jason

I'm not sure I ever saw this on the site before... http://www.stack.com/2013/09/26/can-you-pa...ditioning-test/ I plan on trying this soon. I don't think it should be an issue.

I suspect your post is partially in jest, but that's how it starts. I'm sure they thought that many times over: "Yeah, but we need this mooooorrrre." We can get OL next year. Or, "Well, I'll be. It IS the 7th round already and we haven't drafted OL. Again. Anyone out there who has the potential to not get cut on the first day?" Do it two or three years in a row, and you have a QB throwing off his back foot and ducking like he hears a drive-by shooting.

PREACH. :headbang :headbang

Continuity shmontinuity. Give me five dudes who can play who have never met one another over five guys who have sucked collectively for a decade. And you're right about the boneheaded plays. Just not happening. And the level of pressure being indicated by the "stats" just doesn't pass muster as far as I'm concerned. I haven't watched all the games for every team, but Cutler was running like a Kenyan marathoner last year. This year? Not nearly as much. I'd say about 1/3rd as much. That leads me to believe, to speculate, that there have to be other teams doing worse. The Bears' OL just doesn't look as bad pass blocking as the "stats" indicate.

Yeah, I'm not buying it. Big shocker. Just doesn't pass the eye test. I'm guessing whoever does their stats and watches the Bears games is a Packer fan.

:cheers :cheers

LOL. Because of this post, Conte's new nickname is "Benjamin Button".

I think you give him vet min plus a little "thanks for being a Bear legend"-money, like they should have done with Urlacher. If money needs to be saved, then save it by cutting Weems like you said.

That was Lovie Smith's philosophy regarding OL, and we saw how that worked out.

Sorry to tell you, but it's not a bad call. On regular kicks, the philosophy is: A foot down past the free kick line. On onside kicks, the philosophy is: ANY part of the body past the free kick line. There is no debating the fact that Weems had the entire top half of his body beyond the free kick line before the ball was kicked. Blame Weems, not the officials.

Can't play the fade, can't tackle, can't lay a hit in the goal line, and can't play centerfield.

It's the football Gods rewarding us for the lack of QBs.

I remember that vividly, and the reactions were priceless. Before the game Vick was, by many's opinions, too fast to be caught. After Urlacher ran him down a few times, big eyes and dropped jaws everywhere.

Preaching to the choir. But nooooo, Lovie needed Dan Bazuin and that dude who could totally jump out of a pool.

Agreed. I don't buy the "it was a good deal" thing. It was a low-ball offer that he refused. And once the rest of the league saw what was being offered by the home-town team, and the fact that the offer was refused, they didn't want to spend a whole lot more on a veteran with lots of miles on the odometer. Simply put, the Bears could have offered him a little more, fit it easily in the cap, and had the heart of their defense, their team, for one year (maybe two), which would have obviously helped. And then an easy transition to Bostic.

Just got the ESPN ticker...he's gone. Torn pectoral.

This I don't agree with. Franchise player Melton = out New starter DT Collins = out Run stuffing DT Paea = out Losing your top 3 DTs is always going to gut a defense. The fact that Peppers seems to have aged in dog years over the offseason and McClellin is exactly who many thought he was doesn't help. Thank God for Wooten at this point, because he's the only one who appears to have any game-breaking ability. Losing Tillman for a stretch hurts. And regardless of the flack, the Bears miss Urlacher. As for Trestman and the offense, what more do you want? Top ten rushing, passing, and total offense. Cutler has protection. Both WRs are being used. The TE is being used. The balance on offense is keeping opponents off balance. I agree with inconsistency, but to say they're only marginally better is ridiculous. The Bears were bottom five in total and passing offense last year. This turnaround is incredible.

The Giants are 7th in passing offense. The Bears are 27th in passing defense and 30th in sacks. This is a VERY dangerous game. I'm expecting Eli Manning to put up significant numbers. I'm just hoping that Jay can lead the offense to bigger numbers.

No surprise I have a problem with BS stats. How the F can they determine if a QBs footwork changed as a result of the D pressure?! The big things? Sure. But there percentage is way off, and borderline ridiculous. No way it's 40%. And unless the same person reviews ALL the games, human error and bias make this stat virtually meaningless.

68 hurries in four games (or less if I'm reading your replies correctly)? I call BS. There is no freaking way. Cutler has attempted 148 passes. He's rushed 11 times. He's been sacked a total of 6 times. That's 165. Let's just say there are 10 more plays in there for the anomalies. Even at 68 out of 175, that is nearly 40%. Sorry, but I've watched the games, and there is no way in hell he's been hurried or pressured in 40% of his drop-backs. What's their criteria for hurries? Someone within ten feet? I suspect the person doing the analysis for Bears games is a little more loose with his interpretation of "hurry" than the folks doing the analysis on other games.

We all knew Toub was a genius. Seeing him go to KC - not a surprise that they seem to be a team doing all the little things right - was a big loss for the Bears.

Why not? Unless, of course, they feel he's still good enough at CB. I think he is, but there has to be a time when he loses the step. Maybe then?

Next year the Bears should transition to the 3-4. With the potential loss of DJ and Anderson, it makes more sense now than ever. Not only does it get the two young LBs into the game, but it revitalizes McClellin. If they're not sold on Paea at NT, then draft one. Rotate Peppers, Wooten, and Melton DE. The LB corp of Briggs, Greene, Bostic, and McClellin would be nice. That looks like a downright scary defense.

Could this also have something to do with Urlacher missing? I know it's now the popular thing to rag on Urlacher, call him greedy and washed up, say he was horrible last year if not multiple years before, but the simple fact is, the dude was the MLB for a long time. The captain of the team. And was getting better as the season progressed last year. Peppers and Melton being injured affects performance. Same for the coaching changes. But Urlacher's absence hurts. Say what you want, but over the course of four games - an admittedly small sample size - his value appears to be worth a difference of about 60 yards. That's multiple stops per game. Multiple good reads per game. Multiple correct defensive audibles per game.