I'll take a 1-0 start to the season anyday!

Well, let's get right into it. The Bears' 19-14 win over the Lions Sunday at Soldier Field was not without the play that will be felt and replayed over and over again throughout this NFL season.
My initial thought was, OK, this game is a loss. There are 24 seconds left, they have three timeouts, but that doesn't make things easier. But when I saw the play had been ruled an incomplete pass and I saw the replay, I had a gut feeling the play would not be overturned. Yes he caught the ball initially, but how he was holding it with one hand and just setting it down when his hand hit the ground, cost the Lions the score. It's simple really. That's why coaches teach high school kids to put the ball to their chest when they catch it. Had he down that and tossed the ball to a ref or even spiked the ball, the touchdown would have stood.
The best explanation of the thing is from former Director of Officials in Mike Pereira, who now works for Fox Sports. Here he is...

<a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/video?vid=84f74ba3-944b-4246-8a5b-a50d8c618c1c&from=IV2_en-us_foxsports_articles" target="_new" title="Online OT: Pereira's Week 1 Calls">Video: Online OT: Pereira's Week 1 Calls</a>


Alright, now time for a look at the rest of the game and the good and the bad from this team.
I'll say the best thing I saw in the day was the throw Jay Cutler made to Matt Forte to get the Bears the lead. It is clear if Mike Martz has things his way, Forte will play the role of Marshall Faulk in this offense. He is capable of doing so and the 151 receiving yards in the opener is the most for a running back on opening day in NFL history.
And I cannot go a game recap post without mentioning the man above wearing No. 6. No folks, Kevin Butler is long retired, but Jay Cutler had 371 yards with two touchdowns. He looked poised and ready to spread the ball over the field. That's the work in the Martz offense that I wanted to see in the preseason. It was apparently kept under wraps and was ceremoniously unveiled Sunday. There is also one Cutler stat that stands out to me and it is the one interception he threw. Yes, Aaron Rodgers, the guy many gave the MVP to, including myself has more interceptions that Cutler. So all the pundits can sit down (at least for now).
There were some things that upset me. Namely the turnovers that kept this game close.  It's not rocket science and a coach doesn't even had to mention it to the players. It's like a pitching coach telling a pitcher to throw strikes. He's going to respond with a "No kidding, thanks for the help." The Greg Olsen cough up in side the five was the biggest one to me. Last year the Bears were the worst inside the redzone and you can't expect them to be that bad again. this start to the season isn't exactly encouraging, though.
I am pretty sure it will get fixed and we will not be talking about this for long.
Week 2 is at Dallas and it should be another good one. Look for the preview on that one during the week!

Time now for the Nussie Hunter and we go no farther than the WWE to find our gorgeous guest for today. It's the one and only Maryse Oulett.  The fine folks at Guyism.com have more photos of her. Be sure to take a look! Here's a preview:

What to think of the 2010 Monsters of the Midway

At noon Sunday the Chicago Bears start another season and this may be the first time in a long time my expectations for the season are low.
Does an 0-4 preseason give fans anything to get excited about? Well, not really. Aside from Matt Forte's 89-yard touchdown run against the Raiders in Week 2 of the preseason.
Everything from Jay Cutler's production with the offense, to the offensive line in pass protection, there are a lot of things I don't think this team can do.
Is that to say they won't get it fixed through the year? Maybe, but with an offseason and preseason games to work on things, you'd think they'd have things under control by now.
On the defensive side of the ball Julius Peppers has been everywhere on the field and Brian Urlacher (when he has not been nursing a calf strain) has been a welcome re-addition to this unit. There are still question marks at cornerback with Nathan Vasher shipped out of town and Zachary Bowman taking over. Also, at safety where the coaching staff cannot seem to figure out if Daniel Manning and the re-acquired Chris Harris belong at the spot.
So, ,you're probably thinking, do I think the Bears are going to do this year? Well, the folks that have this team winning three games this season are mistaken. They are better than that if they just let Jay make the calls for himself and just wing it at the line. If you saw my NFL preview the other night, you saw I didn't have them in the playoffs and that is right. The Vikings and the Packers are too good within the division for the Bears to make it into the postseason.
The schedule this year is pretty tough and I'm thinking this team could have another 7-9 or 8-8 year in them. It's not awful, but it's not great either and I'm going to say it now, Lovie Smith should not be back next season.
The only way things turn is if things start to click offensively and Cutler and Martz figure out the offense and everyone gets rolling. In order to do that, the offensive line is going to have to play out of their minds and Mike Tice will have worked wonders because even the supposed best of the bunch in Chris Williams has looked terrible at points during the preseason.


Alright, let's turn our attention to the near future and Sunday's game against the Lions, shall we? The Lions have lost 20 at home and in two games the Bears scored 47 points against Detroit last year.
With the Bears playing at home, I'm going to give them the edge in this game to get things established with Matt Forte and Chester Taylor early. Whether that is with straight runs or with short throws from Cutler is up to Mike Martz, but I see it happening.
To me, that is the key in the offense. If a line can run block, they can protect the QB and if they can push bodies around when the guys are running down hill, they will be able to get the confidence needed to protect Jay and maybe even let him make some strikes downfield.
The news today is that Lance Briggs and Desmond Clark are "probable" to play and both should be welcomed on the field. Briggs, moreso, clearly for his importance on the weakside next to Brian Urlacher and Pisa Tinoasumoa on the strong side.
The key for the defense is simple, get off the field on third down. If Julius Peppers can get some pressure on the Matt Stafford or bring enough attention to himself that Tommie Harris and Marc Anderson can get pressure, the Cover-2 will be able to shine.
Prediction: Bears 24, Lions 20


OK, folks, time for a talk with the Nussie Hunter. He made a trip Down Under and brought back with him shots of Miranda Kerr set to appear in Victoria's Secret. I'll say it's not a secret anymore, hun. Here she is. And here are more shots of her!

Could you call that a Flying Jay-bird?

Hello all. I'm back after a big of a long weekend, had to run to catch Favreapalooza last night, so I'm back.
Let me first chime on in the big Bears win Sunday afternoon. I was sober enough to recount all of the game and the first half left something to be desired. The defensive play was horrible. Twenty-one points in the first half is way too much to give up to anyone, let alone the Lions.
Just as the Bears had done in the first half of the previous two wins, the third quarter was where they tore the heart out of opponents. All thanks to a little thing Lovie and the coaches call "coach 'em up."
As this story, from Monday's Chicago Tribune said, the Bears made two big coach decisions that paved the way for change. The first was on the opening kickoff of the second half as Johnny Knox went 102 yards for a touchdown. That's a hat tip to special teams coach Dave Toub.
The other adjustment was one I was calling for in the first half as Calvin Johnson shredded the Bears' secondary for 5 catches and 119 yards. At halftime, Lovie made the move to have Charles Tillman shadow him to whichever side he went on and it ended up paying off as Johnson had just 3 catches for 14 yards.
In fact, the defense as a whole was on in the second half, especially the defensive line, which gave position coach Rod Marinelli the game ball in helping beat his old team (you know the one he led to an 0-16 record last year).
Jay Cutler was not overly impressive on this day, but he was good enough and didn't do anything to lose the game for the Bears. Plus, he made an amazing dive into the endzone (above) which looked a lot like the John Elway play from Super Bowl 31 against the Packers. (Yes the Elway comparisons must continue).



And I'm checking on Tuesday so I figured I'd weigh in on this Brett Favre BS. I'll make it short and sweet, I swear.
I thought Brent, I mean Brett, looked rather good. He was on point in this one. He made the big play when he needed to and that led to the win. His offensive line was on point and that was probably the biggest difference. To me it looked like Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers was going to make Favre beat him and not let Adrian Peterson do it.
The one play I thought Favre messed up on was an attempt at a 40-yard bomb with 3 minutes left that stopped the clock with an incomplete pass instead of taking 40 more seconds off the clock. Aside from that I thought he and Aaron Rodgers were rather even, minus what the stats will tell you (Rodgers does have more yards).
Rodgers was doing it with a downright AWFUL offensive line. I do not know where the Packers coaching staff got off saying these guys were ready to play during training camp and the preseason because both tackles have been worked through four games.
As a Bears fan, I thought we saw enough from both teams to get a good gameplan together and see how one would go about exploiting them.

I'm a little late on this, but with Rio de Jenero winning the 2016 Summer Olympics hosting bid, I thought it would be great to show this here. One of Brazil's own, Giselle, is doing a celebratory dance. No, this is not the Nussie Hunter, I have something big planned for you there.



NOW, it's time for the Nussie Hunter portion of the blog. I wanted to do this yesterday, but couldn't get one up. It's still good though. Allow me to introduce you to Natalin Acvi (Follow her on Twitter). She is smoking hot and was asked to pose for a photoshoot with new L.A. Laker Ron Artest. (He actually set it up for himself, actually, which is a baller move if you ask me). It was actually featured on SI.com's Hot Clicks and it made her the No. 1 trending topic on Google yesterday. Asking who she is? Well, she's starting in the movie Couple's Retreat which comes out this week. Enjoy this and additional photos, here.

The Lions' feel-good story ends at Soldier Field

So the Detroit Lions won their first game since 2007 last Sunday, ending a 19-game losing streak. Let's be real, this is nothing near the 0-16 Lions team that played last season. In fact, as I read today in the Chicago Tribune, there are 31 new players on the 53-man roster and of the 22 starters, 15 did not start on opening day last year.
Yeah, these Lions are better, but that doesn't mean a Bears team that is a bit dinged up is going to become the next victim in line and help them move to 2-2 on the year. I'm sorry, but that's not going to happen. Someone's got to play the bad guy and I'm fine with it being the Bears Sunday on the Lakefront at Soldier Field.
The way the Bears have won the last two weeks, is leading me to believe they are doing just enough to get the wins and at this point of the year when kinks are still being worked out, that's all that matters.
Helping the cause is the fact that the Lions won last week. There is no way now the words that come out of the coach's mouth "You can't overlook any team" fall on deaf ears. That got the players' attention and Sunday, Jay Cutler and his offense is going to get it done.
The Bears need to get this running game on track and Sunday would be the perfect time to do it. Just grind it out against this team and show them who the class of the NFC North is while the Packers and Vikings get ready to beat the tar out of each other Monday night.
Here's some game links for you heading into Sunday's game.
Rod Marinelli looking ahead not at past
Nick Roach likely to start (As I wrote here the other day)
Forget Past; Briggs present
Bears not expecting easy prey out of Stafford

In other NFL news, there are some players that will, for the rest of the month be donning pink gear in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Greg Olsen of the Bears is one of them and he got Jay Cutler on board with the mission, as well. Good stuff.
Chad OchoCinco is also pulling out the pink. He's going all the way, getting almost everything he can possibly find pink to wear for Sunday. Take a look at his TwitPics he's posted. And don't forget to follow him on Twitter!

I've finalized my picks for Week 4. Here they are. Take a look and let me know what you think! Last week I only missed on three and had the Lions picked to beat the Redskins!

Some baseball news for you. Saw this video on Deadspin.com of Joe Mauer allegedly tipping signs. Take a look and read the follow-up on the issue. Of course, they are not coming clean or saying they are indeed stealing signs.

Now to the Nussie Hunter feature of the day. Back when I started this blog, I featured the Maxim Hometown Hotties Search. Well, time is running out to vote for the winner as they have narrowed it down to the Top 10. Well, I've got my pick. Don't let the Stevie name fool you. This girl is a winner! She needs to send fan mail to wilbersway@gmail.com now!

Who will be the beast in the NFC East?

Alright boys and girls, just two more divisions left as the season starts tomorrow. Today we find ourselves in the NFC East. It's a tough division from top to bottom. And this could be a tough year for them with some changes that I'm not so sure change the landscape too drastically.

NFC East
Dallas Cowboys
Terrell Owens is no more in the Big D and Roy Williams is now the No. 1 receiver in Dallas. It will be interesting to see how Tony Romo responds to not having a certain No. 81 around town.
Every time I see Wade Phillips he seems like he doesn't have a clue. I know they call him a "players coach" but doesn't appear to have control over the team. Is there a happy medium there?
Most important player: Jason Witten is back as Romo's favorite target. His 81 catches last year should be consistent this year and will have to be as Williams seemed to disappear during his time with the 'Boys late last season.

New York Giants
This offensive line is one of the best in the league and has handed the keys over to Brandon Jacobs to be the No. 1 without Brandon Ward bearing down on him. Still expect to see Ahmed Bradshaw's speed sprinkled in.
With Osi Umenyiora back from his Week 1 injury last year, Justin Tuck should be able to continue his solid performance and be able to combine forces to become a great duo.
Most important player: To give Eli a go-to receiver, Steve Smith is going to have to step up. As Plex is gone and the team struggled last year. With the running game carrying so much of the burden, he'll need to step up for Eli and this offense to not be so one-dimensional.

Philadelphia Eagles
Michael Vick will do very little for this team in my eyes this season. He's here as a security blanket in case Donavon McNabb gets hurt (which he has the past few seasons).
Michael Westbrook is still great as both a runner and receiver, but even he will miss at least two games this season. After a 9-6-1 season last year and some key departures on defense last year, that would be where I'd be looking to find out if this team is going to be successful.
Most important player: Sports Illustrated points out strong safety Quintin Mikell as a guy to spotlight and it's hard to argue with that. With Brian Dawkins gone to Denver the defense has no leader and Mikell is going to have to step up and be the leader. With a schedule that is a bit more forgiving in how it is all sequenced, it could all come together at the right time for the Eagles.

Washington Redskins
Michael Haynesworth is a force and he moves to the 'Skins and is going to be a monster again this season in the middle. But, again I'll site SI, was it the right way to spend the money? The offense is the biggest question for me on this team as apart from Clinton Portis no one really scares me.
That said, they will have an opportunity and be in games if the defense presents them with short fields and turnovers, the offense will have what it needs to score points and won't need to score a lot of them.
Most important player: Jason Campbell was almost traded in the offseason, but unlike Jay Cutler he remained call and stayed in town. He showed some signs last year and will need Antwaan Randle El, Santana Moss and Chris Cooley to step up.

OK, it's prediction time
NY Giants 11-5 - Eli will come through when he's called upon
Dallas Cowboys 10-6 -- Felix Jones gets a chance to shine for the Cowboys on their big screen
Philadelphia Eagles 7-9 -- Not a shot on how bad the Eagles are, more how good those around them are.
Washington Redskins 6-10 -- Not enough faith in Campbell shows on the field

The previews are winding down as the season gets ready to start. Here's a look back
Sept. 1: AFC South
Sept 2: AFC West
Sept. 3: AFC East
Sept. 4: AFC North
Sept. 7: NFC South
Sept. 8: NFC West
Sept. 9: NFC East (Today)
Thursday, Sept. 10: NFC North
Friday, Sept. 11: Playoffs and Super Bowl XLIV picks

While the NFC North Preview is tomorrow, I couldn't hold out on this video for another day. Found this great video from the Onion Sports Network on SI.com's Hot Click today. Very funny.


NFL Players Mentor Troubled Detroit Lions

Now we find ourselves back at the Nussie Hunter segment of the day. If you've followed Wilber's Way since our early days, you remember me promoting the two Wisconsin entrants in the Maxim Hometown Hotties contest. We'll things are down to the Finals now with just 10 left. You can check out all the lovely ladies, here. But Wilber's Way is endorsing a candidate and we're going with the amazing Leslie (even though she is listed as having a boyfriend). Enjoy!