Man, I’m ready for the Lions to hang 27 points on the Bears opening day. The problem is the Bears might get to 40.
And this day just reminded me of how utterly terrible the Bears management and decision making is. All the talk about Martz and Cutler, Free Agent signings, healed up linebackers and the fantasy upside of the WRs, mixed with some actual football to enjoy of course, distracted me from that fact for a few short weeks.
The Bears rammed home the point that their drafting is utterly inept. Last years top two draft picks, 3rd rounders Iglesias and Gilbert, got shown the door as did 6th rounder Afalava. Leaving just 4 players from last years draft on the roster, 2 of which were also tiptoeing around the cut line (the 3rd and 4th picks of the draft no less). Come next season it’s very likely that our top 4 picks and all but 2 will be gone, and Lance Louis is far from a lock. This coupled with the fact that other than Olsen, Graham and Wolfe, nothing is left of the nine 2007 draft picks either.
About Wolfe, this bum should never have been drafted in the first place, let alone in the 3rd round, and it seems sentimentality has everything to do with it. He’s a feel good story, a undersized overachiever and local kid made good. This neglects the fact that he can’t play a lick. They like to pretend he’s a poor mans Darren Sproles when in reality he’s a homeless man’s Sproles, and Sproles hasn’t exactly been an asset to the Chargers.
The company line is that thee Bears kept Wolfe because he’s a special teams ace. This is lunacy since the guy that they cut to make room is legitimate special teams ace, perhaps the best in the whole league, reserve LB Tim Shaw. I understand that Shaw was inadequate as a backup LB, but no less so than Wolfe is as a RB. The simple fact that Shaw is certainly going to have teams lining up to claim him tomorrow while Wolfe would be looking for another line of work ought to act as evidence that the Bears once again screwed the pooch.
It’ll be interesting to see who the Bears are able to retain for the practice squad. LeFevour doesn’t appear to have the makings of even a back up NFL QB but I suppose a fourth arm in practice could be useful considering Todd Collins is a short term solution to say the least. Still, if he’s taking a spot where a different developmental guy with actual potential could be that’s a mistake. I suppose I can live with the gamble of drafting him since he could have surprised and it’s always wise to be on the lookout for QBs. I really like Quentin Scott, he’s a physical freak who I hope can develop into a FS but he looked extremely raw and a little timid about contact in the preseason. Iglesias was a guy I hated from the day his name was called by the Commish but he still might be worth keeping. They dumped him in favor of Bennett and I don’t support that move. Not that Iglesias is better now, but he has more upside. I suppose I’d be happy to see Iglesias get another year of seasoning and see what happens. Gilbert has been a bust from day one.
This snippet from a Biggs column is instructive in the Bears incompetence.
All in all I won’t be the least bit upset if this is the last we see of Gilbert, but I bet the Bears will have him on the practice squad come Monday.
Freddie Barnes never showed anything at all, I would be surprised if he were back in any capacity. Even in the preseason he never seemed to garner much playing time or targets.
While composing this the Trib has reported that LeFevour was claimed by the Bengals and Shaw by the Titans. Glad Shaw goes to the Titans, I like them and he’s a Jeff Fisher guy. The Bengals and Titans always seem to adopt orphaned Bears.
I’ll have more when the rest of the Bears roster is set and I’ll have my preseason analysis of the team.
I’m a little surprised at Javon Walker being cut, with the Vikings really needing experienced WR help. He must have really had nothing left in the tank. The rumors were that he was fat and out of shape when they brought him in. Maybe there was something to that.
Speculation I’ve been hearing with Walker is about his contract - it would be guaranteed if he were on the opening day roster. There’s a good chance for him to be brought back before week 2.
From what I’ve read, it’s Juaquin Iglesias, Levi Horn, James Marten, Greg Mathews, Barry Turner and Eddie Williams, with one more open spot.
The Bengals signed LeFevour. Which is odd, because I don’t think he has a rap sheet.
Minnesota signed your boy Barnes to their practice squad.
I’m happy and sad.
The practice squad signings I’ve heard about the Packers is Graham Harrell, Robert Francois, Anthony Levine, and, after a bidding war with Vikings, Breno Giacomini. Harrell is a nice story, and Giacomini has size and athleticism… and not much more. Oddly enough, 4 of their cuts got claimed by other teams, including Kregg Lumpkin (Bucs), Cyril Obiozor (Cardinals), Spencer Havner (Lions), and Anthony Toribio (Chiefs). Havner is the only one I can see making any real difference, but it is kinda nice to have a glut of talent that even your castoffs are being signed by other teams. Of course that could also mean you kept the wrong guys. We’ll see who the 4 other practice squad guys are.
ETA: Found this: Packers’ reported practice squad includes: quarterback Graham Harrell, tackle Breno Giacomini, receiver Chastin West, outside linebacker Robert Francois, tackle Chris Campbell, linebacker Maurice Simpkins and safety Anthony Levine. Nothing exciting.
Fearless predictions:
- Packers 12-4
- Vikings 11-5
- Bears 7-9
- Lions 6-10
Is the Straight Dope logo at the top of the page Purple and Gold for anyone else? 
Well, that game could’ve gone better. I think Collinsworth nailed it when he said Favre didn’t trust any of his WRs; this is something you typically develop during training camp. AP had only 5 carries in the second half, and it still kills me watching him come off the field on 3rd down. Albert Young did not look viable as a Chester Taylor replacement. He was super-hesitant every time he had the ball in his hands. Favre made the bonehead interception, but the defense picked him up on the ensuing possession.
Defensively, things looked good last night. Definitely need to work on defending the cutback running play NO wore us down with in the 2nd half. Also need to catch the interceptions that are thrown to you. Jared Allen was a complete non-factor. I’m a “fan” of his on Facebook and all off-season he’s been building his “69 mullet” brand and promoting some new hunting TV show called “Relentless Pursuit” in which he apparently co-stars. Apparent distractions like this and performances like last night’s make me worry.
Hopefully the extra prep time before the Miami game will help us right the ship. Considering we have Camarillo, now, we should have a pretty good idea of what’s in their playbook.
I find any prediction of the Bears being 7-9 or better extremely optimistic. I struggle to find 4-5 wins. I’m tired of Lovie Smith, Angelo, and Ted Phillips trying to blow smoke up everyone’s behind. Your players are average at best if not below average at many positions. There a too few good players to make a difference. I head into the season accepting of a bad record knowing that is should help spur a house cleaning. The Lions are improved and could possibly end up with a better record while the Packers and Vikings will fight it out for the division.
And on an additional mini-rant. It was extremely annoying last night to see Alex Brown on the Saints. The Bears brain trust decided he wasn’t good enough to play for the Bears but yet he was good enough to START for the freaking SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS. They wouldn’t recognize a good player if the were standing on the sideline at the Pro-Bowl.
I’'mm afraid to write my annual Bears analysis for this reason. It’d be nothing more than a vitriol filled tirade against Jerry and Lovie. Frankly it’s time to start being more angry with McCaskey and Phillips for letting them smear their shit on the walls for as long as they have. I was very optimistic about Cutler and Martz and the offense in general but Cutler has let his mechanics slide so far that he’s painful to watch and the offensive line is removing what remaining shred of composure he still has in the “pocket”.
I’m sure they’ll steal some wins. Jay will have a few huge games. Peppers will be motivated once or twice and they’ll win the turnover battle often enough and play conservative enough to get 6 or 7 wins but they will be worse than their record indicates. The question is if the Lions will win 8 or 9 games and stick the Bears in the cellar, I think they might. the Vikings ought to watch their backs too.
If the Lions win 8 or 9, it’s because they beat the Bears and Vikings twice.
That is to say, it won’t happen. Rest easy. I’m starting to rethink my picks fr the NFC North, though. I think I might swap the Vikings and Bears in the standings, though.
Thoughts so far, still pretty early in the first quarter of the Lions/Bears game.
The Lions pass defense is looking good. Forte has no room to make a move (and Chet Taylor gains 8 on the ground as I type this).
The Lions pass defense is horrendous.
The Bears look fine. Cutler just needs to protect that ball better.
Also, Suh is a beast coming off the line. He seems to know the snap count and be right up in the right guard immediately.
Interesting day of football.
Detroit v. Bears
Got to watch most of the game with the Packers in the late game. If those teams play like that the whole season, it’s going to be fun.
The Lions’ franchise quarterback is injured (again), they turn the ball over 3 times, their stud RB averages less than 2 ypc, the defense gives up 372 yards through the air, they can’t stop a screen pass from going 89 yards, and they can’t win despite getting 4 turnovers. There were moments, however, where you could see a light at the end of the long, dark tunnel. Heck, they almost got the win in a interdivisional road game. They got 4 sacks and 4 turnovers. They got a huge stop on 4th and goal at the one. So there is hope. But the Lions are a horribly inconsistent team, and 168 yards of total offense isn’t going to do it.
The Bears defense looked good. They stopped the run, gave up only 168 yards in total offense, and got 3 turnovers. Peppers got a sack and a fumble on a blindside sack. But they also almost got beat by the Lions in their own stadium on opening day. Cutler showed great movement in (and out of) the pocket, which appears to be necessary for him to survive because they gave up 4 sacks and Cutler had to rush 5 times. They moved the ball very well, racking up 463 yards of offense. Forte actually looked good, when catching the ball. On the downside, they turned the ball over 4 times, they couldn’t finish in the redzone, and Forte averaged less than 3 ypc. Had the Bears played this way against 90% of the NFL, they woulda lost. But if they cut down on turnovers and sacks, the Bears look like they could contend for the top of the division. Winning ugly is still winning.
Speaking of winning ugly, the Packers beat the Eagles, despite Rodgers having an awful game and Ryan Grant getting injured before the half. Their aging tackles (Methusalah and Noah) looked horrible. Rodgers was forcing the ball to Finley rather than hitting open receivers. They played almost the entire game in their nickel defense and didn’t adjust well to the change in quarterback and couldn’t really stop the run too well. That being said, Clay Matthews looked awesome, with 7 tackles, 2 sacks, and a forced fumble. The defensive line got some good pressure, with Raji and Jenkins (who broke his hand) both getting a sack. The secondary was servicable, and they did a great job of containing DeSean Jackson. And special teams was surprisingly great, with Jordy Nelson having a couple of nice returns. The Packers’ OTs need to play better, Rodgers needs to play smarter, and the youngsters on defense need to step it up and contribute (I’m looking at you Mike Neal and Sam Shields). Not a pretty win, but on the road at Philly in the opener, it’s a nice start.
Late night Detroit Sports show said Stafford is out for 6 to 8 weeks. Preliminary ,because he gets checked today.
Packers vs Eagles
To be honest I am not overly concerned a bout the way Vick played against our defense, because the Packers surely did not prepare too much for him and he is defienitely a quarterback you need to preapre differetly for. Other than that I though they played well, Rodgers seemed a bit off at times, two interceptions of course, but they overall played very well. I also am not overly concerned about Grant possibly being hurt, I have always been a Brandon Jackson fan.
I was really glad to see Forte play well. It looks like there may in fact be some truth to the argument that he was hurt much of the year last season. On two occasions he showed breakaway speed and wasn’t caught from behind, something that occurred regularly last season. Overshadowed by the Megatron play was an amazing catch by Forte in the endzone.
I’m pretty optimistic about Martz. More often than not he seemed to be generating productive plays and the WRs found themselves open a lot, against an admittedly poor secondary though. Still, there were far too many occasions where it seemed like the WR was running the wrong route or Jay was throwing to the wrong spot. I tend to side with Jay on this one, but regardless it seems there’s still a little learning to do.
The Bears looked very much like a team that hasn’t practiced hard for the last 3 months. Lovie’s cuddly, half-assed, player friendly practice routine showed itself with so many fumbles and dropped balls. They looked like a team not used to contact or intensity.
All the Bears problems are obviously the problem of the O-line. When Forte and Taylor got the ball in space via a screen they were dynamic. When they were forced to try and run between no existent holes and dodge tacklers in the backfield not so much. The line has to help them out some. Cutler was running for his life back there and played a pretty great game in spite of have no pass protection. Give him some time and this Martz thing might be something. The Bears were using a max protect scheme most of the game and it was obvious. They were having to keep TEs in to block almost constantly and taking options away from the offense, this simply isn’t conducive to scoring.
Lovie again infuriates me by not running QBs sneaks, one of the single most reliable and effective plays in the game. Cutler, who’s big strong and athletic, would have had 4 chances from the 6 inch line to get a score. Instead they try and run it when their offensive line has proven incapable of preventing penetration and winning the point of attack. QB SNEAK Lovie, you fucking retard!
I’m still not sure what to make of the defense. I thought the Lions had a pretty potent attack and if that remains the case then the Bears D was pretty impressive. But, this is the Lions and maybe that attack is a paper tiger. They had the benefit of playing against a backup QB, though a experienced one, most of the game so it might not be a indicative sample either way. I would have expected more consistent pressure from the pass rush against a mediocre line, while they made a few big plays they were also well contained on that last drive and didn’t generate constant pressure. The linebackers played excellent and the secondary played well before the final drive, so we’ll have to see how that goes against a better team.
Glad to sneak away with a win, but I didn’t enjoy watching this game very much. Fucking offensive line.
Stafford was throwing the ball well Sunday. Now we have King. I am not that familiar with him. I fear it is a step backwards. The Lions are screwed.
Martz’s offense certainly increases the statistical output of his players. Given Martz’s stints in San Fran and Detroit, I’m not sure that’s enough to result in wins. If you’re worried about your O Line, I’m not sure you want a lot of 7 step drops. Cutler is big and strong, but behind that O Line and in Martz’s offense, he’s going to get hit a lot. I’m not sure he’ll survive the year.
It will be interesting to see how the Bears D plays against good teams with their starting QB. Dallas looked awful last night, but they’ll be an interesting test next week for the Bears. Luckily, the Packers get a relatively easier opponent in Buffalo. The Vikings get a big question mark in Miami and the Lions have the Eagles. Should be a pretty telling week next week.