Dec 18th 2008 9:00PM by Bruce Ciskie (author feed)
Filed under: Bears, Packers, NFC North, NFL CoachingLast year, the weather in Chicago was downright frightful for the Bears’ Week 16 home game against Green Bay. The wind was howling, the wind chills dipped well below zero, and the players looked absolutely miserable.

One team played well in the conditions. The other was barely present for the proceedings. As a result, the Bears beat Green Bay 35-7.

A few weeks later, the Packers hosted the Giants in the NFC Championship. While it was clear and dry with little wind, it was very cold, with gametime temperatures close to zero. One team played like it was 70 degrees out, and that team went on to the Super Bowl, while the Packers stayed home.

Now, I’m not here to say that every team that plays in a northern climate should practice outside all the time. However, I’ve always been struck by how outdoor teams prepare for indoor games. They crank up the stereo and practice in a noisy environment. After all, it’s going to be noisy at the game.

Despite this, the Packers continue to refuse to practice outside before playing potentially bad-weather games.Continue Reading

Dec 16th 2008 1:43PM by JJ Cooper (author feed)
Filed under: Bears, Broncos, Buccaneers, Chargers, Colts, Cowboys, Dolphins, Eagles, Falcons, Jets, Giants, Panthers, Patriots, Steelers, Titans, Vikings, NFL Playoffs

The playoff scenarios get a little bit clearer, but what’s remarkable with two weeks to play is how a 10-6 record may mean very little this year. Usually 10-6 is enough to wrap up a playoff spot, and it is this year if you play in a weak division. But if you’re aiming for a wild-card spot, 10-6 might leave you sitting at home.

But while scenarios are clearer this week than last week, it’s still pretty complicated, especially in the wild-card races, where four 9-5 AFC teams and three 9-5 wild-card contenders in the NFC ensure that there are plenty of tiebreakers to check out.

Probably the most surprising thing that jumped out when running through this week’s scenarios is how the Giants could go from a sure-fire No. 1 seed to playing next week to stay out of the first week of the postseason if they lose this week. And Minnesota has gone from a likely January vacation to a shot at a first-round bye.

Continue Reading

Dec 12th 2008 12:30PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Filed under: Bears, Bengals, AFC North, NFC North, NFL Real TalkI’ve often said that Matt Forte is the antithesis of Cedric Benson, both on the field and off. On the field, he actually makes cuts, catches passes, and runs just as hard on each and every carry. Off the field, Forte is humble, gracious, hard-working, and he cares about his team winning football games. Oh, and he doesn’t get arrested twice in the span of a few months.

Benson was the complete opposite of everything I said above. Arrogant, indifferent, lazy, running afoul of the law, unproductive, etc. With a recent quote, he proved he was also delusional. ”(Forte) is having a great year, but when I see the highlights, I see holes,” Benson told reporters in Cincinnati. ”I see them using him in the slot, something they didn’t do with me. If I was there right now with the holes I see, I’d probably have 1,800 yards right now. I definitely would have 1,500 by now. I congratulate him on all of his success. He is taking advantage.” This is such a farce, I don’t even know where to begin. I mean, 1,800 yards? With two games to go? Cedric Benson would be on the verge of a 2,000 yard season?Continue Reading

Dec 12th 2008 4:10PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Filed under: Bears, NFC NorthThe way the Bears completely outplayed the Saints in building up a 21-7 lead and then nearly lost the football game would have been fitting. This is a team that has continued to show the ability to play like an elite team in the NFL, while also showing the ability to give away games and play like a mediocre squad.

You have a team who dominated Indy in Lucas Oil Stadium and handled a hot Philadelphia team at home. They piled up 48 points against the Vikings. They played right with the mighty Titans with their much-maligned backup quarterback (Rex Grossman, as if you needed me to tell you).

On the flip-side, you have a team which nearly lost at home to the Lions, was summarily embarrassed in Green Bay and Minnesota, and has blown three easily winnable games.

Last night, the Saints nearly joined the rest of the NFC South in garnering a win against the Bears when they had no business doing so.

That’s the thing with this Bears team. When you watch them every week, you see — about 60 percent of the time at this point — that there is an elite team hiding in there somewhere.Continue Reading

Dec 11th 2008 3:40PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Filed under: Bears, Saints, NFC North, NFC South
In the NFC Championship game two years ago, Reggie Bush took a swing pass 88 yards to the house. The last ten or so were accompanied by Bush pointing back at the Bears defense before doing a flip into the end-zone and dancing the night away. Of course, the Saints had only cut the Bears lead to two, and didn’t score another point en route to a 39-14 loss.

Several Bears were a bit peeved by this at the time. Adewale Ogunleye was in the field, and got the chance to tell Bush what he thought. “I told Reggie that was unprofessional,” Ogunleye said. “He’s a rookie and he’s going to be a hell of a player in this league. But for him to point back and taunt, that was no class. I swear I was a second away from punching him. I’m glad I didn’t. I ran right to him and said, ‘Be professional in this league.’”Olin Kreutz — who was fortunately on the sideline or he certainly punched Bush, just ask former teammates* — didn’t like the act either.Continue Reading

Dec 11th 2008 3:45PM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: Bears, SaintsMike Murphy of 670 The Score in Chicago asked me to come on his show today and talk about tonight’s Bears-Saints game.

Murph and I discussed Thursday Night Football in general, and I think we’re in agreement that we’re in favor of anything that gives us more football, but it’s a shame that fans without NFL Network can’t watch.

We also discussed dropped passes, and something that has been a longtime annoyance to me: The NFL doesn’t count dropped passes as official statistics. It’s time for the league to clearly define what a dropped pass is and add it to the official stats.

You can listen to the whole thing below.

Dec 11th 2008 8:00PM by Ryan Wilson (author feed)
Filed under: Bears, Saints, NFC North, NFC South, NFL Fans

Welcome to Ye Olde Thursday Night Live Chat. The Saints face the Bears in a rematch of the 2006 NFC Championship game without the implications and just a fraction of the television audience. (Thanks, NFL Network!)

Silver lining: Brian Urlacher doesn’t begrudge Reggie Bush for clowning him in the playoffs. (For the record, Bush said he wasn’t pointing at Urlacher, just “pointing in general.” Uh huh.)

Whatever, we’ll be documenting it all. Merrymaking starts promptly at 8:10-ish PM EST.

Continue Reading

Dec 9th 2008 4:18PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Filed under: Bears, NFC NorthWith 268 carries and 54 receptions, Matt Forte is averaging 25 touches per game. Considering he’s a rookie and never played more than 13 games a year in college, football fans everywhere are awaiting his slam into the proverbial “rookie wall.” The Bears don’t think it’s coming. “There is no wall!” rookie teammate Marcus Harrison shouted Sunday as reporters gathered around Forte’s locker. I don’t think there’s a wall for Forte either. He’s too well-conditioned and mentally tough to break down in the last three games, especially against three weak rushing defenses — Saints, Packers, and Texans. Forte weaved through the stout Vikings interior for 96 yards on 22 carries.

With the Bears playoff hopes hanging in the balance, the offense’s hope rests on the strong shoulders of this rookie. Without him, they would be lost. The passing attack couldn’t consistently continue without the threat of Forte’s running, and Kevin Jones or Adrian Peterson would be a significant downgrade from the former Tulane star.

What I like most about Forte is that he continues to show his quality attitude. Not one time this season have a seen any hint of arrogance. He’s starting to gather comparisons to solid backs of the past, and each time shrugs it off.Continue Reading

Dec 9th 2008 10:00AM by JJ Cooper (author feed)
Filed under: Bears, Buccaneers, Colts, Cowboys, Dolphins, Eagles, Falcons, Jets, Panthers, Patriots, Steelers, VikingsBefore we know it, the NFL regular season is going to be done. Three more weeks and there will be no scenarios to map out and no hypotheticals to think through.

But for now, the Jets’ collapse and the Cowboys’, Bucs’, and Falcons’ losses make for a very jumbled playoff picture.

Here’s the short-hand version, with a chart to help.Continue Reading

Dec 7th 2008 2:00PM by Will Brinson (author feed)
Filed under: Bears, Jaguars, NFL Real TalkMatt Forte has had an incredible season already, piling up tons of yardage for the Chicago Bears and somehow making Kyle Orton’s return to glory seem less surprising, if only because of how competent and tough he’s been as a rookie.

And, less than a quarter into the Bears game against the Jaguars today, Forte broke Gale Sayers’ record for total yards from scrimmage by a Bears rookie. Sayers, of course, was a legend in the NFL and in 1965 piled up a pretty astounding 1,374 total yards from scrimmage as a rookie with Chicago.

He did that in 14 games, compiling 867 rushing yards and a beastly 507 receiving yards while finding the end zone a whopping 20 times that season.

Forte hasn’t had as much touchdown success (but that’s easy — just blame Lovie Smith if you need a scapegoat) but he has now broken Sayers record, and even more impressively, he’s done it in the same number of games. I point that out because often times these days, people like to question whether or not the extended schedules really make certain milestones worthy of being broken without utilizing the same number of games.

But that doesn’t apply to Forte, who, with this rookie year, has established himself as the likely steal of the 2008 NFL draft — certainly in terms of running backs drafted — and the future offensive cornerstone for the Bears franchise.