Okay. So the Bears lost to the 49ers last night; however, there were some positives. I was able to watch most of the first quarter and part of the second quarter and then some of the end of the game. Here are my thoughts in no particular order:
1. Bears O line looked much better. They actually gave Orton some time to throw. Hopefully for them this will continue.
2. Orton looked pretty good. Had some nice throws and led some nice drives. He also threw downfield which is good because he pretty much limits his game to shorter passes. Also, I think it was important for him to have a strong performance in front of his home crowd the first game after being named the starter. You don't want to blow it and not give the home crowd much confidence. I think his performance was important for both himself and Lovie. He also seemed to develop some chemistry with Rashied Davis. Again, hopefully for them this develops.
3. Rexy again blew. His performance only strengthened Lovie's decision in going with Kyle. Rexy's days in Chicago are done. It will be VERY difficult for him to ever win the Bear fans over. Fair or not, that is the case. He would be better served leaving and starting new some where else. I'm sure he is regretting coming back right now and probably wishes he had gone some where else.
4. The Bear special teams looked decent. Manning had some nice returns (although he fumbled on his second long one). Wolfe fumbled on another kickoff return deep in Bear territory but it was good for them to get some long returns which has been a big part of their game the last couple of years with Hester.
5. Bear defense looked terrible. They missed tackles and a ton of yards and some big plays. They also got called for some untimely penalties. Their defense was supposed to be their strong point of their team but they have been largely unimpressive in the preseason. That is going to have to improve if they expect to do anything this year. It was good for them to make that one goal line stop after Tillman's pass interference penalty; however, they needed to build off of that and improve but they didn't.
All in all, not a terrible performance. Again, it was good that the O line, Orton, and the offense in general put together a decent performance. Sadly, it was offset by the poor defensive performance.
Bottom line, I still think the Bears will struggle this year.
3 comments:
CHAMPIONSHIP!
Actually, here is what I think. The Bears are solid all around, but they have to play hard to win.
I like the team. I think it is much improved over last year.
If I have any major question it is whether Babich is qualified to be the defensive coordinator. This is a team with a lot of talent on D that I expect to really be in the top-10. There is no excuse for them not to play well.
The offense needs to be average, Special Teams need and the D need to be superior. That is Bears/Lovie football.
I think they'll get things straightened out, but we'll see.
I certainly think the Bears are a real threat in the NFC this year.
I really think you are delusional. It is a rebuilding year for them. We pretty much have to leave it that you think they are going to compete and I don't.
We have both stated our reasons. We don't need to go any further. The proof will be when the season begins and the games count.
Here's what I think, and, therefore, here's the only opinion that matters.
Aside from Devin Hester and Robbie Gould, the Bears have nothing going for them. They're thin at D-line. Their LBs are either not motivated or are rapidly aging. Their secondary is another Mike Brown injury away from mediocrity.
The offense has no O-line to speak of. They've lost their top two running backs and are banking on a rookie and a talented, but fragile Detriot Lions cast-off. The QB situation is sketchy at best. I guess the tight ends are good, but that doesn't do a whole lot of good.
Basically, they'll have to over-achieve to get to 8-8 or 9-7. In their division, that may be good enough to squeak out a division championship. With Favre gone and the Vikings still going with the highly inaccurate Jackson at QB, anything is possible; howeve, it's far more likely that the Bears play to their own level and eek out a 6-10 record.
Basically, this year is to jockey for position to draft a QB or o-line stud in the '09 draft.
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