Fan in Chicago

If he wins on Sunday the attacks he will face on this board will at least not be directed at his sexual orientation. Remember how posters on this board attacked Tom Brady ?

I am supporting Pittsburgh cos they repeatedly make playoffs and seem to have character players who play their hearts out always. My liking of the Steelers has nothing to do with them being an AFC team or if their fans are (Supposedly) obnoxious. Who cares ? I like the product they put on the field and their lack of controversy off the field.

I am having a Superbowl party with 12 adults and only 3 are really interested in the football aspect. Rest are there for the event, the commercials and my booze.

I think poeticlaw is attempting to put in perspective a sentiment that there should be a veteran brought in to challenge JP and KH. His point is well taken - there isn't anyone out there that can add value to our existing dynamic duo.

We all agree that the lines have to be bolstered. 2005 Chicago's strengths were the DL and linebacker (Urlacher). Chicago's problem was a weak secondary of which Vasher stood out for a while due to interceptions. We already have a couple of good linebackers in Fletcher and Spikes but need to make sure the DL is bolstered along with keeping the secondary intact or upgrade (as yo mentioned). I am of the opinion that NC should be kept and depth added for Vincent, Milloy. Upgrading the DL itself will do a lot for the overall performance of the D (NC included). I am not too worried about this hire as DJ is a defensive coach and can step in should Fewell screw-up.

After the rash of coaches from Pittsburgh, is it Chicago's turn ? Jauron and now Fewell ! Kidding ofcourse. I actually am looking forward to seeing how he performs having worked with good defensive coaches and from a team with a good defense. Given that there was not much to pick from, this hire is interesting.

Dude, Randy Cross got roasted by posters here (including you) for calling the Bills a mess. Does that make you a moron too ? http://www.stadiumwall.com/index.php?showtopic=40950

What does that have to do with anything ? My choices are not dependent on theirs. Having said that, I would hate the Cowboys even if their fans rooted for us.

Fair enough.

Precisely why they are my second favorite team (Green Bay a close third or depending on my state of inebriation). Add to that an ethical organization that plays hard year after year ....

Buford, dude, it sounds nice to hear but do you really think you will enjoy a life like that ? I will certainly not and will be bored out of my mind if there is nothing to occupy the gray cells. Good riddance to the likes of Bates who would rather get the easy money. We are better off with someone who likes to earn his keep.

No I am not new to this board. But what I am saying is beneath the doom and gloom, we all start off a new season with very high hopes and belief that we can make the playoffs. The mere vitriolic intensity of attacks that board posters direct at national media analysts that dare put down our team indirectly indicates how optimistic we are. So in a way, we are dysfunctional - we can bash the team decisions no end but how dare a national media person do the same ? He must be a moron !

Where did I refer to or compare with the Packers ? And I did not intend to clear up Cross' comments. My point is merely that, what exactly did he state incorrectly ? This board goes ballistic whenever a national expert blasts the team. As fans, we support the team and are perenially optimistic. But as analysts, their job is to call it as they see it. If we are objective enough, we can see that he has made no comments that are blatantly incorrect or offensive.

Is it just me that sees nothing wrong in what he said ? Admit it - we are a mess and it will take next season to say whether we are going to pull out of it. Mularkey was not handled properly and that is a fact. We will never know if some of the bone-headed ways MM handled certain players such as JP, EM etc. were his own ideas or forced down by TD. As to Jerry Gray, how do we know that Cross is wrong. One the one hand people here argue that we did not have the personnel to work with. And on the other hand, we say the coaches were all idiots. I for one, would have liked to see MM and JG perform one more year with a more talented roster on the OL and DL. Your last paragraph seems to make sense - we do not know. For Randy Cross to opine one way does not make him an idiot. The experts were calling for a disastrous season in 2005 and we lambasted them for being total morons. Guess time did tell who were the idiots in that story right ? The hiring of ML and subsequently Jauron+fairchild may be a master stroke of genius or utter idiocy. None of them has a track record to give us the warm fuzzies for 2006.

Hang on - do you really think ML is looking for other people's opinions be it ex-coaches or fans ? have to agree with KellyTFBD on this one, we are speculating wayyy too much based on nothing.

I agree with the first part. The rationalization we used when Pat Williams was leaving is similar to waht is being posted in this thread. I believe we should keep him mainly because of the key question - who will replace him ? And I cannot accept drafting a corner will be adequate 'cos we don't know what we are getting and that player will be a rookie makin rookie mistakes. As for the second, I refer to the logic above. Even if we draft better linemen, we will need to keep our secondary of the same quality. NC will perform better with better front end push from the DL.

Forget the logic, this is one of the best written piece on this board - excellent use of the English language.

I have asked this before - Is Frank Reich willing to coach? I remember him helping Jim Kelly out a lot so my feeling is that he can be a good QB coach.

Pardon my ignorance but what makes him better than KH in a veteran role ?

Your final statement does not follow from your logic. How will getting Cutler or any newbie help Ralph's win-now plan ? My personal opinion is that win-now plans patched together by short-term solutions are doomed for failure. A few years back, the Redskins loaded their roster with overpaid oldies and it did squat for them. Answer me this - which veteran QB is out there that can come and really help us more than Kelly Holcomb can ? Kitna ? Garcia ? Brunell ? I totally agree with Kelso's Helmet & a few others here - give JP a chance to compete. If he wins out the starting job, he will have made great strides towards his own development.

One thing we know - whatever his sources tell him will actually NOT transpire. So, we might as well get his take on the DC to strike that coordinator off our list.

Well considering ML did not really 'listen' to the clamouring for Mike Sherman, I doubt the decision for or against JP will be made by fans' choice. Maybe, just maybe, the open competition really happens. That would be the best way to go anyway 'cos then pretentious old-timers like Moulds will have nothing to complain about.

First of all, I am not sure why Donnie Henderson is thought so highly of. This is an honest question, so I will appreciate someone setting me straight. Secondly, with Haslett to Rams and Capers to Dolfins, how many DC positions are out there for Bates to choose from ?

That is a lot of conclusions about DJ's style. What makes you say all these things ? He was never instrumental in any solid QB direction at Chicago.

Those who haven't read international papers may be surprised that they follow a lot of WORLD sports as opposed to just their own country's sporting interests. When vacationing in India, I can see NBA and NFL games on live TV even though nobody plays American football there and neither is basketball a professional sport there. Also NASCAR is shown regularly. What does that say about how close minded we in the US are with respect to sports ?