Merry Christmas one and all. It'll be merrier for us when we can get the boy to sleep and shut off the lights. At this hotel. That we ended up in when the snow made it so I couldn't see the road any longer.
In all of the years we've been coming up for Christmas, this was the worst snow storm yet. My folks live less than 20 miles from here, but it's a 2-lane road between here and there, and tonight that would have meant 2+ hours of tense driving. So, we're at the Country Inn of Kenosha for the night, hunkered down with the dog, the baby, and my mother-in-law. At least they had rooms with two beds.
I'm not even complaining, actually. It would have been many more hours of tension had she pressed on and driven all the way home. We would not have slept. As it stands, we spent a little extra money, but we're safe and warm, have a cooler full of vegetables and dip (and beer!), and plenty of cable channels. Oh, and wi-fi, so the ladies can watch the Hallmark channel as I type this.
Pretty interesting first Christmas for Eli, I suppose.
Merry Christmas!
December 8, 2010
A Test to End the Speculation
Truth is, beating the Patriots wouldn't be nearly as important as beating the Lions was last week. Where standings and playoffs are concerned, beating their divisional rivals is just a fraction more weighty than a random win. And so, while beating the Patriots might fire the Bears up to the top 3 in power rankings, they still need to dominate the Vikings in the following week, and also face the Packers for the last game of the season.
Interestingly, if the Bears and the Packers continue to win, that last game might be for the division. Can you imagine a more storybook way to enter the post-season?
On a side note, beating the Patriots would be great, but if we end up going all the way and ultimately face them in the Super Bowl, it might end up working against us. As the Jets now know, Tom Brady's ability to put a whole team on his back puts Urlacher's resolve to shame. On the other hand, I can't imagine Urlacher getting all the way to the end just to lose again.
Alas, I've gotten way ahead of myself. There are four of the top teams in the league in the way of a playoff berth. A more likely scenario is, like the 90-win White Sox of a few years ago, a better-than-expected regular season and a freezeout come playoff time.
I'd love it if they bucked the trend...
Interestingly, if the Bears and the Packers continue to win, that last game might be for the division. Can you imagine a more storybook way to enter the post-season?
On a side note, beating the Patriots would be great, but if we end up going all the way and ultimately face them in the Super Bowl, it might end up working against us. As the Jets now know, Tom Brady's ability to put a whole team on his back puts Urlacher's resolve to shame. On the other hand, I can't imagine Urlacher getting all the way to the end just to lose again.
Alas, I've gotten way ahead of myself. There are four of the top teams in the league in the way of a playoff berth. A more likely scenario is, like the 90-win White Sox of a few years ago, a better-than-expected regular season and a freezeout come playoff time.
I'd love it if they bucked the trend...
November 29, 2010
More Crow to Eat and I'm Getting Full
Before the season started, I was concerned that we got a last-minute offensive coach who could either propel the offense or crash and burn (my money was on the latter given the lack of a superstar receiver). Offensive line coach was the same guy who allowed the "Love Boat" scandal in MN on his watch. Defensive coordinator went 0 or 16 in Detroit. The players were the element I didn't credit enough. Regardless of how they finish out the year, they've outplayed my expectations.
The first four games were wins, but I felt like there was a lot of luck involved, and the Bears showed zero consistency. Cutler was getting pounded and the running game looked improved, but the offensive line seemed to be different week by week.
The next three games were more what I expected. The Giants are a great team, but I didn't expect to see Cutler get pounded like he did. Maybe that was the wake-up call. The other losses should have been wins, but you can't win 'em all (especially with a third-string QB).
Now, we're on a four-game win streak, and the last two (at least) were decisive wins. Impressive wins, really. They got over the night game thing and won against a top-tier team yesterday. I'd love to see the history of their power rankings since week one. It would have to be all over the board.
All of this said, I have noticed in recent weeks that the Bears team now is a lot like the Bears team from 2005/2006. The defense is steady and formidable. The offense is functional with a good running game as the anchor. Hester looks like he can run one back for 6 points on any given kickoff.
I'm happy to eat this crow, but before I get all excited and start making bold predictions, I'm interested to see if they put the Lions away again. There's no reason why they should lose this one.
GO BEARS!
The first four games were wins, but I felt like there was a lot of luck involved, and the Bears showed zero consistency. Cutler was getting pounded and the running game looked improved, but the offensive line seemed to be different week by week.
The next three games were more what I expected. The Giants are a great team, but I didn't expect to see Cutler get pounded like he did. Maybe that was the wake-up call. The other losses should have been wins, but you can't win 'em all (especially with a third-string QB).
Now, we're on a four-game win streak, and the last two (at least) were decisive wins. Impressive wins, really. They got over the night game thing and won against a top-tier team yesterday. I'd love to see the history of their power rankings since week one. It would have to be all over the board.
All of this said, I have noticed in recent weeks that the Bears team now is a lot like the Bears team from 2005/2006. The defense is steady and formidable. The offense is functional with a good running game as the anchor. Hester looks like he can run one back for 6 points on any given kickoff.
I'm happy to eat this crow, but before I get all excited and start making bold predictions, I'm interested to see if they put the Lions away again. There's no reason why they should lose this one.
GO BEARS!
October 26, 2010
What's Wrong With The Bears?
Exactly what everyone predicted. The offensive line is pretty bad, the receivers show promise on occasion but aren't savvy enough to fight for a badly thrown ball, and Cutler is clearly not enjoying the Mike Martz offensive scheme.
The worst part of the messy, sloppy game against Washington was seeing Rex Grossman on the opposing sideline. He could have gotten sacked and thrown interceptions just as well as Cutler. He had similar streaks of brilliance followed by record-setting bed wetting. Who could blame either of them when they both have been crushed by an uncontested blitzer on multiple occasions?
After the 4-0 start, I was thinking we might be looking at a repeat of the Super Bowl season where the defense shut down opposing offenses and the QB started out red hot, then settled down and let the running game do the heavy lifting. In fact, when Grossman started looking like a full-on bust, Thomas Jones really came to life.
I was prepared to eat crow and admit to being wrong about Lovie, Martz, Tice, and Marinelli. I hate that they're making me right again. Actually, I'll even take Marinelli off the hot seat for the moment since the defense is currently ranked 5th in the league; very similar to '05.
Unlike '05, the offense is ranked 30th overall. Terrible. The other similarity, but even more pronounced, is the feeling that even if the defense steamrolls every team left on the schedule, we could still lose all of those games. And while I won't turn into a fan who roots for his team to lose, I might pay more attention to the Steelers or something while I wait for the Lovie Smith/Jerry Angelo era to finally come to an end.
If you're on Twitter, I recommend checking out the following feeds for up-to-the-minute Bears info:
Zach Zaidman
Peggy Kuszinski
Adam Schefter
Chris Harris
The worst part of the messy, sloppy game against Washington was seeing Rex Grossman on the opposing sideline. He could have gotten sacked and thrown interceptions just as well as Cutler. He had similar streaks of brilliance followed by record-setting bed wetting. Who could blame either of them when they both have been crushed by an uncontested blitzer on multiple occasions?
After the 4-0 start, I was thinking we might be looking at a repeat of the Super Bowl season where the defense shut down opposing offenses and the QB started out red hot, then settled down and let the running game do the heavy lifting. In fact, when Grossman started looking like a full-on bust, Thomas Jones really came to life.
I was prepared to eat crow and admit to being wrong about Lovie, Martz, Tice, and Marinelli. I hate that they're making me right again. Actually, I'll even take Marinelli off the hot seat for the moment since the defense is currently ranked 5th in the league; very similar to '05.
Unlike '05, the offense is ranked 30th overall. Terrible. The other similarity, but even more pronounced, is the feeling that even if the defense steamrolls every team left on the schedule, we could still lose all of those games. And while I won't turn into a fan who roots for his team to lose, I might pay more attention to the Steelers or something while I wait for the Lovie Smith/Jerry Angelo era to finally come to an end.
If you're on Twitter, I recommend checking out the following feeds for up-to-the-minute Bears info:
Zach Zaidman
Peggy Kuszinski
Adam Schefter
Chris Harris
October 25, 2010
A Bad Omen
We've been ruminating that the little Bears shirt Eli has worn on the days when the Bears won was their lucky charm. Yesterday, at lunch, my mom handed the boy to my wife, and in the transition, I noticed a brown stain forming on the back of his shirt - just about where the top of the diaper would be. Yep - he shit his lucky shirt, and then the Bears shit the bed.
Ignoring the rest of the game, the rest of the day went pretty well. We had a few great meals, saw a lot of our extended family, and I somehow still lost four pounds. Not bad.
Ignoring the rest of the game, the rest of the day went pretty well. We had a few great meals, saw a lot of our extended family, and I somehow still lost four pounds. Not bad.
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