iamshack

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 27, 2010 -> 09:00 PM) Very true...but you and I both know that it would be more effective with a WR who could tear people apart on his own. Yeah, O-line is priority 1, but you've got to admit that a top tier WR would at least be useful. And no, Randy Moss is not that guy. Oh of course, it would not hurt. But there are too many other areas of improvement that are, at least IMO, more critical than the WR position.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 27, 2010 -> 08:43 PM) I understand the argument that going after and signing Vincent Jackson would make this team a lot better by giving Cutler a legit #1 option, a threat that makes everyone better, etc, but yeah, I can't put that priority as higher than 2nd on the list. If the Bears are going to spend money this offseason and FA proceeds normally somehow, I think Mankins out of NE ought to be their #1 target, and they still ought to draft OL with their first pick. I have enough confidence in Cutler's arm and Martz's system to think we can score plenty of points in this offense as long as Cutler has the time with this receiving corps. The last two weeks have been proof of this.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Dec 27, 2010 -> 09:41 PM) Watching a game I have little rooting interest for other than for fantasy football purposes, the MNF guys really are brutal. Well, I guess we should be rooting for New Orleans, since we still have an outside shot at the #1 seed, but yeah doesn't really matter who wins here most likely.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 27, 2010 -> 09:18 PM) The other real issues I see right now is...pretty much every one of the primma donna receivers has wound up on a sucky team this year where the QB has wound up struggling, questioned, and publicly bashed. It's really been quite remarkable. Marshall, Moss, Owens, Ochocinco, they've all been losers. Yeah, we don't need that on our team. I wouldn't quite put Ocho or Marshall in with TO or Moss, but I smell what you're stepping in. Our receiving corps isn't the best in the league, and it would certainly help to have a true #1 guy (I mean the Jets had to wonder who to even really put Revis on this week), but I think there are just too many other areas to address on the OLine and with our aging defense to spend any major resource on a WR right now. We need two corners, a safety, and another linebacker, and you can never have too many d-lineman.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Dec 27, 2010 -> 09:30 PM) Wrote this on Facebook after reading too many meathead comments this morning: I don't get Bears fans sometimes. Mike Singletary was a flaming, miserable failure as a HC, the only thing he knew how to do was yell, but he otherwise didn't know what he was doing, and unless it's as a LB coach I don't want Halas Hall touching him with a 10 foot pole. And don't say he needed help on offense or handling his QBs... he fired the guy that knew how to do that (Mike Martz) so he doesn't get that excuse Pete Prisco wrote a really scathing article about Singletary last night, saying players have told him he is as unprepared as any coach they have ever played for on any level, including high school, and that his game plans were extraordinarily simple and naive. He simply didn't have the understanding of the intricacies of an offense or defense in today's NFL to be a head coach. I was pretty surprised, as I would have thought Singletary would have been a very good student of the game.

QUOTE (MurcieOne @ Dec 27, 2010 -> 07:32 PM) It would be interesting to see how Lovie and that lockeroom could handle him. The Bears typically don't have guys who chirp like he does. I'd like to think Lovie could handle him. I think Ocho is has probably seen his best days come and go. He'd be a nice possession receiver at this point in his career, but I don't think he's adding a whole lot that our current corps couldn't already accomplish. What they need is to find a talent in the draft that slips because of a past injury or some kind of lame personal issues and bursts onto the scene. Of course Brandon Marshall would be a wonderful fit, but I don't see that happening.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Dec 27, 2010 -> 07:59 AM) New contracts are really not about "what he's earned". Sure, for favorite son type players there tends to be a bit of extra money, but mostly, contracts are given to players based on what the team thinks that player WILL do in the future. These aren't back pay bonuses. This is what it SHOULD be based-upon. But unfortunately, at least until you start talking about veterans in their mid-thirties or so, baseball is largely a pay for past-performance type marketplace. Perhaps enough bad contracts will alleviate this, but there always seems to be one or two GMs that need a player bad enough, whether it be to try and put his team over the top or to legitimize his club as a competitive destination, that for now, a lot of contracts get handed out for what you did last year or what you did over the course of recent history.

Didn't we already trade JR Smith for virtually nothing?

QUOTE (Paint it Black @ Dec 27, 2010 -> 07:43 AM) Because it still wouldn't matter. It's not like the White Sox has some visionary idea with Sale people. Plus Beckham has been out of the minors for 2 drafts, so it's really time to stop using that excuse. Although rankings don't mean anything, it matters that the White Sox have almost nothing for a farm system. No trade bait in prospects, no quality players who could play in a pinch/injury, and no future. This team doesn't spend in the draft, and it will eventually catch up to them. But that doesn't address the fact that these rankings do not take into account whether or not recent draft picks have actually contributed to the mlb club, which, impliedly, is the entire point of the rankings in the first place. If you're going to make draw an inference that the strength of your farm system is a measure of your drafting ability or your ability to impact your mlb club then you must account for recent draft picks that have contributed to the mlb club ahead of schedule.

Just looking ahead to the Bears possible playoff routes... 1) Beat Green Bay on 01/02 = a bye week, then a probable rematch with Philadelphia or the Giants in Soldier Field on 01/15 or 01/16, then a possible matchup with Atlanta in Atlanta or at Soldier Field against the Saints or Giants in the NFC title game 2) Lose to Green Bay on 01/02 = rematch with Green Bay on 01/08 or 01/09 at Soldier Field, then a possible rematch with Philadelphia in Philadelphia, followed by a mathup with Atlanta in Atlanta or New Orleans in Solider Field in the NFC title game The route should we lose next week in Green Bay is infinitely more difficult unless Philadelphia were to lose to Minny or Dallas. Huge, huge game for the Bears, probably as big a game as any for any team already guaranteed a playoff spot.

QUOTE (buhbuhburrrrlz @ Dec 27, 2010 -> 03:10 AM) Philly has two easy games at home. Against 3rd string QB Joe Webb and the Vikings, and then the Cowboys the final week. It's a shame if we lose to the pack we'll drop to the #3 seed and then host them a week later. Gonna be an epic game at Lambeau. I wouldn't say that game against the Cowboys is easy...I guess it depends on the status of Kitna...

QUOTE (gatnom @ Dec 27, 2010 -> 01:48 AM) I was making more of a connection to him being a mediocre twins-like player who would be traded at the end of the season because he's blocking somebody with greater potential at the position. Yeah, could be. I honestly don't know much of anything about him. I had given up watching the last few weeks of the season when he was getting playing time.

QUOTE (gatnom @ Dec 27, 2010 -> 12:25 AM) Brent Morel is Chris Getz part 2. I heard they are likening him more to Joe Crede, but whether that just stems from his defensive abilities at the same position, I am not certain.

QUOTE (J.Reedfan8 @ Dec 27, 2010 -> 01:21 AM) 49ers fired Mike Singletary tonight. As much as I love the guy, it's the right move for the 49ers going forward. I was shocked at how emotionally volatile Singletary was in his tenure there. I assumed he would be much more stoic in his approach, but clearly he's a guy who wears his emotions on his sleeve. The instability at the qb position really hurt them, and that is trickling down to the rest of their offense with the failure to really develop Crabtree and Vernon Davis much more this season. There is no reason this team couldn't have been a "Jets-lite" sort of team this season, and yet they have been difficult to watch and atrocious more than not. I'm sure Mike will catch on somewhere else, although I doubt as a coordinator. Probably going to have to go back to a linebacker's coach somewhere, unless he wants to drop down to the college ranks. Come to think of it, maybe that would be where he was better off anyways...where he could really have an impact on young kids before they get spoiled and corrupted by all the money and the NFL lifestyle.

Has anyone ever seen the Starz series "Spartacus: Blood and Sand"?

QUOTE (iamshack @ Nov 29, 2010 -> 03:25 PM) So I have made my predictions for the NFC Playoff picture. Getting the 2nd seed instead of the 3rd seed is going to be huge in the grand scheme of things. That win was HUGE for the Bears yesterday, as it would give us the tiebreaker if we finish tied with the Eagles as division winners of the North and East, respectively. Here are my seeding predictions: 1. Atlanta - reasonably soft schedule, although they have a huge game against TB on the road this week and a big game left with the Saints in Atlanta which would solidify the number 1 seed if they can win. 2. Bears - wins against Detroit and Minny are a must. Final game against GB could be huge. Probably need a split against NE and NYJ to get to 11 wins and the HUGE second seed. A loss in the final game of the season could move them all the way down to the 6th spot or even out of the playoffs entirely, as a 10-6 Bucs team could possibly edge us out in a tiebreaker amongst common opponents 3. Philly - two games left with Dallas serves as a bit of a bad break for the Eagles, and one huge game in NY against the Giants, which the Giants are going to need more than Philly. I'm guessing Philly wins 4 of their final 5 and finishes tied at 11-5 with the Bears. They would then lose on a tiebreaker as a result of the Bears victory yesterday. This 3rd seed is really a brutal seed, as you will see below. 4. St Louis - the winner of any division, regardless of record, gets seeded higher than Wild Card teams. This is something that will eventually be changed hopefully, and this season should make that point clear. 5. New Orleans - will probably finish below Atlanta in the South division, although their matchup on Dec 27th will probably determine the division winner. As it stands, the Saints have the tougher schedule, with matchups in Baltimore, at Atlanta, and against Tampa to finish out the season. 6. Green Bay - giving the nod to the Packers in front of the Giants at this point, since the Giants have been decimated by injuries. This seed could be determined by the game between the two teams at Green Bay the day after Christmas. Then of course, the Packers and Bears square off the final game of the season in Green Bay. However, if the Packers and Bucs finish tied here, it is possible the Bucs could hold the tiebreaker as they may only have 4 conference losses, as the Packers might have 5 should they lose to Chicago. On the outside looking in: 1. NYG - just so devastated by injuries, they are limping along right now. They have Philadelphia, Green Bay, and Washington twice on their schedule, as well as a slightly dangerous Minnesota team. Were they completely healthy, I would probably put them in there instead of GB, but I don't see them winning that game in GB and I don't see them finishing any better than 10-6. 2. Tampa Bay - Tampa's season basically boils down to this week's game against Atlanta. If they can pull off the upset, they actually have a very good chance to make the playoffs as they get Washington, Detroit and Seattle the following three weeks, two of them being at home. They then travel to New Orleans the final week to play the Saints. My guess is they lose both the divisional matchups, but they could finish at 10-6 and possibly earn a spot over a 10-6 Bears team that does not win the north division because of a tiebreaker edge against common opponents (this obviously depends on what Tampa does against upcoming opponents (Detroit, Washington, and Seattle). They could also beat out Green Bay in a tiebreaker, although this is unlikely. Wow, these last 5 weeks are going to be absolutely wild in the NFC! Every game will be huge for every possible contender, with the Cowboys, Lions, and Redskins all having a big chance to be spoilers. The 3rd seed will get absolutely screwed by having to play a team such as the Packers/Bears/Bucs or NYG while the 5th seed will probably play the NFC West division champion. One key for Bears fans, don't finish in a 10-6 tie with Tampa Bay! BTW Balta, I will take some credit for getting this pretty darn close a month ago....see, I'm not ALWAYS wrong

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Dec 26, 2010 -> 10:33 PM) Seattle/St Louis will be played at night and the Giants and Eagles games also flexed to mid day. You have to think Bears/Packers would pull the highest ratings of all the flexed games if moved to 7:20. Don't know if there was more standing in their way (I assume there was) but that's the direction I would have gone. My guess is Fox has some sort of choice as to which games they want and they chose the Bears-Packers game, but I don't know either.

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Dec 26, 2010 -> 10:31 PM) shack, where are you hearing the flex adjustments? I just saw a note about it on ESPN.com.

Sunday's game against the Packers has been shifted to the 3:15 slot.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 26, 2010 -> 09:34 PM) Sometimes you should listen to me. Well, to be honest, if you are an NFL bettor, these weeks just happen. The range of possible outcomes is just too great for it not to happen if you wager with any kind of regularity. And I know it is easy to point out poor wagers after the fact, but anyone who posts their plays prior to the games kicking off is going to look like a fool many, many times. In hindsight, I should have hesitated more in betting against the Patriots, but that matchup is historically close and the Bills have played a ton of close games this year. They also lost by 8 at Gillette Stadium in the previous matchup (although that game bounced back and forth between a 1 and 2 touchdown game for most of the contest, to the Pats credit. The Niners under Mike Singletary are 15-4-1 ATS coming off a loss, including 11-0 ATS following a game in which they did not cover the point spread, so that is where that play came from. The Colts play came from the fact that they are just flat-out overrated as a football team, and the Raiders strength of running the ball played well against the Colts' trouble in stopping the run. However, this is starting to remind me of 05' when the Colts couldn't stop the run all season long, only to buckle down and shut the run game down in the playoffs. The Chargers lost a must-win game against a pathetic Bengals team that was without Ochocinco and TO. They came out flat and were clearly overlooking the Bengals and were probably slightly discouraged by the Chiefs blowout of the Titans. In fact, the Chiefs win may have hurt both my Chargers and Raiders plays, as both teams probably would have come out more focused had they had better playoff chances due to a Chiefs loss.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Dec 25, 2010 -> 06:12 PM) Ok, bets are down. Bears -2 Raiders +3 Chargers -8 Eagles -14.5 Niners +2.5 Bills +7.5 Saints +2.5 Packers -3 Ouch...not a good week!

For any True Blood fans, it's super cheap today on Amazon...

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Dec 26, 2010 -> 01:12 AM) You keep saying this and you're just wrong imo. Certainly wouldn't be shocked if the Saints beat them because NO is still one of the better teams in football but so is Atlanta and they aren't overrated. Well that's your opinion. I have mine. The Falcons are a solid team. But are you seriously afraid to play them as a Bears fan? Are you afraid of going into Atlanta and playing them in the NFC Championship game? I would much rather play them than the Saints or the Eagles or the Giants or the Packers, even. Atlanta averages 5.2 yards per play against teams that would combine to allow 5.4 yards per play to an average team, meaning, Atlanta actually averages fewer yards per play than the average of the rest of the teams that have played the same defenses as them. Meanwhile, they have allowed 5.8 yards per play to teams that would combine to average 5.2 yards per play against an average defense. The Falcons are +11 in turnover margin, and 7-1 in games decided by 7 points or less. They should honestly probably be 9-5 or 10-4 instead of 12-2. There's nothing wrong with the fact that they have fared well in turnovers and close games, but they just aren't as good as their record indicates, nor as the #1 seed in the NFC is in most years.

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Dec 26, 2010 -> 12:31 AM) No faith in Matty Ice? Hard to find a tougher QB at home. Awfully good there, but the truth is they really haven't played the toughest home schedules since he's been there. The Falcons are overrated. Very good, but still overrated. I like Drew Brees getting points indoors.

QUOTE (gatnom @ Dec 25, 2010 -> 11:03 PM) I guess this is where we agree to disagree. He had only pitched one good half season prior to Coop "fixing" him. Whether the talent manifests itself is another thing altogether. The potential will always lure in a few GM's to give up players that exceed a return of a pitcher with his statistical body of work. It's why you see AJ Burnett and Javy Vazquez continue to get big contracts and move from team to team.