Squib Kicks and more tears

 

I’ll start by saying I have never really liked the squib kick in the game of football.  I understand the concept of taking away the potential 85 yard touch-down return but it only makes sense to use it when a field goal won’t hurt your team.  The Bears were up by 1 point with 11 seconds left.  The key things at that point of the game was the time on the clock and field position.  A squib kick hands the other good field position. Add in a quarterback that has a lot of expertise in game winning throws at the end of the game and you are asking for trouble.  Hey Lovie, why don’t you ask Virginia Tech about Matt Ryan’s end of game passing abilities. On top of that, both starting cornerbacks were hurt at that point in the game.  On top of that, Bob Babich, for some reason, continues to have his corners give the receiver a 8 to 10 yard cushion off the ball.  On top of that, Jason Elam has been one of the better kickers in the league for a long time now.  On top of that, Tommie Harris is a shell of his former self and the rest of the defensive line is providing zero penetration. On top of that, the Cover-2 doesn’t work without penetration and also provides no safety valve for a deep ball.  On top of that…I could go on but I won’t.

The Bears looked like they were turning the corner with a great win of Philly and a sound beating of Detroit after 2 awful weeks against Carolina and Tampa.  Thankfully, I was on vacation for those games and the copious amount of beer I consumed at Hooters numbed the pain of watching Brian Griese throw the ball 67 times against the Bears.  The Bears schedule, on paper, is somewhat in their favor for a run to win the division and make the playoffs.  The problem is, the Bears have been up for the 2 top teams on their schedule so far, the Colts and the Eagles but have shown up for only 3 quarters against Carolina, Tampa and 1 quarter against Atlanta.  Instead of being 6-0 or at the very least 5-1, they are 3-3.

The good news is that Kyle Orton is getting better and better and Matt Forte has been pretty solid.  The bad news is the defense has been inconsistant once again. Plus, the injury bug is starting to creep in once again on defense.  3-3 could turn ugly pretty quickly if they can’t figure things out soon.  The first step should be to show Babich the door.  He has overtaken Ron Turner as the Bears’ worst coordinator and that is sad.

Bears Preseason Games Review

I just finished watching the Bears second preseason game against the Seahawks.  Like with any preseason game the outcome doesn’t really matter.  The reason for the games are to evaluate talent, set depth charts, etc.  This one was more of the same.  As I sit here thinking about what to say, I am having a tough time not getting depressed and angry about what may inevitably happen again as soon as the real season starts.  I’m trying to be optimistic about the season but what I have seen from the #1 offense so far leads me to believe that the Bears are going to be more of the same.  A team consisting of a great defense andspecial teams that is wasted with an offense that sputters around for more 3 and outs than I care to count with some turnovers sprinkled on top.

The offensive line is so atrocious that I can’t even talk about the QB battle between Kyle Orton and Rex Grossman because it’s not really fair to either of them.  After the beating that Rex took last night in the first quarter, my advice is to make sure both QB’s health insurance policies are paid up in full.  Between the constant pressure and the penalties, Grossman really had no chance to showcase any ability.  During the few plays where he was able to set his feet, he looked pretty good.  Kyle Orton looked pretty good on the 2 minute drill at the end of the second half for where the Bears scored a field goal.  Caleb Hanie looked solid in his second outing.  He played against guys that may not be on the roster in a week or two but for what it’s worth, he may be turn into a pretty good NFL quarterback one of these days. 

Defensively, the Bears looked very good.  They tackled a lot better than they did in the first game against KC.  They had 3 interceptions, one for a touchdown and a safety.  A couple young players that I thought looked really good were Dan Bauzin, Marcus Harrison, Craid Steltz, Corey Graham and Leonard Peters.  Bauzin and Harrison both a motor on them.  They were both instrumental on Corey Graham’s interception for a touchdown.  Peters, a practice squad member last year, was all over the field the second half.  I liked the hustle I saw out of him, even though that hair and the number 45 jersey he wears doesn’t seam to fit as well as it did with Gary Fencik back in the day.

The special teams had 2 blocked punts, one by Darrell McGlover in the 2nd quarter causing a saftey and one in the 4th quarter by Mark Bradley. Earl Bennett ran back a 75 yard punt return for a touchdown in the 3rd quarter.  A nice stutter step and a block by Leonard Peters sent him on his way.  The best thing about the run was that when he got to the endzone, he just dropped the ball like he had been there before. I have to say that I liked seeing that.

Overall, there were positives and negatives but I think we are still going to have to wait and see how things are going to shape up in the next two preseason games to know where the Bears offense will be this season.  Hopefully, the offensive line can gel a bit so we can see what kind of offensive talent the Bears have.

 

Bears Release 1st Depth Chart of the Season

The Bears released the first depth chart of the 2008 season today.  There are no real surprises so far, especially with so many positions on offense still up for grabs.  The position battles are in italics below.

 

Offense

WR–Rashied Davis/Devin Hester, Mike Hass, Brandon Rideau, Ryan Grice-Mullen
LT–John St. Clair, Cody Balogh, (Chris Williams)
LG–Terrence Metcalf, Anthony Oakley, Ryan Poles
C–Olin Kreutz, Josh Beekman, Anthony Oakley
RG–Roberto Garza, Tyler Reed, Chester Adams
RT–John Tait, Kirk Barton
TE–Desmond Clark, Greg Olsen, Kellen Davis, Fontel Mines, Marcus Stone
WR–Marty Booker/Brandon Lloyd, Mark Bradley, Earl Bennett, Marcus Monk
QB–Rex Grossman/Kyle Orton, Caleb Hanie
RB–Matt Forte, Adrian Peterson, Garrett Wolfe, P.J. Pope, (Kevin Jones)
FB–Jason McKie, Lousaka Polite

Defense

LE–Adewale Ogunleye, Dan Bazuin, Joe Clermond, Nick Osborn
DT–Tommie Harris, Israel Idonije, Marcus Harrison
NT–Anthony Adams, Matt Toeaina, (Dusty Dvoracek)
RE–Alex Brown, Mark Anderson, Ervin Baldwin
WLB–Lance Briggs, Jamar Williams, Joey LaRocque
MLB–Brian Urlacher, Nick Roach, Rod Wilson
SLB–Hunter Hillenmeyer, Darrell McClover, Michael Okwo
LCB–Charles Tillman, Corey Graham, Zack Bowman, Leslie Majors
RCB–Nathan Vasher, Trumaine McBride, Ricky Manning Jr., Trey Brown
SS–Brandon McGowan, Kevin Payne, Leonard Peters
FS–Mike Brown, Danieal Manning, Craig Steltz, Josh Gattis

QB – The competition between Grossman and Orton has brought out no clear front runner, although from reports that I have read, Grossman has looked better than Orton the past few days.  We’ll have to wait and see how the two perform in the preseason games before a winner will be chosen.  Rex may have let it slip that coach Lovie Smith with let them know who will be QB1 by the 3rd preseason game against the 49ers on August 21.

RB – Matt Forte is listed as RB1 at the moment and is slated to start in the first preseason game on Thursday (Aug. 7th) against KC.  Kevin Jones is still on the PUP list, so it is unknown at this point if he will make the roster at the start of the season or not.  Garrett Wolfe, who is trying to make the team as the 3rd down back has been impressive in camp so far.  Keeping Wolfe could provide offensive coordinator, Ron Turner (ugh!), a nice change of pace, although he showed no vision with very limited use of Wolfe on the roster last year, so I won’t get my hopes up.

LT/LG – These two spots on the offensive line are a bit clouded at the moment because of injuries.  Rookie Chris Williams has yet to see the field with a lingering back spasm problem.  John St. Clair has been used as the starting LT so far.  Terrence Metcalf has been out for the past few days, so Josh Beekman has moved over from the Center spot to fill in.  If the Bears can get Williams on the field, Metcalf and St. Clair should fight for the position.  I’d rather see Beekman get a legitimate shot, Metcalf shouldn’t be fighting for a starting spot let alone be on an NFL roster.

WR – The starting WR positions are still up for grabs. From reports that I have seen, however, Devin Hester has been playing lights out and may be showing potential as a #1 WR.  Mark Bradley and Marty Booker have been very solid in camp also.  Rashied Davis, an Arena Football league veteran, who has shown great flashes in the return game and as a deep threat the past few years may be the dark horse in the race.  It has been reported that he has looked great in camp and could be named one of the starters.  I have also heard that Brandon Lloyd has looked very good in camp.  Maybe he has finally figured things out and is focusing strictly on football and not trying to be a fashion model.  He played for Ron Turner at the U of Illinois, so maybe his relationship with Turner can bring out the potential he showed with the 49ers and not the train wreck he was with the Redskins.  Rookie Earl Bennett has looked good in camp also.  He seems to catch every ball thrown to him.  The team has been working with him on Punt Returns.  He has looked spotty at best there. Mike Hass, Marcus Monk, Brandon Rideau and Ryan Grice-Mullen round out the WRs in camp.  Each has shown some talent, not sure how many will be released or put on the practice squad.

There aren’t really any position battles on defense, but the team is waiting for Dusty Dvoracek to get on the field from a calf injury he has been dealing with.  Once on the field, it will be Anthony Adams or himself as the starting NT.  If healthy, both should see significant playing time this year along with Matt Toeaina.

One other spot on defense where there has been movement on the depth chart is the nickel cornerback position.  Corey Graham has leapfrogged Trumain McBride, Zack Bowman and Ricky Manning Jr. with stellar play filling in for starting left corner Peanut Tilman, when he missed some camp due to personal issues.  Graham, may at some point in the season or next year, compete with Tilman for the starting LC job.

I’ll have an in depth report of the Bears first preseason game against KC on Friday.  For Bears fans outside of the Chicagoland area (like me), the NFL Network will re-broadcast the game at various times throughout the week.  The scheduled broadcasts are below.  Also, the game on August 21, is going to be on FOX.

All times are Eastern. 

WEEK 1

Thursday Aug 7   12am

KC at Chi

Friday Aug 8     3:30pm

KC at Chi

Sunday Aug 10   4am

KC at Chi

Wednesday Aug 13   4pm

KC at Chi

 

WEEK 2

Sunday  Aug 17   1pm

Chi at Seattle

Thursday Aug 21  12:30am

Chi at Seattle

 

WEEK 4

Sunday Aug 31    4pm

Chi at Cleveland

 

 

 

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.