Low and behold after resigning with the team for a one-year contract worth $830,000 (he was due $4 million before the Bears cut him in the offseason) he announced he played last year injured.  Prior to last season, Miller had surgery on his ankle and had one of his worst years as a player.  Yesterday he announced that after taking out bone spurs and leaving cartilage floating around, he was probably only playing at 40 to 50 percent.  He added he’ll never be 100 percent after the surgery but he’s at about 90 percent now as opposed to last season. 

This comes as a big blow to the Bears, who say this is the first they’ve heard of it, and to Bears fan who wanted answers why the offensive line broke down so quickly.  In one season the offensive line of the Bears went from Super Bowl caliber to barely able to get across mid-field.  If Miller would have expressed his lingering problem the Bears probably would have kept him and possibly would have taken a different approach in the draft.  Instead, the Bears have Chris Williams on the bench indefinately and Fred Miller needs to get back into game shape.

It’s also an interesting move since I thought John St. Clair played admirably at the left tackle position against Dwight Freeney on Sunday.  Freeney got a sack on Kyle Orton but St. Clair did a good enough job to keep him away from Matt Forte and Orton most of the game.  You know a lineman is doing well when you never hear their name and St. Clair’s name was called only once in that game.  However, the Bears have never had and appear never will have confidence in the ability of St. Clair to be a starting tackle. 

There’s no doubt the Bears will plug Miller into the offensive line, it’s just a matter of how long it will take to get him in game shape and at what position.  Veteran John Tait is currently at right tackle and John St. Clair is playing left tackle.  Fred Miller prefers the right tackle position and the last three years Tait offered to play left tackle, even though he much prefers right tackle.  When asked earlier in the year about the possibility of Miller returning, Tait didn’t appear happy.  Tait has spent all offseason preparing for making the switch from left tackle to right tackle, which he says is no small effort.  Lining up on the left or right side of the line involves lining up on the different side of your body and working different muscles in a different, fluid motion to stop defensive ends and linebackers.  Tait played almost his entire career with Kansas City as a right tackle and made the switch for the Bears so Miller could play right tackle. 

Tait is a good natured player and has always brought a team first attitude.  Since Miller is the new guy it would only be fair for him to take the left tackle spot and figure it out.  Whether he gets his right tackle spot back depends upon how pissed Tait will be about having to make yet another switch. 

As of right now, the Bears have Miller listed as back-up tackle behind St. Clair and Tait.  There is no set time table for how long it takes an NFL lineman to get back into game shape.  I would be suprised if he sees any game time on Sunday against the Panthers.  I would realistically give him 2 or 3 weeks before even considering plugging him into the line.  However, in the world of pro football, things have a tendancy to get put into fast forward when coaches want it to happen.  Only time will tell. 

In the meantime, if Miller can play like the guy he was two years ago when the offensive line could control the ball and the game, he is welcome back.  I don’t know if this ankle injury is an excuse or an attempt to apologize to fans for what he knows was a terrible performance last year.  Either way, all will be forgiven if he can get back to form. 

Left guard Josh Beekman had a quiet day on Sunday, which again is a good thing.  However, he’s only in his second year and came out of nowhere to win the spot after spending all last year on the bench and only playing in the season ending game against Green Bay.  If Miller gets back into game shape the Bears may opt to plug St. Clair into the left guard spot since he has more experience.  It looks like it will be at least another month before the offensive line will have stability but if they keep playing like they did Sunday then it won’t matter. 

There has been no indication how much playing time he will miss or when he will be able to put on pads and start hitting.  The back can be a sensitive thing and his return could be immediate or a drawn out process throughout the season.  Bears coaches did say they will not be playing Williams on the injured reserve so they must have some idea he can return sooner rather than later. 

This news comes just after guard Terrance Metcalf had arthroscopic knee surgery and will be out for an unknown amount of time.  The Bears spent this offseason hoping they could improve on the offensive line and now it appears to be making an even bigger setback.

The Bears are so desparate it has been confirmed they are in talks with veteran tackle Fred Miller to return for another season.  Miller is a high regarding veteran tackle but last year he missed assignments and was the cause of enough penalties for the Bears to release him from his contract.  His return could signal the Bears realizing they have a mess at offensive line.  It also doesn’t mean good things for an offensive that was struggling to find weapons even with an improved line. 

Significant attention may also be put on members of the Bears organization that approved the drafting of Williams.  The Bears had the pick of a few tackles still on the board and members of the organization may want answers why they drafted a tackle with a bad back.  Either team officials didn’t give him an adequate workout to discover the problem or they chose to ignore it.  Coach Lovie Smith can’t be happy with the development when he was hoping he could build upon an improved line to create a running game. 

Bringing Fred Miller back would mean tackle John Tait would have to move from right tackle, where he spent all offseason preparing to play, and move him back to left tackle where he is not as effective.  The whole scenerio puts the team right back to the offense of last year that couldn’t control the line of scrimmage. 

Hopefully Williams and Metcalf can bounce back quickly before the team starts to lose confidence.

The Bears made the surprising move of re-signing Lance Briggs, but let Bernard Berrian go to Minnesota and Muhsin Muhammed go to Carolina.  Brendon Ayanbadejo is now a Baltimore Raven, and reports indicate that several teams are asking about Rashied Davis.  Fred Miller and Ruben Brown are both gone and John Gilmore is a Tampa Bay Buc.  The Bears replaced the wide receiver vacancy with veteran Marty Booker and Brandon Lloyd. 

That leaves a gapping void at right tackle, right guard, running back, safety, and a long-term need to upgrade at wide receiver and quarterback.  Whew, that’s all?  There is little doubt the Bears are going to make a priority of drafting one of the talented offensive tackles available in this years draft.  As much as the Bears need help shoring up safety, there isn’t much help in free agency or the draft for improvement.  You really never know what Jerry Angelo will do about the quarterback situation so that remains to be seen. 

The remaining priorities are right guard and running, with a need for a long-term solution at wide receiver.  When I say a long term solution I mean that the Bears have players for the next couple years, so they should look into developing a young receiver that could make a huge impact.  The guard and running back positions require forcing a free agent or rookie to make an immediate impact. 

I’m still not done considering the Bears could sign a free agent running back, based solely on the fact that Jerry Angelo has shown no ability to weight talent at the position when drafting.  They are better off taking an established running back from another team that can get to work, much the same way Thomas Jones made such a big impact.  I was disappointed to see his brother, Julius Jones, get signed by the Seahawks for a 4 year deal.  I figured if the Bears didn’t grab Michael Turner, who signed a big deal witht he Falcons, the Bears could grab Jones.  Neither happened and I’m becoming increasingly concerned abou the Bears running game.

Marion Barber is a restricted free agent in Dallas, but the cost to tear him away could be too big for a team that has been trying to pinch salary cap pennies.  Michael Pittman is available out of Tampa Bay but his best years are far behind him.  Ron Dayne is available out of Houston and if I ever hear his name mentioned again I may puke in my mouth.  There were reports the Bears were interested in Titan running back Chris Brown, but just as quickly he signed with Houston.  You know what’s after that?  Not a damn thing. 

The running back situation came and went for the Bears, with no attempt to grab one of the impact players.  Signing any of the players still on the market would only cause more trouble and create a bigger distraction of the Bears running game.  As a result, drafting a running back suddenly becomes a big priority.  The idea itself is scary given our recent track record of drafting running backs.  The Bears should just go with the old proven method of drafting the best player availabe at your pick.  For the first pick, it will most likely be offensive tackle.  For the remaining three picks in the first three rounds, the Bears should grab any running back, wide receiver, or guard that has shown signs of talent and th eability to make an impact. 

Any attempts by Jerry Angelo to survey the talent pool will only result in another disaster pick.  The scary part is in order the win, the Bears are relying on this to be one of the most successful drafts in franchise history.  Just the idea that the Bears are going to use as many as three starting spots on an already struggling offense with rookies could be ugly.  The next few months will make or break Jerry Angelo’s future with the Bears organization, let’s hope he can get it right this time.

Suddenly the chances of bringing in difference makers like running Michael Turner and right guard Alan Faneca seems much more likely. The Bears don’t seem to be in any hurry to bring back guard Ruben Brown and Faneca is regarded as one of the top guards in the league. Locking up Faneca long term would open up the door for the Bears to use their first round pick on an offensive tackle, which I have been lobbying for since mid-season.

My biggest disappointment is the Bears did not make more of an effort to get Moose the last 66 receiving yards he needed to reach 10,000 receiving yards for his career. In a season that fizzled, it would have been nice to have a special event at Soldier Field to honor a great receiver. Instead, Moose will have to enjoy his career milestone in a different uniform.

The sudden cuts come because many NFL players have their first paycheck come in March. Moose was owed a $500,000 roster bonus in March, another $500,000 to Miller, and an unreal $5.2 million to a largely ineffective Walker. I hate to see Moose leave but when you look at the numbers the roster cuts eliminates over paid players that opens up cap room to sign younger, more productive players.

The sudden surge in cap room addresses several questions that will be answered in the coming weeks. Will the Bears use the franchise tag on Bernard Berrian or attempt to lock him up in a long term contract? Some football analysts feel Berrian is just as over-hyped as Moose but I have never seen an analyst take a ball deep and to the end zone the way Berrian does. Will the Bears grab Michael Turner off free agency and sign him to a huge deal to lock up the top free agent running back? Will the Bears do the same to Alan Faneca? Will the Bears look at free agent wide receivers or are they that confident that Devin Hester can remember his routes without Moose explaining the play while leaving the huddle? Will the Bears address any of their safety concerns in free agency or wait for the draft? Even if the Bears offer Rex Grossman a contract, will he want to return after all the criticism? If he does re-sign, will Brian Griese be gone?

The next couple months are going to be a big determination of how the Bears want to rebuilt a Super Bowl contender.

A couple questions have already been answered. My suggestion of signing back Marty Booker didn’t seem to have much effect on Halas Hall and they don’t appear to have any interest of bringing back another aging wide receiver. The Bears also showed their confidence in Alex Brown and need at defensive end by signing a two-year extension to his contract, keeping him in Chicago until 2011.

The New York Giants are the NFC representation in the Super Bowl. Take a moment to let it sink in and make you sick. The NFC representation was supposed to be the Cowboys, or Packers, or even the Seahawks, but not the Giants. We have two weeks to consider the Giants chances against the Patriots, but what does this mean for the Bears? It means the Bears are not that far away from another Super Bowl appearance.

The Giants go into the Super Bowl with a shaky quarterback, prone to getting rushed into making bad decisions in the pocket, but offers a huge upside when playing well. The Giants have an effective run game but have to use a variety of running backs in different situations and parts of the game. The Giants have a veteran wide receiver with Super Bowl experience that they are relying on to lead a young, inexperienced receiving corps. They have a quick defense that relies upon take aways and a dominant pass rush to get at the quarterback and cause problems. Any of this sound familiar? It should because it’s the same formula our Bears used last season.

The crushing reality for the Bears and the rest of the NFC is they are not that far removed from returning to dominance next season. As much as every team wants to say their players are the most skilled at their positions, there is a certain element of luck that comes with hard work in the NFL. If you put it all out on the field for the entire game, hopefully your players will be in the right position during a key fumble or interception. The ball was bouncing the Bears way last season, but they appeared to be out of place this season.

Don’t get me wrong, there was a lot more than luck that had to due with this year’s collapse. It requires all 11 players on the field playing their best in order to capitalize on those mistakes. The Bears had too many weaknesses at running back, offensive tackle, and safety to make the most of their opportunities. Notice I did not include quarterback on that list. Too be quite honest, the quarterback situation has become such a problem for this team it has taken away attention from positions that need more drastic improvement. The Bears could trade for Donovan McNabb, but if there is no running game he’ll be run back out of town just as quickly. I’d rather see the Bears make a priority of signing free agent Michael Turner and establish a strong ground game. Go back to last season, remember when Rex Grossman was throwing all those wonderful deep routes to Bernard Berrian for big scores? Almost all of those were play action passes, utilizing the strong running game of Thomas Jones to take defenses by surprise.

If the Bears bring in a strong running back, the passing game can fix itself. It would be a huge mistake to commit too much energy and money on a position that can’t flourish without a strong supporting cast. How many touchdowns do you think Tom Brady could throw for the Bears? Go back and look at footage of how long the Bears offensive line game Rex to throw the ball and then watch how long the Patriots offensive line will give Brady in the Super Bowl. The Bears need to draft offensive tackle and improve the position immediately. Going after Pittsburgh Guard Alan Faneca would be a good long-term move, but the Bears have a more pressing matter at tackle. The sudden decline of Fred Miller had less to do with physical than mental collapse. His repeated off-sides penalties were devastating to an offense that already had trouble moving the ball.

As far as safety is concerned, the name Adam Archuleta should serve as case closed. It remains to be seen if the Bears believe Ricky Manning Jr. or Danieal Manning can play the position or if they bring in a top draft pick. I’m an advocate of bringing back Mike Brown to see if he can stay healthy and reaping the huge rewards. When Brown can stay healthy he’s one of the most talented players on the field.

If the Bears draft an offensive tackle and safety in the first two rounds and sign Michael Turner I wouldn’t be surprised to see this Bears team back in the playoffs next year. The Giants victory has made it clear that there is no NFC dominant team and any team can take the Halas Trophy any year.

There will not be any rematch against Reggie Bush for his antics last year at the NFC Championship game.  Interesting enough, his back-up Aaron Stecker now has a sprained toe and may not be able to play.  The start at tailback may go to Pierre Thomas, who grew up in Illinois and played at the University of Illinois before going on to the NFL as an undrafted free agent.  There may be a large home crowed cheering on Thomas to do well in his NFL debut. 

Let me also say that if I were an NFL coach and one of my players told me he didn’t want to play on Sunday because he had a sprained toe, I would heavily consider cutting him from my team. 

After putting up a big game against the Vikings the Bears will have to end the season without Nathan Vasher, who was put on the Injured Reserve.  Bears fans will have to dream in the off season of how this season could have different and how next year’s defense could improve with Vasher back on the field.  He gave us a glimpse of how he can change a game by himself.  I can see why the Bears locked him and fellow corner Charles Tillman up with long contracts.

Lance Briggs has been suffering from a bad hip and sat out practice on Friday.  There is a chance he might play but given the attitude of the press towards Briggs this past week, it sounds like he is as good as gone.  Lovie Smith should just go with Jamar Williams and see what the kid can do on the field.  Having a solid option at linebacker allows the organization to focus on other positions in the off season.

I’ve been trying to bring attention to it the past few weeks so I’ll make another mention.  Mushin Muhammed is only 95 yards away from having 10,000 receiving yards for his career.  In a meaningless game for the Bears, helping Moose reach a great lifetime achievement for a receiver would be a great way to end the season on a high note.

Fred Miller practiced on Friday and is expected to start on Sunday.  Now if someone can just explain to him that we expect him to start playing football on Sunday and not whatever he has been doing this entire season.

In a testament that there are still true football players out there, Tommie Harris will play again on Sunday despite the bad knee he has been dealing with all year.  It would be very easy to sit this out but the kid just won’t quit.  If only we could clone this guy and make a football team out of them, we could take on the Patriots any day. 

I’m excited to see more of Matt Toeaina at defensive tackle.  The guy has a lot of heart and has proved himself worthy of getting the 3 year contract to Bears signed with him.  Lining up a guy like Tommie Harris that has limitless talent, with a guy like Toeaina that’s all heart, could produce big results.  They can feed off each other and create the kind of havoc in the middle that the Bears defense thrives on.

 While I would love to see the Bears end this season with a win, does it really matter that much?  The Saints are in a bind with an inexperienced running back for Sunday but a desire to win.  Without Vasher on the field and the Bears using scraps for the secondary, Drew Brees could have a great day.  He has been on fire late in the season and is most of the reason the Saints have a chance at a playoff spot.  The best the Bears can hope for is more of that blistering cold to hamper Brees, but I doubt we will get so lucky twice. 

“1st Round, 11th Pick: Matt Ryan, QB, Boston College

The Buzz: The Bears will jump for a chance for a future leader on offense.

2nd Round, 42nd Pick: Frank Okam, DT, Texas

The Buzz: The Bears are looking for a compliment to Tommie Harris on the inside.”

Matt Ryan is a junior at Boston College that threw for 4,258 yards with 28 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. His completion rate of 60.3 for 366 completions of 607 passing attempts has remained a consistency throughout his career with a completion rate of 61.5 and 62.1 for his junior and sophomore year respectively. The most amazing thing is his career quarterback rating of 126.9, showing that there was very little learning curve coming into college football. I’m not excited about the Bears picking a quarterback in the first round but this kid has some promise. He’s very calm in the pocket, has good accuracy, and moves around in the pocket very well. His performance against Virginia Tech was amazing.

Frank Okam is a senior defensive tackle for the Longhorns who posted 22 tackles and 1 forced fumble in his senior season. His college career totals reach 108 tackles and 5 sacks. He doesn’t record many sacks but he’s a large force in the middle at 6-5, 320 lbs that shoves his way into the backfield and causes disruptions. He creates chaos at the line of scrimmage that forces quarterbacks to get rid of the ball and allows other players on defense to make the big play. There is no doubt he could be a great compliment to Tommie Harris at a badly needed position.

Both picks seem practical and fall into the catagory of picking the best talent available when you come up to the podium. However, we know that draft day doesn’t always go as planned and don’t be surprised if the Bears make moves on draft day to tap the deep offensive tackle pool coming out this year. Fred Miller looks like his age is catching up to him and tackles come at a high premium. In a year when the Bears need to make decisions about Rex Grossman and Briggs, the Bears will need to use the draft to plug holes immediately. If Jake Long from Michigan or Michael Oher from Ole Miss are available when the Bears make their pick it might be hard to pass up.

The reverse side of the deep offensive tackle pool may result in the Bears hoping a quality player will still be available in the second round and using the first round for another impact player. It could be Matt Ryan for quarterback, but the Bears may be able to resign Grossman for cheaper than what it could cost to keep Lance Briggs, who will command a salary as a top 5 player at his position. The Bears could draft Linebacker Dan Conner out of Penn State and use that money towards free agency to fix their secondary, or they could work out a deal with Briggs and just draft Free Safety Kenny Phillips out of Miami.

There are a lot of options and frankly I don’t see the Bears wasting more time and money on the quarterback position. Very few quarterbacks have the raw talent capable of starting straight out of college. Young quarterbacks that are thrown in the starting role to early show signs of brilliance, only to disappoint with regression and lost confidence. Vince Young has been a poster child this season for young quarterbacks being thrust into the starting role too soon. The Browns and Raiders made the right move to allow Brady Quinn and JaMarcus Russell time to study the NFL system and get used to the speed of the game. This means even if the Bears sign Ryan, they will still need to make Grossman or Brian Griese the starter next season, thereby diminishing the immediate impact of the draft.

Every team dreams on having a young, franchise quarterback, but the reality is the window for the Bears to dominate the league is turning out to be surprisingly small. An aging Fred Miller, Ruben Brown, and John Tait, and arthritic Brian Urlacher are threatening to throw the Bears right back into a rebuilding mode. This team has the capability to return to NFC dominance but they need impact players like their NFC North rivals have found in Calvin Johnson, Adrian Peterson, and A.J. Hawk. The Bears offensive troubles will correct themselves with some help at the line of scrimmage and a little more support from the defense.

I agree with the second round pick, but the Bears first round pick needs to be a more immediate impact player.

You never like to see another man get injured, especially when it could ruin his career.  But when I hear Favre went down with an arm injury I crack a little smile.

 Hide and Go Vasher

Remember Nathan Vasher, aka The Interceptor?  We’ve been hearing for almost a month about his eminant return from injury, yet remain disappointed every week.  Short a miracle healing of Mike Brown, I can’t imagine a bigger impact for the Bears defense then to get Vasher back.  I’m sure seeing Vasher starting would start Eli off to a rough Sunday.

Say What??

The Bears go against the best pass rushing defense in football.  So how do the Bears pass rushers answer?  By having Alex Brown tell reports the Bears pass rush is better.  I’ve heard of players giving other teams motivation by supplying quotes for their locker room, but they rarely come framed.

Anderson Who?

Speaking of pass rush, has anyone seen Mark Anderson?  Me either.

Helping Retirees

Kyle Turley of the Kansas City Chiefs has announced he will donate his pay check for his December 23rd game to the Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund for NFL retirees.  Fred Miller is trying to figure out if he counts towards a retiree or if you have to actually announce that you’ve stopped playing.

Speed Racer

I’m a Rex Grossman fan, but this weekend could be ugly.  You would think for being a young guy he would move well in the pocket.  He runs out of the pocket like a lost kid.  HOLD THE BALL!!

A Moment of Silence

The events in Sean Taylor’s home this week were tragic and horrific.  I feel terrible for his baby that will never have a father.  This should never happen.  He had true talent and will be remembered.

Extra Motivation?

Keep an eye on Devin Hester and Greg Olsen, teammates of Taylor’s at Miami.  Hester asked reporters to respect his privacy at this time as he mourns the loss of a friend.  If the Giants kick towards Hester on Sunday it will be the NFL version of a forfeit.