Week 1: Bills @ Bears - Noon CT Fox/780

[jersey cubs fan]

Brad Biggs ‏@BradBiggs · 4m

#Bears announce WR Marquess Wilson placed on injured reserve with designation to return. CB Kelvin Hayden has been re-signed.

[Guest]

Just called DirecTV and ended up getting Sunday Ticket for free. Pretty pumped.

 

how'd you pull that off?

 

and here i was feeling good about getting my usual $15 for 3 months of xm by asking to cancel this morning.

[Brian707]

Just called DirecTV and ended up getting Sunday Ticket for free. Pretty pumped.

 

how'd you pull that off?

 

and here i was feeling good about getting my usual $15 for 3 months of xm by asking to cancel this morning.

 

 

Tell them Uverse is in the neighborhood, and you are switching to them. They will ask you what they can do to make you stay. They are technically the same company now, but they don't want you to leave as long as your not locked into a contract with them already.

[Guest]

Just called DirecTV and ended up getting Sunday Ticket for free. Pretty pumped.

 

how'd you pull that off?

 

and here i was feeling good about getting my usual $15 for 3 months of xm by asking to cancel this morning.

 

Threatened to cancel because I don't get the Pac-12 Network and the Dodger Network (lol). They also dropped my bill by $25/month to match Time Warner.

[ChiCubsFan]

Just called DirecTV and ended up getting Sunday Ticket for free. Pretty pumped.

 

how'd you pull that off?

 

and here i was feeling good about getting my usual $15 for 3 months of xm by asking to cancel this morning.

 

Threatened to cancel because I don't get the Pac-12 Network and the Dodger Network (lol). They also dropped my bill by $25/month to match Time Warner.

 

Just did the same today. Dropped my bill by about $30/month, got free Sunday Ticket Max, and a free upgrade to the Genie so my wife can record even more crap. Also got a Genie mini thrown in, which I guess allows me to pause and rewind live TV in a 2nd room now. I was pretty surprised by how easy it was.

[Banedon]

Did both of you have to agree to another 2 years or something?

[Smack]

Did both of you have to agree to another 2 years or something?

 

Yeah that's my question, I'm a few months away from my 2 year contract running out and want to extort as much as I can ASAP.

[Banedon]

Did both of you have to agree to another 2 years or something?

 

Yeah that's my question, I'm a few months away from my 2 year contract running out and want to extort as much as I can ASAP.

 

Well my thing is that my contract is up in the spring, and I'm planning on "cutting the cord" when that contract is up. I'm more than happy to take free things from them as long as I'm not locked in longer.

[UMFan83]

Bill Barnwell's preview has the Bears as one of 8 teams expected to decline this year (the 4 categories of 8 are, Teams expected to compete for worst record, Teams expected to decline, Teams expected to improve, Teams expected to contend)

 

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/nfl-season-predictions-part-2-the-falling-stars/

 

Chicago Bears

 

2013 Record: 8-8

Pythagorean Wins: 7.3 (overperformed by 0.7 wins, ninth-luckiest team in NFL)

Record in Games Decided by Seven Points or Fewer: 6-4 (0.600, 10th-luckiest)

2013 Strength of Schedule: 0.468 (fifth-easiest)

Estimated 2014 Strength of Schedule: sixth-hardest

Turnover Margin: plus-5 (11th-best)

2014 Out-of-Division Schedule: AFC East, NFC South, vs. Cowboys, at 49ers

 

Avowed Bears fan Robert Mays wrote about this during the offseason: It’s weird to see the Bears changing into an offense-first team. Changing might be the wrong word there, actually; it’s already happened. Check out their rank in DVOA on offense, defense, and special teams going back through the beginning of the Lovie Smith era in 2004:

 

Year Off DVOA Def DVOA ST DVOA

2004 32 9 12

2005 28 1 27

2006 20 2 1

2007 30 10 1

2008 22 7 5

2009 28 21 4

2010 28 4 1

2011 30 4 1

2012 26 1 6

2013 6 25 11

That’s what happens when you replace Lovie Smith and special teams wizard Dave Toub with Marc Trestman and Joe DeCamillis. While Trestman is an offensive-minded coach, the truth is that the Bears drafted poorly on defense for years and it finally began to stick in 2013. After Jerry Angelo used early-round picks on the likes of Dan Bazuin, Michael Okwo, Jarron Gilbert, and Major Wright during his time as general manager, incoming replacement Phil Emery used his first selection on defensive end Shea McClellin, who failed to develop at end before moving to linebacker out of sheer desperation in the offseason. When a wave of injuries ran through the Chicago defense last season, there wasn’t any depth to turn to. The likes of Chris Conte and Jon Bostic could barely tread water, leading to a massive decline from one of the league’s best defenses. It’s no coincidence that Chicago will likely start just four homegrown players on defense in Week 1, two of whom — Lance Briggs and Charles Tillman — were drafted in 2003.

 

Emery, a favorite around these parts, noticed his defense had been atrocious and decided to throw everything he had at fixing it. He used four of his first five draft picks on defenders, and while cornerback Kyle Fuller was his first selection, the more pressing arrival in 2014 might be the combination of defensive tackles Ego Ferguson and Will Sutton, who will give Chicago much-needed depth in the interior. If fourth-rounder Brock Vereen can supplant the dismal Conte in the secondary, that would only make things better.

 

With a number of large contracts (notably the now-released Julius Peppers) coming free, Emery used the cap space he had to re-sign Jay Cutler and rebuild his defensive line. Lamarr Houston and Jared Allen are the new starting ends, with Houston profiling as the run-stopper while Allen gets after the quarterback as part of a rotation with fellow new arrival Willie Young. Getting veterans D.J. Williams and Lance Briggs back into the lineup at linebacker should help, but the 32-year-old Williams hasn’t started a full season since 2010 and Briggs turns 34 during the campaign. The guy who comes back this year might just be a dude in a Lance Briggs jersey.

 

So, then, it certainly seems like the Bears will go as far as their offense will take them. A healthy year from Cutler would help; as impressive as Trestman was in getting the most out of Josh McCown last year, performing the same feat with new backup Jimmy Clausen might actually qualify him for sainthood. Cutler was also the only Bears offensive starter to miss even a single game last season, leaving them as the healthiest offense in football in 2013. As a group that’s very thin at virtually all of the skill positions, the Bears will have to hope for a repeat performance.

 

Best-Case Scenario: The big names on defense turn Mel Tucker’s unit around, Cutler plays his first uninterrupted season since 2009, and the Bears outpace the Packers for the NFC North trophy.

 

Worst-Case Scenario: Allen, Briggs, and Tillman aren’t their former selves, the defense stays subpar, and Cutler gets taken out by a vengeful Peppers in Week 4, consigning the Bears to three months of Clausen.

 

It does touch upon what could kill the Bears this year, the fact that outside Cutler they were the healthiest unit in football, as no other starter missed a game on offense. The fact that we downgraded the depth at the 3 biggest skill positions, QB, RB, WR is worrisome. If it all works out, we will be great. If Forte goes down for an extended period we will be in trouble.

[ChiCubsFan]

Did both of you have to agree to another 2 years or something?

 

Yeah that's my question, I'm a few months away from my 2 year contract running out and want to extort as much as I can ASAP.

 

Well my thing is that my contract is up in the spring, and I'm planning on "cutting the cord" when that contract is up. I'm more than happy to take free things from them as long as I'm not locked in longer.

 

I did, but I'm not sure if I would have had to if I didn't do the equipment upgrade. They made no mention of it until I upgraded to the genie.

Edited September 3, 2014 by ChiCubsFan

[Banedon]

Did both of you have to agree to another 2 years or something?

 

Yeah that's my question, I'm a few months away from my 2 year contract running out and want to extort as much as I can ASAP.

 

Well my thing is that my contract is up in the spring, and I'm planning on "cutting the cord" when that contract is up. I'm more than happy to take free things from them as long as I'm not locked in longer.

 

I did, but I'm not sure if I would have had to if I didn't do the equipment upgrade. They made no mention until of it until I upgraded to the genie.

 

Yeah...my last contract renewal was because of upgrading to the genie as well.

[JonJayCutler]

The fact that we downgraded the depth at the 3 biggest skill positions, QB, RB, WR is worrisome.

 

QB I'll give you, even though at this time last year we felt no better about McCown than we do Clausen right now, or at least I didn't.

 

However I'm pretty sure we increased depth at both WR and RB, even if only slightly. I feel like Holmes and Morgan provide a decent upgrade over Earl Bennett and Weems, or even the raw 2013 version of Wilson. We have a few projects at RB, but it'll be hard for whoever spells Forte not to at least duplicate Bush's 3.1 ypc from last year.

[Thed Hoyerstein]

Bill Barnwell's preview has the Bears as one of 8 teams expected to decline this year (the 4 categories of 8 are, Teams expected to compete for worst record, Teams expected to decline, Teams expected to improve, Teams expected to contend)

 

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/nfl-season-predictions-part-2-the-falling-stars/

 

Chicago Bears

 

2013 Record: 8-8

Pythagorean Wins: 7.3 (overperformed by 0.7 wins, ninth-luckiest team in NFL)

Record in Games Decided by Seven Points or Fewer: 6-4 (0.600, 10th-luckiest)

2013 Strength of Schedule: 0.468 (fifth-easiest)

Estimated 2014 Strength of Schedule: sixth-hardest

Turnover Margin: plus-5 (11th-best)

2014 Out-of-Division Schedule: AFC East, NFC South, vs. Cowboys, at 49ers

 

Avowed Bears fan Robert Mays wrote about this during the offseason: It’s weird to see the Bears changing into an offense-first team. Changing might be the wrong word there, actually; it’s already happened. Check out their rank in DVOA on offense, defense, and special teams going back through the beginning of the Lovie Smith era in 2004:

 

Year Off DVOA Def DVOA ST DVOA

2004 32 9 12

2005 28 1 27

2006 20 2 1

2007 30 10 1

2008 22 7 5

2009 28 21 4

2010 28 4 1

2011 30 4 1

2012 26 1 6

2013 6 25 11

That’s what happens when you replace Lovie Smith and special teams wizard Dave Toub with Marc Trestman and Joe DeCamillis. While Trestman is an offensive-minded coach, the truth is that the Bears drafted poorly on defense for years and it finally began to stick in 2013. After Jerry Angelo used early-round picks on the likes of Dan Bazuin, Michael Okwo, Jarron Gilbert, and Major Wright during his time as general manager, incoming replacement Phil Emery used his first selection on defensive end Shea McClellin, who failed to develop at end before moving to linebacker out of sheer desperation in the offseason. When a wave of injuries ran through the Chicago defense last season, there wasn’t any depth to turn to. The likes of Chris Conte and Jon Bostic could barely tread water, leading to a massive decline from one of the league’s best defenses. It’s no coincidence that Chicago will likely start just four homegrown players on defense in Week 1, two of whom — Lance Briggs and Charles Tillman — were drafted in 2003.

 

Emery, a favorite around these parts, noticed his defense had been atrocious and decided to throw everything he had at fixing it. He used four of his first five draft picks on defenders, and while cornerback Kyle Fuller was his first selection, the more pressing arrival in 2014 might be the combination of defensive tackles Ego Ferguson and Will Sutton, who will give Chicago much-needed depth in the interior. If fourth-rounder Brock Vereen can supplant the dismal Conte in the secondary, that would only make things better.

 

With a number of large contracts (notably the now-released Julius Peppers) coming free, Emery used the cap space he had to re-sign Jay Cutler and rebuild his defensive line. Lamarr Houston and Jared Allen are the new starting ends, with Houston profiling as the run-stopper while Allen gets after the quarterback as part of a rotation with fellow new arrival Willie Young. Getting veterans D.J. Williams and Lance Briggs back into the lineup at linebacker should help, but the 32-year-old Williams hasn’t started a full season since 2010 and Briggs turns 34 during the campaign. The guy who comes back this year might just be a dude in a Lance Briggs jersey.

 

So, then, it certainly seems like the Bears will go as far as their offense will take them. A healthy year from Cutler would help; as impressive as Trestman was in getting the most out of Josh McCown last year, performing the same feat with new backup Jimmy Clausen might actually qualify him for sainthood. Cutler was also the only Bears offensive starter to miss even a single game last season, leaving them as the healthiest offense in football in 2013. As a group that’s very thin at virtually all of the skill positions, the Bears will have to hope for a repeat performance.

 

Best-Case Scenario: The big names on defense turn Mel Tucker’s unit around, Cutler plays his first uninterrupted season since 2009, and the Bears outpace the Packers for the NFC North trophy.

 

Worst-Case Scenario: Allen, Briggs, and Tillman aren’t their former selves, the defense stays subpar, and Cutler gets taken out by a vengeful Peppers in Week 4, consigning the Bears to three months of Clausen.

 

It does touch upon what could kill the Bears this year, the fact that outside Cutler they were the healthiest unit in football, as no other starter missed a game on offense. The fact that we downgraded the depth at the 3 biggest skill positions, QB, RB, WR is worrisome. If it all works out, we will be great. If Forte goes down for an extended period we will be in trouble.

 

 

Is the depth at WR and RB really weaker than last year? If Bennett was really that much stronger, you'd think they would have brought him back considering he's a FA right now, and I'd like to think the Bears will get better production from their backup RB's this year than they did with Bush last year.

[Guest]

It does touch upon what could kill the Bears this year, the fact that outside Cutler they were the healthiest unit in football, as no other starter missed a game on offense. The fact that we downgraded the depth at the 3 biggest skill positions, QB, RB, WR is worrisome. If it all works out, we will be great. If Forte goes down for an extended period we will be in trouble.

 

 

I think Forte is the big name I'd miss the least on offense if he were hurt. Maybe Bennett. But, no, I think Forte. Having another RB taking those carries and being a little more limited in that you lose his pass catching ability is far from a disaster.

[Soul]

It does touch upon what could kill the Bears this year, the fact that outside Cutler they were the healthiest unit in football, as no other starter missed a game on offense. The fact that we downgraded the depth at the 3 biggest skill positions, QB, RB, WR is worrisome. If it all works out, we will be great. If Forte goes down for an extended period we will be in trouble.

 

 

I think Forte is the big name I'd miss the least on offense if he were hurt. Maybe Bennett. But, no, I think Forte. Having another RB taking those carries and being a little more limited in that you lose his pass catching ability is far from a disaster.

 

Do the Bears have another RB who can catch passes out of the backfield? I admit I haven't been paying much attention to that. The threat of Forte catching a screen or something underneath is important.

[Guest]

Full disclosure - I was in the don't extend Forte camp. I don't care much for RBs and think they are easily replaced and don't think significant dollars should be invested in them.

 

That said, I wasn't upset with his extension, either.

[RynoRules]

Disagree with you guys re Forte. He's one of a handful of RB's who are exceptional inasmuch as they run, catch, and block at a high-level. Plus he rarely misses games. He's not just another back.

[Guest]

Disagree with you guys re Forte. He's one of a handful of RB's who are exceptional inasmuch as they run, catch, and block at a high-level. Plus he rarely misses games. He's not just another back.

 

He's overrated as a blocker. His pass catching ability is definitely exceptional, but it's not THAT valuable. If he's out, he'd be missed but it's far from disastrous.

[SpongeWorthy]

It does touch upon what could kill the Bears this year, the fact that outside Cutler they were the healthiest unit in football, as no other starter missed a game on offense. The fact that we downgraded the depth at the 3 biggest skill positions, QB, RB, WR is worrisome. If it all works out, we will be great. If Forte goes down for an extended period we will be in trouble.

 

 

I think Forte is the big name I'd miss the least on offense if he were hurt. Maybe Bennett. But, no, I think Forte. Having another RB taking those carries and being a little more limited in that you lose his pass catching ability is far from a disaster.

 

Bennett is a guy. Forte is one of the best backs in the league. And unless you have one of the real difference makers at tight end, you don't take one over a top tier RB as devalued as they have become.

[Guest]

It does touch upon what could kill the Bears this year, the fact that outside Cutler they were the healthiest unit in football, as no other starter missed a game on offense. The fact that we downgraded the depth at the 3 biggest skill positions, QB, RB, WR is worrisome. If it all works out, we will be great. If Forte goes down for an extended period we will be in trouble.

 

 

I think Forte is the big name I'd miss the least on offense if he were hurt. Maybe Bennett. But, no, I think Forte. Having another RB taking those carries and being a little more limited in that you lose his pass catching ability is far from a disaster.

 

Bennett is a guy. Forte is one of the best backs in the league. And unless you have one of the real difference makers at tight end, you don't take one over a top tier RB as devalued as they have become.

 

Bennett is more than just a guy and you're replacing him with awfulness worse than Kellen Davis.

 

You're replacing Forte with random crap too, but that crap is likely to do just fine at what he needs to do, which is carry the ball a bunch of times and get whatever yards the blocking gives him.

[SpongeWorthy]

It does touch upon what could kill the Bears this year, the fact that outside Cutler they were the healthiest unit in football, as no other starter missed a game on offense. The fact that we downgraded the depth at the 3 biggest skill positions, QB, RB, WR is worrisome. If it all works out, we will be great. If Forte goes down for an extended period we will be in trouble.

 

 

I think Forte is the big name I'd miss the least on offense if he were hurt. Maybe Bennett. But, no, I think Forte. Having another RB taking those carries and being a little more limited in that you lose his pass catching ability is far from a disaster.

 

Bennett is a guy. Forte is one of the best backs in the league. And unless you have one of the real difference makers at tight end, you don't take one over a top tier RB as devalued as they have become.

 

Bennett is more than just a guy and you're replacing him with awfulness worse than Kellen Davis.

 

You're replacing Forte with random crap too, but that crap is likely to do just fine at what he needs to do, which is carry the ball a bunch of times and get whatever yards the blocking gives him.

 

He's an average starting tight end. Maybe he flashes this year with another year in the system and jumps up a level. Still not nearly the caliber of player as Forte.

 

Forte could fall off a cliff of course.

[Guest]

It does touch upon what could kill the Bears this year, the fact that outside Cutler they were the healthiest unit in football, as no other starter missed a game on offense. The fact that we downgraded the depth at the 3 biggest skill positions, QB, RB, WR is worrisome. If it all works out, we will be great. If Forte goes down for an extended period we will be in trouble.

 

 

I think Forte is the big name I'd miss the least on offense if he were hurt. Maybe Bennett. But, no, I think Forte. Having another RB taking those carries and being a little more limited in that you lose his pass catching ability is far from a disaster.

 

Bennett is a guy. Forte is one of the best backs in the league. And unless you have one of the real difference makers at tight end, you don't take one over a top tier RB as devalued as they have become.

 

Bennett is more than just a guy and you're replacing him with awfulness worse than Kellen Davis.

 

You're replacing Forte with random crap too, but that crap is likely to do just fine at what he needs to do, which is carry the ball a bunch of times and get whatever yards the blocking gives him.

 

He's an average starting tight end. Maybe he flashes this year with another year in the system and jumps up a level. Still not nearly the caliber of player as Forte.

 

Forte could fall off a cliff of course.

 

Not saying he is. Forte is a great running back. But it's easier to find a guy who can perform his primary role competently. The pass catching would be missed, but it's not hard to find a guy to give you respectable carries.

[Guest]

Did both of you have to agree to another 2 years or something?

 

One year. So the agreement ends just in time for the 2015 NFL season to begin.

[Guest]

It does touch upon what could kill the Bears this year, the fact that outside Cutler they were the healthiest unit in football, as no other starter missed a game on offense. The fact that we downgraded the depth at the 3 biggest skill positions, QB, RB, WR is worrisome. If it all works out, we will be great. If Forte goes down for an extended period we will be in trouble.

 

 

I think Forte is the big name I'd miss the least on offense if he were hurt. Maybe Bennett. But, no, I think Forte. Having another RB taking those carries and being a little more limited in that you lose his pass catching ability is far from a disaster.

 

Do the Bears have another RB who can catch passes out of the backfield? I admit I haven't been paying much attention to that. The threat of Forte catching a screen or something underneath is important.

 

Carey can catch passes but he's behind Droughn on the depth chart.

[Banedon]

Did both of you have to agree to another 2 years or something?

 

One year. So the agreement ends just in time for the 2015 NFL season to begin.

 

Oh well yeah, you can pull this trick every year at that rate.