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!

Bears put foot in mouth before heading off to Baltimore

A couple weeks ago it was Brian Urlacher, who hadn't been on the field since the first quarter of the Week 1 loss to the Packers that made waves with his words. Well, this week, it was Lance Briggs and Devin Hester's turn to send shockwaves through Halas Hall and send speculators running rampant through the Bears organization.
With the words he spoke in this story in the Chicago Tribune (among other places) Briggs set the world a fire and now the Bears, who aren't playing for a draft pick in the first two rounds to better, are in a public relations nightmare.
The focus here, should be on winning and with this nonsense it seems the last thing on the minds of Bears players and coaches is this week's opponent, the Ravens.
The attention is more on who will be gone and who will stay from what I am dubbing "The season of disappointment." Yeah, it's been rough, but really now this is no time for it.
I know what it is, really. It's media types, much like myself, who poke and pry and try to get something to write and they sure did it.
As mentioned in the story linked to above, Devin Hester had to turn to his Twitter page to set the record straight as to what he was meaning with his words.
To be fair, both of these guys are right with what they said. But hindsight is 20/20 and we can't afford to look back. You can't take back losing that girl you broke up with years ago and you can't change letting a coach or a player go here and there.
The guys need to play out the final three games against the Ravens, Vikings and Lions and hopefully win at least two of those.

As for this week against the Ravens, I did pick the Bears to win and there is good reason. I liked what I saw out of the Bears defense last week against the run after the big one to start. I hope they can bring that same intensity again this week because they'll need it against Ray Rice and this running game.
I think they will bring it. And Tommie Harris has started to show me something the past few weeks, too and if he keeps building, he could find his stride, too.
So, it comes down to the offense. Jay didn't play an awful game last week, but did make the awful throw that led to the winning touchdown.
He did admit this week that it has been hard to stay confident this season and that is the reason I tell the fans to not jump on this guy. It's a work in progress around him. He's trying to make plays. This week, I say he makes a couple, let's just hope it's not the big one that leads to the collapse again.
My prediction is this: Bears win this one 17-14 in a snow game that was moved back to 3:15. Both QBs give way to running games that move the pile and put some points on late, but it comes down to a Robbie Gould field goal.

A Friday night blog needs some comedy and we have to keep the Jersey Shore trip going. "Whereas and in reference to" The Situation and "Such as" Snooky this Bobby Bottle Service aka "The Service" is coming on strong. Haha. This is awesome!

Bobby Bottleservice - Jersey Shore Audition Tape - watch more funny videos

Alright, we quickly head to the Nussie Hunter portion of today's broadcast and it's a bit of Brewers news as well. The Crew signed another catcher in veteran Matt Treanor to a minor league contract and invited him to Major League Spring Training. That isn't news in itself that is fit for the Nussie Hunter, but when he did a search and Tom Haurdricourt pointed out Treanor is married to an Olympic medalist, Misty May-Treanor, he perked up.
Yes folks, the Brewers added another WAG to the stands at Miller Park. And the fans rejoice!

Crabtree? No, the Niners have a bad case of VD!

It's a rare Thursday night edition of a Bears preview, just over an hour before kickoff, so I know most of you aren't going to catch this before the game. Going to skim over a couple storylines to keep an eye on if you catch it during the game.
The main storyline between both the Bears and 49ers during this short week was what was said by Vernon Davis about the Bears defense. Is this guy really an idiot giving prime bulletin board material saying his team is going to shred the Bears defense? No wonder fans in SF are buying shirts like these about both Davis and Michael Crabtree. DAMN! All I can say is keep your head on a swivel Mr. Davis because you're going to get a couple shots tonight! He does present a hell of a matchup problem for the Bears as other than Lance Briggs I don't really have faith in the other two linebackers and putting a safety on him is out of the question because he'll just post up like a basketball player and take him to school on the low block.
Speaking of Briggs, this is the first time the Bears have played the '9ers since the tampering allegations when he was set to become a free agent two years ago. Here's what he had to say about the matter. I was so pissed at him when it was all going down, but was relieved when the Bears were able to sign him.
Of course there is the Niners coach, Mike Singletary, a Hall of Fame player with the Bears who has his No. 50 retired playing his former team for the first time. I have oodles of respect for the man. He runs his team the right way and you can do nothing but root for the guy to do well. That is of course, except for this night. I am going to enjoy watching him get fired up on the sidelines. A trait he no doubt got from Mike Ditka.
Finally, this is a make-0r-break game for the Bears as the talk all around Chicago is that Lovie Smith is on the hot seat. It's an idea that I shot down completely a couple weeks ago after the Bengals mangled his defense for 45 points. Well after another 41-point outting by the Cardinals the whispers have turned to screams and his head is being called for my the millions (AND MILLIONS!) of Bears fans in the greater Chicagoland Area (Sounds like a line from Wayne's World doesn't it?).
Well Lovie isn't buying any of it and his players are backing him. That's what you want to see. And if anyone wants to see Coach Lovie rolled out of town in two pieces, don't hold your breath. Simply not happening people. First, that would cost the Bears $11 million over the final two years of his contract. Oh yeah, remember that contact he signed before the 2007 season after taking the team to the Super Bowl? That gives him a mulligan here. And second, there is a certain someone this defense was built around that makes the Cover-2 scheme fly and his name his Brian Urlacher. Where is he at these days? That's right, he's sitting on the sidelines eating a towel like Jerry Tarkanian. It's proven that a GREAT middle linebacker makes the Cover-2 roll and the Bears just don't have it right now. They have good players trying to play the position, but not GREAT like Urlacher.
The fact of the matter is this: at 4-4 the Bears are at a point where it is make-or-break for the season. That goes for Lovie and the rest of the players who are being evaluated by management, just like Lovie, as the team tries to figure out who stays and who goes in 2010.

Alright, since this game is the first on the NFL docket this week, I went ahead and made my NFL picks. Had a mediocre week last week and kept pace in my pools. Here we go. Winners in bold.
Bears @ 49ers
Saints @ Rams
Bucs @ Dolphins
Lions @ Vikings
Jaguars @ Jets
Bills @ Titans
Bengals @ Steelers
Broncos @ Redskins
Falcons @ Panthers
Chiefs @ Raiders
Eagles @ Chargers
Seahawks @ Cardinals
Cowboys @ Packers
Patriots @ Colts
Ravens (28) @ Browns (6)

Staying on an NFL trip. Found this video on today's Hot Clicks on SI.com, which made it official that The Who will be performing at halftime of the Super Bowl (Who decides this shit anyway. AWFUL!). That's not what this is about. It was linked by Chris Cooley in his blog and it absolutely hilarious. Jared Allen plays for the Vikings so I should hate him, but he is just too good... AT EVERYTHING he does!



On a non sports front, this is one you just have to watch. Carrie Prejean is that pageant Nussie that we got behind when Perez Hilton blasted her. Well, now she is just proving the theory that most women are just "Nussies 'til proven innocent!" I mean really you dumbass?! Even Larry King wants to drop kick you now!



Alright, she is most certainly not Nussie Hunter worthy, but this next girl is. She was on the Howard Stern Show Wednesday and was saying how she got breast implants AFTER winning Playmate of the Year in 2007. She was so insecure she would have sex with her boyfriend with her bra on. Really? Take a look at her now here. Then take a look at this pic from back in the day (Which just so happened to be a Thursday, btw!).