Bears Football Blog

Bears lose game and Urlacher

The Bears lost a game. They lost ground in the NFC North. They may have lost some key players. They lost their officiating challenges. And they lost an air of confidence, if not a slice of hope.

Other than that, the Bears' 21-15 loss to the Packers was a perfect way to start the season for the visitors.

The Packers won it with two plays in the fourth quarter. One exposed the vulnerability in the Bears' secondary. The other exposed the danger of an overconfident quarterback.

Trailing 15-13, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers hit Greg Jennings on a 50-yard touchdown pass with 1 minute 11 seconds remaining. Bears safety Al Afalava bit on play action on the play, and Jennings streaked by Nathan Vasher.

hen on the Bears' first play on their next possession, Packers cornerback Al Harris intercepted Jay Cutler. Harris brought it back 29 yards to seal the victory.

By that time, the Bears were playing without four injured starters. First one down was linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa, who left the game on the first series with a knee injury. Before the first half was history, Brian Urlacher was. He dislocated his right wrist and is likely to have surgery early this week. Continue

Bears have high expectations for 09 season

 Five minutes before the Bears' first practice of training camp on the campus of Olivet Nazarene, a member of Jerry Angelo's staff knocked on the door of the general manager's makeshift office.

"It's time to go see our greatest work ever," he excitedly told Angelo.

Obviously, he was referring to Jay Cutler, who is to Angelo what the Sistine Chapel is to Michelangelo. His greatest work ever.

Now the pressure to produce a season that inspires awe shifts entirely to Lovie Smith. The most pivotal year of Smith's head coaching career starts Sunday night against the Packers at Lambeau Field.

Don't worry about the expectations for Cutler mounting higher than his passer rating. Forget fretting over Brian Urlacher's burden being heavy enough to nag his aging back. Nobody on the Bears payroll has more riding on the 2009 season than Smith, who perhaps never has had a team more talented than this one.

Angelo had the equivalent of a 12-4 off-season. Smith's job? Don't screw it up.

It's still amazing how Angelo got out of Colorado after the Bears' third exhibition without having to fight extradition. Getting Cutler from the Broncos for Kyle Orton and draft picks will go down as one of the NFL's all-time heists, the Bears' Brock-for-Broglio. Continue

Urlacher looking to return to past glory

The 30-something linebacker sports a bald head, has a kid-like enthusiasm for the game and is considered by some as the face of the Bears.

Brian Urlacher would rather drop the latter immediately.

"Face of the franchise? Jay Cutler," Urlacher said without hesitation.

"It doesn't matter if he wants it or not. He's got it. He's the guy. He gets to do all the interviews now, gets to handle all the tough questions. You know, I'm OK not doing any of that stuff."

Urlacher, 31 to be exact, would rather focus on rediscovering his old self, the player who struck fear in opponents with his speed, power and instincts. Kryptonite struck Superman in the form of an arthritic back, unexpected neck surgery and a sprained thumb, injuries that affected his play the last two seasons.

"I just have to be more physical at the point of attack," he said. "I've got to get more downhill. I've got to get back to where I was a few years ago when I was just downhill attacking, hitting people in the mouth -- offensive linemen, fullbacks, everybody. Continue

Cutler leads Bears to victory in Denver

When you boil it down, all the buildup to Jay Cutler's return to Invesco Field to face his former team was about five minutes and seven seconds at the end of the second quarter Sunday night.

All the venom for the Broncos' former quarterback -- and there was plenty of it -- resulted from a series of missteps that happened before the trade five months ago and hopefully can be put to rest after the Bears' 27-17 victory before 70,098 noisy and hostile fans.

Josh McDaniels didn't think Cutler was the long-term solution, not measured against Matt Cassel anyway, and when Cutler found out about it, he blew his top. When the new coach wouldn't promise to commit to Cutler long term, that was it.Continue

Broncos will take best shots vs Cutler

They will take their shots at Jay Cutler here Sunday night.

In a place called Wrigley's Chicago Bar in Golden, they will stage a contest in which participants will deface Cutler jerseys. They wanted to burn them, but the local fire department wouldn't let them. And they will sell "Cutler Sucks" T-shirts.

In the stands, the fans will jeer him and display signs detailing their displeasure over how Cutler orchestrated a trade to the Bears.

On NBC, Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth and Andrea Kremer will scrutinize how a player as talented as Cutler could be traded as he is entering the prime of his career.

On the field, the Broncos will try to give him something to remember the city by -- a souvenir lump on his head, perhaps.

Former teammates seem intent on doing most of their talking with their shoulder pads, however. Continue

Manning and Bowman not ready for preseason action

The Bears continue to bring defensive backs Danieal Manning and Zack Bowman along slowly, increasing their workload each day. But don't expect them to be ready for the exhibition Sunday night in Denver.

The coaching staff is very cautious when it comes to hamstring injuries such as they each have. Manning looked fluid going through warm-up drills Thursday, but that isn't the same as going full speed against an opponent.

"We haven't gotten him into the mix completely right now," coach Lovie Smith said of Manning. "We just wanted to get him out there and start the process, which we've done. He's doing a little bit more each day. Doesn't seem to be having any problems."

Smith wouldn't say Bowman is ahead of Manning in the rehab process. Neither played in the first two exhibitions. Continue

Cutler uneven in debut

It was only a dressed-up scrimmage for the purpose of selling tickets.

No, Jay Cutler isn't going to resemble Kyle Orton this season, even if it was the kind of uneven, sometimes head-scratching preseason effort the Bears are used to.

A night after Orton threw three interceptions for the Denver Broncos, Cutler should've had two.

He can thank cornerback Reggie Corner -- we know why he isn't named Receiver -- for dropping one that hit him in the numbers. It came on Cutler's first throw after firing off his back foot deep for Devin Hester and getting picked off by Leodis McKelvin in the first quarter of what turned into a 27-20 victory for the Buffalo Bills on Saturday night at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Continue

Cutler deal saves draft holdouts

- Jay Cutler, the gift that keeps on giving, has done more than simply generate intense fan interest in training camp. He has spared the Bears the indignity of drafting and paying a first-round pick both this year and next.

A week into NFL training camps, first-round members of the Class of 2009 were finally starting to reach terms as extended contract holdouts began agreeing to deals. The situation is fluid, but as of Friday night, eight of the top 14 picks remained unsigned. None of this seemed of much interest to the Bears, who were the first team in the league to have all their guys under contract, marking the third time in four years they pulled that off. Continue

Cutler getting to know receivers

After working out plenty on their own at Halas Hall in the five weeks since the offseason program, Jay Cutler and his receivers were so amped up for the start of Bears training camp Friday that they were on the field getting loose 30 minutes before the first practice.

The exuberant crowd at Olivet Nazarene University reacted with every throw by the Bears' new quarterback. The receivers struggled to stay on their feet at times on the tightly cropped grass. To no one's surprise, tight end Greg Olsen looked to be the preferred target. And, yes, Cutler went deep and connected a couple of times as the Bears marked the beginning of the 2009 campaign on a perfect afternoon. Continue

Competition at safety for Bears

Safety might be where you'll find the most legitimate competition for starting jobs in camp. Nothing is locked down, but Kevin Payne probably will emerge at strong safety, where he played well at times last season.

The switch with Mike Brown to free safety at midseason didn't play to Payne's strengths. Payne is a physical player who had offseason shoulder surgery a year after missing most of his rookie season with a broken arm. Continue