tshanno

Yeah, you and a lot of other people. The problem in that Benson doesn't understand Angelo's point. If you are targeted, get checked six times, and you still go out without a designated driver or sithout hiring someone, you put yourself in a position to get into trouble. Even if Benson disagrees, he should at least see the point. The fact that he didn' t indicates to me that someone (Angelo) needs to talk to him. But the hearing was moved and he still didn't come. Oddly he hasn't offered an explanation but my guess is that if he were to be honest it would go something like, "I asked for the day off and they gave it to me. I'm going to take it whether I still need it or not." Could be wrong. Tom S.

That is, in fact the reason, though I'll confess that I expected Harris to be there. In fact, it wasn't entirely clear to me that he wasn't there and they weren't just holding him out. I'm waiting to see if it gets any more comment from the local writers before I say a lot about it. Tom S.

http://chicagobearsfanforum.com/blog/ The Bears Brad Biggs blogs that Mark Bradley had arthroscopic surgery earlier this month. He's questionable for the start of training camp. This makes Brandon Lloyd's acquisition all the more important. He was running with the first team. * Biggs also reports that Dan Bazuin is not at Halas Hall. No word on why yet. In other news: o John Tait is lining up at right tackle o Danieal Manning is back at saftey. Manning also is lining up at nickel back (not good news for Ricky Manning). o Terrance Metcalf is lining up with the starters at left guard Finally, Biggs reports some great news about Cedric Benson. Though Benson claimed he wasn't out of shape last year he says he is 10 pound lighter this year and he looks faster. Recall that Benson chose not to participate in strength and conditioning coach, Rusty Jones' program last year. It appears to have helped him this year. So its only May but it all good. * Unfortunately, David Haugh reports that Benson still doesn't understand that he did anything wrong. He and Jerry Angelo obviously need to get together for a discussion. Benson doesn't appear to me to be th brightest bulb in the box and messages sent through the media are unlkely to arrive in his brain without some striaght talk. * The Travis County Prosecutors Office has chosen to with hold an audio tape of the Benson arrest from the media. I'm surprised the media hasn't made a bigger deal of this tape. It could go a long way toward showing Benson's guilt or innocence. Elsewhere * Packers defensive tackle Justin Harrell is still having back trouble. He'll miss OTAs and hopes to be ready for training camp. He'll be a big loss to them if this turns out to be chronic. * Tackle Bryant McKinney is probably looking at a suspension of a game or two for charges resulting from a fight outside a Miami bar. I don't care how good the other members of your line are, losing you left tackle hurts. * The Seakawks are moving Rob Simms from left to right guard. Again, I'm idly wondering if the Bears should switch Roberto Garza to the left to stabilize Chris Williams. * Vinnie Iyer of The Sporting News thinks the substitution of a 17th game for the last preseason game is a bad idea. I'm not so sure. Any extra revenues benefits both sides and the extra TV revenue should come in handy. I'd say getting a team in LA should be a higher priority now as well. * Kevin Mawae and Broncos safety John Lynch are speaking out about the super-sized rookie deals. Mawae is president of the player's union. “As a guy who has been in the league for 14 now going on 15 years and being around other veteran guys, for a young guy to get paid that kind of money and never steps foot on an NFL football field, it’s a little disheartening to think of,” Mawae said. “It makes it tough for a guy who’s proven himself to say ‘I want that kind of money’ when the owners, all they’re going to say is, ‘Well, you weren’t a first-round pick.’ “And I know there is sentiment around the league amongst the players like, ‘Let’s do something to control these salaries and control these signing bonuses’ and things like that, and I know that’s something that the owners are talking about and I’m sure that’s going to play in to this round of negotiations for this collective bargaining agreement." This is not good for the players. They might, in fact, feel this way and that's fine but the topic is still a negotiating point where you let the negotiators do the talking. Most people don't remember the last time labor trouble loomed in the NFL but history is repeating itself. While the owners for the most part kept their mouths shut and let the people negotiators speak for them both at the negotiating table and in the press (there is a huge fine for speaking out), the players are much harder to control and much more apt to speak their minds. The act that in this case its the president of the union makes this situation all the worse. * As I said yesterday, comments from the Bengals through a prepared statement by Marvin Lewis shortly after the release of Odell Thurman didn't do much to dispel rumors that the Bengals released him because he was missing OTAs after his grand mother died. His comments yesterday were consistent with that as well. “His grandmother’s been buried for quite a while,” Lewis said. “Don’t get into his whole family structure. He has not played football in two years. And we have people who will be better for our football team.” “We’ve been patient enough with Odell, and he’s no longer here. No big deal." As I said, though they won't do it immediately, it will be interesting to see if Thurman's representatives file a grievance if no one picks him up. One Final Thought Once again, Steve Rosenbloom supplies a final thought, in this case much in line with my own: Some observers claim that Gilligan Benson's absence is no big deal, even in light of his arrest for drunken boating and resisting, because the OTAs are listed as voluntary. Nope. Sorry. Wrong. Nothing in the NFL is voluntary anymore. Listen, these OTAs are as mandatory as Miranda rights.

http://chicagobearsfanforum.com/blog/?p=251 The Bears The Bears have added a new scout, presumably to help out on the east coast. Just so you'll know who (else) to blame. Cedric Benson is back at work. No word on why he missed a day but we'll cut him some slack because it's not a crime. As far as we know... David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune makes a legitimate argument that Devin Hester could be among the biggest losers in the decision to opt out of the CBA. Thought playing offensive line was the dirties job in the NFL? Come inside the mind of Israel Idonije of your Chicago Bears. Elsewhere Presumably the vot to opt out of the CBA was unanimous because the NFL owners wanted to present a united front. I hope they know what they're doing. But I doubt it. Mike Florio at Profootballtalk.com made the point that he thought the big money signings by the Cowboys and the Falcons were a subtle sign of dissent from those teams on the day that the owners voted "unanymously" to end the CBA early. IMO you could just as easily argue that the signings were a message to the players regarding how much money they could lose. I happened to be watching ESPN and heard Chris Mortenson comment on the vote. He basically said not ot believe the stuff about rookie wage scales and Mike Vick's signing bonus. While these might be worthy issues (IMO they are) this negotiation is about money, pure and simple. If that's the case I certainly hope the owners will clean their own house and share revenue more equitably. This seems to me to be a more relevant issue than trying to squeeze the players. There was also talk about adding a 17th game, an issue which could be pitched as largely a win-win to the players since they get 59 cents on every dollar. In fact every dollar the league can make can be pitched to the players as a win-win. Florio of makes an, at this point, purely academic argument that replacement players would never work for the league: "Fans who obsess over having two quarterbacks without the same bye week and reduced touches for featured backs who come out in goal-line situations will want the players from their fantasy teams to continue to be on the field. And if they aren't, the options will be to slap together new groups of unknown players on the fly . . . or pay no attention to the NFL until the players from their fantasy teams are back on the field." He has a point, of course. But I'm not so sure such a plan wouldn't work in the long run. Players worked hard to get free agency and rightfully so. But that means that players can come and go. The only thing a fan can generally count on for any extended period of time is the fact that his team will be there. The exceptions are rare. It would take a lot of resolve on the part of the owners and they would take a bath on it for a long time. But I think you could argue that loyalty to the laundry might trump loyalty to players in the end. Matt Birk is skipping workouts in Minnesota. Most Bear fans would put Olin Kreutz ahead of him but many others would rank Birk as the best center in the league. He is also chronically unhappy over his contract and I'm not sure that the Vikings value him as highly. I wouldn't bet that he'll be back after his contract is up next year. Florio had a busy day yesterday. This time writing for The Sporting News he looks at 6 teams that made the playoffs in 2007 that won't in 2008. His fourth was my first: The Green Bay Packers. They'll miss Brett Favre, no doubt but that isn't among my main reasons. Between the luck involved in staying that healthy two years in a row and the men at the Minnesota line of scrimmage, I don't see them doing it again. In fairness to Brian Urlacher, at least he isn't screwing his teammates over because he's gone Hollywood [shaking head in disgust]. One Final Thought NFL owners and players aren't stupied... right?

http://chicagobearsfanforum.com/blog/?p=250 The Bears * Brad Biggs at the Chicago Sun-Times blogs that Cedric Benson isn't at OTAs even though his court date, which was to be the first day, has been rescheduled. I'm sure Benson will have (another) good excuse. * Not surprisingly, Brain Urlacher was also missing as he cuddles some more with his fiance in Arizona. [head shake] Chicks. Elsewhere * The Bengals' Odell Thurman has been released by the Bengals. This wouldn't be news except for the implication that Thurman was released because he missed organized team activities at least partly due to the death of his granmother. The Bengals didn't refute this allegation despite the fact that it almost certainly violates the terms of the CBA. Regardless, Thurman won't file a grievance to force himself upon a team that doesn't want him. At least not immediately. Once again we are reminded that teams are for the most part very serious about these workouts. Whether releasing Thurman or not was the right thing to do (the implicaiton is that it wasn't morally if not legally), the incident re-enfores the notion that people like Lance Briggs and especially Brian Urlacher are missing fairly important time with the team. * The Buffalo Bills will charge $70 per seat to sit 20 rows up at midfield, while the Cowboys will charge $50,000 for the right to purchase a similar seat in their new stadium, reminding us all that the real problem isn't with the players when it comes to the CBA. It's with revenue sharing. * In the "This is why teams are bad" department: A Lions employee has apparently come up with a new slogan for the team: "F--- 'em until next year". That's the response he (supposedly inadvertently) sent to a Lions season ticket holder who was canceling his seats. Pacman Jones will have to meet with the commissioner before he is re-instated (whenever that will be). Here's hoping he doesn't visit a strip club the night before the meeting like he did last time. * Mike Florio at Profootballtalk.com asks whether the Patriots taped the Rams defensive signals during their regular season matchup in 2001, thus tainting Super Bowl XXXVI. I wouldn't lay bets on the chances that the commissioner asked or, if he did, that he'd tell anyone the answer. * William Rhoden at the N.Y. Times chimes in on Spygate with a pretty good column: Spygate, as this controversy has been called, is reminiscent of the game show scandals of the late 1950s when the supposed winners had in fact been supplied with answers in advance. The scandal prompted so much viewer outrage that Congressional hearings and investigations were held. Any industry that abuses the public's trust --- from thoroughbred horse racing to Major League Baseball --- flirts with disaster. One Final Thought The Chicago Tribune's Steve Rosenbloom: Lance Briggs said of Bears linebacker teammate Brian Urlacher: "I can relate." Is he talking about having his hand out or his trousers down?

I'm not sure where that number came from but his 2007 QB rating was 66.4. I don't think his rating has ever been above 75 even in his best year. Here's the link where I got the numbers: http://www.chicagobears.com/team/player32.html#career_stats Look I'm not saying the guy is done. It's never over till its over. Its just that I don't think he's got it. There's an instinct that comes with being able to feel pressure and get away from it. Grossman doesn't have it. Or if he does, he's not showing it. Pep Hamilton had him sliding to the right the entire off season trying to "teach" him how to move. The only thing it did was cause him to step into the arms of the defensive end when they brought pressure from the outside. He could become a game manager. Dump it off. Lots of short passes. But the truth is that unless he gets perfect protection, he's not going to be able to hang in the pocket and run Turner's system. I'm not sure why the Bears think he can but here's hoping they're right. The entire league seems to disagree. Tom S.

Its not that he was a one trick pony. They figured out that they had to bring pressure up the middle. One Grossman coldn't step up in the pocket it wa over for him. And for the most part it still it. Tom S.

All it takes is one good year. Then its Angelo saying, "Told you." and poof, there's the contract. Why do you think he's on a noe year contract in the first place? Its his agent stringing out his tenure with the Bears to give him a chance to hit the big money. And Angelo going along withi enthusiasm becaseu, when it come sdown to it, thre's no way he could have possibly made a mistake, right? Tom S.

I meant only to compare the degree of loyalty shown. IMO Angelo is about as likely to completely let go of Grossman as Jauron was to let go of Shoop. There's too much pride involved in both cases. Tom S.

Points of View, May 18, 2008 May 18th, 2008 Tom Shannon Posted in Points of View | No Comments » Edit | The Bears * Lovie Smith answers more questions: If Devin Hester played for another team, would you kick the ball to him? Fabian C. Gilroy, California If I was a coach from the opposing team, yeah, I would kick to him. You can’t let one guy take you out of your game plan. I’d have a hard time going in and telling my team, “Hey, this guy is so good we’re not going to kick to him,” so yeah, I would. Of course, it’s easy for me to say that. Translation: “Other coaches have no guts. They back away and let one man beat them like a bunch of women. Real men would kick to him. I’d do it.” [fingers crossed behind back] * Another good question with a disappointing non-answer: What are the chances of the Bears carrying four running backs on their roster this season? Brad G. Iowa City, Iowa There’s definitely that scenario. You have numbers and I know our number at running back has been three for most of the years that we’ve been here. But you find a way to keep all good players that you think can help you win. So to say that we wouldn’t keep four, I wouldn’t say that at all. There’s a chance we’ll do that. I’m going to say the same thing about every position. If there’s a player that we really like … there are numbers that you have to have to play, and then there are a couple wildcard positions that you can use, so we’ll be able to keep all the guys we need to. * Steve Silverman at NBCSports.com believes the Bears should trade Brian Urlacher: Keep Urlacher around this year and he will wear out sometime around mid-November. Come next offseason, he will bring less than half of what the Bears would get in a trade right now. Move him and the Bears are one step closer to having the balance that could make them a contender in the NFC North division. Hold on to him and the team will suffer in both the short and long run.–http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/24638064/ * Looks like Caleb Hanie might have the early edge in the competition for that third QB slot. Southern Illinois quarterback Nick Hill was one of 10 undrafted free agents at the Bears’ rookie minicamp, and he came in with impressive stats, but the other undrafted free-agent quarterback, Colorado State’s Caleb Hanie, threw the ball more accurately than Hill.– Its not out of the question at this point that the bears would keep them both, putting one on the practice squad. * From Pro Football Weekly’s Whispers column: Speculation is high at Halas Hall that the addition of Bears fifth-round CB Zackary Bowman, who made a nice impression in the team’s rookie minicamp with his size and athleticism, doesn’t bode well for veteran CB Ricky Manning Jr., whom many regular team observers expected to be shown the door by now, a la Adam Archuleta. * From the same column: The early skinny on Bears undrafted rookie QBs Nick Hill and Caleb Hanie after the team’s rookie minicamp was that Hanie clearly had a stronger arm but that Hill appeared to be a better athlete. * The Chicago Tribune’s Dan Pompei, who teaches us more about football every time he writes something, examines first round pick Chris Williams arms. The first thing I learned? NFL people can’t use a tape measure: Williams may or may not become a nightmare for NFL defensive ends, but he probably already is one for his tailor. One team measured Williams’ right arm at 331/2 inches and his left at 311/4 inches. Jerry Angelo thinks you can over analyze these things. I agree. But its something to remember, anyway. Elsewhere * Miami Dolphins CB Will Allen had something of a disagreement last week. According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, WPLG-Channel 10 in Miami alleged that Allen borrowed money to pay gambling debts and pulled the gun when he was asked to repay those debts. In my opinion there’s no better way to assure a long suspension than to be involved with gambling. I really wonder if the league wouldn’t consider the case in Philly where someone, possibly Marvin Harrison, actually shot people to be less serious. * Arlen Specter appeared on Boston’s WEEI radio station Friday. He said he’s not calling for a congressional investigation - yet. But he thinks the NFL owes it to itself to do a more thorough investigation: The hosts of WEEI’s Dennis and Callahan show asked Specter if he would be just as vigorous in his pursuit of the story if it were the Eagles who were accused of spying on other NFL teams. “Absolutely,” Specter said. “I’m an Eagles fan, but I’m an American. And I believe in fair play. I’ve been a sports fan all my life. Very interested in baseball and football and other sports, and I’m interested in fair play. I like real competition and I like honesty and integrity and I believe that professional athletes have a very unique role in our society. They are role models. And we have given baseball and football antitrust exemptions. They are big businesses.” I could not agree more. Especially about the big business part. I’ve made no secret of the fact that I think this sort of cheating goes on in many other places. I’d like to see other teams get their shot on the chopping block, not just the Patriots. The hosts told Specter that they think most Americans don’t think Spygate is a worthwhile use of a senator’s time. “With all due respect, I’m not interested in your guessing and I’m not interested in your surmising and I think you may have a bias — and I’m not going to say you do,” Specter said. “I’ve been very careful not to call for a Senate investigation.” * NFL owners might opt out of the existing labor agreement as soon as Tuesday when they hold their next meetings in Atlanta, according to league sources. An NFL Players Association source said, “We expect it to happen.” Honestly with all the money involved you would hope that both sides would show a little common sense and compromise in negotiations. But all of you know how slim the chances are that will happen. What a shame. For those of you who are wondering, if the owners opt out, there will be no salary cap in 2010. * Bill Parcells likes Ricky Williams: ”I was expecting him not to talk to me at all,” Williams said. “I was expecting to get a letter in the mail saying I was going to be a free agent. “I like [Parcells] more than I thought I would. He’s really different than I expected. It seems to me his greatest joy is developing true friendships with his players, being a mentor and trying to help people, not just in football but in life.” This is, of course, why Parcells doesn’t think much of Jason Taylor. Being a good player isn’t enough. You have to be there to establish and maintain relationships. See Brian Urlacher. * Herman Edwards on rebuilding the crumbling KC offensive line: “You’ve got to have the five guys playing together. That’s how the good offensive lines play. That’s why they’re good. They know each other and have a feel for each other.” This, of course, highlights the problem that the Bears have as well. They’ll likely be starting two new players this year and establishing that ability to work as a team takes time an experience. IMO this is one of the reasons Jerry Angelo favored signing veterans to build the line up to until year. * I don’t know when it became such a crime to attend a party and drink but you can find photos of Vince Young doing so here: Calls to Tennessee Titans rep Robbie Bohrens (you know, why not?) were not returned. I’ll just insert his exasperated “no comment” right here for now, pending some kind of official statement that they have no reason to make anyway. You can include my exasperated no comment as well. * The Chicago Tribune examines Charlie Weiss’ role in Spygate. Notre Dame, the college that fired George O’Leary for problems with his resume, is stonewalling. One wonders if the league even questioned Weiss on the matter in the course of its “investigation”. One Final Thought Lance Briggs of your Chicago Bears: “I’m happy. I’m happy Chicago is happy, and we can move on. I don’t really like the business side too much. I love the game.” Just not enough to come to Chicago and workout.

Well, its been handed out to one team. What about the others? Who knows what a thorough investigation might turn up? I doubt very much that videotaping signals by one team is the extent of it. I'm interested. the more that comes out, the more I know. That's important to me at least in an academic sense if nothing else. Tom S.

I do disagree. Once you find out who was involved with the Jets who knows what you'll find from them. Especially under oath. As to Specter being involved all I can say is that the NFL is big business. Millions are wagered on games. Money is spent on jerseys and gear. Local advertisin dollars are spent on games and shows about the games. There's a large monetary difference for each team between winning and losing and a large emotional and monetary investment from the fans. If he feels it should be looked into, I have no problem with it. Of course, I really want to know the truth, too.

http://chicagobearsfanforum.com/blog/?p=248 There is an old saying which everyone knows. It goes, “Curiosity killed the cat.” But there are times when I wonder if we football fans take this saying too far. This was never more evident to me than when I heard other Bear fans comment on the ”Spygate” situation in New England. This seems to me to be a rich, multifaceted story that many fans should be interested in. But I often find that instead, quite a number of those I've talked to would rather see it die a quiet death, never to rear its head again. The only thing I can figure is that many fans treat the NFL as a league as they do their own teams. Bear fans are often blind, mostly unknowingly, to the faults of the Bear players that hit the field because they simply want to see the team win and they don't want said players to not be allowed to help. Similarly, I think many fans don't really want to hear about the faults of the NFL largely because of self-interest. The NFL entertains them and they don't want to see the darker side of the game. So they blind themselves, saying that they are bored by a story like “Spygate” and never understanding the true source of that blindness. I think that's a shame because there's a lot here that will allow the average fan to increase the depth of his or her understanding about what goes on in the league. Fans need to take advantage of every opportunity to do this because most are normally very restricted in terms of what they are allowed to see. Nearly every fan gets nearly all of his or her information through the filter of the media. As most fans understand on some level, this means that the news we get is affected by the attitudes of and conditions surrounding the reporters who feed us. And there in lies the first lesson in Spygate. The Boston Herald is now essentially retracting it's story that said Matt Walsh taped a Rams walk-through before Super Bowl XXXVI. The reporter, John Tomase, rushed the story. Fans should have suspected that there was something wrong when other papers failed to confirm the report (though they did propagate it). But more importantly, all fans need to be aware of the faults of the press whenever considering any information they get. As Matt Mosely put it on ESPN's hashmark's blog: “We care about 'scoops' way more than our readers do. Contrary to what some people in our profession might think, most fans aren't charting who breaks the most stories. But when you get one wrong -- in this case horribly so -- it can break the trust you've established with readers.” Its incredibly important to bear this in mind both for the reporter and the reader. Given that this is the case, the more information the average fan gets about the league and its workings in order to use his or her own judgment the better. Right now if I had a criticism of the press and the way it is handling this story as it stand, its that they are down playing the evidence that other teams are cheating or have cheated in the past. Matt Walsh said in an interview to the New York Times: “…there was one time that I was filming and another team had set up their third video guy right next to me in our stadium. And when our team was on defense, I looked over at him, and he was angling his camera toward our sideline. I didn’t ask him about it, because I was doing the same thing he was.” Walsh told Arlen Specter that this team was the Jets (i.e. the team that filed the Spygate complaint in the first place). Jets head coach Eric Mangini learned the trade under Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. Belichick learned it under... Bill Parcells. Who here want to bet that Belichick was alone? When I was a graduate student at the University of Missouri in the nineties, I went to a luncheon with a small group to meet then Tigers head coach Bob Stull. The Tigers were coming off a terrible loss to Texas A&M and Stull told us that after the game friend and A&M head coach R.C Slocum confessed that they had sent an assistant out to a previous game to record the signals and chart the plays. I don't remember the words “video tape” coming up and I'm sure Slocum was smart enough not to use them. But that coach did a heck of a job if he didn't use it. They knew every play Missouri had run that day as it was signaled in. Sound familiar? A&M's offensive line coach was now former Green Bay Packers coach Mike Sherman. Interested now, Bear fans? Anyone remember how “well prepared” those Green Bay teams were? I'm not saying out right that Sherman cheated. But a lot of things become clearer when put in the proper light. Information is the source of that light. Bottom line is that as unattractive as the facts may seem, fans need to take every opportunity to learn the inner workings of the game they love. Only then can a greater understanding and depth of appreciation of what they see on the field be reached. Nobel-prize winning American playwright Eugene O'Neill once said, “If a person is to get the meaning of life he must learn to like the facts about himself - ugly as they may seem to his sentimental vanity - before he can learn the truth behind the facts. And the truth is never ugly.” Football and its fans are no different. -- It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man in argument. - William G. McAdoo

Yeah, the Bears can't fell comfortable right now at safety. My gut feelingis that its the toughest position to play in the Bear defensive scheme. You have to be quick enough to read the play and determine what you responsibility is and athletic enough to get ot the sideline when necessary. Very hard. Here's hoping these guys have the stuff to fill the gap. Tom S.

I can see him becoming something of a game manager, I suppose. He kind of had that look when they brought him back again late last season. Lots of safe passes. Plenty of people like that. Tom S.

He had one good half season. Then the NFL figured him out and he's been unable to adjust. My attitude was exactly as yours is now this time last year. then when the season started and I realized that he'd learned nothing, my adoration was over. If Grossman proves me wrong, great. No one will be quicker to admit that' he's wrong than me. But I don't think he's got what it takes. Tom S.

Friday, May 16, 2008 Points of View, May 16, 2008 http://chicagobearsfanforum.com/blog/?p=246 The Bears * Rex Grossman spoke briefly to the Chicago Tribune yesterday. Among other things he expressed gratitude toward the Bears for giving him another opportunity with a one-year deal. Grossman evidently doesn't understand that he's going to get as many chances as he needs until he either succeeds for at least one year and gets a long-term contract or GM Jerry Angelo, who took him in the first round, gets himself fired. Dick Jauron was less loyal to John Shoop. * Lovie Smith answered questions from fans on chicagobears.com. Among the more significant revelations he said the competition at guard will be between Josh Beekman and Terrence Metcalf. I've got Beekman in that competition just based upon the fact that no one was very happy with Metcalf last year. Smith believes John St. Clair is too valuable as a swing tackle. Personally, I think St. Clair might have been more valuable inside as an every day guard but I've got no real problem with the decision if Beekman turns out to be better anyway. * Smith was also asked what he was going to do to get the defense back into 2006 form. His answer was basically, "nothing." Which I interpreted to mean "stay healthy". * Tampa Bay QB Brian Griese was interviewed by the St. Petersburg Times. He handled the obligatory questions about being an ex-Bear with his customary professionalism: "'It wasn't necessarily a system that fit my strengths and what I do well," he said. "And so it's probably best that we both parted ways." * Larry Mayer of chicagobears.com is there to answer your undrafted free agent questions: How do the two undrafted free agent quarterbacks the Bears have on their roster, Caleb Hanie and Nick Hill, compare to Chris Leak, who was with the Bears last summer? Larry P. Wheeling, Illinois From what I've seen and been told, there's no comparison at all. Caleb Hanie and Nick Hill are much better pro prospects than Chris Leak. They both have much stronger arms, better size and more potential than the former Florida star. I'm not going to claim to be the biggest Chris Leak fan. Having said that, Joe Montana is one of the best QBs ever to play the game, yet we still talk almost entirely about stronger arms and better size when we rate our QBs. Minnesota's Tarvaris Jackson has a strong arm, too. How is that working out for them? Elsewhere * Hide your daughters. Cowboys QB Tony Romo is in town and he's says he's single again. Meanwhile Jessica Simpson is drowning her sorrows. My place is right downtown near the stadium if you need a someone to talk to, Jess. And by "talk to", I mean "pass out on." * The Bears aren't the only team with an "fair" QB competition going into training camp. Chad Pennington won a coin flip which will allow him to work with the first-team offense on opening day of OTAs. Despite that, the guess here is that Kellen Clemons is their Rex Grossman and the default starter in the absence of a clear winner. Dennis Dillon at The Sporting News agrees. * Matt Walsh gave an interview to the New York Times. The most significant revelation to me: "...there was one time that I was filming and another team had set up their third video guy right next to me in our stadium. And when our team was on defense, I looked over at him, and he was angling his camera toward our sideline. I didn't ask him about it, because I was doing the same thing he was." Buckle in folks. If anyone at all does a real decent and impartial job of investigating this, its not going to end soon. The commissioner can claim all he wants that he punished the Patriots enough and maybe he did. But he hasn't punished anyone else for any similar wrong doing and my guess is that Arlen Specter won't have to look hard to find it. One Last Thought Steve Rosenbloom's question of the day: "The Choice (and remember, death is not an option): Goodell saying 'Spygate' is over or Dubya saying 'Mission accomplished'?"

http://chicagobearsfanforum.com/blog/?p=245 The Bears * Mike Florio of The Sporting News rates the ten worse moves and non-moves of the NFL offseason. Who's number 1? The Bears, failing to do anything at QB, something that Florio attributes to the arrogance of Jerry Angelo. “Chicago Bears G.M. Jerry Angelo reminds us of the guy at the end of Animal House who was saying, "All is well," while all heck was breaking loose at the parade that Bluto and company crashed.” As anyone who regularly reads this space knows, I whole heartedly agree. * Josh Alper at profootballtalk.com chimes in on the Brian Urlacher contract situation. “My guess is he wants more up front because he’s worried about making it through the life of the contract.” My guess is that he wants more up front because he's getting ready to support a second wife while basically supporting a third through child support. Urlacher is trying to make the Bears (and through them, the fans) pay for his mistakes. * Speaking of Bears linebackers and child support, there's so much wrong in this Chicago Sun-Times story on Lance Briggs that I can't even comment out of disgust and contempt. Nor should I have to. Briggs is a major disappointment. Elsewhere * Baltimore defender Terrel Suggs thought he should be classified as a DE. The Ravens thought he should be a less well-paid LB. The solution? A compromise. He is now classified and a DE-LB. But one wonders who the top 5 players in this new category are? Are they other DE-LBs, thus reducing the pool of players or is it like 2 DEs and 3 LBs? Inquiring (read “obsessive”_ minds want to know. * New Orleans Hornets fans held up a large, sexy picture of Eva Longoria holding a basketball to distract husband Tony Parker while he was taking free throws. It worked. He missed. I'm thinking that maybe a picture of Jon Kitna with his arm around Tyna Robertson behind the end zone might be appropriate at Soldier Field. * TMZ is reporting that Andre Johnson ordered 750 bicycles to be given to under privileged kids. In return Walmart agreed to provide water and ice for the event at which they would be given away. There was a problem with the order and, as a result, Walmart reneged on the agreement. Now they are trying to rectify the situation: "We are reaching out to the Andre Johnson Foundation as we speak to rectify the situation. It's disappointing that this happened." Translation: “You caught us and its disappointing that it happened. We'll start caring about kids when they allow us to start selling them.” * Lot's of Spygate stuff out there that I won't comment on in depth right now. To make a long story short, the most significant revelation to me was the one that the Jets were allegedly taping as well. This is the NFL's real fear and this is the real reason they want this story to go away. It's because they know very well how far it could spread. I'm still very interested. This story has a lot of depth and a lot of angles that could keep it alive for a long time. In terms of the how it relates to the Bears, I'll only say this. I couldn't prove it but in terms of very circumstantial evidence, I'll believe until the day I die that Mike Sherman was occasionally doing some shady things when he was Packers HC. For the record I have seen nothing to indicate those practices continued beyond his tenure with the team. One Final Thought Earl Campbell urges Cedric Benson to “take responsibility” and to not put himself in a situaiton that might require him to claim innocence. Earl needs to give one or two Chicago newspaper columnists a call to let them know as well. In any case: “Right now, everybody remembers Cedric Benson by what happened up on the lake. Nobody remembers what a great football player he is …” There's another very good reason we don't remember that, Earl...

Urlacher Threatens to Hold Out from Minicamp. Panic in the Streets. May 14th, 2008 Tom Shannon Posted in Da Bears | No Comments » Edit | The Bears * Brian Urlacher told Michael Silver at Yahoo Sports that he probably will sit out mandatory mini-camp and is thinking about sitting out training camp: “’But this is the NFL, and if I’d signed it and I’d played like (expletive), they’d have cut me or tried to get me to take less. In my mind, there’s no difference. If they can ‘break’ a contract, I have a right to ask for more if I play well enough.’” If you play like (expletive) you walk away with a $13 million signing bonus, Brian, and the Bears are offering $5 million more as part of an extension. “’They’re killing me in Chicago,’ he said. ‘I think I should just go ahead and retire.’” Urlacher was presumably joking. But if he skips training camp I’m seriously wondering if the Bears shouldn’t call the bluff of a guy who was once called the most overrated player in the NFL and let him go ahead and do it. That way he could sit at home and “cuddle up with his fiance” all year long instead of worrying about leading those pesky teammates who bleed with him every week in the Fall. I have no patience for jerks who want the security of a long-term contract, then regret the terms of the deal later. None. * It turns out that there’s a new disease that’s sweeping the globe. Scott Taylor of the National Post and Brendan Taman, the GM of the CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers explain: o “What doesn’t excite Taman, however, is the ‘Chicago Bears syndrome.’ It is a relatively new football disease that was discovered right after the 2007 Super Bowl when the Bears were demolished by the Indianapolis Colts. “‘The Bears won the NFC title and went to the Super Bowl and thought they didn’t have to make any changes last season,’ Taman said, not being critical, just observant. ‘That’s what I worry about. The Bears go from the Super Bowl to 7-9 and last place in their division with effectively the same team and I hope that doesn’t happen to us.’” Somebody call the World Health Organization! Jerry Angelo has unleashed a plague upon the world! You might think this to be a total disaster, Bear fans, but think again. After winning the division last year the Green Bay Packers appear to me to have caught the same disease. It’s spreading like wild fire… Elsewhere * Andre Woodson honestly thought he was going to go in the second round. He went in the sixth: “’I really don’t know,’ Woodson said. ‘I think a lot of people still to this day don’t really know why I dropped as much as I did.’” Yes, they do, Andre. Everyone who followed the draft did. Its called a ssslllloooowwww release. I actually pity Woodson. He probably stopped listening to the draft “experts” about when the season began. Unfortunately that’s when guys like Mel Kiper started to drop him. Between October and January he went down about as much as any prospect out there. Somebody (his agent) should have been there to tell him before draft day and to do what they could to correct the problem. * Jim Irsay talked to the Indianapolis Star about the situation surrounding Marvin Harrison’s possible involvement in a shooting in Philadelphia: “You hope these things hold up to be true, that there won’t be any charges and there wasn’t any involvement. Until we hear more, this isn’t even a case of innocent until proven guilty because there hasn’t been a charge yet.” Contrast with Jerry Angelo’s comments about the Cedric Benson situation. Discuss. * While we’re speaking of the Benson situation, tell me that going out on a boat and allegedly having a few drinks compares to allowing your Belgian-made cannon to be used to attempt to gun down a man and a child in the street. And that’s what Irsay hopes is right. And, of course, those minor little family tiffs on Mother’s Day are in their own class. * I’m having a hard time understanding how Carolina coach John Fox has may have “completed the greatest restoration project the NFC this offseason” by signing a bunch of cast offs from a Bear team that went 7-9. Just sayin’… * The Rams have a bit of a problem. HC Scott Linehan was a pretty good offensive coordinator but as far as I can tell he isn’t much of a leader and it showed last year. The solution? QB Mark Bulger will fill the gap, saying “I’m going to be a jerk.” Yeah, this sounds good… * It’s been suggested that the Patriots might sue the Boston Herald for defamation. They’d have to be idiots. The Pats should let this due as quick a death as possible with as little extra publicity as possible. One Final Thought Jessica Simpson and Tony Romo are officially NoMo. My guess is that the relationship finally progressed to the point where she had to talk. Queue Seinfeld.

http://chicagobearsfanforum.com/blog/?p=243 The Bears * Robbie Gould signed a contract that makes him the highest paid kicker in the NFL. Mike Mulligan of the Chicago Sun-Times has been claiming for some time that something like this was on the horizon because the Bears like to offset bad publicity (read “Cedric Benson”) with good news. Of course, we would all have rather had that good news be the signing of Tommie Harris. But we'll take what we can get. * Speaking of Harris. Message to Jerry Angelo: Give him what he wants. He's the center of your defense and, unlike Lance Briggs, he's not replaceable. Stop looking for an early signing/hometown discount and sign him. * Depending on how the Gould deal is broken down it probably accounts for about $4 million dollars in cap space this year bringing the Bears total free down to roughly $11 or $12 million. Figure draft picks will account for a certain percentage of that. They want to give Devin Hester an extension as well. Bear fans might want to keep track. By my calculations, Harris could account for a very good chunk of what's left and if there isn't enough, he won't be signed. * Mike Florio at Profootballtalk.com puts his own unique spin on the Gould signing. He says the Bears have no receivers and no QB but at least they have a kicker. “Of course, they thought the same thing earlier this decade with Paul Edinger, until the guy with the matador stance started kicking like a bull’s horn was buried in his butt.” The guy cracks me up. In fairness, Edinger's style made his problems impossible to correct. Gould might be more straight forward to deal with should the need arise. * Larry Mayer from chicagobears.com answered this fairly interesting question: I know everyone is excited about how Matt Forte performed in the rookie minicamp, but I feel we are getting way ahead of ourselves. Can you dig up how Cedric Benson looked during his rookie minicamp? Eric B. Orlando, Florida In looking back at stories I wrote at the time, it doesn’t seem like there was as much of a buzz about Cedric Benson as there has been with Matt Forte, though the Bears obviously thought very highly of Benson given that they selected him with the fourth pick in the 2005 NFL Draft. The stories I found mostly discussed how he was trying to get acclimated to the NFL and learn a new playbook. After Benson’s first minicamp practice, offensive coordinator Ron Turner said: “I’m impressed with [benson]. I liked his skills. He caught the ball well today. It’s hard [to evaluate] in shorts and not going against a defense, but just the little things he’s doing, he looked good. He looked real good.” While I thought the reader had a good point, its May and I want to be optimistic. Forte's going to be great, Eric. Don't pee in my Cheerios. The NFC North and Elsewhere * This from The Sporting News: “Many people wondered about the Vikings' intent when they traded up to draft QB John David Booty in the fifth round. Was Booty drafted as a potential challenger to starter Tarvaris Jackson? The short answer is no. The team likes Booty primarily because it saw good value in a player with excellent experience in a pro-style West Coast offense. But he is not particularly athletic and doesn't have Jackson's arm strength. Booty may one day vie for playing time, but it won't be anytime soon. ... “ Bear fans have seen Tarvaris Jackson play. Not anytime soon has a bad habit of coming sooner than you think. * Rookie RB Chris Johnson is making an impression on the Titans. "We were out there making up routes for him," Titans offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger says. "I've never had a guy that can do (the things he can). You need to be able to take advantage of the guy." He's pretty small so the Titans will still need LenDale White to run inside. Johnson is for the Titans what the Bears hope Garrett Wolfe will be. If the light comes on. * The NFL and the Players Association have started talking about extending the CBA. For those who are wondering, if just 9 NFL owners vote to opt out of the current deal it will make the 2010 season uncapped. Which means if they're going to opt out they'd better start negotiating now. * The Raiders are apparently stressing ball security with Darren McFadden in an effort to get the fumblitis out of his system early. Some will remember an entry here the other day from Pro Football Weekly where an unnamed league source criticized Matt Forte for having the same problem. Here's hoping the Bears are stressing it in the same way. * Jerry Sullivan of the Buffalo News asks the questions that pester fans all over the world every year, year after year, with one man's answer below: “What is it with you Buffalo people, anyway? The Bills haven’t made the playoffs since the 1999 season. They’ve teased you and tormented you. They’ve promised you the moon and lassoed misery instead. You have every reason to be wary and skeptical. So the question is, why?” One Final Thought Jerry Sullivan again on fears that the Bills will eventually be moved to Canada: “For now, I imagine, most fans will simply enjoy the team and submerge any fears about what might happen when [owner Ralph] Wilson is gone. They’re content to embrace a young, likable team and hope for a playoff run — to live in the present. “Buffalo fans have been disappointed time and again. But it has given them an infinite capacity for hope, a firewall of belief. In the end, that’s what matters most. The ability to keep faith is what sustains us. I guess that’s what we like to call the human spirit.“

http://chicagobearsfanforum.com/blog/?p=243 The Bears * Robbie Gould signed a contract that makes him the highest paid kicker in the NFL. Mike Mulligan of the Chicago Sun-Times has been claiming for some time that something like this was on the horizon because the Bears like to offset bad publicity (read “Cedric Benson”) with good news. Of course, we would all have rather had that good news be the signing of Tommie Harris. But we'll take what we can get. * Speaking of Harris. Message to Jerry Angelo: Give him what he wants. He's the center of your defense and, unlike Lance Briggs, he's not replaceable. Stop looking for an early signing/hometown discount and sign him. * Depending on how the Gould deal is broken down it probably accounts for about $4 million dollars in cap space this year bringing the Bears total free down to roughly $11 or $12 million. Figure draft picks will account for a certain percentage of that. They want to give Devin Hester an extension as well. Bear fans might want to keep track. By my calculations, Harris could account for a very good chunk of what's left and if there isn't enough, he won't be signed. * Mike Florio at Profootballtalk.com puts his own unique spin on the Gould signing. He says the Bears have no receivers and no QB but at least they have a kicker. “Of course, they thought the same thing earlier this decade with Paul Edinger, until the guy with the matador stance started kicking like a bull’s horn was buried in his butt.” The guy cracks me up. In fairness, Edinger's style made his problems impossible to correct. Gould might be more straight forward to deal with should the need arise. * Larry Mayer from chicagobears.com answered this fairly interesting question: I know everyone is excited about how Matt Forte performed in the rookie minicamp, but I feel we are getting way ahead of ourselves. Can you dig up how Cedric Benson looked during his rookie minicamp? Eric B. Orlando, Florida In looking back at stories I wrote at the time, it doesn’t seem like there was as much of a buzz about Cedric Benson as there has been with Matt Forte, though the Bears obviously thought very highly of Benson given that they selected him with the fourth pick in the 2005 NFL Draft. The stories I found mostly discussed how he was trying to get acclimated to the NFL and learn a new playbook. After Benson’s first minicamp practice, offensive coordinator Ron Turner said: “I’m impressed with [benson]. I liked his skills. He caught the ball well today. It’s hard [to evaluate] in shorts and not going against a defense, but just the little things he’s doing, he looked good. He looked real good.” While I thought the reader had a good point, its May and I want to be optimistic. Forte's going to be great, Eric. Don't pee in my Cheerios. The NFC North and Elsewhere * This from The Sporting News: “Many people wondered about the Vikings' intent when they traded up to draft QB John David Booty in the fifth round. Was Booty drafted as a potential challenger to starter Tarvaris Jackson? The short answer is no. The team likes Booty primarily because it saw good value in a player with excellent experience in a pro-style West Coast offense. But he is not particularly athletic and doesn't have Jackson's arm strength. Booty may one day vie for playing time, but it won't be anytime soon. ... “ Bear fans have seen Tarvaris Jackson play. Not anytime soon has a bad habit of coming sooner than you think. * Rookie RB Chris Johnson is making an impression on the Titans. "We were out there making up routes for him," Titans offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger says. "I've never had a guy that can do (the things he can). You need to be able to take advantage of the guy." He's pretty small so the Titans will still need LenDale White to run inside. Johnson is for the Titans what the Bears hope Garrett Wolfe will be. If the light comes on. * The NFL and the Players Association have started talking about extending the CBA. For those who are wondering, if just 9 NFL owners vote to opt out of the current deal it will make the 2010 season uncapped. Which means if they're going to opt out they'd better start negotiating now. * The Raiders are apparently stressing ball security with Darren McFadden in an effort to get the fumblitis out of his system early. Some will remember an entry here the other day from Pro Football Weekly where an unnamed league source criticized Matt Forte for having the same problem. Here's hoping the Bears are stressing it in the same way. * Jerry Sullivan of the Buffalo News asks the questions that pester fans all over the world every year, year after year, with one man's answer below: “What is it with you Buffalo people, anyway? The Bills haven’t made the playoffs since the 1999 season. They’ve teased you and tormented you. They’ve promised you the moon and lassoed misery instead. You have every reason to be wary and skeptical. So the question is, why?” One Final Thought Jerry Sullivan again on fears that the Bills will eventually be moved to Canada: “For now, I imagine, most fans will simply enjoy the team and submerge any fears about what might happen when [owner Ralph] Wilson is gone. They’re content to embrace a young, likable team and hope for a playoff run — to live in the present. “Buffalo fans have been disappointed time and again. But it has given them an infinite capacity for hope, a firewall of belief. In the end, that’s what matters most. The ability to keep faith is what sustains us. I guess that’s what we like to call the human spirit.“

I dislike him so much I actually feel guilty. I know he can't be *that* bad. But I have a thing about kids that don't take personal responsibility for their actions, particularly on the field in Benson's case. Benson makes my teeth itch. Tom S.

Oh, I don't think he's gone by a long shot. I just think its occurred to the Bears over the last couple years that there's no depth there. they're an injury away from haveing not much at center. I'm sure that makes Angelo uncomfortable. I had heard that Beekman was being groomed for this role. But it could be they're strting to think about him in that guard spot. Word is that they think he's a little small for it but you never know. I'm sure he'll get his shot. Tom S.

First, thanks for the compliment. I appreciate the encouragement from everyone. The points on Moose are well taken. He definitely had his minuses. What prompted the comment was the idea that he was tutoring younger WRs. Maybe the others are ready to take up that burden now. I hope so Tom S.

http://chicagobearsfanforum.com/blog/?p=242 The Bears * Brad Biggs of the Chicago Sun-Times says that Kyle Orton believes the wide receiver position has been “upgraded”: “The guys have been there [in the offseason program]. The receivers have been there and I’m real excited about them. I think we’ve got a lot of talent and really upgraded at the position.” Biggs suggests that this may have been a veiled swipe at Muhsin Muhammad, who had a bad habit of throwing QBs under the bus when things weren't going well. Could be. But I think they're going to miss Muhammad more than most people think. For whatever reason, the WRs started to perform a lot better the day he showed up. I'd hate to think that they will go back to the level they were at before with him gone. * I'm tired of picking at Cedric Benson and I didn't want to forget to mention something positive about him today. With all of the bad publicity lately its too easy to let the fact that he's actually attending voluntary workouts slide by. This is something that he did not do last year and, in my opinion, it cost him. It cost him in terms of being in shape when he showed up to camp and it probably cost him in terms of camaraderie with his teammates. An offseason with strength and conditioning coach Rusty Jones could do wonders for Benson. Its a proactive step that he, himself, has taken in and effort to improve and actually does provide some hope that he'll be better this year. * There's a pretty good article from MPNnow in Rochester, NY on hometown boy and undrafted free agent Bear OL Ryan Poles. It has a number of good quotes and is worth the read. On the rookie camp right after the draft: “From how I think I did and from what the coaches had to say I think it went OK. They even tried me out at center. I think that says a lot.” Yes, it does. It means that the Bears are planning for a future without Olin Kreutz. A wise move but one wonders if that means Josh Beekman isn't making the grade. * From the same article: “'The tryout was helmet only, no pads, and it was a fast-paced practice where you quickly moved from drill to drill. The drills were designed to steadily increase in speed until it got up to what the coaches called NFL speed. I think I did pretty good.' “It went on like that for three days.” This is something I noticed consistently in many of the articles about mini-camps that I read over the weekend. Teams are obsessed with getting rookies to NFL speed as quickly as possible. It's the difference between a guy like Garrett Wolfe making the grade or not. It's huge. Glad to see that recognition on the part of the Bears as well. * From the same article: “Yeah, there’s not much money right now, due to my past injury status. But to tell you the truth, I’d rather have it that way. No bonus money, no contract money until you make the team. I feel that having that money in your pocket might take the drive away. I can feed off of having that money in front of me. As a young kid you have to have your head on straight. All that money in your pocket and it might take away that drive.” Tell me you aren't rooting for this kid. Elsewhere * New Bears offensive tackle and apparent starter on the left side Chris Williams should thank his lucky stars. New Texan's left tackle Duane Brown has been handed the job in Houston without taking a snap and, as you might expect, the old starter Ephraim Salaam cannot be happy. Thank goodness Bears GM Jerry Angelo had the foresight to release Fred Miller before the draft and didn't make a new situation worse for Williams. No one on the team can blame him for the fact that Miller lost his starting job, let alone for his departure. I can't imagine how uncomfortable Brown, a guy who most people believe was a reach to begin with, must feel. * Texans coach Gary Kubiak is gushing about DE Mario Williams: “That light went on for Mario somewhere last year about Week 7 or 8. Everybody saw it, and if you watch practice right now you see him at another level. I think the sky’s the limit for him. I don’t want to sit here and say too much; I just love the way he works. I love the way he handles himself. Football is very important to Mario, and he’s working his way toward a big, big year.” I'm thinking the Texans are going to have the last laugh on that 2006 draft. Something tells me Reggie Bush, while a valuable weapon, will never be the all around back that you'd like him to be. The jury is still out on Vince Young. But right now I have to say I'd rather have the pass rushing defensive end. * Texans' rookie Antwaun Molden on the intense coaching style of defensive backs coach Joe Hoke: “It was coaching on every level. On every level, you have to adapt to the environment, and it’s a hostile environment out here. It’s very up-tempo, very up-beat and that’s how it is around here.” Welcome to the NFL. An up-tempo, up-beat, hostile environment. Well, he's interesting, I'll say that. * This from Cowboys DB Roy Williams over the weekend: “I'm tired about worrying about the fans. The fans are only around when things are good. I want supporters." Hey, Roy, we all want supporters. Unfortunately, we live in the real world and you still have to earn it. One Final Thought From the above referenced article on undrafted free agent signee, Ryan Poles: “You could hear the determination in his voice. A tattoo on his arm points to that determination. It reads 'Dream and Conquer.' “'A lot of people dream and wait for that dream to happen,' Poles said. 'Live the dream on your terms. Go out and pursue that dream. Not wait for it to happen. A lot of people wait. I live by that saying tattooed on my arm and it’s helped me to get where I am.'”