Season Over!, Bears Fall 31-24
by Adam T on Dec 28, 2008 3:19 PM CST
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PrintPull the tarp on the field and clear out the lockerroom. The Bears season ended on a lame duck onside kick and an offsides penatly on our megamillionaire defensive tackle.
Things almost lined up great for the Bears with the Vikings looking to lose. They didn't after a last second field goal, but the Bears season would still have been alive as the improbable happened when the Oakland Raiders beat the Tampa Bay Bucanneers.
It seemed watching this game and listening to the reports of the Bears checking their Blackberries and asking sideline reporters and looking for the scores across the on field score board that they were more interested in the Minnesota game then they were in their own.
If Dallas falls to Philly this one is really going to sting.
It took Houston a quarter to realize what the rest of the leage already knew. The Bears cannot stop anybody in the pass game. They cannot stop wide receivers, they cannot stop tight ends, they cannot stop tackle eligibles and they cannot stop quarterbacks in a wildcat formation. The Bears could not stop the Texans pass game and as soon as they overplayed the pass, the Houston run game tore us up.
Now that all we have to look forward to is Free Agency and the Draft the Bears have a lot of work to do on both sides of the ball. They have major questions at a lot of positions.
We will look more on this game and the aftermath later as I'm sure a lot of people will have a lot to say about it.
What about you?
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Another disappointing game to end a disappointing season.
Hooray for next year ???
disappointing?
DId anyone really expect more than 9 wins?
Most people expected fewer than 9 wins.
Bringing moderation to a place I don't moderate.
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by big_lowitzki on Dec 28, 2008 3:57 PM CST up reply actions
very true
Going into this season with Orton starting a rookie we had never heard of at RB and Devin Hester being slated to start at receiver with a couple of castoff WR from the free agent pile. All in all this team did outperform expectations, which is not to say that the way they lost in a few games wasn’t absolutely maddening.
Everyone talks about the secondary being so bad and point to tillman and vasher, but what’s the general consensus on Payne?
Once we saw that the Bears were better than we thought in the pre-season
many fans altered their expectations. I know I did. True, 9 wins sounds nice about five months ago, but we should be in the playoffs, simple as that, and therein lies the disappointment.
True, but...
we were a playoff team if a few things click (bad coaching). We should’ve beat the Falcons, Panthers and Bucs, or at least one or two of them. That’s the hardest part is that we were right in it but blew too many games.
by Twins Territory on Dec 28, 2008 5:08 PM CST up reply actions
Frustrating and disappointing
It’s not necessarily expectations that are important to me, it’s just the process of the season and how frustrating it was. Sure none of us expected this team was going to go to the Super Bowl at the beginning of the season, but if expectations were all that mattered, we wouldn’t have watched any games. Paying attention all season long gets ones hopes up, and this team, time and again, was so effing frustrating to watch as a die-hard fan. They won some games they shouldn’t have (like last week), but they lost several they should have won. To be this close to the playoffs and fall short is frustrating, as well as disappointing.
That said, I’m kind of relieved now that the season is over. This team really doesn’t belong in the playoffs.
I'm not so mean. I wouldn't ever go out to hurt anybody deliberately - unless it was, you know, important, like a league game or something. - Dick Butkus
I’m sure many were expecting more than 9 wins. I know I was with the schedule they had this year. I’d say 11 wins this year wasn’t overreaching. How many opponents this year really outmatched the Bears?
huh?
You seriously thought, before the season started, that this team would win 11 games?
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by big_lowitzki on Dec 28, 2008 8:33 PM CST up reply actions
Indeed
Babich and Turner must go, or next season will be much of the same crap. We have better players than the season’s result.
Also, anybody up for Hasselback, McNabb or Cassel? I think Hester can be great if we have some consistent throws to him.
Oh, and so long Rex Grossman…
by Twins Territory on Dec 28, 2008 3:38 PM CST up reply actions
Agreed
I would be happy with the Bears picking up Cassel, because it would be nice to have a consistent quarterback who can make plays and actually knows how to look off defensive backs which orton doesn’t.
I also agree that we need to get rid of both coordinators. Babich does the same thing every time pretend to bring pressure and then have the linebackers drop back. I really have no idea what Turner does but there is no creativity at all on the offensive side of the ball.
The idea to trade for Michael Bush is starting to look better and better with his performance against Tampa Bay.
Damn it... now the cat's out of the bag on Michael Bush.
I'm not going to even bother trying to update this sig everyday anymore... that's what the standings column on ESPN is for.
Updated on May 25, 2008
God they need to fire Bob & Ron
does Lovie have any good coaches other than Dave Taub?
Ron should have been fired all ready tho…wonder if its enough this time.
Sensitive don't cut it in this league.
Tough year for the Bears and Bear fans every where.The Bears will never win it all with Kyle Orton at QB.He has a noodle for an arm.But on a more positive note,Manning is the new Hester.
Better than expected
I expected a completely crappy season with something in the ballpark of 5 or 6 wins. Overall, I’m kind of please with the 9-7 season. I’m disappointed in the fact that we had 3 games in the bag and couldn’t finish. I’m disappointed in Tommie Harris. With that amount of money, he should be double-teamed on every play and still get 8 sacks.
I’m stoked about Forte, he’s been absolutely great. The offensive line hasn’t done the best job run blocking, but they’ve been pretty good at pass blocking and way better than expected overall. Orton hasn’t been good, but he hasn’t been a complete disaster either, so that’s not too bad.
So here’s to hoping for a good offseason.
Wishlist:
Boldin/Housh (if they’re not going to get a #1 WR in F/A, then draft them. Don’t spend money on someone like Devery Henderson or some other #2 WR.)
F/A Offensive lineman, DT
Draft Defense, a blocking FB and offensive lineman who can run block.
is Boldin a FA?
the lists I’ve seen don’t mention him….
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by thecubreporter on Dec 28, 2008 4:25 PM CST up reply actions
Nope.
However, he can be traded for and most likely will be in a different uni by opening day ’09.
why?
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by thecubreporter on Dec 28, 2008 5:02 PM CST up reply actions
He wants
a new deal and they haven’t given him what he wants nor can they probably afford his demands with Fitzgerald.
by Twins Territory on Dec 28, 2008 5:07 PM CST up reply actions
got it
I have my doubts they’ll give up their best player, but we’ll see…
that’s probably 2 high draft picks and the contract he wants.
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by thecubreporter on Dec 28, 2008 5:18 PM CST up reply actions
i can't imagine it being less than a #1 plus
i bet they’ll ask for 2 more first-day picks, and somebody will either give them something comparable. a legit #1 WR would be awesome to have, but we need so much more help from the draft that i think we pass. maybe housh?
by guy incognito on Dec 28, 2008 5:29 PM CST up reply actions
Yeah...
This set up nicely for the Bears if they could have taken care of business.
At least it wasn’t like the Cubs last season where they were clearly the best team in the NL during the regular season, and then totally choked in the playoffs… again.
Bob Howry: Ruining Baseball Since 2008
by The Original Dave on Dec 28, 2008 4:29 PM CST up reply actions
No, in this case the Bears choked BEFORE getting to the playoffs!
I'm not so mean. I wouldn't ever go out to hurt anybody deliberately - unless it was, you know, important, like a league game or something. - Dick Butkus
Anyone else hear Lovie talk about the Bears being close?
What exactly is his team close to, the bottom of the division? This team has two legitimate pass-catching options, those being Hester and Olsen, and neither are good enough to be number one type players. I love Matt Forte, but he’s not a star, rather a solid do-it all back. I’m not saying I’m not happy with him, rather that as good as he is, he’s not good enough to carry a team, like Adrian Peterson. The O-Line is aging and it’s future lies in a mystery first round pick that only gets in on goal-line situations.
On defense, the line is aging and not very good. It’s OK, but not nearly good enough for a team that features the Cover2 as it’s base defense. The linebackers may not be great, but they are still solid. Briggs, Urlacher and Roach should be above average next year. Mike Brown might be gone next year, and I don’t trust either Danieal Manning or Kevin Payne, two big hitters who aren’t very heady players. Once again, the special teams is going to have to do the bulk of the work next year.
hester is a legitimate option?
don’t get me wrong, he has made some strides and all, but i’m barely confident in his ability at this point. on any other team he is a #3 receiver, but with the bears he is #1 and that says it all to the mindset of this chicago team. build a high paid defense (that should be good, but isn’t) and hope the offense falls into place by some miracle assembly of castoffs.
Hester
can be a very, very good player if we can get him the ball consistently when he burns the corners. Just the games against the Vikings and Packers down the stretch, I remember four times where he had a step and was either underthrown or overthrown.
by Twins Territory on Dec 28, 2008 8:48 PM CST up reply actions
What I meant by that
is that Hester could be a solid option if he has the right supporting cast around him. He’s a pretty good third option right now and theoretically could be a nice number 2 as soon as next year. He’s no star, but he did improve a bit this year.
Watching the Eagles demolish the Cowboys makes this a little more bearable
Just about everything that could go wrong for Dallas did. I like when that happens to other teams besides the Bears.
Vinny Del Negro interviewed for the job today. I mean come on! Nobody else thinks this is nuts?
by Juiceboxjerry on Jun 6, 2008 4:21 PM CDT actions actions 0 recs
I don't know about bearable
considering their loss would have meant our wild card, hard we won…
--Torch
And
we’d be playing the Queens which I think would have upped our chances with Williams out and them not playing all that stellar either.
by Twins Territory on Dec 28, 2008 8:49 PM CST up reply actions
Do We Really Think Bears Management Will Know What To Do With This Team?
I mean come on, we’ve been through this time in and time out. They draft players and re-sign them. The 2 biggest free agent signings over the past couple years or so were Thomas Jones and Muhammad. And at the time, Jones wasn’t a big get and Muhammad was seen as a great signing, but with our QB situation, as always, didn’t pan out like he thrived in Carolina before coming to Chicago.
Do we honestly have faith in the Bears Management to go after a top-notch WR like Housh or Boldin? I mean it seems stubbornness is the mantra for this franchise. Clearly neither of the coordinators are going anywhere because it’s Lovie. Clearly we’re going to be holding onto players we feel should’ve been gone seasons ago and are now aging to the point of no solid returns from teams that want them, if they want any of them at all.
So it seems we’re caught between a rock and a hard place. We have a solid RB, TE’s, and a #2 WR. Our O-Line is aging, our QB can’t throw deep, and our Coordinator won’t open up the playbook to prevent multiple 3 & Outs during critical possessions of games. The defense has a ton of problems that seemingly can’t be solved with a quick fix, and they seem lost without an injury prone safety. So where does that leave us on defense? Clearly we won’t be spending big money on Haynesworth as that’s just not in the Bears “strategy.” If not free agency, then within the organization? Are there players who haven’t gotten a chance to play that can fix this defense? Not very likely.
All in all, I think our window to win the Super Bowl has come and gone and until we get a Franchise signal caller (maybe before 2020?), this team will forever ride the back of RB’s, Defense, and Special Teams. We thought if Orton simply managed games we could get into the playoffs. Truthfully he did fine for the most part, but when we needed him most when the Defense was struggling, he just couldn’t get it done. So what is the Offseason going to bring us? Probably the same faith in the same players without a marquee free agent signing. Expect more of the same with the same coordinators. If only Mike Singletary wasn’t a Head Coach and would be willing to take over the Bears’ Defense…
Excellent post
Management like we have makes it very hard for me to be a Bears fan. Season after season of frustration..
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not letting the players off the hook but its starts at the top
I'm
hoping they will at least start by getting rid of the coordinators and go from there. If they can bring in a QB, along with a #2 or #3 WR, I think it’ll really help the offense.
by Twins Territory on Dec 28, 2008 8:50 PM CST up reply actions
babich and turner need to be gone
they were horrible at their jobs this year. lovie could be axed, but given how cheap the ownership has been, no way they eat his contract.
- we need to retool the defense, because it is pretty awful. that could mean keeping some of the players but coaching them well and putting them in schemes that actually work for them, which, again, requires new coaching, since babich has failed miserably.
- for one, if you run a tampa 2, get a freaking safety. mike brown was perfect when he was healthy, but he’s never healthy, and more importantly, isn’t the same player when he is healthy. draft a legit top FS early or sign one or move tillman to FS.
- restructure contracts for wale and vasher, or cut/trade them. think about cutting/trading harris…he’s all-world in talent, but hasn’t been that good for 2 straight years now. we don’t take a huge hit if we cut him. if we’re going to spend that kind of money for DT, just sign haynesworth for a little more. at least he’ll produce. harris is a freaking enigma, which is not what you need when you shell out that kind of money.
- get a RT to replace tait and maybe a guard…our line did well against the pass this year, but were terrible on the run, especially 3rd and short.
- get some serviceable WRs. i think trading for boldin is a bad move because it will cost us too many draft picks (and we have holes we need to fill), but we really need to upgrade the position somehow. the packers really showed how bad our WRs were…we couldn’t ever get open against them. good coaching/play calling could help a lot, but its pretty obvious that our WRs wouldn’t make most NFL rosters. hester and lloyd were the only 2 receivers that looked like they belonged in the league. davis was terrible, booker wasn’t really effective, and we never played bennett.
- if we can get a top QB, go for it, but otherwise, i’d stick with orton. we have so many more important holes to fill. with some WRs that could actually get open, who knows, he might be a pretty good QB.
Had a family get together today and was unable to watch the game, although I'm pretty sure I'm glad I didn't watch it
That being said, this team performed much better than I thought they would this season, probably a good 5 or 6 wins greater than I thought they would do at the beginning of the season. Over the offseason, Angelo needs to address the WR position, secondary, OL, and QB (although I’m sure he won’t)
What’s our draft status?
BCB Works Miracles: It saved my English grade!
re: draft status
Somewhere around 19. I’m not sure how our tiebreakers stack up against Arizona or the Jets
--Torch
Well
as stated just above, we’re ahead of Arizona because of the playoffs. We’re ahead of the Patriots, and I think maybe the Jets. Plus, I thought I saw maybe the Cowboys as well. I’d say between 16-19 depending on if there are tiebreakers and whatnot.
by Twins Territory on Dec 28, 2008 8:52 PM CST up reply actions
As Twins Territory Said, Between 16-19
re: draft status
Somewhere around 19. I’m not sure how our tiebreakers stack up against Arizona or the Jets
http://www.windycitygridiron.com/2008/12/28/703598/offseason-plans-nfl-draft
Not sure on SOS #’s.
I want to see:
Babich fired. (maybe even everyone except Toub)
Taking advantage of free agency.(WR especially!)
Smart Draft picks.(OT, CB, QB, S)
by PolishSausage.Ditka.Bears. on Dec 28, 2008 6:31 PM CST reply actions
I say Turner and Babich, a decent WR that can go with Hester along with a QB from free agency that can step in right away. Safety is the one other position. No Mike Brown hurt, and I think we need to find someone to start at that position.
by Twins Territory on Dec 28, 2008 8:53 PM CST up reply actions
Beginning of the End of Urlacher
It saddens me, but I think Urlacher is nearing the end of his career of being dominate. This season he was a shadow of his former self. Hopefully it was just a rough season, but given his age, I’d say he’s declining. I’d say he has 2 years tops left of being effective..
BCB Works Miracles: It saved my English grade!
I have a feeling
He will be traded this off season, it will be sad to see him go but what has to be done has to be done. Just like the White Sox with Jermaine Dye…. if you can get a good trade for him then you gotta do it
meh, I hope he's still with the team next season
I plan to see my first Bears game up in Baltimore next season, I wanna see Urlacher player
BCB Works Miracles: It saved my English grade!
I think he'll be around.
There was talk that the Bears should move Briggs to middle and Urlacher to outside. Not sure if it’d work or not.
by Twins Territory on Dec 28, 2008 8:54 PM CST up reply actions
Ray Lewis is still kickin a55...
Put a real damn NT in front of #54 again… and he should look better.
I'm not going to even bother trying to update this sig everyday anymore... that's what the standings column on ESPN is for.
Updated on May 25, 2008
Damn...
Always next year. Anyone know where we should be drafting at?
Clutch: A measurement of how much better or worse a player does in high leverage situations than he would have done in a context neutral environment. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/glossary/
I've seen higher...
There are 12 playoff teams, all of which we are ahead of regardless of their records. Then there are the Jets, Cowboys, and PAtriots that I think we might be ahead of or have to do tiebreakers with. Not sure of other teams like that off the top of my head. I think maybe 17-19 is possible.
by Twins Territory on Dec 28, 2008 8:55 PM CST up reply actions
Just saw this post.
I think maybe we’re ahead of the Cowboys because they had the better NFC record and thus would have won the Wild Card. I’m not positive though. Anybody know about us and the Jets, how that would be decided?
Otherwise, I’m almost certain that the Bucs and Patriots are lower like you said because the Bucs beat us and the Patriots obviously won 11.
by Twins Territory on Dec 28, 2008 8:58 PM CST up reply actions
I hope that was Bob Babich's last game...
Please… please… please…
I'm not going to even bother trying to update this sig everyday anymore... that's what the standings column on ESPN is for.
Updated on May 25, 2008
Did Anyone Else Think The 2nd Andre Johnson TD Should've Been Challenged?
For how many ramifications this game had, wouldn’t the Replay Booth at least LOOK at it to make sure he got both feet inbounds? I thought his 2nd foot was out of bounds after battling Tillman for the football and he didn’t have COMPLETE control of it until his 2nd foot had touched out of bounds.
It Would Have Been, As It Was Within The 2 Minute Mark Of The 1st Half
But why on earth would the Replay Booth not want to at least LOOK AT IT? I mean the magnitude of that touchdown was massive. How close does it have to be for the Replay Booth Assistants to call down to the field to tell the Ref’s to look at the replay?!
I thought
the officiting was rather poor. Late whistles, a few poor spots, and then this.
by Twins Territory on Dec 28, 2008 9:09 PM CST up reply actions
Ya some really bad spots, and they def should have looked at this.
That unchallengable spot hurt us pretty bad
Yep
It killed us! Had they gone for it from the actual spot, it would have been about two yards and we would have held. If they kicked a field goal, it would a whole different game.
by Twins Territory on Dec 28, 2008 9:27 PM CST up reply actions
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