XZero771679666304

My opinion is that not losing 90 games took priority over trying to win a World Series. Maybe it's a subtle difference, but it's an issue I have with this management group's philosophy. The whole contend within the division thing, coupled with all the talk of not having a repeat of 2006, makes me question their determination to actually be a great team. Regardless of the intent, I think Hendry did the best he could this offseason. There was just nothing great to be had. It's a crying shame the vault wasn't opened a year or two ago. Even then, it's doubtful Hendry optimizes his spending.

Yup, best to judge a quarterback after his first full season of play. Unfortunately, many of Rex's flaws are not ones that are easily corrected, IMO. He has little poise under pressure, throws off his back foot too much, has poor pocket awareness, and seems to have an obstinate attitude regarding his flaws. Personally, I have always been very patient when it comes to developing players, like Corey Patterson, for example. But I see little in Rex Grossman that inspires confidence that he will develop into anything other than a league average QB, at best. And given his set of flaws, I think that would take 2-3 years to achieve. The Bears' overall talent level puts them in a position to win again next year, and perhaps the next, but the window will not be open forever. If I am Angelo, I move to add some stability to the offense. And the problem is if Rex isn't the answer, Griese isn't either, and Orton could easily be out of the league by next year. Do the Bears make a trade for someone like Byron Leftwich, which I don't see. Is a back-up like Schaub in Atlanta a better option then Grossman? Or do you go with a rookie straight out of the draft? Schaub is a name that I would have some interest in. I certainly don't think Greise is the answer, or Orton. I might try and trade Greise and cut Orton, and bring in a backup that projects better than Griese so that we might actually have some improvement if Rex has to be benched next season.

Yup, best to judge a quarterback after his first full season of play. Unfortunately, many of Rex's flaws are not ones that are easily corrected, IMO. He has little poise under pressure, throws off his back foot too much, has poor pocket awareness, and seems to have an obstinate attitude regarding his flaws. Personally, I have always been very patient when it comes to developing players, like Corey Patterson, for example. But I see little in Rex Grossman that inspires confidence that he will develop into anything other than a league average QB, at best. And given his set of flaws, I think that would take 2-3 years to achieve. The Bears' overall talent level puts them in a position to win again next year, and perhaps the next, but the window will not be open forever. If I am Angelo, I move to add some stability to the offense. He's a free agent after next season, I don't see the need to do anything now to replace him. No need to unload him yet, but start shopping or draft a QB.

I'd rather go with Stanton. I think Smith will be badly exposed in the NFL.

Yup, best to judge a quarterback after his first full season of play. Unfortunately, many of Rex's flaws are not ones that are easily corrected, IMO. He has little poise under pressure, throws off his back foot too much, has poor pocket awareness, and seems to have an obstinate attitude regarding his flaws. Personally, I have always been very patient when it comes to developing players, like Corey Patterson, for example. But I see little in Rex Grossman that inspires confidence that he will develop into anything other than a league average QB, at best. And given his set of flaws, I think that would take 2-3 years to achieve. The Bears' overall talent level puts them in a position to win again next year, and perhaps the next, but the window will not be open forever. If I am Angelo, I move to add some stability to the offense.

The Colts deserve their due, but the Bears really, really helped them out tonight. The Colts did their share of helping out the Bears too. Not as much. The Colts were the better team tonight for sure, don't get me wrong. But with even a modicum of competent play calling in the first half, the Bears could have been in control. That was really the difference, not the talent on the field, but the tactical aspect. The Colts helped the Bears by turning the ball over, and the Bears did the same. What the Colts didn't do was employ stupid and counter intuitive strategy. Even if the coaching staff had tried, Manning wouldn't have gone for it. The Bears helped the Colts by being conservative when they should have been aggressive (no play action when everyone was expecting them to pound the ball), and aggressive when they should have pounded the ball (throwing on 2nd and 1 when they were starting to move the ball for the first time). Not using the weapons they should have (Clark) until the game was decided didn't help either. Ron Turner's game plan was absolute garbage, and really hampered the entire team. The Chicago defense really was doing a pretty good job of keeping the Indy offense in check (even with it's uber-conservative plan) until it was simply too tired because it was constantly on the field. This was due as much to Turner as the Indy defense, which was good, but not as good as they were made to look. I'm not going to say Chicago is the better team, because I don't believe that. I actually expected the Bears to lose. What I didn't expect was for the Bears to be the ones who beat the Bears, and to a large degree, that's what happened. I expected Peyton to pick the us apart, but he didn't. This game was totally winnable for the Bears. The difference tonight? Brainpower. That, and not better talent, is what won the SB for Indy. But that's part of being the better team, I guess.

The Colts deserve their due, but the Bears really, really helped them out tonight.

Don't you think wishing a serious injury for somebody is uncalled for? Only if he isn't Barry Bonds or Eric Gordon. Seriously, I hate the Colts but Peyton is too nice a guy to wish serious harm upon. I jokingly wished death on a player once, and I'll never do it again.

People in Iowa don't have a lot to hold on to sports-wise, so they take it where they can get it. Hey, now! Step-off! I didn't vote for either of them. Of course, I'm an Illini fan that happens to live in Iowa. Well, you're in a select minority. Where in Iowa, btw? Eldora, I'm about 30 miles west of Waterloo Well, I am also a huge Illini fan, and spent most of my life in eastern Iowa, so I know how it is.

People in Iowa don't have a lot to hold on to sports-wise, so they take it where they can get it. Hey, now! Step-off! I didn't vote for either of them. Of course, I'm an Illini fan that happens to live in Iowa. Well, you're in a select minority. Where in Iowa, btw?

People in Iowa don't have a lot to hold on to sports-wise, so they take it where they can get it.

That's unfair to him. He's not the reason they lost. This was a team loss, from coaches to offense to defense to special teams. Gould and Hester get to avoid blame, but everyone else has a equal share. it was a team loss but his 3 turnovers didnt help the defense wasant good by any means and more shouldve been done to keep them on the sideline so they could catch their breath Absoltely right. They didn't run well in the first half, but the playcalling in the 1st half was crap. Rex's mistakes came in the 4th, and one of them was the correct read, and a bad throw with a wet ball. The ball to Moose...that was crap, and Moose should have gotten him out of bounds. I'm beating a dead horse, but if the Bears would have snuck a few play action passes into the first few possessions, we probably would have seen a much different offensive performance, and consequently a better defensive performance.

And if the offense let the defense get some rest, the Colts may have scored 10. We'll never know.

That's unfair to him. He's not the reason they lost. This was a team loss, from coaches to offense to defense to special teams. Gould and Hester get to avoid blame, but everyone else has a equal share. Here's my blame breakdown: Turner (offensive play calling) : 40% Grossman: 20% O-Line: 15% Rivera (defensive scheme) : 15% Defense: 10%

Yeah. He'll likely hold out if he's not traded (assuming no new deal obviously). Yeah, I think you're right. Neither he or Benson were really happy with the arrangement, IMO.

Me either. But it definitely doesn't sting nearly as bad. If I were to have heard before the game that this is how it all would have gone down, I wouldn't have been surprised. Disappointed and pissed, yes, but not terribly surprised. Can't say the same for '03. The Cubs in '03 were the better team and that is why that sucked as bad as it did. Watching the game today the Colts were the better team so it is disappointing but not so gut wrenching. Manning was going to get the MVP no matter what if the Colts won. It should have been split between the two running backs. When Jim Nance mentioned that at the end of the game Simms seemed shocked, like he never even thought of that and just automatically wrote in Manning. Most of the voters probably did the same. True, but the Bears could have won this game, despite their horrid play, they were right there for most of the game. They weren't the better team, but the ring was well within reach.

Me either. But it definitely doesn't sting nearly as bad. If I were to have heard before the game that this is how it all would have gone down, I wouldn't have been surprised. Disappointed and pissed, yes, but not terribly surprised. Can't say the same for '03. Not even close. I'll be largely over this in a couple days. I'm still not over '03, and was inconsolable for a couple weeks immediately afterwards.

I'd be satisfied with Benson as the full time RB. Having both is nice, but losing Jones would hardly be devastating. There are bigger fish to fry.

I fully expect the Bears to be back next year.

They should put the franchise tag on Briggs, but I dont see that happening. I believe Ed Reed is going to be a FA at safety. The Bears need a safety, IMO. They're going to have to draft a line backer, a HB, possibly even a tight end, and a OL in the draft. The odds of bringing Briggs back are much greater than the odds of signing Reed as a FA. True. Keeping Brown and Harris healthy, keeping Lance and adding a good safety would be sufficient, IMO. The biggest problem with the defense is the offense.

They should put the franchise tag on Briggs, but I dont see that happening. I believe Ed Reed is going to be a FA at safety. The Bears need a safety, IMO. They're going to have to draft a line backer, a HB, possibly even a tight end, and a OL in the draft. Adding Ed Reed would make the defense filthy.

Turner, Rivera, Benson's injury, the offensive line, Grossman, the whole bloody defense. I find it hard to fault the defense too much considering they spent the whole game on the field. The defensive play calling was too soft, but they were doing a good job of keeping Manning & Co. in check (outside of Harris' brain fart) until they just go tired. That trend can be traced back into the regular season as well. It was all on the offense tonight, no defense is going to stand up when it spends as much time on the field as the Bears defense did. Exactly. If the time of possession is even 50/50 tonight, the Colts don't score more than 14 or 17. The offense did to the defense what Dusty did to Prior and Wood.

Most of the media and Bears fans are morons, so I doubt they'll look at it objectively. He had a bad game, he's had several of them and several great games, enough glimpses of great games to merit seeing what he can do with more experience. He played terribly in the Super Bowl after whining about being criticized. Believe this like you believe in life itself: Rex is about to be crucified to all hell. He stood up and took the criticism all freaking year, I don't think too many people in the world could go as long he did without snapping. That may be true, but there's more ahead than there is behind, you can believe that. Everyone has a breaking point. And it's not his breaking point that is the biggest issue here, it's that of the management.

Turner, Rivera, Benson's injury, the offensive line, Grossman, the whole bloody defense. I find it hard to fault the defense too much considering they spent the whole game on the field. The defensive play calling was too soft, but they were doing a good job of keeping Manning & Co. in check (outside of Harris' brain fart) until they just go tired. That trend can be traced back into the regular season as well.

My scapegoat is Ron Turner.