Bearstalk

Regardless if this is a PR move agasint the flak he got not signing eBay items at the bar at Wrigley Field, this is a nice move on his part. Kudos to Jay... I'm glad he's our QB and not the whining bitter old man that wants to stick it to the team that made him who he was... http://www.suntimes.com/sports/football/be...gallery?index=1

We, as fans, are always looking for that one player who will put us over the top. Among the many positions we have discussed, WRs often come up. Three WRs who have generated a lot of discussion are TO, Burress and Marshall. TO is out of the picture, but I am still keeping him in this question for the hell of it. Considering each, who is the WR you would most want. TO - Pure locker room cancer. Some have golf or hunting as a hobby, but TO's hobby is throwing his QB (and often coach) under the bus. He simply has a way on ruining chemistry in the locker room. On the other hand, he also has a way of simply dominating on the field. While many will point to his num…

http://www.profootballtalk.com/category/rumor-mill/ Schefter: Brandon Marshall Asked To Be Traded Posted by Mike Florio on June 15, 2009, 2:56 p.m. Adam Schefter, who technically still works for NFL Network but who soon will be jumping to ESPN, continues to keep his finger on the pulse of the NFL. Or, as the case may be, against its prostate gland. In a Monday morning segment with 850 KOA in Denver, Schefter said that Marshall asked owner Pat Bowlen to be traded during their Friday meeting. Per Schefter, Marshall told Bowlen, "I think I'd like to be traded." Schefter said that Bowlen asked Marshall to take some time to consider whether he wants a…

This is all from Jeff Dickerson at ESPN Chicago. I went ahead and combined the rookie and vet lists: Stock Up Craig Steltz -- The former fourth round pick appears to have the inside track to start at either of the safety spots. On the surface, Steltz seems to lack the speed to cover the deep middle of the field, but coaches feel Steltz possesses the necessary athleticism to play outside or inside in the box. As we've stated before, only time will tell if that assessment is accurate, but for now, Steltz ranks very high in the secondary hierarchy. It also doesn't hurt to have the support of the front office. Israel Idonije -- Now that Idonije received his co…

From the Sun-Times this morning: "If the varied opinions on the Bears' acquisition of Jay Cutler has bothered the quarterback, he certainly didn't show it Saturday when he made his first Chicago appearance for his foundation working with kids with diabetes. 'I think every quarterback in the NFL has a lot of pressure,' Cutler said. 'Anywhere you go you're going to have pressure. Obviously, Chicago has great fans and great tradition. They expect a lot. And, I expect a lot out of myself. It's going to be a fun year.' Tony Dungy, Mike Ditka and Rodney Harrison have all questioned Cutler to some degree in recent weeks, and the quarterback had not visited with me…

With all the talk about tools like Burress, jail time up in the air, Matt Jones, drug problems following him, and Marshall, women abuser, how about someone normal? These three are all talented but have issuses, I would like to throw another name in the hat, Drew Bennett. He is a big guy at 6'5", and doesnt have a criminal record. He has had some lnjuries the last two years, but his three years at Tenn, he averaged 61 receptions, 907 yards and 6 TDs. He has the ability to move the chains, in his last 217 receptions he has 158 first downs. He is not the glamour guy that some of the tools are, but is a vet, has been productive, and capable of having an impact from day 1. We …

http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_12581741 I thought this was interesting and sort of related to Cutler.

Orton named Broncos starting QB It should be interesting to see how this develops.

http://www.chicagobears.com/multimedia/mul...amp;play_clip=Y Check out this video of bears rookie cb DJ Moore dunking a basketball!

Chicagobears.com video with Thayer and Joniak http://www.chicagobears.com/multimedia/mul...clip=Y&rn=8

Not sure how many people have seen the article today on the Trib's website however, William "The Refrigerator" Perry is struggling financially due to the fact of the disease he was diagnosed with in June 2008. The disease is Guillan Barre Syndrome, which is a nervous system disease. Perry also has CIDP as well, which only makes things a bit worse for Perry. Here is the story on the Trib's website: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chi-1...0,4191114.story Da' Coach's "Grid Iron Greats" organization is working to assist Perry however, not able to get everything that is necessary to help out. There is a website to keep people updated on the condition of th…

Texans agreed to terms with QB Rex Grossman on a one-year, $745,000 contract. We're guessing that Rex isn't being brought in to compete with Dan Orlovsky, who the Texans will pay about $3M this year. Grossman, 29, holds an awful career completion rate of 54.2 and a weak 6.4 career YPA. Most likely, he will push Alex Brink to be another insurance policy behind starter Matt Schaub, who's missed 10 games with injuries over the last two seasons. Source: Houston Chronicle

There's been a lot made recently of the available free agent wide receivers. They each have their problems, obviously, but those have been pretty well discussed at this point. I wanted to start a different thread to discuss some trade options the Bears might pursue, if they determine our current options across from Hester aren't going to cut it. I'm not talking about guys who might be available for a blockbuster trade, like Braylon Edwards or Anquan Boldin. There are a number of receivers around the league who aren't street free agents, but could be available pretty cheaply via trade. If all it takes is a conditional second-day pick to get a guy, I think that's…

Hunter was already in a tough position. Coming off a bad season, the guy who replaced him has been seemingly replaced by a veteran (Pisa), likely pushing Hunter further down the depth chart. Hunter needs to make a strong case to stick, but w/ the injury, he can't even play right now. IMHO, the best argument for him to stay on the team was his ability to provide depth at both SLB and MLB. Just read today that, w/ Urlacher held out of practice (for a minor issue), it was Jamar Williams manning the middle. If Jamar, who all reports say has had among the best offseason showings thus far, can prove capable of handling the middle, the top reason to keep Hunter may be g…

Yepper Bears did it again with signing all of thier draft picks, Gilbert and Iglesias signed 4 year deals today. http://www.chicagobears.com/news/NewsStory.asp?story_id=5876

From Chicagobears.com Joniac and Thayer break it down in forst installment. http://www.chicagobears.com/multimedia/mul...clip=Y&rn=2

Here they are. Remember that they're downgrading almost everybody in the league pretty drastically. The goal is to eliminate the problem in previous Maddens where every halfway-decent starter had to be at least in the high 80s. This year the range of ratings for starters is going to be something more like 70-100, instead of 85- or 90-100.

From Kevin Seifert's NFC North blog: "For the purposes of this feature, however, we need to separate [Jay Cutler and Aaron Rodgers]. Beyond a team's final record, how can you judge whether a quarterback is a "winner?" One way is to analyze his performance in the fourth quarter, when many NFL games are decided. By this measure, at least, Cutler came out ahead in a 2008 comparison. Cutler ranked seventh among regular NFL starters last season with a 94.2 passer rating in the fourth quarter, according to STATS Inc. Rodgers ranked No. 13 at 87.8. For context, take a look at the sampling of fourth-quarter ratings below: Sampling of Fourth-quarter QB Performance…

Tribune Article Disagreeing with Article by TSN Ranking Lovie Smith 20th best HC The Sporting News Article Ranking NFL HCs that is mentioned in the article above The Sporting News Article is a joke. Hell, they ranked Mike Singletary #14 and he has not been HC for a full season. Sean Payton is #6? He is 26-24 in 3 seasons with 1 playoff win? Several HCs ranked above him have 1 year of experience. I am not sure where I would rank him (Lovie) but based on his record over the years I agree with the writer on the Tribune that he should be somewhere in the top 10.

From the windy city Gridiron