The Quotable Bears (Week Ten)
One thing that I noticed after finding all of the quotes for this piece is that the issue of field position was continually brought up. I’m not going to say that it cost us the game, because it didn’t. You can use that as an excuse if you wish, but eventually, they have to just man up and get the job done (ie: move the damn ball). I’ll place my blame for the game on Rex continually overthrowing receivers and our vanilla pass defense.
Roll Call: Our one and only halfblindcubbiegirl took the top spot with 106. bs.uf15bosox9bears23 had 99, while thecubreporter (79), GallopingGhost (64), and Chanman25 rounded out the top 5.

Lovie on the game:
“The field position game hurt us the entire time. We played down close to our end zone most of the time. Eventually, if you don’t get field position, it’ll end up leading to points for the opponent, and that’s what happened today. You want to make a team one-dimensional. But from there you have to make some plays in the passing game and we weren’t able to do that.”
Rex on his performance:
“There were plays to be made that all of us probably wish we would have had back. I was thinking of three or four I wish we would have had back that would have helped drives go or that big play to Devin, but those weren’t made and the result is we lost. We couldn’t really get into a rhythm backed up. We needed to get a few first downs and flip field position. First downs kind of breed more first downs. You get on a roll and get to the rest of your plays. That was the big deal right there for the most part.”
Ron Turner on the Titans:
“They’re a very good defense. You’re not going to move it up and down the field like that all the time on them. We put together a good drive, made some plays in that opening drive. But we knew it was going to be a battle.”
Ron Turner on the horrible offensive field position:
“It’s only frustrating when you don’t do something about it. When you’re backed up, that’s part of football. It’s a field position game. When you get backed up like that, you have to get a couple first downs to get out of there, and we weren’t able to do that.”
Mike Brown on the defense:
“It seems like we’ve been doing a pretty good job all year long as far as stopping the run is concerned. But we’re like 30th-ranked as far as the pass is concerned, so somewhere we’ve got to find a happy medium. We really geared up for the run, but they were able to make some plays on us with the passing game. We couldn’t get off the field on third down, and I think that was the biggest issue today. It’s hard to win football games when you let teams convert the first down. They definitely won the battle of field position, and that’s a crucial element of the game. It seemed like we were always on our side of the field on defense. It’s difficult to win football games when they start on about the 50 or 40-yard line. It was just tough to win.”
Graham on the defense:
“When you lose the game, you lose the game. It doesn’t matter that we stopped the run. You’ve got to stop the pass and the run. When these guys come out and just sling the ball on us like that, it takes away how good you played against the run.”
Briggs on the field position:
“Field position was huge. We started off inside the 10 all game long. In a game like this, when you have two defenses playing well, field position is going to come into play.”
Maynard on the field position:
“Yeah, I think I was kicking from down there every single time. And I felt like there wasn't much I could do about it. I did the best I could. Mentally, it drains you.”
Kerry Collins on the Bears:
“I give the Bears a lot of credit. They put a lot of people in the box and stopped our run, and they did a great job of it.”
Comments
i understand you're not a grossman fan
but rather than placing blame on rex and crew starting every position from inside their own 15.. please give credit to the titans defense. that was a great defense.. probably the best in the league. factor in the field position created by the special teams.. scoring 14 pts is commendable. heres a look at some stats from other qbs vs the titans this year:
Garrard: 23/35 215yds 1 td 2int 10pts
C Palmer:: 16/27 134yds 2 int 7pts
Schaub: 17/37 188yds 3int 12pts
Frerotte: 25/43 266yds 1int 17pts
Flacco: 18/27 153yds 2int 10pts
Thigpen: 5/11 76 yds 10pts
P Manning: 26/41 223yds 2TD 2int 21 pts
A Rodgers: 22/41 314yds 1 TD 1int 16pts
Grossman: 20/37 173yds 1td 1int 1rushtd 14 pts
so you can call the field position idea an excuse but its a valid one to say the least. if blame is to be placed, lets look to the defense. for his first game of the season against the best d in the league, rexs play wasnt all that bad…at least comparable to other qbs this year. this was a tough d we played, and simply manning up as you said is not a good enough solution. the manning up part can be placed however on the overrated pass coverage of babich and crew.
by rahulsriram on
Nov 10, 2008 12:34 PM CST
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No, I'm not blaming Rex for that
Here’s my thinking:
- The Titans defense is one of the best defenses in the league. No argument there.
- Field position is a variable. Just so happened it was bad for us yesterday. However, GREAT teams and GREAT players find a way to move the ball. The players cannot use that as an excuse. That’s a sign of a team grasping at straws.
- Rex didn’t single-handedly lose the game for us. I’m not a Grossman fan, but I’m not stupid enough to think that. He did, however, overthrow his receivers a lot. That kills drives.
- My opinion of the game: Our pass defense lost it for us. Kerry Collins looked like God, and he’s not even close to being a great QB.
I'M A MAN! I'M 22!
by ChiFan13 on
Nov 10, 2008 1:03 PM CST
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i get what you're saying
and agree with that last point whole heartdly but to that 3rd point: rex missed some throws..absoultley, but i believe it had to do a lot more with the titans defense forcing his hand,not for example his inaccuracy as a qb. the titans were able to generate such a pass rush with 4 guys that they drop back 7 most times. rex most of the day was throwing the ball to recievers who were covered so he was throwing the ball to where the recievers could make a play on it and the defense couldnt intercept it. to that extent, i have to commend his developement for taking what the defense gave him, which was not a lot.
to what both of us are saying however, if the bears have any chance of making the playoffs, they could perhaps take a page out of the titans. Limiting the production of the run and forcing the qb to make tough throws in coverage..ie, finding the happy medium.
by rahulsriram on
Nov 10, 2008 1:31 PM CST
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I agree
with both of you. Rex didn’t lose it for us, but he didn’t help. All we need were a couple of first downs to get us out of a hole then a good punt and make them go 80 yards. The risk of a turnover exists when they would traveled that far. Not when they are starting inside our 50 half the time. Rex just looks scared out there. i don’t know if I saw him step into a throw all day. Everything was floated or wrist flicked to all recievers outside of the Forte dump off. To his defense, the play calling was brutal when we were backed up. Just seeing the plays develop from the stands there was no one open on most of those plays. Very basic. No crossing routes, no plays in the middle of the filed to the TE, Maybe because Rex is so limited but it seemed the playcalling didn’t make it easier on Rex. Actually I give him credit ,some of the times he overthrew receivers I think he was just throwing it away instead of potentially throwing a pick.
by tfrabotta on
Nov 10, 2008 1:54 PM CST
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While Rex didn't lose it single handedly, Orton probably would have helped win it...
obviously assuming he was healthy, which he wasn’t. But Orton would have made the throws grossman missed, based on his previous performances this year. Not only would that have helped us win the field-position game, but the game in general, whether by scoring points, or keeping the titan’s offense off the field.
by lindemrm on
Nov 10, 2008 2:08 PM CST
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grossman is a bitch either way.....those stats mean nothing
he couldn’t get the ball in receivers hands when they were open…like when he missed hester and davis….if the bears could’ve converted on a couple more drives different outcome….he needs to grow a pair and step the fuck up when called on
takes some real stones for the one certifiable cocksucker on here to jump into this convo.-mm
by furby2056 on
Nov 11, 2008 8:44 PM CST
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