NFC Championship and the Cutler Ripple Effect

Honestly, this was a game involving two teams that didn't play up to their potential. Oh, and the horseshoe finally fell out of Lovie Smith's bottom. I know that it's a stretch, but if a team has ever backed into the NFC Championship, it was the Chicago Bears. They overachieved to get themselves into the playoffs, they did it in the Year of Parity so as to obtain the number two seed, and they lucked-out yet again to be able to play an inferior Seattle team in the Divisional round. When game time did roll around Da Bears came out flat, this coming after the poor decision by Lovie to defer the ball after winning the coin toss and give the ball to the hottest hand in the universe in Aaron Rodgers who was still warm from the heat of the locker room . Maybe if the defense started out the game as well as they played in the second half where they rendered the Packers' offense scoreless it would've looked like a good idea; since they didn't, it looks idiotic and unfortunate as Rodgers and Co. drove methodically down the field ripping off 20+ yard chunks on their way to an opening drive touchdown....

You know what...we'll get back to the game facts a little later...we need to set something straight...

Anybody who questioned Jay Cutler's injury before getting the facts is an ignoramus. Anyone who got the facts about the injury and is still calling him a part of the female anatomy that rhymes with dussy is an idiot who should be required by law to have their reproductive organs removed so that they cannot contaminate the rest of the world with their dumbass offspring. If you already have reproduced, well it's just too bad for the rest of us. It's bad enough that members of the national media still question his toughness and his passion for the game, but for Bears fans whom have witnessed this man take a beating for the past two years week after week throughout the seasons, should be ashamed of themselves. I'm embarrassed for you.

Yes, the organization did Cutler a huge disservice by not disclosing the nature of the injury immediately and listing him as "Questionable" to return to the game when they should have listed him as "Out". I don't know why they didn't, they KNEW that he wasn't going to return once he decided that he couldn't keep playing. Maybe Cutler wouldn't have experienced sooo much criticism had the organization not underestimated the severity of the situation and protected him somehow. These are just grains of sand on the beach of organizational mistakes these past few years. He was injured on the play with 4:06 left to go in the first half. He finished out the first half, was looked at by the medical staff at halftime and was told that he shouldn't go back out onto the field He came back for the first series of the second half as he tried to see if his will and passion could allow him to play out the rest of the biggest game of his life, learned that he couldn't get away from the pass-rush and utilize his speed or even plant his front foot to throw the damn ball, came off the field and had his knee looked at once again. Jay then got on the bike to try to work it out or keep it loose, and then FINALLY, probably against every fiber of his being, decided that he couldn't get back onto the field. So NO, Jay Cutler did NOT just QUIT on himself, his team, his organization, or his city. His knee was only stable enough to walk and stand. He was simply physically unable to perform his job as a world class athlete at the most important position in the history of sports. It's too bad he'll forever carry this false Quit-ler reputation unless he wins a Superbowl.

And again, for those out there criticizing Cutler for not being actively engaged on the sidelines, HE WAS!! He had the ear-piece in and he spoke to Caleb Hanie, who personally confirmed this, in between possessions and looked at aerial-view pictures. So please already, shut the F up.

Unfortunately, or fortunately I suppose depending on your personal perspective, this whole Cutler debacle has become a deterrent from the other, much more interesting and relevant aspects of the game.

The fact that Cutler had a bad game while he was healthy is very fair to say because it's true. He was consistently over-throwing his wideouts.

The fact that the defense didn't feel like tackling in the first half and Briggs got trucked by some rookie that should've been on Da Bears' roster in the first place.

The fact that Mike Martz failed miserably to keep the Packers' defense off balance. Martz certainly lost the chess game to Dom Capers, but it's not even fair when you think you're playing checkers. Matt Forte was averaging over four yards per carry, yet he only ran the ball 11 times in the last 40 minutes of the game. Forte was targeted 15 times in the passing game. It was a good matchup against the linebackers, especially when the Packers blitzed, but 15 targets? Come on, offense.

The fact that you call a seven-step drop on you're own 3!!!!!!

The fact that Lovie opted to punt inside the 35, twice.

The fact that the Special Teams phase was supposed to be advantageous for Da Bears when in reality they were dominated the entire game.

The fact that Todd F-ing Collins even saw some tick in the NFC Championship because he was listed by the coaching staff as the second string QB. Even after his horrid showing, Lovie defended their decision.

The fact that you call an end-around to your slowest end to the short side of the field on third down after a timeout on a do or die drive on the Packers' 27? Inconceivably D-U-M dum.

The fact that when Lovie was asked why he didn't call a timeout on fourth down with the season on the line and he said that he felt like they didn't have to as they had a good play in mind. I don't care if you FELT like you didn't need to call a timeout, call the damn timeout and talk it over. Maybe your third string QB saw something in their formation or personnel that you could've tried to exploit or God-forbid your OC finally came to some sort of schematic football realization.

The fact is Lovie graded out to an F, Martz...an F minus, and you're General Manager Jerry Angelo, well, he wants to give Lovie and unnecessary contract extension.

Lovie had a good year, he really did, not perfect, but good nevertheless, yet adding more years to a man who is already locked up for next year and nobody is pining after is unconscionable. And guess what, like I mentioned above, Da Bears OVER-achieved this year. Every year there is about a 50% turnover of teams that make the playoffs. Teams didn't get "up" to play Da Bears this season. They will have targets on their backs in 2011 as Divisional Champs. Good luck going forward Bears fans, we're going to need it.

Tune in this Friday and every Friday to the Chicago Sports Fix radio show from 6 to 8pm on chicagolandsportsradio.com.
 
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BIGGEST GAME EVER!!!

On Sunday, Da Bears will play the BIGGEST game EVER to be played in the City of Chicago. Yes, I know the Superbowls that they've played in have been pretty BIG, but they weren't played IN Chicago. Unless Chicago starts hosting Superbowls in the future (which is certainly highly improbable) or there's a Chicago Subway Series that comes down to a Game 7 (again, both insanely improbable), there will never be a BIGGER game to be played. The setting couldn't be more perfect for a Bears fan. NFC Championship. Soldier Field. Wind chill below zero. Versus the Green Bay Packers. If you can't get excited about this game, then you flat out don't like football and you should probably just buy a deck of Old Maid cards.

In the last 20 years, the home team is 27-13 in Conference Championships (for both leagues of course). Folks, that's a winning percentage at a 67.5% clip. It's called home field advantage for a reason. Which brings me to my next point...

When Da Bears are on offense, and I CAN'T stress this ENOUGH, fans, please, SHUT the FRIGGING MOUTHS!!!

Da Bears are lucky to have such a loyal fanbase, but the fact of the matter is a good 90% of them are mouth-breathing meat-head drunkards, especially the ones who attend the games. They think that yelling at the top of their esophaguses during all points throughout the game is showing support. They couldn't be more wrong. I went to the game last week when they put a shellaking on the Seahawks, but a few times the fans grew louder when the offense was trying to convert a significant down, even as a few of the players on the field motioned for the crowd to quiet down. This isn't baseball dammit. The QB needs to hear the play being called in, the players need to hear the cadence calls on the field so that they can get into position at the correct time for the pre-snap shifts to create mismatches (a staple of the Mike Martz offensive designs), and so the O-line can determine their blocking assignments once they're at the line of scrimmage.

For all these reasons and much more, please be quiet when Da Bears have the ball. Even the jumbotrons say so dumb-dumbs. It's a home field advantage, not DISadvantage.

On a cooler note, in his own words following the game, Coach Smith said that he and his team hate the Packers. And rightfully so. You NEED to hate the opposition every week, especially now when they're trying to take away every thing that you've been working so hard to achieve....a chance at winning the Superbowl. You can hate them, but you still have to respect them. You can't go out there trying to hurt guys. This is still just a game and this is people's livelihood we're talking about.

There's a lot of talk and respect being given to the Packers for having 15 players on the Injured Reserved list, including six opening day starters. While that's all commendable and nice, they really haven't lost any KEY players. They still have Rodgers, Jennings, Mattews, Woodson, etc. They have all the players necessary to still play at a high level within the NFL, especially now in this league's Year of Parity. If it was Flynn under-center, then it would be a different story.

I know it's cliche, but Da Bears need to do what they do and play their game in order to beat the Pack. Play defense and create those turnovers, excell in the Special teams, and be efficient on offense. Martz needs to limit the five and seven step drops like he did on the run they went on after the bye-week.

Tape & Pine Tar:

The Blackhawks are turning the proverbial corner. They played the first thirty games on the schedule while lacking an identity. Consistency was non-existent, let alone obtainable. Patrick Sharp has been the closest thing to Blackhawks' consistency this year. While fourth in the league in goals with 25 and thirteenth in points with 44 (slightly adulterated by a -7 line for +/-) Sharp is the clear-cut MVP of this team. However, Corey Crawford could soon be nipping at his heels if he keeps slamming the door shut like he has the past few games. The hard-cap of the NHL and the savvy of Sharks GM Doug Wilson had a lot to do with Stanley Cup Ring-possessing Antti Niemi moving to San Jose; Crawford, who started the season as a mere back-up who has won over the starting job as well as the faith of the Blackhawks' fandom, has logged more ice-time and has a better save-percentage by .013% (.920 to .907). (The Blackhawk organization is lucky to have the front office that they do and we as a city are as well).


This week only, the Chicago Sports Fix radio show will be moved to Saurday January the 22nd at 2PM!! Tune in as we'll be discussing the win over the Seahawks, previewing Da Bears vs. the Pack as well as Pitt vs. NYJ, Blackhawks, Bulls, White Sox, and Cubs.


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Da Bears: 11-5 and the NFC's 2nd Seed

11-5 (It’s actually harder to blog about a team that has been playing well as opposed to a dumper of a team, but it’s certainly easier to enjoy watching them play)! Da Bears locked up the North Division Championship weeks ago, yet Lovie decided to treat the last game of the regular season versus long time rival Green Bay Packers like it was a playoff game. The reason for doing so was valid seeing as though they had a chance to deny the Packers a spot in the playoffs. So the game began and Lovie played all of his regular starters, which was fine. It could be strategic to put your best starters out there in order to beat a team now that you could possibly meet again in the playoffs; however, you must also keep in mind that whole injury factor. As the game wore on, you could easily tell that the decision to play all of the starters went from questionable to unconceivable.

Cutler was brought down a total of six gut-wrenching times and left six Cutler shaped dents in Lambeau Field. I understand that Da Bears were in the game the entire way, right up until their last drive when Cutler was picked-off for the second time, but that was just asking for trouble. Lovie played a quarterback who was sacked the most times, by far, in the NFL this season. Even if he did ride the bench for week 17, he STILL would have been the most sacked QB by six sacks. And let us not forget that Cutler had already missed one regular season game due to a concussion. Maybe Lovie has some sick personal future-wager that Cutler will be diagnosed with post-traumatic cephalopathy? Highly improbable, yet surprisingly appropriate. I’m kidding of course…but seriously. Lovie knows that if Cutler goes down the season is effectively over, right? I mean, he saw Todd Collins and Caleb Hanie run this offense before, right?

I admit that I was wrong and I’m extremely shocked and amazed that Da Bears even made it to the playoffs, let alone the second seed in the NFC. A lot of credit does go to the coaching staff. Whatever the Lovie-Marinelli tandem is doing is working for the defense. Julius Peppers is working for the defense. There’s been much talk in this blog about how Lovie’s one-gap scheme only works when there’s pressure up front allowing the other seven pairs of eyes to be on the ball. This allows the squad to swarm the ball and gives them more opportunities for turnovers, ya know, strip-tackles and such. (Da Bears had 33 takeaways this season, which gave them a +4 differential). The pressure should really be coming from the three-technique tackle (Harris or Toeina), but as this season proved, it can come from anywhere up-front and it’ll still be effective. Thank Peppers. The opponents game-plan for Peppers. Every blocking scheme revolves around Peppers. Stat-sheets aren’t everything folks, especially defensive football statistics. These aren’t sabermetrics. Football is a true team-sport.

I want to give the offensive side of the ball credit, but I’m not sure if I can. Yes, they certainly turned things around after the bye-week. Martz’s rush to pass play-calling ratio was essentially reciprocated and pounding the ball with Forte was working. But did Martz do this on his own or did Lovie realize that his neck was on the line and put a leash on Martz? There’s no way I believe Martz did this son his own merit, just look at what he did this past week, filling the air with footballs at almost a 2:1 ratio compared to the run. Da Bears were down a mere seven points in the third quarter, yet he opted to pass NINE consecutive plays! I hope that was just a result of Lovie loosening the slack on what was a short leash on what was basically a game which had no direct impact on Da Bears regardless of the outcome. I’d like to give some credit to O-line coach Mike Tice as the O-line started to get some of it together once they had a little continuity with the personnel, but then the O-line goes and has a game like this past week giving up six sacks on the franchise QB. A good amount of the sacks were a result of confusion at the line along with bad reads and blown assignments.

Congratulations to Da Bears on the whole, but the road to Dallas will be a rough one. Da Bears will face the either New Orleans, Seattle, or Philadelphia. (I think any way you slice it, it will be GB in the NFC Cahmpionship and hopefully it's Da Bears they're playing). It was a fun regular season and a huge turnaround since the circus press conference they held 366 days ago. GO BEARS!

ATTENTION: Tune in to the commencement of the Chicago Sports Fix radio show tomorrow January 7th from 6 to 8PM only on chicagolandsportsradio.com and listen every week same time same website!

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