scarey

Anyone hear any updates on Jeffrey? I heard he went down with a knee injury.

Smack has a point. As terrible as the Bears played tonight and as pessimistic as we all are (and believe me, I'm glad I don't have a gun in the house), it's one game. One freaking game. This same 49ers team lost to the Vikings and also lost to a Giants team that looks just as bad as the Bears. These things happen in the NFL.

[expletive] Harbaugh. Do you really need the two points that badly? Can't we just get this [expletive] show over with?

That was the worst pass blocking I've seen by this line all season. I hope everyone understands the gravity of this statement.

This is what is driving me insane.

I was kind of hoping Smith would get the start. Between trying to contain Gore, Vernon Davis and the deer-like Kaepernick with the football, the LB's are gonna be real busy. While it's great to have Jeffery back for tonight, I'd sure like to see some plays get called Evan Rodriguez' way. You might be undervaluing Smith's value a little bit if you are wishing he played. He's been pretty damn good in the role he's played this year. Now I'm no 49er expert so excuse me if I say something dumb here, but as far as talent he's seems probably a slightly above average, but in the 49ers offense with the things they do, he's been great. 70% completion percentage (1st in NFL), 104.1 QBR (3rd), 13 TD, 5 INT, 7.98 YPA (tied for 2nd and 0.02 yards behind Peyton Manning for 1st). Now part of the reason he's so high in those rate stats is because they don't give him the reigns to the offense and let him go crazy. 192 yards per game is 29th among active QBs and below Jay Cutler, Matt Cassel, Mark Sanchez, Ryan Tannehill, etc. 217 PA this year is 31st in the NFL, 13 passing TD is 14th, etc. So he's not some superstud QB, but if he were playing and Gore was breaking runs and giving Smith opportunities to make smart decisions and compliment the run game, he'd be much more of a worry than Kaepernick. I'm not bagging on Smith, per se. I think he's an adequate field general and just a notch or two below Cutler. Neither is really needed to be the star on offense, but rather to move the offense and not turn over the ball. The thing about Kaepernick is that he isn't afraid to run with the ball, and that could create match up problems for our linebacking crew when they are already protecting against their two best offensive players (Davis, Gore). I was watching Kaepernick last week and he reminded me a lot of Ponder. The Bears have never really been a team that's gotten burned by mobile QB's. Maybe with staying alive, but not so much giving up QB rushing yards. I thought they were getting burned too much on the pass during the Panthers game because they were trying to contain Newton rather than try to apply pressure from the outside. I would guess Kaepernick won't be able to pick apart our secondary in the way that Newton was able to though. Assuming Okoye is inactive Melton, Paea, Toeina, and Collins are going to be a factor in this game. You know that group of yeti they have for an offensive line is going to get their opportunities to run block. When they actually do drop back to pass though, the DTs along with Izzy and Pep need to create pressure up the middle.

The 5, 6, 7, 8 is really the 20-80 scale with the 0 dropped. Yeah, a first division player probably works out to top 20% at his position. I have 2 guys from the 2010 draft in my top 30 - Matt Szczur and Ben Wells. Obviously you could see some role player big league contributions from Kevin Rhoderick, Casey Harman, Matt Loosen, Austin Reed and Dallas Beeler. I guess the ship hasn't completely sailed on Reggie Golden and Dustin Geiger. Hayden Simpson was such a horrible pick. Is it crazy for me to want to wait and see if Simpson will bounce back still? I'm not exactly getting my hopes up, but he finished the year with pretty decent peripherals (albeit, at Boise). I keep getting the feeling that the guy knows how to pitch, but just can't keep hitters off balance without the velocity. If he were to get back to mid 90s, I would think he could be dominant again. I have to wonder if he was a product of PEDs. The one big thing that's been reported has been his lack of velocity, so it kinda make's sense. Hopefully we ends up playing at Kane County at some point this year so people can get a good look at him on herer and report to us.

I'm pretty pessimistic they will be able to land Fujikawa. Isn't this guy going to want a no trade clause? I know I wouldn't want to be shuffled around in a country I was unfamiliar with. I think he could end up being a reliable closer into his late 30's (like many late inning relievers), but I don't think the Cubs make sense for him.

Translation: "I hope they don't take my money from me."

I know that the NFL doesn't want to get into a trend of figuring out how penalties should off set against each other, but that Cutler illegal forward pass/roughing the passer play really doesn't seem right. I understand that any time penalties are called on both sides they are going to off set, but I feel pretty strongly that it shouldn't in this case. Maybe it's because I'm biased. An illegal forward pass results in a 5 yard penalty and a loss of down. Roughing the passer is 15 yard penalty and automatic first down. The fact that the play ultimately resulted in the most important player on the Bears getting knocked out of the game makes it even more frustrating. If Jay ends up missing significant time, is there any chance the NFL would look at this? At minimum, I really think the team guilty of the personal foul needs to be the beneficiary in terms of down (offensive team is guilty, they lose down/ defensive team guilty results in a first down).

Before the polio vaccine, cases of polio popped up every year. Since the polio vaccine, cases of polio pop up every year. See what I did there?

And 2011. And 2010. And 2009. And 2008. And 2007. And like Harden, iirc, most of the problems are in the shoulder. If you read the article that David posted (which I read quite a while ago and caused me to jump on his bandwagon), you'd find that any injuries prior to 2011 should be judged lightly. The guy has taken huge steps to improve his mechanics and to ensure he keeps a low pitch count. He has had two injuries in 2011 and 2012 before getting a ball to the head. However, personally I think it's a risk worth taking for a reward that could be one of the best starting pitchers in the NL.

Personally, I thought it was the fact that they used the quick slant over an over again. The hurry up was a huge part too though because the Panthers weren't able to change their coverage to adjust to the play though. I just don't think the Bears use the quick slant enough, especially when it's the best weapon against a blitz happy team. I was screaming for a quick slant agains the Packers.

it absolutely showcases urlacher's coverage skills. the fact that opposing teams haven't been abusing the middle of the field passing-wise speaks to his continuing ability to get the job done. you think the defense would look like this if they had some guy can't play patrolling the middle of the field? come on, rumors of his demise are greatly exaggerated. His speed is greatly diminished, but while people will talk about how slow he looked running that INT back, they'll miss how quickly he read & got into position on that play. Without that, the INT doesn't happen in the first place. After the game during the Fox post game, they interviewed Urlacher and some dumbass said "I thought you were rumbling to the endzone rather than streaking" or something to that matter. Urlacher looked at him very straight faced and said he was not going top speed because he was trying to set up blockers. I've seen him come up short on plenty of plays this year, but it didn't look like he was struggling trying to kick it into gear on that interception. Also, he caught Chris Johnson from behind on that play that he forced the fumble. Sure, he was impeded to an extent, but he Chris Johnson is still no easy to catch from behind like that.

I'm surprised Henry Melton isn't on that list. I wonder if it is because he is used situationally. He has to be leading NFC DTs in sacks with 4.5, right?

Wrong. Briggs or bust. Tillman should be a probowler again though. Nah, Tillman has a much better chance. He's getting a lot of recognition for his ball punching abilities this year, along with the 2 picks for scores and his coverage of Megatron now, he's just done a lot more things to get national attention. Not belittling what Briggs has done, but I don't see him getting in that conversation without some more high profile plays. Between Tillman and Briggs, I think Briggs is going to end up making more big plays before the year is up. I think he and Tillman were on equal ground until last nights game. You're right that Tillman is going to pull ahead and get a lot of love with the way he shut down Johnson. I think long term it is going to be Briggs if it's anyone from the Bears... and deservedly so. I love what Tillman is doing, but Briggs is truely having a DPOY year. He is pretty much completely negating the decline in play from Urlacher. It's a shame he isn't getting more recognition for that.

Wrong. Briggs or bust. Tillman should be a probowler again though.

No insight, just from a critical thinking standpoint, I don't think we have enough information to say that he's having more trouble than usual in the field. I just thought the back to back 2 error games at SS coupled with his 2 error game at 3B was a reason for worry.

Anyone have any insight as to why Baez is suddenly falling apart in the field. I saw him play this year and he stood out as a ridiculously polished defender, especially after all the reports that pegged him as moving off of SS.

I could get on board with that, though he's mostly an analysis guy on there, not sure how his broadcasting skills are He's got a weird speech impediment. What? Maybe I'm not noticing it, but he sounds just fine. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50Q7nNYj-_0 He doesn't have a large presence in his speaking voice, but maybe if he is mic'ed up correctly it would work out well. I wouldn't be opposed to Karros. I think he sounds a little up tight, but I wonder if he is doing broadcasts consistently and with the same team, he would loosen up a bit. Those are the only two former Cubs I would be that interested in. Wood would be intriguing, but based on interviews he's done, he doesn't seem like he can articulate too well and make comments on the fly. Personally, I just want someone that is knowledgeable in advanced statistics, has playing experience in some capacity, and has a good presentation style. Being a former Cub is not a qualifier at all.

I'm not suggesting we ask Derrick to brush up on his medical studies. What I'm saying here is that almost any person will have physocolgical factors that hold them back way more than any NBA front office could. As long as thats monitored by physicians who are way more qualified than John Paxson, theres literally nothing to worry about. "On schedule" should be music to any Bulls fans ears. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk I obviously don't have any visual evidence, but by all accounts Hummel's re-injury was not a freak accident. Look, I understand that there are highly trained medical professionals working towards getting Rose to 100%. That doesn't mean people shouldn't be concerned with the progress of his recovery or worry about setbacks. These are still valid concerns.

I would love to see one of those usually stupid Sport Science segments on ESPN outlining the acceleration ability of Hester.

Totally not the same thing, but okay. Bottom line is if he is ready to cut or jump the actual surgically operates knee is fine. The overuse thing brought ip above is somewhat of a concern, but not more so than any injury. But everything I've read about ACL injuries is that its mostly mental. So holding back on physical recuperation is unecessary and delays the time when we have a 100% Derrick Rose. Basically, the doctors schedule and Rose's own brain should be plenty on their own to ensure he doesn't rush back. If they do more beyond that they're delaying things. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=5691032

You say "even Bernstein" like he wasn't some mope with a terrible radio show and awful sports opinions before this. Did anyone even read the article? It's basically condoning Jay's actions because he played his ass off. A few of us pointed this out, yes. Upon further inspection, I do see that you pointed it out. I also discovered that awesome Urlacher gif.

You say "even Bernstein" like he wasn't some mope with a terrible radio show and awful sports opinions before this. Did anyone even read the article? It's basically condoning Jay's actions because he played his ass off.