jersey cubs fan

I have to agree with one minor change. Jagr winning a cup on the Blackhawks would be one of the coolest things ever, if just to piss off Pittsburgh fans.

that's really the key to everything.

If the Cubs have to pay for his travel from Des Moines to Chicago that could save the acquiring team a couple bucks...

Michael and Emery? Emery was the one who was most vocal about theoretically bringing him back but essentially letting him know he should retire. And everybody hates Michael. Actually, he probably hates Ted. Urlacher respects football people and hates non-blonde celebrity civilians. He's got to hate the pencil pushing team president.

My feeling on that is they were always going to give him the benefit of the doubt at the outset. They really had no choice. The question comes when there are struggles, how will they react. Lovie seemingly got his veterans on defense to go out and win a game or two on their own most years with the occasional halftime diatribe. I think that was partially related to the fact that those defensive players were his guys, and partly about his demeanor. Trestman isn't going to be able to fallback on that. He is going to need to win games with his offense and he will have to do it early. If they start out 4-2 a lot of this probably subsides. But if there are early struggles, it is going to be hard for them to prevent a death spiral in my opinion. The defense carried this franchise during Lovie's era. But I don't see that continuing with the leadership changes that have occurred, and lack of young studs moving up. The onus has shifted to the offense, Trestman's offense. If it lays a couple eggs, there will be problems. Also, words are wind.

There's plenty of reason for people to be optimistic. Nothing crazy about that. I have very big doubts, but remain hopeful he can get the job done. obviously, we know very little about the man in terms of contemporary, 11-man football. it could really go either way, and drastically. See, I don't think it will be that drastic either way. I think in the NFL games are won by players, schemes, and playcalling. Most of the players from a 10-win team are back. Granted, the guys on D are a year older, but they actually got younger (going away from Urlacher and Idonije) and guys like Tillman, Jennings, and Briggs are coming off at or near the best seasons of their careers. The dropoff doesn't happen that fast without injury (which obviously could happen). As for schemes and playcalling, that's supposedly where Trestman excels. Granted that's in question because it has been 10 years since he has done either at the NFL level, but it's going to be hard NOT to improve over the last 3 years in both of those aspects. The key will be how much better the playcalling and schemes are on the offensive side of the ball vs. how much worse they are on the defensive side. But the defense is where the "players" still are for this team. I think the dropoff does and can happen that fast. Defense, especially this defense, is about speed and quick reaction. A veteran wide receiver can lose a step and remain effective. Not so a defensive back. I think you are underestimating the coaching change on defense. And the potential for a change in team personality with the move from Lovie to Trestman. Motivation matters in football, as well as scheme. You have three coaching related issues that could play a role in this team actually taking a step back. 1) The move away from Lovie and Rod for a defense that has been all about Lovie and Rod for nearly a decade. And in addition to that, the leadership of the defensive captain is gone. 2) While it may be true that it would be difficult not to improve on the past offense, it is also true that it can take time for an offensive system to start to work. And with this aging defense, time is not on their side. Not to mention, it has the potential to be a make or break year for Cutler, and their best (and to this date only) WR is a volatile dude who could flip out if things look ugly. 3) The move from Lovie to Trestman has the potential to alienate the veterans and cause a riff. Most head coaching moves come from a guy retiring, a team falling apart, or a talented team underperforming. Lovie never figured out the offense, but they never fell apart under him and it would be rough to say they ever underperformed their talent level. While I am all about the belief that baseball is a just a series of one on one matchups that require a sum of the parts situation, football is different. Coaching matters, scheme matters and motivation matters. Again, this is not to say that all these issues are likely to cause a setback, just that they are real challenges this team faces.

Why do you say that? Because he's a colossal [expletive]? Because he comments on how much this group lacks patience?

He's a brave man. Brave? i think it's the blood stains in the underwear he's referring to I assumed it had something to do with digestive issues with those two places, which I find odd since they are about as bland and harmless of that style of food you can get (not bad though), and should not be difficult to handle.

There's plenty of reason for people to be optimistic. Nothing crazy about that. I have very big doubts, but remain hopeful he can get the job done.

He's a brave man. Brave?

I don't know, I think it's a walk-off. You can see Sandy Alomar just roll the ball away afterward. The lack of others coming out of the dugout explains nothing, since the camera angle is from the ceiling. Detective Taggert molesting that kid is frightening.

Oh,, then yeah, there isn't a consistent drop. There is a reduced low point of the range, but the averages, if anything, are higher.

Not that it matters, but: Tracey Myers ‏@TramyersCSN 7m #Blackhawks agree to terms with forward Kyle Beach on a one-year contract.

Really? Looks like the averages are consistently lower in 12/13 than they were in 11. At least it looks like the averages drop from right around 95 to the 92-93 range.

I hope they wife swap

In comparison, Lovie was a longtime NFL coach, well respected in Tampa Bay and widely praised as turning the Rams defense into a solid unit before taking the Bears job. He was probably the hottest name out there that offseason (among coordinators looking for promotion) and was a big ole' stoic Texan. Players loved him, and they played for him and outside of that first year, when he took over a disaster of a team, they never lost more than 9 games. Their bad years were mediocre at worst. It was a defensive oriented organization from top to bottom with a defensive head coach who always had his defense there to buffer the weak offense. That defense is very old now, with all the key coaches and the captain gone. They've suffered through more than half a decade of bad drafts and do not have the steady stream of young studs necessary to replenish the defense. I think the defense is right on the precipice of a quick decline unless the older veterans manage to forestall time and/or some young guys emerge immediately. They need the offense to click early and often. If Trestman isn't really good at this, he, and the team, are going to be really bad. I don't see much middle ground, which is where the Bears spent most of the Lovie era.

I think that is insane. If Trestman is a disaster, this team is going to fall apart in a hurry. They were held together by a defense that relied heavily on a system that is no longer being run by the people who implemented and ran the system. And all its best players are old. This team could be drafting at the top within a year or two if Trestman is a disaster. And a CFL coach who hasn't been in the league for a decade and is a weirdo has greater than a 0% chance of being a disaster. Trestman doesn't strike me as the kind of coach who can weather a disastrous start. He'll go down quick if the Bears are a trainwreck this year. What makes you think that? He's a hippy dippy "we're all winners" coach with a resume that is easy to disrespect, especially veterans on the defensive side of the ball.

I think that is insane. If Trestman is a disaster, this team is going to fall apart in a hurry. They were held together by a defense that relied heavily on a system that is no longer being run by the people who implemented and ran the system. And all its best players are old. This team could be drafting at the top within a year or two if Trestman is a disaster. And a CFL coach who hasn't been in the league for a decade and is a weirdo has greater than a 0% chance of being a disaster.

If so, that would be much dumber than Mariano winning the award. But not as dumb as getting upset that Rivera pitched the 8th or won the MVP.

That the Cubs don't have a need for above average 27 year olds? The Cubs don't need to be lamenting the loss of an above average left fielder as some huge missed opportunity. They had one then and now, and they are regularly available on the open market. The Cubs suck and have sucked for a long time. People who are perfectly happy with the team sucking don't need to be telling fans what above average players they do and do not need to be lamenting missing out on.

That the Cubs don't have a need for above average 27 year olds?

http://gizmodo.com/the-forgotten-history-of-baseballs-most-iconic-objects-792812600 history of baseballs, bats and gloves I found the video on making the ball enlightening.

I'm gonna give this kid a twitter ceiling of Brandon McCarthy at this point. Solid drafting by Theo and Co. hahaha, well said

Jesus. That seems a tad harsh. I think it's probably on the low end of a reasonable range. There's a lot of volatility in reasonable expectations.

He is not completely replaceable every offseason. Not to mention, his presence could have allowed this front office to put resources toward addressing other needs, so talking about "today's roster" is pointless.