Bears success in Week 2 lies on Jay Cutler's shoulders

After making a statement that they should not be overlooked this season back in Week 1, the Bears go on the road this week to take on the New Orleans Saints.
All of the talk this week revolves around the noise in the SuperDome and the blitzes the Saints and defensive coordinator Greg Williams will send at Jay Cutler. That makes Cutler's game Sunday the most important of any other player on the field, or maybe a close second to the five guys on the offensive line in picking up those rushers and dealing with the noise.
It's an area, that could get rough considering the three sacks the Bears gave up last week without much blitzing from the Falcons. If the Saints are able to load up on one side and the linemen are a couple paces slow in getting off the ball because they can't hear the snap count, things could get dicey. I put things then on Jay's shoulders to make the quick reads and calls to get the ball out of there in time from the play calls of Mike Martz.
As I wrote Monday, Martz showed some signs of helping out his quarterback in Week 1 with short passes mixed with the down-the-field routes and Jay hit them, specifically the touchdown pass to Matt Forte and the long pass and run by Devin Hester that set up another touchdown. He'll have to adapt the same way this week. A change this year is his playcalling from the booth, which gives a different vantage point and focusing on the weapons this offense has next to Jay.
Martz seemed to do a decent job calling plays that featured each of those weapons in Matt (Pay the man!) Forte, Devin Hester, Johnny Knox and Roy Williams. All four guys, and I could throw Matt Spaeth in the mix, too, had an impact last week. How often has a Bears fan been able to say that of four and maybe five receivers? The credit for that goes to both Martz and Cutler for getting them in position to make the right plays.
Will that pay off this week in New Orleans? With the blitzers coming from all angles, it will if Jay get's that extra second over the middle to get the ball out and let those receivers run after the catch. That's the one area the sending of blitzers from all angles allows. If Hester catches a ball in space and has a chance to turn on the jets, he can run away from anyone.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Bears got a great performance from their front four and saw Brian Urlacher have one of his better games in the last couple years. If the line can have a similar effort this week, they will be in a great spot to win.
It's no secret Drew Brees can pick a defense apart if he has time to survey the field and find an open receiver. If the Bears are able to get pressure on him with the likes of Julius Peppers, Harry Melton, Anthony Adams and Israel Idonoje they could have a good shot at winning.
The one question mark is what they do about the Saints' running backs of Darren Sproles and Mark Ingram. Ingram would be a more conventional back, but Sproles ripped apart the Packers defense at times and I'd be tempted to put a safety or a defensive back on him if he splits out wide. There really isn't another way to keep up with him. I'm not sure Lance Briggs can keep up with him and I know Nick Roach can't, which is why the DB option makes sense. The Bears will have to find a way to quiet that down, as you'd expect Sean Payton to exploit that matchup in some way.
The biggest thing that might propel this defense is having the heart and soul of it back in Urlacher who left to lay his mother to rest in Texas Wednesday, after she passed away Monday. You know he is going to play possessed and I expect the other 10 guys on the field to play for him. Knowing this unit, they are very close knit and have been together for a long time. I heard it in an interview with Lance Briggs today and he was feeling for Lac and it just seems like a week for this unit to have one of those games where they make the great plays. It is just meant to be.
The Pick: I see a few scores in this game and it will be a close one. But I'm confident the Bears line can continue to improve and, if they can get out front early in this game to take the crowd out of things a bit, can get the job done against the blitzes. On defense, I know Julius Peppers will have a great game, but would expect someone else to emerge on the line. Adams? Maybe.
That's why I see Bears 30, Saints 27 as the final score. It's that close and if the Bears can come away with this road win, they have to be taken very seriously heading into Week 3.

NFL Picks
Last week I went 10-6, which for the first week wasn't that bad. Once the landscape of the league gets laid out, it will get better. Let's jump right into Week 2. My picks are in bold, as always.
Raiders at Bills
Bears at Saints
Browns at Colts
Chiefs at Lions
Packers at Panthers
Ravens at Titans
Bucs at Vikings
Jaguars at Jets
Cardinals at Redskins
Seahawks at Steelers
Cowboys at 49ers
Bengals at Broncos
Texans at Dolphins
Chargers at Patriots
Eagles at Falcons
Rams at Giants

Who Dat, winning that Super Bowl 44?!

Well, let me start by saying my Super Bowl XLIV pic was way off. But I like being pleasantly surprised. That's exactly what the Saints did for me last night.
I'll say this, the Saints came out in the second half, after finding a way to get points at the end of the first half, and got it done. That's when games are won and Sean Payton was gutsy as hell. Yes Drew Brees executed the win, but Payton won it. That onside kick takes balls and is amazing. That was one of the most impressive second halves by a team I have seen. As much as you don't want to say it, sometimes confidence and believing you're going to do something can mean so much more than ability. That's what the Saints did. Sean Payton showed those guys they were going for it and they believed in it and got the win. It was damn impressive.
Tracy Porter's pick-six that sealed the win was just the punctuation on a great game. It shifted the discussion on whether Peyton Manning belonged in the big game. Really? The guy is ridiculous. Yes he belongs in the big game. He lost the Super Bowl. One game. Yes it's a big game, but the Saints as a team played great. And that's what beat Peyton in this one.
The scene after the game was great too. How awesome is that photo of Drew and his son? So awesome! That's truly enjoying the moment and his son doesn't know exactly what is happening, but he was having a blast with his father. So great!
Judging by the fact that this was the most watched television show EVER, most all of you watched the game. So I won't bore you with my breakdown of the action. I will leave you with this though.




Of course I will give my take on the commercials. I grew up on the Golden Girls, so seeing Betty White was great. I'm thinking "You're playing like Betty White" might make my sports vernacular. Haha.


Bud Light had a couple funny ones. I like the "House of Bud" and the "AutoTune" How great is T-Pain to make fun of himself? ... And here's the AutoTune!


Of course, I'm also a hawk for ones that feature some of our faves her on "The Way" When I saw my girl Megan Fox in a spot, you can bet I was excited.  But take a look when they do a close up of the phone and show her hands. Umm, I know for a fact that's not her hand because her thumbs look like big toes. Here's proof. That doesn't take anything away from the commercial though. So good!


The SI swimsuit issue does get unveiled tonight when the cover model is released on Letterman and tomorrow when it hits newstands. So I have a couple things to get you ready for that. Of course, the lovely ladies of SI Swim were mingling with NFL players last week. Another one of my faves, Marissa Miller, gave Matthew Stafford a thrill. Take a look at this.


That was not today's Nussie Hunter. I'm better to you than that. Last year's cover model was Bar Refaeli. And yes, she's looking good again this year. I'm done talking, just look!

Waiting is almost over, let's play this game already!

I don't know about you, but I'm sick and tired of hearing about Dwight Freeney's ankle. He didn't practice today, but I'm not going to read into that too much. It's not a surprise. The build up to this game is the most over done thing of the year to me. It gets rather sickening really. Even I have to get my previews in moderation and have to go dark on the game for a bit. That said, here I am writing about how I think the game will go.
So OK, let's get into the nuts and bolts of this game. The quarterbacks we know so they'll get theirs. I won't spend much time on Drew and Peyton. They could have a hand in the outcome, but it won't be anything that surprises you.
The running backs could be the X-Factor. If Reggie Bush or Joseph Addai can get something established, it might give enough of a wrinkle for his team, it might push them over the top. I actually see the Saints having a better big-play capability with the speed and weapons they have. That's not a shot on the Colts, they are just more of a piece-by-piece offense that is slow and methodical in making a drive down the field.
The Freeney injury could be a difference maker if he can't go. When he's not on the field look for the Saints to run to that side and run screens that way. With Reggie Bush taking those passes, they could be big plays in themselves.
The Saints defense is still probably the most vulnerable after giving up big numbers against the Vikings in the NFC Title game. They could give up equally bigger numbers in this one. If they can make up with that by forcing turnovers like they did to get to this game, I see them having a chance.
I'm hoping for a close game and I think both quarterback will deliver that for us and make this one of the best Super Bowls in recent memory. Are you ready? Here comes my pick...
My pick: Peyton Manning is just too good. The Saints might be up early, but as we saw in the AFC Title game, I don't see them burying the Colts too much. That gives Peyton enough time to get his team back in the game for the second half. I see the Colts winning this one by 10 and it might not be as high scoring as people think.
The Score: Colts 31, Saints 21. Hoping for a good one and Peyton making his mark as one of the greats.



I love the commercials of the game as much as the next guy. Here are the list of the Top 5 funnest commercials of last year's game. And I've included my two faves. The Doritos one is great.
The Denny's one is funny and yes I took part in the free Grand Slam. So good!



Some of the bests you can place with this year's game are pretty funny too. Of course on the top of THIS LIST is the usual stuff, but scroll down. You can bet on how long Carrie Underwood takes to sing and how many times Archie, Eli and Kim Kardashian are shown on CBS. It is too funny!


A little break from Super Bowl content to talk about the "movie" made by the Buried Life boys from MTV. Their episode this week was to ask out the girl of their dreams, which happened to be Megan Fox (Good taste!). Well, this was pretty funny, too. Enjoy and be sure to check them out Monday night when they deliver a baby! Should be awesome! Whoa!

The Nussie Hunter today wanted to fall in line with the Super Bowl theme and talk about the WAGS of the the Super Bowl. We could talk about the teams' cheerleaders, comparing fan hotness and just comparing WAGS in general. Of course there is only WAG we expect to see during the game and that is Kim Kardashian. Here she is. Remember if the Saints win Reggie is proposing. Good luck with that buddy!

Did Drew Brees just seal the NFL MVP?

Last night his five touchdown performance and complete dismantling of the once vaunted New England Patriots helped jump Drew Brees to the front of the line as the NFL MVP.
Look what Drew Brees has done this year. The man has thrown already for over 3,00o yards and 27 touchdowns in leading his team to an 11-0 record. I'm not saying he'll win the award right now, but he's on the most complete team (when healthy) and is the best player on that team.
The way I look at it is this, the award is the Most VALUABLE Player. And right now Drew is the most valuable in the league. He's what makes that entire offense run. If you take him out of the mix, what are the Saints? They are nothing.
I will give credit to the other candidates at this time. Brett Favre is most certainly No. 2 on the list at the minute. He has thrown just three interceptions all season and for him that is impressive. The Vikings are the only team that can give the Saints a run to me in the NFC and Favre makes that that much more dangerous.
You can't forget about Peyton Manning, either, who has an 11-0 team of his own to lead. With an offense that has no running game to speak of Manning has taken the team on his back and was part of a comeback that erased a 17-0 deficit. He is the most cerebral QB in the game and is just amazing with what he does at the line of scrimmage.
Finally, I'd have to say Chris Johnson of the Titans has to be on the list, too. He's on pace to rack up over 2,000 yards this season and has run for over 125 yards in the last five games. That is damn impressive. Add to that Vince Young and the Titans have won five straight games and you can't deny the switch has been flipped for the Titans.

Got a couple other things that we need to take care of today.
First off, figured I'd link to you this story in the New York post talking with Rachel Uchitel where she vehemently denies the affair with Tiger Woods.

Now to a wild hockey video. Watch for the goalie who almost gets his head taken off by his own player. Yikes!



Next up we got a couple Victoria's Secret features on the same night as the VS fashion show airs on CBS. Supermodel Candice Swanapoel was on the NFL Today Sunday. Just watch the guys act like school boys. Even Coach Cowher stumbles...



Alright, she wasn't the Nussie Hunter for the day, but rather my favorite VS model of all time. She was a bit of my obsession through college and was a virgin until she recently got married and had a child. Yeah, we're all jealous. I give you Adriana Lima. She is nothing short of perfect if you ask me.