Week 3 - Chicago Bears at Seattle Seahawks, 3:05 PM FOX

[Banedon]

BTW, I thought the Bears LBs really played well yesterday. Briggs was excellent as usual, but Hillenmeyer was good before he got hurt, and I thought Roach was great.

 

For as much flack as he took in the offseason/preseason, Hillenmeyer has really been good in Urlacher's absence. I don't know that he's been spectacular, but he's filled in admirably.

[Magnetic Curses]

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d812f7400/Bears-25-Seahawks-19

 

I still love Joniak.

 

Thank you.

 

i don't think that there's a sweeter sound in the universe than when the opponent is driving and you hear thayer scream "ball!"

[Soul]

BTW, I thought the Bears LBs really played well yesterday. Briggs was excellent as usual, but Hillenmeyer was good before he got hurt, and I thought Roach was great.

 

For as much flack as he took in the offseason/preseason, Hillenmeyer has really been good in Urlacher's absence. I don't know that he's been spectacular, but he's filled in admirably.

 

I know. Now I'm hoping his injury isn't serious.

[inari]

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d812f7400/Bears-25-Seahawks-19

 

I still love Joniak.

 

Thank you.

 

i don't think that there's a sweeter sound in the universe than when the opponent is driving and you hear thayer scream "ball!"

 

I prefer Ron Santo's collection of celebration noises.

[Keener98]

It sucks that the Bears got to play the Seahawks B squad and that Mare missed 2 FG's

 

HOWEVER, a win is a win, I hate blaming season's/games on injurys. 2-1 is 2-1.

 

And Cutler played well, and Hester looks already 10x better then I thought he would.

 

Mare missed 2 FG's and Gould missed 1. The 1 Gould missed should have never been kicked, and the Bears should have punted to pin Seattle deep in their own territory. Had they done that, Im pretty confident Seattle doesnt drive the length of the field for a TD.

[Magnetic Curses]

missed field goals are part of the game, no kickers are automatic from anywhere. i hate seeing hoge badmouth kickers and how worthless they are. kickers have a ton of pressure on them and they have to come in cold and win the game.

 

mare missing a key field goal isn't any more outargeous than hightower fumbling on an important drive and changing the momentum of a game.

[ctcf]

missed field goals are part of the game, no kickers are automatic from anywhere. i hate seeing hoge badmouth kickers and how worthless they are. kickers have a ton of pressure on them and they have to come in cold and win the game.

 

mare missing a key field goal isn't any more outargeous than hightower fumbling on an important drive and changing the momentum of a game.

 

Also, Hoge is a miserable [expletive].

[sweetpeteman]

It sucks that the Bears got to play the Seahawks B squad and that Mare missed 2 FG's

 

HOWEVER, a win is a win, I hate blaming season's/games on injurys. 2-1 is 2-1.

 

And Cutler played well, and Hester looks already 10x better then I thought he would.

 

Mare missed 2 FG's and Gould missed 1. The 1 Gould missed should have never been kicked, and the Bears should have punted to pin Seattle deep in their own territory. Had they done that, Im pretty confident Seattle doesnt drive the length of the field for a TD.

 

 

Of course, if the Hillenmyer knows how to tackle the Seahawks probably only get a FG instead of a 39-yrd td...

[Banedon]

It sucks that the Bears got to play the Seahawks B squad and that Mare missed 2 FG's

 

HOWEVER, a win is a win, I hate blaming season's/games on injurys. 2-1 is 2-1.

 

And Cutler played well, and Hester looks already 10x better then I thought he would.

 

Mare missed 2 FG's and Gould missed 1. The 1 Gould missed should have never been kicked, and the Bears should have punted to pin Seattle deep in their own territory. Had they done that, Im pretty confident Seattle doesnt drive the length of the field for a TD.

 

 

Of course, if the Hillenmyer knows how to tackle the Seahawks probably only get a FG instead of a 39-yrd td...

 

That was more on Tillman, imo, but yeah...that was bad.

[sweetpeteman]

It sucks that the Bears got to play the Seahawks B squad and that Mare missed 2 FG's

 

HOWEVER, a win is a win, I hate blaming season's/games on injurys. 2-1 is 2-1.

 

And Cutler played well, and Hester looks already 10x better then I thought he would.

 

Mare missed 2 FG's and Gould missed 1. The 1 Gould missed should have never been kicked, and the Bears should have punted to pin Seattle deep in their own territory. Had they done that, Im pretty confident Seattle doesnt drive the length of the field for a TD.

 

 

Of course, if the Hillenmyer knows how to tackle the Seahawks probably only get a FG instead of a 39-yrd td...

 

That was more on Tillman, imo, but yeah...that was bad.

 

I was going to add the second player but I couldn't remember who it was. Yeah, that was probably one of the most pathetic attempts at a tackle I've ever seen.

[Banedon]

It sucks that the Bears got to play the Seahawks B squad and that Mare missed 2 FG's

 

HOWEVER, a win is a win, I hate blaming season's/games on injurys. 2-1 is 2-1.

 

And Cutler played well, and Hester looks already 10x better then I thought he would.

 

Mare missed 2 FG's and Gould missed 1. The 1 Gould missed should have never been kicked, and the Bears should have punted to pin Seattle deep in their own territory. Had they done that, Im pretty confident Seattle doesnt drive the length of the field for a TD.

 

 

Of course, if the Hillenmyer knows how to tackle the Seahawks probably only get a FG instead of a 39-yrd td...

 

That was more on Tillman, imo, but yeah...that was bad.

 

I was going to add the second player but I couldn't remember who it was. Yeah, that was probably one of the most pathetic attempts at a tackle I've ever seen.

 

Well Tillman was going for the strip for sure...and I think Hillenmeyer though he was just helping cleanup the tackle...

[Mark Priors Calves]

A road win is always nice in the NFL, especially when its in a place such as Seattle.

 

There's a lot of teeth gnashing in this thread about the tackling but you have to realize that going for the strip and causing turnovers is the M.O. of a Lovie Smith defense. Because the defense, especially Tillman, goes for the ball first there are going to be plays like the Jones TD early in the game when they miss a tackle.

 

I'm a bit disappointed with the some of the coaching in the game. I thought the Gould FG attempt from 53 was bizarre and the Wolfe fiasco was awful. Turner's play calling in general is lacking.

 

This week makes me a little leery facing the Lions. We should win but it seems like every game is nail biter with the '09 Bears.

[Keener98]

The 1st guy there to make the tackle is supposed to wrap up, and then let everyone else try for the strip.

[UMFan83]

Yeah people complain about stripping the ball when it backfires and they score a TD they shouldn't, but it's praised when they get the strip and it turns into a TD like it did later in the game. I don't know which side is better to be on.

[Soul]

Yep. P-Nut got greedy on that one, and Jones made him pay dearly for it.

[Guest]

Yep. P-Nut got greedy on that one, and Jones made him pay dearly for it.

 

Between the 20's, it seems like Lovie is okay with going for the strip. In the red zone, they appear more interested in stopping touchdowns by going for the tackle instead of the strip.

[brinoch]

Yep. P-Nut got greedy on that one, and Jones made him pay dearly for it.

 

Between the 20's, it seems like Lovie is okay with going for the strip. In the red zone, they appear more interested in stopping touchdowns by going for the tackle instead of the strip.

 

I'm fine with going for the strip, but not at the expense of missing the guy. In that situation, Tillman should ensure that he has a hold of the Jones and then go for the strip. If Tillman's got a good grip on Jones, he knows there will be help coming so he can take a whack at the ball. If he pops the ball loose -- great. If not, no problem -- Jones is liable to go down or out of bounds. And, even better, we don't give up a TD or a first down.

[Guest]

Yep. P-Nut got greedy on that one, and Jones made him pay dearly for it.

 

Between the 20's, it seems like Lovie is okay with going for the strip. In the red zone, they appear more interested in stopping touchdowns by going for the tackle instead of the strip.

 

I'm fine with going for the strip, but not at the expense of missing the guy. In that situation, Tillman should ensure that he has a hold of the Jones and then go for the strip. If Tillman's got a good grip on Jones, he knows there will be help coming so he can take a whack at the ball. If he pops the ball loose -- great. If not, no problem -- Jones is liable to go down or out of bounds. And, even better, we don't give up a TD or a first down.

 

The strip is less likely when the runner is already wrapped up. Tillman was trying to strip while the runner wasn't aware anyone was right on him. That's how Tillman has been getting a big percentage of his strips over the years. That's how Hines Ward got stripped at the 1 yard line in week 1. That's how DeSean Jackson got stripped when he had an easy touchdown last year. He got way too comfortable and wasn't protecting the football the way it needs to be protected.

 

Tillman is also counting on his teammates to pick him up while he tries to create the turnover. When it works, he's a genius. When it doesn't, it can cost you 6.

 

It's possible Lovie lectured Tillman about it, because they didn't allow many more points after that and they didn't allow any more td's.

 

With the Cover 2, I've always been under the impression that the defense is allowed to make as many gambles as they want between the twenties while still being protective of the long ball. Once the other team is in the red zone, it's time to hunker down and not let them into the endzone.

[Banedon]

"There' s no excuses for those," Mora said through gritted teeth. "If you're a kicker in the National Football League, you should make those kicks. Bottom line. End of story. Period. No excuses. No wind. Doesn't matter.

 

"You've got to make those kicks, especially in a game like this when you're kicking and scratching and fighting and playing your tail off and you miss those kicks? Not acceptable. Not acceptable. Absolutely not acceptable."

 

"We'll look at changes everywhere," he said. "We're not going to fight our asses off and have the field goal kicker go out there and miss two fields and lose the game. It's not going to happen."

 

So what do you REALLY think?

[Soul]

"There' s no excuses for those," Mora said through gritted teeth. "If you're a kicker in the National Football League, you should make those kicks. Bottom line. End of story. Period. No excuses. No wind. Doesn't matter.

 

"You've got to make those kicks, especially in a game like this when you're kicking and scratching and fighting and playing your tail off and you miss those kicks? Not acceptable. Not acceptable. Absolutely not acceptable."

 

"We'll look at changes everywhere," he said. "We're not going to fight our asses off and have the field goal kicker go out there and miss two fields and lose the game. It's not going to happen."

 

So what do you REALLY think?

 

I'm thinking Mora found the missed kicks to be unacceptable.

[Mark Priors Calves]

The 1st guy there to make the tackle is supposed to wrap up, and then let everyone else try for the strip.

That's not the Bears philosophy.

[brinoch]

Yeah, clearly Mora isn't Mare's biggest fan. I didn't Mare was good, but to be singled out like that is wrong. 4/6 with misses from 43 and 34 wasn't good, but wasn't awful enough to merit this treatment. Criticize the elements of the team that were more of a factor, like say, your offensive coordinator's play calling and your secondary's poor coverage.

[Jon]

Stripping isn't effective when you whiff with the other arm. Tillman usually at least partially wraps the man up before he goes for the ball. He didn't do that yesterday, but it wasn't because of the turnover mindset. It was just lousy execution.

 

And Hillenmeyer had the easy task of just running through the ball carrier and pushing him out of bounds. He didn't do that, either.

[Soul]

Yeah, clearly Mora isn't Mare's biggest fan. I didn't Mare was good, but to be singled out like that is wrong. 4/6 with misses from 43 and 34 wasn't good, but wasn't awful enough to merit this treatment. Criticize the elements of the team that were more of a factor, like say, your offensive coordinator's play calling and your secondary's poor coverage.

 

Yeah, it could be argued that it is unacceptable for Hester to not be tackled on that TD catch, too. But Mora is silent on that one.

 

The other thing is, it's easy to go after the kicker. All the other players on the team are going to roll with it. Kickers are largely disrespected by the rest of the roster. It's extremely common. So you call your kicker on the carpet and it doesn't cost you anything in the locker room. Call out other players in the media and you might find yourself sewing the seeds of discontent.

[SpongeWorthy]

Yeah, clearly Mora isn't Mare's biggest fan. I didn't Mare was good, but to be singled out like that is wrong. 4/6 with misses from 43 and 34 wasn't good, but wasn't awful enough to merit this treatment. Criticize the elements of the team that were more of a factor, like say, your offensive coordinator's play calling and your secondary's poor coverage.

 

Yeah, it could be argued that it is unacceptable for Hester to not be tackled on that TD catch, too. But Mora is silent on that one.

 

The other thing is, it's easy to go after the kicker. All the other players on the team are going to roll with it. Kickers are largely disrespected by the rest of the roster. It's extremely common. So you call your kicker on the carpet and it doesn't cost you anything in the locker room. Call out other players in the media and you might find yourself sewing the seeds of discontent.

 

Plus Olindo Mare is some kind of Mexican or something.