Some thoughts on Bears-Saints
I'm going to do my usual preview tomorrow, but there's a lot going on this week (ya think?) so I'll start it early.
- The lack of respect given the Bears by the national media amazes me. Peter King did his Power Rankings Monday and ranked the Bears fifth in the NFL. Fifth! After the Chargers, who lost this weekend. How lame is that? Not only King, but everyone's acting as though the Saints offense is unstoppable. They're pretty damn good, no doubt, but they're not unbeatable. I mean, they lost to the Redskins at home a few weeks ago in a must-win game. This ain't exactly the '85 Bears we're talking about. John Clayton seems to be the only one giving the Bears a shot at the moment. Smart man. Let's see when everyone's predictions come out Friday. Not that the Bears are unbeatable, they're obviously very beatable. I just happen to think this game is extremely even at the moment with no clear favorite is all, and everyone should be acknowledging that accordingly.
- Speaking of the '85 Bears, the Trib is all hemmin' and hawin' about Ditka not openly rooting for the Bears this week. He's not rooting for the Saints either, as he's chosen to stay out of it. Who cares? Trust me, Ditka's rooting for the Bears. It's just that he's got a national gig on ESPN and has to seem impartial, plus he wants a free bowl of gumbo the next time he visits one of his old haunts in New Orleans. No big deal.
- One last '85 related note, I promise. ESPN Radio 1000 wondered aloud if anyone was rooting against the Bears because they wanted Grossman to fail and get dumped. They didn't think so. They also wondered if the '85 Bears might be rooting against them Larry Csonka style to preserve their legacy. I highly, highly doubt it. That team is among the greatest all-time, this team is among the greatest in 2006. It's no contest. People are rooting like hell for these Bears, but they will always remember '85. Mongo will get free drinks in this town till he dies.
- Did you hear Sean Payton was a "Spare Bear" and is a local kid that played for Ditka, who also coached in New Orleans? Yeah, me too. Again, and again, and again.
- I re-watched the Seattle game on NFL Network tonight. First of all, these recaps on NFL Network rule. They skip the 30 seconds between plays, cut out some meaningless plays, add post-game interviews "pop-up video" style, show NFL Films footage, including in-game sideline talk. It's pretty sweet. It's like a director's commentary on a DVD.
Anyways, I noticed some things that I forgot to comment on in my game recap.
- First of all, Grossman was really good. He had at least 9 or 10 excellent throws into tight coverage downfield for key first downs. They wouldn't have come close to winning without him.
- The drive at the end of the first half was especially impressive. The Seahawks tied the game with 2:30 left in the half. Grossman picked them apart like a surgeon, and finally the gutsy "fourth and one" call from the 4. NFL Films caught the whole exchange between Rex, Lovie and his coaches on tape, and Grossman looked uber-confident the whole time. And when Lovie finally said, "let's do it," Grossman didn't look excited, nervous or nothing. He looked like a guy collecting his change at a tollbooth and going about his business. Then Ruben Brown cleared a path for Jones in one of the sweetest 4-yard TDs you'll ever see.
- The Bears had multiple chances to put Seattle away. Like when Muhammad forced that pick inside the 10, when Berrian dropped that sure TD, every time Seattle converted a third and long.... Don't ask me why Seattle couldn't convert third and short, but third and long seemed to work for them all day.
- NFL Network edited out most of Devin Hester's muffs (except the TD that was brought back.) That's really starting to concern me. I don't think he caught anything clean all day.
- Finally, the refs made a few very favorable calls for the Bears. Tank had a clear bush-league late-hit on Hasselbeck in the 2nd quarter that was especially glaring. Oh well. Pour yourself a hot cup of Starbuck's, Seattle fans, and enjoy the game this Sunday knowing that your team took the eventual Super Bowl Champion Bears down to the wire in the Divisional round.
- Did I just say that out loud?
BEAR DOWN!!!