Week 2 - Chicago Bears vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, 3:15 PM CBS

[jersey cubs fan]

That's what I thought it said, but the part that says "our roster gets bigger and better" kind of throws me.

 

Especially considering teams are in such dire need of a LB that they are mentioning him by name as a possible replacement.

 

He's talking about the ESPN roster of analysts.

[Banedon]

ZachZaidman: Bears waive/injured Trumaine McBride. They claim CB DeAngelo Smith off waivers from Cleveland

 

BradBiggs: Bears are seeking an injury settlement with Trumaine McBride, who is expected to be sidelined for four to six weeks.

[UMFan83]

DeAngelo Smith? Is that the CB from Cincinnati? My gf being from Cincinnati I got stuck watching a couple Cincinnati games over the last 2 years and thought he looked good. Good enough for the pros, probably not but funny that he's on the Bears now.

[Banedon]

DeAngelo Smith? Is that the CB from Cincinnati? My gf being from Cincinnati I got stuck watching a couple Cincinnati games over the last 2 years and thought he looked good. Good enough for the pros, probably not but funny that he's on the Bears now.

 

Yeah...that's him. Got him off waivers from the Browns.

[Butterscup1679666578]

He got drafted in April and has been on three teams now already. I don't have high hopes for him.

[Banedon]

Urlacher suing memorabilia company that is trying to stiff him on the remainder of his contract with them.

 

Basically they think he's done.

 

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Biggs-Memorabilia-company-thinks-Urlacher-is-done.html

[Mark Priors Calves]

Zach Bowman is starting on Sunday vs. the Steelers.

[thefranchise]

Urlacher suing memorabilia company that is trying to stiff him on the remainder of his contract with them.

 

Basically they think he's done.

 

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Biggs-Memorabilia-company-thinks-Urlacher-is-done.html

 

Ha I work for Dreams Inc. His autographs have plummeted over the years and this certainly won't help.

[NCCubFan]

As long as Urlacher honors his commitments I'd think the memorabilia company would have to honor the contract.

[Banedon]

Bears are a trendy upset pick this week. Mike Greenberg, Peter King, and Mike Florio have all picked the Bears to win.

 

Well, and yours truly.

 

Bears 20, Steelers 17

[Soul]

Urlacher suing memorabilia company that is trying to stiff him on the remainder of his contract with them.

 

Basically they think he's done.

 

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Biggs-Memorabilia-company-thinks-Urlacher-is-done.html

 

Ha I work for Dreams Inc. His autographs have plummeted over the years and this certainly won't help.

 

I'm sure his autographs aren't worth what they once were, but that was going to happen no matter what as he exits the prime of his career.

 

No offense to your bosses, but it's really stupid to jump to a conclusion about a player's career when the medical evidence says he can return next season. Also, his autographs will still have some value well after his career is over, as he is one of the more prominent players of the last 20 years for a very well-supported sports franchise.

 

I think Urlacher's got a good case here. A contract is a contract.

[Banedon]

I moved the "punt article" discussion to the NFL thread...I thought it deserved more than just a Bears fan audience.

[Soul]

The board said "you are not authorized to view this forum" and I thought you banned me :)

[Banedon]

The board said "you are not authorized to view this forum" and I thought you banned me :)

 

Heh. Temporarily split the posts into the mod forum before merging it with the new thread. You probably tried to view the posts while they were in the mod forum.

[jersey cubs fan]

Bears are a trendy upset pick this week. Mike Greenberg, Peter King, and Mike Florio have all picked the Bears to win.

 

Well, and yours truly.

 

Bears 20, Steelers 17

 

In the CBS sports pick'em league I'm in they list how the country is voting and that game is 88-12 in favor of Pittsburgh right now. Not exactly a trendy upset.

[Banedon]

Bears are a trendy upset pick this week. Mike Greenberg, Peter King, and Mike Florio have all picked the Bears to win.

 

Well, and yours truly.

 

Bears 20, Steelers 17

 

In the CBS sports pick'em league I'm in they list how the country is voting and that game is 88-12 in favor of Pittsburgh right now. Not exactly a trendy upset.

 

Yeah sorry. It's the same in a couple of my pickems too. I meant it was a trendy media upset pick. And it's based on a sample size of three, so it's a very researched opinion....:P

[jersey cubs fan]

Bears are a trendy upset pick this week. Mike Greenberg, Peter King, and Mike Florio have all picked the Bears to win.

 

Well, and yours truly.

 

Bears 20, Steelers 17

 

In the CBS sports pick'em league I'm in they list how the country is voting and that game is 88-12 in favor of Pittsburgh right now. Not exactly a trendy upset.

 

Yeah sorry. It's the same in a couple of my pickems too. I meant it was a trendy media upset pick. And it's based on a sample size of three, so it's a very researched opinion....:P

 

On his "guess the lines" podcast Simmons guessed Bears by 1 or 1.5 I think and when he heard it was Pitt by 3 he said he was definitely picking the Bears this week. Not sure if he carried through with that yet.

[Guest]

After watching the Steelers and Bears games last week, I have no idea how anyone can pick the Bears this week. And while Polamalu is a significant injury to their defense, I believe Urlacher's injury is more significant to the Bears defense than Polamalu is to the Steelers defense.

 

I hope the Bears win, but I won't be putting any money on them to win this game. Game films will show that the Titans fed their entire offense off of the tight ends being able to get open, even when Polamalu was in the game. Surely they will be making adjustments for the Bears game since the tight ends are more of a threat than the receivers are.

 

I do hope that the Johnny Knox breakaway catch was more impressive to the Bears coaches than the couple of times he gave up on routes, allowing Cutler to continue utilizing the speedster in 3 wide sets.

[jersey cubs fan]

After watching the Steelers and Bears games last week, I have no idea how anyone can pick the Bears this week.

 

Because Pittsburgh didn't do a damn thing and the Bears dominated their game but lost on a few stupid plays.

[David]

After watching the Steelers and Bears games last week, I have no idea how anyone can pick the Bears this week. And while Polamalu is a significant injury to their defense, I believe Urlacher's injury is more significant to the Bears defense than Polamalu is to the Steelers defense.

 

I hope the Bears win, but I won't be putting any money on them to win this game. Game films will show that the Titans fed their entire offense off of the tight ends being able to get open, even when Polamalu was in the game. Surely they will be making adjustments for the Bears game since the tight ends are more of a threat than the receivers are.

 

I do hope that the Johnny Knox breakaway catch was more impressive to the Bears coaches than the couple of times he gave up on routes, allowing Cutler to continue utilizing the speedster in 3 wide sets.

 

 

The Bears outplayed GB for most of the game and just basically had a worst case scenario in terms of turnover ratio (and one of the most idiotic plays I've ever seen) and the Steelers looked unimpressive against a Titans team who I don't think is all that great.... Take away any single one of those numerous horrible plays (the interceptions while in position to score, the screwed up routes, the fake punt, etc.) and the Bears could easily have won that game despite screwing up badly. They played better football and then basically blew it multiple times.

 

It's too early to really say but I think GB is a better team than Tennessee... I'm worried about this game, and I expect a loss, but it isn't because of how either team looked in their first games. I didn't really come away impressed with the Steelers based on their first game...

[David]

After watching the Steelers and Bears games last week, I have no idea how anyone can pick the Bears this week.

 

Because Pittsburgh didn't do a damn thing and the Bears dominated their game but lost on a few stupid plays.

 

 

Heh... said the same thing I did in much fewer words... wish I had noticed this post and I could've just done a WERD

[Soul]

After watching the Steelers and Bears games last week, I have no idea how anyone can pick the Bears this week. And while Polamalu is a significant injury to their defense, I believe Urlacher's injury is more significant to the Bears defense than Polamalu is to the Steelers defense.

 

I hope the Bears win, but I won't be putting any money on them to win this game. Game films will show that the Titans fed their entire offense off of the tight ends being able to get open, even when Polamalu was in the game. Surely they will be making adjustments for the Bears game since the tight ends are more of a threat than the receivers are.

 

I do hope that the Johnny Knox breakaway catch was more impressive to the Bears coaches than the couple of times he gave up on routes, allowing Cutler to continue utilizing the speedster in 3 wide sets.

 

 

The Bears outplayed GB for most of the game and just basically had a worst case scenario in terms of turnover ratio (and one of the most idiotic plays I've ever seen) and the Steelers looked unimpressive against a Titans team who I don't think is all that great.... Take away any single one of those numerous horrible plays (the interceptions while in position to score, the screwed up routes, the fake punt, etc.) and the Bears could easily have won that game despite screwing up badly. They played better football and then basically blew it multiple times.

 

It's too early to really say but I think GB is a better team than Tennessee... I'm worried about this game, and I expect a loss, but it isn't because of how either team looked in their first games. I didn't really come away impressed with the Steelers based on their first game...

 

The Titans don't impress me all that much right now. The Packers impress me more. I agree it's early, but the Bears hung with what I consider to be the better of the two teams for the entire game until the end. Like you say -- they did this in spite of several mistakes and silly turnovers. The defense shut down what is surely a top 5 NFL offense for most of the game, and much of it without Urlacher.

 

I'm not sure the Bears are going to win this weekend, but I also don't think it's insanity to think they *could* win.

[David]

Agreed and I don't see how what was seen last week really would make the Steelers look unbeatable.

[jersey cubs fan]

Agreed and I don't see how what was seen last week really would make the Steelers look unbeatable.

 

The thing about Pitt is they win ugly. Ben can look like crap for 3.5 quarters but put his team in FG position late to pull out a 2 point win. They need to win by 4 to cover, 3 is a push. If they are down by 3 late will they drive all the way for a TD, or take the FG to tie? Just like the GB game, I penciled this one is as a loss in my 10-win season prediction, and I kind of expect the Bears to lose, but late by a couple points. Which means they could just as easily win.

[Rex Buckingham]

As good as Urlacher is, he is not the Bears' best defensive player. He is very important to their defense, but I feel that he is mroe replaceable than Polamalu. Polamalu is all over the field making plays. He will make plays in the box, then turn around and make an acrobatic pick and take it back for 6. He is an incredibly dynamic player who will be greatly missed by the Steelers. My guess is that this helps the Bears' passing game enough for them to win it, as long as Cutler has time to throw.