AZ54

Having traveled over to Europe several times I don't think this was a big deal at all because the game was at the same time as the Bears are used to playing. Yes they had a long flight but with two days to get over it that's not an issue. their body clocks are used to playing at 12am Chicago time and that's when they played.

He's in. Nobody has ever done what he's done in the way he's done it. TD returns is one thing but how many other huge returns does he have? I can't see how receiving hurts him at all. He's proven he's not just a one-trick returner. It's an additional skill and he's good at, not great but good. Lovie did him more damage by talking so much about him being a #1 WR. If he'd set expectations for him to be a KR/PR/#3WR this would never have been an issue. Flip it around and ask the question: How many teams would want Hester as their #3 WR right now?

I'd take him back as the backup C on our roster. Cut Omiyale. Spencer is playing fine at OG, keep him as the third OG. Louis has already proven he's solid as a backup OT. Edwin Williams rounds out the group as emergency body. Would Kreutz accept this role, I doubt it but maybe. He'd be back on his team in his town where he is still highly respected. I wouldn't mind having his voice in the locker room again. Kreutz has enough class and respect for his old friend to defer to Garza leading the line but would still speak up to provide some guidance and leadership.

What a bunch of crap this whole non-story is. Once again I'll put myself into the non-politically correct camp and state that I'm happy about this. What I see is an offense where the leader wants to drop back and pass the ball to score points even when he's been the most sacked QB in the league. If that isn't showing your Oline and the rest of the offense that you have confidence in them and you want to win then I don't know what is. All of the comments I've seen from Cutler's teammates indicate no discord over this issue whatsoever. I'm also amazed how everyone is talking about Martz making the conservative play call. Yeah right, Martz suddenly turned into Marty Shottenheimer. We all know it was Lovie who told Martz make sure we get a FG out of this once they got within striking distance.

A lot is being made of the "new" max-protect scheme but Martz has used it before and the blockers still failed. We even used it some in last years debacle against the Giants. We've used it at times earlier this season too and had some success with it. The problem in the past has been that players didn't know who to block, or in the case of Omiyale, weren't capable of blocking. I think most people haven't realized Spaeth had a calf injury and I'm not sure when if it happened during the Packers game but he was inactive for game 4 against Carolina. He was back for Detroit but still on the injury report and I'm not sure he was fully healed. Judging by how well he man-handled Jared Allen on Hester's TD pass I'd say he's back to full strength. My point is that losing him, along with Louis, Carimi, had a cumulative effect. Now we see one game with two of the three back and there's improvement. I'm not discounting the fact the changes in play calling helped, they did. But improved run blocking and pass protection is also due to Louis and Spaeth returning from injury and keeping OmidoIhavetoblockhim off the field. Had we not gone up against Suh in Week 5 I suspect we'd have gone with Spencer and his broken hand at RG with Louis at RT. In hindsight after seeing the improvement once Omiyale went to the bench that's what we should have done for the entire Detroit game.

Unfortunately for Harris it seems the entire league watched his MNF performance. He remains a Bear.

Back in the day an NFL player would have finished this on his own and nobody would have thought twice about it. Of course there are still some of those guys in the league. Can you imagine someone doing this to Kreutz?

Not talked about on this board at all is how Paea blew up Adrian Peterson on his sack of McNabb in the endzone. I saw it during the in=game reply and laughed. Paea doesn't even slow down or change direction and Peterson looks as if he doesn't know what hit him. Video is at this link: http://www.chicagobears.com/multimedia/BearDownoftheWeek.asp There were many good things to come out of the Vikings game, especially the work Hester did. However, finally seeing our 2nd rd pick contribute in this way gives me more hope for the rest of the season.

Maybe not, in watching highlights of some of those big plays we gave up against Detroit Harris is woefully out of position. Take away the long pass to Johnson it's the run support that was the most concerning, at least to me.

Is that all you got? I'm having a good laugh remembering the days of Ditka and Harbaugh.

Cut in mid-season is not a good sign at all. Can't see how that indicates he'd help us.

Perhaps one day I will no longer be the sole member of the Lance Louis fan club. Once again, this kid steps in at RT and plays a solid game in both pass protection and run blocking. Same with Williams. Webb is the weak link in pass protection.

After what we saw Monday night this is fine by me. I don't expect any improvement in performance but at least the message is the right one.

I find it hard to believe there isn't someone else on the planet not already signed to play in the NFL who could escort someone to Jay Cutler as effectively as Omiyale does for a lot less money. Omiyale was never good but he's only gotten worse this year, and right now he's worthless. No run blocking and he's only capable of pass protecting on 1-step drops.

I fail to see how signing a practice squad player or fringe 53 roster player impacts Forte's contract negotiations.

Not crazy at all, we're built to run the ball. Add in Carimi who is an excellent run blocker, and Louis apparently already has more pancakes than any other Oline on the roster. On top of that we have two solid run blocking TEs in Spaeth and Davis.

Usually a coach works to eliminate mistakes. With OmidoIhavetoblockhim we have to eliminate consecutive mistakes so we have a shot at a first down each series of downs. Big game for Lance Louis. I've quietly grown into fan of his as he has worked his way up the roster in a blue-collar fashion. I see him getting better each week. Now I want to see him mano-a-mano against Suh.

He's quietly becoming the type of hard-nosed player Bears fans love. We just haven't given him any respect so far.

I don't believe the hype on Detroit at all, but I don't know which Bears offense or defense is going to show up either.

Wright is not a FS, takes bad angles. Steltz proved he's a safety of last resort. Conte is still learning the game but actually looks like our future backup FS. I think if anything the injuries have proven the need for Chris Harris to stick around a few more years.

First and foremost I'm giving props to the Oline. Especially to the constantly berated Chris Williams and Lance Louis. Toss in Webb too. Forte is running great and breaking tackles but he had some huge holes to run through today. Carolina is not that good in run defense but regardless we did what you should do against a weakness, we exploited and kept on exploiting it even when they knew it was coming at them. I'll go out and say that the improvement in running game is in part due to Louis returning. We all know it wasn't Omiyale. Louis stepped outside and played RT too after Omiyale got burned routinely. If Forte can get outside before Suh can get upfield we'll run well against Detroit too. Cutler...I was impressed with him the first game or two but after all the hits he's got happy feet and he's rushing his release. It will take some time to get his confidence back and I think that will happen when Earl Bennett returns. Knox and Hester are ok WRs but they are just complimentary types who cannot go up and get the ball when they are covered. Who else is he throwing to? RoyW, UDFA Sanzenbacher, Hurd? We need that player...Cutler needs that player. I'd say something about our defense but I didn't see any.

I didn't see Bell either. After how he blocked nothing but air in New Orleans and given how the rest of the pass protection has been that was probably a good decision. Amobi Okoye on run defense was constantly getting washed out of his lane, and taking LBs out of the play too. Almost every run, and certainly the big gains up the middle, was right through his gap. There was a huge difference when Big Toe was in the game. Paea has a slot in the rotation waiting for him when he gets healthy. No run blocking. Am I really ready to say I'd like to see Lance Louis back? Or were we missing Carimi? Definitely a dropoff from Carimi's run blocking to OmiwasIsupposedtoblockhim. How are our guys missing assignments on our home field? Can't blame a hostile crowd for that, although I did hear some boos out there. Jay Cutler hit his hot reads, and started doing it early...kudos. Now if he can get back to being comfortable in the pocket so his passes are more accurate I'll be even happier. Kellen Davis...in one play I can say I never saw Greg Olsen run like that in the open field. We need to start using him more (and he needs to start catching the ball). Craig Steltz...Chris Harris will be thanking you when he signs his contract extension. Brandon Meriweather might have had the first pass defensed by a Bears FS in years. More please. Officiating...pass interference is a penalty.

I don't think our Oline is as bad as some make it out to be. They aren't great but they can pass protect decently this year. When Kellen Davis completely misses his block it's not an Oline issue. When Bell completely misses his block it's not an Oline issue. When the D blitzes more than we have blockers for and Cutler completely ignores his hot read it's not an Oline issue. That last line right there is why the Saints were so comfortable bringing 6 guys in the 4th quarter. Jay seemed to go back into his.."l'll get it all back right here on this play" and just kept looking for the deeper routes to open up. This is the NFL and you have to take what the defense gives you. Getting sacked while Matt Forte stares at you all alone from the same spot that blizting LB occupied means you don't read what's happening. Ignoring a wide open Kellen Davis as he turns immediately toward Cutler on a hot route while watching the blitzing safety go after Cutler means he's not reading things. I'm not saying our Oline is great but there are more pieces to this puzzle than just better pass protection. Martz calling more run plays is part of it. Cutler hitting his hot reads is part of it too. Last year in game 3 Cutler made this adjustment and it led to a victory against Dallas. Will the same thing happen in game 3 this year?

Great leadership on the part of Peppers. These guys will be playing as a unified team when they return. http://www.suntimes.com/sports/football/be...ers-mother.html Source: Majority of Bears defense to attend funeral for Brian Urlacher’s mother NEIL HAYES September 17, 2011 11:52AM Reprints 9 Updated: September 17, 2011 11:56AM Virtually every member of the Bears defense will travel to Lovington, N.M., today to attend funeral services for Brian Urlacher’s mother, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. The Bears linebacker missed several days of practice this week after his mother, Lavoyda Lenard, died unexpectedly on Monday. Team chairman George McCaskey, president Ted Phillips, general manager Jerry Angelo, coach Lovie Smith and linebackers’ coach Bob Babich are among the contingent planning to attend the funeral services. But the Sun-Times has learned that many other defensive players also plan to attend. According to the source, defensive end Julius Peppers has rented a private plane to take him and many of his teammates to the services before returning to New Orleans, where the Saints host the Bears on Sunday.

Brees can make you pay for taking risks but only if he has the time to make it happen. If we're getting to Brees early and often then he won't have much time for misdirection plays.