Cardinals @ Bears Second Half & Recap: Late Bears Surge Shot Down By Arizona

The Cardinals scored enough points in the first half for an entire game, but weren't done. Worse news for the Bears: while Hunter Hillenmeyer returned to the game, cornerback Charles Tillman (who was victimized by Larry Fitzgerald in the first half of play) left the game with a shoulder injury late in the second quarter. Meanwhile the Chicago offense (who played reasonably well in the first half despite only calling four run plays) started the game off with a quick first down before sputtering. Swarmed by three Cardinals defenders, Cutler was sacked by Chike Okeafor for a loss of 11 yards, forcing the third Bears punt of the day.



Arizona didn't show any signs of a letdown at first as Fitzgerald made a miraculous diving catch off ato keep a drive alive. The Bears would rejoice, however, as they finally forced a Cardinals field goal (excluding the one in the closing seconds of the first half) after Arizona had gone eight for eight on third down through the first half and beginning of the second.



After burning their first time out of the half, the Bears sustained two straight false start penalties (on guard Josh Beekman and center Olin Kreutz), before Cutler gunned a pass to Earl Bennett for 29 yards and a first down. Four plays later, the Bears signal-caller was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct after an incomplete pass on fourth and four, which resulted in 15 yards for Arizona after the turnover (the first of the day for either team).



Three punts (by both teams) later, the Bears showed some life again as Cutler completed three straight passes (two to Hester, who appeared to be having his way with defensive back Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie) and then, after a single incomplete pass, two more before he found Greg Olsen on a 3-yard toss. Cutler hit four different receivers on the drive, including Matt Forte, who had a 28-yard gain after taking a short pass from Cutler.



Arizona put in backup quarterback and former Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart, whose first pass was ruled incomplete but negated due to a pass interference penalty on linebacker Nick Roach. After two runs by Beanie Wells to bring up third-and-short, the Cards committed their first turnover of the day when Leinart threw an interception to Bears cornerback Zack Bowman, who returned it 39 yards to the 33 yard line before being pushed out of bounds. With renewed vigor, Cutler promptly score another touchdown in three plays, finding Greg Olsen for a 20-yard score (the third of the day for both players).

Things kept looking up for Chicago as Hillenmeyer forced a Kurt Warner fumble, but offensive tackle Mike Gandy recovered it in a fortunate turn for Arizona. The glimmer of hope soon faded for the Windy City as the Cards punted and Cutler threw a pick to Matt Ware on the next drive, giving Warner a short field and, after four plays, his fifth TD of the day (a 4-yard pass to Steve Breaston).

Despite one more drive by Chicago, there was no epic comeback today. Chicago's home unbeaten streak has ended, and the score at the final whistle is 41-21.

Bears Verdict - Defense Reeling, Offense Struggles to Keep Up With Cards: Even as devastated as they are by injuries, there is no excuse to be made for the Bears defensive unit's poor play today. It seems to be a case of Murphy's law with them as the injuries mount, and Tommie Harris is almost definitely going to face further suspension by the league for punching Deuce Lutui. The Bears gave up seven yards per rush in the first quarter and 182 yards in all to the league's last-ranked rushing attack. Warner threw for 5 scores and no interceptions.

When a team is that deleted on defense, the offense needs to step up their game, but the Bears aren't yet polished enough to do that. The offensive line has played poorly, allowing 17 sacks of Jay Cutler; while they cannot take all the blame for this, they have not been consistent by any stretch of the imagination. The one interception aside, Cutler had a great game by the standards of most quarterbacks, completing 29 passes for 369 yards and three touchdowns.

How's this for inexperience on offense? Three of the Bears receivers (including Hester and Rashied Davis) came into the NFL as defensive backs, and their two top receivers (other than Hester), Earl Bennett and Johnny Knox, are a second year player and a rookie, respectively. Their best player today was tight end Greg Olsen, who caught 3 touchdowns. The gimmick plays are not working for the Bears, and the running game needs to get much better in order for them to have any hope of salvaging this season.

Cardinals Verdict - Boldin Sits Out, But Balance Prevails: The Cards didn't need Anquan Boldin to beat up on the Bears defense. Larry Fitzgerald caught 9 balls for 123 yards, and the 182 team rushing yards marked a season high. As mentioned before, Warner didn't turn the ball over (although he came perilously close when he fumbled the ball after being sackedby Hunter Hillenmeyer), making the Cards 5-0 when he doesn't turn the ball over. That being said, some problems still remain. Another fourth quarter collapse was just barely averted when Mike Gandy recovered Warner's fumble, which was the ending point in the game that essentially deflated the Bears. Like the Bears, however, Arizona needs to work on their consistency, expecially at home (where they are winless halfway through the season).

Cardinals @ Bears Halftime Report

In what was an unseasonably warm day at Soldier Field in Chicago (the gametime temperature was at least 60 degrees Fahrenheit), the opening action of the Bears-Cardinals game looked like more of what the Bears have seen this season. Bears defensive tackle Tommie Harris was ejected from the game early with a completely unnecessary punch to the helmet of the prone Deuce Lutui. Linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer was injured two plays later and taken off the field, replaced by Nick Roach. The Cards capitalized on the 15-yard penalty on Harris (even though they had already been moving the ball effectively) with a short dump pass to Larry Fitzgerald byKurt Warner. Fitzgerald escaped the coverage by Charles Tillman and walked into the endzone for the opening score.

After a disappointing performance against lowly Cleveland last week, Jay Cutler and the Chicago offense came out fast. A 42-yard catch by Hester brought the Bears into Arizona territory, and a deep bomb to tight end Greg Olsen on 3rd and 9 on a deep post pattern finished a short drive for the Bears. While he appeared to be well-covered by safety Adrian Wilson, Olsen adjusted to the throw and opened up a yard of space across the field to catch Cutler's pass. Surprisingly, Chicago did not call one run play on their opening drive.

On Arizona's next possession, a diving catch by Fitzgerald looked suspect but was not challenged by Lovie Smith Two consecutive red zone runs with Hightower and Chris "Beanie" Wells softened up an already weakened Bears defence, and the 13th TD pass of season for Warner to Ben Patrick allowed Arizona to retake the lead. A Bears punt gave the ball back to Arizona, who gave the ball to Wells to break off their longest run of the season, an up-the-gut run that Wells took to the outside for a 26 yard gain. The Cardinals were clicking on all cylinders, and Kurt Warner's 11th straight completion found Larry Fitzgerald (again being covered alone by Tillman) for another touchdown.

The Cards surprised the usually solid Bears special team with a pop-up kick, but Chicago caught a break as referee Ed Hochuli ruled that possession did not belong to Arizona as it first appeared but in fact went to Jay Cutler and the Chicago offense. After a single first down, Cutler ran right into Darnell Docket and was sacked for a nine yard loss, which ended up forcing another punt by Brad Maynard. Once again, the Arizona offense was held to third down multiple times, but managed to convert two 3rd-and-5's as they moved the ball quickly and decisively. A 15-yard reception by Cardinals tight end Anthony Becht (his first of the season) marked Warner's fourth touchdown pass of the day.

Attempting to will his team back into the game, Cutler made more impressive throws. A laser between two defenders to second-year wideout Earl Bennet picked up a key first down, and was followed by a screen to running back Matt Forte. Set back by an offensive pass interference penalty on Greg Olsen, the Bears could only make up 10 yards out of the 20 that they needed. The Robbie Gould field goal was then blocked, and returned 59 yards by Antrell Rolle after falling short, allowing Arizona to tack on a last second field goal of their own to complete a dominant first half. The halftime score: 31-7 Arizona.

Vikings @ Packers Second Half & Recap

Starting off with a 14-point lead (the result of a 17-3 halftime deficit which marked the lowest amount of first half points by a Packers team for a decade), Brett Favre and the Vikings recieved to kick-off to start the second half. The Minnesota momentum was halted by a hard hit on Bernard Berrian by Packers safety Atari Bigby, but Favre zinged a 30-yard pass over the middle to Harvin, who took advantage of a collision between two Packers to sprint into the endzone for a 51-yard score and extend the Vikings' lead to 21.

Aaron Rodgers responded with a long drive down the field, but after he was stopped by Pat Williams on a design quarterback draw, he was consitently stuffed by the Vikings defensive line, and Mason Crosby ended up being called on for another field goal, a chip shot from 26 yards which indicates just how close Green Bay came to scoring.

They would get the ball back on the next kickoff as Crosby hit a squib kick that was fumbled by reserve defensive end Brian Robison, who was probably touching a game ball for the first time in his NFL career. Nevertheless, Green Bay took advatage of his mistake and scored with a short field on a 16-yard toss to tight end and three-way player Spencer Havner.

Brian Robison got back into the game to replace an injured Ray Edwards, and could not get any pressure on Rodgers as the Packers marched downfield. Havner scored again on a 5-yard reception to cap off another drive by an inspired Packer offense, bringing the Vikings' leading down to only 4 points.

That didn't last long, as Harvin's long return was swiftly turned into six points by Favre, who dumped the ball off on a checkdown to fullback Jeff Dugan. In what was shaping up to be another frantic fourth quarter, Rodgers answered with a toss to Greg Jennings, who managed to catch the ball despite being the target of two Vikings penalties (defensive holding and pass interference).

Chris Kluwe's punt was downed inside the 20, but Green Bay's pass offense once again proved prolific enough to match. A bad snap resulted in a fantastic catch by Donald Driver (who was hurt on the play) that was extended by a questionable roughing-the-passer penalty on Ray Edwards. Without Driver, the Pack could not advance any further, and the resulting Crosby kick was wide right.

Favre made his former team pay with his fourth touchdown pass of the day, a quick pass to Bernard Berrian who sat in the hole between two defenders before being thrown into the endzone. The pass set another record for Brett Favre, but I'll get to that. In the end, th final score was 38-24 in favor of the Minnesota Vikings, as Favre continued his winning ways in Lambeau.

Packers Verdict - Favre Proves To Be Greatest Enemy: The man who is regarded by many as Green Bay's most iconic player since the Lombardi era is now also their nemesis. Favre is 2-0 against his former team, having thrown for seven touchdowns and no interceptions. There is little to criticize about Green Bay's play tonight; they fought hard against a powerful Vikings team and fell short, at one time being only four points down. They still need to improve their run game and pass protection, but it's difficult to do that without their starting left tackle. Chad Clifton was active today but did not play, and hopefully he will be available for their next contest.

Vikings Verdict - Favre's Career Day Masks Defensive Deficiencies: I'm frankly tired of saying this, but the Vikings defense needs to play with more consistency quarter-to-quarter. They give up lots of fourth quarter points, and while those nail-biting fourth quarter heroics are good for adding to the legend of #4 they are not the greatest recipe for winning games. Favre's excellence is covering for the weaknesses in the Vikings team. For all the sacks produced by their dominant defensive front, their pass defense is rather weak in the clutch, as evinced by the close margins of their last few games (particularly when it came back to bite them against Pittsburgh). Unless they improve, the defense will end up being Minnesota's undoing when they reach the playoffs and play in elements that may not be quite as conducive to Favre's air-it-out style of play.

Meanwhile, Favre set yet another record today. He passed for four touchdowns for the twenty-first time in his career, breaking the record held by Dan Marino. In the last game against the Packers, he became the first player in NFL history to defeat all 32 teams in the NFL. How's that for Hall of Fame credentials?

Vikings @ Steelers Second Half & Recap: Minnesota Undone By Steelers D

The second half of this heated contest started much the same way as the first, with a 16-yard rush to the perimeter by Rashard Mendenhall, who made his fourth start replacing the injured Willy Parker. The Steelers followed it up with an end around to Mike Wallace, which was aided by a facemask penalty on defensive tackle Kevin Williams (incorrectly called on defensive back Karl Paymah). The Vikings gave more help in the form of a late hit by Benny Sapp, filling in for Pro Bowler Antoine Winfield, that gave Pittsburgh 15 more yards. But while the Vikes bent, they didn't break, holding Big Ben and the Steelers offense to another field goal.

Favre and Minnesota came back with a vengeance on their first second half drive, completing a fourth-down conversion to Sidney Rice for a big gain to get 1st-and-goal at the 2. The story of stingy defense continued, however, as the Pittsgurgh defense held the Vikings back, forcing a chip-shot field goal from kicker Ryan Longwell.

After a series of punts, things looked bright for the Steelers as Roethlisberger hit Holmes for long gain in which five or six Vikings missed tackles. But Mendenhall fumbled on the next play for the first turnover of the game. Favre moved the ball on the next drive, but his good throws were stymied by three consecutive penalties (including Steve Hutchinson's first penalty in 27 games). A miraculous tiptoe catch by SidneyRice preserved the drive, and after Adrian Peterson bulled his way down to the 10 the Vikings were set back again by a phantom tripping call that erased a Sidney Rice touchdown.



At 3rd-and-goal, the game was turned on its heels as Brett Favre was stripped and LaMarr Woodley took it back 77 yards for a score. Percy Harvin then reinvigorated Minnesota with a kickoff return for a touchdown, aided immensely by a horrible challenge from kicker Jeff Reed.

Roethlisberger was stripped by debutant Asher Allen, but the Vikes could not capitalize as the ball was fumbled out of bounds. On the next possession, Adrian Peterson created another highlight by crushing William Gay, but it proved all for naught as a Favre pass deflected off Chester Taylor's fingertips and was intercepted by linebacker Kieran Fox. In for Lawrence Timmons, Fox returned his first ever pick for six points and deflated the Vikings, who fall out of the ranks of the undefeated teams.


Vikings Verdict - Defense plays well, but needs consistency: The Minnesota defence has proved that they are legit by looking dominant often, but at times they don't look like it. They lack the killer instinct necessary to finish games, and too often allow opposing offenses to get back into the game. It showed against Baltimore last week and in the second half against the Steelers. That star-studded defense will need to step up their game, but most importantly, they need to stop playing Cover-2. For all its sacks, the vaunted Minnesota pass rush has had trouble gtting the quarterback when they rush only their four down linemen.

Meanwhile, Sidney Rice is looking like a Pro Bowl reciever. He finished the day with 11 catches for 136 yards, reaching the century mark in two consecutive games. He should have had more, as his touchdown pass was negated by a bogus tripping penalty, but no one can question the skill and athletic ability required to bring down his great catch on the sideline.

Steelers Verdict - Defense Saves Steelers, Preserves Win Streak: Two fourth-quarter TD's on interception returns lifted Pittsburgh over the Vikings to their fourth straight win, but there is still a great dea of room for improvement. Mike Wallace had a career day with several nice catches and two runs, but Hines Ward (who entered the game leading the league in receptions) had a measly one catch for three yards. Roethlisberger, who has completed 72% of his passes this season, was 14 for 26 for 175 yards and a lone score. Fortunately, he got it done when it counted, picking apart the Minnesota D on the one touchdown drive as well as those that ended in close field goals.

NFL Draft Recap #1

Now that the last pick has been called, the Draft is officially over, but the drama is not. Now each team must get their players signed and on to the practice field. In the meantime, here is the first installment of our Draft Recap.

Most Intriguing Pick: I will not go so far as to say ‘best’ or ‘worst’ pick, since none of these players’ careers or set in stone. But I can say that the most interesting to me was Mark Sanchez, picked fifth overall by the New York Jets. The Jets made a costly trade to get the rights to Sanchez, and most of their hopes will be riding on his shoulders.

Most Puzzling Pick: Knowshon Moreno (Denver Broncos). With all of the focus for improvement on Denver’s ailing defense, they instead elected to take Knowshon Moreno, a running back from Georgia who many Draft analysts expected to be taken in the middle of the first round at the highest, more in the area of the Broncos’ #18 pick instead of their substantially higher #12 selection.

1. Detroit Lions – Matthew Stafford – QB – Georgia: As I outlined previously, the Lions went with Stafford over USC QB Mark Sanchez or Wake Forest product Aaron Curry. While Curry would have addressed the need for a fresh face at linebacker, Stafford could end up being a much more emphatic stamp on this new Lions regime with his elite arm strength and three years of college starts. Sanchez also had a case to go here, but he had some injury concerns in college and Stafford has the toughness that will probably be needed at the woeful Lions, where he can expect to get beat up for a while.

2. St. Louis Rams – Jason Smith – OT – Baylor: With the release of Orlando Pace who has been a feature on the Rams’ offensive line for the past decade, offensive tackle shot up the list of St. Louis’ needs (keep in mind it was already a concern before Pace’s departure, and thus became even more critical afterwards). They met it well, drafting a strong run- and pass-blocker in Jason Smith. While Alabama’s Andre Smith may have had the most potential of all the offensive linemen in this draft, Jason still has tremendous talent and is a safer pick due to his lack of off-the-field issues. I think that, like Pace before him, Smith with anchor the Rams line for a decade or more.

3. Kansas City Chiefs – Tyson Jackson – DE – Louisiana State: This was my first (but not biggest) surprise of this draft. While Tyson Jackson is ideal for the Chiefs’ conversion to a 3-4 defense with his ability to play 3-4 end or even 4-3 defensive tackle during the transition period, he might not have been worth the third overall selection. He is a solid player, but his potential is limited and he isn’t the type of talent who is necessarily going to change the fortunes of a franchise. Now the Chiefs tried to trade down but were unsuccessful, so while Jackson may have been a bit of reach in terms of talent he was likely one of the best players for Kansas City. He and last year’s fifth overall pick Glenn Dorsey will form a formidable tandem on the Chiefs defensive front along with first-rounder Tamba Hali.

4. Seattle Seahawks – Aaron Curry – LB – Wake Forest: Most of the pre-draft hype had Seattle taking a receiver, but with the acquisition of former Cincinnati Bengal T.J. Houshmandzadeh in free agency the Seahawks elected to go with Aaron Curry. One of the best players in this draft, Curry has excellent size (6’1” and 250 pounds), speed, skill, and raw instinct. He fits Seattle’s defensive scheme almost perfectly and can step right into the spot that Julian Peterson vacated, keeping the strong Seahawk linebacker core alive with Leroy Hill and Lofa Tatupu.

We will have picks #5 through 11 on the second edition of our 2009 NFL Draft Recap.

Cutler and Broncos in Standoff

The Denver Broncos and disgruntled quarterback Jay Cutler have yet to reach any sort of settlement. In fact, things have only looked worse for both parties as the staredown has worn on.

So where does the blame lie? In this writer's humble opinion, it is at the feet of both Cutler and new Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels. Niether of them have handled this situation at all adeptly, and while both of them have reason to defend their own side they are each individually at fault.

Cutler voiced immediate displeasure towards the firing of previous head coach Mike Shanahan. While Cutler claims that Broncos owner Pat Bowlen told him that former offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates would be retained for next season, Bowlen denies that any such conversation ever took place. While it is his right to voice his displeasure (even if it is a breach of professional courtesy), I think Cutler has overreacted towards the coaching changes instituted by McDaniels. Change is rampant in the NFL, with quarterbacks adapting to new systems every year. Why should Cutler by any different? His case for feeling betrayed by Bowlen does not constitute a schism of this magnitude. The rumors about a trade, however, do.

This is where McDaniels takes the fall. Even if Matt Cassel succeeded in the Patriots system last year, there is no telling what Cutler could accomplish until he learns it. McDaniels seemed a little hasty in shopping around for a three-way deal to bring Cassel to Denver, especially when he has a Pro-Bowl caliber quarterback already in camp. While some people have stomped on Cutler for his decision-making last year, he threw more than 600 times (616, to be exact) last year, second only to the Saint's Drew Brees. Since the zone blocking and run game that has become Denver's crutch over the last decade and a half was largely unavailable due to a plethora of injuries to their runningbacks (in fact, it got so bad that Broncos linebacker Spencer Larsen started the game at fullback, making him the first player to start on offense and defense since 2003), Cutler was forced to throw early and often. The 28th-ranked total defense (30th in points allowed) didn't help much either.

Even so, the Broncos had the 2nd-ranked offense in the league, and Cutler has all the tools (elite arm strength, accuracy, and a certain degree of on-the-field leadership) to succeed. Conclusion: if McDaniels tried to leave an indelible mark on Denver, he has certainly done so, but he went about doing it the wrong way. Even if he is trying to follow the creed of his old Patriots team—team first, stars second—McDaniels has violated an even older guideline: don't fix what isn't broken. Even a offensive-minded guy like McDaniels should have realized that the Denver offense was ready to go from the start; in fact, he should have had an easier time seeing it. The defense was what held the Broncos back. Now, he has a rift with perhaps his best player and certainly his most important player.

I still think the best solution is for Cutler to stay in Denver. With a familiar group of players around him, I think Cutler would adapt well to the kind of Patriots-style offense that McDaniels brings to the table. Now that Cassel is out of the equation, Cutler is the Broncos' best chance, and if McDaniels realizes that will keep a great player and, even better a hold over the locker room; if he resolves the Cutler situation, things should be much less tense in Denver. Both player and coach are professionals and will hopefully be able to resolve their differences.

[All stats come from www.nfl.com]