Candlestick Beatdown

It has been a long week. Not only was I not thrilled about the Bears playing last Thursday night, but I had to go to bar just to watch them lose. I watched every second of this game waiting for something to go our way, but it looks like the players' hearts aren't in it anymore. If I still haven't given up on this team why did they? When I texted my brother towards the end of the first half asking if its time to give up on this team, he answered, "it was four weeks ago". When Cutler threw his first interception in the red zone the camera showed Greg Olsen on the sidelines and I thought forsure it was going to be a running play. I have to question Ron Turner on that one. I saw a lot of good in this game and I think thats why I just can't let go. We saw that Matt Forte wasn't just a rookie sensation. He still is that good with the ball in his hands in open space. The defense isn't that bad. Its just when we're getting blown out and they're on their heels the whole time, its that much harder to defend. Oh yeah, don't forget that Robbie Gould connected on a field goal of 50 yards.

So we have some things working, its just a matter of making them all work at the same time and when it matters. If we have any chance at all, it starts Sunday night against the Eagles. We've had nothing but failures on prime time, and this is the time to send that message and make a statement. Unless the players have already given up on this year, and we'll know for certain come Sunday.

But even if they have, this organization has nothing to gain. We've already gotten rid of our first two draft picks in this upcoming draft, and I'm not sure who we would be able to trade for a first round pick. Maybe Lance Briggs, but if the Bears did that, I'm throwing in the towel on this team for good. Maybe.

Deja Vu

I usually wait until I have finished my writing to come up with some sort of "creative" title, but after watching Sunday's game, I didn't need to think too hard. I was all excited coming into Sunday because I was able to record a local channel that was showing the game so I could go paintballing. A few minutes into the third quarter the station changed channels to the Packers/Buccaneers game because they deemed the game over. I've been doing a lot of research and reading a number of articles about the Bears and why they are performing the way the are. But the worst thing I've read thus far, is Lovie Smith saying that he doesn't have answers for why we're playing the way we are. This is unsettling to me because well, Lovie, you're the head coach! If you can't tell whats wrong with your team, how are we supposed to know?! It's exhausting as a fan to keep hoping that eventually Lovie can put together the pieces to the puzzle and ultimately take us back to the playoffs. To make matters worse, there is almost a zero percent chance we're going to see any major personnel changes in the near future. Lovie has two years left on his contract and it sounds like the McCaskey family has no intention on buying out his ridiculously inflated contract. There are so many questions revolving around this team, it should make any fan sick. I'm also not going to forgive Ron Turner for only running Matt Forte 5 times. Once he saw the Cardinals walk down the field and score on back-to-back opening possessions he absolutely should have slowed down the pace of the game and kept the Cardinals offense off the field. I mean 5 times! Is that a joke! There are 5 quarterbacks who rushed 5 or more times on Sunday and this is supposed to be a team that "gets off the bus running"?

I could go on all day ripping into the team I have followed since I understood how the game is played, but I'm probably the only "journalist" who thinks this team still has a chance. But amazingly they still do. The key stat to look at is the Bears are 1-1 in the division. Four of the remaining eight games are divisional games, and lets be honest, the Packers just lost to the Bucs and the Lions are looking to have only one win more than they did last year. If Lovie can focus his attention on just two games for the rest of the season, it has to be against the Vikings. We play in Minnesota in 3 weeks and then once more at home in week 16. By that time the Vikings will probably have already locked up a playoff spot, and shouldn't be risking any of their starters. Call me crazy but if Cutler and Greg Olsen pick up where they left off Sunday, and Forte continues to take those screen passes for big gains, watch out.

The Bears have not performed well on national television so far this season with losses to the Packers and Falcons, but if this team wants to make a statement, why not shut down Frank Gore and the 49ers. Its tough to go on the road, on short rest, after getting man-handled for the second time in three weeks but now is the time to get it together.

Is the defense back?

After the embarrassing performance that the Bears put forth last week in Cincinnati, every fan expected a classic Soldier Field beat-down on the next opponent, the woeful Cleveland Browns. Defensively, we got the job done. 2 interceptions and 3 forces fumbles is a statistic that we're used to seeing out of our defense. I would have like to see more than just one sack but I'm not going to complain. Daniel Manning's interception was one of the most athletic plays I've seen. Diving, with his body completely parallel to the ground and still being able to snag that ball was just unreal. Props to him.

I hate to say it, but our offense is struggling. Matt Forte is getting criticism for his numbers being down and Jay Cutler threw more interceptions than touchdowns for the 3rd time this season. I hate to do it, but our problems lay in the trenches. Our offensive line is having trouble opening up holes on running plays, and can't seem to block very well on passing plays. The average NFL quarterback has between 3 and 4 seconds to get rid of the football under normal pressure, Cutler has about 2.5- 3 seconds on every play regardless of how many men are being sent on a blitz.

The line needs to get it together with Darnell Dockett and the Arizona Cardinals coming to town. Dockett should see a lot of double teams simply because he already has 9 tackles for a loss this season not to mention a few sacks. Give Cutler time and he could pick apart this secondary. Deangelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart were able to run for 245 yards against this team last week so Forte could have some success. Defensively, Anquan Boldin is hurting badly and has been for a few weeks now. I wouldn't expect Boldin to play Sunday as he has been sitting out all practices so far this week. Even if Boldin does play, I wouldn't be to worried about him. Larry Fitzgerald is arguably the NFL's best receiver but hasn't had nearly half as good of season this year as last year. Expect a lot of double coverages sent his way while we take our chances against Steve Breston. We need to get to Warner quickly because he likes to just throw the ball up and let his tall receivers go get it. If we get pressure on Warner we could easily generate 3 interceptions.

Its unclear whether or not I'll be able to watch the Bears this week. Chabad is taking us paintballing. Its $15 for 3 hours and unlimited paintballs. It great might be too great of a deal to pass up. I'm going to try to record the game but I'm not sure what's going to happen.

In other news, I had the privilege of watching the Bulls season opener against the Spurs. I was stunned. This team looks completely different then our team last year with weapons all over the court. We have huge in the paint presence with Joakim Noah, Brad Miller, Tyrus Thomas and rookie Taj Gibson. They were creating a ton of second chance points or they were kicking it out to our gaurds in Derrick Rose, Kirk Hinrich, John Salmons and Luol Deng. There is a lot of talent on this team and I like their style. I understand I only watched one game but if they continue to play the way they did, it won't even be a question if they'll make the playoffs.