Bear Down Baffa

So, apparently there is a God after all.  And apparently, he’s a Green Bay Packer fan.

God Ends Bear’s 2010 Season

I first considered His existence on GB’s first drive, as they walked down the field like they could walk on water.  It became more apparent as they ran up a 14-point lead early in the second quarter.  And when Cutler limped off the field before the half, it seemed all the more likely.  But it wasn’t until back-up suck job Tom Collins took the field that it really started setting in.  And as we came up short with 37 seconds left, I could no longer deny the existence of a Supreme Being – or His affinity for the Pack.  How else can you explain us losing with a defense that awesome?

2010 NFC Championship George S. Halas Trophy

The offense played poorly.  The line was not good, Cutler was off-target and the play calling was suspect – none of which should surprise anyone.  But collectively, it was a one-way path to mediocrity.  Thanks to our defense, we were only out-gained by 55 yards (356-301).  Forte ran fairly well (17 for 70), and we came on late once Caleb Hanie took over.  But we did not perform to the level necessary to advance to the Supa Bow.  So on that alone, we deserved to lose.

Cutler Making a Weak Jump Pass Out of the End Zone

Other than GB’s first drive, our defense was phenomenal.  We forced a punt or turnover on their final 8 drives, and 10 of 12 overall.  We held Rodgers’ QBR under 100 for just the second time (the other was against the Bears) in 9 games (not counting the Lions game when he played less than a half).  This guy has been lighting up solid defenses for half a season.  In his last 8 full games, he completed 73% of his passes, had 22 TD’s to only 1 INT (which was against the Bears), and averaged over 300 yards a game with a QBR of 130.  But we held him to 17-30 (57%), 244 yards, no TD’s, 2 INT’s, and a QBR of 55.  Our performance was out of this world, and it proves just how good our D really is.

Peanut Tillman in Disbelief

Special Teams was a non-factor, as our average starting field position was only 2 yards less than GB (29-27).  Seven Hester (who averaged only 10 yards on 4 returns) was kept out of the game by GB’s punter, who stuck us inside our 20 on 5 of 8 punts.

The (Not So) Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Despite Urlacher having a great game and returning his interception 39 yards, he let a QB tackle him.  When you know your offense isn’t going to put up many points, you have to find a way to score when you get the ball on defense.  Why he chose to cut back on Rodgers instead of either trying to out-run him down the sideline or just bowling him over is beyond me.

Urlacher Lets Pussy QB Tackle Him Despite 35 Pound Advantage

How the fuck is the fragile and inept Tom Collins even on an NFL roster, let alone our #2 QB?!  I’m shocked he got us a total of 3 yards on 2 drives and didn’t turn the ball over.  If he is on our roster next year, I will renounce my Bears Superfandom.  And you can make book on that, Missy.

Cutler Tells Collins He Doesn’t Stand a Chance Out There

But how about that Caleb Hanie?!  Little known in Chicago (let alone the country), he certainly put himself on the map.  Despite being our third in line, he was the best QB to play Sunday.  Surprising only to those who don’t know him, he had better numbers than two Pro Bowl QB’s.  And is it me, or did Hanie have a mustache during the game and do post game interviews without one?

3rd String QB Caleb Hanie Shows Off Porn Mustache On Field

Having said all that, Hanie’s pick-six really hurt.  But you can’t blame him.  He’d only thrown 14 passes in 4 NFL games before Sunday.  You can’t expect him to come in and lead us to victory – though he almost did.  And he’s now got some serious experience under his belt that should serve him well going forward.

Former Porn Star Hanie Clean Shaven in Post Game Interview

Lovie calling a timeout with the clock already stopped in the final two minutes was yet another sign that this guy is more than a whistle short of being a great head coach.  It’s been some time since he revealed a weakness like this, but it was a critical mistake at a critical time.  I’m not saying he lost the game for us, but this certainly didn’t help.

Mike Martz’s “end around” call on 3rd and 4 on our last drive was so awful that I thought he’d asked Ron “Fuckhead” Turner for a suggestion.  You’ve got two shots at a first down, and at that point Hanie was 13-19 (68%).  Let the kid throw!  Instead he runs a reverse – a play that rarely works, and has never worked for the Bears.  Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Cutler a Quitter?  Hell to the No!
The Butler is a man’s man.  I don’t know what all the fuss is about.  The guy got hurt and couldn’t play, so they benched him.  First of all, it’s not like he was doing anything special anyway.  And secondly, you don’t get to where he is without having a strong competitive nature.  So it just doesn’t make sense that someone of that makeup, in that position, would just up and quit.  And any fans who burned Cutler jerseys only proved two things:  1) they no longer own Cutler jerseys, and 2) they’re fucking retarded.

Cutler Listens to “I Will Survive” on Ipod on Sideline

Game Ball
With 10 tackles, a sack, an interception and a pass deflection, Brian Urlacher showed he’s still got the goods in what was arguably his best game since the “the Bears are who we thought they were” game in Arizona in 2006.

Urlacher Sacking Rodgers

Summary
Great season.  We over-delivered despite being doubted by just about everyone.  And not to sound like a Cub fan, but I can’t help but think that we’re going to be much better next year.  Cutler has had to learn a new offense each of the last two years, so it’ll be exciting to see him returning to a scheme he’s familiar with from day one.  And with him, Peppers, Urlacher, Briggs and Hester all under contract, we should have a few more shots at the Lombardi trophy.

At Least We Still Have 1985, Man

Super Bowl (2012), Super Bears!

© 2011

This entry was posted on Wed, Jan 26, 2011 at 3:57 am and is filed under k) 2010 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.