Week 6: Bears @ Arizona - Monday, Oct. 16th, 7:30 pm CT

[CubmanPi]

The game will be on during my bowling league, but everyone is religious about watching the Monday night game during league. I'll just have to watch with no sound, but knowing ESPN, that's probably a good thing.

[David]

BUMP - How is this not on the first page?

 

Are you ready for some MNF?

[CubmanPi]

BUMP - How is this not on the first page?

 

Are you ready for some MNF?

Let's hope slipping off the first page isn't the bad juju I thought it was. I would have done something about it, but I was running out of excuses for pointless posts.

 

Only one game left this week - let's see sexy Rexy and crew mow down one more roadblock.

[Fred Hornkohl]

BUMP - How is this not on the first page?

 

Are you ready for some MNF?

Let's hope slipping off the first page isn't the bad juju I thought it was. I would have done something about it, but I was running out of excuses for pointless posts.

 

Only one game left this week - let's see sexy Rexy and crew mow down one more roadblock.

 

Like that ever stopped you before !! :wink:

[CubmanPi]

BUMP - How is this not on the first page?

 

Are you ready for some MNF?

Let's hope slipping off the first page isn't the bad juju I thought it was. I would have done something about it, but I was running out of excuses for pointless posts.

 

Only one game left this week - let's see sexy Rexy and crew mow down one more roadblock.

 

Like that ever stopped you before !! :wink:

If it never stopped me before, my post count would be MUCH higher... say, somewhere around your level... :)

[CubColtPacer]

One quick fantasy request for tonight's game-and this isn't a stringent one. Please throw it to Muhammad a little more than last week-I need 18 yards and no fumbles out of him, or any length TD would do also. That's all I need-18 little yards!

[CubColtPacer]

BTW, since I know most of you don't read the Indy Star, here is a pretty decent article on Rex Grosssman from this morning's edition:

 

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061016/SPORTS0303/610160396/1004/SPORTS

[Banedon]

This is a really excellent excerpt from Peter Kings article today on CNNsi.com:

 

I think I hate to do this. I really do. We're in Week 6 of the football season, but I have to give some advice to Joe Torre and Brian Cashman right now, because they are decent men, even if they do work for the Evil Empire. Get in a car sometime this month, and drive 3½ hours up I-95 to Foxboro. Visit the Patriots. Or if you're inclined to go a place where you might be more invisible, fly to Chicago, rent a car and drive north to Lake Forest, where the Bears are headquartered. Learn how to build a winning team and how to navigate through the noise that disrupts every big-market team today.

 

Football isn't baseball, you'll argue. Football is the ultimate team game, and baseball is more of a stars' game. But the one thing all good baseball teams have is the one thing all good football teams have -- role players. Guys who don't need the credit and who don't earn the big money. In baseball, David Eckstein is a winning player, much the same as Mike Vrabel is. It wasn't so long ago that both of them were on the street. The best team in football right now is the Chicago Bears. Look at their roster. Ever hear of Bernard Berrian, Rashied Davis, Mark Anderson, Tank Johnson, Alfonso Boone or Jason McKie? Don't feel bad. Not many football fans have, either.

 

Those are six of the 25 or 30 most important players on the team rampaging its way through the NFL right now. I'm guessing their combined salaries equal one month of Alex Rodriguez's. This is what Bears GM Jerry Angelo told me the other day: "One of the things I learned from the Patriots and Steelers in the last few years is they lost more than they gained in free agency, and they never were worried about it. They drafted rank-and-file players, developed them, were patient with them, knew the exact roles they wanted them to play and put them in those roles. Dan Graham, Asante Samuel, Eugene Wilson ... are any of them stars? No. Are they Patriots players? Yes. And that's all they care about.''

 

Before this season, Angelo was assailed for not getting a big-name receiver in free agency. He was in the game for Antwaan Randle El but didn't think he was worth $6 million a year, and lost him to Washington. "I got hammered by the local media for not getting a good receiver,'' he said, "but I said, 'Guys, we've got good receivers here. They fit the profile of what we want in a receiver.' But because we'd done a poor job of stabilizing the quarterback position, you couldn't tell what we had at receiver. We'd gone for five years playing three or four quarterbacks almost every year. How do you know if your receivers are any good? They never work with the same quarterback. Now that we've had Rex for an offseason and he's been healthy for the regular season, now we can judge the receivers. And what we have is pretty good.'' To say the least. It's a lesson for all other franchises, regardless of the sport.

 

The Cubs could use the same advice.

[UMFan83]

 

Those are six of the 25 or 30 most important players on the team rampaging its way through the NFL right now. I'm guessing their combined salaries equal one month of Alex Rodriguez's. This is what Bears GM Jerry Angelo told me the other day: "One of the things I learned from the Patriots and Steelers in the last few years is they lost more than they gained in free agency, and they never were worried about it. They drafted rank-and-file players, developed them, were patient with them, knew the exact roles they wanted them to play and put them in those roles. Dan Graham, Asante Samuel, Eugene Wilson ... are any of them stars? No. Are they Patriots players? Yes. And that's all they care about.''

 

 

Goodbye Lance Briggs

[Banedon]

 

Those are six of the 25 or 30 most important players on the team rampaging its way through the NFL right now. I'm guessing their combined salaries equal one month of Alex Rodriguez's. This is what Bears GM Jerry Angelo told me the other day: "One of the things I learned from the Patriots and Steelers in the last few years is they lost more than they gained in free agency, and they never were worried about it. They drafted rank-and-file players, developed them, were patient with them, knew the exact roles they wanted them to play and put them in those roles. Dan Graham, Asante Samuel, Eugene Wilson ... are any of them stars? No. Are they Patriots players? Yes. And that's all they care about.''

 

 

Goodbye Lance Briggs

 

If the price isn't right, you're probably right.

[Soriano12]

 

Those are six of the 25 or 30 most important players on the team rampaging its way through the NFL right now. I'm guessing their combined salaries equal one month of Alex Rodriguez's. This is what Bears GM Jerry Angelo told me the other day: "One of the things I learned from the Patriots and Steelers in the last few years is they lost more than they gained in free agency, and they never were worried about it. They drafted rank-and-file players, developed them, were patient with them, knew the exact roles they wanted them to play and put them in those roles. Dan Graham, Asante Samuel, Eugene Wilson ... are any of them stars? No. Are they Patriots players? Yes. And that's all they care about.''

 

 

Goodbye Lance Briggs

 

Hello Rufus Alexander.

 

btw, I heard Ogun is sitting this game out.

 

Put Anderson down for 2 more sacks.

[David]

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061016/SPORTS0303/610160396/1100/SPORTS03

 

Cool hometown type article on Grossman.

 

Couple of parts I liked...

 

Grossman goes back to his summertime chats with Turner.

"He told me once, 'Barry Bonds only swings if it's a strike,' " Grossman recalled. " 'That's how he hits balls out of the park.'

"When the play's not there, check it down."

 

I'm sure most here will appreciate that sentiment. :)

 

They didn't want to be on the same page or even the same paragraph. They wanted to be on the same line. That's where they were during the Seattle game, when the audio receiver in Grossman's helmet went dead and he couldn't get Turner's play call.

Grossman, a mobile, 6-1, 217-pounder, looked at down and distance. He considered his personnel group. He called the play.

"It was the same play I was trying to call to him," Turner said. "This is the first time he's had the same coordinator, the same system. That's the biggest thing, just being familiar with the system."

 

Hadn't heard about this. Pretty cool.

 

Edit - My bad, just saw that CubColtPacer had already posted it. I'll leave the post in for the excerpts.

[USSoccer]

Prediction Time!

 

Cardinals win 24-21.

 

Leinart gets decent protection from their O-line and has a 2nd good game as Arizona steps up for national TV. The Bears secondary gets burnt for over 200 yards, and the front 7 get no real pressure on Leinart.

 

Offensively, Grossman has a decent game, but throws a crucial pick deep in Bears territory leading to a 'Zona TD. The running game struggles, and a late drive for a tying FG ends when Gould misses his 2nd of the night from 42.

 

reverse jinx

[Banedon]

Bears 28 Cards 6

[Mark Priors Calves]

This is a really excellent excerpt from Peter Kings article today on CNNsi.com:

 

Its very strange to see the Bears being credited as a great organization like the Patriots or Yankees. It seems the Bears have been run by a bunch of morons who had no clue how to run a organization. The McCaskey's a barometer of success in professional sports? Its definitely a nice change.

[goonys evil twin]

This is a really excellent excerpt from Peter Kings article today on CNNsi.com:

 

Its very strange to see the Bears being credited as a great organization like the Patriots or Yankees. It seems the Bears have been run by a bunch of morons who had no clue how to run a organization. The McCaskey's a barometer of success in professional sports? Its definitely a nice change.

 

Once Virginia took family members out of the daily operations, thinks have gone well. Ted Phillips is looking like a fantastic sports executive.

 

Got the stadium.

Straightened out a defunct team.

Got a good GM and stood by him through rough patches.

[Banedon]

This is a really excellent excerpt from Peter Kings article today on CNNsi.com:

 

Its very strange to see the Bears being credited as a great organization like the Patriots or Yankees. It seems the Bears have been run by a bunch of morons who had no clue how to run a organization. The McCaskey's a barometer of success in professional sports? Its definitely a nice change.

 

I don't think you can really credit the McCaskey's as much as Angelo though. The McCaskeys had made a ton of terrible moves before Angelo came in and slowly turned this franchise into what it is now.

[Mark Priors Calves]

This is a really excellent excerpt from Peter Kings article today on CNNsi.com:

 

Its very strange to see the Bears being credited as a great organization like the Patriots or Yankees. It seems the Bears have been run by a bunch of morons who had no clue how to run a organization. The McCaskey's a barometer of success in professional sports? Its definitely a nice change.

 

Once Virginia took family members out of the daily operations, thinks have gone well. Ted Phillips is looking like a fantastic sports executive.

 

Got the stadium.

Straightened out a defunct team.

Got a good GM and stood by him through rough patches.

 

Agreed. Getting Mike McCaskey out of the day to day running of the Bears was vital for any success. I have a few friends that work for the Bears and they both have said the McCaskey's are constantly cutting corners with costs and don't make decisions based on whats best for the organization but rather keeping the costs down. I can live with that as long as the product on the field isn't suffering. As we know, right now, its far from suffering.

[CP_414]

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061016/SPORTS0303/610160396/1100/SPORTS03

 

Cool hometown type article on Grossman.

 

Couple of parts I liked...

 

Grossman goes back to his summertime chats with Turner.

"He told me once, 'Barry Bonds only swings if it's a strike,' " Grossman recalled. " 'That's how he hits balls out of the park.'

"When the play's not there, check it down."

 

I'm sure most here will appreciate that sentiment. :)

 

They didn't want to be on the same page or even the same paragraph. They wanted to be on the same line. That's where they were during the Seattle game, when the audio receiver in Grossman's helmet went dead and he couldn't get Turner's play call.

Grossman, a mobile, 6-1, 217-pounder, looked at down and distance. He considered his personnel group. He called the play.

"It was the same play I was trying to call to him," Turner said. "This is the first time he's had the same coordinator, the same system. That's the biggest thing, just being familiar with the system."

 

Hadn't heard about this. Pretty cool.

 

Edit - My bad, just saw that CubColtPacer had already posted it. I'll leave the post in for the excerpts.

 

Ron Turner for Cubs Hitting Coach!

[cubweiser03]

I want the Bears to crush the cardinals and Leinart on national tv. But i understand this is the NFL and blowing out teams each and every week is hard as hell. Winning aint easy, heck 9-7 gets you in the playoffs. Winning tonight is all that matters.

[Banedon]

The roof will be open tonight for the first time barring unforseen circumstances. No rain in the forecast. It's 77 degrees in Phoenix right now. Low overnight of 66.

[Balsa]

ARGH Let's get started I need a win to balance out the hiring of Lout Piniella.

[UMFan83]

A bad win or a loss could really damage all the national respect we've accumulated in the last 3 weeks....but to me a win is a win. Just win boys.

[Chocolate Milk]

This one could get ugly, folks.

[goonys evil twin]

Mortsenson sounds drunk on ESPN right now.