Divisional Round: Bears vs. Seahawks - Sun Jan 14, 12 pm CST

[USSoccer]

 

I'm with raw, hoping for Sunday.

 

What kind of Bears fan allows their kids' baptism to be scheduled on a potential playoff day?

 

My wife decided to schedule it around a weekend where I had some family in from out of town. Problem is, no one consulted me when it came to this whole thing. When it finally dawned on me that they were potentially on the same date, it was too late.

 

I've done everything I can to try and minimize the chances that I'm going to either miss part of the game, or having to DVR it and risk some goof telling me the score, but it's really going to hinge on the date and time of the game.

[Banedon]

ESPN has a poll asking if Griese or Grossman gives the Bears a better shot at the superbowl. Griese has 57% of the vote after about 850 votes.

[goonys evil twin]

 

I'm with raw, hoping for Sunday.

 

What kind of Bears fan allows their kids' baptism to be scheduled on a potential playoff day?

 

My wife decided to schedule it around a weekend where I had some family in from out of town. Problem is, no one consulted me when it came to this whole thing. When it finally dawned on me that they were potentially on the same date, it was too late.

 

I've done everything I can to try and minimize the chances that I'm going to either miss part of the game, or having to DVR it and risk some goof telling me the score, but it's really going to hinge on the date and time of the game.

 

divorce

[Jon]

The Dolphins have received permission to interview both Turner and Rivera.

[goonys evil twin]

The Dolphins have received permission to interview both Turner and Rivera.

 

I've been wondering when Turner's name would come up. I doubt he gets a gig. But if it wasn't for the Grossman setback games this year, he'd be a big time candidate. His failures at Illinois will hurt him, as will his brother's troubles as a head coach.

 

I think both Turner's are probably best as coordinators.

[USSoccer]

 

I'm with raw, hoping for Sunday.

 

What kind of Bears fan allows their kids' baptism to be scheduled on a potential playoff day?

 

My wife decided to schedule it around a weekend where I had some family in from out of town. Problem is, no one consulted me when it came to this whole thing. When it finally dawned on me that they were potentially on the same date, it was too late.

 

I've done everything I can to try and minimize the chances that I'm going to either miss part of the game, or having to DVR it and risk some goof telling me the score, but it's really going to hinge on the date and time of the game.

 

divorce

 

That's cold as ice, Goony. :D

[goonys evil twin]

 

I'm with raw, hoping for Sunday.

 

What kind of Bears fan allows their kids' baptism to be scheduled on a potential playoff day?

 

My wife decided to schedule it around a weekend where I had some family in from out of town. Problem is, no one consulted me when it came to this whole thing. When it finally dawned on me that they were potentially on the same date, it was too late.

 

I've done everything I can to try and minimize the chances that I'm going to either miss part of the game, or having to DVR it and risk some goof telling me the score, but it's really going to hinge on the date and time of the game.

 

divorce

 

That's cold as ice, Goony. :D

 

I'm willing to sacrifice.

[Mark Priors Calves]

The Rex not going 100% vs. Packers story is a sidebar on the front page of ESPN.com. Get ready for the national media onslaught.

[Chocolate Milk]

The Rex not going 100% vs. Packers story is a sidebar on the front page of ESPN.com. Get ready for the national media onslaught.

 

I think this will be an amusing contrast with the "Nick Saban is a LIAR and if he had only told the truth we would all still love him." stories.

[USSoccer]

TMQ weighs in:

 

Worst Crowd Reaction: As Rex Grossman trotted back onto the field after throwing his second interception returned for a touchdown, the Soldier Field crowd booed lustily. As the Bears left the field for intermission trailing Green Bay 23-0, the Soldier Field crowd booed lustily. What, exactly, did the Soldier Field crowd think it would accomplish by booing its own quarterback and own team? Plus the game was utterly meaningless for the Bears, who already had locked up the NFC playoffs' first seed. Hey, Soldier Field crowd -- it is impossible to win more than the first seed during the regular season. What, exactly, did you want?

 

And I also can't wait until the self appointed Guardians Of Playing The Game The Right Way at ESPN go bananas over the Grossman press conference statements.

[Derwood]

TMQ weighs in:

 

Worst Crowd Reaction: As Rex Grossman trotted back onto the field after throwing his second interception returned for a touchdown, the Soldier Field crowd booed lustily. As the Bears left the field for intermission trailing Green Bay 23-0, the Soldier Field crowd booed lustily. What, exactly, did the Soldier Field crowd think it would accomplish by booing its own quarterback and own team? Plus the game was utterly meaningless for the Bears, who already had locked up the NFC playoffs' first seed. Hey, Soldier Field crowd -- it is impossible to win more than the first seed during the regular season. What, exactly, did you want?

 

And I also can't wait until the self appointed Guardians Of Playing The Game The Right Way at ESPN go bananas over the Grossman press conference statements.

 

The TMQ writer obviously doesn't understand the legions of idiot Bear fans who think that beating the Packers is more important than anything else.

[Banedon]

Sportsnite last night said that Miami has requested permission to speak with Ron Turner about their head coaching position.

 

Please let this happen. I'm not a fan of Turner.

[Chocolate Milk]

Sportsnite last night said that Miami has requested permission to speak with Ron Turner about their head coaching position.

 

Please let this happen. I'm not a fan of Turner.

 

Turner's alright, but I'd rather have Rex drawing up plays in the huddle on his palm.

[goonys evil twin]

Sportsnite last night said that Miami has requested permission to speak with Ron Turner about their head coaching position.

 

Please let this happen. I'm not a fan of Turner.

 

I'm fine with Turner. He's nothing special, but then again, special OC's don't spend much time as the OC. The trouble with letting him go is two-fold. First, the stability with him and the QB position is important right now. I wouldn't feel comfortable having Rex going into next season with a whole new gameplan. But second, and perhaps most important, is I don't trust them to come up with a better option. I really don't envision Wade Wilson as an innovative quality OC right now. There isn't a Bob Babich type waiting in the wings as a Lovie disciple poised to take over the job. Nor is there a Mike Singletary. I think Hiestand, who has worked with Turner for several years, would probably go with him wherever he went. The internal candidates would then be Drake, Boras and Spencer, and I don't think any of them are obvious coordinators.

 

I feel comfortable losing Rivera, because the system in place is Lovie's and he is the key. Turner is the offense though.

[USSoccer]

Sportsnite last night said that Miami has requested permission to speak with Ron Turner about their head coaching position.

 

Please let this happen. I'm not a fan of Turner.

 

I'm fine with Turner. He's nothing special, but then again, special OC's don't spend much time as the OC. The trouble with letting him go is two-fold. First, the stability with him and the QB position is important right now. I wouldn't feel comfortable having Rex going into next season with a whole new gameplan. But second, and perhaps most important, is I don't trust them to come up with a better option. I really don't envision Wade Wilson as an innovative quality OC right now. There isn't a Bob Babich type waiting in the wings as a Lovie disciple poised to take over the job. Nor is there a Mike Singletary. I think Hiestand, who has worked with Turner for several years, would probably go with him wherever he went. The internal candidates would then be Drake, Boras and Spencer, and I don't think any of them are obvious coordinators.

 

I feel comfortable losing Rivera, because the system in place is Lovie's and he is the key. Turner is the offense though.

 

If the Bears want consistency out of Rex, they ought not to allow Turner to leave. This was the first year since Rex's junior year at Florida that he's had the same coordinator from the previous season.

[Banedon]

If the Bears want consistency out of Rex, they ought not to allow Turner to leave. This was the first year since Rex's junior year at Florida that he's had the same coordinator from the previous season.

 

This would be the only reason I would be upset about Turner leaving. I'm just really underwhelmed by his playcalling.

[goonys evil twin]

If the Bears want consistency out of Rex, they ought not to allow Turner to leave. This was the first year since Rex's junior year at Florida that he's had the same coordinator from the previous season.

 

This would be the only reason I would be upset about Turner leaving. I'm just really underwhelmed by his playcalling.

 

I'm not enamored by it, but there's still a part of me that's astonished everytime they complete a 20 yard pass. Turner has brought in the only legit NFL offense for the Bears since the 80's.

[USSoccer]

If the Bears want consistency out of Rex, they ought not to allow Turner to leave. This was the first year since Rex's junior year at Florida that he's had the same coordinator from the previous season.

 

This would be the only reason I would be upset about Turner leaving. I'm just really underwhelmed by his playcalling.

 

I'm not enamored by it, but there's still a part of me that's astonished everytime they complete a 20 yard pass. Turner has brought in the only legit NFL offense for the Bears since the 80's.

 

He's actually brought them a legit NFL offense twice. Once in the mid 90's and now.

 

His playcalling does leave a lot to be desired but as Goony said, the alternatives the Bears have been bringing in for about 20 years have been awful.

[UMFan83]

For those wondering about the game time next week, David Haugh weighs in:

 

What has to happen for the Bears to get their first playoff game on Sun Jan.14? --David Kraham, Stockton, Calif.

 

The league has not informed the Bears as of Thursday the scenarios that would solidify Jan. 13 or Jan. 14 as the date of their home playoff opener. The only thing the Bears can rule out is that they will play in the early time slot on Saturday, the 13th. The game is expected to be on Sunday though team officials couldn't confirm it. Given Grossman's struggles in prime-time, avoiding the 7 p.m. Saturday kickoff would seem to favor the Bears.

[USSoccer]

For those wondering about the game time next week, David Haugh weighs in:

 

What has to happen for the Bears to get their first playoff game on Sun Jan.14? --David Kraham, Stockton, Calif.

 

The league has not informed the Bears as of Thursday the scenarios that would solidify Jan. 13 or Jan. 14 as the date of their home playoff opener. The only thing the Bears can rule out is that they will play in the early time slot on Saturday, the 13th. The game is expected to be on Sunday though team officials couldn't confirm it. Given Grossman's struggles in prime-time, avoiding the 7 p.m. Saturday kickoff would seem to favor the Bears.

 

Craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaap. That's all kinds of suck.

 

The Sunday times are like 11am CST and 3pm CST, right?

Edited January 5, 2007 by USSoccer

[goonys evil twin]

His playcalling does leave a lot to be desired but as Goony said, the alternatives the Bears have been bringing in for about 20 years have been awful.

 

If they had somebody in-line, I'd be fine with him leaving. Or, if there is some mystery candidate out there who could be a real asset, I'd be fine. But I don't see one. An interesting name could have been Jim Harbaugh. I don't know of anybody from Lovie's past teams that would be a good fit. His Tampa people have all moved on.

 

I guess there's no reason to distrust Angelo's ability to hire the right guy, I just don't know any names that stick out. The potential ties with Lovie go through Tampa, STL, Detroit (Martz people worked with Lovie) and Indy (Lovie came up under Dungy), but I'm not aware of any quality names are directly tied to Lovie.

[Banedon]

If the Bears want consistency out of Rex, they ought not to allow Turner to leave. This was the first year since Rex's junior year at Florida that he's had the same coordinator from the previous season.

 

This would be the only reason I would be upset about Turner leaving. I'm just really underwhelmed by his playcalling.

 

I'm not enamored by it, but there's still a part of me that's astonished everytime they complete a 20 yard pass. Turner has brought in the only legit NFL offense for the Bears since the 80's.

 

Cubs fans have been conditioned that since we're usually so bad, that mediocrity is improvement. But Goony, you love to argue that Cubs fans shouldn't be happy about mediocrity, they should expect more.

 

How is that different than this situation? We've had some terrible offenses in the past, no doubt. And it's improved for sure. But as fans don't we have a right to expect more than a mediocre offense?

 

I'm not sure who I'd want to bring in, as I'm not really an expert on all all of the NFL coordinators and whatnot, but while the offense is most definitely improved, there are some jaw droppingly dumb calls made and it frustrates me. For example, we'll have success running the ball, then suddenly have to punt because we decided to throw 3 straight times. Completing the occasional long pass is nice, but I'd much rather see a game plan that attacks an opponents weaknesses, and I just don't see Turner having been able to do that.

[USSoccer]

If the Bears want consistency out of Rex, they ought not to allow Turner to leave. This was the first year since Rex's junior year at Florida that he's had the same coordinator from the previous season.

 

This would be the only reason I would be upset about Turner leaving. I'm just really underwhelmed by his playcalling.

 

I'm not enamored by it, but there's still a part of me that's astonished everytime they complete a 20 yard pass. Turner has brought in the only legit NFL offense for the Bears since the 80's.

 

Cubs fans have been conditioned that since we're usually so bad, that mediocrity is improvement. But Goony, you love to argue that Cubs fans shouldn't be happy about mediocrity, they should expect more.

 

How is that different than this situation? We've had some terrible offenses in the past, no doubt. And it's improved for sure. But as fans don't we have a right to expect more than a mediocre offense?

 

I'm not sure who I'd want to bring in, as I'm not really an expert on all all of the NFL coordinators and whatnot, but while the offense is most definitely improved, there are some jaw droppingly dumb calls made and it frustrates me. For example, we'll have success running the ball, then suddenly have to punt because we decided to throw 3 straight times. Completing the occasional long pass is nice, but I'd much rather see a game plan that attacks an opponents weaknesses, and I just don't see Turner having been able to do that.

 

That's a good point. When we find a weakness in a defense (especially rushing), we seem to not exploit it, but instead use that success to try and spring deep passes.

 

One other beef I have is that Rex seems to have a ton of success with crossing routes and timing routes downfield, yet we don't always use those strengths.

[BigSlick]

If the Bears want consistency out of Rex, they ought not to allow Turner to leave. This was the first year since Rex's junior year at Florida that he's had the same coordinator from the previous season.

 

This would be the only reason I would be upset about Turner leaving. I'm just really underwhelmed by his playcalling.

 

I'm not enamored by it, but there's still a part of me that's astonished everytime they complete a 20 yard pass. Turner has brought in the only legit NFL offense for the Bears since the 80's.

 

Cubs fans have been conditioned that since we're usually so bad, that mediocrity is improvement. But Goony, you love to argue that Cubs fans shouldn't be happy about mediocrity, they should expect more.

 

How is that different than this situation? We've had some terrible offenses in the past, no doubt. And it's improved for sure. But as fans don't we have a right to expect more than a mediocre offense?

 

I'm not sure who I'd want to bring in, as I'm not really an expert on all all of the NFL coordinators and whatnot, but while the offense is most definitely improved, there are some jaw droppingly dumb calls made and it frustrates me. For example, we'll have success running the ball, then suddenly have to punt because we decided to throw 3 straight times. Completing the occasional long pass is nice, but I'd much rather see a game plan that attacks an opponents weaknesses, and I just don't see Turner having been able to do that.

 

That's a good point. When we find a weakness in a defense (especially rushing), we seem to not exploit it, but instead use that success to try and spring deep passes.

 

One other beef I have is that Rex seems to have a ton of success with crossing routes and timing routes downfield, yet we don't always use those strengths.

 

Everyone and their mother has noticed this.

 

It frustrates me to no end how something can be screaming in front of Turners face and he'll just say: "[expletive] it, throw it downfield"

[goonys evil twin]

 

How is that different than this situation? We've had some terrible offenses in the past, no doubt. And it's improved for sure. But as fans don't we have a right to expect more than a mediocre offense?

.

 

Well, it's quite different. The NFL has a salary cap. You don't really have a good chance of having both a great defense and a great offense. Realistic expectations are to have a great unit (I'd prefer that to be defense) and an adaquate unit. The Bears were middle of the pack in offensive yards this year and top of the conference in scoring.

 

I really don't think the offense is mediocre. To describe it as such is to make the same mistake that national media makes when saying Grossman had a bad 2nd half. The offense is inconsistent, and that is because Rex is inconsistent. When it ticks, it's very good. It'll never be Colts good. But it gets the job done. We can talk about the defense giving them a short field all we want, but they did that the past few years and the offense made nothing out of it. They still move the ball and score a lot.

 

I think the biggest mistake fans make when critiquing teams is blaming play-calling. The NFL is just far too complicated for the average fan to truly understand, much more so than baseball. Strategy is much more than just see ball hit ball. All too often people mistake a play that works with a great play call and a play that doesn't work with a good one. An end around that results in a loss of yardage is stupid while an end around that gains 15 yards is brilliant.

 

I've had a problem with Turner abandoning the run, but that was mostly early in the season. I have a problem with them not allowing Benson to take over games, but the times the offense has struggled has almost always been when Rex turns the ball over. Turner has taken what was largely considered one of the worst receiving groups in the game and made it very potent. He's gotten the most out of Thomas Jones, and is giving Benson more and more. He's made what most people thought was an inept TE group a real threat. And he's provided the groundwork for Rex Grossman to show real development as a potential franchise QB.

 

Maybe he could have done a better job preventing Rex from melting. Maybe he should have relied more on a running game early in the season (although now we're in a great position with 2 healthy and not even close to overworked RB's). Maybe he could a better job of mixing some things up. But when Rex isn't a disaster, this offense runs well, passes well, moves the ball well, and scores more frequently than almost all other NFL offenses. When it's 3rd and 9 they don't try for 3 yard gains. When they are in the red zone they don't tighten up into incompetent fools. They stretch the field deep, they complete the intermediate pass that seperates the men from the boys. They get the TE the ball, they pound with the run on occasion.

 

This offense is not mediocre. The play-calling and strategy allows for big gains, big plays and big scores. Every single problem with this offense revolves around disaster Rex. Take away disaster Rex, and this is quite possibly the highest scoring offense in the league this year. And it's hard to justify bitching about that.