Almanacs “Restraint would go a long way in improving Jay Cutler and the Bears - Victoria Advocate” plus 4 more |
- Restraint would go a long way in improving Jay Cutler and the Bears - Victoria Advocate
- Daily almanac - Columbus Dispatch
- Trail day - Arkansas Online
- Chicago Bear quarterback's head is affecting his arm - Chicago Tribune
- From the Editor : - CricketLine.com
| Restraint would go a long way in improving Jay Cutler and the Bears - Victoria Advocate Posted: 15 Nov 2009 04:48 AM PST PHOTOS () — By David Haugh Chicago Tribune (MCT) CHICAGO — Terrell Owens. Albert Haynesworth. Larry Johnson. Julius Peppers. And Jay Cutler. It would be hard to start any discussion about the NFL's most disappointing stars in 2009 without those five names. The Bears have five losses. In three of them, against the Packers, Falcons and 49ers, Cutler's decision-making in the clutch has been the biggest factor. That may sound unfair to some but, for a $50 million investment, the Bears should get a red-zone warranty too. In the other two defeats the defense got blown off the field so nothing Cutler did mattered. That makes the Bears' defense more consistent than their quarterback through nine games. Think about that for a minute. Those days were supposed to be over, right? In retrospect, after the Bears' 10-6 loss Thursday night at Candlestick Park, I asked Lovie Smith the wrong question. I wondered if the Bears coach worried what the bad night would do to his quarterback's confidence level. Somewhat surprisingly, Smith acknowledged the career-worst performance could knock back Cutler. Yet the better question of Smith or anybody in the Bears' organization is harder to answer honestly: Is Cutler's real confidence problem that he has too much? A passer that talented thinks he can put the football wherever he wants it on every throw. And when Cutler has done that as a Bear his right arm ranks right up there in Chicago with The Bean and the skyline as things to behold. But like so many who play the position, Cutler's biggest strength also can be his biggest weakness. He sees no window too tiny to squeeze the ball through, no defensive back quick enough to break on one of his tight spirals in time to pick it off. Too often Cutler's head writes checks his arm can't cash. Objectively that happened at least three times against the 49ers, maybe four. The only interception that can't be pinned on Cutler was the one when Devin Hester slipped coming out of his break — even if Hester said afterward cornerback Tarell Brown sat on the route and "would have beat me to the ball." Out of habit, this would be where we mention how much the offensive line's poor pass-blocking forced Cutler into throwing before he was ready. But the 49ers didn't sack Cutler. No, Cutler isn't as up and down (yet) as Rex Grossman was in 2006. But the Bears also don't have the same defense capable of overcoming a trigger-happy gunslinger quarterback with bad aim. That makes the Bears and Cutler incompatible until either A) he gets more efficient or B) the defense gets more dominant. Preferably, C) all of the above. Defenders of Cutler point out he shouldn't have been held responsible for the interception intended for Kellen Davis that looked like pass interference or the final play of the game when he simply tried to make something happen. But listen to what 49ers safety Mark Roman, a veteran of 10 NFL seasons, noticed about Cutler's decision-making before that pass. "I couldn't believe he was going to throw the ball because I was in prime position to make the play," Roman said. A telling comment, even if anything an opponent says of Cutler will go in one earhole and out the other. You wonder if the same thing goes for offensive coordinator Ron Turner and quarterbacks coach Pep Hamilton. Can Cutler be coached the way a quarterback leading the NFL in interceptions needs to be coached? One game after he received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that drew a $20,000 fine, Cutler was loudly lobbying officials again to call pass-interference after Roman's interception. Turner and Hamilton have stressed to Cutler the dangers of protecting the football in the red zone yet he turned the ball twice more inside the 5 against the 49ers. You see undeniable evidence of talent in Cutler but much less evidence of coaching. That could be their fault. Or his. You don't need the Farmer's Almanac to predict what type of climate this could create by January at Halas Hall. Turner has an expiring contract and an inconsistent quarterback falling short of his Pro Bowl potential. If the Bears miss the playoffs for a third straight season, NFL reality says changes will be made. With Cutler, Smith and general manager Jerry Angelo entrenched, Turner figures to be in jeopardy. It may take Turner leaving for him to be appreciated in Chicago. Finding someone to take the job wouldn't be easy given Smith's win-or-else reality in 2010. If Turner is forced out, the Bears would need an independent-minded, strong-willed play-caller who is equally confident and capable with proven success coaching a Pro Bowl-caliber quarterback. Don't snicker, but there is a man 90 miles east of Chicago who fits that description and might be looking for work this winter. As a college football head coach, Charlie Weis is a well-respected NFL offensive coordinator. Far-fetched? At one time so was the notion of Cutler leading the league in interceptions nine games into his first season as a Bear. ___ (c) 2009, Chicago Tribune. Visit the Chicago Tribune on the Internet at http://www.chicagotribune.com/ Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. _____ PHOTOS (from MCT Photo Service, 202-383-6099): "JAY CUTLER" This content has passed through fivefilters.org. |
| Daily almanac - Columbus Dispatch Posted: 15 Nov 2009 03:44 AM PST Today is Sunday, Nov. 15, the 319th day of 2009. There are 46 days left in the year. HIGHLIGHTS IN HISTORY • On Nov. 15, 1959, Kansas farmer Herbert Clutter; his wife, Bonnie; and their two youngest children, Nancy, 16, and Kenyon, 15, were found murdered in their home in Holcomb. (Ex-convicts Richard Hickock and Perry Smith were later convicted of the killings and hanged; the case was detailed in the Truman Capote book In Cold Blood.) • In 1777, the Second Continental Congress approved the Articles of Confederation, a precursor to the U.S. Constitution. • In 1806, explorer Zebulon Pike sighted the mountaintop now known as Pikes Peak in presentday Colorado. This content has passed through fivefilters.org. |
| Posted: 15 Nov 2009 03:30 AM PST Photo by Joyce Hartmann / Contributing Photographer Woodcarver Bob Johnson of Fairfield Bay whittled away, displaying beautiful walking sticks. ADVERSTISMENT TRI-LAKES AREA — "We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect." - Also Leopold, A Sand County Almanac, 1949 I went to an outdoor party the other day. It wasn't a Hallowe'en party, although people were dressed up in pioneer clothes, ruffled aprons, sun bonnets, overalls and bandannas. Fiddles played as square dancers promenaded in the pine needles. Hikers whooped and hollered on woodland trails. It was Trail Day at the South Fork Nature Center in Choctaw - a true milestone celebration. The first "mile" of trails had been completed by experienced trailblazer Ken Eastin of Eastin Outdoors, and two new large "stones" had been inscribed by sculptor Ryan Mays of Vermont with the nature center's name and logo. The stones were strategically placed to help people find their way. The crowd sipped hot coffee and sassafras tea as they arrived. Bill Thurman of Little Rock played his small folk harp, his improvisations echoing among the tall pines like an outdoor cathedral (see www.billthurmanmusic. com). Later, state fiddle champion and guitarist Tim Trawick, David and Donna Peterson and Ricky Russell, all of Conway, Kay Verboon of Clinton and Thurman mixed it up, providing toe-tapping hammered dulcimer, guitar and fiddle music. Docents led folks on the shalecovered trails winding among the colorful autumn leaves, past wetlands and along bluffs overlooking Greers Ferry Lake. Don Culwell, retired University of Central Arkansas botany professor, entertained a group of hikers. "You know how you can tell a dogwood tree?" he asked. "By its bark." We laughed. It's true; dogwoods do have a distinctive crosshatched bark. Fall mushrooms bloomed everywhere: red, white, yellow, blue, orange ... a rainbow on the ground. My husband, Bob, helped an excited boy gather a collection, perhaps his first exposure to these natural wonders. Kids on the trail have fun; they scurry everywhere, climb trees and run to get to the next bend in the path. Adults are satisfied just to look and study things. There's something about walking in the woods that brings a meditative state. After hiking, we enjoyed visiting with many fascinating pioneer exhibitors. Gerald Dollar and Rick Cossey of Damascus brought chickens; it was fun to hear the roosters crow. Shirley Pratt of Greenbrier spread out all sorts of native plants on tables, explaining their historical use for medicines and foods. Joyce Burns of Clinton demonstrated chair-caning, which she teaches along with her regular art classes in downtown Clinton. Jim Solomon, a Clinton entomologist, brought insect specimens and samples of wood that had been damaged by various borers. Author of a book about those insects, he said with modest humor, "It's a boring subject." Taxidermist and teacher Bob Verboon of Clinton displayed many different skulls, includinga wild boar with big tusks. Sonny Chidister of Lost Creek Apiary and apprentice Leslie Thompson of Scotland brought native honey and beeswax products. Chidister keeps more than 100 hives. Woodcarvers Ron Morrow and Bob Johnson of Fairfield Bay whittled away, displaying beautiful artistic sculptures and walking sticks. And of course there was pioneer food: deer chili, squirrel stew, burgers, Dutch oven peach cobblers and other desserts. Businesses donated food and personnel to help, including First Service Bank, First Security Bank, Regions Bank, Wal-Mart and Thriftway. Those who ate gave donations to help with the next projects, a pavilion and an amphitheater. People enjoyed sitting on the new picnic tables built by Clinton High School students. None of this would have happened without generous volunteers and donors. Like Dr. Seuss says, "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." It began because Victor Gates and Verne Rogers cared. They donated 65 acres in the Gates Rogers Foundation to preserve the beautiful native flora and fauna for others to enjoy after their deaths in 1999 (Rogers) and 2004 (Gates). Carol Corning was hired as the Foundation's Executive Director in January 2006. The Board of Trustees, docents and other helpers are volunteers, including retired biologists, entomologists, botanists, scientists, administrators, pilots, teachers, nurses ——— all nature enthusiasts. Botanists Theo Witsell and Brent Baker documented 582 native plants on the site. These dried plant specimens are cataloged and available for viewing at the Gates Rogers office, 358 Main St. in Clinton. David Peterson and Don Culwell relocated a 100-year-old log cabin from Banner Mountain and restored it on the property. It had great historical significance, having been the birthplace of Almeda Riddle, who received awards from the National Endowment for the Arts for her contributions to the preservation of Ozark folksong traditions. She traveled coast to coast and shared the stage with such artists as Doc Watson, Pete and Mike Seeger, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan and others. Grants were awarded to pay for contractual work. For three years the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service annually contributed $6,000 to $8,000. Wal-Mart gave a $1,000 community service grant in 2007. Trails were funded by a$58,571 grant from the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department, along with a $14,600 foundation match. Even though it is not fully developed, the Nature Center has already proven to be a tourist attraction and outdoor educational center. People enjoy public access to walking trails and the opportunity to learn about native plants and wildlife. Visitors have included the Little Red River Audubon Society, Master Gardeners, UCA outdoor conservation classes and the North Central Arkansas Artist League. Local schools especially benefit. Clinton science teacher and docent Krissi Graham brought students to walk the trails and learn more about nature, saying, "Kids today are so involved with technology that they just don't have the exposure to the outdoors as we did. It's hard to get them to go outside." Culwell agreed. He said he had led a group of Clinton high school students on a trail and then builta campfire afterward to roast hot dogs and marshmallows. Amazingly, some had never had these experiences before. One girl didn't want to eat a hot dog on a stick because she was afraid of getting splinters. Obviously, there is a need to maintain wild places and get people outside to explore and appreciate nature. Outdoor education is key. To find the Nature Center, turn east at the intersection of U.S. 65 and Arkansas 330. Drive 3.7 miles and turn north at Klondike Road (at the stone sign), drive about three more miles and turn right at the gate (another stone sign). The gate is open to the public on the third Saturday of each month or by appointment. If the gate is locked, park in the gravel area across from the gate and hike in. Pass two private homes on theleft; look for the log cabin less than a mile down the road. For more information about the Center, check out the Web site at www.southforknaturecenter. org. To volunteer, donate, obtain more information or schedule a docent-led visit, contact Corning at (501) 745-6444. This article was published today at 3:03 a.m.Tri-Lakes, Pages 135 on 11/15/2009 This content has passed through fivefilters.org. |
| Chicago Bear quarterback's head is affecting his arm - Chicago Tribune Posted: 15 Nov 2009 02:18 AM PST Chicago Bear quarterback's head is affecting his arm Terrell Owens. Albert Haynesworth. Larry Johnson. Julius Peppers. This content has passed through fivefilters.org. |
| From the Editor : - CricketLine.com Posted: 15 Nov 2009 03:30 AM PST From the Editor :The English have shown that they're a pretty formidable batting unit in their warm-up games thus far - bar the 89-all out horror against South Africa 'A', of course - but we're left to question their bowling firepower. There isn't an out-and-out pace ace among 'em and that's sure to be their downfall on the hard, fast pitches on offer across the country.
Meanwhile, check out our hot, new video section. Anything from Simon Jones' eternal hopes of a comeback to Graeme Swann's fear of burnout - it's all there.
While the minority of you continue your bickering, squabbling and downright immaturity, be warned: personal stabs and non-cricket agendas won't be tolerated in these parts. Keep things civil enough and your comments stay; anything else cops the good ol' 'delete' button.
That's it from us, for now. Over to you.
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The Cricket365 Team. This content has passed through fivefilters.org. |
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