Since the season is pretty much over, I am actually glad the Bears are taking an assessment of Kyle Orton. They have very little to actually lose in this situation. With Grossman injured and more than likely done with the Bears in general, and Grieses disappointing season with the Bears as well, it will be nice to know what they have. To see what kind of direction they should really be pursuing in this coming offseason. 

Kyle Orton has seen very little game action since going 10-5 as a starter and none if you don't count preseason game action. But while this was going on, he has been the QB for the scout team. Meaning he has been practicing against the Bears #1 defense week in and week out. While it wasn't a game situation, the defense was preparing for a game every week and giving it their all. So he has seen different looks and pressures. Plus, he has had time to develop while looking at a tough defense last year and a struggling one this year. That has given him an unique perspective of the game.

Continue reading "A welcome change at QB for the Bears"

Watching the Chicago Bulls beat the New York Knicks was actually fun for me. This year hasn't gone how the Bulls expected from the beginning. Sure they usually get off to a slow start, but not like this. Key players missing way too many shots, no inside presence and the defense was nowhere near what it should've been. These were major concerns watching from the beginning of the year. 

But against the Knicks on December 14th, the Bulls really showed signs of what they can be capable of. They had decent perimeter shooting. Good hard nosed play from some key guys. Andres Nocioni has been improving his game each time he steps on the court. And Kirk Hinrich has been getting more towards what has been expected out of him. All around it was not like watching the drubbing they got from the Raptors at the United Center earlier in the year.

Continue reading "Bulls v Knicks, the beginning of something?"

After last nights loss, the Bears are 100% officially out of it. Not that we didn't know that prior to this, but at least mathematically it has been officially ruled out. I am glad that the Bears did decide to use Kyle Orton over any of the others that could've gone. We saw a similar performance from what he did two years ago. Manage the game and try to limit any mistakes if possible. He wasn't spectacular then and he definitely wasn't last night. 

What this does is gives the Bears a more clear cut look at some major improvements they need to make. And most of them are offensively. The quarterback position is a much needed change. But the offensive line is also in disrepair. Fred Miller needs to go away. For good. He was never that good and now he's getting slower and drawing more penalties than any other linemen for the Bears. The focus for the offseason should start with a QB improvement and move on to the offensive line. An improvement of those two places would be welcome and change the options for the Bears. If the line becomes better, pass protection becomes better and even bad QB's can be decent with a good line. But the running game can also improve with better blocking and protection, which is pretty obvious.

Continue reading "Thoughts after the last Bears loss"

The Chicago Bulls lack of a true low post threat in terms of scoring and rebounding is something I believe will haunt them all year long. Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum had 26 rebounds between the two of them. The majority of their rebounds were defensive rebounds as well. Meaning the Bulls did the same thing they have done all year long...taking one shot and dropping back on defense. No second chance points. No extended offensive strikes. The entire Bulls team had 41 boards and all but 7 were defensive boards. Ben Wallace, our supposed defense and rebounding guy had 5 boards. Yes thats right, 5. 

On a night hyped by the Kobe fiasco at the beginning of the season, the Bulls at least looked better than the last time they played the Lakers. But even with that it was pretty apparent that they are missing something. While they were close for some good stretches of the game, they still have not reached consistency yet. It is good to see Andres Nocioni playing as well as he has been playing. And the field goal percentage has started to creep its way back up. So there is some true potential. 

Continue reading "Bulls still missing something in loss to Lakers"

The Bulls got a look at what is possible out of a big man against the Washington Wizards. Aaron Gray showed a great presence in the paint. He scored. He rebounded and he accomplished something that has truly been lacking in the Bulls game. Gray got the ball in the middle and passed the ball to the outside for the shots the Chicago Bulls are used to taking.

By having a man down low to be able to penetrate to the hoop and score or rebound has added a new dimension to a disappointing Bulls team so far this season. Plus, it takes some of the pressure of the rest of the guys to have to shoot well on the perimeter. When Gray was in, the perimeter wasn't flush with guys in the Bulls jump shot shooters faces. In turn, they shot better than they have in recent months.

Maybe they have found the person they needed all along and he was right on their bench, sitting down while Joakim Noah got plenty of minutes and did very little with them. Now I know its a little early to start declaring Aaron Gray as one of their saviors, but it was a welcome change seeing someone score, rebound and create chances for others just by playing his position.

Continue reading ""

Snow, cold and wind were no hindrance to the Bears utter destruction of the Packers this weekend. Even though they were playing a cold weather friendly team, they managed an unbelievable blowout victory. It was very unexpected due to the Packers actually becoming better since the last time the two teams met this year.

The offense wasn't great, but it didn't need to be. This was the Bears team of old. A punishing, take away happy defense with a clock managing, little errors offense. It brought some nostalgia back to Soldier Field even with the east side of the stands basically being empty due to the brutal winds. 

While the Bears defense were missing some key starters, they managed to put a good amount of pressure on Brett Favre and, missing the couple long runs, held Ryan Grant mostly in check. Plus, Brian Urlacher had a great game tying his career high in takeaways for a season with six. And it also didn't hurt that he scored a touchdown as well.

Continue reading "Bears maul the Pack"

Under new interim coach Jim Boylan, the Chicago Bulls are 2-0. Thats a pretty impressive start for any new coach, especially with a team that has been as bad as the Bulls have been. After the Scott Skiles firing, many people weren't sure as to what direction the Bulls ere actually headed. There has been a lot of speculation as to why this happened when it did, what did they expect to gain out of it and on and on. Hopefully the record continues in a similar fashion. 

One of the major things that has been implemented for the Bulls under their new coach is Ben Gordon coming off of the bench again. Many thought changes had to be made for the Bulls to turn around their season, and this is a big one. But the great thing about it is that Gordon has shined since becoming the sixth man. His field goal percentage has gone up and he becomes an igniter when he comes in.

Continue reading "Jim Boylan gets back to back wins from the Bulls"