imported_TeaLeafReaderII

Chicago Bears' off-season rates best

01:45 AM CDT on Sunday, July 16, 2006

Give the Detroit Lions credit for having the busiest off-season and the
Cowboys credit for the splashiest off-season. But give the Chicago Bears credit for
the best off-season.

The Lions hired a new coach, traded their quarterback, signed 15 free agents
and drafted a couple of potential starters: linebacker Ernie Sims and safety
Daniel Bullocks. The 2006 Lions will hardly resemble the 2005 Lions who trudged
home 5-11.

The Cowboys collared the biggest and best name in free agency when they
signed flamboyant Terrell Owens. He helped deliver Philadelphia an NFC championship
in his first year (2004) with the Eagles, and the Cowboys are hoping he can
repeat that trick in Dallas.

The Bears were neither busy nor bold. But they didn't need to be. Chicago won
11 games and an NFC North title in 2005 with one of the youngest teams in the
league. Bears general manager Jerry Angelo managed to keep that team intact
this off-season.

That's an amazing feat in a salary-cap world. There are 704 starters in the
NFL, and 120 left their teams since last season ended. That's 17 percent of the
primary starters.

Sixty-one starters departed in free agency, 44 were released as salary-cap
casualties, 13 more were traded and two retired. Four departures were Pro
Bowlers: center LeCharles Bentley, guard Steve Hutchinson and running back Edgerrin
James left in free agency, and cornerback Ty Law became a salary-cap casualty.

Seven teams must replace their starting quarterbacks. Five teams must replace
their leading receivers, four must replace their leading scorers, three must
replace their leading rushers and two must replace their leading tacklers.

Change is not always welcome. And that's why the Bears had such a great
off-season – there was no change.

The Bears were one of only two teams to not lose a starter. Cincinnati was
the other, but the Bengals did take a hit with the departure of backup
quarterback Jon Kitna to the Lions.

The only Bears absent from the 2005 team are backup safety Mike Green (in a
trade with Seattle) and backup cornerback Jerry Azumah, who retired because of
hip and neck injuries.

Chicago fielded the NFL's youngest team in 2004 and the fourth-youngest in
2005. Keeping a young team intact worked for the Cowboys on their way to three
Super Bowl championships in the pre-salary-cap era in the early 1990s. Now
Angelo believes that formula can work for the Bears.

Chicago has every reason to be optimistic. The Bears won the North despite
playing almost the entire 2005 season without their starting quarterback and
receiving a minimal contribution from their first-round draft pick.

Quarterback Rex Grossman broke his ankle during the preseason and did not
return until mid-December. By then, Chicago had built a 10-3 record with rookie
Kyle Orton taking the snaps.

The Bears had hoped Texas All-American Cedric Benson would chase a rushing
title when they selected him with the fourth overall pick of the 2005 draft. But
Benson missed all of training camp in a contract holdout and was never a
factor, carrying just 67 times for 272 yards and no touchdowns.

Little wonder the Bears finished 29th in offense. So even without spending a
penny for upgrades, Chicago is automatically better on offense with a healthy
Grossman and a hungry Benson.

But the Bears did spend a few pennies in free agency, adding a superb
insurance policy with former NFL passing champion Brian Griese, who will back up
Grossman.

A defense that ranked second in the NFL didn't need much help, but Angelo
went out and got some anyway. He signed nickel cornerback Ricky Manning away from
Carolina in free agency and used his top draft pick (a second-rounder) on
Abilene Christian safety Danieal Manning.

The most tumultuous off-season belonged to the New York Jets, hands down.

It started when head coach Herman Edwards bolted for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Then the Jets released Pro Bowl cornerback Ty Law in a salary-cap move and
traded their best player – pass rusher John Abraham – to Atlanta.

The Jets also cut two starting offensive linemen (veteran Pro Bowl center
Kevin Mawae and tackle Jason Fabini) and their fullback (Jerald Sowell). Nose
tackle James Reed then followed Edwards to Kansas City.

So the 4-12 Jets have plenty of holes to fill. The Bears have none, which
might make them the team to watch in 2006.

E-mail rgosselin@dallasnews.com

Here's a breakdown of starters lost (SL) by each NFL team during the
off-season. The definition of a starter is a player who started at least eight games
(half the season) or lost his starting position because of an injury:

http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dw...n.16e2f4b.html

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sig by da_bears86
Congrats on 500 Big Hurt .

imported_PeanutTillman

They ignore the small detail that our CB, our weakside LB and our starting RB all are on the brink of a holdout.

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Bye NFL-Fans

BULLITT

No need to put whinny *****es in any more ink

imported_PeanutTillman

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(BULLITT @ Jul 16th ) [snapback]1626972[/snapback]</div>ARE YOU READY FOR JAMAR WILLIMAS?!


BOOOOOYA CANT TAKE THE HEAT GET OUT THE FIRE ROAR.

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Bye NFL-Fans

GOLIONS1180

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(PeanutTillman @ Jul 16th ) [snapback]1626863[/snapback]</div>
why are you so negative about the Bears and such a homer when it comes to the White Sox?

i know the white sox won the world series, but it's not like the Bears suck.

and this article also gives some props to the Lions. Cool I guess?

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Football National Championships since 1950
Michigan State 3
Michigan 1

Judge Smails 5-4-07

KWilliamsAWinfield

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(GOLIONS1180 @ Jul 17th ) [snapback]1627498[/snapback]</div>Dude, he hates the Bears, he is not even a Bears fan

imported_TeaLeafReaderII

Most of the Work Centers on Offense


Will Cedric Benson carry the ground game? By: Scout.com

Date: Jul 15, 2006

Even though the Bears return all 22 starters from the NFC North championship squad, there are questions to be answered in training camp. Here’s a look at what the team needs to accomplish during their time in Bourbonnais.


Develop an NFL-caliber receiving corps: Aside from aging Muhsin Muhammad, who will be 33 on opening day, the Bears don't have any special receivers. And it's not for sure that Muhammad is very special anymore, after his 64-catch, 750-yard 2005 season.
The rest of the Bears' wideouts are young players with assorted physical skills and heavy on potential but -- so far -- light on production. Mark Bradley appeared on the verge of stardom as a rookie last season when he suffered a torn ACL on Oct. 30. If he's back to 100 percent, as he appeared in OTA's, he could be a solid No. 2. Skinny, fragile Bernard Berrian has big-play speed, and he started to step up at the end of '05. Six-foot-four Justin Gage was the team's second-leading receiver last year, but he needs to take another step in his fourth season or he'll be passed up by younger players like Airese Currie, another deep threat who missed all of his rookie season with injuries.

The Bears' conglomeration of tight ends may be one of the league's weakest. Incumbent Desmond Clark's production keeps declining (24 catches for 229 yards last year), and the Bears struck out in the draft, when 17 tight ends were taken. They've promised to use Clark more this season, but that's not the first time Bears fans have heard that about a tight end.


Keep Rex Grossman healthy: Last season, the perennial quarterback of the future suffered a fractured ankle in the second preseason game and didn't play until Game 15 of the regular season. A year earlier he was lost for the season in the third regular season game.
The mere presence of a healthy Grossman for 16 games should guarantee improvement on the offense. Grossman is in his fourth year, although this is the first time the Bears' offensive system and coordinator haven't changed. Grossman appears to be the real deal, and he doesn't lack for confidence.

"I know that you've got to perform in this league to keep your job," Grossman said after veteran Brian Griese was signed to be his backup, "and that's what I plan on doing."

Grossman gets rid of the ball faster than most NFL quarterbacks, reads defenses quickly and gets the ball to the right receiver, usually with great accuracy. But, because of injuries in each of his three previous seasons, he hasn't played enough -- just seven starts -- to justify the Bears' faith in him.


Decide who is the featured runner: Thomas Jones rushed for a career-high 1,335 yards last season, but he is unhappy with the two years left on a four-year, $10 million deal -- so much so that he boycotted all voluntary activities in the spring and summer. Jones isn't happy that he's making far less money than Cedric Benson, the fourth overall pick in the 2005 draft, who has a five-year, $35 million contract. Jones remains arguably the hardest worker on the team, so there is no doubt that he'll arrive in camp in shape. Last season he seemed to use Benson's presence as incentive for a career year. Benson wasn't happy with the 67 carries he got last year, but he got a lot of work with the first team in the off-season while Jones was absent. If they aren't on equal footing entering camp, they're close.

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sig by da_bears86
Congrats on 500 Big Hurt .

dabayrz

they are not going to hold out so I wouldn't even worry about That.

Vasher has nothing to stand on with 2 seasons left.

The same for Jones. He is soldier and will show up.

Briggs will be playing for the big contract...

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d00kd00k

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TeaLeafReaderII @ Jul 17th ) [snapback]1627528[/snapback]</div>i've updated this sentence to better reflect reality of the situation at tight end.

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from NFL Films at SB41: Colts defensive line coach John Teerlinck can be heard saying: ''Stay alive on this guy. He's scared to death.'' ... that "guy" is Turnoverasaurus Rex Grossman.

imported_PeanutTillman

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(GOLIONS1180 @ Jul 17th ) [snapback]1627498[/snapback]</div>The White Sox are ****ing good, unlike the Bears. You see how I get when Sox players let me down too.

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Bye NFL-Fans