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    Warlock

    My players are too funny...

    So tonight was the Fall sports awards for the HS that I coach football at. My players went and got all of us coaches gift bags to show their appreciation and in my bag was a Chicago Bears cap... I...

    Warlock 11-05-2012 09:07 PM

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  • Sit or Start

    by
    BigClaws
    Published on 12-30-2010 04:11 PM
    18 Comments Comments
    By BigClaws



    It’s the topic of much debate around the league this week; sit the starters or let the kids play.

    The Bears have earned a bye in the first round of the playoffs and have locked up a second seed. There is still a slight chance the Bears could land the number one seed. To do this, they would have to win at Green Bay and teach pigs how to fly.

    So which is it? Lovie has proclaimed that his goal is to always beat the Packers due to growing up despising the Packers and everything they represent. OK, I made that last part up. But this is a heated rivalry still, right? If the Bears beat the Pack, the Packers are out of the playoffs. What can be more exciting as a Bear fan than knowing that the cheese eaters up north are crying in their beers while the Bears claw their way through the playoffs?

    Yeah, but come on. Is it worth losing Cutler to a dirty “Charles Martin” type play? What if Urlacher runs into Briggs and they both get concussions? The Bears have had a golden horseshoe up their rear ends all year when it comes to injuries. Either that or Rusty Jones has been focusing more on the training room rather than his fantastic rust proofing products, all of which I celebrate. Bottom line, is it worth the risk? Is now a time to be cautious in an almost meaningless game from a playoff perspective?

    What about momentum? I’ve been around sports as long as I have owned a couch and a television, and I know one thing is a given: the hottest teams going into the playoffs are the ones to fear. Despite the bed they soiled against the Patriots, the Bears have been pretty hot after their Week 8 bye. They’ve put up 78 points in the last two games, missing 81 point mark by an uncharacteristic Gould missed field goal last week against the Jets. The Bears are hot, no doubt, but how important is that momentum moving into the playoffs?

    Today’s game is different from the game of years ago. Free agency has definitely bitten into the significance of rivalries. That being said, I say start every last one of our troops, Lovie Fresh. I can’t let go of the storied history of the NFL’s best and longest rivalry, and I never will. If rivalries are dead, then it’s time for the second coming. Raise the offering.

    Am I homer, chugging the cool aid (spiked), and thinking with my heart? Absolutely. But it’s more than just emotion. Beating the Packers may actually have some significance from a strategy standpoint. Bears fans everywhere don’t want to lose to the Packers in the playoffs. I’m not saying it will happen, but it could. Also, I need the offensive line to play another game. They are showing signs of improvement but there is room for much more. Giving our starters two weeks off is too long when you have a team showing this much promise. Let ‘em go, let ‘em grow.

    I’ll end on this: I don’t want our starters on the field in these two scenarios: We are getting our butts kicked by halftime or we are hammering the Packers at halftime. If it’s close going into the second half, then bury that cheese and let it rot during the playoffs. It would be one more piece of ammo for my arsenal, in my infinite verbal assault on Packers fans.

    BigClaws is a staff writer for www.dabears.com.
    Comments 18 Comments
    1. Ski-Whiz's Avatar
      Ski-Whiz - 12-30-2010, 04:34 PM
      Where'd my original comment go??
    1. BigClaws's Avatar
      BigClaws - 12-30-2010, 04:51 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by DaBearski View Post
      Where'd my original comment go??
      I needed to make an edit and I kept getting the server error page when I tried to save the edited article. I created a new article with the edit and deleted the old one. Was your comment epic?
    1. Ski-Whiz's Avatar
      Ski-Whiz - 12-30-2010, 05:17 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by BigClaws View Post
      I needed to make an edit and I kept getting the server error page when I tried to save the edited article. I created a new article with the edit and deleted the old one. Was your comment epic?

      Do you really have to ask?? lol
    1. BigClaws's Avatar
      BigClaws - 12-30-2010, 05:20 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by DaBearski View Post
      Do you really have to ask?? lol
      Do I?
    1. Dagan81's Avatar
      Dagan81 - 12-30-2010, 06:17 PM
      This article was very well written. Your emotional attachment is poetic, and you articulate your perspective from the modus operandi of a true Bears fan. While you didn't use the "Four Dollar Medical Terms", your diction and syntax was easy to understand and easily comprehend for people of all ages and intellects.

      There was a lot "fan speak" in this piece. The main strategy you pointed out was based mostly on emotions, and that is what the life of a fan is: living by the seat of your pants, rising and falling like a phoenix with the ebb and flow of the tides that encompasses the world of sports. I applaud your writing; I would like to contribute sometime to this site like I used to in the old days.
    1. BigClaws's Avatar
      BigClaws - 12-30-2010, 09:04 PM
      Thanks for the feedback Dagan!

      By all means, write an article anytime you want. You can PM me the article and any picture you want and I will post it on the front page.
    1. n34footbalislife's Avatar
      n34footbalislife - 12-31-2010, 08:52 AM
      Well done BC,I can feel the Bear love flow from every word along with some actual sense.
      I also agree with everything you said,I'm slightly frightened by that.
      It really was a very good read!
    1. GrizzlyBear91's Avatar
      GrizzlyBear91 - 12-31-2010, 09:13 AM
      We should ask the Colts how well that's worked for them in the past.

      how many 11-12-13 win season's did they sit manning an CO. the last few games, and how well did they do in the playoffs?
    1. StarkyLuv's Avatar
      StarkyLuv - 12-31-2010, 10:19 AM
      I say play hard and play to win. After 3 quarters, if Lovie feels that they can't/won't win the game, rest whomever. But if we're still in it or actually winning, finish it off!
    1. BigClaws's Avatar
      BigClaws - 12-31-2010, 10:27 AM
      I agree. I think momentum is huge going into the playoffs and I don't want these guys sitting for two weeks straight. It's not like riding a bike.
    1. vmx12's Avatar
      vmx12 - 12-31-2010, 11:09 AM
      I say play all starters. If someone gets hurt we have an excuse for getting knocked out
    1. BearStuff's Avatar
      BearStuff - 12-31-2010, 11:40 AM
      One year after injury, Welker still wants to play in “meaningless” game

      Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on December 31, 2010, 11:52 AM EST
      Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker’s career was permanently altered when he tore his ACL in Week 17 last year in a so-called meaningless game against the Texans.
      That injury has a lot of folks guessing that Bill Belichick will rest his starters Sunday sooner than later, especially Welker. We have our doubts; Only once has Belichick sat Tom Brady early in a similar situation. The Patriots have played to win “meaningless” games more often then not.
      Welker says he wouldn’t have it any other way.
      “I’m here to play football and that’s what I prepare to do every single week,” Welker told Ian Rapoport of the Boston Herald. “That’s my game plan going into this week.”
      The Patriots have already earned their week off. We suspect Belichick and Welker will be gunning for that 14th win against the Dolphins.


      If it's good for the best team of the last decade, it's good for us.
    1. Dagan81's Avatar
      Dagan81 - 12-31-2010, 03:53 PM
      You can't just sit the boys out in this one. I agree with Skip Bayless in that this team is just learning how to win, and needs all the reps it can get to keep warmed up for the playoffs.
    1. Rakk's Avatar
      Rakk - 12-31-2010, 04:06 PM
      Great article. As opposed to the dry analytic of a sports writer, this has true fan passion and heart. Go Bears! Beat Packers! Play 'em all (except maybe Bennett and Pisa to heal up their bad wheels).
    1. Dagan81's Avatar
      Dagan81 - 12-31-2010, 04:15 PM
      I think sitting Bennett and Pisa would be wise. Nick Roach is a capable back up LB and we have plenty of decent WRs to fill in for Earl Bennett.
    1. short faced bear's Avatar
      short faced bear - 12-31-2010, 05:49 PM
      Play to win, play to stay sharp as we DO have a bye. Play to keep mastering Martz playbook. Play to try a few wrinkles if the game is salted away.
    1. Dagan81's Avatar
      Dagan81 - 12-31-2010, 06:12 PM
      I want to leave no doubt about who is the best in the NFC North this season. Let's complete the sweep and go after the Packers with a might so fearlessly!