can someone explain how the bears won???

[Big Hugg]

Originally Posted by andymac

Meh. The Cardinals game plan was to come out and use the passing game as a running game. They were throwing short and letting their excellent wide receivers make plays because they knew they weren't going to get anything in the running game. Leinert didn't even really throw any medium range passes all night, so the Cardinals weren't going to score behind his arm. Both touchdowns were Leinert throwing about a 5-8 yard pass and the receiver making someone miss to get there. As the game wore on the Bears adjusted and the defensive line started concentrating more on closing Leinert's passing lanes and trying to knock those short passes down at the line of scrimmage (and they got 3 or 4 of them).

It isn't like they changed their mind and got conservative late in the game, they were conservative the entire game because they knew if they tried to do something riskier down field it was likely going to be the Bears making the plays. The offensive line is horrible, you can't run for under 2 yards a carry and hope to close a game out.

And Leinart was moving them right down the field on that final drive with their short passing game. Making it look really easy too. And then, for no other reason than I guess they were "supposed to" they decided to run the ball on 2nd and 3 and 3rd and 2 despite the fact they hadn't been able to run the ball the whole game.

Would Leinart have definitely continued to dink and dunk them to the end zone, can't say. But certainly had a better chance then their 1 yard and a cloud of dust running game.

They went away from what was working for no reason.

And that's just talking about the final drive.

Noted in Len Pasquarelli's column today: On the six offensive possessions between the time Arizona grabbed its 20-point lead and the point at which the Bears jumped ahead on Devin Hester's scintillating punt return for a touchdown, the Cardinals' offense managed 34 yards and three first downs on 21 snaps. That's an average of just 3.5 snaps per series. On just two of those half-dozen possessions did the Cardinals take more than two minutes off the game clock. Two of the possessions consumed less than one minute. Four of the six possessions concluded in punts and the other two ended on lost fumbles.

But here's the most notable statistic from that stretch: The Cardinals threw just one first-down pass on those six possessions. And just two second-down passes. Basically they put the passing game, and, thus, Leinart, on ice until third down. Until it was too late.

If you can't run the ball, don't stop passing. It's not like they were running a high risk passing offense.

[Prodigal Son]

Had the Cards not had players fumble IN THEIR OWN REDZONES WITH A BIG ASS LEAD, then the conservative game plan works just fine. The idea of the conservative game plan is to avoid turnovers (interceptions, particularly). All the Cards players had to do was NOT TOTALLY SCREW EVERYTHING UP and they'd win. The one thing, the most important thing, the single thing you'd tell Leinhart and James in those late situations is not to fumble the ball. Both did. That loss was on the players--one a veteran and the other a first-round pick with as good a pedigree as any young player. There was no reason that any offensive coordinator would think they would hand the ball--and the game--away.

James had five Bears around him, he was going nowhere, yet he had one arm on the ball. In the first quarter of a tie game, trying to make something happen, that's a risk you can take to keep a little more mobility and a free arm. In the situation he was in, though, that was inexcusable.

[JDOldSchool]

Originally Posted by marc

Or Tom Brady, or even Peyton Manning who has "good" arm strength but not great arm strength.

Vick has a cannon but has no idea where it's going when he lets go of it.

Comparing Brady/Manning to Leinart is like comparing Roger Clemens to Greg Maddux. Leinart easily has one of the weakest arms in the NFL.

[BrewedCrew]

denny green blew this game he knew what the offensive coordinater was calling and he allowed it to happen.

He has always been coservative like that even back in the game against the falcons in the NFC championship he decides to kneel the ball with like 50 seconds and decent field position

i love his tirade after the game though

http://youtube.com/watch?v=d1h71vEQtCM

[andymac]

The fumbles, punt coverage team, and crappy run blocking blew the game.

[BrewedCrew]

the bears are who we thought they were!!!

[AnotherAlias]

Originally Posted by BrewedCrew

i love his tirade after the game though

http://youtube.com/watch?v=d1h71vEQtCM

A little teste isn't he?

[Goody]

Originally Posted by andymac

Meh. The Cardinals game plan was to come out and use the passing game as a running game. They were throwing short and letting their excellent wide receivers make plays because they knew they weren't going to get anything in the running game. Leinert didn't even really throw any medium range passes all night, so the Cardinals weren't going to score behind his arm. Both touchdowns were Leinert throwing about a 5-8 yard pass and the receiver making someone miss to get there. As the game wore on the Bears adjusted and the defensive line started concentrating more on closing Leinert's passing lanes and trying to knock those short passes down at the line of scrimmage (and they got 3 or 4 of them).

And 5-8 yard passes in the NFL against a top teir defense are like...soooo easy.

[marc]

Originally Posted by JDOldSchool

Comparing Brady/Manning to Leinart is like comparing Roger Clemens to Greg Maddux. Leinart easily has one of the weakest arms in the NFL.

You clearly have zero knowledge on this subject. Neither Brady or Manning would fall in the top 5-7 in the NFL in arm strength among starting QB's, so comparing them to Clemens is laughable. Leinert does not "easily" have one of the weakest arms, in fact, he has a stronger arm than many of the top rated passers in the league.

So basically you have on idea about different QB's arm strengths and you think that arm strength is relevant to being a successful NFL QB. Very interesting...

[andymac]

Originally Posted by 9lives

And 5-8 yard passes in the NFL against a top teir defense are like...soooo easy.

For an NFL quarterback they should be. Leinert did a good job of getting the receivers the ball but if the receivers don't make plays after the catch those completions wouldn't have amounted to much.

[AnotherAlias]

Originally Posted by andymac

For an NFL quarterback they should be. Leinert did a good job of getting the receivers the ball but if the receivers don't make plays after the catch those completions wouldn't have amounted to much.

They would have amounted to a bunch of 2-3 yard pass plays and a lot of Cardinal punting. Perhaps a 24-3 score in favor of the Bears.

[JDOldSchool]

Originally Posted by marc

You clearly have zero knowledge on this subject. Neither Brady or Manning would fall in the top 5-7 in the NFL in arm strength among starting QB's, so comparing them to Clemens is laughable. Leinert does not "easily" have one of the weakest arms, in fact, he has a stronger arm than many of the top rated passers in the league.

So basically you have on idea about different QB's arm strengths and you think that arm strength is relevant to being a successful NFL QB. Very interesting...

I can't say this any other way: You're wrong. Leinart's arm isn't Pennington weak, but it's pretty weak.

I never said it prevents him from being a good quarterback. Ever. Not once. I never even came close to remotely suggesting it. Anyway, passer rating is simply a bunch of numbers thrown together to get to 100. That stat is as useless as the RBI stat in baseball.

[marc]

Originally Posted by JDOldSchool

I can't say this any other way: You're wrong. Leinart's arm isn't Pennington weak, but it's pretty weak.

I never said it prevents him from being a good quarterback. Ever. Not once. I never even came close to remotely suggesting it. Anyway, passer rating is simply a bunch of numbers thrown together to get to 100. That stat is as useless as the RBI stat in baseball.

I really don't feel like putting together a list of QB's based on arm strength but if I did Leinart would fall squarely in the middle. Look at ANY scouting report on Leinart and they will say average to above average arm strength.

Another horrible comparison comparing RBI's to passer rating is ridiculous. If anything passer rating would be more similar to slugging percentage. It's a very useful statistic.

[Prodigal Son]

Originally Posted by JDOldSchool

Anyway, passer rating is simply a bunch of numbers thrown together to get to 100. That stat is as useless as the RBI stat in baseball.

Whoa, let's not get ridiculous. Passer rating is more like OPS+, as it's a great quick look at how good a passer a QB is (of course, it ignores things like running ability, just as OPS+ ignores defense). All top passers have one thing in common, and that's a high (85+) passer rating.

[MorseMoose]

They are who we thought they were!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IzbWUJxDZw