SB Nation - Earl Bennett

Friday Injury Report: Packers at Bears

Brandon — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 04:37:23 -0000

It's a fairly short injury report for the Green Bay Packers, only 9 players listed, but it includes the top 4 defensive lineman. The Bears report is even shorter, but it might expose their lack of depth at wide receiver.

For the Packers: the big story has been that their top 4 defensive lineman are listed on listed on the injury report. While technically true, the only player likely to miss the game is NT Ryan Pickett, who hasn't practiced all week as he tries to recover from a hamstring injury he suffered during the win on Monday night. NT B.J. Raji will slide into replace him, and he's already making friends with Bear C Olin Kreutz. Raji is listed too, but he was a full participant in Friday's practice. DE Cullen Jenkins and DE Johnny Jolly were both limited in Friday's practice, but I expect they'll go. Late in the Monday night game, DE Jarius Wynn was in on several plays, and I don't expect the coaching staff has any concerns going with the 277 lb. rookie, if necessary.

Everyone else was a full participant in practice, except backup LB Jeremy Thompson, as he tries to recover from a career threatening neck injury. One name not listed is rookie OL T.J. Lang, who missed last Monday's game with a concussion, which is good news since LT Chad Clifton did miss some practice this week, and Lang will also be available to spell RT Mark Tauscher, if he needs a break.

For the Bears: it looks like WR Devin Hester is unlikely to play. While he isn't the greatest receiver and he's no longer the best kick returner on the Bears either, but he's still their leading receiver. Their great kick returner, WR Johnny Knox, would be counted on more in the offense, alongside WR Earl Bennett. Their bigger problem is that they don't have any depth at receiver behind their top 3 (none of their other receivers have more than 2 receptions on the season). The Bears might rely on their 2 TE packages even more than usual. LT Orlando Pace could return this week, but it's not clear whether he would start even if healthy. LB Lance Briggs should return this week, but his replacement, LB Jamar Williams, did very well in his place with 18 tackles against the Rams last week.

The complete injury report is after the jump.

Player	Pos.	Injury	Friday Participation	Friday Status
Nick Barnett	LB	Knee	Full Participation	Probable
Chad Clifton	T	Hamstring	Full Participation	Probable
Jermichael Finley	TE	Knee	Full Participation	Probable
Cullen Jenkins	DE	Hamstring	Limited Participation	Probable
Johnny Jolly	DE	Knee	Limited Participation	Questionable
Ryan Pickett	NT	Hamstring	Did Not Participate	Doubtful
B.J. Raji	NT	Ankle	Full Participation	Probable
Jeremy Thompson	LB	Neck	Out	Out
Charles Woodson	CB	Shoulder	Full Participation	Probable


Player	Pos.	Injury	Friday Participation	Friday Status
Lance Briggs	LB	Knee	Full Participation	Probable
Tommie Harris	DT	Knee	Full Participation	Probable
Devin Hester	WR	Calf	Did Not Participate	Probable
Hunter Hillenmeyer	LB	Groin	Full Participation	Probable
Israel Idonije	DT	Knee	Full Participation	Questionable
Orlando Pace	T	Groin	Limited Participation	Probable

Chris Williams: Left Tackle

wiltfongjr — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:00:19 -0000

by Nam Y. Huh - AP

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Sunday saw the long anticipated debut of 2008 first round (#14 overall) draft pick Chris Williams at left tackle for the Bears. He had a chance to play against another member of that draft class, number 2 overall selection to the St. Louis Rams, defensive end Chris Long. Long picked up a sack, but overall, how did Williams fare? I'll try and dissect his game against the Rams and look at why he's a better fit on the left side rather than the right. First up I'll tackle the left side vs. the right...

Number one he's naturally left handed. Something you may not think makes much of a difference, but it's all in their stance. Players that line up on the left side of the offensive line use a left handed stance. The lefty three point stance is the exact opposite of the righty stance most of us that grew up playing football are accustomed to. Years back coaches would simply have players get in which ever three point stance they were most comfortable with. These days many high schools are teaching to change the stance depending on which side of the line you play.

The left handed stance is as follows; feet shoulder width apart, left foot slightly back (usually lined up with the right instep), left hand on the ground, right arm on right thigh. Yes that is Hall Of Fame left tackle Anthony Munoz over there in his left handed three point stance. The point of the left handed stance on the left side is it allows better pass blocking technique. When pass blocking you push off with your inside foot while reaching back with your outside foot. By starting this way your hips are in a better position as you don't have to turn them to get settled into proper pass blocking technique. With the hips in place, and already slightly facing the usually lined up outside pass rusher, you are in better position to deliver the hand punch as well. The less a player has to move to get in position the better.

Number two his athleticism makes him a better fit on the left side. So much emphasis is placed on protecting a right handed quarterbacks blind side, so you want a tackle with quicker feet on the left. The more mauling, road grader type is usually on the right side.

And number three, and most importantly, Williams is more comfortable on the left. At Vanderbilt he was on the left side, last year (when healthy) he was on the left side, and before Orlando Pace was signed this year his reps were on the left side.

When looking at the Rams game in detail, and trying to grade out his performance, keep in mind that I have no idea his exact responsibilities from play to play. Therefore my analysis could be slightly skewed. I made my best guess on his assignments based on my years playing, coaching, and watching football, but unless I'm invited into Halas Hall, I really have no way of knowing for sure. I graded him out using the most basic of grading systems, on every offensive snap I gave him a plus (did his job) or a minus (didn't do his job). When grading him out he ended up with a +46 out of 57 plays. I'm sure he'd be even harder on himself than I was, and I'm sure the coaches were harder on him as well.

I'll give some observations on his overall performance then I'll break down some individual plays.

The good thing is on all the plays I gave him a minus it was due to something that could be fixed through coaching. He was never out classed on any plays, never over powered, just simple youthful mistakes. He'll improve. He did get off balance at times and his hand punch could use some work, but overall it was a solid debut. I didn't see any tenacious aggression from Williams, but that isn't really his game, he more a technique guy that will shield off the defender. One constant throughout the game I picked up on was he didn't stay with his blocks. Most times the play was past him when his guy got off the block (so no harm done), but I'd like to see him lock on the defender til the whistle blows when ever possible. Nothing frustrates a defensive lineman more that a guy that is constantly in your face.

I won't go into every play in detail, but I'll pick out a few of the good and a few of the bad.

Play #1 - The 1st play of the game is a good snapshot of the kind of player Williams is. It had Williams seal the defensive end, James Hall, inside. It was only a two yard gain for Matt Forte, but Williams used good technique to seal his man.

Play #3 - The long pass to Devin Hester saw the Bears keep Greg Olsen in on the left side to help pass protect. They had a double tight formation as Kellen Davis also stayed in to help on the right side. It was a fake counter to Matt Forte (with Frank Omiyale pulling to the right) so Williams had to read the defensive line. Williams first set up as if to block the DE, but when the DE went outside to Olsen he moved in and took the DT which Olin Kreutz passed off to him.

Plays #6-#8 - On 3 consecutive plays on the goal line Williams drove James Hall back into the end zone. On 1st down Hall made the tackle after slipping off the Williams block and because of the slow cut back by Forte (but Williams should have sustained the block). On 2nd down Forte again ran inside but for no gain. Then on 3rd down the Bears ran off left tackle and Forte scored practically untouched.

Play #12 - On 1st and 10 after the long play to Earl Bennett the Bears again passed and the Rams ran a stunt. The DE went inside, and Williams passed him off to Omiyale, then LB James Laurinaitis looped outside and Williams picked him up. Good awareness by Williams.

Play #24 - On a 3rd and 4 Jay Cutler rolled out to his right and Williams only had to cut off his man from backside pursuit, he missed. He tried to reach block him to seal him off but he couldn't get there, he ran with him but couldn't keep up. I think he should have cut him initially or at least got into the defenders legs since it was a hard block to execute. His man had a long chase and never made it to Cutler, but Williams has to find a way to cut him off.

Play #27 - This was the 1st down end around to Devin Hester. Williams looked lost on the play. He immediately went to the 2nd level looking for a LB, but ended up watching LB Paris Lenon run by him and make the tackle on Hester.

Play #29 - This was the sack by Long. Earl Bennett motioned from wide left towards the right and it appeared he was supposed to chip Long before he turned back to the left sideline. Bennett was wide open on the out route, but Cutler had no time. If Williams was expecting the chip it makes sense why he was beat to the outside. Williams set up and looked as if he were expecting Long to come inside, if Bennett hits him it pushes Long to an inside move. Cutler may have snapped the ball a split second too early. Either way Williams can't get beat and should have recognized the missed chip block, a better hand punch would have left him in a better position. (I really liked the design of this play and expect to see Chicago run it this Sunday)

Play #35 - On 1st and 10 they ran Kahlil Bell around the left side for 7 yards, Williams and Olsen executed a combo block on the DE, then after the defender was secured Williams slipped off to block a LB.

Play #51 - This is the 8 yard run by Forte that the FOX crew replayed with a spotlight on Williams. Williams again made a textbook seal block on Long, he didn't drive him back very far, but simply got his hands on Long, moved his feet, and sealed him from the play.

If Williams gets the nod at LT again this week he'll have a different challenge against the Packers and the 3-4 defense. He'll have more reads to make as the Packers will zone blitz from time to time. He'll be matched up with an outside linebacker as much as, if not more than he'll be on a defensive end. It will be a good test for Williams and the Bears offense.

Looking for the Bright Side of the Chicago Bears: Week 13

Sklz711 — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 01:00:20 -0000

More photos » by M. Spencer Green - AP

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Another day, another dollar, and another season where if nothing else we can say we are better than the other team that wishes it could call Illinois its home. In a league now built around parity between teams no win is guaranteed, so even against a terrible Rams team we as fans can enjoy the fact that our losing streak is now broken.

If you think any win is guaranteed in the NFL, just have a talk with the Steelers fans about how that guaranteed W against the Raiders went this week. So in a week that saw the undefeated Saints get pushed to the brink against a hapless Redskins team, let us kick back for a few days and bask in the glow of a much needed win.

Now that we all have a fresh reminder of what the letter W actually looks like next to the word Bears, we'll sit down and examine the good things that happened on the field.

C Dub appeared to be a definite improvement at LT, even in his first game, and while we're talking about blocking Kellen Davis has stepped his game up.

Don't get my sunny disposition wrong, I sat down and watched this game looking for a reason to bring down a hate storm upon CDub, but I just couldn't find a reason to. The few times I was ready to throw a tomato in his direction, upon re-watching the tape it wasn't really his fault Cutler got nailed. Take the first quarter on the Hester deep ball, Cutler got squished, but the man that pummeled him was actually being blocked by none other than Greg Olsen.

In fact, the only really bad play I think I saw out of CDub was on a Cutler sack blocking Long solo, and just getting absolutely beat. However, if in his first outing at LT the worst that happened was a single bad play and absolutely zero penalties if my memory serves then I'm feeling good about him getting some playing time and seeing what he has.

Also, on at least three runs that I saw Kellen Davis in on he laid a massive block on all three. I've got to say Kellen Davis continues to impress at his improving blocking game and really makes me feel a lot better about the impending loss of Desmond Clark. Keep an eye on this man, he's really answered the call and solidified his position as the number two TE, and number one blocker.

The Chicago Bears WR corps as whole looked like a strength instead of a weakness.

Getting back to that Hester deep ball in the first quarter, it really showed a lot of what I want to see out of Hester as a number one, and it's something he's shown more than a few times this year. He showed awareness of the ball, awareness of the defenders, used his speed and the threat of his speed to create a window of separation, and finally jumped up and made a sure handed catch in traffic. Does he need to work on his blocking during runs, sure why not. Does he need to get a bit more consistent, no argument from me. However, to continue the litany of the never going to be a number one crowd is to set yourself up to look foolish. If he continues to improve at the rate he has in his first two seasons at wide receiver, you could be looking at a pro bowl WR in 2011.

Fort Knox has shown the same thing he has shown all year, absolute flashes of speed/brilliance that you want to see out of a deep threat, and a gameness that you rarely see in rookie wide receivers, let alone later round picks. The pass interference call in the first quarter was yet another example of a player you usually see coming from a veteran coming from this rookie. Knox fights his way down field against the CB, has his man beat, sees that the ball is going to be short, and creates the contact coming back to the ball against the CB looking the wrong way making it a very easy PI call. I'm impressed more and more by the maturity of this rookie every game.

Earl Bennett is really establishing himself this year as what we always wished Rashied Davis could be, a reliable receiver that's not afraid to go over the middle, can make some good catches, and can get a bit of YAC in a pinch. He needs to protect the ball a bit better, but I'm loving the Vandy connection at #3.

Some of our young DB are starting to show real promise.

Both Kevin Payne and Al Afalava looked pretty good today, with Payne finally showing some improvement in coverage which had been his real Achilles heel. Payne of all people was shown a few times wrapping up the runner from behind instead of just going for the big hit. Afalava had lots of extra effort plays including coming real close to the interception on a Jamar Williams tip in the second quarter. Good heads up play from the rookie. Not too long after that there was a great tackle by Bowman who laid a shoulder directly into the ball and once again Afalava keeps that nose for the live ball and makes a good return.

While the Safety position is still on my wish list, if Payne and Afalava continue to play at the level they did today, and improve the rest of this year and in the off season we might just have found a nice little safety combo already on our team.

Jamar Williams took the opportunity given to him to show he has what it takes to be an eventual starter.

Wow, just wow. If you would have told me that Williams would have exploded like this in what I believe is his second start I would have called you crazy. Coverage, run stopping, you name it, Williams was there. It's really a hell of a compliment when your best LB is out for the game and you don't have a huge talent drop off at the position. Tons of great plays for Jamar all game long including TFL, tipped balls, extremely close to interceptions and more. Just an absolutely fantastic game for Jamar Williams, and so good that it overshadowed what was a fairly good game for Nick Roach as well.

If our top 4 LB go into next year as Briggs, Urlacher, Jamar, and Roach, I'll be a damned happy man.

----

So did anyone else see a player that impressed them today that I didn't mention, or any stand out plays I didn't call out?

Philadelphia Eagles (finally) win a close one over Bears 24-20

JasonB — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:04:14 -0000

More photos » by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

21 days ago: Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Trent Cole (58) celebrates with teammate Darren Howard (90) after sacking Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler (6) in the third quarter of an NFL football game in Chicago, Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

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A 4th quarter comeback. A win in a close game. A road win in the conference... It wasn't the prettiest game of the year, but it was a big win and the team showed some real guts tonight.

It really was great to see the Eagles finish this one off. Both offense and defense making plays at the end of the game... it's something we haven't seen from this team is far too long, but sometimes all you need is to get that monkey off your back. The Eagles did that tonight.

That said... I can't really write a recap of this game without acknowledging the monumentally bad game from Jay Cutler tonight. Let's be honest, there were Bears receivers running wide open down field past our secondary and had Jay Cutler been able to put a ball on target for at least one of them this could have been a different game. That was the worst QB play I've seen from an opponent all year. I don't know what was up with him tonight, but the Eagles secondary won't be able to get away with the things they did tonight very often.

Much more after the jump

You wanted a run game, you got a run game

The Eagles rushed for 157 yards as a team tonight led by rookie LeSean McCoy who gained 99 yards on 20 carries. He averaged 5 yards a pop and scored what ended up being the decisive TD. The kid did fumble tonight, but bounced back and seemed to run even better afterward. He looked much more decisive hitting the hole(especially in the second half), and overall looked like a guy that is going to have a future in this league as a feature back.

Short yardage? No problem.

Of course, you can't talk about the Eagles run game tonight without mentioning Michael Vick, who had by far his play as an Eagle tonight in the first quarter when he broke a run on third and short for over 30 yards. He also ran a sort of option play later in the game where he handed off to McCoy who gained a first down on a third and short. It was finally an instance where the defense was worrying about Vick and the handoff fooled them. There was also a McNabb sneak for a first down and a great effort play from McCoy who was hit and the line of scrimmage and through a great second effort just nudged the nose of the ball across the line for a first.

Gutty performance from Sheldon

Definitely have to give credit to Sheldon Brown, who still has never missed a game in his NFL career. Despite suffering a hamstring injury last week, Sheldon got himself on the field tonight and really played hard. To be fair, he was beat a few times down the field but Cutler was so terrible he couldn't take advantage of it. Brown did make a number of good pass breakups and had a great tackle at the end of the game which prevented Earl Bennett from getting out of bounds.

Good stuff from the good young wideouts

Despite his fumble, Desean Jackson had yet another impressive outing tonight. He caught 8 passes for 107 yards including a 48 yard TD. He had a 53 yard punt return and threw in a 10 yard first down run on an end around for good measure.

Desean's big day overshadowed another solid outing from Jeremy Maclin who hauled in a solid 6 passes for 64 yards.

Bears Effective With The Screen

wiltfongjr — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:15:09 -0000

More photos » by Marcio Jose Sanchez - AP

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The screen pass is an essential weapon in any team's playbook. It can be used as an extension of the run game or in place of an ineffective run game (in the Bears case). This year, even with all the offensive problems the Bears seem to have, I've been impressed with their screens.

The Bears will hit defenses with a variety of screen passes. The traditional running back screen down the line of scrimmage, the bubble screen, the slip screen, and the occasional middle screen have all been run with varying degrees of success. I'm sure most of you already understand the concept of the screen, but I'll look at these screens passes a bit more in depth.

When a team struggles with the run game, like our Bears, defenses spend a lot of time defending the pass. In this situation the ineffectiveness of the offensive line actually works to their benefit when running screens. Defenders get so amped up looking to sack Cutler they sell out to get him.

* In the most common screen pass (to a back sneaking out of the backfield and down the line of scrimmage), the play side tackle and guard (and sometimes center) will block for a brief moment (a second or two) then pull to set up blocking for the play. You want to lure the defense up-field with the thoughts of an easy sack. With the Bears pass protection performing as it is all Cutler typically gets is a second or two, so the deceptiveness of the screen play, in theory, is perfect. Most teams run this type of screen to their left side, this is for a few reasons.

1) Most defenses have their best pass rushing defensive end to the offenses left (to attack the passers blind side), so he's usually quicker up-field. Many teams will also blitz from the blind side too. So as an offense you want the aggressive rush, the more defenders rushing up-field the better.

2) Most offenses have their more agile tackle on the left side. So if given a choice on which tackle to pull you want your better athlete out in space blocking.

3) Even in the NFL some QB's tend to get away from proper technique when being rushed. When throwing to the left side a right handed QB is forced to turn the hips, open the shoulders, step and throw. It's nearly impossible to use poor fundamentals when throwing left (for a righty). But when throwing right it's easy to just chuck it to evade the rush. And QB's are always more accurate when they are fundamentally sound.

I'm not saying teams don't run this screen to the right, it's just all about your personnel and field position. The Bears had a lot of success last week hitting Matt Forte on the screen. He's a good receiver and the more you can get him the ball the better. Now if only he had the same burst as last year... but that is for another blog...

* The bubble screen is usually run to a slot wide receiver, with the player in the slot moving away from the QB. The hope is you can get the ball to a playmaker in space. The key block is from the WR or WR's split furthest out. In a 2 WR set the slot receiver will take the pass while the split end tries to seal the CB inside allowing the slot guy to get around him down the sideline. I'd like to see the Bears run this play with their TE's split wide. They trot out that formation quite a bit and teams usually keep a DB on Greg Olsen. Put Devin Hester in the slot with Olsen split wide and throw the bubble to Hester with Olsen providing the stalk block on the corner.

The Bears finally ran a fake off this play last game. Cutler faked the bubble then tried to hit a slanting Johnny Knox. I liked the variation on the play, but I'd prefer to see the split end run a fade or a go route instead of the slant. If you catch the defense cheating the bubble or biting on the fake to the bubble they could still get close enough to disrupt the slant, but if you pump fake the slant then look for the split end down the sideline he should be in a one on one situation.

* On a slip screen teams are looking to create a seam on one side of the field for the split end to run through. Again you are looking for the WR to get in space to make a play, but the QB is throwing to the furthest split out WR as he comes back to the ball then up the seam. The play side offensive line (and sometimes center) will pull and look to seal all the flowing defenders inside, while the slot receiver (or two slot receivers in a trips formation) will look to block out towards the sideline creating a seam for the player to run through.

Hester, Knox, and Earl Bennett are all pretty good at both of these WR screens. The thing we as fans need to remember is these short throws are an extension of the run game. We're accustomed to looking for big plays when ever a QB completes a pass, but a 4 or 5 yard gain is perfectly acceptable. Getting a big gainer from time to time would be nice, but getting those little chunks of positive yardage keeps you in third and manageable situations, and ultimately it's about keeping the chains moving.

* Finally on a middle screen you are looking for your intended receiver to catch the ball behind the offensive line. The idea is to allow all the defensive linemen to rush up-field then dump the ball over their heads to the awaiting receiver. Usually this play is to a running back, but I'd love to see the Bears utilize this play to the tight end. Slipping the back into the flat on the tight end middle screen will cause the linebackers that read screen to flow to the back, thus allowing the TE to slip to the middle for the ball. Greg Olsen is athletic enough to make a play on the ball and get some good yards after catch. Chicago has run this screen to Forte and they've tried to get Garrett Wolfe involved at times. The small stature of Wolfe is ideal for the middle screen as he can get lost among the o-line.

The main objective of screen passes (besides gaining yardage) is to slow down the pass rush, but if you run them too often defenders will read the play and slip over to throw off the timing or worse yet jump the route and intercept the pass. This is why teams don't run screen after screen. Teams want to catch a defense playing aggressively and hit them with a screen pass. Then the next time they get a free lane that defender might slow up just a split second allowing the QB to go to his next progression and make a big play. With the way the Bears are pass blocking any edge they can get the better.

Shallow Thoughts & Nearsighted Observations

Ted Bartlett — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:30:23 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

about 1 month ago: Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, left, tries to elude the rush of Denver Broncos' Darrell Reid (95) and a second defender during the first quarter of an NFL football game Monday, Nov. 9, 2009, in Denver. (AP Photo/ David Zalubowski)

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Happy Tuesday, friends. After being up late, and watching a hard-fought game go awry, I bet you're pretty bleary-eyed, and grumpy, but let's try to make this a good day. I don't want to think that the Broncos have fallen into losing habits here, and I really don't think that's the case.

Of course, those who speak, but don't know what they're talking about, will start screaming about how the Broncos have been exposed, and they're a fraud, and every other damn thing. A few persistent issues have emerged, but they can be corrected. If anything, losing back-to-back games against good teams can teach you a great deal about your own team.

Let's reflect on this, as I know the coaching staff is, and the players are. Next week, the Broncos face the Redskins, which presents a great opportunity to get back on the winning track. After that, San Diego comes to town. The Broncos still control the AFC West, make no mistake about that.

On the other side of the jump, we'll break it all down. Ready..... BEGIN!!!!

1. It's now midseason, and the Broncos are 6-2, and in first place by a game, and having beaten San Diego on the road. Think back to August, and if I told you that's where the Broncos would be, you'd be happy to take that deal, right? It's a little less great to win the first 6 and lose the last 2, but whatever.

I mentioned some issues, and I want to talk about them briefly. I think all are fixable in the second half of the season.

a. Ben Hamilton is getting to be pretty useless, and I think it's time to see what Seth Olsen has. Hamilton has gone from being above-average before his concussion-driven missed season, to average last season, to decidedly below-average this season. Every time the Ravens and Steelers needed to get pressure on Kyle Orton, they did it over Hamilton. Every other team in the NFL has seen that, and will try to replicate that strategy.

From former NFL scout Daniel Jeremiah, during the game:

I don't know what Olsen can do yet, but he's definitely bigger and stouter than Hamilton. I have to think he can anchor better than what we've seen from #50. I am pretty sure Russ Hochstein isn't the answer, but I'd like to see what Olsen looks like.

b. The Broncos need better execution overall on offense. The scheme is fine, and the players are fine, they just need to make the plays that they have a chance to make. They have had some bad penalties, some poorly-timed drops, some slip-and-falls in the running game putting them off schedule, and lately, some bad throws. Plays like Brandon Stokley coming just short of a first down, and Hamilton getting called for a (really questionable) holding penalty on a converted 4th-and-5 are what has been hurting the Broncos offense. The coaches need to send the message that if the players who are playing don't execute, they'll find somebody who will.

c. Signing Mitch Berger was a big mistake. I think it's worth working out some other punters, but really, I liked Brett Kern. If somebody better than Berger is available, I think he should be brought in. Getting a good punter needs to be a high priority in the offseason, too.

d. Interestingly, short-yardage offense has improved during the two losses, as the Broncos have shown a willingness to throw some in those situations. It is still a concern going forward, though. Olsen may help here, if he is given a shot.

e. No-huddle offenses have been problematic for the Broncos the last two weeks. They limit their ability to disguise coverages and rush packages, and they also make it hard to substitute as much as the Broncos want to. Not every team is effective in the no-huddle, but just about every team the Broncos might see in the playoffs is. They need to figure out who their best base defensive group is against the no-huddle.

I think my underlying thought right now is that the Broncos probably aren't quite ready for the Super Bowl, but they hung with a team tonight who is a real championship contender. They beat New England a couple weeks ago, who is a real championship contender. They beat Dallas and Cincinnati, who at the least are good teams. The Broncos have a ways to go, but as first halves of the season go, you have to feel pretty good about theirs. It's not time to start anything over, or blow anything up. It's time to make a few adjustments, execute better, and keep working toward winning games.

2. Information from My Eyes, Steelers at Broncos.

a. Did I mention that I think Mitch Berger sucks? Nothing has particularly changed for me on that score. John Bena coined a new term last night, Brett Kern-backers. I liked Kern, but I don't think I am a Brett Kern-backer. I am a guy who wants a consistent good performance from the Broncos punter, whoever it is.

Philosophically, not a single player or coach on this team means more to me than the team itself. I don't care who is doing it, I just want it done. As much as I love John Elway, the team always came before him to me, too. Part of his greatness, though, was that he'd never make you separate him from the team.

b. It didn't get mentioned a lot, but Tyler Polumbus struggled at RT, especially in the second half of the game. LaMarr Woodley got a lot of pressure and forced a few key throwaways. He'll be okay against most teams, but this was a tough situation for him. Ryan Harris's absence was most definitely felt.

c. I liked the work of both Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal in this game. They consistently did a good job getting open and catching the ball. Marshall had the one drop, but it was a good effort for him overall.

d. I thought D.J. Williams had his worst game of the year, by far. He was taking bad angles all night, and didn't look like he had a prayer of getting off a lot of blocks. I'm admittedly not generally his biggest fan, but he's had the best year of his career in 2009. Monday night, not so much.

e. Wesley Woodyard played a lot more snaps than he's used to, and I thought he wore down in the second half of the game. The Steelers played a tremendous amount of 3 WR sets, which kept Andra Davis on the sideline, and Woodyard in the game.

f. Kyle Orton was actually not too bad for most of the game. He had 2 bad throws, and about 3 bad decisions (one of them was picked off). He was pretty sharp the rest of the night. He needs to cut out the bad decisions, but I was generally a lot happier with his performance tonight than I was against the Ravens. (I don't care about statistics, of course.) Nobody is saying they're thrilled with his ultimate performance, of course, but there's more nuance to the situation, than just looking at the stat sheet.

g. Rashard Mendenhall was the primary reason the Steelers won the game. He got going in the second half, and it forced the Broncos to be more aggressive in the box. I used to think very little of Mendenhall, but he has improved a lot. He runs with vastly better patience and body lean than he did even just a month ago.

h. The Steelers also have themselves a find with Mike Wallace. He's very dangerous for a 3rd WR. They don't do a lot of traditional slot-type stuff, and in nickel offense, if anything, Hines Ward is their slot guy. (I think making definitive distinctions between #1, #2, and #3 WRs is silly.) Wallace has great speed, and he showed good route-running skills Monday night.

i. I liked what I saw of Ty Law in his limited action. Champ Bailey and Brian Dawkins both mostly struggled in the game, neither making a great impact. Champ ought to be embarassed by letting Ward jump over him in garbage time. He knows better than that. He also got beat in man-to-man coverage several times by Santonio Holmes. Andre' Goodman was good in this game, though, even beyond his interception.

j. The Broncos use of the "mush rush" was very good in the first half, and very bad for most of the second. Robert Ayers played a key role in containing Ben Roethlisberger when he as assigned that duty, and that's what he was doing when Kenny Peterson knocked the ball free.

k. The Broncos got hosed on the Gaffney challenge, and also on the Haggan fumble recovery. Don Carey has joined my list of bad referees. I like how a return team becomes an intercepting team. I can't believe that he's related to Mike Carey, who is excellent. And he's the older brother? Wow.

3. Information From My Eyes, Other Games:

a. I watched a lot of the Green Bay-Tampa Bay game Sunday, for a few reasons. I haven't seen much of the Bucs this year, and I wanted to look at Josh Freeman, who I liked a lot coming out of college. He looked like a rookie at times, but he showed a lot of positives too. I thought he looked poised and confident, and I am not that surprised. I remember when he beat Texas as a freshman, and commanded the game. (My buddy lost a grand on the game, and he called me frantically looking for NFL advice for the next day, to "get back even." It was a debacle. I don't give gambling advice anymore, because of that weekend.)

Anyway, Freeman looked like a star that day in 2006, and he looked like he may be one someday in the NFL on Sunday. I think Tampa did the right thing, giving him some time to learn from the sideline, but it has to be Freeman Time the rest of the season.

b. I loved Raheem Morris's line after getting his first victory as a head coach.

Statistics are for losers, and today, we're winners.

And then, there's Chicago Bears lover/reporter/enabler/apologist Brad Biggs of National Football Post, after his beloveds got blown out again.

That's positive news? The Bears got smoked, again, Brad. Their best player, who is supposed to always play well, performed close to expectations. It's only positive news if he is on your fantasy team, which is why I don't really like fantasy football. (Well, that and the dorktastic "experts' you have to tolerate on TV.)

Cutler played alright, but he didn't do anything to elevate the play of anybody else, as usual, and the interception he threw in the 4th quarter did kill the Bears' chances of coming back.

It's amazing how the Bears team has assumed the personality of the 2008 Broncos. There's a good chance they'll get blown away on defense, and Cutler is almost definitely going to need to carry the offense. In my business, we contract with companies to take over non-core operations. We call it a lift-and-shift. You terminate your employees who work in a call center, and we'll instantly hire them. They'll work for us, and you'll pay us a fee that is less than what you pay for this operation. Meanwhile, we'll optimize, and reduce the headcount, and correspondingly, the costs.

Everybody considered Cutler's acqusition to be a lift-and-shift. The Bears got a franchise QB. Imagine what he'll do on a team that plays good defense and runs the ball. Football is such a multi-variate system, it's really amazing.

c. I would really hate to be a Bears fan. They have no high draft picks this year, and suddenly a lot of roster holes to fill. They need 3 or 4 new starters on their offensive line, to begin with. Orlando Pace is done, Josh Beekman and Roberto Garza were never starting-caliber players in the NFL, and Olin Kreutz is getting close to done. I don't care for Chris Williams, either. He's looked passable at RT, but if he was worthy of his draft slot, he would have bumped Pace, because it's clear as day that he isn't good enough. You wouldn't use a #1 on an RTO (Right Tackle Only), unless it was Jeff Otah.

They could also use some WRs, some secondary players, and a pass rusher. We're not asking for much, right?

Chicago has a cash-poor ownership group, and the cold weather and their ugly uniforms don't tend to help draw free agents. (Yes, both things matter. It's part of the problem in Cleveland too.) I just don't know how you can bring in enough players there to improve for next season.

d. On Monday I read a lot of epitaphs about the Chicago defense, which didn't get into a lot of the "why" they're so bad. As I was explaining to a friend a few days ago, a defense has to have all 11 players working well together, in order for it to be sound and effective. Because defense is fundamentally a reactive mission, there are many inter-dependencies among the three levels, and communication, like-mindedness through practice, and discipline make all the difference. That sounds simple, and it really is.

First of all, you'd better either be good against the run with 7 in the box, or have a big-time safety who can move 12 yards from a cover-2 shell to the line of scrimmage really quickly. The Bears can't stop the run with 7, so you know they'll have 8 in the box. Then, there's the passing game. When a team can't rush the passer with 4 players, they need to blitz with numbers. When they blitz with numbers, it makes it hard to play soundly in zone coverage, so you mostly have to start playing man coverage. When you play a lot of man coverage, you'd better hope you have the athletes to cover the other team's athletes - and chances are, their #3 and #4 options are better than yours. That's a simple fact of it being harder to find players with coverage skills than it is to find guys who can run a route and catch a ball, when he knows where he is supposed to go.

So you can't stop the run, you can't get pressure with 4, you can't play zone, and you can't play man. All that's left is to guess at what the offense is going to do, and play for that. The obvious problem there is what happens when you guess wrong. You get exposed, and give up huge plays. That sounds a lot like the 2008 Broncos' defense, right?

To apply this to the Bears, they used to get pressure with their front 4, but Tommie Harris is having a bad season. He was a healthy scratch for the Cincinnati game, reportedly because of some attitude issues, and they got lambasted. Then, he got ejected over some extreme foolishness 1 minute into Sunday's game. The Bears again got crushed. Harris is among the best 3-technique DTs in the NFL, when his body and attitude are right.

With no Harris, Alex Brown and Adewale Ogunleye have struggled to get any pressure, so the Bears have blitzed, ineffectively. They have all these tall, slow CBs who can't do anything except play zone coverage, and they got shredded in man-to-man on Sunday, as they did against Cincinnati. If you decide to be a cover-2 team, you'd better play a lot of cover-2, because your personnel can't hold up playing man.

If Harris can manage to get his body and mind right, and have a dominant second half, he could personally bring a soundness back to the Bears that could send them on a 6-2ish run in the second half to finish 10-6. The more likely outcome is that he continues to sulk, the Bears continue to get gashed, and they finish 7-9 at best. And the Broncos have a nice draft pick. Thanks, guys :)

e. Funny story. My brother Chris (who did join MHR as Chris911, incidentally) and I were talking on the phone the other night, like we do sometimes.

Chris: You know, Jay Cutler has a losing record in games where he throws for over 300 yards.

Ted: You know, Jay Cutler has a losing record as a starting QB in the NFL.

Yessir. I love that draft pick more and more every day.

f. Remember the spring of 2008 when many wanted Denver to become Vanderbilt West? It hasn't worked out so well for Chicago. Earl Bennett's ceiling is to be an average starter, if he puts it all together. He can't get off bump coverage right now, whatsoever. He also runs bad routes and drops the ball a lot. In other words, everything he was supposed to do well, he doesn't. Yes, I know he had 7 catches for 93 yards Sunday, but the vast majority of it was in garbage time, against soft zone coverage. (And, yes, wise guys, I know, most of the game was garbage time.)

Chris Williams, I already discussed. He has definitely been a disappointment. This year, the Bears took D.J. Moore, a CB, who is somehow not good enough to beat out any of the pu pu platter of guys who take turns opposite Charles Tillman. He has been a gameday inactive all season, and is not even a special teams contributor.

I watched the Florida-Vanderbilt game Saturday night, and was reflecting on this. Vanderbilt has no hope in the SEC. They can't recruit talent that is nearly good enough to compete, and most of their guys have tended to underachieve in the NFL. They are on my list with Texas and Ohio State of schools whose players I am naturally suspicious of, although it's all for different reasons.

I wonder if Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, Northwestern, Stanford, Duke, Rice,and Baylor ever thought about forming a football-only, high-SATs conference. Actually, this year, Vandy would be in the bottom half of that league, too.

g. Staying with the college theme for a minute, the best all-around QB I have seen this season at any school is Cincinnati's sophomore backup, Zach Collaros. He has completed 76% of his passes for 1,229 yards, with 10 TDs and 1 interception in the 3+ games he has appeared in. He has also rushed 43 times for 281 yards, and 4 TDs, while only being sacked 10 times.

Cincinnati's original starter, senior Tony Pike, is expected to start this week, although head coach Brian Kelly did cop to it being a tough decision. Pike is likely to be drafted on Day 1 next spring. Collaros is going to contend for the Heisman Trophy next season, and he'll be a high pick too, when he decides to leave school. He's the total package, with an above-average arm, very good poise, and outstanding accuracy and athleticism. The only knock on him is that he's 6 feet tall, but he has some definite Drew Brees-like qualities as a thrower. This is a 75-yard TD run against a South Florida team with lots of athletes. The guy is real.

h. A guy I really like on an otherwise not-great unit is Atlanta Guard Harvey Dahl. He has been getting very good pad level, and driving guys, in helping Michael Turner have his best two games of the season. I beat up Sam Baker for his pass protection last week, but he did well in the running game Sunday, too. The Redskins are normally solid against the run, but Atlanta gashed them repeatedly.

i. Michael Lombardi stole my thunder, which is an occasional hazard of writing for Tuesday mornings. (The) Other smart analysts see(s) the same things and beat(s) you to talking about them sometimes. Ray Lewis definitely looks like he's doing it more on guile and want-to than skill anymore. I respect his effort greatly, and sometimes he makes a huge play, like against the Chargers, but he's clearly hit his downside. Big up Lombardi, for consistently seeing what the reporters don't see. (By the way, it's weird and unnatural to see Lombardi stand with a mic and interview players and coaches for NFL Network. Stop the madness, and be an analyst, Mike. You're better than some locker jockey.)

j. I was pretty critical of Dallas' Mike Jenkins earlier in the season, and he deserved it. Lately, though, he's been playing fantastic football. He did a great job Sunday night, and was the largest part of the Dallas secondary's outstanding effort not to give up the big plays that Philly wins with every week.

k. The Eagles are reputed to be a West Coast team, but they are not that, and never have been since Mr. Game Management, Andy Reid, came to town. Donovan McNabb isn't a West Coast QB, who does really well with timing throws. The Eagles are a vertical, downfield team, and they finally have guys in DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, and Brent Celek, who can get down the field and make the plays they want to make.

l. By the way, everybody knows I like Tim Tebow, but McNabb is the guy who Tebow most reminds me of. They played in similar-ish option-heavy offenses in college, and they have very similar profiles as throwers coming into the NFL. Tebow's stats are down this year, mostly due to bad pass protection, but he's throwing the ball better than ever when he gets some time.

m. The Chargers might be back. I haven't seen their LBs look as good as they did on Sunday in two years. Some of that may be due to the Giants offensive line, though, which is good in the running game, and below-average in the passing game. All this stuff about them having the best line is hogwash. (I've actually seen Michael Lombardi say that this season.) They have a natural LG, David Diehl, playing LT, and he gets owned by good pass rushers.

n. Brandon Jacobs looks really slow to the hole this season. He was never quick, but he's a different player. I have to wonder if he is hurt. Of course, I am prejudiced against tall RBs, because, definitionally, it's easier to hit them, than it is the compact guys. It's fair to say Jacobs has never been a favorite of mine.

o. I'd like to say that ST&NO favorite Alex Smith has established himself as a clear-cut solution at QB for the 49ers, but the fact is, they've lost all three games which he has played in. Two of the three interceptions he threw on Sunday were off the hands of his own players, so I don't really put those on him, personally. On the positive side, that play he made for a TD pass at the end of the first half was an All-Pro caliber play, that not many QBs could make. He kept himself alive with his feet, and made a perfect throw on the run.

This is what I know about Smith. His biggest problem is that he struggles with the mechanics of drops from under center which are more than 3 steps. It's not natural to him, and his footwork is slow, like he is thinking about it. That got him sacked on A-gap blitzes two or three times Sunday.

Smith is much more comfortable from the shotgun, and I think I would go to a medium-gun alignment with him, that is often called the Pistol. It's run a bit at some colleges, notably Nevada, and the Chiefs used it with Tyler Thigpen last season. The QB lines up 3 yards behind the center, with the RB 3 yards behind the QB. It provides better directional evenness to your running game than lining up in a full shotgun with the RB to one side or the other of the QB.

Smith can do all the things you need your QB to do; it's just a matter of putting him in position to be successful. I'll be interested to watch this game on Thursday night, against Chicago, because he could have a huge game.

p. I did like what I saw of Vince Young, again. He has played like he's fine with being part of a conservative game plan, which is what he needs. The option stuff he was running with Chris Johnson was effective, and he did hit Justin Gage deep on a couple throws. One, in particular, used all of Gage's vertical. He was actually a starter on Missouri's basketball team in his college days.

q. The Titans are suddenly playing some defense again too, especially Michael Griffin at safety. I also was impressed with William Hayes, who has taken over at LDE for Jevon Kearse, who may have finally had it, at this point. The Titans are a threat to make noise as a spoiler in the second half of the season. The return of Cortland Finnegan has helped them a lot, too. He's not the greatest cover guy, but he's a hitter, and he is always close to the ball. He compares favorably to Asante Samuel in that way.

r. The Panthers just make me shake my head sometimes. They are almost completely back to their 12-4 level from last year lately, except for their QB play. They really erred by not getting one, but John Fox and Jake Delhomme are almost married. Delhomme is going to cost Fox his job, for his sentimentality.

Remember when the Chargers whacked Marty Schottenheimer coming off the 14-2 record? It was the right move. So would cutting ties with Delhomme have been, after last season. Of course, the Chargers blew the second part by hiring Norv Turner. The Panthers will get their chance to do something in the offseason, but they have no first-round pick. If San Francisco decides Alex Smith isn't their guy, he'd be perfect for a team like Carolina, who runs the ball and attacks downfield off of play action. Marc Bulger might be a possible fit too, as the Rams will almost certainly be drafting a QB this year. The Panthers will likely need to get a retread, though.

s. The Saints deserved to get beat on Sunday, but they managed to win anyway. That's something championship teams do, is win without their best stuff.

t. The Texans are really close to being a serious playoff contender, but a Chris Brown goal-line fumble and a Kris Brown missed field goal have basically cost them two games. People haven't noticed, but Matt Schaub is putting up Pro Bowl numbers in Houston. Old friend Gary Kubiak needs to get his team to execute better in key situations.

u. I said I wasn't going to pick the addict Jaguars again, but I did on Sunday, because the Chiefs are horrible. The addicts then proceeded to almost give the game away. Shocker! ST&NO favorite Reggie Nelson had a very good game for the Jags, and so did Brandon Marshall's best friend from college, Mike Sims-Walker.

v. Matt Cassel was the bright spot for the Chiefs, again, and he continues to do pretty well with very little help. I guarantee that the Chiefs don't regret trading for him, especially at the price they paid.

4. In honor of Veterans' Day, I wanted to blaze a different path by doing something apolitical and propaganda-free. It's Tangential Story Time, in ST&NO. Yay!!!

Most regular readers are at least generally aware that I spent 4 years in the United States Navy. I don't think I have ever mentioned that going to sea is basically my family business, though. My dad was in the Navy for 14 years, and then has worked as an executive for companies which supply the Navy for the last 20+ years. His brother recently retired as a long-time civilian mariner for the Navy, and his other brother was a Marine, who rode a Navy ship or two. My youngest brother is currently employed as a Naval civilian mariner, presently working for a ship stationed in Gaeta, Italy. There's lots of salt in my family.

So, I woke up early on Sucker-Free Saturday, and a headline popped into my RSS reader that grabbed my attention.

Navy ship built with WTC steel to go into service

I clicked the link to read the article, and saw something very interesting in the first sentence.

NEW YORK — The Navy is commissioning its newest battleship with a bow forged from steel that once held up the World Trade Center.

The Navy decommissioned its last four remaining Iowa-class Battleships in the early 1990s, and I didn't think that they had any plans to bring them back, despite some misgivings from parts of the Marine Corps that current Naval Gunfire Support programs wouldn't be sufficient for a Normandy-like shore landing.

A Battleship is a specific type of ship, like in the children's game of the same name. The Iowa class had wooden decks, and three turrets with three independent 50-caliber 16-inch guns each, for a total of 9 guns. The shells were 16 inches in diameter, and weighed 2,700 pounds each. (Modern Cruisers and Destroyers have one or two (mostly two) 5-inch, 54-caliber guns each, by comparison. Those shells are 5 inches in diameter, and weigh 70 pounds.) Each Iowa-class turret took a crew of 94 men to operate, and I actually served with a guy who was working in Turret #3 on the Iowa in 1989, when Turret #2 exploded and killed 47 men.

Battleships played a large part in the Pacific theater in World War II, and somewhat minor parts in Korea, Vietnam, and the first Persian Gulf War. The primary missions of Battleships were shore bombardment, and ship-to-ship combat. The advent of precision-guided munitions (like Harpoon missiles, for ship-to-ship combat), and the reality that 5-inch, 54-caliber guns are considered by the Navy to be sufficient for Naval Gunfire Support, largely made battleships unnecessary, and the last Battleships were decommissioned not long after World War II, with a few held in reserve status. Iowa, New Jersey, Wisconsin, and Missouri were each re-commissioned several times over the coming decades, with the Missouri being the last active battleship, being decommissioned for the last time in 1992. (The picture below is of the Iowa, shooting her guns to starboard.)

So, there's this new ship, called the USS New York, and the AP says it's a battleship. At first, I was skeptical, because I know that the Battleship mission is obsolete. Thinking about it, though, it is named after a state, like US battleships have historically been. I also know that the Bush Adminstration Pentagon had some meat-heads in high places of their procurement organization, who favored weapons systems with some badass factor to them, whether they were strictly necessary or not. But I would have heard about new Battleships, right? Hmmmm.

I called the guy who would know, my father Ed, who has appeared in ST&NO before, and I got my answer.

Ted: Hey, what do you know about this new ship, New York, that was partially built from World Trade Center steel?

Ed: Well, it's being commissioned this morning.

Ted: What kind of ship is it?

Ed: It's a piece-of-(bleep) LPD-17 class. A Gator Freighter. (Note: Gator Freighter is the ~~somewhat~~ very derisive name for Amphibious Navy ships which primarily carry Marines. Surface combatant guys, like me, don't think too much of Amphibs, or the people who ride them.)

Ted: Oh, OK. This AP reporter called it a battleship, and it's named after a state, which lends that some coincidental level of plausibility. I was skeptical, so I thought I'd ask somebody who knows.

Ed: <Scoffs> The media doesn't know what the hell they're talking about.

The media doesn't know what the hell they're talking about. Hmmm... Where have I heard that before?

5. What's New In Cleveland Update:

We have a great local brewery here called Great Lakes Brewing Company, that puts out this great stuff they call Christmas Ale every year, at this time. It tastes like cinnamon, but it's 7.5% alcohol by volume, so if you're like me, and you drink them like they're just expensive Bud Lights, they can really creep on you quickly.

So, I was at a the Cleveland State University bar called Becky's last Thursday, for my fraternity's monthly alumni happy hour. I was pleased to discover that they had Christmas Ale on tap, which I would later find out was running me $18 per pitcher, times 3 pitchers. Whatever. I am drinking some fine seasonal beer, and one of the guys says, "Hey, that's Mike Trivisonno right there, like 5 feet away."

Trivisonno is the local Radio Idiot, who I have disparaged on here before a few times, as being part of the Browns problems. I am not sure what he was doing at Becky's, of all places, but he was hanging out with some uglo-Americans, who may or may not have been related to him. He's holding court, and talking about the Browns, and how the city is cursed, and blah blah blah. (I hate it when people say "blah blah blah" in a conversation, but for some strange reason I just felt the strong need to type it there, like my ex-wife possessed my body momentarily, or something. Deal with it.)

It seems the work of the Radio Idiot is never finished. He bloviates even off the clock. I wonder if Rush Limbaugh does too.... That was a little deeper than a Shallow Thought. Focus.

OK, here's the deal. There's no such thing as curses. There's only confusing hope for a plan (hat tip to Michael Lombardi). That's what they do here, in all sports - even the Cavs, to some extent. (Let's face it: the Shaq acqusition is all about hope.)

Randy Lerner, by all accounts, is an OK guy, and he wants to win. He doesn't know anything about football, and I don't think he particularly wants to, either. He's actually a soccer guy, and he owns Aston Villa. He needs somebody to establish and run a program for him. It can't be a Head Coach, because he's too hands-off for that kind of arrangement. (That works fine with appropriately engaged owners like Robert Kraft, Bud Adams, and Pat Bowlen.)

He needs a Bill Parcells-type situation, which is why he is reportedly pursuing Mike Holmgren. I think Holmgren is going to end up saying he'd rather coach than head a front office, but it's a good idea to try. Whoever ends up being the head honcho is going to fire Eric Mangini, and start over from scratch, again. This is increasingly clear. The trick is going to be hiring the right honcho, for the first time since they came back into the NFL in 1999.

Ron Wolf and Ernie Accorsi aren't going to want the job, but if I were Lerner, I'd put on a full-court press to get one of them to help me find the right honcho. A guy I would make a run at is Jimmy Johnson, but only as a team president, not a coach. You hire him, tell him he only has to work 30 hours a week, some of it from Florida, and let him hire a focused GM, (maybe Chris Polian, or Marty Hurney if he is let go at Carolina?) and let them decide what to do with the coaching staff. Then, the chain of command is clear: Owner, to President, to GM, to Head Coach.

As a side note, I expect Mangini to struggle to find future work in coaching. His credibility in the NFL is shot at this point, and what college is going to hire a guy like that? Can you see him talking a kid into coming to play at State U? Absolutely not.

6. So, I know you've been wondering what a guy like me does on a Friday night. My gameplan changes every week, like any good team's (except the Colts); and this past Friday, my friend Ashley was looking for somebody to go with her to a happy hour event at the Cleveland Museum of Art. It sounded like fun, so I emailed her, and we went.

I'd like to tell you that I am a really cultured, artsy guy, but the truth is that I'm not. I'm kind of a rugged football, business, and politics guy. Somewhat embarassingly, it was the first time I had gone to the Museum in 7 1/2 years of living in Cleveland. Ashley is really smart, though, and I figured correctly that I would learn some stuff from her.

There was a Paul Gauguin exhibit, which was included in the price of admission. I looked up Gauguin on the interwebz, and learned that he was a contemporary of Vincent Van Gogh. Van Gogh's brother Theo was actually Gauguin's agent, and he got them to work together in 1888. They spent 9 weeks together at Van Gogh's famous Yellow House in Arles, and they quarreled constantly, because they saw the right way to paint very differently. (At the CMA, there were several examples, side-by-side, where both men painted the same thing, and they looked extremely different.) Both men had bouts of depression and suicidal tendencies. When Gauguin fled the tense situation after Van Gogh threatened him with a razor blade, Van Gogh freaked out, and went to a brothel, where he famously cut part of his ear off. They never saw each other again.

When I saw the news that the Chiefs cut Larry Johnson on Monday, the thought of his relationship with Todd Haley made me think of Gauguin and Van Gogh. Haley is a talented coach, and Johnson is a talented player. Both men have reputations for being difficult, though, and many (including me) were skeptical about the pairing when Haley was hired. Johnson's actions, around callng out Haley on Twitter and using gay slurs, were stupid. Really, it's not too different from cutting your ear off, on the foolishness scale.

Haley couldn't have Johnson play for him again, just as Gauguin couldn't return to Arles to work with Van Gogh. If you're betting on futures, take Haley's (like it would have been wise to take Gauguin.) Johnson is 30 and well-worn, old for a RB; Haley is 42, which is young for a Head Coach. Van Gogh died two years after the ear incident, while Gauguin had 13 more years, and a lot of productivity after that. Go with the guy who knew it was time to cut the cord, rather than the one who cut off his ear to spite his face.

7. Retired for John Elway.

8. The worst thing about November is the jewelry commercials during football games. (Well, I guess I should be glad not to see Chevy commercials with any Mellencamp songs.) I have found the answer, friends, if you're into man-cavery like me.

If you have Sunday Ticket with SuperFan, the setup works like this. Watch games on a muted TV (or two, if you can manage it, like I do). Watch the Red Zone channel on a laptop, with SuperConnect, and listen to the sound on the laptop, preferably over some decent speakers. Red Zone has no commercials, so when they come on TV, you can just ignore the visual stimulus, and listen to the sounds of what's going on on the laptop screen. I spent the whole day Sunday with this, so I got to see a lot of football, without hearing incessantly about how you're no kind of man if you don't go to Jared, the Galleria of Jewelry, and that every kiss begins with Kay. Damn, it's great to be single. (This is Ourrrrrrr Country!!!!!)

Have a good week, and let's get ready for a Broncos victory in Washington on Sunday. No hysterics are necessary, let's just take some comfort in the fairly safe assumption that our coaching staff is driving the players to learn from and improve on their mistakes. See you next Tuesday!

Notes, Scribbles, and Things Jotted Down: Cardinals Edition

Dane Noble — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:23:16 -0000

by Nam Y. Huh - AP

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The NFC playoff picture seems to be working itself into a pretty clear picture, and, although it could still happen, my prediction of a 12-4 season for the Chicago Bears looks unobtainable. And honestly, at this point, I'm not so sure that our coaching is to blame.

Our GM brought in three new offensive linemen, and none of them have helped. Can Ron Turner be to blame for our porous running game? He didn't make the FA signings.

On the other side of the ball, we do not have the personnel to run a Tampa-2/ Cover-2 defense. Our secondary is a liability,,, is Lovie to blame for our lack of talent on defense? We just don't have the personnel.

The only mystery for me is the DL/ Rod Marinelli situation. It seems like half of our roster is comprised of defensive linemen, and we still chose to trade our 2010 2nd round draft pick for another pass rusher. Add to that, we have a guy that is well-known around the league as being one of the best DL coaches in the NFL... you'd think that would be an area of strength for us.

We know our offense is failing because of our personnel at OL, we know our LB corp is thinned out and that our secondary is incredibly weak... but where's the front 4? Why have we seen over the last few weeks our DL get dominated in the passing and rushing games? What's up with Coach Marinelli?

- Rashied Davis is still doing a mighty fine job on STs. And undersized WR making great open-field tackles... gotta love it.

- Tommie, Tommie, Tommie. What happened to Tommie Harris? Is his career coming to a quick halt? We can expect him not to be wearing a Bears uniform next season... but will he even be in the NFL? Maybe not, unless the Bungles give him a shot.

- One of my notes simply said that Fitz > Tillman. But, that was early in the game. Now, I'll change that note to say that it is a shame when Charles Tillman is our best coverage cornerback.

- I have been wondering for 2 weeks if Hunter Hillenmeyer was really 100% healthy. Rib injuries take much longer than 2 weeks to heal from, and I smelled a rat when he came back so quickly.

- Jay Cutler's first possession of the game: he walks onto the field with his head down, looking at the ground.

- Devin Hester, Earl Bennett, and Greg Olsen have all developed great hands. I mentioned last week that Cutler puts them in positions where they have to make tough catches... well, they can. Exhibit "A": that catch early in Q1 down the sidelines when Hester was blanketed by the CB. Cutler saw the single-coverage, audibled into a fly route, and made a picture-perfect throw to Hester. And what a catch!

- Garrett Wolfe made an outstanding tackle on KO coverage.

- While we looked like we might be able to generate some pressure on Kurt Warner early in the game, turns out, not really. Soft coverage on the WRs + zero pass rush = duplication of the Cincy game.

- Arizona's OL absolutely dominated Marinelli's DL. Passing plays, rushing plays... didn't matter. An inside source said that the Card's OL even formed a wall in front of the Bears showers after the game, and the DL couldn't bust through then either. They went home without showering.

- Johnny Knox was one cut away from daylight on the KOR following Arizona's second TD. But, he was going too fast to make that final cut.

- We finally saw Cutler looking downfield for our WRs more this week, especially to Hester. On a related note, kudos to the OL. While they still broke down and sucked a large part of the game, there were spurts where they did a good job of protecting the QB. Kudos guys.

- My OL grades: Chris Williams: B, Roberto Garza: B-, Olin Kreutz: C, Josh Beekman/ Frank Omiyale: D, Orlando Pace: C-

- 3rd and 16, 1st quarter. Earl Bennett runs a deep post, right into the lap of the safety. Had he turned that deep post into a skinny post, things would have happened. I know it's his first year on the field, but he's gotta be more aware. Against zone defenses, you have to find the soft spots... not run straight to a defender.

- My prediction of turnovers, penalties, and QB sacks for both teams did not some true. Well, Cutler did get nailed, and the Bears did have too many penalties. But I was thinking it would go both ways.

- As of the 10 minute mark in the second quarter, Matt Forte had exactly one rush.

- Question: If it's 3rd and 5 for Arizona, why are our DBs 12 yards off the WRs? I mean, I trust Lovie Smith, and I know he is having to play defense with some bad talent... but 12 yards off the WRs? Of course they converted a first down. And eventually scored a TD.

- Oh, speaking of converting... 3rd and 10, Arizona ball. Easy pitch and catch on a 12 yard curl route. 5 plays later, TD. Too easy, too soft.

- Kevin Payne plays hard, and hits hard. Good to see a bit of fire from someone on defense.

- Alex Brown fights hard. Even in the 4th quarter when we are getting schooled. Keep on fighting big guy.

- Injuries: Yikes. And now we have another game in three days. Friggin great. You know what though? We will beat San Francisco.

Return Game Getting Ridiculous Again

wiltfongjr — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:30:33 -0000

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So far this season the Bears punt return unit has looked much better than last year. There's still a zero in the TD column, but overall the return men seem to have more room to run. In 2008 Devin Hester looked mortal by not taking any punts back to the house, especially after his first two seasons had us Bears fans spoiled with his ridiculous returns. Did his ability regress last year? Is he starting to find his Mojo again this year?

The thing I love about football is it's truly a team game. You need all 11 men on the field doing their job. As great a returner as Hester looked in his first two years, you have to look at his third phase teammates. Veteran Chicago Bears that had honed their skills as special teams players.

Former Bears Brendon Ayanbadejo (Pro Bowler), Cameron Worrell, and Todd Johnson were key members of the '06 unit. In 2007 you still had Ayanbadejo, but you started to get some turnover with the depth of your team. And the depth of the team are the players that make up the special teams.

Think about the players drafted to the NFL... the elite offensive and defensive players of the college game. You'll never see team draft a stand out gunner or a first team wedge breaker. The majority of the rookies coming in were studs in high school so their coaches probably held them off special teams to preserve their health. Once in college they competed with the other freshmen recruits and the best of the best were then either red-shirted or took on an immediate role offensively or defensively.

The kids that play special teams in college are primarily made up of players that aren't quite good enough to start, so therefor aren't going to get drafted to the NFL. Occasionally you'll get a late bloomer that spent some time on special teams their first couple years in college, but once they bloom, they no longer attend the third phase meetings.

Look at two of the Bears top special teams players. How many times did Garrett Wolfe cover kicks at Northern Illinois? And Adrian Peterson was a record setting running back at Georgia Southern. How many special teams tackles do you think he was in on? These guys probably got their first taste of the special teams on the NFL level, as do most NFL players. It takes time to teach these great athletes the nuances of their new role.

I briefly touched on some special teams stuff last month, but it's such a change for these players, both in terms of technique and in just fully accepting their role. You'd like to think that these players would be happy to be on an NFL roster and do what ever it takes to contribute, but the reality is that if you are used to being a superstar player in high school and a superstar player in college, it takes some getting used to basically being a cog in the machine on the NFL level. Mentally it takes some athletes longer to "get it" than others. And the ones that catch on usually are the ones that thrive in their new roles.

Getting back to this year; Hester has fielded the most punts with a 12.5 average (more than double last years average) and Earl Bennett has returned four with a 15.8 average. While last year was a down year in the return game this year things are looking up. Dave Toub is highly regarded around the league as a top notch special teams coordinator and it took him a little time in getting his guys to perform at a high level again. This year the kick return TD by Johnny Knox has matched the teams total of a year ago, and that is with the new rule limiting the wedge to two players, and Hester did have a punt return TD called back last week. It's just a matter of time til he pops one again.

Hester may never equal the ridiculousness of '06 and '07, but with the core third phase players improving every week, you never know...

Angelo's Drafting Prowess Not Seen On Offensive Line

Dane Noble — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:14:44 -0000

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After thinking this morning about the three not-so-savvy free agent OL acquisitions (Orlando Pace, Frank Omiyale, and Kevin Shaffer) Jerry Angelo brought to Chicago this past offseason, I started wondering about how he has addressed the OL through the draft.

Angelo is, of course, known as a "build through the draft" GM, and many will agree that, in building a team, it all starts in the trenches with the big guys. Lucky for me, I didn't have to do too much research, because Bob LeGere of the Daily Herald covered the topic today.

Since 2003, Jerry Angelo has drafted 8 offensive linemen out of 81 total picks through that span. Not a very high percentage, but then LeGere shows us where those 8 picks have been:

Year	Player	Round	Total picks
2009	Lance Louis	7	9
2008	C. Williams	1	7
2008	C. Adams	7	7
2008	Kirk Barton	7	7
2007	J. Beekman	4	9
2007	Aaron Brandt	7	9
2006	Tyler Reed	6	7
2005	None	N/A	6
2004	None	N/A	8
2003	B. Anderson	7	12

Besides Chris Williams in 2008, only one lineman has been drafted higher than the 6th round (Josh Beekman). And as you can see, in two of those years, we didn't select any. Not exactly building the foundation via the draft like he is known for, is it?

LeGere does go on to make sure we remember that Angelo has had success in the draft...

That's not to condemn Angelo's drafting record. The team's topfive receivers- Devin Hester, Earl Bennett, Matt Forte, Johnny Knox, and Greg Olsen- are all Angelo draft picks.

So are six of the top seven tacklers: Lance Briggs, Danieal Manning, Al Afalava, Charles Tillman, Zack Bowman, Alex Brown, Tommie Harris, and Marcus Harrison.

It also hasn't been long since Angelo was ranked the #8 General Manager in all of professional sports by Forbes, and third best in the NFL. But, the fact remains that Angelo has not addressed the OL in the draft, and the most recent free agent pick ups have not been worth the time.

It would seem to me that, if he was so "fixated" on getting the QB position right, he would also be fixated on protecting him. You can bet that Jay Cutler is already in someone's ears, telling the organization that this is not going to cut it.

Larry Meyer, senior writer at the Bears official site, sat down for his weekly meeting with Angelo today, and Mayer asked Angelo about scouting for talent:

LM: During the season, how actively do you look to sign players to your 53-man roster that are on other teams’ practice squads or are street free agents?

JA: Very actively. I think we’ve got a very good track record of doing that. We are looking for players all the time that fit what we do to create more competition at positions. To me, we do that as well as anybody. We are always actively looking at bringing players on board. But you can’t do it as a revolving door. If you bring a player in, it’s because you saw something—what he did in college or in the NFL. When you bring him in, there’s got to be a plan for him. These aren’t auditions. We want to bring them in, and further their development. So there has to be a plan. We just don’t pick guys up randomly, bring them in for a couple weeks and then send then down the road. We don’t operate that way. It’s not about collecting talent, it’s about finding players that fit what we do and feel we can win with.

I'm not saying that I don't trust Angelo, but it just doesn't feel very good to get a QB like Cutler, only to have not addressed his protection through the draft or free agency very effectively.

Notes, Scribbles, and Things Jotted Down: Browns Edition

Dane Noble — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:28:05 -0000

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Fans of the Chicago Bears got what we expected on Sunday: a complete dominance of a terrible team. In the long run, it probably doesn't make us feel any better about the season, but in the short run, it puts us a game over .500, and along pace with some of the other wild card potential teams in the NFC.

The defense looked good yesterday for the most part, but the offense continues to show a lack of rhythm. Luckily, we have some great young talent to build our future on, but that doesn't get us off the hook for the remainder of the 2009 season.

- Many will argue that the QB is the most important position on the field, while others will say it is collectively the OL. Roberto Garza can still hold his own, but Chris Williams is the only lineman that I think is worth banking on beyond 2009.

- Matt Forte is falling victim to our lackluster OL play. If I were to grade Forte, I'd say he is a 7 out of 10, with 8 being a Pro Bowl RB. Luckily, he is still very young, and dependable.

- Orlando Pace can still get it done at certain times, but is not consistent. One play, he'll have a dominate pancake block, and the next three plays he can't maintain his balance.

- Marcus Harrison showed good penetration yesterday.

- Danieal Manning showed great athleticism, and has incredible speed. Still out of position a lot, but Lovie Smith has done a good job with him. Hopefully, we see steady improvement over the year from Manning.

- I'll see what I can pull up numbers-wise, but Jay Cutler seems to look better in the shotgun.

- Speaking of Cutler, is it just me, or does he hang his head too much? Sees like his confidence level is down, and doesn't show much fire (outside of jawing with the opposing DC). It seems like the QB would be more of a leader...

- Offensive rhythm continues to be a problem. We'll look good one drive, only to look completely out of synch for the next three.

- Nick Roach is fast. Depending on Pisa Tinoisamoa's future as a Bear, I like Roach's athleticism. Hunter Hillenmeyer is intelligent, but not a starter for every Sunday. Next year, could we see Briggs, Urlacher, Roach?

- Cutler has forced our WRs to develop good hands. He makes some throws that many WRs couldn't catch. Good to see the progress of Devin Hester and Earl Bennett.

- Devin Hester should be our punt returner for years to come. He is still very young, and has more talent than I can say. Can you imagine how great he will be as he continues to develop into a formidable WR?

- Craig Steltz struggled in the defensive side of things this past offseason, but looks great on ST coverage.

- Kyle Orton was 10/15 passing for 35 yards in the first half in the Denver game yesterday.

- In the second half, Cleveland's RBs were getting past our front 4 too easily.

- When Cutler has time to throw, and plants his feet, he looks great. Too bad that doesn't happen more than once or twice per game.

- Corey Graham looked good on ST. What is his future with the Bears?

- Is Hunter Hillenmeyer really 100% healthy? I don't think so.

- Al Afalava continued to shine in run support. That kid is tough. Pay him more.

- Once again, we saw a run by Forte headed left, only to have the line collapse, and him cut back to his right for a TD run. His vision/ shiftiness is amazing.

- Hester limping in the 4th quarter after good run. Is he alright?

- Brady Quinn needs to get out of Cleveland. I wasn't a fan of his in college, and didn't think he would be good in the NFL, but have changed my mind. He will be a good NFL QB if he can find somewhere else t play.

- Hard to criticize Ron Turner when he doesn't have the personnel to work with. Our OL will continue holding back Forte, Cutler, and others as long as we keep sticking with what we have.

- JOSH BEEKMAN IS WHO WE THOUGHT HE WAS. HE GOT RUN SLAP OVER SEVERAL TIMES, AND GOT CUTLER NAILED BECAUSE OF IT. BEEKMAN IS NOT THE ANSWER.

- If we are going to fight for a wild card spot, the NFC East will be a tough challenger. It's early still, but it would be nice to see New Orleans get a win over Atlanta...

- The orange jerseys look great!