SB Nation - Brad Maynard

Looking for the Bright Side: Week 12 Chicago Bears

Sklz711 — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:04:08 -0000

Every week, win or lose, there are some things to improve upon for the next game. The opposite of this is equally true, and no matter how soul crushing a loss is there are always a few good things to take from the game as signs of some kind of improvement or life.

So follow me below the jump and lets look at the few pinpoints of light in the loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

Johnny Knox is looking more like a top flight WR every game.

This goes beyond Fort Knox scoring our only touchdown of the game, which was a combination of being a good WR and a picture perfect pass. This is looking specifically at the play in the end zone where Cutler threw a bad ball that instead of going in front of Knox, it went straight behind him right into the man in coverage. How does this make Knox a good receiver you may ask? He didn't come up with the ball, but what he did when he realized he didn't have a play on the ball is something we have been missing for a long time. He immediately went into "CB" mode and attempted to punch the ball loose to save the INT. That's a veteran move from a rookie player, and this isn't the first time Knox has played beyond his years.

If you remember back a few games where Knox drew the unsportsmanlike conduct call by not letting them walk all over him, but then stopping when punches started to get thrown. Great call. Knox consistently impresses me when he's on the field, both as wide receiver and in the return game, and if he's this good as a true rookie we may have the steal of the 2009 draft playing as WR for a long time.

We have an embarrasment of riches in the return game.

Speaking of Fort Knox in the return game, sure he fumbled one against the Vikings but it wasn't your normal guy attacking the ball and knocking it loose fumble. It was one of those spinneroonis on top of the back of an opposing player fumbles that happens once in a blue moon. If you run that play one hundred more times it's likely that Knox is downed and no fumble occurs. He also showed great heart and ability to dust himself off by giving us a fantastic return later in the game that was very close to being a touchdown.

Knox leverages his speed in a different way than Hester tends to, going more straight up field than side to side looking for the home run. Both methods have their place, but when Hester starts dancing too much it spells problems at times. Also back returning we've got Daniel Manning who returns very much in the mold of Joshua Cribbs, less of a finesse runner and more of a bruising return man, he'll make a few shifts but he's heading up field no matter what is in his way. He may not hit the home run ball, but he's going to grab every single yard that he can take from the opposing team on his returns.

If you said two years ago that we'd have two good returners, and neither would be named Hester most people would have called you crazy. Add both of them, and a Hester that could emerge again at any moment and you've got a return game that has to respected even if the rest of the team doesn't earn it.

Al Afalava has a great shot at developing into a quality safety for us.

I'm a guy that likes to admit when he was wrong, and I was wrong about Afalava. I really was against the pick of Afalava due to his off the field issues, since at least the descriptions of the incident showed a real lack of maturity and responsibility. However he's been nothing but a model citizen since coming to the NFL and has had zero negative reports about any of his activities on the field, or off. Boy am I glad I was wrong.

Afalava has really burst onto the scene as one of the only Safeties that I don't cringe when I see him on the field. After watching as much of the game as I could looking for him you could see him dutifully covering his man in the flat at times, and laying absolutely vicious hits at others.

One specific instance of Afalava stepping up would be the pass at the front of the end zone. If you watch the play, HH is the closest man to the play, but doesn't even move more than a couple of inches towards the ball even when he sees it coming in his direction. Meanwhile, Afalava coming back towards the ball makes a really hard hit on the receiver in the end zone. What does this matter? It was still a TD? Yeah, the coverage failed, but at that point the only shot you have is to knock that ball loose and break up the reception which is a duty that Hillenmeyer apparently wanted no part of.

As long as Afalava continues to get better in his understanding of coverages and work a bit more on his mobility, and you could be looking at another hard hitting safety in the mold of Mike Brown in the years to come.

Lance Briggs is getting an opportunity to show himself as a monster with Urlacher's absence.

If you look at the way Lance was talked about during the years of his contract dispute there were definitely two factions. There were the people that wanted to trade him for whatever we could get, and there were people that wanted him to stay. Everyone knew he was a good player, but there was a real undercurrent of thought that Briggs only looked good because teams had Brian Urlacher to deal with. We can put that argument to rest right now.

Sadly Briggs was apparently hurt in this game which is blow I'd rather not have dealt to the team, or to Lance, but while he was on the field he was showing, like he has shown every week, that he is a star in his own right. If you look at the little swing pass to the outside right before Favre got nailed to Chester Taylor you see Briggs literally throw Taylor to the ground with what amounted to one hand. A bit earlier when Hillenmeyer got his first FF, it was HH that caused the fumble, but it was Briggs who launched into the backfield to slow AP down enough to let HH make solid contact and get that fumble.

Lance Briggs has been one of the few bright spots on the defensive side of the ball all year, and he has shown himself in Urlacher's absence as being perfectly capable of being the anchor for our linebackers even once Brian is done with the game.

Rob Gould is rock solid, and may in fact be the real concrete cyanide.

Robbie Gould is a monster with a genetically enhanced kicking leg, woven with dark magick and the tendons of a gorilla. Seriously, Rob Gould is one of the few players on the Bears team that doesn't induce heart attacks when he's on the field. He's one of those few kickers in the league that has earned a trust from the fans and his team, and speaking for myself at least, in Gould we trust. If it's anything less than a 50 yard kick I assume that it's three points on the board and that's that. If you tell me that the Bears missed out on a field goal, I immediately assume there was some kind of blocked kick, and that's how good Gould really is.

Brad Maynard is still looking great, even at age 35.

It's hard to really fathom that Maynard has been in the league for almost fifteen years, but then again the way this guy punts someone may have doctored his birth certificate. He's right there with Gould in the lack of stress factor of this team, whatever you ask of Maynard he does. If you want a high pop fly, it happens. You want them pinned deep with a corner kick, it happens. This year with his new strength program he's even regained some of that pop that had started to diminish the last few years. When you go three and out as much as we have been lately, it really pays off to have a monster like Maynard back punting.

Kamerion Wimbley and Browns Defense Play With Fire Despite 30-6 Loss to Bears

Chris Pokorny — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:49:25 -0000

More photos » by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

about 1 month ago: Chicago Bears safety Danieal Manning (38) picks up the loose ball after a fumble by Cleveland Browns tight end Steve Heiden in the third quarter of an NFL football game in Chicago, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009. At left is Bears linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer (92), who forced the fumble. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

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CLEVELAND BROWNS (1-7)	WEEK 8	CHICAGO BEARS (4-3)
	VS.
6		30

As far as I'm concerned, the Chicago Bears played no better against the Cleveland Browns than they did against the Cincinnati Bengals two weeks ago when they lost 45-10. QB Jay Cutler supported my point that he's a tad overrated, but he was rewarded nonetheless with a rather easy 30-6 victory over the Browns.

Has a Browns team ever been so helpless on offense? I guess you could technically say we're at the same level as the Oakland Raiders, but that's not the type of competitive comparison I want to be making on gameday. The funny thing is that if our offense would've just taken a knee on every series this week, we probably only would have lost by a score of 10-3 (note: I realize that is not a reality, since the space-time continuum obviously would've resulted in different production for the Bears). Our defense played much better than last week and weren't rewarded for it; as far as the rest of the league is concerned, our defense is still a joke.

Let's get to the sad review of the game...

WEEK 8 - CLEVELAND BROWNS VS. CHICAGO BEARS (COMPLETE GAME REVIEW)

GOAT OF THE GAME:

Steve Heiden & Mohamed Massaquoi: Obviously QB Derek Anderson could go here every week, but it's only fair to spread the wealth. In the second half, when the Browns were actually showing some form of a threat, there were two cases in which Anderson made some of his best throws of the game -- one on a small pass to Steve Heiden, and another on a timing pattern to Mohamed Massaquoi.

For whatever reason, both players coughed up the football. It wasn't even like they were hit by a blindsided poke at the football either; Heiden even seemed to wrap both arms tightly around the ball and it just...fell out. That's extremely frustrating, because Heiden is supposed to be our only "Mr. Reliable" left on offense. He also dropped a pass earlier in the game. For as in-sync as Massaquoi and Anderson looked against Cincinnati, that "chemistry" no longer exists.

AWARDING GAME BALLS:

Kamerion Wimbley: Credit to defensive coordinator Rob Ryan for helping turn Kamerion Wimbley around. He's no DeMarcus Ware, but he's getting to the quarterback a lot more than his last two years under Crennel. With his sack Sunday, he surpassed his sack total from last season. He also delivered a punishing shot on QB Jay Cutler as he released a pass, resulting in a bloody mouth for Cutler (and probably a fine).

GENERAL THOUGHTS

Bears QB Jay Cutler was hit hard all day by the Browns defense, including here by LB Kamerion Wimbley.

In Stride: (Marks calendar) We are 8 games into the 2009-2010 NFL season, and for the first time this season, we finally saw a smart play design for Joshua Cribbs as a receiver (although the execution of it could have been accidental). Derek Anderson was pressured and then stepped up in the pocket.

Before he got to the line of scrimmage, he turned and threw a route nearly parallel to the line of scrimmage at Cribbs, who had motioned out of the backfield and into the flat. Cribbs caught the pass in stride and ran up the sideline for a gain of 23 yards.
By the Numbers: The final line for Anderson is as follows: 6-of-17 for 76 yards and 2 interceptions. His QB rating was a lowly 10.5. Anderson's production level is getting worse and worse by the week. At this point, I think I'd be content going back to watching Quinn get sacked every play.
Applaud the Play Call, Hate the Statistic: The Browns scored their only touchdown of the game near the start of the second half. Taking advantage of a horrible punt by the Bears, Jamal Lewis pounded his way down to the one-yard line. The Browns failed to punch it in on 1st-and-goal from the one, so on second down, Anderson sneaked forward and used his tall frame to stretch the ball over the goal line for the score.

I like the call on second down because we won't lose yardage on it, and if we fail to get in, we'd still have two downs remaining to go back to Lewis or do a small pass play. Afterward though, I was a little sick knowing that I'd still have to hear all of the play-by-play announcers say "the Browns do not have a single rushing touchdown from their running backs this season!"
Injuries Galore: There has to be a correlation between a losing season and the number of injuries that start piling on. After already losing LB D'Qwell Jackson for the season, LB Eric Barton and DB Eric Wright suffered shoulder injuries. Wright returned, but Barton will likely undergo tests to determine the extent of his injury.
Rob Ryan Fired Up: I appreciate the enthusiasm that Rob Ryan shows each week, and unlike our offensive coordinator, Ryan seems to know how to make adjustments after a letdown. Whereas the defense was brutal in giving up 31 points to the Packers, they had one of my favorite performances of the season in giving up 30 points to the Bears (23 when you don't include Anderson's pick six). After the Browns stopped Cutler on a 4th-and-1 from the 1-yard line, Ryan was out on the field jawing at Jay Cutler. I believe the defense is still playing hard because of him.
Wimbley's Knockdown: When Wimbley knocked down Cutler's fourth-down pass at the goal line, it was obviously a bad decision because an interception would've brought the ball out to the 20-yard line. Then, our offense wouldn't have been backed up into seeing Anderson throw a pick six from his own goal line. Granted, it's better that he knocked the ball down than let the receiver catch it, but he knocked it down as if it was a Hail Mary pass attempted from mid-field.
A Little Scared? I think punter Brad Maynard was a little scared of Joshua Cribbs. On 5 punts, Maynard averaged a quite pathetic 30.4 yard average. On the other side of the field, props to punter Dave Zastudil for recording a touchdown-saving tackle on punt returner Devin Hester early on.
Staying With the Play: Kudos to DL Kenyon Coleman for staying home when the Bears tried a reverse with Devin Hester. As Hester was handed the ball, Coleman shot at him like a cannon and took him down. How many times have we seen our defensive players be in position for a play like that, but end up whiffing?

When you see this on TV, chances are the pass is going to be picked.

Francies Sees Action: Finally, we got to see a little bit of Coye Francies. He was subbed in after Eric Wright went down with an injury. On Francies' first play (I think), the Bears ran the ball with Matt Forte, who sprinted to the edge for a 10-yard touchdown. Soon after that, Francies left with an injury of his own, forcing Hank Poteat into the game. (Sigh).
It's About Time: One-third of our payoff for the Braylon Edwards trade finally showed up today, as WR Chansi Stuckey made his first catch of the season as a member of the Browns. He made a few nice moves after the catch to stretch the play to an 11-yard gain.
The Other Third: With the more exotic blitz packages thrown at Cutler, the other third of the Edwards deal was more productive this week. Jason Trusnik sacked Cutler once and also led the team with 7 tackles.
Should've Been a Fumble: When Jay Cutler was hit and the ball came loose for about a 15+ yard loss, the play should've stood. I didn't see any indication that Cutler's arm was moving forward; it was moving laterally at best. His arm was angled that way due to a hit from a Browns defender too. Even with the overturn, who was Cutler throwing the ball to? It might have even hit his offensive lineman, which would be an illegal touch. In the end, the Bears had a comfortable 2nd-and-10 to work with.
Adams and Pool: Whatever the combination was, it seemed to work this week. It seemed like Mike Adams was in mostly on first- and second-downs, with Brodney Pool coming in on obvious passing downs. Pool recorded an interception when he dove to the ground after a tipped pass. As he tried to get up, he was rewarded by being drilled by two or three Bear linemen.
Inserting Quinn Late: The decision is still baffling to put Brady Quinn into the game when he did. We had literally no chance of coming back, and the substitution was made in a half where several offensive players had fumbled the ball. Why not make the change at half-time when Anderson was awful as usual?
Evaluating "the Other Guy": There's not much to fo on. His first pass was located well. He had the right idea on the second play -- getting rid of the ball quickly when they brought the house. A week ago, that's the similar adjustment that Aaron Rodgers made to Donald Driver for a long touchdown. The third down play was another dropped pass. Then, we punted. Booooooooo.
Lerner's Staredowns: I think fans would've rather watched Randy Lerner stare down and scold the players and coaches all game than watch the actual game. If someone has footage of Lerner doing this, it must be seen!
Bad Timing of Wildcat Plays: Yeah, let's run the Wildcat on a 3rd-and-19 play. There just doesn't seem to be a "method to the madness" of running the Wildcat formation. I agree with running it, but we never build off of it or use the formation to our advantage the following play.
Brownies: Welcome back Phil Dawson; you get to join the sad state of the team by having your extra point blocked...Joe Thomas registered two tackles in the game...safety Ray Ventrone had two special teams tackles...former Glenville High School and Ohio State product Ted Ginn Jr. had two kick returns for touchdowns to beat Braylon Edwards and the New York Jets.

Up next, the Browns have a Bye week before coming back home the following week against the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football. It should be an interesting two weeks though; let's hope that Randy Lerner comes through with some form of positive news, whether it be the firing of Brian Daboll or the hiring of a team president.

NightLink: Brad "Das Boot" Maynard

wiltfongjr — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 22:00:23 -0000

More photos » by Nam Y Huh - AP

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Yes, the punter is getting some love. On the Johnny Knox nickname thread Ditkavsworld floated the idea for the above nickname for our beloved punter Brad Maynard. It was so well received the comment is now "green". Vaughn McClure of the Chicago Tribune has a nice article up about this key weapon to the Bears early success. Read the full article here. After the jump I'll hit some highlights...

When your harshest critic is your 8 year old son, you're living OK.

After Maynard landed a punt at the Lions' 2-yard line the last time out, he got praised and scolded by his 8-year-old son, Conner.

"He was like, 'Dad that was a great punt,' " Maynard said, "but then he'll say, 'Why did you let the guy return it? Why didn't you go down there and help make the tackle? Why did you just watch?'

Maynard booted all 4 of his punts against the Lions inside the 20, but the ultimate perfectionist wasn't satisfied.

"I got them all inside the 20, which is great, but one of them was from the 45 going in and I hit it out to the 17," Maynard explained. "That punt should be fair-caught at the 10 or hit out of bounds inside the 10 every time.

"Same with the other one punting from the 49. It went out at the 19. It should be at the 10. We finished that game with a 38 net, and we'll take that, but I know it should have been more like 42."

When will Maynard get some Pro Bowl respect? He's never been a Pro Bowler, but was selected 2nd team All NFL by the AP in 2004.

Maynard always strives for perfection. He led the NFL in punts inside the 20 last season with a career-high 40, the second-highest mark in NFL history. Yet he watched Jeff Feagles from his former team, the Giants, represent the NFC in the Pro Bowl.

With a fan base that loves defensive football, it's no wonder why we all appreciate what Brad Maynard does on the football field.

Did you know Brad Maynerd holds a career 141.4 QB rating?

Poll

Will Brad Maynard finally get his Pro Bowl in 2009?

Yes

395 votes

No

77 votes

472 votes | Poll has closed

Johnny Knox Jumpstarting The 2nd Half

wiltfongjr — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 18:01:00 -0000

More photos » by M. Spencer Green - AP

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The Bears came out a little flat offensively (as usual) and their defense was struggling to tame the Lions. Fortunately for the Bears they have one of the better special teams units in the NFL, led by coordinator Dave Toub. Brad Maynard was his normal stellar self, Robbie Gould finally got the 50 yard monkey off his back, but it was the man most in need of a nickname, Johnny Knox, that sparked the Bears to their win on Sunday.

Taking the third quarter kickoff back 102 yards for a score was exactly what the fired up Bears needed to get rolling. And with the Bears, it's the kind of thing we've come to expect. Last year Danieal Manning proved to be an electric kickoff returner, Devin Hester (although not as ridiculous as years past) still has us fans glued to our seats when he's about to return a kick or punt, and now Johnny Knox is the real deal.

Kickoff coverage has evolved. Gone are the days of simply staying in your lanes. Teams spend so much time on the third phase of the game these days. Working on funneling the returner where you want him to go, crisscrossing the coverage players, but the main emphasis is always on keeping the return man to your inside shoulder. The lanes the players need to stay in now are meant to turn with the direction of the kick and the return man, and by always keeping the returner to your inside he should never be able to get outside your widest man. Some teams will assign a player to be the contain men on each side of the field in case of cutbacks. Either the Lions don't employ this strategy or their left contain man was sucked to the ball. The Bears set up the return in the first half. Dave Toub from chicagobears.com;

"It was a designed bounce or naked, however you want to call it. Everyone is blocking left and then he bounced it out naked to the [right]. We saw that they were over-pursuing. We ran left, left, left in the first half, and then we came out in the second half with the left and bounced it to the right."

At some point in scouting for the game the coaches must have noticed the Lions being over aggressive in their pursuit. On the play the entire kick return team will all look to set up their blocks to the left, as if they were running to the left. The key is for them all to sell the return left.

The kick took Knox to the middle of the field 2 yards deep, he immediately darts to the left hash and at the 5 he starts to veer right, at the 10 he makes a hard cut right, then he turns up field past a few Lions, cuts left again away from the kicker and he's gone. From the Chicago Tribune:

The first decision was by special teams coach Dave Toub, who noticed in the first half that the Lions had a tendency to over pursue on kick returns. So at halftime he told kickoff return man Johnny Knox he was going to break one.

On the opening kickoff of the second half, Toub called for a kick return in which everybody starts out blocking left. Then Knox was supposed to bounce the return to the right.

It was a perfect call at a perfect time in the game. With the counter action from Knox looking to go right the whole way, the Lions didn't have any idea what hit them.

Notes, Scribbles, and Things Jotted Down: Lions Edition

Dane Noble — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:33:24 -0000

More photos » by Nam Y. Huh - AP

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Watching NFL games at a sports bar is a whole lot different than it used to be. For Chicago Bears games that aren't nationally televised, I head up to the local pub that has the Sunday Ticket, donned in my favorite navy and orange outfit of the day. The strange thing is, despite being packed like sardines into that place, I don't see many other team colors.

I don't hear much cheering for certain teams, but rather specific players on different teams. It absolutely blows my mind to see 300 people jumping from television to television with no interest in anything but the statistics of their fantasy football players. No interest in the local team. No interest in great story lines. No interest in divisional games. Only stats. It's really weird.

But, for those who have been worried about Matt Forte from a fantasy angle, he ended the day with 121 yards and a TD on the ground, with 19 yards sprinkled in from receptions.

- The defensive line is firing off the line of scrimmage faster than it has in years, with particular notice of the DEs. Detroit exploited that early, however, by running a lot of misdirection, traps, and screens.

- I officially do not trust Charles Tillman in pass coverage. He gets beat often, is out of position more often, and falls down too much. Sure, he can be a playmaker, but so far this season his coverage skills are no good.

- Detroit's TE Heller has some cannons for arms. That dude is HUGE.

- Johnny Knox is making a case for ROY, but is also making a case for having the ball stripped when he is running in the open field. Tuck the ball Johnny!

- Once again, our offense had no rhythm early in the game. How can we fix that?

- Lance Briggs should be headed to the Pro Bowl again. Big plays, tons of speed. He's really good.

- I like Tim Shaw. He is very tough on kick off coverage, and plays with a big motor. Made several ST tackles last night.

- Chris Williams is going to be a great offensive lineman for us. He still has to learn some of the small things, but considering this is his first season on the field, he does a lot of things right.

- Brad Maynard is awesome.

- Getting back to Tillman, in the second quarter, the WR was overthrown (by a mile), and Tillman still decided to push the receiver in the back to the ground. He could have gotten a flag on that one. Also, in the 4th quarter, he hit a WR out of bounds, and laughed about it.

- Zackary Bowman covering Calvin Johnson... sheesh.

- Matt Stafford has worse hair than Jay Cutler.

- 1st half defense was bend + break.

- In the first half, Detroit had 7 different players catch a pass; Chicago had 8.

- Pass rush came out strong after halftime. Good jorb Marinelli.

- Nick Roach plays hard.

- Gould from 52!!

- In the 3rd quarter, Mark Anderson ran off the field after a sack... was getting high fives from teammates, but did Urlacher ignore him? Someone watch the replay and let me know.

- For those of you who say Olin Kreutz is washed up, he was driving people last night.

- Craig Steltz earning his keep on STs.

- Forte showed some of his shiftiness on his TD run. That's what makes him good... finds the seams and quickly shifts into them.

- I don't know why, but I find myself rooting for Culpepper. I've always liked the guy... too bad about the injuries.

- Garrett Wolfe loves to trash talk. Gotta love the little man's fire.

- Rashied Davis was thrown to twice, and had 2 receptions (including good awareness of the first down marker on one).

- Another 5 sacks last night. Everyone's getting involved in those.

NightLink: 2008 vs 2009 WR Numbers

Dane Noble — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:02:18 -0000

More photos » by Elaine Thompson - AP

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In tonight's NightLink, courtesy of Larry Mayer, we get a chance to look at our WR numbers compared to last season, Brad Maynard's shanked punt, and when the last time all 3 North teams won on the same weekend.

For all the outcry over the lack of experience at the receiver position during the offseason, the Bears receivers appear to be the strength of the team, or at least playing the most consistently thus far. How do the receivers compare statistically to last season’s receivers after three games?

Jacob
Brooklyn, New York

Bears wide receivers have been much more productive through three games this season than they were last year. Devin Hester (13 receptions for 187 yards and 2 touchdowns), Earl Bennett (13-168-0) and Johnny Knox (9-159-2) have combined to catch 35 passes for 514 yards and 4 TDs. Last season Bears receivers Brandon Lloyd (13-216), Rashied Davis (8-58), Hester (2-13) and Marty Booker (2-11) combined to catch 25 passes for 298 yards and 1 TD in the first three games.

Bears Make 53

Dane Noble — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 22:20:43 -0000

A few surprises, but not too many. Today, the Bears whittled their roster down to the league mandated 53 players by terminating 3 contracts, waiving 16 players, and placing 3 on Injured Reserve.

Players who were waived included guard Johan Asiata, defensive ends Ervin Baldwin and Joe Clermond, offensive tackle Cody Balogh, quarterback Brett Basanez, cornerbacks Rudy Burgess, Marcus Hamilton and Woodny Turenne, fullbacks Jason Davis and Will Ta’ufo’ou, linebackers Marcus Freeman, Kevin Malast and Mike Rivera, receiver Eric Peterman, and center Donovan Raiola.

The Bears can establish an eight-man practice squad on Sunday and also can claim players who’ve been waived by other NFL teams. In past seasons, the Bears have typically stocked their practice squad primarily with players they released a day earlier during final cuts.

Here’s a breakdown of the 53-man roster as it stands now (in alphabetical order):

Quarterbacks (2): Jay Cutler, Caleb Hanie.

Running backs (3): Matt Forte, Adrian Peterson, Garrett Wolfe.

Fullbacks (1): Jason McKie:

Wide receivers (6): Devin Aromashodu, Earl Bennett, Rashied Davis, Devin Hester, Juaquin Iglesias, Johnny Knox.

Tight ends (4): Desmond Clark, Kellen Davis, Michael Gaines, Greg Olsen.

Offensive linemen (8): Josh Beekman, Roberto Garza, Olin Kreutz, Lance Louis, Frank Omiyale, Orlando

Pace, Kevin Shaffer, Chris Williams.

Defensive linemen (9): Anthony Adams, Mark Anderson, Alex Brown, Jarron Gilbert, Tommie Harris, Marcus Harrison, Israel Idonije, Adewale Ogunleye, Matt Toeaina.

Linebackers (6): Lance Briggs, Hunter Hillenmeyer, Nick Roach, Pisa Tinoisamoa, Brian Urlacher, Jamar Williams.

Cornerbacks (6): Zackary Bowman, Corey Graham, Trumaine McBride, D.J. Moore, Charles Tillman, Nate Vasher.

Safeties (5): Al Afalava, Josh Bullocks, Danieal Manning, Kevin Payne, Craig Steltz.

Specialists (3): Robbie Gould, Patrick Mannelly, Brad Maynard.

NightLink: Bears Start Trimming Roster

Dane Noble — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 21:45:05 -0000

First roster cuts were due tomorrow, but Lovie Smith and company went ahead and got the first round out of the way today.

Defensive tackle Dusty Dvoracek was waived/injured. Wide receiver John Broussard, punter Richmond McGee and long snapper J.J. Milan were placed on waivers. McGee performed well during training camp but wasn't going to unseat veteran Brad Maynard.

Final cuts to 53 are due on Saturday. Teams can begin establishing an eight-man practice squad on Sunday.

That means 22 more players will not make the final squad. Head over to the Bears official site, and check out the roster. Take a stab at who you think will be cut... can you come up with 22 names?

Bears Personnel Updates

Adam T — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 19:42:09 -0000

The Bears have moved their first mini-camp for veterans up two months to March.

WCG: I assume the idea is to make a statement to get serious or get out.

John St. Clair is expected to explore free agency.

WCG: Losing St. Clair could alter the Bears free agency and draft plans. St. Clair is thought to have showed promise. He has been talked about being used at left guard and right tackle as well as depth.

Brad Maynard set a franchise record with 40 punts inside the 20 last season. The Bears led the league in that category.

WCG: This is one of those good, but bad records. This equals good return game plus crappy offense.

Nathan Vasher is not expected to be released. Vasher staying could affect the Bears decision on whether to move Charles Tillman to safety.

WCG: I don't were to go with this. Vasher didn't play well last season and has been hurt a fair amount the last few years. Graham is a capable fill in. If the Bears did want to move Tillman to safety and release Vasher that leaves Graham and Trumaine McBride as the corners. Regardless the Bears need to bring in somebody at this spot this off season.

Saints 24 @ Bears 27: Breaking it Down - The Fourth Quarter

Saintsational — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 20:00:05 -0000

Roman Harper screws the pooch. (Reuters Pictures)

4th quarter

The Saints continue to move the ball well downfield and give themselves three consecutive 2nd and 1's and picking up five first downs on the drive. This is optimal.
Eventually the drive breaks down on third down when the Bears bring the heat on the blitz and Brees is forced to lob one to Lance Moore for no gain. Saints settle for a field goal by Hartley. 21-17 Bears.
Another great effort from the Saints defense forces a Bears three and out and they are forced to punt. Or are they? On 4th down the Bears fake the punt but instead of punting, Brad Maynard throws a pass over the middle to Adrian Peterson but the pass is ruled incomplete. Whew! Lance Moore makes the hit. The catch is challenged but the ruling on the field stands. Peterson probably should have really come down with it. Saints ball.
6:20 Remaining - Third and 1. Karney gets the handoff and has nowhere to go. The offensive line gets no penetration and is pushed backwards.
5:35 Remaining - Fourth and 1. Instead of punting, the Saints go for it. The call is a pitch to Pierre Thomas on the right side. Not a good decision. Thomas has no where to go and gets completely stuffed. It's the same play we saw against the Bucs a few weeks ago that they tried to run with Devery and that also got stuffed in a simlar fashion. Bears ball.
5:25 Remaining - Orton tries a pass over the middle but Fujita steps in front of it and picks it off, giving the Saints renewed hope.
5:17 Remaining - First and 10 on the Bears 31. Brees has Shockey wide open on the right side with plenty of room to run. Shockey straight up drops the ball. My grandmother could have caught it. Shockey might have been able to run for this first touchdown as a Saint had he caught it. Cris Colinsworth sums it up nicely: "Wow!"
4:35 Remaining - Third and 15. After Pierre runs for a loss of 5 yards, Colston makes a clutch catch over the middle for 22 yards. First down.
3:10 Remaining - Third and 7. Brees hits Colston again on a slant over the middle in the front of the end zone for the touchdown. I knew I loved Marques. This drive shows why the Saints are tops in the league on third down. Saints take the lead 27-24!
The Bears begin driving down the field in a final attempt to score.
2:00 Remaining - Third and 5. I don't know if many people noticed this play but I am calling your attention to it now. The Bears are on the Saints 45-yard line and need 5 yards for the first down. Devin Hester is lined up on the right. Jason David is giving at least 7 or 8 yards of cushion. Again, the Bears need only 5 yards. Orton drops back and quickly throws to Hester who runs to the first down line and makes the catch on a comeback route. What the hell!?! It's obvious the Saints are more worried about a long strike.
0:12 Remaining - First and Goal now for the Bears after gaining a lot of ground on the Saints defense. Orton throws for Greg Olsen in the back of the end zone. Jason David is all over Olsen but doesn't get flagged for a somewhat obvious pass interference call. Kharma will come back to haunt us. This is the Saints.
0:07 Remaining - Second and 9. The Bears take a risk and try to run another play for the win instead of kicking the field goal. Orton drops back but begins to scramble up the pocket. Sedrick Ellis catches him from behind and brings him down with 2 seconds remaining. Orton calls a timeout with two seconds remaining. Had the Saints allowed Orton to scramble a little longer and then tackle him, they would have won the game. I don't think Orton would have made it to the end zone. Oh the irony!
Gould nails the game tying field goal. The score is tied at 27. Overtime.
My TiVo cuts off before overtime but we all know what happens. Jason David and Roman Harper both get burned by Devin Hester. Harper hits Hester's arm in a desparate attempt to stop a big completion and gets called for pass interference. Gould=field goal. Game=over.