Weekly Monster(s) of the Midway

Two players in my eyes earned the weekly "Monster of the Midway" title. At first I was thinking of giving the honor to the entire offensive line, which no doubt, would have been a good choice. But, my choices are both from the defensive side of the ball. Ricky Manning Jr. and Tommie Harris. These two guys seem to get better and better on every single snap they play.

Ricky Manning Jr. who earlier in the week plead "No Contest" to Felony Assault was the number one difference maker in this game. Manning Jr. picked off Hasslebeck on consecutive possessions. The first interception came on a perfect jump on the slant route to the outside receiver while Ricky was lined up man-to-man on the inside receiver. This INT resulted in a FG putting the Bears up 10-3. His second INT came just one Seahawk possession later. It was a fantastic play by Ricky who tapped the ball to himself and ran in back sixty some yards for a touchdown. The touchdown was nullified by what looked to be the entire Bears team illegally blocking on the INT return. None the less, the Bears marched right down field for a score putting the game at 17-3.

Tommie Harris was just as dominant on defense as he's been all year. Harris recorded two sacks and was constantly in the Seahawk backfield harassing Matt Hasslebeck. Before being pulled in garbage time, Hasslebeck was almost sacked by Harris two more times. There isn't much more I can say about Tommie Harris that you haven't already heard about the pro-bowler. This kid is going to be something special for a long time. I just hope all of that time is in a Bears uniform.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

10-03-2006 @ 4:56PM

Shady McBears Fan via IU said...

I'm thinking we need to come up with a clever nickname for our these guys on our D-Line. Clearly the battle in the trenches is critical to the teams' success and these guys have been doing a great job for Chicago. I think Tommy could be The Reaper - no matter what you try to do to stop him, you know he's gonna get ya. Any other suggestions?

Random thoughts:

1. I don't know what looked more painful, Hasselbeck getting hit by the Chicago D - or Hasselbeck getting hit by "hunger" (Anyone else see those stupid soup commercials?) My guess is he is gonna have nightmares about these monsters.

2. Is Kruetz disliked by a lot of players in the NFL? The guy is obviously a leader out there for Chicago, but his snapping antics (which have caused some illegal snap calls) and attitude are annoying some players out there. Just curious...

3. Does anyone else think Lance Briggs is one of the best names in football?

4. No one was more excited for Deven Hester to start returning punts than I was, but after a few miscues on Sun. - I'm wondering if it's safe to have the rookie out there in tight games...

5. Chicago is one of the best places on earth to host a footbal game. The fans who attended really made me feel proud to be a Bears fan in Colts nation. A special Kudos to the Blues Brothers out there Sunday night. Hopefully NBC took notice of this and will schedule at least one more Sunday night football game for us.

6. Cedric Benson seems to be meshing with the team a bit more now that his holdout and questionable attitude are in the rear view mirror. I just hope he's sober when he's got the rock - unlike a certain Salaami.

7. BEARS...BEARS...BULLS...BEARS...POLISH SAUSAGE...DITKA...

8. Q: Ditka v.s. God, who wins?
A: Trick question...Ditka is God

10-03-2006 @ 5:14PM

David said...

Hahhaaa....Keep em coming Shady! I hope you will be a regular here. You have alot of excitement and great comments. Yes DITKA is GOD!

Oh and The Reaper is awesome for Harris!

10-04-2006 @ 10:14AM

Aaron said...

Glad you mentioned the O-line, I think rex's turnaround can be directly attributed to a much improved performance over the vikings game.

10-04-2006 @ 10:06AM

Aaron. MOST DEFFINITELY. The O-line looked 100 percent better then the week before against the Vikes. I would chalk that up to Lovie Smith going back to the drawing board after that game.

10-04-2006 @ 1:21PM

Dave, I would have guessed it was good ol' fashioned tongue lashin' from Olin, telling them all that they have to step it up. Noticed how they were dropping rex back further, he looks tons better when he is deeper in the pocket, more confident and less jumpy. finally running the ball effectively also helped because the play action was more effective.

10-04-2006 @ 1:41PM

I completely agree. One thing I would like to see more of though. Is passing without play action. I wouldn't mind seeing Rex rolling out too.

10-04-2006 @ 2:09PM

I have brought up rolling out grossman a lot, I think you have to use him like the saints and chargers used brees, similar players only grossman a bit shorter, but maybe quicker release. Rolling him out would be a nice twist to the offense and give him room and time to survey the field. They also need to add a shotgun, Jaworski the other day blasted gruden for not putting one in, said even the biggest west coast purest have added it do to the increased size of the linemen and the complexity of some blitz schemes, again it would give grossman time and room to survey the field better and allow him to zip the ball better. (Personally, the shotgun should have been added last year to help orton since he felt more comfortable in it, it was the primary formation at purdue, but what do I know).

10-04-2006 @ 4:47PM

lopey said...

Isn't it about time Ricky Manning Jr. started over Tillman? The 'hawks exposed Tillman multiple times for big gains in the first quarter.

10-04-2006 @ 5:07PM

Aaron, yes shotgun is a must. Only thing I can think of is that Lovie doesn't want to show all of his plays and formations so early in the season. I am sure once the season rolls on. You will see all sorts of stuff from OC Ron Turner.

Lopey. I have no idea why Manning Jr. isn't starting over Tillman. Tillman really isn't that great. He's too tall, lanky, and lacks the overall quickness to stay with players such as...let's say...Steve Smith!

10-04-2006 @ 5:46PM

I believe I have heard that turner doesn't believe in using the shotgun and it is not in his playbook, I could be wrong,I am reasonably sure I have heard that. I don't think turner is the best coordinator or that creative, so I am not holding out hope that he will add it. I think tillman depends on the matchups, he can't handle the smaller quicker guys, but I think he is alright against the bigger more physical ones. This goes on the coaching staff and there stubbornness not to match up the corners with who they would cover best, just like the carolina game when they should have had vasher on smith with safety help, no matter where he lined up. Tillman should have matched up on Burleson, vasher and manning taking branch and jackson.