There was always the chance that the Bears defense would return to form against the Colts and put the pressure on a surely rusty Peyton Manning. There was always the chance that Kyle Orton would play mistake free football behind a solid running game provided by Matt Forte and Kevin Jones. And in a league in which upsets are common place, there was always the chance that the Chicago Bears would beat the Indianapolis Colts in their brand new stadium.

Honestly though, who actually gave them that chance?

I know I really didn't. I expected the defense to start strong, but like always tire in the second half as Peyton heated up. I surely did not expect the offensive line to provide rookie Matt Forte the gaping holes they did. Even crazier was the offense managing to score 20 points. Normally the offense would put up only 10 to 13, forcing the defense to score if a win was to be had. Fortunately for the Bears, the defensive scoring was icing on the cake.

Continue reading "Bears dominate in regular season opener"

This Sundays showdown of 1-0 teams to me is an example of a game no one should bet on. It has way too many wild-cards for any prediction to be safe. That being said, I'll let you know the keys to this Sunday's match-up.

If the Bears want to repeat their performance at Indianapolis, they'll need to follow the same strategy. Shutting down Carolina's running game is the key. Chicago held Indy to only 53 yards rushing, but the Colts are a passing team. John Fox will be sure to pound the run with rookie Jonathan Stewart and 3rd year DeAngelo Williams. If the Bears can hold them under 100 yards total rushing for the game, they'll have a great chance to walk out with a win.  

The Panthers are also having some offensive line problems, with guard Travelle Wharton questionable for the game. Chicago's interior linemen should make every attempt to bull-rush the middle and give Jake Delhomme no time to make good decisions. Unfortunately for Jake, he still won't have his best target, as Steve Smith is serving the second game of his suspension for punching teammate Ken Lucas. Familiar face Muhsin Muhammed should serve as the most consistent threat at wide-out for the Panthers Sunday.

Continue reading "Joe's Gameday Preview: Bears at Panthers"

Any who knows me is aware of how much I dislike the New England Patriots.

Well, maybe dislike is a weak word. I loathe them. Their players are regarded as indentured servants, they treat the injury report like it’s a Tom Clancy novel, and they are so over-covered by the sports media that my TV gets upset when it shows Tedy Bruschi. And it all starts with their sneaky media-toying genius of a coach. Or is he? (Well, he’s definitely sneaky and loves to toy with the media, but is he a genius?)

We’re about to find out.

With mega-star quarterback Tom Brady done for the season, what better time is there to examine Belichick’s brilliance? (Excuse the alliteration; it’ll happen quite a bit.) Let’s face it, his tenure as head coach of the Cleveland Browns wasn’t exactly worthy of the hall of fame. His real success began in 2002 when the Patriots won Super Bowl XXXVI. That was ironically the same season that sixth-round nobody Tom Brady made his NFL starting debut. In only the second game of the season, all-pro Drew Bledsoe went down to an injury, and Brady was called up to center. He shocked the league with his poise and accuracy in the pocket. Belichick controversially stayed with Brady all the way to the Super Bowl, even when Bledsoe was fully recovered. The Patriots beat the Rams, Bledsoe was released, and the rest is history.

Continue reading "Was it Belichick or Brady? We’ll soon find out…"

Each week I’ll examine some of the more interesting games on the schedule. If you don’t see your team’s game, they’re either playing the Bears (in which case I’ve covered it already), or I’ve decided it isn’t quite interesting enough to warrant my analysis. I hope you read anyway.

Indianapolis Colts (0-1) at Minnesota Vikings (0-1)

It’s hard to believe that with the off-season hype surrounding these two teams, one of them will start the season at 0-2. Minnesota should be able to use the same strategy the Bears employed to win, only with greater success. The Williams boys on the defensive line for Minnesota should cause even more problems for Manning, while Adrian Peterson will gash the Colts soft run defense.  For the Colts to avoid a loss, Peyton must exploit a Vikings secondary that couldn’t hold down Aaron Rodgers.

Continue reading "Joey A's NFL Week Two Preview"

Too many things infuriated me as I watched my Chicago Bears lose to the Carolina Panthers Sunday afternoon. The two Greg Olsen fumbles are obvious, the lack of offensive production is just as problematic, but honestly, the offensive play-calling is my real issue with this Bears team. They often fail to put their personnel in the best position to win games.

The short passing game, as frequently as it was implemented, had very little effect on the Panthers defense. The idea behind of throwing a wide receiver screen or a 2 yard stop route is that your wide receiver will make the first tackler miss and then break it for at least a 6 yard gain. Devin Hester is the only possible receiver on the Bears squad that could make that kind of play, and he left the game with injured ribs in the second half. Rashied Davis does not have that kind of speed or the hands to trust. Marty Booker does not have the moves to shake younger and faster DB’s anymore. Mark Bradley would have to play every once in a while so he can show us he can’t do it either. So why would Ron Turner call that type of play for anyone besides Devin Hester? Does he want to get three yards? To lull those cornerbacks closer to the line of scrimmage so they can hit that 25 yard pass that NEVER worked? Every time those plays were run, the Bears receivers were always tackled by the first defender. It never loosened coverage so it never really opened anything downfield. That wasn’t my only issue with Ron Turner’s game plan.

Continue reading "Bears Didn't Deserve the Win"

Well, the Patriots certainly looked human on Sunday. Scoring only 19 points, their offense didn’t come close to resembling the juggernaut of last season. If you were Eric Mangini and the Jets, there was no better possible situation to ask for coming into this game. The Jets had Brett Favre and an improved defense, while New England had Matt Cassel and an aging defense. Unfortunately, the Jets couldn’t make the Patriots pay for settling for field goals most of the game.

The Patriots could not effectively protect Cassel for most of the day, giving up three sacks and multiple hits. The first-time starter often had a lineman in his grill, but still managed to complete workman-like sixteen of twenty-three for 165 yards. The running game only really materialized in the second half, ending up with 104 yards. The Jets defense did their job, holding the unstoppable Patriots to 260 yards of total offense, but other factors caused New York to drop this important division contest.

Continue reading "Patriots win it Ugly"

I’ve heard of “playing not to lose”…but thanks to last night’s awkward decision by head coach Romeo Crennel, I’ve also seen “playing not to win.” How else can you really explain his call to kick a field goal late in last night’s game versus the Steelers when his team trailed by seven? Fourth and seven or not, you have to go for the first down there, if not for the touchdown. What do you have to lose if you fail? The situations remain the same, regardless of turning the ball over or kicking the field goal. The Browns would have either turned the ball over on downs at the thirty or kicked off after a field goal which would’ve probably given the Steelers possession between the 20 and 30 yard lines. Either way, the Browns would still need a defensive three and out to regain possession and then they’d STILL need a touchdown!

Continue reading "Browns Play to Lose...and then Lose"

If you had told me six months ago that the Bears and Bucs would play in week 3 and Brian Griese was going to be involved in a quarterback controversy, I would’ve had no problem believing you. In fact, I would’ve had money on it. The weird part is Brian Griese is playing for Tampa Bay…again. I’m sure Brian’s pretty excited at the prospect of beating the team where he wasted two years of his career. Honestly, I might be more afraid of facing Brian Griese in this game than I would be if Jeff Garcia was starting. Now, before you stop reading because I’m an idiot, let me explain why.

There’s no question Garcia is the better quarterback. He’s a winner in the NFL, even with sub-par stops in Cleveland and Detroit.  A veteran like Garcia has seen it all, and is adept at reading defenses. Brian Griese, while less talented, has something going for him that Garcia doesn’t heading into this match-up. It probably explains why Gruden is fine leaving Garcia on the bench for the second straight week.

Continue reading "Joe's Gameday Preview: Bucs at Bears"

In week three of this young NFL season, we have some teams needing to break out of their losing ways, some interesting AFC versus NFC matchups, and a key divisional game.

Carolina Panthers (2-0) at Minnesota Vikings (0-2)

It’s hard to say there’s a “must-win” situation in week three, but the Vikings are staring one right in the face. With the rest of the NFC North in tough conference match-ups, Minnesota needs this victory to star catching up to the top of the division. Starting Gus Frerotte at QB should add some experience to their offense and produce more than the five field goals they put up against Indy last week. Carolina is looking to stay ahead of the rest of the NFC South, who all sit at 1-1. Now they have Steve Smith back, fresh from his suspension. Jake Delhomme looked dangerous already, now he has his favorite weapon back.

Continue reading "Joey A's NFL Week Three Preview"

Well, this game ended just how it started: ugly. That’s really the only way to describe yesterday’s return of Brian Griese. From the opening play when Tommie Harris got involved with Bucs offensive lineman Donald Penn, it was obvious Tampa Bay was playing dirtier than usual. After early penalties on both teams, the referees seemed to contain most of the emotion. Though it proved to not be enough as another fight broke out in overtime with the game on the line. After the defense halted Tampa on third down, one of the Bucs offensive lineman refused to get off of a Bears defender, even going so far as to forearm the Bear in the facemask. Obviously, this starts an old-fashioned scrum. Entering late, Bears cornerback Charles Tillman got involved with a Buccaneer trying to helmet him in the back. Tillman throws that player to the ground and gets flagged for unnecessary roughness, giving the Bucs new life in the form of a first down. Brian Griese then methodically leads his offense down the field and sets up the game winning field goal.

Continue reading "Griese Returns with a Vengeance in Bears Loss"

Brian Westbrook left this game in the first quarter and Donovan McNabb was sacked three times and even went to the locker room to be examined. The Eagles obviously lost…right? Sorry Steelers fans. Pittsburgh got dominated in this contest reminiscent of college football's inter-state rivalry games.

The quarterbacks on both teams were under constant pressure in this one, but Philadelphia managed to turn that pressure into nine sacks of Ben Roethlisberger. That’s right, nine. Five of those sacks came on six consecutive Pittsburgh passing plays in the second quarter. It left Ben aching for most of the game as another hit in the fourth quarter caused him to leave the field to examine a right hand injury. Donovan McNabb, on the other hand, was only sacked 3 times, and at one point in the first half had completed 15 for 15 pass attempts. He wasn’t out for Philly at the start of the second half, so Kevin Kolb took two series under center. Donovan soon returned and kept his Eagles in the driver’s seat against one of the AFC’s best.

Continue reading "Eagles beat the Steelers in the Pennsylvania Bowl"

Big D put a big whoopin’ on Green Bay last night. It wasn’t as high-flying as the game they won versus Philadelphia last Monday night, but Dallas continued their early-season domination. Instead of the pass, Dallas used the run to pound on the Packer defense throughout the game, which opened up plays downfield and in the play action game. Tony Romo wasn’t brilliant, but he was exciting as always, dodging defenders so his receivers can get open.

Dallas racked up over 400 yards of total offense, behind running back Marion Barber’s 146 yards on the ground. Barber always gets talked about as a guy who should look to avoid more contact so he can stay fresh late in the game. He seemed pretty fresh last night in the final quarter, despite every bruising run. Delivering more pain than he takes, Barber will be just fine this season. He has rookie Felix Jones to back him up and deliver those home runs on the ground. Their production set up the pass last night, as Tony Romo found Miles Austin on two deep throws after fakes to the running back. Terrell Owens only had 2 catches for 17 yards, but had some impressive blocks on some of Dallas’ key running plays. Tight end Jason Witten was instrumental as well, often being asked to block defensive linemen, which he did to perfection.

Continue reading "Green Bay's Missed Opportunities lead to big Dallas Win"

Get ready Chicago, here’s your chance to see what a real team looks like, along with the rest of the nation. This game should honestly scare Bear fans to death. Their 1-2 team is facing a third loss in the face, which could put them behind Minnesota and tied with Detroit, depending on how this weekend’s schedule plays out. That will place them just above the bottom rung of NFL teams.

The last two games for the Chicago Bears turned out to be hard-fought losses. A play here or there would have completely changed the outcomes. I don’t feel as confident going into this Sunday night’s game against Philadelphia. Even if Donovan McNabb is hurt, he’s going to play, and at probably a very high level. McNabb is playing this year to show everyone in Philly that he is the same great quarterback that took them to the Super Bowl. He gets a little help this week in the form of an awfully shaky Bears defensive unit that let Brian Griese pick them apart. Imagine what an actual Pro-Bowl level quarterback will be able to do against Lovie Smith’s cover two scheme. This “bend but don’t break” ideology will be put to the test on Sunday as the Eagles should “break” the Bears defense a few times.

Continue reading "Joe's Gameday Preview: Eagles at Bears"

Cleveland Browns (0-3) at Cincinnati Bengals (0-3)

Last week we had the Pennsylvania Bowl in the NFL, featuring two great teams. It’s too bad for Ohio that both of their teams are just plain bad. Each of these squads is looking to step on the other as they climb out of the trash heap of winless teams. If Derek Anderson is going to hold off the Brady Quinn chants, he’ll have to beat the hapless Bengals. He won’t be able to do it alone though, as Braylon Edwards needs to stop dropping every ball that comes his way. Cincinnati isn’t looking to be pushed over either, as they offered stuff opposition to the Super Bowl Champ New York Giants last week, forcing overtime. Carson Palmer will be hungry in this game, and a Palmer-led offense can put up 40 on any given Sunday.

Continue reading "Joey A's NFL Week Four Preview"

Who doesn’t love it when the Bears prove you wrong? Despite being plagued by some of the same problems we’ve seen all season, Chicago held on to beat a solid Philadelphia Eagles ballclub. It was a game filled with great plays and absolutely mind-numbing ones. Luckily, The Bears left Solider Field with a much-needed win. It was a tale of two halves on both sides of the ball for Chicago, but luckily it was in an order that allowed for the victory.

Since recent blogs of mine have been filled with negativity after losses, I’ll start out with the positive aspects of last night’s thriller. Kyle Orton threw for 174 yards and three touchdowns in the first half. It was a notable performance for a quarterback that isn’t known for being anything more than a “game-manager.” Greg Olsen was used to perfection on the first touchdown of the game, making a tremendous catch on the out-and-up. That series was also a great change of pace for the Bears’ offense, as Ron Tuner came out with the no-huddle to put the Eagle defenders on their heels and out of their normal aggressive blitzes. The Bears went 59 yards in three plays to score seven points on their first drive of the game. Marty Booker went to the middle of the end zone early in the second to put the Bears back on top. Devin Hester made up for his drop early in the game by catching Orton’s pass on the sideline route, beating the Eagles’ best corner in Asante Samuel for touchdown number three. The offense put up 21 points in the first half, when they normally couldn’t reach that total for an entire game. Even more shocking was the execution of the screen pass, which was ran three times and always went for positive yardage.

Continue reading "Bears Overcome Four Turnovers To Defeat the Eagles"

It has only taken two weeks for Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers to go from undefeated and better without Favre to .500 and needing a veteran quarterback. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have won two consecutive emotional games against the NFC North. Despite these ups and downs, both are tied for first place in their respective divisions after four weeks.

Every Packer fan had to know this was coming. The only real knock on Aaron Rodgers before the season was his durability. The talent and leadership capabilities were in place, but no one knew if he could last sixteen games of an NFL schedule. Before this year, one of his few regular season appearances ended in a broken foot.  So how could the Packers seriously enter this season with a quarterback that has never started an NFL game with two rookies for backups? They offered a contract to now-retired Daunte Culpepper, but never made a serious attempt to bring in a veteran presence as a backup. This foolhardy approach to their quarterback situation could be about to bite them in the butt.

Continue reading "Buccaneers and Packers have Questions after Defensive Battle"