Banedon

It's certainly possible that he could be very good, but you're going to have to accept that he won't break many long runs, and he'll have his limitations. I saw Jones make at least three runs where there's just no way Benson could've broken them like Jones did. He'll have more positive yardage plays, but not as many where he bounces outside or uses a burst to bust a big run. Jones doesn't break long runs. He's far more agile than Benson. I'm thinking of one run that he made in the last game, where he was about to be bottled up and then cut and broke it outside for about an 8 yard gain (think he got down to around the 2). Watching that play, I thought that there's just no way Benson could have made that run. He'd have plowed into the pile and picked up 2 or 3. That specific play you are right. But those have been few and far between for TJ. For all his advantages in agility, he hasn't broke anymore long runs. He's a steady decent RB. Ideally he'd be the change of pace guy to Benson, but he's better than just a change of pace guy. And as a free agent after next year, I see him looking for much greener pastures one way or the other. Benson has had runs where he's bounced out...I can't go locate video of it while I'm here at work, but I'll try to do that later. Both guys had their longest runs this season of 30 yards, so it's not like TJ is more likely to bust out a big run than Ced.

Probably not a first rounder, but he might get you a 2nd rounder. I wonder if any team would be interested in Jones and Wale together. How old is Jones? I wouldn't trade much for a backup RB as they are probably the easiest thing to find. Well, he's a starter. How did the carries by each Bear RB breakdown? Thomas Jones had 296 carries for 1210 yards in the regular season. Cedric Benson had 157 carries for 647 yards in the regular season. There's a steep drop off after that. In the postseason, TJ has 40 carries, while Ced has 36, so it's much more even, but TJ has a 4.7ypc while Ced only has 2.9. Thanks. I think the Bears could replace his production easy enough. He does seem to have stepped it up a bit in the playoffs but I have also seen some huge holes that the line has given him. It would actually be Benson's production that the Bears would have to replace. If Jones is dealt, I could see Benson coming near or matching Jones' numbers from last year. The key would be finding a solid backup to match Benson's 647 yards. Or Benson would have to be damn near 2000 yds. Which seems likely... 8-[

A large part of that is simply the variability of pro football. Look at the Bears/Seahawks games and Colts/Patriots games for example. Did the Bears and the Colts really prove they were the better team? They deserve to go and possibly be called champions, definitely. At the same time, both of those games were so close that 1 play changed the outcome of the game entirely-when that's the case with teams, it's hard to say that somebody was really off by picking the other side. Isn't it amazing to think that if just 1 or 2 very small things go differently, this could be say a Chargers-Saints SB? I can tell you one thing, I'm glad that for this year, those things did not go differently :D. What "very small thing" makes up a 25 point difference in the Saints game? The Seahawks have much more of a case for what you're talking about than New Orleans. I'm saying that the Seahwaks beat the Bears, and then I believe the Saints beat the Seahawks due to the matchups. That's why I didn't put the Seahawks in my Super Bowl matchup. Fair enough, although I think the very thing you're discussing means you can't make that assumption about the Saints beating the Seahawks. The Seahawks came very close to beating the Bears, who stomped the Saints. I do get your point though. That's really just the nature of sports though. That's how an 83 win team wins the World Series. Did the Cardinals prove that they were a better team, or did were they simply hot at the right time? If Detroit doesn't make some of those pitching errors, what happens then?

A large part of that is simply the variability of pro football. Look at the Bears/Seahawks games and Colts/Patriots games for example. Did the Bears and the Colts really prove they were the better team? They deserve to go and possibly be called champions, definitely. At the same time, both of those games were so close that 1 play changed the outcome of the game entirely-when that's the case with teams, it's hard to say that somebody was really off by picking the other side. Isn't it amazing to think that if just 1 or 2 very small things go differently, this could be say a Chargers-Saints SB? I can tell you one thing, I'm glad that for this year, those things did not go differently :D. What "very small thing" makes up a 25 point difference in the Saints game? The Seahawks have much more of a case for what you're talking about than New Orleans.

Probably not a first rounder, but he might get you a 2nd rounder. I wonder if any team would be interested in Jones and Wale together. How old is Jones? I wouldn't trade much for a backup RB as they are probably the easiest thing to find. Well, he's a starter. How did the carries by each Bear RB breakdown? Thomas Jones had 296 carries for 1210 yards in the regular season. Cedric Benson had 157 carries for 647 yards in the regular season. There's a steep drop off after that. In the postseason, TJ has 40 carries, while Ced has 36, so it's much more even, but TJ has a 4.7ypc while Ced only has 2.9.

Probably not a first rounder, but he might get you a 2nd rounder. I wonder if any team would be interested in Jones and Wale together. Jones and Wale for McNabb! :pint:

Well, his best run involved a lot of east/west. But that was my favorite TJ game since he came here. That's how Jones should be used, as the complementary player to Benson's relentless pounding of the ball. This game actually has me wanting TJ back next year as a complimentary back. The combination of him and Benson, although they did have a slow start, has really turned into a powerful weapon.

http://www.dailyherald.com/sports/story.asp?id=272957 I haven't heard much about this news conference, but it would be the perfect time to announce an extension. Get the media focused on Jerry/Lovie for the week. Make those guys the story for now, and get rid of any potential controversy/distractions involving those contracts. B&B mentioned this yesterday. It could be news about Angelo getting an extension, which is likely to happen prior to Lovie's extension, or it could be an announcement that both are extended... Or none of the above. Like my decisive reporting skills?

NFL Network On Demand on the Free Spot has the 10 minute replays available for almost every game played this season. For some reason my cable provider is missing a few though, including the Cardinal game...boo. But still, it's worth checking out, even if you normally don't have NFL Network.

I refuse to believe this. I must believe that the Cardinals, do in fact, actually hate one another. It makes me smile inside.

Isn't telling teams not to spend so much money borderline collusion?

Certainly, but judging by Lovie, Urlacher and P-Nut's comments in the media, you can tell they relish proving everyone wrong. How is it disrespect? Clearly the Bears had no motivation in the Packers game, and it cost them. Clearly they had a huge amount of motivation last week, and it propelled them a lopsided win. Those are just a couple of examples, but I think the right movtivation can maximize talent output, or lack of motivation can minimize it. I don't think that disrespects the talent of the team.

Also be careful blitzing Manning too much...he will make you pay. fixed What about Pittsburgh and San Diego last year? They blitzed him quite effectively. If you can conceal the blitzes well, (Which we don't do) and if you can get pressure on him (which doesn't always happen with our blitzes) then there is nothing wrong with blitzing him. In fact, we might have to end up blitzing him. If you cannot get pressure from the front 4, he'll pick your cover 2 apart. You can't sit in a zone against Manning. I wasn't saying don't blitz him...just be careful how it's done...

An interesting stat: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/scorecard/nflstandings.asp?stat=grass Colts - Turf Record 10-1 Grass Record 2-3 Bears - Turf Record 5-1 Grass Record 8-2

I don't think that's true at all, especially on this board, where fans tend to be more informed than the average fan. From what I've seen, the Bears have the best defense in the league, but a below-average quarterback and an offensive line that isn't always good enough to keep pressure off him - which is when he really struggles. I think the Colts will win because I think they're a bad matchup for the Bears - they're the best passing team in the league, and that's where the Bears can be beat. I hope for the Bears' sake that they don't buy into the "let's just run the ball all game like Jacksonville did" bull. This isn't 1994-95 Nebraska versus Baylor, these are two really good NFL teams playing in the Super Bowl. I'd like for the Super Bowl to be competitive, especially since I won't be able to watch until the second half. Actually, New Orleans was the best passing team in the league, and it didn't help them much.

Also be careful blitzing Manning too much...he can make you pay. The Bears are not a blitzing team. They haven't been all year. They get the majority of the pressure from their front four, while Briggs, Urlacher, and Hillenmeyer drop back into their coverages. Occasionally you'll see Briggs or Urlacher come on a blitz, but it's pretty rare. They do show blitz quite often and back off into coverage though. And yes, the problem with blitzing the Colts is, if you don't get to Manning, he will make you pay because there is now an open spot somewhere on the field. That's just not true recently. Since Tommie went down, the Bears have struggled getting pressure with the front four, and have had to use different blitz packages. That's part of the reason they struggled defensively down the stretch. They had much more success putting pressure on this past week, but to say they don't blitz much, especially now, just isn't true.

We have two weeks to discuss this game. Some media articles and who they choose and what they think is going to be prime discussion. It's less a matter of caring what they think, than an observation of a trend in reporting. Well it seems to help the Bears as they seem to like this "I have a chip on my shoulder" thing. Sure...it's an easy motivational tool. I think Bears fans were prepared to be underdogs in this game...I think there's some surprise at the level of it though. For example this guy... http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/6392628 He's doing a 5 reasons why each team will win article, and he puts in this little nugget...

We have two weeks to discuss this game. Some media articles and who they choose and what they think is going to be prime discussion. It's less a matter of caring what they think, than an observation of a trend in reporting.

OMG...a pro-Bears article! Flee! Flee! http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/em_swift/01/23/bears/index.html?cnn=yes

I don't even think Ogunleye should be saying anything. I saw him mimicking the referee's safety signal, and I know he'll celebrate after a sack. Unless you're Barry Sanders and you never celebrate on the field, shut the hell up and quit whining about other people showing you up. Mimicking the ref's safety signal? Seriously man, your trollish anti-Bearness has gone to new levels. He was calling for the refs to make the safety call. Considering it took them 10-15 seconds after the play to make the call, it made perfect sense that a player would be making that signal. Guys do the same thing when a player gets in the end zone. Their is an enormous difference between mocking an opponent mid-play, and signaling a safety or TD after it has occurred. Yeah this is akin to complaining that players signal "no catch" or make a facemask gesture.

Also be careful blitzing Manning too much...he can make you pay.

A really nice article about the Saints homecoming yesterday. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2738832&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab2pos1

HAHAHA! It's not that hard. Rivera sits in the booth, not strolling the sidelines...

I actually was reading on my Colts board, and was just coming here to post this-shame on me for thinking I could get a scoop on the Bears before a Bears fan :D . Respect my authoritay! :D