Week 9 Monday Night Football Live Blog

NFL Week 9 Schedule

Sorry I could not get this up earlier. This week has been hell.  It will get worse before it gets better.

Map of who gets what Sunday afternoon games.

CBS games

New York Jets vs. Buffalo Bills  1:00 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)
Cleveland Browns vs. Houston Texans  1:00 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts)
Miami Dolphins vs. Kansas City Chiefs  1:00 (CBS - Kevin Harland and Solomon Wilcots)

Denver Broncos vs. Oakland Raiders  4:05 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Tennessee Titans  4:05 (CBS - Marv Albert and Rich Gannon)

Fox early games

San Francisco 49ers vs. Washington Redskins  1:00 (Fox - Kenny Albert and Daryl Johnston, SA: Tony Siragusa)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. New Orleans Saints  1:00 (Fox - Dick Stockton and John Lynch)
Seattle Seahawks vs. Dallas Cowboys  1:00 (Fox - Chris Myers and Tim Ryan)
Atlanta Falcons vs. Indianapolis Colts  1:00 (Fox - Ron Pitts and Jim Mora, Jr.)

America's Game Of The Week and Fox late games

New York Giants vs. New England Patriots  4:15 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, SR: Pam Oliver)
Green Bay Packers vs. San Diego Chargers  4:15 (Fox - Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick, SR: Laura Okmin)
St. Louis Rams vs. Arizona Cardinals  4:15 (Fox - Sam Rosen and Chad Pennington)

Sunday Night Football

Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburgh Steelers  8:20 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth, SR: Michele Tafoya)

Monday Night Football

Chicago Bears vs. Philadelphia Eagles  8:30 (ESPN - Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Jon Gruden, SR: Suzy Kolber)

2011 NFL Playoffs Conference Championship Sunday Live Blog

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Conference Championship Games Preview

Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears: I am sure Soldier Field will be its normal crappy self as the Green Bay Packers take on the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship game. In terms of DVOA, the Packers were the NFC team in the playoffs. And for my money's worth, they are much better than Chicago. Soldier Field might be the great equalizer in this one, but does anyone really see Jay Cutler picking apart the Green Bay defense? There is a reason the Bears played their starters Week 17, and it was to try and avoid the very situation they found themselves in. The overall match-ups in this game favor Green Bay, both offensively and defensively. If Chicago wins this game, I'll be shocked. Final prediction: Packers 24, Bears 14.

New York Jets vs. Pittsburgh Steelers:  For some, this game will be like watching hell on a frozen football field.  The temperature in Pittsburgh is forecast to be in the teens for game time and this game features two teams that outside of their respective fanbases are for the most part rather unlikeable.  Yes, I did root for the Jets last week, but yes, the Patriots are more loathesome than the Jets, and the same thing can be said about Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers in comparison to said Jets. Both teams have seen their share of luck over the course of the season. You've two conservative offenses going up against two really good defenses, so while this game could likely be boring in spots, it should also be very close making for a fun finish. All in all, the Steelers are the better team here and should take care of the Jets who were at an emotional high after they beat the Patriots. Can Rex Ryan come up with his 3rd straight brilliant gameplan against a team who has a QB significantly better than his? Doubtful. Final prediction: Steelers 16, Jets 13.

Live blog tomorrow at Keith's Sports Journal.

NFL Conference Championships Schedule

As fun as Super Bowl Sunday is, the conference championships are for my money the best Sunday in the NFL season. In roughly the same amount of time you watch one game championship game with added pageantry, you get to watch 2 championship games with little pageantry. Plus, the two host cities (Chicago and Pittsburgh) are cold weather cities in the midst of a weather pattern featuring below average temperatures. Also, after going all year without a sideline reporter, for whatever reason, CBS has once again seen a need to employ Steve Tasker as one. I don't get it either. But nonetheless, here is your schedule for Conference Championship Sunday in the NFL. (all times ET)

Sunday, January 23

NFC Championship Game

#6 Green Bay Packers vs. #2 Chicago Bears 3:00 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, SR: Pam Oliver and Chris Myers)

AFC Championship Game

#6 New York Jets vs. #2 Pittsburgh Steelers 6:30 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms, SR: Steve Tasker)

2011 NFL Playoffs Divisional Sunday Live Blog

Leave comments and don't troll

Read This Post If You Want A Headache!

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, the scenarios for the Eagles to earn home field advantage throughout the playoffs!

Q: Can the Eagles still earn the top seed in the NFC?

A: Yes, but it's a longshot. There are two scenarios. The first one requires four things to happen:

1. Eagles beat Vikings and Cowboys.
2. Saints lose to Bucs in Week 17.
3. Falcons lose to Panthers in Week 17.
4. Bears lose to Packers in Week 17.

In this scenario, the Eagles and Falcons both finish at 12-4, and the Eagles get the tiebreak since they beat Atlanta earlier this season.

The second scenario plays out if the Bears beat the Packers and create a three-way tie of 12-4 teams (Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia). If that happens, the Eagles would FIRST need three things to happen:

1. Eagles beat Vikings and Cowboys.
2. Saints lose to Bucs in Week 17.
3. Falcons lose to Panthers in Week 17.

However, even if those three things happen, the Eagles ARE NOT guaranteed the top spot.

The head-to-head tiebreak would be irrelevant because the Falcons and Bears didn't play each other. Conference win-loss percentage is the next step, but all three teams would be 9-3 against the NFC.

Next up would be win-loss percentage in common games, but there needs to be a minimum of four common games between the three teams, which there are not.

And so it would come down to strength of victory - a tiebreak that cannot yet be determined because Week 17 has to play out. In other words, you'd take the combined win-loss records of the teams that the Eagles, Bears and Falcons each beat this season. The team with lowest opponents' win-percentage gets bounced, and the other two teams run through the set of tiebreakers again.

[...]

Basically, you want to root for teams the Eagles have beaten this season to win in Week 17. And you want to root for teams the Bears and Falcons have beaten this season to lose in Week 17.

[...]

It's important to note here that if the Saints, Falcons, Eagles and Bears all finish 12-4, the Saints get the one-seed, the Bears get the two-seed, the Eagles get the three-seed and the Falcons get the fifth-seed (as the top wild card).

I don't feel so good.

Now to the simple scenarios that my feeble human mind can wrap it's head around. There is but one scenario for the Eagles to get the #2 seed. Eagles beat Minnesota and Dallas, and Green Bay beats Chicago in Week 17. If none of these scenarios happen and the Eagles do not get a bye, they will be a #3 seed where they will face either Green Bay, New York Giants, or Tampa Bay. Want another headache? Here are the Green Bay, New York, and Tampa Bay scenarios!

Green Bay clinches a playoff spot:
1) GB win
2) GB tie + NYG loss or tie + TB loss or tie
3) NYG loss + TB loss

NY Giants clinch a playoff spot:
1) NYG win + GB loss or tie
2) NYG tie + GB loss + TB loss or tie

Tampa Bay clinches a playoff spot:
1) TB win + NYG loss or tie + GB loss or tie
2) TB tie + NYG loss + GB loss

Want to avoid these feelings of nausea, headaches, and weakness? Support a 2010 AFC team.

Eagles Week 12 Recap: Eagles 25, Bears And Soldier Field 31

To the bullet points we go!

• The popular meme of this week will be that the Eagles "were exposed."  I would disagree with that.  Reasons why the Eagles lost not having to do with the fact they are "overrated:"  Asante Samuel, the league leader in interceptions, was out of the game had a some to do with it (more on that later).  The fact that Eagles players were slipping all over the place on a terrible Soldier Field while the Bears seemed to remain upright had more to do with it (more on that later).  The Eagles defense missing all sorts of tackles had a lot to do with it (I'd get more into that later, but I can't keep it PG-13).
• To further denounce that sure to be meme among people, the Chicago Bears had only given up 20 or more points once this season.  The Eagles got 25 on them today.
• Jay Cutler threw 21 passes today.  He threw 17 of them to the left side of the Eagles defense. What was so special about the left side of the Eagles defense?  Joselio Hanson and Trevard Lindley were filling in for the injured Asante Samuel.  All I will say is may Asante Samuel return Thursday as this would have been a completely different football game had Cutler had to deal with Samuel on one side and Dimitri Patterson on the other side.  Cutler may have been forced into one of his classic mistakes.
• For all the talk of the Bears not having a win versus a quality opponent this year, well, they have won now.  Very impressive win for them.
• Even good teams lose road games to other good teams in the NFL.  Some of the tack
• The Eagles were slipping all over Soldier Field.  The Bears were not.  If I am the Eagles, I am having a brief talk with my equipment manager after the game as he is fully responsible if the Eagles did not have the same cleats the Bears had.  Shameful.
• The equipment manager may be at fault for the Eagles falling while the Bears were not, but that does not excuse the fact that Soldier Field was in piss poor condition today.  Whomever thought it would be a good idea to play a high school game there on Friday should be fired.  Whomever cleaned that field up and thought it was even remotely playable should also be fired.  That field was an abortion and an embarrassment to football and the NFL today.  I would expect field conditions like that out of high schools, not the NFL.  Then again, it was a high school field a couple days ago, so I guess I should have seen this coming.
• It may have been at the end of the game in a loss, but that still does not change the insanity of this touchdown pass from Vick to Celek.  Not only is that a great catch by Celek in triple coverage, but a great throw by Vick as well.  I mean, it was not his best decision (there were 4 Bears in the area), but wow.  What a throw.  He put that right in there for Celek.  Incredible.  Unbelievable.  Amazing.
•  Multiple reports claim that DeSean Jackson was visibly upset in the locker room after the game and had some animated discussions with Vick.
• The Bears constantly played their safeties deep this game to prevent the long ball.  The Eagles responded in turn by dinking and dunking their way down the field for the entire game.  It also led to Jason Avant getting 8 catches for 83 yards.  Whenever a defense plays like that against the outside threats, Jackson and Maclin, the slot receiver is almost always going to have a big day.  Today was no exception with Avant.
• Michael Vick threw his first NFL regular season interception today since December 24, 2006.  The pass was tipped at the line, but it was a pass into double coverage which may have been intercepted anyway even if it was not deflected.  Some may point to the deflection and say that was not Vick's fault, but Vick's decision making on throwing that pass was very poor, a rarity for him this season.
• Aspeaking of poor decision making, when down by 3-scores in the 4th quarter and faced with 4th and goal from the 2, you do not kick a field goal.  Be aggressive, go for it, and get yourself back in the game.  And then, after having to settle for another field goal, Andy Reid kicked it deep instead of going for the onside kick.  All around stupidity and terrible clock management on Reid's parrt.
• While going to commercial break after a Chicago Bears touchdown, Fox used Chelsea Dagger as their bumper music.  Congratulations on alienating every Eagles fan who rooted for the Flyers in the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals, Fox!
• The Eagles need to have a quick amnesia as their next game is this Thursday against the Texans on Thursday Night Football.  I dread the hearing Matt Millen and Joe Theismann talking about the Eagles.
• And lastly, the win probability chart. (advancednflstats.com)

2010 NFL Season Week 12 Live Blog

CLICK HERE TO GO TO LIVE BLOG!

NFL Week 12 Schedule

Huzzah! DirecTV Sunday Ticket and their NFL RedZone Channel for an hour this weekend! Then it is back to campus where I am stuck with nothing but my measly affiliates. I am still bolding the games I get up in Bloomsburg, even though I will start the Sunday home in suburban Philadelphia before spending 2 hours in a car during the early games and won't be watching much football. (all times ET)

Thanksgiving games

New England Patriots vs. Detroit Lions 12:30 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)
New Orleans Saints vs. Dallas Cowboys 4:15 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman)
Cincinnati Bengals vs. New York Jets 8:20 (NFL Network - Bob Papa, Matt Millen, and Joe Theismann)

Map of who gets what CBS game.

Jacksonville Jaguars vs. New York Giants 1:00 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)
Tennessee Titans vs. Houston Texans 1:00 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Buffalo Bills 1:00 (CBS - Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots)

Miami Dolphins vs. Oakland Raiders 4:05 (CBS - Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker)
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Seattle Seahawks 4:05 (CBS - Bill Macatee and Rich Gannon)

Map of who gets what Fox early game.

Green Bay Packers vs. Atlanta Falcons 1:00 (Fox - Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick)
Minnesota Vikings vs. Washington Redskins 1:00 (Fox - Dick Stockton, Charles Davis, and Jim Mora, Jr.)
Carolina Panthers vs. Cleveland Browns 1:00 (Fox - Chris Rose and Torry Holt)

Map of who gets what Fox late game.

Philadelphia Eagles vs. Chicago Bears 4:15 (Fox - Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, and Tony Siragusa)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Baltimore Ravens 4:15 (Fox - Sam Rosen and Tim Ryan)
St. Louis Rams vs. Denver Broncos 4:15 (Fox - Ron Pitts and John Lynch)

Sunday Night Football

San Diego Chargers vs. Indianapolis Colts 8:20 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth)

Monday Night Football

San Francisco 49ers vs. Arizona Cardinals 8:30 (ESPN - Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Jon Gruden)

The Detroit Lions Have Gone From Being Like Dating Whoopi Goldberg To Being Like Terrorists In Amsterdam

Believe it or not, as bad as Chris Myers is as a sideline reporter, when it comes to doing play-by-play, he is even worse. And while he has already proven himself a master of the bad on-air zinger, yesterday, he even took that honor to another level never seen before. Listen in disbelief as he compares the Lions defensive line to terrorists in Amsterdam! I kid you not.



Well then! That was, um, uncomfortable to listen to.

Like I said numerous times, I'm not in the business of calling for a job over one bad joke, but I think Myers' entire body of work this year may just warrant a pink slip from the booth, signaling a not so sad end to an awful career in play-by-play announcing.

While this probably is not the spot to offer commentary on airline security, like I've said before I have traveled all over the world and that includes one time catching a connecting flight in Amsterdam earlier this decade (a few years after 9/11, IIRC). The ironic part about it is the security we faced there was the toughest and most stingiest that I can ever recall. They had one person ask us at least 10 questions about who we were, where we were, what were we doing there, and where are we going on top of all of the other security stuff that you normally see at airports post-9/11. I don't know what happened in the case of the failed Christmas attack and I am not suggesting anything, but iot is kind or ironic that the security that I always thought was some of the best in the world, be the security that nearly allows the next terrorist attack on this country.

But alas, I shall end this post by saying that Chris Myers, you sir, are an idiot.

Chris Myers raises terrorist joke alert level to red (Deadspin)

Jay Cutler Is My Hero Tonight!

Last year, the Eagles needed to help to achieve something they wanted. Last year they wanted a playoff spot. They needed outside help. Michael Bush provided that help as he was instrumental in the Raiders beating the Buccaneers which helped to allow the Cowboys-Eagles game later that day to be a game to advance to the playoffs. This year, the Eagles are in the playoffs, but could really use a 1st round bye as their bye week this season was Week 4. Enter Jay Cutler and the Chicago Bears. If the Bears win, then all the Eagles need to do is beat the Cowboys on Sunday in order to secure a first round bye (more on this tomorrow).

The Bears jumped out to a 17-point lead but Brett Favre did his Brett Favre thing and clawed the Vikings back in the game and tied it at 23. Immediately following that, Danieal Manning returned the kick to the Viking 20. Cutler followed that up with a TD pass to give the Bears a 30-23 lead with over 4 minutes left in regulation. Brett Favre once again did his Brett Favre thing and methodically drove down the field throwing a game-tying TD pass to Sidney Rice with 11 seconds left.

The Bears elect to take a knee following the kickoff and we go to overtime. Bears win the toss and receive. They drive down the field and set up Robbie Gould for a 48-yard field goal only to see him just miss it wide right. The Bears defense would step up afterwards and force a three and out. Bears get the ball back again but they go three and out themselves. Next Vikings possession, Favre throws a pass to Peterson who makes the catch out of the backfield and runs down the sidelines but he has the ball punched out of his hands by Hunter Hillenmeyer and it's recovered by the Bears. The first play after that, this happened. Take it away, Jay Cutler!



PHILLY LOVES YOU JAY CUTLER!!!!!!!!!!

Now all the Eagles have to do is beat Dallas and they will be the #2 seed in the NFC. Thank you Jay Cutler. Regardless of what happens in the near and not-so-near future, you can be sure that I won't soon forget this.

Eagles Win, Cutler Throws Crucial Primetime INT, And Hester Bears All In A Sunday Night Clusterfuck

First of all, whether you were at AA/12SD with me or at The O Files for that live blog, or just plain sat through that SNF game, congradulations, you are a man among men and you deserve to be saluted.

Secondly, wow. If Jay Cutler was not awful, that game would have been a route the other way. But somehow, someway, despite an early quick 10-0 start the Eagles fell asleep in the 2nd and 3rd quarter before waking up just in time to compete in a 4th quarter shoot out. By the way, whenever the Eagles jump up 10-0 like that, you can guarantee they will loll in the middle quarters of the game, allowing the other team to take the lead, although most of the time, the end result is a valiant fightback that falls short. Anyway, this time it was a shootout and the Eagles outdueled the Bears.

It's no secret that the big secret of the Eagles was DeSean Jackson. Once he was making plays, the Eagles offense was moving. People say that the Eagles offense relied on Westbrook making plays. Not anymore. It's DJax now. When he gets the ball, good things happen (unless he fumbles the ball or spikes it at the 1-yard line), when he is not getting the ball, the Eagles look like the Browns against any defense not from Detroit.

He got the ball in the 4th quarter. The Eagles won the game with a rare 4th quarter comeback. That's their first successful one in quite awhile although I still have not discovered their last under 2-minute victory. This TD came well before the 2-minute warning, the defense was just able to hold stout and in the end, knew that one of the very inevitable unavoidable truths will happen. Just like you can count on the sun rising every morning in the east, you can count on Jay Cutler throwing an interception in crucial prime time games.

It was not pretty, but it was a win. And now the Eagles will play the Washington Redskins next Sunday, which sadly, I will not be around for (sorry Al) except for maybe a comment here or there during commercial (I like watching the Eagles with my family sans distractions of a CPU). That should be a win, although with the way the Eagles have played down to some opponents (see 1st Redskins game despite the win and Raiders game), you never know.

Anyway, enough about the Eagles, instead, I will leave you with Devin Hester, with great aid of Dimitri Patterson, showing Jay Cutler how he really feels about his horrible passes.



Scorched in my retina forever. I wonder if this means that Devin Hester will get offered a role in Bubble Butt Barbeque 3?

E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!!!

Since When Is Quintin Mikell Cole Hamels In A Clever Disguise?

Remember when Cole Hamels said after Game 3 of the World Series that he could not wait for the season to end? Well, let's play the Philadelphia Eagles version of this game and I give you it's star: Quintin Mikell!

Personally, I really like Mikell as a strong safety. If ever there was a guy on this team that could change the momentum of the game with one tackle, it is Mikell as his hits have to be right up there with Brian Dawkins' in terms of ferocity. That being said, the confidence he has in his team to go all the way this year is simply resounding. And by simply resounding, I mean no confidence at all. This screenshot is from Eagles Beat Reporter, Brian Seltzer's Twitter account.

Uh......wow. I understand that this is a big game and all, but saying that this game is your Super Bowl basically says that you are not getting to the Super Bowl when realistically, when the Eagles are on the game, they have to be considered one of the top 3 teams in the NFC. Their playoff hopes are without a doubt in great jeopardy, but this is just one regular season game, not a Super Bowl.

If the Eagles lose, they'll at worst only be 2 games out of the division. That's not out of the playoffs, that's not out of the wildcard, and that's not out of the Super Bowl. At the same time, momentum wise, those playoff hopes would be on life support. Despite the lack of success the Eagles have had on SNF, surely they can beat a team that's been even worse in primetime this year, right? So maybe Quintin is going with the pessimistic realism that I mastered during the World Series. It may not be that he does not believe his team can win the Super Bowl, it's that without a win, there may not be any reason to believe the Eagles will be in the Super Bowl.

If that makes any sense....

Your Week 11 NFL Schedule

I'm going to type this one up very quick as I've got a basketball game to live blog in 20 minutes. We're over at KSJ and somehow we'll try to go a good portion of the night and afternoon.

Thursday Night Football
Miami Dolphins @ Carolina Panthers 8:20 (NFL Network - Bob Papa and Matt Millen)

Map of who gets what Fox game

Washington Redskins @ Dallas Cowboys 1:00 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman)
Atlanta Falcons @ New York Giants 1:00 (Fox - Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, and Tony Siragusa)
Seattle Seahawks @ Minnesota Vikings 1:00 (Fox - Dick Stockton and Charles Davis)
New Orleans Saints @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1:00 (Fox - Sam Rosen and Tim Ryan)

Arizona Cardinals @ St. Louis Rams 4:05 (Fox - Ron Pitts and John Lynch)

Map of who gets what early CBS game

Indianapolis Colts @ Baltimore Ravens 1:00 (CBS - Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf)
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Kansas City Chiefs 1:00 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Rich Gannon)
Cleveland Browns @ Detroit Lions 1:00 (CBS - Don Criqui and Randy Cross)
Buffalo Bills @ Jacksonville Jaguars 1:00 (CBS - Bill Macatee and Steve Beuerlein)

Map of who gets what CBS late game

New York Jets @ New England Patriots 4:15 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms)
San Diego Chargers @ Denver Broncos 4:15 (CBS - Dick Enberg and Dan Fouts)
Cincinnati Bengals @ Oakland Raiders 4:15 (CBS - Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots)

Sunday Night Football
Philadelphia Eagles @ Chicago Bears 8:20 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth)

Monday Night Football
Tennessee Titans @ Houston Texans 8:30 (ESPN - Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Jon Gruden)

Join Us For Some Live Bloggin Action

over at Keith's Sports Journal! It's the Niners vs. the Bears. It's Alex Smith vs. Jay Cutler. Okay, so the hype is really just an excuse to watch football on a Thursday, but who cares, I get NFL-N, it's a football game, and the playoff implications are quite high in this one.

Prediction: Niners 7, Bears 6
Total turnovers: Bears 6, Niners 7

2009 NFL Preview: Chicago Bears

By 49er16:

The Bears had an hell of an off season. They dumped the neck beard and pickup the whiner. The Bears did give up a lot though to pick up Cutler. They gave up the neck beard and two number one draft picks. So the Bears front office is on their hands and knees praying the move doesn't backfire.

The Bears have the easiest NFL schedule and finally have their best quarterback in many years. Also they return their great defense, Matt Forte at running back, and Devin Hester is improving at receiver. The Bears have all the pieces together and it's up to Cutler to take the Bears to the next level.

Previous Year: The Bears had the same look that they have had in the past five years. Crappy offense + great defense and special teams = NFC North title. But in 08, the defense became old and the special teams were hurt from Hester doubling as a receiver. The Bears need more from their front four who struggled throughout the last year. And specifically they need more from Alex Brown who had only six sacks and that lead the team.

Off season Moves: Besides trading for Cutler, the Bears improved their offensive line to protect Cutler. The Bears also paid the corpse of Orlando Pace to protect Cutler's blindside. The Bears also signed Frank Omiyale and Kevin Shaffer to improve the line. The Bears in the off season decided to not resign safety Mike Brown. Despite being constantly injured, Brown is a great leader for the defense and he will be missed.

Coaching: The Bears have struggled considerably since relieving defensive coordinator Ron Rivera from the position. Head coach Lovie Smith has vowed to be more involved in the defense in the season. The Bears also brought in Rod Marinelli to help the defensive line. Marinelli may have been a disaster as the Lions head coach, but he is considered to be one of the best defensive line coaches in the league. And the Bears defensive line definitely needs help.

Hester!: Last year the Bears finally wised up, and moved Devin Hester to wide receiver. Hester was already the best returner in the league and it was only a matter of time before he transitioned to receiver. Hester last season had 51 catches, 665 yards, and 3 touchdowns. Hester is still trying to learn the position and it's well known that he still drops a lot of balls. Right now he is penciled in as a starter, and Hester must improve his skills to give Cutler a weapon.

Cutler's Mouth: The Bears may have finally got their star quarterback, but his loud mouth comes with him. When the Broncos drafted him, he said that he as a better arm than John Elway. Then there's his little showdown between Phillip Rivers, a quarterback who has actually been to the playoffs. Well I guess Cutler's mouth is starting to run wild all over Chicago. And Cutler didn't mine chiming in on an interception he threw and blaming Devin Hester for not breaking it up.

"Devin is more of a go-get it guy, he is not really a back shoulder orjump up and get it [guy],'' Cutler said. "You learn from it. Wemade some mistakes. It's the first preseason game. Luckilyenough, we have some time to correct them and keep going."

If the Bears don't make the playoffs, they might regret trading for Cutler.

Schedule: Like I said at the top, the Bears have the easiest schedule in all of football. They play the AFC North and the NFC West for eight games. The Bears will not have a better look at the playoffs, then they do with this schedule. And their tough games against Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are both at home.

Video: Da' Bears never gets old



Blog of Choice: I would go to Windy City Gridiron for all my Bears news.

Prediction 12-4: 1st NFC North. With the rest of the NFC North rebuilding and the easy schedule, it's the Bears year to make the playoffs. All their toughest games are at home and they still return a great defense. And with the addition of Cutler and a rebuilt offensive line, the Bears should actually be one of the best teams to watch this season.

Some NFL News: McNabb Gets More Money And The Next Hilarious Chapter In The Hilarious Life Of Rex Grossman

Yes, I know these are 2 random bits of news but they don't carry much for one post, but combined, they make for quite the funny post. First off Donovan McNabb has a new contract. Well, sort of. The Eagles just guaranteed him more money. Via the Philadelphia Inquirer.

While McNabb was being honored as a father of the year by the American Diabetes Association of Greater Philadelphia, Eagles president Joe Banner and agent Fletcher Smith agreed to restructure the final two years of the quarterback's contract.

"We are thrilled that this all worked out," Banner said in a statement released by the team. "He is a great football player, a great person, and someone who gives back to the community. We are lucky to have him in Philadelphia."

The details of the deal were not immediately known, but a team source said McNabb received a bump in pay, with some of the money guaranteed. The quarterback did not receive any extra years in the accord. McNabb had been scheduled to be paid $9.2 million this season and $10 million next season.

If this does not say, thanks for the memories, but you're not going to be an Eagle past the end of this contract, then I don't know what does.

Meanwhile, in news of utter hilarity, the not-so-Sexy Rex Grossman is now a Houston Texan! But wait, there's more. Once again, via the Philly Inquirer

The Houston Texans have agreed to a contract with quarterback Rex Grossman, an unrestricted free agent who led the Chicago Bears to the NFC championship in 2006, according to a person familiar with the negotiations.

The 28-year-old will compete with Alex Brink to be Houston's third quarterback behind starter Matt Schaub and Dan Orlovsky, who spent last season in Detroit.

Wait a minute??? Grossman is going to be 3rd on the depth chart in Houston???? Behind Dan Orlovsky?!?!?!? All I can is, THAT'S HILARIOUS!!!!!!!!! How the mighty have fallen. And now, I introduce you via YouTube the video the quarterback who is now ahead of Rex Grossman on a depth chart, I give you Dan Orlovsky!



As I said above, my oh my, how the mighty have fallen.

Cubs Fans Are Insanely Desparate; Emphasis On The Insane

There are die-hard fans, there are crazy fans, and then there are the downright insane fans. And folks, we find one of those downright insane fans in Chicago yesterday! As we all know, the Cubs have not been to a World Series since a man who was not permitted to have his goat at the game "cursed" the Cubbis in the 1940s. So naturally, some Cubs fan decided to do what failed in 2007, and that was hang a dead goat on the statue of the late, great Harry Caray! Makes perfect sense! Via the Chicago Sun Times

The Friendly Confines became the Freaky Confines Monday.

A goat’s head was found hanging from the statue of Harry Caray prior to Wrigley Field’s Cubs home opener.

A similar incident occurred in 2007, in what many perceived as a bizarre attempt to lift the notorious Billy Goat curse.

Police said they received a 911 call about the goat around 2:40 a.m. Monday.

The goat’s head was dangling from a rope on one of Caray’s outstretched arms, according to Town Hall District police, who took the head down and disposed of it. It was not known how the goat died, police said.

Maybe the Cubbies fans were just trying to replicate what Philly did on a more creepier level. To counter the Curse of William Penn, where no Philly team had won a championship since a building in Philadelphia was built taller than the Statue of William Penn, something that was long agreed in the city would not happen, the city of Philadelhpia placed a small figurine on top of the now-tallest building in Philadelphia, the Comcast Building, and low and behold, a year of so later, the Phillies are World Fucking Champions!

Now maybe if they allow a billy goat into Wrigley, that will break the curse, but hanging a dead goat's head on Harry Caray's statue at night will only serve to scare anyone who walks by that statue at the time completely shitless. And it also provides us with some good comedy on this blog; I guess you really can't overlook that.

Jay Cutler Has Successfully Cried His Way Out Of Denver

Breaking news coming out of the NFL this early evening. Jay Cutler is no longer a Denver Bronco. He has indeed been traded. And the lucky team that has won itself one of the biggest crybabies in the NFL is.......the Chicago Bears!

And when I say breaking news, I mean this is literally breaking news, as in I'm pretty sure I'm one of the first blogs to have this up. The NFL does not even have a story up yet, just this tidbit at the top filed as Breaking News.

"The Denver Broncos announced Thursday that they have agreed in principle to trade QB Jay Cutler to the Chicago Bears. Terms of the deal have not been announced."

More on this when the information becomes available.

Update:Well then! That was fast. Via NFL.com

NFL.com's Steve Wyche reports that the Broncos will receive three draft picks (first-rounders this year and in 2010 and one of the Bears' two third-rounders this year) and quarterback Kyle Orton in exchange for Cutler and a 2009 fifth-round selection. The third-rounder the Bears will surrender is not yet known.

Whoa! 2 first round draft picks for a disgruntled QB who has not exactly played up to most expectations and has not led his team to any playoff games? Well then! Certainly seems like a high price to pay for such a QB, but when you're Chicago and you've been used to Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton (a.k.a. Neckbeard the Pirate), signing a QB who has shown to be nothing better than slightly above mediocre is like the Bears somehow landing Peyton Manning.

And wait.....hidden in all this is that Neckbeard the Pirate is now a Bronco! I am really beginning to pity Brian Dawkins and Correll Buckhalter. The AFC West just became San Diego's to lose......and we have not even had the Draft yet!

But despite the fact they have just gained one of the worst QBs possible out of this trade (it could have been worse, they could have gotten Grossman), with the plethora of draft picks they received, I'd give the edge in this trade to Denver. Not that that's really saying much as I think that both teams are now fucked for the year.