Jay of Hope: Gutsy Cutler Offers Glimpse of Promise For The Future

Anyone who follows football in any capacity knows of the struggles Jay Cutler has endured in his first season in Chicago. His 2009 campaign has been awful at best and disastrous at worst.

Without slamming the door shut on Cutler’s potential, I did not anticipate seeing much in the season’s final two weeks to give me any indication he could right the ship in any meaningful way by next season.

And while Monday night’s performance hardly has me envisioning No. 6 lighting up the 2010 NFC Pro Bowl ballet, it was the first time in the post bye week debacle that has been Chicago’s season, in which Cutler actually displayed the fortitude fans were expecting when the team traded away two first round picks to acquire him in April.

It’s a staple of bad teams to roll over in defeat when good teams put the heat on, and this very bad Bear team was doing it’s part, as the defense allowed the same Viking offense which it stymied in the first half, to march up-and-down the field with ease in the second half.

Cutler for the most part, played well with limited opportunities. After Daniel Manning set the Bears up with good field position via a 57-yard kickoff return, I was just hoping the offense could get into field goal range without turning the ball over. Cutler and co. did me one better by putting together an impressive drive, culminating in a two-yard TD pass to Desmond Clark, which re-establishing their momentum.

The good feelings didn’t last, sadly, as Cutler did resort to his pick-happy ways. His interception to Cedric Griffin at the end of the third quarter was as bad as any of the league-high 26 he’s accounted for this season, and played a big part in helping the Vikings force a late 23-all tie.

When Manning again answered a Minnesota score with a long kickoff return (59 yards), the nerves of Chicago weren’t any less unsettled. But seemingly unfazed by his earlier mistake, Cutler hit Earl Bennett for a 20-yard touchdown on the drive’s second play, and showed enough poise to indicate maybe, just maybe, he would be able to lead an overtime rally after the defense inevitably allowed a game-tying Viking score.

Cutler flashed his upper-echelon talent not once, but twice in the game’s extra frame, hitting Devin Aromashodu for 33-yards on the first play of OT, to help set up the usually reliable Robbie Gould for a game-winning 45-yard field goal, which he inevitably shanked.

After Gould’s miss, the defense finally stepped-up with two big stops, including forcing a greased-fingered Adrian Peterson fumble, which gave Cutler another chance to show he was capable of making a big play when needed.

And to the dismay of Viking fans everywhere, he delivered, throwing a precision perfect laser to Aromashodu (a standing ovation to the coaching staff for keeping this guy on the sideline for half the season), giving the Bears a fairly meaningless, yet ultimately satisfying 36-30 victory.

This was a rare highlight for Cutler, who has been the most maligned player in the NFL this season. Some will argue this performance was too-little-too-late, and while there is merit to that, I feel it’s wrong to take nothing good out of Monday’s win.

Regardless of how the season were to finish, 2009 was a complete wash for the Bears on the field. Add horrid moves by management (Gaines Adams) and the coaching staff (15 catches, 226 yards and two scores against the likes of Charles Woodson and Antoine Winfield, and you seriously can’t get Aromashodu a catch until week 10?) to Cutler’s woes and there was little reason to expect anything resembling success in Chicago in the coming seasons.

Then came Monday. Say what you want about the statistical meaninglessness of Cutler’s performance against the Vikings, for a guy who’s been buried by negativity all season long, it took serious gumption for him to dig as deep as he did to pull out such a gutsy win. It was, at the very least, a glimmer of hope amongst three months of desolation.

Before I let my optimism get away from me, I will acknowledge this is a small, virtually invisible glimmer in terms of next season. The Bears have too many holes to fill and too few resources to fill them immediately. Anyone entertaining ideas of seeing the Bears even catching a whiff of playoff contention in ’10 is living in a world of pure fantasy.

As for the oft-discussed QB, he needs to spend this offseason working on the mental breakdowns which have led to the interception-filled season, thus transforming him from a city’s savior to a league-wide punchline. He needs a lot of help for sure, but if he ever wants to succeed in Chicago, he absolutely needs to get his head right, or else the weight of failed expectations will crush him.

While he doesn’t escape blame for the Bears’ woes, Jay Cutler came into this year with an almost impossible task: rectifying nearly six decades of ineptitude at the quarterback position in Chicago. Throw in the fact that his team is about as bad as anyone in the NFL not playing in Missouri or Detroit, it really wasn’t within the realm of realistic possibility to expect him to accomplish much this season.

That said, if a performance like the one he displayed Monday night can help him get his confidence back, there just may be reason to believe he has the fortitude to tough out the rough seasons which may lie ahead.

It was too late for ’09, but I saw something in Jay Cutler Monday that I haven’t seen in months; a spark. If he can channel this into an entire season’s work, there still may be hope for him to be come the long awaited quarterback savior Bear fans have been impatiently waiting for.

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PLEASE End the Painful Death That Is Watching a Lovie Smith Team Now!

I’ve made this point already, and I don’t think I can actually articulate my thoughts in a meaningful way, but I don’t care. Lovie Smith is the worst coach in football at any level and at any position, and we as Bear fans need to seriously consider boycotting this team for every minute he remains on the Chicago sidelines.

Greg Olsen clearly didn’t catch that pass in the fourth quarter, it was clear as day to anyone with a functional brain cell in their head. Of course we all knew Smith would challenge the play as we as Bear fans are never ones to underestimate his stupidity.

Or so we thought.

In a seven point game, not only did this worthless clown of an NFL head coach waste a timeout by challenging a play he had no chance of winning, he did so AFTER using a timeout prior to the challenge so as to make sure his team had minimal chance to stop the clock during their potential game-winning drive.

Answer me this: is it possible these are the actions of someone who is even remotely interested in keeping his job? Is it actually within the realm of possibility for a man who just three years ago coached a team to the Super Bowl to be so damn stupid to think he was making the right decision in this instance?

Yes.

Keep in mind this is a guy who set up the Seahawks for a hail-mary pass in the divisional playoffs by calling a timeout because he thought they’d rather punt to Devin Hester than try a nothing-to-lose hail mary.

This kind of garbage has been going on for the duration of Smith’s tenure, it’s just less forgivable now because the team isn’t good enough to win despite his boobary.

This team CANNOT win with Smith as head coach. In fact, there may only be about two or three teams who could. The Bears are gonna be bad for awhile, but any chances of competing are being withheld for every hour he is the Bears coach.

The fact I haven’t heard of his firing as of yet is dissapointing. Maybe Jerry Angelo is waiting to see if he can summon a better explanation for the timeout/pointless challenge than saying “we get off the bus running the football.”

Fat chance.

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It’s Officially Time to End the Lovie Smith Era In Chicago

A year ago, after the Bears suffered a frustrating divisional loss at Minnesota, I suggested the Bears should possibly consider making a coaching change at the end of the season due to a string of uninspired efforts. Now, after two humiliating losses in three weeks—arguably the least inspired two games I ever seen in 18 years of watching Bears games—it’s time for fans to violently screech the suggestions I made in that earlier piece at the top of our lungs:

FIRE LOVIE SMITH!

There are a string of problems with the Bears, no question, but the most noticeable is the decline of the supposedly “brilliant” defensive scheme, orchestrated by this alleged defensive “guru.”

The parallels in the first half of the Bengals game two weeks ago and the Cardinals game today are stunning. Five opponent possessions, 31 points, 100 percent on third-down conversions, an endless number of shots of a befuddled Lovie’s emotionless puckered lip face and an insurmountable halftime deficit resulted in a humiliating loss. The fact Lovie hasn’t been able to make any adjustments of any kind speaks volumes of how ill-prepared he is to coach this team any longer.

Sure there were signs all over the place that his defense didn’t work without Ron Rivera, who Smith apparently couldn’t see eye-to-eye with (possibly because he made the defense work), and the Bears plummeted from the ranks of the elite, but it couldn’t possibly be the fault of Lovie’s scheme. It was that idiot Bob Babich. With Lovie calling plays, all the unit’s problems of the past two years would be a thing of the past.

Last year there was also a major issue with getting pressure on opposing quarterbacks. No problem. Lovie’s good friend Rod Marineli, fresh off a head coaching stint of the worst team in NFL history, would surely come right in and fix this problem. And it’s hard to argue with the results (two sacks in four games since the bye, not to mention giving up a season high rushing total to the leagues worst rushing attack in the first half!)

It’s not just current problems, it’s his refusal to learn from past mistakes. Great move having Charles Tillman go one-on-one with Larry Fitzgerald on Sunday. All Bears fans were eager to have our memories refreshed from the debacle that came from implementing a similar strategy against Steve Smith in the ’05 divisional playoff game, and Sunday, we were lucky enough to relive such a banner occurrence in Lovie’s coaching history.

There are problems up-and-down this current Bears roster and anyone thinking the playoffs are a realistic possibility within the next five years are being too optimistic. Not only is the current roster not good enough, there aren’t enough draft picks in the near future (we sure are seeing the second-round pick value we gave up for Gaines Adams, aren’t we?). The Bears need to rebuild, and a head coaching change needs to be objective No. 1.

Like I said, there’s a lot of blame to be spread around from management to players (Tommie Harris should have been released before he even got to the locker room today), but I see nothing that fills me with anything even remotely resembling confidence that Lovie has what it takes to get this team where it needs to be.

Lovie got in at a good time with a team on the brink of good things and, as a result, was hailed as a near Ditka-esque figure for essentially doing an average-at-best job of coaching on a good team. Anyone who would dare make a Ditka comparison now likely wouldn’t get the full sentence out of his mouth before being slugged in the mouth.

Mediocrity isn’t supposed to be accepted in any organization, and this is particularly true with one as proud and with as rabid a fan base as the Bears. Whatever case could be made for Smith as a good—let alone great—coach is officially worthless. Not only is the defense, his pride and joy, arguably the second-worst unit of any kind in the NFL (behind only Cleveland’s offense), but he simply cannot get his team ready to play at a consistent level (see the endless barrage of dumb mistakes at Atlanta).

Smith is stubborn and in complete denial his ways are effective enough to lead the Bears to the playoffs and beyond. Well, I’m not in denial and I don’t think anyone whose been subjected to the Bears’ stunningly awful play in recent weeks is either.

Each year Lovie Smith is on the Bears sideline will create another string of awful, ill-prepared teams resulting in our fans again having to spend the playoffs rooting for teams we don’t care about to beat teams we hate. If Bears management wants this trend to die as quickly as possible, Lovie Smith needs to be sent to the unemployment line as soon as ’09 is over.

If not sooner.

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Chicago Bears Must Turn It Up to “11” This Week At Atlanta

Nothing is worse than seeing your favorite team lose simply by giving a game away, and no one gave one away quite like the Bears did in Week Six last year.

Recapping the Bears near-miracle win which turned into an inexplicably impossible loss in just 0:11 is unnecessary. All of us have recapped it time and time again, most notably as the benefactor of said collapse, the Atlanta Falcons, ended up taking the wild card playoff spot that would of been ours had the Bears held on.

I can’t count how many times during Atlanta’s opening round playoff loss to Arizona last year when I caught myself saying, “damn, that could be us taking it on the chin to the eventual NFC champions”(my foresight is amazing like that).

But it wasn’t meant to be.

Well, here we are in Week Six again, where we will see the Bears return to the site of the most devastating regular season loss I can ever recall witnessing. I’m not one who usually puts a lot of stock into “revenge games,” but in this case, I am making an exception.

The Bears (not to mention Jay Cutler) have bounced back from their heartbreaking Week One loss much better than I anticipated they would. Their have been various surprises in the three wins that have followed, most notably a high level of play from the receiving core and the defensive line.

They have also been able to do what they struggled so mightily to do last season—close out games. They compiled very impressive fourth quarter rallies to defeat Pittsburgh and Seattlle in back-to-back weeks. After week one, I did not anticipate they would go into their bye 3-1, and I am very pleasantly surprised to see they did.

But while they have faced a few significant tests thus far in the year, none have been as big as avenging last seasons Georgia Dome debacle.

Such a task will not prove easy as Atlanta, a team I already had a very high opinion of, comes into the game 3-1 and riding the momentum of a crushing road win at San Fransisco on Sunday. And for a secondary which has already allowed three individual 100-yard receivers in four games, I’m not sure Matt Ryan, Roddy White, and Tony Gonzalez are what the doctor ordered for a quick recovery.

Oh, and their running back is pretty good as well.

The Bears are not over-matched, however, as their surprisingly deep passing game mixed with a (hopefully) back-on-track Matt Forte should be able to keep them competitive with the “high flying” as it were, Falcons offense.

Competitive simply isn’t good enough this time around though. Normally a loss in your fifth game of the year isn’t devastating, and honestly there’s no reason this would have to be a back-breaker either. But with both of these teams currently looking up at Minnesota and New Orleans in their respective divisions, they may both be slugging it out for wild card births again, and taking a potential tie-breaker would be huge.

But almost as important, this game is about removing a stank taste from the mouths of Bear fans that is still lingering a year later. Loosing a game where you take the lead with 0:11 to go simply shouldn’t happen. No fan should ever declare the phrases “we’re going to the Super Bowl” and “this is the worst god damn team I’ve ever seen play” in the same five minute span.

While yes, it is only the fifth game of the season, it is crucial on two levels. One, the needed leverage it would give in the above mentioned playoff race, but also because of the redemption factor. If the Bears can win what is likely going to be a tight game on the road this week, they may finally be successful in pushing the unpleasant memories of last years squad full of chokers out of my brain forever, and finally give me the sense of comfort I need to believe this is a team well equipped for a playoff run.

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33 Bullet Point Evaluations/Statements About the NFL’s First Four Weeks

With most teams one quarter of the way through their season, there certainly are a great deal of NFL story lines to discuss. If I were a better writer, I may have a stunningly in0depth analysis of one or more of them.

But despite the deception my recent promotion to “Scribe” (a promotion which took merely a year) may have created, I’m honest enough to admit myself to be a mere hack with only brief assessments to make.

So, for those of you who have ever wanted your football related articles to read like a 10th grade English class power point presentation, do I have a piece for you. Here are my 33 bullet point evaluations for the leagues first four weeks:

• Instead of my bold (or to be more accurate, idiotic) July declaration that the Giants would miss the playoffs, I wish I would have predicted Denver would have a better defense than Pittsburgh.
• I despise the Colts and hate to think they may be the NFL’s best team. That being said, it’s hard to make an argument against that belief right now.
• How awful is JaMarcus Russell? If the opportunity to show off his ability to throw the ball 60 yards from his knees were ever to arise in a game, he may get a true chance to shine. But for now, he’s by far the league’s worst quarterback.
• I want to praise the Vikings, but I am held back from doing so by the murderous rage I feel anytime I see/hear/think about Brett Favre.
• You think you’ve had bad luck in fantasy football? Try being the idiot who drafted Eddie Royal three times!
• I’ve been a bit of a Tony Romo apologist in the past. No longer. He sucks.
• The Eagles and Chargers are preseason Super Bowl favorites who have underwhelmed early on in the year. If these team didn’t do this every single year, I’m sure I’d be shocked!
• How long do we have to hear announcers talk about how teams should be afraid of facing “a hungry Titans team?” Yeah, they’ve looked downright ravenous bouncing back losses thus far.
• I don’t know if Denver’s miracle pass in week one will end up standing as the best play of the year, but Gus Johnson’s call of said play won’t be topped by anyone.
• Speaking of that game, with all the surprises of early ’09, the fact that the Bengals, a poster franchise for ineptitude over the past two decades, have bounced back from that debacle with three strait wins may be the biggest of all.
• Matthew Stafford should end up being pretty good; just not good enough to help Detroit win within the next five years.
• I’m all for rookie QB’s getting praise when they win, but people who described Mark Sanchez’s play before the Saints game as “sensational” have a very liberal definition of that word.
• I can’t instantly recall a season with so many appallingly awful teams. Seriously, who will lose to St. Louis, Cleveland, Kansas City, or Tampa Bay?
• Though I ran a 6.1 40 in high school and haven’t worked out since graduating, I think I may be able to accumulate 700 yards as a Colt receiver (I’m generally not one to boast, but my JV coach once said I had “slightly above average” hands).
• I must say I’m a bit surprised at how quickly the Bears have made Jay Cutler the undisputed center of their offense. With the exception of two long runs Sunday, Matt Forte has been a shadow of his ’08 self.
• Drew Brees having nine TD passes thus far isn’t a surprise. But the fact that he’s thrown zero the last two weeks and the Saints have still easily both games fairly easily makes them frighteningly good.
• I think the two receiver Steve Smith’s did a Freaky Friday-esque body switch in the offseason. Though in Carolina Smith’s defense, the guy in New York has an actual quarterback under center, where as he’s been forced to catch passes from a $42.5 million autistic monkey in shoulder pads.
• Is anyone truly surprised about Chad Pennington? Winning comeback-player-of-the-year one year and going on IR with a shoulder injury the next is what he does.
• You know why T.O. is struggling in Buffalo? Because he’s two years removed from being an elite receiver!
• I predicted Kurt Warner would be this years version of ’03 Rich Gannon (though not in print, dammit!). I like where that prophecy is headed.
• Limas Sweed may be the NFL’s worst receiver…I mean historically.
• I know it was hard to predict just how awful their offensive line would be, but the people who called Green Bay a Super Bowl contender deserve to feel foolish right now. Nathan Vasher is the only reason they are in the playoff hunt at all.
• I think every analysts probably believed New England would bounce back quickly from their week two loss to the Jets, they all just wanted to individually state they were the “one-and-only” media figure who had the foresight to not give up on them.
• Tony Gonzalez and Ray Lewis may be elite players into his 50s.
• It’s not officially a Patriots/Ravens game unless Baltimore ends things by blaming the officials for their defeat.
• I know he’s had to unfairly deal with a lot of coaching changes, but I think it’s well past the time to admit Jason Campbell simply isn’t good.
• Patrick Willis is the best linebacker in the NFL.
• If there’s a player more fun to watch than Maurice Jones-Drew, I don’t know who it is.
• Matt Hasselbeck has officially replaced Matt Schaub as the league’s most injury prone quarterback…for now.
• What the hell has happened to Antonio Cromartie?
• I find it amusing that a woman who left a menstrual blood stain on a break room chair has a problem with the way I conduct myself at work (they don’t all have to be about football, people!).
• If your nickname is “Megatron” you damn well better be a badass.
• Lastly, as senile as John Madden was, I would hope everyone would join me in getting on my knees and begging him to come back if it meant the end of the unbearable Chris Collinsworth. If anything, I should be doing color commentary on Sunday Night Football, and Collinsworth should be peanut vendor at all the SNF locations. It would give him a great opportunity to meet a vast array of 14-18 year old punk rockers who would be enticed by the $100 bills hanging out of his pockets.

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Week One Pivotal For The Chicago Bears Receiving Core

Much (some might even say endless) debate has been sparked about whether or not  Jay Cutler has enough weapons to power the Bears passing game to the necessary heights needed to get this team back into the postseason. Many skeptics (myself included) are reluctant to take players and coaches at their word that the current core of wideouts is enough to take the team to the next level.

And while buzz from camp has been predictably favorable, and there have been some impressive moments by new talent such as Earl Bennett and Devin Aromashod this preseason, there’s never really anyway to fully gauge how well players will perform until they take the field in regular season action. I won’t be convinced I am wrong to doubt this group until they show me something in a meaningful game.

Well, if they want to shut me, and their countless doubters up, they have the perfect opportunity to do so right out of the gate.

The Bears open ’09 against Green Bay, noted for having one of the better Cornerback tandems in the NFL in Al Harris and Charles Woodson. Both brutally physical combatants, Harris and Woodson have proven capable of taking opposing receivers entirely out of the mix.

How dominant are the Packers cornerbacks? In four contests since 2007, Chicago receivers have pulled in 13 receptions for 157 yards and no scores against Green Bay. Startling as that stat is, it gets worse when you take into consideration 36 of those yards came on one reception by Rashied Davis during the final meaningless moments of the Packers’ 37-3 beating  of the Bears last November at Lambeau.

If you take out the Davis catch, that’s 12 catches for 121 yards, or roughly four catches for slightly over 30 yards per game! That’s an underwhelming output from an individual. From an entire unit, it’s flat-out unacceptable.

Now yes, the Bears are likely going to see most of their passing yards come from the Tight End position this season, and Greg Olsen and Desmond Clark have performed rather well in the same four contests (24 catches, 277 yards and four scores). And the anemic receiver output hasn’t stopped the Bears from winning three of the four games. And yes, there is of course the great Matt Forte, and the significant upgrade at Quarterback. One could argue maybe they don’t necessarily need to see big numbers from the receivers in week one.

But dammit, I want them to.

Remember how fantastic a tone the Bears set with a Grossman to Berrian 49-yard bomb on the opening possession of the 2006 season? If anyone of the current crop of receivers (possibly one by the name of Devin Hester) could light such an early spark, who knows what effect it could have on the outcome of the season. I’d hardly say Berrian’s TD was the primary factor to the ’06 Super Bowl run, but it sure as hell wasn’t a detriment.

The receivers aren’t the only big concern this team has (pass defense comes quickly to mind) but I am very reluctant to say I see this as a genuine NFC front-runner, and they are the primary reason as to why my skepticism exists.

If they can put up at least respectable numbers against a secondary that has owned them in recent years, it will go a long way in building my belief that they are good enough to help formulate a long playoff run. If not, then plans to upgrade the unit next offseason will likely have to begin much earlier than anyone had hoped.

Good luck, fellas. Feel free to prove me wrong for doubting you.

My Bottom Five Chicago Bear Moments Of The Past Decade

A few weeks back I made a slideshow depicting my five favorite moments as a Chicago Bear fan from the past decade. Even though the 218 article reads it received didn’t exactly scream for a follow-up piece, I did get a good response from much of the fanbase. And we all know that being a fan means we are forced to share not only in the glory of good times, but also the heinousness of bad ones.

In that spirit, I have countered the previously mentioned list with this one, the five most cringe worthy moments I have witnessed with my beloved team over the past 10 years. I should note one of the hardest moments, Walter Payton’s death, is likely a toper for most, but I have chosen to focus on moments that effected the team on the field.

Also, the drafting of Cade McNown would no doubt be on the list, but the April 17 date of his selection means he narrowly missed eligibility (though I guess watching him play counts for something).

I hope reading this is proves to be as displeasureable as writing it was.

Why the New York Giants Will Not Make the Playoffs in 2009

With Training Camps opening, NFL fans everywhere are getting increasingly antsy, as the beginning of the new NFL season draws ever closer. As a new year begins, as do preseason Super Bowl predictions.

In the AFC, there is some debate, but most seem to think the conference crown will come down to a battle between defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh and perennial conference powerhouse New England.

As for the NFC, things are a bit more open. Philadelphia, Carolina, and defending conference champ Arizona are teams whose names are being tossed around, while more adventurous voters are leaning toward teams like Minnesota and Atlanta. But the most popular team I have seen near the top of many a conference list is New York.

Of course, predictions on Aug. 1 are essentially pointless, because it’s impossible to predict what hidden factors could deflate a teams run to a championship.

A large group of people end the season looking foolish, and while I could possibly see them contending in ’09, it’s my belief that one massively incorrect group will be backers of the New York Giants.

Now over the last two years, the Giants have had one of the league’s better defenses, and they should boast a solid unit again this year. An already fearsome pass rush led by young stud Justin Tuck, should improve further with the return of Osi Umenyiora, who missed all of last year with a knee injury.

The Giants are also aided by the solid veteran leadership of Middle Linebacker Antonio Pierce, and several newly acquired players like Michael Boley

While talent is the driving force of a good defense, the Giants lost the architect of their solid schemes when coordinator Steve Spagnuolo bolted to take the head coaching job in St. Louis.

The Giants’ stunning upset over New England in Super Bowl XLII was largely due to Spagnuolo’s brilliantly devised and perfectly executed gameplan, which virtually shut down the most potent offense in NFL history.

While replacement Bill Sheridan has been with the team since 2005, he still has an uphill climb in replacing one of the games premier coordinators.

While they may drop a little, the Giants’ defense may be fine. It’s their offense that has me envisioning them on the outside looking in when the postseason begins.

New York put a lot of faith in an unproven receiving core this offseason, by releasing troubled wideout Plaxico Burress, not re-signing the franchises all time leading receiver Amani Toomer and making no splashes in free agency. If you ask me, too much faith has been put into this unit which has already proven to be untrustworthy.

The big question in Giants camp is, who will emerge as the number one receiver? Returning players competing for starting roles include Domenik Hixon, Steve Smith, Sinorce Moss, Mario Manningham and David Tyree among others.

Not only am I not convinced any of these guys could be a No. 1 receiver, I don’t think any of them could be a viable No. 2 either.

Now the Giants did bring in new talent for Quarterback Eli Manning in the draft, most notably first round pick, wideout Hakeem Nicks, but if there’s any one position that is inconsistent in yielding instant results, it’s receiver.

For every rookie who produces a first year like Michael Clayton, there are literally dozens whose neophyte campaigns resemble, well, the rest of Clayton’s career. Nicks, along with third rounders, receiver Ramses Barden and Tight End Travis Beckum may have a lot to offer in the future, but counting on them immediately likely won’t pay off.

And this isn’t just scoffing at an unproven unit. This is a unit whose inability to make plays derailed the season of a team which looked poised to repeat as Super Bowl champions.

The Giants were cruising at 11-1, before loosing three of their last four in the regular season, and bowing out against Philly in the NFC Divisional round. In those five games, New York averaged a meager 156.6 passing yards a game.

For them to follow this ineffective stretch by essentially putting the same unit on the field is a bit head-scratching.

The Giants lone win in that span, a 34-28 OT victory against Carolina, was fueled by a 301 yard performance by their rushing attack, the highest ranked rushing attack in the league last year. Sadly for Giant fans, said attack likely won’t possess the same luster this season.

Derrick Ward, who accounted for 215 of the 301 yards in the above mentioned game, took some punch out of the ground game when he and his 1,025 yards bolted to Tampa Bay.

I’m sure G-men fans will be quick to point out they still have a very good offensive line, and they are blocking for another 1,000 yard rusher in Brandon Jacobs but that doesn’t wipe out all concern. Not at all.

While talented, Jacobs is also one of the greatest injury risks at his position, having missed eight games over the past two seasons. If and when he goes down, the bulk of the workload will go to third-year back Ahmad Bradshaw.

Bradshaw has looked ok when given the opportunity to play, but I haven’t seen anything that has sold me on him as a potential feature back, or even someone who come close to duplicating the 1,000 yards Ward accumulated in the backup role last season.

And to go back to the passing game, the Giants also lost their best receiving back when Ward left. The loss of his 384 receiving yards last season seem more notable when considering his counterparts Jacobs and Bradshaw finished ’08 with 78 yards receiving combined!

After a drama plagued 2006 season, the Giants became very successful in turning a circus-like organization into a smoothly run powerhouse that brought in a Super Bowl and a Conference best record in back-to-back seasons.

Coach Tom Coughlin and GM Jerry Reece have done great work in removing much of the the distractions that had previously held the organization back, and with them at the helm, it’s impossible to write the Giants off as a complete non-contender.

That being said, I see a lot of holes in this years squad. Their defense is in transition, and the loss of his partner-in-crime has put a lot of pressure on Brandon Jacobs to do what he hasn’t been able to do since become the Giants’ top back: stay healthy.

Even if these situations don’t create major problems, it still may not be enough to counteract a weak passing game. Eli Manning is few people’s idea of an elite Quarterback, but he can be effective with good weapons around him.

This year, his top weapon is arguably Kevin Boss, an average-at-best Tight End. Come late in the season I think the Giants may be kicking themselves for not making a play at available veteran talent like T.J. Houshmandzadeh.

Obviously with many training camps only hours along, all articles like this are merely speculation and many may prove to have no worth by seasons end. If you were to ask me could the Giants make the playoffs? My answer would be, certainly. But if given deep analytical thought, for all the reasons mentioned above, if you asked me will they make the playoffs? My answer would be no.

And as for the “will the Giants reach the Super Bowl?” question, I would put all the supposed integrity I have accumulated by playing journalistic dress-up on this site for the past 10 months into this very confident answer:

Not a chance.

The Five Chicago Bears Who Absolutely Must Step It Up In 2009

This offseason has been one of the most noteworthy the Bears have had in a very long time, creating an eagerness for the upcoming season that has been lacking ever since Super Bowl XLI ended in crushing defeat.
But., as we know (alert the cliché alarm) championships aren’t won in the offseason, and while the newly acquired talent is cause for excitement, it doesn’t conceal the fact there were a great deal of returning players who underperformed last season, and cannot repeat the disappointing outputs they displayed in ’08 if the Bears hope to make a deep playoff run.
Compiled here is a list of the five players whose improvements I feel are the most crucial if the Bears wish to take the necessary steps forward this season.

Houston Rexans: Grossman to Sign With Houston

 

According to a report on NFL.com, former Bears Quarterback Rex Grossman is poised to sign a one-year deal with the Houston Texans, where he will compete with former Lion Dan Orlovsky, to backup Matt Schaub.

Honestly, this signing surprises me a bit. Considering how badly Grossman’s name has been dragged through the mud around the NFL, I assumed the best chance he had to sign with another team would be as a backup to a team with a set-in-stone QB, like New Orleans or Indianapolis.

For the Texans, he will be playing behind arguably the most injury prone human being on the face of the earth in Schaub. With this and the fact he’s surrounded by a ton of offensive talent, Rex has a real chance to prove he can succeed in a less hostile environment than he constantly faced in Chicago.

Can he do it? Maybe, maybe not. I’m really just glad I no longer have to deal with the circus first hand.

Good luck, Rex.

 

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