The D.A. Investigation

The season ended a few weeks ago. Already having been eliminated from the playoffs the Chicago Bears had nothing to play for. Nothing except pride. The Minnesota Vikings had everything to play for. With New Orleans losing to Tampa Bay, a Minnesota win would have tied the Saints for the 1 seed and home field advantage throughout the playoffs with one week left to play. But when these two teams meet, there is always more than just pride and playoffs involved. The Minnesota Vikings historically are the only team in the NFC North division that has a winning record against the Chicago Bears. It wasn't just for pride, this is a rivalry. The Bears jumped out to a 16-0 lead in the first half and the defense looked like a playoff bound defense. Jay Cutler connected with Greg Olsen for his 7th touchdown reception of the season and the Bears had a comfortable lead at the half.

But Brett Favre did what he always does, especially on Monday night. On the opening drive Minnesota's offense got rolling scoring on an Adrian Peterson touchdown run. But Israel Idonije blocked Ryan Longwell's point after attempt, which turned out to be the biggest play of the game. Daniel Manning took the kickoff back to the Minnesota 34 yard line and just 4 plays later, Jay Cutler answered with a touchdown pass to Desmond Clark and Cutler's second of the day. Brett Favre engineered a touchdown drive of his own to answer Cutler's. With the makings of what looked to be a shoot out Jay Cutler made his first mistake of the day forcing a ball between two defenders that was intercepted. Minnesota capitalized on the turnover turning it into 3 points and cutting the lead 23-13.

After a Chicago punt to start the fourth quarter, Minnesota's offense showed it's strength once again and scored another touchdown. However, Brad Childress made the mistake of kicking it once again to Daniel Manning who took the return back to the Minnesota 21. Just two plays later Jay Cutler hit Earl Bennett on a touchdown strike to put the Bears on top 30-23. With under 5 minutes to go, Brett Favre marched the seemingly unstoppable Viking offense down the field converting on two 3rd downs and scoring on 4 and goal from the 6 yard line.

So into overtime we went. Jay Cutler moved quickly downfield and set up Robbie Gould for the game winning field goal attempt. But the ever so reliable Gould pushed the kick wide right. After an incomplete pass on first down, the Chicago defense sacked Brett Favre on back to back plays forcing the Vikings to punt. Jay Cutler and the offense could get nothing going on the next drive and were forced to punt. On the second play of the Minnesota drive, Pro-Bowl running back Adrian Peterson caught a pass out of the backfield and picked up the first down. On the tackle, Hunter Hillenmeyer punched the ball out of the arms of Peterson and Nick Roach recovered the fumble. On the very next play, Jay Cutler went deep to his new favorite target Devin Aromashodu for a Chicago touchdown to end the ball game.

Cutler ended the game with 4 touchdown passes against just one interception. Devin Aromashodu had 7 catches for 150 yards and a score. Don't think I forgot the real reason we won this game, the offensive line play was spectacular. Don't believe me? Jared Allen only had 2 tackles and 0 sacks total for the game.

There is no point in asking, where was this all year? And there is no point in saying, where was Devin Aromashodu all season? The Bears organization won't have any answers for you. But here some interesting things to think about. With Johnny Knox, Devin Aromashodu, and Earl Bennett each starting to show how good this offense can be, is it time for the Bears to trade Hester while he still has some market value? Lance Briggs has made the Pro Bowl for the fifth time, but will that be his last game wearing a Bears helmet? With this meaningless win against the Vikings, will the folks up at Halas Hall use this as an excuse to keep Lovie for one more year? After showing how consistent his play can be, is Devin Aromashodu our future number 1? How scary would it look to opposing defenses if he and Knox lined up on the same side, with Bennett on the other side and Olsen in the tight end spot?

Hey maybe next year won't be so bad after all.

Time to throw in the towel?

After beating the St. Louis Rams win week 13, the Chicago Bears were still mathematically in the hunt for the playoffs. Amazingly. With less than 5 minutes to go and an 8 point deficit the Rams took over with momentum on their side. Driving down the field with ease the Rams were just a few yards shy of actually getting into the endzone and going for 2 to tie the game. But the defense finally held strong and got the win.

Week 14. The Bears get the ball first and went 3 and out. On the Packers' first play from scrimmage, Ryan Grant took the handoff and went 65 yards untouched for a 7-0 Packer lead. But miscues and poor offensive line play hampered the Bears' offense and by the end of the day, the Chicago Bears were officially eliminated from playoff contention. Something I will talk more about later.

Week 15. On the Bears' opening drive, Jay Cutler came out passing and looked good. Sort of. By his fourth pass attempt, he wasn't looking good. That's right, just four passes into the game, Jay Cutler threw another interception to add to his already historic season. But it gets better. Joe Flacco answers and in just 5 plays capitalizes on the turnover with a touchdown pass to Todd Heap. The very next drive for the Bears, Jay Cutler throws another interception and again Joe Flacco found Todd Heap for their second score of the day. And on and on again. Another blowout, another horrific performance. Cutler ended the day 10-27 for 94 yards and 3 interceptions.

So here we go again. Running around in circles asking the questions about our team and demanding all new coaches for the rest of this season and next year. The thing that really upset me the most, which I was referring to in my comment after the Packer game is this. This was the earliest the Bears have been eliminated from playoff contention since 2004 when Chad Hutchinson finished our 5-11 season. The Bears lost their last 4 games that year then went on into the playoffs the next year, only to lose to Carolina after having the first round bye. The point I'm trying to make is that it has been a long time since we've been out so soon. As fans there is only one question to ask, what now? So I'll answer (and probably poorly but hey, at least I have an answer unlike some people up at Halas Hall) still watch this team. There is some very good young talent in Johnny Knox, Devin Aromashodu and Earl Bennett. Will Lance Briggs be playing his final game as a Bear in soldier field? Lots of questions surrounding this team that unfortunately will not be fully answered until around draft day. But if you just can't watch this team anymore, I hear you. But as Bears fans become angrier and angrier I say one thing. Lets go Blackhawks!

Too Little Too Late

Sunday's debacle at the Metrodome pretty much sums up the Bears' season right? I mean we hang in there through the first few minutes usually answering an opponent's open drive score with one of our own, and then the game gets out of hand. Was anyone at all surprised by the outcome? I told everyone who asked me about the game that the Bears were going to not only cover the 10.5 point spread, but win outright. I don't think anyone actually took me seriously though. But did I really mean it? I kept asking myself that. I came to the obvious conclusion that while I will stand behind this team through thick and thin, the reality is, they're a really bad football team who had zero chance on Sunday. While I rooted for them the whole game, I knew a loss was inevitable.

I could care less who we lose to at this point and that includes our upcoming game versus a worse team, the St. Louis Rams. The thing that I believe upsets most Bears fans is simply the poor excuses. I along with many others are tired of hearing Lovie have no answers for why this team can't win and the worst part is, he still says we can make the playoffs. I always joked that Lovie looked high on the sidelines, now I'm starting to think I'm right. Man up Lovie. Admit that this season has gotten out of control and that it is time to look forward to next year.

However, the future looks pretty gloom. After giving up our first round pick in this upcoming draft as part of the Jay Cutler deal, we also got rid of our second round pick to get Gaines Adams, a move I still can't figure out. That part may not be on Lovie. It also might not be on Lovie that we've been begging the Bears to sign a linebacker to help give some depth at that position, and they pushed it off until its too late. While Cato June will add depth to the linebacking unit, its too little too late. I also think we've lost our only potential Pro Bowl representative in Lance Briggs for a few games, another possible reason why we brought in June.

So here we sit with so many questions and no answers. I did a little research. While the draft is extremely far away, free agency is closer. While the Bears may be too cheap to get a new head coach, they're going to need to shell out cash in the offseason. We'll go by position. I'll list some but not all of the free agents available. We don't need a quaterback or running back... fullback is ok.. but what about wide receiver? This is something I'm not so sure about. While nobody gave our receiving corps a chance this season, their production (except for the first game) has been pretty impressive. Earl Bennett has impressed me most. He has made some really nice catches on balls that have been thrown way behind him and has really looked good. But I'll entertain the idea. Brandon Marshall is a free agent. Put him back with Cutler and that could be scary. Other free agents include: Vincent Jackson, Braylon Edwards, Terrell Owens, Antonio Bryant, Miles Austin and Steve Breston . All of these guys are probably going to be resigned or franchised tagged but, you never know. Offensive line is where all our problems lie but the market doesn't look like there is too much to offer.

Defensively, how many more guys do we really need up front? Adewale Ogunleye and Mark Anderson are free agents, should we resign either of them? I would say definitely to Ogunleye but not so sure about Anderson. Here's one, Aaron Kampman. He was stellar in a 4-3 and Green Bay has now switched to a 3-4 which he doesn't like, maybe replace Ogunleye with him. Other free agents include: Julius Peppers, Elvis Dumervil (Denver), Kyle Vanden Bosch (Titans) and Chike Okeafor (Arizona). Defensive tackles such as: Richard Seymour (Raiders), Casey Hampton (Steelers) and Vince Wilfork (Patriots). While the linebackers should be full, Pisa Tinoisamoa's contract expires at the end of this season. There is a lot of big names that are going to be out there but not many that will fit our system. Finally, defensive backs. While we have 6 cornerbacks now, Daniel Manning and Josh Bullocks' contract expire. We could get Fabian Washington from Baltimore or even Dunta Robinson from Houston or how about Carlos Rogers from Washington. Free agent safeties include: Nick Collins, Antoine Bethea and Darren Sharper. How about special teams? While Robbie still has some time left Brad Maynard's contract is up. While he clearly has lost as little bit, but the crop is pretty thin and I don't see the Bears wasting money on a punter.

While almost all these free agents will be resigned, the Bears still need to up their bid. I'm probably writing this way too early but I don't think I'm the only one. Maybe we'll beat St. Louis and help make it harder on the Packers the next week, who knows? But Jerry Angelo better start remembering the combination to the safe up at Halas Hall. Here is a link for anyone who wants to see where I got my information from and who I didn't mention. http://www.footballsfuture.com/freeagents.html