I'm From Canada So They Think I'm Slow, Eh?

2010 Grey Cup



10 Catches, 149 yds vs Calgary



2010 Most Outstanding Canadian



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Let's Play The Blame Game, Fa Sho

After burying my head in sand for the majority of Depression Monday, I've cautiously approached allowing Bears talk back into my life. In breaking my two year old routine of listening to Waddle and Silvy on an almost daily basis; I've managed to clear my head, gather my thoughts, and focus my energy on one important task: revealing the ignorance of the common Chicago sports fan.

Now I don't mean ignorance in the traditional eyes of Webster. I'm talking more about the way we use the word "ignorant" in our daily lives. When someone says or does something so incredibly stupid that you just need to call them an ignorant ass MF, whether or not this person has been properly educated on the topic at hand.

"The topic" I speak of is, of course, the Jay Cutler situation. As we all know by now, Cutler sprained his MCL at some point during the NFC Championship game. Some believe he was injured early in the game (during his attempted jump pass to Matt Forte out of the end zone), while others believe he was hurt shortly before halftime. The truth is, it doesn't matter when or how he was hurt. What matters is that he was hurt and the decision was made to pull him from the game.

Since I haven't been able to shut the sports world out completely over the past 3 days, I have a general idea of the venom that's been spewed at Cutler by local callers, and it makes me sick.

If you're anything like me, you like to make quick judgements on a situation and it's hard to go back on that intial evaluation. This is a natural part of being human. However, where we may differ is that after I make my quick judgement, if I find out new information contradictory to my original thought, I have no problem changing my mind as long as this new information makes logical sense.

When Cutler was taken out of the game Sunday, we weren't given any information from the fine people at Fox. I don't know if this is related to Fox's overall theme of painting the Bears in a negative light during the broadcast, or if it's that they simply didn't get any word from the Bears as to what's going on. Regardless, I understand why people would come to the instant conclusion that Cutler simply isn't toughing it out. But then early on Tuesday, we find out that the MRI came back showing a Grade 2 sprained MCL aka a tear in his MCL.

This didn't stop the angry calls from coming in.

While listening to the Afternoon Saloon for a brief 15 minutes, I heard one caller stating that "all I know is that Ben Roethlisberger or Brett Favre would have shot up and gone back in the game." Really? And how do you know this Mr. Caller Man? Have you been inside of Ben R's head at the same time that he's suffering from an identical injury to Jay Cutler? I'm sorry, what was that? You're just making a generalization on Ben R because you see him as a big tough guy since he gets away with R'ing broads on bar stools? You think because Brett Favre has been abusing pain killers for 20 years that he's tough just for continuing to go out there?

The point is that nobody is inside of Jay Cutler's head besides Jay himself. You don't know what level of pain tolerance this man has. And if you want to take a guess, you'd be stupid to think that he doesn't have a high pain tolerance. I've never met Cutler nor picked his brain, but I have seen him get sacked 87 times over the past 2 regular seasons, behind the worst offensive line in the NFL. Then when you add all the times he got rocked on plays that didn't end up recorded as a sack, you're well over 100 hits on your QB. And how many times did he complain about these hits? Zero.

As a fan of Jay Cutler press conferences, I've never heard him complain that Frank Omiyale is his starting LT. I've never heard him complain that J'Marcus Webb couldn't block a speed rusher if he had a twin conjoined to his right hip. He has stood up at every post-game presser and taken accountability for Jay Cutler needing to play better.

Every injury is different and everyone's body responds differently to injury. Just because Drew Brees played part of 2010 with a sparined MCL himself, doesn't mean that every MCL injury can be played on. There is no golden rule saying that if your knee injury is limited to the MCL, you need to suck it up and go back in. Jay
Cutler is a professional athlete and a competitor. He doesn't endorse any products because he wants to prove himself as a winner before his face is plastered all over the city. He doesn't open up to reporters because he wants you to judge him based on his ability to win football games. You honestly think that someone who keeps
it 100% about football with you and me would just quit on his team?

Then you must have never played sports at any resemblence of a high level.

We're taught it's all fun and games growing up, but when you reach a certain age, everything is thrown out the window except winning. You don't get participation trophies when you're 12. That's about the time the real athletes start to emerge and the "good effort! good try!" chatter starts to die down. You don't get to Nationals by trying harder than the other teams; you get there by winning. You are judged by how much you could help a team win, not how nice you are to the akward lefty who doesn't see the field except in blowouts. As you continue to grow older, the focus is more and more on winning. It is instilled in your brain that if you don't win, you are a loser. By the time you're grown up, you either have the desire to win or you step away from the game for good.

Last time I checked, Jay Cutler is not pursuing a career related to his degree in Human and Organizational Development; he is a football player. A football player who is paid on his (perceived) ability to win games. It's not a question of being tough enough. If he would have been healthy enough to play effectively, he would have been in the game. End of story.

Dear Santa

Dear Santa,
As good as the Bears have been this year, there are a few things that could make them even better. Even though these cats are very rich, there are some things money can't buy. If you could find it in your heart to deliver the following gifts, the entire city of Chicago will be forever grateful.

Chris Harris - A geometry book, so he can learn all about the wrong angles he likes to take to the ball carrier

Chester Taylor - Someone in front of him willing to open up a running lane

Devin Aromashodu - A chance to be on the field during a passing play

Pisa Tinoisamoa - HGH to improve his chances of functioning for an entire season

Peanut Tillman - The desire to actually cover a receiver

Greg Olsen - A one-album record deal for his 7th Floor Crew

Dez Clark - The chance to wear his Bears uniform again before they release him this off-season

Tommie Harris - A time machine dialed up to 2005

Lovie Smith - A high five for living the "Winter of Lovie." He finally learned to do the exact opposite of every thought that crosses his mind

Johnny Knox - A sex change so her vagina will stop interfering with her ability to catch the ball in traffic 

Rasheid Davis - A roster spot in a city not named Chicago


Santa, I know it's wrong to expect everything you ask for, but if you could only take care of a couple of these gifts, please please please please take care of Chris Harris and Rasheid Davis... they need it the most.


Sincerely,

Devin The Dude

BEARS

Lovie Smith, You Are Ridiculous!!!

Well it only took 2 years, but Devin Hester is back returning kickoffs for the Bears. If you’re like me, you’re still questioning why Hester was ever taken off of kick returns near the end of the 2008 season. After two dominant season of returning punts and kicks, Hester seemed to have lost the magic in 2008. Instead of hitting the holes hard he tended to dance around, often finishing further away from the end zone than when he caught it. He just couldn’t seem to get out of his funk.

But the answer was always simple and was always right there in front of the our faces. They didn’t need to scale back his offensive responsibilities. They didn’t need Brendon Ayanbadejo back blocking for him. They needed to get him running straight ahead as soon as the ball was in his hands. How do you make sure he’s running forward? Simple… You put him back on kickoffs, so he actually has space to run forward before making his cuts.

Hester may have made a name for himself in college by running sideline to sideline evading the opponents coming at him, but you can’t get away with that in the NFL... this isn't Duke. Special teams players are too fast and too strong for returners to be dancing around taking shots from the other team. You need to keep your feet moving and run forward to make it hard for the opposition to take a good angle on you.

Wait about two years and then go ahead and give credit to Lovie… He’s put one of his players in the best position to be successful. He’s put the best weapon he has in a role that will make the most of his talent. If Hester is back to returning kicks full-time, he could be back to being the most dangerous player in the entire league. It’s a shame that something this obvious could be put on hold for so long, but at the end of the day, all that matters is Devin That Dude is back where he belongs…. in a position to be ridiculous.

Should We Be Concerned About The Front Four?

The game against the Seahawks this past week was ugly in more ways than one. We could talk all day about the problems the offense is currently having, but I've got to pretend to work sometime today so let's not.

For the first time this season, the defense did not play up to their own lofty standards. Some of this can be contributed to facing a veteran QB such as Matt Hasselbeck that has seen everything over his time in the league, but overall, the defense failed in many aspects including the pass rush.

This brings me to my question; should Bears fans be concerned about the (lack) of a pass rush from the front four?

As most know, Lovie Smith runs a Tampa 2 style defense which is predicated on getting a solid pass rush from the front four. Ideally, the front four will generate enough pressure so that the only option for opposing QBs is to dump the ball off underneath the coverage and the back seven swarm to make the tackle after a short gain. This style is a classic "bend don't break" mentality and if the defense can generate a turnover or two, can be extremely effective.

However, if the front four can not generate consistent pressure, veteran QB's like Hasselbeck will pick the cover 2 apart with short/medium passes. This was the case last Sunday on the lakefront.

Look, we all understand Tommie Harris is a shell of his former self. The man has knees of a 55 year old. Last time I checked, there aren't any 55 year olds playing defensive tackle in the NFL. Unfortunately, Tommie still represents the best interior pass rusher on the Bears roster. As much as I like Anthony Adams and Matt Toeaina, their strengths are clearly stopping the run and occupying blockers to keep Urlacher/Briggs/Pisa clean to make plays. They both excel at doing this and the solid rush defense is evidence.

The problem is, that outside of Peppers, there isn't a consistent rusher on the roster. Some may say Izzy Idonije has the chance to develop into one, but the coaching staff has jerked him around so much over the last few seasons (changing positions, asking him to lose/gain weight) and severely stunted his development. I'm an Izzy guy, and I do think he has a chance to develop into a complete defensive end (he's already an above average run stopper) but until the staff leaves him at one position for an extended period, we wont ever know. The release of Marc Anderson could possibly be a sign that the staff will finally give Izzy the chance he's earned. If Izzy can continue to improve over the course of the season(he leads the Bears with 4 sacks through 6 games), then maybe the pass rush issues go away. But that's a lot to ask of a player who is getting his first real opportunity to learn and master a position.

This brings us back to Tommie. When Tommie was playing well, he could generate mass amounts of pressure through the "A" gap in the middle of the offensive line. It forced QB's and offensive coordinators to know whenever Tommie was on the field and adjust their blocking schemes to him. This would create 1 on 1 match ups for everyone else on the defensive line. Past players like Alex Brown, 'Wale Ogunleye and Anderson took advantage of these opportunities when Tommie was playing at a high level. But when Tommie plays like the overpriced sack of shit he is now, there is no threat from the interior lineman.

Until the Bears find an interior defensive lineman that can create a rush, offensive coordinators will continue to scheme double/triple teams toward Julius Peppers to neutralize him. This leaves 1 on 1 match ups for the rest of the lineman. Can the players on the roster win these 1 on 1 matchups? So far, no player outside of Izzy has. We can't expect Peppers to play at the level he has been performing at all season. He's going to have games like this last Sunday when he isn't going to have the enormous impact we've come to expect. Someone must take advantage or the Bears will revert back to the defensive form they have displayed the last 2+ seasons. Not good, not good at all.

Trent Dilfer: Big Douche or Biggest Douche Ever?

I have a problem (well many problems but let's stay focused). My problem is with ESPN "Analyst" Trent Dilfer. This clown is a cereal Bears hater and more specifically a Jay Cutler hater.

I live by the moto "to each his own." I could care less what your opinion is, but if you believe in it then stick to your guns. If your thing is to rip into a player or team any chance you get, go for it. I do this all the time, I'm as guilty as anyone but that is what makes America the best country in the world. You can say and write whatever the fuck you want about almost anything. I just used the word "fuck" in a sentence, THAT'S FUCKING AWESOME!

What I don't like about this is when doucher Trent Dilfer pounces on Jay Cutler whenever anything is wrong with the Bears. His latest gem:

"Jay Cutler was introduced to this offense last spring in organized training activities. He went through an entire training camp with it. He was force-fed all of the information by Mike Martz and shown clearly what this offense is about. They use complex protection schemes and utilize one back in the backfield most of the time. It puts a tremendous burden on the quarterback to know who's blocked and who's not blocked. Ultimately, it's Jay Cutler's responsibility, when secondary people are coming, he needs to know they're either being picked up by my offensive line and my backs, or I'm responsible for them with hot throws. Regardless of what the issue is, ultimately it falls on Jay Cutler to get the ball out of his hands and to prevent these sacks and the turnovers that come with them."

Listen here Difler, you were a terrible football player. I don't care that you were part of a Ravens team that won Super Bowl XXXV. As far as I'm concerned, you did next to nothing helping Ray of Light and the Ravens win that game. 12-25 for 153 yards would win you nothing without playing with the 2nd greatest single season defense of all time. All you did was not fuck things up, good for you. I bet the 29 other backup QB's in the league that year would have killed to be in your position. But I regress...

I'm not saying that terrible football players such as Dilfer are all bad analysts. There are loads of sub-par ex-football players that are enjoyable to listen to while breaking down a situation: Charles Davis, The Bears very own Tom Waddle, Mike Golic and Ron Jaworski are players that had varying levels of success in the league but are knowledgeable and present information as well as any analyst around. The afore mentioned analysts do not step out of their comfort zones and attempt to analyze situations they were never exposed to. Example: Tom Waddle is never going to tell you what it's like to have to work against bracket coverage on the outside like Randy Moss. Sure, he'll be able to explain the concepts of it but as we all know, Waddle excelled over the middle and was less of a downfield threat. If he wanted to tell me what it's like to have your bell rung going across the middle, the guy has vast experience doing that and you know he's speaking from real-life experience. Bottom line, you need to take everything these guys say with a grain of salt.

This brings me back to Dilfer. This guy has never know what it's like to be a QB that is counted on to win games and make everyone better. While I'm not disputing that it is ultimately Cutler's responsibility to know where pressure is coming from, the O-line and Mike Martz need to have idea as well. This last week there were at least 5 sacks that were a direct result of the outside tackle blocking down on a double team instead of picking up the blitzer coming free off the edge. The tackle needs to be more aware of possible pressure. Last week doesn't fall on Cutler. When you're forced to have to make plays for your team to be successful, you need to take chances and hold the ball to let receivers get open. You also need to be confident in knowing the O-line will be able to pick blitzers up. Last time I checked, all these offensive lineman were in mini/training camp as well and were "force fed" the offense just like Cutler. Don't pin all the blame on him. While I can admit he needs to do things better, this one is on the line and Martz.

Back To Work Wednesday

It's a back to work Wednesday at Halas Hall today. What are some of the biggest issues the Bears face this week as D. McNabb and the hogs from DC roll into the city of wind?

1. The offense must be in sync - The offensive line, Cutler and Martz must anticipate what the 'Skins will do on defense to confuse. Communication breakdowns that plagued the Bears against the Seahawks can not happen again. Here's to hoping that an additional week together for the O-Line will help the cause (doubtful)

2. Run the ball!!! - There needs to be more balance on offense. Martz must stick with the run game for longer than the first quarter. Let this line run block and get comfortable. Be patient and give Forte/Taylor a chance to wear the 'Skins down and hopefully it leads to a few big runs in the 2nd half

3. Keep McNabb contained in the pocket - The Mt. Carmel product still does his best work when flushed from the pocket. Too many times he'll break contain and is able to wing it downfield to a receiver behind the defense. Keep McNabb in the pocket and the receivers in front of the defense to limit big plays.