ASHKUM BEAR

That's why it put it as: "The Monday morning winning formula" I really think it show's that Lovie and Co have a hard time making the quick decisions. Even Lovie himself admitted he should of kicked it deep. Oh well, hopefully losing these close games keeps this team grounded b/c once they think there they bomb is usually when they get lazy and fall apart. Plus I give ATL a lot of credit, they kept the Bears D on the field, making all the plays when needed. If it weren't for some bad penalities on the ATL offense, we might not even been close.

Metcalf on steroids would explain his rude behavior at Bourbonnais. Not sure whatever happened to this tool, but the first time I met him he was a rookie. He was very polite and focused. My last encounter with him, he was very cocky and had a different personality which didn't seem to follow the mode of the other offensivie linemen. Metcalf seemed to be the open mouth for the squad. My favorite and most personal was St. Clair, I'm glad he has his shot at starting and is doing a decent job, Beekman also. Metcalf on the other hand, has not lived up to a 3rd RD selection and as much as I would of liked to see him suceed, I think he drew his last straw.

Thanks Lucky for that find. With 11 seconds, the clock does not start until the ball is legally touched (unlike at the start of the game it starts when ball is kicked), so maybe Lovie gambled on the ball bouncing off of an opponent starting the count down. I'd prefer kicking the ball deep and forcing ATL to decide to run with it or get out of bounds. If they decide to run with it, figure Norwood would of made it to the 25 yd line (thats avg) With a 20 yard return, take 4-5 seconds off the clock. That gives ATL possesion at the 25 with 6 or 7 seconds to go. With that time frame, there is maybe enough time to get two plays off before a FG attempt. Odds would of been definately in favor of the Bears to kick it deep. I couldn't believe they squib kicked it with only a 2 pt lead giving ATL a shorter field to work with and a chance to win it. The Monday Moring winning formula: 1 Kick it deep, but not into the endzone and keep it as close to the middle of the field. 2 Norwood has no choice but to either run for the sidelines or run for the endzone. a.) runs out of bounds - approx 20 yards to the sideline = minus 3 or 4 seconds - ball approx 15 yd line b.) run for endzone - most likely he would of been tackled somewhere around 25 yd line = minus 4 or 5 seconds - every 10 yds is about another second. If Norwood was to get to the 40 yd line, that would of left ATL with only 5 seconds to make the same play to put them in FG position.

Actually the whole trade thing is: Chicago Bears have the 17th pick Washington Redskins have the 24th pick. Washington wants a LBer really bad so they trade us the 24th along with the 3rd and 4th RD picks to move up. It works out on the trade value chart. The select Ohio St. James Laurinitis

Which way do the Bears look to rebuild as the offense keeps getting stronger and defense and ST keeps slipping. With a 3-3 record, which could be 5-0 as close as the losses were, the Bears weakness have been: DL, DB, OL. The defensive line has not been putting the kind of pressure on the QB as Lovies D requires. The depth behind often injured Nathan Vasher and Charles Tillman needs to be improved since these guys seem to find some time on the inj. list every year. At safety, Mike Brown has stayed healthy, but is he holding back to help insure another contract in the NFL. The Oline has been much better than thought, but they don't seem to have the push/power to win the trenches. Right now, I have the Bears selecting 17th with the 500 record: RD1 Pick 17 (trade with Washington Redskins for pick 24 and RD3 pick 88 and RD 4 pick 120) James Lauritis LB Ohio St. RD 1 Pick 24 Phil Loadholt OT Oklahoma - The Bears now have some key youth at the offensive skill positions with Orton, Forte, Hester, Olsen. The Oline is one of the oldest units in the NFL and JA looks to bulk it up. Loadholt is a big mauler for the Sooners and should be a nice addition to help improve the run game. RD 2 Pick 49 Herman Johnson OG LSU - Knowing the need for more talent on the D, JA knows having a run attack can help his defensive unit by controling the clock. Johnson is another talented lineman who excels with the run block. RD 3 Pick 81 Courtney Greene SS/FS Rutgers - The Bears just can't seem to find the right safety to work in there scheme. A healthy Mike Brown is what they look for, since they cannot turn back time, they keep selecting safeties to hopefully find the right combo. RD 3 Pick 88 (from WAS) - Matt Shaughnessy DE Wis - A tall quick DE that is a class act, the Bears are deep at DE, but need to find some youth to eventually take over for Adewale. RD 4 Pick 113 Pat White WR WV - White is an athletic QB that will make the transition like many other former athletic QB's. The Bears can use White on ST, gimmick plays, and emergency QB until he can make the conversion from QB to WR. RD 4 Pick 120 (from WAS) - Jorvorskie Lane FB Texas A&M - Best FB in the draft, 6-0 285 Lane can not only run the ball, he can open up lanes for Forte. RD 5 Pick 145 - Ramses Barden,WR Cal-Poly-SLO - Barden is 6-6 226 and runs 4.5. Plays for a small school, so he isn't very well known. RD 6 Pick 177 - Jonathan Casillas OLB Wis - One of the fasted linebackers in the draft, the Bears look to add depth and competition for Hunter Hillenmeyer RD 7 Pick 209 - Dwain Crawford CB/S Baylor - 6-0 200 4.44 speed, Baylor will be another small school secret for JA.

First off, No hard feelings, It was kinda of bait to get the reaction. We have different views and that's fine. I just wanted to lay out some issues whether they are cleared or not that I find kind of funny. Mysterious-I have a right to question Mr. Obama's background just like Hillary did when she put the effort into a background check. "Insight never claimed -- not once -- that Obama had attended an Indonesian Madrassa as a young boy. What we did claim -- and stand behind 100 percent -- is that the Hillary Clinton camp had conducted an investigation into Obama's Muslim background, and they had concluded he had been raised and educated as a Muslim." -Religion- OK, so he's had some upbringing around the Muslim religion. I personally have nothing against that religion, it's just the names that get brought up with him that concern me (I not saying he acknowledges them, but has those names associated with him whether he likes it or not): Khadafi, Ayers, Yousef. Farrakhan, ? This may just be propaganda to sway opinions, but your damn right I'm concerned and thats a chance I don't want to take. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikGM862Iivw Khadafi on Obama -Abortion- Obama has history of pro-choice and has even stated: He promised at a Planned Parenthood event in July 2007 that "the first thing" he will do as president -- his top priority for the nation -- is sign the Freedom of Choice Act, which would erase every federal and state restriction on abortion, no matter how modest. His top priority, again, is to re-legalize partial birth abortion under all circumstances, abolish all laws on informed consent and parental notification, and eliminate all state restrictions on taxpayer funding of abortions. -Former member of anti-white church: Jeremiah Wright "the US of KKK"? huh At least Barack left that church which honored Louis Farakkan, I'll give him that. Jeremiah Wright Trinity Chicago -Citizenship: I never said he wasn't a US citizen, but there is documentation showing citizenship of Indonesia. Whether it's right or wrong, it doesn't matter. There is proof showing Indonesian citizenship: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?pageId=72656 As to having Kenyan citizenship, he had that up until 1982, so just another point - fact. Does it matter? Not really. His name: So his giving birth name was Barack Hussein Obama, which when he was adopted by his 2nd father it became Barry Soetoro. That was the name he used when going to grade school, see above link. So I asked what's up with the name? Was his name changed when adopted, and when was it changed back to Barack. That's why I don't trust him. You can call me what you want, "sticks and stones" but these are issues I have against him. Good luck and sorry I'm not on your side on this issue. As to the Bears-different story.

I would still look for a QB in first 3RDS along with Oline and WR. Even though I happy with Hester, Lloyd, Booker, Davis and a M.I.A. Bennett

Sorry, but how can you trust someone with such a mysterous back ground? Birth Name: Barry Soetoro, changed to Barack Hussein Obama Citizenship: Indonesian, USA, also lived in Kenya Religion: Islam -former member of an anti-white church which concentrated more on hate than love for Christ -denies muslim background, then why the name change? -looks to raise taxes to record levels to support UN and poverty in Africa -supported by our enemy -has many conspiricy's tied to him -abortion I don't mind change, change is good. But please tell me why Obama was the best candidate on the Dem. side. I don't trust him one bit. McCain may not be exciting and may remind you of GWB, but once again the American people will have to decide between the lesser of two evils. Obama call's for change, but I fear his change is not for the interest of American's, but the interest of his hidden identity. I'm not sure which Dem. candidate I would of preferred b/c both scare the hell out of me(Clinton/Obama), too bad Biden didn't get elected, I'd feel 100% better about him in office. With that said, I feel much safer with McCain. A true American, who fought for his country/life once and is ready to do it again. He will keep America in his best interests, and hides nothing about his past. He doesn't portay a too good to be true image and also has plans to imporove economy, health care, enviroment. Every candidate sells you this. Feel free to spin away as I entered my .02. I do enjoy these reading's b/c there's a lot of fire, but I threw out my concerns and really don't care to write anything else on this subject. I luv you guy's as Bear Bros and politics and religion should be left alone amongst Bros. Whomever takes over the office, God Bless America and the American people and may we all find a way to be prosperous.

Good for Garrett. I was in favor of getting him, but JA blew it selecting him in the 3rd when IMO he would have been there in the 5th. Now that he is on this team, he is earning his stripes so far on ST this year. If the Bears offense hasn't been so lost and can come out and show confidence and dominate, I believe a guy like GW can shine on certain offensive packages. Every once in a while, we've seen what he can do, but the Bears are seldom in position to put him in. IMO it's the Bears philosophy on game day to protect the lead when they get it instead of going for the throat. Games when we have a 10 pt or more lead is when we should throw a look here and there with GW and let him show his strengths. But the Bears philosophy on 10 pt leads is to run between the tackles and punt. I'm surprised we haven't seen or heard much of AP on ST so far. I'm also surprised on GW's ST play so far too. You always see #25 hustling getting in on the tackles. With GW's ST play so far and if it continues, I can see AP getting cut after this season. I kind of thought he would have been the odd man out before the season started b/c I thought we'd only keep 3 RB's on the roster. The #1/#2 was going to be CB/MF then MF/KJ, and I thought GW offered something special as the #3 which was different than AP. I think the Bears decision to keep 4 RB's came down to not knowing what MF would bring as a rookie, KJ's health, and GW not able to be an everydown back. Now that we know about our RB situation, the decision would be much clearer next season.

I'm glad the football god's were working for us this offseason. I'll be a first to have my serving of buffalo Crow wings. I was one of those that said this team team could live without Briggs and that he was just a product of the system. Boy was I wrong, and I gladly eat my Crow with some ranch please.

Like Brian Bear, I will continue with my mock's each week with were I see the team and there biggest needs. As of right now, this team can very easily be 3-0. The players on the field isn't the biggest flaw IMO, so far it's been coaching. Lovie and Co. are out of excuses, this regime has been in place for 4 years now and the teams concept has been figured out and they are too stubborn to make any changes. It also seems whatever needs JA addresses, Lovie and Co can't seem to find the time of day to implement the tools JA gives and those tools (players) go to waste. After week 3, positions in need of upgrade: OG - Beekman is showing promise, but Garza keeps getting burned everygame. It's time to make a change and play Dan Buenning to see if he is the answer. If so, finding another G can be found in rds 5-7 instead of 1-3. CB - Yes, Nathan Vasher has lost his coverage skills. He is always getting burned and may be better suited as our Nickel. If none of our reserves (McBride, Graham, Hamilton, Bowman) can play better than Vasher, then drafting one early should be considered and this could upgrade two positions CB/Nickel. S- Brown's days of dominating also seem to have been lost with the injuries, so getting another stud safety that can match Brown's glory years would help this D alot. QB -Orton is what he is, a body on the offense that won't do much (score/turnovers). For those that say we don't need a star QB to win in this league must be content with our offense's performance the past 25 years or so. OT - Chris Williams has just padded up for the first time today, John Tait is holding his own, but not getting any younger. Find a starting caliber OT to replace Tait withing a year needs to be a priority. Tait can then become a reserve swing tackle as he would have experience at both postions. As of today, the Bears are slotted with the 10th pick! RD1-10 Mark Sanchez QB USC -Like Brian Bear said, Sanchez's stock will continue to rise. Sanchez is the 3rd QB taken in the top 10 as KC took Stafford and STL took Tebow. Sanchez as a 1st year starter looked like a pro in USC's west coast offense. Players the Bears thought about, but passed up: S-Taylor Mays USC, OT-Ciron Black LSU, CB-Vontae Davis UofI, RD2-43 Phil Loadholt RT Oklahoma - Loadholt is currently the 5th ranked OT who is suited to only play the right side. 3 OT's are taken in RD1 and KC selected A. Boone from Ohio State to start RD2 off. The Bears like Loadholt as he is 6-8 350 and excels in run blocking. Players the Bears considered: S-Patrick Chung Oregon, G-Herman Johnson LSU, CB-Darius Butler UCON/Mike Parson Ohio. RD3-76 Juaquin Iglesias WR Oklahoma - Inglesias has nice size/speed. Unlike former Sooner Mark Bradley, Inglesias has played and is a big contributor for the offense. RD3-99(comp) Emmanuel Cook S South Carolina - Cook is 5-10 214 , which many consider a little small. Well, Bob Sanders is 5-8 206 and Cook can hit in a similiar fashion. RD4-109 Devin Moore RB Wyoming - Moore will be the fasted RB at the combine and the Bears look for him to be there home run threat everytime he touches the ball. His size/speed are similiar to Tenn's Chris Johnson. RD5-142 Brannon Sutherland FB Georgia - Sutherland's talent are an upgrade over McKie's. He's a lead blocker for Moreno, the short yardage back, and can go out and make the catches. His talents are everything the Bears look for in a FB. RD6-176 Jon Cooper C/G Oklahoma - Another Sooner in this years draft. Cooper will be the Bears future center, but while Kreutz finishes out his last 2 years, Cooper will be the backup at C/G. RD7-209 Jason Chapman DT Wisconsin - A quick DT Chapman with a knee injury. The Bears take a chance on his pass rush abilities as he is best suited to play for a team the runs the cover-2.

Thats what Hub was saying also on the Score. Hub was thinking JA and Lovie had differences on Mark Bradley. For some reason Lovie would not give Bradley the time of day so JA just gave up and cut him. With the Bears picking up Hamilton, the Bears may be looking for a nickle that can step up. I have a feeling that JA's "feelings' toward Lovie may be shifting. A lot of moves Lovie has made are not working out either. Lovie is not developing draft picks (Grossman, Benson, Bradley, Bennett, Olsen, Hester, examples) , making coaching changes that may not have been favorable with management (Rivera) and told everyone to trust him. Lovie's Club Med training camps seem to Not have our players in shape to finish a game.

The only way that it would be a wise pick (for a WR), is if we signed a young OT like Max Starks and then acquired someone like Jeff Garcia/Derek Anderson/dependable vet. I can see us then using our pick on BPA and if that ends up a WR, than so be it. But right now, without using FA as a tool, we need to address the oline, safety, and QB positiions.

I do agree, we need a Julius Peppers, Mario Williams, Dwight Freeney, type of DE. Someone you have to game plan around. Also: The guys we have are decent, but for some reason I think they are held back by our scheme. Brian Griese knew this and he also knew our Cover 2 would give the middle of the field. He took advantage of this with 3 step drops, stepping up in the pocket and hitting the inside routes. 67 pass attempt wore out our DL as they could not get to him in time. I think if our DE could do more the try to run an outside contain, they can suprise the opposing offenses.

what happened to our great D Line? They can no longer get pressure on QB's without using our LB or DB to blitz.

Leon Johnson - yuk Bobby Wade - did alright R.W. McQuarters - did pretty good Jerry Azumah - pretty good also Nathan Vasher - not bad I don't think I'd like to see that trade, especially with JA 1st RD draft history. Hester for a starting OL, then I might consider it.

With two games down, the Bears future needs may have shifted a little. Brandon McGowan once again went down and the Bears must plan to go on with out him, so finding another S has shifted up on the Bears big board. As the world knows, the Bears also need to find a QB that won't just be counted on to be a game manager, but can be relied upon to give them a chance to win a game also. The Bears also need to continue rebuilding the OL and should look at Tampa/Carolina as a model. I have the Bears picking 17th after this week: RD1-17 Duke Robinson G Oklahoma 6-5 330 JA struggled on making this pick b/c he likes his pick Beekman and FA pickup Bruenning, but Robinson is a probowl type player and will make Forte even better which will help Chicago fans forget about draft picks like Benson. RD2-49 Curtis Painter QB Purdue 6-4 223 Painter will learn under former Purdue alum Kyle Orton even though he will break Purdues passing stats which were held by Drew Brees and Orton. Painter will finally silent the Bears critics as he has all the tools to become a franchise QB. He has a very quick release, strong arm with accuracy, and great size. His play has been compared to Cowboys QB Tony Romo. RD3-81 Phil Loadholt RT Oklahoma 6-8 350 Another Oklahoma Sooner making his home in Chicago. Loadholt is a mammoth run blocker and will help JA solidify the OL for years to come. RD3-99 (comp) Emmanuel Cook S South Carolina 5-10 214 The Bears like the fiesty S and compare him to Indy's Bob Sanders. With McGowan/Brown's contract expiring they will most likely make an offer to keep Brown. Thus leaving them with for sures Payne and Steltz, and maybe Brown. RD4-124 Oderick Turner WR Pit 6-3 200 Turner is a big, fast WR that was very effective his freshman year when Pit had an actual QB(Tyler Palko). Coming out of Pit, he had to live up to Larry Fitzgerald, which he will never accomplish, but he does have more speed, the same height, and 25 fewer pounds. If he could have only had Palko every year like Fitzgerald had, Turner may of been considered a first RD talent. RD5-137 Brannan Southerland FB Georgia 6-0 240 Southerland can do it all. Block, run, and catch which the Bears look for in there FB's. Southerland will be an upgrade over McKie and will also be another key blocker for Forte. RD6-170 Jasper Brinkley ILB South Carolina 6-2 257 Brinkley has loads of talent, but an injury to his knee dropped him down most draft boards. The Bears love to pick these types of players up especially if they already have quality at the position. Brinkley w/ 4.5 speed will be a nice backup until Urlacher decides to retire. RD7-233 Willie VanDeSteeg DE Minnesota 6-4 255 Another Bear gamble as Slick Willie has a criminal record and injury history, but has loads of talent at rushing the passer. The Bears take a gamble on Willie to see how serious he is about a career in the NFL.

I like the fact that they mention that Chris Williams is out on the field with a helmet on. Thats some excellant news!

I'll admit, I was one that thought Rex got the bad end of the deal when he was told it was an open "fair" competition for the starters role. I thought he should of had a shot last year against a weaker Detroit team to rebound. Since that is in the past, I've gotten behind Kyle Orton. After two games, I still stick behind Kyle even though the bench K.O. is starting to drift. Heres what I've seen in Kyle so far: SHINES: -Kyle has the upmost respect from his teammates. He was voted team captain by his teamates which Rex never was. -Kyle seems to "get" what it takes to be a QB. He can read a defense and make the necessary adjustments which I don't recall seeing Rex doing that at all. -Kyle is conservative with the football and takes what is given which is usually the "1st tier"(haven't heard that enough) -Kyle has better pocket presence and either steps up or rolls out to avoid pressure, Rex just back pedaled and threw off his back foot. -Kyle is 6-4 and seems to have better vision to make quicker reads and throwing screens. Rex at 6-0 had trouble throwing the screen and only seemed to have good vision when the WR was 15 yds down field or more. DIMS: -Kyle accuracy past 15 yards has been pretty bad, as the season passes, teams will figure out how to take advantage of this weakness. I hate to see his completion % on those pass plays -Even though I'm glad he's doing it, his audibles or check outs have caused some confusion for the team and have resulted in broken plays (penalties) or failure to succeed. -Kyles turnover potential. He's been praised so far to not turn the ball over, but the balls have all bounced his way so far. Theres been potential for 6 INT's that have been dropped (counting in my head) , a botched snap, and a strip which he fell on so far. That luck is bound to break. CONCLUSION: Kyle seems to have a lot more SHINES than DIMS and looks like he can take this job and progress with it. Rex could be more successful right now b/c it does seem the line is greatly improved and we have a running game, which I think Rex is more deadly when he has play action working for him, BUT I don't want to even see Rex behind center at all. I think Kyle will improve week by week in his DIMS as he gets more reps under center. His timing on the deep throws will improve since all he did in TC and Preseason was dink and dunk. His audibles will improve after he learns what works and what don't. The audible is a part of the game I've been waiting for in CHI for a while and Kyle seems to have taken something from Peyton Manning on opening day. The turnovers will always be a part of the game, but if Kyle sees that he could very well have 6 INTS and 0 TD's and learns from that he should be able to continue on his low turnover ratio. As I look forward, I hope the Bears and Bear Fans can keep the patience with Kyle Orton. If he can continue to progress, we can have a decent servicable QB for some time. He doesn't have the flash or cannon that Rex does, but he has the smarts to work around those defeciences and that so far has put us in position to win 2 tough games this year, even though we ended up losing one of those.

Tom Brady-----> ???????? Fitzgerald ------> Fitzgerald Roy Williams-----> R. Williams Johnathan Stewart---> R. Brown Rudi Johnson --------> R. Johnson Lee Evans---------> W. Welker Antonio Gates-------> A. Gates Neil Rackers--------> N. Rackers Oakland DEF--------> Oakland DEF -I thought J. Stewart had his coming out party against us, and will only get more carries as the season progress. This one may end up hurting -Who's your QB now? -Have you picked up any RB's (Lamont Jordan may be a FA sleeper to take carries away from Marohney)? -Do you have second thoughts on the trade now?

I remember writing about him 6 months ago or so saying he should be a big contibuter this year. The reaction I got was about 70-30 betting against. Some whispers about why he didn't see much or any of the field last year was because Rusty Jones noticed his body (muscles and bones) wasn't caught up yet to his size. Rusty thought giving him a year under his supervision, he can get him ready for the NFL. One reason why I put my blog out on this was b/c I seen him filling a Guard position, thus putting the need for G a little lower on my draft wish list. The Guard I wanted JA to draft was McGlynn from Pit and Philly traded one slot in front of us in the 4th RD and took him. I believe since he was are target and gone, we traded down w/ Mia and then Tampa and took Craig Stetz.

www.rotoworld.com is the source Dolphins claimed OL Kirk Barton off waivers from the Bears. Third TE Sean Ryan will be waived later Thursday. Barton's skills are limited enough that he doesn't project as more than a swing-type reserve. Source: Chicago Sun Times Related: Bears Looks like we lost out on the Kirk Barton sweepstakes. He decided to take his chances on Miami's 53 man roster. Good luck Kirk, 2 years from nows when I see you on MNF as a starting RT i'll be a little po'd

Great news, congrats Wale. Heres the following NFL players of the week: week 1 Adewale Ogunuleye week 2 Tommie Harris week 3 Brian Urlacher week 4 Lance Briggs week 5 Charles Tillman week 6 Mike Brown week 7 Mark Anderson week 8 Patric Willis SF (Bears Bye) week 9 Nathan Vasher week 10 Alex Brown week 11 Dusty Dvorecek week 12 Daniel Manning week 13 Hunter Hillenmeyer week 14 Marcus Harrison week 15 Kevin Payne week 16 Israel Idonije week 17 Jamar Williams

Not a true sophmore, he was redshirted his freshmen year

OK a 5 is way too high, but making it a conditional 5th if he plays in the probowl (never happen), a 6th if he plays 50% of the snaps, or 7th if he rides the bench. I would love to see us get some benefit out of Williams this year, but I don't want to see the Bears push the kid out there only to prove he's not a bust which many have already labeled him. I hated Miller last season, but if Tait/St. Clair go down this year, Miller should be able to pick up instantly with out much of a drop off. Thus, the signing is pretty significant.