I've been blogging so much about the problems the Bears had this season that it was getting me down. I decided to take a page from Dan's book and focus on the positives. If you've been paying attention and looking at my images, you probably noticed I had been awarding game balls sporadically during the season. Today I removed all the game ball images from my profile today and replaced them with this blog. I revisited every game the Bears played this season and awarded game balls based mostly on stats and my memory of the impact certain players had from week to week.
When you're finished reading these awards, feel free and leave a comment if you don't agree with my game ball picks and/or you have another player in mind that I may have overlooked. If you make a strong enough argument, I'll include that player in this blog!
Week 1: 14-3 loss at San Diego
Game Ball: Mike Brown garnered 4 tackles, 2 assists, 1 interception, and 1 fumble recovery before leaving the game with an injury.
Honorable Mention: Hunter Hillenmeyer made 9 tackles and 1 assist on defense.
Original Game Ball: None.
Week 2: 20-10 win versus Kansas City
Game Ball: Lance Briggs had 12 tackles, 1 assist, 1 sack and 1 fumble recovery in the game.
Honorable Mention: Devin Hester scored on a 73-yard punt return for a touchdown one minute and eight seconds after Rex Grossman's TD pass to John St. Clair. This score really put the game out of reach for the hapless chiefs early in the second quarter.
Original Game Ball: Devin Hester.
Week 3: 34-10 loss versus Dallas
Week 3 Game Ball: Jamar Williams made 12 tackles, with 2 assists in a very solid effort replacing the injured Lance Briggs.
Honorable Mention: Brian Urlacher made 5 tackles with 3 assists and 2 sacks.
Original Game Ball: None.
Week 4: 37-27 loss at Detroit
Game Ball: Adwale Ogunleye (6 tackles, 2 assists, 2 sacks) and Mark Anderson (2 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble) teamed up to create intense pressure on John Kitna.
Honorable Mention: Desmond Clark caught seven passes for 44 yards and one touchdown in a solid effort.
Original Game Ball: None.
Week 5: 27-20 win at Green Bay
Game Ball: Charles Tillman (4 tackles, and 2 forced fumbles that put abrupt ends to two Green Bay drives) and Lance Briggs (16 tackles) led a very solid defensive effort by the Bears.
Honorable Mention: Greg Olsen (4 catches for 57 yards and 1 touchdown) and Desmond Clark (3 catches for 62 yards and 1 touchdown) were dependable when all other options on offense were shut down.
Original Game Ball: Charles Tillman.
Week 6: 34-31 loss versus Minnesota
Game Ball: Devin Hester opened up the Bears scoring with an 89-yard punt return for a touchdown and closed the Bears scoring with an 81-yard touchdown reception.
Honorable Mention: Bernard Berrian and Mushin Muhammad combined for seven catches, 122 yards, and 2 touchdowns.
Original Game Ball: Devin Hester.
Week 7: 19-16 win at Philadelphia
Game Ball: Brian Griese's stats for the day were pretty good (27 of 41 passing for 322 yards and one touchdown) but the only stats that really mattered came on that last drive: 11 plays, 97 yards, 1:44, 5 different receivers, 15-yard TD pass to Muhammad to win the game. Sports Illustrated cited the drive as one of the best QB performances of the 2007 regular season. So it MUST be true!
Honorable Mention: Brian Urlacher made 12 tackles and had 4 assists on defense.
Original Game Ball: Brian Griese.
Week 8: 16-7 loss versus Detroit
Game Ball: Greg Olsen provided the Bears' only spark on offense with 6 catches for 59 yards and one touchdown.
Honorable Mention: Trumain McBride made 8 tackles while filling in for the injured Nate Vasher.
Original Game Ball: None.
Week 10: 17-6 win at Oakland
Game Ball: Adwale Ogunleye played like a man possessed: He made 6 tackles, had 3 sacks, and 1 forced fumble that sealed the win for the Bears.
Honorable Mention: Rex Grossman went 7 of 14 passing for 142 yards and one touchdown after coming in for an injured Brian Griese.
Original Game Ball: Adwale Ogunleye.
Week 11: 23-20 loss at Seattle
Game Ball: Bernard Berrian was the most consistent performer of the game: he made nine catches for 102 yards.
Honorable Mention: Cedric Benson should get some credit for the best game he had all season. He had 11 carries for 89 yards (8.1 yards per carry) and 1 touchdown.
Original Game Ball: Bernard Berrian.
Week 12: 37-34 win versus Denver
Game Ball: Devin Hester killed Denver in the return game. He had a 75-yard punt return for a touchdown and an 88-yard kick return for a touchdown.
Honorable Mentions: Adwale Ogunleye made 7 tackles, had 1 assist, made 2 sacks, and forced 1 fumble. Bernard Berrian also made a very nice catch for a touchdown in the 4th quarter to force overtime. Berrian finished the game with 3 catches for 24 yards and 1 touchdown. Adrian Peterson ran the ball five straight times in overtime to set up Robbie Gould's game-winning field goal. Peterson finished the game with 17 carries for 45 (2.6 yards per carry) yards and 1 touchdown.
Original Game Balls: Devin Hester and Adwale Ogunleye.
Week 13: 21-16 loss versus the New York Giants
Game Ball: Brian Urlacher made 14 tackles, had 4 assists, and caught one interception.
Honorable Mentions: Rex Grossman played a solid game. He went 25 of 46 for 296 yards and one touchdown. Lance Briggs played well with 10 tackles and 4 assists.
Original Game Ball: None.
Week 14: 24-16 loss at Washington
Game Ball: Bernard Berrian (7 catches for 91 yards and 1 touchdown) and Devin Hester (5 catches for 67 yards) provided the only excitement on the offensive side of the ball for the Bears.
Honorable Mentions: Brandon McGowan (10 tackles, 1 assist), Alex Brown (7 tackles, 2 assists, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble) and Adwale Ogunleye (5 tackles, 1 fumble recovery) led the Bears defense.
Original Game Ball: None.
Week 15: 20-13 loss at Minnesota
Game Ball: Brian Urlacher played a monster game, making 6 tackles, adding 2 assists, 2 sacks, recovering 1 fumble, and catching one interception.
Honorable Mention: It was good to see Nate Vasher, and though his stats don't really show it (3 tackles, 1 assist, 1 interception), he was all over the place.
Original Game Ball: None.
Week 16: 35-7 win versus Green Bay
Game Ball: Kyle Orton and Adrian Peterson combined for 203 yards of offense and 2 touchdowns, which was all the Bears really needed to beat Green Bay in nasty weather.
Honorable Mention: Brian Urlacher's 85-yard interception return for a touchdown was the highlight of the game.
Original Game Ball: None.
Week 17: 33-25 win versus New Orleans
Game Ball: Devin Hester returned a punt 64 yards for a touchdown and caught a Kyle Orton pass for 55 yards and a touchdown.
Honorable Mentions: Danieal Manning made 13 tackles, added 2 assists, and sacked Drew Brees once. Brian Urlacher had another big day with 11 tackles, 4 assists, and one interception. Adwale Ogunleye scored the Bears' second safety in two seaons against the Saints.
Original Game Ball: None.
cubs/bears Game Ball: Garrett Wolfe -- 4 rushes, 7 yards; 1 reception, 32 yards.
---
The table below shows how many game balls and honorable mentions each player received from Sneaky Pete in 2007. A game ball is worth one point in my system and an honorable mention is worth .5 points.
As you can see, IMHO Devin Hester was the Bears' MVP of the 2007 season with Brian Urlacher coming in a close second and (surprise, surprise) Adwale Ogunleye finishing third.
PlayerGame BallsHonorable MentionsMVP PointsDevin Hester414.5Brian Urlacher244Adwale Ogunleye233.5Bernard Berrian223Lance Briggs212.5Adrian Peterson111.5Greg Olsen111.5Brian Griese1 1Charles Tillman1 1Desmond Clark 21Jamar Williams1 1Kyle Orton1 1Mark Anderson1 1Mike Brown1 1Rex Grossman 21Alex Brown 10.5Brandon McGowan 10.5Cedric Benson 10.5Danieal Manning 10.5Hunter Hillenmeyer 10.5Mushin Muhammad 10.5Nate Vasher 10.5Trumain McBride 10.5
Deanna Clover
Ashley Allen
Heisman Moments: Closest Finishes
Back in Time: November 24
Comments (28) Add A Comment
Good, Pete, but you probably should go back and award each game's...
Monkey Balls!
It's All Mine!
Yellowstone Park, WY
Total Comments (5514)
Nice idea, Pete, I like this. I'm glad my positive spirit was infectious.
Dan TM is Stupendous…
Evanston , IL
Total Comments (2071)
I noticed that the defense far outweighed the offense. Not really surprising, given the Bears' QB woes, but I have to agree 100% that Devin is THE man!
It's All Mine!
Yellowstone Park, WY
Total Comments (5514)
Dan: You said "infectious!" :P
IAM: IMHO, Hester has proven that he doesn't need to play WR all that much to make a BIG impact on the Bears...
Thanks for reading, guys! :)
Sneaky Pete
Rochelle, IL
Total Comments (1056)
Nice blog Pete, Hester is a beast.
Tracy00214-Is back!
Total Comments (32396)
Great blog Pete, but my Week 7 game ball has to go to the faulty headset :)
After such a dismal season, it is nice to revisit some of the good things that occurred. Thanks.
ThisBudz4Me
Total Comments (377)
I'll agree with you that Hester is phenomenal. I can't believe that teams won't punt away from them. Either the kicker is just that bad or they forget who's back there.
So who do you think got the better end of the Ogundele-Booker trade? I'd have to say the Bears made out like bandits.
I look forward to seeing the answers to the blog questions. I wonder if the Bears will keep Briggs or let him go.
Oso Famoso
Palinville, AK
Total Comments (17911)
Tracy: I think it would be safe to say Hester is the most feared player in the NFL right now. No one makes opposing coaches & players more nervous than he does!
Budz: LOL You raise a good point, but Ron Turner did call the final play of that drive... ;) ...And you're welcome!
Oso: In the case of the Denver game, Shanahan was stuck because his kickers aren't good directional kickers. Who got the better end of the trade? The Bears, but they had to be patient... Stop wondering about Briggs. He's gone. Williams will take over that OLB spot next season. I think there'll be some dropoff in production early, but after a couple seasons Bears fans will be saying "Lance who?"
Thanks for reading everyone! :)
Sneaky Pete
Rochelle, IL
Total Comments (1056)
Good blog Pete! The positive side can work well. Your Bears are not that far off from their next playoff year.
You know the Colts fear Hester.
Dallas Clark- SB in…
Total Comments (1344)
I disagree with your Week 17 game ball mention. While all of those guys quite obviously made some noise in that game, Garrett Wolfe made a spectacular 32 run on 3rd and 27. I thought we would have had to punt it away. But Wolfe has shown in that game why he was a star at NIU, and why he deserves to see more touches.
Overall though, I agree with your mentions. Nice post. :)
cubs/bears
Total Comments (1290)
Dallas: EVERYONE fears Devin Hester! ;) Thanks for reading!
cubs/bears: I've added Garrett Wolfe to the week 17 mentions under your name, man. Thanks for reading! :)
Sneaky Pete
Rochelle, IL
Total Comments (1056)
Dallas: Thanks for reading! EVERYONE fears Devin Hester! ;)
cubs/bears: I've added a game ball for Garrett Wolfe under your name! Thanks for reading! :)
Sneaky Pete
Rochelle, IL
Total Comments (1056)
Thanks. :) I thought I posted *32 yard run.* But it didn't come out that way. I apologize for the error.
cubs/bears
Total Comments (1290)
The Bears are gonna suck out loud next year Sneak. Whats your plan to get thru it besides getting plastered every Sunday?
Cassidy's House:…
Whatsittoya, NO
Total Comments (16281)
mine is to watch the highlight reels of the spy gate that will be released soon...
and then watch billiacheat cry when they take some rings away from him..
Steveo16220 says:…
Total Comments (6142)
Steveo: the tapes were destroyed. That's what the most recent hubbub is about.
Cassidy: That's a really silly statement to make before FA and the draft.
Pete: enjoyed the blog. There are bright spots for next year; I just hope Angelo can address the dark one.
vonbearsalot
Marion , IN
Total Comments (284)
The Bears are gonna suck out loud next year Sneak. Whats your plan to get thru it besides getting plastered every Sunday?
Cassidy's House: Feistess | 02/02/08, 11:58 AM
I agree with von, I'm not saying Lovie is right when he says "We're not that far away," but you can't count teams out before the season even starts. For example, not too many fans saw the Packers' re-awakening coming...
If the Bears DO "suck out loud" next season, I'll get through it like I did this year... I'll rant about them every Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. ;)
Sneaky Pete
Rochelle, IL
Total Comments (1056)
Pete: enjoyed the blog. There are bright spots for next year; I just hope Angelo can address the dark one.
vonbearsalot | 02/03/08, 02:30 AM
Thanks, von. I enjoyed yours too! Let's just hope Angelo is man enough to learn from his mistakes... ;)
Sneaky Pete
Rochelle, IL
Total Comments (1056)
Thanks. :) I thought I posted *32 yard run.* But it didn't come out that way. I apologize for the error.
cubs/bears | 02/01/08, 10:17 PM
No worries, man! When you wrote that, I remembered a draw play myself! I didn't notice the error until I looked up the boxscore for the game... ;)
Sneaky Pete
Rochelle, IL
Total Comments (1056)
....were all found to be as flat as their on-field performance.<sneaky sigh>
Cassidy's House:…
Whatsittoya, NO
Total Comments (16281)
Comment
Remember to keep your posts clean. Profanity will get filtered, and offensive comments will be removed.