Quarterbacks (3): Todd Collins, Jay Cutler, Caleb Hanie.

Running backs (4): Kahlil Bell, Matt Forte, Chester Taylor, Garrett Wolfe.

Wide receivers (5): Devin Aromashodu, Earl Bennett, Rashied Davis, Devin Hester, Johnny Knox.

Tight ends (4): Desmond Clark, Kellen Davis, Brandon Manumaleuna, Greg Olsen.

Offensive linemen (8): Johan Asiata, Roberto Garza, Olin Kreutz, Lance Louis, Frank Omiyale, Kevin Shaffer, J’Marcus Webb, Chris Williams.

Defensive linemen (9): Anthony Adams, Mark Anderson, Tommie Harris, Marcus Harrison, Israel Idonije, Henry Melton, Julius Peppers, Matt Toeaina, Corey Wootton.

Linebackers (6): Lance Briggs, Hunter Hillenmeyer, Brian Iwuh, Nick Roach, Pisa Tinoisamoa, Brian Urlacher.

Cornerbacks (6): Zackary Bowman, Corey Graham, Tim Jennings, D.J. Moore, Josh Moore, Charles Tillman.

Safeties (5): Josh Bullocks, Chris Harris, Danieal Manning, Craig Steltz, Major Wright.

Specialists (3): Robbie Gould, Patrick Mannelly, Brad Maynard.

A few odd choices in keeping four running backs and four tight ends, no true fullback and only five wide receivers for a Mike Martz offense that supposedly doesn’t use the tight end and isn’t known for running the ball.  (more…)

Former starter Josh Beekman is among the latest round of Bears cuts.

More cuts are coming to light for the Bears as the Turk is making the rounds at Halas Hall.  One of the notable cuts is another former starter.  Josh Beekman, who started 20 games over his three years with the Bears will be waived.  This according to the best in the business, Brad Biggs:

Now, he won’t have a chance to be a backup interior lineman this season as the Bears will waive the veteran, according to a league source.

The move doesn’t come as a complete surprise. New offensive line coach Mike Tice prefers bigger linemen and Beekman was undersized, listed at 6-2, 310. The Bears thought that possibly he could one day replace veteran Olin Kreutz. Now, he’ll be seeking work elsewhere. Beekman was a fourth-round draft pick from Boston College in 2007.

The Beekman move puts further doubt into the future of the Bears offensive line beyond 2010 since he was considered by many to be Olin Kreutz’s heir apparent at the center position.  The veteran center doesn’t have too many years left, so it will be interesting to see how the Bears address that area.  I suppose Garza could move to center, where he has served as a backup before so the musical chairs along the offensive line will continue for the foreseeable future. (more…)

Former 3rd round pick Juaquin Iglesias will have to try to catch on elsewhere.

The Bears appear ready to give up on another pair of 2009 draft picks.  Numerous reports indicate the 2nd year wide receiver Juaquin Iglesias and defensive end Jarron Gilbert will be waived.  Here’s a tweet from Sean Jensen:

Hearing from a league source that ’09 third-round pick Juaquin Iglesias has been informed that the #Bears are going to release him.

Meanwhile, Vaughn McClure at the Tribune had this to say:

Receiver Juaquin Iglesias and defensive lineman Jarron Gilbert, both third-round picks in the ’08 draft, appear to be on the way out. Gilbert told the Tribune he had not heard a word from the Bears Friday. Efforts to reach Iglesias were unsuccessful, but his lack of contributions on special teams does not help his situation as the sixth receiver.

We all know that the 2009 draft was supposed to be all about Jay Cutler, when the Bears traded a pair of first round picks and a third rounder for the former Broncos quarterback, but this looks like another lost draft otherwise. (more…)

Happy Friday, Bears fans!  The Turk is wishing a happy early Labor Day weekend to some of the members of the Bears 75-man roster to get it down to the final 53 by Saturday.  Some of the bubble players we talked about the other day had their bubbles burst.  Here is the list of cuts as it stands now:

Tim Shaw – special teams ace, who set a franchise record 30 special teams tackles, couldn’t show enough at linebacker to justify sticking around.

Al Afalava – from hero to zero in one short year.  Afalava started 13 games last season and now he’s looking for work.

Woodny Turrene – some publications thought this practice squad player might break through this year.  They were wrong.

Others include backup center Tim Walter (who will always have this special moment), safety Quentin Scott, cornerback Cornelius Brown, linebackers Kevin Malast and Kelvin Smith and wide receiver Freddie Barnes.

It’s a fluid situation, so keep checking back for updates and a list of the final 53-man roster and practice squad later this weekend.

BEAR DOWN!!!

Todd Collins broke a sweat for the first time in a Bears uniform (AP Photo via NFL.com)

The Chicago Bears put the finishing touches on a perfect preseason – perfectly awful.  After their 13-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns, the Bears dropped to 0-4 on the preseason and failed to win a single preseason game for the first time since 1998.  Ask anyone in the Bears’ locker room and they’ll tell you that it’s just practice and it doesn’t matter, but let’s face it – this team simply doesn’t pass the sniff test.  I am willing to throw the record out if I had seen something – ANYTHING – that resembled good football in these preseason “glorified practices.”

There have been gaping holes along the offensive line, allowing 19 sacks in the preseaon including 10 of starter Jay Cutler. But the holes along the offensive line are minuscule compared to the holes in Lovie Smith’s Cover-Who defense.  Teams continued to convert 3rd downs at an alarming rate.  Even the usually sold special teams showed major lapses, including poor coverage, blocked kicks and blocked punts in three of the four games.

(more…)

I keep trying to remind myself of Allen Iverson’s preseason philosophy:

That YouTube clip is playing on a loop in Lovie Smith’s office.  There have been gaping holes on both sides of the ball yet despite that, don’t expect to see much from the guys you’ll actually see playing on Sundays.

Jay Cutler has already been ruled out.  I guess 10 sacks in less than a full game’s worth of action was enough to convince Lovie that Jay knows how to take a fall.   So you’ll get a steady dose of Todd Collins (if he survives).  Lance Briggs won’t play and don’t expect to see Urlacher either.  If you blink you’ll probably miss your other favorites, unless Jarron Gilbert is a favorite.

Speaking of Gilbert, rhe coaches will focus their attention on the bubble guys.  Fans should focus on reruns of The Office because you ain’t gonna learn anything about this Bears team that you don’t already know.  See you after practice!

BEAR DOWN!!!

Al Afalava

How quickly things change.  The second year safety fell out of favor after playing in 13 games for the Bears last season and now he’s struggling to make the roster.  The bad news? It’s not because they’re so much deeper at safety.

A case for the offense

Jay Cutler has spent a significant amount of time getting a close look at the horrible Soldier Field turf.

I think we all realized that there would be some bumps in the road installing Mike Martz’s new offense but we didn’t realize that one of the bumps would be Jay Cutler playing the role of a speed bump for opposing defensive lineman.

One thing we thought we knew about the offensive line was Chris Williams.  He had a nice dress rehearsal late last season after the Bears put Orlando Pace out to pasture, but so far this preseason Williams has looked pretty clueless.  After a 5 sack performance by the Raiders in Week 2, the Cardinals sacked Jay Cutler another 4 times.  The Cardinals who had 2 sacks in 2 games so far heading into their game with the Bears.

Jay Cutler hasn’t dealt with the pressure too well.  If he didn’t have the past history of interceptions, I might not be too concerned.   The fact is, it’s been hard to evaluate Cutler and the receivers while the offense has been so out of sync.

Mike Martz makes offenses better everywhere he goes.  It’s a fact.   In general, the offense is young, particularly at the skill positions, so there’s some upside there if the offense starts to click and Mike Tice can get his offensive line troubles worked out.

(more…)