Video review has not always been friendly to the Chicago Bears. Here are two examples of when officials got calls wrong (and again, READ MY LIPS, Calvin Johnson did not maintain full possession on the catch). It should be noted that the Detroit Lions are a classy organization that has not blamed the officials for the call. They said it was not the call that cost them the football game. Good for them!

Detroit 12/28/04

[picappgallerysingle id="5909870"]This was Lovie Smith’s first year as Chicago Bears head coach. In a somewhat meaningless game (I don’t think any game is totally meaningless), the Chicago Bears scored what appeared to be a go-ahead touchdown against the Lions late in the fourth quarter. Bernard Berrian appeared to catch the football from Chad Hutchinson with both feet in-bounds in the end zone. The official on the field waived off the call and it went to video review. Despite several angles confirming the call, the officials upheld the call and the Chicago Bears lost 19-13 based directly on that blown call. And for those of you that do and don’t remember it, it was a blown call.

Green Bay 11/5/89

[picappgallerysingle id="3600137"]The Chicago Bears were leading 13-7 late in the fourth quarter. Green Bay drove down the field and scored on a play where Don Majkowski was clearly past the line-of-scrimmage and hit Sterling Sharpe for the go-ahead touchdown. On the field, the call was originally called a touchdown but quickly overturned by the line judge. After reviewing the call upstairs (replay was a little different in 1989…there was an official in the pressbox that could uphold or overturn calls), it was determined that it was a legal forward pass. This marked the first time since 1984 that the Packers defeated the Chicago Bears.

It was such a crock of s*** and pandering call. Mike Ditka refused to accept the loss and insisted that an asterisk was put in the Chicago Bears media guide indicating that this was the Instant Replay Game. This was the beginning of the end of the dominant era for the Chicago Bears and began the launch of the Green Bay Packers into relevance during the 1990s.

To this day, I will never forget my father’s reaction to that call. I believe my already expanding vocabulary was helped with some new inappropriate words. Items were thrown in our living room and the television was lucky it wasn’t broken. For those of you that question my loyalty to the Chicago Bears, trust me when I tell you Chicago Bears football has been a religious experience with my family for a very long time.

One Final Note…

[picappgallerysingle id="9753365"]I had a chance to catch pieces of the Dallas Cowboys vs. Washington Redskins game last evening. Besides Washington having the worst pants in football history (see Donovan McNabb above), Dallas gave that game away. A late first half fumble and a penalty on the final play waiving off a go-ahead touchdown (final score Redskins 13 Dallas 7). This will make Dallas just a bit hungrier. The Chicago Bears need to get to work.

[picappgallerysingle id="1839604"]On offense, three players included Olin Kruetz, Bernard Berrian and Rex Grossman. Cedric Benson, as much as people hated him, also gave the team some solid work as well.

[picappgallerysingle id="1542340"]On the defensive side of the ball, ten of the twelve starters included Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs, Alex Brown, Tommie Harris, Tank Johnson, Peanut Tillman, Nathan Vasher, Mike Brown (until he was injured and Danieal Manning filled in…another guy that hasn’t developed as a safety but a nice kick returner) and Chris Harris. Mark Anderson should also get credit for his twelve sacks as well.

[picappgallerysingle id="1839777"]One cannot look at this team without also mentioning a second-round draft pick out of Miami. When he was drafted, many felt he was the best athlete in the draft but with raw talent. You might remember his unbelievable kick-off and punt returns including the opening kickoff in the Super Bowl for a touchdown…you guessed it…Devin Hester.

So why the stroll down memory lane? Because the success of this team really puts into perspective how much the organization has failed since Super Bowl XLI. One player in particular that stands out to me is the above-mentioned Hester.

The Hester that everyone loves was the guy that could return a kick for a touchdown every time he touched the ball. Teams were scared to kick to him and he was able to secure the Chicago Bears with excellent field position even when he didn’t touch the ball. So what did the Chicago Bears do? They decided to move him to wide receiver and feature him in the offense. At first, it seemed like a good idea…I mean here’s a guy with unbelievable talent that might be able to make the offense better. However, in the process of making this transition, Hester’s return abilities began to suffer. In fact, he became just another returner.

[picappgallerysingle id="2999848"]Meanwhile, the Chicago Bears had a good receiver in Bernard Berrian. He had great speed and good hands. Since they decided to move Hester up to offense (and Hester got a huge contract), they let Berrian go. While the Chicago Bears claim Berrian wanted too much money, they were way under the salary cap every season (that eats me up inside). Meanwhile, Berrian went to rival Minnesota and the Chicago Bears haven’t been as good since he was a member of the team.

So in two moves, the Chicago Bears (unless he makes a huge turn-around this season), have actually hurt the development of a Hall-of-Fame caliber player (and Hester was that type of returner) while letting a good player leave to a rival.

[picappgallerysingle id="1537793"]Other brilliant personnel decisions from the Super Bowl team include releasing Cedric Benson (I am aware of his off-the-field problems but to not even get anything in return for a first-round pick is inexcusable, especially when he is now one of the best running backs in football), and Tank Johnson (another guy with character issues but he comes to play every week).

[picappgallerysingle id="1839468"]The organization also traded Chris Harris (he’s back but should never have been let go by the team) and Thomas Jones (trading him away when you were aware of Benson’s off-the-field issues was also bone-headed).

[picappgallerysingle id="2154973"]Meanwhile, a huge contract was rewarded to Nathan Vasher. While Vasher had some good years, he was made one of the highest paid cornerbacks in the league. Once again, the organization lets Bernard Berrian walk over money while signing a mediocre cornerback to a big-money contract.

Today’s Chicago Bears

Since the Super Bowl, the Chicago Bears talent development has been poor. The only two players since the Super Bowl that the Chicago Bears have drafted and developed are Zach Bowman and Johnny Knox. Greg Olsen frankly has been a disappointment. Matt Forte has showed some signs but needs to do it more on a consistent basis, and having a crappy second season isn’t a ringing endorsement for player development. The jury is still out on Chris Williams, but based on some of his preseason play, it may be a short trial.

[picappgallerysingle id="9580310"]The Chicago Bears did trade two first-round and a third-round pick for Jay Cutler (the Chicago Bears did get a fifth-round pick in that trade that ended up being Johnny Knox). In addition, they gave up a second-round pick for Gaines Adams. In many people’s opinions, Cutler hasn’t lived up to the value of three picks and Adams tragically died last off-season.

[picappgallerysingle id="9580658"]Last years’ top picks (third-round) Jarron Gilbert and Juaquin Iglasius were released yesterday. So was sixth-round pick Al Afalava. This is not exactly a ringing endorsement to an organization’s scouting and player development. In fairness, Johnny Knox was a steal as a fifth-round pick, and starting left guard Lance Louis came out of this draft.

This year’s draft features Major Wright. Based on a half of a preseason game, he played well. But, let’s see what happens when it really matters.

[picappgallerysingle id="3170387"]Jerry Angelo and Lovie Smith have taken a Super Bowl team and really screwed it up quickly. To go from the top game to not even making the playoffs is a joke. It is not like there isn’t any talent left on this team, it is just getting older and the younger guys just aren’t developing.

1. Neil Anderson

Following up a legend is hard to do. Neil Anderson was a great running back and the second best one I saw in a Bears uniform. He had great speed and was a tough runner on the inside. It is too bad his career got cut short by personal issues off the field.

2. Lance Briggs

Brian Urlacher steals all the headlines and Briggs did himself no favors by complaining about his contract, but Briggs is a great linebacker who has never gotten the credit he has deserved around the league. Sure he has made a few Pro Bowls, but this guy deserves stronger praise.

3. Matt Suhey

Guys are crossing my lists, but Suhey was an awesome football player. Notice people do not often mention the drought of fullbacks in Chicago, but the Bears have not had one since number 26.

4. Brendon Ayanbadejo

Lovie loves talking about the four phases of the game, and Special Teams are on of these. So why did the Bears let this guy go. He was one of the best in football and the Bears rewarded him by not paying him what he deserved.

5. Jeff Graham

Erik Kramer had an awesome year with the Bears, and Graham was a huge part of it. He was a good receiver that was not afraid to go over the middle and make plays. For some reason, the Bears did not see his value and let him go.

6. Peanut Tillman

For some unknown reason many Bears fans seem to take issue with Tillman. He is a great cornerback and has proven his talents with the team. I just wish people would cut him some slack.

7. Brad Maynard

He is unspectacular but amazing. He always seems to come up with big punts and puts the opposing teams in poor field position.

8. Leslie Frazier

Its too bad he got hurt on a trick play in the Super Bowl because he was getting to be a really good player for the Bears. Still not sure why Ditka decided to risk his top corner on a punt return with a big lead.

9. Bernard Berrian

I really liked Berrian as a Bear and was upset the team let him go. I am not sure why a team that is so far under the cap would not match the Vikings offer. He was a really nice football player.

10. Jim Morrissey

A last round pick with the Bears in 1985 and played several productive seasons with the Bears, a guy that never really got credit for being a good football player.

Your thoughts???

The Bears have done a terrible job of evaluating talent across on the NFL level both within the organization and through free agency. That is why they fired Bobby DePaul  (who’s title was Director of Pro Personnel). Since the Bears appeared in the Super Bowl, many questionable pro personnel moves have been made by the organization. This includes losing Bernard Berrian, trading Chris Harris, releasing Cedric Benson, trading Thomas Jones, signing Orlando Pace and Frank Omiyale on the offensive line and trading for Gaines Adams (OK, I understand it was a tragedy that he died but to be honest, he wasn’t showing much as a player). Plus, how could anyone honestly believe that the Bears secondary was any good going into last season. One of the most important things an individual can do is scout the organization from the top. Mr. DePaul did not seem to do much of that.

Greg Gabriel’s job was the scout college talent. He also was let go immediately after this year’s draft. With the exception of Johnny Knox from last season, there were few contributors from that draft class. Now granted they traded the first pick for Jay Cutler, but the Bears failed to get much talent. Now, in the Bear’s defense, it can take some players a few years to develop. But as it stands, last year’s draft was poor. This year’s draft was supposedly orchestrated by Gabriel before his departure. Jury is still out…

To solve all of the organization’s issues, they hired one person to do the job of DePaul and Gabriel. Tim Ruskell was an old running mate of Jerry Angelo’s from Tampa and now rejoins his pal in Chicago. Ruskell comes from Seattle with mixed reviews. He did win in Seattle and his previous stop of Atlanta, but there were some moves he made that Seattle could not forgive, including the loss of Steve Hutchinson to the Minnesota Vikings. I think the Bears needed a new perspective, and hopefully Ruskell can bring this to the table. However, I have a real difficult time letting Angelo off the hook for several of the fires burning at Halas Hall.

As a lifelong fan, I am heartbroken that the Bears went from a Super Bowl team to a mediocre product so quickly. To not even make the playoffs and invent ways to lose is pathetic. Changes needed to be made, but I am not sure these went high enough. When does the buck stop with the General Manager or team president? Jerry Angelo and Ted Phillips were both given free passes by the organization. Lovie Smith was protected by his overinflated contract. The press conference the Bears held after the season was beyond a joke and any reasonable person would have found the three stooges sitting on the stage as being condescending jerks. All I know is that Lovie had the brains to take over the defense last season and prove little value as the coach. Plus, his famous time out, challenge loss, additional time out loss series against the Packers was perhaps the dumbest thing ever done in Chicago football history. The Chicago Bears are lucky to have some of the best and most loyal fans in sports, but the attitude from the off season was ‘we know what we’re doing and you can go screw yourself if you disagree’.  OK, so some redemption on their part was made possible by a strong free agent class and getting back Chris Harris from the Panthers. But until we see this team in action, the Halas Hall crew have a lot to prove.

Your thoughts please!!!

Green Bay Packers (2-2): Lost 30-21 at Tampa Bay Bucaneers

The Green Bay Packers may have lost more than just the game in week 4, quarter back Aaron Rodgers sprained his throwing shoulder during the fourth quarter and missed a series. He returned, but did not look like himself. Rodgers wasn’t the same he had been the previous three weeks, as he threw his first interception in the game, which was one of three he three. The Packers run game wasn’t much either, as Ron Grant ran fur just 20 yards on 15 carries. Packers fans must be cringing after Brett Favre thew 6 touchdowns for the Jets. Next week the packers host the Atlanta Falcons at home.

Minnesota Vikings (1-3): Lost 30-17 at Tennessee Titans

The Minnesota Vikings may also have lost more than just the game, as quarter back Gus Frerotte left with an injury during the fourth quarter. Star running back Adrian Peterson continued to run over defenders as he rushed for 80 yards and two scores, but also lost two costly fumbles. Former Bear Bernard Berrian has 5 catches for 78 yards. Defensively the Vikings gave up 74 rushing yards and 3 rushing tuchdowns to Lindale White and rookie Chris Johnson combined. Next week the Vikings travel to New Orleans to face the Saints on Monday Night Football.

Detroit Lions (0-3): Bye Week

The Detroit Lions had a bye in week 4, but made news by firing general manager Matt Millen early in the week. The Lions will host our Chicago Bears in week 5.