Bears Win and Phil Rogers Does the Work for Me

The Bears won - squeaked by, actually. But it's tough when you're missing 4 defensive starters.

I'm tired of Bears talk, though, so let's move on for now.

***

Fantasic column from Phil Rogers on ESPN.com right now. Basically, it's the exact column I would have written if I had the time, comparing the very different offseason appraches of the Cubs and White Sox.

So for today, enjoy the break from the Bears machine.

Tank Johnson Gets High and Shoots at Things?

Well, not exactly, but there has definitely been something going on at the Johnson household.

Police raided the home of the Bears’ nose tackle Thursday morning and left with six guns and a 26-year-old in cuffs. The raid was originally described as drug-related, some marijuana was discovered in the house. Johnson’s friend, who was at Johnson’s house at the time of the raid, has been charged with felony possession of the sticky-icky.

First off, when we say guns, we’re not just talking some hunting rifles here. The Tank had himself quite an arsenal.

(From the Waukegan News-Sun)

The weapons taken from Johnson's home were three rifles, a military-style AR-15, a .308 Winchester and a 5.65mm; and three handguns, a .44 Magnum, a .50 caliber and a .45 caliber.

"There was a lot of ammunition in the house, some of the weapons I know where loaded," said Gurnee Police Chief Robert Jones....

Johnson has been charged with six counts of unlawful possession of a weapon. Apparently, he does not have a Firearm Owner Identification (FOI) Card.

This is one of my favorite parts of the story: if he had simply picked up a card and paid the minimal fee, there wouldn’t even be an issue! And don’t let anyone tell you that getting an FOI is difficult. I know for a fact that a 20-year old that hasn’t touched a gun since his Cub Scout days was able to get one in under an hour.

But there’s so much more to this story. For instance:

(Again, courtesy of the News-Sun)

The defensive lineman had six pit bulls locked in cages in his back yard with neighbors reporting the police were called several times due to animal cruelty issues....

So, to recap, Tank Johnson had in his home this morning:

1. Six firearms, including an AR-15 and a .44 Magnum
2. A half an ounce of weed
3. Six pit bulls caged in his backyard

Now that is just straight up gangsta!

Can you imagine the parties this guy must throw? Can you imagine the guest list?

VICTORY!

Not only did the Bears MNF win secure a first-round playoff bye, but it saw the return of the Rexiest man in Chicago. No, he didn't play a fantastic game, nor was he even "great." But he was not bad. This is the most important thing for Grossman and even for the rest of the team to remember during the remaining three games this year.

When the Bears suit up against Tampa Bay, Detroit and Green Bay, they don't have to be "great" against these poor, disabled teams. The just have to play disciplined and avoid the mistakes that come with trying to be "great."

Play clean and avoid the mistakes, and home field advantage is theirs for the taking.

In the playoffs, however, this will not be good enough. But hey, slow down… let's just take it one step at a time.

I think Grossman understands this, as he definitely took the first step last night.

And how about this Devin Hester kid!

I'm not going to compare him to Gale Sayers, because that wouldn't be fair (I've never seen Sayers play). But I am going to say that he is your Rookie of the Year this year. He is also forcing me to eat my words one return at a time. I'll admit, I couldn't understand why the Bears would waste 2nd round draft pick on a return specialist…

But I think we can all agree that it makes much more sense now.

***

Grossman's Last Stand

Tonight is the biggest night of quarterback Rex Grossman's life.

Bears head coach Lovie Smith has let it be known that Grossman will be judged from here on out on a half-by-half basis, meaning a bad first half tonight could be Grossman's last this season.

I can't help but imagine a scene reminiscent of Gary Cooper in High Noon with Grossman walking slowly out onto the field wearing a tattered cowboy hat and a six-shooter. A tumbleweed blows by as the women hurry all the children inside and out of danger…

Meanwhile, all hands on deck preparing for the Brian Griese era.

In all seriousness, you have to feel bad for Rex, as the young QB has gone from toast of the town to badly burnt toast in a matter of months. But that's what poor decision-making will get you in the NFL.

You can't win a Super Bowl with a liability at QB, and that is reason enough for a change. You have to wonder about Griese, however, as there must be a reason he was available this year and had failed to catch on as a starter somewhere else during his career.

***

The Gamblin' Man

The White Sox are shaking things up again, and apparently, GM Kenny Williams was minutes away from trading 2 of the starters responsible for the 2005 World Series title. They weren't the only one's responsible, but they definitely played a key role.

What would the Sox have gotten in return?

A slap hitting speedster and some pitching prospects.

And by slap hitting speedster we mean a center fielder that would look more comfortable running in track meets than he does holding a bat. Did we mention that he's failed to win a starting spot in the Astros' outfield that includes the likes of Jason Lane, Orlando Palmeiro and of course, Charlton Jimerson? Did we mention the career .329 OBP?

And by pitching prospects, we actually mean several starters that are only getting major league innings because there are still too many MLB teams.

These were the best deals out there? Really?

Fortunately, only 1 deal was finalized, with Big-Game Freddy Garcia going to the Philly for Gavin Floyd, a young arm that might compete for a starting job, and Gio Gonzalez, an even younger arm that will be hanging out in Birmingham and Charlotte for the next couple years.

Granted they probably couldn't afford Freddy after his contract runs out, and who knows, maybe Floyd will turn the corner in his career. But one thing is for sure…

This is gambling – and while the theory may make sense – I'm reserving judgment until all the deals are done.

But thank God they didn't trade for the Podsednik look-a-like.

Kenny Williams has a Sense of Humor

A fantastic report in today's Sun-Times has White Sox's GM Kenny Williams stating that starter Brandon McCarthy would start the season in Triple-A.

Yeah, right.

Kudos to Williams for throwing a bone to the media, regardless of how ludicrous it might be. I can only imagine the Sun-Times editors reading over the report and laughing out loud as they decided whether or not to include it in the paper.

The bottom line is this: McCarthy is a major league starter at this point in his career. Is he as good as anyone else in the White Sox rotation? Impossible to know, because he hasn't gotten his chance. But everyone in Chicago knows that as the off-season wears on and fewer "top-tier" free agents are available, the other GMs will start to sweat. And they will get anxious. And they will be forced to jump at something.

And Williams will be there, with that half smug/half knowing smile and a big juicy worm dangling on his hook.

***

In other news, the Cubs are looking to make Ted Lilly a $10 million a year starter. [Insert laugh track here]

The Not-So-Hot Stove and an Official Bears Comment

The official baseball off-season is upon us, and there is a lot of action happening in almost every major city - except Chicago.

Ok, so there has been a lot of movement on the North Side, as the Cubs have signed one of the biggest deals in baseball history with 31 year old Alfonso Soriano. I'm sure many of you wanted RCS to comment a little more on this happening... but in reality it is what it is: Jim Hendry wanted a big name free-agent to bring the "magic" back to Wrigley Field and the Cubs, and he might have overpaid slightly for it.

But let me ask you this: If I told you the Cubs would be paying $18 million a year for a player whose game relies on speed when he is 37, 38 and 39 years old? Is that something you might be interested in?

And what if I were to tell you that the Cubs were taking a player who's played one sub-par year in the outfield, and are seriously considering him as the team's starting center fielder? Is that something you might be interested in?

***

The White Sox have re-signed Scott Podsednik to a 1-year deal and the South Side holds it's breath waiting for the inevitable sign (from the heavens?) that will somehow help this make sense.

***

If you remember way back when… we at RCS claimed we would not comment on a Bears' quarterback controversy until there actually was one.

Our official comment: Three INT's per game does not equal Super Bowl.