NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

Welcome to my inaugural post for BearsGab.com.  Thanks to Matt Loede for bringing me into the Sports Gab Network.

How did I come to the title Bear Nekkid Truth?  Well, the truth hurts…and so does watching The Bears this season.  The nekkid truth was inspired by one former Bear Great…Mike Singletary.

Dropping trouser as a statement of where your team is at, what your team is doing and where your team is going is a very pointed statement. It is simple, non-confusing and effective!  It is also exactly what our beloved Bears have been doing all season.  The only difference is the Bears have been exposing themselves to their competition, figuratively and literally.  Sorry Devin Hester, I know you didn’t mean to expose your backside.

If you say, “We’re a running team,” at a press conference you are telling opposing defenses your game plan.  If you say “We get off the bus running,” you're exposing yourself.  If you say “We’d like to get the ball to player X more often,” who do you thing the opposition is going to key on?

On the opposite side of the ball the Bears do the same thing.  “We’re going to stop the run first.”  “We’re going to get pressure with our front four.”  “We like who our starters are.” Is it any secret that the Bear’s competition knows how to beat them?

Not only do the Bears expose themselves as far as the game plan, but it trickles down to the players, especially the quarterback.  How many times have Bears quarterbacks focused on the intended receiver?  Interceptions should speak to the truth.

If the Bears are going to expose themselves, either do it in the locker room or don’t do it at all.  Nobody in Bear Nation wants to see your asses, but worse than that we don’t want to see your asses handed to you.

In New Orleans, the papers are head-lining how Drew Brees is falling behind in the MVP Race and how Peyton Manning is jumping way ahead. Well, I guess the writers didn’t do their research. If they would have they would have noticed that Drew is still right there with Peyton here are some stats between the two:

Drew Brees
Team Record: 13-1
QB Rate: 109 (#1 in NFL)
Touchdowns: 33 (Tied for First)
Completion Percentage: 69 (#1 in NFL)
Interceptions: 11
Yards: 4130 (#3 in NFL)

Peyton Manning
Team Record: 14-0
QB Rate: 102 (#5 in NFL)
Touchdowns: 33 (Tied For First)
Completion Percentage: 68 (#2 in NFL)
Interceptions: 15
Yards: 4213 (#1 in NFL)

So, by the key stats it actually looks like Drew Brees is doing better in some of the higher categories like quarterback rating, interception, and completion percentage. Another fact is that if Drew didn’t have such a bad game on Saturday and if Peyton didn’t have such a good one on Thursday, he would be way behind Drew Brees in the touchdown category. This past week Brees threw one touchdown pass, Manning threw four. Please, don’t tell me Drew is struggling against Peyton. It’s s still close and if you ask me Drew Brees is ahead.

I have wondered for years why the Lions always seem to have massive amounts of injuries and usually lead the league in players on injured reserve. In the Marinelli years I figured it was because he wanted lighter faster players and their bodies just couldn't handle the abuse.

The issue goes deeper than that though, because the injury issues didn't stop this year and they existed prior to Marinelli. I started looking deeper into it and I noticed a trend. Generally speaking, the worse the team, the more injuries they had. Why is that? I have two theories.

Good players have the talent and skills to play with proper technique which helps them avoid situations that jeopardize their health. This is especially true in the trenches. How many times have you seen a lineman get hurt because he gets too high in his stance? He gets pushed backwards into the pile and gets his ankle or knee rolled on. Or even worse, the bad players gets tossed to the ground and he rolls up on somebody else's leg.

On the defensive side, poor tackling technique leads to lots of injuries, especially head and neck injuries. If you have a cornerback that takes a bad angle on a tackle attempt they have to lunge and the player rather than squaring their pads and getting their weight behind them. Also, with poor play in the front seven, you get big running backs steamrolling into the undersized secondary and the defensive backs have to hit somebody that outweighs them by 30 lbs and is running full speed.

The other main cause, in my opinion, is players on bad teams eventually check out mentally or start trying to avoid injuries. Players will tell you that as soon as they loose that edge they can get sloppy in their technique or they don't go full speed.

Players need to focus on their technique and keep their intensity up to keep themselves safe on the field. It's similar to driving when you are tired or distracted, the odds of an accident increase the less you pay attention to the road. At this point in the season, it's like players have been driving for 20 straight hours and there's nothing exciting to look forward to at the end of the trip.

There will always be freak injuries, and unlucky injuries like Kevin Smith tearing his ACL without getting touched. But for the most part, the worse the team the greater the odds for injury.

The Browns are on a two game winning streak that has been bolstered by the running game and Special Teams. Although Brady Quinn has made some great strides in his “in game” management, there are still questions about whether or not he’s this franchise’s quarterback of the future.

His recent foot injury, which will once again cost him significant playing time and put the team in a lurch as it tries to finish out the season, stirs numerous questions about his durability. This is the second time Quinn has taken the starting reigns in Cleveland to give them up due to injury.

This fact bolstered by his inability to fervently stake a claim to the starting position and give coaches and ownership reason to believe in him may force Mike Holmgren, the new team president, to make drafting a #1 quarterback a top priority.

This is disappointing to say the least. With so many other positions requiring upgrade, it appeared that maybe Quinn was finally going to erase all doubt about his ability to lead the team. His strides against the Steelers and Chiefs were enough to make most fans comfortable with him holding the keys to the offense. His durability now is a huge issue..

The best move though may be to mine for a quality starter in free agency. Use the draft to build the team by adding offensive lineman and defense. Use free agency to find a quality backup. (I know some think we have one in Anderson) but it is time to turn the page with him and let him go, trade him or use him as part of a package deal to bring us more picks. Then once again, open the door for competition to determine who should lead this team.

Brady Quinn may come back stronger than ever. But, it appears he might not be built to weather the rigors of an NFL season. It would be best if we prepared for such an inevitability. All is not lost, but this recent injury is a lot to swallow for a fan base longing to find players to love and believe in.

Now that the regular season is nearly coming to a close, there’s been lots of water cooler discusssions about who the 2009 NFL MVP should be. There were some pretenders to the throne early on, but addition by subtraction dictated that the number of candidates would drop as the season wore on.

There’s three very worthy candidates who are leaps and bounds above the ‘posers”:

Drew Brees – The New Orleans Saints quarterback has put some pretty impressive numbers (4,130 passing yards, 33 TD’s, 11 INT’s), along with a 109.4 passing rating. He has the Saints within a game of having home-field advantage through the NFC playoffs. His stock may have taken a hit when he had an un-Brees-like performance against the Dallas Cowboys last Saturday (29-of-45, 298 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT). Will head coach Sean Payton limit his action once the Saints lock up home-field? New Orleans’ last two opponents are Tampa Bay and Carolina.

Peyton Manning – Manning just continues his mastery over the league as he has passed for 4,213 yards, 33 TD’s and 15 INT’s. Let’s also consider that the Colts are 14-0 and on the verge of perhaps going undefeated, which is even more impressive considering that the team’s rushing game is pretty average. I expect that Peyton will surpass the 50,000 passing yard mark Sunday when they play the Jets. Not unlike the Saints, coach Jim Caldwell has to decide as to whether to rest Manning between now and the postseason. If the past is any indication, I would have to say the coach won’t rest him. The Colts have a soft last two games as they take on the Jets and the Buffalo Bills – two tuneups that should get the team ready for the postseason.

Chris Johnson – The Tennessee Titans running back is having an obscenely impressive season (1,730 yards rushing, a 5.7 yards-per-carry average and is averaging 123.6 yards per game), although to be fair, the second half of the season has been especially kind to Johnson as he averaged during that time 141.8 yards per game. He has a chance to eclipse the 2,000 rushing yard barrier in the next two weeks. One thing that may hinder Johnson’s chances? The fact that the Titans went 0-6 and have an overall 7-7 win-loss record.

While all three have the credentials and are very worthy, I have to give the nod to: Peyton Manning.