jason

Common officiating practice for the play clock is to look at it go to zero, then turn to look for the snap, THEN throw the flag if it hasn't snapped. That happens a lot during a season. The clock didn't let Kuhn get the yardage.

We can all agree, Conte should be gone.

Love Alshon.

Love this second half start. Tough D, good return, power running with the team's best player.

Wow. The Bears do not want this game.

COMPLETELY agreed there. They even did it on obvious incompletions.

You're the only one then. I just rewound mine and there was no whistle. Additionally, no official looks to be raising their hands to stop the clock, to signal the next down, or to call an incompletion. Philosophy: if a fumble or incompletion, rule fumble so the play can go on. That can be overturned. A call of an incompletion can't be overturned because nobody would get subsequent possession. The play stops.

Are you at the game? I didn't hear the whistle at all. They are even talking about how the officials purposefully DIDN'T blow their whistles.

That sucks. Stupid defense gets us again. No awareness at all. That's the right call. In general, and empty hand going forward is a fumble.

Stupid auto correct. Myopia

I just have a very hard time believing there are not open receivers. Somewhere. I think it's a combo of Marshall-myopathy and extra physical play by packer DBs that won't get called in week 17 of a game this huge.

I support the officials 99% of the time, because I know what goes into it. They are right way more often than wrong. But that was obviously bad call, even though that was the official's key. And it was directly responsible for three points.

Horrible call. McClellin was pulling up if anything. Whoever predicted kids gloves on Rogers was right.

I don't regularly side against the officials, but I don't understand why that wasn't reversed. As far as I know, the foot placement is inconsequential, and that ball never touched the goal line. Bad call.

Agreed on both accounts, but he is one of the strongest dudes in the NFL, and those prototype 3-4 NTs don't grow on trees.

Paea is the NT. Johnson is big enough, IMHO, to be a 3-4 DE. A smart DC can use him to rush at times and hold at times. Rotate and shift LBs as necessary.

If my focus is purely on fixing the D... I keep Peppers at a lower contract. Melton probably leaves. SMC stays because of the contract. Tillman and Jennings stay. Conte gets escorted out of Halas Hall by security. Move to the 3-4. 1. HaHa Clinton-Dix, FS, Bama - An absolute stud who starts day one 2. Anthony Johnson, DT, LSU - Can get after the passer and plays tough. Starts day one if Melton is let go. 3. Shayne Skov, ILB, Stanford - Smart player who is always in the right spot. A beast. Peppers - Paea - Johnson (Collins, Ratcliff back ups) SMC - Briggs - Skov - Bostic. (Greene is rotational, and Briggs gets to choose where he feels best) Peanut - HHCD - Wright - Jennings (Bowman back up) Kind of soft up front, but tons of athleticism. Blitzes from everywhere. Extra LB helps erase the over pursuit problems from this year. Maximizes SMC's ability. Allows for lots of zone blitzing from a variety of locations.

And if it's SMC again I will buy his jersey the very next day.

This option happens regardless of McCown. If the Bears dump Cutler, they are using a high pick on QB regardless of whether McCown is back. You've basically said it yourself. So it doesn't matter if McCown stays. Cutler gone = Highly drafted QB I assume this is a scenario where Cutler and McCown are gone. If so, then McCown being gone doesn't matter, because the Bears are still forced to use a high draft pick on a QB. Journeyman or not. To summarize: Cutler + McCown = No high draft pick necessary Cutler - McCown = No high draft pick necessary -Cutler + McCown = High draft pick necessary -Cutler - McCown = High draft pick necessary

This changes nothing. If Cutler does well, he's the franchise guy and McCown is the backup. If Cutler bombs and the organization loses faith, the Bears will be drafting a franchise QB regardless of whether McCown is around.

You've given scenarios where the Bears play SF, NO, SEA, ARZ. Ignoring the latter-most scenario because of it's unlikelihood, the team I least want to face is Seattle. Their running game would pulverize the Bears, and they have a great set of DBs which would minimize the Bears offense somewhat. Between SF and NO, I'd actually rather see SF. Their offense has been bad this year, which could even the game out some. NO, on the other hand, would absolutely pass all over the Bears, regardless of most recent history.

Key word in the preface...unless they take a minimal/lessened contract. I'm not opposed to several staying, but they need to be giving a home town discount for the privilege to remain a pro. Others can be had for similar money and potentially better production.

I know nothing of salary cap implications, but the names in red should be let go unless they take a minimal/lessened contract relative to their production (i.e. backup) or previous contract (i.e. fading vet).

Bingo. SMC still, STILL!, dives inside like his life depends on it, completely ignoring the containment aspect of things. It's almost comical at this point. When I see a run bounce outside, I immediately look for SMC's number. Bostic and Greene continue to overpursue. This ain't college, fellas. Their speed and athleticism makes them think they know better, and it gets them in trouble. Conte...sigh...still doesn't take angles to maximize his position. All that is coaching. Either that, or poor personnel decisions, because mistake-prone players should be benched for those who follow direction. This Defense had a ton of injuries, but it missed Urlacher something serious this year.

I'll reiterate. DAMN GOOD post. Why was he hired in the first place? Where is his resume of success? He has done nothing but fail since he has been in the NFL. Why perpetuate it? If Rob Ryan is even remotely interested, you dump Tucker in a heartbeat.