Final Thoughts on Chicago Sports

Bears-Vikings, Round 2: What's Happening, now?

The Bears are gearing up for Round 2 with the Vikings this Sunday at Soldier Field.  They stole the last one at the Metrodome, and some Vikings thought Mr. Grossman celebrated a little too hard after the winning touchdown pass.  Grossman responded that he was simply fighting trash with trash and it's nothing to worry about.  Whatever the case, this story along with the usual Kreutz/Williams dustup should add a little spice to the contest, as if Bears/Vikings needs any.

I gotta admit, I hate the Vikings a lot.  Probably more than the Packers even.  I hope Kreutz punches 'em in the mouth.  Hard.

Let's move on.

Another story to get attention this week is the dwindling number of sacks by the Bears defensive line.  Tommie Harris was hoping nobody would notice, you know with Grossman repeatedly crapping himself and all.  But now that it's out in the open, he's going to use "this dis" as motivation this Sunday.  Does Lovie Smith not motivate enough to the point where players have to read the papers to get fired up?  Curious, to say the least.  I agree with Mike Downey, by the way, when saying the criticisms of a 9-2 team are a bit ridiculous.  The defense is first in points allowed, first in yards allowed, first in takeaways, and first in points off takeaways.  To criticize the front four for not getting enough sacks is petty.

Today, Cedric Benson was on ESPN Radio 1000 complaining (mp3) about a lack of playing time, again.  Saying something along the lines of, "the difference between college and the NFL is the best players are not always on the field."  Sigh.  Again, where's Lovie in all this?  Is this the fifth time, or sixth time that Benson's complained about not getting the rock?  I lost count.  I'd like to see Benson more, too, but Thomas Jones ain't broke, so I don't blame the Bears for not fixing it.  (Of course Mac, Jurko, & Harry were spot on in pointing out that Jones isn't exactly Matt Suhey blocking for Grossman back there.)  Benson will get his shot next year, and Jones will be gone.  You better live up to the hype, Texas boy.  That's all I'll say. 

Finally, I'm sick of all the stories calling for Griese.  Both Brad Biggs and Richard Roeper, of all people, have provided a dose of reason on the issue.  Griese is no savior.  His career record as a starter is 36-33, in his last five years he has 70 TDs and 59 INTs, and he's never led a team to the playoffs.  He's a solid backup and he looked good in the preseason against second string defenses.  It's obvious that Grossman can't keep turning the ball over 3+ times per game, but it's not like Griese is Peyton Manning sitting on that bench.  He's nice insurance in case Mr. Glass comes back, but Rex should be given every chance to play through his troubles.  Well, not EVERY chance.  I'm just saying I'd give him at least 6 more quarters to snap out of it.  This Sunday against the Vikes and the first half next Monday against St. Louis.  He continues with that deer-in-headlights look, then I'd give Griese a shot.  I just wouldn't expect Griese to come riding in on a white horse. 

Finally, time for a prediction.  Will Grossman snap out of it?  Will Benson whack Thomas Jones Tonya-Harding-style to get more playing time?  Will this blog entry motivate Tommie Harris to start getting sacks again?  Will Darren Sharper forget to cover Bernard Berrian because he's talking so much trash?  Will the corpse of Brad Johnson throw three touchdown passes this week, as he did last week against Arizona?  Kind of, no, yeah right, maybe, and definitely not.

Bears 17, Vikings 3

A Bears Loss to the Patriots? Not the End of the World

Today's loss to the Patriots isn't that bad, for a number of reasons:

• It's not good to lock up the division and home field advantage too early.  They were on a pace to lock up everything with 3 or 4 weeks left in the season, rendering all those games meaningless.  Ask last year's Colts what it's like to play three meaningless games and have a bye week before your first playoff action. It's tough to keep up the intensity. 
• If this was indeed a Super Bowl preview, I'm going mention that it's very tough to beat a good NFL team twice in one season.  Rather them lose now than in February. 
• It's very hard to win three straight games on the road.  It's very, very rare in the NFL, and the Bears lost by four, on the road, with a bad performance by their Quarterback, against one of the top five teams in the league.

In other words...no big deal that they lost today.  Still, I'd rather win than lose.  Here's what I saw:

• Grossman was pretty good in the first half (despite the two turnovers), and pretty bad in the second half (especially on the two turnovers).  Do the math and that's four turnovers on the day.  I think his banged up hand affected him.  His decisions were good but his passes were just a little off.  He had 150 yards in the first half and a meager 25 in the second.  If not for the long pass interference penalties, the Bears might not have scored.  Kudos to the Bears coaching staff for continuing to throw it deep and run into those penalties. 
• The running game was solid once again.  Started off slow, but then Benson came in, knocked off a few nice runs, and seemed to light a fire under Jones's ass.  The team gained over 150 yards on the ground against one of the toughest rushing defenses in the league, and that's encouraging to say the least.
• The run defense was pretty solid, the pass defense not so much.  Not surprising considering the Hall of Fame Quarterback they were facing.  If not for a few Patriot drops, not to mention the five turnovers, the final score would have been much worse.  However, if you look at the box score, the stats were as even as the score.  The Bears certainly weren't embarassed today.
• Urlacher getting juked out of his jock by Brady was a sight almost as rare as Brady's showboating after the play.  Two extremely rare occurrences, if you ask me, and it was kind of comical.
• Nice to see Robbie Gould have a kick blocked to end his perfect season.  Seriously.  Back in 1998, the Vikings Gary Anderson was something ridiculous like 42-for-42 in the regular season, then missed the potential game-winning kick in the NFC Championship Game and the Falcons went to the Super Bowl.  There's too much pressure in being perfect.  Now he can relax and simply think about the kick at hand rather than keeping some meaningless streak alive.
• Maynard had a crap day, and Hester didn't get a chance to return a punt.  The Patriots scored or turned it over on every drive.

Checking in on the NFC, other than the Cowboys the rest of the conference is still pure crap.  Nobody scares me coming in to Soldier Field this January.  Perhaps I shouldn't be so confident, but I'm calling it like I see it.  Despite today's loss, the Bears are still the team to beat in the National Football Conference.

Next week should be a little easier.  The Vikings come to Soldier Field and frankly they aren't a good football team.  Rex always plays his best after a loss, and I'm looking for him to rebound with a great performance.  That is, provided his hand's not broken or anything.

Go BEARS!!!!!

Bulls Finally Come Home after Circus Leaves Town

The Bulls finally won a game on the the annual seven-game "circus" road trip, and they're coming home a disappointing 1-6.  To top it off, the only team they beat was the Knicks, and I don't even think that one should count. 

The offense certainly had it's moments over the past seven games, but I think the biggest problem has been the defense.  Specifically, Ben Wallace.  He's looking like your grandfather's Tyson Chandler out there, and I'm starting to get a little uneasy about that $60 million dollars they handed him this offseason.  Last time I checked in on the Bulls, I thought Big Ben was finally coming around.  Turns out that one game was more of an aberration than any marked improvement.  His stats are down across the board, specifically points and rebounds are down two each.  He even air-balled a free throw tonight.  Not good.  Ironically, Tyson Chandler is averaging two more rebounds per game down in New Orleans/Oklahoma City this year.  Double not good.

The Bulls main problem from last year has yet to be solved.  They can't score.  Did you see this quote from Phil Jackson last week?

"Most people around the league would say there isn't another team that plays with the same intensity," Jackson said of the Bulls. "You know they're driven. They'll push you to the extreme and they'll wear you out because they work so hard. They're a hard-achieving team, and sometimes there's more froth than substance -- sort of like a latte. There's not much there. I didn't mean that to be an insult, but they have trouble scoring."

Great, our hall-of-fame ex-coach thinks of us like he thinks of a latte.  Maybe Thabo Sefolosha can get a job at Starbucks?  I'll take a grande nonfat gingerbread latte.  Thanks.

There is one guy on the team that's been scoring his share lately.  Luol Deng.  He's really been one of the few bright spots this season.  And Hinrich has been mostly "hit" this year, and even Ben Gordon seems to have found a happy middle ground for his crap games.  In other words, he can still score a dozen or so on one of his "bad" nights, which is really all I ask.

There's still plenty of time to turn it around, but you don't want to get yourself in too big of a hole.  Go Bulls!!!!

Bears-Pats Preview: Super!

The Bears play the Patriots this Sunday in a rematch of Super Bowl XX.  On top of that, this very well may be a preview of Super Bowl XLI as both teams look to be, at the very least, one of the top two or three teams in the conference.  I wonder if New England is going to trot out stars of Patriot past and bring Tony Eason to Razor Blade Stadium?  Ok, that's enough living in the past this week, let's get to it.

The Bears are on a roll.  They're 9-1 and on a two-game winning streak after taking two straight in New York. Still, everyone seems to be simultaneously crapping on Grossman.  Calling him the weak link and, er, stuff.  I don't get it.  He's the best QB the Bears have had since Sid Luckman, he's 13-4 as a starter, and he's on a pace to break most Bears single-season records.  But he's had a few bad games.  WHO CARES!?  Lay off.  He's not perfect, but he's got the moxie to take us all the way.  Just give him the playbook, a couple of receivers, and an elite defense...and he'll get you there. 

As for the Patriots, they were struggling a bit lately in losing back-to-back games at home.  They appeared to have righted the ship last week, though, at Green Bay.  They shut 'em out 35-0.  Of course, it was just the Favre-less Packers with a broken-foot novice at QB, so they shouldn't start sucking each other's popsicles quite yet.  The Bears are going to be just a little tougher to beat. 

I actually think this game might be a blowout. Pats are going to blitz the crap out of Grossman and Sexy Rexy will survive the blitz with a couple nice tosses to Berrian and Clark.  Brady, much like against the Colts, is going to try to do too much and turn it over at least three times.  Bears win, 27-10. 

Cubs Offseason: Soria-YES!!!!!

In this blog's short history, this post might rate as the dumbest thing I've ever written.  I know, it's got a lot of competition, but nearly ever word of it makes me cringe to this day.  (Well, except the Phil Rogers part.) But a marginal upgrade over Walker, Hairston, or Perez?  Yes, and Johan Santana was marginally better than Glendon Rusch this year. But I digress....

The Cubs signed Alfonso Soriano today to an 8-year, $136 million dollar contract. 

Holy. 

Crap. 

Jim Hendry and the Cubs are at least pretending to be Serious, with a capital S.  To quote my wife, legitimately wide-eyed and jaw-dropped:  "Wow!  He better be good!"  Mmm-hmmm....

I don't know where to begin.  Last year, I wouldn't give up a Top 10 prospect for him, and I wanted Washington to take on half his salary.  This year, he was my number-one target for acquisition.  Yes, it was a career year, but 46 homers and 41 stolen bases in a pitcher's park change one's attitude pretty quick.  The Cubs desperately needed to acquire a big bat this offseason, and his 40+ homer potential will certainly do the job.

The Cubs haven't said yet, but I would look for him to play Left or Center Field next season.  Center scares me, as that's one of the toughest positions on the diamond to play, and he isn't exactly known for his defense.  After years of playing a barely adequate second base, he begrudgingly moved to Left last season.  He started out horrible, but got much better as the year went on.  I'd be happy with him in Left.  He's got great speed and a good enough arm for the corner. 

At this point, I have to mention some of his flaws.  Prior to 2006, he showed very little patience at the plate.  In my book, if you can go 40-40, I'm a little lenient on the whole OBP thing.  I'm also a little leary of giving an 8-year deal to a 31-year old.  He fits the profile of a player who should age well, but still.  Did I mention he's going to make $17 million dollars per season until 2014?  This deal may become an albatross those last few seasons.  Who knows, though.  By then utility infielders might be making $17 million. 

My head is spinning.  The Cubs have destroyed the myth that they never sign marquee free agents.  They've probably overpaid for him, but they did what needed to be done to sign him.  I just can't grasp the fact that the Cubs won a bidding war.  Here's what they should do next:

1.  Trade Jones, put Murton in Right.  Jones's arm makes me puke.  Murton might very well be the next Jeff Conine, but at least he doesn't induce vomiting.  If they keep Jones, a strong possibility given the GM and Manager, I'd platoon him with Murton.

2.  Acquire (via Free Agency or Trade) two starting pitchers.  Rumor has it they're trying to trade for Jake Westbrook and/or Jason Jennings.  I'd be happy with either one.  Free agents worth talking to are Jason Schmidt and Barry Zito (of course), or some cheaper second tier guys like Vincente Padilla or Gil Meche that might thrive in the NL. 

3.  A stopgap for Center.  Sure I'd love Vernon Wells.  But I think today's signing knocks that idea off Hendry's plate.  Dare I say Kenny Lofton?  Just get me somebody who won't embarrass himself for one season before Pie's ready.  Not that Pie is a sure thing, mind you.  Far from it.  He just needs one more season of AAA and if he succeeds, give him the job in 2008.  If not, explore long-term options next offseason.

Really, that's it.  Regardless of how bleak the franchise's 2010's might become, today's signing coupled with a few key moves puts this team directly into contention in the terrible NL Central.  And as St. Louis just showed the nation, all you need to do is get there and anything can happen.

You know, it's been a while since I've said this: "Go Cubs!"  There's hope.

Bears Shut Out Jets

The Bears shut out the Jets by a score of 10-zip today at the Meadowlands.  I'm going to make this one brief because there's a bit of baseball news to report.  Notes:

• The Defense was pretty great today, and I guess that much is obvious when you pitch a shutout.  They gave up a few yards here and there, but they still held the Jets to less than 300 yards total on the day.  In fact, they haven't given up 300 in a single game all year, and no other team in the NFL that can say that. 
• Urlacher's pick was both sweet and perfectly timed.  It was the type of move a Defensive Player of the Year makes. 
• Mark Anderson made his presence known, yet again.  His 8.5 sacks lead the team.  Is this dude for real or is he simply in the right place at the right time?  His numbers are pretty gaudy.  I tend to think they're for real.  Three or four sacks on the season can be lucky.  Not 8.5 in 10 games.
• Thomas Jones again looked great, or the Jets defense looked bad.  One or the other.  Either way, Benson fans, myself included, have been served a steaming hot cup of shut the f--k up.  Mmmm....tastes good.
• Mark Bradley made some pretty big catches today.  I think he might have a higher ceiling than Berrian, and the Bears should seriously think about putting him in the starting lineup.  If not, they're in good hands regardless.  Moose, Bradley, Berrian, and Davis; an excellent foursome.  Who said we needed a wideout this offseason?
• Rex Grossman, you knew I'd get to him sooner or later.  Today Rex gave his best Kyle Orton impression.  Play it safe, don't turn it over.  Get a couple of first downs every now and then, get one big play, and let the defense do the rest.  It wasn't very exciting, but it got the job done.  Nice to see Rex constrain himself, though I can't deny it's much more enjoyable watching him light up the scoreboard. 

And that's that.  9-1, and the magic number to clinch home field advantage in the NFC is 4, with six games to play.  I like our chances.  BEAR DOWN!!!

Still in New York: Bears play Jets this Sunday

The Bears are playing their second of back-to-back games in New York this Sunday, but this time it'll be the J-E-T-S Jets they'll have to deal with.  The Bears are favored by seven.

The Jets have been one of the surprise teams in the NFL this year.  No, I don't think they're a serious contender for the title.  But they may well make the playoffs, and that's a lot more than most people ever would have thought.  How have they done it?  With a new coach, a solid draft, and a healthy Pennington.  Pennington played less than Grossman last year, if that tells you anything.  I've always liked Chad.  He's a gamer and he's from the MAC, what more could you ask for?

As for the Bears, there's not really much news out of Lake Forest this week.  Berrian can practice, but they don't know if he can take a hit.  And, um, that's about it.  Just some fluff pieces coming from the media about various players and how great they are.   I gotta admit, it's tough to write about such a dominant team.  They have a few weaknesses, I suppose, but how many times can you write about how the Bears live or die by Grossman's gunslinger mentality?  How many times can you write about Brian Urlacher?  If everything goes as planned, there won't be anything to talk about till the playoffs start.  And that's when the fun begins.

Bears win this week, 31-13.  Look for them to stop the run, too, as all that nonsense will come to an end this week.  Kevan Barlow is no Tiki Barber.  (or Frank Gore or Ronnie Brown, for that matter.)  GO BEARS!!!

Cubs Acquire Cotts from Sox

The Cubs traded David Aardsma and a minor leaguer to the White Sox for Neil Cotts today.  On paper, I can't say that I'm a big fan of this move.  I can't say that I hate it either.  I'm sort of in between.

Neil Cotts, a lefty middle reliever, was dominant in the Sox 2005 World Series run.  He went 4-0 with a 1.94 ERA and nearly a strikeout per inning.  This year, though, his ERA ballooned to 5.17, and after a solid first half he was downright atrocious in the second half with an ERA of 9.87.  Man, that's awful.  I wonder if he was hurt?  I do know that Perry didn't trust him for mop-up duty down the stretch. 

Aardsma, two years younger than Cotts and a righty, was a 2002 first round pick for the Giants before coming to the Cubs with Jerome Williams in the LaTroy Hawkins trade.  He throws absolute fire, and had a pretty solid 2006.  I think he has the tools to become an elite reliever, though he's never produced much better than average results at the big league level.

The minor leaguer involved is Carlos Vazquez, a 23-year old middle reliever that split his time between single and double A this year.  I've never heard of him, if that tells you anything.

As a swap of middle relievers, I don't see the point.  Cotts is a decent bet to rebound this year, and is still only 26.  But the Cubs already have two solid lefties in the pen in Scott Eyre and Will Ohman.  Some people are speculating that Hendry might be looking to put Cotts in the rotation.  He's only started five games in his big league career, but he had a decent amount of success in the minors as a starter.  The Sox, of course, have little wiggle room in their division to mess around with Neil in their rotation.  If Cotts was given a chance in the Cubs rotation for a while and failed, he could always be returned to the bullpen where he's had decent success.

This trade could mean that Scott Eyre is on the block.  He's one of the Cubs better trading chips this offseason, as he's put up pretty great numbers three years in a row out of the pen.  Could he part of a package to acquire someone like Vernon Wells?  We'll see. 

In any case, I hope this trade works out better than the last time the Cubs and Sox swapped relievers.  That was a horrible deal from day one.

Cubs Update: We got DeRosa!

The Cubs signed Texas utility man Mark DeRosa to a 3-year, $13 million dollar contract to play second base.  Wowsers, my dreams have come true!

Not.

Ok, that was pretty lame.  But so was this signing.  The ESPN article announcing the signing said it best, he's 31 years old and cashing in on a career year.  Looking at his career stats, up until 2006 he was pretty much a clone of Ramon Martinez.  Yes, that Ramon Martinez.  And this guy is worth a three year deal at more than four million per?  You're doing a heckuva job, Hendry, a heckuva job.

It's not that this deal is a franchise breaker.  Like the Glendon Rusch and Neifi Perez signings before it, it's simply an overpayment for a mediocrity.  Any number of minor leaguers are capable of putting up Mark DeRosa numbers (.265/.320/.385), including the Cubs very own Ryan Theriot.  And he's only going to be paid $350,000 next year.  Mark DeRosa, on the other hand, will only be worth that 4.33 million if he comes close to repeating his career year.  And let me tell you, there's a reason they call career years career years.  They only happen once in a career.

If they still end up signing two big-time free agents (like Soriano and Zito), I will have absolutely no problem with the DeRosa contract.  But if they get in a bidding war and end up $10 million dollars short, well, you'll know why.

Like Lou Piniella, I'm going to root for DeRosa to do well.  There's always that chance that his career rebirth will continue.  I'd just rather the Cubs spend their money on something that's more of a sure thing than lottery tickets.

Typical Cubs.  I don't know why I waste my time.

Bears Back on Track with Win over Giants

The game certainly didn't start out pretty.  Rex Grossman threw one of his patented picks that got returned to the one yard line and all I could say was "SHIT!!!!!!"  7-0, New York.  The Giants defense then proceeded to simply dominate the line for the first 28 minutes of the game.  It was a repeat of last week, and I couldn't believe my eyes.  Check that, I totally believed my eyes.  I'm still not over the last 15 years of losing.  But then something happened. 

Thomas Jones made a great play on third and forever, which you have to admit was a total fluke, and the momentum made a complete U-turn.  Grossman then woke up and decided to resume his Pro Bowl ways and float a beautiful touchdown to Mark Bradley before the end of the half.  Then in the second half Sexy Rexy and the Bears offense was firing on all cylinders.  Three touchdowns, another miracle 108-yard return by Devin Hester, ballgame.  It's amazing how big a part momentum plays in this game.  They can look like the stuff a matador scrapes off his shoes for an entire half (thanks, Mike Downey) and one play can completely reverse everything.  Amazing.  A few more points.

• The offensive line was truly offensive in the first half.  They couldn't stop the pass rush, and they couldn't open a hole worth a crap for the running game.  I blamed them fully for the first 28 minutes of misery.  Grossman was fine.  He simply wasn't getting anything done because his line was awful and his receivers were dropping everything.  I don't know what happened in the second half, but whatever adjustments the line made worked. 
• Last week I called Muhsin Muhammad out for not putting the team on his back and today he responded with a great game.  And to Mark Bradley, let me be the first to sing the "Welcome Back, Kotter" theme.  We just might be able to survive this Berrian injury after all.
• Speaking of welcoming back players, it was nice to see Chris Harris out there again.  He's no Mike Brown, but he's solid.  Looked good on that pick, too.
• I'm a little concerned about all the yards the defense is giving up on the ground, but I'm not that concerned.  Frank Gore's yards were pure garbage, and Ronnie Brown got most of his yards on big plays.  Tiki was pretty similar tonight.  One missed gap and a nice cutback by the runner and all of a sudden he's 50 yards down field.  I'm not happy with it, but it's not the end of the world.  They certainly do miss Mike Brown, though.  He's the difference between a 50 yard gain and a 15 yard gain.  Take away the long runs, and the Bears are fine.
• In each of the last three weeks, there's been a blatantly horrible call against the Bears.  Two roughing the passer penalties (Ogunleye vs SF and Manning vs Miami) and tonight's horse-collar call against Briggs.  I'd like to think it's just bad calls, but it's starting to get ridiculous.
• Cedric Benson didn't have much of a chance tonight.  He got a few carries in the first half while the line was struggling, and he didn't do anything.  Of course, he had two guys on his back the moment he touched the ball.  Once the Bears got rolling, he sat.  No complaints here, of course, because Jones got the job done.  But I still gotta wonder with an extended opportunity.
• The playcalling was a bit curious early on, but I think it was just reactions to the bizarre mashup calls that Coughlin was doing on the other side of the ball.  Coughlin's strategy was working for a while, but Lovie and company figured them out.
• Eli Manning didn't impress me at all.  He looked worse than Kent Graham out there.

All in all, a great win.  New York was severely banged up, so some might poo-poo the Bears victory.  Hogwash, New York is an extremely tough place to play on the road, and the Bears simply dominated the second half.  This sets the tone and now there's some breathing room in the NFC.  Another tough game in New York next week against the J-E-T-S, and a perfect opportunity to put the big city in it's place. 

BEAR DOWN!

Aramis Re-Signs with the Cubs

Aramis Ramirez re-signed with the Cubs today for a reported $73 million dollars over 5 years.  Wow, that's a lot of money.  I'm happy they re-signed him, but I hope this doesn't keep them from opening their checkbook for another marquee player this offseason.  They finished in last place with him playing third this season, so it's not like this signing makes the team any better.  It simply prevents them from getting any worse. 

Ken Rosenthal said it best when he said this is a hollow victory for Jim Hendry.  If they had simply offered him $10 million more two years ago, they would have saved almost $30 million dollars and two or three guaranteed years for this sometime slacking player.  Smooth.

Still, the man can flat out hit, and his defense was much improved this year.  If not for a prolonged early season slump, he may well have hit .330 with 45 homers this season.  I guess the bottom line is this:  if the Cubs are going to attempt to make any sort of run in the next two years, they have enough holes to fill without worrying about finding another third baseman.  Their wish list is long enough.

I'll be back later this week with a look at the available free agents and my predictions for the who Cubs will sign.  It's not going to be pretty, but I'm going to try to stay optimistic.  Till next time...

Bulls Update: Welcome to Chicago, Ben

Tonight, Ben Wallace became a Bull.  The first few times I saw him play this year, he didn't really seem to fit in nor make much impact on the game.  He was kind of just going through the motions, and it just seemed odd watching the former star of the Pistons wearing Bulls colors. I wasn't thinking "bust" or anything, I just was wondering how long it would take for me to start rooting for him as one of our own.  The answer? Six games.

Big Ben was all over the court tonight, snagging 18 boards, 10 of which on offense, making a beautiful steal, and just generally causing havoc on the defensive end.  It was kind of like watching those first few games with Rodman back in the day.  Though in the Worm's case I didn't know if I'd ever come to like him, and it ended up taking all of a week to fall in love with his style of play. 

Another guy that looked great tonight, and a guy that I feel is unappreciated in this town, is Luol Deng.  The guy's just got those long arms, flies all over the place, and has a real sweet touch.  His freakish athletic ability kind of reminds me of a very young Shawn Kemp, though he's not nearly as electric of a dunker. 

Then there's the enigma.  What's up with Ben Gordon?  He alternates 37-point outbursts with 1-for-8 showings.  I simply don't get it.  The guy has proven time and again that he can absolutely own the fourth quarter of a game like nobody since you-know-who.  He just can't put four quarters in one game.  He can't put three games in a row.  I don't get it.  I just know that if the Bulls are serious this year, Gordon needs to step forward.  If he can't get consistent by end of this season, the Bulls should trade him. 

And that's that.  Bull down!! 

Bears! Giants! It's Grossman versus Manning on Sunday Night Football!

This is the game of the year, my friends.  I'd like to say that this is the game that tells us whether the Bears are Contenders or Pretenders.  But the reality is it's not.  The Giants are missing a few key players, specifically Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora, and LaVar Arrington on defense and Amani Toomer on offense.  So, much like the Seattle the game, the Bears are in a no-win situation.  If the Bears win, it will be expected because the G-men are far from full-strength.  If they lose, that's even worse. 

Still, this is the toughest NFC opponent remaining on their schedule and the beginning of a super-tough stretch.  It should tell us enough.  They go 1-2 against New York, New York, and New England and you can effectively stop all Super Bowl talk until further notice.  2-1, get your reservations ready.  Basically, I'm of the opinion that they won't be beaten at home in the playoffs this year.  Yes, I know they lost at home to Miami the other day.  I was there.  But I'm more resigned to call that game a fluke more than anything else.  I feel they looked past Miami, a talented yet underachieving team that put up an inspired performance, and it bit the Bears in the ass.

Prediction time.  I think the Giants are going to attempt to blitz Grossman into submission.  (At least that's what I'd do if I were playing the Bears.)  But without their top guys, it's going to be tall task.  The line is a bit embarrassed about how they performed the other day, and a smart game plan combined with some buckling down should give Grossman all the time he needs to complete the shorter passes.  Rex is going to rebound with a cool, efficient performance.  Hand the ball off, throw passes to the sticks.  Wear the defense down. 

Bears win, 16-13.

Bears Midseason Report Card

The Bears are 7-1 at the half-way point and this is the logical time to hand out midseason grades.

QB:  Rex Grossman played pretty outstanding in 5 games, mediocre in one, and "Oh my God is he awful" horrible in the other two.  It averages out to a B-.  If he plays like he did against Miami another 2 or 3 times and the Bears lose those games, they might have to start thinking about Griese.  But not until Rex loses at least 2 or 3 more games, as I feel he's earned his playing time. 

RB:  Jones has done a mostly adequate job, and Benson has done alright in limited duty.  Overall, they get a B.  But I still want to find out if Benson is an A in hiding.

WR/TE:  Moose has had big catches in some games, but has disappeared in others.  Berrian was pretty lights out for the first 6 weeks, and Rashied Davis has been as good as could be expected.  Justin Gage blows, and Mark Bradley has only made one appearance, though I suspect we'll see more of him starting this week. Desmond Clark has been better than anybody could possibly have expected.  B+

O-Line:  In most games, they've protected the passer rather well.  In others, however, they've hung Grossman out to dry which forced him into turnovers.  The running game has been OK, though I would think they'd rank better considering all the big leads they've been playing with.  B. 

D-Line:  Tommie Harris was an early MVP candidate, though has faded somewhat of late.  Ogunleye, Tank, and Alex Brown have all done a wonderful job of getting to the QB and stopping the run.  Rookie Mark Anderson leads the team in sacks, and looks like a keeper.  A-.

LB:  Urlacher and Briggs started the season rather quiet, though I think that was mostly because the linemen were making the plays before they had a chance.  The last four or five weeks, though, this unit has been outstanding.  Urlacher looks primed for another Defensive Player of the Year award.  A.

Secondary: No complaints here.  Considering both starters from a year ago are out with injuries, Mike Brown and Chris Harris, this group has kept the big plays to a minimum.  Nathan Vasher has been rather quiet this year, and that's a good thing because it means teams have been staying away from his side of the field.   Peanut Tillman, who I think gets unfairly bashed by critics, has done a nice job as well.  A-

Special Teams:  Robbie Gould is perfect, Brad Maynard hasn't really botched any punts all year and has done a good job pinning the teams back, and Devin Hester has returned two punts for Touchdowns.  Only the one fumble keeps this grade from being perfect.  A-.

Coaching: Lovie and his staff get an A-.  This would have been an A if not for the seeming lack of focus in the two recent games versus Miami and Arizona.  Those games should have both been locks, yet the Bears didn't seem to want it bad enough.  Still, the playcalling has been pretty spot on all year, and the defense only lets up when an individual player gets burned, not when a bad coverage is called for. 

That's a pretty good report card, which is what you'd expect for a team that's 7-1 with five blowouts on their resume.  The second half is much tougher, however, especially these next three games.  These games are the key, of course, to determine if these guys are for real or another set of one-and-done chumps.

Bear down.

The Bears aren't who we thought they were

Everyone wanted to believe that this team was unstoppable.  A perfect sequel to the 1985 Champions.  Nothing would stand in their way as they prepared for a date with destiny this February in Miami.  Well, that flew out the window today as they lost to the Dolphins 31-13.  Yes, the same Dolphins that beat them 21 years ago.  I thought this game was a lock.  I was wrong.  Let's take a closer look:

Rex Grossman, of course, was the goat.  As I said in my preview, the only way they lose this game is if Grossman has a monumentally bad performance.  Yeah, that about sums it up.  Happy feet, poor decisions, poor throws, the whole eleven yards. (I'd say the whole nine yards but Rex wasn't within two yards of his receivers all day.)  I was at this game today, and riding in the shuttle back to the car, the Bears fan in front of me was stumping for Griese.  No way, I say.  This season is Grossman's till he snaps a ligament.  His highs are high enough that you live with his lows.  At least for a while.  Let him lose 3 or 4 games before you bench him. 

Grossman's main problem is the team's main problem.  They can't play catchup.  If they don't get out to an early lead, everything turns to shit.  The defense plays it safe, and Grossman and the offense try to make something out of nothing.  It's almost as if once Grossman has a lead, he says, "Ok, today's one of my good days.  I'm going to calm down and make my throws."  This is opposed to, "Oh snap, we're down 14 points.  Time to score two touchdowns on one throw.  Plop, plop, fizz, fizz...."  They're going to need Grossman to engineer a game winning drive or two before they get the confidence to play from behind the same way they play from up front.  Some more notes:

• Bernard Berrian hurt his ribs on the first drive.  They missed him IMMENSELY.  When Justin Gage actually runs the right route and actually catches the ball, he fumbles it.  It's pretty simple.  He sucks.  And to quote Lee Elia, "PRINT IT!"  If Berrian is to miss any extended time, Mark Bradley needs to get healthy and dress.  Furthermore, I'd start working Rashied Davis into the role of #2 receiver. I understand why he remained the third wideout today after Berrian went down, you don't want two new guys running unfamiliar routes.  But by next week Davis should have a full week of practice under his belt and be ready to start.
• Moose needs to step up, too.  He got $16 million dollars last year for situations like this, to put the team on his back.  He hasn't yet, though he has certainly looked good at times.  That touchdown catch today was pretty sweet, though he did push-off a bit with a savvy veteran move.
• Thomas Jones still ain't gettin it done.  Benson looked pretty solid today, though, and it seemed like he was getting more "important" snaps.  Before he was mostly resigned to garbage time (which there's been a lot of).  In the close games, he usually sits.  So that's a good sign.
• The defense wasn't so hot either.  Yes, they had some short fields to defend, but they let Ronnie Brown run all over him.  Oh, and Joey Harrington had 3 TD passes.  Yes, that Joey Harrington. 
• Urlacher got hurt, I hope it's not serious.  Without Mr. Overrated they're barely a .500 squad.  PRINT IT!

A Miami fan, of all people, provided a dose of reality after the game.  "Your team is 7-1.  I wish we had your problems."  Totally.  It's just one game.  We knew this team wasn't as good as their gaudy record indicated.  They beat the teams they were supposed to beat, and every one of them is a creampuff in today's NFL.  Today was just a crappy day all around.  The next three games are going to tell us far more about how good this team really is than the first 8 games did.  I can't wait for next Sunday night.