AZ54

We've already been hit hard by injuries like many teams: 3/5 of the starting secondary: Vasher, Tillman, McGowan IR, plus Manning and Bowman Starting WR: Hester, Lloyd, Dline: Harris because I don't think he's been 100% yet this year.

Perhaps they are. It's not the first time an article has shown up in the media after the topic was first discussed here.

I think we need to do something to get our running game going. Pass protection has been good largely due to Orton's pocket presence. If Williams truly is ready to play I'd put him at LT and move St Clair back inside. However, considering how well St Clair has played there's no reason to risk further injury to Wiliams so if he's not 100% ready leave him on the bench. St Clair would likely replace Beekman at LG where he'd be working next to and helping Williams. IMO Beekman has been better than Garza but I like the idea of keeping St Clair's experience next to Williams. I'm not opposed to letting Buenning take a shot at replacing Garza but we really have no idea how he's playing right now.

Nate might have the better skills for playing in the slot as he seems to be able to cut quicker than Graham. The biggest problem Nate would have is that you can't play back 10 yards off a guy in the slot.

Nfol, I'm going to have to agree with you on this because I wrote pretty much the same thoughts on the other thread after your 3 TE post there. The versatility of Olsen and Forte make this a great package for us. You could even split out both Olsen and Forte and go empty backfield which means a defense might have a heavy package on the field and be forced to cover routes like a nickel D. I think that gives us a big advantage.

I totally agree with the 3 TE set except it isn't Davis replacing McKie. We use Dez and Davis at the traditional TE spots on the line next to the OTs and keep Olsen working the H-back role he already knows. I put Hester out wide to keep the safeties guessing what's going on. Or go really heavy on one side with Dez/Davis next to each other. I'd much rather see this than the Wildcat formation, especially given the quality of run blocking from our Oline.

I personally wouldn't mind having Rex as our #2 QB but the way he was treated during the preseason means Rex must move on from this organization. He'll never ever get fair treatment from the Bears fans again even if he plays respectably. Plus he'll want a shot at becoming a starter somewhere down the line. The previous San Fran QB Alex Smith will be available too so add him to the list. I think a teams will look at him as a guy with the tools but not the head for the job, same as Rex except Rex can't run. Unless he falls apart in the next few weeks Warner is not leaving AZ. Whisenhunt won't mess with success and he'll keep Warner as the starter next year. That means Lienart can party all summer long which makes him a good fit as the #2 QB in AZ unless someone comes calling with a high draft pick (say a late 2nd Rd pick). In that case I'd could see Rex fitting in here as the Cards backup and chance to compete for future starting job (after Warner leaves) throwing the ball to Fitzgerald and Boldin. I prefer to have a vet like Garcia as our #2 and let Hanie get another year to develop as the #3. Patrick Ramsey looked horrible on Monday night so I have no interest in him and would rather develop a rookie or Hanie as our #2.

I watched the NFL replay of the Vikings game and I somewhat agree with you on the angle but once he arrived at Peterson, Brown simply moved to the side of him instead of staying directly in front. He gave what I'd call less than full effort at holding him up and simply let Peterson out muscle him and Graham was wrapped around Peterson's legs. I did see him deliver some big hits in that game but in pass coverage he still arrives late. In years past his timing on arriving at the same time as the ball was very good and he broke up more passes. In watching plays in traffic it seems at times Brown is being more tentative than he used to be. I won't speculate on this being because he is slow diagnosing plays, or if he's just hesitant to get in the mix, or if Babich is telling him to hang back. Whatever the reason, I liked the old way he played where you could always count on him getting in the picture no matter where the ball went.

No worries; Chris Johnson is a little guy and sooner or later someone is going to snap him in half.

If that's what it takes to get him off his ass and start making plays then so be it. I'd be happy if his stats would simply match the no-name 2nd year player starting beside him who has only played safety in 7 games in the NFL. That shouldn't be asking too much.

As far as Mark Anderson being a "gem" I'll just quote my son who was watching Sunday's game with me: "Where's Mark Anderson?"

Mike Brown is no longer playing downhlll like he used. I don't know if this is because of some loss of physical skills or losing the mentality to play hard and fast. The fact he is not playing well does not mean I don't respect him or his contributions to the Bears over the years. Lovie took this team to the Superbowl (without Mike Brown) and there's no shortage of angst about how Lovie does his job.

Knowing he was hurt that badly and still came back in to make that play at the end of the game earned my respect.

None of this is overreacting, we just are not seeing the spectacular plays from these guys. In Mike Brown's case I just don't see the solid timing on hits as WR catch the ball, or the seemingly psychic reads that put him in the right spot to shut a play down. These days it seems everything he does is after the fact. The angle he took on the AP long distance run today was a joke. You can find a lot of guys in the NFL to play like that.

Why do you assume we have that much talent? Just because guys have played better in the past doesn't mean they have the same talent level. We've seen enough games this to know what we are on D and the record speaks for itself.

The lack of a pass rush is killing the defense. These guys up front need to get it going or we'll be giving up 30pts every week especially with all the problems in the secondary. Run D from the line seemed to be good but the LB didn't show up today. Mike Brown is no longer the same player and while he might be on this team next year we need to get his replacement on the roster next year via draft or FA. Urlacher is no longer making eye-opening plays. He's still a good LB but I haven't seen anything special from him in a while. Today he got caught up in the wash too many times. I can give the youngsters in the secondary credit for hanging in there and making some game changing INTs. It was either an INT or we gave up a TD. Kyle Orton gets a game ball again. He just keeps getting better. We lose our top 2 WRs (Lloyd, Hester) and it doesn't seem to even upset the offense. Kudos to the TEs and Turner for getting both on the field often. In the second half Forte had some good runs finding holes on his own again. Someday when he runs behind a good Oline (I hope this will happen) he'll be fun to watch. OTOH the Oline did a good job on pass protection. I can't recall the last time I saw the Bears win an offensive shootout. I told my son during the game, this is not your father's Chicago Bears. If we can get the D turned around we'll win the NFC North. That might be a tall order.

Great game prep material Noots, thanks.

Congrats! You've got 5 months to get him ready for the combine and we need Oline, S, WR and LB help.

That was a heck of a deal for Detroit! This season was lost anyway and Roy was never coming back. I only have one question: Can Roy Williams play CB?

Good stats on Orton. I agree he's been impressive beyond my expectations at this point; especially considering the Oline and the WR corps which were both considered poor at the start of the season. What I like best so far is that with each game he seems to become more comfortable in the offense. Early in the season he seemed to be forcing things to much and that led to some bad passes (not necessarily bad reads). In the last couple games he's made a some passes I didn't think he was capable of making, 15-20yd passes with some arc on the ball so it could drop in between defenders, and of course some better touch on the deep balls. Each game I feel more comfortable that we might have found our QB of the future. As for those who say they wished Kyle had been the starter all along I don't believe he earned it. When I hear reports of all his extra film study and additional time on the practice field I'm impressed. However, I have never heard any indication that he was willing to work like this early in his career. In fact, during his second season when Rex was named the starter he went into a shell and didn't work hard (he admitted this). Entering his third season he worked on his fundamentals and gave it a better shot but still couldn't unseat Rex or Griese but you get the feeling he wasn't too far behind. This year he knew he had his chance to be a starter, he worked to earn it and he won the job. I give him credit for not giving up but I also won't assume he'd be the same QB today if he didn't have to earn it. He's a professional now.

Isn't the reason for having Mike Brown on the field because he's so good at helping line up the other players so they know their assignments? If he's not helping the rookie CB on the next to last play of a game and then being that late in getting over to help out? Was he that surprised the Falcons tried to run a deep out pattern?

I agree completely, we aren't getting it done in the trenches on either side. Ryan had all day to throw. Forte is doing what he can behind this line IMO. As far as Kreutz declining, I think Tait declined faster.

This defense is all predicated on getting a good pass rush from the front four. If you don't have that it will ALWAYS look bad. Yesterday we had almost no pressure all day. On the other side of the ball it's hard to run when nobody can get any push on the Dline. Ignore the lucky stuff at the end of the game this game was won and lost in the trenches and we didn't deserve to win.

Clearly Maynard is or was fighting some injury but he must be healthy now that they feel they won't need Atterberry next week. As far as Hass who knows. Are we going to bring back Tyler Reed? He looked bad in preseason so I don't see a reason to put him on the practice squad. I'd rather give another Oline a chance to show something.

If we are going to make a change I'd like to see Williams at LT and move St. Clair to one of the guard positions. I think Beekman's been ok but not great but I think he's playing better than Garza.