adam

You are right, I believe the shorter, lighter off season is contributing to these injuries more than the conditioning program. It is easier to get into game shape over a longer period. They seem to be ramping up too quick.

They are 6-2 in the conference and we are 3-4. I'm not too worried about GB or AZ. AZ will finish at best 9-7, but more than likely 8-8. If GB loses against NYG, they will be 5-5 and would need to run the table to make the playoffs. Our direct competition at this point is DET, CAR, and SF. All 3 have a chance to lose this week. However, if we lose this week, we are essentially eliminated unless we run the table on our last 6.

Might need a new thread starter if we lose this one. Lose this and the season is seriously over, because there is no way we go 6-0 to finish the season. Detroit and Carolina will finish at least 10-6, and have tiebreakers against us, so 11 wins seems like our only shot at this point.

Very interesting, but it seems like injuries are up all around the league this year as well.

Tillman injury is huge with defense already decimated.

Well at least Trestman admits it: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown...33142--nfl.html

I wouldn't say he is that bad. Trestman definitely had a hand in the loss, but it is his first year so I expect some questionable decisions by him. On the 4th down call, he had one vs GB and got it, so for a coach, you are a genius when it works and a dumbass when it doesn't. I agree, I would've rather seen McCown out there in the entire 2nd half, but Cutler is going to stay in until they carry him off on a stretcher. I thought both 2 pt tries were odd, cutting the field in half on the 1st one and a run on the 2nd.

Obviously he has improved but is it enough to commit long term? Like others have said, he will more than likely get the franchise tag and get a 2nd year in this new system.

Cutler left the WAS game 3/8 for 28 yards and a Pick-6. How could he struggle so much vs them on the drives he was in for and others torch them?

Yes, Cutler is the possibly the best QB the franchise has ever had, and the one with the most potential. However, should we be happy with 9-7 or 10-6 for the next 4-5 years if that is all he is going to give us? Backups should work? We are 4-4 when Cutler starts. What is working with the starting QB? This was the no excuse year, and to me he is not living up to the billing and potential.

I agree, I still feel the sample size is too small, but when is it enough? He essentially has 2 full games worth of attempts, and faced 3 different opponents. Of course he is going to have a bad game, almost every QB does. However, when you compare the price vs the performance, it is hard to argue. I don't think any QB is taking this current Bears team to the playoffs or SB this year. We literally have to go 6-1 and our schedule seems to have gotten tougher over night. Baltimore's defense is back, STL just shredded IND, MIN is always a threat with AP, DAL is a tough team, Philly is tough at home, and GB with a healthy Rodgers. We will be lucky to beat CLE and split the other 6 going 4-3 to finish 9-7 and a game or two out of the WC and Division. What about McCown next season with a full offseason to get in sync with WR's, get 1st team reps, wouldn't he be better than he is right now? How could that type of performance not get us to the playoffs, yet Cutler can? The Bears are 3-15 when Cutler throws 2 or more picks and 12-19 when the Defense allows more than 21 pts. So we are more affected by a bad Cutler game than a good one.

Depends on how you define better? Cutler has a higher ceiling and has some physical traits over McCown, but that doesn't always equate to success on the field. The system and the ability to adapt and work within the system, be coached, and correct tendencies and weaknesses are also critical. After seeing McCown over the past 3 games, and Cutler in 8, it just seems that McCown is a better fit for the system.

Well in that case, hell yeah, if we can get anything without any financial liability, that is the way to go.

Carolina just won and has the tie-breaker against us. That puts us essentially 2 games back with 7 to play. Is it possible? Sure, but we have to go 6-1 in our last 7 and they have to go 3-4. That goes for the Division or WC since we have lost all tie-breakers. I don't see them or Detroit losing more than 4, so unless we pull a 6-1 miracle, this game was the dagger. There were two things that happened during the game that you could almost predict before it happened. The Cutler Red zone INT and McCown driving the team down for a TD almost effortlessly. I just wish they would've spread the defense out and allowed McCown to try that 2nd 2pt conversion attempt. Cutting the field in half on the first try was a bad call, and the run into the heart of Detroit's defense on the 2nd attempt was brutal. How about some play action there?

For the money, I would rather let Cutler walk, re-sign McCown, and draft a QB high in the draft. We can then have some payroll flexibility to bring in some FA's.

Jay also got most, if not all the 1st team reps, and that entire 1st drive was more than likely scripted. What did he do the rest of the game? Led the team to 2x FG drives (and one of those we actually lost 5 yards), and threw an INT in the endzone that cost the team at least 3 pts. We lost by 2. It is clear that a McCown-like QB is just better suited for the Trestman system. McCown continues to come in under less than desirable conditions and has excelled. If McCown came in after half, we win by 10 easily. Cutler was clearly hurting and was completely ineffective after that first drive. I applaud him for his effort and grit but that can only get you so far. I would rather save the cap space, let Cutler walk, re-sign McCown, draft a QB early, and allow him to learn the system. When is a sample size large enough? McCown has now faced 3 different opponents, and had similar results.

Brutal loss, season is basically over, especially if we keep running Cutler out there. It is pretty clear that he will not be back. Injured or not McCown is more effective in this offense. Not really debatable anymore.

After last week, this is the biggest game of the season, at home, vs Division opponent, with 1st place in the Division on the line. We also can add a game on CAR for last WC spot if they lose in SF.

BTW the refs were brutal, there were at least 4 blatant Def holding and PI no-calls against GB. They had a handful of jersey on 2x Bennett targets, Jeffrey, and Marshall. Then there was the phantom hold on Bennett, which is the same amount of holding on every block. The Packers did not receive one penalty, amazing.

That's true. I am sure Trestman and Emery already have someone in mind to draft in the next year or two.

For the first time in a long time, I was caught off guard by some of the plays. The Bears were changing plays based on the defensive personnel and alignment, and it was working. Trestman is really building an efficient system and to me it seems like we can only get better. Just think if we added a true slot WR, wow. One word that comes to mind about this offense is dynamic. My only concern right now besides Safety and our Run Defense is our Special Teams. GB had a blocked punt and a successful onside kick. The blocked punt was followed by a 32yd TD run and the onside kick led to a FG. So GB had 10 pts from their ST play alone.

Mannion is a statue. You listed the exact reasons why he would not be a good pick, not mobile and no arm strength.

Yeah Wright was brutal, Conte didn't play bad, just not great. However, Wright was horrible in run support and just seemed out of place on every play.

Yeah, glad to see SMC finally show up. His hustle is finally paying off. Peppers looked a little rejuvenated, maybe he was injured and the bye week allowed him to heal? Rookie LBs - they played great Bostic and Greene were in on almost every play it seemed. The missed gaps were not on them. Anderson missed the one on Starks TD and Wright missed it 2 or 3 other times. DT's - Yeah any help we can get will make a huge difference as we still are getting gashed in the run game. For the first time in a long time I was not worried about our QB throwing a pick. He looked like he belonged there. Coaching staff is really putting together a great system, you can see it slowly taking form. There are still some kinks, but you can see the efficiency and improvement even with all the injuries. How about the O-Line? Another great game vs a 3-4 defense in GB.

Great game, finally! He has been so overdue it has been sickening. Now he needs to keep it up and string together some solid games because we need the Dline pressure.