Our 16-0 Season Runs Into a Complication

by Shrug on Oct 1, 2006 8:10 PM PDT in Game Recap

Miserable, ugly, terribly unsavory game this evening. But give us a couple weeks to get healthy. This is probably the most welcome Week 5 bye in NFL history, though.

I would like to give you all a little bit of hope. Because I'm all about hope. Here are the worst defeats in Games 1 through 14 for each NFC champion since the year 2000:

2005 Seahawks ? Lost to Jacksonville 26-14 in Game 1
2004 Eagles ? Lost 27-9 to Pittsburgh in Game 8
2003 Panthers ? Lost to Tennessee 37-17 in Game 6
2002 Buccaneers ? Lost to Philadelphia 20-10 in Game 7
2001 Rams ? Lost to Tampa Bay 24-17 in Game 11
2000 Giants ? Lost to St. Louis 38-24 in Game 11

Well, on second thought, that doesn't look terribly hopeful, does it?

(I didn't count Games 15 and 16 because quite often those games are meaningless, like last year's loss to the Packers.)

All I'll say is that the Bears had answers for everything. In fact, they had questions for everything, which the Seahawks could not answer, so the Bears looked up the answers on the internet and answered them themselves. I think I spotted an Encyclopedia Brittanica on the Bears' sideline as well. Also, I think I saw Ken Jennings in the end zone seats. And some guy who looked a lot like Einstein.

I think it's without question the Bears are the best team in the NFC at the moment. With the Bengals losing today and the Colts eking out a win over the Jets, you might have a strong case for the Bears being the best team in the league. They're pretty scary. At the moment.

I'll talk to you all tomorrow. I have another deadline tonight. Read the premature obituary in the Times tomorrow.

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Trying hard to analyze this.

But I can't find a single flaw in the Bears' plan execution. They seemed to be everywhere we wanted to go and went everywhere we weren't. My hat's off to that team because they all played really really well.

I don't think anybody, except for one moron whose only rationale was "its a road game for the 'hawks", thought this would be so lobsided. I was expecting a loss this week, but I was expecting a battle ending up 20 - 17 or some such jazz. Instead, Chicago proved they're a good team and I don't know what the heck we proved.

I'd like to place blame on the defense, or on the offensive line, or on Hasselbeck for being stupid a couple of times, or on not having Alexander and Jeremay Stevens to balance out the offense, but I can't because that would cheapen the entirety of the Bears' plan. They were almost perfect.

Could it have been different in Quest instead of Soldier Field? Yeah. But we weren't playing there, so that's a moot arguement. Could it have been different with all our players healthy? Yeah, but how much is unknown, so speculating is stupid. In the end, just count this loss as a blessing in disguise.

That's right. I look at this as a good thing. Just about everything bad that could go our way did in one game. Dropped passes, bad protection, bad defense, stupid penalties, no breaks going our way. Everything all at the same time. Odds are good teams wont have much more then a couple of games like this and it's just a good thing to get this out of the way NOW instead of down the road somewhere when it matters more. The Bears aren't going to go 16-0 either, and they'll have a game like this eventually too. Just got to take this game as a HUGE life lesson, take the bye week to fix what's wrong, and go get a very different but not sucky St. Louis team two weeks from now.

Congratulations Chicago. See you in the postseason.

DAMNIT!

by TIF on Oct 1, 2006 8:33 PM PDT 0 recs

Exactly.

All of it.

--Shrug

by Shrug on Oct 1, 2006 8:35 PM PDT up 0 recs

TIF said it best

I just want to add we weren't gonna go 16-0, however the lose still sucks.

If your reading this bear fans-congrats! you guys played great...but you will NOT be beating us 37-6 in the playoffs.

by MFAN on Oct 1, 2006 8:47 PM PDT 0 recs

nope.

Especially if the game's in Seattle. The Seahawks need to do their damnedest to make sure that's the case.

Sports and Bremertonians. Because we can.

by wackomann on Oct 1, 2006 8:56 PM PDT up 0 recs

Your right

In the playoffs you don't score six you get three. Get your ass whipped again. 37-3.

by draftday on Oct 1, 2006 9:24 PM PDT up 0 recs

so you admit we would score?

by MFAN on Oct 1, 2006 9:49 PM PDT up 0 recs

That information didn't give me any hope

This loss would be the worst loss for an NFC champion during the first 14 games of the season since, at earliest, 1999.

by John Spartan on Oct 1, 2006 9:15 PM PDT 0 recs

Yeah...

I noted that too. But I went with it anyway.

--Shrug

by Shrug on Oct 1, 2006 9:17 PM PDT up 0 recs

So.

Uh.

Well.

Yeah.

Good game. I knew we'd beat the Bears. It was never a question in my mind.

Anyway, a word of advice for everyone: Do not EVER step foot into the Fox Sports Grill. A friend and I went there to watch the game. We arrived two hours early because we knew it'd be packed. What we didn't forsee was the profound amount of assholes and posers we'd have to fend off. If the Seahawks had won 37 - 6 it still would've been a horrible experience. In summary, Don't Go To The Fox Sports Grill Unless You're An Asshole Or Poser.

Thank you and goodnight.

by rhealz on Oct 1, 2006 9:19 PM PDT 0 recs

n/s

We went during a slow afternoon during basketball season once and got really good sandwiches.

--Shrug

by Shrug on Oct 1, 2006 9:22 PM PDT up 0 recs

Poser.

by rhealz on Oct 1, 2006 9:23 PM PDT up 0 recs

heard nothng but bad things about Fox

Jillians every time. Or my sunday ticket house now.

by mike b on Oct 1, 2006 10:06 PM PDT up 0 recs

Classy.

by rhealz on Oct 1, 2006 9:29 PM PDT 0 recs

yeah reeeeeeal classy

One problem though -- how will we return the favor in the NFC title game when they lose their patented second round home game (McNabb did whaaaaaat? Steve Smith had HOW many yards?).

Or to put this another way -- talking $hit on another team's board is about as worthless as you can get.

by SankTheTank on Oct 1, 2006 11:05 PM PDT up 0 recs

Actually...

...talking $hit on opposing boards happens all the time. It's just part of the game. Don't get too rattled by it (unless it's sick and abusive, which this wasn't).

Regroup, gentlemen. The Bears earned their right to crow tonight. Let's just focus on getting our right to do that back soon.

Or, rather, let the actual team focus on that. Then we can work on the crowing. You know what I mean.

--Shrug

by Shrug on Oct 1, 2006 11:27 PM PDT up 0 recs

fair enough...

It is your blog after all :)

I'm just a subscriber to the "if you wouldn't say it to my face at a bar, you shouldn't say it to me via a post on a message board."

But yeah, let's all get some sleep, cuz today sucked.

by SankTheTank on Oct 1, 2006 11:36 PM PDT up 0 recs

Heh

Well, the wonders of the internets is that you're supposed to say stuff you wouldn't say in a bar, because nobody knows what you look like. (However, having been in quite a few bars in Chicago, I think it's pretty safe to say a lot of 'em would say this stuff in a bar. We Seahawk fans have to get out to Olympia to find bars like that.)

But ya know. You get the point. Trash talk's okay until somebody starts leaving dead animals on the porch.

I hope sleep is forthcoming over here. Thanks for coming by man!

--Shrug

by Shrug on Oct 2, 2006 12:05 AM PDT up 0 recs

Well Grossman Can wing the pig

thats for sure

We got our ass handed to us

Thats about all I can say about that

Now I am going to go eat some crow

by Scruffy Lefty on Oct 1, 2006 10:07 PM PDT 0 recs

homerism

Is this really better then a 21-17 loss? If we play the Bears again in the playoff, there's not a lot they can take away from this game beyond that we were an extremely crappy team, whereas our guys at least have had the wakeup call that they have to give maximum effort or Urlacher will pound them into jelly.

I don't know. It's probably BS homerism. At least we lost to a good team and not as an upset to someone like Green Bay.

by Captain Morgan on Oct 1, 2006 10:35 PM PDT 0 recs

It's Week 4 is what it is

All your points are right, they're not BS homerism. I think we did try as best as we could. The Bears were the toughest opponent on our whole schedule and they did nothing to downgrade themselves.

We're going to get better. We've had some holes, lapses, and things we need to address, but we have a lot of time -- and a somewhat cushy schedule after tonight -- in which to address them. The Seahawks just can't take anything for granted, but they've never struck me as a team that does that anyway.

We're four games into the season and we're .750. Now we just have to be aware of the next steps we have to take. Long way to go.

--Shrug

by Shrug on Oct 1, 2006 11:39 PM PDT up 0 recs

Is this really better then a 21-17 loss?

Yes. Losing a close game means that you go back and look at only a few flaws that cost you, ignoring other things that may not necessarily have been flaws in that game. Having your ass handed to you gives you a chance to take a step back and look at the big picture.

There is no way Mike Holmgren loses again to this Bears team. He's way too smart for that. He'll find a way to beat them. When he knows his opponent and has lots of data on them, he can find ways to beat them. Unknown teams like the Lions this year and Jacksonville last year, have historically given the 'Hawks fits because all they can do is go out there with their usual game plan which is very widely known.

I think it was John Madden who said it during the game: "You hear about this Bears defense, but until you actually see it..." It rings true. Seeing it with your own eyes, and by that I mean Holmgren and the players, gives you a better perspective on things.

DAMNIT!

by TIF on Oct 2, 2006 12:54 AM PDT up 0 recs

Good point

I think a good example was the Packers back in 2004. They beat us 35-13 in the refular season and then only 33-27 in the playoffs in a game we easily could of won.

by MFAN on Oct 2, 2006 7:06 AM PDT up 0 recs

regular or refular

sorry its 7 am

by MFAN on Oct 2, 2006 7:06 AM PDT up 0 recs

errr

I meant to say, "is this really WORSE" then. Going by your response, I'm not sure if I confused you or not as to my real opinion, which is that this is not a trainwreck.

by Captain Morgan on Oct 2, 2006 5:25 PM PDT up 0 recs

Was it just me

or was our defense plan just not ready for Grossmans arm?

I remember on the big play I forgot who caught it but the big rainbow pass Grossman threw. Leroy Hill was lined up wide down at the bottom of the screen because there was a mix up in coverage. And I said out loud "O shit" before the play snapped and next thing you know we were sucking from the Bears Tit.

I really think the turning point was the 4th and 1 in first quater. (which by the way was the correct spot because I watched a whole thing on NFL network about Ref decisions and a play similar to that came up and argued with a friend for about 30 min about how that was the right way to do it. And I told him just wait til the situation comes up with the seahawks and it did)

by Scruffy Lefty on Oct 2, 2006 8:31 AM PDT 0 recs

Hungover this morning, Scruffy?

You had some classic posts last night.

by Phildopip on Oct 2, 2006 9:41 AM PDT up 0 recs

A little

I really shouldn't drink beer it makes me a little belligerent

by Scruffy Lefty on Oct 2, 2006 9:50 AM PDT up 0 recs

Cool.

I'm just bitter about the defeat. Hopefully we'll meet again in January (in Seattle).

by rhealz on Oct 2, 2006 12:28 PM PDT 0 recs

By that I mean...

If we see the Bears in the postseason, and it's the relative same squad we saw here Sunday, Holmgren's plan of attack will be much better. When Holmgren, and defensive coordinators Ray Rhodes and John Marshall (mostly Marshall right now), have enough data to analyze, they can pick apart anything.

Washington would be a good example. The Redskins were passing roughshod all over us in the early loss we suffered to them last year. In the playoffs, they couldn't do squat. Part of that was home field advantage, part of it was the players being more prepared for what we were going to face, and the rest was the plan.

Similarly, the Bears did not prepare well enough for Carolina and were defeated, ending their season. Holmgren, Marshall, et al found out how to beat the Panthers and exploited their weaknesses thoroughly the next week.

I don't think Lovie Smith is a dumb man, so he's going to do something a little different when / if we see each other again too. Rather, he has no choice. Smith has faced Holmgren many times both as a coach and defensive coordinator. He knows how smart Holmgren is. But if Holmgren gets creative, nobody can prepare for it. The Giants found this out last week. They were unprepared for what we did, and we destroyed them. The Giants gameplan was based on what they knew of us before and Mike changed up on them.

Preparation in football, in any sport, is the second most important part of the game. The most important thing is talent, because the coach doesn't play the game. The Seahawks have the talent, and so do the Bears. This time it was the Bears' plan that won. It wont be so easy next time.

DAMNIT!

by TIF on Oct 3, 2006 3:38 AM PDT 0 recs

You can't gameplan..

The defensive line dominating your offensive line.

WindyCityGridIron.com the place for real football talk

by Chad on Oct 3, 2006 11:48 AM PDT up 0 recs

haha

8 sacks on 11/20/2005 against Carolina

1 sack on 1/16/2006 against Carolina

What's that? The sound of you being utterly, completely, gloriously wrong.

by Captain Morgan on Oct 3, 2006 9:08 PM PDT up 0 recs

nah...

That was execution. What I'm saying is that you cant try to block better or draw up better blocking scheme but if the d line overpowers the o line you get sacks. The very fact that we refused to double cover Steve Smith led to Delhomme needing very little time to get Smith the ball. Totally different situation.

WindyCityGridIron.com the place for real football talk

by Chad on Oct 3, 2006 11:00 PM PDT up 0 recs

interesting

So Carolina's offensive line didn't improve at all between November and January, it was just a matter of dumping the ball off to Smith quicker?

No.

Smith was consistantly open in both games and racked up absurd yardage (169 week 11/218 playoffs) against your secondary- in other words, he's basically a complete nonfactor when comparing how Carolina's offensive line improved between November and January. Smith was real open in the playoffs? He was in Week 11, too.

Now of course you can hope that a second time, there's no way the Seahawks OL can compete with the Bears, but considering this exact situation happened last year with hilarious results, I'd be a little cautious.

by Captain Morgan on Oct 4, 2006 6:02 PM PDT up 0 recs

Hmmm...

How many touchdowns did Smith have in the first game? Yards don't mean shit if you don't score. Smith caught a bunch of balls in the first game but he was surrounded and was not allowed any really big plays. It didn't lead to any points. In January it was not the same.

WindyCityGridIron.com the place for real football talk

by Chad on Oct 5, 2006 10:48 AM PDT up 0 recs

oh yes

almost forget this part.

When Steve Smith is double-covered, standing on the Chicago 2 yard line, waiting for Delhomme to throw a 46 yard jump-ball pass, there is no attempt on behalf of Carolina to get rid of the ball quicker to cover for offensive failings.

by Captain Morgan on Oct 5, 2006 7:34 PM PDT up 0 recs

Also...

That also goes to my point that you don't game plan blocking. You block better. The Panther's line did a better job of blocking. They showed up and did their jobs.

WindyCityGridIron.com the place for real football talk

by Chad on Oct 5, 2006 10:51 AM PDT up 0 recs

ok

So why on earth can't you believe that the Hawks OL can "show up to play" as you put it and block better in a future matchup if you freely admit that Carolina's OL, after being physically dominated and annihilated for 8 sacks in the first game, played better the second time?

It's possible the Bears will dominate again, but responding to a post about how the Seahawks can perform better next time by saying there's nothing we can do about the Hawks OL being crushed seems foolish to me when the exact same turnaround happened last year with Carolina.

by Captain Morgan on Oct 5, 2006 7:21 PM PDT up 0 recs

Found the Bears' game plan

Reproduced in a diagram here:

I have changed my sig line accordingly, thanks to advice from this handy site, which gives Hawks fans some strategies for dealing with the experience of watching the Seahawks get their butts kicked.

Just for now. On Oct. 15 I'll change it to a link to a nice recipe for lamb stew.

**BACON VERY IMPORTANT THAT BACON BE AVAILABLE AT EVERY MEAL AND DURING DAY

by Billy Everyteen on Oct 3, 2006 12:00 PM PDT 0 recs