“Why are the Packers able to plug in rookie Bryan Bulaga — the 24th pick of the 2010 draft — at offensive tackle and win the Super Bowl, while the Bears’ Chris Williams — the 14th pick of the 2008 draft — is running out of o-line positions to find a home?
“Why was Packers linebacker Erik Walden — picked up off the street on Oct. 27 — an unstoppable force in Week 17?
“Why was Cullen Jenkins — who missed the last month of the regular-season with a calf injury — a bigger factor in the NFC Championship Game than Peppers?
“How did Packers backup quarterback Matt Flynn nearly beat the New England Patriots on the road a week after the Patriots dominated the Bears when Todd Collins threw four interceptions and had a 6.2 rating against the Carolina Panthers?
“The Packers have two basic advantages over the Bears right now: they do more with more and they do more with less.”
In other words, they’re a better organization top to bottom than the Bears. It makes me sick to write it but its basically true.
“they do more with less”? Why not just say they’re better coached?
“they do more with more”? Why not just say they have better young talent because they’ve got a better general manager who knows how to draft? One who didn’t have to spend a fortune in free agency or give away two years worth of top draft picks to make up for his own failures.
Potash only needed two words to write this article: “They’re better.” Its totally disgusting but its the simple truth.
In what has to be the saddest story I’ve read all year, Tom Friend at ESPN details the struggles of William Perry against his both his physical and mental disabilities. Here is the accompanying video:
Congratulations to the Packers fans on their team’s Super Bowl win. But as usual some fans went too far in the course of their celebration as shown in these shocking scenes of excess. (Thanks to Eric Olsenfor pointing me to this video at The Chicago Bears Fan Forum).
My only comment on the Super Bowl is simple. Turnovers and penalties will kill you every time.
If you are looking for any piece of good news to brighten a pretty dark day for most Bear fans consider this: The Packers continued to drop footballs all over the field last night. It sounds minor but it sure makes a difference when you are playing an opponent that isn’t giving the game away. The Packers will get everyone’s best next year.
I’m not surprised that Tom Brady won the league’s MVP award. But like almost everyone else I am surprised it was unanimous. Its the first time that’s ever happened.
Like most of the fans around the league who are asking the same queston of their respective teams, Omar Kelly at the Sun-Sentinel asks how far the Dolphins are from the two Super Bowl teams. The Dolphins beat the Packers and almost beat the Steelers this year.
In a video which is no less funny for being posted a bit late, Kenny Mayne at ESPN goes back to Mike McCarthy’s hometown of Greenfield, Pa., to find out who the locals will be cheering for.
The Super Bowl ads can be found here at the Chicago Tribune. Here’s what was probably my favorite one:
Former Baltimore head coach Brian Billick talks to Joe Reedy at the Cincinnati Enquirer about new offensive coordinator Jay Grudenand the “West Coast offense”:
“’There’s no such thing as a West Coast offense anymore. It doesn’t exist,’ Billick said. ‘Everyone has taken different bits and pieces of it and its morphed into a number of different things. He may use some of the West Coast verbage but even the most ardent of west coast guys who came directly from the [Bill] Walsh lineage whether its be via [Mike] Holmgren to Andy Reid to Jon Gruden, they’ve all evolved it and it’s morphed into different forms almost like the Dungy 2 or Tampa 2, everyone uses a form of it. To identify a team like that, it’s kind of a misnomer because everyone is doing it.”
Like Mayne’s vidoe above, “Vince Lombadi’s” final speech to players in both locker rooms is also no less moving for being posted late. This was a nice series of video’s put together by the league. I hope they do it again next year.
Former Rams running back and current NFL Network analyst Marshall Faulk defends Bears quarterback Jay Cutler. Via Fred Mitchell and David Kaplan at the Chicago Tribune:
“If you want to criticize something, let’s talk about the offensive line, let’s ask the decision-makers up in the front office in Chicago, and I know they’re going to hate me for this, but why is Jay Cutler and Matt Forte playing behind that? I’m not going to get on those guys, because you can’t even move outside until you fix inside.”
“The key for the Steelers is their pre-snap disguise. Free safety Ryan Clark will show a single high safety look (Cover 1 to the offense) while strong safety Troy Polamalu will move to his blitz alignment and time the snap of the ball. What the Steelers create is a two-on-one blitz versus the running back in protection (strong safety and nickel back) with the outside linebacker “scooping” to attack the left tackle. This blitz will test the protection schemes of the Packers’ offensive line and could get a free runner at [Green Bay quarterback Aaron] Rodgers‘ blind side.”
“The Packers need to attack Ben Roethlisberger from his right side to push him left. That means the Steelers quarterback will have to throw across his body when he scrambles loose, rather than setting up in a more natural stance and finding his receivers.”
“Hines Ward recalled how Tomlin initially instituted dress codes and included more contact than an MMA fight during his first training camp.
“‘He was very militant,’ Ward said. ‘Some veteran guys challenged his authority, and they’re no longer here. The guys that he kept, we bought into his belief and his system.'”
“When you walk in our building and you have pictures of Curly Lambeau, Vince Lombardi, Mike Holmgren — our history is among us all the time,” he said. “It creates a standard and expectation that fits right along with our visions.”
Farmer also quotes Tomlin in this excerpt from the same article:
“Roethlisberger will be without Maurkice Pouncey, the outstanding rookie center who suffered a high ankle sprain early in the AFC championship game against the Jets. The Steelers switched to backup center Doug Legursky, a second-year player who finished the game.
“‘The NFL is made up of lots of players like him — guys who somehow got an opportunity and seized it,’ Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. ‘We’re completely confident (in him). That’s why we’re not changing what we do.'”
“The Packers and Steelers are two reasons you shouldn’t get too enamored with free agents. Neither team usually is a player in the free agent market, and both are better because of it.”
ESPN‘s NFC North blogger Kevin Seifert explains why former Vikings receiver Cris Cartercame up short in the Hall of Fame voting. Few people cold seriously doubt that Carter will eventually get in.
“Matt Cassel has Drew Brees to thank for his success last season. Cassel’s coach Todd Haley made Cassel watch a lot of tape on Brees’ footwork and his pass drops, and rode Cassel hard about trying to do it the way Brees does it. Brees is known for having the best footwork in the league, and Haley wants Cassel as close to that as possible. Haley asks some of the same things of Cassel that Sean Payton asks of Brees. Haley and Payton were co-workers in Dallas.”
In the same article Pompei says that the greatest passer of all time is playing in the Super Bowl this year. It’s not who you think it is.
“You don’t hire an offensive or defensive guy. You hire a leader. That’s the No. 1 thing to look for is a leader, someone to stand in front of the room, command the respect of the organization and obviously the players, and somebody the owner feels good about.
“Because wherever their expertise is, they have to be able to hire around it. So No. 1 is leadership, the second thing is the ability to communicate, and the third for me is to hire and delegate.”
“ARLINGTON, TX—Despite the overwhelming media hype, countless interviews with players and coaches, and considerable speculation about the big game since the conference champions earned Super Bowl berths nearly two weeks ago, Super Bowl XLV still hasn’t happened yet. “It feels like it should have happened last Sunday, but it didn’t,” Ohio-area football fan Jared Britton told reporters Friday, adding that instead of the Super Bowl, the Pro Bowl happened.”
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell gave his state of the league address yesterday. Amongst the things he talked about was the proposed 18 game regular season:
“Repeatedly, the fans have said the quality of the preseason doesn’t meet NFL standards. That is … the basis on which we started to look at the 18-and-two concept, by taking two of those low-quality, non-competitive games and turn those into quality, competitive games that the fans want to see.”
He’s got a point about the preseason. But I’ll say that he might be surprised (as I was) by the number of fans who would rather just see those two games eliminated.
I, personally, think the more football the better. But many fans I know disagree with me because they are worried that the quality of the game will be diluted. That seems to be supported by the results of this poll from the Associated Press:
“Of everyone surveyed, 27 percent strongly favor or somewhat favor adding two regular-season games and dropping two preseason games. When the group is narrowed to those identifying themselves as NFL fans, support for the change rises to a total of 45 percent — yet only 18 percent who strongly favor it.”
There seems to be little doubt that fan support for an extension of the season is weak. And, of course, anyone who has been paying attention knows that the players as a group hate the idea. But I think everyone is asking the wrong question. It seems clear that the owners aren’t going to easily agree to anything that doesn’t include the two extra games. So let’s try this one:
Which would you rather have? Eighteen games in 2012 or a lockout where there are less than 16 games 2011?
But you know when you’ve really made it? When you have your own dandruff shampoo (the video was made by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats).
Biggs continued his excellent positional analysis series with the running backs. I thought this was an interesting choice of words:
“Harvey Unga faced an uphill battle to make the 53-man roster as an addition in the supplemental draft and the Bears found a convenient way to redshirt him with a hamstring pull in training camp.”
Bears safety Chris Harriswrites a piece for the Chicago Sun-Times about the key to the Super Bowl matchup.
Jensen points out that the Bears need to get younger and deeper. When he asks where the Bears have ailed to put themselves in this situation, its no surprise where he puts the emphasis:
“Kevin Colbert, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ director of football operations, noted that nearly three-quarters of Pro Bowl players were selected in the first three rounds.
‘‘’So it’s very important that you get those players right,’ Colbert said, ‘and we really emphasize making sure we don’t make mistakes on the 1’s, 2’s and 3’s. If you get lucky on the later rounds, great. But the 1’s, 2’s and 3’s, if you miss on them, they can set you back for some years.’’’
Pittsburgh defensive end Brett Keisel has been growing his beard for seven months. He thinks it gives the Steelers’ “Super Bowl powers”. From Sam Farmer at the Los Angeles Times.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell addresses the negotiations with the Player’s Union in this video as he answers a queston from Chad Ochocinco:
ESPN‘s NFC North blogger Kevin Seifertaddresses the problem the Vikings have with defensive end Everson Griffin. Griffen was arrested twice in three day in Los Angeles, once on suspicion of public intoxication and the second time for allegedly assaulting a police officer following a traffic stop. Not good.
Seifert also points out the one thing that bugs me about picking the Packers. The many times they’ve failed to finish in close games. I don’t think there’s much doubt that the Steelers know how to do that. I don’t know who is going to win but I’d be surprised if this game was a blow out.
This little tidbit from CNET.com (via BenMaller.com) is interesting. Pete Walsh, head of technology for the Cowboys, said his team and at least a “couple” of others are currently considering abandoning their playbooks in favor of iPads. The iPad is more secure because it can be remotely wiped.
The FBI finally arrested the Arizona man who is allegedly responsible for using a computer to interrupt a local telecast of the 2009 Super Bowl with a 37-second pornography clip. You can take down those road blocks now.
In what has to be one of the dumbest ideas I’ve heard yet, the NFLPA has discussed getting potential draft picks to boycott the NFL Combine later this month with agents. The union is hopeful such a boycott would disrupt teams’ scouting of college players, but it’s unlikely to get widespread support from the agents whose first duty is helping their clients get selected high in the draft.
One Final Thought
I am not going to pick the Super Bowl game, especially against the spread, because I think its too close to call. But in what I consider to be a good sign for the Steelers, most of the money in Vegas is coming in on the Packers.
Most of the bets aren’t in yet. But MGM Resorts International, which operates 10 sports books on the Las Vegas Strip, said about 70 percent of the money bet so far in its casinos is for a Packers victory. Bookies aren’t in the business of losing money.
Bolshevik revolutionary and Marxist theorist Leon Trotsky once said “Old age is the most unexpected of things that can happen to a man.”
No one is calling for the Bears to draft a linebacker high in the draft. That includes me. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a need.
Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune continues his excellent positional analysis series with the Bears linebackers:
“While this doesn’t look like a need position, it is because [Brian] Urlacher, [Lance] Briggs and [Hunter] Hillenmeyer are the only linebackers under contract for next season.”
Its a shame the Bears don’t have high round draft picks to invest in every position on the field. They seem to have a lot of needs to a team that just won their division.
This is an aging unit and its going to need an influx of youth soon. Urlacher is 33, Briggs is 30 and, if they bring him back, Pisa Tinoisamoa will be 30 next season. Biggs thinks that Urlacher has “enough spring in his legs to remain at a high level for a couple more seasons”. I think so, too. But I thought Brett Favre had another year in him after a wonderful performance in 2009. Instead he went from old to too old in a snap. And its worse for position players who rely more on their athleticism than the typical veteran quarterback.
I’ve even seen it in my own work. One year a person is perfectly healthy and doing the job they’ve always done. The next year they have 3 or 4 health problems, each building off of the last and each making the other worse. Its a scary situation.
The fact that the Bears don’t have any youth here is largely due to the failures of past draft. General Manager Jerry Angelo has invested in defensive lineman after defensive lineman – and rightfully so. But the fact that he hasn’t hit on one in a very long time means that he can’t afford to stop drafting the position in favor of other needs. Eventually the Bears are going to pay for his failures and it might well be here.
The guess here is that this need slides again in favor of more immediate problems. But the linebacker position is one that we will want to keep an eye on. Age isn’t something that always gradually shows up over time. Instead it creeps up on you in the dark takes you from behind when you least expect it.
Mike Phairis your new defensive line coach. Not that it matters because Rod Marinelli continues to run the unit. Brad Biggs at the Tribune points out that Phair has many connections to the current Bears coaches and to the front office.
Jay Cutler took a shot of pain killer. Brian Urlacherhas taken the same drug. Why is this a story?
“‘Bring him back,’ Goodwin said Thursday. ‘The biggest thing about Olin is his leadership. I’ve been watching film on him the last few games because we didn’t know who we were going to face in the Super Bowl. Let me tell you, he can still play. All the things I saw him do when I was with the Bears, he can still do now. It’s a no-brainer to re-sign him, No. 1 as a player, but No. 2 as a leader.'”
“What has gotten the Packers to this point is good drafting, but not just that. It’s also solid player development. The Packers’ coaching staff prepares young players well, and then gives them opportunities.”
“When you see the Packers’ defense jog onto the field Sunday, rest assured they will be guided neither by statistical tendencies nor computer “readouts.” Their game plan will be the work of a man who literally wrote the book on this system, a man who sat at a desk last week with a pen and an bag of multicolored highlighters and wrote down his plan to help win a Super Bowl championship. Based solely on his own knowledge, instincts and a file of reports from every game he has coached, Capers will almost certainly make a call or two that the NFL has never seen.”
ESPN’s Sal Palatonio interviews B. J. Raji. Sounds like the Packers are depending on Raji to dominate as the Steelers are hurting at center:
Jake Locker isn’t one of Mel Kiper‘s top 25 NFL prospects:
“That happens to a lot of these guys, the young kids who come in and have success. There’s a sense of entitlement. … It happens to all of us. Whether it’s someone who writes a bestseller, you look at yourself different. You feel pretty good about yourself.
“It’s the same thing as a coach. You win some ballgames, you feel pretty good about yourself. It’s different when that success kind of becomes who you are, and you stray away from your family and you roots and everything.
Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune comments upon underrated defensive lineman Anthony Adams as he writes another of his positional analyses.
“It was interesting to hear the Green Bay Packers praise the play of nose tackle Anthony Adams prior to the NFC Championship Game. It was also very telling. By nature, the position doesn’t produce much in the way of statistics, but he proved long ago to be a shrewd free-agent signing. Adams is a dependable and durable two-down performer and quietly he’s one of the real leaders in the locker room, making him a priority to re-sign as he’s an unrestricted free agent.”
“The 23rd overall pick of the Packers, Bulaga has mostly played at right tackle, and his performance has been inconsistent. One NFC scout told me that Bears seventh-round pick J’Marcus Webb has more upside than Bulaga.”
The San Diego Union Tribune reports that Lance Louis has finally settled a lawsuit brought by former San Diego State teammate Nick Sanford.
“I bet two dozen [Steeler] players … Not one, not a single player, went to his defense. It wasn’t personal in a sense, but all kinds of stories like, ‘He won’t sign my jersey.’ ”
The original quote was reported by SI.com’s Peter King. King has admitted that he put the “Steeler” in brackets and that the commissioner never implicitly stated that this was the case. But it not exactly a denial by Goodell, either.
“I asked Ochocinco how [quarterback Carson] Palmer’s situation compares to when the receiver tried to get traded a few years ago.
“’The difference is I would be scrutinized,’ he said. ‘In Carson’s case, they would do everything they can to fix the situation.’”
Ochocinco thinks the Bengals fired offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski to make Palmer happy.
I know that football players are a superstitious lot. But this is ridiculous. Via Jim Litke at the Associated Press.
This expert is obviously better than most as he makes his Super Bowl pick:
Hmmm. He makes a good point. But I’m not so sure I trust that guy. Let’s see what this expert has to say:
Yep. That pretty much finalizes it.
“Frank Caliendo” weighs in on the Cutler situation in this video.
Mike Vandermause at the Green Bay Press Gazettequotes Packers quarterback Aaron Rogers on whether he called Brett Favre or Favre called him to talk about the Super Bowl:
“No.”
Steeler’s center Maurkice Pouncey speaks to Chris Berman at ESPN. He really seems to think he can play. We’ll see.
One Final Thought
Florio collected some interesting quotes from Pittsburgh offensive coordinator Bruce Arians. This was among them“
“’That’s what makes you enjoy this week so much: All those times getting your ass kicked,’ Arians said in reference to the times he was actually fired as a college coach.”
Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune does another positional analysis, this time of the offensive line. He concludes that the Bears need two linemen, probably one veteran and one draftee, probably one for the interior who can play center and probably one for the tackle position. I generally agree. Perhaps the most interesting point was his bottom line:
[General manager Jerry] Angelo has his work cut out for him. The Bears assign one person to be a crosschecker for each position in the draft, an overseer if you will. Angelo has been that man for the offensive line. The draft is his baby and the line has been his position. It’s time to produce.
David Haugh, also at the Tribune, talks to backup quarterback Caleb Hanie. The Bears are in a bit of a bind with Hanie because they’ll probably have to pay $1.759 million next year to keep him. I found this quote to be interesting:
“‘You think about fourth-and-4, if I had just pumped that ball into Earl (Bennett),’ Hanie said. ‘Or on (B.J.) Raji‘s (interception return for a touchdown) if I would have taken just three steps instead of five steps, would he have just missed it. Or if I had gotten reps on that play, I would have maybe progressed over to Devin (Hester). But that’s how it goes sometimes.”’
This is the classic “loser’s lament”, worthy more of a Lions player who is still learning how to finish a game.. Hanie should know than to make these kinds of statements.
Tom Brady and Drew Brees averaged 44 attempts against the Steelers this year. They picked Pittsburgh apart with short precision passing for 655 yards, five scores, and one pick.
I doubt this fact has been lost on the Packer coaching staff.
In any case, hope that the Packers coaching staff will still be raided is not lost (yet). Let’s not forget that Dom Capers would certainly still look good on that Titan sideline as head coach. Assuming Green Bay head coach Mike McCarthy doesn’t decide to refuse to give him permission to interview, of course. After all, he might find his way from there to the Bears one day.
Ben Silverman at Yahoo says that Madden 2011 has predicted a Steeler’s Super Bowl win. I usually scoff at such thing but Silverman points out that the game has predicted the winner of six of the last seven Super Bowls.
Matt Bowen at The National Football Postbreaks down the Packers zone blitz by reviewing B.J. Raji‘s interception against he Bears in the NFC Championship Game. For those who don’t get too nauseous from the memory:
“Rush four—and drop seven. That’s it. Whenever you send the corner cat (Sam Shields in this situation, “C” in the white square), you are playing coverage in the backend and looking to steal a play.”
Raji is the defensive tackle that drops into coverage as Shields rushes.
“Dom has done more as far as moving people around,” Fox analyst Jimmy Johnson said. “LeBeau has done a fantastic job, but they are pretty standard with their zone blitzes. They let their players’ abilities be better than the guy across from them. Dom really moves his people around a lot. They can be coming from anyplace. He’s probably a little more diverse than LeBeau.”
Chris Erskine at the Chicago Tribunegathers hair advice for Troy Polamalu and Clay Matthews. Sunday, for heaven’s sake, please come quickly.
“Tell me how the Packers do at stopping Rashard Mendenhall, and I think I can tell you who wins this game.”
Evan Silva at profootballtalk.comreports the sad story of USC senior quarterback Mitch Mustain, who was the number two high school quarterback prospect in the country but never blossomed in college and bottomed out Tuesday after being arrested for selling prescription drugs:
Mustain was rated ahead of Tim Tebow and behind only Matthew Stafford among prep quarterbacks in 2006.
But don’t let that spoil the rest of National Signing Day.
Some of the Super Bowl ads are starting to hit the Internet. This Doritos commercial looks promising.
One Final Thought
Via BenMaller.com we have this little nugget for those thinking of investing in the Super Bowl. R.J. Bell at pregame.com says that Vegas has won money on 18 of the last 20 Super Bowls – the exceptions being 2008 (Giants vs. Pats) and 1995 (49ers vs. Chargers). What’s the estimated net amount that gamblers have lost over that time period? Over $11 BILLION dollars.
Don’t go betting the house on this one, folks. Or barn if you live in Green Bay.
I keep promising myself to let the issues surrounding Jay Cutler‘s injury during the NFC Championship game die. But little interesting points of discussion keep coming out of it.
Fran Tarkenton made some interesting comments on the “Mully and Hanley Show” on WSCR in Chicago (via the Chicago Tribune).
“It’s going to be very difficult. I don’t question Jay Cutler’s toughness. Anybody who plays in the National Football League is tough. I don’t question his courage. I question his judgment.”
“He made a bad decision by taking himself out of the game. I think he’ll have to live with this decision for a long, long time, and I think it will be a very hard decision to overcome, inside the locker room, outside the locker room, in the fan base, wherever he might go. I think it’s a very unfortunate thing.”
“We’re not football players like the rest of the guys. The rest of the guys are hitting people and knocking people down; we’re running away from them. We’ve got to be the emotional leader, the inspirational leader and the physical leader out there. That’s what quarterbacks have always been … in Chicago, from Sid Luckman, (Jim) McMahon, Bobby Douglass and on — the (Roger) Staubachs and all of them — that’s just what you do.
I’m not so sure I agree with the leadership part of this. Cutler is probably better off being who he is rather than forcing himself into this role. But that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be setting an example.
As tough as Cutler is and as many hits as he took during the year, I have to wonder if Tarkenton doesn’t have a point. I’ve said before that Cutler’s history suggests that he might not be who handles the tough times well mentally. He was playing poorly you have to wonder if he just said to himself, “The knee is hurt. That’s it.” rather than deciding to fight through both the bad knee and the poor play simultaneously.
Tarkenon says that this is likely a problem “inside the locker room, outside the locker room, in the fan base”. As supportive as they’ve been publicly of Cutler is it possible that Brian Urlacher or Lance Briggs could watch Cutler riding that exercise bike and not wonder if they wouldn’t have been out there playing on that knee? How about Tommie Harris, whose knee hasn’t been right since 2006? As part of that fan base, I’m starting to wonder.
