It’s already been done ad-nauseum, so I’m not going to go into great detail on yesterday’s games. Indianapolis simply dominated the New York Jets, and New Orleans was lucky it wasn’t dominated. How a team only wins by three when it’s given six fumbles and two interceptions is beyond me. But nonetheless, congratulations to both the Colts and the Saints on reaching the big game.

The real purpose of today’s installment is to shed light on a franchise that’s making the Buffalo Bills’ search for a coach seem like a picnic. And I’m not talking about a team looking for a head coach. I’m looking at the coordinator-less Chicago Bears.

At the end of their disappointing season, the Bears fired their offensive coordinator Ron Turner, as well as defensive coordinator Bob Babich. Both moves were seen as a formality, but I never could have imagined that we’d be past the Conference Championships and Da Bears would still be without men to run their offence and defence. I’ll start chronicling the futility on the defensive side of the ball.

When Lovie Smith relinquished his play-calling duties, Chicago’s focus shifted to Perry Fewell. The interim Buffalo Bills head coach worked under Smith both with the St. Louis Rams and the Bears – but he chose the New York Giants instead. Since then, it’s been all-quiet on the western front for the Bears’ defence. With Smith still on board, a coach with Cover 2 background is a necessity. Some of the candidates being tossed around are Seattle defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, current defensive line coach Rod Marinelli (yes, he of the 0-16 Detroit Lions fame), and even, former NY Jets and Kansas City Chiefs head coach Herm Edwards.

Even more upsetting are the prospects at offensive coordinator. The Bears’ (and Jay Cutler’s) first choice was USC o-coordinator Jeremy Bates – Cutler’s confidant in Denver. He decided to join Pete Carroll in Seattle, as did another option, quarterback coach Jedd Fisch. Chicago wanted to interview Green Bay quarterback coach Tom Clements, but were denied. Ken Zampese (QB coach for the Bengals) and Rob Chudzinski (TE coach for the Chargers) have both been interviewed, but neither seem likely for the job. Mike Martz has openly campaigned to be up to the challenge, but he’s known to be quite a handful to work with. This one doesn’t look like it’ll be ending anytime soon.

The harsh reality for the Chicago Bears and their fans is that no one wants either job. We saw this just over a week ago with the Bills, until the ’settled’ on Chan Gailey. The Bears seem to be stuck with a long list of candidates, yet none of which they’re truly sold on. The solution? Well, the first option is to get rid of Lovie Smith. It’s painfully clear that people are shying away from the Windy City due to Smith’s job security, or lack thereof. If he’s terminated next season, the entire staff may be gutted as well, leaving whoever takes these jobs back in the unemployment line.

A second problem, at least offensively, is the presence of Jay Cutler. Yes Chicago finally has a franchise quarterback, but one who needs special attention and someone he’s comfortable working with. Cutler lobbied hard for Bates and Fisch, but neither wanted to reunite with him.

As for the defence, it’s tough to be motivated to take over a unit that’s statistically declined in the three seasons since Chicago’s Superbowl birth. With the insistence on the Cover 2 defence, potential candidates are clearly scared off by the lack of a pass rush, aging and injured middle linebacker, and questionable at best secondary.

The Chicago Bears are in a position no team wants to be in – respected personnel are staying away from the organization. They need to rectify the problem immediately, or it’s going to be a long season at Halas Hall.

TWO POINT CONVERSION

- David Garrard, Pro Bowler. How utterly ridiculous

- the Jets released five coaches today. Interesting philosophy for a team that just exceeded expectations and made the Conference Championships

Forget Deion Sanders. A current player has taken over the title of “Primetime”. Unfortunately for this player, it’s for all the wrong reasons.

Jay Cutler has played in three primetime games so far for the Chicago Bears, and each start has been forgettable for the man who was supposed to be Chicago’s football saviour.  It all began in Week One, when the Bears faced off against NFC North rival Green Bay at Lambeau Field. Cutler, in his Chicago debut, tossed four interceptions to a new-look Packers defence, and the Bears fell 21-15.  Skip ahead to Week Six, and Cutler was at it again, this time tossing two picks at the Georgia Dome as the Bears fell 21-14 to the Atlanta Falcons. And then there was last night. On the NFL’s first Thursday-nighter of the year, Cutler throws five interceptions, and the Bears can’t even muster a touchdown in a 10-6 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

If you ask anyone watching those games, the Bears were the better team on the field. Not to say they were perfect, but Chicago could and should have come away with those wins. In those three games, Cutler has thrown three touchdowns and 11 interceptions. That ratio won’t even cut it in Cleveland. In Chicago’s non-primetime games, Cutler has 11 TD’s and six interceptions – three of which came trying to play catch-up against the Bengals in Week Seven.

In a discussion last night with some friends, I was asked if I’d rather have Kyle Orton at the helm, or Jay Cutler. It took me less than a second to answer: Cutler. The difference is simple. Jay Cutler can win you games, and he can lose you games (see Exhibit C – Week Ten vs. the 49ers). Kyle Orton can play games. He doesn’t win a game on his own, he doesn’t lose one for you – he just plays.

Any fan of the Chicago Bears has every right to be livid after watching last night’s game. Cutler tried to force the ball into too many dicey areas, and he was burned (picked off by a nose tackle? You’ve got to be kidding me). But before they go calling for General Manager Jerry Angelo’s head for making the move to get Cutler, consider watching the Denver Broncos passing attack. If Kyle Orton throws a ball over 20 yards, I’ll be amazed.

Chicago still has two more primetime games to go – next week versus Philadelphia Sunday night, and Week 16 versus Minnesota for the Monday nighter. For his sake, I hope Jay Cutler is able to handle himself a little better and cut down on the INT’s. If not, we may be looking at the NFL record holder for most interceptions in a season.

TWO POINT CONVERSION

- I don’t care if you hate both teams with a passion – watch the Bengals at Steelers Sunday afternoon. It will be the tough AFC North matchup the Ravens were supposed to give the Bengals last week

- ESPN’s John Clayton took a real chance when he predicted his Super Bowl match up earlier this week: New Orleans vs. Indianapolis. Wow, thanks for that John. Anyone can take the two undefeated teams and schedule them for the big game. Me? Right now I like the Steelers to play the Vikings

College of Sports Media Game of the Night:

The NFL regular season is less then two weeks away from starting and most preseason games are no longer tryouts, but are being played as warm ups for week 1. Fro anyone who caught the Chicago Bears and Denver Broncos clash last night the first three quarters felt like a play off game. I guess Jay Cutler making his return to the Mile High State had something to do with that.

Tonight the Minnesota Vikings and the Brett Favre Experiment make their way to the Lone Star state to take on the Houston Texans. There are several rumours out there that the Vikings locker room is divided into three – Favre supporters, Sage Rosenfels backers and Tarvaris Jackson followers. Favre will get the start and if he struggles expect the critics to get louder. The Houston Texans look to be in great position to improve on their 8-8 record last year. They have young gunslinger, Matt Schaub, behind centre and arguably one of the most talented wide receivers in the game Andre Johnson. Add to the mix second year running back Steve Slaton and you have one of the most potent offences in the AFC. Slaton rushed for 1282 yards, nine touchdowns and led the conference in yards from scrimmage. If the defence can play as well as the offence this Houston team could challenge New England, Pittsburgh, Tennessee and San Diego.

Sorry for yesterday’s post…. I am back to being riled up.

“Yes, this Buffalo Bills game in Toronto today has not exactly worked out as planned but even so, the economics have to be daunting for the Canadian Football League. Today’s game will bring in more ticket revenue — about $8 million — than the Argonauts manage for an entire season. The Argos range from $6 million to $7 million a year in ticket sales”

“But the first National Football League game to be played in Canada ended up accomplishing what nobody really envisioned. It angered people in Buffalo. It angered people in Toronto. It cost Rogers Communications all kinds of money. And it entertained almost no one.”

Ahhhh yes, Mr. Simmons. To whom the glass is always entirely empty. Funny how only yesterday the CFL should be worried that one games revenue equaled more then an entire season and today everyone is “angry”.

Ok sports fans, I will bite… Raise your hand if you are angry about yesterday’s game at the Ted. Forget the outcome as well, anybody can be angry on any given Sunday. Seriously, I want to know the person who was “angered in Toronto”. Except those who couldn’t drive around near the Dome yesterday due to road closures, raise your hand if the game made you “angry”. That is what I thought. There is nothing to be angry about. His entire article is full of contradictions. I spoke to 25 people who went to the game yesterday. Each of them and their respective groups were thoroughly entertained. Every one of them said the same thing “We had a great time”. So, there you have it, I can’t believe my peeps were the only ones entertained…

The game brought in 8 million in ticket revenue alone. That doesn’t count all the other crap. Was it a HUGE success ? No, was it a COLOSSAL failure, no. Let’s recall all those stories about the amounts of money the Rogers Community has lost on the Blue Jays or other entities. Certain things corporations do for total profit (like charging 1.99 for directory assistance on a cell call) and others they do for profit, pr, marketing etc.

Yesterday, I had the good fortune of being outside for about 20 minutes at a local cemetery. Never a fun event, but I can tell you it was certainly in the top 5 coldest 20 minutes of my life. So, for the Bills fans who are so angry, get your pals and companies to buy more tickets so that your owner wouldn’t have to move a few games to where he can subsidize his take locally. That, or get in the car and drive. As much as people say they would have preferred to be outside yesterday, be the least be honest. Here in Toronto, which is Florida compared to Buffalo weather, it was unbearable outside yesterday. I can only imagine what it was like in Buffalo. Those Bills fans who went to the game (of which half of my 25 were) all were thrilled it was in doors.

“People paid mortgage payments for a pair of tickets to watch J.P. Losman play quarterback. That doesn’t seem fair to anybody. He is Buffalo’s Michael Bishop — and before Saskatchewan let him go, you could watch for him about 25 bucks.”

Now, remember that line folks, and compare it to:

“The good people at Rogers — bless them — announced attendance at 52,134. Some of them apparently paid. Those who attended the Metro Bowl high school championships last week were given freebies. Those who work for Rogers or the Blue Jays were informed they could have free tickets.

Outside, you could have had scalpers’ seats for less than $50. That makes this event dubious as a way of impressing the NFL.

So, you want it both ways? Metro Bowlers (couldn’t resist) and Roger Community Members were allowed in for free and scalping would land you a seat for $50. Raise your hand if your mortgage payment is $50. I know the argument, people shelled out good money early at face price for seats. I know a couple of people who had to fly home last minute from Florida last week. The bought their tickets on westjet.com the day before the flight, they paid under $200 for their tickets tax in. They sat with another friend who just happened to be on their flight but bought her ticket several weeks ago. She paid over $450 for her ticket. Life isn’t fair. What can I tell you.

“What also was evident was that the emotional draw that makes sport special — being here for your team, caring, being passionate — loses its appeal in what ostensibly seemed like a neutral-site game. When I asked a friend in the stands to rate the atmosphere, he called it a D-.”

Clearly your friends aren’t my friends.

“This had a corporate Super Bowl feel to it. A lot of people paid a lot of money to be here and then weren’t sure what to do.”

What were people expecting? This is not a surprise to anyone with a brain who knows the Toronto market. Look at the facts. The majority of people who grew up in this city loved one of several NFL teams, the cowboys (America’s team), the Dolphins (I am not sure why), the bills (proximity) and the (steelers- Bradshaw and the boys). No offense to anyone who lives and dies for another team. Growing up in Toronto, everyone I know roots for one of those teams in strong majorities. Toronto is not entirely a Bills town. This was a neutral site game. It is not different then games in Europe, Mexico or anywhere else. To complain that it had a corporate feel is stupid. Love it,or hate it, this is Toronto. If you don’t like it, unfortunately, you are wishing away your teams. People may bemoan the corporate feel to the ACC, but guess what Leaf Nation it is sold out every night. If you want the team to be able to spend to the cap, and you want it go get big name GM’s and coaches, that barn has to be full. Wait until you see what the Blue Jays look like this year if the rumored trimming takes place.

“All our lives we’ve been waiting for the National Football League. Today we have to take a moment and wonder why. After the most talked-about, most promoted, most hyped football game played in Toronto, all there was left at the end was a sense of ambivalence.”

Who hyped it? Who has been waiting for an NFL Bills Dolphins Game all their lives? If that is you, I am truly sorry for you. Give Toronto a game where it is the home team, the Toronto Whatevers against either the Bills or the Dolphins then we can talk. The hype? Media created. Yes Rogers held a press conference, the press covered it. How many times did the folks at the Fan590 have the bills guys on the air. Say what you want, and I know who owns the fan, but the hype here is on the press. The naysayers poo-pooed this from the get go. There is no surprise at the result. What did people expect?

Say whatever you want. The NFL should be the easiest sale of the year. Each HOME team only hosts 8 regular season games and 2 pre-season games. No matter what you charge for a season ticket, the multiplier is 10….10!!!!! Not 41, or 81, 10!. If you don’t sell the game out they Bill Wirtz you. That’s right the game doesn’t go on local tv. 5 times this year, a HOME team hasn’t been able to sell enough tickets to lift the blackout. Here we had a neutral game and they were able to lift it. 5 times, the folks in their respective home towns couldn’t care enough to go to a game. In those towns there is a HOME team. In those towns (Oakland and Detroit) the teams suck, but hey so do the Cubs and the Maple Leafs. We all know of cities that have lots teams. It happens too often and will happen again. (personally I don’t think it’s that unimaginable that the Jays aren’t here in 8-10 years, but that is a blog post for another day). Here in Toronto the game sold out. I don’t care the ‘nitty girtty’, the NFL wouldn’t lift the blackout if they weren’t satisfied that their standards in doing so weren’t met. This wasn’t a home game, this was an event. At 5 different home stadiums where weather wasn’t an issue (one is a dome, one is in CA) they couldn’t sell enough tickets to show the game on tv.

Anyone who is grumpy about the price of tickets or concessions needs to give their head a shake. If scalpers were selling tickets as cheaply as being reported then you could have gone for next to nothing. As for concessions, take your kids, or your significant other to a movie and buy a popcorn and a pop. Go to the Jays game and see what you pay. Newsflash, we live in an expensive city. Have you been to a local McDonald’s lately?? Seriously, I don’t take my kids because the food is lousy AND it’s not cheap… I could live with crappy burgers if they were cheap.

The game was exactly what it should have been. For those who said it didn’t feel like a normal NFL game, newsflash, it wasn’t. Every other NFL game has a home team. Those who went and said I don’t get the hype, then you weren’t paying attention to the nuances of the game and your expectations weren’t properly set. Go to Washington DC and take in a Redskins game. Go early, find your way to a tailgate party. Do the same in Chicago, San Diego, Miami….

Lastly, as for the game itself. Which, in all sporting EVENTS is usually secondary, was pretty much what was expected. The Dolphins who were 1-15 last year are a team on the incline. The Bills despite their start are clearly a team on the decline. The game pretty much matched that. If you read the Buffalo paper today and compare it with the Miami papers and look at the game analysis you will see just that. How many Super Bowls have been great games. Events as opposed to games are rarely worth watching.

Simmons’ column is the usual BS. Noise created by a badly dressed spinster.

I feel so much better now….