jason

I was thinking the same thing, except I think it's reciprocal. This Bears' secondary could only survive with with a great pass rush. Put Dent, Reggie White, et. al. on the team, and the secondary looks decent. This Bears' pass rush could only survive with a great secondary. Put Revis, Deion, et. al. on the team, and there would be a bunch of coverage sacks. Right now there is neither. It's a lot like the OL in that regard. There is only success when they all do well on the same play. But when they take turns sucking...BIG problems.

I looked at that play over and over, through the eyes of a fan and the eyes of an official. Typically, when the defender is progressing towards the runner without obstruction, the foul won't be called. So when the contact and grasp was made, the Bears defender was actually closer to the QB than the blocker was. This is obviously not the normal situation, because the blocker is usually between the runner and the defender. Anyway, in this situation, all the flailing of arms doesn't matter much; the official is looking for a jersey stretch or something similar. That's the only thing I can put out there for this no-call. It certainly looked like the defender was hindered while running towards Stafford, but I'm guessing they didn't see enough restriction since the Bears' player was moving towards Stafford.

I honestly don't know when a catch is a catch any more in the NFL.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000055...play-ruled-a-td So two steps down, and if the next leg is going to a step, it's a catch. Um. OK

Are you serious? NOW the Bears are running the ball?

At this point I'm fairly certain anyone on this board can do what Mariani is doing on punt returns. Or better.

In overtime the reviews are precipitated from up top. I'm sure they have a specific protocol they have to follow to review specific plays.

Sorry fellas, but that play is going against us. Royal never really had that one for more than a single step.

Step 1 to fixing the special teams: Cut Mariani. There was room to the wide side to make a move, but instead he's content to slowly get his 10yds straight forward.

Dude, that McPhee foul was legit. He hit Stafford plenty late, and had the opportunity to avoid the hit. That was just a stupid play. The hit by Ansah wasn't nearly as late or the same thing. The first thing...I have no clue what counts as a catch any more.

Robbie MF Gould! WOOO! With the two Lions muffs on punts, and the horrible INT by Stafford, the Bears should have won this game by 10+ already. The fact that it's in OT says a lot about how poorly the Bears have played.

This just in, Alshon is still a stud.

Great call on the intentional grounding. The Referee has to rely on his sideline guys to tell him nobody was in the area. He is looking at the QB. That's why it took so long. After the play one of the wing officials must have run in to tell him nobody was in the area. Then a stupid play by McPhee. You can't go to the knees/legs of a passer after the ball is thrown. He could have avoided contact entirely, but he kept his arm extended. That Lion TD is on McPhee.

Yet again, the Bears' DBs don't look back for the ball. This time it's McManis who is completely oblivious.

Thank you. I have been saying that for quite some time. The Lions are just daring the Bears to stretch the field.

Well, so much for that. Well, so much for that.

We're all in agreement here. Fangio has done wonders. But today they haven't looked great. The pass coverage has been spotty at best, and the rush has been non-existent. If not for three boneheaded plays by the Lions, this game could very well be a blowout right now.

There's a shocker. The Bears' ST fails to live up to expectations again.

I'd rather they reward the stud that got them there.

Serious question... Have the Bears gotten a legitimate sack all year, one that wasn't the result of a blitz or extended coverage? It seems the DEs never get around the edge and the DTs never push the pocket.

AAaaand another drop. Forte had blocks set up on that little bubble screen.

BOOYAH! JEFFERY!

That's an easy one. The kicking team on a punt can't recover and advance the ball. It's dead when they pick it up. The only way for the kicking team to score is for the receiving team to catch it, then fumble it.

1. The Bears should be running more. 2. The Bears should be giving Forte the ball 95% of those runs. That is all.

The Lions have had TWO special teams errors giving the Bears the ball deep in Lion territory. There is no way the Bears should lose this game.