ChicagoSportsBlogs : Non Compete

I found this on SportsFilter.com. It's Carson Palmer blogging about his injury. I think that's a pretty smart PR move. Especially after the doctor came out and said on a scale of 1-3 Palmer's injury was a 4. You know - I had to get that link from the Google cache. Isn't that strange? It's almost as if the Bengals contacted the AP or Yahoo and had them retract the story. It makes you wonder if in fact this is the PR department putting out a blog to calm the fans' fears about his injury. Hmm.

I like the attempt by the team to reach out to it's fans. Even if it is some intern writing each post, it's the type of coverage you don't expect to get from a normal media outlet. I really like the commercial at the end of the post for all the great people who made him comfortable during his ordeal. He didn't link to anyone explicitly. It's just a simple shout-out. Maybe I should start with the shout outs? I could make a little cash as I move the site over...

Shout out to the great people at Dunkin Donuts! You make my mornings way easier and my writing a little bit more lucid. Good Times indeed!

 

 

It has been a few weeks and a few post season football games since I've posted about the Bears. I'm going to kick into full gear in a few days and start covering some of the initial thoughts me and my pals here have had since the loss. Especially since the Tribune is stealing my thunder and writing about what the Bears need for next season. Specifically, they have an article covering Randle El and ties to this city. Randle El is definitely someone I would sign in free agency. Especially if he contributes at the level I think he will during Superbowl XL.

The opinion on what the Bears need to do in the upcoming draft is split. Most people look at the tight end position and see a glaring hole. Others look at a secondary that was torched by Steve Smith, and a safety core that is banged up with serious hip or knee injuries and expect a draft pick in those departments. I haven't really looked at the draft board yet, but I plan to this week. So hang around for a few days. Go soak up all that great DeadSpin coverage of hot girls hanging out with ballplayers. Which by the way - is that really all that shocking? I would think it would be more of a shock if they were hanging out with their hot wives, instead of the random hot girl at a bar. Right?

Back in 5.

Frank Thomas, my favorite slugger on a White Sox team since Greg Luzinski, has signed a 1-year deal with the Oakland A's. He was a constant malcontent on this team. Most people are going to write about the ups and downs we experienced with Frank. Not me. I've let all that go. I want to remember Frank as a great ballplayer. No more and no less. Frank was by far the biggest human being I had ever seen swing a bat since the Steroid Era in baseball. I take him at his word that he never had a need for the juice, the clear, or whatever horse pill guys like Big Mac were using. (allegedly, of course)

I'm not sad to see Frank go. He got his ring. He even contributed for an important stretch early in the year last season. Didn't it seem like he was just going to hit homer after homer when he returned from that ankle injury? It was amazing. It was Frank. Many people, including Frank, believe that the way he parted with the White Sox wasn't right. I think those people are wrong. Frank is leaving with a White Sox championship and a ton more respect than other former ballplayers in this town. I'll let you guess who I am talking about....

You can't deny the fact that it's not going to be the same watching The Big Hurt in that horrible A's uniform. I believe the reports from those Oakland doctors. I bet Frank is in super shape, and that ankle of his has finally healed. If that's the case, the A's will have themselves one of the best big league hitters this city has ever had the privilege to watch. In the end it won't matter if Frank is remembered for being cantankerous or being beloved. Good guys will always wear Black in my book.

Good luck Big Hurt.

I hope most of you have gone over to see what MikeJ predicted. I felt a bit left out, so I figured I would hurry up before the kick off of the first game and get my predictions in. I wish the Bears would have been in the mix - but it wasn't meant to be. So here goes:

I love the fact that Denver is at home. I love the fact that they will start with running the football before they look for the pass. Jake the Snake is not considered a top tier QB. Even though this guy made the Pro Bowl this year (yes, as an alternate) people still think he is the same guy who threw 100 interceptions with Arizona. He's not. I take Denver at home in this one. Sorry Pittsburgh, I really wanted to see you guys in the big game. Especially since I want the Bus to get his ring. But there is no denying Mike Shannahan. Denver wins this one 24-17.

In the second game I need to temper my feelings a bit. I hate Carolina for beating the Bears. I hate the Seahawks because I have a good friend that is harping about this team non stop. I wish the Bears would be going to Seattle to prove my point that this team is overrated, and that their quarterback isn't the real deal. Shaun Alexander is the real deal - at least in the regular season. Seattle in the Superbowl? I think not. I'm taking John Fox and his merry men from Carolina. They win this game on the road and they do it in the same fashion they did it against the Bears. Carolina takes it to them, on the road, and joins Denver in the Superbowl. Carolina wins this one 34-21.

That's it. Denver and Carolina in Detroit. Book it.

Update
Boy did I get those games wrong. Well, at least Pittsburgh is making it to the show. I really did want them to win, I just didn't think they had another road win in them. I repeat: I was dead wrong. The second game isn't over, technically - but it is 34-7. Steve Smith just caught his 3rd ball of the game. You think coach Rivera was watching this game? How about it Lovie? You think maybe we should have made some adjustments to beat these guys? Other than Steve Smith, there is no one on this team that scares me. FACT. Congrats to Seattle and the Steelers.

I took a few days off from posting after the loss to Carolina on Sunday. Mostly because I was depressed. What a crappy game if you are a Bears fan. Did anyone in the audience think it would be the defense that would have let us down? I couldn't even imagine the defense playing as poorly as they did. I am not disappointed in the overall effort the Bears gave this season, but I am disappointed in our effort on Sunday. I am especially looking to blame the coaching staff. I want Lovie and Ron Rivera to explain to me how we can't stop a single wide receiver? I don't mean to take anything away from Steve Smith, or that great quarterback Jake Delhomme, but where is the double coverage? Where is the triple coverage? Peanut Tillman was roasted in this game. Talk about ignoring what's going on in a game. After a single half of football, Steve Smith had already accumulated over a thousand yards and a touchdown. Didn't it seem that way? He was running all over the field. I don't think anyone ever put their hands on him. You do still have 5 yards to jam a guy don't you? I guess being physical on him isn't a good strategy. We'll never know.

The funny thing is, we found out how young our team really is. Both on the field and off it. Our coaching staff tried very hard to find a  silver lining in this loss. The best they could muster was that we won the division. Yes, this is a good accomplishment, but to have a week off and lose on your own home field is embarrassing. Kudos to Carolina for out coaching us, out playing us and out defending the Bears. They beat us at our own game. I wanted to say it was our young quarterback that cost us the game, but Grossman had nothing to do with it. If the coaching staff would have started with a strong run game, and stuck to it, we might not have watched Grossman start 2 of 15. That's confidence building at it's best Ron Turner.

It was a fun season watching this defense play. There are more questions today than there were when the season started. We're not going to get into that until the foul taste of this loss wears off. Thanks for sticking around for this years Bears coverage. It was our first time covering the playoffs. Hopefully, we get a chance to do it again next year. Bear Down (on your vacation)

I am about to have a heart attack. This first half is clearly the worst half of football the Bears defense has played. Urlacher not withstanding. I don't have much time to go over the particulars. I'll save that for the end of the game. It's 16-7 and we are down.

Here are the things we need to do to stop Carolina and win this game:

1. The play calling sucks on the offensive side. Grossman is rusty and he wasn't eased into it. Where the hell is the running game? Run the damn ball.

2. Everyone is slipping and falling down on the horrible dirt turf at Soldier Field. We need to either find a way to grow grass in January or these guys need to come out to the actual stadium to practice with some real cleats. Seriously, change your cleats at the half. Enough will the falling down!!!

3. Peanut can't cover Steve Smith. Stop putting him in single coverage. Stop him with double coverage. Hell, triple team him if you have to. STOP HIM already. I suggest moving Vasher over there. Tillman is going to have nightmares after this game is over.

It's game time. Grossman looks bad, and it's not entirely his fault. Let's open it up, and let's block for our running backs. Specifically, give the ball to Jones.

Well, the day has arrived. I sit here early this morning watching the Eastern Sports Network talk about what an amazing performance the Seahawks put forth yesterday against the Redskins. Amazing? Ok, I'll admit it was amazing to see Matt Hasselback carry his team to victory after losing the Shaun Alexander. I still don't classify this win as amazing. It was the Redskins. They were the worst team in this year's playoffs. They scored their points the previous week by preying on a young quarterback with a strong defensive effort. I'm sorry, but Mark Brunnel is finished. 

Hold that thought -- The Colts are about to be evicted from the playoffs. What a pick by Troy Polamalu with a little over 5 minutes to go. The Colts have been man handled today by the Steelers. Credit goes to Bill Cowher and the Steelers coaching staff for going the extra mile and punching the Colts in the mouth from jump.

Back to my original point: The Bears. We are about a half hour away from seeing our very own Chicago Bears, with an inexperienced QB, face off in a home playoff game for the first time since 2001. I have seen mixed reviews on this game. I have read a ton about how the Bears defense is good, but not good enough to repeat their performance on Jake Delhomme (from the regular season high of 8 sacks). I'm nervous - but I'm confident that the Bears are going to take it to them. I'm picking the Bears to win this game 21-14. Plan your trip to Seattle.

One more thing - The Colts just got the best bit of home cooking I have ever seen. Polamalu's interception was ruled incomplete after a video replay. That's the worst call I have ever seen. Not since the Raiders were robbed by the infamous “forward motion” call. The colts just scored. They're going for 2. It's 21-16 Steelers. I'd like to remind everyone at home watching this game - that this ISN'T Dancing with the Stars. You don't go to replay to judge a play.

Anyway, as we watch the Colts steal a victory here - I'm putting on my Bears jersey in great anticipation of an ass-kicking. GO BEARS.

 

Our road to the Superbowl is going to be a struggle. I bet you thought we got off easy with a first round bye. Sure, the extra time will heal the wounded on the team. It will also give us a chance to prepare for a specific team after already spending a week working out the fundamentals in the playbook. Carolina man handled the Giants this afternoon. Are we lucky that it's Carolina who comes calling again? The answer is obvious. You need only look at the predictions across the city newspapers to see no one wanted to see Carolina back in Chicago. It wasn't a coincidence that everyone picked the Giants or the Bucs to come in their place. They both have something in common. Weak offenses that are lead by inexperienced quarterbacks. Does that sound familiar?

The Panthers got the team I was hoping the Bears would get. That was after the Bucs decided to crap the bed against the Redskins removing them from the top of my list. Both the Panthers and the Redskins got teams that performed at about the level I expected. It is a shame that the Bears won't get a chance to beat up on them. What makes it worse is that the Panthers defense isn't that much different from the Bears defense. I can hear the roar now, “Grossman isn't Eli Manning”. Is that a good or a bad thing?

Manning in his first playoff game as a rookie threw Kyle Orton-esque picks. I expect Grossman not to go down field as much, because I don't think the Bears will have to come from behind. The game should be close, and unlike the Giants, the Bears will score. There is a week of analysis ahead of us. You're going to be reading a lot about playing with a revenge factor, how hard it is to beat a team twice, and how the Bears have a defense that pounded the crap out of Delhomme. It's going to be fun. Stay tuned for my plan to get the Bears to the Superbowl. Yes, that's right. The Superbowl. We aren't playing Madden either. It's for real.

Bear Down

Like the Bears this week, I took the week off to prepare for our first playoff game. You can't hate me for that. You could have crossed over to see MikeJ's predictions (which are dead on so far). We saw a lot of pretty nasty football last night. The Patriots took it to the Jaguars with a solid defensive effort. The Jags are a good team, but I just don't think all the pieces are in place for them. I wouldn't be surprised if a few tweaks here and there (like a new running game) get them over the hump. The Patriots on the other hand seem to have dusted off the playbook from their previous playoff runs. Good Morning Colts fans, the Pats aren't going away without visiting you first.

The early game was the game Bears fans should care about. The Bucs would have been a great team to send to Chicago. There are obvious reasons why. First, they have a rookie quarterback. Secondly, they can't win in the cold. Since, I am not a weather man I'm not going to dig into this one any further. Lastly, we beat them in Tampa. I think the game would have been fun to watch because they do struggle on offense as much as we do. They only scored 10 points last night. The Redskins are good, and I really hate admitting it because it reminds me of being 10 years old again. Our history with the Redskins isn't good news. What is good news, is that the Redskins go to Seattle. This leaves the Bears fans in the stands watching today's game with great interest. We have the Giants and Carolina. I know many people think that we can take Carolina if they come to Chicago again, and I tend to agree with them - to a point. Personally, I think we were rooting for the wrong rookie quarterback to come face our #1 defense. I think it's going to be Manning. So I'm picking the Giants to visit us in Chicago next week.

On to better news.....

Congrats go to Coach Lovie Smith and to Brian Urlacher for winning the coach of the year, and defensive player of the year respectively. I won't expound on how people got these two awards right. I won't even start the debate on whether or not coach Dungy should have won this award instead of Lovie. Instead I will say that coach Smith has done such a good job that I have (what I think) given him his own post. It's not up yet, but next post will be the Lovie Love Fest. As for Mr. Urlacher, I want to make sure people understand how big of a deal this is. When my brother and I grew up our hero on the offensive side of the ball was Walter Payton. The defensive equivalent was Mike Singletary. Samurai Mike was a good role model for little boys who wanted to grow up tough. He is still considered a god amongst men in this town. I believe it's official now that we can add Brian Urlacher's name to that list. It's good for this town and it's good for this team to have a man who gives 150% and leads with such purpose. Oh, and he can hit the living crap out of you if you come across the middle. Beware Urlacher Giants fans. Tiki ain't going anywhere. But that's for another week.

Predictions for today: Giants and Steelers! (rejoice Pittsburgh fans - you're going to make life hell next week)

Happy New Year everyone! I just got back from some late night festivities, and my head is pounding. Let's hope Brad Johnson feels that way after today's game. From the looks of the massive hit Alex Brown just laid on him, I have no doubt he'll be asking for pain killers. Lovie Smith decides to rest the majority of our play makers today, even deciding to start Kyle Orton instead of Grossman. I'm glad that people remember Grossman's injury prone on the fake stuff. I hope Thomas Jones gets a chance to run for an early touchdown, and then gets yanked for Adrian Peterson. So let's touch on the things I expect to see today from the second string: 1. Adrian Peterson! I think it will be nice to see him tear up the Vikings defense. He is more than capable to handle the carries. Let Jones get his 1300 yards, and then yank him for Peterson. I don't expect to see Cedric... 2. Speaking of Cedric, I'd like to see him stop being a pansy. I know the knee feels wobbly - but it's been 7 weeks. It wasn't a tear and he already has made a career out of not playing. It's time to see what the rookie can do. Especially if we are to believe he is our future. 3. Kyle Orton should get the chance to run the full playbook. Let's open it up Coach Turner! No more coddling. Let's see some...Razzle Dazzle...oh wait - they just faked a punt to Peterson. STRONG WORK. I love it. 4. No game is meaningless. This is a Vikings team that will go through a lot of changes next year. I don't expect to see Tice with a job after today. Tice really is a dead man walking. He shouldn't surprise us with anything spectacular since I don't believe his team has been playing very hard for him. Sure, Johnson's addition was great for a few weeks (and a win streak) but ultimately Tice lost this team after week 1. Take this as an opportunity. We need to make a statement against the division here. Beat the Vikings and beat them bad. It's time to let the rest of these division rivals know it's going to be tough to take 1st place away from us. Do it on their plastic field and enjoy it. 5. I expect to see the defense stay competitive. We might not be playing everyone on the A list, but I expect Chris Harris and Mike Green and the rest of these backups to protect the defense's reputation. Go after the quarterback and make him think twice about throwing down field. Stop the run, and don't let them look like Pro Bowlers against us. I think our defense is deep. Dallas, Tampa Bay, and Washington are all watching this game. Show them that it doesn't matter who is starting on D. They can't beat us. We're just too good at every position. Finally - Block a kick from Edinger. I would love to see this happen. Edinger seems to kick like he is blind when the Bears are anywhere near him. Whether indoors, outdoors, in a Bears uniform, or a Vikings uniform - for some reason we are his rash. Just stick it to him once with a block. It will make Angello smile up in the booth to know he made the right decision. That's it! Happy New Year. Stick close to ChicagoSplogs.com and our new home ChicagoSportsBlogs.com. We will be moving the site over to a new hosting provider as well as to our real domain name. After carrying this site on my own for a little over 2 years, I am adding some help (MikeJ) and will be bringing the thunder to cover the road to the SuperBowl for the Bears. That's right ladies and gentlemen, it's time to plan another victory parade. Bear Down and Happy New Year