Postgame Thoughts

[Ed Hochuli 3:16]

1. Cutler was terrific. It's amazing what he can do with more time to throw.

 

2. Hester was awesome. It's jekyl and hyde for him- last week he played like an idiot and this week he was amazing, both at WR and on ST. I hope his chest is alright. We all know how bad chest injuries can be, just ask Earl Bennett.

 

3. Chris Williams, from what I saw live, is turning into a pretty good OG.

 

4. Louis and Spencer on the right side is a good combo, for now. Who goes out of the lineup when Carimi comes back?

 

5. The OL, as a whole, needs to cut down on false starts. They had a couple more today. There's no excuse to have a few of them at home.

 

6. Are people still questioning Stephen Paea? He was very good tonight and hopefully this means the end of useless Toeaina.

 

7. Peppers was awesome. That push-sack of McNabb was hilarious yet a shocking display of strength. He needs to have more leg injuries..

 

8. Minnesota is in rough shape. They might be moving to LA, their team sucks, they have no fans, etc.

 

 

[dawhizz]

I didn't see much of the game, so I don't know how the various parts of the O-line played, but I wonder if the coaching staff would consider plugging Carimi at LT when he comes back. It seems to me Webb is as big a problem on the O-line as anyone, with his false starts and consistent missed assignments. The party line has been that he's a RT, but if Louis looks good at RT, maybe Carimi gets a shot.

 

How did Conte and Wright look in the secondary? Not that the Vikings WRs are formidable, but just making sure tackles and not missing assignments would be a big step up.

[AZ54]

Perhaps one day I will no longer be the sole member of the Lance Louis fan club. Once again, this kid steps in at RT and plays a solid game in both pass protection and run blocking. Same with Williams. Webb is the weak link in pass protection.

[selection7]

My thought or two...

I was hoping earlier this season we'd get a couple of TD returns from Hester and that'd have our opponents shanking punts to keep it from Hester. I think we're there. Also, it's fun to root for Dane as the underdog, and he's not letting us down, but his weekly single drop is getting predictable and old (though the pass was a bit behind him I guess).

On D, it was good to see us getting after QB, but Ponder's elusiveness and seeming calm was irritating. He'd better not turn out to be any good any time soon. I'm still finding it hard to acknowledge green bay has another good qb for the forseeable future (while everyone else is ready to enshrine Rottengers, I like to remind myself that he's only had two seasons now where he played well AND won...that's hardly a career. Hell, if our team hadn't screwed ourselves in last year's GB matchups Romo would be the more proven talent.)

[BearsFan1974]

Great game and it seems like we're at that corner now, I just hope we can turn it.

 

Defense played well and was able to get pressure. Paea, if giving more opportunity, can be a force to be reckoned with. Peppers played awesome with 2 sacks. Conte and Wright played better than we expected, especially since we all expected them to suck ass!

 

Jay and Silent Roy showed up tonight. Knox was quiet and I think his exit is coming up pretty quickly on the Bear Expressway. Sanzenbacher makes 1 or 2 big catches a game, but then makes a drop. Tonight drop wasn't huge, but in a close game, it could have killed us. He'll get better.

 

The OLine protected Jay all night even with 8 in the box. Louis and Spencer are solid, but I'd think Louis get bumped to guard and Spencer gets the bench once Big Gabe comes back. I like the idea of Webb getting benched, but he was solid tonight as well. Chris Williams was good toight and showed great footwork when he had to pull and threw key open field blocks on a couple of Forte's runs.

 

Forte was a beast again and the bill keeps rising every week. BArber had a couple nice runs and MAD PROPS FOR NOT ATTEMPING A FLIP on his TD.

 

DEVIN HESTER!!! do this every week and shut us up about your WR skills. You are already the greatest return man to ever touch a football.

 

Hopefully the momentum doesn't die with this long trip across the pond to visit Daventry and flea, and we can go into the bye week at 4-3!!!!

[flea]

1. Cutler was terrific. It's amazing what he can do with more time to throw.

 

2. Hester was awesome. It's jekyl and hyde for him- last week he played like an idiot and this week he was amazing, both at WR and on ST. I hope his chest is alright. We all know how bad chest injuries can be, just ask Earl Bennett.

 

3. Chris Williams, from what I saw live, is turning into a pretty good OG.

 

4. Louis and Spencer on the right side is a good combo, for now. Who goes out of the lineup when Carimi comes back?

 

5. The OL, as a whole, needs to cut down on false starts. They had a couple more today. There's no excuse to have a few of them at home.

 

6. Are people still questioning Stephen Paea? He was very good tonight and hopefully this means the end of useless Toeaina.

 

7. Peppers was awesome. That push-sack of McNabb was hilarious yet a shocking display of strength. He needs to have more leg injuries..

 

8. Minnesota is in rough shape. They might be moving to LA, their team sucks, they have no fans, etc.

 

 

That was Brilliant man , had me in stitches

[Guest TerraTor]

I didn't see much of the game, so I don't know how the various parts of the O-line played, but I wonder if the coaching staff would consider plugging Carimi at LT when he comes back. It seems to me Webb is as big a problem on the O-line as anyone, with his false starts and consistent missed assignments. The party line has been that he's a RT, but if Louis looks good at RT, maybe Carimi gets a shot.

 

How did Conte and Wright look in the secondary? Not that the Vikings WRs are formidable, but just making sure tackles and not missing assignments would be a big step up.

 

Beat me to it. Get Webb out and Carimi to his college position. Louis was plowin people at RT and Williams looked like an NFL player for once. Webb is just dumb and should be a career backup..not terrible for a 7th RD pick. But Gabe needs to be the LT.

 

As for the safeties Major is rather clueless but has no regard for his well being and will kill anyone near him. Conte is extremly athletic and has the ability to be taught, hopefully by better coaches....

[Guest TerraTor]

one other point is we desperately need a CornerBack.... Tillman isnt that guy anymore

[jason]

As I've been saying for quite some time:

 

Cutler + OL that can give him any sort of time and pocket = Successful offense. I noticed that WRs were open ALL NIGHT LONG.

 

Would I like a #1 like Megatron? Yes. But last night should prove once and for all that if given some time, the WRs can get open and Cutler can throw to them. Even on a few bad throw incompletions the WRs were open.

[Chitownhustla]

As I've been saying for quite some time:

 

Cutler + OL that can give him any sort of time and pocket = Successful offense. I noticed that WRs were open ALL NIGHT LONG.

 

Would I like a #1 like Megatron? Yes. But last night should prove once and for all that if given some time, the WRs can get open and Cutler can throw to them. Even on a few bad throw incompletions the WRs were open.

 

I agree with you, one of the hardest things to do in Football is cover a guy running across the field(as long as your WR has speed which our small WR's do). The most important part is giving the QB time to let a play develop.

 

 

[DABEARSDABOMB]

I didn't see much of the game, so I don't know how the various parts of the O-line played, but I wonder if the coaching staff would consider plugging Carimi at LT when he comes back. It seems to me Webb is as big a problem on the O-line as anyone, with his false starts and consistent missed assignments. The party line has been that he's a RT, but if Louis looks good at RT, maybe Carimi gets a shot.

 

How did Conte and Wright look in the secondary? Not that the Vikings WRs are formidable, but just making sure tackles and not missing assignments would be a big step up.

Webb lined upagainst the NFL leader in sacks and outplayed him. Outside of his false start disasters, Webb has actually done a pretty darn good job and I've seen numerous writers mention the fact. The biggets problem for the Bears oline is the ridiculous number of penalties (Webb has had his problems in that regard) and the fact that the right side was horrible. But some of the problems also had a lot to do with Martz play calling, which was incredibly predictable during the past 3 games (not last night). There was so much more diversity in the game plan against the Vikings.

[azbearsfan]

Webb lined upagainst the NFL leader in sacks and outplayed him. Outside of his false start disasters, Webb has actually done a pretty darn good job and I've seen numerous writers mention the fact. The biggets problem for the Bears oline is the ridiculous number of penalties (Webb has had his problems in that regard) and the fact that the right side was horrible. But some of the problems also had a lot to do with Martz play calling, which was incredibly predictable during the past 3 games (not last night). There was so much more diversity in the game plan against the Vikings.

 

 

Yes, there was much better playcalling last night. Tons of play action and running to set it up. In fact, Cutler wasn't harassed until we went back into the spread 5-7 step drops.

 

It was a well called game, which helped the oline not be trash.

[DABEARSDABOMB]

Great game and it seems like we're at that corner now, I just hope we can turn it.

 

Defense played well and was able to get pressure. Paea, if giving more opportunity, can be a force to be reckoned with. Peppers played awesome with 2 sacks. Conte and Wright played better than we expected, especially since we all expected them to suck ass!

 

Jay and Silent Roy showed up tonight. Knox was quiet and I think his exit is coming up pretty quickly on the Bear Expressway. Sanzenbacher makes 1 or 2 big catches a game, but then makes a drop. Tonight drop wasn't huge, but in a close game, it could have killed us. He'll get better.

 

The OLine protected Jay all night even with 8 in the box. Louis and Spencer are solid, but I'd think Louis get bumped to guard and Spencer gets the bench once Big Gabe comes back. I like the idea of Webb getting benched, but he was solid tonight as well. Chris Williams was good toight and showed great footwork when he had to pull and threw key open field blocks on a couple of Forte's runs.

 

Forte was a beast again and the bill keeps rising every week. BArber had a couple nice runs and MAD PROPS FOR NOT ATTEMPING A FLIP on his TD.

 

DEVIN HESTER!!! do this every week and shut us up about your WR skills. You are already the greatest return man to ever touch a football.

 

Hopefully the momentum doesn't die with this long trip across the pond to visit Daventry and flea, and we can go into the bye week at 4-3!!!!

I disagree. Roy played his best game as a Bear. Even on a couple other completed passes, when I watched the replay, Williams was open (Cutler just had another guy more open). He made all of his catches (although there was one that he probably could have had) and was a nice target over the middle of the field, especially early in the game.

 

I still want to see the Bears utilizing him in the redzone.

[DABEARSDABOMB]

What game were people watching when they say Webb sucked? The only sack he gave up was one where Cutler waited too long (it was a coverage sack). Otherwise Allen had no impact on the game. When your LT minimizes a player like Allen, that should show you something.

 

The biggest problem with the oline is the penalties and Frank Omilaye. I assume the Bears could always slide Louis back in where Spencer is with Carimi at RT.

[balta1701-A]

What game were people watching when they say Webb sucked? The only sack he gave up was one where Cutler waited too long (it was a coverage sack). Otherwise Allen had no impact on the game. When your LT minimizes a player like Allen, that should show you something.

 

The biggest problem with the oline is the penalties and Frank Omilaye. I assume the Bears could always slide Louis back in where Spencer is with Carimi at RT.

Who goes out of the O-Line with that setup? Williams, Spencer, or Garza?

[DABEARSDABOMB]

Who goes out of the O-Line with that setup? Williams, Spencer, or Garza?

Spencer. I think I mentioned as such. I'm definitely not pulling Williams.

[Bears4Ever_34]

Question for anyone that noticed, I only caught a part of it on radio but Waddle and Silvy were talking about the cameras on Sunday night catching Cutler muttering some choice words possibly about Martz (They were trying to lip read and thought he said something like "Tell Mike to F off". Did anyone else catch this? Supposedly Collinsworth was talking over it while it was happening on the sidelines so you had to be a good lip reader to catch it. I was flipping back and forth between the Bears and Cardinals game so I missed it.

[Ed Hochuli 3:16]

Question for anyone that noticed, I only caught a part of it on radio but Waddle and Silvy were talking about the cameras on Sunday night catching Cutler muttering some choice words possibly about Martz (They were trying to lip read and thought he said something like "Tell Mike to F off". Did anyone else catch this? Supposedly Collinsworth was talking over it while it was happening on the sidelines so you had to be a good lip reader to catch it. I was flipping back and forth between the Bears and Cardinals game so I missed it.

Supposedly he said something vulgar but I think if that's what was said, it would be a bigger deal right now.

[balta1701-A]

Supposedly he said something vulgar but I think if that's what was said, it would be a bigger deal right now.

Here you go.

Plenty has been made this season about the problems the Chicago Bears have had getting plays transmitted into quarterback Jay Cutler this season, a process that goes from offensive coordinator Mike Martz in the booth to quarterbacks coach Shane Day and then onto the field.

 

The Bears have blown through plenty of timeouts when they’ve been delayed getting the play in, and Cutler’s frustration was raised late in the first half Sunday night when NBC cameras and microphones apparently caughting him voicing his displeasure.

 

“Tell him I said (bleep) you,” was picked up by the cameras as Cutler moved to the line of scrimmage.

 

The target of his anger remains unknown. If it was someone on the sideline, Cutler could've just delivered the message without asking for his words to be passed along.

 

“I don’t think many guys were upset last night,” Bears coach Lovie Smith said. “You know those cameras? You have to be careful about those cameras and the access that you guys get now. Some things you don’t wanna know.

 

"It’s like you guys in the media. I don’t want to know what you’re saying down here always. If you had cameras here, you’d find out a lot of things that most people don’t want to get out.

 

“So, for us, some things are sacred a little bit. Like the locker room for the players. You don’t want cameras and microphones down there. So, again, there has got to be more important things to talk about than that type of stuff -- football.”

[Doug Plank]

Max protection. Maybe Martz is learning again this season? Give Jay time and things will open up, especially with the running of Forte. Dude's having one helluva season.

 

D needed to step up after the disaster in detroit. Wasn't too thrilled with Peppers post game interview in which he nearly whined about being on the field when the game was out of reach (although I was wondering the same thing). Stephen Paea sighting? If you remember him in college, he was a beast.

 

The wild card chase is going to be a good one, hope the Bears can stay in it. I have a good feeling about playing the AFC west once they get done with Tampa and Philly. Win 1 of those 2 and then feast on the AFC.

[BearsFan1974]

I disagree. Roy played his best game as a Bear. Even on a couple other completed passes, when I watched the replay, Williams was open (Cutler just had another guy more open). He made all of his catches (although there was one that he probably could have had) and was a nice target over the middle of the field, especially early in the game.

 

I still want to see the Bears utilizing him in the redzone.

 

 

I said Jay and Silent Roy SHOWED up. I was happy with his performance. I'm not sure who you were throwing the Webb comment at but I said he showed up. I'd like Carimi at LT and keep Louis at RT myself.

[DABEARSDABOMB]

I said Jay and Silent Roy SHOWED up. I was happy with his performance. I'm not sure who you were throwing the Webb comment at but I said he showed up. I'd like Carimi at LT and keep Louis at RT myself.

My bad. I guess I was still high off my Bears coolaid that my reading comprehension skills suffered.

[BearsFan1974]

My bad. I guess I was still high off my Bears coolaid that my reading comprehension skills suffered.

 

Hell it happens...I don't get butt hurt over someone not agreeing with any of my posts.

 

[AZ54]

A lot is being made of the "new" max-protect scheme but Martz has used it before and the blockers still failed. We even used it some in last years debacle against the Giants. We've used it at times earlier this season too and had some success with it. The problem in the past has been that players didn't know who to block, or in the case of Omiyale, weren't capable of blocking.

 

I think most people haven't realized Spaeth had a calf injury and I'm not sure when if it happened during the Packers game but he was inactive for game 4 against Carolina. He was back for Detroit but still on the injury report and I'm not sure he was fully healed. Judging by how well he man-handled Jared Allen on Hester's TD pass I'd say he's back to full strength. My point is that losing him, along with Louis, Carimi, had a cumulative effect. Now we see one game with two of the three back and there's improvement.

 

I'm not discounting the fact the changes in play calling helped, they did. But improved run blocking and pass protection is also due to Louis and Spaeth returning from injury and keeping OmidoIhavetoblockhim off the field. Had we not gone up against Suh in Week 5 I suspect we'd have gone with Spencer and his broken hand at RG with Louis at RT. In hindsight after seeing the improvement once Omiyale went to the bench that's what we should have done for the entire Detroit game.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jason]

A lot is being made of the "new" max-protect scheme but Martz has used it before and the blockers still failed. We even used it some in last years debacle against the Giants. We've used it at times earlier this season too and had some success with it. The problem in the past has been that players didn't know who to block, or in the case of Omiyale, weren't capable of blocking.

 

I think most people haven't realized Spaeth had a calf injury and I'm not sure when if it happened during the Packers game but he was inactive for game 4 against Carolina. He was back for Detroit but still on the injury report and I'm not sure he was fully healed. Judging by how well he man-handled Jared Allen on Hester's TD pass I'd say he's back to full strength. My point is that losing him, along with Louis, Carimi, had a cumulative effect. Now we see one game with two of the three back and there's improvement.

 

I'm not discounting the fact the changes in play calling helped, they did. But improved run blocking and pass protection is also due to Louis and Spaeth returning from injury and keeping OmidoIhavetoblockhim off the field. Had we not gone up against Suh in Week 5 I suspect we'd have gone with Spencer and his broken hand at RG with Louis at RT. In hindsight after seeing the improvement once Omiyale went to the bench that's what we should have done for the entire Detroit game.

 

It's not that such a big deal is being made out of the scheme, it's the success of the scheme that showed results. It gives support to the idea that if given time, Cutler can throw bullets and the Bears' WRs can get open. Unfortunately, time is something they haven't had a lot of lately.