-The Bears beat the Cowboys with Tony Romo
-The Bears beat the Packers with Jermichael Finley, pre-concussed Aaron Rodgers, Nick Barnett, etc.
-The Bears would have beaten the Lions, Dolphins, and Vikings even with their "Hall of Fame" first-string quarterbacks (Matthew Stafford, Chad Henne(!!) and Brett Favre (old version). In fact, in two of these games the Bears were the ones to knock out the starter, doesn't that count for anything?? Oh, and I will be looking for the experts to be saying how lucky the Eagles now are, since they will play Joe Webb and Steven McGee in their last two games. Something tells me that I shouldn't hold my breath.
-The Packers are a highly penalized team--that's just WHO THEY ARE. When they committed 17 penalties against the Bears earlier this year, it was a bit above average for them but not by much.
-Bears "were lucky" that they were able to play the Panthers the one week that Jay Cutler was out. But I don't here any criticism levied at the Packers for not taking care of business in similar fashion against the similarly terrible Detroit Lions when they were without their starting qb. A WIN IS A WIN.
-The Bears "haven't played or beaten anybody". Let's take a deeper dive into that claim. The Bears have beaten 3 probable/definite playoff teams (Eagles, Packers, Jets). How do the other NFC playoff teams stack up in this regard (not counting the putrid NFC West)?
- Packers have beaten 3 (Eagles--without Michael Vick starting by the way, Jets, and Giants)
- Eagles have beaten 4 (Atlanta, Indy, Giants twice)
- Falcons have beaten 3 (New Orleans, Baltimore, Green Bay)
- Saints have beaten 2 (Pittsburgh, Atlanta)
- Giants have beaten 1 (Chicago)
Bottom line--the Chicago Bears have a GOOD team, and have as good of a chance as anyone else to go to the Super Bowl this year. Don't listen to the media--they just don't like "boring" Lovie Smith and "petulant" Jay Cutler. Bear down and be proud of your team, they've earned it.
Oy vey. Another sensitive Bears fan/blogger who seems to be more worried about what the "experts" and "analysts" have to say about the Bears than what the Bears are doing on the field. The Cowboys win was a good one, albeit not highly impressive. If it weren't for Martz ditching his ego, Cutler might be on the sidelines holding a clipboard right now. The Dolphins win was not just a result of Tyler Thigpen getting the starting nod, but also because of a severely decimated Dolphins offensive line. Jake Long (who in my opinion is the best offensive tackle in football) wasn't even 100% during the game, and I do believe the Dolphins also lost their starting center during the 1st half. You can't ignore a lucky win against the Lions or a sloppy win against the Bills. It is what it is. Take the win and move on; don't excuse lackluster play by the Bears because other teams haven't been lights-out. The "nobody else has played anybody" argument is so weak. This is a good Bears team, but not a great one. Instead of worrying about what douchebags Dilfer and Young say, be worried that this "vaunted" Bears D got lit up by the Pats in a snowstorm. And then got lit up by a weak Jets O AT HOME. Hope that Martz doesn't decide to audition for a HC job in the playoffs by ditching the run and having Cutler throw the ball 40 times a game. Pray the D stays effective, and that the Bears stay healthy as a whole. I'm a Bears fan, but I'm sick of Bears fans doing their best Rodney Dangerfield impersonation and bitching about how the Bears get no respect. Just like the "experts" have their opinion, you have yours. Either deal with it, or blog about Pop Warner football. This is professional football. Stop being so damn sensitive...
ReplyDeleteFirst off, thanks for reading. Here are some responses to your well-thought out post:
ReplyDelete-What upsets me about the media is that they only seem to respond to certain types of teams (i.e. teams with a superstar qb/receiver/running back. The Bears have none of these things, but they continue to win games and the experts can't explain how because it is not obvious. They win with field position, timely big plays from their defense, discipline (mostly on defense) coaching adjustments, and an underrated offensive line (I notice more than a few times a game that they are giving Cutler plenty of time). There is no Tom Brady, Greg Jennings, or Michael Turner on this team, and the media finds that to be a hard sell.
-Part of the reason I started this blog was to be an analyst (albeit a very amateur one) that looked deeper at what the Bears are doing and took a positive view. That is why I try and point out that Bears fans don't need to listen to other analysts who call the Bears lucky. Trust me, I care most about what the Bears do on the field. Maybe I just need to mute the tv and watch the games with no commentary.
-You are 100% right about Martz. I haven't seen anything since the Redskins game though that gives me the impression he will succumb to his ego. I think he has finally realized that winning is more important than how you do it, and he knows conservative is the way to win with the Bears. I'm hoping that the Packers game was called the way it was due to the Bears shielding what they do from the Packers, who they very well might end up playing again.
-I'm not saying other teams haven't played good teams, just showing that the Bears have beaten a comparable amount of good teams as every other NFC contender.
-I was at the Jets game--I wouldn't call it "lit up"--and the Jets have a good team. It was just that style of game (happens sometimes) where both offenses were clicking. One major problem I have with the Bears D is that they aren't used to the offense doing well--they seem to relax when they have a lead. Definitely needs to change.
-Again, thanks for reading. I can't believe it but I'm a Packers fan right now because I'd love to see the Hawks next week.