Tag Archives: Bears

Bears Buzz: Marc Trestman Named Head Coach

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After firing Lovie Smith and a whirlwind of interviewing 13 potential candidates, the Bears finally made there decision Tuesday evening. Marc Trestman will be the 14th head coach of the Chicago Bears. Out of all the available options Trestman seemed the most unconventional choice being removed from the NFL since 2004, but hey when have the Bears ever done things by the books? General Manager Phil Emery is trying to shake things up again; which could prove to be inspiring or completely disastrous.

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The 57 year-old head coach comes to Chicago from the Montreal Alouettes a member of the Canadian Football League (CFL). While head coach for the Alouettes (2008-2012), Trestman led his team to two Grey Cup championships – the CFL’s equivalent to a Super Bowl Championship. The most important thing is Trestman is and has been a winner in the game of pig-skin.

Montreal Alouettes' head coach Trestman holds up the Grey Cup after defeating the Saskatchewan Roughriders during the CFL's 98th Grey Cup football game in Edmonton

In his early years of coaching Trestman did some bouncing around the NFL. His most memorable stints include: offensive coordinator for 2002 Oakland Raiders who went to the Super Bowl, OC for the 1995 49ers in their hey day, and OC for the 1989 Cleveland Browns with Bernie Kosar (when they were good). Trestman knows a thing or two about offense, which is what the Bears need right now. However, he has no experience as a head coach in the NFL. The people may need some convincing.

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In Trestman we trust

Logically the decision is a stunner. The Bears are a charter NFL franchise in the league’s second-largest market and could have hired anybody and we pluck a guy out of the CFL. Bruce Arians – a likely NFL coach of the year candidate – had just interviewed with the Bears on Tuesday. Trestman got the job over Arians as well as other Super Bowl champion ex-coaches.

If Trestman was as talented as the Bears front office believes, why haven’t other NFL team’s gone after him? Is Emery a mad-man or were other factors involved? Was it money? It’s said that Trestman had agreed to keep much of the defensive coaches in tact during his interview, while Arians had intended on bring his own defensive coaches.

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It all seems a little crazy, but if Brandon Marshall is excited for the Bears’ choice, so am I. In Trestman we trust – at least for the first season. There will be a press conference at Halas Hall at 11 AM on Thursday where Trestman will address the media for the first time as head coach. #beardown

Is Urlacher’s Injury Potentially the End of an Era?

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Bears middle linebacker Brian Urlacher has been sidelined indefinitely with a Grade 2 hamstring tear. An injury to this extent generally keeps players out 2-4 weeks, meaning Urlacher will likely miss three of the Bears final four games. It is possible Urlacher could return come playoffs, but at the age of 34, which is basically ancient in NFL years, we’re just not sure how quickly his body will recover. It’s also very possible that without their fearless defensive leader on the field, the Bears could miss the playoffs all together – I’m going to try and keep things positive here.

urlacher-bears-apInjuries happen so frequently in football, I feel as a society of fans we’ve almost become numb to them, but when a player of Urlacher’s caliber goes down it’s like a dark storm cloud looms over Bears football.

With a potential season ending injury, I can’t help but wonder, could this be the end of number 54′s era in Chicago?

Urlacher’s contract is up at the end of the season and there haven’t been any rumblings of contract negotiations for the 8-time Pro-Bowler. We know the NFL is a cold, hard world where performance is everything and although his numbers are still impressive, Urlacher seems to have been playing in the shadow of himself this season. He’s been called for hoarse collar penalties in his last two games, which seems very unfitting of the biggest tackling monster in the midfield.

Who knows what the future will hold for Urlacher and the Bears, but I hope his last game in a Bears uniform wasn’t the loss against the Seattle Seahawks. The future Hall-of-Famer deserves better than that. Get well Mr. Urlacher!

Brian Urlacher

 

Injuries Continue to Plague Bears – Good As Gould Placed on IR

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It seems like injuries have yet again put the Bears in a sticky situation as the season dies down and the crucial final games approach. As the injuries pile high, our playoff hopes begin to dwindle. Chicago was forced to place the most reliable player on their team, Robbie Gould, on injured reserve Tuesday after he suffered a left calf muscle injury during the pregame warm-up against the Minnesota Vikings Sunday. Since the Bears are battling it out for the top spot in the NFC North this is not the time for a season-ending injury. Bah, humbug I say.

Panthers training camp16-year veteran, Olindo Mare was signed by the Bears after he won a tryout at Halas Hall Tuesday. Mare has some big shoes to fill as Gould is the fourth-most accurate field goal kicker in NFL history at 85.6 percent. Mare has moved around quite a bit in his career playing for the Carolina Panthers last season, as well as the Seahawks, Saints and Dolphins. He’s not a terrible kicker, with an 81.2 percent rating over the last 15 seasons, but as we know our Bears offense can sometime struggle with the whole “touchdown” idea and we heavily rely on our kicker to produce field goals from 35-50 yard range.

The injuries are really racking up for the Bears as the season winds down. We lost the heart and soul of the defense when middle linebacker Brian Urlacher tore his hamstring. Cornerback Tim Jennings is still recovering from a dislocated right shoulder he suffered against the Seahawks, but he’s optimistic about the Green Bay Packers game this weekend. The list doesn’t end there, defensive tackle Stephen Paea has an injured foot, defensive tackle Henry Melton injured his shoulder against the Vikes, defensive end Shea McClellin suffered a sprained MCL in the loss to the Vikings as well, but hopes to return soon. Just a few more to go, reserve safety Craig Steltz has a chest injury and cornerback Sherrick McManis injured his knee. Both Steltz and McManis are joining Robbie on the IR. *Fun fact: When placed on injured reserve a player must remain there for eight weeks before returning. Thus, none of the Bears players will be returning this year since their injuries happened too late in the season.

Basically, the Bears special teams and defense are in shambles heading into week 15 against the Packers. Hopefully Julius Peppers, Lance Briggs and Peanut Tillman can hold down the fort against the Pack.

Tillman Welcomes Another Peanut to the Family

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Congratulations are in order for Bears stud cornerback Charles “Peanut” Tillman again. This time it’s not football related, he and his wife Jackie welcomed a baby girl to their family on Monday.

Peanut announced their fourth little nugget’s arrival by Tweeting:

The actual date of the baby’s birth caused a bit of a ruckus in Chicago earlier last week when Tillman said he could potentially miss the Texans game if his wife went into labor. Teammate and proud papa Jay Cutler had Peanut’s back explaining he wouldn’t have wanted to miss his son being born either because it’s such a special moment. In the end, Tillman was able to play in the most boring game of the season AND make the birth of his little girl.

Peanut has been terrorizing the offenses of the NFL this season. He’s currently in a postion to be slated for Defensive Player of the Year.

Urlacher Picks Up Sixth NFC Defensive Player of the Week Honor

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Hootie-whoo! Keep the defensive madness rolling! Chicago Bears middle linebacker Brian Urlacher was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week for week 9 after his impressive performance against the Tennessee Titans.

In a single game the veteran racked up a 46-yard Pick-6, seven tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. I think he’s feeling healthy again :-) .

Urlacher is the second Bear to win the weekly award this season, he joins Charles Tillman, who has locked it up twice thus far in 2012.

Just throw a cherry to the top of that success cake, cornerback Sherrick McManis nabbed NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for Week 9. His blocked punt during the first quarter led to defensive end Corey Wootton’s five yard touchdown (he scooped up that loose ball and brought it in for a TD).

I’d say it was a pretty great week to be a Bear!

Bears Blowout Titans 51-20 in Music City

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There’s is nothing like a Chicago Bears romping in Nashville to start your week off right. I swear when the Bears play well I begin the week in a better mood. Plain and simple, the Titans got their “asks” kicked (please watch this adorable youtube video to understand the reference). The Bears have now won six consecutive games in a row; this hasn’t happened since 2006, and may actually be considered a contender heading into the difficult part of their schedule (Texans and 49ers woowee).  If you missed the Bears Titan mauling, below you will find a quick recap.

Who Needs an offense when you have the Bears defense?

Cornerback Charles Tillman’s ball-punching hands forced a career-high four fumbles. Peanut has been a recognized player in the league for many years, but this year something set the man on fire. He’s absolutely in the running for Defensive Player of the Year. The infamous linebacker Brian Urlacher trotted (it wasn’t as speedy as Tillman or Jennings sprinting down the field, but hey he still got there) his way into the end zone after the team’s seventh interception return touchdown of the season. 7 defensive touchdowns is more than most teams score all season, let alone in 8 games – animals I tell you. If all the critical pieces to the Bears defensive puzzle can stay healthy, this may be the year Bears fans have been waiting for.

Special teams got down and dirty:

They couldn’t let the defense have all the fun! It all started when Sherrick McManis blocked a punt (I mean when does that even happen?!) that Corey Wootton returned for a 5 yard touchdown. THEN Devin Hester got in on the action with a  44-yard punt return that set up a one-play scoring drive. Yup – love it.

The offensive spark was delayed, but things heated up in the end:

Counting on your defense to score first isn’t going to cut it further down the road for the Bears, but Jay Cutler and his boys woke up in the second half. Cutty eventually threw three touchdown passes to Brandon Marshall. Matt Forte deserves some recognition as well, his rugby style rushing touchdown was the first positive offensive play the Bears had during the game. Forte was also effective in the passing game, his 47 yard reception off of a screen pass was something to be reckoned with.

Bears fans are the BEST fans:

I don’t know what you heard, but LP Field sure sounded like a Bears home game with all that hootin-n-hollerin going on. I can’t imagine it hurts a team’s morale to know their fans are willing to pack their bags and head anywhere to cheer on their monsters of the midway.

#Beardown

Tillman Named NFC’s Defensive Player of the Month for October

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It looks like the Bears are keeping the “NFC Defensive player of the Month” honor in the family this year. Charles Tillman made it two back-to-back months for Bears cornerbacks when he was deemed the NFC’s defensive player of the month for October – Tim Jennings won the award for the month of September. Congrats Peanut – you ball stripping animal you!

Tillman received the most praise after he shutdown Detroit Lions star wide receiver Calvin Johnson on Monday night football. Tillman was glued to Johnson’s side limiting him to three receptions for the 34 yards, a season LOW LOW for Johnson (just ask my fantasy team). He also forced two fumbles against the Lions.

Tillman has 38 tackles (sixth on the team), he has two interceptions, three pass breakups, three forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. Last year was Peanut’s first appearance in the Pro Bowl, but I think we’re going to see a repeat here. He’s making quite the reputation for his magnet like hands in the NFL. He also ranks eighth on Mike Sando’s MVP watch at ESPN for this year – mind you there are only two defensive players on the MVP watch. Not too shabby! (Fun fact: The last defensive player to be named MVP was Lawrence Taylor of the New York Giants in 1986.)

The Bears are 6-1 (first in the NFC) as they head to Nashville to take on the Tennessee Titans this Sunday at noon. Keep it up Peanut!

Cutty is Growing a ‘Stache for Movember

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Just imagine this without the additional beard scruff

Cutty is joining the Mo Bros. Chicago Bears Quarterback Jay Cutler has agreed to grow a mustache during the month of November in support of Movember. The charity raises money and awareness to fight prostate cancer and support other testicular cancer initiatives.

The deal was struck during the Cutler Show on Monday with Tom Waddle and Marc Silverman of ESPN 1000. We’ll see which pretty boy can hack a mustache for the whole month.

When asked how the mustache would make his Fiancee feel Cutler said, “I did a trial run on Friday, and it’s not pretty. (Kristin Cavallari) didn’t even notice by two hours. I’m in like fourth place, we have two dogs (and a newborn son). It got nothing for a couple of hours. I didn’t like (the look of) it. It was bad.”

I can’t wait until Cutler gets in front of the cameras for a post game conference rocking a big fat ‘stache. It might be amazing, let’s hope he sees it through.

Monday Night Showdown – Bears vs. Lions

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Seriously who scheduled a presidential debate on the same day as Monday Night Football. Football is the All-American sport, if either were true patriots they would have requested to change the debate day. Sorry Obama and Mittens, all of Illinois and Michigan will be tuning into the Monday Night showdown between the Chicago Bears and the Detroit Lions – NFC North at it’s finest on primetime. I vote watch the Bears live and DVR or stream the debate online. #Beardown

Jennings Named NFC Defensive Player of the Month

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Oh heyyy! Chicago Bears Tim Jennings is the NFC defensive player of the month. The cornerback has been tearing things up this season leading the NFL with four interceptions in his first four games (the streak was snapped Monday during the Cowboys match-up, but the rest of the defense made up for it with 5 interceptions and two defensive TDs.)

A seven-year veteran, this is Jennings first player of the month honor. He had just seven interceptions in his career entering the 2012 season. I have a feeling he may break some personal records this season :-) .