Hella Mistakes Cost Bears A Sure Win

The Bears slipped to 1-1 after a very disappointing 2nd half against the Carolina Panthers. The Bears started the game off strongly by forcing the Panthers to go 3-and-out. Darrell McClover then blocked a punt which was hauled in by WR Brandon Lloyd. Now I was stuck on I-80, because of flooding, on my way home from Indiana at this point, so I shared the excitement with Jeff Joniak and AM 780. I wish I would have gotten to see it, as I still haven't even seen a replay of it.

The Bears defense had a terrific first half. They got a lot of pressure on Jake Delhomme and knocked him around a few times. Bob Babich called a pretty good game overall and by showing blitz plenty of times, the Panthers offensive line committed multiple false starts. Their performance declined significantly in the 2nd half, probably because they were getting tired. They started missing tackles and didn't seem to bring as much pressure as they brought in the 1st half.

The offense looked kind of sharp in the 1st half, but could never close. They would move the ball down field and then some crucial mistake (such as Greg Olsen's 1st fumble) would prevent them from putting the ball in the end zone. Olsen had a bad game, but it's certainly no reason to write him off yet. I think he will be one of the biggest contributors next week against Tampa because he feels he needs to redeem himself.

Orton proved on numerous occassions he's still not ready to make the big play. He missed a wide-open Marty Booker down the left side which would have been a sure TD and most likely would have put the game away. He also missed an open Rasheid Davis down the right side. Orton made some horrible decisions throughout the game that could have proved more costly than they were. He threw at least 2 balls into heavy coverage that should have been picked by the Panthers. Luckily they weren't. And, of course, there was the 3rd-and-1 play on the last play before the 2-minute warning in the 4th quarter.

Ron Turner pulled an absolute bitch-move after the game. He told the media he called a run up the middle for Forte with and option for Orton to change the play if he didn't like the defense that he was showed. I'm sure this happens a lot in the NFL, but how often does an offensive coordinator throw his QB under the bus like that? Turner knows the fans have hated him for years now, and he knows that his job should not be secure. Orton ended up changing the play to a retarded quick pass out to the right side which should have been picked off. The very next play Turner says he calls for Forte up the middle again, but the Panthers called a time-out and Turner changes his play. I thought Turner had a good game until the end. He broke out of his normal pattern of running "Bears' Draws" everytime 3rd down comes up, but his ineptness came through at the most crucial part of the game to outshine any good play calling he made earlier. How do you have 3rd-and-1 and Matt Forte doesn't touch the ball on that play or the following play? That makes no sense to me.

Jason McKie has had an increased role in the offense this year, and I'm fine with that. He punched in a 1 yd TD run early in the 2nd half so Turner decided to go back to him during crunch time. The problem with that is when he got his TD, there was no pressure on him. I believe it was 1st or 2nd down. But when they Bears NEEDED a 1st down, they decided to go back to McKie who has career high in rush attempts is 8. I like Jason McKie. He is a very good blocker and was a big part of the Bears' success running the ball in 2006, but there is a reason he doesn't get many touches. He doesn't have great speed and he's just not much of a playmaker. Even on the 4th down when the Bears turned the ball over, McKie wasn't taclked right away. He was stuck at the line with nowhere to run, but he doesn't have the type of speed to drop back and run it outside after seeing there was no lane open. Not only do I think Forte would have gotten across the line initially, even if he didn't I believe he would have been able to cut outside and convert it for the 1st down. McKie was also responsible for a couple big-runs that were called back because of holding. The Bears don't have any options behind McKie at FB (Greg Olsen is 2nd on the depth chart) but considering his limited touches, it's not a big deal if he has a bad game once in awhile.

Brandon Lloyd had, what I perceive to be, a career game. Not only did he get a TD before even taking an offensive snap, he came up with some big catches throughout the game. Overall he had 5 catches for 66 yards and he seemed to be at the right place at the right time during the entire game. Lloyd has already destroyed his 2007 season totals in yards (14) and receptions (2). Many questioned the signing of Brandon Lloyd but so far has been one of Orton's favorite targets. Hopefully they can keep up the chemistry.

Devin Hester had one good kickoff return and didn't do much else. He had one catch, and a couple punt returns that went nowhere. He left the game in the 3rd quarter which turned out to be bruised ribs. I'm not sure of the severity of the injury, but we need him to be on the field even if he doesn't get any touches. He draws a lot of attention whenever he steps on the field.

Brad Maynard had a horrible game. He didn't have one solid punt all day, and on a day when he punted 7 times, we needed him to come through to limit Carolina's field positioning. Robbie Gould showed his beefed up leg from the start of the game, forcing Carolina to down the opening kickoff in the endzone. I don't know if he's juicing or not, but his leg strength has always been his biggest downfall and it doesn't seem to be a problem anymore.

The offensive line had a decent game overall. They only allowed one sack, and did create some lanes for Forte to run through. Hopefully they will keep it up, as they're already playing MUCH better than they played last year, although Olen Kruetz is still steadily declining. He seems to fall down on top of a defender every play instead of actually blocking them. He doesn't seem to do much else anymore. The line played real well early on, but as the game went on their play declined. I don't know if it was because they were getting tired or what, but they need to stay consistent throughout the entire game.

Kyle Neckbeard Is Our Quarterback

I'll admit it... I was WRONG.

I truly thought that Rex Grossman would come out on top of this QB competition. Last week Kyle Orton was deservingly named the starting QB for the Bears. While I'm pissed that it's not Grossman, I completely agree with the decision. I'm not pissed about the decision, I'm pissed that Grossman can't ever seem to play up to his ability. He has all the talent in the world, but he is a skraight mindfuck. Ron Rivera called him a "mental midget," and that's pretty much the best way to put it. Whether it's an early INT or a lost fumble, after something bad happens to Grossman it's downhill from there. Something gets in his head telling him he's going to fuck up again... and he does. He showed a lot of improvement/maturity after he was benched last year but it didn't last long. While he may be in better shape than ever, I don't see any real improvements that came during the off-season.

Kyle Orton, on the other hand, looks like he's worked hard over the off-season. It may just be a little bit more confidence coming off of the end of last season. Or maybe it was the fact that Grossman wasn't named the starter before camp and Orton had a chance to win the job. Whatever it is, Orton is just so much more consistent than Grossman. Orton may not be a TD threat on every play, but he is capable of going deep with the ball. He needs to work on it still, but people give his arm much less credit than it deserves. He was a slanger in college and can still do it when he needs to. While Grossman may have more talent, Orton is much more of a complete QB. He knows how to stay in the pocket (which may or may not collapse immediately once the season starts) and check down when the 1st option isn't open. He also knows how to complete short passes, something that Grossman has yet to show. With a RB that can actually catch the ball this year, short/screen passes will be a big part of the offense. While there are still some in the locker room that were pulling for Grossman, you can tell that the majority of the team has more confidence in Orton, and for good reason. As the QB of a team, you need to be THE leader. How can you be looked at as the leader if you are the worst public speaker on the team? Now to be fair, Devin Hester is not exactly Mr. Articulate, but he's improved since his rookie year and probably gives better interviews. Grossman constantly looks like such a meathead struggling to answer questions after games. Orton, on the other hand, is poised at all times and says the right things. If you just observed the two of them for 5 minutes, you can tell who's more of a leader-type. That's what the offense needs. Someone who knows what's going on. Someone who can read a blitz coming. Someone who will throw the ball away instead of give the ball away.

While I'm still a Rex Grossman fan, he does not deserve to be the #1 QB on the Chicago Bears. Unless Orton gets hurt and Grossman steps up and performs like he's in Dan's World, this is the end for Grossman in Chicago. His contract is up after the season and I don't see him signing another contract anywhere unless it comes with a chance to be the starter. I still think he can be successful in the right situation. He needs a fresh start... one where he won't get boo'd just for stepping onto the field. One where he doesn't have to worry about the mistakes he's (repeatedly) made in the past. One where there's no expectations from him so there's not so much pressure as a big city like Chicago. All you can do now is wait Rex. Don't be pouting on the sideline everytime the you get some face-time. Don't look happy everytime Orton makes a mistake. You can hope and wish and pray all you want that Orton gets hurt, but don't let us know you're doing it... even though we already know you are.

Loyalty Rewarded With Securrity

No that's not a typo, you just have to know how to say it. While the Bears have yet to get anything accomplished with their three most coveted upcoming free agents (see Where Do We Go From Here? which, yes, is named after a Yung Berg song that does NOT feature Tony Loco), they have shown their gratitude to Desmond Clark on Sunday in the form of a two-year contract extension. This means that Des will be around at least until 2010. He deserves it for a couple of reasons. First, he has been one of the Bears' more productive receivers over the last few years. Secondly, and more importantly he has been loyal. When the Bears used their first round draft pick on tight end Greg Olsen last year, Des could have seen it as an insult. He could have seen Olsen as a threat to take his position. Instead, he noted the work ethic that Olsen brought to the table and became a mentor to him. Clark has been pivotal to the development of Olsen, and signing this extension means that he will continue to be. Another reason why he wasn't threatened by Olsen is because they are two different kinds of tight ends. Olsen does not have the size that Clark does, but has incredible speed. Because of this, he's not expected to be the greatest blocking tight end. Clark on the other hand, has more size and less speed. While he's not the best blocking tight end in the league, he does a better job clearing some lanes out front for the RB. The combination of Clark and Olsen worked well last year. They were one of only two pairs of TEs to each have over 350 yards receiving. This year they may be one the field together, as the Bears should use some two TE sets. Whether they will both be lining up in on the line, or Olsen is brought out wide to the slot, these two will cause some mismatches. when they're on the field together. With Grossman most likely going to be taking the snaps next year, he will look to get the ball to Clark a decent amount. He has yet to really click with Olsen, but with the Bears returning a solid pair of TEs this year, he should be looking over the middle more often than he has in the past.


The Bears also rewarded the loyalty of Kyle Orton today by signing the neckbearded QB to a one-year extension. Orton could have bitched and moaned by being replaced after going 10-5 as a rookie, but he kept relatively quiet about it. My guess is he realized he didn't actually earn those wins, but rather was along for the ride. Now while I'm not a Kyle Orton fan by any means (I mean he did go to lame ass Purdue), and I'm certainly a big Rex Grossman lobbyist, I think this extension is a good move by the Bears. It lets him know that Bears are serious enough about giving him a chance to be the QB of this team without locking him down in a long-term contract. If Grossman has the year I expect him to, he will be rewarded with the long-term deal, and Orton won't be stuck being a backup past 2009 (unless he's moved into another backup job on a different team). PAB-it-up-arm Brian Greasy is due a decent-sized salary bonus in March, which he doesn't deserve, and will likely be cut by the Bears within the next few days. So if Orton somehow outshines Grossman during camp (fat chance) and goes on to have a solid year, then he will likely be offered a longer extension. Regardless, if Grossman ends up injured again this year, I'd much rather have Neckbeard come in than a guy who looks and acts like Bill Lumbergh.