WADDLE'S WORLD: Bears nowhere near Saints
By TOM WADDLE
So I’m sitting on the couch watching the Monday night NFC South slugfest between the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints, and I’m obviously caught up in the moment.
My 6-year-old, her head resting on my shoulder, is looking for a little quality time after my weekly return from Los Angeles. She’s patiently waiting for me to turn the page and read her the next great adventure facing “Madeline.”
My 11-year-old, who is two weeks removed from surgery on both of her knees, is struggling to navigate the family room furniture on crutches and with a book-filled backpack weighing her down.
Suddenly Jabari Greer intercepts Matt Ryan and takes it back for six! I let out a huge “Oh my!” This inspires my wife, who’s been keeping an eye on us, to say “Hey, where would you like to display this year’s Father of the Year award?” Touché.
What followed was a sarcastic smile. And a thought-provoking question.
“Why don’t the Bears play like that?” she asked.
Well, I said, they’re just not as good as the Saints. Or the Falcons for that matter.
“I know, but the Saints don’t just look better, they look faster and more powerful. They run over people.
And their guys jump up and make great catches. And when they tackle people, it looks like it hurts,” she responded.
The exchange hit me pretty hard. Although she’s no football novice, (her father, Gino Cappelletti, is the leading scorer in the history of the AFL), she’s not John Madden, either.
But what she said stung me. I’m sitting enjoying the heck out of a great Monday night game, and now I’m mad and frustrated. She’s right.
Pierre Thomas was running violently like he was shot out of a cannon. Jeremy Shockey and Marques Colston were leaping 10 feet in the air snatching the ball out of the sky.
There it was, a big fat reminder that our Bears are just an average bunch who don’t play fast, athletic or violent.
They’re a middle-of-the-pack team that hasn’t been able to capitalize on the addition of a franchise quarterback. Heading into the bye, I was feeling good about my 10-6 preseason prediction. The past three weeks they’ve looked more like a 6-10 team.
But they have a whole lot of company.
Through eight weeks we’ve seen some great teams, some good teams, some awful teams and a group that leaves us confused most Sundays
The Bears fall into the final category. It’s a group of teams that thrill you one Sunday and break your heart the next.
On any given Sunday they can beat an elite team, or lose to one of the dregs of the league.
It pains me to lump the Bears into this group of the nondescript, especially with the addition of quarterback Jay Cutler, but these days I hope for the best and prepare for the worst.
And that’s just how I feel about this weekend’s game with the Arizona Cardinals. Both teams sit at 4-3. The Bears are coming off a much-needed win against the horrendous Browns, while the Cardinals were beaten, at home, by a bad Panthers team.
Time to employ the trusty Eye Test. Simple question: which team is more appealing and impressive? If you said the Bears, the Kool Aid is getting the best of you. I am completely sober, and I say
Waddle’s prediction: Cardinals 27, Bears 20.
• Tom Waddle appears daily on the “Waddle & Silvy Show” from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on WMVP AM-1000. He writes a weekly column on the Bears for the Daily Chronicle.
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