SoxFan1 Posted December 28, 2008 Report Share Posted December 28, 2008 Everyone is pissed we blew it and all, and this team definitely needs a lot of work, but here's a look at some of the bright spots from the season... 1.) We won 9 games: Yes, we blew 3 games early in the season and we could have easily won 12 or 13, but we improved. We went from 7-9 to 9-7 when people thought we'd be even worse. 2.) Greg Olsen: He had 1 terrible game against Carolina, but he's established himself as a top TE and a great receiving threat. When you have a TE that NFL CB's have trouble defending, you have something good. 3.) Kyle Orton (pre-injury): He was pretty awesome in a few games for us, and before his injury, I really thought we might have had a long-term QB on our hands. He still has a long way to go (looking off defenders, improving the deep ball) but unless we get a legit QB in the offseason, I want Orton as our QB next yr, hopefully with a completely healthy ankle. 4.) Isreal Idonije and Alex Brown: After many complained about Brown's play in 2007, he really came ready to play in 08. He was by far our best, and most consistent defensive lineman. Idonije has kinda been a DE/DT combo lineman but he really excelled this year for us and went from a special teamer/backup to a legit linemen for us. 5.) Matt Forte: Doesn't really need explaining. He's a workhorse. He can run, he can catch, and he's a pretty damn good blocker in the backfield too. With (hopefully) an improved O-Line in 09, he could really become a premier RB. 6.) Danieal Manning as a Kick Returner: He's flippin' good. 7.) Brad Maynard/Robbie Gould: Continue to make the Bears one of the better Special Teams units in the NFL. 8.) Corey Graham/Kevin Payne: Both of the youngsters had some good games for us, and look to be the young replacements for Nate Vasher and Mike Brown. I'd love to have Payne start at SS for us next year, but we really need a legit FS to play next to him in order for them to excel. 9.) Lance Briggs: It's not the system, because the system sucks. He's a great LB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Hochuli 3:16 Posted December 28, 2008 Report Share Posted December 28, 2008 Everyone is pissed we blew it and all, and this team definitely needs a lot of work, but here's a look at some of the bright spots from the season... 1.) We won 9 games: Yes, we blew 3 games early in the season and we could have easily won 12 or 13, but we improved. We went from 7-9 to 9-7 when people thought we'd be even worse. Totally agree. 2.) Greg Olsen: He had 1 terrible game against Carolina, but he's established himself as a top TE and a great receiving threat. When you have a TE that NFL CB's have trouble defending, you have something good. Agreed again. Too bad we don't utilize him enough. Honestly, he should get 10-12 passes thrown his way each game. 3.) Kyle Orton (pre-injury): He was pretty awesome in a few games for us, and before his injury, I really thought we might have had a long-term QB on our hands. He still has a long way to go (looking off defenders, improving the deep ball) but unless we get a legit QB in the offseason, I want Orton as our QB next yr, hopefully with a completely healthy ankle. I hope to God it was just the injury that made him look so bad from the Packers game on. I hope he's the answer. His deep ball still needs serious work, though. 4.) Isreal Idonije and Alex Brown: After many complained about Brown's play in 2007, he really came ready to play in 08. He was by far our best, and most consistent defensive lineman. Idonije has kinda been a DE/DT combo lineman but he really excelled this year for us and went from a special teamer/backup to a legit linemen for us. Idonije looked very good the first few games, but nothing too much from there on. Hopefully he can turn it on for most of the year next season. Brown? He was our best DL this year. Kudos to him on that. 5.) Matt Forte: Doesn't really need explaining. He's a workhorse. He can run, he can catch, and he's a pretty damn good blocker in the backfield too. With (hopefully) an improved O-Line in 09, he could really become a premier RB. Can't add much to that. He was our brightest player this year. 6.) Danieal Manning as a Kick Returner: He's flippin' good. Devin who? 7.) Brad Maynard/Robbie Gould: Continue to make the Bears one of the better Special Teams units in the NFL. Gould was gold, and Maynard really played well when conditions became worse. Awesome year, in all, for both guys. 8.) Corey Graham/Kevin Payne: Both of the youngsters had some good games for us, and look to be the young replacements for Nate Vasher and Mike Brown. I'd love to have Payne start at SS for us next year, but we really need a legit FS to play next to him in order for them to excel. Payne looked so good the first half the year. He was all over the place. Lately, he looked bad. Graham was a pleasant surprise. He is a pretty good cover CB. 9.) Lance Briggs: It's not the system, because the system sucks. He's a great LB. Again, I can't add much here. He might be the best OLB in football. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChileBear Posted December 28, 2008 Report Share Posted December 28, 2008 A few more positives: Lions are 0-16 and likely will need a new coach, again. Puckers finish at 6-10. Not all is bad! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bears4Ever_34 Posted December 28, 2008 Report Share Posted December 28, 2008 I will puke if Rod Maraneli becomes our new defensive coordinator because Lovie and him are "friends". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madlithuanian Posted December 28, 2008 Report Share Posted December 28, 2008 Hold a place in line for me in the vomitorium... I will puke if Rod Maraneli becomes our new defensive coordinator because Lovie and him are "friends". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDaddy Posted December 29, 2008 Report Share Posted December 29, 2008 Everyone is pissed we blew it and all, and this team definitely needs a lot of work, but here's a look at some of the bright spots from the season... 1.) We won 9 games: Yes, we blew 3 games early in the season and we could have easily won 12 or 13, but we improved. We went from 7-9 to 9-7 when people thought we'd be even worse. Yeah boy, yipee we went from 7-9 to 9-7. Too freakin bad we a were 13-3 the season before that. 2.) Greg Olsen: He had 1 terrible game against Carolina, but he's established himself as a top TE and a great receiving threat. When you have a TE that NFL CB's have trouble defending, you have something good. I guess you missed his two drops today. I don't care whether he's covered or not, he has got to make those catches. 3.) Kyle Orton (pre-injury): He was pretty awesome in a few games for us, and before his injury, I really thought we might have had a long-term QB on our hands. He still has a long way to go (looking off defenders, improving the deep ball) but unless we get a legit QB in the offseason, I want Orton as our QB next yr, hopefully with a completely healthy ankle. I'm not giving him a contract until I'm sure he really has it. 4.) Isreal Idonije and Alex Brown: After many complained about Brown's play in 2007, he really came ready to play in 08. He was by far our best, and most consistent defensive lineman. Idonije has kinda been a DE/DT combo lineman but he really excelled this year for us and went from a special teamer/backup to a legit linemen for us. Agreed 5.) Matt Forte: Doesn't really need explaining. He's a workhorse. He can run, he can catch, and he's a pretty damn good blocker in the backfield too. With (hopefully) an improved O-Line in 09, he could really become a premier RB. They need to leave him in there instead of sitting him, he can handle the load. He needs more carries to get better. 6.) Danieal Manning as a Kick Returner: He's flippin' good. He sucks everywhere else but he can return kicks. 7.) Brad Maynard/Robbie Gould: Continue to make the Bears one of the better Special Teams units in the NFL. 8.) Corey Graham/Kevin Payne: Both of the youngsters had some good games for us, and look to be the young replacements for Nate Vasher and Mike Brown. I'd love to have Payne start at SS for us next year, but we really need a legit FS to play next to him in order for them to excel. Paynes a bum, he can't tackle and is out of position ALOT. launch him . I like Graham 9.) Lance Briggs: It's not the system, because the system sucks. He's a great LB. The only guy who got paid who showed up this year. Thank you Mr Urlacher, Mr Harris, Mr Hester . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam Posted December 29, 2008 Report Share Posted December 29, 2008 The problem is the negative side outweighs the positive side 2 to 1. It is actually amazing this team won 9 games. We beat Detroit twice, so we basically played .500 ball all year. Totally disappointed, and the Dallas and Tampa losses just made it worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Connorbear Posted December 29, 2008 Report Share Posted December 29, 2008 Hold a place in line for me in the vomitorium... Let me ask you this - Marnelli or Babich? Let's assume Angelo tells Lovie he has to make a change. If you are Lovie, don't you tell him you will do it only if you get your original choice? Peace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason Posted December 29, 2008 Report Share Posted December 29, 2008 2.) Greg Olsen: He had 1 terrible game against Carolina, but he's established himself as a top TE and a great receiving threat. When you have a TE that NFL CB's have trouble defending, you have something good. I guess you missed his two drops today. I don't care whether he's covered or not, he has got to make those catches. Are you serious!?! I guess you have a different definition of "drop" than others. If any thing, I'd call those a "well defended". You can't expect the guy to come up with all the tough catches. He's made several this year, but those weren't drops. Those were two good defensive plays by a DB who got his hand in the mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madlithuanian Posted December 29, 2008 Report Share Posted December 29, 2008 Marinelli. At least he has some pro success as a coord... But I'd prefer something much better. It's kind of like a choice of soda flavors of sh&t and dirt. I'll take dirt, but would prefer cola... Odds are you are right. To me JA doesn't have the nads to challenge Smith. Let me ask you this - Marnelli or Babich? Let's assume Angelo tells Lovie he has to make a change. If you are Lovie, don't you tell him you will do it only if you get your original choice? Peace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason Posted December 29, 2008 Report Share Posted December 29, 2008 The problem is the negative side outweighs the positive side 2 to 1. It is actually amazing this team won 9 games. We beat Detroit twice, so we basically played .500 ball all year. Totally disappointed, and the Dallas and Tampa losses just made it worse. It's a difference of opinion of course, but I'm in near total disagreement with your statement. I don't think the negatives outweigh the positives 2 to 1. I called it preseason, during the season, and I will stick by it: The Bears are a 10+ win team, but their coaches are bad. Take out the Bears' coaches, and I don't even think it's close. There were 3 or 4 games just left on the field this year as a result of coaching, at least that many. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bears4Ever_34 Posted December 29, 2008 Report Share Posted December 29, 2008 Marenelli doesn't exactly have the greatest of resumes. His team went 0-16 and that "his defense" was apart of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoxFan1 Posted December 29, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2008 The negativity of this board boggles my mind. We're ripping on Greg Olsen? Really.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Connorbear Posted December 29, 2008 Report Share Posted December 29, 2008 The negativity of this board boggles my mind. We're ripping on Greg Olsen? Really.... Fairly amazing isn't it. I thought the DBs made 2 great plays on him in the endzone punching the ball out both times. He needs to learn how to use his body to shield the defender from the ball. Peace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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