http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/2990 Recent articles about Adewale Ogunleye en-us Who will line up at Wide Receiver? I have read reports of all of the following being in the mix:  Marty Booker, Devin Hester, Rashied Davis, and Brandon Lloyd.  I think this is a fair group to choose from since they represent the players with the most NFL experience, which isn't saying much.  I think the [...] Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:40:09 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294422 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294422 The NFL announced Monday that Commissioner Roger Goodell, joined by New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees and New York Giants defensive end Osi Mumenyiora, will soon leave on a seven-day, three-country summer USO tour led by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen. It will be the first time that the commissioner of a sports league visits U.S. troops overseas as part of a USO tour, according to the USO. At the request of Commissioner Goodell, Brees and Umenyiora will join the tour along with other participants invited by Admiral Mullen, including two members of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. "It is a great honor to have been asked to join Admiral Mullen on this USO tour," said Commissioner Goodell.  "I anticipate that it will be a very humbling and memorable experience.  I am inspired by the many NFL representatives that, over the decades, have volunteered to visit our troops overseas and have talked about it being a life-changing experience.  I want to do my part and emphasize that the entire NFL appreciates and supports the work that our military does to protect our country." The NFL has partnered with the USO for more than 40 years. According to the NFL the league "was the first sports organization to send players to visit troops in Vietnam when future Pro Football Hall of Famers Wille Davis, Frank Gifford, Sam Huff and Johnny Unitas went there and to other parts of the Far East in 1966.  Earlier this year, three NFL players – defensive linemen Luis Castillo of San Diego , Tommie Harris of Chicago and Mike Rucker of Carolina – took a week-long NFL-USO tour to Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan to support the soldiers." For the two NFL players accompanying Commissioner Goodell, this will be their second time overseas this offseason on goodwill trips. Brees, the co-winner of the 2006 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award who has produced the first two 4,000-yard passing seasons in Saints history, visited Okinawa on a USO tour this spring.  While on those Pacific beaches, Brees talked by phone to his grandfather, who had landed as a U.S. Marine on those same beaches more than 60 years ago and participated in some of the heaviest fighting in World War II. Umenyiora, who led the Giants in sacks (13.0) last season while helping the club to its Super Bowl XLII title, joined four other NFL players – Ahman Green (Houston), Isreal Idondie (Chicago), Adewale Ogunleye (Chicago) and Amobi Okoye (Houston) -- this spring on a humanitarian mission to Nigeria to help set up college scholarships at 10 universities, distribute HIV testing kits to clinics, dig water wells in villages, and outfit a youth soccer team.  Source: National Football LeagueOTHER NEWS ACROSS THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS NETWORK Linkin Park, MLB Properties Hook-up For 3rd Year - The Biz of Baseball Wrigley Field It Is: NHL Outdoor Classic in Chicago Jan. 1 - The Biz of Baseball Passing Gas? 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Using Olympics to Boost Interest - The Biz of Basketball TNT Lands Full Slate of Sponsors For "Wide Open Coverage" Telecasts - Maury Brown's Biz of Sports Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer.Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network.  Tue, 08 Jul 2008 09:13:37 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287240 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287240 Defensive end is one of the most important positions on your defense. Look at the New York Giants and how they won the Superbowl. Pressure, pressure, and more pressure. Something Tom Brady is not used to seeing much of. So with that being said, here are the teams who benefit most from having a scary tandem at defensive end. 10. Kyle Vanden Bosch & Jevon Kearse: The unpredictable outcome of Jevon Kearse's return to Tennessee after a horrific showing in Philadelphia for the past 4 seasons pushes the Titan's tandem to ten. 9. Elvis Dumervil & John Engelberger: The Denver Broncos have a young star emerging on the line in Elvis Dumervil. Dumervil had a breakout season last year recording 12.5 sacks, 4 fumbles forced, and 1 interception. The problem is, the Broncos will have a position battle for the left defensive end spot. John Engelberger started last year but Jarvis Moss will be fighting for playing time and so will Tim Crowder, two young guys waiting to jump in and shine. Until they have an established left end, I cannot move them up the list. 8. Adewale Ogunleye & Mark Anderson: The two Chicago ends helped anchor a defense that pushed this team to a Superbowl appearance just two seasons ago. The defense took a step back last year and did not have the type of season that we are used to seeing from a Bear's defense. Ogunleye and Anderson each had an alright season, but not to potential. 7. Will Smith & Charles Grant: The New Orleans Saints are not especially known for their defense, but Smith and Grant want to make us believe otherwise. With the help of a revamped front 7 (additions of Jonathan Vilma and Sedrick Ellis) this tandem should be expected to do big things in 2008. 6. Mario Williams & Anthony Weaver: The first overall pick was a mistake right? Reggie Bush was the obvious pick right? Wrong. Dead wrong. Super Mario collected 14 sacks this past season and showed everyone that Houston made the right choice. But because of the lopsided sack count, as Weaver had 0 sacks, they must be placed 6th. Not to be disappointed, they'll get better with experience. 5. Patrick Kerney & Darryl Tapp: The Seahawks pass rush brings two different skill sets to the line. Strength and speed. Patrick Kerney's brute strength gets him to the quarterback. He recorded 14.5 sacks this past season, 2nd in the NFL. Darryl Tapp brings speed and versatility to the line in Seattle. At age 23, he tallied 7 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, and 1 interception. Don't expect rest from these two, they bring it every single down. 4. Aaron Kampman & Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila: These two Green Bay stars are a bit overlooked by the football world. All the hype is on Brett Favre, but with his recent departure, it'll be up to the defense to get it done. Just check the stats, Kampman and KGB are the real deal. 3. Trent Cole & Chris Clemons: The Philadelphia Eagles are known for their offensive and defensive line play in the Andy Reid era. After Derrick Burgess departed to Oakland and Jevon Kearse did not pan out, Trent Cole has stepped in and been a force. His breakout numbers last season( 12.5 sacks and 4 forced fumbles) showed he is among the elite pass rushers in the NFL. Clemons played for Oakland but his numbers don't lie. This 24 year old decided to breakout the same year as Cole with 8 sacks 2. Osi Umenyiora & Justin Tuck: With Michael Strahan's recent retirement, the Giants have a new look to their defensive line. Expect Osi to take a lot of double teams, but expect Tuck to explode. Tuck recorded 10 sacks last year and is good enough to step in and make an impact. Do not expect him to fill Strahan's shoes, but expect him to play very well in New York. 1. Jared Allen & Kenechi Udeze: Jared Allen is arguably the best defensive end in the NFL today. He lead the NFL in sacks last season and will be added to the Vikings stacked defensive line. With the Williams' brothers in the middle and Allen on the end, expect Udeze to have a big impact as a lot of focus will be off of him. These two hold the number one spot for the best defensive end tandem in the NFL for the 2008 season. Sun, 15 Jun 2008 00:06:40 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/278076 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/278076 Remember way back when? The Bears were in the Super Bowl and their elite defense carried them there. It seems almost as long ago as the Cubs' last World Series win. Fortunately for us, it wasn't 1908 — it was 2006. Safety Chris Harris and any defensive tackle that bothered to line up next to Tommie Harris (Boonie, Ian Scott, Tank) are the most notable defensive absentees from our Super Bowl run. Sure, you could throw Todd Johnson and Cameron Worrell in for giggles, but the last three drafts and free agent signings have produced enough quality special teams players to keep that unit among the league's best for years to come. Barring injury, the Bears will have the best defense in the National Football League in 2008. Notice, I didn't say, "among the best" or "top 10". I'm talking about the absolute, hands-down, top defense in the entire mother-effin' NFL. On a side note, I apologize if the point was, in any way, diluted by use of the word "effin'." Left End Dan Bazuin has fully-recovered from the knee injury that kept him out of play in 2007. He is the type of high-motor, try-hard player that the Bears like. Draft pick Ervin Baldwin has drawn comparisons to Mark Anderson for his pass-rushing ability. Wale Ogunleye starts. Back-ups: Dan Bazuin, Ervin Baldwin. Right End Last year, Mark Anderson was given the starting job but a sprained knee put him on injured reserve as the regular season came to an end. Alex Brown was impressive in all the opportunities he received in the Bears' regular-rotation scheme. The Bears rewarded him with a new contract through 2011. Regardless of who starts, both men will see plenty of playing time. Brown starts. Back-up: Anderson. Tackle Tommie Harris is about to be uber-rich, son. The perennial Pro Bowler will be a mainstay in Chicago and if he can walk, he will start. Dusty Dvoracek has played in one of the 32 games since he's been a Chicago Bear. Now, my math ain't too good but dat must be somethin' like 3 %. The good news is he's healthy now. Izzy Idonije has made the permanent switch to tackle and third-rounder Marcus Harrison could make an immediate impact. Anthony Adams and Matt "Catch a tiger by its" Toeaina played relatively well last season. Harris and Harrison start. Back-ups: Dusty, Toeaina, Izzy and Adams. Weak-side Linebacker The biggest surprise of the offseason had to be the re-signing of Lance Briggs. I had emotionally detached myself from him in preparation for his departure. Had he gone, I might have crashed my 1997 Geo Prizm into a pole and left the scene. Luckily, no other team was biting and now Briggs is all ours once again. Jamar Williams played admirably in Briggs' absence last year. Briggs starts. Back-up: Williams and Okwo. Middle Linebacker Is he or isn't he hurt? This will be the big question about Urlacher's health going into the season. He underwent "minor" neck surgery and battled an arthritic back but says he's fine. I believe him, I think. Either way, he's the man. Urlacher starts. Back-up: I don't even know. Strong-side Linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer has been solid, if not somewhat spectacular, over the course of the last few years. He's often lost in the shuffle with Briggs and Urlacher receiving the glory, but Hillenmeyer does a great job in doing what he's asked; taking on blocks, shedding blocks and redirecting the play to his more celebrated counterparts. Hillenmeyer starts. Back-ups: Williams and Okwo. Cornerback Ricky Manning, Jr. has less of a chance than the poor chap he pummeled in the Denny's parking lot of making it to the regular season. If his sub-par performance last year wasn't enough, the emergence of Trumaine McBride and drafting of Zack Bowman should be reason enough to say "don't let the door hit you in your ass on the way out." Corey Graham impressed enough as a special-teamer last year to stick. Peanut Tillman and Nate Vasher start. Back-up: McBride, Bowman and Graham. Free Safety If Mike Brown stays healthy he will (fill in the blank). Reasonable options that cross my mind include: have a Pro Bowl season, be all over the field, decimate receivers coming through the middle and my personal favorite; carry the Bears to the Super Bowl. Mike Brown starts. Back-up: Danieal Manning. Strong Safety I love Craig Steltz and we will be a much better team because of him. Will he start right away? He could. But he'll have to beat out Kevin Payne first. Payne played well in limited time and can contribute as a special-teamer, too. It's a coin toss but I gotta go with my gut. Steltz starts. Back-ups: Payne and Brandon McGowan. Gosh, did you really just sit through all of this bull? You deserve some kind of prize. Really, you do. Tell you what: I'm going to promise that "Blog Down, Chicago Bears" will continue to offer you the mother-effin' (second reference) best in Chicago Bears rumors, news, analysis and opinion as long as you leave a comment or two. Special Teams up next. Nah, fuck it: Gould, Maynard and Hester start. Sun, 11 May 2008 17:40:27 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/265792 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/265792 Is Marty Booker coming back to the Bears? Miami dumped him, and he says he wants back with Chicago. Wed, 13 Feb 2008 12:00:04 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/140598 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/140598 The Chicago Bears face the New York Giants in week 13. Here's how the Bears matchup against the Giants: Fri, 30 Nov 2007 05:31:55 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/39611 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/39611 The Bears should be losing sleep over Joseph Addai, not Peyton Manning. Wed, 31 Jan 2007 16:21:42 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/9293 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/9293 Didn't get a chance to see it live myself but it sounds like the rookie ruffled a few feathers with his actions after his 88-yard touchdown run. I'm with Urlacher here. Who cares? The Bears are going to the Super Bowl and Sir Reginald is going to the golf course. Thoughts anyone? Mon, 22 Jan 2007 16:45:05 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/8750 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/8750