Stupid Bears

I am so not one of those Bears fans that think the Cutler trade was a good idea or that we are for sure going deep into the playoffs. I know the Broncos didn't have a good defense this past season but, the reason they didn't make the playoffs again was because of Jay Cutler. He can't play when the pressure is on. They had four chances to win one game to get in and he choked. One game they lost for no other reason than his poor clock management.

Sure he can throw the ball down the field a lot better than Kyle Orton but, at the moment there isn't a lot for him to throw too. He had plenty of weapons in Denver and couldn't do crap. Two seasons ago they one more games off of Elam's foot than Cutler's arm. So it's a good thing the Bears have a good kicker.

Maybe the defense will help make him look better but there will always be a couple games a season where the defense isn't going to be on top of things. What happens then? What if those are the crucial games needed to make the playoffs? From what I've seen of Cutler it means the Bears will be watching the post-season.

Seriously I get that Rex had some issues but, really the guy got them to the Superbowl. It wasn't his fault that management actually thought Cedric Benson could get the job done and traded Thomas Jones. It wasn't Rex's fault that they had no running game. When there is no running game Rex sucked. I freely admit that. If Rex had been the guy this year with Matt Forte things would have been way different. And guess what folks Cutler can't get it done without a running game either so you better hope Forte doesn't get hurt.

If I'm a coach out there I'd rather have the guy who sucked at times and still one games. I'll take the guy who has a passer rating of 1 and still gets the win. I'll take the guy who got me to the Superbowl over the guy who can't even get a team to the playoffs.

Four chances to make the playoffs and you choke all of them away. That isn't the guy I want running my offense. At the moment the Bears made a huge error in my opinion. But, who knows maybe Cutler can get it together and be a real leader in Chicago. I mean they are looking to finally have a good QB around there not counting on it and expecting it game in game out so maybe a little less pressure will help.

I'm not counting on it. But, I'll be very happy to say I was wrong if Cutler can help get them to great places. To do that though he's going to have to stop sitting on the bench pouting when things don't go his way.

The QB Drama

Normally I try not to pay attention to anything to do with the Denver Broncos. Just because I live in Colorado doesn't mean I have to like them. But, since there are some nights that this damn Jay Cutler drama leads the news it's hard to ignore. And really it's rather funny. I don't know why anyone is surprised by how Jay has handled this whole thing. He's a big baby. My boyfriend is a Broncos fan so I do watch their games with him and countless times I've seen Jay sitting on the end of the bench pouting because a drive to go well. He's a baby and of course he's going to have a fit if the new coach thinks of trading him.

I also don't know why anyone might be surprised that Josh McDaniels would look into getting Matt Cassel. And honestly I'm sure the only reason it didn't happen is the third team involved wouldn't give up the right players.

Regardless of is Jay gets traded this year or not I'd almost be willing to put money on the fact that Matt Cassel will be a Denver Bronco by the 2010 - 2011 season. I wouldn't rule out the possibility of him being a Bronco this coming season. However, I'd be surprised if there was a straight across the board trade of Cutler for Cassel. The reason I don't see that happening is because they are in the same division. If the Broncos traded Cutler to the Cheifs and then something happened and they got pounded by the Cheifs all hell would break lose. And if the Cheifs ended up with Cutler and he didn't play well (especially against the Broncos) then the Cheifs management would never hear the end of it.

Honestly though I don't know if the Cheifs would trade Cassel anyway because if who ever the ended up as a QB didn't perform well then it would be a disaster. However, I don't rule out a Cutler to Detroit for the first pick and then the first pick to Kansas City for Cassel senario. That's probably too obvious to happen but, it would serve Cutler right.

And like I said if it doesn't happen this year Cassel will be a Bronco next season. He already said he was happy to play for the $14 million he gets because New England made him a franchise player. So if he isn't traded to Denver (where he would most likely immediately sign a multi-year deal) he'll play this year in KC and then unless again tagged as a franchise player he'll sign a deal in Denver at which point the Broncos will have to trade Cutler if they don't do it this year.

The only thing I don't want is for Cutler to end up in Chicago. I don't like Kyle Orton and think the Bears need a different QB but, Cutler is not the QB for them.

Go Bears and othe NFL stuff

My Bears got off to a great start against the Colts 29 - 13 Sunday night. Things were a little shaky on offense at first. Kyle Orton was not showing anything to change my opinion of him being the starting QB. However, with the help of their new starting running back Matt Forte they were really able to open things up and move the ball well. The running game working allowed Orton to relax and once he did he played very well.

I was even surprised to see that he can in fact go deep down the field. Once he got into the rhythm of the game he seemed to get his confidence. He never seemed over confident, didn't seem to be forcing passes where there wasn't room which was good. I think he was probably nervous early not wanting to mess up knowing that too many early mistakes could cost him the starting job. No need for him to worry about that now. As long as the offensive line can keep playing like they did and the running game continues to work they may surprise everyone in the league.

As for the defense...it was rather shaky in the preseason but, it seems like the pulled it together. It seemed like they could have played a little tighter on the receivers at times but, at least they didn't allow them to get big chunks in the air followed by big chunks after the catch. They played hard on the running game and stuffed the Colts a lot in that area. And it always helps when the D can recover a fumble and run it back for a touchdown. When the Bears defense plays like they did Sunday it takes a lot of pressure off the offense. It's important for the defense to play like that so Kyle doesn't feel like he hasn't to get points on every drive.

Last year the defense always seemed to come out and play completely different in the second half. I don't know if they were trying to confuse the other team or what but, it always seemed to backfire and cost them. They did that a little bit in this game but, then they got back to what worked in the first half of the game and everything was fine. The coaches need to remember the saying, if it ain't broke don't fix it.

As for other NFL happenings. I am no Broncos fan but, I'm even less of a Raiders fan so it was nice that the Broncos laid a beat down on Oakland last night. Apparently the Raiders forgot to get a defense in the off season.

Funny how everyone is making a big deal out of Tom Brady being out for the season. Don't get me wrong it sucks for him but, I watched that game and the Patriots played better overall when Brady went down. Honestly if the Cheifs had plenty of chances to take control of that game and failed. I don't know if the Pats can play that well all the time without Brady. I imagine they stepped it up and played tighter knowing they had to because Mr. Make It Happen was out. Mentally it might be a challenge for them to do that every week.

It would have been nice if Chad Pennigton could have stuck it to the Jets on Sunday. But, at least the Dolphins played well and one game doesn't mean a lot. At least not yet.

He's Back

After a season trying out the whole NASCAR thing Dario Franchitti is returning to the IndyCar Series next season. As he was with NASCAR he'll drive for Chip Ganassi Racing replacing Dan Weldon in the number 10 Target car.

I am extremely excited about this development. Dario has always been my favorite driver and I was very saddened by his departure from the open wheel racing. I have never been the biggest fan of the Target/Ganassi team but, a lot of that has been the fact that they have jerks for drivers. At least they'll have not only a good driver but, a good person in Dario.

It's his good guy personality that doomed him in NASCAR. It's not that Dario couldn't drive stock cars and be pretty good at it. It's the fact that he doesn't have that jerk mentality. He races on the edge but, not over it and he doesn't put other drivers in danger. Racing in a series where you pretty much have to bump other cars and force your way into places is not him.

And now he'll be on a team where both drivers are treated equally. While he won the IndyCar series last year he was never as successful as he could have been. The reason for that had to do a lot with the fact that even though he came over from CART with Andretti Green he wasn't treated that way. Other drivers at times were given better resources than he was. That became especially glaring when Marco joined the team.

With Dario back next season will be even more competitive on the series and it will hopefully be a more exciting season.

Lindsay Davenport

The U.S. Open of tennis started this week in New York. And sadly this could be the last hurrah for one of the greats of women's tennis, Lindsay Davenport.

If you aren't an avid tennis fan you may not know Lindsay to be a great player. She has been up and down the tennis rankings several times. She has ended and started years at number 1 while suffering injuries and other set backs that drop her ranking during the year. That's not something a lot of players can do. If their ranking slips they usually can't get back up for another season or two.

One of the big reasons for Lindsay's success is that she listens to her body. While at times playing through pain she wouldn't start tournaments hoping to play through that pain. If it was just something minor sure she played. However, if it was something that lingered or wasn't getting better while playing she would take time off. It didn't matter to her that she might slip in the rankings her health and being able to show up for the fans mattered to her. Tennis mattered to her.

Until this year Lindsay had never withdrawn during a match. And in fact I'm not sure she actually withdrew during a match this season either. She had to withdraw during a tournament but, that was between matches. Lindsay is the consummate professional and she was there to play and knew people paid to see her play. I've seen her call for the trainer to have things taped or looked at but, she sucked it up and finished the match. She knew it would probably mean losing and that was okay as long as she went out and gave it everything she could. That is something that means a lot to the fans. When you can gut it out it shows them something. They appreciate it and they support you more.

No one expected Lindsay to comeback after having a baby. In fact she herself had said she would be done when she started a family. However, she did comeback after having her son. Her primary reason was to make the Olympic team again. And she did that. It has not been easy, she has again developed problems with her knee but, she fought through it as much as possible and even won a couple tournaments. Overall she has 92 titles. That is an impressive number.

I think all tennis fans have looked to the U.S. Open as Lindsay's last stand. Especially once the knee acted up. Would we like to see her go on longer? Yes, we would because she is a great athlete and person. She is very unassuming and it is never about her it is always about the game. That will be one of her greatest legacies.

She is currently into the third round of the Open and hopefully she'll go a couple rounds deeper. If things fall right she could go very deep into the draw. No matter how deep she goes it will be a great run and should this be it for her she will be greatly missed.

Lets Try Some Hockey

On draft day my current favorite player, Alex Tanguay, was traded from Calgary to Montreal. This was both a good thing and a bad thing. It's good because he's a native of Quebec and playing for the Canadians is probably a dream come true. Not to mention they are just a great franchise. And they are my favorite eastern coference team.

It was a bad thing because he's now in the eastern conference which means I won't have very many chances to see him play. Playing for Calgary he played my hometown team the Colorado Avalanche several times a year.

However, I am extremely happy that he is no longer with Calgary now that they have signed Todd Bertuzzi. I guess they decided to thug it up this season. As an Avs fan there is a clear reason for my dislike of Bertuzzi. I didn't think much of him before that incident either. I doubt it would have been the most pleasant feeling in the locker room had they been on the same team.

I'll take not getting to see Alex play as much over him ever having to possibly play on a line with Bertuzzi.

Kyle Orton and the Bears

So the Chicago Bears have decided to go with Kyle Orton as their starting quarterback. I don't really know how I feel about that. Sure he's a decent QB and he did a his job when Rex got hurt a few years ago. He won them enough games to get to the playoffs. But, I don't know if he can do it again.

Right now they are having some troubles on defense and that will put extra pressure on him. If they can get the defense together and play tough nose Bears D then he'll probably be fine. I guess only waiting a couple preseason games to decide on the starting QB gives them time to tailor things to his strengths. Unfortunately one of his weaknesses is not being able to go deep down the field. He's great if you can manage the clock and score enough points. But, if you don't score time management doesn't matter for much.

However, the Bears coaching staff better watch out. I saw the end of the game against San Francisco. Caleb Hanie going deep for a TD at the last second that is going to stay in the minds of Bears fans. If Kyle falters they will be wanting to know when Hanie gets his chance (should he stay on the team). They will probably just skip right over the idea of Rex starting again. (I still believe in Rex.)

I've never wavered in my love of the Bears and I will cheer for them no matter who the QB is. I hope Kyle does get the job done. I think they have all the pieces they need. They just need to stay healthy and put the pieces together properly.