NFL VI - I'm dreaming of a White Christmas...

[Trebla]

Someone forgot to tell the Bears it was an Exibition. Somone also forgot to tell the Vikings they needed to show up.

Man the NFC is wide open.

[Jaxom 1974]

This is the Cutler I remember. I imagine if Chicago gets a better coordinator (who takes charge instead of letting Cutler take charge) this is more of what we'll see in the future.

Did you mean the Cutler who slung the ball for Denver last year? Or the Cutler who just threw that pick that we've seen this year? :P

[WarGalley]

"Will Farve do it again?!!?"

ESPN just had an orgasm.

ETA: Damn, Bears front 4 are not messing around..

[Kalbear]

Holy crap. The Bears defense makes a play! Cutler throws the game-winning TD! The Bears offense didn't look horrible!

Okay, sure, the bears defense gave up 30 in one half. And Cutler did look a bit confused. But still! BEARS WIN! BEARS WIN! BEARS...

oh fuck, Lovie Smith keeps his job. Bah.

[Arakasi]

This game showed what Cutler can do when he's on. Surround him with some good talent and a capable offensive coordinator and he could be really great. Guy has a great arm.

They're not getting rid of Smith. They're too cheap and not willing to pay the 11 million he's owed.

[Tsavong Lah]

Being in a house full of Vikings fans was quite fun, as I root for anyone but the Vikings. I might have also participated in some mini flame wars on Twitter with all my purple-pride friends.

Oh how sweet it is.

I learned long ago the Vikings, in the end, will bring you nothing but pain. So now I just enjoy watching others experience that pain.

[awesome possum]

Even if the end was bittersweet in that it means Lovie likely keeps his job, it was still FUN. Week 2 was the last time a Bears game was actually fun to watch.

If Lovie stays, they need to cut all the cronies he brought on as part of the powers he received from his new contract after the Super Bowl season (read the article for more on that). Bring in a great defensive coordinator and an offensive coordinator who can mold young talent across the board with the idea that one of them is being groomed to take over after next season.

Pretty much limit Lovie's power to giving sleep-inducing press conferences and spend the money the team would have paid him to sit to get either the coaching staff noted above or some free agents to fill up some holes. Almost surely won't happen, but a guy can continue to hope.

[Rockroi]

If I am gonna give crap to Cutler when he looks horrible, I got to give him his props when he plays the game of his Bears career. Okay, fine he had 1 INT and a couple of times looked about as lost as the writers for Lost, but overall there is no room for complaint when your QB does what he is supposed to do for the better part of 4 quarters and then in OT commands the offense well enough to win twice (Gould's missed FG should have been the cap to Cutler's fine play that night; instead it was a perfectly thrown "HA-FOOLED-YOU!" TD pass.

"Will Farve do it again?!!?"

Ah, the answer is no. No, he cannot.

And is it possible to be 13-2 or 12-3 and have a "must win" game in week 17? I mean, if you are the Saints or the Vikings, are you happy with things right now?

[Krafus]

And yet again, at a critical moment, Adrian Peterson dropped the ball. For his sake and the Vikings', I hope this will be the wake-up call he needs to realize he really should learn to carry the ball with his left arm.

[Kalbear]

Actually he carried the ball as he should; he was carrying the ball with his right arm but that was the outside arm as he was on the right sideline. Hillenmeyer made a great play, punching the ball out twice as he was going down.

AP absolutely needs to be more cautious with the ball; he knew he was going down at that point but the ball wasn't close to his body. But the arm thing wasn't at all the issue, and if he was switching hands he'd be more fucked.

[Maithanet]

Actually he carried the ball as he should; he was carrying the ball with his right arm but that was the outside arm as he was on the right sideline. Hillenmeyer made a great play, punching the ball out twice as he was going down.

AP absolutely needs to be more cautious with the ball; he knew he was going down at that point but the ball wasn't close to his body. But the arm thing wasn't at all the issue, and if he was switching hands he'd be more fucked.

Watching the replay though, AP could have gotten almost the same yardage running to the sideline. He is a really physical runner and wanted to go at the defender instead. I like hard football most of the time, but if you are going to do this, you have to cover up the ball (both hands!) He could have had an easy 12 yard run, but instead wanted to go for a 14 yard run, and got stripped. He's still playing like a rookie, admittedly a physically dominating one.

[Arakasi]

Funny enough he got face masked on that play but no one called it. Still yeah nothing annoys me then the player trying against 5 for one meaningless yard and being sloppy with the football. If you're in the pile you need 2 hands on the ball.

[Trebla]

Even though I was rooting for the Bears (I have no idea why I've warmed to them) I still yelled out "NOO AP, NOOOOOO!" when he fumbled. Can we finaly crown Chris Johnson the best RB in football. AP's fumbling is just something the great ones don't do. I think the scouts from the draft might've had something when they said his upright running style could cause him problems. He is a phenom but he has to be coached up better.

Speaking of coaching up, no team is better at punching a ball out than the Bears. Give them credit, they are still playing hard and that goes to the head coach. I agree they won't make and changes but they really need to. And that would be to fire Ted Phillips and Jerry Angelo and to hire a football czar. The bean counter Phillips runs the team, Angelo selects the players abd both have failed utterly since the Super Bowl. Lovie gets the blame for running Ron Rivera out of town but also he's had little to work with.

Next week is going to be nuts. Playoff spots 2-6 are all up for grabs in the NFC. Minnesota, Philly, Arizona, and even Dallas have a shot at the first round bye.

[Centrist Simon Steele]

Did you mean the Cutler who slung the ball for Denver last year? Or the Cutler who just threw that pick that we've seen this year? :P

I mean the good Cutler from Denver! Seriously, Denver fans bash him to no end and say he got worse while he was here, but that is revisionist history of sore losers. Cutler got better while he was here, there is no doubt about it. He went to the Pro Bowl, and yeah, he threw the picks, but with the right coaching that is something that can go away. I was worried he might have gotten down on himself and become somewhat ruined, but last night's game gave me hope for the guy.

I know rooting for him to win is counterproductive as Chicago's pick is now Denver's, but I really want Cutler to do well. If he gets a big wide receiver he can really count on, and a good coach, then I think he is going to do great.

Either way, whether it meant anything or not, that was a big deal for Chicago.

[Centrist Simon Steele]

Even if the end was bittersweet in that it means Lovie likely keeps his job, it was still FUN. Week 2 was the last time a Bears game was actually fun to watch.

Why does everyone think this changed things for Lovie? I mean the season still was a disaster considering everything, right? Or is this just not getting your hopes up in the small chance he isn't fired?

If he stays he needs to get smart and pull in a bright offensive coordinator.

I also hear Shanahan is "very interested" in the Chicago position if it opens up.

[Kalbear]

Shanahan in Chicago...dare I dream? That would be tremendous, especially if we can find a good defensive coordinator to pair with him.

[awesome possum]

If he gets a big wide receiver he can really count on, and a good coach, then I think he is going to do great.

This is why it's been a crying shame that it took Devin Hester getting injured for Aromashodu to get quality playing time. Cutler developed a bond with this guy way back in training camp and has been begging for him to get snaps all year long. The last few weeks we've seen why, as he's been a consistent bright spot for the offense.

Why does everyone think this changed things for Lovie? I mean the season still was a disaster considering everything, right? Or is this just not getting your hopes up in the small chance he isn't fired?

The season was definitely a disaster, but Ted Phillips and Virginia McCaskey might look at this game and decide it wasn't Lovie's fault this whole time. Look how well the team played for him against the NFC North Champs. Or they might just decide that if the team can put in this type of effort next year, then firing him and eating the contract won't be worth it. Or they can continue to not care as long as they keep getting the checks from Soldier Field selling out every home game.

If he stays he needs to get smart and pull in a bright offensive coordinator.

Most definitely. A defensive coordinator as well. It still boggles my mind that he was given such massive powers in his recent contract extension. He was able to fire Ron Rivera and bring in his friend Bob Babich to run the defense. He was able to fire QB coach Wade Wilson, who had managed to make Rex Grossman not look like a complete disaster in 2006, and bring in a guy who got Grossman benched within a month of the next season and would have gotten Cutler benched if the Bears hadn't given away the future for him (and had no viable backup). He basically brought in a bunch of friends to coach at all positions of the team except O.C. and we've all seen the result. The team went from a powerhouse in 2006 to a joke in 2009.

As I said before, if Lovie stays he needs to basically have all powers stripped from him.

I also hear Shanahan is "very interested" in the Chicago position if it opens up.

I read this too, but I also read that Shanahan is saying this in order to raise his potential contract price in Washington, which is where he'll likely end up. Cowher has also expressed interest in both Chicago and Tampa, which would be awesome, but I just don't see the Bears throwing away the 10-11 million owed to Lovie and then paying another 7-10 million on top of that for a new coach.

Another rumor I've read is that they might offer the job to the offensive coordinator from the Titans. I forget his name, something long beginning with a K. He has all kinds of ties to Chicago and has helped to mold QBs like Steve McNair and now Vince Young (who was thought of as a major bust but maybe has turned that around this season). But at the same time, an inexperienced head coach taking over during a teams rebuilding period? It has disaster written all over it.

That's why, as much as I dislike the idea, I think the best alternative is keep Lovie with no powers, pay major money to bring in a new OC and DC and either groom one of them to be the next coach or wait until 2012 and go after Gruden or Billick or maybe John Fox if Carolina has canned him.

[IheartTesla]

I guess I dont understand some of the comments here and in the greater blogosphere. My favorite blogger says the Vikings are in trouble. People here say the Saints and the Chargers are in must-win situations. Why? The first objective to reach the playoffs have been reached and the first round byes are set in stone. I dont believe it has to do with that hoary chestnut called "momentum".

Every game is a new game, your opponents put their incredibly tight leggings one foot at a time, sometimes when the breaks are against you, you go out and fight fight fight and win one for the gipper. All past performances and head-to-heads are pretty much null and void at this point and are only broad predictors of future success. The whole reason I watch sports is for the glorious uncertainities and that anything can happen at any point.

Dont tell me the answer is because of injuries to key players :leaving:

[Rockroi]

People here say the Saints and the Chargers are in must-win situations. Why?

I was a bit unclear. I meant to say that the Saints and Vikings may be in must-win situations (I got the Vikings' record wrong). My point is that both the Saints and Vikings are 0 for their last 2 and they may not play another game for 3 weeks. They may be having serious identity issues now that they have not won a meaningful game since November. They may have to beat up some team just so they don't limp into the playoffs.

The Chargers, by contrast, look great. They do not have to win anything.

[Kalbear]

The Saints can rest everyone at this point. They have nothing to play for and nothing to prove. The notion that you need to be hot to win in the playoffs is a stupid media concoction with no basis at all in fact.

The Vikings are in something of a must-win situation if they want a first-round bye. But it's not the end of the world if they lose, though their opponent at that point would be somewhat tougher and they'd have a tougher row to hoe.

The Chargers also have nothing to play for, IIRC. They're hot...ish. I mean, they played Cinci within 3 points, and it's not like Cinci's a worldbeater. I do think they're a good team, but I don't think they're any better than the Colts or Pats or even Baltimore. About the only team I'd count out of the playoffs (assuming they win) is the Jets.

They may have to beat up some team just so they don't limp into the playoffs.

Limping into the playoffs works great. The last two NFC teams in the superbowl limped into the playoffs. The Eagles last year charged into the playoffs...and lost. Dallas a couple years back did the same. There's plenty of counterexamples to that claim in today's http://www.footballoutsiders.com/quick-reads/2009/week-16-quick-reads]Quick reads at FO.