SpongeWorthy

My Russian friend is freaking out over the fact that the Russians have only managed to win one, measly bronze medal.

Shannon Brown was a huge disappointment in the dunk contest. To me, he is just like JRich circa 2002 and could've thrown down some sick dunks. Can't believe those guys had such vanilla crap prepared. I think some of them flat out choked and had much better stuff in practice.

Between the SNES game, the commercials, wearing his hat backwards in the Derby, Junior was definitely The Man amongst kids in the 90s. Bonds just didn't resonate nearly as much. Thomas was probably #2 although quite a ways off from Griffey's shine though.

I always felt luge was lacking more giant, steel poles near the finish line. Seriously, whose idea was that?

I don't think there's any reason the Saints wouldn't want him back at a reduced rate. He's a perfect fit there with Sean Payton and Brees and I think he'd probably take less than market value to stay. But if he gets on the market the Bears should definitely inquire.

I wish they showed the part right after where Scottie walks right up to Spike Lee and starts jawing at him. That's a good list of dunks too. The Tom Chambers one is so unbelievable.

Texas? wtf There's no way.

Hah. That figures. Well, I guess if he can be back for the next regular season game I'd say just sit him through the break.

Devin Brown was a starter for the Hornets and averaged 9 points. That's how good Chris Paul is.

Shiancoe is a very good red zone weapon but he won't get more touches than Harvin. Harvin gets touches in all phases of the game and I bet he'll run the ball more next year too. I think he pretty much exceeded any reasonable expectations people had of him. He was pretty damn polished for the pro game coming out of that Florida offense. The reason I'll say that I would trade any two Bears receivers for him is because I don't think Bennett and Devin A. are guys that can't be replaced easily. They would be 4th and 5th receivers on the Vikings, at best. Knox is a talent but I would give him and Hester up for Harvin as well. He still needs a ton of work...right now he just runs by guys. Harvin is a potential top 10-15 offensive weapon in the entire league, IMO and offers a ton of versatility. Hester has never been an effective receiver and return guy in the same season and Harvin did it his rookie year.

Harvin was the #1 player in high school, one of the best players in college, and was effective as a #2 receiver, wildcat runner, and a returner. He's very, very good. I admit I'm high on him but I think he's a perennial pro bowl caliber guy. He came out of a very un-pro style offense and was a big weapon his first year as a pro when many rookie WRs don't do much of anything. He does have a tendency to get hurt though. If he can stay healthy he'll be right there with Desean Jackson next year.

No, it's because you think the Bears receivers are acceptably good. They're not. Maybe all we can do is hope they can be in the future but they're not at the moment. If you called up the Vikings and offered Devin Hester and Johnny Knox (or Bennett or Devin A.) for Harvin they'd laugh in your face.

Hakim put up those numbers as the 4th cog in one of the best offenses in NFL history. Hester might be better but if he's putting up numbers like that and maybe doing damage in the return game as the 3rd or 4th guy for us I would be happy. That's assuming we've got a strong 1-3.

Then the blame lies with the Bears and you. He isn't a number 1, never should have been marketed as a #1 and should not be expected to be a #1 by anybody. Except he is the Chicago Bears #1. It'd be like saying if the Cubs had Randy Wells as their #1 starter then it's probably safe to say their starting pitching sucks ass. It's not necessarily casting aspersions on Wells but it's a solid indicator.

I would trade any two receivers on the Bears for Percy Harvin and not think twice about it.

FO is certainly better than just looking at the counting stats gotten from the box score. And I'm not saying Hester doesn't have value...but the fact that he is our best receiver is troubling and indication that the situation needs to be fixed one way or another. If he was a our #2 or a slot guy with good return skills then I'd be perfectly happy with him.

Um, I'm saying I find the claim that there are more unnecessary, cheap, and illegal hits today dubious and that the increase in concussions and their negative consequences has more to do with better diagnosis and a far better medical understanding of their long term implications.

Well like I said, I'm skeptical that there are really more violent, dangerous, and unnecessary styles of tackles being done these days. People are seeing more portions of more games than ever before today. Every violent hit is diagnosed to death and put under the spotlight. So while that may encourage guys to go for the highlight tackle to end up on SportsCenter it's entirely possible that we just think there's more violent hits because we're able to see more of them because of the confluence of media and technology. YouTube Jack Tatum and tell me that guy wasn't clotheslining people or leading with the helmet in ways that would get him automatically suspended nowadays. Mark Carrier did some freaking brutal helmet to helmet shots when he was a Bear (I believe he earned a suspension or two in his day).

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/wr Hester is the highest ranked Bears WR at 47th. That's a gigantic problem. Basically any passing attack who you would hope the Bears emulate has two or even three guys rated higher than any Bears receiver. If you drop back and pass enough, which the Bears did a lot, even crappy receivers are going to accumulate stats, especially with a talented QB. It's practically a mathematical certainty. Remember when McNabb was screwing around with garbage like Todd Pinkston, James Thrash, and Fredex? They put up some numbers too. But their passing attack got a lot better when they had good TO for a year and then picked up Jackson and Maclin. Same with Brady when he went from Deion Branch and Troy Brown to Moss and Welker.

Saying concussions are surely coming from a lack of proper tackling form is the sort of specious logic nutbags use to say vaccinations are causing autism in children. Our scientific understanding of the brain is in is infancy but it's worlds better than what it was just 10 years ago. I mean how often were concussions being quickly diagnosed on the sidelines in the 60s? Or the days of leather helmets? We're seeing more concussions because we can diagnose them better and it's considered more of a problem because we understand the linkages between brain injuries and dementia, Parkinsons, etc. Also the players are just bigger and faster: F = ma and all that.

Hester is worse than almost every other starting #1 WR in the NFL and worse than most #2s on good passing attacks. He's very substantially worse than Harvin as well.

I really don't think killshotting DBs are any more in style now than they've ever been. Guys like Tatum, Lott, Carrier, Atwater, etc. did things on the field that would routinely be called as penalties nowadays. The focus/fear of concussions comes from bigger/faster players, better diagnosis, and a better understanding of the long term impact of them.

I'm highly doubtful that you can significantly curb leading with your head without basically basically destroying the defenses ability to tackle. You're taught to lead with your shoulder and wrap up from pee wee football...it's inevitable that your head is going to contact the ball carrier a lot.

Not when compared to offensive guard, tackle, backup RB, defensive line, safety and corner. Not when faced with a weak FA class and a shortage of draft picks. At this point, there's no harm in letting what we have play for another year. It's not completely known if it was the WRs that led to the issues in the passing game. Maybe it was the offensive line not giving Cutler time. Maybe it was the lack of a run game that allowed teams to play more defenders in coverage. Maybe it was Ron Turner's offensive scheme. Maybe it was Aromashodu not getting a chance before the last 4 weeks, or Hester being played out of position as the #1 WR, or having a talented WR like Iglesias sit the bench. I just think that with your 2 biggest, and arguably most talented WRs, not getting much of a chance and the clear upgrade in offensive coordinators; you have to see if the young guys developed unless you get a true stud for next to nothing. The Bears can't trade for anyone. They aren't going to draft a stud WR with no picks in the top 70. Might as well see what you have in your group of WRs with less than 1 year field experience than use valuable resources on a WR. I'll grant you offensive line. I still think the WRs were [expletive] brutal last year (unquestionably worse than Cutler's pass protection) but yes, a huge area of concern. Backup RB is never more important than the WR corps. Defensive line I'm not as down on. I actually do think Marinelli improved things there. When Harris shows up, they're a decent unit and we still have some youth there. Secondary is the biggest concern on defense but I wouldn't put it over WRs. And I'm not disputing that there really isn't much alternative to hoping the young guys develop at WR but they MUST. We simply can't expect to be a good offense with terrible WR play. If there's a real talent to add there it needs to be done. Also, Earl Bennett isn't good. I wouldn't expect much him to turn into much.

I've never heard anyone characterize the ND sanctions as anything but very minor. 2 years probation, 2 total scholarships lost, no postseason ban, no vacated wins. And Kim Dunbar was a registered ND booster.