LAKE FOREST — If the Bears were lucky last year, they are certainly paying for it this season.

It was well documented that the Bears caught break after break last season as they rolled all the way to the NFC championship game. They basically suffered no key injuries, while their opponents were constantly downgraded due to breaks and sprains just before facing off with the Bears. The schedule parted for Chicago like the Red Sea, setting up easy matchups all the way through. The fact that they opened the playoffs against the only postseason team (Seattle) with a losing record just fit right in to the well-paved road that was 2010.

But this year, karma is biting back.

“Unfortunately,” Bears general manager Jerry Angelo said Friday, “situations arose that have caught us off guard.”
One after another, after another.

It all started in the second week of training camp in Bourbonnais, when a regional power outage forced the Bears to move practice to a different facility midsession. Just a few days later, the condition of the field at Soldier Field was a disgrace, thus causing the cancellation of Family Weekend, and forcing the Bears players and coaches to board a bus back to camp and practice late into the night.

It didn’t seem too bad at the time, but now we see it was just a sign of what was to come.

The offensive line was so disheveled early on that line coach Mike Tice was called upon to work his magic numerous times, changing the alignment four times in the first six weeks, which included the season-ending injury to his No. 1 pick Gabe Carimi. He has brought it all back together each time, but it hasn’t been easy. And the line hasn’t even been the worst of the Bears’ troubles.

Devin Hester’s “biffing” incident in an area casino; veteran safety, and fan favorite, Chris Harris was benched, then waived; Cutler, playing the best ball of his career, broke his thumb while making a tackle after a fluke interception; Forte, leading the league in yards from scrimmage at the time, went down the next week with a sprained knee.

Then they got “Tebowed” so hard Sunday it may have just knocked them out of the playoffs, and Sam Hurd capped it all off by getting busted for trying to start a drug ring in Chicago that would have made Scarface proud.

Whew. Now that’s a season full of adversity.

“Yea, we’ve had our share this year,” Cutler said. “That’s how it works in this league. … One day you’re in great shape, the next you’re down.”

Last year the Bears were one of the healthiest teams in the league, losing starters for only five games while placing just two players (linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer and running Harvey Unga) on injured reserve. This year, they haven’t been so lucky as six players are already on IR and they have lost nearly 30 games to injured starters.

First came linemen Carimi and Chris Williams, then long-snapper and special teams’ captain Patrick Mannelly went down. And this was a young team to start with. There have been 27 different first-year Bears on the roster this year, with eight undrafted free agents trying to slip into the mix.

Chicago tried to retool in certain areas with players like safety Brandon Meriweather and Cowboy-castaway wide receivers Roy Williams and Hurd. I think we all know how those moves turned out.

“That’s how life goes,” Bears head coach Lovie Smith said Friday, shortly before it was announced that Hurd had been waived. “There are life lessons that are being learned here by our football team.”

This year, the Bears have been learning the hard way.

Jay Taft covers the Chicago Bears for the Rockford Register Star. He can be reached at 815-987-1384 or jtaft@rrstar.com.

Read More: Marion Barber (RB – CHI), Tim Tebow (QB – DEN), Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, Dallas Cowboys

Marion Barber did some good things for the Chicago Bears in Week 14, rushing 108 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries, but his day will forever be defined by two mistakes: failing to stay in bounds on a second down run during a Bears’ possession near the end of regulation, and a critical fumble in overtime that allowed Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos to seal a 13-10 comeback victory. Barber left the team locker room early to avoid a post-game interview, and now a team media relations spokesman has told Vaughn McClure of the Chicago Tribune that the NFL has warned Barber he will be fined if he continues to avoid interviews with the media.

The seven-year NFL veteran has long been wary of media interviews ever since he joined the league will the Dallas Cowboys in 2005, but the NFL collective bargaining agreement requires all players to make themselves available to the media. If they fail to do so, media can submit a complaint and the NFL can fine the player for non-participation. Barber hasn’t spoken much in a Bears uniform, and did answer several questions back in training camp, but with such critical mistakes in Week 14 he is now in serious demand. 

Perhaps he will speak after practice on Wednesday if he is concerned about a fine from the league.

Stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago for more information, and for in-depth analysis on the Chicago Bears be sure to visit Windy City Gridiron. Visit SB Nation NFL for more news and notes around the league.

LAKE FOREST — With Jay Cutler and Matt Forte, the short passing game keyed the Bears five-game winning streak. But with Caleb Hanie, and now Marion Barber and Kahlil Bell out there, that short passing game has been missing.

As have the victories.

“There’s definitely a huge sense of urgency, and no choices but to go get a win right here,” Hanie (0-2 as a starter) said of Sunday’s game at Denver (7-5).

Hanie has yet to find a rhythm, going 18-for-36 for 254 yards with two TDs in Oakland and 11-for-24 for 133 yards against the Chiefs in two games since Cutler broke his thumb. Hanie threw three interceptions in each game.

Forte, out for 2-4 weeks with a sprained MCL, has been up and down, but still heads into his first week “off” as the league’s No. 3 rusher (997 yards) and tops the charts in yards from scrimmage (1,487). He has just 71 yards receiving in his last five games after having 287 in his first three.

But Forte is still easily the team’s top pass catcher, hauling in 52 receptions for 490 yards. Johnny Knox (33-675), Devin Hester (25-355) and Roy Williams (24-335) are way behind Forte when it comes to targets and yards after the catch.

“Matt was unusual, he was very unusual. Putting him out as a wide receiver and some of the things we’ve done in the past, it’s a little different,” offensive coordinator Mike Martz said. “But each one of those other players, both Kahlil and Marion, have different strengths … Between the two of them, we can get what we need, to be able to do what we do on offense.”

The numbers tell a different story.

Barber had 174 receptions for 1,280 yards in six seasons with the Cowboys, with fewer than 300 yards in his best season.

“He’s not that type of player. He’s more of an in-the-tackles type of runner,” coach Lovie Smith said. “Kahlil can probably do more of the things that Matt Forte can do.”

Barber, who has three catches for 18 yards this year, would not stop to discuss his receiving abilities after practice Wednesday. He has refused to talk to reporters on all but two occasions since signing with Chicago in July.

When Bell was asked if he could get Barber to make a couple of comments, Bell replied: “Good luck; good luck with that one.”

As for Bell’s pass-catching skills, he has caught one ball for four yards in his two-plus years in a Bears’ uniform. He had 196 career yards receiving at UCLA and only 160 receiving yards in high school.

“I feel like I can catch the ball. If they need me to do that, I’m going to do that to the best of my abilities,” Bell said Wednesday. “I just think as you get older, you see what an every-down back in the league has to do. I didn’t really catch a lot of balls coming out of college. Since I’ve been here, we’ve worked on it every day.

“As you get older, the coaches get more comfortable with you and you earn their trust.”

Bell has definitely earned Hanie’s trust.

“Kahlil does a great job catching the ball. He’s only got one catch, but I’ve had a lot of work with him on the scout team in the last two or three seasons, and I feel very comfortable with him,” Hanie said. “I’m confident in his ability. He’s a good receiver, and he can make plays on the edge.”

Denver’s speedy defense will test that theory on Sunday afternoon.

Bears reporter Jay Taft can be reached at 815-987-1384 or jtaft@rrstar.com.

A Hail Mary pass from Chiefs quarterback Tyler Palko to wide receiver Dexter McCluster let Kansas City take a 7-3 halftime lead.

The team never looked back and won 10-3.

Palko got yanked from the game – and possibly saved his job.

Palko shook off two miserable starts and threw for 157 yards and a touchdown even though he briefly got lifted for Kyle Orton, and the Kansas City Chiefs beat Chicago 10-3 Sunday on a day when the Bears lost Matt Forte to a right knee injury.

Orton came on to start the second quarter and immediately left the game after injuring a finger on his right hand. Reports were he dislocated a finger on his throwing hand.

Palko then came in and tossed a Hail Mary pass just before halftime. Palko connected with Dexter McCluster on the wild 38-yard pass to end the first half on a ball that got deflected by Brian Urlacher and Chris Conte, giving the Chiefs a 7-3 lead and their first touchdown in three games.

Kansas City (5-7) got a 21-yard field goal from Ryan Succop in the third quarter to make it a seven-point game, and Jon McGraw intercepted struggling backup Caleb Hanie in the end zone in the fourth.

The Chiefs also recorded seven sacks – three by Justin Houston – and intercepted Hanie three times while snapping a four-game losing streak.

The Bears dropped their second straight after winning five in a row, but the biggest loss Sunday came in the first quarter.

Forte took a hit to the right knee from Derrick Johnson on a run for no gain deep in Chicago territory, another big blow for a team contending in the NFC.

Quarterback Jay Cutler was already out indefinitely after breaking his right thumb against San Diego on Nov. 20, and now, they might have to make do without the league’s third-leading rusher.

In the fourth and final year of his rookie contract, Forte has been one of the Bears’ most valuable players. He has also been durable during his career, starting all 60 games since he entered the league in 2008, but that run could be in jeopardy.

Forte stayed on the ground while being tended to by medical personnel and walked to the sideline on his own power after that hit to the knee. He remained there for several minutes before heading to the locker room.

Orton, a former Bear, didn’t last long in this one.

On his first play since he was claimed off waivers from Denver, he was hit in the hand by Major Wright as he tossed an incomplete pass.

Palko immediately came back in and wound up completing 17 of 30 passes without an interception. It was a big improvement for a quarterback who got picked off three times in each of his first two starts after Matt Cassel suffered a season-ending hand injury.

Hanie was 11 of 24 in his second start for Cutler. He had completed four straight passes to put the ball on the Chicago 13 after connecting on just one in the second half before that when Roy Williams juggled a throw. The ball hit off several defenders before a diving McGraw picked it off in the end zone with just over 4 minutes left.

The Chiefs got all the points they needed at the end of the first half.

With 2 seconds left, Palko heaved the ball to the end zone, and in one dramatic sequence, the Chiefs got their first touchdown since the third quarter against Denver on Nov. 13.

A leaping Urlacher got both hands on the ball, but Conte went up over the top of him and knocked it to McCluster, sending the Chiefs to the locker room with the lead.

Besides Forte, the Bears also lost safety Major Wright to a shoulder injury. Chiefs safety Kendrick Lewis injured a knee in the first half.

Neither Chiefs Coach Todd Haley nor Orton would discuss Orton’s injury after the game.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press and KCTV5. All rights reserved.

A Hail Mary pass from Chiefs quarterback Tyler Palko to wide receiver Dexter McCluster let Kansas City take a 7-3 halftime lead.

The team never looked back and won 10-3.

Palko got yanked from the game – and possibly saved his job.

Palko shook off two miserable starts and threw for 157 yards and a touchdown even though he briefly got lifted for Kyle Orton, and the Kansas City Chiefs beat Chicago 10-3 Sunday on a day when the Bears lost Matt Forte to a right knee injury.

Orton came on to start the second quarter and immediately left the game after injuring a finger on his right hand. Reports were he dislocated a finger on his throwing hand.

Palko then came in and tossed a Hail Mary pass just before halftime. Palko connected with Dexter McCluster on the wild 38-yard pass to end the first half on a ball that got deflected by Brian Urlacher and Chris Conte, giving the Chiefs a 7-3 lead and their first touchdown in three games.

Kansas City (5-7) got a 21-yard field goal from Ryan Succop in the third quarter to make it a seven-point game, and Jon McGraw intercepted struggling backup Caleb Hanie in the end zone in the fourth.

The Chiefs also recorded seven sacks – three by Justin Houston – and intercepted Hanie three times while snapping a four-game losing streak.

The Bears dropped their second straight after winning five in a row, but the biggest loss Sunday came in the first quarter.

Forte took a hit to the right knee from Derrick Johnson on a run for no gain deep in Chicago territory, another big blow for a team contending in the NFC.

Quarterback Jay Cutler was already out indefinitely after breaking his right thumb against San Diego on Nov. 20, and now, they might have to make do without the league’s third-leading rusher.

In the fourth and final year of his rookie contract, Forte has been one of the Bears’ most valuable players. He has also been durable during his career, starting all 60 games since he entered the league in 2008, but that run could be in jeopardy.

Forte stayed on the ground while being tended to by medical personnel and walked to the sideline on his own power after that hit to the knee. He remained there for several minutes before heading to the locker room.

Orton, a former Bear, didn’t last long in this one.

On his first play since he was claimed off waivers from Denver, he was hit in the hand by Major Wright as he tossed an incomplete pass.

Palko immediately came back in and wound up completing 17 of 30 passes without an interception. It was a big improvement for a quarterback who got picked off three times in each of his first two starts after Matt Cassel suffered a season-ending hand injury.

Hanie was 11 of 24 in his second start for Cutler. He had completed four straight passes to put the ball on the Chicago 13 after connecting on just one in the second half before that when Roy Williams juggled a throw. The ball hit off several defenders before a diving McGraw picked it off in the end zone with just over 4 minutes left.

The Chiefs got all the points they needed at the end of the first half.

With 2 seconds left, Palko heaved the ball to the end zone, and in one dramatic sequence, the Chiefs got their first touchdown since the third quarter against Denver on Nov. 13.

A leaping Urlacher got both hands on the ball, but Conte went up over the top of him and knocked it to McCluster, sending the Chiefs to the locker room with the lead.

Besides Forte, the Bears also lost safety Major Wright to a shoulder injury. Chiefs safety Kendrick Lewis injured a knee in the first half.

Neither Chiefs Coach Todd Haley nor Orton would discuss Orton’s injury after the game.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press and KCTV5. All rights reserved.