Soul

I also think Benson is clearly the better back. It would be interesting to see how Ced's ypc looks if he got the opportunity to run the ball as many times as TJ does. From what I've been seeing the past few games, there is now very little difference in the pass blocking between the two.

I'll see your New Orleans psychic and raise you a Chicago psychic. http://www.suntimes.com/sports/football/bears/215577,CST-SPT-vside18.article Hmm.. "Freeze New Orleans" Do as she says! We have to counter the voodoo mojo put on us by the New Orleans psychic! LOL: Alright, this whole thing has officially gone overboard.

That's a ridiculous excuse. You think Urlacher or Hillenmeyer were like "well, we're already gonna be in the playoffs, so I'm only gonna play 80% today." These guys are professional athletes who love competition. If they are in the game, they are gonna be trying their best. LOL, you're the one who made excuses for the Saints in their throwaway game. You started it mandinga

By that logic, you may as well throw out the entire month of December for the Bears. None of those games really meant much. I don't think you can throw away games, even so-called meaningless ones. Saints were 5-5 in their last 10 regular season games, including back-to-back losses and a real bad loss to Washington. They faced an Eagles team at home who they should have badly overmatched and yet almost lost. They're in the same boat as the Bears. Not playing particularly well, but a good team. These Saints----they're good, but they're also a 10-6 ballclub who have been beat before.

You're right. I had no idea New Orleans was devastated by a hurricane until the Saints starting winning football games.

I hear you brother. What is with these Louisiana "God wants us to win" people? Can we get a few more New Orleans tea-leaf readers to pick the Saints please? Wow. :lol:

What we would rather see is quite possibly moot. What we must do to fill the CF hole is at hand.

Well, it's over. Some psychic in New Orleans read her tarot cards and declared the Saints the winner.

Pie better turn out. The Cubs desperately need some of this position talent from the minors to finally start making the grade. It needs to be more than just Murt.

When the crap have I had the opportunity to brag about the Saints. Mostly I keep my mouth shut about them because they are so bad it's embarrassing. I bet if you go dig up the NFL Draft thread from last year you'll see me jumping up and down about Bush. My grandfather had season tickets with them every year until he died. I've probably been to 30 or 40 Saints games in my life. Hell, I still have an Archie Manning jersey that my father got back in the 70's. Saints AND Cubs? you've made some awful choices, my friend. :wink: LOL. Yeah no doubt. OleMiss, you've definitely earned your stripes for suffering. As if being a Cub fan wasn't bad enough. 8-)

Well, I just checked and last year the Steelers had two SI covers in Jan '06. Patriots had two pre-superbowl SI covers in Jan & Feb '05. So I guess it's not that big of a jinx. That and...weren't the Bears on it earlier in the season? I can't find the cover right now, but I definitely saw one, way back in week 4 or so. No Bears covers this year.... But last week's coverwas the Eagles. That Eagles cover was actually two weeks ago before Wild Card weekend when the Eagles beat the Giants. This was last weeks with Florida on the cover. JINX JINX JINX those Saints!! 8-)

Actually the reports on Wood, Miller and Prior are positive! Man, I hope and pray Prior is healthy! http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070117&content_id=1780798&vkey=news_chc&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc Not to be a rotten egg, but it is, after all, cubs.com... Translation: there will be no CF acquisition.

Oh I'll be watching. Being a Chicago fan, you've got to savor every big victory becuase Lord knows they don't come around very often.

I didn't think ARam loved the Cubs enough to throw 20-30 mil in the trash either. Give him 6/96. Give him it right now. I could see him accepting 6/100-110 (18 mil/year). I think anything under 100 mil is too low, even for Z who I believe loves the Cubs. Offering 6/96 would be worth a try though. :) http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-070116cubsohman,1,4799304.story?coll=cs-cubs-headlines Sounds like you're right, Z will be looking to break the $100mil barrier. I hope the Cubs are ready for this, because if you lose Zambrano because you overpaid for Lilly and Marquis? I think that's the point where fans start offing themselves and naming the Cubs in their suicide notes :x

Well, I just checked and last year the Steelers had two SI covers in Jan '06. Patriots had two pre-superbowl SI covers in Jan & Feb '05. So I guess it's not that big of a jinx. Ahhhh, but you checked. Because it made you nervous. *shines bright light in OleMiss's eyes* ADMIT IT!! 8-)

Yes, and not only that, but I believe Russ Grimm's interview with the Bears was his first HC interview. I like him, he's a no-nonsense kind of guy. OLine is the most underrated position coach in football. Shula to Miami might feed the nostalgia of Phins fans, but I just don't see how he's anywhere near ready to coach an NFL team.

Hester is more likely to bring one back, but he is also more likely to muff one and turn it over. You all are talking about the guy who set an NFL record for returns for td. Hester averaged 12.9 ypr to Bush's 7.7. Out of all the positions, you guys picked a bad one to argue. Huh? I wasn't arguing that Hester wasn't as good (he's better), just more likely to turn the ball over on a return. More likely they'll just kick away from him.

If Grossman were smart, he'd be hitting Des Clark as often as possible. A tight end is a quarterback's best friend. Especially when that QB is struggling. I noticed Grossman was at his best when he used Clark and his FB. I'd also like to see more of this. Clark's been very good this year when called on. Grossman only found him a couple times last week. I think McKie got hurt, which explains why there weren't many throws to the FB in the flat. Reid was filling in.

His house would be burned to the ground, his kittens stomped, and he'd be thrown into the river with alligator bait wrapped around his body if he did that. Not happening. After NO fixed the Super Dome for him, there's just no way. That entire city would hunt him down and chop him into little pieces. It would make Modell look like the Pope.

That picture of Olin Kreutz leaping in joy makes me so goddarned happy. Him and Brian Urlacher deserve a Super Bowl ring more than anyone else. They have truly given their heart to this team for a long time. Actually, I think he's breaking someone's jaw right there, they're just out of frame. :P It's super-Kreutz! Off to save the day! 8-)

Just curious cuz I know nothing of Gould, but if he sucked how did he get to the NFL? Basically, because the Bears needed something after Doug Brien didn't work out at all last year. Gould was essentially hammering nails last year. Gould is such a money kicker. His ball is so straight and accurate. I wish he'd pound it into the endzone more on kickoffs, but I'll take a money field goal kicker over a strong legged kickoff guy any time. Perhaps that's why he didn't attract more attention in the NFL. His leg strength. It might be wise to invest in a long kicker at some point, though. Because I think Gould costs us some field position at times. But I hate to complain about him at all. I'll shut up about him. I'm not so sure his distance is all that bad. What's the league average on kickoff depth? All I know is, Gould's kicks regularly land inside the 5, and that's a heck of lot better than Edinger's. It's so gratifying to attend training camp, be blown away at a guy like Gould who *obviously* showed several notches of improvement, and then see it carry all the way through the season to a playoff game-winning kick. It all started in Bourbonnais. =D>

This has me hopeful that the Bears can get back to being disciplined and play better...but I don't know. If they were going to be able to do that, you'd have thought it would happen during the bye week. I wouldn't be so sure. An off week leading up to your first playoff game is exactly the type of atmosphere that would breed going beyond the scheme and being undisciplined. They were obviously going to be jacked up for that game, and playing with a lot of emotion. That's how you "get out of your lanes" so to speak. I think this one win was a huge load off their shoulders. Plus, the defense did tighten up toward the end of the game. Also played well on all the 3rd and shorts. So that's something to build on, I guess. The run defense needs to play better, though. I think the Bears can contain Bush with their speed much in the same way they've held Mike Vick under control. Deuce worries me a lot more because he seems to be a more physical guy. The play where he and his line just carried the pile against Philly for the TD stands out in my mind. These are the type of RB's we tend to struggle more with. True, but IMO he's not more physical than Alexander. Physical, but not MVP physical like Shaun. For me it's the combo of Deuce, Bush, and Brees. Can't focus on anything. You can get beat all over the field. I expect the Bears D to play straight-up to limit the gaping holes that blitzing and stunting would cause. And that worries me---because straight-up D will leave us with little QB pressure.

It was the Chiefs and Ravens. Considering how dismal the Indy defense had been against the run over the final weeks of the season, holding opponents to an average of 70-75 YPG on the ground was pretty impressive. You're right, my bad. Even worse IMO though. Chiefs had no business there. Still not impressive. If a student of mine scores an F on 10 consecutive tests, and then scores a C on a couple, I say "hey nice improvement" but not "that was impressive." Shut Brady down though? In the AFC Championship? Yeah, then I'll hand it to them.

I was at the game too. What section were you? It was shocking to see just how bad the Grizzlies are. Gasol looked like he just fell out of bed, and he played like it too----though he still seems to be the best player on the team, that's not saying much. They reminded me of the Bulls right after the dynasty ended. Nothing of note on the roster, shooting that is epic in its badness, and obvious lack of effort. I wish that 1st rounder was in a trade with these guys now, not the Knicks 8-)

Their offense is so explosive that it would cause tons of problems for the Bears defense. The Colts defense has been playing pretty well so far in the playoffs. I would rather see the Bears face the Patriots in the Super Bowl. Patriots have the experience that would probably give them the edge over the Bears as well. That being said, the Bears are going to have to get by a really solid team in the Saints this Sunday. Colts defense has been facing junk offenses, that's why. That all ends this week though. If they stop Brady, that will be impressive. Stopping the Jets and the Ravens is not. As far as the Colts' offense, yes it is good but it really hasn't been all that great this postseason. They thrive on big plays, which is what the Tampa-2 is *supposed* to limit. I would think the Bears are underdogs either way if they make it.