That guy has a big stomach (AP)
That was the best loss I’ve ever watched. I watched this game a bit like the Bears played it. Yes, I cooked up some food and was ready for kick-off. Yes, I watched every single play. Yes, I showed frustration when the wifey and son were making too much noise with the train set. I did my part as a Chicago Bear fan. But what was missing? Intensity. In the back of my mind, I knew this game didn’t matter one bit. And as it went on, I was kind of rooting for the Packers to win because this year’s version doesn’t scare me one bit.
I might be the only person saying this: I would LOVE for the Packers to come to Chicago in the playoffs.
Rodgers & McCarthy have a hard time with the Bears Cover-2 defense. And without Ryan Grant slashing the front 7 with big runs, the Packers become seriously one-dimensional against us. The GB defense is stout, but remember, the Bears had nothing to play for. That doesn’t mean you rest your starters. What it means is that you play base offense, to make sure you don’t give away gameplans. And when the Bears go to their base offense, Cutler gets clobbered. But the good news - you didn’t show your cards for the playoffs.
Which brings me to my next point: I don’t get the hatred spewing from the mainstream sports media about the game. The national media and the local television media saluted the Bears for playing with heart and for standing up during a game that meant nothing. But our newspaper columnists went out of their way to call out the inconsistent play and go into their “I told you so” mentality. See, the Trib and Sun-Times have been hating on the Bears before the season even began. One of the columnists called for the Bears to lose just to get rid of Lovie. Now that they are entrenched as the #2 seed in the NFC playoffs, they can’t change their tune. They have to stay negative. Maybe there is a desire for the negative writing. Maybe they check their pageviews and they are significantly higher when they rip on the home team. But you could get that in any market. As a matter of fact, I think they need negative writers in Milwaukee, because this morning it was all glowing tributes to the green and yellow, even though they played like the losers. And what about columns in New Orleans (lost) and in Tampa Bay (missed the playoffs)
Yes, the Bears could be better. Yes, the Bears have been lucky. But the Bears are in the playoffs when everyone said they wouldn’t be. And this is not a season where the NFC is terrrible. Two 10-6 teams didn’t make the playoffs. What? How unlucky is that?
Alright, here are some other observations from the game:
- Johnny Knox is trouble. Maybe he phoned it in because he believed as a starter, he should sit. But man, he couldn’t catch, he couldn’t run routes, he couldn’t block. If the Bears do get bounced in the playoffs, I think a WR should be on their list. This is still a huge problem for the Bears. Yes, they are fast - but when the defense takes that away, the WRs can’t hang.
- Finally a coach told Matt Forte that if there was nothing in the pile in front of you, bounce it out. And it’s working. He’s beating the world right now.
- Are the Bears going with playoff beards? More specifically, is Punter Brad Maynard growing a playoff beard? Not a good look buddy.
- Everytime the Packers were in short-yard situations, the crowd would chant “Kuuuuuhhhn” for bruising running back John Kuhn. I can’t endorse this behavior. Case in point: WR Greg Jennings made a huge play to get them to the one yard-line, but as he got up to accept his Wisconsin adoration, it quickly turned to a cheer to bring in the fullback. Ouch, Green Bay. I hope we never have a guy on our squad named Kuhn, or Moose, or something with the long o sound that will force us to chant at Soldier Field. That’s embarrassing. Memo to Angelo: Don’t draft anyone with the long-o. We don’t need a “Boo-urns” situation here.
- Is it me or does Rod Marinelli remind you of Micky from the Rocky movies?
- The Bears have played the last four games with terrible weather. Either freezing cold or blizzard/rainy conditions. If they get that kind of game on January 16th in Chicago, they should be ready for it.
- This Chicago Code show looks really stupid. Irish mafia? Are they talking about the Daley family? I’m so confused...
- Troy Aikman referred to the Bears & Packers strategy of shifting safeties and disguising coverages as a game of “Mickey Mouse.” He meant “cat and mouse,” right? What is a game of Mickey Mouse? Is that where you try and catch those chipmunks or get mad at Donald Duck? I think Aikman’s been playing too much Epic Mickey.
