The Bear Truth

I've been really excited about this blog starting, but the past three weeks have made it pretty tough to stop by, let alone contribute a comment. The Atlanta loss stung because we should have won, and the Cincinnati game was completely demoralizing.

So I've firmly decided that if the Bears lose this game I am done being a fan. And I'm not switching to being a Colts fan, even though I live in Indiana. I'm not going to switch to being a Patriots or Steelers fan, even though they are the two best run franchises over the past several years. I'm going to become a Viking fan. That's how pissed off I am at this team.

How could I be so pissed off to become a filthy Vikings fan? A lot of reasons

What can they do?

Lay down like the lame dirty dogs that they are!!!

I'd love to give a detailed recap of the game but I stopped watching for the most part sometime midway through the third quarter...I did get a nice Sunday afternoon nap in though, so that was great. The Bears defense didn't come to play and credit the Bengals executing a perfect offensive game plan, along with an injury-riddled Bears defense (no Urlacher, Harris or Tinoisamoa). Yeah Urlacher and Pisa Spellcheck have been out most of the year and Bears defense has played pretty well without them, but that stuff catches up eventually. One of the more noticeable issues lately without Urlacher and with the veteran Hillenmyer moving to the strong side is how god-damned confused the defense looks on every play. They seem to be adjusting late to the offensive audibles with players out of position on a rather disturbingly consistent basis. The Bears got no pressure yesterday, which will doom the Tampa 2 everytime and the Bengals consistently had open receivers in the middle of the field.

Am I crazy or was it just last year that the mainstream media was bitching about the lack of QB talent?

Now, we have so many that I can't even count.

Just go here and you have to get to number 17 before you think there may be some suckage

And 17 is Shaun Hill,  who replaced a high draft choice (not that I remember that high draft choice's name, although I think his name was Alex something. Smith? Smit?).

A year or so ago there was this massive refrain from the mainstream media that the QB situation was bloody awful. Today, Jay Cutler is ranked 9th in whatever the hell this poll is. The point is not to argue about where our new multimillion dollar god should be in these rankings. The point is that suddenly, there's a bunch of good looking gun slingers in the NFL, and they are changing the game.

Out of this group, I would probably choose Matt Ryan as the next QB to worship. Cutler could challenge, too, since he's so good at killing the linebacker zone. But Ryan seems to just get jizzed whenever he sees a situation he objects to. He's like a good general. I have to admit the only time I've seen him play is against the Bears, but he flicked off our defenses pretty well for a kid with 1 year under his belt.

Cutler, too, is a dude to watch. Which is nice since he's a Bear for the next few years. He reads defenses well and is one of the best pocket QBs I have ever seen.

But read through the list and you will find a QB that ignites your passion, unless you're weird. Name yours.

Early to say this is an important game.

But guess what?  It is.

Jim Hendry, I mean, of course, Jerry DeAngaHendry watched Cutler throw ridiculously insane passes across his body (remember when we all hated Rex Grossman for trying to do that?) and has decided to give the new QB god a new contract.

Of course, unlike Hendry, DeAngelo has found a true star, and it's hard to argue with his decision to wrap him up.

His next decision, though, may be a lot tougher. Because Matt Forte can't seem to get out of the backfield.

Normally, I would say Forte's troubles are on the line. I've played enough football to know that the game lives and dies on the front 4 or 5, but he's getting hammered behind the line of scrimmage, and no really good back lets that happen on a regular basis.

Once or twice, maybe, but he has no power through the 2 or 3 hole, like he did last year.

It's not that I miss the running game, and yearn for a QB that can run the game ala kyle orton.

What frustates me is that we have a great QB who can slice linebackers up while in the pocket, and now we have no running game. What the hell is with that?

The Bears locked up Jay Cutler last night through 2013, adding two years to his rookie contract that would have expired in 2011. Cutler is set to make $50M over the next 5 years for a modest $10M per year salary, the main benefit for him in the new deal is the guarantee of $20M, come rain, sun or career ending injury thanks to the Bears offensive line.

Considering the steep price the Bears paid to acquire Cutler, locking him until he's 30 seems pretty wise. For all his turnover troubles on Sunday Night games, he's basically a one man show on offense right now for the Bears. The run game is completely non-existant right now - hell, Cutler was the leading rusher on Sunday - and he's constantly having to avoid the rush while throwing to what I consider a below average receiving corps.

In other news, Pisa Spellcheck is contemplating season-ending knee surgery after reinjuring his knee on Sunday. Expect Jamar Williams to take his spot or possibly Hunter Hillenmeyer when he returns from his injury.

The Bears come out of their bye week right into the fire, with games at Atlanta (9-1 at home since last year) and the surprising Bengals. I've liked this Atlanta team from the beginning of this season and their trashing of the up and coming 49ers last week seems to have put them back on the NFL map. Such silly things as NFL power rankings have them at #8 with the Bears at #12 and that sounds all reasonable enough for me.

The Bears picked up Gaines Adams from the Buccaneers in exchange for their Second Round pick in the 2010 draft.  Adams is eligible to play in Atlanta and will travel with the team for theh game.  Adams has had success against the Falcons, moreso than against other teams. 

The NFL trade deadline...it's like the baseball trade deadline, just not exciting or interesting at all.

The rumor going about is that the Bills might look to trade Terrell Owens by next Tuesday's deadline because they kind of suck, they're coach is Dick Jauron and they have the worst quarterback in the league not named JaMarcus Russell. The Bears would of course be a natural fit for Owens services since they do not suck, have a better coach and a good quarterback and despite some decent play by our receivers, there are no Pro Bowlers among them.

Brad Briggs at the Sun-Times pretty much shoots down the rumor, citing T.O.'s disruptive past clashing with Lovie's currently serene locker room and that T.O. has noticeably slowed down as he nears age 36. Personally, hell with all that....for a 4th/5th round pick and $4M that he's owed, take a chance and cut him if he's a problem child. Chances are he'll be mostly content with a good quarterback getting him the ball and the team winning.