Outshined_One

After sleeping off the frustration/anger/booze and thinking about it, I've got a few things to say about last night's game... 1) Would Kyle Orton have won this game for the Bears? My gut instinct is probably, but that the final score would have been something abominable like 12-6. However, a win's a win. This was another game where Cutler had his share of interceptions that had more to do with his supporting cast and coaches than him, but his first and last interceptions were pretty much inexcusable for him. He moves the ball down the field much more effectively than Kyle Orton does, but he also has a tendency to force the ball much more than Orton did. However, keep in mind that there's no way in hell this team would have beaten Seattle and Pittsburgh with Orton at the helm. 2) Following up on that point, I think the reason why Cutler forces the ball is because his offense sucks. Period. His receivers are small and can easily be bullied in the secondary. Some of his receivers are lazy and cut off their routes unnecessarily. Others don't go back to the ball when Cutler's in trouble. Olsen made some nice catches, but SF clearly game-planned around him. The OL and running game have been hammered to death this season, so there's little need to say much more about them. What's inexcusable is, despite the lack of talent, Ron Turner has not come up with an effective game plan. I've been hoping to see him utilize roll-outs, inside traps, and the like to keep defenses honest and to get some of the pressure off of Cutler. Instead, we get really predictable plays that other teams have no trouble defending. 3) With all of that out of the way, one thing stuck out about tonight's game. Cutler was sacked 0 times. What's becoming apparent is that Cutler is developing the opposite bad habits of Aaron Rodgers. Where Rodgers' problems partially stem from holding onto the ball too long and getting pulverized for it, Cutler's much more likely to pass the ball, even if it's a questionable decision, when he is under pressure. I don't know the root cause for this tendency, but for whatever reason, he doesn't seem very likely to either tuck the ball and take the sack or to get out of harm's way and throw the ball out of bounds when nobody's open. It might be bad coaching (Pep Hamilton's still around after all these years for some unknown reason), it might be Cutler's tendency to gamble, it might be Cutler trying to avoid contact, it might be a combination of those things, or it might be something else altogether. Regardless, when Cutler has 17 INTs in 9 games, even if a number of those are not Cutler's fault, that still is emblematic of a fundamental flaw in Cutler's game. There have been a number of successful QBs in NFL history who have been able to either overcome flaws like that or to find themselves on teams that could game plan around and down play those flaws. Whether or not that ever happens with Cutler is something we can't predict. As the team is constructed right now in terms of coaching and personnel, I don't see that happening. Hiring a competent offensive coordinator would be a good start. Overhauling the offensive line and bringing in a talented veteran WR would also help. Here's hoping Jerry Angelo is productive in those regards. Finally, despite how bad this week was, the Bears are 4-5. They might get a Wild Card spot if they finish the season 5-2, which seems possible, although unlikely (PHI, @MN, STL, GB, @BAL, MN, @DET). There's still some hope left for this team, although it is fading fast.

As memory serves me, he's a fantastic defender when he's running and on the move, but when he has time to field and throw, he makes occasional hiccups. If you put faith in defensive stats, UZR likes him enough to give him an 18.1; the highest of his career.

I have no problem starting Frank Gore tonight. I'm expecting at least 4 TDs between him and Vernon Davis.

I hate to see reports like this. Letting people know you are desperate, is generally not a good negotiating tactic. Phil Rogers is the source of this rumor. I wouldn't take it at face value.

Might as well make a new one.

Grabow is also a Type A. :-s Reed Johnson is unranked. List

http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/5106/jackthejoker.jpg

That depends on how far you're willing to hoof it and whether you want to tailgate. Most of the lots around the stadium are set aside for football parking, so if you want to tailgate, you can go to the lots down along First Street south of the stadium and in the research park. You'll have to pay to park at those places, though. If you just want to go to the game, university parking is free on Saturdays, although most of that parking is a decent walk away from the stadium. This parking includes a long row of free meters between Windsor and Kirby on Lincoln along with a number of the lots on campus.

Wow, we just got screwed out of the end of the Bucs/Packers game.

That was one of the funniest false starts I've seen in a long time in the Packers/Bucs game.

Bummer for Houston.

So, after this, the Bears get the 49ers on Thursday, then the Eagles, then the Vikings. This is going to be an unpleasant stretch of the schedule.

Of course.

*hurl* Just a dry heave!

No grounding on that?

Where the hell was this team in the first three quarters?

More cheap fantasy points!

It will be done using words like "intangibles," "leadership," and so on.

I enjoy how the originals were clearly made for Billy Mays.

:thumbsup:

The broadcasters would be discussing how much their cats hate them, the mechanics of water-proof khakis, and why Anquan Boldin has such a goofy name. Frankly, it'd be a nice change of pace from Buck and Aikman.

I mean, the Lions went 0-16 last year. yeah, but detroit has other sports. They also have Detroit. Touche!

The McCaskeys are cheap bastards. Of course they won't fire him or Angelo with money and years left on their contracts.

I'm tempted not to watch the game on Thursday.

Made tackles and read coverage effectively?