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Let him say what he wants. Same thing with the Grossman critics. The cool thing about sports is that the Bears will either prove or disprove his analysis on the field. the only thing that worries me is that the Bears have a tough start to the season. If Grossman does not perform well, the pressure on him, and the rest of the team will be enormous.

I did indeed write the preview. Just a couple of general observations:

1. Lighten up folks! This team could win the division by Thanksgiving with Kyle Orton at QB, but it's not the flawless statue of David y'all believe it is. You'll feel a lot better when the inevitable adversity strikes if you temper your expectations of absolute perfection and conformity. Forgive me for being Jay Mariotti-esque and not drinking the full glass of Kool Aid. Nobody wanted to hear about how flawed the White Sox were this spring, or how the Bulls weren't as close as everyone thought either. Just don't be like Detroit people and turn on guys you worship now when they're gone or no longer meeting expectation.

2. I've spent more time in Burbonnais than any sane person would ever want to. I've seen this team up close and personal. I do know for a fact that Lovie motivated Tillman and Vasher by telling them over and over again that they were playing for the same deal. I've seen how Benson slowly won his teammates over (it's night and day from last summer), how truly bad the backups at OL, DT and LB are, the frustration the defense has when they have to not rush Rex so he can successfully complete a basic drill. You can question my opinions all you want (I welcome that--it's why we're here), but don't forget about me when I'm right either. FWIW I called for 10-6 and an early playoff loss for the Bears last year, so my relative negativity is probably overblown once again.

3. I'm not a Bears fan but I am far from a Bears hater. There's only two teams I actively root against--the Cowboys and the Ravens. I absolutely love Jerry Angelo as GM and I'm a big fan of Tommie Harris, Nate Vasher, and Des Clark.

As someone else said, we're actively seeking good writers with something to say. During the season I pretty much only do game picks for the site, so there is plenty of room for team analysis and more in-depth pieces on individual teams. I'll even help you out if you ask nicely

^^This man knows what he is talking about.
As I said, I would rather read his previews than whatever crap ESPN has.
Plus, we have to PAY for ESPN's crap.

It wasn't a bad article, but TJ isn't a pro bowl RB.

Icness wrote:I've seen how Benson slowly won his teammates over (it's night and day from last summer), how truly bad the backups at OL, DT and LB are,

We have the DEEPEST group of defensive tackles in the NFL and our Oline depth is better than average with St. Claire and Metcalf. Both who have started a lot of games in this league. St. Claire has 34 NFL starts and Metcalf has 20. They don't suck, they are actually quality backup linemen in this league whether you want to admit it or not.


You can just make things up and say all those players are terrible but it doesn't make it true. It almost seems like you watched the backup line in on offense or defense and watched them get beat, ignoring that most of those guys won't even make the team and decided all the backups must suck.

We have Darwin Walker and Anthony Adams as BACKUP defensive tackles, thats an enormous upgrade over Boone and Scott. Not a slight upgrade, an enormous upgrade. Boone did not fit the system and Scott was physically limited.

How bad can Jamar Williams be when every report out of camp described him as being a future stud?

It isn't about agreeing or disagreeing with your opinions, you claimed the possible deepest group of DTs in the NFL has no depth and you claimed an offensive line with two PROVEN veterans off the bench has no depth. Its absurd and insulting, do your homework, don't go watch training camp because you don't know what you are looking at. Research the actual players on the roster.

the frustration the defense has when they have to not rush Rex so he can successfully complete a basic drill.

Did you really even make this statement? Rex had great practice after great practice. It is common NFL, college, and HS practice not to sack the QB in drills so he can throw the ball.

Icness wrote:1. Lighten up folks! This team could win the division by Thanksgiving with Kyle Orton at QB, but it's not the flawless statue of David y'all believe it is. You'll feel a lot better when the inevitable adversity strikes if you temper your expectations of absolute perfection and conformity. Forgive me for being Jay Mariotti-esque and not drinking the full glass of Kool Aid. Nobody wanted to hear about how flawed the White Sox were this spring, or how the Bulls weren't as close as everyone thought either. Just don't be like Detroit people and turn on guys you worship now when they're gone or no longer meeting expectation.

Cliff Levingston for one doesn't think the Bears will be a powerhouse of epic proportions like you hinted at with the statue reference. 11-5 playing a tough schedule would be a nice feat.

The Bulls and the Sox references are poor as well. Everyone knew the Sox wouldn't be that good after trading two of their best pitchers, it's just that no one thought they'd be as bad as they are. Same for the Bulls pretty much. We all knew they'd be good and expected them to get out of the first round, but didn't expect a whole lot more than that. No one in their right mind thought we'd win the championship.

We're talking about a team coming off a superbowl appearance as the head-and-shoulders best team in the NFC last year, and we had no significant losses unless you think TJ is much better than he is... like most people.

- Archuleta is a great pickup at SS and played stellar play under Lovie and the Cover 2 scheme, allowing Mike Brown to return to free safety where he played great for us from about 2001 - 2004.
- At the DT position, Darwin Walker is an upgrade over Tank Johnson and Adam/Dvoracek at worst is a wash with Boone/Scott.
- Rex now has a full season of starting under his belt and thus a whole lot of game film to watch in order to get better. ICLO, his mechanics look better than last year.

The only thing we don't have going for us is a tougher schedule than last year.

Some "experts" feel Walker is not an upgrade to Clink Johnson. I just hope Briggs hits players like he does guardrails.