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Chicago Gets Googled
There were some — certainly not here — who thought that the Bears' playoff hopes were still alive heading into Thursday night's game against the Washington Redskins. Returning to Chicago after losing 24-16 in D.C., they're not quite mathematically eliminated, but their hopes are undeniably dead.
In addition to losing any hopes for making the playoffs, the Bears also lost quarterback Rex Grossman in the second quarter. While we await the official diagnosis, the replays show he suffered a pretty nasty knee injury, and we assume he's finished for the year.
In relief, Brian Griese passed for nearly 300 yards, but he also threw two interceptions. The first one — with less than a minute remaining in the half — turned a possible halftime lead into a 7-0 deficit at the break and changed the momentum of the game.
The offense began to jell under Griese's leadership after halftime. In fact, they scored in all four of their second-half possessions but settled for field goals in three of them. In a position to tie the game at 17 and with a first-and-goal from the one-yard line, Adrian Peterson lost yards, and they were unable to punch the ball into the end zone. After a quick drive for a touchdown by the Redskins, the Bears' playoff dreams were dashed. That drive, by the way, was led by the Redskins back-up QB as they also lost their starter to a gruesome knee injury during the game.
If the Bears want to bounce back from this disappointing season, there's a lot of work to do, especially on offense. Have we seen Rex Grossman in a Bears uniform for the last time? Rather than play Griese, we need to see what Kyle Orton can do. He's probably not our future QB, but let's take a look before drafting or signing one. The Bears have so many needs on offense — quarterback, running back, offensive line — let's hope the answer to at least one of the holes is already on the roster.
Photo by AP Photo/Evan Vucci.
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what a friggin' nightmare these season was. unreal. and now they've positioned themselves to get a really bad draft pick too. not that Angelo would know what to do with the #1 or #2 pick anyway. that guy can draft a Devin Hester or a Mark Anderson but he has no idea how to use his first pick. you'd think that would mean that Angelo would somehow be able to grab the next Tom Brady/Tony Romo-type QB who goes on the second day and ends up being the greatest ever.
It is a safe bet that Angelo had no idea how Hester was going to turn out. He is doing to the Bears what Pulford did to the Hawks.
"The offense began to jell under Griese's leadership after halftime."
Jell?
The bears are going to get worse before they get better. There are to many problems to fix at once. Qback, running back, offensiveline, wide recievers. The defense is not what it used to be Briggs may be better than Urlacher but I cant see the Bearts paying him. The safetys are bad. The corners are OK and the Dline is poor(lots of injuries I know). Special teams are good but thats just not enough.
yeah there are way too many holes to fill and in the NFL you can't just buy a championship. We had a two year window to win the Super Bowl and we didn't do it.
Whoever in the Bears organization who was responsible for NOT drafting Brady Quinn should get their walking papers. The Bears got to the Stupor Bowl last year in spite of Grossman, not because of him. I've never really given a shit about NFL football but even last year from the little I saw, it was obvious Grossman was not the guy to lead this team long-term.
Quinn got picked before the Bears were ever on the clock. I would agree that Greg Olsen was not the best pick (why not just roll with Desmond Clark?). I really wanted to see the Bears take Paul Posluszny or Chris Houston, but I guess they felt they needed a safety valve for Grossman (heck, the Olson pick did turn out to be somewhat precient, as the O-line was pretty porous).
I think if the Bears address their O-line and secondary in the offseason, they can be a playoff team again in '08. I honestly think the most glaring gap in next year's team will be at running back, and I don't see a realistic way for them to fill it.
I really don't get this whole moaning about draft picks business. Tom Brady was a 6th Round pick, 199th overall. That means all 32 teams figured 198 players were better than him. Tony Romo was an undrafted free agent! Nobody drafted him! Angelo wasn't the only one who failed to see how great these guys would end up, everybody missed it, including armchair genius GM's such as those who comment here.
Even if the Bears had the #1 overall pick, who could they draft that would magically fix all that is wrong with the team? Colt Brennan? Please, look at the QB's drafted in the upper half of the 1st round in the last five years, and tell me if there are any Franchise Saviors among them. Alex Smith? Eli Manning? Vince Young? Matt Leinart? Jay Culter? Byron Leftwich? David Carr? Are any of these players a significant improvement over Rex?
Fixing the O-line is a greater priority. It'd protect Rex, and give us something resembling a running game. Neither of which has happened at all this year.
I'm with E@L, both sides of the line is where to begin.
And a home run running back wouldn't hurt either, but there doesn't seem to be anyone that fits that description this year.
Meanwhile, Chris Long (UVa), Sedrick Ellis (USC), and Glenn Dorsey (LSU) would all contribute immediately to the D-line, and Jake Long (Michigan), Sam Baker (USC), and Gosder Cherilus (BC) could all help inject some young blood into an aging O-Line.
The Bears are set at only two positions: Tight End and Kick Returner. Briggs could go, Urlacher will be 30 next year, and they can't count on Mike Brown so the defensive forecast is looking gloomier. Another rebuilding project lies ahead.
Bears are looking at about a #10 pick. The OL is top priority. They pushed the same OL one year too far. Round 2 take the best defender available. RB is the easiest position for a rookie to make an impact, so I think they could still pull a decent one in Rounds 3-4. Or they could sign a free agent RB at the tail end of his prime as a stopgap.