Windy City Gridiron

Bears Fall to Cardinals 41-21

2009-11-08T21:19:30Z

More photos » by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

The Bears offense showed signs of life late in the game, but it was too little too late. Not that they played poorly early, things just didn't go their way. A no call on a pass interference and a should have been a no call on a holding stalled Bears drives. Cutler had his best game statistically today, throwing for 369 and 3 TDs.

The defense stunk out loud for the first half allowing the Cardinals 28 points in the first half, which is hard even for a great team to come back from. Tommie Harris played great one play and then put on his moron helmet and got himself ejected for the rest of the game. Then Al Afalava and Charles Tillman both hit the showers early. The Bears defense has a hard enough time stopping teams without having to deal with this many people being out.

More Stats:

Greg Olsen: 5 receptions for 71 yards and 3 Tds

Matt Forte: 5 carries for 33 yards, 6 receptions for 74 yards

Devin Hester: 6 receptions for 94 yards

Earl Bennett: 7 receptions for 93 yards

Danieal Manning: 12 tackles

Hunter Hillenmeyer: 11 tackles

Arizona Cardinals VS. Chicago Bears - 2nd Half

2009-11-08T19:24:06Z


Soldier Field
12:00 P.M. CST	FOX
Sirius Channel: 127	Opp: Revenge of the Birds
After a rather sloppy, but a no contest against the Cleveland Browns the Bears welcome the 4-3 Arizona Cardinals. I'm sure we can expect all the shows to show highlights and run interviews considering the up and down game that saw the Bears pull of one of the most unexpected comebacks. It is probably a good be we will see good ol Denny Green's speech a few times, maybe somebody will even dig him up for a few minutes. The Cardinals come in still boosting of the leagues best passing offenses averaging 263 yards per game. Its a good thing though since they also have the league's worst run game managing a paltry 64 yards a game. The Bears get a little help with Anquan Boldin still hurting and may not play. This is a game the Bears can win and if they have any hopes of making it to the playoffs, they need this one. The Vikings are running away with the division and the Bears can't afford to fall back any more games.

Arizona Cardinals VS. Chicago Bears - 1st Half

2009-11-08T14:00:29Z


Soldier Field
12:00 P.M. CST	FOX
Sirius Channel: 127	Opp: Revenge of the Birds
After a rather sloppy, but a no contest against the Cleveland Browns the Bears welcome the 4-3 Arizona Cardinals. I'm sure we can expect all the shows to show highlights and run interviews considering the up and down game that saw the Bears pull of one of the most unexpected comebacks. It is probably a good be we will see good ol Denny Green's speech a few times, maybe somebody will even dig him up for a few minutes. The Cardinals come in still boosting of the leagues best passing offenses averaging 263 yards per game. Its a good thing though since they also have the league's worst run game managing a paltry 64 yards a game. The Bears get a little help with Anquan Boldin still hurting and may not play. This is a game the Bears can win and if they have any hopes of making it to the playoffs, they need this one. The Vikings are running away with the division and the Bears can't afford to fall back any more games.

The Weekend Bears Den - 11/7/09

2009-11-07T13:20:38Z

....where we just got back from a wedding and need to get up early tomorrow AM for MN deer season opener - therefore, we're going to bed and you can come up with your own damn one-liner.

ChicagoBears.com

Lovie Smith is still friends with Kurt Warner. Thanks, Larry!

The official injury report for the Bears and Cardinals.

Chicago Sun-Times

The Bears are forced to play solitaire. Or football.

Olin Kreutz's rallying cry versus the Cardinals in 2006 still resonate with the current Bears.

Mark Potash details the Bears - Cardinals winner plus his best bet.

Chicago Tribune

Garrett Wolfe on the Bears' running game: "You just have to stick with it."

Devin Hester is ready to go for Sunday.

Comcast SportsNet Chicago

Hester was a full participant in practice today and said he's ready to go for Sunday.

Are the Cardinals cursed? The Bears hope so.

Daily Herald

The Bears reminisce about the last game versus the Arizona Cardinals.

ESPN Chicago

Lance Briggs wants the Cardinals at full strength. ChiFan13 wants a damn win.

Week 9 Preview: Cardinals (4-3) @ Bears (4-3)

2009-11-06T20:00:43Z

More photos » by Ross D. Franklin - AP

Darnell Dockett has become quite a force (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Browse more photos »

In a schedule that sounds like we're turning back the clock to 1925, the Bears and Cardinals kickoff at noon on Sunday in Soldier Field... re-newing the old Northside vs Southside rivalry. Game on FOX.

Week 8 Recap

The Cardinals got steam rolled by the Panthers at home, 34-21. Entering the game, Arizona's run D was #1 in the NFL, but Carolina ran for an incredible 270 yards. It wasn't the only incredible feat the Panthers accomplished in this game: they intercepted Kurt Warner 5 times... and for the first time all year, Jake Delhomme didn't turn the ball over (he only attempted 14 passes LOL). When you play the Cardinals, you usually try to play keep away from Warner and Co, but the Panthers played keep away from their own QB to win this one.

The Bears took care of the woeful Browns at Soldier Field 30-6. However, aside from the final score, there was absolutely nothing impressive about the victory. The Bears, once again, had red zone problems, as their first 3 drives stalled and led to FGs... including one drive that started at the Cleveland 13 yard line after Danieal Manning interception. Manning had a spectacular game... leading the team in tackles, breaking up a pass, intercepting a pass, and recovering a fumble.

Quick Numbers:

270: Rushing yards the Cardinals allowed to the Panthers last week.
3.5: Matt Forte's pathetic YPC in 2009
#7: The Cardinals rushing defensive ranking, falling all the way from #1 after last week
1: The number of sacks recorded by the Bears defense in their last 3 games. 1.

Key Injuries:

ARI WR Anquan Boldin (right ankle) Q

CHI FS Danieal Manning (back) Q
CHI WR Devin Hester (ankle) Q

When the Cardinals have the ball.
Kurt Warner is leading another high octane offense, with WRs Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, and Steve Breaston. What separates Warner from other QBs is his ability to read blitzes, and beat them with a quick release over and over again. Well, the Bears blitz more than just about every team in the NFL... and do it rather unsuccessfully. This should play right into the hands of Warner. And, when the Bears aren't blitzing, they're normally sitting in a very generous zone coverage, where veteran WRs make a killing. Ocho Cinco feasted on the Bears zone coverage a couple weeks ago... and Fitz and Boldin are better. Sorry folks... but if Warner comes out firing, this could get ugly again... much like the Bengals game.

The key matchup: Anquan Boldin vs the Bears back 7
While Larry Fitzgerald is the headliner and deep threat, Boldin is the guy who makes his living underneath and in the middle: exactly where the windows are in the Cover 2. Boldin will find the open spots in this weak zone all day long.

The X factor on offense for the Cardinals: Beanie Wells
Wells is starting to adapt to the NFL, and finally becoming a staple of the offense. He now leads the team in rushing, despite a few less carries than Tim Hightower, and is starting to look like a feature back. At some point this season, he's going to have "a game."

When the Bears have the ball.
Sometime this year... Ron Turner is going to have to allow Jay Cutler to do what he does best: make plays on the move. Now, would be a good time to finally start. The Bears offensive line has been so poor, that it's time to intentionally get Cutler outside of the pocket by design. When Cutler's on the move, he minimizes the Bears weak pass protection, and forces defenses to react, by freezing LBs and DBs who hesitate to commit to the QB or the WRs. Up to this point of the season, the Bears are simply wasting Cutler's best talents. And that's trending in other areas as well... because they are also wasting the talents of their two RBs Matt Forte and Garret Wolfe, by continually asking them to run between the tackles of a poor offensive line, when their only running success is coming outside. In the red zone, where the team continues to struggle, Ron Turner must get creative and find a way to create mis-matches. Here's an idea: use your 6'7" TE, Kellen Davis.

The key matchup: Olin Kreutz and Josh Beekman vs Darnell Dockett
Dockett has steadily become one of the better DTs in the league, and is a very disrupting force. With the Bears issues on the line, he could make things difficult for the Bears all afternoon.

The X Factor on offense for the Bears: TE Greg Olsen
As usual... this nod goes to Olsen. When Olsen gets heavily involved, good things happen for the Bears offense.

Side notes from the NFC North:

Vikings: Minnesota's run defense took another hit the last two weeks, as they are now allowing 4.1 ypc and 94.8 ypg. It feels good to be right about something this year :) They'll have the bye week to work on that, although there's no fountain of youth for Pat Williams to drink out of.

*(in the pre-season, I warned that the Vikings days of dominant run D was nearing an end, as Pat Williams turns 37 years old)

Packers: Aaron Rodgers was sacked another 6 times last week... and the Packers O-line let the Vikings record 10 more QB hits on him. It's amazing this man is still standing. This weekend, the Pack switch bays, and head south to take on the Yucs. Rodgers might not be on his back all afternoon this Sunday.

Lions: Detroit flies out west to Seattle after losing at home last week to the Rams 17-10, in a game they should've won. I doubt we'll be saying the same next Monday morning. Seattle should take of this bad road team rather easily.

Comcast Red Zone: Keys To Victory

2009-11-06T18:33:24Z

This post is sponsored by Comcast's Red Zone. Catch Every Touchdown From Every Game. Every Sunday Afternoon.

The Chicago Bears have played three straight weeks of uninspiring football, and the pressure is on Lovie Smith and company to take care of business this week when the Arizona Cardinals come to town. What are my keys to victory this week?

Defense, defense, defense. Arizona's high-flying offense will look to jump out quickly on Chicago's recently soft pass coverage, so the Bears will have to play solid defense for four full quarters of football. The front four will have to generate pressure on the QB, the linebackers will have to be fast in covering the middle of the field, and our DBs will have to be on their "A" game to compete with the talented WR corp of Arizona.

Certainly, we need more consistency and productivity from our offense, but if the defense doesn't show up, it won't matter. The Cardinals will be looking to exploit Lovie's suddenly ineffective Tampa-2, and with a guy like Kurt Warner leading the charge, it could get ugly in a hurry.

I'm hoping that we hear more from Gaines Adams this week, as he should be getting more comfortable in his new environment.

2006: Bears vs Cardinals

2009-11-06T16:30:28Z

I hope you all don't mind us posting this, as most have probably watched it a million times. But, I thought this might be a good time-killer until SackMan gets his highly-anticipated Game Preview posted. I love some of the quotes...

Kurt Warner: "I've never seen anything like it."

Rex Grossman to Matt Leinart: "You deserved to win this."

The Bears Den - 11/6/09

2009-11-06T06:00:24Z

....where we saw him reach for his groin and hold it, and, uh, whatever you do with a groin....rub it, that's what we think we witnessed.

ChicagoBears.com

Cardinals have been red-hot on the road this season.

The Bears are gearing up to face a potent offense.

Chicago Sun-Times

Dah Mah Nah: An ugly victory and a homely future for the Bears.

Neil Hayes: Ron Turner's job is on the line if the Bears can't figure it out.

Brad Biggs: Pare down isn't the Bears' fight song. Ha, ha.

Chicago Tribune

For a running team, the Bears sure are passing a lot.

Jay Cutler discusses his diabetes in webisode form.

The Bears' receivers are coming into their own.

John Tait: Give the OL some more time.

Nathan Vasher has been making progress at safety.

Sam Farmer makes his Week 9 NFL picks.

Comcast SportsNet Chicago

Scaling back the offense? Don't think about it.

Devin Hester misses his second straight day of practice.

No pressure on the QB? No way.

Is the criticism of Lovie Smith fair or foul?

Daily Herald

Ron Turner believes that better focus will help turn around the offense.

The Bears' O is grinding to a halt.

Getting to Kurt Warner is critical for the Bears on Sunday.

ESPN Chicago

Zack Bowman has a hefty challenge ahead of him this week.

This game is a big one. Thanks!

Bears remember the 2006 Arizona game.

Sporting News

Our very own wiltfongjr gives his Bearprint for Success against the Cardinals.

NightLink: Bears/Cards One of the Most Memorable Ever?

2009-11-05T23:05:04Z

With a post-game press conference that will forever transcend time, the 2006 game between the Bears and the Cardinals was one for the ages. Undefeated to that point, but down 20 points at halftime, the Bears needed miracles to win that game. Of course, they got 'em. Jeff Dickerson reminisces:

Rex Grossman tossed four interceptions, but got bailed out by two defensive scores by Mike Brown and Charles Tillman, and a Devin Hester 83-yard punt return that capped the comeback.

It was an emotional roller-coaster, one which had induced me to drink more than the usual glass of milk during the game. The first half was drinking due to depression, while the second half was drinking because I thought that my drinking was causing the comeback.

Afterwards, we (or maybe it was just me, I don't remember) went out for drinks to celebrate, and I remember thinking at one point man, I hope I remember this game in the morning. Fortunately, I did remember, and I considered myself lucky to have witnessed such a magical game, with a handful of my closest friends (read: total strangers at the bar, who all benefited from my buying drinks for everyone in the second half).

It might not be the most memorable for me, but it's right near the top.

Anyhow, share your own. Where does the 2006 Cardinals game rank in your mental filing-system? What is your most memorable Bears game?

Return Game Getting Ridiculous Again

2009-11-05T18:30:33Z

More photos » by Nam Y. Huh - AP

Browse more photos »

So far this season the Bears punt return unit has looked much better than last year. There's still a zero in the TD column, but overall the return men seem to have more room to run. In 2008 Devin Hester looked mortal by not taking any punts back to the house, especially after his first two seasons had us Bears fans spoiled with his ridiculous returns. Did his ability regress last year? Is he starting to find his Mojo again this year?

The thing I love about football is it's truly a team game. You need all 11 men on the field doing their job. As great a returner as Hester looked in his first two years, you have to look at his third phase teammates. Veteran Chicago Bears that had honed their skills as special teams players.

Former Bears Brendon Ayanbadejo (Pro Bowler), Cameron Worrell, and Todd Johnson were key members of the '06 unit. In 2007 you still had Ayanbadejo, but you started to get some turnover with the depth of your team. And the depth of the team are the players that make up the special teams.

Think about the players drafted to the NFL... the elite offensive and defensive players of the college game. You'll never see team draft a stand out gunner or a first team wedge breaker. The majority of the rookies coming in were studs in high school so their coaches probably held them off special teams to preserve their health. Once in college they competed with the other freshmen recruits and the best of the best were then either red-shirted or took on an immediate role offensively or defensively.

The kids that play special teams in college are primarily made up of players that aren't quite good enough to start, so therefor aren't going to get drafted to the NFL. Occasionally you'll get a late bloomer that spent some time on special teams their first couple years in college, but once they bloom, they no longer attend the third phase meetings.

Look at two of the Bears top special teams players. How many times did Garrett Wolfe cover kicks at Northern Illinois? And Adrian Peterson was a record setting running back at Georgia Southern. How many special teams tackles do you think he was in on? These guys probably got their first taste of the special teams on the NFL level, as do most NFL players. It takes time to teach these great athletes the nuances of their new role.

I briefly touched on some special teams stuff last month, but it's such a change for these players, both in terms of technique and in just fully accepting their role. You'd like to think that these players would be happy to be on an NFL roster and do what ever it takes to contribute, but the reality is that if you are used to being a superstar player in high school and a superstar player in college, it takes some getting used to basically being a cog in the machine on the NFL level. Mentally it takes some athletes longer to "get it" than others. And the ones that catch on usually are the ones that thrive in their new roles.

Getting back to this year; Hester has fielded the most punts with a 12.5 average (more than double last years average) and Earl Bennett has returned four with a 15.8 average. While last year was a down year in the return game this year things are looking up. Dave Toub is highly regarded around the league as a top notch special teams coordinator and it took him a little time in getting his guys to perform at a high level again. This year the kick return TD by Johnny Knox has matched the teams total of a year ago, and that is with the new rule limiting the wedge to two players, and Hester did have a punt return TD called back last week. It's just a matter of time til he pops one again.

Hester may never equal the ridiculousness of '06 and '07, but with the core third phase players improving every week, you never know...

"Visual Refresh"- What Do You Think?

2009-11-05T15:42:59Z

Since we've all had a few days now to get used to the new look that SBN provided us with, we're curious what you think about it. Love it? Hate it? Don't care? Let us know. If any of you have any complaints or experience complications, we want to hear that too. User-feedback is the best way to make these blogs better, so feel free to speak your mind!

Poll

What do you think of the new SBN look?

The Bears Den - 11/5/09

2009-11-05T06:00:21Z

....where we're not going to simplify our stories.

ChicagoBears.com

Jerry Angelo has his weekly Q&A with Larry Mayer.

Cutler is pleased with the performance of his WR's.

The Bears aren't going to scale back their offense.

Chicago Sun-Times

Four Down Territory: Will Anquan Boldin play?

Mike Mulligan: Will the real Bears' D stand up?

Brad Biggs dips into his mailbag: Where's D.A.?

Devin Hester vows to play on Sunday.

More after the jump.....

Chicago Tribune

Bears players support Lovie Smith. Thanks for the update.

Steve Rosenbloom: If only we had smarter WR's....

Browns LB was fined for his hit on Cutler.

Comcast SportsNet Chicago

Is there friction brewing between the offense and defense?

What would have happened had we signed Kurt Warner?

Daily Herald

Bob LeGere wants Ron Turner to let Cutler air the ball out.

Lance Briggs was among six players limited during Wednesday's practice.

Barry Rozner: Cutler's probably frustrated, and who can blame him?

ESPN Chicago

Be warned: DC's are going to blitz Cutler like crazy.

Kurt Warner doesn't regret not signing for the Bears.

Ron Turner's not going to simplify the offense.

Poll: Bears/ Cards... Who ya got?

2009-11-04T22:55:22Z

Just trying to get a feel from Bears Nation about our chances of beating the Cards this weekend in Chicago. Vote now!

Poll

Who will win the game Sunday between the Bears and Cardinals?

Updates From Practice & Waiting To Hear From Turner

2009-11-04T19:51:42Z

Brad Biggs is hammering out some updates from the Bears practice today... apparently, Tommie Harris is taking the field for the second straight Wednesday (a day he usually takes off), Craig Steltz is back from an arm injury sustained last week, and Devin Hester is sitting out with a possible ankle sprain.

Also, Cutler told reporters earlier today that Ron Turner isn't sure if he's going to scale back the offense this week.

"We're kind of in the middle of the season. We've got our base plays, we've got our concepts that we like,'' Cutler said. "It's just a matter of us running those. Each week we're going to have some different wrinkles and stuff. But the offense is what the offense is."

We'll see what Turner says the offense is going to be after practice. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: Although he did not participate in Wednesday's practice, Hester says he will be ready to go for Sunday.

UPDATE #2: Despite what we heard after the game last week, Ron Turner is now saying that we won't scale back the offense. Thanks for the updates Brad!

Angelo's Drafting Prowess Not Seen On Offensive Line

2009-11-04T18:14:44Z

More photos » by Dave Martin - AP

Browse more photos »

After thinking this morning about the three not-so-savvy free agent OL acquisitions (Orlando Pace, Frank Omiyale, and Kevin Shaffer) Jerry Angelo brought to Chicago this past offseason, I started wondering about how he has addressed the OL through the draft.

Angelo is, of course, known as a "build through the draft" GM, and many will agree that, in building a team, it all starts in the trenches with the big guys. Lucky for me, I didn't have to do too much research, because Bob LeGere of the Daily Herald covered the topic today.

Since 2003, Jerry Angelo has drafted 8 offensive linemen out of 81 total picks through that span. Not a very high percentage, but then LeGere shows us where those 8 picks have been:

Year	Player	Round	Total picks
2009	Lance Louis	7	9
2008	C. Williams	1	7
2008	C. Adams	7	7
2008	Kirk Barton	7	7
2007	J. Beekman	4	9
2007	Aaron Brandt	7	9
2006	Tyler Reed	6	7
2005	None	N/A	6
2004	None	N/A	8
2003	B. Anderson	7	12

Besides Chris Williams in 2008, only one lineman has been drafted higher than the 6th round (Josh Beekman). And as you can see, in two of those years, we didn't select any. Not exactly building the foundation via the draft like he is known for, is it?

LeGere does go on to make sure we remember that Angelo has had success in the draft...

That's not to condemn Angelo's drafting record. The team's topfive receivers- Devin Hester, Earl Bennett, Matt Forte, Johnny Knox, and Greg Olsen- are all Angelo draft picks.

So are six of the top seven tacklers: Lance Briggs, Danieal Manning, Al Afalava, Charles Tillman, Zack Bowman, Alex Brown, Tommie Harris, and Marcus Harrison.

It also hasn't been long since Angelo was ranked the #8 General Manager in all of professional sports by Forbes, and third best in the NFL. But, the fact remains that Angelo has not addressed the OL in the draft, and the most recent free agent pick ups have not been worth the time.

It would seem to me that, if he was so "fixated" on getting the QB position right, he would also be fixated on protecting him. You can bet that Jay Cutler is already in someone's ears, telling the organization that this is not going to cut it.

Larry Meyer, senior writer at the Bears official site, sat down for his weekly meeting with Angelo today, and Mayer asked Angelo about scouting for talent:

LM: During the season, how actively do you look to sign players to your 53-man roster that are on other teams’ practice squads or are street free agents?

JA: Very actively. I think we’ve got a very good track record of doing that. We are looking for players all the time that fit what we do to create more competition at positions. To me, we do that as well as anybody. We are always actively looking at bringing players on board. But you can’t do it as a revolving door. If you bring a player in, it’s because you saw something—what he did in college or in the NFL. When you bring him in, there’s got to be a plan for him. These aren’t auditions. We want to bring them in, and further their development. So there has to be a plan. We just don’t pick guys up randomly, bring them in for a couple weeks and then send then down the road. We don’t operate that way. It’s not about collecting talent, it’s about finding players that fit what we do and feel we can win with.

I'm not saying that I don't trust Angelo, but it just doesn't feel very good to get a QB like Cutler, only to have not addressed his protection through the draft or free agency very effectively.

Jay Cutler's Career Numbers in November/ December

2009-11-04T15:33:31Z

More photos » by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

Browse more photos »

As the NFL heads into the second half of the season, the weather will start getting cold and rainy, and things can become challenging for a lot of teams. With that said, I thought it might be interesting to take a look at how Jay Cutler has fared in the months of November and December during his career.

Cutler took over the starting role in Denver at the end of the 2006 season, with all games played in December:

2-3 record, 58.7% completed, 9 TDs/ 4 INTs.

2007:

November: 2-1 record, 61.7% completed, 5 TDs/ 2 INTs

December: 2-3 record, 61.7% completed, 7 TDs/ 4 INTs

Totals: 4-4 record. 61.7% completed, 12 TDs/ 6 INTs

2008:

November: 3-1 record, 57.7% completed, 6 TDs/ 3 INTs

December: 1-3 record, 66.5% completed, 4 TDs/ 5 INTs

Totals: 4-4 record, 62.1% completed, 10 TDs/ 8 INTs

Overall in his career, Cutler's numbers are:

November: 5-2 record, 59.7% completed, 11 TDs/ 5 INTs

December: 5-9 record, 62.3% completed, 20 TDs, 13 INTs

Total career in Nov/ Dec: 10-11 record, 61% completed, 31 TDs/ 18 INTs

Even though Cutler is only in his third full season as an NFL starter, clearly he has much better production in the November games than in December. Looking at the rest of Chicago's 2009 season, we play...

November: vs Arizona, @ San Fran, vs Philly, @ Minnesota

December: vs St. Louis, vs Green Bay, @ Baltimore, vs Minny, @ Detroit

The weather should definitely play a factor for the rest of the season, but Cutler is used to the winter. Sitting with a 4-3 record right now, Cutler will need to see an increase in productivity than in years past. If we can get 2 wins in November, we'll need to win 4 out of 5 in December to get to the wild card number of 10-6, and that's if 10 wins can get us a WC.

The NFC East will certainly have one of the WCs, and the Saints win over the Falcons this past week in the South was huge. I'm not yet backing off of my bold 12-4 prediction for this season, but with the terrible play from our offensive line, Cutler can only do so much.

Bears management acquired 3 new offensive linemen during the offseason in Orlando Pace, Frank Omiyale, and Kevin Shaffer, and so far, none of them have met expectations. Here's hoping that our coaches can get it together as we head into the winter months...

The Bears Den - 11/4/09

2009-11-04T06:00:35Z

....where Carol Slezak needs to be blasted from this planet ASAP.

ChicagoBears.com

The Beas excelled with the switch at linebacker.

Greg Olsen is excited to host his charity country music show.

ChicagoNow

Adewale Ogunleye blogeth! Don't miss this one - pretty entertaining.

Chicago Sun-Times

The Bears dread the red zone.

Mark Potash: Bears fans and media have lost faith in Lovie Smith.

Carol Slezak waxes stupid on the Bears.

Jump with me....

Chicago Tribune

Ten ways for the Bears' offense to improve.

Steve Rosenbloom: How will the Bears fare against the Cardinals?

Tommie Harris played well on Sunday. Against the Browns. Let's throw a party.

The road ahead for the Bears is pretty daunting.

Comcast SportsNet Chicago

John Mullin: The Bears need a November to remember.

Daily Herald

To those of you who say that Devin Hester isn't a legitimate #1, take a look at the numbers.

Ron Turner doesn't like what he's seeing now and in the future.

To protect Cutler, the Bears offense needs to scale back.

The Bears are paying a high price for ignoring their offensive line.

ESPN Chicago

Rodney Harrison wants the Bears to get Chris Chambers. ChiFan13 wants Rodney Harrison to go away.

NightLink: Dan Pompei Breaks Down the Offense

2009-11-03T21:56:01Z

More photos » by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

Browse more photos »

Dan Pompei does an excellent job breaking down the Bears' offense. There is absolutely no reason not to read this article - it's the best breakdown I've seen in a while.

Follow me inside for more....

For example, Pompei found that the Bears had much better success running left than right:

On running back carries, the Bears went left 18 times for 107 yards, an average of 5.9 per run. Take away Garrett Wolfe's 36-yard run to the left at the end of the game if you wish, and they still averaged 4.2. On 13 running back carries to the right, the Bears had 36 yards, an average of 2.8.

The success to the left isn't all because of Beekman. One of the reasons the Bears replaced Beekman with Omiyale in the first place is they wanted a bigger, more physical run blocker. But there is no question Beekman helped the run game Sunday.

Now if Beekman could have the same effect on the passing game, the Bears really would be on to something.

I can't even do this article justice, so I'm going to stop. Read the article!

-------

I'm just kidding. I'm not done. I have a lovely video for you kids to watch. Watch the first couple of sentences.

First, he dresses up in drag. Now Brett's groin makes him squirm. Not judging, but I have questions for the man.

Chicago's Pass Protection

2009-11-03T19:00:58Z

More photos » by Ed Reinke - AP

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In the NightLink last night I looked at a Brad Biggs article that touched on, among other things, blitz pick ups. More often that not when you see a QB get sacked fans quickly jump to the conclusion that one of the offensive lineman blew an assignment.

While that may be true, it's not always the fault of the specific lineman that was beat on the sack. Seeing as how I'm not privy to the actual O-Line meeting for the Bears at Halas Hall, I'll just make my educated guess on some of the things going on with their pass protection.

Pre-snap Olin Kreutz will call out if protection will slide to one side or the other or which linebackers he wants to be a priority for his fellow offensive linemen. Kreutz makes all the line calls to cut down on confusion. When facing a 3-4 defense this is particularly important as there are only 3 down defensive linemen, so you know someone else (or 2 or 3...) will come on a blitz. After Kreutz makes his calls Jay Cutler will start his cadence and/or make more last second adjustments. If Cutler spots a DB creeping over showing blitz and he has time on the play clock to make an adjustment he'll do so. This could be as simple as keeping a TE or RB in on that side or as complicated as having the entire O-Line slide protection to the potential blitzer. You can see how these pre-snap changes to the pass protection schemes could be problematic when on the road in a loud environment.

If there isn't time on the play clock Cutler will then have to throw to his hot route. Every pass play in the NFL has a short route (or an option route) just in case the defense brings some heat. Sometimes where the blitz is coming from will cause a QB/WR route adjustment. If a blitzer is vacating the area for a WR quick slant, the WR better make the adjustment. A blitzer is leaving the middle open for a quick TE crossing route, he better be on the same page as the QB. So many decisions are expected to be made on the fly in a matter of seconds, you can see why there is so much talk about team chemistry.

Other pass protection adjustments are made in the week leading up to the game in the film room. If the Bears see a particular look from a defense, such as an OLB on the left edge next to a DE in a 3-4 defense, the Bears may automatically have left tackle Orlando Pace kick out to the OLB with left guard Josh Beekman sliding to the DE. This blocking scheme leaves an offense vulnerable to a middle blitz, as both the T and G are fanning out to block, and with Kreutz having a nose tackle head up on him he has to stay on his man. With this look you can expect a back to be responsible for any middle blitzers. Some teams when facing that same defensive front will elect to keep the LT on the DE and have the LG kick out to the OLB (with the back still responsible for a middle blitz), while other teams will keep the LT on the head up DE, and have the back responsible for the OLB. The variable in all this, of course, is which other defenders are showing blitz. The entire pre-snap read could drastically change once the ball is snapped and players showing blitz drop off while other blitz.

A play action, roll out, bootleg, or sprint out pass could also lead to changes in the pass protection, with many times the furthest defender being left unaccounted for with hopes the QB can roll out and deliver the ball before he is chased down. With the mobility of Jay Cutler we should be seeing more of these types of out of the pocket passing plays. Many times a puling lineman will be a personal protector for the QB, looking to pick up any unblocked defenders on the play side.

Last week Dane Noble, the artist formerly known as GeauxBears, touched on another Brad Biggs article looking at who was responsible for the sacks the Bears have given up. One thing to remember is it's not always so cut and dry with who's giving up sacks. Were they put in the right position to get to a blitzer? Scheme wise were they supposed to block down? Maybe Fan out? Did an O-Lineman miss an assignment leaving a back to pick up a blitz?

When a lineman is beat one on one, there is no excuses, he lost the individual match-up. But when a defender comes free, or a lineman has to chase or lunge at a guy, my bet is the protection that was called was the wrong one... either that or the lunging lineman missed an audible, and was out of position due to his own incompetence.

I'm not writing this as an excuse for the job the Bears O-line has done so far, I think they've been the weak link, but keep some of this in mind when watching the game this week.

An Audience With the Owner: What Would You Ask?

2009-11-03T16:03:40Z

Many of us have heard about the two Cleveland Browns season-ticket holders that have been trying to organize a bit of a protest against the ownership. Well, those two fans will apparently be able to hold company with the owner himself, Randy Lerner.

This got me to thinking... what if? What if I could sit down with Virginia McCaskey?

McCaskey is known for her vast knowledge of the NFL, and many players and coaches talk about how much of a learning experience it is for them to be able to hear her speak.

If you could have an audience with Virginia McCaskey, what would you ask?