Chicago Bears tight end Desmond Clark was kind enough to spend a few minutes with Bear Goggles On for this exclusive interview.

I’m hesitant before interviews because athlete’s public image sometimes doesn’t match up to who they really are. This isn’t one of those cases at all; he’s down-to-Earth and just a really nice guy.

Here are the highlights:

Talking about fired TE Coach Rob Boras:

I’ve spoken to him a couple times since he left. He’s taken it hard. He’s from Illinois, so that was his dream job.

Talking about Lovie’s personality as coach:

Don’t give me that crap about his personality, because he was a good coach with that personality in ’05 and ’06, so you can’t say that he’s not a good coach now. He’s the same man with the same personality. If you want to talk about X’s and O’s, OK, then I’ll listen. But if you’re going to talk about personality, I’m going to tune you out, because it makes no sense. With that same personality, he took us to a Super Bowl. It has no weight when people bring up that argument.

When talking about Jay Cutler and his leadership:

Once Jay is able to lead us to that playoff victory and to the Super Bowl, that’ll set the record straight. Like I always say, when you’re not winning, everyone wants to pick everything apart. “Lovie’s not a good coach because he doesn’t get emotional. Jay’s a whiner because he’s emotional.” You know what I’m saying? Jay’s emotional and that’s not good. Lovie’s not emotional and that’s not good. It doesn’t make sense….how do you want it?

Check out the full transcript after the jump:   (more…)

As Bears fans, we’ve put up with viewing our favorite team on one of the worst surfaces in the NFL or years.  When news broke this morning about the Chicago Park District rejecting the Payton family’s request to place a Walter Payton statue for outside of Soldier Field, I couldn’t be silent any more.

The Bears are the Chicago Park District’s primary tenant for Soldier Field.  When the Bears aren’t using it, which amount to about 355 days a years, the CPD is free to host other events there.   Last weekend, U2 kicked off their North American tour with 2 sold-out shows at Soldier Field last weekend.  Sounds great, right?  I’m a huge U2 fan and to think that they were playing in my home town was an exciting prospect until you see what they did to the playing surface.

Soldier Field looked amazing with the "War of the Worlds" looking stage for U2.

(more…)

Laurence Holmes is breaking it down like the big boys do on his blog at The Score, giving some great insight into the Packers new 3-4 defense and how the Bears have been preparing for it.  Here’s some detail about how subtle differences in the defensive alignment change the pre-snap calls:

When I asked Bears players about the 3-4, a couple of things became clear: Pre-snap reads are going to be critical for Jay Cutler.  As I’m told, the splits that the 3-down Linemen take has a significant effect on what the pass protection is for a particular play.  One player told me that the difference can be as small as 1-foot and that would change where the protection slides or the play that’s called.  So Jay Cutler and the Olin Kreutz are gonna have to be on their game with recognition.  If they aren’t the plays could be blown up. (more…)

Cutler carves up the Giants Defense (Tom Cruze/Sun-Times)

WOW!  I saw things on Saturday night that I never thought I’d see as the Bears defeated the Giants 17-3.   Check out the highlights, courtesy of NFL.com here.  The Bears amassed nearly 300 yards of offense – IN THE FIRST HALF!  The first team offense looked sharp, scoring on their first three possessions to open up 17-0 lead and the Bears would never look back.  The second half was pretty much a taffy pull without much action of note, but offered plenty of opportunities for the backups and bubble guys to make a case for a precious roster spot.

Matt Forte looked really sharp, showing great moves and elusiveness, capping off the Bears first touchdown drive with a 32-yard scamper.  The next time the Bears got the ball, Jay Cutler led a 92-yard touchdown drive that included multiple third down conversions and was highlighted by a 38-yard reception by up-and-comer Devin Aromashodu.  Speaking of a Devin, that other one [Hester] had a sure 91-yard TD reception on a great bomb from Jay Cutler.  The only problem was that he seemed to turn around too soon and couldn’t track the ball.  He must’ve had flashbacks to when old neckbeard Kyle Orton was throwing that ball last season.  Keep running Devin, you’re a go-get-it kind of guy!!!  (more…)

There is some question about who was at fault in Jay Cutler's INT intended for Devin Hester.

The Bears lost their 2009 preseason opener to the Buffalo Bills 27-20.  Jay Cutler’s debut was probably not what anyone outside of Denver had been hoping for.  It’s not nearly as bad as the 3 INT night that Kyle Orton threw in his Broncos debut, but it leaves plenty of room for improvement.  Cutler went 5/10 for 64 yards and an ill-advised, off-the-back-foot Grossman-esque INT on an attempt to Devin Hester.  There’s some debate about how that play ended up, according to ESPN Chicago’s Jeff Dickerson but I’ll chalk it up to a learning experience for a QB anxious to make a big play.  (more…)

With their first selection, pick # 68 overall the Bears selected Jarron Gilbert, DE out of San Jose. The 6′ 5″, 280 pounder will add some versatility to the D-line as it is believed he could play either tackle or end.  This from Scout.com:

Gilbert is a versatile lineman who has outstanding athleticism. He has a great frame and could add more mass. He can play inside or outside and flashes the ability to be a tremendous threat behind the line of scrimmage. He has long arms and delivers a quick punch to gain an advantage. He holds up well against double teams and disengages quick enough to track down a ball carrier. He’s viewed as a tweener.

And in case the Bears ever need someone to jump out of a pool, here’s this video that’s been making the rounds on YouTube and featured on ESPN when it was announced that the Bears made their first selection of the 2009 NFL draft.

Gilbert said of his pool jumping: (more…)

Quarterback

Kyle Orton manned the most important position on the field admirably for the better part of the season, though he wasn’t quite the same after the ankle injury sustained Week 9 versus Detroit.  I think it’s important to keep everything in perspective.  A few years of Grossman may have blinded Bears fans as to what a real QB is supposed to be.  Other than not being Rex, did Orton really do that well?

The Bears offense ranked 21st in passing with 191.5 passing yards per game. Some of that may be attributed to the lack of WR’s, but we’ll get to that later.  Orton finished with 18 TD’s and 12 INT’s with a QB rating of 79.6.  Hardly mind-blowing numbers.  Does Orton deserve an extension?  I say no.  Let him play in a contract year with a sense of urgency and earn some new paper. (more…)

While I’m doling out praise, let me tip my cap to Matt Forte, who surpassed Gale Sayers on Sunday for most total yards from scrimmage for a rookie running back with 106 total yards on Sunday to pass the Kansas Comet’s 1374 yards set back in 1965.  That’s some pretty rare air for the Bears rookie.  Nice going Matt! 

Another bright spot on Sunday was the play of the tight ends, as Greg Olsen and Desmond Clark combined for 60 yards receiving and 2 touchdowns.  It’s amazing how much better the offense seems to work when the TE’s are involved in the game.  Note to Ron Turner – DO MORE OF THIS!!!

Devin Hester led all receivers with 80 yards on 5 catches, but for me, the most exciting Hester moment was a punt return late in the second quarter.  Devin fielded the punt in Jags territory and showed a burst that I haven’t seen much this year.  It was as if he could smell the end zone.  While he did step out of bounds at the 23 yard line while trying to plant and sharply cut back to the inside, maybe it’s a sign that he’s getting his confidence back.  It could also be a sign that the Jags are just that bad.  All I know is that if the Bears are serious about making a playoff push, they will need the Ridiculous One to return to form.

On the defensive side of the ball, it was nice to see the D-line get some pressure on Garrard.  Coach Babich must’ve read my Pre-game thoughts.  Glad I could help, Bob.  It was nice for Mark Anderson finally to show up this season.  Besides his second half sack of Garrard, he really showed some impressive closing speed on a Garrard bootleg early in the game.  Anthony Adams and Israel Idonije also showed well for the defensive line, while Peanut Tillman and Mike Brown led the secondary with 8 tackles apiece.  I can’t overlook the Danieal Manning interception and fine return work that set the tone for the game. 

No time to celebrate with a quick turnaround this week with a Thursday night nationally televised game for the few dozen people that have the NFL Network.  More news and notes to come on Monday as we look ahead to the next opponent – the Drew Brees led New Orleans Saints.