Week 10: Bears @ 49ers (Thurs, 7:20 PM NFLN, WPWR)

[Fred Hornkohl]

My fearless prediction........

 

BEARS          22
San Francisco  21

 

I'm starting to wince at your fearless predictions Fred :wink:

 

The hell of it is...... so am I !!

[CubbieBum]

So how do you all feel about Orton's recent struggles? I, for one, hope he stabilizes and continues to be a good option for Denver.

 

In Kyle's defense, those were two pretty darn good defenses he went up against these past couple weeks. Although I do note: late in the game, both the Bears and the Broncos needed their QBs to engineer a TD drive to win against the Steelers D. Cutler was able to, and Kyle wasn't.

 

Although I'll admit that I've done my share of cheering against Kyle Orton this year, nothing that happens can change my view that trading for Cutler was absolutely the right move for the Bears. Orton pretty much had me convinced he was the Bears' franchise QB last year after his hot start, until he crushed my hopes in the second half of the season. He just doesn't have much zip on his throws, and although he is fairly accurate, his ceiling can only go so high with his subpar arm. He is basically a poor man's Chad Pennington. Bears are probably 2-6 if Orton is QB this year, especially considering how much worse the o-line is.

 

That is a very bad comparison. Orton has a much stronger arm than Pennington (not hard) but isn't nearly as accurate (no is as accurate as Pennington).

[JonJayCutler]

So how do you all feel about Orton's recent struggles? I, for one, hope he stabilizes and continues to be a good option for Denver.

 

In Kyle's defense, those were two pretty darn good defenses he went up against these past couple weeks. Although I do note: late in the game, both the Bears and the Broncos needed their QBs to engineer a TD drive to win against the Steelers D. Cutler was able to, and Kyle wasn't.

 

Although I'll admit that I've done my share of cheering against Kyle Orton this year, nothing that happens can change my view that trading for Cutler was absolutely the right move for the Bears. Orton pretty much had me convinced he was the Bears' franchise QB last year after his hot start, until he crushed my hopes in the second half of the season. He just doesn't have much zip on his throws, and although he is fairly accurate, his ceiling can only go so high with his subpar arm. He is basically a poor man's Chad Pennington. Bears are probably 2-6 if Orton is QB this year, especially considering how much worse the o-line is.

 

That is a very bad comparison. Orton has a much stronger arm than Pennington (not hard) but isn't nearly as accurate (no is as accurate as Pennington).

 

Have you ever seen Orton throw a deep pass? And I know he is not as accurate as Pennington, which is why I said he is a poor version of Pennington.

[Banedon]

"I think we can destroy their front,'' Davis said. "The guys up front, I think we can destroy them. I don't see anything spectacular about their front line."

 

"Their linebackers, I think we can handle them pretty well. I like [Adewale] Ogunleye. I like the way he's playing up front. He's about the only player I like on their defensive line. I think he's doing a good job."

 

He tweeted later:

 

"I know people are talking about what I said today. I wasn't trying to take a shot at the Bears. I was showing confidence in my team."

 

Saying the Bears aren't "anything spectacular" and that you only like one player from the D-line is pretty much taking a shot at the Bears there guy. You may well be right, but don't try to back off it.

[jersey cubs fan]

"I think we can destroy their front,'' Davis said. "The guys up front, I think we can destroy them. I don't see anything spectacular about their front line."

 

"Their linebackers, I think we can handle them pretty well. I like [Adewale] Ogunleye. I like the way he's playing up front. He's about the only player I like on their defensive line. I think he's doing a good job."

 

He tweeted later:

 

"I know people are talking about what I said today. I wasn't trying to take a shot at the Bears. I was showing confidence in my team."

 

Saying the Bears aren't "anything spectacular" and that you only like one player from the D-line is pretty much taking a shot at the Bears there guy. You may well be right, but don't try to back off it.

 

There's no "may" about it. He's absolutely right. This defense sucks. There isn't a quality lineman in the group, and Briggs has disappeared with Urlacher gone.

[Banedon]

There's no "may" about it. He's absolutely right. This defense sucks. There isn't a quality lineman in the group, and Briggs has disappeared with Urlacher gone.

 

Funny thing is though, Briggs didn't disappear right away. He was playing really well early when we were winning games like the Pittsburgh game. But yeah, I agree that as the overall team performance has fallen off, Briggs has disappeared.

[Banedon]

We say that, and then I just read this on Brad Biggs' blog....

 

Linebacker Lance Briggs was credited with a season-high 15 tackles after coaches finished reviewing game film of Sunday's loss to Arizona.

 

It hasn't been a good number for the Bears, though, as Briggs was also credited with 15 tackles in the loss at Cincinnati. The weak-side Pro Bowl standout now has a team-high 79 tackles, putting him on pace for 158. His career high is 176 in 2006.

[jersey cubs fan]

We say that, and then I just read this on Brad Biggs' blog....

 

Linebacker Lance Briggs was credited with a season-high 15 tackles after coaches finished reviewing game film of Sunday's loss to Arizona.

 

It hasn't been a good number for the Bears, though, as Briggs was also credited with 15 tackles in the loss at Cincinnati. The weak-side Pro Bowl standout now has a team-high 79 tackles, putting him on pace for 158. His career high is 176 in 2006.

 

Tackle totals don't mean much to me. If you tackle a guy 6 yards down the field, you aren't accomplishing much. Briggs is paid to be a playmaker.

[Banedon]

We say that, and then I just read this on Brad Biggs' blog....

 

Linebacker Lance Briggs was credited with a season-high 15 tackles after coaches finished reviewing game film of Sunday's loss to Arizona.

 

It hasn't been a good number for the Bears, though, as Briggs was also credited with 15 tackles in the loss at Cincinnati. The weak-side Pro Bowl standout now has a team-high 79 tackles, putting him on pace for 158. His career high is 176 in 2006.

 

Tackle totals don't mean much to me. If you tackle a guy 6 yards down the field, you aren't accomplishing much. Briggs is paid to be a playmaker.

 

Fair enough, but if they're running away from Briggs because they know that Urlacher and Tinoisamoa aren't there, Briggs can't reasonably make plays on the other side of the field with regularity.

 

I haven't broken down film, so maybe Briggs is slacking off...I can't say with certainty. But I can't imagine that some of the weak supporting cast isn't hurting his ability to play like he can play.

[jersey cubs fan]

We say that, and then I just read this on Brad Biggs' blog....

 

Linebacker Lance Briggs was credited with a season-high 15 tackles after coaches finished reviewing game film of Sunday's loss to Arizona.

 

It hasn't been a good number for the Bears, though, as Briggs was also credited with 15 tackles in the loss at Cincinnati. The weak-side Pro Bowl standout now has a team-high 79 tackles, putting him on pace for 158. His career high is 176 in 2006.

 

Tackle totals don't mean much to me. If you tackle a guy 6 yards down the field, you aren't accomplishing much. Briggs is paid to be a playmaker.

 

Fair enough, but if they're running away from Briggs because they know that Urlacher and Tinoisamoa aren't there, Briggs can't reasonably make plays on the other side of the field with regularity.

 

I haven't broken down film, so maybe Briggs is slacking off...I can't say with certainty. But I can't imagine that some of the weak supporting cast isn't hurting his ability to play like he can play.

 

I'm not saying he's slacking off. I doubt that's the case, but he wanted to be the man somewhere, come out from Urlacher's shadow and all that. And now that Urlacher is down, he hasn't shown himself to be much of a playmaker or a force on defense. He's still the best linebacker on the team, but he's nobody the opposition should fear ruining their game plan.

[Banedon]

We say that, and then I just read this on Brad Biggs' blog....

 

Linebacker Lance Briggs was credited with a season-high 15 tackles after coaches finished reviewing game film of Sunday's loss to Arizona.

 

It hasn't been a good number for the Bears, though, as Briggs was also credited with 15 tackles in the loss at Cincinnati. The weak-side Pro Bowl standout now has a team-high 79 tackles, putting him on pace for 158. His career high is 176 in 2006.

 

Tackle totals don't mean much to me. If you tackle a guy 6 yards down the field, you aren't accomplishing much. Briggs is paid to be a playmaker.

 

Fair enough, but if they're running away from Briggs because they know that Urlacher and Tinoisamoa aren't there, Briggs can't reasonably make plays on the other side of the field with regularity.

 

I haven't broken down film, so maybe Briggs is slacking off...I can't say with certainty. But I can't imagine that some of the weak supporting cast isn't hurting his ability to play like he can play.

 

I'm not saying he's slacking off. I doubt that's the case, but he wanted to be the man somewhere, come out from Urlacher's shadow and all that. And now that Urlacher is down, he hasn't shown himself to be much of a playmaker or a force on defense. He's still the best linebacker on the team, but he's nobody the opposition should fear ruining their game plan.

 

Yeah...that's true.

[Soul]

Yeah, as far as Davis' comments: if the Bears don't like it, then [expletive] do something about it Thursday night.

[biittner77]

The Bears look like an 8-8 team right now. I see them being able to beat the Packers who actually made the Bears D-Line look good opening night. I also see them beating the Vikings B team who have nothing to play for if the Saints have already wrapped up homefield advantage.

 

I'd like to believe that I'll watch all the NBC shows instead of the Bears game but that plan never works and I always wind up watching them even when I shouldn't.

[YearofDaCubs]

That's the problem with the defense. There really is no playmaker and when Urlacher went down so did its leadership. Considering we don't have a 1st and 2nd round pick in this year's draft I expect the team to become even worse next year.

[Sammy Sofa]

That's the problem with the defense. There really is no playmaker and when Urlacher went down so did its leadership. Considering we don't have a 1st and 2nd round pick in this year's draft I expect the team to become even worse next year.

 

They would have become worse with the 1st and 2nd round picks.

[Banedon]

Without the draft picks, I expect them to be pretty active in free agency.

[jersey cubs fan]

Without the draft picks, I expect them to be pretty active in free agency.

 

I expect them to trade picks for more quantity. It still pisses me off how much this team's struggles trace back to the disastrous post-SB draft and increase of Lovie's personel power. I think the 2007 draft really screwed this team. Nobody from 2008 has lived up to the hope yet, and the only positives from 2009 have been late round value picks, the top half have done nothing.

[Banedon]

ESPN's NFC North blogger, Kevin Seifert makes an interesting point...

 

You’ll notice that most statistical measurements began a decline after the 2006 season except for one: Third-down conversions.

 

The Bears ranked second among NFL teams in stopping opponents on third down in 2007 and fifth in 2008. Third-down defense is a great equalizer, and on more than two-thirds of those occasions the Bears were holding the line and getting the ball back for their offense.

 

Third downs are also a strong measure of scheme and play calling. Much like a two-strike count in baseball, third down is football’s greatest battle of wits. You use tendencies, history and instinct to guess what the offense will fall back on to maintain possession.

 

On that count, Smith has failed as a playcaller. Opponents are converting 42 percent of third downs this season, plummeting the Bears to No. 25 in the NFL.

 

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcnorth/post/_/id/5893/tracing-the-bears-defensive-decline

[UMFan83]

That's actually a really really interesting read. Thanks for posting that. It might have to do with the playcalling, but it could also have to do with the lack of defensive talent on the field due to injuries and poor drafting.

[Soul]

ESPN's NFC North blogger, Kevin Seifert makes an interesting point...

 

You’ll notice that most statistical measurements began a decline after the 2006 season except for one: Third-down conversions.

 

The Bears ranked second among NFL teams in stopping opponents on third down in 2007 and fifth in 2008. Third-down defense is a great equalizer, and on more than two-thirds of those occasions the Bears were holding the line and getting the ball back for their offense.

 

Third downs are also a strong measure of scheme and play calling. Much like a two-strike count in baseball, third down is football’s greatest battle of wits. You use tendencies, history and instinct to guess what the offense will fall back on to maintain possession.

 

On that count, Smith has failed as a playcaller. Opponents are converting 42 percent of third downs this season, plummeting the Bears to No. 25 in the NFL.

 

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcnorth/post/_/id/5893/tracing-the-bears-defensive-decline

 

 

Lovie is a huge disappointment as a DC. With his rep around the league, it's pretty amazing how bad he's been calling that D.

[UMFan83]

For those that want Lovie gone, the good news is that when Lovie named himself the DC, he put his neck on the line and expedited his termination from the team upon failing at the role.

[jersey cubs fan]

ESPN's NFC North blogger, Kevin Seifert makes an interesting point...

 

You’ll notice that most statistical measurements began a decline after the 2006 season except for one: Third-down conversions.

 

The Bears ranked second among NFL teams in stopping opponents on third down in 2007 and fifth in 2008. Third-down defense is a great equalizer, and on more than two-thirds of those occasions the Bears were holding the line and getting the ball back for their offense.

 

Third downs are also a strong measure of scheme and play calling. Much like a two-strike count in baseball, third down is football’s greatest battle of wits. You use tendencies, history and instinct to guess what the offense will fall back on to maintain possession.

 

On that count, Smith has failed as a playcaller. Opponents are converting 42 percent of third downs this season, plummeting the Bears to No. 25 in the NFL.

 

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcnorth/post/_/id/5893/tracing-the-bears-defensive-decline

 

 

Lovie is a huge disappointment as a DC. With his rep around the league, it's pretty amazing how bad he's been calling that D.

 

He doesn't really have a long history of calling defensive plays, correct? He was a LB coach in Tampa, and went to STL where his defense enjoyed a 1 year resurgance and then returned to mediocrity. That's 3 years of calling defenses, and the last time was 6 seasons ago. That's somewhat out of the loop in my opinion.

 

Lovie was given the benefit of the doubt after the SB when he fired Rivera, the Babich failure forced him to use up his free pass, and now that he's calling things there are no more excuses.

 

I wonder if those morons in the media are still standing on the winningest NFC coach since 2005 not counting Coughlin BS?

[Soul]

Gawd. They're actually playing tomorrow. I could use another bye week.

 

I'm thinking Gore tears the living daylights out of 'em. This one could be really ugly.

[RedFlash]

Gawd. They're actually playing tomorrow. I could use another bye week.

 

I'm thinking Gore tears the living daylights out of 'em. This one could be really ugly.

 

Seeing as both teams are not playing well at all, it wouldn't surprise me if this isn't another Detroit/St. Louis type game.

[jersey cubs fan]

San Fran is favored by 3. Cousin Sal guessed it exactly, the sports guy guessed 3.5, and his response was "I don't agree with that line". My god this man is an idiot. I hate that he's considered the quintessential "new media" guy. Vegas picks a line a half a point off from your guess and you whine about it? Shut up you moron.

 

 

I also hate the Bears.