Mojo says:
Sorry to keep on pickin' the scab, but I'm still steamed about the simple things.
So Sunday night I'm watching the game and Manning throws his umpteenth touchdown pass on the night and he immediately runs to the sideline, sits on the end of a bench, and immediately somebody hands him a stack of photographs of the play. And he studies them.
Rex Grossman throws his one touchpass on the day and he jogs to the sideline, helmet in hand, all smiles and stands around high fiving the other players. Where are the photos? Do the Bears even take photos that don't have McGagsky in them? Where is The Student of the Game? Where is The Teacher?
Iron Mike:
Did you notice one other thing about Monday night’s game? The two top teams in the NFL . . . both with excellent QBS . . . both utilizing the shotgun formation.
Woj:
Seneca Wallace, and Andrew Walter? . . . We must flush the Miami game from the toilets of our brains my friends, and refertilize the path, that will lead us through the wilderness, and to the coastline . . . yes my friends, the “refertilization” of our Beloved begins this Sunday on the eastern seaboard, and as we continue the journey to our final destination, be assured, much more fertilizer is needed.
Duke:
Apparently the Beloved needed more than one wake up call for the season, let's hope they don't hit the snooze button again. No team can expect to overcome 5+ turnovers twice in a season. The score is 14-10 at the half and you've got to come out and run the ball and establish control of the line of scrimmage. Jones had almost 40 yards rushing on less than 10 carries; why abandon the rushing game? Why panic? I'll guarantee you that when Grossman tosses up 42 they'll lose and when they rush the ball 25+ times they'll win. Let's hope the coaching staff thoroughly reviews this disaster and learns from it.
Bearfan:
The fact that Bernard Berrian was injured on the first play coupled with
the stink fish's defensive plan to blitz on every down combined into a perfect
storm of pass rush. With an early lead and Berrian out, the fish brought the
safety up, doubled Moose and dared Gage to beat them. He couldn't. The fumble
on the opening possession of the second half was a killer.
With the Bears trailing the fish didn't need to fret about our run game. The
fish had two weeks to prepare for this game. They used the time well. Turner
and Rivera had their pants pulled down.
I just can't shake the thought that the Bears feel that throwing their jock on
the field is good enough. Two mediocre teams got the best of the Bears
over the last three games. The last one, at home. That shouldn't happen. Does
the D miss Mike Brown that much? Is Urlacher OK? Is the O now one-dimensional?
Can somebody please run the ball? Suddenly more questions than answers.
A national night game on the road in a hostile environment should help sort
things out. Don't you think?
Duke:
Amen, they all better get back to preparing like there's no tomorrow. If they want to win it all, they need to remember that every play counts and every assignment needs to be executed flawlessly. Heads down, no talking boys, time to go back to school.
LBF:
There’s
more going on up at Halas Hall than meets the eye. We all know Mark Bradley
looked like he was on the verge when he tore his ACL last year in Detroit. In
fact, Bradley dressed over Justin Gage earlier this year when Airese Currie
suffered the most recent of his myriad injuries. So why, if Bradley’s bum ankle
was healed, was he watching in street clothes while Gage was out there acting
like he forgot the play Grossman had just drawn in the dirt?
And while we’re on the subject of injuries, this whole cloak of secrecy
surrounding Brian Urlacher and his big toe sounds like something out of a Tom
Clancy novel. Urlacher says he’ll play, Lovie Smith says we’ll see what the
doctors say later in the week. Why do I have the feeling the nail on that toe
was touching his instep? If Urlacher does have a case of turf toe, he won’t be
tallying 25 tackles in another game any time soon. They’ll shoot it up and he’ll
still be better than most, but there won’t be that same burst into the hole.
And the guys who are really holding their breath through all of this are Drew
Rosenhaus and his star client, Lance Briggs. Without Urlacher playing at full
speed, maybe we find out that Briggs is closer to ordinary than Rosenhaus would
have us believe. Speaking of Rosenhaus, where was his other star client, Tommie
Harris, last Sunday?
Mike Brown? No, they shouldn’t miss him. Not any more than the ’88 Bears missed
Otis Wilson and Fridge, who went out for the season with injuries, as well as
Wilber Marshall, who signed with the Redskins. All they did was finish second
in total defense and first in points allowed on their way to the conference
championship game. Then again, they did have Ditka as their Coach of the Year,
who fought through a heart attack that season and never would have let his team
throw their jocks on the field as Bearfan so aptly described. Maybe the 2006
Bears are a little bit soft. Maybe replacing the bravado with a forearm shiver
and a fat lip would be a step in the right direction.
As I see it, the problem with the running game is that they don’t have a
running back. They have two, so they have none. Duke pointed out that when they
run the ball 25+ times they win more often than not. Sunday they ran it 28
times, and while they usually do that as a team, no one back has carried the
ball 25 times in a game this year. 25 is the magic number for a ball carrier.
It’s around that point where the guy is in his groove and starting to benefit
from all the punishment he’s been doling out through the first three quarters.
The Bears didn’t need to get away from the running game last Sunday, not
trailing by 11 only two minutes into the second half. They needed to pick one
horse and ride it, let him keep banging until he broke one. With all the
blitzing the Dolphins were doing, it was only a matter of time. Play action is
worthless unless you’re a threat to actually hand the ball off. Benson? Jones?
I don’t care! Pick one, stay with him, and he won’t be tap-dancing in the hole
or tentative in the fourth quarter.
As for Grossman, it’s just growing pains. He’s 11-4 as a starter – not too
shabby. He’s up and down more than a sine wave, but that’s the mark of an
inexperienced quarterback. Maybe he would benefit from a series or two on the
sideline when he gets into one of his funks, but in the long run quarterback is
about the worst position to rotate. If Smith goes to Griese and he moves the
team, it’s all good. But if he stumbles, then what? The more I think about it,
the more I say just leave Grossman in and let him take his lumps.
A bunch of us were in the Superdome once, watching one of the most pathetic
displays of quarterbacking in Bears history, which is saying quite a bit.
Somehow, the defense had kept the Bears in the game. Jim Harbaugh had been
blitzed all day and was 2-19 for 17 yards when the offense got the ball back at
the Bears 48 just after the Two-Minute Warning. The Bears trailed 17-13 and
they had no timeouts. There was still a faint glimmer of hope.
Bang! Harbaugh to Wendell Davis at the Saints 25. Bang! Neal Anderson runs for
eight. Bang! Harbaugh to Anderson, out of bounds at the 12, first down.
13 Wing Jet.
Four plays, 52 yards, touchdown. Harbaugh found Tom Waddle in the end zone,
coming off a pick by Davis, for the go ahead score. He finished the day 5-22
for 61 yards, with two interceptions to go with that touchdown pass. His passer
rating was 0.0 before the final drive. It was a perfect 158.3 on it.
You never know what might happen. You have to stick with the kid.
11/7/2006