Bears Have To Finish 8-2

by WCG on Oct 19, 2007 12:26 PM CDT in News

Urlacher has deflected a lot of press about his play and ailing back in the last week, but one thing he isn't dodging is what the Bears need to do to get into the playoffs, go 8-2 the rest of the way.

''We don't have any [margin for error],'' Urlacher said Thursday. ''We have to win now. Ten [wins] usually gets you in the playoffs. We'd like to win 12, but we've got to get to 10 for sure to try to get in the playoffs. It starts with Philly, one game at a time.''

This isn't anything we didn't know, but Urlacher is the leader of this team, so to hear him say it, maybe it means something. Nobody likes to be called out and this entire team was by Coach Smith last week for lack of heart. Maybe if Urlacher is getting in guys faces now it will help jump start this team.

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Good to see Urlacher step up.

He is supposed to be the face of our team, and it is good for him to take a leadership role like this.

by South Side Irish on Oct 19, 2007 12:46 PM CDT 0 recs

I hope he steps it up on the field

Urlacher has been pretty awful this year.

Visit The Cub Reporter (mvn.com/mlb-cubs)

by thecubreporter on Oct 19, 2007 12:58 PM CDT up 0 recs

Yeah, too true

by South Side Irish on Oct 19, 2007 1:11 PM CDT up 0 recs

i'd say awful is a strong word

just not up to his usual Urlacher standards.

all the way to Arizona

by mike on Oct 19, 2007 3:44 PM CDT up 0 recs

Yeah

Awful for Urlacher standards....

missed tackles, poor pass coverage, easily blocked, etc...

Visit The Cub Reporter (mvn.com/mlb-cubs)

by thecubreporter on Oct 19, 2007 3:53 PM CDT up 0 recs

meh

7 -3 gets it done. the nfc blows this year with only the Cowboys looking like they will run away with their division. 8 -8 may win the West.

by Chad on Oct 19, 2007 12:52 PM CDT 0 recs

i'd rather take a goodpick

lightning in a bottle aside, this team won't win the sb. being the best team in the nfc isn't worth much too me without the sb win.

by mike b on Oct 19, 2007 12:57 PM CDT 0 recs

horrible

by Chad on Oct 19, 2007 1:05 PM CDT up 0 recs

lmao

by South Side Irish on Oct 19, 2007 1:11 PM CDT up 0 recs

let me clarify

everyone makes fun of the bills for losing 4 straight super bowls, but do you know how impressive that is? I want the Bears in the playoffs every year and the Super Bowl whenever they can. The Pats proved that you don't need high draft picks to win.

by Chad on Oct 19, 2007 1:21 PM CDT up 0 recs

Ha,

I was laughing at your use of the adjective horrible in reference to previous comments.

I would take a four year run to the SB any day of the week and twice on Sunday's. What about the Eagles showing up at the NFC championship game four years in a row? That would be acceptable in my mind as well. I want a franchise and not this tanking business, plus Angelo has proved more than capable of finding talented starters in the later rounds.

by South Side Irish on Oct 19, 2007 1:27 PM CDT up 0 recs

agree

100%

by Chad on Oct 19, 2007 1:34 PM CDT up 0 recs

8-8

and a playoff game gives you nothing at all. what will brian griese leading us to 8-8 do to prepare us for the future? absolutely nothing. sure winning the nfc a few years in a row would be cool, but that assumes this team can actually do that.

please, noone should be assuming this franchise is anything like the patriots in player development or implementation.

noone said anything about tanking.

by mike b on Oct 19, 2007 1:54 PM CDT up 0 recs

Top picks don't mean shit

THE BENGALS

Proof positive that just cause you get good picks you don't necessarily become a good team.

The Patriots have shown that with smart use of the salary cap you can retain key players and pick up players through free agency when you can.

I'll take the playoffs every year vs. not going to the playoffs and watching a 4 - 12 BULLSHIT team. I want to tune in on Sunday mornings knowing that my team has a decent chance of winning and make it worth my time.

by Chad on Oct 19, 2007 2:03 PM CDT up 0 recs

again

bears and patriots are nowhere near each other in any respect. if the bears show they can do any of the above over a extended period of time i would be impressed. the defense is worse than 05 and the offense is MINIMALLY better if it is at all.

a playoff berth in the short bus NFC doesn't mean much to me, especially if your team's holes are obvious and easily exploitable.

considering the number of positions this team needs to improve at the pull from a high pick whether it be one guy or several guys aquired via trading the pick could make a big difference.

a wild card nfc team is a "BULLSHIT" team.

you have two young quarterbacks neither of which you know if they will ever be anything, when it looks like you're done put them in and see what you have.

by mike b on Oct 19, 2007 2:20 PM CDT up 0 recs

Fine forget the Pats

How about the Steelers? they have had a couple of 6 - 10 seasons but they consistently have a very solid competitive team. They turned that into regular playoff appearances. They never really bombed out our put out a shit product.

And why can't the Bears be like the Pats? They have shown ability to find gems in late rounds and use their top picks to get good talent. Let's not forget that Devin Hester came to us in the draft AFTER 05's playoff run.

I don't care about top picks as they are a huge crapshoot. For every star player picked in the top 5 there are 10 busts.

by Chad on Oct 19, 2007 2:33 PM CDT up 0 recs

Or the Broncos

They are always pretty good.

by Chad on Oct 19, 2007 2:35 PM CDT up 0 recs

yeah

they still went 6-10 though, which is exactly what i am saying. I'm not looking for 2-12 and the number one pick.

rex grossman, ced benson, archuleta are reasons we aren't like the pats, bad (as of now) drafts and personel decisions that have seriously dropped us back. get a few more gems and a tom brady and i'll start talking that way but for right now they aren't near that.

there are top picks every year whoa re worth their spot, or there are teams who think the guy in that spot is worth more picks.

by mike b on Oct 19, 2007 2:41 PM CDT up 0 recs

This is my point...

"rex grossman, ced benson, archuleta"

When you go 6 - 10 you get players like Rex Grossman, Ced Benson and Archuleta. All those guys were first round picks. Ced was #4 overall. He's is reason enough to show why first round picks, even high ones, don't mean shit.

Anyone could have had Tom Brady. Six times over. You keep making my point.

by Chad on Oct 19, 2007 2:47 PM CDT up 0 recs

donovan mcnabb

peyton manning.

brady is the diamond in the rough type guy that the bears get so often right?

just because the bears make stupid first round picks doesn't mean all teams do.

by mike b on Oct 19, 2007 3:02 PM CDT up 0 recs

ever heard of Lance Briggs?

3rd round draft pick

Mark Anderson 6th

Devin Hester 2nd

Alex Brown 4th

Berrian 3rd

Kreutz (IIRC) 3rd

by Chad on Oct 19, 2007 3:15 PM CDT up 0 recs

if your point

is those guys are tom brady caliber than i disagree.

hester and anderson have the chance of being that assuming briggs leaves.

by mike b on Oct 19, 2007 4:33 PM CDT up 0 recs

kreutz

i left him out because i value lineman more than anything else in the game, so a good one of them to me is infinately more valuable than skill players. not everyone feels that way though.

by mike b on Oct 19, 2007 4:36 PM CDT up 0 recs

while were at it...

these are all top 4 picks:

Ryan Leaf
Rick Mirer
David Carr
Alex Smith
Aklia Smith
Tim Couch
Robert Gallery
Charles Rogers
Joey Harrington
MIKE VICK (not including the dog problems)
Justin Smith
Courtney Brown
LaVarr Arrington
Peter Warrick
Andre Wadsworth (ok he got injured but still not in football)

by Chad on Oct 19, 2007 3:22 PM CDT up 0 recs

wait

u saying vick is bad? at what losing?

by Jbasic89 on Oct 19, 2007 3:26 PM CDT up 0 recs

No, um Vick is bad at passing.

by South Side Irish on Oct 19, 2007 4:07 PM CDT up 0 recs

HAHAHAAHA!

Bad at losing? Nope, he was pretty good at that.

MIke Vick was the most overrated player in professional sports. He was a shitty quarterback who couldn't throw. A career 53% passer (For reference, Rex is 54%). Sure he could run well but who the F cares? He's a qb who ran better than he threw.

The San Diego Chargers traded the number 1 pick to the Falcons so the they could draft Vick. the Chargers then drafted a running back out of TCU. His name escapes me but I doubt they have any regrets.

by Chad on Oct 19, 2007 4:27 PM CDT up 0 recs

make all the lists you want

i'll value what you can get with that pick whether its one guy or 6 more than i will a first round loss in a shitty conference.

by mike b on Oct 19, 2007 4:34 PM CDT up 0 recs

Chad

Your my hero. Agreeing 100%.

And to you Mikeb. Ok, so Benson hasn't panned out that great (but its not like nay RB form that draft has aside form Ronnie Brown). Grossman was a STEAL where we got him in the draft that year. We needed a QB and took the best available one. Arch came at a decent price in a position where we sorely needed help.

Besides for every Grossman there has been an Urlacher and a Briggs. For every Benson there has been a Hester or a Berrian. For every Archuleta there as been an Ogunleye or John Tait. That isn't mentioning the GOOD players that Angelo has drafted in other cases like Tommie Harris, Mike Brown, and even more. Sure there has been a Michael Haynes or two, but all in all Angelo has been doing a good job. The Patriots and Steelers occasionally have drafted players who don't pan out and signings that don't work so get off Angelo's nuts and look at some things with perspective. We have 2 pro bowlers that Angelo acquired for every "bad" player you listed.

by South Side Irish on Oct 19, 2007 3:04 PM CDT up 0 recs

how is a guy

who isn't even starting anymore and will be gone next year, but was supossed to be a franchise guy a steal? arch is not help. urlacher is a first round guy. berrian has accomplished nothing. tommie harris is a first round pick, mid first round, the type of pick that could help us, more than going 8-8 and losing in the first round will. I'll take the chances of a first round pick (or the payers that result from it) being successful over the chances of a super bowl win with that same team. pout hat pick on that team mext year and maybe you win the superbowl. that was the point, not that angelo sucks or any of the shit you have decided was the point.

before YOU clean angelo's nuts make him accomplish something worthwhile for you first, like maybe a few years of dominance.

by mike b on Oct 19, 2007 4:26 PM CDT up 0 recs

lmao

Maybe if I could understand your spelling or what your point was in the first place we would be on the same page.

by South Side Irish on Oct 19, 2007 4:58 PM CDT up 0 recs

critcizing spelling?

have you ever read this blog you help write?

by mike b on Oct 19, 2007 5:39 PM CDT up 0 recs

FWIW...

8-8 can get you Tommie Harris.

by Chad on Oct 19, 2007 5:41 PM CDT up 0 recs

which is exactly what you want

and if it gets you into the playoffs i guess that's just bonus. if you're confident your best won't get it done though I think you do your team better by starting one of the kids, one of them shows promise you can attend to issues elsewhere with the pick or money you would have used.

by mike b on Oct 19, 2007 5:49 PM CDT up 0 recs

You started this whole thing

By saying you want a "good pick" over a super bowl appearance. What are you hoping for? What record to you hope we sink to? Does it make that much of a difference is we win 8 games and get the 15-18 pick or if we win 10 and get to pick around 24? I say not. You are bashing the Bears front office decisions (hence my compliments in their direction), then you can't even spell a sentence that refers to your "point," but that point didn't even exist in the first place. Or at least it wasn't defined.

by South Side Irish on Oct 19, 2007 5:04 PM CDT up 0 recs

i'd take a shot

at a franchise guy or a bunch of high picks over a super bowl loss, especially if my fron office can't address certain areas in free aganecy.

i said the bears aren't the steelers or the patriots front office, which they aren't. then you hid behind spelling when you had nothing else.

"put that pick on that team next year and maybe you win the superbowl."

i typed to fast, sorry. i would be a lot more worried about my content than other people's speling if i were you.

by mike b on Oct 19, 2007 5:46 PM CDT up 0 recs

please

explain to me how grossman is a steal. i would love to understand that.

by mike b on Oct 19, 2007 5:50 PM CDT up 0 recs

are you really talking about the draft already?

it's week 7 and you're talking about next year's draft? if we go 8-2, 9-1, who knows even 10-0 and make it to the playoffs as a wild card we will be one of the hottest teams in the league. and let's not forget that the Packers are not bullet proof. 10-6 is not unreasonable for them, at which point the Bears could win the division

by Ando on Oct 20, 2007 6:24 PM CDT up 0 recs

Thank you

for your intelligence.

by South Side Irish on Oct 20, 2007 6:49 PM CDT up 0 recs

still waiting

for that grossman explanation.

by mike b on Oct 20, 2007 10:32 PM CDT up 0 recs

sure they could

that's a completely different scenario than i am talking about.

obvioulsy if they actually get better and start winning you ride it, if they keep stumbling around like idiots you play the kids.

by mike b on Oct 20, 2007 10:36 PM CDT up 0 recs

It's easy to find starters in

the later rounds when Mike Brown is hurt every year, so you're forced to use the safeties you draft every single year. Who is a late round pick starter on our original roster (i.e. day 1)?

Mark Anderson - 5th round (Alex Brown was 4th round, but he's no longer starting, he's quality though)
Nathan Vasher - 4th round

http://www.drafthistory.com/teams/bears.html

Our drafts really haven't been that good.

In retrospect, we had no reason to draft Kevin Payne. We should have kept Chris Harris and drafted OL. Actually, we also had no reason to draft Corey Graham AND Trumaine McBride, especially since we had to let Dante Wesley go. Again, we could have drafted OL.

I'm beginning to sour on Angelo's "genius".

by mikebdot on Oct 22, 2007 1:01 PM CDT up 0 recs

the bills going

to four straight super bowls is a little different than what this team looks like (at this moment) it is poised to do, win a wild card and lose immediately.

by mike b on Oct 19, 2007 1:58 PM CDT up 0 recs