The Bears will miss Ricky Manning Jr., but there's something about them being underdogs — true underdogs, not this "lack of respect" crap we always hear — that makes me think the Bears will win.
The pressure won't be as intense on Rex Grossman, because nobody will expect him to match Tom Brady. So I'm looking for Grossman to have a decent game.
And I think the Bears will get to Brady, even without blitzing.
If the Bears can run as effectively as they did against the Jets, I see the Bears winning.
I wouldn't be surprised if it came down to a field goal, and nobody is doing it better than Robbie Gould.
After reading some of the comments in regard to this game and reading between the lines:I don't think the BEARS care to win or lose this game.Having Manning sit for a non-conference game I get the impresion that the BEARS deep down know that the lead they have is a little hard to lose and they're making sure that they win the conference games and get the tie breaker if they end up tied.I'm not saying that they won't try to win,but it won't hurt them if they lose.And after watching Dallas yesterday I think we're going to need to have them come here to advance.Romo's line gave him all kinds of time to throw.The Bucs are either quitters or they are without much talent.It couldn't have been more one-sided.I'm worried more after that game than I've been all season.Sometimes it come down to what they are doing more than what we are doing.They look a little better than we do.They are doing things that we are not able to do,right now.We're going to have to play better if we hope to advance into the post season.We're going to have to show more because we're on the top and they're coming.Don't think that I'm conceding anything but we're going to have to get it going a little more to get there.I'm not one to doom and gloom it.This is just a little realistic assessment.We seem to be just getting by and that's not what we're going to need to go farther.Hey,the playoff might start and Dallas get thumped in the first round.I just think they match up with us better than anyone else right now.I'm going to have to see how teams go against Romo to see what we might do against him.He's looking like Tom Brady did after he took over for Bledsoe.I just don't want history to repeat itself.I think we can still do it.I'm a fan.GO BEARS!!!
I feel that the spread offense won't be a problem for the bears(see seattle game)I am concerned that the pats will run it down our throat though.I think that clark is going to have a huge game to pull this one out.Its obvious that we need to run the ball and not turn it over but our d line will be the key.Slow down the rb's and put some pressure on brady and it will be a victory.Just don't monster blitz cuz brady will eat our secondary up.Even if we lose, we won 2 of 3 on this road trip and has to be considered a success for this team.For all the lovie bashers ,I got one thing to say 9 and 1 at this point so love or leave it.GO BEARS!!!!!!
The Bears are the best they've ever been since '85 (probably better) and destined to win the SB. NE isn't as good as they used to be. We have the coach of the year, one of the best RBs, and the best D. We're gonna blow NE away! The Bears are gonna win 38-6.
The only thing I want to see from our BEARS is agression and brutality. I don't really care about a win or loss. What I do want is for the patriots to feel like they don't want to meet the Bears again. Physically impress them and it will pay dividends down the road.
I hope the media and opponents continue to dis us. It'll just make it easier to drop the hammer on the playoff teams.
Build that momentum BEARS, and save the blood feast for the playoffs.
I have to agree with you William R. Donald. I do have to say that I'm not sold on Romo just yet. He has been great since taking over for Bledsoe with the exception of the Giants game. They pressured him and he made some mistakes. I think it will be a wait and see thing with him. Grossman started unbelievable and then teams brought the blitz and now he has to make the adjustments along with Ron Turner. Romo hasn't faced a great D and we have that on our side. Dallas' O-line has performed better as of late but the Bears D-line can bring the heat on them and Romo and force him into mistakes. Also our DBs, especially Tillman, play better against T.O. type recievers(Plaxico). Another advantage and probably most important is that we will have homefield advantage if we were to play Dallas. Romo won't have his comfortable dome to play in and I want to see how good he plays in Chicago in Jan. On to this weekends matchup with the Pats. I think it will be a well-fought game by both sides with turnovers being the key to a victory, which it is much of the time. We have to put pressure on Brady and Grossman might suprise everyone and have an excellent game. I would love to see Berrian and Bradley lining up together. I think that could be the explosive ingredient Grossman needs. Those two guys can fly and would give Rex some great weapons downfield. With Moose working the middle and Dez Clark adding a security blanket for Rex our offense could be rolling. Should be fun to watch and hopefully with a win the Bears can shut up the critics and finally get some respect that they deserve.
the bears beat the patriots?????? name one time when the bears beat the patriots?
the bears will blow out the patriots on national television. either that or they will beat new england in januaryu, or both. either way the bears will dominate this game just like back in 86 when we didnt have the best qb in the league then either. it takes more then a qb to win. the most important part of any team is also the most ignored, the offensive line. which the bears have, when they want to be. anchored by the best center in the league. im positive the bears o-line will dominate the line of scrimage today. reguardless of what the bears do offensively as long as the 5 guys up front do what we all know they can do then rex and thomas will both have good days.
most importantly when i woke up this morning i was still a bear fan, which translate, "it's going to be a good day tator".
This game will come down to fundamental football 101.Run,run,run,run,run and pass when you have to.Stop the run and put them in 3rd and longs.The trenches will make or break us.The game plan is so simple that you feel silly reiterating it.Let's just kick em' in the @ss and see what it gets us. GO BEARS!!!
Great defense? hah what a joke. It's the second qtr. and the patriots just drove 95 YARDS where is this great "d" everyone talks about? I think the bears "d" is THE most over rated unit in the NFL. Grossman sucks no other way to put it. When it comes to crunch time he cannot get it done. This team cannot hang with the big boys there record is due to a weak schedule period. They have a chance to prove how good they are and we see what they really are, a team in a BAD division with a weak schedule. This team is going no where!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, the game has just ended--and you can't really put this loss on anyone other than Rex. Four bad passes, four picks. For once, it wasn't his decision-making that killed him--he just didn't get the job done.
Cue the catcalls screaming for Griese--which, I maintain, would be a mistake. Remember--this team is still 9-2. All Griese will do is take away the deep threat--even if Rex can't play through this, he still deserves a chance to.
My oh my.I hate to see the game end on an interception.I guess the moral victory is we hung with them short-handed on D.Rex didn't come through but like I said he's learning.Who expected a resounding win?We'll be okay.only our second lost.GO BEARS!!!!
What was that last pass Grossman threw...For pete's sake, going for it all when you have plenty of time to work down the field???...The play call was awful and Grossman has the technique of an electric football passer...That was simply bush league...Why not just hand it to the Pats and save the pass...Oh man...That has to be the stupidest call I have ever seen..and the worst pass...Once again the defense gives an opportunity to Rex and he has to get it all in one pass...That is bad coaching...A GOOD coach will take Rex aside and say, "chop chop chop...let's march up the field we have plenty of time...What a lousy ending...Dang I'm mad...
ive been behind grossman all year. til tonight. after watching the game where i seen a good job from all the bear players ive noticed one important thing. grossman must go. at least 2 interceptions should have not been thrown. its time to play griesie. if the bears have a chance to win the rest of the season, griesie must come in next week. grossman should be run out of chicago before the teams plane lands.
i will admit that i havent seen many bear games this year, due to biased television, but what i have seen is dissappointment. grossy started out good, a lot of promise. but since the arizona game, down hill. i still love my bears, but grossy is wrecking papa bears favorite toy. GROSSMAN MUST GO!!!!!!!!!!!
It's time to stop playing around and put Grossman to the side. I just watched the New England game and he just cost the game. I have been a Bear fan since 1968 and I have seen some bad times and some good. But now I ask how can you hold down the best defence with the worse (sorrry 2ND worse QB) QB. You can't and win. So chicago needs to decide to win.
That last pass says it all about Rex Grossman and his head coach...Unbelievable...Leinart is better than Grossman at this point...I think Rex is just plain dumb...Thank Goodness The Wire is on tonite, at least the night won't end with this taste in my mouth...After one interceptiontion today I saw Rex goofing and laughing on the sideline...Rex comes from a well to do rich party boy family...He doesn't take this seriously...Put in Griese and maybe Rexxy will wake up and take this seriously...I'd trade Rex and Benson and a first round pick for the rights to Brady Quinn...Throw in Lovie Smith too...That call stunk...ARRGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
VERY good point I saw grossman laughing also. He does not seem to get it at all. He cost the bears this game and he thinks its a joke. I say let him laugh all the way to the bench. That play at the end WAS a good call. throw the ball to the inside BIG gain, throw to the outside like grossman did and you see the results. Don't blame the play calling on that one!!!!!
The game went just as I expected. Stupid game plan, no pass rush, crappy run D... all by products of crappy coaching. Lovie got his turnovers, why didn't we win? See above. Am I the only one not surprised?
Hi Roman. Some guys have it and some don't. The window is too short for a Super Bowl. Rex must be benched in favor of Griese. He is too inconsistent. TZ
Roman responds: Words from a wise man.
Here are my grades.
QUARTERBACK: D
Rex turned it over too much. He's not getting the coaching he needs. He is smarter and more talented than he's been playing. We've all seen him look almost perfect. He relies on others to do their job too and if they don't you see a bad play. Most people just point at the QB and not the real problem(s) because they just don't know any better.
RUNNING BACKS: B
Not so much hopscotching from Jones, that's a good thing. I don't know if he was told to knock it off or if he figured it out or what. I hope it isn't just a fluke and he goes back to doing it. I like it when Benson (or any Bears RB) powers through defenders (especially at the goal line) does my heart good.
RECEIVERS: C
They made some catches but failed to make several game changing plays when they were given the opportunity. They were not impressive at all. Did NE intimidate them? I'm just asking.
OFFENSIVE LINE: B+
They are a pretty good line and did a good job. Like I've been saying since before the season this unit needs more talent and depth. They didn't get it but all season have been doing a good job and playing close to their potential. We just need a little more to be a powerhouse team. I suspect the OL coach is doing a pretty good job.
DEFENSIVE LINE: C-
I'm afraid if I look into this further I'm gonna want to give them a D so I won't bother. Basically, no pressure, poor vs. the run but made some plays here and there. Looked like a paper tiger on the goal line. That's what Lovie's lighter/quicker D-line gets you down there. That's the trade off. Would I do it? No, I'd have a dominant D-line that would give us the goal line stand when we needed it. It's a choice you make. A little more flash and dazzle between the 20s or a brick wall on the goal line. I don't need to tell any of you which one we have.
LINEBACKERS: A-
Each LB made plays and missed a few. That' how it goes. The big name guys were earning their checks.
DEFENSIVE BACKS: B+
Did a pretty good job vs. a very good QB. It was nice to not see them get sliced up like cheap bologna whenever they faced a quality QB. I hope this is a trend. Tillman has rebounded nicely from the bad season he had before. The rookie safety is getting the job done. I loved Johnson's hit to pop the ball in the air and create a big play.
SPECIAL TEAMS: D+
Had an off game. Too bad Gould didn't make that FG. Would have given the team a lift. I think the coaches may have taken for granted how well things were going and failed to challenge and motivate the players enough.
COACHING: D+
Again, a poor job. I did see a few places where the play calling looked pretty good but each time as that became evident it would slip away. Persistent problems since last season still aren't fixed. Poor choices are too abundant and there seems to be no end in site. A couple of bright spots here and there but they just may be accidental.
You know I don't agree with you often BBB but your grading was on the money with the exception of the receivers,offensive line and linebackers.The receivers actually adjusted to balls in the air a few times but they didn't get the break on the ball to break up interceptions.I'm not sure that those passes weren't receiver catchable.Earlier in the game they were getting mauled and I wondered why we weren't getting interference calls.They garner a plus at least.The O-line actually picked up the pressure well and our running game actually averaged over 4 plus yards per carry.They were blitzing and preesured Rex but not enough to mess with him that much.That should garner more of an A- and the LBs had some great plans but we they blitzed they actually went into the wrong hole several times.They flailed at some ball carriers as well .And Brady runing right pat Brian in the open field garners them a solid B.Everything else was on the money.
Oops... I meant sight, not site, duh.
William, for the receivers I didn't grade them higher because they don't go for the ball strong enough. This results in more incompletions and uncontested interceptions (I hate this the most). I agree that the officials missed a few NE penalties early that should have been called and probably make a big difference in the game. But our guys looked like they didn't bother to try and fight through it (I can't stand that). I didn't think the OL was dominant enough to get an A but were close with a B+. I agree with a B for the LBs except I graded them higher because Briggs got the ball back (I like that very much).
Dude I didn't proof read my blog last time and I can't believe the number of errors I commited.(or is it committed?) It happens no one's perfect. I have so many blogs that I read later and say damn I wrote they when I meant that or them when I meant him.