Pixote

For what it's worth, I personally don't agree of all the claims that Nagy and Ryan made moves to defer blame to "escape goats." With a few exceptions, the players on every team bond with the other players and their coaches. They will go into battle with them. They become family. If it were true that Nagy and Ryan were releasing coaches / players simply to defer blame on others, believe me, the players would know. Nagy and Ryan would lose all respect of the players. At that point, you might as well kiss their asses goodbye.

After the first two preseason games we were wondering why Bray was even on an NFL roster. Against Carolina he was 8/17 for 85 yds Against NYG he was 6/13 for a whopping 53 yds He did better in the final 2 games, but he doesn't give me warm fuzzy feelings.

Let's hope our worries are unfounded. BUT - IF, and I realize it is a BIG IF, Mitch tanks and we need to look elsewhere........ What are the chances of Andrew Luck coming out of retirement next year and coming to the Bears? CP was his first Head Coach in Indy. I'd suspect it would be tempting for him to hook up with him again.

Such a tragedy. I can only pray for Tarik and his brother. Reading the article, and looking at all of the photos of the football camp he held, I have it was fantastic. We see NFL players put on camps all the time. So many times it looks like they do it out of obligation, not for the love of the kids. Not this one. Tarik really cared about these children. You could tell these kids were really having a blast!

To be honest, I don't see why we even have Sims and Braunecker on our roster. There has to be better options.

Well, it looks we will try out another kicker in the preseason. What a name for a kicker! Bears add a new name to kicker competition — and it's an interesting one

I agree with everyone, I pass. However, my understanding is that his drop in production is because they switched him to ILB where he has failed to put up the numbers he once got as an OLB. I suspect if put back outside, he might have a few good years left. (Elsewhere, preferably somewhere in the AFC. LOL)

Now that I see Cody Whitehair and Charles Leno added to the pro bowl rosters, I'm more skeptical of the significance of such an appointment. I mean, really??? Does anyone really believe Whitehair or Leno are what you would envision as 'pro bowl' players at their respective positions?

From ESPN Website:

I would have to believe that Ed Donatell would be a top choice to replace Fangio. If you check out his bio on ChicagoBears.com you will see what I mean. He has been with Vic here in Chicago (and in San Francisco, if I'm not mistaken). He has 39 years of coaching experience. He has also been a defensive coordinator in the NFL on several occasions and did a decent job. Now with the additional experience with Fangio as his tutor, I think he is ready for prime time as DC. It would retain continuity and make a seamless transition.

We need to enter the playoffs with positive momentum, hitting on all cylinders. I can't think of a better way of doing that than beating the crap out of the Vikings.

I commented that I did not recall MT throwing downfield in the game against GB. Nothing was meant negative in the statement. It was an observation, PERIOD. MT had a good game and I am not saying anything negative about him. I think this is the first game I can recall all year that he didn't throw downfield to stretch the defense. It was obviously Nagy's decision and I assume it was to allow MT to play a little conservative and regain his confidence after the poor outing in NY. So no reason to get defensive. It just seemed odd to me that he didn't throw deep during the game. (Unless my memory serves me incorrectly)

Does anyone remember MT throwing deep during the game? I can remember some medium length passes to gain first downs. MT has been struggling all year overthrowing many of the deep passes. I suspect that Nagy knew MT needed a BIG game to get his confidence back and took out the deep pass plays. It certainly worked, MT had a fantastic "bounce back" game and should be even better as we head to the playoffs.

I absolutely love Cohen. I cannot say enough good things about him. However, I was 16 and in high school when Sayers was a rookie. I watched him in awe. If he had stayed healthy, he would still hold records never to be broken. With that said, as much as I love Cohen, He is not anywhere close to the player Sayers was. That is not saying anything negative about Cohen. It just says how great Sayers was, IMO.

I have to agree, Hester would likely be streaking down the field, wide open, only to have Mitch over/under throw him by ten yards. Okay, I know, I will shut up. Just had to add my initial knee-jerk reaction without trying to be a jerk.

I was wondering the same thing. I know he missed all of training camp. I would think by now he should be caught up. Everyone was saying how he was going to kick ass. All I have seen is a struggling player who quite often is taking a bad angle and missing tackles on big plays by the opponent. Let's hope he lives up to the hype he was getting when drafted.

Ryan Tannehill out for Dolphins; Brock Osweiler starting!

Good News for the Bears: Akiem Hicks fined following ejection Sunday against Buccaneers.

He is having trouble with accuracy downfield. The main reason is poor footwork. Overthrowing Gabriel who was wide open or under throwing Robinson winding up with an INT as a result. Both were a result of poor footwork. His poor footwork almost led to a third INT against Seattle but fortunately the defender missed by inches of getting a pick six and Howard got a short gain on a reception. Poor footwork is something he showed last year. It doesn't seem to me it has improved this year. If you cannot complete passes downfield in Nagy's offense, there is a serious problem. You can get away with poor footwork on short passes, most of the time, by shear arm strength. When you go downfield, you need to have good footwork to be consistently accurate. So he's had 14 starts. How many reps in practice? How long does it take to learn this? IMO, the main reason for Cutler's failure in Chicago was poor footwork leading to INTs. He never learned. Will Mitch? I like Mitch, and hope I see the improvements you anticipate. However, if he doesn't improve his footwork and field vision, he will always struggle.

I'm getting a bit tired of all the excuses for Mitch's lack of improvement. I see little difference in his play this year from what we saw last year. I don't care that it is a new system. He is still making the same foolish mistakes. After constantly hearing the Bear's coaches and management try to come up with excuses for Cutler's failures in the past, I'm sorry, but I don't want any more excuses, I want production. I want proof that we aren't wasting our time with another QB who will be nothing more than a journeyman backup.

10 Man Practice Squad Announced I'm Happy to see Ryan Nall signed to the PS. I hope he gets moved up ASAP.

I like the fact his previous contract was not voided, this is an extension. So we have him locked up for seven years. He will be 34 in February after the end of his last season under the contract. Basically, we have him under contract for the remainder of his career.

From the article I read today on NFL.com, the problem is that some teams may use a suspension of a player for violating the new 'helmet rule' as justification to void guaranteed money in a contract. If that is the case, I can see Smith's concern. I wonder how other players are handling this issue in their contracts?

As an update to the initial article I posted a link to, I saw this today. Bears place Zach Miller on reserve/PUP, ending season Pretty much what we expected to happen.

There isn't a chance in hell that Zack Miller plays a single down this year. He may never play again, period. But the Bears signed him to a league minimum one year deal. A classy move on the Bears' part to help a player who gave them everything he had when healthy. I'd love to see him fulfill his dream of returning to the game, but have serious doubts it will be physically possible after that type of injury. Article on NFL.com: TE Zack Miller Signs One Year Deal