rawaction

Edit: I guess it was his groin and it was 2008. But still, point remains the same.

FWIW, same thing happened with LaDanian Tomlinson last year in San Diego. I believe it may have been a similar injury. But he was taken out of the game. He didn't physically fight anyone to stay in. He stood on the sidelines while not getting treatment. And he didn't cheer with pom poms on the sidelines for his teammates. Yet, LaDanian Tomlinson's heart was never questioned.

How many balls is Jones going to drop though in all seriousness? Even if he does drop at an alarming rate, you're looking at 18-20 drops. That's terrible, but he caught 50 this year as the #3 for most of the year (started a couple times for Driver). Knox caught 51 as the Bears #1, I think Jones can catch 65-75 as the #1 in this offense. That means you have a WR that got open 90-100 times, which is much better than you have now and also means Jay has a reliable WR.

Yeah, but with the needs at multiple OL positions and potentially a big need at DT (if Harris and Harrison are cut like they should be), you don't really have room to upgrade CB. Like I said, if you don't get one in the 1st 3 rounds (probably 1st or 2nd because CB depth isn't that good this year) then don't draft a CB. Might as well see if Bowman can turn it around and if Joshua Moore can play. Already have a roster full of mediocre talent at CB, why draft another one? And they got by with Jennings this year. If the front 7 is as good again next year, then they can get by with Jennings/Bowman/J Moore again.

Major Wright at S. And 3 years is a long time in football. You probably won't see Peppers or Urlacher in 3 years. Also, Chris Harris and Roach aren't good enough that they can't be upgraded in 3 years if the rest of the positions around them are solidified.

This free agent class of offensive linemen is actually pretty strong, if it happens (CBA). Mankins, Nicks, Joseph, and Dahl are 4 of the top 6 OGs in the league. Ryan Kalil is a top 5 C and is a FA, and there is also Chris Spencer (SEA) and Chris Chester (BAL), who were both recent 2nd round picks in their pre-prime years. The OT class isn't as strong, the one guy that will probably be available that I do like is Willie Colon from the Steelers who may be a better fit at RG. I would really try to sign James Jones. Just like last year, when free agency starts, I would throw money at Jones. They did it with a division rival's player last year (Chester Taylor) and I think they can do it again. Jones is a very good WR that can play every spot. Hands is an issue but lack of concentration due to lack of reps is a theory. Like Taylor, he is an asset to his current team, but is he going to start? Driver is almost done, but I don't think he goes anywhere yet. And if he comes back, along with Jermichael Finley, does James Jones re-sign there to fight with Jordy Nelson (who got more PT yesterday) to be the 4th target again? Or does he take the money to be the unquestioned #1? The following players should be gone: UFAs- Kreutz, Collins, Dez Clark, Rashied Davis, Tinoisamoa, Bullocks. CUT- Tommie Harris, Marcus Harrison, Hunter Hillenmeyer, Brad Maynard (may actually be a FA, but I can't confirm), Garza (if you bring in a combo of 3 OL between FA and draft), Aromashodu, Khalil Bell, Manumaleuna I would re-sign FAs: Manning, Roach, Anthony Adams. I keep Chester Taylor and hope they find a way to use him better next year. With a WR (Jones) and let's assume 1 OL in free agency, I'd draft 2 offensive linemen (in the first 4 rounds at worst), DT (probably 1st w/ Liuget), a CB (if can get one in the first 2-3 rounds), and add some depth at LB, TE, RB, or safety. No point in drafting a CB or WR after the 3rd, because the Bears already have a buttload of mid-round talent at those positions with no elite talent.

We also aren't sure just how many plays Cutler tried to go on that injured knee. Or has it been confirmed which play caused the injury and that he didn't play at all after that? He said he hurt it in the endzone when they had the ball on the drive starting at the 1.5 yard line.

I bet if Cutler would have laid on the field, got carted off, and never appeared on the sidelines people would be complaining that he quit because it was only an MCL injury (not ACL).

FWIW, Hanie was interviewed and said Cutler gave him advice throughout the game, and especially after his first drive. Told him to trust himself and remember to use his legs to get out of trouble. So, he WAS seriously hurt. He WAS playing with the injury. He WAS talking to his backup on the sideline. So, obviously he is tough. He is a team player. And he's not a quitter. Bring on the next argument.

Deferring is a non-issue. I would probably defer 9 times out of 10, especially when I have a strong defensive team.

Seems like the issue everyone is having is that they didn't "see" the injury. They didn't "see" him arguing with the coaches to get back in. They didn't "see" him getting iced up by trainers. And they did "see" him standing on the sidelines. I guess I can see the point. He didn't get carted off the field like Carson Palmer. He wasn't flipping out on the sidelines like Vince Young. He wasn't getting worked on like Philip Rivers. He didn't stay in the lockerroom and cry like a girl. But seriously? Saying he quit is completely ignorant. IF you recall, this is the same guy that got a concussion somewhere midway thru the 1st half vs. the Giants game. He continued to finish out the half and nobody "saw" which sack gave him the head injury. Yet, it was clearly a serious head injury. It has been said that he hurt his knee on the drive coming out of his own endzone, yet he played a few more series, left the 1st half early and still came out in the 2nd half for a series. Why he continues to NOT get the benefit of the doubt, I will never know.

Creek's career is probably done. I mean, he'll get back on the court, but his career as an effective basketball player is over. 2 dislocated kneecaps when he hadn't even come back 100% from the 1st.

I thought Urlacher was fairly awful in the first half. He whiffed on several tackles and took the wrong gap trying to stop the TD run. He definitely stepped up in the second half, though. Agreed. Tim Jenning sucked ass all game. I said when he was signed that he was the worst CB in the league in 2009. He had a good season, but you can't change a leopard's spots.

I remember saying that in 2006

Impressive effort. Too bad he doesn't have the skill for impact. not sure if serious at some point i would've split Forte out wide on all pass plays. he's the only one that can get open with consistency Very serious. Nice player but no impact. Still a top 10-15 RB though. The only true impact RBs are Peterson, MJD, Chris Johnson, Ray Rice, Jamal Charles and Arian Foster. Forte is in the group with Turner (much bigger impact in pass game), Mendenhall (see Turner), McFadden, and McCoy. The last 2 could join the impact group if they have another good year.

Jones Drew has a lot of [expletive] nerve! That [expletive] sat out the last 2 games with his team's playoff chances on the line. [expletive] him.

Doesn't matter if Martz won't change the offense for that WR. He would just sit him like he did Aromashodu because of some BS reason.

Makes it so bad is he puts Dez Clark outside. Oooh...that'll surprise them, let's put a blocking TE on the outside who has played 3 games all year. [expletive] morons.

Reverse on 3rd and mother [expletive] 3 with under a minute left? And they called a timeout on top of it with a dead clock? Horrible [expletive] coaching.

How can protection for Cutler not be one of the keys to this game? Maybe it was implied, but that's easily the biggest key IMO. Yes, it is implied. Just like special teams and pass rush on Rodgers. Those are easy keys.

Nerves starting to set in. Feeling better about this week though than I did last week. My keys to the game: 1. DL first step. I watched both regular season games vs. GB this weekend. And the thing that stood out to me, is the speed of the defensive lines. The Packers could not handle the Bears when they use their speed. Peppers speed rush outside and even Melton made some plays when stunting and getting 1-on-1s with Bulaga gave Rodgers trouble. If the Bears get off of the ball well, with a sloppy field, GBs OL will be playing catch-up all day to keep them from getting to Rodgers. On the other side, of the 6 sacks the Bears gave up in Week 17, 2 were coverage sacks, 1 was OL just getting beat, but the others were due to the OLBs getting great jumps off the snap. Cutler has to change up the snap count to slow down Matthews and co. 2. Fumbles. I think the Bears can come up with a couple. Obviously, the James Jones fumble in the 1st game stands out, but the Bears were also able to get a Driver fumble in Week 17, and Jennings has fumbled a couple times this year. Also, James Starks, though he hasn't fumbled yet in his young career, I noticed he's not big on holding the ball with 2 hands. I think if he tries to fight for extra yards, the opportunity for a strip will be there. 3. Forte, Olsen, Bennett......then deep. Forte and Olsen combined for 20 catches in 2 games vs. the Packers. Bennett only caught 3 in the 1 game vs. GB, but Davis had 7 in his spot Week 17. That's 15 catches per game from TE, RB, slot. GB seems to be fine with this as Knox torched them in the 1st game, and when they shut him down, they won holding the Bears to 3 points. So, the underneath guys will likely be available early and often. Cutler has to be patient and be ok with moving the ball this way. Eventually, GB will try to take out the dumpoffs and then I think that's when they can be beaten down the field. It also forces Woodson in coverage, and I think he can be beaten on slow developing routes over 20 yards. 4. 5 on 4. The Bears success in the running game has come almost exclusively when they create mismatches by putting more blockers than defenders in the play. Running off tackle to the TE side, along with pulling an offensive lineman that way has led to big runs for Forte. Against a 3-4, I think this is key because you can take out the NT and the backside DE and/or LB. Meaning you have a TE, T, G, C and pulling G manned-up on an OLB, ILB, DE, and SS. Late in the games, AJ Hawk did start to cheat keying on the pulling G, but I think he's generally slow to react and I'll take Forte vs. Hawk everytime at the angle Hawk will be coming. I'm not big on predicting games and scores, but I think this game is going to surprise people and be higher scoring than people think. I wouldn't be surprised to see 6-7 TDs between the offenses.

It's a little bit of everything. At times he can be overpowered, he can be run by, he has bad footwork, he's slow out of his stance, he has bad technique. But those mistakes have come further between each other the last 6 or so weeks. I just think he needs more experience and coaching. He really shouldn't be on the field this year. I'm sure if the Bears thought they could have put him on the P-squad they would have. I wouldn't be opposed to drafting a LT and moving Omiyale back to RT for a year, letting J'Marcus basically redshirt. But I'm also fine if they don't draft an OT early and let him play again next year, provided he improves and earns the job in camp.

I don't know crap about Szczur as a baseball player, but I followed him as a football prospect, and he was a pretty nice sleeper. He had obvious comparisons to other short, fast, white guys like Welker and Edelman.

It's been like that all year. I shudder to think just how good the Packers would have been this year if they hadn't been decimated by injuries like they were. The Jermichael Finley loss is huge for GB. They are a different team with him. He had 21 catches in 4 games this year, the rest of the Packers TEs had 34 in the final 12 games, for just 70 more yards than Finley. Plus, he is a nearly impossible matchup for the Bears. He's a Cover 2 buster as he has the speed to beat the LBs deep and give the safeties something to think about if you send the outside WRs deep also.

I don't agree on Webb. He's a former 4-star recruit to Texas. He got kicked out due to grades his freshman year and spent 4 years with minimal coaching. I think he has made great strides already this season, and a full offseason, minicamp, and camp as the starter at RT with Tice (if no lockout)....then I think he can improve even further. Actually, it is his athleticism that has been raved about from scouts. Strength thing is contradictory, but athleticism comes up both times.