Bears Still In Hibernation posted by richard Kagan

The Chicago Bears are 0-3 this pre-season.  Not that a record in pre-season means the regular season, but since they have not played well in the pre-season, one can make some assumptions:  The Bears will likely have a sub.500 season.

They won't make the playoffs.  That likely means say goodbye to Lovie Smith and GM Jerry Angelo.  The Bears need a Bill Cowher type coach to turn this team around.  I don't know if he is a screamer.  But they need someone to put some life in them.  Not fear.  They need a coach who sees what potential is not being utilized.  The seaon hasn't started yet but I will say it, The Bears are already underperforming.  They get this promising QB with a Jim Thorpe type arm, a guy who can zip the ball.  Elway had a great arm.  It is wierd that Cutler, who was to be the next Elway in Denver, can't bring out what he has in him.  I think it is a confidence factor and he doesn't seem suited for this team.

Cutler is not the kind of QB who can weather a bad offensive line, a screwy offensive system, and running backs, who either can't run or aren't big enough.  Now, you ask what QB could deal with that?  No one.  How about Brad Pitt in Troy?

He had amazing abilities.  He could escape any tough situation.  Heck he killed a giant in a duel.  You will have a game where it will be tied late 3rd quarter and the Bears need 40 yards to score a TD.  It is 25 degrees out, cloudy with a little bit of wind.  That is Bear weather but not Jay Cutler weather.  Jay Cutler weather is 60 degrees and calm.  Then he can play.  I think as the season goes on, we will see that although he is talented, he doesn't have a Bear (Jim McMahon) quality.  Now, there was a heck of a Bear QB.  He was tough.  He could throw the ball.  He wasn't pretty at times, but he was a leader and winner.  He found a way to win a game.  Jay Cutler doesn't have that mentality.  Not in the stadium by the lake.

Collins impresses in Bears' final preseason game posted by Joe Anello

The preseason is finally over! With the final game in the books (a 13-10 loss to the Browns, if you even care), the Bears have decisions to make before Saturday's 5:00 PM deadline to cut the roster to 53 players. Here's what I saw during this fairly lackluster contest.

Collins to the rescue...sorta 

After bringing him in less than two weeks ago, the Bears started veteran back-up Todd Collins in Cleveland Thursday night. He did not disappoint. Collins was crisp and clean in the half of action he saw, showing no rust of a player who hadn't seen a practice field in months. He's a career back-up who knows how to play the game and find the open receivers well. That being said, playing well against Cleveland's second team defense doesn't mean all that much. So no one should be calling for Jay Cutler's benching after seeing this ONE game. He'll make Lovie Smith sleep better at night, but let's hope nothing else.

Hey look Ma, Greg Olsen!

We finally saw some highlights from tight end Greg Olsen! After not getting enough from that position during the preseason, it was nice to see Olsen with the redzone grab. Hopefully Martz has found a well-derserved spot for Olsen in this offense.

Other notes... of note: 

-Chester Taylor got plenty of carries and passes early and continued his solid play from the past few weeks. He'll excel as a complement to Matt Forte.

-Chicago's defense looked better... against the Browns' back-ups. Don't put too much into it. I mean, the Browns suck.

Joe's Preseason Preview: Bears at Browns posted by Joe Anello

Since I'm in a crunch for writing time tonight, this will be a speedy preview of the Bears' fourth and final preseason outing! If you actually like watching scrubs fight for jobs (purest form of competition if you ask me), be sure to tune in tonight and cheer for players you'll never see again! Here's what else to watch for tonight before the roster cuts on Saturday:

Who needs starters?

Jay Cutler, Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs, Olin Kreutz, Earl Bennett, Hunter Hillenmeyer, Major Wright, Nick Roach, Caleb Hanie and Craig Steltz. That's the list of Bears that will be sitting out tonight's contest. I've heard some hubbub about not seeing Cutler tonight, but I don't care in the slightest. I don't want to see him take unnecessary sacks in a meaningless game for one series. Here's to scrubs!

Have a stiff Todd Collins to drink

Yep, since Jay won't see the field at all, back-up Todd Collins will be under center most of the night. He needs the reps if he's going to be the back-up at all during the regular season. We'll get a little LeFevour as well, but Collins needs to shake off some rust.

Bell vs. Wolfe: Round 4, FIGHT!

Running backs Kahlil Bell and Garrett Wolfe are in a throw-down for the third down running back spot. It's all but assured Wolfe is gone, but he should get a lot of opportunities tonight to impress other teams around the league.

Scrubs, scrubs, and more scrubs...

Keep eyes on Jarron Gilbert, Henry Melton, Tim Shaw, Juaquin Iglesias, D.J. Moore, Al Afalava, Kellen Davis, and Corey Wootton as players that need to earn their roster spots tonight. At least a few will be cut on Saturday, so stay tuned.

Bears' offense can't finish against the Cardinals posted by Joe Anello

Well, if this third preseason game was any indication of how the regular season will look, Bears fans are in for a bumpy ride. The Bears' offensive woes continued against the Cardinals as the first-team unit failed to score any points. Here are my notes from Saturday night's 14-9 loss to the Cardinals.

 
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-Mike Martz's offense couldn't finish off drives. Too many times the Bears made it into the red zone or enemy territory and failed to put points on the board. While they did show some flashes on a deep pass to Johnny Knox and screen passes to Matt Forte and Chester Taylor, it wasn't enough. For every one or two good plays, Chicago consistently followed-up with a poor one. They never appeared to be completely in-sync, ensuring some long film sessions during this short turn-around before Thursday's final preseason game.

-Chicago's run-blocking did improve over the course of the game, opening up holes for Chester Taylor, who gave plenty of justification for his offseason signing. Unfortunately, the line did little to improve its pass protection troubles, giving up four sacks on Cutler on the night. Unacceptable.

-Dave Toub needs to whip his special teams unit into shape. A blocked field goal and another miss by Robbie Gould left six points on the board, which can't happen during the regular season if the Bears expect to win. Add these troubles to the snapping issues and punt snafus over the past few weeks and you can't feel great about the third phase.

Joe's Preseason Preview: Cardinals at Bears posted by Joe Anello

Tonight the Chicago Bears take on the Arizona Cardinals in what will really be their final tune-up before their regular season opens up on September 12th. The third preseason game is always the outing in which you can place the most weight on how the team will perform in later weeks, as the starters will play into the third quarter and the coaches usually attempt to make a gameplan. Here's what I'll be watching for later tonight after I get back from being social and rev up my DVR.

Running back battle?

No, not between Matt Forte and Chester Taylor. That was never in question. The real competition tonight and next week is between Kahlil Bell and Garrett Wolfe for the third running back slot. Wolfe has always been an ace on special teams, but his production on offense hasn't proven worth his third-round selection. He's in real danger of losing his job to Bell and finishing his tenure with the Bears. We've even heard that GM Jerry Angelo has talked to a few teams about gauging their trade interest in Wolfe. Unless he shows something special, Wolfe looks to be on the way out and Bell on the way up.

Offensive line, still. 

What everyone is worried about when it comes to the first-team offense is obviously the pass protection. Early results make it seem that Cutler is in for another rough year. Rookie guard Lance Louis missed a few practices this week, unfortunate as he's the one who needs the most reps. Chris Williams will have to prove he's a true left tackle in this league after being abused one-on-one last week by Kamerion Wimbley last week. We should see more actual protection schemes this week so Mike Tice can evaluate how this line looks in real-game situations. 

Bears hit early snags against Raiders posted by Joe Anello

If you only managed to catch the first quarter or so of Saturday night's preseason game, you saw some pretty fugly football from Lovie Smith's Bears.  The offense was mediocre, the defense was bad and the special teams were awful. It's still a preseason game and therefore meaningless, but here's what I took from the Bears' 32-17 loss to the Oakland Raiders.

it was another slow start for a Bears first-team defense that gave up countless first-drive scores last season. Brian Urlacher left the game after only a few plays with a calf injury that's not believed to be serious. The pass rush struggled and the coverage downfield was nonexistent on a drive that ended with a Jason Campbell QB sneak for a touchdown. Corners were out of position and linebackers were missing their assignments. It was a less than stellar effort. Julius Peppers showed up on a few goal line plays late in the drive, but it was too late to jump-start the defense by then.

On the Bears following possession, the offensive line did its best to counter the defense's futility. After a short Forte run, linemen Chris Williams and Lance Louis were beaten by their rushers to allow two consecutive sacks of Jay Cutler, of which there were five in the first half. (Four by new Raider Kamerion Wimbley, who most often beat Chris Williams in one-on-one match-ups.) It was an ugly start. The offensive line improved over the first half, opening a hole for Forte on an 89-yard TD run, but their protection needs considerable work. Mike Tice should start earning his paycheck.

Joe's Preseason Preview: Raiders at Bears posted by Joe Anello

Forgive the extremely abbreviated posting, but I'm in the midst of a crazy nerd-filled weekend at Chicago Comic-Con and simply don't have the requisite time to fully flesh out a preseason game with the Raiders. Never fear though, I will be live-tweeting the game and posting a recap for all of you. Now let's get to a few of the things I'm looking for during Saturday night's contest.

-Jay-Mart: Part 2

 Okay, so nobody quite expected Jay Cutler to be pulled after only eight plays. This time around Cutler should play into the second quarter, giving fans a slightly clearer picture of what this offense will look like when the regular season rolls around. All of Mike Martz's bells and whistles won't be on display, but the basics of the system should come into view.

-Devin Aromashodu

Aromashodu had a solid game last week against the Chargers with 4 catches for 78 yards and a touchdown. This week pay attention to the chemistry between he and Cutler on passing plays. We all know Jay lobbied for Devin to play last season, so let's watch if D.A. takes a few receptions away from Johnny Knox as Cutler's go-to guy.

-Pass protect!

We need to keep Jay upright for 16 games this year or we'll have no chance at getting into the playoffs of even a winning record. That means Olin Kreutz and the rest of that reassembled offensive line have to start gelling fast. With all of the deep drops in Martz's scheme, the line needs to get on track.

Wright, Aromashodu stand out in Bears' first preseason game posted by Joe Anello

Football is back baby! That means we get to watch our Bears in action! Here are my notes from tonight's 25-10 preseason loss to the Chargers:

-He wasn't in the game for long, but Jay Cutler looked well enough in the eight plays he was on the field. He completed both of his pass attempts to Johnny Knox for 47 total yards. Otherwise it was hand-offs and a sack for Jay tonight in a bland offensive gameplan. Still, there's a noticeable difference on that side of the ball thanks to Martz. We'll see how it looks going forward. Some fans were surprised at Cutler only playing one series, but I was fine with it. He'll get plenty of reps in the next two games. Though I honestly doubted Lovie's claim of playing his starters close to a half. Yeah, right.

-Even in a preseason game, you would have liked to have seen more pressure from the defensive line. Especially since the Chargers' starting left tackle was out and the starters were in for three series. There was plenty of poor form on tackles, missed reads in the secondary and mis-played runs. You would think the defense would look better with all the upgrades over the offseason. Not much from Julius Peppers either, but with the quick plays San Diego was running, it would be hard for anyone to get pressure.

-The star of the night was undoubtedly Major Wright. In early after Craig Steltz (who was starting for the injured Danieal Manning) left with an injury, Wright came on and made his share of solid tackles in the backfield as well as downfield. Unfortunately, Wright eventually left the game with a finger injury. Eff. Need more safeties.

Joe's Preseason Preview: Bears at Chargers posted by Joe Anello

It's been too long since I've gotten to talk about live Chicago Bears football! On Saturday the Bears will be in San Diego to take on the Charges in their first exhibition game this year. While I'll go in-depth at each position in later blogs, I'll let you know what to look for if you're in the mood to watch some scrubs fight for jobs.

Offensive line battles:

Regardless of the new offense Mike Martz is installing and the hiring of Mike Tice as o-line coach, the front five are shaky at best. Chris Williams has been getting all he can handle so far in training camp, going one-on-one with Julius Peppers almost exclusively. Still, this will be his first full year at left tackle, the position he feels most comfortable at. Unfortunately, the rest of the line isn't as solid.  Roberto Garza has shifted from right to left guard, ensuring a learning curve for his first few starts. Olin Kreutz is another year older and therefore more susceptible to the stronger interior defensive tackles. Seventh round pick Lance Louis is starting at right guard. Do I need to say anything else? Finally, Frank Omiyale is starting at right tackle, hopefully about to prove he's worth having on the team. Like I said, shaky at best.

Solidifying the safety spot:

Who's starting the season? Chris Harris at free and Danieal Manning at strong? Major Wright at strong and Chris Harris at free? Who knows with Lovie Smith these days? Smith has never been able to stick with a safety combination, whether it's because of injury or poor play. Manning may be on his last chance at safety (let's hope) while Chris Harris isn't fit to play the free safety spot. Major Wright has impressed the coaching staff in practice, now we see if he can do the same on the field.

Bears Ready to Rumble? posted by richard Kagan

The Chicago Bears are about to come out of hibernation and start pre-season practice.  In recent years, the opening of camp has almost as much anticipation as the first game of the year.  This year, the expectations may be heightened more when Mike Martz, the offensive "gurui" takes over the Bears play book.  He will be in charge in getting the most out of Jay Cutler, the QB who wilted for much of the season, then showed how good he was in the Bears' last two games.

Cutler not only has to cut down on a league high 26 intercpetions, but he has to get used to new formations, and a whole new apprach to the game.  It will be learning on the fly, but can he learn his lessons well?  If he does, the Bears may have  a decent to good year.  If he doesn't, then the Bears wion't make the playoffs and exit head coach Lovie Smith. 

One thing is clear. The Bears need good production out its offensive line.  Cutler needs pass protection and good blocking up front.  If he has time to throw, chances are he will complete the pass.  In then end, this may decide the season, can he have time to make a good throw.  Orlando Pace is in his final years, he has to play 8 years younger.

Chris Williams, a top draft pick, has to play well.  This is a do or die season for the Bears.  They can be right in the mix or right out the door.  I also vote for a 3 game pre-season.  The pre-season is too long.  Playing these games increases the chance of injury to a player.  Coaches and players will be better off if the games are cut to three.

McCoy starts final Browns preseason game (AP)

Rookie quarterback Colt McCoy is starting Cleveland's final exhibition game. McCoy, who slid to the third round in April's draft before the Browns selected him at No. 85 overall, is expected to play at least one half against the Chicago Bears on Thursday night. McCoy has had a shaky preseason. The former Texas star has completed 15 of 26 passes for 101 yards and two interceptions. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Bears sign 38-year-old QB Todd Collins (AP)

Veteran quarterback Todd Collins made no pretenses about his ambitions after signing a one-year contract Monday with the Chicago Bears. The 38-year-old longtime NFL backup agreed to terms with an eye on taking the backup spot away from injured quarterback Caleb Hanie. "I plan to," Collins said. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Seahawks cut ex-Bears RB Peterson (AP)

The Seattle Seahawks have released former Chicago Bears running back Adrian Peterson days after signing him. Peterson signed with Seattle on Thursday. His release clears roster room for newly acquired defensive lineman Kentwan Balmer. His boomerang stay continues a pattern of roster turnover that new coach Pete Carroll has had since he arrived in January. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports