This 360° panoramic image is taken from the upper edge of the north-side of Soldier Field. On the reverse 180° of the image you can see a full panoramic of the Chicago skyline. Soldier Field is where the Chicago Bears (an American Football team) play. The panorama was taken on ‘Family Night’ (a pre-season practice at the team’s home stadium), August 1st, 2008.
Devin Hester was rated #8 player of the year by the NFL Network, even though all he did was return kicks! If you think that American Football is all about big guys who can hardly move, think again…
That’s what all the experts are saying… Who will the Chicago Bears pick from the NFL Draft this weekend? Only time will tell…
I think he would make an excellent choice for any team though, check out his speed and strength:
Sheila and I just shook hands with Chicago Bears kicker, Robbie Gould. He was in a clothing store on Michigan Avenue, buying some cuff links. Really nice guy, we didn’t talk to him until he was on his way out, but he took the time to stop, walk back to us and shake our hands. He parted with the words: “Keep cheering for us!”
Such a dissapointing season for the Bears… Here’s to the next one!
It’s one hell of a long shot, they have to win every game remaining if they’re going to and that’s no small feat. Against Denver (and actually the last five games or so) the Bears have looked like a different team to the start of the season and really looked like they could win even when they didn’t. The Denver game was so exciting, ending in overtime after things were all-tied at 34-34 after regular play.
With Benson now injured for the season I think the running game should improve now Wolfe and Peterson are carrying, Grossman will hopefully continue to play his good side out there (any failures attributed to him in the game against Denver were the fault of the Receiver’s and the Offensive Line failing to protect him, in my opinion), and Hester will probably continue to run through the opposing teams for the rest of the season like they don’t even exist. If I remember rightly last year it was when Hester was running in slop that he was able to really do a number on the opposing teams… Statistically the New York Giants are outplaying Chicago for the 2007 season, so this Sunday’s game could be a close game but if Chicago play like we all know they can (but have had trouble reaching) then they’ll win-out.
I’ve got that buzz right now that I get at the start of a new season, start of the playoffs or the start of the Super Bowl and it’s because of Brian Griese. I think I’d been denying my feelings, not wanting to attack Rex I hadn’t found it easy to criticize him either!
I’m really excited about Sunday… Go Bears!
I have to say, I am more happy about this than I expected to be.
As soon as the fans began chanting “Griese! Griese! …” my first thought was how that would effect the other players on the team, not about Grossman. I think there is far too much damage done to the confidence of the other players now for the Bears to force them to play with Grossman anymore… So I think it’s the right decision.
With time away, Grossman might sort his demons out, might get re-signed by the Bears during the off-season and come back next year, or the year after, a new man. If not? Good luck to the man - I just hope that a man the Chicago Bears spent four years training doesn’t become the next great Quarterback alongside names like Elway, Favre, Marino and Manning - if he’s not playing for the Bears!
I do still think this town is too touch on a Quarterback… A few minutes of playing Madden ‘08 makes you realise if it’s difficult when you have almost a birds-eye view of the field, it must be supremely difficult in real-life. The tough thing too is that when you’re a Quarterback, you can screw up once and that’s it - the opposition might get the ball. If you’re pretty much any other player on offense, you get 3 chances to make the catch or the run for 10 yards. I know that sentence doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but what I’m trying to say is that QB is a massive-pressure position… I guess not being American I maybe don’t see a few of the failures as “failures” and have come to accept them as inevitable parts of the game - because I didn’t grow up through school and college having a coach shouting at me?
Ah well, I hope Brian Griese can handle the pressure and bring the Bears back on-track. It’s annoying because I’ve been playing with Griese as QB all season in Madden ‘08 and we’ve kicked ass. 
Walking my wife to work this morning in Chicago I heard a discussion by a couple we walked past that included: “…I hope so. They just can’t put together anything on Offense.” I’m going to assume that they were talking about Rex Grossman.
The negativity towards Grossman in the Chicago TV Press has been brainwashing, and it seems that most of the locals have been caught up in the media attack. I’ve been one of the few (it seems) to support Grossman through everything, but even I have caught myself thinking that perhaps Griese would be the better option.
So let me state some facts:
Rex Grossman is entering his fifth season as a Chicago Bear.
In his first season as a full-time starting Quarterback (2006) he led the team to Super Bowl XLI.
The last time the Bears went to a Super Bowl before XLI was in 1985.
Has led the Bears for a 17-6 record.
Has the best regular season winning percentage of any Chicago Quarterback since 1961.
To answer the sentence of that discussion I heard this morning, I’ll point out that last season (that season when the Bears went to the Super Bowl - remember that?) the Chicago Bears were heavily reliant on Devin Hester. In the last game this season against Kansas the Bears won the game 20-10 and in my opinion it was pretty much the same thing we saw all last season; The Bears Defense were very good. Devin Hester provided both a kick return for a Touchdown and a kick return for good field position (that allowed Gould to get a 3-point Field Goal). I also noticed (and everyone else seems to have missed this) the Offense score a Touchdown and also the Offense drive for enough field position for Gould to get another 3 points. The offense did score points - if they didn’t we would have lost. To me, that seems very similar to last season - when we went to the Super Bowl.
We’re two games in people. It took 21 years for the Bears to return to the Super Bowl between 1985 and 2006 (when Grossman led them) and I don’t think that’s Rex Grossman’s fault - is it? Shouldn’t we be somewhat grateful that he was good enough to get them there last year - and probably is this year - too?
It’s tough - it really is - I wouldn’t be upset if this afternoon against the Cowboys Griese came out as starting Quarterback, but unlike most of Chicago I will support Rex Grossman if he does too. You’ve supported your Bears for the last 22 years haven’t you? Why not try supporting them while they have a QB who’s actually been to a Super Bowl with the team?
So what about Devin Hester? He’s a game-changer. I’ve already said what he did against Kansas in the last game and that seems pretty similar to how his season was last year. He was touted as an Offensive player in the 2007 preseason - but is that too much of a risk?
I know that if I am playing the Bears and see Hester as Wide Receiver, I’m going to hit him as hard as I can to try to take him out of the game (and out of the Special Teams). It’s an awful big risk to lose a kick returner like Hester when you have receiver’s like Olsen and Muhammad.
Is he really worth risking? No!
Before the season began I was excited about Hester actually getting the ball ahead of the opposition, giving him less players to run by, rather than returning as usual, starting behind the opposition and giving him them all to run by… Now, I just want to see him doing those amazing returns all season long, winning games all by himself if needed! Unless the Bears have a play they can run him in where he’s properly protected, they really need to be careful with Hester and Offense isn’t the right place for that.
