I thought the Bears played fine today, and won a tough game, but I can't say I'd give them the grades that John Mullin did across the board...I would have thought the Bears won 35-10 after seeing those grades.


John Mullin saw all of Sunday's action. Now he grades the performances.

Quarterback
Rex Grossman shook off any negatives following the Green Bay debacle and completed 21 of 38 passes for 282 yards despite strong Seattle pressure. Most important, he avoided unforced turnovers and made big throws at crucial points. His 282 yards were his third-most of the season and his passer rating of 76.9 topped counterpart Matt Hasselbeck's (69.6) in a matchup the Bears needed.
Grade: A-

Running back
Thomas Jones, who finished with 66 yards, dominated early with 10 carries in the first 14 plays, one for a 9-yard TD and added a second score on a second-quarter burst for seven yards on a fourth-and-1 at Seattle's 7. Cedric Benson added 45 yards on 12 carries and took a heavy share late in the game. Benson (3), Jones (2) and Jason McKie (1) gave Grossman solid play as check-down receivers.
Grade: B+

Receivers
Receivers dropped some significant passes but Bernard Berrian's besting of rookie CB Kelly Jennings for a 68-yard TD pass was the biggest offensive play of the game. Berrian led all receivers with 5 catches and 105 yards. Rashied Davis added 84 yards on 4 catches, none bigger than the 30-yard grab on third-and-10 on the Bears' overtime possession to set up the game-winning FG. Muhsin Muhammad had a 21-yarder for a key first down. Tight ends Desmond Clark and John Gilmore provided strong blocking and Gabe Reid filled in at fullback when McKie was hurt.
Grade: B+

Offensive line
The line allowed Benson and Jones to dictate the game early. Left guard Ruben Brown in particular was quick pulling and leading run plays. Protection on the Berrian TD pass was textbook but breakdowns were devastating later as Grossman was sacked for 31 yards in losses and a fumble. The pressure forced Grossman to hurry several bad throws. But the overall was 120 rushing yards against a blitzing front that included two Pro Bowl linebackers.
Grade: B

Defensive line
Pass rush from the front four was largely non-existent for much of the game and an average Seattle offensive line beat the Chicago middle for Shaun Alexander's 108 rushing yards and a pair of TDs. But Tank Johnson's sack at the end of regulation was potentially game-saving, Alex Brown's sack at the end of the first half ended any thought of a hurry-up drive, and Adewale Ogunleye notched a sack on third-and-1 to end a possession and get the ball back for a field goal drive in the fourth quarter.
Grade: B+

Linebackers
Lance Briggs led both teams with 11 tackles and his stop of Alexander for a two-yard loss at the Chicago 44 with 2 minutes remaining ended a potential game-winning Seattle drive. Hunter Hillenmeyer deflected a pass in the end zone and Brian Urlacher had a quarterback hit and pass deflection in the deep middle to go with six tackles.
Grade: A-

Secondary
Big plays hurt early. Charles Tillman missed a chance for a TD on Seattle's third play when he mishandled an easy interception. Tillman also gave up a 14-yard completion on third-and-10. Ricky Manning Jr. was beaten badly for a 24-yard throw on Seattle's first scoring drive. But Manning's interception of Hasselbeck in the fourth quarter reversed momentum at a key point in the game. Tillman was strong in run support with nine tackles and Chris Harris, against a savvy QB and difficult scheme to defend, added seven tackles.
Grade: B+

Special Teams
Israel Idonije's heady pressure on Seattle's overtime punt caused an 18-yard shank, giving the Bears good field position for the winning drive. Brad Maynard fought through some early weak efforts to pin Seattle inside its 10 in the fourth quarter and averaged 40.6 yards on six punts. Devin Hester made some shaky decisions and risked disaster with an ill-advised try to pick up a rolling second-quarter punt deep in Bears' territory and was shaky fielding kicks. An interference call on Dante Wesley cost 15 yards and blocks in the back on a Hester punt return were big setbacks. But Robbie Gould conquered all with a 41-yard FG inside 6 minutes to tie and a 49-yarder for the win.
Grade: A-

Coaching
Some surprising decisions at times, such as the final timeout allowing the Seahawks to attempt a Hail Mary pass. But the Bears were generally well prepared for a well-coached opponent. Lovie Smith had the team in synch through an up-and-down game and offensive coordinator Ron Turner stayed with a balanced game plan (34 carries, 41 pass plays) against blitzing and multiple fronts. Ron Rivera's defense had some coverage breakdowns and too many 10-yard runs but made stops when needed. Dave Toub's special teams were decisive even without Hester pyrotechnics.
Grade: A-

Mullin is drinking some Bear kool-Aid. I cannot believe he gave such a high grade to the Special teams, they were awful today. I mean the poor coverage on kickoff and punt returns, Gould and Maynard had good days. Hester had the one called back, but how many did he drop today??

The grades are way too generous. Christ, if the Bears had covered the spread, would Mullin have given everyone an A+?

Lance Briggs, great game.

Thomas Jones, solid effort.

Jason McKie, beautiful blocking on the 4th & 1 touchdown run by TJ.

Brad Maynard, nice hold after a bad snap by Mannelly to win the game.

I wasn't blown away by Rex. Good enough to win, but he still plays like a rookie at times. Needs to cut down on the poor decisions if he expects to get a ring.

Urlacher made some nice plays as well, but I expect a better game from him next week. They got gashed by Alexander too many times. Good backs are going to get their yardage, but the run defense was soft today. Needs improvement.

Hester almost fucked them on several occasions. He needs to smarten up. Can't fumble punts on your own 10 yard line. New Orleans can score plenty on their own. We can't give them any freebies next week.

No major complaints with the coaching, other than the odd time out Lovie took at the end of regulation. Did he actually believe they would punt to Hester as the clock expired?

They can beat the Saints, but it will take a better overall effort than they had today.

There were 2 other times where he was damn lucky and almost fumbled, because he was being too risky with the ball. Another time he was locked in on Moose and got rocked by a defensive end. It would have been one thing if it were his blind side, but the guy was coming straight at him, and Rex never saw a thing. That makes me nervous.

Also, I would like to get a look at a few replays before I pin the INT on Moose. Was at a party with a bunch of people. Watched the game, naturally, but not with the scrutiny that one would have while reviewing film. Not that I don't trust your football judgement, but given your Rex bias, I would like to see it for myself.

Also, we converted 3rd downs extremely well early in the game. Later on, not so hot. Throwing the deep ball to Berrian is nice, but keeping drives going and resting your defense can be just as important. Rex played fairly well, but he was not my MVP today.

I love Rex too, Nas, but he was far from perfect. He was careless with the ball, couldn't avoid the rush worth a shit, and he was definitely locked in on the primary receiver for almost every throw (until he hit Benson a few times in the 4th quarter).

That being said, he played well. My biggest complaint is that the game was put on his shoulders (he came through, but still). TJ and Benson were running effectively early on (especially Cedric). After the bomb to Berrian, they started throwing more. Feed Cedric the rock! He's the type of back that can wear down a D.

And Bucket, the pick was definitely on Moose. It was a little behind him, but still very catchable.

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"Tubby? Oh yes, Tubby."

Gould came through under pressure, but that winning FG was because of Maynard. Mannelly's snap was dogshit. Our punter saved the fucking day. Between Gould & Maynard, I don't think I'll be able to listen to MJH tomorrow unless Harry takes the day off. Then again, Hester played so poorly, that maybe Harry's love for mildly significant players will be cancelled out.

the kickoff coverage sucked. and rex was under too much pressure.

grades are too high. but a W is a W

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LOL! WTF? How do you take the first sentence and conclude they deserve a B+? The D-line is the problem with the D, pure and simple. Yeah, they made a few key plays at crucial times, but the only reason the game was that close in the first place is because they were largely nonexistent in the pass rush for the bulk of the game. They should have gotten a C at best. The secondary should get props for holding the Seahawks to 24 points despite Hasselbeck consistently having ample time to throw. Hell, one of those sacks was basically a coverage sack.

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The timeout with 2 seconds left is sufficient to give them no higher than a C. You call it with 12 seconds left and they have to kick. You call it with 2 and suddenly we have a situation. Of course, Turner throwing the ball three times in a row allowed the Seahawks to get the ball back in the first place. This was the second year in a row this team has been outcoached in the playoffs. BIG FREAKING D+

Why do people have a problem with them throwing at the end of the game? They had 1:59 to win the game - not run out the clock.

I heard North saying that was stupid and they should have done what they did in the first half. What the hell does that mean? That they should have designed plays where the passes are completed and not run the incomplete pass plays?

They tried to win the game and it didn't work. I think if they run on 3rd and 7 at midfield, Lovie gets hammered for it. I don't agree with that criticism.

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Short field, running game that is picking up bigger and bigger chunks of yardage, only needing a field goal to win and two minutes is an eternity with 3 TOs. Run that ball.

You know, that's a really good point. I've noticed that as well. They should consider doing like the Colts and running that hurry up style all the time; next season. Prolly too late to try and implement that now.

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The landowner effectively owns part shares in millions of part-time slaves called, "taxpayers." -Roy L
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Count me as someone who found the grades WAY inflated. Of course, a win is a win; it's better to win ugly than lose grandly right?

Still, for me:

Quarterback - Maybe C+ or B-. We saw both good Rex and bad Rex yesterday. Of course, Good Rex made great throws that turned into scores, but Bad Rex also did nothing for grand stretches. After a good start, how many 3rd down conversations did they make? He has no pocket presence, no escapibility, no ability to improvise. What Rex is like is, maybe Dave Kingman (maybe not); he's someone that can nail a fast ball down the middle but cannot hit better pitches. When the pocket looks fantastic, as in the Berrian bomb, Rex can really nail it. The problem is, that kinda pocket only happens a few times a game, and hardly at all against teams like New England. At the end of the day, it was 6 freakin' points in the second half.

D Line - C- or D+ - Zero pressure from the line on Hassleback, little run support (which it took Seatle a while to realize). But for a great play (or two) from the linebackers, like Briggs diving through on 4th, the D Line would have been even worse.

Linebackers - B+ or A- - Urlacher had a mediocre game, but the linebackers were the only ones that made a difference yesterday.

Special teams - D - Sure, Gould was great but the rest of the units sucked, really sucked. Once again, Brad Maynard plays horrible in the playoffs, what is up with that. He was short when they needed long and at the end of regulation, he goes long. Hester was hugely lucky. They made a mediocre return guy look like HE was Hester.

All week long, Boers and Bernstein were saying don't worry, Seattle is so bad. The problem is, the Bears are BAD. They made very bad teams like Arizona, Detroit, Miami, Tampa, and Green Bay look good. Talent wise that's about where the Bears stand.

I'd love to be proved wrong!

A kindred spirit!

Go ahead and give Rex a B or B+ though; there was much more good Rex than Bad Rex.

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The landowner effectively owns part shares in millions of part-time slaves called, "taxpayers." -Roy L
A Personal Relationship with Jesus?

Don't forget Hillenmeyer breaking up the touchdown throw. Great game for briggs, Urlacher did nothing special, but the D line kept no OL off of them.

At one point in the game they did a close up of the Bears DT before a play started. I shuddered when I thought of Ian Scott and Alphonso Boone trying to shut down the run.