2009 Regular Season - Week 1 - Bears vs Pack - 9/13 7pm NBC

[Moon Rock]

Jeff Garcia is going to be available...

 

He is now, and the Bears should be making that call.

 

Jeff Garcia believes he is still a starter in this league, so I doubt he'll even listen to a call from the Bears.

Not only that but I really don't want Cutler to have another pissy fit like he had in Denver. Jeff Garcia is no Matt Cassell but I still wouldn't take that risk.

[radarluv1]

Even last year, the defense was efficient (5th vs. run, 10th vs. pass), they were just out there waaaay too long.

SI showed them at like #22 in pass defense last year, which surprised me. i guess they just picked a poor stat like YPG.

tinoisamoa lead the rams in tackles last year, whatever thats worth.

[Moon Rock]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/chi-07-bears-brian-urlacher-sep07,0,2042294.story

The 30-something linebacker sports a bald head, has a kid-like enthusiasm for the game and is considered by some as the face of the Bears.

 

Brian Urlacher would rather drop the latter immediately.

 

"Face of the franchise? Jay Cutler," Urlacher said without hesitation.

 

"It doesn't matter if he wants it or not. He's got it. He's the guy. He gets to do all the interviews now, gets to handle all the tough questions. You know, I'm OK not doing any of that stuff."

 

I think the 2 key players on defense this season are Tommie Harris and Brian Urlacher. If Urlacher can return to somewhat of his old self and if Tommie Harris can have a nice season, the Bears are an 11 win team.

[jersey cubs fan]

Jeff Garcia is going to be available...

 

He is now, and the Bears should be making that call.

 

Jeff Garcia believes he is still a starter in this league, so I doubt he'll even listen to a call from the Bears.

Not only that but I really don't want Cutler to have another pissy fit like he had in Denver. Jeff Garcia is no Matt Cassell but I still wouldn't take that risk.

 

Pissy fit? Bringing in a backup is nothing like looking to trade away your starter while trading for another starter.

[Magnetic Curses]

Jeff Garcia is going to be available...

 

He is now, and the Bears should be making that call.

 

Jeff Garcia believes he is still a starter in this league, so I doubt he'll even listen to a call from the Bears.

Not only that but I really don't want Cutler to have another pissy fit like he had in Denver. Jeff Garcia is no Matt Cassell but I still wouldn't take that risk.

 

Pissy fit? Bringing in a backup is nothing like looking to trade away your starter while trading for another starter.

 

yeah, i think there's about zero chance that the best quarterback in the history of the franchise is afraid of the great old jeff garcia.

[cbbryan]

Cutler would only be upset if we were looking to trade him for Jeff Garcia...........and why wouldn't he be.

[Magnetic Curses]

after the debacle that was illinois-missouri, i need a win badly.

[Keener98]

Tillman practiced today and was able to do everything they asked him to do, but hes still saying its 50-50 if he plays. We really need Tillman vs the Pack

[Flames24Rulz]

after the debacle that was illinois-missouri, i need a win badly.

 

Same here.

[Magnetic Curses]

after the debacle that was illinois-missouri, i need a win badly.

 

Same here.

 

one of us will be happy, the other crushed.

 

ps- you're gonna be crushed.

[rawaction]

Tillman practiced today and was able to do everything they asked him to do, but hes still saying its 50-50 if he plays. We really need Tillman vs the Pack

 

It would be a huge boost. But I'm actually pretty confident in Bowman. When he's been healthy, he's been great. Him vs. Jennings would be a pretty good matchup. I wonder who starts at the other CB if Tillman can't go.

[Banedon]

Ditka picks the Packers to win division.

 

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20090906/PKR07/90906044/1058/PKR01

[Banedon]

We better win this game. Packers fans confidence is at an obscene level. They really need to be knocked down a notch.

[bukie]

ESPN's consensus: Bears in 3rd place.

 

Most of the reasoning is that the Bears will finish 3rd and get the last wildcard spot anyway, but Seth Wickersham wins the moron of the week award:

 

There's a reason the Broncos brass was worried about Jay Cutler. What makes anyone think he's mature enough to turn a loser into a winner? He's better at turning a loser into a .500 team.

 

Since A) The Broncos were idiots for worrying about Cutler, and B) THE BEARS FINISHED 9-7 LAST YEAR!

[jersey cubs fan]

ESPN's consensus: Bears in 3rd place.

 

Most of the reasoning is that the Bears will finish 3rd and get the last wildcard spot anyway, but Seth Wickersham wins the moron of the week award:

 

There's a reason the Broncos brass was worried about Jay Cutler. What makes anyone think he's mature enough to turn a loser into a winner? He's better at turning a loser into a .500 team.

 

Since A) The Broncos were idiots for worrying about Cutler, and B) THE BEARS FINISHED 9-7 LAST YEAR!

 

I can sort of understand why people would question if Cutler is good enough to make a team better, but why the hell do people insist on asking if he's mature enough? Seriously, maturity has nothing to do with it. Philips Rivers is an absolute child and his team has won a lot of games. Favre was never the most mature even when he was at his best. Brady and Manning can be described as mature super-stars, but maturity is not a necessary attribute for a successful QB, unless you are talking about physical maturity.

[Magnetic Curses]

Ditka picks the Packers to win division.

 

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20090906/PKR07/90906044/1058/PKR01

 

ugh, those [expletive] packer writers always talk about charles martin as a [expletive] hero. [expletive] them.

[Sammys Boombox]

after the debacle that was illinois-missouri, i need a win badly.

 

I was pretty happy with the Missouri victory. Now I just need the Pack to take care of business.

[Guest]

Can't complain too much about the final 53. I liked Rideau over Aromashado, but then again, I think I liked Rideau over Rashied, also. I suppose the only real reason Rashied is back is there is only 1 real vet among the entire receiver corps.

 

I'm surprised Hillenmeyer made the squad. I suppose he might be somewhat beneficial on an obvious passing down, like maybe 3rd and 30 or something. Maybe we can retire his number after this year. I just don't understand the man love this organization has for him.

 

Besides the fact Cutler has shown off an extremely strong and accurate arm, his pocket presence as been amazing. In the last game against the Browns, we watched the pocket collapse on Hanie and Basanez almost the entire game. Cutler has a way of making guys miss and he has the foot speed to prevent the defense from catching up with him, which in turn keeps defenses more honest.

 

I liked how effective the screen play became when the pressure became too much, and I think the speedy receivers and the sure handedness of Forte and the TE's will make this offense score a lot of points this season.

 

I'm excited and I can't wait for the season to start. The Packers are going down.

[Banedon]

Hillenmeyer and Davis are both on the team due to special teams.

[jersey cubs fan]

Hillenmeyer and Davis are both on the team due to special teams.

 

Hunter is a special teams guy? For some reason I'm drawing a blank on picturing him out there. I think he's here because he'd be a $4.65m cap hit if cut this year. He's signed through 2011, so I think next year is the first year he won't cost more as a cut than as an active player.

[Banedon]

Hillenmeyer and Davis are both on the team due to special teams.

 

Hunter is a special teams guy? For some reason I'm drawing a blank on picturing him out there. I think he's here because he'd be a $4.65m cap hit if cut this year. He's signed through 2011, so I think next year is the first year he won't cost more as a cut than as an active player.

 

Hunter Hillenmeyer: Former starter at strong side has battled injuries for about a year but looks to be holding up now. He played well in the preseason opener at Buffalo and is a natural fit as a backup to Brian Urlacher in the middle. Hillenmeyer is earning $1.5 million this season and is probably an average contributor on special teams. That's good money to be paying a backup.

 

So he's no great ST guy, so you may well be right...salary could be a bigger factor.

[UMFan83]

I'd prefer not to be the favorites, so I like being the 2nd or 3rd pick in the division. Hopefully we will prove them wrong.

 

It's kind of cool for fans of the top 3 in the NFC North (wait there's a 4th team?) to be so confident, if not cocky about their teams. It should be a fun year if we can all stay bunched together. Division games between the 3 will all be huge.

[Banedon]

I'd prefer not to be the favorites, so I like being the 2nd or 3rd pick in the division. Hopefully we will prove them wrong.

 

It's kind of cool for fans of the top 3 in the NFC North (wait there's a 4th team?) to be so confident, if not cocky about their teams. It should be a fun year if we can all stay bunched together. Division games between the 3 will all be huge.

 

I'm definitely going to be much more interested in Vikings-Packers games from a pure football perspective (rather than just it's impact on the standings) than I usually am.

[Guest]

(wait there's a 4th team?)

 

Expectations will be quite low for the Lions. However, this is not a team that got blown out in every game they played last year. There will be a lot of young guys stepping up to make a name for themselves and they probably shouldn't be taken very lightly.

 

As quickly as Atlanta was written off when Michael Vick got busted, they turned things around pretty quickly.

[Keener98]

Hillenmeyer is on the team because hes the only true backup MLB in case something happens to Urlacher.