The Talented Mr. Angelo?

There have been many polarizing figures in Bears history. Rex Grossman has his ardent supporters and the thousands who boo his every move. Fans often took different sides in support or opposition of former Bears coach Dick Jauron, as many nowadays are taking sides for and against Lovie Smith (your humble narrator is for), fans were split on those who hated Dave Wannstedt and those who Really fucking hated Dave Wannstedt. One of the more divisive characters in recent Bears history has been Bears GM Jerry Angelo, who first took the reigns of the team in 2001. The two opposing sides on Angelo usually amount to this.

Pro Angelo- Angelo makes solid draft choices in the later rounds, he has managed the cap while fielding a competitive team, he has a winning record, three division titles, and a conference championship as GM.

Anti Angelo- He gives up too many good players (Roosevelt Colvin, Thomas Jones, Chris Harris, etc.), his first round picks often suck (David Terrell, Marc Colombo, Michael Haynes, Cedric Benson), he's not really responsible for most of the team's success.

So where do we begin in evaluating the real value of Mr. Angelo?

The easiest to calculate is his win loss record as general manger. Since taking over the Bears in 2001, Angelo is 65-56, which ranks 11th in the NFL over that period and 5th in the NFC since that period, thats the upper third of the league, although not top ten or particularly outstanding, so I give him a B. here's the records of all 32 teams since 2001:

1. Patriots: 92-29
2. Colts:84-37
3. Steelers:79-41-1
4. Eagles: 77-44
5. Packers:73-48
6. Broncos:71-50
7. Seahawks:69-52
8. Chargers:67-54
9t. Titans:66-55
9t. Ravens:66-55
11. Bears:65-56
12. Giants:64-57
13. Bucs:63-58
14. Cowboys:62-59
15. Jaguars:61-60
16. Rams:60-61
17t. Jets:59-62
17t. Panthers:59-62
19. Chiefs:58-63
20. Falcons:57-63-1
21. Saints:56-65
22. Redskins:56-65
23. Vikings:56-65
24. Dolphins: 55-66
25. Bengals: 51-70
26. Bills:50-71
27. 49ers:49-72
28. Browns:48-73
29. Cardinals:46-75
30. Raiders 42-79
31. Texans:35-70
32. Lions:31-90

Another category I used to evaluate Jerry Angelo was draft-pick retention. This I defined as the number of draft picks that he's chosen over the years that remain on the Bears roster. The Bears under Angelo have made 77 draft picks since 2001, the most by any NFL team over that span. They retain 28 of those 77, a success rate of 36%. Granted, most NFL teams have long since parted ways with even their successful picks of the 2001 or 2002 drafts given free agency and the like, but it was just easier to count the entire body of work. The Bears total number of draft picks that remain on their roster that have been chosen over the last 8 years qualifies them for 9th out of that time period, here's how the rest of the NFL stacks up [number of picks retained/picks taken (number of first round draft picks retained/number of first rounders taken)]:

1 .32/70 (8/8) Ravens
2. 31/67 (6/6) Colts
3. 29/68 (5/8) Seahawks
4. 29/67 (4/6) Eagles
5. 29/70 (4/7) Packers
6. 29/70 (5/10) 49ers
7. 29/74 (4/6) Titans
8. 28/63 (8/8) Cowboys
9. 28/77 (4/8) Bears
10. 27/58 (5/9) Cardinals
11 .27/62 (4/9) Lions
12. 27/62 (7/8) Chargers
13. 27/66 (8/9) Panthers
14. 27/66 (6/8) Bengals
15. 27/68 (6/8) Jaguars
16. 26/58 (4/7) Giants
17. 26/61 (8/8) Steelers
18. 26/64 (5/10) Raiders
19. 26/67 (8/9) Patriots
20. 25/70 (5/6) Buccaneers
21. 24/60 (7/8) Texans
22. 24/66 (5/8) Falcons
23. 23/72 (5/10) Rams
24. 22/64 (6/7) Chiefs
25. 22/57 (7/9) Saints
26. 21/56 (6/9) Jets
27. 20/68 (6/9) Bills
28. 20/59 (5/8) Browns
29. 20/49 (3/6) Redskins
30. 19/56 (4/8) Vikings
31. 19/60 (4/7) Broncos
32. 19/60 (5/6) Dolphins

Now there's a couple ways to look at this. While several of the teams in the top ten in draft pick retention are also in the top ten in wins (Colts, Seahawks, Ravens, Titans, Eagles, Packers), three of the least successful teams (49ers, Cardinals) are also in the top ten. The reasons for their high ranking is mostly attributable to rebuilding programs that have kept almost every pick from the last few drafts on the roster with an emphasis on youth over experience. The Patriots and Steelers compensate for their somewhat low rankings on overall draft pick retention with incredible success rates on their first round picks, with 8/9 for the Patriots and 8/8 for the Steelers. Angelo has notoriously struggled in the first round, as only 4 of his 8 first rounders remain on the roster, with Rex Grossman sure to be gone after this season. What's remarkable is his ability to overcome these failures. Round by round here are Angelo's picks (current roster members in bold)

1st Round (4/8)- David Terrell, Marc Colombo, Michael Haynes, Rex Grossman, Tommie Harris, Cedric Benson, Greg Olsen, Chris Williams

2nd Round (4/8)- Anthony Thomas, Charles Tillman, Tank Johnson, Mark Bradley, Daniael Manning, Devin Hester, Dan Bazuin, Matt Forte

3rd Round (6/10)- Mike Gandy, Roe Williams, Terrence Metcalf, Lance Briggs, Bernard Berrian, Dusty Dvoracek, Garrett Wolfe, Michael Okwo, Earl Bennett, Marcus Harrison

4th Round (6/10)- Karon Riley, Alex Brown, Todd Johnson, Ian Scott, Nathan Vasher, Leon Joe, Kyle Orton, Jamar Williams, Josh Beekman, Craig Steltz

5th Round (5/14)- Bernard Robertson, Bobby Gray, Bryan Knight, Bobby Wade, Justin Gage, Tron LaFavor, Claude Harriott, Craig Krenzel, Airese Currie, Mark Anderson, Kevin Payne, Corey Graham, Zack Bowman, Kellen Davis

6th Round (1/8)-Adrian Peterson, Jamin Elliot, Bryan Fletcher, Joe Odom, Brock Forsey, Chris Harris, JD Runnels, Tyler Reed,

7th Round (3/11)- John Capel, Bryan Anderson, Alfonso Marshall, Rod Wilson, Trumaine McBride, Aaron Brant, Ervin Baldwin, Chester Adams, Joey Larocque, Kirk Barton, Marcus Monk

As you can see, Angelo's shooting .500 in the two money rounds, the first and second, but compensates for it with a 60% success rate in the third and foruth rounds. Many people criticize him hard for missing on so many first rounders, and with good cause, but in my opinion many of those big money misses like Cedric Benson are quite compensated by a third round gold mine find like Lance Briggs, or a fourth round STEAL LIKE KYLE ORTON. Since he's in the top 10 in the NFL in overall draft pick retention, I'm giving him an B+, falling just short of an A since I really hated David Terrell and Cedric Benson.

So in both the win category, and the draft pick category, Angelo is at least a B average, not greatness, but pretty solid. Tomorrow: The Free Agents and Trades. I know you're riveted.

UPDATE: As pointed out in the comments, Angelo was hired AFTER the 2001 draft, which absolves him of the blame of that awful draft class. I really don't feel like editing all of this to make the change, so just ignore David Terrell, Anthony Thomas, and friends. My bad.

Geovany Soto Makes Code Red's Girlfriends Day by Winning ROTY, Ruins it by Being Married.

This should have been mentioned yesterday and for that I apologize , but the Girlfriend made sure that it received its proper mention today, so here's a heartfelt SKO congratulations to Geovany Soto for winning National League Rookie of the Year. We're all proud of you, especially the Girlfriend, who'd once more like to point out that she picked you to be her favorite player well before the season started. And she'd probably leave me for you in a second. Thank you for being married.

Happy Veterans Day

God Bless You All

Bears Team That Can't Stop Pass Heads to Green Bay to Face Team That Can't Stop Run

Well, its the first Green Bay week of 2008, and a lot is at stake for the Bears, if they win, they knock Green Bay 2 games back and set themselves up pretty well for the game at Minnesota the week after. If they lose, well then the NFC North remains a cloudy mess of suck. Here's the numbers:

Bears Offense vs. Packers Defense 2008

Passing YPG- 213.0(13th) vs. 179.1 (3rd)
Rushing YPG- 110.6(15th) vs. 154.6 (28th)
Total YPG- 323.6 (17th) vs. 333.7 (21)
Total PPG- 26.3 (6th) vs. 22.8 (18th)

Packers Offense vs. Bears Defense 2008

Passing YPG- 221.4 (11th) vs. 251.8 (30th...eee gad)
Rushing YPG- 98.1 (23rd) vs. 74.9 (4th)
Total YPG- 326.7 (17th) vs. 319.6 (19th)
Total PPG- 26.3 (6th) vs. 21.6 (15th)

So basically these teams are fairly middle of the pack (though the Bears offensive numbers have taken a slight dip with 6 straight quarters of Grossman) in all areas but two: the Packers pass defense and the Bears run defense. Not surprisingly you should expect to see a lot of Aaron Rodgers passes and Matt Forte runs this game. The tiebreaker will hopefully be this guy:


Who by all accounts will play and will provide the Bears with a better balance on offense than the Packers should have, as Ryan Grant's struggled most of the year and our run defense should grind him down more than their pass defense wears down Kyle, as he's not one prone to make poor decisions or panic. That, and he beat the Packers 35-7 last December. A common trend in the Bears-Packers Rivalry of late, as Lovie's teams are 6-2 against the Packers, and 5-1 against Mike McCarthy. Those last 8:

December 23, 2007: Bears 35, Packers 7
October 7, 2007: Bears 27, Packers 20
December 31, 2006: Packers 26, Bears 7
September 10, 2006: Bears 26, Packers 0
December 25, 2005: Bears 24, Packers 17
December 4, 2005: Bears 19, Packers 7
January 2, 2005: Packers 31, Bears 14
September 19, 2004: Bears 21, Packers 10

Not to make excuses (read: making excuses) but in the two losses to the Packers during the Lovie years, the December 2006 game came when the Bears had clinched homefield advantage throughout the playoffs and most of their starters did not play the second half, and the 2005 game (actually the last game of the 2004 season), the Bears had 16 players on injured reserve, including Rex Grossman, Brian Urlacher, Mike Brown, Adewale Ogunleye, and three different offensive linemen. So, basically the Bears have won every game since 2004 in which they fielded an actual team. Here's to two more and a division title this year.

Go Bears.

The Fall of the House of Grossman

It was October 16th, 2006. The Bears were 5-0 and coming off 26-0, 34-7, 37-6, and 40-7 blowouts against the Packers, Lions, Seahawks, and Bills, with only a 19-16 squeaker against the Vikings having made them look even remotely human at that point in the season. The Arizona Cardinals were 1-4 and rookie Matt Leinart and the crabs he'd gotten from Paris Hilton were making their second career NFL start. Barack Obama had teased the country by announcing before the game on ESPN that "he was ready...for the Bears to go all the way," fueling the rumors swirling around a possible presidential run. But most of all, Rex Grossman was on fire, averaging nearly 250 yards per game with a 61% completion rate, 10 touchdowns against only 3 interceptions, and was the recipient of the NFL's Offensive Player of the Month Award for September, an award the Bears see about as frequently as Terrell Owens sees the need to keep his mouth shut on a given subject. A packed University of Phoenix stadium crowd gathered for what was assumed to be a Bears rout.

But it was not to be.

The Cardinals came out fired up, Matt Leinart became one of the first, though as anyone who has watched the Bears this year knows not the last, quarterbacks to exploit the soft zones in the Bears coverage schemes with short passes, and the Bears offense started atrociously, with the offense limited to just 168 total yards in the game, the Cardinals jumped out to a 20-0 lead at halftime and began the end of Rex Grossman's career in Chicago. Pressured and panicked, Rex threw for only 144 yards and 4 interceptions. The Bears overcame Grossman's shortcomings and scored two defensive touchdowns and a punt return from Devin Hester to pull out 24-23 win that prompted Denny Green's famous "the Bears are who we thought they were!" rant. While pundits had field day with Green's meltdown, the line "the Bears are who they they were" has turned out far more prophetic in the case of Rex Grossman.

Denny Green had found Rex's weakness, and the NFL was quick to copy it. Team's went out of their way to pressure Rex, to force bad decisions, to take advantage of his lack of mobility and clog his passing lanes, leading to more tipped passes than any of us care to remember. Rex hit a wall, and for the rest of the season he was a less than impressive 155-291 (53%) for 1,806 yds (180.6 ypg), 13 tds, 13 ints, and a McNownesque 68.6 rating. The up-and-down roller coaster that he was throughout the Superbowl run and the disaster of last season is well documented. The question is, why?

Rex struggled with pressure, what quarterback didn't? He was short, but short quarterbacks have been successful elsewhere (Drew Brees is actually listed as one inch shorter). Something in Rex Grossman snapped that day against Arizona, and never again was he the same quarterback he was before. There are many theories as to what forever stalled his development and kept him from progressing beyond that wall, but yesterday's Titans game most likely represented the finale in Chicago for a man who once bore the city's biggest dreams on his shoulders.

I for one point to the knee injury and ankle injury that kept him off the field for the vitally important second and third years of his career. 2004 was meant to be Rex Grossman's first full season, a year where growing pains were expected and an up and down season like the 2006 would have been viewed as far more of a success. 2005 was to be Rex's rebound, but the ankle injury which kept him out until the 15th game of the season kept him from even practicing new coordinator Ron Turner's offense, which represented his 5th new system in 5 years going back to his sophomore year of college. For whatever reason, some perfect storm of injuries, lack of proper training within the system, poor coaching, and fan hostility shattered the pysche of Rex Grossman, and left him the schizophrenic Rex we know today. Though the Good Rex/ Bad Rex debate lasted throughout 2007, more or less it had become Bad Rex/ Atrocious Rex, and yesterday's game was a microcosm of that. A 75 yard drive perfectly executed against the league's best defense followed immediately by a forced pass that was intercepted. Three full quarters of offensive ineptitude. In the end Grossman walked off the field to the boos that have long since beaten down even his most ardent of former supporters (read: Me).

I'm not a big believer in "what might have been." I don't sit and ask what Rex Grossman could be right now without the injuries, or with a better offensive line, or if that Arizona game had gone much differently. I am concerned only with what was, and what is. What was a quarterback who'd responded to two years of frustration with a 5 game stretch the likes of which Chicago had never seen, a quarterback who seemed to stand at the precipice of greatness and a certain championship, is now a broken down bust, a kid whose once astounding confidence in himself and his arm is now gone, no matter how he talks to the press. Kyle Orton is this team's franchise quarterback, and for that I am grateful. He's put up the kind of numbers we'd once believed Rex capable of. He does it with far less flash than Rex did in his best moments, but with far more consistency. For what its worth I'll not forget who Rex Grossman was in those first five games of 2006, even if I've long since moved on.

In closing, I'll say only this: no player in Bears history bore the kind of scrutiny that clung to Rex with every breath. Some of it was warranted, most of it was not. He may not have earned the ire and malice fans reserved for a Cade McNown or Dave Wannstedt, but he certainly chafed under the highest expectations. On countless opportunities he could have succumbed to the temptation to lash out and swear back at the doubters and naysayers who plagued his every move. At times the media seemed be trying to provoke him into it, as if hoping for an outburst that would perhaps alleviate their hidden guilt at attacking him with such abandon. If his 19-12 record as a starter didn't attest that he was, at least, a winner in one regard, one can point to the fact that he never gave into the press's determination to destroy his dignity. In that way at least, it can always be said that they never beat Rex Grossman.

Orton Practices, Listed as Doubtful for Sunday's Game

This is a day late, but according to this article from Yahoo! Sports, Orton practiced yesterday but is listed as doubtful for the Titans game. Regardless of whether he plays or not, the boost it had to give to his team to see a guy whose season seemed completely Over on Sunday dropping back and taking snaps must have been huge. We here at Start Kyle Orton once more applaud the Wolverine-like healing factor of our demi-God quarterback.

All Hail Ortonia!

Kyle Hoping to Defy ESPN, Play Sunday

The latest news from both the Chicago Tribune and ChicagoBears.com is that Orton wants to play against Tennessee this Sunday. While this is a good sign, even those of us here at SKO think he might want to take the game off and come back against Green Bay. Let Rex take his mauling at the hands of Tennessee's defense...better this..


Than this..


Who knows? Rex could win the thing and get himself a contract somewhere else for next year.

Prognostication Bukakke Round 2 Results

After the Steelers win last night the results for week two are as follows:

Father: 10-4
Code Red:9-5
Girlfriend:9-5
Iggins!:8-6

Overall:
Father: 19-9
Iggins!: 18-10
Code Red: 17-11
Girlfriend: 17-11

Clinging to Optimism

This article by the Sun Times declares that their source tells them Kyle does Not have a high ankle sprain and will miss less time than the month that ESPN's Michael Smith reported and the 3-4 weeks (because ESPN said month, we have to say weeks) that NFL Network reports. So basically, do you trust the Sun Times or ESPN? As I'm an American, I'll trust whoever tells me what I want to hear.

No Mere Ankle Injury Can Slow a Demi God.

College Football Roundup and Code Red Rankings 11/03/08

AP Top 25 Results:

Cincinnati 24, #24 South Florida 10
Once more this just proves my theory that South Florida should never be ranked. Period.

California 26, #23 Oregon 16
Oregon continues the downfall that began the day Iggins! declared Dennis Dixon his Heisman candidate and subsequently doomed his knee and the program.

#22 Michigan State 25, Wisconsin 24
Wisconsin makes me feel somewhat better by playing a second consecutive tough game? Ehh. Bret Bielema's kind of a moron for calling a timeout to allow the Spartans to set up the game winning field goal.

Northwestern 24, #20 Minnesota 17
I don't know what on earth could have possessed Minnesota QB Adam Webster to heave a desperation pass into triple coverage that was intercepted and returned for the winning touchdown. It was a tie game! Go to overtime you idiot!

Arkansas 30, Tulsa 23
Iggins! favorite coach Bobby Petrino ends Tulsa's undefeated season.

#17 BYU 45, Colorado State 42
BYU- the Mountain West's Texas Tech.

Georgia Tech 31, #16 Florida State 28
Good. There was no reason FSU should have been ranked anyways. I continue my lovefest for Georgia Tech (now 7-2) and Paul Johnson's triple wing offense.

#15 LSU 35, Tulane 10
Yeah, whatever LSU, no one's impressed with your defeat of a Matt Forte-less Tulane.

#14 Missouri 31, Baylor 28
Baylor comes short of the upset, which is disappointing as I want Missouri to burn to the ground as an Illini fan.

#12 TCU 44, UNLV 14
The Horned Frogs continue their dominance of the Mountain West.

#11 Boise State 49, New Mexico State 0
Well that's just swell.

#10 Utah 13, New Mexico 10
Utah is #10? Seriously?

#9 Oklahoma State 59, Iowa State 17
I'm putting the over/under of combined points in this weeks Texas Tech-Oklahoma State game at 90.

#5 Florida 49, #8 Georgia 10
How's that national champion Bulldogs prediction look now, Sports Illustrated? I still think Florida can win the SEC.

#7 USC 56, Washington 0
So the Huskies didn't exactly come out firing for now lame duck coach Ty Willingham.

#4 Oklahoma 62, Nebraska 28
These Nebraska blowout losses were more fun when Bill Callahan was the head coach.

#6 Texas Tech 39, Texas 33
Yar!

Code Red's Top 25
1. Texas Tech
2. Florida
3. Alabama
4. Penn State
5. Texas
6. USC
7. Oklahoma
8. Oklahoma State
9. Ohio State
10. Missouri
11. Boise State
12. Utah
13. TCU
14. LSU
15. Georgia
16. Michigan State
17. BYU
18. Georgia Tech
19. Ball State
20.West Virginia
21. North Carolina
22. Maryland
23. Northwestern
24.Tulsa
25. Kansas

SKO Rankings-
1. Illinois
2. Iowa

Browns to Start Brady Quinn

We switch our focus from my obsessing over Kyle's health to the foolish Browns fans who think that this will save their season. At least I can finally shut down this website*.

Brady Quinn works on his mechanics chest deep in water....naked.


(*I swear to God if any of you thinks this is anything but my joke I will hunt you down and gut you like a fish)

Lest We Let Kyle's Injury Suck All the Mirth Out of the Weekend..

This is the look of boredom that is perpetually fixed to Kirk Ferentz. It says it all really.

"Why did my offense flounder so dramatically in crucial spots on Saturday's game?"
Well Kirk, this can be explained in several ways. First, your team meast, Shonn Greene, was his godlike self for one quarter and played the other three like he was channeling his inner Cedric Benson. Also, your quarterback is still looking for his ass, which is buried under 12 feet of Memorial Stadium turf after your vaunted Ferentz o-line gave up 6 sacks. It doesn't help that your offensive coordinator called the game like he'd bet money on the Illini.

"How did I lose to Ron Zook?"
Well, actually Kirk, Ron did everything that entails a Zook loss. Did we blow a lead by calling soft defensive coverages despite only having a two possession lead with quite a bit of time remaining? You bet your ass we did. Did we call the option repeatedly with little to no results? 12 times for 30 yards you crazy SOB! Did we commit a soul crushing personal foul to allow the tying/winning score? How's unnecessary roughness treat ya? Quite simply, you lost because Juice stirred up enough badassity to drive downfield to win the game.

Am I, and are most of my fans, trash talking morons?
Hell yes. 27-24. Also, the aforementioned trash talking moron dared rationalize that "Iowa played better, Red Zone offense and ints killed us." Other than the fact that Illinois outscored you, outgained you, had the same number of turnovers, gained more yards per play, gave up 6 fewer sacks and performed better on third down, you totally outplayed us.

Hope?

To Be Seen Again in 2008??

Comcast Sportsnet Chicago's William Jackson reports Kyle's ankle is not broken, that he was in high spirits, left under his own power, and that his injury does not appear to be season ending. Please God let him be back to beat Tennessee.

On a different note: to hell with any Bears fan who booed Rex Grossman on his first drive this game. What the hell? It's not like the Bears benched Kyle and threw Rex in for the hell of it. He was our only option and you booed him?? There's no reason NOT to give the kid all the support you can and hope he can pull a win out, which he did. Granted, the numbers were not close to spectacular, but the interception was hardly his fault and he played about as well as a guy who's been playing scout team quarterback for the last 8 weeks would play. Rex is Not Cade McNown. He is a guy who went out there, gave his best effort every game he played and just didn't work out. He stood up to the media when they relentlessly harassed even his good games. He never lashed out at coaches, teammates, press members, or fans, or made excuses. He worked his way back from injury after injury and was nothing but classy about his demotion in favor of Brian Griese or Kyle. Nobody wanted Rex to have to play today, but it was a classless display to boo the backup for just trying to do his job when the starter went down. We at SKO give Rex a big thumbs up for not shitting his pants and participating in a great comeback win.

Celebrate Rex, we'll remember this one.

Update: ESPN and Chicago Tribune both reporting Kyle out up to a month with a high ankle sprain. This is all pending an MRI tomorrow. Cross your fingers and hope its not that bad.

Second Update: NBC reports that Kyle drove himself home and told a friend he hopes to play next Sunday. God only knows what the hells going on.

Please Man...

Do you speak to I?

Please just let Kyle be OK? Please?!

2008: REDEMPTION!

Cue the Battle Hymn of the Republic:

GLORY GLORY HALLELUJAH!

GLORY GLORY HALLELUUUJAH!

GLORY GLORY HALLLELUUUUUUJAH

ILLINOIS MARCHES ON!!!!!!

Also: VIVA LA REVOLUCION! VIVA LA TEXAS TECH! VIVA MIKE LEACH! VIVA LA AIR RAID !

Prognostication Bukakke! Round Two!

Predictions for week Two:

Jets @ Bills:
Code Red: Bills
Iggins!: Bills
Girlfriend: Jets
Father: Jets

Jaguars @ Bengals:
Code Red: Jaguars
Iggins!: Jaguars
Girlfriend: Bengals (Tigers are badass).
Father: Jaguars

Ravens@Browns:
Code Red: Ravens
Iggins!: Browns
Girlfriend: Browns
Father: Ravens

Texans@ Vikings:
Code Red: Texans
Iggins!: Texans
Girlfriend: Vikings (I will never choose the Texans. That name is stupid).
Father: Texans

Buccaneers @ Chiefs:
Code Red: Bucs
Iggins!: Bucs
Girlfriend: Buccaneers (the Tampa Bay Rays were way better than the Royals)
Father: Bucs

Cardinals @ Rams:
Code Red: Rams
Iggins!: Rams
Girlfriend: Rams
Father: Rams

Packers @ Titans:
Code Red: Titans
Iggins!: Titans
Girlfriend: Packers
Father: Titans

Dolphins @ Broncos:
Code Red: Broncos
Iggins!: Dolphins
Girlfriend: Broncos (though Dolphins are smarter than horses)
Father: Dolphins

Cowboys @ Giants:
Code Red: Giants
Iggins!: Giants
Girlfriend: Giants
Father: Cowboys

Eagles @ Seahawks:
Code Red: Eagles
Iggins!: Eagles
Girlfriend: Eagles
Father: Eagles

Falcons@ Raiders:
Code Red: Falcons
Iggins!: Falcons
Girlfriend: Falcons
Father: Falcons

Patriots @ Colts:
Code Red: Colts
Iggins!: Colts
Girlfriend: Patriots
Father : Colts

Steelers @ Redskins:
Code Red: Steelers
Iggins!: Redskins
Girlfriend: Steelers
Father: Steelers

Lions @ BEARS:
Code Red: BEARS
Iggins!: BEARS
Girlfriend: BEARS
Father: BEARS

That is the look perpetually fixed to Ron Zook's face. It says it all really.

"Why do I suck even though I have more talent on my team than the Detroit Lions?"

Let me explain, Ron. When you're a COACH you have to COACH, not just recruit. This means making good decisions during actual live football games. This means drawing up a playbook that makes more sense than 4th grader Timmy's trigonometry test. This means not accepting penalties on 3rd down plays when the other team would have had a 4th down had you declined (like he did last year against Iowa. Iowa converted their second 3rd down attempt).

"Why am I 0-4 against Kirk Ferentz?"

Because Kirk Ferentz is the exact opposite of your dumbassedry, Zook. Kirk grinds his 3 star players until they become Shonn Greene, Pat Angerer, and Rick Stanzi. Zook lets his 5 star players rot and never teaches them anything. Their talent essentially drops to that of a 3 star because they aren't being utilized properly! You want to know the reason Phil Jackson is the best NBA coach ever? It's because he can take any number of talented guys and make them mesh. Ron Zook couldn't make white and rice mesh. Juice is standing out there all alone, trying to turn Zook's shitty plays into good ones through his sheer will. Kudos to Juice for maturing into a badass, by the way. He'll be a good NFL player. But he's fucked.

He's fucked because Kirk Ferentz actually gameplans against Zook, and not the Illini. He knows what that dumbass is going to do and he counters it. It's like appealing to the jury when you're a defense attorney instead of proving your client innocent. It may not be the most straightforward way to beat somebody, but it's more than enough for Zook.

"Why is Shonn Greene lighting me up for over 200yds rushing?"

Because you have no defense, Ron. And because Shonn Greene just doesn't go down. He really does look like an NFL running back playing against college kids. There is zero give up in Shonn. And that's what Kirk Ferentz teaches. Fuck you, Ron Zook. Bask in the glory that is good coaching.

-Also, in closing, I accept the idea that Kirk Ferentz is Hitler. Because Zook sure as hell isn't Churchill. Zook is a fucking Communist. I'll take the extreme conservative over the extreme liberal any day. Prepare for the blitzkrieg you junksluts.

In Contrast To Whom, Brian?

This recent comment from Bears superstar linebacker Brian Urlacher :
“The thing I like about Kyle, he’s not stupid. He’ll take a sack. A sack’s not going to kill you. You’re not turning the ball over. You’re not throwing the ball up there, letting someone else go get it. He’ll take a sack, and we’ll punt the ball and see if we can play some good defense.”

One wonders why Brian felt the need to point that out, I mean that's common sense for quarterbacks right...




NO REX! DON'T THROW IT THERE!!!!
..
...
.....


Fuck.


Enter....

Yeah, Brian, I'll take a sack. Or drop a 48 point Bomb on Minnesota.

College Football Roundup and Code Red Rankings 10/28/08

Scores-
How the AP Top 25 fared last week:

#25 Minnesota 17, Purdue 6-
7-1 Minnesota just seems wrong and dirty in all the wrong places, but perhaps in a few years, their coach, former Illini tight end Tim Brewster can be induced to coach the ole Alma Mater.

#24 Florida State 30, Virginia Tech 20-
I really hate that Florida State is ranked again. Is anyone surprised that the ACC sucks yet again?D Does every good offensive recruit on the east coast go to the SEC?

#23 Boston College 24, North Carolina 45-
Butch Davis has UNC at 6-2 and making the most noise they've made since Mack Brown left for Texas. Its still the ACC.

#22 Tulsa 49, UCF 19-
I watched this beatdown on ESPN2 just for the hell of it, and 8-0 Tulsa's offense remains as fun and glitzy as ever. This program's rising, hopefully someday they'll rise out of Conference USA.

#21 Georgia Tech 17, Virginia 24-
This game used to be the most maddeningly frustrating matchup of ex-NFL turned college coaches, Chan Gailey and Al Groh. Only Al remains. Paul Johnson and his throwback triple option offense are easy to root for, but they stumbled here against the Cavaliers. I still like them most of all ACC teams.

#20 Ball State 38, Eastern Michigan 16-
Ball State is ranked?

#19 Kansas 23, #8 Texas Tech 63-
Air Raid. Air. Mother fucking. Raid. If you aren't rooting for the Red Raiders to run the table and give Mike Leach a national title, you are fucking heartless.

#18 BYU 42, UNLV 35-
I've always found it strange that the pioneers of the spread offense and the most progressive offense in history are staid, fastidious mormons.

#17 Pittsburgh 34, Rutgers 54
Ha! Greg Schiano earns himself an SKO stamp of approval for whacking Wannstedt's team out of the rankings.

#16 Missouri 58, Colorado 0
Dan Hawkins begininning to think that his team Did go play intramurals.

#15 TCU 54, Wyoming 7
Well, that's nice.

#14 South Florida 20, Louisville 24
Anyone who read my weekly rankings last year knows my inexplicable hatred of South Florida, it'd be nice to see Lousiville get back to where they were under Iggins! favorite coach, Bobby Petrino. (Seriously read that link. Its Iggins! finest rant ever, because he actually uses research and stuff. That's not typically his game)

#13 Boise State 33, San Jose State 16
Boise State begins their march back to a BCS bowl game, which can only disappoint the memory of their thrilling win against Oklahoma in their first.

#11 LSU 38, #9 Georgia 52
LSU's vaunted defense from last season further detoriates, this coming not long after hemorrhaging 51 points against Florida.

#10 Ohio State 6, #3 Penn State 13
Terrelle Pryor finally shuts up ESPN by proving he hasn't quite arrived at Vince Young's level. And god there's no hope of Penn State representing the Big Ten well in the national title game.

#7 Oklahoma State 24, #1 Texas 28
Texas sets up their inevitable glorious loss at the Air Raid's hands. Also, I still don't like Colt McCoy, his fancy 81.8% completion percentage not withstanding.

#6 USC 17, Arizona 10
The scary part is that USC is winning with defense this year.

#5 Florida 63, Kentucky 5
Kentucky's regressed pretty miserably without graduated QB Andre Woodson, and will have a tough time making it to a 3rd bowl in a row. TEBOW and Co. look dominating and a victory over Georgia next week would make them a near-lock for the SEC Championship game.

#4 Oklahoma 58, Kansas State 35
Impressive?

#2 Alabama 29, Tennessee 9
When Nick Saban faces off against Phil Fulmer, America loses.

Code Red Rankings!
1. Texas Tech
2. Texas
3. Alabama
4. Florida
5. Oklahoma
6. USC
7. Penn State
8. Georgia
9. Oklahoma State
10. Missouri
11. Boise State
12. Ohio State
13. TCU
14. Utah
15. LSU
16. BYU
17. Minnesota
18. Tulsa
19. North Carolina
20. Michigan State
21. Oregon
23. South Florida
24. Vanderbilt
25. South Carolina

Prognostication Bukakke! Results Round 1

After 1 week the standings of in the Prognostication Bukakke! are as follows:

Iggins!-10-4

Father-9-5

Code Red- 8-6

Girlfriend-8-6

A solid weekend for Iggins! and the father, mediocre efforts from myself, and surprisingly good results for blind chance on the Girlfriend's part. (She did pick the Lions after all).

Lou Holtz Says Hold On a Minute

Hey gang, Lou Holtz here. Now the last few weeks there've been some unfortunate incidents of which I have been a part, and Lou apologized sincerely for them. Yesterday here on Start Kyle Orton, my dear friend Code Red may have made a few unfortunate references to two 20th century dictators when attempting to make a point about the Iowa Hawkeyes coach, Kirk Ferentz. Code Red is distraught today over the pain this has caused. He swears that the alleged MS Paint jobs in question were not premeditated and were a heat of the moment slip of the cursor. I personally believe him, and I the old coach hopes you will too.























But seriously, Kirk Ferentz is Hitler

Consider the 2008 Iowa Hawkeyes Motto: Arbeit Macht Frei

SKO Civil War Week 2008

Kirk Ferentz, center, at an Iowa Pep Rally

2000- Illinois 31, Iowa 0

2001- DNP

2002-DNP

2003- Iowa 41, Illinois 10

2004- Iowa 23, Illinois 13

2005- Iowa 35, Illinois 7

2006-Iowa 24, Illinois 7

2007- Iowa 10, Illinois 6

And that's what I've had to fucking deal with the last 8 years. 5 straight wins by Iowa in the rivalry. Iggins! is a maniacal fanatic who'll shlop up anything Iowa throws at him and then spit it out the moment it goes sour. Drew Tate was his idol and he was willing to carry his man child until Tate struggles his senior year and "Iowa'd fuckin win if they'd put in Christensen! Did you see his fucking arm!" was his battle cry. Last year "With Christensen we're going At least 8-4!", he buys his nice little number 6 jersey and they promptly go 6-6. Christensen becomes a swear word in Iggins! household. Next up? "Ricky Stanzi is a fucking Golden God!" Peaks and valleys, friends, peaks and valleys for this "what have you done for me lately?" blasphemer. I won't even get started on how many times I heard "Ferentz is a fucking moron! Run Albert Young!" followed ten minutes later by "WE CAN'T FUCKING RUN WITH ALBERT YOUNG! HE SUCKS! DAMIEN SIMS IS TEH SHIT!"

But I? Oh I have weathered the fucking storm my friends. I was there watching Illinois football when we had Simeon Rice and Kevin Hardy and the best defense in the Big Ten, if not the country (the two went #2 and #3 overall in the 1996 NFL draft), and yet couldn't make a damn bowl game because we tied the last game of the season 3-3. Yeah, the offense was that bad. I suffered without complaint as Ron turner went 5-25 in his first three years, enjoyed the 8-4 season that culminated with the raping of Virginia in the Micron PC Bowl (yeah, THE Micron PC Bowl), I saw the rise of Kurt Kittner, who forever holds a place in my heart. Oh did I thrill at the 10-2 Big Ten Championship of 2001, and yes, I still poke pins into my Rohan Davey voodoo doll with regularity. What followed that Big Ten Championship? Ohh, how about a 13-45 record from 2002-2006. I had to watch Jon Beutjer, Chris Pazan, Brad Bowers, and Tim f*&king Brasic play quarterback. Yet I watched every single game that was televised, which mercifully was never more than 4-5 a year with records like that. But oh did the corner seem to turn in 2007! Juice! Rashard! Rejus Benn! Jay Leman! Vonte Davis! Oh the talent ooozed from that team, and at 5-1, having knocked off ranked teams the previous two weeks, Illinois wandered into Kinnick determined to bust their streak against 2-4 Iowa.

And failed. Miserably. How do I describe the effort of a vastly superior Illinois team against the inferior Hawkeyes last year? Imagine you're in love with this extremely attractive girl. She's kindly, but with emphasis, turned you down year after year. Finally she relents and gives you one date to prove yourself. So you think, "Hey, I'll cook her a nice romantic dinner. Women love sensitive guys who can cook!" And you invite her over. But while you try to talk to her you stumble over your words, start flop sweating and ignore the roast, which burns to a crisp in the oven, setting off the smoke alarm. As you fan a towel in front of the smoke alarm to get it to turn off you accidentally elbow the girl in the head and knock her out cold. You panic so badly you piss yourself. You reach to help her and instead slip and wind up headbutting her in the crotch. She wakes up with your head in her crotch and piss stains on your pants. She calls the cops, you get hauled off for attempted date rape and, having realized that you forgot to turn the oven off, watch as your house burns down. That, my friend, was Illinois' effort against Iowa last year.

This year? The situation looks grim. An Illinois team that seems more and more to consist solely of Juice Williams on offense and Vonte Davis on defense has blown to games in which it was favored, against Minnesota and Wisconsin. A resurgent Iowa has shot out to 5-3 (though thats a weeeeeeeeeeeeeee bit deceptive when you factor in that three of their wins have come against AA Maine, 3-4 (in the Sun Belt!) Florida International, and 2-6 Iowa State) behind demi-God Shonn Green (1154 yds, 10 tds rushing) and the typically stout if boring Ferentz defentz. Iowa will most likely be favored heading into Saturday, even though the game will be played in Champaign.

Is there hope? I doubt it. The milquetoast assassin that coaches the Hawkeyes knows how to dominate Illinois consistently and ruin my lunch every single fucking year. Iggins! and I discussed yesterday the uniquely opposite natures of Zook and Ferentz. Zook can take a brilliant recruiting class that should be spotted 10 wins on talent alone and go 7-5, as he did at Florida and is doing this year. Ferentz can throw together five tubby white kids on the offensive line, pick a kid out of the crowd and win 8 games with a team that should win 4. His teams do tend to struggle in years in which they're burdened with huge expectations, but even that can't help Illinois this year as no one but Iggins! (and he says they'll go at least 8-4 every year regardless) thought they'd be impressive.

I'm not going to pray for one more win as epically as Iggins! did last year. I'm not gonna throw up false bravado and act like I expect Illinois to win. They're more talented than Iowa. They were more talented than Wisconsin, Minnesota, and possibly even Penn State too. But talent and coaching are the yin and the yang of the game, and coaching tends to weigh just that tiny bit more heavily, and if that's the case, get ready for at least one more year of this man standing on the sidelines victorious. If he'd even gloat about it I'd actually like him more. But he won't. He'll curl the tiny little corners of his mouth into a smile practically undetectable, credit his line of fat white kids, button up his shirt and go home and make sweet, lights off, God-fearing, missionary position love with his wife.

There is no room for personality in the classless utopia Iowa Football shall create!

Someday I'll Make Up My Mind

Hey, You!

Moi?

WTF was that?

Seriously man, WTF WAS THAT?

Wisconsin loses three in a row, they fail to move the ball with any consistency other than with the ridiculous field position we gave them through turnovers and ungodly stupid penalties. Look, some of this shit's just getting ridiculous. If stupid penalties and bad calls that cost games are the mark of bad coaching..let's recap-

2008- Wisconsin 27, Illinois 17

-Twice the right tackle was whistled for lining up behind the line of scrimmage. Twice. Both cost us first downs. It shouldn't be that hard to find the line of scrimmage. It's painted on the field. You should point that one out at practice, Coach.

-8 overall penalties for 47 yards, many of which cost Illinois first downs, or turned the 4th and 1 on Illinois' last offensive possession into a 4th and 6th. Fuck nuts.

-The option/outside runs. As in running Juice outside 8 times for 4 yards. Or running the option god knows how many times despite Wisconsin constantly shutting it down. The only yards Illinois gained up the ground were straight up the middle, but those playcalls were lacking.

2008- Minnesota 27, Illinois 20

-This one's really mostly because I can't believe Minnesota's 7-1, but I can blame you inadvertently because their coach interviewed for your job.

2007- Michigan 27, Illinois 17

-This one was ungodly frustrating. Michigan loses their quarterback, runningback, and top wide receiver and we still lose because of 10 penalties for 107 yards, two of which sustained Michigan scoring drives.

-Playing rotating quarterbacks with Juice Williams in Eddie McGee keeps both of them out of synch and leads them to throw for just 106 yards.

2007- Iowa 10, Illinois 6

-This game, of course, led to this. But it was also another example of beating the option into the ground despite zero success. The thing that pissed me off most about this one was TWICE accepting penalties that gave Iowa third down instead of declining them and giving Iowa fourth down. Iggins! will tell you that Kirk Ferentz is not exactly Mike Leach. Gambling's not his business, pink shirts are. Chances are the fucker was going to punt. But no, you had to put them in third in long each time and allow Jake Christensen to complete the only two 10+ yard long passes of his career (possibly an exaggeration, but not by much).

Such a nice man..

- It was Iowa, and even Iggins! predicted an ass-whooping, and you let it through our fingers.

So really that's 4 losses due to poor coaching and preparedness. I respect everything you've done in recruiting and rebuilding this terrible program, but, you know, you could at least work a bit on the x's and o's rather than spending all day txting some blue-chipper "OMG! ILL-INI! BetR n BetR!" Until then, I remain blasé about your very existence.

This week in sports: the bye weeks are for pussies edition

What the hell? Why do both the Bears AND the Hawkeyes have byes this week? What cruel God-Creature would do this to me? Now I don't have an emotional investment in a football game on Saturday OR Sunday! What did I used to do when there was no football on... what happened in the offseason...?...

...
...
...
...
...
...OH GOD...








JESUS DE CHRISTO! REPRESSED MEMORIES!

GOD that hurt.

- The Elite XC, the MMA organization best known for allowing a deranged street fighter who has no business in a ring, in a ring, folded yesterday. This means nobody will be able to see Kimbo or Gina Carano fight until they get signed by another fight organization. And if you think that's going to be the UFC, you're a moron. I imagine that conversation would go something like this:



Dana White, UFC President: "EliteXC just folded guys. While that organization WAS overall terrible, gimmicky, probably fixed, and run by an overweight chimp who thought he was a mobster, they still have a few good fighters. Who are we thinking about signing?"

Random Middleman: "Kimbo Slice and Gina Carano seem to get good ratings. How about them?"

Dana: "... leave. Now."

In all seriousness, however, there are a few fighters who will warrant UFC attention. These include Jake Shields and Robbie Lawler.

- The Iowa Hawkeyes look a lot like they did Drew Tate's first year as QB. I ain't sayin, I'm just sayin'. Also, 5-3 (2-2) is MUCH better than that shitty team across the river's 4-3 (2-2). Because fuck the Illini. FEAR SHONN GREENE.

- How is it that Tom Brady keeps making it into the news? He hasn't played since week 1! Is there really nothing more interesting than which doctor did what to his knee and how many times he's had to have it done? Honestly? People do realize that there are actual games being played? There's this whole World Series thing...? No? Oh that's right, because there are no Boston teams playing in it ESPN magically forgets it even exists...

"Where the fuck is Tampa Bay?"

Bobby Wade's Quarterback Carousel

Those that know me and have read this site know I have a perverse fascination with the crappy quarterbacks the Bears have trotted out in my life time, so its no surprise I'm absolutely thrilled with this article by Dan Pompei of the Chicago Tribune in which he discusses the 17 (!) quarterbacks he's played with in only a 6 year career. Now, one could argue that these quarterbacks sucked partially because they were throwing passes to Bobby freakin' Wade, but his comments are insightful and valuable nonethless.

On Kordell Stewart:
"2003 Bears: " The Bears had just brought him in and everyone was excited about him, but it was a flop. That was the end of his career, no doubt. But he was a great leader."

Kordell Stewart a great leader? That's why, 6 years into his NFL career, this guy was remarking on how he couldn't remember any time Kordell's leadership had been praised, that this guy said quote "Add into this mix of incompetence that Stewart's leadership skills have long been in question and that he is perhaps the opposite of a crafty field general. It's all enough to project Stewart as a quarterback who, at the least, should have a challenger to stave off in camp." And don't be so quick on thinking that's the end of Kordell's career Bobby, he has potential as a punter.

Chris Chandler:
"2003 Bears: "One of the savviest quarterbacks I played with. He taught me a lot as far as understanding the game and being where quarterbacks expect you to be."

Chris Chandler, for instance, expected you to be there helping him find the stretcher when he left the game with his 355th injury of the year.

Rex Grossman:
"2003-2005 Bears: "He really competed, and was kind of a maverick. I remember in a preseason game he used a check we didn't have. He completed the pass to me for a first down, but he really caught it from [then-offensive coordinator John] Shoop. That's Rex."

I'm voting for McCain, and yet I too am tired of hearing the word maverick. Also, he probably caught it from Shoop for showing him up by completing a pass for a first down. That ain't Shoop's game baby.

Chad Hutchinson:
"2004 Bears: "We literally picked him up off his couch. I think he was surfing somewhere. But he was a competitor."

If he was on his couch, how could be surfing? And I bet he's right back there now.

Jonathan Quinn:
"2004 Bears: "He was a basket case in the huddle. He had a hard time getting the plays out of his mouth. A heavy-footed guy, with no mobility at all."

That's just fucking hilarious.

Craig Krenzel:
"2004 Bears: "A quiet guy who never really said much. He had a beautiful deep ball. He could throw it over your shoulder really well."

Yeah, beautiful deep ball. Thats why he was 30-67, .45% comp., 465 yds, 2 tds, 3 ints, and had a 59.6 rating on passes over 10 yards. Woof.

Kyle Orton:
2005 Bears: "Our offense was so simple when he was in the game. Ron Turner wasn't comfortable throwing more than about 10 passes a game. He has a big arm and is smart. He doesn't make any mistakes. But he's more of a rhythm guy who drops back, hits the guy he's going to with accuracy, and that's all you're going to get. He isn't the kind of guy to create something if the first read isn't open."

Obviously this isn't true anymore, but in Bobby's defense that was back in Kyle's rookie year. I wonder if Bobby's Vikings still think he can't create something. And God forbid all we get is a quarterback with a big arm who is smart, doesn't make any mistakes, and hits the guy he's going for with accuracy.

Jeff Blake:
2005 Bears: "He would tell you he threw the best deep ball in the NFL. He was a good player who I caught at the end of his career."

I bet most of you forgot Jeff Blake was a Bear. But I agree he was a great player.

The other nine quarterbacks are Titans and Vikings, and you can read the article and make up your own snarky remarks if you want to hear about that.

Prognostication Bukakke!

Many of you who have read this site since the beginning know that it started as the joint effort of myself and my friend since 7th grade, Iggins! While we've rarely both posted at the same time, in fact going whole months where only one or neither of us was posting, this site was originally conceived to provide a showcase for our opinions and frequent head to head clashes over various subjects. From the epic Civil War Week the week of the Iowa-Illinois football game, to the Tim Tebow vs. Dennis Dixon Heisman debate (Bam! Torn ACL! No victory as sweet as the victory by default), Iggins! and I headbutted via internet last year as we had in person the previous six years. This year I've decided to up the competition a notch and add a few competitors. So from here to the end of the NFL season, Iggins!, myself, The Girlfriend, and my father will all compete to pick the winners of each game. Whether my obsessive stats research, Iggins! mostly hate-fueled gut instincts, my father's bitter outlook on...everything, or The Girlfriend's completely blind luck shall prevail, no one knows. So without further ado..our picks for week 8 of the NFL season....

Buffalo Bills vs. Miami Dolphins
Code Red: Bills
Iggins!: Dolphins
Girlfriend: Bills
Father: Bills

Washington Redskins vs. Detroit Lions
Code Red: Redskins
Iggins!: Redskins
Girlfriend: Lions
Father: Redskins

San Diego Chargers vs. New Orleans Saints
Code Red: Saints
Iggins!: Saints
Girlfriend: Chargers
Father: Saints

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Dallas Cowboys
Code Red: Cowboys
Iggins!: Buccaneers
Girlfriend: Cowboys
Father: Cowboys

Oakland Raiders vs. Baltimore Ravens
Code Red: Raiders
Iggins!: Ravens
Girlfriend: Raiders (quote: "whats a bird going to do against a pirate in a football game??")
Father: Ravens

Kansas City Chiefs vs. New York Jets
Code Red: Chiefs
Iggins!: Jets
Girlfriend: Jets
Father: Jets

St. Louis Rams vs. New England Patriots
Code Red: Patriots
Iggins!: Patriots
Girlfriend: Patriots
Father: Rams

Arizona Cardinals vs. Carolina Panthers
Code Red: Panthers
Iggins!: Cardinals
Girlfriend: Panthers
Father: Panthers

Atlanta Falcons vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Code Red: Eagles
Iggins!: Eagles
Girlfriend: Eagles (quote: "because an eagle is a more patriotic bird than a falcon")
Father: Eagles

Cincinnati Bengals vs. Houston Texans
Code Red: Texans
Iggins!: Texans
Girlfriend: Bengals (quote: "because the Texans have a stupid, unclever name")
Father: Texans

Cleveland Browns vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Code Red: Browns
Iggins!: Jaguars
Girlfriend: Browns
Father: Jaguars

New York Giants vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Code Red: Steelers
Iggins!: Giants
Girlfriend: Giants (quote: "They won the Superbowl last year, right?")
Father: Giants

Seattle Seahawks vs. San Fransisco 49ers
Code Red: 49ers
Iggins!: 49ers
Girlfriend: 49ers (quote: "The Mariners sucked this year, so so should the Seahawks")
Father: 49ers

Tennessee Titans vs. Indianapolis Colts (Monday Night)
Code Red: Colts
Iggins!:Titans. Emphatically.
Girlfriend: Titans. (quote: "they were in a Superbowl once, right? I remember that one")
Father: Colts

So there you have it. We'll see how this goes.

Awakening from Depression..to Kyle's Greatness.

Leave it to our hero to stir me out of my post-Cubs depression. Its been difficult the last few weeks. I've had to slowly let myself shake loose the disappointment of baseball season and immerse myself wholeheartedly in football and a Bears team that's been anything but reassuring this season. The point I must touch on is one thats slowly been pointed out in the media the last week: Kyle Orton is good. Damn good, even. This is being thrown out in whispers and hushes, because the last time we saw a quarterback play this good (143-230, 62.2% compl., 1,669 yds, 10 tds, 4 ints, 91.4 rating) over the first two months of the season it was this guy:

and it was the two months of his career that tantalized us and made it so hard for many of us, me foremost of all, to give up on him. At this point Kyle's numbers look extremely similar to Rex's before the Arizona game in 2006:

93-152, 61.1% comp., 1243 yards, 10 tds, 3 ints, 100.8 rating.

These numbers earned Rex the Offensive Player of the Month Award for September 2006 and an article in Sports Illustrated on his rise as Bears quarterback. His decline thereafter is well documented, and we will not touch on it here.

Given the epic decline of Rex, its no surprise that the press and many Bears fans are slow to buy Kyle's success. But there are many reasons to believe that Kyle is not Rex, and here are just a few.

1.) There are two schools of thought in the NFL on how to develop a successful quarterback. Many argue that the quarterback should be thrown into the fires as a rookie and learn on the run, like a Ben Roethlisberger. Others feel he should sit the bench a few years before starting with a complete grasp of the offense, like a Phillip Rivers. Kyle is fortunate enough to have done both, and is in his fourth season, the year when most quarterbacks first put up a break out season (Drew Brees, Eli Manning, Roethlisberger, Tony Romo). Rex sat for all but three games as a rookie, and was injured in his second and third years and unable to gain the grasp of the offense and experience that Kyle earned on the practice field.

2.) Kyle's turnovers have decreased with his playing time, not increased, as Rex's did.

3.)The late game prowess Kyle has shown this year (91.3 rating, 0 turnovers in the 4th quarter), far eclipses the late game shenanigans of Rex in 2006 (43.5 rating, 2 tds, 5 ints in the 4th quarter). Kyle's performances late in these games is crucial to the Bears 4-3 record this year, though his performance in all three losses (especially the Atlanta game) should have been rewarded with a 7-0 record.

4.) Kyle has never had the unequivocal support that Rex once had, and has had to earn his playing time. Rex was frequently criticized for not being able to handle the pressure of competition, Kyle has clearly thrived upon it. Simply put, you appreciate more what you earn through your own efforts, rather than those opportunities which are handed to you.

5.) Kyle has this website.

Many of you are probably asking yourself...wait, Code Red, didn't you yourself advocate starting Rex as late as this summer? To which I must answer: yes. I did. But for reasons other than you may think. Its true I've been seduced by Rex's talent since he was a freshman at Florida. But I too followed Kyle's career at Purdue. My late uncle was once head of maintenance of the sports facilities at Purdue and the free tickets and perks that that job provided us has formed a tight bond with Purdue sports. If you'd asked me as late as 2004 who the two quarterbacks I most enjoyed watching in college sports were I'd have said Rex and Kyle. I've never doubted Kyle's ability. I did believe, however, that Lovie Smith and Ron Turner did. The reason I had hoped Rex would win was my fear that the competition between the two was Rex's to lose, and Kyle was Lovie's second choice. If Kyle won, that meant the playbook would be scaled back and we'd be back to watching John Shoopesque offense. My fears were nearly realized in the Carolina game, when Lovie seemed to take the game out of Kyle's hands and the defense blew a 17-3 lead.

Kyle must have shown Lovie something, however, in those first two games, because Kyle has been in complete control of the offense since week three, and has guided it in a cool, calm, and efficient manner. It's with great pride that we of Start Kyle Orton have seen our mission validated, with results greater than even we dared dream when this quest began last October.

Why I've More or Less Proven That You Can't Listen to Me.

Now that the regular season is more or less over other than the feces flinging between the Twins and White Sox, I thought this would be a good time to look back at my hilariously bad preseason predictions-

AL East-
Predicted:
1. Red Sox 97-65
2. Yankees 88-74
3. Rays 84-78
4. Blue Jays 82-80
5. Orioles 64-98

Actual:
1. Tampa BayRays 97-65
Okay, so I wasn't ready to stake the farm on them, but I had faith in this team. Nobody expected this though, but good for them.

2. Boston Red Sox 95-67
They more or less did what everyone thought they would do, and would have won the division but for the miracle Rays.

3. New York Yankees 89-73
I was only off by one game. This team is Old, and I think everyone but them (and Sports Illustrated) knew that.

4. Toronto Blue Jays 86-76
The injury prone rotation kept them short of the playoffs, as I predicted. Scott Rolen sucks.

5. Baltimore Orioles 68-93
Fuck Andy MacPhail.

I did a better job predicting this division than most, as you'll see with my AL Central and West Previews.

AL Central-

Predicted:
1. Detroit Tigers 95-67
2. Cleveland Indians 92-70
3. Chicago White Sox 77-85
4. Minnesota Twins 73-89
5. Kansas City Royals 71-91

Actual:
1A. Minnesota Twins 88-74
Oh come on, like you thought they'd be good.

1B. Chicago White Sox 88-74
I hate this division, I hate this team, I hate their manager, I hate their fan. I hate that they seem intent on dredging their way to a three game sweep at the hands of the Rays.

3. Cleveland Indians 81-81
I said Fausto Carmona wasn't a fluke. He was. I said Travis Hafner would rebound. He didn't. I said CC Sabathia would be great in his free agent year. He was. For Milwaukee. Fuck.

4. Kansas City Royals 75-87
They won 75 games, their best season since 2003. Wulf.

5. Detroit Tigers 74-88
I had them in the world series, and so did Sports Illustrated. Sadly, you'll see I whiffed worse on other teams.

AL West:
1. Seattle Mariners 89-73
2. California Angels 86-76
3. Oakland Athletics 76-86
4. Texas Rangers 72-90

Actual:
1. California Angels 100-62
I still don't know if they're as good as their record, but they sure told me to go fuck myself.

2. Texas Rangers 79-83
I was right, Josh Hamilton WAS a good pickup.

3. Oakland Athletics 75-86
Probably my most accurate prediction.

4. Seattle Mariners 61-101
This is what I get for doubting sabermetrics. Their pythagorean W-L in 2007 said they were worse than their 88-74 record, and I should have jumped ship when I saw that Jose Vidro was DHing. God. This is probably my worst call, but there's one more you'll laugh your ass off at.

NL East-

Predicted:
1. Philadelphia Phillies 92-70
2. New York Mets 89-73
3. Washington Nationals 83-79
4. Atlanta Braves 81-81
5. Florida Marlins 69-93

Actual:
1. Philadelphia Phillies 92-70
I got one! I got one!

2. New York Mets 89-73
On a roll baby!

3. Florida Marlins 84-78
This just proves that the Marlins are determined to screw with me at every possible opportunity.

4.Atlanta Braves 72-90
I overestimated my win total, but did say the following: "Glavine doesn't have much left in him in his second Atlanta go-round, Mike Hampton won't make it through the season, Tim Hudson has posted just one great season in his Atlanta tenure, and I don't think they even know who their fifth starter is. I see this team stumbling out of the gate and trading Teixera at the deadline" Eh? Pretty good prognostication, right? Remember that when we get to...

5. Washington Nationals 59-102
Seriously I'm not sure whether this is worse than my Mariners prediction or not. I thought that the new ballpark and a potentially talented lineup would get them a few wins. But seriously Austin Kearns, Wily Mo Pena, Ryan Zimmerman, and Paul Lo Duca all had below average seasons, and Dmitri Young and Nick Johnson both missed most of the season. Can I really be blamed for that much bad luck befalling Washington?

NL West-

Predicted:
1. Colorado Rockies 91-71
2. Arizona Diamondbacks 88-74
3. Los Angeles Dodgers 85-77
4. San Diego Padres 79-83
5. San Fransisco Giants 63-99

Actual:

1. Los Angeles Dodgers 84-78
So I was actually pretty close on their record, I just underestimated how thin this division really was.

2. Arizona Diamondbacks 81-81
Their offense, which was hit or miss last year, was more miss.

3. Colorado Rockies 74-88
Their pitching just absolutely fell apart. I guess their total badassitude in High Heat 2002 has always made me wish that the Rockies could have sustained success. Oh the follies of youth.

4. San Fransisco Giants 70-92
Well, they sucked, but not as much as thought..so that's...good for them? Tim Lincecum is the balls.Other than this team is still screwed offensively.

5. San Diego Padres 63-99
Speaking of sucking offensively, how has Kevin Towers managed to justify letting this offense degrade year after year? They were mediocre or less than from 2004-2007, and showed absolutely no power, and yet no remedy was even attempted. One mediocre showing from their pitching staff and they sank into oblivion. They finished last in the NL in runs, OBP, and steals, and were damn near the bottom in every other category. I've had to watch some horrible Cubs teams in my life, but most of those could be attributed to horrible pitching, the hardest ones to watch are the ones with no semblance of an offense. Adrian Gonzalez probably weeps everytime he looks at the lineup card.

NL Central-

Predicted:
1. Chicago Cubs 95-67
2. Milwaukee Brewers 84-78
3. Houston Astros 77-85
4. Cincinnati Reds 75-87
5. St. Louis Cardinals 72-90
6. Pittsburgh Pirates 70-92

Actual:

1. Chicago Cubs 97-64
I was criticized for suggesting they'd win 95 games, but this team's proven over and over again that it's just too much of a juggernaut to slow down. There were no injuries, no excuses, no prima donna superstarts collecting paychecks from a hot tub, Lou Piniella knew all season just what buttons to push and this team posted its best record since 1945. Hopefully they've got 11 more wins left in them.

2. Milwaukee Brewers 90-72
They nearly blew it again, but managed to go 5-1 against the vaunted Pirates and the Iowa Cubs to outlast the choking Mets. They think they have momentum, but I won't be surprised when that falls apart against the Phillies.

3. Houston Astros 86-75
They think Bud Selig killed their season, but perhaps a 44-51 first half and the fact that they surrendered more runs than they scored (pythagorean W-L 77-84) deserves its fair share of the blame. Their pitching was as miserable behind Oswalt as expected. They'll be worse next year.

4.St. Louis Cardinals 86-76
I've come to the conclusion that this team will never be as bad as it should be, let alone as bad as I Want it to be.The difference is that now I just don't care. They can't touch the Cubs this year, and really we've had the upperhand head to head ever since Dusty's days. They just chucked a ton of money at Kyle Lohse and that will hopefully bite them.

5. Cincinnati Reds 74-88
They were about as bad as I expected them to be. Some people in the national media seemed to think that the combination of young talent and Dusty's "leadership" would spur them to a better record, but anyone with experience with Dustbag (i.e., Cubs fans), knew he'd play the wrong players (Corey, Bako) and run the good ones into the ground (Harang, Cueto, Volquez). They need to wake up and fire him before he ruins their future.

6.Pittsburgh 67-95
I just...I know only one Pirates fan, and he's a bald history teacher who developed a brain tumor and had to have it removed recently. Coincidence? I think not.

So there you have it....some hits, some misses, some total what-the-fuck-was-he-thinking calls. Just don't listen to me. Don't do it.