balta1701-A

Just remember, in 2006, the Bears went into the last week fo the season against the Packers with everything locked up, saying that they were going to play normally, and Grossman had a 0 QB rating in the first half before he was benched. He basically admitted that he was paying more attention to the partying than to the practicing that week.

After tonight's Philadelphia Eagles loss, the Chicago Bears have clinched a first round bye. They still have a shot at the #1 seed should the Falcons lose.

I don't know that there was any real "Lightbulb came on" moments other than the offense and O-line sitting down during the Bye and figuring out what they could count on the O-line to do in terms of playcalling. Lovie's schemes are still the ones you'd expect from him, the difference this year is that they have the horses. Last year, they lost Urlacher in the first half of the season and Pisa just about as fast. This year, they've got those 2, and they added Peppers along the line. That alone was going to make this team better.

I think an extension is likely, but not certain at this point, because of the labor disputes. If that is settled early, the Bears may start talking about an extension but might drag their feet until mid-season to see how it is going. However, if there's a substantial portion of the season lost, the Bears are going to have to do something to make sure his contract doesn't run out.

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Here's a summary chart of the NFC #1 seed scenarios.

Link. Team obviously didn't want these guys getting away if next season was put in jeopardy.

I'm not sure that the "Cover 2" was really what lost in the Super Bowl though. That Super Bowl was lost when: the Bears couldn't stop the run, and the Bears D-Line couldn't get a finger on Manning. The Cover 2 sort of did its job there, it slowed down the deep passing game, but part of the scheme, the defensive front, got manhandled.

A very good point...my question in response though was whether that NOLA team really was looking to go underneath, or whether they were going over the top for the kill? I feel like Brees was much better with the deep ball at that point, and it was more recently when he really got good at picking a team apart at both levels. Am I wrong with that?

I have a habit of being one of the defenders of the general scheme here...after all, you saw it work like clockwork against the Iggles and the Packers earlier this season. The idea that the Bears just got lucky somehow in those games was just silly if you watched them at all. That said...the way the Bears play does have a weakness. If you're real good at a version of the west coast offense, using screens and the short, high-percentage passing game followed by a good number of YAC, you can really hurt the Bears D, and I don't know how they can win a Super Bowl until they can solve that riddle

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Tinoisamoa hopes to play this weekend.

The other thing worth keeping in mind is that every other team is facing the same uncertainty as the Bears are right now...no team wants to go out and hire a guy to be their head coach and have to pay for 2 different head coaches during a single offseason. It sure seems likely that Minnesota and Dallas will just wind up keeping their interim guys. The Panthers will certainly have a new coach, the 49ers and Bengals are on the list, and the Broncos are already open. If Jeff Fisher is fired, that opens up Tennessee, but I think some other team would suck him up immediately. It just seems like there's going to be less coaching movement this offseason that we're used to. I could be wrong, but owners spending a couple million to pay 2 coaches with zero revenue just doesn't seem likely

How do you compare the value of a kick returner to a guy like say, Urlacher though, where Hester (as a returner) is a threat on maybe 5 plays a game and influences 5 more by them kicking the ball away from him, while a regular offensive or defensive player has 50 plays a week that they're involved in, and a mistake on any of them can kill the team?

ESPN"s Kevin Siefert blogs:

If you listened to the Pats press clippings after the last 2 weeks, they were already in the Super Bowl, they didn't need to clinch.

Depends on a couple things. First...would Bill Cowher want to coach there? Second, does Jeff Fisher get fired? If neither of those happen, I think he keeps the job.

you might care if Cutler takes an ordinary hit and winds up having his career Austin-Collied.

That can't be real, can it?

Unless it was for NYC.

The rule is that inactive players can't be near the white stripe. That's nothing like what BB was doing, and it doens't pertain to him either. He's attempting to interfere with a player well beyond the white stripe.

There's never been a rule against this because it's never been caught on camera so blatantly before. If the NFL doesn't ban something that gives a team an advantage, why shouldn't they do it? Catch the rules up first and then I'll complain.

Could the fewer targets be related to him being held in to block more often, to keep the QB alive?

Favre has apparently ruled himself out due to continuing numbness in his right hand. Rookie Joe Webb is lined up as the starter, with Patrick Ramsey as his backup.

Vikings ask their fans to help shovel out the stadium.