Bear Down Baffa

If any of you are still reading, I’m grateful the season is finally over.  But I’m even more grateful that we ran the table in our final two games, the games Lovie Smith called the first two of 2008.  And not only did we win, but we kicked ass and took names – old school – to go out with some New Year’s fireworks. 

So, I took my two oldest nephews to their first Bears game Sunday, taking advantage of the high supply in finale tickets after our season keeled over and died.  I should note that this is a critical step in the molding of a young Super Fan, and a responsibility that should not be taken on lightly.  It is imperative that they enjoy the game to ensure long-term loyalty.  I lucked out because what a great first game for them to experience!  They got to see the old dominant Bears that were beginning to seem like folklore, and they got to see Devin Hester do his thang.  And even though they couldn’t understand a word of his post-game interview responses, I think they’ll remember him – and this game – for years to come.  Like sands through the hourglass, two more Super Fan buds begin to blossom.

Don’t get me wrong, I hate the Bears right now.  But they did give all of us something to smile about with the smack-down they leveled on the Saints.  They combined skillful athleticism, brute man-strength and game intelligence, all of which are needed to win in the NFL.  And on top of it all, we got some solid licks in.  The Bears played like they were pissed at someone, and that’s when they’re most dangerous.  It was like a hockey ass-whooping, where they just let them go at it as long as they stay on their skates, only if the Saints weren’t allowed to see us coming, or fight back.  And even though these final games mean relatively nothing, we hadn’t put two wins together in 16 weeks.  So no matter how you feel about the Bears right now, finishing strong with two lop-sided wins is really the only way to feel joy after such a dreadful season. It’s the only consolation we could find, and the only consolation they could give.  And they did it.  So hats off to them. 

I’d like to think this is a very good sign, that the Bears really are a dominant team that has simply under-delivered this season.  But I think we will need to see what happens next year in order to accurately determine what this season was.  If we come back 12 – 4 and consistently dominate teams, it will reflect that the Bears are the dominant force we and Denny Green thought they were.  And we can just chalk this season up to a hang-over, which Super Fans (and even non-fans) can understand and respect.  But if we come out and go 4 – 12, it will show that we are not a good team, and that the Super Bowl season was the fluke many have claimed; that we were just one of the better teams in a very weak NFC in 2006.  As the transitional phrase goes, only time will tell. 

I cannot NOT mention Seven Hester.  But what can be said about him that hasn’t already?  I purport that he should be voted Male Athlete of the Decade, tomorrow.  I hear they are considering him for NASA’s $104B mission to the moon in 2018.  We can only hope they go during the off-season. 

And how about Kyle “Drive Exhortin” Orton?  I know, all reason and common sense tells us he’s not the answer at QB.  But he’s certainly making it interesting.  I mean, the Bears win when he plays, period.  But can this kid who doesn’t look like much on paper, the field, or the box score actually lead this team to a Supa Bow, and win?  The answer, I’m sorry to say, is no.  With his limited skills, he can never be expected to carry a team for 19 or 20 games, winning the whole way.  But the kid is doing something right, and he doesn’t make game-killing mistakes like others seem to.  And even though he has left himself a lot of room for it, he’s shown consistent improvement in every category.  For example, in ’05 he was sacked 30 times in 15 games and his QB Rating was 60; this year he was only sacked twice in 3 games, and his QBR was 74.  He’s now won 2 out of 3 over his first 18 NFL starts.  Conceding he’s had our tough defense, if you compare the Bears’ record WITH him (12 – 6, 67%) to their record WITHOUT him (19 – 11, 63%), you’d have to say he’s not hurting us.  And when we were 5 – 8 (36%), he again went 2 – 1 with virtually the same team.  Either he’s at least solid, or the QB position doesn’t matter as much as many out-spoken fans think.  Hmmm, maybe we shouldn’t ride Rex like a disheveled whore we’d found curbside after all. 

Our Top Ten predictions for the Bears future:
10. The Offensive Line needs work; even management can see this.  The Bears will draft two O-Linemen and acquire at least one more via free agency.  I’m hopeful they will acquire more.
9.  As the Bears have said, their Offensive (Ron Turner) and Defensive (Bob Babich) Coordinators will be given another shot.  The offense would have been fine if our O-line had been OK, and our defense would have been better as a result of that.  So you can’t really cut them, especially considering Lovie hand-picked Babich after his predecessor’s defense took us to the Supa Bowl.
8.  If there is a man on the planet that deserves another shot, it’s Mike Brown.  He will rehab and win his starting spot back, but get hurt in the first game of ’08.  But we’ll have Nate Vasher back from injury, and our secondary will otherwise be decent. 
7.  Tommie Harris will heal up and come back 100% next year.  And he will be dangerous.
6.  Dusty Dvoracek, whom Lovie said he told before the game that the Bears would have him in uniform their next game, will also return after failing to complete a single game in his first two NFL seasons due to injury.  And he will secure our D-Line, as planned a couple years ago.
5.  Urlacher will heal up and return to Pro Bowl form.  He will resemble the Urlacher of old, as he did in this year’s final three games when he had 3 INT’s and 2 sacks, giving him 5 INT’s and 5 sacks for the first time in his 8-year career.
4.  The Bears will trade Cedric Benson for a 38^th round draft pick or cut him.  I think we all now know why he was holding out for large dollars – because he knew it was the only contract he’d sign.  Can anybody say Curtis Enis?
3.  Despite the dramatic call from fans, the Bears will make no changes at QB.  They will re-sign Rex to a 3-year incentive-laden contract and Orton will re-sign for 3 years as a backup.
2.  Adrian Peterson, Garrett Wolfe, Devin Hester and Greg Olsen give us plenty of weapons at the skills positions, and will be able to thrive with a bolstered line.  But since we won’t get a new QB, we need to upgrade at receiver.  The Bears don’t value Berrian and will not pay him what he thinks he deserves.  So he’s played his last game as a Bear.  I don’t think they’ll draft a replacement, at least not early.  So they’ll probably sign a mediocre veteran to duke it out with our ensemble of back-ups.
1.  The Bears will NOT re-sign Briggs.  The only way they do is if there is somehow no market for him and they get him on the cheap, but this will not happen.  So he gone!  And just like Briggs filled in when Rosey Colvin left, Jamar Williams will fill in nicely for Briggs.

Our Top Ten summary comments on the 2007 season:
10. Injuries hurt.  Literally and competitively.
9.  As Lovie Smith would say, “Rex Grossman is our quotaback.”
8.  Urlacher is still amazing.
7.  Tommie Harris/the Defensive Tackle position is as critical to our success as any other player/position.
6.  No matter who you have slinging, your QB will not be good without a good O-Line.
5.  Losing at home stings extra special.
4.  Losing while drunk can lead to extreme circumstances, including jail time, if you have no emergency plan for such an event.
3.  The Super Bowl Hangover is a real thing, like any other sports championship.  It is difficult to gain the physical shape and mental preparedness required to win it all a second time in such a short window.
2.  Seven Hester needs to get the football more.  Teach him how to kick and punt.  And pay him whatever he wants.
1.  The Bears live and die by the running game.  So as much as we need a line, we need a running back.  Thomas Jones had a quiet but successful year with the Jets, rushing for 1,110 yards on over 300 carries without losing a single fumble.  I think he was the biggest difference, other than injuries of course, in our team from last year.  He was sorely missed.

And so that brings an end to our season, and our blog.  We at BearDown2007 would like to thank you for your patronage.  We invite you to join us at http://beardown2008.wordpress.com where we will kick off January 1.  Go ahead and click now and add it as a favorite so you’ll know where to find us.

Super Bowl, Super Bears (’09).  And as always, Bear Down!

© 2007

This entry was posted on Mon, Dec 31, 2007 at 11:01 pm and is filed under n) 2007 Posts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.