http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/1548 Recent articles about Desmond Clark en-us With Training Camp fast approaching I wanted to put the spotlight on the Bears that will have to step up or prove themselves in their respective position. QB:  Rex Grossman This one goes without saying.  The Bears brought him back with a 1-year deal to try to once-and-for-all slay his demons and show that he can compete in the NFL consistently and not just show flashes of greatness followed by a game-ending interception. RB:  Matt Forte Isn't this what every rookie dreams of when they are drafted?  The starting spot has basically been handed to Forte, now he has to step it up and show that he deserves it.  Coaches have been raving about his skills during OTA's but things are different with the pads on.  The organization is holding its breath for the first few weeks of training camp to see how the youngster runs routes when he's being chased down by Urlacher and Co. in full contact drills.  If things don't turn out well, the Bears may become big players on the running back market. WR:  Brandon Lloyd There is a lot of attention being paid to Devin Hester but all Hester really needs is the ball in his hands and he can create his own plays.  It appears the real score for the Bears on the free agent market was landing Lloyd out of Washington.  Word from the Bears is he looks great in drills so far this summer and he appears to be distancing himself from the pack as the number 1 receiver.  If he has a strong training camp Lloyd may be able to resurrect his career as a top wide out. TE:  Greg Olsen Olsen has put together some flashy plays and has an incredible ability to go up and get after the ball.  Bears quarterbacks need to look to him more often and hopefully will rely on him now that he has more experience.  The Bears resigned Desmond Clark so Olsen will platoon for playing time.  Both players are known for their good hands and ability to spread the field, but Olsen has blazing speed and incredible height to go along with it.  Olsen has done everything right so far, he just needs to get more familiar with his quarterbacks and make sure they don't forget to look for him. OT:  Chris Williams Ok rook, time to show us what you got.  Chicago is not known for their great first round draft picks so Williams will have a lot of pressure on him to perform and perform well.  Reporters and fans will be on his every step to see if maybe, just maybe, a first round draft pick will come through.  He'll have a lot of veteran mentors on the line and hopefully he'll be up to the task. OG: Terrence Metcalf Entering into his seventh season in the league he has seen some short stints as a starter but the team has never had full faith in him.  Now that Rueben Brown has departed, the job is his to lose.  He will have to show coaches that he is ready to be a part of the offensive line and hold his own.  Given his contribution in the past I think he's ready to be in the spotlight full time.  C:  Olin Kreutz Kreutz has long been considered the cog holding the Bears offensive line together and their undeniable leader.  However, last year there was a sudden drop off in his productivity and he didn't look like his normal self.  As a result the entire offensive line looked unprepared and confused all season.  The success of the O-line starts and ends with Kreutz.  He needs to get back into his old form if this offense is going to have a chance to move the ball. DE:  Mark Anderson After a flashy rookie season, Anderson was given the opportunity to start at end over veteran Alex Brown and he folded under the pressure.  His inability to handle the run distracted him from focusing his energy on being a great pass rusher.  The Bears decided to resign Brown to a longer deal and put him back on the starting line for his experience to contain running backs.  Anderson will return to his 3rd down role as a pass rushing threat on the edge.  If Anderson can't find his rookie spark, he may find himself replacable down the line. DT:  Matt Toeaina I had a hard time with this one because the real attention will be paid to Israel Idonije, who has put his time in as a special teamer and is trying to win a job as starting DT.  However, I'll be particularly interested in watching the development of Toeaina.  When the Bears were thin at the position towards the end of last season, they signed Toeaina and he burst into the backfield making plays against the Minnesota Vikings on Adrian Peterson.  Any kid that can shed a block and chase down Peterson in the backfield is someone I want to keep an eye on.  It may have been a fluke burst of adrenaline so he could make the team, but if not……you never know. LB:  Brian Urlacher Urlacher may be the face of the defense but he also is admittedly playing with an arthritic lower back and coming off surgery on his neck this offseason.  Eyes will be on Urlacher the first time he participates in contract drills to see how that back neck and back are going to hold up.  It appears the neck is healed, but he will likely have to play the rest of his career dealing with an aching lower back. CB:  Nathan Vasher There is a reason why they call him "The Interceptor."  Vasher was injured most of last season and you could see how his absense had an effect on the team.  When he returned to play a couple games the defense had a different swagger and more confidence in their play.  Vasher also turned up with an interception.  He's got a nose for the ball and when healthy and paired up with Charles Tillman, they can shut down opposing receivers.  He needs to be healthy and get back to form for this defense to return to dominance. S:  Mike Brown If you have never seen Mike Brown play I cannot even begin to describe him to you.  He is to the Bears what Mark Prior was to the Chicago Cubs.  He is not only Pro Bowl caliber, he is possibly a Hall Of Fame caliber player that has been sidelined by injuries his entire career.  When he is on the field the Bears defense looks almost unstoppable.  He will stop the run(101 tackles his rookie year), cover wide receivers, and has a knack for coming up with interceptions(14) and returning them for touchdowns (He is the franchise leader with 7 defensive TD's).  He is the total package.  When he plays the Tampa Cover-2 defense is running at it's best and will give an opposing quarterback nightmares.  Last season he played in only one game and had to be taken off the field with an injury.  After the game he broke down in tears in frustration over his career.  He wasn't sure if he would return but he agreed with the Bears to give it one more shot.  Every Bear fan and player prays that Brown can stay healthy and make a huge difference on this defense.   Oh, and please be sure to visit our new Fan-Sided Main Page!:  FanSided Wed, 18 Jun 2008 23:11:36 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/279702 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/279702 The Chicago Bears were quite the disappointment in the 2007 season as almost no one lived up to expectations. Unless you played in a canyon-deep league, the Bears were a fantasy football wasteland for the most part. Make sure to read what Bruno Boys Fantasy Football staff writer Joel Stubblefield has to say about the Chicago Bears heading into the 2008 season by clicking below. Mon, 09 Jun 2008 00:31:10 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/275970 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/275970 Yes, the season is still a brutally long four months away. We still have to endure OTA's, training camp and the preseason but I still, somehow, felt it was a good time to ponder into who are starters (and back-ups) will presumably be for the upcoming year. Quarterback By all accounts, there will be open competition between Rexy and The Beard. As ok as Orton played at the end of last year, I don't see him managing this team's offense. Grossman starts. Back-ups: Orton, Caleb Hanie. Running back Do I really need to mention the Cedric Benson fiasco? Forget about his troubles with the law and whether he did or didn't cry out for his mama, number 32 proved last year that he can't do it by himself. He and Matt Forte (a.k.a. the savior according to overzealous people in Chicago named Zabrowski or bratwurst) will form a nice tandem running attack. Forte starts. Back-ups: Cedric Benson, AP. Fullback Jason McKie has a nice ride. You can see it on one of the episodes of "CB-TV" over at Chicagobears.com. I'm not about to look that up right now. Is J.D. Runnels still on the roster? Really? McKie starts. Back-up: Lousaka Polite. Wide Receiver Alright, now we're getting to the juicy stuff. How is it all going to go down at wideout. There's a couple of different ways it could go but none of them include Devin Hester as our number one — not yet. Marty Booker is an upgrade over Moose but losing Bernard Berrian to the Vikings does sting. But then why am I laughing? Oh, that's right. Because they paid him $42 million. Earl Bennett will get an opportunity to start if he can learn the offense and Mark Bradley is poised to breakout. Shameless plugs aside, our receiving core will be stronger (not saying alot) than last year. Marty Booker and Mark Bradley start. Back-ups: Earl Bennett, Devin Hester, Rashied Davis and, gasp, Marcus Monk! Tight End Not that we needed a talent of his caliber, but drafting Kellen Davis makes us even better at a very strong position. Greg Olsen should progress and make even more plays this year. Dez Clark starts. Back-ups: Olsen, Davis. Offensive Line Chris Williams offers the type of finesse that a premier left tackle needs to have. John Tait is much better suited for the right side and obviously, is an upgrade over the effective-when-young Fred Miller. Unfortunately, Miller was 92 last season. Olin Kreutz is a staple in the middle and Garza does United Way commercials. That leaves the left guard slot wide open. Who will start at left guard? Josh Beekman, Terrance Metcalf and John St. Clair seem to be the early contenders. Williams, Beekman, Kreutz, Garza and Tait start. Back-ups: St. Clair, Big Cheese, Metcalf, Kirk Barton and Tyler Reed/Ryan Poles/Anthony Oakley (take your pick). I think that's enough for today. You've been a great crowd. Don't forget to tip your waitress. Defense and Special Teams are up next. Fri, 09 May 2008 19:57:25 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/265346 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/265346 this ones for you babygurl i know how you love your give back gigs actually its a good read. one of these times i'd like to be able to make it to one of these events Several NFL players are expected in Lakeland this weekend to offer instruction, sign autographs and mingle with fans during the Ronnie Ghent Youth Achievement Camp, sponsored by The County Buzz. Ghent, a New Orleans Saints tight end and former Lakeland High School star, will be joined by teammates Marvin Mitchell and Tyler Palko; Antonio Chatman and Quincy Wilson of the Cincinnati Bengals; Keiwan Ratliff of the Indianapolis Colts; Glenn Martinez of the Denver Broncos; Desmond Clark of the Chicago Bears; and the Atlanta Falcons' Chauncey Davis, County Buzz president Leo Etienne said. rest of the article at the link. knuckle up Thu, 10 Apr 2008 07:44:36 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/234243 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/234243 From Super Bowl to bust is the tale for the Chicago Bears this past season, and the fantasy scene doesn't get any brighter for them. This was a team that was close to "Death Valley" for fantasy football fans. There wasn't a single player at a major offensive position that rated greater than a C+, and worse, there are very few signs that the club will provide major fantasy gains in the upcoming 2008 season. Of course, if special teams are considered in your fantasy league, there is one exception. Fri, 08 Feb 2008 02:07:10 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/130527 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/130527 The Chicago Bears figure out a way to win 37-34 in OT against the Denver Broncos. Wed, 28 Nov 2007 06:27:00 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/39084 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/39084 Wow, what a week of football. From the Thanksgiving day blowouts, all the way to the monday night game I've dubbed, "The Swamp Bowl." This was such an eventful week I've had to break it down into three parts. This is the first part and in this issue I'm discussing the Bears vs Broncos game. For anyone who saw this game in its entirety understands my title. The game had, Challenges, circus catches, fourth down conversions, fumbles, picks, runbacks, big hits, big throws, key injuries, comebacks, and an Overtime. The game started out like any other, grossman was losing the ball, the Bears D struggled. "Damn," I thought to myself, "I picked the Bears as an upset." The first half ended with a couple of robbie gould field goals giving the bears 6 points at the break, and the broncos offense clicked a little earlier on, setting up two field goals and a touchdown. The main difference was Jay Cutler utilizing Brandon Marshall who has Randy Moss like potential. (Thats right I just complimented a Pat.) Another main difference was the injury of Cedric Benson. Without the speed runner in the two headed snake that is the bears running game, they were left with Adrian Peterson. No not that Adrian Peterson, the big slower one. The second half rolled around seeming like another Bears collapse. Until Denver went three and out then made the mistake of punting to Devin Hester. He ran it back, suprise, and added in a hop over the punter just to make him look more rediculous. Doing so he gained control of the all time Bears runback record, in only his second season. 13-13, we have ourselves a ball game. The Bears would pin the Broncos back pretty deep in there own territory, which led to a pick. But Grossman decided to keep this a close game by fumbling the ball. In his defense he had no targets, and when he took off I honestly thought he had a rushing touchdown. But he was hit from behind and lost the ball, it wasnt until Shanahan challenged it did the Broncos get the ball. The Broncos looked to run away with this one, scoring 14 third quarter points. But the Bears didnt lay down and stayed in the game by matching that offensive production. To the fourth quarter. I'll skip ahead to the good part. 5 min to go. Broncos had scored another touchdown. Its over right? The Bears offense cant score 14 points in 5 min. Well, I was right, they cant. But Devin Hester can run back a kickoff and make it 7 point game. After forcing the Broncos to punt, the bears had very little time to go the length of the field. But wait. A blocked punt! This could really happen. The Bears got it close to the goal line due to a dumb penalty on Dre Bly. Well the bears will be bears, 4th and goal. I dont see how it happened either. Rex dropped back and threw a perfect laser to Berian, who is looking better and better each week. He controlled the ball and planted his knee on his split second trip out of bounds. To OT. The Bears get the ball. Hester recieved it deep in the his own territory and didnt do too much to help out the offense. No matter, Rex came out and threw a Jay Cutler like pass to Desmond Clark which crossed them over in to the broncos side of the field. Rex worked his way a little further, then took a knee in the center of the field around the 20. Solid Gold came in and won the game for the bears, man it feels weird saying that. The Bears got the win that sort of kept their playoff hopes alive. The Broncos lost a game that knocked them out of first in the west. It was a great game filled with great football mixed with not so good football. It may have been the game of the season in my book from an unbiased standpoint. This concludes my Part one. Part two coming next time I have free time during class. Enjoy Austen Leake Tue, 27 Nov 2007 14:19:41 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/38874 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/38874 The Chicago Bears eye the .500 mark with another matchup against the Detroit Lions in week 8. Here's how I see this game... Fri, 26 Oct 2007 03:09:45 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/32941 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/32941 The most injury-laden NFL season in recent memory just kept on rolling in week 7, with top rusher Ronnie Brown going down for the remainder. That's an adequately depressing way to introduce the week 8 edition of our most depressing weekly column, Cut Your Losses - the players you really need to let go of, especially if you're clinging to them due to misguided hope or a disturbingly persistent man-crush. Tue, 23 Oct 2007 15:49:49 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/32466 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/32466 The Chicago Bears pull out an unusual late fourth quarter 19-16 win against the Philadelphia Eagles. No timeouts, 97 yards, and no touchdowns on 9 previous drives sums this one up as classic. Mon, 22 Oct 2007 02:36:51 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/32246 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/32246 The Chicago Bears face the Philadelphia Eagles in a Week 7 NFL matchup...and it won't be easy. Fri, 19 Oct 2007 05:06:52 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/31938 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/31938 A Week 6 NFL matchup between the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings. Just a few things to watch for in this game. Fri, 12 Oct 2007 05:05:38 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/30795 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/30795 The Chicago Bears were in a must-win situation and found a way to beat the Green Bay Packers 27-20. Mon, 08 Oct 2007 04:08:36 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/30179 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/30179 Week 3 matchup between the Chicago Bears and the Dallas Cowboys. Fri, 21 Sep 2007 05:06:10 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/28012 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/28012 The problem with the Chicago Bears defense continues. Here's what needs to change quickly. Tue, 18 Sep 2007 13:56:10 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/27590 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/27590