All rain, no reign

The shame of it all is that a very cool Web site no longer exists.

I had secured www.worldchampbears.blogspot.com and had spent my nervous energy prior to 6:25 p.m. EST Sunday playing with the new gadgets now available at Blogspot/Blogger/Google. Embedded images. RSS feeds. Podcasts from a variety of outlets. Real-time commentary. Push-and-click to all the cool Bears Super Bowl swag.

Blah, blah, blah.

Gone. It's all gone. Washed away like so many fans in Miami's Purple Rain. A couple of looping passes hopped off the back foot and the Super Dream is but a forgettable folly that can leave one empty and, even, a little disturbed. But at least I'm dry. My poor brother is still wet and may be wet for weeks – perhaps months – to come. His Super Bowl odyssey was one of $10 beers and fireworks-spark-stains and unrelenting rain and misery that may forever scar his desire to attend outdoor sporting events.

Bear weather? Think: Porpoise weather in a Dolphin stadium in a tropical climate gone mad because of man's tampering in God's domain.

What are we left with?

Next year. All that fury only leads us to yet another "next year." A year that needs to see the Chicago Bears with more depth on defense and and a honest-to-gosh quarterback. Good Rex? Bad Rex? How about Ex-Rex? Let him ride his last year on the bench as a back up to an actual pro starter. Jeff Garcia is an unrestricted free agent and he seemed to have a lot of pluck when he came in to replace Donovan McNabb. Kerry Collins is available, too.

Safety Mike Brown is a good guy and a good player but absolutely unreliable down the stretch (well, you can rely on the fact that he'll be injured). Todd Johnson, too, was banged up at the end. The Bears need a Pro Bowl-caliber safety who can be healthy for 20 weeks or so. The Bears also need a defensive tackle who can spot Tommie Harris (hint: this person is NOT Alfonso Boone).

Also, the Bears need to open up their wallets to pay Lance Briggs whatever he wants. Let's not have a repeat of the 1987 departure of Wilber Marshall and the subsequent unraveling of THAT Super Bowl team. The same goes for Lovie Smith. Pay the man. Duke him!

Let's review: More depth on defense, a pro quarterback and Briggs returns. Perhaps use the draft for some offensive line depth and some other spot players. Maybe even find another Mark Anderson or Devin Hester?

The Bears are close. So close. Can they keep it together?

Many things were washed away by a wet and wild Super Bowl. But, not my faith.

More later,


Mark