LATEST STORIES FROM BEAR ESSENTIALS
The Bears' Marshall Plan
In the latest issue of Pro Football Weekly, draft expert Nolan Nawrocki has the Bears taking LSU wide receiver Rueben Randle with the 19th pick in the first round.
That would be a start.
Trading for Dolphins WR Brandon Marshall, in addition to drafting Randle, could transform the Bears’ receiving group from one of the NFL’s worst to one of its best. It would also, for the first...
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18 days ago
Discuss
Kiper gives 2011 draft a "C"
With the playoff action, changes that have already occurred on the Bears’ coaching staff and those that will be made soon, plus the search for a new G.M., Mel Kiper’s re-grading of the 2011 draft was almost lost in the shuffle.
Kiper originally gave the Bears a “B” for their five picks, but after a year to evaluate, he dropped that grade to a “C,” which seems about right...
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26 days ago
Early peek at NFL picks
Considering last week’s 4-0 record against the spread, I figured there might be some interest in a sneak preview of this weekend’s NFL playoff games.
On Saturday, I like the Saints minus 3 against the 49ers in San Francisco. I realize the Saints are a completely different team outdoors on the road than they are in the comfort of their home dome, but I think they’re clearly...
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January 12, 2012
Martz's future? Don't ask
The future of offensive coordinator Mike Martz is apparently off limits.
When Bears coach Lovie Smith was asked about it after Wednesday’s practice inside the Walter Payton Center, he was clearly annoyed and answered the question with a question: “What kind of question is that anyway, at this time?” Smith retorted. “What kind of question is that? Why would you ask a question...
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December 28, 2011
Payton, Brees show lack of class
If anyone happened to catch the end of the Saints’ Monday night’s blowout victory over the Falcons, it was a classic example of self-indulgence and lack of class by New Orleans coach Sean Payton and quarterback Drew Brees.
Already leading the Falcons 38-16, Payton and Brees couldn’t wait another week for the Saints’ quarterback to surpass Dan Marino’s single-season record...
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December 27, 2011
Bears have contained Rodgers
It’s not as if Packers’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers hasn’t played well against the Bears in the past.
He has.
It’s just that he hasn’t been as spectacular against the Bears as he has been against the rest of the league. Rodgers’ passer rating this season is 120.1, which would be the best in NFL history if he maintains it for the rest of the season. He was over 100 in each...
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December 23, 2011
Just say no to Favre, McNabb
Bears G.M. Jerry Angelo effectively quashed the silly notion that the team might consider signing Brett Favre as an emergency quarterback for the remainder of the season.
This morning, on the team's website, Angelo said: "I'm not even factoring Brett Favre into the equation because he hasn't played or even practiced from the preseason on. We're all assuming he...
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December 07, 2011
Defense not good enough
Holding the Chiefs to just 245 total yards and allowing only 10 points isn't good enough for the Bears' defenders - at least not when the offense is without Jay Cutler and Matt Forte.
And they agree.
"We don't feel like we did enough to win because we didn't win the game," cornerback Corey Graham said. "On defense, we feel like we have to get the ball...
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December 06, 2011
McNabb a bad fit
Five years ago Donovan McNabb and the Bears would have been a good fit; maybe even two years ago, but not now.
The obvious reason it wouldn’t make sense to bring in the 35-year-old McNabb now, is that 100 percent of the coaching staff’s time and effort must be devoted to getting Caleb Hanie ready to lead the offense. That would leave little time to get McNabb up to speed, and...
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December 02, 2011
Bears, Lions headed in opposite directions
Some leftover observations from Sunday’s butt-kicking of the Lions and a couple predictions:
Concerns about the age of the Bears’ defense are unfounded. It may have taken a few games to get revved up, but the defense, and especially its 30-something core players, are running smoothly now.
The Lions aren’t very dangerous without Jahvid Best running the football, and no one knows...
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November 15, 2011
Forte should take Bears' offer
Peter King includes RB Matt Forte and PR Devin Hester on his mid-season All-Pro team in Sports Illustrated this week.
King also names Forte his offensive player of the year, while choosing Packers QB Aaron Rodgers as the MVP.
As impressive as Forte has been running the ball for 672 yards and a 5.4-yard average, he might be even more valuable to the Bears as a receiver. He leads the...
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November 03, 2011
Don't limit Hester
One of the most ridiculous ideas I’ve heard this season – and I’ve heard it several times now – is that the Bears should make Devin Hester strictly a kick returner.
Why would any coach in his right mind waste one of the most dangerous players in the history of the NFL by limiting his number of touches? It makes no sense.
Hester was phenomenal in the return game vs. the Vikings...
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October 18, 2011
Are Lions that good?
Are the Lions overrated?
Well, they’re probably not as good as their 4-0 record.
They’ve picked up their wins against the winless Vikings; the 1-3 Chiefs, who have defeated only the Vikings and lost their three other games by a combined 109-27; and the 2-2 Cowboys. But give credit to the Lions for wining three of those four games on the road, which is rarely an easy task in the...
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October 04, 2011
Cutler-Williams connection short-circuiting
If Roy Williams is supposed to be Jay Cutler’s go-to receiver, as offensive coordinator Mike Martz implied when Williams was signed on July 29, the early returns are disappointing. At best.
Williams has 4 catches for 55 yards and no touchdowns, although he could have had one last week against the Packers if he didn’t drop a pass at the goalline.
In that game, Cutler and Williams...
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September 30, 2011
What will Toub think of next?
As brilliant as Dave Toub’s trick play punt return against the Packers was, I can’t help thinking that it might have been wasted.
Not just because Johnny Knox’s 89-yard sprint down the east sideline was nullified by Corey Graham’s phantom holding call. But because even if the flag wasn’t thrown on Graham – and it shouldn’t have been – the Bears still were an extreme...
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September 29, 2011
"Great" players need to show up Sunday
If, as they say, great players make great plays in big games, then it’s time for guys like Julius Peppers, Marion Barber and Roy Williams to step up.
In the case of Williams and Barber, that means getting off the sidelines and on the field. Barber has been out for a month with a calf injury. Williams missed last week with a groin injury. For Peppers it means showing up on the stat...
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September 22, 2011
Falcons Robinson should be suspended
The $40,000 fine that the league slapped on Falcons cornerback Dunta Robinson for his hit on Eagles receiver Jeremy Maclin Sunday night isn’t enough.
Robinson’s hit was a blatant cheap shot and exactly the kind of over-the-top violence that the league has tried to legislate against. Robinson clearly led with his helmet, basically launching himself like a missile and striking...
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September 20, 2011
Bears better than you'd think
I’ve often wondered over the years, when I hear fans criticize Lovie Smith for his coaching or general manager Jerry Angelo for his draft picks or the free agents that he signs, how the Bears rank among all NFL teams in terms of wins and losses.
The results are interesting when you look at every team’s record since the start of the 2005 season, Smith’s second as coach and Angelo’s...
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September 13, 2011
Packers, Saints could be Bears nightmare
If any Bears defenders watched the Thursday night season-opening slugfest between the Saints and Packers, they couldn’t have enjoyed it, knowing that they have the Saints in Week Two and the Packers the following week.
I’m not sure which offense the Bears will have more trouble containing, the Packers, who scored 42 points Thursday night, or the Saints, who had 34. And that...
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September 09, 2011
Forte has an argument
Matt Forte I sympathize with.
No position in the NFL has a shorter life expectancy than running back, and those guys have to make their money early on or risk never having the big payday.
And the case can certainly be made that Forte has outperformed a rookie contract that pays him an average of slightly less than $1 million a year, including this, the final year of the deal.
Last...
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September 08, 2011
Why aren't Bennett and Knox starting?
Johnny Knox and Earl Bennett finished 1-2 among the Bears’ wide receivers in receptions, and they were 1-2 in receiving yards among all Bears.
So why are they the Nos. 3 and 4 wide receivers on the Bears’ Week One depth chart?
Good question. I’m still waiting for a good answer.
I understand wanting Devin Hester in the starting lineup because he’s a threat to score any time...
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September 06, 2011
Gould still fine tuning
Robbie Gould has already missed as many field goals in three preseason games as he did in the entire 2006 regular season and the 2009 regular season. He’s already missed 1 more field goal than he did in the 2008 regular season.
Gould has missed 4 of his 9 attempts in the preseason, but it’s not time to panic. Two of the misses came from 55 and 56 yards, but the other two were...
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August 30, 2011
Get Knox back in starting lineup
Remember last season when Mike Martz made Todd Collins the Bears’ No. 2 quarterback ahead of Caleb Hanie?
Remember how, even after Collins was intercepted 4 times against the Panthers and completed 6 of 16 passes for 32 yards and a passer rating of 6.2 in his only start, he remained the No. 2 quarterback because Martz felt better with a veteran quarterback backing up Cutler rather...
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August 26, 2011
Gholston needs to make a move
If there’s one player who needs a big game vs. the Giants next Monday night it’s free agent defensive end Vernon Gholston, the sixth overall pick in the 2008 draft, who failed to record a single sack in three seasons with the Jets.
Gholston signed a one-year, $1 million contract with the Bears, one of the few teams that would even take a flier on the Ohio State product. His deal...
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August 17, 2011
The 3 Bears suggestions
There are at least three changes I’d like to see the Bears make as soon as possible.
No. 1: Make Marion Barber the undisputed short-yardage/goalline back. It took just one series Saturday night to see that he is clearly a more effective runner than Chester Taylor, who was a tremendous disappointment last season and hasn’t looked any better in training camp or the first preseason...
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August 15, 2011
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