AZ54

I don't think the Bears look stupid for demoting Knox. He had issues he needed to fix. He has apparently gotten that message and is working hard to earn back his starting job. Roy Williams got the same message today albeit without the demotion ...yet.

I watched the first half in slo-mo focusing on our offense. In order of good to bad: Chris Williams and Roberto Garza played well, at least I didn't catch any obvious mistakes like I saw last week. Webb will still have trouble with speed rushers on the edge but he was more solid in his blocking against the Giants, had a couple mistakes though but this time around he tried to stay with his man which allowed Cutler to step up. Lance Louis...kid makes a lot of good plays followed by some not so great plays but overall he had a decent game. If Tice can ever get him to block with proper technique we'll have a good player. I'm no expert on blocking techniques but his arms often got pushed off the defensive player who then bull-rushed him back into the pocket. For now he's just getting by on his strength and athleticism and managed to stay with the block but he needs to learn how to anchor better. It wasn't all bad and Louis some solid blocks both in pass pro and the running game. Carimi...Justin Tuck had his way most of the night, and I don't care what Jaws and Gruden said on MNF. There were plays during the game where I was blaming Louis for missing his block but when it's all slowed down it was Carimi. On multiple run plays Carimi was pushed aside, thrown down, etc. On one play, I think 1st and goal, the interior blockers had a great push and hole opened up but Carimi allowed Tuck to slide all the way down from the end and make the tackle. This happened on more than one running play too. It wasn't all bad, Carimi had his share of wins too but the kid has some work to do. Overall much better than the Bills game. Guys knew their assignments much better, and on seven step drops (we had several) they even protected the QB well. Hopefully they gain confidence from this and we see another step up this weekend against the Titans. Side note: On one running play designed to go up the middle the line had solid blocks and a good push, easily should have been a 4 yard gain or more yet Chester Taylor ran all by himself off left tackle for a 2yd gain. Hope he does better at his next job. To his credit his pass protection was key on one of our long gains when he slid to the right last minute to help Carimi.

I wouldn't be surprised if Clark is cut either as they keep the young TE Adams who was on the field a lot for special teams.

Agreed, I saw quite a few blitzes last night, either line backers or CBs. For sure this time around Cutler had and used hot reads.

Yes, but he's our moron.

If that's the test, they passed. I'm not saying they were perfect, not even good enough yet, but compared to just a week ago they were a lot better.

I agree with his assessment too. I think the Bears were right to have Spencer earn the starting role. In any case, Garza is our backup and if Louis is to be our backup RG then everyone got reps at new spots while the new guy learned his role. But the switch has to happen tomorrow!

It is about how you play on the field and the Cardinals do not have to give up a draft pick, not even a conditional one, to find a RB who can average 2.4ypc.

From the outside it appears Unga doesn't want to make the team. That makes no sense so I can only surmise that he has some serious family issue and wish him the best of luck. I think at some point the real reason will be revealed much like the issue with Charles Tillman a couple years ago but for now his family's privacy is more important.

Great info, thanks for the update.

The fact we are comparing Mays to a player we just let go in order to upgrade our safety position pretty sums up my argument. If we were to attempt to bulk him up and coach him on being a WLB then that's something you do during a full offseason, not 3 weeks before the season starts.

Saw Kreutz get bull rushed straight back to the QB too. Whoever lined up at LG next to Kreutz did a damn good impersonation of Lance Louis on one play giving up a sack and fumble and killing a drive in the redzone. Kreutz must have felt right at home.

The Bears aren't sexy, it's that simple. They just found ways to win last year. There just wasn't anything last year that made anyone say wow they can really ...rush the passer? stop the run? throw the ball? run the ball? Nor do we have any elite attention grabbing players that have a nationwide spotlight on them. We have some name players in Urlacher, Briggs, and Cutler but what do they ever say to the media? Nor is this a young up and coming team. In fact we're more on the other side of the that. We're best known for having a bad Oline and we've done nothing significant to address it. I think this is good for the team to keep them focused. Let Detroit and Minn get all the attention as the upstarts. Let Green Bay be showered in praise while we keep working. I know we weren't that far off from the big game and I like the pieces we've added. We just need the Oline to come together and be average.

I thought Waters had some injury he never fully recovered from?

Why is Arizona so desperate they are coming after Chester Taylor? They still have Beanie Wells but I agree they need to add a RB to the roster. There will be plenty of options here shortly. Taylor may well be on their short list of options but to trade a pick for him, I don't see it. I wouldn't mind being wrong on this.

If you ever watched him closely that was exactly how Mays played in college. Wait until it's blatantly obvious who to hit and then run there quickly. That doesn't work in the NFL. Coaches always think they can coach anybody but that isn't always true.

I believe they did just act in good faith with the new collective bargaining agreement gives a lot of medical benefits to retired players. Jimmy Mac led his life with reckless abandon both on and off the field but that's why we loved him. I wish he would have slid more often rather than taking the hit, so did his coaches.

Why do we want him?

I guess my expectations for Roy are lower than some. For me he's just one piece of the WR puzzle. He is not "the" piece. He gives us something we didn't have on the roster, a bigger body who can get off the LOS and to a spot quicker than the little guys. We need that 5 yard slant in a big way, along with a solid running game, but it might be the other guys who can get downfield quicker that benefit the most from that. In other words, I don't think it will Roy's numbers we'll all talking about later in the season.

1 year deal....1 year deal.

Nothing new here at all, they've said throughout Lovie's tenure.

Agreed on the suspension issue. This is the NFL's way of saying we know we can't legally stop someone from obtaining work in this country so you are eligible for the draft but we also want to slap you for making us do this. Hester's issue should be a non-factor for the NFL as well. What happened to Reggie Bush?

I like how Hanie blamed the WRs for his INTs and it completely went under the radar. Good luck to Cutler should he attempt the same comment about the new guys not knowing the system yet.

Some of this criticism is a bit unwarranted IMO. It's common to hear players and coaches across the league state that intensity picks up when the real games start. The only way that can happen is if intensity is lower during the preseason. Even guys like Urlacher have said as much in years past. Intensity also picks up again in the playoffs and the only way that can happen is? I would say that years ago it used to be common that teams didn't blitz much during preseason, and in general the hard licks on QBs, WRs, RBs were avoided as a matter of professional courtesy, and it went both ways. In fact you wanted your starters out when the backups were on the field because you never knew what some overzealous guy might do to impress someone (i.e. headhunter) thinking it will help him make the team. Over the last decade that has changed dramatically. Buffalo had no problem blitzing us from the first snap of the game and coming after our QB. Perhaps it's a factor of all the free agency changes in personnel and the need to get so many new players understanding all aspects of their new offense or defense, guys fighting over starting roles moreso than before FA, etc. My concern isn't so much that guys like Urlacher aren't playing all out, we know what he can do. It's a young player like Webb who should be going all out to hold down what could be a very highly paying job at LT. He had a great opportunity to demonstrate what he could do against Shawn Merriman, what a great opportunity. This week he gets another shot to show he belongs against the Giants defense that made our entire Oline look horrible.

Agreed, I'd make the deal in a week or two if Unga and Bell still look good. I want to know we have a decent 4th option in case someone gets hurt. Yet why would the Texans make this deal? At best we'd get a conditional pick.