The Chicago Bears got destroyed in Cincinnati 45-10 on Sunday. As bad as the score was, it was not indicative of how bad the Bears’ play was. This was by far the most unprepared team I have ever seen.
The blame for the debacle rests solely on the shoulders of head coach Lovie Smith. Lovie personally took over the defensive play-calling this year and that was the most glaring problem on Sunday. The Bengals scored on their first seven possessions which effectively put the game out of reach for the Bears.
Chicago was unable to stop the Bengals’ rushing or passing attack. Cincinnati RB (former Bears bad seed) Cederic Benson had a career day, rushing for 189 yards and a touchdown. Bengals QB Carson Palmer had all day to throw as the Bears once again had no sacks and no significant pessure whatsoever. Palmer threw for five touchdowns including two to outspoken WR Chad Ochocinco, who backed up his trash talking with big numbers.
It’s time to face facts. The cover-2 defensive scheme, which is Lovie’s signature defense, has been exposed. Any decent offense will find the holes in the zone and exploit them. Lovie needs to adjust his defense to a more attacking style ala Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Philadelphia, etc. Adjusting on the fly has not proved to be one of Lovie Smith’s specialties so maybe it’s time to think about a new head coach. There are alot of good ones out there with Superbowl pedigrees: Holmgren, Shanahan, and Cowher would all look good patroling the Chicago sideline!

Paris is beautiful and amazing with the whole city as one giant inspirational muse.  The art galleries are huge and have seminal works by pivotal artists.  Much of the work is from artists that worked in Paris and in France.  Every café, building, and neighborhood I visited had some connection to a great thinker.  Some philosopher, artist, and writer generated magnificent ideas everywhere I looked. 

And yet, it was all at some prior time.  Sure, with distance of decades the locations become famous.  Somehow, though, I feel that the time has passed, and what coming out of this great city can live up to the prior brilliant ideas?  Maybe we won’t know for years.  And still, it’s all history now.

The Art Institute of Chicago doesn’t have a small 500-year-old painting by an Italian master that draws a crowd like a rock star.  But this gives visitors the opportunity to spread out and enjoy more of the works in the great Chicago museum. 

Chicago, on the other hand has is not as brilliant as Paris, but by comparison it’s a new city.  Let’s say roughly 150 years of being a true city and less than that of being a metropolis.  Notwithstanding some great writers, artists, and thinkers, Chicago doesn’t linger in the shadow of as many prior great idols like Paris does, so it leaves creative thinking wide open.  Chicago is fresh and new.  There have been and are great buildings and architects, fantastic culinary masters, the music scene has and still does produce compelling music, and visual art is world class.  And without the history of the masters of the past, Chicago looks ahead.

Chicago is coming into its own artist brilliance and the best is yet to come.

p.s.  The Sunday art fair in Montparnse was underwhelming with much better work at the street art fairs I’ve visited in Chicago.  How can this be in such an inspirational city?  Maybe I went to the wrong places. I didn’t get a chance to see some of the up-and-coming art from the galleries that I read are in the Bastille area of Paris.  Next trip.