Free-Agent Wide Receivers Bears Should Look At

Today I will look at the Bears weakest position going into the 2009-2010 season, wide receiver.

First lets see what they currently have on their roster.

Besides Devin Hester and Rashied Davis the Bears have no receivers, who have ever caught a pass in the NFL.

Last years 3rd round pick Earl Bennett had great chemistry with new Bears QB Jay Cutler, but failed to learn the playbook, thus never getting in the starting lineup.

The other receiver is Brandon Rideau, he has spent the last three seasons on the Bears practice squad.

The tight ends are solid with former first round pick Greg Olsen, and veteran Desmond Clark.

But, they definitely need some help at the wide receiver position.

Here are some wide receivers the Bears should look at:

Torry Holt- soon to be 33 year old, had his worst season statistically last year since 1999, catching 64 passes, 796 yards receiving and only three touchdowns. Holt still has some years left in the tank, but might be signing with the Tennessee Titans pretty soon.

Amani Toomer- 35 years old, caught 48 passes, having 580 yards receiving, and four touchdowns. Might have one year left in the tank.

Drew Bennett- almost 31 years old, Bennett has struggled to stay healthy the last two seasons, catching only 34 passes, having 379 yards receiving and three touchdown passes. Before he came to St. Louis he had three big seasons with the Tennessee Titans. Maybe he can get back to his 2006 form, if he stays healthy.

Darrell Jackson- the 30 year old receiver only caught 12 passes for 190 yards and one touchdown last season with the Denver Broncos. The previous season he caught 46 passes for almost 500 yards and three touchdowns. Jackson might be on the wrong side of 30, but if he could play like he did in 2006, he could be a sweet addition.

Mike Furrey- almost 32 years old, Furrey failed to stay healthy last season but had two solid seasons from 2006-2007, catching 159 passes, having over 1700 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. Furrey could be a decent pickup.

D.J. Hackett- a fifth round pick in 2004, has played in only 15 games since 2007 and has only 45 catches, about 500 receiving yards and three touchdowns. His biggest season was 2006, when he caught 45 passes, 610 yards and four touchdowns in 14 games. Hackett is a big receiver, who still has a lot of seasons left in the NFL.

Ronald Curry- the 30 year old receiver caught only 19 passes for 181 yards and two touchdowns last season. From 2006-2008, Curry caught over 110 passes, 1400 yards and five touchdown passes. Curry could be a nice player, if he stays away from the injury bug.

Joe Jurevicius- I wrote an article recently, about this soon to be 35 year old receiver, here. This will most likely be his last season, if he plays.

Is This Desmond Clark's Last Season As a Bear?

As we watched Desmond Clark's statistics dwindle last season, we asked ourselves will Desmond Clark be back next season with the Chicago Bears?

The same question comes to mind for this upcoming season.

The soon to be 32 year old TE, Desmond Clark, played more of a back-up role to up and coming star TE Greg Olsen.

Desmond caught41 passes for 367 yards and only one touchdown. Also, he only averaged nine yards per catch, which was his worst since his rookie season in 1999.

From 2006-2008 (2006-2007 season and 2007-2008 season), Desmond combined for almost 90 receptions, 1100 + yards and ten touchdowns.

You have to wonder if he can get back to that level or will he simply just be a backup TE for the rest of his career.

I hope to see a much improved Desmond Clark this season.

I know he can put up some big numbers and with the addition of franchise QB Jay Cutler, it can only help.

So with that in mind, I don't think this will be Desmond Clark's last season with the Bears.

I think the Bears will get the most out of Desmond this season and him and Greg Olsen will be the best tight end tandem in the NFC.

T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Chad Johnson both Heading to the Bears?

When the Cincinnati Bengals used the franchise tag on K Shayne Graham, TJ Housmandzadeh spoke about his future with the team:

Houshmandzadeh told ESPN's Bob Holtzman last week that there is a "90-something percent chance" he won't return to the Bengals.

Houshmandzadeh said he also thinks Chad Johnson's days in Cincinnati are over.


What are the chances of both of these elite wide receivers coming to the Bears?

The chances are pretty slim, but could you imagine Devin Hester, Chad Johnson, and TJ Houshmandzadeh all in a Bears uniform together.

That would be pretty sweet.

But, Housh wants a lot of dough this off season and you'd probably have to give up a 2nd and a 3rd draft pick to get Ocho Cinco from the Bengals.

If this did actually happen, the Bears would be one of the better offensive teams.

They could have Orton, Forte, Hester, Housh, Chad Johnson, Greg Olsen and Dez Clark all on the field at once.

I know every Bears fan would love this, but it would not only take a lot of money, but also a lot of decisions out of Jerry Angelo.

Angelo probably wouldn't make these moves considering what he said at this weekend's combine about the Bears receivers:

'I like what we have [at receiver], they need to continue to develop. But again, our play starts with our lines. I don't want to get so focused on the receiver position -- although, yes, we do need to look at the receiver position, as well. And that's why I say we can go a lot of ways on draft day. And that's the silver lining because it will allow us to create more options and allow us then to get the best players at those particular rounds.''

all quotes from chicagosuntimes.com

Bears win 23-10 against struggling Jags

The Bears made sure they won this game, by coming out early and setting the tempo.

Kyle Orton looked solid with a 85.3 passer rating, 219 yards and two touchdown passes to Dez Clark and Greg Olsen.

His one mistake came when he under threw Devin Hester, who finished the game with five catches and 80 yards.

Danieal Manning, who moved to nickel back this season, picked off David Garrard on the Jag's first drive.

Manning returned it to the five where he fumbled out of bounds.

It was initially called a touch back, but Lovie Smith threw the challenge flag and the Bears scored on a Dez Clark catch.

They looked solid in the first half, but they were very conservative in the second half.

They knew they had it in the bag.

They allowed only 159 yards threw the air and the defensive line helped out with three sacks.

The defense had about 11 tipped passes in this game and it seemed like they were going to pick off Garrard more than just once.


The defensive stars:

Anthony Adams, Israel Idonije, and Daniel Manning led the defense for most of the day.

Adams, who is filling in for the injured Dusty Dvoraceck had eight tackles and really looked good.

Israel Idonije, had 1.5 sacks and a couple of deflected passes on some big plays.

Danieal Manning looked like a first round pick.

Manning not only had an interception, three tackles and two deflected passes, but he also had some decent kick returns.


The offensive stars:

Kyle Orton looked good with his 2 touchdowns and 85.3 passer rating.

Devin Hester had a big day receiving, but he also seems to know what he is doing returning punts now.

Hester was close to taking a punt to the house in the second half, this made the Jaguars punt out of bounds multiple times.

The tight ends looked really good, with Greg Olsen's 52 yards and a score and Dez Clark's touchdown catch.

Matt Forte, who is a rookie, but plays like a veteran, finished with 69 yards rushing and 37 yards receiving.


Notes from the game:

Garrett Wolfe left the game on the opening kickoff with a hamstring injury.

Mark Anderson recorded on his first sack of the season, when he beat tackle Tony Pashos with a spin move.

Adewale Ogunleye, who was on the injury report, helped Israel Idonije bring down David Garrard late in the game.

This victory gives the Bears 700 wins, an NFL record.

Adrian Peterson, finished the game with 19 yards on three carries, but he really looked like a solid backup running back.


Disappointments from the game:

Besides Devin Hester the wide receivers looked pathetic.

Marty Booker, Rashied Davis, and Brandon Lloyd combined for 5 catches.

Lloyd didn't catch a ball and looks almost invisible lately.

Booker was banged up late in the game and Rashied Davis just has no hands.

None of these guys should be starters in the NFL.

I don't understand why Earl Bennett and Brandon Rideau don't get any playing time.

Lance Briggs missed a tackle on the little, but powerful Maurice Jones-Drew four yard touchdown.


What's Next?

The Bears face the 7-6 New Orleans Saints on Thursday night.

Both teams need this win.

The Lions played the Vikings tough, but the Vikings came away with the victory to stay one game ahead of the Bears.

The Packers lost their eighth game of the season and are eliminated from the playoffs.

Bears plans for the rest of the season and next year is??

1. Win the next four games and you might have a real shot of making the playoffs.

You play Jacksonville this week, New Orleans, Green Bay and @ Houston in the four game stretch.

Don't worry about the other teams in your division, worry about yourself and winning the next four games.

2. Minnesota obviously beat you on Sunday, but they have a tough four game stretch to finish out the season. They play the win less Lions on the road, then Arizona on the road and Atlanta and NY "football" Giants in Minnesota.

The Vikings have lost both Pat Williams and Kevin Williams for the rest of the regular season, so that is huge for the Bears.

The Packers still have a real chance of winning the division, they play vs Houston, at Jacksonville, @ the Bears, and vs the Lions. They can easily finish 9-7.

3. Start thinking about what you need for this team to win in the future. They need a big time receiver, maybe T.J. Houshmandzadeh or Chad Johnson would come to Chicago. They could always draft someone in the first round.

Other areas of need:

backup RB, Forte needs a helper.

DE, a big time pass rusher, Adewale Ogunleye, Alex Brown, Mark Anderson and Israel Idonije are just not getting it done anymore.

S, Mike Brown is getting old and Kevin Payne just isn't very good.

Coach, I think it's time for Lovie to go, the guy doesn't show any character after a win, loss or a big play.

Offensive Coordinator Ron Turner is consistent with his horrible play calling, especially in the red zone. He consists on giving it the FB at the one yard line or just running the same play three times in a row.

4. For now, the Bears need Orton to get healthy, cause he hasn't looked himself since his injury and fans are starting to call for Rex to come in, but Orton will be just fine. Hopefully Hester, Davis and Lloyd are enough to help Orton and Forte just be yourself.

5. The tight ends have been almost invisible the last couple of games, Olsen looks like a bust and Dez Clark looks really old all of a sudden.

6. This team better get their act together if they want to win the NFC North, they have been so inconsistent this season. One week they barely beat the Lions, then they almost beat the Titans and they get crushed by the Packers and Vikings.

Coaches, players, if you want to be here next year, i'd tell you this, "step it up a notch.(Mark Rogers, friend)"

Clark, Booker questionable vs. Vikings

TE Desmond Clark and receiver Marty Booker are expected to be questionable for Sunday night's game against the Vikings. Both are coming off knee injuries.

Defensive tackle Tommie Harris (knee), safety Mike Brown (calf), and linebacker Jamar Williams (groin) are all probable coming off their injuries.

Bears Surprise Everyone in Win over Colts

"I see a very fast defense. I see a defense capable of creating a lot of turnovers. I see a defense that makes you execute offensively and don't give up any huge gaping holes, or busted assignments, big plays. It makes you be really sound as an offense. You really have to protect the ball because these guys fly to the ball, do a good job of stripping the ball, creating tip balls, and getting a lot of turnovers."

That is what Peyton Manning had to say about the Chicago Bears defense in an interview last Wednesday.

I guess he was right, the Bears looked fast, capable of creating turnovers, and ready to strip the ball.

That is why the Chicago Bears won Sunday night against the Indianapolis Colts in a 29-13 victory.

The Bears win ended Indy's remarkable streak of 21 consecutive victories prior to November.

It was the Colts' first game in their brand new stadium.

The Bears ruined that debut at Lucas Oil Stadium, which replaced the RCA Dome.

This definitely looked like the Chicago Bears of 2006, not of 2007, where injuries and many other factors made them weak and vulnerable.

Peanut Tillman was stripping the ball out of WR's hands because the defense was forcing Peyton Manning to put the ball in the air.

They played the game they wanted to play at Super Bowl 41, run it down their throats, control time of possession and create turnovers.

The opening drive for the Colts looked like is was going to be a touchdown, but the Bears D hung tough and held them to a field goal.

The Bears rookie RB Matt Forte out of Tulane had a great start to his NFL career by juking Colts players including S Antoine Bethea out of their spikes repeatedly.

Bethea was completely burned on a 50 yard TD run by Forte.

The Bears were up 7-3 at the end of the first quarter.

In the 2nd quarter Adam Vinatieri kicked a field goal to make it 7-6 and Robbie Gould soon kicked a field goal to make 10-6.

Rookie DT Marcus Harrison from Alabama made a great play and sacked Peyton Manning for a ten yard loss, pushing the Colts backed to their one or two yard line.

The next play Adewale Ogunleye tackled RB Joseph Addai in the end zone for a safety, making it a 12-6 game.

It made me think of what a good trade the Bears made acquiring Ogunleye for Booker and now we have them both.

The tight end's Greg Olsen and Dez Clark led the Bears in receiving.

Robbie Gould kicked a short field goal before halftime making it 15-6.

The third quarter came and the Bears were receiving the kickoff when Devin Hester tried to pull a David Copperfield with an ill timed delayed return attempt.

It looked like the missed field goal play against the NY Giants in 2006, where he returned it all the way, except this time it failed and he made it only out to the five yard line.

The Bears punted after failing to get a first down and Manning led the Colts down the field goal for their only real drive, which ended with a TD throw to Reggie Wayne.

The score was now 15-13 and the Colts were right in the game, and it looked like they were going to come back and win as expected.

But no.

Charles "Peanut" Tillman stripped the ball from Marvin Harrison and LB Lance Briggs took it to the house for a TD.

That made it 22-13.

The Bears were surprisingly dominating.

The Bears shattered the Colts hopes of a comeback with a one-yard TD run by FB Jason McKie, after a well managed drive by Kyle Orton with eight minutes left.

The Bears later stuffed the Colts on a 4th and 1.

Game Over!

Brian Urlacher (8) and Charles Tillman (6) led the Bears in tackles.

The defense took advantage of C Jeff Saturday out of the lineup and they brought pressure all night up the middle, shutting down the run.

Urlacher on supposedly stunning the Colts:

“We expected to win, “It’s not an upset to us. We practiced hard the last two weeks getting ready for this game. We’re a good football team.”

Orton on Matt Forte's game:

“He did an unbelievable job for his first game. He made a cut going to the right and then back to the left that was big league. He played great and didn’t seem fazed at all.”

Peyton Manning on the game:

"It's a real disappointing feeling. Whether it's the first game of the season in a new stadium or the 15th game ... it's real disappointing to lose. It took me a little time to get into a rhythm; I felt like our offense gave them the safety, the turnover and then turning the ball over on downs. I was really trying to be smart with the ball. In the second half, what the Bears did is what they usually do to win-they created turnovers. That's something that we thrive on not doing."

Lovie Smith on the game:

"It's one win, "You don't win championships the first quarter of the season. As much as anything, it's the way we played."
''We've seen flashes of that throughout the preseason and throughout training camp. Our offensive line did a super job of opening holes for all our running backs.''

Mike Brown on the defense:

''Our defense, when we play well, usually we have a pretty good game. Like we've been telling you guys, we played pretty vanilla in the preseason, and the package that we have is pretty good. It helps us play aggressive and with a lot of energy. It was a good night for us.''

Upset?

No one picked the Bears to win this game, but I knew they weren't as bad as many said they were.

All of the question marks they had on offense, o-line, running backs, quarterbacks, wide receivers were answered atleast for now.

Many thought the D had lost a step because of the vanilla play in the preseason.

I thought the offense was going to be better this season, with all there play makers and if only the defense could stay healthy this team could be good.

Who needs decrepit WR Muhsin Muhammad and no hands WR Bernard Berrian, i thought Chicago is where receivers go to die.

Orton's Stats:

He was 13-21 for 150 yards, not TD's and no INT's and a QB rating of 83.4.

Forte's Stats:

He had 23 rushes for 123 yards and a touchdown, while Kevin Jones had 13 carries for 45 yards.

Forte is the only Chicago Bear to ever rush for that many yards in his debut game.

What did Rex do?

Rex Grossman watched Kyle Orton control the game and make no turnovers.

Peyton Manning Rusty?

You can say Manning was rusty, but what I saw was a defense that looked like they did back in the 2006 season.

What's Next?

The Bears will face the Carolina Panthers, who beat the San Diego Chargers with two seconds left on the clock, with a clutch catch from backup TE Dante Rosario.

They will face-off against the Panthers at 1:00 ET on Sunday.

Taking a Look at Their Final Preseason Game

At the end of the Bears final preseason game against the Cleveland Browns, the Bears came out the winners.

The won 16-10 and held the Browns to zero points in the second half.

But, Head Coach Lovie Smith had this to say about his defense "I'm disappointed."

"The plan was to get a couple of three-and-outs and then take the players out, but it didn't turn out that way. We didn't play well. Believe me, if we could put our finger on it we would have done something about it before now. We've got a little bit more time to get it right.

"We haven't played well. That is all you can say about it. We have not made all the effort we need to play well. All the things that go into playing well, we haven't done. Once we get all our guys going, I feel we will have a very strong defense."

Starting CB Charles Tillman was aksed about the D's bad play this preseason and he had this say "If I had an answer I'd tell you right now, we have to get this cleaned up."

Keep in mind the Bears did rest two key starters on the defense, S Mike Brown and DT Tommie Harris.

They also kept G Terrance Metcalf, who has been injured for a while on the sideline and TE Desmond Clark out.

Backup G Chester Adams was injured on the last play of the first half and reportedly went out with a knee injury.

That is why they need to get Fred Miller in uniform as a backup, just to get a veteran presence in there.

Read my Fred Miller article for more info, http://bleacherreport.com/articles/52003-fred-miller-waiting-to-make-decision-with-bears.

Offensively:

On the bright side for the Bears, 3rd string QB Caleb Hanie finished the game 12/17, for 115 yards and led the Bears down the field for two field goals.

Grossman led the Bears to there only TD drive, in a 19 yard pass to Brandon Rideau.

Orton was 4/7 and threw a bad ball because John St. Clair missed his block.

P.J. Pope, who was on the practice squad last season, carried the ball eight times for 34 yards in the second half.

The last WR spot on the Bears roster could come down to Marty Booker, Mark Bradley or Brandon Rideau.

This will be a tough call because the Bears depth at WR looks like this, Brandon Lloyd, Rashied Davis, Devin Hester, Mark Bradley, Marty Booker, Brandon Rideau.

Don't forget 3rd round pick Earl Bennett from Vanderbilt.

I think Rideau and Bradley should both make the team, because last night they combined for eight catches, 105 yards and one TD.

I don't know what you do with Marty Booker, he hasn't showed much this preseason.

This will be a tough call for the Bears, but for sure you have to keep Mark Bradley, because he is the type of play maker Bernard Berrian was.

Did you know?

Because the Bears beat the Browns last night, they prevented themselves form going 0-4 in the preseason for the first time since 1998.

Good Stuff:

On a fourth and goal for the Browns in the 4th quarter the Bears Craig Steltz tipped the ball and stopped the Browns from scoring.

Before, that play S Leonard Peters, who was on the practice squad last season, forced a fumble, which was later overturned.

Also, undrafted free agent CB Trey Brown who took Cedric Benson's #32 picked off Ken Dorsey in the fourth quarter.

Lastly, the Bears K Robbie Gould looked "good as gold" last night, he kicked he made all three field goal attempts he had and his longest was a 48 yarder.

Heading into the regular season:

Cutting there roster to 53 men, is going to be tough for the Bears.

They must make there moves by Saturday.

The D is dissapointed in themselves, and they should be, they gave up an average of 25 points, 326 total yards, 161 of that on the ground per game.

If they want to be the D they were in 2006, they better step it up a couple of notches

Bears Player Preview: Kellen Davis

Today I will preview the Chicago Bears' second fifth round pick, Kellen Davis, on Chicago Bears Player Preview.

This guy is 6'7" and 262 Ibs.

Kellen Davis will replace TE John Gilmore who left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this off-season.

Kellen Davis enjoyed his years in college at Michigan State.

Davis will take Muhsin Muhammad's number 87 and he might contribute more than many think.

I can't remember when the Bears had better tight end's on their roster.

With veteran Dez Clark, last years first-round pick Greg Olsen and Kellen Davis they looked pretty stacked.

Kellen Davis had 60 career receptions for 789 yards (13.1 avg.) and nine receiving touchdowns in his four year career with the Spartans.

Last season Davis was third on the team with 32 catches for 513 yards and he had six receiving touchdowns.

With those stats, he was named honorable mention All-Big Ten selection.

Not only did he play offensively as a TE and defensively as a DE, but he also played on the field goal/PAT unit on special teams and on the defensive line.

Look for the Chicago Bears to use him like Israel Idonije on the field goal unit, because of his height.

The Bears love drafting athletic players, who are versatile.

He is a fast-developing receiver and has big hands, but needs some more practice at catching the football.

Kellen Davis could be used as a DE, but Lovie Smith said after the draft they selected for his offensive skill not his defensive skills.

Bears coaches have reported that Kellen Davis has looked sharp in training camp.

Look for Kellen Davis to be nice fill in TE if Greg Olsen or Dez Clark goes down with an injury.

Kellen Davis won't get much playing time unless that happens, but he will get time in goal-line situations