Nov 25, 2012; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears wide receiver Devin Hester (23) warms up before the game against the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-US PRESSWIRE

The Bears confirmed some bad news on Thursday as they ruled out a pair of players for Sunday’s matchup against the Seattle Seahawks.  Wide receiver and kick return specialist Devin Hester has been ruled out after suffering a concussion last week while guard Chris Spencer will also sit out while he recovers from a knee injury suffered against the Vikings.  (more…)

November 19, 2012; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis (85) runs with the ball against Chicago Bears cornerback Charles Tillman (33) and outside linebacker Lance Briggs (55) during the first quarter at Candlestick Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE

The Bears released their first injury report for Week 13′s matchup with the Seattle Seahawks and it’s a little concerning to say the least.   (more…)

The Bears signal a recovery of Adrian Peterson’s fumble. (Photo courtesy of Chicago Tribune)

The Bears fended off division rival Minnesota Vikings and multiple injuries to secure a 28-10 win to snap a two game skid and take command of the NFC North with a 28-10 win.  They may have won the battle but the war may be more difficult to fight as the Bears sustained multiple casualties on both sides of the ball.  The extent of the injuries is unknown but there are plenty of them to discuss.  (more…)

Chilo Rachal will be taking over the starting left guard position for Chris Spencer in Week 3. (Photo courtesy of AP/Nam Y. Huh)

According to ESPN’s Jeff Dickerson, the Chicago Bears are already shaking up their starting offensive line.  Sorry JWebb Nation haters, J’Marcus Webb wasn’t the first casualty.  Sixth-year veteran left guard Chris Spencer has been sent to the bench and will be replaced by Chilo Rachal.  Rachal spent four years in San Francisco and signed a one-year contract with the Bears this offseason.  The changing of the left guard is the first of what appears to be a turbulent season for Bears offensive linemen.

Spencer, a converted center, started 14 games for the Bears last season at right guard, performing much better than expected.  However, since being moved to left guard this preseason, he has struggled mightily.  His poor play has flown under the radar with the latest spotlight on left tackle J’Marcus Webb.  Spencer has missed his share of blocks already this season and has one holding penalty in two games.

It’s very encouraging to see that the Bears coaching staff pulled the plug on Spencer this early.  He would have been a liability all season.  Rachal didn’t turn a lot of head in the preseason, but giving him a chance is a smart move.  No sense in wasting any more time on Spencer, who is in the final year of his contract.

At 6’5” 323 lbs., Rachal is a bigger body, who has a high ceiling.  He is a former second-round pick, who never quite gelled in San Francisco.  A fresh start in a new town could be just what the 26 year old needs.  Hopefully, center Roberto Garza, who has played extended time at both guard positions, can help Rachal bolster a line that needs all the help it can get.

This move can only beg the question, would Chris Williams have been a better replacement at left guard?   Or do the Bears really think he will soon take over for Webb at left tackle?  Or have the Bears completely given up on the 14^th overall pick in the 2008 draft, who started nine games at left guard last season?  We will have to wait and see what the Bears do next.

Dec 7, 2008; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears head coach Lovie Smith (center) looks up at the replay board during a booth review during the second quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-US PRESSWIRE

When your favorite baseball team is 22 games under .500, and 15 games out of first place in the middle of June, there isn’t too much to get excited about for the rest of the summer in a sports way except counting down the days until training camp.  One of the ways to pass the time away is to read season previews, and this week while passing the magazine stand there were  a couple Fantasy Football magazines and a USA Today season preview magazine.

Normally, I look at the fantasy football magazines first, but I picked up the USA Today magazine because I wanted to see if the addition of Brandon Marshall would lift the Chicago Bears past the Detroit Lions and/or Green Bay Packers.  The answer to that question was a resounding NO.  The Packers a year removed from their Super Bowl championship are still being predicted to win the division, while the up and coming Lions team is picked to finish second in the NFC North.  The Bears are predicted to finish 3rd, but on the bright side were picked as a Wild Card participant.

Most of these predictions you can take with a grain of salt, because last season the NFC Championship Game was suppose to be contested by the Philadelphia Eagles and the Packers.  The Eagles AKA “the dream team”  laid a huge egg early in the season and could never recover, while the Packers lost to the eventual Super Bowl champions NY Giants in the divisional round of the playoffs. Nobody predicted the Giants vs SF 49ers in the NFC Championship game so preseason picks are fun to read, but not something set in stone(thank God).

They did have 4 reasons of concern for the Bears heading into the season according to this preseason preview.

1. Mike Tice as Offensive Coordinator replacing the retired Mike Martz.

Mike Tice Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-US PRESSWIRE

Tice’s offense will never be compared to the complexity of Martz’s offense, and this fact alone nationally will always be a factor until proven otherwise that the Bears offense will struggle in 2012.  Tice’s offenses in Minnesota were very successful, but the name doesn’t ring excitement even for me the first time I heard he was taking over as offensive coordinator.  The Bears goal is to have explosive plays in the air while grinding it out on the ground if they are to simulate Tice’s offense while he was coaching for the Minnesota Vikings.  The key difference in between offenses is that the QB in Martz offenses gets sacked and punished a lot with no room to audible, while Tice’s offense is keyed by the running game which sets up big time passing plays down the field.  The personnel in the wide receiving core with the addition of Marshall will make this type of offense possible if the next two points of concern are addressed.

2. Forte’s contract issues.. how will this hinder the Bears best offensive producer?

Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-US PRESSWIRE

Matt Forte being healthy both physically and mentally for this season to start basically hinges on dollar signs.  Forte recently said that the Bears were still negotiating a long term deal which needs to get done by July 16 or Forte’s only option is the Franchise Tag tender of $7.5 million.  It seem evident from the posturing, that Forte will not be a happy camper if he plays underneath the tag for the 2012-2013 season, but he’s a very dedicated off season workout guy, that whenever he show’s up for training camp is not going to be out of shape and play poorly like Chris Johnson did last season after Johnson’s holdout.  Forte has had the ball in his hands a lot in his first four season as one of the few Bears offensive weapons, but now he has Brandon Marshall to carry some of that burden.  Let’s hope that Forte gets a long term deal he deserves, and if he does the third concern by the preview would be the biggest one for the upcoming season.

3.  Can the offensive line give Jay Cutler enough time?

Mandatory Credit-Jeff Hanisch-USPRESSWIRE

This off season should be very interesting as Tice and company try to come up with the right offensive line combination for the season.  J’Marcus Webb and Chris Williams look to be battling it out at LT, while RT looks to be just waiting for Gabe Carimi to return healthy from his knee injury last season.  Two positions seem to be locked in, with Roberto Garza the starting center and Chris Spencer at left guard.  The right guard position in mini camp was held down by Lance Louis.   This group will be a very good run blocking unit like we saw last season when Forte almost had 1,000 yards through 12 games, but the key is giving Cutler the necessary time to make the big time, game changing pass plays down the field.  The good thing about this group is that after a rough start they only gave up 5 sacks in the last 5 games that Cutler started before the dreaded thumb injury.  This group of guys with Tice as their coach have been together long enough that they should start gelling and  becoming a unit to count on instead of always being viewed as the weakness of the organization.  If this line can go from a weakness to a strength, the Bears could be looking and should be looking at a divisional title more than hoping for just a Wild card spot.

4.  Lovie Smith

This is usually, in the Lovie Smith era, the time the Bears will bubble up and win the division. Even though nationally Smith doesn’t get any kind of recognition as a head coach, Smith is 71-57 in the regular season and 3-3 in the postseason.  This season will be big for Lovie because he finally is believed to have all the necessary offensive weapons to score points while the defense although getting a little older should still be able to create turnovers and havoc especially if they don’t have to be on the field as much because their offense can control clock and put points on the board.  Nobody is comparing Lovie to Bill Belichick ,but he does have his system and this is by far the most talented offensive team his tenure has scene. Smith and the Bears must have a very successful season or new Gm Emery may be looking for his own guy to lead the way next year.

It doesn’t matter where you start in any preseason preview, all that matters is where you finish in the post season!! This season the only thing that will be considered successful  for Bears fans and the organization is a trip to the Super Bowl and giving Brian Urlacher and friends a title and giving Lovie a Gatorade bath that will never be forgotten.  Lots of questions and a little more than a month until some of those questions get answered at training camp,  please hurry one can only watch so much bad baseball!!

DA BEARS