NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.
Jay Cutler is now the starting quarterback of the Chicago Bears and things will have to change. The new Chicago Bears will take to the air like never before. Look for the Bears to try and add a receiver or two to the roster before the start of the season. It will be the Air Bears.

Jay and Lovie will let the ball fly

Now don’t get too carried away, Lovie Smith still wants to run and with Matt Forte coming off a 1,200 yard plus season, who wouldn’t.

“In a perfect world, you want balance,” says Smith, whose offense still needs an upgrade at receiver to complement Cutler. “If there are 60 plays, you want to run it 30 times and throw it 30 times. But the games always dictate what you do. And there are always situations when the quarterback has to make the throws for you.”

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Photo source Newscom

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As predicted by your intrepid author, Matt Forte rode all over my Lions. The Lions were pathetic and Matt Forte had a field day.

Matt had one touchdown on the ground and one through the air.

Chicago Bears 34 Detroit Lions 7

Matt Forte shown here stretching for a touchdown. He was a bit short before his knee hit the ground, but the refs figure the Bears will score on the next play anyway, so they gave him the touchdown

Remember this was for your intrepid author to win the weekly Pay the Fan 10 grand.

Unfortunately my other players must have been standing around watching Matt run for two touchdowns, because they did nothing. No 10 grand for the Squibster, but then there is always next week.

Who would have thought that the hot quarterback would have been Kyle Orton?

The thousands of Bears fans at Ford Field on Sunday could relate as they watched little Kyle Orton playing in the Lions’ backyard. He’s still a kid, sure, but suddenly he didn’t look like one. For the first time in Orton’s career, he played like a big boy.

He threw for 334 yards, 104 more than his previous career high. He completed 70 percent of his passes and averaged 13.9 yards per completion. His 121.4 passer rating was the second-best in the NFL on Sunday afternoon. He did not throw an interception, and he did not fumble.

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For my Lions, Jon Kitna was ineffective and left at halftime with back spasms or so they said. Orlovsky replaced him and continued the standard of less than mediocrity.

Roy Williams, the tall and talented Lions receiver, looked especially frustrated.

Must have been a special night for rookie running backs as Rookie running back Kevin Smith of the Lions had the only Detroit touchdown.

Photo source Newscom

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Your intrepid author is using Matt Forte for one of his running backs on his Pay the Fan Fantasy Football team.

Pay the Fan lets you pick a new team every week but you can only use a player twice all season. They pay 10,000 bucks if you beat everyone in a single week. Hard to beat that!

Since my Lions have not been able to stop the run all year and Matt Forte has been running hard it seemed like a good time to use him.

Wonder if there is any way Matt Forte can run for 200 yards and 3 touchdowns and my Lions could still win?

Wonder if there is any way my Lions could win, period.

Check out this YouTube of Matt Forte of the Chicago Bears.

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Calvin Johnson and the Lions dream of joining the NBA, where they could compete with the Clippers

Unreal. Simply unreal. The Detroit Lions could not sell out their stadium for the Bears game. The Bears game!

For those of you that do not realize how bad this is, consider the fact that the Bears are sort of the natural rival for the Detroit Lions, except it is hard to be a rival when both teams are usually so bad.

It is a great zoo animal game, Bears and Lions. Can’t they market this thing?

Did you know your intrepid author once flew in a plane from Detroit to Chicago and due to the time change it was actually earlier in the day upon arrival. (Stop sucking on the beer can attached to your Chicago Bears helmet. The plane left at 2 pm EST from Detroit and arrived in Chicago before 2 pm CST.) You sort of go back in time.

So you would expect many rabid Chicago fans to attend the game (We are not sure, because all Bear fans are not tested for rabies.), and many regular Bear fans as well.

Do we need some Calvin Johnson vs. Matt Forte billboards?

This game is important, because Roy Williams is on my Fantasy Football team. Not to mention, the Chicago Bears defense is also on my Fantasy Football team.

You would think that most Lions fans would still be so giddy over the firing of Matt Millen that they would forget the Lions are just plain bad. Maybe Roy Williams needs to predict a victory. Maybe Chicago needs to remember that Rex Grossman is not the quarterback anymore. Well, there is that Kyle Orton thing.

Does not matter. The fact remains that the stadium is not sold out and the NFL wants to help. The NFL has given the Lions a 24 hour extension to sell out the stadium and need only sell 2,000 more tickets.

Yes, even the NFL is admitting that the Lions suck.

The Lions now have until 1 p.m. Friday to reach their goal. The team has sold out every home game since it moved into Ford Field in 2002.

If the game is a sellout, it will be broadcast on Fox (Channel 2 in Detroit) at 1 p.m.
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You think Matt Millen is somewhere smiling?

Photo source Newscom

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Darren McFadden makes the NFL Football magically float in the air

It is a crazy rookie running back year. Every team seems to have one. It was like they were on sale at Wal-Mart and everyone ran out and bought one.

Next year the Government will have to bail us out as rookie after rookie is sure to go bust, because this is the biggest bubble since the Tulip Bulb craze!

The prize rookie is Darren McFadden, but the problem with Darren is the team he plays for or maybe the owner he plays for and that would be the Oakland Raiders and Al Davis. That team is a mess. Oakland is so messed up that they already had a 1,000 yard rusher. Now wouldn’t you think that a team with an excessive amount of needs would have looked elsewhere for help?

McFadden was the rookie every owner had to have because of his playmaking ability in college. He was able to display those skills in Week 2 when he ran for 164 yards and a touchdown at Kansas City, but a toe injury slowed him down in Week 3 at Buffalo. We’ll see if he can pick it back up this week against San Diego, but McFadden will finish among the top rookie running backs. Just don’t expect him to be the best of this group. He will continue to lose carries to Justin Fargas when he’s healthy and Michael Bush.

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A very pleasant surprise has been Matt Forte of the Bears. My Lions cut Kevin Jones, because he was coming back from a severe foot injury, then, surprise, the Chicago Bears signed him. Kevin’s foot is getting better and better. So later in the season Kevin may get a few of Matt’s carries.

Forte has been the best surprise of the rookie running back class, and he’s among the running back leaders in rushing yards and total yards. He also is tied with Brandon Lloyd for most catches for the Bears, showing he’s the team’s best weapon.

With Kyle Orton at quarterback the Bears have relied on a controlled offense and mighty defense. This plays right into the hands of Matt Forte.

Speaking of my Lions, they have rookie Kevin Smith and he has looked good both running and catching the ball. The Lions have signed Rudi Johnson and he may end up cutting into Kevin Smith’s carries.

CBSSports.com 2008 projection: 985 rushing yards, five touchdowns, 13 catches, 97 receiving yards
Preseason rank: No. 24
Stats through Week 3/Ranking: 29 carries, 102 rushing yards, one touchdown, eight catches, 53 yards/No. 39

CBSSports does not have much good to say about Kevin, but it appears they based all of their comments on the game against the 49ers. Kevin did not play in the second half as Rudi was hot and Kevin only ended up with 14 yards. Keep in mind the Lions are struggling to put in an ‘establish the run’ offense this year with a bad offensive line. Not a good formula for success.

Another back worth mentioning is Chris Johnson of Tennessee. He is losing touchdown opportunities to my Fantasy Football running back LenDale White. Chris can run and already has 276 yards. Jamey Eisenberg of CBSSports.com compares his style to Reggie Bush. Say what you want about Reggie, you still want him on your team.

There are other backs so you will have to read to article to find out who they are.

It looks like 2008 is shaping up to be the year of the rookie running back!

Who is your team’s rookie running back sensation?
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Cedric the Entertainer, Cedric Benson, most Cedrics enjoy a good drink now and then

Image details: Moet & Chandon At The Luxury Lounge In Honor Of The 2008 SAG Awards - Press Day served by picapp.com

Cedric was a train wreck that could be heard long before it happened.

Finally the Bears and GM Jerry Angelo got smart and got rid of him.

Just days after ESPN talked about Gayle Sayers and Walter Payton, the Bears had to be emBearassed as they let go of Cedric.

Somehow, to their permanent detriment, Jerry Angelo and all his Halas Hall men didn¹t heed the many warning signs. The red flags were flapping, all right: concerns about Benson’s relationship with the marijuana-toking Ricky Williams, an eight-day jail sentence after he forcibly entered into an apartment in search of a stolen TV, numerous bizarre stories about him at the University of Texas. source

What were they thinking or better yet, what was Jerry Angelo thinking?

Hey, remember his surprising Thomas Jones trade and the announcement that often injured Cedric Benson would be the man?

That’s who I thought about Monday: Thomas Flippin’ Jones. Because the day he was traded was the day the Bears died as we knew them as championship contenders. It was Jones who showed up on a futile Super Bowl Sunday in Miami and gave the offense its only chance to succeed, pleading with Rex Grossman to get him the ball in the dream-drenched second half. But Angelo’s professional ego would consume him, not allowing him to admit failure and have to explain to president Ted Phillips and the marvelous McCaskeys why such a fortune was invested in a massive dud. So he traded Jones and kept Benson

Now you have a team with no QB, no wideouts, no running backs and an awesome defense. Tough to win with that combo.

Without an established running game, how is the winner of a quarterback derby that hardly smacks of those Joe Montana-Steve Young battles-Grossman vs. Kyle Orton–going to function with consistency? The Bears, from what I can see presently, have no quality running backs, quarterbacks or wide receivers. No offense, but how are they supposed to win without an offense?

Goodbye Cedric Benson.

Hello Matt Forte?

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Cedric Benson can’t run from his problems and lately can’t run

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The Chicago Bears seem to have more problems at running back than they thought.

Chicago Bears running back Cedric Benson was charged with failing a sobriety test while operating a 30-foot boat, then resisting arrest before being hit with pepper spray and dragged ashore by officers.

Benson faces charges of boating while intoxicated and resisting arrest after the incident Saturday night on Lake Travis, Travis County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Roger Wade said Sunday.

Benson was released from jail early Sunday on a $14,500 bond. The charges are class B misdemeanors, each punishable by up to six months in jail and a $2,000 fine. A call to Benson’s agent was not immediately returned.

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Cedric now has two other problems, besides the arrest.

1. lack of production.

The 25-year-old has done little since the Bears took him with the fourth pick of the 2005 draft.

As a rookie he couldn’t beat out Thomas Jones and rushed for 272 yards in nine games. He was more effective the next season while sharing time with Jones, going for six touchdowns and 647 yards.

Last year, Benson took over as the featured back after Jones was traded away. He rushed for 674 yards, four touchdowns and 3.4 yards a carry before going on injured reserve in November.

In three years with the Bears, Benson has rushed for 1,593 yards and 10 touchdowns, averaging 3.8 yards a carry. He’s also missed 13 games.

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2. The Chicago Bears drafted Matt Forte from Tulane in the second round to compete at running back. He is 6′ 2″ and 222 pounds.

Pick Analysis:The Bears get a player to compete with Cedric Benson for carries. Forte was the focal point of the opposing defense every week and still put up numbers. He’s a high-character guy and will have a chance to upgrade the running game in Chicago.

Look out, Cedric!

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Rashard Mendenhall does the happy dance after Rivals ranks him number 2 after Darren McFadden

Rivals.com lists the running backs. Go there and learn about each one.

1. Darren McFadden, 6-1, 217, Arkansas
Arkansas’s best.

2. Rashard Mendenhall, 5-11, 225, Illinois
Only a junior. Dominated Big 10.

3. Jonathan Stewart, 5-10, 230, Oregon

4. Felix Jones, 5-11, 200, Arkansas

5. Chris Johnson, 5-11, 195, East Carolina
Fastest player at the NFL combines.

6. Kevin Smith, 6-0, 210, Central Florida

7. Jamaal Charles, 6-0, 200, Texas

8. Matt Forte, 6-1, 220, Tulane

9. Steve Slaton, 5-9, 195, West Virginia

10. Ray Rice, 5-9, 200, Rutgers

You know your team should take an offensive lineman first, but these guys are hard to pass up.

NFL Football Fan Question Will your team draft an offensive lineman?

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