Lori

Yeah, that was worth a chuckle. Seemed to be quite a bit of 'dead air' on tonight's broadcast. (Then again, when Joey T. is the alternative, some would consider that a step in the right direction... )

Perusing Da Bearsss' media guide last week, I seem to remember reading that Soldier Field holds, or at least held, the all-time college FB single-game attendance record. Hang on a sec... okay, here it is: Can't imagine trying to watch a fight in a 100,000-seat arena, especially before replay screens were invented. Unless you were near the bottom of the stands or on the floor, you could wave your ticket stub and say "I was there", but that's about it... As for the late, unlamented Schaefer/Sullivan/Foxboro Stadium? If the Ralph is comparable to a large college venue (I can agree with that), then Foxhole was an overgrown high school field. U.B. has nicer digs. Good point, too, about the 'sunken' field making RWS's above-ground footprint smaller. I'm trying to think of any other NFL stadia where "street level" is the 200 sections instead of the field itself. Anyone?

The Jets probably wouldn't like that idea, since he's an assistant coach there...

The last one was a screen, and since Willis was behind the line of scrimmage, he was fair game. (Similar situation a couple of years ago: Takeo knocked Rudi Johnson down, then ran back an attempted Kitna screen-pass for a TD in Cincy.) I just watched that play again. Even in frame-by-frame, it's tough to see a defensive hold on Brown, and McGahee was moving away from him by the time the ball was in the air. Looks like JP, under heavy pressure from backup DT Antonio Garay, just blindly threw to where he expected Willis to be. Bad decision on his part. (But then, said decision is soooo much easier to make from the comfort of my recliner, TV remote in hand...)

It took somebody two HOURS to pick up on that consciously-contorted construction? Seriously, I expected better. (By the by, I also use "ain't" and "y'all" from time to time, just for yucks. Might want to keep your heart meds nearby.)

None taken. Not trying to make excuses for Losman, although that was by far the least ugliest of his INTs yesterday... My thought process leading up to that statement: From stuckincincy's post, I got the idea he thought Briggs was in position to make the pick because they'd already seen Losman's tendency to lock in on Evans. I'm not so sure about that; I tend to think Briggs simply made a play on a poorly-thrown ball by a QB under heavy pressure. Maybe I'll go check the Chicago postgame notes to see if Briggs had anything to say about the play.

Valid point, although being hit in the mouth by Tommie Harris just might have affected that first INT. I'll put up the drive-by-drive pass stats for discussion/interpretation. Attempt #1: 1st-10; McGahee, 3yds. (QB hit: TJohnson) 2: 3rd-5, Evans, 19. First down. 3: 1st-5, Evans, 4. 4: 2nd-1, Evans, incomplete. (Bears FG - 3-0) 5: 1st-10, Evans, 7. 6: 3rd-2, Reed, incomplete. (Bears FG, 6-0) 7: 2nd-9, Price, incomplete. (Dropped.) (Bears TD, 13-0) 8: 1st-10, Price, incomplete. 9: 2nd-10, Price, incomplete. 10: 3rd-10, Evans, 15. First down. 11: 2nd-9, Evans, incomplete. 12: 3rd-9, Evans, INT by Briggs. (QB hit: THarris) (Bears TD, 20-0) 13: 3rd-15, McGahee, -1. (Bears TD, 27-0) 14: 2nd-5, Evans, 12. First down. 15: 3rd-6, Parrish, INT by Manning. (Bears punt. Finally. Yay!) SECOND HALF: 16: 1st-10, McGahee, 12. First down. 17: 1st-10, Evans, 17. First down. 18: 1st-10, McGahee, INT by Brown. (Nothing uglier than an INT on a screen.) (Bears FG, 30-0) 19: 2nd-9, McGahee, 1. 20: 3rd-8, Evans, incomplete. (Bears punt) 21: 1st-10, Price, incomplete. 22: 3rd-8, Evans, incomplete. (QB hit: TJohnson) (Bears FG, 33-0) (McGee FL - Bears TD, 40-0) 23: 1st-10, Evans, 6. 24: 2nd-4, Price, incomplete. (Griese FL) 25: 1st-10, Price, 6. 26: 1st-10, Evans, 9. 27: 2nd-3, Reed, incomplete. (Roughing on Urlacher - first down.) 28: 1st-5, Evans, 5, touchdown. totals: Evans 9 catches in 14 passes (1 INT), Price 1-6, McGahee 4-5 (1 INT), Reed 0-2, Parrish 0-1 (1 INT). Question: Was JP locking in on Evans, or was Price failing to get open?

Yup. Never mind all the rookies/second-year guys still learning how to play NFL football. Five games into the season, time to blow it up and start over. Again. God, I love it here after a loss. Maybe I'll start taking Mondays off again.

Precisely. They've already turned on Culpepper, and he's not Culpepper. Give 'em time.

That the same Jeno James who started in a Super Bowl a couple of years back?

How about now?

Because the franchise tag was less expensive than trying to find another starting CB on the free-agent market. (Think eight-figure signing bonus.) Unless anyone here likes the idea of a McGee-Jabari Greer starting CB tandem? Didn't think so...

This ain't Houston, and Kevin Gilbride isn't on the opposing sideline. Unfortunately....

Nice catch by Davis for the TD. Think I'll go put down that SUper Bowl bet on Chicago now, before the odds get any shorter.

Okay, I'm normally a Bills homer, but... wow. Refs aren't averaging over five yards a carry, Jones and Benson are.

Now there's something I *will* criticize Fairchild for. (Willis sweep, very short gain.) Tough to run wide on a D this fast.

Fairchild? That's normally either the ST coach or HC calling that play.

Yes and no. Jones is doing a good job of being patient, picking holes, and cutting back. Lookin' like an All-Pro so far.

Let's see... the original question goes against everything we know about Spikes' personality. In response, the closest thing I saw to "attacking the poster" were a couple of mild drug references. Sorry if that bothers you. As such, I'll avoid mention of illicit substances when adding my "no" vote to the tally.

That IS big news. Still got Tommie Harris, though...

I've seen the same counterfeit, when a kid I work with asked me to take a look at one he'd bought. Major differences: the single-color "c", as you already pointed out. Polyester instead of nylon mesh. If you look at the jersey from the inside, the various layers on the numbers are stitched onto the jersey separately (instead of the numbers being assembled first, then attached to the jersey). And while they do appear to have Reebok hangtags, they don't stand up to close inspection -- no hologram, and numerous typos in the print on the back. (Of course, I don't imagine they had a pic of the back of the tag in that auction, did they?) Should've asked him if I could keep that tag. Don't imagine he still has it... Like you, the kid who bought this one was disappointed it was fake, but was ultimately OK with paying $50 for what does look like an authentic. (And considering that the throwback replica I special-ordered last Christmas -- and paid about twice the $$ for -- is back in the shop having the numbers re-screened after one wearing/washing, I might be inclined to agree next time.) If I had to guess sight-unseen, I'd say Eastbay has the real thing. Probably just can't move them; based on what I've seen at games, the road authentics seem a lot less popular than the blues.

Yeah, it was Denney. (Still got this one on the DVR...)

All hail the power of the almighty dollar. Thanks to network television, with very few exceptions (Thanksgiving + late-season Saturday games), the early games WILL begin at 1:00 Eastern... no matter what time that makes the kickoff where the games are actually being played. That took some getting used to in San Antonio last season, since that was the first road game I'd ever been to outside our time zone...

4pm Thursdays.

Well, Culpepper is playing a lot like Bledsoe was at the beginning of that season, so I will give him that... Daunte Culpepper Stat Tracker, post-Moss version (11 games): 220-350, 2493 yards, 8 TDs, 15 INTs, 52 sacks, 319 yards, 73.9 QB rating. Eight fumbles, too. Averaging five sacks per game, something not even Rob Johnson could do. Don't forget the 3-8 record, with the only wins over Packers and Saints teams that combined to go 7-25 last year, plus the 0-4 Titans this season. Hasn't won a road game since the end of 2004. Yeah, he'll turn it around any week now. Nice column, Ethan.