AZ54

Smart moves. Locking up Toeaina means goodbye to Tommie Harris. That's hard to believe but it's just the Bears keeping some base players in the Dline rotation. I've been adamant we need to draft Oline first this spring but more and more I'm thinking our first pick will be DT if a good 3-technique falls to us. However, my preference is to go get Haynesworth. He'd work great in our system and I think he'd be just fine working alongside Peppers and Urlacher. There is no way Washington goes through that circus act again. It's a gamble but the reward is that he could immediately put us at the top of the league in defense. If he fails you have what you have today with Melton, Toeaina, Adams, Harrison. The question is what pick would we have to give up. I can't see Haynesworth garnering a first day pick anymore.

Who here thought we'd only be averaging 26 pass attempts per game with Martz calling the plays?

When Brady throws away from Revis he's smart. He's really smart when his third WR gets over 100 yards in a game because he is taking what the defense gave him. There are few in the media who's opinion I value. Most of these guys are just looking at a stat sheet and writing something to beat their deadline. Most live on the east coast, or west coast. What matters is that our offense has put up over 30 pts in back-to-back games against two good defenses. The D is struggling right now but if I had to choose which side of the ball corrects itself for the playoffs I'd take the defense to get back on track. Til then, I'm happy with the progress the offense has made. We never saw 30+ pts in the first half of the season so clearly something has changed, and we had an easier schedule then too. No matter how you slice it you have to be a good team to win 11 games in this league.

I've been saying that slowly but surely we're seeing the Oline transition to solid play. This week again shows a continuation of the trend. I know it's not all perfect but running and passing two weeks in a row against solid defenses is an excellent result. Not only that but what did you hear from Jared Allen last week? What about handling all the Jets blitzes? Two different styles to game plan for and both handled with good results. On one of those long TD passes the Jets rushed 6 and still nobody got close to Cutler! One other thing to note: Our receivers are maturing in their route running. This is the first game I've seen Cutler effectively throw back shoulder passes (deep ones at that) and the WR adjusted to the ball. Hester also made a great adjustment and came back on the ball on a deep pass near the goal line but couldn't hang on. Knox also made a great move to slow down and hold up the DB (I think it was Cromartie) just enough before he pulled forward and reached out for the TD. Mike Martz: Somewhere in the second quarter he decided we weren't going to be effective keeping everything inside so he spread the field with 5 wides and it totally changed things. Pulling Forte out on routes instead of keeping him on pass protection worked perfectly. Defense: Did they watch any film of the Jets at all? Can't recall ever seeing them so clueless about what was coming their way. Tommie Harris is done. I know he burst up the middle on one play but all he does at the snap is stand up and shuffle around aimlessly. The best thing he can do is give Toeaina and Melton, Harrison and/or Adams some rest. Clearly the Bears are already thinking about the playoffs. Wootton is getting a lot more snaps while Peppers gets less. They clearly want Peppers well rested for the playoffs and hopefully Wootton to improve so he can be more effective. Saw the same concept with Pisa as they worked him back with a few reps. Can't understand the cover 2 letting guys have free reign right off the line, all game long. It's one thing if your LBs are covering those quick slants but when they are up in the gaps on the Dline it's nothing but a huge hole and easy throw for any QB.

Having one of the best QBs of all time helps the Pats a ton and covers up a lot of other issues like the often poor defense this season. That front office was so smart they let Brady fall all the way to the 199th pick before selecting him. I'm not saying they are bad because they do a great job year after year of garnering several high picks and within those picks they succeed with the law of averages. That they are able to generate those extra picks year after year is pretty amazing. However, Brady changes everything. The Colts have been almost as successful with Manning too so clearly there's a significant amount of success centered around the QB position.

He made one catch that was really tough right on the sideline. Nice play gained a first down IIRC.

He has data and he is right. We have witnessed to two great feats in our team's history this year. Urlacher setting the team record for tackles and now Hester setting the NFL record in returns. Enjoy it.

I thought the penalty on Kreutz was pretty bad call. Didn't see him grab and pull anything, just a big ole' DT getting off balance and falling down as Kreutz pulled away from him. I don't understand you guys berating the Oline for not attacking the strength of their defense (their DTs) and running off tackle. To me that's good coaching and good execution by the players. No team is perfect and you have to play to your strengths and away from your opponents strengths. I recall the uproar when Turner ran Garrett Wolfe right up the middle of the Vikings defense years ago. There is a reason the Vikings are the 6th ranked defense in yards per game. By the way Green Bay is ranked #1 in points per game defense. Even Detroit is ranked around 20th in pts and yards per game. Point is there are no pushover defenses in our division and 3 of the top ten defenses (including Da Bears) are in our division so there are no pushover games for our offense in this division. All in all the offense has come around nicely. I don't think anyone feels they are a real threat like the Eagles are (I don't) but at this point you have to start respecting that we can do some things effectively on offense and each week it gets better, with the exception of the New England game. From an offense that was disastrous just 8 weeks ago this is a remarkable turnaround. You could just as easily see a team fall apart when you put together a few bad games like that. I give the entire coaching staff kudos for keeping the guys working together through all the challenges. The arrow is pointing up for this offense and I think that will show up against the Jets blitzing schemes. Watch for Bennett and Olsen to have a big day next week on hot reads.

I can't say what expectations others had for this team but mine were pretty average. Given the talent level we had to start the year especially at Oline and running a new offense I never thought we'd get to 9-3, now 9-4. I figured to get that many wins so quickly we'd need Tommie Harris to return to his Pro Bowl form, instead he's the backup DT and nobody outside of Bears fans can name any of our other Dlinemen except Peppers. I thought at the beginning of the season we were a 9 win team, 10 wins max if all went as well as possible. Of course I could still be right but I think we'll finish with 11 wins. I was as upset at the effort against the Patriots as everyone else but overall to this point the team has exceeded my expectations. Despite that disappointing loss I think this has been the best year of coaching we've seen from Lovie and his staff because they are getting more out of players like Webb, Toeaina, Melton, DJ Moore, Jennings, and they've somehow made a safety team of DManning and Chris Harris play well for the most part. Consider a few teams said to have better talent than the Bears: Vikings, Packers, Colts, we're holding our own. I don't care about the injuries to the Packers we beat them early in the year. Besides, how many starting combinations have we had on our Oline? QB concussed? Yeah, we had that.

Perhaps but I can remember the last time opponents faced the Bears when they had significant injuries and it wasn't that long ago.

This is a lot like the Randy Moss situation except Haynesworth is doing a lot more bitchin' and moaning. Moss was a dominant talent but he was taking plays off in Oakland and didn't like the team, coaches, he was a locker room cancer, etc. Everyone, including me said to stay away but then in rides Bill Belichik. Next thing you know Randy is happy and lo and behold New England and Brady are setting records left and right. I know they just got rid of him but they still got a couple great seasons out of him and you can't say he didn't help them. That's my point, if JA and Lovie and Marinelli get strong indications that Haynesworth would be happy in Chicago running our scheme then I think it's worth the risk. Another example is the Jay Cutler situation, although he wasn't taking plays off there were risks to that situation and the cost was much higher than we'd be paying to pick up Haynesworth off the street. We all hate to hear this but elite talent often comes with elite egos and managing that aspect is part of what's needed to put together a winning team. On the other hand, you can't fall into the coaches ego trap either where they think they can coach anyone to play better and work harder. The smart guys are the ones who figure out correctly which egos they can deal with and which to cast aside. If the opportunity is there JA needs to be having these discussions with his coaches.

I'm in the minority on Webb. I actually think he's getting better each week. There are struggles and it's frustrating to watch but the kid usually adjusts within the game and stops getting beat. I always figured he'd struggle with the fast edge rushers, and he does from time to time, but quite often he shuts them down one-on-one. I don't really isolate on line play but since he's been in we've had a running game. There's other factors in there too with Garza, the play calling, among others. Often times it's a gain for nothing but then we hit one for 8 or 9yds. I know there's a whole lot of factors in that but when I see us control the ball for the last 5 min against Detroit he had to be doing something right.

A couple things stood out in the Pats game. The Jets were constantly blitzing and the Patriots schemed to get players right behind the blitzing players. We don't blitz like that at all so we'll have LBs in better position to stop short inside routes. Despite all the effort to get to Brady the Jets couldn't get there so either the Jets have bad pass rushers (I thought their effort and moves were weak) or the Patriots Oline is just outstanding. Throughout the season there have been teams that have gotten to Brady. I'm guessing we'll be able to get some pressure on him. Regardless Brady is a stud at getting rid of the ball. I look at this game the same as when we played the Eagles and how to contain the Eagles offense. Brady won't run like Vick but you need quick pressure on the QB so the ball comes out early and let the zone D flow to the ball and make the tackle. You need this to avoid the big plays. We're not going to shut these guys out but at least make them work for it and the tackling better be outstanding because these quick guys on the underneath routes can go upfield in a hurry. If we can't get to Brady with the front four we're in big trouble. Patriots defense...I saw lots of big running gains so there's a reason the Patriots are ranked 19th in run defense. That ranking might be worse if teams weren't playing catch up in the 4th quarter. The Jets seemed to back off the running game, unfortunately Sanchez is not good enough of a QB to rely on him like they did. (I've never been that impressed by him.) Jets also dropped a lot of easy passes. We need to stick with our offensive formula and run first on these guys. Keep putting together long drives while Brady sits on the bench. Patriots are 31st in pass defense. Is it because teams are passing to keep up? Either way, they aren't stopping the run and they aren't stopping the pass. Nonetheless Belichik is the master at taking away that which you do best, I just don't know what that is on our offense. I expect lots of blitzes early on to test our Oline. Overall we'll need our best offensive effort of the season to win this one. We're going to get opportunities to do that can we take advantage of them?

That might as well read "Redskins put Haynesworth on bench while they try to trade him". They are going to have one heck of a tough legal battle trying to bench him for four games without pay. Who else has ever done that? For what reason? Poor play? Any rookie lawyer would have a field day with that one. Just pick one of McNabb's bad games to start with. They're going to have to either cut him or pay him, or it will just get worse for them legally. From an organization standpoint, why would they even want this circus act around for the last four games? At this point it's clear they are not going to get along with Haynesworth so he's not going to be around for next season. Cut him, eat your losses but let the locker room know you are moving on with the players that want to be there and McNabb as your leader. The only factor that might be unknown is that perhaps there's something with the pending lockout that could make things financially better for them if Haynesworth is still around but I can't see how or why. They can't keep throwing good money after bad money. ---------------------------------------- If he's available I'd take him in a heartbeat and if necessary I'd cut Tommie Harris to do it. I know Haynesworth has been a really bad distraction for the Redskins but it isn't as if Harris has been a role model since we gave him his big contract. Harris is nothing more than a rotation player for us. Today's out of shape Haynesworth would be far more damaging coming up the middle than anything we've seen from Tommie this year. What's an Oline going to do with Peppers and Haynesworth side by side? I also think he'd respect Marinelli, Peppers, Urlacher, and Briggs and he'd come to work. If this happened I'd actually start thinking about the Superbowl.

Everyone on the Bears knows they would have lost that first game if Calvin Johnson held on to the ball. I highly doubt the Bears will take this road game lightly. While the D would probably like to have a better effort I think the offense has more to prove with these guys.

How we handle New England will tell us a lot. While the Eagles are challenging with their deep threats NE spreads the ball around very quickly and that's always been something we've had trouble with. If there is one thing in our favor it's that it seems Brady has been getting hit a lot so our pass rush might be able to get him.

Everything about our offense is much steadier now, from Oline blocking, route running, QB play, even TE Manu is actually blocking people these days.

Having watched most of the Cards games this year I would say Anderson is typically pretty focused on the sidelines and this one shot is not the norm. We've had this discussion before about TV cameras and their 5 sec view of the bench. While facial expressions indicate a lot you cannot and should not read too much into it without getting the context. My daughter has met and talked with Deuce and his family many times. From what I know he's the type of person who is going to try to lift your spirits in tough times. I can't imagine he wasn't concerned about the team's poor play but when you know, like he did, most of that blame is going to be leveled at your QB would you try to pick up his spirits and help him relax before the next series, or do you just keep piling on? Do you leave him alone and isolated on the bench? I know there are many different answers (I have my preference) but none of us know what's already been tried with Anderson, what had already been said to him during the game, etc. Without that context I can't say what Deuce was doing was wrong...but John Gruden can. There were plenty of camera shots of play on the field to show how uninspired the Cards were playing on both offense and defense and that was the real story. Obviously Anderson handled the question very poorly and seeing his meltdown it's clear the pressure he's under. He knows this is likely the end of his career; for sure his chances at ever being a starter. Yet the Cardinals have no other answer on their bench. Max Hall is at best a backup QB and on top of that he's looking every bit a rookie. Behind him is a more talented thrower, John Skelton, who doesn't have the playbook down. The fact Whisenhunt kept Anderson in the game says a lot about his backups. Regardless, you'll be seeing one or both of the backups soon.

On that throw I felt the same when I first saw it. However, on the replay it was clear the DB jumped to the inside when Cutler looked inside and that's when Cutler threw the ball to the outside receiver. No way to know if that's how Jay saw it or if he was just tossing it out there and got a bit of luck. I know this, if his name were Manning, Brees, or Brady he'd have been complimented for looking off the DB and coming back outside. Really the same goes for the Olsen catch. If Brady had tossed up something like that to Moss (he did in the past) he'd have been complimented for knowing his receiver would go get the ball. The only people Jay needs to make happy are Bears fans. Did anyone mention that with our draft picks Denver has won 3 games?

One thing I've noticed about Cutler is that lately he is taking sacks more in stride and not trying to force plays afterward to gain back the yards. He seems more content that if a drive stalls it's time to punt and give it a shot on the next try. Is it coaching? Maturity? Likely a combination but it's nice to see him head to the sideline looking more prepared to get back to work than dwelling on what went wrong the previous series.

Great game all the way around. I include the coaches on there too. Again there was some confusion on the Oline early on but it was fixed. Meanwhile Cutler hung in there during the troubles and kept his cool. Martz continued to call runs even when most of them went nowhere, for the fourth week in row! Can't say enough about the D, they kept everything underneath and that's what you have to do against these guys.

You have to go after Vick. There's no way our DBs are covering their WRs for 5 seconds. Don't bring the house but blitzing often with a LB is fine by me. I don't even care if we don't get sacks it's all about getting the ball out of Vick's hand early and then rally to the ball. The Giants showed the blue print on the pass rush we gotta duplicate it. I think our O can exploit their D because their secondary gives up plays. What you didn't see last week was the Giants don't have anywhere near the speed at WR that we have. It will make a difference. We just need Jay to keep his head on straight and be patient.

Izzy in his own way has been a great player for the Bears. He's not a Pro Bowl talent but he's done everything the club has ever asked him to do, and done it well. You need guys like this to fill out your roster and in order to be successful on Sundays. I hope he gets 10 sacks this year so he starts to get a bit more recognition. Of course if he does that it's good for the team too.

Total BS. Fitz isn't going anywhere. The Cards have already reworked his contract twice for him and that last contract resulted in Boldin leaving town. Why would he be upset with Whisenhunt who got the Cards to the Superbowl? It's ridiculous conjecture. Now if in two or three years there is no progress on the QB situation I can see this but not now.

I came away very impressed on a couple fronts. I know Miami was wounded but for us this was a short week on the road and I expected to see a flat performance, missed tackles, lack of hustle on edge rushes, etc. That wasn't there at all. Likewise on offense I figured we'd be stuck relying on Cutler's arm for better or worse yet we went up against a very good defense (8th ranked and no significant injuries there) and ran the ball on them. It wasn't pretty on offense but it was effective. I was disappointed we didn't roll more pass protection toward Webb's side. He got owned today. On the other hand he got a lot of one-on-one experience against a really good edge rusher. For the most part Webb has continued to improve each game and hopefully this experience helps him. Martz at least let Webb get even on a lot of run plays including Forte's TD. Now we have a nice long weekend to rest up our pass rushers and get ready for Vick and the Eagles. I think our offense will look much better against the Eagles than it did tonight.