was playing with less than a full QB. The Bears may be in the mix again next year, and another full year of a healthy Rex can only be good for the Bears.

Go elsewhere? They did have a 'good' year without Rex last year, which is kind of damning towards Rex; in the regular season he was not much better than Kyle Orton record wise. maybe the solution is to make a trade, start Griese, or draft someone new. But I've seen more than enough from Rex to say Lets try again next year. Another years seasoning will do him good. And, hopefully, our memories of Super Rex will begin.

No way !!

Well, it was the best team that won. The Colts, best team from a strong AFC, proved that they were way too much for the best team in a weak NFC. After a brief bit of hope in the first quarter, the dominant team showed who deserved it. The Bears did they best they could, fighting off the inevitable until a late in the game. In this way, just hanging around hoping to accomplish a miracle, the Bears actually did quite well. Before the game, I posted a few items that Da Bears would have to accomplish if they were to win.
Let's review:

What Went Wrong

Beat up the Colts.
Never happened. It was the fourth quarter before the defensive line finally got to Manning. Otherwise, there was next to no pressure on him. Thomas Jones had some nice runs, but overall, line play on both sides of the ball went to the Colts. Any chance for the miracle would have meant decisively winning this battle.

Bad Rex.
Great. We hoped. My favourite line of the night was said by me in the fourth quarter: O.K. everybody, this is the drive that we will always remember as the real start of Rex's Hall of Fame Career! After the fumble or interception or whatever badrexplay that immediately followed my pronouncement, the next line was I hope this is not the drive that we will always remember Rex's career by. Rex was terrible. Better than Orton would have been, but just terrible. Fumbles, interceptions, and no leadership. I'm sticking by Rex for next year, but what a shitty game yesterday.

Turnovers.
Too many. Bad situations. The only hope was for it to all fall the Bears way. Not yesterday. The early interception of Manning gave a lot of hope to Bear fans, but he settled down.

What Went Right

Keep it Close.
What can you say? As badly overplayed as they were, they were in a position to win the game near the end if things went right. They were only down by two at half despite indications that things were headed south. The Bears needed to keep it close, and they accomplished that. A wicked hit on Manning, a fumble, interception, bad call or missed tackle etc... and the Bears might have just pulled off the miracle. As it turned out, when it came time for a championship caliber team to stand up, it was all Colts. But as sloppy as they played the entire game, it was only with four minutes left or so where it became obvious no miracle would happen. They did the best they could.

Special Teams.
We got what we wanted out of Hester. We couldn't've asked for two or three td's from him. Gould did well. And Vintieri actually missed a Super Bowl kick. For awhile, these items may have looked like possible signs of an upset. In the end, they were just isolated incidents early in the game, signifying nothing. Just wasn't enough.

In the end, the magic the Bears needed just wasn't in the air. They needed a lot to go rite, and it didn't. They pushed it for awhile, but in the end it was a mismatch.

Yes way.

No way !!

Yes way:
I think the Bears have a chance in the Super Bowl. I even think chances are more or less equal for both teams. Maybe I'm just the biggest homer outside of Springfield, but I'm not buying into the notion that Da Bears are the quaking underdogs that should be shivering under their angry masters rolled up newspaper.

Well, for one, how about statistics that point to Da Bears 10th NFL title? Consider what’s on the Scores website : a system that has supposedly been a correct predictor in 14 of the past 16 Super Bowl. According to this system, 12 categories are compared, and whoever has led the other in more of them in the regular season wins the title. Categories include such indicators as rushing yards, point deferential, opponent total yards, etc… this system has Da Bears leading 9-2 and one tie. A team like the Bears leading in nine categories has won 15 of the last 18 games.

And then there is today’s New York Times article by Mike Smith, who indicates that in recent Super Bowl history, the generally held theory that ‘defense wins championships’ has held. This holds even in games that feature good defenses against high powered offenses. This seems to favour the Bears fifth ranked D vs. the Colts third ranked O.

But statistics can be made lap dogs for anyone with an argument to push : isn’t the Bush administration attempting to tout the economy these days to show its competence? Similar handling of statistics show that Rex has a 2006 playoff QB rating almost ten points better than Manning. However, the point of my argument is is that this game will be competitive, point spread be damned. And yes, Da bears can win.

Beat up other team.

This is not a call to play dirty, but a call to play the game its meant to be played. Football is a sport where it is of the utmost importance to physically dominate the other team. One has to pound on the other team for 3 1/2 hours in order to assert its will. This means hitting the other players hard enough and consistently enough where they will be taken off their game. This way several things happen : the opposing team is worn down. They may get injuries. They become tired from having to exert themselves so much. And they get the mindset that whatever they do, a big hit is coming their way. Lets hope the Bears Tyson them. This is most important when it comes to the sumo crew on the line. Games are won through the strength of the lines. It will be most important for the Bears to do well on both sides of the line.

On defense, if the Bears can get in and put some hurt cycles on Manning, he becomes less of the awesome danger he is. Lets get him aching and thinking. We need to see him being pressured when he drops back to pass. We need to see the blitz hounding him. And the Colts running game must be halted.

On offense, Rex needs the time to be comfortable. How many bad Rex plays have been when he made a bad decision while scrambling for his life? Then think how much like a pro QB when he has the time to confidently throw downfield. We also need to see Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson having lanes to run. Lets control the offensive line!

Good Rex.

And Rex should have not just a good game; he has to play worthy of Super bowl champion QB. He must, of course avoid a QB rating in the 23’s and the 10’s, and especially the 1’s and 0’s. Especially that sort of game. But he must show more: this is the Super Bowl. He’s started 26 games in the NFL now (this is his fourth playoff start), and he has shown flashes of leadership @ different times this year. We got to get a full game from him.

The defense must control the Colts offense so they do not go wild.

No doubt, the D has a tough job to do. The DCS staff have written already about the non-inviolability of this fifth ranked defense. But in this most Super of games, they must not resemble voile. Control the Colts line. The secondary must have a great day against the Colts passing game. Tough, tough, tough; but it’s doable.

Special team have to come up big.

Both team have excellent kickers. Adam Vintieri is in his element, but Robbie Gould has also had a great year. Punting and kick coverage should go the Bears way. A big wild card is Devin Hester. The Colts coverage has been suspect, so look to Hester to make some magic happen. Avoid fumbles !! Hopefully, when we think back to on Hester this season years from now, it will be on his spectacular game in the super bowl. It can happen. And maybe not on a kick return : i’m waiting for him to get some plays on offense, or maybe a fumble return or interception.

Finally, who knows where this game will take us?
Who will be the star of the game; will it be Hester or Manning or Urlacher or…………..someone we haven’t concentrated on so far this year. Who knows?

So:
Keep it close in the first half.
Beat up on the Colts.
Pressure on manning and good coverage in the secondary.
Rex
Hester.
Make turnovers happen.
Start showing signs of dominance in the third quarter.
Play hard till the end.

Baaaeeerrrzzz : 26-20.

Goober Manning Loses Big!

Let's be honest. The media is in love with Peyton Manning winning his first Super Bowl. So in love with this idea that some are saying that he deserves to win. This is utter rubbish. John Elway got to three Super Bowls with not one, yes, not one Pro Bowl player on offense. That is leadership. Peyton has so much talent on offense that the fact that he hasn't one a championship already speaks volumes of his failings. Both him and Dungy are losers. Peyton has not removed the monkey off his back by beating the Patriots. He needs to win the Super Bowl to remove the monkey.

The media's memory lapses go beyond Peyton to somehow believing that the Colts have a strong defense. This is based on playing tough against KC and Baltimore. I'm sorry, but they were ranked 32 in the league this year and no team with a defense ranked lower than 10th has ever won a Super Bowl. The Colts lost 4 out of their last 7 games to teams including the Texans and the Titans. This is not some juggernaut rolling through to an inevitable win.

As is often the case, the media and the talking heads are more interested in the story than the facts. That somehow his Sprint, Gatorade, MasterCard and whatever else Peyton prostitutes himself for justify him being a champion. Exposure does not equal champion, just ask LeBron.

I'm always a little wary when things seem too well scripted. Look at the Cardinals this year. They had no chance to even win a game against the Tigers. What about the Heat? Down 2-0 to the genius of Avery Johnson? How did that turn out? How about the Buckeyes and all their inevitability against the supposedly lucky to be there Gators?

What I believe we have in this Super Bowl is not an air of inevitability, but the drowning weight of expectations. No one has had higher expectations than Peyton. The Scion of that ultimate loser Archie and older brother of overrated loser Eli. Some people are losers and some are winners. Peyton is a loser, like his father before him and his brother after him.

This weight will weigh down the Colts, Freeney, Manning and Dungy. So much so that they will play tight and the Bears will be loose. So loose that they are going to run away with this game. Final Score: 34 - 16

Perfect Storm

Forget all of the technical ananlysis. There are several facts in this game and a few intangibles. The facts are obvious and will play to the stregnths of both teams. It is the uncontrollable intangibles that will decide the game. So here we go.

The facts for the Colts. Their offense is clearly better and they will be able to score.

The facts for the Bears. Their running game is unstoppable. Their defense is much better. Their special teams are the best in the league. Outdoors, Robbie Gould is as good as Adam Vinitari.

It will come down to the intangibles. For the Colts; can their defense continue to out perform as it has lately. Can their offensive line contain the pass rush.

For the Bears the only intangible that matters is Rex. At worst Rex should be a non-issue. At best the MVP of the game.

It is meaningless that the line is 7 and that almost everyone is picking the Colts. This game is smelling more and more like Superbowl III. A young gun quarterback whose games were up and down vs. the wiley vet with all of the experience and poise. No one expected the underdog to win in Superbowl III. The Colts had better be students of history. Da Bears 31-22. MVP-Rex!