Alaskan Grizzly

Not to overthink this but I don't think speed is the cure-all for an effective return man. A lot of factors go into doing well. Although Hester was fast he was also elusive and could see the holes that he needed to hit in order to get that good return. Or was it the scheme? Toub was able to get Hester, Knox and Manning to effectively return under his system. And none of those three had the same skill set as the other. As another poster pointed out, Mariani has been to the Pro Bowl as a returner before and that seems like a legitimate pre-requisite for someone we'd want as the returner. (By the by, he set to Pro Bowl return records the year he went - 2011. One for number of returns and the other for total yards *source Wikipedia). Before breaking his leg in 2012 he had a 4.48 40 which to me is pretty fast. I'm pretty sure most of us couldn't do that.

Absolutely. This is the root of coaching. And for a team that is as young as it is, this is definitely a necessity. I was thinking over a few near misses; Cutler's near miss on the 4th down play where Long admits he messed up, the Wilson miss on the INT to blonde bimbo and Forte's drop for a sure TD. Each of these successfully executed could of tipped the game in our team's favor. That 4th down throw that Cutler haphazardly tossed in the endzone was actually closer than it looked. Had Cutler been able to get one more step and fire that ball down and out or even just a bit lower, Royal was in perfect position to make that play. All these things and the way the team came out last week makes me think better things are on the horizon. This year not next. As I said in an earlier post, despite Cutler's INT it wasn't nearly as devastating as some of his others in the past. The Bears were in this game from start to finish. And considering who they were matched up against, that's pretty admirable.

Maybe they're just 'kicking the tires' as they know what they have in Willaims, Dunn and Ratliff? If they like what they see we'll see him playing soon. If not, no harm no foul.

My money's on Williams.... Or do you think they'll look outside? Probably not with Ratliff due to return in a few weeks(?)

As long as he doesn't fumble and if he returns it on KOs he makes it at least past the 20....who cares?

Nicely encapsulated. I would agree with everything you wrote. The one thing I would have liked to have seen was not only more constant pressure on Rodgers but at least one turnover by our D. Whether it be a fumble, interception or whatever I think that really could have changed the course of the game. Even after Cutler threw that pick our team didn't seem to lose steam. With it being at home and with the intensity some of the players were showing out there, it would have been like casting blood in shark infested waters. As far as intensity goes, have to really hand it to Fox and crew. I saw a bunch of photos taken from the sideline during the game and in several of them Fox is over chatting away with various players. In the pics he looks pretty amped up and I remember several times during the course of the game after the team did something contrary, whether it be the INT or '3 and out' Fox was right there cheering the team on. I read that he kept the practices really lively and it showed in how the players responded to him on Sunday. This is absolutely fantastic in my book. As big a fan as I was of Lovie's there is no comparison to Fox's level of enthusiasm and coaching prowess. Remember he once coached the relatively brand new Carolina Panthers to the Super Bowl. The guy knows what he's doing.

I'm confused. He's talking about the Bears D yesterday right not last years? And since I assume he meant this year and Fangio leading it, Fangios been rather successful against Rodgers so I do hope they stick with it.

Stop living in the last you say? Now that's rich... This coming from a guy who rips Lovie Smith at every chance. Anyhow I digress. Yes overall, the team did well. Cutler did ok. In watching the replay just a little bit ago I had forgotten about the near fumble in the first half and the near interception in the end zone to Micah Hyde during that three and out debacle in the red zone. That near miss was much more Cutler-esque than was the throw to Matthews. Jays still locking on targets. Yes he's getting better at distributing the ball to other players and checking options. But when he gets lazy he watches his receiver nearly start to finish. In a play shortly before the interception they show Cutler throw a nice toss to Bennett (nearly in the same area as the int) but for 2/3rds of that play he watched Bennett cross the field until he threw the ball. I would be willing to bet that Matthews noticed that and when he went to do the throw to Bennett shortly after Matthews watched Jays eyes and cut the route. Right behind Matthews and trailing was Wilson who was pretty open because Matthews scrambled left. Maybe they could give Jay one of them Michael Vick tinted visors? ?

Yes those 2-3 passes in the redzone (second to last series?) was a bad idea but 'Jay being Jay' in the next series and turning it over was even worse. Perhaps it was more Gase's fault for trusting Jay could do it after seeing him fail in the previous series and knowing he has a propensity to effect turnovers in stressful situations. I'll give you this, Jay looked a lot better in the first half. The second half he started to play more like Jay of old. Yes the blonde haired bimbo is good but not that good. Remember that game where DeAngelo Hall made four INTs in one game against Cutty? That wasnt because Hall was that good, that was more due to Cutlers insistence on throwing at him. Or heck what about the infamous Kyle Williams? Here's a quote from the Chicago Tribune that described a very eerily similar situation that we saw this last weekend: "With 8 minutes, 1 second left in regulation and the game tied at 17, the Bears faced third-and-1 at the Bills' 34 — well within kicker Robbie Gould's field-goal range. Coach Marc Trestman called a bootleg. Cutler rolled right and threw across his body into the arms of Bills defensive tackle Kyle Williams."

Well at least McCarthy wasn't right. They didn't "kick our ass".

Not to aid your point but don't the Pats run with two slot type receivers on Amendola and Edelman?

What Cutler did today was what someone like Kyle Oeton could do. Game manage. That is until the red zone and pressure is on. Times where he needs to be better that Orton. Not play like he's never played before. This leopard has still not changed its spots. He was again one of the best players on the Packers.

Da Coach was also a lone holdout on ESPN. They note he was also the only one to pick them to win against GB in 2013...and he was right then. http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/7/71/95...k-bears-packers

You mean like this? http://espn.go.com/chicago/nfl/story/_/id/...tler-leadership Oh how only a few weeks can change a perspective.

Isn't Cobb on some sort of injury list too? He's been a big part of Rodger's success as of late too if I recall.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000052...-was-all-in-fun Perhaps you heard about McCarthy spouting off about what will inevitability hold true? What troubles me is not that he said it but how it appears he feels he has to apologize for saying it. What happened to the days of posting comments like this on the bulletin board for motivating our team to prove him wrong? Or to simply challenge us (Bears) in bringing our A game rather than suck like we've done for the last 10-11 games? Heck like the article points out, Fox even admits to a degree that McCarthy is right or least substantiated in his bravado. This sport is barbaric in nature and has no room for politeness. You think the late great Art Donovan ever apologized for some of his comments?

You are correct. And not to belabor this anymore than necessary BUT the same point was made about Urlacher when he was let go. Although he wasn't able to perform as he once did, he was still a leader on the team. He wore the "C" for many years. Many here couldn't wait to see him go for whatever reason, mostly due to his outward attitude. So there in that comparison we compare the two. External perception: similar. Internal leadership qualities: Unknown. Diminished/lacking skills to maintain/be All Pro: Wash.

Actually I believe they are. That was pointed out in one article regarding this choice for Captains. Gould arrived in 2005 and Forte and Cutler arrived in 2008. Seeing McPhee and Rolle as the defensive captains leads me to believe they were chosen more for their overall seniority (Rolle) and respectibility for performance already (McPhee). Otherwise you'd be picking a rookie or second year player just about anywhere else on the defense. Save Ratliff - who is serving a few game suspensions. Edit: and thinking more on this wonder why Allen would not be chosen? Is it because he's not considered a starter? Which I think is requisite.

I think it more a combination of the fact the QB is "supposed" to be the team leader and everyone has the unknown anxiety of a new season ahead of them. This is a chance for Jay to prove me and other doubters wrong by stepping and taking the challenge. Both as a team leader and legitimate QB.

So it begins...again. Bowles should thank Rex Ryan for leaving the circus tent up when he left for Buffalo. I was waffling back and forth about BM leaving but this confirms it was for the best. Other than maybe there is some sort of malingering effect on AJ.

Hmm... You think he has anything left? A bit long in tooth isn't he? For some reason when I think Jake Long I think Michael Oher. Was great at one time but now??? Better than what we have? Could be...

Confirmed. Work visa issue. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/...n=chicago-bears

Now there's something about him sitting out week one due to contract concerns. A lot of this I assume (hope) is that since not much concrete has been said the media is taking liberties.

There is something weird going on with AJ. Don't buy he's injured anymore. Wonder if there isn't something more sinister(?)

Might not be a bad idea. Comes from a decent pedigree and has done well in the CFL. Why not? He only lost out because the Colts are deep at WR. Speaking of, Reggie Wayne is in the market too. And saw Isaiah Battle was released by the Rams. Picked up in the supplemental drafts and a few of us here discussed him coming to Chicago. Maybe a Guard filler?