Hello Bears Fans

Big Whiskey here.  Welcome to Da Bears 365.  Here you will find Chicago Bears news with lots of my opinion attached.  I hope you enjoy your time here.  If you think I am wrong, let me know, can’t promise I will admit you are right but you never know.

Preseason Game #3 Review

In the 3^rd preseason game of the year, the Bears lost to the 49ers 37-30. As with the previous games, there were some positives and some negatives but for me the positives far outweighed the negatives.

 I’ll start out with the negatives today.  The defense looked like garbage once again.  I have to question if defensive coordinator, Bob Babich, coaches fundamentals at all?  Since Ron Rivera left the Bears defense just can’t tackle anymore.  From my viewpoint, the problem is a cross between laziness and trying to strip the ball from the ball carrier every time.  I grow more and more frustrated every time I see a Bears player try and make an arm tackle.  It doesn’t work in high school and it surely doesn’t work in the NFL.  And to all the players in the secondary, minus possibly Mike Brown, just once instead of trying to strip the ball, put your facemask in somebody’s chest!!!!  I understand being aggressive but it drives me up a way when a 5 yard play turns into a 20 yard play because of the lack of tackling. It happens with this defense far too often.

 

Another issue with the defense last night was that the defensive line was not getting a good push off the ball once again for the most part.  This defensive scheme doesn’t work without it.  Anthony Adams got blown off the ball 5 or 6 times, which is absolutely ridiculous.  The first play of the game, he was 5 yard down the field by the time the offensive player stopped pushing him.  You figure he would have been embarrassed enough not to let it happen again, but it happened on the very next play.  Thankfully, Dusty Dvoracek looked healthy last night and should leapfrog Adams in the depth chart.  I’ve waited two long years to see what he can do and from the looks of last night, he and Tommie Harris in the middle might be a monster to contend with. Another DT that looks to be able to help things out on the line is Marcus Harrison.  He has shown spurts of first round talent in the past 2 games. 

 

I think overall, the defense will be fine.  Minus injuries, there is just way too much talent on the defense to think otherwise.  I think at some point though, if things continue down this path, Lovie Smith is going to have to take control away from Babich.  I know that the defensive players like him a lot but missed tackles and poor line play isn’t going to help his sometimes suspect play calling as we have seen in the past.

Now onto the positives from last night.  Coaches from teams on the Bears’ schedule may have been shaking their heads this morning after seeing the return game from last night.  Not only do they have to worry about Devin Hester running a kickoff back for a touchdown, they may also have to worry about Danieal Manning doing the same thing.  Not only did Manning show his quickness and speed, he showed great ability to break tackles on two returns where he amassed 171 total yards.  With returns like that, the Bears may not have to deal with a top offense.  Earl Bennett also looked pretty good in the by returning a kick for 19 yards and a punt for 20.  Garrette Wolfe did a decent job himself until he fumbled the ball. Isreal Idonije had a blocked field goal for the Beats in the second half. Robby Gould was solid as usual too.  He was 3 out of 4 on field goals and 3 out of 3 for extra points.

Offensively, I thought Kyle Orton looked great as the new starting quarterback for the Bears.  He was very accurate in his throws and it looks like he has gained arm strength.  He had some pop in some of his throws, which was great to see.  He ended the night going 10 for 17 with 2 TD’s and no interceptions and a QB rating of 126.3.  For me the best part of him starting last night, was that he looks a lot calmer in the pocket than Rex Grossman ever does.  I didn’t have that nervous feeling that a turnover may or may not happen. 

Rashied Davis looked great last night catching 2 TD’s from Orton.  He came close to a 3rd TD, but there was a bit too much on the ball for him to handle.  Mark Bradley looked pretty solid in the game.  Devin Hester didn’t do much, but seems like his route running is getting better and better.  He also had an opportunity for a TD but dropped the ball.  Brandon Rideau caught a 51 yard TD pass from Caleb Hanie in the last seconds of the game.  The Bears may want to keep him on the roster, the ex basketball player has some hops.

The running game looked pretty decent overall.  The offensive line looks pretty effective for the most part.  There were a few run plays here and there that went absolutely nowhere but Josh Beekman and John St. Clair were actually opening up some holes.  I though they both played very well.  I expected to have to write that the offensive line played lousy again but I really can’t do that today.  They open up some holes for the RB’s and gave Orton time to throw the ball.  I think he was only pressured 3 times and hurried once in the half that he played. The only real weak spot on the line last night was Roberto Garza.  I’m sorry but he should not be a starting guard in this league but hopefully he and John Tait can gel on the right side where he can be serviceable.

Matt Forte looked pretty good in his action in the first half.  He showed he has the ability to cut and create something out of nothing which is the complete opposite of what Cedric Benson ever showed.  Kevin Jones saw the field for the first time.  He looked like he is healthy and had 30 yards on three carries.  A tandem of Jones and Forte might just be what the Bears need to have an effective offense this year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All Aboard the Neck Beard Train…

 

Lovie Smith will formally announce that Kyle Orton will be the starting quarterback for the Chicago Bears at the start of the regular season.  While he has not been spectacular at camp, he has been solid.  Rex Grossman has continued to struggle here and there with fumbled snaps and interceptions. Although, not completely his fault, Grossman looked pretty bad during the Seahawks game this past Saturday.

I’m a little excited that Orton is getting a chance to start.  He doesn’t do anything great but doesn’t make too many mistakes either and with the awful offensive line that the Bears have, that is probably a good thing.  Two more things that may come out of Orton being named QB1 is hopefully more Kyle Orton drunk pictures on the net and more neck beard. 

Hello Chicago Bears Fans

Welcome to Ditka’s Den.  My name is Ben Antkowiak, a.k.a BigWhiskey, and I will be bringing you everything Chicago Bears.  I will apologize now for some of my future rants depending on how the season goes.  I am member of, and a sanctioned blogger for, the sports blogging network named Diehard101.com. Hopefully, you will like what you see and sign up and talk about your favorite sports teams.  I am also the sanctioned blogger for Boston College football on Diehard101, so check that blog out too.

The following are some of my previous blogs that you may have missed.

State of the Chicago Bears Address

Please Jerry Just Say No

I hope everyone enjoys what I write.  Let me know what you think good or bad.

Brett Favre and the Chicago Bears

 

With all of the Brett Favre talk this past week about his “impending” return, I’ve been asked at least a dozen times if I would want Favre on the Bears this year.  My answer to that question is an absolute YES!  This is one of those questions where I didn’t even need time to think about it.  It would be easy for me to say that the two biggest reasons for me wanting Favre as QB1 this year are Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton.  The fact of the matter is though, that I’m actually ok with either of them as the starter.  Rexy signed a 1 year deal in the off-season, and needs to show he is a legit QB if he ever wants another chance to be a starter in the NFL.  I think his benching last year helped his head out a lot.  He looked like a completely different player when he came in at the end of the year before his injury against the Redskins.  Kyle Orton is kind of in the same situation, its time for him to show he can be a legit starter also.  As a rookie, he won 9 games.  Maybe the defense won the nine games, but he didn’t do anything to lose games during that time just like a Trent Dilfer.

The main reason my answer is yes to the Favre question is because of the 16 years of torture I had to endure watching him light up the Bears twice a year.  There a four teams I hate the most on this earth. All equally but for different reasons.  I hate the Yankees, the St. Louis Cardinals, Duke and the Packers.  I hate the Packers because I am a Bears fan. Plain and simple.  Favre made it even easier for me to hate the Packers because he was so good there for so long.  I must say that I never hated Favre, just hated the Packers worse for having a player like that.  I even have an autographed Favre helmet sighting next to my Devin Hester helmet (don’t worry Bears fans, it’s a Southern Miss helmet, I wouldn’t bring the awful green and yellow into my house). It was sort of like, when Wade Boggs ended up with the Yankees.  It pained me that he was there, but I hated the Yankees worse because he was there.  It wasn’t until Boggs embraced being a Yankee after retiring, when my hatred for that traitor grew. But that is another story. 

Can Brett still play?  I think he answered that question last year.  Is he a better option at QB than Grossman or Orton at this point? Yes he is.  Could he bring the Bears closer to a Super Bowl than those two?  Yes he can. The Bears are wasting a great defense with an awful offense.  Its happened more times than not in my life as a Bears fan.  Its about time the Bears have a real QB for once.  Can Rexy or Kyle be the one? Maybe, maybe not, but if he is available, I don’t think Brad Maynard would have a problem giving up his number for a Super Bowl ring. 

The best reason to bring in Brett Favre.  It would be the biggest Stone Cold Salute to the Packers that could ever occur.