CrackerDog

2007 was bad. But it wasn't a collapse like we saw in the era before our current management. Going into the season the hope was Rex would take a step up and the D would remain healthy. If that happens, we're back in the playoffs and have as good a chance as anyone. It didn't. I agree with you about Eli/Grossman but I think Eli was more consistent. Looks like we're getting Kyle anyway.

One reason the O Line is in bad shape is because of the injury. You don't need to bash the pick. If he was healthy, we may not be having a conversation about the line. At least not to this extent. The line improved toward the end of the season. Further, it could be said that the biggest disappointment in the line thus far is Tait. Hell, who would've seen that coming? He wanted to be moved back to his more natural position on the right side and thus far it's been a more difficult adjustment than anyone could've predicted. You missed my comment about the Bears knowing Benson was an issue before his problems in Texas. I have this from a good source and stated this in the past. I'm not making it up to support my argument here. No, you don't. Tell me right now how many O Lineman are on the Jets and who they project to keep. How about the Steelers? I know you can look it up and I know you can guess at who they'll keep. Not the point. Jerry knows this information right now, without looking it up, and can project, based on a knowledge of the entire landscape, who will be available, at what price and who best to chase when it happens. You don't. I'm not saying there aren't questionable moves by anyone, least of all JA. His mistakes are clear. But you couldn't carry his jock. And neither could I. Fans love to believe they'd make all the right decisions. You say we'd be missing a few guys we all now love. Damn dude... That's pretty arrogant. Look at this roster. For better or worse, one hell of a lot of our players come from deep in the draft. If you're that knowledgeable, you belong in a GM role somewhere for a team. Otherwise, you're just a guy with an opinion, like the rest of us. You might want to look at the MLB standings. Cubs fans are dedicated, not losers. And they have a lot more fun, as do I, than a lot of internet football experts seem to have. PS. You skipped by the part about how this team is one of 4 where the front office can make the claim that their decisions put us in the Superbowl in the last 18 months.

Amen to that. Lots of us act like we're entitled to championship caliber football each season and unless we get it, we're going to stomp all over the place like spoiled brats and cry our eyes out. As a Bears fan in the 70's, I recall having nothing to get excited about other than Doug Plank and Walter Payton. All of the things you mention above are reasons for hope and, more importantly, reasons to enjoy the season, even if we end up with a disappointing record. I choose to have a little faith and see us taking a step back toward 2006 and not repeating 2007. I openly admit I could be completely wrong. I've never seen the fun in wringing my hands and going with the whole "whoa is me" routine. Be a kid for a minute and believe in Santa! In about three weeks, before the game starts, we're going to be 0-0. Better than about half the teams in the league by that time. Until I see it play out on the field, why not dream big? If we can shore up the line, I see no reason it can't happen. I believe in our coaches and the organization as a whole. That hasn't always been the case for me but I've seen enough to say I don't think we're being led astray by a bunch of dopes. Again, if our line is brought up a notch or two, our running game and defense should be better than last year. If we name Orton the QB, it won't be exciting football but we should see consistent, boring, fewer mistakes, offense. Fine with me! I have a Vikings fan buddy. He's looking at this season as a glass half full. Why? His QB is unproven at best and is already hurt. His defense can't stop the pass. His team hasn't done shit since he was in grade school and hasn't ever won a Superbowl. He isn't the type to openly crow but if he were, I'd remind him that but for a career long field goal by Ryan Longwell, our team records would've been exactly the same for 2007! Sure, they've got a better O Line than us but most of the other aspects of the team favor the Bears. He gets to be optimistic, so DO I!!!

LOL! I get off about 3 good rants a season. I think we've just seen #1.

Well, I have my way and you have yours. I missed all that discussion around draft time as I was having "fun" with some other aspects of my life. I just get pissed off when I see Bears management called out unfairly. If you want to say something negative about them, go ahead! You have that absolute right. But don't make a claim that you'd be better at doing it than they are. You wouldn't be nearly as good as the worst teams management in the entire league. You have no freakin' clue what goes into it. Every decision impacts 30 other elements of the team that no internet fan could possibly comprehend. Not even great brains like Nfo or Jason. There are lots of people who are "smarter" than JA and Lovie on the internet or on talk radio. They all claim the Bears are cheap or stupid or whatever. Well, the Bears haven't been "cheap" in a decade, maybe longer. Join us in the present! And those stupid bastages running the team are one of four groups who can claim to have put their team in the Superbowl in the last 18 months. Case closed.

And that's what irritates me. You clearly aren't right more often than the people running the team. I see this type of thing all the time, here and elsewhere. It's real easy to call up a radio show and talk about how the Bears should've drafted O Line with every pick in the draft. But then you'd be a complete moron. The team needs to address all sorts of issues, for now and into the future, with each pick they make. They can't say "Well damn, our O Line is going to suck so we should dedicate our entire draft to it." They have to say: 1.) We need help on the O Line. Our biggest need is LT. Let's get the best one available with the first pick we have. They did. Turns out he's hurt. If they had a crystal ball they may have gone a different direction. Or you can choose to believe PFT.com and the rumormill. In this case, it suits your needs so I'm sure you will. Per the Bears, this injury isn't related to the rumors floating around on draft day. The kid didn't miss a game his entire college career. Maybe they screwed up and maybe they didn't. But since your intent is the bash JA for the pick, assume away... 2.) They need to evaluate guys they have. In this case they expected Beekman and a few guys we've had shelved would come around. This doesn't happen over night fellas. You don't know shit about what they've seen in workouts, drills, minicamp, etc. You get a 30 second blurb on the news during sports. That's your entire knowledge base on this issue. But you and NFO are friggen geniuses and our coaches and GM are morons. Puh...lease.... 3.) You have to address other needs. I'm not certain but I believe I told you I didn't think Benson was coming back this season, regardless of his issues in Texas. I told you I heard from an insider that the training staff was concerned over Benson's injury. I was told that they said that lots of guys come back from this type of injury but that they hadn't seen the dedication or desire in Benson to do so. So, what does that mean? Do you wing it and select a guard in the second round anyway or... HEY WAIT! There's a guy we have highly rated at RB sitting there and we'll probably need one of those! 4.) They have to consider what they believe will become available in free agency when cuts occur. You have NO INSIGHT into that. None. A professional has all sorts of data in front of him. He may know that 5 or 6 teams out there are overstocked at certain line positions and there'll be a number of good candidates available shortly. That knowledge, if it exists, might change your opinion. Maybe even NFO would pause for a second... Sure, I think and you think that the Bears should've built up the line better than it appears they have. But that doesn't mean I'm right for starting to scream about this before last season started. And it damn well doesn't mean I'm smarter than JA and his team or Lovie and his. The only difference in this case is, you claim to be. And that's bullshit.

Bears Offensive Problems: More Than the Players http://chicagobearsfanforum.com/blog/?p=280 It looks to me like the QB question got settled last night. I agree with the writers from both The Chicago Sun-Times and The Chicago Tribune. I think WR Brandon Lloyd stepped up and won a job for both himself and Kyle Orton. In Orton's case, its' like being 3 feet tall in a land of midgets. But for better or worse, I think the Bears made their decision. Its also apparent that the Bears have offensive problems other than QB. No, I'm not talking about the banged up offensive line. I'm not talking about mediocre WRs. Those are big ones but what I'm thinking about goes beyond talent and health. I'm not one to blame coaches for major problems very often lately. For the most part, I've purposely laid off the Bears offensive coaching staff since John Shoop left, mostly because I'm grateful to have someone - anyone - else. I didn't even criticize Terry Shea much until he left. But the time has come to start taking a very serious look at what's going on there now. I pointed to one example of my concerns earlier in the week. The Bears first string offense did run one decent screen pass last night but its far from fixed. Now I'll throw out another concern. What was the Bears offensive line thinking when they went out for the first set of downs last night? Well, I can tell you what they weren't thinking about. If I'm offensive coordinator Ron Turner and offensive line coach Harry Hiestand, I have that line looking for the blitz from the first play, even in the second preseason game. That would be even if the line were healthy (which it isn't) and even if the Bears had a proven set of WRs (which they don't). The fact that the line was apparently taken totally by surprise by it borders on inexcusable. San Diego defensive coach Ron Rivera showed the way last year when they blitzed on the first set of plays of the entire season. The book on QB Rex Grossman is that you bring pressure early and bust him in the chops. After that he crumples like a paper bag. Even if you as a coaching staff don't believe that it's true, you have to know that other teams do and they're going to try to execute that plan. Indeed, the better teams throughout the league emulated that off and on all year. Yeah, I know. It's the second preseason game. A lot of teams don't even game plan it (though the Bears apparently did). Still, there can't be much doubt about it. The Bears offensive problems go way beyond QB. They just weren't prepared. Given the aggregate performance of the unit, I think we have a right to start to doubt the offensive coaching staff at this point. They certainly didn't do Grossman or any one else any favors last night.

I won't be surprised if Marty Booker gets axed, if not this round then sometime between now and opening day. He hasn't impressed me at all in the games I've seen thus far. He can't get separation at all. He's lost a step. Far be it from me to place vagina-man Mark Bradley ahead of him but at least he offers speed. At $2 million for the season, Booker needs to be a starter. I'm not sure we're better off with him out there than any of the other guys we have right now. I'd go with hester/LLoyd if it were up to me. Is Booker worth $2 million a season to play third down only? Not in my book. The reason I think this is relevant to this thread is, they might release him now and say something along the lines of "we're letting him catch on elsewhere." All of this goes out the window if they paid him a significant signing bonus. I don't know the details of his deal. Anyone?

Your post was right on, top to bottom, AZ54. I just watched the first half again in super high speed on the DVR (skipping all the time inbetween plays) and I saw Grossman perform well when given time. I saw Orton get better protection overall and his scoring drive was really made by two great catches by Lloyd. Both QB's played well when given time. Bradley actually made a nice hit on special teams. Still, if you have someone like him on special teams, it ain't looking good for him. The line stinks. When they weren't allowing DE's and DT's to fly by them, they were being called for penalty after penalty. I hope they get some help from JA and/or their pride as a unit comes back and they step up. Next week we have San Fran. They blitzed and harrassed the Packers this week. They'll be a great test for our line. I don't see it happening but hopefully they get their shit together and show some real improvement.

Jeez, pat yourself on the back much? I was talking about how our line was getting old before the start of the season LAST YEAR. Several agreed then. Get a room, you two.

Yep.

Pix, I hope so. But they call it preseason for a reason. These guys could still come together. If they don't we better keep 6 QB's. There may be a few "we cut him early so he could catch on with someone else" cuts made this week. Those players could be better than Miller/Brown. We'll see. Most of the cap casualties are already out there, I believe. I seriously doubt JA will leave things as they are. Ah well, at least Forte was given the opportunity to display his blocking skills. PS. Terra - Apparently you forgot about the game where the line quit on McNown and let the 49er's kill his arrogant ass. THAT was the worst performance I've ever seen by an O Line, although, it was intentional.

My opinions differ from yours in a few places. I think we're good at RB without Turner. Time will tell. Not worth that kind of money, IMO. Probably. Need to see what that signing would've done to our cap space and if we could've done everything we did this season regarding our own guys. Brohm is making news in Green Bay as being outplayed by the guy they drafted in the 7th round. Besides, Hanie is the next Tony Romo. I'm not so sure how available he was. Could be. But he came available pretty late in camp and was signed pretty darned quick. Rex is probably better on paper, IMO. LT is an issue. Benson had to be dumped. He had his chances. If he's so great, why isn't he on a roster? I'm not in love with Ron Turner either.

Who?

So, Steven Jackson made it to the end of the second round in an 8 team league? Interesting. I guess his holdout is impacting his perceived value more than I thought. That tempts me to go QB in my first round hoping a stud RB slips to me in the second. Hmmmm.......

Yeah, he's only unemployed right now and the Bears made it to the Superbowl that particular season. I have a feeling the Bears weren't exactly who he thought they were. When folks around here start giving Denny Green more respect than they give our own team, my opinion of internet fans just skyrockets...

Sorry, I guess in your mind, it would've been better for Jerry's record if he'd have cut those guys. I didn't realize his putting in place 90%+ of the team wasn't good enough. My bad.

I personally don't have a problem with people being somewhat negative. I take issue with idiotic comments made for no other purpose than to get people here riled up. Those comments are usually negative but I've taken issue with people for unsupported excessively rosey views as well.

From your lips to God's ears, my friend.

Depends on your definition. I'd say given the disaster last season could've turned out to be, we still ended up with a respectable record and beat the Packers twice. Could've been much worse if the players quit on Lovie. I think both coordinators are on the bubble this season but Lovie is safe. I think both will step up their game this season but a lot depends on the talent they have on the field. If the O Line is as bad as it seems or if the D suffers huge injuries again, it could easily take them both down. I'm with Pix... Although I haven't had nearly as much Koolaid... I think the season is still one we can look forward to. This team has the potential to surprise to the upside. And when and if it does, it's going to make all you negative nancies look foolish. Again.

Someone named Jerry gets the credit for bringing in those players. I believe I did a post on the old site noting that 3 players; Brown, Kruetz and Urlacher were the remaining guys from Hatley's era. There may have been one or two others. I loved Chico too. But the fact is, this team had no offense last season, was banged up all year... And still almost went 500. I didn't like much of what I saw from Babich for a while but the results weren't too bad, given the circumstances. I think Lovie has done a good job overall and isn't even close to being on the bubble for me. I'm a bit more patient than you, I guess. Unless we're talking about Nfoligno's nonsense, that is.

No, we can't. It wasn't the "great" Mark Hatley. Lovie has, in my opinion, done poorly with picking coordinators. I agree with you there. Although, I don't believe he was exclusively to blame. Also, I'm going to give both one more season to prove me wrong in my opinion. The D was hurt all season last year and they got almost no help from the offense. With that they still went 7-9. I think your comment that the Cover 2 has been "figured out" is one hell of a stretch. When you've got the horses, it works as well as any other scheme. Babich seemed to grow a bit during the season. I'm not nearly as disappointed in him as I am in Turner. Although, I'd love to see what Turner could do with a real QB out there.

I have in the past and will, most likely, do so again in the future. In all seriousness, I have a lot of respect for the little pisser. BTW, I think I know why I said what I said earlier. I watched the video on ChicagoBears.com with Larry Mayer and he was talking up the same guys mentioned in this article. So, I think I combined the two into a big boner of joy for our line. Fact is, neither was really that much to get excited about.

Anyone going to be online tomorrow night? I'm not certian of my plans yet but if I'm sitting at home, I'll check it out to see if anyone's there. Consider this a bump for this topic. Connor, you may want to edit the title if you still can.

Bears web site has a video up where Larry Mayer says he doubts we'll see KJ. I'm not sure about the depth chart at WR but I've got to believe it'll be much like what you saw a week ago.