BigSlick

god I tried reading some Bill Simmons, I really did. But this is about how far I got before I had an aneurysm: "I want to see this framed photo of Kyle Orton and Brian Griese hanging in a Chicago art gallery along with the caption, "We can't believe one of us isn't starting over Rex Grossman." HURRRRRRR REX GROSSMAN JOKES FUNNY FUNNY HURRRRRR

that's what I like to hear, hopefully Lovie sees that article Its kinda an absurd thing to say. While they deserve to be underdogs, perhaps even 7 point dogs, that is by no means saying they "have no chance." These guys are repeating history over and over again. The Cardinals couldn't beat any AL team. The Gators couldn't beat the mighty Buckeyes. ( :( ) The mighty Rams couldn't be beaten by the Patriots. The Patriots were what, 14 point dogs? The thing is people don't understand how match ups are going to work out. The Colts offensive line could possibly be completely over matched or something. Sometimes the better team can have a weakness that easily exploited by a team geared towards that weakness. Random things can happen. And its one game. There are plenty of things that can happen, even barring a major injury, that would induce a Bears victory. Does anyone really honestly think the Bears are completely overmatched in this? I think thats a poor assesment. The Bears could be blown out, but I honestly don't think they don't even have a boxers shot in this.

Just reading the title got me thinking though, I don't think Urlacher has a Hall of Fame spot yet. We'll see. He needs about 3 more really high quality years, and thats never a guarantee in the NFL.

I'll probably drinking, so not so much for me. :D Of course, I'll like to be decently sober for this game so I can have all my attention concentrated. I had a dream before the Saints game I was at my parents house and there was a party going on and I couldn't quite see the television but I kept hearing that things were going bad and that the Bears would probably lose. I can only hope I have a similar dream this time.

Sorry to society? What? Did Tank kill someone or something? How did the charges against him adversely affect society? Tankful of Excuses You saw it coming...what a hypocritical hack. ETA: I thought the judge who let him come here was a Packer fan, not a "judge in Bears clothing." While I agree with you...Johnson did say some pretty stupid things there. If you watched the interview, you'll see what Plaschke wrote doesn't match up with the questions Tank answered, making him look much, much worse. And ask Bill where he is when USC athletes are accused/suspended due to rape/assault/drug possesion/etc. "Of course I would say that. I've never felt racism in my life before, but now … I look at it like, is this because I'm a certain thing?", "I'm young, I'm black, I have tattoos, I'm easy to stereotype. I don't look like you, I don't walk like you, I don't talk like you." - Tank Johnson While I agree with you (Raisin) for the most part on the stupidity of Plaschke, these two quotes by Tank are just ludicrous. WHATEVER, JESUS God can we stop talking Tank? He's a pretty average footballer. ENOUGH WITH HIM. JESUS.

I'd just prefer a bunch of reffs that don't nose in and don't make many calls in general. IMO, let the boys play. You make the calls when you have to, you throw the holding penalties when you have to, etc. But please, for the most part, keep the flag in the pocket.

you forgot to mention 3 things: 1. the patriots, for some mystifying reason, maybe they wanted to lose or something, ran the ball 5 times in the second half after dominating the line of scrimmage in the first half. why did big fat slobby want brady in the shotgun for the entire half? who knows? all i know is that both dillon and faulk averaged nearly 7 yards per carry in that game and the belichek, looking like he just fell out of bed, doesn't go with the ground game in the second half, unbelievable--this perception of belichek as some sort of genius has made him the ultimate arrogant poo-hole. 2. the ravens just kept turning the ball over, and that's a credit to the colts defense, no doubt. but it's not like jamal lewis was held down or anything. both lewis and mike anderson were over 4 yards per carry in the game--they just didn't have a chance to run the ball very much, what with the exalted steve mcnair throwing goal-line interceptions and such. 3. the chiefs just didn't have time to get johnson started. most of that can be attributed to the colts ball control offense holding the ball for twice as long as the chiefs. The Chiefs had an awful gameplan and didn't gain a 1st down until waaaaaaaaay into the 3rd quarter. It was one of the worst offensive efforts I've ever seen in a football game. (And yes, I've seen the 2004 Bears) Literally, they ran Larry Johnson into a stacked line on 1st and second down, and then some receiver would drop a ball on 3rd down. It was excruciating. That is really the only game where the Colts run defense looked phenominal. Not to say it wasn't pretty good in the other games, but it isn't "OMG JUGGERNAUT WHERE DID THIS GREAT RUN DEFENSE COME FROM" It has been improved and all, but not that tested.

So if Dallas Clark goes in the slot, who would be assigned to cover him? Well, this isn't backyard (you got that guy I got that guy) football, that could change on any given play. It could be a lineback, it could be a dback, or it could be nobody if they are in zone. True, but usually one player gets the bulk of the responsibility-my main question was which linebacker usually gets coverage responsibilities in that sort of base-my guess is that in the Cover 2 system it's your WILL, but I'm not completely sure which outside backer your WILL is. Briggs. However, you are mistaken if you think we run a textbook Cover-2 . We change plenty of things around to fit Urlacher's skillsets. Yeah, I can tell-it's a testament to the Cover 2 being changed when your MLB leads the team in tackles-it should be the WILL who gets all the stats but is not completely deserved (for example, Cato June for the Colts got a Pro Bowl appearance last year, was tied with Urlacher in tackles this year (5th in the league)), but people are not calling him one of the top free agents this year with good reason, because his stats are inflated by the whole defense designed to bring the runner back to him. The fact that Urlacher has so many tackles shows both his extreme talent level, and the fact that the defense has been adapted in some way. Many people have said that the Cover 2 sorta wastes Urlacher out there, and there has been a lot of debate about this. I'm kinda on the fence. I don't especially like the Cover 2 scheme, but with all the talent on our defense we could probably run any scheme. (I.E. we could basically run anything and our defense would still be awesome)

What? Being a writer on ESPN requires growing up rich? most people who get jobs that there is a very competitive market for are pretty likely to have well off families with connections......obviously Obviously you don't know what you're talking about. You think Bill Simmons got his job based on family connections? Think that's how Scoop Jackson got his? What about Hunter S. Thompson? dude you really need to find something to do besides try to argue in online forums. I mean who honestly cares about this? I am going to guess all of them had some type of connection that got them the job Bill Simmons and Scoop Jackson. LOL. Those guys are the epitome of journalistic excellence, aren't they.

So if Dallas Clark goes in the slot, who would be assigned to cover him? Well, this isn't backyard (you got that guy I got that guy) football, that could change on any given play. It could be a lineback, it could be a dback, or it could be nobody if they are in zone. True, but usually one player gets the bulk of the responsibility-my main question was which linebacker usually gets coverage responsibilities in that sort of base-my guess is that in the Cover 2 system it's your WILL, but I'm not completely sure which outside backer your WILL is. Briggs. However, you are mistaken if you think we run a textbook Cover-2 . We change plenty of things around to fit Urlacher's skillsets.

I'm going to shamlessly bump my own post, only because I was silly enough to post it at 1:30 in the morning, and don't want it to get buried with only 1 or 2 responses. I really would like to know what defensive alignment Bears fans think they should stay in most of the time, and how they match up with the Colts in that particular alignment. The Colts don't allow anyone to substitute often. But the Bears really don't play that way anyway. We stick with our base defenses, or just run nickel, and then key off that for everything else. The Bears are fairly equal in effectiveness between their nickel and base packages. The only difference you will see personnel-wise is, in nickel Ricky Manning Jr. will be on the field, and the base package has Hunter Hillenmeyer. RMJ is basically a rough-guy, not a real good cover CB (that's why he's nickel) but he hits very hard. Hillenmeyer isn't the toughest linebacker, but his coverage is alright. Either way, we can key off those packages and run whatever we want, so I'm not sure this is the key you are thinking it is. Here's the key in my view: our safeties suck. Sometimes they do alright, but alot of times they're late in over-the-top coverage, and they don't stick in run support all that well (that's why the dropoff in defensive efficiency can be traced to Mike Brown's injury more than Tommie Harris). I think if Manning can call the plays that exploit our weakness at safety, he can get us going backwards. If he can't, I don't think the nickel vs. base package is going to help all that much. You should just go with my way of thinking and just consider anything the Bears defense does as gravy. What? Thats mad talk? Not really. The Colts will get their yardage. They'll get points. We wont stuff them. Just focus on two things: Getting turnovers, not giving up touchdowns instead of field goals. Everything else will be on the offense, just like every other team that beat the Colts this year. Run, run, run. Kill that defense. Its really our only chance to beat them.

Some of these guys I don't think I've ever seen play. I was surprised to see Cameron Worrell still on the field. How funny would it be to see Kyle Orton wear a championship ring for the rest of his life? He could be out of the NFL as soon as next year and he could still have won a championship. I'll be honest though. He sorta did save our season last year. Because he wasn't Chad Hutchinson.

Some of these guys I don't think I've ever seen play. I was surprised to see Cameron Worrell still on the field. How funny would it be to see Kyle Orton wear a championship ring for the rest of his life? He could be out of the NFL as soon as next year and he could still have won a championship. I'll be honest though. He sorta did save our season last year. Because he wasn't Chad Hutchinson.

For Bears fans -on these down and distances, do you run the ball somewhat consistently? Or is it going to require more consistent gains on 1st down? 2nd and 6 2nd and 8 2nd and 10-12 3rd and 4 3rd and 5-7 Honeslty we probably run more on 2nd and 8 than on 2nd and 6. :x I don't think we've ever run on 3rd and 4 if the game is still in balance. It pisses me off, but thats the way it is.

There are still 5 more days till Sunday. Curse this bye week! Curse it! After watching ATH and the insanity that is that show, they helped me realize the exact opposite of what they were arguing for. Everything about a victory for the Bears resides on the shoulders of the Offensive Line, Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson. If we can open up the running game and get 120+ yards rushing I really like our chances. If Grosman attempts less than 20 passes, I like our chances even more. And that has nothing to do with Grossman and everything to do with Ron Turner. Keep running, Ron!

Probably. What is the relationship between Lovie and the Bears owner and GM'? lovie was with angelo in tampa and was brought in by the man, who was desperate to get rid of hatley-hire jauron, going so far as to sabotage the 2003 bears by cutting ted washington, and watching the defense fall apart. i'll never forgive angelo for that, he's a low-down dirty piece of human garbage for stabbing jauron in the back like that--it was as transparent as you can get. . :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: Wow...you can't be serious with that post. It was awful seeing Jauron continue his miserable existence on the basis of a fluke 13-3 season. Jerry's hand was forced, honestly, I would have cut Jauron right after 2002 and that miserable season Awful, awful awful coaching. He had 4 losing seasons and one good season. Great. He was AWFUL.

Jesus, Bill Plaschke is a tool. I want more Michael Wilbon.

I like it! Even though its comparing eras, and thats a big no-no.

This article just proves that Scoop is a terrible writer. It's heavily biased towards the Bears obviously, and the entire article is garbage. I'm also fairly certain Rex never said "When it's all said and done, I will have multiple Super Bowl rings." I'm pretty sure what he said was "If I have multiple Super bowl rings, I will be satisfied with my career," or something to that effect. Many players would kill to have the chance for one. Seeing as we are in this spot very early in his career gives him the opportunity to aim for a higher goal. How much would it suck to have his career peak here? Not literally, but figuratively. He could still have a great career but never again approach teh Super Bowl.

I'd like to see them get Rashied Davis the ball more. Good things always happen when he does.

Is the jinx for the big picture or anyone on the cover? This could be a case where both teams lose. Are we honestly going to start talking about cover jinxes? Jesus people. The only curse in the NFL that truly works is the Madden curse. Everyone know sthat. That's what Saints fans said last week when I put up the Brees cover... :) Correlation =/ Causation

Is the jinx for the big picture or anyone on the cover? This could be a case where both teams lose. Are we honestly going to start talking about cover jinxes? Jesus people. The only curse in the NFL that truly works is the Madden curse. Everyone know sthat.

Wow, thats a pretty gay cover. Seriously, they couldn't find a better shot of Peyton?

I'm going to get the article were Mariotti said Lovie Smith was a terrible choice for Head Coach.

Wow, thats actually pretty lame. All he did was point back. Who really made a big deal about the taunting? Christ. I mean 5,000 to Reggie Bush is pocket change, but its still pretty ridiculous.