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| BrendanMcKillip.com brendan mckillip's daily journal |
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daily journal
Don't Apologize. Just Win More Than You Lose This ad was run in yesterday's Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times.  Show me that you are trying to make the team better and win more games than you lose each year. Don't just rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic. Labels: Chicago Bears posted by Brendan | 7:55 PM | permanent link
Hey, Ron Turner, Pay Attention Considering the difficulty the Bears have had breaking into the endzone, maybe Ron Turner should consider adding this to the playbook. Labels: Chicago Bears, football posted by Brendan | 12:41 PM | permanent link
Football Grumblings I don�t even want to talk about the Bears. If it wasn�t obviously from the last two weeks that the Bears coaching staff � namely Lovie Smith � is unable to prepare the team to play football each week, then yesterday�s sad little performance should have made it painfully clear. I�m considering jumping on the bandwagon and becoming a New Orleans Saint fan for the rest of the season. Instead, let�s talk about the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Many football seasons ago, when Lord Charlie Weis was handed the keys Rockne�s office, the sports pundits and football intelligencia proudly spoke of Weis� superior skills in designing offensives and building up quarterbacks. Certainly that would translate into good things in South Bend. Nearly five complete football seasons since then and what does the Irish have to show for Weis�s leadership? A potent offense and spectacular quarterback, but not much else. No defense. No special teams. No team identity.  At what point does Charlie start paying attention to what is happening with Jimmy Clausen isn�t on the field and start working on making the defense play as intense and consistent as the offense? Is that even possible? Labels: Chicago Bears, football, Notre Dame, Rant posted by Brendan | 4:52 PM | permanent link
Maybe They Let Him Ride on the Team Bus Is Chicago Tribune columnist David Haugh on the Chicago Bears� payroll? I ask because for years the guy has seemed hard pressed to write anything negative about the team. If he does, it is something weak like, "The Bears need to work harder at establishing their running game early." Great. Instead, we get what usually reads like fluff pieces that started from a Bears press release. For instance, over the last two weeks we have gotten articles from Haugh that: 1) Defend the Bears� decision to extend quarterback Jay Cutler�s contractNow the first article I don�t have much beef with. Cutler has been impressive. Why not lock him up. But the other two? Especially when you consider that both articles were written after the Atlanta and Cincinnati games where the Bears looks woefully unprepared and poorly coached. It's like he's watching a different team then the rest of us. It�s because of him that I actually spend very little time reading about the Bears in the Chicago Tribune. For all the grief Chicago South Siders have given the Trib for being too easy on the Chicago Cubs when the newspaper owner the team, I think the Trib gives the Bears a much easier time overall. Labels: Chicago Bears, Rant posted by Brendan | 1:20 PM | permanent link
So Very Frustrating It was an exciting � yet ultimately horribly disappointing � weekend of football. First up was Ian�s football game on Saturday. Two evenly matched team played their best football of the season. And with time running out, and Ian�s team behind on the scoreboard, the Hillmen managed to drive the ball down to their opponent�s 5 yard line. With literally 3 seconds left to the game, on fourth down none-the-less, the Hillmen attempted a pass into the endzone which missed the out-stretched arms of our tight-end by the smallest of margins. The disappoint in the outcome was offset � at least for the 5th and 6th grade boys on Ian�s team � by the arrival of cup cakes to celebrate a teammates birthday. The parents had to pick themselves off the floor. And the last second near-hits played out for my again in the Notre Dame � USC game and the Bears � Atlanta game. End of the game drives that failed to deliver a much needed touchdown. Granted, both the Fighting Irish and the Bears had opportunities to prevent themselves from being put into such a precarious position.  The Bears continually shot themselves in the foot Sunday night with turnovers, dumb penalties, and stupid plays. Too many men on the field for a punt return? A 61-yard kick-off return after tying up the game? Orlando Pace�s pre-snap lunge across the line? Who�s coaching these guys? Of all the games, the Bears game was the most frustrating to watch. There is no reason for them to not win that game. In fact, Tim Souers� duncehelemt perfectly encapsulates how the Chicago Bears played last night. Labels: Chicago Bears, football, Notre Dame posted by Brendan | 4:49 PM | permanent link
Welcome to Chicago, Mr. Johnny Knox A few thoughts and observations on yesterday�s Chicago Bears� victory: Yesterday he had a catch where his hands just snapped out and snatched the ball out of the air. It was amazing. The guy was going up and fighting for everything thrown his way � and winning the battle most times. It was just one game, but it was against the Steelers� defense, so I kinda like where things might go with Knox. First half of the Green Bay game � horrible. Second half good. Entire Pittsburgh game � excellent. Maybe the first half of the Green Bay game really was a fluke. Maybe Cutler will be consistently as advertised. The problem with consistency is it takes a while to establish.  Labels: Chicago Bears posted by Brendan | 2:18 PM | permanent link
Changing the Rules The family of Walter Payton has a statue of the Chicago Bear football legend and they want to place the statue outside of Solider Field. The Chicago Park District�s is fine with the idea of a Payton statue on park district grounds but argue that "Soldier Field and the area surrounding it is to be preserved strictly as a memorial to war veterans."  I say, if the Park District can put a spaceship inside of Solider Field than a statue can go outside the stadium where Payton played his entire 12-year NFL career. Labels: Chicago, Chicago Bears posted by Brendan | 5:59 PM | permanent link
How Can We Get Back to the Future? The first half of last night�s Bears � Packers game was like watching the Bears circa 2006.  The offense was shooting the team in the foot. I thought we were getting something new this season? As disappointing as it was to watch the Bears� QB Messiah through 4 interceptions and stir up the echoes of Rex Grossman, what more frustrating was seeing how little the Bears tried to run Matt Forte. We know the guy has skills. Give him the ball. I don�t want to talk about the fake punt. I know Lovie Smith took responsibility for that asinine play, but I really hope � as the yammering heads in the NBC play-byplay booth hypothesized � that the decision to direct snap the ball to Garrett Wolfe was made by a player on the field. That sort of problem can be easily fixed. Tell the player to not think when on the field, just do what you�re told. If it was a coach who made the decision to fake a punt when it�s 4th and 11 and you're on your own 30 yard line nursing a slim lead where both defenses had been playing well, then the Bears have a lot more problems than Cutler�s 4 interceptions. Hopefully next week the Bears can get back the future they were promising us all this offseason when Cutler came to town. But with the Pittsburgh Steelers as the opponent I am a bit skeptical right now. Oh, and Notre Dame � it�s great that Jimmy Clausen can throw over 300 yards without an INT and Armando Allen can rush for almost 140, but if you don�t play defense and stop the other team from scoring than it really doesn�t matter. Labels: Chicago Bears, football, Notre Dame posted by Brendan | 12:48 PM | permanent link
NFL Teams as Batman Characters Site predicts how the NFL season will turn out using Batman characters as analogies. Some of my favorites:   My favorite, of course, was the treatment of teams in the NFC North division. It wasn't because of their assessment of the Chicago Bears, but rather how they described the Minnesota Vikings that gave me a chuckle.  The season certainly looks like it will be interesting. Can't wait for Sunday night. Labels: Chicago Bears, football posted by Brendan | 4:46 PM | permanent link
Bears in the Super Bowl? Sports Illustrated's 2009 NFL Preview issue hits stands today. In it Peter King gives his predictions on how the playoffs will play out and who ends up the eventual winner of the Super Bowl.  Now I figured the Bears would be better this season. But the Super Bowl? I'm shocked. I was just hoping to see them win their division. Labels: Chicago Bears posted by Brendan | 4:45 PM | permanent link
Chicago Bears vs. NYC Giants: Pre-Season Thoughts Years ago I hardly gave pre-season NFL football much attention. The handful of games before the regular season began was a bunch of throw away exhibitions with non-big name players that meant very little to me. But over the course of the past few years � either through shrewd marketing tactics by the NFL or my own growing fanaticism with the Chicago Bears � I find myself not only watching more pre-season games, but sticking with the games longer. I don�t drift off when the first teams don their baseball caps on the sidelines. Instead I stick around to see how the rest of the players make out. This is what I thought about Saturday night�s game against the New York Giants.  I�m looking forward to this weekend�s game against the Denver Broncos � mainly because of the circus that having Cutler and Kyle Orton on the same field in Denver will bring. Labels: Chicago Bears posted by Brendan | 9:40 PM | permanent link
All the Young Talent is in Chicago  When I read earlier this week that Chicago Blackhawks forward Kris Versteeg was named as one of the three Calder Trophy finalists for the 2009-09 NHL season, it reminded me that not only did Patrick Kane win the award for the outstanding rookie player in the NHL last year for the Blackhawks, but that fellow line-mate Jonathan Toews was a finalist for the trophy as well. I know that the Blackhawks have a lot of great young talent, but having three guys in two years being recognized as the tops of top says to me that the Blackhawks have a bumper crop of great players. Then it occurred to me that the Chicago Bulls Derrick Rose was just honored as the NBA�s 2008-09 Rookie of the Year and that Geovany Soto of the Chicago Cubs is the reigning National League Rookie of the Year for 2008. Plus, Chicago White Sox infielder Alexei Ramirez finished second in voting for the American League Rookie of the Year balloting in 2008. What about the Chicago Bears? Running Back Matt Forte was named one of the five finalists for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2008, and now the Bears have Jay Cutler, a Pro Bowl selection in his third season.That a lot of great young talent in pro sports in this city. If the respective players and their teams are managed well (and stick around), Chicago could be in for a number of years of competitive and exciting pro sports teams. That�s pretty exciting. Labels: Chicago, Chicago Bears, Chicago Blackhawks, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox posted by Brendan | 11:34 AM | permanent link
WOW! What a Homepage This is the homepage of the Chicago Tribune this evening.  Wow! The former-Governor, his brother, and slew of close friends all indicted political corruption charges. I can't wait to see how many talk shows Rod makes the rounds on this time to plead his innocence. The Bears land Pro Bowl quarterback Jay Cutler and tackle Orlando Pace. They had to give up Kyle Orton and some draft picks to get Cutler, but the Bears now have a certifiable top tier quarterback. I'll miss Orton. I liked him. Orlando Pace might be approaching the twilight of his career, but I think the Bears can probably get a few good years out of him and strengthen the offensive line. An older Orlando Pace is still better then a lot of the offensive lineman out there today. Labels: Chicago, Chicago Bears, Politics posted by Brendan | 8:08 PM | permanent link
5 Things I Think  Is it possible to have a favorite kind of potato? I think it is.Red potatoes, quartered up, boiled, and then served with lots of melted butter and a touch of salt & pepper. It�s like candy. I could eat them with every meal. Considering the size of the bag of reds Heather brought home the other day, eating them for every meal might be the case for a while. As for how the rest of the season goes? I don�t care right now. But at least I have that first game to look forward to.  I think I�m actually looking forward to driving to Florida with the wife and kids. This summer, to celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary, Heather parents are taking all of their kids, kids-in-law, and grandchildren on a 5-day/4-night Disney Cruise. (generous, I know)Heather and I have foregone flying from Chicago to Florida because of the cost of the airline tickets. Even with prices coming down, it would still be very expensive for all five us to fly. So we�re driving. Google Maps says the trip 18 hours of driving. While I know it will probably become unbearably frustrating at times to be trapped inside our van with four other people, I think overall driving will be sort of exciting. It will be an opportunity to see a bunch of stuff that we don�t normally see and to hopefully be concerned less with the destination and more about enjoying the journey. Then again, maybe you should check back with my in August, after all this has happened. Warner Brothers does have all their titles available yet, but www.warnerarchive.com is always growing. Labels: 5 Things I Think, Chicago Bears, classic movies, Rant, Sports posted by Brendan | 1:06 PM | permanent link
For Once The Answer Should Not Be: "Quarterback"  I'm really starting to question the sanity in the Bears organization when the General Manager states that the quarterback position will be the top priority for the off-season.Quarterback? Really? Was Jerry Angelo freshening up his orange whip whenever the defense was on the field this past season? Did he not see how badly that unit under-performed and appeared to be badly coached? Rick Morrissey sums up my frustration nicely: Angelo said at a postseason media gathering that the Bears had to get the quarterback position right. Allow me to ask a question: With all the things that went wrong this season, especially on defense, does anyone look back and say Kyle Orton was the problem?My top 3 priorities would be: 1) New defensive coordinator 2) Defensive secondary 3) Wide receiver I don't know what team Angelo was watching this season, but I don't think it was the Chicago Bears. Labels: Chicago Bears posted by Brendan | 5:12 PM | permanent link
Chicago Bears and Wrapping Paper I wasn�t a true Chicago Bears fan last night, but I�m okay with that. Heather and I have made a tradition of sitting down with a classic Christmas movie and wrapping all the presents and such that we need for Christmas morning. The problem has been that we�ve fallen into a habit of not starting that movie and un-rolling the wrapping paper until around 11pm on Christmas Eve. That translates into a late, late Christmas Eve for us, which transitions into an early, early Christmas morning when our excited children drag us from bed to un-do most of the work we had put in the night before. This year we promised ourselves that it would be different. Wrapping would be complete no later than December 23 and Heather and I would enjoy a restful night of sleep before a hectic Christmas morning. Last night our 12/23 deadline was looming and considering everything else that needed to be done before we hosted Christmas dinner at our house, there was a strong push by Heather for the wrapping to be done Monday night. She said that we could forgo the traditional Christmas movie watching so that I could continue to watch the Bears � Packers game; but when halftime came along and we were ready to start wrapping gifts, I put in White Christmas.  Tony Kornheiser summed up my impression of the first half of that game when he commented that the Packers were playing like the football team whose playoff hopes were riding on the outcome of the night�s contest. The Pack was aggressive and fighting for the win, the Bears were listless. The defense was flat and the offense was horrible. I was tired of watching more horrendous football from the Bears � bring on Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye.Heather and I finished our wrapping and enjoyed the movie. I figured that the Bears game should be over, but I decided to flip back to ESPN to see what I could learn about the final damage. I was mildly surprised to see the Monday Night Football broadcast just finishing up. Apparently I had just missed seeing Robbie Gould boot his 38-yard field goal through the upright to give the Bears the victory in overtime.  For a moment I felt a slight tinge of regret for giving up on the Bears, but after reading the recaps and analysis this morning I think I saved myself a lot of frustration. There might have been a time where I would have considered turning off a Bears � Packers game at halftime an act of dishonor. Certainly grounds for revoking my Chicago Bear fan membership.But not this year. The 2008 Chicago Bears have been so painful to watch - so frustrating to deal with week in and week out, I don�t think anyone should fault me for turning the game off. I can�t remember an uglier 9-6 Chicago team. And frankly, I�m ready to forget them (except, Matt Forte). Danny and Bing never fail to deliver. I hope they win next week against the Houston Texans to finish the season 10-6, but I also hope they don�t go to the playoffs. This Bears team doesn�t belong in the post-season � regardless of their record. Let's be done for the season and turn our attention to next year. Labels: Chicago Bears, Christmas posted by Brendan | 4:47 PM | permanent link
Bears Beat Jaguars - Big Deal  The Chicago Bears beat the Jacksonville Jaguars today, 23 - 10.I'd be a lot more impressed with the Bears win today if they had beaten a team with a winning record. (Jacksonville was 4-8 going into today's game) Over the last 6 games since their bye-week, the Bears performance in games have followed a maddening pattern. Beat up on the team with a worse record and then get beaten up by the team with a equal or better record. Sun 11/2 Detroit W 27-23Amazingly, the Bears beat the Jaguars and many of the Chicago TV pundits are strutting around talking about how the Bears still have a chance at the playoffs. They speak of the Bears ability to win games in pressure situations, and the team's undying drive to win.  Never mind that the Bears haven't proven this season that they can beat a team with a winning record, let alone a record identical to their own. Why talk about the playoffs? Last time I checked, the playoffs are usually full of teams with winning records. Working to get into the playoffs at this point seems like a path to certain disappointment. But I guess the Beats could still surprise me. So solider on my good fellows.But remember this: while you are still basking in the after-glow of the Jacksonville victory, the New Orleans Saints are now coming to town this Thursday to do battle with the Bears. The Saints' record? 7-6 The Bears' record? 7-6 Recent history tells me we're in for another painful blow-out, but maybe we will get an early Christmas miracle. Labels: Chicago Bears posted by Brendan | 10:24 PM | permanent link
Has A Victory Ever Resulted in a Grumpier Post? Chicago Bears head coach Lovie Smith has gone on the record a number of times stating that his football team will be about strong special teams, opportunistic and powerful defense, and a run-oriented offense. The Bears team that was on the field Sunday against NFC North rivals the Minnesota Vikings had a hard time living up to those tenets, but they won anyway.  The play of the different special team units was strong. They blocked a punt and recovered the ball for a touchdown, were all over another punt that took a favorable bounce to translate into a Bears touchdown, and they were stable with their own punt and kick-off returns/coverage.Tallying up 4 interceptions and a fumble recovery, the Bears defense certainly was opportunistic in their play against QB Gus Frerotte and the Vikings offense. But powerful? I don�t think a squad that gives up 41 points can be considered powerful. The Bears gave up 439 total yards in offense � 155 of that on the ground. I would call that a �waving-to-Adrian-Peterson-as-he-runs-past-me� defense. I guess the bright spot is that even though injuries to the secondary meant that the Bears were playing rookies and guys they found standing around on the street at cornerback, the Bear defense did pull down four interceptions. Hopefully that is a sign of depth and potential big game talent on the bench behind the current hurting starters who have been anything but solid so far this year. And that run-oriented offense? I don�t care how you spin it, 53 total yards rushing is not �run-oriented�. The Bears are clearly riding the hot arm of Kyle Orton (not a sentence I ever expected to be writing � that�s to be sure) for everything that it�s worth. While the pass-happy offense helped keep the Bears on top of this past Sunday�s shoot-out, it is not a position that I would like the Bears to continue to be in.  If the Bears (and Bears fans) want to stop worrying about 4th quarter collapses, then the team has to start controlling the game and the game clock by running the ball consistently and effectively. The Bears could have sealed the deal Sunday with their last possession if they had eked out another first down and run the ball for a few more plays. Instead they had to punt the ball away. Luckily rookie cornerback Zackary Bowman was there to intercept Frerotte for a fourth time.Through the first few games of the season it looked like the Bears had a real rushing threat in rookie Matt Forte. I don�t know why the offense has gone away from him. Hopefully during the bye-week the squads can regroup and figure things out before Detroit comes for a visit. I�d love to see a defensive shut-out and 150 yards on the ground out of the Bears. Labels: Chicago Bears posted by Brendan | 9:10 PM | permanent link
Moving On to Football I don�t even want to talk about the Cubs, so don�t ask. I�d rather talk about more pleasant, happy sport stories like the strong early season performances being put on by the Chicago Bears and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.  Charlie Weis has coached his Irish to a 4-1 record mainly on the strength of QB Jimmy Clausen�s arm and Clausen�s marked improvement running the offense. The Irish still don�t run a whole lot and their defense isn�t any extraordinary, yet they have found ways to win football games - just not enough wins, or convincingly enough wins, to get the attention of the AP or Coach�s polls. If the Irish want to climb into the Top 25 of ranked teams, then they will need to balance out the runs vs. pass and step up on defense to show the country that they are more than just a team with a lucky streak.But I don�t mind the Irish�s absence from the Top 25. The games are much more fun to watch this season. My excitement for watching the games is not because they are winning, but because I believe that they actually have a chance to win. The team looks competent. They execute plays correctly. It is nothing like last season where the Irish consistently looked over-matched week in and week out. I didn�t want to watch last season (though usually did). This fall I am looking forward to seeing the Notre Dame game. The Irish aren�t a BCS level team this season, but they look good enough to finish with a winning record and a bowl invitation. That�s something nice to think about, instead of, say, Alfonso Soriano�s 1-for-14 playoff performance against the Dodgers. The Chicago Bears are also off to a strong start this season. Some will say that the Bears could be/should be 5-0, but the fact is that they buckled under to two teams late in the game and gave away victories. They don�t deserve to be 5-0. The Bears are 3-2, on top of the NFC North division, and appear to be growing stronger as the weeks progress. In the grand NFL scheme of things, I don�t think we know the true quality level of the 2008 Chicago Bears. They beat Indianapolis handedly in the season opener, but the Colts are 2-2 and hardly looking like the unstoppable juggernauts of years past. (Though there is still time for Peyton Manning to right the ship). The Philly (2-3) win was impressive, but just like in the games against Carolina (4-1) and Tampa Bay (3-2), the Bears were in the process of giving the game away after they had built up a good lead. The difference with the Philly game was the Bear defense finally stiffened and stopped the skid to preserve the win.  The Bears humiliated the Detroit Lions this past weekend, 34-7. The Bears not only built up a huge lead, but the never even let Detroit get into the game. A refreshing change of pace from what the last three Bears games were like.The victory was fun to watch, but I�m not sure what it proves. It certainly showed that Detroit has a horrible team that is in desperate need of help. If the Bears want to consider themselves a playoff-caliber team, they should beat a team like Detroit by 27 points on the road. So I figure this victory is a step in the right direction, but by no means proof that the Bears are a look for the playoffs. Next week�s game should show us just how good this Bears team really is when they go down to Atlanta to take on a Falcons team that is surprising a lot of people with their play and having the same sort of early season success that the Bears are enjoying. Winning that game on the road would set the Bears up nicely as they close out the first half of the season. I hate the Cubs . . . until next Spring. Labels: Chicago Bears, football, Notre Dame posted by Brendan | 10:37 PM | permanent link
But All He Does Is Return Kicks?  Devin Hester and the Chicago Bears agreed to a four-year contract extension that will pay Devin No. 1 receiver money.The new contract runs through 2013 and can be worth $40 million when you factor in performance goals along the way. The deal includes $15 million in guaranteed money. Thing is, Hester isn't a No. 1 receiver yet. He sure is fast and can certainly run well with the ball in the open field. But nothing in his performances over the last two years has shown that he is a No. 1 receiver. Hester certainly is a talented football player that the Bears want on their team - and I enjoy having Hester on the Bears - but I think this extension might have been a tad premature. I would have preferred seeing Hester prove that he can learn the Wide Receiver position (something he was unable to do while in college) before getting paid like a top WR talent. Labels: Chicago Bears posted by Brendan | 10:10 PM | permanent link
Time to Cut Cedric Benson  When I saw Cedric Benson�s glassy-eyed smug-faces mug shot from his recent arrest in Austin, Texas, on charges of driving while intoxicated, my first thought was, �Damn, I sure miss Thomas Jones.�It wasn�t because Benson failed in one season as the Bears starting fullback to generate a quarter of a percentile of excitement that the departed Jones did in one game as the starter (though that certainly contributed). No, it was that Benson has demonstrated that he doesn�t possess a quarter of a percentile of the class and maturity Thomas Jones has. That�s what bothers me the most about still having Cedric Benson on the Chicago Bears as a running back while Thomas Jones was traded away a year ago. With a running back tradition that includes Red Grange, Walter Payton, and Gale Sayers, Thomas Jones fit in perfectly with the Bears. He played hard every down and contributed to the overall team success. Off the field he was a classy individual who understood how blessed he was to have the opportunity to play professional football for an organization like the Bears and made the most of that opportunity.  Before Benson�s problem this summer figuring out when and where to be drinking, he had already made a name for himself as a selfish football player who was more concerned with his playing time than his team�s success. And when the playing time did come, he dazzled us with 3.4 yards per carry and a propensity for falling down when the opposing team came near him. (Has he even rushed for 100 yards in a game?) Now multiple problems with the law within the span of a few weeks demonstrates that not only is Benson a selfish football player, he's a dumb, immature one as well.Benson is a football bust regardless of how you define the term. Benson also doesn�t deserve to be in the same list as Payton and Sayers. Hell, he doesn�t deserve being mentioned alongside Neal Anderson and Raymont Harris. The Chicago Bears need to make the correct move now, before training camp begins, and cut Benson. Make room for Matt Forte, the rookie from Tulane they picked up the draft this past spring, to take on the starting role. The Bears� coaches seem to think he can handle it and I know I�d rather see someone else in the Bears� backfield. Labels: Chicago Bears, Rant posted by Brendan | 10:18 PM | permanent link
The Bear's Make Their First Silk Purse . . . From this season's Sow's Ear. A snapshot from the Chicago Bears email newsletter.  Read all about the magic. I'm sure these stats will at some point be used as proof that the Bears don't need to make any changes at the Quarterback position during the off-season. While I would love to see Rexy come back and lead the team, I think for him to succeed he needs to be challenged. Don't just go handing him the starting job. In order for him to be challenged he needs someone other than broken-down Brian Griese looking over his shoulder. Kyle "Neckbeard" Orton might give Rexy a run for his money, but for it to be a real contest I would think the Bears would need two viable starters in camp this summer. Rexy, Neckbeard, and . . . I don't know right now. Labels: Chicago Bears posted by Brendan | 4:08 PM | permanent link
Bears Beat Packers, Again  We were at my Aunt Kathy's, so I didn't watch the game as closely as if I was at a home, but I still got to enjoy the Bears victory over the Green Bay Packers today.It was a house full of Bears fans, so the game was on my Aunt's big screen. But with eating and moving about I never really got into the flow of the game. I did, however, see some of the key plays as they happened: the botched 10-yard punt by the Packers, Garrett Wolfe's 33-yard run that set up a Adrian Peterson TD, the blocked punt returned for a touchdown, and Brian Urlacher's interception that he returned 85-yards for a touchdown. Sure, the Bears were pretty much playing only for pride, but the fact that the game had no substantial playoff implication didn't matter to me. It was the Bears and the Packers, outside, in sub-zero wind chills with snow blowing everywhere. It was what good old fashioned NFC football is suppose to be about. And the Bears won. Labels: Chicago Bears posted by Brendan | 8:39 PM | permanent link
Go Bears! Kyle Orton shall lead us to victory . . .  Labels: Chicago Bears posted by Brendan | 12:43 PM | permanent link
Bears vs Redskins This is all I want to say about the Bears loss to the Redskins last night  1) Their performance against the Redskins will end any notions left that the Bears could - or even belonged - in the NFL post-season.2) Grossman's injury and Griese's sad play should clear the way for Kyle Orton to start a few games at the end of the season. But I suspect Lovie Smith will continue to start Griese Seriously, let Orton run the team for the final three games. What is there to lose? Find out what he's got now that he's had a few more years practicing, watching, and studying the game. Labels: Chicago Bears posted by Brendan | 12:51 PM | permanent link
Devin Hester Beats the Denver Broncos I caught a few minutes of the post-game press conferences with the Chicago Bears after their 37-34 overtime win against the Denver Broncos this evening. Coach Lovie Smith commented that he was very happy to have Devin Hester on his team.  No shit, Sherlock. If it wasn't for Hester, the Bears would have lost that game today. Hester single-handedly kept the Bears in the game when their defense continued to let them down, wide receivers continued to drop perfectly thrown passes, and the offensive line continued to hurt the team with penalties. Granted, Rex Grossman had a fairly lousy first half, but his second half was exceptional and he should leadership in moving the offense down the field to score two touchdowns with less than four minutes left in the game. What infuriated me the most was the sloppy play of the O-line. Commentators keep calling that crew "experienced" and "veteran". I think better adjectives might be "old" and "slow". How else do you explain all the holding penalties this group had (one of which nullified a touchdown) or how much time Rex spent scrambling out of a collapsing pocket? They are a great group of guys, but I think a top priority this off-season is going to be bringing in fresh, young talent for the offensive line. Guys who can protect the passer and clear lanes for the running backs.  So until you get your defense performing up to expectations, receivers to catch balls, and eliminate the costly penalties, you'd better be happy you've got Hester, because it's the only certain good thing that you've got right now.Despite all the frustrations, it was an exciting game to watch. Most notably because Ian was watching with me from late in the third quarter on. He got excited when Hester ran back the kick-off for his second touchdown of the game, watched the Bears special teams block and recover a crucial punt attempt, and jumped up and down when Rex delivered a touchdown pass to the diving Bernard Berrian in the endzone to tie the game with seconds remaining. If nothing else, I think Ian got a good taste of just how exciting a football game can be - even if you are pulling for a 5-6 team. Labels: Chicago Bears posted by Brendan | 9:59 PM | permanent link
Who Wants Ricky?  Ricky Williams was reinstated by NFL today, so he's free to rejoin the team that currently holds the running back's contract - the 0-9 Miami Dolphins. But indications are that the Fins don't want Ganga Boy back on their squad. And that they might be looking to trade Ricky.I said it once before, and I'll say it again, the Bears should make a serious play for Williams. He's a proven hard-hitting runner who, thanks to these suspensions, doesn't have a whole lot of mileage on his legs. The guy could still be very productive in this league. Sure he's can't say "No" to a puff of the weed, but it's better than crashing your Lamborghini and then lying to police or building a personal armory of unlicensed weapons in your suburban home. Comparatively, a little recreation drug use seems down right civil. In any case, Williams would be light years better than Cedric Ben-stopped again for a 1-yard loss. 76 yards against the Oakland Raiders? Pathetic. Come on Jerry Angelo. Make the deal. Labels: Chicago Bears, football posted by Brendan | 12:30 PM | permanent link
Football, Football, Football It was an interesting weekend of football. Pay close attention. I didn�t say it was an exciting weekend of football, though there were exciting games and plays to be seen. And I didn�t say it was a good weekend of football, because that would imply that I was happy with the quality of games I watched or the results of those contests. No, it was an interesting weekend of football.  Charlie Weis and the Notre Dame Floundering Irish sealed the deal on having the worse football season in the school�s storied history. I couldn�t find the stomach to watch most of the game, instead Heather and I kept checking in on the Irish during game breaks during the Ohio State � Illinois matchup.When I was watching, there didn�t seem to be much to enjoy. Air Force moved the ball at will; the Irish were unable to sustain anything meaningful on offense. At this point in the season discussing the Irish�s pathetic play on the field sounds like a broken record. Injuries, inexperience, lack of talent � the cause could be all of those things. The source of the problem could even be with the coaching staff. Though I don�t believe Coach Weis� job is in jeopardy. First, he is Notre Dame alum, and I believe the University will give more leniency to one of their own. Two, his early success with the team grants him a little more time. Three, from what I�ve read the man is a recruiting machine. A number of the different college recruit evaluators have all commented on the strength of Weis recruiting classes and his approach to recruiting overall. So the future seems bright for the team. However, if two or three years from now the Irish faithful are watching another 1-9 team that is winless at Rockne Stadium, then none of those three reasons will save Weis� job. As for now, we have to speculate on the talent and experience.  While I was avoiding watching another Notre Dame meltdown, I was afforded the opportunity to watch a meltdown of another type. Ohio State, the number one ranked team in the country, fell to the visiting Fighting Illini of Illinois.Even though I grew up and now live in Illinois, I�ve never been much of an Illini football fan. I pull for their basketball team; but historically their football program hasn�t been much to talk about, so my interest in the gridiron version of the Illini has been small. South Bend has always seemed closer than Champaign, so factoring in my Irish Catholic upbringing, it�s always been the Fighting Irish for me.  But over the past few seasons a new coach, Ron Zook, and his recruiting prowess have started to build Illinois into a football team looking for more respect. Earlier this year they knocked off a highly ranked, and highly regarded, Wisconsin team, beat Penn State, they played Michigan closely on a nationally televised Saturday night game, and they have remained competitive and at the top of the standings in the Big Ten. But I don�t think anyone expected them to come into Columbus and hand the Buckeyes their first regular season loss in almost three years. But that�s what they did.Since marrying Heather and living some time in Ohio, I have become a fan of Ohio State. The school has a strong football program headed up by Jim Tressel, a coach whom I hold a lot of respect for. I enjoy watching their teams play and especially have fun seeing them beat up on Michigan. However, on Saturday I couldn�t help but feel a little pride in seeing those Illinois helmets running around the Horseshoe, befuddling Ohio State defenders and securing a resounding victory. I know it was bandwagon fanish of me to do so, but I couldn�t help it. Now following an Ohio State victory over Michigan and an Illini win over Northwestern, the Illini could finish tied for second in the Big Ten. Exciting stuff.  Sunday�s pro games were no less interesting. The Cleveland Browns � Pittsburgh Steelers game was a nationally televised game, so Heather and I got to watch Cleveland�s hot-handed QB Derrick Anderson take on the hated Steelers. The Browns are having a great season, which made this game, which has been a horrible mismatch since Cleveland had to hit the reset button on their football franchise in the late 1990�s, a fantastic match-up. Even though the Browns jumped out to a big lead, Ohio-native Ben Roethlisberger was able to rally his Steelers to win the game. It was a difficult loss, but I still love seeing the Browns be competitive, even if I don�t like the outcome.I was living in Cleveland when owner Art Modell picked the team up and moved them to Baltimore in 1995, and grew to understand and appreciate the city�s pain over losing their football team. The Cleveland Browns are how Cleveland defines themselves. They may love their Indians and go crazy for their Cavaliers, but deep down Cleveland is a football city. It was great when the city got a Browns team again; which they have embraced enthusiastically. It has been a difficult road for the new team, but you get the feeling that they may finally have the right management, coaching, and talent to start building towards something bigger than an also-ran in the AFC North division.  And how about those Bears? That was some of the worst three quarters of football I have ever seen. The play on the field matched what you would expect from two teams coming into the game with losing records. 3-3 at the half? 6-3 (in favor of the Raiders) at the end of the third quarter? And Devin Hester was trying way too hard on his punt and kick returns. The Raiders were playing inspired special team coverage. Don�t get all fancy with switchbacks and redirects. Run forward and hope for some blocks and bad tackles. I was too disgusted to be bored with the game, but I stuck through it.Then Rex reminded us all why we were so in love with him a year ago. He has the ability to step out on the field and completely light the place up. Before his touchdown strike to Bernard Berrian, Grossman had gone down the field a couple of times (once even over-throwing a speeding Hester) but without the same end result. Grossman likes to air the ball out. Go for the big strike. I know it can get him into trouble, but damn if it isn�t exciting to watch.  So while Grossman was redeeming himself by leading the Bears to victory, Cedric Benson revealed that he just isn�t the sort of runner the Bears need. The Oakland Raiders have one of the worst run defenses in the league. Still, Benson was barely able to squeak out 76 yards on the ground. The crew FOX had calling this game was horrible, but they did point out something that I hadn�t noticed about Benson�s running style � the guy runs all tippy-toe to the line of scrimmage. Benson doesn�t run up to the line, look for his hole, and try to muscle his way through. He dances before he even gets there. How are you going to get any power to your stride if you aren�t extending yourself when you prepare to hit the line? The guy�s a certified bust.Does one game of �Good Rex� mean that the season can be salvaged? I don�t know. I do know that I find a game with Rex behind center more exciting to watch than one with him on the bench. Let�s look and see what the rest of the season brings. Labels: Chicago Bears, football, Notre Dame, Sports posted by Brendan | 12:35 PM | permanent link
Oh, Pancho! - Oh, Ditka! While I was watching the Bears� embarrassing play against the Lions this past Sunday, Heather wandered in and noticed a Mike Ditka � John Elway commercial that was airing. "Wow," she says, "Ditka will sell anything." (By the way, whenever Heather says "Ditka" or "Mike Ditka", she pronounces it like one of the Superfans from the SNL skit years ago even though she�s a native Ohioan. It�s one of the reasons I love her.) �He doesn�t surprise me anymore,� I replied while trying to wipe the image of another Griese end zone interception from my mind. �Really? I saw something in today�s paper with Ditka that I bet might surprise you.� �When it comes to whoring yourself for an advertising dollar, Ditka jumped the shark when he became the spokesman for that Viagra competitor.� Heather leaves the room and returns with a Sunday flyer for Walmart or Meijer. She flips open to a page and then shows me this:  Iron Mike has got his own salsa now. Of course he wants us to buy it, so he has decided to lend his smiling mug to the packaging and advertising. In case anyone forgets that salsa is associated with Mexican cuisine and assumes that if Ditka is selling something edible than the food probably contains some form of pork and is a Midwest regional delicacy, he dresses himself up like the Cisco Kid. I�m sure Ditka had fun with the whole thing, but Heather was right, it did surprise me. And I guess even his advertising scheme is working; I want to give the salsa a try. Labels: Chicago Bears, Fun posted by Brendan | 12:47 PM | permanent link
It's Just Not Their Year Bears lost 16 - 7 to the Detroit Lions. There were plenty of reasons why they had to win this game if they wanted to have a respectable season - least of which so I could hold my head high when I see Heather's brother at Christmas. But they lost, and I watched the entire game. What I walked away with Sunday afternoon is that it is time for Bears fans to reset their expectations on the season. The Bears aren't going back to the Super Bowl. Hell, it will be a minor miracle if they make the playoffs - as wild card team.  I'm not going to write off last season as a fluke. I think Lovie Smith's success in Chicago as a head coach is apparent from the progress his teams made in his first three seasons. The Bears can be a better team than we all saw on Sunday. I think bad offseason decisions regarding coaching staff personal, a litany of injuries, and some questionable talent evaluation have resulted in the current incarnation of the Chicago Bears stinking up the NFL.The Bears might come of their bye week rested and refocused; and put together an impressive run of games to close out the second half of the season. However, my guess is that the rest of 2007 will play out like an extended exhibition season for the Bears; third in the NFC North and floating somewhere around .500. So I am readying myself for some disappointing football from here on out. There will be moments of brilliance and excitement, but in the end I will be as many �L�s as �W�s. Oh, and that Cedric Benson will continue to have no grasp of reality and will not be the starter in 2008. Labels: Chicago Bears posted by Brendan | 1:02 PM | permanent link
Bears HAVE To Win Tomorrow  The talk around town last week was that the Bears had to win against Philly if they wanted any hope of making the playoffs this season. Thanks to Brian Griese the Bears walked away with the victory.This week the talk was about the importance of winning in order to pull their record up to .500 for the season before their bye week. 4-4 with the second half of the season still to go would position the team much better than 3-5. What I think is also very important is for the Bears to get a another NFC North Division win and show the Lions that the team they faced a month ago in Detroit is not the real 2007 Chicago Bears. Victories and the playoffs are great, but putting the Lions back in their place is even better. If the Bears get swept by the Lions I don't know how I will be able to show my face to my Detroit-living brother-in-law this Christmas. Labels: Chicago Bears posted by Brendan | 9:03 PM | permanent link
Bears Beat Eagles I spent Sunday afternoon buried in the physical manifestation of my life � our basement � primarily trying to bring order to the storage area, with a little clean up of the living area thrown in on the side. I made progress, but as is usually the case, I was left with the numbing resignation that more work is needed and the stinging self-critique that my efforts were less than focused and efficient. Because I haven�t hooked the cable up down in the basement, I listened to the Chicago Bears game on the radio (which in terms of maintaining any semblance of a �focused and efficient� work effort was probably best). I enjoy the work Jeff Joniak and Tom Thayer do on the games, in particular Thayer�s critique of the team�s in-game performance. He isn�t afraid to let us know when he thinks players aren�t giving it their all or the efforts are sloppy.  So while I moved boxes of Christmas decorations around and constructed heavy duty shelving, I listened to Jeff Joniak describe the action in Philadelphia. I was shocked when Robbie Gould missed a 39-yard field goal. I was glad to hear that the Bears� defense seemed to be keeping the Eagles out of the end zone, but I was frustrated with the Bears inability to find the endzone themselves - even when they had the ball on the 1-yard line. And the Bears� running game? Joniak did a spectacular job in describing that ineptitude. That off-season Thomas Jones trade now looks like a colossal mistake.As the afternoon wore on, and six o�clock approached, the Eagles went up 16-12 when Donovan McNabb finally connected with a receiver for a touchdown. A quick three-and-out by the Bears meant the Eagles had the ball with a little over two minutes remaining in the game. A loss, I assumed, was assured for the Bears. The offense had failed to cross the goal line all day, why would they start now, I reasoned. At which point Heather announced that dinner was ready, so I shut off the radio and the lights, and went up to eat with everyone.  About two minutes into dinner I stood up and told Heather that when I turned the game off downstairs the Bears were losing by four points with less than two minutes in the game. I had assumed a loss, but that I wanted to be sure. I excused myself from the table, walked into the family room, and turned on the TV just in time to see Brian Griese connecting with Bernard Berrian. The clock was ticking, the Bears didn�t have any timeouts, but Griese was moving the team down the field. A quick hit to Devin Hester and my shouting bring Heather and the kids into the room to see what Dad is cheering about. And then Griese finds Mushin Muhammad in the endzone with nine seconds remaining � nine seconds � and the Bears have the lead, 19 � 16, and eventually the victory.Watching a little of the local evening news that night, the sportscasters seemed more enamored with the Bears performance than I did. I was excited that the Bears had won, but after listing to the game all afternoon on the radio there wasn�t a whole lot to be proud of from my perspective. From what I heard, the Bears defense did a lot of bending but didn�t break and the foot of Gould kept things close before Griese could engine his drive. Certainly, the Bears kept Philly in check, but it hardly sounded like NFC Championship-worthy football. So while the Bears come home with a victory earned on the road in a hostile stadium, the team has another test this weekend. They have to show that their defeat at the hands of the Detroit Lions three weeks ago was not a reflection of what sort of team the 2007 Bears actually are. Labels: Chicago Bears posted by Brendan | 12:24 PM | permanent link
Bears Beat Packers  Brett Favre and the Pack were 4-0, the game was in Lambeau Field, and the previous week the Bears had looked like a team totally lost on the football field. I wasn�t expecting much Sunday night, and that�s what the Bears delivered in the first quarter of the game. No offense what so ever and, save the two turnovers created by Charles Tillman, the Packers were moving the ball however they wanted.Then the Bears appeared to wake up and realize that despite all the injuries and bad play from some of their positions, they are still a very talented team. They started creating more turnovers on defense and then capitalizing on them on offense. Quarterback Brian Griese threw to Desmond Clark and Greg Olsen. Cedric Benson actually started running around and through a few tacklers (though still not nearly enough). And before I knew it the Bears had battled back to take a 27 � 20 lead with a little over two minutes left in the game. It was pretty amazing. By that point my confidence in the Bears was starting to strengthen again. So even as Favre started moving the Packers down the field with lots of little underneath junk, I wasn�t getting too concerned about the outcome of the game. I could feel that it was the Bears to win and that they would prevail when the clock hit 0:00.  Sure enough, thanks to a timely interception by Brandon McGowan in the endzone with time expiring, the Bears came out on top. It wasn�t championship-caliber football, but it was winning football. And at this point of the season, that�s all I think we can ask for.So here�s hoping the Bears have found their groove again. An error-free offense with a strong defense that will start toughening up even more each week as players overcome their injuries. The Bears still need a lot more out of the running game, so Labels: Chicago Bears posted by Brendan | 5:47 PM | permanent link
Ricky Williams in a Bear Uniform? It's being reported today that Ricky William has applied for reinstatement to the NFL following his lengthy suspension for violating the NFL drug policy four times.Sure the guy enjoys a little doobage from time to time, but he also knows how to pick up yardage running with a football. The Bears could do a lot worse - and are right now - than making a grab for Ricky if the NFL let's him back in. Of course Miami would have to give up their rights to Ricky, but I'm sure a deal could be hammered out. Labels: Chicago Bears, football posted by Brendan | 4:55 PM | permanent link |
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