The Chicago Bears have managed to build a team that warrants playoff consideration every year.  There have been disappointments, but there are so many elements to creating a football roster that there are more unknown factors than controlled factors. 
Take, for instance, last week’s OTA’s where Brian Urlacher and Cedric Benson were missing.  When Benson hired an attorney to represent him in his boating under the influence and resisting arrest charges, the Bears and fans assumed he would show for the first day of OTA’s.  However, Benson decided not to show up for the first day of OTA’s and the Bears [...]

Chicago Bears kicker Robbie Gould has signed a five year contract worth $15.5 million to extend his contract through 2013. The deal also includes a $4.25 million signing bonus and makes him the highest paid kicker in NFL history. It trumps the $12 million paid to Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri and the $14.2 million paid to St. Louis Rams kicker Josh Brown.
Gould signed with the team as an undrafted free agent out of Penn State in 2005 and became a fan favorite for his mixture of professionalism and personality. He frequently makes himself available to media [...]

What’s the lesson in the Cedric Benson arrest?  If you listen to Chicago Bears GM Jerry Angelo, he’ll tell you that Benson should never have put himself in that situation.  What was the situation?
We seem to have reached a cross roads with professional sports between giant paychecks to athletes to throw or catch a ball and the demands put on then off the field.  When athletes leave the field and go home do we expect them to stay inside their homes at all times?  Athletes are people and should be able to live their lives as normal people, albeit extremely [...]

It has been VERY busy week for the Chicago Bears so let’s take a deep breath and jump right in.
SCHEDULING CONFLICT
To put insult onto injury, the day of Cedric Benson’s court date in Austin, Texas on charges of operating a boat while intoxicated and resisting arrest is on May 19th.  This is significant because May 19th is the first day of OTA’s (Organized Team Activities) for the Bears.  Unless the Bears make any major additions at running back, rookie Matt Forte will receive the majority of snaps at running back.  Not a good start for Benson since the Bears organization [...]

Chicago Bears running back Cedric Benson was arrested yesterday for boating while intoxicated and resisting arrest.  Benson was operating a 30-foot boat with 15 people aboard in Austin, Texas when a random safety inspection found he was intoxicated.  He failed a field sobriety test and was asked by the official to leave the boat and come ashore for further testing.  Benson followed the road taken by many professional sports stars and resisted arrest.  The agent was forced to use pepper spray on Benson and agents had to drag him from the boat to a car on shore. 
My initial reaction was, [...]