Let’s get the niceties out of the way first. Thanks to all of you who joined us on the game threads last night. This was our best week as far as unique commenter’s. The top five on the first half game thread was completely different than the second. And not only that, the top five for first half were barely on the second half and vice versa. Here are the numbers: ChiFan13 (105), bs.uf15bosox9bears23 (89), northsider (77), tfrabotta (66), and furby2056 (60).
Here’s who wins the never-coveted ChiFan13’s Non-players of the Game:
1) Charles Tillman. You just looked horrible. Usually, when a corner bites inside, it’s because there’s a threat; unfortunately for you, there was no threat inside. The threat was Berrian, and you found a way to screw that up. Bravo.
2) Bears WR’s. Toward the beginning of the second half, I was on the phone with one of my friends, who is also a Bears fan. I was beginning to yell about one of Sheed’s numerous drops when he asked, "Do we have soccer players for receivers?" Funny, but painfully true.
3) Devin Hester. You, my friend, are running scared. Honestly, you shouldn’t be returning any kicks or punts. In the 3rd, I remember Kluwe getting off a low punt, and I figured that you couldn’t screw it up. Alas, I was wrong. Instead of running north into the 10-yard cushion you had, you ran east. And back. And lost three yards. Thank God we have you locked up!
4) Kyle Orton. I’m a fan of you, but this is the first time you make the list. You made some good decisions tonight, but some were just atrocious. You’re better than that. It doesn’t help that your receivers couldn’t catch a cold in the
5) Ron Turner. I made the comment on the game thread that you wouldn’t run your trusty FB dive with a new fella in there. Again, I was wrong. You ran it RIGHT AT THE TWO MAMMOTH DT’S. Nothing I can say will make you look any worse. You did it all yourself.
6) Bob Babich. On passing downs, it’s usually not advisable to rush 8. Again, you defy conventional wisdom and do it. This is on top of your usual ineptitude. I’m just too mad/sad to name all of your sins from last night.
Let’s get on with it.
Lovie on the game:
“It’s amazing what a shift in momentum can do. We felt like we needed a touchdown in that situation. You’ve got to be able to get it in from there. If you don’t get it in from there, you probably don’t deserve to win. [It was a] disappointing loss for our football team. We controlled our own destiny before tonight. Now we need a little bit of help. We have
Lovie on Orton’s performance:
“Kyle has played great ball. He had a long streak going, but all quarterbacks eventually will throw some interceptions. Kyle will learn from this day and go from there.”
FB Dive on the game:
“If you’re going to beat this team, you can’t turn the ball over, and when you have an opportunity to make a play, you’ve got to do it.”
FB Dive on the failed goal-line stand:
“We had a goal-line plan going in. We saw what they did. We thought we had a chance to use play-action on first down, so we took a shot there. Obviously, that didn't work. Then we ran base plays, goal-line plays that we thought would work.”
Orton on the game:
“Against a defense like this, you’re not going to have too many opportunities down there. We felt like we needed to get seven to shift the momentum of the game, and it just didn’t work out. It’s tough to win games when you throw three picks. The passing game needs to step it up. I need to step it up. I put it on myself. [I have to] get back to work and get better.”
Kreutz on the failed goal-line stand:
“I know you can't write they kicked our ass, but whatever you want to write for that, they did on that series. They beat us up bad. This is no excuse, but they have three Pro Bowlers among those four positions and it showed.”
Forte on the failed goal-line stand:
“It's a tough situation. We're right there on the goal line, and we couldn't punch it in. That's something we have to address, because I think that's happened like twice this year. ... We just have to find a way to get in there, no matter what.”
Graham on Tillman’s stupid read:
“They pumped one way and came back to [Berrian] on the backside. Just a good scheme by them ... a good play. They knew that we cheat over. It's just a good call. The No. 2 [receiver] was coming down the seam. When the quarterback looks away, we've got to cheat. We play off the quarterback. We just have to find a way to fix it and make plays out there.”
Tillman on his stupid read:
“It was a good read on their part. It was zone coverage and I had Bernard and whoever the tight end was. I chose to take No. 2 and he threw it to No. 1. No excuses. It was a good play on their part. It was a good game plan. It was a good call and great offensive execution. Football is a game of momentum and that was definitely a momentum-shifter on their part. The momentum was in their favor. We got it back a little bit, but just couldn’t sustain it all the way. We fought hard, they just fought harder. You’ve got to give credit where credit is due. They deserved to win that game. I thought we played hard. They just played harder. After looking at it, yeah, [my approach] should have been different, but at the moment, no, I was going through my reads. They made a good offensive play. I can't sit here and say it wasn't my fault. It was my fault.”
Alex Brown on the game:
“This one hurts more than the
Quotables from the WCG Game Threads:
“My wife bought me a Hester jersey this weekend. I’m a proud, proud man!” - #23
“Fade routes work when the ball lands INBOUNDS!” – bs.uf15bosox9bears23
“Bears knock out another QB” – beardown
“Manning rules. I don’t care what anyone says” – itsugly
“Looks like the evil Ron Turner tonight” – tfrabotta (Quote of the Week)
“The Babich defensive scheme kills us again” – aznsensation
“Can I just say, yet again, that RON TURNER IS GENIUS!” – iowaBear
“YES! Gus Frerotte reverts to being Gus Frerotte!” – northsider
“A stop….giggity” – chibullsfan03