Tag: Jay Cutler (Page 16 of 32)

      Warner rebounds as Cardinals crush Bears

      November 8, 2009 /

      Kurt Warner shook off a five-interception performance last week in a loss to the Panthers to throw for 261 yards and an eye-popping five touchdowns in a 41-21 rout of the Bears on Sunday. Warner didn’t throw any interceptions while completing 22-of-31 passes for 261 yards.

      Warner did all this without Anquan Boldin, who sat out with an ankle injury. Larry Fitzgerald seemed to enjoy the spotlight, because he hauled in nine passes for 123 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The 83-year old Warner (I’m kidding) is now on pace for 32 touchdowns and 4,350 yards.

      Of course, Warner and the Cards racked up these gaudy stats against a Chicago secondary that couldn’t cover Fat Albert and the gang. The Bears thought that Charles Tillman could cover Fitzgerald one-on-one, which was incredibly smart on their part. Remember Boldin didn’t play, so why Lovie Smith and his coaching staff thought Tillman could (or even should) go one-on-one with Fitzgerald was questionable to say the least. Speaking of questionable, the Bears also decided to throw the ball seven straight times to open the game. Apparently the words “offensive balance” mean nothing to Smith and Ron Turner.

      Not to kick dirt in the faces of Chicago fans, but many Bear-lovers thought this would be a Super Bowl team after they traded for Jay Cutler. I’m fully aware that they’ve had injuries on the defensive side of the ball, but even if Brian Urlacher were healthy, the offensive line and secondary are still a mess and Matt Forte has dropped off the face of the earth (part of the reason is because the O-line hasn’t opened any holes). He only had 33 yards on five carries today, but when you’re trailing 31-7 at halftime you’re not going to get many carries.

      Their 30-6 win over the hapless Browns gave the Bears some false confidence. But this loss today proves how far Chicago is from being a legitimate contender.

      NFL

      Jamal Lewis has had enough, plans to retire after the ’09 season

      November 1, 2009 /

      Following the Browns’ ugly 30-6 loss to the Bears on Sunday, running back Jamal Lewis said that he plans to retire after the season.

      While he claims it wasn’t just a statement made in the heat of the moment, nobody would blame Lewis if it were. Lewis is 30, has seen his play drop quite a bit this year and he’s stuck on a morbid franchise. So why stick around?

      I honestly don’t know how the Browns have won a game this year. Their defense is bad, but it pails in comparison to how atrocious Derek Anderson and the offense is, which turned the ball over five times on Sunday. Chicago’s secondary has been shredded at times this season, yet Anderson found a way to only complete 6-of-17 pass attempts for a measly 76 yards. Oh, and he also threw two interceptions and fumbled once.

      I’m sure someone will raise the question of whether or not Brady Quinn should resume the starting spot over Anderson next week. But Quinn has already shown that he’s just as incapable of running the offense as Anderson is, so does it really matter? If I were a Cleveland fan (and I just threw up a little at the mere thought of that), I’d rather see Brett Ratliff given a chance to start before Quinn is given a second opportunity.

      About the only reason to watch the Browns these days is to see whether or not defensive coordinator Rob Ryan will get in a fight with anyone on the sidelines. He and Jay Cutler went at it (verbally, of course) on Sunday and it was the only entertainment Cleveland provided all day.

      NFL

      NFL Week 7 Odds & Point Spreads

      October 22, 2009 /

      Along with the complete list of odds, here are the four marquee matchups on the Week 7 schedule in the NFL.

      Vikings (6-0) at Steelers (4-2), 1:00PM ET
      Up to this point, nobody has been able to stop the combination of Brett Favre and Adrian Peterson. Defenses are loading the box in efforts to stop Peterson, and Favre is beating them with his pinpoint accuracy. The Vikings’ offensive line has also been outstanding, which obviously has played into how much success the team is currently having. But if there’s one defense that could shackle Minnesota’s offense, it’s Pittsburgh. Troy Polamalu is healthy again and the Steelers have been awfully tough to beat at home throughout the years. The Vikings gave up several big plays in the fourth quarter to the Ravens and Ben Roethlisberger has proven that he can make things happen in the vertical passing game. At 6-0, the Vikings are in good shape win or lose. But if they want to keep pace with the Saints for the top spot in the NFC, then they need to keep winning.
      Odds: Steelers –4.

      Bears (3-2) at Bengals (4-2), 4:15PM ET
      Both of these teams are reeling after suffering defeats in Week 6. The Bears had several scoring opportunities last week against the Falcons and just never capitalized. Chicago is struggling to run the ball right now and is relying heavily on Jay Cutler and the passing game. The Bengals suffered more than just a loss last week, as defensive end Antwaan Odom suffered a season-ending injury. He was a difference maker on Cincinnati’s defense and without him, the Bengals might have trouble generating a pass rush. Both of these teams need a win right now to keep pace in their division.
      Odds: Bengals –1.5.

      Saints (5-0) at Dolphins (2-3), 4:15PM ET
      The Dolphins have won their last two games and are fresh coming off the bye, but they’ve had issues with quarterbacks who can get the ball out of their hands quickly. They struggled to stop Peyton Manning and the Colts and Philip Rivers and the Chargers in previous weeks. The Saints are firing on all cylinders right now and won’t look past a Miami team playing with confidence under Chad Henne. Drew Brees could have another big day and as long as the Saints limit the effectiveness of Miami’s Wildcat, they should keep their undefeated record intact.
      Odds: Saints –6.5.

      Falcons (4-1) at Cowboys (3-2)
      After the Patriots handed the Falcons their first loss in Week 3, Atlanta went into its bye hell-bent on fixing their defensive flaws. The past two weeks, the Falcons have held the 49ers to 10 points and the Bears to 14 points, respectively. They’ve also forced a combined six turnovers in those games and found a way to generate pressure. That’s not good news for Tony Romo, who has been turnover-prone at times this year and who hasn’t received the best protection from his O-line. This is a game Dallas needs to win in order to keep pace in the NFC East, especially with the Giants and Eagles both losing last week. Teams have done a great job bottling up Michael Turner, but have been unsuccessful stopping Matt Ryan. Will Wade Phillips and his defense be up to the challenge?
      Odds: Cowboys –4.

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      NFL

      Has the Bears’ identity changed with Cutler?

      October 21, 2009 /

      The identity of the Chicago Bears has almost changed overnight.

      The offseason acquisition of quarterback Jay Cutler has suddenly transformed Da Bears into a team that relies on the pass to set up the run; for decades, it used to be the other way around. In fact, Chicago fans had been waiting for a strong-armed quarterback to aid their ground game, not hide its weaknesses.

      Through five games this season, the Bears have attempted 172 passes to only 119 rushing attempts. They’re throwing nearly 60% of the time, which, for the Bears, is unheard of.

      On Tuesday, Cutler and the Bears agreed to a two-year extension that will keep the quarterback in Chicago through 2013. Does the move signal the end of the Bears’ philosophy of being a run-first team? Given Cutler’s gun-ho mentality as a passer and Chicago’s sudden desire to throw the ball more, one would think that Chicago’s smash-mouth days are over.

      But a closer look tells a different story. The Bears are currently 27th in rushing yards per game this season, averaging 89.8 YPG. They haven’t run the ball much this year because quite frankly, they can’t run the ball. The changes the Bears made to their offensive line in the offseason haven’t amounted to much as Orlando Pace, Frank Omiyale and the rest of Chicago’s O-line has failed to gel. And while people are quick to assume running back Matt Forte is suffering from the dreaded sophomore slump, the fact of the matter is that the line hasn’t been opening up holes for him like they did last year.

      So are the Bears becoming more of a pass-first team with Jay Cutler? Yes, but that’s only because their O-line is under performing. If the line starts opening more holes for Forte (who seems to be tiptoeing into holes more this season because of the amount of licks he’s been taking), the Bears will undoubtedly become the balanced squad that they envisioned when they traded for Cutler.

      Until then, don’t expect the Bears to stop putting it in the air. And as long as they’re throwing, offensive coordinator Ron Turner better start calling more vertical passes in order to take advantage of Cutler’s strengths.

      NFL

      Falcons’ defense steps up in win over Bears

      October 18, 2009 /

      Matt Ryan, Michael Turner, Tony Gonzalez, Roddy White and the rest of the Falcons’ potent offense may get more attention, but Atlanta can thank its defense for the team starting the season 4-1.

      The Falcons beat the Bears 21-14 on Sunday night, as Atlanta’s defense forced three turnovers and stopped Chicago on a 4th-and-6 attempt from the 10-yard line with only 34 seconds remaining. The Falcons also held Matt Forte to only 23 yards on 15 carries.

      But while Atlanta’s defense deserves credit for its effort on Sunday night, this game was more about Chicago squandering opportunities. Jay Cutler threw an interception to kill a potential scoring drive in the first quarter and then Forte cost the Bears another opportunity with a fumble at Atlanta’s 1-yard line in the third. The Bears moved the ball at will at times, but often shot themselves in the foot with turnovers or costly penalties.

      For two teams that are supposed to contender for a playoff spot in the NFC, this wasn’t a very cleanly played game on either side. The Falcons turned the ball over twice and would have added another had Ryan not pounced on a Turner fumble in the second quarter. Neither team was very impressive and while Atlanta won, I can’t say the Falcons are definitively better than the Bears are after this performance.

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