Urlacher Speaks Up About Jay Cutler Trade

Urlacher had this to say last Friday on ESPN 1000 in Chicago:

'Making this deal, plus we got Orlando Pace, our offense is looking really good, we have some big names on offense, which we haven't had since I've been here. We have a franchise quarterback, which we obviously haven't had. We're going in the right direction.

''He's still young [25]. I'm sure he has a lot to learn, but from what I've seen he has all the skills you want in a quarterback. He can throw the ball on the run, he can throw it from the pocket. He's got a cannon. And he can play well in cold weather, having played in Denver, so that will be important playing in Chicago.''

''He's got nothing to explain to me, they tried to trade him, and he got a little peed off about it.

''As a player, if a team talks about trading you, you would be a little mad, and he got really mad. I don't blame him one bit. ... I'm on his side, and most of the time players are on each other's side when these matters go down. He's got nothing to explain to us.''

''He'll do a great job, he's got a swagger about him which, personally, I love a quarterback who has a swagger. He's cocky, but not too cocky. I like that. I think you have to have that as your quarterback, somebody who's confident and will get the job done.''

Urlacher says he will miss Orton, who was a popular teammate.

''I have a lot of respect for Kyle Orton, he was a great teammate. He came in as a rookie and wins 10 games, gets benched the next two years, comes back last year and goes 9-6 as a starter. He's a winner.

''I hope he does really well in Denver. He's a free agent after next season, so I hope he plays his butt off and gets a big contract.''

Urlacher spoke up about his health as well.

''My neck is healthy, I didn't do any rehab -- all I did was train. I feel good, back to my normal self.''

all quotes from chicagosuntimes.com

Breaking News: Bears Get Jay Cutler

Update!

The Bears just traded two first round picks, a 3rd round pick and Kyle Orton to The Denver Broncos for QB Jay Cutler and a 5th round pick.

What Are the Bears' Odds of Getting QB Jay Cutler?

According to ESPN.com the Bears odds to get QB Jay Cutler in a trade with Denver are 5-1.


This is what ESPN.com's Bill Williamson had to say:

"Making such a deal may be out of character for general manager Jerry Angelo, but the Bears need a quarterback and two of their NFC North foes will be going after Cutler. They need to make a push. Chicago has the No. 18 pick."

There are three teams ahead of the Bears right now, the NY Jets (3-1), TB Bucs (3-1) and the Detroit Lions (4-1).

I know the Bears would love to have Jay Cutler throwing to Bears players like Devin Hester, Matt Forte, Earl Bennett and Greg Olsen, but i don't know if the Bears would be willing to give up a lot for a whiner like Cutler.

I have read many proposed deals that could work for both the Broncos and the Bears.

Here's the examples:

1) QB Kyle Orton, CB Nathan Vasher, the Bears' first round pick (18) and third round pick (84).

2) DT Marcus Harrison, CB Corey Graham and two first round picks.

3) MLB Brian Urlacher and the first round pick (18) could be enough.

They could also make a three-team trade.

I would love to see the Bears get Jay Cutler, let's just wait and see what happens.

Bears Awarded a 3rd Rounder and Two 7th Rounders

Today the Bears were handed a 3rd round pick (the 99th) and two seven rounders in this years NFL Draft.

The Bears' picks in the seventh round are as follows:

37th pick, 246 overall
42nd pick, 251 overall

Jerry Angelo has landed Alex Brown, Nate Vasher and Kyle Orton all in the third round not bad, considering Jerry Angelo's struggles as GM.

Compensatory picks are handed out each year to teams for their net loss in free agency.

The Bears lost Bernard Berrian (Minnesota), tight end John Gilmore (Tampa Bay) and special teamer Brendon Ayanbadejo (Baltimore) as unrestricted free agents a year ago. The team did not sign any UFA's, so they receive three draft picks.

My Interview With Bears' GM Jerry Angelo

My Question: After the 2008 season ended, you said that you believed in Kyle Orton and liked some of the things he did, but you needed to see more before anointing him the long-term solution at the position. You also indicated that the Bears were fixated on getting the quarterback position stabilized. With all that in mind, why are the Bears seemingly not interested in pursuing a veteran in free agency or via a trade?

Angelo: When you talk about bringing in a quarterback, that requires a few things that we have to keep in mind. If you bring him in now, you’re bringing in a veteran to compete to start. We’ve done that. Really we did that last year with Kyle [Orton] and Rex [Grossman], so we had co-starters. That creates a competition, which was the right thing to do last year given our situation. But it takes away reps from the starting quarterback because you’re dividing those and certainly it does for the backup quarterbacks as well.

Given the players that potentially could be out there, we thought that Kyle was as good or better given our situation. To bring in somebody to compete to start to me was running up and down the starting line and really was hurting Kyle’s progress. We had our meetings and we felt very good about the players we have presently—obviously Kyle, talking about Caleb Hanie’s continued development, and we like what we saw in Brett Basanez from college and when he was with Carolina in the preseason.

Now is that to say that we couldn’t look for a veteran after the draft? That’s a possibility. We haven’t ruled that out. To do it then, that veteran would have had a chance to see what his value is, and it might be a little bit more palatable for him to come in and compete for a backup job versus if you sign him now.

In terms of a trade, trades are very difficult to do. I know there was a lot of talk about Matt Cassel. The real problem with the Matt Cassel trade from my perspective was the contract. He had signed his franchise tag, which was approximately $15 million, so that means that in the ’09 season he has a $15 million guaranteed contract in hand. To do something now in terms of a new contract, that’s going to be an exorbitant amount of money, which is fine if you know for sure he’s the guy. It’s a little bit easier for Kansas City and Denver to feel good about him because they were with him (new Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli and new Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels worked with Cassel in New England). But to bring somebody in and say he is the guy and pay him an exorbitant amount of money given that he’s guaranteed $15 million in ’09, that’s why most teams were cautious about going forward. It wasn’t the draft compensation. It was the contract that people were focusing on.

He did a nice job [in 2008]. But let’s not forget who he was with. He was with the New England Patriots; a pretty good football team with a good supporting cast and a great system. Is that guy going to be the same guy in another system with different personnel around him? It’s hard to say. He did a fine job, so there were rewards with him. But there was great risk as well.

My Question: Why haven’t the Bears tried to sign any of this year’s big-name free agents such as wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh or safety Brian Dawkins, both of whom are productive veterans who seemingly would provide major upgrades?

Angelo: Houshmandzadeh is a fine receiver. Would we have entertained him? Yes, but we wanted to see what his marketplace was. In this case, we felt like [what he received from the Seahawks] was an exorbitant amount of money. Remember, he was a No. 2 in Cincinnati. That’s not to say that what Seattle did wasn’t right for them; their situation is different in my mind than ours. They had an inordinate amount of injuries with receivers and they felt like they needed to get somebody that was established and healthy.

A lot of teams would have liked to have had Houshmandzadeh. But he’s going to be 32 in ’09 and the price that you’re paying for that receiver we felt was very high. You have to look at economics when you look at players. Who doesn’t want Houshmandzadeh? But you have to look at the economics: What are the implications to the cap going forward and what does that prevent us from doing in other areas within our team and/or in free agency?

With Brian Dawkins, he’s 35 years old. He’s a great player, but Philadelphia put a limit on what they were going to pay him and they know him the best. You have to understand that it’s not just, “Do you want the player?” Certainly there are players out there, but at what cost? And what does that cost do to your salary cap and to other things you may want to do internally and/or in free agency. You have to be patient as you go through this process. It’s not a matter of not wanting to spend the money. The cap is how you want to allocate the money. When we look at a player, we have to put a value on that player, and then we have to stay disciplined to stay within those parameters. With 14 players being franchised, it makes free agency less attractive, and the players that do get out in free agency are making an exorbitant amount of money because it’s a supply and demand business.

My Question: How much of a priority is upgrading the wide receiver position either in free agency or the draft?

Angelo: Naturally, we’re going to look at that real hard, in all likelihood in the draft. We’re not looking for backup wide receivers. What we want are potentially starting wide receivers. We have a nucleus of receivers that we feel good about in terms of twos, threes, fours and fives, and if we carried six, a sixth receiver. Part of that ties into special teams. What we’re looking at is the top of the wide receiver position. Where does that come from? It comes with a premium receiver in free agency if there’s one out there and/or in the draft. Yes, it’s a position that we are looking at.

interview from chicagobears.com

Caleb Hanie Wants #2 QB Spot

Hanie is heading to the Bears' facilities two weeks before the mandatory veteran minicamp.

This is what he had to say:

“My expectations are just to compete for the backup job, and if they need me to compete for the starting job at some point, I’m ready to do that."

“Kyle’s done a great job and he deserves that [starting] spot. To win that backup job is my main concern, and my job is to be ready at all times to keep the team running and succeed.”

“I think it will help tremendously, last year was a struggle, not getting many reps and trying to learn at the same time. It was all mental reps.

“Now I have a year under my belt. I know the offense, so I’ll be able to progress that much quicker as far as being game-ready and being able to get the reps that I need in the minicamps and OTAs. I think I’ll be able to progress a lot faster and play fast.”

Hanie knows that some fans would like the Bears to sign an experienced backup quarterback—and that’s just fine with him. Asked what he’d say to those people, Hanie said: “I wouldn’t say anything to them. They have their own opinion. Obviously they’d prefer to have a veteran guy that’s been established. But at the same time I think I bring a lot to the table, and given a chance I can go out there and make plays and run the offense.”

all quotes from chicagobears.com

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

Chris Simms Wants to Play for the Bears?

Chris Simms had a lot to say about the possibility of playing for the Bears:

"Jerry Angelo was very easy to talk to, he was always very respectful of my play in college, of my ability. And I have a great respect for him."

"Who wouldn't be interested or thinking about the Chicago Bears? For a guy like myself who has been around football a long time and loves tradition and all the stuff that comes with a great NFL franchise, the Bears are at the top of the list with the Green Bay Packers, the New York Giants, the Dallas Cowboys. They are right in that storied-franchise mix."

"Of course things are different with Rex out of the picture, we'll just see where this free agency takes me from here. I have a great deal of respect for Kyle Orton I thought he played tremendous last year. I've always been impressed with him as a player and as a person."


My Thoughts

Simms has played only 19 games through five seasons, completing 291 of 492 passes for 3,087 yards, with 12 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. He suffered a ruptured spleen in Tampa Bay's third game of the 2006 season and has played in just one regular-season game since.

I really don't see Chris Simms as an upgrade over Rex Grossman.

If they can't land Byron Leftwich or Kurt Warner, I say sign Rex Grossman for another year.

Rex is probably one of the better backups in the NFL.

Maybe with a better offensive line, he could really be a good QB, who knows?


Simms finished by saying this:

"Whoever brings me in, they're not going to just bring me in and say, 'OK, we signed you. You're the starter." I know the job isn't going to be just given to me.

"I just want to go somewhere where, at the very least, I'm the backup. And if I get a chance to compete [for starter], of course, who wouldn't relish that opportunity?"

all quotes from chicagotribune.com

Kyle Orton talks about GM's comments

Orton had this to say about Jerry Angelo's comments:

"I really just don't have any comment on it, I actually haven't talked to [him] or anything like that, so it really doesn't have any bearing on me."

"I've been in situations where I've turned the TV on and they've been saying nice things too, I don't think they know what they're talking about either way. So I try not to put any stock into it, whether they're talking positively or negatively."

all quotes from chicagosuntimes.com

Former Bear Ruben Brown talks about Bears season

Ruben Brown on the Bears season:

"I do like the 9-7 record because if you watch that team, that team was better than 9-7,'' even though the final record was what it was, and the Bears were right there, one more win they're in the playoffs. This is the thing when you look at the Cardinals, when you get in the playoffs, anything can happen. It's anybody's ballgame. Homefield advantage isn't always homefield advantage. Same thing happened to us in 2005. Carolina came in and we had beaten them during the year. It didn't matter. Chicago is promising.''

"Orton is as good as they can get right now, I'm not an Orton hater. I know there are a lot of other teams that wish they had a player like Orton to manage their team, an example is Buffalo, don't turn it over and hand it off to our stud running back and let those guys carry the load with the defense. And that's what we're talking about. Let's face it, we're never talking about how great the quarterback is in Chicago not unless we're talking about Sid Luckman. What we're really talking about is the running game and the defense and the defense didn't step up.

"Whether it is the D-line not producing enough pressure on the quarterback or just the inconsistent play all around for the unit because when that group was humming, they were humming. They were scaring everybody out of their socks when they walked on the field. Now, they have shown a vulnerable side. Injuries have caused that and just time. They're not a young team. But with the draft if they can get some help on the line, I'll tell you if they can get pressure on the quarterback, that defense is back."

And if the defense is back, Brown believes the Bears will be back in contention.

all quotes from chicagosuntimes.com

The Bears Should look at these Wide Receivers

In the upcoming NFL Draft, which is about 3 months away, the Bears most glaring need is wide receiver.

They own the 18th pick in the upcoming draft and by the time they choose expect Texas Tech's Michael Crabtree, Missouri's Jeremy Maclin and Florida's Percy Harvin to all be off the board.

That's why they should look at Maryland's Darrius Heyward-Bey and North Carolina's Hakeem Nicks.

Darrius Heyward-Bey's College Statistics:

Maryland			Receiving						Rushing
Season	Games		Rec	Yds	Avg	Lg	TD		Att	Yds	Avg	Lg	TD
2006	13		45	694	15.4	96	5		5	14	1.0	9	0
2007	13		51	786	15.4	63	3		5	110	21.4	54	1
2008	12		42	608	14.5	80	5		15	202	13.5	76	1
Total	37		138	2,089	15.1	96	13		25	326	13.0	76	2

Career highlights and awards for Darrius Heyward-Bey

• 2006 The Sporting News first-team freshman All-America
• 2006 All-ACC second-team
• 2008 All-ACC honorable mention

fftoolbox.com says that "Darrius Heyward-Bey is a big 6-2 receiver who is simply an amazing athlete who can win a jump ball against any corner in the NFL."

YouTube Highlights of Darrius Heyward-Bey




Hakeem Nicks' College Statistics:

tats Overview	Receiving					Rushing					Fumbles
YEAR	REC	YDS	AVG	LNG	TD	ATT	YDS	AVG	LNG	TD	FUM	LST
2006	39	660	16.9	83	4	1	10	10.0	10	0	0	0
2007	74	958	12.9	53	5	1	-1	-1.0	0	0	0	0
2008	68	1222	18.0	74	12	5	34	6.8	12	1	0	0

Career highlights and awards

• Most career receptions in UNC history (181)
• Most career TD receptions in UNC history (21)
• Most single-season TD receptions in UNC history (12)

fftoolbox.com says that "Nicks is not a pure speed receiver, but he has certainly been productive. At 6-2 and 210 pounds, he has decent size and could develop into a solid complimentary receiver on just about any team in the NFL."

YouTube Highlights of Hakeem Nicks


So why should we care about these guys ?
Because they might help the Bears tremendously next season.

I'm not a big Kyle Orton fan, but he had horrible wide receivers this season.

Kyle Orton needs other help than Matt Forte.

Marty Booker, Brandon Lloyd and Rashied Davis are not #2 receivers in the NFL.

And Devin Hester is definitely not a #1.

I would love to have either of these guys, but I would prefer Nicks of Heyward-Bey, just because of the highlight above from YouTube.

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

If Terrell Owens Was a Bear

Written by Joe Willett of Bleacherreport.com.

Terrell Owens has officially been traded to the Chicago Bears after Jerry Jones decided that he needed to cave to the media and shake things up a little bit.

Although the trading deadline is long gone, Roger Goodell, in an attempt to keep Tony Romo and Jason Witten from joining forces to murder clubhouse cancer, allowed the trade to go through.

However, angered with the situation at hand, TO has begun his anti-teammate antics earlier than ever before.

It began when Bears receiver Rashied Davis refused to give up the number 81 to Owens, who has always had that number.

"This is just him looking at what I did to all my other teams and pre-judging me," said an angered Owens in another interview with ESPN writer Stephen A. Smith.

Davis also commented on the situation.

"I don't care if they give him the [Stephon] Marbury treatment, I don't want him on this team," said an also angered Davis.

Owens then turned his frustration to the quarterback and, in a tactic he has never used before, decided he didn't want to catch passes from anybody on the Bears depth chart at quarterback.

"First off, [Kyle] Orton is just plain ugly. Look at that neck beard, just nasty. At least I had Jeff Garcia (Playboy Playmate wife), Tony Romo (Jessica Simpson girlfriend) and Donovan McNabb (I guess he just thinks McNabb is hot). How am I supposed to catch passes from such an ugly person. And look at the guys they have lower on the depth chart are even worse. Grossman looks like a cardboard cutout and who the f*** is Caleb Hanie," said Owens.

To recap Owens' illustrius career, he has enjoyed good times. He has gone to six Pro Bowls and a Super Bowl. He has also caught more touchdown passes than any other wide receiver not named Jerry Rice and holds the NFL record for catches in a game with 20.

There have also been bad times. After his time in San Fransisco, he called his insinuated that his ex-quarterback was a homosexual. Then he went to Philadelphia where he played for just one season. In that one season, he went to the Super Bowl despite playing injured in the NFC Championship game.

While with the Eagles, he made statements against Donovan McNabb, saying that the team would be undefeated if they had Brett Favre as the quarterback because Favre is a warrior, even though McNabb was playing with a sports hernia among other injuries.

When he went to Dallas, arch-rival to the Eagles, he was generally nice to the team. However, in 2006, there was a police-report saying that Owens had overdosed on a pain medication intentionally to try to commit suicide.

Then, throughout the past few weeks, Owens has been reportedly creating a divide amongst the players in the Cowboys locker room as he had been upset with Tony Romo's frequent passing to tight end Jason Witten, although Romo had thrown to Owens about 20 more times than he had thrown to Witten. This event led to his most recent trade to Chicago.

Despite all of the antics he brings, he still always finds a way to help the team win. In his first game against the Packers he had 143 receiving yards and three touchdown catches as the Bears won the game 42-10.

Said Owens after the game, "they unleashed me."

I guess you can't teach an old dog new tricks.

This never really happened

Good as Gould Again

My first Soldier Field experience turned out to be a success.

Not only was it the coldest (-2) Bears game in history at kickoff, but they also defeated their most hated rival the Green Bay Packers 20-17.

The Bears were trailing 14-3 at half to the 5-9 Packers and basically did nothing offensively.

They adjusted at half, just like me.

My hands were pretty much frozen, so I put multiple hand warmers in my gloves.

That saved me, and the Bears.


Three reasons how they won:

1. Special Teams- Robbie Gould, Danieal Manning and Alex Brown had huge plays.

2. Matt Forte- He came up big late in the game.

3. The fans- they play a huge role in this one.


If they lost, I would have wasted my time freezing my hands.

Thank goodness they won.

Now they play a 7-8 Houston Texans team in Houston, a must win game to even have a shot at the playoffs.

They need Minnesota to lose to the Giants in Minnesota and the Cowboys and Bucs both to lose.

If Minnesota loses and we win were NFC North champs, and if Dallas and Tampa Bay lose and we win we clinch a wild card spot.

What a great weekend for me.

Not only do the the Chicago Bulls win Saturday night, but all the teams the Bears needed to lose lost and they pick up a huge win.


Just a few notes:

S Mike Brown injured his calf late in the second quarter and did not return.

Brad Maynard’s third quarter punt hit Green Bay’s Jarrett Bush, who was blocking on the play, and the Bears’ Jason Davis recovered at the 27.

The 4th and one, when it was 17-10 was converted by only an inch.

Matt Forte played through an injured toe to keep the Bears playoffs hopes alive.

The coin toss in OT went off of Brian Urlacher's Helmet.


Alex Brown had this to say about his blocked field goal to save the day:

We got a great push from a lot of different people. I was just the one who got my hand on it, we were saying on the sidelines that we have to block it. I got through pretty good but I didn’t really think that was going to happen. You just go as hard as you can and see if you can get a hand up and hopefully you can get it.”

Orton had this to say after the game:

“Everything fell right, gave us a lot of momentum and energy coming into this game. We just had to carry it all the way through."

Lovie on team win:

"I don't know if I've ever been prouder of a team."

All quotes from Yahoosports.com

Bears sign WR

According to ESPN.com, the Bears signed wide receiver Devin Aromashodu off the Washington Redskins' practice squad.

Devin Aromashodu took the roster spot of Dusty Dvoraceck, who officially went on the injured reserve today.

Devin Aromashodu won a Super Bowl ring with the Indianapolis Colts.

Devin Aromashodu was originally drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the 7th round of the 2006 draft out of Auburn.

He had 71 receptions, 1,333 yards receiving, and nine touchdowns with the Auburn Tigers. (2002-2005)

He is a 6'2" wide receiver, who weighs about 200 pounds.

Last year he saw his first action of his career, where he appeared in six games and caught seven passes for 96 yards for the Colts.

He has also been apart of the Houston Texans and Washington Redskins practice squads.

Maybe, this means the Bears are fed up with the production of Rashied Davis, Marty Booker and Brandon Lloyd.

Booker left last game with bruised ribs, and there was no update on his status for Thursday's nights' game.


Booker on possibility of playing Thursday night:

`This game here, I would say, will be a game-time decision, but we don't know. Definitely I'll probably only sit out one game.''

``I knew it [was cracked] as soon as I did it, Sunday night was unbelievable. I didn't get any sleep. I'm still having trouble sleeping. But I'm able to move around. Yesterday, I was like Frankenstein. But today, I'm able to move around a little bit better.''

Rashied Davis has dropped more balls, than he has caught in the last three games and Brandon Lloyd is flat out invisible.

They need to give Earl Bennett and Brandon Rideau a shot because besides Devin Hester they have no receivers.

I think Rideau will be active for this game, if Booker can't go.

Rideau is 6'3" and looked to be a weapon during the pre-season.

Why sign Devin Aromashodu?

Maybe, this Devin Aromashodu guy is pretty good.

Hopefully!

We need him to help Kyle Orton and the offense out.

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 last 4 games not in their favor

Bears 6-6, but could be 9-3.

9-10 Lovie Smith's record in December since taking over as head coach of the Bears in 2004.

71-17 How badly the Packers and Vikings outscored the Bears in NFC North showdowns in November.

32 The number of games the Bears have played since they last won their fourth game in a row, on Dec. 24, 2006.

23 Combined victories for the six teams the Bears have beaten. For comparison's sake, the four teams that have lost to Jacksonville have combined for 20 victories.

49.3 Kyle Orton's completion percentage (41 of 83 for 418 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions) in the three games since he returned from an ankle injury.

The odds are against them, but we'll have to what they can do.

It's up to the Bears, to decide if they win these four final games of the season.

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)"

A look ahead at Sunday Night

Series leader: Vikings, 50-42-2.

Streaks: The Vikings have won two of the last three against the Bears.

Dome Field Advantage: The Vikings have enjoyed a 4-1 record this season at home.

Keys for the Bears: Kyle Orton is 18-10 as a starter, and in the last meeting with the Vikings, he threw for 283 yards and two touchdowns for a 114.5 passer rating.

Bears RB Matt Forte leads NFL rookies with 1,245 yards from scrimmage and 59 first downs.

Keys for the Vikings: Vikings RB Adrian Peterson has enjoyed great success against the Bears, rushing for 423 yards, averaging 6.8 yards per carry and scoring seven touchdowns in three career games against the Bears.

Embarrassing: Bears lose to the Packers 37-3

The Bears looked like a high school team on Sunday.

They let the Packers do whatever they wanted to do to them.

The defense let Ryan Grant run for 100 yards in the first half and score 30 points.

Kyle Orton wasn't much better than the defense, he was 13-26, for 133 yards and a fumble which was recovered for a touchdown.

Rex Grossman came in the game in the 4th quarter and and completed four of seven passes for 26 yards.

From the second play, I thought Kyle Orton should have been taken out of the game.

He was limping, when he got back up from the game.

He was inaccurate throughout the whole game and it seemed like the ankle was really bothering him.

If you had Grossman in the game at least he could have taken shots down field.

Grossman at least should have put in at halftime, when they were trailing 17-3.

The whole game was so pathetic.

Only two players on defense actually put there hearts in the game on Sunday.

Those players were Brian Urlacher, who came up with a touchdown stopping interception late in the second quarter and Mike Brown, who was all over the field.

Only one player played to there best in the game, that was Matt Forte, who they went away from in the second half of the game.

The Bears better make some huge strides for there big match up in Minnesota two weeks from now.

If they lose to St. Louis there season will be over, they better get the victory.

There schedule from here on out isn't that tough.


Extra points:

Rookie first-round pick Chris Williams finished the game at left tackle… Reserve linebacker Darrell McClover, a regular on special teams, said he tweaked his left hamstring while running. He left in the first half and didn't return. … A surprise among the in actives was running back Kevin Jones, who said he was a little shocked by the move.