‘‘’If I look up right guard in the dictionary, I see a picture of Lance Louis,’ Tice said in August.”
“Tice proved adept at not only acknowledging a mistake but correcting it — both rare commodities at Halas Hall in recent years. It took the Bears four years to realize Mark Anderson wasn’t a starting defensive end. It took Tice four games to realize Louis wasn’t a starting right guard.”
Robbie Gould proves that kickers should be seen and not heard as he provided some bulletin board material to the Seahawks in the form of this comment on ESPN 1000 before yesterday’s game:
“I never thought anyone would say this, especially in Chicago, but go Pack go!”
Elsewhere
Tom Kowalsi at mlive.com breaks down the Lions roster. Big needs in the back seven of the defense should tell us what direction they’ll go in free agency and the draft.
Here’s the Detroit Lions season wrapup with Brian VanOchten and Bill Simonson at mlive.com. Some good points made here including the fact that the Cleveland Browns ended on a winning streak last year (though the Lions are probably different):
Former Bear defensive coordinator Ron Riveragot his second interview with the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers are thought to be seeking a defensive head coach. He could be close to having a job with them.
This week’s Audibles at Pro Football Weekly was particularly good. Here’s yet another astute observation:
“Coaches remember what a player did. Personnel guys are supposed to be on top of coaches to remember what (players) can do. Every team has different power structures. What you have to realize with coaches is that very few of them can separate the emotion.”
Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh gets a few warm comments from the Kansas City fans yesterday after their win:
“If the Bears win the Super Bowl, would that help bring them a new stadium to Chicago? Not only is Soldier Field the smallest stadium in the league, it’s pretty bad when the home team’s players constantly gripe about how bad the playing surface is. We’re the third-largest market in the league. No way Soldier Field should be the smallest stadium in the league, especially with the rich tradition the Chicago Bears have. — Corey, Chicago”
“I have heard absolutely no talk about a new stadium in Chicago and would be shocked if I did. Mountains are moved more easily than stadiums are built in Chicago, especially on the public’s dime. By the way Corey, would you like to see your taxes go up to pay for a new stadium? I wouldn’t. And I fully expect that in my lifetime I’ll never see the Bears call another stadium home other than the one they are currently playing in.”
As a resident of the city of Chicago I can agree whole heartedly and without reservation with Pompei. I think the outside of Soldier Field is a horrible abomination but the inside is as nice as you could ask and I have no desire whatsoever to watch a game in another stadium. I certainly have no desire to pay for one. Until it was lowered slightly last July Chicago had the highest total sales tax of all major U.S. cities. I’m as big a football fan as you’ll find but as things are right now I could guarantee a tax payer revolt if anyone tried to build a new stadium here and I’d be right with them every step of the way.
‘‘[it always seems he’s on the fringe] because you guys put me on the fringe. Nobody else does. I’ve never seen myself as a roster-bubble guy. Maybe a little bit last year. But no — you guys see that. In the locker room, they don’t think I am. My coaches don’t think I am. They haven’t told me that.’’
Its nice that Davis has confidence. But if you’re not a starter, there’s always the potential that you’re going to be considered a roster bubble guy in the NFL. No one should have to tell Davis that.
Neil Hayes at the Chicago Sun-Times points out that the Bears will have 14 unrestricted free agents after the season. The top two strong side linebackers are on the list and, interestingly, Hayes puts a higher priority on signing backup Nick Roach than starter Pisa Tinoisamoa.
Elsewhere
Steve Hyde and Mark Berardino of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel talk about the Dolphins coaching situation and the embarrassing consequences resulting from the attempt of GM Jeff Ireland, owner Steven Ross, and Carl Peterson to hire Jim Harbaugh in this interesting video shot before Sparano’s contract was extended:
Hyde also writes about the apparently expanding, if unofficial, role of Carl Peterson in all of this:
The people on Steve Ross’ plane told the strange story. How Jeff Ireland was anointed a survivor over Tony Sparano is mystifing. But Carl Peterson is the really strange and disturbing figure, as I wrote in my column today. Peterson flew under the radar in this entire episode but was the loudest presence of all. He was Bill Parcells. He was the acting football czar. A guy who won nothing in running Kansas City for the final 15 years was setting the course for this franchise. Not only that but surely he was the one behind telling Bill Cowher that he had to inherit Ireland and Mike Nolan. Why would Cowher accept the job under those conditions? Peterson’s a scary presence, folks, not just for what happened this past week but for what it means for the future.
Snoop Dogg and John Legend do the Peyton dance (via ESPN.com):
“How the Saints attack the middle: There’s a good chance the Seahawks take a conservative approach to covering New Orleans in the secondary in an attempt to eliminate big plays. But that shouldn’t slow down the Saints because they’ll just lean on intermediate routes, which are the bulk of the offense anyway.
“[Saints quarterback Drew] Brees will have to be patient and settle for underneath throws to the slot receivers, tight ends — such as Jeremy Shockey — and running backs with the Seahawks playing so conservatively. But will he?
Plymouth police are investigating a 22-year-old woman’s claim that she was the victim of “inappropriate contact” by an as yet unidentified Lions player Thursday. She is lawyering up. Via Dave Birkett and Eric Lawrence at the Detroit Free Press.
“There’s a reason why the players don’t seem uptight after a turnover or other mistake and why they don’t turn on one another when they lose a close game, and it starts with the coach.
“McCarthy is not a screamer for the sake of theatrics. If practice turns sloppy, he breaks the monotone buzz of the fluorescent lights in the Don Hutson Center with angry, sharp instructions. He yells. Profanity is used just to emphasize the point. But once it’s made, McCarthy moves on, without the long, drawn-out drama.”
“I think we did play tight,” Davis said. “Guys were a little scared. They were more worried about coach Singletary getting on them than playing football.”
“You have three choices in life when looking at any situation. You can take a positive angle, a negative angle or no angle at all.
“I clearly believe in positive mind-sets. Positive needs to be the starting point. I believe in positive reinforcement. Negative reinforcement is a useful teaching tool, but it is a short-term teaching tool.
“At the end of the day, when you’re building a program, it’s all about culture. Positive culture equates growth, and that is very important to me – that everyone in our program continue to grow.”
One Final Thought
Rutgers’ Eric LeGrand discusses his recovery progress after he was paralyzed in a football game with ESPN’s Tom Rinaldi:
Mike Mulligan at the Chicago Sun-Timesmakes a sensible argument against rushing to extend Lovie Smith‘s contract:
“Word around the league is that the Bears aren’t in a hurry to spend more money on Smith. In fact, they may want to trim some salary off the coaching staff. That could be a lot easier to do after next season than this one.
“Phillips negotiated a bad contract with Smith the last time out because his timing was awful. No need to blow it again when you already have the guy for an extra year.”
Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune believes that leaving Corey Graham off of the Pro Bowl roster was a snub. I agree.
Biggs also reports that the Bears brought in four punts for a look. Current punter Brad Maynard will be an unrestricted free agent. He’s been consistent but he’s also 36 and he’s had health problems.
Neil Hayes at the Chicago Sun-Times has this quote about Devin Hester from Green Bay head coach Mike McCarthy:
“He’s the best player on their football team. They have a lot of fine football players, too. No disrespect to [Julius] Peppers, [Lance] Briggs and the rest of those guys. He’s having probably his finest year there.”
I guess its not exactly the same thing but I tend to think in terms of who the Bears could least afford to lose when asked this question. Hester wouldn’t be at the top of the list. I think I’d at least put Peppers, Jay Cutler and probably Brian Urlacher ahead of him.
The Bears are talking big about taking this game seriously and I’m sure they’ll try to. But actions speak louder than words and the fact that Olin Kreutz got a veterans day off indicates that – to an extent – they aren’t treating the practices as seriously as they otherwise would (Via Vaughn McClure at the Tribune). This seems to be consistent with this statement from Smith is Dan Pompei’s column at the Tribune:
“Most of you reported that we pulled our guys (in the finale in 2005). Even for this game, if there’s someone that’s a little banged up, we’re not going to put him at risk then.”
Speaking of Pompei’s column, he gives a well-reasoned opinion of what the Bears will actually do against the Packers Sunday.
In his last eight games, Cutler has a 96.9 quarterback rating on third down. His 54.7 percent conversion rate is the highest in the NFL during that span.
The defense is ranked second in forcing three and outs, are third best at stopping the run and are second in opponent passer rating.
The Bears had a lot of trouble with third down last year and early this year.
The Bears have forced 33 turnovers this season while the Packers have turned it over just 18 times. “Zero giveaways will be an important statistic this week,” McCarthy said
Elsewhere
Sam Farmer at the LA Times (via the Chicago Tribune) highlights the fact that if Seattle beats the Rams Sunday night they will be the first ever team with a losing record to make the NFL playoffs.
Barak Obama‘s statement commending the Philadelphia Eagles for giving him a second chance is causing an over blown storm of controversy.
I’m not in the habit of making political or social commentary. But I’m going to make an exception here.
Obama’s statement doesn’t bother me. The fact that people don’t like it doesn’t bother me. What bothered me about this article is that of all the organizations to go to for comment the writer went to PETA.
PETA is not just an organization of animal lovers. They are fringe extremists who, though welcome to their opinion, should not be sought for comment in an informed publication of any kind. To do so only furthers their agenda and gives them an air of legitimacy that they in no way deserve.
Michael Salfino at the The Wall Street Journal points out via benmaller.com that Michael Vick is 36% worse in cold weather, something Bear fans already know from his visits here. This may be one of many reasons why head coach Andy Reid hesitated at first to make Vick the starter earlier in the season. The Eagles won’t do it but they should reconsider their starting options if their road to the Super Bowl goes through Green Bay of Chicago.
Dominic Raiola may find himself in some hot water for this graphic suggestion (mlive.comvia benmaller.com).
Green Bay offensive line coach James Campen on how to avoid a letdown similar to the one the Packers had against the Bears in their first game where they had 18 penalties. Via Gary D’Amato at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
“You have to maintain good and the only way to do that is to strive to be great.”
Manish Mehta at the New York Daily Newsquoted this interesting statistic when talking about the difference between a Jet loss this Sunday, leaving the 10-6 and a Jet win:
When you look at recent Super Bowl history, 11 is the magic number. In the past 10 Super Bowls, 18 of the 20 teams had at least 11 regular-season wins.
According to the AP the Bears’ win over the Jets led the way to the highest preliminary television rating for the single-game window in the 13 seasons of the current AFC package with CBS. Its nice to see CBS get a return on the Bears after televising the miserable contest against the Patriots where they had to switch away to a more competitive game in most markets.
Leave it to the Daily News to generate this headline: “Rex Ryan is yet to put his foot down on issue of Mark Sanchez starting Sunday against the Bills”
Donovan McNabb continues to want to have his cake and eat it, too, according to the AP:
“Donovan McNabb sees ‘nothing wrong’ with an inflammatory statement in which his agent attacked Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan.
“Yet McNabb also tried to distance himself from that statement Tuesday in his weekly radio appearance on ESPN980. McNabb said he wasn’t aware that his agent was planning to release the statement before it came out last week.
“‘He put his thoughts into the whole deal, not Donovan’s thoughts,’ McNabb said.”
From Mike Klis of the Denver Post (via Mike Florio at profootballtalk.com) we have Brandon Lloyd‘s answering the question of whether he wanted to say “told you so” to the three teams for which he previously played (i.e. the 49ers, Redskins, and Bears). It was done with typical Brandon Lloyd logic:
“No, I want to say, ‘F- you.’ And I mean that in the most professional way.”
If the Packers qualify for the playoffs they will be bucking a serious trend to make the Super Bowl. According to Mike Vandermause at the Green Bay Press Gazetteno NFC 6 seed has ever made it.
Via the AP we have Fox analyst Tucker Carlson who said Vick “should have been executed” for his role in a dogfighting ring. Execution? I mean really…
Can we do it on television?
One Final Thought
Thanks to George Vecsey at The New York Times for highlighting this spoof that could in actuality be of any of 95% of all NFL coaches.
San Francisco 49ers head coach and former Bear great Mike Singletaryhas been fired last night as head coach after a disappointing loss to the St. Louis Rams. The game cost the 49ers a spot in the playoffs. Singletary took the loss, and presumably his firing, in a typical stand up fashion:
“You know what, I’ll put it this way: a personal failure. I’m the head coach of this team and obviously wanted us to do better, felt that we could do better. There are some obvious questions that I hoped would be answered as the season went on, and obviously were not answered. When that happens, you end up out of the playoffs.
“I take full responsibility for every unanswered question.”
A couple points here. First this is a lesson for all fans that cry so passionately for the days of explosive former Bear head coach Mike Ditka. Don’t get me wrong. You can be a successful emotional head coach. But there has to be moor to it than that. Otherwise its just day after day of someone haranguing you. The indications in the media are that’s part of what happened here.
Second, this looks to me like a race to Jon Gruden. During an interview on the NFL Network before Saturday’s game, Cowboy’s owner Jerry Jones strongly hinted that he was looking at Gruden. I’d be willing to bet that the 49ers are too and once it was clear that Singletary wasn’t going to survive, they fired him immediately rather than waiting a week. They want to talk to Gruden and, failing that, other big name people to run the organization. 49ers owner Jed York didn’t say that directly, of course. But I consider his statement about paying off the rest of Singletary’s contract as providing a strong hint:
“Money is no object. I mean, our object is to win the Super Bowl, year in and year out be there and compete for Super Bowls. We’re going to make sure we get this right.”