Tag / Bears

by admin

Another One Bites The Dust

lance-briggsFor the third straight off-season, the Bears have told a long tenured fan favorite that his time with the team has come to an end.  Lance Briggs, who was drafted by the Bears in the 3rd round of the 2003 draft, became a starter his rookie season and was been one of the anchors of the vaunted defense under former coach Lovie Smith.  Over the past seasons, under new (and now former) coach Marc Trestman, Briggs has appeared in just over half of the Bears’ games due to injury.

Briggs announced last November that his time in Chicago was likely winding down and sources close to the Bears reported this week that Briggs was officially informed that he will not be offered a contract for the upcoming 2015 season.  With a new coaching staff and new defensive scheme coming in, Briggs was thought to be a poor fit.

The 7-time Pro Bowler finishes his Bears career with the fifth-most games played and the second-most tackles in franchise history.  He may find himself in the same situation Brian Urlacher did 2 years ago: looking for work and forced to retire before he was really ready.

by jim

Sprinted And Strode

sprintstrideLast Tuesday, Allstate held their annual Sprint and Stride event, a 5K race around campus to benefit breast cancer research.  Having missed the BTN race back in July due to the trip to Minnesota, I decided to sign up, along with a few co-workers.

klongThe race started over near Willow, which meant that in addition to the 5K, we had to add the trek over and back.  There were two celebrities in attendance to kick off the festivites, Zoraida Sambolin, breast cancer survivor and local news personality, and Kyle Long, noted Chicago Bear.  Once the race got going, I quickly found that things would be different than my past 5K experiences.

For one thing, the terrain was much different.  The BTN 5K is all on paved motorways or sidewalks.  This one crossed multiple different terrains, going from paved sidewalks and streets to grass to gravel walking paths.  The other big difference, which affected everyone’s time, was that the paths were much narrower, making it hard to pass people going slow in front of you.

Considering all of that, I assume I finished in a reasonable time.  Assume because it seems there was a problem with the chip in my bib, so the results site says that my time is unavailable.  If I take the finishing time of the friend who was with me the whole time, I came in around 55:43, which was about a minute more than my time in last year’s BTN 5K.  I’ll take it, though.  I guess I’ll be back on board for next year’s event.

by jim

Devin Hester, You Were Ridiculous

devin-hester.22For the second time in as many off-seasons, the Bears have decided to cut ties with one of their all-time greats, announcing that they will not attempt to resign Devin Hester for the upcoming season.  Drafted in the second round of the 2006 draft, Hester quickly made an impact, returning a punt for a touchdown in his first game and recording six touchdowns over his first thirteen weeks.  As the Bears made their first Super Bowl appearance since their victory over the Patriots in Super Bowl XX, Hester returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown.

The following season, in an attempt to exploit his explosiveness, the Bears moved Hester from cornerback to wide receiver.  After returning both a punt and a kickoff for touchdowns in week 12 against the Broncos, Hester, in less than 2 seasons, became the leading kick returner in Bears history.

In 2011, Hester became the NFL’s all time leading punt returner after breaking Eric Metcalf’s record with a TD return against the Panthers.  Two years later, Hester returned a punt 81 yards for his 19th career return touchdown, tieing Deion Sanders for the NFL record.

Yesterday, Hester announced that, despite his desire to retire as a Bear, he would not be returning for a 9th season.  The Bears confirmed the news today, and they will once again head in to a season without one of their franchise stars.  Last season, their first without Brian Urlacher, the defense fell apart, causing them to once again miss the playoffs.  Hopefully they can do a better job in replacing Hester and his production.

by admin

Book 17 (of 52) – From Black Sox To Threepeats

From Black Sox to Threepeats - Ron Rapoport

From Black Sox to Threepeats – Ron Rapoport

Former Sun-Times columnist Ron Rapoport put together this collection of the best writing in the Chicago sports pages over the last century and more.  From the sole crosstown World Series between the White Sox and Cubs in 1906 through the White Sox World Series championship of 2005, this collection covers all of the highs and lows in Chicago sports from all of the local newspapers.  There were the over the top champions of the 1985 Bears, the thrills of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen bringing home 6 titles in the 90s, and the (mostly) heartbreak of the local baseball teams who usually come up just a little (or a whole heck of a lot) short.

Alongside the traditional stories detailing the local teams, there are also those columns fighting against the segregation that followed black players to spring training, the bombings of both Oklahoma City and the Twin Towers, the murder of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, and many other stories of local, national, and international scope.

Fans of the local sports teams will likely enjoy this book, and may have even read some of the stories when they originally appeared in the newspaper.  It gives a nice historical look at the best writing the papers had to offer, as well as the historical highs and lows of our favorite teams.

by jim

The Jay Cutler Probelm

12-13 cruze bears packers 21As the Bears brass watched them lose to the Rams and drop yet another opportunity to take control of the NFC North, they find themselves with an uncomfortable decision to make: what to do with starting quarterback Jay Cutler.  No, this is not a call to install Josh McNown as the starter once Cutler is healthy, as many have done since McCown has impressively stepped in for the injured QB.  Instead, this is a look to the future, as Cutler’s contract expires at the end of the season.  Strangely, the problem the Bears may face is that Cutler is too good.

Too good to find a replacement, that is.  Quarterbacks with the skill and talent of Jay Cutler do not normally find themselves looking for employment.  When the Bears acquired Cutler, it took 2 first round picks and a third round pick.  With the current state of the defense, they can ill afford to give away draft picks to get another quarterback should they choose to let Cutler walk.  Nor is there likely to be anyone available via free agency that would match Cutler’s abilities, let alone represent an upgrade.

So, the obvious answer would be to sign Cutler to an extension, right?  This is where the Bears find themselves in a bit of a pickle.  Cutler may be too good to replace, but is he good enough for the Bears to win with him?  The last 5 seasons would not necessarily lead one to believe that they can.  2010 was the only season of Cutler’s NFL career that his team made the playoffs, and, while the Bears did make it to the NFC Championship game, it was more due to the defense than Jay Cutler and the offense.  With today’s loss, the Bears remain tied for first place in the NFC North, but they have already lost the tie-breaker to the Lions and are not likely to earn a wild card berth.  Is one playoff appearance in 5 seasons the pedigree of a franchise quarterback?

by admin

A Party 100 Years In The Making

1922-Chicago-Cubs-UniformThe Cubs, headed up by Theo Epstein and Crane Kenney, put on a dog and pony show for their season ticket holders over the weekend, where Epstein gave updates on the on-field product and Kenney gave updates on the plans to rehab Wrigley Field.  I had planned on attending the session on Saturday at noon, but found myself unable to make it downtown.  However, it doesn’t seem as though I necessarily missed much that hasn’t been reported online elsewhere.

The big news coming out of the presentations was the plans for next season surrounding the 100th anniversary of Wrigley Field.  A commemorative patch will be on the sleeve of the home jersey and the side of the cap.  There will also be a new road alternate jersey, based on those worn during the 1920s.  They gray jerseys will have “CUBS” across the front, in the same font as the 1922 jersey.  The lettering will be blue with a thin white outline, and the player’s number will be on the lower left in red with white outline.  Blue piping will run down both sides of the buttons and around the collar, while blue and white piping will be near the cuff of each sleeve.

There will be 10 straight weekend homestands dedicated to the 10 decades at the ballpark, beginning with the 1910s.  On Fridays of those homestands, the team will give a unique bobblehead honoring an individual or event from that decade.  On Sunday, the Cubs and the opposing team will wear uniforms from that celebrated decade.  Concession stands also will present decade-themed food.

While the 10 bobblehead giveaways could be awesome, the lack of night games on Fridays means that I will not have tickets to any of those games.  Depending on who (or what) it is, it may be worthwhile to make an extra trip for one or two of them.  The throwback games on Sundays could also be a good time.  The Washington Nationals are coming to town smack dab in the middle of the season, meaning they would have to be included as one of the 10 consecutive homestands.  Assuming the throwback uniforms they will wear are those of the Expos and not of the Senators, that game gets bumped up on the list of those I need to attend.

The season tickets for next year will move away from the Topps baseball card motif they’ve had the past two years and will have historic scorecards from the stadium’s history, not just for the Cubs, but for the Bears and Blackhawks as well.  If the last two years are any indication, they will be impressive.

by admin

A Legend Retires

011209bears_urlacherAfter 13 years in the middle of the Bears defense, and less than 3 months after a messy divorce left him as a free agent looking for a new home, Brian Urlacher announced his retirement yesterday.  Urlacher played 182 regular-season games over those 13 seasons and led the team to their second Super Bowl appearance following the 2006 season.  Urlacher missed significant time due to injury in the 2009, 2011, and 2012 seasons, and, days before his 35th birthday, he said in his announcement that he was “sore” and “tired of working out.”

While the Bears had already moved on without Urlacher, it will be nice to not have him play out his career in some strange uniform, as many others have done before him.  Only six Bears have had a longer Bears career without having played anywhere else: Hall of Famers Walter Payton and Bulldog Turner, Doug Buffone, Jim Osborne, Keith Van Horne, and the long snapper supreme Pat Mannelly.

by jim

Fire Lovie?

A month ago, things were looking bright at Halas Hall.  The Bears had started 7-1 and looked to be running away with the NFC North.  4 weeks later, they are now 8-4 and are 10 minutes and 14 points away from 8-5.  The late season fade has been a recurring theme in the later seasons of the Lovie Smith era, and the Bears are still looking for their first December win since 2010.  Is it time for the Lovie era to come to an end?

Smith has been coach of the Bears since 2004 and is the fourth-longest tenured coach in the NFL.  His early success, including a Super Bowl trip following the 2006 season, has given way to more recent mediocrity, as they have made the playoffs only once since losing that Super Bowl.

There are plenty of excuses as to why the Bears have lost (or about to have lost) 4 out of their last 5 games.  The offensive line, a patchwork of bad retreads on its best day, has been decimated by injuries.  The defense, which was outscoring many offenses in the early part of the season, has started to show its age and is now without Brian Urlacher for perhaps the remainder of the season.  Other teams, however, lose key personnel and are able to recover.  For the Bears, the trend has been to fall apart at the first sign of adversity.

If the Bears fail to win a playoff game for the 5th time in the last 6 seasons, I don’t see how you don’t make a change.  Smith already has more coaching wins with the Bears than anybody not named Halas or Ditka, so it will not be an easy call to make.  Smith is also beloved by the McCaskey family, which will make it even harder.  But the window to win with the aging defense is closing fast and it may take some new blood on the sidelines to make it happen.

by jim

A-One, A-Two, A-Three…

Following up on Bob Brenley’s departure from the broadcast booth earlier this week, the good people at Bleed Cubbie Blue check in today with the suggestion that the Cubs use this opportunity to stop their “celebrity” 7th inning stretch conductor and interview.  I’ve been saying this for years.

For those of you unaware, the Cubs started bringing in actual celebrities to sing Take Me Out To The Ballgame following the death of Harry Caray prior to the 1998 season.  What started as a tribute to the late broadcaster has, over the past 15 years, turned into another opportunity for every C and D-List actor looking to plug an appearance at Zanies or their new straight-to-DVD film release.  Just this past season, the Cubs welcomed such luminaries as comedians Tom Dreesen and Jon Lovitz, former Bull Bobby Hansen, and former Bear Donnell Woolford.  If these “stars” were only singing the stretch and then hitting the street, it might be bearable for it to continue.  However, the Cubs give up a half-inning of their broadcast so that Len Kasper can interview these superstars when he should be doing play-by-play.

For years, I would suggest switching over to a tape of Harry Caray singing Take Me Out To The Ballgame.  At this point, though, it may be better to just switch to the organ and letting the crowd lead themselves.  A whole generation of Cubs fans have been raised without hearing Caray and likely hold no special regard for him.

by jim

Goodbye, Old Friend

Hi gang.  Sad news out of Chicago this morning.  I remember the magical 2006 Bears season with great fondness.  Every weekend, as the Bears made their way towards the Super Bowl, my wife Brian and I would enjoy the wide open parking at area malls and the empty antique shops as we furnished our little turkey hut.

Recently, the Bears have been unable to recreate the winning ways of that season, which has made weekend antiquing more crowded.  Goodbye, Sexy Rexy.  I’ll think of you on the long walk back to the car the next Sunday I’m at the mall.