Week 12: Bears at New England - Sunday, Nov 26, 3 pm CST

[RynoRules]

And someone please beat Joe Buck up.

 

(I am not really advocating that; just a fantasy)

[sherwood921]

I hate ESPN. Jaws just said "like always, the Patriots managed the ball the right way at the end of the game"

 

no they didn't...they fumbled it away

[CaliforniaRaisin]

The Bears have 5 weeks against some weak offenses to repair this defense. They can't rely on turnovers, especially ones that shouldn't have been made.

 

I'm more worried about that and the coaching (mostly the RB situation) than Grossman.

 

I'm starting to worry about Grossman too because he has had mechanical problems for a few weeks and it doesn't appear to be improving. At this point, I don't trust the coaching staff at all.

[Soul]

The schedule looks very favorable for us here on out. It's:

 

Vikes

Rams (road)

Bucs

Lions (road)

Packers

 

I just hope a game like this doesn't carry over. Because the game was there to win, we just didn't get it done.

 

In one sense, I'm happy we were able to trade blows with the Pats on the road and only get beat by 4. On the other hand though, it's really tough to lose when you know you could win it. And I sooooo wanted Rex to perform and shut up Joe Buck and his army of Bear-haters. But it just didn't happen.

[Soul]

What does Benson have to due to get to run the ball 25 times a game?

 

At this stage, block better and become a better rec. out of the backfield.

 

Imo, he's a better blocker than Jones already.

 

At contact, they're pretty close, as far as knowing which guy to pick up and when to chip a guy, I think Jones has a better concept when to leak out of the backfield.

 

I agree that Jones has a better concept of what to do...but his execution is lacking compared to Benson and Benson is starting to pick up the intricacies a lot more.

 

Jones will never run over a safety like Benson did on that one run.

 

Benson appears to have more burst coming through the line too. Jones is shifty, but he has never had a 2nd gear.

 

IMO, the quicker we can go 100% Benson, the better we are going to be in the running game. No offense to TJ because I appreciate what he has done, but Benson is the superior back.

[Jon]

The Bears have 5 weeks against some weak offenses to repair this defense. They can't rely on turnovers, especially ones that shouldn't have been made.

 

I'm more worried about that and the coaching (mostly the RB situation) than Grossman.

 

I'm starting to worry about Grossman too because he has had mechanical problems for a few weeks and it doesn't appear to be improving. At this point, I don't trust the coaching staff at all.

The last adjustments he made when this came up seemed to work.

 

Let's not forget that he was throwing the ball with an injured wrist.

 

They've got five weeks against some bad teams. They can't afford to lose HFA, but that shouldn't be an issue.

[Jon]

What does Benson have to due to get to run the ball 25 times a game?

 

At this stage, block better and become a better rec. out of the backfield.

 

Imo, he's a better blocker than Jones already.

 

At contact, they're pretty close, as far as knowing which guy to pick up and when to chip a guy, I think Jones has a better concept when to leak out of the backfield.

 

I agree that Jones has a better concept of what to do...but his execution is lacking compared to Benson and Benson is starting to pick up the intricacies a lot more.

 

Jones will never run over a safety like Benson did on that one run.

 

Benson appears to have more burst coming through the line too. Jones is shifty, but he has never had a 2nd gear.

 

IMO, the quicker we can go 100% Benson, the better we are going to be in the running game. No offense to TJ because I appreciate what he has done, but Benson is the superior back.

Even on nice runs where he gets some open space, there's still way too much dancing. It's like he doesn't have the ability to just turn it on and head up field.

[Soul]

Just watching Briggs being interviewed on Comcast. It's really hard to accept that he isn't going to be a Bear next year.

 

That man IS a Bear, through and through. Seeing him play for another club next year is going to be like watching your wife get borked by another man.

[UK1679666180]

Just watching Briggs being interviewed on Comcast. It's really hard to accept that he isn't going to be a Bear next year.

 

That man IS a Bear, through and through. Seeing him play for another club next year is going to be like watching your wife get borked by another man.

 

The Bears better draft an OLB 1st next April.

Edited November 27, 2006 by UK

[sherwood921]

No need to freak out about Rex, If he throw that ball a foot or two over and Davis comes down with it, everyone praises him and Turner about a great call and great execution. It was there, just didn't hit. Face it, the deep ball is a key part of our offense. It's not going to hit every time, but do we want to go back to the days of Shoop and nothing but screen passes for no gain?

[Balsa]

its a crappy loss but if someone told us that they would take 2 of 3 this road trip, we wouldve taken it without a second thought

 

Bingo. Let's see how they look next week before pushing the panic button. They did a nice job coming back after the Miami loss.

 

Did we really expect them to go undefeated; to sweep 3 straight East Coast roadies?

 

Grossman has his issues; but let's wait and see.

Agreed again. The Grossman haters will ride hard this week, but really, what can you accomplish by playing Greise? Greise was there as a BACKUP in case Grossman got hurt. Until that time I would be very disappointed with the coaching staff if they listened to the talk radio junk and benched Grossman. Grossman is the future, and he's showed a hell of a lot of promise in his first full year.

 

We took down two tough New York teams, and lost to one of the best teams in the NFL, and a 3 time Superbowl QB. Their defense is stellar, and they were playing at home. I'm not saying there weren't things that went wrong, but I'm very far from the panic button.

[jjgman21]

I hate ESPN. Jaws just said "like always, the Patriots managed the ball the right way at the end of the game"

 

no they didn't...they fumbled it away

 

threw an incomplete pass. receiver ran out of bounds when didn't have to.

 

yes. masterful job.

[Soul]

No need to freak out about Rex, If he throw that ball a foot or two over and Davis comes down with it, everyone praises him and Turner about a great call and great execution. It was there, just didn't hit. Face it, the deep ball is a key part of our offense. It's not going to hit every time, but do we want to go back to the days of Shoop and nothing but screen passes for no gain?

 

No. Just want to see better accuracy and fewer interceptions, that's all.

[oldstyle81]

its a crappy loss but if someone told us that they would take 2 of 3 this road trip, we wouldve taken it without a second thought

 

Bingo. Let's see how they look next week before pushing the panic button. They did a nice job coming back after the Miami loss.

 

Did we really expect them to go undefeated; to sweep 3 straight East Coast roadies?

 

Grossman has his issues; but let's wait and see.

 

yeah if the vikings were 9-1 and won then id be very upset but they are still what 5-6 or something

 

 

and a loss for grossman might do more than playing crap and still winning

Edited November 27, 2006 by oldstyle81

[Jon]

In terms of Rex, let's also not forget the non-calls on the PIs in the first half.

 

The fumble really hurt, but I'd put that under the "one of those things" category. I don't think it's part of a larger problem, especially considering his wrist injury.

[soccer10k]

Just watching Briggs being interviewed on Comcast. It's really hard to accept that he isn't going to be a Bear next year.

 

That man IS a Bear, through and through. Seeing him play for another club next year is going to be like watching your wife get borked by another man.

 

Can you explain why he won't be around next year for those of us who don't follow the Bears as close as you do?

[Jon]

Just watching Briggs being interviewed on Comcast. It's really hard to accept that he isn't going to be a Bear next year.

 

That man IS a Bear, through and through. Seeing him play for another club next year is going to be like watching your wife get borked by another man.

 

Can you explain why he won't be around next year for those of us who don't follow the Bears as close as you do?

Negotiations broke down after he stood by his demands for Urlacher money.

[HerbalK]

its a crappy loss but if someone told us that they would take 2 of 3 this road trip, we wouldve taken it without a second thought

 

Bingo. Let's see how they look next week before pushing the panic button. They did a nice job coming back after the Miami loss.

 

Did we really expect them to go undefeated; to sweep 3 straight East Coast roadies?

 

Grossman has his issues; but let's wait and see.

Agreed again. The Grossman haters will ride hard this week, but really, what can you accomplish by playing Greise? Greise was there as a BACKUP in case Grossman got hurt. Until that time I would be very disappointed with the coaching staff if they listened to the talk radio junk and benched Grossman. Grossman is the future, and he's showed a hell of a lot of promise in his first full year.

 

We took down two tough New York teams, and lost to one of the best teams in the NFL, and a 3 time Superbowl QB. Their defense is stellar, and they were playing at home. I'm not saying there weren't things that went wrong, but I'm very far from the panic button.

 

Great post, and I agree completely with everything you said.

[CDBears1259]

Just watching Briggs being interviewed on Comcast. It's really hard to accept that he isn't going to be a Bear next year.

 

That man IS a Bear, through and through. Seeing him play for another club next year is going to be like watching your wife get borked by another man.

 

Can you explain why he won't be around next year for those of us who don't follow the Bears as close as you do?

Negotiations broke down after he stood by his demands for Urlacher money.

 

I know it's unlikely that he'll be retained, but does the fact that negotiations brokedown mean that they can't resolve their differences and come back to the table and iron out a contract? I'm not asking to be a smart butt (well kinda, maybe? :P ), but I didn't follow the media regarding the situation so I don't if the negotiations were particularly contentious .

[Soul]

Just watching Briggs being interviewed on Comcast. It's really hard to accept that he isn't going to be a Bear next year.

 

That man IS a Bear, through and through. Seeing him play for another club next year is going to be like watching your wife get borked by another man.

 

Can you explain why he won't be around next year for those of us who don't follow the Bears as close as you do?

Negotiations broke down after he stood by his demands for Urlacher money.

 

Yes, and I would add that Angelo has said there won't be a bigger offer forthcoming (biggest was $5.5mil/yr IIRC). And given the other players who need to be signed, most of the so-called Chicago Bears "experts" have speculated that the Bears will not have the freedom under the cap to keep Briggs.

[Soul]

Just watching Briggs being interviewed on Comcast. It's really hard to accept that he isn't going to be a Bear next year.

 

That man IS a Bear, through and through. Seeing him play for another club next year is going to be like watching your wife get borked by another man.

 

Can you explain why he won't be around next year for those of us who don't follow the Bears as close as you do?

Negotiations broke down after he stood by his demands for Urlacher money.

 

I know it's unlikely that he'll be retained, but does the fact that negotiations brokedown mean that they can't resolve their differences and come back to the table and iron out a contract? I'm not asking to be a smart butt (well kinda, maybe? :P ), but I didn't follow the media regarding the situation so I don't if the negotiations were particularly contentious .

 

It's Rosenhaus.

 

And Rosenhaus has said it will take Urlacher money. Briggs is certainly turning in the kind of year that will have many teams salivating at making him the center-point of their LB corps.

[Jon]

Tommie Harris, Tillman, and Vasher haven't exactly been making it an easy decision for Angelo lately, though.

[USSoccer]

This is what happens when you are developing a QB. He's going to crap the bed against a really good team on the road.

 

He made the right reads most of the game. Samuel jumped 2 routes and all 3 INT's were thrown slightly off of where they should have been. He didn't heave up prayers to DB's. He tried to make plays and NE's D made better plays.

 

Lovie is saying all the right things about staying with Rex, and I hope he holds true to that. Few QB's don't go through growing pains. If the Bears are smart, they'll deal with them now in order to have a above average QB in the future.

 

Playing Griese does nothing. Behind this offensive line, he might get killed. Rex was "hurried" about 20 times in this game and hit hard about 10. Griese somehow has poorer mobility than Rex does. Griese can't throw deep, so DB's will sit on short routes and the running game will be less effective. We might win games against crap teams 13-3, but Griese isn't going to win you a Super Bowl. Rex could win one or lose one.

 

I'd take the guy who can win one over the guy who can't any day.

[jjgman21]

if I recall correctly, the Bears were really high on the linebacker they drafted in the lower rounds who was then injured in I think the last pre-season game. he's expected to make a strong return. maybe he will be to Briggs as Briggs was to Colvin.

 

although I wish Briggs would take the Colvin route and take a little less money to play for a great team. I don't see it happening though.

[Soriano12]

Ron Turner sucks. Sucks major.