You can coach em, but you can't play for them!

It's a head coach's nightmare, your team takes an early lead runs up the score and looks set to cruise to victory, then you have to play the second half of the game.

Monday night's football game between the Bears and the Cardinals offered up the chance to watch one of the great upsets of modern time. The Bears undefeated thus far in the season were expected to walk all over the Cardinals, an under performing team that seems to have trouble finishing off their game.

For the first thirty minutes Monday night though, it was all guts and glory for the Cards and their fans as they took a remarkable 23-0 nothing lead over a team many have pencilled in for a Super Bowl berth. The highlight of the early part of the night, the continuing maturity of rookie QB Matt Leinart, who has been given the reins and told to make his horses run. And run they did for thirty minutes it was a mastery of domination over one of the most feared football teams in NFL history. And what was even more impressive was the fact that they could have scored even more!

As the second half kicked off, many were in shock, no doubt trying to contact their bookies to lay off a few bets to even up the nights impending losses. But then DA BEARS, took charge. Or more correctly the Bears defence took charge and the Cards imploded, a second half collapse to rival the worst days of the Buffalo Bills.

In one of the great but bizarre finishes to a Monday night game, Chicago punished the Cardinals for their lack of understanding of how things were supposed to work. They recovered fumbles, snared interceptions and ran back kicks all as they chipped away at the score, eventually taking the lead 24-23.

Still til the end, the Cardinals had the chance to win the game, marching down the field in the dwindling moments of the game to set up a 41 yard field goal attempt by Neil Rackers, normally a chip shot in the world of pro football.

Of course though nothing is automatic and with a chance to take the lead and win the game the automatic became the dramatic and then something ecstatic, but for the BEARS.

Rackers, a most reliable kicker for the Cards (only two misses all of last year) trotted out on the field set up his attempt, made his approach and then shanked it wide left. Game Over, Bears win.

It's enough to send a coach over the edge, which judging by this clip of Head Coach Dennis Green, is exactly what happened under the hot lights of the post game press conference.

It's just the latest bizarre ending for a Cardinals team that can't find the killer instinct to put a game away, a team that seems perpetually cursed to grasp defeat from the jaws of victory. The next week of practice is not going to be a very enjoyable time for the Cardinals and if Mr. Rackers is a smart man he'll be keeping a very, very low profile.