Who stays, who goes amongst Bears free agents

Not in my memory has a team had as many players unrestricted free agents as the Bears and General Manager Phil Emery have this offseason. Last offseason Emery made the offense a focal point, retooling the offensive line and taking it from the worst units in the league to the strongest unit of the team.

He has promised to do the same this offseason. He has to start in deciding if Defensive Coordinator Mel Tucker will be back and beyond that has some tough choices to make starting with the players that played in Chicago this season.

Before the team signed kicker Robbie Gould and fullback Tony Fiammetta signed contracts before the Week 17 showdown with the Packers, the Bears had 29 players eligible for free agency after this season.

The list of players is long, but contains some big names, including Jay Cutler and Charles "Peanut" Tillman. I've been clear how I feel about Cutler and backup quarterback Josh McCown, who is also a free agent, but things seem to be taking shape on some of the other players. Tillman's injuries the last couple seasons make him a guy that could be on his way out. He says he's not done playing football, but might be a guy the Bears are willing to let go.

The biggest name outside of Cutler and Tillman is Devin Hester, who still has ability to be a game changer and did so throughout this year. It was his first season as just a return man and he seemed to do well. He earned just $2 million this season and if they can agree on something around that this year, I would be behind bringing him back. Otherwise, Hester has been clear he'd like to reunite with Lovie Smith, where ever he ends up this winter.

Cornerback Tim Jennings, who plays opposite Tillman, should be a guy the Bears look at signing. He's young enough and is a great playmaker. Whether he can play man coverage is something that could play a role in that.

Linebackers D.J. Williams and James Anderson are free agents, as well. Williams was the starting middle linebacker at the start of the season, but injury ended his season early on. He makes just $1 million and has been clear he wants to be back. For that salary, it would be hard to let him walk away, for depth purposes alone. Anderson could be a casualty with rookie James Bostic showing himself worth in Lance Briggs' absence during the year.

Along the offensive line center Roberto Garza was the lone holdover from last season and proved himself worthy this season. I'd be inclined to keep this group together for another season as they started all 16 games this season. Left guard Matt Slauson has said he wants to be back and I'd like to see him back, too.

Finally, Julius Peppers is an interesting name that's been brought up this week. He's not a free agent, but is set to make $18.133 million next season. If the Bears are looking to find dollars to spread around to the free agents and draft picks, that might be a spot they look to make a move. Peppers led the team with 7.5 sacks this season, but was not nearly the force he's been in past year.

I'm glad I'm not the guy crunching the numbers and dealing with the agents, but it will be interesting to see fall into place as Emery and Trestman put a team together over the next six months.

New faces set to push Bears; Plus Week 1 NFL picks

All week I've been building up to the start of the season. Yesterday I made my Super Bowl prediction, which was a bit outside of the box and Tuesday I took a stab at each division, setting the table for the playoffs. Now it's time to take a closer look at my favorite team, the Chicago Bears. They're on the flag at the top of the page if that comes as a surprise.

The offseason for the Bears was like every other team, jam packed into a month. General Manager Jerry Angelo made some moves to bring new faces into the fold at key positions and it has to be the biggest question mark heading into the campaign. Normally, this wouldn't be an issue, but given the (lack of) offseason teams had, it becomes more an issue.
The biggest names entering the fold are on offense in the form of Roy Williams at wide receiver, who I am not excited to have as the No. 1 receiver ahead of Johnny Knox. Apparently Knox isn't either and it only looks like a matter of time before Knox gets his spot back as the top guy. That might best suit the offense and quarterback Jay Cutler, who can use the weapons of Williams and another former Cowboy in Sam Herd to make an impact. If anything, the front office went out and got guys to push the guys in the receiving corps to step their games up, which they have.
Of course, the key to everything with this team is the offensive line. It is why Angelo and coach Lovie Smith decided to take former Wisconsin Badger Gabe Carimi with their first pick and put him at right tackle.
The biggest move in the offseason wasn't one that had the Bears adding players, but rather sending one away in the Greg Olsen trade to Carolina. It has to seem like offensive coordinator Mike Martz was allowed to call some shots with his offensive personnel. If they don't show signs early, expect coach Lovie Smith to step in like he did last season and get this team turned in the right direction.
One thing not being talked about is how strong Jay Cutler has looked in camp and in preseason. He's clearly slimmer and has made it clear football is his No. 1 focus after his wedding was broken off just before the end of the lockout. I'd say this could be a better season than last for Jay and one where he steps up and leads this team more so than ever before.
My reasoning for that thought is what some are considering a weakness for this team and that is the aging defense. Guys like Brian Urlacher and Charles Tillman continue to play at very high levels alongside Lance Briggs and Julius Peppers. They may have lost a step, but with the lockout, that may put them at an advantage, at least to start the season. Chris Harris remains at the top of his game from his safety position and the addition of Brandon Meriweather from New England could be one that pays dividends, as well. He's a guy that's made the Pro Bowl in two of the last four seasons and could be a factor immediately.
Am I worried about the distractions of Matt Forte trying to negotiate a contract and Lance Briggs asking for a trade? As Jerry Angelo told the media today at Halas Hall, no. Both know what is at stake as the season approaches and they are in prep mode for the season. So, if he's not worried, I'm not either.
What am I thinking about this team's finish? Well, the first three weeks are going to be tough with the Falcons at home, a trip to New Orleans and the Packers all on the docket. Things turn around after that with winnable games against the Panthers and Lions and Vikings. I'd be happy to get through that run at 4-3 and then get ready to make a run in the second half of the season.
Season prediction: As the season goes on, this offensive line will only get better. With the youth up front, that's an obvious point, but it will pay dividends after the Bye Week and a trip to London. The Packers seem too good to not win the division title, but don't count the Bears out of a Wild Card berth. I see them going 10-6 and getting the No. 5 seed.

Falcons at Bears Preview
I might as well get into the Week 1 matchup with the Falcons while I'm going strong here and it is definitely a tough one for the Bears and promises to be one of the better ones to kickoff the season.
Carimi has to be one of the main focuses in this one with the guys the Falcons have on the outside to rush the passer.
Those matchups will go a long way in determining if the Bears will be able to do anything on offense. I'm going to go out on a limb and say Cutler is going to rely on softening things up by looking to Matt Forte early and often and going with short routes that will allow him to start to look downfield. To me, the secondary is where you can beat the Falcons. The key is just having time to throw the ball down field.
As for the other side of the ball, the Bears defense in recent years has found way to keep Michael Turner in check and make Matt Ryan beat them. The only problem is that he has done just that. They were all close games and this one should follow that trend, too. I'm saying that guy at the top of the page is going to need to be a big factor and he will be.
Score: Bears 24, Falcons 21

And now to the NFL picks. Winners are in bold. I'll have the results in next week's picks post.
Saints at Packers
Falcons at Bears
Bills at Chiefs
Bengals at Browns
Lions at Bucs
Titans at Jaguars
Colts at Texans
Eagles at Rams
Steelers at Ravens
Vikings at Chargers
Giants at Redskins
Panthers at Cardinals
Seahawks at 49ers
Cowboys at Jets
Patriots at Dolphins
Raiders at Broncos

What to think of the 2010 Monsters of the Midway

At noon Sunday the Chicago Bears start another season and this may be the first time in a long time my expectations for the season are low.
Does an 0-4 preseason give fans anything to get excited about? Well, not really. Aside from Matt Forte's 89-yard touchdown run against the Raiders in Week 2 of the preseason.
Everything from Jay Cutler's production with the offense, to the offensive line in pass protection, there are a lot of things I don't think this team can do.
Is that to say they won't get it fixed through the year? Maybe, but with an offseason and preseason games to work on things, you'd think they'd have things under control by now.
On the defensive side of the ball Julius Peppers has been everywhere on the field and Brian Urlacher (when he has not been nursing a calf strain) has been a welcome re-addition to this unit. There are still question marks at cornerback with Nathan Vasher shipped out of town and Zachary Bowman taking over. Also, at safety where the coaching staff cannot seem to figure out if Daniel Manning and the re-acquired Chris Harris belong at the spot.
So, ,you're probably thinking, do I think the Bears are going to do this year? Well, the folks that have this team winning three games this season are mistaken. They are better than that if they just let Jay make the calls for himself and just wing it at the line. If you saw my NFL preview the other night, you saw I didn't have them in the playoffs and that is right. The Vikings and the Packers are too good within the division for the Bears to make it into the postseason.
The schedule this year is pretty tough and I'm thinking this team could have another 7-9 or 8-8 year in them. It's not awful, but it's not great either and I'm going to say it now, Lovie Smith should not be back next season.
The only way things turn is if things start to click offensively and Cutler and Martz figure out the offense and everyone gets rolling. In order to do that, the offensive line is going to have to play out of their minds and Mike Tice will have worked wonders because even the supposed best of the bunch in Chris Williams has looked terrible at points during the preseason.


Alright, let's turn our attention to the near future and Sunday's game against the Lions, shall we? The Lions have lost 20 at home and in two games the Bears scored 47 points against Detroit last year.
With the Bears playing at home, I'm going to give them the edge in this game to get things established with Matt Forte and Chester Taylor early. Whether that is with straight runs or with short throws from Cutler is up to Mike Martz, but I see it happening.
To me, that is the key in the offense. If a line can run block, they can protect the QB and if they can push bodies around when the guys are running down hill, they will be able to get the confidence needed to protect Jay and maybe even let him make some strikes downfield.
The news today is that Lance Briggs and Desmond Clark are "probable" to play and both should be welcomed on the field. Briggs, moreso, clearly for his importance on the weakside next to Brian Urlacher and Pisa Tinoasumoa on the strong side.
The key for the defense is simple, get off the field on third down. If Julius Peppers can get some pressure on the Matt Stafford or bring enough attention to himself that Tommie Harris and Marc Anderson can get pressure, the Cover-2 will be able to shine.
Prediction: Bears 24, Lions 20


OK, folks, time for a talk with the Nussie Hunter. He made a trip Down Under and brought back with him shots of Miranda Kerr set to appear in Victoria's Secret. I'll say it's not a secret anymore, hun. Here she is. And here are more shots of her!