SB Nation - Devin Aromashodu

Notes, Scribbles, and Things Jotted Down: Ravens Edition

Dane Noble — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 13:32:40 -0000

There's no way to spin the math... the Chicago Bears have lost eight of their last ten games, and their last three wins have come against the Rams, Browns, and Lions. Ouch.

Up next, we have the Vikings, who were manhandled by the Panthers last night. I do know that Lovie Smith has never been swept by the Packers and Vikes in the same year, but I'll have to go back and see the last time it happened at all for the Bears. Something tells me it's been quite a while.

- Danieal Manning looks really fast when returning kickoffs. He also seems like he could be very shifty, but has a straight-ahead approach to his returns.

- Chicago's first 2 offensive possessions: INTs; Baltimore's first 2 possessions: TDs. Hard to compete when that happens so early.

- Hunter Hillenmeyer tries really hard at MLB, but has no business being a starter in the NFL.

- Ray Rice is good.

- Matt Forte ran hard yesterday... feet were churning, shoulder dropped low. Looked pretty good.

- Our OL looked pretty damn improved yesterday. Don't read that as a compliment, because they still were bad, but they looked better than usual. Chris Williams will be a great LT, and I am curious at how Frank Omiyale will do at RT next season.

- The Bears really want to get the ball into Greg Olsen's hands, from fade routes in the end zone, to quick hits after he's lined up in the back field. I'd like to see him either in the slot or split wide in some 4WR sets. Put Cutler in shotgun, and run a hurry-up offense.

- Also on Olsen, he loves to ask for pas interference calls.

- Speaking of our QB, his back-footed throws look awful. Even when there's no pressure, he tends to throw off his back foot. That is a coaching thing.

- Another missed FG by a Bears opponent... I need to check on the numbers of the last few years on the frequency of that. Something tells me we are near the top of the NFL in that category.

- Penalties were finally not a factor against the Bears this week. Unfortunately, turnovers were.

- Tough to hear about Ogunleye's leg. I wonder what his future with the Bears will hold? Tommie is lobbying for the Bears to keep him.

- Devin Aromashodu was targeted 10 times yesterday. He caught 2 passes.

- Tim Shaw is a beast.

- Brett Favre refused to be pulled by Brad Childress yesterday. LOL.

- What did y'all notice in yesterday's game?

Week 15 Preview: Bears (5-8) @ Ravens (7-6)

SackMan — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:00:26 -0000

More photos » by Nam Y. Huh - AP

Hey, wait a second... that's the wrong Devin!

Browse more photos »

Lovie Smith, Ron Turner and Co. escape from the Chicago microscope for one weekend and head to Baltimore. The Ravens are a team fighting for a wild card birth, but the only wild card on the Bears is: which player will throw the coaching staff under the bus next? 3:15pm CT on FOX.

Week 14 Recap

The Ravens played host to the Lions last week... who were more than gracious guests, as they brought plenty of party gifts for the holidays. Detroit hand wrapped a 48-3 victory for their hosts, allowing the Ravens to score 6 TDs... including a 59 yard TD run by Ray Rice, and a 62 yard TD reception by Derrick Mason. Nearly all of the damage was done on the ground, as Baltimore racked up an incredible 308 yards rushing (I loved every bit of it, as I had Ray Rice in my fantasy lineup... and McGahee on my bench).

The Bears put themselves in a position to play spoiler and beat Green Bay at home, but ultimately fell short in a 21-14 loss. The highlights of the day were 13 penalties, two timeouts wasted on one lost challenge, and a team leading 8 catches and 1 TD for Devin Aromashodu... who basically wasn't allowed onto the field all season prior to this game. The long list of penalties, repeated mis-communication issues, bizarre coaching decisions and poor clock management have become a staple of the Chicago Bears 2009 season.

Quick Numbers:

3: Consecutive seasons without a playoff birth for the Bears
10: Million dollars remaining on Lovie Smith's contract through 2011.
2: Active roster game days for the Bears top draft pick, DL Jarron Gilbert
0: Active roster game days for the Bears 2nd highest draft pick, WR Juaquin Iglesias

Key Injuries:

CHI HC Lovie Smith (bruised ego) P
CHI LT Orlando Pace (way too old) Q
CHI DE Gaines Adams (missing in action) P

BAL - Half the roster is listed as questionable, most noteworthy are

S Ed Reed (hip/foot)
WR Derrick Mason (finger)
LB Terrell Suggs (knee)

When the Ravens have the ball.
The Ravens are a little similar to the Bears, in that they've been looking for a QB for forever, and finally got one in Joe Flacco. They also don't have a WR who's really worth a crap on their entire roster. However, this team can run the ball with the best of them. The Ravens are averaging 4.6 ypc, and have 19 rushing TDs. In comparison, the Bears are averaging 3.4 and how a lowly 6 TDs on the ground. RB Ray Rice is the center piece of the whole offense... leading the team in both rushing and receptions (ala Matt Forte version 2008). And, Willis McGahee vultures many of Rice's TDs in the red zone. When Flacco's looking anywhere but Rice's direction, he finds trusty veteran WR Derrick Mason, who wasn't even going to play this season, save for a last minute decision to push off retirement.

The key match-up for the Ravens: RB Ray Rice vs MLB Hunter Hillenmeyer
Rice is the Ravens #1 receiving option, and Hunter will have to shadow him in pass coverage all day. Considering that Hunter couldn't keep up with TEs during his career on the strong side, this should be interesting to say the least. Maybe Hunter can slow him down with savvy investment talk.

The X factor on offense for the Ravens: WR Mark Clayton
No... this isn't Dan Marino's Mark Clayton, but considering Derrick Mason's age, that wouldn't be impossible. Clayton is the Ravens best deep threat, and with the Bears atrocious safety combo, deep route runners are always a problem.

When the Bears have the ball.
In between the finger pointing from the players to the coaching staff, the offense will actually be be asked to run some plays as well. Perhaps this is the week that Cutler says "F" it, and starts calling his own plays in the huddle. Anything would be an improvement at this point. Will Devin Aromoshodu see continued action, after his career game last week? Or will he return back to his seat on the bench? Will some more changes happen on the offensive line? Or will the coaching staff stick to the crappy status quo? Sadly, these are the things we have to look forward to on Sunday.

The key match-up for the Bears: LT Chris Williams vs DE Trevor Pryce and OLB Jarret Johnson
All eyes are on Chris Williams, as we watch to see if he's really our LT of the future. Pryce and Johnson each have 6 sacks on the year, and should provide a decent test for the young tackle.

The X Factor on offense for the Bears: Contract Incentives
Who's got bonuses to make? Who's looking forward to testing the FA market? We'll see on Sunday.

Side notes from the NFC North:

The Bears season is lost, but the Vikings and Packers are fighting it out for the division crown, and both are likely to make the playoffs. That's sickening to me. I'll just leave it at there.

It's all about perspective: Emerging stars, big changes, and key decisions

Dane Noble — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:23:11 -0000

More photos » by Elaine Thompson - AP

Browse more photos »

As is all the buzz in the media this week, Devin Aromashodu made the most of his playing time this past Sunday against the Packers, but we need to be careful with our evaluations and opinions of him right now. He did look good, but should we be proclaiming him the Next Big Thing in Chicago?

Let's take a moment to go back in time a few years, November 2004 specifically, and take a look at the Dallas Cowboys. Their first 9 games saw a troublesome rushing attack, with guys like Eddie George, ReShard Lee, and Richie Anderson struggling to rack up any yards or TDs for the Cowboys. Then, enter Julius Jones.

In his NFL debut against the Ravens, he rushed for 81 yards, the second highest rushing effort on the year for the Cowboys. The next week, against Chicago, he exploded for 150 yards and 2 TDs, then followed that performance up against Seattle with 198 yards and 3 TDs.

Thus, a legend was born... at least to the media and the local fans. Jones finished 2004 with 819 yards and 7 TDs, all in 8 games. I remember thinking how, after his first 3 or 4 games, folks were ready to put him into the Hall of Fame. Based on a few games.

But, we all know how this story would take a turn. Jones only rushed for more than 1,000 yards once in any season after that, and his TD total went from 7 his debut season, to 5 the next year... and has never had more than 2 in a season since. Not exactly HOF worthy numbers.

So, my point in all of this, let us not (fans or media) lose perspective on Devin Aromashodu. Let's not decide that he will suddenly be The Guy, that he is the true WR that Cutler has been needing, that Hester, Knox, or Bennett should be knocked down a peg to make room for a guy who has spent nearly his entire NFL career on the Practice Squad.

How about we just wait and see.

On to other news, I've found a couple of articles from 'round the web...

First, #23 talks about all the changes that are coming for the Bears, both in the player ranks and "other areas".

And next, a very good article from Mike Mulligan on who really makes the big decisions for the Bears.

Have fun!

Stopping The Steelers On Third Down

Brandon — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:00:37 -0000

by Mark Duncan - AP

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) is sacked for a loss by Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Corey Williams in the first quarter of an NFL football game Thursday, Dec. 10, 2009, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan) The former Packer had 2 sacks against the Steelers, which doubled his sack total (4) for the season.

View full size photo »

From Tom Pelissero's tape review, about the Green Bay Packers new Psycho defense (1 lineman, 5 LBs, 5 DBs):

In all, DC Dom Capers ran "psycho" six times, all on third down, and the Bears converted only one — a 19-yard strike from Cutler to WR Devin Aromashodu a tick before a trio including Jenkins got home.

DE Cullen Jenkins was the one remaining lineman, and he was the most effective player in the Psycho package. But, as Football Outsiders pointed out, QB Jay Cutler was usually in a bind on 3rd down because of their struggles on 1st and 2nd down:

As a sign of how effective Matt Forte and the Bears' offensive line were on Sunday, here's the number of yards Cutler had to pick up to convert on third down, listed chronologically: 21, 8, 18, 9, 12, 1, 5, 10, 22, 11. That's an average of 11.7 yards to go; the average quarterback needs to gain an average of 7.7 yards on third down to get a new set to work with.

Overall the Bears were 5 of 13 on 3rd down, so they were a respectable 4 of 7 on 3rd down when the Packers were not in the Psycho package. That might be an indication that the Packers are not good on 3rd down in a base package, or that they only used the Psycho package on 3rd and very long. The Packers' opponents have only converted 34.7% of their 3rd down chances this season, which is currently 6th best in the NFL.

For the season, the Steelers are about league average on 3rd down, converting 38.1% of the time, but 3rd down was a disaster for them last week against the Browns. Again, from Football Outsiders:

How do you score six points in 60 minutes against the Browns? Drop back 11 times on third down and convert exactly one of them. Roethlisberger even failed to complete a pass on the first nine of those attempts, taking five sacks and throwing four incompletions.

I thought that maybe the Steelers were putting themselves into a lot of 3rd and long situations, but in the first half against against the Browns, the Steelers failed to convert on 3rd and 1, 3, 1, 7, 5, and 19. I didn't even look at the second half because the first half showed that they had a lot of 3rd and short opportunities on which they failed to pick up a 1st down.

John Harris of the Tribune-Review points out that the Steelers were able to convert on 3rd down when they ran the ball, but on their current 5 game losing streak, they have only converted on 3rd down between 20% to 38% of the time. So that's converting only 28% of their 3rd down chances over their last 5 games.

There seems to be a lot going wrong for the Steelers on offense at the moment.

Looking for the Brightside: Week 14

Sklz711 — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 01:00:15 -0000

by Nam Y. Huh - AP

View full size photo »

Let's face it, this was not a good week to be a Bears fan. Nothing burns worse than a loss to a rival at home. I'd honestly go as far to say as the loss in the Super Bowl actually didn't burn as much even with the epic failure that existed in that game. There is just something that crawls up your throat when you see the Packers raising their hands in victory at Soldier Field. Enough negativity though, follow me below the fold while we look for the few rays of sunshine on that dark dark day.

We have the deepest and most promising group of WR outside of Arizona, Denver, and possibly Indy.

It's really amazing the amount of hate this heaped upon our wide receivers on a consistent basis.

We have Devin Hester, who a vocal minority of people were happy to see out of the game against Green Bay, previously on pace to be a top 15 wide receiver in the league. That's something he was accomplishing when what makes him special, his deep threat speed, was taken away by the lack of ability of our offensive line to allow deep plays to develop. To make up for this you've seen Hester really start showing a more complete game including better hands, better route running, more willingness to go over the middle, and catching the ball in traffic. For someone in only his second year at the position at any level, his progression is amazing.

Johnny Knox has been nothing short of phenomenal in this his rookie year which is a notoriously tough adjustment. He's looked great since the start of training camp, doing a great job catching just about anything thrown in his direction. He has also showed a great sense of the game by knowing when and how to bump DB's to create separation without getting flagged, as well as causing contact the other way to get the flags thrown on the other guy. He's floating around between the third and fifth best rookie WR in the league in a draft that was filled with quality WR. Right now the only people I have ranked over him are Maclin, Harvin, and Collie, and I think Knox has a lot more going for him than any of those three. He's shown himself to have elite speed and now really just needs to work on the timing and routes that come with time and experience. This guy has star written all over him.

Earl Bennett is finally seeing the field after experiencing a bit of DMS the first year from trying to learn all three WR positions in a single off season. He's really stepped it up in becoming a reliable possession receiver coming out of his slot, and his sure hands are a massively welcome change from the Droppapotamus that used to be in his position. Sitting pretty at 4th in receptions for all second year wide receivers you can expect the Vanderbilt connection to get even stronger once opposing defenses are forced to spread out and respect the deep ball more opening up the intermediate game for this great player to work.

Finally Devin Aromashodu has received the chance to showcase his abilities in the big show, and I for one couldn't be happier for him. Standing at six foot two inches he is one of the Bears tallest receiving threats, and having spent three seasons in the league he has more NFL WR receiver experience than anyone else at the position and it shows on the field. He has a great grasp of his routes and where he is supposed to be on any given play. He seems to give a ton of effort and makes the tough catches when it counts. Another diamond in the rough finally get his shot to shine, and he'll get a chance to be a diamond amongst gems on this great WR corps.

In this game we got to see Aromashodu and Knox both score a touchdown and look good the majority of the game, with a few miscues and wrong routes marring what was otherwise a superb performance by both men. The thing to take away from this game isn't that Hester is a bad WR and that's why DA could just immediately fill in, but that all of our WR are good now, and they are all getting better every game.

Even being under constant fire, Jay Cutler hasn't forgotten how to use his legs.

We finally got a chance to see Cutler get flushed out of the pocket in the game, and he took the opportunity to run up field for an extremely good looking 20+ yard scramble. Now, I know you're saying two different things to this, the first being why doesn't he do this all the time? Even on a QB scramble there has to be some kind of blocking and protection to get flushed out instead of crushed down. Most of the time when the pocket collapses for us this year it's much like a bubble that has been popped than a can that is slowly being crushed. With all of the stories about Cutler looking bad under the constant pressure it was really a relief to see that being shell shocked hasn't affected his confidence when it comes to his scrambling ability for a long first down. The second thing you're going to say is that it got called back. It may have been called back, but at the end of the day it showed me something I'd really been wanting to see from Jay so whether or not we got the first down is irrelevant to Jay's scrambling ability.

A lot of the issues that we have on offense can be fixed by next year.

For all the issues we have on offense we are in a pretty great lynch pin scenario. It can be argued that are problems stem from only two spots on offense, coaching and the offensive line. Since coaching salary doesn't apply to any cap or draft considerations that should be extremely fixable, and should be fixed this off-season. Better play calling, better talent evaluation, and ultimately better performance from parts that we already have would go a long way to fixing this offense.

The offensive line is the elephant in the room on this one, but we're really in a great position as long as you believe in Chris Williams, CDub, is the future at the LT position. I think he's looked pretty damn good in his first two appearances at LT, and as long as he continues to improve the penalties should decrease as the comfort level increases.

So if we have CDub holding down the LT position, a left guard position that needs filled, a center position that will likely be a great fit for Beekman, a RG position that should be okay with Garza for one more year, and a RT position that will likely either end up with someone new or Omiyale/Shaffer at the spot.

You can consider me one of the many that hopes Omiyale either does very well at RT or gets cut, and you can also count me amongst those that thing Shaffer hasn't been very good. However, even if both are awful and neither are better than a back up last year we should be able to find at least one quality lineman in the third and fourth round next year. Interior lineman are like the fruit and nut caramels in the Russel Stovers box. Sure they are okay, and they are caramel, but if you really want caramel your're going for the butter creme first. Fantastic interior lineman usually barely get into the second round, and usually fall to the third meaning we should have second or third pick at LG, or RT whichever we deem a more pressing concern and possibly our 5th or 6th pick at the other position in the 4th round.

That's not a guarantee of line supremacy next year, but it's really not that hard to imagine a vastly improved line with only these two second day picks to our name. Our offensive rebirth starts right here though, and if we can really improve the line then everything else is going to fall into place very quickly. Better protection means more time for Cutler to throw, more time for Cutler to throw means deep routes that our current #1 and #2 are unmatched in tandem at., more deep routes means less crowding the box and more Safety help coming out of the middle, that leads to the middle opening up for the slot and TE, and with the LB keeping an eye out on the slot and TE it frees up gaps in the run game and that's all she wrote.

We're just not that far away from being an offensive force, it's like we have all the game pieces but someone broke the board in half. Hopefully we can break the draft board in half this off season and grab what we need to show the league who the hell we are next season.

Poll

Will a coaching change and a revamped offensive line be enough to put the Bears offense in the top 5 next year?

Hey Lovie, looks like Devin Aromashodu showed you

Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:00:19 -0000

by Nam Y. Huh - AP

View full size photo »

Is week 14 really the time to discover this "new" player? Only after being the surprise of training camp and the OTA's, after getting his name mentioned in nearly every interview by nearly every offensive player or coach in preseason, after winning the #3 WR job before week 1 (only to have an injury setback give Johnny Knox a chance), after Jay Cutler continually mentioning him as a guy that he'd like to see get some more snaps in recent weeks, and after Devin Hester is inactive for the game, does Devin Aromashodu finally get some extended playing time. D.A. was targeted 12 times, making 8 grabs for 76 yards and a TD, a really athletic TD.

At first I thought Cutler was just targeting D.A. so often to make a point, but then I realized he was getting open. He was running good routes and he was making good catches. After spending time in the Colts system, it makes sense that he'd be the most polished WR on the team. And it took until game 13 and an injury to Hester to get him on the field for more than a token snap or two. Sad...

After Kahlil Bell was elevated from the practice squad and had that storybook debut run, word from the coaches was that he always looked good in practice, but you never know until you get on the big stage. And you'll never know if you don't have the cojones to get said player on the big stage. Can Jarron Gilbert or Gaines Adams be any worse then what the Bears are putting out there on the D-Line now? Get them some extended time. It's not like you have Dan Hampton manning the trenches, get some new blood in there. Did the Corey Graham to free safety experiment go so horribly wrong that is just ended without any game time?

I'm not lauding Aromashodu as the second coming of Marcus Robinson... I'm just saying that the kid should have been given an opportunity. The Packers did seem to make more of an effort in locating D.A. as the game wore on, but Johnny Knox was able to have a career day. Two career days for two Bears receivers, who'd a thunk it?

Notes, Scribbles, and Things Jotted Down: Rams Edition

Dane Noble — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 14:21:09 -0000

More photos » by M. Spencer Green - AP

Browse more photos »

The Chicago Bears are an ideal example of how a team will perform when it has no offensive line. There is talent at the other positions on offense- enough to be able to do some damage- but it all starts in the trenches.

Also, there are plenty of folks who like to hate Jay Cutler. From the media constantly showing replays that cast him in an unfortunate light, to random people who aren't even Bears or Broncos fans. They like to root against the guy, because he doesn't fit the mold that they believe a QB should fit in.

- Opening kickoff return: Did Rashied Davis show good hands by being able to regain control of the ball he bobbled, or was it bad hands for bobbling it in the first place? I say the former... simply because there hasn't been many times we could say "Nice hands Rashied!"

- Matt Forte fumbled on the second play from scrimmage, but came back on the next drive and scored a TD. Does the TD make up for the fumble? Maybe in some circumstances, but not last night.

- Say what you will about Bob Babich, but to have all 3 starting LBs go down with an injury and have the backups fill in the way Jamar Williams and Nick Roach did, he must be doing something right. Those guys looked damn good last night. Honorable mention to Hunter Hillenmeyer: He looks like he tried.

- Devin Hester is a much better WR this year than in 2008, and hopefully he'll keep progressing at that same rate next year. He seemed to play more aggressively last night, and showed great hands.

- Devin Aromashodu has got to step up when called on. You can't follow a big play like the one to Hester with a friggin' easy drop. Definitely needs more live reps.

- Johnny Knox also showed flashes of aggressiveness, especially when he drew the pass interference call against the Rams in the end zone in Q1.

- New turf: Forte falls.

- Kahlil Bell saw action early in the game. Typically when the coaches want to spell Forte, we see the backup later in the game. I guess because Bell broke that one run that one time, he's going to be considered a compliment to Forte now.

- Rams 3rd down/1 yard: Converted. I told the guy next to me at the bar that the Bears have been terrible on getting off the field on 3rd down this year. 3 plays later: 3rd/ 4... QB sack! That's how you do it.

- Not a good night for special teams. Maynard's shanks, two penalties, allowing long returns...

- Everydamnthing is fantasy football related in the sports bars. I went to a different spot than usual, but the same old same old. FF makes everyone experts. And I hate seeing people go from television to television rooting for different offensive players from each team. Just like a couple weeks ago, when Forte scored, I heard some folks start cheering. I thought they might be Bears fans. Nope.

- I didn't have sound, but it really seemed like the Bears didn't have their shiat together at the end of the first half. I mean, we had sixty something seconds to try and at least get in FG range... why didn't we try anything downfield?

- On my note sheet, I now have a tally section for each time an OLineman gets toasted. Why? Because some people seem to have different opinions of the OL than I do. And this was just watching the game live... I'm sure I missed plenty of others: Kreutz: III, Shaffer: IIII, Omiyale: II, CWill: II, Garza: I

- Turner loves pulling Omiyale, and I see why. The guy can move pretty well.

- The Bears defense looked great against a bad offense.

- Chris Williams will make a very good LT for us next year.

Chicago MSM and Cutler

ChiFan13 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:30:11 -0000

This is something that's been on my mind for a while.

Usually, I collect Den articles throughout the day. This morning, I was checking my usual sources when I ran across this article from Rick Telander in the Chicago Sun-Times. The title? "Word of caution for Cutler: Don't make media your enemy." Essentially, Telander rips Cutler for him, Lovie, and Angelo not talking to NBC prior to their Sunday night game. Instead of finding out first-hand why they aren't talking to the media giant, Telander places all the blame on Cutler.

I don't blame Cutler for not talking to NBC. Not in the damn least. If you read Cutler's comments from yesterday, he innocuously said that he'd like to see more of Devin Aromashodu. There was nothing in his tone that made it sound like he was angry with anyone that DA hasn't been on the field. Then, the Chicago Tribune posted a story (it's in today's Den). The title? "Cutler makes a big pitch for Aromashodu." No, he didn't. He said he'd like to see more of him; he didn't make some big pitch.

I have no idea why, but the Chicago MSM and the meatball fans love to over-sensationalize everything Cutler says. I guarantee that some people will look at what Cutler said about the running game and believe that he's complaining about the running game. And that's just the Chicago media....NBC would find little quotes and snippets and proclaim him as a diva.

Cutler talks with the media, so why are we nitpicking here? Cutler doesn't talk with NBC and all of a sudden, Telander's giving him a "warning."

I'm starting to believe that Chicago has some of the most immature, moronic mainstream media members. First, Fred Mitchell goes and talks to Dan Grossman, which was 1) a sign of a slow football week, and 2) incredibly immature. Rick Telander blames Cutler (and not Lovie or Angelo) for not talking to NBC. Rick Morrissey is the Chicago MSM Official Nonverbal Communication Expert.

Bottom line: There is no need to over-sensationalize everything Cutler does, Chicago MSM.

Let me also make a few points about the Den, as long as I'm here:

- The last time I check for Den articles is around 9:30 PM CDT. The Sun-Times usually posts new stories right around midnight; thus why those articles don't make that day's Den.

- I reserve the right to screen articles for the Den. I'm not going to link to intellectually-challenged articles (like Gene Wojciechowski's article about benching Cutler). I'm a big believer in the 1st amendment, so outside of Rick Morrissey's articles and now screening Rick Telander's articles, all articles that I see in my sources will be posted.

QuickHits: Bears Style

Dane Noble — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:40:08 -0000

Taking a stroll around the interwebs this afternoon...

The Detroit Lions signed DeAngelo Smith (DB) off the Bears practice squad. He was then replaced by DE Joe Clermond, who is seeing his second or third stint on the practice squad with the Bears.

Andy Reid thinks that Bears ST coach Dave Toub would make a good NFL HC.

Olin Kreutz sidelined for the second straight practice.

And Brad Biggs tweets that Jay Cutler would like to see more of Devin Aromashodu during games.

Cutler's weekly press conference... good seeing him able to laugh a bit. (Helmet-tip to pierzynskirules)

Notes, Scribbles, and Things Jotted Down: Niners Edition

Dane Noble — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:06:39 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sakuma - AP

You look good out there coach. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

Browse more photos »

The Chicago Bears offensive line is terrible. I read an article around week 3 or 4 by one of the Bears beat writers that said our OL was pretty average compared to the rest of the league, that there are only a few really good OLs and only a few bad ones.

He had Chicago lumped in with all the rest and claimed us to be average.

You, sir (Pompei, Dickerson, Haugh... whoever it was) were wrong.

-For those of you clamoring for Kevin Shaffer to replace Orlando Pace, you got your wish. Pace either got the breath knocked out of him, as one report said, or he was feeling dizzy, as another said. Either way, Shaffer still sucks just like he did in the preseason.

- We got to see Frank Omiyale in the last drive at LG... Ron Turner said that he wanted a bigger body in there since we were going to passing every play.

- Chris Williams, who I have been supporting all season, looked awful at times. He made a few really good blocks, and showed very quick feet, but he also got blown backwards a number of times in pass protection.

- Luckily, Nick Roach's injury wasn't bad enough to keep him out of the game. After Vernon Davis trucked him, I was concerned that we would be down to our final 3 LBs.

- I support Lovie Smith and his defensive scheme. Jerry Angelo has not done a good job of acquiring talent in the secondary. That said, there is no excuse for week after week of penalties. penaltie that kill our drives, and penalties that keep alive our opponents' drives. That falls on Lovie. No excuses.

- Teams continue to miss FGs against the Bears. What's up with that?

- Hunter Hillenmeyer looked tiny last night. I don't know for sure, but he looks 10 pounds lighter than he did at the beginning of the year. Was it the injury? Either way, he did not look like a MLB last night. He looked like a unsersized CB trying to make one tackle on Frank Gore.

- Jay Cutler likes Greg Olsen as a receiver. Matt Forte does not like Greg Olsen as a run blocker.

- We saw our first glimpse of Shaffer on the Red Zone INT that Cutler threw. He was lined up left of Pace.

- Say what you will about Tommie Harris, but I'm not buying what he is selling. He looked good last night, but I want to see that happen again. Actually, I hope he plays at a high level for the rest of the year so we can try and get a 2nd round draft pick for him next year.

- Anthony Adams is fast. And round. He is round and fast.

- Alex Smith showed something on one play that made Hillenmeyer start pumping his hands up and down over his head as an audible to the defense. Then, Lance Briggs and Nick Roach started relaying the audible to the CBs, doing the same upward hand pumping. I thought "Wow, this looks like the Bears defense have sniffed something out... this looks really intense." Well, whatever it was, it looked cooler than it actually was. Niners converted a first down on the play.

- When our CBs are 10 yards off the WR, and the DL doesn't get pressure on the passer, the WRs can run 5 yard hitches all day long. Even on 3rd and 3.

- Oh yeah, one other thing that falls on Lovie Smith's shoulders: clock management. We were around our own 40 yard line at the end of the first half, with timeouts in our pocket, and saw the clock wind down from 1:07 to 0:37, with only 1 play being run. Apparently, the referees can't hear me calling timeout from the bar.

- Offsides, against the defense. 5 yard penalty, 1st down. Rinse, repeat.

- I have no idea how good of a head coach Mike Singletary is, but he damn sure looks the part. He is very involved in the game, and coaches up everyone on his sideline, from players to other coaches.

- WR screen, bubble screen, Matt Forte screen. Rinse, repeat. Our OL is embarrassing.

- Johnny Knox showed just the right amount of fight last night... hopefully Tommie was paying attention. Sure, stick up for yourself and push back. But let the other guy throw the punch, and walk away when he does. Then, we get the extra 15 yards... not the other way around. This after school special brought to you by Windy City Gridiron.

- The sheets of paper that have my notes written on them... smells like Bridgeport IPA. Not a good thing to smell with a hangover.

- Jay Cutler is the first Bears QB since 1962 to have two 4INT games in one season. Thanks for the stat NFLN.

- Shaffer didn't know his assignment on at least 2 plays last night. He kept trying to get them at the last second from Beekman. Oy vey, have I said our OL sucks? Because they do. Write that down.

- Matt Forte, bless his heart. That kid ran his butt off last night. And poor thing, couldn't actually get anywhere (except for receptions, but I'm talking about on rushes), but he sure did run hard. Love seeing the legs keep a'churnin'.

- As I've said before, it is pointless to try and find out whose fault something is... the fact is that our OL sucks, and a lot of our troubles would go away if it didn't. But, the officiating crew last night did not have a good game. I'm not blaming anything on them, because our OL sucks... but still. Won't be a pretty meeting Monday morning for those guys.

- Clock management at the end of the game... call a timeout Lovie. Clock ticked from 25 seconds to 17 seconds just so we could line up to spike the ball.

- Hey, Devin Aromashodu... nice footwork on the sidelines. Why were you dressed out again?

- Lance Briggs, thank you. You are a good football player on our team We need more of you.

- Stop trying to do the math and figure out how we can still make the playoffs. Our OL is terrible.