No way that just happened. Does anyone recall 89 points being scored in a Bears game? EVER?! It was like an AFC game in the 80’s, or a college game – lots of scoring, and lots of crazy plays (only no scantily-clad cheerleaders). There were also lots of costly mistakes. And on Sunday, most of them came at the expense of the visiting team – the one that eats purple people (and I still don’t know why they condone, carry out and celebrate such racist and cannibalistic behavior). Minni may have scored 41 and not punted once, but 10% of their passes were caught by Bears – they turned it over with the regularity of a blackjack dealer. And even a mediocre team (see Chicago Bears) will make you pay for that kind of tomfoolery.
It’s hard to justify doing celebratory cartwheels in the street when you give up 41 points. But it’s even harder NOT to when you score 48. That’s the most points the Bears have scored since Dec. ’86 – just months after they won Supa Bow XX (when they scored 46). But that was back when Sweetness was still running the ball like he was making romance; when we had an Iron Mike, a Samurai Mike and an L.A. Mike; when we had us a world class Speedy Willie who used to practice all day and dance all night, and though he did like running, he LOVED to catch the pass. Ah, those were the glory days when we finished games in the first quarter, and our defense carried our offense like a child in a baby wrap pouch – as opposed to the other way around, as it is now.
But hey, a W is a W (ask John Kerry). Even Lovie Smith was jacked up at the post game press conference, and his team had just given up 41 pts! I’m still not sure how you explain the offensive competence of late. We have had great field position lately, and it didn’t change in this game. And we certainly had some help from special teams. We obviously didn’t excel in all aspects, but we made the most of our opportunities. And we did a lot of that with youth. It’s refreshing to see some depth in the secondary and special teams coming from recent drafts.
Reportin and Retortin on Orton
Kyle “Long Balls” Orton was 21 of 32 (65.6%) for 283 yards (13.5 yards/catch and 8.8 yds/attempt). He also threw 2 TD’s without an INT and had a QBR of 114.5 (Frerotte’s was 62.3). That gives him 10 TD’s and 4 INT’s on the year with a 91.4 QBR. And in his last 3 games, he’s 71 for 109 (65%), thrown 5 TD’s against 0 INT’s and averaged 23 completions for over 300 yards, 8.3 yds/attempt and a QBR over 100. Don’t look now, but the beard’s starting to put together a nice season statistically. And if you’re still not buying what he’s selling, ask yourself this: when’s the last time you heard anyone mention Rex Grossman?
Heading into the Bye Week
I think at this stage you have to look at how good your team is in addition to (or in spite of) their record. In ’06 I think everyone knew the Bears were out-winning their ability, and we knew it would catch up with us, though few realized it would be in the Supa Bow. But even though the ’08 Bears have blown 3 games they arguably should have won, it speaks to the point that we’ve been in position to win all 7 this year. Granted, W’s are the only thing that counts, but it does show that we’re a solid 4-3 rather than if we had lucked out in a few games and won when we were out-played.
So I think heading into our bye week, we’re in good shape. We’ve got some new blood making contributions, a good nucleus of veterans who all just got paid, and solid post season experience on the bus we run off of. We’ve won 6 of our last 9 games, Orton is out-playing just about everyone’s expectations, we’re tied for first place and we’re 2-0 in our division. The Bears have already out-won my 3-13 prediction, and we’ve got 9 games left. So you have to be optimistic about the outlook for the second half.
Super Bowl, Super Beard!
© 2008
Bear Down Baffa 
Wed, Oct 22, 2008 at 5:49 pm |
why did the bears elect to kick to start the game instead of receive? was it so they could show from the git-go that the defense could stop them? well, they didn’t as they scored a td on that first drive, rather impressively! I just didn’t get it? why give the opposition more ‘ball time’?
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Wed, Oct 22, 2008 at 7:31 pm |
mom,
thanks for reading and for your question. i don’t know how many other moms support their bears blogging sons. so thanks again!
deferring to the other team after winning the coin toss isn’t as uncommon as you may think. in fact, i think the bears have done it a few times this year. there are several reasons for doing it, but i’m not sure why the Bears choose to do so.
first, if you defer, the other team then decides if they want to kick or receive (i imagine most teams elect to receive after it being deferred). but then you get to decide in which direction you kick it, and the direction you go switches each quarter. so maybe the Bears are taking the wind advantage to start, but i don’t recall it being particularly windy Sunday. maybe they were taking the opposite of the direction they’d want in the 4th quarter, so they’d have the wind late in the game. but i don’t think this is why they did it.
another reason may be, as you suggested, to put our (once) dominant D out on the field from the start. they’ve played well in the first half, especially the 1st quarter, all season. this seems more logical for the Bears.
the point we need to consider is that both teams start a half with the ball, and the other team starts the other half with the ball. the only time it makes a big difference is if the other team comes out and scores right away and you don’t. they could get out to an early lead and keep pressing to run away with the game. but you can only score once and then you have to give it to the other team.
i’m sure the Bears have a reason, and it probably has something to do with Seven Hester. but in my mind, it isn’t that big of a deal.
thanks for your question, and for your continued support!
bear down,
bdb editor
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Sun, Oct 26, 2008 at 4:22 pm |
I think to add to your conversation above on kickoffs, I think the last two points are the main factors for sure, teams want to have the “luxury” of game planning around the half. If a team knows they are getting the ball back right after the half, depending on the score can adjust their level of offensive aggression in the closing minutes of the second half. And when your main man’s last name is Hester that “luxury” becomes even sweeter. As far as the game and so far on the season, my thought is we are riding this rollercoaster of a year and are in and have been in for our losses good position as mentioned by my cuz could easily be 7-0. Beating the Timberwolves (score was closer to an NBA defensive battle) in this fashion is just a smile and don’t let yourself dwell on game and should be cut from every one’s memory. This is not typical for a Bears team or NFC North battle and there were some positives to be taken. The BIGGEST weakness this team has had lately is dropping the ball. Our receivers, with the loss of Brandon Lloyd, have been dropping some great passes from Kyle Orton. In the game against the Vikes, Marty Booker had 2 drops in the end zone in the first half, but somewhat redeemed himself with a nice YAC run after about a 15 yd pass that he turned into a TD. Running the ball and defense I think will take care of themselves by the end of the season as Forte develops and we get some guys injured back on D. GO BEARS!
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