Bears/Falcons Postgame Thread

[CBS7]

Hester looked very good, Forte broke out of his couple of game slump with 110 total yards, 90 of which came after the half. Orton had another good game, the OL didn't do too bad of a job.

It wasn't Orton's or our offense's fault at all that we had 9 minutes TOP in the first half. The defense let up long scoring drive after long scoring drive after long scoring drive.

[emperorjones]

That was a nice TD drive by Orton, though. He's on pace for 3700 yards, 22 TD, 11 INTs.

I'm actually really happy about that and the fact that we no longer need (IMO) to have a question mark floating over our quarterback position (just the in-game strategies of our coaching staff). Taking RB & QB off the board as positions of need is huge. I expect this team to be like the Giants of last year & click big time down the stretch (especially since we've already played 4 road games)

[batman_crip14]

Matt Ryan did not look like a rookie today. KO had an average game/above average. I say this because there were missed opportunities that he didn't grasp on, at times he looked like he was in it to win it, the other times he looked like he was managing a losing game, but majority of the time he was clueless, up until the last 5min of the 4th.
He shouldn't be improving his game little by little anymore. We have seen him look really stud like at times, but also decent just like any other QB. So his skills set shouldn't be held back anymore. He should just let loose. Managing a game can hurt us more than it can help. He tried managing in the first half and our TOP was 9:41min. Start playing to win like you have nothing to lose and stop playing not to lose. This is really bothering me and the fault goes to KO/Turner.

You can point fingers at the Defense, but when you rely on the Defense/ST so much, it takes its toll on them. When the offense can't manage and only get 9min of TOP, your defense will get tired and will get burnt.

Overall, i say somewhat productive stats on offense but it was basically patting stats, nothing to be excited about. Defense was sloppy, but when your 3 starting DBs go down, it hurts.

Kyle Orton should've had the tackle on the kick returner, even better, he should've been out there in coverage to prevent that throw to set up the FG. That would've saved the game, but still... you wouldn't be impressed.

Even if Orton beat up, both the hurricane and Ditka, I doubt you'd be impressed.

What if God went up against Orton, who'd win?

Trick question... Orton beat up Ditka, who is God, so now Orton is God.

Why would I be impressed with an sub-par performance? Only thing i was impressed about KO was his 3min drill that he got robbed. Last time i checked "an almost 4th quarter comeback isn't a comeback". Reason why i pointed blame to KO/Turner for the Falcons game is because they have shown that they can come out firing in the previous games this season as if they were #1 in the NFL for offense. So why go all out for 20min getting a couple scores in and then sit back and manage for 40min?

[batman_crip14]

in simpler terms
Offense couldn't produce 1st half/Defense held its own
Defense sucked arse in 2nd half/ Offense show up a little too late
like i said before, we won't have another complete game until we play detroit again. BUT I HOPE THEY PROVE ME WRONG BEFORE they play the kittens

The bears had basically 3 offensive possessions in the first half and one resulted in a fg

The Falcons had 4 possessions in the first half and 3 resulted in scores and they were 10,11,and 11 ,and 7 as the the Bears defense couldnt get off teh field even though they had the falcons repeatedly in 3rd and 7 or more .Ryan was 7-7 on 3rd and 7 or more . So how did they hold their own as the Falcons had the ball over 18 minutes and the bears over 10.

The Bears defense had exactly one 3 and out and the ycame in as the best 3rd down defense in the league .The killer part about this game and everyone knows it is that of the bears defense gets the offense the ball more in the first half we win by double digits .

My mistake, you righ you righ about the defense part. Defense does gets half of the blame and offense the other half. One can't work without the other, unless you're Rex Grossman and go sour which in end results to Urlacher being given god-like ability to wreck havoc on the opposing offense.

[batman_crip14]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/boxscore?gi ... age=drives

just not really a good game overall for the chicago bears.

[chitownsports4ever]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/boxscore?gid=20081012001&page=drives

just not really a good game overall for the chicago bears.

Uhh the bears had 9 possessions and scored on 4 of them and couldve been a 5th if not for the goalline coaching blunder .Thats 5 of nine possessions and one of them was before the half with 36 second on the clock

The Falcons had 9 possessions and scored on 6 and if not for the missed FG 7 possessions and Im talking long clock eating drives

Are you saying its normal for an offense to score on every possession ?

Werent you just arguing how Orton looked the same as he did his rookie year ? Do you still feel that way ?What about never winning a game for the bears ? would you say that drive shouldve won the game for the bears if not for the special teams and defense blowing it ? What missed opportunities did Orton fail to take advantage of ?

[SportsWorld]

Some pics:

[NLK]

I didn't get a chance to watch the game, but wow. Susan gave me the update near the end and I went from hoopin' and hollering to "WTF! Die Falcons, Die!" I'm cool now but based on what a lot of people posted in this thread, it seemed like our team were outplayed and yet were offered to take this game and almost took it, but then returned it. Yuck. Not to mention the bad coaching, which to me is more indicative of anything. It just seems like our team lacks focus or an attention for details, esp. for guys with lots of playing experience. This team should be at the very least 4-2, if not 5-1 or 6-0. More of that "Would've should've could've" business. However, it seems like Orton is learning his way, which is a plus and leads me to go out and say "The BEARS will defeat the Vikings on October 19, 2008 @ Soldier Field!"

[batman_crip14]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/boxscore?gid=20081012001&page=drives

just not really a good game overall for the chicago bears.

Uhh the bears had 9 possessions and scored on 4 of them and couldve been a 5th if not for the goalline coaching blunder .Thats 5 of nine possessions and one of them was before the half with 36 second on the clock

The Falcons had 9 possessions and scored on 6 and if not for the missed FG 7 possessions and Im talking long clock eating drives

Are you saying its normal for an offense to score on every possession ?

Werent you just arguing how Orton looked the same as he did his rookie year ? Do you still feel that way ?What about never winning a game for the bears ? would you say that drive shouldve won the game for the bears if not for the special teams and defense blowing it ? What missed opportunities d[*]id Orton fail to take advantage of ?

I agrued that fact after preseason ended and maybe a game or 2 into the season. Has he grown since then yes. Has he grown a lot? show me some consistant ABOVE AVERAGE/FULL games. As I have stated in previous posts, when a man is deserved credit when credit is due, it will be given. I don't applaud and say nice job "Orton you played an awesome first half against the Eagles, good game and you can forget about the 2nd half because it didn't matter". Orton's best full game was against the Lions and they aren't even considered a real team.
Orton has shown sparks of improvement in games, but looks timid from time to time. And I don't mean by calling out the audibles and blitz, I mean if shys away from opportunities that could make you look great/but very stupid at the same time. When he grabs his balls and lets loose and scrambles out of the pocket thats what i want and that will make him an original QB for chicago. he could become that playmaker if he would just play the game.

[SLCceltic]

Some pics:

Great pics
Gotta strongly disagree with the Thread Title
We didnt choke----the falcons made a miracle play with 1 sec left
unbelievable


We took that game on the road against a team thats dam good @ home while missing a goalline scoring opportunity
I just question why our safeties were so deep on that last play-------this Im sure was a cover 3; but the back wall of defense should have been locked in on any possible receiver 5-10 yards ahead of any reasonable field-goal position-------but still it was a tough throw and Ryan killed it; a perfect strike

The loss will keep us under the radar
Our guys know the're good and we should see some inspired football from this 08 team
They gotta believe that they can beat anyone

I wouldnt call this a let down
more of a special day for Atlants fans b/c of off season crap
I like flying under the radar

[CjayC]

It wasn't a miracle play. They were at the 40 yard line, and had been tearing up our reserve CB's for long gains all game long. That's a pattern, not a miracle.

Lovie Smith admits squib kick was mistake
By John Mullin | Tribune reporter 10:46 PM CDT, October 13, 2008

Coach Lovie Smith was willing to second-guess himself a day after the Bears' 22-20 loss in Atlanta. But he only went so far.

Smith said Monday that if he had it to do over, he would not have had Robbie Gould execute a squib kickoff to the Falcons after the Bears' go-ahead touchdown pass from Kyle Orton to Rashied Davis with 11 seconds to play.

Smith said after the game the reason for the squib instead of a conventional deep kick was what he perceived as the state of the injury-riddled coverage team.

"Hindsight is always a lot better," Smith said. "I feel like I could have helped our team a lot better if we had just kicked the ball off deep, but it just didn't work out that way."

The Falcons were able to take the ball to their 44, and a 26-yard completion put Jason Elam in position for a 48-yard field goal.

Smith defended the call to stay with the Cover-2 alignment that left just two safeties deep and allowed Atlanta receiver Michael Jenkins to make the catch and get out of bounds with one second left for Elam's kick.

"That's the coverage we like to run in that situation," Smith said. "We didn't execute it the way we need to ... but you don't all of a sudden start changing things you believe in.

Kevin Butler opposed to squib kicks
Ex-Bear questions decision in Atlanta
Fred Mitchell | AROUND TOWN 11:25 PM CDT, October 13, 2008

To squib or not to squib?

Former Bears kicker Kevin Butler was in the Georgia Dome on Sunday when Robbie Gould's squib kickoff with 11 seconds remaining traveled to the Atlanta 34 and was returned to the 44. Following a 26-yard pass from Matt Ryan to Michael Jenkins, the Falcons' Jason Elam kicked a game-winning 48-yard field goal.

Butler believes Bears coach Lovie Smith made "a bad call" by ordering a squib kick.

"You have given up field position at a time of the game when it is the most valuable thing there," he said. "Robbie is an All-Pro kicker, one of the best in the league. You really nullify him when you do a squib kick. If you have the reputation as the best squib kicker in the NFL, you're not very good."

Butler would have preferred seeing Gould try to kick off into the end zone, particularly since the game was indoors with no wind conditions.

"Once they start running around the field, unless they make a bee-line out of bounds … 11 seconds isn't that long," he said.

Butler never had a kickoff returned for a touchdown during his 11 seasons with the Bears. He recalled a Bears game in 1993, coincidentally against Atlanta at Soldier Field, when coach Mike Ditka ordered him to squib kick away from Deion Sanders.

"It's called a squib for one reason—you don't know what it is going to do," Butler said. "It's an unknown kick ... it puts the kickoff team at a definite disadvantage.

"Ditka told me to squib it away from Deion. The ball bounced and bounced and it seemed like it had a magnet to Deion. It got into his hands, he came all the way down the field and I made the tackle. Mike was in my face at that point—'What are you doing?'

"I told him, 'That's what a squib is—I don't know where it's going either.' "

The Bears held on to win that game 6-0 on Butler's two field goals.

The Falcons' Jerious Norwood had an 85-yard kickoff return earlier in the game, but Butler believed the chances of him breaking another one were minimal.

"At that time the momentum was with the Bears—everybody was jacked up," he said. "You kick it 4 or 5 yards deep, if they return it, then they return it."

[Chewie]

Those articles tell me a lot, CjayC. At least Lovie isn't sticking to his guns on the bad decision. Kick it deep and let your special teams do their job. If they run it back, tip your hat and accept your loss.

[CjayC]

That's exactly what I've been saying. I Norwood runs it back or even gets good field position so be it.

You DON'T give them good field position to start with, especially when they've been burning our secondary the entire game.

Another thing is that, Atlanta had their receiving kickoff team on the field. Meaning most of the players were Back up RB's WR's, TE's. People that actually run with the ball with speed, and receive the ball(But not block all that well). You are kicking it off on a shorter field to fast players that can run the distance. I would say that's much of a good idea either.

[SLCceltic]

[quote="CjayC"]It wasn't a miracle play. They were at the 40 yard line, and had been tearing up our reserve CB's for long gains all game long. That's a pattern, not a miracle.[quote]

That was one of the best throws of anyone all season.
Our defense was too deep and should have been playing the sidelines
The D was in a cover 2 and if Hamilton could have drifted back deeper he could have made a play

They made a good call against a system D
If we man up, Jenkins wont be passed off to a safety playing too deep

Ryan made a career throw; maybe theres' a lot more of those coming from Ryan, maybe not, but he made one of the best clutch throws i've ever seen