BEARS DOMINATE GREEN BAY

All the worries of the preseason came to a screeching halt, with a hand to the face from Jerry Angelo that said "I told you so." Bears 26, GB 0.

His first 2 picks in the draft, Danieal Manning and Devin Hester making huge contributions. Who wants Leonard Pope now?

Des Clark showing up big time. Muhsin Muhammad showing that he is a stud receiver. So I guess you don't go from 16 TDs to bum status in one short year.

D-Lineman Mark Anderson, a 5th round Angelo pick, showing speed and moves, getting to Favre and sacking him.

The Bears DBs could have had 5 picks altogether. Favre was just throwing it up there for most of the 2nd Half.

And Rex Grossman playing like a veteran, getting the ball to his receivers and executing beautiful play-action.

But maybe the biggest star of all was sitting in a box high above the field. Ron Turner. He called a killer game. The mix was perfect. Granted, the Pack are brutal. But it was quite a win. You just know that Favre has all those retirement questions bouncing around inside his brain today. And it's courtesy of the Chicago Bears.

The Bears weren't deficient in any phase yesterday. They just need to stay consistent and stay healthy, the biggest task of all.

Bears NFL Rex Grossman Ron Turner Packers Favre

SUPER BOWL PREDICTIONS

Wow! Just got an e-mail from the excellent Draft Sharks with a list of Super Bowl Predictions from around the country. Some of them are shocking. Throw yours in if you have one.

Pete Prisco, CBS Sportsline: Pittsburgh vs. Carolina
Dave Richard, CBS Sportsline: Cincinnati vs. Dallas
William Foote, Ultimatecapper.com: Indianapolis vs. Seattle
Ty Gaston, Ulitmatecapper.com: Denver vs. Arizona
Adam Schein, FOXSports.com: Cincinnati vs. Carolina
Peter King, Sports Illustrated: Indianapolis vs. Dallas
Dr. Z, Sports Illustrated: Miami vs. Carolina
John Clayton, ESPN: Indianapolis vs. Seattle
Trey Wingo, ESPN: Miami vs. Carolina
Michael Irvin, ESPN: Denver vs. Dallas
Ron Jaworski, ESPN: Indianapolis vs. Seattle
Chris Mortensen, ESPN: Cincinnati vs. Dallas
Len Pasquarelli, ESPN: Indianapolis vs. Seattle
Michael Smith, ESPN: Indianapolis vs. Carolina
Merrill Hoge, ESPN: Cincinnati vs. Dallas
Tom Jackson, ESPN: Indianapolis vs. Carolina
Mark Schlereth, ESPN: New England vs. Carolina
Sean Salisbury, ESPN: Indianapolis vs. Carolina
Mike Golic, ESPN: Indianapolis vs. Carolina
ESPN SportsNation Poll: Indianapolis vs. Carolina
Doug Kretz, Scouts Inc: Denver vs. Seattle
Jake Jarmelli, American Sports Analysts: Kansas City vs. Dallas
Mike Beas, Herald Bulletin: Indianapolis vs. New York Giants
Micah Joel, Mad Sanity: Cincinnati vs. Arizona
Adam Stone, DeafDC.com: Denver vs. Carolina
Greg Melikov, Sportsbook.com: Indianapolis vs. Dallas
Chris Schultz, TSN Canada: Indianapolis vs. Seattle
Ron Borges, MSNBC.com: Cincinnati vs. Carolina
Jason Whitlock, ESPN Page 2: Baltimore vs. Washington
Gary Myers, Daily News: New England vs. Dallas
Hub Arkush, Pro Football Weekly: San Diego vs. Carolina
Dan Arkush, Pro Football Weekly: Indianapolis vs. Seattle
John Miller, Draftsharks.com: Kansas City vs. Atlanta
Lenny Pappano, Draftsharks.com: San Diego vs. Carolina

As for me? Seattle vs. Indianapolis. I think that right now on paper it makes the most sense.

Technorati tags: Bears / NFL / Super Bowl

BEARS: 2 "PROVEN" QUARTERBACKS

According to Cris Collinsworth and his column at NFL.com, "The Bears, like the Jaguars, are in the enviable position of having two proven starting quarterbacks."

Rex Grossman has started all of 8 games in 3 years, and 1 playoff game last year. He's thrown for all of 4 TDs in those games, countered by 6 picks. He was 17-41 against Carolina in the playoffs.

I like Rex Grossman. I think he can be a good NFL QB. But the only thing he's proven is that he can get hurt on a regular basis and he's an awesome practice player.

I give Grossman 3 games this year before Griese takes over. If he can't put up some numbers in the first 3 games--all against seemingly weak division foes--then Griese gets the call against Seattle on Sunday night, October 1, in a nationally televised game.

Griese has his limitations, but also a solid set of NFL skills. You know what you will get with him. More TDs than picks, a good completion percentage and that intangible veteran know-how. He's hardly going to throw into double and triple coverage like Grossman has this preseason.

Does Grossman have greatness in his future? Perhaps. But if it isn't shown soon, it can wait yet another year.

More Here:
Bears NFL Rex Grossman Brian Griese

LOVIE DESERVES A RAISE?

I found the "Football Dawg" via technorati. He writes that Fox has an article that suggests Lovie Smith deserves a pay raise.

The Dawg says:

Here is the thing. Smith may be be doing a great job in Chicago, but a) he signed the contract, b) he has the best talent in the league, c) he got seriously burned by Carolina which is attributed to nothing other than bad coaching. So why would I give him a raise? The NFC North was a cake walk last year. The Bears had to make the playoffs on the strength of their defense alone. As much as people complain about Kyle Orton and being a third string QB, what counts, is that he played well and did what was necessary. That is called players stepping up. The problem for me is that when it counted, the coach failed and got seriously out-Foxed. I will harp on this for a long time, but how hard is it to plan a defense for an offense that had one weapon? I don't care how good Steve Smith was, you don't let him beat you. And it is based on that, and that alone that Lovie should not be getting a pay raise.

Right on Dawg. That doesn't mean I don't like Lovie because I do. But this is the year he truly proves his mettle. He'll likely have to make 2 huge decisions at RB & QB that will affect the whole season. Let's see how Lovie does this year. Then we can talk about raises. Or possibly finding someone else.