I just do not understand the pessimism.....

[Pixote]

We have an OL with 3 new starters that need time to gel as a unit and will get better as the season progresses. As they become a "unit" our running game and pass protection will only improve. They faced 2 3-4 defenses in weeks one & two and now have that experience under their belt as well.

 

We have a very young and inexperienced WR group that is getting better and better as they learn on the run. Knox & Bennett has exceeded my early expectations and look like the real deal. Hester is coming up huge in critical situations. We are seeing a very good WR group in their infancy growing on a game to game basis.

 

Cutler is still working to get to know the tendencies of the WR group. He had a rough start in week 1 but has been every bit as good as I had hoped for in the past two weeks. He will only get better as he helps to develop our young WR group.

 

We went into week one against one of the best QB/WR groups in the league. We were still in the game at the end. I fully expected to get blown out of the water that game as I expected to see huge points put up against us. Yes, I was disappointed in the last 2 minujtes of the game.

 

We beat the Steelers. I do not care if they missed 2 field goals. That is part of the game. WE WON! We do not need to apologize for that. It was an excellent win we should be celebrating. How many of us had that game in the win column with our predictions before the season started?

 

This week we were playing away in one of the more difficult stadiums to play in. Many of us had this as a loss in our early season predictions as well. We started off slowly, yes. However, we got accustomed to the noise level and conditions and played excellent football the final 3 quarters.

 

Yes, Seattle was missing their 3 time Pro Bowl QB. Yes they were missing other starters as well. You know what, we started the season with both our starting CBs taking limited reps and our nickle coming back from injuries as well. We lost our Pro Bowl MLB in the first half of game one. We lost an excellent starting LB in the first series of game one. Harris has struggled with his knee. Then we lose our backup MLB in game three. Last I looked injuries and their effect on a teams success has been a part of the game since the early 20's when the NFL was born. WE WON!

 

This team is a work in progress that is going to get better and better as the season progresses. I am personally excited to see this team grow.

[nfoligno]

Who is pessimistic? Listening to the radio and such, while flaws are pointed out, there is no question to me most of the talk is positive?

 

I personally am very down on our OL. Yes, I realize the OL has several new starters and it takes time to gel, but I personally just question if they are that good. Pace flat out looks old. Williams flat out looks flat. And Omiyale is freaking awful. It kills me to say this, but next to these guys, Garza is actually looking pretty good.

 

The good news is we have a QB that can compensate for a weak OL, but w/ that said, I do think there is reason to worry about this unit.

 

We have an OL with 3 new starters that need time to gel as a unit and will get better as the season progresses. As they become a "unit" our running game and pass protection will only improve. They faced 2 3-4 defenses in weeks one & two and now have that experience under their belt as well.

 

We have a very young and inexperienced WR group that is getting better and better as they learn on the run. Knox & Bennett has exceeded my early expectations and look like the real deal. Hester is coming up huge in critical situations. We are seeing a very good WR group in their infancy growing on a game to game basis.

 

Cutler is still working to get to know the tendencies of the WR group. He had a rough start in week 1 but has been every bit as good as I had hoped for in the past two weeks. He will only get better as he helps to develop our young WR group.

 

We went into week one against one of the best QB/WR groups in the league. We were still in the game at the end. I fully expected to get blown out of the water that game as I expected to see huge points put up against us. Yes, I was disappointed in the last 2 minujtes of the game.

 

We beat the Steelers. I do not care if they missed 2 field goals. That is part of the game. WE WON! We do not need to apologize for that. It was an excellent win we should be celebrating. How many of us had that game in the win column with our predictions before the season started?

 

This week we were playing away in one of the more difficult stadiums to play in. Many of us had this as a loss in our early season predictions as well. We started off slowly, yes. However, we got accustomed to the noise level and conditions and played excellent football the final 3 quarters.

 

Yes, Seattle was missing their 3 time Pro Bowl QB. Yes they were missing other starters as well. You know what, we started the season with both our starting CBs taking limited reps and our nickle coming back from injuries as well. We lost our Pro Bowl MLB in the first half of game one. We lost an excellent starting LB in the first series of game one. Harris has struggled with his knee. Then we lose our backup MLB in game three. Last I looked injuries and their effect on a teams success has been a part of the game since the early 20's when the NFL was born. WE WON!

 

This team is a work in progress that is going to get better and better as the season progresses. I am personally excited to see this team grow.

[Pixote]

I hear statements like:

 

No one deserved to win this game.

Reed & Omare both missed 2 FGs and we should be 0-3.

We probably do not win at SEA if they did not have so many injuries.

As well as many others questioning the Bears and not believing we are legit.

 

I personally am excited about this team.

 

And yes, I agree, if anything, I am concerned about our OL but hope as they "gel" they get better. Williams is basically a rookie and we may wind up replacing our LG with Beekman. We will see how it progresses. If it does not improve by bye week I expect to see changes coming in week 5.

[Lucky Luciano]

And yes, I agree, if anything, I am concerned about our OL but hope as they "gel" they get better. Williams is basically a rookie and we may wind up replacing our LG with Beekman. We will see how it progresses. If it does not improve by bye week I expect to see changes coming in week 5.

 

it seems that cutler spends a lot of time running for his life. we need to get that situation fixed as i would hate to finally get our franchise qb only to see him on IR or worse.

 

[nfoligno]

But who are you hearing this stuff from.

 

No one deserved to win this game.

 

I would agree if the statement was that neither team looked great, but didn't deserve to win? Late drive for a TD to take the lead. Defense that held on the final drive. There were many ugly aspects of the game, but in the end, one team stood up to win it and the other didn't.

 

Reed & Omare both missed 2 FGs and we should be 0-3.

 

I would say we were lucky in these kickers missing FGs. I would disagree that if they make their FGs we lose. That changes the score but not the outcome. Who is to say we don't play different if the score was different?

 

We probably do not win at SEA if they did not have so many injuries.

 

And maybe our defense destroys them if we had Urlacher and Pisa healthy. So what. Heck, I might argue we would have faired better against Hassel. Wallace is far more mobil than Hassel, and was on the run plenty yesterday. If Hassel was healthy, maybe we have more sacks and their offense actually is worse.

 

As well as many others questioning the Bears and not believing we are legit.

 

Again, I just ask who? Fans are always hardest on the team. Honestly, yesterday's game gave me things to be very excited about (QB and receivers) while some things to really worry about (OL and RB). But when I read the media, while most are still not picking us to win the division, many are saying we are legit. Those who are not are most likely the same who bashed Cutler and simply refuse to admit they may have been wrong.

 

I personally am excited about this team.

 

Me too.

 

And yes, I agree, if anything, I am concerned about our OL but hope as they "gel" they get better. Williams is basically a rookie and we may wind up replacing our LG with Beekman. We will see how it progresses. If it does not improve by bye week I expect to see changes coming in week 5.

 

Honestly, I sort of hope our OL doesn't look great against Det, as I appear it would have more to do w/ Detroit and less to do w/ our OL. I really think our OL issues need to be addressed, and hope we use the bye week to do this. Beekman needs to start in favor of Omiyale. Not much we can do about Pace, but hopefully getting Omiyale out of there will improve that side. Williams has looked flat out awful IMHO, regardless of experience. What I want to see is our giving him more help on that side.

[Lucky Luciano]

Williams has looked flat out awful IMHO, regardless of experience. What I want to see is our giving him more help on that side.

 

i am not sure he has looked as bad as you are stating. i have seen him get beaten occasionally and wonder at his run blocking but most of the pass rush from that side he is moving his man wide and back like he is supposed to. the problems i am seeing is that there just is no room for cutler to move up into the pocket due to the collapse of the interior line, penetration over the LT spot or overloading the line with blitzers that we are not picking up (the latter has been a weakness that teams have exploited since the packer game).

 

i think he is doing pretty well for the amount of time he has actually played.

 

 

[madlithuanian]

I see those same things...

 

I wonder if the 'net were around back in 1985, would people have been bitchin' that Walter wasn't getting better YPC...

 

This team is exciting now. Maybe too much so! But, right now, it's never going to be boring watching these guys. I'm thrilled. I htink we're a very competitive team. I don't believe we're in the upper echelon of the league, but we're in the top of the next tier. We have too many issues to be considered upper echelon, which we've pretty much all discussed (OL, tackling, play calling, running game, etc...) However, I, like many I think, are just waiting to see it play out. It seems like every week, the team is getting better. This week we got Olsen ont rack. Maybe this Sunday, Forte returns.

 

I'm just excited for the season!

 

I'm in Chicago Fri-Mon for the game this weekend, and I can't wait! I'm preparing to gain at least 5-10 pounds off the great eats and brews!

 

I hear statements like:

 

No one deserved to win this game.

Reed & Omare both missed 2 FGs and we should be 0-3.

We probably do not win at SEA if they did not have so many injuries.

As well as many others questioning the Bears and not believing we are legit.

 

I personally am excited about this team.

 

And yes, I agree, if anything, I am concerned about our OL but hope as they "gel" they get better. Williams is basically a rookie and we may wind up replacing our LG with Beekman. We will see how it progresses. If it does not improve by bye week I expect to see changes coming in week 5.

 

[azbearsfan]

The reason is simple.

 

This is Bearstalk. If some of these guys didn't have anything to complain about, they would shrivel up and turn to dust.

 

 

[Pixote]

The reason is simple.

 

This is Bearstalk. If some of these guys didn't have anything to complain about, they would shrivel up and turn to dust.

 

 

LOL, I must agree.

[BearFan2000]

i am not sure he has looked as bad as you are stating. i have seen him get beaten occasionally and wonder at his run blocking but most of the pass rush from that side he is moving his man wide and back like he is supposed to. the problems i am seeing is that there just is no room for cutler to move up into the pocket due to the collapse of the interior line, penetration over the LT spot or overloading the line with blitzers that we are not picking up (the latter has been a weakness that teams have exploited since the packer game).

 

i think he is doing pretty well for the amount of time he has actually played.

 

Let's not forget when he was drafted he was rated better for his pass blocking than his run blocking and that has played out true to form he needs to work on run blocking but he is young. Building an effective OL is not an easy task.

 

OL is a group effort all pieces need to do their part. Each man has to execute his assignment but all 5 need to do their jobs for the whole to work. I do remember hearing that Beakman is waiting in the wings and that his play during OTA's, Training Camp and Preseason that Omiyale would be on a short leash. I would not be surprised to see Josh get the nod in the next week or two. Pace does look old. Kruetz time may be winding down he looks like he may be getting slow especially when he has to pull to block on screens. Now the thing we have seen with Kruetz is that he will try to help out a teammate who is blowing their assignment and neglects his. The OL is a mess. But so was Denvers, Jay is used to compensating so that does buy us some time to figure out how to plug some holes while the line gels I do get tired of seeing the line of scrimmage being re-established in our backfield.

[nfoligno]

Simply not what I have seen.

 

Entering the season, I expected him to struggle run blocking. Frankly, that was a knock coming out of college, and it wasn't likely to be helped moving to the strong (right) side. But I expected him to look pretty good in pass protection. That simply is not what I saw.

 

Yes, when a DE takes an edge rush attack, Williams is expected to push DE wide outside. We have all see this w/ our own DEs often enough. But IMHO, he is not doing this. It is not simply the interior allowing penetration. IMHO, Williams is simply getting beat and not pushing his man outside. In fact, I think Williams is making our interior look worse. Further, Williams is getting beat rather quickly.

 

I am not just pointing out Williams. Pace is playing just as bad on the other side, and Omiyale is about as bad of an OL as I have seen. But that does not mean Williams isn't playing poorly. IMHO, Williams is very much part of the problem.

 

He is young, and there is FAR more reason for hope w/ him than Pace or Omiyale, but just based on current play, I just think he has played like crap.

 

i am not sure he has looked as bad as you are stating. i have seen him get beaten occasionally and wonder at his run blocking but most of the pass rush from that side he is moving his man wide and back like he is supposed to. the problems i am seeing is that there just is no room for cutler to move up into the pocket due to the collapse of the interior line, penetration over the LT spot or overloading the line with blitzers that we are not picking up (the latter has been a weakness that teams have exploited since the packer game).

 

i think he is doing pretty well for the amount of time he has actually played.

 

[nfoligno]

Denver's OL was a mess? When? Denver had one of the best young LTs in the NFL in Claddy. While the unit as a whole may not have been as great as in past year, it was far from a mess. Last year, basically anyone that tried to play RB went down w/ injury, and yet every scrub who ran the ball did so w/ success. That does not happen w/o solid play from the OL. Further, while Cutler helps an OL, no question, just take a look at the number of pass plays he had. No way you can play as well as Cutler did, taking as many snaps as he took, w/o decent play from the OL.

 

I agree OL is difficult to build, and further agree it takes time to gel. At the same time, it doesn't matter how much time crap has to gel. It's still crap. Last year, we hoped we could get a bit more out of Tait by playing him at RT. We were wrong. This year, we hoped Pace had a bit left. While I am not saying we were wrong, early results are not good. I think it also worth pointing out that the only other team that showed interest in Pace was Baltimire, who only wanted to look at him as a RT, as they did not feel he could play LT anymore. So far, I am not sure he can.

 

Omiyale looks just horrible. We all hope Beekman gets inserted, but when a big contract is at play, you just never know.

 

Williams is young, but look just poor IMHO.

 

I have been hard on Kreutz in the past, but I actually think he and Garza have been playing pretty well. It may not always show, but I think that is more due to the play of the other three.

 

I do believe it should be pointed out our issues are not just the OL. Frankly, our RBs and TEs have been bad in pass protection and blitz pickups too. And that included Forte, who looked so good last year, but his year just has not looked nearly as strong.

 

Also, while the OL is a big issue in our run game, IMHO Forte is also part of the problem. I am no fan of AP, but when he entered the game, he burst through the OL w/ quickness I have not yet seen from Forte. To me, Forte just looks slow. He isn't hitting the hole, when it is there, w/ quickness or power. As much as the OL is making him look bad, I think he is also making the OL look bad as well.

 

Let's not forget when he was drafted he was rated better for his pass blocking than his run blocking and that has played out true to form he needs to work on run blocking but he is young. Building an effective OL is not an easy task.

 

OL is a group effort all pieces need to do their part. Each man has to execute his assignment but all 5 need to do their jobs for the whole to work. I do remember hearing that Beakman is waiting in the wings and that his play during OTA's, Training Camp and Preseason that Omiyale would be on a short leash. I would not be surprised to see Josh get the nod in the next week or two. Pace does look old. Kruetz time may be winding down he looks like he may be getting slow especially when he has to pull to block on screens. Now the thing we have seen with Kruetz is that he will try to help out a teammate who is blowing their assignment and neglects his. The OL is a mess. But so was Denvers, Jay is used to compensating so that does buy us some time to figure out how to plug some holes while the line gels I do get tired of seeing the line of scrimmage being re-established in our backfield.

 

[CrackerDog]

I see those same things...

 

I wonder if the 'net were around back in 1985, would people have been bitchin' that Walter wasn't getting better YPC...

 

They better not... http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/P/PaytWa00.htm

 

Sweetness had a helluva year in 1985!

[madlithuanian]

4.8! That's it?!!! Should be like 5.5!!!

 

They better not... http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/P/PaytWa00.htm

 

Sweetness had a helluva year in 1985!

 

[adam]

I am very happy with a 2-1 record after those 3 games. We could've easily been 0-3 or 3-0. However, we are only 1 play from being 3-0, so I will gladly take a 2-1 record at this point.

 

Next week is a big game, we can't play down to the Lions. 3-1 into the Bye is a must.

 

 

 

 

 

[bowlingtwig]

I am very happy with a 2-1 record after those 3 games. We could've easily been 0-3 or 3-0. However, we are only 1 play from being 3-0, so I will gladly take a 2-1 record at this point.

 

Next week is a big game, we can't play down to the Lions. 3-1 into the Bye is a must.

I am hearing that we deserved to lose the game and that we shouldn't have won but lets think about that for 1 minute. If we play an horrible game in which Cutler throws 4 INT's but yet we won the game because there FG kicker missed 3 FG's and that game was the Super Bowl. Would you be pissed or elated. Thats what I thought. A win is a win no matter how you slice it up. In order to get to the Super Bow you must make the playoffs, in order to make it to the playoffs you must win games. Where does it state that you must play clean football in order to make it to the playoffs. As much as every here would like to see us play a flawless game in all 3 phases of the game, we must remember that human's are playing this game and Humans make mistakes. So before we start complaining once again lets think about this for a minute.

[BigDaddy]

We have an OL with 3 new starters that need time to gel as a unit and will get better as the season progresses. As they become a "unit" our running game and pass protection will only improve. They faced 2 3-4 defenses in weeks one & two and now have that experience under their belt as well.

 

We have a very young and inexperienced WR group that is getting better and better as they learn on the run. Knox & Bennett has exceeded my early expectations and look like the real deal. Hester is coming up huge in critical situations. We are seeing a very good WR group in their infancy growing on a game to game basis.

 

Cutler is still working to get to know the tendencies of the WR group. He had a rough start in week 1 but has been every bit as good as I had hoped for in the past two weeks. He will only get better as he helps to develop our young WR group.

 

 

We went into week one against one of the best QB/WR groups in the league. We were still in the game at the end. I fully expected to get blown out of the water that game as I expected to see huge points put up against us. Yes, I was disappointed in the last 2 minujtes of the game.

 

We beat the Steelers. I do not care if they missed 2 field goals. That is part of the game. WE WON! We do not need to apologize for that. It was an excellent win we should be celebrating. How many of us had that game in the win column with our predictions before the season started?

 

This week we were playing away in one of the more difficult stadiums to play in. Many of us had this as a loss in our early season predictions as well. We started off slowly, yes. However, we got accustomed to the noise level and conditions and played excellent football the final 3 quarters.

 

Yes, Seattle was missing their 3 time Pro Bowl QB. Yes they were missing other starters as well. You know what, we started the season with both our starting CBs taking limited reps and our nickle coming back from injuries as well. We lost our Pro Bowl MLB in the first half of game one. We lost an excellent starting LB in the first series of game one. Harris has struggled with his knee. Then we lose our backup MLB in game three. Last I looked injuries and their effect on a teams success has been a part of the game since the early 20's when the NFL was born. WE WON!

 

This team is a work in progress that is going to get better and better as the season progresses. I am personally excited to see this team grow.

 

First of all, noone is throwing our WRs or QB under the bus. Frankly, THEY are the ONLY reason we aren't 0-3. Our line play on both sides is horrid on offense and mediocre on defense. I say mediocre instead of bad because we did get some pressure on Rodgers and Rothlisberger. Let's face it, this team does not or just cannot tackle. That is unacceptable, it's a fundamental and extremely important ingredient in a defensive unit. We're a work in progress? Yes, but will it be progessively better or progressively worse?

 

Do you know how many Bears teams we have watched that escaped a few early games, giving everyone hope that they were going to only get better, only to watch them go into the toilet? Besides, you don't just say hey we won, let's be happy. I certainly hope this team is not happy with what they've seen out of their lines. If they are, then it's gonna get uglier.

 

[jason]

My brief take on this:

 

I expected more from this season.

 

1-I thought the Bears should beat GB, come close to Pitt, and hammer Seattle. 2 of the 3 didn't happen.

2-I expected the Bears to have more fire and better motivation. This has sorta happened.

3-I wanted the Bears to be better prepared, with better gameplans suited towards their opponent's weaknesses. This has not happened.

4-I hoped for an OL that would improve from last year when it was below average at best, and I screamed all year for an upgrade. The OL seemingly got patched together, but obviously didn't get upgraded. This has, yet again, been the offenses biggest deficiency. With better OL play, this team would have a near prolific offense.

5-I kept hearing about these double TE sets to maximize the potential of Clark, Olsen, and the new guy. We haven't really seen this that much.

 

The positives to this season are:

-Hester is doing well in his progression.

-Cutler is the stud we all wanted.

-The other WRs are coming along well, with Knox and Bennett proving themselves on the field.

-The Defensive scheme seems to be focused on blitzing more and getting to the QB more, something missing from before.

-Afalava has been a great addition.

 

I expected more from the offense to be quite honest. The defense is doing fairly well all things considered. The offense, however, specifically the play calling and the OL play, has left a lot to be desired.

 

I think the pessimism stems from the fans' belief that this could be a special year, or at least the beginning to a great run. It's just excited anticipation...and a bit of koolaid.

[madlithuanian]

1. The end result is the same. 2-1. How we lost in GB leaves too much of a sour taste for fans, but makes no difference in the record books. I honestly thought the Bears would be 1-2 at this point. I expected to split games w/ Minny and GB this season.

2. Agreed! In fact, I only see that fire happen at about half time for the past 3 weeks. To me, that is unaaceptable. That is on the coaching staff. I normally expect the Bears to come out strong, then falter w/ lack of adjustments. It's bizarro world right now.

3. Bingo!!! However, I unfortunatley didn't expect much from this coaching staff. Hoped, but not expected.

4. Yeah, this is really the biggest disappointment I think.

5. Agreed. But maybe that has much to do about Clark not being in there.

 

I pretty much agree with your positives. I feel like the O is getting better every week despite the strange play calling from Turner. However, D really worries me. We can't keep hoping for missed FG's as teams continue to run at will on us until they decide to get tricky, pass, and make an error. If a team were to just run every down, we could be in serious trouble. This D cannot stop the run, and more scarily so, cannot tackle other than Briggs. Thankfully a better DL play this season has made a difference and we're at least doing better than the last 2 seasons. But, that's not saying a whole lot!

 

 

My brief take on this:

 

I expected more from this season.

 

1-I thought the Bears should beat GB, come close to Pitt, and hammer Seattle. 2 of the 3 didn't happen.

2-I expected the Bears to have more fire and better motivation. This has sorta happened.

3-I wanted the Bears to be better prepared, with better gameplans suited towards their opponent's weaknesses. This has not happened.

4-I hoped for an OL that would improve from last year when it was below average at best, and I screamed all year for an upgrade. The OL seemingly got patched together, but obviously didn't get upgraded. This has, yet again, been the offenses biggest deficiency. With better OL play, this team would have a near prolific offense.

5-I kept hearing about these double TE sets to maximize the potential of Clark, Olsen, and the new guy. We haven't really seen this that much.

 

The positives to this season are:

-Hester is doing well in his progression.

-Cutler is the stud we all wanted.

-The other WRs are coming along well, with Knox and Bennett proving themselves on the field.

-The Defensive scheme seems to be focused on blitzing more and getting to the QB more, something missing from before.

-Afalava has been a great addition.

 

I expected more from the offense to be quite honest. The defense is doing fairly well all things considered. The offense, however, specifically the play calling and the OL play, has left a lot to be desired.

 

I think the pessimism stems from the fans' belief that this could be a special year, or at least the beginning to a great run. It's just excited anticipation...and a bit of koolaid.

 

[bowlingtwig]

First of all, noone is throwing our WRs or QB under the bus. Frankly, THEY are the ONLY reason we aren't 0-3. Our line play on both sides is horrid on offense and mediocre on defense. I say mediocre instead of bad because we did get some pressure on Rodgers and Rothlisberger. Let's face it, this team does not or just cannot tackle. That is unacceptable, it's a fundamental and extremely important ingredient in a defensive unit. We're a work in progress? Yes, but will it be progessively better or progressively worse?

 

Do you know how many Bears teams we have watched that escaped a few early games, giving everyone hope that they were going to only get better, only to watch them go into the toilet? Besides, you don't just say hey we won, let's be happy. I certainly hope this team is not happy with what they've seen out of their lines. If they are, then it's gonna get uglier.

I am not happy with the Oline play but it is getting a little each game although Cutler is still having run a little bit. But how in the world can you sit there and say that our Dline sucks. Are you seriously watching the same games that the rest of us are. As a team last year we had 27 sacks and 21 1/2 came from the Dline. That sucks as that is less than 2 sacks per game as a team and just over 1 sack a game from the Dline. This year in just 3 games we have 9 sacks and 6 of those sacks have come from the Dline. At our current pass we would end with 48 sacks with 32 coming from the dline. If that pace continues that we have put us in a tie for 3rd most in the league last year. That isn't bad. If you were to say the DT's haven't played well I would agree but don't sit there and blame the entire line for the DT's problems.

[DABEARSDABOMB]

Cutler has been absolutely brilliant these past two games despite lots of pressure, etc. He's also shown the ability to be a leader and that he's very resilient as evidenced by his ability to lead this team on go-ahead drives during the 4th quarter of each of our games.

 

Yep, when you got a QB like that, you should be optimistic, imo. Add in WR's who are growing, the fact that our oline will get better as the players build chemistry and the fact that our RB, whose legit, hasn't gotten going, and I'm very very excited.

 

Lets take care of business against Detroit and head into the bye week at 3-1.

[nfoligno]

I expected more from this season.

 

1-I thought the Bears should beat GB, come close to Pitt, and hammer Seattle. 2 of the 3 didn't happen.

 

(a) you expedted to "hammer" seattle prior to the season, after after you saw all the injuries. If prior to the season, I would refer you to their track record at home. Many teams talk about a home advantage, but Seattle truly has one. As for expecting to beat GB, in GB, I wonder about that. Maybe that was your prediction, but GB was expected to be a good team, so I am not sure why you felt we "should" beat GB in GB.

 

2-I expected the Bears to have more fire and better motivation. This has sorta happened.

 

I think it has been there. Maybe w/ some more than others, but I have seen more attitude this season.

 

3-I wanted the Bears to be better prepared, with better gameplans suited towards their opponent's weaknesses. This has not happened.

 

While I agree, I might also counter. IMHO, we have made adjustments better than in recent memory, both on offense and defense. I have thus far not been a big fan of our starts, but do credit our coaches for adjustments, which is something many of us have harped on for years. Also, on offense, I would add that it is pretty tough to "call a good game" when your OL is this bad and you can't run the ball.

 

4-I hoped for an OL that would improve from last year when it was below average at best, and I screamed all year for an upgrade. The OL seemingly got patched together, but obviously didn't get upgraded. This has, yet again, been the offenses biggest deficiency. With better OL play, this team would have a near prolific offense.

 

You can me both. If it wasn't for Cutler, due to this OL, we would be a joke on offense. Not only does this OL not look upgraded from last year, but it actually looks worse.

 

5-I kept hearing about these double TE sets to maximize the potential of Clark, Olsen, and the new guy. We haven't really seen this that much.

 

Well, I think we saw plenty of double TE sets in the first game, but then Clark went down. Even in the 2nd game, i think there were a lot of double TE sets, as both Olsen and Davis were seen quite a lot. But I think this last game went away from that a bit, but I also think part of that reason is our WRs stepping up. Remember, a big reason we were using double TE formations was our 2nd TE was better than most any WR on our team. As our WRs step up, the need to use 2 TE formations goes down.

 

The positives to this season are:

-Hester is doing well in his progression.

 

Agreed. May not be a true #1 WR, but at least he looks like a legit WR, as opposed to a return man we are trying to play at WR.

 

-Cutler is the stud we all wanted.

 

Hell yes.

 

-The other WRs are coming along well, with Knox and Bennett proving themselves on the field.

 

Freaking amazing what a different a QB can make. Does anyone think our WRs would look this good w/ Orton behind center?

 

-The Defensive scheme seems to be focused on blitzing more and getting to the QB more, something missing from before.

 

We actually blitzed a ton under Babich, but what I have noticed is our mixing it up a lot more. Used to, about all I saw was inside, up the middle blitzes. Now, we blitz from every angle, which I think is great. Simply put, our blitzes are more often effective.

 

-Afalava has been a great addition.

 

Besides afalava on defense, I have also been impressed by DM. He has been a whipping boy for some time, but while still a far cry from a healthy Mike Brown, I think he has held his own and made some good plays.

 

I expected more from the offense to be quite honest.

 

I can understand expecting more from the OL and run game, but I am not sure why you even expected as much as we have gotten from our passing game. Run game has not been as good as expected, but I think the passing game has been better, thus the offense overall has lived up to expectations.

 

The defense is doing fairly well all things considered. The offense, however, specifically the play calling and the OL play, has left a lot to be desired.

 

I know you flat out dislike Turner, but I just don't know how great you can call a game when the OL is this bad. I have actually been impressed by his doing so many things to counter an aggressive defense against a weak OL. He has been using a lot of screens, both WR and RB. He has WRs running more slants. Like I said before, I have not been impressed w/ early play calling, but I also think much of that is simply due to our players inability to execute, and thus Turner having to adjust during the games, which he seems to be doing fairly well.

 

 

[Ed Hochuli 3:16]

Like I said in the gamethread, I was at the game, and the 12th Man is no joke. Those motherf***ers can get the decibels up there.

[BigDaddy]

I am not happy with the Oline play but it is getting a little each game although Cutler is still having run a little bit. But how in the world can you sit there and say that our Dline sucks. Are you seriously watching the same games that the rest of us are. As a team last year we had 27 sacks and 21 1/2 came from the Dline. That sucks as that is less than 2 sacks per game as a team and just over 1 sack a game from the Dline. This year in just 3 games we have 9 sacks and 6 of those sacks have come from the Dline. At our current pass we would end with 48 sacks with 32 coming from the dline. If that pace continues that we have put us in a tie for 3rd most in the league last year. That isn't bad. If you were to say the DT's haven't played well I would agree but don't sit there and blame the entire line for the DT's problems.

 

 

What do you mean, the rest of us? Our defense is predicated on pressure by the front 4. You think we're getting penetration with our front 4?, You think we're tackling worth a tinkers damn? You think Tommie harris is anywhere close to being anything but serviceable at best? I don't know what US YOU are talking about but if there are more of you in there, remember, puff puff pass. The reason we have more sacks is because we're having to blitz so much more to make up for not getting enough push up fron from our d line. Even if we do end up with 48 sacks, so what? Our d line still is not getting enough push from the front 4. You and I have different expectations of our d line that's for sure.

[bowlingtwig]

What do you mean, the rest of us? Our defense is predicated on pressure by the front 4. You think we're getting penetration with our front 4?, You think we're tackling worth a tinkers damn? You think Tommie harris is anywhere close to being anything but serviceable at best? I don't know what US YOU are talking about but if there are more of you in there, remember, puff puff pass. The reason we have more sacks is because we're having to blitz so much more to make up for not getting enough push up fron from our d line. Even if we do end up with 48 sacks, so what? Our d line still is not getting enough push from the front 4. You and I have different expectations of our d line that's for sure.

If you read what you are writing you would swear that this Defense just sucks. That was last year remember 21st in the league(5th against the Run and 30th against the Pass and 22nd in sacks) This year we are 9th ranked D(12th against the pass, 13th against the rush and 4th in the league in sacks. I would say that this is a major improvement from last year.