jason

Agreed. When will ANYONE realize that if the Bears don't get defensive pressure, the deep cushion by the WRs is basically inviting the opponent to Griese us to death.

That looks like a shot at Rex. I said it the whole time...looked like his problem. I never did see where people could blame it on Kreutz.

IF the Bears get another WR, which I'm not sure is necessary at this point, it shouldn't be Matt Jones; it should be Marvin Harrison. He's a perfect underneath compliment to Hester. Harrison's routes are perfection, he can find the holes in zones, and his hands are still top ten in the league. Everyone needs to settle down with the sky is falling garbage. And don't compare it to last year. The OL was complete garbage last year, which made Orton worse and the available routes for the WRs minimized. With a better OL, better QB, and better WRs, I'm confident that the Bears will start to polish their routes and plays, and surprise people this year. What's REALLY concerning is how an average Bills' QB decimated the Bears' defense. Maybe the philosophy that allowed all the ridiculous passing games last year, from guys who aren't that great, was a little bit of Lovie rubbing off on the DC afterall.

1. Cutting AP in favor of a 6th WR or a 4th TE is stupid. AP will contribute more, and is probably overall a better player anyway. 2. The ONLY way the Bears should keep 3 TEs, let alone 4, is if one of them is Gaines at the FB position.

Alternately, it could simply be the fact that where Davis was once a specific read, Cutler may not make it to that read because of his ability to: A] Throw harder B] Throw more accurately C] Read defenses better Maybe the progressions never even get to Davis on many of the plays on which he previously received passes.

I can completely understand that, and I'm fairly against the concept of prison rehabilitation, but if Vick is as fast as he was two years ago, then he can help the Bears. More to follow... Agreed. He was never a great runner, but as you said...DYNAMIC runner. More to follow... Agreed. He's a horrible WCO QB. However, if he's brought in for special packages as a Wildcat QB, then it's a GREAT fit. Not only would it force defenses to scheme for two systems when playing the Bears, but the potential he has in that system is plain scary. Not to mention the fact that if Cutler were to go down (shudder), the Bears are screwed anyway. At least Vick would be a better choice than the current backups. Completely agreed. This is the major problem, and the reason why teams are hesitant to sign Vick. Agreed. I don't necessarily agree with their policies, but it's impossible for the Bears to sign Vick and not have that move come off as contradictory to the Benson and Tank situations.

Just a tidbit that doesn't mean a lot in the grand scheme of things, but there was a fight in training camp between Zack Bowman and Earl Bennett. Things are getting a bit testy...and I like it.

Good memory. However, it's not running the plays that I ripped Turner about. It's WHEN he ran them. That's the big problem. There's a big difference between Wolfe up the middle on 1st and 10, at the 50yd line, against the Lions; and multiple downs, inside the Bears' 10yd line, against the Vikings. What makes a good offensive coach is the ability to keep the defense off balance. This requires a bit of creativity, and a large amount of game-flow awareness. Turner may have had the creativity, but he doesn't appear to really understand how the game flows, how to keep his opponents guessing, or how to maximize the opportunities for the surprise, trick, or otherwise unorthodox to the Bears' base plays. Think about it this way... Is it better to let everyone know what your cards are right away in Texas Hold'em, or is it better to hold two aces late into the hand to lure the other players into bad moves? Turner shows his hold cards too early and bets too predictably.

Thanks for pulling that one up, nfo. Revisionist historians would believe themselves if not for historical facts deliverd from witnesses.

Regarding this issue, shouldn't Turner have tried anyway? Is the team only capable of roll outs when Cutler is on the team? Is the team only capable of using Wolfe when Cutler is on the team? Is the team only capable of using Bennett when Cutler is on the team? I guess my point is, even with Orton, a QB with below average mobility, it doesn't hurt to throw a wrinkle into the game plan every once in a while. With or without Cutler, Wolfe and Bennett should have been on the field last year. The rollout is unexpected and causes the defense problems, and makes the overall offense better. The addition of two players who were not given a chance last year also should speak volumes. All I know is, there are NO excuses for Turner this year. He finally has his ingredients, now it's time to feast. And I'm unwilling to accept the same Taco Bell value meal for such a high price.

It's absolutely baffling, infurating, and down-right criminal that anyone coaching these guys NOT to do counter moves has any sort of NFL job to begin with. That's basic, pee-wee football stuff, folks. Once again this illustrates that often time people get promoted far above their actual knowledge and/or ability, and the coaches/front office guys are not infallible bastions of football genius. If stunts, twists, and counter-moves are integrated into how this team rushes the passer, you can guaran-damn-tee that the defense will be better.

What is said in the huddle? I don't know, something like, "It doesn't matter; you won't be here next year." Kind of like the same thing that could be said about Favre if he were picked up. Sure, he's got the respect because of his legacy, but the thing we were more likely to see was a bunch of players semi-irritated with his boneheaded throws into triple coverage. After a few weeks, whispers would have escaped the locker room, and people would have begun to talk about the fact that Favre is washed up. Maybe people would even mention the word "sabotage." A few more weeks go by, a few more horrible INTs, and the fans begin to turn - along with several players - on Favre, knowing that with their defense and running game, they don't need Favre throwing picks in bunches; they need someone who is more likely to hand off and manage the game. That's when people start to honestly consider whether or not the team would be better with Tavaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels. I honestly was predicting this to happen...and I believe the team would have been worse overall had Favre come back for this year than if they were to allow either of their current QBs to start. Just look at the massive choke job he did towards the end of the year last year, just about single-handedly costing the Jets a chance at the playoffs. You are right about one thing: This Favre talk isn't going anywhere for a while, which is horrible considering the fact that it's been going on for several years now, and ESPN has been fellating him nonstop since the draft.

That's actually good news for Minnesota, and bad news for the Bears. Favre is a turnover machine, and in the last few years he's been just as much a hindrance to success as he has been a help.

Forgot to add one thing: Don't worry about getting off the train late at night. There are very good chances that several other Bears' fans will be on that train as well, and at least a handful getting off at the same stop.

I was able to log in quick enough to get tickets for the Giants preseason game as well as the December game agains the Rams! The strategy for TM games: Go for the ones others don't want as much. I recommend non-division first, and then division bums like Detroit. I've always had better success with those than diving in for the Vikings or Packers. As for avoiding the captcha thing, I don't think there is an easy way to do it. It's designed expressly for that reason: to make sure people cannot avoid it. I, for one, am happy as hell that it's there. It stops the computer farms from going and getting the tickets, and only the most enterprising of scalpers can get tons of tickets (i.e. have multiple people sitting at multiple computers to type in the captcha things). I've even heard of scalping companies employing a company full of out-sourced Indians to type those codes in. You gotta figure a scalper makes a lot more for each ticket than they do by paying someone $2.00 a day to type those codes in.

THIS JUST IN!!! In his next article, Joyner will evaluate GMs on his new metrix of WCS, or "Woulda Coulda Shoulda". He'll give a GM +1 if their selection is with in 1 selection of a player who was in the pro bowl in the last year. It's +2 if that same player is left-handed. He'll give a GM -1 if their selection is from a college team that lost by more than 2 TDs in their last game or their last bowl game. Finally, he'll go to a random acronym generator on the internet and give a GM +5 if any of selections' names can be turned into any variation of a curse word. Is anyone else tired of this clown's made up statistics?

TD Receptions: Hester (9) - If he catches just one or two more bombs than last year, things will open up. And considering the improvement in arm strength from Orton to Cutler, this is not hard to see. Receptions: Hester (85) - He develops into the #1 WR. Recieving Yards: Hester (1200) - I'll just make it a round number and keep the koolaid flowing. Tackles: Urlacher (135) - Urlacher has a revitalization, Briggs comes in a very close second. Sacks: Alex Brown (8) - Until the defensive style changes, this is a flaw in the system. The "always rush around the end" strategy is not made for sacks. Interceptionss: Vasher (8) - The Interceptor is back! Forced Fumbles: Tillman (5) - He's still the best at the swipe-tackle.

Because KC Joyner, like most journalists, doesn't know the sport on which he reports, and instead of doing investigative work, or number crunching, or trend analysis, he just pulls a story out of his ass on gut feeling. Then to compound his idiocy, he uses a "stat" like "near-INT" to support his ridiculous, thereby showing how ignorant he really is.

Holy hell. The near INTs from Favre must be astronomical. I'm guessing his near INTs are 2:1 to his actual INTs.

Generally I agree with you when it comes to more informed athletes who appear to have intelligence. For the majority of athletes, however, while they have the right of free speech, it would probably be better for everyone if the athletes just shut their effing traps. It seems that 1 out of 3 interviews with an athlete is a lesson in our school system's failures, and I'd prefer not to have to hear political opinions from someone who can't conjugate a verb correctly (looking at you Emmit Smith and Magic Johnson).

Wrong forum. Mods, please move.

Not to mention the fact that Rex bobbled one or two more snaps that pretty much ruined other drives. There is no way anyone can pin the Super Bowl loss on the Defense. Doing so is utterly ridiculous.

So McKie is as good at FB as any TE or WR on the Bears' roster? WTFever.

I don't care to rank the coaches, but there is no way in hell that Lovie is worse than Jauron the Moron. No friggin way. Jauron...ugh...just, ugh.