Charity starts at home.  While fans around the league are looking for the “big name” free agent to come to their team, those moves don’t always work out.  For every Julius Peppers signing, there’s a Brandon Manumaleuna or Chester Taylor.  The Bears are in a tight spot with salary cap space and have a bunch of their own free agents that are drawing interest around the league.  These aren’t ‘big ticket’ guys, but are serviceable players that could turn out to be bargains for someone.

The Bears should do their own bargain shopping before these free agents hit the open market at 3PM on Tuesday.  Here’s my list of the Top 5 of Their Own Free Agents the Bears Should Try to Keep:  (more…)

The Bears, and the offensive line in particular, will be targeting Jared Allen on Sunday.  At least they’d better be.  So says Matt Bowen, a former NFL player and one of the best up-and-coming analysts going.  Bowen offers unique insight as a relatively recent player, letting us into the psyche of today’s NFL locker room.

Jared Allen ended OG Lance Louis’ season with a deliberate and vicious hit on an interception return.  Louis never saw it coming when Allen launched himself up into Louis’ grill and decleated him.  His foot was stuck in the Soldier Field turf and his ACL snapped as he twisted to the ground.   (more…)

Nov 4, 2012; Nashville, TN, USA; Chicago Bears guard Lance Louis (60) catches a tipped pass against the Tennessee Titans during the second half at LP Field. The Bears beat the Titans 51-20. Mandatory credit: Don McPeak-US Presswire

The NFL ruling on the Jared Allen hit on Lance Louis came down this afternoon and the amount of $21,000 seems very minimal.  It was an illegal hit that cost a player the rest of the season and it will only cost Allen a pack of gum compared to his $11.6 million dollar contract in 2012.

In an era of player safety, it seems like the NFL is only worried about head shot since it’s the hot topic right now, but to destroy an ACL can be just as much a career killer as a concussion.  There is a story floating around Twitter today I believe by Peter King that the NFL may vote to ban all blocks below the waist for next season.  Not that that rule would have saved Louis either since Allen hit him illegally, but it would save a lot of knee injuries in the future.

The bottom line is that a cheap shot costs Louis the rest of the season in rehabilitation and Allen is out some tipping money.  The Bears are not a dirty team so I don’t expect any repercussions when the Bears visit Minnesota December 9th.

Get Well Soon Lance!

The Chicago Bears (8-3) righted the ship after two consecutive losses by handily defeating their division rival, the Minnesota Vikings (6-5), by a score of 28-10.  The offensive line was banged up and Jay Cutler had to run for his life on multiple occasions, but better it be Cutler than anyone else.  I’m looking at you Jason Campbell.  Cutler was able to lead the Bears up and down the field with short pass after short pass, converting 11-of-19 third downs and keeping the ball for over 37 minutes.

Offensive coordinator Mike Tice committed to the run and scaled back his play-calling, finally, and it worked like a charm.  However, special teams stole the show with a nice fake extra point by punter Adam Podlesh, who barreled his 5’11” 200 pound frame into the end zone for a two-point conversion.  It wasn’t something you see every week, but with the plethora of injuries the Bears have sustained recently, they will need to continue to be creative as the playoffs approach.

In the meantime, let’s see how the Bears graded out en route to a one-game lead over the Green Bay Packers (7-4) in the NFC North.

Quarterback – B
Bears fans can all breathe a big sigh of relief.  The Cutler that we know and love (or hate) is back to his winning ways.  He completed 23 of 31 passes for 188 yards, one touchdown and one interception.  Nothing crazy, but he did make a lot of smart throws to eight different receivers.  He wasn’t on target with everything, but he moved the chains when he had to.

Wide Receivers – B+
Devin Hester left the game with an injury in the first half, but Earl Bennett stepped up with four catches for 45 yards, two of which were for first downs.  Brandon Marshall dropped a touchdown pass, yet again, but looked unstoppable on short slant and post routes.  He finished with a season high 12 catches for 92 yards, topping 1,000 yards for the season.  All in all, the receivers helped Cutler escape a lot of pressure.

Running Backs – C+
You have to hand it to the Bears for sticking to the run game (39 rushes for 113 yards), but you wish someone could have broken some longer runs (longest run of the game was eight yards by Michael Bush).  Matt Forte didn’t do much of anything (14 rushes for 42 yards and a fumble) before he was hurt, and Bush only averaged 2.9 yards on 21 carries.  However, Bush did gain his most productive yards around the goal line (two touchdowns).  If Forte can’t go moving forward, Bush is going to have to find a way to get the most out of his touches behind the Bears weak offensive line.

Tight Ends/Fullback – B-
Matt Spaeth may have made the catch of the year when it mattered most, scoring a touchdown late in the third quarter.  Kellen Davis proved once again that he can only catch the easy passes…some of the time.  He’s garbage.  There’s nothing else to say.

Fullback Evan Rodriguez made his first catch of the year, converting a big third down en route to the Bears second touchdown of the game.  He continues to improve each week, while Davis is rapidly heading in the other direction.

Offensive Line – C
It wasn’t pretty, but everyone knows that it never is.  After G Lance Louis and G Chris Spencer went down with injuries, it was a free-for-all in front of Cutler, who successfully ran for his life most of the game.  Gabe Carimi and Edwin Williams held their own and new RT Jonathan Scott looked competent against the always tough Vikings DE Jared Allen.  It’s too bad Allen ended Louis’ season with that cheap hit.  However, this new rag-tag group of donut eaters might be just what the Bears were looking for to begin with.

Defensive Line – B+
Henry Melton had another really solid game recording one sack and two QB hits.  Shea McClellin, back from a concussion, also showed that he is quickly maturing into his role at the end of the line.  His quickness and strength is proving to be a deadly combo.  The man, the myth, the legend, Julius Peppers, blocked the 13th kick of his career.  He’s more deserving of the title “Mr. Ridiculous.”

The only negative of the game was that the Bears allowed an 100-yard rusher.  But, hey, it was Adrian Peterson.  He’s only done that 33 other times in his career.

Linebackers – B+
Nick Roach finally shined as the Bears top LB on Sunday.  He tied Lance Briggs for the team lead with seven tackles, while playing only limited duty.  Briggs injured his foot during the game and Roach filled in without missing a beat, even forcing Peterson to fumble.  Brian Urlacher might not have figured in greatly on the stat sheet (four tackles), but you know that he is the leader whenever he is on the field.

Secondary – A
The productive turnovers just keep on piling up for this group, who’s playing like big time superstars.  Chris Conte ran back an interception to the 13-yard line (led to Spaeth’s TD), Charles Tillman recovered a fumble at the 33-yard line (led to one of Bush’s touchdowns), and Major Wright recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter, squashing the Vikings attempt to rally late.

This Pro Bowl secondary also saw guest appearances by Kelvin Hayden (four tackles, two pass deflections) and Zack Bowman (one tackle, one pass deflection).  It was a nice bounce back performance after the 49ers blew them off the field last week.

Special Teams – B
Dave Toub was firing on all cylinders last Sunday.  Peppers blocked a kick and Podlesh turned a fake extra point into a two-point conversion as well as kicking the bacon out of the ball on punts (43.3 net yards per punt, two inside the 20).

Devin Hester (one punt return for six yards) struggled returning the ball again and Eric Weems looked bad on kick returns (21.7 yards per return average).  Throw in a Robbie Gould blocked field goal and another extra point try that was almost blocked and it wasn’t their best game of the year.  But hey, they did enough to win, and you have to love any type of successful fake in the NFL.

Coaching – A
Whether Mike Tice was responsible for it or not, it was a breath of fresh air to see lots of short slants run by Marshall and a commitment to the running game.  This is the type of football they should have been playing once they realized how bad the offensive line is.  Maybe Lovie Smith asked for a change or uarterback coach Jeremy Bates begged and pleaded so as not to get Cutler killed.  Either way, this play-calling should be a model for the future.

Since I rarely mention them, kudos to defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli for leading one of the best defenses in the league and to special teams coach Dave Toub for putting the extra point fake in the play book.

Overall – B+

Bears team doctors tend to injured Bears guard Lance Louis (Photo courtesy Chicago Tribune)

After Sunday’s 28-10 victory over the Vikings, the big question lingering for the Bears was how the injuries would impact them going forward.  One piece to that puzzle fell into place on Monday and not in a good way as the Bears placed guard Lance Louis on Injured Reserve with a torn ACL, ending his season. (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…)

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

That is an angry young man with something to prove.

PS – don’t let Jay Cutler see this.  He may decide not to show up on Sunday.  Please block him and…

BEAR DOWN!!!