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Bears Love Lovie, Even if Fans Don't

Matt Snyder — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:25:00 EST

Filed under: Chicago Bears, NFC North, NFL Coaching

Lovie Smith has a 49-38 record as the head coach of the Chicago Bears. In his first five seasons, he guided the Bears to two division titles and one Super Bowl. The Bears are currently in the 2009 playoff race at 4-3. Yet, among fans and Chicago-area media, Lovie is just as maligned as the pathetic offensive line.

The complaints range from Lovie's penchant to avoid showing any emotion on the sideline to his not properly preparing players for games to his almost scripted non-answer answers in press conferences. Regardless of the reason, Lovie is not particularly loved, at present, in Chicago ... except by his Bears.

"I was here when coach Smith wasn't here," veteran defensive end Alex Brown said. "So, I remember how it was. Not to say anything bad about coach (Dick) Jauron, but it's a lot different now.

I agree with that, but is it really a great vote of confidence to say someone is a better coach than Jauron? The only winning record of Jauron's career came in the fluky 2001 season where the Bears received more gifts than a spoiled toddler at Christmas. If you toss out that season, Jauron is an abysmal 31 games under .500 ... in nine seasons! That's some futility. Anyway, I digress. There is more support for Lovie Smith in the locker room from Desmond Clark and Charles Tillman.

"Lovie, as a coach, is what this team needs," Clark said. "We need that steadying force. ... To have that steadying voice with the same message coming every week is good for this team."

"The thing about coach Smith is that I trust him," Tillman said. "I trust his decisions. I have faith in him, I have confidence in him."

I don't doubt that one bit. You can tell the players all have the utmost respect for Smith as a coach and as a man. And that's important, because -- in theory, at least -- it should mean the players will always do whatever it takes to win for their coach. Look at the Browns with Eric Mangini as the antithesis of this theory.

But the Bears didn't appear to play hard in Cincinnati. They've made tons of mental mistakes in losses to the Packers and Falcons. They weren't sharp at home against the hapless Browns, in a game following the embarrassing loss to the Bengals. The Lions played with them, in Solider Field, mind you, for a half.

This is why many of the fans are clamoring for someone who shows a little fire on the sidelines. To some, Lovie Smith just seems too nice to be a great football coach. These are fans who haven't seen real fire from their head coach since Mike Ditka (Dave Wannstedt and Jauron were the others between Ditka and Smith), a man still legendary in Chicago for his leadership of the 1985 Super Bowl Shufflin' Crew.

Smith doesn't have to behave on the sidelines like "Iron Mike" would have (I mean, could you ever picture Lovie doing this?), but he does need to win. No one was calling for his job following the 2006 season, after he led the Bears to two straight NFC North titles and their first Super Bowl since Ditka's '85 crew. Since then, though, the Bears are only one game above .500 and haven't really capitalized on all the expectations for the new Jay Cutler-era.

As far as the fans are concerned, you can't rest on the laurels of the 2005-2006 seasons. There is no time like the present for Lovie Smith, for as much as his players might love him, the only thing the fans -- and management -- love are wins. A few more important losses and the cries of fans begin to become much more intriguing to the front office, especially with such a talented crop of head coaches waiting in the wings for 2010.

If the players love Lovie so much, they'll start playing better, because missing the playoffs for the third straight season just won't cut it. Not for fans, not for the media, not for Jerry Angelo and most certainly not for Lovie Smith.

Bears Love Lovie, Even if Fans Don't originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:25:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Win Hides Bears' Offensive Line Woes

Matt Snyder — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Chicago Bears, NFC North

It would be easy to look at the 30-6 final score in the Bears' victory over the hapless Cleveland Browns and think everything went well for the home team. It would be easy to see Matt Forte's 90 yards and two touchdowns rushing and think the running game is back. Let's not do things the easy way and fool ourselves into thinking there wasn't something problematic on display Sunday in the Windy City, because the offensive line is flat-out horrible.

The pass protection was porous. Jay Cutler was sacked four times. He was hurried all day and had to scramble five additional times. The Browns entered the game with just 12 sacks in seven games.

They also couldn't open up any holes. Forte averaged just 3.5 yards per carry against a team that entered the game allowing 170.6 yards per game and 4.9 yards per carry on the ground. He did get two touchdowns, but failed on two tries to punch the ball in from the one-yard line late in the game. The line push was nonexistent on both of those attempts.

So, yes, the Bears got a win Sunday. What they also got was an illustration of how badly the front five-some needs to be fixed. Orlando Pace used to be a good player and is likely headed to the Hall of Fame when he's eventually eligible. Unfortunately, he's terrible now. He's not overly old, as he turns 34 this week, but he's certainly broken down and washed up. Olin Kreutz is also a shell of his former self and Frank Omiyale isn't doing much to earn the contract he was given in the offseason. Meanwhile, Josh Beekman -- who was serviceable last season -- was sitting on the bench and finally regained his starting job this past Sunday over Omiyale. It didn't seem to make much difference.

While the Bears should definitely enjoy the win -- which was mostly due to the offensive ineptitude of the bumbling Browns -- they need to continue to work on finding a way to fix the offensive line. At 4-3, they're in the playoff mix, but that offensive line isn't getting them more than three more wins playing like this.

Win Hides Bears' Offensive Line Woes originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Walter Payton: Sweetness and Sorrow

Dave Goldberg — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Chicago Bears

Jim Finks knew the Atlanta Falcons would use the first pick of the 1975 draft on Steve Bartkowski, the California quarterback -- then, as now, "franchise'' quarterbacks were a premium item.

What the general manager of the Chicago Bears didn't know as he waited on at New York's Hilton Hotel on Jan. 28 of that year was whether or not Dallas would use the second pick on the player he desperately coveted: Walter Payton, a running back from Jackson State who had finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting, despite playing for a historically black school that never competed on national television.

"We didn't know who we were going to take either,'' says Gil Brandt, then the personnel director of the Dallas Cowboys. "I guess the draft started at noon and we didn't make our decision until maybe an hour before. It was Walter or Randy White and we went with longevity -- defensive linemen are supposed to last a lot longer than running backs.''

George: Jeff Fisher Remembers Payton, the Teammate
Moore: Payton Was Supposed to Live Forever

White, a defensive tackle, did last longer -- until 1988, one year more than Payton. And like Payton, he's in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

But his impact on football wasn't close to what "Sweetness'' had -- 16,726 yards rushing, a record that held up for 18 years until Emmitt Smith broke it in 2002; 125 touchdowns, even eight TD passes. "The best football player I've ever seen,'' said Mike Ditka, who coached Payton for the last six seasons of his career.

Also one of the best human beings: the NFL's citizenship award is named after him for his many good works, including gallant efforts in his last months to try to save others from the liver disease that was sapping away his life.

Sweetness.

"There may not have been a better nickname for a player," said Jim Harbaugh, who was a rookie quarterback in Payton's final NFL season and now coaches at Stanford. "He meant so much to the city of Chicago. And to the rest of the country.''

Citizenship, of course, wasn't what Finks had on his mind on that draft day 34 years ago. After the Baltimore Colts chose Ken Huff, a guard from North Carolina, with the third pick, Finks didn't pause one second to take the running back from Jackson State. "I never saw anyone run to the stage more quickly than when he took Walter,'' Brandt says.

Walter Payton died on Nov. 1, 1999, from cancer that developed from primary sclerosing cholangitis, a rare liver disease that had been diagnosed a year earlier. It was expected -- Payton was far more than just an athlete, and his illness and efforts to obtain a kidney transplant had been followed all over the country, not just in Chicago, where he lived and played. As with many things Payton did, it still has ramifications -- according to his son Jarrett, Illinois has moved from the bottom to the top in organ donations.

Walter Payton knew the value of his name.

Jarrett recalled that when Joe Paterno arrived at the Payton household to recruit him for Penn State, Paterno relegated his own son Jay to Jarrett and turned to the youngster's father. Then Joe Paterno and Walter Payton talked for more than two hours.

"It was amazing,'' Jarrett says. "Mr. Paterno and my father just talked about the people they knew. Two legends talking about football, about life, about all the people they had in common. Jay and I just sat and listened."

Walter Payton was not recruited to play at Penn State. Or any of the Southeastern Conference schools, despite an outstanding high school career (both in football and band) at two high schools in Columbia, Miss. He only started playing as a junior at Jefferson High School, then was all-state at Columbia High School when the schools were integrated for his senior season in 1971.

"He meant so much to the city of Chicago. And to the rest of the country."
-- Former Bears quarterback Jim Harbaugh But the SEC was just beginning to integrate in those days, and no one in the conference was interested in Payton, not even the state university, which had just lost a quarterback named Archie Manning to the NFL.

So he turned down offers from schools in the Big Ten and on the West Coast and followed his brother Eddie, later an outstanding NFL return man, to Jackson State, where he played with another future NFL Hall of Famer, offensive tackle Jackie Slater. During a four-year collegiate career, Payton scored 65 touchdowns, averaged 6.1 yards per carry and was fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting, unheard of for a player from a historically black school.

The Bears were dismal in those days -- why else would they be picking fourth? They didn't get much better, even with Payton, because they were challenged at quarterback. In his first 10 seasons, the Bears were 61-70 with only two winning seasons and two playoff berths -- in 1977 when they went 9-5 and two years later, when they were 10-6.

That 1977 season may have been Payton's best.

He rushed for 1,852 yards, an average of 132 per game in the NFL's final 14-game season. On Nov. 20, he carried 40 times for 275 yards, then an NFL record, in a 10-7 victory over Minnesota that started a six-game winning streak and earned Chicago a playoff berth. Remarkably, it was the only season he led the NFL in rushing -- he led the NFC three more times -- and earned his only Most Valuable Player award.

But consistency defined Payton, not awards. He missed just one game in his 13-season career -- the fifth game of his rookie year -- when coach Jack Pardee, against Payton's objections, sat him down with a sprained ankle. It didn't matter if the Bears were bad or good -- he was always among the NFL's best backs.

As the team got better, he started becoming part of the national consciousness. Ditka succeeded Neill Armstrong as coach in 1982 and by 1984 they were a legitimate contender.

The heart of the team was Buddy Ryan's "46'' defense and Payton's running -- the Bears still had problems at quarterback, although a youngster named Jim McMahon showed promise. A typical loss: 38-9 in Seattle on Sept. 23, Franco Harris' first game as a Seahawk. Seattle gained just 203 yards on offense but scored three touchdowns on defense off five turnovers, leading Ditka to remark of Bob Avellini, his QB that day: "Walter is a better quarterback than that guy.''

In fact, he might have been. His eight career TD passes came both on option plays and what was the Wildcat formation of his era -- Payton lined up in a shotgun formation.

Dikta called him the best football player and athlete he'd ever seen, even at 5-foot-10, 195 pounds.

His only contemporary rival for that title might have been 6-foot-3, 245-pound Lawrence Taylor, who came along six years later. In fact, one of the great athletic shows never seen occurred at the Pro Bowl following the 1984 season, a punt-off between Taylor and Payton after Brian Hansen, the NFC's punter, sprained his ankle and was questionable for the game.

It took place in front of a few reporters and a few players at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu -- Payton and Taylor standing side-by-side on the field vying for Hansen's job. Taylor boomed one 55 yards (counting the dropback); Payton boomed one 60. They went again with similar results. Payton got the punting job, but Hansen made it to the game, so he never got to kick one for real.

That was the year that Payton broke Jim Brown's rushing record in a game against New Orleans. It also was the year that the Bears won their first playoff game since 1963, beating Washington, 23-19, a game in which Payton threw a touchdown pass. They lost 23-0 to San Francisco in the NFC title game (a 24-year-old fledgling PR guy named Roger Goodell handed out media credentials for that contest).

But that gave them momentum -- the 1985 Bears were one of the NFL's most remarkable teams, finishing 15-1 and outscoring the Giants, Rams and Patriots by a combined 91-10 in the playoffs, leading to what remains Chicago's only Super Bowl victory.

Ryan's defense included Hall of Famers Dan Hampton and Mike Singletary plus Richard Dent, Steve McMichael, Wilber Marshall, Otis Wilson and the 350-pound rookie, William "the Refrigerator'' Perry, who became a cult figure in a media-challenged era when cult figures were much harder to come by.

Payton, at 31, was the offense. McMahon was a competent quarterback -- the best the Bears had had since Sid Luckman in the 1940s. "Sweetness" rushed for 1,551 yards and a 4.8 yards per carry average, his second-best mark next to his MVP season.

The playoffs were a breeze for the Bears -- the 21-0 win over the Giants is remembered for New York's Sean Landeta fanning on a punt at snowy and windy Soldier Field and Chicago's Shaun Gayle picking it up and dancing in for a score. They were less a breeze for Payton, on whom every defense keyed.

That was most evident in the Super Bowl against New England. The focal point of the Patriots' defense, he gained just 61 yards on 22 carries in a 46-10 blowout sparked by Hampton, Dent and the defense.

But what was most remembered after the game was the final touchdown -- a 1-yard run by Perry, who had become a sideshow by lining up in the backfield on short-yardage situations. Why, people asked, wouldn't Ditka give the ball to Payton, an NFL icon in what might be his last chance to score a Super Bowl TD?

Ditka shrugged it off, although he later apologized, saying he got caught up in the excitement of the game. So did Payton -- "Sweetness'' also in his demeanor. After his retirement, as he became a successful investor in restaurants, real estate and other businesses, people would ask him about it and he would shrug.

His family knew better.

"I remember once when I was about 14 I went down to his private office and was watching his television,'' says Jarrett, a running back at Miami, in the World League, in Canada and for one year with the Tennessee Titans. "That play with the Fridge was on TV. Then I heard [Walter] behind me. He made this sound like he was upset. As an athlete, I was never in position where I was 'the man,' except in high school. That's the biggest show on earth. Any time you're the starter, you should get a chance to score. I'd be kind of upset. I can only imagine what Ditka was thinking about.''

Then he paused.

"Everything happens for a reason,'' he added. "Now it's part of his legacy. It's what people think about and talk about. They always get mad. It's 'Why didn't Walter Payton score a touchdown in the Super Bowl?' "

Walter Payton accounted for 133 touchdowns in his career, and his impact both on and off the field went well beyond stats.

One touchdown he didn't score can't tarnish all that.

Walter Payton: Sweetness and Sorrow originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Payton Was Supposed to Live Forever

Terence Moore — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Chicago Bears, FanHouse Exclusive

Some things make no sense.

Just take the way Walter Payton played, for instance. Season after season, game after game, down after down, he destroyed folks. He did so as a running back for the Chicago Bears, and he spent 13 years as one of the most explosive hitters ever at any position, despite wrapping just 200 pounds around his frame of 5-foot-10. After he would belt a heftier defender toward the parking lot with his famously potent stiff arm, he would return to his preferred status of mellow.

Which brings us to the way Payton lived. Only a power higher than all of the former and present NFL commissioners combined knows the true essence of a man's heart. But to mere mortals, Payton wore a halo as well as a helmet. He was eternally polite, and he was a constant giver. To charities. To strangers. To society as a whole. I mean, did he have any enemies? If he did, they were invisible, or they were just teasing along the way to wrapping loving arms around the guy called "Sweetness" for a reason.

Then there was the way Payton died.

This really made no sense. The way Payton played and lived, he was supposed to become a modern-day Elijah and Enoch, and never experience death. Instead, Payton died, all right, and he died at 45. Sunday will mark a decade since terminal liver disease became about the only thing Payton could not overcome.

Then again, upon further review, everything involving Payton did make sense, but only if you understand this: Never has an athlete so extraordinary been so ordinary.

The way Payton played and lived, he was supposed to become a modern-day Elijah and Enoch, and never experience death.
As for the extraordinary, see the paragraphs above. Now add to that Payton's journey past Jim Brown for more rushing yards than anybody in history (a record that stood until Emmitt Smith came along). And, for the bulk of that stretch, Payton had no offensive line, no quarterback, no head coach -- and no team worth mentioning. He never complained. He even kept his mouth shut when he was inexplicably slighted by Coach Mike Ditka after the Bears got powerful enough at the end of Payton's career to shuffle their way to a blowout victory in the 1985 Super Bowl. On a short touchdown plunge, Ditka gave the ball to a gimmick (William "Refrigerator" Perry) instead of to a legend (Payton).

In addition, Payton never got hurt, and he never greeted the public with much less than a smile. He also never lost the hidden strength of a bulldozer that he still possessed during the early years of his retirement after the 1987 season.

"It was like shaking hands with a brick," said my brother, Darrell, chuckling and recalling his occasional lunches with Payton after the NFL Hall of Famer stopped wearing a No. 34 Bears jersey on a regular basis and switched to business attire. They worked in the same office building in a Chicago suburb. While Darrell was a regional marketing manager for his company on the third floor, Payton was operating as Payton on the fourth. From there, he sought to bring a team to St. Louis, which was NFL-barren at the time. He would have been -- and should have been -- the first primary owner in the league who was African-American.

He oversaw his slew of charities. He ran a couple of Chicago nightspots. He also tried to enter the world of auto racing as a driver and an owner.

According to Darrell, his office had as much NASCAR stuff as NFL stuff.

What else?

Darrell chuckled again. He was about to give the ordinary side of Payton, and the ordinary side still made Payton bigger than life. Said Darrell, "He could have had a pink elephant in his office for all I know. That's because, whenever you talked to Walter, you didn't look around, because he gave you this great eye contact. He always was focused on every single word that you said. I can't recall meeting too many people who listened to you as intently as he did, and it didn't matter how well he knew you. He was passionately involved with every conversation. And at times, it almost was as if he could tell what you were going to say before you even said it.

"But the biggest thing was that no matter how often I talked to Walter, I couldn't believe how pleasant he always was to you. He was one of the nicest persons I've ever met, and that's why it was such a shock about his death.

"Actually, it was more shocking to find out he was sick."

How does a Walter Payton ever get sick? He was more durable than Dick Butkus and certainly Gale Sayers, the other sainted Bears who reached national fame despite the darkness around them. At best, Payton's nearest challengers as an iron man came from the leather-helmet days of Red Grange and Bronko Nagurski.

I'm mentioning Bears history, because Bears history is as good as it gets when it comes to football history regarding toughness, and nobody from any team or from any era tops Payton in that category. In fact, if you find any footage on NFL Films that shows Payton running for the sidelines, it will be the first.

He was the anti-Franco Harris.

Then, out of nowhere, you had Payton's version of Lou Gehrig's farewell speech at Yankee Stadium and Magic Johnson's announcement about contracting HIV.

February 2, 1999. With pounds leaving Payton's body faster than one of his old dashes through somebody's front seven, tears flowed from everywhere and from everybody inside a Chicago-area restaurant. Payton called this news conference to address rumors about his rapidly failing health. Near the end of his talk, with dark shades in place and family members all around him, Payton said with emotion, "To the people that really care about me, just continue to pray. And for those who are gonna say what they want to say, may God be with you also."

Nine months later, Payton was gone, and it didn't make sense.

Terence Moore is a national columnist and commentator for FanHouse. He is a frequent panelist on "Rome Is Burning," an ESPN show hosted by Jim Rome, that is seen Monday through Friday at 4:30 PM ET. Moore spent more than three decades working for major newspapers, including 26 years as an award-winning sports columnist for the San Francisco Examiner and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He resides in Atlanta.

Payton Was Supposed to Live Forever originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jeff Fisher's Picture of Walter Payton? As Perfect Teammate

Thomas George — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Chicago Bears, FanHouse Exclusive

One picture of a football player hangs in Jeff Fisher's office. It is of his former teammate, Walter Payton.

Ten years after Payton's death, he still serves as an inspiration to Fisher. That was true last season at this juncture when Fisher's Tennessee Titans were 6-0. It remains true this season with Fisher's team 0-6.

"It is the only picture in here, other than of the stadium and some family pictures," Fisher said in a recent interview from his office at the Titans' facility in Nashville. "I had so much respect for him as everyone did. Players come in and it's good for them to see his picture in my office. Especially young players. When they first come in here to talk, it's one of the first things they see."

Payton's Chicago career spanned from the 1975 season through 1987. Fisher was a Bears defensive back from 1981 through 1985.

He witnessed up close a portion of Payton's Hall of Fame career -- the bruising yet ballet-like running style; the Super Bowl XX championship shuffle during the '85 season.

The sweetness.

Fisher broke his ankle in training camp before the 1985 season, and was placed on injured reserve. But, back then, such players could later practice with the team -- Fisher did just that, taking a spot on Chicago's scout team defense.

The Bears forbid anyone in practice to tackle Payton. "And he knew that,"' Fisher said. "But that didn't stop him from running over you."

Fisher marveled over Payton's precious talent. He remembered Payton standing at midfield, throwing a football to the end zone and purposely nailing an upright. He remembered him walking across the field on his hands, feet high, never touching the ground.

Explosive. Tremendous vision -- eyes always on that second or third defender, always downfield. A punishing runner. A guy that induced a myriad of missed tackles. A forearm that would knock you out.

Those things, said Fisher, were only a portion of Payton's gifts.

"I kept bugging our trainer about in-soles for my cleats," said Fisher (pictured in his Bears days). "One day the trainer said, 'Come with me.' So, we walk over to Walter's locker. He had 8 1/2 Spot-Bilt shoes in there. They had screw-in cleats, about seven of them. The trainer had me put my hand inside the shoe. There was no in-sole. He said Walter always wanted to feel his cleats, the spikes coming through underneath his feet. His feet were calloused. I stopped bugging the trainer for in-soles.

"Walter set the single-game rushing record while playing with a 102 [degree] fever. When I hear one of my players is under the weather, the first thing he hears from me is 'Walter Payton played the best game of his life with a 104 temperature!' Sometimes it's 106. I use him as an example a lot.''

Anyone who was around Payton remembers his soft-spoken manner.

Fisher remembers the jokester in the man. The goof. Fisher said during his playing time that most of the Bears' rookies were in a locker room a floor below the veterans. Players might nap between training camp practices, only to be awakened by an M-80 firecracker dropped into the room from above. Pure Payton.

Love for his teammates was real for Payton, Fisher said. He said Payton gave respect -- and he received it.

"I was a late-round draft pick, sort of on the perimeter,'' Fisher said. "But Walter and I had in common that we liked to hunt. We would go duck hunting in northwestern Illinois. The last game I spent as his teammate was the Super Bowl. There was some frustration by everyone who wanted to see him score a touchdown in that game. Walter was OK that he didn't. His championship was the most important thing.

"I remember his heart and passion for the game. His love for the game. His consistent approach every day. It was the greatest experience for five years to stand on the sidelines with the defense and watch Walter run.''

Every day in his office, Fisher glances at the wall and remembers how hard Walter Payton ran through the winning seasons and the losing ones.

It inspires Fisher, as a coach, to do the same.

Jeff Fisher's Picture of Walter Payton? As Perfect Teammate originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Brutal Effort by Bears in 45-10 Thrashing

Matt Snyder — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 20:40:00 EST

Filed under: Chicago Bears, Bengals, AFC North, NFC North

Bengals 45, Bears 10. It was 45-3 before the Bears finally got into the end zone, but the game had long been over at that point. It was one of those games that makes you wonder -- were the Bengals that good or the Bears that bad? As is usually the case when you ask that question, it was a combination of both. You have to give the Bengals credit, especially Carson Palmer for his precision passing. Well, really, the entire team deserves loads of credit.

Still, this game was more about how pathetic the Bears played. For a team with Super Bowl aspirations, that was a simply despicable attempt at playing football on nearly every front. More games like that, and the playoffs won't even be a possibility come late November.

More: Check Box Score | Saints Rally, Stay Unbeaten | 'Boys Pound Falcons

The offensive line is awful, just downright atrocious. Jay Cutler has about two seconds to throw before being hit, and this was against a team who just lost its best pass rusher. Matt Forte has maybe six inches of running room on any given play. And make no mistake about it, Cutler made some awful passes, while Forte is running like he's planning on living off his rookie reputation for the rest of his career. Receivers are playing volleyball (Cutler's second pick was batted upward by his intended receiver before being intercepted) and losing fumbles (Devin Hester, though he otherwise had a nice stat-line).

The defense was an absolute sieve. Palmer had more touchdown passes (five) than incompletions (four), which sounds like a video game stat. Chad Ochocinco schooled Charles Tillman, just like he said he would. Cedric Benson proved his point, I guess (don't even get me started on him, he's still a joke of a man -- even if he's a good running back now). The defense as a whole misses tackles with alarming frequency, mostly due to trying to rip out the football instead of simply making the tackle (which is Lovie-ball -- he wants takeaways, after all). There was no pass rush.

The stats look pretty bad as well, not surprisingly. The Bears were outgained by 169 yards, earned only half as many first downs as Cincy did and turned it over four times. They allowed the Bengals to convert on eight of 12 third downs. And they can't run, rushing for just 35 yards.

Did the team not know they had a game Sunday? Were they unprepared? Were they satisfied with only losing to the Falcons by seven the previous week?

Whatever the reason, that wasn't a playoff-caliber team Sunday. Lovie Smith was outcoached, the offense sucked and the defense sucked. That wasn't even the work of a six-win team. Beating the Browns at home next week won't mean things are all of a sudden better, either. The Bears have some serious work to do in order to live up to expectations.

Brutal Effort by Bears in 45-10 Thrashing originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Sun, 25 Oct 2009 20:40:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cedric Benson Says Bears Tried to 'Blackball' Him From NFL

Matt Snyder — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:03:00 EST

Filed under: Chicago Bears, Bengals, AFC North, NFC North

Cedric Benson's time in Chicago was a tumultuous one. He was drafted by the Bears in the first round -- the fourth overall pick -- of the 2005 draft and proceeded to hold out for 36 days. After arriving, he constantly complained about being mistreated by teammates. That may have been true, as the incumbent starting running back, Thomas Jones, was well-liked by teammates. Maybe it was because Jones worked hard, cared about the team and didn't have a sense of entitlement -- all opposite traits displayed by Benson in Chicago.

Now, Benson is becoming the player many thought he could coming out of college, due to -- in my opinion -- having received a wake-up call when the Bears cut him. Although, if you hear it from him, that isn't the case at all. In fact, he claims the Bears attempted to blackball him from the NFL.

Blackball? Wow, so the Bears went to the trouble of calling every other team and telling them specifically not to sign Cedric Benson?

''No doubt,'' Benson said. ''I heard all the rumors that were said coming out of Chicago. Even the Bengals told me that they would call and inquire about me and get nothing but negative things.''

Such as?

''That I didn't work hard, that I was, I guess, a prima donna, just wasn't focused,'' he said. ''Just anything negative that they could say was said. I'm sure that contributed largely to me not getting picked up right away.''

Um, Cedric ... that's not attempting to blackball a player. That's a former employer giving an honest assessment of what you were (and, for the record, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis has said Bears coach Lovie Smith "vouched for" Benson when the two discussed the Bengals possibly bringing him in).

Look, the Bears ran Jones out of town for Benson -- and, by the way, Jones is still better here in 2009. Benson rewarded them with poor work ethic, a sense of entitlement and obvious apathy. He mocked disgruntled fans in the front row behind the Bears bench during the incredibly disappointing 2007 campaign, at times shrugging his shoulders and laughing when people accused him of not caring about the team. He got arrested twice within a matter of weeks in the 2008 offseason. At that point, there wasn't a person in the world who thought the Bears should have kept Benson around. They turned the page.

Benson needs to do the same.

He is third in the NFL in rushing. He's playing for a really solid team. He's running hard, his teammates like him and he appears to care. Good for him. He's changed -- just not near as much as he needs to. You see, when I was in my early 20s, I didn't work hard at my job. If my current employers called my employers from those years to ask about me, I'm sure they'd hear I wasn't committed to the job, because I wasn't. In my current gig, I am. There are people all over the world with a similar circumstance. People can change. It's apparent Benson has morphed into a hard-working No. 1 NFL running back. It's a shame he can't just be accountable for his past indiscretions instead of levying ridiculous accusations (seriously, does he even know what "blackball" means?) against the team who did everything they could to give him a chance. You can't come full circle as a changed human being without a little accountability.

Instead, all you hear from Benson is excuse-city. He's better for the Bengals because they cleared a path for him instead of having him come in and compete, he has recently said. What a joke. If you want to compete for a job, how about not holding out for more than a month? How about just going out on the field and proving you are better than the other back? You have to earn respect, it's not a God-given right. It's just sad he still can't look back and realize his myriad mistakes during his stint in Chicago.

And has he ever done anything wrong in his life, in his own eyes? If he's sincerely apologized for any past indiscretions or admitted he could have done something even a tad bit better, I've never seen it. It's always what someone else is doing to him or who is trying to keep him down. How about being truthful with himself and trying to better himself as a person?

Of course, it still doesn't appear he's being fully truthful with himself. He claims this weekend's game against the Bears isn't about revenge or showing them what mistake they made to let him go. It's just another game. I'm not going to call him a liar, because he may be telling the truth. But, if he really doesn't care about this game more than any other, what's with all the whining and negativity toward the Bears? If it's just another game, go play it without the accusation-hurling. People don't complain about things if they don't care. Benson's grown as a player and now it's time he grew as a man.

The Bears turned the page, now it's time for Cedric to do the same.

Cedric Benson Says Bears Tried to 'Blackball' Him From NFL originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:03:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jay Cutler Signs Two-Year Extension

Matt Snyder — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:52:00 EST

Filed under: Chicago Bears, NFC North

After paying a hefty price, in terms of draft picks and Kyle Orton, to acquire quarterback Jay Cutler this past offseason, the Chicago Bears have now likely ponied up a hefty monetary price as well. Exact terms of the deal have not been disclosed just yet, but the Bears have announced, via press release, they have come to terms on a two-year contract extension with their quarterback. He's now locked up in Chicago through the 2013 season.

Considering some of the contracts quarterbacks with similar stat-lines have signed recently, it's not very likely Cutler would agree to a cheap extension. You can argue whether or not he's a "franchise quarterback," but it seems pretty likely he'd be asking for franchise quarterback money. Then again, you never know, because two years is a pretty modest extension in terms of length. Cutler will only be 30 when the contract expires.

Cutler has been pretty solid for the Bears after an abysmal start on Sunday Night Football -- when he threw four interceptions in a loss to Green Bay. In the four games since then, the Bears have won three as Cutler's thrown nine touchdowns -- and run for one -- compared to three interceptions. His completion percentage has been solid and the team has had good success driving the football, even without the presence of a respectable running game.

The Bears face the Bengals in Cincinnati this Sunday.

Update: John Clayton of ESPN.com is reporting the extension will add $30 million to Cutler's deal, meaning he'll likely make around $50 million over the course of the next five seasons.

Jay Cutler Signs Two-Year Extension originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:52:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sunday Night Football Live Chat: Chicago Bears vs. Atlanta Falcons

Adam Gretz — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Chicago Bears, Atlanta Falcons

Atlanta made a statement last Sunday with its 45-10 thrashing of San Francisco, while the Bears are coming off a bye week that was preceded by a three-game winning streak. The two teams meet in Atlanta on Sunday night, and we'll be chatting about all of the action (and the rest of Sunday's slate of games).

Please join us at 8:15 PM ET.

More Coverage: Falcons' Keys to Victory

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Sunday Night Football Live Chat: Chicago Bears vs. Atlanta Falcons originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Sun, 18 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Four Keys to a Falcons' Win

Knox Bardeen — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 19:06:00 EST

Filed under: Chicago Bears, Atlanta Falcons, NFC North, NFC South, FanHouse Previews

ATLANTA, Ga. -- Sunday Night, the Chicago Bears are in town visiting the Atlanta Falcons and fireworks could be in order inside the Georgia Dome. Both offenses can be prolific and they will be throwing against weaker defensive secondaries.

So expect the scoreboard operators to get a workout. When all is said and done, if the result is going to favor the Falcons, here's what they'll need to do.

o. The Bears rank 4th in the NFL with 14 sacks. Adewale Ogunleye has 4.5 and Alex Brown has 2.5 to lead the pass rush, but seven other players each have a sack. The bring the heat well and frustrate the best of opposing quarterbacks. The Falcons, on the other hand, have the best offensive line in the league when it comes to protecting the quarterback as Matt Ryan has only been sacked twice this season. The offensive line must continue to protect Ryan on Sunday night, giving him time to find any of his plethora of receiving targets.

More Coverage: Game Preview | Full Week 6 Scoreboard

o. Atlanta came out of a bye week and traveled to San Francisco -- and you saw what they did to the 49'ers. The Bears roll into Atlanta rested from their bye week and the Falcons need to focus on running their offensive game plan and not think too much about the extra time Chicago had to prepare. Ryan said it best, "They will be a little bit rested, but I never put too much stock into the bye week and coming off it. I think that everybody shows up week in and week out prepared to play. Teams do a great job in the NFL of getting ready to go regardless of whether or not they're coming of a bye week. We know Chicago is going to come in here ready and fresh and that it's going to be a tough matchup for us." Don't let bye-week get you upset."

o. Chicago has had a rough time this season containing opposing No. 1 receivers. In three of Chicago's four games they have allowed an opposing receiver to gain 100-plus yards. If Ryan gets the time to throw, he must take advantage of the Bears secondary and one of his two top targets, either Roddy White of Tony Gonzalez, needs to amass 100 yards.

o. During the Atlanta bye week the coaching staff surprised Jamaal Anderson by trying him on the interior of the defensive line instead of his normal defensive end spot. He made his first start there against San Francisco and had two tackles and got his hands on the quarterback twice as well. Anderson is enjoying his new position and needs to come up big on Sunday to help contain Matt Forte. If Forte is kept in check, the Falcons chances of winning grow.

Four Keys to a Falcons' Win originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Sun, 18 Oct 2009 19:06:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Buccaneers Give Up on Gaines Adams, Trade Him to Chicago

Adam Gretz — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 21:15:00 EST

Filed under: Chicago Bears, Buccaneers

There's been some speculation that due to the number of awful teams around the NFL, this year's trade deadline could be the most active one we've seen in quite some time -- and perhaps ever. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, at 0-5, are one of the teams already eliminated (maybe not mathematically, but realistically) from playoff contention.

With that, the Buccaneers started unloading players to the highest bidder on Friday by sending former first-round pick Gaines Adams to the Chicago Bears for a 2010 second-round draft pick.

More Coverage: Chiefs Dealing Dwayne Bowe Next?

Adams was the No. 4 overall pick in 2007 out of Clemson, and has recorded 13.5 sacks (including one through the first five weeks of the 2009 season) in his first 37 NFL games.

First-year head coach Raheem Morris was critical of the third-year defensive end in late September during a weekly press conference saying: "Gaines is one of those guys that knows that he is judged on whether he touches the quarterback or not. Right now he is not getting production as far as not just touching the quarterback, the tackles, the sacks. He's not getting any of that. He is not playing up to par right now. He's holding himself accountable. We have to hold him accountable, and it is tough right now. He is not getting it done. There are no excuses. There are no explanations. Gaines is not getting it done right now."

Adams will now be heading to a Chicago team that has won three in a row and, on paper, already appears to be quite deep at defensive end with Adewale Ogunleye, Alex Brown, Mark Anderson and 2009 third-round pick Jarron Gilbert.

Buccaneers Give Up on Gaines Adams, Trade Him to Chicago originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Fri, 16 Oct 2009 21:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Between the Lines: Keeping the Line Together Pays Off

JJ Cooper — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: 49ers, Chicago Bears, Bills, Buccaneers, Jets, Giants, NFL Analysis

As we have done since the FanHouse began, I'll be taking a look every week at some aspect of line play. You can read more features in the series here. Check back every Thursday for a new Between The Lines.

It probably wouldn't surprise you to know that offensive line continuity is a good thing , but you may not realize just how important it is.

After looking at the first month of the season, it seems pretty clear that if you can keep your offensive line together, there's a pretty good chance you'll be a winner.

Five weeks into the NFL season, only 10 teams have started the same five offensive linemen every week. Of those 10 teams, seven have winning records including the surprising Bears. 49ers and Jets and the undefeated Giants. Combined those 10 teams are 28-18 this year.Of the six teams who have had five or more games missed or played out of position by members of their original starting five, none have a winning record--including the disappointing Packers, Chargers and Seahawks. Together those six teams are 10-18.

Admittedly offensive line shakeups can partly be explained by a team's failure--teams with trouble are much more likely to bench an offensive lineman than a team that keeps on winning. But it's fair to say that the Packers' problems really began the minute that starting left tackle Chad Clifton went down with an ankle injury. What had been an adequate line quickly turned into a disaster when guard Daryn Colledge was moved to tackle, center Jake Spitz was moved to guard and backup Sean Wells came in at center.

Five of the 10 teams who have started the same offensive line all year have allowed less than 10 sacks, including the Falcons (two sacks allowed) and Giants (three sacks allowed). None of the six teams with the most offensive line shakeups have allowed less than 10 sacks, including the league's worst Packers (20 sacks), Lions (17) and Raiders (15).

If you want one more example when a team with its original starting five has faced a team with a shakeup on the offensive line, the team with the original starting five is 16-9 this season.

Here's some other notes from looking at line play around the league.

o. He has some work to do which you would expect for a second-year quarterback but Bucs quarterback Josh Johnson is already one of the best scramblers in the league. Tampa Bay even ran the option with him on Sunday. With 4.4 speed, Johnson also has the ability to dance around in the pocket dodging pass rushers, just like Fran Tarkenton did in the 1960s and early 1970s. It also means that he sometimes holds onto the ball way longer than any quarterback should. Johnson held the ball for 12 seconds on a sack last week (the average sack happens only 2.7 seconds after the snap) and this week he had a sack where he ran around for nine seconds, although this one was nullified by an unnecessary roughness penalty on the Eagles.

o. There have been a lot of questions about Julius Peppers' effort this season, as we noted in a Between The Lines breakdown two weeks ago. But before this week's Redskins game, Panthers linebacker Jon Beason called out Peppers' lack of effort. Peppers seemed to listen as he picked up two sacks and a safety. In rewatching that game Peppers still isn't playing with the all-out fire of a Jared Allen, but he did show significantly better effort against the Redskins than he did against the Panthers.

o. The Bills have to rank as one of the most disappointing teams in the league this year, and if you're looking for a reason you need to look no further than the offensive line. Buffalo traded away Jason Peters and drafted three rookies who were immediately inserted into the offensive line.

The three rookies have been OK, but the Bills have been a complete disaster at offensive tackle. Left tackle Demetrius Bell has allowed four sacks. Right tackle (and fill-in left tackle) Jonathan Scott has allowed 3.5 sacks while fill-in right tackle Kirk Chambers allowed 2.5. Those 10 sacks allowed are as many as half the league have allowed as teams.

Between the Lines: Keeping the Line Together Pays Off originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fans of Bears, Lions Finally Have Quarterbacks to Cheer

Greg Couch — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 20:30:00 EST

Filed under: Chicago Bears, Lions, NFL Quarterbacks

CHICAGO - Matthew Stafford stood by his locker in jeans and polo shirt denying that he had ever screamed: "No, I'm all right. I don't remember yelling.''

But you did. You grabbed your knee and screamed after a sack by Adewale Ogunleye, and then you didn't come back into the game.

"(Then) it was a silent yell.''

A few minutes later, he walked out while a few of us stood there pretending not to watch him do it.

"Giving me the eye test, huh?" he said. "See if I can walk?"

More: Check Box Score | Green Bay-Minnesota MNF Preview

The thing is, no one has cared to give the eye test to any Detroit Lions quarterback in years. On Sunday, Chicago beat Detroit 48-24 in a moment marked by something no one has seen in 50 or 60 years.

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Both Chicago and Detroit have real quarterbacks. These are two franchises defined by a history, especially a recent history, of bad quarterbacking.

Dan Orlovsky, Jon Kitna, Mike McMahon.

What has happened to the Black and Blue Division, when teams combine to score 72 points?

Did Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, a Bear after he orchestrated a trade from Denver, feel like he was back in the high-flying AFC West?

"Uh, no," he said. "No. We got short fields. Offensively, we didn't really get into a rhythm."

Truth is, it wasn't a game for Cutler. But the eye test shows that he's doing something Bears quarterbacks haven't done in years.

Leading.

After years watching Rex Grossman, Bears fans should just be thrilled to see someone not panicking. But they're suspicious.

Steve Stenstrom, Shane Matthews, Kordell Stewart.

Bears fans have been trained to rely on tough defenses and running backs. They take pride in smashing the ball down the other guy's throat in frigid weather off the Lake. They want to win the Bear Way. It's a Chicago thing, with the people thinking the team is just like them, big and tough.

The men here feel that way, too.

Certain basics of the Chicago psyche are being challenged now. The Bears, 3-1, have won three straight. Cutler is the first Bears quarterback since 1970 with a passer rating over 100 in three straight games.

But he was booed in his first preseason game. He was criticized for saying, accurately, that Devin Hester is not a "jump-up-and-get-it" receiver. He threw four interceptions against hated Green Bay, and was seen yelling at receivers. People were already on the verge of giving up on him.

It was his first regular season game.

Jim Miller. Henry Burris. Cade McNown.

Oh, God, Cade McNown.

Bears fans just don't understand how to have a real quarterback, that you can cheer for one. It's just now occurring to people here that the word "quarterback'' does not necessarily require them to start booing the way a doctor's rubber mallet makes the leg kick.

Tap, tap. Quarterback.

"Boo."

That's part of why it's so tough for Chicago or Detroit to actually have a quarterback. It's a history of booing, a history of skepticism.

Every new, young quarterback steps into it.

The fans should react that way. If not, then they would be the biggest suckers of all. Their teams have let them down over and over and over.

Charlie Batch and Ty Detmer and Gus Frerotte.

But maybe guys like Joey Harrington and Cade McNown just needed a little love and nurturing.

Nah. They just stunk.

These guys I keep naming, by the way, have all been starting quarterbacks for the Bears or Lions the past 20 years. Know that I'll never get to all of them.

Dave Krieg, Steve Walsh, Will Furrer.

Jonathan Quinn, Craig Krenzel, Chad Hutchinson.

Most of these guys weren't fill-ins for an injured starter, but were the actual starting quarterbacks the teams chose. Those last three started every game for the Bears in 2004.

Cutler is already a star. Former coaches have ripped him for his attitude. Mike Martz said, "He just doesn't get it. He doesn't understand that he represents a great head coach and the rest of those players on that team. Somebody needs to talk to him."

Yes, he supposedly is not the best guy to be around, unlike, say, Jim McMahon?

Before now, the Bears have had one really good quarterback, McMahon, since Sid Luckman retired in 1950. And McMahon was so fragile he lasted about 15 minutes. The Lions haven't had anyone since they traded Bobby Layne in the 1950s and he supposedly put a curse on the team, saying they wouldn't win a championship in 50 years.

Just try to believe, Bears and Lions fans. Lucy is not going to pull the football away from Charlie Brown this time.

Daunte Culpepper (old version), Jeff Garcia (old version).

Midway into the second quarter, the Bears had third and goal from the 5, and Cutler couldn't find anyone open, so he rolled left, jumped at the goal line and was clobbered by two defenders going opposite ways.

Cutler spun like a helicopter blade as he scored.

"It's what you expect from your leader," Bears coach Lovie Smith said. "A leader has to make sacrifices from time to time."

The Bears aren't used to that. They're used to hoping the quarterback doesn't ruin things for the defense. That's the only bar to clear.

Stafford, the first pick in the draft, is not quite there yet. But his arm is a gun, and while he doesn't have Cutler's patience yet, he has far more than most rookies. He threw three dumb passes for sure Sunday.

One was intercepted when he was trying to throw it away, one was completed near the endzone when he threw into three defenders.

It's OK. He passes the eye test. As for his knee, he'll have tests on Monday, and you never know what happens inside the knees of NFL players. Maybe the Bobby Layne Curse really does exist?

We'll have to see. It's hard for fans at either place to have faith.

And Detroit has a million more problems to work out.

But not every quarterback is Brian Griese, Kyle Orton, Rex Grossman.

Oh God, Rex Grossman.

Email me at gregcouch09@aol.com

Fans of Bears, Lions Finally Have Quarterbacks to Cheer originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Sun, 04 Oct 2009 20:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Johnny Knox Almost Pulled a DeSean Jackson on Kick Return Touchdown

Matt Snyder — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 18:20:00 EST

Filed under: Chicago Bears, NFL Video

Remember the boneheaded play DeSean Jackson made in Week 2 last season against the Cowboys? The rookie appeared to score a 61-yard touchdown, receiving a bomb from Donovan McNabb. Of course, as replays showed, the play was eventually ruled down at the one yard-line due to Jackson flipping the ball backward in order to begin his celebration.

Sunday, it looks like Johnny Knox -- also a rookie, which isn't entirely a coincidence -- nearly made the same blunder. Watch the video after the jump, and pay particular attention to when Knox releases the ball around the goal line.

Now, it's awfully tough to see exactly where the ball comes out from this Zapruder-like production, but it looks like a coach's challenge from the Lions may have been worthwhile. Even if Knox did hold the ball until a half-yard into the end zone, what's the rush? Hold onto the ball five yards deep before celebrating the big play. There's no reason to put your team at risk like that, especially in such a game-altering play (it broke a 21-all tie and set the tone for a big Bears second half).

I do believe Knox held the ball long enough, but it was really close. Let's hope Knox sees this and also learns a lesson from what happened to Jackson last season, and that no more chances like this are taken again.

Johnny Knox Almost Pulled a DeSean Jackson on Kick Return Touchdown originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Sun, 04 Oct 2009 18:20:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Matthew Stafford Leaves With Knee Injury In Lions' Loss

Matt Snyder — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 17:20:00 EST

Filed under: Chicago Bears, Lions, NFC North, NFL Injuries, NFL Quarterbacks

Coming off their first victory since December of 2007, the Lions played another good half of football Sunday. Heading into halftime, Detroit stood even with the Chicago Bears, 21-21. Matthew Stafford had engineered three touchdown drives, including a 98-yard beauty that greatly resembled the Lions' 99-yarder last week.

The second half, though, was another story. Johnny Knox, the Bears rookie wideout/returner, took the second half's opening kickoff back for a touchdown and his team never looked back. When the dust settled, the Bears had routed the Lions 48-24 and injured their rookie quarterback. On a play during the fourth quarter, Stafford was sacked by Adewale Ogunleye. In the process, Stafford's body was awkwardly twisted around and he screamed while grabbing his right knee. He did not return.

More: Eli Manning Also Hurt | Bengals Win in OT | Texans Win Big

There is no news yet of the exact injury nor of the extent. What we do know is that Stafford was noticeably limping on the sidelines and that he was replaced by Daunte Culpepper. You can bet there's an MRI in Stafford's future.

"He wasn't able to get it warmed back up again and we didn't want to put him back in the game," Schwartz said in the post game press conference. "If he was healthy enough, he would have gone back into the game."

UPDATE: Adam Shefter passed along, via Twitter, that Chris Mortensen is reporting Stafford suffered a dislocated kneecap (or subluxation of the patella, for you med fanatics out there). He says it was popped back in, but that doesn't sound fun. It's entirely possible Culpepper will take the field next week for the Lions as their temporary starter.

As far as the game itself, Stafford played relatively well. He completed 24 of 36 passes for 296 yards and a touchdown. He did throw one interception, and it was a bad one, coming on the Lions' 14 and setting the Bears up for an 8-yard (after the return) touchdown drive. He also missed several wide-open receivers in the Bears' zone coverage. He did lead those three drives in the first half and seemed to be on the same page with No. 1 receiver Calvin Johnson (eight catches for 133 yards).

The Lions outgained the Bears 398 yards to 276 and had the ball for 13 more minutes. The difference in the game was the Bears' efficiency on offense and special teams play. The Bears got good returns all day, not just on Knox's touchdown, in addition to stellar punting from Brad Maynard. The result was the Bears having an average starting position of Detroit's 46 compared to the Detroit 17-yard line for the Lions, which is an astounding difference.

The Lions will look to get back on track next week at home against the defending Super Bowl champs, the Pittsburgh Steelers. If Stafford is healthy, he'll face a tough test, but he appeared to be developing nicely Sunday in Chicago.

Matthew Stafford Leaves With Knee Injury In Lions' Loss originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Sun, 04 Oct 2009 17:20:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Suicide Pool Solution: Week 4

Brett Pollakoff — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: 49ers, Chicago Bears, Colts, NFL Gambling

Each week, FanHouse takes a deeper look at the obvious -- and not so obvious -- options for your NFL suicide pool. Standard rules apply: pick one team to win straight up (no point spreads), and each team may only be used once.

If you were alive in your pool heading into Week 3, then it's pretty much a given that you're alive as we get ready for Week 4. With no major surprises, and with the obvious pick in the Ravens cruising to an easy blowout victory, even the most inexperienced of players couldn't help but advance.

While there might not be one team that sticks out as the clear-cut, obvious choice this week, a few games should provide the opportunity to make it safely to Week 5. Let's take a look.

The Colts are hosting the Seahawks, and this would appear as good a place as any to go with your pick this week. Seattle comes into this one with Seneca Wallace at quarterback, who has virtually no chance of matching the production from his counterpart on the other team, Peyton Manning.

Manning has thrown for over 300 yards in each of his team's first three games, and has seven touchdowns to just two interceptions on the year. The only shot that Seattle has is to try to play keep away from the Colts, like the Dolphins did somewhat successfully two weeks ago. But even then, Manning got hot when he finally did get his chances, and Indy still came away with the win.

Yes, the Colts appear to be a solid choice this week. But while they're unlikely to face a weaker team at home all season, a quick look at the weeks ahead shows that you may want to save them -- possibly for Week 7.

Not to get too far ahead of ourselves, but the Colts will face the Rams in St. Louis that week. And while I usually advise against taking road teams unless absolutely necessary, the Week 7 schedule doesn't feature a single game with a dominant team playing a weak one at home. Most of the teams you'd look at that week are on the road, and with the Rams being among the worst teams in the league, along with the Colts coming off their bye week, I'd rather try to keep Indy in my back pocket, just in case.

Of course, you would have to make it that far to do that. Which means you'd have to find someone else to go with this week. No problem: we have options. One of which is the 49ers hosting the aforementioned Rams.

San Francisco really outplayed the Vikings -- on the road -- for most of the game last week. They lost on a last-second touchdown pass, which surely must have stung. But the Niners have looked solid so far, and even with Frank Gore out of this one with an ankle injury, fantasy football players know from the preseason that Glen Coffee should be a more-than-capable backup.

If you're leery of the 49ers without Gore, how about the Texans hosting the Raiders? Houston has been really up and down, and to be honest, an embarrassment on defense against the run. But despite Jamarcus Russell having his career game against the Texans last season, he's looked absolutely abysmal this year. When you add in the fact that the Raiders have just the 20th ranked rushing offense, I'm not really worried about taking the Texans to bounce back here.

Speaking of bad teams on the road, Tampa Bay is in Washington to face the Redskins. You might, might be able to skate by with the 'Skins this week, but have fun sweating out four quarters of atrocious football in order to get there. Just ask anyone who rode Washington to a Week 2 win, as they barely beat the Rams, 9-7.

Our final option is the Bears hosting the Lions. Detroit did break their 19-game losing streak with a home victory over the Redskins last week, but making it two in a row on the road in Chicago is asking a lot. Sure, the Bears struggled in Seattle last week, and as one astute observer pointed out, they "beat Pittsburgh and Seattle ONLY because of missed field goals of 43, 38, 34 and 43 yards." But they should certainly be able get it done against Detroit at home this week ... shouldn't they?

So to recap, the Colts look like the best option. But if you can talk yourself into liking any of the other games enough, Indy might be worth saving for a tougher week down the road, and one that has certainly appears to have fewer available options.

Good luck this week.

Suicide Pool Solution: Week 4 originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Sun, 04 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FanHouse Live Chat: Week 4 Preview

Bruce Ciskie — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Chicago Bears, Bengals, Browns, Buccaneers, Chargers, Jets, Lions, Packers, Redskins, Saints, Steelers, Vikings, NFL Fans, NFL Live Blogging

It's a week headlined by some old guy facing his former team, but there are other storylines in Week 4. The Browns and Buccaneers start new quarterbacks, the Lions try for their second straight win, unbeatens clash in New Orleans, and the defending Super Bowl champions arguably face a must-win Sunday night. We'll talk about all these topics and more in our weekly get-together. Read the recap.

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FanHouse Live Chat: Week 4 Preview originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Fri, 02 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Zebra Report: Another Texan Controversy

Matt Snyder — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:15:00 EST

Filed under: Chicago Bears, Atlanta Falcons, Jaguars, Raiders, Seahawks, Texans, Titans, NFL Referees

Zebra Report is FanHouse's analysis of actual NFL rules and how they are to be applied ... because most fans think they could do a better job than the NFL officials, yet definitely could not. Click here for an introduction as to how we do things.

For the second straight week, the Houston Texans' offense was involved in a controversial call on a would-be touchdown. In Week 2, many thought they were the beneficiary of a bad call. In Week 3, the proverbial shoe was on the other foot. Let's get right to it.

- Kevin Walter is called for offensive pass interference, nullifying what would have been a game-tying touchdown. You can watch the replay by clicking here at the 2:30 mark and beyond. Walter appeared to be running a route over the middle of the field. As he looked back to Matt Schaub, he appeared to inadvertently run into a defensive player, who, in turn, was knocked into the umpire. A few seconds after this happened, Schaub found Joel Dreessen for an apparent touchdown. It was called back for OPI on Walter, under this rule.

(8-5-2, page 56) Prohibited Acts by both teams while the ball is in the air. Acts that are pass interference include but are not limited to: ... e) Cutting off the path of an opponent by making contact with him, without playing the ball.

and (emphasis mine)

(8-5-4, page 57) Other Prohibited acts by the offense. Blocking downfield by an offensive player prior to a pass being thrown is offensive pass interference. Note: It is also pass interference by the offense to block a defender beyond the line while the pass is in the air, if the block occurs in the vicinity of the player to whom the pass is thrown.

In this case, the word "block" is a generic term to cover any contact a player makes on an opposing player, impeding his progress. Don't get confused by the wording. Walter most certainly "blocked" the defender on this play. His intent doesn't matter, nor does where he's looking (at the ball or the defender). Also, I've seen on some Texans message boards that people are claiming head coach Gary Kubiak said this call is almost never made when the defense in in zone coverage. That doesn't matter, either. The officials aren't there to make a consideration based upon what defense is being playing. By letter of the law, this would be offensive pass interference, unless he's not in the vicinity of the player to whom the pass is thrown.

So, how do we define vicinity? That's judgment. My personal judgment would be that "vicinity" meant the act had an actual effect on the outcome of the play. What do you readers think? Did Walter's block come within the "vicinity" of the reception? We've included a poll for your vote.

Here are Kubiak's thoughts on the play from a press conference, after he had viewed the game film, just for what it's worth:

"I'm disappointed in that, but the call is what it is. They're playing zone coverage, they're playing quarters. Kevin's running a shallow cross and he actually runs into a linebacker and an official in there, so we sent it into the league. We'll see what happens. I was disappointed. We had a chance to overcome it. We basically had a chance to score twice down there, but we hurt ourselves both times with the call and the fumble."

- In Week 2, some thought the Raiders fans now had a right to be upset about the correct call in Week 1 on Louis Murphy's would-be touchdown -- which was ruled incomplete by rule. The scapegoat calls for Week 2 were a Jacoby Jones touchdown and a Dante Rosario touchdown. First of all, the call on the Murphy touchdown was correct. Thus, any calls Raider fans deem incorrect for the rest of the season still shouldn't bother them. Where's the logic in that? It's like getting a speeding ticket for going 20 miles per hour over the limit and then complaining that someone else was doing it and didn't get caught. Yeah, it sucks, but you were still speeding.

(For the record, I think Mike Florio -- who wrote what I linked above -- was just trying to drum up traffic with the title. He's far too logical to really believe those calls make a difference to the Raiders.)

Anyway, the Jones play is really, really close. Click here to watch the video, and the play in question is at about 1:55 on the highlight package. The official word from the league is that Jones maintained possession through hitting the ground one time, and then only lost it when he spun around and hit the ground a second time. It's true that if someone hits the ground once and keeps control, that's a catch and nothing that happens afterward matters. In this case, though, I could definitely see where people would question the judgment. Was Cortland Finnegan under Jones on the first hit? If so, he hadn't yet hit the ground. Also, was the spinning over the defender all one motion, in which case Jones would have to maintain possession the entire time? I'm fine with the call standing, but can definitely see where there's an argument from Titans fans (but not Raiders fans).

On the Rosario play, it was clearly two different motions. He made the catch in the field of play, and then turned upfield and extended the ball across the plane of the goal line (which would constitute a "football move") before losing control of the ball. One action was making the catch and turning upfield -- which means he now has fully completed the catch and has possession of the ball -- and the next was breaking the plane of the end zone. Touchdown. Case closed.

I can see from my inbox and from comments sections on past reports that this is an issue that won't be going away this season. Let us all just remember that every single play in every single game is unique. What happens in Week 5 doesn't have anything to do with a call in Week 1, especially as far as the judgment of human beings is involved.

- Jay Cutler was called for an illegal crackback block against the Seahawks, nullifying a sizable gain. The announcers attempted to compare it to the Brett Favre cheap shot (sorry, when you dive into the back/side of someone's knees downfield, I'm calling it a cheap shot for the rest of my life) on Eugene Wilson in the preseason. Once again, I can't find any good videos for the Cutler block, so I'll attempt to narrate without bias. The Bears ran a reverse to Devin Hester. Cutler appeared to stumble before blocking the defender around the midsection of his body. The defender was blindsided, in that he didn't see Cutler, but the hit was directly in the front of the defender. Here's the portion of the rule that applies:

(12-2-10, page 84) ... nor may he contact an opponent below the waist if the blocker is moving toward the position where the ball was snapped from, and the contact occurs within an area five yards on either side of the line of scrimmage.

and

Note 2: If runner (passer) scrambles on the play, significantly changing the original direction (broken play), the crackback block is legal.

Now, this wasn't a broken play, but it was a reverse -- which significantly changes the direction of the play. The main key to this call, though, was whether or not Cutler made contact with the defender below the waist or not. It doesn't matter that he meant to hit the defender high and the fact that he lost his footing took him lower on the defender's body. The only thing that really matters on judging this call is where he made contact with the defender. It was definitely close. What do you think? If you saw the play, vote in the poll and feel free to leave comments.

Got a rules-related question? Whether it's elementary, high school or NFL, email TZR and he'll see what he can do.

Zebra Report: Another Texan Controversy originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Comeback Cutler? Bears Win Late Again

Matt Snyder — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 20:15:00 EST

Filed under: Chicago Bears, Seahawks, NFC North, NFC West, NFL Quarterbacks

Since arriving in Chicago, Jay Cutler's been fighting the stigma that he's more of a stat-monger than a winner. The only way to change the feelings of the general public is to go out and win tough games. Anyone can look good during a blowout of an inferior opponent.

For the second consecutive week, Cutler has won close games in come-from-behind fashion. Last week, he led the Bears on a 72-yard, game-tying touchdown drive and then a 41-yard game-winning field goal drive against the Steelers. Sunday afternoon, Cutler brought the Bears back from an early 13-0 deficit to lead 17-13. The Bears lost the lead, but that was of no consequence, as Cutler again led them on a game-winning drive.

More Coverage: Check Box Score

With 5:03 left in the game, the Bears had the ball on their own 29 yard-line and trailed the Seahawks by two points, 19-17.

It only took the Bears six plays to move the ball 71 yards for a touchdown. Cutler found Matt Forte and Earl Bennett for short gains, respectively. The Bears also mixed in a few running plays. Then, Cutler hit Devin Hester on a quick slant and the "Windy City Flyer" did the rest of the work. Cutler's pass was actually a bit high, but Hester pulled it in, evaded two potential tacklers before simply outrunning everyone else on the field. Following the 36-yard touchdown strike, the Bears went for two, and Cutler found a wide-open Bennett in the corner of the end-zone.

Seattle moved the ball a bit before being stopped on downs with 26 seconds left on the clock, a play that obviously clinched the Bears' victory.

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Worst Uniforms in Sports History

The Seahawks were a sight for sore eyes with their neon green look in Sunday's 25-19 loss to the Bears. But Seattle isn't the only major sports team to have made a questionable jersey choice. Click through to see some of the worst offenders in sports history.

Tom Hauck, Getty Images

Worst Uniforms in Sports

Tom Hauck, Getty Images

Montreal Canadiens (2001): These outfits would not seem out of place if all the players had just finished piling out of the same Zamboni. However, the Canadiens are serious about their hockey. Fashion? Apparently, not so much.

Andre Ringuette, Getty Images

Red Sox (2007): Maybe flexing championship muscle after a well-chronicled drought gave the Boys from Beantown the courage to finally take a fashion risk.

Elise Amendola, AP

Cincinnati Bengals (2005): You know how some uniforms are so hideous that they kind of grow on you? The Bengals continue to push the envelope in an attempt to reach that level of acceptance.

Andy Lyons, Getty Images

Pittsburgh Pirates (1979): With a tip of the pillbox cap to days gone by, the Pirates rocked these uniforms in combinations that included black and gold, all gold or all black.

Focus on Sport / Getty Images

Toronto Raptors (1997): The perfect attire for eating cereal on Saturday morning does not necessarily translate into a uniform that a professional ballplayer would take pride in wearing.

Doug Pensinger, Getty Images

N.Y. Islanders (1997): The wave of colors is enough to leave the heartiest of seafarers a bit unsettled.

Ian Tomlinson, Getty Images

Tampa Bay Rays (1998): The new team on the block tries a little neon effect to announce its arrival.

Al Bello, Getty Images

Houston Rockets (2001): Pinstripes work on the baseball diamond, but look out of place on the hardwood.

Rocky Widner, NBAE / Getty Images

Washington Bullets (1975): There's patriotic and then there's this.

Focus on Sport, Getty Images

Things weren't all peachy for Chicago, though. The Bears still failed to get Forte on track in the running game, gaining just 66 yards on 21 carries. Cutler turned the ball over twice -- one pick, one lost fumble. The defense had a dreadful display of tackling on Julius Jones' first quarter touchdown and the team as a whole really appeared out of sync during the entire first quarter.

Much of the offensive woes are a direct result of poor offensive line play. Forte did well once he got into space (he had 40 yards receiving on six catches and made a few nice runs to the outside), but was bottled up nearly every time the Bears attempted to run up the middle.

Additionally, both of Cutler's turnovers were due to his being hit while in the passing pocket, not because of forcing throws where they shouldn't be -- like he did several times in Week 1 at Green Bay. He does need to keep a better grip on the ball, as he fumbled three times when hit from the blind-side. Fortunately for the Bears, only one was recovered by Seattle.

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Overall, though, he was sharp, hitting on 21 of 27 passes for 247 yards and three touchdowns. The ball was spread around well to his receivers, as Bennett had four catches, Hester five, Johnny Knox one (for a touchdown) and Greg Olsen caught five -- including a touchdown.

For Seattle, that was a tough game to lose. They were playing without starting quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, but they were just a play or two from winning the game without him. Other than a terrible interception to Lance Briggs in the third quarter, Seneca Wallace fared admirably in Hasselbeck's absence. Jones ran well, racking up 136 yards from scrimmage. The defense did a nice job of pressuring Cutler and preventing the run -- which killed them last week when Frank Gore ran for over 200 yards. Of note, the Seahawks got an impressive showing from rookie Aaron Curry, as he accrued a sack and was the player who forced Cutler's lost fumble.

Finally, this is the second straight week the Bears' opponent has seen their kicker miss two field goals. Olindo Mare made four field goals, but missed two. And his team lost by six. Ouch.

The Bears will head home to face the Lions -- who now know how to win a game -- next week before their bye.

The Seahawks will travel to Indianapolis for a 10:00 Pacific time game next week, which should prove a really tough test.

Comeback Cutler? Bears Win Late Again originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Sun, 27 Sep 2009 20:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Updating the 'No Receivers' Argument

Matt Snyder — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:45:00 EST

Filed under: Chicago Bears, Broncos, NFL Quarterbacks

When Jay Cutler was traded to Chicago, there was an instant line drawn in the proverbial sand. Everyone from professional sports writers to the most casual of fans had opinions. Those who wanted to argue it was a bad move for the Bears had several points. Some of them were valid, but one of them in particular always drove me bonkers.

"Who is he going to throw to?" "He's going to hate life without Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal." Etc.

We were treated to some derivative of this rendition at every turn from those in the anti-Jay camp. It's not that I believe a quarterback is the only reason receivers play well (see Calvin Johnson for evidence they can thrive without one), but I firmly believe quarterbacks make receivers more so than receivers make quarterbacks. You can't make Josh McCown into a superstar by providing him with Randy Moss and Calvin Johnson. On the other hand, you can make Brandon Stokley into a 1,000-yard, 10-touchdown receiver with Peyton Manning.

After two weeks, we're seeing the beginning stages of my vindication. It's admittedly a small sample, but the numbers are taking shape and it's not pretty for Royal and Marshall.

Royal had 91 catches for 980 yards and 5 touchdowns last season. He got two bombs (59 and 93 yards, respectively). This year, with new quarterback Kyle Orton, Royal has just 5 catches for 38 yards in two games. His longest catch has gone for 11 yards.

Marshall had 206 catches and over 2,500 yards the previous two seasons with Cutler. In 2009, he's caught just 7 balls for 61 yards. His yards per reception average is down almost four yards. His yards per game average is down more than 50 yards. Granted, he's been in the doghouse, but he hasn't exactly lit the world on fire when in the game.

Meanwhile, in Chicago, the Bears have seen Devin Hester, Earl Bennett and Johnny Knox post better stat-lines.

Entering the season, the Bears were maligned for having a "glorified punt returner" masquerading as their top receiver. Through two games, Hester has made 8 catches for 111 yards and a touchdown. He's drastically improved his route running and made some solid catches underneath -- meaning he's not just a deep threat.

Bennett, a third round draft pick in 2008 who didn't make a single catch as a rookie, has already amassed 9 catches for 88 yards.

Knox was a fifth round pick by the Bears this season -- 139 players were chosen before Knox. He's already accrued 8 catches for 152 yards and a touchdown (which tied the game in the fourth quarter against Pittsburgh). He caught a 68-yard bomb in Week 1 which would have been the longest completed pass of Orton's Chicago career.

Sure, two weeks is an incredibly small sample, but it's easy to see that Cutler had a big hand in making Royal and Marshall and he's already having a similar effect in Chicago. Meanwhile, "Captain Checkdown" is killing Royal and Marshall's value while hammering the underneath routes of Stokley, Jabar Gaffney and Daniel Graham. That may cut it against the Browns, but it sure won't against most of the rest of the league.

We heard similar "who's he gonna throw to?" arguments about the New York Giants with Eli Manning losing Amani Toomer and Plaxico Burress. Yet he seemed to handle the passing attack just fine Sunday night with Mario Manningham and Steve Smith.

As for the wins and losses argument -- which was another that drove me nuts -- give it a few more weeks. The Bears just beat the Pittsburgh Steelers. Meanwhile, the Broncos won one game on the flukiest play we've seen in years and another by taking down arguably the worst team in football at home. They are hardly world-beaters with Orton at the helm. After a trip to Oakland, where it won't be easy, the Broncos get the Cowboys, Patriots, Chargers, Ravens and Steelers. Thus, it would appear Denver should savor their early success while they still can. If the Broncos romp through those games with a winning record, I'll admit I was wrong about Orton. Until then, save it.

Meanwhile, Cutler and the Bears get the Seahawks (without Matt Hasselbeck) and Lions before heading to their bye. As long as they play the way they did Sunday and not how they did in Green Bay, the Cutler era will be off to a great start.

Updating the 'No Receivers' Argument originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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