Quick thoughts because the hotel has a computer time limit and there’s a greasy kid behind me itching to update his Facebook status.
- Never been prouder to be a Bears fan than last night. In what was essentially a meaningless game, played in frigid cold, the place was packed and loud. People cared in that building and they cared a lot. Makes me think doing this is worth it sometimes.
- Player of the Game: Chris Williams. He got some help with chips but he outplayed Jared Allen all night long. If that’s all we learned yesterday, that’s fine by me.
- I agree with what’s being written in Chicago this morning. This game in no way validates Lovie Smith. His defense gave up thirty points in a half last night. Have our standards really dropped that low? It does – I hope – help Ron Turner go out on a high note. Always liked the game, while not his play calls, and this was his signature win.
- D.A., Knox, Hester and Bennett can be a receiving corps if the club finds a way to bring Anquan Boldin here.
- Hi, Tommie Harris. Good to see you again.
- I don’t know how it looked on television but Olin Kreutz was manhandled by Jimmy Kennedy inside the ballpark. And that’s Jimmy Kennedy we’re talking about.
- You know who gets a pass? Robbie Gould. Did you see how awful Ryan Longwell was on kickoffs? Gould outkicked him by at least an average of ten yards.
- You can’t be great and fumble as much as Adrian Peterson.
- Two guys I’ll be sad to see play in another uniform: Alex Brown and Desmond Clark.
- If the Bears were smart, they’d add a big safety this offseason and let Craig Steltz start next to him. With the right coaching, he could be a breakout star in 2010.
- Tip your cap to Favre and Rice on the fourth down score. Brilliant pitch and catch.
- Final thought: signature win of the 2009 season and surely something to build on for Cutler, D.A., Chris Williams, Greg Olsen and a few guys on the other side of the ball. It should not save the coach’s job. But it should make this roster a bit more appetizing to a new coach.