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

[Soriano12]

The lack of the shotgun is driving me nuts. I don't want to live and die by it, but considering we've seen it only twice the whole freakin' year is ridiculous. Sure seemed to work alright for the Pats today. Mix it up!

 

Get used to it. Ron Turner is a terrible coach. He absorbed alot of the Wanny stink during the 90's, then ran the U of I football program into the ground.

He is not the answer as our offensive coordinator.

 

His gameplan was fine today IMO. It was lack of execution. We can't block blitzes (a problem all year), and Rex was incredibly inaccurate.

 

Being an NFL coordinator has little to do with head coaching a Big 10 school, so I'm not sure why you keep bringing up Ron Turner's U of I record. Turner actually did what few other U of I coaches have ever done---win a Big 10 title, so even if it was a valid comparison which it isn't, it still wouldn't make sense.

 

We can't block blitzes? So find a workaround....shotgun, no-huddle, roll the pocket. Turner is a hack.

[Soul]

The lack of the shotgun is driving me nuts. I don't want to live and die by it, but considering we've seen it only twice the whole freakin' year is ridiculous. Sure seemed to work alright for the Pats today. Mix it up!

 

Get used to it. Ron Turner is a terrible coach. He absorbed alot of the Wanny stink during the 90's, then ran the U of I football program into the ground.

He is not the answer as our offensive coordinator.

 

His gameplan was fine today IMO. It was lack of execution. We can't block blitzes (a problem all year), and Rex was incredibly inaccurate.

 

Being an NFL coordinator has little to do with head coaching a Big 10 school, so I'm not sure why you keep bringing up Ron Turner's U of I record. Turner actually did what few other U of I coaches have ever done---win a Big 10 title, so even if it was a valid comparison which it isn't, it still wouldn't make sense.

 

We can't block blitzes? So find a workaround....shotgun, no-huddle, roll the pocket. Turner is a hack.

 

You could just block the blitz better, too. Grossman also hasn't been able to throw well under pressure, which we all know.

 

I'd like to see more shotgun too, however.

[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 .

 

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.

 

I understand that, but don't forget that Briggs is Rosenhaus' boss. If Briggs wants to remain a Bear it's up to him.

[Soriano12]

The lack of the shotgun is driving me nuts. I don't want to live and die by it, but considering we've seen it only twice the whole freakin' year is ridiculous. Sure seemed to work alright for the Pats today. Mix it up!

 

Get used to it. Ron Turner is a terrible coach. He absorbed alot of the Wanny stink during the 90's, then ran the U of I football program into the ground.

He is not the answer as our offensive coordinator.

 

His gameplan was fine today IMO. It was lack of execution. We can't block blitzes (a problem all year), and Rex was incredibly inaccurate.

 

Being an NFL coordinator has little to do with head coaching a Big 10 school, so I'm not sure why you keep bringing up Ron Turner's U of I record. Turner actually did what few other U of I coaches have ever done---win a Big 10 title, so even if it was a valid comparison which it isn't, it still wouldn't make sense.

 

We can't block blitzes? So find a workaround....shotgun, no-huddle, roll the pocket. Turner is a hack.

 

You could just block the blitz better, too. Grossman also hasn't been able to throw well under pressure, which we all know.

 

I'd like to see more shotgun too, however.

 

Not just more gun, try a few rollouts, even a no-huddle set.(that slows down a blitzing Defense damn nearly every time).

It is pretty pathetic as well that Benson only got 3 second half carries today. He was simply truckin New Englands D. Turner is holding back this team, not helping it.

[ConstableRabbit]

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.

 

Preach it.

 

Seconded

 

He showed a lot of promise his first 5 weeks, and since then has mostly sucked

 

Those 4th quarter stats they flashed tonight for him were kind of not good.

He didn't play/didn't have to try in the 4th quarter of five of those games. Against Minnesota, he still led the winning TD drive. Against Arizona, he was in gunslinger mode (partly a fault of the play calling). Agianst Miami, he had no choice but to put it up in the air at the end.

 

He then played well against the Giants and wasn't given the opportunity to play well against the Jets (but didn't play poorly). And then this game.

 

Beat me to it Jon, great post.

 

Networks love to show 4th quarter stats but at the end of the day, each quarter counts the same and you have to look at the situation at hand.

 

That being said, he's going to have to work on not relying on throws off of his back foot. It's going to continue to get him into trouble as the season progresses and we really can't continue to give up the ball if we're going to win the SB.

[CubsInNC]

The lack of the shotgun is driving me nuts. I don't want to live and die by it, but considering we've seen it only twice the whole freakin' year is ridiculous. Sure seemed to work alright for the Pats today. Mix it up!

 

Get used to it. Ron Turner is a terrible coach. He absorbed alot of the Wanny stink during the 90's, then ran the U of I football program into the ground.

He is not the answer as our offensive coordinator.

 

His gameplan was fine today IMO. It was lack of execution. We can't block blitzes (a problem all year), and Rex was incredibly inaccurate.

 

Being an NFL coordinator has little to do with head coaching a Big 10 school, so I'm not sure why you keep bringing up Ron Turner's U of I record. Turner actually did what few other U of I coaches have ever done---win a Big 10 title, so even if it was a valid comparison which it isn't, it still wouldn't make sense.

 

We can't block blitzes? So find a workaround....shotgun, no-huddle, roll the pocket. Turner is a hack.

 

You could just block the blitz better, too. Grossman also hasn't been able to throw well under pressure, which we all know.

 

I'd like to see more shotgun too, however.

 

Didn't they say in the game w/ the Giants, that Rex had been against it? something about him saying he didn't feel comfortable with it? The O-Line (led by Kreutz) if I'm recalling correctly led the pleas for it though.

 

As for DCF... is there an ignore poster function associated with Premium? :P

[CaliforniaRaisin]

What are the ramifications of slamming a franchise tag on Briggs?

 

Ummmm, I think he gets guaranteed to be top 5 salary at his position. Then if anyone wants him, they must send 2 1st round picks our way.

 

I know Angelo doesn't like the franchise tag, but I would seriously seriously consider it in this case. Briggs is extremely good, and he's as good as gone after the season.

 

If that's the case, I'd be all over the franchise tag.

 

The only other player up for FA in the next few years who'd be worth the franchise tag is Tommie Harris.

[Soriano12]

The lack of the shotgun is driving me nuts. I don't want to live and die by it, but considering we've seen it only twice the whole freakin' year is ridiculous. Sure seemed to work alright for the Pats today. Mix it up!

 

Get used to it. Ron Turner is a terrible coach. He absorbed alot of the Wanny stink during the 90's, then ran the U of I football program into the ground.

He is not the answer as our offensive coordinator.

 

His gameplan was fine today IMO. It was lack of execution. We can't block blitzes (a problem all year), and Rex was incredibly inaccurate.

 

Being an NFL coordinator has little to do with head coaching a Big 10 school, so I'm not sure why you keep bringing up Ron Turner's U of I record. Turner actually did what few other U of I coaches have ever done---win a Big 10 title, so even if it was a valid comparison which it isn't, it still wouldn't make sense.

 

We can't block blitzes? So find a workaround....shotgun, no-huddle, roll the pocket. Turner is a hack.

 

You could just block the blitz better, too. Grossman also hasn't been able to throw well under pressure, which we all know.

 

I'd like to see more shotgun too, however.

 

Didn't they say in the game w/ the Giants, that Rex had been against it? something about him saying he didn't feel comfortable with it? The O-Line (led by Kreutz) if I'm recalling correctly led the pleas for it though.

 

As for DCF... is there an ignore poster function associated with Premium? :P

 

Most people choose to debate disagreements vs. hiding behind the "I'm ingoring you crutch"...but to each their own.

[Jon]

It's also worth noting that the last time Angelo met with Rosenhaus to talk a few weeks ago, Briggs didn't even come up.

[USSoccer]

As an aside, did anyone see Rex's answer to a question about the fumbled snap? He looked right ticked, and wouldn't talk about it other than to call it the "center quarterback exchange play".

 

I wonder if he was ticked at Kreutz

[Soul]

Not just more gun, try a few rollouts, even a no-huddle set.(that slows down a blitzing Defense damn nearly every time).

It is pretty pathetic as well that Benson only got 3 second half carries today. He was simply truckin New Englands D. Turner is holding back this team, not helping it.

 

Hey I'm not saying the guy is perfect, but I think you're making some assumptions about the level of control he has, what he is trying to accomplish, the personnel he has to work with......even Bears tradition.

 

It's like saying Rivera has ultimate control over the defense. That's just not the case. It all stops with Lovie, not Turner. I remember Ron running some shotgun at U of I, so I know he doesn't have a problem with it.

 

Grossman's legs really, really suck so expecting big time rollouts I don't think is realistic. A few maybe. But only a few.

 

If anything the guy just needs to stick with the damn run when he knows it's working.

 

Anyway, a 9-2 ballclub and you want to fire the coordinator? Shame.

[Soriano12]

Grossman's legs really, really suck so expecting big time rollouts I don't think is realistic. A few maybe. But only a few.

 

 

Are they really that bad? Granted he is not feet of foot but I remember that Minny game this year Grossman rolled out, was heading out of bounds and made an amazing throw on the run. He can move when he needs to.

 

The bottom line is teams from now on are gonna send the house vs Grossman, and the Bears must adjust. Turner has not shown that he can counter this. He has the tools. Grossman in the shotgun and a quick hitch to Bradley, run a few series of no-huddles, roll the pocket...this will all slow down the blizt, I don't care who the QB is.

[Soul]

Grossman's legs really, really suck so expecting big time rollouts I don't think is realistic. A few maybe. But only a few.

 

 

Are they really that bad? Granted he is not feet of foot but I remember that Minny game this year Grossman rolled out, was heading out of bounds and made an amazing throw on the run. He can move when he needs to.

 

The bottom line is teams from now on are gonna send the house vs Grossman, and the Bears must adjust. Turner has not shown that he can counter this. He has the tools. Grossman in the shotgun and a quick hitch to Bradley, run a few series of no-huddles, roll the pocket...this will all slow down the blizt, I don't care who the QB is.

 

I liked what Turner did vs. the Jets. They brought the house too, and we just ran it down their throats all day and won a low scoring game. The big play was a one-off hitch to Bradley against----suprise----a full-on blitz and the Jets were completely fooled.

 

We can win those low-scorers all year if we have to. In fact, that's how Angelo built the team.

[Soriano12]

I liked what Turner did vs. the Jets.

 

So do i. But the Patriots are a superior team to the Jets. To win a SB, we have to find a way to counter what these elite teams throw at us defensivly.

[Jon]

I liked what Turner did vs. the Jets.

 

So do i. But the Patriots are a superior team to the Jets. To win a SB, we have to find a way to counter what these elite teams throw at us defensivly.

I don't think the Patriots are that much better than the Jets. And the Jets did win at NE.

 

I didn't like what they did against the Jets because they overcompensated too much. But at least Turner realized that.

 

We can worry about a SB if they get there. The Bears won't face any elite teams before that point and certainly none on the road. They have time to improve what they do and not worry about adjusting to the competition. That will only make them better if the do face a good team in the SB.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

"I said this earlier today and I'll say it again: He's the best quarterback I've had since I've been here. And I'm talking about head and shoulders above everybody else. Talk about him if you want to, [but] he's that good."

—Center Olin Kreutz on Rex Grossman

[Derwood]

The Bears were the NFL equivalent of Penn State today. Great defense, okay running, and a quarterback who can't throw under pressure. You hold the Pats to 17 and force 5 turnovers and you should feel good about winning.

[Flames24Rulz]

"I said this earlier today and I'll say it again: He's the best quarterback I've had since I've been here. And I'm talking about head and shoulders above everybody else. Talk about him if you want to, [but] he's that good."

—Center Olin Kreutz on Rex Grossman

 

Well that's pretty obvious. He's had the likes of Matthews, Chandler, Miller, Krenzel, Orton, and Burris as QBs on the same team as him. I would hope that a first round draft pick could be better than any of those guys.

 

I have a friend who is a Bucs fan who thinks Griese absolutely sucks. Grossman gives you guys the best chance to win out of the 3 QBs that the Bears have.

[Soriano12]

"I said this earlier today and I'll say it again: He's the best quarterback I've had since I've been here. And I'm talking about head and shoulders above everybody else. Talk about him if you want to, [but] he's that good."

—Center Olin Kreutz on Rex Grossman

 

Well that's pretty obvious. He's had the likes of Matthews, Chandler, Miller, Krenzel, Orton, and Burris as QBs on the same team as him. I would hope that a first round draft pick could be better than any of those guys.

 

I have a friend who is a Bucs fan who thinks Griese absolutely sucks. Grossman gives you guys the best chance to win out of the 3 QBs that the Bears have.

 

So many people want Rex benched, how would a less mobile Griese do any better vs teams that blitz the house? Not better, probably worse is my guess.

[Keener98]

M aybe this has already been mentioned but why in the hell did they kick the pointless field goal? If they go for it and dont get it, then the Pats are still pinned back, so why not take the chance? Stupid pointless fieldgoal.

They needed two scores anyway?

 

The field goal Im talking about was in the 4th quarter with 3 mins left in the game. They were down 17-10 and on the 20 or so. If they go for the 4th and 7(i think) and they get it, then they more than likely score a TD to tie the game. If they miss it they essentially do what they did by kicking a field goal and put NE pushed back. So what really was the point of the field goal? Did Lovie actually think they could stop them and then get the ball with around 2 mins left or so and drive the field? If so hes an idiot, cause all day long the Bears needed long 10 plus play drives to move the ball to the other end. So if you are already in the red zone then just go for it plain and simple.

[Butterscup1679666578]

"I said this earlier today and I'll say it again: He's the best quarterback I've had since I've been here. And I'm talking about head and shoulders above everybody else. Talk about him if you want to, [but] he's that good."

—Center Olin Kreutz on Rex Grossman

 

Well that's pretty obvious. He's had the likes of Matthews, Chandler, Miller, Krenzel, Orton, and Burris as QBs on the same team as him. I would hope that a first round draft pick could be better than any of those guys.

 

I have a friend who is a Bucs fan who thinks Griese absolutely sucks. Grossman gives you guys the best chance to win out of the 3 QBs that the Bears have.

 

So many people want Rex benched, how would a less mobile Griese do any better vs teams that blitz the house? Not better, probably worse is my guess.

 

Being mobile isn't all it takes to beat the blitz. Good vision, a quick release, and ability to read where the blitz is coming from are all more important than being mobile. Dan Marino wasn't going to outrun anyone, but you'd be hard pressed to sack him because of those three things.

[Guest]

brian griese is not good.

[Careless]

Granted he is not feet of foot

:D

[Careless]

 

Being mobile isn't all it takes to beat the blitz. Good vision, a quick release, and ability to read where the blitz is coming from are all more important than being mobile. Dan Marino wasn't going to outrun anyone, but you'd be hard pressed to sack him because of those three things.

Yes it is, vick never gets sacked

[ChiCubsFan]

brian griese is not good.

 

Very true. I think people forget this fact at times. Rex needs to stop trying to constantly go downfield. Way too many balls up for grab. Berrian is a good big play receiver but he isn't going to dominate 1 on 1 jump balls like Randy Moss (before he stopped caring) or TO (before he forgot how to catch a football) do/did.