Friday Manstruation

KittiesKorner

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http://www.suntimes.com/sports/foot...-field-grass-might-be-costing-bears-wins.html

editor's note: and, yes, what about the opponents?

Soldier Field grass might be costing Bears wins

BY MARK POTASH Staff Reporter October 29, 2014 9:11PM

Bears coach Marc Trestman missed his cue.

The slipshod condition of Soldier Field’s grass surface during the Bears’ loss Oct. 19 to the Miami Dolphins — with players on both teams slipping and falling — led to the inevitable question for Trestman last week: Does the condition of the surface affect his game-planning?

It was Trestman’s opportunity to lobby Bears ownership and the Chicago Park District to end years of stubbornness and install an artificial surface that would — to put it in terms general manager Phil Emery can appreciate — give Trestman’s teams the best chance to win. Instead, Trestman toed the company line and abstained.

‘‘I’m not going to go into that long dissertation,’’ Trestman said. ‘‘We had players on both sides slipping [against the Dolphins]. That was evident from the tape. Whether it was related to the field or the footwear is another issue.’’

‘‘The field or the footwear’’? It’s always interesting to see how far Bears personnel will go to avoid criticizing the Soldier Field turf, which has been considered one of the worst in the NFL — by Bears players and opposing players — for years. Emery, while saying he was open to change, defended the turf last week during an online chat on the Bears’ website.

‘‘No. 1, the Chicago Bears in the last 10 years have about a .625 winning percentage at home,’’ Emery wrote. ‘‘We are below .500 on the road. We’re in the top 10 in the NFL in home wins over the last 10 years. If I had my druthers, I’d bring the Soldier Field surface with us on the road, based on that record. That doesn’t mean that we don’t constantly research what is best for our players and wouldn’t make an adjustment in
the future.’’

Unfortunately, that 10th-ranked home record since 2004 (50-30) has netted the Bears only three playoff berths, tied for 16th in the NFL. And most of those home victories came during the Lovie Smith era, when the Bears were a defensive team with a subpar offense.

The situation has reversed under Emery. Now the Bears’ strength is their offense under Trestman. And virtually every consistently good offensive team in the NFL in the last 10 years plays on turf — the New Orleans Saints and New England Patriots, in particular. (A point of clarification: The Green Bay Packers play on a grass surface at Lambeau Field, but it’s a specialty surface, GrassMaster, that is a level above natural grass.)

In fact, the Patriots’ rise to offensive prominence with Tom Brady coincides almost directly with the installation of FieldTurf at Gillette stadium in 2006. Since then, the Patriots have ranked in the top 10 in the NFL in points (3-1-3-1-6-8-1-3) and total yards (7-1-2-8-3-5-1-10). Before that, playing on a grass field at home, the Patriots were 7-10-4-12-10 in points and 11-7-7-17-21 in yards in the Brady era. To simplify the numbers, the Patriots have averaged fourth in points and fifth in yards playing on turf; they averaged ninth in points and 13th in yards playing on grass.

The final numbers of the Patriots’ grass/FieldTurf season in 2006 were compelling. They averaged 16 points and were 2-3 on grass; they averaged 30.5 points and were 4-0 on FieldTurf. Furthermore, they played the New York Jets at home twice that season, losing 17-14 on grass and winning 37-16 in the playoffs on FieldTurf.

That evidence, though, is not so compelling to Emery, who has the power to lobby the Park District to install a credible playing surface at Soldier Field.

‘‘I just don’t believe that [playing] surfaces determine who wins and loses,’’ Emery said. ‘‘You’re pointing out the No. 1 team. How come the 30th and 31st teams aren’t winning more at home? It’s about the players. It’s about the team. And it’s about the situation.’’

To answer Emery’s question, the 30th and 31st teams aren’t winning more at home because they are bad football teams. The argument isn’t that an artificial surface will turn a bad team into a good one; the argument is that it will enhance a good offense. The Bears clearly are an offense-first, offense-strong team. It makes competitive sense that they play to their strength.

Trestman, of all people, should be aware of the advantages of playing on artificial turf. His Montreal Alouettes teams in the Canadian Football League played almost exclusively on turf and were first or second in points and yards in four of his five seasons.

In fact, the Alouettes played only two games on grass during Trestman’s five-year tenure — at the Edmonton Eskimos in 2008 and 2009 — and lost both of them. In 2009, the Alouettes, on their way to the Grey Cup championship, lost to a mediocre Eskimos team 33-19 in Edmonton. Three weeks later, they beat the same team
50-19 on artificial turf at home. Hmmm.

Maybe it’s because of the awkward relationship with the Park District, but the Bears have a surprising aversion to improving the playing surface at Soldier Field. It has been an issue for years. And while the grass is better than it has been, it was an issue against the Dolphins. And that was only the third game at Soldier Field in a nine-week span in late summer and early fall. What are the odds it will be any better when the Bears play five games in six weeks at Soldier Field in November and December?

That’s reason enough to install a specialty turf at Soldier Field. You don’t have to be an expert at X’s-and-O’s and talent evaluation to know that players slipping and falling on a field — no matter which team they’re on — is bad football. The additional argument is one that should resonate at Halas Hall: It gives the Bears the best chance to win.

‘‘I just don’t see [FieldTurf] as the end result,’’ Emery said. ‘‘Are we open to continuing to look for ways to improve our playing surface? Yes, we are. That’s not going to happen at the midpoint of this year.’’

Email: mpotash@suntimes.com

Twitter: @MarkPotash
 

KittiesKorner

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http://www.suntimes.com/sports/foot...dia-opportunities-for-bears.html#.VFOdTvTF-AY

Trigger warning: If you read this article, you are a meatball sucker choadwarrior lining the pockets of Vargina McCaskey


Rabid Chicago market provides wealth of media opportunities for Bears

BY PATRICK FINLEY Staff Reporter October 30, 2014 9:25PM

The week Jay Cutler ditched his own radio show, his teammates did theirs.

They talked on one of Chicago’s three all-sports stations and on FM stations that play rock, top-40 and country hits. They drove to television studios, too, and did online videos.

Fourteen Bears players claim media deals — from five-minute radio hits arranged by the team to hourlong radio shows and half-hour TV sit-downs negotiated by their agents.

And Phil Emery is fine with it.

“It’s a good thing for the player because obviously it helps them grow outside of football,” the Bears’ general manager said. “Definitely the more media they do, the more they grow in terms of their presence and being able to convey their thoughts and their opportunities for the future. That’s all a very good thing.

“For us, it’s not just about them as players and they’re gone. We’re hoping that they’re a big part of the Bears family as they go forward, and the more opportunities they have, the better. I think that it is an outside issue.

“We have to trust them that they don’t take it too far and get involved in too many things, but so far I haven’t seen that happen.”

In a sport in which players increasingly care about their branding, paid media deals scratch the itch. Players get to control their message.

Prices vary drastically, from a few hundred dollars for weekly five-minute phone calls to radio stations to an estimated $10,000 to $15,000 per episode for Cutler’s hourlong, on-remote radio show.

“You get exposure. It helps you to kind of build your brand,” said safety Ryan Mundy, who appears regularly on 87.7-FM The Game. “You’re able to get out there and let people know sometimes what you’re about outside of football.”

Not that he’s sure he wants to be a media personality when he retires.

“I don’t want to be pigeon-holed into that,” he said. “That seems to be the hot wave. When you’re done, when you finish, you go be a coach, you do TV or you go out and do radio. Those are the three things.”

A look around the Chicago media market proves it. Mike Ditka has deals with ESPN 1000 and the Sun-Times, while hosts Tom Waddle, Patrick Mannelly, Jason McKie, Doug Buffone and Ed O’Bradovich are among the legions of former Bears on the airwaves.

Former general manager Jerry Angelo, coach Dave Wannstedt and center Olin Kreutz, among others, have weekly spots discussing their former team.

While appearances by current and former players are commonplace in NFL markets across the country, the sheer number of them is unique to Chicago.

Mundy has played in New York — for the Giants — and in Pittsburgh, home of perhaps the NFL’s most rabid fan base. Neither offered the opportunities of Chicago.

“It’s not like this everywhere,” he said. “In Pittsburgh, a few guys had a few TV deals, a couple radio deals, but nothing like here.

“New York’s a different market. They got two teams and a lot of other celebrities outside sports.”

It’s because Chicagoans rally around the same football team, Matt Slauson said. When the left guard — who inherited Mannelly’s Monday radio appearances on The Mix — played for the Jets, that wasn’t the case.

“They had the Jets, Giants, Bills and the surrounding teams in the area,” said Slauson, who tore his right pectoral muscle Sunday. “There’s the Mets and Yankees and Devils and Rangers. Knicks. Nets.”

Chicago might differ on its baseball teams, but there is no such football distinction.

“Everyone’s invested in every sport, even if you’re split on your baseball team,” said kicker Robbie Gould, who appears weekly on SunTimes.com and on 670-AM The Score. “It’s a matter of getting the ability to tell your story and go inside the locker room and hear what’s going on and hear from the guys themselves.”

And when they want you to hear it.

Cutler — whose show airs on eight Mondays this season, down from 17 in 2013 — doesn’t address the local media until Thursday.

“It’s almost easier to do the radio show and just get it out of the way after a loss,” he said last week after missing his show because he claimed his son had a doctor’s appointment. “Some of these questions you don’t have to answer on Thursday.”

Linebacker Lance Briggs hasn’t spoken to local media since his rib injury Oct. 5 — except for his weekly Comcast SportsNet television show.

Wide receiver Brandon Marshall agreed to fly to New York on Tuesdays to be part of Showtime’s “Inside the NFL.” He’s the first active player in the show’s 37-year history to serve as a weekly co-host. Marshall — who does his own show on ESPN 1000 the weeks Cutler isn’t on — flies on a private jet and returns home the same day.

“He guaranteed us that they would be providing a plane for him to get back and forth,” Emery said. “So, to me, it hasn’t had any impact at all.”

But it can affect a player’s future.

“You want to have a platform in which you can share your story,” Gould said. “The other part is, you want to be maybe be at that next level where you want to start your broadcasting career. So these are opportunities that you take.

“When football’s over, employees are going to look to athletes. These guys have regimens, they know how to speak in front of media, they know how to present themselves to other companies. It’s a great opportunity to get those.”

Email: pfinley@suntimes.com

Twitter: @patrickfinley

BY PATRICK FINLEY Staff Reporter October 30, 2014 9:25PM
 

KittiesKorner

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http://espn.go.com/chicago/nfl/stor...ery-chicago-bears-remain-committed-jay-cutler

Bears' brass backs Jay Cutler

By Michael C. Wright | ESPN.com

Despite Jay Cutler having a direct hand in at least four of Chicago's five losses through the first half of the season, Bears coach Marc Trestman and general manager Phil Emery remain committed to their $126.7 million quarterback.

Trestman and Emery made that clear Monday in the wake of the club dropping its fourth game in five outings Sunday in a lopsided 51-23 loss to the New England Patriots.

More from ESPN.com
General manager Phil Emery and coach Marc Trestman are grasping at straws as their 3-5 outfit limps into the bye week, Jon Greenberg writes. Story

"His leadership has been at a premium through all of this on a consistent basis throughout the season," Trestman said. "We have to help him more in terms of playing better complementary football, giving him more of a run game, and that goes to complementary football again. That means everybody working together to get that done. But I think there are a lot of positives here, and we're going to try and negate some of the negatives that we do see, that we want him to get better at."

While Cutler deserves little blame for the team's performance against the Patriots, the quarterback did commit two turnovers, one resulting in a touchdown on Rob Ninkovich's 15-yard fumble return in the second quarter, which made the score 38-7. In each of Chicago's five losses, Cutler committed multiple turnovers, resulting in a total of 44 points for opponents.

"Obviously, we're a 3-5 team, and he's a 3-5 quarterback right now," said Emery, who called the quarterback "elite" last week during a chat on the team's official website. "There's a lot of things he's got to get better at. There are a lot of things we've got to get better at. In terms of protecting the ball, in the fumbles, he had one against San Francisco [in Week 2], had one this past week and had one the previous week against Miami. Some of them are just situations, a guy coming from the blind side. But obviously, you have to keep the ball up and away. We've got to get better at that. Obviously he knows that. He holds himself accountable for it, and he'll continue to strive to get better in that area."

By the time Cutler coughed up the ball for Ninkovich's return touchdown Sunday, the Patriots already held a 31-7 advantage. The quarterback's second turnover came on a Hail Mary on the final play of the second quarter that was intended for Brandon Marshall, but was picked off by Darrelle Revis.

[+] EnlargeJay Cutler
AP Photo/Scott Boehm
Bears coach Marc Trestman and general manager Phil Emery remain committed to quarterback Jay Cutler.
Cutler signed a seven-year contract in January worth $54 million guaranteed, but it's essentially a three-year deal as the entire guaranteed portion of the pact will paid over that time frame. Asked if guaranteed money on players' contracts would prevent the team from making necessary moves, Emery said, "no." But the general manager said he believes the players currently on the roster, including Cutler, "are the ones that are going to help us win."

"In terms of the guaranteed [money], that doesn't have any part in the thinking right now," Emery said. "We're focused in on helping the players we have get better at their profession, and get better as a team. Definitely, I'm not sitting around with the salary-cap spreadsheet trying to figure out if we can make something different happen as far as a new player or change any of the statuses of the current players."

That means the plan is to stick with Cutler, who now holds a 59-53 record as a starting quarterback.

"I think there are things Jay is doing very well," Trestman said. "I think he's handling himself exceptionally well on a play-by-play basis in terms of he's calmed and relaxed, and he knows exactly what he's doing. He's functioning well play by play. There are things he hasn't done, what he's got to do better. We've talked about that on a number of occasions, and there are things we can help him with."

Emery also responded to Brian Urlacher's refusal to label Cutler as an elite quarterback by saying Urlacher enjoyed a mutually beneficial on-field relationship with Cutler for better parts of five seasons.

"No, it didn't bother me. Everybody is entitled to their thoughts and opinions," Emery said. "It did hit a research project for me, so I went back and looked at their time together on the field at the same time starting the game healthy, they played 38 games together and during those games, they were 26-12. So, they definitely won together. When Jay was off the field and Brian started, they were 1-6. When Jay was on the field without Brian, they were 9-12. So the only thing that I can get from all that is they were really good for each other. They're both fine football players, lead in their own way and are both great for the organization. So, no, it didn't bother me."

ESPNChicago.com's Jeff Dickerson contributed to this report.
 

KittiesKorner

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http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2014/10/30/durkin-putting-cutlers-turnovers-in-perspective/

Durkin: Putting Cutler’s Turnovers In Perspective

By Dan Durkin-
(CBS) The NFL has become a turnover league.
At the midpoint of the season, every division leader has an even or positive turnover margin. Conversely, every last-place team — with the exception of the Browns, who have a winning record — has a negative turnover margin. Quite simply, giving away opportunities to score points is a losing formula.
The NFL is also a quarterback driven-league.
While the most recent collective bargaining agreement created labor peace through the 2020 season and capped rookie spending, it didn’t even out the disproportionate amount of dollars that are spent on quarterbacks. In reality, it’s unavoidable.
Teams entrust quarterbacks to be coaches on the field who can execute game plans and keep the team in the best position to move the ball and score points. Obviously, organizations are paying for quarterbacking talent, but they’re largely paying for decision-making.
Shifting the focus from macro to micro, the Bears are 0-5 in games in which they’ve lost the turnover battle, and quarterback Jay Cutler’s decision making has left a lot to be desired.
Is Cutler the only reason for the Bears’ 3-5 start? Absolutely not. Neither the Bears defense nor special teams are playoff-worthy groups, but their offense has the potential to be, which puts the onus on Cutler to deliver.
The Bears’ lack of quality talent and depth in the back seven of their defense has been exposed, and opponents throw the ball at will. The same issues they had on defense heading into the season — middle linebacker and safety — remain unsettled, which calls into question how honest general manager Phil Emery was in his evaluation of the roster. Their special teams units have provided no boost in field position. However, as bad as those other phases of the team have been, Cutler has done them no favors. He’s made crucial turnovers in three of their losses — to Buffalo, Green Bay and Carolina — two of which were one-possession games.
Cutler finds himself rubbing elbows with the NFL elite when it comes to his pay grade. His $22.5 million cash figure is the highest among all NFL quarterbacks, and his $18.5 million cap figure is third. Yet, when it comes to Cutler’s performance in a turnover league, he finds himself among rookie starters.
Using a sample of quarterbacks who have attempted at least 150 passes this season (29 satisfy this criteria), I set out to quantify the number of passing attempts a quarterback makes, on average, before he turns the ball over via interception or fumble lost in the pocket.
The numbers were very telling.
Denver’s Peyton Manning was the best of the group. On average, Manning makes 84 passing attempts before committing a turnover. Per game, Manning averages 36 pass attempts, which means he can play roughly nine straight quarters of error-free football.
Rounding out the top 10 were Arizona’s Carson Palmer with 77, Cleveland’s Brian Hoyer with 73, Seattle’s Russell Wilson with 69, Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers with 62, New England’s Tom Brady with 56, San Diego’s Philip Rivers with 54, Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger with 50, the New York Giants’ Eli Manning 45 with and Cincinnati’s Andy Dalton with 43.
Where did Cutler rank on this list, you ask? Cutler’s average of 24 passing attempts before committing a turnover ranked him 27th, just ahead of the New York Jets’ Geno Smith whose average was 19 and Jacksonville’s Blake Bortles whose average was 16. Certainly, that’s not the company the Bears expected their $54 million-dollar (guaranteed) investment to keep.
Cutler averages 36 pass attempts per game, which means the team can’t count on him to play more than three quarters without turning the ball over.
“He’s a 3-5 quarterback right now,” Emery said Monday. “There’s a lot of things he’s gotta get better at, there’s at a lot of things we’ve got to get better at. In terms of protecting the football — in the fumbles, he had the one against San Francisco, had the one this past week (against the Patriots) and had the one the previous week against Miami. Some of them are just situations, a guy coming from a blind side, but obviously you have to keep the ball up and away. We got to get better at that. Obviously he knows that. He holds himself accountable for it, and he’ll continue to strive to get better in that area.”
These are fundamental aspects of quarterback play that most would assume are a given for a player with 114 career starts.
“In the past, he was better than everybody around him, and when you’re better than everybody around you, you’re pressed to make plays,” Emery said. “Coming out of Vanderbilt, some of his things from a technical standpoint were concerning, in terms of coming off the back foot, protecting the football. And a lot of that revolves around trying to make plays. And Jay, like a lot of players in that position, has a little bit of a gunslinger personality in terms of, ‘I wanna be the guy making the plays.’ He trusts his arm. Those are habits. Habits are hard to improve.”
Habits are indeed hard to improve, and Cutler’s seem to be acute. However, Emery thought with the proper coaching and surrounding talent that Cutler’s physical gifts could be unlocked. This may have been another miscalculation by Emery, who has had more than a few in his three years on the job. But seeing that there are no in-season cures for the Bears’ talent ills on defense and their youth on special teams, they need Cutler to break his bad habits. Otherwise, they’re stuck for two-and-a-half seasons paying someone at a premium rate for rookie-level production.
Dan Durkin covers the Bears for CBSChicago.com and is a frequent contributor to 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter at @djdurkin.
 

supra8795

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The one thing I have hope for is they figure this offense out over the bye week. Remember a few years ago when Martz went all pass happy before the bye and we were losing games then comes after the bye and they have a more balanced attack and went on win streak until Jay got hurt.
 

KittiesKorner

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The one thing I have hope for is they figure this offense out over the bye week. Remember a few years ago when Martz went all pass happy before the bye and we were losing games then comes after the bye and they have a more balanced attack and went on win streak until Jay got hurt.

I do. And everyone credited da Tice lol
 

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http://www.chicagonow.com/chicago-bears-grizzly-gridiron/2014/10/the-jay-cutler-mistake/

The Jay Cutler Mistake

By Larry Scott, Tuesday at 12:01 pm

Seven years, $126 million dollars. $54 million guaranteed. The highest paid player in the NFL. Signing Jay Cutler this offseason was a mistake.

For starters, I was one of his biggest supporters over the years. Over the moon when the Bears traded for him. Sick to my stomach at the rage and attacking that took place in the 2010 NFC Championship game against the Packers. Certain that he wasn’t given the proper tools to succeed at this level and that his talent was being wasted. Confident that letting McCown walk was the right call (not sure I have gone so far to suggest that it wasn’t, especially at that contract. Lol Lovie).

The issue is we are out of excuses for his play and performance. How many times must we watch the triple coverage throw that leads to a bad pick? How many times must we see him throw away a winnable game? A tiger can’t change his stripes and eight years into his professional football career, Jay Cutler is what he is.

Is it his entire fault this team is 3-5? Not even close, but I now believe that the Bears are hamstrung by his deal and will not be a competent football team in his tenure with the team. Too many mental mistakes, bad mechanics and footwork and an over reliance on Brandon Marshall on a team filled with offensive Pro Bowlers can’t make up for a cannon of an arm.

The real question remains, why did the Bears extend him? The franchise tag is a powerful tool that is extremely unfair to players around the league, but the CBA is the CBA. It’s there. Instead of putting him in a “show me” season, it appears they’ve empowered his “DOOOON’T CAAARE” attitude with the safety blanket of a contract. Just like the Bears play, it’s unacceptable. It’s an untradeable contract in my opinion and they hampered their ability to build depth through the draft by trading away so many premium picks to acquire him.

The best statistical quarterback in Bears history can’t lead a team, isn’t personally accountable with his obligations on and off the field and will never be a Super Bowl winning quarterback.

Building off of what we saw from McCown last season, I believe that the perfect quarterback for this system is Alex Smith. A game manager through and through and someone who limits the mistakes and takes what the defense gives him. I don’t think he’s a great quarterback by any means, but Jay’s turnovers and inability to be consistent have proven to be the downfall of this team.

I’m sure a deeper dive would show the domino effect the trade had on the current Bears roster. Bloated with yesterdays stars on defense through free agency from a lack of quality draft picks and a lack of “home-grown” talent is enough to make the trade look even worse.

The thing that really leaves a bad taste in your mouth is the fact that we are stuck with this for at least two more seasons. I am not sure what the Bears can do to turn it around, but I sure hope they try. I think the first step in that process would be trading Brandon Marshall for whatever to whomever as soon as possible. Jay has shown that he can succeed with lesser WRs (Johnny Knox and Earl Bennett were the starters in the 2010 NFC Championship season) and I think Marshall enables him in the worst way.

It would be a start, but I’m not even sure it would work, making it a move that is not likely to happen (not to mention THAT contract extension). For now, we look for any positives this team is willing to give us in a lost season, and I am not optimistic about it happening. A quarterback whisperer Trestman is not. That, or he’s just talking to a brick wall who is finally out of excuses and needs to look in the mirror if the Bears ever hope to play like a team that’s ready to live up to it’s potential.

I am just so bummed it won’t be this season when the expectations were so high. A lot of this is on Trestman as well and Brandon and the defense and so much more. But in the NFL, the face of every franchise is its quarterback. And ours is the face of “couldn’t care less”.

Follow me on twitter @LarBears for Grizzly Gridiron updates, or to start a conversation.
 

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http://www.windycitygridiron.com/20...rters-power-rankings-which-bear-would-they-be

Chicago Bears reporters power rankings; which Bear would they be?

By Spongie on Oct 29 2014, 6:01p

After this spectacular piece of sports journalism following the Bears' loss to the Patriots - no, it's fine to go check it, we'll still be here - I half-jokingly said Mike Imrem had been at the top of my Worst Chicago media Bears writer power rankings for some time (the joke part being that such a thing would exist), and WCGer jlern asked to see an annotated list.

I try not to prejudge an article before clicking on it but, after 31.5 months encompassing a shade under 750 Dens and - at a conservative estimate of an average of 20 articles per Den - at least 15,000 articles, it's hard not to form an opinion on where best to allocate my time.

Obviously such an exercise is going to be highly subjective and depend upon what criteria are used. There are two basic assumptions from which I begin when reading an article:

1. My level of knowledge about the Bears and the sport is quite basic; an article should inform me of and/or teach me something. I don't particularly want to be told what to think, and on this basis shock-columnists fare badly. I can fill my brain with uninformed and badly-cogitated thoughts on my own, I don't need to read a column for that.

2. Larry Mayer forms the baseline. His role with the Bears is to disseminate the party line; if a writer can't outperform Mayer with regard to #1, that's Not A Good Thing (Tm).

I've left Fred Mitchell off as he only occasionally seems to contribute on the Bears, and then it's usually Bears history; Dan Pompei, Greg Gabriel and Matt Bowen aren't considered either, as they're not regular enough or no longer specific to the Bears. No national media guys are included because I'd like to get some sleep this week and, in any case, Mike Florio and Jason La Canfora perpetuating the stupid while trying to be all things to all teams makes me want to punch babies.

For poops and giggles, I've also had a stab at whom each reporter would be if they were a Bear. From best to worst, bearing in mind the systematic weaknesses of ranked data, here goes...

----------

1. Dan Durkin - A recent mover up the table, Durkin combines some quality X&Os analysis with detailed breakdowns of Bears' opponents and a levelheaded approach to covering the team. There have been plenty of articles recently that tell you how awful everything is, but Durkin's was the one that actually explained why the issues were there and what the failings were that caused them.

If he was a Bear, he would be: Marc Trestman on a really good day, only consistently good.

2. Brad Biggs - Biggsy was my #1 for a long time; he was informative and professional about his job without injecting his own opinion into proceedings. It feels like he's slipped a little in that regard, and I do wonder if having to take on Dan Pompei's old role with the Tribune's Bears mailbag hasn't contaminated that neutral outlook. Still, for my money he's still clearly in the top category as one of two guys who stand head and shoulders above the rest, and he comes up with Bears-related information that nobody else does.

If he was a Bear, he would be: Jeremiah Ratliff.

3. Adam Hoge - Hoge is a more lightweight version of Durkin, in my book. I'm trying to think of a way to rephrase that without making it look like such a backhanded compliment, and failing. He's top-5 in my world, how about that?

If he was a Bear, he would be: Alshon Jeffery.

4. Jeff Dickerson - I'm probably a little biased because, until this week, I used to catch Dickerson regularly on ESPN 1000 podcasts (I've stopped after 3.5 years after absorbing far too much stupid from Silvy) and always enjoyed his live Bears updates and wry humour.

If he was a Bear, he would be: Charles Tillman.

5. Adam L. Jahns - The Sun-Times perhaps suffers from having too many cooks but, for me, Jahns is the best of the bunch. He's an information guy who keeps his cool on SportsTalk Live when they have idiots like Peter Brown shouting people down, or Jason Goch repeatedly and repetitively ignoring the facts.

If he was a Bear, he would be: Matt Forte.

6. Mark Potash - Potash is somewhat inconsistent. There are times when he comes up with insightful articles that I put into the Den headlines because I think they could provoke some interesting discussion in the comments. At other times, he seems to let his emotions get the better of him and he gets overly negative. Also has an air of the creepy uncle about him when he's doing SportsTalk Live.....

If he was a Bear, he would be: 2014's inconsistent, emotional Brandon Marshall.

7. Dan Wiederer / Rich Campbell - I'm going to lump them together as they're relatively new and, to be honest, I've yet to discern much about their styles. They do their jobs well enough without being annoying.

If they were Bears, they would be: Ego Ferguson and Will Sutton.

8. Not-Hub - The Not-Hub crew, of which Kevin Fishbain seems to be the most prominent, are too new to my consciousness for me to have formed much of an opinion of them other than that they update Bears-related news, and occasionally drop a more extensive story into proceedings.

If they were Bears, they would be: Whatever combination of offensive line gets trotted out for a given game. Fishbain is probably the Jermon Bushrod of the unit.

9. Patrick Finley - Finley is ok. He sometimes seems to mail it in with entire articles based on what a bunch of amateurs from Ireland are telling him though, which doesn't inspire confidence, but redeems himself with the occasional nice in-depth piece which edges him to slightly ahead of average.

If he was a Bear, he would be: Jared Allen.

10. Michael C. Wright - Wright's a little bland in his reporting but, as a #2 to Dickerson, he's decent at what he does... just don't expect too much. I wish he could turn his microphone up when he does video segments. Maybe the sounds guys are messin' with him.

If he was a Bear, he would be: Dante Rosario.

11. David Haugh - I'm not as down on Haugh as some, though he can get preachy at times and go "all in" with one side of a story if it coincides with his personal beliefs and/or suits his purposes (I don't pretend to have an insight into which it is). Still, there are times when there's something to be gained from his articles, even if he does rub some people the wrong way.

If he was a Bear, he would be: Jay Cutler.

12. Is-Hub - Hub is difficult to place. He may well come up with valid points but they're often buried in the general morass of overwhelming criticism that he churns out, such that they're difficult to spot and their impact is diluted. People tend to gloss over what he has to say, in any case.

If he was a Bear, he would be: Retired Brian Urlacher.

13. Chris Boden - Boden doesn't manage much in the way of articles, but there's often a nugget of information buried away in them that I have reason to use in the link synopsis.

If he was a Bear, he would be: Jon Bostic.

14. Bob LeGere - Bears generalist who doesn't do anything bad, but doesn't offer much that's special, either.

If he was a Bear, he would be: Craig Steltz.

15. Dan Bernstein - Bernstein's relatively new on my radar (I don't listen to his show). Could move up or down as I get more accustomed to him, so this is a provisional placing relative to the people below based on what he doesn't do, that I'm aware of. Seems to be a bit of a negative nancy but I'm not all that familiar with his output.

If he was a Bear, he would be: Robbie Gould - "Intelligent, usually has some strong opinions on things, backs them up, but sometimes doesn’t know when it’s best to keep his mouth shut." [Hat tip to Mike Ditka's Cigar]

16. Moon Mullin - Moon Mullin comes up with Bears facts and nuggets of Bears history (albeit often of questionable relevance) but I wish CSN Chicago would stop trying to string out his material quite so much, or that they have him tighten it up a bit. As it is, one decent article's worth of material might get spread over three or four. You're usually better off listening to his video reports as, with those, he has to get to the gist of what he has to say in a concise manner. He gets marked down a few spots for subjecting me to Mike Florio.

If he was a Bear, he would be: Martellus Bennett on an overly-verbose day.

17. James Neveau - He's not Maggie Hendricks, whom he replaced. So there's that going for him.

If he was a Bear, he would be: Isaiah Frey.

18. Mike Mulligan - Doesn't appear often but is less annoying than Greenberg. I don't listen to his radio show, however, so he's largely an unknown to me.

If he was a Bear, he would be: Cornelius Washington.

19. Larry Mayer / Mini-Larry - Larry and his sidekick form the baseline for this list.

If he was a Bear, he would: Still be Larry, of course.

20. Jon Greenberg - Greenberg vacillates between average and mailing it in. He also looks like a serial killer with cannibalistic tendencies on video when he's not actually speaking to the camera. Seriously, watch the way he licks his lips and looks at Jeff Dickerson while waiting his turn to speak.

If he was a Bear, he would be: J'Marcus Webb: visible by prominence of where he plays, doesn't produce.

21. Barry Rozner - Rozner turns up once or twice a week along with Imrem and doesn't make much impact, other than "At least he's not Imrem".

If he was a Bear, he would be: Whomever Phil Emery signs from the practice squad to be the 53rd man on the roster for any given game.

22. Rick Telander - Telander's overblown style masks a lack of substance. Not well, as it turns out.

If he was a Bear, he would be: Roy Williams being coordinated by Mike Tice.

23. Tim Baffoe - So-so opinion pieces which never really contribute anything worthwhile.

If he was a Bear, he would be: Some nameless addition to the practice squad.

24. Rick Morrissey - Whatever the sports journalism equivalent of Backpfeifengesicht is, Morrissey's articles are that.

If he was a Bear, he would be: Brandon Meriweather at his most undisciplined.

25. Mike North - Mike North is the Silvy of the Bears writers. If I want kneejerk reaction without the burden of information or thought, he's where I go.

If he was a Bear, he would be: Off-the-field Devin Hester threatening to retire after Lovie Smith's dismissal, then thinking he's worth $4M/year.

26. Steven Rosenbloom - You know the fans who take great glee in things going wrong for the Bears so they can moan about them? This is their god.

If he was a Bear, he would be: Cade McNown.

27. Mike Imrem - I might find an actual football thought in 1 in 10 Rosenbloom articles if I can get past the snide. That's more than I get from Imrem.

If he was a Bear, he would be: Ted Phillips, minus the personality.

----------

That's my attempt and doubtless you'll have your own opinion on who's better than whom, and which Bear they would be. Leave your comments, remember it's not an open thread, and any better suggestions for the latter may end up being used (credit will be given)!
 

supra8795

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I do. And everyone credited da Tice lol

Hopefully we see something similar. Although I do think we are gonna get stomped next Sunday night. It'll be another drunken Monday at work. lol
 

KittiesKorner

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http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/bears/post/_/id/4695244/trestman-expects-bears-to-find-themselves

Marc Trestman expects Bears to 'find themselves'

By Michael C. Wright | ESPN.com

Eight games provide a large enough sample size for even optimists to paint somewhat of a bleak picture of the Chicago Bears going into the bye week.

Still, Bears coach Marc Trestman draws on experience in expressing a belief the 3-5 Bears will “find themselves.”

Forte
Trestman
“These are things that are correctable,” he added. “Our ability to create some turnovers will help us. Our ability to match up better will help us. Our ability to spend some time this week, and I’ve seen this happen over time after a bye week, where teams can find themselves.”

Asked what evidence he sees to make him think the Bears can turn around their season, starting with the club’s Nov. 9 matchup at Green Bay, Trestman said, “It shows up that we can get it done.”

Regardless of what that means, the Bears need to spend the week off fixing myriad problems in every facet of the game. Offensively, Trestman needs to freshen up the attack to feature more diversity, and the team needs to strike a better balance between running and passing. Defensively, the Bears need to sift through the injuries and come up with a suitable lineup. The defense appears to be struggling down the middle, which in turn leads to problems in the secondary.

On special teams, the Bears feature an athletic lineup of speedy, yet inexperienced, mistake-prone players.

“Last year we were 25th or something in third downs going into the bye week. We came out of it and moved up significantly because we had time to look back, make corrections, as coaches do,” Trestman said. “I feel confident we’re going to find our way through this and get back in a position where we are playing more consistently, to where we are playing the kind of game we played against Atlanta that we played against San Francisco. The team has that in them. We’ve just got to put it all together."
 

ruprecht

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Let it flow, let it flow, let it flow.
 

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http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...nse-bears-spt-1031-20141030-story.html#page=1

Bears defense in doldrums


By Rich Campbell contact the reporter

650x366

What the fuck are we celebrating? RIBS!

The second phase of the Bears midseason review examines a defense that has not distanced itself enough from last season's debacle.

An intriguing mix of relatively old players and young prospects has not combined to form the consistently disruptive unit general manager Phil Emery envisioned.

On one hand, the Bears had five opening day starters 32 or older. On the other, Emery used four of the team's top five draft picks on defensive players in an effort to inject some much-needed youth and talent.

Through eight games, a mix of injuries and underperformance has affected the team's highest-paid defenders, such as linebackers Lance Briggs, cornerback Charles Tillman and defensive end Jared Allen.

Inexperienced linebackers Jon Bostic and Shea McClellin also have been injured, leaving questions about their development and whether the team should rely on them as part of its long-term vision.

Here's a closer look at the defense:


18th in total defense (372.4 yards per game);

13th in rushing defense (110.1 yards per game);

24th in passing defense (262.3 yards per game);

29th in scoring defense (27.8 points per game).

Biggest storyline

Most of the Bears' big-name defensive players have underachieved, a critical problem the offense has exposed as it has failed in its task of being the team's driving force.

And because the Bears' highest-paid defenders haven't produced at a commensurate level, the defense ranks in the bottom third in the NFL in yards allowed per play (25th), per pass (27th) and points per game (29th).

Five Bears defensive players this season have a salary cap number of at least $3 million: Linebacker Lance Briggs, cornerback Tim Jennings, defensive end Lamarr Houston, cornerback Charles Tillman and defensive end Jared Allen.


The Bears needed that quintet to carry a defense that includes slowly-developing linebacker prospects and a safeties group in which the team has invested only modestly. But that has not been the case.

Briggs has missed three games with a rib injury. He turns 34 next month, making him the oldest of six opening-day starters 30 or older. With eight games to go, it seems likely this is Briggs' last season in Chicago. General manager Phil Emery took a hard line after Brian Urlacher's contract expired in 2013, and Briggs hasn't done enough in his contract year to earn a different fate.

Jennings hit the midway point of the season without an interception. The Bears' defense is designed to let their corners play with vision and make plays on the ball. Rookie Kyle Fuller has done so on the other side.

On the bright side, Jennings has been a physical, willing tackler in run defense. But the Bears are paying him $7.5 million this season to make game-changing plays. That hasn't happened.


Houston, the highest-paid defensive player this season with a $9 million cash number, had only one sack before he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee celebrating it last Sunday. The Bears acquired him to be a rugged edge setter against the run, but his impact was lost against several zone-read option attacks that have troubled the Bears. Now he's out for the year.

The Bears lost their gamble on the 33-year-old Tillman when he re-tore his right triceps in Week 2. He made almost $3 million for only six quarters of regular-season game action.

Allen reached the halfway point with only 11/2 sacks. To put that in perspective, his previous single-season low is 71/2 in 2006, the last time he had single-digit sacks. After Allen said last Sunday, "I have to try to find half a step," Emery downplayed a connection between that and Allen's age, 32.


Allen is set to make $12.5 million next season. Not only do the Bears need him to find that step to help save this season, they need an indication he won't be a complete bust a year from now.

What has gone wrong

The defense has not been as consistently disruptive as Emery expected after investing heavily in the line.

The Bears guaranteed a total of $34.35 million to free agents Allen, Houston and end Willie Young, and they spent second-day draft picks on tackles Ego Ferguson and Will Sutton. Young and tackle Stephen Paea have boosted the team's sack total, but without steady pressure from Allen and Houston, opponents have exposed an injury-laden back seven.

McClellin and Bostic have not made enough impact plays to match their respective first- and second-round draft pedigrees. Bostic has missed three games with a back injury, which clouds the picture of his development.

The Bears have been pleased with safety Chris Conte's play when healthy, but shoulder injuries and a concussion prevented him from finishing four of the first six games.

Add all that up, then consider the slim margin for error because of the offense's turnovers and inconsistency, and the Bears face a harsh statistical reality: they rank 29th in the NFL with 27.8 points allowed per game.

Silver lining

After last season's defensive debacle, Emery understood the breadth of their roster deficiencies. There were too many holes to fix in one offseason, but the process began with a free-agency binge on defensive ends and by using four of the team's top five draft picks on defensive players. Through eight games, those four defensive rookies have flashed signs of promise.

Cornerback Kyle Fuller, the 14th-overall pick, appears to be a an impact player for years to come — a first-round success the Bears needed after years without one on defense. He's a physical tackler and possess the instincts necessary to make plays on the ball in the passing game. His quickness and growing knowledge helped him earn NFL defensive rookie of the month honors for September.

Ferguson, a second-rounder, has improved his leverage when anchoring at the point of attack. He quickly learned he couldn't control blockers with strength alone, as he did in college, and he has improved his knee flexibility.

Third-rounder Sutton also is part of a defensive tackle rotation that is much better than last year's injury-riddled group. His hand technique against the run has been a focus, and his development over the final eight games will be important information as Emery looks ahead to 2015.

Brock Vereen, a fourth-round safety, leads the Bears with seven special teams tackles. The club likes his straight-line speed and ability to retain information.

Midseason MVP

Young is proving to be one of the biggest steals of the 2014 free-agent market. At the halfway point, he's tied for fifth in the NFL in sacks — not bad for a guy who signed a three-year contract potentially worth just $9 million with $3.95 million guaranteed.

His seven sacks through the first six games were more than double his previous best single-season total. With the help of Joe Kim, a martial arts expert who works with Bears players on hand fighting, Young has harnessed his length. He has gotten into and around offensive linemen consistently.

The importance of Young's contributions is amplified because Allen and Houston have combined for only 21/2 sacks. Young will be the Bears' starting left end for the final eight games because of Houston's season-ending ACL tear.


4: Total turnovers the Bears have forced in their five losses. Three occurred in the Week 5 loss to the Panthers, meaning the Bears have taken the ball away only once in four other defeats (Week 1 vs. Bills). Just as Jay Cutler's giveaways are central to the offense's success, it's evident the defense must force more turnovers.

rcampbell@tribune.com

Twitter @Rich_Campbell
 

KittiesKorner

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http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...nse-bears-spt-1030-20141029-story.html#page=1

Michael Irvin admits 'Cutler for MVP' hype was misguided

650x366

Kristin, I want Totino's for dinner!!!!

By Dan Wiederer

The Chicago Bears are getting a reminder this week about the pitfalls of being an NFL underachiever.

Sunday's demoralizing 51-23 loss in New England sent the Bears staggering into their bye week at 3-5, tied for last in the NFC North with the Minnesota Vikings and behind 10 other teams in the NFC standings. And those stumbles have national analysts in pile-on mode, creating an echo chamber of criticism for a struggling team with a struggling quarterback and a struggling defense.


On Wednesday, analysts from CBS and the NFL Network gathered on a conference call with outside media to discuss the key storylives across the league at the season’s midpoint. And it was no surprise that the Bears’ failures entered into the conversation.

Also not surprising: Jay Cutler continues to be the biggest target of critics, a slumping quarterback who is not living up to the mega-contract he signed in January.

NFL Network analyst Michael Irvin was among the analysts to sharply criticize Cutler on Wednesday. Which is most surprising because only two months ago Irvin was propping Cutler up as one of his MVP favorites for this season, convinced that the quarterback’s union with coach Marc Trestman plus his explosive supporting cast of playmakers would lift him to a career year.

Instead, Cutler hit the season’s midpoint as a 3-5 quarterback with 12 turnovers and a growing horde of vocal detractors.

Irvin, of course, has had to own his errant preseason prognostication.

“I get killed on that all over,” Irvin said. “Every time I call in to a radio show that is the first thing they ask me.”


Irving also tried to elaborate on just why he had so much optimism about Cutler’s 2014 potential. (And he was certainly not alone in that thought process.)

“We made those preseason picks and you make them off what you have assessed in the preseason,” Irvin said. “In the preseason I thought Cutler was looking great. One thing I watched all preseason with Cutler was to make sure he had his feet up under him, that he’s not falling back, he’s not doing anything crazy throwing the football.

"He was great at it and I thought he cleaned it all up. ... But as the season wore on he started falling back into some of those old habits -- trusting his arm too much, falling back trying to make a pass.”

Cutler has thrown eight interceptions and lost four fumbles this season. Eleven of those turnovers have come in the Bears’ four losses. When Cutler struggles and the team loses, analysts quickly veer toward the low-hanging fruit on the critisicm tree, calling the quarterback out for trusting his arm too much and for lacking the proper demeanor as a leader.

Those points have some merit but are often overemphasized, becoming handy talking points to diagnose Cutler's struggles. Irvin, though, believes Cutler's push to make big things happen leads him into trouble more often than it should.

“We praise guys for arm strength and making plays,” Irvin said, “but we don’t give enough praise for the guy that sometimes lets a play go because of the risk. It’s not worth the reward. That’s what Jay Cutler has to get.

“I think that is a tough thing to get for a gunslinger because your arm, all through your life, has always won. And now that arm strength won’t always win and that is a tough acceptance.”

It's also been a tough acceptance for Bears fans to realize that yet another season is slipping away, seemingly destined to be the team's fifth season in Cutler's six years with the team where they won't reach the playoffs.
 

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http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...bears-problems-jay-cutler-20141029-story.html

Analysts: Bears' problems are more than just Jay Cutler

By Rich Campbell contact the reporter

Jay Cutler’s inconsistency protecting the ball is a major reason why the Chicago Bears are a disappointing 3-5. But their list of problems is much longer than that, as Sunday’s 51-23 loss to the New England Patriots reminded us.

“Jay gets a lot of criticism, and that comes with the territory,” said Louis Riddick, former director of pro personnel for the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins and current ESPN analyst. “But as I much as I respect (general manager) Phil Emery, they’re just flawed in their construction. The people there, if they’re honest about it, they know that they are.”

Emery and coach Marc Trestman have acknowledged deficiencies in all three phases. Whether it be poor linebacker play or punt coverage, the issues amount to more than Cutler can overcome playing at his current level.


Riddick shared his thoughts about them in a recent phone interview, and former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher offered his perspective Tuesday on a teleconference involving several Thursday Night Football analysts from CBS and NFL Network.

“With Jay, they want him to be…the deodorant for everything else that’s wrong, and he’s just not,” Riddick said. “That’s what falls back on you as a team builder. You’ve got to make it all smell better by your ability to build it right and the coaches’ ability to adapt and make up the difference.

"It’ll be a total organizational collapse if it doesn’t turn out, and if they pull out of it, it’s going to because everyone pulls their weight.”

Cowher’s first focus was a defense the Patriots left in ruins. Yes, the unit has improved in several categories. Its yards allowed per play is down from a league-worst 6.2 in 2013 to 6.0 (25th in NFL) through eight games. But those strides seemed more insignificant with each touchdown the Patriots scored.

“That wasn’t Jay Cutler playing defense,” Cowher said. “That wasn’t him trying to cover a tackle and do those things. I still think he’s a good quarterback. I think he does have leadership -- it's not one of his strong suits. But at the same time, you can win with him, but he needs to have a better defense around him that gives that team a chance. They can’t rely on him not to keep throwing the ball like he does because he does get careless at times.”

Riddick was sharper and more specific with his critique.

“It’s easy to say, well, the reason why in Chicago we won’t win any Super Bowls is because of Jay Cutler,” he said. “That’s not true, either. Their defense is horrific. They’re not going to win any Super Bowls with that defense. I can tell you that.


“The defense is weak right down the middle. (Tackle Jeremiah) Ratliff is starting to look like the guy who they hoped he would be when they acquired him. They still don’t have the kind of production out of Will Sutton and Ego Ferguson that they need. They have no one, really, in the middle of the defense at the linebacker position as far as their production and/or from a leadership perspective, which is why Brandon Marshall now is the spokesman of the football team and none of the signal callers are -- the quarterback is not, the linebacker is not.


“(Safety) Ryan Mundy is an average football player. (Safety) Chris Conte is guy who they’ve been trying to replace, and Brock Vereen is just a young rookie. They’re kind of flawed from a composition perspective when you’re looking at leadership at those crucial signal-caller positions, and they’re deficient as far as their skill sets. So, yes, they have some nice individual pieces on the perimeter; football teams are built inside-out, down the middle. That’s where they’re flawed, defensively in particular.”

Riddick and Cowher each see deficiencies in the offensive line, which has suffered from injuries to four out of five starters since the regular season began.

“They keep talking about this great offensive line; I don’t think it’s a good offensive line,” Cowher said. “I mean, when you have to sit there and protect your tackle, and you’re playing at home, and you have to put two tight ends against the edges and you’re talking about an offense that throws the ball vertically down the field, so you’re holding the ball longer.

Brad Biggs' Bears mailbag: On Cutler, Clausen, NFC North and more
Brad Biggs' Bears mailbag: On Cutler, Clausen, NFC North and more
OPEN LINK
“They’re really kind of unconventional in today’s passing game. They don’t use a lot of screens. They got rid of Devin Hester, who gave them a little element of that. They’re a vertical passing team that doesn’t have a great offensive line, so (Cutler) is not holding the ball quickly. So at times, when he does have time, and people can’t generate a rush, the guy’s accurate. But he gets banged around a little bit. He gets rattled. I think they have some offensive line issues on offense.”

Besides the personnel around Cutler, Riddick’s and Cowher’s comments made it clear that at the national level, Cutler continues to fight perceptions about his leadership no matter how much Emery and Trestman praise his work ethic and investment in the organization.

Riddick questions the quality of Cutler’s situation play, and “that becomes even more magnified because when you watch him get up there during press conferences during the week or immediately following a game, you just want more,” he said.

Said Cowher: “I think he’s a good quarterback but a poor leader. And I think that’s the thing at times a quarterback, though -- at times -- may not have to be the greatest quarterback, but they need to be the leader and take control when the bullets start to fly. And sometimes I feel like when the bullets are starting to fly around Jay, he’s not at his best. And at times I think he’s a detriment; just his body language, his inability at times to take the moment and seize it and be a leader.

"All the great quarterbacks, and you watch them, it’s when the bullets start to fly, they take control of the situation, and that football team (Chicago) isn’t going to go where Jay goes.”

All of those issues are why Riddick, with his personnel background, considers Emery's evaluation of Cutler as most critical to the Bears' future.

"This is where your team-building chops are really put to the test as a general manager because what are you going to do?" Riddick said. "You’re in purgatory. Cutler is not a franchise guy that’s going to lift everyone else. So how can you build it around him to kind of lift him so he can take you where you want to go? If you don’t want to look at it that way, you’re going to constantly have this kind of narrative surrounding your football team."
 

KittiesKorner

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In other news... ROFLBRO

http://theredzone.org/BlogDescripti...-earning-dog-bones-for-good-play/Default.aspx

Browns earning dog bones for good play

Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator Jim O'Neil and the defensive staff sat down in the off-season to reward players who made plays that reflected the team's "Play like a Brown" mantra, they came up with dog-themed way to do it, Dan Labbe of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

"What we came up with that was unique to the Dawg Pound was to give each player a dog collar," said O'Neil, "and those guys would be rewarded for plays on the field with a bone for every time they did something that we considered a 'Play Like A Brown' play."

Take a trip around the locker room in Berea and you'll see spiked dog collars hanging in each defensive player's locker. Collars have metal dog bones attached to them with the name of the opponent engraved on each one.

"It's a lot of bones, man," said linebacker Karlos Dansby, rifling through the tags on his collar. "It's a lot of bones. A lot of different games. A lot of bones. I never even thought about countin' 'em."

"We haven't sat down and counted all the tags," said cornerback Buster Skrine, "but, I mean, it's an accomplishment. Play like a Brown, you get a dog tag."

"It's keeping guys competitive," said linebacker Jabaal Sheard, "not only against the other team, but against one another."

But seriously, who has the most?

"You know what, I couldn't tell you," O'Neil said. "I told the guys that I don't want to know until this time next week. Then we'll announce the top three, and I'm sure there are guys in the locker room kind of eye-balling other guys collars to see who's got the most tags on it."

"I don't know how many bones you get for sacks," Dansby said, "because Paul Kruger, he should be outweighing me by a lot right now. I don't know how many you get for a sack, but he's got a lot."
 

DC

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Thanks for posting, Ole!
 

HeHateMe

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Thanks for posting, Ole!

kinda funny that by your rules Ole never would have been able to post this because he would have exceeded his daily post count LOLOLOLOLO



:sweep:
 

DC

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Don't be gay, bro.
 

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