Well, the afternoon started well for Mark McGwire when he FINALLY admitted to doing what we all knew he was doing; steroids. Then given the opportunity to really show the world how repentant he was, he decided to back-pedal throughout the hour-long interview with Bob Costas tonight. Why Mark? You had us all and then you threw us behind your massive ego. And the big capper to hammer home that this was all about his ego and nothing else...when Bob reminded him that LaRussa pinch-hit for him in what would have been his last official time at bat in an MLB game, he waved it off saying his last official AB was an HR in a regular season game following 9/11 rationalizing it by saying most players don't play in the playoffs so those stats don't count somehow. What?!?
Hand-eye coordination, God-given talent and a little PED cocktail equals Hall-of-Fame numbers but just don't quite get you into the Hall of Fame. McGwire decided to completely discount the affects of steroids and ignore the fact his numbers dramatically went up once he started taking the steroids. He said he wished MLB had been doing steroid testing at that time and then he and Bob "wouldn't be sitting here talking today". Well, he had that right because his career would have ended much sooner without the cheating and his numbers wouldn't be worth talking about. Why call Roger Maris' widow today to apologize if you really didn't feel like you cheated? Why all the tears and choking up? It's remorse Mark for cheating...let it go man...you cheated so just admit it and be done.
Maybe he really believes his delusional "memories" otherwise known as lies, but nobody else really does. Or is he the only guy to ever take PERFORMANCE enhancing drugs and not really have them enhance his performance? If everything was on the up-and-up Mark and these drugs didn't help you cheat, then why do you feel like you have such a massive burden with this secret? Just the fact that the steroids helped you heal faster is a level of cheating by itself Mark. How did you even get the steroids? Did you have a prescription for them? He said he was "introduced" to them at his fitness club. Was that by a doctor? And then he pulled a Bonds and said he didn't remember what he did although he did "prefer the orals" over the "injectables" and he only did "low dosages" because he didn't want to look like "Arnold Schwarzenegger or Lou Ferrigno" and topped out his weight at 250 and finished each year around 235. I'm sorry, but you were at least 260 in 1998 and DID look like Arnold. Don't forget he was 6'5" and HUGE that year!
Then his lies continued to entangle him. He talked about injuries and that being the reason to start taking the steroids. Yet then he goes on to say that AFTER he started taking steroids, his injuries increased and he wasn't sure why he stayed on them. Yes, Mark you've always had bat speed as we all know you hit 49 HRs as a rookie, but there's still a tremendous leap from 49 to 70 - 40% man!
Just some miscellaneous comments/questions...
He never talked to any players about steroids ever?
Just because it makes your body feel good doesn't make it OK.
Tony LaRussa (dont' forget Tony managed the Bash Brothers in Oakland with Mark and Canseco as well as Mark in St. Louis) didn't know he and Canseco were taking steroids?
I did appreciate how he explained the behind-the-scenes negotiations regarding the congressional hearing back in 2005...apparently he negotiated with the congressmen that he wouldn't talk about the past. And he almost had me...not that I would vote for him in his HOF bid or he was really trying to get me anyway, but then he messed it all up by saying the steroids didn't help him at all and his numbers would have ended the same anyway. He sounded just all too much like Roger Clemens.
Pete Carroll also blew it and this should be separate post, but I don't have too much to say on this. So we're supposed to believe (again!) that a college coach living the dream in THE BEST setup in all of NCAA football (c'mon how hard is it to recruit a kid from Chicago to go play football in front of the USC cheerleaders in southern CA?) to go coach in Seattle for the NFL Seahawks totally out of the blue when his name wasn't on anyone's radar? And it had nothing to do with the pending allegations involving prized USC RBs Reggie Bush and more recently Joe McKnight?
The Score radio station in Chicago does a bit on Thu afternoons called "Who you crappin?" These two guys will lead the way this week; no question!
Monday, January 11, 2010
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Why Do We Put Up With This - Part 4?
If it wasn't for the Blackhawks who may want to remove the dirty word (i.e. "Chicago") attached to their franchise with the rest of the mess surrounding the other sports teams, this could be the biggest joke of a major market sports city right now. WHAT A TOTAL MESS!
Thank goodness I didn't watch the Halas Hall Circus (I thought the circus came to town in November, not January) on TV today or listen to it live on the radio. Instead I watched and listened to the "highlights" throughout the night on the nearly non-stop coverage. The press conference at least proved a given in life...stuff runs downhill. Ted Phillips gets to stay on as worthless Team President (what exactly does this guy do?!?). Jerry Angelo sticks around as GM even though Jerry had a pretty close race in the worst GM in town contest with Jim Hendry. Continuity for the sake of continuity is just ludicrous...just ask the Lions about the Matt Millen era. Lovie sticks around AGAIN even though the Bears haven't made the playoffs since getting blown out in the Super Bowl 3 years ago. When there are only 4 teams in your division and one of them has gone 2-30 over the last 2 years, you should make the playoffs more often than 1/4 of the time. Since firing Chico Rivera (that was all Lovie) following the Super Bowl season, the Bears have really struggled defensively. Is it just the aging of the players or is it the guy calling the shots?
How about some more continuity talk? In responding to some questions about the scheme, Lovie's only response was that the Bears won and were successful with the Cover 2 scheme 3 years ago. WHAT?!? Do offenses not ever adjust Lovie? Why don't you see that the scheme isn't working any more? Did you watch the game film from the Bengals, Cardinals, Ravens, or first Vikings games where good QBs torched your D time after time? If you don't have the players and talent to pull it off, don't you have to go with something else?
It all starts at the top and I would have dumped everyone from Phillips on down. Three years of so-so football is NOT acceptable anywhere, especially in the home of the NFL's inaugural franchise. Phillips is gone for not firing Angelo who is fired for his aforementioned HORRENDOUS job. You don't think you did a very good job this year Angelo? You're right and that's the first time in a while you've been right. How much money did you give away to Orlando Pace? How about Omiyale? Both of those guys were benched during those last two games where the O actually looked like they knew what they were doing. You go out and get a "franchise QB" but then don't give him a true #1 WR to throw to? Wasn't it your idea to turn Hester into a WR and write his contract such that he only gets "paid" based on WR incentives? Congrats buddy - you're the only guy in the NFL that can stop Devin Hester. How did that Gaines Adams trade work out for us this year? After giving up a bunch of draft picks for Cutler, you have now given up our 2nd rounder for this year for a guy that saw the field for about 10% of the defensive plays if that. He finished the season with 4 tackles and 3 assists! I know you suck at drafting in the early rounds, but isn't this going a little too far? How did the lack of signing an experienced safety work out? The Saints signed Darren Sharper who led the NFL in interceptions (9) returning 3 for TDs which is the same number as Devin Hester did as a WR and helped lead the Saints to the playoffs as the #1 seed in the NFC. Now if this isn't a Jim Hendyism, I don't know what is...what are the Bears needs heading into the off-season this year? Well, O-Line and defensive secondary. Sound familiar? Weren't those their needs last year and weren't they supposedly addressed with Pace and Omiyale?
Lovie's gone because he lets his players do whatever they want with no repercussions and for his utter lack of talent evaluation. He took credit for Johnny Knox who was headed to the practice squad before Aromashodu went down with injury. Why do they rotate the returners seemingly on every kick which was a lot since the D was giving up points by the bushel full? At least he fired himself as D-coordinator although his plan seems to be to bring in another clone like he had in Babich.
So all they did was dump the majority of the offensive coaches and that's supposed to solve everything. That's the other problem...they really do think "we're close". Really? What games have you been watching boys? How many Pro Bowl players came from the Bears? Oh ya, just one...ya, you're right...we are close. What was I thinking? Supposedly THIS is Lovie's last chance...it's win or else. Or else what? They're still going to pay him his final year's salary? Unless three teams are going to make it from the historically weak NFC North, I don't see how they have any shot at making the playoffs (did you see their brutal schedule for 2010?). The Vikings will still have their D, AP and Favre so while they may not go 12-4, they're still in. And the Packers with Aaron Rodgers are getting better and better as they continue to learn their new 3-4 defensive system. By the way, do you know what pick Aaron Rodgers was in the 2005 draft? He was #24 overall and the Bears took an immature Cedric Benson at #4 that year which wasn't the biggest mistake in that draft. The 49ers took Alex Smith #1 overall which was the only other QB taken ahead of Rodgers. So no playoffs, no excuses...is Lovie back again for the final year of his contract in 2011? That's really THE question for me...if Lovie was actually finishing up his current contract instead of having 2 years remaining, would the Bears have resigned him? I just can't see how they would so then doesn't it make this decision purely based on money alone? That's tough to swallow for what they charge for tickets and with such a huge and supportive fan base for a franchise recently valued at over $1 billion.
And what the heck are the Cubs doing? Not only did they bring back their circus ring masters in Crane Kenney, Jim Hendry and Lou Piniella, they now sit around on their fat duffs watching the rival Cardinals continue to work to improve their team even though they actually made the playoffs. Did you see the mid-market Cardinals were able to sign Matt Holliday to a 7-year $120 million contract today? But wait, the Cubs did get rid of clubhouse cancer and under-achiever Milton Bradley although they did get stuck with another horrendous contract in Carlos Silva even if they did save a little money. Oh and they signed their CF of the future in Marlon Byrd if you consider a mediocre at best 32-year old CF a good thing. Apparently Hendry is NOT learning ANY lessons whatsoever that signing so-so players to extended contracts (Byrd got a 3-year deal even though it doesn't seem that any other team was remotely interested in this guy) is a bad thing.
The Bulls are who we thought they were before their somewhat miraculous 4-game winning streak which provided enough of a mirage to allow Vinny to stick around a little longer than I'd have preferred. Can ANYONE on this team step up and make an outside shot? Hinrich missed a wide open 12-footer by barely hitting the rim. If Vinny has a response as to why D-Rose was making the in-bounds pass instead of catching it, I'd like to hear it. D-Rose was the ONLY guy playing in the 4th quarter so why he was out of bounds making that important in-bounds pass is just ridiculous.
After that recent stretch of horrendous losses including a 32-point home loss to the sub-.500 Raptors (I was there!), the first road win by the Nets, and a 35-point loss to the Hawks. But those were just lead-ins to the infamous loss to the sub-.500 Kings where they blew a 35-point lead at home.
WHY DO WE HAVE TO PUT UP WITH THIS GARBAGE?!?
Thank goodness I didn't watch the Halas Hall Circus (I thought the circus came to town in November, not January) on TV today or listen to it live on the radio. Instead I watched and listened to the "highlights" throughout the night on the nearly non-stop coverage. The press conference at least proved a given in life...stuff runs downhill. Ted Phillips gets to stay on as worthless Team President (what exactly does this guy do?!?). Jerry Angelo sticks around as GM even though Jerry had a pretty close race in the worst GM in town contest with Jim Hendry. Continuity for the sake of continuity is just ludicrous...just ask the Lions about the Matt Millen era. Lovie sticks around AGAIN even though the Bears haven't made the playoffs since getting blown out in the Super Bowl 3 years ago. When there are only 4 teams in your division and one of them has gone 2-30 over the last 2 years, you should make the playoffs more often than 1/4 of the time. Since firing Chico Rivera (that was all Lovie) following the Super Bowl season, the Bears have really struggled defensively. Is it just the aging of the players or is it the guy calling the shots?
How about some more continuity talk? In responding to some questions about the scheme, Lovie's only response was that the Bears won and were successful with the Cover 2 scheme 3 years ago. WHAT?!? Do offenses not ever adjust Lovie? Why don't you see that the scheme isn't working any more? Did you watch the game film from the Bengals, Cardinals, Ravens, or first Vikings games where good QBs torched your D time after time? If you don't have the players and talent to pull it off, don't you have to go with something else?
It all starts at the top and I would have dumped everyone from Phillips on down. Three years of so-so football is NOT acceptable anywhere, especially in the home of the NFL's inaugural franchise. Phillips is gone for not firing Angelo who is fired for his aforementioned HORRENDOUS job. You don't think you did a very good job this year Angelo? You're right and that's the first time in a while you've been right. How much money did you give away to Orlando Pace? How about Omiyale? Both of those guys were benched during those last two games where the O actually looked like they knew what they were doing. You go out and get a "franchise QB" but then don't give him a true #1 WR to throw to? Wasn't it your idea to turn Hester into a WR and write his contract such that he only gets "paid" based on WR incentives? Congrats buddy - you're the only guy in the NFL that can stop Devin Hester. How did that Gaines Adams trade work out for us this year? After giving up a bunch of draft picks for Cutler, you have now given up our 2nd rounder for this year for a guy that saw the field for about 10% of the defensive plays if that. He finished the season with 4 tackles and 3 assists! I know you suck at drafting in the early rounds, but isn't this going a little too far? How did the lack of signing an experienced safety work out? The Saints signed Darren Sharper who led the NFL in interceptions (9) returning 3 for TDs which is the same number as Devin Hester did as a WR and helped lead the Saints to the playoffs as the #1 seed in the NFC. Now if this isn't a Jim Hendyism, I don't know what is...what are the Bears needs heading into the off-season this year? Well, O-Line and defensive secondary. Sound familiar? Weren't those their needs last year and weren't they supposedly addressed with Pace and Omiyale?
Lovie's gone because he lets his players do whatever they want with no repercussions and for his utter lack of talent evaluation. He took credit for Johnny Knox who was headed to the practice squad before Aromashodu went down with injury. Why do they rotate the returners seemingly on every kick which was a lot since the D was giving up points by the bushel full? At least he fired himself as D-coordinator although his plan seems to be to bring in another clone like he had in Babich.
So all they did was dump the majority of the offensive coaches and that's supposed to solve everything. That's the other problem...they really do think "we're close". Really? What games have you been watching boys? How many Pro Bowl players came from the Bears? Oh ya, just one...ya, you're right...we are close. What was I thinking? Supposedly THIS is Lovie's last chance...it's win or else. Or else what? They're still going to pay him his final year's salary? Unless three teams are going to make it from the historically weak NFC North, I don't see how they have any shot at making the playoffs (did you see their brutal schedule for 2010?). The Vikings will still have their D, AP and Favre so while they may not go 12-4, they're still in. And the Packers with Aaron Rodgers are getting better and better as they continue to learn their new 3-4 defensive system. By the way, do you know what pick Aaron Rodgers was in the 2005 draft? He was #24 overall and the Bears took an immature Cedric Benson at #4 that year which wasn't the biggest mistake in that draft. The 49ers took Alex Smith #1 overall which was the only other QB taken ahead of Rodgers. So no playoffs, no excuses...is Lovie back again for the final year of his contract in 2011? That's really THE question for me...if Lovie was actually finishing up his current contract instead of having 2 years remaining, would the Bears have resigned him? I just can't see how they would so then doesn't it make this decision purely based on money alone? That's tough to swallow for what they charge for tickets and with such a huge and supportive fan base for a franchise recently valued at over $1 billion.
And what the heck are the Cubs doing? Not only did they bring back their circus ring masters in Crane Kenney, Jim Hendry and Lou Piniella, they now sit around on their fat duffs watching the rival Cardinals continue to work to improve their team even though they actually made the playoffs. Did you see the mid-market Cardinals were able to sign Matt Holliday to a 7-year $120 million contract today? But wait, the Cubs did get rid of clubhouse cancer and under-achiever Milton Bradley although they did get stuck with another horrendous contract in Carlos Silva even if they did save a little money. Oh and they signed their CF of the future in Marlon Byrd if you consider a mediocre at best 32-year old CF a good thing. Apparently Hendry is NOT learning ANY lessons whatsoever that signing so-so players to extended contracts (Byrd got a 3-year deal even though it doesn't seem that any other team was remotely interested in this guy) is a bad thing.
The Bulls are who we thought they were before their somewhat miraculous 4-game winning streak which provided enough of a mirage to allow Vinny to stick around a little longer than I'd have preferred. Can ANYONE on this team step up and make an outside shot? Hinrich missed a wide open 12-footer by barely hitting the rim. If Vinny has a response as to why D-Rose was making the in-bounds pass instead of catching it, I'd like to hear it. D-Rose was the ONLY guy playing in the 4th quarter so why he was out of bounds making that important in-bounds pass is just ridiculous.
After that recent stretch of horrendous losses including a 32-point home loss to the sub-.500 Raptors (I was there!), the first road win by the Nets, and a 35-point loss to the Hawks. But those were just lead-ins to the infamous loss to the sub-.500 Kings where they blew a 35-point lead at home.
WHY DO WE HAVE TO PUT UP WITH THIS GARBAGE?!?
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Why Do We Put Up With This - Part 3?
It has been a LONG time since I was nearly brought to tears with a Bulls loss, but tonight it happened. Losing at home to the worst team in the NBA that was on pace (I know it's WAY early) to destroy the lowest season win total "record" (they were on pace to win 4 games for the season while the record is 9) just about killed me. Thank goodness I wasn't there to see it although I was at the debacle against Toronto on Saturday when they lost by 32 again at home.
For tonight's game I know there were a million reasons they lost and you really shouldn't point to a single moment that lost the game, but that disastrous decision by John Salmons to take a step-back 3-pointer with over 10 seconds left on the clock with the Bulls down by 1 was just horrendous. Of all the guys on the floor at that point, the one guy you just didn't want taking an outside shot (forget the fact that there were still 10 seconds left and NO RUSH and they didn't need a 3 at that point), John Salmons was THE guy NOT to take the shot. Luol was 10-17 from the field; Rose (who was a beast tonight) was 13-23; Taj was 8-12; and Noah was 3-6. Salmons was 4-11 before his ill-fated shot. If they had ANYONE else on the bench that could do anything, I would hope that Vinny wouldn't have even had him on the floor at that point but Pargo was 1-8 and Johnson was 0-5 and well on his way to bust status.
The missed free throws were a HUGE problem AGAIN tonight as the Bulls finished up 15-23 for 65% (Nets were 24-28 for nearly 86%) including going 0-4 to start the 4th quarter down by 10 points. The 19 turnovers leading to about 20 points for the Nets were also a huge problem as well. But with the game on the line, how does the ball end up in the hands of the coldest guy on the floor? And WHY is he chucking up a step-back 3 with 10 seconds left down by only 1 point? There was still plenty of time to get the ball to Rose (does this team no how to set a dang pick?) and let HIM take the last shot or at least drive and kick it to someone having a better night than Salmons.
The Bulls have now lost 7-of-8 including two pretty embarrassing home losses to a sub-.500 Toronto team and the loss tonight to the worst team in the NBA (this was their first road win of the season after dropping their first 12). Yes, they are missing a couple of key players in Tyrus and Kirk, but injuries are a part of the game and everyone always says they aren't an excuse so what is the problem here? I watched the post-game press conference with Vinny and someone actually had the guts to ask him if he felt he still had job security. GREAT question! And a perfect lead-in to this post.
I mentioned in my first post in this series that I have never been much of a fan of Vinny's considering how young this team is and his total lack of coaching experience having never coached anywhere ever before. He certainly came here on the cheap but as a 10+ year season ticket holder paying a ridiculous amount of money for the tickets, that is NOT what I want to hear. Seeing former Bulls coach Scott Skiles hold together a pretty bad Bucks team without Michael Redd (played only 5 of their 19 games) only aggravates me that much more. This Bulls team started the season with a nice defensive attitude because we all knew they'd have some trouble scoring without BG but that disappeared very quickly as they have given up 100+ points in 7 of their last 9 which resulted in losses each time. What is this team's identity? They absolutely suck at defending the pick-and-roll and give up too many easy shots to be a defensive minded team but then they can't score either (reaching 100 twice in 19 games - not a good combo.
So who's working with this team on their outside shooting? What about their free throws? Do they have any "go-to" plays they can run at the end of a game that will at least guarantee a good shot? The plain truth is that they don't have anyone or they just don't work on it. Sure at some point the players need to take responsibility for their weaknesses, but do you see any improvement in any of these areas? I sure don't. The rest of the truth is that this team is NOT positioned very well for this season and the worse they play, the less likely they will be to attract any of the upcoming free agents. After dismantling the Bulls on their home floor, why would Chris Bosh want to come here to play? Or why would Wade want to come back "home" to play rather than stay in Miami? And with LeBron doing his special dance in advance of their home win against the Bulls, that doesn't seem like the antics of a guy that wants to play here rather than fulfill D-Rose's dream of playing with him.
What the heck was Vinny thinking when he changed the starting lineup to bench Taj and start the OLD and SLOW Brad Miller (hey, at least he's tall) against a young, quick, up and coming Center in Brook Lopez? I'm all for shaking up a lineup that's struggling, but Brad Miller?!? As anyone that's ever seen Lopez or Miller play could guess, Lopez OWNED Miller in the first quarter. Brutal Vinny! I know he was trying to cover for his player when asked about the ill-fated Salmons 3-point shot near the end, but his response about checking the tape made it sound like he had no idea what happened. Anyone watching the game knew there was at least 8 seconds left when he chucked it up there so what is there to check? He was the LAST guy on teh floor that you'd want to take that shot and that should have been made explicitly clear in teh team huddle during the timeout preceding the play.
The Bulls, like the Bears and Cubs as highlighted in the previous two posts need a NEW coaching perspective and staff...one with some respect to help lure free agents here in the most important off-season in NBA history.
Again, why do we put up with this here in Chicago?
Next up...off-season baseball and the winter meetings.
For tonight's game I know there were a million reasons they lost and you really shouldn't point to a single moment that lost the game, but that disastrous decision by John Salmons to take a step-back 3-pointer with over 10 seconds left on the clock with the Bulls down by 1 was just horrendous. Of all the guys on the floor at that point, the one guy you just didn't want taking an outside shot (forget the fact that there were still 10 seconds left and NO RUSH and they didn't need a 3 at that point), John Salmons was THE guy NOT to take the shot. Luol was 10-17 from the field; Rose (who was a beast tonight) was 13-23; Taj was 8-12; and Noah was 3-6. Salmons was 4-11 before his ill-fated shot. If they had ANYONE else on the bench that could do anything, I would hope that Vinny wouldn't have even had him on the floor at that point but Pargo was 1-8 and Johnson was 0-5 and well on his way to bust status.
The missed free throws were a HUGE problem AGAIN tonight as the Bulls finished up 15-23 for 65% (Nets were 24-28 for nearly 86%) including going 0-4 to start the 4th quarter down by 10 points. The 19 turnovers leading to about 20 points for the Nets were also a huge problem as well. But with the game on the line, how does the ball end up in the hands of the coldest guy on the floor? And WHY is he chucking up a step-back 3 with 10 seconds left down by only 1 point? There was still plenty of time to get the ball to Rose (does this team no how to set a dang pick?) and let HIM take the last shot or at least drive and kick it to someone having a better night than Salmons.
The Bulls have now lost 7-of-8 including two pretty embarrassing home losses to a sub-.500 Toronto team and the loss tonight to the worst team in the NBA (this was their first road win of the season after dropping their first 12). Yes, they are missing a couple of key players in Tyrus and Kirk, but injuries are a part of the game and everyone always says they aren't an excuse so what is the problem here? I watched the post-game press conference with Vinny and someone actually had the guts to ask him if he felt he still had job security. GREAT question! And a perfect lead-in to this post.
I mentioned in my first post in this series that I have never been much of a fan of Vinny's considering how young this team is and his total lack of coaching experience having never coached anywhere ever before. He certainly came here on the cheap but as a 10+ year season ticket holder paying a ridiculous amount of money for the tickets, that is NOT what I want to hear. Seeing former Bulls coach Scott Skiles hold together a pretty bad Bucks team without Michael Redd (played only 5 of their 19 games) only aggravates me that much more. This Bulls team started the season with a nice defensive attitude because we all knew they'd have some trouble scoring without BG but that disappeared very quickly as they have given up 100+ points in 7 of their last 9 which resulted in losses each time. What is this team's identity? They absolutely suck at defending the pick-and-roll and give up too many easy shots to be a defensive minded team but then they can't score either (reaching 100 twice in 19 games - not a good combo.
So who's working with this team on their outside shooting? What about their free throws? Do they have any "go-to" plays they can run at the end of a game that will at least guarantee a good shot? The plain truth is that they don't have anyone or they just don't work on it. Sure at some point the players need to take responsibility for their weaknesses, but do you see any improvement in any of these areas? I sure don't. The rest of the truth is that this team is NOT positioned very well for this season and the worse they play, the less likely they will be to attract any of the upcoming free agents. After dismantling the Bulls on their home floor, why would Chris Bosh want to come here to play? Or why would Wade want to come back "home" to play rather than stay in Miami? And with LeBron doing his special dance in advance of their home win against the Bulls, that doesn't seem like the antics of a guy that wants to play here rather than fulfill D-Rose's dream of playing with him.
What the heck was Vinny thinking when he changed the starting lineup to bench Taj and start the OLD and SLOW Brad Miller (hey, at least he's tall) against a young, quick, up and coming Center in Brook Lopez? I'm all for shaking up a lineup that's struggling, but Brad Miller?!? As anyone that's ever seen Lopez or Miller play could guess, Lopez OWNED Miller in the first quarter. Brutal Vinny! I know he was trying to cover for his player when asked about the ill-fated Salmons 3-point shot near the end, but his response about checking the tape made it sound like he had no idea what happened. Anyone watching the game knew there was at least 8 seconds left when he chucked it up there so what is there to check? He was the LAST guy on teh floor that you'd want to take that shot and that should have been made explicitly clear in teh team huddle during the timeout preceding the play.
The Bulls, like the Bears and Cubs as highlighted in the previous two posts need a NEW coaching perspective and staff...one with some respect to help lure free agents here in the most important off-season in NBA history.
Again, why do we put up with this here in Chicago?
Next up...off-season baseball and the winter meetings.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Why Do We Put Up With This - Part 2?
As a lifelong Cubs fan, I guess I should follow up the Bears problems with those of my favorite pro sports team - the Cubs.
The good news is the Trib is officially GONE - thank goodness. The only problem is the debris field they left behind. Wrigley is totally out-of-date and run down; the minor league player development is a total joke; the GM had arguably (no argument from me) the worst season of all-time; the team president remains in his old spot; and the manager who mailed it in for the second half of last year is back too. Did I mention the worst ever Chicago free-agent signing (and THAT is saying a LOT) ever remains on the roster? They have the most expensive and under-achieving outfield in the history of baseball including THE most overpaid player in baseball (that is also saying a LOT). Luckily, they are only stuck with Soriano for another 5 SEASONS!!!
Yes, we now have owners who are at least telling us they are in this because they are baseball fans - lifelong Cubs fans as a matter of fact. But I remain baffled that Tom Ricketts has been supposedly involved with this team for nearly 2 years and yet left all the leaders of the organization in their familiar places. Even scarier were his comments on how much better the team was doing recently by making the playoffs 3 times in the last 7 seasons. The Cubs are the ONLY major market team in the NL Central with the highest payroll too. WHY can't they win the division more than they have? And since they have been spending but not performing, doesn't that leave the leadership as the problem? Particularly the GM who oversees the draft, signs the free agents, makes or doesn't make the trades, and hires/fires the manager? So how does Jim Hendry remain? I just don't get it.
Lou had a club option to come back this year. After a VERY disappointing season, the Cubs didn't renew it right? Wrong! Jim Hendry for whatever reason exercised the club option back in 2008. Wait...yes, you read that right...the Cubs exercised Lou's club option for the 2010 season back in September 2008 right BEFORE the Cubs went 3-and-out in the playoffs for the second time in two years. Why the big rush Jim? Was there some huge demand out there for an aging skipper that can't get his team up for the playoffs? This guy spends money like it isn't his...you know why...because it ISN'T! That's not the guy I want leading my organization.
Lou totally mailed it in last year giving up on his team in August and never fighting to get them back on track. Let's not forget the Cubs were still in first place as late as August 5th. Then the wheels fell off and the guy in charge of getting them back on was asleep at the helm instead. But let's turn the clock back a little further. How about calling his starting RF a "piece of s***" and sending him home one day only to have him back in the starting lineup the very next day? Or how long did he leave the ultra-struggling Soriano in the lead-off spot? How many Gatorade machines did he allow to be destroyed by underachieving pitchers with no repercussions? Who's in charge in the dugout Lou? Even when it was clearly over towards the end of the season, Lou still kept throwing out the old guys instead of trying out the younger ones to see if they could salvage anything from an otherwise disastrous season. Sam Fuld, Micah, Jake Fox, and Andre Blanco should have been sent out there day after day towards the end.
The biggest problem with the Cubs today is the long-term contracts that lock the team up and totally limit flexibility. Soriano is making so much money, you just have to play him and he's got so many years left on his contract and he's already pretty old that you're just never going to be able to unload him without taking on another disastrous contract which means you won't gain anything. You still have Milton Bradley but hopefully, he's all but out of here - I heard when Hendry finally sent him home with a couple weeks left in the season that the remaining players cheered wildly - not a good sign. Fukudome has two more years on his ridiculous Jim Hendry contract so you're stuck with him starting too so there goes 2 of your 3 outfield spots. You have no real CF - no, Fukudome is NOT a CF; he's a RF. The oft-injured Aramis Ramirez is here for 2 or 3 more years; Dempster 3 more years; Zambrano 3-4 more years; and Aaron Miles (what a JOKE this guy is!) for 1 more year. The guy that had the best year last season was D-Lee and he's only signed for 1 more year. They'll lose Rich Harden to free agency and Lilly is only signed for one more year so what once was considered a strength doesn't seem very strong anymore. Dempster seems to have lost a little something and Zambrano just seems to be one of those guys you scratch your head about what could have been if he would just grow up.
So the Cubs have a new owner that arguably over spent during tough economic times which will probably limit their immediate further investment in the team. They already said they were going to increase ticket prices again (the Cubs were the only pro team in Chicago to raise prices last year) and they are trying to squeeze some money from the guy that owns the building that used to have the Budweiser sign painted on the roof who changed it to Horseshoe Casino. Sounds like the same story as last year.
Lou has asked AGAIN for a middle-of-the-order guy which will potentially be the third year in a row as Fukudome and then Bradley were supposed to be that guy. What they really need to do is get a REAL lead-off guy - right now, the roster includes 3 pretty good #2 hitters (Theriot, Fukudome, and Bradley) and zero #1 or #5 hitters (Soriano is a #6 hitter at best these days). They also need a healthy and productive Aramis and D-Lee along with Soto getting his head screwed back on right. How about Chone Figgins to lead-off and play 2B? How does this starting lineup sound?
1 - Figgins 2B
2 - Theriot SS
3 - Lee 1B
4 - Aramis 3B
5 - Soriano LF
6 - Soto C
7 - Fukudome RF
8 - Johnson CF
Or what about moving Soriano back to 2B and putting Jake Fox out in LF? Having both corner outfield spots sucked up by overpaid underachievers really limits the Cubs flexibility with their young guys. Of course, they did this to themselves.
Next up...Vinny and the Bulls...
The good news is the Trib is officially GONE - thank goodness. The only problem is the debris field they left behind. Wrigley is totally out-of-date and run down; the minor league player development is a total joke; the GM had arguably (no argument from me) the worst season of all-time; the team president remains in his old spot; and the manager who mailed it in for the second half of last year is back too. Did I mention the worst ever Chicago free-agent signing (and THAT is saying a LOT) ever remains on the roster? They have the most expensive and under-achieving outfield in the history of baseball including THE most overpaid player in baseball (that is also saying a LOT). Luckily, they are only stuck with Soriano for another 5 SEASONS!!!
Yes, we now have owners who are at least telling us they are in this because they are baseball fans - lifelong Cubs fans as a matter of fact. But I remain baffled that Tom Ricketts has been supposedly involved with this team for nearly 2 years and yet left all the leaders of the organization in their familiar places. Even scarier were his comments on how much better the team was doing recently by making the playoffs 3 times in the last 7 seasons. The Cubs are the ONLY major market team in the NL Central with the highest payroll too. WHY can't they win the division more than they have? And since they have been spending but not performing, doesn't that leave the leadership as the problem? Particularly the GM who oversees the draft, signs the free agents, makes or doesn't make the trades, and hires/fires the manager? So how does Jim Hendry remain? I just don't get it.
Lou had a club option to come back this year. After a VERY disappointing season, the Cubs didn't renew it right? Wrong! Jim Hendry for whatever reason exercised the club option back in 2008. Wait...yes, you read that right...the Cubs exercised Lou's club option for the 2010 season back in September 2008 right BEFORE the Cubs went 3-and-out in the playoffs for the second time in two years. Why the big rush Jim? Was there some huge demand out there for an aging skipper that can't get his team up for the playoffs? This guy spends money like it isn't his...you know why...because it ISN'T! That's not the guy I want leading my organization.
Lou totally mailed it in last year giving up on his team in August and never fighting to get them back on track. Let's not forget the Cubs were still in first place as late as August 5th. Then the wheels fell off and the guy in charge of getting them back on was asleep at the helm instead. But let's turn the clock back a little further. How about calling his starting RF a "piece of s***" and sending him home one day only to have him back in the starting lineup the very next day? Or how long did he leave the ultra-struggling Soriano in the lead-off spot? How many Gatorade machines did he allow to be destroyed by underachieving pitchers with no repercussions? Who's in charge in the dugout Lou? Even when it was clearly over towards the end of the season, Lou still kept throwing out the old guys instead of trying out the younger ones to see if they could salvage anything from an otherwise disastrous season. Sam Fuld, Micah, Jake Fox, and Andre Blanco should have been sent out there day after day towards the end.
The biggest problem with the Cubs today is the long-term contracts that lock the team up and totally limit flexibility. Soriano is making so much money, you just have to play him and he's got so many years left on his contract and he's already pretty old that you're just never going to be able to unload him without taking on another disastrous contract which means you won't gain anything. You still have Milton Bradley but hopefully, he's all but out of here - I heard when Hendry finally sent him home with a couple weeks left in the season that the remaining players cheered wildly - not a good sign. Fukudome has two more years on his ridiculous Jim Hendry contract so you're stuck with him starting too so there goes 2 of your 3 outfield spots. You have no real CF - no, Fukudome is NOT a CF; he's a RF. The oft-injured Aramis Ramirez is here for 2 or 3 more years; Dempster 3 more years; Zambrano 3-4 more years; and Aaron Miles (what a JOKE this guy is!) for 1 more year. The guy that had the best year last season was D-Lee and he's only signed for 1 more year. They'll lose Rich Harden to free agency and Lilly is only signed for one more year so what once was considered a strength doesn't seem very strong anymore. Dempster seems to have lost a little something and Zambrano just seems to be one of those guys you scratch your head about what could have been if he would just grow up.
So the Cubs have a new owner that arguably over spent during tough economic times which will probably limit their immediate further investment in the team. They already said they were going to increase ticket prices again (the Cubs were the only pro team in Chicago to raise prices last year) and they are trying to squeeze some money from the guy that owns the building that used to have the Budweiser sign painted on the roof who changed it to Horseshoe Casino. Sounds like the same story as last year.
Lou has asked AGAIN for a middle-of-the-order guy which will potentially be the third year in a row as Fukudome and then Bradley were supposed to be that guy. What they really need to do is get a REAL lead-off guy - right now, the roster includes 3 pretty good #2 hitters (Theriot, Fukudome, and Bradley) and zero #1 or #5 hitters (Soriano is a #6 hitter at best these days). They also need a healthy and productive Aramis and D-Lee along with Soto getting his head screwed back on right. How about Chone Figgins to lead-off and play 2B? How does this starting lineup sound?
1 - Figgins 2B
2 - Theriot SS
3 - Lee 1B
4 - Aramis 3B
5 - Soriano LF
6 - Soto C
7 - Fukudome RF
8 - Johnson CF
Or what about moving Soriano back to 2B and putting Jake Fox out in LF? Having both corner outfield spots sucked up by overpaid underachievers really limits the Cubs flexibility with their young guys. Of course, they did this to themselves.
Next up...Vinny and the Bulls...
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Why Do We Put Up With This?
Welcome to December. I'll start with THANK GOODNESS for the Blackhawks! Isn't that about it though in Chicago professional sports though these days?
Man, with the destruction of the Bears this season, what else do we have? There's no question the town's ONLY "universal" sports team is the Bears. Sure when Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were winning all those championships (how long ago does that seem?), the town was very much into the Bulls. Other than that though, there are a lot of people in this town that simply don't follow the Bulls primarily because they just aren't that good, but also because NBA basketball just isn't THE sport any more. Then of course you have the dissection of the town's allegiance to the local baseball teams. I'm not sure dissection is the right word as that implies equal separation, but you know what I mean. The Blackhawks are doing great right now and are really the only local franchise even remotely on the right track and I'm not saying that to take away anything from the Hawks...it's just that ALL the other teams are VERY FAR from being in the same vicinity of on the right track. Even so, after the "Dollar Bill" Wirtz spent the last 20 years alienating most of the hockey fans in this town, I still don't think the popularity is back where it was quite yet although it is well on the way back.
Regardless, besides the Hawks, what else do we have in this town from a professional sports perspective? Let's keep in mind that Chicago is the third largest market in the US. It's football season (or so I have been told) so let's start with the "beloved". What the heck is going on here? Wasn't this team just in the Super Bowl a few years ago? Yes Bears' fans...it was less than 3 years ago when the Bears played the Colts in Super Bowl XLI. Well look at them now. What the heck happened? Well, glad you asked - 5 words...Jerry Angelo and Lovie Smith...they are what happened to the Bears. For that 2006 season, the Bears had a dominant defense and an up-and-coming defensive coordinator in former Bear Chico Rivera. Lovie felt threatened so they fired him to bring in Lovie's friend Bob Babich to decimate the defense first. After two very declining production years, Lovie decided to step in and call the defenses himself and he even brought in D-Line guru and former 0-16 Lions head coach Rod Marinelli. What a freakin' mess they are now! Lovie - news flash...the NFL has figured out the Cover 2. Additionally, you do NOT have the personnel to run the Cover 2. How many more 30+ points allowed games do you need to see to figure that out?
The defensive line is a joke after a pretty quick start. Tommie Harris was benched one game by Lovie and then took himself out of another with a ridiculous cheap shot punch on the 4th play of another game. Where's the discipline? The tackling is a total joke. If the safeties aren't trying to tackle guys around the shoulders, our line backers are simply trying to knock guys over instead of wrapping up. Maybe it's time to allow the guys to actually work on their tackling in practice Lovie instead of relying on some sort of divine intervention on Sundays. And the D-Line...apparently Rod lost his touch while coaching the first and only 0-16 team in NFL history.
Personally, I think the offense is a total joke. How many more times are they going to try that stupid "bubble screen" while the defense is in tight press coverage? It CAN'T work Ron! Go back and destroy another college program buddy because you are NOT a real NFL O-coordinator. Now that Charlie Weiss is free to pursue other work, maybe he can come here to help install a real offense for Cutler and Forte.
Jerry Angelo has destroyed this team from the inside out on top of everything else. His drafts have been horrible to say the least which is why most of us were such big fans of the Jay Cutler trade - he can't draft anyone decent in the first two rounds anyway so we weren't really losing much. Is he any better at signing free agents? Nope! They signed two big offensive line guys - Orlando Pace and Frank Omiyale. One word...DISASTER! These guys have been HORRIBLE! And he also signed a new LB in Pisa Tinoisamoa. Well, he has 3 more tackles than you do sitting on the couch.
For the most part, I have heard very little criticism of Jerry Angelo and the common retort about the Bears potentially firing Lovie with 2 years and $10 million left on that extension he signed after losing the Super Bowl. Really? The Bears are going to cry poor? Seriously? The franchise is worth over $1 billion! Cough up the cash and bring in a REAL name. I find it hard to believe the Bears wouldn't make that $10 million right back with a decent team on the field. Is anyone even still following these guys with the way they are playing? How many of you watched the game on Sunday? The big problem is the Bears can't even rebuild through the draft as they just don't have enough quality picks to bring in skill position players that will make an impact. So now you have a $20 million franchise QB with no line to protect him or to help the running game and not a single real WR for him to throw the ball to. You don't have an offensive coordinator that can get creative enough to get Greg Olsen open more consistently so your best offensive weapon is only about 50% effective.
I know this is far from a universal concept, but the ruining of Devin Hester was the beginning of the end of this team as far as I'm concerned. Again, the Bears in the #2 market in the NFL (remember, LA doesn't have an NFL team!) cried poor and didn't sign the only real receiver they had in Bernard Berrian and instead took their #1 offensive weapon and shoe-horned him into being a receiver. Not only that, but they filled his contact extension with receiver incentives without anything in there about return TDs. He scored 11 return TDs in his first two years in the league (I beleive the all-time record is 13) and ZERO since his new contract. And he has hardly made up for his lack or return production with receiving TDs with only 3 TDs in each of these last 2 years. In the meantime, Bernard Berrian scored 7 receiving TDs last year (that was before Brett Favre!). STUPID AND CHEAP!
The team is a mess and looks to be stuck there for the foreseeable future. So the question is...WHY do we put up with this year after year of mediocrity?
I'll follow up on the Cubs, White Sox, and Bulls in future posts.
Man, with the destruction of the Bears this season, what else do we have? There's no question the town's ONLY "universal" sports team is the Bears. Sure when Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were winning all those championships (how long ago does that seem?), the town was very much into the Bulls. Other than that though, there are a lot of people in this town that simply don't follow the Bulls primarily because they just aren't that good, but also because NBA basketball just isn't THE sport any more. Then of course you have the dissection of the town's allegiance to the local baseball teams. I'm not sure dissection is the right word as that implies equal separation, but you know what I mean. The Blackhawks are doing great right now and are really the only local franchise even remotely on the right track and I'm not saying that to take away anything from the Hawks...it's just that ALL the other teams are VERY FAR from being in the same vicinity of on the right track. Even so, after the "Dollar Bill" Wirtz spent the last 20 years alienating most of the hockey fans in this town, I still don't think the popularity is back where it was quite yet although it is well on the way back.
Regardless, besides the Hawks, what else do we have in this town from a professional sports perspective? Let's keep in mind that Chicago is the third largest market in the US. It's football season (or so I have been told) so let's start with the "beloved". What the heck is going on here? Wasn't this team just in the Super Bowl a few years ago? Yes Bears' fans...it was less than 3 years ago when the Bears played the Colts in Super Bowl XLI. Well look at them now. What the heck happened? Well, glad you asked - 5 words...Jerry Angelo and Lovie Smith...they are what happened to the Bears. For that 2006 season, the Bears had a dominant defense and an up-and-coming defensive coordinator in former Bear Chico Rivera. Lovie felt threatened so they fired him to bring in Lovie's friend Bob Babich to decimate the defense first. After two very declining production years, Lovie decided to step in and call the defenses himself and he even brought in D-Line guru and former 0-16 Lions head coach Rod Marinelli. What a freakin' mess they are now! Lovie - news flash...the NFL has figured out the Cover 2. Additionally, you do NOT have the personnel to run the Cover 2. How many more 30+ points allowed games do you need to see to figure that out?
The defensive line is a joke after a pretty quick start. Tommie Harris was benched one game by Lovie and then took himself out of another with a ridiculous cheap shot punch on the 4th play of another game. Where's the discipline? The tackling is a total joke. If the safeties aren't trying to tackle guys around the shoulders, our line backers are simply trying to knock guys over instead of wrapping up. Maybe it's time to allow the guys to actually work on their tackling in practice Lovie instead of relying on some sort of divine intervention on Sundays. And the D-Line...apparently Rod lost his touch while coaching the first and only 0-16 team in NFL history.
Personally, I think the offense is a total joke. How many more times are they going to try that stupid "bubble screen" while the defense is in tight press coverage? It CAN'T work Ron! Go back and destroy another college program buddy because you are NOT a real NFL O-coordinator. Now that Charlie Weiss is free to pursue other work, maybe he can come here to help install a real offense for Cutler and Forte.
Jerry Angelo has destroyed this team from the inside out on top of everything else. His drafts have been horrible to say the least which is why most of us were such big fans of the Jay Cutler trade - he can't draft anyone decent in the first two rounds anyway so we weren't really losing much. Is he any better at signing free agents? Nope! They signed two big offensive line guys - Orlando Pace and Frank Omiyale. One word...DISASTER! These guys have been HORRIBLE! And he also signed a new LB in Pisa Tinoisamoa. Well, he has 3 more tackles than you do sitting on the couch.
For the most part, I have heard very little criticism of Jerry Angelo and the common retort about the Bears potentially firing Lovie with 2 years and $10 million left on that extension he signed after losing the Super Bowl. Really? The Bears are going to cry poor? Seriously? The franchise is worth over $1 billion! Cough up the cash and bring in a REAL name. I find it hard to believe the Bears wouldn't make that $10 million right back with a decent team on the field. Is anyone even still following these guys with the way they are playing? How many of you watched the game on Sunday? The big problem is the Bears can't even rebuild through the draft as they just don't have enough quality picks to bring in skill position players that will make an impact. So now you have a $20 million franchise QB with no line to protect him or to help the running game and not a single real WR for him to throw the ball to. You don't have an offensive coordinator that can get creative enough to get Greg Olsen open more consistently so your best offensive weapon is only about 50% effective.
I know this is far from a universal concept, but the ruining of Devin Hester was the beginning of the end of this team as far as I'm concerned. Again, the Bears in the #2 market in the NFL (remember, LA doesn't have an NFL team!) cried poor and didn't sign the only real receiver they had in Bernard Berrian and instead took their #1 offensive weapon and shoe-horned him into being a receiver. Not only that, but they filled his contact extension with receiver incentives without anything in there about return TDs. He scored 11 return TDs in his first two years in the league (I beleive the all-time record is 13) and ZERO since his new contract. And he has hardly made up for his lack or return production with receiving TDs with only 3 TDs in each of these last 2 years. In the meantime, Bernard Berrian scored 7 receiving TDs last year (that was before Brett Favre!). STUPID AND CHEAP!
The team is a mess and looks to be stuck there for the foreseeable future. So the question is...WHY do we put up with this year after year of mediocrity?
I'll follow up on the Cubs, White Sox, and Bulls in future posts.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Sorry - it has been a while
Sorry I haven't updated this blog but once in the last month or so. I will try to be more vigilant with my updates.
Wow - what a difference a few weeks makes. The Bears went from looking pretty good at 3-1 going into their bye to borderline awful even after a 24-point win against the lowly Cleveland Browns. They played HORRIBLY in Atlanta although they still had a chance to win the game at the end. Then they played one of the worst games EVER for the franchise against former #1 pick Cedric Benson and his new team, the once lowly Cincinnati Bengals even if they were on the road. I could dedicate an entire post to that game, but let's just all agree it was HORRENDOUS and move on.
I was praising their halftime adjustments in the last post...well, what the heck happened to those adjustments? The Falcons confused them with the no-huddle offense which really highlighted the lack of MLB Brian Urlacher as they had a guy in there with very little experience and he wasn't able to make the adjustments on the fly the way Urlacher may have. The Cover 2 was fully exploited in the Bengals game and again, no adjustments seem to be made there either. Wait, Ochocinco just caught another 20-yard hook route behind the LBs and in front of the safeties. Lovie, the Cover 2 is OVER - all the good teams have it figured out and you aren't confusing anyone any more. Speaking of not confusing anyone, the Bears offense is about as vanilla as ever. WHY?!? They just spent a lot of money and draft picks to get Jay Cutler and yet they seem to be running the same offense that Kyle Orton ran as a rookie. Where's the creativity? Wait, Forte is getting stuffed on another inside hand-off for no gain. Every defense the Bears face including the 32nd ranked Browns seems to know exactly where the plays are going particularly down at the goal line, so WHY are the Bears running those plays? Wait, Jay Cutler just got hammered again by Shaun Rogers. I know the offensive line has the blocking ability of wet Kleenex so how about some misdirection? How about some quick slants? How about taking advantage of the pass rush and run a few screens to Forte? Every other NFL team seems to be able to run screens successfully to their RBs...why not the Bears? I'll tell you why in two words...Ron Turner. This guy is living the life of an NFL offensive coordinator based on what he did with the Bears back in 1993-96. Well folks, this is 2009...NOT 1999. What he is running ain't workin! We used to blame the QB - well, Kyle Orton is 6-1 with a QB rating over 100 for the year. Hmmm...maybe it wasn't the QB. Now I guess we're blaming the O-line. Hey, I've got an idea...maybe it is the idiot offensive coordinator...the defiant Ron Turner. The defiance is the part that aggravates me the most...see, he thinks he is good when he has NO PROOF of this...and he never admits anything is his fault (hey, maybe he should work for the Cubs)...and he never changes anything. His approach remains the same all the time even if it doesn't work. Now that's defiant. He was 22 games under .500 in his career as head coach of the UofI Illini so how did this guy even get this job? Good ole Lovie! Loyal to a fault.
There's lots more wrong with the Bears than Ron Turner's offense, but when the team's new toy comes here at great expense to the franchise, you expect to see them "play" with the new toy. Instead the look-out blocking scheme they employ lets the defense have a chance to play with the new toy instead. Let's hope the Bears figure it out before the new toy is inevitably broken.
Wow - what a difference a few weeks makes. The Bears went from looking pretty good at 3-1 going into their bye to borderline awful even after a 24-point win against the lowly Cleveland Browns. They played HORRIBLY in Atlanta although they still had a chance to win the game at the end. Then they played one of the worst games EVER for the franchise against former #1 pick Cedric Benson and his new team, the once lowly Cincinnati Bengals even if they were on the road. I could dedicate an entire post to that game, but let's just all agree it was HORRENDOUS and move on.
I was praising their halftime adjustments in the last post...well, what the heck happened to those adjustments? The Falcons confused them with the no-huddle offense which really highlighted the lack of MLB Brian Urlacher as they had a guy in there with very little experience and he wasn't able to make the adjustments on the fly the way Urlacher may have. The Cover 2 was fully exploited in the Bengals game and again, no adjustments seem to be made there either. Wait, Ochocinco just caught another 20-yard hook route behind the LBs and in front of the safeties. Lovie, the Cover 2 is OVER - all the good teams have it figured out and you aren't confusing anyone any more. Speaking of not confusing anyone, the Bears offense is about as vanilla as ever. WHY?!? They just spent a lot of money and draft picks to get Jay Cutler and yet they seem to be running the same offense that Kyle Orton ran as a rookie. Where's the creativity? Wait, Forte is getting stuffed on another inside hand-off for no gain. Every defense the Bears face including the 32nd ranked Browns seems to know exactly where the plays are going particularly down at the goal line, so WHY are the Bears running those plays? Wait, Jay Cutler just got hammered again by Shaun Rogers. I know the offensive line has the blocking ability of wet Kleenex so how about some misdirection? How about some quick slants? How about taking advantage of the pass rush and run a few screens to Forte? Every other NFL team seems to be able to run screens successfully to their RBs...why not the Bears? I'll tell you why in two words...Ron Turner. This guy is living the life of an NFL offensive coordinator based on what he did with the Bears back in 1993-96. Well folks, this is 2009...NOT 1999. What he is running ain't workin! We used to blame the QB - well, Kyle Orton is 6-1 with a QB rating over 100 for the year. Hmmm...maybe it wasn't the QB. Now I guess we're blaming the O-line. Hey, I've got an idea...maybe it is the idiot offensive coordinator...the defiant Ron Turner. The defiance is the part that aggravates me the most...see, he thinks he is good when he has NO PROOF of this...and he never admits anything is his fault (hey, maybe he should work for the Cubs)...and he never changes anything. His approach remains the same all the time even if it doesn't work. Now that's defiant. He was 22 games under .500 in his career as head coach of the UofI Illini so how did this guy even get this job? Good ole Lovie! Loyal to a fault.
There's lots more wrong with the Bears than Ron Turner's offense, but when the team's new toy comes here at great expense to the franchise, you expect to see them "play" with the new toy. Instead the look-out blocking scheme they employ lets the defense have a chance to play with the new toy instead. Let's hope the Bears figure it out before the new toy is inevitably broken.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
DA BEARS!
Da Bears are 3-1 at the quarter pole! Who would have thought that after the debacle by the Bay? Interestingly, even though they played so terribly, particularly Jay Cutler, they still should have won the game if not for a blown coverage by Nathan Vasher. Even then, they still had the ball with a chance to drive down the field and win the game. Then they turn it around on the defending champs in front of the home folks to even it up at 1-1. Ya, Jeff Reed missed two field goals allowing the Bears to win by 3, but even if Reed converts one of those kicks, I still think the Bears win the game. They were driving on the mighty Steelers on that final drive and only pulled up once they were in field goal range because that's all they needed. Had they needed a TD, Cutler would have taken them all the way in my opinion. On the road in the loudest NFL stadium is no easy place to win even without starting QB Hasselbeck and yet they escaped with another win to get to 2-1.
I have to say I was NOT at all happy at halftime on Sunday. To be even with the hapless Lions at home going into the break was not a comfortable feeling at all. Bowman had NO answer for Calvin Johnson who is one of the best receivers in the NFL right now so that's not to say Bowman is alone with his struggles to cover him.
What I REALLY like about this year's version of the Bears other than the obvious improvement behind center with Jay Cutler is the halftime adjustments this team has made week in and week out. That's just not something we've seen under Lovie in the past. Typically, they have a game plan coming into the game and that's it. This year's Bears go in at halftime and adjust and that's the sign of a real NFL team. Add some talent and now you have a contender that's going to hang around all the way to the end and that's just what the Bears are going to do.
Injuries have decimated the team starting with the guy in camp that seemed to be THE guy in the receiving corps - the "other" Devin - Devin Aromashodu. But what happens with good teams is that other guys step up when someone goes out with an injury. So what we've seen from the other piece of the Cutler trade; the 5th rounder that turned into Johnny Knox pick up the slack and has he ever - BIG TIME! Knox was the 19th receiver selected in the draft this year behind the infamous and yet-to-be-signed Michael Crabtree as well as the first receiver selected in Darrius Heyward-Bey. Bey was the only guy to clock in faster than Knox at the NFL Rookie Combine and yet he has a total of 2 catches for 36 yards while Knox has 14 catches for 190 yards and 2 TDs plus his kick return TD on Sunday. As usual, Jerry Angelo finds another diamond in the rough which is another reason I was excited about the Cutler trade as the Bears gave up 2 first round picks in the deal. Good riddance - Angelo can't pick a first rounder to save his life so let's save that money for other needs.
Oh ya, did I mention the Bears lost their defensive captain in that disastrous game at Green Bay? Yep - Brian Urlacher, healthy for the first time in years, had wrist surgery and is out for the year relegated to cheerleader on the sideline. Hey, the last time the Bears had cheerleaders was 1985...didn't they win a Super Bowl that year? Just kidding...I'm not comparing a Pro Bowl MLB with the 80s Honey Bears. Not only did they lose Urlacher, but they also lost brand new SAM Pisa Tinoisamoa in the same game. Then Hunter Hillenmayer went out in the middle of the second game and a once deep position was stretched pretty thin all of sudden with Nick Roach filling in along with Jamar Williams. There's a domino effect here folks as these guys were filling big roles on special teams and now had to be pulled off in order to focus and limit injury risk.
So now all of a sudden a lousy bye week in Week 5 turns into tremendous timing. Hester, Adrian Peterson, Knox, Alex Brown, and Bowman each get some much needed extra rest and all are supposed to be ready to go against the Falcons in their place. Why do we have to go down there AGAIN?
Is there any doubt whatsoever that Dave Toub is the best special teams coach EVER? This guy is losing players left and right and still managed to win all phases of special teams this past weekend. Ya, I know it was the Lions, but they were ranked #3 in special teams before the game and the Bears toasted them.
Anyway, the future of the Bears certainly looks as bright as it has in years. We may just have a REAL QB for the first time since Sid Luckman back in the 50s. The receivers have performed MUCH better than ANYONE imagined - even Angelo and the coaches as I don't believe they felt like these guys would be this good this quickly. I just look forward to watching them play week in and week out and that's the main thing, isn't it? To have an entertaining and competitive team on the field consistently...
GO BEARS!!!
I have to say I was NOT at all happy at halftime on Sunday. To be even with the hapless Lions at home going into the break was not a comfortable feeling at all. Bowman had NO answer for Calvin Johnson who is one of the best receivers in the NFL right now so that's not to say Bowman is alone with his struggles to cover him.
What I REALLY like about this year's version of the Bears other than the obvious improvement behind center with Jay Cutler is the halftime adjustments this team has made week in and week out. That's just not something we've seen under Lovie in the past. Typically, they have a game plan coming into the game and that's it. This year's Bears go in at halftime and adjust and that's the sign of a real NFL team. Add some talent and now you have a contender that's going to hang around all the way to the end and that's just what the Bears are going to do.
Injuries have decimated the team starting with the guy in camp that seemed to be THE guy in the receiving corps - the "other" Devin - Devin Aromashodu. But what happens with good teams is that other guys step up when someone goes out with an injury. So what we've seen from the other piece of the Cutler trade; the 5th rounder that turned into Johnny Knox pick up the slack and has he ever - BIG TIME! Knox was the 19th receiver selected in the draft this year behind the infamous and yet-to-be-signed Michael Crabtree as well as the first receiver selected in Darrius Heyward-Bey. Bey was the only guy to clock in faster than Knox at the NFL Rookie Combine and yet he has a total of 2 catches for 36 yards while Knox has 14 catches for 190 yards and 2 TDs plus his kick return TD on Sunday. As usual, Jerry Angelo finds another diamond in the rough which is another reason I was excited about the Cutler trade as the Bears gave up 2 first round picks in the deal. Good riddance - Angelo can't pick a first rounder to save his life so let's save that money for other needs.
Oh ya, did I mention the Bears lost their defensive captain in that disastrous game at Green Bay? Yep - Brian Urlacher, healthy for the first time in years, had wrist surgery and is out for the year relegated to cheerleader on the sideline. Hey, the last time the Bears had cheerleaders was 1985...didn't they win a Super Bowl that year? Just kidding...I'm not comparing a Pro Bowl MLB with the 80s Honey Bears. Not only did they lose Urlacher, but they also lost brand new SAM Pisa Tinoisamoa in the same game. Then Hunter Hillenmayer went out in the middle of the second game and a once deep position was stretched pretty thin all of sudden with Nick Roach filling in along with Jamar Williams. There's a domino effect here folks as these guys were filling big roles on special teams and now had to be pulled off in order to focus and limit injury risk.
So now all of a sudden a lousy bye week in Week 5 turns into tremendous timing. Hester, Adrian Peterson, Knox, Alex Brown, and Bowman each get some much needed extra rest and all are supposed to be ready to go against the Falcons in their place. Why do we have to go down there AGAIN?
Is there any doubt whatsoever that Dave Toub is the best special teams coach EVER? This guy is losing players left and right and still managed to win all phases of special teams this past weekend. Ya, I know it was the Lions, but they were ranked #3 in special teams before the game and the Bears toasted them.
Anyway, the future of the Bears certainly looks as bright as it has in years. We may just have a REAL QB for the first time since Sid Luckman back in the 50s. The receivers have performed MUCH better than ANYONE imagined - even Angelo and the coaches as I don't believe they felt like these guys would be this good this quickly. I just look forward to watching them play week in and week out and that's the main thing, isn't it? To have an entertaining and competitive team on the field consistently...
GO BEARS!!!
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