SB Nation User Blog: WCG

The Bears Den - 7/3/2009

WCG — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:02:27 -0000

...where we could really use another wide receiver to talk about.

In The Den

Keep any eye out for GeauxBears' interview with Brad Biggs from the Chicago Sun-Times coming Monday.

MLive.com

We've seen this name mentioned briefly and as far as I'm concerned this can be the last time

WIFR.com

The Fridge is taking baby steps.

Pioneer Local

Story on Clyde Emrich, one of the league's first strength and conditioning coaches and how he helps the Bears.

Daily Pic

This is Gale Sayers niece. She is in a music group called Girlicious. Points if you have any idea who they are.

The Bears Den - 7/2/2009

WCG — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 04:54:10 -0000

...where we are bringing back the daily pic, so a WCG employee's squeeze can have her moment in lights.

In The Den

ProFootballWeekly.com

A look at what the addition of Jay Cutler did to the Bears odds of winning the Super Bowl.

FoxSports.com

The site is doing two-a-days. NFC North is in this addition.

SportingNews.com

The Never-Ending Absurdity of NFL Overtime.

Greg Olsen's Official Site

Latest blog entry about throwing out the first pitch at a Cubs game.

Windy City Gridiron

Could this be the possible future Mrs. GeauxBears?

Pic 2 l Pic 3

Angelo Realistic About Jay Culter

WCG — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:18:30 -0000

95% of Bears fans would say that when we traded for Jay Cutler, we traded for a shot at a Super Bowl in a couple of years. Maybe that is true and maybe not, but don't blame Jerry Angelo. He is the most down to earth person when it comes to what Cutler can do for the Bears.

He knows that the offensive line will have to be better or the trade will be for naught. He knows Devin Hester will have to find his playbook or all the talk of Cutler's superhuman arm will be forgotten. He knows the playcalling better improve to match Cutler's ability. He knows that if the defense is as bad as it was last year, Cutler will suffer as did Kyle Orton in some very painful defeats. What Angelo's banking on is that Cutler will shake off the late-season woes of 2008, take advantage of the Bears being better in all the aforementioned areas, and not just make the playoffs - which they could have done by keeping Orton - but go far in the playoffs instead. And that's possible.

The Bears Den - 7/1/2009

WCG — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:27:26 -0000

....hoping that I don't repeat too many already used articles i my first time back with the Den.

In The Den

ChicagoBears.com

I think Marcus Freeman is already beefing up his resume for an unnamed journalism job after his playing days are over. In addition to his weekly diary which is on temporary hiatus, he is now writing about his experince at the Rookie Symposium.

NFL.com

During an on-line chat Gil Brant, believes the Bears will win the NFC North regardless of whether The Undecided One chooses to play for the Vikes or not. Brant also says the Bears will go to the "playoofs", making him the latest addition to the WCG House of Typos.

New NFL.com writer, Jason La Confora, has an article listing how much each team spent in actual dollars versus salary cap money on player costs. The Bears are 21st at 495.57.

La Confora also has a post listing what he calls"bang for the buck" rankings. This how much each team pays per win. The Patriots are on top at a only 8.41 million a win. The Bears are 9 at 11.01 million. It is interesting to see the the top ten teams have the most wins and spend the least while teams like the Raiders, Lions and Browns have the least amount of wins, yet are paying more.

ProFootballWeekly.com

Article talking about Rod Marinelli being a stickler for even the smallest detail and how it is paying immediate dividends.

BearsHistory.com

Over at this site they are creating a Bears Ring of Honor. It will be interesting to see when they start inducting non-Hall of Fame players. Neal Anderson best get a nod or I won't keep reading.

NBA Draft

WCG — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:55:48 -0000

From time to time, if there is an event happening I like to talk about another sport. With the NBA Draft happening tonight I was curious what your thoughts were on who the Bulls should take and further what you think they should do with the parts they have.

It seems they are resigned to letting Gordon go and it looks like Hinrich is turning out to be a sought after trade item.

What do you think they should do in the draft and rest of the off season?

NFL History 1941-1969 (Part 2)

WCG — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 14:20:49 -0000

The 1946 Championship Bears

To read part one click go here...... Otherwise, watch out for the jump.....

1942 saw players shipped off for the war. George Halas left for the navy in mid-season leaving Luke Johnson and Hunk Anderson as co-coaches. The Bears went 11-0 before falling to the Redskins 14-6.

In 1943 the use of helmets was made mandatory and the 10 game schedule standardized. The Bears got revenge on the Redskins in the championship 41-21.

Washington is 34 and Strode is 13

1946 was the integration year for the NFL, after the LA Rams signed Kenny Washington and Woody Strode. Side Note: Baseball integrated in 1947. Just thought you might like to know.

[Note by WCG, 06/23/09 10:27 AM EDT ]Before this post was hidden, so we could fix the formatting it hit Google. As it turns out Woody Strode's daughter, Kalai found the article and emailed me. She was interested in reading info on her father and checking the accuracy of the post. I sent her the post and she forwarded some further info I thought you all might be interested in. Thanks to Kalai for the email and the info.

Jackie Robinson played with Kenny and Woody on the 1939 UCLA football team and held USC to a 0-0 tie. Kenny played in the All Stars game at Soldiers Field in 1940 and was asked to stay an additional two weeks by George Halas who tried to get Kenny into the NFL, but was over-ruled (probably by George Preston Marshall). Kenny and Woody played on the Hollywood Bears, a semi-pro team in Los Angeles) until Pearl Harbor, after which their coach (and Bears owner) Paul Schissler joined the Air Force and formed a service team called the March Field Flyers at March Field, Riverside California. Kenny and Woody resumed with the Hollywood Bears as soon as the war ended until Dan Reeves wanted to move the Rams from Cleveland to Los Angeles. He was opposed by Halley Harding, the African American sportswriter for the Los Angeles Tribune, who made a stirring speech to Leonard Roach and the Coliseum Committee against segregation in the NFL, which lead to Dan Reeves having to accept Kenny in order to have the coliseum venue. Kenny wouldn't sign unless Woody came with him, but because Woody was married to a full-blood Hawaiian (Princess Luana Kalaeloa), Dan Reeves did not want Woody, but had to take him anyway. Woody was placed on defense, in order to injure him, and remove him from the team, but he persevered through the season. They released Woody after the first exhibition game of the next season. Chili Walsh (the manager) and Adam Walsh (the coach) both resigned. Woody went on to play Canadian football for the Calgary Stampeders winning their first Grey Cup championship.

Cleveland, Baltimore, and San Francisco joined the League in 1950, which was the same year that the LA Rams televised all Home and Road games, the first to do so.

The Eligible receiver rule was established in 1951.

The NFL awarded Dallas a franchise called the Texans, who proceeded to go 1-11 and promptly folded, the last team to do so. 1952 also brought about the death of the Single Wing, who was held alive only by Pittsburgh.

In 1957 the co- owner and founder of the Forty Niners, Anthony Morabito, dies of a heart attack during a Niner- Bears game at Kezar Stadium.

In 1958 George Halas reinstated himself as coach after doing only the General Manager duties for almost 16 years.

1959 Lamar Hunt of Dallas ventured to begin a second football league.

The AFL began with 8 teams:

Buffalo

Boston

Dallas

Denver

Houston

Minneapolis

New York

Play was to begin in 1960.

Also in 1959, the NFL was shocked with the ousting of Curly Lambeau and the hiring of Vince Lombardi. NFL commissioner dies of a heart attack during the last two minutes of a game between the Eagles and the Steelers.

The only thing of note in 1961 was the drafting of Mike Ditka in the first round.

1963 was the sixth and final championship of Halas' coaching career; the Bears defeated the Giants 14-10.

Butkus and Sayers with Papa Bear

1965 was arguably the best drafting year for the Bears, selecting Dick Butkus and Gale Sayers with the third and fourth overall picks. Sayers wins ROY and scores 6 TDs in a game against the 49ers.

1966 was the Greatest year for professional football with the merger of the AFL and the NFL. 24 teams formed the league with expansion planned for 1968 and 1970. Although the conferences kept separate schedules, they agreed to meet and play for the World Championship. Pete Rozelle was named the first Commissioner. The Packers defeated the Chiefs 35-10 to win the first Super Bowl.

A sad day for football this was

1968 marked the end of the greatest ever to coach football: George Halas retired from coaching for the fourth and final time with 318 wins and a .682 winning percentage.

Also in 1968 Lombardi retired as Packers head coach with only 96 wins but a .738 winning percentage.

Next Week the 70s (Cue Disco ball!).

What do Orlando Pace, Jon and Kate, and Olivia Munn Have in Common?

WCG — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:42:42 -0000

Answer: They are all cover models this month. Of course, this one isn't as cool as Munn's, but it sure beats seeing that crazy lady on any more magazines.

Orlando Pace is on the cover of The Sporting News.

"I already had a bit of a feel for the Bears because we played them two out of the last three years. I knew a couple guys on the team and some of the coaches, including Lovie Smith, who was our defensive coordinator in St. Louis for three seasons. There's a real buzz in the air in Chicago about the Bears. It's something you can really sense. They held this Bears Expo at Soldier Field and there were a lot of fans who showed up. I probably hadn't seen such excitement in the offseason since we went to the Super Bowl in St. Louis."

Tweeter Needed

WCG — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:43:20 -0000

Whether you like it or not Twitter is becoming a uncensored place for people and those associated with football seem to be catching on. Drew Rosenhaus took to giving updates about his players. Players themselves now have their own sites. There are sites like Scout.com that have updates only going to a Twitter site.

The problem I don't have access to Twitter from where I am most of the day.

I was curious if anybody out there would be interested in being our Twitter corespondent. Basically, just attach yourself to any Twitter feed that is about the Bears or from a Bear and send us updates of anything you thing post worthy. It doesn't have to be news it can be humorous or just interesting.

We can handle distribution however you want. If you want to do a daily or weekly Twitter Fan Post with commentary, that's fine by me.

If you don't want to do your own commentary, send them to ChiFan and myself, we might add a Twitter section to the Bears Den.

Shoot me an email if you are interested and we can work out the details.

Thanks

Bears Find A Way Around Rookie Salary Cap Crunch

WCG — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:32:10 -0000

I'm not going to pretend to really have a strong understanding of the salary cap. I know the basics and generally that is enough to do what I need to do. The league seems to have hamstrung teams on the salary cap as it pertains to rookies.

When the league last raised the minimum salaries it did not adjust the rookie pool accordingly, making it difficult (impossible in some cases) to squeeze in all the picks while giving the annual bump in pay.

So the Bears used a process that is typically used for second round picks, which is Not Likely To Be Earned incentives.

The Bears' rookie pool, essentially a salary cap within the salary cap, was $3,497,111. After signing seven of their nine draft picks there simply wasn't enough rookie pool left for Gilbert and Iglesias to both get proper signing bonuses. So instead of putting the squeeze on one player, the Bears found a way to make it as fair as possible. The NLTBE, in this instance, is earned by playing time and the higher the draft pick, the better chance he has of being on the field to trigger the one-time payment. In theory, any way.

Here is how it broke down:

Jarron Gilbert, $740,000 signing bonus, $146,500 NLTBE, total bonus money $886,500

Juaquin Iglesias, $500,000 signing bonus, $119,900 NLTBE, total bonus money $619,900

Both players have escalators in the final year of the deal and with the base salaries Gilbert's contract is worth $2,636,500 and Iglesias' totals $2,369,900.

Read the article for more detail.

My questions are these and if any of you can answer them I'd much appreciate it.

1) Maybe the salary cap changes, but last year we had 4-5 more picks to sign, but were able to. Even if they didn't bump that money, shouldn't the extra still be there?

2) Almost every other team has at least a 1st and a 2nd, some have two firsts. We start with a third round pick and go down. Why haven't we heard about more teams having problems signing their guys?

Is it a case of the Bears not dedicating enough to the salary cap?

New Writer!

WCG — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:53:31 -0000

You've already read his first post as an official author of WCG, but I wanted to let you all know and give welcome to Wiltfongjr.

He is tentatively going to post about twice a week, but has no limits if he wants to do more.

Please join me in welcoming him aboard!