My Friends,

 

Well, that didn’t last long. Fingers duly singed.

 

Once upon a time, it used to be that a franchise would go to the league and ask for a patsy to be scheduled whenever it opened a new stadium. The event is supposed to be kind of like a college homecoming game, where the athletic director seeks out some overmatched division II state school as an opponent, so that the visitor’s bus ride home won’t be long and their trainer’s room is convenient. But the Bears refused to play the role of the Washington Generals during our Hoosier neighbors’ open house, and in the process they promptly planted a seed of doubt in the minds of everybody who thought the 2008 season was destined for the toilet.

 

When I saw Lance Briggs hobble off the field on the second play from scrimmage I was positive his bonus check had cleared and that the long, slow downward spiral had begun. Was I ever wrong. Briggs was all over the field, registering eight tackles, including one for loss and another that knocked starting running back Joseph Addai out of the game, as well as scooping up a Peanut Tillman strip and returning it for a defensive touchdown.

 

The defense completely shut down the Colts running game, forcing a rusty Peyton Manning to find targets behind an offensive line that played more like we expected from the Bears. The master of checking off at the line was forced into using three time outs to regroup after he couldn’t make sense out of the Bears’ defensive alignment. Twice the Colts went for it on fourth down, and twice the Bears came away with the ball. Throw in a safety, a pair of sacks and six tackles for loss for good measure, and you could call the Bears’ defense incompliant guests.

 

And how about the offense? Rookie Matt Forte, in one night, succeeded in bleaching the stain and stink of The Malingerer off the legacy of Bears running backs. He became the first rookie in the proud history of the Bears to start and rush for over 100 yards in the opener. There was Kyle Orton directing an offense that controlled the ball for close to 32 minutes, throwing 21 passes and completing 13 to seven different receivers, only one of which was dropped (Hester).

 

The Bears survived an officiating crew that looked like they were sent by the league to pop the champagne corks for the Colts’ celebration. The lousy calls are too numerous to count, although the roughing penalty on Brian Urlacher on the Colts’ first scoring drive and the “down by contact” on the fumbled kickoff by the Colts when there still hasn’t been any Bears contact particularly stuck out.

 

They survived two holding penalties and a botched snap by Olin Kreutz. They survived the 6-5, 315 pound John St. Clair getting pushed around by the 6-1 Dwight Freeney, which we expected, and the 5-8 Bob Sanders, which we didn’t. Watching the 206-pound Sanders push St. Clair into Kevin Jones and out of bounds I half-wondered whether the St. in St. Clair is an abbreviation for Sta-Puf.

 

The naysayers will point to the absence of Jeff Saturday, the inexperience of the Colts’ starting guards, Peyton Manning’s complete lack of preseason action, maybe even unfamiliarity with the venue. No matter. The Bears are 1-0, and now they have a date to watch their old teammate drop passes for someone else.

 

Size him up and drop the hammer. Sunday can’t come soon enough.

 

 

LBF

9/8/2008

 

 

PS:  The packers were originally planning on retiring the uniform number of The Washed-Up Veteran Quarterback tonight, but those plans got put on hold when he decided to wear and pocket another team’s green. I got a look at their season tickets when the other half’s arrived this past July; included on the faces of six were what passes in algae bay for inspirational phrases of sorts, but tonight's slightly larger ducat had several pictures of the assumed retiree, including one carrying the ball and a real big one of his mug. There was to be an unveiling of his name on the facade, too. I wonder if the shrine was already up there and they had to take it down? Or maybe they just shrouded it in string cheese until the day comes when he can make it back for the ceremony.

 

The old guy had a pretty good game yesterday. Maybe he isn't washed up after all? Anybody want to bet how long his replacement lasts before he misses a start? I say it happens in the first four games of the year.

 

Ah-oooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!