Archives for October 2006

‘Brown is one of the best offensive linemen to wear a Bears uniform, even if most of his glory days were while he was wearing a Bills jersey. The veteran left guard has had eight Pro Bowl years and could make it nine this season. Advancing his case Sunday against the Bills would be a particularly nice touch after the bitterness and acrimony that surrounded the team’s waiving him in March 2004. Former coach Gregg Williams held him out of the final game in 2003, breaking his string of 71 consecutive starts, reportedly because Brown had been late for a meeting.’

‘The Bears, known for their defense, surprisingly rank 10th in the NFC in yards given up per rushing attempt, which gives the team some pause when considering the threat McGahee presents.’

Making a claim for Hall of Fame (Chicago Tribune)

20 Questions with Adrian Peterson (Chicago Tribune)

Special teamers on alert (Chicago Sun Times)

Bills rely heavily on McGahee (Arlington Heights Daily Herald)

Ogunleye, Clark appear ready to go (Arlington Heights Daily Herald)

Berrian no longer a hidden talent (Tinley Park Daily Southtown)

Bears’ Brown faces old friends (Northwest Herald)

Bears put down talk of a letdown (Rockford Register Star)

Ogunleye back at practice, status still up in air (ChicagoBears.com)

Smith lauds home fans as key fourth phase (ChicagoBears.com)

Bears must stop the Bills’ run attack (ChicagoBears.com)

‘Make no mistake, Bruce Smith hasn’t gone soft. At 6-foot-4 and 265 pounds, he still could probably scare someone like Dan Marino, one quarterback he spent years chasing on Sundays. But if Smith sees Marino, now, he’s more likely to strike up a business conversation.’

‘Duke Preston vs. Tommie Harris – Buffalo’s second-year lineman will have his hands full with Chicago’s Pro Bowl defensive tackle. He’s arguably been the most disruptive interior defensive lineman in the league through the first month of the season and leads the Bears with five sacks in four games.’

‘"Going into this game, I’m really just trying to focus on me, and what I know I can do and what our offense needs to do to be successful," Preston added. "That’s going to be the approach, and we’ll just go from there."’

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‘”It’s going to be a test,” Preston said. “Like I’ve been saying, we’re really going to try to focus on us and do what we do, let that stuff take care of itself. Definitely study them and give them their respect, but we got to do our job, too.”‘

‘Brown was an eight-time Pro Bowl selection before the Bills released him after the 2003 season, when his relationship with the team turned ugly. He was involved in a heated exchange with offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride late in the season, was placed on the inactive list for the regular-season finale and eventually was waived.’

‘The fair catch signal actually wasn’t the call on the play. The referee called “Interference with opportunity to catch,” a 15-yard penalty. It’s in Rule 10, Section 1, Article 4, under Supplemental Notes: “A receiver running toward a kick in flight has the right of way and opponents must get out of his path to the ball. Otherwise, it is interference irrespective of any contact or catch or whether any signal is given or not.” The problem is the Vikings’ Jason Whittle, in our view, wasn’t making a good attempt to catch the ball.’

‘It’s been seven years since Bills coach Dick Jauron was hired by the Bears. Almost three years have passed since they brought Lovie Smith aboard to replace him. Yet we’re still waiting for either of them to say or do something particularly newsworthy.’

‘The Bills have not scored more than two touchdowns on offense in a game this season, though, and they have stalled inside the opponent’s 20, with five touchdowns and five field goals in 12 trips. Their offensive line is a bit thin, with right guard Chris Villarrial expected to sit out with an ankle injury, and on defense, linebacker Takeo Spikes (right hamstring) is questionable. "I think we’re evolving," Losman said. "We’re getting closer to where we want to be, and every week it’s showing."’

Early MVP? Grossman, hands down (Chicago Tribune)

Playing defense by the numbers (Chicago Tribune)

Berrian turns into a steal (Chicago Tribune)

Bears a draw for networks (Chicago Tribune)

Ask David Haugh (Chicago Tribune)

Upright-guy Gould turns into pop star (Chicago Sun Times)

Harris already enjoying a strong campaign (Chicago Sun Times)

Bearing up under pressure (Chicago Sun Times)

Some cuts, some glory for these Bears (Chicago Sun Times)

Turner: Grossman can be compared to Kramer in ’95 (Arlington Heights Daily Herald)

Bears surely can pass for a Super team (Arlington Heights Daily Herald)

Ground to a halt (Tinley Park Daily Southtown)

Tommie Harris racing … toward NFL stardom (Tinley Park Daily Southtown)

Lovie vs. Jauron: It’s ‘Boring Bowl I’ (Northwest Herald)

Decision making key for Grossman (Rockford Register Star)

Bears get back to business (Northwest Indiana Times)

There’s something familiar about these new-age Bears (Anderson Herald Bulletin)

Bears open up field with Berrian (AP)

Harris taking early season success in stride (ChicagoBears.com)

Is offensive line depth a concern? (ChicagoBears.com)

Brown stoked to face former teammates (ChicagoBears.com)

Grossman, Turner shift offense into overdrive (ChicagoBears.com)

‘"If you look back at Rex’s history, he was right on the verge of taking a step in every year he played before he was injured," he said. "In 2004 he led us to a big win against Green Bay, was going up and down the field against Minnesota and went down with (a season-ending knee injury). We had high hopes last year; he looked great in preseason and went down. But he came back later on, and we got a taste of what Rex could do then. And this year he’s been there the entire time and we’re seeing the type of football player he can be. He’s a great leader; he has the physical tools that quarterbacks need to possess. It should be a lot of fun to watch him grow."’

‘…the Bears will pull it out, 17-9.’