Bears
- Rick Morrissey at the Chicago Sun-Times provides us with more good fetish one-liners.
- Dan Pompei at the Chicago Tribune gives us some insight into the way to beat quarterback Mark Sanchez and the Jets offense:
“The best game plan against him is a diverse one that takes away the gimme throws. He can be rattled with pressure, but he also can struggle to put the ball in tight windows versus zone coverage. The key is to keep him off balance.”
Taking away the gimme throws and playing zone at the same time is quite a challenge. As Pompei suggests, we’ll probably see the Bears mix it up.
Elsewhere
- Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis told Joe Reedy at the Cincinnati Enquirer (via Mike Florio at profootballtalk.com) that he is optimistic he’ll be back with the Bengals. What the source of that optimism is, I don’t know. Its not that Lewis is a bad coach but he appears to have hit that shelf life that most head coaches have with one team and it may be time to move on.
- Jeff Legwold at the Denver Post thinks the Broncos will try to trade quarterback Kyle Orton, who has apparently been set aside in favor of Tim Tebow. (via Aaron Wilson at the National Football Post) He thinks the Broncos could use the draft picks. Personally, I doubt that they’ll get what Orton is worth.
- From Pro Football Weekly‘s Whispers:
“The signing of Colts RB Dominic Rhodes was a “much-needed shot in the arm,” according to QB Peyton Manning. Rhodes looked good in his first significant action in Week 15, spelling Donald Brown with nine carries for 26 yards, one reception for four yards and a terrific block on blitzing Jaguars LB Daryl Smith. Word is Rhodes’ biggest contribution to the team could come from his contagious energy and excitement that we hear was noticeably present from the moment he walked onto the practice field after being re-signed.”
Any help that Manning gets is a plus. In my opinion, he’s been trying to carry that team by doing it all himself. But even he can’t do that. Here’s hoping he’s able to relax a bit more going into the playoffs.
“The Vikings could bring QB Rhett Bomar back next season as someone to throw into the mix. Brett Favre won’t be back, Tarvaris Jackson is a free agent, and Joe Webb could be moved back to receiver, the position he was drafted to play. Bomar, who had been toiling on the Giants’ practice squad until the Vikings signed him, once was a top prospect at Oklahoma before transferring and was a fifth-round draft pick, so he might have some ability worth investigating in the offseason.”
Bomar appears to me to have the physical tools. But I can’t imagine a scenario where the Vikings don’t draft a quarterback. And they’d be fools if they didn’t play it safe by looking for at least one veteran.
- Pompei, writing for the National Football Post this time, goes over some things he “didn’t used to know”:
“A former Super Bowl winning coach turned broadcaster not named Bill Cowher might be coming back to the NFL next year. There are some rumblings former Ravens coach Brian Billick could get back in. One team that could make sense for Billick is the 49ers. He grew up in California, was drafted by the 49ers and worked in the team’s public relations office before he got into coaching.”
Billick is a former public relations man and I think he might be better off as a talker in his current position as color commentator than as a football coach. He was hired as an offensive guru by the Baltimore Ravens but went to the Super Bowl riding a great defense and a average to poor offense.
One Final Thought
- Pompei again:
“Maybe Gunther Cunningham will do it”
LOL.