Kyle Neckbeard Is Our Quarterback

I'll admit it... I was WRONG.

I truly thought that Rex Grossman would come out on top of this QB competition. Last week Kyle Orton was deservingly named the starting QB for the Bears. While I'm pissed that it's not Grossman, I completely agree with the decision. I'm not pissed about the decision, I'm pissed that Grossman can't ever seem to play up to his ability. He has all the talent in the world, but he is a skraight mindfuck. Ron Rivera called him a "mental midget," and that's pretty much the best way to put it. Whether it's an early INT or a lost fumble, after something bad happens to Grossman it's downhill from there. Something gets in his head telling him he's going to fuck up again... and he does. He showed a lot of improvement/maturity after he was benched last year but it didn't last long. While he may be in better shape than ever, I don't see any real improvements that came during the off-season.

Kyle Orton, on the other hand, looks like he's worked hard over the off-season. It may just be a little bit more confidence coming off of the end of last season. Or maybe it was the fact that Grossman wasn't named the starter before camp and Orton had a chance to win the job. Whatever it is, Orton is just so much more consistent than Grossman. Orton may not be a TD threat on every play, but he is capable of going deep with the ball. He needs to work on it still, but people give his arm much less credit than it deserves. He was a slanger in college and can still do it when he needs to. While Grossman may have more talent, Orton is much more of a complete QB. He knows how to stay in the pocket (which may or may not collapse immediately once the season starts) and check down when the 1st option isn't open. He also knows how to complete short passes, something that Grossman has yet to show. With a RB that can actually catch the ball this year, short/screen passes will be a big part of the offense. While there are still some in the locker room that were pulling for Grossman, you can tell that the majority of the team has more confidence in Orton, and for good reason. As the QB of a team, you need to be THE leader. How can you be looked at as the leader if you are the worst public speaker on the team? Now to be fair, Devin Hester is not exactly Mr. Articulate, but he's improved since his rookie year and probably gives better interviews. Grossman constantly looks like such a meathead struggling to answer questions after games. Orton, on the other hand, is poised at all times and says the right things. If you just observed the two of them for 5 minutes, you can tell who's more of a leader-type. That's what the offense needs. Someone who knows what's going on. Someone who can read a blitz coming. Someone who will throw the ball away instead of give the ball away.

While I'm still a Rex Grossman fan, he does not deserve to be the #1 QB on the Chicago Bears. Unless Orton gets hurt and Grossman steps up and performs like he's in Dan's World, this is the end for Grossman in Chicago. His contract is up after the season and I don't see him signing another contract anywhere unless it comes with a chance to be the starter. I still think he can be successful in the right situation. He needs a fresh start... one where he won't get boo'd just for stepping onto the field. One where he doesn't have to worry about the mistakes he's (repeatedly) made in the past. One where there's no expectations from him so there's not so much pressure as a big city like Chicago. All you can do now is wait Rex. Don't be pouting on the sideline everytime the you get some face-time. Don't look happy everytime Orton makes a mistake. You can hope and wish and pray all you want that Orton gets hurt, but don't let us know you're doing it... even though we already know you are.

Salute Your Shorts - Bourbonais

I went to training camp on Sunday for the second time in my life and it was another great experience. The clouds we're out for most of the day keeping everyone cool but, at times, the sun would uncomfortably beat down on us. We got there about half an hour before the practice actually began, so there was a pretty long line to get in. We decided to jump in the shorter line, and it paid off. Even though they let around 150-200 people from the long line in for every 50 or so from the shorter line, we ended up waiting only around 10 minutes before we actually got in.

As soon as we entered the bucks started flying. Spending $3 on a program and another $1 on a "fan-pack" provided me with more than enough reading material to hold me until practice began. As soon as I entered the gift shop I figured I was going to be in trouble for spending too much money. However a surprisingly small selection of jersey's kept me in check. All I wanted to get was a white Mike Brown jersey, but they didn't have any. I would have settled for a white Lance Briggs, but those were nowhere to be found. I left the jersey section without getting a new one, which was the only thing I was set on buying before I went. I did find some consolation prizes though. I copped a white mesh hat, which kept me cool the rest of the day, and an overpriced polo. I ended up spending $85 at the store, but that wasn't it for the day. As soon as we left the store we walked past a booth for signing up for the 4th Phase. I had been planning on joining for a while, but never really got around to it until yesterday. It cost me another $36 or so, but I walked out with a t-shirt (that will fit until the first time I wash/dry it) and will have more to come in the mail.

We managed to find a seat near the north(?) end-zone of the Offense's field without spending any more money. By the time we got to the seats the action was just about to begin. Throughout the day I was most impressed with Matt Forte. He is a beast of a man with huge arms. He showed his strength during some blocking drills when he dominated the other RBs, especially Garret Wolfe. He seemed to be (by far) the hardest worker out of 6 or 7 RBs, which should be the case since he's a rookie. But considering the fact that every media outlet covering the Bears has already appointed him the starter, it's refreshing to see. When the Offense and Defense clashed at the end of practice for 7-on-7s Forte stood out not only running the ball, but also catching the ball on the move. He broke away a few times eventually reaching the end zone. I wasn't very sold on the selection of Forte over Ray Rice in the draft, but I think the Bears made the right choice (even though I still think Rice has a bright future in the NFL). Forte seems to be a complete running back: he's strong, he's quick with his effortless gliding, and I've heard on numerous occasions that he's the best blocking RB from this year's draft.

Devin Hester practiced for the first time on Sunday after receiving his new contract extension. Although he dropped a few passes, overall he looked pretty good to me. He slipped behind Charles Tillman, the Bears' best CB, to grab a TD that had no business making it through the defense. The coverage was skin-tight, but Grossman managed to make a perfect throw to the delight of the fans. We didn't get to see Hester return any kicks, even though it looked like that was the first thing they were going to do when practice started, but every time a pass was thrown to him the crowd made a lot of noise (even if he went on to drop the ball). Hester certainly looks like he's progressed this off-season and will continue to get better at the WR position. Just having him on the field for more plays than they did last year will improve the offense, even if he never touches the ball. Anytime he's on the field the defense will have to pay close attention to him, and if they ever fall asleep he can easily reach the end zone. Like I've said before, look for Hester to explode this season.

Despite throwing a few ducks, and plenty of heckling from "fans," Grossman looked good overall. He especially meshed well with Mark Bradley, who has climbed up the depth charts and will likely be the most productive receiver on the team this year. Bradley showed speed and the ability to create separation from the defender. He and Grossman seemed to be on the same page just about every play they were on the field. Right now it looks like the 1st team offense will be Hester and Bradley lined up out wide, with Des Clark and Greg Olsen sharing time/sharing the field, Grossman under center and Matt Forte right behind him. With that lineup the Bears have a lot of options, assuming the O-line shows up. This lineup doesn't even include what many are considering the Bears' top 2 WRs (Marty Booker and Brandon Lloyd). Lloyd did not impress me at all on Sunday, but if he produces a little bit, I'll be happy. I didn't notice Booker more than one time during the entire practice but I think he'll contribute a decent amount this year. This still leaves us with Rashied Davis. A converted CB who has excellent speed. This will be his 3rd year working with the Offense. He has very quick feet and with more time spent on the field, he can be very dangerous for this offense.

One person I was disappointed in was Greg Olsen. I saw him drop at least a couple passes, possibly more. I know what he's capable of and I'm not worried, but he didn't look very sharp on Sunday. One thing that I did like about what I saw from him was he lined up out wide on a few different plays. With his speed, they can use him as a receiver to create mismatches with smaller CBs. Hopefully Grossman will look Olsen's way more than he did last year. Grossman doesn't use the TEs as well as he needs to, and with 2 solid TEs, once he starts using them his numbers will improve greatly.

The defense seemed to be having their usual fun that they like to have a practice. Joking around with each other while still getting in their daily allotment of DW. During 7-on-7s the defense looked in control. The receivers weren't getting too much separation and the defense came up with a couple of INTs. It was great to see Mike Brown running around on the field. He didn't show any signs of previous injury and I truly hope he can stay healthy this season. He is too valuable to this team. He makes big plays and provides great leadership when he's out on the field. While injuries hampered the defense last year, they are very deep this year at all positions. The D-line should dominate this year by using a big rotation and keeping everyone fresh. I'm excited to see how much time Marcus Harrison gets and what he can do. He would have been a 1st round pick had he not gotten in trouble or gotten injured. The coaching staff speaks very highly of him and I expect him to get some quality tick this year. Another rookie who can possibly compete for a starting job (or at least significant playing time) is safety Craig Steltz. The coaches really like what he's done so far and if there are injuries to the secondary he can fill in (if he doesn't end up winning a starting job).

Overall I had a great time at training camp and didn't end up spending as much money as I thought I would. It has only made me more excited for the upcoming season and more optomistic about what the Bears are capable of this year.

Ceddy B Seein Ya

Well... it took a combination of 2 OWIs/DWIs in a 5 week span, but the Bears finally released Cedric Benson. The majority of Bears fans have been calling for this move, even before the incident on the boat. I however, was glad they didn't cut Benson immediately after his first publicized run-in with the law. I am one of the few non-jokes still around, who realize the Bears' major weakness last year was the offensive line. Without an offensive line, nobody can run (or pass, for you Grossman haters) the ball. Not Adrian Peterson. Not LT. Not even Steve Oliver.

I was hoping that this would be the year that Benson finally shut up the critics. With an improved line, Benson could finally show his worth. Apparently he has. After being charged with an OWI not too long ago, you think that a 25 year-old man (who still claims innocence) would have enough sense to not put himself in another situation like that. Now we still don't know if Benson was legally drunk at the time of the arrest, or how he did on his sobriety tests (the video has yet to surface), but what we've heard is that the Bears told him at least to stop drinking for a little while. For whatever reason, he couldn't do that. People have been throwing around the idea that he has a drinking problem. I don't necessarily agree with that, but I don't know this cat at all, so there's only a few people that probably do know if he has a problem. Rather than classify Benson as an alcoholic, I'd rather just call him one stupid motherfucker.

Benson's legacy in Chicago certainly won't be a positive one with most people. I don't think that he was ad bad as people think. People cried over the fact that Benson was the franchise back and the Bears gave up the "great" Thomas Jones to make Benson happy. The thing about that when given the chance, Benson showed he was as good as Thomas Jones. Benson just never had the opportunity as the feature back (until 2007 with a joke of an offensive line). In 2005 Benson averaged 4.1 yards per carry while Jones averaged a slightly higher 4.3 YPC. In the Super Bowl season of 2006, Benson and Jones each averaged an identical 4.1 YPC. Now tell me, how is Thomas Jones so much better? Because he had the break away speed? No. Jones' longest run of the regular season (30 yds) was the same as Benson's longest run. Is it because he was the #1 RB when the veteran offensive line performed up to their capabilities before they instantly became ancient? Get the fuck out of here. Thomas Jones is a good back, but he didn't out perform anybody on the team. He simply did what he was supposed to do when given the opportunity to be a #1 RB. Benson almost got a chance last year, but like I said, nobody can run without anyone opening holes.

I truly believe that Benson would have shown what he is capable of as a #1 RB this year. He showed up to mini-camp lighter and in better shape than he ever had before. I think he realized that the Bears were serious about creating competition at the RB position this year, and Benson possibly felt threatened by the Matt Forte selection. Or maybe Benson was just sick of all the talk about how he's not living up to the #4 overall pick standard. Now it's too late. Benson can officially be labeled the "bust" that people have been calling him for years. I still think if he's somehow given another opportunity with a new team, that he can be a good RB. It's too bad for Benson that the "everybody deserves a 3rd or 4th chance" Cowboys are loaded with RBs and won't have any room for Benson to rejoin former teammate Tank Johnstoooooooooooooooooooooooooooon.

You've been calling for it. I've been hoping it wouldn't come. But Benson's days in Chicago are over with. While I wish it didn't happen, I can definitely say the Bears had no other choice but to get rid of him. Hopefully Goodell will suspend him for a long enough period where it wouldn't of mattered if the Bears kept him and he wouldn't have been able to contribute in 2008.

Racial Draft '08 Good For Da Bears

So the draft finally came. Overall I think the Bears drafted well this year. This was my first year actually watching the draft, and I pretty much watched the entire thing. Saturday started off well. I anxiously waited for the 14^th pick of the 2008 NFL Draft from my couch. As team-after-team that was expected to take an OT with their first round pick decided to fill other needs, I knew the Bears would have their choice of Jeff Otah, Branden Albert, and Chris Williams. They made a great choice with Williams. While Albert was still on the board at the Bears' slot, he is not ready to play left tackle in the NFL. He does have a bright future, but he will be a multi-year project and the Bears needed someone to step in and play left tackle IMMEDIATELY. Chris Williams is a very good pass-protector and that's exactly what we need for Grossman to be successful. Williams is known for having very good technique with his hands and his coach at Vandy called him the smartest football player he ever coached. His one downside is that he needs to get stronger to become a better run-blocker. Some say he's also lacking a mean-streak, but I disagree. Apparently during a Senior Bowl practice one of his teammates shoved him in a way that would justify a retaliation. Instead he kept his cool and did nothing about it. I believe this says more about his character than his lack of a "mean-streak". He wasn't about to fight a TEAMMATE during a practice for a game that could vastly improve his draft stock. He's a smart kid who knew it was in his best interest to just let it go. With Williams stepping in and starting on the left side of the line, John Tait can slide back over to the right side, which is his natural position. With this pick, the Bears improved 2 spots on their offensive line.

A lot of people (or jackasses) are calling for Jerry Angelo's head because they didn't select Rashard Mendenhall. While I would've liked to see Mendenhall in a Bears uniform, it would have been an incredibly stupid pick. Anyone who actually understands football and watched the Bears play last year knows that the offensive line was the biggest problem for them all season. It wasn't the QB position and it wasn't the RB position. Although neither of those were consistent the least common denominator is the offensive line. If you don't have pass-protection your QB will spend half the game on his back, and if you don't have any push up front, your RB will be stuck behind the line of scrimmage every time he touches the ball.

So with one of the Bears' needs already filled, the next obvious choice is to select a RB to compete for the starting job this season. I am one of the few people that thinks Cedric Benson has yet to have a true shot to show what he's worth. He performed well when Thomas Jones was still on the team, but was never the featured back because Jones performed very nicely. Last year was Benson's first year as the featured back and the Bears obviously didn't have an O-line to create any lanes. While I do agree that he hasn't performed up to his capabilities as a 4^th overall pick, I'm not one who wants to run him out of town quite yet. With the lack of quality QBs in this year's draft, I do think it was necessary for the Bears to pick a RB with their 2nd round choice.

By the time the Bears' 2^nd pick we were at a bar on the Westside grabbing some dranks before the Jay-Z (and Mary J. Blige) concert. "With the 44^th pick of the 2008 NFL draft, the Chicago Bears select Matt Forte." WHO?!? Are you kidding me? I was expecting to hear the name Ray Rice called. This threw me the fuck off. I had never heard of this kid. I know there are some concerns with Ray Rice being banged up after carrying such a heavy load at Rutgers, but the guy impressed me a lot in the International Bowl dominating Ball State (sorry AK). I think B-More got a GREAT pick with Ray Rice. Now back to Matt Forte. While I was upset with this pick when it happened, I've come to like the pick. He's considered the best pass-protecting RB in the entire draft, and like I said earlier, the more protection you give Grossman, the better he will perform. From what it sounds like Matt Forte has a very good chance of winning the starting RB job before the season starts or shortly into it. I think that whatever combination of Forte/Benson/Garrett Wolfe (plus Adrian Peterson on 3rd down) we use this year, there will be a lot of success running the ball with this improved O-line.

On a side note the Jay-Z show was GREAT. We stayed at the bar until 8:30 (the show was scheduled to start at 7:30) hoping to completely miss the opening act (The Dream). By the time we got to our seats there was a countdown clock on the screen with about 4 or 5 minutes on it. We were sincerely hoping that when that counter reached zero that The Dream was not going to appear on stage. We planned it perfectly. The lights dimmed and Mary J Blige and Jay-Z took the stage to perform "Can't Knock The Hustle." After that MJB performed by herself, with the exception of a couple verses from Jay. Although I only knew (the hooks of) about 4 or 5 of her songs, she gave a really, really good performance. She showed a lot of emotion and a great vocal range throughout the entire performance and didn't seem to lose any energy throughout the 80-minute set. Then Jay came back out and shut shit down. He went through a good majority of his catalog, including a lot of songs from American Gangster. Other than him only doing his first verse from "Big Pimpin'" (and not Bun or Pimp's verses), Jay did not disappoint me at all. He did a "freestyle" about Bush that I had been hearing about from people that went to this tour in other cities. All-in-all it was a great finish to a great draft day.

Sunday was intense. I woke up around 10:45, so I did not miss the Bears first selection in the 3^rd round. However, most of the day was spent arguing on the ESPN Bears' Draft Conversation page with some joke from ASU. This kid spent the entire draft talking about how the Bears made a horrible choice drafting Matt Forte because he went to a small school. On multiple occasions he let us know how stupid the Bears were for not drafting Ryan Torain "who is a GREAT running back" according to him. Throughout the draft he also took the time to stroke Rudy Carpenter and talk about how he's the best QB in the country and will be the #1 pick in next year's draft. As the draft went on he was crying for the Bears to select a QB. Even during the 7^th round after the shallow, shallow talent pool of QBs dried up he was still begging for a QB. What good is taking a 7^th rd QB going to do? Not shit.

Anyways, back to the Bears' actual picks. They chose WR Earl Bennett with their 1^st pick in the 3^rd rd. I like this pick. Never really saw him play, but he holds the SEC record for career receptions (after only 3 years), so he knows how to catch the ball. He supposedly can catch the ball in traffic and isn't afraid to go over the middle. Hopefully he'll continue to have success in the NFL.

The Bears then chose DT Marcus Harrison from Arkansas. I think this is another good pick. He has had some injury problems throughout his career, but he made 2nd team All-SEC this last year after coming back from a torn ACL. He had a run-in with the law in August which caused his stock to drop significantly. He is supposedly a 1^st rd talent who's had some bad luck with injuries and of course that incident with the law. If he stays healthy he can improve the depth of this Bears defensive line. With the way that they rotate the D-line, he can become a valuable asset right away.

In the 4^th rd the Bears chose LSU All-American safety Craig Steltz. While Steltz is not the fastest guy in the world, he often makes the big play. He had 6 INTs last year and is known as a defensive leader on the team. If the Bears keep him at strong safety, it puts another person in front of garbage-ass Adam Archuleta (who hopefully will be cut from the team by the end of training camp) on the depth chart.

The Bears then chose CB Zackary Bowman out of Nebraska. Don't know much about this kid except that he has had a lot of injury problems over the year. I don't really mind this pick because it gives them a little more depth at CB.

The next pick is one I don't understand. They chose TE Kellen Davis out of the great MSU. From what I can gather he is mostly a pass-catching TE. I hope he knows how to block, because the Bears already have 2 TE that are more pass-oriented than they are run-blockers. Davis also has gotten some time as a DE but I'm not sure if that figured in to the pick at all. The Bears are very deep at DE so I don't really think they have any desire to work him in at that spot. Perhaps they are just looking to him for the future as Desmond Clark's contract will end after the 2010 season.

The rest of the Bears' picks didn't necessarily fill any needs, but hopefully add some depth to other positions. However, the Bears' final pick of Arkansas WR Marcus Monk is supposed to be a great pick this late in the draft. He is a big target who should be very effective in the red zone. Monk was projected as a possible 2^nd rd pick if he left for the NFL after his junior year, but he chose not to. He suffered a knee injury before his senior year which he never fully recovered from. If he can get healthy, he can become a valuable asset for this WR corps that a lot of people are down on. I think that even though there really aren't any big name receivers on the team that this group can really do some big things this upcoming year. It all starts with the O-line giving the QB enough time to get the ball out, and I think the bears did a very good job of addressing their needs this year.

So Far So Good

I can safely say that this year is the first year that I have really followed the Bears off-season activities. And as of now I have no complaints. I agree with D The Dude when he said that a lot of analysts who say that Da Bears have made some bad off-season moves don't really know the Bears.

First off, I agree with signing Rex to a 1-year deal. Whats the worst that can happen? He sucks and he don't come back ever again. I have respected Lovie enough to stick to his guns with Rex , and if we have brought him along this far, why not give him a shot at 1 more year. Not only that, Rex has actually shown some talent over his stint with the Bears. More than Cade McNown or Shane Matthews, to name a couple. I think it is pretty clear that the O-Line is the problem for the Bears. Not only will a solid line give Rex more time to waste in the pocket, but it will also help the struggling running game which will in turn open up the passing game some more. Olin is getting old and can hold the line by himself. It is an obvious issue and I don't think upper management will waste any draft picks.

A lot of analysts are saying that not resigning Bernard was a big mistake for the Bears. I disagree. If it meant saving money not signing him to keep Briggs, I'm all for it. Then loosing Moose to me was also not a big deal. He never really embedded his place as a Bear to me. He did alright, but we all knew he wasn't going to be here forever, so adios. Those two moves left a pretty empty WR core. Yeah we have D the Dude, but honestly, can he be a #1 WR. Look at the other #1s in the league and its clear he just doesn't match up. He is definitely a threat and a challenge for most any DBs, but there were still some issues to address as far as WRs.

Then the Bears decide to make me real happy with the 2 WRs acquired. I am a little biased with these two choices, 1 because I was a huge Book Book fan, and 2 B Lloyd went to the U of Illinois. I had mentioned that the bears needed a big target to go to as a safety on 3rd downs; run a quick out, or a quick slant and not drop the ball. Booker will fill that role nicely. Plus he loves Chicago, likes playing with Rex and is happy to be back overall. B Lloyd will give Rex a good 2nd or 3rd target pending on how much Hester will be a part of the offense. Lloyd was coached by the ever-so-stupid Ron Turner at the U, so this should make his transition a lot smoother than most newbies. This will give Rex options which is what he needs.

I can't wait to see what they do with the draft. Should be a fun year. Lets go Da Bears.

Bears Make Two More Great Moves

First I'd like to welcome our newest contributor Eddie Basden (the rest of you aren't contributors until you actually contribute something).

The Bears continue to make big moves this off-season. While many may see the Bears off-season as a disappointment, since they haven't acquired any big name free agents, they have accomplished almost everything that they wanted to. The Bears weren't interested in spending a lot of money bringing free agents in, but rather locking down the free agents that have been a part of the Bears and getting rid of the ones that were just wasting space. They will assess the rest of their pressing needs (OT, WR) during the draft. QB is NOT a pressing need. I do think they need to draft a QB in the later rounds, but once again, you can't say the Bears have a QB problem just because of last year (which is what most people do). The offensive line didn't provide any protection and the lack of QB production can be attributed to them.

Speaking of wastes of space, the Bears pulled off an unthinkable feat today. They traded Brian Griese to the the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for something of value (an undisclosed 2009 draft pick). Now I have absolutely no idea why the Bucs would want Griese back, let alone give something up to get him back, but they did. If they had anything more than shit-for-brains they would have realized that they would have been able to sign him tomorrow, as the Bears were expected to drop him tonight if they weren't able to move him. He was due a $300,000 roster bonus tomorrow, and he certainly didn't deserve it (as he would have been the 3rd or possibly even 4th string QB this year for the Bears). We can sum this transaction up with one letter, a big W!

Not only did the Bears get rid of another aging joke, but they re-signed the free agent that was already written off by most Bears fans. Everybody thought they would be able to close a deal with Benard Berrian and not Lance Briggs, but the opposite has happened. On Saturday the Bears signed Briggs to a 6-year $36 million contract and he is well deserving of it. Even though Brian Urlacher has been the face of the Bears franchise for years, he would not have been so effective if Briggs wasn't alongside him. The tandem of Urlacher and Briggs is the best in the league and will continue to be for years to come. Briggs is the Bears hardest hitter and is great at stopping the run. Last year he had 83 solo tackles and 19 assists, good for second on the team in total tackles. He most likely would have finished first in tackles, but missed two games due to injury. Briggs has been through a lot with the Bears over the years. He was a crucial part of the defense that carried them to the Super Bowl. He threatened to sit-out the entire season last year after being franchised. He escaped a DUI by leaving his Lambo at the scene of a crash. But most importantly he's been able to put aside all of the media distractions and continue to be one of the Bears most consistent performers over the last few years.

On a sidenote, the Bears are expected to start negotiations with Devin Hester for an extension this week.

LB's Back In It

This has me excited. Briggs running sideline to sideline on the Midway during the prime of his career? Hopefully his body can hold up until age 33, but this is the right move, in my humble opinion.

Thoughts?