What if other professions had replacements?

For those not in the know, the Packers, simply put, got robbed last night.

While NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's experiment (what else can we call it?) in using replacement officials while he locks out the regular ones over a dispute of $3 million in pension pay, the replacement refs continue to go from bad to worse. While this site, being the Chicago sports site that it is, is no fan of that team from up north in Wisconsin (and the loss helped put the Bears back into first place in the NFC North), the Packers were hosed by the refs on that last second "touchdown" by WR Golden Tate from QB Russell Wilson, giving the Seahawks an improbable 14-12 win, with the NFL upholding the call in a statement issued this morning.

To show they at least have a sense of humor about it, WGBA-TV, NBC 26 in Green Bay brought out their "replacement weather guy" to do the weather forecast this morning.

Bears win, but work needs to be done

Source: AP/Pantagraph

Yep, the Bears managed to pull out the 23-6 win over the Rams Sunday at Soldier Field. Obvious to anyone who watched the game, it was ugly in spots, pretty good in others. Let's examine:

The good: That defense, left for dead after the debacle in Green Bay last week, came out in style, holding Sam Bradford, Steven Jackson and the rest of that St. Louis offense to two field goals and only 160 total yards on offense. There was also that brilliant pick-six in the fourth quarter by safety Major Wright off the deflection by teammate Tim Jennings that pretty much sealed the game, and Bradford spent much of the game running for his life, getting sacked four times. Yes, it had what in any other circumstance could be deemed a stupid personal foul penalty on Julius Peppers, but it could be deemed a questionable call by the replacement refs who seem to be getting worse every week (more on them in a moment).

We also had RB Michael Bush, who picked up 55 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries as he filled in for Matt Forte, who sat out with an ankle sprain. No, he's not Forte, but he did the job much more admirably than last year's backup, Marion Barber, whose performance against Denver in December stills haunts this writer. He's a keeper, to say the least.

The bad: That offense. Yes, QB Jay Cutler put up a decent performance, putting up 183 yards passing with only one INT. And yes, he was sacked only twice. But, as Comcast Chicago Kip Lewis put it, it appears that Mike Martz is back coaching the offense. WR Brandon Marshall, who was so dangerous in Week One against the Colts, had five catches, but it looked like he was hardly an option for Cutler most of the game.

The ugly: The officiating by the replacement refs seems to be getting worse every week. The worst example was, outside of that personal foul penalty on Peppers, which hardly looked like anything (despite Fox announcers Jim Nantz's and John Lynch's agreement with them), was after Cutler threw what turned into his lone INT to Rams CB Cortland Finnegan in the first quarter. With some question as to whether Finnegan fumbled at the end of his return, the Bears could have snapped the ball and let play resume. But the refs dawdled on making any call whatsoever before finally allowing Rams coach Jeff Fisher to throw the challenge flag. Granted, the replay allowed the refs to make the correct call, but it took way too much time. We can't get the regular officials back soon enough.

The Bears get an extra day before they travel to Arlington to take on the Cowboys on Monday Night Football. That offensive line will have to be at the top of its game against a Dallas defense that held Josh Freeman and the Buccaneers to only 166 yards of offense Sunday.

Cutler attacks hypocritical

The attacks on Bears QB Jay Cutler during the last week have been interesting at best and hypocritical at worst.

For those not in the know, Cutler stunk it up last Thursday as he threw four interceptions and had a quarterback rating lower than Congress' approval rating as the Bears lost 23-10 in Green Bay. He also was sacked seven times and had a well-publicized altercation with his left tackle, J'Marcus Webb, shouting at him before pushing him aside as they returned to the sideline.

It was that altercation with Webb that got much of the attention, with pundits on both sides of the issue weighing in. Greg Couch at Fox Sports was perhaps the worst of the bunch, saying it was time to consider Cutler the latest of the bad QBs the Bears have had since Sid Luckman, adding that Cutler will never be the superstar he thinks he is.

Really? Just a few days before that mess in Green Bay, seemingly everyone was praising Cutler and the Bears' offense for being explosive as they led the way to a 41-21 win over the Colts in the season opener. Cutler threw for 333 yards and two touchdowns, including one to new/old teammate Brandon Marshall, who had his own breakout game with 119 yards receiving and a touchdown.

Now, we see the latest in the "what have you done for me lately" mentality in this country as he has a bad game. Wasn't we just saying he was a great QB, the best the Bears have had since Luckman? What happened to that?

Yes, we have his performance against the Packers, a game that he could have truly made a statement in with a good performance. And yes, we are wondering about him after he said on his radio show that he was "proud of his performance" last week. However, let's look at that a little more closely.

We have those seven sacks. That's the main problem with that offensive line that the Bears have that can at times be truly offensive. Anytime we see a quarterback sacked seven times, including 3.5 by Packers LB Clay Matthews in a performance that had the NFL Network guys joking that they hoped he wouldn't sack them on the sidelines, it's never a good thing. So for Cutler to yell at his tackle for not protecting him, at the guy that was charged with keeping Matthews off of him, it was justifiable. In addition, Cutler rarely threw to his big money man, Brandon Marshall, who had only two catches for 24 yards.

Plus, Colin Cowherd of ESPN had a good take on this on both his radio show and "SportsNation" in that it's mainly an image issue with Cutler. Despite his radio show (and maybe his radio show is an attempt to fix this), Cutler hasn't been the most personable guy around. Cowherd compared Cutler with Tim Tebow, who despite lackluster performances in wins and his now backup status to Mark Sanchez in New York has a great public image. Cutler, on the other hand, has been seen as standoff-ish and not a personable guy. Should that matter? Of course not.

Not does that make Cutler an elite quarterback? Considering he has yet to win anything of significance, let's play the wait and see game on this.

Now this Sunday he has a chance to redeem himself in front of a friendly Soldier Field crowd against the Rams, the NFL's equivalent of the cupcake team major college teams feast on early in the season. If he can come back with a great performance, you can be certain we'll all be singing Cutler's praises again all of next week, until the next game.

Jay Cutler apathetic?

Source: Smokinjaycutler.tumblr.com

Somebody out there has a twisted sense of humor, playing off Bears QB Jay Cutler's yelling and shoving of teammate and J'Marcus Webb last week against the Packers. We bring you "Smokin' Jay Cutler," showing Cutler in his, um, Photoshopped finest.

We'll have more on Cutler and the rest of the Bears soon.

Is Brian Urlacher ready?

Source: Sports Grind Entertainment

"It's nobody's business."

That was the response of Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher to a question on ESPN Radio 1000 's Waddle and Silvy this morning in response to whether he had secret surgery on his knee in Germany during the offseason. The knee has been a source of constant problems for the 12-year veteran during this training camp, even causing speculation that he is washed up and the Bears need to replace him.

Let's start with that speculation: Despite the argument of the Sun-Times' Rick Telander that the Bears could have cut him before Sunday's season opener against the Colts, he needs to hang around, even if he isn't the same guy he was five years ago. He still plays hard. He is still the leader of a highly ranked defense, and he still contributes in much of the same way he has in the same tradition of great Bears middle linebackers going from Bill George to Dick Butkus to Mike Singletary.

He has been cleared to play by the Bears' medical staff. Even if he was blowing smoke on Waddle and Silvy by saying the sunburn he got the other day while out boating hurts more than his knee, he still knows his body better than anyone out there. There is a certain amount of trust one has to give a player to know when to say to when.

Plus, despite the good play of Nick Roach in his absence and the coverage of Lance Briggs, Urlacher still provides that spark that powers the Bears' defense. No Urlacher, and the Bears start falling even more than they did at the end of last season.

That said, the Bears' brain trust should perhaps bring Urlacher along a little slowly to start the season. If the Bears wind up blowing out the hapless Colts Sunday at Soldier Field, then he should be the first player to leave the game early. This will keep him fresh and ready for the big games, including the Thursday nighter in Green Bay on September 13.

Running laps around the Web...

-- A Cubs fan in Buffalo Grove, Ill., has taken drastic measures to turn around the Cubs' season, vowing to eat only 500 calories a day until the Cubs either win five games in a row or end their season. It might be a long rest of the summer.

-- A detailed look at the frustrations of following this year's Cubs (Warning: Strong language).

-- A more positive look at the Cubs' season: They are only 2.5 games out of first after last night's 9-5 win over the Brewers, the same distance they were on May 8 when Aramis Ramirez went on the disabled list with a dislocated shoulder.

-- Sports Illustrated takes a look at Aplington-Parkersburg High football coach Ed Thomas, who was gunned down last week while supervising his team's off-season workouts.

-- A debate on how the Blackhawks have done in the free agent market so far, especially in light of signing Marian Hossa to a 12-year deal.

-- Former Bulls and now Pistons guard Ben Gordon takes some parting shots at his former club.

-- The Bears apparently have given up chasing troubled ex-Giants WR Plaxico Burress.

Copyright 2009 - Wait Til Next Century.

Is the headache worth a good wide receiver?

One of two potential headache players could be headed to Chicago in the coming weeks.

The Bears, along with the Jets and Buccaneers, are reportedly the main teams interested in signing former Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress. Burress, as you may recall, missed the last five games of the 2008 season after he shot himself in the leg while at a nightclub, leading to his eventually being released by the Giants on April 3. He now faces up to 3.5 years in prison on a weapons charge after the incident.

His stats are something to behold. While his 2008 season was basically a wash-out thanks to the gunshot, in 2007 he caught 70 passed for 1,025 yards and 12 touchdowns while helping lead the Giants to their upset Super Bowl win over the then-undefeated New England Patriots.

Right now, his attorney is trying to work out a deal that will at least keep Burress out of jail for the 2009 season, and possibly get the weapons charge reduced to the point where he only get probation. That includes Monday's news that the case was delayed until Sept. 23. There also is the possibility that Commissioner Roger Goodell could suspend Burress for all or part of the season for the incident.

If not Burress, then who does new QB Jay Cutler get to throw to? ESPN's Jeff Dickerson reports that while early reviews of the Bears' current receiving corp of Devin Hester, Earl Bennett, Brandon Rideau and Johnny Knox have been good so far, they are at best unprovable and at worst not going to be good enough targets for Cutler.

One possibility could be former Jaguars' WR Matt Jones, who caught 65 passes for 761 yards last year. He was released by the Jaguars after he got busted for possession of cocaine, and likely will avoid suspension by the NFL higher-ups, according to the Chicago Sun-Times and ESPN's Chris Mortensen.

Like I mentioned on Friday, Chicago is a town known for embracing controversial and potentially troubled athletes.

Dennis Rodman, for example, spent three years in Chicago with the Bulls, from the 1995-96 to 1997-98 seasons. He was, shall we say, colorful and controversial, doing everything from kicking a cameraman during a game to wearing a wedding dress to promote his autobiography in 1996.

However, he was a beast on the boards, averaging more than 15 rebounds a game as he played a big role in helping the Bulls win NBA titles all three years he was in town.

The Bears aren't looking for any choirboys, though it would be nice to hear what your wide receiver is up to on the practice field rather than the courtroom or commissioner's office.

Could Burress or Jones be the answer? Jones has the potential, mainly because he is healthy and not nearly as distracted as Burress, who with delays, likely will have the prospect of prison time hanging over his head for the season and potentially making him largely ineffective. That is also assuming he remains healthy and that the 2007 season was not a fluke.

Copyright 2009 - Wait Til Next Century

Please let this happen...

The Sun-Times is reporting Bears coach Lovie Smith visited former Arkansas running backs Darren McFadden and Felix Jones Monday ahead of the NFL draft April 26 and 27. This could mean the end of Cedric Benson's short run as the Bears' main guy, which obviously never really worked out (too many injuries, too little effectiveness).

Whether the Bears could nab McFadden remains to be seen. Da Bears pick at number 14 in the draft, and McFadden is projected to go somewhere around picks 4 to 6 (currently owned by the Raiders, Chiefs and Jets). Plus, the Bears' main need still remains on the offensive line, which went from bad to worse during the course of last season.

Still, if the Arkansas phenom did find his way, we could envision a nice rivalry of running backs with the Vikings' Adrian Peterson, who tore up the league last year with 1,341 yards and 12 touchdowns (including a three-touchdown day at Soldier Field on Oct. 14) in route to the Rookie of the Year award.

Plus, he would be the most fun and um... interesting athlete since a certain Mr. Dennis Rodman.

Remembering Super Bowls of the past

With the next Super Bowl coming up this Sunday, it brings to mind memories of Super Bowls past.

For instance, there was the first Super Bowl I truly cared about, the first season I truly cared about football and the first team I really got into. That was, of course, the 1985 Chicago Bears. A fun bunch, it featured a team so brash, so confident, that they recorded the ultimate team-based song that's ever been put down in a studio. That was the Super Bowl Shuffle:





As for Super Bowl XX itself (played on Jan. 26, 1986), I remember exactly where I was. I had just turned 10, and my dad and I wound up at this bar and grill called Cruisers in Beach Park, Ill. (Coincidently, we wound up moving into the house not even half a block away two years later). With a couple of Dad's friends from work, we grabbed our booth and watched the big game on the big screen. I sipped 7-Up the entire time, and I remember eating this rib dinner that was pretty good.

Besides the game itself, won by the Bears 46-10 over the hapless (at least that day) New England Patriots, I remember the game getting out of hand when somebody accidently changed the channel, and all of a sudden we were watching the Spanish-language soap opera. The entire restaurant howled, and the game was back on in no time.

I remember it was cold the next day, so cold in fact that Mom kept my brother Eric and me home from school. I remember watching the Bears' victory down Michigan Avenue in Chicago on TV that afternoon, a throng of people lining the streets and cheering their hearts out despite the cold. It was a fun year.

Last year and Super Bowl XLI was another memory. Since it was the Bears' first time in the Super Bowl in 21 years, I decided to be with the ones I had developed my fanhood with, my family. While the weather outside my parents' house in Zion, Ill., was -4 degrees, we were plenty warmed up with good food, Eric, his wife Dina, and their then 5-month-old daughter, Ashley, along with my parents and a friend of Eric's and mine from high school, Erick. With the Dos Equis beer readily available, we watched the Bears kick things off right with this play:



The memorable part of this was the aftermath. As Devin Hester finished his run, all of us were screaming and going nuts. Meanwhile, poor little Ashley, lying on a blanket on the floor, is going nuts, too - in a different way. She is scared to death, and her mother quickly rushed to comfort her.

We all decided then to try and behave ourselves and keep the screaming to a low roar the next time the Bears did something good. Fortunately for little Ashley, and unfortunately for the rest of us, that kickoff return was the highlight of the game, and Peyton Manning and the Colts picked the Bears apart and won the game, 29-17.

Unfortunately, I proved to be right when I predicted a downfall after the Bears traded running back Thomas Jones. Combined with a series of injuries to key players, and the inconsistency (to be kind) of quarterback Rex Grossman, da Bears ended the year 7-9, with only wins over the Packers and the Saints in the last two weeks enough to remember the season by.

Tis a shame.

Brrrrr Green Bay!

Super Bowl XLII's lineup is finally set, and ESPN and much of the east coast-based national media (this means you, ESPN) got its wish with the Giants and Patriots set to play in the Arizona desert on Feb. 3.

It was a fun ride Sunday as both games were pretty good, especially the NFC Conference Championship on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field. Since the Patriots were pretty much a foregone conclusion to make it to the big game, let's focus instead on what we could the upset of the month:

It was a crazy week in Green Bay leading up to Sunday's game. Maybe that snow storm that the Pack and the Seahawks played through on Jan. 12 was an indication of things to come, but it started getting a little weird up there in Cheeseheadland.

-- There was that little incident during that playoff game against the Seahawks where a man was arrested for taping a Packers jersey on his son after the boy apparently refused to wear it. According to WTMJ radio out of Milwaukee, the incident might have been the end result of something domestic brewing for some time.

Now I've joked about disowning my son if he ever becomes a Packer fan or begins to root for the University of Iowa, but there are limits. And needless to say, football is just a game.

-- But it was becoming more than a game for WLUK-TV, the Fox affiliate in Green Bay. After learning that "Seinfeld" is Giants QB Eli Manning's favorite show, station management decided to preempt its regular 5:30 p.m. showing of a "Seinfeld" rerun with something of the fan's choosing (my understanding is they opted to air a special on Packers coaching legend Vince Lombardi instead), all to disrupt Manning's preparation (since he would likely be relaxing in his hotel room before a team meeting) for the NFC title game the next day.

"We don't want to give any comfort to the enemy whatsoever when they come into town," WLUK general manager Jay Zollar said to Newsday. "We know laughter is good medicine, and we decided we're not going to give that to him."

It didn't work, as Eli was "master of his domain" (sorry, couldn't resist the joke) in beating the Packers the next day.

-- Some of that insanity must have seeped down from Cheeseland into Chicago, as Chicago Tribune columnist Eric Zorn wrote on Thursday "Five Reasons for Bears fans to root for the Packers." Zorn, a product of the University of Michigan and native of the Detroit area, according to his Wikipedia entry, cited division pride, tradition, "Favre fancy" and "transitive triumphalism." as reasons.

He was widely scorned for the thought, with some of the more creative comments as:

Sigh...
Eric, Sometimes it's so obvious that you didn't grow up in this area.

Posted by: Tom | Jan 17, 2008 12:44:20 PM

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Where is the "Who cares" option?

I live in WI, and I'm already sick of hearing about the Packers. Every time Brett Favre has so much as scratched himself this week, we have 45 minutes of news coverage about it. What was he scratching? Did the itch go away? What do his teammates think? What do the fans think? Oh look, it's some lady who has a dress made out of Packer logo toilet paper. And so forth.

I'm glad people are excited, but there's such a think as overkill.

Posted by: Spike | Jan 17, 2008 12:54:11 PM

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There are 0 reasons to root for the Packers. Favre? Please, is is a receord setting QB - most interceptions in the history of the NFL. I became a Giants fan after the Cowboys lost last weekend. I am a Bears fan through and through, so this weekend I am rooting for the red and blue. Maybe Favre will cry like a sissy after the game like he did after the Bears game last year.

Posted by: DJG | Jan 17, 2008 12:54:25 PM


The thing is, I'm not sure which is more disturbing: the column itself and the poll that ran with the column had 64.1 percent of the respondents saying, yes, Bears fans should pull for the Packers.

Personally, I think a bunch of Wisconsinites filled the ballot box on the poll, and as far as rooting for a division rival since it reflects good on the Bears, I can't do it. As far as the NFC North is concerned, I can't stand the Packers (I can respect their attempts to uphold tradition in a small town in an increasingly corporate league and world, but it doesn't mind I have to like them), and I can't stand the Vikings. I'd say the same for the Lions, but they've stunk for so long, you just can't hate them.

Besides, how can you root for a team that's dressed in colors that, as my dad puts it, are like moldy cheese.

So thank you to the Giants for making it an easy decision on who to root for on Super Bowl Sunday.

To end, for your entertainment and amazement, here is Eddie Murphy's take on the NFC Championship game...20 years early: