2008 NFL Season

[Jon Brakel]

By just return I assume you mean another can o'whoopass being opened upon the Bears in December?

Um, no. This time the good guys and our home team won!!!

[Sr.]

                                              91-80-6

                                                 

[Dan Michler]

We still need a small miracle to make the playoffs.  Jacobs has been a little banged up, so you know the Giants are going to rest him against the Vikings.  That being said, I still like the Giants to win that game as I think their defense will shutdown Peterson.  But the hardest part for the Bears is going to be winning in Houston.  They are 5-2 at home this year and can put up alot of points in a hurry.

[Sr.]

I think the Bears have about a 10% chance of making the playoffs. I don't think Manning will play more than one half of the game. Jacobs probably wont even dress. The only good thing is Ward. He's one hell of a backup running back! We just need to hope the second string of the Giants can beat Minnesota's first string. The wild card is gone too, there's no way Tampa Bay will lose to the Raiders and Philly beat the Cowboys. And no doubt,  the Texas game will be a tough one for the Bears to win. If the Bears do get in, Walter would of had to be looking down. 

[Dan Michler]

I think its more like a 34.7% chance.

Remember, last year the Giants had their playoff seeding secured and had nothing to play for in the final game against the Patriots.  But they played to win that game and nearly did, which got their momentum rolling for that Super Bowl run.  I don't think Coach Coughlin will forget that and he's going to get his team ready to go out and beat the Vikings (I agree Jacobs won't play though).

[Chainmeister]

I think the Bears have a better chance.  Coughlin will not want to give a game to the Vikings. The last thing he will want to do is hand them a game and then face them a few weeks later. He would rather  punish them Sunday and then punish the Bears or whoever he faces down the road. 

That being said, I watched a football game last night. I saw a bad team outplay a mediocre team and still lose. Their quarterback did everything he was asked to do but his team still blew the game.  The mediocre team could not move the football to save its life. Its defense played very well despite being on the field way too long and despite the bad team's quaterback being very sharp.  The mediocre team has a chance to have its behind whupped in a game in January.  Most  of us locals will cheer to have that happen.  It will make us feel like its early Fall all over again. The only difference is the teams playing in the early Fall were much better than mediocre. They just played that way.

The locals can rejoice regardless of happens with the mediocre football team. Why?  Because pond hockey is really pucking cool!

[Sr.]

If the Bears had a coaching staff they would already be in the Playoffs. The only coach that deserves to stay is the special teams coach. The Bears have some talent at every position but wide receiver. They throw when they should run and run when they should throw. The running play up the middle never works. When the guards and the center pull out Forte gets good yards. The defense rushes 4 men and get burned consistently. If you haven't noticed, when the Bears rush 5 or 6 guys, they make things happen. The coaches can't adjust to the other teams strengths. They never put the Bears in position to win. I would have fired Lovie after that squib kick in Atlanta. Clock management is awful and they never have all their time outs at the end of the game. Good coaches do. Don't get me wrong, Lovie has a pretty good record, but any other coach with some smarts would have done much better with the talent the Bears have had.

[Jon Brakel]

I look at it as just binary, not odds. Either the Bears make it or they don't. They need to do their job and count on the Vikings to choke. Either it happens and we get one more Bears game this season or it doesn't and we see how fast Lovie and his crew get fired.

[Jon Brakel]

Well, poop.

[Sr.]

Makes me wonder how the Bears beat the Lions. What a poor performance. Can't see anything changing next year if all the coaches come back. Thank goodness the Hawks are back!

[Bruce Brakel]

Well, poop.

I came home from playing disc golf, where I beat Kelsey by one throw in fierce winter conditions, and thought, "Oh, I forgot the Bears were playing some time today."  I got home ten minutes after the game was over.  Winning by one beats losing by seven, any day!   

[stpitner]

this is not a taunt towards Bears fans - but I do find it surprising that the Wild Card spot actually opened up for the Bears to take if they had won.  They needed Tampa and Dallas to both lose, and they both did.  That was very unexpected.  The funny thing was earlier in the week I was watching some Bears Extra/Preview/whatever show.  It had the radio color analyst on there (I don't know his name and I don't need to because he drives me nuts).  He was talking about "don't even bring up the wild card.  The Bears don't have a chance to win the wild card because Tampa is going to beat Oakland, end of story.  It's not going to happen."  whoops.

Was anyone else sick and tired of Fox flashing the scores of the other games in progress with the "this is how the Bears will get to the postseason if..." screen?  With the Bears down, the screen should have just said "In order for the Bears to get into the playoffs, the Bears need to win." and left it at that until a point where they led again.

Was it Eric kasillius (sp?) from ESPN that predicted before the season that the Lions would win the division? lol.  (I looked up the name, it's Erik Kuselias).  Perhaps it was Scott Van Pelt.  Either way, one of the radio guys on the nationwide ESPN broadcast said the 2008 Detroit Lions was his prediction to win the division.  Too bad they went 0-16... they had a chance until like... the 5th week even!

[Jon Brakel]

I figured if the Bears did manage to make the playoffs they weren't going to win their first playoff game playing the way that they've been playing this year so I just watched the last game like any other Bears game...hoping for a good show. I think Manning is a great athlete but if the Bears secondary wasn't so banged up I think the Bears win that game. Of course it is the 16th week so you have to win banged up. Tillman gets the man of the week award for manning up and playing the game. He looked like he was in a lot of pain. But getting back to Manning...if he doesn't cough up that return ball and blow his coverage on the deep TD pass then I think the Bears would have won this game. But I'll give up this game if it means that they'll find room to start Manning. I think if he has some more experience he could really deliver for the Bears.

I still don't think that they need to get rid of Lovie. But I agree with what Tom Waddle said on Sunday that Lovie needs some new faces on the coaching staff and he doesn't need anymore yes men. I think they need a new defensive line coach, defensive coordinator, receiver coach, and offensive coordinator.

[Chainmeister]

Well, poop.

I came home from playing disc golf, where I beat Kelsey by one throw in fierce winter conditions, and thought, "Oh, I forgot the Bears were playing some time today."  I got home ten minutes after the game was over.  Winning by one beats losing by seven, any day!   

This does not apply to Jon who is still on injured reserve.  However, playing always beats watching.  Regardless of the score on the TV, and even if Kelsey had massacred you, you still won.  If I was not in the kitchen all day cooking potato pancakes for a family invasion I surely would have been in Gurnee dodging puddles rather than having one eye on the stovetop and the other on the football game.

[CEValkyrie]

Bears
The Bears were brutal to watch all year. I thought they'd have a chance to compete in a bad division and they did. I did not expect them to make the playoffs and it was a bonus to see them compete.

It is so frustrating season after season saying QB and WR is a position that needs to be filled and nothing is done about it. Not only did we not do anything at the WR position we let Berrian go and that is the team that kept  us out of the playofffs. Booker & Hester was the answer! We could have used 1000 Yds & 7 TD's.  Our WR core is one of the worst in the league. RB/FB/TE's had 1551 rec yds and 11 TD's. The WR core had 1685 yds & 9 TD's.  Moss, Boldin, Fitzgerald, TO, Calvin Johnson & Jennings had as many or more TD's. What a joke! At least the RB & TE positions are pretty good.

We've leaned on the defense year after year. This year they weren't good enough. We were a squib kick away from being in the playoffs.

Packers
LAF (Life after Favre) I hope this is a trend that continues. A friend of mine was at the game yesterday and the fire McCarthy chants were loud.

Patriots/SD
I can't believe an 8-8 SD team is going to the playoffs and the 11-5 Pats are going to be watching at home.

Detroit
0-16

Dolphins
What a turnaround lead by Ronnie & Ricky. nearly 1500 yds and 14 TD's.

ATL
Another huge turnaround lead by N. Chicago boy Turner. 1491 yds & 16 TD's. Wow!

Miami was 250 to 1 to make the superbowl and Atl was 200 to 1. Both are still alive.

The playoffs should be fun.

Coaches.
Along witht he 3 that got chopped today Marvin Lewis has to go. Wade Phillips is going to get canned and I have a feeling Herm Edwards is gone too.

[Jon Brakel]

I thought that Kyle made good progress this year. He just doesn't have receivers to throw to. There's a reason his go to receiver is Loyd. Hester could be a weapon in a field of good receivers.

[Dan Michler]

I don't want to get into the Favre thing again, but I find it wierd that Comincioli mentions Ronnie and Ricky in the Dolphins turnaround and says nothing about Chad Pennington who had 3600 yards (9th most in the NFL) with just 7 interceptions this year.  I'm pretty sure he had more to do with the Dolphin turnaround than Ricky Williams' 650 yards, 4 TD's and 4.1 per carry.  Ronnie Brown had a solid 920 yards this year, but was inconsistent down the stretch.  Pennington should be in the top 5 in MVP voting this year as he was the true leader of that team.

It was amazing to see the Bucs, Jets, Broncos, and Cowboys all completely fall apart to miss the playoffs which seemed to be a given for all of those teams not very long ago.  The Cowboys should fire Philips, but they won't.  Jerry Jones loves how that guy just does whatever he wants without putting up a fight.

As far as the Pats not getting in at 11-5, the NFL made this happen by increasing the number of divisions to 8.  Arizona could have won the NFC West with just 6 wins this year.

I agree with Brett that the Bears desperately need WR's.  We've got nobody and its pretty embarrassing.  I think we are best off sticking with Orton unless we can get McNabb.  No point in getting another mediocre QB to come in and try to do the job.  Orton is familiar with the offense now and is still only 26 years old and has shown he can win ballgames.  He is never going to be great, but I think we can win with him if we get atleast 2 actual NFL WR's and make some defensive improvements on the line and in the secondary.  We need more of a pass rush from the D line. 

We'll see what happens, but after seeing the Miami/Atlanta turnarounds, anything is possible from one year to the next in the NFL.

[Sr.]

There are reasons Devin Hester wasn't a Wide Receiver in College. Because he isn't one and he never will be one. He has a hard time just reading a play book. The Bears need to get rid of the evaluators on the team. They cant evaluate talent.
   Why are the Bears the only team that never bumps the wide receiver off the line of scrimmage?  If they would have done that against Texas, the line would of had more time to get to the QB.  But Babich never changes things. He can't adjust to other teams strengths. Tillman backpedals after every snap and gives receivers good space to get open. A good receiver will burn you every time, as seen in the Texas game and many more games this year. If Babich stays, it will be a long season next year. 
2 good wide receivers, a new defensive coordinator, and someone to replace St. Clair would be a Bears fan dream!
Lovie gets the goat of the year award for the squib kick in Atlanta. That cost the Bears the playoffs!  Plain and simple.

[pearso66]

The problem if they were to resign Berrian is all the money wrapped up in him. He's not a #1 receiver, yet he got that money. Letting him go wasn't a mistake, not signing a competent receiver was. Why this team has stuck with Rasheed Davis year after year is insane. That guy has been brutal for years, he just can't make catches. He's basically Braylen Edwards, but without the talent and a higher percentage of dropped passes.

I have been wondering the same thing about the Bears CB's not getting a bump on the receivers at the line for a long time. I know they have been saying that because of Tillman's shoulder, he can't, but that's one of the biggest problems with the defense. If they could slow down the receivers and stop those quick slants, the D would be a lot better. You don't even need a good CB to bump the WR, just slow him down a little.

A question about the playcalling, something I've noticed many times this year, Turner likes to call a screen pass, at least 1-2 a game, and he NEVER has any blockers in front of the WR. I saw it Sunday with Hester, He got the ball 2 yards behind the line of scrimmage, with 2 guys running full speed at him, and no one to keep him from getting hit. I don't think Hester will be a great receiver, but he could be a good slot receiver, but the Bears are misusing him. They can't count on him as a possession WR, use him in the same roll as Berrian, and I don't think he'd be that much worse. But using him there, you are taking him out of the KR and PR slots that he's so good at. He has to be one or the other, I don't think he is smart enough to do both.

[CEValkyrie]

Dan,

  Chad Pennington is an average QB at best in the NFL. He has 23 more yards passing than David Garrard and 1 more TD pass than Orton. If the Bears or Jags would have made it to the playoffs people wouldn't have been talking them up like they have Pennington. There is a reason the dolphins are using the Wildcat formation. Don't forget the 500 yds rec combined from Ricky & Ronnie. The difference from the Bears to the Dolphins is that defense that allowed 19.8 pts.

Pearso
Berrian has put up #1 WR #'s 2 years in a row now on 2 bad offensive passing teams. Tied for 10th in TD's and averaged 20.1 yds per catch (2nd of Receievers with 15 or more catches) this year. Just another bad evaluation of talent by the Bears.