Oct 22, 2012; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears linebackers Brian Urlacher (54) and Lance Briggs (55) gesture before a snap during the first quarter against the Detroit Lions at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

It’s been a while since I’ve penned a LOWER THE BOOM post and it’s long overdue.  I’ve heard a lot of talk coming out of Halas Hall, through the media and over Twitter  the last few days out of Chicago Bears players and it smacks of desperation and self-pity.

It started Sunday night with Brian Urlacher calling out the fans for booing the team.  Next you see this from Bears safety Chris Conte on his Twitter feed:

We have two must win games left. We need all the support we can get. if u aren’t with us then you are against us. Real bear fans #beardown

— Chris Conte (@ChrisConte47) December 16, 2012

And this morning, you hear Lance Briggs crying about the Bears being the most booed home team in the league.

“I understand where he’s coming from,” Briggs told Comcast SportsNet Chicago. “I’ve been here a long time, too and I’ve (heard) a lot of boos. For a lot of the wrong reasons. Nobody, on any team I’ve seen, gets booed more at home than here in Chicago.

And of course Briggs has to trump that dumb comment with the requisite, “fans don’t know…” comment:

“That’s also a point to the passion of the Chicago fans. Everyone is passionate, but everyone in Chicago doesn’t know how to run a football team. Everyone doesn’t know how to play professional football. It’s our job to do that.”

First of all, Briggs clearly hasn’t spent a lot of time in Philadelphia or New York.  What’s the common denominator?  LOSING.  I don’t need to be a gourmet chef to know what bad food tastes like.

Here’s my advice to Briggs and the rest of the Bears cry-babies:

IF YOU WANT US TO STOP BOOING, PLAY BETTER!!!!

These Bears remind me of Johnny Fontane in the original Godfather, crying to Don Corleone about not knowing what to do about not getting the lead role in a new movie.  Here’s the Don’s advice:

Someone needs to slap some of these Bears around, figuratively and literally, and tell them to act like men.  Stop worrying about the fans and the media and focus on the Arizona freaking Cardinals.

As fans, we can be resigned to the fate of another January on our couches watching other teams in the post-season, but the players should be acting differently.  This The Bears can still make a run to save their season and their beloved players coach, but they’re not going to do it wasting time talking about the booing fans.  I’d expect more from two of the Bears biggest leaders.

BOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM!!!!

Nov 8, 2012; Jacksonville FL, USA; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell before the game between the Indianapolis Colts and the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Field. Mandatory Credit: Douglas Jones-US PRESSWIRE

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has lost his damn fool mind!  Either that or he’s in an extremely “giving” mood this holiday season as he’s been handing out fines as if they’re Christmas cards.  But what’s worse is how he’s handing out random fines without any rhyme or reason.

It’s been a while since I penned a LOWER THE BOOM post, but this got me fired up enough to drop the old boom on the commish.

Week 12 saw some interesting plays across the league and in the Bears – Vikings game in particular.  The adjudication of fines following last week’s game left me scratching my head.  Let’s review some of the plays and fines, starting with Ndamukong Suh’s second annual Turkey Play of the season.

Suh was not suspended for that play despite his track record of dirty play including his Thanksgiving stomp last season.  Suh’s fine for the kick to Matt Schaub’s ding ding?  $30k.

In the Bears game, Jared Allen ended Bears guard Lance Louis’ season with a cheap shot block.  Visit the Bears website here to see this cheapshot.   Allen’s fine for ending a guy’s season?  $21k.

While we’re looking at the fines handed out, Brian Urlacher had a very mild horse collar tackle, where he barely got his hand inside the jersey to bring Peterson down.  Peterson didn’t miss a play following the Urlacher hit.  Yet Urlacher drew a $15k fine for that tackle.

But that’s not the most absurd of all the fines handed out this week.  No, the most ridiculous fine had to go to Jay Cutler for the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty he drew for tossing the ball to the Vikings defender after a scramble.  Check out this gif of the play:

How do any of these fines make any sense?  What is the purpose of fines?  Is Koko the trained monkey working in the NFL front office and passing out these fines?  How does a season ended illegal hit come in the same ballpark as  a horse collar tackle or flipping a ball at an opponent?  How does a serial scumbag like Suh not get a suspension and get a fine only slightly higher than these other fines?

Let’s keep in mind that in the cases of Urlacher and Cutler, the Bears were penalized on the field as those plays drew flags.  Wasn’t that punishment enough?  On Jay’s ball toss, it’s very likely the penalty cost the Bears a chance at a touchdown.

The league needs to bring some rationale to these fines or they’re going to lose the respect of their players and they’re going to lose their fans.  The only good news is that NFL charities are the beneficiaries of these fines, so at least someone benefits from this nonsense.

BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM!!!!

In today’s Inside the Bears blog, Jensen suggests the Bears consider Jeff George as a backup quarterback.  Yes, that Jeff George.  Former #1 draft pick… from 1990!

Jensen spent years covering the Minnesota Vikings and I guess the stupid pills they were feeding their media people up there haven’t worn off.   Maybe he’s blinded by 40 year old Brett Favre’s return to his Vikings or he’s discovered a fountain of youth.  I can’t come up with another logical explanation for why anyone in their right mind would consider George to do anything on a football field at the ripe old age of 42.  This from Jensen’s post:

During my sportswriting career, I’m not sure I’ve seen any quarterback throw the ball so hard and so accurately, and I’ve covered the likes of Favre, Randall Cunningham and Daunte Culpepper. What George did in 1999 was remarkable. After Dennis Green benched the struggling Cunningham, George nearly rallied the Vikings to a second-half comeback in Detroit, completing 10 of 12 passes for 214 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

George went 8-2 down the stretch as a starter, and his numbers were eye-opening (23 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, 94.2 passer rating). Then, in two playoff games, he threw seven touchdowns against one interception, with the Vikings losing a shoot out the eventual Super Bowl champion St. Louis Rams.

Did he just climb into a Hot Tub Time Machine?  It’s 2010, Sean.  That run was over 10 years ago!!!  The last meaningful action that George was in 2001 for the Washington Redskins, when George went 23 of 42 for 168 yards, 0 TD’s, 3 INT’s and 6 sacks in two games.

Funny enough, this wouldn’t be George’s first stint with the Bears.  He was actually on the payroll back in 2004.  Don’t you remember?  This from his Wikipedia page:

(more…)

The Kansas City Chiefs acquired hot QB prospect Matt Cassel and veteran linebacker Mike Vrabel from the New England Patriots for a high 2nd round pick.  Um, Jerry, we have the #18 pick in the first round and chances are there will not be a QB of Cassel’s caliber available at that spot in the draft.

A side story coming out of the Cassel trade is that the Denver Broncos tried to trade for Cassel and would have subsequently moved Pro Bowler Jay Cutler to make room for a QB better suited to new Bronco head coach Josh McDaniels‘ system.  Rumor has it that Cutler was close to being moved to the Tampa Bay Bucs for the #19 pick.  Um, Jerry, we have the #18 pick and I am quite certain that there will not be a quarterback with a Pro Bowl on his resume available in the first round.  And to be quite honest, even if there were, you couldn’t find him.

Among the other top free agents to get away was former Bengal WR TJ Houshmandzadeh, who signed with Seattle.  Here’s Jerry Angelo on Housh from Vaughn McClure’s Huddle Up blog on chicagotribune.com:

Houshmandzadeh is a fine receiver.  Would we have entertained him? Yes, but we wanted to see what his marketplace was. In this case, we felt like [what he received from the Seahawks] was an exorbitant amount of money. Remember, he was a No. 2 in Cincinnati. That’s not to say that what Seattle did wasn’t right for them; their situation is different in my mind than ours. They had an inordinate amount of injuries with receivers and they felt like they needed to get somebody that was established and healthy.

A lot of teams would have liked to have had Houshmandzadeh. But he’s going to be 32 in ’09 and the price that you’re paying for that receiver we felt was very high. You have to look at economics when you look at players. Who doesn’t want Houshmandzadeh? But you have to look at the economics: What are the implications to the cap going forward and what does that prevent us from doing in other areas within our team and/or in free agency?

Hey Jerry, how about the Bears set the market for once?  You talk about how Seattle needing to get someone established and healthy.  Um Jerry, which receiver on the Bears is “established,” Rashied Davis?  Up until last season, Devin Hester needed someone to tell him where to go.

I hope my rant didn’t wake you from your nap.  Would someone please wake up Jerry before the draft?

BOOM!!!

In an effort to draw more interest and legitimize the Pro Bowl, the NFL, in it’s infinite wisdom, has decided to move the game to the weekend before the Super Bowl and play the game at the Super Bowl site.  I’ve got a few problems with this new arrangement.

First of all, if you play the Pro Bowl before the Super Bowl, you assure that you won’t have any players from the Super Bowl teams participating in the Pro Bowl.  Now what sense does it make that the best players from arguably the best teams not participate in the Pro Bowl?  How is that adding any legitimacy to the game?

Secondly, you move the game out of Hawaii to the site of the Super Bowl.  Most, if not all players selected to the Pro Bowl, see the trip to Hawaii as a reward; a kind of a bonus.  They take their families or take teammates or coaches as a thanks for the their hard work throughout the season.  From ESPN’s article citing the players’ desire to keep the game in Hawaii:

One thing is clear, many of the NFL’s top stars are unsure about the Pro Bowl being shipped to the mainland.

“I just think you take away from everything the Pro Bowl means,” Lewis said Tuesday. “I don’t understand it all.”

The Baltimore Ravens linebacker, who played college football at the University of Miami, said he would “probably not” play next year’s game if selected.

Lewis, making his 10th Pro Bowl trip, said many players live or visit Florida often, so playing there wouldn’t necessarily be a reward.

“That’s no vacation,” he said. “That’s what we regularly do. You don’t want to go to the Pro Bowl and do what you regularly do. You want to come over and do something different. You want to tour the islands and bring the kids over here to see something different.”

Of course it’s an honor to be selected by the fans, coaches and peers to be considered among the best at what you do and that acknowledgment should be reward enough.  But I get it.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not crying for the millionaires who won’t get a free trip to Hawaii, but it seems like players won’t participate if it’s in a regular NFL city.  Are we really going to get a better game if the best of the best don’t play?

Next season, Miami will host the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl.  That’s not too bad I guess.  But what happens in 2012 when Indianapolis hosts the festivities?  Not much of a treat pack up the family, as many Pro Bowlers do, and head to Indy in late January, is it?  Where would you rather go?

Indianapolis, host of the 2012 Super Bowl or Hawaii???

Normally, the network that televises the Super Bowl gets the option to buy the rights to televise the Pro Bowl.  CBS, which will be broadcasting the 2010 Super Bowl, apparently declined the option.   ESPN has bought the rights to televise the game next year and will be hyping it endlessly throughout the season.

Do you think the move to the week prior to the Super Bowl has anything to do with the fact that ESPN will be televising the 2010 game?  I hate to throw conspiracy theories out there, but virtually no one watches the Pro Bowl when it’s played after the Super Bowl.  I agree with Commissioner Roger Goodell who called it “anticlimactic.”  By moving it to the week before, it is certain to get more hype and attention since everyone is still is full-blown football mode, but at what expense?  You won’t have the best players from the best teams playing.  You’ll have even more players turning down the right to play.

Hey NFL and Commissioner Goodell, stop trying to turn the Pro Bowl into something that it’s not and give everyone their all expense paid trip to Hawaii.  Aloha!

BOOM!!!

In case you’ve been sleeping under a rock, let me see if I can summarize.  The surprising Arizona Cardinals were playing the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship game.  The Cardinals blew an 18 point first half advantage as the Eagles took a 4thquarter lead.  With the Cardinals trailing, OC Todd Haley took Anquan Boldin out of the game.  It is important to note that ‘Quan had pulled a hamstring two weeks before and was not operating at full strength.

As the Cardinal offense was on the move, Boldin decided it was a good time to blow up at his coordinator who was calling the plays on this crucial drive.  The Cardinals scored the winning touchdown and held on to secure their first-ever trip to the Super Bowl.  While his teammates celebrated on the field with the fans, Boldin bolted early to avoid the media.   Did I miss anything?

This quote from Boldin taken from a National Post article:

“I was mad because they took me out of the game, and I think any competitor would have had the same reaction.  A game of that magnitude, how close the game was, us potentially driving to score a touchdown, I want to be there. That’s just the type of guy I am.”

This from azcentral.com:

“For me, it’s hilarious.  I mean, I don’t want to sit here and dwell on it because it’s in the past, but that’s something that goes on every week in the NFL, whether people know it or not.”

Glad you think it’s so funny Anquan.  It may go on every week, but last Sunday was not every week; it was the NFC Championship Game.  And your team won.  That’s right, somehow they pulled it off with you on the sidelines.  In fact, they pulled it off while you were yelling at offensive coordinator Todd Haley while he was calling plays for the game-winning drive.

I guess the wide receiver fraternity (ΑΣΣ) was holding their initiation last weekend and you couldn’t pass on the opportunity to join the ranks of TO, Plaxico Burress, Chad Ocho-Cinco and the rest of the Prima Donna’s in making a complete ASS of yourself.

You’ve been clear about your feelings for the Cardinals since training camp.  But as your teammates celebrated the unlikely victory, you pouted and hustled out of the stadium.   Every kid that ever slapped on the pads from Pop Warner on up dreams of making it to the Super Bowl yet somehow, you thought it was more important for you to get your catches than for your team to win the game.  Somehow you thought it was about you and not the team.  Selfish much?  Your behavior was comparable to a Pop Warner 8 year old who got sent to bed without dessert. 

I had taken the position that the Bears work to get Boldin in the offseason, but perhaps I was mistaken.  Ex-Chicago Bear great Doug Buffone, frequent contributor and personality on The Score 670AM  , talks about the neanderthal gene being what made linebackers like himself and Dick Butkus great.  Is there a jackass gene that all talented wide receiver have?  Anquan, this wasn’t about you, it was about your team.  Hopefully you figure that out on the way to the Super Bowl.

BOOM!!!

If you’re interested in wall-to-wall Super Bowl XLIII coverage, you should check out the Steelers and Cardinals blogs on the Fan-sided network.  I am sooo jealous of these guys who get to cover a meaningful game for their teams.  In the meantime, I’m buried in a Mock Draft and trying to figure out who our Beloved Bears should pick who will promptly get hurt, benched or cut.  I hope to get something posted next week for all you draft geeks.  Also should have Super Bowl edition of Lower the Boom post up soon.  In the meantime, check out what’s going on at Nice Pick Cowher and Raising Zona.

The high temperature is supposed to be -2°F!  As I sit here, it is -6°F.  That’s the air temperature, not the wind chill, heat index or any of those made up weather stats!  This is too cold to even consider it Bear weather.  Good thing the Beloved are already deep in hibernation this year.  Not even Kyle Orton’s neckbeard can keep you warm when it’s this cold.

This winter has been absolutely BRUTAL!  It already ranks as one of the 21 coldest winters on record for Chicago since they’ve been keeping records over the last 139 years.  Even though the winter is only halfway over, we’ve already tallied a full season’s amount of snowfall.  We’ve had 26 measurable snowfalls totaling over 38″ of the miserable white stuff.

While I’m at it, let me throw Al Gore, Leonardo DiCaprio and the rest of those Prius driving tree huggers and their Global Warming nonsense into the mix.  If you believe it global warming, I suggest you come shovel my driveway!   Hey Al, here’s An Inconvenient Truth for you – you didn’t invent the Internet and global warming is a crock!

BRRRRRR!!!!