Alex Brown had best take his Gator chomp elsewhere. Security!!!

Alex Brown decided to do the old pop in at Halas Hall and surprise his ex-teammates and coaches.  Well the biggest surprise was for old AB, who was escorted out of the building!  Check this out from his Twitter feed.

First we get the teaser:

Then we get the big disclosure:

Then we get the exclamation point:

With a “Who Dat!!” at the end to boot!

Thanks for all your hard work and help through the years, but get the f*ck outta here!

Starting cornerbacks Charles Tillman and Nathan Vasher are both becoming question marks week-by-week for their availability on Sundays.  Vasher has a wrist injury and Tillman appeared at Halas Hall today with his arm in a black sling after a shoulder injury that took him out of Sundays game.  Tillman’s replacement, Trumaine McBride, injured his shoulder later in the game and had to come out.  Safety Danieal Manning suffered hamstring troubles and will also miss practice time this week.  Oh, and don’t forget safety Brandon McGowan has already been put on injured reserve earlier in the season. 

The Bears are a leg injury to Mike Brown away from complete disaster at the secondary.  This is not a good way to go into a game against the Vikings and former teammate Bernard Berrian.  The Bears could be forced to put second year corner Corey Graham and Marcus Hamilton, just signed from the Tampa Bay Bucs a few weeks ago as their starting corners. 

Tillman and Vasher are still holding on to hopes of playing this Sunday, but neither are 100% and would have to play through the pain.  This Sunday could be a repeat on last Sunday when the Bears did a great job of stopping the run but appeared helpless stopping the pass.  The front four on defense will have to work twice as hard to get at the quarterback and create havoc.  If the Vikings pass the ball a lot, they may force the Bears to take linebackers of the field (their strength) and put an extra corner on the field (their weakness). 

The more I see of this Bears defense, the more I think we need to start talking about talented safeties coming out of college and entering next year’s draft.  Coaches are making due with safeties and corners selected in fifth and sixth rounds of the past few drafts.  Some have some talent but none are particularly ready to take on a starting role on their own.  As good as the Bears defense may be, it lacks an intimidating presence at safety to put next to Mike Brown.  Kevin Payne has emerged as a solid starter with his solid tackling and good coverage, but he cannot take on the load himself.  After a couple injuries this defense gets thin very fast in the secondary. 

The one bright spot is the Vikings commitment to the run and Adrian Peterson may force them to stick with the run and keep a more balance attack.  The Bears defense can handle stopping the run and will certainly look for payback after Peterson torched them last season.  However, at some point the Vikings will have to go to the air and if the Bears cannot find a way to put pressure on either the quarterback or the receiver, this could be an ugly game. 

Jones has agreed to come to Chicago in a one-year deal worth $605,000 that works as a win-win for both sides.  It gives the Bears an experienced, talented back up running back at bargain price and it gives Jones a year to showcase his ability and sustain his professional career. 

With this signing, the decision for starting running back becomes murky at best.  Do you go with the experienced veteran with an up and down career or the flashy, yet unproven rookie with all the tools?  Regardless of all the talk about how rookie Matt Forte should be the starting quarterback, I get the feeling the organization would be more comfortable if they can ease him into the game.  Coaches have praised Forte’s great hands and versatility to be a key player on third downs.  Assuming a rookie running back can handle the pounding and pressure of playing all three downs is dangerous.  If the Bears are planning on having Forte available on third down, they will need someone else to occassionally rotate in on first and second down. 

The Bears may also be proceeding with caution with their rookie running back, because as great as he has appeared in OTA’s, coaches still haven’t seen him in full contact drills.  There is no understatement that the preseason will be extremely important to the future of Matt Forte.  If he doesn’t show coaches he is ready then Kevin Jones will be ready to step in as starter. 

Signing Kevin Jones should not be taken lightly.  The former first round pick has shown some ability and gained 1,133 yards his rookie season.  He’s never been able to replicate that success in his following three seasons, but he also has had trouble staying off the injured list.  Given the contract price and length this was the perfect gamble for the Bears. 

A few years ago the Bears signed another former first round pick in Thomas Jones and that gamble paid off pretty well.  Let’s hope the Bears have the same success.

The Bears did everything they were supposed to do in this draft and stuck to the game plan, with the exception of one area, which is why, much like my own grades, they missed out on an A.  The Bears currently only have two quarterbacks on the roster, Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton, yet they failed to even attempt to draft a quarterback.  I felt fairly certain that going into the second day of the draft the Bears would take a chance on a lower rated quarterback like USC’s John David Booty.  I was disappointed and the Bears need to start answering questions of who will be the third quarterback in training camp.

As much as we have made a big deal about the quarterback situation in Chicago, I think the Bears made the right choice skipping on a quarterback in the second round.  There is a whisper going around Chicago that is turning into an uproar that the broken leg of Cedric Benson is not healing properly.  At least one source claims the running back will never be able to plant and turn off the healing leg.  This is especially troubling since Benson was already a second too slow on changing direction on his routes.  The only way he knows how to run is straight forward and upright, a kiss of death in the NFL. 

The first round pick of Chris Williams was a no brainer.  The mock drafts showed the Bears landing Jeff Otah, but when Willaims was still on the board the Bears were happy to oblige.  Williams is a big beast of a man standing 6’6, 315 lbs and will likely be the immediate starter at left tackle.  John Tait will return to his natural position of right tackle and appears to be happy to make the change.  It’s a great pick for teh franchise and goes a long way to solidify an offensive line that had troubles controlling the line of scrimmage last season.  Even the most adamant Grossman haters have admitted the quarterback would have a better time developing if he wasn’t constantly running backwards. 

In the second round the Bears took Matt Forte, a solid pick but one that will be watched and debated over the years depending on the pro careers of Brian Brohm and Chad Henne.  I worry if a running back out of a smaller school like Tulane can come into Chicago and handle the pressure of possibly being the starting running back if he has a strong training camp.  However, I have to reserve my judgment since an ex-Bear running back named Walter Payton was drafted out of a little division two college and the big lights of Chicago didn’t seem to bother him.  Forte doesn’t need to be the next Payton, but the Bears need him to be something more than Benson. 

I was predicting the Bears to take a wide receiver and guard in the third round, but I was pleasantly surprised when General Manager Jerry Angelo went back to defense.  He is very gifted at finding defensive talent in the middle rounds and you have to think he may have brought in some talented players under the radar.  Third round pick Earl Bennett from Vanderbilt is described as a slot wide receiver, something the Bears could sorely use.  With the loss of Muhsin Muhammed, the Bears are going to need a receiver to step up and establish themselves as a possession and third down receiver.  The Bears recently signed Rashied Davis, but this pick gives the Bears options and hopefully a young receiver they can rely upon in the coming years.

At this point, Jerry Angelo went off the script and drafted a big defensive tackle, Marcus Harrison out of Arkansas.  At 6’3, 310 lbs, he can be a force up the middle that will take some heat off of Tommie Harris to make plays.  The move helps take the pressure off the tackle depth chart with Dusty Dvoracek highly praised but unable to stay off the injured list.  It’s also no secret that success at defensive tackle frees up Brian Urlacher to roam to field and create chaos.

In the fourth round the Bears selected safety Craig Steltz, a kid I don’t know much about, but any kid that can start at the safety position for a highly effective LSU defense is welcome to Halas Hall.  Steltz had injury concerns that prevented him from working out at the combine and cost him draft position.  This could prove to be the surprise pick out of this year’s draft in the long run.  Year after year, LSU has one of the top defenses in college football and that’s not lost on NFL scouts.  The Bears have had troubles finding stability at the safety position and if Steltz can learn fast he may find himself on the field quickly.

The fifth round was strange because the Bears selected cornerback Zackary Bowman and tight end Kellen Davis, two positions already solidified on the roster.  The Bears have cornerbacks Charles Tillman and Nathan Vasher locked up in long term contracts.  At tight end the Bears have top draft pick and developing star Greg Olsen along with veteran Desmond Clark.  Both positions would only open up if the Bears are hit with the injury bug like they were last year at cornerback.  However, it is very promising because it shows the Bears are actually coming around to the idea of drafting for talent instead of drafting for position.  While many teams have been employing this philosophy for years, it is new to us in Chicago, the land of over paid draft busts.

In the seventh round garbage time the Bear grabbed five players, a defensive end, offensive guard, an outside linebacker, an offensive tackle, and wide receiver.  Out of the five players, offensive guard Chester Adams has the best chance of making the team to add depth to a thin offensive line.  I thought the Bears might grab a guard sooner but this year’s class was pretty thin.  The rest will likely come to training camp and have to practice hard to earn a roster spot.

Overall, despite the absence of a quarterback, the Bears had a great draft because they finally appear willing to give up drafting for position and drafted for the talent available.  All of the first five picks will have the opportunity compete for starting jobs and make an impact.

This has been called by many Chicago fans the most important Bears draft of this generation if they are going to climb back to the top of the NFC.  The Bears responded accordingly and have brought in a crop of talent that appears to be ready to play football immediately and build a winning team.

The significance of 5 spots could be huge for a Bears team that will likely look to the third round to draft a running back, wide receiver, or quarterback. In almost every draft there is a player who unexpectedly drops to the second round. If a potential first round quarterback or running back is available in the second round, the Bears have the luxury to grab him knowing they have high picks in the third round to fill other need positions.

The NFL still has to decide want round to award a draft pick the Bears for losing Bernard Berrian. The league makes decisions on later round draft picks based upon the size of contracts signed by leaving free agents with other teams. The size of the contract Berrian signed with the Minnesota Vikings could potentially reward the Bears with at least an additional 5th round pick and could potentially be a 4th or even 3rd round pick depending on how the NFL weighs the move.

This comes on the heels of reports the Bears are holding private luncheons with Arkansas running backs Darren McFadden and Felix Jones. McFadden is a top draft pick and Jones will likely be available much later in the draft. If the NFL awards additional draft picks to the Bears they may try to package several picks together to trade up and grab McFadden or trade down and count on getting Jones. Either way it presents an interesting move for Halas Hall to find an immediate fix at running back and could possibly signal that Cedric Benson has suddenly given the Bears reason to believe he is not ready to be the starting running back. Benson has spent a lot of time on the injured list and his rehabilitation from his latest injury may be giving the Bears concerns.

I still believe the Bears feel offensive tackle is a top priority, but with a deep talent pool at tackle they may be willing to either trade up and grab a huge talent at running back or trade down to grab a quality lineman and running back. The next few weeks could prove crucial for the franchise.

The lack of production at defensive tackle may account for part of the sudden calapse of the previously dominant Bears defense.  The giant holes in the safety position have been painful to watch, but they wouldn’t be so exposed if opposing offenses weren’t getting the opportunities to go deep. 

It’s no secret that part of Brian Urlacher’s success is his uncanny speed to move from sideline to sideline and make a great play.  What has also become well known is his inability to shed blockers when a free guard or tackle can come up and disrupt his running lane.  Having big, strong defensive tackles that require double teams are what make fast linebackers look so good.  It’s also the reason why the Bears linebackers have looked so bad this season.

The Bears are sitting on one of the most promising young defensive tackles in the game in Tommie Harris.  He can change the course of a game all by himself.  His injuries didn’t heal quite as promised and he ended up spending the entire season battling knee injuries.  Harris has managed to play in every game this season with a heavily braced knee and almost no practice time.  It has become a regular sight at Halas Hall to see Harris sitting out every practice of every week.  He’s been playing on Sunday and only Sunday and has still managed to produce 29 tackles and 7 sacks on the season.  It’s actually a little bit scary when you think about how much production this young man would have on two good knees.  Going into only his fourth season next year we may witness the development of a truly amazing talent.

The Bears made the off-season move to acquire veteran Darwin Walker from the Philadelphia Eagles, which I thought was genious at the time.  Unfortunately, with 17 tackles and 1 sack on the season he hasn’t quite lived up to expectations.  Seen walking around Halas Hall in a sling, his status for the final three games looks bleak.  His future with the team looks even worse.

I was pretty disappointed when the Bears let go one of my favorite players from last season, Ian Scott, who ironically went to the Eagles but hasn’t played.  We also let Alfonso Boone go to the Kansas City Chiefs and magically became a difference maker, but that isn’t saying much with the Chiefs defense.  The Bears left us to watch Anthony Adams and Antonio Garay, who have been about as productive as the water boy in making a difference in the game.  To make matters worse, both Adams and Garay have placed on the injured reserve and are done for the season. 

So let’s review, the Bears have a great player in Harris who is barely playing on one knee, Walker is walking around with a sling, and their two back-ups are on injured reserve.  Suddenly the Bears troubles on defense are making sense.  The Bears literally have no one left to put at the position.  Last Thursday the Bears were forced to play special teamer and back-up linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo to get players rest.  This is a sad state of affairs.

So who will the Bears lineup at defensive tackle on Sunday?  Today the Bears signed Jimmy Kennedy, who was the 12th overall draft pick by the St. Louis Rams in 2003 and was a bust.  He was released by the Denver Broncos in preseason and now finds himself in a position to get a lot of playing time.  No word if he is in game shape or has done anything with football up until Tuesday. 

On Monday the Bears upgraded Babatunde Oshinowo from the practice squad.  He will likely get the start along side Harris on Sunday since he is familiar with the system.  He only played in one game last year for the Cleveland Browns and recorded two tackles.  Behold your starting defensive tackle Bears fans. 

This is going to be ugly.  We face the greatest rushing duo in the league with absolutely do depth or skill at a position needed to stop the run.  I will be surprised if the Vikings attempt more than 15 passes on Sunday because it won’t be needed.