Bears Gab

Luckily, Larry Mayer at chicagobears.com took notes from the Browns scintillating 13-10 victory. You can find a recap of the events that led to Chicago’s first 0-4 preseason in over a decade here.

So which fringe players locked up a roster spot and which ones will hit the street? We’ll have our answers in the next few days. Until then, here’s my (revised) prediction on how the final 53-man roster will shake down:

Ladies and gentlemen, your 2010 Chicago Bears:

TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company, a subsidiary of the adidas Group, has introduced a new line of hats and visors, which features the primary colors and logos of all 32 NFL teams. Golfers across the country can now fly the colors of their favorite teams on the golf course (not on Sundays of course). Fans can choose from all 32 NFL teams at on-course and off-course retail locations, in addition to select sporting goods retailers. If you are a displaced fan and don’t think you will be able to find your favorite team locally, go to www.taylormadegolfgear.com for a complete selection.

Each hat and visor will feature an NFL team’s logo blazoned on the left panel. The team’s name will also be stitched onto the left corner of the hat/visor. The TaylorMade logo will appear in 3D embroidery on the front panel of the hat.

The hats will be available at retail at a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $27.99.

The Bears announced that they have claimed first-year center Edwin Williams off waivers from the Redskins.

Williams (6-3, 317) signed with the Redskins as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Maryland last spring. The Washington, D.C.-native spent much of his rookie season on the gameday inactive list, but did dress for three games and made a pair of starts in the second half of the season.

To make room for Williams, the Bears waived undrafted rookie running back Brandon Minor.

According to the Chicago SunTimes, Jay Cutler thinks Bears fans should take a chill pill when it comes to their worries over the preseason struggles of the Mike Martz-led offense. You can read exactly what he said here.

In a nutshell, he thinks because the Bears aren’t game-planning for specific teams/defenses and the unit is focusing solely on its own execution there is no need to over-analyze the play of the offense.

While that makes me feel a little better, it still doesn’t explain why…

• The offense has punched it in the end zone just twice out of 16 drives Cutler has led.
• Over 3 games, the team has scored 36 points, which is currently tied for the second fewest in the league.
• Chris Williams can’t seem to block the dude lining up across from him (5 sacks yielded in 2 games). And on the 16 Cutler-led drives, #6 has been sacked a staggering 10 times.
• Outside of Forte’s 89-yard TD against the Raiders and Taylor’s 34-yarder against the Cardinals, the Bears are averaging 2.9 yards per carry (181 yards on 63 carries).

Since the starters will only play a series or two, we probably won’t get any questions answered after Thursday night’s tilt against the Browns. But it’d be nice if the offense could generate some kind of momentum to leave everyone who bleeds blue and orange with a positive taste in their mouths before the Ndamukong Suh-led Lions come to Chicago in Week 1.

The Bears Tuesday made their last move to get the roster down to 75.

The Bears made the final roster move necessary to get down to the 75-man limit today by waiving/injured fullback Will Ta’ufo’ou. Ta’ufo’ou, who was on the bubble for a roster spot, suffered a sprained MCL in his right knee on Saturday night against the Arizona Cardinals. Ta’ufo’ou will revert back to the team’s injured reserve provided he clears waivers on Wednesday. The team has been reaching injury settlements with the players it waives/injured this summer. An undrafted free agent from Cal, Ta’ufo’ou spent last season on the practice squad in Chicago.

Bears quarterback Matt Gutierrez tells Vaughn McClure of the Chicago Tribune that he has been cut. Signed by the Bears on August 18th, Gutierrez did not appear in a pre-season game, and was not going to make the team’s 53-man roster after the signing of veteran Todd Collins.

Gutierrez (6-4, 230) is an undrafted free agent out of Idaho State who has completed both of his pass attempts for 18 yards in six games over three seasons with the Patriots and Chiefs.

Man, was I wrong about this game .

I know what you’re thinking – if Saturday night’s extended look at starters is what we have to look forward to in ’10, bring in the moving trucks because the Bears will be cleaning house come next January…if not sooner.

But remember – this is just a preseason game…at least that’s what I tried telling myself as I laid down for bed last night. Here’s a look at the good, the bad and the Lovie from the Bears 14-9 loss to the Cardinals.

The good:

Well, there was…Oh yeah, what about that one play where…Aw, forget it.

You’ll hear coaches and even some media spin the fact that Chris Williams had a good night because he only allowed 1 sack. While that’s an improvement over his hospitable 4-sack performance from the previous game, it only takes one hit on your franchise QB to turn your season south.

Julius Peppers, Mark Anderson and Jarron Gilbert each recorded a sack. It was Peppers 2^nd consecutive game with a sack. And the fact that we even mentioned Gilbert’s name in association with a positive play is reason for Jerry Angelo to crack a (half) smile.

Rookie QB Dan LeFevour may have been the brightest spot of the night. He went 10 for 12 for 100 yards, including a 3-yard TD toss to Juaquin Iglesias. With Collins and Hanie ahead of him, LeFevour won’t make the opening day roster (unless the Bears decide to trade Hanie). But another strong showing vs. the Browns this week could make it difficult for the Bears to hide him on the practice squad without another team picking him up.

The Bears didn’t run the ball much (only 18 times), but they had more success doing it than the previous two games. They averaged 4.3 ypc and Chester Taylor had 36 yards on 5 carries, including a 34-yard beauty.

But…

The bad:

…take away that long run and the offense rushed 17 times for 48 yards, or 2.8 ypc.

Jay Cutler had an off night – 10 for 20, 129 yards and 2 INTs. He later admitted that last week’s 5-sack shellacking may have led him to play a little nervous against the Cards. He made some bad throws, but in typical Cutler fashion, he made some incredible ones too, including a needle-threader to Johnny Knox between 3 defenders to keep one drive alive.

The Bears have big-time concerns at safety. After arriving late on TD passes against the Chargers and the Raiders, Chris Harris looked stone-footed on Derek Anderson’s 27-yard scoring strike to Stephen Williams. He even tweeted after the game it was one of his worst games ever. Danieal Manning forced a fumble and outplayed Harris. Makes you wonder if a Manning-Wright duo is the Bears best safety combo…

Allowing 14 points in a game isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But once again, the Bears couldn’t get off the field on 3^rd down. On the Cardinals first TD drive (10 plays, 72 yards), they allowed AZ to convert 3 third-and-longs.

Special teams continued to be an issue. Robbie Gould had a field goal blocked when an Arizona defender came clean off the edge. Gould also missed a 48-yard field goal that bounced off the upright.

As for injuries, Lance Briggs left early in the second quarter with a sprained ankle and didn’t return. With Urlacher already out with a sore calf, the Bears LB corps is suddenly looking depleted. Luckily, they have 2 weeks to get well.

The Lovie:

Ever the optimist, the Chicago Tribune quoted Lovie after the game as saying:

“That’s not how we planned it. We had opportunities early on. Not getting any points out of the two field goals hurt us. Defensively, we’re playing pretty good.”

Let’s hope “pretty good” will keep us in games against the high-scoring Packers and Vikings…not to mention the up-and-coming Lions in week one.

Bad news on the injury front for the Bears on Saturday, as during their game with Arizona, LB Lance Briggs suffered what looked to be a right-ankle injury and had to leave the game. Here’s the report on the injury from ESPN.

Bears linebacker Lance Briggs appeared to suffer a right-ankle injury in the second quarter of Sunday’s preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals.

The severity of the injury isn’t yet known, but the Bears said his return is questionable. The club brought in Brian Iwuh to replace Briggs during a Cardinals drive that ended in a 27-yard touchdown pass from Derek Anderson to Stephen Williams.

Briggs sat on a training table on the sideline with his right shoe off as athletic trainers worked on the injured ankle.

Briggs is the second starting linebacker for the Bears to suffer a leg injury in the preseason. Starting middle linebacker Brian Urlacher left last week’s game against the Oakland Raiders with a strained calf.

I’m gonna do something nobody ever does in the preseason…predict the final score of an exhibition game.

Okay, maybe not the final score, but the score at the end of the 3^rd period. Why? Because with the starters for both teams likely to play well into the second half, Saturday night’s games against the Cardinals will give Bears fans the best impression yet of how the ‘real’ 2010 Bears may look.

So assuming we get a good look at the starters, here’s my prediction: Bears 23, Cardinals 10.

Why am I so confident in the 0-2 Bears? It probably has more to do with the Cardinals’ ineptitude than the Bears awesomeness. Consider…

• Matt Leinhart and Derek Anderson are battling for the starting QB position left vacated by Kurt Warner. While at the controls for parts of two preseason games, Leinhart hasn’t led the team to a single point. And last week against the Titans, he orchestrated 3 consecutive 3-and-outs. Anderson’s fared a little better, throwing 1 TD along with 2 INTs. About the only position battle equally as uninspiring as AZ’s is the one the Bears will run into next week in Cleveland – Seneca Wallace vs. Jake Delhomme.
• There will be no Larry Fitzgerald, who will sit with a sore knee he injured in the team’s first exhibition game.

The Cardinals should represent better on the defensive side of the ball. Especially if the Bears offensive line plays like it did against the Raiders when Jay Cutler was sacked 5 times…in the first half.

But after a week of being lambasted by Chicago media and fans…and coached up by Mike Tice…I suspect we’ll see a Chris Williams who looks more like the guy who went toe-to-toe with Vikings’ mullet-wearer Jared Allen late last season than the dude who got schooled by Oakland’s Kamerion Wimbley.

Jay Cutler and Devin Aromashodu are reportedly excited about the game plan for Saturday night. So reading between the lines, you should expect many balls to be airborne…which should mean the Bears will score some points…assuming, of course, Cutler can stay upright.

Here are some other things to NOT watch for on Saturday:

• Brian Urlacher will not play. He didn’t practice all week and will rest his injured calf.
• While Major Wright returned to practice on a limited basis this week (he wore a red no-contact jersey), he won’t play against the Cardinals.
• Don’t expect last year’s top draft picks, Jarron Gilbert or Jaquin Iglesias, to catch your attention either. They’ve been invisible on the field so far this preseason, so why should we expect anything more from them this week.
• With Patrick Mannelly back, Desmond Clark will be relieved of his snapping duties. Something tells me Soldier Field sideline photographers – wary of being struck in the privates by wayward snaps – are breathing a sigh of relief.