canadianbear

He did run alot of shotgun, especially once his QB (Calvillo) became a little less mobile. Out of shotgun, however, he ran a plethora of Draws and quick hitting play action passes (slower developing slents, WR screens etc). Calvillo also read his progressions quickly, and if nothing was there, ran for whatever he could get. He will clearly have every play available to him, but I can guarentee, 7 step drops will only be called on max protect, 2 man route plays. Jay may actually have a chance of surviving.

What do you know, someone with a sense of humor. Why so serious, Terra?

Hey all, Been a long time since I last posted, but I am on the site daily. My 2 cents regarding the hire (first reaction - I will have more later): First of all, I am indeed a fan of the Allouettes (Being born and raised in Montreal), but I would trade 100 consecutive Grey Cups (and throw in some Cups for the Habs) for one Superbowl ring. A few notes on Da new coach - When he joined the CFL, he wanted to prove he could be a head coach. He "lingered" in the NFL as OC, QB coach etc, but wasn’t inline for a legit shot at the main job. He easily could have stayed on it the NFL, and made a ton more money, but chose to go to the CFL to prove he can be the leader. He did so successfully. This was clearly part of his larger plan. He took a HUGE career risk, and it has finally paid off. There is no way however he will be satisfied. Like a player being drafted lower than expected, I expect Coach Trestman will coach with a Chip on his shoulder. - He came into a new league (3 downs, WR motion allowed, 12 men per side, much larger field etc) and hired people around him to help him learn. Fast. Montreal always had a top offense under his reign. - Ran a hybrid West coast offense. A lot of 3-5 step. I expect the same with the Bears. - Being as cerebral as he is, expect a lot of play on match-ups. - Does not forget about the run. In fact, he used his RB's extremely well in pass driven league. I expect a HUGE next few years for Forte. HUGE. Especially receiving. - The CFL does not really use a tight end. It is a QB/WR league. I am very interested what his approach will be regarding TE's - Does NOT sit on leads until it is logical to do so. If anything, he opens the offense up with the lead (deep passes etc). We experienced a ton of blowouts in his CFL career. - His defense was fast and aggressive. Lots of corner blitzes. I would expect him to keep coach Marinelli in order to build on last years success, but give Marinelli a directive regarding blitz packages. - Make no mistake however: He was brought in to make Cutler a better QB and to bring our offense into the new generation of the NFL. - Every QB under Trestman's "rule" has gotten better and put up numbers. Regardless of league. - His QB in Montreal was Anthony Calvillo. Look him up. He is the all time yardage passing leader in north American football history. - Without question, he grew tremendously under coach Trestman. - He let Calvillo run the offense from the line. Once he feels comfortable with Jay, expect no-huddle with Jay being in control. Alot. - His oline in Montreal had alot of turnover, and the offense thrived year after year. That being said, I haven’t a clue what he plans to do with our oline, but I can guarantee he wont let the status quo continue. He knows that Jay is the key, and must be protected. Will we go to a zone blocking scheme? Lets wait until OC is named. The personnel will also fall on Emry. It must all be part of his "master plan" Other observations of coach Trestman: Extremely smart - Goodbye to the phrase "Our coach is an idiot" because it no longer applies. He is as cerebral as it gets. Expect proper use of timeout and red flag use. Shows a little more emotion that Lovie. Granted, that doesnt say much, but I have seen him smile/grimace a few times on the side line. Dont expect exciting Press conferences either. Player coach - Never gets in a players grill. Doesnt Scream. Ever. In locker room shots, he ALWAYS praises the other team after a victory or loss. I always found this annoying. Always wears a sweatshirt, Belichick style Concerns: Has not been in NFL for 8 years. Even if he watched the NFL religiously, will he be rusty. When coaches are pulled from other teams, players tend to go with him. He brings in his "guys". After 8 years, does coach Trestman have any guys? I don’t see him bringing up any CFL'ers. Just wish we had a coach that shows some damn emotion, but cant ask for everything. Another Nice guy. The days of Ditka are LOOOOONG gone. Should be interesting. Looking forward to see how he builds up the team.

It's spelled "EH". He is not a pirate.

Cinci game. That must have been *SWEET* Friggin Benson.

Sky Dome is now Rogers center.

I am so there! FYI - Rogers center is domed, with artificial grass. Going to be awesome. Come and join me all!

WOW. Now we are talking. Bears and scotch, cant beat it... Lagavulin is in my top 3. Been drinking scotch for 3 years and finally developed the pallet to appreciate its taste. Also love Craggenmore 12 and Talisker 10. Those two are gems (60$ a bottle in Canada), Lagavulin is 100. Coal Ila is also a great find. Not a fan of Bowmore. On the more mellow tasting scotches, go with any young Macallan or Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban (Port Cask). oh ya...go Bears and I love the Cutler extension...

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/foot...tml?eref=sihpT1 How dare he predict we lose the Superbowl. I love the path he predictd we take to get there though!

Good read...if already posted, so sorry. http://www.profootballweekly.com/2009/06/3...er-but-not-best Posted June 30, 2009 @ 9:51 a.m. By Dan Arkush In what up to now has been a major summer of discontent — with both the Cubs and White Sox struggling mightily just to get to .500 — July 31 can’t come soon enough for many Chicago-area sports fans. That’s the date when both rookies and veterans are scheduled to report to the Bears’ training camp in Bourbonnais, Ill., which, if this offseason’s minicamps and OTAs are any indication, figures to be perhaps the most well-attended camp ever. A major Bears buzz has been hovering over the Windy City since the moment GM Jerry Angelo stunned the populace with his blockbuster April 2 acquisition of 26-year-old Pro Bowl QB Jay Cutler, who had worn out his welcome in Denver but has very quickly become the toast of Chi-town. In any of a thousand strip malls in and around Chicago, one can’t help but notice the large number of shoppers wearing Cutler’s new No. 6 Bears jersey. Following in the shaky footsteps of 11 different starting signalcallers in Angelo’s eight years as the Bears’ GM, Cutler couldn’t seem more at ease in his new surroundings, making a mostly strong impression off the field while looking every bit as good as advertised in early practice sessions. “I’m really comfortable, Cutler said after a mid-June practice. “I think we’re really getting a feel for each other, with me and the receivers and the offensive linemen and the tight ends.” Added Bears WR Devin Hester: “I feel like we’re stronger than we have ever been. I feel like we’re going to take the ball up and down the field. That’s the kind of quarterback Jay brings to this team.” A quarterback, it should be noted, who is projected to pave the way to a Super Bowl berth, based on the latest odds posted at The Mirage hotel in Las Vegas, where the Bears are suddenly the front-runners, just ahead of the Eagles and Giants from the NFC East, to win the 2009 NFC title. Not everybody is so infatuated with Cutler, as evidenced by the well-circulated offseason critique by respected football figure Tony Dungy that questioned the QB’s maturity and leadership ability. “Some of the things that happened leading to him leaving Denver … that would concern me as a head coach,” said Dungy, the former highly successful head coach of the Colts, who has joined NBC’s “Football Night in America” studio crew. “He can make all the throws, but quarterbacking is much more than just making throws.” Cutler’s response? “I’m fine with everything he said,” he replied. “I haven’t played a game here.” No, he hasn’t. Which is why it seems a bit premature to be talking about Super Bowl aspirations. In what looks to be a very flawed NFC North — with the Vikings waiting for the latest chapter of the Brett Favre saga to unfold, the Packers not looking real comfortable at the moment with their conversion to a 3-4 defense, and the Lions arguably coming off the worst performance in league history — I could see the Bears winning a division title. Barely. But not a Super Bowl. Keeping with this column’s emphasis on Cutler, here are six good reasons: I — Who’s going to catch Cutler’s passes? Bears head coach Lovie Smith continues to say with a straight face that Hester is a “legitimate No. 1 receiver,” but the consensus among daily team observers is that Hester remains a major work in progress. Although he did make some legitimate strides down the stretch last season, Hester’s continuing development could be hindered by a mostly unproven supporting cast, led by second-year pro Earl Bennett. Bennett looks a lot better, but his inability as a third-round rookie to make any kind of an impact at the team’s weakest position last season remains cause for concern. Rookies Juaquin Iglesias and Johnny Knox and veteran Rashied Davis complete a unit that could be keeping Angelo awake well into the night, as he seriously ponders the possibility of adding ex-Giant Plaxico Burress and his impressive 15.5 yards-per-catch career to the mix, the obvious risks nothwithstanding. II — Safety issues hard to ignore. Start with the fact that the Bears’ most experienced safety by a wide margin is newcomer Josh Bullocks, who lost his starting roie in New Orleans last season and was so shaky that he showed up on a YouTube clip demonstrating how not to play the position. The Bears are hoping Corey Graham can make a successful conversion from cornerback to free safety, where his physical style could be well-suited for the position, but such experimentation hardly creates a comfort zone. It’s also worth noting that ’08 starting SS Kevin Payne is coming off shoulder surgery. But perhaps the biggest concern is the leadership at the position, which will be seriously diminished by the departure of Mike Brown, who has moved on to Kansas City. Yes, Brown had big problems staying healthy, but he was almost always effective when he was able to play. III — D-line brittle in the middle. Even Rod Marinelli, the undisputed dean of D-line coaches, could be challenged to the max by a pair of injury-plagued starting tackles — Tommie Harris and Dusty Dvoracek — who are being counted on to exert a great deal more interior pressure up front than they did last season, when the Bears ranked 29th in QB sack percentage. A free-flowing rotation inside, including underrated Anthony Adams, promising second-year pro Marcus Harrison and rookie Jarron Gilbert, could help preserve Harris, whose left knee hasn’t been right since he suffered a grade-2 MCL sprain in his left knee in Week Three two seasons ago, and Dvoracek, who has been sidelined with injuries more often than not in his three years at the pro level. IV — Potential chaos on the corners. The Bears are guaranteed to be nothing more than a passing fancy in ’09 if their pass defense performs as sloppily as it did last season, when it routinely gave up inside position on slant patterns and kept leaving a ridiculous amount of cushion for opposing receivers at the worst possible times. Former Pro Bowler Nate Vasher has greatly underachieved since signing a five-year, $28 million deal before the ’07 season, playing in only 12 of 32 games and intercepting only two passes. He says he’s feeling much healthier, but that remains to be seen. Same goes for fellow starting CB Charles Tillman, who was plagued by injuries to both shoulders last season and was responsible for perhaps the ’08 defense’s low point, when he allowed Bernard Berrian’s 99-yard TD reception in a 34-14 prime-time loss to the Vikings. V — Perilous protection. Cutler’s excellent escapability — he was sacked only 11 times last season — will make him much less of a sack target than Kyle Orton, but the starting tackles in front of him come equipped with noteworthy issues. Granted, OLT Orlando Pace is a distinguished seven-time Pro Bowler who sticks out like the Sears Tower. But he’s also 33 years old and has missed 25 games over the past three seasons due to assorted injuries. At right tackle, former first-round draft pick Chris Williams remains an unproven commodity, having seen limited action in his rookie campaign after suffering a back injury on the second day of training camp that eventually required surgery. VI — Show me the backups. Smith is going to have to pray for the same kind of good luck enjoyed by his good buddy Dungy, who never was forced to get by without Peyton Manning for an extended period of time. Is Smith really serious when he says he would be comfortable with either Brett Basanez or Caleb Hanie taking over under center if, God forbid, Cutler got cut down even for a few games? Those guys make the Cubs’ bullpen look worthy of Cooperstown.

Double post.

I have to disagree. If Duke is available at 49 it would be a steal and would allow us to have a replacement for Garza. But since I dont think he will be there at 49 anyways, going after a WR would be advisable. Dont forget, with some PROVEN receivers still available in FA (Holt as the prime example), we will most likely solidify the position using that route. Would you really want a WR corp of Hester, Bennett, Davis, and a few rookies? Wow is that ugly. Worst I have ever seen, actually.

May I ask where you got that info from?

Plan the parade.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3939011 Didnt this guy just a few years removed try to rip off another guys head with his cleat? 115 MILLION??????? Tommie Harris was a steal!

http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune....k-in-draft.html Personally, I would love the pick (Assuming he is there at 18). Would of gone top 5 last year if he came out early. Williams and oher as ends for the next 10 years...thats how you solify an oline and an offense. Just food for thought. Hypothetical: If Sanchez and Oher are both available at 18 (would never happen, thus HYPOTHETICAL) who do you take?

I believe the rule of leading with the helmet is that it is only a penalty or fine when the player is defensless, ie jumping for a ball. As McGahee took 2 steps and was lowering his shoulder for impact, I dont think there will be any fine. It was however one of the most vicious impacts I have ever seen. I thought McGahee was dead.

I know this is a wet dream, but there has to be at least SOME truths to rumours that he can be available. So knowing he has one year left on his contract, and wants an extension, perhaps Philli will want to move on with Klobb. Question is, what would it take to get him here? First round pick? More/less? What would the Bears give up for him? Personally, if we could get McNabb, I would give up a number one and three. Draft online in round 2 and sign free agent receiver... We have to assume Williams will step in next year at LT so we really just must replace Garza. Of course Saftey also must be addressed but hey...its a pipedream anyway. Comments?

I will have to hope, because the Bears would never do it anyway. Nothing that you say, however, will take away from the fact that Kyle does not have the ability to stretch the field. So any receiver brought in will have to stop 30 yards downfield. I just want a QB that can maximize perhaps our ONLY current WR threat and that is Hester. More specifiacally Hester's ability to beat coverage downfield which he did at least 10-15 times this year but we didnt have the QB who could get him the ball deep. You cant rely on pass interference in order get chunks of yards on one play.

They went undefeated because of Brady. Make no mistake about it. He is the best QB since Montana. Maybe the greatest ever. Put Kyle on the Patriots and all those bombs completed to Moss 60 yards downfield never happen. If Cassell is on the Bears, at least a legitimate deep threat is established. Then we have a running game to complement a deep passing threat. That can make for a good offense. Cassell is also more mobile then Kyle. We could have signed Brees after his breakout season in San Diego and didnt. We could have signed Matt Schaub and didnt. If you dont learn from the past, history is bound to repeat itself. I dont want the Bears to make the same mistake. To not even look into Cassells demand would be just unacceptable.

Thats an easy question to answer (in terms of drafting a QB): The Bears have not drafted a good QB since Jimmy Mac. That was over 25 years ago. The only hope for this team, it seems, is to sign FA QB. And Matt Cassel proved he is very capable of making good decisions, can make all the throws and is a leader. The guy didnt throw a competitive pass since high school and look what he did. The team that signs him will be set for 10 years. I would throw the bank at him, as he is a franchise QB. Take a damn chance.

Just a series of questions, but please feel free to add. Now that the season is over, can we please find out what is wrong with all injured players. Tommie Harris His knee (or knees). How bad are they? If he requires surgery, can he please have it NOW and be at 100% next season. As he did have flashes of brilliance and he does play hard, the only reason for his downturn in numbers and performance must be the injury. I think if he is 100% next year, we will be ok on the inside of the line (with whomever playing next to him) Vasher Did he have surgery yet? Will he be back at 100% Again, why the drop off in production? Urlacher: What the hell was wrong with him anyway? He is not a running back. He should still be able to play in his 30's. Last year he finshed with 100+ tackles, 5 picks and 5 sacks. He played with speed. Is it the system that destroyed his production? He has never been good at shedding blocks, so I dont think that is the only answer. Kyle: Does he require surgery or is time the best way to heal his ankle? I have always been under the impression you cant teach arm strength, but is there a way? Can he add yards and velocity to his deep ball? Defense as a whole: Can the defense rebound under a new system? Or are the players truly to blame? In terms of our DE sack production, the most telling quote has to be Brown's when he described why it seems that they stopped rushing the QB after 3 steps. He was not happy (I dont have the link) Very curious...

With all due respect to you guys, but how can you continuously ignore the fact that Kyle is uncapable of throwing the ball down field? Hester had beaten his coverage deep at least 15 times this year. Kyle was able to get him the ball a total of maybe 3 times. All under thrown balls and adjustments by hester. Next year I promise you Kyle is going to look terrible because of his glaring inability to stretch the field. Rex looked great and then teams adjusted, and even then his deep throw was respected. They will do the same to Kyle, taking away his short game and giving him the deep pass. If an NFL QB cant make all the throws, he can NEVER be great. Name one that has. I am worried, and feel it would be a huge mistake to simply accept Kyle as our future.

Like the draft, as I agree with your priorities, however I do believe McCoy is coming back for his senior season.

The pass for over fourty was a 10 yard throw and a 30 yard run. Kyle cant throw the ball 40 yards. Thats the problem. You are correct. We need a pass rush from our end positions. I would keep Brown and Andersen, drop Ogey. Too much of the same thing. Get a saftey (who can keep his responsibilities). Get more oline help. I also think our defensive "scheme" is also responsible for the lack of production. We need alot of help. I just think QB is one of the elements required.