Final Thoughts on Chicago Sports

Bears Upset Steelers

The Bears beat the Steelers today 17-14 on a game-winning kick by Robbie Gould.  I was checking out twitter after the game, and Steelers fans are taking it none too well.  First off, everyone pretty much agrees that the Bears suck, and its pathetic to lose to them.  Second, they mostly pinned the blame solely on kicker Jeff Reed, because otherwise they "dominated" today.  I don't really know about that.  I mean, yeah, Reed missed two makeable kicks, and at times the Steelers looked strong.  But really the final stats for both teams weren't all that different.  Time of possession was even, Pittsburgh had 4 more first downs and 30 more yards.  They did have significantly more rushing yards, but the Bears passed more.  Bears won the critical turnover battle as well, two to zip.  It's hard to win when you lose the turnover battle, look at the Bears last week.  Sure, on a neutral field the Steelers are favored by seven...but the Bears aren't exactly the Lions here.

Anyways, enough overanalyzing the defending Super Bowl champs' fans.  Lets talk about the Bears.

• Cutler was very solid today, and he made some throws that only a handful of guys in this league could have made.  He was in control, and professional.  I also liked how he handled the elements.  When the heavy rains hit, Pittsburgh pretty much stopped throwing downfield.  Not our Jay.  Strong work.
• Johnny Knox was pretty great, as were Greg Olsen and Kellen Davis.  Hester and Bennett were afterthoughts in the offense, and while you'd like to see more from your starting wideouts, I'm cool with what I saw.  Even without Polamalu, the Steelers defense is among the best in football, and they were concentrating on shutting down Hester.  Perfect time for rookie Knox to step up and make plays.  Is he our clear-cut #3 at this point?  He's gotta be.  He might even be our #2.  Or #1.  Only time will tell.
• I don't know what's wrong with Forte, maybe it was just the defense he was facing.  All I know is, Cedric Benson ran for 140 yards today against Green Bay, after Forte barely mustered 50.  And today he was completely worthless in the running game (though he did make a few catches out of the backfield.)   Perry's calling it early:  Sophomore Slump.  I'm going to give him another week before I go that far.  Like I said, Steeler's D rocks.
• Alex Brown was a motivated man, today.  Motivated to get to the quarterback so he could showat off his new Gator chop.  I gotta ask -- why now?  Did you just remember that you went to Florida?  I don't recall him ever doing that before this year.  Perhaps the recent dominance of his alma mater has got him feeling frisky.  In any case, he got hurt late and was unable to finish the game.  Let's hope his news is better than Urlacher's.
• The rest of the defense was pretty shaky.  Mendenhall had his best day as a Pro, and only a slippery ball kept Roethlisberger's targets from making plays. 
• I thought Hillenmeyer started out rather shaky, as Pittsburgh was going right at him and making plays downfield.  He ended up getting the job done and was a solid if unspectacular replacement for Urlacher.
• As for the other new starters...eh.  Bowman didn't get beaten as bad as Vasher, but he did give up some plays on his side of the field.  Manning looked a little shaky as well, though no more or less than Payne last week.  Roach was his usual invisible self.

Good day for the Bears.  Really, my only concerns at this point are Forte and team health.  This team stays healthy, they should be in the mix at the end of the year.  And that's about it.

 Bear down.

Bears Lose Opener; Somehow Still in Playoff Race

The Bears lost an ugly game to the Packers.  Let's quickly summarize.

• Cutler was awful in the first half.  3 picks, could have been 5.  Grossman all over again.  Jake DelCutler.  I felt like throwing up.
• Cutler looked like a new man in the second half.  A few great drives, some beautiful throws.  Great pocket presence.  Bad pick at the end, though, and even then one might attribute it to Johnny Knox.  One of the 1st half picks could have been blamed on the crappy play of the WRs as well. 
• Earl Bennet and Devin Hester both looked pretty good, but neither is the next Brandon Marshall (2008 football field version).  I'm reallly wishing Jerry could have gotten that Boldin deal done.
• The running game was OK.  Forte had some decent runs, but he was stuffed a lot as well.  He only came out for one drive, and the backups did little.
• Except for one play, the defense was great.  Ogunleye just abused Barbre.  Clifton was beaten like a drum.  The Safeties made big hits.  And other than the one play, the D practically pitched a shutout.  The first 3 points were scored off starting at the Bears 35, the first TD was a result of one of the picks putting the Packers at the Bears one yard line.  And the next field goal was a result of Mannelly's gallactically stupid snap.  Really, even without Urlacher and Tinoisamoa, the defense shut down the supposed mighty Packers offense all night.
• But oh, that one play...man was Vasher caught with his pants down.  That's about as bad as you can get beaten in the pro game.  I think Zack Bowman or Corey Graham should start at CB next week.  Vasher may have always been a little overrated, but now he is a shell of his former self.
• Injuries.  Lots of guys hurt in this one.  Urlacher has a dislocated wrist, Tinoisamoa has a sprained knee, Desmond Clark was wheeled out on a stretcher. Omiyale was tossed around like a rag doll.  Hopefully Urlacher will be back soon, said Captain Obvious.
• I thought the coaching was uneven.  In the first half, they looked completely out of sorts.  They seemingly forgot Forte for about 20 plays.  But in the 2nd, they nicely mixed it up.  Lovie made some odd challenges.  On the flipside, I can't complain about the playcalling on D at all.  Like I said, they practically pitched a shutout.  And Ron Turner made some good adjustments at halftime. 

I'm not down on the season, and I'm certainly not down on the Cutler trade.  The Bears held their own, on the road, against a tough division opponent.  Some of you, namely Perry, might start calling this Rick Mirer all over again.  No way.  Mirer wasn't even remotely good in Seattle.  If Vasher wasn't ripped apart, the Bears probably win this one.  If Cutler and his receivers don't run around with their head up their ass the whole first half, they win this one easily.  Really, the Bears lost because they lost the turnover battle, plain and simple.  One fairly bad game by Cutler does not a bad trade make.  I tell you what, though.  The whole town of Denver's gotta love it.

2009 Bears: Who should stay and who should go

The Backup Bears beat the Backup Browns tonight in the season finale.  Jay Cutler played one series and didn't even attempt a pass.  I so wish I had spent $75 on a ticket to THAT game!

Anyways, it's cutdown time for the Bears.  Lets look at the closest races:

WR - Hester and Bennett are the only true locks on the team.  Of the remaining WRs, Juaquin Iglesias, Rashied Davis, Devin Aromashodu, Johnny Knox, Brandon Rideau are five guys gunning for (presumably) four spots.  As a third rounder, you would think Juaquin Iglesias is a lock, but he just didn't perform at all this summer so cutting him is not out of the question.  Davis is great on special teams, and solid if with a low ceiling at WR.  Aromashodu and Rideau are veterans of the practice squad who have repeatedly shined all camp.  Knox is a fifth rounder who put on a show tonight and absolutely should not be cut.  If the world were fair, Iglesias would get the heave, but I'm guessing Davis or Rideau get bumped. 

RB - With Kevin Jones carted off tonight, Adrian Peterson has got a new life on the Chicago Bears.  That said, I'm not at all wild about Wolfe and Peterson backing up Forte, but it looks like that will be the reality for at least a few weeks.  Jerry should start scouring the waiver wire.

TE - 2nd year man Kellen Davis or Michael Gaines?  Davis, like his namesake Rashied, is also a stud on special teams but with more athleticism than Gaines.  Gaines is a former high pick of the Lions who's a decent big body but probably out because the Bears are so loaded at the position.

OL - The starters are entrenched, and I gotta say Chris Williams has been great.  By 2010 he moves to the left, and he's a fixture for the next 8 years.  I think Beekman, Shaffer, and either Beunning or Balogh take the last spot. (or both if they keep 9 on the line).

LB - Bears are loaded, with Urlacher, Briggs, and Tinoisamoa the starters; and Hillenmeyer, Roach, Jamar Williams, Marcus Freeman (draft pick), and ST ace McClover vying for three, maybe four spots.  I also really like Rutgers' Kevin Malast.  He looks young and hungry, and I wouldn't be shocked to see him starting somewhere by 2010.  I bet they keep 7 with veteran Hillenmeyer and Malast getting waived.  I like Hunter, and he's probably better than half the guys they'd be keeping.  The other guys are younger though with a smidge more upside, though.  (And I personally would go with Malast over McClover, but they didn't just bring in the latter to waive him).

DL - Lots of decent guys here.  They've got six DTs and six DEs on the roster, and at least four of those guys must go (with some guy named Joe Clermond being the most obvious cut).  Out of the other 11 guys, Jarron Gilbert has done the least, but I can't imagine the Bears would cut their first pick of 2009 (though in the 3rd round.)  Another high pick, Henry Melton, will probably be put on IR and given a redshirt year (a plan I suggest for Iglesias, I might add).  Baldwin and Toeaina will probably be the other cuts, though both have shown flashes at times.

CB - Zach Bowman tweaked his hammy tonight and I don't feel good about him at all.  He supposedly had first round talent, but his college career was littered with injuries so he fell to the fifth and he was limited to only one (albeit memorable) game last year.  This year looks like its already more of the same.  Play one, miss four.  Its a shame, because he looks really good when he plays.  Tillman (their best CB) can't seem to get on the field either, though, leaving some serious question marks.  Vasher HAS to make the team, though I suspect if Tillman/Bowman were fully healthy that wouldn't be nearly so much of a lock.  I guess Hood makes the team, too, with Graham, Moore, and McBride.  (the latter of whom will be cut whenever Tillman/Bowman get back.)

S - Manning, Payne, and Alfalava are locks.  Both Steltz and Bullocks will probably make the team, too, if for no other reason than there's nobody else.  Jerry needs to hit up the waiver wire for safeties, too.

And that's that.  I'm so glad the regular season is upon us.  Only 10 more days. 

BEAR DOWN