Week 16: Bears vs. Vikings, Mon. 7:30 P.M., ESPN

[Outshined_One]

Honest question, how do you guys really feel about that win if it helps save Lovie's job? I've heard a lot of speculation that if Lovie wins these last two he's more likely to return than not.

 

If Lovie's fired in the offseason, Jerry Angelo and everyone else in the front office will probably get to keep their jobs for another two years since the team will want to give the new coaching staff as much leeway as possible.

 

However, if Lovie gets another season and the Bears lay another egg, I think there will be a bloodbath in Halas Hall from top to bottom. I'd be okay with that scenario, especially since a lot of the problems with this team seem to stem from poor decision making on the part of the front office.

[TruffleShuffle]

i think that the nfc is pretty much wide open.

 

i think the nfl is pretty much wide open

 

No question, but all six teams in the NFC will have a shot at making it to the Super Bowl. I think three teams (at most) in the AFC have a shot at going that far.

 

i don't know. the colts choke in the playoffs almost every year, and norv turner and the chargers aren't much different. depending on which teams win the wc, i think the afc is wide open too.

 

the jets have the inside track and have absolutely zero chance. the bengals have next to zero chance (seriously has any "good" team been less inspiring the last 6 weeks? maybe minnesota i guess?) baltimore is next up in the afc; i suppose they could do something, although their defense isn't nearly what it used to be or what people think it is (because many of the names are the same).

[17 Seconds]

i think that the nfc is pretty much wide open.

 

i think the nfl is pretty much wide open

 

No question, but all six teams in the NFC will have a shot at making it to the Super Bowl. I think three teams (at most) in the AFC have a shot at going that far.

 

i don't know. the colts choke in the playoffs almost every year, and norv turner and the chargers aren't much different. depending on which teams win the wc, i think the afc is wide open too.

 

the jets have the inside track and have absolutely zero chance. the bengals have next to zero chance (seriously has any "good" team been less inspiring the last 6 weeks? maybe minnesota i guess?) baltimore is next up in the afc; i suppose they could do something, although their defense isn't nearly what it used to be or what people think it is (because many of the names are the same).

 

i could see to see indianapolis, san diego, new england, pittsburgh or baltimore coming out of the afc

[UMFan83]

i think that the nfc is pretty much wide open.

 

i think the nfl is pretty much wide open

 

No question, but all six teams in the NFC will have a shot at making it to the Super Bowl. I think three teams (at most) in the AFC have a shot at going that far.

 

i don't know. the colts choke in the playoffs almost every year, and norv turner and the chargers aren't much different. depending on which teams win the wc, i think the afc is wide open too.

 

I feel like the Chargers have overachieved in the playoffs with Norv Turner. In 07 they were afterthoughts in AFC and had injuries to Rivers and LT and played rather competitively against the Pats in the AFC championship game. In 08 they were 8-8 and still won a playoff game, albeit at home. Maybe they don't completely play over their heads but they haven't really been choking either. They have as good as shot as the Colts IMO.

[BigSlick]

this was a pretty cool game, thanks for giving me a hernia for blowing the 16 point lead ( i knew you were going to do that) and missing the field goal in OT (forgivable Gould, you are always on target)

 

nice double whammy to beat favre in probably his last game in Chicago and just the vikings in general

 

can we still fire ron turner?

[Sammy Sofa]

Honest question, how do you guys really feel about that win if it helps save Lovie's job? I've heard a lot of speculation that if Lovie wins these last two he's more likely to return than not.

 

If Lovie's fired in the offseason, Jerry Angelo and everyone else in the front office will probably get to keep their jobs for another two years since the team will want to give the new coaching staff as much leeway as possible.

 

However, if Lovie gets another season and the Bears lay another egg, I think there will be a bloodbath in Halas Hall from top to bottom. I'd be okay with that scenario, especially since a lot of the problems with this team seem to stem from poor decision making on the part of the front office.

 

I think the silver lining is that Ron Turner's fate seems sealed no matter what. I can potentially live with one more year of Lovie so long as they hire a capable OC.

[rawaction]

There are a lot of things I will take from this game. Despite giving up 30 2nd half points, there was a lot of positives.

 

- Devon Aromashodu can be a legit NFL WR. Cutler likes him a lot. Loves his size.

- The defense has played well in spurts. First half vs. GB, 2nd half vs. Pitt, 2nd half vs. Seattle, 2nd half vs. Detroit, 1st half vs. Atlanta, entire Cleveland, St Louis, and SF games, 2nd half vs. GB, 1st half vs. Philly, and the 1st half last night. The notable blowouts are the only times the Bears haven't put together at least a 1/2 of championship caliber defense. Of course, they haven't put up more than 1/2 a game against a respectable offensive team either.

- Chris Williams and Kevin Shaffer have shown they can be a decent LT/RT combination next year allowing the Bears to focus on the interior line this offseason.

 

If the defense can be more consistent with a healthy Urlacher and improvement from the young DBs (Bowman, Afalava) and DL (Adams, Gilbert, Anderson) then they can compete defensively in the near future. If this combo of OTs proves to be better than Pace/Williams and the Bears greatly improve at LG and C, then the offense can be good enough to compete. A star player on both lines would do wonders for this team though.

[jersey cubs fan]

Honest question, how do you guys really feel about that win if it helps save Lovie's job? I've heard a lot of speculation that if Lovie wins these last two he's more likely to return than not.

 

If Lovie's fired in the offseason, Jerry Angelo and everyone else in the front office will probably get to keep their jobs for another two years since the team will want to give the new coaching staff as much leeway as possible.

 

However, if Lovie gets another season and the Bears lay another egg, I think there will be a bloodbath in Halas Hall from top to bottom. I'd be okay with that scenario, especially since a lot of the problems with this team seem to stem from poor decision making on the part of the front office.

 

The biggest problems are with Lovie and his staff. There have been personal issues, but most of those began when Lovie started getting an increased say in personel matters after the Super Bowl. That was the beginning of the end. Lovie and his coaches cannot coach and they cannot get the right players on the field. They just try and get the best athletes available and make them run all over the place on defense, an easily exploitable scheme.

 

This team has talent, what they don't have is well coached football players.

[jersey cubs fan]

There are a lot of things I will take from this game. Despite giving up 30 2nd half points, there was a lot of positives.

 

 

- The defense has played well in spurts. First half vs. GB, 2nd half vs. Pitt, 2nd half vs. Seattle, 2nd half vs. Detroit, 1st half vs. Atlanta, entire Cleveland, St Louis, and SF games, 2nd half vs. GB, 1st half vs. Philly, and the 1st half last night. The notable blowouts are the only times the Bears haven't put together at least a 1/2 of championship caliber defense. Of course, they haven't put up more than 1/2 a game against a respectable offensive team either.

 

I think you are far too generous about the defense. I realize you try and explain what you mean, but good halfs of football are meaningless. The defense stinks. It has stunk for three years. They have talented players who occasionally shut a team down for a few drives, but they an incapable of any sort of prolonged success (half to half or week to week). They've been blown out several times this year. There's just no getting around the fact that this defense is bad.

[jersey cubs fan]

Honest question, how do you guys really feel about that win if it helps save Lovie's job? I've heard a lot of speculation that if Lovie wins these last two he's more likely to return than not.

 

If Lovie's fired in the offseason, Jerry Angelo and everyone else in the front office will probably get to keep their jobs for another two years since the team will want to give the new coaching staff as much leeway as possible.

 

However, if Lovie gets another season and the Bears lay another egg, I think there will be a bloodbath in Halas Hall from top to bottom. I'd be okay with that scenario, especially since a lot of the problems with this team seem to stem from poor decision making on the part of the front office.

 

I think the silver lining is that Ron Turner's fate seems sealed no matter what. I can potentially live with one more year of Lovie so long as they hire a capable OC.

 

I can only live with 1 more year of Lovie because I assume I have to live with one more year of Lovie. Turner and the offensive staff (stable for several years) needs to be replaced, but the sad thing is this horrible defense needs to be overhauled as well.

[rawaction]

There are a lot of things I will take from this game. Despite giving up 30 2nd half points, there was a lot of positives.

 

 

- The defense has played well in spurts. First half vs. GB, 2nd half vs. Pitt, 2nd half vs. Seattle, 2nd half vs. Detroit, 1st half vs. Atlanta, entire Cleveland, St Louis, and SF games, 2nd half vs. GB, 1st half vs. Philly, and the 1st half last night. The notable blowouts are the only times the Bears haven't put together at least a 1/2 of championship caliber defense. Of course, they haven't put up more than 1/2 a game against a respectable offensive team either.

 

I think you are far too generous about the defense. I realize you try and explain what you mean, but good halfs of football are meaningless. The defense stinks. It has stunk for three years. They have talented players who occasionally shut a team down for a few drives, but they an incapable of any sort of prolonged success (half to half or week to week). They've been blown out several times this year. There's just no getting around the fact that this defense is bad.

 

I generally agree with you. But good halves of defense mean the Bears still may have the personnel to get it done defensively....which it better be because the Bears don't have the ability to do much about the personnel in this offseason. A new scheme and ability to make adjustments are completely necessary, though.

[wekse]

This team has talent, what they don't have is well coached football players.

 

yes yes, a million times yes.

[jersey cubs fan]

There are a lot of things I will take from this game. Despite giving up 30 2nd half points, there was a lot of positives.

 

 

- The defense has played well in spurts. First half vs. GB, 2nd half vs. Pitt, 2nd half vs. Seattle, 2nd half vs. Detroit, 1st half vs. Atlanta, entire Cleveland, St Louis, and SF games, 2nd half vs. GB, 1st half vs. Philly, and the 1st half last night. The notable blowouts are the only times the Bears haven't put together at least a 1/2 of championship caliber defense. Of course, they haven't put up more than 1/2 a game against a respectable offensive team either.

 

I think you are far too generous about the defense. I realize you try and explain what you mean, but good halfs of football are meaningless. The defense stinks. It has stunk for three years. They have talented players who occasionally shut a team down for a few drives, but they an incapable of any sort of prolonged success (half to half or week to week). They've been blown out several times this year. There's just no getting around the fact that this defense is bad.

 

I generally agree with you. But good halves of defense mean the Bears still may have the personnel to get it done defensively....which it better be because the Bears don't have the ability to do much about the personnel in this offseason. A new scheme and ability to make adjustments are completely necessary, though.

 

I think they have some personel to get it done with new coaching, but they don't have one single top notch defensive lineman, and there isn't a good defense out there without a great lineman. But the bottom line is this defense is bad. And this defense means talent, effort and coaching.

[rawaction]

Honest question, how do you guys really feel about that win if it helps save Lovie's job? I've heard a lot of speculation that if Lovie wins these last two he's more likely to return than not.

 

If Lovie's fired in the offseason, Jerry Angelo and everyone else in the front office will probably get to keep their jobs for another two years since the team will want to give the new coaching staff as much leeway as possible.

 

However, if Lovie gets another season and the Bears lay another egg, I think there will be a bloodbath in Halas Hall from top to bottom. I'd be okay with that scenario, especially since a lot of the problems with this team seem to stem from poor decision making on the part of the front office.

 

I think the silver lining is that Ron Turner's fate seems sealed no matter what. I can potentially live with one more year of Lovie so long as they hire a capable OC.

 

I can only live with 1 more year of Lovie because I assume I have to live with one more year of Lovie. Turner and the offensive staff (stable for several years) needs to be replaced, but the sad thing is this horrible defense needs to be overhauled as well.

 

That has been my point as well. Lovie's defensive schemes have proved to not be good enough the last 3 years. And what's the point of keeping Lovie around as a head coach if you aren't running his defense anymore? He's not that good of a motivator or strategist to be a great "in-game" head coach without his hands in one side of the ball or the other, like guys like Ditka and Cowher are/were.

[jersey cubs fan]

That has been my point as well. Lovie's defensive schemes have proved to not be good enough the last 3 years. And what's the point of keeping Lovie around as a head coach if you aren't running his defense anymore? He's not that good of a motivator or strategist to be a great "in-game" head coach without his hands in one side of the ball or the other, like guys like Ditka and Cowher are/were.

 

Personally I don't see a point. I want him gone. But if you consider how well the defense worked when Rivera was the defensive coordinator, and the fact that Lovie wanted him replaced supposedly because he was less in love with the Tampa 2 than Lovie would prefer, I think you could make a case that a legit coordinator could make the Tampa 2 work with the Bears again by playing it much differently. There's 2 things I hate most about this defense. The Bears play the same exact thing regardless of their own personel shortcomings. Hunter Hillenmeyer is not Brian Urlacher but when he replaced him he was expected to play the exact same way. And their blitzing is pathetic. They just shove guys up the middle to run right into blockers, not getting pressure and leaving guys wide open in the secondary. A coordinator who actually coordinates, that means adapting to the players' strength, mixing up calls and adjusting during the game, could still work with Lovie as head coach.

 

But in addition to a new defensive coordinator, they need somebody to tell Lovie when to challenge and more importantly, not challenge calls, when to use timeouts, and when to try and step on the throat of the opponent late in the 1st half instead of playing not to lose.

[bukie]

The Bears play the same exact thing regardless of their own personel shortcomings.

 

OK, I don't know why this bothers me, but do you mean personnel or personal? You did this a lot over the last day or so, and I'm trying to distinguish what you mean.

[Guest]

Last night gave me a little bit of hope for the future. As bad as the offensive line and the defense had been playing all year, I felt like a total rebuild was in order. The line wasn't great, but Cutler had time to find open receivers for once, and against one of the better defenses in the NFC. Aromashodu looked awesome. He looks like he has the capability to be a true #1 receiver. Bennett, Iglesias, Hester and Knox all having a year of working with Cutler should be better next year.

 

The defense was ugly in the second half, but they are missing a lot of starters off this squad, so it shouldn't require a whole revamp. This might be where they need to spend this offseason to fill a hole or two. We could use a really good play making safety or defensive back.

 

That was the first enjoyable Bears game I've watched in awhile this season.

[Soul]

I wish I could get a real read on what kind of danger this win poses in terms of bringing everyone back for '10. But it's tough to know. I would hope they don't put too much into this thing.

[Banedon]

A source close to Johnny Knox said the Bears receiver suffered a sprained, but not broken, left ankle during Monday night's 36-30 overtime win over the Vikings. The rookie is not expected to play against the Lions in Sunday's season finale at Detroit.

 

Juaquin Iglesias could be activated for Sunday with Hester and Knox both down.

[Guest]

A source close to Johnny Knox said the Bears receiver suffered a sprained, but not broken, left ankle during Monday night's 36-30 overtime win over the Vikings. The rookie is not expected to play against the Lions in Sunday's season finale at Detroit.

 

Juaquin Iglesias could be activated for Sunday with Hester and Knox both down.

 

That's good news for Knox. I couldn't believe there wasn't a late hit call on that play. Cutler has certainly been frustrated with Knox this season, but it's pretty clear that Cutler really likes the kid.

[Banedon]

A source close to Johnny Knox said the Bears receiver suffered a sprained, but not broken, left ankle during Monday night's 36-30 overtime win over the Vikings. The rookie is not expected to play against the Lions in Sunday's season finale at Detroit.

 

Juaquin Iglesias could be activated for Sunday with Hester and Knox both down.

 

That's good news for Knox. I couldn't believe there wasn't a late hit call on that play. Cutler has certainly been frustrated with Knox this season, but it's pretty clear that Cutler really likes the kid.

 

There couldn't be a late hit call. He wasn't down. He fell because the Soldier Field turf is horrible. So many people fell without being touched last night. It was a joke. But anyway, Knox fell, and hadn't been touched by a defender. He could've gotten back up and run. But the Minnesota player smashed Knox. Was a perfectly legal play.

[Guest]

A source close to Johnny Knox said the Bears receiver suffered a sprained, but not broken, left ankle during Monday night's 36-30 overtime win over the Vikings. The rookie is not expected to play against the Lions in Sunday's season finale at Detroit.

 

Juaquin Iglesias could be activated for Sunday with Hester and Knox both down.

 

That's good news for Knox. I couldn't believe there wasn't a late hit call on that play. Cutler has certainly been frustrated with Knox this season, but it's pretty clear that Cutler really likes the kid.

 

There couldn't be a late hit call. He wasn't down. He fell because the Soldier Field turf is horrible. So many people fell without being touched last night. It was a joke. But anyway, Knox fell, and hadn't been touched by a defender. He could've gotten back up and run. But the Minnesota player smashed Knox. Was a perfectly legal play.

 

Oh, okay. I thought he was tripped up by a Minnesota defender. I was watching it without sound at a restaurant during that part of the game. Mmm, prime rib tacos!

[jersey cubs fan]

The Bears play the same exact thing regardless of their own personel shortcomings.

 

OK, I don't know why this bothers me, but do you mean personnel or personal? You did this a lot over the last day or so, and I'm trying to distinguish what you mean.

 

I haven't been posting for a day or so, but I meant personnel and I'm not sure why that wasn't obvious despite the spelling error.

[SpongeWorthy]

Yeah, the turf at Soldier is a joke. There was one play on the drive where the Vikings tied it up to force OT where G. Adams (who finally showed some things last night) blew past McKinnie on the edge and was going to light up Favre but he fell coming around the corner. Tons of guys just slipping up.

[bukie]

The Bears play the same exact thing regardless of their own personel shortcomings.

 

OK, I don't know why this bothers me, but do you mean personnel or personal? You did this a lot over the last day or so, and I'm trying to distinguish what you mean.

 

I haven't been posting for a day or so, but I meant personnel and I'm not sure why that wasn't obvious despite the spelling error.

Mostly because both versions could have potentially made sense in context, so I wasn't sure whether you were thought the team had a personnel (talent) issue or a personal (problems with the coaching) issue.