Bucs @ Bears: the treatise

By Emerald Gao
Written on December 17, 2006

JESUS CHRIST, BEARS, WAY TO MAKE ME LOSE MY MARBLES. You're on cruise control for the first three quarters, and then the defense, the vaunted defense that owns me ten times over in any other week, goes and allows 21 points in a Giants-esque meltdown, only it's not quite so bad because the offense actually did their job today, so we end up with a 31-31 tie, and I've sweated off about five pounds at this point. OT is similarly heartstopping, but the defense held on (better late than left in the dust, I say), the Bucs screwed themselves over with a few tickytack penalties, and Grossman led the team down the field one final time for the game-winning points.

The defense has been on a downward slide in the past three weeks; some could see it coming all the way from Mike Brown's injury in the Arizona game, but I think the situation has truly escalated with the double loss at the safety position of Todd Johnson and Nathan Vasher, and now the double loss at the defensive lineman position with Tommie Harris out and the whole Tank Johnson debacle. They only got one takeaway last week, and barely managed two this week, one in OT, which makes me think they're getting tired, or less hungry, or something equally worrisome.

Special teams are experiencing the same kind of thing, with Hester's meteoric rise to mini-stardom, followed by a week that would be considered average, which wouldn't necessarily be bad, if we were talking about any other player. But we aren't. We're talking about Devin Hester, who comes into the game riding on waves of confidence, only to fumble the ball twice, once leading directly to a Bucs TD.

Add to all that instability the loss of John Tait, which I think has had an understated effect on the O-line because he's the weak side defender; he protects Rex's back on every single snap. St. Clair, his replacement, hasn't been nearly as steady, and that was proven today with the number of sacks that were allowed. All things considered, Rex has been outstanding, and I honestly feel so proud of him, which sounds ridiculous as a fan, but truthfully, he does have my appreciation. He has addressed every single one of his critics either directly or indirectly, faced all of his problems and all of his fears, and overcome them, and that, more than a strong arm or deadly aim, is what makes me admire him so much.

I don't want to speculate on any of Robbie Gould's recent misses, least of all that first amazing chance to win today's game with a 37-yarder, which is his golden range(!). He seems like a confidence kicker, and ever since the Pats blocked the ball for his first missed field goal of the season, he has been a bit Bambi-esque, missing both last week against the Rams and now ... But the good thing is, Gould knows that youth is not an excuse for inconsistency, so he comes through when we need him the most.

Adrian Peterson, who has been invisible throughout large chunks of the season, has come through big time in the past couple of weeks, and he deserves all the credit in the world for putting his head down and working hard, gaining those last precious few yards for Gould to put the points up. I personally think Lovie sent him back to the kick on first down just so he could keep his head up and redeem himself, and yeah, you can bet your season ticket that that makes me like Lovie even more than I already do.

The running game? The running game needs to stay. You work off the running game, get some yardage before firing those quick little passes to the tight ends or fullbacks, and Moose and Berrian get their touches too. This is a good offense us fans have been seeing, and we'll keep it, thanks. Now the defense needs to regroup, forget about injuries and court cases and get back to basics. Special teams just need to take some sedatives or something, calm down before they short-circuit.

The moral of the story is: I will write a thesis on anything except what actually matters in life. Home advantage is a fantastic, fantastic thing. When the Saints go marching in, they will get mauled by the Bears.

Back to article index