2014-15 NFC North/NFL Thread

[Jay Bee]

Vikings game was awful. Watched only until it was 14-0. Ponder & Asiata behind center... what do you want? Crap.

Do you want them to bring awareness or not?

They should all just stop it....no more?

I'd rather less of the "pink awareness" campaigns. The message is out there. There are many areas of need (cancer types and other) that are hurt by the pink powerhouse.

[keefe]

There are many areas of need (cancer types and other) that are hurt by the pink powerhouse.

Komen is an evil organization. I can't wait for it to self-destruct, which it will.

[MU82]

Komen is an evil organization. I can't wait for it to self-destruct, which it will.

Is "evil" really the word you want here?

Hitler, Manson and Bin Laden were evil.

[real chili 83]

This should be interesting.

[MUsoxfan]

Komen is an evil organization. I can't wait for it to self-destruct, which it will.

I agree 100%

[muarmy81]

I don't know about the Bears.  I think Trestman seems like a good coach.  The playcalling is good.  The effort is there.  I just don't think the personnel is good enough, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

To go along with what Dish said above, the linebackers aren't all that good and the defensive line isn't living up to expectations.  (To be honest, I thought that Allen over Peppers was not going to be an upgrade, and I couldn't quite figure out why people were saying it was.)

Yeah...as a Bears fan I was hoping for more from this "revamped" D-Line but they have little to no push.  I will say they are playing the run better but you'd have to considering how bad they were last year.

I hated Shea on the D-Line as he got pushed around way too easily...now you've traded him out for Jared Allen who doesn't seem to be able to hold his own against O-Line men...he's getting pushed around.

Yes, the Linebackers are either old or just not very good.  The only free agent playing well is Willie Young.

And being a long -time Cutler apologist, I may have to rethink my approach...

[GGGG]

Cutler reminds me of a less-talented Brett Favre.  Always good for a couple bad throws a game and you just hope it doesn't come back to kill you. 

[GGGG]

Komen is an evil organization. I can't wait for it to self-destruct, which it will.

If someone wants to donate to support cancer research, the American Cancer Society is the most efficient cancer charity, and has the best idea how to allocate resources across the disease spectrum. 

[MU B2002]

Yeah...as a Bears fan I was hoping for more from this "revamped" D-Line but they have little to no push.  I will say they are playing the run better but you'd have to considering how bad they were last year.

I hated Shea on the D-Line as he got pushed around way too easily...now you've traded him out for Jared Allen who doesn't seem to be able to hold his own against O-Line men...he's getting pushed around.

Yes, the Linebackers are either old or just not very good.  The only free agent playing well is Willie Young.

Teams should (and have) run nothing but crossing routes against Chicago, seems to be a 20 yard dead zone in the middle of the field every time.   The only other guy on the defense that i have been impressed with is Kyle Fuller. Ego Ferguson has been decent as well. I would like to give Allen a couple weeks, as I know he isn't full strength, but so far I am unimpressed.

I am not sold on the play calling.  It seems like they are trying to feature a new guy every week, this week Forte, last week the Black Unicorn.

And honestly the Bears return men should NEVER bring the ball out of the end zone on a kickoff.  NEVER.  Can't wait to see Hester take one back next week.

[Spotcheck Billy]

If someone wants to donate to support cancer research, the American Cancer Society is the most efficient cancer charity, and has the best idea how to allocate resources across the disease spectrum. 

I support a local charity, the Rock River Cancer Research Foundation via http://www.ridintoacure.com/

http://rrcrf.org/history/

[Henry Sugar]

Komen is an evil organization. I can't wait for it to self-destruct, which it will.

Your ideas are intriguing to me, and I'd like to subscribe to your newsletter.

[JWags85]

Cutler reminds me of a less-talented Brett Favre.  Always good for a couple bad throws a game and you just hope it doesn't come back to kill you. 

It also highlights the frustrating nature of this team.  The first INT was flukey, whatever.  But other than that, he plays a very good game, great completion percentage, but the playcalling is wonky and they don't score much in the second half, and then one bad throw and suddenly its treacherous.  Its not being a Cutler apologist, cant turn it over there, but its frustrating for your QB to play a good game and still have no breathing room.  Also, the Forte fumble was a killer.  Given that Cutler played well before the last INT, really wanted to see him get a redemption chance on that final drive which totally could have changed the storyline.

And man its frustrating to see a less than 100% QB like Newton just carve up this defense in the air.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Vikings game was awful. Watched only until it was 14-0. Ponder & Asiata behind center... what do you want? Crap.

I'd rather less of the "pink awareness" campaigns. The message is out there. There are many areas of need (cancer types and other) that are hurt by the pink powerhouse.

We can say that about anything....pick a cause, any cause, and someone wants more awareness.  I have a personal bias, I'd love for them to push Juvenile Type 1 diabetes, but that's not how the world works.  Only 2 million American kids have it, so it isn't big enough of a deal.  I'm not sure how the pink powerhouse hurts others, this Summer's ice bucket challenge shows some creativity can break through very quickly get noticed. 

[mu03eng]

We can say that about anything....pick a cause, any cause, and someone wants more awareness.  I have a personal bias, I'd love for them to push Juvenile Type 1 diabetes, but that's not how the world works.  Only 2 million American kids have it, so it isn't big enough of a deal.  I'm not sure how the pink powerhouse hurts others, this Summer's ice bucket challenge shows some creativity can break through very quickly get noticed. 

It hurts because it sucks oxygen out of the room and creates gross inefficiencies.  Yes breast cancer sucks, and yes it is a noble cause, but it is also not the most "critical" of the cancers.  Heck, most breast cancer awareness groups, especially Koman, don't even focus on the most deadly form of breast cancer, metastatic.

I'm all for donating to causes, but you really should be looking at the efficiency of the group you are donating to.  Take United Way or American Cancer Society, they are over 90% efficient with their donations whereas Koman or others are down near 50%.

Lastly, I have a real issue with causes becoming marketing campaigns.  Why is breast cancer so well known?  Because it is viewed as a means of good PR, it reaches a demographic most companies, especially the NFL want to reach.  It has almost nothing to do with the cause and everything to do with marketing.  Yes this is cynical but I don't think it makes it any less true.

In a dream scenario, people wouldn't donate to causes they would donate to "The Fund".  The money in "The Fund" would be distributed based on need, effectiveness and criticality to society.  As an example, heart disease kills far more women than breast cancer, one could argue heart disease research would be a more effective ROI in terms of lives saved than breast cancer research.

[ChicosBailBonds]

It hurts because it sucks oxygen out of the room and creates gross inefficiencies.  Yes breast cancer sucks, and yes it is a noble cause, but it is also not the most "critical" of the cancers.  Heck, most breast cancer awareness groups, especially Koman, don't even focus on the most deadly form of breast cancer, metastatic.

I'm all for donating to causes, but you really should be looking at the efficiency of the group you are donating to.  Take United Way or American Cancer Society, they are over 90% efficient with their donations whereas Koman or others are down near 50%.

Lastly, I have a real issue with causes becoming marketing campaigns.  Why is breast cancer so well known?  Because it is viewed as a means of good PR, it reaches a demographic most companies, especially the NFL want to reach.  It has almost nothing to do with the cause and everything to do with marketing.  Yes this is cynical but I don't think it makes it any less true.

In a dream scenario, people wouldn't donate to causes they would donate to "The Fund".  The money in "The Fund" would be distributed based on need, effectiveness and criticality to society.  As an example, heart disease kills far more women than breast cancer, one could argue heart disease research would be a more effective ROI in terms of lives saved than breast cancer research.

I don't disagree with 99% of what you are saying.  I can make the same argument about the Salvation Army (very inefficient), or any other causes.  I also agree with you on the marketing stuff, as I said yesterday.  Same for "going green" BS...but that's the world for you. 

The 1% I disagree with you on is the cynicism that "it has almost nothing to do with the cause and everything to do with marketing".   Marketing is very key, it is reality, it is part of their PR and messaging, but let's not pretend that people in the league haven't been impacted by cancers to their mothers, sisters, daughters, wives, colleagues.   Of course they have.  In terms of heart disease and breast cancer, again...we can have these debates forever.  Yes, more women die of heart disease than breast cancer, but how many women have breast cancer that don't die?  Doesn't matter what cause one chooses, someone else is going to believe their cause isn't getting just due.  So the sports leagues are damned if they do and damned if they don't.  The cynics will scream they are ONLY doing it for the marketing and PR (a bunch of truth to that, but not wholly truthful), and if they don't do anything then people are screaming that the NFL or the sports leagues aren't doing enough to raise awareness for these causes.  Pick your poison.

[MU82]

It also highlights the frustrating nature of this team.  The first INT was flukey, whatever.  But other than that, he plays a very good game, great completion percentage, but the playcalling is wonky and they don't score much in the second half, and then one bad throw and suddenly its treacherous.  Its not being a Cutler apologist, cant turn it over there, but its frustrating for your QB to play a good game and still have no breathing room.  Also, the Forte fumble was a killer.  Given that Cutler played well before the last INT, really wanted to see him get a redemption chance on that final drive which totally could have changed the storyline.

And man its frustrating to see a less than 100% QB like Newton just carve up this defense in the air.

I was at the game and enjoyed it immensely, as I'm a Panthers fan. I lived in Chicago for 16 years before moving to N.C. and my son still lives there. He's a huge Bears fan, was visiting me and joined me at the game, so it's nice to have bragging rights.

Cutler has always been just good enough to get coaches and offensive coordinators fired. Sunday was a perfect representation of that. Played well much of the day but he should have avoided a couple of sacks, should have looked far more often for his WRs than he did because that's where the Bears had a major advantage and, of course, threw a killer INT with 6 minutes to play. Thanks, Jay!

To blame this one on Cutler would be a stretch, as two of the most reliable Bears of the last decade - Gould and Forte - f'ed up royally. Still, it's amazing how often Chicago fans have to say: "Cutler was good ... if only he didn't make that killer mistake."

Marc Trestman, we hardly knew ye. I wonder who Cutler's next victim will be?

[wadesworld]

I was at the game and enjoyed it immensely, as I'm a Panthers fan. I lived in Chicago for 16 years before moving to N.C. and my son still lives there. He's a huge Bears fan, was visiting me and joined me at the game, so it's nice to have bragging rights.

Cutler has always been just good enough to get coaches and offensive coordinators fired. Sunday was a perfect representation of that. Played well much of the day but he should have avoided a couple of sacks, should have looked far more often for his WRs than he did because that's where the Bears had a major advantage and, of course, threw a killer INT with 6 minutes to play. Thanks, Jay!

To blame this one on Cutler would be a stretch, as two of the most reliable Bears of the last decade - Gould and Forte - f'ed up royally. Still, it's amazing how often Chicago fans have to say: "Cutler was good ... if only he didn't make that killer mistake."

Marc Trestman, we hardly knew ye. I wonder who Cutler's next victim will be?

Maybe whoever decided it was a good idea to throw $125 million his way?

[Jay Bee]

I'm not sure how the pink powerhouse hurts others

You may be well served to step back and so a little thinking.

What diseases does Cutler have? It doesn't seem like he can everbe loved in Chicago. Time to part ways?

[wadesworld]

You may be well served to step back and so a little thinking.

What diseases does Cutler have? It doesn't seem like he can everbe loved in Chicago. Time to part ways?

?  From what I see it seems he gets way too much love in Chicago.  It's everywhere else that he can't be loved.  And part ways...how, exactly?  He's the Bears' Ryan Braun.  That contract is one they will greatly regret.

Spoken like a true (see: clueless) Vikings fan.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Still fine with the contract. It's front loaded and seriously I don't get the get rid of Jay sentiment. Who can the Bears honestly have a chance of getting that would be an improvement.

[wadesworld]

Still fine with the contract. It's front loaded and seriously I don't get the get rid of Jay sentiment. Who can the Bears honestly have a chance of getting that would be an improvement.

I hear former first round pick Christian Ponder is 3rd string.  Maybe he'll be released this offseason.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

I hear former first round pick Christian Ponder is 3rd string.  Maybe he'll be released this offseason.

Exactly, you're proving my point. Cutler is the best option for the Bears for the next 5 years or so. They won't ein a superbowl but they're never gonna be bad enough to get a high first round pick to get a guy like Andrew Luck.

[DegenerateDish]

Maybe whoever decided it was a good idea to throw $125 million his way?

Cutler's contract is 3 yrs $54 mil in real terms.

[MU B2002]

?  From what I see it seems he gets way too much love in Chicago.  It's everywhere else that he can't be loved.  And part ways...how, exactly?  He's the Bears' Ryan Braun.  That contract is one they will greatly regret.

Spoken like a true (see: clueless) Vikings fan.

???



He's the Bears Ryan Braun?  Meaning he's another guy that you obsessed with trashing?

Does Jay make mistakes? Yes.  More often than I would like? Yes. Did he "cost them" Sunday's game?  No.  I have no issue with his contract, because who is out there that is a better option?  McCown?  That sure worked out well for Tampa. Josh may be the Bears Matt Flynn.  I get so sick of the "same old Jay" mantra from Packers fans, and yes I only hear about it from Packers fans. It's so tired. If he smiled and played nice with the media I think the Jay bashing wouldn't exist, but it does, so whatever. I hope you realize how incredibly fortunate you have been to fall into the Favre-Rodgers years.  Not every fan base is so lucky. 

F*%K, this season sucks. Damn cheeseheads.



(winky face)

[RJax55]

???
He's the Bears Ryan Braun?  Meaning he's another guy that you obsessed with trashing?

Does Jay make mistakes? Yes.  More often than I would like? Yes. Did he "cost them" Sunday's game?  No.  I have no issue with his contract, because who is out there that is a better option?  McCown?  That sure worked out well for Tampa. Josh may be the Bears Matt Flynn.  I get so sick of the "same old Jay" mantra from Packers fans, and yes I only hear about it from Packers fans. It's so tired. If he smiled and played nice with the media I think the Jay bashing wouldn't exist, but it does, so whatever. I hope you realize how incredibly fortunate you have been to fall into the Favre-Rodgers years.  Not every fan base is so lucky. 

F*%K, this season sucks. Damn cheeseheads.
(winky face)

Yeah, I don't understand why Packers fans hate on or care about Jay so much. The guy is 1-10 against the Pack. They should love him.