AZ54

Dangle Tommie Harris? The only way you can dangle someone who is on the bench for a trade is to cut him. Seriously, what has Harris done in the last 3 years to make anyone want him? If he were playing at an average level we'd be better off keeping him on the field, and he's not even doing that. I think this is another reason they brought in Charles Grant...because he can play inside as well as the LDE.

I'm really laughing at this one. Before the Bears fiasco I watched the Cardinals fiasco where they gave up just 1 less sack than we did. Go to work on Monday and everyone is making fun of Faneca and how bad he is in pass protection.

Everytime the ball was snapped Collins wet himself. He was too scared to even step into his passes. I think he's the first guy I've ever seen do a 2 step drop and throw the ball about 5 feet. He doesn't belong on the team and I would much rather have LeFevour still with us as a developmental prospect. At least LeFevour could run out of our constantly folding pocket.

I think Hester has improved significantly as a WR. Nobody talked about his great catch against the Packers. He was double covered deep in the endzone and went up and caught the ball, his momentum carried him out of the endzone so no TD. Still it was a great catch and the kind of adjustment to the ball up high I had never seen before from him. I think we have a lot more good things to come from Hester this season.

I noticed Webb in there early in the game and wondered what happened to Shaffer. Anyway, on the replay of that down I watched how Webb did and he shut his man down. I didn't realize he was in on Knox's big catch but again not a bad effort. I am actually surprised at how well he moved chasing Mathews. Garza may be next on the hotseat. Perhaps they are seeing something with the guy they promoted from the practice squad.

There was a lot of controversy about the 49ers hitting so much during camp. It seems clear Singletary is in trouble and firing another coordinator is always a bad sign that you don't know what you want in your coaches, or how to lead what you have. We had this with Lovie too early on, and then later, and then again, and it's hurt us. Singletary is a smart man and I do believe that eventually he'll get it right but he may need some "off time" like Belichick before he figures it all out. Even Martz admitted he got caught up in his ways and that hurt him in his past jobs. If Lovie leaves I still like Harbaugh to take his place. Watching him on the sidelines its clear he has a little of Da Coach in him but it's not non-stop over-the-top passion that players end up tuning out. I think he also has the Xs and Os down too.

DA dropped four passes against Detroit, including a TD. I remember the good old days when fans ripped Moose for dropping two. DA is in his 5th season so it's not like he's a rookie who is still getting a feel for the game. Maybe he needs to hit the weights a little harder so he can handle the shots over the middle? I still think DA will be a key part of this offense but if Martz has told him the job involves running some routes over the middle from the slot then guess what, he needs to do that if he wants to play. No different from Olsen having to improve his blocking in order to play..and he did. Hester is smaller and he works out of the slot. Like other players on our roster DA shouldn't get handed a starting spot if he's not doing everything needed. Other players like Bennett might not do some things as well as DA but he can do all things well. Earn it.

One thing Peppers is not getting enough credit for is his run defense. During the speed of the game it's just not obvious how much he destroys blocking schemes. He is often in on tackles you don't think it's him. One example from last night: Packers called a run up the middle and had it blocked perfectly. Peppers came up the right side as is his first assignment, saw the run up the middle, shed his block and ran behind the DTs to make the tackle holding the play to just a 4yd gain. I doubt the RB even knew anyone was there and if he hadn't been there they have gained another 10yds. I have watched the majority of the Detroit and Dallas game in slo-mo replay and he made this kind of play often. Sometimes teams have run to the right side (left on defense) and Peppers came all the way from the RE to make a tackle. IMO the improvement in run defense is in part having Url back but Peppers is a huge part of it. Peppers is also not getting enough credit for his ability to rush off either edge. It means teams can't scheme their protection as easily as say what is done for Jared Allen. It also means you can't scheme your running plays to go away from him because you don't know which side he'll line up on. If there is one problem we have it's that we've left him out on the field for too many snaps and that is taking away some of his effectiveness. There was an article about that before the Packers game and it sounded as if the coaches recognized they need to reduce his play count but I don't know what he was on the field for last night. So far whenever I've slowed down the plays Peppers has stood out as a man among boys and so far he's worth every $$$ we're paying him. Having said that, you have to realize he can't make every play. It's hard to hit a QB on a 3 step drop, or make a tackle when the play goes the other way, for example, but it is clear to me he's the one player on our defense that the offense must scheme for. From what I saw of the Giants Oline against the Colts, Eli better bring his track shoes next week. I'm not comparing our rush to the Colts with Freeney and Mathis, but the Giants had far more miscues on blocks with the speed players than anything I've seen from the Bears this season. I don't think the Titans can rush as well as we can so last week isn't much of an indicator. We should get opportunities for sacks.

I see coaching. I see players benched when their play isn't what it needs to be. I see dline players making pass rush adjustments as the game goes along. We had no pass rush early but something started clicking in the 2nd quarter. Specifically, I saw Idonije who had been taking outside rushes and/or bull rushes to start with switch up and fake outside and cut inside. Rodgers ran outside the pocket but it was pressure! Once that worked we later did a stunt and brought Izzy inside and Melton ran around the end...almost got a sack there too. Clearly Marinelli is adjusting to what he's seeing in the protection. Oline again...very rough early on but they adapted and for the most part it was steady.

From that podcast it's clear Tommie still has a lot of growing up to do. I give the coaches a ton of credit for bringing this out early in the week and talking with all the players to let them know where they'd be on game day.

Urlacher's range and smarts on the field are a huge part of what we do. He is not as fast as he used to be but he still has great range and covers a lot of ground. We've seen what happens with a lesser player (Hillenmeyer) who supposedly has the smarts but not the range and it amounts to a big hole on the D.

Harris and DA inactive and we won. Can't argue the results. I like the message that guys need to step up and play. Bowman got benched during the game too. After he got benched our pass rush picked up too. The word is out....make plays or sit.

He got benched for those dropped passes and today Martz came out and stated exactly what he needs to do to get back on the field...work better from the slot. This is one thing I like about Martz versus his predecessor. He is not afraid to state what a player needs to do to improve. He came out early and said Olsen had to block better if he wanted to see the field ("if a TE can't block you might as well have a WR out there"). Now it's clear to DA that he didn't learn the slot position, and what he did there against Detroit he didn't do very well and so he won't see the field unless we need him at an outside position, or until he learns the slot. Other times Martz has backed off calling players out such as the Oline early in preseason. So far based on results I'd say he's done well pushing the right buttons at the right time. We'll see if DA responds.

Marshall Faulk picked the Bears, FWIW.

After a disastrous start like that I give Martz, Tice, and Cutler an "A" for the game. Cutler gets it for hanging onto the ball and not forcing things like he's done in the past. Tice had to make it happen with Williams out and shifting Omiyale over the left side and while he struggled at times they made it work. Martz' adjustments were just what the doctor ordered and he didn't even wait for halftime. Toss in a successful 4th and inches play and this offense should be building some confidence in the scheme. These are more or less the same players Turner had last year and totally different results and it was done on the road. After two games teams now know they must worry about the big play when they go up against our offense, and it can come from all directions via Knox, Hester, Olsen, or Forte.

I agree, DA didn't play fast but he does have speed. Maybe it's the new offense and just working his way through the reads. Remember he was kinda pushed down the depth chart early in camp because he didn't know the offense that well. He worked his way back up, with the help of Bennett's hamstring injury.

Sterling Sharpe said (and I quote loosely) "you're a professional, know the rules, make the catch" Matt Forte said: "The officials came in during camp and made that a point of emphasis so I knew I had to hold onto the ball on my catch in the endzone." The rule is designed to take subjectiveness out of the equation when officials make calls. Therefore it's a good rule. Occasionally we'll see a situation where a guy clearly catches a ball only to drop it or bobble it when he hits the ground. Incomplete. Just because Calvin Johnson created his own bobble does not change the fact he lost the ball in the act of going to the ground. The act of going to the ground is not the instant you hit the ground.

I'm with you...the answer is no and no. I had a Cards fan telling me how great Boldin was ('cause he knew I didn't want to trade for him) and all I said was that his team put up 10 pts. Any way, it's early in the season Boldin is not injured yet but he will be. Housh...we don't need him either because we already have the younger version in Iglesias. Neither fit in Martz' offense very well.

There is definitely more to this story. Even if it's a serious concussion you would think sitting on the bench for a month or 6 weeks would be enough.

We not only lost on that Berrian play but we had a fake punt where AP caught the ball and took three steps as he was getting tackled but when he hit the ground the ball came out...INCOMPLETE. The rule has been in place for years because it takes judgment out of the call. Otherwise you get referees saying they figured he had the ball but on replay the other guy says well I didn't think he had it. Over the years there have been many key plays throughout the league where this has come into play and nobody has ever made it controversial as much as they are today. Love affair with Detroit? Or maybe the media dislikes Lovie as much as we do? I am in favor of rules like this that eliminate judgment calls. I also like that they got rid of the force out rule. Now you have to get two feet down no matter what. End of discussion and it can't be questioned. Calvin just had to do what Forte did...hold the ball up in the air!

Kick the field goal Lovie! I don't care about pride of the Oline they hadn't done anything to indicate we could move Detroit off the LOS all day so after three failed attempts learn your lesson and take the game winning points. By the way, what is wrong with a QB sneak? I think Louis held his own today against Suh. He didn't win every battle, especially down at hte goal line but for a guy in his first game as a RG. The arrow is definitely pointing up for this kid.

It's hard to say what will happen after this sesaon but no matter what I think the Bears should retain Tice. His coaching on the field is one factor but add in that he's better at evaluating Oline talent than anyone else we've had is another good reason to keep him around.

Things we now know. 1) Favre can't move very well and the Vikings didn't block all that well for him forcing them into a lot of 3 step drops. That offense won't be what it was last season if this keeps up. 2) I don't miss Berrian one bit. He did absolutely nothing and Favre didn't even look his way. As desperate as the Vikings were reported to for WR help it's now obvious why. Harvin can't run routes. Berrian doesn't want to run routes. Look for Berrian to be with another team next year. 3) The Williams wall is tough but might not be as tough as last year.

You have to give credit to Tice for grooming a guy like Louis so quickly. If Norv and his buddy were still here I doubt Louis would have been a starter for us. In just one offseason Tice has shown the vision to see what a guy can become and the ability to coach him well enough that (in Louis' case) he improved every week. What I saw him do against Darnell Dockett made a believer out of me. With his athleticism and power once he gains experience as a pulling guard he's going to deliver some devastating blocks. We will know what we have in week 1 because Detroit reportedly is keeping Suh over the RG so he can develop consistency.

I'm not surprised at all after I reviewed the second preseason game, in fact I said as much that he'd likely get cut unless he improved dramatically . Louis already is a better OG than Beekman. IMO Beekman was mainly being kept around as our future Center. This preseason he looked really bad at Center and if he's not big enough (strong enough/good enough) to play well at OG why keep him around? I didn't see much from Asiata though to make me confident he is ready to play but I didn't watch him as much as I did Beekman. I will say that I have a heck of a lot more confidence in Tice than I ever had in Harry Heistad.