Are you ready for some...

Of all the things to be focused on today, with the Cubs suffering their first loss of the season yesterday afternoon and the home opener tomorrow, the Bulls taking the eight seed in the East from the 76ers, and the Masters teeing off in Augusta, I have one thing on my mind. It’s pigskin. Everywhere I turn, from ESPN Radio this morning, to the NFL Network (OK, I should’a figured they would talk about football here), to my iPod (No lie, the first track that played this morning was the classic Monday Night Football theme), everybody wants to talk about football. So here are some thoughts I have about the NFL, college football, and the great mixture of both, the draft.

-I need to go to an eye doctor. Something must be obscuring my vision, because I swear that I saw Vince Young going Mike Vick in Madden 2004 (Before that damn vision cone) against USC in the Rose Bowl. I thought I saw him take the entire state of Texas on his back into Pasadena and come out with a win. But now all I’m hearing is that he has a silly throwing motion, he can’t land the deep ball, and that he’s too dumb to lead a team to the playoffs. First off, he can make the throws. If he could do it against USC and Ohio State, then he can do it in the NFL. Second, being able to throw deep is an overrated aspect of a QB’s versatility. Last I checked, Kyle Boller was drafted in the top 10 because he could throw it accurately 55 yards from his knees. Lets ask Brian Billick how that’s worked out. And this whole Wonderlic test controversy is just dumb. SI.COM reported that Ryan Leaf scored a 27 and that Dan Marino only got a 15. Based on that alone, this test has lost all credibility. Anyone who says that Vanderbilt’s Jay Cutler is better than Vince because he got a higher test score needs to put down the clipboard and look at what these two guys can do between the white lines. Young played great at Texas. Cutler played pretty well at Vandy. No offense to Jay Laughlin or any of the other Commodores out there, but what Vince did is much more impressive.

-The Bears have definitely upgraded the quarterback position with the signing of Brian Griese. But they still have some big question marks. Like, who will stop Steve Smith if the Bears and Panthers are to meet again? Who will lead the team in catches? What is the point of Cedric Benson if he will continue to be buried on the depth chart? One addition to a team that may have greatly overachieved is not a good way to repeat as division champs.

-It may be April, but I’m already looking forward to July. Not only because it’s warmer, because we’ll be out of school, because the Cubs will be straining back muscles turning around seeing the Cardinals 7 games back, but because I want to see what EA Sports will do this year to enhance the NCAA Football series. Every year, I am wowed to see what they do to improve that game. Here’s my suggestion: Make it possible to play safety or corner and break up a pass play without getting a 15 yard pass interference penalty.


-The NFL schedule was released today, and nobody puts together a better way to have their stars shine than the NFL does. The Manning Bowl, the Saints return to the Superdome, T.O. going back to Philly and Colt/Pats are all on National television. But the most important thing to me is the Bears schedule:

#-Sunday Night Football (NBC)
*-Monday Night Football (ESPN)
Sep 10 @Green Bay
Sep 17 Detroit
Sep 24 @Minnesota
Oct 1 Seattle#
Oct 8 Buffalo
Oct 16 @Arizona*
Week 7 BYE
Oct 29 San Francisco
Nov 5 Miami
Nov 12 @N.Y. Giants
Nov 19 @N.Y. Jets
Nov 26 @New England
Dec 3 Minnesota
Dec 11 @St. Louis*
Dec 17 Tampa Bay
Dec 24 @Detroit
Dec 31 Green Bay

Some thoughts on the schedule
-The first thing I realize is that we have 11 games that right now, if the rosters stay the way that they are, the Bears are the favorites, and maybe three others where it’s a toss up. Obviously the rosters are going to change, but we are better than most of the teams we play.
-Going to New York two weeks in a row and then up to New England will be a tough stretch. The Jets suck, but the Giants and Pats will be tough. It will be interesting to see if Lovie brings the guys home for five days between the two games at Giants Stadium, or if they just stay on the East Coast.
-I like the position of our bye week, because it’s not too early, though it’s kinda bogus that it’s after a Monday night game, giving us less off time.
-Our division isn’t very strong, but I think all three teams will be better than they were a year ago. The Packers have to be healthier then they were a year ago, and if Favre comes back, they could fight for 10 wins. The Lions have some talent, but they need some good defensive players. The Vikings ended the year on a good note last year, but still changed coaches and quarterbacks. They should be good if they start playing hard in September instead of November.
-Our home schedule really plays to our advantage. Three December home games, including one against the Bucs, who can’t win in the cold. And the two road games in the final month are both in domes.
-If Favre comes back, and both teams are pretty good, that last game of the year will be amazing.
-It would be a lot easier to predict the Bears record if I knew what week Rex Grossman would get hurt in.

Right now, on April 6, my prediction is the Bears finish 10-6.