The Bears lead the Raiders 14-13 at the half. Here are some of my observations so far.
• Never knew the Bears' MVP was long snapper Patrick Mannelly. He's out with a neck stinger.
• I wasn't even sure how to spell his name.
• It's a good thing Desmond Clark can run, catch and block because he sure can't long snap.
• Can any of our readers long snap?
• Jay Cutler's teammates aren't giving him a lot of help tonight. Between catchable balls that have been dropped (four) and pass rushers getting free, it's been tough for Cutler to complete a pass. He did a nice job on his touchdown throw to Johnny Knox, avoiding the rush, rolling out and finding the open receiver.
The Raiders' Kamerion Wimbley sacks Jay Cutler during the first half. (Nuccio DiNuzzo/Tribune)
• Did the end around to Devin Hester ever work last year? It worked in the second quarter for 16 yards. Thank you, Mike Martz.
• The Raiders can't block Julius Peppers any better than the Bears have blocked him in practice. He's going to have a huge year.
• Both Israel Idonije (fumble recovery) and Mark Anderson have picked it up tonight in the battle for the left end position.
• Matt Forte doesn't look like himself again. He looks better than himself.
• The Bears offense is making more physical mistakes than mental ones. Did anyone think that would be the case?
• It's time to start wondering about Chris Williams.
• Charles Tillman is having a nice night. After his first quarter interception, he did a good job of reading and staying home on a reverse. Tillman tackled Louis Murphy after a gain of four. He also had a nice open field tackle of Murphy on a subsequent play.
BEARS SHOULD BE LOOKING AT MIKE MARTZ TO TAKE OVER MAYBE BY MID SEASON. SMITH JUST DOESN'T HAVE ANY SENSE OF VALUE WHEN PICKING DRAFT CHOICES. ANGELO MAY BE PICKING FREE AGENTS BUT IT IS TIME THAT HE GOES. FOR THE LAST FEW YEARS THE BEARS HAVE BEEN A HAPLESS TEAM. BENSON TURNS OUT TO BE A GREAT RUSHER AFTER LEAVING THE BEARS. CHRIS WILLIAMS SEEMS TO BE A COMPLETELY WASTED DRAFT PICK. WHO HAVE THEY GOT THAT CAN PROTECT CUTLER? THIS TEAM IS LOOKING DISATER IN THE FACE WITH NOTHING TO SAVE IT. HAVE BEEN A BEAR FAN SINCE 1940 WHEN I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL. REMEMBER LISTENING TO THE 73 TO 0 BEATING OF THE REDSKINS FOR THE TITEL TO THE ONE DIVISION NFL. WAS A SEASON TICKET HOLDER FROM 1949 AFTER RETURNING FROM WWII. GEOGRE HALLAS RAN A GREAT ENTERPRISE THEN. WATCHED BEATTY FEATHERS AND LUCKMAN AT QUARTER BACK THEN. THIS MANAFGEMENT HAS ME GREATLY UPSET.
Julius Peppers is going to have a "huge year" because he blasted through the porous 2-14 Raiders? Get real already! How long before the swiss cheese offensive line gets Cutler KO'd and you see the defense on the field all day long? We have NO backup QB to pick up the slack once Cutler gets beaten silly and starts throwing the ball up for grabs to save himself from getting killed and his wideouts are average. The passing game will struggle and the running game will get worn down from Williams' and Omiyale's inability to contain an average pass rush. The damn Vikes are gonna kill us, man! Tommie Harris is washed up and we'll get little pressure or run defense from our DTs. The secondary is below average, there's nobody on the other side of the line to balance Peppers so decent teams with smart coaching staffs will double JP or push him away from the direction they plan their plays and neutralize most of his terrific ability. When was the last time Lovie made adjustments on the fly or at halftime? The next time will be the first. All Julius will have to look forward to is paydays. And all Bears fans will have to look forward to is the draft, if Angelo doesn't deal the key picks away before he's fired. I see a 4-12 season at best. Hell, the improved Lions will be a tough test this year. Anybody who sees promise for this squad isn't drinking Bears' kool-aid, he's drinking Ken Kesey's kool-aid!
The O-line is absolutely pathetic, especially Chris Williams. Many of us fans and media types have said the O-line needed help and the Bears did nothing. Jay Cutler will not finish the season.