Shaffer Signed: Bears Add Depth to O-line

The Bears have signed veteran offensive lineman Kevin Shaffer to a three year, eight million dollar contract.

The 29 year old Shaffer has played in 100 games, starting 81 with the Atlanta Falcons and the Cleveland Browns.

The Bears were unable to sign John St. Clair a week ago, after he signed with Shaffer's former team the Cleveland Browns.

The Bears got the better part of the "swap", because Shaffer is younger and has more experience than the 32 year old St. Clair, who was going to be replaced soon or later.

The 6'5" Shaffer started 47 of 48 games, 31 at right tackle and 16 at left tackle in his three seasons with the Browns.

This not only shows Shaffer durability, but also his chances at becoming the starter at right tackle.

There is nothing bad about this move, Shaffer helps the thin Bears offensive line, and recently signed Frank Omiyale can now compete at LG with Josh Beekman.


This is what Shaffer had to say about the signing:

''I am glad we were able to work something out, it's something we were talking about for a while, and I am definitely excited.

''The goal is to come in and win a starting job. We haven't talked too much about that, but when I get there, I want to show them what I can do. I have always been a hard worker, and I am in a situation where I am going to prove myself.''

all quotes from chicagosuntimes.com

Did You Know? 3-21-09

According to STATS, John St. Clair permitted 9.75 sacks last season, the fifth most in the NFL.

Houston’s Duane Brown and Buffalo’s Jason Peters tied for the most with 11.5 apiece, followed by Arizona’s Levi Brown (11) and San Francisco’s Barry Sims (10.5). Cincinnati’s Stacy Andrews and San Francisco’s Adam Snyder tied for sixth with 9.5, followed by Detroit’s Jeff Backus (9.25), Tampa Bay’s Donald Penn (8.5) and San Francisco’s Joe Staley (8.5).

John St. Clair Signs with Browns

John St. Clair has signed a three-year contract with the Cleveland Browns worth a total of $9 million.

The deal contains $600,00 guaranteed, which is believed to be less than the Bears had offered in a $4.5 million, three-year contract.

The St. Clair deal on the surface appears to be a series of one-year contracts.

The Bears should have made the offer a little better, this guy was pretty solid the last two seasons.

Why would you let a guy, who knows the system very well, just walk away?

I just don't understand it.

They're stuck with only two offensive tackles, who have never started an NFL game, last years No. 1 pick left tackle Chris Williams and undrafted free agent Cody Balogh (he spent last season on the practice squad).

What I think?

Now, the Bears will have to find a right tackle either through the draft or free agency

Balogh played right tackle in mini camp Tuesday.

Kevin Shaffer, Marvel Smith and Orlando Pace are just a couple options on the market the Bears could consider.

John St. Clair Expected to sign by Friday

Chicago Sun-Times writer answered questions in his entry called Four Down Territory:

Question: Do they have any offensive linemen other than John St. Clair anywhere on their radar?

Answer: "I don't know of any other offensive linemen on the team's radar other than St. Clair. I would expect a resolution on his situation by the end of the week. As I wrote last week, it makes too much sense for this re-signing not to happen. The Bears need St. Clair and this would likely provide him with the best opportunity to start in 2009. He'd be penciled in right away as the starting right tackle."


What I Think?

I think if St. Clair was smart he would sign with the Bears, the Bears are probably the only team he can start at right tackle.

Frank "the Tank" Omiyale: What Does He do for the Bears' Offensive Line?

The Bears recently signed a little known offensive lineman named Frank Omiyale (OH-mee-YEL).

So far Frank "the Tank" Omiyale's highlights of his career have been these two things:

1) On October 5, 2008, Omiyale made his first NFL regular season start, replacing the injured left tackle Jordan Gross who was out with a concussion.

2) Omiyale signed a four-year, $14 million deal with the Chicago Bears on February 27, 2009.

Omiyale was asked why he chose Da Bears:

“Because it’s the Bears. I’ve heard a lot about the tradition here. From talking to other players around the league, I know it’s a family-oriented organization, so that’s what really made it attractive.”

Omiyale sounds like a Chicago Bear to me.

With the retirement of John Tait and John St. Clair maybe not returning, I have come up with the Bears starters at the o-line:

LT- Chris Williams (The Bears' 14th overall in last year's draft, was injured for most of the season).

LG- Josh Beekman (He started all 16 games for the Bears last season and did a solid job, some say he might take over at center once Olin Kreutz retires).

C- Olin Kreutz (The soon to be 32 year old, struggled at times last season, but still can be the pro bowl player he was three seasons ago).

RG- Roberto Garza (31 year old lineman was shaky at times through last season, and Bears' GM Jerry Angelo has said Frank Omiyale could compete with Garza at RG if John St. Clair doesn't resign).

RT- Frank Omiyale (From what you read above, Omiyale is very inexperienced, but many Panthers players have said he was overshadowed by Pro Bowler Jordan Gross).

Backups:

G- Dan Buenning a reserve lineman for the Bears last season could be in the mix with Garza for the starting RG job.

G- Terrence Metcalf- was suspended for four games last season and has struggled at times when he was able to start.

LS- Patrick Mannelly- Strictly a long snapper, but is listed at center.

T- Cody Balogh- spent all last season on the practice squad last season.

G- Tyler Reed- also spent all last season on the practice squad.

quotes from chicagosuntimes.com

Report: Bears offer OT John St. Clair a Contract

Today the Bears made a contract offer to offensive tackle John St. Clair.

Financial terms discussed were not disclosed.

John St. Clair would like a five-year deal, I'm sure he would settle for the three-year deal the Bears are believed to have offered.


St. Clair had this to say today:

"It's great to have dialogue, I don't want to get into whether [the offer] was good or not good. I'll let my agent [Ben Dogra] handle the contract negotiations. He knows what I'm looking for. And he knows I want to be back."

"My agent knows what I should get, I'm just letting him handle it.

"You don't want to reach free agency. You want to stick with your team. But you have to do what's best your family. And wherever God wants me to be, that's where I'll be."


Lovie Smith talks about John St. Clair:

"John St. Clair was big for us even before John Tait retired. John played well for us throughout the year. He was consistent each week, we knew what we were gonna get from him. Of course we'd like for him to remain a member of our team."

all quotes from chicagotribune.com



This is a move the Bears had to make considering how thin they are at the offensive tackle position.

St. Clair was a solid player, starting all 16 games last season at left tackle.

If, St. Clair signs the contract, this makes him the starting right tackle and Chris Williams the starting left tackle heading into training camp, unless the Bears bring someone else in via free agency or the NFL Draft.

The Bears made the right move by only offering St. Clair a three year deal, he's already 32 years old and you don't know how much he has left in the tank.

Let's all hope John St. Clair resigns with the Bears.

Bears to Lose John Tait?

John Tait, 34, is said to be done with football for good.

John Tait had this to say about his "potential retirement":

`You notice little things that didn't happen when you were younger, it just takes a little bit longer to recover from games. I think you have to do a lot more maintenance, just the upkeep, that's the biggest thing. If you would have asked me after my rookie year if I was going to play 10 years in the league, I would have told you were you were crazy. I'm just happy I am still going.''

John Tait's agent Ethan Lock declined to comment on his client's future.

John Tait signed a six-year, $33 million contract to come to the Bears from Kansas City in 2004 and has made 139 career starts.

John Tait is a veteran recipient of the Bears 2005 Brian Piccolo Award as voted by his teammates.

John Tait had a base salary of $4.8 million for this coming season with a salary-cap figure of $5.35 million.

What Now?

With John St. Clair set to become an unrestricted free agent Feb. 27, Tait's retirement would leave the Bears with only one tackle under contract: 2008 first-round pick Chris Williams, who didn't start a game as a rookie after undergoing disc surgery on his back early in preseason.

It's pretty big loss depth wise, but I think this is a good decision by Tait, you could tell he was slowing down.

Bears Off-Season

Bears Free Agents:

The Bears took care of all of their big names last year, so this year nobody that is hugely important is a priority.

Mike Brown *

Kevin Jones

Brandon Lloyd *

Darrell McClover

Rex Grossman *

John St. Clair *

Brandon McGowan *

The asterisks are the players I think the Bears should keep.

Mike Brown should be brought back, even though he is hurt a lot, he is a great player when on the field.

Lloyd could be good as a 3rd or 4th receiver.

Grossman should be brought back to compete with Orton and maybe another veteran QB.

St. Clair will defiantly be brought back for depth behind the young players like, Chris Williams and Josh Beekman.

Brandon McGowan has been hurt a lot, just like Mike Brown, but I think having more solid depth at safety is a great idea.

Team Needs:

Wide Receiver

Defensive End

Offensive Line

Quarterback

Bears O-line playing surprisingly well

John St. Clair on the offensive line perform:

“We don’t listen to what anybody says, we try to focus on ourselves. That’s what we did in training camp. We try to play hard and our practice carries over into the game.

That’s what we’ve been doing. We believe in each other. We’re a bunch of humble guys. We just want to work hard and win. That’s what has carried us this far.”

These Guys look good eh?

The approach clearly has worked.

The offensive line, which also includes left guard Josh Beekman, center Olin Kreutz, right guard Roberto Garza and right tackle John Tait—has played a prominent role in the resurgence of an offense that has helped the Bears average 28.0 points per game, tied for the second most in the NFL.

Matt Forte on the offensive line:

“They’re playing great, they’re playing ball like they’re supposed to, protecting the quarterback and opening up running lanes. That’s what their job is, and they’re doing it.”

Ron Turner on John St. Clair's emergence:

“He’s proven a lot of people wrong, those questions more were from the outside than they were inside. A lot of guys in that locker room and the coaches had a lot of confidence in John.

“He’s played very good football for us. He’s a great worker and we’re not surprised at how he’s playing. I think everyone on the outside is. He’s played quite a bit for different guys, and whenever he’s gotten in to play, he’s always been productive and he’s played well.”

Bears Win a Wild One Over The Vikings 48-41

Your probably asking yourself how did the 2008 Chicago Bears score 48 points and how did they give up 41 points.

The Bears looked great offensively today.

Kyle Orton had this to say after completing 21 of 32 passes for two touchdowns and a quarterback rating of 114.5:

We’ve got a group of guys who are together, it doesn’t matter what happens outside that huddle. It’s everybody inside the huddle working for a common goal and we work together very well.”

When was the last time the Bears scored this many points?

The last time the Chicago Bears scored this many points was 1986 and the last time the Bears and Vikings combined for that many points was in 1961.

The Bears have never won, while giving up 41 points.

Matt Forte ran the ball 20 times for only 56 yards, but did get a 2nd quarter touchdown.

Even though the Bears gave up 41 points, they forced 4 turnovers, had two huge late game sacks and two special team touchdowns.

The interceptions were made by young corner-backs, who were filling in for Vasher, Tillman and Manning.

Trumaine McBride, Corey Graham, Zack Bowman and Kevin Payne all had an interception.

Bowman played in his first game ever today and he also scored on a muffed punt by the Vikings.

I thought at the end of the game the Bears were going to blow it but Tommie Harris came up with his biggest play all year, by sacking Gus Frerotte on a 3rd down.

Injury News:

Devin Hester injured a quadriceps muscle in the third quarter on a kickoff return.

Thank Goodness for the Bye Week:

Bears fans and Bears players should be thankful for the bye week because they need there secondary to get healthy and hopefully Devin Hester and Brandon Lloyd won't be out for much longer.

Top Performers:

1) Greg Olsen- he came up huge today.

2) Kyle Orton- he looked great in the no-huddle and if Marty caught two perfectly thrown balls, Marty would have had three touchdown receptions.

3) Corey Graham- another big game for the young corner-back.

4) Zack Bowman- he looked great in his debut.

Non-Performers:

1) Adewale Ogunleye- he was pretty invisible today.

2) John St. Clair- he messed up on a Jared Allen sack, forcing Orton to fumble.

When the offense plays like that they are tough to stop.

They know they should be 7-0, but the Packers crushed the Colts today and are tied with the Bears for first place in the NFC North.

The Bears come back after the bye November 2 to take on the Lions in Chicago.

Then they take on the undefeated Titans at home the week after that.

Look for the Bears to take control of the NFC North after they get rest after their bye.

Fred Miller Brought in today for another work out

The Chicago Bears still have a one-year contract offer on the table for free-agent OT Fred Miller and Miller might sign that soon because he was brought in today for a workout.

The Bears need more depth on that offensive line in case 2nd year pro Josh Beekman or career backup John St. Clair struggle.

Update at Halftime From The Last Preseason Game

This is an update from the Chicago Bears last preseason game at halftime.

Kyle Orton played the first quarter and a little of the second.

He threw one interception and was 4/7 for 51 yards. The interception wasn't his fault, because LT John St. Clair made a bad play and left Orton exposed.

Rex Grossman came in and played most of the 2nd quarter until the two minute warning.

He went 5/7 with one touchdown throw to Brandon Rideau and 59 yards.

Then Caleb Hanie got his shot to run the offense and looked good as well.

Hanie was 6/6, with 55 yards.

He also had a 23 yard touchdown pass to Mark Bradley taken away from him because of a holding call on 7th round pick Kirk Barton.

The game is 10-10 at the half, but Grossman and Hanie looked good helping the Bears tie it up.

Positives:

The "other" Adrian Peterson (He had six carries for 36 yards)

Rex Grossman (He was 5/7 and lead the Bears to there only TD drive).

Caleb Hanie (He was a perfect 6/6 and looked good)

Brandon Rideau (He had two catches for 25 yards and a TD).

Mark Bradley (For a guy trying to find his groove after two knee surgeries, I think he did). He had five catches for 42 yards.

Brandon McGowan (He looks the real thing, whether he moves to nickel back or stays at safety, he makes the right moves).

Negatives:

Craig Steltz (He got beat a couple times and I haven't seen look real good this preseason, he might still be injured or it might be Adam Archuleta's jersey).

Corey Graham (He was supposedly getting a whole lot better, but I haven't seen that this preseason and defiantly not tonight against the Browns).

Kevin Payne (For a guy, who was supposedly a big hitter, he looked real slow to the ball).

Brian Urlacher (He might still be hurt, because he is not the same old Urlacher anymore).

Hopefully the negatives must improve soon, because the Bears need everyone to contribute this season.

This has been Chicago Bear Report at halftime.

Bears name Orton the starter for tommorow's night first preseason game

The Chicago Bears named Kyle Orton the starter for the Bears first preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

But, the reps between both QB's will be the same.

Rex Grossman will come into the first half, so don't worry you will get to see both of them in the game.

Grossman will start next week against the Seahawks and Orton the next week and Grossman the final week of the preseason.

What about un-drafted rookie, Caleb Hanie, he could be the starter.

This QB competition will be a good one, but I see one QB coming out on top earlier than many expect.

I truly believe Rex Grossman will be the man under center, when the first week of the season comes.

He has so much potential and has a much better arm than Kyle Orton.

Kyle Orton did do a decent job, during his rookie season for the Bears.

Lovie Smith had this to say about the QB decision "Don't look into any of these decisions that we've made right now." "It's a starting spot, and there's no rhyme or reason as to why we're going this direction. It's just the way I want to go right now."

Kyle Orton addressed the media yesterday, and had this to say "I think the last four or five practices, I've been sharp." "I just keep on getting better, and that was my goal going into camp. I'm glad. I wanted to come out and start. I feel real confident right now."

Grossman was all small talk, when he said "I really don't have an opinion on how it came down, but I'm excited about being live. That's how you get in game mode."

In other preseason news, Terrence Metcalf and first round pick Chris Williams won't play in the game tomorrow night. Instead, Josh Beekman will fill in for Metcalf and John St. Clair will fill in for Williams.

Besides those injuries, the Bears are still without Dan Bazuin (knee swelling), Dusty Dvoracek (calf), Michael Okwo (leg) and Hunter Hillenmeyer (undisclosed).

But, Kevin Jones is close to coming off the physically unable to perform list, dressing in full pads with a brace on his right knee.

We will see what happens in tomorrow nights game.