Yes, I watched the Bucs game on Sunday, and, no I don't want to talk about it. As The Colonel Pacino said in Scent of a Woman, "If I was twenty years younger, I would TAKE A BLOWTORCH TO THIS PLACE!!!" That's how I feel about Halas Hall. I want to punch Lovie Smith in the crotch. HOOO AHH!
Sunday night...Bears v. Eagles...I'm goin'. It's about the food, man. Hopefully, I will be able to keep it down. If you watched the Eagles/Steelers game last week, you saw the Eagle defense beat the (I don't know any other way to say it) FUCK out of Ben Roethlisberger. They blitzed on every play. They blitzed very well on every play. The Steelers O-line got whupped. I am visualizing the Bears O-line dealing with this onslaught, and all I can offer is one kick-ass bratwurst. I may stay in the parking lot. They should dress Lovie and let him play QB. Knock the stupid right out of him.
When you blow double-digit leads late in a game, it is a reflection on your toughness. That's coaching. Toughen 'em up or get some tougher guys. Bad tackling, stupid penalties, a team looking fatigued in the 4th quarter? C'mon coach, let's let them know, if you can't cut it, you're out of a job. Threaten their livelihood. That's how you motivate these spoiled jagbags.
George W. Bush has bankrupted or failed every business that he ever had a part. He couldn't find oil in Texas. Is it just a coincidence that our economy is in the tank? This election can't happen fast enough. I cannot wait for the George W. Bush Library. Can you file comic books, Cliff Notes and Cracked magazine under the Dewey Decimal System?
Hey, that's not football. On the positive, Matt Forte is pretty good. Orton had a good second half. I am trying not to remember the first half; you recall, the half where the Bears average starting position was the Bucs 41 yard-line. The half where that field position, handed to the offense by the defensive turnover orgy, resulted in 3 points. YOU REMEMBER. This is enough of the positive paragraph. I'm losin' it.
Ever since Lovie pushed out Ron Rivera and put his buddy Bob Babich in at D-coordinator, our defense has looked sloppy. This was a really bad move. Rivera had this defense (with the same personnel) carrying a team to the Super Bowl. What problem was there? It was so big, it could not be overcome? Someone needs to explain this to me.
I need to stop talking now. It's sucking my will to tailgate. Let's do the Mojito.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Sleep It Off
Today, you saw why the Bears gave Rex Grossman so many chances at QB1. He may throw the deep ball as well as anyone in the NFL. Of course, the Bears coaches are enamored with talent over football skill. That is why you see Orton doing well with the tools he has. He is a football player. But he is not a very good football player; he has shortcomings. His shortcomings don't turn into turnovers ala Rex. But he cannot stretch the field and capitalize on the few deep opportunities he gets in a game. Of the 300,000 passes he threw in college, not one of them was over 15 yards. You saw it today. The Bears offense was exposed to the masses for what it is. Not very good. You can have speed and potential, but results and points are what counts.
That being said, this was a game that we should have won. We need an offensive coach who can call a two-minute drill. The last two possessions on offense were horribly played. It is either they don't believe in their wide-outs and tight ends or just forget to throw to them like a normal football team. Either way, you will see this all year. You just get the first down, four more plays and get in field goal range. Put it on your QB. That is what he dreams about. A fullback dive on 4th and 1 with the game on the line. Who made that call, the Smart Quiz winner from AM 780?
Another example of Bears talent evaluation. Chris Harris was dumped by the Bears because they loved Kevin Payne. Payne is younger, faster and flashes great potential. Harris just led the league in fumbles caused with 8 last season. The number 8 would be the number of crucial tackles Payne has missed this year already. Your strong safety needs to be a solid tackler. Payne is always around the ball, he just can't stop the guy who holds it. For a defense that values the takeaway so much, this decision still rankles. Harris's strip of Greg Olsen changed the game.
They need to tell the kick return teams that the illegal blocks in the back are not working. It would be one thing if you tried to cheat and sprung your guy for a huge return. All three of these penalties came on no-gain returns. And killed us on field position. A couple penalties hurt, dropped or missed passes; this game came down to the fact that the offense couldn't get a drive for 3 quarters. Or a first down. St. Clair couldn't handle Julius Peppers, and I now await the second coming of Fred (I lost my wallet) Miller. It will be an improvement. The only thing St. Clair blocks well is oxygen. Devin Hester pulls a rib? Again, we very easily could have started 2-0 with both wins on the road. I still had us at 0-2 at this point.
I was furious after this game. I put Mary Cate in for a nap and fell asleep myself. A gift of a nap. When I woke up, I was so happy for the rest, I lost my anger. I think I'm growing as a human being.
That being said, this was a game that we should have won. We need an offensive coach who can call a two-minute drill. The last two possessions on offense were horribly played. It is either they don't believe in their wide-outs and tight ends or just forget to throw to them like a normal football team. Either way, you will see this all year. You just get the first down, four more plays and get in field goal range. Put it on your QB. That is what he dreams about. A fullback dive on 4th and 1 with the game on the line. Who made that call, the Smart Quiz winner from AM 780?
Another example of Bears talent evaluation. Chris Harris was dumped by the Bears because they loved Kevin Payne. Payne is younger, faster and flashes great potential. Harris just led the league in fumbles caused with 8 last season. The number 8 would be the number of crucial tackles Payne has missed this year already. Your strong safety needs to be a solid tackler. Payne is always around the ball, he just can't stop the guy who holds it. For a defense that values the takeaway so much, this decision still rankles. Harris's strip of Greg Olsen changed the game.
They need to tell the kick return teams that the illegal blocks in the back are not working. It would be one thing if you tried to cheat and sprung your guy for a huge return. All three of these penalties came on no-gain returns. And killed us on field position. A couple penalties hurt, dropped or missed passes; this game came down to the fact that the offense couldn't get a drive for 3 quarters. Or a first down. St. Clair couldn't handle Julius Peppers, and I now await the second coming of Fred (I lost my wallet) Miller. It will be an improvement. The only thing St. Clair blocks well is oxygen. Devin Hester pulls a rib? Again, we very easily could have started 2-0 with both wins on the road. I still had us at 0-2 at this point.
I was furious after this game. I put Mary Cate in for a nap and fell asleep myself. A gift of a nap. When I woke up, I was so happy for the rest, I lost my anger. I think I'm growing as a human being.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
What the Hell?
Remember one of those nights when you were feeling a little tired or sluggish, maybe on a Sunday, and you didn't really feel like going out. A friend talks you into it. "Only for an hour or so," you said. Your destination wasn't promising, your expectations were low and you absolutely positively weren't drinking. Then, you get there. There was a band playing that you never heard of and they kicked ass. A bunch of people you knew showed up and they were fired up. The drinks started flowing; you were singing and dancing; you got home at 3:00 a.m. and didn't even mind that you had to get up for work/class at 7:00 a.m. It was a memorable night, but a night you couldn't repeat with a plan or a goal. Unexpectedly, it was as much fun as you could ever have.
That was Sunday night in Indy. No one had lower expectations for this game than me. It was about class, like in horse racing. They had it; we didn't. 60 minutes later, the Bears had dominated the Colts. I can't believe I just wrote that sentence. They controlled the line of scrimmage all night. Who were those impostors on the offensive line? Forte is the real deal, but I could have run through those holes. What the hell is going on out there?
Never doubt this defense. I won't. They were flying around like Killer Bees. Some tackling needs to be better (Kevin Payne), but how about them Bears. Just great. They overcame the mistakes, especially Hester's folly (which finally got Lovie to crack the "Lovie Face"), like a real competitive football team.
All that being said, I worry that the consistency will not be there. I fear that this version of Bears will torment me all season. Can we recapture the magic? I like Kyle Orton. I like his confidence, his courage and his head. But his receiving corps is still a pupu platter. What will happen when the opposition loads up for the run? You see what happens when you can run it well, so well that you are running the ball on third down, converting first downs regularly. Even Ron Turner can't fuck up play calls. I will not indulge my urge to gush. It was a great moment for a Bear fan. The moments over. Here come the Panthers.
Did I mention that this dominant performance was ON THE ROAD! Sorry, I gushed.
John Madden says that every NFL fan is devastated by Tom Brady's season-ending injury. I say "Fuck him!" He cavorted around all summer with his "new-style American girlfriend," flipping the bird to the football gods. He blew a 18-0 season in the Super Bowl. Any jinx-fearing football player would have holed up in Apollo Creed's gym from Rocky 3 and emerged for camp looking like mini-Terminator muscled QB. I don't feel bad. Maybe he will come down to earth, taking over Ditka's role as spokesman for Cialis with all of his free time.
That movie "Sixteen Candles" really holds up. Describing the Bears on Sunday, in the words of Farmer Ted, "I'm at a loss."
That was Sunday night in Indy. No one had lower expectations for this game than me. It was about class, like in horse racing. They had it; we didn't. 60 minutes later, the Bears had dominated the Colts. I can't believe I just wrote that sentence. They controlled the line of scrimmage all night. Who were those impostors on the offensive line? Forte is the real deal, but I could have run through those holes. What the hell is going on out there?
Never doubt this defense. I won't. They were flying around like Killer Bees. Some tackling needs to be better (Kevin Payne), but how about them Bears. Just great. They overcame the mistakes, especially Hester's folly (which finally got Lovie to crack the "Lovie Face"), like a real competitive football team.
All that being said, I worry that the consistency will not be there. I fear that this version of Bears will torment me all season. Can we recapture the magic? I like Kyle Orton. I like his confidence, his courage and his head. But his receiving corps is still a pupu platter. What will happen when the opposition loads up for the run? You see what happens when you can run it well, so well that you are running the ball on third down, converting first downs regularly. Even Ron Turner can't fuck up play calls. I will not indulge my urge to gush. It was a great moment for a Bear fan. The moments over. Here come the Panthers.
Did I mention that this dominant performance was ON THE ROAD! Sorry, I gushed.
John Madden says that every NFL fan is devastated by Tom Brady's season-ending injury. I say "Fuck him!" He cavorted around all summer with his "new-style American girlfriend," flipping the bird to the football gods. He blew a 18-0 season in the Super Bowl. Any jinx-fearing football player would have holed up in Apollo Creed's gym from Rocky 3 and emerged for camp looking like mini-Terminator muscled QB. I don't feel bad. Maybe he will come down to earth, taking over Ditka's role as spokesman for Cialis with all of his free time.
That movie "Sixteen Candles" really holds up. Describing the Bears on Sunday, in the words of Farmer Ted, "I'm at a loss."
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