Wesson44

From watching the Bears line GARZA is the weakest link aways getting pushed into the backfield never giving our runners a hole to run through

IMHO we should get in FA one of the Chargers WR(they both are 6'5') and Shepard (CB)from the Jets and let Vasher and or Graham go

IMHO Kampman is what the Bears should look into during FA to replace Gaines and possibly O-Gun. Bring back Anderson he's still rather cheap. If O-Gun leaves and we get Kampman that would be a factor for bringing Melton into the rotation. Brown/Anderson on one side Kampman/Melton on the other.

All we need is an OC with some balls to make the right play calls. Stop this maddness. Use that WR screen that both the Cowboys and Eagles use against each other in the playoff game, the same one the Bengals used against us. He needs to use Cutler and the bootleg to the TE more. Also misdirection screens work well to.

This is how the roster could look next summer: Quarterback Here: Jay Cutler, Caleb Hanie, Brett Basanez. Cutler's the franchise, Hanie continues to mature in the system, and Basanez is a solid No. 3. With a limited number of draft picks, the Bears might not have the luxury of adding a young arm, but they already have three. Running back Here: Matt Forte, Kahlil Bell, Garrett Wolfe. Forte had a down year, but he's versatile and can be a workhorse, which he proved as a rookie. Bell is a more patient runner who appeared to have better quickness than Forte in limited but impressive duty. Wolfe averaged 5.5 yards per carry and can factor as a pass catcher. He will be completely recovered from a lacerated kidney in the off-season and has become a special-teams standout. Gone: Adrian Peterson, Kevin Jones. Peterson is reliable, a consummate pro and a longtime standout on special teams. But he's a free agent, and there never seem to be enough touches for him in the offense. Injuries have rendered Jones a nonfactor. Wide receiver Here: Devin Hester, Earl Bennett, Devin Aromashodu, Johnny Knox, Juaquin Iglesias. No position showed more improvement, and the arrow still points up on all of them, even though Iglesias essentially was redshirted this year. Gone: Rashied Davis. If he's back it will be for his special-teams play. Tight end Here: Greg Olsen, Kellen Davis. Olsen didn't demonstrate the improvement that was expected, and he may never be an elite player, but he's still a weapon in the passing game. Davis caught just 9 passes, but 3 were for scores. Gone: Desmond Clark. His 11th season was unproductive because of injuries, and the handwriting may be on the wall. Offensive line Here: Chris Williams, Frank Omiyale, Olin Kreutz, Robert Garza, Kevin Shaffer, Josh Beekman, James Marten, Lance Louis. Williams is better at left tackle than he was at right, which is good news. Omiyale played his best game of the season against Minnesota, finally looking like the player the Bears expected. Kreutz has declined physically, but he's too smart and too valuable as a leader not to get another year. He has earned the right to speak his mind after 12 seasons. Garza might have to fight off Louis to keep his job, and Marten could be the right tackle of the future, leaving Shaffer as the top backup. Gone: Orlando Pace. Strictly a one-year bridge to Chris Williams. Defensive line Here: Alex Brown, Israel Idonije, Marcus Harrison, Anthony Adams, Gaines Adams, Jarron Gilbert, Henry Melton. The Bears gave up too much for Gaines Adams not to give him a chance to prove he was worth a second-round pick. Uncertain: Tommie Harris, Mark Anderson. Harris is due a $2.5 million roster bonus in June, which seems exorbitant for his sporadic production, although the Bears don't have anyone better at the vital three technique. Anderson goes from unrestricted to restricted if there's no new collective- bargaining agreement. The Bears won't get into a bidding war for a player who's only shown occasional productivity since a great rookie season. Gone: Adewale Ogunleye. He's 32 and a free agent. He's solid and has something left in the tank, but he won't get another big payday from the Bears. Linebackers Here: Lance Briggs, Hunter Hillenmeyer, Nick Roach, Tim Shaw. Roach is restricted, so he will be back, and Shaw is too valuable on special teams not to keep. Uncertain: Brian Urlacher, Pisa Tinoisamoa, Jamar Williams. Is Urlacher worth $6.825 million after the Bears took a $10.2 million cap hit for the one game he played this season? If Williams is unrestricted, he's gone. Tinoisamoa is unrestricted, but he's a good fit who might not cost much to bring back given his injury-plagued season. Gone: Darrell McClover. Good special-teams player. Period. Defensive backs Here: Charles Tillman, Zackary Bowman, Kevin Payne, Al Afalava, D.J. Moore. Moore probably gets a second year since he was a draft pick. Uncertain: Danieal Manning, Josh Bullocks, Craig Steltz, Corey Graham. Manning and Bullocks are unrestricted if there's a new CBA. Manning is more valuable because he's more versatile and is an excellent kickoff-return guy. Graham also has value as a utility man. Gone: Nate Vasher. No way he gets $2.95 million next year to barely play at all.

Gould needs two field goals to become NFL's top kicker Posted: 11/4/2009 1:43:00 PM If Robbie Gould makes his next two field goal attempts, he will surpass Mike Vanderjagt to become the most accurate kicker in NFL history. Gould has connected on 120 of 139 attempts in five seasons with the Bears, an 86.3 percent success rate that’s just below the retired Vanderjagt, who made 86.5 percent of his kicks (230 of 266) in nine seasons with the Colts and Cowboys. The Chargers’ Nate Kaeding is third at 85.8 percent (133 of 155). “It would be a great honor to get it, but once you get it you’ve got to be able to hold it,” Gould said. “I’m not going to stop working until I do get it, and once I do get it, I’m not going to stop until I retire.” Continuing to work with long-snapper Patrick Mannelly and holder Brad Maynard as he has done throughout his career, Gould has made 10 of 11 field goal tries this year, including a career-long 52-yarder against the Lions. “I’ve been very fortunate to have a lot of great guys around me blocking for me,” he said. “Pat and Brad have been doing a great job. If it wasn’t for them, I would not be having the success I’ve had.” Kaeding would seem to have an unfair advantage when it comes to kicking in San Diego compared to Chicago, but Gould isn’t complaining or asking for an asterisk in the record book. “No matter where you’re at, you’ve got to do your job, and Nate’s done a great job for the Chargers,” Gould said. “Yeah, it’s a warm-weather place to kick. But he’s done a great job. I’m just glad to be here in Chicago and be able to do it for the organization as well as to help my team win games.”

Carson Palmer already called it a must game so the Bengals.com roundtable must have looked at the numbers to come up with a split decision to pick the 4-2 Bengals in Sunday’s 4:15 p.m. Paul Brown Stadium game against the 3-2 Bears. Under Marvin Lewis, the Bengals are 2-4 in their games before bye weeks. But under Lewis they are also 5-0 against the NFC North, 9-2-1 against the NFC at home, and have never been swept in back-to-back PBS games. Big Bird gives the Bears the edge because of their terrific run defense. But The Sage and The Eye opt for the Bengals with The Sage giving Cincinnati the intangibles and The Eye leaning to the Bengals’ ability to block the Bears’ AFC North-like pressures. “Even though I give a lot of the personnel edges to the Bears, I’m picking the Bengals, 28-24,” says The Sage, a former NFL player with double-digit years in the league. “The Bengals really need this one going into the bye. They can’t afford to lose it, they’re home and Marvin’s got the good record against the NFC North. But because they’re banged up on the defensive line, the offense has to carry them and it’s going to have to be a breakout game. I’m leaning to them.” Big Bird, another former NFL player who played more than a decade in the league, calls it 23-20 for Chicago. “I’m going off the tape of the Bears loss against Atlanta last week,” The Bird says. “I’ve got a lot of respect for Atlanta with Matt Ryan, Tony Gonzalez and Michael Turner. Their offense is playing a lot better than the Bengals right now and the Bears almost beat them. This is an excellent defense, a typical Lovie Smith defense that runs to the ball, doesn’t let you run and doesn’t make a lot of mistakes.” The Eye, an NFL scout familiar with the AFC North, also sees a tight one, and gives it 24-21 to the Bengals. “What the Bears do with their fronts and coverages looks more like the Texans,” The Eye says, “but they blitz a lot more than the Texans and like Baltimore and Pittsburgh their front seven covers up any weakness they may have in the back end.” WHEN THE BENGALS HAVE THE BALL RB C. Benson vs. Bears WLB Lance Briggs Benson The Sage gives the nod to Benson because “he’ll be more upset than the other guys. I hope he doesn’t let himself get so jacked up that he plays out of control.” Benson will also have to see Briggs on the blitz because the Bears send him and as Big Bird says, “he’s athletic, tough as hell, fast. I’m going to have to give this one to Briggs.” Bengals offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski liked the way the line moved the Houston linemen last week, but the linebackers, he felt, were the key to bottling up the run. Benson is going to have to make Briggs and company miss on occasion, but he can’t do it by himself. “If Ced is going to have a big day he’s going to need help from a lot of people,” The Sage says. “The fullback. The tight ends. They’ve got to get off the linemen and get to the next level.” “I’ve got a buddy who plays for the Bears,” Bird says. “And they think he’s a good player. But they’re not worried about him.” But Benson is just what the doctor ordered in a grudge game like this one. He’s physical and already has a big game against a good run defense with a 100-yard day in a win over the Ravens. And, The Sage says, “they didn’t run it well last week and I think they’re going to come out and try to do it.” QB C. Palmer vs. Bears QB Jay Cutler Palmer If his receivers caught the five dropped balls last week, Palmer would have had more than 300 yards passing on about an 80 percent completion percentage with a through-the-roof passer rating. Now his numbers look average, but his receivers have been below average catching the ball. “I give Cutler the advantage because I think he’s going to get more chances to throw it downfield, but I think Carson is more talented,” The Sage says. “Jay is going to take more chances and this game is going to come down to which quarterback makes the fewest mistakes. I just think Carson is going to get more pressure than Cutler because the Bears have two or three good ends and the Bengals are hurting on the defensive line and are going to struggle getting a pass rush. “Plus, Cutler has two really good tight ends (Greg Olsen and Desmond Clark) and his tight ends are killing Carson with drops. That’s why T.J. (Houshmandzadeh) was so good. People don’t want to hear it, but he made tough catches and that’s what they’re missing. You can’t drop the ball against this defense.” The Eye thinks Palmer is going to see what he sees against the Ravens and Steelers when his guys pick up the blitz. “Their safeties are good, but I think the Bengals receivers can beat the DBs one-on-one.” RT D. Roland vs. Bears LE Adewale Ogunleye Roland The Bengals tackles got well deserved praise for shutting out Mario Williams last week and only allowing one sack. Roland gave up Connor Barwin’s first NFL sack, but he got good reviews and he’ll need another solid effort because Ogunleye is headed to double-digit sacks with 4.5 already. (Ogunleye is the guy that roughed up the Packers the week before Antwan Odom got a hold of them.) “He’s been solid. He hasn’t been a liability and they give him some help,” The Sage says of Roland. “He’s so tall (6-9), but he’s also so big to get around. I think they’ve done a good job protecting Carson. “But they’ve got a problem on the edge this week because Ogunleye is a craftier guy than Mario and they throw three or four ends at you. Alex Brown is a good player on the other side, but I don’t think (Andrew Whitworth) will have trouble there. But they’ve got Mark Anderson who had (12 sacks) as a rookie.” RG B. Williams and LG E. Mathis vs. Bears DTs Marcus Harrison and Anthony Adams Williams This is a battle The Table feels the Bengals can and must win. Tommie Harris, who hasn’t been as effective since his Pro Bowl run, is out with his recurring knee problem and Harrison is getting his first start at under tackle after getting his first NFL start last week. “The Bengals are going go to have to run the ball,” Big Bird says. “The Bears play out of the Belichick-Mangini school. They’re not going to sell out the house and leave the corners out there. They go Cover 2, Cover 4, and the Bengals seem to have trouble with that. With those penalties, the third-and-longs, the first-and-longs, and then the drops, it gets old. They have to run it and these guys are tough to run on. The backers get right up in the gaps.” P K. Huber vs. Bears PR Devin Hester Huber Hester hasn’t returned a punt or a kick for a touchdown since 2007, but that does not impress the Bengals. That’s only because he’s playing more wide receiver and he’s still the same guy that returned 11 kicks or punts for TDs his first two seasons in the league. The Bengals are worried about this one after starting the month nearly losing the game in Cleveland to the punt returns of Josh Cribbs. Hester has the big speed, but he also can juke and explode out of cuts and Huber has to make sure he gets nothing in the middle of the field. Take the shank, but get it out of bounds. “And he can’t outkick his coverage, either,” Big Bird says. “Tough game for a rookie. If he gets it in the middle of the field or if he kicks it too far, I guarantee you the scoreboard will be lighting up.” But Huber has been good since Cleveland getting it to the sidelines and he did a fine job last week keeping Houston’s top 10 return team in check. WHEN THE BEARS HAVE THE BALL LT Orlando Pace vs. Bengals RE J. Fanene Fanene Fanene makes his first start in place of the injured Odom and his condition is already in doubt after missing Thursday and Friday with an illness. Where do the Bengals get Odom’s eight sacks? “Losing Odom is tough because it’s like losing two guys because he would be a presence against the run on first and second down and then go inside and rush the passer on third down at tackle,” The Sage says. “Guys like Fanene and Frostee Rucker are good, solid players and have been productive when they’ve played. But now instead of playing just 15 snaps it’s going to be closer to 50.” The Eye thinks Pace is showing signs of aging and slowing up, but while Fanene is a solid, all-out effort guy, “he’s not guy like Odom that can exploit that,” he says. DTs T. Johnson and P. Sims vs. Bears Gs Frank Omiyale and Roberto Garza Johnson Domata Peko (knee) is probable, so we’ll see how The Hurting Trio respond in another matchup The Table thinks the Bengals can and need to win. “The Falcons tackles spent a lot of time in the backfield last week pushing back the guards,” The Eye says and The Sage adds, “They need to get pressure from the inside. They need to disrupt Cutler or else he’ll carve you up. Tank is hurt, but this is the kind of game they need to get something out of him.” Johnson, booted by the Bears because of a plethora of off-field problems earlier in his career, doesn’t have a sack yet. This would be the time. TEs Greg Olsen and Desmond Clark vs. Bengals FS C. Crocker Crocker Missed assignments and poor coverage by the linebackers and safeties last week allowed Texans tight end Owen Daniels to score two red-zone TDs, and one was wide open when the backers took their eyes off him when he started the play blocking. Can’t have that this week. Olsen is good enough to be split out as a receiver and The Eye notes when it was fourth-and-six last week and the Bears needed the play to win, both Olsen and Clark were on the field. “How will they play Olsen?” The Eye asks. “When the Packers played them and the Bears went double tight end they still stayed in their nickel package and covered him like a wide receiver.” “That’s a tough matchup,” The Sage says. “The Bears have got a lot of speed on the outside. They’re going to make you cover five guys and it’s tough to find five guys that can cover.” WRs Johnny Knox and Devin Hester vs. Bengals CBs L. Hall and J. Joseph Hall Speed, speed, speed. Boy, one game can make the experts touchy. Big Bird, who was in love with the Bengals secondary two weeks ago, says they’ve got to play a lot better. “I think this thing about shutting down their best receivers, I don’t know,” he says. “You can’t give up big plays and these guys are fast.” Fast? Hester is in a sprint to the Pro Bowl every year and Knox, a rookie, was the fastest player at the combine and leads the league in kick returns. Scary? The Bengals defense leads the league in giving up plays of 20 yards. And if Knox wasn’t the fastest guy at the combine, the Steelers’ Mike Wallace was and he’s already got a 51-yard catch against the Bengals. “That’s why they have to get to Cutler,” The Sage says. “The corners can only do so much against that speed.”

Well I beg to differ my man and it's simple. If the OC took time to use his best players in the best situation we should be 5-0 right now. I know that the line has not been the cure all it was supposed to be, but picture this. How may times have we had the ball on the goaline and ran it for a TD. Cutlers does not count. Now now many times have we thrown it for a TD in the same situation? Cutlers bootleg TD is a perfect example of how to throw off the defense. We have a 6'5 TE and another at 6'7 and we throw to them how many times in the red zone against a mismatch?That play action bootleg works almost every time it is used, so why stop using it? Another reason we do what we do in the middle of the field is because out line coaches have not learned that if they are rushing hard up the middle zone block and get to the edge where the defenders (LB,DB) are weaker than the DT & DE whereby the runner can break a tackle or two and be gone. Hince running the big and powerful Wolfe up the middle is just crazy. Get him to the edge with a screen os misdirection pitch out and you have something.

Well my vote is on the Bears

I have been saying that McKie sucks for along time....but no one is hearing me

No we need to win both of them to keep pace with the Vikings and ahead of the Packers

Not for me....now i hate them both on an equal level!!!!!!! Go Bears!!!!!!!!

I agree with most of what you are saying but I'll give Cutler a pass in the Green Bay game..because he did put us in a position to win that game with the drive that mae the game score 15-13 our defense let it slip away on that one deep TD play

Yes nice quote but he should understand that it's going to be a fight in every game. With that being said he and the Bears should come out swing at the opening bell (kickoff) not wait until the later rounds(2nd half)

I'm all for that! Go Bears!!!!

Garcia is like almost 40, so he can not be placed on the practice squad.

IMHO I agree wit the post also, but you need to take in to account that we need to win games. By scoring too fast we game the Packers the chance to come down the field and score. We didn't want to make the same mistake with the Steelers. Throwing the ball in the last minutes of the game does not eat up the clock as does running the ball because the clock will keep rolling when you are tackled. If you miss the pass the clock stops giving the defense a chance to stop the defense.

Pittsburg is not a Division opponent they are in the AFC. But never the less we need to win this game!

IMHO one should just stand up for their team. I was born and raised in Chicago we now live in Texas, my wife was born and raised in of all places Pittsburg.....you see where I'm going with the 5 rings and one for the thumb stuff!!! So my son and daughters are siding with my wife and the black and yellow. I have co-workers here that are Steeler fans and theysing and dance about who we are going to lose, so I just point out we are playing at home with a great new QB that has just learned how to beat Pittsburg by losing to the Packers. He will eat their DB'S up..they aren't as fast as Hester or Knox and Olsen will have a big day.

Huuummmm it would just stand to reason if your #1 TE is being taken out of the game with a double team and WR are being guarded.....where is the NO#1 WR on the field (you know #22 at RB)doing in the passing game??? Turner you have got to get those short passes and dump offs going..not to mention the screens to kill the blitz happy Steelers.

IMHO McBride should have been cut earlier and we should have kept Hood, but this is a good pick up

Bears wideouts produced biggest day since '04 Posted: 9/17/2009 2:57 p.m. Jay Cutler has been widely criticized following the first four-interception game of his NFL career Sunday night in Green Bay. But the Bears quarterback helped his young wide receivers post big numbers in the loss to the Packers. Earl Bennett (7 receptions for 66 yards), Devin Hester (4-90) and Johnny Knox (2-82) combined for 238 yards, the most by Bears wide receivers in a game since Nov. 24, 2002 when Marty Booker (10-157), Dez White (8-106), Ahmad Merritt (3-24) and Marcus Robinson (1-3) generated 290 yards in a 20-17 overtime win over the Lions.

If we get Hester & Knox deep and Olsen in the middle then the Steelers will lose this game.

IMHO he had too many people to try to block, cause the line didn't block them.

IMHO and i have said this ever since we have gotten Ron Turner that we lose because of the plays he call or doesn't call. Prime example we are in the RED ZONE three times and you never used OLSEN ..not one time on a mismatch. Better yet why not the 6'7 DAVIS. The run up the middle never got much so why not use the play action pass to Forte/McKie in the flat. Maybe the bootleg to Olsen instead of Clark.. During the game when the Packer were coming after Cutler...where was the dump off to Forte?And for those of you who say its Cutler and the defense that lost this game.....think about this. The Packers were deep in the red zone once and that was the int run back. Other than the long pass play the defense was great! Even with the likes of #54 and #59 out at LB.Despite the Packers coming all out, we moved the ball into the red zone three times without scoring a TD thats why we lost!!!