Well, That Could Have Gone Better
So, um, the Bears got run off the field by the previously 1-6 Miami Dolphins on Sunday. In brief, the special teams misplayed a number of balls, the defense couldn't stop the run as the Bears' safeties looked slow and out of position all day, Thomas Jones was unproductive despite ample opportunities, and Rex Grossman started throwing with a motion eerily reminiscent of my six year old nephew.
To make matters worse, Bernard Berrian and Brian Urlacher left the game with ominous injuries. The passing game looked hopeless without Berrian (come on Muhsin, it's time to start playing like you deserve your spot in the starting line-up, much less like a #1 receiver), and we all remember the last time Urlacher missed significant time: the Bears went 0-7 in 2004 without Urlacher in the lineup.
I don't mean to make too big a deal out of one game. Tommie Harris said after the game that the Bears had their worst week of practice leading up to this game. Try as they might to resist, the Bears appeared to have succumbed to their own hype. They seemed cocky. They lacked intensity. At least, that was my perception. I'm sure coaches and players will say all the right things about "crediting the Miami Dolphins," etc., but it's not all that surprising that Chicago would have a game like this. And, it's not all that surprising that it came one week before the team starts its toughest stretch of the season. If the injury situation isn't too serious, then this week will eventually be regarded as a hiccup in an otherwise successful season.
Overall, the Bears played more great games than crap ones during the first half (more on this later in the week). Their 7-1 record is not undeserved. So I, like the Bears, will simply put this game behind me, and start focusing on the New York Giants. The blogging season is a long one, and you can't allow yourself to get too high or too low after any given blog because there's always another blog right around the corner. I promise you, this time I'll be ready.
To make matters worse, Bernard Berrian and Brian Urlacher left the game with ominous injuries. The passing game looked hopeless without Berrian (come on Muhsin, it's time to start playing like you deserve your spot in the starting line-up, much less like a #1 receiver), and we all remember the last time Urlacher missed significant time: the Bears went 0-7 in 2004 without Urlacher in the lineup.
I don't mean to make too big a deal out of one game. Tommie Harris said after the game that the Bears had their worst week of practice leading up to this game. Try as they might to resist, the Bears appeared to have succumbed to their own hype. They seemed cocky. They lacked intensity. At least, that was my perception. I'm sure coaches and players will say all the right things about "crediting the Miami Dolphins," etc., but it's not all that surprising that Chicago would have a game like this. And, it's not all that surprising that it came one week before the team starts its toughest stretch of the season. If the injury situation isn't too serious, then this week will eventually be regarded as a hiccup in an otherwise successful season.
Overall, the Bears played more great games than crap ones during the first half (more on this later in the week). Their 7-1 record is not undeserved. So I, like the Bears, will simply put this game behind me, and start focusing on the New York Giants. The blogging season is a long one, and you can't allow yourself to get too high or too low after any given blog because there's always another blog right around the corner. I promise you, this time I'll be ready.
posted by Criminal Appeal at 9:48 AM
2 Comments:
This may actually be the best thing going into the showdown with the Giants, a nice wake up call. The Dolphins game doesn't mean much in the scheme of things since it is a non-conference game. A win against NYG would go a long way to helping us lock up home field throughout the playoffs.
Wow, that's a glass-is-half-full take if ever there was one. I'm concerned about Rex-In-Effects here, and his use of the statue of liberty pose when he smells a sack a-comin'. What's his % now for number of fumbles per sack?
Sometimes he has an absolute bazooka arm with pinpoint accuracy, and sometimes he throws into triple coverage like the backup QB for a private school jv squad. Guessing which Rex will show up is getting risky -- this could easily be a 5-3 team in a tighter race right now. Is it time to get Greasy?
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