The offseason is where cubs and sox fans get to have dreams of their teams being good. The actually season is where those dreams fall apart or never materialize. Word came from the GM meetings here at O'Hare yesterday that the Tigers were shopping Curtis Ganderson. Yes, the former all-star, guaranteed 20 bombs and 20 bags a year, 29 yr old CF Curtis Ganderson. The tigers have got money problems as does everyone in detroit so they are looking to restock with young players. I hope Hendry was on the phone all day trying to make a deal happen. A young left handed power hitting centerfielder who can bat first or second available not named corey patterson. Go out and redeem yourself Jim and see if you can get edwin jackson too.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Bears Niners Preview
Summary
Short week = short preview. This game is must win for both teams if they even want to sniff the playoffs. Early in the season, both of these teams like like serious NFC contenders. Now, they are mediocre teams trying to keep their season alive.
Key Factors
The bears defense has been horrible and this team is not built to win solely on its offense. The team has to rediscover its defensive identity or it will only get uglier from here.
The 49ers have a very good defense and held Peyton & Co. to 18 pts last week. Alex Smith seems to have some life and is trying to get his name to stop being mentioned in the same breath as Tim Couch.
Key Matchups
Kruetz v. Patrick Willis - Arguably, Willis is the best inside LB in the game. Can Kruetz and his buddies, Garza & Beekman actually get to the 2nd level and block Willis. If not, Willis will be playing in Matt Forte's backfield and there the running game will grind to a halt. If that happens, the bears once again will have no time of possession and have to rely on Cutler's arm and we know how that storyline plays out.
Frank Gore v. the entire bears front 7. - Can tommie harris make it to play 5 this week? does it matter? can the bears actually play in their assigned gaps and in some way resemble a good defense? If they can stop gore, then i will take my chances with alex smith trying to make plays.
Prediction
The bears have to come out with emotion and with purpose otherwise their season could be over after this game. Bears 24-Niners 15
Critical Performer
Johnny Knox. The bears need a big play to get this team going. Whether it be a big return or a long pass play, Knox is the player who can break a play at anytime. Look for a deep shot to him in the 1st quarter and hope him and jay connect.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Bears - 49ers Preview: Thursday Night Special
How fun did this game look when the NFL schedule was first released? A Thursday night game in San Fransisco against Mike Singletary's team in front of the whole country (whole country that's at a bar or has NFL Network) sounded pretty good. My my how things can change in eight weeks. A couple of blowout losses and sloppy play later and this once marquee, prime-time match-up is now almost competing against the new episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia for my interest.
Let it be known the Bears season is not quite over yet, although the way they look right now a 6-10 record is much easier to fathom than 10-6. They will probably need to win three in a row (SF, Philadelphia, Minnesota --- yikes!) and get their record up to 7-4 in order to have a good shot at making the playoffs. That streak has to start with beating former number one pick and fresh off the bench, Alex Smith.
Let it be known my "good quarterbacks beat the Bears" theory will be put to test this game. Alex Smith is not a good quarterback like Matt Ryan, Carson Palmer, Aaron Rodgers and Kurt Warner are. He's not exactly bad and also a bit of a wild-card. So does that mean the Bears will beat him? Who knows? The Bears have done nothing to show me they can beat a passionately coached and competitive team (albeit not a very good team --- 3-5 record, losers of four straight) on the road.
Since I couldn't figure out how to tie-in a story about my Dad choking on a Portillo's Polish (don't worry it's only week 10) and because the general themes of the Bears have become repetitive--- defense gets no pressure on the QB, defense gets beat in the passing game, offense relies on Cutler's arm too much, offense has no running identity --- I end this preview and hope once again that I am wrong:
Let it be known the Bears season is not quite over yet, although the way they look right now a 6-10 record is much easier to fathom than 10-6. They will probably need to win three in a row (SF, Philadelphia, Minnesota --- yikes!) and get their record up to 7-4 in order to have a good shot at making the playoffs. That streak has to start with beating former number one pick and fresh off the bench, Alex Smith.
Let it be known my "good quarterbacks beat the Bears" theory will be put to test this game. Alex Smith is not a good quarterback like Matt Ryan, Carson Palmer, Aaron Rodgers and Kurt Warner are. He's not exactly bad and also a bit of a wild-card. So does that mean the Bears will beat him? Who knows? The Bears have done nothing to show me they can beat a passionately coached and competitive team (albeit not a very good team --- 3-5 record, losers of four straight) on the road.
Since I couldn't figure out how to tie-in a story about my Dad choking on a Portillo's Polish (don't worry it's only week 10) and because the general themes of the Bears have become repetitive--- defense gets no pressure on the QB, defense gets beat in the passing game, offense relies on Cutler's arm too much, offense has no running identity --- I end this preview and hope once again that I am wrong:
San Francisco 23 Chicago 20
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
I hate Derek Jeter even more now!
I need to rant about this a little bit. The AL gold glovers were announced this afternoon. What were people smoking when they voted for these awards? There are players who play this wonderful game of baseball everyday strictly because of their glove. You will find none of these players on this list. Its a crime and it degrades this award.
On this year's list, you will find good hitters and decent fielders. But you wont find the guys who survive for their glove. I read much about Jeter being a liability in the field from scouts and general managers and anyone who has watched him knows he is not a good defensive shortstop. How bout giving it to the kid, Elvis Andrus, down in texas who they moved a former gold glove SS, Michael Young to 3B, to get this kid's glove in the lineup. Or what about the guys' who were routinely in espn's webgems. Like Brandon Inge at 3b, Jack Wilson at SS, Gomez in CF, Carl Crawford in OF and Franklin Gutierrez in OF. These are guys that play ridiculously good defense and pretty much are in the MLB for that reason. These players deserve the gold gloves because they probably dont have much of a chance to win any other hardware in MLB.
This year's gold glovers reads oddly like the silver slugger awards. What a crock of shit! This is a slap to face of baseball, fans, and the players who really deserve to be on this list.
Monday, November 9, 2009
They are who we thought they were???
Right? Stupid players. A defense that is a step or two too slow. And a passing offense that can mount some semblance of a comeback.
I dont really know what to say about this team and the game they played yesterday.
I'm encouraged by their offense. We finally saw the cutler-olsen connection that everyone hoped for. The line actually did a pretty good job passing blocking considering that the cardinals knew the bears were gonna be throwing every play after they were down by 24. and when they did the run the ball, all 8 carries, the line opened up some holes. the problem was that we really didnt get to see the full offense because they were never in the game.
The defense is a cluster fuck. Where to start? Tommie Harris, you should pay to refund everyone's ticket that was at soldier field yesterday. That would be the most meaningful contribution you have made this season. I have no idea what he was thinking and i wouldnt be surprised if he is suspended for a good length of time by the league. The sad thing was that he was actually playing a little like the old tommie harris the first 4 plays. When harris doesnt play/plays 4 plays, the D has been torched for 86 pts this year. Can tommie harris be the key to the bears defense?
the secondary is medicore at best and with no pressure on warner, they got killed. is it this hard to find a safety?
Does anyone miss urlacher more than briggs? I know for years we have been hearing that briggs is made as good as urlacher if not better but he looks lost out there. Now that urlacher is out, teams are game planning to block briggs and he doesnt seem to know how to get around it. he is still making tackles but they are 5 yds down the field and not impact plays.
The bears are a 4-4 team and their offense looks better than their defense. this is not the bears team i expected in 2009 and if the defense cant with the players we have there is no quick fix because of all the big contracts with defenders. Will the bears have to change their M.O. and game plans to try and win with offense? Is it even possible?
It's a Good Thing the Bears Have Jay Cutler or Else This Season Would Be Spiraling Out of Control
Stop what you're doing for a minute, close your eyes, and ponder this question: Where would the Bears be without Jay Cutler this year? Pretty scary thought, ain't it?
For the first time in decades, the Bears finally have a strong-armed quarterback and things couldn't be better. Move over Erik Kramer, Cutler is on pace to shatter all your Bears passing records this year. With a stat line like this through 8 games--2000 yards, 14 TDs and completing 63% of his passes-- all is well in Chicago, finally.
How many wins would the Bears have without Cutler this year? 3, maybe 4 tops? They'd probably be an inconsistent .500 team struggling through each week.
With Cutler, they are poised to make that playoff run that everyone thought was possible in the off-season. With Cutler, the bad offensive line, horrible coaching, lack of run game and inept defense is an afterthought. With Cutler, the Bears can finally throw the ball deep and rack up any amount of points their defense might give up. With Cutler, nothing else matters.
Anyone else starting to think that the Bears addition of Cutler is kind of like a guy buying an $80,000 luxury car even though he can't afford the payments, lives in a shitty apartment, has a shitty job, has to park it outside on the street where hoodlums can vandalize it and doesn't even know how to drive it since it's a stick-shift? But fuck it, look how awesome it looks shining in the sun after you've washed and waxed it!
For the first time in decades, the Bears finally have a strong-armed quarterback and things couldn't be better. Move over Erik Kramer, Cutler is on pace to shatter all your Bears passing records this year. With a stat line like this through 8 games--2000 yards, 14 TDs and completing 63% of his passes-- all is well in Chicago, finally.
How many wins would the Bears have without Cutler this year? 3, maybe 4 tops? They'd probably be an inconsistent .500 team struggling through each week.
With Cutler, they are poised to make that playoff run that everyone thought was possible in the off-season. With Cutler, the bad offensive line, horrible coaching, lack of run game and inept defense is an afterthought. With Cutler, the Bears can finally throw the ball deep and rack up any amount of points their defense might give up. With Cutler, nothing else matters.
Anyone else starting to think that the Bears addition of Cutler is kind of like a guy buying an $80,000 luxury car even though he can't afford the payments, lives in a shitty apartment, has a shitty job, has to park it outside on the street where hoodlums can vandalize it and doesn't even know how to drive it since it's a stick-shift? But fuck it, look how awesome it looks shining in the sun after you've washed and waxed it!
Friday, November 6, 2009
Bulls so far. He said what?
"Chicago's size and the athleticism of its guards gave Cleveland problems."
Yes this is actually written about our bulls teams. I have to say after 5 games I am extremely impressed with this team. They are winning games with their defense. I havent said that since 2006 and i have higher hopes for this team. I was at the game against the Bobcats and was extremely impressed with the bulls team defense. The bulls were talking with each other, calling out screens and hustling to cover the open man. Sometimes it took 4-5 pass by the bobcats in order to find an open guy off penetration and even then there was a bull running at the guy. With the bulls increased size, they are able to switch on the pick and roll and not get killed on those matchups. Taj Gibson even d'ed up Bron!
Noah is more impressive every game and Deng is getting back to his old form. Thomas' injury sucks but hopefully he will be back soon. Rose will come around and get back in the rhythm. Their shooting will improve and i think this team can all of a sudden challenge for the 4th best team in the east.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)