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Dominic Rhodes To The Bears?

5th October 2009 by under 2009-2010 Schedule, Did you Know?     

90023173Could running back Dominic Rhodes be on his way to the Windy City?

With the report that Adrian Peterson is out for two to three weeks with an MCL strain, the Bears could be in the market for a running back. Luckily the Bears have a bye week this week, but they will still have to be worried for the Sunday night match-up against the Falcons in week six. They could go into the game with Wolfe as Matt Forte’s primary backup, or they could promote practice squad running back Kahlil Bell or they could sign a running back like Dominic Rhodes off the street.

Why would the Bears sign Dominic Rhodes?

Well, Rhodes has played in 96 games in seven seasons, rushing for over 3000 yards and 26 touchdowns. Rhodes came into the league out of undrafted out of Midwestern State. He’s played seven seasons, appearing in 96 games, rushing for over 3000 yards and 26 touchdowns. He played in Indianapolis from 2001-2007, I know all Bears fans remember when Rhodes ran for over 100 yards in the Super Bowl XLI loss to the Colts. Well he left for the lucrative contract from the Raiders, but only lasted a season there. He found his way back to Indy last season and did pretty well, but the Colts let him hit the free agent market once again. He signed on with the Buffalo Bills, but was released before the start of the season.

I think Dominic Rhodes would be a nice complement to Matt Forte. Other options for the Bears could be the veteran Warrick Dunn or the young and inexperienced runners Chris Henry and Antonio Pittman. I don’t know what the Bears will do with their running back situation, but it’s definitely something to watch for at least a couple weeks. The Bears will also have to find someone to replace Adrian Peterson’s spot on special team, and they’ll most likely do that by snatching someone off their practice squad.

Don’t be surprised if the Bears add Dominic Rhodes to their roster by the end of the week, he is a better option than any other free agent or practice squad running back available.

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Did You Know? 10-5-09

5th October 2009 by under Did you Know?, Power Rankings, Speak Up     

91421700Bears quarterback Jay Cutler became the first Bears quarterback since Jack Concannon in 1970 to have a 100-plus passer rating in three straight games.

Oddly enough in 1967 the Bears traded Mike Ditka to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for Concannon. Concannon spent five seasons with the Bears (1967-1971), where he threw for over 5,000 yards, 31 touchdowns and 52 interceptions. His passer rating in those five years was 55.6.

Concannon’s best season with the Bears was in 1970, when he threw for 2130 yards, 16 touchdowns and 18 interceptions.

Hopefully Jay Cutler doesn’t put up stats like that, but it’s sure nice to see him breaking records already. If you didn’t know Cutler has thrown seven touchdowns and one interception since the four pick embarrassment in Green Bay.

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Bears Look Special In 48-24 Victory Over Detroit

4th October 2009 by under 2009-2010 Schedule, Did you Know?     

APTOPIX Lions Bears FootballIf you take a look at the box score from this game, you would think that the Detroit Lions won the game. The Lions had 25 first downs (eight more than the Bears), 308 passing yards (183 more than the Bears) and had the ball for 36 minutes (13 minutes more than the Bears). So, how did the Bears win this game. Well it was mix of great special teams play throughout and some good defense in the second half.

Special Special Teams:

The Bears saw Robbie Gould make two field goals today, one of them was a 52 yarder, which was his longest attempt ever made. Punter Brad Maynard punted four times and every time the ball landed inside the Lions 20 yard line. Devin Hester returned a punt 35 yards in the first quarter to set up a touchdown drive, Earl Bennett returned a punt 20 yards and set up a field goal, and Danieal Manning returned a kick off 43 yards to set up a touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter. Also, how can you forget about Johnny Knox, he returned three kickoffs for a total of 147 yards and returned the opening kickoff of the second half 102 yards for a touchdown. I mean I knew the Bears had good special teams, but wow today was amazing. They set the offense up with a great field position all day and the defense was playing inside the Detroit 20 yard line most of the day.

Surprising Lions:

The Lions came out firing on all cylinders in the first half, by racking up 21 points. Calvin Johnson couldn’t be stopped and Matthew Stafford looked the real deal. He did get sacked five times in this game, fumbling the ball once and throwing an interception once as well. The Bears pass rush looked unstoppable at times. Alex Brown (0.5), Adewale Ogunleye (2.5), Nick Roach (1)and Israel Idonije (1) all got to Matthew Stafford today. Also, Mark Anderson, Tommie Harris and Lance Briggs were everywhere. The pass coverage looked soft during the first half, but they came back in the second half by only allowing Detroit to score three points.

Jay Jay:

Jay Cutler threw two touchdowns, both in the red zone, to tight ends Greg Olsen and Kellen Davis. Cutler also scrambled in for a touchdown, where he jumped over Lions linebacker Julian Peterson and risked his body just for the score. That was an incredible play. The Bears had short fields all day, so they didn’t really need to throw the ball deep too often. Cutler hooked up with seven different receivers.

Injury Bug:

Unfortunately injuries hit the Bears in this game, but luckily it didn’t affect them too much. Running back Adrian Peterson went out in the first quarter with a knee injury, wide receiver Devin Hester left the game with a shoulder injury in the second quarter and Johnny Knox left the game in the third quarter with a bruised shin. The Bears do have a bye week next week, so they will get to rest those players and see how serious the injuries are. The Bears should have linebackers Hunter Hillenmeyer and Pisa Tinoisamoa back for the week six Sunday night match-up against the Falcons.

Bears offensive coordinator Ron Turner had this to say about the injuries to his wide receivers:

“I think they’re going to be fine, it sounds like.”

Running Game Looked Good At Times:

Matt Forte had runs of 61 and 37, but had only 23 yards on ten other carries. Forte broke into the end zone late in the fourth quarter on his 37 yard run. Garrett Wolfe had five carries for 22 yards and a touchdown (the first of his career). The Bears out gained the Lions 151-90 on the ground.

Things To Improve On:

The Bears offense was two of ten on third down conversions, and that must improve. The Bears must start fast on both offense and defense today, we saw it from the offense, but not so much from the defense. Those are my two biggest concerns heading into the bye week. I’m sure Lovie Smith and Co. will patch things up, they sure looked good with their half time adjustments today.

Overall the Bears should be happy with their 3-1 record with a quarter of the season in the books. Also they should be pleased with their pass rush because they have 14 sacks through four games so far this season and only had 27 sacks all last season.

all quotes from chicagosuntimes.com

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Who Is To Blame For Lack Of A Running Game: Matt Forte Or The Offensive Line?

1st October 2009 by under 2009-2010 Schedule, Did you Know?     

88971958OG016Could it be that the Bears running back Matt Forte is having a sophomore slump?

Maybe… Maybe not.

It could be the offensive line’s fault or Matt Forte’s fault. Maybe Forte is just not running hard enough. I think it is a mixture of both.

The Bears have three new starters on the offensive line, left tackle Orlando Pace, left guard Frank Omiyale and right tackle Chris Williams. Right guard Roberto Garza and center Olin Kreutz are returning starters from last year. Pace, Williams and Kreutz have played very well so far this season. To me Roberto Garza and Frank Omiyale have not played good enough. Personally I think Omiyale won the the starting gig over Josh Beekman because of his big free agent contract. Josh Beekman did a solid job last season blocking for Matt Forte. Roberto Garza has not been as good as he used to be so far this year. The guards on the offensive line seem to be the problem. Their not really creating running lanes for Matt Forte.

Matt Forte was so good last year even with an average offensive line. Last week Forte sort of broke out of his shell, when he averaged 3.1 yards per carry with 60 yards on the ground. Meanwhile, Adrian Peterson and Garrett Wolfe, who have been used sparingly have done a solid job running the ball. Maybe, the Bears just are not a run first offense anymore. They seem to be doing just fine without have big running days. Jay Cutler has done very well throwing the ball this season. Even though I love the way were playing with Jay Cutler leading the way, I would still like to see the Bears step up on the ground. Maybe will see that this Sunday against the Lions. Hopefully Matt Forte busts out for a big run against the hot streaking Lions.

No one can know who or what is the problem with the Bears running game this season, but it is easy to point fingers. I expect the Bears to have a big running day against the Lions.

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Did You Know? 9-29-09

29th September 2009 by under Did you Know?     

450Bears_Seahawks_Football__1Did you know that the Bears’ Kellen Davis tipped Mare’s first successful field-goal, a 46-yarder, and Zackary Bowman nearly blocked Mare’s second attempt, a 37-yarder that split the uprights. After those two kicks, Mare appeared to rush his next two tries, missing both of them wide left. Even Mare’s 46-yarder that put the Seahawks ahead 19-17 with 5:12 left in the fourth quarter was tipped by Israel Idonije.

The Bears had a lot to do with Jeff Reed’s missed field goals last week as well. The Bears special teams have led the league in blocked field goals the past two seasons.

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Week Four Power Rankings, Bears Edition

29th September 2009 by under 2009-2010 Schedule, Bears Player Preview, Did you Know?, Power Rankings     

88971958OG004Here are the week four Bears power rankings from various sites around the web:

ESPN:

#14 (No change from last week)

Analysis, “It’s now hard to remember how lousy Jay Cutler played in Week 1.”

CBS:

#16 (+3 from last week)

Analysis, “The past two weeks we saw why they traded to get Jay Cutler. The kid can play, even if some, like my colleague Clark Judge, don’t think he can.”

Yahoo Sports:

#14 ( No change from last week)

Analysis, “When coach Lovie Smith assured us Devin Hester was a legitimate No. 1 receiver, is it possible he was right?”

Pro Football Weekly:

#13 (+5 from last week)

Analysis, “Hester and Knox have corners stretching hamstrings extra long.”

Fox Sports:

#16 (+1 from last week)

Analysis, “Who’d have thunk it, the Bears being 0-1 in games started by Brian Urlacher and 2-0 without their defensive leader? Thank new shiny ride Jay Cutler, who has more than made up for yakking all over the season opener by leading the Bears to two straight fourth-quarter comeback wins against tough teams Pittsburgh and Seattle.”

SI.com:

#16 (+1 from last week)

Analysis, “We’ve knocked Jay Cutler when he gets sloppy with the ball, so honesty compels us to highlight just how efficient he has been in leading the Bears to consecutive wins over the Steelers and Seahawks. He completed 73.8 percent of his passes in those games (48 of 65) for 483 yards, with five touchdowns and just one interception. Even better, he’s not forcing throws downfield, but seems content to take the short stuff underneath and wait for his shots at big plays. That’s winning football, and if it keeps up, Cutler is going to change a lot of minds.”

Covers.com:

#11 (+7 from last week)

Analysis, “The Bears won against a short-handed Seattle team and now face the Lions who may still be celebrating into the week. Chicago has a bye next week before two straight roadies.”

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Recap: Bears Beat Seahawks 25-19

28th September 2009 by under 2009-2010 Schedule, Did you Know?     

91196274First of all, let me just come out and say those Seahawk lime green jerseys were the ugliest things I’ve ever seen. I could not believe they actually wore them. I just thought we could not those to a team with those jerseys, it would be embarrassing.

Three out of my four predictions came true in this game, at least for the most part. I said Devin Hester would have a big day, Lance Briggs would have an interception and Mark Anderson would have two sacks. I mean Anderson only one sack, but he was all over the field forcing Seneca Wallace to throw the ball away.

Ok. Now to the game. The Bears could not have started that game with better field position, but they struggled to move the ball on that drive and Lovie Smith sent Robbie Gould to attempt a 53 yard field goal and I knew that was a bad idea. The defense struggled a bit in the first half giving up 13 points, but again the Bears offense wasn’t good until the end of the second quarter. On a third and goal play Matt Forte caught a pass and ran towards the end-zone and fumbled, but the Bears challenged the play and it was overturned. They wound up going for it on fourth and goal, and Ron Turner called play action to perfection, when Cutler who was about to get sacked threw the ball to a wide open Greg Olsen for a touchdown. The Bears went into halftime trailing 13-7 and that was a good thing because they had a lot of momentum off of that play.

The Bears came out in the third quarter forcing a fumble on defense and scored quickly, when Jay Cutler threw his second touchdown pass to Johnny Knox. Lance Briggs had a big interception near the end of the third quarter and that led to a field goal by Robbie Gould.

In the fourth quarter the Bears let Seattle make two field goals. So with about five minutes left the Bears and Cutler drove down the field for the game winning drive. Jay Cutler hit Devin Hester on a short slant route and Hester took off into the end-zone for a 37 yard touchdown. The Bears went for the two point conversion to go up by six points and Cutler completed the pass to Earl Bennett. The Seahawks drove down to the Bears 29 yard line with 26 ticks remaining, but Nick Roach deflected the Seneca Wallace pass and the game ended soon their after.

Reasons We Won:

The Bears defense buckled down even though they lost MLB Hunter Hillenmeyer to injury. They allowed only six points in the second half. Seahawks kicker Olindo Mare was four of six on his field goal attempts and the Bears won the game by six points, so maybe Mare is to blame.

Jay Cutler played great, he was 21 of 27 for 247 yards, threw three touchdowns and one interception and had a QB rating 126.4. Cutler was getting pressured when he tried to force a pass to Johnny Knox which was intercepted. Also, the Seahawks forced a fumble out of Cutler’s hand in the fourth quarter, but besides that he was very good.

Hester, Knox, Olsen and Bennett all played very well. Matt Forte averaged 3.1 ypc on 21 carries for a gain of 66 yards.

Zack Bowman lead the defense with nine tackles and played very well in coverage, Briggs had a sack and an interception, Al Afalava nearly had two interceptions, Mark Anderson looked good, Nick Roach was solid, and Tommie Harris was getting pressure on Wallace a lot yesterday. Also, Charles Tillman forced the fumble by T.J. Housmandzadeh in the beginning of the third quarter.

Next Up:

Sunday the Bears face the Detroit Lions, who won their first game since 2007 last week against the Redskins.

Time: 12:00 CT or 1:00 ET.

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DE Alex Brown Should Be Ready To Go Against Seattle

21st September 2009 by under 2009-2010 Schedule, Did you Know?, Speak Up     

brown

According to Jeff Dickerson of ESPNChicago.com, Bears defensive end Alex Brown was in the Halas Hall training room Monday receiving treatment on his sprained left ankle.

Lovie Smith had this to say about Brown:

“Luckily, in Alex’s case, it doesn’t seem to be the case [that the injury is serious], he should be good to go.”

“He means a lot to our football team, we need him on the field.”

DE Alex Brown has only missed one game in his career. That came in 2002 versus Minnesota. I don’t think Brown will miss anytime with this injury, but if he does expect Mark Anderson to take his spot. Hopefully Brown will play because he had a huge week against Pittsburgh.

Other News:

Ex-Bears DT Alfonso Boone signed with the San Diego Chargers, where he reunites with former Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera. Boone is 33 years old and was signed because the Chargers lost DT Jamal Williams to injury. Good luck Alfonso, you were always a solid contributor in Chicago.

all quotes from espnchicago.com

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The Bears Have Found Their Weapons For Jay Cutler

21st September 2009 by under 2009-2010 Schedule, Did you Know?, Speak Up     

Steelers Bears FootballWe all knew that Jay Cutler was a good quarterback, but we didn’t know he actually had weapons to help him on offense.

I mean who was Johnny Knox, Kellen Davis and Earl Bennett before this season?

Not only did those young guys play well, but Devin Hester was drawing lots of double teams and made many nice catches. Greg Olsen played huge as well after getting leveled by Steelers safety Tyrone Carter. Veteran running back Adrian Peterson was put in the game late in the second quarter and I liked how Bears coaches used him. They called some screens for him and some nice running calls too.

Now lets get to the young guys.

Kellen Davis didn’t catch a pass last season because he didn’t get lots of opportunities with Dez Clark and Greg Olsen in front of him, but he showed up big yesterday. Having a target, who is 6’7″ really helps a lot and he made some huge plays for the Bears yesterday, including a touchdown in the second quarter.

Now to Earl Bennett, the guy showed up big in week one against Green Bay, but didn’t do much yesterday. However he got some great blocks on a big third down play and found a way to convert it.

The biggest surprise of this group is fifth round pick from the small school called Abilene Christian, Johnny Knox. First of all the Bears got that fifth round pick in the trade for Jay Cutler, so that is pretty cool. Knox showed how fast he really is against Pittsburgh yesterday. He had six catches for 70 yards and was zipping up and down the field. He had the game tying touchdown catch and had a 50 yard kick return (that was called back because of a hold). Knox is the real deal and I think if your a Bears fan you had to be excited about this kid during the preseason, now you know he is for real.

With the speed of Devin Hester, Johnny Knox and Earl Bennett and the size of Greg Olsen and Kellen Davis this team could be unstoppable if it’s in sync like yesterdays game. Don’t forget Matt Forte, Adrian Peterson and Garrett Wolfe as weapons not only on the ground, but also through the air. These are the players I have been raving about all summer and now their showing everybody their for real.

Next week the Bears visit the Seattle Seahawks, who could be without QB Matt Hasselback.

Time: 4:05 ET on Sunday

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Robbie Gould Clutch In Shocker Over Defending Champs

20th September 2009 by under 2009-2010 Schedule, Did you Know?     

Steelers Bears FootballThe Bears stunned the Pittsburgh Steelers tonight. They watched Steelers kicker Jeff Reed miss two huge field goals. Robbie Gould was clutch again with his game winning 44 yard field goal with 20 seconds left.

Players like Johnny Knox, Kellen Davis, Greg Olsen, and Devin Hester all stepped up on offense. Hunter Hillenmeyer, Lance Briggs, Alex Brown and Charles Tillman lead the defense today.

The running game struggled once again, but its because Matt Forte and Adrian Peterson had no where to run. Look for them to pound it next week in Seattle. Anyone who doubted this team, now knows they are for real. Jay Cutler looked phenomenal on the scoring drives, including completing 4/4 passes on the final game winning drive. Cutler finished the game with over 200 yards passing, two touchdowns and a 104 QB rating.

People say Bears football is boring, maybe it is, but I don’t care the Bears are back. If Jay Cutler can play like that consistently the Bears are in buisness. Hester and Knox are very good receivers, and so is Earl Bennett.

We’ll see you next week against Seattle.

BEAR DOWN!

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