CrackerDog

My personal opinion is that the Bears coaching staff has had a bit of an inferiority complex during the Lovie Smith era. I'm not really trying to be critical but factual here. I recall the big problem they had with Griese saying he called the plays on a winning drive. Lovie was obviously not in love with all the attention Rivera got. Now they talk about their "brilliant" D Line scheme the day before the game so they can get it out there and if it works, the media will focus in on it. I just think coaches should coach, let the results speak for themselves.

Then they should've kept it out of the papers too!

We'll need Tillman as I believe the Bears will be successful in putting up some points and stopping the run. We'll be in Nickle for much of the game if true. We don't have the horses when GB goes to 4 or 5 wides.

No, it doesn't. This means they'd consider it a push on a neutral field.

Ah, but to be completely honest, I got the avatar from Grouchy's resource. So, in a way, you still have him to thank.

I think this list is complete but now you add Melton and it's like we have someone we do this with almost every year. And Dvoracek was clearly a numbers game after his first season but I'd say it didn't work out either because he never actually saw the field for more than a cup of coffee. I love the guy and declared him, on this board, the next Mongo. But he wasn't ever able to overcome his health issues. Sad. Maybe someday.

This may be a first but I'm with Terra on this. NOBODY is saying to send the season down the toilet or risk his being lost for the season... BLAH BLAH BLAH. If you guys actually read my intial post you'd see that he says he's fine and he's practicing at full speed. The team is saying he's only 50/50 to go because they're trying to be careful. Fine. But this game is more important than anyone here is recognizing. We missed the playoffs last year by a 1/2 game in the standings. They're ALL important. And this is a division game against a team we need to be at our best to beat.

And my point is you aren't really protecting some of these assets by making the rules stricter. Players will continue to break them simply because some can't be complied with within the context of an agressive sport. So a QB will still be drilled and the injury will happen but they'll get a flag. The downside is that little ticky tack plays will be treated the same as the really violent ones and we'll end up with a QB getting a pinkie on the helmet and flagged for 15 yards. Money is irrelevant if you take a look at Brady's injury last year. Flukes will always happen and making them a tad less likely at the cost of destroying the game isn't worth it. Guys like me start watching something else on Sunday and the NFL will have bigger money problems to worry about.

The article says he's going all out in practice. The game is against a team we're going to need a head-to-head game against at the end of the year if you believe all the hype. So, our 16 game season might be decided in week 1. I say get his ass out there if he's really ready and don't just hold him back a week because it makes Lovie's little heart feel better about things.

http://www.chicagobears.com/news/NewsStory.asp?story_id=6086 He's saying he's fine but then says it's only 50/50 that he'll play? Bullshit. If they hold him out and his "replacement" gets burned a few times and we lose our opener to Green Bay, I'll blame Lovie! He's your top dog out there on the corner, don't waste time with the other guys.

I think many here think he's a bust. Maybe a year of practice will make him more ready for the NFL. Who knows. But this is clearly a Jerry Angelo tactic, using IR to hide a player for a season. Hell, I'm not sure it's actually worked to our advantage yet. Can you recall a player we've done this with that later actually panned out?

Yes.

Damn, I'm shocked nobody took the "I'll bet you wouldn't call them pussies to their face" side of things here! It looks like we're pretty unanimous as a group that the game is suffering because of the rule changes. I think football is reflecting the population of the US these days. We've all gotten a little soft.

They also failed to mention that many QB's are a lot bigger now too! Can you imagine little Jimmy McMahon playing against these animals? Jeez, one hit and he'd be out for the season every year. So, there's a bit of a balance there in that, anyway. To be fair, Palmer's comments in the article seemed pretty balanced as well. He just says it matter of factly and admits if he played the other positions he'd be pissed too. So, at least he knows he's getting unfair protection. Hey, listen, Brent Fart lasted a LONG time in this league with the guys being fast and big. They better quit tampering with the game before they ruin it.

I watched the first half on TIVO. Hood missed three tackles and had poor coverage on one reception. I assume they saw no reason to keep him since he didn't outplay the other guys. I wouldn't go so far as saying he "sucked" though since the team was hardly putting on a tackling clinic during the game. But I'm not surprised they cut him either, based on this performance. I assume they think they can find someone else along the way if necessary who can perform at least to this level.

So he asked five pussies thier opinion...

Obviously QB's are way too protected by the rules and, IMO, rules can't possibly protect the QB's. All the rules in the world wouldn't have saved Brady last season. When a lineman accidently hits a QB with his pinkie it shouldn't cost the D 15 yards. COME ON! And this whole "Landing on the QB with all your weight" deal, ridiculous. That's exactly what you should do to a QB when you get there! I'm not saying hit him late, play within the rules. But the rules shouldn't make it nearly impossible to get a sack without incurring a penalty. I don't believe "helmet to helmet" ought to be illegal. Maybe they should make better helmets but if two players collide and it's fairly obvious that the helmets touching was impossible to avoid in the circumstances, it shouldn't be a penalty. If someone is out there using their helmet as a weapon, it's clear and there should be a penalty. Too many borderline "horse collar" penalties are called. The back of your jersey ISN'T your facemask! Stop treating them the same way! The rule is supposed to allow for defenders to let the collar go part way through a tackle. Mark my words, the way things are going we're going to have arena league type rules about how many players you can have in the box and probowl style rules limiting blitzing if we aren't careful about how much we allow the league to change the rules. Yes, it sucks that players get injured in football. But everyone knows that when they get into it and it'll always be that way, no matter how many rules you change. I think the current game is already weak compared to the 80's when the Bears were great. Football is violent. Deal with it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_dilemma

Of course not. But they should be better at it than they are.

And don't look the the depth chart on ChicagoBears.com. It' still doesn't even mention Tillman and Jones is still our #2 at RB. They're HORRIBLE at updating this site and it's embarrassing for the charter franchise of the league to have this public face always be so out of date.

Of course you can't discuss this topic without bringing up the Ditka era. There was never a coach with the Bears who held this with more reverence. Some of the truly ugly events of the rivalry occurred during this time (Charles Martin, Mark Lee, Ken Stills) but some of the funniest also occurred. Using the Fridge in the backfield, embarrassing the Packers, and then using him again to catch a pass... It will live on forever. The hatred between Forrest Gregg and Mike Ditka was real. Lovie is the first coach we've had in a while who understands this rivalry and he's actually got a solid record against the Packers. Say what you want about Lovie's "fire" but he's been on the right side of this issue from day one.

Not saying I'm confident. Just waiting until I see the results play out on the field before I cry myself to sleep. Frankly, at this point, there ain't shit we can do about it.

If it happens it'll happen tomorrow morning. I assume JA is either: 1.) satisfied with our WR's or 2.) waiting to see who is cut before deciding on a veteran (like Jones) to add

I certainly wish him well.

Yep. But Hester proved to be the better pick even if he never develops further. That one season was so special I'll die with fond memories of it all.