Bears game 1: Sunday Sep. 12 vs DET on Fox

[Wilson A2000]

Great interview on 670 with Ted Phillips. Some nuggets:

 

- Forbes thinks the Bears should be worth more, but Phillips prides the organization on being the NFL's leader on the web. He also pointed out they are most popular with social media sites and their radio numbers. Hahahaha! Why didn't the Bears build a rectractable roof stadium and increase the capacity of Soldier Field? That would have been a cash cow if the Bears could share in the profits with the park district.

 

- Said Lovie and Jerry aren't on the hot seat and won't necessarily be fired for missing the playoffs.

[Old Style]

Great interview on 670 with Ted Phillips. Some nuggets:

 

- Said Lovie and Jerry aren't on the hot seat and won't necessarily be fired for missing the playoffs.

He can't really believe this, can he?

[jersey cubs fan]

Great interview on 670 with Ted Phillips. Some nuggets:

 

- Said Lovie and Jerry aren't on the hot seat and won't necessarily be fired for missing the playoffs.

He can't really believe this, can he?

 

I do.

 

A 9-7 non playoff season probably means they are back. An 8-8 season may save them, and 7-9 isn't even a guarantee overhaul. And Ted might not be the one making a decision anyway.

[rawaction]

Great interview on 670 with Ted Phillips. Some nuggets:

 

- Said Lovie and Jerry aren't on the hot seat and won't necessarily be fired for missing the playoffs.

He can't really believe this, can he?

 

I do.

 

A 9-7 non playoff season probably means they are back. An 8-8 season may save them, and 7-9 isn't even a guarantee overhaul. And Ted might not be the one making a decision anyway.

 

Yeah, the time to fire him/them would have been after last year. But with Lovie having next year on his deal, Angelo having, I believe, 2 more years, and the pending NFL labor situation, you could see everyone brought back.

 

Plus there's the Cutler factor. The Bears have never had a legit QB before, and do they really want their first franchise QB to have to learn his 4th offense in 4 years (3 in 3 w/ the Bears)? I'm pretty sure a new coach would want to bring in his own OC.

[jersey cubs fan]

Yeah, the time to fire him/them would have been after last year. But with Lovie having next year on his deal, Angelo having, I believe, 2 more years, and the pending NFL labor situation, you could see everyone brought back.

 

Plus there's the Cutler factor. The Bears have never had a legit QB before, and do they really want their first franchise QB to have to learn his 4th offense in 4 years (3 in 3 w/ the Bears)? I'm pretty sure a new coach would want to bring in his own OC.

 

Well, is that any worse than his 4th in 5 years? Because unless they plan on extending Lovie for 2012 and beyond, you are just going to be dealing with a new regime after next year. If the excuse is Lovie has a contract, it's quite customary for guys to be bought out of their last year. It's the multi years that are tough to swallow.

[UMFan83]

I doubt the CEO of the Bears is going to come on the radio 2 days before the season starts and say "if we don't make the playoffs this year, Lovie and Jerry are canned"

 

I guess he could talk around the question, but either way it doesn't really do anyone any good to imply they'll be gone. I'm sure they both have a pretty good idea that they don't have a ton of job security.

[rawaction]

Yeah, the time to fire him/them would have been after last year. But with Lovie having next year on his deal, Angelo having, I believe, 2 more years, and the pending NFL labor situation, you could see everyone brought back.

 

Plus there's the Cutler factor. The Bears have never had a legit QB before, and do they really want their first franchise QB to have to learn his 4th offense in 4 years (3 in 3 w/ the Bears)? I'm pretty sure a new coach would want to bring in his own OC.

 

Well, is that any worse than his 4th in 5 years? Because unless they plan on extending Lovie for 2012 and beyond, you are just going to be dealing with a new regime after next year. If the excuse is Lovie has a contract, it's quite customary for guys to be bought out of their last year. It's the multi years that are tough to swallow.

 

Yeah, but if the labor situation isn't taken care of...do you fire Lovie and hire another coach and pay them both NOT to coach? If it is a case where the labor situation gets worked out and there is football next year, but the deal isn't met until spring, that's probably too late to get a new coach in there.

 

The only reason I saw to bring Lovie back is if you were planning on him coaching out his contract. Sure if Lovie was fired before this season, you would still be paying the current coach and Lovie next year to not coach, but at least you would already have a staff in place for the future instead of 2 years with a lame duck coach/staff.

[Soul]

Yeah.

 

Not a fun topic to think about, but you might be right. Lovie & crew could be around for the duration, and that could have actually been the plan all along.

 

What about dumping Angleo though. I might be more positive about Lovie sticking around with Martz if I knew a better GM with better personnel judgement was coming in to feed him players. Maybe.

[Wilson A2000]

I don't blame Ted for not calling out Lovie and Jerry if he hadn't said anything before, but he pretty much did at the end of the season press conference in January.

[Soul]

I don't blame Ted for not calling out Lovie and Jerry if he hadn't said anything before, but he pretty much did at the end of the season press conference in January.

 

Then he probably reviewed how much cash he'd be tossing out the window if they were let go early.

[Soul]

Despite my concerns for this Bears team, I'm still really pumped for Sunday.

 

Something about football is different for me than any other sport, including baseball. I just really enjoy watching the details, how plays develop, which guys beat which guys on a particular play, etc. The strategy being used, and how it works against a counter strategy.

 

It's the only sport I still feel excited about watching even if my team really blows. I'll turn on 2 bottom feeders and watch the whole game if I feel like there's something of interest. And it doesn't take much for me to feel that way.

 

There's lots to watch on this Bears team, even if they don't turn out to be much.

 

I'm interested in:

 

The development of Chris Williams. Even if he's not a stud LT, I'm interested to see if he can anchor some position on the line. I'll be watching to see if he settles in @ LT, or if they decide to move him to a less-intense position. It would be nice to get one solid lineman in return for our #1 pick. I think the kid does have some talent, but I'm not quite sure how it is going to ultimately translate yet.

 

The return of Matt Forte. I actually *DO* believe I've seen some extra pep in his step. I'm very interested to see if that means he has a bit of a bounceback year. I'm also interested in what kind of 1-2 punch we get from Forte & Taylor together. Taylor looks like a very solid pickup for us, despite the contract.

 

The further play of Jay Cutler as a Bear. No need to go into details here. We all know what to look for. It's a major storyline of the '10/'11 year for the Bears, and I definitely find it compelling.

 

Peppers. What does he look like in the Lovie scheme? Does he give us a few more solid years, or do we see a dropoff? Is he the all around solid DE that people will be happy with, or is his performance too inconsistent? If he can get consistent pressure it completely changes the landscape of what we can do defensively.

 

Major Wright's development. Can he be solid & on the field consistently, or is he going to continually be injured? I like what I've seen in limited duty, and solid play from that position is definitely needed. I find it likely that if we do get better Safety play, it will be in large part because Wright turns out to be a good NFL player.

 

Pisa, healthy, and on the field. I think this could really help us, but he's got to remain on the field all year. If he does, I'm looking for better overall interior defense for the Bears this year. I think he's a very good player we just haven't been able to get traction with yet because of injury.

 

There are several other stories out there. Urlacher's return. Omiyale @ RT. Olsen in the Martz scheme.

 

The point is, even for a team that might not do all that well, there's plenty to be excited about. Welcome back, football.

[rawaction]

I'm the same way Soul. Watched the great Lions/Browns game last year, but could not watch an entire Pirates/D'Backs game late in the season even if my life depended on it.

 

It's so crazy with all the possibilities of this team. A lot of youth on offense. A lot of experience on defense.

 

On one hand, Omiyale, Williams, Louis, Hester, Knox, Aromashodu, Forte, Cutler, and Olsen are all young key players on offense. But on the other hand, a bad year from any of them isn't out of the realm of possibility considering all but Louis, Knox and Aromashodu had bad years last year....and 2 of the 3 weren't highly drafted and don't have an outstanding past to fall back on.

 

On one hand, Peppers, Urlacher, Tillman, Briggs, THarris, Tinoisamoa, and CHarris are all talented players who have had success and for the most part are the healthiest they've been in a couple years. But on the other hand, it's not out of the realm of possibility that 5 of them (minus Briggs and Peppers) could be looking for jobs 5 months from now.

 

Need a lot of things to go right, with very litte going wrong, but it happens every year in the NFL.

[UMFan83]

I would be more pumped if the Bears weren't playing the Lions. The game is pretty much a no win for the Bears. If they lose, they are probably horrible and pretty much everyone will be down on them. If they win, they should have won. Unless they win like 41-10, it doesn't really mean much, other than we beat supposedly the weakest team on our schedule.

[Soul]

I would be more pumped if the Bears weren't playing the Lions. The game is pretty much a no win for the Bears. If they lose, they are probably horrible and pretty much everyone will be down on them. If they win, they should have won. Unless they win like 41-10, it doesn't really mean much, other than we beat supposedly the weakest team on our schedule.

 

Hmm, with the number of changes that took place for both of these teams, I don't think the Bears need to dominate to feel good about themselves. Too much is unknown and unsettled.

 

I don't think a win or a loss really proves anything, for either team. For me, I'm just hoping for a win this week because I see Dallas and Green Bay staring right at us for weeks 2 & 3. I'd like to come into the Giants game at 1-2 minimum.

[SpongeWorthy]

Yeah but if we beat the Lions 41-10 some malcontent on the Lions will talk about how "ridiculously close" they were to hanging 45 on us.

[UMFan83]

Yeah but if we beat the Lions 41-10 some malcontent on the Lions will talk about how "ridiculously close" they were to hanging 45 on us.

 

Hahaha I forgot about that. Their players are as delusional as their fans.

[Wilson A2000]

Currently two starters from last year's Bear defense are still free-agents. Adewale Ogunleye and Vasher. Man that's sad.

[Butterscup1679666578]

Might as well bring back Ogunleye.

[Wilson A2000]

Might as well bring back Ogunleye.

 

I would hit that. He could start right now. Small paycheck, but better than nothing for him.

[UMFan83]

Might as well bring back Ogunleye.

 

I had that same thought yesterday. I'm sure at his age the Bears would rather just move on at this point, and they have.

[JonJayCutler]

Beating the Lions wouldn't be the most impressive thing this team has ever done, but each win in the NFL is so valuable that I'll take it even if we play like crap and win by one point. Just win.

[Magnetic Curses]

Might as well bring back Ogunleye.

 

mineaswell

[Butterscup1679666578]

Might as well bring back Ogunleye.

 

mineaswell

 

ITS A PERFECTLY ACCEPTABLE FORM OF GRAMMAR

[Mark Priors Calves]

The Lions haven't won a road game in twenty games. The Bears have to win if they are going to do anything with this season.

[Butterscup1679666578]

Wasn't their last road win against the Bears?