SB Nation - Jamar Williams

Friday Injury Report: Packers at Bears

Brandon — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 04:37:23 -0000

It's a fairly short injury report for the Green Bay Packers, only 9 players listed, but it includes the top 4 defensive lineman. The Bears report is even shorter, but it might expose their lack of depth at wide receiver.

For the Packers: the big story has been that their top 4 defensive lineman are listed on listed on the injury report. While technically true, the only player likely to miss the game is NT Ryan Pickett, who hasn't practiced all week as he tries to recover from a hamstring injury he suffered during the win on Monday night. NT B.J. Raji will slide into replace him, and he's already making friends with Bear C Olin Kreutz. Raji is listed too, but he was a full participant in Friday's practice. DE Cullen Jenkins and DE Johnny Jolly were both limited in Friday's practice, but I expect they'll go. Late in the Monday night game, DE Jarius Wynn was in on several plays, and I don't expect the coaching staff has any concerns going with the 277 lb. rookie, if necessary.

Everyone else was a full participant in practice, except backup LB Jeremy Thompson, as he tries to recover from a career threatening neck injury. One name not listed is rookie OL T.J. Lang, who missed last Monday's game with a concussion, which is good news since LT Chad Clifton did miss some practice this week, and Lang will also be available to spell RT Mark Tauscher, if he needs a break.

For the Bears: it looks like WR Devin Hester is unlikely to play. While he isn't the greatest receiver and he's no longer the best kick returner on the Bears either, but he's still their leading receiver. Their great kick returner, WR Johnny Knox, would be counted on more in the offense, alongside WR Earl Bennett. Their bigger problem is that they don't have any depth at receiver behind their top 3 (none of their other receivers have more than 2 receptions on the season). The Bears might rely on their 2 TE packages even more than usual. LT Orlando Pace could return this week, but it's not clear whether he would start even if healthy. LB Lance Briggs should return this week, but his replacement, LB Jamar Williams, did very well in his place with 18 tackles against the Rams last week.

The complete injury report is after the jump.

Player	Pos.	Injury	Friday Participation	Friday Status
Nick Barnett	LB	Knee	Full Participation	Probable
Chad Clifton	T	Hamstring	Full Participation	Probable
Jermichael Finley	TE	Knee	Full Participation	Probable
Cullen Jenkins	DE	Hamstring	Limited Participation	Probable
Johnny Jolly	DE	Knee	Limited Participation	Questionable
Ryan Pickett	NT	Hamstring	Did Not Participate	Doubtful
B.J. Raji	NT	Ankle	Full Participation	Probable
Jeremy Thompson	LB	Neck	Out	Out
Charles Woodson	CB	Shoulder	Full Participation	Probable


Player	Pos.	Injury	Friday Participation	Friday Status
Lance Briggs	LB	Knee	Full Participation	Probable
Tommie Harris	DT	Knee	Full Participation	Probable
Devin Hester	WR	Calf	Did Not Participate	Probable
Hunter Hillenmeyer	LB	Groin	Full Participation	Probable
Israel Idonije	DT	Knee	Full Participation	Questionable
Orlando Pace	T	Groin	Limited Participation	Probable

Bears Injury Updates: Briggs, Hester, Cutler, Pace

Dane Noble — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 16:16:31 -0000

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There are a few different ways that NFL teams get to evaluate their depth at different positions, and the Chicago Bears have been presented those chances as the 2009 season dwindles down.

During a slide of disappointment like the Bears have seen, many teams like to turn their attention to younger players, as to see what sort of future they might have the following season. Also, injuries always occur, and backups get to see the field to prove that they deserve a roster spot.

Here are some updates that might prove to present interesting scenarios for the Bears this week and beyond:

Lance Briggs is set to return this week at WLB... he missed last week with a knee injury and hip pointer. His backup, Jamar Williams, had a career day last week against the Rams. Does this mean that Williams will sit versus the Packers, or does he slide over to the strong side in place of Nick Roach, who is also having a strong season?

Orlando Pace is also set to return this week. Chris Williams slid over from the right side to the left in Pace's absence, and Lovie Smith sang the praises of Williams following his first game at LT. If Pace is good to go, which it looks like he will be, do the Bears return him to his starting LT role, or do they continue with Williams and Shaffer?

Smith has repeatedly said that they will field the team who is most likely to help win the game, so we'll see what combo at the OT positions they will go with. Pace said that he feels like he can play, and hasn't shown any interest in retiring. He still has 2 years on his contract after 2009.

Jay Cutler (hand), Matt Forte (hand), and Devin Hester (calf) are all expected to have full participation Wednesday.

Looking for the Bright Side of the Chicago Bears: Week 13

Sklz711 — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 01:00:20 -0000

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Another day, another dollar, and another season where if nothing else we can say we are better than the other team that wishes it could call Illinois its home. In a league now built around parity between teams no win is guaranteed, so even against a terrible Rams team we as fans can enjoy the fact that our losing streak is now broken.

If you think any win is guaranteed in the NFL, just have a talk with the Steelers fans about how that guaranteed W against the Raiders went this week. So in a week that saw the undefeated Saints get pushed to the brink against a hapless Redskins team, let us kick back for a few days and bask in the glow of a much needed win.

Now that we all have a fresh reminder of what the letter W actually looks like next to the word Bears, we'll sit down and examine the good things that happened on the field.

C Dub appeared to be a definite improvement at LT, even in his first game, and while we're talking about blocking Kellen Davis has stepped his game up.

Don't get my sunny disposition wrong, I sat down and watched this game looking for a reason to bring down a hate storm upon CDub, but I just couldn't find a reason to. The few times I was ready to throw a tomato in his direction, upon re-watching the tape it wasn't really his fault Cutler got nailed. Take the first quarter on the Hester deep ball, Cutler got squished, but the man that pummeled him was actually being blocked by none other than Greg Olsen.

In fact, the only really bad play I think I saw out of CDub was on a Cutler sack blocking Long solo, and just getting absolutely beat. However, if in his first outing at LT the worst that happened was a single bad play and absolutely zero penalties if my memory serves then I'm feeling good about him getting some playing time and seeing what he has.

Also, on at least three runs that I saw Kellen Davis in on he laid a massive block on all three. I've got to say Kellen Davis continues to impress at his improving blocking game and really makes me feel a lot better about the impending loss of Desmond Clark. Keep an eye on this man, he's really answered the call and solidified his position as the number two TE, and number one blocker.

The Chicago Bears WR corps as whole looked like a strength instead of a weakness.

Getting back to that Hester deep ball in the first quarter, it really showed a lot of what I want to see out of Hester as a number one, and it's something he's shown more than a few times this year. He showed awareness of the ball, awareness of the defenders, used his speed and the threat of his speed to create a window of separation, and finally jumped up and made a sure handed catch in traffic. Does he need to work on his blocking during runs, sure why not. Does he need to get a bit more consistent, no argument from me. However, to continue the litany of the never going to be a number one crowd is to set yourself up to look foolish. If he continues to improve at the rate he has in his first two seasons at wide receiver, you could be looking at a pro bowl WR in 2011.

Fort Knox has shown the same thing he has shown all year, absolute flashes of speed/brilliance that you want to see out of a deep threat, and a gameness that you rarely see in rookie wide receivers, let alone later round picks. The pass interference call in the first quarter was yet another example of a player you usually see coming from a veteran coming from this rookie. Knox fights his way down field against the CB, has his man beat, sees that the ball is going to be short, and creates the contact coming back to the ball against the CB looking the wrong way making it a very easy PI call. I'm impressed more and more by the maturity of this rookie every game.

Earl Bennett is really establishing himself this year as what we always wished Rashied Davis could be, a reliable receiver that's not afraid to go over the middle, can make some good catches, and can get a bit of YAC in a pinch. He needs to protect the ball a bit better, but I'm loving the Vandy connection at #3.

Some of our young DB are starting to show real promise.

Both Kevin Payne and Al Afalava looked pretty good today, with Payne finally showing some improvement in coverage which had been his real Achilles heel. Payne of all people was shown a few times wrapping up the runner from behind instead of just going for the big hit. Afalava had lots of extra effort plays including coming real close to the interception on a Jamar Williams tip in the second quarter. Good heads up play from the rookie. Not too long after that there was a great tackle by Bowman who laid a shoulder directly into the ball and once again Afalava keeps that nose for the live ball and makes a good return.

While the Safety position is still on my wish list, if Payne and Afalava continue to play at the level they did today, and improve the rest of this year and in the off season we might just have found a nice little safety combo already on our team.

Jamar Williams took the opportunity given to him to show he has what it takes to be an eventual starter.

Wow, just wow. If you would have told me that Williams would have exploded like this in what I believe is his second start I would have called you crazy. Coverage, run stopping, you name it, Williams was there. It's really a hell of a compliment when your best LB is out for the game and you don't have a huge talent drop off at the position. Tons of great plays for Jamar all game long including TFL, tipped balls, extremely close to interceptions and more. Just an absolutely fantastic game for Jamar Williams, and so good that it overshadowed what was a fairly good game for Nick Roach as well.

If our top 4 LB go into next year as Briggs, Urlacher, Jamar, and Roach, I'll be a damned happy man.

----

So did anyone else see a player that impressed them today that I didn't mention, or any stand out plays I didn't call out?

Taking Inventory: Bears Have a Mess to Clean Up

Dane Noble — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:27:12 -0000

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Now that the 2009 season is dwindling down towards an unsuccessful campaign, it's time to start looking at what we have in house that would be beneficial to carry over into 2010. We know that we have a lot of holes to fill, and that we will have to hit the next free agency period pretty hard, but it makes sense to first see who needs to weeded out of our current roster.

Brad Biggs does a good job of compiling some names of who will be RFAs and UFAs, and who he thinks might be worth bringing back in 2010.

Who does he think the Bears might bring back?

LB Nick Roach

From Biggs:

Defensive end Adewale Ogunleye, who leads the team with six sacks, is in the final year of his contract, and Angelo hasn't ruled out bringing him back. He's the only starter among six unrestricted free agents -- a list that includes Josh Bullocks, Cato June, Darrell McClover, Adrian Peterson and Pisa Tinoisamoa.

Strong-side linebacker Nick Roach will be a restricted free agent. Defensive end Mark Anderson, nickel back Danieal Manning and reserve linebacker Jamar Williams, members of the 2006 draft class, will be unrestricted if there is an extension of the collective-bargaining agreement before March. If not, they'll be restricted free agents heading into an uncapped year, and that will give the Bears the chance to control their rights.

From a defensive standpoint, we saw that Rod Marinelli seemingly made an impact at the beginning of the season with the pass rush, but in the latter weeks of the season has become ineffective. Is this a byproduct of the lack of talent on the DL?

Perhaps Marinelli just needs a full year under his belt before seeing the kind of improvements we hoped for, but we certainly have some personnel issues regardless.

As far as the linebackers go, seeing Urlacher, Pisa, and Briggs go down certainly hurt us, but having Jamar and Nick step up has been a good thing.

Looking at Biggs' information, who do you think would be expendable, and who should we bring back?

Notes, Scribbles, and Things Jotted Down: Rams Edition

Dane Noble — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 14:21:09 -0000

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The Chicago Bears are an ideal example of how a team will perform when it has no offensive line. There is talent at the other positions on offense- enough to be able to do some damage- but it all starts in the trenches.

Also, there are plenty of folks who like to hate Jay Cutler. From the media constantly showing replays that cast him in an unfortunate light, to random people who aren't even Bears or Broncos fans. They like to root against the guy, because he doesn't fit the mold that they believe a QB should fit in.

- Opening kickoff return: Did Rashied Davis show good hands by being able to regain control of the ball he bobbled, or was it bad hands for bobbling it in the first place? I say the former... simply because there hasn't been many times we could say "Nice hands Rashied!"

- Matt Forte fumbled on the second play from scrimmage, but came back on the next drive and scored a TD. Does the TD make up for the fumble? Maybe in some circumstances, but not last night.

- Say what you will about Bob Babich, but to have all 3 starting LBs go down with an injury and have the backups fill in the way Jamar Williams and Nick Roach did, he must be doing something right. Those guys looked damn good last night. Honorable mention to Hunter Hillenmeyer: He looks like he tried.

- Devin Hester is a much better WR this year than in 2008, and hopefully he'll keep progressing at that same rate next year. He seemed to play more aggressively last night, and showed great hands.

- Devin Aromashodu has got to step up when called on. You can't follow a big play like the one to Hester with a friggin' easy drop. Definitely needs more live reps.

- Johnny Knox also showed flashes of aggressiveness, especially when he drew the pass interference call against the Rams in the end zone in Q1.

- New turf: Forte falls.

- Kahlil Bell saw action early in the game. Typically when the coaches want to spell Forte, we see the backup later in the game. I guess because Bell broke that one run that one time, he's going to be considered a compliment to Forte now.

- Rams 3rd down/1 yard: Converted. I told the guy next to me at the bar that the Bears have been terrible on getting off the field on 3rd down this year. 3 plays later: 3rd/ 4... QB sack! That's how you do it.

- Not a good night for special teams. Maynard's shanks, two penalties, allowing long returns...

- Everydamnthing is fantasy football related in the sports bars. I went to a different spot than usual, but the same old same old. FF makes everyone experts. And I hate seeing people go from television to television rooting for different offensive players from each team. Just like a couple weeks ago, when Forte scored, I heard some folks start cheering. I thought they might be Bears fans. Nope.

- I didn't have sound, but it really seemed like the Bears didn't have their shiat together at the end of the first half. I mean, we had sixty something seconds to try and at least get in FG range... why didn't we try anything downfield?

- On my note sheet, I now have a tally section for each time an OLineman gets toasted. Why? Because some people seem to have different opinions of the OL than I do. And this was just watching the game live... I'm sure I missed plenty of others: Kreutz: III, Shaffer: IIII, Omiyale: II, CWill: II, Garza: I

- Turner loves pulling Omiyale, and I see why. The guy can move pretty well.

- The Bears defense looked great against a bad offense.

- Chris Williams will make a very good LT for us next year.

NightLinks: Pisa Out for Season; OL Will Not Change

Dane Noble — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:28:36 -0000

Pisa Tinoisamoa will have season-ending knee surgery, reported by the Trib.

Lovie Smith said linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa will go ahead with season-ending knee surgery.

Tinoisamoa played in just two games after signing a one-year contract with the Bears.

Hunter Hillenmeyer practiced today, but was limited. Either he or Jamar Williams will play in place of Tinoisamoa.

Brad Biggs reports that the offensive line will not change.

Frank Omiyale is expected to remain the starter at left guard based on the information gathered in the locker room. There's been speculation that Josh Beekman, who started 16 games there last season, would replace Omiyale. But the Bears are showing that they believe in taking time to let a unit with three new starters gel.

Olin Kreutz offered his opinion:

"It's mostly learning each other," center Olin Kreutz said. "We have to learn exactly where every guy is going to be and like I said, when we get to that point, we'll be where we want to be, but we have to get there pretty soon."

Top Three Issues That Have To Be Addressed

Dane Noble — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:37:07 -0000

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Of course, no one ever wants to panic, and as Bears fans, we are used to plodding through season after season of barely getting by, putting band-aids on things, and having our leaders tell us "We're okay". Well, right now, we're not okay, at least in some spots on the roster.

We all know that we are close, really close, to fielding a football team that can be legitimate contenders in the NFC. But, we have some personnel issues right now, and we've got to figure out what to do about them.

Most pressing issue- Offensive guard:

I was afraid that Frank Omiyale was getting hit a little too hard by Bears fans, thinking we just needed someone to place some blame on. But, after watching a replay of the Bears game in Atlanta, we need to do something different. While no one person is to blame for our lack of running game, Omiyale is not getting the job done. He does decent in pass coverage, but is getting dominated during runs. We cannot rely 100% on our passing game to take us to the playoffs... we have to have a running game.

So what's the solution? Josh Beekman is the next guy in line, and I don't think he is the answer either. Beekman is a young guy, who may have something to contribute one day if our coaches can develop him, but we saw last year that Beekman is not the answer. And honestly, a lot of folks have said that Frank Omiyale at left guard was an experiment, but I don't buy that. He started because the Bears coaches felt he is better than Beekman.

Bottom line: With only three offensive guards on the roster, and two of them being below average, this is a position that could cause us problems for the rest of the year.

#2 Most pressing issue- Linebacker

With Brian Urlacher out for the year, and Pisa Tinoisamoa likely out as well, we are looking at three linebacker positions with only four guys to fill them: Lance Briggs, Hunter Hillenmeyer, Nick Roach, and Jamar Williams. Tim Shaw and Darrell McClover are also on the roster, but they are considered special teams players.

We know that Briggs has the WLB spot tied down, and the Bears are expecting Hillenmeyer to be ready this week to fill in at SLB for the injured Tinoisamoa. Roach will make the start at MLB, as Lovie Smith said he was pleased with Roach's performance filling in for Urlacher. That only leaves Williams on the bench.

Bottom line: The Bears may have rushed Tinoisamoa back a little too early, and you have to wonder the same about Hillenmeyer. Say what you will about playing with cracked ribs, but that is an injury that can be made much worse by playing before it is completely healed. Like offensive guard, we are too thin at linebacker.

#3 Most pressing Issue- Running back

The Bears running game is off to a dreadfully slow start (see: issue #1), and it doesn't help that our roster, which started with four RBs, is down to two. With Kevin Jones on the IR, and Adrian Peterson nursing an injured knee, we are left with only Matt Forte and Garrett Wolfe. If/ when Peterson does come back, how much can we expect him to contribute considering he suffered a significant sprain to his knee?

The Bears need a strong, short-yardage RB. Wolfe is fine to give Forte a break (which the Bears have said they will do), but he is not a compliment to Forte in short yardage situations. Ron Turner said himself that he called the pitch out on the goal line in Atlanta (that Forte fumbled) because he didn't think we could punch it in between the tackles.

Bottom line: The Bears not only need to get the running game going, but also need to be able to make a big push in critical short yardage situations. We can't run pitch outs all year long.

In summary, we have three critical personnel issues that need addressing if this team is going to make a serious push for the playoffs. And if we do make it to the playoffs, we have to be able to contend. Right now, we have sub-par left guards who are hurting our running game, we have to hold our breath that Hillenmeyer is 100% ready to come back, and we have to cross our fingers that we don't have an injury to another RB.

And honestly, no serious contender should have to wonder, worry, and hope for luck to get them through the season. The trade deadline is 4pm today. While Jerry Angelo is busy adding more pass rushers, maybe he should be looking around for other positions that we are in need of.

Bears Updates From Around the Web

Dane Noble — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:49:46 -0000

According to Jeff Dickerson's Twitter, it looks like our starting LBs for Sunday will be Lance Briggs, Nick Roach, and Jamar Williams.

Vaughn McClure's Twitter quotes Briggs as saying "I'll be ready for Sunday."

David Haugh's Twitter points us to an interesting stat about Jay Cutler.

And on his blog, Brad Biggs reports more movement with the Bears practice squad.

Oh, and here is a highlight reel from a High School game in Vermont this week. Make sure you watch the first half of the video... it is well worth it.

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.

Last Chance: Players on the Bubble

Dane Noble — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 18:00:15 -0000

Tonight's game versus the Cleveland Browns will provide one last chance for a lot of players to make their case for a spot on the final 53 man roster. Some positions are pretty clear, while others have yet to be figured out. Here's an article from the Tribune that identifies certain players that may be on the outside looking in.

Excerpt:

Linebacker

How many: 7.

Projected odd men out: Marcus Freeman, Kevin Malast.

Prognosis: At the team's deepest position, veterans with starting experience such as Nick Roach, Jamar Williams and Hunter Hillenmeyer figure to stay. That's a good second team. Newly signed Darrell McClover is a commodity on special teams, and that gives him an edge over the rookie Freeman. Freeman could land on the practice squad despite a preseason that fell short of expectations.

Also mentioned in the article are Brandon Rideau, Trumaine McBride, Craig Steltz, and others. Make sure you check out the rest...