The Bears open the season right here in San Diego on Sunday... Can they get back to the Super Bowl? Will Rex be the QB all season long? Will Benson step up and become a premier NFL back?
Tougher schedule this year. I don't buy the lions or vikings and the packers still aren't a complete team. I think we take the NFC north again. Big season for the Monsters of the Midway.
Can they? Sure. But will they? I'm not too sure. The Tommie Harris injury is a bigger story than they're letting on. [Did Harris even PLAY in the preseason? Is he even ready?] Benson still hasn't proven his mettle. Grossman still can't handle the snap. The Lance Briggs accident/the BEARS' handling of it is troubling as well. And possibly worst of all, moRon Turner is still calling the plays, with little to no contravention by someone smart enough to hand the ball to the best player in the offense. [I'm STILL pissed that they didn't give the ball to Thomas Jones 30-40 times in the Super Bowl, but asked Fumbling Rex Grossman to win the game instead.] Sure, why not? It's his contract year. But I don't think that he'll play WELL all season long. No. He hasn't shown it in the preseason, and I think that he will be the primary reason why this team won't win it all this year. In fact, I'd bet that the team will be looking for a starting halfback by the offseason. It may be that he came into the NFL already worn out by all the carries he had for Texas. But whatever the case may be, he's simply not as good a player as Thomas Jones. The team took a backward step in this area, IMHO. I think the BEARS will win the NFC North, simply because the other teams in the division suck balls. Maybe they'll go 10-6 or 11-5, and advance to the NFC Championship, or further. But when your RB/QB are [snicker]Cedric Benson/Rex Grossman[/snicker], a fan can't be too confident.
Tommie played a bit in the final preseason game and he still has his signature burst. I think he'll be fine as long as he's very cautious once it gets cold. Stuff like Briggs' accident are much bigger distractions to the media than they are in the locker room. I agree that Turner isn't an elite playcaller, but he's mediocre which is all that's really necessary considering the weapons at receiver and the league's best defense. I actually think replacing Rivera is a big positive. He was never comfortable calling plays for a cover-2 scheme. To steal from the trib, Rex is the wild card for this season. Now that teams have plenty of tape to work with, Rex's big arm and Berrian's speed won't surprise anyone. It's obvious that Rex has the talent. He's does remind me a lot of a young Favre. Eventually Favre learned from his mistakes. If Rex does he'll have a fine career, if not he'll be a back-up in another city next year. Here's hoping... The abysmal running game in the preseason had more to do with the line not giving a shit, than Benson failing. The line can turn it on for the season opener. It was nice having both of them, but in today's NFL that can't last. They'd already made an investment in the future with Benson. Running back's careers are amazingly short and Jones is arriving at that plateau. He's already injured with NY. Benson has shown flashes of brilliance over the last couple years. If he and the line can maintain health (big if) and the passing game can demand respect (small if), then the running game will be fine. You're too hard on the inconsistent youths. Even with a weak offense we should win the North, but championship aspirations hinge on them being at least decent, which I think they will. Don't forget the defense is better this year with Archuletta and the increased depth everywhere. Even if Rex can't hold onto the snap, there's always Griese and a strong D. Plus our special teams is the most dangerous with Hester and hopefully Manning to support.
That's good news. Without Harris in the team, the BEARS' defense gave up rushing yards like a $10 whore. He is far more important to the team than most realize, IMO. I'd agree with you, but there are guys named "Tank" and "Mike" and "PacMan" who would tell you that today's NFL doesn't turn a blind eye to this sort of thing. If there is more to this story, the team could suffer due to any suspension on the part of the league. Three things: 1. MoRon Turner would have to IMPROVE to become mediocre, IMHO. He still has these "throw-the-ball-all-over-the-damn-field" jags when "three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust" would suffice [as in the start of the 4th qtr of the Super Bowl]. Thomas Jones had 7.5 yards/carry, but only 15 carries in miami. Rex Grossman, OTOH, had 28 attempts, 2 picks, and 2 fumbles in losing the game. Turner is a glaring weakness for this team, IMO. 2. I'm not sure that the BEARS have the best defense in the league anymore. Particularly if Harris is not 100% and/or Mike Brown has his annual 6-to-10-week injury, and/or Briggs is suspended by the league for being a d!ckhead. 3. I think that there are some receiving corps around the league that are better than the BEARS. Particularly if the rookie TE is out for any significant amount of time. Favre never got injured as a younger player. Favre never fumbled the snap, as far as I recall. Favre is closer to 6'3", so as to be able to see over the linemen. Favre actually could move his feet when he was a younger player, both to evade pressure, as well as get first downs. Favre knew how to audible, even as a young player. Favre's play-action fakes were/are among the best in the business. But beyond that, sure: They're similar. I hope you're right. [That's a whole lot of "ifs."] I hope so. Because the window is closing for this team, and quickly. Even with all of this, the rest of the division sucks balls, and the BEARS are still pretty good, despite some obvious flaws. 10-6 to 11-5 sounds about right to me, given the difficulty of the schedule. Then, in the playoffs, who knows? If moRon Turner can get it together, then there's a chance for this team to win it all...
Nope. Benson is a bum and the Bears were stupid for trading a 1,300 yard rusher for what amounted to a bucket of KFC and some shoulder pads.
You've already made it quite clear you don't like "pointyball" so why the hell are you going to keep coming back to be an asshole?
To you guys get rid of this thread, it does belong in a Soccer forum. And to rub your face in the ground every time they lose. GO FIRE!
Because heaven forbid we are fans of another sport, right? For the record, if you come in here and troll a thread where people want to have meaningful discussion, you will be treated like one. Regarding the game. I didn't get a chance to watch it, but from what I heard of the PBP on the radio and the analysis afterwards, the team played solid but made more than a few mistakes. Holding LT to twenty-odd yards rushing (50 yards receiving) shows that the defense can handle the run; though they let the Chargers move the ball to much late in the game. The pass coverage wasn't terrible, but mistakes were made and some guys put points on the board. The offense still appears to be anemic, and I'm not sold on Grossman, but I hope they learn a lot from this game. Losing to a team that went 14-2 last season and are top picks to represent the AFL in the Superbowl is not the end of the world. This week the Bears just need to learn from their mistakes and they'll be fine.
Although Grossman wasnt the main problem I am still bothered he is our "number 1" QB. Ive always liked Griese and before he got hurt in Tampa Bay he was doing some good work down there with what Tampa had. I will never warm up to Grossman and feel we should put Brian in asap. It seems the curse of Florida quarterbacks rings true in the NFL. Benson will always be a joke to me, Mr.Hold Out rookie year who did nothing and continues to prove he isnt worth the money Chicago is paying him.
I pray that it's just a sprain. I was even getting choked up watching his postgame interview. Rex surprisingly looked average. Not spectacular, not abysmal, just average. That pick was entirely on Berrian. The fumble was stupid, but his passing actually looked pretty good going up against one of the league's top defenses. The running game's lack of production falls more on the line than the RBs. The holes just simply weren't there. But it was the first game and against a dominant D. I still believe though that they can turn that around just fine. But the fumbles are very discouraging. I'm still holding out hope that'll be corrected and Benson can become a quality back, but I am growing increasingly concerned. Especially after reading some of the quotes in things like this. The D was as dominant as ever with the offense's gifts being their only real threat. Shutting down LT like they did is definitely encouraging and Harris looks like he hasn't missed a step. Losing Mike would definitely suck, but at this point the team is probably more use to playing without him than with. If we lose Dusty I obviously won't be happy, but not freaking out either. The dropoff from him to Walker is small, if at all. Depth is the loss there, which is probably still pretty decent. Overall there are some issues that need sorting but nothing insurmountable I believe.
I'm with you firefan2001. There is a site called Big Football where this lame sport can be discussed. Once again, I hope the Bears have a terrible season so there is more time for Fire and soccer coverage. Go Bears Opponents! Although I did like how that player who got injured was being consoled by his mommy. I tell you half of the NFL is a bunch of overgrown baby Hueys that are developmentally (mentally and emotionally) challenged big kids.
Because if you ask Luis Arroyave, I'm sure he'll tell you that there is a lot of Fire stuff to cover between late November and February.
Reports this morning are raising the question of ligament damage and losing him for the season. As far as I can tell, they're just speculating, but that would royally suck for the Bears and for Brown.
Well, he could cover the Storm, European soccer, Champions League, Soccer never stops. Ad nauseum offseason pontificating and analysis of the Fire (like they do for baseball and football). Perhaps a week long expose on Christmas at Floyd Franks house. Go Bears Opponents!
Football and other sports talk is welcome at the Section 8 boards. We've got a subforum for them so feel free to stop by and root for the Bears' opponents there as well.
Guys, I created this thread so fans of the Fire AND the Bears can discuss the season as it goes along. If you troll this thread or complain of it's existence you are just lame - and there isn't much worse than being lame.
The only thing lamer than trolling this thread is the BigFootball website. Lots of activity going down there. Do you see how dead the Bears forum is? Perhaps you guys could bring some life to that forum. Big Soccer vs. Big Football - Proving once again that soccer is the #1 sport in America.
Go try to start a 2007 CHICAGO FIRE Thread in the Bears forum I bet you would get ripped left and right. I'll just come by every time your mighty Bears lose, just to remind you guys how much I hate the BEARS! See you guys on Sunday when they lose to KC!