Monday, September 29, 2008

Just Enough


I put on my Bears pajamas and put in a bag a popcorn in a last effort to bring some luck for da team. After losing two games in a row after entering the forth quarter with the lead, the Bears made sure this wasn't going to be their third. They defeated the Eagles 24-20 in a game that seemed to include as much drama as anyone could ever expect out of a Bears v Eagles game. There were fumbles, interceptions, hard hits, sacs, a missed field goal, missed opportunities, and opportunities that were taken advantage. The Bears again almost let the Eagles through the door in the fourth quarter, but they were able to shut them down in the very crucial first and goal attempts by the Eagles that went nowhere. The Bears had just enough room to avoid a touchdown by the Eagles with a few minutes left in the game.

Now with a 2-2 record they are now back in their division and have a chance to make things right again. They are even with the Green Bay Packers who also have a 2-2 record.

A few things the Bears can improve on is a little more consistency by the offense. Kyle Orton and the Bears' offense got their first down in the second half at the start of the fourth quarter. The rest of the time it was either a fumble, interception, or a punt. Failed opportunities for the Bears offense almost again cost them the game as they made no response to Philadelphia's 6 points they scored after the half until Robbie Gould's field goal with 2:53 left to play in the game. The Bears also committed 4 turnovers two of them fumbles and two of them interceptions. Luckily for the Bears, the Eagles were unable to capitalize and I sure don't want to see when a team actually does. Consistency by the Bears' offense has to be met to keep the defense fresh, keep the opposing defense off balance, and add a couple points on the board. They played a lot better this game than the last game and I liked that they made two quick touchdowns on turnovers brought about by their defense, but they still have some work to do if they want to close games for good without shining any sign of hope for their opponents. As I said in my last blog- the goal for the Bears’ offense should be finishing the game.

MVP:

My MVP for the game would have to be Lance Briggs number 55. He came up with a lot of crucial big hits in the game and has been playing very well. He kept the Bears in the game and helped make that huge stop of the Eagles’ last effort to win the game.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Let's Prepare For A Win

Let's prepare for a win this time that sets the tone on how the Bears should play the rest of the season, hopefully with them getting progressively better. The Bears need to Finish the Game bottom line. The last two games they had in their pocket and the other team snatched them away from them. Just think about it. The Bears are 1-3. Imagine if they were 4-0- It's a huge difference because they would be in first place of their division. But since they are 1-2 this game will decide if the Bears will be at .500 or if they got a big hole to dig themselves out of with a 1-3 record. The Bears need to take advantage of their schedule and take out the opponents that they should beat. Down the road their current record could affect them if an injury were to happen or something of that magnitude takes a couple players out of a game that could make the difference.

Chances against the Eagles:

The Bears have to really get themselves together to defeat the Eagles. The Eagles are last in their division but they have 2 wins compared with 1 that the Bears have. Donovan McNabb is back and healthy and he is always a force to be reckoned with. The Bears' defense has to deal with him and Brian Westbrook. And the Bears' offense have to deal with a pretty good Philadelphia defense. Come to think of it the Bears are similar to the Eagles. They are known for their hard-nose defense and running the football.

It going to be tough but here is my prediction:

I can’t predict against the Bears so I’m going to say this is going to be a tough and interesting game that is going to be decided on whose defense can overmatch the other’s. I’ll predict a Bears win 20-17.

GO BEARS!!!

What Happened?


Unfortunately, my prediction for the game winning score turned the other way on me. Tampa Bay 27- Bears 24. The Bears had another win in their pockets but they threw it away just like last week. They had many opportunities to cash in on turnovers from the Buccaneers but they would always result in a lousy 3-point field goal. If the Bears expect to compete this season they need to get their head out of the water and wake up. There are only 16 games in a season and every game counts.

Now you may think I ‘m panicking just too early, but the Bears are just not playing to their full potential. If they were playing well and losing then it would be a different story. By and large the Bears are a lot more talented than they have presented so far this season- even when they were playing against the Colts.

Here are some stats: The Bears had 2 turnovers and the Bucs had 4. The Bears were ahead 24-14 in the fourth quarter and had more time of possession with the ball. It seems like from just a couple statistics that the Bears had the game- and they did, but they gave the Bucs a chance in the fourth quarter and they capitalized on it. The Bucs tied the game and made the game-winning field goal in overtime to steal the game. There is no excuse for losing this game.

Don’t get me wrong Tampa Bay is a solid team and deserve credit for coming back and winning in the road, but I know we have a better defense and our offense is about the same if not slightly better than the Bucs. The Bears defense should have got their way to getting to Griese since he is not a particular good runner and he wasn’t what he was a couple years ago. And the Bears offense should have earned their yards here and there against the Bucs’ pretty good defense- tallying on enough points for the defense to work with each quarter.

And another thing: What was with all the fighting between both teams in between plays? All this fighting built up and lead to Charles Tillman, Bears cornerback, giving 15 yards to the Bucs for the personal foul he committed which then contributed to the Bucs drive that lead to their game-winning point.

It’s disappointing to see the Bears scoring the first couple points in the beginning of their game and have the lead in the fourth quarter only to lose in OT in front of the fans. The Bears got to get their groove back before it starts to affect their psyche. They have the talent now they just have to show it on the field like we all know they can.---The Bottom line is Finish the game strong.

MVP:

My MVP for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is Brian Griese. He made the game-winning drive for the Buccaneers to come back and win against the Bears in overtime. My MVP for the Bears would have to be Brandon Lloyd. He's been having consistent games so far and he lead the team in total yards receiving while keeping them in the game.

GO BEARS!!!

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Funny How Things Come Around

As the Bears welcome the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Soldier Field they will have to face the "gun-slinging force" Bob Griese. --Wait a second that name sounds familiar. HHHHMMMMM. Ah now my memory is coming back to me. Ah yes now I remember.

It's funny how things come around in the NFL. Last season the Bears starting quarterback was Rex Grossman with Kyle Orton at third string and Brian Griese at second string.--There was that whole drama thing of who was going to be the starting quarterback and who deserves it and what not and now our third string quarterback from last year is the one who will be facing Brian Griese the former second string quarterback of the Chicago Bears. -The guy who if I remember correctly quarterbacked a good portion of last season and ended the season with the most passing yards on the team which was like 200 -not much if you ask me. Anyways it will be interesting to see both QBs face off as Orton shows off what he learned from Griese all those years he served as the official benchwarmer/beardy QB cheerleader.

Prediction:
My prediction for the game is Bears 27 Tampa Bay 10. I believe the Bears offense will do a lot better after their disappointing performance last Sunday. I believe this game will not be their best offensive performance but they will get better as the season progresses.

GO BEARS!!!

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Bears Fail to Respond Against Carolina

Bears 17 Carolina 20

After the first half the Bears seemed to be carrying all their momentum their way despite a Bear turnover by Greg Olsen that lead to a Carolina field goal. But the Bears offense that was doing so-so for a Bears' offense in the first half went completely flat and it was only their defense gave them any real chance to put points on the board. Without any key plays by the offense the Carolina Panthers came back with 17 unanswered points to defeat the Chicago Bears 17-20.

What lead to a Bears' loss?

The biggest problem for the Bears was obviously the offense. There were too many failed completions and key turnovers. Creating favorable field position was also a top contributor.

I lost count of how many times the wide receivers dropped the ball or just the quarterback, Kyle Orton, failed to connect with them. The Bears also had 2 turnovers, which I believe were key parts to the game. Right before those two fumbles by Greg Olsen the Bears offense seemed to be running very smoothly. The fumbles changed the rhythm of the offense and never gave them a chance to establish their will on Carolina and really punish them in the first half.

Finally, Brad Maynard, the punter, just didn't have his punting down. He usually averages 40 yards when punting the ball and his average in the game was about 35. Also his spiral on the ball that creates enough hang time for the Bears; special teams to reach the receiving team wasn't always there. This lead to large punt return yardage by Carolina and thus leading to unfavorable field position for the Bears' defense.

In order for the Bears to be successful in their upcoming games they need to do 2 things:

1: Hold onto the ball and reduce penalties

Like I said earlier those 2 fumbles could have been the difference in the game. During these drives the Bears were able to pick up decent yardage from Carolina. No doubt that they could have scored more points or at least prevented Carolina from scoring on the 2 turnovers that they did commit. The Bears also had 12 penalties totaling 85 yards. Penalties lead to yardage and yardage leads to points and time of possession. If the Bears can reduce penalties they can cut the opponents points down and give fewer breaks for the opposing offense to make long drives.

2: Orton needs to connect

Part of the failure for the wide receivers to connect was overthrown balls and throws that were dangerously close to the cornerbacks who were defending the wide receivers. So for the next game Orton needs to have just a little bit more accuracy in his throws.

Orton also needs to connect more often with his go-to-guy who he says is Rashied Davis. He needs to establish him as his go-to-man so that it will force the opposing team to really pay attention to him. If he can do this it will spread the opposing team's defense and create more opportunities for Orton to pass the ball to other receivers and keep the opposing team guessing. A lot of times in the game Marty Booker or Mark Bradley would enter the for one play and Orton would throw it to them every time. This seems to obvious. You got to keep the opponent guessing to the very end. If you get the opponent to think that 90% of the time you will throw it to Davis then you can switch up your plays and get other players involved to create havoc in the defense. Make the Bears' offense a little more interesting for Pete's sake.

I am confident that if Orton can make just a few more adjustments along with the rest of the offense they will come out with a win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. -You'll see.

MVP:

Jonathon Stewart of the Carolina Panthers is the MVP of the game he had 2 touchdowns which made the difference in the game. If I were to choose from the Bears side it would be Lance Briggs because of the huge hit he made on Panther's quarterback, Jake Delhomme.

GO BEARS!!!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Introduction to Da Blog

From this moment on the following blogs will provide coverage and analysis of team play and player performance of the Chicago Bears. My blog will cover anything and everything that deals with the Chicago Bears 2008-2009 season- on and off the field. I am a huge Bears fan and I have been watching the Bears and listening to them on the radio for quite some time. So I thought what better way to express my diehard loyalty for Da Bears then to provide a new voice for Bears fans. Now it will be tough but I hope you will find my blogs enjoyable.

So why read my blog?---My blogs will show the fans voice of Bears pride, hope, and criticism. Nowadays there seems to be an all-knowing sports news station that predicts world series winners and tells you who to pick on your fantasy sports team when in reality they only see the big picture. It is the team followers and sports fan's who live and die with teams that really know what is going on with their team and their potential.

So then you may ask “Why blog if there is sports talk radio to voice my opinion?” Here’s your answer: ask yourself how many times do opinionated callers get cut off because they do not agree with the radio host- a lot. Here is your chance to voice your opinion as I voice mine. Check out my blog to see my MVP of each game and every step Da Bears take towards the playoffs. Please leave comments I'd like to here what you think.

What if I am not a Bears fan? What’s in it for me?---Sure my blog only covers the Bears season, but you will be surprised how much you can relate to my blogs as they do more than cover the Bears in one aspect. You will find that my blogs entangle with the different phases that we go through in life: failure, success, hard work, friendship, optimism, etc. And as many sports fans know a sport’s season is a soap opera all in itself and does not go unheard of without something juicy happening. This blog will give you the idea of what it feels like from a fan's perspective which I hope you will find amusing Bears fan or not, sports fan or not.

GO BEARS!!!