BearFan2000

interesting point at the end since there's been an NFC North the only two teams to win that division have been the Bears and the Packers. The Bears won the central title more than any of the 5 teams by winning it 8 times, Vikings were second with 7 wins, Packers and Bucs each won it 3 times, and the Lions won it twice. Since the NFC Central became the NFC North the Packers have had the edge wining the division wining four times to the Bears two times. Here's to that changing.

If the offense can hold their own and do better with ball control that will partly help but they need to score points. It doesn't help to sustain a drive the length of the field or get a turnover with great field position to then only eek out 3 points because the offense can't locate the end zone. But you do make a good point about the D last year. As rough a year as they had and as many injuries as they sustained the did a pretty decent job of keeping us in games early. But over the course of the game when the offense isn't giving you anything much it really puts pressure on the D and it wears them out. If the D gives you the ball inside the opponent's 30 you better come away with 7 more often than you settle for 3. Last year we settled for three and awful lot. I remember hearing that we are going to get back to a ball control run oriented offense then we cut Benson (even though I agree with that move) we then decide we're happy with the backs we have left? If you are going to base your offense around a commitment to the running game and you are entring the season with a 2nd round Pick at RB, a second year guy who is more a the small situational type back, and a career backup RB and don't (at least publicly) plan on adding another solid back, I have to ask what are they smoking? To do what the Bears seem to intend to do they will need at least two to three durable backs. Sorry I don't see Wolf as a durable back if injuries force him to play significant time, I just don't think he has the body to take that punishment. Peterson is a career backup who can step in for a game or two and start. That leaves us with Forte. The Bears are pinning all their hope on one unknown to carry the team. Sound familiar? Now I do like Forte and think he can be a good back. I just find it odd that we don't try to bring in someone to replace Benson. Upon hearing Benson's release I immediately thought, ok cool now who will we bring in that could actually be a positive for this team? If we struggle again running the ball, it will put the pressure on the passing game which doesn't yet inspire much confidence in me. Well we do have Hester. I say that we line up in punt formation and direct snap to Hester. Just kidding. As you say there a lot of questions that need be answered on offense. For the passing game the key will be our TE's and how we involve Clarke and Olsen. Booker provides a veteran presence and has always had good hands. We have some speed in Hester and possibly Bradley if he can stay healthy and depending how much quickness he's lost due to injury. Davis may be more of a possession type receiver, then you have the rookies and the Loyd. The who's going to be the QB, Grossman or Orton? Will the winner of that competition get the job done? Can this area of the offense that could very likely be an achilies heal mold into a competent unit or even a strength? This group could surprise us or it could validate all our concerns. The line will they improve from last year. They were horrible last year and that's being nice. If williams works out at LT then that makes us stronger by moving Tait back to RT. Then up for play is the guard spots. I can see us trying different combinations and even if we field the best line we can it will take time for them to gel It may be ugly early but what I'm looking for is improvement throughout the year.

Just looked at the Bears website and according to that article tickets will be available via phone and internet only. I do have two computers side by side so I'll take a crack at it on the internet. I do remember back in 2001 it seemed I had all the time in world to decide which game tickets even with dial up but more recently I'd had no chance. I ended up going to the Detroit game (the one where Hanson missed 2-3 field goals and the Bears barely escaped with a win to stay undefeated) I could have had tickets to the now historical 49er game and man am I kicking myself for that. LOL. I was looking at the train schedule from South Bend to Chicago and it may not work out to get there and back by train. Driving in Chicago drives me nuts and my Dad isn't too crazy about it either. Getting there by train wouldn't be an issue, but getting back would be, there's only two trains leaving after the game and both stop at Carol Ave. which would give us three hours and change to kill waiting for the next train to south bend or catch a cab. The noon games there wouldn't be as much an issue. I just thought it would be cool to go to a Bears Packers Monday Night Game. Hopefully that would be a meaningless game for us because we've clinched a playoff spot. But, lets' not get ahead of ourselves. LOL So it looks like I'll be sitting at my computers on July 12th at noon trying to get tickets. I'm assuming that would be noon Central time which would be 1pm here in Indiana. I do have high speed internet 3 Mbs where I previously had dial up. I know that doesn't guarantee but it can't hurt. I keep hoping they will do something about the brokers scam which is really what it is. Something's got to give it has become so difficult for real fans to afford to go to a game when in most cases to go it means paying double or triple face value on tickets. Which means people like my Dad and I have a difficult time going. I'm sure the NFL has little motivation to do anything. If true fans can't get tickets to the game they may opt for the NFL sunday ticket instead. The system works for the NFL and the Brokers benefit. It's a win win for everyone but the fan. Especially considering there's a likelihood that those games will eventually only air on dish or cable networks. To this point I've been very fortunate that my local Fox, CBS, and NBC affiliates will nearly always carry the Bears game. So other than the Monday night games which are on ESPN I get to see all the Bears games.

That is is insane and should be stopped somehow. One thing they should is regulate the resale of tickets so the price either must be face value or have a maximum mark up. I live in Indiana and I thought there were some laws concerning ticket resale and pricing. 2001 was the only time I was able to secure tickets. I think though that that was not the initial release but it seemed like they were tickets released later. Do they still do multiple releases or is what it is when the day comes they release them and it's first come first serve? Watching the games on TV and seeing all the empty seats in and game that according to Ticket Master is sold out and knowing that it's because those tickets were not bought by a fan but someone who's just out to make a buck. It makes me sick and angry thinking about it. Most normal people are struggling financially these days and then if you want to go support your favorite team by attending a game you have virtually no shot at getting tickets at face value and have two options... pay through the nose and go anyway and help line the pockets of some broker, or sit at home and watch it on TV. Could be why the NFL Sunday ticket popularity has grown. Since most of us either can't afford the inflated ticket prices of after market sellers we figure Sunday Ticket is a better investment so we can watch all the games on our HDTVs. Which I'm sure the NFL network is pleased about. The games I'm targeting are the Packers monday night game at Soldier field in December (with Favre gone it will likely slow ticket sales to that game) and the Saints thursday game in December. Is it just me or is the NFL looking to stir up a rivalry between the Bears and the Saints since we met in the NFC Championship game? That was one of the last games last year as well.

If doing the right thing and being a stand up guy makes someone else feel uneasy or feel like they are being thrown under the bus the problem lies with them. Rather than own up to the guilt they should feel they complain that someone is slamming them. Well if they did the right thing in the first place they'd have no reason to be offended. I don't believe for a second that Tommie made those comments to intentionally call out teammates but to express how pleased he was with the way things went and that business is taken care of and it's time to play football. Tommie has always stuck me as a guy who tries to be as honest and up front as he can and he seems to get it that playing in the NFL (a kids game) is a privilage not a right.

Too funny, Thanks for posting, I needed a good laugh.

I know this is slightly off topic but since we are approaching the date where they release the individual home game tickets. I've tried unsuccessfully the past few years. What seems to be happening is the brokers or individuals buy ups large chunks of tickes with no intention of going to the game but with the intent to make a killing selling the tickets on various sites where the prices end up being highly inflated. I was wondering if anyone has a method that works. I've tried the whole Ticketmaster thing and by the time the page loaded I would the tickets would be gone. I do have something in my favor that I didn't have before and that's high speed internet, I'm thinking that having dial-up didn't help my chances. One thing I am doing right now is going over the schedule and highlighting a few games that I'd like to see and then prioritize that list. That way when the day comes I can shoot directly for that game first and then proceede down the list. On a side what are some of the best and worst seats in the new Soldier Field? My first and only Bears game was at the old Soldier Field in 2001

This is how I would like to see it played out with the current RB's on our roster. I think Wolfe can be very effective if use right. I just don't see him as a primary back. Forte was drafted to take Benson's place now he has a prime opportunity to be everything Benson wasn't. All he has to be is effective and he'll be a hero. It's a golden opportunity. AP is not a starting back over a full season. He's the kind of guy who can step in and start a few games a season and hold the fort. The longer he starts his numbers begin to fall off. IMO he's a perfect backup RB/special teams player. I like him because he's one guy who always give it his all, never complains, no matter what he's asked to do. He's just not cut out to be a regular starter at RB. Last year was a hard year to evaluate backs the running game suffered last year in large part due to sub par play on the line. Last season was the first time AP didn't put up respectable numbers and didn't look much better than Benson. Wolf was seldom used last year so it's really hard to evaluate what he can do. He's very quick. I don't think his body would take the punishment of being a primary back in an offense that will likely see a lot of stacked boxes until our Passing game shows any life. The backs will likely take some punishment earlyI'm not ruling out us bringing in a vet.

nothing surprising here and I'm sure this won't be the last article featuring someone's tell all about Benson. The only named sources will likely be ex-Bears. At this point does it really matter for us Bears Fans. Benson was a lazy turd with very bad judgement. He's no longer a Bear so I don't have much interest in following the aftermath of his being released and even less about where he goes from here. All the he said she said is now in the past or about the past. Time to move on. Benson made his bed now he must lie in it. If he somehow does turn his career around good for him but I somehow doubt it unless he has a major attitude adjustment. But his future whether it be in the NFL or otherwise I could really care less. So as for me this is the last time I'll give it any thought.

Benson was last seen singing 99 bottles of beer on the wall at a karaoke bar. His poor judgement lost him his job.

He's definitly one of my favorites of recent memory. Others on that list: Curtis Conway, Bobby Engram, Tom Waddle (gritty WR always willing to sacrifice his body to make a play). There's others but those three stand out off the top of my head.

I've never been a Benson fan from the moment we drafted him. I questioned the pick at the time but decided to give him a chance. If he worked out it'd be one of those pleasant surprises. Then the holdout which opened the door for Jones to take over the starting spot. Ced was behind from the beginning. His body language said he didn't care and his comments often showed he didn't have a clue. The only time he showed effort was when he was fighting for playing time behind Jones. Jones is traded and he's handed the job having not earned it and doesn't produce or even act like he cares. In four seasons he's still not reliable in passing downs for blitz pickup. Having him leave the game just tips the other team that it's a pass play. Then we come to this summer and he has the boating incident, speeding through a construction zone, then the latest arrest where he failed a field sobriety test and refused Breathalyzer and blood tests (if you weren't over the limit why would you refuse?). As a Bear fan I am saddened by his behavior from day one. He's given me little to cheer about in the 4 years he's been here. Though I didn't it when we drafted him I tried and tried to give him a fair shake. Normally the term indefensible is a good thing to call a player but in Benson's case it's because it's become harder and harder to defend him. I do think the Bears did the right thing by letting him go. I don't believe it was going to work out for him or the Bears. For the sake of the team this give the Bears a chance to move on. While this is another miss by Angelo on a high pick I do give him credit for making the tough call and in effect admitting that it was a blown pick. I for one am more relieved than happy that he's finally gone and we can focus on the future and not the drama that has surrounded Benson for most of his time here in Chicago. I will say I was surprised to read the news that he'd been let go. I had figured they would let this season play out for now and if things didn't improve then make the move. I see us going for either Jones or Alexander. I highly doubt we bring in Henry it would make no sense to release one problem child only to bring in another one. If it's between Jones or Alexander my pref might be Alexander if he's healthy he's the better option. We have two young backs in Wolfe and Forte. Our lone vet is Peterson. Alexander likely near the end of his career but my have a good year or two left would make sense as Forte is likely envisioned as the future at the RB spot. Alexander would provide a proven vet to the mix. The next few days/weeks will be interesting.

if you look closely you can see John Madden kissing his butt. I kind of get the choice but at the same time I don't get it. It's always been a current player but I guess it makes sense that Madden would choose Favre for the cover. What's he going to talk about now that his true love has left the game?

LOL Sad but true

That has been my biggest knock on Grossman, when he's under pressure he retreats backwards. It's like he doesn't trust (not that I could blame him last year) that if he steps up there will be enough protection to get rid of the ball. The few times I've seen him step up it's worked for him but he's always seemed to have that tendency to back straight up. I'm guessing that with his history of injuries he doesn't want to get hit from behind. His overall pocket presence is what I want to see him improve on. I feel that as long as he can keep his cool in the pocket he has the tools to make all the necessary throws. To me this is the key to Grossman becoming that QB the Bears envisioned when they drafted him. As long as the competition is fair and both have a truely equal shot and the best guy starts I'm cool with it. I actually like them both for different reasons. I just want one of the two to step up and win the job outright and then take the position over and show they can be the long term solution we've been looking for.

Add to that even if that were to happen they would have more excuse to suck than Greise. For all the excitment following the QB change last year from Grossman to Greise it was pretty depressing to watch him come in and play the way he did. The thing about bringing in a vet as a back up is that to do this there is a reason he's coming in as a backup. No high quality starter grade QB is going to come into Chicago or any other team to be the third string QB. What you end up with is usually a Vet that had potential or was good once and has either declined in quality, gotten old, been on nearly every team at some point, or is coming off injuries, or has simply not panned out anywhere. Any QB who is good enough to start is going to want to be in a position to do just that. I think it's a stretch to expect the Bears to grab a vet QB to be our 3rd string guy who can come off the bench and light it up out there and be a stud and be the savior of our offense. We have to be realistic about this. I will grant that the sucess and failure of our QBs were greatly tied to the bad OL and RB play last season. We couldn't run the ball and our line couldn't protect the QB either.

LOL I'd nearly forgotten about that. Wasn't that back when Jim Miller, Shane Mathews, I forget who else were on the roster and they were both having injury issues. So Book was listed as the emergency QB.

For me this is what it boils down to. I'm sick and tired of excuses, QB changes, endless dabate over who's better, conspiracy theories, etc. Like most Bear fans here and everywhere we want someone to step up and take the job. If it's Orton, great, if it's Grossman, great, if it's someone else great. I'm just tired of the carousel. I want someone take the job by force rather than us settling or trying to pick who we think is least likely to drag the team down. I know this is the Chicago Bears and our past at the QB position is atrocious at best. It's time we change that pattern. I hope that Grossman, Orton, Hill and that other guy will compete hard, wouldn't it be nice for a change to see our QB's performing well during preseason and making it a choice of who impressed the most rather than who screwed up the least? Maybe that's too much to ask.

I agree, if Benson has shown anything it's that he's not a self motivated player unfortunately to the extent where I question his desire to play football. Having the tools is one thing, knowing how to use them or being motivated to use them is an entirely different thing. Bringing in a guy you drafted second round #44 overall tells me that they envision him being more than just another warm body at RB but to push for the job. This is the only situation where Benson has looked good with any constancy. When Jones was brought in he pushed Benson. Overall I'm happy with the picks Williams strength at this point is his pass protection and he needs to work on his run blocking. That is the only concern I have with him. My memory may be cloudy about last year (possibly trying to block - no pun intended - it out) but we seemed to give up sacks with an alarming frequency last season regardless of who was back there at QB. Drafting Williams allows us to move Tait back to his natural RT spot, while Williams takes over LT, we pick up a guard and possibly another OL on day two. I think it was a need pick and one of the best OT was available and we grabbed him. Having Mendy there at 14 would have made for an interesting pick and a part of me wanted them to pull the trigger and take him but I'm happy with this choice. Round 2, I like what I've seen of Forte so I'm pleased with that pick as well. It brings competition to the RB table and will either push Benson to play to his potential or push him out of town (I'd prefer the latter, I'm tired of Seabass) Round three will be interesting. Do we take a QB. We currently have two QB's on one year deals so between the two it will be QB survivor Chicago style. The current situation concerns me a little. Both QB's have shown promise both have shown failure. Yet those are our only QB's on the roster and neither is signed long term. If one of the two pans out they get extended, the other walks at the end of the season. If neither look good do we let them both walk and pin our hopes on yet another young guy? And who's to back him up? There are typically 3 spots on the roster for QB. I realize that who ever they draft or bring in before the start of the season will likely be given the starting clip holder position and the winner between Rex and Kyle will be the starter and the runner up the backup. That's how it will be planned to shake out this season. What about the future? This is a let's hope one of these guys steps up and can be that future and we'll build depth later. It's just that thought that if neither Rex or Kyle work out we possibly enter the offseason with two guys we have no intension of resigning, leaving us with the clip board holder to compete with two other new guys. Giving us a selection of QB's of which only one may have seen some actual game time. This is the situation we are dealing with at that position. Question is is this something we address early in the third. We have 2 third rounders right?

Agree I don't think anything will happen contract wise with Hester till the season is underway or after the season. Once we've had more opportunity to see what he has as a WR. At this point what little we've seen of him at WR he's been spotty at best. Not always knowing where to line up (and this is considering he's only been in for handful of plays a game which means he's only likely worked in practice on a few plays/patterns) which should be a pretty basic thing. At this point we only know what he brings as a return man and as it's been pointed out earlier in this thread that a degree of his success can be attributed to top notch special teams coached by dave taub (sp?) As a WR the jury's still out. Which is exactly why a deal will not get done till during the season (I'd guess mid season at the soonest) or after the season. In some respects I could see him becoming a WR in the mold of a Willie Gault type. A burner who is your deep home run threat but beyond the speed is an average receiver. Not to knock Gault but he was more a situational receiver. I'm also not saying that's where Hester is but that is the role I think he could fit into. As long as Turner realizes maybe we should exploit his speed instead of running trick plays that require him to almost instantly beat several guys before he even finds open field. By the way Ron, you need to set up trick plays for them to work.

Interesting that they have now decided to include FG and Extra Points as reviewable plays. I wish they would consider making penalties reviewable, as much as a missed call on things that are reviewable now, a critical blown penalty call or non call can be huge. Not sure how you could implement something like that but It would be nice if penalties could be challenged. I'm iffy on the push out rule. But I think what they are getting at is eliminating the guess made by a Ref if the WR would have come down in bounds which is often hard to tell at best. I agree that it's probably going to lead to more DB's planting and driving. I think it's going to have big impact on red zone offenses. We'll know better when we one day get one. With the Face mask penalty now being only the 15 yard variety. My question is are they eliminating the 5 yard minor face mask as in letting those go or are they simply saying any face mask incidental or major will be flagged for 15 yards. Which in my mind isn't going to decrease the frequency of it being called, it's just that now instead of a minor infraction (where you briefly grab and let go without pulling) will now not be 5 but 15 yards. For quite a while now I've thought that the roughing the passer penalty should have a two tier penalty system like the face mask. There are times where the hit on the QB is very minor but still technically hitting him after the ball is released. Then there are the hits that are completely intentional.

I was browsing through some videos on Youtube and came across this one. I came very close to spitting up my pop when saw it. Enjoy Funny Grossman Madden Video

I've been watching the videos of Mendenhall on Youtube. Things I like. Good body control and balance. Uses blockers well Has the ability to run it inside and push for yardage. Has good speed and agility in space anticipates well. Has a good attitude a team guy Has good hands as a receiver. He does run with the ball in one hand a lot. even up the middle, he needs to be more carefull about putting two hands on the ball in a crowd. NFL Defenders are more adept at stripping the ball than college defensive players. Some of the holes I saw in the videos you could drive a truck through. But on the clips where the holes were much smaller and he was running between the tackles he does a good job of keeping his legs moving and keeps a forward body lean. I would not be disappointed if we grab him at 14.

That's one of the funniest comments I've read on this board in some time. Not only funny but relevant too. I've also had it with Benson. And can't remember a player I've disliked more as a Bear than Benson in a long time. Some of the guys in my dislike list include David Terrell, Cade McClown, Rick Mirer (however it's spelled), Brian "personal foul" Cox, Curtis Enis, Rashan Salami, Kordella... Of those the ones in Benson's class are Cade, Terrell, and Cox. The others on the list just sucked. These guys are in a class by themselves they not only sucked but did it with a bad attitude. I personally am done with Benson. We had a co-worker with an attitude and poor work ethic like Benson and that person was fired this month. Our team is now stronger even though we're one less person. The baggage, strain, and drag that person had on our team is more apparent now than it ever was. I for one want to see Benson gone. I've had it with him.

At this point it's hard for me to pick a side on which I'd rather be. Picking Mendenhall at 14 or grabbing an OL. I'm of the belief also that everything starts in the trenches. If your line is horrible every other problem on offense is either created by or magnified by it. It's tough to be RB and expect to be successful when often your first contact is in the backfield. For QB you can't have a lot of confidence to drop back and start your progressions when you often don't have the time to do so. When the QB is rushed the Receivers don't have the time to run their routes and get open before the QB is under duress. The offensive line makes an impact on every phase of the offensive game so it starts at the line. While a good OL doesn't guarantee success (see Atlanta) it does give you the best chance of success. With that in mind I'm tempted to think about drafting OL even if a guy like Mendenhall drops to 14. Which I don't think is a bad idea. The thing with drafting offensive line especially at 14 is you are counting on this guy to step right in or soon take over as a starter. Rookies can take some time to develop even the good ones. Sure there are those over the years who have just stepped right in and played. It can be a little convenient to think that we draft OL at 14 and maybe pick up another lineman or two later. That suddenly our Line will be fixed. Good offensive lines take time to gel. Even when you add free agents. The more the line plays together the stronger they will get. In no way am I saying it's a bad idea to look to shore up the drive by drafting OL at 14. I think we need to be realistic. It won't instantly solve the issues. But its a good long term need since our line is getting old fast. It's also possible that the line gels during the season and we're able to keep the ship afloat long enough for that to happen and make some noise this coming season. If we admit this is a rebuilding year then I think we need to focus on getting our line younger. We will need to do this at some point. This draft would be a good one to accomplish that and also add some RB talent. At the same time we have a running back Line up of Benson (rehabbing), AP, and Wolfe. One big back, one small, back and one tiny back. I was never on board with Benson when we drafted him, the hold out didn't endear him to me either. He showed little promise. The Super Bowl team had a solid line and Jones, Benson, and AP all had success behind that group. Last year I could say that none of our backs did much to write home about. For AP I think it was the worst he's looked as a Bear. Of the current group he's been here the longest so in some respect he's the best measuring stick for the running game. You could always count on AP to be plugged in for a game or two and have solid performances. Last year he had a hard time doing anything. I'm not saying AP is a great back or a true #1 guy but his struggling this season tells me it's not just the backs. That said I've been more often unimpressed with Benson than I have been impressed with him. Every once in a while he does something nice but for every decent run there's a dozen or more cloud of dust and a 1 yard gain. Benson looked as good as he ever did during that super bowl run. Which tells me if he's motivated he has the tools to be a decent back but I just don't think he has the desire and inner drive needed to find any consistent success in the NFL After three seasons his pass blocking is still suspect. Wolfe is more a situational back. So looking at our line up I would not be opposed to upgrading the RB position at 14 either if you can get a good value at RB without reaching. The way this draft looks it's going to depend on who's there at 14 when we pick. If one of the top tier linemen drops to 14 it would be awful hard to pass up considering our blatant need in that area. At the same time I don't want to reach for an OL at 14 when you can draft a similar guy later in the draft. If we get to 14 and we'd be reaching on an offensive lineman and Mendenhall is there. I think it would be awful tough not to take him and then pick a more value OL later. If we get to 14 and both a top tier OL and Mendenhall are there, that would be a difficult choice. There are quality backs that will be available later in the draft. There are also good options later in the draft for OL. Unless we do something crazy at 14 I'll be able to live with which ever way Angelo goes. Whether we want to officially call next year a rebuilding year or not that is what it will be. The two quarterbacks on our roster at the moment are on 1 year deals. It's quite likely we will draft a QB and ironically he'll have longer term deal than our starter. WRs.... what wide receivers. Yes we picked up Booker and I've always liked him. He is getting older and I see him in the role that we brought Moose in to play the veteran mentor. We have Bradley who is often injured, we have Davis who's nothing special, we have Hester the wannabe WR, Hass, Lloyd, and Rideau. The only proven starter is Booker. At TE we have Clark, Olsen, and Fontel. At OL we'll have a patchwork line of some sort. Realistically the offense is in full rebuilding mode and the Defense has it's own needs but not as many as the offense. I honestly don't know what to expect this coming season. I would not be at all surprised to see another up and down season. But it's also possible we may hang in there and things will come together over the course of the year and we make the playoffs. I'm preparing myself for a down year but however we go in the draft and other roster moves between now and the start of the season. Most likely these moves will be more for long term solutions. A high drafted RB may not see the field much early on as I'm sure Benson will be given every opportunity to succeed before we hand the reigns over to a Rookie.