Soul

*pokes head in* Deal done yet? What's the holdup Cliff, you know you're coming here :wink:

It's quite a bit premature for Colts fans to start comparing the playoff success of Peyton Manning and his team to the success of Tom Brady and his team. I don't see how they are doing that. They are celebrating the fact that Peyton and the Colts beat the Patriots, a feat that many people decided was impossible. Impossible? Come on. The only people who decided that it was impossible were probably lunatic homer Patriot fans. Most sane people could look at the teams and see an evenly-matched game, hence Indy being favored by about a field goal. And yet there were still probably millions of people who were shocked that Peyton came up when it counted and St. Brady did not. Many people relied on the Brady/Belicheck own Manning/Dungy theory going into that game. I understand all that, but it's still a bit premature. Ownage isn't when you eek out a single-digit win over a team that has repeatedly beat you down in the playoffs before. It's a great win, but ownage? No.

What the hell is that thing? Not a bear, unless it's a deformed Bear with rabies. Looks like a WoW screenshot to me.

Well, he IS a Packers fan :wink: But seriously, he's under house arrest. If he isn't granted permission to go to Miami with the team, people shouldn't be in an uproar about it. Really? I think if Tank is held back in Chicago it blows the doors off every news outlet in the city. Who's your backup DT? Idonije? You could do a whole hell of a lot worse than that. Of course the media will make a big deal out of it, but I don't think it would really hinder the outcome of the game. I just think there will be massive outrage if it happens. I think Tank gets little credit for what he does. We're already down one DT----we like to rotate so being 2 down will make a big difference in how fresh we can keep our guys.

LOL. Ahh, the Packer fan who will remember all the negative Bear details and whip them out to be a thorn in Bear fans' side. :lol:

I'm leaning towards switching to that line of thinking. But if a team doesn't win the final game, would I want to go back and buy a t-shirt? For this, though, I think I'll wait for the SB t-shirt (although the navy locker room shirt does look nice). As for the taunt, I could care less. But for clarification, the taunt came before the flip. What I do care about, though, is Harris' angle to Bush (horrible) and the fact that it sure looked like an illegal play by NO. You can't pick a DB like that. Then again, I didn't really see the replay. It was "illegal" but teams do it all the time. So it wasn't like NO was doing something no other team tries to do. It's like WR's pushing off----they all do it but they have ways of doing it that don't require their arms to be extended. And so it is rarely called. As for the taunt, apparently Reggie came right to the sidelines and told coach he wished he hadn't done that. Most guys who do something like that don't care afterwards, so I give Reggie props for it. I don't think he's a bad kid or anything like that. He just got really excited after making an excellent play on a huge national stage.

Well, he IS a Packers fan :wink: But seriously, he's under house arrest. If he isn't granted permission to go to Miami with the team, people shouldn't be in an uproar about it. Really? I think if Tank is held back in Chicago it blows the doors off every news outlet in the city.

Hahahaha. Gotta love those B&B guys. Looks like they're stretching out into left field to try and find a controversy. Lovie's so back for a multi year deal it isn't even funny.

True. I'm curious on how Ward feels about the Cubs signing Floyd? I would assume that he thought he would be the main lefty off the bench....of course he still may be if Floyds injury problems continue. I fully expect Ward to be counting his paycheck, smiling, and thanking his lucky stars to still be playing major league baseball :wink:

Yeah, I'm not impressed with Wallace either. I keep hoping he'll turn it on in time for the playoffs, but I'm starting to think this is all we're going to get from him.

Fred Thomas should be shot. He's no NFL DB and it's stunning he is still in the league. I've watched the replay several times now and it makes me sicker each time I watch it. A mediocre college DB would have been able to knock that ball away. That play almost made me throwup. Wow. The kid's doing the best he can. Look, the Saints put all their eggs into the offensive basket this year. That dictates there will be some sacrifices on the defensive side, just because of the salary cap. Also----good corners are in short supply in this league. Some teams with good defenses find themselves a little shaky at that position. Honestly? If I'm a safety and I know my CB can't cover and I see the Bears best WR lining up 1-on-1, I'm making damn sure I get over to help out in coverage. But that's just me.

Well, at least the national media will have something they enjoy covering instead of having to write about these boring crappy Bears. Not to veer off the thread topic, but I really don't understand how the Bears have gotten this reputation as a boring team. Granted, it might be because I'm a Bears fan, but I find the way this team plays incredibly fun to watch. On the other hand, I didn't find the 2005 team nearly as exciting. The offense was boring, and the team just eeked out victories with their defense for the most part. This year's team, though? A big play defense (the only part of this equation that's really a constant from last year). An offense that can make the big play. A punishing, exciting RB in Benson. An unprecedented ability to run balls back on special teams. This team has completely and thoroughly dominated the opposition several times this year. The Bears don't do it conventionally, but they seem to often break the 30 barrier in scoring and make their share of SportsCenter highlights. I guess unless you have a 6'5" QB who throws 50 yard bombs on every play to streaking WRs, you are "boring." To me, incessant passing is just as boring. I like all facets of the game.

I really think this was all about TO. Jones wants to keep him. That's not acceptable to Parcells. And that's it. I wonder what the chances are that Mr. Chico Rivera is your next Dallas Cowboys head coach. Rivera has shown an ability to work with a system; might be a good fit for the overbearing style of Jones.

Rex was clearly picking on that poor CB because he knew he wouldn't be able to make a play. Saying it should have been intercepted and trying to draw some kind of conclusion from it ignores the fact that, if it was a decent cornerback, the pass would likely have not been thrown to Berrian on that play...

I wouldn't say they exactly shut down the Patriots running game. The first running play that I can remember was a 40 yard scamper on a play that the Bears run quit well with both Jones and Benson. They have improved their D tremendously since the end of the regular season, but all it takes is one missed tackle or one well timed block to break a big run. Run the ball early to open up the field for Grossman. And he needs to hit his tight ends often. They also need to throw that slant route over the middle. That is Grossman's best ball. They did, after all, give up 30+ points yesterday. I think most Colts fans understand their offense is where their route to a SB victory lies.

I agree. Just get refs that can do their job and that helps eliminate the problem. Yeah, I don't like the 15-yard PI call. That idea didn't make it in the pros because it would lead to the "good" pass interference, sort of like a "good" foul in basketball. And the NFL doesn't want 13-6 games to be the rule. And as much as I love defense, I agree with them. As far as roughing the passer, there's no way they are going to change those calls. I'd settle with just better officiating on the PI calls. That horsecollar crap needs to go the way of the do-do bird though. And the "illegal contact" calls have gotten out of hand. You can't even so much as lay a pinky finger on the receiver after 5 yards or it's a penalty, but you can effectively trip him to the ground if you play it right and it will be called "incidental." Doesn't make any sense. They need to start calling holding better too. They're letting OLines get away with blatant holding on nearly every pass play now.

Yep, that is interesting. Also, so much for the "hot" team being unstoppable because they're streaking. Colts were 2-3 in their last 5 games. Bears were 4-1, but playing patty-cake with some awful clubs. The 2 hot teams seemed to be Baltimore & Philly, both of whom turned in disappointing playoff campaigns.

The Saints have nothing to be disappointed about. They will be a team to take seriously next year. Not that they shouldn't have been taken seriously this year. They were the team I was most afraid of in the NFC this year. Brees is an awesome QB. If Brees had time he could have done a lot of damage. I'm not sure why the Saints abandoned the running game just to ease the pressure but Peyton knows his team and I'm sure he had a reason. Can you really say they abandoned the run when they never really ran in the first place? Deuce and Reggie combined for 10 carries. Brees threw the ball 49 times. Didn't Payton say to the press he was going to mainly attack with the pass? This was after halftime, I believe? Maybe I'm imagining things. Sounded more like the gameplan than a Deuce injury. Deuce is a tough kid. If he's out there, he can run if called upon.

This will be a real feel good SB for this area of the country. I just don't see alot of bad blood developing. There's too much joy for both Chicago and Indy. That, and neither team has players who like to rub it in other people's faces. I expect both teams will be respectful of each other-----I'm sure that means the media will think it's boring. I'm definitely happy the Colts are there. I just think there were also some advantages to having the Pats instead of the Colts---namely, I wasn't impressed with the Pats offense outside of Brady, and the Bears had played them tough right down to the wire, and the Bears were on the road in that game. Colts: I think there's a real sense if they can get momentum early they can put points up and we won't be able to match. That's the fear.

Don't do it. Luol Deng is pretty close to Pau right now and is the one getting better. Is he? He's definetly improved, but is he so much better than Noc or Thomas that we wouldn't give him up for a low post scoring threat? I think so, I could be wrong. I just think it is a young team. Let the team grow together. If anything they need to trade one of the two combo guards and get a real point or a big two. Isn't Thabo that guy, though? I think he is, but there's no way to be sure at this point. People are still going to knock us because Wallace is our "big man" and he's 6'9" with the fro and is basically limited to clean up duty on offense. Honestly, the rest of the club is pretty good. It's just that one hole, and it's a glaring one, IMO.

So Bear fans: are you happier to be facing the Colts, or would you rather have faced the Pats? I'm on the fence. 1) Pats have Belichek, and would have had 2 weeks to prepare for the SB, which is way too much time for a great coaching mind like Belichek's to dissect an opponent 2) Pats have Brady, who is clutch, and has a ton of experience in big games. 3) Pats are experienced to the teeth in big games, more so than any other team. No possibility of rattling them, no possibility of them giving you anything. 4) Pats also have bad, bad receivers. Sorry, but it's true. They also have a marginal running game that they almost never used. Maroney's decent, but Dillon is done and the blocking's just not all that impressive. Pats are also an aging ballclub, with a lot of mileage on it and perhaps not the most motivation in the world to win yet another Super Bowl (which may partially explain why they allowed the Colts to engineer the greatest comeback in AFC Championship game history). 5) Colts have an awesome array of offensive weapons. There's not one thing, or two, or even three, that you can focus on. Solid all the way around, with playmakers and the league's crowned prince at QB. 6) Colts have a good pass rush---the one thing they do well on defense, and it just so happens that's the one thing the Bears don't handle well on offense. 7) This Colts team happens to have a good running game, as well as great passing. Nice combo. 8) The Colts will be favored, and most people around the country will be rooting for Peyton to get his Super Bowl because he's generally an all-around good guy and people like his commercials (LOL----hey, it's true). 9) Colts do have actual, palpable weaknesses on defense that can be exploited. 10) Bears can cling to some faint hope that maybe Manning doesn't have his best game----if only because it's his first super bowl. yeah yeah I know, pretty shaky to be hoping for that, but it IS the guy's first shot so he hasn't been here any more than the Bears have. Which set of factors did you prefer? Either way, it's the super bowl so you know you need to play a good club to win it. There's no getting around that.

Thanks. Furthermore, in private I asked McDonough about mending bridges with Sosa and he said he said that would be something that should happen. He said Sosa has made some indirect overtures toward that goal, but that he hadn't spoken to Sosa directly. He did acknowledge that the divorce from the Cubs with Sosa was a messy, but stated that "Sosa was one of the most powerful forces in baseball (not just the Cubs) over the past ten years" and stated it would be unfortunate if the Cubs didn't mend that bridge. When I stated that I'd love to see a flag with #21 on the fould poles along with those for Banks, Williams, Sandberg and Santo he said that someday in the future that should happen. In my talks with McDonough, I was really impressed with him. I understand he's a marketing guy, so maybe he just knows how to spin things, but I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for the time being. I'll give him the benefit too. He does talk a good game. Good stuff Vance.

We're lucky that Hendry found a taker but what does that say about Hendry when that fool signed him to that contract in the first place? What a dimwit. Not only is Neifi terrible, but he never gets hurt. Why, dear Lord, is is always the terrible players who never get hurt?!?

All the better for a SP :) All he needs are a few scars and some undergrowth and he'll give Randy Johnson a run for his money

Usually right DE opposite the LT. So it will be Mathis vs. Fred Miller? ugggh, that could get ugly for the Bears, and fast. Run the football, Bearz 8-)