My Friends,

 

The Maddencruiser approaches as our boys in blue prepare to host the Emerald City’s defending NFC champs in prime time. At stake is a 4-0 record, first place in the conference, and a probable home game come playoff time. For the fourth contest of the season, it doesn’t get any bigger than this.

 

I don’t want to raise a red flag, but the last time a club came into Soldier Field after having whipped the Giants, the Bears defense played more like a Pop Warner team than the top tier unit that they are. Now comes word that the Bears will counter the four wide receiver set of the Seahawks by staying with their own nickel package, eschewing the sixth defensive back usually used in that situation in favor of keeping Lance Briggs on the field. The idea is to get to quarterback Matt Hasselbeck before he can find one of his guys. It’s a classic “mine’s bigger than yours” confrontation between Ron Rivera’s defense and Mike Holmgren’s offense, and the last time Rivera played that game the Bears packed up their belongings and went home for the winter. But the secondary is deeper and healthier now, so Rivera thinks he has an edge. I just hope he’s right, or is willing to use his dime back is if he’s wrong.

 

On another topic, Ricky Manning, Jr., while still on probation for a 2002 assault, decided to cop a plea and accept the title “convicted felon” for now and forever, instead of taking his chances with a jury in an attempt to clear his so-called good name. This comes after admittedly poking a restaurant patron in the head during a 3am confrontation in a UCLA area Denny’s, and then walking away before two former UCLA teammates he was with beat the crap out of the guy. Putting his legal troubles behind him in an effort to avoid the further expense of lawyers and the rigors of cross-country travel that a trial would have necessitated, not to mention the real possibility of time behind bars, junior now has to face justice from The Man in the NFL office. I wonder what senior has to say about all this. Whoever he is.

 

Showing absolutely no remorse, junior tells us he doesn’t feel he should be suspended, as he says he didn’t participate directly in the attack by his buddies that left the guy unconscious and with a torn ACL. How nice of him; he just set the wheels in motion and left. Whether he participated or not, now that junior has waived his day in court the real question for Bears fans is; If he gets suspended, will he serve it immediately, or will he appeal and wait for the NFL to get around to hearing his side? If he appeals and loses, he’ll begin serving his time off later, possibly during the playoffs, much like starting fullback Daimon Shelton did when the appeal of his early season suspension from the 2001 Bears for taking a banned supplement was denied on the eve of the postseason.

 

At least if the criminal justice system had thrown this piece of garbage in jail, the Bears would have a clearer sense of how to deal with it. Like getting Dante Wesley or Devin Hester time with the nickel package or work as the number three corner. But that’ll have to come later, after the league decides what they’re going to do with junior. For all of junior’s talent, you have to believe Jerry Angelo and Lovie Smith are more than a little miffed at the prospect of losing him for a game or four, especially when they have no control over when that might be.

 

As a Bears fan, here’s hoping junior only gets a fat fine, and that the civil suit filed by the victim is at least as successful as junior’s ability to stay out of jail. Don’t want to stop the juggernaut, you know.

 

LBF

9/28/2006