My Turn to be Interviewed by a Lion’s Blogger
It was my turn to answer some questions from our friend Zac Snyder of SideLion Report.
Zac: ”The Bears have exceeded expectations so far this season. Do you think their season would be going much differently if Calvin Johnson had “completed the process” and started the Bears off 0-1?”
Jonathan: Great question. The Chicago Bears still have losses over bad teams like Washington and Seattle. Like a bottle of wine, the Chicago Bears have gotten better with time. I think that there has been an adjustment period with this team, so the team you saw the first week is different now. The Chicago Bears deserved to lose, but good teams need to catch breaks. Remember, even if the catch counted, there was time left and the Chicago Bears had time outs.Zac: “What is different about the Bears now compared to when the Lions saw them in week one?”
[picappgallerysingle id="10291610"]Jonathan: The coaches have done a great job. There are some strong coaches on this staff, and Lovie Smith has let them do their jobs. Despite his record in Detroit, Rod Marinelli is a great defensive mind and the results are beginning to show. Another former Lion coach Mike Martz took a few games to figure things out, but the offense is playing well enough to complement the defense. Plus, welcome back Devin Hester. The special teams are a strong unit too, and its easy to look past the importance of the unit. This team is good, and it took some time to gel.
Zac: “How disappointed would Bears fans be if they fail to make the playoffs after this great start? What is the biggest roadblock to them actually securing a playoff spot?”
Jonathan: “People in Chicago and nationally doubt the Bears. There are “experts” that still think they won’t make the playoffs. The biggest roadblock is the schedule. After the Lions, they have the Patriots, Jets Vikings and Packers remaining…all potential losses.”
Zac: “Has Lovie Smith’s seat cooled off at all?”
[picappgallerysingle id="10291619"]Jonathan: There’s this thing called the Mike Ditka Effect. People want a coach that yells and screams. Ditka was overrated as a coach and lost control of his teams. Lovie can be standoffish and arrogant with the press and it rubs people the wrong way. He’s terrible with challenges and its his one weakness. But, people forget that Julius Peppers came here because of Smith. His players love him as a coach. I think fans will never love him, but they’re learning to accept him.
Zac: “Give me your game prediction.”
Jonathan: This will be a blood bath. Chicago 24 Lions 0. I just don’t know how you’ll get points.
Follow me on Twitter at BearsHq and BlueDemonsLair. For the latest DePaul Blue Demons new s and more, check out www.bluedemonslair.com. Please show me the love for the Big East’s Biggest Fan at www.mybigeastvolvo.com.
Chicago Bears Face an Uncertain Detroit Lion’s Quarterback
The Chicago Bears have been accused of catching teams when key players are injured. When a team has a 2-9 record, it is hard to think there are many key players. However, all indications are that the starting quarterback (and backup to the original starter Matthew Stafford ) Shaun Hill is done for the season with a broken right index finger. This leaves third-string quarterback and Michigan State product Drew Stanton has the starter Sunday.
[picappgallerysingle id="9991241"]If you recall from the first week of the season, Hill played the second half against the Chicago Bears and threw the controversial endzone throw to Calvin Johnson. Hill has played respectfully for the Lions this season.
I think most experts would agree that the Chicago Bears are the better team regardless of the quarterback. Even with ten days to prepare, the Lions are facing a different Chicago Bears team than they saw in the opening week.
Follow me on Twitter at BearsHq and BlueDemonsLair. For the latest DePaul Blue Demons new s and more, check out www.bluedemonslair.com. Please show me the love for the Big East’s Biggest Fan at www.mybigeastvolvo.com.
Chicago Bears vs. Dallas Cowboys…Why the Bears Will Win!!!
When the schedule came out, I picked the Chicago Bears to win this game and I am not going away from that prediction. Frankly, I think the Chicago Bears are a better football team than the Dallas Cowboys and will prove it on Sunday. The final score of this game will be… Chicago 28 Dallas 20. You read correctly…the Chicago Bears will win this game by more than a touchdown.
Why am I so confident you might ask? Is it my allergy medication working overtime? Nope…I just don’t think Dallas is that good of a team. As like every other year, the Dallas Cowboys are overrated. Wade Phillips is a bad coach (and yes, he’s worse than Lovie) and the talent isn’t as strong as many in the Dallas loving media would expect you to believe.
If it wasn’t for some bad turnovers, two horrible offensive goal line efforts and dropping a pass in ironically about the same spot as the infamous Calvin Johnson play, the game against the Lions would have been a blow-out. I have looked over the numbers and the Chicago Bears dominated the game. The Dallas Cowboys, on the other hand, played crappy against a crappy Washington Redskins team and were unable to overcome their mistakes.
[picappgallerysingle id="9748457"]Look for Matt Forte and Chester Taylor to continue their strong seasons with Jay Cutler cutting the Cowboys defense apart. While I think Dallas has a good passing game, they will not be able to run the football on the Bears. Additionally, look for the linebackers to dominate this game as well. Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs and Pisa Tinoisamoa were amazing last Sunday, and I do not see this changing anytime soon.
I am curious to hear your thoughts on this game…
Chicago Bears History with Video Review
[picappgallerysingle id="9747095"]Calvin Johnson’s play or lack-there-of against the Chicago Bears continues to be the talk around the NFL. Was it a catch or not? Did he maintain possession? It was called a catch by one official but waived off by a different one. Video review confirmed the incomplete pass. According to what I am hearing, the officials came to all 32 teams training camps and discussed this specific rule. Apparently, Johnson didn’t hear it. We may not always like the rules, but we need to understand why these rules are in place. Johnson should perhaps have been listening more and celebrating less.
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.
Chicago Bears vs. Detroit Lions Post-Game Recap
[picappgallerysingle id="9746671"]The Chicago Bears dodged a huge bullet today at Solider Field. There are no ifs ands or buts about it. Calvin Johnson appeared to make a game-winning catch late in the fourth quarter but it was taken away because it came out of his hands at the end of the play (despite hitting the ground, rolling over and losing it while putting his hand down). It has been the talk of the day around the NFL, and will certainly be something very few people will forget. I have been to many football games in my life, and I have never seen anything like this call. According to the rules, it was the right call…but it was still quite an awesome play by Johnson.
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But, the bigger story as far as I am concerned is WHY THE CHICAGO BEARS COULD NOT GET LESS THAN A YARD ON SEVEN ATTEMPTS ON THE GOAL LINE!?! It was an absolute disgrace. That being said, Jay Cutler and the Chicago Bears offense was quite impressive. Cutler went 23-35 for 372 yards and two touchdowns and one interception. The offense looked great, but the not being able to gain one yard or the four turnovers are the bigger story.
[picappgallerysingle id="9749085"]On defense, welcome back Brian Urlacher. He was a manchild today. He was all over the field and was making plays on a regular basis. Lance Briggs also had a great game. The defense made plays when it had to but the almost Calvin Johnson touchdown was the result of having a shorter Zach Bowman cover a much bigger receiver.
On my way out, I asked many fans what they thought of the win. Like myself, we didn’t feel very good about it. Look, a win is a win. But, the Chicago Bears really tried to hand this game to the Lions.
On a final note, Lovie Smith ain’t getting much love these days. Today, the fans let him have it and rightfully so…but the Chicago Blackhawks were in the house with the Stanley Cup. That was pretty darn cool.
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