Week 4 - Chicago Bears vs. Detroit Lions, 12 PM FOX

[Banedon]

Apparently we're still middle of the road according to most power rankings. ESPN has us at 14. Only SF and Dallas are lower than us among the 2-1 teams. Makes me wonder if Minnesota would be ranked 14th and the Bears 5th if we had started out the season 3-0 against @ Cleveland, @ Detroit, vs. SF instead of 2-1 @ Green Bay, vs. Pittsburgh, @ Seattle.

 

Favre!

[Derwood]

not that Power Rankings mean anything, but the Bears will always be treated differently than the Vikings, because Brett Favre is Football Jesus (with all due respect to Tim Tebow) while Jay Cutler is Football Baby-Raping Serial Killer

[hawkeyecub]

not that Power Rankings mean anything, but the Bears will always be treated differently than the Vikings, because Brett Favre is Football Jesus (with all due respect to Tim Tebow) while Jay Cutler is Football Baby-Raping Serial Killer

 

Which of course is why SI picked the Bears to go to the Super Bowl.

 

Honestly why would anyone care about NFL power rankings, especially in the first month of the year? They're completely meaningless and totally change from week to week.

[Derwood]

not that Power Rankings mean anything, but the Bears will always be treated differently than the Vikings, because Brett Favre is Football Jesus (with all due respect to Tim Tebow) while Jay Cutler is Football Baby-Raping Serial Killer

 

Which of course is why SI picked the Bears to go to the Super Bowl.

 

Honestly why would anyone care about NFL power rankings, especially in the first month of the year? They're completely meaningless and totally change from week to week.

 

when has SI ever been right about anything?

[bukie]

DVOA (well, VOA right now, since opponent adjustments don't kick in until next week) isn't very kind to the Bears either, mostly getting them on their overall offensive production (since the running game has never been good, and the passing game was good twice and awful once, putting it average overall).

[dew1679666265]

Bears have signed Darrell McClover to help bolster the LB depth.

 

Tinoisamoa is expected to test out his knee in practice this week, and Lovie Smith was optimistic Hillenmeyer might not miss a game.

McClover was the sixth linebacker the team kept on the roster last year. He appeared in 10 games but was placed on injured reserve in November with a pulled hamstring. He produced 14 tackles on special teams and added a blocked punt. McClover made 36 special teams tackles in 28 games for the Bears from 2006 to 2008.

[Banedon]

Rumor surfaced Tuesday on WSCR in Chicago of an SUV with "Indy 88" tags at Halas Hall, the headquarters of the Chicago Bears.

 

As we understand it, a regular caller spotted the vehicle, prompting speculation that Harrison could soon be a Bear.

 

We've done a little homework (for a change), and a source with knowledge of the situation says that such a development would be a "shock."

 

Apparently he's still wanting too much money.

 

And besides that, I don't think you can really get on the receivers too much after the last couple of games.

[David]

Yea, I have no idea why they would want anything to do with Marvin Harrison at this point.

[David]

lol now Morrissey, who, if you haven't been following, bashed the trade when it happened and has looked for any opportunity to criticize Cutler since, is comparing Cutler to Tom Brady....

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/chi-30-morrissey-jay-cutler-sep30,0,315321.column

 

The standard thinking is Cutler is the second coming of Brett Favre and thus must be given room to use all his considerable talents. That means big risks, big rewards and lots of excitement, some of which the Bears could do without. But after the last two games, he looks more like the second coming of Tom Brady.

 

And wouldn't the Bears rather have that?

 

You can't change a leopard's spots, but you can shoot it with a tranquilizer gun. If Cutler could play with this much control, imagine what the Bears would be like if they ever landed a standout wide receiver or two.

[RedFlash]

Yea, I have no idea why they would want anything to do with Marvin Harrison at this point.

 

Maybe neither Devin A. or Iggy are developing like they hope, perhaps?

[David]

They're going to look to sign Marvin Harrison to replace our #4/#5 WR?

[Banedon]

lol now Morrissey, who, if you haven't been following, bashed the trade when it happened and has looked for any opportunity to criticize Cutler since, is comparing Cutler to Tom Brady....

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/chi-30-morrissey-jay-cutler-sep30,0,315321.column

 

The standard thinking is Cutler is the second coming of Brett Favre and thus must be given room to use all his considerable talents. That means big risks, big rewards and lots of excitement, some of which the Bears could do without. But after the last two games, he looks more like the second coming of Tom Brady.

 

And wouldn't the Bears rather have that?

 

You can't change a leopard's spots, but you can shoot it with a tranquilizer gun. If Cutler could play with this much control, imagine what the Bears would be like if they ever landed a standout wide receiver or two.

 

Yeah...that was just fantastic. I dropped him this email:

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/chi-09-morrissey-jay-cutler-aug09,0,7851962.column

 

8/9/2009 – Rick Morrissey – “But if I might be the fly in the Kool-Aid, let's see what this guy can do in, you know, a real game before we crown him the next Peyton Manning.”

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/chi-30-morrissey-jay-cutler-sep30,0,315321.column

 

9/30/2009 – Rick Morrissey – “But after the last two games, he looks more like the second coming of Tom Brady.”

 

 

 

So to recap:

 

Preseason = too early to declare Cutler a great QB.

 

After 3 regular season games (one with 4 int’s), we can compare him to a guy with 3 Super Bowl rings, 2 Super Bowl MVP’s, and one NFL MVP?

 

Bipolar much?

 

I've gotten replies from both him and Haugh in the past. I'll post it if I get a reply.

[jersey cubs fan]

I've seen the line move from 11 to 10.5 to 10 already. Not many people willing to give that many points. I think the Bears cover here. First really solid win of the year.

[Flames24Rulz]

lol now Morrissey, who, if you haven't been following, bashed the trade when it happened and has looked for any opportunity to criticize Cutler since, is comparing Cutler to Tom Brady....

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/chi-30-morrissey-jay-cutler-sep30,0,315321.column

 

The standard thinking is Cutler is the second coming of Brett Favre and thus must be given room to use all his considerable talents. That means big risks, big rewards and lots of excitement, some of which the Bears could do without. But after the last two games, he looks more like the second coming of Tom Brady.

 

And wouldn't the Bears rather have that?

 

You can't change a leopard's spots, but you can shoot it with a tranquilizer gun. If Cutler could play with this much control, imagine what the Bears would be like if they ever landed a standout wide receiver or two.

 

Dear God. The writers in Chicago never cease to amaze me.

[JonJayCutler]

I'm not against bringing in Marvin Harrison but what we could use is a tall receiver who can go up and get a ball. Maybe Aromashodu could be this guy. But I suppose thats why we have Olsen.

[Banedon]

Has Aromashadu seen the field in the regular season?

[David]

I'm not against bringing in Marvin Harrison but what we could use is a tall receiver who can go up and get a ball. Maybe Aromashodu could be this guy. But I suppose thats why we have Olsen.

 

 

I am. Why take away any snaps from this young WR corps when all we've seen of them is good performance and progress on a week to week basis? I don't want an old and bad WR who used to be good on the roster. And I don't want to hear anything about veteran leadership and taking the young guys under his wing, because that couldn't be any further from the type of guy Marvin is.

[jersey cubs fan]

I'm not against bringing in Marvin Harrison but what we could use is a tall receiver who can go up and get a ball. Maybe Aromashodu could be this guy. But I suppose thats why we have Olsen.

 

 

I am. Why take away any snaps from this young WR corps when all we've seen of them is good performance and progress on a week to week basis? I don't want an old and bad WR who used to be good on the roster. And I don't want to hear anything about veteran leadership and taking the young guys under his wing, because that couldn't be any further from the type of guy Marvin is.

 

I would have to agree with you on this one.

[Guest]

I'm not against bringing in Marvin Harrison but what we could use is a tall receiver who can go up and get a ball. Maybe Aromashodu could be this guy. But I suppose thats why we have Olsen.

 

 

I am. Why take away any snaps from this young WR corps when all we've seen of them is good performance and progress on a week to week basis? I don't want an old and bad WR who used to be good on the roster. And I don't want to hear anything about veteran leadership and taking the young guys under his wing, because that couldn't be any further from the type of guy Marvin is.

 

I would have to agree with you on this one.

 

If it was as simple as replacing Rashied Davis' contract and replacing it with Marvin Harrison, I like the idea of seeing him lined up in a 3 or 4 wide and opening up some routes for our speedsters, but that's not going to happen. I'd rather see what the kids can do, also. Cutler is still just a kid himself. I'd like to see how good this core group can become with more time together. I'm thrilled with what I've seen from Bennett and Knox so far.

[rawaction]

I'm not against bringing in Marvin Harrison but what we could use is a tall receiver who can go up and get a ball. Maybe Aromashodu could be this guy. But I suppose thats why we have Olsen.

 

 

I am. Why take away any snaps from this young WR corps when all we've seen of them is good performance and progress on a week to week basis? I don't want an old and bad WR who used to be good on the roster. And I don't want to hear anything about veteran leadership and taking the young guys under his wing, because that couldn't be any further from the type of guy Marvin is.

 

I would have to agree with you on this one.

 

If it was as simple as replacing Rashied Davis' contract and replacing it with Marvin Harrison, I like the idea of seeing him lined up in a 3 or 4 wide and opening up some routes for our speedsters, but that's not going to happen. I'd rather see what the kids can do, also. Cutler is still just a kid himself. I'd like to see how good this core group can become with more time together. I'm thrilled with what I've seen from Bennett and Knox so far.

 

I wouldn't say I'm thrilled. They have looked like young WRs. Knox has made some exciting plays (2 TD catches, bomb), Bennett has made some huge catches in traffic. But Knox got destroyed on the slant in the 4th in GB, and is almost useless if he's not in space. Bennett disappeared vs. Pit and hasn't shown any flash.

 

That being said, I see no reason to bring in anyone to keep them off the field, especially not Harrison. If Harrison is your 4th WR (which he shoudl be at best), then I'd rather see Aromashodu there. The only type of WR I want to see on this team is a guy with some size that can run a slant and not get knocked off his route.

[SpongeWorthy]

Yeah, I think the receivers have been pretty good. I'm going to sound like a broken record here but this offense won't be very explosive without that receiver that you can throw the ball to when he isn't really open. Bennet will catch balls in traffic because he's got great hands but he's not going to physically dominate a corner and maybe a safety. Plus I don't really trust Turner to design a passing game that will get our guys in space consistently.

[SpongeWorthy]

Lance Briggs was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week: http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/nfl/news/story?id=4520600

 

Lance Briggs owns.

[Jon]

And Briggs sat out practice with a foot injury. He was wearing a boot.

[UMFan83]

????

[Guest]

????

 

A boot protects severe sprains and stress fractures. Hopefully it's very minor and they are just being cautious. I'd much rather Briggs miss a few practices rather than miss an actual game. Realistically, this is probably one of the better weeks for him to be hurt if he has to be hurt at all. We can probably still pull off a victory against the Lions at home with none of our regular starting LB's playing.