Had a great holiday, hope the rest of you did, too.

Horrible football weekend for me. The Bears got slaughtered, which pretty much ends their hopes of a playoff berth. Went 0-2 in fantasy, getting killed by injuries in both leagues and made poor decisions in another. One of those weekends where I could barely watch last night's game (I actually only watched about 10 plays of it) but am forcing myself to watch most of tonight's game. Need a break from it this week and start back fresh next week I guess.

I seriously think that Andy Reid was playing against LeSean McCoy in his own fantasy league on Sunday. Why in the world would he run a rookie (Early Buckley?) with only 5 career carries twice from the 1 yard line to beat the Redskins? I smell conspiracy.

Vince Young and the Titans...never been a big fan of Vince Young's, but I'm a fan of his god-given talent and this Titans resurgence has been fun to watch.

I picked New England to win 37-31 tonight. Right now it's 7-3 Pats.

My only regret in not watching last night's game was missing Chris Collinsworth call the game last night, I've said it before but he's by far the best. It only comes to mind again because these guys on Monday night are such slurpers. Some guy named Earl Buckley could take off for a 20 yard run for his only carry of the game, and Gruden and Jaws would talk him up like he's Walter Payton. Tirico is good and he brings some sanity to the broadcast, but those other two never have a bad thing to say about anyone else. Strap on a pair, ladies.

I think Hines Ward needs to go away, shut the heck up, or perhaps both?

I think Jake Delhomme needs to go away, stop throwing horrible passes, or perhaps both?

I think Tim Tebow needs to just go away. Puke.

I'll probably watch the entire Oregon - Oregon State game on Thursday night, and not root for anyone. It will be fun to scout both teams, not really knowing who we will play. Can't remember the last time this happened, but it should be fun.

Have a great week. Hard to believe it's December already. We're all getting old. At least we're doing it together.

JT

One report I always look for on the 'net (in the paper before the internet) is the list of cuts by NFL teams on the final weekend before the season starts. 2 things...

*Obviously I look for former Buckeyes and any other notables that got cut that maybe I wasn't expecting. See a list of notables below that I typed up as I looked over the list on Saturday night.

*The other thing that I always think about is what each of these guys is going through at the very moment I'm reading the list. Not only has each of these guys worked hard and busted their asses the last 4-6 weeks (ok, probably 6-9 months) to make the team, but they've most likely played football their whole lives, most of them with the dream of making the NFL. To be that close to your ultimate dream and then to get cut on the last weekend...I guess I just feel sorry for them. That's gotta be tough. Here's hoping that all of their phones ring again at some point this season..

Final Cuts (My notables):
Bears – Marcus Freeman
Jags – Todd Boeckman
Lions – Dane Looker
Falcons – DJ Shockley
Bills – Dominic Rhodes
Chiefs – Ashley Lelie
Vikes – John David Booty
Browns – David Patten
Texans – Deltha Oneil
Saints – Joey Harrington
Giants – David Tyree
Raiders – Jeff Garcia
Rams – Brock Berlin
Rams – Antonio Pittman
Bucs – Matt Bryant
Raiders – Ronald Curry
Titans – AJ Trappasso
Redskins – Chase Daniel

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/trans
actions

J.T.

*Ok, technically it's been here for a couple weeks, but its REALLY here now. Football is over the bottom line, the polls are out, everyone is talking fantasy...it's here. Which is awesome.

*Fantasy drafts in 17 and 18 days. Unbelievable. Can't wait. Jay Culter, first round.....

*Colin is starting to sway and he's now leaning toward the Buckeyes. Evidently they'll be starting a true freshman at QB now, and one of the OL is down for our game. Personally, I hope they all pick against us. Everyone but Colin, he's usually right.

*Brent Favre is a putz. He has the right to do what he wants I guess, but the charade is about 3-4 years old.

*I realize that the media needs something to talk about, but I love it when media/fans/anyone tries to read anything at all into preseason. Preseason means nothing.

*The latest example of a fan's ignorance on Sportsnation: Those that think they can catch Brett Favre's hardest throws if given a chance: 58% said they could. Ha ha.

*What will be the most interesting story line of the season: The return of Favre or the return of Vick?

JT

*The Steve McNair story is obviously extremely sad and quite unbelievable...that girl was one cold and crazy you-know-what to do that. Interesting topic on The Herd last week...listener wrote in to ask if what happened to McNair will cause other famous athletes to stop and think about their lifestyles and the choices they make. Colin said that they will stop and think about it for about 2 minutes, then continued doing what they do. "Guys like what they like", he argued. I think I agree.

*Okay, so I realize that if I continue to blog about cycling and soccer you'll all disown me, but a really interesting read in SI last week about Donovan and Beckham. Donovan seemed to have his points, but you'll never win or gain any ground with anyone by fighting in the press versus man-to-man. Even if Donovan was right, he was wrong to go through the press to whine about Beckham.

*I hope Hartsock can keep his roster spot with the Falcons after they signed Gonzalez. Normally I wouldn't worry but they are paying him an awful lot of money to be #2 TE. Here's hoping...

*You know what the baseball All-Star game means.......football is right around the corner! Gotta love this weather, but football will be here soon! Hell yea!

JT

I’m getting persistent questions/comments about whether the Bears gave up too much in the Cutler trade. Yes, I’m a huge Bears fan, but I’ll do my best to maintain some perspective. So let’s analyze the trade:

*Bears get: Cutler, 2009 5th rounder.
*Broncos get: Orton, 2009 1st rounder, 2009 3rd rounder, 2010 1st rounder.

The 2009 second rounders (5th and 3rd) cancel each other out. I don’t care what round it is. They’re both 2nd-day picks. Who cares.

The Bears got a new QB, so obviously Orton becomes expendable. They would’ve cut him or maybe gotten a 2nd day pick for him. Who cares.

So that leaves Cutler for 2 first round picks. Cutler is 25, threw for 5,000 yards last year, and is a proven franchise QB, and is easily top 10 QB in the league. Also, I’m sick of hearing about how bad his win/loss record is. Folks, the Denver defense wouldn’t be able to stop Unioto High School the past few years. You’re not going to have a great w/l record with a defense like that. Cutler threw for 5,000 yards last year, and they went 8-8. Come on.

Also, does everyone realize how long it’s been since Chicago has had a good QB? McMahon maybe, I mean at least he was a leader, and if Charles Martin hadn’t body slammed him illegally in ’86, the Bears would’ve won another Super Bowl. Before that, it was Sid Luckman in the 40’s. The Bears have been in existence for 89 years. They’ve had four years of seasons with more than 3,000 yards passing. Four years, folks...out of 89 seasons. In addition, did I mention that Cutler is 25? Did I also mention that he makes just over $1 million in each of the next 3 years? B-A-R-G-A-I-N.

Finally, the 2 first round draft picks. If anyone would like to analyze the Bears past several first round draft picks, you tell me how much we actually gave up: Chris Williams, Greg Olsen, Cedric Benson, Tommie Harris, Michael Haynes, Rex Grossman, Marc Colombo, David Terrell, Brian Urlacher, Curtis Enis, Cade McNown, Walt Harris, Rashaan Salaam, John Thierry. So possibly one “hit” and two “maybes” out of 14 picks in 15 years? Yikes. Easy call.

From the Broncos side of things, it wasn’t going to work with Cutler. They got a decent QB in Orton, a system guy, and they also got 2 first rounders. I think this is one of those rare trades where both teams probably win.

In summary, as a Bears fan, I’m ecstatic about this trade. We now have a franchise QB. We already have a franchise RB. We strengthened our offensive line even before we got Orlando Pace. If he has 1-2 years left, signing him is a win for us. Our defense, despite losing Mike Brown, should be improved versus last year. If Hester can regain his ’07 form on kick returns, Cutler will have a short field to work with. Wide receiver? Torry Holt? Plaxico? Even if we don't do anything, Hester is now a major deep threat with Cutler at the trigger. The NFC North sucks. And the NFC is way down for ’09. The Cardinals made the Super Bowl last year? Hell, anyone could win it this year, why not us?

I’m now as excited for this upcoming NFL season as I am for the OSU season.

J.T.

Draft History Reference: http://www.nfl.com/draft/history

The Cutler Debate

Well, if I would have written this 2 days ago, at least I wouldn’t get accused of suddenly being a Homer. That said, I can honestly say that my thoughts below have been pretty consistent throughout this whole deal. It’s been interesting.

It’s easy to label Cutler as a crybaby, a whiner, and somewhat immature. After all, the potential to get traded or cut……it’s part of the business, right? While true, I personally don’t think its fair to go so quickly against Cutler on this one. Just some perspective:

I put myself in his shoes. What if, early in my career, after a record-setting fiscal year, my company tried to trade me to a competitor. It didn’t happen, but I found out about it second-hand. Then upon questioning, my bosses may not have been truthful. Where does that leave me? After such a great year, why would they do this? Why would I give it my all for the next 30 years to a company who apparently really doesn’t want me? Why should I even care about them anymore? It would make no sense to me. I’d be frustrated, confused, and pretty much be ready to tell them to “Eff” off.

He’s young, he felt betrayed, hurt, and confused. I can’t blame him. We all put a great deal of effort into our careers at some level. When something like this happens, I think its only natural to get somewhat upset. Also, keep in mind, we as ‘outsiders’ truly only get a fraction of the actual story. Who knows what else happened behind the scenes. When associates feel betrayed, they no longer have any loyalty to their company, and they look elsewhere. I don’t see how this is much different.

JT

Random thoughts:

*I'm happy for Santonio, he deserved the MVP. Great game. I was scared to death they were going to give it to Ben, who is overrated, by the way.

*I'm sad for Arizona. One play cost them the game. Warner threw a bad pass at the end of the first half, but how do you not tackle Harrison with no time left?

*I wanted a good game, and I got one. I also bet the Cardinals to cover, which they did.

*Commercials were mostly disappointing, but a few were pretty good. The Budweiser horses need to go away.

*Yes, the Steelers have the most Super Bowls, but the NFL didn't magically start in 1967. The Packers have 12 titles, the Bears have 9 titles. So there.

*I hope John Madden doesn't retire. He nailed every single one of his comments tonight. Al Michaels gets annoying at times in his old age, but Madden is the man.

On to next year...

JT

Quick Prediction: Cardinals 27, Steelers 21.

JT