The Inside Scoop: A Live Chat with Bears Insider John 'Moon' Mullin

Jim –
We have a good time, and I think very, very highly of Kap. He’s just a little pigskin-challenged at times, as the NFL revealed with its $15,000 fine of the Big Fella

Martz and Cutler are always ALWAYS thinking deep even when they can’t get time to go there. To game plan against that, however, is seriously dangerous. You saw what happened to the Jets and Sanchez, and one thing about Belichick: he knows how to defense ‘traditional’ Martz – so Martz opening up to start with is flawed and may play right into Belichick, who’s won his last 4 vs MM

your not asking David Kaplan….

Scar tissue from three staight 16-game seasons (translation: ‘no playoffs’) – and if you know Chicago, you know there’s always the cliff just off to your right – and that low-hanging cloud over downtown is in fact the sky falling

he does in fact want to stay, has moved his family here – I talked with his agent just last night, as a matter of fact, and a little surprisingly, no chats have happened yet – he has learned that this really is a business but he’s personally not cynical, so if he can stay, he will – and I wouldn’t dismiss a small hometown discount as a possibility – he loves the guys he playswith

good question about a very good coach – one thing that has his stock high around the NFL is that he works well with players from both sides of the ball, in coverage as well as kicking – the one thing that works against him is the stigma of an ST coach not being a full coach – even though Ditka certainly was a good pick from a special teams coach

he’s the best all-around TE on this roster – probably no argument even from some of the coaches – but 82 is a better receiver; Davis is better on special teams; and 86 is a better run blocker (and now has a winning TD catch) – there is also the $$ lavished on 86 in addition to Martz simply being very, very comfortable with 86 – and not many teams will go active with 4 TE’s on game days

I would guess that he will only be active again if one of the others is injured. I’m willing to bet he’s done in Chicago.

and will be for years and years, given that anythuing political in chicago moves with the speed of a glacier – it was artificial once upon a time – it probably will be again but exactly when…..

If the Bears go 10 – 6 or 11 – 5 and miss the playoffs will Lovie Smith lose his job?

no – part of the problem for you is that all four of the opponents are good now (with Frazier in Minn) – they could play reasonably well and take gas – but he’s owed $5.5 M and I do not see him gone in 2011, although you’re not going to see an extension

something just happened – reply went away

if there was an immediate change, it woujld be to Shaffer – although Webb has not continued to progress

think ’011 training camp -

I don’t see that even remotely as a weakness of the NE offense. 19 of Brady’s TD passes this year have been 10 yards or shorter – he doesn’t need a machete; a scalpel is doing just fine – and if they felt they needed a ‘big-play receiver’ (whatever that is, Wes Welker), they’d still have the tall kid who’s now messing up somewhere else, like Tennessee

I was asked last week which I thought was the NFL’s best team. I said New England then, and had to endure screeching about San Diego – no, the Patriots are THAT good – they average 31 points a game, and I think they have scored 30-plus in what, four in a row?
and the Jets are extremely difficult to typecast – they were miserable against the Packers (9-0) and Detroit, and they were hit with a couple roundhouse rights to the mouth early and never came back from a standing-eight-count

Actually, I do see this as a better situation for Jennings, who is quicker than Bowman, if lacking in the size that Bowman has – what Lovie has told me is that they play cover-2 less than a third of the time, and they are very comfortable with man schemes with Tillman – but in simple answer to your question, press coverage and Julius Peppers/Israel Idonije forcing Brady to step up into Tommie Harris (remember him?) is the only real answer – no pressure, no chance

no – what you do with the ball is always the huge factor – keeping brady off the field is obviously a nice thing but the Bears only had the ball 28 minutes vs. Phila and rang up 31 points

that’s difficult to thoroughly assess – the reality is that Tillman is not nearly the CB he was 3-4 years ago but to me he is a solid No. 2 corner and at 6’ is truly valuable in absolutely any scheme – his INT number (3) is respectable if not great

yes – they will never completely give up on a 6’ corner but Bowman’s history of injury is now a concern and committing to him as a starter again for a season is very unlikely

hard question – the $ pie is so big that it is beyond stupid for this to go dark for ’011 – what I do know from insiders is that ownership is more unified than people realize, despite market-size disparities – and players have the limited shelf life, so even if there is a severe speed bump through june-july even, I do not see the players holding the line to the point of a lost season

yep
nope

no, yes, yes – and I think it’s in the injury report that’s published, as far as who’s reporting what

I think he has been superb as the nickel back this season, with as good an all-around game as any of the corners – the question with DJ is pure speed, though, and it is unclear yet if he can match up against faster wideouts for whole games – but he will be a starting CB for a long time in his role

none – the real difference is focus, and Marinelli has that – if anything, Rod is a stronger believer in letting the front four alone to deliver pressure, but this year’s defensive line overall is stronger than what Lovie had

Establish your territory.

LOL – my Maine coons don’t sleep in the sinks, they just sit on the edge staring at me til I turn a slow drip on so they can drink fresh – I am but to serve – dogs have masters; cats have staff

you got it – you guys are why I have a job – always appreciate the time folks spend with our humble offerings