Should be interesting. Hoping that they add another quality OL this week.
The 3 RB thing is weird...a lot of $$ tied up with your RBs. They already paid Taylor a majority of his contract last year...not sure why they are keeping him around.
they had three last year with Wolfe. i'm going to guess the line up will be Forte, Barber, Taylor with Chester playing special teams.
Should be interesting. Hoping that they add another quality OL this week.
The 3 RB thing is weird...a lot of $$ tied up with your RBs. They already paid Taylor a majority of his contract last year...not sure why they are keeping him around.
they had three last year with Wolfe. i'm going to guess the line up will be Forte, Barber, Taylor with Chester playing special teams.
Wolfe was a good special teams player. Taylor isn't a special teams player at all. I don't know why they haven't released him yet to give him a shot with another team.
good to see the field is in mid season form :roll:
The worst part is that George McCaskey was on 1000 the other day and said that the field is fine. What a joke that whole situation has become.
I just don't get how this has become an issue the last year or so...
Do they not have a professional grounds-crew? I understand at the end of the year, a natural field can take a beating over the course of 8 or so home games, but this is unreal!
Or has the field always been that way, and it's just more noticeable now because of everyone switching over to field-turf? How many teams still have natural grass? How can the f'n Packers still maintain a decent field, when their conditions are rougher than Chicago's? You think it's because of the concerts, other crap that they have there?
chicago owned and operated. that's all you need to know.
they need to just let it grow and not put anything else on the field, but they need to generate money, so they do concerts, and other stuff which causes them to need to resod a couple times of years
i glad olin left. everybody keeps talking about how much of a void in leadership there will be. i'm ok with that. time for J to step up and be the face of the offense.
i like the oline more now than last year at this time.
i glad olin left. everybody keeps talking about how much of a void in leadership there will be. i'm ok with that. time for J to step up and be the face of the offense.
i like the oline more now than last year at this time.
wasn't cutler sacked like a thousand times with last year's line?
i glad olin left. everybody keeps talking about how much of a void in leadership there will be. i'm ok with that. time for J to step up and be the face of the offense.
i like the oline more now than last year at this time.
wasn't cutler sacked like a thousand times with last year's line?
he was killed back there. giants got him like 8 times in the first half of that game.
they did improve in the second half. i'd say half the improvement was the line, and the other half was martz calling plays that got the ball out quicker.
that fact that cutler was getting killed and olin was the leader of the line is why i'm not bothered by his departure.
The field has ALWAYS been an issue... thats the problem when the team doesnt own the stadium, the Park District is going to be as cheap as possible about maintaining it.... very frustrating, but its almost expected year in year out these days :evil:
The field has ALWAYS been an issue... thats the problem when the team doesnt own the stadium, the Park District is going to be as cheap as possible about maintaining it.... very frustrating, but its almost expected year in year out these days :evil:
The field has ALWAYS been an issue... thats the problem when the team doesnt own the stadium, the Park District is going to be as cheap as possible about maintaining it.... very frustrating, but its almost expected year in year out these days :evil:
see: veterans stadium, philadelphia.
but it's dirt/grasss in chicago. how do you screw that up?
and how do we have the smallest stadium in the NFL with one of the biggest fan bases? and how did they reduce the seat count during the rebuild?
The field has ALWAYS been an issue... thats the problem when the team doesnt own the stadium, the Park District is going to be as cheap as possible about maintaining it.... very frustrating, but its almost expected year in year out these days :evil:
see: veterans stadium, philadelphia.
but it's dirt/grasss in chicago. how do you screw that up?
and how do we have the smallest stadium in the NFL with one of the biggest fan bases? and how did they reduce the seat count during the rebuild?
this city is so fuckin retarded
i kinda think more new stadiums will be built the same way....tons more luxury boxes, less regular seats.
but it's dirt/grasss in chicago. how do you screw that up?
and how do we have the smallest stadium in the NFL with one of the biggest fan bases? and how did they reduce the seat count during the rebuild?
this city is so fuckin retarded
They really fucked up when they built the new stadium. 60K seats is a joke...it should have been at least 70-75K. Also, all of this turf/grass bullshit could have been easily avoided if they built a stadium w/ a retractable roof...not to mention there could have been super bowls and final 4 in Chicago.
i kinda think more new stadiums will be built the same way....tons more luxury boxes, less regular seats.
until you go to events and the boxes are always empty. in chicago, i think the biggest offender is the United Center. i'd say less than 50% of the lower two levels of suites are typically empty for events. the 3rd level is typically at 5% capacity.
but it's dirt/grasss in chicago. how do you screw that up?
and how do we have the smallest stadium in the NFL with one of the biggest fan bases? and how did they reduce the seat count during the rebuild?
this city is so fuckin retarded
They really fucked up when they built the new stadium. 60K seats is a joke...it should have been at least 70-75K. Also, all of this turf/grass bullshit could have been easily avoided if they built a stadium w/ a retractable roof...not to mention there could have been super bowls and final 4 in Chicago.
i like the outdoor venue, but to make it so small? don't know who signed off on that. you've got the 2nd largest NFL market, the largest non shared market. a huge rabid fan base. and the smallest stadium in the nfl. fuckin retarded.
at least somebody was smart and built the one of, if not the biggest hockey/basketball areana around.
They really fucked up when they built the new stadium. 60K seats is a joke...it should have been at least 70-75K. Also, all of this turf/grass bullshit could have been easily avoided if they built a stadium w/ a retractable roof...not to mention there could have been super bowls and final 4 in Chicago.
i like the outdoor venue, but to make it so small? don't know who signed off on that. you've got the 2nd largest NFL market, the largest non shared market. a huge rabid fan base. and the smallest stadium in the nfl. fuckin retarded.
at least somebody was smart and built the one of, if not the biggest hockey/basketball areana around.
I don't buy the outside thing with "Bear weather" and all that bullshit. The reason the field is so fucked up is because they have to have so many other events there. If they bulit a retractable roof, they could have had all of these extra events there plus huge events like super bowls and final 4s. Regardless of indoor/outdoor, the fact that it is 60K is fucking awful. Christ, with the way Bears fans are, they could have made it 80-90K and there wouldn't be any issues selling out.
They did do it right with the UC...I always forget how huge that place is compared to other arenas in the NBA?NHL.
i don't buy into "bear weather" either, but imo, football should be played outdoors.
just makes no sense that they can't have a decent field. wrigley looked decent after the mccartney concerts. they said they only had to resod a small spot in right field by the big gates. maybe they out to hire those people to manage the soldier field field. heck, my college campus has better grass in the area between the buildings. hire those people.
quite frankly, i don't care if the super bowl or final four come to town. as is, we get ncaa tourney games every couple of yearas.
i don't buy into "bear weather" either, but imo, football should be played outdoors.
just makes no sense that they can't have a decent field. wrigley looked decent after the mccartney concerts. they said they only had to resod a small spot in right field by the big gates. maybe they out to hire those people to manage the soldier field field. heck, my college campus has better grass in the area between the buildings. hire those people.
quite frankly, i don't care if the super bowl or final four come to town. as is, we get ncaa tourney games every couple of yearas.
Yeah the fact that there are so many issue managing this field is a joke. I wonder when they are just going to fix the whole problem and get field turf. There are high schools in the Chicago area that have field turf, but not the NFL team??? It just seems like that would be the logical solution.
i don't buy into "bear weather" either, but imo, football should be played outdoors.
just makes no sense that they can't have a decent field. wrigley looked decent after the mccartney concerts. they said they only had to resod a small spot in right field by the big gates. maybe they out to hire those people to manage the soldier field field. heck, my college campus has better grass in the area between the buildings. hire those people.
quite frankly, i don't care if the super bowl or final four come to town. as is, we get ncaa tourney games every couple of yearas.
Yeah, if I had it my way, football would ONLY be played outside and on real grass. If I wanted to watch arena football, well, I wouldn't because it's f'n stupid...
Anyways, even with the concerts, etc, I still think there is no reason why even after a re-sod, they can't get a decent turf. They have all summer to groom that field. Again, I get come January, it may be a little beat up but there is no excuse why it should suck in August/September. Dumb!
Look at the Chicago baseball stadiums. Granted they aren't as "abused" as a football surface, but Wrigley and US Cell are in PERFECT shape coming out of winter. Even when they had the NHL game at Wrigley a couple years back, come opening game..it was in perfect shape.
And yeah, I have never understood why Soldier Field is only 60k. I think 8 out of the 11 Big-10 stadiums are bigger than that! It could be 90k, and I'm pretty sure every home game would be sold out!
Dumb!
Not sure where to start in responding to some of these comments, but here goes...
...the City is NOT the Park District. Sure they are all entities governed by the Mayor, but they are their own "business". They own Soldier Field, and do so to make money. I am in no way condoning their lack of replacing/fixing the sod at soldier, BUT the Bears should have INSISTED in CONTRACT what they expected (ie replacing the sod at least x times per season, blah blah blah). I don't know what the contract looks like, but I am going to guess the contract is pretty ineffective in favor of the Bears.
...the Bears don't want field turf, even if it WAS there call (which I dont believe it is, remember they do not own the stadium, the only RENT). Do you remember how many injuries we had when the team last played its homes games on turf (2002 in Champaign)? Yea, it was bad.
...Bear weather is more or less a myth, but I like the idea of it. Back in the day it existed, but think of how many Bears players these days are from Florida, or other warm weather places... Its the FANS that enjoy the real "Bear Weather" aura. I love going to the games that are single digit temps/sleet/snow/wind/blizzards
...Soldier Field was 66,000 capacity, which had 60% of the seats in the END ZONE, very few suites and NO CLUBS. NEW Soldier has 60,000 capacity, which has 40% in the End Zones, and TONS of suites, an entire east side of CLUB seats. The sightlines are better, you are closer to the field, the team makes a TONNNN more money (remember this is a business, not a game to ownership!). You can say "oh the boxes arent full, it's not fair, I would be in the seat every game" all you want... the problem is, why would ownership care if you attended the games or not?! They already have your money, since everything is sold out well in advance and for years down the line. Sure it would be nice to have a stadium with 100k capacity, because we are Chicago and would still sell out, but if you really want tickets, it isn't that hard to find em, as long as you arent picky about what games/seats you get. I personally enjoy the exclusivity that is attached to attending Bears games. It's nice that not any random person on the street can get a ticket and ruin the true fans experience.
...Personally I can give a shit that some petty practice was cancelled. Sorry for those who didnt get to see a Bears scrimmage at Soldier Field, but it's really a glorified practice. I know most people who attend the Family Day are probably those that can't afford to attend real games (there is always the cheap preseason games though). But really, who cares?!
Anyways, I think thats my 2 cents (maybe it was a little more than 2 cents )... Go BEARS!
...Bear weather is more or less a myth, but I like the idea of it. Back in the day it existed, but think of how many Bears players these days are from Florida, or other warm weather places... Its the FANS that enjoy the real "Bear Weather" aura. I love going to the games that are single digit temps/sleet/snow/wind/blizzards
I agree and disagree with this. While you are right that most players for the Bears or any team in the league, come from all over, including Florida, California, Arizona, etc, which shouldn't have any true "effect" on their ability to play in cold weather...I do think that playing 8 home games in Soldier Field each year with the wind, the cold and the snow definitely makes you more accustom to that condition.
If for example, you have a random player who played 3-4 years in Miami or Arizona, who then has to go to Chicago or Green Bay in December, that's a huge adjustment for them. Whereas the same player on the Bears or Green Bay (playing the same amount of time at the respective team) will not have to adjust or adapt to the conditions as much as they know what to expect. They know how to prepare for the weather, they know what the ball will feel like, they know how hard or soft the field will be, etc.
All things being equal...you bring the exact same teams (ex. if you could clone the Bears team, one who played in Miami for 5 years, and the other who played in Chicago for 5 years) to play eachother in Chicago in Janurary, and I would say that the team who played in the cold and snow would win that matchup 80% of the time...when all things being equal, it should be 50/50.
So yeah, I do believe there is an advantage when it comes to playing teams from places like Miami, Jacksonville, Arizona, etc. in December and Jan in Chicago.
Also consider the kicking game. Robbie Gould, who is probably a top 5 kicker in the game...probably doesn't get the credit he deserves. Not only does he have to play on that shitty field 8/16 games, but he also understands the swirling winds, and how to kick a frozen ball. While a top 5 kicker, I think if you had a kicking contest in Chicago in Janurary, I'm almost certain he'd be #1. Hell, Kaeding played college ball in Iowa, but they have field turf and their season (home games) was done well before December. He's probably the best kicker in the league....BUT he plays in the most ideal conditions in football. Line him up against Gould in Chicago in December, and you'll see who has the advantage.
soldier field had astro turf back in the 80's. what's the big deal about switching to field turf?
There probably isn't a company thats "union" to do this kind of work in Chicago. Ever wonder why there isn't a decent public bathroom anywhere on park district grounds?
Not sure where to start in responding to some of these comments, but here goes...
...the Bears don't want field turf, even if it WAS there call (which I dont believe it is, remember they do not own the stadium, the only RENT). Do you remember how many injuries we had when the team last played its homes games on turf (2002 in Champaign)? Yea, it was bad.
...Personally I can give a shit that some petty practice was cancelled. Sorry for those who didnt get to see a Bears scrimmage at Soldier Field, but it's really a glorified practice. I know most people who attend the Family Day are probably those that can't afford to attend real games (there is always the cheap preseason games though). But really, who cares?!
Field turf IS the Bears call. Like 81 said above, the park district would switch to that in a heartbeat if the Bears agreed to. I don't buy the injury thing on field turf...this stuff has improved dramatically since that 2002 season.
Also, that was family night that you could give a shit about. It was a complete fucking mess...people battled traffic for that plus Lolla plus the normal Friday traffic to get down to Solider field only to find out that it was cancelled because of a major fuck-up. A lot of people care about that.
You sound like a very entitled Bears fan in your entire post....
Comments
they had three last year with Wolfe. i'm going to guess the line up will be Forte, Barber, Taylor with Chester playing special teams.
this is what is fun about training camp.
Um really?!? NEVER!!!!
GO BEARS!!!!!
Wolfe was a good special teams player. Taylor isn't a special teams player at all. I don't know why they haven't released him yet to give him a shot with another team.
The worst part is that George McCaskey was on 1000 the other day and said that the field is fine. What a joke that whole situation has become.
I just don't get how this has become an issue the last year or so...
Do they not have a professional grounds-crew? I understand at the end of the year, a natural field can take a beating over the course of 8 or so home games, but this is unreal!
Or has the field always been that way, and it's just more noticeable now because of everyone switching over to field-turf? How many teams still have natural grass? How can the f'n Packers still maintain a decent field, when their conditions are rougher than Chicago's? You think it's because of the concerts, other crap that they have there?
they need to just let it grow and not put anything else on the field, but they need to generate money, so they do concerts, and other stuff which causes them to need to resod a couple times of years
whatever you do, do NOT go in there
i glad olin left. everybody keeps talking about how much of a void in leadership there will be. i'm ok with that. time for J to step up and be the face of the offense.
i like the oline more now than last year at this time.
wasn't cutler sacked like a thousand times with last year's line?
he was killed back there. giants got him like 8 times in the first half of that game.
they did improve in the second half. i'd say half the improvement was the line, and the other half was martz calling plays that got the ball out quicker.
that fact that cutler was getting killed and olin was the leader of the line is why i'm not bothered by his departure.
see: veterans stadium, philadelphia.
but it's dirt/grasss in chicago. how do you screw that up?
and how do we have the smallest stadium in the NFL with one of the biggest fan bases? and how did they reduce the seat count during the rebuild?
this city is so fuckin retarded
i kinda think more new stadiums will be built the same way....tons more luxury boxes, less regular seats.
They really fucked up when they built the new stadium. 60K seats is a joke...it should have been at least 70-75K. Also, all of this turf/grass bullshit could have been easily avoided if they built a stadium w/ a retractable roof...not to mention there could have been super bowls and final 4 in Chicago.
until you go to events and the boxes are always empty. in chicago, i think the biggest offender is the United Center. i'd say less than 50% of the lower two levels of suites are typically empty for events. the 3rd level is typically at 5% capacity.
fuck boxes
i like the outdoor venue, but to make it so small? don't know who signed off on that. you've got the 2nd largest NFL market, the largest non shared market. a huge rabid fan base. and the smallest stadium in the nfl. fuckin retarded.
at least somebody was smart and built the one of, if not the biggest hockey/basketball areana around.
I don't buy the outside thing with "Bear weather" and all that bullshit. The reason the field is so fucked up is because they have to have so many other events there. If they bulit a retractable roof, they could have had all of these extra events there plus huge events like super bowls and final 4s. Regardless of indoor/outdoor, the fact that it is 60K is fucking awful. Christ, with the way Bears fans are, they could have made it 80-90K and there wouldn't be any issues selling out.
They did do it right with the UC...I always forget how huge that place is compared to other arenas in the NBA?NHL.
just makes no sense that they can't have a decent field. wrigley looked decent after the mccartney concerts. they said they only had to resod a small spot in right field by the big gates. maybe they out to hire those people to manage the soldier field field. heck, my college campus has better grass in the area between the buildings. hire those people.
quite frankly, i don't care if the super bowl or final four come to town. as is, we get ncaa tourney games every couple of yearas.
Yeah the fact that there are so many issue managing this field is a joke. I wonder when they are just going to fix the whole problem and get field turf. There are high schools in the Chicago area that have field turf, but not the NFL team??? It just seems like that would be the logical solution.
Yeah, if I had it my way, football would ONLY be played outside and on real grass. If I wanted to watch arena football, well, I wouldn't because it's f'n stupid...
Anyways, even with the concerts, etc, I still think there is no reason why even after a re-sod, they can't get a decent turf. They have all summer to groom that field. Again, I get come January, it may be a little beat up but there is no excuse why it should suck in August/September. Dumb!
Look at the Chicago baseball stadiums. Granted they aren't as "abused" as a football surface, but Wrigley and US Cell are in PERFECT shape coming out of winter. Even when they had the NHL game at Wrigley a couple years back, come opening game..it was in perfect shape.
And yeah, I have never understood why Soldier Field is only 60k. I think 8 out of the 11 Big-10 stadiums are bigger than that! It could be 90k, and I'm pretty sure every home game would be sold out!
Dumb!
I want this season to START!!! I'm pumped!
...the City is NOT the Park District. Sure they are all entities governed by the Mayor, but they are their own "business". They own Soldier Field, and do so to make money. I am in no way condoning their lack of replacing/fixing the sod at soldier, BUT the Bears should have INSISTED in CONTRACT what they expected (ie replacing the sod at least x times per season, blah blah blah). I don't know what the contract looks like, but I am going to guess the contract is pretty ineffective in favor of the Bears.
...the Bears don't want field turf, even if it WAS there call (which I dont believe it is, remember they do not own the stadium, the only RENT). Do you remember how many injuries we had when the team last played its homes games on turf (2002 in Champaign)? Yea, it was bad.
...Bear weather is more or less a myth, but I like the idea of it. Back in the day it existed, but think of how many Bears players these days are from Florida, or other warm weather places... Its the FANS that enjoy the real "Bear Weather" aura. I love going to the games that are single digit temps/sleet/snow/wind/blizzards
...Soldier Field was 66,000 capacity, which had 60% of the seats in the END ZONE, very few suites and NO CLUBS. NEW Soldier has 60,000 capacity, which has 40% in the End Zones, and TONS of suites, an entire east side of CLUB seats. The sightlines are better, you are closer to the field, the team makes a TONNNN more money (remember this is a business, not a game to ownership!). You can say "oh the boxes arent full, it's not fair, I would be in the seat every game" all you want... the problem is, why would ownership care if you attended the games or not?! They already have your money, since everything is sold out well in advance and for years down the line. Sure it would be nice to have a stadium with 100k capacity, because we are Chicago and would still sell out, but if you really want tickets, it isn't that hard to find em, as long as you arent picky about what games/seats you get. I personally enjoy the exclusivity that is attached to attending Bears games. It's nice that not any random person on the street can get a ticket and ruin the true fans experience.
...Personally I can give a shit that some petty practice was cancelled. Sorry for those who didnt get to see a Bears scrimmage at Soldier Field, but it's really a glorified practice. I know most people who attend the Family Day are probably those that can't afford to attend real games (there is always the cheap preseason games though). But really, who cares?!
Anyways, I think thats my 2 cents (maybe it was a little more than 2 cents
I agree and disagree with this. While you are right that most players for the Bears or any team in the league, come from all over, including Florida, California, Arizona, etc, which shouldn't have any true "effect" on their ability to play in cold weather...I do think that playing 8 home games in Soldier Field each year with the wind, the cold and the snow definitely makes you more accustom to that condition.
If for example, you have a random player who played 3-4 years in Miami or Arizona, who then has to go to Chicago or Green Bay in December, that's a huge adjustment for them. Whereas the same player on the Bears or Green Bay (playing the same amount of time at the respective team) will not have to adjust or adapt to the conditions as much as they know what to expect. They know how to prepare for the weather, they know what the ball will feel like, they know how hard or soft the field will be, etc.
All things being equal...you bring the exact same teams (ex. if you could clone the Bears team, one who played in Miami for 5 years, and the other who played in Chicago for 5 years) to play eachother in Chicago in Janurary, and I would say that the team who played in the cold and snow would win that matchup 80% of the time...when all things being equal, it should be 50/50.
So yeah, I do believe there is an advantage when it comes to playing teams from places like Miami, Jacksonville, Arizona, etc. in December and Jan in Chicago.
Also consider the kicking game. Robbie Gould, who is probably a top 5 kicker in the game...probably doesn't get the credit he deserves. Not only does he have to play on that shitty field 8/16 games, but he also understands the swirling winds, and how to kick a frozen ball. While a top 5 kicker, I think if you had a kicking contest in Chicago in Janurary, I'm almost certain he'd be #1. Hell, Kaeding played college ball in Iowa, but they have field turf and their season (home games) was done well before December. He's probably the best kicker in the league....BUT he plays in the most ideal conditions in football. Line him up against Gould in Chicago in December, and you'll see who has the advantage.
There probably isn't a company thats "union" to do this kind of work in Chicago. Ever wonder why there isn't a decent public bathroom anywhere on park district grounds?
good question.
Bears have said they want grass. Phillips, Angelo and Lovie all appear to favor grass, so grass it is.
There was also an informal poll of 30 some odd players in today's paper. 18 picked grass.
Field turf IS the Bears call. Like 81 said above, the park district would switch to that in a heartbeat if the Bears agreed to. I don't buy the injury thing on field turf...this stuff has improved dramatically since that 2002 season.
Also, that was family night that you could give a shit about. It was a complete fucking mess...people battled traffic for that plus Lolla plus the normal Friday traffic to get down to Solider field only to find out that it was cancelled because of a major fuck-up. A lot of people care about that.
You sound like a very entitled Bears fan in your entire post....