SB Nation User Blog: #23

New Fanposts Feedback

#23 — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 16:18:18 -0000

The new layout has it's benefits and the autotag is nice, but it is hard to figure out what links you want us to click on to read articles now. Can links we post be in orange as opposed to the standard blue for all the tagged words. Or can we underline the links to the articles. Or can we title links "link" and make the article links more obvious. Or can we unlink all the auto tagged links like the tutorial mentions. It is just difficult to figure out what to click on to go where we want to go now. Thanks. This is my feedback, if anyone else has feedback, feel free to add it.

Who are the best return men of all time?

#23 — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 03:33:15 -0000

Of course we are rooting the Devin will score many more TD's on punts in his career, but where did he rank compared to some of the best of all time and who are they and what did they do.

There are many excellent return specialists today in Hester, McGee, Cribbs, Carr, Rossum, Davis, Hall, and many more. Some specialize in returning mainly punts or kickoffs. Some do both. Devin Hester deserves mention.

He has scored seven touchdowns on punt returns in the first two seasons of his career. Now entering his fourth year, hopefully he mas many more games to play. But, it is the NFL: Not For Long.

One can never assume he will score again, nor not suffer a career ending injury at any given moment. Even if he never does anything again on the gridiron, his two seasons have put his name on many peoples list.

This article is a great history lesson, but honestly some of the content is debateable. It is a good read though especially with the slow week in news.

Poll

Will Hester finish his career as the best return man of all time?

Bear Tweets

#23 — Thu, 14 May 2009 18:42:19 -0000

So today I ran across this Jay Cutler twitter page. It is obviously not him, but it is abolutely hysterical to read. You will roll over laughing.

I thought I would also include other notable Twitter feeds here as well. If you guys have any that we might like, post them in the comments and we'll compile a list.

Also, Drew Rosenhaus has some comments about Idonoje and Ogunleye.

Fake Jay Cutler:

http://twitter.com/jay_cutler

Greg Olsen: http://twitter.com/gregolsen82

? Tommie Harris:http://twitter.com/RealDeal91

? Matt Forte: http://twitter.com/chitownforte22

ex Bear Brandon Lloyd: http://twitter.com/mrblloyd

Drew Rosenhaus: http://twitter.com/RosenhausSports

Peter King: http://twitter.com/SI_PeterKing

PTI: http://twitter.com/PTIShow

Windy City Gridiron (largest football blog on SB Nation): http://twitter.com/WindyCG

Most Hated Announcers

#23 — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 17:12:21 -0000

So reading through the John Madden retiring thread was pretty hilarious. I hate John Madden, I love John Madden, I hate Cris Collinsworth, I love Cris Colinsworth, and so on. It got me thinking, who was the most annoying announcer on TV. Who do you hate the most to listen to?

Here is a small list of football announcers to choose. Tell us who you voted for and why you hate them. Also feel free to debate with others about their picks.

Poll

Which football announcer do you hate the most?

John Madden

5 votes

Cris Collinsworth

15 votes

Phil Simms

4 votes

Tony Kornheiser

23 votes

Other

13 votes

Joe Buck

24 votes

84 votes | Poll has closed

What Has Jerry Done Right or Wrong?

#23 — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 02:09:59 -0000

Due to a couple requests, I'm moving this to a fan post.

Post anything here that you have loved that JA has done or things that you have hated. It could be trades, missed opportunities in the draft of FA, great moves big or small, bad contracts, good contracts or whatever.

-----------------------------

Here are some of my thoughts:

I honestly feel pretty similar about Jerry Angelo. Everybody wants to make the big splash but spending money wisely every season is a discipline. One thing I really like about Angelo is the way he puts a value on a player and then sticks to it. I don’t always agree with the value, but if you got get two big FA this year and over pay and they don’t pan out then it makes next year more difficult and the year after even worse.

Also, as far as trades go, a lot of times we assume that we didn’t go after someone and just lose out because a team wanted too much. We don’t hear about all trade inquiries. I think that if we did, we be shocked about the ideas that float around. Assuming we know is a bad assumption.

Some decisions I disagree with though are as follows:

Alan Feneca last year would have really improved our line, still pick Williams and Forte and the line would have been much improved. Our interior line was horrible, and Forte still looked good. He needs a guard with some good run blocking.
Not franchising Berrian. A lot of people knocked me on it, but one more year to get the position right could have really helped us. We wouldn’t be asking so many what if’s about Orton this year if he had Berrian, Hester, & Olsen to throw to. I also think we win one more game with him, make the playoffs, probably win the division.
Not signing St. Clair – the guy wanted to stay. 3 million is not a lot for a starting OL no matter who thinks that is too much. Rookies are getting 6-7 million a year in the first round. Most lineman make 3-6 milliion if they are anything. Now we are desparate in the draft for a tackle when we could have developed a guy. We may even miss out on picking a WR in the first round because OL is so important now. Also we will be forced to start 2 rookies and this unknown guy. Yuck.
Resigning Lloyd – We need someone with athletic catching ability and a known talent to stay on the team. He is cheap. Yeah he had an injury thing he could have played through, but 8-12 games of him would be worth that cash.
Trading away Chris Harris – he is better than Payne and Steltz bar far. He is a great hitter and tackler. We just needed find a guy who could cover to pair him with. Now we have two safety positions to think about.
Releasing Bradley – He never got a second chance after injury. The guy looked good to me and not to the Bears. I’m still baffled.

Moves I like:
Signing and resigning Kevin Jones. We took a flyer on him last year and didn’t see much, but the potential is even greater this year. We all know what he can do and has done. For the low cost of this signing and a backup role is well worth it.
Releasing Bazine and Okwo – that was the beginning of not holding on to draft picks anymore. Admit your mistakes and move on and give someone else a chance to make you look good.
Drafting Williams and Forte 1 & 2. Now we don’t know for sure on Williams, but I have hope there. Forte was a steal and a great move.
Drafting Harrison in the third. That guy had a very decent rookie year. I think he will stay out of trouble. He comes from a spiritual family and just wasn’t living right at the time. He seems to have changed his heart and grown up some and is back in the faith. Hopefully he stays.
Get Anthony Adams. We grabbed him for a steal of a price and even as a backup he is quality. Great value signing from SF.
Drafting Hester and Manning really for special teams first and hopefully defense second. Toub is the man, but Angelo has been the architect. I think he has been a big reason for our special teams by drafting and signing FA’s for special teams like Ayenbedejo.
Not signing Orton to a long term contract mid season – that would have been a waste of money. Now we can see more out of him or possibly be in the Cutler sweepstakes, although I’m not holding my breath.
A lot of these moves seem small, but a bunch of small good moves put you in position. We’re still well under the cap and Briggs, Harris, Urlacher, A Brown, Peanut, and Vasher are locked up. We just need to fill in lots of wholes.

A few random thoughts:
Hopefully Steltz and Harrision will be payoff picks. We still don’t know much about Bowman although he is be moved to safety. Yikes, but if it works, that would be a lucky move and a joyous occasion. He is tall and fast and hopefully can help in coverage. We’ll see.

Headlines Bears Style

#23 — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 01:44:24 -0000

Windy gave me an idea for something fun. Once in a while I'll find some fun pictures and give them some captions for the article they go with using recent or past information. I hope you enjoy this edition of Headlines Bears Style.

Now that Maynard is getting up there in age, the Bears are looking to the future. Due to the lack of depth in our receiving corp and lack of backups in our kicking game, Coach Lovie has decided to move Devin Hester from WR to punter. Lovie and Jerry both believe that Hester can become a true number 1 punter in this league and Brad Maynard is the guy to show Devin the ropes.

Follow me for more...

This offseason Ogunleye has turned to religion instead of weights. In a recent interview with Larry Mayer, Adawale was asked, "what do you believe will help the DL most this offseason to get better." His response, "I've been spending lots of time on my knees praying for the strength and speed to get around OTs and to the QB. I think people will be surprised how a declining player can turn things around with the right discipline. I want to thank JA for not doing anything to make this group better. We don't need players, we need prayers."

Jerry Angelo after talking to Lovie about who they could bring in to stabilize the QB position fell out of his rocking chair when Rex Grossman busted into the room and spiked the football. He then fumbled three times before securing it to a response from Jerry Angelo, "Sorry Sexy, it's not you, it's me."

Updated w/ BONUS MATERIAL (GB asked for 5 and 5 you get)

Coach Lovie after being thrown under a running bus by his boss, Jerry, for bad coaching decided the team needed something new. Besides shortening the vacation and recovery time of his hurting players, he felt the team needed something to bring them together. So he decided to grow the hair. Yes, that is right. Till the Bears win the playoffs the fro will grow.

Brian loved the idea, saying, "Not only will it raise morale and help improve the attitude of all the players on defense so we'll play better, but it may also be a great way to strengthen my neck. I'm with you, Coach!

What "should" be done, but likely won't...

#23 — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 16:49:11 -0000

Coaches
- Babich - Fire this guy and bring in Rod Marinelli. He just lost his job, but he is a proved defensive coordinator and was a coaching in Tampa with Dungy when Lovie was their. This could actually happen. He really has a lot of character and I believe coached his butt off with horrible talent.
- Turner - Many want this guys head and I'm not opposed to it although I think this year he did his best work. The question is, is that enough? Well our WR's and QB's have stunk under him so is that his fault or Angelo's? Hard to say. My solution, bring in Mangenius. He also just lost his job and can maybe help the Bears draft some offensive guys and better develop QB's. He was a coach under Bellicek so maybe he has some fresh perspective that could help us in the draft and coaching up offensive players.

Lovie - He obviously stays. With a better staff around him he'll be better. Look at what he has done with the 2 yahoos he coached with the last two years. Some will disagree and we'll have to just agree to disagree on this one. I've see Lovie grow this year by benching stars and cutting high draft picks wasting roster spots and that is why we went 9-7 instead of 7-9. He is still getting better. With a better staff, this team wins an extra game or two. (i.e. Atlanta, Carolina, and Tampa Bay)

Players to cut, trade, resign, or let go
- Nate Vasher, he makes too much. Talk to him about taking a big pay cut which I doubt will work, but if he really wants to stay 1.5 million would be the target. I'm not even sure if that is possible. We would have to cut him and then sign a new deal I'm pretty sure. If he doesn't want that then trade him for any pick, preferably a 3-5 but to get rid of the salary take what you can get. Maybe you could even trade to get a player we need. That would be the best situation.
- John Tait - He's old and almost done. St. Clair will likely be here longer and be more productive in the long haul. Tait has a good salary that we could use toward a younger guard that we all know we need desperately. You can't keep everyone so a younger, better guard and St. Clair at RT is better than Old Dependable John taking up money we need to give in FA.
- Urlacher - Chances are someone will want him and we need the picks. Maybe Urlacher to Arizona to get Boldin. I would rather see Briggs in the middle and Boldin on offense. Urlacher is getting old and played at New Mexico. I don't know if there is any connection, but he is killing our scheme over the middle and his salary would be better put to use else where. It time to cut the cord. You hate to do that with a franchise player and this likely will not happen but it should. That is really my point. I'm sure it won't though.
- Mark Anderson - Maybe someone has a plan for this guy. I wouldn't cut him because he is still on a rookie contract, but if you could get a 4th or 5th rounder for this guy and we could draft a new DE in the 2nd or 3rd it would be worth it. Anderson has been useless for 2 seasons and a 4 or 5 could help give us the depth we need at CB/ST's.
- Resign Lloyd to be the #3 WR. Look the guy catches the ball and he is cheap. Yeah he wouldn't play hurt, there is a reason he is cheap. Not every player on your roster can make 4-10 million a year. We can get this guy for one million and have Hester be #2 and find a #1. Bump down Davis to #4 and let the guy play special teams. I'll take a #3 like him any day. He saved Orton's butt a ton of times this year.
- Booker - Thanks for trying to help us this year. We're going to move forward without you. We knew you were old when we signed you and we hoped for more, but were surprised that your not too effective anymore. Thanks for helping us when we were in desperate need of help at WR.

Free Agency
- Sign Cassel. Assuming that you bring in Mangini, then this guy can hopefully make sure Cassel keeps performing. Make sure Cassel's contract has a nice bonus up front and make it easy to cut him in 2-3 years if really sucks. If Orton outperforms him for some crazy reason then we have a nice trade piece next season.
- Sign a FA WR - My wish list would be to trade a 2 or 3 for Burress and take on his problems. It would most likely include the lease lost. Antonio Bryant is another option that would preserve draft picks. He may not be a flashy name but at least he can make some plays. We at least need a playmaker. Sign TJ Houshmygrandaddy to a 3 year deal. We know the guy can catch. It gives us a few seasons to find another WR. Buying time is important. Housh and Hester and Olsen would be pretty nice. TJ isn't finished yet. What he did this year on that horrible team, was impressive. Forget Boldin, he costs a bunch and we're going to lose a ton of draft picks. Sure if we could get a good trade, but honestly everyone and their brother wants him and the stakes are likely going to be too high.
Sign a FA G - Not much to say here since I don't know OL talent around the league, but our push up the middle was very weak this year. We saw it in goalline situations and 3rd and 1 all year. Forte will get the yard even if it isn't there, but we need something better up the middle. Cutting Tait, could open up salary to sign a FA. Then St. Clair could move over to the right side or stay on the left. Although St. Clair isn't amazing, he only had about 3 bad games this year going against the best pass rushers in the league. Maybe on the opposite side he will better.

Draft
Safety - I wasn't originally thinking this way, but I'm now convinced. Everyone else was right on this one. We need a star back there and should draft a high caliber guy immediately. (pick round 1 or 2)
DE - Many may not see this as a priority, but it is. Ogunleye and Anderson have ()
G - If we address this through FA, then we can look for a value G later in the draft, if not, this should be a first round pick. Fixing the line is the top offensive priority with WR being the second and also very important offensive priority.
WR - If we sign a star like Burress or Housh or Boldin, then draft a mid rounder, if we don't then we need to try to draft in the first or second round. This may be impossible considering our other needs, but we should be signing someone through FA or else we're morons.
CB - Next season we should have Bowman and McGowan back to add with Manning, Tillman & Grahm. With that said and assuming Vasher is gone we still need two more guys to create competition and depth. I actually believe in Angelo drafting solid CB's and think he can do well drafting both of these guys in rounds 4-7. Especially if we can grab a pick or two by trading one of the players above.

Conclusion:
We have 4 positions G, WR, DE, and Safety that we should be drafting in the first 2 rounds. We don't have that many picks, so my recommendation is to sign a FA G and WR. That would allow us to draft a Safety and DE in rounds 1-2. Then in rounds 3-4 we could grab a WR, OL, or QB. Then we could finish up by grabbing CB's and another WR, OL, or DL.

As far as WR's, I'm attempting to be realistic. Boldin is the best option but so expensive that it hurt us at putting together a full team. Yes Burress has issues, but the dude plays hard and is a huge play maker and he is a cheaper option because of his issues. As far as I know we have no one other than Lloyd that comes with baggage. Our WR's should look like FA #1, Hester #2, LLoyd, Davis, Bennet, & a rookie competing for #4 and #5.

Weather Report for MNF

#23 — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 01:56:01 -0000

Monday night we should be seeing a warm front of yeah right with skies of partly freeze your nizzos off. Bring your mittens boys, because it as cold as a scorned woman making a snow angel in a Siberian Winter Weather Warning.

Urlacher said on the Mike Turico Show this week that last year's game with Green Bay and 2005 verse Atlanta were the two coldest games he had ever played in. Lucky for us, we have dominated in cold games lately. That Atlanta game was a huge part of our season in 2005. It should be interesting to see where this game ranks.

This morning here in Chicago where I live, there was 20-30 mph winds on -5 degree day bringing the wind chill factor to -27. Tomorrow will be extremely cold all day, but is suppose to get warmer by 4-5 degrees at night. Believe me. No one will notice. It should still be below zero.

http://www.weather.com/weather/wxdetail/USIL0225?dayNum=1&from=36hr_topnav_undeclared

6am

4°F

Feels Like
-15°F

9am

4°F

Feels Like
-14°F

12pm

7°F

Feels Like
-9°F

3pm

9°F

Feels Like
-5°F

6pm

7°F

Feels Like
-6°F

9pm

8°F

Feels Like
-5°F

Day

Night

Partly Cloudy

High
9°F

Precip
10%

Wind:	WSW 15 mph
Max. Humidity:	75%
UV Index:	1 Low


Sunrise:	7:16 AM CT
Avg. High:	35°F
Record High:	56°F (1957)

Snow Shower

Overnight Low
6°F

Precip
80%

Wind:	S 15 mph
Max. Humidity:	75%


Sunset:	4:23 PM CT
Avg. Low:	21°F
Record Low:	-12°F (1989)

Perfect Storm - Bears can win division or wildcard

#23 — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 00:23:41 -0000

Ok, today was the best possible outcome for the Bears. Actually not just today, but the whole weekend. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe we can win the division or earn the wild card.

What went right this weekend
Baltimore defeated Cowboys
Chargers defeated Tampa Bay
Atlanta defeated Vikings (This game was a toss up. Either winner helped us.)
Redskins defeated Eagles

How we win the Division:
Bears defeat Packers this week and Houston next week
Vikings lose to Giants next week

How we can win the Wildcard
Bears defeat Packers this week and Houston next week
Eagles defeat Cowboys next week
Tampa Bay Loses to Oakland

Not bad! If we win out, we have two scenarios that get us in. We basically have 3 games that if two go our way, we are in and one if that game is the Vikings.

Remember guys, we do need to win our last two games. Go Bears!

New Orleans Saints VS. Chicago Bears - 2nd Half/OT Game Thread

#23 — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 03:00:42 -0000

CHICAGO BEARS (4-0)	GAME #14	NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (0-4)
	vs.

Date:	December 11, 2008	Location:	Chicago, Illinois
Time:	7:15 P.M. CST	Stadium:	Soldier Field
TV:	NFLN	Know Thy Enemy:	New Orleans Aint's
Grade:	B	Grade	F
Final Score:

The Bears are up 21-7 at half. Manning returned a kickoff for a TD, Forte had a injury scare, and the defense has shut down the Saints. Go Bears! Put the foot on the gas and finish them off!