Soldier Field

First I want to say that while other people are blogging about the lockout and can't find ways to be optimistic about the situation, I think that the best way to get through it is too just move on like it's a normal year. Yes, I did post about the lockout last time, but I probably won't again. I don't want to think about it, I'm ignoring the situation, because there is nothing I can do about it. I just hope we have football next year. Okay, my lockout rant of the day is done and on to the real topic I planned on writing about.

Soldier Field is terrible. I love the Bears and I would love to go to Soldier Field anytime during the season to see a game. The grass is the problem. While other teams and fields have switched to some kind of false field, the Bears remain firm in believing that our field should suck. Once again they have said that they won't change it this offseason. The problem is, it's not only hurting the other teams, it's hurting us.

The other teams complain and say that they can't play on such a terribly conditioned field, but the Bears have to play there too. Some teams complain that it gives too much of a home field advantage, but the truth is that our defense and offense probably play better on the road.


While watching games at Soldier Field you see Bears players slipping and falling and you see players from the other team doing the same. It is equal. I agree that it is terrible, but there is not much you can do about it because they won't change it. I'm sure the players don't like it a lot of the time, but right now they don't have much say.

Our defense is deeply hurt by this. We have a very fast defense, but if you go too fast on the grass at Soldier you are going to slip. If you are playing defense and you slip it will probably cost you a touchdown. The Bears can't afford to stick with the grass the way it is now. The defense will be much better than they were before the switch and the offense will be better also. All too often you see Devin Hester or Johnny Knox slip on the grass and then not catch the pass, and the pass could possibly lead to an interception. The field conditions need to be changed.


Bears YouTube Video Of The Day
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I am a die-hard Bears fan I still find this very funny. The end is the best, the beginning is a little stupid.

Lockout's Effect on the Bears

I stated my opinion of the lockout in my last post, so I'm not going to talk anymore about how stupid it is that rich people can't find a way to handle their money, while people are living on the streets and starving. This post will be about how the lockout will effect the Bears.

The first big thing that it will do is put us out of shape mostly because they won't get to work out as often as normal and they won't be able to use good equipment like they have. I think most of the Bears players won't have a problem with finding ways to keep in shape, though. There is one player that I am a little worried about not trying and thinking that he doesn't have to work out or stay in shape.

You could probably guess that that player is Jay Cutler. If there is no lockout and he finds the motivation to work on his footwork and timing he can be a great quarterback. Now that the lockout is in place I don't think he is going to find the motivation to work on his game and get better. This is will be a giant stopage in the Bears growth and in Jay Cutler's growth. The Bears were hot, they were winning games and getting better with each game, now that there is a work stoppage they are going to lose a lot of that momentum. Now I'm worried that the Bears are going to lose all their momentum and have to start from scratch again. The lockout is going to have a huge effect on the Bears.

There is some light in the situation. The Bears owner says that there has to be a lockout to solve things and that there will still be normal play by the time that the season is supposed to start. I don't know how accurate that is and how right that is, but I hope he is correct. The Bears will not be a good team if this lockout continues, its just the facts.


Bears YouTube Video Of The Day
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This is a great video, Real Bears beating up on whatever a packer is.

Love Smith

At the beginning of the year Lovie Smith's job was a question mark. A lot of people thought that he should have been fired after last year, but Angelo gave him one more year and Smith lead the Bears to a 11-4 season and an NFC North Championship. I don't know about you, but I think think thats pretty good for a guy who was supposed to be hired. I don't always like the things that Lovie does. He leaves me scratching my head often. I still think that having him as the head coach is better than taking a chance with a guy who will do worse. I say that Angelo should give him another year and if he screws it up, he should be fired. I think the Bears are headed in the right direction and hiring the coach stops that momentum. The boys in the locker room like this coach and as long as they are winning while playing for him and they like him the GM should be happy. The situation in Minnesota is the opposite of what a GM wants. They want a coach that wins games and is loved, or at least liked, by the players. Right now Lovie is doing that so there is no reason to fire him. That would just add negative attention to the team and stop the progress they are making as a team. If you fire him right now you lose what could be a really good season next year and I don't want to see that happen. No fan should want to see that happen.

The Future of Lovie Smith

Coming into this season Lovie Smith was on a major hot-seat. If he didn't have a winning record he would be out. He had one good year in 2006 and after that he did nothing. This year was his major test to see if the defense would get back to being dominant, and overall if the team could be a winning team. He accomplished both of those goals. I'm not sure what that means for his future now because, Jerry Angelo may have wanted to get rid of him anyone and was looking for a reason. My personal opinion of him is that he needs to be a little more excited about the game, then again him and Jay Cutler are a match made in heaven. Both love the game and are probably very excited and pumped before each game, but they never show their excitement. They have very boring faces. I think he is a good coach, but part of being a coach is yelling and I don't think I have ever seen him yell at someone for doing something wrong.
Don't get me wrong I like him, but I think he has a lot of things that make him different and that can be a good thing at times and a bad thing at other times. He knows how to coach a defense and that's why the Bears got him, because we are a team that thrives on our defense year after year.
So, what will his future look like? I think Jerry Angelo will extend his contract 3 years and if we don't do anything then I think he will fire him. If they did fire him this year they would look ungrateful and no coach would want to go there, so if you are Angelo you should just wait for him to make a big mistake if you really want him out. I think he can do great things with this Bears team, so I think he will be here for a long time and have a successful career with Jay Cutler, Matt Forte, and Brian Urlacher by his side.

5 Links From The NFL

• Coach Mike Tomlin had a question and answer on the Baltimore Ravens yesterday, and had this to say this about Ray Rice

"He’s got ridiculous lateral quickness. He can stick his foot in the ground and change direction at full speed. Not only is he a talented runner, but he has 60-plus catches over the course of the season. We have to do a good job defending him in the check-down game, the screen game, and he also does a real nice job running the wheel-route out of the backfield."

Here is the rest of the "Q" and "A" with Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin

• Though the Packers have had A LOT of takeaways this year, the Falcons however they are very hard to get takeaways from.  With a sure handed Michael Turner and a quarterback with a very high IQ the Packers must find a way to get the Dirty Birds to cough up the ball.  The reason for the the success of the Falcons have been just that.

• Could Antonio Cromartie be the "X-Factor" in the Jets vs. Patriots game? Here is a video from the NFL on the match up between the two teams. http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-total-access/09000d5d81daf5a4/Cromartie-the-X-factor

• Ten players, or impact players, to look forward to in the Seahawks and Bears game would include:

Matt Hasseback, Matt Forte, Devin Hester, Marshawn Lynch, Julious Peepers, David Hawthorne, Brian Urlacher, Mike Williams, Leon Washington and Chris Williams. Bleacher Report has the explanation on why these players are going to impact the game.

• Here is a video of some big plays this past regular season