No, this is not in reference to the Brewers quietly surging back into playoff contention. This soap opera is taking place just a little further to the south.

The Bears loss to the Packers last Thursday night exposed some serious flaws in the Bears game plan, most notably along the offensive line. The inability to block anyone, most notably Clay Matthews who exploded for with 3 1/2 sacks against the Bears, was exposed for all to see. Jay Cutler had enough, and shoved left tackle J’Marcus Webb during the game in a moment of frustration.

How did Webb respond to this act? He laughed.

Cutler was  not done though. He took advantage of  the post game press conference to tear into his teammates, and defend his actions as only Jay can:

“I care about this. This isn’t just a hobby. I’m not doing this for my health. I’m trying to win football games. When we’re not doing the little things or things the right way consistently, I’m going to say something. If they want a quarterback that doesn’t care, they can get someone else.”

Pretty strong words from a so-called leader.

Cutler shoving one of his teammates called into question his methods of leading the Bears. Some think this was inappropriate,  that criticizing the play of a teammate should be done behind closed doors, away from the watchful eye of the media and fans. Cutler’s post-game comments did not help, adding more fuel to the fire.  And now, more Bears have begun to speak out about Cutler and his leadership.

Yesterday, defensive back D.J. Moore spoke his mind, letting everyone know he was on “Team Webb” and Cutler was completely wrong for shoving Webb:

“I think it’s just wrong, though honestly. I would feel the same kind of way if he was to do me like that. It would make it seem like, well, the reason I’m having a bad game is because it’s what you’re doing and not me taking accountability for myself because I’m throwing these type of passes or doing this type of read. So it’s just a tough situation.”

“But when you act like that, though, with your own teammates on the sideline, it’s just something different that you normally wouldn’t do.You might say it in the locker room or something, but to do it like he did, that’s something different. It’s just weird.”

Meanwhile, right tackle Gabe Carimi spoke out in defense of “Team Jay”:

“Honestly it was barely a shove, so I don’t think I would have even recognized until it was brought up on media”

Lovie Smith has been doing his best to dispel any controversy:

“It’s pretty simple: I like Jay Cutler and everything that he is. I’m not trying to trade any of our players. The week before, I didn’t hear an awful lot of this stuff. We were talking about how good we were and how we were playing. So we’ll get back to that.

‘‘The focus is on the play on the field. That’s what I was disappointed in — our play, how we as coaches prepared our guys and the way we played. But we’ll correct that. We’ve lost games before. We’re not the only team that has lost a big game that we thought we would win. But we’ll bounce back.’’

And while all this is going on, Chicago sports radio has been inundated with discussion of whether the Jay Cutler experiment should come to an abrupt end as a result of his actions against the Packers last week.

The amount of talking going on between the Bears players, coaches, and fans over the past few days has been interesting to say the least. A team which was seen by many as a legitimate Super Bowl contender this season is now riddled with questions. Play on the field, emotions off the field, and everything in between is an everyday discussion now, with no end in sight. Winning cures all, even for the Bears, but a few more losses, and this team could start free falling, with Cutler being the likely scapegoat because of his actions.

Keep an eye on this situation. Things could start getting REALLY interesting in Chicago very soon.

As football returns, the hopes of NFL teams everywhere are never higher than the beginning of Training Camp. Every team is destined to win the Super Bowl, going undefeated along the way. Even teams which have little chance of going .500 let alone win the Super Bowl (Vikings) are destined to be champions at the end of the season.

With the return of football comes one of my personal favorite sources of entertainment for the next six months: the return of the Chicago Bears, and the stories that surround them.

I know what you are saying. “You like to read about the Bears?” Allow me to explain.

As I sat down to enjoy my first cup of coffee, I did my usual routine of clicking on the Chicago Tribune’s web page. Perusing the articles in the sports section, I came across this article by Bears beat reporter Brad Biggs which caught my attention. The article, a synopsis of the Bears’ first practice in pads, contained one sentence which for me really stood out above the rest:

A crowd of more than 12,000 fans showed up and the biggest roars were for the vertical passing game, featuring Brandon Marshall

I read this sentence a few times, and started to think.

I wonder how many fans would show up for Packers practice if they did so inside Lambeau Field. After all, Nitschke Field holds a mere 1500 fans in the bleachers, while a few hundred to several thousand stand around the fences which surround the field. While there is no way to estimate, a good gauge could be the Packers Family Night. Despite falling attendance partially because of the inevitable inclement weather which seems to haunt this event every year, anywhere from 45,000 to 70,000 will pay money to sit and watch a scrimmage this Friday.

The interesting thing is you seldom hear about the attendance at Packers’ practice aside from Family Night. Everyone knows it will be a packed house every day. Apparently it’s a big deal for the Bears. Size must really matter for them.

Yet that is exactly what Rick Morissey of the Chicago Tribune did when discussing the Bears choices for who would play quarterback against the Packers this Sunday, when the Bears travel up to Lambeau Field to take on the Packers.

Since Jay Cutler went down with a thumb injury, the Bears have gone 0-4 with Caleb Hanie leading the Bears, falling to 7-7 and essentially out of the playoff race, although mathematically still alive. His QB rating of 41.8, along with 9 interceptions in the 4 game stretch, show that the almost two quarters the Packers saw of him in the NFC Championship game in January, might very be the high water mark of his NFL career.

Instead of giving Hanie another shot at redemption, the Bears announced today that they are instead going to start Josh McCown Sunday. He becomes the tenth starting quarterback in the Lovie Smith era in Chicago, and despite having attempted 8 (!) passes since 2007, apparently gives the Bears the best chance to win on Sunday.

And if McCown were to falter, they can turn to the newly benched Hanie to save the day, or rely on rookie Nathan Enderle, who has attempted a total of zero passes in his NFL career.

Three Stooges indeed.

The Bears are a total mess right now on the offensive side of the ball. They lost their best play maker in Matt Forte for possibly the rest of the year with a knee injury. They lost their best receiver in Johnny Knox, out for the year after suffering a horrible back injury. Devin Hester has been hampered with an ankle injury, limiting his explosiveness on both offense and especially in the return game. And to add fuel to the fire, they are starting a quarterback who has not thrown a pass in three years.

Morissey was wrong in calling the choice of quarterback the Three Stooges. The reality is that Jerry Angelo, Lovie Smith, and Mike Martz are the real Three Stooges in Chicago. Angelo qualifies for failing to have a quality backup quarterback on the roster in the event Cutler was lost. Martz is guilty for pushing to acquire him, based on the one year they spent together in Detroit. And Smith rounds out the group for not voicing his displeasure over the choices presented to him, at least not publicly.

What does this equal? A recipe for disaster.

The game Sunday sets up perfectly for the Packers. They will be hell bent on revenge after suffering their first loss in a year against the Chiefs, and who better to take it out on than their old rivals. While Chicago generally plays the Packers tough, I will be shocked if the Bears offense scores 10 points against the Packers defense. The Packers defense is prone to giving up huge chunks of yards while limiting their opponents from scoring. My guess is on Sunday, they limit both, and a blow out victory rolls the Packers way.

Three Stooges? Think Looney Toons is more appropriate for what is happening in Chicago right now.

I respect them, even though I hate them.

The same respect cannot be said about the stadium they play in: Soldier Field.

Consistently known as having one of the worst playing surfaces in the league, yet another nugget of goodness was added to the not so stellar reputation for the spaceship by the lake.

A recent inspection by the health department revealed 21 critical violations of Soldier Field vendors.

Among some of the highlights:

• eight cases of food kept at unsafe temperatures
• three cases of vendors that had broken heating or cooling devices
• several instances of employees not having access to running water, soap or paper towels

In fairness, the Bears do not own or operate Soldier Field-that distinction belongs to the Chicago Park District. The Bears are the entity most associated with Soldier Field, and will no doubt have to answer for this latest embarassment to the franchise.

They left scratching their heads.

After a 25-20 loss to the Raiders, the Bears find themselves at 7-5 for the year, still in the playoff race, but one has to wonder for how long with their current quarterback situation.

When Caleb Hanie stepped onto the field on Sunday for the injured Jay Cutler, many expected him to be the same player who almost brought the Bears to victory in the NFC Championship game 11 months ago. What they instead saw was what Hanie truly is: an inexperienced quarterback.

Two early interceptions will not help any quarterback in any game, much less one asked to step into a difficult position and try to keep their team focused for the playoff push. But that is exactly what happened to him Sunday, and it did not get much better from there. A victim of the Mike Martz offense, Hanie was asked to try and make plays that most quarterbacks could not make, much less one who has less than a full game of experience.

Case in point: the first “highlight” in this recap of the game:

Asked to throw a screen over the heads of linemen on a throwback screen is something that some quarterbacks struggle with for years. Yet Martz thought it would be a play that he could make with ease. This may be a isolated play in the future development of Hanie. It could also be another example of Martz thinking he has more in terms of play makers than he really does, something which has haunted him since the days of The Greatest Show on Turf.

Even when he was leading his team back late in the game, inexperience caught up with him again. With time ticking down, Hanie got his offense up to the line of scrimmage. As he took the snap, he stepped back, took another step back, and finally spiked the ball. Unfortunately, Hanie either did not know or simply forgot that you cannot do this. Failing to spike the ball immediately after taking the snap resulted in a penalty and 10 second run off of the play clock. With less than 10 seconds remaining, the clock ran to zero, and the Bears walked out of Oakland with a loss and a number of questions.

Was this gaffe all Hanie’s fault? Not necessarily. Some of most definitely falls on his shoulders, since he was the one who was entrusted to lead the Bears with Cutler out. However, is some of it Martz’s fault? Absolutely.

When you have a running back having a season like Matt Forte is, I do not understand why you hand the ball to him only 12 times in a game where you have a brand new quarterback under center. It would certainly have taken some of the pressure off of Hanie to make plays. However, whenever Martz is the person calling plays for your offense, it is almost a given that second guessing the play calling will occur, and that is exactly what happened.

As long as the Bears defense continues to perform at a high level, they will keep the Bears in the games they play. However, they had better hope that Jay Cutler makes a miraculous recovery from thumb surgery, although that is looking very unlikely. As long as Caleb Hanie and his inexperience is under center, the Bears will find wins hard to come by. And that is just fine with me.

While the Packers remained undefeated, taking care of business with a 36-27 win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Bears kept pace in the Wild Card standings with a 31-20 win against the visiting Chargers.

However, the joy of their win was replaced with the news every team hates to hear late yesterday.

The Bears will have to soldier on without Jay Cutler for the next 6 to 8 weeks as he recovers from thumb surgery for his fractured thumb, suffered in yesterday’s win.

This could not come at a worse time for the Bears, who need to continue to win to fend off the still hanging around the playoff race  Detroit Lions, who with their win yesterday remain tied with the Bears at 7-3 and in the thick of the NFC playoff hunt.

Last season, the Bears were almost able to overcome the odds when they were forced to to turn to their back up quarterback, and will need to do the same again this year.

When Caleb Hanie entered the NFC Championship Game last year, few gave the Bears a chance to remain in the game against the Packers. After all, Hanie was the third string QB that day, buried behind Cutler and the immortal Todd Collins on the depth chart. However, when Hanie came into the game, it seemed to spark the Bears play, which had been flat and uninspiring up to that point with Cutler leading them. In fact, if not for one very ill advised throw to B.J. Raji late in that game, it very well could have been the Bears celebrating a win that day, and not the Packers.

The task at hand will be much tougher this go around.

This is not a one game (one half of one game to be exact) proposition for him. This is a close to a half of a season for Hanie, and he is going to be expected to perform at the same level he did in the NFC Championship Game. He does not need to be a superstar-he just needs to manage the game.

Having possibly the best running back in the league behind him will certainly add some comfort to Hanie. However, teams will no doubt target Forte even more now than ever before, as they try and adapt an offense which was designed for Cutler and his skill set. It is not clear how much more they can target him, as he already accounts for 50 percent of the bears offensive yards, but it will be interesting to watch.

The rematch that was on many peoples’ minds is now in doubt. Many people had been anticipating a playoff rematch of these two teams come January. Now, not only is that in doubt, but the playoff future for the Bears is in doubt. I personally was looking forward to seeing how Mike McCarthy would approach the game this year-now he may not have that chance.

If the Bears struggle, what will they do at quarterback until Cutler is ready to return? Would they stick with the basically unproven Hanie, who knows the Bears system? Would they reach out to a veteran free agent, hoping they still have one last stand in them?

Wonder if Brett Favre is around. Then he could complete his revenge tour, as one of my twitter followers so eloquently stated this morning.

Stay tuned. This is going to get interesting.

After walking out of Lincoln Financial Field, one of the toughest venues for an opposing team to play, with a 30-24 win over the so-called dream team Monday night, the Bears find themselves exactly where they wanted to be: right in the middle of the NFC playoff race. Jay Culter played well, Matt Forte overcame two early turnovers to show yet again why he should be paid by the Bears, and the defense stopped the all world Eagles offense (heavy sarcasm intended).

It was exactly the type of win that the Bears needed. And that is what has me concerned.

Am I suggesting that Chicago is suddenly going to power its way to the top of the NFC North? Not in the slightest. The Packers are clearly in the drivers seat, and with the benefit of  good talent and a less than stellar schedule down the stretch (2 games against the Packers not withstanding) the Lions are going to be in the mix for the long haul. These two teams are your two best teams in the division through the first 8 games of the 2011 season. Period. End of story.

And then there’s the Bears.

Sitting at 5-3 is exactly what concerns me about this team. They are not at the top of the division or the conference, and as a result can fly somewhat under the radar. They are also not out of any playoff scenerio. In fact, if the playoffs were to begin today, the Bears would be the number 6 seed in the NFC. Partly due to other teams failure to capitalize on high expectations, and partly due to their resilience, Chicago continues to hang around the playoff picture. That is something to keep an eye on.

As we discussed last week on Cheesehead Radio it is my belief that the Bears are the biggest challenge to the Packers this season. Not that they are going to overtake the Packers for the division crown, but if Green Bay is still undefeated on Christmas Day when these two teams play, I could see the Bears pulling off the upset and walking out of Lambeau with a victory. Is is because they are more talented than the Packers? Absolutely not. Is it because the Bears simply know how to play the Packers? Absolutely yes. And because they continue to hang around,  this game may be meaningless to the Packers in the regular season standings, but could have a huge impact on the playoff implications for the Bears.

I wonder if the situation presented itself if Mike McCarthy would have to make the same decision Lovie Smith made last season: is keeping the Bears out of the playoffs that important? Would he play his starters the entire game in what would be meaningless in the regular season standings, but help decide the overall playoff picture? Let’s hope the Bears are far in the rear view mirror by that game, and he doesn’t have to make that decision.

The longer the Bears hang around, the more I envision the Packers and the Bears meeting each other in the playoffs again. Could you handle another Packers/Bears playoff game? I think once every 70 years is enough for everyone to stomach.

While the Bears offense has struggled this season for an identity, there is one member who everyone already knows about. He has been their focal point the entire season, and the entire league knows it.

And there in lies the problem.

As the Bears prepare to face the Eagles this Monday, the Juan Castillo led Philadelphia defense knows whats coming at them. A heavy dose of Matt Forte will no doubt be unleashed, as he is the best player on the Bears offense. The Bears know it, the Eagles know it. And most of all, Forte knows it. He is their go to player, and it’s hurting him.

While Forte plays out his rookie contract, and the Bears are not exactly rushing to get him signed long term, Forte thinks that the Bears are trying to diminish his attractiveness on the market by wearing him down physically.

The league leader in yards from scrimmage told Sean Jensen of the Chicago Sun Times:

‘‘The running back position is the most physically demanding on the field,’’ Forte said Tuesday. ‘‘Everyone acknowledges that. So to continue to give me the touches I’ve had since my rookie year but not award me a long-term contract sends the message that you’re OK grinding me into a pulp.’’

While this is the opinion of the player being affected by such a heavy work load, it should be considered that if the Bears are indeed doing this, they are only hurting themselves in the short term. If Forte was go do down with an injury, or wear down from heavy use this season (and every other season he has played since joining the league) the Bears will struggle mightily on offense. Forte is CLEARLY their focal point on offense, and no one else is even close. If they have to suddenly rely on the right arm of Jay Cutler, they are in serious trouble.

As far as long term effects, the heavy work load could take its toll on Forte with regards to career longetivity. So many running backs have entered the league and dazzled, only to fade before turning 30, in part to their heavy work load. If Forte is the latest in this group, and it is partially due to the Bears wanting to stay on the cheap and not pony up the money he has indeed earned over his three and a half year career by wearing him down, it is a sad indictment of the organization.

Of course, nothing about a Jerry Angelo led organization surprises me anymore.

As a Packer fan, I say go ahead, destroy your best offensive player. It will make the Packers jobs easier not having to stop Forte. As a football fan, if word ever did leak that grinding Forte into a pulp was indeed the strategic plan of the Bears, they should have their franchise revoked, so they cannot do any more harm to anyone.

Either way, Forte is not happy, and that does not bode well for his future in Chicago. Here’s hoping he finds his pay day, far, far away from the nonsense of Chicago.

It shouldn’t-it is the Bears we are talking about.

For the last few off seasons, the Chicago sports media took great pleasure in pointing out what was wrong with the Bears. It has always  been the same thing: if only they could fix what ails them on offense. Some of the popular excuses for their shortcomings were the offensive line was a disaster, the tight end situation was horrible, and my personal favorite, that the wide receiver corp was in desperate need of an upgrade.

Lets analyze that a little bit.

The Bears sit near the middle of the pack in passing yards at the halfway point of the season, with a stellar 222 yards per game through the air. This may seem paltry, and an indication of a team far out of playoff contention as we approach the midway point of the season. Yet closer inspection reveals a respectable 337 total yards per game for the Bears, primarily due to the thus far outstanding play of Matt Forte, who is doing his best Marshall Faulk impersonation this season. Accounting for over 50% of the offensive yards for the Bears this season, it does make sense that the Bears are going to let him play out his contract and hit free agency after the season, but that is another story for another time.

Some of the blame for the lack of push in the passing game may lie at the doorstep of Jay Cutler, for failing to look further than his outlet receiver in Forte more often. In fairness, Cutler has been running for his life in more than a few games this season, so I (cannot believe I am actually going to say this) can’t totally blame him. Someone check me-I might be going soft.

Another culprit could be the caller of the plays on offense, Mike Martz. While the mad scientist cooks up plays in his lab which are supposed to be groundbreaking and revolutionary, the offense he is leading is struggling. It’s possible that Martz has forgotten a few things. First, Jay Cutler is no Kurt Warner behind center, and anyone who might think this is a moron. Second, and more importantly, the Bears wide receiver corp is no where near the caliber of the one he had in St. Louis during the “greatest show on turf” era of the late 90′s. This is where their problems on offense lie.

When Roy Williams is your answer at wide receiver, you are in trouble. Adding him to a wide receiving crew which consists of Devin Hester, Johnny Knox, and Dane Sanzenbacher is not going to strike fear into any opposing defensive coordinator. Yet according to Jerry Angelo, the Bears wide receiving corp is a position of strength.

Give me a break.

Want to see a team that has wide receiver as a position of strength? How about this team.

The Bears have a glaring need at wide receiver, and have had it for years. Yet instead of addressing it in the off season, they enter every season with the impression that they will be able to simply get by with the players they have, rather than solve the problem via free agency or in the draft. It is beyond comprehension to me.

Even when players are available who could help them, it seems as though they will not sign anyone hoping instead that everything will be roses and sunshine as they head down the final stretch of the season. It is absurd.

The Bears had better hope that their leading rusher and receiver in Forte doesn’t get injured, and the pressure of the offense falls onto Cutler and his right arm. If that does happen, it could get very ugly for them very fast.

Not that that would be a bad thing.

It’s becoming too routine, watching the Bears lose. After starting the season 1-0, they have lost 3 out of 4, the most recent a loss to the undefeated (yes, undefeated) Lions, in the first Monday Night Game since the previous millenium. Before continuing, let that sink in for a minute-the Lions had not been on Monday Night Football since before we were putting a 2 at the front of the year. Imagine if the Packers went that long between Monday Night appearances. Amazing.

After the Bears lost last night 24-13 Brian Urlacher, long time leader of the Bears had enough of the performance of the team so far this season, and had a few things to get off his chest.

Defensively we stink. We cant stop the run, we can’t stop the pass.

Pretty strong words coming from the defensive leader of the so called Monsters of the Midway. This deserves a closer look.

Through 5 games this season, the Bears, a team built around defense, are ranked a no so stellar 29th in overall defense, giving up a mere 419 yards per game. In comparison, the Packers somewhat maligned and often too criticized by know it all bloggers like yours truly are giving up 375 yards per game. Overall yards, smoverall yards, right? Sure, if you have an offense like the Packers do who can put up 30 points per game by simply showing up. When your offense is struggling to find an identity, which the Bears CLEARLY are doing right now, yards=points=fire Lovie chants. Not good for the defending NFC North champions and runners up in the NFC last year.

What has happened to the vaunted Bears defense? For starters, they simply do not have the playmakers. Urlacher cannot play forever, and at some point he is going to beginning to slow down. The defensive line is fair, the other line backers are fair, and the safety team of Brandon Meriweather and Major Wright may be the worst in the NFL. If not for Chris Harris’ return, would have the distinction of the worst safeties in the league. Having the worst at anything on defense is never good, especially when your team is designed to win with defense. Having average isn’t much better, and that’s what the Bears defense consists of right now: Urlacher, Julius Peppers, Lance Briggs, and a bunch of average to below average players.

More importantly, they cannot stop the run, something the Bears have been known for since they were shufflin’ to the Super Bowl back in 1985. So far this season, they are giving up 135.6 rushing yards per game. Repeat-135.6 yards per game. That is very unlike any Bears defense in recent memory, and upcoming opponents should be salivating at the chance to run into, and through, a defense which has more holes than the best Wisconsin Swiss. Combine that with 285 passing yards given up per game, and their defense is just not giving them any chance to stay in the game, forcing Jay Cutler and the offense to try and keep up, which just is not happening.

Good for the Packers, bad, really bad news, for the Bears. And to verify what Brian Urlacher said, yes, the Bears defense sucks right now.

The Bears have problems on defense to say the very least, and Urlacher calling out the defense for their play so far may just be the beginning. If their struggles continue, the bulls eye may be placed squarely on the backs of Lovie Smith, Defensive Coordinator Rod Marinelli, and GM Jerry Angelo. Come to think of it, didn’t two coaches get fired last year after playing the Packers and getting torched on defense? Why yes, yes they did.

Wouldn’t getting one of the above canned after playing the Packers on Christmas be the ultimate middle finger to the Bears?

One of his favorite phrases was “Every dog has its day.” Everyone gets their chance someday. I heard this phrase about work, when I would get passed up for a promotion. When the baseball team I was playing for completely stunk, he would reassure me that one day, I would play for a winner. It was a basic way to say that anything could be achieved-I might just have to wait for it.

I never thought this phrase would apply to professional sports.

After 26 years of waiting, the 1985 Bears (the dog) finally had their day on Friday, making the trip to Washington for the traditional White House visit by the Super Bowl winner. President Obama was kind enough to say  ”This is as much fun as I will have as president of the United States.” about the entire experience.

Well thank goodness he had fun during their visit, but this is not meant to become a political debate.

What I do not understand is why this was necessary in 2011.

The reason the original trip to the White House was cancellled was the Space Shuttle Challenger tragedy which ocurred two days after the Super Bowl. As the nation mourned, the trip was understandably postponed. Subsequently year after year passed, and the visit never occurred. The ’85 Bears team faded into NFL histrory, and life moved on.

When President Obama was elected, it was seen as an opportunity to finally give this team the honor it deserved. A Bears fan in office, from Illinois. Seemed like a perfect fit.

So, 26 years later, the punky QB stepped on stage with the president, sporting the trademark headband that helped make him famous (or infamous) in a event which can only be described as grasping at straws at the glory years . To honor a team 26 years after the fact only further serves the notion that Bears fans, even those who hold the highest position in the world, live in the past.

In fairness, the 1985 Bears team was one of the best teams I ever saw play. They were freakishhly good, and dominated the league in a way seldom before seen and rarely duplicated since. However, at some point, everyone has to move on, and sometimes you do not get what you think you are entitiled to.

I wonder how much money was spent to fly the team out to Washington. Who paid for it? Did the taxpayers, in what could be seen as unnecessary use of tax payers dollars? Or was it the NFL? Considering the lockout this past summer was an exercise in who could acquire the most money in the long run, was it wise to spend money that thoeetically was argued over? Or maybe it was the Bears, spending money that they now need to recoup. Is a ticket price increase on the way for them? Makes no difference to me, but it’s a queston worth asking.

The saddest part of the event is those who were not able to attend. Walter Payton, the player who the game meant more to than anyone, passed away in 1999. Dave Duerson committed suicide in part due to brain damage received while playing in the NFL. William Perry suffers from a neurological disease and was unable to make the trip. While it can be said that the trip might have been made because the people involved are getting older, it might also be said that when those start to permanently fade, it is better to move on than try and recapture something which is gone.

Every dog has its day. In the case of the 1985 Bears, it came 26 years late. They were worthy of the honor, the same as all other Super Bowl winners had been. It just seems like it was another example of Bears fans, in this case the most powerful person in the world, living in the past.

Chicago sports radio is notorious for its high energy-high emotion character. Fueled by hosts who live and die by every win, the folks at ESPN Chicago and 670 The Score have mastered the art of post game drama, and Sunday was no exception.

Before the game had begun, there was an ever growing sentiment that Mike Martz had to go as Offensive Coordinator for the Bears, that he was still trying to run an offense like it was the 1999 Rams, only Jay Cutler is no Kurt Warner, and as hard as Matt Forte tries to be Marshall Faulk, he will not be able to duplicate the success Faulk had due to an offensive line that a sixth grade team would be proud of. Martz even went to far as to say blame me for the way the Bears offense played agaisnt Atlanta the previous week, and before the game against the Packers was over, I had predicted the headlines Monday would be a repeat.

It didn’t even take until the next day for this to begin.

Tuning into The Score, I listened to caller after caller after caller call for the firing of Martz, removing Lovie Smith as coach, and questioning GM Jerry Angelo as to whether they were the right people to run this team. As a Packer fan listening to this, it was pure pleasure to hear the fans tee off on their team. Upset is an understatement, and I had to wonder if there was a group with torches and pitchforks heading over to Halas Hall to voice their opinion about the latest defeat for the Bears.

This got me thinking about the differences in fan bases for the two teams. Speaking in extreme generalities, it can safely be said that Packers fans are a thinking bunch, while Bears fans are pure reactionary. Packers fans show emotion before, during, and after a game, yet for the most part take the time to have facts, stats, and a sense of reason when trying to make a point about a game, play, personnel move, etc. We have been called the smartest fans in the NFL for a reason, and continue to do so on a regular basis.

Bears fans are raw emotion. Always have been, always will be. They tend to show little in the smarts department when it comes to football savvy, and simply make statements with nothing behind the statement. Calling for the firing of a coach because his offense is “no good” is a fairly common occurrence on Chicago radio, and if I had a nickel for every time I heard a blanket statement like this one, I could buy a very nice lunch for myself in a short period of time.

As fans, we have a responsibility to the teams we support to voice our opinions. That’s why we’re  fans, AKA fanatics. The difference is Packers fans can step back and rationalize, while Bears fans just want everyone fired every time something does not go their way. Consider that this is the same fan base who called for Smith to be fired last season, the year they went to the NFC Championship Game, but not after 2007, the year after they went to the Super Bowl. One of the reasons: it would disrupt chemistry. Make sense to you? I’ve given up trying to understand.

In fairness, not all Bears fans freak out after every loss, much the same as not all Packers fans are a level headed bunch. Every fan base has their share of hot heads and thinkers. It just seems that the games between these two teams bring out the best, and worst, on both sides, and it is almost a certainty that if the Packers had lost Sunday, the Green Bay/Milwaukee radio markets would have been filled with fans voicing their opinions. I just have to wonder how many would be calling for McCarthy and Thompson to be fired after one game.

The differences in fans is such a huge part of what makes this rivalry great. It has lasted 90 years, and with such differences in fans, it is certain to last another 90.

Whether you are a football fan or not, if you live in either Green Bay or Chicago, you know what this match up means.

Packers/Bears week has been a time honored tradition for generations. Long before computers, decades before the Internet, and predating the living room television to watch the game, the battle between these two intense rivals has permeated the atmosphere of the Midwest. Big city vs small city, steel vs cheese, the mention of Packers versus Bears stirs up emotions that are often buried, and come out only twice a year when they play each other.

The rivalry has changed over the years. Long gone are the days of fistfights on the field, and in the stands. The memory of Ken Stills crushing Matt Suhey well after a play was over now exists as a bad memory, much the same as does watching William Perry run over George Cumby on Monday Night Football. Distant memories from a time when hatred can be the word used to describe how the teams felt about each other.

The current players acknowledge the rivalry exists, but choose to battle on the field in the 60 minutes on the clock. The most uttered phrase is we dont like them and they dont like us and this is a far cry from the public thrashing both sides would hurl at each other leading up to the game in years past. Instead, a quasi mutual respect has formed between the two teams, and the trash talk has been between the fan bases more than the players.

Recently there has been discussion whether the Packers and Bears rivalry has softened between the fans. While some think the rivalry is strong as ever, others think it is almost dead, replaced by a hatred of the Vikings, due in part to a certain quarterback who played for the Vikings.

This could not be further from the truth.

While out at a local watering hole with a Bears blogger, we started talking about the best games in the series. I said my favorite game ever was the Instant Replay game, because after losing to the Bears fro so many years, the Packers squeaked out a victory, and the proverbial monkey was off the Packers’ back.

Without missing a beat, the Bears fan responded with the most common response heard about this game, some 22 years after the fact.

“He was over the line.”

It is amazing that all these years later, Bears fans still have issue with this play. The seemingly never ending wait that anyone who was watching this game, waiting for the call from the replay booth to confirm what Packers fans already knew, was excruciating. Touchdown to Sharpe, Packers win. We all knew it, we just had to hear the official word.

Even the Bears Media Guide has had a asterisk placed next to this game until two years ago, as a symbol of protest of the call that supposedly cost them this game.

If that is not proof of a rivalry in full effect, I don’t know what is.

What I do know is it is time for Bears fans to move on from this game. You lost the game. Life moves on, time to move on with it. Stop talking about something that happened decades ago. It’s old and tired.

But isn’t living in the past what Bears fans do best?

Bonus: For your viewing pleasure, here is the infamous “Instant Replay” in it’s entirity.

There is not a lot to say about the Bears this week that is negative. After beating up Falcons 30-12 I, along with a number of others, were almost humbled by the performance that the team in orange and blue gave on Sunday. They played well, and although they were helped by an Atlanta team who looked like they would rather be doing something else, they walked away with a win, and more importantly, confidence heading into their game against New Orleans.

Could it be possible that there would be nothing to criticize the Bears about this week? Would I be silenced  for once in the never ending pursuit of laughter at the expense of the Packers most hated rival? It was very possible this week.

Leave it to a Bears fan to save the day.

After the game Sunday, I saw an email appear stating that there had been a comment added to a previous post in which Jay Cutler has a starring role. The comment, posted by someone going by the name DerekDaBearsDillard, was a little over the top complimentary toward a certain quarterback, and a tad under appreciative of another.

“Em-Bear-assessment”

Congrats to @BigSnakeMan for the winning name suggestion. Not sure what the winner gets-I’ll have to ask the prize dept and get back to you.

And now for this week’s reason to laugh at the Bears: the Chester Taylor incident.

When Chester Taylor signed with the Bears last year it was the right thing for the Bears to do. Their offense was definitely in need of some more fireworks, and Taylor was expected to be just that. He was not going to have to be “the guy” since they already had that guy in Matt Forte. He could be what Mike Martz loves: a running back who can catch the ball out of the backfield, while also being able to run the ball. Most importantly, Taylor could give Forte the occasional breather, so he is not worn down by 30, as has happened to so many running backs before.

Flash forward to yesterday. Reports surfaced that Taylor had been informed he was being released.

A little while later, Taylor was being asked why he was not at practice. Not that this would have anything to do with the calf injury suffered by Marion Barber, the player who claimed the backup running back job from Taylor, would it? Nah, of course not.

Now apparently, it is a misunderstanding. Taylor was told by Bears coach Lovie Smith that he will not be part of the Bears plans when the final roster cuts take place, but was still expected to be at practice until then.

Huh?

Taking into account the respect you might want to give a veteran player of the team’s intent to move on, my question has to be why would you not just keep this to yourself if you were Lovie Smith? The best indication as to the direction the team was heading was given he received zero touches in their last game against the Titans. The reason given by Smith: they wanted to get a look at some other players.

I guess the 12.5 million reasons they gave Taylor the previous March weren’t enough to warrant giving Taylor another look.

But the question remains why would you tell Taylor of this decision? Did nobody in the Bears front office think he was going to just keep this to himself? Did they think he would not inform his agent?

Not all of the blame goes to the Bears. Some of it has to fall on Taylor himself. Not being part of an NFL franchise and knowing all of the details of the structure of contracts, I imagine that if there is a player who is going to be released, there is a process which takes place. A coach telling a player that he is not part of the future may be part of the process, but in the case of Taylor, I would hope that Bears GM Jerry Angelo would have some part of that discussion with him, considering it was his decision to spend $12.5 million on a player who produced next to nothing in his time in Chicago. I would really hope so.

Of course, this is the same team who has been known to announce the hiring of a head coach before a contract agreement had been reached and messed up draft day trades so the Chester Taylor incident is par for the course.

Congrats to the Chicago Bears on yet another winning PR move.