Yes, it was the Bears second pre-season game and good play should not be overrated, just as bad play shouldn't, but the difference in the offense compared to last week was night and day.  Cutler threw the ball much better, scrambled for a first down and looked like no Bears quarterback I'd seen in my 45 years of fandom.  Likely, this was due not just his talent but the return of Matt Forte, who had a 35 yard TD run, and Greg Olsen, who had a long catch for a first down.

In the three drives that the first string offense was on the field, they scored all 17 of the Bears points.  On the defense side of the ball, they played much better with Eli Manning under pressure the whole time he was in.

Next week takes the Bears to Denver where I'm sure they will great Jay Culter with warm, outstreached arms.

The White Sox traded for Cy Young Award winning pitcher, Jake Peavy today.  That overshadowed the biggest sporting news day in Chicago every year, the start of Bears Training Camp.

Update: I had the video embedded but took it out because I hate autostart videos.

Videolink here

Sexy Rexy was signed by the Houston Texans today.  One year contract.  Best of luck to all involved.

We are in the midst of the weather system that dropped as much as 52 inches of snow on areas near Denver on Friday.  It is thankfully in the form of rain here.  I spent yesterday pounding out the damage from my run in with the John Deere tractor on Christmas Eve.  I still wish nothing but the very worst on the owners of the company behind the equipment that damaged my sweet little Corolla.  I was able to pound a great deal of the damage out but it is still pretty messed up.

The sports teams around Chicago are doing quite well.  The White Sox took three of four from the defending AL Champion Tampa (Don't Call Us Devil) Rays.  The Cubs were rained out tonight but took two of three from the hated Cardinals.  And the most exciting is the playoff performance of the Bulls and the Blackhawks.  The Bulls took the first game on the road from the Boston Celtics and the Blackhawks head to Calgary for tomorrows game up two games to none.

To top it off, Jay Cutler of the Bears has been all over town dancing, throwing out first pitches and dropping first pucks.

These are exciting times in Chicago. 

You would think on a day where the ex-Governor, his brother and several Aides are indicted of 19 felony counts by the US Attorney's office, that story would have to be the biggest story in the local news.

You would think...

But even bigger than poltics and their corruption in the city of Chicago is THE CHICAGO BEARS.  On a normal day, the Bears rule this town.  It could be the middle of the baseball season and fans still call the local sports stations to voice their feelings, most often negative as is a fan's way, about the Monsters of the Midway.

But today may be the biggest off the field news day of this storied franchise.  What did they do?  They traded their starting quarterback, two first round draft picks (2009 and 2010) and a 3rd round draft pick this year to the Denver Broncos for their starting quarterback and a 5th round 2009 draft pick.  Not only do the Bears end up with a new starting quarterback but he is a Pro Bowl Quarterback.

Some people might say that trading your first round draft picks the next two years is a bad idea.  Given the Bears' recent history with their first round draft picks, I would say a Pro Bowl Quarterback is a winning trade off.

So landing Jay Cutler would be big enough for most teams but what do the Bears do?  The also sign a seven time Pro Bowl and future Hall of Fame Offensive Tackle in Orlando Pace.  Now admittedly he is in the twilight of his career but if the guy has juice left in his tank, they are better off than they were a day ago. 

Also, the Bears are now faced with the Cutler Effect.  What is Cutler Effect?  It is the stream of Free Agent Offensive players who will be calling Halas Hall to see if the Bears are interested in their services.

Great Job Jerry Angelo and Great Job Bears.

We have HOT WATER!!!!

The secret weapon... a pond liner.  The thick plastic should give apt protection should the runoff fill the hole again.

The Bears put their fans out of their misery.  Other teams in the NFL did what the Bears needed but the Bears didn't do what they needed to, win the game.  Kyle Orton showed promise until his injury.  The receivers were bad all season.  Dropped balls, incorrect routes, it was attrocious.  Thankfully, the Tight Ends were there.  Matt Forte was a godsend.  Finally a high draftpick that pans out.  The Defense was terrible, too.  Unlike every other year, the Offense did the bailing out of the Defense.  Sometimes it worked but too often it did not.  Wish list for 2009... Receivers, New D-Coordinator.  Throw in an O coordinator, while their at it.

Aren't upgrades great?  

A little bit of a bump in the road but JHW is now on CF8.  I thought I already was but I guess not. 

So the Bears are doing their best to give the Saints the game.  Ooh.  Interference on the Saints.  A 38 yard interference call.  Near the 10 yard line. 

 Robbie Gould comes in...  it might be, it could be....  IT IS!!!!!!

The Bears came back to keep the Lions winless today but at a large cost. Kyle Orton sprained his ankle just before the half and is likely out a month. Earlier, the oft-injured Mike Brown hurt his calf. He says he'll be back shortly but being out one game is too much for me. Yes, the Bears won but they did not play with any intensity. The Lions led by 10 at the half. That should not have happened. And this was the result of 14 days of preparation? The worst news of the day is Rex is back. Uggghhh...

The Bears beat the ViQueens 48-41. So you think great, a victory for the Bears. Problem is, the Bears defense gave up 41 points. The ViQueens D did not give up 48. 14 of those points were scored on muffed Minnesota special teams plays. Kyle Orton continued to look good. The Bears running game was stymied but the ViQueens defense stacked the box. As long as teams keep doing that, Kyle will pass all over them. In time, that will loosen up the defenses and the running game will come back to life.

The problem continues to be the Bears Defense. The secondary is injured, at least at Corner, and that is not a good thing. The front four fails to put enough pressure on the QB. On the last possession, Tommie Harris, who has been silent even when he hasn't been suspended, sacked Ferrotte. He was rattled and the next play is an INT. That shows you what needs to be done to win these games. All season, the Bears D has been suspect. It was supposed to be the O that was suspect.

All told, the Bears could easily be undefeated, like the Tennessee Titans. Instead they share the top of the NFC North with the Packers. The Bears Secondary couldn't get to the Bye week at a better time.