Bearstalk

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/...s-knee/related/

We have players returning from injury but there are questions about who will remain a starter. Bushrod should be close to returning. I haven't heard anyone clamoring for him to get back on the field, not even our Oline guru Jason (not that Bushrod was a favorite of his). Will Leno stay as our starter when Bushrod is healthy? I think we're going with the future here so I say yes. Grasu...I think once he recovers from his neck injury he'll be back at center. That brings up the option of Ducasse moving back to RG or do we keep Omameh at RG and put Ducasse on the bench? I think our starting Oline becomes Leno, Slausson, Grasu, Omameh, and Long. SMC..…

I thought this was a pretty good article about the age of QBs: http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/14084886...bs-dominate-nfl If this holds true, and just looking at Cutler's progress this year, it would make sense to keep him around for a few more years. He is in his 10th year, and based on these numbers a QB peaks at year 12 and continues to have very solid years through year 15/16. Now obviously you can say small sample size or the numbers are bogus after 10 years because only good QBs are left in the league at that point, but that is not always the case. To me, stabilizing the QB position seems like the first and most important step to making a sustained run…

Rich Campbell ‏@Rich_Campbell 9m9 minutes ago Bears rookie OT Tayo Fabuluje has been suspended 4 games by the NFL for violating the league's policy against performance-enhancing drugs. https://twitter.com/Rich_Campbell/status/664186000613097472

I look forward to Fangio's weekly updates. He's so straightforward with his words it's sometimes funny. His matter-of-fact approach when talking about the players is never far off from what you'd read here on the board. http://www.chicagobears.com/news/article-1...f3-172828460cb5 ... on Houston ------------------------- "[The sacks] were huge plays," Fangio said. "Now if we can just eliminate the offsides, he'll play even more and more. But that should do a lot for his confidence, to go in there and make plays at a crucial time like that." -------------------------- From the same link the most surprising statistic I've seen at midseason: -------…

He is a game changer. We need him out there!

Go Bears! Does Fox continue his AFC West dominance tonight? Does Cutler break Luckman's TD Record? Does Langford outduel Gordon? Does Mariani have a legit return? Does our Special Teams not allow a return TD? So much drama!

After spending most of their air time praising the Chargers and giving them credit for fighting through multiple injuries ESPN analysts were lost when talking about the Bears, especially after the game was over. Did you know the Chargers had to play with several backup Oline players? Poor Chargers. Did you see the Chargers were missing two of their top 3 WRs? Blah blah blah... let's play some football! Oline: Not a whole lot of goodness here with plenty of mistakes all the way around but for the most part the offense was effective enough in the run game and passing game. Ducasse again lined up at LG so he'll be on the bench when Grasu returns leaving Omam…

I'm watching this week's press conference's and there are a lot of questions to Adam Gase about him being a HC next season and to Fox about his assistants becoming HC next season. I'm impressed with our coaching staff and I think going forward into next season we'll see some very good things. However, right now when you step back and look at the entire league how many owners and GMs really want to pursue the assistants from a 2-5 team? Especially two assistants (Gase and Fangio) who did not get chosen last year after all the success they had at their previous jobs. I think our media and fans are way over-estimating league-wide reactions to our team. Yes, Cutl…

Ok.. not Bears related, but we had a discussion at work about college bye weeks. Do the conferences determine the bye weeks for each team? We noticed some teams always have a bye week before facing each other, and some are just random.

https://twitter.com/caplannfl/status/663840593404035072 Back to back Pro Bowls, and now cut by 2 teams in half a season, wow.

Looking good so far!

First I have to admit the free tequila shots at the bar made this game feel better than it was. Cutler: With another Oline combination in front of him against a strong pass rush threat he kept his composure and stayed within the game plan. Overall a good game with no turnovers. Oline: I think these guys were the cause of all the conservative play calls early in the game. With interior line of Omameh, Slauson, and Ducasse I believe Gase didn't want big mistakes early and allowed the Oline time to settle in and get a feel for the inside pressure the Vikings like to bring. Later on he opened up the play calling. RBs: Forte is still a good RB bu…

Not sure what to think of Ditka in a Packers jersey.

Forte out for the second half. Let's see what this kid has. Thus far he has pretty good burst to the hole, a good surge at the end of his runs, but he appears to lack vision.

Coming soon. Of the current Bears there are three names that I see pop up here and there. Forte, Jeffery and Cutler. Obviously Forte is the most logical (although I personally would hate it) as there are several teams in need of star RB. The article below makes it sound viable especially when you consider Denver and "our" apparent new familiarity of one another. And the way it appears Langford is gaining trust with the staff it makes Matt even more expendable. Haven't heard much about Jeffery as of late but admittedly could see him being dangled, especially if the team loses this weekend. And yes I did see some mention of Cutler as a possibility for trade to a team …

Was reading a presser today that upon Ratliff's release from Chicago, that precipitated the team to call Dallas on a precautionary nature. Given the volatility of the release, Ratliff's history with Dallas and apparently still maintaining a residence near Dallas' training facility... made sense. Have to hand it to Pace, Fox and some degree McCaskey with their dealing with not only Ratliff but with McDonald earlier this season. Although some would argue that the McDonald situation was nearly self-inflicted, they still addressed it rather than let it malinger. And with Ratliff they addressed it rapidly rather than let it make a mess of a very 'young' and relatively…

I'm not sure you could put together numbers in a more meaningless way than Total QBR. Rodgers threw for 77 yards with an average of 3.5/catch, an incredible 10pts on offense, and he's ranked 11th in Total QBR. That is above players like Brady who's team put up 36pts in a win over Miami while throwing for 356yds, 9.4/catch. http://espn.go.com/nfl/qbr/_/type/player-week

Reports are out there saying we might bring in Ball. I like it if he's brought in to be the backup. I wanna see Langford get a legit shot to start. I do like Ball though. His first year he averages 4.7 YPC which is pretty good. Sucked last year, but which is the real Ball? If he's the 4.7 YPC guy he was his rookie season he and Langford could be a good duo beyond this year. Ball is still just 24 years old and I'm shocked he's not on a team somewhere.

http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nfl/4685/matt-forte