AZ54

Now they say the new guy is taking the practice reps. Practicing punting isn't the most strenuous thing to do unless you're hurt.

In the interest of showing there is no favoritism to what the talking heads do I wanted to see how Seattle and Detroit's defenses compare. Seattle 27th ranked pass defense, giving up 237 yards/gm. Detroit 32nd ranked pass defense, giving up 249 yards/gm. Seattle 24th ranked run defense, giving up 129.5 yards/gm. Detroit 30th ranked run defense, giving up 180 yards/gm. Overall Seattle ranked 27th in yards/gm, ranked 23 in points giving up 31/gm. Detroit ranked 32 in yards/gm, ranked 31st in points giving up 36.8/gm Seattle has played Buff, SF, STL (last in everything), and NYG Detroit has played ATL, GB, SF, CHI Both defenses are bad but given how horrendous St Louis (when Seattle only gave up 13pts) has been this year Seattle is probably just as a bad on defense as Detoit. IMO if Eli got the nod for his performance (267yd, 2TD, 76% comp) then Orton should have been listed in there too (334 yds, 2TD, 70.6% comp) especially when you consider that nobody can name our Oline while Giants are said to have the best Oline in the league; nobody can name our WR, and did I mention that we have a rookie RB starting?

If Orton's play against a bad defense doesn't count (I can see the logic) then how do you explain DeAngelo Williams being nominated for 126 yards against the Chiefs? Seems like a clear double standard to me.

You can say frigging on this board. So far so good with this kid let's hope he keeps his head on straight. Given that we can walk away from Harris' contract if he's not performing well I wonder if that will in fact motivate him to get his head on straight too. I think it's way too early for Harris to feel threatened but if Harrison's performance continues to improve maybe it will. For now I like the fact we don't have to give Harris so many reps so he can reduce the strain on his knee and hopefully get back to the player he was.

I'm happy with what Forte is doing. He was virtually the entire offense during our first drive and led us to a FG. After that they started mixing in Jones. Forte had 15 carries he was pulled from the game and Jones picked up 10 carries with Wolfe getting 8 late in the game. Forte did most of his work early in the game when yards are harder to come by against a D that was stacked against the run. Yet during that time he averaged 6.2 yd/catch and I think those were on screen passes which are basically running plays. I doubt anyone on Detroit was upset when Forte sat on the bench. I'm glad we were able to rest the kid and still pull off a big win.

Makes me wonder if Maynard is fighting another injury. He's had back problems off and on during his stint with the Bears.

The slant to Clark is ok by me as long as the DB or LB is not right in front of him at the LOS. Clark doesn't get a clean release when jammed at the LOS but if a DB a couple yards back sitting on the play the go ahead and hit a quick slant.

Works fine for me too and a phenomenal catch it was.

A couple years ago they did the same to us and we kept running and going nowhere. I was glad to see the offense take what the defense was giving them and execute well in the passing game.

I'll add that he always drops passes when we play the Lions, and at least once a game he always runs a wrong route (or at least he appears to run the wrong route based on where the ball is thrown). Bitchin' and moaning when you lose I can understand. I cannot accept contributing to the loss with your own poor play and then blaming others.

Did anyone else notice how nobody on the Detroit Lions wants to sit near Williams on the sideline? That tells you all you need to know about this crybaby.

Exactly what 3 games has Kyle Orton played well? I'll give you Detroit today you give me the other two. Against the Eagles he played in the first half and was horrendous in the second half. Why he gets a pass for his Grossmanesque turnovers is beyond me. Against Tampa he threw a horrible INT that cost us the game. I was hoping to see a complete game from him today and I did. I have also been waiting to see improved accuracy on the deep ball and we saw that today too. Overall I think Orton is becoming more confident and starting to look like a starting QB but I need to see much more before I'd sign him to a long term contract.

Graham is already taking snaps away from Vasher. It's not that big of a reach for him to fill in fulltime if Vasher isn't 100%. At this point I think Graham at 100% is better than Vasher at 85%. I still want Peanut on the other side.

Funny as hell! At least he's leading his team in one category.

If the price was reasonable but I think he'll be asking for Berrian money and I don't feel he's worth it. He takes plays off and hasn't had a good history of running good routes. When it comes to big contracts a player must be capable of consistent performance week after week. When FA begins I wouldn't get into a bidding war with him and I'd definitely explore the other options we have.

Practice at this time of year isn't like practice in training camp. What I'd like to hear is that Williams is doing a full strength training workout including squats, which apparently he could never do before the surgery.

Some leadership. The fine needs to be larger.

No mention of AP....hmmm.

If Mark Anderson understood his role as the end contain we wouldn't have given up two big reverses last night. As was pointed out in one article last night, why do you think the Eagles ran that play when Anderson was on the field and not Brown? I agree that it's frustrating to watch our DEs routinely run past the QB when he can step up in the pocket but I am far more concerned about the lack of pressure up the middle. DEs aren't the only guys responsible for getting pressure on a QB. The outside rush does allow for some effective blitzes into that gap between OG/OT.

Better take care of business next week. Orton was horrendous in the second half. If his first name was Rex he'd have been getting booed relentlessly. If he can find a way to have the 1st half Kyle play four quarters then we'll be in good shape.

For years we've been terrible at covering RBs on pass routes. If we want to win tomorrow we better shutdown these short passes and screens. Bring the CB up closer to the LOS (listen up Nate) while the safeties better be smart because the Eagles can go deep as well. On offense I see the opposite needing to happen. We're going to get blitzed all game long. They'll use their blitz to stop our run game and if we pass they'll be in Orton's face. To counter this we need to let Forte swing out of the backfield and let Orton float the ball to him. Forte's good enough to make one defender miss and get a big gain. If Dawkins comes up on a blitz (here's where it would be nice to have Hester) get someone on a quick slant into that space, or send the TE upfield and hit him quickly. Orton and the WR need to read the blitzes and Orton needs to be decisive in getting rid of the ball.

Why not Tommie Harris?

If we lose this week we'll be 8-8 if we win we'll be 10-6.

What about Dave Toub? He's done nothing but have one of the best units year after year even before Hester. Other special teams coaches have gone on to become good head coaches and IIRC he got some attention last year. He's a guy who finds ways to get the most out of the talent he has. When tactics dictate a change is needed, he thinks outside the box (ala putting Wolfe up front on kickoffs in case they kick short of Hester).

Bradley just never figured it out. I imagine he was making his feelings known about playing special teams while watching other WR drop passes and Lovie said enough. Given that we signed a CB it seems the Bears are content with Rideau being available if needed but they'll leave him on the practice squad.