this is the funniest thing i have ever read. right now i live in indy so i homer for the colts. but i grew up sixty miles outta chitown so i am really a bears fan. when i leave indy i am sure i will go back to bein a bears fan even if i move to a city with an nfl team. what can i say i'm a complex guy. ask the ladies.

is ditka playing? or at least coaching?

Ditka is always with you when you believe; I walked along a beach with Ditka and asked him why there was only 2 sets of tracks during the hard times, and coach said," thats when I carried your girlie ass", now quit whining and lets go crack some skulls!

We did a lousy christmas special - we didn't deserve that christmas special.

Ditka sucks as a coach. He lucked out in having an amazing team and assistant coaches. Otherwise he's garbage. We Saints fans had to put up with his crap for too many years.

Sept. 6, 2007: Saints 42 Colts 24. Dec. 30, 2007: Saints 35 Bears 10. How you luv dat?

did katrina waterlog yer brain?

That's fucked up man! How many your friends and family members lost their homes to a natural disaster?!?

You know what's funny? All I remember is that 39-14 Bears win last January.

Da question is, now, did God create Da Bears, and make them superior to all other teams? Or is he simply a huge fan, and Ditka made them superior to all other teams?

.mm

you're right. my apologies.

Apology accepted. If you want to rag on the Saints, that's cool, just don't take it to a personal level like that.

MMatt- Yeah the Bears beat the Saints pretty well last year, but looking at how bad Grossman played in the Superbowl and tonight, it's going to be tough beating anyone with Rex "Hands Like Feet" Grossman at QB.

as a chicago native and a uflorida graduate, rex grossman sucks.

I don't have those kinds of credentials, but I concur with AP.

I have more credentials than all of you because i said so...

and i say

Rex might suck, but he doenst suck THAT bad, and the rest of our team is very good.

the rest of the team looked very good last night... even our 3rd and 4th string recievers, running backs, DB's making plays... and brian griese continuing to look solid. if rex sucks in the real season, expect to see griese, and expect the bears to continue winning.

Untill the Saints show me they can play even average defense, there is no way i can consider them a great nfc team.
other thing about the saints is that last year, no one expected them to be good. they took that lack of attention for granted and reggie bush and marcus colston had great years... that will almost certainly NOT happen again. teams will be ready for the saints, and i will say right now that the saints wont be as good as people are anticipating.

Bears and Dallas will be the last 2 nfc teams standing. I would take the bears

lets all be thankful that hurricane ditka hasnt yet struck... and if ever a massive orange and black mass rolls in on the horizon... make your piece with god because the end is nigh.

exactly, i think we should stick with rex untill he costs us something important, because the truth is he gives us the best chance to be really good.

but brian griese will allow us to win games because he wont make stupid plays.

and lets remember, he was a good starter only 2 years ago.

as for cedric benson.

hes what we have, so your gonna hafta deal

and he just told me to tell you "i have no faith in j's face"

rex is from indianastan and was mr. football here. he's still a kid and was quarterback on a team that was in the superbowl. the bears system doesnt really need a star quarterback just a guy who will minimize turnovers. i'd give him some time. anyway what the hell is up with them trading thomas jones and putting that whiner benson in???

The Bears were obviously distracted thinking bout our boys over der in Iraq and didnt think straight on that trade

Well until the Bears actually start acting like they want to play for the front office, then maybe I'll take them seriously again. They're lucky they've got their coach and Briggs this year. And I'd wait to see how the new DC pans out before jumping up and down about their defense.

As far as Dallas goes, they've got a pretty solid defense, but what about their offense? The WRs are getting pretty old and their QB is pretty questionable. He had a decent first few games. After being destroyed by the Saints, he wasn't the same. They'll probably win the East, but that's about all I can see them doing.

With the statement that Saints caught people off guard last year, um you do realize Reggie Bush is the most hyped player coming out of college ever, right? How were people surprised by his play? Which wasn't all that great until the second half of the season. And Colston played No. 1 WR most of the season with Joe Horn out. If DCs aren't prepared to put their best guys against any teams No. 1 WR, then they should be coaching Pee Wee league. The only thing that caught teams off guard last year was Sean Payton's play calling. And that's only going to get better this year with Brees and the rest of the offense (all but 1 starter is returning) having already worked with it. The defense of course is still a question mark, but they've definitely upgraded in the off-season. Plus Roman Harper will be back this year. Who will make a huge difference in the back 7.

Funny thing is no one has mentioned the 49ers or Seahawks.

um, yes reggie bush was the most hyped player but i would say that people outside NO didnt anticipate the impact he would have as quickly as he did. You werent paying much attention last year if you dont see that the Saints were a surprise team last year... as that was virtually all people talked about... how surprising they were...

last year the saints had huge energy from their fans, the thrived on the underdog status, they took advantage of teams being unfamiliar with their biggest offensive threats... they were brand new.
they wont be brand new this year, teams will be completely prepared for them. The novelty of new players and a new coach will be washed away, and all thats left is the team and the talent. They dont have the depth, or the talent to win the NFC in my opinion... they needed to do far far more than upgrade their defense if they want to be serious. i dont think they did that

49ers will be better this year and could be a wild card team... i think seattle will win the west again, but like NO, i dont see them making a run at the NFC title.

as for the bears defense... babic will have no negative impact... there is way to much talent in that defense. they might blitz more this year... other than that, look for the bears to have another top 5 defense year easily.

You're right people (fans and media) talked a lot about the Saints being a "surprise" team last year, but I don't buy that BS, just like I don't buy that BS the Saints lost to the Bears because of the weather. Why don't we just claim that the Bears only did well last year because no one was ready for David Hester? And if you followed the Saints last year, you would know the Saints had a better record in the first half of the season (while Bush was playing poorly) than the second half (when Bush had much better numbers). -Though I will agree the Monday Night Atlanta win probably was an emotional win; they still beat the crap out of the Falcons in their second meeting, so...-

If teams were caught off guard because they didn't expect the Saints to be good, then they're just idiots. Other than the terrible 2005 year, the Saints had been playoff contenders since 2000. For years they were stacked with talent, but had terrible coaching keeping them down. Last year they entered the season with a good amount of talent: Brees, Smith, Grant, McKenzie, Brown, McAllister, and Horn. All Pro-Bowl caliber players. Plus Sean Payton has been considered for years as one of the top offensive minds in the NFL. If people weren't expecting them to produce, too bad.

Now if you want to think last year was a fluke, I can understand. The Saints haven't done much, if anything, in the last 40 years. I'll still guarantee the Saints will go farther this year than the Bears.

i know you bears fans went to the super bowl last year, but i love it when homers can't see what everyone else in the country who doesn't like your team can see so clearly - rex grossman is horrible. i would put him a notch above joey harrington. the bears are good because of everyone, but grossman. he's loser, just like harrington, and soon to be quinn. you can almost read it in their dna.

not starting griese, or not trying to find a real quarterback, is completely assinine.

btw what is it about rustbelt quarterbacks (grossman, harrington, quinn) that makes them so bad? is it the weather up here?

new england will win the next to super bowls. bill belichick is a good coach.

New England definitely looks pretty good. They have some questions on defense: too many starting LBs on the wrong side of 35 and who knows if Samuels will even play with them. They'll be good though.

haha this is a fun thread

jwillefo... you GUARANTEE that the saints will get farther than the bears eh?
i cant wait to revive this thread at the end of the season... cause im convinced they are the at best 4th best team in the NFC behind Chicago, Phili and Dallas. A playoff team yes, but not more. The beauty of it is, we all play each other, so we will know exactly where we all stand in a couple months... i do think however NO will be in the playoffs winning the division... as the nfc south will rival the north for crappiest division in football this year...

as for rex grossman being horrible...

yes, often times he is horrible...

often times hes very good...

its the inconsistancy that kills him, but i would by no means classify him as a joey harrington type. Tying for the league lead with Manning for the most plus 100 passer rating games is not something talentless hacks accomplish.

if grossman tanks this year, he is done in chicago. the problem is, who replaces him? we have no viable starters in the ranks. Griese is a stop gap at best, and orton needs a couple years to develop, and even then, hes not going to be good.

a quick check of the stats and joey blue skies and grossman have fairly similar career stats (55% completion; 1:1 TD to INT ratio), albiet grossman hasn't been around as long. imagine if grossman were playing on a team as bad as the lions.

but it's not even the stats. it's just this feeling you get everytime he drops back that some defensive tackle is going to break him in half or that the ball is going to sail over the head of the receiver into a dbs hands. it's the intangibles that make him so bad.

That's funny b/c I'd rank the top 4 in the NFC Saints, Bears, Seahawks, and whoever else ends up above .500. Seriously, I might as well throw the Lions in there b/c the NFC this year looks pretty bad. Maybe even worse than last year. Phili... I like McNabb, but he's been hurt waaaay too much the last couple of years. Plus, he's on the wrong side of 30. If he goes down, which I'm going to say he will, it'll look bleak for them. Andy Reid is also one of the worst time managers in the game. He'll find a way to lose them some close games down the stretch. Dallas... The defense will be good, that's for sure, but Romo? If he starts sucking, just wait and see how much whining T.O. is going to be doing. And I like Coach Phillips, except he's a softy. Once T.O. and Barber start crying, the offense is done for.

So yeah, I'm all for reviving this thread at the end of the season. Because I already went through several seasons with Aaron Brooks. Sure he had games that made him look like the second coming of Steve Young, he also threw a backwards pass. But hey, maybe Hester can play QB.

forget this bear town, i'm with jwillefo. geaux saints!

...although i do like to keep an eye on addai.

jwillefo, did you see the nfl network behind-the-scenes footage of the saints at millsaps a week or so ago? everyone's sitting around, shooting the shit, then they go into the weight room and reggie bush is like the only in there, training without stop. then they show footage of him doing a flip on a treadmill, WHILE IT IS RUNNING. this should be an interesting season!

I didn't see that footage, but awesome another Saints fan. There was some footage of Reggie a while back doing Fre Flo Do (flips on a treadmill) in L.A. Looks interesting. The reports from camp is that he looks light years better than last year. Same with Brees.

does drew brees qualify as a rust belt qb? being from purdue and all?

thats always the report from camp...


the report from bears camp, among other things is that

'Grossman looks fundamentally sound' (we all know thats true...)
'Greg Olsen might be the fastest TE in football'
'Darwin Walker is an upgrade from Tank Johnson'
'Lamar Williams could take over Lance Briggs spot with little drop off'
'Devin Hester has amazing hands and should make an immediate impact'

are any of those true? possibly... but probably not completely

Im gonna go with the this for the NFC

NFC N- Bears (1)
NFC S- Saints (2)
NFC E- 49ers (4)
NFC W- Dallas (3)

WCs - Seahawks (6) , Eagles (5)

NFC Playoffs
Dallas beat the Seahawks
Eagles beat the 49ers

Bears beat the eagles
Dallas beat the saints

Bears beat Dallas

i could also imagine a scenerio where donovan mcnabb stays healthy and the eagles make the NFC championship for a good ole' chicago v phili nfc championship

drew brees, even though he attended purdue, is not a rustbelt qb. neither is tom brady despite going to michigan. the rustbelt qb moniker only applies to those that got stuck in the quagmire of the rustbelt, that couldn't extricate themselves from the rustbelt, like a quartback swallowed up in the arms of a reggie white-like soul-crashing sack.

"i'm only really sure of two things: the colts and pats will be good and the bucs and raiders will be bad. everything else is up in the air."

That's probably about right. Except the Bucs should be replaced by the Falcons. Not only have they lost Vick, which I'm not sure is a bad, they've had some injury problems this offseason as well. Plus, who was the last coach to make a successful jump from college? Jimmy Johnson?

Btw, haven't 9 of the last 10 Super Bowl runners up finished the following season with a losing record?

its something like that,

but no way on earth that happens to the bears this year.

As someone sarcastically mentioned above, they love how homers are incapable of seeing what the rest of the nation sees in regards to the quality of their team or individual players...

thats because homers read about, hear about, see their teams constantly. and are far far more in touch with how the team looks on every preseason down, how the team comes across in the papers, how they are talking, whats the vibe in camp etc, etc, etc. No one outside of chicago really has any idea how the bears are looking right now because they dont have access to the sun times, trib and local news coverage which gets, literally, dozens of pages a day. (unless of course you read that online... but if you read it online, it means your a bears fan already and dont need convincing)
The same applies else where, i have no real knowledge of the strength of any of the other teams in the NFC... other than a very cursory knowldege of their talent level... whos been good, whos been bad etc etc.

There is a very deep and palpable sense of confidence in bears camp this year... the likes of which i have NEVER seen. Its very eerie coming from a bears team, or a chicago team in general as we tend to be the sort who are waiting for the wheels to fall off.

i don't mean to rip on the bears when i say homers are blinded to their team's strengths and weaknesses. i think it happens everywhere. here in detroit everyone thinks the team will always suck, the management is garbage, they draft horribly, etc. you could make a case for all of those things, but the truth probably isn't so extreme. for example, roy williams, ernie sims, and calvin johnson are all potential pro-bowl players; the lions draft hasn't completely sucked.

not to keep harping on grossman, but when bears fans say, "oh he's alright," i think they've been lulled into complacency by the bear's record last year. anyone who doesn't give a rip about the bears knows that grossman is not very good.

but what do i care about the nfl? anyone wanna talk some michigan football?

postal on rex grossman: as exciting and spontaneous as REX

in all reality, i do understand most of the rex sucks comments coming from everyone. but i think there are a couple of reasons for that, aside from the first few games of the year last year, no one heard anything about rex. and everyone forgot what he did. however, they do remember all of the picks he's thrown, inconsequential or otherwise, and i think it probably stands out. especially since the playcalling in the second half of the season was so conservative to avoid games like the one against the cardinals. same thing goes for the playoff game against the saints. rex took his shots. we went ahead. and then just ran the saints over the rest of the game in typical bears fashion. i don't think anyone really cared about rex in the second half. rex only gets looked at when he loses the game.

that being said its inconsequential, bears fans expectation of grossman or any quarterback are soooo low. look at the history of our franchise. look at the number of QB's we've had in the last 5 years. frankly, bears fans saying "he's all right" means that he's not the worst in the league. (possibly contends for worst decision maker sometimes)

as a bears fan, i'm not sure if we're going to have as good a season as we did last year. but i feel good. hopefully we'll stay rather healthy, stop some of the run game a bit more, and benson will hit his stride (hopefully his stride will be over the top of the opposing lb)

bears!