Joe's 2011 Gameday Recap: Seahawks 38, Bears 14 posted by Joe Anello

I’m sorry you had to sit through that Bear fans, but you can rest assured the 2011 season is over for the Monsters of the Midway. Their loss to the Seattle Seahawks may only drop them to a 7-7 record, but their unmistakably terrible quarterback play has clearly taken them out of the playoff picture. The offseason isn’t here yet though, so the Gameday Recaps continue!

(7-7) Seattle Seahawks 38
(7-7) Chicago Bears 14

Going into halftime, Bear fans had reasons to be optimistic their team would break out of their slump. At 14-7, Chicago’s defense had kept Marshawn Lynch in check and held Tarvaris Jackson to minimal completions. Seattle’s offense had only managed 6 first downs at the break. What really gave Chicagoans hope was that the defense had already scored a touchdown thanks to a Julius Peppers strip of Jackson in the endzone. Recovered by Israel Idonije, the score tied the game up in the first quarter and shifted momentum in Lovie Smith’s favor. Unfortunately, Caleb Hanie was still in the game.

Mike Martz’s offense had its issues all day, starting with turnovers. An early first down catch by Johnny Knox was promptly fumbled away after a hit by Kam Chancellor and recovery by Earl Thomas, giving Seattle the field position needed for its first score. On a decent drive in the second quarter, supported by Hanie scrambles and Marion Barber runs, a roll-out and throw ended up in a tipped pass off Kellen Davis into the hands of Earl Thomas. Continuing the trend in the third, pressure from K.J. Wright in the face of Hanie led to an awful throw into the flat which was cut off by lineman Red Bryant and returned 20 yards for the ‘Hawks third touchdown of the day. If that wasn’t enough, Hanie had one more pick-six in him late, tossing it right at Brandon Browner, who took it right back in his face for 42 yards to give the Seahawks an embarrassing 38-14 lead in the fourth quarter. And just to cap the day off right, when Josh McCown came in for Hanie after his third INT, McCown gets one of his own on his second throw of the game. Chicago gave up four sacks on the day (Chris Clemons is scary good, FYI), but the pressure was more constant than that number would suggest. Hanie overthrew plenty of open receivers and made poor decisions with the football for the fourth straight week.

Kiss This Season Goobye posted by Richard Kagan

The Chicago Bears have allowed the Seattle Seahawks take a commanding 24-14 lead late in 3rd quarter at Soldier Field.

The Bears are about to be buried for this season.  No Cutlers, No Forte, No Wright, No Johnny Knox, who left the game in an ambulance and was taken to a local hospital.  Unfortunately, Caleb Hanie, who looked so good against the Packers in the NFC game and looked mediocre at best, and simply not-ready-for-prime-time.  He lacks the skills that Cutler has.

The Bears didn't count on losing Cutler and Forte, and without adequate replacements, or an ablity to adjust on the fly, the season is spiralling downward.  The Bears are about to lose their 4th straight game and move to 7-7.  Wtih two away games left.  There is nothing pretty about this game.  The Bears had a 14-7 lead but Seattle stormed back and took a 21-14 lead.  A FG only prolonged the inevitable.  The Bears have been out-personneled and out hustled. 

This game got uglier and the Bears lost 38-14.  Hanie threw 3 picks, two for touchdowns.  His backup, Jake McCown, throw a pick as well.  Hanie had thrown for nine interceptions in 4 games.  Wow.  That's a problem.

That isn't going to get it done at the QB position.  The Bears went from looking like a good, tough, explosive NFL team with playoff aspirations to a downtrodden team, looking a shell of itself.  There is nothing there.  There is no offense. And, the defense, altough good, can't win a game like it did 3-4 years ago.  Urlacher and Brigss, are aging, and nothing accelerates that than losing. 

Joe's 2011 Gameday Preview: Seahawks at Bears posted by Joe Anello

Losers of three straight, the Chicago Bears are trying to get back on the winning horse this afternoon against the rising Seattle Seahawks. Can you believe these two teams are actually still in the playoff hunt? They both need a lot of help to get there, but this game is too significant for either team to lose. Drop one more game… and you likely won’t see January.

(6-7) Seattle Seahawks at
(7-6) Chicago Bears

As it has been with the Bears in recent weeks, their defense has to step it up and keep these Seahawks from scoring anything more than six to nine points. Seattle’s young offense has been slowly improving behind Tarvaris Jackson, who is showing more talent and better decision making under Pete Carroll than he ever did for Minnesota. Marshawn Lynch is still beastly in the backfield, and he’s the type of runner the Bears typically struggle against. Chicago’s linebackers have to ensure they wrap him up and let the second defender come in for the strip or else they’ll see too many broken tackles and too many long gains. On the outside, keep track of undrafted rookie Doug Baldwin, who has emerged from nowhere to become Seattle’s best receiver. Charles Tillman is expected to play today, but I don’t envision him matching up one-on-one with Baldwin. It’ll be a committee effort in the secondary.

What casual NFL fans may not know is that Seattle’s run defense is pretty solid. Chicago won’t be able to bully them around on the ground, so Caleb Hanie has to… make throws??? That deserves a long, drawn-out, Darth Vader-like “NOOOOO!!!” Marion Barber and Kahlil Bell are going to get their carries, but Chicago can’t win unless Hanie gets passes to his wide receivers. Johnny Knox, Early Bennett and Devin Hester must show up. Corner Brandon Browner is extremely underrated and is beginning to make a name for himself in the secondary, adding to the ball-hawking skills of Earl Thomas. If that was bad enough, defensive end Chris Clemons is a monster coming off the edge. Mike Tice better have plans to take him out of the equation or Hanie’s in for another rough day.

Joe's 2011 Thursday Night Preview: Eagles at Seahawks posted by Joe Anello

Forget about the rest of your work week, Thursday Night Football is on tonight! The NFL Network has a pretty interesting contest for us tonight, as the imploding “Dream Team” travels northwest to far off Seattle to take on a young and “always tough at home” Seahawks squad. Who’s ready for the death of a dream?

(4-7) Philadelphia Eagles at
(4-7) Seattle Seahawks

Oh man. This Eagles season has been absolutely freaking delightful. And it could all come crashing down to a violent and decisive ending if they lose tonight. Vince Young has the helm for a third straight week, but he’ll be missing wide receiver Jeremy Maclin again. So Andy Reid, I have a suggestion for you. One that should save you from all the ungodly hours you’re rumored to be putting in lately. Hand the f###ing ball off to LeSean Mccoy. (It he can carry it, that is. Kinda injured.) He’s really good and you might be able to control the ball and keep your own craptastic defense off the field. Just a thought.

For Seattle, it’s time for some good old fashioned home cooking. The Seahawks are always somehow better at home. This is the same team that handed it to the Ravens in week ten, so anything is possible tonight. Tarvaris Jackson has been surprisingly… not horrible as of late, but the key to a win for the ‘Hawks is their solid run defense against McCoy and getting Marshawn Lynch going on the ground. From there it’s all about ramping up that home field advantage and suckering an undisciplined Philly team into dumb mistakes.

Joe's 2011 NFL Season Preview: The NFC West posted by Joe Anello

There’s no way around it. This division sucks. Quarterback questions abound for three of its four teams and 9-7 will likely win it all. The final division preview starts now!

After winning the division with a super-crappy record, the Seattle Seahawks stunned the Saints, advancing past the Wildcard round. This year will not be a repeat of that performance. Tarvaris Jackson takes over at quarterback, already putting the Seahawks in a hole. Whether he’s familiar with Darell Bevel l’s offense or not, Jackson is not an NFL-level QB. He’s still got Sidney Rice to throw to, taking advantage of Rice’s wide catching radius. After adding Rice, the Seattle receivers are deep, with Mike Williams and Golden Tate amongst the crop. Seattle’s young offensive line isn’t quite ready to become an elite unit, but they’ll show flashes thanks to new line coach Tom Cable and a left side of Russell Okung and Robert Gallery. The Seahawk defense is… decent. Signing defensive tackle Brandon Mebane was a great move, giving them a run-stuffer up the middle. Behind the line, the linebackers are alright and the secondary is so-so aside from safety Earl Thomas, whose ball-hawking has to pick up in his second year.
2010 Record: 7-9
2011 Prediction: 6-10

Adorable.

St. Louis Rams

The Best and Worst Classes of the 2011 NFL Draft posted by Joe Anello

Okay, now that we’ve had some time to digest the draft and some of the immediate ramifications, let’s delve into some of the teams I thought best took advantage of their selections. (Not winners and losers per se, since we can’t actually grade these drafts until three years or so elapse.) Still, what’s the NFL without some premature judging?

The Positive

Cincinnati Bengals

Chad Johnson won’t be back? No problem. Draft A.J. Green. Carson Palmer wants out? Who cares? Draft Andy Dalton. Done and done. The Bengals managed to find capable (on paper anyways) replacements for exiting superstars. Green was clearly the top receiver in this draft, so skipping him wasn’t an option for a team with two likely departing receivers. Getting Dalton in the second round was a surprise, seeing how QB’s practically flew off the shelves in round one. What I love about Cincy’s draft is that they prepared for any eventuality with Palmer without stretching their resources. They let Dalton fall to them and then they snapped him up.

Yes, he's a red-headed quarterback. Now let's move on.

I like how they drafted two linemen with their next picks, especially Dontay Moch, who will get in as a pass-rush specialist. They took another young wide-out in the sixth round with Ryan Whalen, and bookended that pick with two additions to their secondary/special teams unit. The Bengals may not recapture the AFC North in the 2011 season, but they’ll get the chance to in the near future.

How Much I Effed Up: The NFC Edition posted by Joe Anello

With the Draft a few days away, I wanted to get my claims to idiocy behind me. After my AFC grades, I knew I was in for a bit of let-down with the opposing conference. All the surprises (both good and bad) were clustered in the NFC. So let’s get to the self-degradation!

In case you didn’t check out the last look-back, here’s the scale I came up with to judge my suckiness.

***** = Dead on. I’m a genius.

**** = 1-2 games off the mark. Not too shabby.

*** = 3 games off. At least I’m in the ballpark.

** = 4-5 games off. The team let me down.

* = 6+ games off. I should get a pass for these picks because they’re so bad. (That and everyone else probably flubbed too.)

NFC East

Dallas Cowboys

My prediction: 11-5
What actually happened: 6-10
My result: **

Well… we all missed this mark. I may not have been picking them to steam-roll the East, but that offense was molasses-like early on and the defense just wasn’t showing up to play. Yeah, that gets a guy fired alright.

Though I have come to appreciate discussing the Cowboys, if only to have an excuse to post cheerleader pictures.

Philadelphia Eagles

My prediction: 9-7
What actually happened: 10-6
My result: ****

Now, that was my prediction with Kevin Kolb as a starter, but I’ll still take credit for knowing the Eagles would be solid. The story for next year is how much better can Vick get? I’m not sure that magical season can repeat itself.

Joe's 2011 NFL Final Drive: Divisional Round posted by Joe Anello

 So that was a fun weekend, right? After some delicious divisional round fun, the stages are set for Conference Championship Sunday in the NFL. Before that, let's take a look at how this weekend's games went down.

(13-4) Pittsburgh Steelers 31
(13-5) Baltimore Ravens 24

So for a Baltimore team that went out and snagged top wide receivers in order to take the next step in the playoffs, they certainly managed to completely ignore them in the playoffs. After a first half where the Steelers shot themselves in the foot, the Ravens fell apart in the second half, unable to mount ANY sort of offense aside from a late field goal. While the Steelers committed two turnovers early on (including a crazy fumble picked up by Cory Redding), the Ravens returned the favor and threw away their shots at the AFC title. Joe Flacco once again showed his inexperience, only completing 16 of his 30 attempts for 125 yards. Baltimore never found or committed to its running game, which handicapped them as they tried to control the clock. (It didn’t help that Ray Rice fumbled for the first time this entire year either.)

I can’t say I’m surprised at the final score, but I am surprised that the Ravens stumbled with the lead as they did. You would think that defense would have been able to hold onto the lead, but all those turnovers gave the Steelers too many possessions to overcome. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh’s defense held tough on the Ravens’ final drive, sacking Flacco to put the Ravens in a position where they needed a deep throw… which T.J. Houshmandzadeh ironically dropped. So T.J., are you going to run your mouth now?

Joe's GameDay Recap: Bears 35, Seahawks 24 posted by Joe Anello

That was probably the most relaxing Bears playoff game I’ve ever watched. Chicago jumped out early on the over-matched Seattle Seahawks, putting this game out of reach before the first half ended and looking towards the NFC title game.

(12-5) Chicago Bears 35
(8-10) Seattle Seahawks 24

I guess Mike Martz was keeping Greg Olsen under wrap all season so he could save his break-out game for the playoffs. It was a plan that came to fruition on Sunday as Greg Olsen erupted for 113 yards in the first half, including a 58 yard bomb on Jay Cutler’s first pass of the game. From there it was all Bears… and some food.

Chicago’s defense put this game out of reach in the first quarter by shutting down the Seahawks on third down and forcing punts that resulted in good field position. After the Olsen score, the Bears took their third drive of the game and marched it down to the Seattle goal line where Chester Taylor punched it in. After another punt (notice a theme here?), Jay Cutler ran a score in himself, his first of two on the afternoon. Seattle didn’t get any points on the board until the third quarter, where it was 28-0 and already over.

You can’t overlook how well Cutler played today. For all the detractors that assumed Cutler would bonehead the game away, how do you like him now? Two passing scores and two rushing scores easily make Cutler the MVP of the game. His completion percentage wasn’t great, but averaging 18 yards a completion is outstanding. He kept control of the ball when he had it and found the open man with regularity. When you look at his performance as well as the combined effort of Matt Forte and Chester Taylor, the offensive line needs to be recognized for their dominance today.

Joe's Divisional GameDay Preview: Seahawks at Bears posted by Joe Anello

After a week off, the Chicago bears are set to enter the playoff picture today as they host the Seattle Seahawks. Brimming with confidence after their victory over the Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints, the Seahawks head into what will surely be a raucous Soldier Field atmosphere and some particularly low temperatures. Can Chicago fend off the surprise Seahawks? Or will their week off come at their detriment? Here’s the break down.

When last these teams met in week six, Seattle exploited Chicago’s then-porous offensive line for six sacks of Jay Cutler, who was still being called on to pass nearly every down. It’s been three months since that loss and Mike Martz has flipped the switch on his offensive gameplan, calling a balanced attack and keeping Cutler upright. Mike Tice’s o-line experience is starting to show its true color, solidifying a line that had been ultimately horrific.

On the lakefront, that Chicago offense cannot forget what got them into the postseason. Martz must continue to feed Matt Forte the ball and churn up yards on the ground. From there, he can call the play-action passes at which Cutler excels. Running play-action will suck in ball-hawking Earl Thomas towards the line of scrimmage, which means Johnny Knox or Devin Hester may be able to be at their man down field for a big play. While Martz will need to take his shots today, it comes down to how effective Cutler can be when the time comes. He has to limit his errant “whatever” throws. Keep it safe, but stay on the attack. Missing the past few weeks, Greg Olsen cannot be overlooked in today’s gameplan. He’s a mis-match for any of Seattle’s linebackers, including the now active Lofa Tatupu, who will go after missing time with a concussion. Olsen typically makes his presence felt in the red zone, as long as Cutler doesn’t force a ball into triple-coverage. On the edges, Chicago has to account for Chris Clemons

Ex-NFL WR Bobby Engram joins Pitt staff (AP)

Pittsburgh coach Paul Chryst has hired longtime NFL wide receiver Bobby Engram as the Panthers new wide receivers coach. Engram, who played in the NFL from 1996-2009, spent last season as an offensive assistant with the San Francisco 49ers. He finished with 650 receptions for 7,751 yards and 35 touchdowns while playing for the Chicago Bears, Seattle Seahawks and Kansas City Chiefs. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports