By Steven Suarez

Jay Cutler and the Bears opened the new NFL picks season with an emphatic win over the Atlanta Falcons. They’ll look to keep the good times rolling over the next few weeks even though some powerhouses stand in their way.

Chicago fans could not have asked for much more from their team in Week 1 of the 2011/12 NFL season.

The Bears jumped on the Falcons from the get-go, racing to a 16-3 halftime lead and finishing up strong in a 30-12 beatdown of a team that went 13-3 last season.

QB Jay Cutler threw for 312 yards and two TDs, but the day belonged to running back Matt Forte, who accumulated 158 total yards on offense. That included a 56-yard reception that he took to the house.

Reliable kicker Robbie Gould was money on all three of his field goals and the Bears also were able to keep a potent Atlanta offense at bay. Brian Urlacher returned a fumble for another Chicago touchdown in the victory.

One week down, 15 to go

In a division that features the defending Super Bowl champs (Green Bay Packers) and an up-and-coming team (Detroit Lions), the Bears needed a good start to their season and did well to manage a Week 1 W, over a very strong team no less.

Up this weekend though will be a daunting trip to the Big Easy to take on the explosive New Orleans Saints.

For their Week 2 road game, Chicago is the clear underdog in the eyes of the top sportsbooks , listed as high as 8-point pups.

The Saints showed in their Week 1 loss to the Packers that they will be able to hang with anyone offensively, with QB Drew Brees making some phenomenal plays down the stretch to keep his team in it.

Getting out of New Orleans with another win would be a huge coup for the Bears, but perhaps it’s not as far-fetched as people may think. Lovie Smith’s crew did tie for second in the NFL last season with an admirable 6-2 road record.

Storied rivals take to the gridiron in the Windy City

After the Saints comes another enormous obstacle for the Bears as they must try to contain Aaron Rodgers and the Packers at home in Week 3 in what will be a rematch of the 2010 NFC Championship Game.

Defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli will surely try to come up with a viable game-plan to slow Green Bay down, but Rodgers has quickly become one of the NFL’s elite players and has plenty of weapons at his disposal on offense, so we wish Marinelli the best of luck with that venture.

Playing such a key divisional game at Soldier Field will be a significant advantage for the Bears, knowing that they won this corresponding matchup last season in a close 20-17 outcome, thanks in large part to a mistake-filled performance from the reigning champions.

The Bears then get a slight reprieve in Week 4 when they will host the Carolina Panthers as the favorites in the football odds. The Panthers have handed the reigns to Cam Newton and he came through with a record-breaking outing in his professional debut against the Arizona Cardinals.

Two easier matchups on the horizon in Week 4 and 5

Still, in terms of NFL picks this is a game that the Bears really should win. Look for their stingy defense to pressure Newton into making mistakes from the beginning and from there Jay Cutler should take care of business versus a susceptible Panthers defensive unit.

In Week 5 another tricky divisional game is on the schedule, this time a road game against the Detroit Lions.

Detroit could very well be a contender in the NFC North this season as evident by an impressive 27-20 road win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1. So long as Matthew Stafford stays healthy, the Lions will score plenty of points.

If last season is anything to go by then the Bears may be the NFL pick here, given they won both games over the Lions in 2010. However, the two meetings were decided by a combined total of only nine points and Detroit seems to be much-improved now.

As evident, the next couple of weeks (@ NO, vs. GB) are going to be a huge test for the Bears – they’ll be fortunate to win even one of those games – but they then have four winnable games (vs. CAR, @ DET, vs. MIN, @ TB) before their BYE in Week 8.

There’s no doubt it was an ideal start for Lovie Smith’s gang in Week 1, but we’ll see what this team is really made of over the next month.

Paul M. Banks is Founder/President of The Sports Bank.net,

Between now and NFL draft day, no potential top ten pick will be as scrutinized as Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen. And all of his so-called character issues, are truly just fabrications when you break them down. Last season, he completed 68 percent of his 425 total passes, threw 28 TDs with just four INTs. However, scouts and NFL “cognoscenti” alike are saying he’s immature and void of leadership skills. So where does the truth lie?

Let’s start by looking at his past, and how we got here.

Outside of Ryan Leaf (who many are currently and unfairly comparing Clausen to), one of the biggest quarterback busts of all time was Todd Marinovich, whose father prepared his son to be the perfect NFL quarterback every day since he was an embryo. Read the old Sports Illustrated story on Marinovich, all the details are present.

Later in life, Todd got away from his insanely domineering father, starting smoking the good weed, partying like a frat boy, and letting USC fix his tests and classes much more than they do for the average Trojan football player. He lost his work ethic when he hit the NFL, and was quickly out of football with absolutely nothing to show for it.

I’m not saying Clausen’s upbringing was that extreme, but during his boughy formative years in California, he spent a ton of time studying film and working on his mechanics, maybe at the expense of experiencing what all the “normal kids” were doing.

Kind of like a real world version of J.D. McCoy from “Friday Night Lights.” (Again-don’t take this comparison 100% literally, I doubt Clausen’s Dad forced him to chase away the trim that he was attracting or hit him after he won a high school playoff game, but you never know…by the way, McCoy has a pretty active Twitter page; for a guy who doesn’t actually exist).

However, I do know #7 was considered a quarterback version of Mozart when he was being recruited- a child prodigy whose skills for the craft transcended any that ever came before him. And the rivals.com sort pretty much showed everyone their O-faces in the days leading up his national letter of intent signing.

But if you’re spending all that time studying and refining your natural gifts, maybe your social skills will suffer? Look at how McCoy couldn’t handle his liquor at a party! Recall how Marinovich couldn’t grasp the ideas of moderation and self-control? But only those who know Clausen on a personal level can say for sure. And even if he is a little rough around the social edges, why should it affect his draft stock?

The Rap Sheet

His first year on campus, Clausen was cited for transporting alcohol as a minor. In August 2008, pictures appeared on the web conveying his participation in an underage drinking game. Then came the figurative and literal black eye last December. Clausen was sucker-punched outside a South Bend bar following another Notre Dame loss. We’re still not sure who started it, but it sounds like the event was very much like a famous scene in the legendary college football film “The Program.” Again, the film’s QB character, Joe Kane, is another person I’ve heard Clausen compared to.

On one hand, if you saw the beer olympics pictures- wouldn’t you just LOVE to punch him in the face if you saw that in real time?

On the other hand, let me borrow Team USA Hockey’s party line when Patrick Kane got in trouble for drunkenly beating up a cabbie this past summer: “when we were all 19, or 20 years old we all did stupid stuff.”

I did. I even got sucker-punched in the head my sophomore year at the University of Illinois. I sort of had it coming, I was running my mouth, but the d-bag who hit me had NOTHING to do with the situation, so it was totally uncalled for. And I didn’t even realize I was bleeding until I got back to the dorms and my friends told me how my hair resembled Ginger Spice (hey, it was 1998 and my hair was dyed blonde, so the dried blood gave me red-head streaks and…never mind, you know what? If I was at that party this weekend somehow, I would punch the 20-year-old version of myself in the head). Point is, yes, Clausen comes off like an arrogant douche a lot, but so did all of us at that age.

Leading us here. Michael Silver of Yahoo wrote in his article, “Clausen fighting off negative perception”:

“Todd McShay, a draft analyst for the ESPN network, was highly critical of Clausen’s leadership skills, claiming the polished passer was not considered a good teammate by other Irish players.”

Once again, Todd McShay’s observations are about as accurate as Rick Mirer’s completion percentage. Being eviscerated by McShay might be a compliment, since he knows nothing.  All of Clausen’s teammates, especially Golden Tate, vehemently stick up for him.

The guy who first broke the Clausen barfight story, WGN 720′s David Kaplan, is a McShay level tool himself. So the people putting him down in the MSM live in glass houses themselves. The way Clausen garners headlines, by draft day he may be portrayed as some kind of Frankenstein QB, the horrors of which the world has never seen.

Think the delusion of grandeur, over-ratedness, and petulance of Jay Cutler with the whining ability and insecure narcissism of Jeff George meets the self-destructive tendencies and general malfeasance of Marinovich. A lot of people want to paint the picture of the ND signal caller as this type of tragically-wasting-one’s-physical-gifts-because-he’s-a-severe-head-case story.

And they’re just plain wrong! Just because the kid looks like an emu doesn’t mean it should affect his draft stock.

Redemption

Clausen is working out with Cleveland and Buffalo, two teams that desperately need a quarterback (although the Browns now have Del Homme, so I don’t think they’ll go QB). Throw in Oakland at #8, and there’s three teams in the top ten looking for a field general. Sam Bradford is a mortal lock to go #1 to St. Louis, and Clausen is the next best prospect available.

In fact (despite what the critics say) Clausen could be the most NFL ready QB in this draft. However, it’s a double-edged sword:  the most NFL ready prospect now, but many believe he has no more long-term potential.

I call this the “Rashard Mendenhall rule” (when scouts and other football cognoscenti over-analyze prospects to the point of contradiction…with Mendenhall it was “he’s had so few carries, his best football is ahead of him” and/or “he only started for one season, he’s unproven”…well which one is it?

This spring, Clausen’s stock is enduring the same thing.

I greatly enjoyed the piece “Jimmy Clausen is an Alien Wizard” on Walter Football.com

It actually mentions Mendenhall specifically, although in reference to a different Clausen issue.

“By the way, does anyone remember that Rashard Mendenhall was mugged in Chicago within a month of being drafted by the Steelers? Does that make him a character concern? I mean, he could have instigated his own mugging. You don’t know. There’s about as much evidence for it as Clausen instigating getting punched in the face by a presumably drunken and disgruntled fan.”

I couldn’t agree more. The piece also mentions the best case debunking the bad teammate myth.

“Golden Tate, Michael Floyd and Kyle Rudolph all spent the summer before the 2009 season at Clausen’s Cali home, working on routes and getting to know each other better for the fall. It wasn’t mandatory, and any of the three could have gotten out of it by just saying they didn’t want to spend a lot of time so long away from home. They didn’t. Nobody spends a summer working and hanging out with a guy they think is an arrogant prick. Not a single player has said that Clausen was difficult to work or play with; not even on an anonymous basis.”

Finally, the best testimony I can give to Clausen’s character is a simple life lesson that I learned the hard way. When my crazy ex and I were parting ways and packing up my stuff she said to me: “I really enjoy listening to your opinions on things, I’m going to miss hearing everything you have to say about issues and stuff.” Of course, this was sandwiched in between countless insults and personal attacks, but my point is this:

If the person who hates you the most in this world, at the moment that their hate for you reaches it’s boiling point, somehow and for some reason compliments you, that my friends is the MOST genuine and TRUE compliment you can ever receive.

I hate Notre Dame with a passion, and I have no fondness at all  for Clausen. (Although you probably figured that out by my picture selection) However, I think his critics are way off the mark. I think he’ll be a very safe draft pick, and there should be no questions about his character at all.

To see where I think Clausen will go, read my NFL Mock Draft here

Paul M. Banks is Founder/President of The Sports Bank.net, an Upper Midwest sports webzine. He’s also a member of the Football Writers Association of America, the United States Basketball Writers Association and a sports writer for the Washington Times.com Communities and Walter Football.com

Paul M. Banks, Founder/President of The Sports Bank.net, has an exclusive with NFL Network analyst/former San Francisco 49ers Coach Steve Mariucci in the Michigan St. locker room.

Iron Mountain, Michigan is a unique place. Rarely, does a small town like this produce two individuals who achieve such a high level of success in the such similar fields. And it’s even rarer that the two individuals maintain a close friendship for many decades. However, NFL Network’s Steve Mariucci and Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo, are certainly two unique, outstanding individuals. And during the 2010 NCAA Tournament, “Mooch” came to see his best friend when his star is shining brightest.

I caught up to Mariucci in the Spartans’ locker room following State’s win over Northern Iowa Friday night. I asked him about the message this game sent to everyone who doubted State’s chances without Kalin Lucas.

“It’s not easy. Kalin’s a really great player, and they’ve had some other injuries, Chris Allen had to suck it up,” Mariucci said. “But they’re gritty, they’re a tough team, and Tom likes to schedule tough games early in the season, to get them battle tested for this reason, and it usually pays dividends because they seem to peak at tournament time,” he continued.

He’s exactly right. Izzo has certainly become “Tournament Tom” over the course of his career, with 13 straight NCAA tournaments, nine Sweet Sixteens, seven Elite Eights, a 5-1 record in regional finals, 25-3 versus lower seeds, five Final Fours (including one for each player that he coached at Michigan St. for all four years) and a national title in 2000.

“It’s just fun to watch. Every year in my mind, I say maybe this is Tom’s best coaching job. And this coaching job is right up there because it’s been a tough year on a lot of different fronts, to try to hold it together and win enough games to win that Big Ten again- a very difficult conference,” Mariucci.

I asked “Mooch” how he’s able to keep up (text, Facebook, Twitter, etc) with Izzo given how busy both of them are. He gave me this answer, and also a light, friendly punch on the arm.

“I’m not as busy as he is. We just stay in touch, you stay in touch with your best friend, don’t you? You just do.”

The exchange made me realize how stupid my question was, even though it seemed to make perfect sense at the time. But I have no regrets.

Since being fired by the Detroit Lions in 2005, Mariucci, who now resides in Monte Sereno, California, has been rumored as a leading candidate for a series of college and NFL head coaching jobs; USC the most recent destination.

At the Saturday press conference, I asked Izzo what Steve said to him as he victoriously came off the court and about having his good buddy around for March madness.

Izzo’s response:

“Well, he’s just so excited to be here. I think when you’re in pro ball for so long and you get the college atmosphere, he loves all the NCAA tournament games, and he flew in all day from Iron Mountain. He was up visiting his dad and on his way back. And he was just proud of all of us. I think he loves the atmosphere. You know, it’s kind of different than the NFL in a lot of ways and pro ball in general, I guess.

So he loves being around the locker room. He loves being in the film room. Last night he watched film with us until wee hours of the morning. He kept telling me to run the fly pattern. I don’t know what the hell he was talking about. But other than that he’s pretty good.”

Paul M. Banks is Founder/President of The Sports Bank.net, an Upper Midwest sports webzine. He’s also a member of the Football Writers Association of America, the United States Basketball Writers Association and a sports writer for the Washington Times.com Communities and Walter Football.com

Apparently some people were upset that we didn’t cover the Super Bowl that much around here. To honor the squeaky annoying wheels out there who insist on emailing me about their perceived deficiencies on NQTC, here is the best coverage I could find. This is a video sent to me from my pops. Apparently, NFL players can mostly be caught off-guard by strange CNBC reporters asking questions about the economy.

And just for the record, NFL players are not as dumb as they seem.  Bernanke most definitely IS a crook out to take everything you own.

From the desk of His Jesusness Shuttlesworth:

Dear Commissioner Goodell,

Something needs to be done about OT! I warn you that I often start emotionally, so bare with me- I promise a return to prudence by my letter’s middle. While I do not seek to generalize, it behooves me to emphasize that I am not alone in my criticism of your league’s extra-time format. I’d like to begin by addressing what prompted a group of devout NFL fans to explode in outrage following the NFC championship game on the eve of January 24th. (Out of necessity and a respect for your precious time, I am omitting our consensus hatred for the NFL’s pass interference penalty. That certainly contributed to the outrage, but in our late-game-exacerbated intoxication, we made the wise decision to focus on just one issue)

It all starts with the OT coin flip. Now it wasn’t the actual coin flip we had a particular “beef” with, it was the implications of that coin flip. The question on all our minds quickly reformed as it had many times in the past- How can we let a coin flip determine the outcome of an NFL game? Especially one of this magnitude!? How can one team win a game without their opponent getting ample opportunity to either contest or respond? At first, we all agreed it would be better to adopt the college system. But then after some seriously drunken, yet undoubtedly scholarly discourse (the kind only passionate Bears fans, and maybe some Eagles fans, can engage in) we realized this was impractical. It extends the game too much and could be fiscally detrimental to the broadcasting networks, physically detrimental to the players, and in my opinion, most so marginalizing special teams (both teams starting at the opposing 25 yard line). So what is the solution? What’s the compromise that will satisfy both the NFL’s investment in profit along with its undying commitment to the fans and players?

That’s where Brian comes in. First to 6 points he says. Hmmm… Interesting… But what exactly does this mean Brian? It’s simple. The first team to score 6 points wins. If a team is able to drive down the field and score a touchdown, the game is over. If a team settles for a field goal, their opponent gets a chance to respond. Essentially, any 1 touchdown or 2 field goals wins a team the game. Brilliant I thought! Well, not at first. My fellow drunks and I were immediately inclined to argue and find this system’s flaws. To all of our dismay, Brian’s suggestion was in fact the perfect compromise. The game has the potential of being just as short as it would be with the current format and just long enough to give both teams their fair share at a win.

This is where we all agreed… a defense that gives up a touchdown is more deserving of a loss than one that gives up only a field goal. In the First-to-6 system, if a team must settle for a first possession field goal, the opposing offense is then given a chance to either match that field goal or go for the win. “Well that’s just like college!” we all shouted at Brian. But no, in fact it is nothing like college. Here’s why: There is incentive for that 2nd team to go for the touchdown even though their opponent just got a field goal, because if they relinquish possession tied at 3 points a piece, their opponent is a field goal away from victory and they will not get a second chance to match. Thus, the system abbreviates the game enough to clearly differentiate it from college, it preserves the networks’ commitment to profit, and it does not exclude special teams!

Most so, it is fair. Much more fair than the current system. And fairness should always be a central tenant to NFL policymaking, Mr. Goodell. That’s why you have integrated instant replay in such depth. So let’s get it right! At the very least, if you cannot do that, I implore you to poll the players on their opinions of Brian’s First-to-6 system. I hate Brett Favre just as much as the next guy, but the Vikings D deserved more of a chance to send him back on the field. No fan out there can claim that Hartley’s field goal determined that the Saints are a better team than the Vikings. The buck stops here, Mr. Goodell. The petition to enforce the First-to-6 system starts now!

This season has been brutal on Bears fans, and the 41-21 drubbing the Bears got at the hands of the Cardinals in Week 9 was no small part of that.  Not only did Cutler throw 5 interceptions that week, but he looked all-around awful.  The news for Cutler got worse a few days after the game, as he was fined $20,000 for “verbal abuse” towards a game official.  Initially that seems okay considering we don’t know exactly what was said.  A 20k does seem a bit high for what was likely a “you have no idea what you’re doing out here” type of comment from Cutler, but still acceptable.  Acceptable until you hear this:

Meanwhile, Bears defensive tackle Tommie Harris was fined $7,500 for unnecessarily striking an opponent. He was ejected just 65 seconds into the game for slugging Cardinals offensive tackle Deuce Lutui.

So Tommie Harris punched a guy in the face, on camera, with most of the country watching, and got slapped with a $7,500 fine.  Cutler on the other hand, was fined $20,000 for “verbal abuse”?  Anything short of “I know where you live and I’m going to kill you and your whole family” does not deserve a larger fine than the one for punching someone in the face on purpose.  Right?  Am I taking crazy pills?  Does anyone else think this is odd?

Apparently the NFL would rather encourage people to utilize a more violent approach to conflict resolution, and are willing to make incentives to promote that behavior.  Hmmm, after reading that last sentence I just realized how naive I am.  It’s the NFL, of course they would rather encourage people to act like steroid-filled animals than try to talk things out like human beings.  My bad.  Next time Cutler should just jack the line judge in the face.  It would save him about $12,500 by my calculations.

Dan Marino was doing some halftime highlights of the Dolphins-Buccaneers game today when all of a sudden he dropped the S-bomb on everyone.  If you listen closely you can hear the other analysts in the background snickering.  Enjoy!

Hey, just because we don’t get to watch the Bears lose this Sunday, doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy us some football right?  Or some on-air slip-ups by studio guys for that matter.

Evidently T.J.'s new contract wasn't big enough to allow him to buy a non-Bengal color coded tie and shirt.

I never really had a problem with T.J. Houshmandzadeh. Like anyone else with a four-syllable last name or of Eastern European descent, once you learn how to spell their name and account for the silent consonants, most of your annoyance with the person disappears. Since first hearing his name uttered in the 2001 Fiesta Bowl where Oregon State trounced the Golden Domers 41-9, behind Thoush’s 6 receptions for 74 yards and a touchdown, he’s been on my radar. Despite playing second fiddle to Chad Johnson at both Oregon State and in Cincinnati, I always thought of Thoush as a really good receiver who never clamored for the spotlight while amassing extremely respectable stats. But recently that opinion has changed.

First, it was the complaining about his Madden rating of a 91. Back in the day, receivers like Lynn Swann and John Stallworth took their 91′s on Madden in stride, shut their mouths, and let their play do the talking. Instead, Thoush appears to be looking for things to get angry about. Maybe it’s his way of trying to draw attention to himself since despite having a great fan base, no one else in the country cares about the Seattle Seahawks.

Really, T.J.? You need to draw attention to yourself that bad to make up for missing out on getting on “Hard Knocks”? I know you’re jealous of the Palmer boys getting tons of press for their iPhone apps or Chad OchoCinco endearing himself to millions with his “Child Please” catchphrase, but really?  You have to feign anger over a video game rating? Really? I mean, come on.

Now you take it a step further and pull that inexplicable “I’m going to have a chip on my shoulder against 31 NFL teams” crap? Really? Oh, or are you going to limit it to teams that you deem were in “need” of a WR this offseason and failed to fill it by signing you? Really? Or why don’t you take it a step further and limit your chip-laden shoulder to complaining only about those teams where one starting CB has been benched, the other starting CB is recovering from back surgery, and the MLB who would normally drop back into coverage has a dislocated wrist, knocking him out for the season. Really? You don’t think we see through this?

Well, even though it’s painfully transparent this week, maybe you can try it out on the Colts in Week 4 (depleted WR corps, Bob Sanders perpetually injured). Until then, keep up the good work Thoush. I wish you all the best in Sunday’s game. Let us know how that whole Seneca Wallace thing helps you in executing your vendetta against the Bears.

This is the closest Crabtree will get to the NFL this year.

Two of the most persistent stories circling around this young NFL season are: 1) Michael Crabtree and his agent’s continued bungling of his career before it has even started; and 2) Rex Ryan’s man-crush on opposing teams’ wide receivers.

Within the last week, these two stories converged when the San Francisco 49ers filed charges with the NFL offices accusing the New York Jets of tampering with their unsigned first round draft pick, Crabtree.  While Rex Ryan vehemently denies ever talking to Crabtree, his argument rings a little hollow after he’s already been accused of contacting Brandon Marshall during his own contractual hissy fit with the Broncos during the pre-season. Now the NFL’s version of Kelvin Sampson was able to laugh off the Marshall allegations due to Josh McDaniels and the rest of Denver’s organization having no clue how to run an NFL team. (Good luck Broncs fans with that Orton to Stokely connection; it won’t get you very far.)

Michael, go deep! And by deep, I mean, deep in the first round next year when I promise to draft you and pay you outside the slotting scale.

Unfortunately, Ryan and the Jets made a big mistake when they tampered with the 49ers.

Why?

Two Reasons:

1) You don’t tamper with Samurai Mike. (Little known fact: this was the first draft of lyrics for the Super Bowl Shuffle…. “My friends all say don’t tamper with Samurai Mike if you ain’t looking for a fight. But I’m not here to start no trouble I’m just here to do the Super Bowl Shuffle.”)

2) The  49ers were guilty of tampering just last year! You had to bet they’d be paying extra attention this year to prove they’re not the only organization that did it.

If you remember, the 49ers were charged and found guilty of contacting Lance Briggs’ agent, Drew Rosenhaus, and interfering with a player under contract during the season. As a result of this indiscretion, the 49ers lost their fifth round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft and had to swap their third round pick with the Bears, dropping from the 7th pick in the round to the 12th. That got me to thinking: how did such a stupid move cost the Niners or benefit the Bears?

First, I looked to the fifth round pick that the 49ers lost. Oddly enough, the Bears were the next team to draft after the forfeited pick. The Bears picked up Zack Bowman (CB-Nebraska) with the 142nd pick of the Draft. You may have heard of him after his decent rookie year, a stellar training camp and the recent news that he was replacing the Interceptor, Nathan Vasher, in the Bears’ starting lineup.

Cutler threw to Bennett during Earl's pro day at Vandy!

Next, I looked to the 3rd round picks that changed hands in last year’s dispute. The Bears were able to nab Earl Bennett (WR-Vanderbilt) with their move up to the 70th pick in the Draft. What we didn’t realize at the time was that this was only the first domino to fall in Jerry Angelo’s master plan to get the Messiah of the Midway, Jay Cutler, onto the Bears’ roster. Enjoy Mark Sanchez while you can Jets fans because you’ll be witnessing him force a trade to San Fran next year to throw TD’s to the USC wideout that Singletary drafts (say Damian Williams?).

While I had no problem with the Bears selection of the extremely productive Bennett when he came out of college, looking at the Bears’ top 3 WR’s after the first two weeks, I see Devin Hester (listed generously at 5-11), Johnny Knox (6-0) and Bennett (6-0). Scrolling down past the Bears’ second pick of the 3rd Round, Marcus Harrison (DT – Arkansas, 90th pick, unimpressive), the New York Giants were able to nab Mario Manningham with the 95th pick (5-11, surprised me as everyone is promoting him as the next Plaxico Burress (6′tall) after his 13 catches for 208 yards and 2 TD performance during the first two weeks). How nice would that quartet look on the field?  If there are lessons to be learned from this, they are a) never talk to Drew Rosenhaus if you don’t have to, it will only get you in trouble; and b) don’t trust a Ryan, inevitably they will do something stupid, like get into a power struggle with your head coach named Mike Ditka, and cost you a chance at repeating as Super Bowl Champs.

The betting lines on the 2009 Bears look pretty good.  Not necessarily good in terms of NFL betting, but good in terms of the Bears prospects for the upcoming season.  Here are some of the lines that a sportsbook had on them as of June 11:

Odds to win Super Bowl XLIV

Chicago Bears 30/1

Odds to win the NFC 2009-2010

Chicago Bears 9/1

Odds to win the NFC North

Chicago Bears 1.7/1

With Cutler on board, it appears Vegas has little faith in the rest of the teams in the North.  Although the secondary has a lot of question marks on defense, and lord knows we have legitimate top receivers, the Packers may be a bit too young and the Vikings chances are all over the board, depending on what Favre is saying that day.  I’d say the best NFL betting line right there is for the Bears to win a relatively wide open NFC at 9/1.  Ok everyone, now you get to rip apart my poor gambling knowledge.

Rex Grossman did not stay unemployed long.  After much speculation that he was trying out for USFL teams and that no NFL teams were showing any interest, it appears he has signed a 1-year deal with the Houston Texans.  They signed him to the minimum amount for a 7-year veteran, which is $620,000 on the year. Apparently he will be battling with Dan Orlovsky for the backup job behind Matt Schaub.

I’m sure StevieY wishes he was here to write a true ode to the Sex Cannon, who was one of his favorites and just a fun quarterback to watch (painful at times, I know, but fun).  Unfortunately the Texans don’t play the Bears this year, so we have no real shot of watching him hold a clipboard for them in person.  We are all hoping and praying for a Matt Schaub injury (and possibly one to Orlovsky as well) so that Sexy Rexy can unleash the dragon.

After it seemed like the Bears would never make a draft choice, trading out of their only first day pick, Jerry Angelo did a solid job of filling needs with talented players.

Starting with defensive tackle Jarron Gilbert Angelo addressed the defensive line, which he called the “cornerstone of the franchise.”  Gilbert weighs in at 288 pounds and at 6’5″ still manages to move remarkably well.  For example:

After filling a need on the d-line, the Bears grabbed Juaquin Iglesias to fill a need at wide receiver.  Iglesias is a guy that many analysts believed the Bears would target with their second round pick, so for Chicago to grab him late in the fourth round is a big win.  Iglesias doesn’t have the size or the speed to be a top receiver, but should be a solid possession guy with his good hands and route running.

Then it was back to the defensive line a few picks later, taking Henry Melton who used to be a fullback at Texas before moving to defensive end.  He shows the athletic ability to be a great pass rusher, but is obviously still learning the position.  Melton and Gilbert should be great projects for assistant Rod Marinelli, a noted defensive line guru.

The Bears then got a steal with corner D.J. Moore out of Vanderbilt in the mid-fourth round.  From there the Bears took a couple of wide receivers later in the draft, one burner and one possession guy; an outside linebacker in Marcus Freeman of Ohio State; a safety from Oregon State; and an offensive guard.

For what it’s worth, the Bears generally got draft grades from the major sports outlets in the B-range.  I’d say that considering the picks they had, the Bears did at least that well and probably deserve an A when you include Cutler in the discussion. As opposed to a team like the Lions, who drafted what they considered the best player regardless of need, the Bears addressed their major needs with guys who can contribute at almost every spot they needed.

I’d probably say B+

Ok this post is not directed towards myself, since I obviously already love the guy.  He has a cannon for an arm and is pretty accurate with the football.  The problem some people have is that they think he goes out and parties too much and has a bad attitude.  In regards to the first part, he’s just a 25 year old kid who is living life, it’s not like he’s blacking out every night or letting it affect his game in any way.  In regards to the second part, we only have evidence of this “attitude” from the Broncos organization, who was running a smear campaign against Cutler for a while.  Tom Waddle attempts to debunk these misconceptions about Cutler:

Jay Cutler isn’t the petulant child the Broncos want you to think he is. My source says while he might like to go out and have fun every now and again — like all single 25-year-olds — he was the first one in the building every morning, studying film of the upcoming opponent. His teammates loved him and Brandon Marshall was made by Cutler, not the other way around. New Broncos coach Josh McDaniels is now suffering from debilitating migraines. I wonder why.

Let’s give Jay a chance.  Everyone is just assuming he is a whiny baby with a bad attitude, but I beg to differ.  He was in an impossible situation where all Denver fans wanted was the next John Elway.  He wasn’t the next Elway though, he’s Jay Cutler.  No matter what he did the fans ripped him apart and wanted him out.  So the Broncos obliged them, smearing Cutler to the point that he “had to be traded”.  He seems like a decent guy and a good leader, and almost all of the people that played with him give glowing reviews of his leadership and skills.  Don’t help push him out of Chicago like he was pushed out of Denver.

Here is a picture of Jerry Angelo’s draft board, courtesy of WCG:

Had Jerry hit the board, the Bears could have ended up with Mohamed Massoquoi or any number of other talented players who were still waiting by the phone.  Unfortunately he missed the board entirely with his magical draft dart, trading the Bears second round pick and putting them in a position to draft a gaggle of shittier players on Day 2.  I’m not saying this will turn out badly, but for now I’m not too happy with it.

The following is my favorite thing to watch around this time of year.  If for no other reason, I love it because it reminds me that the Lions aren’t the only team to continually botch their draft choices.  And since Detroit will likely be doing more of the same by taking future bust Matthew Stafford at #1, I need to watch this a lot.