What we Learned

I have the answer, it's 2 parts:

1) he's older and not near as explosive as he was 2-3 years ago.
2) The guys in front of him blocking aren't even a shadow of the guys that were there 2-3 years ago.

stir vigorously and you have a guy that is no longer a factor in the return game.

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Originally Posted by hoth

Somehow over the course of this season our return game went from the most feared in football to possibly, the worst in the league.
I doubt anyone has an answer as to what happened to Hester this season but he was painful to watch both today & throughout the year.
I don't want him gone --- I just hope that if he's still here next year, it's strictly as a returner. This WR experiment has been a complete failure & I think he's lost confidence in himself to the point where his natural ability has been affected by over-thinking everything.

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I think you're right. Putting him as WR has not done anything but ruin his confidence.

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Originally Posted by inchibearfan

Well the Packers aren't going to beat the Vikings. It really comes down to the offensive line. When you max protect you take away options to throw to and when you have short yardage/goal line situations you have no push.

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The Packers will win. I have zero doubt about it. They get better as the game goes on. That's the kind of effect that a good coach has. McCarthy makes adjustments that have always seem to have a positive impact. It's strange because the Bears get worse as the game goes on. It's coaching.

I learned that Dez Clark could come out of retirement and catch more passes than the entire TE corps.

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Originally Posted by Riczaj01

I have the answer, it's 2 parts:

1) he's older and not near as explosive as he was 2-3 years ago.
2) The guys in front of him blocking aren't even a shadow of the guys that were there 2-3 years ago.

stir vigorously and you have a guy that is no longer a factor in the return game.

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I think it's more of the 2nd point --- I know everyone ages differently but there have been plenty of return-guys over the years like Brian Mitchell & Mel Gray who were still great in their later years.

I agree hoth, but it's harder now to keep those holes open for any length of time b/c of the rule changes. The guys aren't as good, but w/Hester not what he was it's just a bad combo.

btw, did anyone else see how when it's not Brady/Manning/Brees or another "elite" qb the tuck is a bad rule according ot the announcers and should be "fixed". The "tuck"/Fumble w/Stafford the announcers actually complained saying he wasn't actually trying to bring the ball down, ya well go back and watch the tuck/fumble that made Brady famous....he wasn't either.

also I think we should all be thankfull that the Bears got to play the Colts week 1 and not week 8 or after b/c that team is looking REALLY good and I'm not sure we beat them again. It also would have made this game pointless.

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Originally Posted by Riczaj01

I thought that this OL over the last few weeks looked pretty solid; better then the 1st group they threw together

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Although I agree this line has played better than the first group, it still has not played well. This line is not able to just have 5 offensive lineman blocking. Have you been watching the Green Bay game? Rodgers usually has 5 people running routes (3 receivers, a TE, and a runningback). The Bears have to sacrifice the amount of route runners to keep Cutler upright.

Don't disagree it needs more work, all those were also happening w/the OL throughout the year, keeping TE's/RB's in, actually I think they were doing ot more at the beggining then they are now.

I had 2 points.
1) That Tice/Lovie cannot evaluate talent, even when it's right in front of them.
2) Also the done a better job at opening holes, which has made Forte look like he's actually able of running up the gut and getting short yardage, as well as keep Cutler upright. Help or no help the beggining group couldn't do either.

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Originally Posted by inchibearfan

Although I agree this line has played better than the first group, it still has not played well. This line is not able to just have 5 offensive lineman blocking. Have you been watching the Green Bay game? Rodgers usually has 5 people running routes (3 receivers, a TE, and a runningback). The Bears have to sacrifice the amount of route runners to keep Cutler upright.

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What are they really sacrificing though? The TEs suck and cant catch.... Cutler usually throws to only Marshall..... (today was a surprise).

A non-related thing to the Bears game.
-Mike McCarthy is as clueless as Jim Schwartz when it comes to Challenge rules.

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Originally Posted by inchibearfan

Although I agree this line has played better than the first group, it still has not played well. This line is not able to just have 5 offensive lineman blocking. Have you been watching the Green Bay game? Rodgers usually has 5 people running routes (3 receivers, a TE, and a runningback). The Bears have to sacrifice the amount of route runners to keep Cutler upright.

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Remember he has a terrible o line too.. Most sacked qb in the league. What saves his but and why they still run so many receivers is his quick release. He hits his back leg and the ball is gone if not its a sack. Watch jay hold the ball forever!