NFL chat thread

[Scott Dolan]

Snoozer of a game.

I'm glad Dungy and Manning finally pulled it off, I was beginning to believe they never would.

Prince haltime show was actually pretty decent. Lightyears beyond that mess the Rolling Stones churned out last year. And I'm almost positive Billy Joel could sing at one time, but don't quote me on that.....

Bring on MLB!!!

[Sundog]

"Rex is who I hoped he wasn't"

P.S. Less than two weeks to Daytona and the IRL season is right around the corner. I can't get exicited about Baseball just yet.

Edited February 5, 2007 by Sundog

[connoisseur series500]

My gut feeling is that Manning had problems with the rain but made a reasonable adjustment because he and the Colts had to, given the nature of their offense, but that the Bears' offensive brain trust, given the weather and the fact that they had the lead for a good while in the first half, decided to put the training wheels back on Grossman, which was a big mistake in at least two ways -- it robbed their offense, and Grossman in particular, of any semblance of variety and aggressiveness and left the Bears defense on the field to get worn down and figured out. And once the Bears de-balled their offense by pretty much taking away the possibility that they might pass, they could never get it or Grossman back in gear again. Of course, maybe this was a night when Rex was never going to get in gear no matter what and/or the Colts were just the better team, but even so, I think that Ron Turner coughed up a hairball. On the other hand, offensive co-ordinator is a very difficult stressful occupation. Another little thing that bugged the hell out of me --that play in the first half, after the Colt's first squib kickoff, when the Bears put Hester for the next kickoff at about the 30-yard-line and had Rashid Davis deep. Way too cute and nervous, and it sure didn't work. That felt to me like a significant momentum-changer.

Excellent analysis, though I might add that it didn't hurt to test the Indy run defense. Of course, you need some offensive variety as well to keep them honest. Grossman had the training wheels on all night except when they got down too far on the scoreboard. It's amazing that Indy could win the Super Bowl with that run defense of theirs...Bob Sanders' return was huge as far as helping the run defense for the Colts, but it's still surprising that teams couldn't (or wouldn't as is the case with the Pats) try to exploit that weakness. Benson down for the Bears did not help that cause at all.

Bottom line: AFC teams are still superior to NFC teams. When will that begin to even out?

But excellent analysis, Larry. You sure you don't review sports as well as music?

[Dan Gould]

I disagree with the analysis - the Bears had to establish a running a game in order to keep pressure off of Rex and keep Manning off the field. The utter failure of their offensive line to either create running lanes or protect Grossman for any length of time was the single biggest factor in this horrible pathetic loss.

The second largest factor (and all other factors pale in comparison to these two) was the defense putting zero pressure on Manning. Is it that difficult to figure out that if Manning has all day to throw, his receivers get open, and the result is long, sustained drives that result in scores of one sort or another?

The bottom line is that if either one of these failures didn't happen, the game is very close and the Bears have a strong chance of winning. When both happens, you get Rex to do his thing, and the final margin ends up what it is.

Total Media Blackout - Bears fans should really try it. It helps.

[T.D.]

Did Tony hose "over" bettors by turning the ball over on downs instead of kicking FG with 1:16 (or whatever) to go?

Edited February 5, 2007 by T.D.

[Shawn]

I wanted to give Rex the benefit of the doubt, but it's painfully obvious that he just wasn't up for the challenge. Great quarterbacks are able to make up for sloppy/uninspired play by the team...put the whole thing on their shoulders and have a chance to win the game. Rex doesn't have big enough shoulders, he played like a rookie...a sloppy rookie at that. He's got a great arm, but doesn't have the decision making to go with it.

That's why I had hoped for ANY other NFC team to get in besides the Bears, I knew the Bears would get thrashed. A team with an actual offense (Saints, Seahawks) might have had at least a shot to score some points and make it a contest.

[John Tapscott]

The second largest factor (and all other factors pale in comparison to these two) was the defense putting zero pressure on Manning. Is it that difficult to figure out that if Manning has all day to throw, his receivers get open, and the result is long, sustained drives that result in scores of one sort or another?

It's Ok to see the Colts win but I was surprised at how ineffective the Bears defense was. They kept on giving up 3rd and long conversions and those are a killer. The plan seemed to be not to give up the big play and it worked to a degree since they kept the Colts to field goals in the red zone. But the lack of a pass rush meant the Bears defense was on the field way too long. I was hoping for a decent game, But it was a slightly below average game at best. Also, I was kind of hoping Grossman might prove the naysayers wrong. Unfortunately he proved them right.

[Soulstation1]

Federline FRIES

LMAO

Edited February 5, 2007 by Soulstation1

[ghost of miles]

Something I haven't seen much about (might've missed it... but so much of today's coverage is "Manning overcomes, etc.") is the Colts' running game... didn't they pile up about 200 yards on the ground? Not sure that that was a key factor in the game, but it seemed significant enough to keep the Bears from focusing solely on Manning.

[sheldonm]

Something I haven't seen much about (might've missed it... but so much of today's coverage is "Manning overcomes, etc.") is the Colts' running game... didn't they pile up about 200 yards on the ground? Not sure that that was a key factor in the game, but it seemed significant enough to keep the Bears from focusing solely on Manning.

190 yards on 40 carries...certainly enough to keep them off balance. Short of the special teams gaff at the beginning of the game, the Colts did a nice job of making adjustments. No better than Rex played, the Colts were much better to keep the ball away from Hester even at the expense of giving them better field position on most kickoffs.

[Soulstation1]

Why didn't hester just move up???

[Noj]

Hester did move up on one play, and the Colts kicked it deep.

[Dan Gould]

My brother sent this, to cheer up Bear fans:

An elementary teacher starts a new job at a school in Chicago, Illinois and trying to make a good impression

on her first day explains to her class that she's a Bears fan.

She asks the class to raise their hands if they too are Bears fans.

Everyone in the class raises their hand except one little girl. The

teacher looks at the girl with surprise and says: "Mary, why didn't you raise your hand?"

"Because I'm not a Bears fan," she replied.

The teacher, still shocked, asks: "Well, if you're not a Bears fan, then whom do you support?"

"I'm a Colts fan, and proud of it," Mary replied.

The teacher could not believe her ears. "Well Mary, might you explain why are you a Colts fan?"

"Because my mom and dad are from Indianapolis and my mom is a Colts fan and my dad is a Colts fan, so I'm a Colts fan too!"

"Well," said the teacher, in an obviously annoyed tone, "that's no

reason for you to be a Colts fan. You don't

have to be just like your parents all of the time. What if your mom was a prostitute and your dad was a drug addict and a car thief, what would you be then?"

Mary said, "I'd be a Bengals fan."

[Soulstation1]

Super Bowl Gear

[Scott Dolan]

My brother sent this, to cheer up Bear fans:

An elementary teacher starts a new job at a school in Chicago, Illinois and trying to make a good impression

on her first day explains to her class that she's a Bears fan.

She asks the class to raise their hands if they too are Bears fans.

Everyone in the class raises their hand except one little girl. The

teacher looks at the girl with surprise and says: "Mary, why didn't you raise your hand?"

"Because I'm not a Bears fan," she replied.

The teacher, still shocked, asks: "Well, if you're not a Bears fan, then whom do you support?"

"I'm a Colts fan, and proud of it," Mary replied.

The teacher could not believe her ears. "Well Mary, might you explain why are you a Colts fan?"

"Because my mom and dad are from Indianapolis and my mom is a Colts fan and my dad is a Colts fan, so I'm a Colts fan too!"

"Well," said the teacher, in an obviously annoyed tone, "that's no

reason for you to be a Colts fan. You don't

have to be just like your parents all of the time. What if your mom was a prostitute and your dad was a drug addict and a car thief, what would you be then?"

Mary said, "I'd be a Bengals fan."

Nice one, Dan!!

[Soulstation1]

the browns coulda beat the bears.....

ONLY if they had made the play-offs....

[GA Russell]

Schottenheimer fired by Chargers president

Associated Press

SAN DIEGO — Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer was fired Monday night in a shocking move by team president Dean Spanos, who cited a "dysfunctional situation" between the coach and general manager A.J. Smith.

Less than a month after San Diego's NFL-best 14-2 season was wrecked in a playoff loss to New England, Spanos cited the exodus of both coordinators and other assistants in firing Schottenheimer, who had a year left on his contact.

"The process of dealing with these coaching changes convinced me that we simply could not move forward with such dysfunction between our head coach and general manager," Spanos said in a statement. "In short, this entire process over the last month convinced me beyond any doubt that I had to act to change this untenable situation."

The firing was first reported by ESPN.

Defensive coordinator Wade Phillips was hired as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday, following offensive coordinator Cam Cameron and two other assistants out of town for better jobs.

Although Schottenheimer said last week that change was inevitable, Smith sounded concerned, saying, "Both in the same year — Wow."

Tight ends coach Rob Chudzinski became Cleveland's offensive coordinator, and linebackers coach Greg Manusky was hired as San Francisco's defensive coordinator.

Running backs coach Clarence Shelmon, who's never been a coordinator, was promoted to replace Cameron. Shelmon accepted only a one-year contract due to Schottenheimer's lame-duck status. Schottenheimer declined the team's offer of a $4.5 million, one-year extension through 2008, which came with a club-option $1 million buyout.

Schottenheimer has been at odds with Smith since the 2005 season, apparently over personnel decisions by the GM.

[Aggie87]

14-2 ain't good enough?

[Noj]

Postseason: 5-13

Still, it doesn't seem very fair to Marty this year. The team made mistakes he couldn't possibly have prevented. He coached that playoff game well enough to win.

[T.D.]

Wow, this was a surprise.

OTOH, the Smith-Marty (coach-GM) rift has apparently been festering for a long time. I don't think they've even been on speaking terms for at least a year.

And a lot of Marty's success this past year was attributed to his delegation of responsibility to the (now-departed) coordinators...with them gone, it might've been back to "Martyball".

[alocispepraluger102]

Wow, this was a surprise.

OTOH, the Smith-Marty (coach-GM) rift has apparently been festering for a long time. I don't think they've even been on speaking terms for at least a year.

And a lot of Marty's success this past year was attributed to his delegation of responsibility to the (now-departed) coordinators...with them gone, it might've been back to "Martyball".

marty needs a nascar team to fall back on.

i vote for pete carroll or bill parcells or lovie.

Edited February 13, 2007 by alocispepraluger102

[Scott Dolan]

Pete Carroll?

Surely you jest!

A great D coord at the pro level (possibly the best), but no head coach.

Edited February 13, 2007 by Scott Dolan

[alocispepraluger102]

Pete Carroll?

Surely you jest!

A great D coord at the pro level (possibly the best), but no head coach.

are you implying that pro football and human beings operate logically?

[T.D.]

I'm a big PC fan (seems like the kind of coach you'd want to play for).

He's got a great situation going @ USC, and would be crazy to give it up for an NFL job. Already was HC of 2 NFL teams w/o great success.

That could of course change, if the various allegations of Trojan recruiting violations, which constantly seem to simmering, heat up significantly...

[connoisseur series500]

I am not a Pete Carroll fan at all. He led the NE Patriots to complete mediocrity after Parcells left. Glad we've got a coach now.