Joe Anello's Chicago Bulls Fan Profile

Joe's NFL 2010 Season Preview: NFC East posted on 09/06/2010

Washington Redskins

After struggling under first time head coach Jim Zorn, the Redskins turned to Mike Shanahan to revamp their image and bring success back to D.C. They acquired Donovan McNabb in a trade with the division-rival Eagles to lead Kyle Shanahan's offense. After a competition of elder running backs, Clinton Portis and Larry Johnson will share carries with Keiland Williams out of the backfield. Santana Moss is still the speedy outside threat, but it gets thing beyond him at receiver. Devin Thomas has shown flashes but little else. Mike Furrey is dependable but not intimidating. Joey Galloway is old. I mean, seriously old. The 'Skins also drafted Trent Williams fourth overall to be their left tackle for years to come and traded for Jammal Brown from New Orleans, giving some stability to a wavering offensive line.

Continue reading "Joe's NFL 2010 Season Preview: NFC East"
(0 comments)

Joe's NFL 2010 Season Preview: AFC West posted on 09/04/2010

Ugh. Do we really have to talk about the AFC West? Aside from the Chargers, there isn't a legitimate contender in the bunch. (And even San Diego will just crumble in the playoffs as usual.)  Oh well. Here's what I see from the worst division in football.

Kansas City Chiefs

During the offseason the Chiefs installed Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel as the offensive and defensive coordinators under head coach Todd Haley. We might as well call them the Kansas City Patriots with ex Pat Matt Cassel at QB. Signing veteran RB Thomas Jones will give Jamaal Charles some competition and provide some leadership in that locker room. Chris Chambers came on strong after being traded to the Chiefs and should put up heftier numbers, especially if Dwayne Bowe decides to live up to his first round selection status.

Continue reading "Joe's NFL 2010 Season Preview: AFC West"
(0 comments)

Collins impresses in Bears' final preseason game posted on 09/02/2010

The preseason is finally over! With the final game in the books (a 13-10 loss to the Browns, if you even care), the Bears have decisions to make before Saturday's 5:00 PM deadline to cut the roster to 53 players. Here's what I saw during this fairly lackluster contest.

Collins to the rescue...sorta 

After bringing him in less than two weeks ago, the Bears started veteran back-up Todd Collins in Cleveland Thursday night. He did not disappoint. Collins was crisp and clean in the half of action he saw, showing no rust of a player who hadn't seen a practice field in months. He's a career back-up who knows how to play the game and find the open receivers well. That being said, playing well against Cleveland's second team defense doesn't mean all that much. So no one should be calling for Jay Cutler's benching after seeing this ONE game. He'll make Lovie Smith sleep better at night, but let's hope nothing else.

Continue reading "Collins impresses in Bears' final preseason game"
(0 comments)

Joe's Preseason Preview: Bears at Browns posted on 09/02/2010

Since I'm in a crunch for writing time tonight, this will be a speedy preview of the Bears' fourth and final preseason outing! If you actually like watching scrubs fight for jobs (purest form of competition if you ask me), be sure to tune in tonight and cheer for players you'll never see again! Here's what else to watch for tonight before the roster cuts on Saturday:

Who needs starters?

Jay Cutler, Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs, Olin Kreutz, Earl Bennett, Hunter Hillenmeyer, Major Wright, Nick Roach, Caleb Hanie and Craig Steltz. That's the list of Bears that will be sitting out tonight's contest. I've heard some hubbub about not seeing Cutler tonight, but I don't care in the slightest. I don't want to see him take unnecessary sacks in a meaningless game for one series. Here's to scrubs!

Continue reading "Joe's Preseason Preview: Bears at Browns"
(0 comments)

Bears' offense can't finish against the Cardinals posted on 08/29/2010

Well, if this third preseason game was any indication of how the regular season will look, Bears fans are in for a bumpy ride. The Bears' offensive woes continued against the Cardinals as the first-team unit failed to score any points. Here are my notes from Saturday night's 14-9 loss to the Cardinals.

 
Getty Images

-Mike Martz's offense couldn't finish off drives. Too many times the Bears made it into the red zone or enemy territory and failed to put points on the board. While they did show some flashes on a deep pass to Johnny Knox and screen passes to Matt Forte and Chester Taylor, it wasn't enough. For every one or two good plays, Chicago consistently followed-up with a poor one. They never appeared to be completely in-sync, ensuring some long film sessions during this short turn-around before Thursday's final preseason game.

Continue reading "Bears' offense can't finish against the Cardinals"
(0 comments)