Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears Make Big Free Agent Splash — Add Peppers & Taylor
Friday, March 5th, 2010 | Chicago Bears, NFL, Sports | No Comments
The Chicago Bears wasted no time luring 3 big time free agents to the lakefront of Chicago. The Bears signed the top free agent available – 5-time Pro Bowl defensive end Julius Peppers away from the Carolina Panthers. Peppers will be a difference-maker on the front line of the Bears defense and should help free some space for Tommie Harris, Alex Brown, Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs to wreak some major havoc on every play.
The Bears also got some running back help by signing Chester Taylor away from the NFC North division rival Minnesota Vikings. Taylor will team with incumbent runner Matt Forte to provide a formidable rushing/receiving duo for Quarterback Jay Cutler.
The Bears also landed a legitimate tight end – Brandon Manumaleuna from the San Diego Chargers – who will fit in well in new Offensive Coordinator Mike Martz’s style of offense. That could mean the imminent departure of under-achieving tight end Greg Olsen after just 3 seasons in a Bears uniform.
It’s pretty clear that GM Jerry Angleo and Head Coach Lovie Smith were really desperate this off-season to go out and throw mega-bucks at 3 different free agents. While this doesn’t guarantee anything, a trip to the playoffs in 2010 could save both of their jobs. We’ll see how it all shakes out during the 2010 NFL schedule…
Chicago Bears Retain Head Coach Lovie Smith, Fire Offensive Coordinator Ron Turner
Wednesday, January 6th, 2010 | Chicago Bears, General, Indianapolis Colts, NFL, Notre Dame, Sports, USC Trojans | No Comments
The Chicago Bears announced that Lovie Smith will return for his 7th year as Bears head coach in 2010, but that offensive coordinator Ron Turner would be relieved of his duties. Smith has 2 years left on his contract with the Bears and would have been owed $11 million if the Bears decided to part ways with Smith in order to go with a more high-profile coach like a Bill Cowher, Mike Shanahan, Jon Gruden or Brian Billick.
Lovie Smith took the Bears to the Super Bowl in 2006 against the Indianapolis Colts, a game which they lost. But since then, things have been downright brutal on the lakefront of Chicago – 7-9, 9-7 and 7-9 – and 3 straight years without making the playoffs. Smith assumed the defensive play-calling role in 2009, but the Bears front took that play-calling role away from him after the season. In 2010, Smith will be the head coach, and the Bears will have a new offensive coordinator and a new defensive coordinator.
Bears President Ted Phillips had this to say about the state of affairs with the Bears: “This has been a frustrating season to say the least. We’ve had inconsistent play on both sides of the ball. Personally, it’s been the most frustrating year since I’ve been here… The last three years, it’s been clear nobody did a good enough job in the organization. Nobody did… If we didn’t believe as an organization that Lovie and Jerry [Angelo - Bears' General Manager] could turn this around and get us back to our winning ways, then there would have been other changes made… We all know what we need to do. We’re not happy. We’re not happy with the season we had. We’re not happy with the last three years, and the expectation is to turn it around in 2010. At the end of 2010, we’ll go through another evaluation process and see where we’re at.”
Pretty candid.
Former Notre Dame Head Coach Charlie Weis, former St. Louis Rams Head Coach Mike Martz and current USC Trojans offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates have thrown their names into the ring for the Bears offensive coordinator position.
On the defensive side, former Detroits Lions Head Coach and current defensive line coach Rod Marinelli could be considered for the defensive coordinator position. But the Bears could also go outside the organization.
Also on the firing line were quarterbacks coach Pep Hamilton, tight ends coach Rob Boras, offensive line coach Harry Hiestand, and assistant coaches Luke Butkus and Charles London.
We’ll keep you posted as soon as we hear anything from the Bears about the hiring of their new offensive and defensive coordinators.
Chicago Sports Teams – Downright Bad – Cubs, White Sox, Bears, Bulls…
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 | Chicago 2016 Olympics, Chicago Bears, Chicago Blackhawks, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, Rio de Janeiro, Sports | 1 Comment
WOW – it has been a rough year for Chicago sports teams. The Bears and Bulls are just continuing the downward trend for Chicago sports teams. Throw in the fact that the City lost out on the bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics this past October, and you wonder why they even field teams in the “Second City.”
Both MLB teams allowed August collapses to dictate disappointing finishes in 2009. The White Sox (79-83; .488 winning percentage) finished 7.5 games behind the Minnesota Twins in the American League Central Division, while the Cubs (83-78; .516 winning percentage) finished 7.5 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the American League Central Division. Obviously neither team qualified for the playoffs.
While the Bears and Bulls had promising starts to their respective seasons, things have quickly turned for the worse for each team.
The Bears started off by winning 3 of their first 4 games, but a current 4-game losing streak has the Bears sitting at 4-7. With games against the Vikings, Ravens and Packers (teams with winning records) still on the schedule, a 6-10 finish looks like a best-case scenario. A Bears loss to either the Rams (1 win) or Lions (2 wins) could end up costing Head Coach Lovie Smith his job. While the defense has been pretty awful all season long, the biggest disappointments come on the offensive side of the ball. During the off-season preceding the season, the Bears traded 2 1st round draft picks and then-starting QB Kyle Orton to acquire “franchise player” Jay Cutler from the Denver Broncos. Cutler has been a huge enigma in 2009 – while he has thrown for 2671 yards and 16 TD’s and completed over 62% of his passes, he has also thrown a league-high 20 interceptions. His 74.4 passer rating is well below his career 83.9 passer rating. Coupled with Matt Forte’s sophomore slump (1,238 yards rushing with 8 TD’s in 2008 v. 543 yards rushing with 3 TD’s in 2009), it looks like the Bears have a lot of work to do if they want to turn this thing around.
The same could be said for the Bulls. The Bulls started the season with a 6-4 record through their 1st 10 games. But their annual “Circus Road Trip” away from the United Center proved costly. They lost the last 5 games of the trip and now sit at a dismal 6-9. Kirk Hinrich and Tyrus Thomas are both injured, and Derrick Rose is still trying to get back to his top form after dealing with an ankle injury during the pre-season which limited his play. There are a few bright spots for the Bulls. #1 – the Eastern Conference is just awful – even at 3 games under .500 the Bulls would still qualify for the playoffs if the season ended today. #2 – Luol Deng (18.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game) and Joakim Noah (11.5 points and 12.1 rebounds per game) have looked great early on. #3 – the Bulls are set up well salary-cap-wise for the 2010 free agent feeding frenzy – which will include the likes of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Amari Stoudamire and Chris Bosh.
Sorry Chicago sports fans – looks like you better root real hard for the Blackhawks to win the Stanley Cup in 2010…
Some Bears fans are a little nuts
Friday, November 20th, 2009 | Chicago Bears, NFL | No Comments
A Steelers fan that was in Chicago for the game back in Sept has been left blind and could have brain damage after being poisoned at a Chicago bar after the game back in September. Zack Heddinger told a Pittsburgh TV station that he and some friends went to Kitty O’Shea’s in Chicago after the Bears beat the Steelers’ 17-14 on Sept. 20. Heddinger and friends were trash talking with some Bears fans, and that is all he can remember at this point. His buddies got into an altercation and were offered a drink to make peace after the misunderstanding. Not to long after the drink Heddinger had to be rushed to a nearby hospital as his heart stopped four times. First the doctors thought this was just a drunk football fan but soon realized there was much more to it. Heddinger’s family had to fly to Chicago to be with him, because they were not sure he was going to make it. Doctors now suspect his drink was spiked with toxic grain alcohol.
“I don’t think they tried to kill me. I think they tried to hurt me, but the killing came pretty close,” said Heddinger.
Hddinger is still undergoing oxygen treatments in hopes of regaining some of his vision. This is a sad case of a few crazy bears fans giving Chicago a bad name by doing something very dumb.
Bengals Crush Bears 45-10; Worst Loss During Lovie Smith Era
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 | Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, NFL, Sports | No Comments
Ouch – the Bears took it on the chin on Sunday, losing to the Bengals 45-10 in Cincinnati. Right from the get-go, it looked like the Bears players wanted to be anyplace but Paul Brown Stadium. It was clearly the worst loss during Lovie Smith’s tenure as Head Coach of the Chicago Bears. Since their 2006 Super Bowl appearance, the Bears have been a .500 team. They went 7-9 in 2007, 9-7 in 2008 and are currently 3-3 during 2009. This is not good news if you are a Bears fan or if you’re Lovie Smith.
In Sunday’s demoralizing 45-10 loss, the Bears scored on each their 5 drives in the 1st half and on their 1st 2 drives of the 2nd half. The Bengals led 31-0 and then 45-3. It was the classic home team beat down. Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer threw 5 touchdown passes, going 20 of 24 for 233 yards. Former Bears cast-off Cedric Benson rushed 37 times for 189 yards and 1 touchdown, making it look easy against his former team. Cad Ochocinco caught 10 passes for 118 yards and 2 scores. Anyway who played for the Bengals on the offensive side of the ball had a field day against the Bears defense on Sunday.
The best side story was Benson. In 3 seasons with the Bears, he frustrated Bears management and fans with his lack of dedication. 2 brushes with the law ultimately forced the Bears to cut ties with Benson.
Benson’s Bears stats – in 3 seasons, 35 games, 420 rushes, 1,593 yards, 10 touchdowns, and 3 lost fumbles.
Benson’s Bengals stats – in 1+ seasons, 19 games, 378 rushes, 1,467 yards, 7 touchdowns, and 1 lost fumble. Benson is averaging over 100 yards per game in 2009 and he looks focused and ready like never before.
Another interesting look is Jay Cutler v. former Bears QB Kyle Orton (now with the Denver Broncos).
Cutler’s 2009 Bears (3-3 team record) stats – 6 games, 82.9 passer rating, 65% completion percentage, 1,452 passing yards, 11 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, and 7 fumbles with 1 lost fumble.
Orton’s 2009 Broncos (6-0 team record) stats – 6 games, 100.1 passer rating, 63.9% completion percentage, 1,465 passing yards, 9 touchdowns, 1 interception, and 1 fumble with zero lost fumbles.
Crazy crazy stuff… The Bears are tied for 9th in the NFC while the Broncos are tied for 1st in the AFC.
There’s still time for this 2009 Bears club, but if they continue to play the way they did against the Falcons and Bengals instead of the way they played against the Steelers and Lions, it could be another frustrating season for Lovie Smith, Smith’s staff and Bears fans all over the country.
NFL Surprise – Denver Broncos 5-0 behind McDaniels, Orton
Wednesday, October 14th, 2009 | Brandon Marshall, Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, Jay Cutler, Josh McDaniels, Kyle Orton, NFL, Sports | 1 Comment
While there have been a lot of pleasant surprises during the 2009 NFL schedule, none compare to the performance of the 5-0 Denver Broncos. After a frustrating end to the 2008 NFL season (the team lost its 5 games to hand the division/final AFC playoff spot to the San Diego Chargers) and a tumultuous off-season, the team has rallied behind new head coach Josh McDaniels and new QB Kyle Orton. Denver Broncos fans and Broncos tickets holders are now loving NFL action again in Denver.
The off-season saw the firing of beloved, long-time head coach Mike Shanahan. After owner Pat Bowlen pulled Josh McDaniels away from the paws of the New England Patriots’ head coach Bill Bellichik. Instead of endearing himself to franchise QB Jay Cutler, McDaniels ended up alienating him when rumors leaked that the Broncos tried to trade Cutler for Patriots’ back-up QB Matt Cassell whom McDaniels had mentored in New England. Cutler immediately demanded a trade, and the Broncos eventually traded Cutler to the Bears for Kyle Orton and 2 future 1st round draft picks. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Broncos’ superstar wide receiver Brandon Marshall who was upset with Cutler’s departure refused to participate in off-season workouts, demanded a trade and was eventually suspended by McDaniels for part of the pre-season.
It didn’t get any better once play started during the pre-season in August. The Broncos won only 1 of 4 pre-season games and Orton was just downright bad – 4 interceptions with only 1 touchdown.
But the team did not let an awful off-season and pre-season get them down. Somehow, McDaniels earned the respect of the team, even Marshall, and Orton proved that he could play at the highest level in Denver. The Broncos pulled off a miracle come-from-behind win in Cincinnati in the opening week of the season, and the team has ridden that high ever since. The Broncos went to 3-0 with easy wins over 2 bad teams – the Cleveland Browns and the Oakland Raiders – and then proved they were for real with wins over the Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots in Weeks 4 and 5.
In the Cowboys win, the Broncos rallied from a 10-0 1st quarter deficit to win 17-10. The defense shut down the Cowboys offense through the final 3 quarters and Orton connected with Marshall on a spectacular 51-yard catch and run with under 2 minutes left to give the Broncos the win.
In the Patriots win, the Broncos pulled off another come-from-behind home win by outscoring the Patriots 10-0 in the 2nd half to force the game into overtime. Once again Orton connected with Marshall for the game-tying score in the 4th quarter and then he led the Broncos on the game-winning drive that culminated with Matt Prater’s 41-yard field goal less than 5 minutes into the extra period.
Just like that the Broncos were 5-0 and flying high in Mile High. The team loves McDaniels. McDaniels has faith in his players. Orton has emerged as a quality starter in McDaniels’ pass-oriented system. Orton has a 97.4 passer rating and he is completing 63% of his passes. He has thrown for 1236 yards and 7 touchdowns against just 1 interception. He had the 3rd most passing yards of any NFL quarterback in Week 5. And Marshall has found a way to work past his demons and learn to play as part of a team. Marshall only has 283 receiving yards thus far this season, but he has 4 touchdown catches and he and Orton seem to grow together each and every game.
The schedule doesn’t get much easier for the Broncos over the next 6 games – 2 games against the division-rival San Diego Chargers, @ Baltimore, home against the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants and @ Washington Redskins. It’s unclear if the Broncos can keep this pace up, but so far so good for McDaniels & Co. in Denver…
Favre, Vikings Beat Rodgers, Packers in a Thriling MNF Game
Thursday, October 8th, 2009 | Aaron Rodgers, Adrian Peterson, Brett Favre, Chicago Bears, General, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Monday Night Football, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, NFL, Sports | No Comments
It was a game that actually lived up to the hype – Brett Favre & the Vikings defeated Aaron Rodgers & the Green Bay Packers 30-23 Monday Night Football. Both quarterbacks played well, but it was Favre who shined just a little bit more as he led his team to the big NFC North division victory. With the victory, Favre became the 1st quarterback in NFL history to record a win against every single team that he ever played against.
Favre completed 24 of 31 passes for 271 yards and 3 touchdown passes. He did not have a single interception or fumble and his passer rating was 135.3. With Favre at the helm, the Vikings have established themselves as the team to beat in the NFC along with the New York Giants and New Orleans Saints who are also undefeated. The Vikings are 4-0 and they have a 1-game lead over the Chicago Bears in the NFC North. With a phenomenal running back with Adrian Peterson and one of the more formidable defenses in the entire NFL, the Vikings are poised to make a championship run like never before. As long as Favre stays healthy and limits his mistakes, you have to like the way the Vikings shape up. Look for a Vikings Giants NFC Championship game in January 2010.
As for Rodgers and the Packers, Rodgers threw for 384 yards and 2 touchdowns with 1 interception. He completed 70+% of his passes (26 of 37) despite being pressure all night long by the Vikings aggressive front 7. His 110.6 passe rating was outstanding. Give Rodgers credit for keeping his team in the game – it wasn’t easy, but he held his own in an extremely adverse setting.
Adrian Peterson Not Worried about Back Injury
Thursday, September 24th, 2009 | Adrian Peterson, Chicago Bears, Donovan McNabb, General, Matt Hasselback, Minnesota Vikings, NFL, Philadelphia Eagles, Seattle Seahawks, Sports | No Comments
Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings is not worried about his minor back injury and should be ready to play against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday in Minneapolis.
The same might not be true for 2 super star NFL quarterbacks. Donovan McNabb of the Philadelphia Eagles has a broken rib, has not practiced all week and is not likely to play against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday in Philly.
Matt Hasselback of the Seattle Seahawks also has a broken rub and may not be able to suit up as the Seahawks host the Chicago Bears at Qwest Field on Sunday.
Stay tuned for the latest NFL updates here at the Ticket Chest Blog…
Bears look good with Cutler
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009 | Chicago Bears, NFL, Sports | No Comments
The Chicago Bears are looking good with the new QB. The Denver fans didn’t seem to happy with Jay but the Bears rolled over the Broncos.
Chicago Sports Teams Back on Top of the World (or at least close to it)
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009 | Chicago Bears, Chicago Blackhawks, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, Sports | No Comments
The Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Calgary Flames 4-1 on Monday night, giving the Blackhawks the 4-2 series win. The series win was the 1st for the Blackhawks franchise in 13 years. After looking out of sync in 2 road losses in Calgary, the Blackhawks bounced back with a decisive 5-1 win over the Flames on Saturday night at the United Center. Five different Blackhawks skaters scored goals – . The Blackhawks kept up that same trend in Monday’s series-ending 4-1 win. 4 more Blackhawks scored goals in that victory – Patrick Kane, Adam Burish, Brian Campbell and Dustin Byfuglien. Game MVP honors had to go to Goalie Nikolai Khabibulin who was under constant pressure all night long. The Flames took 16 shots alone in the 1st period – matching the game total for the Blackhawks. But Khabibulin was up to the challenge – saving 43 of 44 shots to propel the Blackhawks to the next round.
The Blackhawks will take on the Vancouver Canucks in the Western Conference Semifinals later this week.
With the Blackhawks advancing in the playoffs, the Chicago sports scene is at it highest peak in years. Let’s take a quick look at the other 4 major sports teams in the city of Chicago:
MLB:
The Chicago Cubs are the 2-time defending NL Central Division Champs. Granted, they haven’t won a single playoff game in the last 2 years, but what does the post-season mean anyway – THIS IS OUR YEAR!
The Chicago White Sox are the defending AL Central Division Champs, and recently won the World Series in 2005.
NFL: The Chicago Bears have sucked the last 2 years, but at least they have a franchise quarterback in Jay Cutler. They lost in the 2007 Super Bowl to Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts.
NBA: The Chicago Bulls have a super star point guard in Derrick Rose and have split the 1st 4 games of their 1st playoff series with the defending NBA Champion Boston Celtics.
Chicago is clearly a great place to be right now – we’re selling Bulls playoffs ticket, Blackhawks playoffs tickets, Cubs tickets, White Sox tickets and Bears tickets on our site, so head to the Chicago Sports Page of our website soon before it’s too late to catch your favorite Chicago sports team.
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