By Jim Coffman

Tune in to WBEZ’s Afternoon Shift today around 2:45 to hear Jim Coffman talk Bears.
In the grand NFL scheme, Sunday’s Bears game meant nothing. Yes, it was aggravating to lose to Aaron Rodgers and the Packers again. And to do so with a division title and a spot in the playoffs on the line! What fun! But this Bears team was clearly not a championship contender.
Sunday’s game didn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know. Jay Cutler is good, not great. His inability to get himself and his offense started these last two games (several discouraging three-and-outs in the first halves of both) mirrored what had happened on numerous occasions earlier in the season. Then again, he has been better late in games and he does have significant value as an NFL quarterback.
The question of Cutler’s future is not binary, i.e., it is not a question of whether the Bears should keep him. We know at this point that Cutler will not win many big games by himself, i.e., he will not be a Rodgers-type player who so frequently pushes his team over the top in big games just with his own abilities.

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Posted on December 30, 2013

By Mike Luce

Our bowl series continues.
Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman
WINNER: WEIRDEST SPONSOR
Time: Friday, December 27, 2:30 p.m., ESPN (Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, MD)
Teams: Marshall Thundering Herd (-2.5) vs. Maryland Terrapins
Forecast: Classified.
Comment: Northrop Grumman edged out Royal Purple as our 2013 winner for weirdest sponsor. The name (Military) and location (Annapolis) lends naturally to an armed forces-related endorsement, but a multibillion dollar defense contractor known for manufacturing drones seems like a politically tone-deaf choice. Formed in 2008 under the name “The Congressional Bowl” before signing EagleBank as a sponsor, the bowl tie-ins include Army (if eligible) against the #8 ACC team, with the #5 Conference USA team serving as a backup if the Black Knights don’t reach six wins. Thus, the Marshall-Maryland combination in 2013.

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Posted on December 27, 2013

By Carl Mohrbacher

Definitely would have been more fun if Hawk Harrelson had called the game – you know, like driving is more fun when you’re doing whip-its.
You know, Stone Pony, I played on a pretty bad team in KC back in ’64, we were down 21 to nothin’ to the Philadelphia Mexicans that year on several occasions . . . several. We called ’em that because there was a guy named Tony Gonzalez playing center, but let me tell you sumthin’, We never put on such a poor display of athletics-ism as the Bears are dumpin’ out there right now. Never would have happened in KC . . . not while Manny “Dos Numeros” Jimenez was roaming left center. Wore number 15 and 20 that year, did Manny. We had four Mexican outfielders that year, if you counted me . . .
As I write this I’m beginning to believe that Hawk is just a slightly spryer version of Grandpa Simpson.
Thanks to excessive holiday Scotch intake, I’ve erased much of this game from my memory. By all accounts, the game was terrible.
“I thought we had a . . . game plan,” “said” Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, postgame. “Obviously, we didn’t . . . ”
‘Nuff said. Moving on.

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Posted on December 27, 2013

By Mike Luce

Our bowl series continues.
Little Caesars Pizza Bowl
Time: Thursday, December 26, 6 p.m., ESPN (Ford Field, Detroit)
Teams: Pittsburgh vs. Bowling Green (-7)
Forecast: Dough, followed by sauce and cheese
Comment: Mid-American Conference champions Bowling Green (10-3, 7-1 MAC) lost head coach Dave Clawson to Wake Forest following the close of the regular season, but look to be HOT-N-READY for this match-up versus the Panthers (6-6, 3-5 ACC). Despite a marginal regular-season record, Pittsburgh received a bowl bid by . . . well, we aren’t sure. The Little Caesars should host the #2 team from the MAC against the #8 Big Ten squad or, lacking the latter, an eligible (i.e. six or more wins) team from the Sun Belt, or (!) an at-large selection. Bowl organizers must have taken a pass on the likes of Texas State (6-6, 2-5 Sun Belt), in favor of the vaguely nearby Panthers.

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Posted on December 26, 2013

A Cold, Stinky, Beer-Filled Rivalry For Domination Of The Universe

“Packers Lose, Will Face Bears For Division Title.”
See, that’s another way to look at it.
Plus, it’s only weird when he does it.
The NFL’s oldest rivalry in five parts.
1. The NFL on CBS 1989.

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Posted on December 24, 2013

By Jim Coffman

A lot of crap was written last week about how the Bears should consider using the franchise tag on Jay Cutler, thereby signing him to a contract that would pay him more than $16 million for the 2014 season alone. Come on! (And please believe me when I say I was saying that even before the debacle in Philly).
Questions abound about whether Cutler can stay healthy enough to lead a team to a championship and whether he is simply good enough to do so, and they have been out there way before the Bears embarrassed themselves 11-54 last night (I’m using the backwards score kind of the same way the military uses an upside down flag – to signal extreme distress).

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Posted on December 23, 2013

By Mike Luce

Winners, Losers, Covers, Pushes, Overs, Unders, Best Dressed, Worst Buffet, Bowls You Didn’t Know Existed, Bowls You Knew Existed But Had Forgotten, Most Obscure, Weirdest Sponsor, Best Destination, Worst Destination, Least Interesting, Best Match-Up, Awesomest Mascot, And The Debut Of The College Football Report Imaginary Bowl Game Series, Or The CFRIBGS As We Like To Call It.
Brace yourself. There are more than 30 bowls this year. To spare you, and to pace ourselves, we will space out the preview across several columns in the coming weeks. This edition covers the first round of games in what we’re calling Bowl Preview Week One, which, if awards were handed out to college football columns, would run away with Most Obligatory.
As an added bonus this year, we are including the forecast and a predicted final score for each game. That’s what we in the business call “added value.”

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Posted on December 20, 2013

By Carl Mohrbacher

Sunday’s game was supposed to provide a payoff to the stupidest debate since caveman Oog tried to convince caveman Drak that poison berries were a more effective method of hunting dinosaur than rolling a massive boulder on to the beast.
Both options were tried, the T-Rex lived and the village was still devoured by raptors in the last week of the hunting season. So who was right? The guy with the boulder.
You go with the best weapons available and let the Triceratops chips fall where they may.
Drak cares not for berries! As true now as it was 4,900 years ago.
For those of you not able to pierce my vague innuendo, we’re examining Jay Cutler’s return to the starting lineup and more importantly the perception of the quarterback position coming out of the Browns game.

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Posted on December 19, 2013

By Dan O’Shea

If you have Jamaal Charles on your fantasy team, it’s a good bet that you not only made the playoffs, but will be playing for a fantasy league championship this weekend or next.
In the last four weeks, Charles has gone from very good to simply dominant, logging two 100 yards-plus rushing games, and just last week an historic fantasy performance: 5 TDs (four of them receiving) and 195 yards receiving.
In Week 16, Charles gets to face an Indianapolis defense that has fallen into the bottom half of league defenses is the second half of the season.
With another big stat line this week, Charles will make a pretty good argument to be the No. 1 overall fantasy pick next year. In fact, with this posting serving as the final Fantasy Fix football column until next season, it’s a good time to take a peek at my 2014 preseason top five (all subject to change until next summer, of course):

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Posted on December 18, 2013

By Jim Coffman

Maybe yesterday was the day. Maybe on a cold blustery day in Cleveland Jay Cutler had a breakthrough. Or maybe it happened while he was out with groin and ankle injuries or when he returned to practicing full steam this past week. The main thing was this: The breakthrough had nothing to do with his performance on the field.
Cutler showed real gratitude after the Bears’ 38-31 victory. Even better, he displayed some humility – the kind that goes a long way with teammates and fans alike.

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Posted on December 16, 2013