BearFan2000

Yeah, live and learn I guess. The whole ticket system has me jaded a bit. Brokers have no issue getting gobs of tickets then turning around and selling at or more than double face value. While us true fans who are buying ticket because we want to go to the game have a tough go at it. All the fees are crappy too, surprised they don't have a fee fore the air you breathe while there. I did make a goof though. I went back to exchange and somehow clicked on the giants preseason game and saw two tickets at 91 ea and immediately checked my brain at the door and bought them thinking I'd sell the others I bought on ebay. When I came to my senses I was at the "Thank you for your order" and to the right it said Bears vs Giants 8/22/09...... That game I can't go to..... so if anyone's interested in a couple tickets to that game they are 2 tickets in section 441 row 21. I may list these on Ebay but if anyone here's interested let me know. Wouldn't mind going it would be the first time to see Cutler in a Bears uniform.

Well, I blew it I managed to get to the waiting list screen and decided to open another browser and and double my chances..... sadly that kicked me out of line and I had to scramble then I got back in line and thought well, what if I Just get to the screen where I"m entering text and it got kicked out of line again. I did eventually get a couple shots at some seats but they were 305 ea and 245 ea club seats. I simply can't afford that. Sucks too because they were great seats. near the 50. I did however pick up a couple tickets in section 432, Row 33 at $145 each. Should be a decent view of the field. A little more than I'd like to pay but that was the best seats for the price. I wanted to stay out of the corners of the dish. I was tempted to buy 4 and sell two on ebay to recoup some of the over cost but didn't want to mess with that. The prices thru ticket exchange are much better than Ebay or Stub Hub. I'm going to book a hotel room likely at the Best Western and we'll take the early train so we'll have time to check in and hang out in Chicago. Till it gets closer to game time. I hate rushing around. After the game we'll walk back to the hotel and then check out Tuesday morning and take the train back home. I'm so jazzed about going

I think your right there, and being a Monday night game I would think we'd definitely want a good showing and our starters will be playing I know it's kind of obvious to say that it's possible either the Vikings or the Packers could be fighting us for the division because it obviously couldn't be the Lions. Just don't want to get out there and watch Jay Cutler stye ball cap on the sidelines lol. I figure by that time the Bears should be at the top of their game this year and the offense will be running as fluidly as it can. The vikings are literally a QB away from making some serious noise. The Packers are hard to figure. While I think there's enough talent there to be a good team. I think the season is more entertaining when there is competition in our division. IIRC back in 2001 we were fighting both the Pack and the vikings most of the season and still ended up with the #2 seed. I cannot wait for Aug 15, I'm itching for some Bears Football and the wait is driving me crazy. To see the first pass from Cutler, his first TD pass as a Bear. The crowd is going to explode when he steps on the field and will explode again when he completes his first pass, and erupt when he throws his first TD Pass. Gent's this is going to be a season to remember and hopefully the first of many ) I wonder if I should just use the best available anywhere option. Only looking for 2 seats. Only prob is I can't afford the club seats that are 245 - 350. Lower level seems to be spread out between sidline and end zone, upper has more sideline than end zone, 200 level has more end zone than sideline. The vast majority of seats falls into the upper level. All three areas are in my price range and I should just be happy to get tickets lol. decisions decisions decisions.

Is there any way around the word code thing when ordering tickets on ticketmaster? Since they've added this feature I've lost out on many events due to getting some of the most illegible crap. Meanwhile knowing that every second I waste trying convince the system I'm real is a second that is lost while others are snagging tickets. If I try by phone won't I be put on hold indefinitely? How exactly does Ticketmaster determine best available does it start at the highest dollar tickets and from there closest to the 50 yard line? Haven't been to a Bears game since 2001. I do know that my best strategy online is to pick one game and focus on that. Also to know which price level I want to be in and pick that out so if/when tickets available are well outside my budget I don't have to go back and try again. So I should select the highest price I'm willing to pay from the outset. I'm shooting for the Monday Night game vs the Vikes. Kinda odd though to have a Monday night game that late in the season. In a way I hope that we have something to play for and will play our starters. The vikings at that point may be either out of it or desparately fighting for the last wild card spot. If I get tickets I'm hoping that it's an entertaining game, but no because we are resting starters and they are playing theirs. A blowout in our favor wouldn't bother me either. Can't believe I'm even talking about #1 or #2 seed. Also due to the fact that neither me or my dad are at all interested in driving to the game we are planning on taking the southshore. Being that the last train that day that would go back to south bend leaves 20 min before kickoff we'd be spending the night in a hotel. Seems like the best option is the best western that's approx a quarter mile walk to and from the stadium. Question is is it in an area that we want to be walking at around 11 PM at night after the game? May be a silly question but I don't know this area of Chicago that well. Last game I went to we took the train and it was a noon kickoff and the train stops close to soldier field.

couldn't agree more. A mediocre to average QB would have flourished in that offense. They have weapons coming out their arse. If anyone's a product of a system it's was Cassell benefiting from the talent around him. Put him on a bad team and I'd be willing to bet he won't fare well. I'd even be willing to bet that Brady wouldn't be so great on a crappy team.

You are right on Weiss. I live near South Bend, so whether your an Irish Fan or not during the season that about all you hear about. All home games are televised 2 to 3 times... once live and two times shortened broadcasts. As an Irish fan Weiss' arrogance, self importance, and know it all attitude has run it's course and I've grown tired of it especially given the less than stellar results on the field and the excuses. This year is likely his put up or shut up year. If Notre Dame has another bad season he will be gone. As clueless as ND"s AD is they are smart enough to realize that they will be lynched if they retain him after yet another disappointing season. Just because they studied under a successful Coach does not make them capable of leading a team as a head coach. Rod Marinelli was and is a hell of a defensive position coach he sucked as a head coach. While it doesn't hurt their chances it doesn't grantee they will be good on their own. McDaniels could very well ruin that team for the forceable future the longer he's there. Once you loose your team, look out.. everyone starts heading for the life boats and the ss titanic is left to sink. Whether he realizes it or not Josh has knocked over the first few dominos and the longer he keeps it up the more damage he'll do. Too bad it is an AFC team that we rarely face and not a bitter NFC rival. That could make it far more entertaining. Though we do have Detroit which is perennially melting down and will have to do for cheep entertainment.

Always had a respect for Lynch the guy let his play on the field do his talking and it spoke volumes. He was one of those players who gave you everything they had and he was a class act. A lot of young guys could learn something from him. I think he's spot on with the Marshall and Cutler comments. Marshall has some growing up to but should he grow out of his off the field behavior he will make some team a very solid player that they can count on. Bringing someone in here with his level of maturity issues to a group of young inexperienced WR's is a bad mix. If we bring someone in I'd rather see someone more mature who actually can rub off on the young guys in a good way. I also think he's right about Cutler that he does have some growing up do do but the difference is he knows it and is working on becoming a better pro and he want to show the Bears, their fans and the NFL that Jerry made a wise move in bringing him here.

> I second that, couldn't have said it better. The only thing about the Favre situation is that he was incredibly durable, Green Bay wisely took the risk of basically making him their only viable option and drafting guys to develop behind him and as those guys got to be ready to play Favre was still going strong so they traded them at good value. When you stop and think about it over the past (what seems like forever) that Favre has been starting there that they have to an extent been a QB factory Both Hasselbeck and Brunell went on to solid careers as starters themselves. It also tells me that Green Bay has done a good job developing talent at QB. By no means do I want to Hex Jay but we don't have the luxury of looking back on history to see how durable he will be. But at the same time how can we not take that risk and seek to develop guys under Cutler. For the first time that's even possible here in Chicago that we finally have QB that you'd have to be brain dead not to have him as the undisputed starter. We've all had season tickets to the annual QB carousel and we've finally gotten off that ride. Reading the comments about guys like Brian and others who are looking for a team with stability issues at QB so they may have a shot at starting.... and the list of potential teams does not include the Bears in bold underlined lettering. The Bears have been the joke of the NFL when it comes to finding a QB. Inconsistency and instability have been the only consistent trademarks of our QB derby. We've shuffled through an insane number of guys who we hoped to finally be the guy. We are finally one of those teams that are not in search of potential or looking for a stop gap. We have a clear cut starter and I say we take the risk of developing young guys behind Jay. It's what we've been doing for years only it will be the battle for #2 rather than a starter who won't totally embarrass us week after week. Going the route GB did all those years is what good teams do. Think of San Fran back in the day they had Montana but developed Young to the point that he could step in and made Montana expendable (the serious injury he sustained didn't help), then when Young was at the end of his career, they had Garcia. Good teams use the stability at QB to develop for the future when that guy is either gone or retired. Something we haven't been able to do. The gap between our starters and backups in talent has often been a coin flip. We no longer look to our number #2 as a guy to possibly step in should our #1 inevitably stumble and hope that he can do better, even reaching to the #3 guy because let's face it none of them are any where near spectacular but are serviceable at best. Wasn't Kyle #3 prior to Rex going down in preseason his rookie year and it took what what 1 1/2 preseason games to decide to install Kyle as the starter as a rookie. A good team envisions their #3's potential to hold the clipboard and run the scout team not a potential starter. Only the #2 is the guy that should be ready to step in due to injury. My only concern about our situation is that should Jay go down so likely would our offense. I like Haine as much as the next guy and think he has potential but we've only seen him against other teams scrubs in preseason action. Should something happen and he has to start for more than a game or two I question his readiness. If it's short term though and it's a game here or there then that can help him but if it's extended time the exposure at this stage may do as much damage as good. Hopefully Haine's game experience comes at the end of games where we are comfortably ahead. But on the flip side with Jay here there's no rush to get him ready he can learn at his own pace. Which I think is part of our problem with developing young QB's we've had to rush to get them ready should the guy ahead of them fail. Ours was a system of perpetual panic mode. In light of that it's by far still worth the risk of not having a vet to back up Jay. The long term effect of the Cutler trade could be that we will be set at QB for the present and the future, and can actually develop guys naturally like it should be done.

Along with that the press coverage makes it more difficult for the receivers to get separation as the play develops since the DB is deploying tighter coverage. Which translates to fewer options and tighter throwing lanes. One reason I wish we'd press more often it drives me up a wall to watch our DBs 10 yards off the ball practically giving them 5-10 yard gains. You could eat us alive with screens. I can see it if your facing a top tier WR but we back off of everyone. That is one of the things I hope gets changed and we get more aggressive on both sides of the ball. As for the comments.... what do we really expect him to say? What are most if not all the talking heads saying? That we have a QB but nothing special at WR. Not exactly a newsworthy quote, it's the outsider's party line. While at this point it's true because the potential is unknown and their is little to draw on to say "shut up Driver you don't know what the hell your talking about." As a fan I'm confident that this group plus anyone should we add another WR will step up this year and by the end of this season will have more of an identity. From the outside looking in if you weren't a fan of the Bears or didn't know much about them, you would know who Hester is, possibly Olsen and Clarke and you know who Cutler is but outside of that who in this group has made a name for themselves? I would say no one outside of us fans who can name them all and even provide some evaluation of them to where we can make educated guesses at who will stick who's possibly gone and so on, would know anything about them.

Hoping that's not the case but I know what you mean

he's also conveniently forgetting that early on in 2006 when Rex was doing well and winning weekly awards the fans in general embraced him. The Arizona game alone wouldn't have brought the ire of the fans if it were just a blip. Problem was it was a habenger of things to come. He followed it up with a mediocre game against the Dolphins. From that point on it was up and down the fan base grew tired of the inconsistency an early pick in a game and it made us all uneasy about the rest of the game. As pointed out in the other thread his highs were good his lows were horrible. And the Bears went to the super bowl that year due in large part to the Defense and special teams more so than the offense sure Rex was good at the start but teams figured him out and our offense struggled due to Rex's inconsistency. He was part of why the bears made it but Jyoner makes it sound as though Rex lead the team to the super bowl. He also seems to forget that in that game which was close most of the way but the offense could never get it done then Rex ended the game with a pick six. Which is when I shut the game off. IMHO when you have to create a stat "near-interception" to justify slamming Jay that's reaching. His boy Rex by that same measuring stick would have had and obscene amount of INT. I've re watched the early games and one of the things that jumps out at me is Rex got away with things in the early part of the season that caught up to him later. I will say this though that Chicago fans will turn on anyone if they don't meet expectations. Even Jay if he performs poorly the fans would run him out of town as well. I just don't see him doing poorly enough to get that treatment.

I have a feeling this group could very well surprise a lot of people us included. We've shuffled guys in and out of the system year after year with limited success but now that we have a QB like Cutler I believe he can make them all better. When the QB is is ok or average he needs the other 10 guys around him to be good for him to be good when you have an all pro caliber QB he can make the other 10 guys look better. I see Cutler as that kind of guy who will make his teammates better and will give us a much more realistic perspective of how our current group of WR's are.

Second that, well thought out and well written it's very true that sometimes what seems like the worst of situations becomes the turning point to bigger better things. The point at which you realize and admit that maintaining the status quo will not get the job done. It takes humility to admit that your philosophy needs to be re-examined and be willing to make major changes. I think you are correct had we hung on and won that game and made it to the playoffs regardless of the results in the postseason it would have likely been enough to justify staying the course. Which would just be rewarding flawed thinking and flawed execution. We as fans may have not thought much of it as we've come to expect this and to an extent bought into the idea that we are only a few minor pieces away. While we'd love to see major moves and wholesale changes in philosophy we would likely be content with the minor upgrades that you mentioned. Problem with that thinking is that for that philosophy to work you need everything to go your way for it to work, the perfect mix of players, and many things need to go your way in games and in the course of the season. Injuries, tough breaks in games, etc. It doesn't take much to poke holes and collapse your plans and what seemed like a good enough plan falls well short. As it turns out we as Bears fans have seen things other franchises have done over the years but have never seen a the Bears do, we had an offseason I don't think many here expected I can still remember when the trade was made thinking holy shnikies, tell me this isn't a sick april fools joke, but it was real we did just go after and acquire a pro bowl QB. We didn't stop there. The Bears were very aggressive and smart with their decisions. Rather than doing just enough to say "we tried" they went all out and were determined to make some things happen. As a fan I'm excited to see how that reflects on the players. If I was on the team I'd be excited and re-energized because we are focused on making the necessary changes to win I'd be motivated to work harder and push higher. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. The Bears were never going to be better than a team with potential who once in a while made some noise with the occasional dream season. Those dream seasons or anomalies were just enough to justify plotting along the same course of action. One could argue that one of these dream seasons could result in a SB win (one of them very well could have). But the chances are higher of ending up with what we usually get, which is disappointment and the typical "maybe next year". While we could continue playing gridiron lottery and hope we hit the jackpot it was time for a change of strategy. It's exciting to see what the future holds. I'm so used to not expecting much and hoping for the best and justifying in my own mind that this years team will get it done. Cautiously Optimistic was my stance, this season could change all that this season could be the year we as Bears fans begin expecting excellence. I know I keep saying to myself don't expect to much too quickly we've been wounded before and disappointed before to the point where we don't allow ourselves to fully be excited about our team because experience has taught us to be syndical. My Pledge as a Bears Fan I hereby throw off the shackles of mediocrity and I will come out and say it I expect big things this year. I expect the difference to be night and day and I expect a serious run at a championship. I will to the best of my ability fight any negative impulse to lower my expectation. I understand that there will be ups and downs but I expect the ups to be higher and the downs to be shallower, short lived, and temporary. I expect players in every phase of the game to play at a higher level. From the water boy on up to the QB and the coaches and front office. I expect this team to become a perennial force and I expect this team to be a regular in the playoffs and have regular representation in the pro bowl. Am I expecting too much? I say no, I'm tired of expecting nothing and clinging to what decent results we get. I'm tired of being a pessimist watching a team hoping for a good effort and a win but but expecting much less. I will walk the line of being a homer but not crossing it. If we don't succeed I expect us to shuffle the deck as necessary to get the cards we need. I believe this once proud franchise can live again.

That one sounds pretty interesting and at that price it's worth taking a chance on. Thanks for the reply, I'm pretty sure I will be picking up fallout 3. Civilization Revolution is one I definitely recommend. It's a turn based game. I've played it exclusively for a few weeks now and have yet to encounter the same map twice. The competing civilizations are random and never in the same spots. Features multiple levels of play including a tutorial level. The game starts and you are on a land mass of which you can only see part of; the rest is shrouded in fog till you explore. You are only able to see the areas of the map that you've visited either by land or see or areas that have been revealed to you by information obtained from friendly villages or from conquering barbarian villages. At the start you have one settler unit which you can move and decide where to settle your first city which becomes your capitol (except on the tutorial level which your first city has already been started). Four paths to victory, Economic, Cultural, Technology, or good old fashioned domination. As the game progresses you choose which technologies your research and each new tech triggers new technologies to be discovered as well as new buildings, units (people, soldiers, naval, air, or land based military vehicles. Also throughout the game as you run into units or land belonging to other civilizations you have the ability to negotiate peace, war or trade of technology, etc. Early on you will be offered piece but as the game progresses more and more the offers will be peace for x number of turns in exchange for money or tech and your options are either accept (avoid the temptation to give in), counter offer (may or may not trigger war), outright refuse (triggers war), or consult your advisors (useless option you have two advisors one says give in the other says kick their arse, and you just end up right back at making your choice. My first game on the tutorial level I wasn't even sure what I was doing but I over ran my opponents with Sherman tanks lol Granted if you can't win on the tutorial level you have no business playing this game. The levels are Chifant (sp?), Warlord, King, Emperor, and Deity I'm currently playing on King. For kicks I tried Deity twice, got my arse handed to me in 7 turns (turns 2-6 are simulated so I actually got defeated in 3 turns as they captured my capitol that I foolishly left unguarded). Second attempt at Deity I stuck around for much longer but found that the other 4 civs basically take turns harassing you and surrounding your cities as it seems like you begin the game as an undeveloped civ vs 4 developed civs. Obviously the higher level you play at the more critical it is to pick one victory strategy and put all your effort towards that. One suggestion though turn the volume down on your advisors till you can barely hear them the text on the screen is what you need to read the advisors just annoyingly repeat the same unintelligible gibberish over and over add nauseam. Every verbalization you hear is gibberish and means nothing whether its supposed to be english or some other language and pointless so I just turn that volume either off or down really low or I just catch myself saying "Shut up!" Economic Victory - reach a set amount of gold and build the world bank wonder Cultural victory - develop set number of great people or flipped cities (opposing cities that decide to join your civ) Technology - build the Apollo wonder, build, and launch a space station to arrive at Alpha Centuri Domination - capture all four opposing capitols or be leading in the domination category by the year 2100 AD.

It sure is, we've had so many newbies and no names come through here. Granted D-Line coach isn't typically a high profile spot but Merinelli's name recognition and his reputation around the league as brought attention to the d-line along with the fact that the d-line over the last couple seasons has been disappointing. IMHO the position he is in is where he belongs and fits best. I think head coach was over his head but being a defensive line or defensive coordinator is more in his wheel house. I'm a very effective production artist where I work (have to be I'm the only one left) but if I were to be put in charge of a large portion of the company I'm sure the results would be disappointing too. Not everyone is cut out to be a head coach. Defense is Rod's area of expertise and where he can be most effective. Not to say that some day he wouldn't be capable of being a head coach at some point. I'm thrilled we have him here and that he's working with our D-Line. I've always had a deep respect for his tough, high energy, high expectation mentality. I'm looking forward as much to the season to see how the D-Line does as much as I am Cutler and the offense. The D-Line needed some new life and new energy. When you have a coach like Marinelli I have to think his attitude will rub off on the players. The whole defense could use a boost. But it all starts in the trenches if you don't stop the run, or get pressure on the QB it makes it that much harder for the DB's to maintain solid coverage. As the saying goes give a QB all day to throw and he'll pick you apart. The longer a pass play is alive the harder it is to maintain coverage. If the D-Line play improves dramatically it will have a very positive effect on our defense and create more opportunities for INTs. If the line play does play at a high level and provide good pass rush and run defense we may find that our question marks arent' as glaring. When your line doesn't get pressure and is getting it's butts handed to them in the trenches the pressure on the secondary increases dramatically and the margin of error all but disappears. It doesn't matter if you play good coverage for the first part of a play but make a bad choice when the play is extended.

Looking for some good open ended strategy/adventure type games for the Xbox360. The type of games where you have free reign to do as you please for the most part and can pick your own path/goals instead of being forced to follow one preset path. One game I'm looking at is Fallout 3 which I've heard good things about. I picked up a copy of Sid Meir's Civilization Revolution and I've been hooked on that I like games that have depth and many choices and the choices you make have an effect but also provide multiple paths to victory. I'm by no means an avid hardcore gamer, I'm not to big on the first person shooters and overly complex games drive me nuts. After 12 hours at work the last thing I need is to get more frustrated. LOL. Back in the day I used to play this MMORPG game called The Realm where you pick your character, assign a set of attributes as you see fit then you play to level up as one of a variety of class of characters who each have different starting strengths and weaknesses. I guess the game still exists but it's strictly PC, no Mac version.

his hands were the thing that jumped out at me watching video of him. his ability to adjust and snag the ball out of the air. He's kind of my guy who I think is going to surprise some people this year. He seems to have great body control and awareness. Catching even balls that are perfectly thrown (and not every one will be) as a receiver you need to be able to adjust when the ball isn't where it should be to either make the catch or make a play on it to make sure if you don't catch it no one else will.

we're entering uncharted waters gents and I"m pleased as punch. or kool-aid All my years as a bears fan I watched as other teams regularly found solid QB play not all but many and some seemed to have more than their share of talented QB's. There's a reason the Bears have by tradition been a team defined by tough D and a running game. Overall our QB play has been impressively bad. The comment that Chicago is where receivers go to die would more appropriately be put where receivers go to disappear. I was watching a Payton video and was amazed at how versatile he really was. He was even handed or pitched the ball to throw it because he was a better passer than our QB at the time. Now that's pathetic. For soo long we've grown used to not expect much beyond our QB not drooling all over himself on the field that so much of the hype surrounding Cutler is that we are excited to see someone at QB for the Bears who actually is expected to be good and has proven to be good and still in the early part of his career. All my life it seems I've gone into the season hoping our current QB will do well but not overly confident that he will. For too long we've had to be satisfied with a guy who has potential but has yet to really prove any of it. We are also somewhat nervous not knowing what to expect. Soldier Field will probably erupt when he throws his first TD pass as if we'd never seen that before. I think there will be some ups and downs and growing pains as he get's acclimated to his teammates and our offense. I have to think that it makes Ron's job calling plays a lot easier, as I'm sure there are things he'd like do but has to say.... well we can't do that. I think this is Ron's chance to prove he is a good OC and to an extent the shackles have been removed. Getting back to the premiss of the thread I'm excited to watch a game where we the offense might be called on to win it in the 4th and now we have a QB that as a fan I'm confident he can get it done. I have a lot of respect for Kyle but he was a game manager and his job was not to lose games for us. We now have a guy who we can count on to play well to close the game and can be a game changer. I hate to speak the name Favre but how many times were the packers up against the wall or on the ropes and in walked the one who's name I shall not mention again would seemingly effortlessly drive them down for the game winner. There have been too many games where I knew we wouldn't win it because to win we needed our offense to step up and make some plays and you just knew they weren't capable outside of some freaky miracle series of events like in 2001 with back to back OT wins of which I'd have to say the one at Cleveland was the freakiest, with Shane noodle arm Mathews at QB we scored something like two or three TDs in the last 3 min (memory a little fuzzy) to set up the win in OT. We would have been blown out in AZ in 2006 if it weren't for another one of the craziest string events I've seen on a football field in a long time. Imagine winning games legitimately with skill and execution rather than relying on big plays on special teams or defense or colossal blunders by the opponent. The 85 Bears didn't dominate because they were lucky they dominated because they were dam good, they were aggressive, relentless, and intimidating. The other way Jay factors into the 4th Qtr is that through the previous 3 Qtrs the D will not have been expected to keep us in the game hoping the offense will do something. I played Defensive Tackle and there was nothing more deflating than coming up with a key stop only to see the offense then go 3 and out and your back on the field again I can't even begin to imagine how deflating that would be to experience game in and game out. With Jay at the helm our offense should pull it's own weight and take the pressure off the D so they are fresher in the 4th Qtr. Jay's never played with level of talent we have on D. I have a feeling that the D is going to be re-energized and back to a higher level of play this year. And that will make Jay's job easier..... shoot we may actually see what a balanced team looks like when all three phases can hold their own..... what a concept.

Even though it is one game in a dome and his stats look to be better than his average. Granted the queens dome is a tougher place to play than the Georgia dome to this point. I see it as a good sign that there isn't significant drop off. When I look at the whole together what jumps out at me is Jay is consistent, like anyone he can and will have a bad game but unlike Wrex it won't be the start of a downward spiral. I have every confidence that the following game he'll be back up to par. It's like having a QB who can play at a level at or above Grossman's best but without the inconsistency, poor mobility, and poor decision making. It's been so long since we've had anything consistent at the QB position other than inconsistency. Case in point the dreaded list which I believe that this season will be the last season that list is brought up and it will be brought up with the comment to the effect of "and the Bears are hoping that Jay can finally put an end to the desperate search." Honestly I don't know what to expect at first, It's sad to think about it but I"m 32 years old and Jay is potentially the best QB the Bears have had in my lifetime. Not to diss Jimmy Mac but he just couldn't stay healthy. We've had guys who had one good season at QB, when was the last time we had a QB that we could realistically expect to be good year in and year out? I can't think of one other than McMahon. Good things man.... good things. Let's get it on!!!

Was Willie Gault ever a fully pollished elite WR? I think not. He had elite speed like Hester does. We never tried to make Gault into something he was not we basically just said beat your man deep and we'll get the ball to you. I see Hester more as the Willie Gault type guy. I don't think he'll ever be the complete polished stud WR but I don't think he has to be. His speed makes things like double moves and the like to be effective because they have to respect the speed. And now with Cutler I think they have to be even more aware. If we get or develop a guy to be a solid WR that also demands respect of the defenses then you are building a nice passing game. Throw in the TE's and the vertical game stretches the defense and opens up lanes for a solid ground game. And as nfo pointed out history is not on his side as far as long term success, at least not at the rate he was doing it. 6 in is rookie year, 7 in his second year. One way or another that rate would dwindle. Teams not giving him a chance to return, teams focusing on their coverage more, a serious injury on a fluke tackle (not that that can't happen elsewhere), getting a big head (which I think was part of the problem last year trying to make each return a home run), over-thinking (returning is mostly instinctive and reactionary when you think too much about it you tend to do stupid things and we saw plenty of stupid last year). At the time durning his rookie and second year I know I was guilty of thinking how can we get Hester the ball more. When you have someone like that you get greedy and try to invent new ways to use him because like me going to gas station to buy lottery tickets seeing dollar signs in my head I saw Hester and saw TD's in my head. Just like with Cutler I have many happy thoughts dancing in my head but I need to reign it in a little with anything there will be ups and downs fortunately with Jay though he has a higher ceiling and a shallower basement than any QB we've had in a long long time. I think this will help Hester in the passing game.

He did. Nice to see him catching the ball with his hands and not his body. Obviously that video is cut together and the dropped passes removed but I have a feeling the receivers are starting to get used to a ball arriving on target and in a hurry. This will be an education for the WR group they are not used to playing with a QB of this caliber. Once they click I have a feeling we'll see a night and day difference in the passing game. WR not having to break stride or adjust to locate the ball. The more adjustment they have to make the easier it is for DB's to close in and make plays either on the ball or making the tackle. I think with Cutler our WRs moves and cuts and routes will be more effective. A well executed double move does no good if you have to stop, locate and adjust to the ball. Man Cutler throws a nice tight spiral and it is placed well. His mechanics are sound and he has a cannon, and he's mobile. I can't wait for Aug either, I have a feeling that these "no names" will be known by the end of the season. We finally have a guy behind center who can make guys around him better rather than require the other 10 guys around him be good to make him look average. One thing I do hope our WR's improve in this year and it's been one of my gripes for a while now is that if you can't make the catch you better darn well make sure the DB can't either. I don't want to see anymore half hearted efforts to break up interceptions. It's maddening to watch a receiver give up because he can't make the catch only to see it picked off when the WR had a chance to knock it away.

I think he lacks confidence LOL

He is right, there will be playoffs this coming season and he'll be able to watch them on his big screen tv

I'm sorta on the fence about Deng and Gordon. There was a time when really liked them but Deng seems too miss a lot of time. And Ben can be an offensive black hole who hasn't quite got the concept of passing the ball or playing defense. When he's on he's lights out but when he's not he's a liability since he just keeps jacking up shots and not passing the ball. Deng has a lot of talent but I question if he has enough desire. Gordon, if he dedicated himself to improving on defense and would quit being a ball hog he could be a very good all round player. Right now he's one dimensional and it's a roll of the dice whether that one dimension will help you or kill you. The Bulls were their own worst enemy in game 7. You cannot go through stretches like that where you seemingly turn the ball over every possession. One of the flaws with this team is that they play harder and better when they are behind than when ahead. Build a double digit lead then go to the one pass and shoot offense jacking up dumb shots and not working the offense. When the lead starts to slip away they press and get sloppy. It's like they forget to keep doing what got them the lead. Throughout the series there was never once a lead that I thought was safe. They had a horrible second quarter in the last game and dug such a deep hole that they couldn't climb out of. The refs have been bad across the board, but this is the NBA where "Inconstancy Happens". I don't have my rose colored glasses on and I did not say that the refs cost the Bulls this series or any game in it. Just pointing out they were atrocious and in game 6 it seemed like Boston was getting all the calls at critical points. But throughout the game and the series it's mostly a wash as NBA officials are just bad. The Bulls are a young team and have much to learn and so does Vinny and his staff. I think they showed a lot of heart in the series and fought the whole way There were many opportunities to fold and they would just keep fighting. I love that in a team and with a good offseason and good TC I think they can have a bright future. IMO Boston won't win their second round and I doubt the Bulls would have won the 2nd round if they'd have advanced. I think it's kinda mute since I have a hard time imagining anyone but Cleveland making it to the finals from the East.

That's no excuse... suck it up kid