ChicagoSportsBlogs : Non Compete

I'm anxiously awaiting the biggest Bears game of the year tonight. The Bears are visiting the Vikings tonight in an NFC showdown! How exciting. Well, at least on the surface. The Bears are trying to win a game on the road, in the garbage bag, to distance themselves from the Packers and the Vikings. This is a big game because if we do get the win, then I'm pretty sure we're going to win the division. The Packers have already lost to the Panthers today and a win over the Vikings would leave the division looking like so:

1. Bears (7-5, 6-4 division)
2. Vikings (6-6, 4-4 division)
3. Packers (5-7, 4-5 division)
4. Lions (0-12, 0 for the rest of my life)

Not bad. Is it an unlikely leap of faith on my part to predict that the Bears would win this division if they win tonight? Sure, but I don't see how a win in Minnesota tonight doesn't build some tremendous momentum for the Bears. I didn't expect the Bears to win more than 5 games, but a win tonight puts them in the driver's seat for the division. Now, we're going to be the weakest division winner in the NFC, but it doesn't matter. Kyle Orton, and Matt Forte have done a tremendous job getting this team back on track. If the defense can rise to the challenge that is Adrian Peterson, we're going to be even better situated for the remainder of the season.

And that's the key. The defense. The non-existent defense. The defense that showed up and actually stopped the run against the Titans will have to make the trip to Minnesota tonight if we are to win this division. The injuries are going to start pilling up on us too. Nate Vasher is out for the rest of the season.  Corey Graham is going to start in his place. Is this a drop off in skill and talent? You bet. But in the end, I don't think it matters. I think the defense has been playing soft all year long. It won't matter that Graham is starting instead of Vasher. How could it when our corners are being asked to give receivers a 7 yard head start? You watch. Regardless of the cover 2, you won't see any bump and run. No catch and release. Nope. You will guys back off the ball, and thus the receiver. You'll probably also see Mike Brown being sent on an occasional blitz too, but at entirely the WRONG times.

The only hope I have for this game is going to come in the form of a Devin Hester kick return. He is long overdue, and considering we probably won't see much of an air game (Forte v Peterson), this will be the only real excitement in this game. It will be a close one, but I'm going to take the Bears on the road to beat the Vikings tonight:

Bears 17 - Vikings 10. 

Bear Down

Trying something new here kids. Not so new over at the Bears website though. Some half time reporting for you. I'm writing this as Brian Urlacher FINALLY makes a play and intercepts Rodgers. Too bad the Bears defense couldn't do anything with it. Another 3 and out.

So far the story of this game is the Bears defense. We can't stop the run. This is a surprise to everyone as the Bears defense did a number on Chris Johnson and the Titans last week. With 4 minutes remaining, the Bears defense has already given up more yards on the ground to the Packers than last weeks entire game!  It's over 80 yards on the ground. If the Packers continue to run so effectively against us, we're going to be in trouble. They have gobbled up time of possession in this first half. We're only down 7-3 but with 3 minutes or so left they are driving on us. It's 3rd down and 4. This is a big 3rd down. We could get the ball back before the 2 minute warning. But then the Tampa-2 lets us down as Rodgers finds a wide open James Jones for the first down. The Packers are still driving...

Offensively, just like games in the past, Matt Forte is the only bright spot. Orton is still hobbling around and clearly isn't 100%. In fact, we almost lost him on the first drive when one of the Packers defenders stumbled into his shin. A handful of his throws have been off the mark this afternoon which leads me to openly question if it was a wise move to have him start this game. I know I don't like Grossman, but losing Orton for longer than a few weeks would be devastating.

So to summarize, the Bears defense can't stop the run. Either the schemes have been totally wrong, or the fact we are missing tackles are the causes. No sooner do I type that..the Packers actually score. On the ground. Ryan Grant. He made it look easy. Time to see what Babich and Lovie Smith can do during the half to get this game under control. 

There isn't much to say about the Bear's 21-14 loss to the undefeated Titans. It was your typical cold day in Chicago. Some people lend themselves to hyperbole and call it "Bear weather". It came complete with the mid-game cheer for the year's first flurries. That's a requirement in this town. No matter how far the league moves away from Bear football, we Chicagoans hold onto it as if we were a baby with a blankie. Snow means we win. Right? I mean, we still play outdoors and on real grass! That's got to count for something. Nevermind that our backup quarterback, Rex Grossman got the start instead of our most recent beloved savior, Kyle Orton. Let's forget the fact that Orton had an opportunity to play in this game if his pre-game workout passed his own scrutiny. To no one's surprise, it didn't.

Kyle is a lot smarter than he looks. Why would he risk further injuring his ankle against a Titans defense that ranks 5th in total defense? I understand his logic. What I don't understand is how Rex Grossman hasn't gotten any better sitting on the bench. You'd think that the time away from the pressures of being the starting quarterback would have him working hard on his fundamentals. The fact is, Grossman hasn't improved at all. He still throws off his back foot, throws into double coverage, and has the worst pocket pressence of any quarterback I've seen since Moses Moreno. That's right, I named dropped Moreno. Don't act surprised. You all know we have a HUGE list of incompetants to compare Rex against. To be honest, no one really remembers Moreno except for Bear's savants like MJ. This game could be a win if Rex Grossman wasn't playing. I stand by my assesment. Rex had a bad game. He missed a lot of open receivers. The most painful inaccurate throw had to be the one to Devin Hester. Hester was cutting across mid-field on a slant and Grossman missed him by a good couple of feet. How do you overthrow the fastest guy on the field? Do you blame that on rust? I don't. I blame it on Grossman being Grossman.

There isn't anything surprising about Rex's performance. I don't believe in good-Rex and bad-Rex anymore. It's just Rex. He is a decent backup quarterback, but if you want to get the win, you have to find ways to hide his deficiencies. That job is left to Ron Turner. Turner had to be wondering how much longer he could continue to avoid giving every play to Matt Forte on Sunday. The only positive yards I saw for the Bears came from the young back out of Tulane. He is a great all-purpose threat and I'm curious as to why we didn't give the ball to Forte on a number of our possesions in the 4th quarter.

The defense is another matter all together in this match up. I'm not happy with the defense. I understand that we only gave up 21 points, but our defense has to get it together. I did not hear Urlacher's name mentioned even once on the telecast. I take it back, he did shoot the gap on an all out blitz which ended up with Mike Brown getting a sack. The secondary was piss-poor again. (go ahead, argue with me) Kerry Collins threw for 289 yards and 2 touchdowns. With all due respect, the Titans were known for their run game. Specifically, the Titans are known for the great Chris Johnson who has been tearing the league apart. Credit should go to our defense for stuffing him all game long. Johnson finished with 8 yards on 14 attempts. But I'm greedy. I didn't see enough pressure on Collins. Wouldn't you think the defense would blitz a little bit more to keep the pressure up on Collins. Maybe we should have been "hurrying" him a bit more to get a turnover or two?

 The bottom line on this one is that the Bears probably could have avoided the 8 straight posessions of straight punts if Orton would have played. But that is why the play the game right?

I'm running out of steam on this one. I've got a ton of points I still need to get down on paper, but for tonight...that's all. BEAR DOWN.

If the NFL was cool - they would allow me to just embed their video's into this post.

But since they continue to be uptight about their content, I give you the links to the Bears/Titans game highlights here.

That's right. A close shoot out. How else would you explain the Bears 48-41 victory today over the Vikings? I haven't had this much fun watching a Bears game in years. Unlike MJ I wasn't having flashbacks of the 1995 Wanny/Turner Bears. That could be because I can't remember yesterday, let alone a Bears season over 10 years ago. This team doesn't remind me at all of that 1995 offensive juggernaut. For starters, I think Orton is better than Erik Kramer ever was, and our defense isn't as bad this year. Then again, I'd have to check the stats. Huh. I guess the 95 Bears defense finished 19th at the end of that season. This year's team is sitting at 16th in total defense. Maybe MJ is on to something...

Don't get me wrong, the 2008 Bears defense stinks like French cheese. There is nothing special about our D this year. We gave up over 40 points today to the Gus Ferotte led Vikings. That is nothing to be proud of. We should ask Ferotte which Bears defense is better, the one he saw back in his Redskins days or the Brian Urlacher led team that makes Adrian Peterson look like he should be wearing the #34. I swear AP gets another endorsement deal every time he plays the Bears. He's great. No doubt. But you get the feeling his hall of fame tape is going to consist of nothing but Bears highlights. AP had 22 carries for 121 yards and 2 touchdowns. His longest run was for 54 yards in which he proceeded to make Mike Brown look like a fool. Other than that, we kept him in check.

It goes without saying that the Cover-2 defense doesn't seem to work when you can't rush the quarterback. I guess I shouldn't get greedy. The Bears did sack Ferotte twice. That's 2 more sacks than we have seen in the previous 2 games. It concerns me a great deal that we can't get to the quarterback more often. Is it because Babich isn't being as aggressive as he was last year with his play calling? Is it because Tommie Harris has mental problems? Maybe we need to send Urlacher after the quarterback every so often to keep quarterbacks honest? I'm not sure what the solution is, but I do know that I was getting nervous watching the Vikings stampede down the field with 4 minutes left in this game. The only bright spot I saw on defense, scratch that, the only consistent play I saw today came from Alex Brown. He was terrific today.

I shouldn't complain about the defense too much. They did end up with 4 picks thanks to Corey Graham and Trumaine McBride. Both were filling in for Peanut and Vasher. I was worried that former Bear Bernard Berrian, who I am on record as saying was not worth all that cash, would pound us. He had 81 yards and a touchdown. His replacement, the much older and cheaper Marty Booker had 79 yards on 3 catches and a touchdown. He should have had 3 touchdowns, but he is an old dude and his hands aren't as good as we remember them being. He dropped 2 DARTS from Kyle Orton today. I'm going to cut Marty a break tonight because after he made his first catch, which wasn't in the end zone, he looked around astonished. It seemed as if he was saying, "Thank God. I finally caught a pass". I appreciate the frustration and more specifically, the acknowledgment of his struggles. Booker is all class and I'm happy to report he tore up the Vikings secondary on his touchdown pass. It was a brilliant maneuver that split the safety and got him out in the open. It was like watching the 25 year old version of Marty Booker burn right down the field for a score. 

This was a good win. There were some down moments that I'll cover in depth tomorrow (yes, I will be back tomorrow. I've got my shit together again) like Matt Forte's lack of carries, the inability of Ron Turner to find his tight ends, and why we always sit on 3 point leads. But for now, I'm like that fat dude at McDonalds who just realized that apple pies are 2 for $1 - elated!

BEAR DOWN

Time to shake the rust off kids! It's football time. There is going to be a lot to talk about and analyze this season and I'm going to start with the pre-season questions I need answered before I will be comfortable with this team. None of this should be new to any of you, but you can consider this as an airing of grievances.

1.  Can Kyle Orton carry the offense? I don't see how else to put this, but we have some problems on offense. There is no question that the offensive line is going to suck. The receivers are anything but spectacular, and the running game is left to Kevin Jones, a former Lions running back who was cut because of knee issues and a 2nd round pick out of Tulane. If we are going to be successful on offense, it starts with the cliche, the quarterback. We need an EPIC performance from Orton. Not only because I've been waiting my entire life to see a competent quarterback in a Bears uniform (my apologies to Hardbaugh and McMahon) but there are no other options. We need a quarterback that has the ability to overcome the pass rush of an opposing team's defense just as much as the inept play calling. Ron Turner is not your friend Kyle. Listen to the play he calls, and then call your own play when you know it will just end in a 2 yard gain when we need 7. This is a lot to ask of a quarterback. It isn't realistic to expect Orton to do what quarterbacks like Brett Favre have done recently - win with no help. Shit, win with true obsticles! Nope, I don't think Kyle has that special quality to overcome the ineptness of his organization.But like Lovie says, Kyle is our quarterback. That will have to do.
2. Is the defense as bad as it looked in the preseason? Only time will tell, but it doesn't look good. First, the face of the franchise held us hostage for more money AFTER he had neck surgery in the offseason. We gave it to him because not only does Urlacher play his balls off, but we don't really have that much stability on defense. Who would have taken his spot? I didn't see the Bears draft a middle linebacker this year. Regardless of the team politics, the linebackers are probably the healthiest and best part of our defense. Hillenmeyer, Urlacher, and Briggs are great together. Hillenmeyer is underappreciated in the group, but he does a solid job on the outside. Briggs is our best linebacker. I base this simply on the number of plays he makes, his health, and his his age. Besides, Urlacher plays so damn hard he has to be wearing down. No one can keep up the pace he has been on. The back problems were an early indication of this. Now he has a neck issue. Briggs has to prove that the big money he got was warranted. The defensive line is still anchored by Tommie Harris. Harris is an amazing talent, but he has to stay healthy for the defense to be relevant. That initial push up the middle has to come from Tommie Harris. The game planning people make for the Bears includes heavy double teams for Tommie Harris. Off the edge we have Ogunleye, and opposite him the forgotten Alex Brown. Brown has solidified his position as a starter, reclaiming the job from Marc Anderson who proved to be a freak 2 seasons ago with all those sacks. The more I look at the line, the more my confidence increases that what we saw this preseason wasn't the real D. Then again, remember what Frank Gore did against the first team. It wasn't pretty.
3. Can Matt Forte be a difference maker? I vote yes. He can catch the ball out of the backfield, and he seems to always be falling foward. He actually gains yards on the ground! This is important for a Bears team that cut the ineffective Cedric Benson in the offseason. Benson had a lot of problems off the field, but even bigger problems on it. He just wasn't that good. I don't know if it was the play calling or his motivation or both. If it was the play calling, then Matt Forte is going to look just as bad. I guess the reason why I think it won't matter is because he has the ability to be creative, regardless of the horrible calls. This is something Cedric Benson was never able to pull off. I'm expecting big things from Forte, and like the defense back in Orton's rookie season, I think Forte is going to be real reason we win games.
4. Will Ron Turner finally figure out how to run an offense? No. Next question.

Summer vacation is over. I am back and full of stories from Bourbonnais, IL. I drove down to Bears training camp this morning with my lovely wife. I was giddy. This was my first trip down to training camp. I didn't know what to expect. The first thing that had me worried was the drive. Summertime in Chicago means construction time. This year is no exception, but I have to say I was surprised to see that the trip only took one and half hours from the north burbs. I can't say enough about how easy it is to get down there, and from the size of the crowds today, I am preaching to the choir. (Just go, take the kids and have a good time)

There are a lot of questions about the Bears this season. I came to camp prepared with a cooler filled with G2, some fresh rope sausage from St. Louis, and a camera. I couldn't get answers to every question on my list , but here are my notes:

• What are we doing with the quarterback position?

Suffering. That's what. I sat around and watched all four quarterbacks practice and do drills. Orton, Grossman, Hanie and Nick Hill (from SIU) all took some practice snaps. I saw them throw a few deep balls and a ton of quick outs. Surprised? I didn't think so. Orton and Grossman aren't that different. I saw each of them miss the mark a few times in various drills. I even saw one broken play before the ball even snapped. That was when Grossman was under center. I'm guessing from the heckling in the crowd, Grossman must have fumbled the snap. He fumbles the snap even in practice. With no rush. What a freaking joke. I got close enough to get some good pictures. Check them out here.

• Who looked good? 
  

Believe it or not, Nick Hill looked good. I saw him taking some throws early in the afternoon and he did well. He seems pretty big (listed at 6'3) and he had some nice zip on the ball. He did miss one of the tight ends on a curl pattern, but over all I think he impressed me the most. That is to say, I didn't notice the other QBs, unless they made a mistake. I think Hill might have a chance to make the team, but let's see what he does in game this preseason.

• Ok, cut the crap. How was Hester? 

Hester was Hester. He was running around as if he was a newly minted millionaire...wait, he IS a newly minted millionaire. This was Hester's first real practice, with a contract and a magically healed, contract-itis caused, hamstring. If this guy had a leg problem, I'm M. Olympia. He was unbelievably fast. I saw him return kicks and it was amazing, even without hitting, how he was able to weave his way forward for 50-60 yards. This guy is the only bright spot on offense. He took some reps as a wideout too. He ran some decent routes and made an especially amazing catch while falling backwards on a tight in-pattern. It was the highlight of the day. The bottom line is that Hester is healthy, fast, and seems to be ready to put the work in to become a great wide receiver. Now all we need is a quarterback, left tackle, and a run game.

•  So, is there a run game?

I'm not sure. I didn't get a chance to see the running backs do much of anything. There was a drill they were doing on the side of one field that wasn't especially fun to watch. They basically went after a tackling dummy. Now that I think about it, it was a "chip" drill. This is probably something they expect rookie running back Matt Forte to handle since the line is weak on the backside. That just reeks of wins doesn't it? Speaking of Forte, I didn't get a chance to see him run. This pissed me off to no end because I am high on Forte and would have loved to see him tear into our defense. But, I can tell you he is bigger than you think.

Ok kids, I gotta head to work. Part II of this write up will hit the wire later tonight. We'll talk about the facilities and the other side of the ball - the defense.

BEAR DOWN!

The Bears are done hibernating. Finally. The Halas Hall braintrust has actually signed a veteran running back to support rookie Matt Forte in the backfield. Kevin Jones signed a 1 year contract for a little over $600k. This is a great move, if I do say so myself. I had to look up the contract details on ESPN, here. The [Bears] website never has contract details (I've pointed this out in the past). So let's get to it. Why am I so high on Kevin Jones? Is it because I miss a different running back named Jones?! (Thomas) Nope, that isn't it. It's simply because this is a no lose deal for the Bears. It is pure upside. What is the worst thing that happens? Jones isn't fully healed from his recent injury problems? That is what cost him his job in Detroit. If he isn't healthy, we wasted $600k and are left with Forte anyway.

The bottom line is that Matt Forte isn't going to be able to carry the entire load for us this season. The coaching staff wasn't planning on starting Forte this year. The running back out of Tulane was supposed to be the spark that the now departed Cedric Benson needed to do his job. Thomas Jones was that spark a few years ago, and it isn't far fetched to believe that Forte would have pushed Benson to a level of play we haven't seen from the laggard. But Benson is now gone, and the Bears needed depth at the position that defines the franchise. Going into training camp with Peterson, Wolfe, and Forte would have been irresponsible.

Kevin Jones comes to Chicago and plans to prove to the league that he is healthy. He gets the chance to stick it to his old team twice this season. If he is healthy, he may get that chance every year. He is excited to be a Bear, and he has worked hard to get himself back into shape. Unlike Benson I get the feeling that Jones just loves playing football. We're not going to win the division because of this move. Then again, if another disgruntled NFC North player wants to get revenge on his old team, Chicago is more than willing to help.

Go BEARS!

More news tonight. But here it is. Cedric Benson has been cut! Read it here.

Well at least he is getting better at taking mug shots! Cedric Benson was arrested early Saturday Morning in Austin Texas. This is the second time in 5 weeks that Ced has seen the inside of a prison cell.  What is wrong with this guy? Besides the fact that he can't run the football, he also can't seem to follow instructions. I believe it was Lovie Smith and Jerry Angelo that gave Ced the benefit of the doubt on his first arrest for boating while intoxicated. I'm sure they sat him down and told him the same things they told Tank Johnson. Keep your head low kid. Stay out of trouble. Easy, right? Wrong.

The timing of this arrest couldn't have been worse. The Bears had just kicked off their fan convention on Saturday. Can you imagine what Jerry Angelo was thinking when he got the news? I bet he has every one of these articles that said he was picking on Benson too much for the BWI printed and framed. "Eat that media!" That's what I bet he was thinking. I told you so is probably another winning quote just waiting to be said. I was in the car when the first interview hit the airwaves. Angelo wasn't happy. He wasn't pulling his punches and you could just imagine the irate look on his face. I'm sure he had his people draw up the termination paperwork right then and there.

I'm not 100% sure this is a good move. I'm not sure what the Bears can do. We are caught between a rock and a hard place. I like Forte, but does anyone believe he can carry the full load of an NFL season in his rookie year? The free-agent running backs are starting to look good to me. They include former Lions back, Kevin Jones, Shaun Alexander, and Travis Henry. I'll break down each of these guys, hopefully before we sign one of them. My early pick would be Jones. He wants it more than anyone else. He's been working on that rehab this off season and I think he can eat up some downs and help balance things out for our struggling offense.

I tried to find a clip of his most recent arrest and this is all I could come up with:

Cedric Benson arrested for DUI

What kind of blogger would I be if I didn't end the night with a quick few words on our starting running back, Cedric Benson. You see, Ced was out getting his drink on this weekend in Austin, Texas. This dude is living large on a 37 foot yacht. That's not a boat mofo! That's a YACHT.

You'd think that Cedric would be in the gym working on getting ready for the fight of his life after the Bears drafted Matt Forte in the second round of this year's draft. If that wasn't enough, Jerry Angelo might actually be giving up on Benson. His comments after drafting Forte were not favorable to Benson and his role on this coming Bears team. But for now, let's focus on how Cedric is disputing the charges. Is it really that far fetched that a couple of cops in Austin were over zealous in their handling of Benson? MJ and I were talking about it and he brought up a good point. The cops don't know Benson as well as we do in Chicago. He speaks slow, but it ain't because he is high or drunk. That's just Cedric. Never in a hurry. What's that you say? His eyes aren't open all the way? Well, that explains a lot. No wonder he can't hit the hole. He can't see it. I mean come on! You really think that Cedric was operating his 37ft yacht while drunk?

Actually, yes. I do. I'm going to put it to you like this. I've never been on a boat in Texas, but I'm sure there is a difference between being a drunk white guy on a boat and a drunk black guy who is ripped, inked, and shouting at you behind the wheel of a yacht. I'm just saying! Hell, I'll take it even further. Texas has strict laws about BWI because there are a lot of unfortunate accidents that happen on the water down there. My opinion of most people who enjoy boating is that they also enjoy drinking. Boating and drinking go hand in hand. Don't believe me? Go up to Fox Lake. The only thing that out paces the mullet count in Illinois' waterways is the number of PBR cans in that cooler by your feet.

The bottom line is that this isn't going to be great news for Benson. He might be telling the truth. He may not have had to be sprayed in the face with pepper spray. He may have passed the 2 sobriety tests on the boat. He also may have been singled out because of who he was. In either case, the Bears have some serious soul searching to do, and they better do it before the NFL's new sheriff does it for them.

I hope I don't have to print "Free Cedric Benson" T-shirts in a few weeks.

Bear Down. (on an AA meeting)

Negligent is a strong word.

There was an article floating around from Peter King today that graded the Bears draft this past weekend. It pretty much summarized my angst towards this organization. Here is a snippet:

The three teams I didn't like:

1. Chicago. The Bears had 12 draft choices this year. No quarterback picked. Chicago had nine draft choices in 2007. No quarterback picked. Chicago had seven draft choices in 2006. Three years with a quarterback need, 28 draft choices, and never a passer picked. This isn't odd. It's negligent.

After watching a championship slip out of our hands, we Bears fans will have to endure another season of futility at all the key positions on offense. (Benson is still the started) Thanks to this draft, we could be in for a terrible ride.

Conventional wisdom says that a tackle, and the offensive line in general, are the basis for a good offense. I'm not disputing that. What I am pissed about is the fact that Jerry Angelo has yet to admit that he doesn't know how to draft a quarterback. He has yet to admit that it is the most important position on the field. He hasn't drafted a quarterback in the last 3 drafts. That's pretty shocking.

Angelo's solution

As I write this, I know that the venom I spew should be tempered. The Bears waited for the perfect spot to get some extra quarterbacks into camp; after the draft finished. If that sounds like the safe, cheap way to get someone to hold the clipboard, it's not a coincidence. We signed 2 un-drafted free agent QBs early this morning. The first is the QB out of Southern Illinois, Nick Hill. The second is Caleb Hanie out of Colorado State. I know little if anything about either of them. I dare even the biggest die-hard college football fans to tell me something about these two. The experts seem to know something on Hanie. I had the pleasure of riding in on the Metra today for a late team meeting. I listened to Jeremy Green's podcast, Football Today, from ESPN for the duration of my commute. To my surprise, he had Mel Kiper Jr. on the phone. Kiper seems to be rather fond of Hanie. So, what the hell do I know. Maybe Hanie is our Romo.

Why the Bear's are completely wrong, and lack any vision.

We all know that Grossman and Orton are going to compete for the starting job this year. They both signed identical contracts. The message is clear to both of them and so is the organization's plan. Angelo is running a skills competition in this season's training camp. "Let the best man win" and all of that. That makes me nervous. If Grossman is as good as I think he is during practice, it means that we're trotting out a QB that no one on the team has confidence in. On the other hand, if Orton wins the job, we trot out the QB that the coaching staff has no confidence in. That's a lose-lose situation. It seems that no one planned for the following year. With both contract's expiring, the Bears go into the 2009 season with ZERO quarterbacks. In the best case scenario only one of the current quarterbacks signs an extension with the Bears. My money is on Grossman. That means we are going to need a new quarterback next year anyway. Why not just draft a decent talent this year and get him started on the offense? Especially with all the new WR we just added. They could learn and grow together. Not drafting a QB this year is irresponsible of Angelo and Lovie Smith. They have stymied this fine organization's growth by sticking to the "defense and special teams" game plan. People WILL stop kicking to Hester this year Jerry. Then what are you doing to do?

What I'm in favor of doing.

If I was able to predict the future, I'd say the Bears go 4-12 and get either the 3rd or 4th pick in next year's draft. I'm positive this is going to cause problems for the Bears. They don't want to repeat the mistakes of the past, but they're going to need a QB. Is that a high enough pick to get a QB next year? Are we taking another Florida QB in the first round? (Tim Tebow) That doesn't seem like a sane decision to me. Nope, I think this is a bad plan. What the Bears should have done is draft John David Booty from USC in this year's draft. By passing on him twice, and letting him go to a division rival (the Vikings traded up to get him) we have ensured our place as worst offense in the division.

I hear you complaining out there. But wait, you say! Does JDB improve my predicted 4-12 season for next year? No. Neither would Dixon, Woodson, Colt45 Brennan, or that kid Kevin O’Connell from San Diego State (Patriots Blog on the link there). That's not the point. The point is that we could have taken a low-risk flier with our 5th round pick and drafted a QB that could learn this horrible offense NOW. We're going to need a young quarterback. Forget the fact that all of the guys past the second round are probably going to me journeymen at best. Do the Bear's really have the luxury of sleeping on this glaring hole?!

I find the lack of urgency at the QB position to be yet another reminder that Halas Hall is being overrun by some bad offensive talent evaluators.

My only hope is that the fans let the organization know that we won't stand for it. If we don't win the division next year, and both these quarterback's are a disaster, I think you have no choice but to move on from the Angelo/Smith regime.

I hear Bill Cowher might be ready to come back.

I had over 100 emails before 11 am this morning. Ah yes, the Draft! I correctly predicted our first pick, Chris Williams. But then again, so did everyone else. No real surprise there. The second pick was predicted correctly by our sometimes-guest writer, CDub. Matt Forte was a pretty productive back in college. It may have only been Tulane, but this kid roughs hard and loves playing football. This makes him the complete opposite of Cedric Benson.

Competition was the theme for this year's Bears draft board. The glaring issue is we didn't take a QB. We had a chance to draft any of the following guys, Brohm, Henne, or John David Booty. After that crop was gone they took a pass on Johnson from San Diego (Hardbough's QB I believe), Dixon from Oregon, Woodson from Kentucky, and Colt45 from Hawaii. None of those guys would have looked good in a Bears' jersey right? Let me stop bitching for a second and give you the quick wrap up for each pick on day one:

14. Chris Williams - I like the kid. The knock on him is that he is better at pass protection than run blocking. If that is true, we're in trouble. But he is healthy, strong, and smart. We needed a OT. We got one.

44. Matt Forte - The running back out of Tulane is CDub's pick to click. I have seen only tape of him. He looks impressive, but I wonder if he is good enough to push Benson. Technically, I want him to start over Benson. I would have preferred Mendenhall, but he is in a better place as a result of the Bears (and Lions) passing on him.

There is a ton more to write about. The second day of the draft was a 7th round lovefest. Today, the Bear's signed something like 10 undrafted players. 2 of these undrafted players are QBs.

I have not been asleep at the wheel. I also haven't be hibernating. Unfortunately for all 2 of my avid readers, life sometimes throws you curveballs. I have missed, yet again, the opportunity to run a live mock draft. A true interactive blogger mock draft. Its a shame really. I'm going to just have to make some changes around here.

I bet that exact statement was uttered by Lovie Smith and Jerry Angelo at least 100 times in the past month. The Bears are coming into this year's draft with some serious problems. We need a offensive lineman. We need a new running back. It turns out that we may need a new middle linebacker (more on that later). And of course, we could always use another quarterback. The general population, and the majority of mock drafts have the Bears taking the obvious pick, a tackle. I'm going to succumb to this group think and agree. Even though I want to draft the sexy pick. I want to draft Mendenhall. I want to help the quarterbacks out by limiting the number of times they actually have to throw. That's not exciting, modern football but this is Chicago. Remember? We run off the bus.

Cedric Benson is a complete bust and the Bears waited too long to figure this out. Other holes on offense have developed since our Superbowl appearance 2 years ago. The wide receiver position is terrible, or at best, a complete unknown thanks to Moose and Berrian's departures. The football experts, and the Monday-Morning-QBs all say that offensive skill positions like QB, RB, and WR aren't important if you don't have a great offensive line.

Common knowledge right? I guess. But I'd like to think that a great running back, in our scheme would make a more immediate impact. So let me cut to the chase and predict what I think the Bears do today in the draft:

14. Chris Williams, T from Vanderbilt. As much as I would prefer Mendenhall here, there is little to no chance the Bears front office will take another first round running back. They've had a hard enough time with Benson.

44. Felix Jones, RB - Arkansas. McFadden's understudy is going to get a chance to compete for our starting RB position. I really don't like this pick, but considering they won't be able to get the QB they want (Henne) with the #44 they'll probably move on to RB

Letsee how accurate I am after day 1...Don't be surprised if they trade out of the first round if they don't get their man.

BEAR DOWN.

(and stay tuned. I may have Twitter updates running before the draft)

Forgive me as I am still on vacation and my posting has lagged as a result, but did anyone else notice that Kevin Jones was cut by the Lions? Clearly, this is going to be the first year the Lions DON'T draft a wide receiver with their first pick. That almost surely means that either Rashard Mendenhall or Jon Stewart out of Illinois and Oregon respectively, will end up ruining their careers in Detroit. That's a shame since I really like both these backs.

The other unfortunate truth is that we will surely wake up to the Bears signing Jones. I'm not going to be happy if this happens. I don't think Jones is terrible, but I also don't think he is the competition that Cedric Benson will need to get motivated again. I think Stewart with his hard running style and ability to hit the hole HARD is more suited for that job. Same goes for Mendenhall. Rashard can be a workhorse back in the NFL. He has great balance, speed, and vision.

Kevin Jones was drafted out of VaTech in 2004. He ran for 581 yards, 44.7 yards a game, and 8 touchdowns. That was in 13 games. Two of which came against the Bears. Let me remind you he ran all of 38 yards and a TD in the first game and 105 yards plus a touchdown in Chicago for the second game. 

Benson was drafted in 2005 out of Texas (lest you forget). He ran for 674 yards, 61.3 yards a carry, and had 4 touchdowns. He did all of this in 11 games last year. So Benson, compared to Kevin Jones did slightly better. Except for the matter of scoring touchdowns.

I'm not sure what to think of this. Was Detroit's o-line worse than the Bears last year? Is that even possible? Regardless, you can bet your Toyota Tundra that if the Bears think they can sign this guy for less than 2 million dollars a year they're going to do it. Hell, Chris Brown just signed for $1.8 million. Will Jones get double that? After being cut by the LIONS?! Perhaps the Lions are going the extra mile to solidify their destiny : Preseason pick to win the division. Why not? Favre just retired. The division is wide open. Cutting Jones could be a way to sabotage the Bears! You think Matt Millen is that smart? (No.) But hey, think about it. It takes the pressure off their draft. They kill 2 birds with one stone. They draft the running back we should have drafted (after we get Clady) and they send us their terribly ineffective running back to ensure we don't have a chance. Brilliant!

This will ultimately mean that we are drafting an offensive lineman in the first round. I mention Clady for a reason. It looks like this may be the reason why Lovie went off and visited Boise State's Ryan Clady. All the pieces are in place. Again.

Bear Down.

I'm back from my much needed vacation. I see that the Bears took the opportunity to make me look like a genius by signing Brandon Lloyd. Great move by the Bears' front office. This is especially true considering the draft is pretty weak at the WR position! Strong work Jerry. Your ability to evaluate offensive draft talent is second to none! Actually, your ability to find a replacement part on the cheap is pretty damn good. Lloyd isn't old, and he has his old college coach calling the plays. It wasn't a huge stretch to predict this move. I can admit that.

As much as I would like to make this post about the team's current prospects (not good), I will instead take the time to report a rumor I saw while sitting in class tonight. The link comes courtesy of our friends at Yahoo Sports. It seems that the Bears are rumored to be interested in former Titans RB Chris Brown. Yes, NU fans. THAT Chris Brown. I guess the Tribune must have reported this amazing bad idea a few days ago.

Update - Hold your horses everyone, it turns out that Houston signed him instead. Whew! That was close. Thanks to another great Bears blog for the update (at least in the comments)

The Bears should still be on track to draft a running back in the first round. At least that is what I am hoping for. If we're going to keep running the minute we step off the bus, then we better get someone who actually knows how to gain yards.