If there's one thing I know with absolute certainty, it's that the Jay Cutler detractors aren't a very bright bunch. Instead of railing against them as I normally do, however, today I'm going to lend them a hand. Let's review Jay's offseason and tell them exactly How to frame their arguments against him, that way they have to think even less than usual.
January 23rd: Cutler has the gall to take the stairs at a restaurant the very same night after exiting the game.
Hater's Response: Nevermind that we saw him walking at the stadium or that he even went into the game and attempted to play a series on the bad knee, I FORGET THAT EVIDENCE IN LIEU OF THE FACT THAT ANYBODY WHO HAS SUFFERED A KNEE INJURY IS UNABLE TO WALK, DAMMIT. THIS IS THE SMOKING GUN, JAY.
January 27th: Cutler walks around Los Angeles with then-girlfriend (now fiancee) Kristin Cavallari.
Hater's Response: IF HE CAN WALK SLOWLY BEHIND HIS GIRLFRIEND THROUGH THE MEAN STREETS OF LA THEN HE CAN PLAY QUARTERBACK AND AVOID THE LEAGUE'S BEST PASS RUSH BEHIND THE NFL'S WORST OFFENSIVE LINE. THIS IS A FACT.
March 11th: In order to block lockout, NFL players, led by Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, and Tom Brady, file an antitrust lawsuit against the league.
Hater's Response: NOTICE THAT JAY CUTLER'S NAME ISN'T LISTED AS A PLAINTIFF. HE DOESN'T LOVE FOOTBALL ENOUGH TO SUE FOR IT TO CONTINUE. OH WELL, MORE TIME HE CAN SPEND JOY-WALKING AROUND HOLLYWOOD WITH HIS GIRLFRIEND.
April 26th: Jay Cutler proposes to Kristin Cavallari.
Hater's Response: THIS IS WHAT HE'S FOCUSING ON DURING THE OFFSEASON. SURE, JAY. DON'T WORRY ABOUT YOUR SLOPPY MECHANICS OR FOOTWORK, JUST KEEP CHASIN' THAT ASS. HOW'D THAT WORK OUT FOR TONY ROMO AND JESSICA SIMPSON?
April 30th: Bears draft Nathan Enderle, QB from Idaho, in the 5th round.
Hater's Response: EVEN MIKE MARTZ KNOWS THAT CUTLER SUCKS/conveniently ignore that Bears drafted Dan LeFevour in the 6th last year.
May 14th: Caleb Hanie says that Cutler and Bears haven't organized any player workouts, like illustrious QBs like Jason Campbell have done.
Hater's Response: TRUE LEADERS WOULD GET NFL VETERANS TO GATHER FOR INVALUABLE SESSIONS OF 7 ON 7!
May 16th: Cutler tells Sean Jensen of the Sun Times that Bears were "locked and loaded" and offensive players would work out "soon," but wouldn't say when or where.
Hater's Response: WHY WON'T HE SAY WHEN OR WHERE? COULD IT BE MORE OBVIOUS THAT JAY JUST TOLD EVERYONE "LET'S NOT AND SAY WE DID?" ALSO, WHY JUST INVITE THE OFFENSE, JAY? WHY IS CUTLER TRYING TO DIVIDE THE LOCKER ROOM BETWEEN OFFENSE AND DEFENSE? THIS IS WHY BOBBY WADE SAID THAT URLACHER SAID THAT HE THOUGHT THAT JAY WAS A PUSSY IN THAT STRIP CLUB IN VEGAS THAT ONE TIME MAYBE.
That should bring us up to date. I can't help but notice that this lockout is still going on. I'm not saying Jay Cutler is responsible BUT IT SURE WOULD MAKE SENSE NOW, WOULDN'T IT?
Actually, if you need any more reasons why you should totally hate Jay Cutler, just watch this guy:
I mean, he's clearly got it. Who wouldn't want to be on his side of this debate?
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Killin' Time- People I Hate: Trent Dilfer
Before I start this incendiary rant against my least favorite of the many jackasses that feature heavily on ESPN's football coverage as part of my new offseason time waster, I'm going to state that more than anyone else right now I loathe the bastards keeping this lockout going on. I still think something will work out in time to not only save the season, but training camp, since that's what really matters as OTAs and mini-camps are highly overrated, but for now, damn you all for keeping me from my beloved flurry of free agent and trade activity.
Anywho, onto installment #2 of People I Hate: Trent Dilfer.
If you don't contemplate horrifying acts of violence upon seeing that face, well, congrats. You are not a man.
There's a lot of reasons to hate Trent Dilfer. I mean A LOT of reasons. I had a hard time narrowing it down, but let's hope you're happy with the points I've chosen to highlight:
1. He was a godawful football player.
I know lots of great coaches were bad former players. I know some QB coaches weren't particularly good QBs when they played. That's all well and good, but there's something absolutely wrong with having Trent Dilfer and his 70.2 career passer rating out there in front of the world trying to say anything ever about any other quarterback's performance. Hell, that simple passer rating (which is an often skewed stat, anyway) doesn't really tell anywhere near the whole story of Trent's ineptitude. Let's look at his Advanced Statistics (as compiled by the always awesome Pro Football Reference.com), which assess a person vs. the league average.
Trent Dilfer's Career QB Rating+: 88 (100 is league average)
Trent Dilfer's Career YPA+: 94
Trent Dilfer's Adjusted YPA+ (adjusted YPA means bonus points for TDs, minus points for interceptions): 89
Trent Dilfer's Completion %+: 91
Trent Dilfer's TD %+: 91
Trent Dilfer's Int %+: 86
Yes, folks, in every single important statistic for a QB, Trent Dilfer isn't even within 5 points of an average QB. Hell, Cade McNown's QB Rate+ was 87, just one point behind Trent, and somehow Trent enjoyed a 13 year career.
2. The 2000 Ravens Created a Myth That Rankles Me to my Soul
The Ravens didn't invent the "caretaker" quarterback, but they certainly solidified it into an ironclad axiom. The basic storyline goes something like this: The Ravens had one of history's great defenses, but they were losing games because mean old Tony Banks was turning the ball over too goddamn much, so in comes Trent Dilfer, who "manages the game," avoids turnovers, lets the defense control the game, and the Ravens reel off a winning streak that culminates in a championship. Score one for the underrated QBs and every coach who'd rather see three yards and a cloud of dust than some glory boy quarterback slingin' the rock around like he's all that.
The truth? Trent Dilfer was lucky as shit, because he turned the ball over a hell of a lot more than Tony Banks.
Banks started 8 games for the Ravens in 2000. He threw 8 interceptions in those games. He also had 5 fumbles, but all five were recovered by the Ravens, so the he had just 8 turnovers in 8 games. The Ravens were 5-3 when he started. Don't get me wrong, he sucked at throwing the football, but he wasn't the turnover machine he's remembered as. His interception %+ that year was a 106, meaning he turned the ball over far less than a league average QB.
Trent Dilfer? He actually Was a turnover machine. Trent also started 8 games for the Ravens that year. He threw 11 interceptions that year and lost 2 fumbles, for a total of 13 turnovers in half a season's work. His interception %+ was 75, meaning that Trent Dilfer, poster boy for the caretaker quarterback, turned the ball over at a higher rate than almost every other quarterback in the NFL that year.
So what happened? Why did Trent go on to glory while Tony Banks became the goat? Statistically, there's barely a difference between them, except that Banks turned the ball over less. Banks went 5-3 while Dilfer went 7-1. The problem is that the Ravens offense was struggling, so Brian Billick lost patience and went with Dilfer. At that point the Ravens played...well, exactly the same as they did before and just managed to go back to winning the exact same way they had won five of their first six games. The fact of the matter is that a trained monkey truly could have won the Superbowl with a defense behind him that allowed 10 f*&king points per game. Tony Banks was one 2 game losing streak away from having an undeserved Superbowl title that would have inexplicably extended His career for another decade. Guh.
But, thanks to Trent's ability to somehow "look" like he wasn't turning the ball over a ton, I've had to argue with a bunch of mouthbreathers every time a quarterback like Jay Cutler leads a team with a stout defense into the playoffs. " Dey just need somebody like Dilfer to let dem run da ball and let da defense win." Fuck that. You just need somebody who can put up more points than the opposing team. The answer to that problem is NEVER somebody like Trent F*&king Dilfer. You want to know something Really funny? Rex Grossman in 2006 had an interception %+ that was eight points HIGHER than Trent Dilfer in 2000. That's right, the guy who was often held up as the polar opposite of Rex and the very reason why Rex should have been benched actually turned the ball over a much higher rate than even Rexy dreamed of. Myth. Fucking. Busted.
Finally...
#3. He is everything that is wrong with analysts today
I'm not going to center this rant just on Trent Dilfer's hatred of Jay Cutler. Sure, he's practically the figurehead for the whole movement, seeking to denigrate Jay whenever possible, but in general, Trent is just everything wrong with sports coverage. He's an extremely mediocre player who would be laughed out of the room if he had tried coaching, so he goes into the media, where he's welcomed with open arms because he doesn't actually have enough credibility as a player to make the non-former player talking heads feel intimidated. He repeats nothing but garbled cliches about "footwork" and "chemistry" and validates the ESPN storyline because he "was There." If he knows so much about "footwork" and "mechanics" that he can criticize guys like Jay Cutler and Peyton Manning, why the hell was his career interception % higher than either of those guys by a mile (4.1 % for Trent, 3.6% for Jay, 2.7% for Peyton)?
Now, that may seem like me shooting myself in the foot, since I'm a blogger who has never even played professional football and I take potshots at players all the time, but I'd argue that it's a much more egregious crime because Trent has been there, knows that he's spewing total horseshit, and is happy to do so. I mean watch this crap:
This is Trent, with the information in front of him that Jay Cutler WAS injured, arguing that Cutler should have thrown a gigantic hissy fit in order to get back in the game before being forced out...all for What, exactly? What the fuck does that do for the team? Here's an 'expert analyst' arguing that Jay Cutler should go into a bunch of theatrics because somehow that's better than doing the same behind the scenes and going to the bench with what is ultimately the same result. That's Trent Dilfer, folks. Whatever you do, just make sure you do it on camera. That's what a good football player does, I guess. Not that Trent would know, since he was never even close to being one.
Get fucked, Trent.
Anywho, onto installment #2 of People I Hate: Trent Dilfer.
If you don't contemplate horrifying acts of violence upon seeing that face, well, congrats. You are not a man.
There's a lot of reasons to hate Trent Dilfer. I mean A LOT of reasons. I had a hard time narrowing it down, but let's hope you're happy with the points I've chosen to highlight:
1. He was a godawful football player.
I know lots of great coaches were bad former players. I know some QB coaches weren't particularly good QBs when they played. That's all well and good, but there's something absolutely wrong with having Trent Dilfer and his 70.2 career passer rating out there in front of the world trying to say anything ever about any other quarterback's performance. Hell, that simple passer rating (which is an often skewed stat, anyway) doesn't really tell anywhere near the whole story of Trent's ineptitude. Let's look at his Advanced Statistics (as compiled by the always awesome Pro Football Reference.com), which assess a person vs. the league average.
Trent Dilfer's Career QB Rating+: 88 (100 is league average)
Trent Dilfer's Career YPA+: 94
Trent Dilfer's Adjusted YPA+ (adjusted YPA means bonus points for TDs, minus points for interceptions): 89
Trent Dilfer's Completion %+: 91
Trent Dilfer's TD %+: 91
Trent Dilfer's Int %+: 86
Yes, folks, in every single important statistic for a QB, Trent Dilfer isn't even within 5 points of an average QB. Hell, Cade McNown's QB Rate+ was 87, just one point behind Trent, and somehow Trent enjoyed a 13 year career.
2. The 2000 Ravens Created a Myth That Rankles Me to my Soul
The Ravens didn't invent the "caretaker" quarterback, but they certainly solidified it into an ironclad axiom. The basic storyline goes something like this: The Ravens had one of history's great defenses, but they were losing games because mean old Tony Banks was turning the ball over too goddamn much, so in comes Trent Dilfer, who "manages the game," avoids turnovers, lets the defense control the game, and the Ravens reel off a winning streak that culminates in a championship. Score one for the underrated QBs and every coach who'd rather see three yards and a cloud of dust than some glory boy quarterback slingin' the rock around like he's all that.
The truth? Trent Dilfer was lucky as shit, because he turned the ball over a hell of a lot more than Tony Banks.
Banks started 8 games for the Ravens in 2000. He threw 8 interceptions in those games. He also had 5 fumbles, but all five were recovered by the Ravens, so the he had just 8 turnovers in 8 games. The Ravens were 5-3 when he started. Don't get me wrong, he sucked at throwing the football, but he wasn't the turnover machine he's remembered as. His interception %+ that year was a 106, meaning he turned the ball over far less than a league average QB.
Trent Dilfer? He actually Was a turnover machine. Trent also started 8 games for the Ravens that year. He threw 11 interceptions that year and lost 2 fumbles, for a total of 13 turnovers in half a season's work. His interception %+ was 75, meaning that Trent Dilfer, poster boy for the caretaker quarterback, turned the ball over at a higher rate than almost every other quarterback in the NFL that year.
So what happened? Why did Trent go on to glory while Tony Banks became the goat? Statistically, there's barely a difference between them, except that Banks turned the ball over less. Banks went 5-3 while Dilfer went 7-1. The problem is that the Ravens offense was struggling, so Brian Billick lost patience and went with Dilfer. At that point the Ravens played...well, exactly the same as they did before and just managed to go back to winning the exact same way they had won five of their first six games. The fact of the matter is that a trained monkey truly could have won the Superbowl with a defense behind him that allowed 10 f*&king points per game. Tony Banks was one 2 game losing streak away from having an undeserved Superbowl title that would have inexplicably extended His career for another decade. Guh.
But, thanks to Trent's ability to somehow "look" like he wasn't turning the ball over a ton, I've had to argue with a bunch of mouthbreathers every time a quarterback like Jay Cutler leads a team with a stout defense into the playoffs. " Dey just need somebody like Dilfer to let dem run da ball and let da defense win." Fuck that. You just need somebody who can put up more points than the opposing team. The answer to that problem is NEVER somebody like Trent F*&king Dilfer. You want to know something Really funny? Rex Grossman in 2006 had an interception %+ that was eight points HIGHER than Trent Dilfer in 2000. That's right, the guy who was often held up as the polar opposite of Rex and the very reason why Rex should have been benched actually turned the ball over a much higher rate than even Rexy dreamed of. Myth. Fucking. Busted.
Finally...
#3. He is everything that is wrong with analysts today
I'm not going to center this rant just on Trent Dilfer's hatred of Jay Cutler. Sure, he's practically the figurehead for the whole movement, seeking to denigrate Jay whenever possible, but in general, Trent is just everything wrong with sports coverage. He's an extremely mediocre player who would be laughed out of the room if he had tried coaching, so he goes into the media, where he's welcomed with open arms because he doesn't actually have enough credibility as a player to make the non-former player talking heads feel intimidated. He repeats nothing but garbled cliches about "footwork" and "chemistry" and validates the ESPN storyline because he "was There." If he knows so much about "footwork" and "mechanics" that he can criticize guys like Jay Cutler and Peyton Manning, why the hell was his career interception % higher than either of those guys by a mile (4.1 % for Trent, 3.6% for Jay, 2.7% for Peyton)?
Now, that may seem like me shooting myself in the foot, since I'm a blogger who has never even played professional football and I take potshots at players all the time, but I'd argue that it's a much more egregious crime because Trent has been there, knows that he's spewing total horseshit, and is happy to do so. I mean watch this crap:
This is Trent, with the information in front of him that Jay Cutler WAS injured, arguing that Cutler should have thrown a gigantic hissy fit in order to get back in the game before being forced out...all for What, exactly? What the fuck does that do for the team? Here's an 'expert analyst' arguing that Jay Cutler should go into a bunch of theatrics because somehow that's better than doing the same behind the scenes and going to the bench with what is ultimately the same result. That's Trent Dilfer, folks. Whatever you do, just make sure you do it on camera. That's what a good football player does, I guess. Not that Trent would know, since he was never even close to being one.
Get fucked, Trent.
Monday, May 16, 2011
In Review- The Offensive Line
As part of my ongoing (and slow-moving) offseason unit-by-unit review, today we reach the offensive line. This one's naturally going to take awhile, as the Bear's offensive line was absolutely incompetent by any statistical measure. Even more impressive is the fact the offensive line is the only unit on the entire team without a single player that had something resembling a "good" year. I'll just start with the numbers, which are probably not even as horrifying to look at as the memories that will forever be seared into our brains, like the New York Giants gang-raping Jay, or Chester Taylor having the lowest YPC average of any back with 100 carries since the NFL merger (granted, he contributed quite a bit to that dubious distinction himself), or ultimately the constant barrage in the NFC Championship game that knocked Jay out and opened up the gates of hell. One quick note before I begin: obviously the Bears have addressed the problem somewhat by drafting Gabe Carimi, who will obviously not be in this review. Anywho, numbers (with NFL ranking):
Sacks allowed: 56 (32nd)
QB Hits allowed: 92 (24th)
Rushing Yards Per Game: 101 (22nd)
YPC: 3.9 (23rd)
Total Offensive YPG: 289.4 (30th)
Total Offensive PPG: 20.9 (21st)
18 False Starts, 19 Holding Calls.
They also had 53 running plays that resulted in negative yardage, which is really shitty as well, although I'm too lazy to add up all of those numbers for every team in order to give you a ranking, but just know that it's Bad. Really bad.
So, with numbers like that I don't know who you'd expect me to praise, which is good, because I'm not praising anybody, especially not....
#68 Frank Omiyale, Left Tackle
I despise Frank Omiyale. The guy got a huge contract despite failing to crack the Carolina Panthers' starting lineup solely because he Looks like he should be a good offensive lineman. That may seem like an oversimplification, but I'm convinced the only reason Frank still has a job is because Jerry Angelo had himself convinced that Frank was some kind of hidden jewel and Jerry would look like a genius if he panned out. So far he's been a disaster at left guard and right tackle and a very mediocre option at left tackle.
My biggest beef with Frank is his penalties, actually. Frank had SIX goddamn false starts this year, an astonishing total for a single offensive lineman, as a point of reference, noted flagrant false starter Flozell Adams committed three this season, and the NFL's most egregious offender, Alex Barron, averaged 8 over the last five years. Omiyale added a holding penalty onto that total, giving him 7 penalties for the year, which, when paired with the team-leading 13 sacks he allowed, paint a pretty terrible picture. I don't think we've seen the last of Frank, sadly, but I do believe Gabe Carimi will move him to the bench, as J'Marcus Webb is younger, has more upside, and is a favorite of Mike Tice's. That's good news for Bears fans.
#74 Chris Williams, Left Guard
It's hard to describe Chris Williams as anything more than a disappointment at this point. The Bears seem pretty convinced that he's not going to pan out as a tackle, and the reviews for him at left guard have been mixed at best. Considering the cloud of controversy that surrounded him when Jerry Angelo drafted him Knowing he had back problems, well, it's easy to say that Chris is facing a make or break season next year. I think he actually improved down the stretch last year at left guard, and the Bears gained 40 first downs and had 28 rushes of 10 or more yards to the left vs. 29 and 17 to the right. If this damnable lockout ever ends and Williams can continue to work with Tice and gain experience as a guard, I'm confident that he can improve on the 4.5 sacks he allowed this year. Chris has the size and the athleticism he needs to be a successful guard in this system he just needs to put it together. I'd have to say I like his outlook a lot better than many of the others on this unit.
#57 Olin Kreutz, Center
Am I the only one who never really thought Olin was that good to begin with? I think Olin's a tough sonofabitch. I think he was great when he was younger at pulling and swinging out and making some highlight reel blocks. Hell, the block Olin threw on Forte's 89 yard touchdown catch in the opener against the Lions should be on a poster somewhere.
The problem, however, is that Olin's not really that big and he's not all that great at pushing back interior defensive linemen, and that's a problem. Statistically, Olin was the least egregious offender of the bunch since he comitted just one false start and allowed only one sack (had four holding penalties though, which is a lot for an interior offensive lineman), but interior linemen are naturally going to have lower sack totals. Anyone that really watches Olin with an objective eye can tell that he isn't blowing anybody off the ball. The Bears managed to pick up just 7 rushing first downs up the middle this year and had 9 runs up the middle that resulted in negative yardage. Of the 6 games the Bears lost in the regular and postseasont his year, four of them (Redskins, Packers, @GB, GB playoffs) came against teams that have 3-4 defenses and large nose guards that absolutely destroyed Olin. If you want to see why the Bears were so miserable at gaining one damn yard in short yardage situations all year, go back to the Redskins game and watch Olin's miserable job of blocking a disinterested Albert Haynesworth on the Cutler goalline fumble. Guh.
Unfortunately, the Bears appear content to let another offseason go by without addressing Olin's aging. They'll probably re-sign him to a 2-3 year deal and continue to ignore his decline. The arrow's only pointing down on this one, folks.
#63 Roberto Garza, Right Guard
Then again, Kreutz's slow decline is certainly preferable to the outright implosion of Robert Garza. As recently as 2008 Garza was actually, according to FootballOutsiders, one of the NFL's best guards. He was certainly one of the few competent performers on last year's squad, but this year he absolutely exploded. Part of this can be blamed on the knee injury that required him to miss a few games following surgery, but nothing good can be said about an interior linemen who allowed 7.5 sacks in just 14 games, and who also committed two false starts and four holding penalties. I think it's very likely that we'll see Roberto facing stiff competition from Lance Louis in training camp, since Lance showed a lot of potential by allowing just one sack and committing no penalties in his brief four game stint at LG before the great shakeup that led to the Omiyale-Williams-Kreutz-Garza-Webb lineup that finished the season.
#73 J'Marcus Webb, Right Tackle
I can see why Mike Tice loves J'Marcus. The talent he has is undeniable. For one, his 6'7'', 310 frame is ideal for a left tackle and a huge plus at right. He's a mauler that can really take his man out of the game when he manages to get ahold of him. The problem, of course, is that J'Marcus is inexperienced and also not particularly bright (considering he had to leave Texas and attend West Texas A&M for academic reasons) and is easily fooled by experienced defensive ends. I can't say for sure how many times Webb just plain whiffed on a block, but it was enought that he allowed 10.5 sacks in just 12 starts. He also committed 6 penalties (2 false starts, 4 holding). I can see reasons for optimism, though. I'm not buying the company line that he's got prototypical skills and will someday be an outstanding left tackle, but I did see enough in him that I'm willing to hope that Tice can make him into a serviceable starter at right next year. The smart money should be on Carimi lining up on Cutler's blindside, however, regardless of the offseason smoke about Webb possibly shifting over.
The Bench:
#78 Kevin Shaffer, Tackle- He sucked and he's gone.
#60 Lance Louis, Guard- Easily the most promising young interior linemen the Bears have. He only lost his job thanks to a numbers game, as Omiyale was a better option (gulp) than Williams at left and Williams had to start somewhere thanks to his draft status. He'll be gunning for Roberto Garza's job and I wouldn't be surprised if he got it.
#62 Johan Asiata, Guard- We only saw Johan in 2 games, both in short yardage packages that gained nothing. Make of that what you will.
#70 Edwin Williams, Center/Guard- He wasn't awful when he was filling in for Garza, but he wasn't particularly impressive either. I don't think he should be considered Kreutz's heir apparent.
#67 Herman Johnson, Guard- Fat Herman was a pickup from the Cardinals practice squad who didn't play and has flirted with eating himself out of the NFL. I'd be shocked if he turned out to be anything more than a camp body next year.
All told, this is a unit that performed miserably in the first half, mostly below par in the second half, and finally was probably the biggest reason why the team came up short against Green Bay. I don't know how things will shake out once free agency actually begins, but I'd be shocked if the Bears didn't add at least one veteran to throw into the competition at guard. To their credit, I don't think the coaches intend to just give Williams the job at left guard next year. I think Carimi, Kreutz, and Webb are locks, but Louis, Garza, Williams, and Unknown Free Agent Guard will have one hell of a battle for it. Frank Omiyale should be, at worst a swing tackle and at best starting somewhere in the NFL. I'd have to say this unit should be the most improved on the team next year, if only because I'd hate to imagine how it could be worse.
Please Jebus, don't let it get worse.
Sacks allowed: 56 (32nd)
QB Hits allowed: 92 (24th)
Rushing Yards Per Game: 101 (22nd)
YPC: 3.9 (23rd)
Total Offensive YPG: 289.4 (30th)
Total Offensive PPG: 20.9 (21st)
18 False Starts, 19 Holding Calls.
They also had 53 running plays that resulted in negative yardage, which is really shitty as well, although I'm too lazy to add up all of those numbers for every team in order to give you a ranking, but just know that it's Bad. Really bad.
So, with numbers like that I don't know who you'd expect me to praise, which is good, because I'm not praising anybody, especially not....
#68 Frank Omiyale, Left Tackle
I despise Frank Omiyale. The guy got a huge contract despite failing to crack the Carolina Panthers' starting lineup solely because he Looks like he should be a good offensive lineman. That may seem like an oversimplification, but I'm convinced the only reason Frank still has a job is because Jerry Angelo had himself convinced that Frank was some kind of hidden jewel and Jerry would look like a genius if he panned out. So far he's been a disaster at left guard and right tackle and a very mediocre option at left tackle.
My biggest beef with Frank is his penalties, actually. Frank had SIX goddamn false starts this year, an astonishing total for a single offensive lineman, as a point of reference, noted flagrant false starter Flozell Adams committed three this season, and the NFL's most egregious offender, Alex Barron, averaged 8 over the last five years. Omiyale added a holding penalty onto that total, giving him 7 penalties for the year, which, when paired with the team-leading 13 sacks he allowed, paint a pretty terrible picture. I don't think we've seen the last of Frank, sadly, but I do believe Gabe Carimi will move him to the bench, as J'Marcus Webb is younger, has more upside, and is a favorite of Mike Tice's. That's good news for Bears fans.
#74 Chris Williams, Left Guard
It's hard to describe Chris Williams as anything more than a disappointment at this point. The Bears seem pretty convinced that he's not going to pan out as a tackle, and the reviews for him at left guard have been mixed at best. Considering the cloud of controversy that surrounded him when Jerry Angelo drafted him Knowing he had back problems, well, it's easy to say that Chris is facing a make or break season next year. I think he actually improved down the stretch last year at left guard, and the Bears gained 40 first downs and had 28 rushes of 10 or more yards to the left vs. 29 and 17 to the right. If this damnable lockout ever ends and Williams can continue to work with Tice and gain experience as a guard, I'm confident that he can improve on the 4.5 sacks he allowed this year. Chris has the size and the athleticism he needs to be a successful guard in this system he just needs to put it together. I'd have to say I like his outlook a lot better than many of the others on this unit.
#57 Olin Kreutz, Center
Am I the only one who never really thought Olin was that good to begin with? I think Olin's a tough sonofabitch. I think he was great when he was younger at pulling and swinging out and making some highlight reel blocks. Hell, the block Olin threw on Forte's 89 yard touchdown catch in the opener against the Lions should be on a poster somewhere.
The problem, however, is that Olin's not really that big and he's not all that great at pushing back interior defensive linemen, and that's a problem. Statistically, Olin was the least egregious offender of the bunch since he comitted just one false start and allowed only one sack (had four holding penalties though, which is a lot for an interior offensive lineman), but interior linemen are naturally going to have lower sack totals. Anyone that really watches Olin with an objective eye can tell that he isn't blowing anybody off the ball. The Bears managed to pick up just 7 rushing first downs up the middle this year and had 9 runs up the middle that resulted in negative yardage. Of the 6 games the Bears lost in the regular and postseasont his year, four of them (Redskins, Packers, @GB, GB playoffs) came against teams that have 3-4 defenses and large nose guards that absolutely destroyed Olin. If you want to see why the Bears were so miserable at gaining one damn yard in short yardage situations all year, go back to the Redskins game and watch Olin's miserable job of blocking a disinterested Albert Haynesworth on the Cutler goalline fumble. Guh.
Unfortunately, the Bears appear content to let another offseason go by without addressing Olin's aging. They'll probably re-sign him to a 2-3 year deal and continue to ignore his decline. The arrow's only pointing down on this one, folks.
#63 Roberto Garza, Right Guard
Then again, Kreutz's slow decline is certainly preferable to the outright implosion of Robert Garza. As recently as 2008 Garza was actually, according to FootballOutsiders, one of the NFL's best guards. He was certainly one of the few competent performers on last year's squad, but this year he absolutely exploded. Part of this can be blamed on the knee injury that required him to miss a few games following surgery, but nothing good can be said about an interior linemen who allowed 7.5 sacks in just 14 games, and who also committed two false starts and four holding penalties. I think it's very likely that we'll see Roberto facing stiff competition from Lance Louis in training camp, since Lance showed a lot of potential by allowing just one sack and committing no penalties in his brief four game stint at LG before the great shakeup that led to the Omiyale-Williams-Kreutz-Garza-Webb lineup that finished the season.
#73 J'Marcus Webb, Right Tackle
I can see why Mike Tice loves J'Marcus. The talent he has is undeniable. For one, his 6'7'', 310 frame is ideal for a left tackle and a huge plus at right. He's a mauler that can really take his man out of the game when he manages to get ahold of him. The problem, of course, is that J'Marcus is inexperienced and also not particularly bright (considering he had to leave Texas and attend West Texas A&M for academic reasons) and is easily fooled by experienced defensive ends. I can't say for sure how many times Webb just plain whiffed on a block, but it was enought that he allowed 10.5 sacks in just 12 starts. He also committed 6 penalties (2 false starts, 4 holding). I can see reasons for optimism, though. I'm not buying the company line that he's got prototypical skills and will someday be an outstanding left tackle, but I did see enough in him that I'm willing to hope that Tice can make him into a serviceable starter at right next year. The smart money should be on Carimi lining up on Cutler's blindside, however, regardless of the offseason smoke about Webb possibly shifting over.
The Bench:
#78 Kevin Shaffer, Tackle- He sucked and he's gone.
#60 Lance Louis, Guard- Easily the most promising young interior linemen the Bears have. He only lost his job thanks to a numbers game, as Omiyale was a better option (gulp) than Williams at left and Williams had to start somewhere thanks to his draft status. He'll be gunning for Roberto Garza's job and I wouldn't be surprised if he got it.
#62 Johan Asiata, Guard- We only saw Johan in 2 games, both in short yardage packages that gained nothing. Make of that what you will.
#70 Edwin Williams, Center/Guard- He wasn't awful when he was filling in for Garza, but he wasn't particularly impressive either. I don't think he should be considered Kreutz's heir apparent.
#67 Herman Johnson, Guard- Fat Herman was a pickup from the Cardinals practice squad who didn't play and has flirted with eating himself out of the NFL. I'd be shocked if he turned out to be anything more than a camp body next year.
All told, this is a unit that performed miserably in the first half, mostly below par in the second half, and finally was probably the biggest reason why the team came up short against Green Bay. I don't know how things will shake out once free agency actually begins, but I'd be shocked if the Bears didn't add at least one veteran to throw into the competition at guard. To their credit, I don't think the coaches intend to just give Williams the job at left guard next year. I think Carimi, Kreutz, and Webb are locks, but Louis, Garza, Williams, and Unknown Free Agent Guard will have one hell of a battle for it. Frank Omiyale should be, at worst a swing tackle and at best starting somewhere in the NFL. I'd have to say this unit should be the most improved on the team next year, if only because I'd hate to imagine how it could be worse.
Please Jebus, don't let it get worse.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
In Review- The Tight Ends
Given the fact that it appears likely-ish that there Will possibly be football next year, I have decided to resume my unit-by-unit evaluations of the 2010 Bears. I covered the QBs, RBs, and WRs earlier in the offseason so you can look back to find them if you care. Today: the tight ends.
#82 Greg Olsen.
I've never really hidden the fact that I've never cared for Greg Olsen. Usually I vacillate between downright hatred and begrudging apathy toward him. I thought the Bears should have traded down from #31 in 2007 and picked up any number of the valuable players that went in the 2nd round that year (Ryan Kalil, perhaps? Nah. Let's just keep pretending that Olin Kreutz hasn't been mediocre at best since 2005!). Desmond Clark had a few years of production left in him, and then Mike Martz came around to make the position mostly irrelevant. Basically, I never wanted Greg Olsen in the first place and he's done very little to warm his way into my heart.
With that said, I think Greg had his best year as a Bear this year. He was more productive as a blocker than he's ever been (mostly since he had to be if he was ever going to see the field), he cut down on his mistakes, and he made some big catches on 3rd down and in the red zone even though his overall receiving numbers were down from his last two years. His playoff game against the Seahawks was absolutely outstanding and showed that he can still be a force in this scheme when he needs to be. Like I've said before, Kansas City ran a very similar offense under Vermeil and Al Saunders and utilized Tony Gonzalez, so Martz is capable of making Greg a major part of his scheme. That made Greg's disappearance against Green Bay all the more frustrating, although I don't know if that was Martz's fault, Greg's fault, or Cutler/Hanie's fault.
I predict a bigger year for Olsen next year, as an improved offensive line will hopefully keep him from staying in to block so often and allow him to be the matchup problem on offense that he was brought in to be.
#87 Kellen Davis
It's hard not to like Kellen. He's a good blocker (better than Olsen, at least) and 4 of his 10 career catches have been touchdowns. He's a perfect example of why I think Olsen was a wasted first round pick, since he'd be a more than adequate starter and could have at least matched Desmond Clark's production despite entering the league as a fifth round pick. There's really not much else to say here, other than he's certainly a useful player to have as a back up tight end.
#86 Brandon Manumaleuna
I can't imagine what the hell made Jerry Angelo think that Manumaleuna was worth a 5 year, $15 million contract. I hardly doubt that that was really the market value for a tight end that's solely a blocking specialist, especially when he needed a knee surgery that limited his usefulness in that department in a big way. Manu was used more as a fullback than a tight end this year and he was a serious downgrade from the eminently mediocre Jason McKie in that department. Hopefully Manu will be better this year after he's fully recovered from the surgery, but I highly doubt he'll ever be worth the money. At least he had that one touchdown against the Lions. That gave us all a good laugh.
#88 Desmond Clark
We've finally reached the end of Desmond's long tenure as a Bear (2003-2010), and I'm grateful for everything he did. He was one of the best signings of Angelo's career, and while he suffered from the absolutely atrocious parade of shit the Bears had at QB during his first three years in Chicago (averaged just 314 yards and 1 TD during the Kordell Stewart/Chris Chandler/Rookie Grossman/Jon Quinn/Craig Krenzel/Chad Hutchinson/Rookie Orton nightmare), he was very effective from 06-08 and, for all Olsen's potential, he was a much better all-around tight end during that stretch than Greg has ever been.
With all due respect to his prior career in Chicago, Clark was a nonfactor in 2010 for good reason. His decline was apparent last year and, at this point, Kellen Davis offers more value for less money. His only notable appearance last year was a dropped TD pass on 4th down in the first game against Green Bay, and he finished the year with just 1 catch for 12 yards in just five games. He'll probably end up somewhere else next year and offer average production for a few years, but it's definitely time to let him go. Good luck, Dez.
For all of the fuss about Mike Martz not using his tight ends, the Bears' unit got mixed results. They had just 478 yards receiving as a group, down from 832 the year before, but they had a respectable 7 touchdown receptions and were more of a factor in the second half than the first. Overall, though, the tight ends did what was asked of them (outside of Manumaleuna, unless he was asked to be fat, slow, and terrible at blocking) and this is a unit that should remain mostly intact and should improve next year.
#82 Greg Olsen.
I've never really hidden the fact that I've never cared for Greg Olsen. Usually I vacillate between downright hatred and begrudging apathy toward him. I thought the Bears should have traded down from #31 in 2007 and picked up any number of the valuable players that went in the 2nd round that year (Ryan Kalil, perhaps? Nah. Let's just keep pretending that Olin Kreutz hasn't been mediocre at best since 2005!). Desmond Clark had a few years of production left in him, and then Mike Martz came around to make the position mostly irrelevant. Basically, I never wanted Greg Olsen in the first place and he's done very little to warm his way into my heart.
With that said, I think Greg had his best year as a Bear this year. He was more productive as a blocker than he's ever been (mostly since he had to be if he was ever going to see the field), he cut down on his mistakes, and he made some big catches on 3rd down and in the red zone even though his overall receiving numbers were down from his last two years. His playoff game against the Seahawks was absolutely outstanding and showed that he can still be a force in this scheme when he needs to be. Like I've said before, Kansas City ran a very similar offense under Vermeil and Al Saunders and utilized Tony Gonzalez, so Martz is capable of making Greg a major part of his scheme. That made Greg's disappearance against Green Bay all the more frustrating, although I don't know if that was Martz's fault, Greg's fault, or Cutler/Hanie's fault.
I predict a bigger year for Olsen next year, as an improved offensive line will hopefully keep him from staying in to block so often and allow him to be the matchup problem on offense that he was brought in to be.
#87 Kellen Davis
It's hard not to like Kellen. He's a good blocker (better than Olsen, at least) and 4 of his 10 career catches have been touchdowns. He's a perfect example of why I think Olsen was a wasted first round pick, since he'd be a more than adequate starter and could have at least matched Desmond Clark's production despite entering the league as a fifth round pick. There's really not much else to say here, other than he's certainly a useful player to have as a back up tight end.
#86 Brandon Manumaleuna
I can't imagine what the hell made Jerry Angelo think that Manumaleuna was worth a 5 year, $15 million contract. I hardly doubt that that was really the market value for a tight end that's solely a blocking specialist, especially when he needed a knee surgery that limited his usefulness in that department in a big way. Manu was used more as a fullback than a tight end this year and he was a serious downgrade from the eminently mediocre Jason McKie in that department. Hopefully Manu will be better this year after he's fully recovered from the surgery, but I highly doubt he'll ever be worth the money. At least he had that one touchdown against the Lions. That gave us all a good laugh.
#88 Desmond Clark
We've finally reached the end of Desmond's long tenure as a Bear (2003-2010), and I'm grateful for everything he did. He was one of the best signings of Angelo's career, and while he suffered from the absolutely atrocious parade of shit the Bears had at QB during his first three years in Chicago (averaged just 314 yards and 1 TD during the Kordell Stewart/Chris Chandler/Rookie Grossman/Jon Quinn/Craig Krenzel/Chad Hutchinson/Rookie Orton nightmare), he was very effective from 06-08 and, for all Olsen's potential, he was a much better all-around tight end during that stretch than Greg has ever been.
With all due respect to his prior career in Chicago, Clark was a nonfactor in 2010 for good reason. His decline was apparent last year and, at this point, Kellen Davis offers more value for less money. His only notable appearance last year was a dropped TD pass on 4th down in the first game against Green Bay, and he finished the year with just 1 catch for 12 yards in just five games. He'll probably end up somewhere else next year and offer average production for a few years, but it's definitely time to let him go. Good luck, Dez.
For all of the fuss about Mike Martz not using his tight ends, the Bears' unit got mixed results. They had just 478 yards receiving as a group, down from 832 the year before, but they had a respectable 7 touchdown receptions and were more of a factor in the second half than the first. Overall, though, the tight ends did what was asked of them (outside of Manumaleuna, unless he was asked to be fat, slow, and terrible at blocking) and this is a unit that should remain mostly intact and should improve next year.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Killin' Time: People I Hate - Brian F*&king Griese
I'm an angry individual. People who read this site will not be surprised by this fact. On multiple occasions I've threatened all kinds of gruesome injuries upon everyone from Rick Morrissey to Todd McShay. Vitriol is what I have and I'm not afraid to use it in a meangingless blog post that will catch the eyes of maybe ten to twenty people on a good day. Hell, my most popular post, to this very day, is a a longwinded rant about Cade McNown that I penned four years ago. This is why people fear me. Some of you, however, may not understand why I hate so many people, or who I hate the most. Since it's the offseason, it's time I tie up some loose ends and explain, in detail, why the hell I hate certain people. Today I start off with public enemy number one, Brian F*&king Griese.
Why do I hate Brian F*&king Griese, let us count the reasons:
1. His stupid f*&king face:
Look at that vacant, droopy-eyed, neanderthalish gaze. That wild, untamed mess of chest hair worthy of a Greek olive merchant. A forehead so big that Shanahan used to diagram plays on it at halftime for the rest of the Broncos offense. The faint traces of unibrow that he hasn't bothered to pluck. This, folks, is one disgusting individual.
2. His total inability to push the ball down the field.
Brian Griese offered an alternative to Rex Grossman during his two years on the Bears bench, and everyone assumed, regardless of the actual information at hand, that he was some kind of Ortonian game manager who would make safe, efficient throws and allow the defense to win games. This was really just a myth that ignored Griese's own proclivity toward turning the ball over and tried to portray his lack of arm strength in a positive light. "He can't even Throw shitty pop flies like Rex can, so he's automatically better!" or something. I don't know. All I know is Brian Griese threw one deep ball in his entire Bears career, an 81 yarder to Devin Hester that required him to dip his shoulder all the way into the bowels of hell in order to get enough loft on it for it to find Devin. For the most part, however, Captain Checkdown was awesome at throwing interceptions to guys who were within his 5-15 yard comfort zone.
3. He couldn't solve the Detroit Lions. The Goddamn Detroit Lions.
The Detroit Lions are an awful waste of a franchise and managed to win just ten games in the two years that Brian Griese was a Chicago Bear. Two of those ten wins came against Griese, though. From 06-07 the Lions were 2-0 against teams with Brian Griese at starting QB and 8-21 against everyone else. Splendid. Let's look at Griese's first start as a Bear, on September 30th, 2007 in Detroit. Rex Grossman had been benched after a three interception game against the Cowboys, and dumbasses all over the world thought Griese would right the ship. Griese did the following:
34/52 (65.4%), 286 YDs, 2 TDs, 3 INTs, 5.5 YPA, 68.3 rating.
All three of Griese's interceptions came in the red zone as the Bears allowed a 13-3 fourth quarter lead to turn into a 37-27 loss. Start Kyle Orton was founded on that very evening.
But hey, it was his first start since the middle of 2005 and the guy was probably rusty. He managed to put up some decent, if misleading, statistics while going 2-1 against the Packers, Eagles, and Vikings. He even managed a nifty 90+ yard touchdown drive with no timeouts left in the final minute against Philadelphia. Kudos, Brian.
No, wait. That was all just a set up for the next nutpunch. Brian's "heroics" had gave the Bears a 3-4 record with the Lions coming into town on October 28th. Surely the Bears would notch a win and get themselves back to .500 and in the thick of the playoff race. Or....
Brian F*&king Griese would throw his fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh interceptions to the GODDAMN DETROIT LIONS. Yes, that's right, Brian followed up a 3 interception game in his first match with Detroit by throwing four more in round two at home in Soldier Field. For the season, Brian's numbers against Detroit resulted in a ghastly 3-7 TD:INT ratio, a measly 5.3 YPA, and an appalling 54.3 rating.
Maybe the Lions just had a great pass defense that year? Let's look:
2007 Lions Pass Defense: 422/602 (70.1%), 4387 yds, 32 TDs, 17 INTs, 7.1 YPA, 274.2 YPG, 96.8 rating.
If you take out Griese's 2 performances, the passer rating of Lions opponents that year goes all the way up to 102.0.
That's the Iron Curtain that stopped Brian F*&king Griese cold, folks.
3. His "Revenge":
The Bears sent Griese back to Tampa Bay after the 2007 season. Jon Gruden wanted him because he has an addiction to stockpiling mediocre quarterbacks in hopes that one of them will someday have a magical, Rich Gannon-like transformation into someone who doesn't suck. Griese had managed to overtake Jeff Garcia (no one knows how, or why) by week three when Tampa came to Soldier Field. The Bears absolutely pathetic pass rush allowed Griese to drop back 67 times without getting sacked. Griese completed barely half of those passed (38 of 67) for 407 yards, which sounds impressive until you do the math and realize that that's just 6 yards per attempt. He also threw more interceptions (3) than TDs (2) and yet the Buccaneers won the game after the Bears blew a 24-14 fourth quarter lead and gave up a field goal in OT after a Charles Tillman personal foul sustained Tampa's game winning drive. Griese then went on and talked about how much the win meant to him, like he did anything in the game that proved to the Bears that he wasn't a shitty quarterback or that they were wrong to get rid of him. Dan Orlovsky torched the Bears that year, Brian. Get over yourself.
4. He represented the end of the Bears superbowl hopes.
No, I'm not blaming Brian F*&king Griese alone for turning the 13-3, NFC Championship 2006 Bears into the 7-9, last place 2007 Chicago Bears (although they lost the tiebreaker for last place to the 7-9 Lions thanks to Brian F*&king Griese's two defeats at the hands of the Goddamn Detroit Lions), but Griese taking over for Rex Grossman meant the writing was on the wall for that team. The defense couldn't overcome the injuries it had taken, and the only hope for salvation was with a quarterback that could actually put up points consistently. Brian Griese would never be that guy.
Lots of people have asked me why I hate Brian F*&king Griese so much. He was, admittedly, nowhere near the worst QB they've had, at least according to statistics. He wasn't the total shithead or disaster that Cade McNown and Rick Mirer were. Brian F*&king Griese, however, is more than just a man. He's a symbol. He's the emblem of everything that is wrong with the "game manager" myth that's been perpetuated by morons like Trent Dilfer and every guy who loses his shit everytime Jay Cutler throws an interception. He forced me to accept that Rex Grossman had finally gone completely bust. Mostly, it was the fact that I knew from the second he took the field that I wasn't going to see a return to the Superbowl. All that matters, however, is that I hate Brian F*&king Griese, and I want you all to hate him too.
Why do I hate Brian F*&king Griese, let us count the reasons:
1. His stupid f*&king face:
Look at that vacant, droopy-eyed, neanderthalish gaze. That wild, untamed mess of chest hair worthy of a Greek olive merchant. A forehead so big that Shanahan used to diagram plays on it at halftime for the rest of the Broncos offense. The faint traces of unibrow that he hasn't bothered to pluck. This, folks, is one disgusting individual.
2. His total inability to push the ball down the field.
Brian Griese offered an alternative to Rex Grossman during his two years on the Bears bench, and everyone assumed, regardless of the actual information at hand, that he was some kind of Ortonian game manager who would make safe, efficient throws and allow the defense to win games. This was really just a myth that ignored Griese's own proclivity toward turning the ball over and tried to portray his lack of arm strength in a positive light. "He can't even Throw shitty pop flies like Rex can, so he's automatically better!" or something. I don't know. All I know is Brian Griese threw one deep ball in his entire Bears career, an 81 yarder to Devin Hester that required him to dip his shoulder all the way into the bowels of hell in order to get enough loft on it for it to find Devin. For the most part, however, Captain Checkdown was awesome at throwing interceptions to guys who were within his 5-15 yard comfort zone.
3. He couldn't solve the Detroit Lions. The Goddamn Detroit Lions.
The Detroit Lions are an awful waste of a franchise and managed to win just ten games in the two years that Brian Griese was a Chicago Bear. Two of those ten wins came against Griese, though. From 06-07 the Lions were 2-0 against teams with Brian Griese at starting QB and 8-21 against everyone else. Splendid. Let's look at Griese's first start as a Bear, on September 30th, 2007 in Detroit. Rex Grossman had been benched after a three interception game against the Cowboys, and dumbasses all over the world thought Griese would right the ship. Griese did the following:
34/52 (65.4%), 286 YDs, 2 TDs, 3 INTs, 5.5 YPA, 68.3 rating.
All three of Griese's interceptions came in the red zone as the Bears allowed a 13-3 fourth quarter lead to turn into a 37-27 loss. Start Kyle Orton was founded on that very evening.
But hey, it was his first start since the middle of 2005 and the guy was probably rusty. He managed to put up some decent, if misleading, statistics while going 2-1 against the Packers, Eagles, and Vikings. He even managed a nifty 90+ yard touchdown drive with no timeouts left in the final minute against Philadelphia. Kudos, Brian.
No, wait. That was all just a set up for the next nutpunch. Brian's "heroics" had gave the Bears a 3-4 record with the Lions coming into town on October 28th. Surely the Bears would notch a win and get themselves back to .500 and in the thick of the playoff race. Or....
Brian F*&king Griese would throw his fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh interceptions to the GODDAMN DETROIT LIONS. Yes, that's right, Brian followed up a 3 interception game in his first match with Detroit by throwing four more in round two at home in Soldier Field. For the season, Brian's numbers against Detroit resulted in a ghastly 3-7 TD:INT ratio, a measly 5.3 YPA, and an appalling 54.3 rating.
Maybe the Lions just had a great pass defense that year? Let's look:
2007 Lions Pass Defense: 422/602 (70.1%), 4387 yds, 32 TDs, 17 INTs, 7.1 YPA, 274.2 YPG, 96.8 rating.
If you take out Griese's 2 performances, the passer rating of Lions opponents that year goes all the way up to 102.0.
That's the Iron Curtain that stopped Brian F*&king Griese cold, folks.
3. His "Revenge":
The Bears sent Griese back to Tampa Bay after the 2007 season. Jon Gruden wanted him because he has an addiction to stockpiling mediocre quarterbacks in hopes that one of them will someday have a magical, Rich Gannon-like transformation into someone who doesn't suck. Griese had managed to overtake Jeff Garcia (no one knows how, or why) by week three when Tampa came to Soldier Field. The Bears absolutely pathetic pass rush allowed Griese to drop back 67 times without getting sacked. Griese completed barely half of those passed (38 of 67) for 407 yards, which sounds impressive until you do the math and realize that that's just 6 yards per attempt. He also threw more interceptions (3) than TDs (2) and yet the Buccaneers won the game after the Bears blew a 24-14 fourth quarter lead and gave up a field goal in OT after a Charles Tillman personal foul sustained Tampa's game winning drive. Griese then went on and talked about how much the win meant to him, like he did anything in the game that proved to the Bears that he wasn't a shitty quarterback or that they were wrong to get rid of him. Dan Orlovsky torched the Bears that year, Brian. Get over yourself.
4. He represented the end of the Bears superbowl hopes.
No, I'm not blaming Brian F*&king Griese alone for turning the 13-3, NFC Championship 2006 Bears into the 7-9, last place 2007 Chicago Bears (although they lost the tiebreaker for last place to the 7-9 Lions thanks to Brian F*&king Griese's two defeats at the hands of the Goddamn Detroit Lions), but Griese taking over for Rex Grossman meant the writing was on the wall for that team. The defense couldn't overcome the injuries it had taken, and the only hope for salvation was with a quarterback that could actually put up points consistently. Brian Griese would never be that guy.
Lots of people have asked me why I hate Brian F*&king Griese so much. He was, admittedly, nowhere near the worst QB they've had, at least according to statistics. He wasn't the total shithead or disaster that Cade McNown and Rick Mirer were. Brian F*&king Griese, however, is more than just a man. He's a symbol. He's the emblem of everything that is wrong with the "game manager" myth that's been perpetuated by morons like Trent Dilfer and every guy who loses his shit everytime Jay Cutler throws an interception. He forced me to accept that Rex Grossman had finally gone completely bust. Mostly, it was the fact that I knew from the second he took the field that I wasn't going to see a return to the Superbowl. All that matters, however, is that I hate Brian F*&king Griese, and I want you all to hate him too.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
The Draft- It Didn't Suck
I wasn't able to catch much of the draft live, sadly. Only the last 10 picks or so of the 1st round and then about half of the 2nd/3rd rounds. It was interesting television, however. Especially if you watch NFL Network. If you watch ESPN, well, God have mercy on you. I left that place when we got NFLN about 4 years ago and I've never looked back. Some general observations:
- I, too, was surprised by the QB flurry at the beginning of the draft:
I think this year was one of the worst years Ever to have the top pick, and I'm disappointed in Ron Rivera that he apparently thought Cam Newton was the best there was for him to build his franchise around. I don't hate Cam for his personality or the scandal around him. Those that have read this blog for any length of time know I don't put an ounce of worth into personality. I have never, however, seen anything in Cam Newton that makes me think he's capable of running an NFL offense. Gus Malzahn's offense is as far from a pro scheme as you can possibly get. I love it as a college offense because of its ability to make the simple look incredibly complex, but the fact is it's a run-heavy spread offense based on a scheme that doesn't really have a playbook so much as a pamphlet of basic concepts. I don't think Cam will adjust to the NFL fast enough to justify a #1 pick, especially when they could have drafted someone at another position of need and used the year of low expectations to angle for a high pick again next year that might put them in position for Andrew Luck.
I don't really blame the Titans for liking Jake Locker more than Blaine Gabbert or Christian Ponder, but that still doesn't make him worth a top ten pick. I've heard excuse makers say things about the quality of his receivers but I watched Alot of Jake Locker over the last couple of years and outside of his upsets against the porous defense of Lane Kiffin's USC, he didn't put together any complete games that merit where he was taken. You can try to do little things to improve his accuracy, but I don't ever see him being the 60% passer that an NFL offense needs.
Gabbert was probably the most sensible pick of the four QBs taken, but I still don't like him much. He might make a serviceable starter someday, but I don't see why they'd spend a high pick on a guy who might put up numbers similar to the guy they already have.
Christian Ponder at #12? Really? The guy might end up being the next Chad Pennington. If that's what you want, well, low standards never hurt anybody, I guess.
-I thought Mark Ingram was a fucking steal for the Saints at 28.
-Why yes, I am already suffering from uncontrollable flop sweat at the thought of Nick Fairley and Ndamukong Suh facing off against whatever interior line combination the Bears can throw at them next year. Thanks for asking.
- I do find it odd that Detroit's next two picks were Mikel LeShoure and Titus Young. They must have forgotten that they have a god awful secondary. Then again, maybe no one will have time to throw against the Fairley/Suh duo of death.
-Character and mobility issues dropped ARMCOCK Mallett into the third round, but right into the arms of the Patriots, virtually ensuring that someday he'll be the jewel of this QB class.
And with that, onto the Bears
-Gabe Carimi was an absolutely fantastic pick. I'm beyond ecstatic that he was available at 29. Jerry Angelo apparently thought he'd be gone at 26 and nearly gave away a fourth round pick trade up and get him, but fortune intervened and he was saved from his own stupidity. Carimi will probably struggle early in pass protection, but he'll be an instant upgrade for the running game. Having seen the progress that Tice made with J'marcus Webb last year, I think he can straighten out Carimi's footwork and upgrade his pass protection before too long. This pick exceeded my wildest expectations for what is usually a draft slot full of slim pickings.
-Stephen Paea addressed the biggest need on the defense- Tommie Harris' replacement. Considering they've needed a replacement for Tommie since 2007, this was a great move. Paea benched like an animal at the combine and he was an All American and Pac 10 Defensive Player of the Year last year. I won't lie and say that I've seen Alot of him, but what I have seen is good. He can be a DT capable of drawing consistent double teams, which means good things for Peppers and Idonijie. At the very least a rotation of Paea, Melton and Anthony Adams will probably pack a greater punch than last year. Anything that can keep teams from taking away Julius Peppers is a great move.
- I don't know a damn thing about Chris Conte. God knows the draft can't go by without Lovie's requisite mid-round safety pick. The unfortunate thing about this pick isn't Conte himself. It's the fact that it probably means that Danieal Manning has made up his mind and won't sign at a price the Bears can afford. That sucks, because Danieal finally had a year worthy of his potential and the Manning-Harris-Wright rotation was pretty effective. If Danieal's gone, we've learned by now that the Bears need a never-ending supply of bodies at that position so Conte probably wasn't a bad pick. But I wish Danieal wasn't leaving.
- The fourth round pick that the Ravens wanted ended up going to the Redskins to allow the team to draft Paea, so that was probably worth it.
- Nate Enderle is a pretty decent QB to find in the 5th round. Why the hell the Bears needed a QB in the fifth round, I don't know. This was a draft thin on interiot linemen so I'm not necessarily mad that they missed out on a guard like a lot of people are, but I don't understand why Martz can't seem to sell himself on Hanie.
- I don't know a damn thing about JT Thomas either. But the Bears have had luck with later round OLB's before, so hopefully he'll add depth with Tinoisamoa, Urlacher, and Briggs all getting up there.
All in all, Carimi and Paea make this one of the better drafts the Bears have had in years. There are some people out there ranting that the Bears should have done something nonsensical and just offensive linemen, but there were just 23 offensive linemen taken total after the 3rd round. This was a top heavy draft and those would have been wasted picks. Carimi is a guy that will be ready to start (well, he'll start) right away, with Webb (who showed a lot of potential as last season went on) sliding to the left. Chris Williams is going to start somewhere, and he started to look like a pretty good run-blocker, at least, at left guard down the stretch. Omiyale will head to the bench (Thank you, Deityofyourchoice), leaving the declining skills of Kreutz and Garza as the biggest question marks, surprisingly. I'm not sure how free agency will eventually shake out, but I assume Angelo will find at least one interior lineman to throw into the competition next year. Either way, I have faith, for once, that next year's line will be better than the year before. If that line reaches the point where Cutler and Martz can actually open up the playbook this team will be a much more consistent contender. Paea upgrades the most important unit on the defense, which should keep them in the top ten range.
My "grade"? Probably an A for rounds 1 and 2, and a C for the rest. I think this draft actually improved the state of the Chicago Bears. Its sad that I have to say that, since that's the whole Point of the draft, but there have been many times in recent memory where I wouldn't have ventured out on that limb.
Go Bears.
- I, too, was surprised by the QB flurry at the beginning of the draft:
I think this year was one of the worst years Ever to have the top pick, and I'm disappointed in Ron Rivera that he apparently thought Cam Newton was the best there was for him to build his franchise around. I don't hate Cam for his personality or the scandal around him. Those that have read this blog for any length of time know I don't put an ounce of worth into personality. I have never, however, seen anything in Cam Newton that makes me think he's capable of running an NFL offense. Gus Malzahn's offense is as far from a pro scheme as you can possibly get. I love it as a college offense because of its ability to make the simple look incredibly complex, but the fact is it's a run-heavy spread offense based on a scheme that doesn't really have a playbook so much as a pamphlet of basic concepts. I don't think Cam will adjust to the NFL fast enough to justify a #1 pick, especially when they could have drafted someone at another position of need and used the year of low expectations to angle for a high pick again next year that might put them in position for Andrew Luck.
I don't really blame the Titans for liking Jake Locker more than Blaine Gabbert or Christian Ponder, but that still doesn't make him worth a top ten pick. I've heard excuse makers say things about the quality of his receivers but I watched Alot of Jake Locker over the last couple of years and outside of his upsets against the porous defense of Lane Kiffin's USC, he didn't put together any complete games that merit where he was taken. You can try to do little things to improve his accuracy, but I don't ever see him being the 60% passer that an NFL offense needs.
Gabbert was probably the most sensible pick of the four QBs taken, but I still don't like him much. He might make a serviceable starter someday, but I don't see why they'd spend a high pick on a guy who might put up numbers similar to the guy they already have.
Christian Ponder at #12? Really? The guy might end up being the next Chad Pennington. If that's what you want, well, low standards never hurt anybody, I guess.
-I thought Mark Ingram was a fucking steal for the Saints at 28.
-Why yes, I am already suffering from uncontrollable flop sweat at the thought of Nick Fairley and Ndamukong Suh facing off against whatever interior line combination the Bears can throw at them next year. Thanks for asking.
- I do find it odd that Detroit's next two picks were Mikel LeShoure and Titus Young. They must have forgotten that they have a god awful secondary. Then again, maybe no one will have time to throw against the Fairley/Suh duo of death.
-Character and mobility issues dropped ARMCOCK Mallett into the third round, but right into the arms of the Patriots, virtually ensuring that someday he'll be the jewel of this QB class.
And with that, onto the Bears
-Gabe Carimi was an absolutely fantastic pick. I'm beyond ecstatic that he was available at 29. Jerry Angelo apparently thought he'd be gone at 26 and nearly gave away a fourth round pick trade up and get him, but fortune intervened and he was saved from his own stupidity. Carimi will probably struggle early in pass protection, but he'll be an instant upgrade for the running game. Having seen the progress that Tice made with J'marcus Webb last year, I think he can straighten out Carimi's footwork and upgrade his pass protection before too long. This pick exceeded my wildest expectations for what is usually a draft slot full of slim pickings.
-Stephen Paea addressed the biggest need on the defense- Tommie Harris' replacement. Considering they've needed a replacement for Tommie since 2007, this was a great move. Paea benched like an animal at the combine and he was an All American and Pac 10 Defensive Player of the Year last year. I won't lie and say that I've seen Alot of him, but what I have seen is good. He can be a DT capable of drawing consistent double teams, which means good things for Peppers and Idonijie. At the very least a rotation of Paea, Melton and Anthony Adams will probably pack a greater punch than last year. Anything that can keep teams from taking away Julius Peppers is a great move.
- I don't know a damn thing about Chris Conte. God knows the draft can't go by without Lovie's requisite mid-round safety pick. The unfortunate thing about this pick isn't Conte himself. It's the fact that it probably means that Danieal Manning has made up his mind and won't sign at a price the Bears can afford. That sucks, because Danieal finally had a year worthy of his potential and the Manning-Harris-Wright rotation was pretty effective. If Danieal's gone, we've learned by now that the Bears need a never-ending supply of bodies at that position so Conte probably wasn't a bad pick. But I wish Danieal wasn't leaving.
- The fourth round pick that the Ravens wanted ended up going to the Redskins to allow the team to draft Paea, so that was probably worth it.
- Nate Enderle is a pretty decent QB to find in the 5th round. Why the hell the Bears needed a QB in the fifth round, I don't know. This was a draft thin on interiot linemen so I'm not necessarily mad that they missed out on a guard like a lot of people are, but I don't understand why Martz can't seem to sell himself on Hanie.
- I don't know a damn thing about JT Thomas either. But the Bears have had luck with later round OLB's before, so hopefully he'll add depth with Tinoisamoa, Urlacher, and Briggs all getting up there.
All in all, Carimi and Paea make this one of the better drafts the Bears have had in years. There are some people out there ranting that the Bears should have done something nonsensical and just offensive linemen, but there were just 23 offensive linemen taken total after the 3rd round. This was a top heavy draft and those would have been wasted picks. Carimi is a guy that will be ready to start (well, he'll start) right away, with Webb (who showed a lot of potential as last season went on) sliding to the left. Chris Williams is going to start somewhere, and he started to look like a pretty good run-blocker, at least, at left guard down the stretch. Omiyale will head to the bench (Thank you, Deityofyourchoice), leaving the declining skills of Kreutz and Garza as the biggest question marks, surprisingly. I'm not sure how free agency will eventually shake out, but I assume Angelo will find at least one interior lineman to throw into the competition next year. Either way, I have faith, for once, that next year's line will be better than the year before. If that line reaches the point where Cutler and Martz can actually open up the playbook this team will be a much more consistent contender. Paea upgrades the most important unit on the defense, which should keep them in the top ten range.
My "grade"? Probably an A for rounds 1 and 2, and a C for the rest. I think this draft actually improved the state of the Chicago Bears. Its sad that I have to say that, since that's the whole Point of the draft, but there have been many times in recent memory where I wouldn't have ventured out on that limb.
Go Bears.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
The Offseason to End All Offseasons
After the season ended I started doing unit by unit reviews of the Bears and, knowing my proclivity toward inactivity during the offseason, figured I'd just do one every week or every other week and thus not overwork myself. I failed to manage even that. Frankly, there's something that felt absolutely pointless about writing about Kellen Davis' performance this year when there's a damn solid chance that there will be no NFL in 2011. Given the disgust I already felt over the treatment of Jay Cutler and a loss to Green Bay in the NFC title game, the enthusiasm quickly dipped well below zero. So I just gave up.
I realize this is the first time I've addressed the possibility of a lockout on here. Well, that's because I was scared shitless of the prospect. I think it's pretty obvious around here just how much time I waste on the NFL each year and I'm sure as hell not looking forward to it. It was best just to ignore the possibility as long as it could be ignored. Unfortunately, that doesn't appear to be an option anymore.
So where do we go from here? I'm really disheartened by the entire situation. There's a million meatball phrases out there that I've heard angry fans lobbying, from the whole "split da damn difference!" to "dose guyz 'r millionaires playin a KIDS GAME!" to "I don't care about millionaires vs. billionaires." Well, I suppose I'm in the last game. Both sides have valid points. Both sides have very stupid points. Fuck them.
The draft is coming up soon. Normally it would be a happy beacon of light for me in a dark offseason as it marks the halfway point to training camp. Now it just seems like a farce. I'm assuming the Bears will go for some combination of offensive and defensive linemen at the top. They need someone on the inside to compliment Peppers and they need anything that can keep Jay Cutler upright. We all know that.
I don't really have much to offer after that. I haven't been following the combines or workouts like I normally do, and even with as much college football as I watch I don't pay nearly enough attention to tell you who the best linemen are after the few big names at the top who aren't at all likely to be there at 29. My guess is Angelo will do what he did in 05 and trade down to pick up some more 2nd and 3rd round picks if at all possible. Quantity is definitely a necessity for an aging team.
That's about it for now. When the draft does come I'll be back with a full recap and everything I've managed to glean about the Bears' picks. Until then, go watch the Blackhawks. Or the Bulls. Hell, even the Cubs. Just go watch somebody who's actually playing.
I realize this is the first time I've addressed the possibility of a lockout on here. Well, that's because I was scared shitless of the prospect. I think it's pretty obvious around here just how much time I waste on the NFL each year and I'm sure as hell not looking forward to it. It was best just to ignore the possibility as long as it could be ignored. Unfortunately, that doesn't appear to be an option anymore.
So where do we go from here? I'm really disheartened by the entire situation. There's a million meatball phrases out there that I've heard angry fans lobbying, from the whole "split da damn difference!" to "dose guyz 'r millionaires playin a KIDS GAME!" to "I don't care about millionaires vs. billionaires." Well, I suppose I'm in the last game. Both sides have valid points. Both sides have very stupid points. Fuck them.
The draft is coming up soon. Normally it would be a happy beacon of light for me in a dark offseason as it marks the halfway point to training camp. Now it just seems like a farce. I'm assuming the Bears will go for some combination of offensive and defensive linemen at the top. They need someone on the inside to compliment Peppers and they need anything that can keep Jay Cutler upright. We all know that.
I don't really have much to offer after that. I haven't been following the combines or workouts like I normally do, and even with as much college football as I watch I don't pay nearly enough attention to tell you who the best linemen are after the few big names at the top who aren't at all likely to be there at 29. My guess is Angelo will do what he did in 05 and trade down to pick up some more 2nd and 3rd round picks if at all possible. Quantity is definitely a necessity for an aging team.
That's about it for now. When the draft does come I'll be back with a full recap and everything I've managed to glean about the Bears' picks. Until then, go watch the Blackhawks. Or the Bulls. Hell, even the Cubs. Just go watch somebody who's actually playing.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
In Review- The Wide Receivers
As part of my extremely prolonged and ongoing series reviewing each unit of the Bears and their performance in 2010 and my hopes for 2011, I now move onto the wide receivers.
#13 Johnny Knox-
Johnny's an extremely frustrating player. It's hard to say he's been a disappointment, as his production over the last two years has been outstanding for a guy from a small school whose mere existence on the roster came about as a throw-away in the Cutler trade. He had 960 yards receiving this year and averaged an absolutely outstanding and DeSean Jackson like 18.8 yards per catch. He's got 10 TDs in two years. He's a great return man when he gets chances.
Buuuuttt....
You know and I know, as much as I hate even debating the existence of "toughness", Johnny Knox doesn't have it. Maybe he's just not smart enough to run proper routes. Maybe he just doesn't see the ball on all of those jump balls that he never gets his head around on. Either way, I know I have to stifle the urge to strangle something cute and innocent every time I see Jay Cutler blamed for another "mindless interception" when we all know it was Johnny's fault for standing there and throwing his arms up for a flag while watching a DB wrestle the ball out of the air or cutting behind the defender on a slant. He led the league in most interceptions on passes thrown his way. Not all of that's his fault, but a good deal of it sure as hell is. Apparently it pisses off Marshall Faulk, too. Now, I'm not advocating giving up on Johnny Knox. He's a very talented and very cheap young player. Hopefully he learns from his mistakes and improves his route-running and effort. I'd be more happy, however, if the Bears found another legitimate target so Cutler doesn't find himself forcing the ball to Johnny as often.
#23 Devin Hester-
Devin is what he is. The whole "is he a #1 receiver?" debate of the last few years has been a mostly pointless exercise. He's shown great flashes of talent, but he's never really put it all together. Alot of that isn't his fault. He's not targeted very often, and his skills really are better suited to lining up in the slot in this offense. His skills as a returner are absolutely invaluable and he's a threat when he's at the line of scrimmage. I think the Bears have started to appreciate him for what he is and have shifted away from Relying on him on offense, and that's probably a good thing. He's a good piece to have to move around and cause match-up problems, but he's never going to be an every-down target. That's okay.
#80 Earl Bennett-
I love Earl Bennett. I make no secret of this fact. The Black Bobby Engram is an unstoppable third down threat and his effort is incredible. He throws great blocks and I will always remember him dragging the entire Lions' defense for 15-20 yards in the second Detroit game. That said, he's a complementary player. His speed isn't great enough to make him a consistent deep threat, and his size isn't going to cause many matchup problems in the red zone. There's just a missing piece and it sure as hell isn't
#19 Devin Aromashodu-
Someone out there is still pissed that this guy didn't get many targets this year and won't be back next year. That's fine. That guy is an idiot. Devin was a guy that benefitted from a Hester injury last year and had a couple great games that were almost entirely Jay Cutler's doing. I don't remember Devin making a single catch (outside of his snag against the Giants in the Preseason last year) where I was all that impressed. The hype was stupid and Mike Martz knew it. Even worse, Devin himself believed it and apparently acted like an entitled fuckwad when his reps got cut after his four drops in the opener. Nice thinking for a guy who had finally broken free of the practice squad. See ya.
#81 Rashied Davis-
Rashied is an excellent special teams player. He also earned his way onto the field as a receiver late in the season and responded with some pretty good play out of the slot. I'd never have him higher than #4 on the depth chart, but he's a pretty good value at this position.
So we know what the Bears are missing. I'm not trying to join the horde of idiots who spent the last two years hoping the Bears would throw away valuable picks in a go-for-broke attempt to get Anquan Boldin or be dumb enough to sign Terrell Owens. Chad Johnson may be worth a shot if the price is right (meaning a 5th round pick or lower), but somewhere in the draft or in free agency there's got to be somebody big enough to throw a damn Fade to. That's not that hard.
Chances are, if the Bears fix the offensive line, they could bring back this exact same corps and they'd do light years better next year and I'd feel silly for saying this, but sometimes the difference between a nice receiver and a great one comes down to a few missed plays in a game. I hate going with something so statistically unproveable, but watching the Superbowl I couldn't help but notice the drops by Jordy Nelson and James Jones, both of whom are talented receivers who could probably start for a lot of teams like the Bears and do pretty well. Then you saw Greg Jennings with his two touchdowns and a perfectly run seam route from Rodgers to Jennings for a huge 3rd down conversion on GB's last scoring drive and you realize that it really, really helps to have That guy. Hopefully the Bears will find him soon. Whoever he is, I don't think he's Andy Fantuz.
#13 Johnny Knox-
Johnny's an extremely frustrating player. It's hard to say he's been a disappointment, as his production over the last two years has been outstanding for a guy from a small school whose mere existence on the roster came about as a throw-away in the Cutler trade. He had 960 yards receiving this year and averaged an absolutely outstanding and DeSean Jackson like 18.8 yards per catch. He's got 10 TDs in two years. He's a great return man when he gets chances.
Buuuuttt....
You know and I know, as much as I hate even debating the existence of "toughness", Johnny Knox doesn't have it. Maybe he's just not smart enough to run proper routes. Maybe he just doesn't see the ball on all of those jump balls that he never gets his head around on. Either way, I know I have to stifle the urge to strangle something cute and innocent every time I see Jay Cutler blamed for another "mindless interception" when we all know it was Johnny's fault for standing there and throwing his arms up for a flag while watching a DB wrestle the ball out of the air or cutting behind the defender on a slant. He led the league in most interceptions on passes thrown his way. Not all of that's his fault, but a good deal of it sure as hell is. Apparently it pisses off Marshall Faulk, too. Now, I'm not advocating giving up on Johnny Knox. He's a very talented and very cheap young player. Hopefully he learns from his mistakes and improves his route-running and effort. I'd be more happy, however, if the Bears found another legitimate target so Cutler doesn't find himself forcing the ball to Johnny as often.
#23 Devin Hester-
Devin is what he is. The whole "is he a #1 receiver?" debate of the last few years has been a mostly pointless exercise. He's shown great flashes of talent, but he's never really put it all together. Alot of that isn't his fault. He's not targeted very often, and his skills really are better suited to lining up in the slot in this offense. His skills as a returner are absolutely invaluable and he's a threat when he's at the line of scrimmage. I think the Bears have started to appreciate him for what he is and have shifted away from Relying on him on offense, and that's probably a good thing. He's a good piece to have to move around and cause match-up problems, but he's never going to be an every-down target. That's okay.
#80 Earl Bennett-
I love Earl Bennett. I make no secret of this fact. The Black Bobby Engram is an unstoppable third down threat and his effort is incredible. He throws great blocks and I will always remember him dragging the entire Lions' defense for 15-20 yards in the second Detroit game. That said, he's a complementary player. His speed isn't great enough to make him a consistent deep threat, and his size isn't going to cause many matchup problems in the red zone. There's just a missing piece and it sure as hell isn't
#19 Devin Aromashodu-
Someone out there is still pissed that this guy didn't get many targets this year and won't be back next year. That's fine. That guy is an idiot. Devin was a guy that benefitted from a Hester injury last year and had a couple great games that were almost entirely Jay Cutler's doing. I don't remember Devin making a single catch (outside of his snag against the Giants in the Preseason last year) where I was all that impressed. The hype was stupid and Mike Martz knew it. Even worse, Devin himself believed it and apparently acted like an entitled fuckwad when his reps got cut after his four drops in the opener. Nice thinking for a guy who had finally broken free of the practice squad. See ya.
#81 Rashied Davis-
Rashied is an excellent special teams player. He also earned his way onto the field as a receiver late in the season and responded with some pretty good play out of the slot. I'd never have him higher than #4 on the depth chart, but he's a pretty good value at this position.
So we know what the Bears are missing. I'm not trying to join the horde of idiots who spent the last two years hoping the Bears would throw away valuable picks in a go-for-broke attempt to get Anquan Boldin or be dumb enough to sign Terrell Owens. Chad Johnson may be worth a shot if the price is right (meaning a 5th round pick or lower), but somewhere in the draft or in free agency there's got to be somebody big enough to throw a damn Fade to. That's not that hard.
Chances are, if the Bears fix the offensive line, they could bring back this exact same corps and they'd do light years better next year and I'd feel silly for saying this, but sometimes the difference between a nice receiver and a great one comes down to a few missed plays in a game. I hate going with something so statistically unproveable, but watching the Superbowl I couldn't help but notice the drops by Jordy Nelson and James Jones, both of whom are talented receivers who could probably start for a lot of teams like the Bears and do pretty well. Then you saw Greg Jennings with his two touchdowns and a perfectly run seam route from Rodgers to Jennings for a huge 3rd down conversion on GB's last scoring drive and you realize that it really, really helps to have That guy. Hopefully the Bears will find him soon. Whoever he is, I don't think he's Andy Fantuz.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
In Review- The Runningbacks
Earlier this week I took a look at how the quarterbacks on the Bears roster did in 2010, and what I expect for 2011. Today I tackle the runningback unit:
#22 Matt Forte- I've always been high on Matt Forte. I love the kid. Perhaps I overreacted to watching him have one really good game for Tulane against the eventual national champion LSU Tigers in 2007, or maybe my love for him is the exact inverse of my undying loathing of Cedric Benson. Maybe it's because he's a guy with an incredibly diverse skill set who causes match-up problems everywhere he goes when he's utilized properly. I think my favorite Forte play this year was in week two against Dallas when he motioned into the slot and then caught a fade for a TD. That's just not something a lot of backs can do in this league.
The problem early on this year was that Mike Martz viewed him as more of a receiver than a runner, and he's actually quite good at both. In the second half Matt exploded for 668 yards rushing on 133 attempts, good for a sparkling 5.0 YPC average. In the two playoff games he averaged 147 yards from scrimmage. For the year he finished with 1,069 YDs, a 4.5 YPC average, and 6 TDs on the ground to go with 51 catches, 547 yards, and 3 TDs through the air. In his Bears career now he's averaged almost 1600 yds from scrimmage and 8 total TDs a year. He's not exactly Marshall Faulk yet, but what he showed in the second half may mean he's a lot closer than people think. As I've said with Cutler, the Bears are a few key pieces on the offensive line away from having a very explosive offense, and Matt Forte is a lynchpin. He's got one year left on his deal, but I'd be shocked if he doesn't get an extension as soon as the labor situation stabilizes.
#29 Chester Taylor- Every time I saw Chester Taylor get tackled in the backfield this year, I thought to myself "okay, that can't be his fault Every time, right?" But it's impossible to deny the fact that Matt Forte made Taylor look old and useless by gaining literally twice as many yards per carry over the second half as Taylor gained this season (2.4). In fact, Chester had the worst ypc average of any runningback with 100 or more carries since the NFL merger. That's bad. Not surprising, though, given that Taylor is past the dreaded Age 30 Wall that stops most runningbacks and he ranked dead last in the NFL last year in Pro Football Focus's elusive rankings, meaning, among other things, he had a ton of runs for no gain and he was terrible at gaining yards after contact. My hope, honestly, is that they cut Taylor this offseason. I'm aware that he signed a four year, 12 million dollar contract, but it was a front-loaded deal and he made seven million of it this year. I'm sure he'd "improve" next year, given that it would be hard to do much worse, but there's no way he'd improve enough to be better than a younger, cheaper replacement. If he comes back, well, I'll continue to swear every time he's on screen.
#25 Garrett Wolfe-
Garrett has managed to totally justify the 3rd round pick that Jerry Angelo spent on him in 2007 by racking up a whopping 411 yards from yards from scrimmage in four seasons. Guh. He is, however, a great special teams player, but I doubt that will be enough to justify keeping him as an RFA this season. The Bears can't afford to pay all of their special-teams players the veteran minimum, and I doubt Garrett will be a guy they deem worth the money, although I suppose Jerry has found away to keep this disappointment on the roster for four years as it is. But hey, it's not like the Bears could have used that pick on actually useful back up runningback or an outstanding left tackle, or anything.
#32 Kahlil Bell- Remember this guy? He had a 72 yard run against the Eagles last year. On his other 39 carries he gained just 148 yards, at a 3.8 ypc clip. This year he was inactive for all 16 games. I doubt we'll see him again.
This is one position where I hope we'll see a lot of turnover outside of Matt. I wouldn't be surprised to see three new guys behind Forte next year. Although I suppose it's more likely that Taylor's contract will bring him back again, I wouldn't expect much of anything from him. At the very least I hope the Bears can find a suitable third option that isn't Garrett Wolfe.
#22 Matt Forte- I've always been high on Matt Forte. I love the kid. Perhaps I overreacted to watching him have one really good game for Tulane against the eventual national champion LSU Tigers in 2007, or maybe my love for him is the exact inverse of my undying loathing of Cedric Benson. Maybe it's because he's a guy with an incredibly diverse skill set who causes match-up problems everywhere he goes when he's utilized properly. I think my favorite Forte play this year was in week two against Dallas when he motioned into the slot and then caught a fade for a TD. That's just not something a lot of backs can do in this league.
The problem early on this year was that Mike Martz viewed him as more of a receiver than a runner, and he's actually quite good at both. In the second half Matt exploded for 668 yards rushing on 133 attempts, good for a sparkling 5.0 YPC average. In the two playoff games he averaged 147 yards from scrimmage. For the year he finished with 1,069 YDs, a 4.5 YPC average, and 6 TDs on the ground to go with 51 catches, 547 yards, and 3 TDs through the air. In his Bears career now he's averaged almost 1600 yds from scrimmage and 8 total TDs a year. He's not exactly Marshall Faulk yet, but what he showed in the second half may mean he's a lot closer than people think. As I've said with Cutler, the Bears are a few key pieces on the offensive line away from having a very explosive offense, and Matt Forte is a lynchpin. He's got one year left on his deal, but I'd be shocked if he doesn't get an extension as soon as the labor situation stabilizes.
#29 Chester Taylor- Every time I saw Chester Taylor get tackled in the backfield this year, I thought to myself "okay, that can't be his fault Every time, right?" But it's impossible to deny the fact that Matt Forte made Taylor look old and useless by gaining literally twice as many yards per carry over the second half as Taylor gained this season (2.4). In fact, Chester had the worst ypc average of any runningback with 100 or more carries since the NFL merger. That's bad. Not surprising, though, given that Taylor is past the dreaded Age 30 Wall that stops most runningbacks and he ranked dead last in the NFL last year in Pro Football Focus's elusive rankings, meaning, among other things, he had a ton of runs for no gain and he was terrible at gaining yards after contact. My hope, honestly, is that they cut Taylor this offseason. I'm aware that he signed a four year, 12 million dollar contract, but it was a front-loaded deal and he made seven million of it this year. I'm sure he'd "improve" next year, given that it would be hard to do much worse, but there's no way he'd improve enough to be better than a younger, cheaper replacement. If he comes back, well, I'll continue to swear every time he's on screen.
#25 Garrett Wolfe-
Garrett has managed to totally justify the 3rd round pick that Jerry Angelo spent on him in 2007 by racking up a whopping 411 yards from yards from scrimmage in four seasons. Guh. He is, however, a great special teams player, but I doubt that will be enough to justify keeping him as an RFA this season. The Bears can't afford to pay all of their special-teams players the veteran minimum, and I doubt Garrett will be a guy they deem worth the money, although I suppose Jerry has found away to keep this disappointment on the roster for four years as it is. But hey, it's not like the Bears could have used that pick on actually useful back up runningback or an outstanding left tackle, or anything.
#32 Kahlil Bell- Remember this guy? He had a 72 yard run against the Eagles last year. On his other 39 carries he gained just 148 yards, at a 3.8 ypc clip. This year he was inactive for all 16 games. I doubt we'll see him again.
This is one position where I hope we'll see a lot of turnover outside of Matt. I wouldn't be surprised to see three new guys behind Forte next year. Although I suppose it's more likely that Taylor's contract will bring him back again, I wouldn't expect much of anything from him. At the very least I hope the Bears can find a suitable third option that isn't Garrett Wolfe.
Monday, January 31, 2011
In Review- The Quarterbacks
Now that a week has passed in which I have largely managed to stifle my anger and have allowed cooler heads to prevail in the Cutler debate, it's time to look back at the 2010 Bears and wonder what the hell they might look like in 2011. Today I start with the most important position on the field, and I'll eventually work my way through the runningbacks, wideouts and tight ends, offensive line, defensive line, linebackers, secondary, special teams, and the coaches. Most of you won't read me again until you start to get bored come training camp time in July, so I'm just going to take as much time as I want on this.
#6 Jay Cutler- My opinion on Jay Cutler is well known and oft-stated, and I think I elaborated my points pretty well in my last piece as to just how good Jay did this year behind an extremely porous offensive line. In his last 19 starts as a Bear (including playoffs) Cutler is 13-6 with a completion % of 60, 33 TD passes, 220 ypg, and a 90 rating. Those aren't elite numbers, but they're very good, and damn near incredible considering the talent around him.
A large part of the negative impression people have of Cutler still stems from a 10 game stretch last year when the entire Bear organization nearly fell apart, not just Jay. Following the Bears 3-1 start in 2009, and before their 2-0 finish, they went 2-8 and Jay had an 11:20 TD:INT ratio and a passer rating of 64.5. During that time period the Bears allowed 45 points to the Bengals, 41 to the Cardinals, 36 to the Vikings, and 31 to the Ravens in several blowout losses, the team averaged just 87 rush yards per game, and Cutler was sacked 23 times. I think Cutler has borne the brunt of the blame for a shitty, shitty, God awful football team for far too long in that case.
If you look at Cutler's numbers in his other 58 games as a starter his numbers look like this:
62% Completions, 93 TDs, 59 INTs, 7.4 YPA, 88.1 rating.
I'm not excusing the terrible play during those 10 games, but when you separate that 10 game stretch from the rest of his career, he's a pretty good player. Why people choose to regard those 10 games as the norm, rather than the exception, well, we all know, and it's the kind of sheep mentality that chooses to a hate a guy based on his pouty face and a media misconception and it results in an overwhelming majority of idiots apparently finding a sulky guy to be less likeable than a guy accused of multiple rapes and a convicted dog-killer.
Is Jay Cutler perfect? God no. Not even close. He still throws too God damned many interceptions, especially in the red zone. His accuracy comes and goes depending on whether or not he can set his feet and get into a rhythm. He has a tendency to start slow.
The main thing about Jay Cutler is that I don't see anything negative about him that isn't fixable if he's given all of the things that most great quarterbacks have always had. He needs an offensive line that actually allows him to set his feet in the pocket. Everybody loves to jump on Jay for throwing off of his back foot, but he actually is pretty good at that. He'd do it less if he actually had Time to set his feet, though. He needs another year in the same system. He's had four different coordinators in five years in the NFL. He needs a wide receiver that can actually go up and fight for a jump ball once or twice. Get him those (or really just the first one) and I guarantee you'll see Jay in the playoffs more often than not.
#12 Caleb Hanie- I like Caleb. I always have. Including his work against the Packers, he finished the year 18/27 for 208 YDs, 1 TD, 2 INT, a 66 comp.% and a 71.2 rating. Not bad work for a guy getting scout team reps. Generally, when the Bears are scraping "prospects" at QB out of the undrafted FA pile, they get noodle-armed "winners" like Shane Matthews and Chris Leak. Caleb was actually a guy with a big arm, big body, good mobility, and a great completion% who went to a really shitty school and had a terrible winning %. Fortunately your won-loss record doesn't carry over into the NFL, regardless of what Cutler critics would have you believe, and Caleb has turned out to be a very good prospect. I think Jerry and Lovie has always had faith in him, and they were pretty confident both last year and this year going with him as the #2. That's to their credit.
What isn't to their credit is allowing Mike Martz and his precious need for a "system" guy to cloud them into thinking that Todd Collins knowledge of the playbook outweighed his total inability to complete a forward pass. Caleb is a restricted free agent, but I don't see anybody matching the Bears if they put a half-decent offer on the table. Given time, Caleb could turn out to be a Schaub-type guy that the Bears could parlay into draft picks. Most of all, though, he's a guy that could turn into a pretty good quarterback, and they need as many of those as they can get.
#10 Todd Collins- Good lord. If you look at Todd Collins career, it's pretty obvious that the best part was the nine year stretch where he didn't start a game. How unfortunate it is for all of us that the best 3 games of his life came in 2007 and extended his career another three seasons. You never should have left your clipboard, Todd.
Everything about the Todd Collins experience in 2010 was awful. His stupid stat-padding performance against the practice squad of the Cleveland Browns in the fourth preaseason game that apparently gave Martz all the ammo he needed to drop Caleb down to #3. The fact that Mike Martz refused to believe he didn't suck. The fact that the Giants knocked Todd out of the game after he replaced Jay but Didn't hurt him enough to keep him from starting the Panthers game. The whole 6-completions-to-the-Bears-4-completions-to-the-Panthers thing. He was absolutely the most wretchedly ineffective quarterback that I've seen since Jonathan Quinn. Actually, by the numbers, he was much worse. Try wrapping your head around that. In a year in which the Bears were SUPERBOWL CONTENDERS they had a guy that was worse than Jonathan Quinn first in line to take the snaps if Jay went down. Guh. Martz's love of Collins should be evidence why, despite his undeniable acumen as an offensive mind and a pretty good won-loss record, Mike Martz is no longer head coach of the Rams. Shocking that a roster that he once had so much control over averaged 12 losses a year in the last six years before now. Never let him make personnel decisions again. Ever.
So what's next for this unit? Obviously Cutler will be back, and I expect him to have a breakout year if the protection is finally adequate. I think they'll tender Hanie, and I don't expect anybody to try to top them or to risk even a low draft pick for him, so he should be back as well. Todd Collins should be shot on sight if he tries to re-enter Halas Hall. For the third QB next year I wouldn't really be shocked to see the team throw another 6th or 7th round drift pick at a halfway-intriguing prospect as a gift to Martz. Either way, I think we'll see Cutler and Hanie back at the top next year.
#6 Jay Cutler- My opinion on Jay Cutler is well known and oft-stated, and I think I elaborated my points pretty well in my last piece as to just how good Jay did this year behind an extremely porous offensive line. In his last 19 starts as a Bear (including playoffs) Cutler is 13-6 with a completion % of 60, 33 TD passes, 220 ypg, and a 90 rating. Those aren't elite numbers, but they're very good, and damn near incredible considering the talent around him.
A large part of the negative impression people have of Cutler still stems from a 10 game stretch last year when the entire Bear organization nearly fell apart, not just Jay. Following the Bears 3-1 start in 2009, and before their 2-0 finish, they went 2-8 and Jay had an 11:20 TD:INT ratio and a passer rating of 64.5. During that time period the Bears allowed 45 points to the Bengals, 41 to the Cardinals, 36 to the Vikings, and 31 to the Ravens in several blowout losses, the team averaged just 87 rush yards per game, and Cutler was sacked 23 times. I think Cutler has borne the brunt of the blame for a shitty, shitty, God awful football team for far too long in that case.
If you look at Cutler's numbers in his other 58 games as a starter his numbers look like this:
62% Completions, 93 TDs, 59 INTs, 7.4 YPA, 88.1 rating.
I'm not excusing the terrible play during those 10 games, but when you separate that 10 game stretch from the rest of his career, he's a pretty good player. Why people choose to regard those 10 games as the norm, rather than the exception, well, we all know, and it's the kind of sheep mentality that chooses to a hate a guy based on his pouty face and a media misconception and it results in an overwhelming majority of idiots apparently finding a sulky guy to be less likeable than a guy accused of multiple rapes and a convicted dog-killer.
Is Jay Cutler perfect? God no. Not even close. He still throws too God damned many interceptions, especially in the red zone. His accuracy comes and goes depending on whether or not he can set his feet and get into a rhythm. He has a tendency to start slow.
The main thing about Jay Cutler is that I don't see anything negative about him that isn't fixable if he's given all of the things that most great quarterbacks have always had. He needs an offensive line that actually allows him to set his feet in the pocket. Everybody loves to jump on Jay for throwing off of his back foot, but he actually is pretty good at that. He'd do it less if he actually had Time to set his feet, though. He needs another year in the same system. He's had four different coordinators in five years in the NFL. He needs a wide receiver that can actually go up and fight for a jump ball once or twice. Get him those (or really just the first one) and I guarantee you'll see Jay in the playoffs more often than not.
#12 Caleb Hanie- I like Caleb. I always have. Including his work against the Packers, he finished the year 18/27 for 208 YDs, 1 TD, 2 INT, a 66 comp.% and a 71.2 rating. Not bad work for a guy getting scout team reps. Generally, when the Bears are scraping "prospects" at QB out of the undrafted FA pile, they get noodle-armed "winners" like Shane Matthews and Chris Leak. Caleb was actually a guy with a big arm, big body, good mobility, and a great completion% who went to a really shitty school and had a terrible winning %. Fortunately your won-loss record doesn't carry over into the NFL, regardless of what Cutler critics would have you believe, and Caleb has turned out to be a very good prospect. I think Jerry and Lovie has always had faith in him, and they were pretty confident both last year and this year going with him as the #2. That's to their credit.
What isn't to their credit is allowing Mike Martz and his precious need for a "system" guy to cloud them into thinking that Todd Collins knowledge of the playbook outweighed his total inability to complete a forward pass. Caleb is a restricted free agent, but I don't see anybody matching the Bears if they put a half-decent offer on the table. Given time, Caleb could turn out to be a Schaub-type guy that the Bears could parlay into draft picks. Most of all, though, he's a guy that could turn into a pretty good quarterback, and they need as many of those as they can get.
#10 Todd Collins- Good lord. If you look at Todd Collins career, it's pretty obvious that the best part was the nine year stretch where he didn't start a game. How unfortunate it is for all of us that the best 3 games of his life came in 2007 and extended his career another three seasons. You never should have left your clipboard, Todd.
Everything about the Todd Collins experience in 2010 was awful. His stupid stat-padding performance against the practice squad of the Cleveland Browns in the fourth preaseason game that apparently gave Martz all the ammo he needed to drop Caleb down to #3. The fact that Mike Martz refused to believe he didn't suck. The fact that the Giants knocked Todd out of the game after he replaced Jay but Didn't hurt him enough to keep him from starting the Panthers game. The whole 6-completions-to-the-Bears-4-completions-to-the-Panthers thing. He was absolutely the most wretchedly ineffective quarterback that I've seen since Jonathan Quinn. Actually, by the numbers, he was much worse. Try wrapping your head around that. In a year in which the Bears were SUPERBOWL CONTENDERS they had a guy that was worse than Jonathan Quinn first in line to take the snaps if Jay went down. Guh. Martz's love of Collins should be evidence why, despite his undeniable acumen as an offensive mind and a pretty good won-loss record, Mike Martz is no longer head coach of the Rams. Shocking that a roster that he once had so much control over averaged 12 losses a year in the last six years before now. Never let him make personnel decisions again. Ever.
So what's next for this unit? Obviously Cutler will be back, and I expect him to have a breakout year if the protection is finally adequate. I think they'll tender Hanie, and I don't expect anybody to try to top them or to risk even a low draft pick for him, so he should be back as well. Todd Collins should be shot on sight if he tries to re-enter Halas Hall. For the third QB next year I wouldn't really be shocked to see the team throw another 6th or 7th round drift pick at a halfway-intriguing prospect as a gift to Martz. Either way, I think we'll see Cutler and Hanie back at the top next year.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Who is Jay Cutler?
That's the question that gasbag Rick Reilly asked last week, and damned if it doesn't appear to have been one of the more successful hack jobs in a long line of them aimed at bringing down Jay Cutler. What I've seen in the last 24 hours has absolutely sickened me. That's the only way I can express it. I'm actually sickened by what I have seen with regard to this whole situation.
From the NFL players taking shots at Cutler on twitter (What's that, Maurice Jones Drew? Cutler should have played with a knee injury in a big game? Where the f&%k were you when the Jaguars had a playoff spot in the line in Week 16 and 17? How the f%&k do you know that Cutler's knee didn't start out right where yours ended up when you had to take a seat?), to the usual talking heads spouting off like always (Trent Dilfer of course, stated that when he had an MCL injury he couldn't stand. That was meant to point out that Jay must be faking, since he tried playing, but it really makes Jay Cutler look all that much tougher than Trent F*&king Dilfer, since we know now the injury was real), to the meatheads raging and acting like general disgraces to the human race. I'm addressing that last one to the troglodytes that posted videos and pictures of themselves as they burned Jay Cutler's jersey. Burning jerseys? Really? What's the next step? Book burning? Lynch mobs? Burning in effigy? Are we protesting Jay's Treaty? Have we really regressed this much as a species and as a civilization? I hope those people don't have children.
All of this revolves around the question that Rick Reilly asked, sadly. Who is Jay Cutler? How many people actually know him? Not many, obviously. I'd argue that his teammates know him, and they've all rallied around him and have vociferously defended him. The sad part is the people like Reilly who claim they want to know him, or that they want to give him a chance to defend himself. Fuck that. They want him to trip into the hole they dug for him and then castigate him for it. This is what happened last night. They've set up everything in a nice little row until an incident occurred that could be easily miscast by a public that already had the gavel floating, awaiting anything that would allow them to slam it down and yell "GUILTY!" Like a wrongfully executed man on death row, the evidence that has come after the fact won't fix the damage that's been done.
So Jay Cutler really was hurt. Sure, it may have been an MCL tear, one that normally takes 3-4 weeks to heal, but Player X once played with (insert completely unrelated injury), why can't Jay?
So Jay Cutler didn't pull himself, it was the coaches. Why didn't he launch into some sideline theater like the warrior Jim McMahon did when he fought his way back into a game in 1985 (McMahon, who made just 61 of 104 possible starts during his Bears career and missed parts or all of the 1984, 1986, 1987, and 1988 playoffs, is a great example I've heard tossed around)?
So Jay Cutler actually did try to lobby with the coaches, take a shot, and forced his way back into the game? Well why didn't he do more on the sidelines?
So his teammates and coaches all stand by him and think he did everything he could? Too bad, he quit on them according to the people at home.
And so on it goes. Nothing will change it, although I have been heartened by the people I have seen stepping in to defend him today. The fact of the matter is nothing will stop the Rick Reillys of the world. Cutler has been condemned in the court of public opinion. Hopefully he'll continue to shrug that off as he has his entire career.
So who do I think Jay Cutler is? I think he's a guy that's done as well as quarterback of the Chicago Bears as he can. If you think that's ridiculous, look at the guy who came before him. I mean that, too. You want to compare Jay Cutler to Kyle Orton? How about you compare them when they had the same level of talent around them? Compare Cutler's numbers in Denver to Kyle Orton's numbers in Denver. Jay has the same passer rating, a higher completion %, a higher touchdown %, a higher YPA. You want to look at Jay Cutler as a Bear vs. Kyle Orton as a Bear:
Orton: 55.3% Completion, 30 touchdowns, 27 INTS, 5.8 YPA, 161.2 YPG, 71.1 Rating
Cutler: 60.5% Completion, 50 touchdowns, 42 INTS, 7.0 YPA, 223.9 YPG, 80.9 Rating.
And that's including a terrible year by Cutler last year, one completely out of line with the numbers he's posted in 4 of his 5 years as a pro. Cutler's light years better.
Hell, in his last 19 games including the playoffs the guy is 13-6 with 33 touchdown passes. I'll take that. He took a team that nearly every prognosticator had buried at the bottom of the division all the way to the NFL's final four. Nothing is good enough, though. I guess Chicago is just too used to elite quarterback play to accept what Jay has done for them.
When I look at Jay Cutler I see a guy who lined up behind a left tackle that was a back up for the f*&king Panthers and had already failed at left guard and right tackle, a left guard that was a failed draft pick with a bad back who already busted out at his first position of left tackle and had to slide over midseason to play a position he hadn't played since his freshman year of college, a center that's been in the NFL for 13 years and has been in rapid decline for the last few years, a guard in Roberto Garza who is also old and required a midseason knee surgery just to stay in the lineup, and finally a 7th round draft pick rookie at left tackle who spent his college years at a Division II school because he wasn't smart enough to meet the rigorous academic standards at Texas.
At wide receiver Jay Cutler has thrown to a guy who is a converted DB and kick returner, a 5th round draft pick from Abilene Christian, a 3rd round pick from Vanderbilt who couldn't even get on the field his rookie year thanks to an inability to learn the playbook (I'm sure he had no trouble digesting the routes in Martz's scheme this year), and a cult hero in Devin Aromashodu who hasn't yet found a practice squad he couldn't make.
At tight end he's got a first round draft pick that can't even get on the field half of the time thanks to his oft-maligned blocking skills and his frequent drops.
Matt Forte had a great year this year but was injured last year and nearly lost his job to Chester Taylor, a guy who gave Cutler a lot of help by amassing the lowest YPC average of any runningback with 100 carries since the NFL merger in 1970.
Cutler's had two incredibly stubborn and erratic offensive coordinators in two years in Ron Turner and Mike Martz, and he's had to carry the load for both thanks to a run game that either didn't work (last year) or was largely ignored (the first half of this year).
So what's Jay Cutler done in that time? He's carried his team to an NFC Championship game, averaged 3500 yards and 25 touchdown passes (both firsts for a Bears QB over a two year period), posted the highest career passer rating in Bears history (despite posting his Lowest career passer rating last year), highest career completion %, and is top five in every other category you want to look at.
What's his reward? He gets his toughness and his leadership questioned in the middle of all the hell he's been through. The man has taken 87 sacks in two years, by far the most of any QB in that time period. Twice I've seen him bleeding from the chin in games following bone-jarring hits. He went back into both games. He took an NFL record for sacks in a half against the Giants and suffered a concussion that guys like Chris Collinsworth actually tried to blame him for. Never has he succumbed to the temptation to throw his linemen under the bus like a certain field general in Indianapolis and his "protection issues." Hell, he plays every game with type 1 diabetes, gets his blood sugar checked every time he goes to the sideline, and doesn't receive the lionization that the same condition rightfully earned Chicago legend Ron Santo. Brian Urlacher called him the toughest player on the Bears, and that guy doesn't throw a title like that around lightly.
I take that all into account, plus the news of the MRI results and the severity of the injury, and I'm even more sickened by what took place yesterday. For everyone out there still quoting Rick Reilly, I have an answer to the question of who Jay Cutler is: He's a damn good quarterback, and you're an idiot. Book it.
From the NFL players taking shots at Cutler on twitter (What's that, Maurice Jones Drew? Cutler should have played with a knee injury in a big game? Where the f&%k were you when the Jaguars had a playoff spot in the line in Week 16 and 17? How the f%&k do you know that Cutler's knee didn't start out right where yours ended up when you had to take a seat?), to the usual talking heads spouting off like always (Trent Dilfer of course, stated that when he had an MCL injury he couldn't stand. That was meant to point out that Jay must be faking, since he tried playing, but it really makes Jay Cutler look all that much tougher than Trent F*&king Dilfer, since we know now the injury was real), to the meatheads raging and acting like general disgraces to the human race. I'm addressing that last one to the troglodytes that posted videos and pictures of themselves as they burned Jay Cutler's jersey. Burning jerseys? Really? What's the next step? Book burning? Lynch mobs? Burning in effigy? Are we protesting Jay's Treaty? Have we really regressed this much as a species and as a civilization? I hope those people don't have children.
All of this revolves around the question that Rick Reilly asked, sadly. Who is Jay Cutler? How many people actually know him? Not many, obviously. I'd argue that his teammates know him, and they've all rallied around him and have vociferously defended him. The sad part is the people like Reilly who claim they want to know him, or that they want to give him a chance to defend himself. Fuck that. They want him to trip into the hole they dug for him and then castigate him for it. This is what happened last night. They've set up everything in a nice little row until an incident occurred that could be easily miscast by a public that already had the gavel floating, awaiting anything that would allow them to slam it down and yell "GUILTY!" Like a wrongfully executed man on death row, the evidence that has come after the fact won't fix the damage that's been done.
So Jay Cutler really was hurt. Sure, it may have been an MCL tear, one that normally takes 3-4 weeks to heal, but Player X once played with (insert completely unrelated injury), why can't Jay?
So Jay Cutler didn't pull himself, it was the coaches. Why didn't he launch into some sideline theater like the warrior Jim McMahon did when he fought his way back into a game in 1985 (McMahon, who made just 61 of 104 possible starts during his Bears career and missed parts or all of the 1984, 1986, 1987, and 1988 playoffs, is a great example I've heard tossed around)?
So Jay Cutler actually did try to lobby with the coaches, take a shot, and forced his way back into the game? Well why didn't he do more on the sidelines?
So his teammates and coaches all stand by him and think he did everything he could? Too bad, he quit on them according to the people at home.
And so on it goes. Nothing will change it, although I have been heartened by the people I have seen stepping in to defend him today. The fact of the matter is nothing will stop the Rick Reillys of the world. Cutler has been condemned in the court of public opinion. Hopefully he'll continue to shrug that off as he has his entire career.
So who do I think Jay Cutler is? I think he's a guy that's done as well as quarterback of the Chicago Bears as he can. If you think that's ridiculous, look at the guy who came before him. I mean that, too. You want to compare Jay Cutler to Kyle Orton? How about you compare them when they had the same level of talent around them? Compare Cutler's numbers in Denver to Kyle Orton's numbers in Denver. Jay has the same passer rating, a higher completion %, a higher touchdown %, a higher YPA. You want to look at Jay Cutler as a Bear vs. Kyle Orton as a Bear:
Orton: 55.3% Completion, 30 touchdowns, 27 INTS, 5.8 YPA, 161.2 YPG, 71.1 Rating
Cutler: 60.5% Completion, 50 touchdowns, 42 INTS, 7.0 YPA, 223.9 YPG, 80.9 Rating.
And that's including a terrible year by Cutler last year, one completely out of line with the numbers he's posted in 4 of his 5 years as a pro. Cutler's light years better.
Hell, in his last 19 games including the playoffs the guy is 13-6 with 33 touchdown passes. I'll take that. He took a team that nearly every prognosticator had buried at the bottom of the division all the way to the NFL's final four. Nothing is good enough, though. I guess Chicago is just too used to elite quarterback play to accept what Jay has done for them.
When I look at Jay Cutler I see a guy who lined up behind a left tackle that was a back up for the f*&king Panthers and had already failed at left guard and right tackle, a left guard that was a failed draft pick with a bad back who already busted out at his first position of left tackle and had to slide over midseason to play a position he hadn't played since his freshman year of college, a center that's been in the NFL for 13 years and has been in rapid decline for the last few years, a guard in Roberto Garza who is also old and required a midseason knee surgery just to stay in the lineup, and finally a 7th round draft pick rookie at left tackle who spent his college years at a Division II school because he wasn't smart enough to meet the rigorous academic standards at Texas.
At wide receiver Jay Cutler has thrown to a guy who is a converted DB and kick returner, a 5th round draft pick from Abilene Christian, a 3rd round pick from Vanderbilt who couldn't even get on the field his rookie year thanks to an inability to learn the playbook (I'm sure he had no trouble digesting the routes in Martz's scheme this year), and a cult hero in Devin Aromashodu who hasn't yet found a practice squad he couldn't make.
At tight end he's got a first round draft pick that can't even get on the field half of the time thanks to his oft-maligned blocking skills and his frequent drops.
Matt Forte had a great year this year but was injured last year and nearly lost his job to Chester Taylor, a guy who gave Cutler a lot of help by amassing the lowest YPC average of any runningback with 100 carries since the NFL merger in 1970.
Cutler's had two incredibly stubborn and erratic offensive coordinators in two years in Ron Turner and Mike Martz, and he's had to carry the load for both thanks to a run game that either didn't work (last year) or was largely ignored (the first half of this year).
So what's Jay Cutler done in that time? He's carried his team to an NFC Championship game, averaged 3500 yards and 25 touchdown passes (both firsts for a Bears QB over a two year period), posted the highest career passer rating in Bears history (despite posting his Lowest career passer rating last year), highest career completion %, and is top five in every other category you want to look at.
What's his reward? He gets his toughness and his leadership questioned in the middle of all the hell he's been through. The man has taken 87 sacks in two years, by far the most of any QB in that time period. Twice I've seen him bleeding from the chin in games following bone-jarring hits. He went back into both games. He took an NFL record for sacks in a half against the Giants and suffered a concussion that guys like Chris Collinsworth actually tried to blame him for. Never has he succumbed to the temptation to throw his linemen under the bus like a certain field general in Indianapolis and his "protection issues." Hell, he plays every game with type 1 diabetes, gets his blood sugar checked every time he goes to the sideline, and doesn't receive the lionization that the same condition rightfully earned Chicago legend Ron Santo. Brian Urlacher called him the toughest player on the Bears, and that guy doesn't throw a title like that around lightly.
I take that all into account, plus the news of the MRI results and the severity of the injury, and I'm even more sickened by what took place yesterday. For everyone out there still quoting Rick Reilly, I have an answer to the question of who Jay Cutler is: He's a damn good quarterback, and you're an idiot. Book it.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
This Hurts
This is a tough loss. It's a damn painful loss. I don't remember ever seeing a game in which so much went so wrong for the Bears and yet they stayed so close till the bitter end. I have to congratulate the 2010 Chicago Bears. I really do. I had them at 11-5 before the year and would have been okay with the knowledge that they would bow out in the NFC title game. Of course, in this situation it's hard to see the positives. So many missed plays, missed opportunities. An absolutely piss poor gameplan.Why wait till Hanie is in to switch to the gun? Why try an end-around on 3rd and four with a hot Hanie? Why was Todd Collins Ever the #2 quarterback for a playoff contender?
Those are the things that will keep me up for awhile. I know already that I'll spend months defending Jay Cutler even more than usual. What I know about Jay Cutler is that I've seen him take 87 sacks in two years. I've seen him twice get hit in the chin so hard that it left him bleeding and he came back into both games with stitches. I've seen him refuse to slide multiple times. I've seen him do this:
So no. I don't think he lacks toughness, and as usual I find the brayings of a bunch of asses sitting at home on their couches to be absolutely ridiculous. If the Bears ever get Jay the protection up front that he deserves, well, he'll answer his critics resoundingly. But I fear that's a long way aways. The sad part is that I think Jay Cutler played a very poor first half this game. I really do. I think it would be fair for people to question his accuracy or decision making, but alas, take the lowest possible reason you can find to criticize someone and they'll do it every time. It's sad. Very sad.
As for the rest of the team? Well, there were some players out there who did some really great things today. Brian Urlacher shrugged off a few early series and some bad missed tackles to come back and have a monster game, although I just can't see how the hell he managed to get tackle by Aaron Rodgers on what should have been a pick six. I just can't. Matt Forte was the Bears only offense for most of the game. Caleb Hanie nearly pulled off the impossible and threw a damning wrench into my respect for Lovie Smith by forcing me to ask why the hell Todd Collins was still #2 on the depth chart after the way he played earlier this year.
Obviously there was plenty of bad. The offensive line got manhandled on the interior. I love Olin Kreutz. I really do, but the statement no one wanted to make all year is that many of the problems the Bears had on the line were his fault. Pressuring the QB consistently starts with a good push by your defensive tackles, and teams have done that against Kreutz all year long. He struggled mightily against BJ Raji and Cullen Jenkins. He had his moments, and he's certainly been in slow decline. I wouldn't even be opposed to bringing him back next year, so long as his replacement is on the roster. That goes for Roberto Garza as well. Chris Williams played well at guard as the year went on. Omiyale and Webb actually played well enough to at least compete to keep their jobs next year. But Garza and Kreutz are on thin ice. Greg Olsen also disappeared in this game, but I have to question whether that was his fault, Martz's fault, or just the lack of a QB to throw to him.
On the defense, well, Tommie Harris and the rest of the defensive tackles really disappeared early. The Packers actually ran the ball well early on and that allowed Rodgers his early success. Julius Peppers had a few pressures and played well in spots, but was also neutralized more than I would have hoped. It's hard to bitch when the Bears gave up just 14 offensive points to the Packers and really held Rodgers to some miserable numbers, but this was still a team loss.
I'd really like to throw the coaching staff under the bus, here. The Bears actually played outside of themselves on defense early on. They stacked the box and over-committed to stopping the run. That doesn't make a fucking load of sense. Green Bay hasn't run the ball well all year long. You line up in your usual defense, assume that you can make a few plays and you focus on stopping Aaron Rodgers. You don't overreact to a few early runs and allow it to shake you. They gave up the big play on those two TD drives and it hurt them big. That isn't their game.
As for Mike Martz, well...this one hurt. Martz appeared to attempt to run the exact same game plan against Green Bay this week that he ran in week 17. Apparently the fact that they scored just 3 points was lost on him. Why he refused to move Cutler out from under center really puzzles me. During the Jets game, Cutler took some shots early, threw a pick six, and was really out of rhythm. Rather than back away, Martz put Jay in the gun, threw early, got him going, kept him from those hits, and they crawled back into the game. Today Martz waited until Hanie was in the game before resorting to the gun. He also didn't attempt to roll Cutler out or do any of the things that had brought them success against defenses of this sort before. He didn't go away from the run, which was nice, but his approach to the passing game was erratic. And that end-around. They had to call a timeout for that? How about throwing the slant to Earl Bennett on that play, since he was uncovered at the line of scrimmage? Or how about running the ball with Forte, since they had struggled to stop him in the second half. A reverse is a low % play with a very, very big chance of ending up with negative yardage. That was the dumbest call of the year for Martz. Without a doubt.
The people who though the Bears would go 5-11 this year are already coming out of the woodwork, as though the Bears suddenly morphed into a bad team with a 7 point injury-plagued loss in the NFC Championship game. Oh well. I know this offseason is going to be long and miserable. I'm prepared for it. Hopefully the Bears will make the right moves they need to get an offense that can actually carry the defense some times and to get the depth they need for an aging defense. Hopefully they'll be right back here next year. But damn, September is a long ways away.
As for Green Bay, I naturally hope that Pittsburgh fucking destroys them, but I'm still impressed with what they've done. Congratulations, even if I say it through clenched teeth.
Go Bears, but damn, this hurts.
Those are the things that will keep me up for awhile. I know already that I'll spend months defending Jay Cutler even more than usual. What I know about Jay Cutler is that I've seen him take 87 sacks in two years. I've seen him twice get hit in the chin so hard that it left him bleeding and he came back into both games with stitches. I've seen him refuse to slide multiple times. I've seen him do this:
So no. I don't think he lacks toughness, and as usual I find the brayings of a bunch of asses sitting at home on their couches to be absolutely ridiculous. If the Bears ever get Jay the protection up front that he deserves, well, he'll answer his critics resoundingly. But I fear that's a long way aways. The sad part is that I think Jay Cutler played a very poor first half this game. I really do. I think it would be fair for people to question his accuracy or decision making, but alas, take the lowest possible reason you can find to criticize someone and they'll do it every time. It's sad. Very sad.
As for the rest of the team? Well, there were some players out there who did some really great things today. Brian Urlacher shrugged off a few early series and some bad missed tackles to come back and have a monster game, although I just can't see how the hell he managed to get tackle by Aaron Rodgers on what should have been a pick six. I just can't. Matt Forte was the Bears only offense for most of the game. Caleb Hanie nearly pulled off the impossible and threw a damning wrench into my respect for Lovie Smith by forcing me to ask why the hell Todd Collins was still #2 on the depth chart after the way he played earlier this year.
Obviously there was plenty of bad. The offensive line got manhandled on the interior. I love Olin Kreutz. I really do, but the statement no one wanted to make all year is that many of the problems the Bears had on the line were his fault. Pressuring the QB consistently starts with a good push by your defensive tackles, and teams have done that against Kreutz all year long. He struggled mightily against BJ Raji and Cullen Jenkins. He had his moments, and he's certainly been in slow decline. I wouldn't even be opposed to bringing him back next year, so long as his replacement is on the roster. That goes for Roberto Garza as well. Chris Williams played well at guard as the year went on. Omiyale and Webb actually played well enough to at least compete to keep their jobs next year. But Garza and Kreutz are on thin ice. Greg Olsen also disappeared in this game, but I have to question whether that was his fault, Martz's fault, or just the lack of a QB to throw to him.
On the defense, well, Tommie Harris and the rest of the defensive tackles really disappeared early. The Packers actually ran the ball well early on and that allowed Rodgers his early success. Julius Peppers had a few pressures and played well in spots, but was also neutralized more than I would have hoped. It's hard to bitch when the Bears gave up just 14 offensive points to the Packers and really held Rodgers to some miserable numbers, but this was still a team loss.
I'd really like to throw the coaching staff under the bus, here. The Bears actually played outside of themselves on defense early on. They stacked the box and over-committed to stopping the run. That doesn't make a fucking load of sense. Green Bay hasn't run the ball well all year long. You line up in your usual defense, assume that you can make a few plays and you focus on stopping Aaron Rodgers. You don't overreact to a few early runs and allow it to shake you. They gave up the big play on those two TD drives and it hurt them big. That isn't their game.
As for Mike Martz, well...this one hurt. Martz appeared to attempt to run the exact same game plan against Green Bay this week that he ran in week 17. Apparently the fact that they scored just 3 points was lost on him. Why he refused to move Cutler out from under center really puzzles me. During the Jets game, Cutler took some shots early, threw a pick six, and was really out of rhythm. Rather than back away, Martz put Jay in the gun, threw early, got him going, kept him from those hits, and they crawled back into the game. Today Martz waited until Hanie was in the game before resorting to the gun. He also didn't attempt to roll Cutler out or do any of the things that had brought them success against defenses of this sort before. He didn't go away from the run, which was nice, but his approach to the passing game was erratic. And that end-around. They had to call a timeout for that? How about throwing the slant to Earl Bennett on that play, since he was uncovered at the line of scrimmage? Or how about running the ball with Forte, since they had struggled to stop him in the second half. A reverse is a low % play with a very, very big chance of ending up with negative yardage. That was the dumbest call of the year for Martz. Without a doubt.
The people who though the Bears would go 5-11 this year are already coming out of the woodwork, as though the Bears suddenly morphed into a bad team with a 7 point injury-plagued loss in the NFC Championship game. Oh well. I know this offseason is going to be long and miserable. I'm prepared for it. Hopefully the Bears will make the right moves they need to get an offense that can actually carry the defense some times and to get the depth they need for an aging defense. Hopefully they'll be right back here next year. But damn, September is a long ways away.
As for Green Bay, I naturally hope that Pittsburgh fucking destroys them, but I'm still impressed with what they've done. Congratulations, even if I say it through clenched teeth.
Go Bears, but damn, this hurts.
Packers 21, Bears 14
That's it for the 2010 Bears. You'll understand if I'm not ready yet to write the post-mortem. I have no idea what just happened there. Too much to process. I'll get to you all tomorrow.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Divisional Weekend Round Up
Steelers 31, Ravens 24
These two teams really are mirror images of each other. In fact, I'd even say that Baltimore's offensive line is much better. They play each other within one score nearly every single time they meet. So how does Pittsburgh keep winning? The fact that most of the games are In Pittsburgh helps, but frankly it seems like Baltimore just can't shake their perpetual little brother image, no matter how much they gloat and blather about hating Pittsburgh. Good luck next year, guys.
Packers 48, Falcons 21
Let me begin by stating that the Green Bay Packers have an amazing football team, one that I knew going in would most likely be coming to Chicago for the NFC Championship game. Aaron Rodgers played like he's capable of playing and it's only fitting that the team to represent the NFC in the Superbowl will have to be the last man standing in the oldest rivalry in the sport. I'm not one for smack-talk before the game, so I'll merely leave it be, hope Sunday hurries the fuck up, and hope the Bears take care of business like they did the last time Green Bay came to Soldier Field.
That said, I'm going to devote a little bit of time to why Atlanta was embarrassed the way they were. All year long Atlanta reminded me of the 2003 Chiefs or, to a lesser extent, the 2001 Bears. Both were 13-3 teams with homefield advantage that bowed out in a big way in their first playoff games. Both benefited from favorable schedules, close wins, and an abundance of turnovers despite a defense that, yardage wise, was not particularly intimidating. The Falcons had the NFL's 16th ranked defense, yardage wise, but were 23rd against the pass, allowed 23 TD passes, and also allowed 4.6 yards per rush. They had a respectable 31 sacks, but outside of John Abraham's 13, no one else had more than 4.0. That's indicative of a team that relies on the blitz to create pressure, and those teams generally fail in the playoffs.
The main reason Atlanta's scoring defense was so respectable was due to their 31 turnovers, but with a defensive line that didn't generate that much pressure and a secondary that was less than outstanding, that would seem to be the product of an abundance of luck rather than any great talent on D. Those 2003 Chiefs had 37 turnovers, which allowed them to win games despite their 29th ranked defense. They also bowed out in their first playoff game against the Colts. The 2001 Bears also thrived on turnovers, as they were 15th in yardage, relied on the blitz, and had 37 turnovers. Philly destroyed them 33-19. Teams that rely on the blitz and a feast or famine defense with regard to turnovers generally can't stop a guy like Rodgers who can recognize and avoid the blitz and won't turn the ball over. Throw in the fact that, like I pointed out before, Matt Ryan averaged just 6.5 yards per attempt and isn't the kind of quarterback that's going to win a shootout, especially against that secondary. And that will close the book on the 2010 Atlanta Falcons.
Jets 28, Patriots 21
All it took was one game of Tom Brady playing like a mortal for the Patriots' porous defense to sabotage their championship hope. The Jets controlled the clock, kept Mark Sanchez out of trouble, and the Patriots were more than happy to throw in some stupid turnovers and mental errors to help out. Great win by the Jets. The field is wide open now, boys.
These two teams really are mirror images of each other. In fact, I'd even say that Baltimore's offensive line is much better. They play each other within one score nearly every single time they meet. So how does Pittsburgh keep winning? The fact that most of the games are In Pittsburgh helps, but frankly it seems like Baltimore just can't shake their perpetual little brother image, no matter how much they gloat and blather about hating Pittsburgh. Good luck next year, guys.
Packers 48, Falcons 21
Let me begin by stating that the Green Bay Packers have an amazing football team, one that I knew going in would most likely be coming to Chicago for the NFC Championship game. Aaron Rodgers played like he's capable of playing and it's only fitting that the team to represent the NFC in the Superbowl will have to be the last man standing in the oldest rivalry in the sport. I'm not one for smack-talk before the game, so I'll merely leave it be, hope Sunday hurries the fuck up, and hope the Bears take care of business like they did the last time Green Bay came to Soldier Field.
That said, I'm going to devote a little bit of time to why Atlanta was embarrassed the way they were. All year long Atlanta reminded me of the 2003 Chiefs or, to a lesser extent, the 2001 Bears. Both were 13-3 teams with homefield advantage that bowed out in a big way in their first playoff games. Both benefited from favorable schedules, close wins, and an abundance of turnovers despite a defense that, yardage wise, was not particularly intimidating. The Falcons had the NFL's 16th ranked defense, yardage wise, but were 23rd against the pass, allowed 23 TD passes, and also allowed 4.6 yards per rush. They had a respectable 31 sacks, but outside of John Abraham's 13, no one else had more than 4.0. That's indicative of a team that relies on the blitz to create pressure, and those teams generally fail in the playoffs.
The main reason Atlanta's scoring defense was so respectable was due to their 31 turnovers, but with a defensive line that didn't generate that much pressure and a secondary that was less than outstanding, that would seem to be the product of an abundance of luck rather than any great talent on D. Those 2003 Chiefs had 37 turnovers, which allowed them to win games despite their 29th ranked defense. They also bowed out in their first playoff game against the Colts. The 2001 Bears also thrived on turnovers, as they were 15th in yardage, relied on the blitz, and had 37 turnovers. Philly destroyed them 33-19. Teams that rely on the blitz and a feast or famine defense with regard to turnovers generally can't stop a guy like Rodgers who can recognize and avoid the blitz and won't turn the ball over. Throw in the fact that, like I pointed out before, Matt Ryan averaged just 6.5 yards per attempt and isn't the kind of quarterback that's going to win a shootout, especially against that secondary. And that will close the book on the 2010 Atlanta Falcons.
Jets 28, Patriots 21
All it took was one game of Tom Brady playing like a mortal for the Patriots' porous defense to sabotage their championship hope. The Jets controlled the clock, kept Mark Sanchez out of trouble, and the Patriots were more than happy to throw in some stupid turnovers and mental errors to help out. Great win by the Jets. The field is wide open now, boys.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Bears 35, Seattle 24- Armageddon Cometh
The Bears absolutely dominated the Seattle Seahawks in all three phases today, as they racked up 35 points and a 440-276 edge yardage wise, with all three Seattle touchdowns coming late in the fourth quarter after Chicago had a 25 point lead well in hand. With the win, the Bears set up the most terrifying/exciting match up possible as they bring Green Bay to Soldier Field next weekend. I'll do my best not to worry about that till later. For now I'll just savor the most impressive playoff win (despite a few late game shenanigans that were irritating if irrelevant) in recent Bears memory, and get on with the breakdown:
THE GOOD:
So many candidates. Let's just go down the list-
Jay Cutler: This team will go as far in this tournament as he can take them, and if he plays like he did today, I'll get fitted for my Super Bowl ring quick. His accuracy was a bit off during the first-half blizzard, but he still finished 15/28 for 274 YDs, 2 TDs, 0 INTs and an absolutely bonerific passer rating of 111.3. He was also a huge factor on the ground, with 8 rushes for 43 yards and two fist-pumping touchdowns. I don't care if Rick Reilly thinks he's the most hated player in the NFL, I love him like no other.
Matt Forte: Nothing came easy for Matt on the ground today, as he ground out 80 yards on 25 carries at 3.2 a clip, but the Seahawks clearly geared their gameplan around stopping him and it opened up alot for the passing game. Matt also added 54 yards through the air, and while his halfback option interception was mindboggling and irritating on all fronts, I'll give him credit for doing a damn good job as a Runningback today.
Greg Olsen: Olsen set a career high with 113 yards receiving, including 58 yards and a TD on the Bears first pass of the game. Mike Martz sent a message today that teams will have to account for #82 on every down, and that's gotta scare the Packers.
The Offensive Line: They gave up three sacks, yes, but two of those were 3rd down coverage sacks where Jay was merely trying to extend the play. On every other dropback Jay had today, he had all the time he needed to look downfield and decide to throw it or run it. They're a 1,000 miles from where they were earlier this year, and Seattle has a good pass rush between Clemons and Brock. Great effort today, guys. This one can be put on your backs most of all. Keeping Cutler clean and paving the way for 176 yards rushing? Excellent.
The Secondary: I'm just going to ignore the last two Seattle touchdowns when the prevent was clearly on and the foot was sadly off the pedal. For most of the game the Bears held Matt Hasselbeck to absolutely nothing, and he still finished the game averaging just 5.6 YPA. Mike Williams finished with just 4 catches and 15 yards after wearing Tillman like a hat all day.
Tommie Harris: Tommie showed up and got two sacks while also being a big part of holding the Seahawks to just 34 yards on the ground (9 fewer yards than Jay Cutler gained).
Everybody else on defense: The Bears had held Seattle to under 150 yards well into the fourth quarter before the last two meaningless Seattle TD's. Marinelli and Urlacher both looked like they wanted to punch a pack of orphans after both of those TDs, so I doubt we can expect any further lapses in intensity.
Mike Martz: the HB pass by Forte was absolutely idiotic, but Martz can't be blamed for that entirely, since he bitched out Forte for not following the golden rule on those plays and throwing the ball away when his first read was covered. Outside of that he dialed up a number of looks that he hadn't showed all year, with some new plays for Olsen that clearly took Seattle off guard as well some wildcat plays that were pretty productive. Nice job, Mike.
The Bad:
Well, those two meaningless touchdowns kinda pissed me off, but only because my inner meathead wanted a shutout. I'm sure as hell not going to bitch on a day like today.
Now it's time to watch New England and try to ignore the pounding of my heart, which is unlikely to survive the next week win or lose.
Go Bears. Green Bay Sucks.
THE GOOD:
So many candidates. Let's just go down the list-
Jay Cutler: This team will go as far in this tournament as he can take them, and if he plays like he did today, I'll get fitted for my Super Bowl ring quick. His accuracy was a bit off during the first-half blizzard, but he still finished 15/28 for 274 YDs, 2 TDs, 0 INTs and an absolutely bonerific passer rating of 111.3. He was also a huge factor on the ground, with 8 rushes for 43 yards and two fist-pumping touchdowns. I don't care if Rick Reilly thinks he's the most hated player in the NFL, I love him like no other.
Matt Forte: Nothing came easy for Matt on the ground today, as he ground out 80 yards on 25 carries at 3.2 a clip, but the Seahawks clearly geared their gameplan around stopping him and it opened up alot for the passing game. Matt also added 54 yards through the air, and while his halfback option interception was mindboggling and irritating on all fronts, I'll give him credit for doing a damn good job as a Runningback today.
Greg Olsen: Olsen set a career high with 113 yards receiving, including 58 yards and a TD on the Bears first pass of the game. Mike Martz sent a message today that teams will have to account for #82 on every down, and that's gotta scare the Packers.
The Offensive Line: They gave up three sacks, yes, but two of those were 3rd down coverage sacks where Jay was merely trying to extend the play. On every other dropback Jay had today, he had all the time he needed to look downfield and decide to throw it or run it. They're a 1,000 miles from where they were earlier this year, and Seattle has a good pass rush between Clemons and Brock. Great effort today, guys. This one can be put on your backs most of all. Keeping Cutler clean and paving the way for 176 yards rushing? Excellent.
The Secondary: I'm just going to ignore the last two Seattle touchdowns when the prevent was clearly on and the foot was sadly off the pedal. For most of the game the Bears held Matt Hasselbeck to absolutely nothing, and he still finished the game averaging just 5.6 YPA. Mike Williams finished with just 4 catches and 15 yards after wearing Tillman like a hat all day.
Tommie Harris: Tommie showed up and got two sacks while also being a big part of holding the Seahawks to just 34 yards on the ground (9 fewer yards than Jay Cutler gained).
Everybody else on defense: The Bears had held Seattle to under 150 yards well into the fourth quarter before the last two meaningless Seattle TD's. Marinelli and Urlacher both looked like they wanted to punch a pack of orphans after both of those TDs, so I doubt we can expect any further lapses in intensity.
Mike Martz: the HB pass by Forte was absolutely idiotic, but Martz can't be blamed for that entirely, since he bitched out Forte for not following the golden rule on those plays and throwing the ball away when his first read was covered. Outside of that he dialed up a number of looks that he hadn't showed all year, with some new plays for Olsen that clearly took Seattle off guard as well some wildcat plays that were pretty productive. Nice job, Mike.
The Bad:
Well, those two meaningless touchdowns kinda pissed me off, but only because my inner meathead wanted a shutout. I'm sure as hell not going to bitch on a day like today.
Now it's time to watch New England and try to ignore the pounding of my heart, which is unlikely to survive the next week win or lose.
Go Bears. Green Bay Sucks.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Not Surprisingly, The Playoffs Take a Back Seat to Hating Jay Cutler
The Bears' usual Wednesday presser sent the interwebs a buzzing with tweets by Zach Zaidman, Brad Biggs, SK Jensen and other Bears regulars complaining about national media members like Rick Reilly showing up and asking a ton of questions about Jay Cutler and his personality. A few takes on this can be found at the following:
David Haugh apparently enjoyed Reilly's prodding and blames Jay for not indulging the asshat.
The guys from FoxChicago interviewed Reilly afterward and he gave them a bunch of unfunny jokes ("he looks like he's wearing sandpaper underwear!") that he would re-use in his column.
Reilly pissed off Greg Olsen, who blamed the media for judging a guy most of them have never met.
Rick F*&king Morrissey of all people made the most sense, saying: "In the end, though, if it’s a choice between a nice quarterback who doesn’t win and a dour one who does win, we’ll take dour every time. What is it Al Davis says? Just win, baby. That’s all."
So today Reilly's column went up and it's a real doozy. While he defends Cutler to an extent by remarking how well he's played despite his poor offensive line and by noting his largely unheralded (because Cutler wants it that way since he thinks even good media coverage is pointless, and I don't blame him) charity work, the rest is filled with garbage:
"For a man from Santa Claus, Ind., Jay Cutler is one of the least jolly people you've ever met."
Har har.
"It's hard to say what interests Cutler, but it's definitely not you."
This is really what irks the media the most about Cutler. He doesn't give a shit what they think of him. Not in the slightest. For an industy filled with guys who'd love nothing more than for people to equate them in importance to the jocks they cover, the complete lack of power they have over Cutler is extremely frustrating.
"Once, during his rookie year in Denver, 45 minutes before a game, future Hall of Fame safety John Lynch was trying to explain something to Cutler about NFL pass coverage.
Except Cutler wasn't looking at Lynch. He was texting.
"Man, I'm trying to talk to you!" Lynch protested.
Didn't help. Cutler was all thumbs, head down. Finally, Lynch slapped the phone out of Cutler's hands, smashing it to the floor.
He listened after that."
Ahh, so the guy that broke Jay Cutler's phone isn't the asshole. Cutler is. For not listening to a guy who isn't his position coach, his offensive coordinator, or a coach of any sort. John Lynch is a defensive player. I understand logic would dictate he'd understand coverages, but he also doesn't know how to play quarterback. This may have been slightly dickish, but it was hardly any worse for Cutler not to listen than it was for Lynch to break the phone.
"One time, Broncos coach Mike Shanahan thought it would be helpful for Cutler and Broncos legend John Elway to have lunch. Let Cutler drink in some of Elway's experience.
The three of them sat down at a Denver steak joint. Elway, polite as ever, tried to impart some wisdom. Except Cutler wasn't looking at Elway. He wasn't looking at Shanahan, either. He was looking at the TV. The whole time. With his baseball cap on backward. All the way through dessert. Elway did not leave impressed."
I don't care what John Elway thinks of Cutler or any other quarterback. John Elway just got fooled and lost 15 million dollars in a Ponzi scheme. John Elway relied on his athleticism and posted mediocre numbers for the first decade and a half of his career before Shanahan arrived. I'm 98.9% positive he'll be a complete failure as an executive. Nothing about Elway merely playing quarterback means he really is qualified to really offer Cutler advice. I hate franchises that think they need to pander to former players.
Also, both of these stories, I'm sure, come straight from Elway and Lynch's mouths. Lynch may have been trying to paint the story of the time he broke Cutler's phone in a light that doesn't make him look like an asshole that just broke somebody's cell phone. Elway is now an executive for the organization that booted Cutler before setting themselves on fire. He has a very good motive for making Cutler look unappealing to his fanbase. Forgive me if I'm not buying.
"He's an arrogant little punk," former Broncos radio color man, Scott Hastings, once said on a national show. "He's a little bitch."
Imagine that, another Broncos employee. Where were these people Before Cutler got traded, by the way? They couldn't possibly only be saying this now because they look bad for getting rid of him, right?
There's plenty more where that trash came from. Go and read it yourselves if you like. Sad that this is the shit the media chooses to cover in the middle of the goddamn NFL playoffs.
David Haugh apparently enjoyed Reilly's prodding and blames Jay for not indulging the asshat.
The guys from FoxChicago interviewed Reilly afterward and he gave them a bunch of unfunny jokes ("he looks like he's wearing sandpaper underwear!") that he would re-use in his column.
Reilly pissed off Greg Olsen, who blamed the media for judging a guy most of them have never met.
Rick F*&king Morrissey of all people made the most sense, saying: "In the end, though, if it’s a choice between a nice quarterback who doesn’t win and a dour one who does win, we’ll take dour every time. What is it Al Davis says? Just win, baby. That’s all."
So today Reilly's column went up and it's a real doozy. While he defends Cutler to an extent by remarking how well he's played despite his poor offensive line and by noting his largely unheralded (because Cutler wants it that way since he thinks even good media coverage is pointless, and I don't blame him) charity work, the rest is filled with garbage:
"For a man from Santa Claus, Ind., Jay Cutler is one of the least jolly people you've ever met."
Har har.
"It's hard to say what interests Cutler, but it's definitely not you."
This is really what irks the media the most about Cutler. He doesn't give a shit what they think of him. Not in the slightest. For an industy filled with guys who'd love nothing more than for people to equate them in importance to the jocks they cover, the complete lack of power they have over Cutler is extremely frustrating.
"Once, during his rookie year in Denver, 45 minutes before a game, future Hall of Fame safety John Lynch was trying to explain something to Cutler about NFL pass coverage.
Except Cutler wasn't looking at Lynch. He was texting.
"Man, I'm trying to talk to you!" Lynch protested.
Didn't help. Cutler was all thumbs, head down. Finally, Lynch slapped the phone out of Cutler's hands, smashing it to the floor.
He listened after that."
Ahh, so the guy that broke Jay Cutler's phone isn't the asshole. Cutler is. For not listening to a guy who isn't his position coach, his offensive coordinator, or a coach of any sort. John Lynch is a defensive player. I understand logic would dictate he'd understand coverages, but he also doesn't know how to play quarterback. This may have been slightly dickish, but it was hardly any worse for Cutler not to listen than it was for Lynch to break the phone.
"One time, Broncos coach Mike Shanahan thought it would be helpful for Cutler and Broncos legend John Elway to have lunch. Let Cutler drink in some of Elway's experience.
The three of them sat down at a Denver steak joint. Elway, polite as ever, tried to impart some wisdom. Except Cutler wasn't looking at Elway. He wasn't looking at Shanahan, either. He was looking at the TV. The whole time. With his baseball cap on backward. All the way through dessert. Elway did not leave impressed."
I don't care what John Elway thinks of Cutler or any other quarterback. John Elway just got fooled and lost 15 million dollars in a Ponzi scheme. John Elway relied on his athleticism and posted mediocre numbers for the first decade and a half of his career before Shanahan arrived. I'm 98.9% positive he'll be a complete failure as an executive. Nothing about Elway merely playing quarterback means he really is qualified to really offer Cutler advice. I hate franchises that think they need to pander to former players.
Also, both of these stories, I'm sure, come straight from Elway and Lynch's mouths. Lynch may have been trying to paint the story of the time he broke Cutler's phone in a light that doesn't make him look like an asshole that just broke somebody's cell phone. Elway is now an executive for the organization that booted Cutler before setting themselves on fire. He has a very good motive for making Cutler look unappealing to his fanbase. Forgive me if I'm not buying.
"He's an arrogant little punk," former Broncos radio color man, Scott Hastings, once said on a national show. "He's a little bitch."
Imagine that, another Broncos employee. Where were these people Before Cutler got traded, by the way? They couldn't possibly only be saying this now because they look bad for getting rid of him, right?
There's plenty more where that trash came from. Go and read it yourselves if you like. Sad that this is the shit the media chooses to cover in the middle of the goddamn NFL playoffs.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Bears vs. Seahawks, the Statbook
Record
Bears: 11-5
Seahawks: 7-9
Offense:
Points Scored
Bears: 334 (20.9 PPG)
Seahawks: 310 (19.4 PPG)
Total Offense:
Bears: 289.4 YPG (30th in the NFL)
Seahawks: 297.8 YPG (28th in the NFL)
Pass Offense:
Bears: 188.4 YPG (28th in the NFL)
Seahawks: 208.8 YPG(19th in the NFL)
Rush Offense:
Bears: 101 YPG (22nd in the NFL)
Seahawks: 89 YPG (31st in the NFL)
Passing TDs:
Bears: 23 (20th in the NFL)
Seahawks: 14 (28th in the NFL)
Rushing TDs:
Bears: 10 (21st in the NFL)
Seahawks: 13 (12th in the NFL)
Defense:
Points Allowed:
Bears: 286 (17.9 PPG)
Seahawks: 407 (25.4 PPG)
Total Defense:
Bears: 314.3 (9th in the NFL)
Seahawks: 368.6 (27th in the NFL)
Pass Defense:
Bears: 224.3 YPG (20th in the NFL)
Seahawks: 249.6 YPG (27th in the NFL)
Rush Defense
Bears: 90.1 YPG (2nd in the NFL)
Seahawks: 118.9 YPG (21st in the NFL)
Passing TDs Allowed:
Bears: 14 (2nd in the NFL)
Seahawks: 31 (29th in the NFL)
Interceptions:
Bears: 21 (5th in the NFL)
Seahawks: 12 (25th in the NFL)
Turnover Differential:
Bears: +4 (11th in the NFL, 31 Turnovers, 35 Takeaways)
Seahawks: -9 (27th in the NFL, 31 Turnovers, 22 Takeaways)
Individual Leaders:
Passing:
Chicago: Jay Cutler- 261/432 (60.4%), 3274 yds, 23 TDs, 16 INTs, 86.3 Rating, 7.6 YPA, 218.3 YPG
Seattle: Matt Hasselbeck- 266/444 (59.9%), 3001 yds, 12 TDs, 17 INTs, 73.2 Rating, 6.8 YPA, 214.4 YPG
Rushing:
Chicago: Matt Forte- 237 attempts, 1069 yds, 6 TDs, 4.5 YPA, 66.8 YPG
Seattle: Marshawn Lynch- 165 attempts, 573 yds, 6 TDs, 3.5 YPA, 47.8 YPG
Receiving:
Chicago: Johnny Knox- 51 catches, 960 yds, 5 TDs, 18.8 YPC, 64.0 YPG
Seattle: Mike Williams-65 catches, 751 yds, 2 TDs, 11.6 YPC, 57.8 YPG
So there you have it. The Bears have a significant edge in nearly every statistical category. Obviously that adds up to nothing in the playoffs (ask the Saints), but it should tell you each team's general strengths and weaknesses and what to look for. If I may make excuses for the Bears, I'd like to mention how their numbers on offense are dragged down by A) Using five different offensive line combinations before the bye and B) Six full quarters of Todd Collins in which the Bears managed 0 passing touchdowns, five interceptions, and only 110 and 247 uards offense. Since the bye week, the Bears offense has been much more respectable, averaging 23 PPG (28 PPG in their seven wins since that time). I'd add that their starting position, thanks to Dave Toub's awesome special teams and a plethora of takeaways, is the best in the NFL and thus their yardage numbers are hurt somewhat in a good way. Their turnover differential, minus Todd Collins, is +9, which would put them at 5th in the NFL.
My prediction? I think Seattle will have a very difficult time running the ball and I don't think the Bears will be susceptible to the big plays that doomed the Saints. I'd expect Seattle to regress to the mean and the Bears to win the turnover battle. I'm aware the Seahawks won in Chicago earlier this year, but we can all agree that Bears team barely resembles this one and was also missing Lance Briggs, a key component of the Cover 2. Also, Seattle went just 1-6 in their other seven road games, with a win over the lowly Cardinals. I think Seattle is vulnerable against the run, something the Saints failed to exploit due to their devastated depth at runningback and having to play from behind in the second half. I'd say 27-14 Bears, with Matt Forte's performance being the key on offense.
Bears: 11-5
Seahawks: 7-9
Offense:
Points Scored
Bears: 334 (20.9 PPG)
Seahawks: 310 (19.4 PPG)
Total Offense:
Bears: 289.4 YPG (30th in the NFL)
Seahawks: 297.8 YPG (28th in the NFL)
Pass Offense:
Bears: 188.4 YPG (28th in the NFL)
Seahawks: 208.8 YPG(19th in the NFL)
Rush Offense:
Bears: 101 YPG (22nd in the NFL)
Seahawks: 89 YPG (31st in the NFL)
Passing TDs:
Bears: 23 (20th in the NFL)
Seahawks: 14 (28th in the NFL)
Rushing TDs:
Bears: 10 (21st in the NFL)
Seahawks: 13 (12th in the NFL)
Defense:
Points Allowed:
Bears: 286 (17.9 PPG)
Seahawks: 407 (25.4 PPG)
Total Defense:
Bears: 314.3 (9th in the NFL)
Seahawks: 368.6 (27th in the NFL)
Pass Defense:
Bears: 224.3 YPG (20th in the NFL)
Seahawks: 249.6 YPG (27th in the NFL)
Rush Defense
Bears: 90.1 YPG (2nd in the NFL)
Seahawks: 118.9 YPG (21st in the NFL)
Passing TDs Allowed:
Bears: 14 (2nd in the NFL)
Seahawks: 31 (29th in the NFL)
Interceptions:
Bears: 21 (5th in the NFL)
Seahawks: 12 (25th in the NFL)
Turnover Differential:
Bears: +4 (11th in the NFL, 31 Turnovers, 35 Takeaways)
Seahawks: -9 (27th in the NFL, 31 Turnovers, 22 Takeaways)
Individual Leaders:
Passing:
Chicago: Jay Cutler- 261/432 (60.4%), 3274 yds, 23 TDs, 16 INTs, 86.3 Rating, 7.6 YPA, 218.3 YPG
Seattle: Matt Hasselbeck- 266/444 (59.9%), 3001 yds, 12 TDs, 17 INTs, 73.2 Rating, 6.8 YPA, 214.4 YPG
Rushing:
Chicago: Matt Forte- 237 attempts, 1069 yds, 6 TDs, 4.5 YPA, 66.8 YPG
Seattle: Marshawn Lynch- 165 attempts, 573 yds, 6 TDs, 3.5 YPA, 47.8 YPG
Receiving:
Chicago: Johnny Knox- 51 catches, 960 yds, 5 TDs, 18.8 YPC, 64.0 YPG
Seattle: Mike Williams-65 catches, 751 yds, 2 TDs, 11.6 YPC, 57.8 YPG
So there you have it. The Bears have a significant edge in nearly every statistical category. Obviously that adds up to nothing in the playoffs (ask the Saints), but it should tell you each team's general strengths and weaknesses and what to look for. If I may make excuses for the Bears, I'd like to mention how their numbers on offense are dragged down by A) Using five different offensive line combinations before the bye and B) Six full quarters of Todd Collins in which the Bears managed 0 passing touchdowns, five interceptions, and only 110 and 247 uards offense. Since the bye week, the Bears offense has been much more respectable, averaging 23 PPG (28 PPG in their seven wins since that time). I'd add that their starting position, thanks to Dave Toub's awesome special teams and a plethora of takeaways, is the best in the NFL and thus their yardage numbers are hurt somewhat in a good way. Their turnover differential, minus Todd Collins, is +9, which would put them at 5th in the NFL.
My prediction? I think Seattle will have a very difficult time running the ball and I don't think the Bears will be susceptible to the big plays that doomed the Saints. I'd expect Seattle to regress to the mean and the Bears to win the turnover battle. I'm aware the Seahawks won in Chicago earlier this year, but we can all agree that Bears team barely resembles this one and was also missing Lance Briggs, a key component of the Cover 2. Also, Seattle went just 1-6 in their other seven road games, with a win over the lowly Cardinals. I think Seattle is vulnerable against the run, something the Saints failed to exploit due to their devastated depth at runningback and having to play from behind in the second half. I'd say 27-14 Bears, with Matt Forte's performance being the key on offense.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Bring on...the Seahawks?
What an interesting weekend of football this was. If you saw a Bears-Seahawks rematch coming, you're a ballsier man than I. Let's see what happened:
Seahawks 41, Saints 36
The Saints' defense had had it's ups and downs all year, but it was hard to see this coming. Their secondary just fell apart. I haven't seen so many blown coverages since Thomas Smith was still wearing a Bears uniform. They're going to have to work hard this year to upgrade a very old defense and get some kind of pass rush going. If they're going to play the 4-3 they can't constantly rely on the blitz for all of their pressure. As for the Seahawks? Well, I'd have to believe the Bears are a much better and smarter team than the one that lost 23-20 earlier this year while Mike Martz continued to ignore the very existence of Matt Forte. The Seahawks defense played terribly as well, so that ought to give even more hope to Bears fans. This is probably the best possible matchup they could have gotten for this round, but damned if I don't hate the fact that it came at the cost of a Green Bay win.
Jets 17, Colts 16
I'm torn in two by this. On the one hand I'm glad to see Manning fail in the playoffs again, but I'm also sad because I feel the Colts would have had a better chance at upsetting the Patriots. I don't expect another 45-3 massacre, but I have a hard time seeing how the Jets can top the Patriots in Foxborough.
Ravens 30, Chiefs 7
Sigh. Another Chiefs playoff appearance undermined by the overrated caretaker they have under center. Whether it's Steve Bono, Elvis Grbac, Steve DeBerg, or Matt Cassel, the Chiefs are the best in the NFL at getting to the playoffs and not having a quarterback who is even remotely a threat against a top-flight NFL defense. The Ravens took away the Chiefs' running game quickly (made even easier by Todd Haley's continued refusal to ride Jamaal Charles as far as he can go) and dared Cassel to beat them with his arm. The result? 70 yards, 3 ints. Our reward is yet another entertaining Steelers-Ravens matchup.
Packers 21, Eagles 16
Two of my favorite excuse-making fanbases met up, and the Packers walked away. A lot of Bears fans are happy about this because it brings Seattle to Chicago, but I still think the best thing for everyone is for Green Bay to exit these playoffs as quickly as possible. Either way, the Bears won't make it to the Superbowl unless they're capable of beating the best, so I suppose it doesn't matter. But dammit, I loathe Green Bay. That said, I was a little shocked that the Packers played so conservatively against a rather spongy Eagles defense. James Starks was a surprise, but I still think the Packers offense' biggest weakness is a lack of balance. We'll see if it costs them in Atlanta for a second time this year or if, (assuming the Bears take care of business) we'll see the first postseason game between the Packers and Bears since 1941.
That's it for now. Sorry I've been rather quiet during this bye week, but I'm always antsy during the long wait. Y'all stop in next weekend as I plan on SKOscasting all four divisional matchups.
Go Bears.
Seahawks 41, Saints 36
The Saints' defense had had it's ups and downs all year, but it was hard to see this coming. Their secondary just fell apart. I haven't seen so many blown coverages since Thomas Smith was still wearing a Bears uniform. They're going to have to work hard this year to upgrade a very old defense and get some kind of pass rush going. If they're going to play the 4-3 they can't constantly rely on the blitz for all of their pressure. As for the Seahawks? Well, I'd have to believe the Bears are a much better and smarter team than the one that lost 23-20 earlier this year while Mike Martz continued to ignore the very existence of Matt Forte. The Seahawks defense played terribly as well, so that ought to give even more hope to Bears fans. This is probably the best possible matchup they could have gotten for this round, but damned if I don't hate the fact that it came at the cost of a Green Bay win.
Jets 17, Colts 16
I'm torn in two by this. On the one hand I'm glad to see Manning fail in the playoffs again, but I'm also sad because I feel the Colts would have had a better chance at upsetting the Patriots. I don't expect another 45-3 massacre, but I have a hard time seeing how the Jets can top the Patriots in Foxborough.
Ravens 30, Chiefs 7
Sigh. Another Chiefs playoff appearance undermined by the overrated caretaker they have under center. Whether it's Steve Bono, Elvis Grbac, Steve DeBerg, or Matt Cassel, the Chiefs are the best in the NFL at getting to the playoffs and not having a quarterback who is even remotely a threat against a top-flight NFL defense. The Ravens took away the Chiefs' running game quickly (made even easier by Todd Haley's continued refusal to ride Jamaal Charles as far as he can go) and dared Cassel to beat them with his arm. The result? 70 yards, 3 ints. Our reward is yet another entertaining Steelers-Ravens matchup.
Packers 21, Eagles 16
Two of my favorite excuse-making fanbases met up, and the Packers walked away. A lot of Bears fans are happy about this because it brings Seattle to Chicago, but I still think the best thing for everyone is for Green Bay to exit these playoffs as quickly as possible. Either way, the Bears won't make it to the Superbowl unless they're capable of beating the best, so I suppose it doesn't matter. But dammit, I loathe Green Bay. That said, I was a little shocked that the Packers played so conservatively against a rather spongy Eagles defense. James Starks was a surprise, but I still think the Packers offense' biggest weakness is a lack of balance. We'll see if it costs them in Atlanta for a second time this year or if, (assuming the Bears take care of business) we'll see the first postseason game between the Packers and Bears since 1941.
That's it for now. Sorry I've been rather quiet during this bye week, but I'm always antsy during the long wait. Y'all stop in next weekend as I plan on SKOscasting all four divisional matchups.
Go Bears.
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