Tag Archive | "yahoo"
Posted on 07 March 2012. Tags: article, bears, chicago, Chicago Bears, cost-the-bears, denver, filled-the-slot, hanie, sports, super-bowl, whitney-levon, yahoo
Today it was reported that the Chicago Bears will not be bringing Caleb Hanie back next season to serve as a back-up for Jay Cutler, according to a report from ESPN. The Chicago Bears continue making moves this off-season that just seem to make sense. This may actually take some time for fans to get used to, and it may actually give us hope for seasons to come.
How could any of us forget last season when Jay Cutler was out with a broken thumb and Hanie was brought in to take his place? Despite a dismal showing at his first two games, Lovie Smith stayed true to his stubborn ways and announced the Hanie was his man . It was maddening to see the Bears insist that they would not look elsewhere for a successful quarterback, even though Donovan McNabb could have easily filled the slot.
Smith seems to have changed his tune for this season, admitting that “we do need to get ourselves in a better position at that backup quarterback position.” The move to find a stronger back-up isn’t new; the topic has been getting a lot of attention in the sports world even before today’s announcement. It is a bit surprising to hear Lovie admit he may have been wrong, even though it is essentially admitting that his coaching decisions cost the Bears a possible trip to the playoffs.
It looks at the moment that Josh McCown, who has the third quarterback spot, will be back on the roster for the next season. He will not be getting promoted to back-up, so who will our new QB be? Some are saying that the Bears should bring Kyle Orton back for the position . That seems like a risky move considering Orton couldn’t hack it in Denver any more than he could in Chicago the first time. With Jay Cutler’s propensity for injuries, there is a very real chance that any back-up we have will see some significant time on the field.
There is no doubt that the Bears need to find a veteran with experience for the empty quarterback slot, I am just hoping that we don’t keep repeating our same mistakes by bringing back a player who wasn’t good enough for us before.
Whitney Levon is a Chicago native whose dedication to the Bears goes back to her first football memory; the Bears’ 1985 Super Bowl victory
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There is the quick update of the day.
Posted in bears-news
Posted on 01 March 2012. Tags: accomplishments, bears, career, Chicago Bears, coach, coaches, embarrassing, green, indianapolis, lovie, Lovie Smith, minnesota, super-bowl, texas, yahoo
Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith has been inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. Even though he seems to have become the coach we love to hate lately, his accomplishments throughout his career in football could be considered pretty impressive. Does he deserve the honor, or should he be judged on the job he is doing now, not just what he has done in the past?
Smith was a two-time All American in college , went to state three times in high school, and began his coaching career at the same high school where his football career started. As a coach for the Chicago Bears, he ranks just behind Coach Ditka and Papa Bear Halas in number of victories.
Let’s face it, as far as Lovie’s number of victories, we can assume that is only due to tenure. Other coaches who have done equally poorly in individual seasons (does anyone remember Dave Wannstedt?) did not stay with the team nearly as long as Lovie. Smith has been re-signed when other teams would have let their coach go. The Bears re-signed him after their embarrassing loss to the Indianapolis Colts in the 2006 Super Bowl. He was extended again this year, so he will be with us until at least 2013.
Jerry Angelo has gotten much of the blame for not bringing in the talent needed, but Lovie needs to be held accountable too. After Cutler was injured this season, Smith refused to try to get more depth in the position. He stated that “We have our quarterbacks here now. There are quarterbacks here, we have two of them—we really have three of them.” This was despite the fact that players like Donovan McNabb had become available. McNabb might not have been the best player for the Bears, but this move just highlights Lovie’s stubbornness and resistance to change.
Honestly, Lovie has had it easy in the NFC North. Up until this past season, the Detriot Lions have been a non-factor, and the Minnesota Vikings have been a shadow of their former selves. A little bit of luck against the Green Bay Packers has been all the Bears have really needed to look good in their pack. It is not hard to do well when you are the best of the worst.
So when the Chicago Bears website puts Lovie in the same sentence as Halas and Ditka, it is really doing a disservice to the coaches who have really done something with our team. Lovie may be deserving of a nod in his home state of Texas, but he is less deserving of any accolades when it comes to the things he has done here in Chicago. Maybe the Bears organization will see that now that Lovie doesn’t have Jerry Angelo to blame anymore.
Whitney Levon is a Chicago native whose dedication to the Bears goes back to her first football memory; the Bears’ 1985 Super Bowl victory.
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Posted in bears-news
Posted on 23 February 2012. Tags: chicago, combine, field, offense, super-bowl, whitney-levon, wide, yahoo
Phil Emery is attending his first combine as the GM of the Chicago Bears. He has to have a lot of key positions on his mind these days, but h e has the scouting history to make some sound decisions . Even so, many fans are wondering what his focus will be.
Emery will most likely be looking at the field of wide receivers at the combine. The Bears are determined to stick with Jay Cutler as their quarterback, so now they need to find someone to catch him. The Bears cannot rely on just a running game in 2012, and the wide receiver position is key to this.
The Bears lost Sam Hurd when he was arrested on drug charges, which left a hole in the depth of receivers for the offense. Matt Forte’s position with the team is still unclear, so Emery must do what he can to prepare the rest of the offense. To be fair, the offense needed some serious help before the Hurd scandal and the Forte franchise tag debate, so these two only further complicate a bad situation.
Some are saying that Emery should be looking long and hard at Justin Blackmon . It would take some fancy moves to get Blackmon, but the wide receiver from Oklahoma State may be just what the Bears need. There are some concerns about his speed, as rumors swirl that he may not run the 40-yard dash at the combine , but his track record as a college player may be enough to satisfy Emery even if he doesn’t get to see Blackmon’s speed at the combine.
Emery must come away from the combine with a clear picture of what he wants this Bears team to look like in 2012. We may have to resign ourselves to a re-building year, but if Emery makes the right moves now, we can still have a solid season. What he can’t do is repeat the Angelo mistakes of the past. We have to move the ball down the field and protect Jay Cutler. Phil Emery will only win over Bears fans if he gives the new offensive coaching staff some good talent to work with.
Whitney Levon is a Chicago native whose dedication to the Bears goes back to her first football memory; the Bears’ 1985 Super Bowl victory.
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Posted in bears-news
Posted on 21 February 2012. Tags: based-on-either, bears, cutler, denver, denver-broncos, health, team, yahoo
What is the Chicago Bears future? They have a good quarterback in Jay Cutler and great running back in Matt Forte. The Bears seemed to be headed for post season play when Cutler and Forte got injured.
The Bears, as usual can’t seem to identify a franchise player like Forte other than to let things hang until the only answer will be a franchise tag.
Who won the Super Bowl this year? The team that won it was the New York Giants. The reason that the Giants won is that they have gotten the drift that you need a “team” to win, not “spot” great players who are more interested in themselves than the team or conversely a team that will not admit when a player is above average and should be rewarded such as Forte.
Chicago Bears Injuries
There were major injuries to Jay Cutler and Matt Forte. Now in addition to the financial aspect of the problem of the player’s involvement there is a question no one knows the answer to and that is “How much have the injuries affected the players?”
Change of Playing Style
In the NFC the San Francisco 49ers not only showed team spirit and what it can do but some different forms of play brought in from college. The same system and team spirit was exhibited by the Denver Broncos and you can laugh all you want but they are here to stay.
That has been a problem for the Bears over the years and it stands even firmer with Lovie Smith. Change has to be made quickly and the Bears just don’t change and adjust. They try to dictate no matter how poorly what they are trying to do works.
The future of the Chicago Bears does not look bright, at least to me.
The Bears have their best players in limbo based on either health or pay and in the area of health there are questions.
Lovie Smith is a coach who does not make quick decisions and that I believe has hurt the team. Further our great defense is getting older.
Things just don’t look good.
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Gotta run!.
Posted in bears-news
Posted on 04 January 2012. Tags: article, bears, discrepancy, getting-the-job, Lovie Smith, martz, martz-resigns, nfl, offense, organization, resignation, yahoo
It’s been a busy day for the Chicago Bears.
Just hours after the team announced that it had fired long time general manager Jerry Angelo, offensive coordinator Mike Martz announced his resignation. After his meeting with head coach Lovie Smith, Martz announced that he would not return to Chicago citing “philosophical differences over how the team could run its offense.” In a move not unrelated, quarterbacks coach Shane Day also chose to not return.
Right off the bat, commentators and fans alike wondered if Martz and the Chicago Bears could co-exist. Martz has always been a pass-oriented coach, while the Bears entire organization has always been committed to being a running team. Martz’s tenure was full of questions surrounding his play calling and pass/run balance. It seems that the discrepancy between Martz and the organization has finally caught up and they have chosen to go their separate ways.
While I’ve certainly had my questions about some of Martz’s decisions over the last two seasons, you wonder how this move will affect the development of the Bears offense. If I’m honest, prior to the injuries of Jay Cutler and Matt Forte, the offense looked decently threatening. For the first time in Martz’s time with Chicago, the offense starting looking like they were “getting it.” Combining with Jay Cutler’s clear improvement in the ball protection category, the offense looked like one that was good enough to carry the team far. It speaks to Jay Cutler’s quality that all of the Bears receivers virtually disappeared once he went down. Hopefully, the fact the players will all have to learn another offense won’t set back the progress they have made. Though, I have a feeling it will.
I would have liked to see Martz stick around. Had Cutler and company actually had a strong receiver to lead the corps and a consistent offensive line, I think they would have excelled. As it was, the final five games prior to Cutler’s injury saw the Bears score 39, 24, 30, 37, and 31 points. This was an offense that was getting the job done with virtually no consistent presence at receiver and an offensive line that varied greatly in quality from week to week. Whether that was Cutler, Forte, Martz, or a combination, the results were there. I hate to see Martz go right now. While I don’t have major problems with either, I think I would have rather seen Lovie Smith go before Martz.
It’s a business I guess.
Brian is a lifelong Chicago Bears fan, having lived in Illinois his entire life and having followed the NFL throughout.
Sources
Martz Resigns
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Posted in bears-news
Posted on 03 January 2012. Tags: atlanta-falcons, bears, chicago, Chicago Bears, following-knox, general-manager, time, yahoo
With the Chicago Bears deciding to fire general manager Jerry Angelo, it added another question to a team that already has a lot to be answered for next season. Here’s a look at a few issues the Bears will have to address.
Find A New General Manager
I guess this is a pretty obvious one, but it’s certainly an important one. Angelo has been the Bears GM since 2001. It will take a little time for a new GM —whoever that might be—to settle in. Eric DeCosta ( Baltimore Ravens ), Les Snead ( Atlanta Falcons ) and Steve Keim ( Arizona Cardinals ) have been mentioned as possible replacements.
Signing Matt Forte
This is a question mark that shouldn’t exist, but it does. The Bears have seemingly torqued off Forte a bit by not signing him to a long-term contract prior to the season. With Forte’s injury in the latter half of this season, he made sure he was 100% before he returned. He was eventually placed on injured reserve. If the Bears lose Forte, it would set them back considerably. Ideally, the presence of a new GM will make Forte willing to negotiate again.
Does Lovie Smith Stay as Head Coach?
While the Bears have said that Lovie Smith is safe for the time being after firing Angelo, I’m not totally convinced. I’m constantly going back and forth on what I think about Smith and if I want him to stay the Bears coach. Prior to injuries, the Bears were putting together quite a solid campaign, so it’s hard to want to fire a coach because the team couldn’t recuperate from losing its two best players. However, many times a new general manager wants his own coaching staff in place. Whoever the new GM is, he will have to decide if he wants Lovie and company along for the ride.
Johnny Knox’s Back
Following Knox’s horrible injury against the Seattle Seahawks, no one was sure if Knox would play again. While subsequent surgery and news coming from Knox’s camp is that he will be able to, he’ll have to go through a great deal of rehab. After an injury like that, you never know how it will affect the long term development of a player. While Knox may not be the best receiver on the field, he’s been a major part of what passing threat the Bears have had. With no receiver showing much promise in house (other than maybe Earl Bennett), how Knox recovers will be important.
An Aging Defense
Players like Brian Urlacher, Julius Peppers, and Lance Briggs are tremendous football players. Though, they won’t be around forever. With the exception of a few players, the Bears defense is getting old. Not only has the defense not performed consistently well the last few years, but there doesn’t seem to be much depth behind them. Isreal Idonije and Henry Melton appear to be on the rise, but the linebackers don’t have much behind Urlacher and Briggs. The defensive backs, while not “old,” simply don’t get the job done on a consistent basis. This is something the new GM will have to address.
This certainly isn’t a catch-all list (Mike Martz, Roy Williams, and the offensive line could be added as well), but it begins to show how many questions this Bears team has as it enters the offseason.
Brian is a lifelong Chicago Bears fan, having lived in Illinois his entire life and having followed the NFL throughout.
Sources
Bears Fire Angelo, Smith Safe
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Posted in bears-news
Posted on 02 January 2012. Tags: article, backup, bears, brian-urlacher, chicago, Chicago Bears, game, Julius Peppers, nfl, performance, position-or-two, vikings, yahoo
Despite the Chicago Bears’ season ending with a meaningless game against the rival Minnesota Vikings, the game might have meant something in an indirect way.
First a little about the game itself. The Bears fell down 10-0 early on only to come back and make it 14-10 on a touchdown pass from Josh McCown to Roy Williams and an interception return touchdown by Charles Tillman. The Bears wouldn’t trail again. The Bears ended up with a 17-13 victory, but it took some timely plays (Julius Peppers blocking Ryan Longwell’s field goal attempt) and some fortunate ones (the Vikings botching a snap on another field goal attempt). The Bears tried to give this one away a couple of times. In the end, after D.J. Moore intercepted Joe Webb’s pass at the Chicago 30, it was over.
The game itself meant very little. Both teams were out of playoff contention and were locked into their respective third and fourth place finishes within the NFC North. However, one side note that could come out of this game is the settling of the Bears backup quarterback situation next season. While Josh McCown hasn’t performed extremely well in his two starts, he’s been surprisingly competent for a player who hasn’t played steadily for four years. With another solid enough start (15 for 25, 160 yards, one touchdown, and one interception), McCown has seemingly secured the backup position for next year. Combining his performance with Caleb Hanie’s lackluster one, McCown seems a little more secure.
Ideally, Jay Cutler won’t get injured next season and the choice of McCown won’t mean anything. My hope is that the Bears will try and add a piece or two (and sign Matt Forte to a long term contract) to a team that was legitimately strong prior to injuries. If the Bears can stay healthy and upgrade at a position or two, the Bears could make good on Brian Urlacher’s claim of the team vying for a championship.
For now, the victory is a dim ray of pleasure on an otherwise disappointing season.
Brian is a lifelong Chicago Bears, having lived in Illinois his entire life and having followed the NFL throughout.
Sources
Bears Top Vikings
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Posted in bears-news
Posted on 29 December 2011. Tags: bears, chicago, Chicago Bears, chicago-cubs, Devin Hester, intricacies, nfl, opportunity, perhaps-it-due, season, whether-or-not, williams-wants, yahoo
As the season draws to a disappointing end for the Chicago Bears, wide receiver Roy Williams says he hopes to be back in Chicago next season despite his struggles. I guess the question is whether or not the Chicago Bears and their fans want him. I’m not sure I do.
Perhaps it due to me being the Chicago Cubs fan that I am, but I’m normally a perpetual optimist. By this I mean that I get excited when any team that I follow signs just about anyone. I get intrigued at what the new player might bring to the table. This was the case with Roy Williams coming to Chicago. The last few years haven’t given us much hope to think Williams would resurrect his stellar 2006 campaign. Though, I continued to hope. The Bears were (are) in pretty dire need of a go-to receiver. The thought was that Williams could benefit from a reunification with Mike Martz. Well, that’s not what happened.
This season has been marred by inconsistencies, blown chances, and disappointment from Williams. He doesn’t see it that way saying “I feel like I made plays when the opportunity came. Of course everybody’s going to bring up the negatives, which is fine. But for the most part, I made enough plays, and I’ll be happy to sign, but if not, I’ll continue on elsewhere.”
I don’t claim to know all the intricacies of the game in terms of how well Williams was performing when he wasn’t the target of the play, but I’m not sure which tape he was watching that made him feel that he “made plays when the opportunity came.” He seemed to suffer from the same stone hands he suffered in Dallas. He certainly wasn’t the primary target the Bears were hoping he would be. 33 receptions for 447 yards isn’t getting the job done —at least not for someone that’s supposed to be a major part of the offense.
The problem is that the Bears are in such need of receivers. I’m inclined to say that Earl Bennett is the Bears best receiver, but he entirely disappeared when Jay Cutler went down. Johnny Knox certainly has some upside but is plagued by inconsistency. Devin Hester no longer seems to be getting better at the wide receiver position; he seems to be leveling out if not worsening. The Bears need someone like Williams to step into a major role for Jay Cutler. I’m just not sure Williams is the answer.
I really hoped he would be. Logic didn’t say he would be, it was just a hope. I think the Bears would be better off looking elsewhere.
Brian is a lifelong Chicago Bears fan, having lived in Illinois his entire life and having followed the NFL throughout.
Sources
Williams Wants to Return
Roy Williams Stats
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Running low on time today, i’ll be back tomorrow hopefully with some more news.
Posted in bears-news
Posted on 29 December 2011. Tags: article, bears, chicago, detroit-lions, game, greatest-show, highest, martz, martz-coaching, nfl, numbers, season, succeed-or-fail, williams-want, yahoo
In what has been a Jekyll and Hyde type season for the Chicago Bears, offensive coordinator Mike Martz has expressed interest in returning to Chicago next season. The question is do the Bears want him?
While you don’t want to lean too much on excuses, I think it’s fair to say much of the Bears’ collapse this season was due to the unfortunate amount of injuries they sustained to key players. When healthy, the Bears looked like a formidable opponent. The point is taken that injuries are a part of the game and a team should be prepared to carry on through them, but it can’t logically be thought that a team can sustain itself consistently when losing a starting quarterback and running back —especially when they are as essential as Jay Cutler and Matt Forte are to the Chicago Bears.
The point I’m getting at comes back around to offensive coordinator Mike Martz and his recent comments on his desire to stay in Chicago after this season. Essentially, you can’t really blame Martz for what happened to the offense post-Cutler and Forte. In reality, the Bears offense actually looked middle-to-upper tier prior to Cutler’s injury. During their five game winning streak prior to losing Cutler, the Bears scored 39, 24, 30, 37, and 31 points in those five games. Those are good point totals. Additionally, coming from someone that watches a whole lot of Bears football, these are nutty numbers for the Bears —who often have relied on a methodical, clock-controlling offense. Is this from Martz? That’s hard to say, but since he’s at the helm, he gets some credit. However, since Martz left his powerhouse St. Louis Rams in 2005, the highest yardage ranking his offenses have managed is 19th (2007 Detroit Lions) and the highest points scored ranking is 16th (’07 Lions). These certainly aren’t “offensive mastermind” numbers.
Most of the above looks like criticism. It’s not really meant to be, just some light number crunching. There are clearly countless unmentioned factors that go into all the numbers and stats listed above. Martz’s coaching history is full of gaudy numbers —mostly put up by the once-potent St. Louis Rams and their “Greatest Show on Turf.” The offenses he coaches don’t seem to have consistent results. Usually, the results come from having exceptional personnel on the field. While I will admit that to be the case in most instances throughout the NFL, Martz certainly falls into it. Regardless of why offenses succeed or fail, the Bears’ offense was unquestionably better this season prior to all the injuries. That’s enough for me to be alright with Martz coming back for another go. I also know it takes time for players to learn an offensive scheme.
As long as the Bears keep upgrading personnel and can stay healthy, they should continue to improve offensively. With that in mind, I’ll take Martz for another year.
Brian is a lifelong Chicago Bears fan, having lived in Illinois his entire life and having followed the NFL throughout.
Sources
Martz, Williams Want to Return
Chicago Bears Schedule
Mike Martz Coaching History
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Comment Below!.
Posted in bears-news
Posted on 29 December 2011. Tags: article, bears, bears-receivers, Chicago Bears, forte, Johnny Knox, other-issues, over-the-years, think-the-bears, yahoo
I’ve been a Chicago Bears’ fan for over 55 years. I’ve been a Chicago Cubs’ fan for over 55 years. I’m one of the very few people who also cheer for the Chicago White Sox as well.
Ever since Chicago has had the Bulls I have been a supporter and every year I’ve come to love the Chicago Blackhawks more and more.
There are other Chicago teams I care about as well but my point is that coming from downstate Peoria, Illinois, I was raised to be for Chicago teams and as an adult have continued to wish them the best.
I tell you this to try and convince you that I have no reason at all to wish the Chicago Bears bad luck. I have no desire to try to be negative in my comments about the Bears or their future.
I am forced to say however that the Bears have no future for at least the next couple of years.
Matt Forte:
The Bears refused to lock Forte into a contract according to Melissa Isaacson of ESPN Chicago despite his prowess as a player. It appears from Isaacson’s comments that Forte felt the Bears didn’t feel loyal towards him. Then Forte was injured.
Now the Bears have an injured star whose future abilities are unknown. Further if you think Forte is “bearing” Chicago any love right now you may want to think again.
This is not a situation where the Bears are simply going to pick up next year where they left off physically or emotionally with their star running back.
Jay Cutler:
Jay Cutler was also injured and had to have thumb surgery. Is he going to be able to throw as well in the future?
Bears Receivers:
Johnny Knox was severely injured. Roy Williams was a huge disappointment. These are just a couple of issues.
Other Issues:
The Bears have ongoing problems with their offensive line and for the life of me I don’t know what has happened to the defense other than to say perhaps it’s time for a change, an “upgrade.” Man to man coverage is really better but you have to have a consistent pass rush and we don’t.
As far as the coaches go I respect Lovie Smith and Rod Marinelli. However I think Mike Martz has lost his touch and indeed think the Bears need a coaching overhaul. It is simply time for a change. We have seen many instances over the years particularly with quarterbacks where the coaching decision to change came way to slow.
As I look at all these issues, physical, emotional and functional, I don’t see a team capable of returning to sound competition for at least two years, probably three.
Reference:
ESPNChicago.com, Melissa Isaacson, “Matt Forte doesn’t feel Bears’ loyalty”
NBCChicago.com, Maggie Hendricks, Bear Bites: What Forte’s Injury Means”
SportingNews.com, Gene Chamberlain, “Bears Johnny Knox injured back on hit, won’t return”
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Not much else going on in the NFL world today.
Posted in bears-news
Posted on 28 December 2011. Tags: against-the-san, article, bears, chicago, Chicago Bears, diego-chargers, game, kansas, season, thumb, yahoo
The 2011 season will be a painful one for Chicago Bears fans to remember. Not long ago, the Bears were 7-3 and rolling toward the playoffs. However, the team has lost five straight games due in large part to some major injuries. Chicago officially hung up the towel on their two most important offensive players. Matt Forte and Jay Cutler were both placed on the injured reserve list. That means that neither player will appear in the regular season finale against the Minnesota Vikings.
Neither of these moves should be a surprise. It was widely assumed that Cutler was out for the year when he injured his thumb against the San Diego Chargers in Week 12. It was also considered a long shot for Forte to return for the season finale. He sprained his MCL in Week 14 in a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. However, the Bears kept hope alive by keeping both players off the injured reserve list. That hope is officially over.
Cutler had pins removed from his hand recently and there was no way he was going to play in this game. He should make a full recovery and be fine going forward. However, his thumb injury was serious enough to warrant the surgery that essentially ended his season. Meanwhile, Forte’s injury figured to take more than a month to recover from. A running back with a sprained MCL needs time to heal. The Bears would have been risking a lot by bringing him back for this game. By putting him on the injured reserve list, the Bears will give Forte rest and ensure that he can return healthy in 2012.
The season started slipping away when Cutler was hurt. Chicago did not have a capable replacement in Caleb Hanie and promptly lost a couple of games. Things got even worse when Forte was injured. As such a huge part of the offense, Forte might have been a league MVP contender before he got hurt. Without him, Chicago could manage nothing. They haven’t even looked competitive with both players out of the lineup. By officially ruling them out of the final game, the Bears can start thinking about a 2012 season in which both players are healthy.
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Gotta run!.
Posted in bears-news
Posted on 27 December 2011. Tags: Aaron Rodgers, article, bears-playoff, being-admirable, chicago, Chicago Bears, entire, entirely-handle, green, having-followed, minnesota, nfl, overly-shocking, yahoo
Despite a few surprising offensive performances, the Chicago Bears game against the Green Bay Packers went just about how I expected it too. In what has been a roller coaster season of successes, injuries, and disappointment, the Bears were officially eliminated from playoff contention by their division rivals. It’s too bad; the Bears looked entirely legitimate for a while.
As I was watching NBC’s broadcast of the game, it was said “just five weeks ago, Josh McCown was coaching high school football.” That statement summed up just how unfortunate the Bears predicament was. The Bears are playing arguably the best team in the entire league and need to win in order to have a chance at a playoff appearance. The best they can do is a quarterback that hasn’t played substantially since 2007 and was recently coaching high school. Merry Christmas.
Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay offense were able to entirely handle the Bears defense. While it wasn’t surprising, the Bears really did need a better performance from the defense if they were going to have a chance. McCown’s performance wasn’t anything incredible, but when you add in the facts that are stated above, his line of 19 for 28 for 242 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions is pretty impressive. The only problem is the NFL doesn’t care about your circumstances. Despite those numbers being admirable for a man who hasn’t played substantially for four years or so, it wasn’t enough for the Bears to hold pace with Rodgers and co. Those numbers don’t get it done when the opposing quarterback’s stat line is 21 for 29, 283 yards, five touchdowns, and no interceptions.
The offense was not without its mistakes, but when you put up 441 yards of offense and are 6 for 12 on third down, you can’t put too much blame on the offense in this one.
The Bears will close their season with a now meaningless game against the Minnesota Vikings.
With the loss, the Bears were booted from the NFC playoff race. The Bears’ struggles the last five weeks aren’t overly shocking given their circumstances, but with a team that was coming into their own quite nicely prior to the injuries, we fans are forced to wonder what might have been.
Brian is a lifelong Chicago Bears fan, having lived in Illinois his entire life and having followed the NFL throughout.
Sources
Packers End Bears Playoff Hopes
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Running low on time today, i’ll be back tomorrow hopefully with some more news.
Posted in bears-news
Posted on 27 December 2011. Tags: Aaron Rodgers, article, chicago, games, green, green-packers, jordy-nelson, minnesota, nba, nfl, packers, whether-or-not, words, yahoo
When the Chicago Bears faced the Green Packers on December 25 th, the only question on my mind was whether or not the Bears would be able to keep the game close. With four of their offensive players out with injuries, one could hardly blame me for my pessimistic perspective. While the Bears failed to eliminate the Packers from playoff contention a year ago, the Packers were not in a charitable mood as they defeated Chicago 35-21 to clinch their 14 th victory on the season and the top seed in the NFC. Here is my spin on how the Bears played on both sides of the ball.
Offense:
It’s rather sad to say this, but the 21 point output against Green Bay was the most the Bears have scored since their last win five weeks ago. Considering that he had not started in an NFL game in four years, Josh McCown played decently, going 19-for-28 for 242 yards with 1 touchdown and two interceptions. He was definitely an upgrade from Caleb Hanie, but unfortunately for the Bears, it took them losing four games before they made the switch.
The offensive line also did a good job of protecting McCown and the Bears actually had more total yards (441) than the Packers (363), including 199 yards on the ground. However, Chicago was simply unable to generate scoring drives consistently, which is a recipe for disaster against a team like the Packers.
Defense:
The Bears’ defensive philosophy is to bend, but not break. In other words, the number of yards allowed doesn’t matter as long as they don’t give up a ton of points. Well against the Packers, the Bears’ defense was broken several times over. Starting on their opening drive, the Packers marched 80 yards on nine plays to take an early 7-0 lead., which pretty much set the tone for the game.
After the Bears trimmed the lead to 14-10 early in the third quarter, Aaron Rodgers (21-of-29, 283 yards), responded with a 55-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Jordy Nelson, which essentially put the game out of reach. Aaron Rodgers threw for a career-high five touchdowns and Jordy Nelson torched the Bears’ secondary with 115 reception yards on six catches.
Following their fifth consecutive loss, the Bears are now eliminated from playoff contention. Regardless of whether or not they beat the Minnesota Vikings next week, there are a number of issues the Bears will need to address both on the field as well as the front office.
James Tillman is a resident of the Chicago-land area who has been an NFL fan for over 20 years. James is also a fan blogger on Yahoo Sports and NJFFL Dynasty. For interesting topics on the NFL, NBA and MLB, follow him on Twitter @jtillman9693.
Sources:
NBC Channel 5
“Early score sets the tone”, Sean Jensen, Chicago Sun-Times
“Mr. Rodgers not a friend of Bears”, Rick Morrissey, Chicago Sun-Times
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Posted in bears-news
Posted on 27 December 2011. Tags: article, broncos, championship, chicago, Chicago Bears, chiefs, cutler, denver, denver-broncos, game, kansas, kansas-city, nfl, playoffs, yahoo
There are probably hundreds of plays that cost the Chicago Bears their shot at a postseason trip for the 2011 season. Of course it’s easy to blame it on injuries and while I want to include one that is not what ruined the Bears’ season.
Jay Cutler’s Injury:
I did say we wouldn’t count injuries. This wasn’t an “injury” as much as it was a “play.” And it was a very dumb play at that. Wouldn’t it be fair to say that Cutler’s attempt to tackle the man who intercepted his pass was “not smart?” Why did he do it?
In the NFC Championship last year Jay Cutler was considered less than a man because he sat out much of the game and those who are self-proclaimed “experts” said he should have stayed in the game despite having to obey the coaches.
It is for that reason I believe that Cutler went after the defensive player who intercepted the pass. I think he wanted to prove he had “heart.” As a result the Bears are not in the playoffs. Quarterbacks have no business trying to tackle people. Keep a close eye on those who have won Super Bowls.
Marion Barber runs out of bounds against Denver:
Perhaps this loss to the Broncos was one of the saddest losses in Chicago Bears’ history. The Bears controlled the game completely and could have run the clock out at the end. Barber ran out of bounds and gave the Denver Broncos hope. It also took the Bears’ record down to (7-6).
Underestimating the Kansas City Chiefs-”Hail Mary”:
When Coach Lovie Smith went for a first down on fourth and a yard I had a bad feeling and I was right. Going into the game there was an aura of arrogance on the part of the Bears because Kansas City wasn’t doing well and the Bears were at home.
However play after play and failure after failure kept the Chiefs close and sure enough at the end of the first half the Kansas City Chiefs completed a ridiculous “Hail Mary.”
Roy Williams dropped pass in the Kansas City game:
Roy Williams was obtained by the Bears to be a tough big receiver. He dropped a lot of balls in 2011 but none bigger than the pass near the Kansas City goal line that could have tied the game in the fourth quarter.
Bears failure to understand their quarterback situation:
After two Caleb Hanie losses Chicago should have been making some kind of deal. The coaching staff is too slow.
And now, despite having a record of (7-3) after 10 games with an easy schedule, the Bears will watch the playoffs from home.
I wonder if we’ll ever try something new.
Reference:
MyNorthwest.com, Associated Press, “Bears’ Quarterback Cutler to have surgery on broken thumb”
NFL Video.com, “Barber’s Big Mistake”
YouTube, “Jay Cutler Quits NFC Championship Game-No Heart Son”
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That’s all the news for today.
Posted in bears-news
