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.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Thursday, September 4, 2008
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.
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.
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