One thing Jay Cutler is not is a quitter

Sorry, I'm a little late on reacting to the final Bears game of the season (Insert Packers fan laughs here), but I had a bit of family business to tend to. I figure I have to get in with my take on this nonsense with Jay Cutler. All of the hate coming out from people has made me more upset about that than the season being over and to, of all teams, the Packers.
The fact that Jay "quit" or "gave up" or "wasn't tough" were not on my mind during the game Sunday. I have covered countless high school sporting events and seen many kids get hurt on the field and not a single person questions whether or not they gave up. Mark Schlereth of ESPN is one who said he had 20 knee surgeries because he played with so many injuries. Well, Mark, I'm sorry you won't be able to walk around with your grandkids in 20 years, but happy you sacrificed that to play football.
Yes, this was the biggest game of Jay's career. Yes, he was the most important player on the offensive side of the ball. Yes, it is very ironic the healthiest team in a conference championship game in 10 years lost a key player in  its biggest game of the season. But to call out his toughness is absolute ignorant and trash.
I can't ever remember an athlete having their toughness questioned by fellow players who were not at the game. This wasn't his teammates calling him out, but people that were not at the game and only went by what they saw on TV. I find it utter bull crap that guys that call it a fraternity when they refer to being a player in the NFL, would stoop to such a level.
I know Jay isn't well liked around the league. Most of it stems from what he did when Josh McDaniels came to Denver. Well, McDaniels is now out in Denver and the guy the Broncos got for Jay, Kyle Orton, is back on the trading block there again. Just showing what Denver traded away. Then again, it's the same reason those in New York don't like Eli Manning and he's been a Super Bowl MVP, body language. He is not a firey leader. That is not him.
Then, to top it off the uneducated are claiming that Caleb Hanie could be the Bears starter next year. Come on people. Be smart here. He played well, but didn't win the game. Let him work on things and see how he develops. For those who say Jay didn't help him during the game, you are mistaken and only went by what was shown on TV. Of course Jay was a bit pouty, for lack of a better word, after the doctors told him he was done, but when he cooled down, he was there to help Caleb in making some reads and reminding him to use his feet.
It is now early Thursday morning and this is still an issue and it is ridiculous. Even Aaron Rodgers, who played in the game, called it "disrespectful" that Jay caught all this flack. I will not argue with anyone he didn't play well at all, but to say a guy who was sacked 57 times during the season isn't tough, is ridiculous. You can tell by the way Olin Kruetz and Brian Urlacher were emphatic in their defense of him, this was not like Scottie Pippen or Cedric Benson taking themselves out of games with minor injuries or big-game jitters. This was legit and he should have been given the benefit of the doubt.


Alright, enough of that, and on to the actual game and what is ahead for the Bears. Monday's press conference from General Manager Jerry Angelo said Lovie Smith deserves an extension and I agree. He took a team that many thought should win six game and won 12.
There are a few areas of need, and the biggest is offensive line. I see them targeting that area first. Maybe through the draft, but more likely through free agency. It depends on what is out there. There is also a chance to improve at wide receiver. I would like to see them get a physical guy, but I'm not sure how it fits into the Martz offense. On defense, the question marks surrounding Tommie Harris' future are looming. There is an outside chance the Bears could become players for Alex Haynesworth, which emphasizes the need to get production out of the interior of the defensive line. I'd also like to see something done at cornerback on the side opposite Peanut Tillman and at safety, but I'm thinking with Major Wright and Chris Harris, the Bears have a good combo.
Angelo made it clear he plans to change some parts in the offeseason, which is a good sign. You always want to be improving. As a fan, you just have to be ready to lose some former key parts, with the hope it makes things better down the road. After this season, I have a renewed faith in what the Bears braintrust can do.

OK, this is my last Bears blog of the season until probably the draft, so the Nussie Hunter is helping out in giving a tribute to send us off the for the final time this season. It's been a great ride and I"m glad to have a renewed interest in the blog. I hope you have enjoyed it too and will continue to have fun and get involved on here by commenting.
To honor the Bears, we have Jaime Edmondson, who was at Playboy.com today showing off duds for all 32 NFL teams. Yeah, she looks pretty good. You can check out all of them here, and the Bears shot, below.

What a difference a year makes for Lovie Smith

A year ago this week Chicago Bears President Ted Phillips, General Manager Jerry Angelo and coach Lovie Smith pleaded with fans to accept their explanation for what had gone wrong as the Bears missed the playoffs for the third straight year. Lovie stayed on as coach, but had to give up his defensive coordinator post, handing it over to Rod Marinelli, and Mike Martz was brought on to run the offense. In fact, I was even one of those questioning whether it was right to let Lovie go. And I had been one of the biggest Lovie backers, so that is saying something.
The results this season could not have shown any better the Bears brain trust made the right decision in keeping Lovie on board as coach as the Bears went 11-5 when the "experts" did not see them doing much of anything. Lovie has always had one thing with this Bears team and that is loyalty. There have been zero players speak out against him or show any signs of the players not buying into what he has to dole out. The biggest sell to that end might be from the biggest name on the team, Brian Urlacher. It has become quite known that Urlacher absolutely hates this defense, but he is loyal and it has been shown to be successful so Urlacher buys in and performs at a high level.
Now with Urlacher back in the fold and a division title in hand, Angelo has gone as far as to call this team, the "best football team that we've had" referring to the teams he and Smith have built together, including the one that went to the Super Bowl after the 2006 season.
And amidst Jim Harbaugh getting offered Oprah money to coach in the NFL without ever coaching a game at this level, Lovie, who has one year left on his current contract, stands to cash in. The idea David Haugh at the Chicago Tribune gets by reading between the lines from Angelo is that Smith will cashing in depends on the Bears winning at least one game in these playoffs.
I'm down with that. He's shown the ability to work with what he has and coach them up to get a performance greater than the sum of the parts. And again, even when times got tough over the three seasons, everyone stood behind Lovie and that has to speak for what the locker room thought of him. I'd say he deserves everything he gets.


Speaking of playoffs, the Bears have been given a three-day weekend with the first-round bye meaning Wild Card Weekend has arrived. I told you the other day I would be back to break down the games and make some picks. So here we go.
Let's go in order. We'll start with Saturday's games.
Saints (11-5) @ Seahawks (7-9): A home team is an 11-point dog at home in the playoffs? That's what happens when you're the first team in NFL history to make the playoffs with a losing record. Count the 'Hawks out? Not so fast. Now, they'll get Matt Hasselback back under center which should help, but they'll need EVERY break to go their way on defense in forcing a couple of turnovers to be in this one.
That's why I'm taking Saints.
Jets (11-5) at Colts (10-6): Will someone please shut Rex Ryan up? Yes, you, wearing the No. 18 blue jersey. Peyton Manning! Please, end this loser's face time and send the Jets packing. Maybe I'm not being totally fair here, but I hate how Ryan gets in front of a mic and takes all the attention off the players and onto him. I know that's his ploy, but all those ESPN losers don't even talk about the game. Know this, Manning is 6-1 in games he starts against a Ryan team. The one he lost, last year when he was pulled in the final game of the season.
So give me the Colts and ALL the points. It is personal. Shut this clown up Peyton!
Ravens (12-4) at Chiefs (10-6): We're on to Sunday's games and prior to Matt Cassel getting his face pounded in by the Raiders in Week 17, I'd have picked the Chiefs without hesitation, has they had yet to lose a game at Arrowhead this season. Had they not tried, that would be one thing, but Cassel kept getting sent out there and he threw a pair of INTs. Well, bring the Ravens ball-hawking defense to town and things get a little dicier. The Chiefs are good, don't get me wrong, and they are going to need a lot of Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones (TJ!) to take the pressure off Cassel and I don't think they'll do it.
This will be a close one, but I'm taking the Ravens to go into KC and get the win.
Packers (10-6) at Eagles (10-6): The Packers are 3-5 on the road and the Eagles are 4-4 at home. I don't put much weight in the Week 1 game between the teams as Michael Vick didn't start and it was so long ago that many of the faces on both sides of the ball have changed. So you have to look at what the teams have done lately and how they're trending. Aaron Rodgers played OK in the Bears game, not great, but Vick is a game changer. The difference in the game is not letting him get time to throw. The talk has been not letting him run, well, he hasn't been running that much of late, relying more on his arm and the accuracy he's gained this season. The Packers must get pressure on him in the pocket. I'm talking quick pressure to not let him get the ball to DeShaun Jackson if they want to have a shot in this one.
I'm saying they do and the Eagles defense won't be able to stop the one-sided Packers attack.

As a side note, the NFL's new Playoff Overtime Rule goes into effect this week. Here's a great piece on ESPN.com on the matter that should break it down for you.

Alrighty, on to the Nussie Hunter portion of today's broadcast. The Playmate of the Year competition is heating up quickly and we here at Wilber's Way have a candidate we fully support. Her name is Francesca Frigo. A latin bombshell you can follow on  Twitter, or see more of on Model Mayhem (she linked it) with a sample below!

NFL Network finally has my attention

Hello all, I don't usually use this space as a soapbox to make my voice heard on an issue, but with this week's NFL schedule it is clear the cable companies need to get off their ass and get this thing on ALL basic packages.
I mean, look at this week. The NFL Network got real lucky with both of its primetime game, tonight's Colts @ Jaguars game and Saturday's Cowboys @ Saints game, both unbeaten teams will only be shown in about 40 million homes in the country.
If that doesn't sound like blasphemy to anyone else I don't know what does. I mean really, this is the National Football League, the greatest sports league in the country and both sides have been head strong in not budging to get this shown in the vast majority of homes.
It is on DirecTV and Dish Network, so if you live in a place where the cable company does not have it, you can still get the dish and be OK, but you shouldn't have to. This is ridiculous and this is just the situation the NFL Network has been hoping for to push the providers to pony up the cash to provide it. Most will only put it on the sports package, when the NFL Net demands being put on a basic package. Rightfully so, but really, are we five here kids? Just get this shit done already! Apologies for the language, but I'm very upset with this. Makes no sense to me. Took forever to get the Big Ten Network onto Charter and the NFL is much bigger and can't get on. Damn!
**Sigh**
Alright, enough of me ranting. Time for me to pick the winners of this week's NFL games. Winners are in bold, as always.
Colts @ Jaguars
Cowboys @ Saints
Patriots @ Bills
Cardinals @ Lions
Dolphins @ Titans
Browns @ Chiefs
Texans @ Rams
Falcons @ Jets
49ers @ Eagles
Bears @ Ravens
Bengals @ Chargers
Raiders @ Broncos
Packers @ Steelers
Bucs @ Seahawks
Vikings @ Panthers
Giants (24) @ Redskins (20)

Alright kids, now I got some videos for you. This first one is one that was passed to me by the same Luke that created the "Wilber's Way" flag. Not sure if this was a designed play or what. Check it!


OK, now we go t the NBA where one of my good friends, Austin and Travis, were at the Lakers Bucks game on Wednesday night. They're big Black Mamba fans and he delivered. If you've seen the shot, listen to the Bucks announcers voices.


One more video before we get into today's Nussie Hunter. This could be there, but I've featured the lovely Marissa Miller before and this is a pretty good video. Think of this as an early Christmas present from yours truly. I have one thing to say to Ms. Miller, "Tell me next time you're in Milwaukee!" It is the home of Harley!


Finally time for the Nussie Hunter today. And it's a good one! I'm sure every guy my age has seen the American Pie movies and Tara Reid is rather hot in them, not to mention Van Wilder. But lately she's more remembered for her botched boob job. Well, she's in this month's Playboy. Take a look for yourself, but I'd say she's back. And don't worry this isn't nakedness on my pages!