The Fake by the Lake: The 2009 Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a stupid, stubborn football team who couldn’t block to save their mothers’ lives. They couldn’t even score at the Moonlite Bunny Ranch with only the hookers in the building.

Despite getting that bit of anger out of my system, I’m not done.

I listen to the Boers & Bernstein podcast on a regular basis. Living in Minneapolis, I’m  unable to hear the show live.

I recently heard Devin Hester, being interviewed by Zach Zaidman, say that changes should be made, that the team is frustrating, and that things are bad. Finally, some honesty from someone who plays on this mess of a team, even though it’s coming from someone who is contributing, albeit not in a particularly major way, to the problems in Chicago.

Then, in one of the most unconvincing statements since Pete Rose’s anti-climatic “admission” that he bet on baseball, a Twitter statement appeared, authored by Hester, retracting the statement made.

To the best of my knowledge, Devin Hester doesn’t have a Twitter. Never has, either.

Really, Chicago Bears front office? Really? This is what you have time for? Not fixing what’s broken, not bringing anyone in who could help the team? Instead you want to make up a retraction from a player who meant every word he said?

The performance in Baltimore is a prime example of what every true Bears fan, who doesn’t have their head jammed firmly in an unmentionable place, has been yelling about this entire season. The Bears rolled over and laid down for Baltimore. Not because the Bears are bad, which they are, but because they have no pride and no guts.

Listen to me, now. I’m not, nor ever have I said, that Jay Cutler has no blame in this. But in a pie chart, Cutler’s share wouldn’t even be 15 percent. Jerry Angelo holds the lion’s share of blame.

How do you not improve the worst receiver corps in football? How are you not prepared for this exact situation? Marvin Harrison may not be any good anymore, but even he would have improved this team more than putting Hester as your No. 1.

Look at the other three teams in the division. The Lions have the best receiving corps by far in “CJ the Cornerback Slayer;” the Packers alternate Greg Jennings and Donald Driver as their No. 1; and the Vikings have Sidney Rice, who has supplanted potential cap victim Bernard Berrian as the Vikings’ top receiver.

Then you have the Chicago Bears, who made an idiotic decision to make a converted corner into their No. 1 wide receiver. You know when things like this work? Never!

Every other team in the NFL has better receivers than the Bears. Well, maybe not the Browns, but that’s a different story. Not only that, where was the backup plan for when Urlacher went down? This isn’t just a bad team, it’s a bad team that has given up.

And speaking of Urlacher, I’ve said this before: this whole defensive identity thing is a load of hooey. This team has won nothing being defense-oriented.

In the Super Bowl era, the Bears have appeared in two Super Bowls and won exactly one. By contrast the Pittsburgh Steelers are 6-1 over exactly that same time period. The Pittsburgh Steelers of the 70’s, the Steel Curtain, had superstars and Hall of Famers on both sides of the ball.

Don’t even get me started on the Dallas Cowboys.

So for Brian Urlacher to take shots at Cutler was not only unjustified, it was completely wrong. Unless you’re the 2001 Baltimore Ravens, you’re not going to win a thing with a defensive-minded scheme. Offense-only teams (say, the Mike Martz-led Rams from the late 90’s-early 2000’s) suffer the same fate.

Cutler is not nearly as bad as this season is making him look. He is not an average quarterback. Kyle Orton is not a Pro Bowl quarterback. But I would still make the deal. However, I would improve the team through other signings and transactions.

Remember, I said it before: you will not win without at least an above-average offensive line. A good offensive line is the most important part of an offense. Cutler went from Ryan Clady, a potential Pro Bowler, and guys like Ben Hamilton, to guys who get handled routinely by defensive linemen, giving linebackers and assorted others’ a clear path to blow up every single play.

I’ve given up on watching the Bears. Not only because they have all the entertainment value of the Chicago Wolves hockey team (with the excitement of an UIC Flames basketball game), but because I’m literally watching my life shorten with the rage I feel when a receiver isn’t catching a catchable ball or when Greg Olson does his best impression of Wonder Woman by spinning around in a circle every time a linebacker comes near him.

Or when Cutler looks lost without a single good receiver to take the pressure off Softness, (my new name for Matt Forte) and when Lovie Smith continues to insist that nothing’s wrong with the team.

I really wish the Bears would spend time learning how to win (or even being competitive in) a football game and not making up fake Twitter accounts for Devin Hester to retract statements he went on the record with.

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Week 12 Part 2: Chiefs-Chargers, Raiders-Cowboys, Skins-Eagles & Pats-Saints

The four games that will make up this slideshow was symbolized by the Patriots and Tom Brady seeing a lot of this. Not only did the team of the decade not have a pass rush, but Drew Brees laid a vicious smackdown on the Patriots secondary, to the point where Bill Belichick made a call to the Bears to see if they’d hand over their third round pick for a backup corner. Also, is it a bad thing that I don’t know who the Patriot cornerbacks are? Well, neither did Drew Brees, because he sure never heard from them, to put it mildly.

Begin Slideshow

Colts-Texans & Bears-Vikings: Week 12 in Pictures, Part 1

This is NOT the suit Peyton Manning opened week 12 in, but it does begin this article the way the telecast did: by showing the devastation the Colts QB had planned for his opposition, much like the devastation he always does. Peyton would face the Houston Texans, who have played foil for the Colts for the majority of their existence, at Reliant Stadium, which in a few years will be a house of horrors for visiting teams. Wouid it be for Peyton Manning? We would find out when Peyton got out of his cream suit and into uniform.

Begin Slideshow

In Your Dishonor: 13 Biggest Turkeys Of The NFL Draft Since 2000.

In honor of the resoundingly awful Gerard Warren, who was forced upon the NFL by the equally awful Cleveland Browns, I choose the 13 biggest turkeys of the NFL draft since the year 2000 (FIRST ROUND ONLY). This means no Ryan Leaf, no Tim Couch, no Akili Smith, no easy ones. Except one. Number 13 is:

 

13: Courtney Brown, Cleveland Browns. 1st overall, 2000 NFL Draft

Players of note taken behind him: Brian Urlacher, Chris Samuels, Thomas Jones.

Synopsis: This pick was regularly derided in the days up to and following the draft. An outcry of rage from Browns fans was muted in his first season, and then the injury bug bit him. Hard. 8 sacks in three seasons meant he was done in Cleveland. But Cleveland’s trainers are notorious in their suckitude, as are their coaches and their players and…well, you get the point. The snakebit Browns are known for bad drafting; but the Washington Redskins, the longtime paper champions of the NFL, had the next two picks. They took LaVar Arrington, Brown’s teammate, the prototype for many of my created linebackers (well, him and Urlacher) who was on pace to be absolutely excellent until an unfortunate meeting with a motorcycle. And they took Chris Samuels, who is still a top fifteen tackle, injury or no injury. Brown finished with 19.5 sacks, 156 tackles and 6 forced fumbles. Not a first overall performance for a first overall pick.

 

12:David Terrell, Chicago Bears, 8th pick, 2001 NFL Draft

Players of Note taken behind him: Steve Hutchinson, Nate Clements, Casey Hampton.

Talented. That was the word for Terrell when the Bears were able to snag him at 8th overall. Terrell, however, didn’t reckon on being stuck with Jim Miller at QB, and Terrell was unable to turn that into anything worth thinking about. At 6’3, Terrell was supposed to be the big wideout the Bears needed. He turned into something, but not what the Bears needed. In the end, Terrell finished with 128 catches and 9TD’s. All because he couldn’t make his talent work for him when he most needed it to.

 

11: Troy Williamson, Minnesota Vikings, 7th Pick, 2005 NFL Draft

Players of Note taken behind him: DeMarcus Ware, Shawne Merriman, Aaron Rodgers

Mr. Hard Hands was the pick from the Oakland Raiders in exchange for Randy Moss. He claimed he had bad vision, which kind of directly indicts the Minnesota Vikings front office for taking him 7th overall, since the Falcons got the awesome Roddy White later in the first round, and San Diego took Vincent Jackson in the second. Currently Mr. Hard Hands is in Jacksonville, which explains why they’ve gone with MJD and a cloud of dust. Seriously, Chester Bennington could probably be a better NFL WR than Williamson, yet Williamson continues the tradition of blaming everyone but himself for his problems, saying he’d like to fight Brad Childress. Here’s a thought: YOU SUCKED! YOU STILL SUCK! 84 catches for barely 1000 yards and four TD’s? Marvin Harrison usually had those before week five!

 

10:Joey Harrington, Detroit Lions, 3rd overall pick, 2002 NFL Draft.

Players of Note taken behind him: Dwight Freeney, Ed Reed, Bryant McKinnie.

Yes, Harrington could be higher. Harrington also SHOULD be higher. But I place him at ten for one reason: it’s Detroit. There was never any chance he would succeed. Technically, he was supposed to, but really, it’s the franchise that drove Barry Sanders into retirement and went 0-16; was it really surprising that this turned out the way it did?

 

9:William Green, Cleveland Browns, 16th pick, 2002 NFL Draft

Players of Note taken behind him: Lito Sheppard, Bart Scott, (undrafted) Charles Grant.

William Green had a hard life coming up. I understand that. But you can do one of two things: you can try to beat it back or you can let it consume you. Green took door number two. After an ok rookie season, he then proceeded to send his career down the toilet with the help of a plunger. Numerous off-field incidents and awful performances on the field pretty much turned him into a failed first round pick. Green was not a particularly nice guy; not that many football players are, but his idiocy qualified him for the number nine slot more than anything else. How hard is it to hold on to a starting job with the Cleveland Browns?

 

8:Alex Smith, San Francisco 49ers, first pick overall, 2005 NFL Draft

Players of Note taken behind him: Ronnie Brown, Jammal Brown, Logan Mankins

Smith is here under protest. No, not because he’s played well (he hasn’t) but because a 49ers fan friend of mine threatened to kill me and commit harakiri if I didn’t find a spot for him. Seriously, Smith deserves this spot, make no mistake. Smith opened his rookie season with one touchdown pass against 11 interceptions. 11 interceptions. Nowhere to go but up, right? Uh, no. Nothing is this bad, you can’t blame the coordinators for this one. Or the receivers, they got him Darrell Jackson and Ashley Lelie when Lelie wasn’t an empty jersey; and that didn’t help. Smith’s awfulness is legendary, but when you lose a QB battle with SHAWN HILL you deserve whatever spot you get in this list. And the reason he’s not higher has to leave you wondering who’s next…you won’t be surprised by this one.

 

7:Mike Williams, Detroit Lions, 10th pick, 2005 NFL Draft.

Players of Note taken behind him: Derrick Johnson, Frank Gore, Justin Tuck

Mike Williams. At USC, he was THE target for Matt Leinart. He was the third leg of the triumvirate of destruction, my unofficial, too long, uncool name for Leinart, Bush and Williams. Then he made a fatal error: following the error of the somewhat insane Maurice Clarett, Williams declared for the draft despite being only two years removed from H.S. (NFL rules state you must be THREE years removed from high school, and the federal judge who told Clarett differently should be ashamed). This wouldn’t have been so bad if Williams had not hired an agent. IN ALL SPORTS, once you hire an agent you and the NCAA part ways. Williams did not play football in the interim; instead he was supposedly working out, and was selected by the Detroit Lions. And then he allowed the drudgery of playing, living, and actually knowing that Detroit exists to weigh him down, and he got fat and bad. A sad end, but not one totally unexpected, especially when he left before he was supposed to. Before Pete Carroll could impart how to actually play the game to him.

 

6:Gerard Warren, Cleveland Browns, 3rd pick overall, 2001 NFL Draft

Players of Note taken after him: LaDanian Tomlinson, Richard Seymour, Chad Johnson-Ochocinco (2nd round)

My god, he’s bad. Fat, bad, ridiculously awful. How this goof was the third overall pick is still beyond me. This guy calls himself “Big Money.” Would that be the money he stole from the Cleveland Browns? 30 sacks and 260 tackles, and that was worth that much money, huh? And since I can’t seem to impart how bad the Cleveland Browns are at drafting, how about the Browns themselves? Since they came back from the dead, Art Modell, and now Steve Bisciotti, have made the Ravens one of the elite teams in the NFL. The Browns seem to fail miserably in the first round, except for Joe Thomas, who I’m sure is questioning his decision to play football. He probably wishes he had done something more productive with his life, like act with Dane Cook or appear in porn movies. If you’re the first-round pick of the Browns, retire now. You’ll save yourself a world of heartache. Thankfully, we’re done with the Browns. Or are we?

5: Mike Williams, Buffalo Bills, 4th pick, 2002 NFL Draft

Players of Note taken after him:Quentin Jammer, Albert Haynesworth, Phillip Buchanon.

The Buffalo Bills have never been able to live down the four consecutive Super Bowl losses. Every opportunity they’ve gotten to try to rejoin the ranks of the AFC elite has blown up in their faces. (The Drew Bledsoe Era is best forgotten.) So when Mike Williams was drafted by the Bills at 4, they envisioned a franchise tackle, a guy who would protect the blind side of their QB’s for years. Williams had protected his QB’s for his career at Texas, how much more difficult could it be to do so in the NFL?

Plenty.

See, at 360 pounds, not too many people in college football can get around you to the QB. But in the NFL, in the AFC East in particular, at tackle you’re usually matched up with fast D-ends and sometimes powerful ends who drive you back, sometimes right into the guy you’re supposed to protect. And when you’re 360 pounds, you’re not going to catch up with guys like Richard Seymour. Then, you’re much more susceptible to injury. And Williams just couldn’t get the job done in the end, because his size was an impediment. When was the last time a 350+ pound O-tackle was successful?

 

4: Erasmus James, Minnesota Vikings, 18th pick, 2005 NFL Draft

Notable Players drafted after him: Roddy White, Nick Collins (2nd round), Marion Barber (4th round)

James’ flameout doesn’t compare to that of Smith; neither Williams’ nor Harrington’s. So why is he ranked higher on this list than any of them?

Because James was a defensive end, the first taken in the draft. Not enough of a reason? Then I’ll give you another: James was the defensive end the Vikings needed when their defensive front four was beginning to falter. He should have teamed with Kevin Williams and Pat Williams to terrorize and decimate the NFC North’s QB’s. Instead he got hurt and got in a bar fight. He earned the nickname ‘The Eraser’ because of his ability to get to the QB. After a 28 tackle, four-sack rookie season, he then got injured. Repeatedly. He finished his career with 37 tackles and five sacks. And so his sad career came to a depressing end; but it did indirectly allow the Vikings to grab Jared Allen three years later, so that’s something.

 

3: Robert Gallery, Oakland Raiders, 2nd Overall Pick, 2004 NFL Draft.

Notable Players taken behind him:Larry Fitzgerald, the late Sean Taylor, Phillip Rivers.

Ugh. A three-letter response is all that is required, but I’ll give you more.

Gallery has ideal size. By that, I mean he’s in the JonOg (for my money, the best OT in the past twenty years)/Orlando Pace category. The Raiders envisioned him as the cornerstone in a powerful blocking attack that would lead them back into the top of the heap. Something was powerful, and they were at the top of the heap…if the heap was a heap of dung. Gallery, as so many high picks are, was held responsible for the failure of his unit, but think about this: in 2006, at LT, he was part of one of the worst performances by an NFL OL in history: a 9-sack performance by Shawne Merriman and the San Diego Chargers. That year, Gallery gave up an unreal 10.5 sacks in 10 games. In that regard, Gallery is a failure despite his move to LG, which has helped his career and kept him from being referred to as a Hiroshima-level failure. Unlike the next guy.

 

2: Charles Rogers, Detroit Lions, 2nd overall pick, 2003 NFL Draft.

Rogers had ideal size. He was fast, he was strong, he drew comparisions to Randy Moss. That’s a good thing, but, uhhhhhh…as it turned out, he was similar to Moss in more ways than anyone, including the Detroit Lions, would like to admit.

Rogers got off to a roaring start in his rookie season, making 22 catches and scoring three times in his first five games. But when doing a speed drill with Dre Bly, Rogers broke his collarbone, the fourth worst injury a WR can have after a broken hand, arm, or leg. Gone for the season. Rogers tried agan in 2004, but on the third play of the 2004 season Rogers broke his collarbone again. Gone for the season. Then the problems REALLY began when Rogers violated the drug policy for the third time, being suspended for four games. Because of this, the Lions demanded the money he’d been paid in his signing bonus back, eventually getting a judgment of $8 million dollars. Also it came out that Rogers had failed drug tests every year at MSU. More likely to appear on the cover of High Times then on the cover of the Lions Media Guide, Rod Marinelli derricked the wayward WR, and ended what probably should have been a hall of fame career quickly. Summary: Charles Rogers is an idiot.

12 down, one left. And since number 1 isn’t Rogers, well, who could it be? (Cue Colin Hay singing “Who Can It Be Now?”)

Ready?

 

1: JaMarcus Russell, Oakland Raiders, 1st overall pick, 2007 NFL Draft.

Notable players drafted after him: Calvin Johnson, Adrian Peterson, Patrick Willis.

There aren’t enough curse words in English, Spanish, Portuguese, or Cantonese to express the dismay and contempt I, and other Raiders fans, hold him in.

Russell held out all throughout training camp while the Raiders took it in the shorts throughout the 2007 season. Finally Russell got Al Davis to give him 68 million dollars, 31.5 million of it guaranteed. For this, Russell and his agent should have been jailed for abuse of the elderly. To put it in perspective, Russell’s performance resembles that of Akili Smith’s. Only worse. His season to date: 96-205, for 1,064 yards, sacked TWENTY-FOUR times for 142 yards of loss, two touchdowns, NINE interceptions, SIX fumbles, FIVE lost. A 47.7 QB rating. I assume I could stick Mike Shinoda out there with the members of koRn and Scott Stapp blocking for him running a triple option on every godforsaken play and they could pull off a 47.7. Benched by the should-never-have-been-hired-Tom Cable, woman beater extrordinaire, for Bruce Gradkowski. Gradkowski had an awful game today and Russell wasn’t even a thought for that fat tub of frog slobber. So…lol raiders?

No, it doesn’t get to end that way. The sad part is, Russell still has a chance to be average. And that’s all. But getting paid Tom Brady/Peyton Manning money for 1/19th of the performance…I may have a stroke just thinking about it. How come I can’t root for a GOOD team?

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Sunday Night Slam Masters

The man in the picture above this article is one of the top 15 QBs in the NFL.

The man in the picture is also well known for throwing interceptions, as all QBs do.

However, he is being unfairly blamed for everything wrong with the Chicago Bears. And as a fan who had to sit through, to name just a few: Cade McNown, Steve Stenstrom, Henry Burris, Rick Mirer, Steve Walsh, etc, that doesn’t sit right with me.

When Jerry Angelo made the trade that brought Jay Cutler to the Chicago Bears, a season or two after the greatest sports quote ever was contributed to the world by Dennis Green, there was jubilation from SOME Bears fans. Others would rather have had the first round picks and Kyle Orton.

This is ridiculous on so many levels. This team has been known for its defense throughout the Super Bowl era. And it’s never gotten us anything. Matter of fact, the one Bears Super Bowl-winning defense was complimented on the other side by an amazing running back, an above-average QB and for that time, good blocking WR’s, as well as an excellent offensive line led by Jimbo Covert.

When it comes to the NFL, I subscribe to this theory that I will bold just to show how much I believe in it:  You cannot win without at least a top-13 offensive line. Look at every Super Bowl winner. When the Colts defeated said Bears, Peyton Manning was protected by Tarik Glenn and Ryan Diem at the tackles, Rick DeMulling and I believe Jake Scott, and Jeff Saturday.

Those are two pretty damn good tackles, well, Diem is, Glenn has since retired. DeMulling was let go in free agency and Saturday is the uncompromising heart and soul of the line. In anoher example, notice that as soon as Willie Roaf and Will Shields retired, and John Welbourn got bad, the Chiefs dropped into the dregs of the NFL, where before they had always been near the middle, and spent more years above than below.

Oakland staked their No. 2 overall on getting a franchise tackle from Iowa named Robert Gallery. Gallery is now a guard because he couldn’t handle the pressures, and Oakland still sucks. And I’m a Raiders fan, trust me, it angers me to say it, especially since Madden 06 is convinced they’re an elite franchise and they win 10 games every year.

Also, when Miami took LT Jake Long first overall, I was taken by a stat that was reported many times during pre-draft coverage: Long was not called for a holding penalty his last two or three years at Michigan. Dolphins win 11 games in his rookie season. Funny how that works.

Which brings me to the Sunday night telecast. Al Michaels has won awards, but the way he opened the show I sure don’t see how. Because he lost much credibility when he called Cutler the savior. That annoyed me to no end, because that’s not what he was. He was not, nor ever was intended to be, the savior of this Chicago Bears team.

Joe Montana could be the QB and this team would be 4-5. Greg Olson is soft, Matt Forte couldn’t hit a hole belonging to a porn star, and this offensive line couldn’t block me and three of my cousins running at full speed.

And worse, this offensive line has future hall of famer Orlando Pace and he’s one of the worst offenders. If Antwan Odom wasn’t out for the rest of the season before that Bengals game, he might have put Cutler in the hospital. 

This is NOT to say Cutler should be absolved of all blame. I’m not saying that at all, because of his 18 interceptions, about nine of them are entirely his fault, and the jury’s still out on two of them, including the one to end the Eagles game. But it’s really hard for Cutler to have any faith in his receivers when they DON’T CATCH THE BALL.

Look at the end of the Eagles game. And I’m not taking anything from the Eagles, they played an excellent game. But Cutler went to Greg Olson in triple coverage. Stupid? Yes, but why was Olson standing in one place? Ball’s tipped up in the air, and one of the Eagles runs into an almost standing still Greg Olson, and the game’s over.

The Bears are not a good team. Weren’t before they got Cutler. And the defense took a hit with the loss of Urlacher and Nathan Vasher basically being a less mobile version of Thomas Smith. There’s a name from the past, Bears fans.

So if you’re going to blame anyone, Jay Cutler should not be first on your list. Ron Turner, Lovie Smith and the offensive line should shoulder a lot more blame than Cutler.

Before I explain why they should take more blame in ascending order…

Kyle Orton has Brandon Marshall, Eddie Royal, and Daniel Graham (or is it Ben Watson, they’re always interchangeable in my mind) I could look like a Pro Bowler with that crew and the excellent Ryan Clady. And I couldn’t throw a spiral for a million dollars.

Kyle Orton is not a great QB. He’s a system QB. San Diego is reminding Denver that THEY are the class of the AFC West (which isn’t saying much) and Marshall and Knowshon Moreno had a bit of a difference of opinion on the sideline yestersday.

Jay Cutler, on the other hand, has a soft Greg Olson, Devin Hester, Johnny Knox, who nobody heard of before this year, and an offensive line that right now is varying degrees of fat, old and bad. I’ll say it again: You cannot win without a good to great offensive line. You will not win. I guarantee it.

Starting with the Offensive Line. Orlando Pace, Frank Omiele, Olin Kreutz, Roberto Garza/Josh Beekman, and Chris Williams. Reading off those names, you have: A hall of famer, a low draft pick who made his name through toughness, a center who is the leader of the team, a self-made scrapper and brawler who is always hurt with bad knees, a young kid who will probably be the center once Kreutz leaves, and…a first-round pick.

The NFL is the toughest league for a first-round pick to succeed, bar none. But the Chicago Bears have had it tougher than any other team in the NFL when it comes to drafting in the first round. The aformentioned Cade McNown. Curtis Enis. And of course, my favorite, Michgan WR David Terrell, who had much talent, no sense in how to utilize it, and was quickly out of the NFL, as even the Patriots had no use for him. 

One could say Houston is just as tough, as David Carr was their first pick ever. Carr had all the tools to succeed…but what got him? If you say lack of talent, the sound you just heard was a buzzer followed immediately by the Price is Right tuba. Carr was immensely talented. But he was sacked over 200 times as the QB of the Houston Texans.

The offensive linemen of the Houston Texans from that period, especially Chester Pitts, should all be ashamed of themselves for that disgusting performance. Hell, they should hang a plaque outside Reliant Stadium. “Here lies the tattered remains of David Carr’s career. In Memoriam.”

Getting back to this story, the play of the offensive line this season has been inexcusable. But, people keep overlooking that to jump on Cutler. THAT is also inexcusable. Cutler is constantly under pressure, and Matt Forte usually gets buried after a yard or so. How anyone can ignore that is just stunning.

So we come to Ron Turner.

Turner as offensive coordinator is a mistake. The offense he built was designed for someone with moderate arm strength. Someone like Kyle Orton. Jay Cutler is not Kyle Orton. He’s demonstrably better. Screen passes work only with, let’s say, Hester. Runs over guard work if your guards are any good.

If your guards are, let’s name two good ones at random if I can, Alan Faneca/Steve Hutchinson and Mike Wahle/Marco Rivera (had to consult my memory bank for the Madden 06 ratings) then it works.

If your guards are below average, you’re going to get buried. Watch the next game, which I believe is against the Vikings. When Forte attempts to run over guard, Pat Williams is going to eat him like the shark got Robert Shaw in Jaws. And for a “317”-pound man, it won’t matter which guard, Williams will be there waiting.

Turner’s stubborness prevents the team from throwing anything different at opposing defenses, and when that happens, Cutler gets murdered. Can Turner be rehabilitated? Of course, but will he?

So, Lovie Smith.

I defended Smith. I think he’s a good head coach. But in the end, it all comes down to him. In the end, he is the one responsible for the play of the team. I said in my last article the Browns have quit on Eric Mangini, maybe the Bears quit on Lovie Smith as well.

You see it in their body language. Cutler and Hester are angry when they come off the field after a three and out. The defense mostly looks beaten before the ball is even snapped.

I have no idea what Peanut Tillman is doing, but he can’t expected to be Champ Bailey. Zack Bowman is…well, I really can’t tell. Releasing the always hurt Mike Brown seems to have had the wrong effect on the secondary, because the team’s been hit by waves of injuries in what seems like a husband having sympathy pains for his wife.

But a smart coach adjusts to unforeseen circumstances and plans for changes, good or bad. A smart coach only gambles when he’s sure he’ll succeed. The fake punt in week one against Green Bay was a prime example of bad gambles, especially in Lambeau Field.

So every time you hear Bears fans attempt to blame Cutler for things beyond his control (below-average receivers, an offensive line that’s out there collecting a paycheck, catastrophic injuries, and horrendous coaching) and not give him credit for what he does that’s good.

And unless you’re as dumb as Al Michaels, you’d do well to keep Dennis Green’s oft-copied, never-topped statement about this team in your mind for the 2009 season, and possibly the 2010 one as well:

“The BEARS ARE WHO WE THOUGHT THEY WERE!”

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