The Chicago Bears: Time Is Fleeting

“Even when we are out of touch;
Now I know that I’ve seen too much…
Seen too much.”
--Elvis Costello from the song “Possession” from the LP Get Happy, 1980.

You know, there is an old expression that goes: “be careful what you wish for; it just may come true.’

Truer words were written by me two weeks ago when the Bears were tromped by the Vikings.

Reality time Bear fans: they played an anemic Jag team (use your favorite joke wherever you wish on that one) and a good Saints team that crept back in the game.

The Bears will have another ten days to heal their wounds and rest before facing the Packers who have pride to play for to the Bears errant success.

So for the Bears to make the playoffs the following must happen, according to Yahoo Sports: The VIKINGS MUST LOSE. The Bears then have to outright win both games they have on their schedule. Considering the Vikings play The Cardinals, The Giants and Atlanta; that could happen. The problem is the Giants game is the last one where everyone rests their players.

Aside from that four of the five MUST happen:
— Washington to lose one of its three remaining games.
— Philadelphia to lose one of its last three.
— Atlanta to drop two of three.
— Dallas to lose two of three.
— Tampa Bay to lose its final three games.
I would think Washington might lose, Philly might lose, and the other scenarios are not as likely.

So Bear fans, where does that leave us?

Well, memories are wondrous things. Remember how the Bears lost to The Panthers, Bucs, and Falcons in the last few moments? If The Bears could have finished the game, they would be atop of the Division and looking back.

Reality is that the coaching staff lost those games more than the players.

Lovie Smith, if Mr. Excitement is to be retained, needs to let Ron “No Adjustments” Turner and Bruce “Who Me? I Dunno What To Do” Babbich go.

The Defense has lost intensity since Rivera left (not saying the Chargers are beating anyone like a drum) and the Offense has no cleverness to it whatsoever.

Management also needs to take a slap on the wrist (with some shackles) for allowing a situation where the team has NO viable wide receivers. I mean none. Brandon Lloyd had a catch that Houndi would have been proud to make last week, but Marty Booker is inconsistent (and slow and old) and Rashid Davis could not catch a cold in a Kindergarten class. The Hester experiment may have dividends, but I want results now.

Forte is a great shot in the arm and a player to build an offense around. Orton has proven himself as a leader, game manager, and a pretty strong quarterback. Sign him now.

John St. Clair (and I am sympathetic because I met his older sister and her husband at the Super Bowl) is a good guy, but he is a reserve player. Drafting an injured Williams was just plain stupid. Tait is showing his age, Kruetz is becoming an annoyance, and Garza is OK.

Defense lineman is supposed to be their strength, but I just do not see it. Harris shows up for a play a game; Anderson has been inconsistent and has dropped off; Alex Brown and Adewale Ogunleye are playing great football and are the bright spots in a bizarre unit; Israel Idonije and Marcus Harrison are quickly becoming my favorite players, and Anthony Adams now has proven that Dusty is a liability.

I like Urlacher’s play that last two weeks, Briggs is a stud, I have a bias to put Hillenmeyer in over Roach, and the rest of the linebacking corps do not impress.

Tillman needs to be reawakened (here is a clue Peanut: strip the ball AFTER the opponent is stopped otherwise you will be burned) Graham might be too small; Manning has impressed me more than I ever thought he would, Payne is more hype than player, and Mike Brown is a stud.

Rather than playing their highest picks, perhaps the Bears need to play their best players. Dusty was horrid in the line and Adams seems to make a difference. Graham is playing better than I expected over injury-proned Nate Vasher. Hillenmeyer was perhaps smaller than Roach, but he was in on the tackles. The difference between Orton and Grossman is like the difference of having a hot dog or a warm puppy for dinner.

Maybe the problems begin with Jerry “Super Wile E. Genius” Angelo.

Or maybe the problem for me is that I believed the pre-season hype.

I wish them well on the next three weeks. As Asia put it, “only time will tell.”

Sheesh, this team has me so frustrated, I am quoting Asia lyrics. Someone put me out of my misery, now.