Wilson A2000

A healthy Tommie Harris changes everything. When he is on, this is a top-10 defense. I was hoping for more form him this year.

Boldin.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/chi-29-haugh-bears-texans-chicagdec29,0,2577977.column Lovie says the team was close and only a few changes need to be made. But they were close to the playoffs, and not close to doing anything in the playoffs. When you look at the stats, Lovie is just dead wrong. Lovie does absolutely nothing for me as a coach. Maybe he gets the most out of his players, but any good coach does this. That does not set him apart.

No, not true. Relying on turnovers in this scheme is simply relying on athletes making things happen. It is essentially playing for luck. It is not outscheming or outcoaching the opposition. Hmm, funny how that luck keeps happening for the Bears more than any other team. Almost as if they were coached to go for the ball... You dont think every teamn in the NFL is coached to go for the ball? The fact that the Bears have been getting turnovers is more on the players than being coached to go for the ball. Every damn teamn in the NFL wants turnovers and is told to go for the ball. Id like to see your defense of Lovie on his personnel decisions that I laid out on page 1. Those are all very big reasons why Lovie should be fired, and is not a very good head coach. When Lovie got here, he really made an effort to encourage guys to strip the ball out. Tillman does this as well as anyone. The flipside is that you forget to tackle.

Would the Jets have been better off with Pennington this year?

Very true, very true. Actually, I saw on ESPN yesterday that Favre wasn't exactly thrilled with playing under Mangini. i wonder how thrilled mangini was to have a veteran quarterback putting up a qb rating in the bottom third of the nfl and throwing 4 more INTs than anyone in the league. But, that QB is Brett Favre and he made the Pro Bowl . . . With the Chargers making the playoffs, Rivers should have been a Prow-Bowler. Pro-Bowl balloting should wait until the regular season is over.

Urlacher didn't lose his step all at once. He has been getting slower the last two seasons (plus the bad back) which is why Angelo should not have flinched when Urlacher demanded a new contract. The scheme makes it so that he doesn't take part in as many spectacular plays though.

Only five teams in the NFC gave up fewer sacks than the Bears. Forte's running, in part to a decent line, was the bright spot on offense. If you told me that a Bears line with St. Clair and Beekman were going to do this at the beginning of the season, I would have been happy. The defensive line and the receivers need the upgrades.

O-Line please Please. Chris Williams is moving in next year. St. Clair to left guard. The offensive line was not the problem this year. The Bears need receivers and one Pro-Bowl lineman. I thought that man was Tommie Harris. When he commands double-teams, this is a different defense. Brown and Adewale don't make plays when they get double teams. Urlacher is also freed up. The corners aren't hung out to dry. Where was Urlacher all season after crying for an extension? Jerry shouldn't have budged.

Especially when the Bears hadn't really stopped Houston since the first quarter.

I don't know if the Bulls need athletic big men. That's what Tyrus Thomas is and he stinks. The Bulls need big men with post moves who command a double team. Eddy Curry wasn't overtly athletic, but at least he had a move or two down low.

Not only was Luol Deng untouchable, but they signed him to a monstrous contract. Luol Deng will be known more for his charitable acts than his basketball soon enough. Paxson and Del Negro should be fired at the end of the year.

And the Cowboys and the Panthers and the Vikings. Cowboys? They don't impress me. The Bears outplayed the Panthers in Carolina (albeit with no Smith) and they are very much equal with the Vikings. The Panthers are a better team now. The Bears are a worse team. The Vikings have more talent in every facet of the game except kick returning. I'll give you Carolina, not Minnesota. Their "superb talent" is vastly overrated. They've got a couple fat guys on the DLine and Peterson. Their QBs are nothing, their receivers are unimpressive, the rest of their D hasn't exactly shut down the league. They allowed 48 points to the freaking Bears. They've played the same teams as the Bears and have the same record. They do not outclass the Bears. Those couple of fat guys are Pro Bowlers who lead maybe the best run defense in the league. Adrian Peterson is the best back in the league. That outclasses the Bears. Plus they have one of the best pass rushers in the league with Allen. Right now Jackson is a better QB than Orton. Their receivers are unimpressive, but still head and shoulders above the Bears. The Vikes are a different team now. Yeah they lost last week, but that's because Peterson couldn't hold onto the ball. That won't happen again. Then how did they lose the other 5 games? Jackson stuck at the beginning of the year. The Vikes aren't perfect, just better.

From what you have seen, doesn't Robbie have the leg to kick a 50+ yarder?

I hate the Red Sox just as much as the Yankees. Oh crap, I just realized that the backlash to all these signings will be 800,000 more annoying Red Sox bandwagoners declaring them "giant-killers" and rooting for them over the Yankees crap. The thing is that the Red Sox put up, what 170 million for Texeira too. The Red Sox have their own evil empire too.

And the Cowboys and the Panthers and the Vikings. Cowboys? They don't impress me. The Bears outplayed the Panthers in Carolina (albeit with no Smith) and they are very much equal with the Vikings. The Panthers are a better team now. The Bears are a worse team. The Vikings have more talent in every facet of the game except kick returning. I'll give you Carolina, not Minnesota. Their "superb talent" is vastly overrated. They've got a couple fat guys on the DLine and Peterson. Their QBs are nothing, their receivers are unimpressive, the rest of their D hasn't exactly shut down the league. They allowed 48 points to the freaking Bears. They've played the same teams as the Bears and have the same record. They do not outclass the Bears. Those couple of fat guys are Pro Bowlers who lead maybe the best run defense in the league. Adrian Peterson is the best back in the league. That outclasses the Bears. Plus they have one of the best pass rushers in the league with Allen. Right now Jackson is a better QB than Orton. Their receivers are unimpressive, but still head and shoulders above the Bears. The Vikes are a different team now. Yeah they lost last week, but that's because Peterson couldn't hold onto the ball. That won't happen again.

And the Cowboys and the Panthers and the Vikings. Cowboys? They don't impress me. The Bears outplayed the Panthers in Carolina (albeit with no Smith) and they are very much equal with the Vikings. The Panthers are a better team now. The Bears are a worse team. The Vikings have more talent in every facet of the game except kick returning.

It helps when the coach refuses to let him actually attempt difficult kicks. Highest paid kicker in NFL history. Never attempted a kick over 50 yards. Isn't good at kick offs either. I like him from 49 yards and in, but he is overrated. Maynard, on the other hand, played great last night.

I don't know about "getting" unfair. The Yankees have been the dominant franchise throughout history. You have teams like Florida who can win twice in a decade. Oakland was a great team for several years. Tampa is good and has more than 2-3 year window. Teams get to keep guys for dirt cheap for 3 years, then they get 3 more years at below market value. The problem with baseball is so many teams are run stupidly. I just know that if I was fan of a team like the Pirates, baseball would be dead to me. It's hard to get emotionally invested in a team that stands no chance year in and year out. I'm surprised they even pull in enough revenue to keep the team going at this point. Did the Pirates get anything out of the luxury tax?

And the Cowboys and the Panthers and the Vikings.

as opposed to the completely home-grown cubs and their $25 mil payroll. When the Yankees won in the late 90's, how many of their players were home-grown? Weren't a bunch of them like Williams, Jeter, Posada? I am still unconvinced that the Yankees can win by buying a WS. Yes some teams have done it (Florida in the mid 90's), but New York seems to get the raw end of the deal with injuries players with steroid histories. Burnett has a history of injuries. Sabbathia's arm might fall of. Tampa Bay isn't going anywhere.

What is face value on the seats?

You think they would get better ratings during those times?

It was a very tough call because the camera wasn't level with the ice or even on the same level as the top of the goal post. The NFL has the same problem.

After the Vikes lost he said that the Bears are choke artists and will lose at home against Green Bay. Maybe he should worry about his own team.