DABEARSDABOMB

The defense had zillions of opportunities to get itself off the field while the actual offense didn't have that many opportunities to consistently move the chains. I was most dissapointed with the gameplan by Rivera and the inability to make adjustments by Ron Turner (which is something he's struggled with all season). In those conditions we flat out should not be asking our QB to throw the ball way down the field. We put in the play call, Rex made the right read but with the wet ball it is very very difficult to throw a good deep ball. It sucked that we couldn't connect but Rex has made a living connecting when his deep guy is open so lets not act like it is a typical mistake he made (it just happened at the wrong time). Now the pick he threw to Moose, that I can see complaining about because it was a terrible read.

I would rather have Bob Sanders because he doens't have as much of a history of injuries (although he missed most of this year) and he's also a heck of a lot younger. Brown is the better player when healthy (and one of the best safeties in the league) but he's proven he can't stay on the field and it just isn't worth it. I would be shocked if we didn't pick up a safety in the off-season (if we find one we like) and that could very well be Adam Archeletta who had a terrible year with the Skins after the Skins outbid the Bears (who had interest in him). Lovie is familiar with Adam and Adam is familiar with the scheme/system we run and considering the year he had my guess is after he is released he won't be getting many big money offers and in the end he's going to want to go to a place where he is familiar with the coach and has had success in the system (and that is Chicago with Lovie's D and the Cover 2)

And 100 million will watch the Bears make it back and get over the hump next year!!!!

This year was a lot of fun and this loss is yet another tough thing but it is all the losses that in the end make the wins that much sweeter. I cherish every Bears win because I went through a long period (like most of us) where we would hardly ever win. Now it is time for the franchise to win the big game and I think we are on the right path, have a great foundation and will get back to the game next year (and probably a few more times in the new year) and ultimately win it all and having suffered a super bowl loss as a fan will make that victory that much greater.

I don't blame him. He just played on Sunday and I'm sure his body is taking a beating from the additional games he played in the playoffs.

Since Shoop's general style of offense is far better fitted for a team with a dominate defense (ie major ball control offense that is very bland, but at the same time while it isn't a high octane offense that can score in a few plays, the offense typically will win the TOP battle and keep the defense well rested). I think the problem is Turner is too perfect a match for Rex. Both of these guys love the deep ball and what Rex needs is a guy that shakes his head when Rex gets long ball happy (problem is in this case we have turner calling for a zillion bombs and Rex figures hey nothing wrong since its being called by the OC). I think if you mix Rex with a conservative play caller you get a real good mix because even in a conservative system Rex will take just enough shots to keep a defense honest, yet he won't be given a total free reign like he is with Turner to unleash it at any/all times. And for those that say Rex hasn't gotten better, I ask that you watch the tapes of his last 6 or 7 games and see juts how much better his reads have been. He still needs to learn how to better pick up the blitz and get more comfortable in the pocket (as well as realize there is nothing wrong with leaving the pocket and taking off every once in a while) but as a whole this guy makes the right reads when he isn't pressured (and for the most part throws a great ball). It is just a matter of getting him used to blitz packages (and this comes with experience) as well as having the right plays called (ie make sure you aren't just having everyone running down the field all game, get a little more conservative and use the short stuff more often yet go deep enough to keep the defense honest). And obviously run the living piss out of the ball. I don't really know if Turner is our best bet. Overall he is a solid coordinator but he's a better fit for a team that needs to score a ton of points and in a hurry as opposed to a team that needs to focus more so on getting long drives, protecting the football and obviously score (But the focal point will be to put together longer scoring drives and as a whole if you can get long drives worked out you will have a more consistent offense than when you rely on hitting a few quick big plays and with Rex, even with a conservative offense you'll have the ability for big plays but if we run the right system we should also be more than capable of being a physical run team that wears the other team down in the first half and dominates the second half).

Lets hope

Sounds badass.

Plus Bernard Berrina.

Ya, I think the Edgerin James fiasco in Arizona may be the exact reason we get to keep Briggs.

Because Bryant Gumbel is freaking terrible and shouldn't even be announcing. Shannon Sharpe does pre-game, there are so many black people involved with football reporting its not even funny (pretty much all of the glory Cowboys....Deion/Irvin and than obviously Aikman/Johnson who are not black). Shannon Sharpe, Chris Carter, Kordell is apparently doing it a bit, Marshall Faulk and I'm sure there are more.

I heard that but I thought he was actually saying it saracastically based on how a lot of the media has been calling him that. But I could be wrong and regardless Skip is just there on that show to entertain me (I don't really think much of his opinion) but I get good laughs out of cold pizza in the AM. Actually my favorite person is Jay Feeley who is really well spoken and I realized Kordell handles himself really well too (he was on 1st and 10 today w/Skip).

Shoot, you don't have to worry, I'd recommend against using me as your CPA. I swear every one of my friends always asks me to do there taxes and I look at them, shake my head and go you are just as qualified as me when it comes to taxes (that may not be the case, but I don't want to do there taxes and I don't do taxes for a living so while I've had classes in them, I am far from an expert if someone is doing a complicated return or any return for that matter). Hell, I let the tax people at my work do my taxes for free, haha. Hell, aside from my dad and other employees/auditors I don't think many people get/know what an external auditor does (I didn't even until I finally started the job). And no, we don't add any value to a company, rather without us the company would have no value (from an investors standpoint).

With my rocket arm, I can throw a ball through holes that small

A hurricane would show up and Ditka would be a Patriot and Lovie would beat a Colt

I think Briggs is starting to realize that a lot of guys that take the money and go play somewhere else never really reach the success they had prior. Briggs is in a situation where he plays on a team that has just made it to the superbowl and win or lose this team is going to have a shot at being in the next couple superbowls (barring any sort of disaster in terms of injuries or something else). Plus he knows the system works for him and that the coaches have faith in him and all in all I think in the end he may realize 5 or 8 extra million (in the NFL world of non-guaranteed contracts) may not be that big of a deal.

I have it, but have not actually watched it.

Just going to throw it out there, but I think either Grossman or one of the Rb's get it or one of our Cb's get it (I am thinking one of Tillman/Vasher have a monster game).

We still blitz a lot less than a regular NFL team that doesn't run the cover 2, but you are right, Rivera adds a bit of a different wrinkle using a few more blitzes and Lovie did so too when he was the HC with the Rams (they blitzed more than a typical Cover 2 defense).

This is awesome because Bradley is a big play threat. Plus I want to get him as much experience as possible because I think he's one of the few potential #1 Wr's we have on this team (Bradley has size and ridiculous speed, now he just needs to stay healthy and continue to improve on his route running and hands).

Ya, I think we are going to have some real fun games with Rex at the helm next year (if he can stay healthy for a 2nd consecutive season) but first I want to have one more real fun game with him this year Nope, IIRC he wasn't in the Miami game and I think one or two others.

Apparently this is getting a bit of pub as it was reported by Mortensen that the Bears may use Urlacher on the offensive side of the ball. IIRC, Urlacher was involved in a fake punt or field goal a couple years ago. I think Urlacher is a good enough athlete but overall I'm not a major fan of trick plays because I think a team is better with doing what they practice time in and time out (if I want to throw a deep ball, I'm going to let my best passer do so not some RB or WR, unless they are a former QB). Of course I do realize a trick play can make a defense think twice and work very well, but I prefer using screen passes, running plays and play action to keep a defense honest/trick em.

This is fantastic news. I think Briggs is under-rated by many people since I seem to see a lot of Bear fans think he's mediocre and is only good because he plays along side Urlacher. All I know is I see Briggs make plays that very few OLB's make and that isn't just because we have #54 it is also because Lance Briggs is one of the premiere OLB's in this league. If we can keep him without losing our CB's or other key players than I say do it. If it is him or losing guys like Tommie Harris and Charles Tillman than I say nah.

That I agree with. For football more than any other sport I prefer watching the game on TV. If I can get to a Bear game a year thats great (usually its more like every couple years) but overall I think you pick up a lot more watching the games on TV (well I have trouble keeping up with the game in person since it seems harder to tell what is going on).