Fire Ryan Poles | Fire Ben Johnson

Fine, the Bears win. But at what cost? As soon as Cutler returns, five starters go down like flies in this game. It’s been stressed here enough that all teams have injuries and that it’s not an excuse. True. However, with the Bears, there isn’t any depth. I still can’t figure out how teams like the Packers and Ravens can continue to win consistently, yet, they have a roster full of injuries while the Bears suck ass until their starters come back.

For these next few games, some new guys are going to have to step up in order to give this team a chance to win. Forte, Hester, Spencer, Briggs and Tillman all had injuries and could be out for longer than a game or two. The highlight of my day wasn’t seeing the Bears winning, but my brother and I watching a lady around my age a section over throw up on two women on her way down from the stands in the United Club level. It wasn’t even halftime yet and this skank already had too much to drink. I also saw a guy wearing a Cade McNown jersey, another with a Olin Kruetz and one more with a Devin Aromashodu (Bears). Oh my.

Offense: Seriously? Is Mike Tice a fucking idiot? Let me give you one example of why I ask this. It’s late in the game, the Bears just have to play the clock and Cutler is throwing all over the place. I am sorry for continuing to say “RUN THE FUCKING BALL” every recap but come on, RUN THE FUCKING BALL. There were plenty of times throughout this game when they should have done that but instead, Cutler throws a pick and was nearly killed another couple times by Jared Allen. Now on to the good stuff. The offense dominated time of possession which lead to two long drives for points. We need to see more of that. Cutler did play much better and he seemed to have a bit better protection in this game. Forte still had an alright game despite fumbling it on the first drive. Michael Bush played much better as well getting two touchdowns. Forte getting injured was shitty on every level. He did walk off on his own power so maybe it’s just a sprained ankle.

Some of the throws that Cutler threw to Marshall drove me ape shit. Marshall dropped a touchdown pass (he seems to do this every now and then) but how can you not love this guy? When thrown to in triple coverage, he still finds a way to catch the ball. He became the first wide receiver to get over 1,000 yards for the Bears since Marty Booker in 2002. If that doesn’t tell you how horrible the wide receivers have been for the Bears all of these years, I don’t know what will. Matt Spaeth actually held onto a pass and for a touchdown, no less. Lastly, Kellen Davis sucks. He should seriously consider another profession.

Defense: I thought the defense played much better today. Then again, they played the Vikings and it’s a trend that we’ve seen all year. On both sides of the football, they play well against average to below average teams and suck against the elite ones. Both offensive turnovers led to short field position and the ten points so I won’t complain too much. Ponder must have crapped himself after a couple of those plays. Adrian Peterson did have 100 yards rushing but he does that to just about every team. He fumbled the ball twice and that always helps. Let’s continue to look on the bright side though. Chris Conte had an interception and he didn’t commit any stupid penalties this game. That’s something to build on.  The defense also stopped the Vikings on a fourth down inside the 10 late in the game which sealed the deal.

Special Teams: We’ll start with what went wrong. First, Hester gets a concussion. Not good at all. Then, a field goal is blocked before halftime. With what went right, Peppers blocks a field goal in the second quarter. Then after the second touchdown, Adam Podlesh runs right in on a fake field-goal for a two-point conversion. I have to admit that it was awesome seeing that. Lastly, no holding or illegal block in the penalties. That has to be the first game in a long time that the special teams didn’t have a penalty. Let’s see if they can keep that up.

The Bears stay in a tie for first place for now with the Seahawks up next. With all of these injuries, I don’t know who is on the practice squad that can help on the offensive line or even on defense, but maybe the Bears should take a look at the waiver wire to see if they can find someone. The lack of depth on this team is starting to show even more.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you guys. I say this every year but it never gets old: Thank you very much for all of your support on this site for the last four years. There isn’t much to be happy about in the world of Chicago sports. The Bears are beginning to collapse, the Bulls still suck and will continue to and there still isn’t hockey. It looks like if there isn’t an agreement in the next two or three weeks, the entire season will be canceled. We can all thank Gary Bettman for that. It’s the fourth lockout in 20 years and for possibly the second time in eight years, an entire season could be wiped away.

Have at it folks.

It’s 17-0 with the 49ers driving so needless to say, it’s over. I am doing the recap now and getting to my DVR after. The Bears will be tied for first place after this but honestly, the collapse has already begun. The Bears played a real team last week and lost. They are playing a real team as I am typing this and they are losing. Is any rational fan actually surprised at this? Of course the defense kicked the crap out of teams all of these other games because they played horrible teams. When they play good teams, the defense returns to shit.

And for crying out loud, what’s with idiotic fans and some sports talk-show hosts claiming that experience of a quarterback is important? I also heard that because Kaepernick is starting for the first time and Campbell is a former starter, so therefore, Campbell has the advantage. That is the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard. It comes down to who is the better quarterback. You can be a rookie and be better than the guy who has been in the league for 20 years and still playing at a high level. Oh well. Let’s make this quick.

Offense: What offense? Jason Campbell sucks and Mike Tice is a fucking idiot. Even Mike Martz listened to Lovie when he said they need to run the ball more. But there is Campbell, throwing interceptions and other times, making half-ass throws. Also, fuck J’Marcus Webb.

Defense: The overrated I-Pass defense has now shown what they are capable of. Major Wright and Chris Conte suck ass. Briggs is old. Kaepernick is tearing this team a new asshole as I am typing this. Come on. Cover somebody. Is it really that hard?

Special Teams: Illegal block in the back. Holding. Holding. Illegal block in the back. Typical.

The Bears take on the Vikings next week. I have tickets to the game but too bad the value of them just dropped tremendously or I would sell them.

For you wrestling fans, a new article is up at Falls Count Anywhere.

The rest of you, unleash all of your FIRE AND PASSION here.

Pathetic. That’s all you can say about the Bears. I said last week that we will find out how good this team really is. Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. The Bears had a chance to gain more ground on the division with the Packers not playing and the Lions losing. Instead, they shit themselves.

Offense: When Mike Martz left town, I thought to myself that finally, the Bears will get the offense to where it should be with Mike Tice taking over. Instead, it’s worse. Cutler is out there chucking the ball down the field early in the game only to have it intercepted twice. RUN THE FUCKING BALL for crying out loud. Also, how bad does Kellen Davis have to be for Lovie Smith to get rid of this guy? He can’t block. He can’t catch. Finally, he can’t hold onto to the football either. Michael Bush fumbled on a run as well. The offense was given great field position all game and didn’t do shit with it. Fuck Danieal Manning too. I don’t know if it’s a Chicago sports thing but there is something about former players that come back to rip their old teams a new asshole. Manning wasn’t worth a damn for the years he played for the Bears. He was one of the reasons why they lost the Super Bowl and and probably a few other important games. But he arrives back in Chicago for this game and becomes a difference maker.

Cutler is hurt once again. He’ll probably miss the next game or two so count those as losses. This guy has to be snake bit. Words cannot describe how terrible Black Todd Collins is. (Meatball thought: The Cowboys signed Kyle Orton for the same amount of money and at least, he is somewhat good.) For the love of God, get an actual quarterback signed to be the backup. (Another meatball thought: I hear that Josh McCown guy was somewhat decent in the short time he played for the Bears.) I don’t give a crap who they sign. Just get someone who can throw more than three yards.

Defense: I won’t criticize the defense too much. They did let the Texans march down the field for the go-ahead touchdown. We’ve all said or implied it over the weeks that the offense will need to win a game when the defense doesn’t score and this game was proof of that. The defense did just fine. They gave the offense a chance to win the game and they couldn’t do it. Tim Jennings played his ass off getting two interceptions. I’ve said all year he has been the best player on this defense and he’s keeping it up.

Special Teams: The Texans made Hester a non-factor. As mentioned above, the Texans didn’t give a crap where they gave the Bears the ball at because the offense couldn’t do shit anyway. Also, fuck Robbie Gould. The highest paid kicker in the league should make that field goal. If he makes the one he missed in this game, it’s 10-9 with the Bears defense still playing better and therefore, putting more pressure on the Texans but that wasn’t the case.

The 49ers are up next on Monday Night Football. Alex Smith also has a concussion so he may be out for this game. The difference though is that their backup quarterback is an actual quarterback. The Bears will lose this game and probably be tied for first place with the Packers after that.

I am just glad that these political ads are over.

I am sure some people might be in a frenzy after seeing the Bears score 51 points in a game against the crappy Titans. Yes, there were many good things to talk about but at the same time, many of the same problems were observed by myself and I am sure, many others. Regardless, the Bears are 7-1 and they have a two-game lead on the division with the season at the halfway point.

Offense: Damn Mike Tice. Does he not enjoy running the football? I saw some drives where it would be obvious that the right thing to do would be to run the football. First, the drive that lead to the safety. Instead of running the ball to try to get some breathing room, he has Cutler drop back in the endzone. He nearly gets sacked but got away but then,  a penalty for illegal hands to the face.  Another one of those drives came after the two-minute warning in the first half. The Bears are up 31-2 and are about to score again. What does Tice do? He sets up an empty backfield for Cutler only to have him fumble the ball and the Titans take it to mid-field and end up getting a field goal. I am thinking to myself that if they scored again, maybe Cutler and some of the other starters would be out of the game to rest and instead, they are playing into the fourth quarter.

This offense has to get going. They still have problems in the end zone. Matt Forte did get over 100 yards rushing but only after getting a couple big runs. They need to have efficient and long drives that eat up the clock and keep the defense rested on the sidelines. The defense and special teams can’t always give them great field position in which they only need a few yards or so to score. Brandon Marshall, believe or not, never had a three-touchdown game until now. For the fourth game this season, he had over 100 yards receiving. Even Lance Louis had a catch. With Cutler depending on Marshall more than he should, they really need to get Bennett going and for crying out loud, get Devin Hester off the field. Alshon Jefferey is another two weeks or so away from returning.

Defense: This defense still has some flaws letting the Titans drive down the field a few times and racking up over 300 yards (again) but damn, who are these guys? Better late than never (nine seasons), but Tillman finally is playing like an NFL cornerback. He forced four fumbles. I certainly do not want to get punched by this guy. Urlacher took one back for a touchdown also in this game as well as forcing another fumble. The defense forced six turnovers in this game with four fumble recoveries, an interception and a turnover on downs. Even though the front four only had a sack or two, they forced pressure on Hasselbeck the entire game which lead to that interception and having the Titans punt quite a bit.

Special Teams: They kicked ass once again. Sherrick McManis blocked a punt that lead to Corey Wooten picking it up and running it in for the touchdown. Devin Hester nearly took one back but that set up the offense nicely for a touchdown. Robbie Gould nailed three field goals but it could have been four if Lovie Smith would have just taken the points late in the game instead of having the offense go for it on fourth and goal. Oh well.

Next up, the Bears play an actually good football team in the Texans on Sunday night. Go ahead Chicago Bears. Impress me.

…from our good friend Matt Stairs Superfan:

“Congratulations to San Francisco for winning their second World Series in three years. You see, when teams have good pitching, timely hitting and a strong farm system, they become very successful. Unlike the morons at Clark and Addison that have never figured out how to draft and develop actual talent, sign decent free agents and hire a manager who actually knows the game of baseball. PATHETIC!”

I’d like to add my sincere congratulations to Ryan Theriot for scoring the winning run of this World Series. His current employer is certainly a big step up from the pissant gig of playing for the Chicago Cubs. Two WS Series Championships in 3 years…must be nice!

…back at Wrigley Stadium the sheeple are preparing for a long, cold winter…and the clock is ticking, ever so faintly…

This game reminded me of the one against the Packers earlier this year. For most of the game, the offense sucked completely and while the defense wasn’t as good as that game, they still found a way to minimize the damage. This game still pissed me off on every level. The Bears played like shit until the last quarter. When the Bears play good teams (Texans, 49ers, etc.), do they win these type of games? The answer is no.

Offense: I am not pinning this shitty offensive day all on Cutler. Yes. He threw a dumb pass into triple coverage and fumbled causing another turnover earlier in the game, but after that, he was too busy getting sacked and when he wasn’t on his ass, his receivers were dropping passes. The entire offensive line couldn’t block anybody. There were more false start/holding penalties. Matt Spaeth sucks and should never be thrown to again. Marshall and Hester dropped some passes as well that would have extended drives and instead, the Bears were giving the ball back to the Panthers. The running game couldn’t get going either. This was all happening while the Panthers were giving the Bears great field position on just about every kickoff. Then, the fourth quarter arrives and the offense finds it’s mojo. Bennett and Marshall are catching everything in their site and the Bears march down the field for 16 points.

Defense: Cam Newton was having a great time for most of this game. The Panthers had nearly 37 minutes of time possession. For you stat geeks out there (Yeti), that’s  more than half of the game. Newton had drives that went well over eight minutes and one of those drives was 90 yards. He had his I-Pass for sure throwing for over 300 yards. I did mention above that the defense minimized the damage they did, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t lousy. There were some stupid penalties on this side of the ball as well. I believe there were two personal fouls that helped the Panthers score on I believe, two drives. This lack of discipline needs to stop. I don’t know why Tillman wasn’t on Steve Smith during this game because Jennings couldn’t stop him. I want to than the Soldier Field grass for making Steve Smith slip, letting Tim Jennings get an easy pick giving the Bears the lead.  I just had a flashback of Johnny Knox slipping on the same grass. I’ll stop there.

Special Teams: Ron Rivera was looking like a genius with all of those squib kicks which didn’t allow Hester to do anything up until late in the game. Robbie Gould misses a field goal after I was telling myself “Just take the points”. Since Cutler is a man and marched the Bears down the field about as calm as anyone can in the final two minutes, Gould redeemed himself in the end.

The Bears have a two-game lead in the division over both the Vikings and the Packers. The face the Titans next week on the road.