Archives for November 2010

‘I say it’s better to be 0-8 than 1-7 and on the way up.’

‘We won’t overpay for junk – and right now that’s what the Bills are. Toronto is a city of Dolphins fans and Cowboys fans and Raiders fans and Steelers fans and just about any NFL team you can name. It’s a football town that won’t sell enough enough tickets for the Argos or the Bills, won’t get excited really until it has its own NFL team. Until then, there will be more of the same – a neutral site game for a team that few around here really gives a damn about.’

‘At home in the off-season, Fitzpatrick says he drives a 2009 Ford F150 King Ranch pickup truck and confesses, “I’m a truck-guy. I haul stuff around, mulch the yard – [it] makes me feel a little more manly.”‘

Bears’ season at a tipping point (Chicago Tribune)

Continuity integral for Bears offensive line (Chicago Tribune)

Bears’ Idonije has come long way from Manitoba (Chicago Tribune)

Bear’s quiet battle: Mom’s drug addiction (Chicago Tribune)

Former Bears QB McMahon has memory issues (Chicago Tribune)

At 3-3, Lovie Smith needs a bye-week bailout (Chicago Sun Times)

Trust key factor for Bears’ offense (Chicago Sun Times)

Potash’s breakdown: Bears at Bills (Chicago Sun Times)

The picks: Bears at Bills (Chicago Sun Times)

Bears defense: We can get better (Arlington Heights Daily Herald)

Will Bears’ tight ends have big day against Bills? (Arlington Heights Daily Herald)

Bears had game plan for customs (Arlington Heights Daily Herald)

Bears don’t see mismatch (Northwest Herald)

Five key matchups that will be pivotal in (Northwest Herald)

Small crowd expected Sunday, Ditka talks hits (CSN Chicago)

Bears @ Bills Preview & Prediction (WBBM-TV)

’85 Bears gather to celebrate 25th anniversary of title (ChicagoBears.com)

Cutler in favor of plan to be more balanced on offense (ChicagoBears.com)

‘Smith doesn’t consider the Bills the pushovers their record might reflect. What encourages him is having the game played at Toronto, where he expects to have a large contingent of Bears fans in the stands. “We definitely like playing there instead of Buffalo,” Smith said. “Hopefully, it will be more of a neutral site.”‘

‘First off, if Rogers ends up renewing their agreement to host regular-season Bills games in Toronto, the price point for tickets will be lower. That will help. The biggest thing that would help is if the Bills had a winning team.’

‘So enjoy this little taste of the NFL, Torontonians. Enjoy the fact you paid ridiculous prices for games that are a fraction of the cost in Buffalo. Enjoy the fact you haven’t truly had a real tailgate party, but rather a phony corporate version. Enjoy the fact you were able to see some star players, though hardly enough of the really big ones — unless you count Terrell Owens, who was a Bill for one year and brought his act to Toronto. We did enjoy seeing the Miami Dolphins and Ricky Williams, though we had already seen him toil for a season in with the Argos — that OTHER pro football team in Toronto.’

‘On the day of the game there will be a Budweiser tailgate party from 10am to 12:30 on the east side of the Rogers Centre. There will be live music, a beer garden, a variety of food and appearances by the Buffalo Jills and Bills alumni.’

‘Bills 29, Bears 22.’

‘I like the move a lot, but it was not a shocking move by any means. Nix was the guy who drafted the University of Maryland product 12th overall in the 2005 NFL draft. When your 2009 11th overall pick outside linebacker Aaron Maybin is a healthy scratch the past two games and Chris Kelsay, your other outside linebacker, is awful in tight end pass coverage and is getting burned in the open field by the not-so-nimble Matt Cassel, you may have already seen this move coming.’

‘"Just sitting back and watching film right before I even came here, you see the guys and the talent that’s on the field," remarked Merriman. "You kind of wonder, ‘How is this team 0-7, this doesn’t look like an 0-7 team.’"’

‘”I’ve known Buddy since San Diego and as soon as everything went down he called me immediately,” said Merriman. “We talked for a while and he just asked how I felt about it and asked me if I’m ready to play and I said, ‘Yeah, I’m ready so let’s go.'”‘

‘”They have high expectations for me to come in and make some things happen, and I’m going to do that,” Merriman said Saturday before he and the rest of his new team departed for Toronto for their game Sunday against the Chicago Bears (4-3). “I’ve been working out and I’m just ready to get on the field as soon as possible. Whatever they need me to do, I’m here to work and kind of be a piece of the puzzle.”‘

‘"A lot of games we’ve been playing from behind and some teams just try to pound the ball and eat up the clock," said linebacker Chris Kelsay. "But if we can get ’em in those situations, then obviously it’s a favorable matchup for us. It comes down to playing good on first and second down and putting them in long-distance third downs."’

‘"I see myself more as a defensive player, so I don’t see myself like Ayanbadejo as just being a special teams guy," Graham told Chicago media recently. "But I am good at it. I pride myself on it, and I love doing it. I have high goals for myself, and obviously I’d love to go out there and make the Pro Bowl. Hopefully, if I continue to do well, and people start to see it, I’ll start getting some recognition for it."’