SBNation.com User Blog: lastof12

Wedige Named CBS Sports 2nd Team All-American

lastof12 — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 20:45:40 -0000

Wedige Named CBS Sports 2nd Team All-American

What If?

lastof12 — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 22:07:21 -0000

What if the Bears play their game of the season?

What if Jay Cutler silences his critics by outplaying Aaron Rodgers?

What if Devin Hester gets a special teams TD?

What if Lovie Smith and his assistants coach their best game so far?

What if the defense shuts down the Packers highly touted offense?

What if the O-line protects Jay and garners no sacks?

What if the Bears beat Green Bay?

What if the Bears play their game of the season?

What if Jay Cutler silences his critics by outplaying Aaron Rodgers?

What if Devin Hester gets a special teams TD?

What if Lovie Smith and his assistants coach their best game so far?

What if the defense shuts down the Packers highly touted offense?

What if the O-line protects Jay and garners no sacks?

What if the Bears beat Green Bay?

What if the Bears chose offense first instead of deferring?

What if Chicago’s defense took away the slant?

What if the Packers went 3 and out on 1st possession?

What if Jay connected with Devin Hester for the TD to tie at 7-7?

What if the Bears O-line played penalty free?

What if the defense stopped the run?

What if the Briggs INT turned into an offensive score?

What if the Bears offense showed up in the 2nd half?

What if Jay Cutler didn’t leave the game?

What if Brian Urlacher didn’t get tackled by Rodgers after his INT and scored?

What if Caleb Hanie didn’t throw the pick six to B.J. Rajie?

What if the Bears didn’t run an end around on 3rd down?

What if Hanie doesn’t throw the 2nd INT virtually ending the game?

What if the Bears won…

I woke up last night about 1am wondering all of the things I listed after the jump in my head. I couldn’t sleep…I wandered to the TV, flipped it on and reached for some solace while the glare of the TV illuminated the room. No comfort was found…

I agonized over all the "what if’s," I listed before the jump. I tried everything to calm my pre-game nerves…"Why do I do this?" I asked myself. I couldn’t imagine playing in a game of this magnitude…this is our rival, the Green Bay Packers! Even Lazarus could get up for this game…

Ahh…the endless cacophony of questions ringing in our psyche…yes, we fans all do this; the infamous "What if’s," that drive us to madness.

I’ve had a day to let things settle. You know, get things straight in my head. The radio helped a little and so did reading WCG…mostly I realized I’m not alone with my thoughts. There were some fans and media, rightly or wrongly, that went on with questions further than I could imagine…

All I can say is I’m glad to have had the opportunity to root for my team, The Chicago Bears, in the NFC Championship game…a "what if" that was buzzing my brain the previous 3 seasons.

And now I wonder about that NFL draft…

Pregame Rituals

lastof12 — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 19:47:00 -0000

via www.taipeitimes.com

The purpose of this post is mostly for you, the reader’s involvement. We all have our rituals and perhaps superstitions for sporting events. Whether it’s painting our face, stripping bare chested in the freezing cold (one I’ll never understand) or perhaps a common meal. Many we fans have, rightly or wrongly, our own set(s) of pregame routines.

Back in the day when I played high school football, a buddy and I made a pre-season pact we would wear the same undergarments for all games. Our own of course...That didn’t seem like too big of a deal until the last game of the season. The game temperature was around 20 deg coming off of a mid-week drizzle. I can remember my hands getting stuck to the ground on more than one occasion that day…it was very cold but we made it through unscathed. Our superstition was a cutoff shirt underneath our shoulder pads and nothing more than the obligatory jockstrap beneath each or our football pants. We wore all the required equipment, of course!

I have a buddy with whom I’ve watched most of the big Bears’ games over the last few seasons. I’ll admit I haven’t followed a ritualistic setting more times than not, but the BIG games have been the same. We meet at his house, have a glass or 2 of vino, and smoke stogies on his heated back porch while watching the Bears play.

This season was the Bears-Packers on Monday night. Last season was against the Favre led Vikings on Monday night as well. I’m sure there are a few others but memory won’t permit. I think you get the idea anyway. This Sunday, we’re HOPING that our "lucky" ritual stands.

How about anyone else? Do you have any game rituals that will bring a Bears win?!

via www.taipeitimes.com

How about anyone else? Do you have any game rituals that will bring a Bears win?!

Wedige Named to Rivals.com 2010 All Bowl Team

lastof12 — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 20:51:54 -0000

Wedige Named to Rivals.com 2010 All Bowl Team

The Gunslinger

lastof12 — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 16:42:23 -0000

The term has been thrown around the football ranks for quite a few years now; more specifically in the NFL defining a quarterback as having a "risk taker," mentality. He’s the kind of guy that will rare back and chuck a deep ball at any time with any cost.

Many a fan likes to compare the side-shooter with the "game manager." You know, the guy that dinks and dunks his team down the field with nary a risk taking pass attempt. Furthering said comparison is perhaps the contrast in intelligence on (and maybe off) the field. A few weeks back WCG posed the question Which QB Would You Choose? [Props needed to the author—sorry, I cannot recall who.]

I chose the gunslinger mostly on the basis of ability. I’m like most in that, I dig seeing a well thrown deep ball or the laser pass over the middle. Some current NFL QB’s that fall under this moniker for me are: (obviously) Jay Cutler, Brett Favre, ex Bear Rex Grossmann and Tony Romo. I’m sure more are out there, but these four will be used for the basis of this writing.

My focus here is on the footwork of the gunslinger.

I’ll start with Jay Cutler since he’s the main QB of the 4 that I’ve watched almost every game. It was evident to my eyes that Jay throws primarily off his back foot. A term I’ll use is, "heel throws." Hence, the player’s weight is on the heel of the back leg.

It has been pointed out numerous times during telecasts Jay doesn’t follow through to his front foot. He doesn’t step into his throws. Granted, in Jay’s as well as the other 3 QB’s case, a strong arm allows for this poor technique to happen.

It could be argued that the heel throws are a byproduct of a player either at his legs or in his face. In either case, this would restrict his front leg going forward. You can see in the video that in many cases this is true. However, there are a few videos where the throw is rushed. In fact, there are times when Jay is flat footed while making his throws.

It could be argued (and frankly is) that Brett Favre is the greatest QB to play the game. That subject is open for debate elsewhere. For now, let’s focus also on his footwork. You’ll see a few instances similar to Jay’s. But, there are some nice replays where Brett’s form is text book.

Sorry, fellow Bears’ fans. I know there’s some not so pretty evidence if his mastery over Chicago. But hey, that’s history, right?

Perhaps not one of our favorite subjects, but Rex Grossman clearly defines the gunslinger style of quarterback. As mind numbing as some of his multiple INT games were, Rex did possess the strong arm and attack at all costs mentality.

I read somewhere recently Tony Romo falls into the gunslinger terminology as well. To be honest, I haven’t seen him play as much as the others. You’ll see from the videos he does possess similar characteristics.

Is good footwork necessarily the key to success? I’m on the fence with that question, so I pose that to you, fellow Bears’ fans. As a separate item, the gunslinger mentality can hurt a team by forcing throws. We’ve all seen our Bears’ QB’s confounding us by questionable throws. I’d say the mindset coupled with a strong arm can be a recipe for disaster. Still, I’m ok with Cutler at the helm. My hope is to limit his decision making to take a reasonable risk. I really don’t think reasonable is in the gunslinger’s dictionary.

All videos courtesy of YouTube.