Mid Season Report

You know, when the talking heads get their hands on a sports statistic, they do not shut up about it.  This week's, during the Bears game, we learned that the Bears quarterback, Jay Cutler, is the most blitzed in the NFL.  The other teams just love to send seven or eight guys across the line to try to kill him.  They do it 48% of the time.  That was an interesting statistic.  The first time.

You know what else they told us?  The Bears are terrible on third down, terrible in the red zone, and have a great defense that is really good at creating turnovers.  They say this like it is news.  As if the Bears were ever fabulous on third down, or even in the red zone. 

People.  The last time the Bears went to the freakin' Super Bowl, it was because the defense created turnovers and the offense....managed.  (That, and we drafted this kid named Devin that has a bit of a knack for special teams.)  These are the universal truths regarding the Chicago Bears.

This season there has been a lot of talk about the injuries, particularly head injuries caused by helmet-tohelmet hits.  This week, we also learned about things that are scarier than your QB going out with a concussion.  That would be Julius Peppers hitting the quarterback and not getting up.  Which my mother noted isn't as scary as the possibility of Brian Urlacher not getting up after a play.  And five minutes after that discussion, we saw the Colts' Austin Collie take a hit that landed him immobilized on a stretcher and carted off this field.  Phil Simms just said that he was sitting up in the locker room and they think it is just a concussion.

Tangent:  Miss Janis, a friend of our family, grew up in England and doesn't quite get football.  But she is a good sport and watches games with us when she is at our house on holidays.  A good dozen times a game, she will see someone hit and gasp in despair and we almost automatically tell her, "He's fine.  Look - he bounced right up!"  Even I am not feeling non-chalant about it right now.

Anyway.  If you had told me in August that after eight weeks, the Bears would have a record of 5 and 3, tied with the Packers at the top of the Division, I would have been thrilled.  I do not feel thrilled.

Maybe next week, after we beat those Vikings, (and stay healthy while doing it) I will feel thrilled.