Hines Ward on Bears WR's coach

Steelers WR Hines Ward came to the defense of Darryl Drake, the Bears' wide receivers coach.

Drake has taken some heat for the performance of the wide receivers.

This is what Hines Ward had to say:

"Any criticism of him is not fair, look at the quarterback situation. They don't have a stable quarterback. I know the quarterback situation there and I don't care who you bring in to catch the ball. You could bring in the best receiver in the league. Look at Randy Moss going out to Oakland and what happened there. His stats went down. It wasn't based on Randy, it was based on the quarterback play.''

"It's unfair for Drake to be criticized because you have to factor in the quarterback play there,'' Ward said. ``If you're not getting quality quarterback play, it's hard for any receiver to put up huge numbers or really go out and do something. That's not to say that Muhsin or Berrian were any less as wideouts, it's just the quarterback situation Chicago had, they didn't know who was going to be quarterback week to week. When you have that, a lot of that is reflected on the wideouts. It's unfair. Drake is a phenomenal coach. He's coached a lot of guys in this league. He was my college coach and the player you see out on the field today has a lot to do with coach Drake.

"He motivated me. I got recruited as a quarterback and I didn't know anything about wideout. I played two years under him and all and all, he taught me the game itself, how to block, how to be a complete player and I owe it all to him. The quarterback has a major factor in what the receivers are going to do.''

``Drake's on my speed dial,'' he said. ``I've probably got a message from him right now. He's a good man and a good coach.''

all quotes from chicagosuntimes.com

Ex- Bears Muhsin Muhammad And Tank Johnson Have Comments For Their Former Team

For a guy who led the NFL, the last two years in dropped passes to say something rude about his ex-team is wrong.

Two days ago ex-Chicago Bear Muhsin Muhammad told Peter King of SI.com "That's right. It's where receivers go to die.''

What Muhsin Muhammad said made it into Peter King's Quotes of the Week.

I think Muhsin is just mad because the Bears finally released him and his large contract, which he never lived up to.

The Bears signed Muhsin Muhammad in 2005 the year after he had a career high 16 receiving touchdowns.

The last two seasons, Muhsin led the league in drops and it was time for him to go.

I don't hear Bernard Berrian bashing his former team.

Muhsin was out of his prime and the Bears picked up a guy to take his place, Marty Booker.

A look at Booker, not only as younger, but also as a better player. Booker had his best years as a Bear.

Yesterday, WMVP-AM 1000's Tom Waddle and Marc Silverman chatted with Muhsin Muhammad a day after his criticism of the Bears made headlines.

This is what Muhammad had to say, "I was actually responding to a comment that was made, and I guess you can kind of agree with it,'' Muhammad said. "My career didn't really take off there. I wasn't really directing it at any particular coach or any particular staff member. It was just a situation where I was looking at the receiving corps, as a whole, over the course of time. And you really haven't seen a lot of big-name receivers go to the Pro Bowl for Chicago.''

For a guy who couldn't push Kelvin Hayden out of bounds in the Super Bowl, Muhammad has no right to say this.

I used to like Muhsin Muhammad, and i like cheering "Moose" everytime he caught a pass, but now he lost my respect as a player and as a person.

Of course the Bears quarterbacks had little to say.

Rex Grossman said ''I don't pay attention to that" and Kyle Orton said "No comment."

Muhsin was asked about the coaches in Chicago, and this is what he said "Well, for whatever reason, it just didn't work out,'' he said. "Ron has had success in different places and, obviously, he's a good coordinator. And also Darryl Drake, he's a great receivers coach. And Lovie Smith, can't say enough good things about him. I think the comment was taken out of context a little bit and probably blown up a little more than it should have been. "But that's just how it goes sometimes in this business—you're going to be misquoted or … things like that happen. We pick up the pieces and try to leave on good notes. I wish them well and I know they do the same for me.''

Chicago Bears wide receivers coach had this say about his former WR “Everybody is entitled to their opinions,” said Drake, who’s in his fifth season with the Bears. “I love Moose and hope that he continues to have an illustrious career.

Daryl Drake alluded to former Bears receivers Bobby Wade, Justin Gage and Bernard Berrian as players, who emerged here in Chicago, before signing lucrative long-term deals with other teams. Drake also mentioned that, Muhsin Muhammad had to share time with Bernard Berrian, when Berrian finally grew as a receiver.

In the end Daryl Drake said this about Muhsin Muhammad, ''I'll give him a great big hug, right around the neck [when they meet in Week 2] because I love him.''

Another former Bears player made rude comments about one of his former teammates.

DT Tank Johnson told CBS Sportsline.com that Grossman was "brittle" and "soft."

Tank Johnson, shouldn't be saying anything after his off the field arrests and mistakes he made as a Bear.

Also, Muhsin Muhammad dropped more passes than i can remember.

Ron Turner reflected on the comments made by the former Bears players. He said "To be honest that's the first time I ever heard that from either of those guys, but any time anybody says something about guys on this team you take offense to it."

Next time you want to talk bad about someone Muhsin or Tank, talk bad about yourself.

Maybe you guys should look in the mirror, once in a while.

Rex Grossman gets so much criticism and I hope he proves everyone wrong and has a great year.