SB Nation User Blog: big_lowitzki

Hester reports to camp... without new contract

big_lowitzki — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:23:35 -0000

Devin Hester's resolve to sit out the entire 2008 season, if necessary, to get a new contract ended after two days of training camp. The wide receiver arrived at training camp happy teammates reported at breakfast this morning, in time for a morning weightlifting session and today's 3 p.m. practice. Hester shows up after accruing roughly $30,000 in fines for missing two days of practice.

That is good news, though I am surprised he caved so quickly.

Benson Cut!!

big_lowitzki — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 22:37:09 -0000

Not a huge surprise at this point, but Cedric Benson has been cut:

Bears release Cedric Benson

Not long after Cedric Benson showed contrition Monday for his latest arrest, the Bears showed him the door.

The team released the troubled former first-round draft pick Monday as a result of Benson's arrest early Saturday morning in Austin, Texas, on a charge of driving while intoxicated. It was Benson's second alcohol-related arrest in five weeks and enough to convince the Bears he just wasn't worth the headaches.

"Cedric displayed a pattern of behavior we will not tolerate," general manager Jerry Angelo said. "As I said this past weekend, you have to protect your job. Everyone in this organization is held accountable for their actions. When individual priorities overshadow team goals, we suffer the consequences as a team. Those who fail to understand the importance of 'team' will not play for the Chicago Bears."

Cedric Benson Arrested!

big_lowitzki — Sun, 04 May 2008 14:28:34 -0000

Former Longhorn arrested

Former Longhorn Cedric Benson was arrested Saturday evening by officers with the Texas Park and Wildlife and Lower Colorado River Association. Benson is out on a $14,500 bail. Benson was arrested for boating while intoxicated and resisting arrest.

Fun times. Do you think he realizes that the Bears drafted a running back in the second round?

WCG: This just further points to Cedric Benson's horrible and lackadaisical attitude. It doesn't matter what the circumstances are, he believes he is untouchable and never has anything to worry about. He has always has a sense of entitlement and while I don't know what the Bears will do, I have to imagine they have at least considered trading or cutting him.

Orton is Extended

big_lowitzki — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 18:54:41 -0000

Orton agrees to 1-year extension:

The Bears and quarterback Kyle Orton agreed to a one-year contract extension through 2009. Orton, who is 12-6 as a starter with the Bears, will compete with Rex Grossman for the starting job. Grossman agreed to a one-year contract rather than testing the free-agent market.
Orton finished the season as the Bears' starter, leading the team to victory in the final two games. He set a team rookie record with 10 wins in 2005.

Go neck beard.

This is a decent move, even though I will never understand why people think that Orton is a better option than Sexy Rexy.

But I guess that isn't my decision.

Now if only the Bears could find an offensive line.

Griese Gone?

big_lowitzki — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 17:01:52 -0000

Woohoo!

Brian Griese ticked off the wrong people at Halas Hall, but we may never know whom or how.
It hasn't happened yet, but sources indicate it would take a major upset for the Bears not to cut Griese before he is due a $300,000 roster bonus next week. This is the thanks Griese will get for biding his time during 2006, providing a serviceable effort in six starts in '07 and never going off publicly after losing his job to a phantom injury. Griese was never expected to be a guy to get the Bears through more than four or five games at a time. He played that role well. It would still be smart to keep him for 2008, thought that seems unlikely now with the Bears looking to draft a quarterback to hold a clipboard.

I won't miss him, that's for sure.

And of course, it is not official yet. But it doesn't look like we will see Griese again.

Norm Chow Available

big_lowitzki — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 22:05:52 -0000

The Titans have let go Norm Chow.

I know... the Bears keep saying that Turner will be back next year. Because he did such a wonderful job. Or something like that.

But there are now two very good offensive coordinators available (Chow and Cameron). Two coordinators who would be MUCH better than Turner.

Bears... go get one of them.

NFL Network: Griese to Start

big_lowitzki — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 20:56:39 -0000

Via Rotoworld (and Rob G, at TCR):

Adam Schefter of the NFL Network reports that Brian Griese will start for the Bears in Week 4 at the Lions.
Lovie Smith couldn't sell out the rest of his team any longer.

I will say that I am somewhat surprised at this.

With that said, lets go Griese. Show us you deserve it.

And good luck with that offensive line!

musings...

big_lowitzki — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 13:50:12 -0000

Some musings...

Berrian was awful last night. He put up decent numbers, but he had at least three ridiculous drops - all three which would have been first downs, and one may have been a touchdown, but at minimum would have put the Bears inside the 5 yard-line. If Berrian catches the ball that his chest, that game may look very different.

The Bears did somewhat abandon the run in the second half, which surely didn't help Rex. And the offensive line played worse in the second half, not giving Rex protection.

For the most part I am not worried about the Bear's defense, assuming that none of the injuries are serious. Not sure that is a safe assumption, but oh well. I AM worried about how many missed tackles the Bears had last night. It started to be a pattern last season, and it didn't look good yesterday.

By the way... for being one of the best defensive players in football, Urlacher sure misses a lot of tackles.

I did think that the play-calling was somewhat better last night. Rex threw the ball down field a bit more than he did in the previous two games.

Rex. He looked pretty solid in the first half - making some good throws and not making any bad decisions. He did have the one pick, but it was just a poor throw/bad timing, which I can live with in comparison to bad mechanics or bad decisions. Of course... he fell apart in the 2nd half. I really don't know what to say about Rex. I have been one of his biggest fans/supporters for the last year, but it is getting tough. With that said, anyone else get really tired of Madden's Rex bashing and Romo-loving? Rex would get sacked on a play that even Romo or Vince Young wouldn't have been able to avoid, and Madden blames it on Rex.

Offense? What offense? I really do not understand how the Bear's offense is this bad. There are some obvious things - an older offensive line is one of they key things. But this offense is essentially the same as last year, with added weapons. And it continues to struggle. And it is not all Rex's fault.

Bradley? Anyone know what happened to Mark Bradley's role in the Bear's offense?

The deep ball? I still have yet to see a Berrian/Bradley streak. It is possible that the plays are being called, but they just are not open. But that is one thing the Bear's are really missing.

Tony Romo impressed me. Terrell Owens impressed me. The rest of the team didn't really impress me. But Romo's ability to move within the pocket is quite impressive, and he probably was the singular reason that the Cowboys were in a position to win that game. The Bears d-line had pressure on him all night, and he was able to make plays. So where does this team go from here? They have a really tough game coming up in Detroit against a high-octane offense and an awful defense. It could be the perfect game to get Rex on track. But a lot will depend on the status of all the injuries and if the offensive line remembers how to block.

I really do think that this team will be fine, though it is getting harder to support the Grossman/Turner regime.

Ayanbadejo Suspended for Steroids

big_lowitzki — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 19:41:06 -0000

Bears' Ayanbadejo suspended 4 games:

The Bears got some bad news Thursday when the NFL suspended fullback Obafemi Ayanbadejo four games for violating the league's policy on anabolic steroids and related substances.

Not sure that it really makes a big difference, but you hate to lose people because of stupidity.

Interestingly the Bears already knew about this before the signed him.

Its Official: Patterson Up, Miller Gone, Dopirak DFA'd

big_lowitzki — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 21:16:30 -0000

Here you go:

The Cubs purchased the contract of Eric Patterson from Triple-A Iowa and placed Alfonso Soriano on the disabled list Monday.
The Cubs also designated infielder Brian Dopirak, currently at Class A Daytona, for assignment. In addition, pitcher Wade Miller has been placed on waivers to grant his unconditional release.

Wade Miller is gone!!!!! Oh how we will miss you.