Best is the Best

Jahvid Best put the nation on alert for 2009. He is going to have a special year. The difference was, in the last two games he was healthy. And so he rushed for over 500 yards.

At the beginning of the year, he was amazing, but still was getting taken down by less than a full frontal tackle. In other words, he was not breaking tackles, he was simply outrunning folks. The last two games, albeit against lesser opponents, he was breaking tackles, making moves, and dominating the game. Which is nice, since we do not have a passing game at this point.

In other words, we have morphed into Nebraska, era 1993. Great defense, great running game, no passing. I can no remember a season where we have had so many under 150 yard passing efforts.

That being said, we are 8-4, going to play a pretty good Miami team in the Emerald bowl. It should be mostly Bear fans, and the Hurricanes think they are going to sunny California. My, won't they be surprised.

I think the Bears are really doing a good job defensively this year, both from a recruiting standpoint as well as on the field. Our recruiting thus far seems to be targeting the type of linebackers who can really rush - speed guys who hit, a la Zack Follet. It looks like the 3-4 is here to stay, based on the guys we are currently getting in the door. With that being said, and the defensive line and backfield sticking together for another year, we have a great shot at having another great year on that side of the ball.

Offensively, we need to work on our passing game. Our running game will be fine - our line will develop, hopefully with 5 or 6 fewer injuries. But we got a lot of guys time this year. Next year, we should be much better on the line, with Guarrano at center, MSG, Schwartz, maybe Tepper, and Cheadle, Teofilo or someone else slotted in there. All of these guys got some time this year, and will be in the rotation. I am excited about them and I think that it will be a strength of our team over the next two years.

The biggest issue that we may have next year is receivers, although with Calvin back, and more time for the others, I think we will be fine. Langeman will also be back from injury, and I think he will be a revelation. So we have three current starters all back, and two or three others who will go into the rotation. If we can pick up someone else to make an immediate impact, we should be fine. Boateng and Tucker can be all pac 10 if they get it together. Both have the skills, they just need the consistency. And to get the ball on target.

Riley I believe will also be much improved. Next year, he will not be looking over his shoulder, and he will be maturing in other ways. He certainly has the skills to be a great QB. He just needs to get his head together.

I am pretty pumped up about next season. Although we have a tough schedule, I think it will work out. SC is going to be way down next year. This was their year to go. Sarkisian is leaving, so offense is going to be a big deal to them. Someone is going to have to come in and do it Pete Carroll's way, and that is going to leave some bumps in the road. I think as Bear fans, we know how it goes when the offensive coordinator is changed, even with a strong head coach.

Their defense is going to be decimated. And, frankly, their offense is not that good. So we have a great chance next year of taking those guys. Plus, we have them early in the season, so we have the shot at their typical early season screw-up.

Oregon, Oregon State, Arizona, Arizona State and UCLA will be decent, but we should be able to take them all. And we should never lose to the furd again.

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As far as the game on Saturday, it was a little disappointing to see how few actually showed up to give the seniors a send-off. It was nice to see Nate get a big hand. But at the beginning of the game, when they came out, it seemed like there were only about 20K fans there. Pretty sad.

As far as it goes, I think they Bears get a few of the guys playing on Sunday. Mack, Follett are first day picks, and I think Nate actually gets picked in the 6th or 7th round - there are not a lot of great QBs coming out this year. I think Nate is in the top 15 of QBs, and there will be 20 taken. He has the arm strength and size that the NL likes, and he can just say Tedford screwed him over - all the NFL guys will accept that.

The other guys that have a decent shot at getting drafted are Worrell Williams, and Rulon Davis. WIll Ta'ufo'ou, Hicks and maybe Malele and Kane get a shot at a free agent slot.

Nick Sundberg could end up being one of the longest tenured NFL players of the group, going possibly as a long snapper. He is near perfect.

GO BEARS!!