Open thread.

If anybody proposes to his lady like this video below, you are awesome. Start watching the video at 44 seconds and watch the TV closely.

Embarrasing.

The Bears gave the game away to the Falcons Sunday night thanks to once again, stupid penalties and dumb play calling. Let’s get to it:

Orlando Pace; Frank Omiyale: Fuck them both. Pace is old. Omiyale is a dumb fuck. Numerous holding penalties, false starts along with failure to actually block a defender has been a problem for both of these people. Last year, Josh Beekman played well on the left side and he hasn’t seen the field yet this year. It’s time to make a change in my opinion. 4th and 1 on the last play turns into 4th and 6 after Pace gets a false start penalty.

Matt Forte and Ron Turner: I have been one to defend this guy and say that it is the offensive line that is the problem. That is true because you can’t run the ball if damn jackasses like Frank Omiyale and Chris Williams fail to block somebody. However, fumbling on two consecutive plays is complete garbage. The play calling is also a problem. The 1st and goal play. Pass? Why not just try a quarterback sneak on the 1 yard line? A pitch out on 3rd and goal? Fuck Ron Turner too.

Jay Cutler: He is not to blame completely for this loss. No one is more pissed than this guy. The offense let him down. He drove the offense down the field four different times and they came up empty three of those times.

Once again. Stupid penalties and dumb play calling costs the Bears this game. The special teams had a bad game but that rarely happens so I won’t get down on them too much. Changes need to be made. Josh Beekman who played very well last year on the offensive line should take the spot of Omiyale. That should be a start to making adjustments. If someone else is available on the waiver wire for offensive line help, the Bears need to try to pick up somebody.

While this team is 3-2, there still is a cause for concern. If they do lose next week, then I am going to start worrying about this team.

Open thread.

Unbelievable.

I was listening to part of the 1st period on the radio and Troy Murray said something along the lines of “There is still over 44 minutes of this game. Even down five goals, there is plenty of time left in this one”.

He wasn’t kidding.

Open Thread.

Unleash your inner ANGER!

Bears recap and my personal experience from the stands.

Sunday was my first time going to a Bears game and I couldn’t ask for a better experience personally. My friend and I left Dekalb around 9:15 and surprisingly got to Solider Field shortly after 10:00 so the traffic was smooth all the way. The weather was great as the sun was right on top of us for the most of the game. It wasn’t too cold or too hot. The picture below was from my camera phone as the seats we had were not bad at all.

If you look at the stats of the game (Cue Irish Yeti), you can see that the Bears did not have the ball that often (23:38) although they scored 48 points against the Lions. Due to the defense stepping up in the 2nd half and the special teams, the Bears offense had great field position using very little time possession. I enjoy the loyal readers here because they are knowledgeable and know that stats don’t tell the whole story regardless of what sport is being discussed.

Offense: When Cutler scored the touchdown, the crowd went absolutely nuts when they saw the replay of Jay flying in the air when he got hit. He contributed for three touchdowns and passed the ball to nine different players. Johnny Knox (More on this stud later) led the way with five catches. Five different receivers each had two catches. Once again. Jay Cutler finds a way to get many players involved on offense creating a balance and making anyone he throws to a threat.

Matt Forte had two big runs and he totaled 12 rushes on 121 yards with a touchdown. I said before the game that I think he would be pretty good. I think this is just the start. He was hurt in the preseason and it seems with next week off that he will be ready to go against Atlanta. Fellow NIU man Garrett Wolfe contributed with his first career touchdown late in the 4th quarter.

Defense: The defense was awful the first half. Once again, receivers were open the whole half without a defender in sight. Reader Dave mentioned in the previous thread a couple stupid penalties including a face mask once again happened. On the first field goal the Lions attempted, a special teams offside penalty ended up leading to the first touchdown. Overall though, three penalties for 36 yards total for the team isn’t too bad but it could have been a lot worse.

Tommie Harris finally did something productive and intercepted a pass that set up the offense for a touchdown. Big props to Alex Brown for a sack and Adewale Ogunleye with 2.5. Both of these guys have played well so far. The line as a whole has been great. Lovie Smith has received a lot of criticism over the last couple years. Some has been deserved and some hasn’t but hiring Rod Marinelli as the line coach is so far paying off.

Israel Idonije caused a fumble and it turned into another turnover for this defense. Mark Anderson is proving to be a big part of the line and Lance Briggs continues to dominate and step up as he had nine tackles in the game. Al Afalava played well having six tackles.

Special Teams: I saved the best for last. The special teams were the key to this game in my opinion. All four of Brad Maynard’s punts were inside the 20. Robbie Gould hit two field goals. Johnny Knox had the opening 2nd half kickoff for the touchdown. I didn’t notice from watching it in the stands but I heard after the game that he let go of the ball at the one yard line. I am praying that won’t happen again. But this guy came out of nowhere and has proven to not only be a threat on offense but a threat on special teams too. He is becoming a big part of this team.

Overall, I am enjoying the win. I am not trying to get down on this defense but they need to be able to put together a full game of good defense. For the second week in a row, they sucked in the first half but stepped up in the second half. If they can find a way to put together four quarters of good defense, they can get more rest and not wear down as fast throughout the game and season. No NFL team shouldn’t ever be taken too easily. I actually think the Lions will be a much better team in the next couple years.

The injury bug is getting to this team. Devin Hester, Adrian Peterson and Johnny Knox all were injured Sunday and the length of the time out for them is uncertain at this time. A bye week for this team couldn’t come at a better time.

Open Thread.

I have a full day ahead. Blackhawks at 11:00 a.m., Bulls at 6:00, wrestling at 7:00, Jay Leno and The Soup at 9:00 and Conan at 10:35. Thank God I finally got that DVR a few months back or else I’d have to use the old VCR.

 

With that being said, discuss whatever it is you guys want to talk about.

Happy Friday.

The thing I like about this place, is that I can have a thread about anything I want when I want. I think all of you regulars like that idea too. We can discuss different sports and topics. It keeps the place fresh and brings you guys back which I always appreciate. Heck, I’ll probably start writing about a couple new tv shows that I started watching recently.

However, it was brought to my attention last night that a clown from another website is a little butt hurt about what we talk about. One person sent me a link that was from a douche that said my site sucks because we don’t always focus on the name of the site. So my website sucks because the people here talk about things other than wanting to get someone fired? Oh my bad. I didn’t know that was such a bad thing. You know, there are other things going on except for that. You know that right? I’ll give you an example:

Thunder Matt - I use to read this site quite a bit in the past and I still do to see what they say about some movies and pop culture in general. But guess what? They talk sports too. For that retard who made that comment, go to that site and tell them what you told me and see what they say to you.

Another example: Hire Jim Essian - Does he always focus on wanting Jim Essian hired? No. In fact, I use to also visit that place quite a bit and he writes about other things.

I said many times before that stupid people are everywhere. I deal with stupid people at my job at least a couple times a week. No matter where you live or what wesbite you go to, there are stupid people to be noticed. Unfortunatley, the two or three people that come here and talk shit are so childish, that they continue to come here just to make themselves feel better. Well, keep it coming. It gives us some comedy here.

Finally. Hockey and basketball is back.

It’s only been about four months since we last saw the Chicago Bulls and Chicago Blackhawks in action. This Friday, we get both in the same day. And thank God.

While I am excited to see the Chicago Bulls open up the preseason and the regular season in about a month, I don’t expect big things to happen this year. Ben Gordon signed with Detroit and replacing him is no easy task. He wasn’t the best defensively but when the team needed to make a comeback, he would come through more times than none. He was almost a guarenteed 20 points a game and when he was on, he was on. No doubt the Bulls are going to miss him. I fully expect them to make the playoffs but once again get eliminated in the first round by Orlando or Cleveland.

The Chicago Blackhawks are one of the top teams in the Western Conference. The concern seems to be circling around the mediocre, overpaid goalie Cristobal Huet and if he can play consistently this year. Injuries have already hit the team. Marian Hossa had surgery in the offseason and probably won’t be back until December and Adam Burish tore his ACL last week and will be out until March or April. Expectations are high though and they could be the favorites along with Detroit.

Another season of Pat Foley on the call with all 82 games being on TV is always fun. My earliest memories of Pat Foley was when he did the old NHL Games of The Week on FOX back in the mid-90’s. The guy is genuine and always speaks his mind. A good friend of mine e-mailed this video to me:

If you wanted to know how awful the Blackhawks franchise was earlier this decade, that video pretty much summed it up. Around that time, the Blackhawks had Theo Fluery who was a douche and Joclyn Thibault who reminds me of Cristobal Huet today: Bad.

If any of you are looking for a good Blackhawks website, check out http://www.hockeenight.com. I also have their link on the right side of the homepage.

The Blackhawks open up against the Florida Panthers in Helsinki, Finland at 11 a.m. Friday as well as Saturday on Comcast SportsNet. The Bulls open up the preseason at 6 p.m. Friday night against the Indiana Pacers on Comcast SportsNet Plus. It should be an exciting day.

Phew!

The Chicago Bears won yet another nail-biter beating the Seahawks on the road. So far this year, the games have all been close. You can make an arugment that the Bears should be 3-0 and the same can be said that they could easily be 0-3. I will gladly take the 2-1 record they have now. I don’t mean to ruin the moment but this team still has a lot of work to do to convince me they are for real.

Penalties: Six penalties for 60 yards. More importantly, the two straight facemask penalties in the 3rd quarter by Anthony Adams and Nick Roach. Pure stupidity. False starts by Frank Omiyale and Chris Williams might have been by the crowd noise but still is a concern.

Offensive line: Sucked. Plain and simple. Orlando Pace is a hall-of-famer but at this point in his career, he cannot make a block to save his life. Frank Omiyale and Chris Williams have been mediocre. Last year, the line played much better than expected with Josh Beekman and John Tait. Well, Tait is retired and Beekman is no where to be found. Maybe Lovie should consider starting Beekman at the tackle spot and sit Omiyale. Or, Kevin Shaeffer could fill that role.

Offense: For the second week in a row, Jay Cutler marched the troops down the field for a game winning drive. Before halftime on 4th and goal, he just barely got the pass away and still threw it right on the money to Greg Olsen. That play shows what a real quarterback does. And to show how good Cutler is at giving everyone on the field an oppurtunity to catch the ball, four of the five players who caught a pass had at least four catches and the one who had less than that was Johnny Knox who’s only catch was a touchdown.

Defense: The line played very well in this game as well as the linebackers. Lance Briggs had six tackles and an interception which lead to a field goal. Nick Roach had nice coverage on the final Seahawks play and Hunter Hillenmeyer held his own. He got hit in the rib and who knows how long he might miss.

The defensive backs did a solid job but the corners were awful. Charles Tillman and Zackary Bowman let Seneca Wallace play like he was Peyton Manning. Speaking of Tillman, he sure showed how well he can tackle when he let Julius Jones go for a 39 yard touchdown run on 3rd and long. And Nate Burleson? I cannot remember him having a great game since he played with the Vikings five years ago. He had nine catches for 109 yards. The first three drives to start the game turned into three scores. Pathetic.

I am happy that this team is where it is at but a lot of work needs to be done mostly the secondary. Maybe I am wrong too. This team was down 13-0 to the Seahawks yet found a way to come back and win. It is going to be a fight in this division. I still think the Packers are the team to beat but the Vikings are giving a run for their money.