Week three did not provide many answers to the enigma that is the Chicago Bears. After dominating heavy favorites, the Indianapolis Colts in week one, the Bears let one slip away in week two against the Carolina Panthers.
Yesterday was the team's home opener and they were out to prove that they had learned from their previous mistakes. Did they? Nope. It was the same old song and dance.
Once again the Bears were up by double digits going into the forth quarter and somehow the lead slips away. In the process, former Bears QB, Brian Griese, looks like Peyton Manning. 67 pass attempts and NO sacks? Are you kidding me? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
For three and a half quarters the Bears D looked dominant. Then on one fateful Bucs drive in the final minutes, everything fell apart. The game eventually went to overtime, but an idiotic Charles Tillman penalty gave the Bucs new life and eventually the game.
It's nice that the Bears aren't getting blown out, but sometimes losing a close one is even more devastating. All last year Lovie preached the mantra, "We've got to finish the game." Well do it. FINISH THE GAME.
The only bright side to this season so far has been the extraordinary play of Matt Forte. This kid is the real deal and looks like the best running back Chicago has seen in quite a long time. The job he's doing with a patched up offensive line is quite amazing, really. Hopefully the Bears will get Chris Williams back this season and Forte will break a couple of more long runs like his sweet week one sprint to the endzone.
Next week the Eagles come into Soldier Field, which could lead to an ugly game if the Bears don't shape up on both sides of the ball.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Thursday, August 7, 2008
A Few Words About Favre
Who is Ted Thompson? A probable answer to a future Jeopardy question that would read: Idiotic Green Bay Packers General Manager who traded away Brett Favre for a fourth round draft pick in August of 2008, and in the process, destroying the team and organization for years to come.
I always thought that professional football teams had a goal of winning as many games as they can and continue on to and win the Superbowl. However, the Green Bay Packers decided to do the opposite. They traded away their best shot at winning. The Packers were destined for obscurity last season with the Bears coming off a Superbowl appearance and the Vikings getting one heck of a running back in Adrian Peterson. Yet the Packers had an ace up their sleeve that no one saw coming, Brett Favre. He had a career best season at age 38 and locked up the all time touchdown mark for the time being. He led a young and hungry Packers team to the NFC championship before a predictable interception dashed any Superbowl dreams. Still, it was proven the man could play.
After that, everything else happened. Favre retired, unretired, got the shaft, and then was traded to the J-E-T-S! Jets! Jets! Jets! of New York City even though they play in New Jersey. But why? Why did the Packers get rid of their best player when they were on the verge of a championship season? That’s the question. The answer? The Packers are a selfish organization that would rather start an unproven four year old first round draft pick on the verge the final years of his contract than keep intact a major aspect of your fanchise's legacy.
If it was about egos then that’s one thing, but the fact is that this is the NFL. This is a league where winning is everything, but with a three year back up with only one professional career touchdown? Even worse, when Rogers struggles, Packers fan will be calling for his head, and making him the fall guy instead of a stubborn general manager or a bumbling head coach. Rogers is done if he can’t win in Green Bay. Done faster than Cedric Benson after his second DUI. Struggling is not an option for the Green Bay Packers now because the team just said, without inherently stating, that they could win more games with Aaron Rogers at the helm than future hall of famer Brett Favre. Here are a couple of guarantees: The Packers won’t win more than eight games this year, and the new QB controversy in Wisconsin will be Aaron Rogers or Brian Brohm. Still I can’t think of anything more ironic than both being duds and the Packers have to use the pick from the Jets to draft another quarterback.
This may seem bias, but let’s point out that this is coming from a Bears fan. For years, Favre has derailed the Bears, and finally he goes to the AFC right when Lovie Smith starts getting the best of him. Yet as a fan of football, I’m excited not only for the future of the Jets, but for ol’ man Favre as well. He may be a bit of an egomaniac, but Favre will bring that Mississippi swagger to the Jets that for the longest time have been a franchise without a face. Now not only do they have a face, they have a legitimate player for go toe-to-toe with Tom Brady.
The only concern is Favre crumbling under the pressure. New York is known for eating athletes alive with the constant media scrutiny. But Favre will be able to survive anywhere having survived the last couple of months. Favre is still a football player, and all he wants to do is to play. So good luck to Brett Favre and the new look New York Jets, and funeral services for the Green Bay Packers will be held in December.
I always thought that professional football teams had a goal of winning as many games as they can and continue on to and win the Superbowl. However, the Green Bay Packers decided to do the opposite. They traded away their best shot at winning. The Packers were destined for obscurity last season with the Bears coming off a Superbowl appearance and the Vikings getting one heck of a running back in Adrian Peterson. Yet the Packers had an ace up their sleeve that no one saw coming, Brett Favre. He had a career best season at age 38 and locked up the all time touchdown mark for the time being. He led a young and hungry Packers team to the NFC championship before a predictable interception dashed any Superbowl dreams. Still, it was proven the man could play.
After that, everything else happened. Favre retired, unretired, got the shaft, and then was traded to the J-E-T-S! Jets! Jets! Jets! of New York City even though they play in New Jersey. But why? Why did the Packers get rid of their best player when they were on the verge of a championship season? That’s the question. The answer? The Packers are a selfish organization that would rather start an unproven four year old first round draft pick on the verge the final years of his contract than keep intact a major aspect of your fanchise's legacy.
If it was about egos then that’s one thing, but the fact is that this is the NFL. This is a league where winning is everything, but with a three year back up with only one professional career touchdown? Even worse, when Rogers struggles, Packers fan will be calling for his head, and making him the fall guy instead of a stubborn general manager or a bumbling head coach. Rogers is done if he can’t win in Green Bay. Done faster than Cedric Benson after his second DUI. Struggling is not an option for the Green Bay Packers now because the team just said, without inherently stating, that they could win more games with Aaron Rogers at the helm than future hall of famer Brett Favre. Here are a couple of guarantees: The Packers won’t win more than eight games this year, and the new QB controversy in Wisconsin will be Aaron Rogers or Brian Brohm. Still I can’t think of anything more ironic than both being duds and the Packers have to use the pick from the Jets to draft another quarterback.
This may seem bias, but let’s point out that this is coming from a Bears fan. For years, Favre has derailed the Bears, and finally he goes to the AFC right when Lovie Smith starts getting the best of him. Yet as a fan of football, I’m excited not only for the future of the Jets, but for ol’ man Favre as well. He may be a bit of an egomaniac, but Favre will bring that Mississippi swagger to the Jets that for the longest time have been a franchise without a face. Now not only do they have a face, they have a legitimate player for go toe-to-toe with Tom Brady.
The only concern is Favre crumbling under the pressure. New York is known for eating athletes alive with the constant media scrutiny. But Favre will be able to survive anywhere having survived the last couple of months. Favre is still a football player, and all he wants to do is to play. So good luck to Brett Favre and the new look New York Jets, and funeral services for the Green Bay Packers will be held in December.
Monday, February 25, 2008
WRECKS GROSSMAN
Bears fans realized the glaring difference between a winner and a loser when Kelvin Hayden returned Rex Grossman’s floater for a touchdown in the fourth-quarter of Superbowl XLI cementing a victory for the Indianapolis Colts. A season later and not much changed. Grossman was benched three games into the 2007 season, and once again Chicago’s quarterback carousel was set in motion. Rex eventually regained the starting position before going down with knee injury in week 14 for the remainder of the season. He ended the season with a 66.4 Quarterback rating and throwing only four touchdowns but seven interceptions. So now Rex’s contract is up, and Chicago can finally end this failed Rexperiment, right? Apparently the Chicago Bears organization thinks otherwise.
This past weekend, the Bears signed the oft-injured, oft-scrutinized Rex Grossman to a one-year deal, securing him at least a chance to compete for the starting quarterback position. Questionable move? You can be the judge, but lets be honest here, the quarterback free agency pool this year is anemic. The Bears figured that the best option would be to re-sign their one time gunslinger of the future, but what do they see that the fans don’t? The same fans that boo Rex whenever he fumbles a snap or makes a cringe-worthy scrambling decision. Is this smart management for a team that was one win away from a Superbowl championship two years ago and couldn’t even reach the playoffs a season later? I thought the point of the off-season was to improve your team. This is no such improvement and equivalent to going backwards.
The entire Chicago Bears organization needs to realize something about Rex Grossman – Chicago is his only option. I don’t have top-secret sources in the know on NFL free agency or working in the NFL combine, but I’m going to go ahead and guess that absolutely zero teams called Rex’s agent Eugene Parker to inquire about the Grossman’s status. There are teams looking for a starting quarterback next season, but how desirable are they for mediocrity? Even those rebuilding like Miami or Atlanta probably never even considered bringing in Grossman. No NFL teams did. Grossman’s only shot at a starting role would be in Chicago. He knows this and Chicago Bears organization knows this.
Grossman spills his love for the Bears in the recent press release for this re-signing saying, “They drafted me. A lot of bad things have happened to me since I’ve been here with injuries and things, but the 2006 season was a special one. We almost completed the ultimate goal. I want to finish that. I want to finish what I started and I want to be a Bear for the rest of my life.”
Of course he loves the Bears. They are the only organization in the national football league I can think of that would reward a quarterback with a $2 million contract for losing them the Superbowl.
The only bright side to this entire situation is that Love Smith has promised that there will be a competition for the starting QB position in the pre-season, most likely between Kyle Orton and Rex Grossman. From the way things are shaping up, it appears the Bears will draft a quarterback and cut veteran Brian Griese. Kyle Orton, while not spectacular, did manage to scrape together consecutive wins when he started the final three regular season games, but it’s obvious he isn’t the future franchise QB.
So if Orton becomes the starter, what then? Will Grossman be able to handle being the back up? Before the season ended, Grossman said he wanted to go anywhere where he would have a shot at being the starter. Guess what Rexy? Chicago is your only shot. You have to be naive to think that anywhere else you’d fly up the depth chart like an Eli Manning or a David Garrard. Rex should be sending flowers to Jerry Angelo’s office to thank him for keeping his professional football aspirations alive. If the Bears had shunned him, he would be searching Craigslist for a job, not the other 31 NFL teams.
Quarterback problems once again plague the monsters of the midway and it’s barely March, but what else is new? The real question is which comes first: Bears finding a franchise QB or the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series. Right now, it’s too close to call.
This past weekend, the Bears signed the oft-injured, oft-scrutinized Rex Grossman to a one-year deal, securing him at least a chance to compete for the starting quarterback position. Questionable move? You can be the judge, but lets be honest here, the quarterback free agency pool this year is anemic. The Bears figured that the best option would be to re-sign their one time gunslinger of the future, but what do they see that the fans don’t? The same fans that boo Rex whenever he fumbles a snap or makes a cringe-worthy scrambling decision. Is this smart management for a team that was one win away from a Superbowl championship two years ago and couldn’t even reach the playoffs a season later? I thought the point of the off-season was to improve your team. This is no such improvement and equivalent to going backwards.
The entire Chicago Bears organization needs to realize something about Rex Grossman – Chicago is his only option. I don’t have top-secret sources in the know on NFL free agency or working in the NFL combine, but I’m going to go ahead and guess that absolutely zero teams called Rex’s agent Eugene Parker to inquire about the Grossman’s status. There are teams looking for a starting quarterback next season, but how desirable are they for mediocrity? Even those rebuilding like Miami or Atlanta probably never even considered bringing in Grossman. No NFL teams did. Grossman’s only shot at a starting role would be in Chicago. He knows this and Chicago Bears organization knows this.
Grossman spills his love for the Bears in the recent press release for this re-signing saying, “They drafted me. A lot of bad things have happened to me since I’ve been here with injuries and things, but the 2006 season was a special one. We almost completed the ultimate goal. I want to finish that. I want to finish what I started and I want to be a Bear for the rest of my life.”
Of course he loves the Bears. They are the only organization in the national football league I can think of that would reward a quarterback with a $2 million contract for losing them the Superbowl.
The only bright side to this entire situation is that Love Smith has promised that there will be a competition for the starting QB position in the pre-season, most likely between Kyle Orton and Rex Grossman. From the way things are shaping up, it appears the Bears will draft a quarterback and cut veteran Brian Griese. Kyle Orton, while not spectacular, did manage to scrape together consecutive wins when he started the final three regular season games, but it’s obvious he isn’t the future franchise QB.
So if Orton becomes the starter, what then? Will Grossman be able to handle being the back up? Before the season ended, Grossman said he wanted to go anywhere where he would have a shot at being the starter. Guess what Rexy? Chicago is your only shot. You have to be naive to think that anywhere else you’d fly up the depth chart like an Eli Manning or a David Garrard. Rex should be sending flowers to Jerry Angelo’s office to thank him for keeping his professional football aspirations alive. If the Bears had shunned him, he would be searching Craigslist for a job, not the other 31 NFL teams.
Quarterback problems once again plague the monsters of the midway and it’s barely March, but what else is new? The real question is which comes first: Bears finding a franchise QB or the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series. Right now, it’s too close to call.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)