Chicago Football Chili

I've had a few days to chill out.  I had a rough go after last week's Bengals game.

I always hate to see our Bears lose, and the blowout nature makes it exponentially worse.  But worst of all was the opponent.  You see, my boss is in Cincinnati.  Two of my peers are in Cincinnati.  And all of my peers heard me proclaim that the Bears would beat the Bengals in a conference call last week.

INSTIGATOR ED FROM NEW YORK - "So Steve (from Cincinnati), who do you think is going to win the Bears/Bengals game this weekend?"

STEVE FROM CINCINNATI - "I don't know, but I think the Bengals have a chance to win this one"

CHILI DAN - "The Bears WILL win this game."

MACK FROM CINCINNATI - "So, Dan, you think the Bears will win, huh?"

CHILI DAN - "No.  I said WILL win.  As in, I KNOW the Bears will win."

(Sigh)

So I go into the work week knowing that lunch will be several courses of crow.  And while that would be bad enough over the phone, I actually had to face these people on Thursday.

"So, Dan - did ya see the game last weekend?"  "Who ya pickin' this week - I need to know who to bet against!"  "When you said you know they WILL win, did you mean the coin toss?"

(Shudder)

Well, water under the bridge.  The nice thing about life in America is that you always get second chances, and there's nothing like a game with Cleveland to get your hopes up and running again.  So I've settled into my "Go Bears!" mentality again, and am getting jazzed for the Browns game.

And hey, we can still finish 13-3.  GO BEARS!! 

 CHILI DAN

Posted by dawn2 at 11:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Boo!

As in:  Happy Halloween!

As in:  That may have been the worst game I've ever seen.

You decide.

 CHILI DAN

Posted by dawn2 at 10:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I gotta tell ya.  Sometimes you need a couple of days to do the game recap.

It was harsh.  Had a hard time watching that game, and I'm starting to think that the Bears just don't play well on NBC.  The good news is they only have one more Sunday Night game (vs the Eagles on Nov. 22nd).  Does this mean we finish 13-3?

Fact is, we gave that one away.  The opportunities were there, but we didn't capitalize.  Team gets into the Red Zone three times and doesn't even come away with a field goal - hate to say it, but when a team can't convert those, it deserves to lose.  Even our team.

We'll call it a learning experience.  A character-builder.  A bump in the road of our 13-3 season.

Speaking of which, the first step is to get to 4-2, and we have the Cincinnati Bengals to help us along with that goal this week.

I have two cousins in Columbus, Ohio.  One is a Browns fan, the other a Bengals fan.  And while the Bengals have been the better team in the course of my cousins' collective fandom, you'd never know it from the sour football attitude of the Bengal-backer.  The Browns fan is inexplicably happier.

Likewise, I have a friend who works in Cincinnati who says "yeah, they've been doing good, but it can't last".  I agree.  Bengals fans should be a dour bunch.  Because we have some angry Bears who will be looking to make a statement.

So, for the Bears expatriots (the exiled Tank Johnson and the equally exiled Cedric Benson), it will be nice to see you eat crow for not respecting the GSH on your ex-sleeves. 

For the ex-Chad Johnson, we have a Peanut for you.  You won't be able to miss him, as he'll be all over you.  Perhaps you can tweet "Help Me!" during the game.  Gotta do something with that iPhone app of yours, since bragging won't be taken seriously.  Grade school children will be tweeting back to you - "Ocho-STINKO!"  It won't be pretty.

So in short, the Atlanta game sucked.  But it's over.  The 4-2 Bengals are next, and they are another (sordid) story altogether.  Their slide starts this week.  Let's just hope they make bail in time for the game.

Go Bears!

 CHILI DAN

Posted by dawn2 at 10:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Unbelievable, but less than two weeks out from knee surgery, and the I-Train looks ready to play!  Just read that Israel Idonije (one of our Honor Chili namesakes this week) practiced on Friday, and could be suited up and playing on Sunday night!  WOO-HOO!  Always like reading good news!  We like to think the chili is what put him over the top.

The 2nd half of our Honor Chili is Adewale Ogunleye, who was kind enough to mention us in his blog entry this week ( http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/bears-adewale-ogunleye/2009/10/ask-wale-chili-holding-calls-and-where-will-wale-play-next-year.html#more ).  Wale is on a QB-sack hot streak right now, and we're looking forward to seeing him plant Matt Ryan like an Atlanta peanut.

Some folks are thinking that the Bears acquisition of Gaines Adams means Ogunleye will leave at the end of the year (when his contract is up), but we're hoping that's not the case.  Wale is one of our favorites, and not just because his name is so much fun to bellow (see previous entry).

The Ryan hype machine continues, and I wonder just how badly we have to beat these guys to shut the press up.  With every week, Cutler is getting more comfortable with the offense here, and while the Falcons defense is quite a test, I think we're going to put some points on them.   

I'm sleeping late on Sunday morning - gotta stay up for the beating the Bears are taking to Atlanta on Sunday night!

 CHILI DAN

Posted by dawn2 at 03:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Did you ever hear that pumped-up soccer announcer screaming GOOOAAALLLLL!!

Well, without fail, when Number 93 takes out the QB with yet another bone-crunching sack, the call is heard throughout the neighborhood...OGUNLEEEYYYYEE!! 

I can't help it.  It's just something I do.  And it's not like the neighbors don't already talk about me anyway.

I'm hoping to get a couple of those in this weekend.  Just on principle, Falcons QB Matt Ryan is coming in with a lot of hype, and it would be nice to drop his PR people back a couple of steps.

But I won't lie to you...what I'm really thinking about is last year's game.  You remember.  

Week 6.  Outstanding week for chili with the Taylor Street Special and the Atlanta Chipotle Peach Chicken Chili, and a pretty good game too.  Minus about 11 seconds.

Bears were behind and getting beaten back when the momentum shifted via a missed field goal by reliable Falcons kicker Jason Elam.  Kyle Orton (can you believe the Broncos are 5-0, by the way) led the team back downfield and connected with what appeared to be a game-winning touchtown to Rashied Davis with 11 seconds left.  Bears 20 - Falcons 19.

But wait.

Atlanta gets the ball.  Ryan connects with a 26 yard pass Michael Jenkins.  Just enough yardage for Elam to to get his redemption with a 48 yard field goal to end the game.  Bears 20 - Falcons 22.

Later in the year, the Bears will fall one victory short of the playoffs.

Yeah, I'm thinking about it.

I hope Ogunleye is too.  And I hope that by game's end, all Ryan can think about is Ogunleye.  I like our chances.

Go Bears!

 CHILI DAN  

Posted by dawn2 at 03:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

OK, so perhaps the beating wasn't quite as astounding as the regular score in the Hofstra vs. Temple matchups in the 50's and 60's (per Bill Cosby, famously, in his ode to college football "Hofstra").  But 27-3 in the second half is pretty darned good.

Yes, the Bears walked all over the Lions in the second half of this game.  Well, maybe ran all over versus walked all over, as anyone who saw Johnny Knox burn the turf could attest.

How about that Johnny Knox, huh?  We put his picture on the front page of the site, make a chili in his honor, and the next thing you know, he's all over the highlight reel.  We'll need to remember this as I set my fantasy football roster.  Olin Kreutz honor chili?  Get him in the lineup!

Well, next week is Bye week, which is always sad for us around here.  What to do with your Sunday?  But before getting all melancholy about it, we find ourselves looking forward to an unusual game for us to be looking forward to - Vikings vs. Packers on Monday Night Football.

Difficult game for a Bears fan.  While we tend to not like the Vikings, we have a real problem with the Packers.  But then you throw Favre in the mix on the Minnesota side, and it becomes very confusing.  So, while before I would have said "no brainer, you root for the Vikes", now we're in a bit of a pickle with this new Favre-seeks-retribution Minnesota development.

I laid awake a long time thinking about this last night, and I think I have the answer.  We're going to be backing the Vikings, hoping for a 2-0 score.  Last second sack of Rodgers in the endzone, but only after Favre has been taken out in the 4th quarter with a minor injury after going 0-36 with 8 interceptions and the announcement that the Vikings have signed Rex Grossman.

This will please us.  Maybe more if the Packers sign Grossman.

By the way, thanks to all of our new readers who have found us through the Southtown Star's weekly Thursday article featuring our chili match-ups!  Nice to have you on board!

Two classic chilies will be on the site this week, along with a brand new article about money-saving while chili-making. 

And don't forget to vote for CHILI DAWN in the Chex Mix Recipe Contest!  One vote per email address, per day at http://www.chex.com/recipes/sweeps/default.aspx

I've had a few of these Chex Mix recipes now, and I stand before you with an unbiased flavor palette in the opinion that the Lemon Rosemary mix is indeed the best one.  So vote early and vote often!

 CHILI DAN

Posted by dawn2 at 08:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)