Butkus

In my view Orton and the offense really never had a chance, they were in a hole from the start that just got deeper. No, he was not great, but surely he was our best option. Would you rather have had Grossman out there? Think he would have done any better? I would take a injured Orton over a healthy Grossman any day. A disproportianate amount of cap money is spent on the defense, yet the offense has been bailing them out all year! The defensive side of the ball deserves all of the blame!

I have to eat a bit of crow here, as I have been slow to see that BABICH has to go! The defense sucks! Maybe it is the player, but regardless you have to get someone new in there to see what you have and try to be more succesful. THIS GAME WAS PATHETIC!!!!!!!!!!!! This was not a game one would expect of the Bears D, geting pushed all over, no pressure on the QB, and the run and pass poorly defended! And if Lovie does not like it, he can go too!

I reckon something like this, if not this actual reason, is behind the Bradley release. Maybe not a hard worker, not a good ST player would seem to be big issue for Lovie and staff, maybe attitude towards Lovie or another staff member? Remember how long it took McQuarters to get the bus out of Chicago after he mouthed off to Lovie?

I would really love to get a real insiders view of why Bradley never worked out in Chicago. He always was said to have the talent and there were indications that he could be a really good receiver, then nothing. He kept being touted as up and coming but never seemed to make it past that point. Who did he piss off? He signed immediately upon being drafted by the Bears, said all of the right things about being a team guy....what happened?

The comments Mike Brown has made are indicative of what makes him a leader, a special leader. If he cannot play at some point, he will make a great coach. I hope that the health of the team is such that they can perform to the level to make them special. Getting amped up is great, but one has to have the health and talent as well. I hope we are at the level we need to be....to be special. The Tennessee game is a huge one, especially if Orton cannot play. It would have been a great game if Orton had been the QB, now it is a bit of a benchmark and a point of pride for the D...can they turn it around? Can they stop the RB's of the Titans? I really hope for the best....but am not optimistic if Rex is starting.

The games I have seen had Dvoracek looking solid but hardly Pro Bowl level. Too bad we couldn't put a nice big bet on whether he will be a Pro Bowler this year. I like him, but Harris at his peak he is not. Who exactly is doing what they are supposed to? I maintain that the defense sucks more due to performance than scheme, so I would argue that there are plenty of blown plays and lack of players getting pressure on the QB. And I would not say that the players in question have always been over-rated, maybe last year and definitely this year. Our D is good, maybe even great, when fully healthy, but as it is now it is mediocre....

Great players are great players at the end of the day, and to blame the system is a cop out IMO. We have been playing Cover 2 for how many years and now all of a sudden Url and the rest of the pack are playing in a bad system??? Please...Url is getting old, Harris is old before his years, Brown is unfortunately likely washed up, and the only person on the D performing like a Pro Bowler is Briggs, who is not that great really. If everyone was healthy we would be a great D, but we are not, and Url seems to personify that.

You are quite optimistic about the D, if they can perform like you hope we should win. I tend to think we are going to get run over. Our D has been barely mediocre this year, and I see no reason to see why that should improve.

Really hard to say when one is not present for practices etc...but I would tend to take Manning personally. He is fast and has experience, and we need to be at full strength to have any chance against the Titans. It is not time to take a chance with players who are unfamiliar to our team.

Dvoracek has not been great, he has been slightly above average. Take off the bears tinted glasses. Payne has been very good so far this year...the best player? Maybe, but does that say more about his talent or the state of our D? Tillman and Vasher have not been good this year.....no matter what scheme they are playing in. It is not their fault, injuries suck, but it is what it is.... Let's look at reality, not what we wish. We all would like Bears D to kick as#, but it just doesn't right now.

Break down the D position by position, and I think it is clear that it is not a dominant D as it stands- DE-Mark Anderson-Unproven and mediocre at this point, Wale-Slightly above average, Alex Brown-Almost Pro Bowle DT-Harris, Adams, Dvoracek, Idonije etc-Mediocre LB-Hillmeyer/Url-Mediocre Briggs-Likely Pro Bowl DB-Tillman and Vasher-Mediocre/Injured Safety-Mike Brown-Mediocre Payne-Up and coming So where is the great talent? I think we over-estimated the talent last year as well, and it hasn't gotten better yet. This is not a case of 1 or 2 guys losing a step, this is a case of at least 5 players not playing up to previous levels for a variety of reasons. I really don't think we are that good on D with the injuries and players that we have. We need at least 2 more impact players to really be great...........

Where are we really talented on the D nowadays? On the DLine we have a mediocre team of tackles with Harris being injured and at half speed and Dvoracek not that impressive, the ends are ok but not great, the linebackers are hardly outstanding with only one, it pains me to say Briggs, who is Pro Bowl at this point, and a secondary comprised of two starting DB's that are hurt with some good prospects as backups, a veteran safety who is a step slow and perenially injured and a good young prospect playing well. This is not an outstanding group as it stands. If they all were healthy maybe, but as they are we are mediocre on defense. Put Buddy Ryan in as D coach and we are still mediocre....

I really struggle with blaming the scheme entirely for the big drop-off in some players performance. If the scheme is really the problem why does it appear Briggs is getting his tackles and occasional takeaways? Why have Idonije and Alex Brown stood out at times? Why hasn't everyone dropped off to the extent that Urlacher has? I'm not convinced that Urlacher is completely done and is not still an average LB, but his problems started last year, assumedly with his back, and seemed to have continued, and his back is what I think is likely effecting his play. It appears to me that with Urlacher and Harris virtually mediocre that our D has lost alot of its explosiveness, and with a step slower Mike Brown and Vasher and Tillman not sharp, perhaps as a result of injuries as well, the D is simply not as strong as it was and needs a bit of upgrading.

Hmmm, didn't I say that maybe Url should have been traded last year when he had his little shi#-fit and I had a bit of criticism. Any of the critics want to speak up now? I am willing to bet Url is past his prime, and he is a dumb a## and always has been. Hopefully he will get back to his old self, but I wonder whether he can. He might just be basically past his prime with nothing much to look forward to except mediocrity, that is my bet. I say trade him if we can if he keeps up like he is....if he ends up really sucking, cut him if the cap penalty doesn't kill. I will never own an Urlacher souvenir or memoribilia. He was a great player but no character. Good riddance when he goes, I have alot more time for the Singletary or Butkus types...

Agreed 100% Brown has never been a pus#y, that is over the top.

Good points! I wonder if injuries to some key guys, like Harris and Urlacher, have anything to do with the slowdown? I wonder what the feeling is within the NFL about Babich? I do feel sometimes that Lovie and Co. seem to be overly patient with some players/coaches but are quick to throw others out, Riviera went quickly! I assume Riviera went because of his aggressiveness in looking for a HC job during Super Bowl week.... I hope they solve the problem regardless, because it makes me sick to see teams basically chew up the Bears as if they are any old ordinary defense. I guess one really does not get a good full sense of character watching the games on Sundays and reading the papers. That said, I hope character is important to JA and Lovie, it seems it is to some degree so that is heartening. Part of my rationale for trading Urlacher would have been the advantage of getting alot of picks for someone who clearly appears to be on the way down. I certainly would not have considered a trade if we were not getting a nice package of players/picks. My understanding is that Harris's contract could be voided relatively easy at the end of the year, so maybe he will be the next guy on his way out if he keeps on going like he has been. I think his suspension was a real message, hopefully he will get back to being the dominant player he once was. Ultimately I would like to see guys play for the Bears who love the team and act with some integrity. Who embody the city, the toughness....I think we have some of those kind of guys but I am sure you could never have a perfect team. So, I guess we are stuck with Briggs/Urlacher for now...not a bad problem to have I guess, lol.

That may well be true, I am still undecided about Babich. However, it is hard for me to imagine that all of the problems with our defense are scheme related. However, I hold my hands up...I am not enough of an expert to really say definitively what is really the problem. But I sure do not see the production from some of the big money big star guys, starting with Urlacher and Harris.... These two are taking up alot of cap space and have little to no production to prove they are worth the money. I don't think that the team would fall apart if Urlacher was injured and could not play for the rest of the year, and Adams and Harrison seem to be have performed better than Harris so far. For me, a vital part of assessing a players worth is their behaviour and character. I can much more readily put up with a character guy like Mike Brown not looking good than I can with a player who behaves in an immature and abrasive manner. As such, Urlacher I have no use for, nor his friend Briggs no matter how good he has looked so far this year. I was happy to see that Briggs was going elsewhere, and not surprised when it ended up that noone else wanted him that much. I wish we would have let him go...I would rather root for a Bears team full of character and hard workers than jerks who sound off about the Bears and say they will never play for them again etc... and then have multiple babies out of wedlock and wreck their Lambo on the highway, call the car in as stolen, and then gets off with basically no consequences. JMO....

He might still make a good QB, but I am hoping that we will continue to let some other team experiment with him...enough is enough for him in Chicago.

I do not believe that Urlacher is a dominant LB this year, nor was he last year for the majority of the year. If we had traded him, we could hopefully have received at least a first round draft pick or two and hopefully had a young player who could contribute for years rather than a tired old MLB who has maybe only a couple years left. I hope I am wrong, but I think Urlachers best days are behind him, and I have no feelings of loyalty or nostalgia for a guy who has behaved like he has the last year or two....

Surprises: Kyle Orton-I thought he would likely be solid, but I did not think he would emerge as a top QB. He has been excellent this year, I think it is safe to say that without his huge contribution we would likely have lost at least 2 more games. Matt Forte-Rookie came in and is playing like a veteran. Hopefully he will show some more of that running style we saw early in the year. Corey Graham-Has come in and played better than Vasher basically. Big surprise and addition to the team. Kevin Payne-The most solid safety in our backfield, great hitter and showing ability to play the pass and be smart. Brandon Lloyd-Before his injury he was the go to WR. Disappointments: Mike Brown-Nuff said Urlacher-Aren't the Bears glad they paid him that extra money? Should have traded him IMO....we could have gotten something good for him probably. Harris-Nearly non-existent... Devin Hester-Not a single TD runback this year and no big runs that I can remember, although that is not entirely his fault as everyone seems to kick away from him. However, he does seem to be developing as a good WR. Hunter Hillemeyer-Seems to have slowed a step, less consistent and reliable this year. Should we try one of the young guys?

ABSOLUTELY!!! Where has the defense, home of the multi-million dollar salary gods, gone? And Babich? Where is Riviera? You have to wonder if getting on Lovie's bad list is about talent or personality?

I think at this point it is fair to say Kyle is our QB and we don't need to look for a replacement....if he keeps doing what he is doing so far this year, improving and learning while playing good, if not great, then lets get behind him! He has looked solid so far this year, and I can't help but think that he will only get better. We should be using high round picks on OLine and WR IMO.....unless Kyle gets hurt or starts drinking JD again and looking erratic..........

Hmm, I hope the suspension is just about those kinds of issues. Some of the other issues about this guy, like his statement about maybe not wanting to play football etc... does make me wonder about him. Is he really reliable? I guess his big contract is getting smaller the more time he misses, so maybe if he misses alot of time his contract is not so great? I wonder how these football players would survive in the real world? Gee, I think I might not want to work anymore.....but DAMN I have bills to pay, lol, so I guess I have to!

The big question is, why did Harris, the supposed great Christian moral leader of men, get a suspension? Anyone have any inside information on this one? I would have thought that Harris would have been one of the last players projected to be suspended..... As far as losing anything without him playing, I agree with others that there is nothing much to lose at all....he has sucked so far this year, and we would be better with a healthy Adams or Idonije than a injured Harris. I just wonder if this is a sign of greater problems to come....isn't it funny that a DT that everyone says is the second coming of Dan Hampton suddenly is non-existent for the first two games of the year, non-active for the third game, and then suspended? Damn...I wish we would not have paid him all of that money! Hopefully there is a cap friendly way to consider our options...

Briggs has made a few good hits, but seems to be weak in pass coverage and was a complete ass in the off-season. He has a long way to go before he proves to me he is a Bears player to respect and remember. Let's not get excited about a LB who makes a few good hits but does not seem to be quick enough to rush the passer, AKA Otis Wilson, and made a complete fu$$head of himself in the off-season! He has alot to make up for before the city of Chicago and Bears fans in general give him props.