Final Thoughts on Chicago Sports

It's Official: The Bears Suck

New Quarterback, same result.  In Brian Griese's first start, the Bears lost to the Lions 37-27.  This team is in sorry, sorry shape.  You can probably say Griese played a little better than Grossman, but considering the competition you could probably say he was a little worse.  Either way, toss 'em both in a blender and whip yourself up a suck-tacular smoothie of crap. 

Griese didn't make as many glaring mental mistakes as Grossman, but he had a few ugly picks (including a pick-six), and he just didn't seem to get the ball in there with enough force to thread the needle in the secondary.  In other words, his balls were soft.  I'll cut him some slack, though, since this was his first real game action since 2005.  I'll give him two weeks to get comfortable, or I'll start calling for Orton.  Hell, he has a few more days like today I'll start calling for Grossman. 

Now, the defense.  Despite all the injuries, they looked pretty good for three quarters.  Mark Anderson and Tommie Harris (when he got in there) were all over Kitna like white on rice.  Then, at the start of the fourth quarter, they just fell apart.  Thirty-Four points given up in the last quarter.  Unless you go into the fourth with a 35-point lead, you're not going to win a lot of games that way.  (Thank you, captain obvious.)  Oh, and committing 14 penalties to go with three turnovers won't get it done either.  This season has 2002 written all over it.

I'm tempted to cut the defense some slack because of all the injuries but on second thought, no.  Every team has injuries, and the teams that deal with them best advance.  This defensive unit, in particular, shouldn't get a free pass because it's their job to pick up for the struggling offense.  If the offense is having a hard time scoring, you've just got to buckle down and shut them down.  News flash, this offense is never going to score 40 points this year, so you've got to do what you can to hold them under 20.

I'm also not very happy with the coaching right now.  Turner's playcalling has been so vanilla.  Why can't Hester get the ball?  Where was Olsen?  Ever hear of Mark Bradley?  It's obvious Moose & Berrian aren't getting it done this year, how come they haven't been benched?  And Cedric Benson is running so tentative.  Just put your head down and start bowling people over.  Is it that hard?  The offensive line isn't doing well at all.  The offensive abomination is a team effort, all the way up to the coaching staff.  Were there any plays called down field?  Or was Griese simply checking down and dumping it off to Benson? 

Lovie doesn't get a free pass in all this either.  One sequence in particular just set me off.  At the end of the game, down by 10, 1:20 left on the clock with the team at the 20 with 3 time outs.  Why not kick the field goal here?  You know it's going to take Griese at least 3 plays to get the ball in the end zone, including some potential timeouts wasted.  Get the 3, then use your timeouts when your defense is on the field, force a three-and-out and get the ball back with 40 seconds left and a chance to tie it.  No, they went ahead and tried to punch it in the end zone.  They succeeded, but they wasted 30 seconds and a timeout in the process, forcing the onside kick.  And we know how that went. 

Any positives?  Why Hester, of course.  I'm at a loss for words with that guy.  And the field goal blocking unit has been awesome this year.  Five blocked kicks in four games.  Damn!  And, um, um, that's about it. 

So now what?  The season's not over, but it's getting there fast.  Aside from 4th quarter of the Super Bowl, which was a different kind of disaster, this is the lowest this team has been since week 4 of 2005.  That's when they had an ugly loss to Cleveland, Mike Brown said "We Suck", and the team was 1-3 on the brink of another wasted season.  The good news, of course, is that team was able to turn it around and win the division.  The bad news is a) that team was pretty healthy, and b) the NFC North was horrible that year.  Next week we face the second-best team in the NFC on Sunday Night Football.  Another chance to be embarrassed on national TV.  Happy, happy, joy, joy.

Cubs Win! Central Division Champs

Well, they did it.  The Cubs won the Central on Friday night by first beating Cincy 6-zip, and then watching the Padres take care of the Brewers a little over an hour later.  Carlos Zambrano was great, and the offense found their bats with big home runs by Soriano and Lee.  The postseason beckons. 

This season was a roller coaster, with highs and lows to the extreme.  I was looking back through some of my old posts throughout the season, and you can just feel the season dip up and down by the week.  It's really amazing how much fire I was spitting at the end of last season, as I was an extremely bitter, bitter man.  I also saw how ridiculous some of my statements were (on the Mark DeRosa signing: the Cubs spent $13 million on Ramon Martinez), and how prescient others were.  (85 wins might damn-well win the division this year)  Reading my "diary" was fun. 

This might sound foolish, but I really think the Cubs have an excellent chance at winning it all this year.  They probably won't be the favorite in any series, but they're as talented as anyone in the National League and they have the 2nd best record in baseball since June 2nd.  They'd definitely be an underdog to whoever wins the AL, but anything can happen in a seven-game series and this team is peaking at the right time.  I think the key to this team's success this year is as follows:

1)  No major holes.  They don't exactly have an all-star at every position, but every guy has been solid with some major star-power at the corners.  Once Lou figured out who all the regulars were, and Hendry acquired Kendall and promoted Soto, the lineup was set.  Further, this team is a really nice mix of veterans and rookies.

2)  The bullpen.  Marmol, Howry, Wood, Dempster, Eyre, and Weurtz make up probably the deepest pen in the playoffs.  And you know how important a good pen is in the playoffs. 

3)  Solid starting pitching.  They don't have the fire power of a San Diego or a true ace like Brandon Webb, but when Zambrano's on he's as good as anybody.  Same goes for Hill, Lilly, and Marquis for that matter.  Every one of those guys is capable of winning games in the postseason.

4)  Lou Piniella.  It's hard to quantify how much better he is than his predecessor.  The two things I like about Lou most are a) he treats every day as a must-win, and b) he plays the hot hand.  If Lou needs to get out of a jam in the fifth inning, and the score is tight, he's not afraid of going to his best reliever, Marmol, too early.  Worry about the 7th in the 7th.  If a rookie catcher is outplaying the big trade acquisition, he starts.  Now if he could just figure out a double-switch he'd be perfect.

5)  John McDonough.  The new President convinced ownership that something major had to be done after last season, and they opened the checkbook.  Credit Jim Hendry for targeting the right guys, but don't forget the impact that McDonough made with the budget.  Not that a big budget alone wins games, of course.  Look at the Dodgers and the Mets.  But when the division is in reach and you have a few holes, spend the money to fill them. 

So now it's time to get ready for the next series.  We don't know who they're playing yet, but it sounds like it will be the Diamondbacks or the Phillies.  I honestly don't have a preference, as they were rather mediocre versus both of those teams this year.  All I know is, it's great to be in the postseason again. 

Go Cubs!

Cubs Swept by Marlins, nevertheless, Magic Number down to 2

I totally saw the Marlin debacle coming.  I didn't think the Cubs would get swept, but I was thinking 2 of 3 games lost was a definite possibility.  They just always play like crap there, as evident by their 10 game losing streak to the fish.  Ridiculous.  I hate the Marlins and everything they stand for.  Two world series champions in 10 years, for the most pathetic fan base in baseball.  Against most opponents, they average about 5000 fans a game.  Just horribly pathetic and they don't deserve either one of those titles.  Well, the players deserved the titles because they won them fair and square.  But the fans did not, and that's the part that sucks.

Anyways, as for the Cubs troubles in this particular series, I think it was a direct result of their recent hot streak for a number of reasons.

1)  What goes up must come down, being the most obvious reason.  Teams generally don't stay that hot for too long. 

2)  Over confidence in the magic number 4 with 6 games to play.  I only put small stock in this excuse, as these guys are professionals and mostly veterans that know how to prepare for games.  Though I can't discount it entirely.

3)  Perhaps most importantly, their recent success was largely due to hitting the long ball.  They've hit 37 this month, I think, and that's by far their most prolific home run stretch of the season.  Anyways, they get down to Florida and continue to swing for the fences.  How many balls went to the track that otherwise would have been goners at Wrigley or most other stadiums?  I bet they lost 4-5 homers in this series and they may have been the difference between winning 2 of 3 and getting swept.  That said, the Marlins hit a few rockets themselves that might have been goners, too, evening things out.

4)  The match ups weren't favorable.  Let me rephrase.  The Cubs haven't done especially well against lefties this year, and its forced their "B lineup" which includes Monroe and Murton instead of Jones & Floyd -- both of whom have been quite clutch lately.  (Floyd, especially, has been killing the ball.) 

5)  They're the Cubs.  Collapsing is their business.  I put very small stock in this excuse as well, as the 25 guys in that dugout are professional ballplayers that have little regard or knowledge of Chicago's playoff history.  99 years means nothing to these players.  It's more of a fan thing and perhaps the negative karma had a slight, slight impact.

Despite getting swept, the magic number is down to 2 thanks to San Diego beating the Brewers.  San Diego is a good ballclub with great pitching, so I fully expect them to win at least one of the next three, if not two of the next three.  So the Cubs are practically guaranteed at least a tie, even if they get swept by Cincy.  I'd rather not see them back in, of course, and take care of business tonight and tomorrow and make Sunday's game meaningless. 

I'm not as worried about the Reds as I was Florida.  With Griffey and Dunn out, Cincy doesn't have much punch to go with their mediocre-to-awful pitching.  Cincy's a big home run park, too, so swinging for the fences won't hurt them like it did in Florida.  That said, Harang concerns me tomorrow.   He's an absolute stud stuck on a lousy team.   So Big Z winning tonight, while not imperative, would really go a long ways towards easing my concerns.  Hopefully with him on the road, this won't be a problem. 

Go Cubs!

Brian is our Quarterback

Over the past 17 games, including the playoffs, Rex Grossman committed 35 turnovers.  That alone is reason for change.  Throw on top of that the fact that the offense has scored only 26 points in three games this year, and the fact that the team has a 1-2 record, the decision to go with Griese becomes moot.  So now it's Brian's turn, and the city of Chicago holds its breath.  What if he sucks, too?  Could he possibly be worse than Grossman?  Will it be Orton's turn, then?  The history of Bears quarterbacks is a nightmare.  In 2007, the nightmare continues. 

I'm not too worried about it, though, for some reason.  As I said in my preseason preview, there's no reason to worry about the Quarterback position.  "Rex will be better, and if he isn't he'll be benched."  I'm shocked to see it happen so soon, but I figure Griese's good enough to win games with this defense.  He's got more yards, more Touchdowns, a higher completion percentage, and a higher rating than any QB in Bears history.  And last we saw him on the field, he was starting the 2005 season in Tampa Bay with a record of 5-1 followed up by a blown out knee.  One salary-cap-related cut later, he found himself in Chicago backing up the injury-prone Sexy Rexy. 

Is Griese better than Orton was in 2005?  That's the bare minimum level of performance needed for a Quarterback to win games in this town.  You betcha he's better than Orton was in 2005.  The question now, though, is that defense as good as it was in 2005?

I can sum up the defense in two words.  Banged. Up.    They finished the Dallas game down six guys who started the season opener, four of whom are Pro Bowlers.  (Brown, Dvoracek, Briggs, Vasher, Harris, and Tillman.)  Brown and Dvoracek are obviously done for the year already, but the status of the other four guys is up in the air.  The story keeps changing on each of them, and with all the subterfuge going on with NFL injury reports these days, I guess we'll just have to tune in Sunday to see who's playing.  I'll tell you this, though.  If Vasher, Tillman, and Harris are all out, it might be a good week to bench the Bears defense in fantasy.

Detroit's got some talent to work with on offense, and mad Mike Martz is pulling the levers.  Roy Williams is a legit top 10 WR in the NFL, and Calvin Johnson is only the best-rated WR prospect in the history of the NFL draft.  (though his status himself is questionable this week.)  Their # 3 and #4 wideouts, Mike Furrey and Shaun MacDonald, are no slouches either.  Throw in a capable gunslinger in Jon Kitna, and this team is built to score.  Good thing their defense is horrific.  (58 points allowed to Philly last week!)  Just what Brian Griese needs to get off to a fast start. 

With the Bears banged up D, I'm predicting a shootout.  It won't exactly be Cincy-Cleveland II, but look for a 34-27 type of day.  With the Bears in front. 

Bear down.

Cubs Magic Number down to 3

No thanks to the Cubs own efforts, their magic number dropped to three after St. Louis beat the Brewers in Milwaukee tonight.  My pessimism?  It's back.  Two straight losses will do that to you.  Actually, it happened before that.  I can tell you exactly when it happened.  Monday night, around 11:00 pm.  Exactly one week after I became a believer.  It was fun while it lasted. 

Not that I think the team will blow it, I'm just not convinced that it's in the bag.  If you talked to me Sunday, after sweeping the Pirates, I was about 98% sure they'd make it.  But then, after the Cardinals rolled over for the Brewers on Monday night, 13-5, a large shadow of doubt crept in.  The Cubs always do poorly in Florida, and the Cardinals were doing a wonderful impression of roadkill.  After Ted Lilly had one bad inning and Dontrelle Willis pulled a game from his heyday out of his ass, my feelings were confirmed.  I mean, Dontrelle's ERA was near 7.00 in the second half.  Seven!  Of course he throws a two-hitter.  The Marlins are tied for the worst record in the NL, yet they've beaten the first-place Cubs now nine in a row, dating back to last season. 

Tonight they were let down by a) Marquis, turning into a pumpkin in time for Halloween, b) a rare letdown by Marmol, and c) lots of men left on base, highlighted by Aramis's five.  What can they do to turn it around?  Well, for starters, don't start Trachsel tomorrow.  Then, make sure Floyd's in the lineup, lefty on the hill or not.  He's just been murdering the ball lately, and the Craig Monroe platoon hasn't exactly done well on the "Monroe" nights.  And with facing lefties four of the last five games, I've missed Floyd. 

And that's about it.  It's not like there are any roster moves to make.  Play with the guys you got.  Then just win the next three and get ready for the postseason.  Till then...

The Rex Grossman Era is Over

Well, that just about does it for Rex Grossman.  I'm done with him.  Dude blows.  Three straight bad-to-worse games to start the 2007 campaign means Sexy Rexy has worn out his welcome.  His pick-six gave me a Super Bowl flashback.  Is he the worst QB in the league?  No, probably not.  Is the offensive ineptitude entirely his fault?  Certainly not.  It's just...he's a mental midget.  There, I said it.  He has the pocket presence of a piece of lint.  He's the anti-Tony Romo.  Mr. Eastern Illinois came out of school the same year as Grossman, undrafted at that, and Romo is light years better than Rex.  Romo gets rushed, and he ...slides out of the way!  He then hits his open receivers.  He uses his brain and makes plays on the run.  I can talk all day about how shitty Rex is but the dude wears me out.  I'm tired.  Very tired.  Let's talk about the rest of the game.

Holy crap was it horrible.  The defense looked pretty great in the first half.  Then they started to fall apart like the Blues Mobile in the second.  Combine injuries to Briggs, Vasher, and Tommie Harris with some spectacular play by TO and the Bears offensive abomination, and you have the recipe for disaster.  I don't know the severity of the Bears injuries, but those are obviously three key guys on that defense.  If those three guys are to miss significant time, this season is DONE.  As it is, the Packers own this division for the foreseeable future.

Other players that stood out:

• Bernard Berrian - I think he dropped about two passes last year, and he's already dropped six in the first three games this season.  Bad. 
• Moose - Still invisible, though it'd help if the Bears had a QB that could actually get him the ball.
• Cedric Benson - Even last week when he racked up a 100 yards, he didn't exactly dominate.  Tonight?  One great run followed by a whole lot of nothing.  He just looks tired out there.  He runs tired.  Oh, and he fumbled again, too.
• O-Line.  They didn't open holes and the pass protection wasn't very good.  A little better than last week perhaps, but that was probably because the Cowboys didn't blitz as much as the Chiefs.  The line has to improve if Rex Lint-man is going to remain in the pocket.
• Charles Tillman - TO was on top of his game, and Peanut was burned.
• Adam Archuleta - He had pick but also got burned a few times.
• Devin Hester - butter fingers tonight.
• Ron Turner - Two touchdowns in three games.  Good Rex or Bad Rex, that's not good.  Where the hell are the fireworks John Clayton promised back in Training Camp?

Any positives?  Eh, not really.  Urlacher had a few sacks.  Whole defensive made plays in the first half.  Greg Olsen looked decent in his debut.  Even Grossman had his moments.  That was supremely frustrating.  Grossman had the scramble for a first down and it seemed to get the offense going.  Nice pass to Desmond Clark leading to a Benson TD.  A nice drive that was but a blip on the radar.  I just don't get it.

The season's not over, obviously, but it's not looking good.  The Cowboys are the class of the NFC now, and the Bears are sinking fast.  I'm guessing they'll drop to 16 or 18 in the power rankings.  Sad.

I have one thing to hang my hat on, and it's a reach but here goes.  Maybe this season will be the opposite of last season.  Start slow, finish strong.  I think they blew their wad last year too early and had little left in the tank at the end.  This year, maybe they can turn this disaster around finish the season strong.  One could hope, at least, right?  Right?

Cubs on Brink of Playoffs

After sweeping the Pirates, the Cubs are 3.5 games ahead of the Brewers with six games to play.  I have to admit, they sucked me back in.  I can tell you exactly when it happened, too.  It happened Monday night, some time around 9:30 pm.  Until that time, I was supremely pessimistic about the Cubs chances.  They just kept blowing winnable games.  But Monday night at 9:30 is when they had an improbable comeback in the bottom of the ninth against the Reds, highlighted by Aramis Ramirez's game-tying triple.  At that point, I felt the Cubbie blue pumping through my veins again.  Now, anything can happen.  Unbelievable.

The Cubs have had many heroes this month. 

• Aramis Ramirez, he of the aforementioned game-tying triple.  Not to mention the 2 HR, six-ribbie day against Pittsburgh on Friday.  And another eight homers on top of that.
• Alfonso Soriano.  12 homers this month, more than a few of which led off games.  Yes, it'd be nice to have a few more of those homers with runners on, but a) he does have 24 RBIs this month from the leadoff spot, and b) it's really nice to get out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning.  Like the '05 Sox, it's great to start a game one run up.
• Derrek Lee.  He's only hitting about .390 this month, with several big homers himself.
• Ted Lilly, the ace.  How many times has he followed up a loss with a big win.
• Carlos Marmol.  Inherited runners scored?  Hardly.  He leads the league in keeping them stranded.
• Mark DeRosa.  How's a 11 for 20 homestand sound?  Including a 5-for-5 with a game-winning hit.
• Jacque Jones.  Great D in center.  Big hits to both start and finish rallies.
• Ryan Theriot.  Hasn't been hitting much but has continued the stellar defense along with taking key walks to start rallies.
• Geovanny Soto.  The rookie is on fire.  Hitting near .400 with 3 homers since being called up.  Oh, and he can throw out baserunners, too.
• Sam Fuld.  Play of the year.
• Carlos Zambrano.  A few big wins.  He gets hot and the Cubs will be tough to beat in the postseason.
• The list goes on...

I'm not going to say the division race is over but it's getting damn close.  Magic Number is 4.  Let's take care of business in Florida.

Go, Cubs! Go!

Bring on Dallas

The Bears welcome the Dallas Cowboys to Soldier Field this Sunday Night for the prime time matchup of the week.  The winner of this game will be crowned the undisputed king of the NFC, at least for the next week or so.  Let's go to the matchups:

Bears Offense vs. Cowboys Defense
Clearly, I'm saving the best for last.  This particular matchup will be like watching dumb & dumber go at it, minus the seersucker suits.  The Cowboys defense has been bad, real bad; while the Bears offense has been flat out horrible.  Watching these two units will hardly be a treat, and the national audience will wonder what all the fuss is about. 

While we're on the subject, let's talk about Rex Grossman for a minute.  It doesn't look good for Sexy Rexy, as even Lovie's undying dedication is waning.  Lovie's saying things like "our passing game has to get better," and "we evaluate the season by quarters," which is a nice way of saying Rex has about two more games to get his butt in gear or he's gone.  Good.  I'm just about done with him, too.  I appreciate the Rex has elevated his play in his "Bad Rex" games from "mind-boggling historically horrific" to merely "awful," but where's all the good games?  I want to see more "up" from my "up and down quarterback." 

Muhsin Muhammad better get in gear, too.  My cousin put it best when he said Moose looks like Fred Sanford out there.  No separation, never open, and bad hands.  He's been so invisible that I was looking for him on my milk carton this morning.  Moving on.

Special Teams
Devin Hester wins this matchup every week, no matter who he plays.  Cowboys new placekicker looks good, though.  No more messing around with the "kicker of the week" strategy which only works in Fantasy.

Cowboys Offense vs. Bears Defense
Now this should be fun to watch.  The Bears defense has completely shut down the running game these first two weeks, and if not for all the offensive ineptitude the unit may have shut out the teams as well.  The defensive line, in particular, has been devastating.  Tommie Harris is back and has been the Defensive Player of the (1/8th) Year.  The Cowboys, on the other hand, have been scoring forty points a week behind Mr. Eastern Illinois Tony Romo.  Marion Barber, TO, Jason Witten...this team is loaded. 

I think the Bears are going to stop them, though.  I think they're going to put a lot of pressure on young Romo and he's going to curl into a fetal position on national TV.  Pepsi will immediately pull the Romo commercials, and we'll never hear from him again.  Grossman will pretend he's playing San Francisco circa 2006 and pick apart the weak Dallas secondary all night.  40 points?  Why stop there.  Bears win 45-10. 

Or maybe we'll just squeak by with a 13-10 nail biter, Grossman will continue to suck and Romo will go back to being his normal self next week.  Either way, Cowboys score only 10 this week as the Bears win.

Bears hang on to beat Chiefs in home opener

I don't know what it was, but the Bears' 20-10 victory over the Chiefs had to be the most nerve-racking ten-point victory ever.  Maybe I've been watching too much of the Cubs lately, but I just kept expecting the Bears to blow it.  And with the way Grossman was playing in the second half, the time just couldn't tick off the clock fast enough.  My impressions...

Defense
Once again, the defense was on top of their game.  Maybe not quite as good as last week, but still a championship-worthy effort.  (How many three-and-outs did they force?)  Larry Johnson was mostly held in check, and Damon Huard was a battered mess by the end of the day.  Tommie Harris and Mark Anderson dominated up front, while the linebackers controlled the middle.  Vasher and Tillman both had spectacular days, as well.  There really isn't much more I can say about the D at this point.

Special Teams
Devin Hester, you are ridiculous.  A punt return for a TD and several other long returns gave the Bears great field position all day.  Not to mention the kickoff he returned for six that was called back.  Gould and fill-in punter Dirk Johnson (great name!) did their jobs, too.

Offense
Cedric Benson looked pretty good.  The Chiefs run defense isn't exactly great, but they aren't bad either.  (18th in the NFL last season.)  So Benson did what he had to do, and he held on to the rock.  That's really about all I can say positive about the offense.

Grossman looked pretty good in the first half and pretty awful in the second half.  I don't know what happened, but he just fell apart.  All in all, he graded a solid D in my book.  That's a B in the first half, F in the second, if you're scoring at home.  He just couldn't hit his receivers and he had two stupid interceptions.  You might say that the first pick was a result of Garrett Wolfe being short, but I don't think the ghost of Wilt Chamberlain could have caught that pass.  The second was just a stupid play, trying to make something out of nothing. (A Grossman staple.) 

Adrian Peterson and pretty much every receiver had bad games, too; every one of them.  If it wasn't Berrian fumbling or loafing on a potential pick (for the second week in a row), it was Moose and Rashied Davis dropping passes.  Then Peterson was missing blocks and handling the ball like a greased pig.  Just a bad day all around.  Without Hester, this game is tied 10-10 and headed for overtime.  Kind of embarrassing for a 12.5 point home favorite.

Next up is Dallas on Sunday Night Football.  I can't wait to hear Michaels and Madden tell me how horrible Rex Grossman is for three and a half hours one week from tonight. 

Bear down, I think.

Bears to put Hard Knocks on Kansas City

The Bears are favored to beat the Chiefs on Sunday by 12, and in my opinion that's pretty generous.  To the Chiefs, that is.  They look horrible this year.  I watched Hard Knocks, the show on HBO that spotlighted the Chiefs in Training Camp, and I've come to the conclusion that Herm Edwards is a bit of a flake.  I mean, you might have watched those episodes and say, "nah, he's just havin fun."  But how many NFL coaches can you say that about?  Last I checked, Jerry Glanville was retired.  Most coaches are like Bill Belichick.  They might crack a smile when they win the Super Bowl, but that'll be the first one since the latest shipment of surveillance equipment came in.  Shazam!

As for the Bears, they've been all over the news this week.  First of all, as expected, Mike Brown and Dusty Dvoracek are out for the year.  I'd like to say that those are huge losses because the team is clearly better with those players on the field.  But then I think back to last season when they made the Super Bowl with both players in street clothes.  Sorry, but it's not the end of the world (though I do feel horrible for Mike Brown -- Dvoracek, too.)  In any case, Danieal Manning and Darwin Walker are fine backups and ready to take their place.  So long as they stay healthy the Bears will be fine.

I thought the Chargers game was last week but several Chargers have insisted upon trashing the Bears after the fact.  First, Ron Rivera supposedly called Grossman a "mental midget", or at least that's how Matt Willhelm quoted Chico.  Then Shaun Phillips had similar damning remarks about Benson.  Both of those Chargers are idiots.  Let's take the Bears, one at a time.

1. Grossman - "hit him hard and you'll rattle him."  I don't think so.  He was hit as hard as any Quarterback on the second play Sunday and he hardly looked rattled at all.  He didn't look good, but he didn't have that deer-in-the-headlights look that he specialized in several times last season.  I don't remember him taking any big hits last season, either.  When he crapped himself, it was usually unrelated to what the defense was doing.  He was off in his own world.  Anyways, on Sunday, after the hit, he simply stood in the pocket and delivered the ball.  No dumb plays.  Really, he was quite average overall on the day.  He did nothing special, but he did nothing really wrong either.  And that was after getting pounded.
2. Benson - "he's soft, hit him hard and he'll fumble."  Benson may not have the most stable personality, and he also may be a bit aloof from his teammates, but he is most definitely not soft.  He delivers hits, he doesn't take them.  Yes, he fumbled on Sunday, but that was only his 3rd fumble in the last 20 games.  He's not exactly fumble prone.  Benson just bowls people over.  Safeties rue the day he faces them one on one.  At least that's how he played last year.  The jury's still out on this season.  100 yards and a TD this Sunday will go a long way towards calming Bears fans.

And that's that.  Bears win 24-6.  Bear down.

Story of the 2007 Cubs: Never feel safe

The Cubs beat Houston comfortably tonight, but I was still on the edge of my seat the entire time.  I was just waiting for the team to screw it up.  It seems that with every game lately comes a spectacular collapse.  It's crazy.  A walk-off triple?  Come on.  You'd think that I'd be used to it after 32 years, but I'm not. 

It all came to a head last night, when Dempster put the tying run on 3rd before a miraculous double play saved him.  Amazing play!  But was I relieved?  Hell no.  It was a stay of execution.  I just figured they'd blow the rubber game today.  And when Luke Scott hit a shot to the wall to lead off the ninth tonight, I figured "here we go again!"  But miraculously, Jacque Jones jumped up, robbed him and the Cubs held on to that tight 6-2 lead.  (Believe me, no lead is safe for this team so long as Dempster is lacing them up.) 

I will say that Carlos Marmol on the hill at the end tonight quelled my worries somewhat.  That dude is flat-out awesome.  He's the only Cub that's really having a great year.  Everyone else ranges from "he's having a down year" to "he's having a decent year."  I couldn't imagine where the Cubs would be without Marmol.  I'm guessing worse than the Cards.

So now what?  Are they going to blow this four game series against the Cardinals to drag them back into the race?  Or will they meander along, win some, lose some before an epic collapse in the last week?  Or, and here's the best one:  They force a one-game playoff with the Brewers, scrape together a win behind Steve Trachsel, then get swept out of the first round by the Mets.  You know, 1998 style.  There's just so many ways for this team to lose. 

It's great to be a Cubs fan.  It's that sense of impending doom that can't be beat. 

No Offense: Bears lose to San Diego

The Bears lost the 2007 season opener to San Diego today, 14-3.  It was a very disappointing game, but I still think the team is in good shape for the rest of the year.  This will not be a repeat of 2002.

The Good

The Defense was awesome, top to bottom.  LDT was virtually shut out, yardage-wise.  I think every single starter and the top several reserves each made at least one big play.  Either a forced turnover, a sack, a tackle for a loss, or a big stop on 3rd down.  Everyone, and I mean everyone, was great.  It was so nice to see Tommie Harris and Mike Brown back; what a huge difference they make.  Of course, Brown got hurt again.  His "sprained knee" (which occurred on an illegal block that didn't get called) is likely a blown ACL or MCL.  Possibly both.  That's just the way it is with Mike Brown these days.  Can't count on him for anything.  Oh well, his primary backup, Brandon McGowan, looked good (when he wasn't letting punts hit him in the back, that is.)  Let's see how he does as a starter.

The Bad

I thought Grossman was OK, considering what he had to work with.  (I'd give him a C-.)  He only turned the ball over once, and even that was debatable as it appeared Berrian was loafing on the play.  It was really the playcalling that sucked.  Second and two: run up the middle, no gain.  Third and two: run up the middle, gain of one.  Fourth and one, run up the middle, no gain.  That sequence was a horrible microcosm of the entire game. 

The Ugly

Four turnovers.  You can't win on the road with four turnovers, period.  If that punt doesn't hit McGowan in the back, it's a different game.  Peterson doesn't fumble, it's a different game.  They very well may have won 3-0 without those two plays.  The running game and pass blocking was horrible.  Grossman got blind-sided and buried in the turf twice and it was a miracle he held on to the ball both times.  Benson couldn't run for shit, but then again it's not like he had gaping holes to run through.  He was mostly stuffed behind the line, with three guys on top of him.  Just a horrible day all around from the offense. 

So the Bears now sit alone in last place, as every other NFC North team won today.  Worst division in football, eh?  Despite the loss, I still think the division is Chicago's to lose and 12-4 is still a reasonable possibility.  Let's right the ship and beat the crap out of Kansas City next Sunday to get back on track.

Bear Season is Upon Us

The Bears open their 2007 Championship Season this Sunday with the toughest game on their schedule: the San Diego Super-Chargers.  I'm not going to lie to you, this game worries me.  San Diego is a tough, tough opponent.  On offense, they've got the best runningback in football: the one and only LaDainian Tomlinson.  'Nuff said.  On Defense, they've got Shawne "would have been Defensive Player of the Year if he hadn't roided up" Merriman anchoring the unit.  No team in football has a Top 2 better than that.  Had Marty Schottenheimer not crapped the bed in the playoffs last January, they may well have matched up with the Bears in the Super Bowl. 

After that meltdown, Schotsie was replaced by Norv Turner.  I'm sorry, but is this supposed to be an upgrade?  Norv, like his brother Ron, has proven to be pretty good at leading an offense but his head coaching experience leaves a lot to be desired.  (Take a look at his career record.)  Oh, and aside from the Brothers Turner, the Chargers have another Bears connection:  Ron Rivera.  The Bears former defensive coordinator is now the LB coach for the Bolts.  This really is what scares me about San Diego.  He knows the Bears defense up and down.  Strengths, weaknesses, all.  He could pull a Gruden and use this leverage to put his team on top.  I'm telling you, this ain't good.  But enough about the Chargers dominance, lets talk about the Bears. 

As outlined in my preseason preview, the Bears really only have three concerns:  Grossman, Benson, and Team Health.  They stay healthy, and I think the rest will take care of itself.   I actually think Grossman is going to have a big year.  And if he doesn't?  I say Lovie Smith pulls him in favor of Brian Griese.  Lovie's not stupid, and he knows the window of opportunity in the NFL is small.  He's not going to put his job on the shoulder of an erratic, fumble-prone passer in the last year of his contract.  So I'm not worried about the QB situation at all. 

Benson, on the other hand, concerns me.  I can see Benson's season going one of three ways:

1. Monster year:  1700 yards, 12 TDs.  At a minimum.  Think Larry Johnson.
2. Very mediocre year:  1000 yards, 6 TDs, 3.5 ypc.  Call it the James Allen special.
3. Blown knee:  < 500 yards, 1 TD.  Call it the Enis.

The Bears can win with 1 or 2.  He gets hurt, and things will be pretty dire in the backfield.  I like Peterson and Wolfe, but I don't think either is capable of being the featured back for more than a handful of games.  I think we might really come to miss Thomas Jones.

The rest of the team is in pretty good shape, though.  The defense, especially, should be markedly improved over what we saw last February.  Tommie Harris and Mike Brown are healthy while Tank Johnson and Ian Scott have been replaced by Darwin Walker and Dusty Dvoracek.  Call me crazy but I think that's an upgrade.  Dvoracek has looked like an animal this preseason, and Walker has the 5th most sacks of any Tackle in football over the past six years.  This is what most of the national media is missing when discussing the Bears.  They talk about the defense being downgraded with the loss of Tank without mentioning the new guys coming in.  News flash, the new guys are good.  And I didn't even mention Archuleta.

And that's about it.  I'll be extremely optimistic and say Bears win Sunday by a score of 21-17 while they finish the season with a 12-4 record.

Bear Down.  Make this season matter.

PS.  I guess we now know what would have happened in the Super Bowl had the Saints beaten the Bears last January.  Man, the Saints made the Bears look good.

Steve Trachsel. Yuck.

That was my reaction when the Cubs traded for Steve Trachsel on Friday.  I have so many memories of Trachsel, some good, some bad.  Actually, the bad mostly outweigh the good.  I hated Steve Trachsel.  It wasn't so much that he was bad, he was just an every-other-year pitcher.  Kind of like the poor man's Bret Saberhagen.  He had a pretty impressive rookie year with 9 wins and a 3.21 ERA.  He followed that up with 13 losses and a 5.15 stink bomb.  Then, he rebounded with a 13-9, 3.03.  He figured it out, right?  Nope, 8-12, 4.51.  In 1998, he was back up to a 15-8 record.  In '99, he lost 18 games with a 5.51 ERA.  The thing is, if he was some flash in the pan, he wouldn't have had four good seasons.  He'd have one good season and go away.  He wouldn't still be pitching in the majors 14 years after his debut.  The 36-year-old Trachsel was so maddening because he'd look good to great one year and horrendous the next.  He was so maddening because he made annual appearances on the "home runs given up" leader board, even leading the league one time in 1997.  He was also maddening because he was slower than molasses.  I remember one time he faced Greg Maddux, and SportsCenter showed Maddux retire the side in about 40 seconds.  Then they showed Trachsel the following inning with a runner on first.  Stomping around the mound, tossing to first, stomping around some more.  55 seconds between pitches.  They played the Gilligan's Island theme song.  He was just terminally boring, even when he made outs. 

I do have one good memory of Trachsel.  The 1998 one-game playoff game versus the Giants.  With the ghost of Harry Caray looming over Wrigley, he took the ball and won the game that sent the Cubs to the playoffs.  That was a great day.

That 1998 team is sort of like the 2007 team.  Not very good, but thanks to weak competition they have been able to stay in contention all year.  Let me be clear on this.  I don't think the Cubs are all that great this season; they're just taking advantage of a weak division.  And as the Cardinals proved last season, all you have to do is get there and you might steal a championship.  Anyways, back to Trachsel.

My first reaction to the trade was indeed "yuck."  It's not that he cost the team a lot, only career minor-leaguer Scott Moore and "decent middle relief prospect with a great name" Rocky Cherry.  It's just that I hate watching him pitch.  I hate watching him scowl after giving up homers.  I hate the inconsistency.

But after a little thought, this trade ain't so bad.  The Cubs are in the middle of a stretch where they have 24 games in 23 days.  They could use a 6th starter for not only that extra game but maybe to give some of the younger guys an extra day of rest down the stretch.  And if anyone gets hurt, Steve Trachsel is a far safer bet to start than someone like, say, Sean Gallagher.  And besides, Trachsel's been pitching like its an "even" year lately by pitching well in his last six starts.  Hell, one more blowup and maybe Steve will replace Marquis in the rotation. 

So, all in all, a good move by the Cubs.