It's Just Preseason... It's Just Preseason...

I have to remind myself of that fact over and over after last night's 41-13 drubbing the NY Giants put on the Chicago Bears.  I got home from work already having missed part of the game, then debated skipping the gym to watch the Bears.  The first play I saw was Jay Cutler hit Devin Hester on a nice long pass down the sideline.  The next play was a screen pass to Matt Forte who ran for 40+ yards.  Finally, I watched in horror as the Bears stalled and were forced to kick a field goal knotting the game at 3-3.  After this drive, I decided to go to the gym and not worry about the rest of the game.  I had seen a few very positive plays, but was disappointed at the lack of finishing. 

Of course, upon leaving the gym I threw on the AM radio and found that the Bears had been destroyed by Eli Manning and his butt-buddies.  I'm not sure how to feel about all of that.  In general, Jay Cutler looked OK from what I saw, and I can't imagine they played many of the starters in the second half.  Also, the Giants lost Terrell Thomas to a torn ACL, so at least the Bears didn't suffer a significant injury like that.  Last but not least, the Bears went 0-4 last year in the preseason and looked dreadful.  However, during the year they won the NFC North and advanced to the NFC Championship Game. 

Yes, Jay.  I know the feeling.

Do I expect the Bears to be as good as they were last year?  I don't think I do.  I am really not sure what to expect.  I do know their division should be more difficult and their schedule is fairly tough.  I also know they play one game in London.  I've seen terrible teams go 4-0 in preseason only to not win 4 games during the regular season, so it is hard to put stock into meaningless games.  It is nice to see the team you cheer for do well, though...

Here is my hope- that the Bears getting their ass kicked last night provides them with the proper motivation to get better.  I'm not sure why professional athletes need tangible let downs for extra motivation, but I suppose it works that way in the "real world" as well.  If you make a mistake big enough for your boss to get on your case, you'll put in that extra effort to prove that you are not as bad as the current status of the Bears' offensive line. 

The moral of this post is two-fold.  1) I cannot put too much stock into the preseason results.  If the Bears had won 41-13, that would have been cool, but it would not mean they were automatically Super Bowl bound.  Since they lost in a landslide, I cannot condemn them to drafting Andrew Luck, either (though... that's awfully tempting...)

2) I'm extremely glad I went to the gym instead of watching the entirety of the second game of the preseason.  It was a better decision than watching the Bears get their dicks stomped in a meaningless game.  I win! 

I may end up looking like the other Jay Cutler.

Last but not least, what is up with the Bay Area/California fans these days?  Bryan Stow is still in the hospital from the beating he took at Dodger Stadium, and now fools are getting shot at The Stick?  Guess who is not going to the O.Co Coliseum when the Bears visit the Raiders this year?  This fucking guy.  I'll watch the game on TV... wait- what's that?  The game will be Silver-And-Blacked out?  Fucking hell.  The Raiders are like a deadly virus that spreads making everything worse. 

"We've got to find that monkey!"

Terrell Pryor will fit right in down in Oakland.