Soul

Didn't take Hill long to gain the #2 starter role. Looks like it has taken a similarly short period of time for him to become the flat out ace of this staff.

It depends on the down and distance. On plays where the run can be considered a big threat, it probably is harder to find receivers with the shotgun because it does take away many running plays. My guess is the Bears will only use the shotgun on 2nd and long or 3rd and long, where the run threat is mostly absent anyway. When that happens, it is much easier to find receivers from the shotgun, and the Bears could still run an effective draw play with their 3rd down back out of the shotgun. And ultimately the line still needs to block, everyone still needs to do their job. I think we all recognize that. What I was hoping to gain was some marginal benefit, maybe a little boost in completion percentage, a few less sacks. Not sure if it will really help at all. If it's used as a crutch, then it's probably because there are other problems anyway and we just aren't getting the job done. Still gotta put a good team out there. Still gotta win your matchups.

Are you just going around nitpicking my damn posts? Grow up. several people picked Mavs/pistons. you just happened to be closest. If I was referring directly to you, I would have quoted you Several? There were only 3 people who picked. And one of them did NOT pick 1 vs. 1. There was another person who said Bulls win the East, but lose in the finals, with no other teams picked. you and UMFan i guess. at any rate, it wasn't a snipe at you Then I apologize. accepted, go bulls Go Bulls. Stop baiting the Heat. Don't disappoint me or I'll never forgive you. I've got my firstborn riding on this thing. PLEASE DEAR GOD DON'T LOSE IN THE FIRST ROUND. Whew. That feels better. 8-)

Hard to say if it was Theriot or Lou. STOOPID.

That would be amazing. It would also represent a complete transfer of power in the East, something that usually doesn't happen in only one season. I find it unlikely, but hey -- here's hoping it happens.

I hope that's what we do. When we foul him, we better foul him hard. I think it likely that the refs will be on the lookout for that. Wade's a superstar -- the league's not going to tolerate any attempt to harm him. That's one of the problems with playing the Heat in this situation. As long as Wade can still play his game -- and it appears he can -- you aren't even going to be able to touch the guy. He's going to get the Gretzky treatment.

Just to nitpick this one part, I'm not sure how shotgun remedies this. The shotgun snap is something that would be a far more difficult snap to handle. It'd be like someone having trouble driving an automatic, so we put them in a stick shift instead... I'm speaking strictly as far as handling the snap here... I'm not really sure that's true. Is it easier to catch a ball tossed to you or to complete a Center/QB exchange? To be honest, I'm not sure. Most of his fumbles in the QB/Center exchange seem to be timing issues and not "grasping the ball" issues. He either pulls away too early, or the ball hits has hands and he closes them late. I don't think shotgun snaps would be hard to handle unless they are bad. Admittidly, that was kind of a reach. You wouldn't think taking a snap from center, a form of a handoff, would be difficult either, but for the sake of argument, maybe catching it is easier. The problem is that if Rex is too worried about the pass rush, or where his receivers are, and he looks up too early.... I'm not dead-set against the shotgun. I just don't think it's going to have much impact. I think used effectively the shotgun can help Grossman have less negative plays (sacks and fumbles especially). It's not going to have much of an impact at all on making positive plays, except for those 3rd and 4-6 yards, which isn't enough to really say that it's making an impact that way. I also think it's important to point out that, in all likelihood, even if Turner does introduce more shotgun it would still be on a fairly limited basis compared to some other teams like Indy (for example). It might have some value just as a different offensive set, apart from any specific QB advantages. I'm all for mixing things up more, provided it can be done well and without leaving us exposed to more turnovers/mistakes.

The shotgun does not do that. The regular snap gives you the ball instantly with eyes forward. The shotgun forces the QB to focus on catching the ball first, which takes a little time to get there. You keep saying the shotgun doesn't help with pass rush. Many others besides me disagree: Did you seriously not read a word I wrote? You claimed you get the ball instantly with eyes down field. I refuted that theory. You get the ball later than you'd get it in a regular snap, and your eyes are not down field while you're tracking the ball into your hands. I don't care if they use the shotgun or not. It's not going to be the difference between this offense moving from middle of the road to elite. Grossman's overall improvement, Benson's development and improving the line will determine that. Alright, whatever. My intent was to introduce the possibility that using more shotgun might help Grossman as a QB in the passing game, for the reasons stated. You appear to think it won't. That's fine.

They're smart enough to know his intent wasn't to trash talk. They're also smart enough to try and draw out whatever value they can from it -- i.e. make it seem more like trash talk than it is. If that's enough to make the crowd a little more intense for their home games? Mission accomplished.

The shotgun does not do that. The regular snap gives you the ball instantly with eyes forward. The shotgun forces the QB to focus on catching the ball first, which takes a little time to get there. You keep saying the shotgun doesn't help with pass rush. Many others besides me disagree: http://www.pe.com/sports/college/usc/stories/PE_Sports_Local_D_usc_fb_notes_28.3c9b91b.html http://www.chicagobears.com/news/NewsStory.asp?story_id=3255 http://www.cowboysplus.com/classic/webspecials/landry/landryinnov.htm Landry was one of the guys who brought the shotgun back, and one of the benefits he used it for was to get the QB the ball immediately, 5 yards back instanteously. Sorry goons, but the shotgun has been used for this purpose for a long time. I'm not saying it's the cure all or even that it will help Grossman, but it is, in fact, a tactic used to help QBs recognize and respond to the pass rush, in addition to some other benefits. I personally *believe* it will help Grossman some, but that of course remains to be seen.

I don't think it makes much difference. While I agree it's not on the level of blatantly calling out the Heat, it's still not the smartest thing to do. You don't want to give them ammo. Plus, the Miami crowd will sure be reading those comments. I'll be expecting some additional boos when Hinrich gets the ball, and some overzealous cheers when he creates a turnover, or tosses up an airball. Will it matter? Maybe not, but why not play it like Peyton Manning did before the Super Bowl: "We know the Bears are a great team, we're really going to have to play our best to win it," yada yada yada. That's the smart play.

This seems oddly familiar. Didn't you express something similar back in November when the Bulls were 3-9? Or how about back in February when they struggled a bit heading into the All-Star break? Is this some kind of defense mechanism? Expect the worst and be surprised when things work out kind of thing? No one played better basketball down the stretch than the Bulls in the East. They have the best home record in the East. They have home court in their series against the Heat. I don't understand the pessimism. Soul is just pessimistic by nature. He was the same way about the Bears all season. I've learned not to let it annoy me. :) I suppose it is a defense mechanism. You've exposed my inner psychology!! Oh, dear lordy, the horror!! 1908: you know when the Bulls do good I'm on here right away complimenting them. What I do is simple: when they do well, I compliment them. When they do bad, I bitch & moan. I guess my pessimisitic commentary comes off as more biting than my compliments. Sorry about that.

Eh? Don't we need to do a ping pong ball blower-thingy first before we know that? We were tied for 5th (or was it 6th?) yesterday. Worst case scenario was we'd wind up at 10th, and we did. Knicks won and everyone else lost. As for the ping pong balls, we know have a lot fewer ping bong balls to be blown... If I understand it correctly, it's either get incredibly lucky and land in the top 3... or wind up 10th (or worse, if a later picking lottery team gets lucky with the ping pong balls). Ack. What a terrible day.

In a 14 inning game... and it was a pinch runner. Anyway, these things happen in 14 inning games. Just be thankful that Theriot (best comparison to Doug Dascenzo?) didn't end up pitching No, it was last night: d-Marquis, PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250

Eh? Don't we need to do a ping pong ball blower-thingy first before we know that?

:lol: :lol: Picky about your superstitions, eh? Haha, that was cute. I still think the Bears go more shotgun. And I still think it will offer some additional help by giving Grossman the ball instantly with his eyes forward. Obviously the vast majority of plays will be dropbacks. What I really want to see is Benson becoming the back he was drafted to be.

Thanks for the Red line tip. Is it terrible just coming up from downtown? Or is it bad heading down from the North too?

We're screwed Wow, Hinrich, you idiot.

Good for Sammy. Still the worst night of sports I can remember.

did you just totally miss the last page completely? EDIT AM I JUST A COMPLETE IDIOT? ....the disadvantage of thread merges, rearing its ugly head 8-)

I don't care who made the decision. Fact is, it's April 18th and we're already using pitchers as pinch hitters. Make no mistake, this team is in total disarray.

I wouldn't recommend that at all. Taking the Blue Line to the Red Line takes you all the way downtown, just to head north again. And, with Red Line construction it will take longer than usual to get up north. Get off at the Blue Line Addison stop and take the bus east. It drops you off right in front of the stadium, and you're almost guaranteed to be riding with a busload of Cubs fans. The total trip should take you 45-60 minutes. Alrighty. I've never taken the blue line in from O'hare. Thx for the correction. I don't like buses though, but to me it would be better than walking.

Is there a reason for that? Because the Heat are the Champs and will have that entire team back for the playoffs. Heat will get all the calls. Heat will get all the pub. Heat have all the experience. I don't think it's going to be as bad as Heat in 5. I'm going to go Heat in 7. We lost the season last night, boys and girls. The game was absolutely that big. Even if we do manage to pass the Heat, the Pistons will be waiting in the 2nd round. We just blew it to hell. Terrible.

Lou's going to be the only valid Cub entertainment all year. Of this I am now certain.

blanco isn't much of a better hitter. and soriano can't play. All I can do is lie in the fetal position and twitch.