Out Of Hibernation: The Segment Formerly Known As Bears Buzz

Sometime Sunday afternoon, I came up with a more clever name for the blog responsible for the Chicago Bears round-up segment.  Though it lacks the alliteration of Bears Buzz, it is name that seems to fit Bears rewind blogs -- especially after yesterday's game against the Cleveland Browns.

Talk about being Cutlerfucked.  The Bears offense was only able to muster 30 points against the 31st ranked defense in the NFL.  Pathetic.  You can chalk up this anemic offensive effort to a lack of execution and piss poor play calling.

Cutler threw for only 225 yards and a 66 passer rating, but in his defense, it's hard to complete passes down the field when you're flat on your back or running for dear life.  Rex Grossman found that out the hard way.  So did Kyle Orton.  The difference is Cutler has made plays with his feet, but thanks to Rob Ryan's stingy play calling (combined with an offensive line that truly is offensive) Cutler couldn't cut it against the Browns.

At what point will the Bears try to assist Cutler by leaving a back or a tight end to help block because I don't expect offensive coordinator Ron Turner to adjust his pass protection schemes any time soon.  Not because he wouldn't want to, but instead because he just might be too incompetent to do so.  The Bears offense is wasting the fast development of Devin Hester, Johnny Knox and Earl Bennett, all while stunting the growth of Greg Olsen.

Remember how the Bears defensive line coach took the axe last season for Bob Babich?  Anyone know who the Bears offensive line coach is?  If so, warn him of what happened to his former colleague.  Besides, that's how Chicago ended up with Rod Marinelli, isn't it?

One week after sleep walking through a 45-10 loss at Cincinnati, the Bears defense stepped up and forced five Cleveland turnovers.  Those five turnovers turned into 20 of the team's 30 points, including a Charles Tillman pick-six.

Chicago was able to pressure Derek Anderson throughout the game, which was a sign of progress for a defense that failed to lay a single finger on Cincinnati quarterback Carson Palmer.  Remember when Anderson was a must-have free agent quarterback?  Yeah, I vaguely remember that offseason.  Braylon Edwards was good, so was Kellen Winslow.

Where the Browns have failed the most is on draft day.  Do you think they're regretting taking offensive lineman Joe Thomas rather than running back Adrian Peterson?

If the Bears offense was a joke in Sunday's win, the Browns' offense was the punchline.

I could fill this space with an expletive filled rant.  I won't.

Instead, I'll politely ask Ron Turner to turn in his play book and kindly ask him to never return to Soldier Field again.  Bland and predictable, Turner's offense looks like it has yet to move on beyond the early-to-mid 1990s.  There is personnel on the field that is capable of scoring more than 30 points against Cleveland.

The Bears have struggled in the red zone this season, and that's great for Robbie Gould's fantasy owners, but not good for a team that needs to score touchdowns seeing that its best defensive player is out for the season while the team's best healthy defender has mentally checked out as well.

Runs up the middle with guys marginally bigger than your local high school baller.  Screen passes on 3rd and long situations.  It's a playbook so conservative, conservative politicians think it's too damn radical.  Heck, even when the Bears broke out into the Wildcat formation ... they lost yards.

Only under Ron Turner could this happen.

Turner has been around this game a long time, but so have John Madden NFL video games.  Maybe if Turner uploaded the recent Madden NFL 10 updates, he could learn a thing or two just by asking Madden.

And just when you thought the Bears offense was the worse, I'm reminded of the Oakland Raiders.

Two touchdowns, 121 yards from scrimmage (90 rushing) ... welcome back Matt Forte.  If only for one week.

CBS spent more time re-telling the sad story of how the Bears have had a billion shitty quarterbacks since Sid Luckman than they did on honoring Walter Payton.  While the references throughout the game were a nice touch, showing only about 10 seconds of the halftime tribute left me wanting more.

Thankfully, chicagobears.com comes through in the clutch.  Just like Sweetness did time and again.

Favretoberfest is o-vah!  Brett Favre conquered his former team at his former home as the Vikings held off the Packers in a 38-26 win.

The game left me with the following conclusions:

• Aaron Rodgers is the real deal.
• No one in the NFC North is catching the Vikings.
• The only person Thom Brenneman loves more than Brett Favre is Tim Tebow.
• I wish the Bears had the Vikings' Adrian Peterson.
  

I guess I'll start with my analysis of Aaron Rodgers, who has been the NFC North's best quarterback this year.  Blah. Blah. Brett Favre this.  Brett Favre that.  With no offensive line, a declining Ryan Grant and a swiss-cheese defense, Rodgers has thrown for 1,989 yards and 14 touchdowns against 2 interceptions.

Does he benefit from having excellent receivers in Greg Jennings and Donald Driver.  Sure.  But Rodgers has been harassed more than the only girl at a college frat party.

If you want to crown 'em, then crown 'em.  The Minnesota Vikings are going to win the NFC North barring some kind of stunning collapse that is generally reserved for the Chicago Cubs.  Their defense is good and their offense is efficient.  It doesn't hurt when you have Adrian Peterson, but it is the emergence of Sidney Rice and Percy Harvin that keep this team moving forward.

Harvin is the new Devin Hester.  Do not kick to him under any circumstances.

The only shot the Bears have at a playoff spot will be to win a Wild Card berth.  They'll have to duke it out with the second place finishers of the NFC East and NFC South.  The Bears already blew it against Atlanta, but they can make it up at home where they play four of their next six games.

As for Favre, I'm sick of the divorce comparison.  It's just not apt.  Packers fans have the right to be pissed at Favre and boo.  You want a better analogy?  Well, here goes nothing.

Favre and the Packers are married?  Cool.  Favre & Ted Thompson are getting up there in age.  The kids have graduated college and really there's nothing else to be done around the house and both parties are better off moving on with their own assets.  Then Thompson gets mad at Favre for hanging out with his friend Retirement.  It wasn't like he was banging Retirement with no rubbers or anything.  It was more like Favre would go out late with Retirement but always coming home to Thompson.

One day, Thompson was fed up when Brett hung out with Retirement for too long before coming home one night.  Thompson then sent Brett to New York on a vacation.  However, it pissed Brett off to be kicked out of the house he helped build.  So after a year in New York, Favre returned to the Midwest ... not with Retirement ... but like Hugh Hefneras he traded in Retirement a slew of hotties that are DTF known as the Minnesota Vikings.

And while Ted's got a looker on his own arm that he can boast, it's underdeveloped.  Kind of like Miley Cyrus.

Thus concluding this wonderful analogy and this new segment.

The Day of Reckoning

Here we go.

Unless you have been living under a rock the last week, you know that the Green Bay Packers will be facing the quarterback that accomplished so much during his 16 year career in Wisconsin. That quarterback will be wearing purple and yellow on Monday night instead of the familiar green and gold that football fans have been accustomed to seeing for years.

Growing up, Michael Jordan and Brett Favre were my idols. I became a Packers fan in large part due to number four. But Favre’s ‘will he or won’t he’ antics have not just began over the last two years. Packer fans know the drama that Favre creates in the offseason as his rumored retirement began all the way back in the 2002 offseason.

Let it be known that I was one of the fans that wanted the organization to appease Favre during the training camp fiasco last year. Even though the Packers finished 6-10 last year, Aaron Rodgers established himself as a premier quarterback in the NFL and he was the much better quarterback between him and Favre. Green Bay’s GM, Ted Thompson, took a lot of flack for his decision to stick with Rodgers but he’s looked like a genius. Favre had a messy divorce with the Jets at the end of last year and as we all know, he decided to come back to the Minnesota Vikings after a desperate effort by head coach Brad Childress.

The legend of Favre continued to grow after last week’s game against the San Francisco 49ers. Favre threw a 32 yard game-winning touchdown pass to Greg Lewis with two seconds left to give the Vikings a stunning 27-24 win over the Niners. The Vikings moved to 3-0 on the season ahead of the big tilt against the Packers.

One thing that the Vikings need to stray away from in this game is the overuse of Favre and the under utilization of Adrian Peterson. Last week against San Francisco, Favre threw the ball 46 times while the best player in the NFL only received 19 carries. In the first two games of the season against Cleveland and Detroit, Favre threw the ball 21 and 27 times respectively. Peterson had 25 carries against the Browns and only 15 against the Lions. If Childress continues to let Favre air it out against better teams, he will not be as fortunate as he was against the 49ers.

The Packers would be wise if they stacked the box with eight defenders and as weird as it sounds, they would be better off letting Brett Favre beat them compared to Adrian Peterson. Peterson has destroyed the Packers in his short career – like many teams in the league. In his four games against the Packers, Peterson has ran for over 100 yards three times with the lone exemption coming in 2007 when Al Harris injured Peterson’s knee on a tackle early on in the game. Last year at the Metrodome, Peterson ran for 192 yards on 30 carries against the Packers. There is no question that if Green Bay wants to win this game, they have to contain the best player in the game at all costs.

For the Packers, they come into this contest at a mark of 2-1 and they were able to down the St. Louis Rams with relative ease last week. Aaron Rodgers threw for a pair of touchdowns and also ran for one as the Packers won 36-17. The big concern for the Packers is how their offensive line stacks up against the Vikings All-Pro defensive line, which boasts Jared Allen, Kevin Williams, and Pat Williams. It’s not a good sign for the Pack when they can boast about ‘only’ giving up two sacks last week. Rodgers has been sacked 12 times in three weeks, which is the most in the NFL. Starting right tackle Allen Barbre has been horrid this season as he has allowed Adewale Ogunleye, Antwan Odom, and Leonard Little to run rampant on Rodgers. Look for Jared Allen to be in the backfield early and often for Minnesota.

This is obviously a very important game for both teams, but there is more pressure on the home team to win home division games. If the Packers can somehow steal this game from Minnesota, they will be in the driver’s seat in the NFC North at 3-1 heading into their bye week. And after the bye week, the Packers face the likes of Detroit, Cleveland, and Tampa Bay with the Lambeau Field rematch against Minnesota sandwiched in there.

It pains me to say it, but Minnesota is the favorite and should win this game because the Packers weaknesses play to the Vikings strengths. If there is a given, the game should be competitive as the last six contests at the Metrodome have been decided by seven or less points. The circus will be in Minneapolis on Monday night, but just remember that there will be a game in the middle of all the nonsense at around 7:30 tonight.

Milwaukee's Best

It's a great honor for me to be invited on the best blog on the web. It's a tremendous accomplishment, one of my biggest yet on this planet. I have to thank Matthew Hartwig and Luis Medina for allowing me to contribute here. I'm quite sure they'll get sick of my witty, sarcastic, and snide remarks, but what's the fun if there isn't any of those remarks?

So now it's time for me to pop my blog cherry. For good reason, this blog has a Chicago-style theme to it. Unfortunately for those Chicago fans, I don't share the same taste when it comes to my football teams. I like my football of the green and gold variety. I like my football that has the passion and the tradition of winning. I like the GREEN BAY PACKERS.

And today in Titletown USA, rumors continue to swirl that the one and only Brett Favre will renounce his plans to try out for the PGA Tour and instead try for one last Farewell Tour at a Super Bowl. This comes on the heels after the Milwaukee Brewers finalized a deal that netted them big guy and pitcher C.C. Sabathia. But as it goes in the old cheese state, football is king. Even in July when it is a complete dead period for football, rumors of Favre coming back took center stage over Sabathia's arrival. And of course, there's a twist that comes with it. Favre could come back, but not as a Green Bay Packer.

As Shaggy would say, "WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?" I'll tell you why Favre won't go anywhere else besides the Packers, if he does indeed come back to the National Football League. Close Favre friend Al Jones, a writer for the Biloxi Sun Herald, says that while Favre is working out daily and trying to get back into "game shape," there is no way that he would play for any other team besides the Green Bay Packers. And why wouldn't that make sense? Here's a guy that is going to be 40 years old in a couple of months. When Mike McCarthy installed the west-coast offense into the Packers' playbook, Favre absolutely hated it. He did not want to learn a whole new playbook for his final couple of years in the league. So would he want to do the same thing if he went to another team? His family has been embraced by the Wisconsinites for 16 years. Favre's family has said repeatedly that they love it in Green Bay. Both of his daughters wanted him to keep playing as long as he possibly could, in Green Bay. I don't think any of that has changed.

Of course, there's one small obstacle to all this. Meet Packers' General Manager Ted Thompson. Thompson got off to an extremely rocky start with the fan base when he took over the team as the team embarked on a 4-12 record his first year at the helm in 2005. However he won the NFL Executive of the Year award last season after the Packers compiled a 13-3 record, flanked by the youngest team in the NFL (even with Favre on the team). But Thompson's entire reputation in Wisconsin is at stake on this one move. No one doubts Thompson's drafts anymore. No one doubts his inactivity in free agency anymore. But if Thompson says no to Brett Favre coming back because they already promised Aaron Rodgers the starting job, you can bet he'll be on the hot seat faster than a brat going through an overweight Wisconsin man.

Personally, I have bought into Aaron Rodgers as the starting quarterback. And really, how can you not when you see the other quarterbacks in the NFL's Norris Division? There's a big difference in being a playoff team and a Super Bowl team. Even though the Vikings made a big improvement by acquiring Jared Allen to help their pass defense, they still have Tarvaris Jackson as their quarterback. Defenses are still going to run the gauntlet and put eight or nine men in the box to stop the two-headed attack of one Purple Jesus and Chester Taylor. The Packers have the same team as last year, with the exception of Favre. Rodgers' ability fits perfectly into a west-coast offense. He gets rid of the ball extremely quickly, he's accurate, his throwing motion fits best in a system that uses screens, slants, and outs.

There's one small problem though. The Packers' probably wouldn't be a Super Bowl team with Rodgers as the quarterback. I don't think there's any chance that they would get by the likes of the Cowboys or the Giants in the playoffs. Favre, on the other hand, makes the Packers a Super Bowl contender. He was the only other player in the NFL to receive a vote in the MVP voting last year as he put up one of his best statistical years in his NFL career. At age 39. The ol' gunslinger still has it and could probably play for another five years if he wanted to. Ultimately, I believe that Favre had a talk with his close buddy Michael Strahan and Strahan probably told Favre how great of a rush it was to go out on top. Favre's the biggest competitor in the game. There's no way he wants to go out with an interception to Corey Webster in overtime of the NFC Championship Game. He won't go out that way. Thompson will make the right decision, save his home, his family, and his well-being and Favre will lead the Packers to the promised land.