Gaines Adams Dead at 26

Gaines Adams died Sunday morning in South Carolina, county coroner James T. Coursey said. Adams was 26.

Adams was taken to the emergency room at Self Regional Hospital in Greenwood, where was pronounced dead, the Greenville News. There are reports that Adams suffered a heart attack, but an official cause of death has not been determined, and an autopsy is planned.

Adams was born in Greenwood, South Carolina, and played his college football at Clemson. He was the 2006 ACC Defensive Player of the Year. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers chose him with the fourth overall pick in the 2007 NFL draft. The Buccaneers traded Adams to the Bears during the 2009 regular season.

In his three-year NFL career, Adams played in 47 games and recorded 13.5 sacks.

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Bears Rumble, Vikings Stumble in Prime Time. Bears Prevail 36-30 in Overtime

The Minnesota Vikings lost again Monday night, stumbling for the third time in four games. The defeat gave the New Orleans Saints home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. Beaten by the Bears 36-30 when Jay Cutler tossed a 39-yard strike to Devin Aromashodu.

The Bears finally put in a total team effort on a cold but not so frigid Monday Night at home. These Bears had nothing really to play for, being eliminated from the playoffs some time ago. It was the first time this season the offense clicked, and the defense was stout in the first half.

Tonight was a great opportunity for them to start getting ready for “Next Year”  "Through all the roller coasters and tough breaks it's good for the team, it's good for the morale to answer the bell, going out there and putting up points especially in the fourth quarter and overtime,” Cutler said.

For Favre and company, a Playoff seeding was at stake, as well as chance to gain momentum for the post season. Favre summed it up best. "I know we're fortunate to be in the playoffs but we have to play better than we did the last few weeks or we'll be home fairly quickly," Favre said. "I'm just being honest as I can be."

Vintage Favre. And Good Jay

Playing for the first time since their tiff between the star quarterback and coach Brad Childress became public, the Vikings' late rally wasn't enough.

The Bears led 16-0 at halftime and 23-6 midway through the third, when the comeback started.

Favre's stunning, fourth-down pass to Sidney Rice with 16 seconds left in regulation tied the game. Favre's pass to leaping Rice capped a 68-yard touchdown drive and tied the game at 30. But then the comeback stumbled, or should you I say fumbled. In Overtime, the Bears took advantage of a fumble by Peterson, when Hunter Hillenmeyer knocked the ball away and Roach recovered. Cutler found an open Aromashodu, who burned Antoine Winfield, and the Bears won for just the third time in 11 games.

"It's fun," Cutler said of outdueling Favre. "He got me in Denver. I got him when he was in New York. ... It was a good game."

Favre had a good game after three dismal performances, completing 26 of 40 passes for 321 yards and two touchdowns. Peterson ran for 94 yards and two scores.

Brett Favre has never led a team to a win after trailing by 17 or more points, falling to 0-43 in such situations. The Bears were up 23-6 in the third quarter and the Vikings were able to tie it twice, but the Vikings simply couldn't pull this one out.

Finally some Offense, but too little, too late for some?

The Bears' 363 total yards represented their biggest output in seven weeks, but it may not be enough to save the jobs of coaches on the offensive side of the ball, where the Bears have struggled mightily in most games since the bye in Week 5. "I'm not even focused on that," offensive coordinator Ron Turner said of his job security. "We'll go in (today) and get ready for Detroit. We'll enjoy this one for about two hours and then focus on Detroit. I'm not even going to think about it."

Playing good Football wins games

Penalties have stumbled the offense at various times all season, but Monday night the Bears had just 3 penalties for 31 yards as a team. "It's what I've been saying all year," Turner said. "We've played well, and we've done a lot of good things all year when we didn't hurt ourselves. We have some guys who can make plays, and they made plays."

But if you watched the game closely, the officials let these two teams play football, not calling some obvious infractions. Maybe they looked the other way? Or maybe they just were cold like the players and the fans?

Playing for the Future

"I think the game made a statement about our football team and where we are and what we can be in the future, no more than that," Smith said. "As a football coach your job is at stake every day you go to work. ... It's like that with everyone. I realize where I am and where we are. It's been a disappointing season and I'm the head football coach. We haven't been proud of our play at times this season, but we were tonight."

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Local High School Coach honored By the Chicago Bears

Doug Millsaps, Head Coach of the Rolling Meadows Mustangs Football team was named the Chicago Bears High School Coach of the Week, for week 9.

During a special halftime presentation, The Bears honored Millsaps and eight other coaches for thier outstanding performance this past season.

Photo By Joe Paolella

http://www.danspitstopracing.com/local_sports_and_news

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Jay Cutler Redeems himself… shows everyone why he was brought here.

Cutler was nearly perfect tonight.. And the Bears battered defense rose to the task to “Steel” a win from the defending Super Bowl Champs. 17-14.

For the Bears, this is getting easy. The last two times the Bears opened the season at home against a defending Super Bowl winner, the rose to the task and beat them. First it was the NY Giants in 1987, Then the Cowboys in 1996. Now add the Steelers to that impressive resume.

Cutler bounced back from a 4-interception embarrassment in the season opener to complete 27 of 38 passes for 236 yards, 2 touchdowns, no interceptions and a passer rating of 104.7.

"I think they brought me here for a reason, and I want the ball at the end every game with a chance to win it," said Cutler, who notched his first win as a Bear and chalked it up as a team victory.

Two new stars emerge… and Cutler loves his new targets.. Johnny Knox and Kellen Davis. Both were stellar and scored their first NFL regular season touchdowns.

With the worst field position of the day, the Bears' offense put together its longest and most impressive drive of the season…and maybe the past few years, going 97 yards to

tie the game at 7-7 on a 6-yard TD grab by backup tight end Kellen Davis with 19 seconds left in the first half.

Davis, got his chance, being put in for injured Desmond Clark. This was his first extended playing time in the NFL and he responded with 5 catches for 38 yards. After his first catch, a 10-yard gain, the second pass directed his way clanked off his hands. "I'm assuming my teammates believe in me and have confidence in me as a player," Davis said. "So I felt like I let them down because I knew it could have been a big play." Cutler told him to forget about it.

Later in the game, Cutler’s 7-yard TD pass to rookie Johnny Knox, who had a team best of 6 catches and 70 yards, tied the game at 14-all 8:39 into the fourth quarter, setting the stage for Robbie Gould's game-winning, 44-yard field goal with 15 seconds remaining.

The patched up defense made the plays when they needed to…and Cutler knows it was a key to the win tonight.

"The defense stepped up and forced them to miss 2 (fourth-quarter) field goals, ours guys caught the ball, the offensive line did a great job, and we converted the third down with Devin (Hester), so it was three phases." Said Cutler.

Better than “Gould”

"He's as good as gold," said special team’s coordinator Dave Toub. "He's solid. He's a clutch kicker." Gould is the third-most-accurate FG kicker in NFL history at 86.3 percent (113 of 131), By the time Gould retires, he will have re-written the record books.

Jay Cutler assumed it was a done deal when he and the offense got the ball to the Steelers' 26. "He's made it in 5-degree weather and in snow and rain," Cutler said. "We knew we just had to give him a shot and he's going to do it for us."… and he did.

For the Bears this week… it will be another challenge.. facing Seattle on their home turf. They need to continue to build on what they put on the field tonight. If they do, only good things can happen to this team.

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Bears look to get back on track, tough challenge with the defending Super Bowl Champions

The Bears return home for their 2009 regular season opener when they take on the Pittsburgh Steelers at Soldier Field on Sunday.

Chicago opened the season with disappointing  21-15 loss to the Packers at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.

The toughest challenge?.  The Bears have risen to it the previous two times

This marks the third time the Bears will open at home against a defending Super

Bowl Champion. The Monsters of the Midway defeated the Giants in Chicago, 34-19, on September 14, 1987 after New York won Super Bowl XXI. Chicago defeated Dallas on September 2, 1996 after the Cowboys won Super Bowl XXX.

The Bears are 3-2 in home openers under head coach Lovie Smith.

Chicago owns a 19-6-1 advantage over Pittsburgh in a series that dates back to 1934, although the Steelers have won the last three meetings.

The Bears own an 11-1 record over the Steelers in games played in the Windy City. The Steelers will head to Chicago in Week 2 for the first time since November 5, 1995. That is the longest drought away from the Windy City of any NFL team. Chicago is 1-0 all-time in home openers against the Steelers, defeating Pittsburgh 17-15 in 1971.

The Bears 60 home-opening wins are most in the NFL and their .706 win percentage (60-25-4) is fourth-best in the league.

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Bears break training camp... After having some practice fun... #6 is Urlacher & #54 is new QB Cutler.

Photos By Joe Paolella

Just who are these Bears in uniform?

 

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Broncos trade Cutler to Chicago Bears

 

Jay Cutler got his wish Thursday: a ticket out of Denver. And the Chicago Bears have a franchise quarterback for the first time in decades.

The Broncos on Thursday traded their disgruntled Pro Bowl passer to the Bears, who’ve gone through a bevy of quarterbacks without much success ever since Jim McMahon was calling plays in the 1980s.

The Broncos get quarterback Kyle Orton in return, along with two first-round draft picks and a third-rounder.

The Broncos get the Bears’ top pick in this year’s draft, which is No. 18 overall, and Chicago’s first-round draft pick in 2010, along with a third-round selection this year (No. 84 overall). Denver also gave up a fifth-rounder this year.

Cutler asked for a trade last month after his relationship with Josh McDaniels soured when the new 32-year-old coach talked to other teams about trading him. Cutler and his agent didn’t think McDaniels was upfront with them about the trade talks.

Two meetings designed to clear the air only raised Cutler’s level of distrust. Still, McDaniels insisted over and over that Cutler was his guy and he said at last week’s NFL owners meetings that he would do everything he could to repair their relationship.

When the rocket-armed but thin-skinned passer didn’t return the Broncos’ phone calls, however, team owner Pat Bowlen said enough was enough. On Tuesday night, he announced he had given his new brain trust of McDaniels and general manager Brian Xanders the go-ahead to seek a trade for the quarterback who made the Pro Bowl in just his second season as a starter.

Now, the Bears have a top quarterback, albeit one with baggage.

“I don’t have any concerns,” Bears general manager Jerry Angelo said. “(Coach Lovie Smith) and I talked about that. We did, like a lot of people who were interested in Jay, a lot of work going back to not just when he was with Denver (but) but going back to his days at Vanderbilt.”

Angelo said area scout Rex Hogan lives in the Nashville area and developed a “great rapport” with Cutler coming out of Vanderbilt in 2006.

“We felt that (Cutler) is a very good person, a good leader,” Angelo said. “He had some things that happened in Denver. We recognized those, but we treated them as just speed bumps, part of the growing process. He’s highly competitive, he’s highly emotional. That just comes with the territory.”

Although Cutler is 17-20 as a starter, he’s been victimized by dismal defenses in Denver, and he was an impressive 13-1 when the Broncos held opponents to 21 points or fewer.

Last year, Cutler threw for a franchise record 4,526 yards, 25 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. In his 37-game career in Denver, he completed 62.5 percent of his passes for 9,024 yards, 54 TDs and 37 interceptions.

Although he was prone to mistakes, his bold and at times risky play wasn’t just tolerated but encouraged by former Broncos coach Mike Shanahan, who would often laud Cutler for not just dumping off short passes to pad his statistics but instead dared to go downfield, even into coverage. He said that trait would make him great one day.

Cutler’s inability to quickly fulfill that forecast cost Shanahan his job on Dec. 30 after the Broncos missed the playoffs for the third straight year.

Cutler wasn’t happy about Shanahan’s firing. And he was upset when his position coach, Jeremy Bates, bolted for Southern Cal because McDaniels will be the one calling plays in Denver now.

When he hired McDaniels, Bowlen proclaimed that Cutler “is the man around here, now.”

That didn’t last long.

Cutler started to get over Shanahan’s dismissal and Bates’ departure and he told McDaniels in February he was eager to learn his new offense. But that all changed on Feb. 28, when Cutler learned McDaniels had talked about trading him to Tampa Bay in a three-way deal that would have brought McDaniels’ protege, Matt Cassel, from New England to Denver.

McDaniels had tutored Cassel, who led New England to an 11-5 record after Tom Brady suffered a season-ending injury in the opener last year.

That sent McDaniels’ stock soaring and landed him in Denver as Shanahan’s successor.

It seemed like the perfect match: the rocket-armed passer meets the offensive guru.

But McDaniels’ dalliance with his former pupil blew up in his face when he didn’t clue in Cutler, and now McDaniels begins his era in Denver by chasing off his 25-year-old Pro Bowl quarterback—and he’ll have to face Cassel twice a year because the Patriots ended up sending his protege to Kansas City instead.

As for Cutler, he won’t have to ditch his West Coast style for the intricate Patriots-style offense.

He might be going to one of the teams he rooted for as a kid growing up in Santa Claus, Ind., but he’s also leaving a great pocket of protection in Denver, where left tackle Ryan Clady is considered the best young tackle in the game, and a great bunch of receivers led by fellow Pro Bowler Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal. Behind young tackles Clady and Ryan Harris, Cutler’s offensive line allowed just a dozen sacks.

Denver now has Orton, fellow newcomer Chris Simms and Darrell Hackney at quarterback.

Simms, who signed a two-year, $6 million free agent deal ostensibly to serve as Cutler’s backup, has thrown just two passes since undergoing emergency surgery to remove his spleen after a game in 2006. Hackney’s next NFL pass will be his first.

Angelo made it clear in December, after his team went 9-7 and missed the playoffs for the second straight year—that solidifying the quarterback spot was his top priority. Now, he has a Pro Bowler.

“When you just look at the history of the league, I can’t recall a situation quite like this,” Angelo said. “All we did was react to a situation that we felt affected our football team.”

Orton threw for 2,972 yards while completing 272 of 465 passes and throwing more touchdowns (18) than interceptions (12) after beating out Rex Grossman for the starting job. But he wasn’t the same after being carted off the field with a sprained ankle against Detroit midway through the season.

Orton went from throwing a club record 205 passes without an interception to throwing eight in four games before a strong finish in the finale.

“I don’t want to make anybody think that we didn’t have respect for Kyle, because we did,” Angelo said. “I feel what really facilitated this trade was Kyle was part of it. I think the draft compensation, given what I was to understand, was very similar to other teams. But they liked Kyle Orton and that was part of it. And I could see why they liked Kyle.”

The Bears will get a great but often petulant passer who is going from the long shadow of John Elway in Denver to the Windy City, where he’ll be under just as much scrutiny.

Cutler is halfway through the six-year, $48 million contract he signed as the 11th overall pick out of Vanderbilt in the 2006 draft. His salary cap number for next season is just over $1 million.

Although he probably won’t play in the game, the Bears visit the Broncos for an exhibition on Aug. 30.

 

Setting The Pace

The Bears signed free agent left tackle Orlando Pace on Thursday as well, making it one of the biggest days in Bears recent history.

Finally, the Bears seem to mean business..

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Bears get Early Christmas Present, Win yet another nail biter in record cold…

20-17 in overtime.

 

Frozen Tundra, painted dirt, record cold temperatures.. The way football should be played.

 

The fans booed, the fans froze in the record cold, but in the end it was all worth the wait in yet another come from behind win for these “Cardiac Bears”

 

During the first quarter the air temperature dropped to 2 degrees with a wind chill of -13, the coldest game ever played in Soldier Field since they started keeping records in 1963. (The Bears played at Wrigley Field until 1970)

 

If you look at the stats, the Bears should have been blown out of this game in nearly every fascet of the game. The lone bright spot through four quarters  was the stellar play of Daneal Manning, who nearly broke another kickoff for a touchdown.

That play seemed to awaken the hibernating Bears and the rest is history.

Alex Brown just  saved the Chicago Bears’ season.

Brown blocked Crosby’s 38-yard attempt with 18 seconds to go in the fourth quarter Monday night, forcing overtime against the Green Bay Packers.

Good as “Gould”…

And once the Bears got to the extra period, reliable Robbie  “Pure Gould”  kicked a 38-yard field goal for the win.

“I knew it was going to be in before he kicked it,” said the Bears quarterback. “He’s money in those situations and he’s done a great job. There’s not too much doubt about it when he comes out there.” Said Orton.

Gould has helped the Bears keep their playoff hopes alive by becoming the first NFL kicker to win back-to-back overtime games with field goals since the Philadelphia Eagles’ David Akers in 2000.

On Dec. 11 against the New Orleans Saints, Gould tied the score 24-24 with a 28-yarder on the final play of regulation before winning the game 27-24 with a 35-yarder on the first possession of overtime.

“You’re at a loss for words when you talk about Robbie,” said return specialist and nickel back Danieal Manning. “He’s a professional. You can’t shake him. You can’t rattle his cage. He’s just so poised and he’s a great kicker.”

Asked what goes through his mind as he prepares for a game-winning attempt, Gould said: “Run through your keys, find your target and swing as true as you possibly can to that target line. It’s going to go through if you do everything you’re supposed to. I don’t really think about much other than make the kick.”

The 38-yarder against Green Bay was the seventh game-winning field goal of Gould’s career. All have come in November or later, including a 49-yarder in the 2006 divisional playoffs against the Seahawks that propelled the Bears into the NFC Championship Game.

“Robbie Gould has been a guy that you can count on it seems like every time we’ve asked him to step up to the plate,” said coach Lovie Smith. “That’s his seventh game-winning field goal, and they’ve all come in November or later, so that’s really telling you what type of player he is.”

“It’s great,” he said. “Regardless of how you win, you’ve got to win. Everyone’s got to do their job and everyone’s got to contribute the way they’re supposed to, and mine’s to make field goals. I’m just happy to get an opportunity to do my job, and we’ve still got a heartbeat.”

Gould has excelled in frigid conditions the last three games at Soldier Field, even though the ball feels like it's filled with cement.

“It’s like kicking a cold turkey, it really is,” he said. “It’s going to be hard. It’s going to be tough. But the thing is you know going into it. If you’re in it all the time, like we practice in it, then you’re not really thinking too much about how hard it’s going to be. It’s just a matter of trusting your technique and knowing that it’s going to go through.”

The Task Ahead ….

After the impressive victory, the Bears are still in the running for the playoffs, but again must have some help.

Simply winning their last game won’t be enough. And they must step up and play better in Houston, as the Texan’s have started surging at the end of the season. The Texans have nothing to play for and can become spoilers in the last game of the season. They will have fans in a few NFL Teams, namely the Vikings and Bucs, who like the Bears still hope to make the post season.

“We got a great push from a lot of different people. I was just the one who got my hand on it,” Brown said.

“We were saying on the sidelines that we have to block it. I got through pretty good but I didn’t really think that was going to happen. You just go as hard as you can and see if you can get a hand up and hopefully you can get it.”

The Bears (9-6), who stayed in contention for the NFC North over the weekend when Atlanta beat Minnesota, won their third straight and rallied from a 14-3 halftime deficit to do it.

If the Bears win at Houston next Sunday and the Vikings lose at home to the Giants, Chicago captures the NFC North. Minnesota holds the tiebreaker over the Bears, so if both teams win on the final Sunday, the Vikings win the division. But Chicago is still alive for a wild-card berth, too.

“Everything fell right, gave us a lot of momentum and energy coming into this game. We just had to carry it all the way through,” quarterback Kyle Orton said.

And the Bears had to overcome the elements, too, as did the Packers.

Orton hit a 17-yard pass to Greg Olsen and a 15-yard penalty on Green Bay’s Aaron Rouse for a horse collar tackle gave the Bears the ball at the Green Bay 35 in overtime. A third-down pass of 14 yards to Matt Forte got it to the Green Bay 20 to set up the winning kick—Gould’s second straight game-winner in overtime.

“You know it’s going to be chilly, the ground is going to be hard. You’ve just got to go out there and do your job. There’s no excuses for missing,” Gould said

Green Bay (5-10) dominated the first half, but lost its fifth straight after routing the Bears 37-3 at Lambeau Field in mid-November.

“It’s disappointing. It’s tough. It’s frustrating,” Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers said.

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Bears battle the Packers with the playoffs on the Line

 

Soldier Field… The Frozen tundra… Painted dirt… Football the way its meant to be played.

Outdoors… In the cold and elements… snow and cold… This is the way all football games should be played… even the Super Bowl.

This could very well be the Bears Super Bowl.  Even with a victory, the Bears have no guarantee of post season play.

For the Green Bay Packers…They really do miss Brett Favre.. don’t kid yourself.

Not Ready for prime time Bears…

With an 18-33 record on Monday Night Football heading into their game with Green Bay, the Bears’ .353 winning percentage ranks 29th in the 32-team NFL. The only clubs who are worse are the Falcons (9-21, .300), Cardinals (6-12-1, .333) and Bengals (9-18, .333). Not counting the Texans, who are just 1-0, the top five teams on Monday Night Football are the Seahawks (16-8, .667), the Colts (19-11, .633), the Steelers (37-22, .627), the Panthers (5-3, .625) and the 49ers (38-24, .613). The Packers are in the middle of the pack at 26-26-1.

On The Rebound?....

This season marks only the third time the Bears have lost to the Packers by more than 14 points in the first meeting between the teams since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970. On both previous occasions, Green Bay also won the rematch. In 1994, the Packers beat the Bears 33-6 and 40-3, and in 1996, Green Bay won 37-6 and 28-17.

Not the “Impossible” Dream?…

Since the NFL schedule was expanded to 16 games in 1978, the only time the Bears have made the playoffs without registering at least 10 wins was in 1994 when they went 9-7. Chicago actually finished fourth in the five-team NFC Central that season, but advanced to the playoffs as the conference's third and final wildcard team.

 

Keys to Beating The “Pack”…

 

STOP THE RUN, STOP GRANT

After getting pushed around by the Packers in November, the Bears are in run shut down mode. Led by Ryan Grant, the Packers rushed for 200 yards against the Bears., more than any team they’ve faced this season. Grant gashed the Bears on runs of 35, 22, and 18 yards, while his backup Brandon Jackson had a run of 19 yards. In two games against the Bears, Grant is averaging 6.3 yards-per-carry. Stopping the run is still the Bears defensive strength, and they must prevent Grant from cranking it up again. After a slow start to the season, Grant is the league’s ninth ranked rusher, but is averaging only 3.9 yards/carry with four touchdowns.

STOP AARON RODGERS

Brutally cold weather could limit the passing game, but the Bears still have to respect the arm and mobility of Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. In the first meeting, Rodgers was sharp and accurate. His only two big pass plays were 29-yards to Greg Jennings and 21-yards to Donald Driver. He completed 77% of his passes, and put together one of his seven 100.0+ quarterback rating games this season. Jennings and Driver are his go-to targets, but last week against Jacksonville, James Jones got into the act with a four-catch, 132-yard performance. His return from a nagging knee injury allows the Packers to use more of their “Big Five” formation, but again the conditions may derail that plan. This is a terrific catch and run group, which includes the productive tight end Donald Lee who has 39 receptions, five for touchdowns this season. When and if the Packers spread the Bears out, they have to tackle in space and prevent the big play.

BEAT THE JAM

Bear receivers had a difficult time dealing with the Packers aggressive press coverage in the first meeting. It disrupted the rhythm of the passing game to the tune of just four catches for 60-yards. Devin Hester and Rashied Davis in particular were affected by the work of the Packer corners and safeties over the top. They know it is coming, and they have to find a way to beat it. Offensive coordinator Ron Turner can help the process by the use of formations and motion to discourage the Packers from being so aggressive. Green Bay’s defense has suffered of late. They have not created a lot of pass pressure and injuries in the secondary have forced Charles Woodson to move to strong safety. Woodson is a better corner.

BIG SPLASH & START

In the last two games, Danieal Manning has been the fire starter for the Bears. His interception set up a quick strike touchdown against Jacksonville and his opening kickoff return touchdown set the tone for a win against a stubborn New Orleans outfit. If it’s not Manning for a third straight game it has to be somebody else to get it started. It might be a sack and a strip of Rodgers or an interception...anything to get the night off to a great start. The one thing about the Packers; they will not go away at any point in the game. They have lost a league high six times this season in games decided by four-points or less. They will hang around despite the fact they have lost six out of seven games. The Packers are 1-and-7 when opponents score first, and 0-and-8 when trailing at halftime....Keep Hester on Offense.

BLOCKING KAMPMAN

Protecting Kyle Orton from Packers defensive Aaron Kampman is most critical tonight. He is their best and only productive pass rusher; a consistent performer and two-time Pro Bowler. The Packers lost a lot when defensive end Cullen Jenkins was lost for the season in week four. With Jenkins, the Packers had nine sacks including 3 ½ by Kampman. Since then, Kampman has six of the Packers 14 over the last ten games. Kampman also leads defensive lineman with 73 tackles. The Bears offensive line has done a terrific job protecting Orton this season. He was sacked only once in Green Bay.

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Bears boot the Saints into hibernation again, Beat New Orleans in Overtime 27-24

 

Robbie Gould and the Chicago Bears dealt the New Orleans Saints yet another devastating loss at Soldier Field…. And into hibernation for yet another season.

Who Dat? Robbie Gould is that man…

Robbie Gould kicked the tying field goal at the end of regulation and booted a 35-yarder in overtime to give the Bears a 27-24 victory on Thursday night, giving their playoff hopes a well needed boost.

After winning the coin toss, the Bears went 52 yards to set up Gould’s 35-yard game-winner with 12:14 remaining in overtime. The kick came after Devin Hester drew a 38-yard pass interference penalty on safety Roman Harper that resulted in a first down at the Saints’ 15.

This was definitely a Bears break as the official’s call was “questionable” at least and in such a close game, they should let the players “play” and not have had  a hand in the outcome.

“As a receiver, [Hester’s] gotten better and better,” Smith said. “He’s still hard to cover when he’s in a one-on-one situation. We’ve had him open a few times and haven’t been able to get him the ball. But in the end he came through as an offensive weapon and put us in position to win.”

Playoffs?...Playoffs?

The Bears still need plenty of help to reach the postseason.

“Bottom line for us, we’re still in the hunt,” Chicago’s Lance Briggs said.

The Bears are now 8-6, a half-game behind Minnesota, but the Vikings hold any tiebreakers. The Bears can’t rely on a wild card spot either; they are a half-game out of a wild-card spot.

So the Bears will have to “Win” to get in the playoffs. A feat that they can easily do if they turn up their game play a notch as they did tonight

Welcome back to Chicago, New Orleans Saints…..

Danieal Manning returned the opening kickoff 83 yards for a touchdown and set up another one with a 52-yarder early in the second as the Bears grabbed a 14-7 lead. Kyle Orton’s 6-yard scramble in the closing minute of the half made it a 14-point game.

The Bears special teams supplied much of the offense tonight, and had it not been for Manning’s stellar play, it may well have been “Hibernation” for the Bears.

“He’s been showing signs of being able to break one all the way for a while,” Smith said. “We want him to celebrate when he gets in the end zone, but we’ll work with that.”

Not “Their kind of Town”.

It was another rough night in Chicago for New Orleans (7-7), which lost the NFC championship game here two years ago and saw its slim postseason hopes vanish with a loss on the final day last season at Soldier Field. The last-place Saints still have a shot at the wild card but can forget about catching NFC South leader Carolina.

The Bears tried to give this game away….

All three Saints touchdowns came off turnovers by a Bears offense that was limited to just 152 total yards until late in the fourth quarter by the NFL’s 21^st-ranked defense.

“Offensively, we stalled there for a while,” said Coach Lovie Smith. “But at the end we needed to put together a couple drives, and our offense answered the call.”

Brees was off his mark as well tonight. He was hoping to reverse his trend here the past two games and get off the schnide and win at Soldier Field

Brees, attempting to eclipse Dan Marino’s single-season yards passing record, was 24-of-43 for 232 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He looked more like himself late in the game after a miserable first half.

Hassled by the defense, Brees was just 10-of-24 with 93 yards and a 49.5 rating in the first two quarters as Chicago grabbed a 21-7 lead.

Chicago native and Illinois standout Pierre Thomas started the Saints’ comeback with a 42-yard touchdown run that made it 21-14 with 3:44 left in the third. Josh Bullucks set up the score, intercepting an Orton pass when it deflected off wide receiver Rashied Davis.

With their second straight win and third in four games, the Bears finally appear to be getting their “Mojo” after a convincing 23-10 win over Jacksonville on Sunday.

Oh where oh where has the offense gone?

Matt Forte was held to a season-low 34 yards on 11 carries and caught five passes for 29 yards. Orton completed 24 of 40 passes for 172 yards with no TDs, two interceptions and a 49.2 passer rating.

The Defense rises to the occasion, again….

The Bears defense delivered a great performance against the NFL’s top-ranked offense, intercepting two passes and making a key fourth-down stop late in the game.

“I’m really happy with the way we showed up on defense,” Ogunleye said. “Things looked bleak at times, but we showed up and we played magnificent. We got some turnovers when we needed. We were getting pressure. We were stopping the run. Guys were running to the ball and I’m excited the way we came out and played.”

The performance was even more impressive given that Saints led the NFL in total yards (405.9 per game) and passing yards (310.2) and ranked second in points per game (28.2).

“It was a game where everybody knew what we had coming in,” Ogunleye said. “They knew the caliber of the quarterback we had coming in and I think people were looking to see if we were for real or we were not, and I think we were looking for the same thing because we haven’t had this consistency where we were able to show up two weeks in a row.”

“This is the best game they played all year,” Orton said. “They really just played outstanding. [They] put pressure on the quarterback and got some turnovers for us.”

They’ll go for three in a row—something they haven’t accomplished since the 2006 Super Bowl season—against Green Bay a week from Monday.

 

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Bears Battle the Saints, A Must win to keep playoff chances alive.

The Bears must win their next three games, and not worry what the Vikings do. Their playoff fate rests in their hands, not the Vikings.

Notes heading into the game Thursday..

Former College players face each other for the first time….Purdue quarterbacks Kyle Orton and Drew Brees.

 

“I’ve had fun playing him in the past and can’t wait to do it this time,” said Orton, who won his only previous head-to-head battle with Brees in last year’s season finale at Soldier Field.

 

The quarterbacks were never teammates. Kyle Orton arrived at Purdue in 2001, the same year that Brees was selected with the first pick in the second round of the draft by the San Diego Chargers.

 

Orton knew that he would be compared to Brees, who left Purdue as the Big Ten’s all-time leader in passing yards, touchdown passes, completions and attempts.

 

“Every quarterback that goes through that place is going to be compared to Drew,” Orton said. “He was a great quarterback in college. He’s certainly an outstanding quarterback in the NFL and a good person to watch and try to model yourself after.”

Had it not been for Brees, Orton may not have enrolled at Purdue.

 “I wanted to throw for all those yards and put up the numbers that he did,” said Orton, who finished his career ranked third on Purdue’s all-time passing list with 9,337 yards and 63 TDs. “No question he was a big influence and a reason why I went there.”

The two quarterbacks aren’t close friends, but they do keep in contact.

“It’s a good relationship,” Orton said. “It’s not like we talk on the phone every night, but whenever we get to see each other it’s always friendly and good. He’s fun to talk football with.

“He’s an extremely smart player. I remember my freshman year, if I ever needed to find out how to run a play or a certain look, I’d just go and pop on [tape of] what he did and try to do that. It seemed to work for him.”

Saints rank second in the NFL in scoring with an average of 28.2 points per game. But that won’t change the way the Bears offense approaches the contest.

“We can’t worry about that,” said receiver Rashied Davis. “All we can do is try to do our best and go out and score as many points as we can. I have faith in our defense that they’ll be able to come out and make some plays and give us the ball. We just have to capitalize.”

The Saints are 1-5 on this road this season, but they’ve scored at least 20 points in four of the five losses.

“We’ve just got to go out and do our job,” said offensive coordinator Ron Turner. “We’ve got to go out and run our offense and execute and play with great efficiency Just like any other game really, we just have to go out and take care of our business.”

Saints linebacker Scott Fujita is tired of losing to the Bears at Soldier Field….

“The first four or five years of my career, that was the one place I really wanted to play,” the seventh-year pro told The Times-Picayune. “I’ve got a lot of family in Chicago, [there's] a lot of history there. I was a huge Bears fan, always wanted to go and play. And now I’ve gotten kind of sick of it.”

The Bears beat the Saints 39-14 in the 2006 NFC Championship Game and 33-25 in last year’s season finale.

“To lose two disappointing games the last couple of years, the NFC Championship Game especially, you feel like they’ve got something coming,” Fujita said. "And you'd like to come out Thursday night and play well, because it's been disappointing.

“And then last year's game, to go in again, and they really just kind of stuck it to us, when we thought that was kind of a revenge game for us. As much as I would say that I'm sick of going back to Chicago, I'm actually kind of looking forward to it this time around, because I think we're due."

Tillman up for prestigious award….

 

Charles Tillman has been named the Bears nominee for the 2008 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year award. The prestigious award is the only NFL award that recognizes a player’s off-the-field community service, support and activities as well as his playing excellence. 

 

The award has been in existence since 1970 and honors NFL players who demonstrate outstanding balance in their lives between civic and professional responsibilities. In 1999, the league renamed the Man of the Year award after Walter Payton as a tribute to his greatness both on and off the field.

 

All 32 finalists, one from each NFL team, will receive a $1,000 contribution toward a charity of his choice, and the overall winner will receive $25,000 to donate to his selected charity. 

The 2008 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year winner will be announced during Commissioner Roger Goodell’s press conference prior to Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa. Tillman’s Cornerstone Foundation has been designated as the charity that will receive the $1,000 donation in his name. 

 

The Injury Report…

Chicago Bears….

Wide receiver Marty Booker (ribs), fullback Jason McKie (quadriceps) and running back Garrett Wolfe (hamstring) did not participate in Wednesday’s walkthrough and were listed as doubtful on the injury report.

Tight end Desmond Clark (hamstring) and defensive tackle Tommie Harris (knee) both practiced without restrictions and were listed as probable.

The New Orleans Saints…

Starting left tackle Jammal Brown has been ruled out of the game with an ankle injury. He will be replaced by third-year pro Zach Strief, who was a four-year starter at Northwestern.

Running back Deuce McAllister was excused from practice Wednesday because of a death in the family. Defensive end Will Smith returned to the practice field after missing Tuesday’s workout for the birth of his son.

 

 

Titans escape Late Bears Rally, stay unbeaten

Photos by Mark Rotor

The Bears opened Sunday’s game against the undefeated Titans with an impressive touchdown drive, but it was all downhill from there for the NFC North leaders. The opening drive by the Bears was the first time all season the stingy Titan’s defense allowed an opening drive touchdown…. Good Rex.

Orton had hoped to play after being taken from the field on a cart in the closing minute of the first half last week. Instead, Grossman orchestrated a 75-yard touchdown drive on the Bears’ first possession that ended with a 5-yard pass to Forte.

The good vibe disappeared on the next possession, when Grossman tried to force one to Marty Booker along the left sideline. Cortland Finnegan tipped it, Chris Hope picked it off and Tennessee took over at the Chicago 25

Poor field position key factor in Bears loss.

Grossman was not alone in the Bears lack of success on offense. You could blame poor field position as the key.

“We couldn’t really get into a rhythm backed up,” Grossman said. “We needed to get a few first downs and flip field position. First downs kind of breed more first downs. You get on a roll and get to the rest of your plays. That was the big deal right there for the most part.”.. Bad Rex

The good news for Bears fans, no “Train Rex” today

The Bears offense went into hibernation after the  strong opening drive, managing just 45 yards and  one first down on 22 plays on its next seven drives.  Six possessions  failed to produce a first down in drives that  started at the Chicago 14, 2, 2, 9, 2, 16 and 17.

 “The field position game hurt us the entire time,” said coach Lovie Smith. “We played down close to our end zone most of the time. Eventually, if you don’t get field position, it’ll end up leading to points for the opponent, and that’s what happened today.”

“It’s only frustrating when you don’t do something about it,” Turner said. “When you’re backed up, that’s part of football. It’s a field position game. When you get backed up like that, you have to get a couple first downs to get out of there, and we weren’t able to do that.”

Grossman struggled with accuracy at times, completing 20 of 37 passes for 173 yards with 1 TD, 1 interception and a 64.4 passer rating while being sacked twice. Forte rushed for 72 yards on 20 carries and had a team-high seven receptions for 54 yards.

Kerry Collins on the other hand, had one of his best games as a Titan throwing for a season-high 289 yards and two touchdowns in a 21-14 win Sunday over the Chicago Bears.

“It’s nice to win a ballgame and not play well,” coach Jeff Fisher said.

Particularly as they struggled when they weren’t throwing the ball.

Even though they kept losing yards, the Tennessee Titans refused to lose this game. Now, they’re 9-0 despite one of the worst rushing performances in franchise history: just 20 yards on the ground.

The 20 yards rushing were just one above their franchise low and they had minus-5 in the first half. It was a stunning performance for a team that was third in the league entering the game.

Even so, the Titans set a club record with their 12th straight regular-season win thanks to Collins and a defense that shut down Rex Grossman and the Bears.

 

Collins completed 12 straight passes at one point and was 30-of-41 without an interception. Brandon Jones caught eight passes for 82 yards, and Bo Scaife had 10 for 78 with a touchdown.

That was enough to make up for a miserable performance by the running backs.

White managed 14 yards on 10 attempts, although he had a touchdown in the fourth quarter. And Johnson carried 14 times for 8 yards.

“Did you look and see how many guys they put in the box?” Johnson said. “Eight, sometimes nine. They really wanted us to beat them throwing the ball.”

 “Everybody right now is filling their role,” said Collins, who took over for Vince Young after the first game. “For me, you play long enough you’re going to be on good teams. You’re going to be on bad teams. At this point in my career to be playing on a good football team that has a chance to go out and win every Sunday is exciting for me.”

Is this the best team he’s played on?

“We’re getting there,” said Collins, who played in a Super Bowl with the New York Giants. “We’re getting there.”

Some bright spots from the Bears offense…not many, but Forte did muster a decent game against the tough Titan’s defense.

Rookie Matt Forte ran for 72 yards after setting a season-high with 126 against Detroit, and the offense managed 243 yards in all.

The Titans took a 14-7 lead early in the third quarter when Collins connected with former Bear Justin Gage for a 12-yard touchdown—the first by a Tennessee wide receiver since the second game.

A 2-yard run by White early in the fourth period made it 21-7, but the Bears refused to go quietly.

Grossman fell into the end zone from the 1 to make it a seven-point game with 4:55 left after a 29-yard pass to Devin Hester. And they had a chance to tie it after a punt, taking over at the Tennessee 41. But the Titans held firm again, even though outsiders keep insist each week they’ll lose.

“Maybe they have some kind of angel around them or something. I don’t know,” Bears receiver Rashied Davis said.

.Ahmard Hall fumbles—Tennessee’s first turnover in 16 quarters—on fourth-and-inches at the goal line.

Another reason the Bears lost today… not capitalizing on turnovers.

Defense has a good game…

The Bears completely shut down the NFL’s third-ranked rushing attack, limiting the Titans to 27 yards on 20 carries with a long run of seven yards. They held LenDale White to just 14 yards on 10 attempts and rookie sensation Chris Johnson to eight yards on 14 carries.

 

 

Game Notes:

Titans star linebacker Keith Bulluck appeared in his 106th straight game after cracking cartilage in his ribs against Green Bay, two-time Pro Bowl defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch sat out with a groin strain. … The Titans also got a scare in the third quarter when fullback Hall suffered a mild concussion after being hit by Lance Briggs. … Tennessee has rushed for 19 yards twice in a game, most recently when the Houston Oilers did it against San Diego on Dec. 12, 1965. … The 12 straight regular-season wins eclipses the previous mark set by Houston in 1993. … The minus-5 yards rushing were the fewest allowed by the Bears in a half since they held New England to minus-9 on Sept. 21, 1997.

 

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Bears face steep Challenge with the Un-beaten Titans.

 

The Bears control their own destiny. A win today will propel them to the elite in the NFL. A loss, will put them in the pool of other mediocre teams.

Keys to a Bears victory:

INTENSITY
Bears safety Mike Brown mentioned this week the defense does not play well when the unit is not having fun. The fun presumably comes from making the “big” plays that create emotion and energy. It is a telling observation and maybe has as much to do with their inconsistency as anything. If the Bears want to be regarded as a playoff contender and reach their high expectations they have to, as Brown pointed out, get emotionally invested and go back to having fun. They will need to against a Titans team that plays an edgy, physical brand of ball.


DEFENDING THE PASS
Although the Titans are a run first offense, veteran quarterback Kerry Collins has thrown the ball 37 times each of the last two games against the Colts and Packers. His top two receivers are tight end Bo Scaife and rookie running back Chris Johnson. The only touchdown pass caught by a Titans wide receiver belongs to former Bear Justin Gage and that came in week two against the Bengals. The Bears have allowed the third most passing yardage in the league, but still rate well in average yards-per-pass attempt. The defense has given up five touchdown passes in the last three games and they have to prevent Collins from having a “veteran” moment like Tampa’s Brian Griese did in week three, and Gus Frerotte did in week seven against the Bears. Those two combined for 705 passing yards and 4 touchdowns.


A HUNDRED YARDS
The Tennessee  Titans are a respected defense allowing fewer than 13 points-per game,, But they are not invincible. Against the run, mediocre  teams like Houston, good teams like Baltimore, and Green Bay have all run a hundred yards or more rushing against them. The Texans averaged 5.2 yards per carry, the Vikings 4.0 yards per carry, the Colts and Packers each averaged 4.3 yards per carry. Let’s see the Bears build on Matt Forte’ 101-yard second half effort against the Lions with an equally productive game against the Titans. The Bears are capable of working the edges of the Titans defense, spreading them out, and ripping off some good rushing yardage while staying away from dominant defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth. The bottom line.. The Bears will have to run the ball, and do it successfully to beat the Titans.

 

PROWL POWER
Aside from the Vikings and superstar back Adrian Peterson, the Bears have consistently achieved their primary defensive goal of stopping the run. Peterson ran for 121 yards, and collected the longest run of the season against the Bears on a 54-yard touchdown. Only four other backs have runs over 20 yards against the Bears. Having Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs creep into gaps at the line of scrimmage has helped the run defense, which last season struggled. They will need to be at their best against a Titans attack averaging 149.1 yards-per-game(#4-NFL), and 4.4 yards-per-carry(#11-NFL). The Bears are allowing just 3.5 yards-per-carry (#5-NFL). Behind a powerful offensive line, the Titans have a speed/power tandem in rookie Chris Johnson and veteran Lendale White. Together, they have scored 16 off Tennessee’s 21 touchdowns. Both have home run capability. Johnson has a 66-yard touchdown, White an 80-yard touchdown.

 

NO SLIPPAGE
With Kyle Orton unlikely to start against the Titans, the offense is turned over to “veteran” Rex Grossman. That emphasis on “veteran” is a key point when evaluating the Bears offense this week. You are getting a capable, experienced quarterback, with a complete four-year understanding of Ron Turner’s offense. Grossman will run the same offense as Orton. It should run as smoothly after a full week with the first team at practice and with the type of play calls Turner has been making this season. It is simple for Grossman: Covet the ball, make the correct reads, and be smart.

 

The Bears  who are 5-3 will play their final game of this current homestand and final home game in November. The Bears hold a one-game lead in the NFC North over the Green Bay Packers & Minnesota Vikings who are both 4-4. The Bears are perfect in Divisional play so far this season. The Titans on the other hand are four games ahead of the Indianapolis Colts  who are 4-4 , the Jacksonville Jaguars & Houston Texans who are both 3-5. The Bears will face both teams down the stretch, hosting the Jaguars in early December and traveling to Houston at the end of the season.

 

Today’s game features the top two running backs in the NFL. The Titans Chris Johnson (715 rushing yards) and the Bears Matt Forte (641 Yards) and are fourth and seventh overall in the NFL.

 

Kicking into history..

 

The Bears Robbie Gould and the Titans Rob Bironas head into today’s game. Entering the game today, Gould is 99 of 116 on career field goal attempts (85.3%)  and Bironas is 97 of 115 (84.3%) Both of those percentages would rank them  among the top five most accurate kickers in NFL History.

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Jeff Fisher wary of Hester's ability to go distance

 

Two-time All Pro Devin Hester may be in a slump and  is still seeking his first kick return touchdown of the season.

This game could be the perfect chance for him to break out of that slump.

 Hester broke the NFL record in each of his first two years with five scores in 2005 and six in 2006. 

Hester currently ranks 20th in the NFL in punt returns (6.2-yard average) and 31st in kickoff returns (20.9-yard average).

“I don’t see Devin struggling in the return game,” said Titans coach Jeff Fisher. “If Devin can break three runs in the next three weeks, he’d be leading the league in both categories. 

"That’s how the return game is. He’s making good decisions. He’s catching the ball. He’s very close.”

It would be difficult to find another coach in the NFL who appreciates what Hester is able to do more than Fisher, who returned punts during four seasons with the Bears from 1981-84.

Fisher’s single-season franchise record of 509 punt-return yards set in 1981 stood for 25 years until Hester shattered it with 600 yards as a rookie in 2006.

Fisher still holds the  Bears record  for punt returns in a game (8) and season (58). His 88-yard punt return touchdown in a 28-17 win over the Buccaneers on Sept. 20, 1981 at Soldier Field was the longest by a Bears player in 39 years.

Hester, started to get back on track last week, bringing back a punt 20 yards in last Sunday’s 27-23 victory over the Lions, his longest return since a 25-yarder in the Bears’ 29-13 season-opening win at Indianapolis.

“He was very close against Detroit,” Fisher said. “He’s a step away. We don’t see him as struggling. We see him as one of the all-time returners ever to play the game, so it’s going to be quite a challenge for us.”

Its really difficult for Fisher to believe that the Bears have allowed  a staggering 64 points in their last two games given that they lead the NFL with 19 takeaways and their defense ranks second in third-down efficiency and sixth against the run.

“When you look at the defense, you kind of wonder where the points came from,” said Fisher, who is the NFL's longest-tenured head coach, having joined the Titans in 1994 . “I’m very impressed with the secondary. They’re playing well. They’re challenging, they’re tackling well. The front seven is as good as I think there is in ball.

“There are some pretty impressive stats as far as the Bears defense is concerned. When you can stop the run and get off the field, those are the two most important things, and that’s what they do.”

If the defense can hold the Titan’s offense in check, the Bears will have a great opportunity to hand the Titan’s their first loss and show they are one of the NFL’s elite teams this year. Lose this game, and they will be considered just an average team as are many other teams that were considered “Elite Teams.”

This will be the last home game for the Bears this month, and no, the circus is not coming to Soldier Field.  The Bulls and Blackhawks will do their typical November road trips as the United Center will host the Circus 

One has to wonder what the schedule makers in the NFL were thinking when they mad the Bears schedule this season?  Even the election is over. What are local fans to do besides watch all their sports on TV?

Lets hope they get it better next year.

Are you listening  NFL?

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Bears offense soars to new heights

 

Thanks to a potent passing game that’s fueled by an emerging young quarterback and a slew of talented receivers, the Bears offense is now ranked near the top in the NFL.

"I  think we get better every single week,” quarterback Kyle Orton said following another stellar performance in Sunday’s 48-41 shootout win over the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field.

“We’ve got a group of guys who are together. It doesn’t matter what happens outside that huddle. It’s everybody inside the huddle for a common goal, and we work together very well.”

That mentality has helped the Bears thrive. In the last three games, Orton has completed 71 of 109 passes for 903 yards with five touchdowns, no interceptions and a 106.2 passer rating.

“We feel that he’s turned into one of the top guys in the league,” said tight end Greg Olsen. “Besides the physical tools and being able to make all the throws, he’s a guy with total command of the game plan and the offense. He gets us in and out of good plays.

“The coaches put a lot on him, sending him to the line with a couple of options and relying on him to make the right decision, and for the most part he almost always does.”

Hester remains patient, looks to return to old ways on Sunday

Hester is as surprised as anyone that he has not returned a kickoff or punt for a touchdown in the first six games of the season, the longest drought of his three-year NFL career.

He must remain patient and let the game come to him rather than forcing the issue, which could result in a negative play.

"That’s very important,” Hester said. “That’s what I learned my rookie year. You can never press if it’s not there. That’s when you make mistakes and that’s when you turn the ball over. So just play consistent, be yourself and do your job. Just have fun with it and it will eventually come.”

Hester returned 11 kicks for TDs in his first two years with the Bears, just two shy of the NFL record that Brian Mitchell set over 14 seasons. And that doesn’t count Hester’s 108-yard TD return of a missed field goal against the Giants or his 92-yard kickoff return TD in Super Bowl XLI versus the Colts.

“It’s the longest I’ve been playing football without a [TD] return," Hester said. "It’s surprising. But I feel like we’re going to pick it up. It’s going to come around eventually, and when it hits, it’s going to hit. You’ve got my word on that.”

Opponents have try to neutralize Hester with squib kickoffs and high punts near the sideline.

“They’re smart,” said special teams coordinator Dave Toub. “They know Devin Hester’s Devin Hester and at anytime he can break one on you. They’re still showing him all the respect just like they did last year."

Toub doesn’t feel that Hester has been pressing.

“I see the same guy,” Toub said. “Teams are doing a good job punting the ball high. They’re doing a good job punting the ball directionally, moving the ball around on kickoff returns, squib kicks, different things that change the timing and change the spacing.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 Chicago Bears Training Camp 2008 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chicago Bears Team History

 

 

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. The Bears are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). They are currently the National Football Conference Champions, after winning the 2006 NFC Championship Game.

The Bears have won nine Professional American Football league championships (eight NFL Championships and Super Bowl XX), trailing only the Green Bay Packers, who have twelve. The Bears have the most enshrinees in the Pro Football Hall of Fame with 26 members.

The club was founded in Decatur, Illinois, in 1919 and moved to Chicago in 1921. Along with the Arizona Cardinals, it is one of two existing franchises since the NFL's founding. The team played home games at Wrigley Field on Chicago's North Side through the 1970 season.

With the exception of the 2002 season, they have played their home games at Chicago's Soldier Field every year since 1971. The stadium is located next to Lake Michigan and was recently remodeled in a modernization intended to bring stadium amenities up-to-date while preserving a historic Chicago building. The team has a fierce, long-standing rivalry with the Packers, whom they have played in over 170 games.

The team headquarters, Halas Hall, is actually located in the Chicago suburb of Lake Forest, Illinois. The team practices at adjoining practice facilities there during the season. Currently, the team holds its annual training camp from late July to mid-August on the campus of Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois.

 

1920–1970

Originally named the Decatur Staleys, the club was established by the A. E. Staley Company of Decatur, Illinois in 1919 as a company team. This was the typical start for several of the early professional football franchises.

The company hired George Halas, which some say was the father of the NFL. and Edward "Dutch" Sternaman in 1920 to run the team, and turned full control of the team over to them in 1921. However, official team and league records cite Halas as the founder as he took over the team in 1920 when it became a charter member of the NFL.

Along with the Arizona Cardinals (originally from Chicago themselves), the Bears are one of only two charter members of the NFL still in existence.

 

The team relocated to Chicago in 1921, where the club was renamed the Chicago Staleys. Under an agreement that was reached by Halas and Sternaman with Staley, Halas purchased the rights to the club from Staley for US$100.

The Bears dominated the league in the early years. Their rivalry with the Cardinals, the oldest in the NFL (and a crosstown rivalry from 1920 to 1959), was key in four out of the first six league titles (see History of the Chicago Bears). During the league's first six years, the Bears lost twice to the Canton Bulldogs (who took two league titles over that span) and split with their crosstown rival Cardinals (going 4–4–2 against each other over that span), but no other team in the league defeated the Bears more than a single time. Over that span, the Bears posted an incredible 34 shutouts.

The Bears' rivalry with the Green Bay Packers is one of the oldest, fiercest and most storied in American professional sports, dating back to 1921. In one infamous incident that year, Halas got the Packers expelled from the league in order to prevent them from signing a particular player, and then graciously got them re-admitted after the Bears had closed the deal with that player.

In 1922, Halas changed the team name from the Staleys to the Bears.

The team moved into Wrigley Field, which was home to the Chicago Cubsbaseball franchise.

As with several early NFL franchises, the Chicago Bears derived their nickname from their city's baseball team.

Halas liked the bright orange-and-blue colors of his alma mater, the University of Illinois, and the Bears adopted those colors as their own, albeit in a darker shade of each (the blue is a Navy Blue, and the orange is Pantone 1665, similar to burnt orange).

The franchise was an early success under Halas, capturing the NFL Championship in 1921 and remaining competitive throughout the decade. In 1924 the Bears claimed the Championship after defeating the Cleveland Bulldogs on December 7, even putting the title "World's Champions" on their 1924 team photo. But the NFL had ruled that games after November 30 did not count towards league standings, and the Bears had to settle for second place behind Cleveland.

Their only losing season came in 1929.

During the 1920s the club was responsible for triggering the NFL's long-standing rule that a player could not be signed until his college's senior class had graduated. The NFL took that action as a consequence of the Bears' aggressive signing of famous University of Illinois player Red Grange within a day of his final game as a collegian.

After the financial losses of the 1932 Championship season, Halas' partner Dutch Sternaman left the organization. Halas maintained full control of the Bears until his death in 1983. He also coached the team off-and-on for forty seasons, an NFL record. In the 1932 "Unofficial" NFL Championship, the Bears defeated the Portsmouth Spartans in the first indoor American football game at Chicago Stadium.

The success of the playoff game led the NFL to institute a championship game. In the very first NFL Championship, the Bears played against the New York Giants, defeating them 23–21. The teams met again in the 1934 NFL Championship where the Giants, wearing sneakersdefeated the Bears 30–13 on a cold, icy day at the Polo Grounds.

From 1940–1947, quarterbackSid Luckman led the Bears to victories in four out of the five NFL Championship Games in which they appeared. The team acquired the University of Chicago's discarded nickname "Monsters of the Midway" and their now-famous helmet "C", as well as a newly-penned theme song that declared them "The Pride and Joy of Illinois". One famous victory during that period was their 73–0 victory over the favored Washington Redskins at Griffith Stadium in the 1940 NFL Championship Game; the score is still an NFL record for lopsided results.^[8] The secret behind the one-sided outcome was the introduction of a new offensive formation by Halas. The T-formation, as Halas named it, involved two running backs instead of the traditional one in the backfield. Luckman's success at the quarterback position for the Bears has not been matched, as he still holds club records for passing.

After declining throughout the 1950s, the team rebounded in 1963 to capture their 8th NFL Championship, which would be their last until 1985.

The late 1960s and early 1970s produced notable players like Dick Butkus, Gale Sayers, and Brian Piccolo, who died of Embryonal carcinoma in 1970.

The American television network ABC aired a movie about Piccolo in 1971 entitled Brian's Song, starring James Caan and Billy Dee Williams in the roles of Piccolo and Sayers respectively; Jack Warden won an Emmy Award for his performance as Halas. The movie was later released for theater screenings after first being shown on television.

Halas retired as coach in 1967 and spent the rest of his days in the front office. He became the only person to be involved with the NFL throughout the first 60 years of its existence. He was also a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's first induction class in 1963. As the only living founder of the NFL at the February 1970 merger between the NFL and the American Football League, the owners honored Halas by electing him the first President of the National Football Conference, a position that he held until his death in 1983. In his honor, the NFL named the National Football Conference Championship trophy as the George Halas Memorial Trophy.

 

The success of the playoff game led the NFL to institute a championship game. In the very first NFL Championship, the Bears played against the New York Giants, defeating them 23–21. The teams met again in the 1934 NFL Championship where the Giants, wearing sneakersdefeated the Bears 30–13 on a cold, icy day at the Polo Grounds.

From 1940–1947, quarterbackSid Luckman led the Bears to victories in four out of the five NFL Championship Games in which they appeared. The team acquired the University of Chicago's discarded nickname "Monsters of the Midway" and their now-famous helmet "C", as well as a newly-penned theme song that declared them "The Pride and Joy of Illinois". One famous victory during that period was their 73–0 victory over the favored Washington Redskins at Griffith Stadium in the 1940 NFL Championship Game; the score is still an NFL record for lopsided results.^[8] The secret behind the one-sided outcome was the introduction of a new offensive formation by Halas. The T-formation, as Halas named it, involved two running backs instead of the traditional one in the backfield. Luckman's success at the quarterback position for the Bears has not been matched, as he still holds club records for passing.

After declining throughout the 1950s, the team rebounded in 1963 to capture their 8th NFL Championship, which would be their last until 1985.

The late 1960s and early 1970s produced notable players like Dick Butkus, Gale Sayers, and Brian Piccolo, who died of Embryonal carcinoma in 1970.

The American television network ABC aired a movie about Piccolo in 1971 entitled Brian's Song, starring James Caan and Billy Dee Williams in the roles of Piccolo and Sayers respectively; Jack Warden won an Emmy Award for his performance as Halas. The movie was later released for theater screenings after first being shown on television.

Halas retired as coach in 1967 and spent the rest of his days in the front office. He became the only person to be involved with the NFL throughout the first 60 years of its existence. He was also a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's first induction class in 1963. As the only living founder of the NFL at the February 1970 merger between the NFL and the American Football League, the owners honored Halas by electing him the first President of the National Football Conference, a position that he held until his death in 1983. In his honor, the NFL named the National Football Conference Championship trophy as the George Halas Memorial Trophy.

 

 

1970–present

After the merger, the Bears finished the 1970 season with a last-place finish in the division, a repeat of their placing in the 1969 season. In 1975 the Bears draftedWalter Payton from Jackson State University with their first pick, and he made an immediate impact on the football landscape. He won the NFL Most Valuable Player Award in the 1977–78 seasons..

Payton would go on to eclipse Jim Brown's NFL career rushing record in 1984 before retiring in 1987, and would hold the mark until 2002, when Emmitt Smith of the Dallas Cowboys surpassed it.

Payton's career and great personality would capture the hearts of Bear fans, who called him "Sweetness". He died from a rare liver cancer in 1999 at the age of 45.

From 1977 through 1985 the club's official cheerleaders were the Honey Bears, who were hired by then General Manager Jim Finks. They cheered at Soldier Field during all Bears home games and performed at halftime for the viewing public.

The group's founder and choreographer, Cathy Core, was contacted by Finks on the topic of organizing the cheerleading squad, but as she didn't believe that Finks was actually calling she hung up. When she later found out the call was genuine, she apologized.

The idea of a cheerleading squad was thought up by Halas himself, who called them "dancing girls". Halas was quoted as saying that the Honey Bears would be around as long as he was alive.

After his death in 1983, his heirs in the McCaskey family decided to end their relationship with the Honey Bears, declining to renew their contract following the Bears' championship season of 1985. Word has it that as long as the McCaskey family owns the team, the Honey Bears will remain a memory.

On November 1, 1983, a day after the death of George Halas, his oldest daughter, Virginia McCaskey, took over as the majority owner of the team. Her husband, Ed McCaskey, succeeded her father as the Chairman of the Board. Their son Michael became the third president in team history. Mrs. McCaskey holds the honorary title of "secretary of the board of directors", but the 82–year–old matriarch has been called the glue that holds the franchise together.

Mrs. McCaskey's reign as the owner of the Bears was not planned, as her father originally earmarked her brother, George "Mugs" Halas, Jr. as the heir apparent to the franchise. However, he died of a massive heart attack in 1979, and four years later she inherited the team upon George Halas' death.

 

Her impact on the team is well-noted as her own family has dubbed her "The First Lady of Sports", and the Chicago Sun-Times has listed her as one of Chicago's most powerful women.

Mike Ditka, a tight end for the Bears from 1961 to 1966, was hired to coach the team in 1982.

In the 1985 season the fire in the Bears–Packers rivalry was relit when Ditka used 350–plus pound lineman"Refrigerator" Perry as a truly "wide" receiver in a touchdown play at Lambeau Field, flagrantly taunting the Packers.

The Bears won their ninth NFL Championship, first since the AFL-NFL merger, in Super Bowl XX after the 1985 season in which they dominated the NFL with their then-revolutionary 46 defense and a cast of characters that recorded the novelty rap song "The Super Bowl Shuffle".

The season was notable in that the Bears had only one loss, the "unlucky 13th" game of the season, a Monday night affair in which they were defeated by the Miami Dolphins. At the time, much was made of the fact that the 1972 Dolphins are the only franchise in history to have an undefeated season and post-season.

The Dolphins came close to setting up a rematch in the Super Bowl, but lost to the New England Patriots in the AFC title game. "The Super Bowl Shuffle" was videotaped the day after that Monday night loss in Miami.

After the 1985 Championship season, the Bears remained competitive throughout the 1980s but failed to return to the Super Bowl under Mike Ditka.

Since the firing of Ditka at the end of the 1992 season, the Bears have only made the playoffs five times–. The club has also gone through three coaching changes since 1993.

Dave Wannstedt was the head coach from 1993 through 1998. Dick Jauron succeeded Wannstedt after the 1998 season. After having his contract extended through 2004 after the Bears went 13-3 in 2001, Jauron was fired at the end of the 2003 season.

Before the Bears hired Jauron in January 1999, Dave McGinnis (Arizona's defensive coordinator, and a former Bears assistant under Ditka and Wannstedt) backed out of taking the head coaching position. The Bears scheduled a press conference to announce the hiring before McGinnis agreed to contract terms.

Incidentally, soon after Jauron's hiring, Mrs. McCaskey fired her son Michael as president, replacing him with Ted Phillips and promoting Michael to chairman of the board. McCaskey's reign as president has been viewed as a disaster with mishap after mishap. Phillips, the current Bears president, became the first man outside of the Halas-McCaskey family to run the team.

 

Lovie Smith, hired by the franchise on January 15, 2004, is the third and current (as of 2007) post-Ditka head coach. Joining the Bears as a rookie head coach, Smith brought the highly successful Tampa 2 defensive scheme with him to Chicago. Before his second season with the Bears, the team rehired their former offensive coordinator and then Illinois head coach Ron Turner to improve the Bears' struggling offense.

In 2005, the Bears won their division and reached the playoffs for the first time in four years. Their previous playoff berth was earned by winning the NFC Central in 2001.

The Bears improved upon their success the following season, by clinching their second consecutive NFC North title during week thirteen of the 2006 season, winning their first playoff game since 1995, and earning a trip to Super Bowl XLI.

However, they fell short of the championship, losing 29-17 to the Indianapolis Colts. Following the 2006 season, the club decided to give Lovie Smith a contract extension through 2011, at roughly $5 million per year. This comes a season after being the lowest paid head coach in the National Football League.

The club has played in over a thousand games since becoming a charter member of the NFL in 1920. Through the 2006 season, they lead the NFL in overall franchise wins with 686 and have an overall record of 686–499–42 (going 670–482–42 during the regular season and 16–17 in the playoffs).

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Ownership

Virginia McCaskey, her children, and grandchildren control 80% of the team, and Mrs. McCaskey votes her children's stock as well as her own. Patrick Ryan, executive chairman of Aon Corp., and Aon director Andrew McKenna own 19.7% of the club.

 Many Bears fans have expressed their displeasure with the McCaskey family. In a Crain's Chicago Business article, one businessman described his wishes for the team to maximize its potential. There have been rumors that the McCaskey family might split up over the team.

As of 2007, Forbes magazine has reported that the Chicago Bears franchise is worth $984 million, making it the seventh richest franchise in the NFL. The team has major sponsorship deals with Chase, Miller Brewing Company, Cadillac, Motorola, and Coca-Cola.

The team was the first in the NFL to have a presenting sponsor, with the 2004 season advertised as "Bears Football presented by BankOne (now Chase)". Additionally, the Bears have an agreement with WMAQ-TV (the NBC affiliate in Chicago) to broadcast pre-season football games.

 

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Team colors and mascots

Logo

The club has had few official logos throughout their history. The first was introduced in the early 1950s as a black bear on top of a football. The team kept this until 1962, when the Bears trademark 'C' logo was first introduced by the team.

 

The change in their logo from the black bear was due to the addition of logos on helmets, which pro football teams started adding in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Unlike some NFL franchises that have had many different looks over time, the Bears have kept the wishbone 'C' for over 40 years.

In 1974, the team decided to keep the same white 'C' logo but to change the color of it from white to orange with a white trim. This is the current logo to this date; however, the club has experimented with some alternative logos throughout the past decade, including a black bear inside of the orange wishbone 'C', introduced in 1995, and an orange bear head, introduced in 1999.

Uniforms

In 1920 the team introduced the official team uniforms containing brown and blue stripes. In the 1930s, the franchise's team uniform underwent some substantial alterations. After many subtle and not-so-subtle changes, by 1933 the Bears donned all-orange jerseys with navy numbers and matching black helmets. In 1936, they modified this design into "an early version of psychedelia" by adding three orange stripes to their helmets, changing the color of the jerseys from orange to white, complementing the new white jerseys with fourteen navy and orange alternating stripes on the sleeves, and introducing socks with a similar striped pattern extending from ankle to knee. Due to poor response from the fans and the media, this design lasted only one season.

By 1949, the team was wearing the familiar navy blue shirts with white, rounded numbers. In 1956, the team added "TV numbers" to the sleeves. The Bears 'C' logo first appeared on the helmets in 1962. The logo changed from white to a white-bordered orange logo eleven years later, and has remained unchanged ever since. The Bears added the initials GSH to the left sleeve of their jerseys in 1984 in memory of George Halas.

Other variations to the Bears uniforms over the years include the addition of navy blue pants as a part of the road kit in 1984. During the 1994 season, the Bears – with most of the other NFL franchises – introduced throwback uniforms to be worn in the honor of the NFL's 75th Anniversary. These uniforms with brown and blue stripes resemble the original uniforms worn by the team in the 1920s. On October 7, 2002 the Bears wore navy blue pants with their navy blue home jerseys for the first time, and lost at home to Green Bay before a national Monday Night Football audience. The Bears did not wear the all-blue combination again until the 2006 regular season finale against the Packers, also a loss, on December 31.

Also, the Bears wore all-white uniforms during their final two road games in the 2006 season.

On November 13, 2005 and October 29, 2006 (both times in games against the San Francisco 49ers), the Bears introduced an orange alternate home jersey. The orange swaps roles with the navy blue on this alternate jersey, as it becomes the dominant color while the navy complements. This was called “The Orange Swarm”

The Bears previously wore orange jerseys as part of a throwback uniform in a Thanksgiving Day game at the Dallas Cowboys in 2004. The classic look of the club's uniforms has given it the title of one of the best uniform kits in the league.

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Chicago Bears Mascots

Before the introduction of Staley Da Bear, the club had two unofficial mascots named "Rocky" and "Bearman". "Rocky" was a man who donned a "1" Bears jersey, carried a megaphone, and started chants all over Soldier Field during the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s. There is no known source of who "Rocky" was, except that he disappeared from Soldier Field in the early 1990s and presumably lived in Northwest Indiana.^[33] Don Wachter, also known as "Bearman", is a season ticket holder who decided in 1995 that he could also assist the team by cheerleading. The club allowed him to run across the field with a large Bears flag during player introductions and each team score. In 1996, he donned his "costume" of face paint, bear head and arms, and a number 46 jersey. "Bearman" was forced to stop wearing his costume with the introduction of Staley Da Bear in 2003; however, in 2005 Wachter was allowed in costume again.

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Stadium

Soldier Field, located on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, is the current home to the Bears. The Bears moved into Soldier Field in 1971 after Wrigley Field, the Bears' home for 50 years, became too small to hold an NFL event, and neighbors to Northwestern University objected to the team's playing in at Dyke Stadium, now called Ryan Field.

After the AFL-NFL Merger, the newly merged league wanted their teams to play in stadiums that could hold at least 50,000 fans. Even with the portable bleachers that the team brought into Wrigley, the stadium could still only hold 46,000.

The stadium's playing turf was changed from astroturf to natural grass in time for the start of the 1988 season. The stadium was the site of the infamous Fog Bowl playoff game between the Bears and Philadelphia Eagles.

In 2002, the stadium was closed and rebuilt with only the exterior wall of the stadium being preserved. It was closed on Sunday, January 20, 2002, a day after the Bears lost in the playoffs. It reopened on September 27, 2003 after a complete rebuild (the second in the stadium's history).

Many fans refer to the rebuilt stadium as New Soldier Field. During the 2002 season, the Bears played their home games at the University of Illinois' Memorial Stadium in Champaign, where they went 3-5.

Many critics have negative views of the new stadium. They believe that its current structure has made it more of an eyesore than a landmark; some have dubbed it the "Mistake on the Lake".

Soldier Field was stripped of its National Historic Landmark designation on February 17, 2006.

In the 2005 season, the Bears won the NFC North Division and the No. 2 Seed in the NFC Playoffs, entitling them to play at least one home game in the postseason.

The team hosted their divisional round match on January 15, 2006 against the Carolina Panthers. They lost.

This was the first playoff game at Soldier Field since the stadium reopened.

The stadium's end zones and midfield were not painted until the 1982 season. The design sported on the field included the bolded word "Chicago" in both end zones. In 1983, the end zone design returned, with the addition of a large wishbone "C" Bears logo painted at midfield. These field markings remained unchanged until the 1996 season.

 In 1996 the midfield wishbone "C" was changed to a large blue Bears head, and the end zone design were painted with "Bears" in cursive. This new design remained until the 1999 season, at which point the artwork was returned to the classic "Chicago" and the "C". In the new Soldier Field, the artwork was tweaked to where one end zone had the word "Chicago" bolded and the other had "Bears.

 

 

 

 

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 2007 Chicago Bears Training Camp

Photos By Mark Rotor

 

 

 

 Tillman & Vasher... A Dynamic Duo

 

 

Olsen eager to play

I’m   really   looking   forward  to  playing  in my  first NFL game  Saturday  night  in Houston.  It’ll be great to be in a game   situation   against   an   NFL   opponent   outside   of practice.  I’m  sure  there  will be a lot of fans there and it’s going to be an exciting atmosphere.

 

 

 

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Broncos trade Cutler to Chicago Bears

Jay Cutler got his wish Thursday: a ticket out of Denver. And the Chicago Bears have a franchise quarterback for the first time in decades.

The Broncos on Thursday traded their disgruntled Pro Bowl passer to the Bears, who’ve gone through a bevy of quarterbacks without much success ever since Jim McMahon was calling plays in the 1980s.

The Broncos get quarterback Kyle Orton in return, along with two first-round draft picks and a third-rounder.

The Broncos get the Bears’ top pick in this year’s draft, which is No. 18 overall, and Chicago’s first-round draft pick in 2010, along with a third-round selection this year (No. 84 overall). Denver also gave up a fifth-rounder this year.

Cutler asked for a trade last month after his relationship with Josh McDaniels soured when the new 32-year-old coach talked to other teams about trading him. Cutler and his agent didn’t think McDaniels was upfront with them about the trade talks.

Two meetings designed to clear the air only raised Cutler’s level of distrust. Still, McDaniels insisted over and over that Cutler was his guy and he said at last week’s NFL owners meetings that he would do everything he could to repair their relationship.

When the rocket-armed but thin-skinned passer didn’t return the Broncos’ phone calls, however, team owner Pat Bowlen said enough was enough. On Tuesday night, he announced he had given his new brain trust of McDaniels and general manager Brian Xanders the go-ahead to seek a trade for the quarterback who made the Pro Bowl in just his second season as a starter.

Now, the Bears have a top quarterback, albeit one with baggage.

“I don’t have any concerns,” Bears general manager Jerry Angelo said. “(Coach Lovie Smith) and I talked about that. We did, like a lot of people who were interested in Jay, a lot of work going back to not just when he was with Denver (but) but going back to his days at Vanderbilt.”

Angelo said area scout Rex Hogan lives in the Nashville area and developed a “great rapport” with Cutler coming out of Vanderbilt in 2006.

“We felt that (Cutler) is a very good person, a good leader,” Angelo said. “He had some things that happened in Denver. We recognized those, but we treated them as just speed bumps, part of the growing process. He’s highly competitive, he’s highly emotional. That just comes with the territory.”

Although Cutler is 17-20 as a starter, he’s been victimized by dismal defenses in Denver, and he was an impressive 13-1 when the Broncos held opponents to 21 points or fewer.

Last year, Cutler threw for a franchise record 4,526 yards, 25 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. In his 37-game career in Denver, he completed 62.5 percent of his passes for 9,024 yards, 54 TDs and 37 interceptions.

Although he was prone to mistakes, his bold and at times risky play wasn’t just tolerated but encouraged by former Broncos coach Mike Shanahan, who would often laud Cutler for not just dumping off short passes to pad his statistics but instead dared to go downfield, even into coverage. He said that trait would make him great one day.

Cutler’s inability to quickly fulfill that forecast cost Shanahan his job on Dec. 30 after the Broncos missed the playoffs for the third straight year.

Cutler wasn’t happy about Shanahan’s firing. And he was upset when his position coach, Jeremy Bates, bolted for Southern Cal because McDaniels will be the one calling plays in Denver now.

When he hired McDaniels, Bowlen proclaimed that Cutler “is the man around here, now.”

That didn’t last long.

Cutler started to get over Shanahan’s dismissal and Bates’ departure and he told McDaniels in February he was eager to learn his new offense. But that all changed on Feb. 28, when Cutler learned McDaniels had talked about trading him to Tampa Bay in a three-way deal that would have brought McDaniels’ protege, Matt Cassel, from New England to Denver.

McDaniels had tutored Cassel, who led New England to an 11-5 record after Tom Brady suffered a season-ending injury in the opener last year.

That sent McDaniels’ stock soaring and landed him in Denver as Shanahan’s successor.

It seemed like the perfect match: the rocket-armed passer meets the offensive guru.

But McDaniels’ dalliance with his former pupil blew up in his face when he didn’t clue in Cutler, and now McDaniels begins his era in Denver by chasing off his 25-year-old Pro Bowl quarterback—and he’ll have to face Cassel twice a year because the Patriots ended up sending his protege to Kansas City instead.

As for Cutler, he won’t have to ditch his West Coast style for the intricate Patriots-style offense.

He might be going to one of the teams he rooted for as a kid growing up in Santa Claus, Ind., but he’s also leaving a great pocket of protection in Denver, where left tackle Ryan Clady is considered the best young tackle in the game, and a great bunch of receivers led by fellow Pro Bowler Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal. Behind young tackles Clady and Ryan Harris, Cutler’s offensive line allowed just a dozen sacks.

Denver now has Orton, fellow newcomer Chris Simms and Darrell Hackney at quarterback.

Simms, who signed a two-year, $6 million free agent deal ostensibly to serve as Cutler’s backup, has thrown just two passes since undergoing emergency surgery to remove his spleen after a game in 2006. Hackney’s next NFL pass will be his first.

Angelo made it clear in December, after his team went 9-7 and missed the playoffs for the second straight year—that solidifying the quarterback spot was his top priority. Now, he has a Pro Bowler.

“When you just look at the history of the league, I can’t recall a situation quite like this,” Angelo said. “All we did was react to a situation that we felt affected our football team.”

Orton threw for 2,972 yards while completing 272 of 465 passes and throwing more touchdowns (18) than interceptions (12) after beating out Rex Grossman for the starting job. But he wasn’t the same after being carted off the field with a sprained ankle against Detroit midway through the season.

Orton went from throwing a club record 205 passes without an interception to throwing eight in four games before a strong finish in the finale.

“I don’t want to make anybody think that we didn’t have respect for Kyle, because we did,” Angelo said. “I feel what really facilitated this trade was Kyle was part of it. I think the draft compensation, given what I was to understand, was very similar to other teams. But they liked Kyle Orton and that was part of it. And I could see why they liked Kyle.”

The Bears will get a great but often petulant passer who is going from the long shadow of John Elway in Denver to the Windy City, where he’ll be under just as much scrutiny.

Cutler is halfway through the six-year, $48 million contract he signed as the 11th overall pick out of Vanderbilt in the 2006 draft. His salary cap number for next season is just over $1 million.

Although he probably won’t play in the game, the Bears visit the Broncos for an exhibition on Aug. 30.

Setting The Pace

The Bears signed free agent left tackle Orlando Pace on Thursday as well, making it one of the biggest days in Bears recent history.

Finally, the Bears seem to mean business..

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Bears get Early Christmas Present, Win yet another nail biter in record cold…

20-17 in overtime.

Frozen Tundra, painted dirt, record cold temperatures.. The way football should be played.

The fans booed, the fans froze in the record cold, but in the end it was all worth the wait in yet another come from behind win for these “Cardiac Bears”

During the first quarter the air temperature dropped to 2 degrees with a wind chill of -13, the coldest game ever played in Soldier Field since they started keeping records in 1963. (The Bears played at Wrigley Field until 1970)

If you look at the stats, the Bears should have been blown out of this game in nearly every fascet of the game. The lone bright spot through four quarters  was the stellar play of Daneal Manning, who nearly broke another kickoff for a touchdown.

That play seemed to awaken the hibernating Bears and the rest is history.

Alex Brown just  saved the Chicago Bears’ season.

Brown blocked Crosby’s 38-yard attempt with 18 seconds to go in the fourth quarter Monday night, forcing overtime against the Green Bay Packers.

Good as “Gould”…

And once the Bears got to the extra period, reliable Robbie  “Pure Gould”  kicked a 38-yard field goal for the win.

“I knew it was going to be in before he kicked it,” said the Bears quarterback. “He’s money in those situations and he’s done a great job. There’s not too much doubt about it when he comes out there.” Said Orton.

Gould has helped the Bears keep their playoff hopes alive by becoming the first NFL kicker to win back-to-back overtime games with field goals since the Philadelphia Eagles’ David Akers in 2000.

On Dec. 11 against the New Orleans Saints, Gould tied the score 24-24 with a 28-yarder on the final play of regulation before winning the game 27-24 with a 35-yarder on the first possession of overtime.

“You’re at a loss for words when you talk about Robbie,” said return specialist and nickel back Danieal Manning. “He’s a professional. You can’t shake him. You can’t rattle his cage. He’s just so poised and he’s a great kicker.”

Asked what goes through his mind as he prepares for a game-winning attempt, Gould said: “Run through your keys, find your target and swing as true as you possibly can to that target line. It’s going to go through if you do everything you’re supposed to. I don’t really think about much other than make the kick.”

The 38-yarder against Green Bay was the seventh game-winning field goal of Gould’s career. All have come in November or later, including a 49-yarder in the 2006 divisional playoffs against the Seahawks that propelled the Bears into the NFC Championship Game.

“Robbie Gould has been a guy that you can count on it seems like every time we’ve asked him to step up to the plate,” said coach Lovie Smith. “That’s his seventh game-winning field goal, and they’ve all come in November or later, so that’s really telling you what type of player he is.”

“It’s great,” he said. “Regardless of how you win, you’ve got to win. Everyone’s got to do their job and everyone’s got to contribute the way they’re supposed to, and mine’s to make field goals. I’m just happy to get an opportunity to do my job, and we’ve still got a heartbeat.”

Gould has excelled in frigid conditions the last three games at Soldier Field, even though the ball feels like it's filled with cement.

“It’s like kicking a cold turkey, it really is,” he said. “It’s going to be hard. It’s going to be tough. But the thing is you know going into it. If you’re in it all the time, like we practice in it, then you’re not really thinking too much about how hard it’s going to be. It’s just a matter of trusting your technique and knowing that it’s going to go through.”

The Task Ahead ….

After the impressive victory, the Bears are still in the running for the playoffs, but again must have some help.

Simply winning their last game won’t be enough. And they must step up and play better in Houston, as the Texan’s have started surging at the end of the season. The Texans have nothing to play for and can become spoilers in the last game of the season. They will have fans in a few NFL Teams, namely the Vikings and Bucs, who like the Bears still hope to make the post season.

“We got a great push from a lot of different people. I was just the one who got my hand on it,” Brown said.

“We were saying on the sidelines that we have to block it. I got through pretty good but I didn’t really think that was going to happen. You just go as hard as you can and see if you can get a hand up and hopefully you can get it.”

The Bears (9-6), who stayed in contention for the NFC North over the weekend when Atlanta beat Minnesota, won their third straight and rallied from a 14-3 halftime deficit to do it.

If the Bears win at Houston next Sunday and the Vikings lose at home to the Giants, Chicago captures the NFC North. Minnesota holds the tiebreaker over the Bears, so if both teams win on the final Sunday, the Vikings win the division. But Chicago is still alive for a wild-card berth, too.

“Everything fell right, gave us a lot of momentum and energy coming into this game. We just had to carry it all the way through,” quarterback Kyle Orton said.

And the Bears had to overcome the elements, too, as did the Packers.

Orton hit a 17-yard pass to Greg Olsen and a 15-yard penalty on Green Bay’s Aaron Rouse for a horse collar tackle gave the Bears the ball at the Green Bay 35 in overtime. A third-down pass of 14 yards to Matt Forte got it to the Green Bay 20 to set up the winning kick—Gould’s second straight game-winner in overtime.

“You know it’s going to be chilly, the ground is going to be hard. You’ve just got to go out there and do your job. There’s no excuses for missing,” Gould said

Green Bay (5-10) dominated the first half, but lost its fifth straight after routing the Bears 37-3 at Lambeau Field in mid-November.

“It’s disappointing. It’s tough. It’s frustrating,” Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers said.

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Bears battle the Packers with the playoffs on the Line

Soldier Field… The Frozen tundra… Painted dirt… Football the way its meant to be played.

Outdoors… In the cold and elements… snow and cold… This is the way all football games should be played… even the Super Bowl.

This could very well be the Bears Super Bowl.  Even with a victory, the Bears have no guarantee of post season play.

For the Green Bay Packers…They really do miss Brett Favre.. don’t kid yourself.

Not Ready for prime time Bears…

With an 18-33 record on Monday Night Football heading into their game with Green Bay, the Bears’ .353 winning percentage ranks 29th in the 32-team NFL. The only clubs who are worse are the Falcons (9-21, .300), Cardinals (6-12-1, .333) and Bengals (9-18, .333). Not counting the Texans, who are just 1-0, the top five teams on Monday Night Football are the Seahawks (16-8, .667), the Colts (19-11, .633), the Steelers (37-22, .627), the Panthers (5-3, .625) and the 49ers (38-24, .613). The Packers are in the middle of the pack at 26-26-1.

On The Rebound?....

This season marks only the third time the Bears have lost to the Packers by more than 14 points in the first meeting between the teams since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970. On both previous occasions, Green Bay also won the rematch. In 1994, the Packers beat the Bears 33-6 and 40-3, and in 1996, Green Bay won 37-6 and 28-17.

Not the “Impossible” Dream?…

Since the NFL schedule was expanded to 16 games in 1978, the only time the Bears have made the playoffs without registering at least 10 wins was in 1994 when they went 9-7. Chicago actually finished fourth in the five-team NFC Central that season, but advanced to the playoffs as the conference's third and final wildcard team.

Keys to Beating The “Pack”…

STOP THE RUN, STOP GRANT

After getting pushed around by the Packers in November, the Bears are in run shut down mode. Led by Ryan Grant, the Packers rushed for 200 yards against the Bears., more than any team they’ve faced this season. Grant gashed the Bears on runs of 35, 22, and 18 yards, while his backup Brandon Jackson had a run of 19 yards. In two games against the Bears, Grant is averaging 6.3 yards-per-carry. Stopping the run is still the Bears defensive strength, and they must prevent Grant from cranking it up again. After a slow start to the season, Grant is the league’s ninth ranked rusher, but is averaging only 3.9 yards/carry with four touchdowns.

STOP AARON RODGERS

Brutally cold weather could limit the passing game, but the Bears still have to respect the arm and mobility of Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. In the first meeting, Rodgers was sharp and accurate. His only two big pass plays were 29-yards to Greg Jennings and 21-yards to Donald Driver. He completed 77% of his passes, and put together one of his seven 100.0+ quarterback rating games this season. Jennings and Driver are his go-to targets, but last week against Jacksonville, James Jones got into the act with a four-catch, 132-yard performance. His return from a nagging knee injury allows the Packers to use more of their “Big Five” formation, but again the conditions may derail that plan. This is a terrific catch and run group, which includes the productive tight end Donald Lee who has 39 receptions, five for touchdowns this season. When and if the Packers spread the Bears out, they have to tackle in space and prevent the big play.

BEAT THE JAM

Bear receivers had a difficult time dealing with the Packers aggressive press coverage in the first meeting. It disrupted the rhythm of the passing game to the tune of just four catches for 60-yards. Devin Hester and Rashied Davis in particular were affected by the work of the Packer corners and safeties over the top. They know it is coming, and they have to find a way to beat it. Offensive coordinator Ron Turner can help the process by the use of formations and motion to discourage the Packers from being so aggressive. Green Bay’s defense has suffered of late. They have not created a lot of pass pressure and injuries in the secondary have forced Charles Woodson to move to strong safety. Woodson is a better corner.

BIG SPLASH & START

In the last two games, Danieal Manning has been the fire starter for the Bears. His interception set up a quick strike touchdown against Jacksonville and his opening kickoff return touchdown set the tone for a win against a stubborn New Orleans outfit. If it’s not Manning for a third straight game it has to be somebody else to get it started. It might be a sack and a strip of Rodgers or an interception...anything to get the night off to a great start. The one thing about the Packers; they will not go away at any point in the game. They have lost a league high six times this season in games decided by four-points or less. They will hang around despite the fact they have lost six out of seven games. The Packers are 1-and-7 when opponents score first, and 0-and-8 when trailing at halftime....Keep Hester on Offense.

BLOCKING KAMPMAN

Protecting Kyle Orton from Packers defensive Aaron Kampman is most critical tonight. He is their best and only productive pass rusher; a consistent performer and two-time Pro Bowler. The Packers lost a lot when defensive end Cullen Jenkins was lost for the season in week four. With Jenkins, the Packers had nine sacks including 3 ½ by Kampman. Since then, Kampman has six of the Packers 14 over the last ten games. Kampman also leads defensive lineman with 73 tackles. The Bears offensive line has done a terrific job protecting Orton this season. He was sacked only once in Green Bay.

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Bears boot the Saints into hibernation again, Beat New Orleans in Overtime 27-24

Robbie Gould and the Chicago Bears dealt the New Orleans Saints yet another devastating loss at Soldier Field…. And into hibernation for yet another season.

Who Dat? Robbie Gould is that man…

Robbie Gould kicked the tying field goal at the end of regulation and booted a 35-yarder in overtime to give the Bears a 27-24 victory on Thursday night, giving their playoff hopes a well needed boost.

After winning the coin toss, the Bears went 52 yards to set up Gould’s 35-yard game-winner with 12:14 remaining in overtime. The kick came after Devin Hester drew a 38-yard pass interference penalty on safety Roman Harper that resulted in a first down at the Saints’ 15.

This was definitely a Bears break as the official’s call was “questionable” at least and in such a close game, they should let the players “play” and not have had  a hand in the outcome.

“As a receiver, [Hester’s] gotten better and better,” Smith said. “He’s still hard to cover when he’s in a one-on-one situation. We’ve had him open a few times and haven’t been able to get him the ball. But in the end he came through as an offensive weapon and put us in position to win.”

Playoffs?...Playoffs?

The Bears still need plenty of help to reach the postseason.

“Bottom line for us, we’re still in the hunt,” Chicago’s Lance Briggs said.

The Bears are now 8-6, a half-game behind Minnesota, but the Vikings hold any tiebreakers. The Bears can’t rely on a wild card spot either; they are a half-game out of a wild-card spot.

So the Bears will have to “Win” to get in the playoffs. A feat that they can easily do if they turn up their game play a notch as they did tonight

Welcome back to Chicago, New Orleans Saints…..

Danieal Manning returned the opening kickoff 83 yards for a touchdown and set up another one with a 52-yarder early in the second as the Bears grabbed a 14-7 lead. Kyle Orton’s 6-yard scramble in the closing minute of the half made it a 14-point game.

The Bears special teams supplied much of the offense tonight, and had it not been for Manning’s stellar play, it may well have been “Hibernation” for the Bears.

“He’s been showing signs of being able to break one all the way for a while,” Smith said. “We want him to celebrate when he gets in the end zone, but we’ll work with that.”

Not “Their kind of Town”.

It was another rough night in Chicago for New Orleans (7-7), which lost the NFC championship game here two years ago and saw its slim postseason hopes vanish with a loss on the final day last season at Soldier Field. The last-place Saints still have a shot at the wild card but can forget about catching NFC South leader Carolina.

The Bears tried to give this game away….

All three Saints touchdowns came off turnovers by a Bears offense that was limited to just 152 total yards until late in the fourth quarter by the NFL’s 21^st-ranked defense.

“Offensively, we stalled there for a while,” said Coach Lovie Smith. “But at the end we needed to put together a couple drives, and our offense answered the call.”

Brees was off his mark as well tonight. He was hoping to reverse his trend here the past two games and get off the schnide and win at Soldier Field

Brees, attempting to eclipse Dan Marino’s single-season yards passing record, was 24-of-43 for 232 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He looked more like himself late in the game after a miserable first half.

Hassled by the defense, Brees was just 10-of-24 with 93 yards and a 49.5 rating in the first two quarters as Chicago grabbed a 21-7 lead.

Chicago native and Illinois standout Pierre Thomas started the Saints’ comeback with a 42-yard touchdown run that made it 21-14 with 3:44 left in the third. Josh Bullucks set up the score, intercepting an Orton pass when it deflected off wide receiver Rashied Davis.

With their second straight win and third in four games, the Bears finally appear to be getting their “Mojo” after a convincing 23-10 win over Jacksonville on Sunday.

Oh where oh where has the offense gone?

Matt Forte was held to a season-low 34 yards on 11 carries and caught five passes for 29 yards. Orton completed 24 of 40 passes for 172 yards with no TDs, two interceptions and a 49.2 passer rating.

The Defense rises to the occasion, again….

The Bears defense delivered a great performance against the NFL’s top-ranked offense, intercepting two passes and making a key fourth-down stop late in the game.

“I’m really happy with the way we showed up on defense,” Ogunleye said. “Things looked bleak at times, but we showed up and we played magnificent. We got some turnovers when we needed. We were getting pressure. We were stopping the run. Guys were running to the ball and I’m excited the way we came out and played.”

The performance was even more impressive given that Saints led the NFL in total yards (405.9 per game) and passing yards (310.2) and ranked second in points per game (28.2).

“It was a game where everybody knew what we had coming in,” Ogunleye said. “They knew the caliber of the quarterback we had coming in and I think people were looking to see if we were for real or we were not, and I think we were looking for the same thing because we haven’t had this consistency where we were able to show up two weeks in a row.”

“This is the best game they played all year,” Orton said. “They really just played outstanding. [They] put pressure on the quarterback and got some turnovers for us.”

They’ll go for three in a row—something they haven’t accomplished since the 2006 Super Bowl season—against Green Bay a week from Monday.

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Bears Battle the Saints, A Must win to keep playoff chances alive.

The Bears must win their next three games, and not worry what the Vikings do. Their playoff fate rests in their hands, not the Vikings.

Notes heading into the game Thursday..

Former College players face each other for the first time….Purdue quarterbacks Kyle Orton and Drew Brees.

“I’ve had fun playing him in the past and can’t wait to do it this time,” said Orton, who won his only previous head-to-head battle with Brees in last year’s season finale at Soldier Field.

The quarterbacks were never teammates. Kyle Orton arrived at Purdue in 2001, the same year that Brees was selected with the first pick in the second round of the draft by the San Diego Chargers.

Orton knew that he would be compared to Brees, who left Purdue as the Big Ten’s all-time leader in passing yards, touchdown passes, completions and attempts.

“Every quarterback that goes through that place is going to be compared to Drew,” Orton said. “He was a great quarterback in college. He’s certainly an outstanding quarterback in the NFL and a good person to watch and try to model yourself after.”

Had it not been for Brees, Orton may not have enrolled at Purdue.

 “I wanted to throw for all those yards and put up the numbers that he did,” said Orton, who finished his career ranked third on Purdue’s all-time passing list with 9,337 yards and 63 TDs. “No question he was a big influence and a reason why I went there.”

The two quarterbacks aren’t close friends, but they do keep in contact.

“It’s a good relationship,” Orton said. “It’s not like we talk on the phone every night, but whenever we get to see each other it’s always friendly and good. He’s fun to talk football with.

“He’s an extremely smart player. I remember my freshman year, if I ever needed to find out how to run a play or a certain look, I’d just go and pop on [tape of] what he did and try to do that. It seemed to work for him.”

Saints rank second in the NFL in scoring with an average of 28.2 points per game. But that won’t change the way the Bears offense approaches the contest.

“We can’t worry about that,” said receiver Rashied Davis. “All we can do is try to do our best and go out and score as many points as we can. I have faith in our defense that they’ll be able to come out and make some plays and give us the ball. We just have to capitalize.”

The Saints are 1-5 on this road this season, but they’ve scored at least 20 points in four of the five losses.

“We’ve just got to go out and do our job,” said offensive coordinator Ron Turner. “We’ve got to go out and run our offense and execute and play with great efficiency Just like any other game really, we just have to go out and take care of our business.”

Saints linebacker Scott Fujita is tired of losing to the Bears at Soldier Field….

“The first four or five years of my career, that was the one place I really wanted to play,” the seventh-year pro told The Times-Picayune. “I’ve got a lot of family in Chicago, [there's] a lot of history there. I was a huge Bears fan, always wanted to go and play. And now I’ve gotten kind of sick of it.”

The Bears beat the Saints 39-14 in the 2006 NFC Championship Game and 33-25 in last year’s season finale.

“To lose two disappointing games the last couple of years, the NFC Championship Game especially, you feel like they’ve got something coming,” Fujita said. "And you'd like to come out Thursday night and play well, because it's been disappointing.

“And then last year's game, to go in again, and they really just kind of stuck it to us, when we thought that was kind of a revenge game for us. As much as I would say that I'm sick of going back to Chicago, I'm actually kind of looking forward to it this time around, because I think we're due."

Tillman up for prestigious award….

Charles Tillman has been named the Bears nominee for the 2008 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year award. The prestigious award is the only NFL award that recognizes a player’s off-the-field community service, support and activities as well as his playing excellence. 

The award has been in existence since 1970 and honors NFL players who demonstrate outstanding balance in their lives between civic and professional responsibilities. In 1999, the league renamed the Man of the Year award after Walter Payton as a tribute to his greatness both on and off the field.

All 32 finalists, one from each NFL team, will receive a $1,000 contribution toward a charity of his choice, and the overall winner will receive $25,000 to donate to his selected charity. 

The 2008 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year winner will be announced during Commissioner Roger Goodell’s press conference prior to Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa. Tillman’s Cornerstone Foundation has been designated as the charity that will receive the $1,000 donation in his name. 

The Injury Report…

Chicago Bears….

Wide receiver Marty Booker (ribs), fullback Jason McKie (quadriceps) and running back Garrett Wolfe (hamstring) did not participate in Wednesday’s walkthrough and were listed as doubtful on the injury report.

Tight end Desmond Clark (hamstring) and defensive tackle Tommie Harris (knee) both practiced without restrictions and were listed as probable.

The New Orleans Saints…

Starting left tackle Jammal Brown has been ruled out of the game with an ankle injury. He will be replaced by third-year pro Zach Strief, who was a four-year starter at Northwestern.

Running back Deuce McAllister was excused from practice Wednesday because of a death in the family. Defensive end Will Smith returned to the practice field after missing Tuesday’s workout for the birth of his son.

Titans escape Late Bears Rally, stay unbeaten

Photos by Mark Rotor

The Bears opened Sunday’s game against the undefeated Titans with an impressive touchdown drive, but it was all downhill from there for the NFC North leaders. The opening drive by the Bears was the first time all season the stingy Titan’s defense allowed an opening drive touchdown…. Good Rex.

Orton had hoped to play after being taken from the field on a cart in the closing minute of the first half last week. Instead, Grossman orchestrated a 75-yard touchdown drive on the Bears’ first possession that ended with a 5-yard pass to Forte.

The good vibe disappeared on the next possession, when Grossman tried to force one to Marty Booker along the left sideline. Cortland Finnegan tipped it, Chris Hope picked it off and Tennessee took over at the Chicago 25

Poor field position key factor in Bears loss.

Grossman was not alone in the Bears lack of success on offense. You could blame poor field position as the key.

“We couldn’t really get into a rhythm backed up,” Grossman said. “We needed to get a few first downs and flip field position. First downs kind of breed more first downs. You get on a roll and get to the rest of your plays. That was the big deal right there for the most part.”.. Bad Rex

The good news for Bears fans, no “Train Rex” today

The Bears offense went into hibernation after the  strong opening drive, managing just 45 yards and  one first down on 22 plays on its next seven drives.  Six possessions  failed to produce a first down in drives that  started at the Chicago 14, 2, 2, 9, 2, 16 and 17.

 “The field position game hurt us the entire time,” said coach Lovie Smith. “We played down close to our end zone most of the time. Eventually, if you don’t get field position, it’ll end up leading to points for the opponent, and that’s what happened today.”

“It’s only frustrating when you don’t do something about it,” Turner said. “When you’re backed up, that’s part of football. It’s a field position game. When you get backed up like that, you have to get a couple first downs to get out of there, and we weren’t able to do that.”

Grossman struggled with accuracy at times, completing 20 of 37 passes for 173 yards with 1 TD, 1 interception and a 64.4 passer rating while being sacked twice. Forte rushed for 72 yards on 20 carries and had a team-high seven receptions for 54 yards.

Kerry Collins on the other hand, had one of his best games as a Titan throwing for a season-high 289 yards and two touchdowns in a 21-14 win Sunday over the Chicago Bears.

“It’s nice to win a ballgame and not play well,” coach Jeff Fisher said.

Particularly as they struggled when they weren’t throwing the ball.

Even though they kept losing yards, the Tennessee Titans refused to lose this game. Now, they’re 9-0 despite one of the worst rushing performances in franchise history: just 20 yards on the ground.

The 20 yards rushing were just one above their franchise low and they had minus-5 in the first half. It was a stunning performance for a team that was third in the league entering the game.

Even so, the Titans set a club record with their 12th straight regular-season win thanks to Collins and a defense that shut down Rex Grossman and the Bears.

Collins completed 12 straight passes at one point and was 30-of-41 without an interception. Brandon Jones caught eight passes for 82 yards, and Bo Scaife had 10 for 78 with a touchdown.

That was enough to make up for a miserable performance by the running backs.

White managed 14 yards on 10 attempts, although he had a touchdown in the fourth quarter. And Johnson carried 14 times for 8 yards.

“Did you look and see how many guys they put in the box?” Johnson said. “Eight, sometimes nine. They really wanted us to beat them throwing the ball.”

 “Everybody right now is filling their role,” said Collins, who took over for Vince Young after the first game. “For me, you play long enough you’re going to be on good teams. You’re going to be on bad teams. At this point in my career to be playing on a good football team that has a chance to go out and win every Sunday is exciting for me.”

Is this the best team he’s played on?

“We’re getting there,” said Collins, who played in a Super Bowl with the New York Giants. “We’re getting there.”

Some bright spots from the Bears offense…not many, but Forte did muster a decent game against the tough Titan’s defense.

Rookie Matt Forte ran for 72 yards after setting a season-high with 126 against Detroit, and the offense managed 243 yards in all.

The Titans took a 14-7 lead early in the third quarter when Collins connected with former Bear Justin Gage for a 12-yard touchdown—the first by a Tennessee wide receiver since the second game.

A 2-yard run by White early in the fourth period made it 21-7, but the Bears refused to go quietly.

Grossman fell into the end zone from the 1 to make it a seven-point game with 4:55 left after a 29-yard pass to Devin Hester. And they had a chance to tie it after a punt, taking over at the Tennessee 41. But the Titans held firm again, even though outsiders keep insist each week they’ll lose.

“Maybe they have some kind of angel around them or something. I don’t know,” Bears receiver Rashied Davis said.

.Ahmard Hall fumbles—Tennessee’s first turnover in 16 quarters—on fourth-and-inches at the goal line.

Another reason the Bears lost today… not capitalizing on turnovers.

Defense has a good game…

The Bears completely shut down the NFL’s third-ranked rushing attack, limiting the Titans to 27 yards on 20 carries with a long run of seven yards. They held LenDale White to just 14 yards on 10 attempts and rookie sensation Chris Johnson to eight yards on 14 carries.

Game Notes:

Titans star linebacker Keith Bulluck appeared in his 106th straight game after cracking cartilage in his ribs against Green Bay, two-time Pro Bowl defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch sat out with a groin strain. … The Titans also got a scare in the third quarter when fullback Hall suffered a mild concussion after being hit by Lance Briggs. … Tennessee has rushed for 19 yards twice in a game, most recently when the Houston Oilers did it against San Diego on Dec. 12, 1965. … The 12 straight regular-season wins eclipses the previous mark set by Houston in 1993. … The minus-5 yards rushing were the fewest allowed by the Bears in a half since they held New England to minus-9 on Sept. 21, 1997.

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Bears face steep Challenge with the Un-beaten Titans.

The Bears control their own destiny. A win today will propel them to the elite in the NFL. A loss, will put them in the pool of other mediocre teams.

Keys to a Bears victory:

INTENSITY
Bears safety Mike Brown mentioned this week the defense does not play well when the unit is not having fun. The fun presumably comes from making the “big” plays that create emotion and energy. It is a telling observation and maybe has as much to do with their inconsistency as anything. If the Bears want to be regarded as a playoff contender and reach their high expectations they have to, as Brown pointed out, get emotionally invested and go back to having fun. They will need to against a Titans team that plays an edgy, physical brand of ball.


DEFENDING THE PASS
Although the Titans are a run first offense, veteran quarterback Kerry Collins has thrown the ball 37 times each of the last two games against the Colts and Packers. His top two receivers are tight end Bo Scaife and rookie running back Chris Johnson. The only touchdown pass caught by a Titans wide receiver belongs to former Bear Justin Gage and that came in week two against the Bengals. The Bears have allowed the third most passing yardage in the league, but still rate well in average yards-per-pass attempt. The defense has given up five touchdown passes in the last three games and they have to prevent Collins from having a “veteran” moment like Tampa’s Brian Griese did in week three, and Gus Frerotte did in week seven against the Bears. Those two combined for 705 passing yards and 4 touchdowns.


A HUNDRED YARDS
The Tennessee  Titans are a respected defense allowing fewer than 13 points-per game,, But they are not invincible. Against the run, mediocre  teams like Houston, good teams like Baltimore, and Green Bay have all run a hundred yards or more rushing against them. The Texans averaged 5.2 yards per carry, the Vikings 4.0 yards per carry, the Colts and Packers each averaged 4.3 yards per carry. Let’s see the Bears build on Matt Forte’ 101-yard second half effort against the Lions with an equally productive game against the Titans. The Bears are capable of working the edges of the Titans defense, spreading them out, and ripping off some good rushing yardage while staying away from dominant defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth. The bottom line.. The Bears will have to run the ball, and do it successfully to beat the Titans.

PROWL POWER
Aside from the Vikings and superstar back Adrian Peterson, the Bears have consistently achieved their primary defensive goal of stopping the run. Peterson ran for 121 yards, and collected the longest run of the season against the Bears on a 54-yard touchdown. Only four other backs have runs over 20 yards against the Bears. Having Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs creep into gaps at the line of scrimmage has helped the run defense, which last season struggled. They will need to be at their best against a Titans attack averaging 149.1 yards-per-game(#4-NFL), and 4.4 yards-per-carry(#11-NFL). The Bears are allowing just 3.5 yards-per-carry (#5-NFL). Behind a powerful offensive line, the Titans have a speed/power tandem in rookie Chris Johnson and veteran Lendale White. Together, they have scored 16 off Tennessee’s 21 touchdowns. Both have home run capability. Johnson has a 66-yard touchdown, White an 80-yard touchdown.

NO SLIPPAGE
With Kyle Orton unlikely to start against the Titans, the offense is turned over to “veteran” Rex Grossman. That emphasis on “veteran” is a key point when evaluating the Bears offense this week. You are getting a capable, experienced quarterback, with a complete four-year understanding of Ron Turner’s offense. Grossman will run the same offense as Orton. It should run as smoothly after a full week with the first team at practice and with the type of play calls Turner has been making this season. It is simple for Grossman: Covet the ball, make the correct reads, and be smart.

The Bears  who are 5-3 will play their final game of this current homestand and final home game in November. The Bears hold a one-game lead in the NFC North over the Green Bay Packers & Minnesota Vikings who are both 4-4. The Bears are perfect in Divisional play so far this season. The Titans on the other hand are four games ahead of the Indianapolis Colts  who are 4-4 , the Jacksonville Jaguars & Houston Texans who are both 3-5. The Bears will face both teams down the stretch, hosting the Jaguars in early December and traveling to Houston at the end of the season.

Today’s game features the top two running backs in the NFL. The Titans Chris Johnson (715 rushing yards) and the Bears Matt Forte (641 Yards) and are fourth and seventh overall in the NFL.

Kicking into history..

The Bears Robbie Gould and the Titans Rob Bironas head into today’s game. Entering the game today, Gould is 99 of 116 on career field goal attempts (85.3%)  and Bironas is 97 of 115 (84.3%) Both of those percentages would rank them  among the top five most accurate kickers in NFL History.

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Jeff Fisher wary of Hester's ability to go distance

Two-time All Pro Devin Hester may be in a slump and  is still seeking his first kick return touchdown of the season.

This game could be the perfect chance for him to break out of that slump.

 Hester broke the NFL record in each of his first two years with five scores in 2005 and six in 2006. 

Hester currently ranks 20th in the NFL in punt returns (6.2-yard average) and 31st in kickoff returns (20.9-yard average).

“I don’t see Devin struggling in the return game,” said Titans coach Jeff Fisher. “If Devin can break three runs in the next three weeks, he’d be leading the league in both categories. 

"That’s how the return game is. He’s making good decisions. He’s catching the ball. He’s very close.”

It would be difficult to find another coach in the NFL who appreciates what Hester is able to do more than Fisher, who returned punts during four seasons with the Bears from 1981-84.

Fisher’s single-season franchise record of 509 punt-return yards set in 1981 stood for 25 years until Hester shattered it with 600 yards as a rookie in 2006.

Fisher still holds the  Bears record  for punt returns in a game (8) and season (58). His 88-yard punt return touchdown in a 28-17 win over the Buccaneers on Sept. 20, 1981 at Soldier Field was the longest by a Bears player in 39 years.

Hester, started to get back on track last week, bringing back a punt 20 yards in last Sunday’s 27-23 victory over the Lions, his longest return since a 25-yarder in the Bears’ 29-13 season-opening win at Indianapolis.

“He was very close against Detroit,” Fisher said. “He’s a step away. We don’t see him as struggling. We see him as one of the all-time returners ever to play the game, so it’s going to be quite a challenge for us.”

Its really difficult for Fisher to believe that the Bears have allowed  a staggering 64 points in their last two games given that they lead the NFL with 19 takeaways and their defense ranks second in third-down efficiency and sixth against the run.

“When you look at the defense, you kind of wonder where the points came from,” said Fisher, who is the NFL's longest-tenured head coach, having joined the Titans in 1994 . “I’m very impressed with the secondary. They’re playing well. They’re challenging, they’re tackling well. The front seven is as good as I think there is in ball.

“There are some pretty impressive stats as far as the Bears defense is concerned. When you can stop the run and get off the field, those are the two most important things, and that’s what they do.”

If the defense can hold the Titan’s offense in check, the Bears will have a great opportunity to hand the Titan’s their first loss and show they are one of the NFL’s elite teams this year. Lose this game, and they will be considered just an average team as are many other teams that were considered “Elite Teams.”

This will be the last home game for the Bears this month, and no, the circus is not coming to Soldier Field.  The Bulls and Blackhawks will do their typical November road trips as the United Center will host the Circus 

One has to wonder what the schedule makers in the NFL were thinking when they mad the Bears schedule this season?  Even the election is over. What are local fans to do besides watch all their sports on TV?

Lets hope they get it better next year.

Are you listening  NFL?

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Bears offense soars to new heights

Thanks to a potent passing game that’s fueled by an emerging young quarterback and a slew of talented receivers, the Bears offense is now ranked near the top in the NFL.

"I  think we get better every single week,” quarterback Kyle Orton said following another stellar performance in Sunday’s 48-41 shootout win over the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field.

“We’ve got a group of guys who are together. It doesn’t matter what happens outside that huddle. It’s everybody inside the huddle for a common goal, and we work together very well.”

That mentality has helped the Bears thrive. In the last three games, Orton has completed 71 of 109 passes for 903 yards with five touchdowns, no interceptions and a 106.2 passer rating.

“We feel that he’s turned into one of the top guys in the league,” said tight end Greg Olsen. “Besides the physical tools and being able to make all the throws, he’s a guy with total command of the game plan and the offense. He gets us in and out of good plays.

“The coaches put a lot on him, sending him to the line with a couple of options and relying on him to make the right decision, and for the most part he almost always does.”

Hester remains patient, looks to return to old ways on Sunday

Hester is as surprised as anyone that he has not returned a kickoff or punt for a touchdown in the first six games of the season, the longest drought of his three-year NFL career.

He must remain patient and let the game come to him rather than forcing the issue, which could result in a negative play.

"That’s very important,” Hester said. “That’s what I learned my rookie year. You can never press if it’s not there. That’s when you make mistakes and that’s when you turn the ball over. So just play consistent, be yourself and do your job. Just have fun with it and it will eventually come.”

Hester returned 11 kicks for TDs in his first two years with the Bears, just two shy of the NFL record that Brian Mitchell set over 14 seasons. And that doesn’t count Hester’s 108-yard TD return of a missed field goal against the Giants or his 92-yard kickoff return TD in Super Bowl XLI versus the Colts.

“It’s the longest I’ve been playing football without a [TD] return," Hester said. "It’s surprising. But I feel like we’re going to pick it up. It’s going to come around eventually, and when it hits, it’s going to hit. You’ve got my word on that.”

Opponents have try to neutralize Hester with squib kickoffs and high punts near the sideline.

“They’re smart,” said special teams coordinator Dave Toub. “They know Devin Hester’s Devin Hester and at anytime he can break one on you. They’re still showing him all the respect just like they did last year."

Toub doesn’t feel that Hester has been pressing.

“I see the same guy,” Toub said. “Teams are doing a good job punting the ball high. They’re doing a good job punting the ball directionally, moving the ball around on kickoff returns, squib kicks, different things that change the timing and change the spacing.”

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 Chicago Bears Training Camp 2008 

Chicago Bears Team History

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. The Bears are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). They are currently the National Football Conference Champions, after winning the 2006 NFC Championship Game.

The Bears have won nine Professional American Football league championships (eight NFL Championships and Super Bowl XX), trailing only the Green Bay Packers, who have twelve. The Bears have the most enshrinees in the Pro Football Hall of Fame with 26 members.

The club was founded in Decatur, Illinois, in 1919 and moved to Chicago in 1921. Along with the Arizona Cardinals, it is one of two existing franchises since the NFL's founding. The team played home games at Wrigley Field on Chicago's North Side through the 1970 season.

With the exception of the 2002 season, they have played their home games at Chicago's Soldier Field every year since 1971. The stadium is located next to Lake Michigan and was recently remodeled in a modernization intended to bring stadium amenities up-to-date while preserving a historic Chicago building. The team has a fierce, long-standing rivalry with the Packers, whom they have played in over 170 games.

The team headquarters, Halas Hall, is actually located in the Chicago suburb of Lake Forest, Illinois. The team practices at adjoining practice facilities there during the season. Currently, the team holds its annual training camp from late July to mid-August on the campus of Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois.

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 2007 Chicago Bears Training Camp

Photos By Mark Rotor

 Tillman & Vasher... A Dynamic Duo

 

Olsen eager to play

I’m   really   looking   forward  to  playing  in my  first NFL game  Saturday  night  in Houston.  It’ll be great to be in a game   situation   against   an   NFL   opponent   outside   of practice.  I’m  sure  there  will be a lot of fans there and it’s going to be an exciting atmosphere.

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Bears get off the schnide, get back some pride, beat Rams 17-9

Game Photos by Joe Paolella

It should have been a blowout, at least on paper.  But the Rams who have only won one game this season, kept it close… and another nail-biter for the cold Soldier Field die hard Bears fans. And some even stayed home. There was numerous empty seats today.

The Bears should have scored 28 points as they went 2-for-4 in the red zone. Yes they did find the elusive Red Zone today, but as in the past, penalties and bad play calling kept the point totals down.

Stop the presses… Cutler avoided an interception for the first time in a game. And he played well to boot.

The Rams kept Cutler on his toes and running. His offensive line was non existent again at times, allowing the Rams to beat up and sack Cutler. Just how much more can he take before one of these sacks will hurt him and keep him out of a game?

Cutler hit his targets more often today. He connected with Devin Hester on a third-down fade, however Hester was unable to get both feet down. Hester later left the game with a mild calf strain. No word as of yet how serious it is. Robbie “Pure Gould” connected on a field goal to give the Bears some needed points.

"It just felt like a game early on that was going to be a blowout," linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer said, "and then to let them linger, that was a little disappointing. But we won. That's the only thing I can keep saying: It's nice to win."

Hillenmeyer all but secured victory for the Bears when he picked off a first-down pass by Kyle Boller late in the fourth quarter. The Rams had first-and-10 from their own 45 and more than three minutes remaining, plenty of time to score and attempt a two-point conversion.

Stumbling and fumbling… again.

On a second-quarter trip to the red zone, Zack Bowman's forced fumble and free safety Al Afalava's midair recovery and 43-yard return -- the Bears were only able move just 6 yards on three attempts from the Rams' 16. They tried some trickery with the field-goal unit, as Brad Maynard shuffled a pass to tight end Greg Olsen. Instead of securing three points, the Bears ran a play for no gain.

"A couple of things we'd like to have back, one being that fake field goal," coach Lovie Smith said. Give Smith some credit, at least he tried some new things.

The Bears Defense had its moments and mistakes as well.

The Bears D was by no means flawless. Jamar Williams did his best as Lance Briggs sat out, recording career-high 18 tackles to go with two pass deflections. Williams did a better job than anyone bringing down Rams workhorse Steven Jackson, who managed 112 yards on 28 carries despite missing practice all last week with back issues.

It helped that the Bears' front four put pressure on Boller, sacking the quarterback three times. The Bears yielded just 233 yards after giving up 537 to the Vikings a week ago.

But this was the lowly St Louis Rams. "Anybody in the NFL understands that you

don't really just dominate a game," defensive tackle Tommie Harris said. "Neither one of us are over .500."

The injuries mount again…

The Key injury today, as mentioned earlier, was Devin Hester. He is one of Cutler’s favorite targets. Time will tell just how bad this injury is.

You can blame the rash of all of these injuries on the bad playing surface.

On a day where the Bears honored 9 local High School coaches for their outstanding efforts this past season, they even said the playing surface was like playing on painted dirt, a quagmire, so to speak. I am not fan of the artificial playing surface, but its time to save money and injuries and install the new surface at Soldier Field.

Yes it was a win. And may well be the last of the season, as the Bears remaining opponents have much more than pride to play for. The Packers are up next with Wild Card implications on the line. Then a trip to Baltimore to face the Ravens. Again the Ravens are playing for a Wild Card birth. Then we have to face Brett Favre here as the year comes to an end. For the Vikings, home field may be at stake if the Saints should falter.

The one bright spot, we finish the season at Ford Field in January. At least the Bears should start out the New Year with a victory, and build on that for the 2010 season.

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Here we go again… Good Jay, Bad Jay. Eagles Beat Bears 24-20.

Before you roast him, you have to give Jay Cutler credit.  He has given the Bears numerous opportunities to win in the last few moments of several games. He has made it exciting at times.  If he had made those connections instead of interceptions, we would be praising him and wondering just how far the Bears would have gone this season.

Tonight, three of his misses against the Eagles could have and should have been touchdowns -- back-to-back throws from the Eagles' 27 to Greg Olsen and Devin Hester at the start of the second quarter -- and a third-and-5 throw to Johnny Knox on the Bears' second-to-last possession.

The throw to Knox should have been a 70-yard game-winner.

Another late game winning drive goes for naught.

The Bears had one more chance to come from behind. With 1:51 remaining and no timeouts, and five plays later, they faced a second-and-10 from the Bears' 37. Cutler threw for a well-covered Olsen. The ball was tipped by linebacker Tracy White and intercepted by safety Sean Jones.

"They brought the house and Jay didn't have time to set his feet," Knox said. "It was a good throw, it just got caught in the wind."

It was Cutler's only interception of the night.

"I missed some throws early," Cutler said. "I missed Greg and then Devin on the slant and go. We can't have that. We only get down in the red zone a few times. We have to hit them."

"No timeouts, we were trying to make a play," Cutler said. "The throw gets batted up, you never know there." Game over.

Missed them? They were not even in the same time zone. The feeling is Cutler was playing it safe and avoiding the dreaded turnover. Truth is, if he connected on these passes, the game would have been a runaway.

There were 19 incompletions in all against the Eagles by Cutler. Some sailed high. Some nose-dived low. Others were too far left or right.

Another Team Loss… Don’t put all the blame game on Cutler.

Jay Cutler wasn't the only problem in this game. The Bears held a 20-17 lead in the fourth quarter after Cutler hit Kellen Davis on a 15-yard score for the Bears' only touchdown, and finally a trip in the “Red Zone”.

The Bears defense ran out of steam and gave up an 11-play, 62-yard drive after a Robbie Gould field-goal attempt was blocked. The drive ended with a 10-yard touchdown run by LeSean McCoy that ultimately was the difference in this game.

"We had a lot of chances to get off the field and we didn't do it," Bears linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer said.

"You get down there you have to hold them to a field goal and give our offense a situation where we could win it in overtime."

The defense again was off to a slow start..again.  The defense performed poorly early, allowing the Eagles to convert a third-and-1 with a 34-yard run by Michael Vick. The play set up a field goal that gave Philly a 3-0 lead.

Twenty penalty yards by the defense helped set up their next score, this one a 13-yard screen pass from Donovan McNabb to Jason Avant. The Eagles somehow got four offensive linemen out in front of Avant on the play.

The Bears continued their mistake-prone ways with seven penalties for 64 yards.

The Play of the Game.

Bell makes immediate impact in his first game.. and first handoff as a player.

Two days after being promoted from the practice squad to the 53-man roster, Kahlil Bell made history—and a strong first impression.

“It just pretty much opened up,” Bell said. “The offensive line did a great job of clearing the guys out of the way. I didn’t really have to do much except just find a hole, and when they make holes like that, anybody can look good. I never thought my first NFL carry would be like that. If I had scored, it would have been a little better—I’m not the fastest guy in the world—but it was exciting.”

Bell’s 72-yard run was the longest on the first carry of an NFL player’s career since Alan Ameche’s 79-yarder for the Baltimore Colts in 1955.
He brought it all the way to the Eagles' 10, but the Bears still couldn't get a touchdown out of the deal. They had a 1-yard completion, a Matt Forte run for minus-1 yard, and an incompletion before they settled for a 28-yard Gould field goal.

"If I had a little more speed, I might have been able to shake off that last guy," Bell said.

Now, Playing for Pride

The Bears have little, if no hope to reach the post season again for the third straight year. Time to work on getting things to click, maybe taking a few chances and see what works. It will have to be a team effort.

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Bears look to get back on track and still be in playoff hunt

The task at hand again will not be easy, but can be done. This Eagle team can be beat, as long as the Bears don’t beat themselves again.

McNabb, a Chicago native, will again play in front of his hometown fans. He hopes to get a win for the City he called home. He has not fared well the past few games. The Bears have had the Eagles number the past few contests.

The Bears lead the series with 28 wins in 39 contests, including the victory last year here in Chicago. The Bears have one two straight in this series after snapping a five game losing streak in 2008.

The Bears and Eagles met for the first time in 1933 and battled to a 3-3 tie. The next eleven games were won by the Bears… and handily, the won by an average of 24 points over a 13 year span. The Eagles first win ever versus the Bears came in 1948 (12-7), but went on to lose seven of the last nine contests from 1949-1975. The Eagles finally recorded their first win streak in the series from 1979-80 when they beat the Bears twice in as many years. (1979 Wild Card, 27-17 and 1980 17-14).

The Eagle streak was broke in 1983 with a 7-6 victory by Chicago, as they went on another winning streak, capturing the next six games, which included the famous “Fog Bowl” triumph (20-12) in the 1988 Divisional Playoffs. The Eagles other wins since 1980 were a 30-22 Monday Night victory in 1994, a 20-16 win in 1989 at Chicago, 2001’s 33-19 playoff victory and a 19-9 win in 2004.

Bears can't " Get r Done" again in the Red Zone

The defense showed up and played a stellar game.. but the Red Zone again bites the Bears. Lose 10-6. Jay Cutler has 5 picks, the costliest on the last drive. The Bears have not won in SF since the 1985 Super Bowl Season.. Time to start saying..wait til next year.

It will be a long 10 days off for the Bears.. really not enough time to figure on how to beat Philadelphia & Donovan Mcnabb.

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Winning Ugly…Bears Beat The Browns 30-6…

The defense found their Mojo, while the offense continued to stumble.

Game Photos By Scott Krause 

If it wasn’t for a dominating performance by the Bears defense in Sunday’s 30-6 rout of the woeful Cleveland Browns at Soldier Field we may have been talking about a three-game losing streak.

Instead, as they have done so many times in the past, the offense relied on a stellar defensive effort to carry them to victory

The win also enabled the defense to regain some confidence that was non existent following an embarrassing 45-10 drubbing in Cincinnati a week earlier.

“In Cincinnati, kind of everything that could have gone wrong did,” Hillenmeyer said. “So even though Cleveland’s struggling on offense, it felt good to go out there and execute defensively.

“I’m sure when we watch the tape we’ll realize that we didn’t play perfect football. But especially with some of the teams that we’ve got coming up here in the next month, we need something to build on, and that’s definitely a good start.” Said Hunter Hillenmeyer.

Run, Jay Run.

Offensively, the Bears struggled early. They went three-and-out on their first two possessions, and then settled for Robbie Gould field goals of 37, 29 and 32 yards after reaching the Cleveland 9, 11 and 3.

Jay Cutler not only ran for some big yardage, but he was running for his life. The Browns had his number.  He was sacked four times and took some hard hits and punishment in the game. On several occasions, he was slow to get up and seemed dazed and confused… almost like “where am I?”  You are in Chicago Jay, not Denver.

Most other quarterbacks would have been benched, but not Cutler.. He proved how tough he is, bouncing back and going right back to work.

The Bears finally got into the end zone on Matt Forte’s 1-yard dive with 1:56 left in the first half, increasing their lead to 16-0. Their first touchdown capped a 10-play, 71-yard drive that was sustained by a 15-yard penalty for roughing-the-passer on a third-down incompletion.

Cutler completed 17 of 30 passes for 225 yards with one interception and a 66.7 passer rating. He failed to throw a touchdown pass for the first time in seven games with the Bears.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Cutler said. “It’s good to get a win at home, but offensively we’ve got to get to work. We’ve got to take a look at this and find out what we can do better and where we can make improvements.”

They are the team we thought they were

As bad as our offense was, the Browns were much worse.. no masks on these Browns..

Cleveland’s offense had mustered only four touchdowns in seven games so far this season, and  was again highly ineffective Sunday at. Quarterback Derek Anderson completed just 6 of 17 passes for 76 yards with two interceptions and a porous 10.5 passer rating. In the first quarter is rating was 0.0… “Mr Blutarsky”

“I guess when it rains it pours sometimes, and I think they struggled,” Hillenmeyer said. “They definitely helped us win that game defensively, giving us the ball a few times.

 “But then you’ve got to give [Bears] players credit too. Danieal [Manning] and [Charles Tillman] both had awesome [interceptions], and those weren’t gimmes. Those were plays where they went and got the football. There were some good things on our side of the ball too.”

Turnovers into points… the big key today

Manning had two takeaways, which the Bears converted into 10 points. The fourth-year pro made a diving interception, scrambled to his feet and raced 35 yards to the Cleveland 13. He later stripped the ball from tight end Steve Heiden and returned the fumble five yards to the Browns’ 49.

“Danieal played well,” coach Lovie Smith said during his Monday press conference. “It was the best game he’s had probably since he’s been here as a defensive player.”

“Defensively, that’s what we’ve been looking for,” Smith said. “That’s a part of our philosophy, our approach to winning football games. I think you have to get takeaways on defense and you have to be good on third-down conversions, which we were.”

More tests to come… beginning next week with the Cardinals.

The Bears defense will look to build on its performance of today… when Kurt Warner and the high-powered Arizona Cardinals offense soar into Soldier Field this Sunday.

Warner passed for five TDs and two interceptions in leading the Cardinals to three straight wins over the Texans, Seahawks and Giants before stumbling with five picks Sunday in a surprising 34-21 loss to the Panthers.

“You certainly can’t count on that every week,” Hillenmeyer said. “I never know whether you want a team to win or lose the week before they play you. Sometimes a loss is sort of a wakeup call and we want them coming in as susceptible as they can be because they’re a team with a lot of weapons.

“Obviously they’ve done some really good things the last couple years. They’re good and they’re capable of being great on both sides of the football, so that’ll be a challenge.”

The Long, Tough road ahead…

After facing the Cardinals (4-3), the Bears will visit the 49ers (3-4) in a Thursday night game before closing out November against two division leaders when they host the Eagles (5-2) and visit the Vikings (7-1).

Honoring a Football Legend..

A special Day at Soldier Field. The Bears honored a legend today at halftime.

Exactly 10 years ago today, The Chicago Bears and the sports world lost a legend.. Walter Payton.

Members of Walter’s team and family were on hand for this special day.

Photo By Scott Krause

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Wearing The Orange.

Not only a Halloween color, but a lucky one for the Chicago Bears.

The Chicago Bears  will again be wearing their orange “Third” jersey today for the fifth consecutive year.

On November 25, 2004, the Bears wore an orange throwback jersey for their

Thanksgiving clash at the Dallas Cowboys. This was a different Jersey from the one they will wear during the game today against the Cleveland Browns.

In 2005, the franchise unveiled its new-look orange third jersey, wearing it on November 13 at home against the 49ers. Last season, the Bears chose to wear the orange against the Vikings on October 19.

The Bears have gone 3-1 in previous games wearing the orange, defeating the San Francisco 49ers in 2005 (17-9) and 2006 (41-10) and the Minnesota Vikings in 2008 (48-41), only falling to the Detroit Lions in 2007 (16-7).

The Bears third orange Jersey has white numbers with navy blue trim. The sleeves of the jersey have three navy blue stripes with white trim. The letters “GSH” in honor of George S Halas, are on the left sleeve in white with blue trim.

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Home Sweet Home?  The Bears Look to get back their “Mojo” at home...

Happy Halloween…

Chicago will be wearing their orange third jersey for the fifth consecutive year this Sunday versus Cleveland. Chicago is 3-1 in the previous four contests when they have donned the orange third jersey: defeating San Francisco in 2005 (17-9) and 2006 (41-10) and Minnesota in 2008 (48-41); falling to Detroit in 2007 (16-7).

The Chicago Bears (3-3) return to Soldier Field for the first time in four weeks when they battle the Cleveland Browns (1-6) on Sunday, November 1, at noon CT.

The Bears, who are 2-0 at Soldier Field this season, will host back-to-back home contests as they battle the Browns in Week 8 and the Arizona Cardinals in Week 9.

Cleveland owns a 9-4 advantage in the regular season series with the Bears, while the Monsters of the Midway hold a 3-2 edge in games played in Chicago including winning both contests played at Soldier Field (1986 and 2001). Cleveland won the last regular season meeting between the teams in 2005, 20-10.

The Monsters of the Midway are 1-1 this season against teams from the AFC North after defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers 17-14 in Week 2 and falling to the Bengals in Cincinnati 45-10 last weekend. The Bears will also travel to Baltimore to take on the Ravens in Week 15 (December 20).

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Bears Run their way to victory. Beat Lions 48-24

The Bears were outgained and shown up by a rookie hotshot quarterback Matt Stafford in the first half of play.. a bad trend by this Bears team so far this season.

They again let their opponent strike first in the initial stages of the game, let them feel cocky and then cut them down to size in the second half. A stone-cold, hard nosed team after the first half of each of the last three games, ready to pounce with takeaways, great special teams returns and long gains on offense that drain the spirit and wind from each  opponent.

This type of play has worked for these Bears so far… But the defense knows it has to start showing up in the beginning of a game, not just the second half. "We have to make sure we're getting after the quarterback because otherwise we leave our secondary out to dry," said Alex Brown, who shared a sack with Ogunleye. "(Stafford) threw the ball

for a bunch of yards (221) in that first half. We understand how to finish; we have to learn how to start."

Second half adjustments… on defense.

"We came in at halftime, and coach Smith made an audible," Tillman said. "He told me I would follow Calvin. That was it."

The call to have Charles Tillman follow Calvin Johnson was key to stopping the Lions on offense. In the first half, the Lions receiver had five catches for 119 yards, but in the second half he had only three catches for 14 yards.

"The D-line made my job easy," Tillman said of the unit that had four sacks, three in the second half. "They had tremendous pass rush. I'm nothing without them. Coach (Rod) Marinelli has done a great job of getting these guys to be the best rush men I've ever seen."

Second half adjustments… on offense.

Jay Cutler did not need his special 2 minute drill today… bringing the Bears from behind. The running game finally came out of hibernation.

"To win three straight, win a division game at home and go into a bye it's huge for us," said Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, who threw for only 141 yards but managed the game well.

Shrewd coaching decisions paved the way for the offense on Sunday. The first was by special teams coach Dave Toub, who noticed in the first half that the Lions had a tendency to over pursue on kick returns. So at halftime he told Johnny Knox he was going to break one. On the opening kickoff of the second half, Toub called for a kick return in which everybody starts out blocking left. Then Knox was supposed to bounce the return to the right. It could not have worked better, as Knox went 102 yards for a touchdown and a lead the Bears never looked back.

Great field position a key to victory..

With help from Johnny Knox and an outstanding special team’s effort today, the Bears' average starting point of drives was the Lions' 46, and the Lions' average starting point was the Lions' 18.

Knox, Danieal Manning, Devin Hester and Earl Bennett all had long returns; Robbie Gould made a career-long 52-yard field goal; and Brad Maynard landed all four of his punts inside-the- 20, burying two out of bounds at the 6 and the 2.

Because the Bears had such stellar field position, they didn't need Cutler to stretch the field. So Cutler took a back seat. He was even out-produced by Lions rookie Matt Stafford, who threw for 296 yards and had a passer rating of 89.6.

Cutler passed for two touchdowns, ran for a third and became the first Bears quarterback since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970 to post a passer rating of at least 100 in three straight games.

Matt Forte also came out of hibernation, rushing for a season-high 121 yards on 12 carries including a career-long 61-yard run and a 37-yard TD.

Icing on the Cake…

The Bears' offensive domination continued in the fourth quarter when Garrett Wolfe's 2-yard run capped the scoring in a 48-24 rout that elevated the Bears to 3-1 and dropped Detroit to 1-3.

Detroit Head Coach summed it up best… "One of the worst halves of football I've ever been associated with," he said. "We were poor on special teams, we were poor on offense, we were poor on defense, we were outcoached, we were outplayed (and) their trainers were probably better than ours in the second half."

Better luck next game Detroit Lions

How important was this win?

Just ask Jay Cutler. ''There's nothing worse than going into the bye week off of an 'L,''' Cutler said. ''You've got to wait that extra time to play again, and it just sits in the back of your mind. To win three straight, to win a division game at home and go into a bye week is huge for us. We need to heal up and go back and look at past games and see what we were struggling at and really work at it.''

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Bears  “First Team” looked sharp in Pre Season Home Opener.. Dominate the NY Giants 17-3

Jay Cutler showed the Bears and their fans why they traded for him in the off –season. He ended his night with a stellar 117.8 quarterback rating. Yes it’s the pre-season, but it was a much improved performance compared to the previous game against the Bills last Saturday in Buffalo.

He ran…. He threw the ball and was impressive in almost all facets of his game, scoring seventeen unanswered points before being replaced by Caleb Hanie.

The Bears running game also picked up steam tonight. Forte was impressive on his 32 yard touchdown sprint in the first quarter. He ended the half with 58 total yards rushing.

The Giants were held without a touchdown and the number one defense sacked Eli Manning two times in the first half.

"Yeah I think they had three series where they scored, moving the ball all night, (they) did a great job." Said Lovie Smith.

"Both sides of the football put in a good half, there were some things we need to tighten up on but we're pleased with the first half."

Bears Come "Home" to battle Eli Manning and those Giants from New York..

A pre-season test of two franchise quaterbacks... The Giants Manning has proven himself... Culter is to be "determined"

Bears Battle The Giants.. Open 2009 Season at home

The Bears will look to bounce back after a dismal pre season debut last week in Buffalo.

The Bears will host their first preseason contest of 2009, welcoming the New York Giants to Soldier Field on Saturday August 22, 2009

Chicago is now 11-11 in preseason contests under head coach Lovie Smith

after suffering a 27-20 loss to open the preseason last Saturday at Buffalo. The Bears (0-1) will look to even their 2009 preseason record after achieving a .500 or better mark in four of Smith’s five seasons as Bears head coach. Overall, the Bears own an all-time preseason mark of 220-157-8.

The Bears have won five of their last six preseason home-opening contests, although they dropped last season’s to Kansas City, 24-20. Chicago is 4-6 in preseason home contests since 2004, splitting their two home games in four of those five seasons.

The Monsters of the Midway own a 14-6 preseason mark over the New York Giants dating back to 1943. The Bears have won five of the last six contests in the preseason series including two straight. The last overall preseason meeting between the two storied franchises came in 2000, a 20-8 victory by Chicago at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. The last preseason meeting between the two squads in the Windy City came in 1994, a 27-21 victory by the Bears.

Pre Game Notes

The August weather is more typical of a Late September game with overcast skies and cool temperatures in the low to mid 60’s

The first half should be a good indication to where each team is and is headed. Eli Manning already has proved himself… bringing his team to an upset victory over the New England Patriots two years ago. Cutler, on the other hand has to establish himself and to the Chicago fans. He has brought considerable hope and enthusiasm to a Bears team that has had quarterback issues year after year.

The time is now to show the Bears as well as the hungry fans the trade was worth all the fanfare and media.

Early indications are, based on souvenir sales, the fans not only in Chicago, but around the country have made the #6 jersey #1 in sales and the Bears overall # 2 in total sales.

Look for both starting quarterbacks’ to play into the second quarter as the pre season heads toward the mid point.

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2008 Chicago Bears Photos and coverage

Bears get a “Little Help from my Foes”

Bears received all the help they needed on Sunday, now they need to do their part to continue the quest to make the playoffs.

With Atlanta’s impressive  24-17 victory over Vikings, the Bears  hopes of winning the NFC North remain alive. The Bears (8-6) can capture the division with victories over the Packers Monday night and Texans next Sunday coupled with a Vikings (9-6) loss to the Giants next weekend.

Even if Vikings defeat the Giants at the Metrodome, the Bears can still make the playoffs as the NFC’s second and final wildcard with a win over the Texans along with losses by the Cowboys to the Eagles and the Buccaneers to the Raiders next weekend.

It won’t be a cake walk

Th Bears will have to avenger their worst loss of the season, when the Green Bay Packers trounced the Monsters of the Midway in Lambau Field 37-3.

 

The Bears should be up for the task. So far this year, they have shown resilance to come from behind an win the close games… but also have shown a tendancy to lose those games when they dominate early. They hope to avoid that tonight against the Packers.

 

The Packers are playing for pride again against the Bears. The intense rivalry will once again be played on the frozen tundra known as Soldier Field. Game time temperatures will be frigid, with the expected temperature to be in the single digits.

 

The “Card” is still on the table for the Bears…

The Bears wildcard hopes are still alive after Sunday’s games thanks to the  Charger’s 41-24 win over Tampa Bay and Washington’s 10-3 victory over Philadelphia.

Still… some help needed from their Foes…..

Next weekend the Bears need losses by the Cowboys (9-6) because Dallas clinched the strength of victory tiebreaker over Chicago on Sunday and by the Buccaneers (9-6) because Tampa Bay beat the Bears earlier this season.

Because they lost the tiebreaker to Dallas, the Bears would have been eliminated from the playoffs Sunday had the Vikings, Buccaneers and Eagles all won their games.

But all three lost, giving the Bears a major boost as they head into Monday night’s home game against the Packers.

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Bears set NFL Record. ..Still in Playoff hunt after beating the Jags at home 20-13

 

The Bears were back at home today after being on the road for 3 weeks… and the Circus was not the reason. Blame the NFL for the bizarre schedule which has the Bears playing 2 games in 4 days (They play the New Orleans Saints on Thursday night.)

 

To greet the Bears and the visiting Jaguars, the coldest temperatures of the season so far. In fact it was the coldest day this winter in Chicago.  At kickoff the temperature was 19 degrees with little wind. I guess it would be considered “Bear weather” especially if you are the Jaguars who come from Balmy Florida.

 

The Elite 700 Club…

With the win today, the Bears set an NFL record by winning its 700^th game. Ironically, the Bears won their 600^th game against these same Jaguars back on October 15, 1995 in Jacksonville, their inaugural season in the NFL.

 

On to the Game….

Bears won the coin toss sort of… again. (Jacksonville called heads and the coin came up tails) and have chosen to defer until the second half.

 

On Jacksonville's third play from scrimmage, Jaguars quarterback David Garrard threw the ball directly to Bears nickel back Danieal Manning, who returned the interception inside the 5. Tight end Mercedes Lewis stripped the ball, which went out of bounds at the 2. The officials ruled that the ball hit the pylon (not even close), resulting in a touchback. The Bears challenged the call and it was reversed, giving them the ball at the 5, where the fumble occurred. I have no clue what the officials were looking at when they made the original call. It wasn't even close.

 

“We were in a zone with pressure defense and disguised it like it was man-to-man coverage,” said Manning, who also had a 52-yard kickoff return. “I was just hovering over my guy and I saw him and I jumped in the way and he threw it right to me.”

 

The Bears capitalized on the early turnover as Kyle Orton rifled a 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Desmond Clark with 12:36 left in the first quarter. It was Clark's first TD reception of the season. The Bears now have eight players who've caught a touchdown pass in 2008.

 

Josh Scobee's 42-yard field goal drew the Jaguars to within 7-3 with 6:28 left in the first quarter. The kick capped a 12-play, 51-yard drive that burned 6:08 off the clock. Jacksonville rushed for 31 yards on eight carries on the drive.

 

Robbie Gould's 22-yard field goal gave the Bears a 10-3 lead with :19 left in the first quarter. The kick capped a 13-play, 82-yard drive that took 6:09. Big plays included Matt Forte's 26-yard run and Kyle Orton's 19-yard pass to Devin Hester. Forte's 5-yard run on third-and-five and Kyle Orton's 12-yard pass to Marty Booker on third-and-seven sustained the drive. The catch was Booker's first since Oct. 19 against Minnesota.

 

Its just another Maynard Sunday…

 

Brad Maynard is at it again. After pinning the Vikings at their own 5, 4, 14, 11 and 14 last Sunday night in Minnesota, he has placed punts at the Jacksonville 8 and 6 on back-to-back possessions today.

 

Kyle Orton's 22-yard TD pass to Greg Olsen gave the Bears a 20-3 lead with :18 left in the first half. The score capped a seven play, 73-yard drive in just :59. Orton's 31-yard pass to Devin Hester helped set up the TD.

 

In taking a 20-3 halftime lead, the Bears outgained the Jaguars 206-102. Matt Forte has rushed for 52 yards on 11 carries and caught four peasses for 31 yards. Kyle Orton has completed 13 of 21 passes for 155 yards with 2 TDs, no interceptions and a 116.2 passer rating. Tight ends Desmond Clark and Greg Olsen have the Bears' two touchdowns.

 

The Bears advanced to the Jacksonville 30 on the opening drive of the second half before Kyle Orton's pass intended for Devin Hester was intercepted by safety Gerald Sensabaugh, who returned it 13 yards to the Jacksonville 26.

 

The Jaguars turned the ball over on downs as Montell Owens dropped David Garrard's pass in the left flat on fourth-and-two. Owens juggled the ball as he fell out of bounds. Jacksonville challenged the call, but the decision was upheld.

 

“The last few weeks it has been our theme starting games and we got to be better than that,” quarterback David Garrard said. “I got to be better than that. You continue to start behind and just putting a lot of pressure on your team.”

The Bears won even though Matt Forte and Kyle Orton were rather quiet.

Forte, third in the league in yards from scrimmage entering the game, ran for 69 yards on 21 carries and caught five passes for 37 yards.

On three second-half possessions, the Bears offense has an interception and two three-and-outs.

 

“I thought we came out and played really well in the first half, established the run, which when you get into December at Soldier Field you’ve got to do,” Orton said. “And we made enough plays in the passing game.”

 

Garrard's 4-yard TD pass to Maurice Jones-Drew drew the Jaguars to within 20-10 with 12:09 remaining in the fourth quarter. The kick capped a nine-play, 76-yard drive.

 

Robbie Gould's 35-yard field goal gave the Bears a 23-10 lead with 8:55 left in the fourth quarter. The seven-play, 55-yard drive was highlighted by Kyle Orton's 30-yard pass to Devin Hester down the right sideline.

 

Bears iced the game by stopping tight end Mercedes Lewis a yard short of a first-down on a fourth-and-six reception with 2:44 remaining. That play came two snaps after Mark Anderson registered his first sack of the season.

 

“We can finish up 10-6,” coach Lovie Smith said. “Most teams that finish up 10-6 end up going to the playoffs. We’re just looking straight ahead.”

 

No help from the Vikings..

 

Vikings have defeated the Lions 20-16, which means that Minnesota has clinched the tiebreaker over the Bears this season.

 

“You look at it, but you’ve got to take care of your part,” he said. “That’s it. Whatever happens in the Minnesota game is going to happen whether you look at it or not. It’s still going to happen. We’ve got to do our part and that’s winning.” Said Alex Brown.

 

The Playoff Push…

 

The Bears will have to win two more games than Minnesota over the final three weeks of the season. The Bears host the Packers and Saints before visiting the Texans, while the Vikings visit the Cardinals before hosting the Falcons and Giants

 

The Injury report…

 

The Bears lost backup RB and special teams player Garrett Wolfe to a hamstring injury on the opening kickoff. … The Jaguars lost backup safety Chad Nkang to a shoulder injury in the second quarter and held out FB Greg Jones (ankle).

 

 

 

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Jack Del Rio impressed with Bears rookie running back

“I’ve got a lot of family and friends that live in Louisiana, so I’m aware of some of the things he did at Tulane,” Del Rio said during a Wednesday teleconference in advance of Sunday’s Bears-Jaguars game at Soldier Field.

"A lot of them were telling me how good he was going to be coming out. Of course we weren’t in the market for a back, but I thought he was a good back coming out and [the Bears] have got a good player there.”

Forte has enjoyed a stellar rookie season for the Bears He ranks fifth in the NFL in rushing with 1,012 yards and third in total yards from scrimmage with 1,370.

“I don’t want to get carried away, but I see some Marcus Allen-type vision and balance with him,” Del Rio said. “He’s a taller guy. He runs with good pad level. He’s got good vision and balance. He does a nice job following his blocks and setting up his blocks. He’s a good football player.”

Bears are back at home today & the weather is what could be consider “Bear weather” So far, December 7 has been the coldest day so far this winter season. The Jags come into Soldier Field today as  slight underdog.

The 700 Club…

With a win today, the Bears could become the first team in NFL History to achieve 700 wins in a season.

Ironically, the Bears 600^th win came against these same Jacksonville Jaguars on October 15, 1995, the first ever meeting between these two clubs.

 

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Battered Bears find a way to win, overcome first half letdown Beat Lions 27-23

Photos by Scott Krause

 

Devin Hester agrees to four-year contract extension

 

“I’m here [because] I don’t want to fall too far behind,” Hester told reporters. “I want to be with my teammates. Every day I’m at home watching the news and reading the paper, it hurts me to be home and not here with them.”

 

 

Hester received numerous calls and text messages from teammates and coaches during his holdout. But it was primarily his own conscience that convinced him to report to training camp. He knew how important it was for him to participate in camp given that his role on offense is expected to expand significantly this season.

“Deep down inside I said, ‘This is my team’ and I felt bad not being here,” Hester said. “I don’t want to be too far behind. I’m one of the players that needs to be here, so that’s why I’m here.”

Hester is the 10th veteran to be re-signed by the Bears since the beginning of the offseason. He follows Lance Briggs, Alex Brown, Desmond Clark, Rashied Davis, Robbie Gould, Tommie Harris, Rex Grossman, Kyle Orton and Brian Urlacher.

 

 

 

 

Mr Favre... Meet Mr Urlacher

Brian Griese guides the Bears offense. Photo By Mark Rotor

 

Brian Griese and the Bears offense against the Colts in August 2007

Photo By Mark Rotor

 

 

   

 

 

 

The Illinois State Police find  Black Lamborghini belonging to Lance Briggs

 

A  heavily  damaged  Black Lamborghini Murcielago was found  at 3:14 a.m.  off the northbound lanes of the   Edens  near    Devon   Avenue,   Illinois  State Police Sgt. Theodore Whittier said.

Temporary  Texas  license  plates  were on the car, and permanent Illinois plates  registering the vehicle to Briggs were found inside, Whittier said.

No   one   was   found  inside  the  car  when  police arrived,  and   there  was   no indication anyone had been  injured  in  the  crash.  Lengthy skid marks on the  roadway  and  tire  tracks   in  the muddy grass adjoining  the  expressway  indicated the driver may have lost control.

The Chicago area  has received near record rainfall this  month,  which  may   have  contributed   to  the accident,  but  it  was  not  raining  at the time of the incident.

Police said there was no evidence of alcohol  use at the crash site.

"We're  handling  it as a regular accident. We're not changing  our  strategy  just   because  he's a   high profile athlete," Illinois State Police Master Sergeant Kyron St. Clair said

Coach Lovie Smith reacts….

“Right now we’re just gathering information,” coach Lovie  Smith  said  after  practice.  “I’ve  talked  with Lance;  I feel  good  about  what he’s told me. Right now we’re going to let him  deal with the authorities and we’ll go from there.”

Lance Briggs was charged with leaving the scene of an accident, a misdemeanor, and also received tickets for failing to report the accident within 30 minutes and for improper lane usage. He posted a $100 bond and has an Oct. 4 date court.

"It's concerning, yes, that an accident happened at 3 in the morning," Smith said, "but beyond that I don't know what else I can tell you."

Briggs smiled and said he was fine as he arrived at Halas  Hall  to  practice  with  the Bears on Monday. He  left  practice  early  and  traveled  to  the  state police  station  in  Des  Plaines,  accompanied  by attorney  Frank  Himel  and Bears security director Tom Dillon.

During  a  30-minute  meeting  with  state  police investigators, Briggs confirmed that he was the driver of the car but offered no details regarding the crash.

After the meeting, state police announced Briggs had  been  charged  with  leaving  the scene of an accident, a misdemeanor. He also was ticketed for failure to immediately notify police of a crash and for improper lane usage.

Briggs posted $100 bond and has an Oct. 4 court date in Skokie.

The Class A misdemeanor charge for leaving the scene carries a maximum sentence of a year in jail and up to a $2,500 fine, attorney David Steigmann said.

 Lovie Smith indicated that the veteran linebacker was relieved to have escaped from the wreck unscathed.

“His spirits are good based on him being in a one-car accident,” Smith said. “My first thoughts were geared toward that, and I’m talking about that he was safe as much as anything. We have Lance with us. That’s what we talked about first, and we went from there.

“I haven’t seen the car. I’ve heard that it was in pretty bad shape. I just know that Lance was here. He went through an entire practice; there’s nothing wrong with him. To me, that’s a good day when you know what type of accident occurred and to see him on the practice field.”

Asked whether Briggs would be disciplined for the incident, Smith said that no action would be taken.

“Disciplined for what, a one-car accident?” Smith said. “No. He hasn’t broken any team rules as far as I know. At 3 o’clock, you would like for your players to be in. But beyond that, [there are] people out those times of the night without always being in trouble. That’s what I’m going on.”

The Bears had several unpleasant issues to contend with during the offseason, from Briggs’ well-publicized contract impasse to the ongoing Tank Johnson saga. But Smith insisted that Monday’s incident will not become a distraction with the regular season opener less than two weeks away.

“Things like this come up from time to time,” Smith said. “When you pick up the newspaper, there are accidents that happen. Hopefully, there aren’t serious accidents, and that’s where we are. We had Lance Briggs on the practice field, which is good news. Right now those are the facts that I have and I feel pretty good about that.”

Asked if there was anything suspicious about Briggs leaving the scene of the accident, Smith said that he would not jump to any conclusions.

“I’m going to deal with the facts,” he said. “The facts are just that there was a one-car accident and he’s cooperating with authorities. I’m going to leave it at that right now. I react to things once I have facts, and that’s about all we have right now.” 

“I didn’t want there to be a big scene there, so I left the scene. When I left I called the tow truck. I also was startled and I called and reported my car stolen. Within probably 10 minutes I called back and I accepted responsibility for what I did because it was ridiculous in the first place.

“I’m happy that no one was injured in the incident,” Briggs said Tuesday after practice. “When it happened, the first thing I did … obviously I panicked.

“That’s my situation. That’s what happened. I lost control of my car.”

Uninjured in the wreck, Briggs practiced for a second straight day with his teammates.

“To all the fans and the people of Chicago who are concerned, I am OK,” he said. “My car’s not OK, but I am. But all that stuff will be taken care of in due time. There’s not a whole lot more to it; that's just it.”

Briggs decided to speak to the media Tuesday in part because he felt bad that teammates and coaches were being asked to comment on the incident.

“I want to take this moment right now to just really say sorry to my teammates because it’s unfair for them to have to go through all of this and be questioned for something they had nothing to do with, and also my coaches and my family because everybody’s getting a lot of phone calls and a lot of people are worried and concerned.

“If there’s anybody I haven’t let know that I’m OK, I am OK and everything is all right.”

Escaping the accident unscathed has already had a profound effect on Briggs.

“It did change me, absolutely,” he said. “I’m very lucky to have made it out the way that I did, very lucky. Appreciate every day. The first thing I did when I got back here [to Halas Hall] was hug every one of my teammates and tell them that I love them because you never know what’s going to happen.”

Bears coach Lovie Smith conceded that the incident has created a distraction.

“Any time you have to talk about something besides football it’s a distraction,” Smith said. “But that’s a part of life. You have to deal with those things. But I want our football team talking about their teammates, what they’re doing on the football field instead of talking about things off the field. As long as we’re talking about something else except for football, yeah, it can be [a distraction].”

Smith insisted that it was Briggs’ idea to address the media after practice.

“Lance isn’t a guy who’s trying to run from anything,” said the Bears coach. “He’s told us what’s happened and he’s going to face the consequences, if there are any from there. You have to deal with what happens in life and that’s what he’s doing.”

Other Bears Players react...

Veteran receiver Muhsin Muhammad:

“I don’t think it’s a distraction,” Muhammad said. “If I go out and get a speeding ticket, I don’t think it’s going to be a distraction to the team. Lance had an accident. I think he feels the love of the city. Everybody’s concerned about him.

“We’re concerned about what happened to him and so we’re comforted by knowing that Lance is OK. We can replace the car. I’m pretty sure that it’s going to be pretty expensive to replace the car. I’d like to have one of those cars. It’s probably more expensive than a house. But the most important things are taken care of, that Lance is OK and he’ll be on the field.”

 

The Briggs Car….

2007 Lamborghini Murciélago Roadster LP640

List price $345,000

Curb weight 4160 lb

Engine, transmission 6.5-liter V-12; 6-sp-e-gear sequential manual

Horsepower, bhp @ rpm 632 @ 8000

0-60 mph 3.4 sec

0-100 mph 7.8 sec

0-1320 ft (1/4 mile) 11.6 sec @ 125.4 mph

Top speed 205 mph

Braking, 60-0 mph 107 ft

Braking, 80-0 mph 189 ft

Lateral accel (200-ft skidpad) 0.96g

Speed thru 700-ft slalom 70.5 mph

EPA city/highway mileage 10/16 mpg

Source: ROADandTRACK.com

       

 

 

Rex Grossman and the Bears Offense

 

 

 

 

 

No Rain this meeting... its in the Dome

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brian Griese looks sharp... and keeps the ball in his hands and not on the ground.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photos from the Super Bowl Season last year... 2006 

Bears Flatten the San Farncisco 49er's at Soldier Field

Orange Crush!!
Bears Put on "The Greatest Show on Turf" In St Louis  Photo By Scott Krause