Posts Tagged ‘Brian Urlacher’

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Tough loss

Tuesday, September 27th, 2011

Well that has to be the ugliest game I’ve seen the offense played since well… last week. Was hoping for more a little effort by Martz and the offensive line to actually run the ball. What a truly disgusting day to be a Bears fan. Not going to lie… I was really depressed and angry after that loss. Just seeing the Packers just tear apart the Bears was so disheartening. I guess that’s what it’s like having an actual General Manager that know what he’s doing. Talking to you Jerry. Take a notice from the Packers. They actually know how to draft and know what their team needs are. I can go on and on about how Jerry can’t draft and his inability to dress the offensive line properly, but that would be to easy…

The Bears offense pretty much sputtered throughout the game. Having some signs of hope, then those were wiped away by stupid penalties. Looking at you Frank Omiyale. So far you are two for two this year with games that you have stupid penalties. Keep it up and I’m sure you’ll break some type of record. Martz sure as heck didn’t help the Bears by giving the ball to Forte nine times! Oh yeah we’ll definitely run the ball more this week! Get out of here with that nonsense. It was worse this week! Can’t tell you how upset I am for wasting Forte’s skills and talents. It’s almost like they want to depreciate his value so they don’t have to pay him at all when they resign him. Mike Martz is destroying Jay Cutler and Matt Forte’s career one play at a time. There’s no denying it. It’s pretty evident from the past two weeks. Only bright spot of the offense was Dane Sanzenbacher recording his second touchdown of his NFL career.

The defense started of sluggish, letting the Packers stomp down the field on their first possession. They were able to stop them for a while but later in the second half the Packers just continued to run the ball down the Bears throat. They did cause a few turnovers, one of the few bright spots of the day for the defense. I was truly hoping for a complete smack down on the Packers courtesy of the defense, but that didn’t really happen. Brian Urlacher looks like a second year player again. He’s flying all over the field. Hopefully people wake up and realize that he’s a tremendous player and deserves to be voted into the Pro-Bowl.

Oh.. and how about the special teams play where Knox ran it back for a TD… That would of been awesome if it wasn’t called back eh? Makes me sick to my stomach that it was called back.

GammaBears

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Bears vs Packers: The Revenge

Sunday, September 25th, 2011

It’s gameday against the evil neighbors from up north. The Green Bay Packers. Every time I see them on the NFL Network or ESPN, all I can ever think about is the NFC Championship Game. The sting and the pain they put on the Bears and the fans. Ultimately one of the most pain losses, right next to the 2006 Super Bowl.

I’ll make this short and sweet. The Packers have one of the best offenses in the NFL, the Bears have to do everything to stop them. They need to be physical, hard hitting and smart out on the field. To win this game, they need to sack Rodgers and just create havoc all across the offensive line and pressure. That’s basically what this game will come down to when the Bears defense is on the field. The Bears offense on the other hand..

The Bears offensive line was atrocious last week, and I’m not going to lie… I’m not looking forward to seeing the rest of the season if every defense in the NFL will continue to pretty much clobber Jay Cutler on almost every play. It’s too hard to watch! Jerry Angelo and the rest of the front office should be ashamed of themselves. They should take a snap and let the defense clobber them! I’m not to worried about Forte really. He always finds a way to contribute to the offense, as we saw last week after Martz decided to pretty much nix the run game.

The rest of the Bears weapons, I’m a little worried about. They need to catch everything that is thrown to them. There can’t be one wasted down in this game against the Packers. Everyone needs to be on their game, specially the offensive line. I’ve already told you what I thought about the Bears line in a number of my posts. It’s not pretty folks…

To sum all this up, this game will be pretty much all about revenge. I hope today Brian Urlacher and the Bears defense just destroys the Packers offense. Make them pay for every yard gained and every ball caught. I also hope Jay Cutler has one of the best games in his career. It truly would be a great day…

To quote a pretty good movie.. “Give them nothing! Take from them, everything!”

Bears 27
Packers 17

GammaBears

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Bears visit the Superdome

Sunday, September 18th, 2011

From what I read, this is Cutler’s first visit to the Louisiana Superdome. Don’t think he’ll be phased too much really. He’ll go to work like he did last Sunday.

The Bears defense might be in some trouble with the absence of Safety Chris Harris on Sunday. He’s one of the players who always seem to make key plays and without him on the field I’m a bit worried. Especially since they will be going against one of the most potent offenses in the league. Every player on the Saints offense is a weapon really.

They have so much depth it’s scary. I’m not 100% sure who will be replacing Harris, but I have a guess. I have a feeling it’s going to be Craig Steltz. It could even be Brandon Meriweather, but I’m not sure if he the coaches are comfortable with him starting so soon. Other than that, I’m hoping a repeat performance by the only defense in the NFL in Week 1 that didn’t give up a touchdown. I’m pretty confident that Brian Urlacher will have one his best games tomorrow. Even better than last week! Have a feeling he will be playing for his Mom tomorrow.

Won’t go over the offense much except that I hope the Bears get off the bus running. Like always they need to establish the run so it sets up the play action and the pass game basically. The most simplest thing in football really. Could be a little difficult without Lance Louis and Marion Barber though. Just hope Bell is ready for another busy Sunday. They had themselves a nice little one-two punch with Forte and Bell last week.

Another part of the offense that needs to be the spot on is the route running and the smart decisions by Jay Cutler. He really needs to play smart out there. If the relievers and Cutler are on the same page, then it will be a great day for the Bears passing game. Oh, totally forgot about the offensive line. They really need to work on protecting Jay better. I have a feeling that the Saints D has taken a lot of flak for giving all those points up to the Packers last week and they are looking to rebound.

Time for the prediction!
Bears 24
Saints 17

GammaBears

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2011 Chicago Bears Team Captains

Thursday, September 8th, 2011

Was wondering when the Bears would come out with their team captains this year. Today is that day! Jay Cutler, Roberto Garza, Brian Urlacher, Julius Peppers, and Patrick Mannelly were selected today as the team captains. I am not suprised with any of the choices. They all bring leadership to this team and I just hope they all stay healthy.

I’m very happy Patrick Mannelly was chosen as a team captain. Easily one of the most underrated players in the entire league. He was drafted in 1998! A sixth round pick from Duke University. Very happy the Bears still have him and I wish him a very healthy season.

-GammaBears

Jay Cutler
Roberto Garza
Brian Urlacher
Julius Peppers
Patrick Mannelly
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Hunter Hillenmeyer’s letter to the Tribune – A Must Read -

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011

Grateful Hillenmeyer uncertain about his future
February 28, 2011 1:53 PM
By Brad Biggs

His release earlier Monday from the Chicago Bears did not come as a surprise to Hunter Hillenmeyer.

Off the record, the veteran linebacker said months ago that he expected the club to release him after the season. That’s what happened when he was included in a news release along with defensive tackle Tommie Harris and offensive tackle Kevin Shaffer.

Hillenmeyer was placed on injured reserve after Week 1 with concussion symptoms related to a head injury he suffered in preseason. Hillenmeyer has not passed a team physical yet and if head injuries lead to the end of his career, it will be interesting to see if he pursues the base salary of $1.8 million he had remaining on his contract for the 2011 season.

In an email to the Tribune, Hillenmeyer said, “I have nothing but the utmost respect for the Bears organization. I do not leave this franchise bitter or feeling slighted by anyone in the building. In truth, I’ve known this day was coming since I landed on IR back in September.

In that conversation with Lovie (Smith), he acknowledged that having been made aware of my history, and the number of concussions I had sustained on his watch, that he could not be a part of forcing me back out on the field.

“While at the time I was frustrated with such an abrupt end to my season, I have sought out and continue to seek the medical opinions of the best doctors in country as it relates to brain health and concussions. I am yet to find one that thinks it is a good idea to continue playing football. In hindsight, that makes me grateful that Lovie cared enough about me specifically, but really any player, to take that decision away as it pertains to a medical issue.

“Barring some unforeseen turn of events, I don’t think there was a set of circumstances where I would have been cleared to play next season anyway. The more we pull back the curtain on the long-term effects of head injury, the scarier it gets for players in my position, who have multiple diagnosed concussions and countless more ‘dings’ and headaches.

On one hand, I feel lucky to have been relatively candid about my symptoms compared to some colleagues who do everything they can to conceal their struggles. I can only thank the Bears organization, from the trainers and the doctors up to Lovie and Jerry (Angelo), for trying to be proactive in the way concussions are handled. On the other hand, any player who tells you they aren’t affected by the tragic stories like Dave Duerson’s, that seem to be popping up all too often, are lying.

“I’d like to thank coach (Bob) Babich, my linebacker coach for most of my eight years here, for playing as integral a role as anyone in my development as a player. It’s been an honor to play for such a professional staff and with such outstanding teammates. We had a very special group in our linebacker room. While I was always like Ringo of the Beatles, next to such a talented pair, I think we have had the best and deepest linebacking corps in the NFL for a long time. As long as Lance (Briggs) and Brian (Urlacher) are out there together, expect the Bear’s defense to remain elite.

“While I won’t be filing any retirement papers tomorrow, if I’ve played my last football game, I’m glad it was with the Bears. Even though I was drafted elsewhere, I have absolutely loved my time as Bear. I love the city, I love the culture; the fans here make it especially easy to feel very at home in Chicago. I think guys like me who spend all of their career here don’t realize how good they’ve got it. It’s been a great ride nonetheless.”

Source: Chicago Breaking Sports – Hunter Hillenmeyer’s Letter to the Tribune

I will always have the utmost respect for Hunter Hillenmeyer. I don’t know where he’ll end up, but if he ends up retiring I would love to see him on the Bears coaching staff one of these days. He is easily one of the smartest players in the league and I always enjoyed watching him play. He was definitely a steal and I’m glad that the Packers cut him.

Final Stats with the Bears
Tackles: 382
Sacks. 7
Interceptions: 2
Pass Deflections: 12
Forced Fumbles: 7

So long Hunter, hope to see you soon with the Bears again.
GammaBears
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Bears clip the Eagles

Monday, November 29th, 2010

This was probably the best game I’ve seen all year from the Bears. They were dominant in all phases of the game, except for Eagles last touchdown. How lucky can they get, plus it was just the prevent defense doing their thing. The offense played extremely well, minus Frank Omiyale and J’Marcus Webb for missing blocks. Omiyale has some serious explaining to do. He has been called for a penalty each week since Week 3 I believe. They did pick up their blocks later in the game, but they need to minimize their mistakes.

Jay Cutler looked amazing playing against a high ranked defense. He threw four touchdowns, and didn’t throw one single interception. He also had a sky high QB rating of 146.2! Cutler showed a lot of emotion on his sleeve last night, especially when he went to the referee and a Dick Butkus demonstration and received a personal foul penalty as a result. He had a reason to be angry, Forte was mugged and the refs decided not to throw a flag. They didn’t give the Bears much love throughout the game either so it didn’t surprise me that they didn’t call it. Plus it was a key third down that the refs fudged up on. So yeah, I’m okay for Jay Cutler being angry.

Cutler wasn’t the only one on offense who had a great game, all of the Bears wide receivers and tight ends had a great game. Earl Bennett had an outstanding game. He led the Bears with receptions and touchdowns and it was easily his best game I’ve seen him from all year. Matt Forte had a great day running the ball as well, especially that 61 yard run. It was amazing to see him find the hole, cut, and run for 61 yards. If he had gotten touchdown on that run it would of made it all the better. He ended up having 117 on the ground yesterday. Forte definitely helped out the passing game with his ability to grind the ball and get yards.

The defense played extremely well. They did great on all fronts, they made plays in the backfield and were able to contain Vick the whole game. Forcing him to pass the ball. He was extremely lucky on the touchdown pass to Celek at the end of the game. Other than that, the Bears defense played lights out. Here’s an awesome stat you don’t see often. All starting four defensive lineman had a sack. When was the last time that happened? I’m guessing around the time the Bears won the Super Bowl in ‘85. Tommie Harris finally showed up to a game, deflected a pass in the redzone which led to Chris ‘Hitman’ Harris intercepting the ball. This was the first time Vick has been intercepted all season and I swore there was a stat that said it was the first since 2006. Brian Urlacher had an outstanding game with 10 tackles and kept Vick in check throughout the whole game. If he was going to run straight up the middle he would of met a Bear that would of body slammed him into the ground. Another player that had an outstanding game was Julius Peppers. He had 4 tackles and a sack and made one helluva play when he ran down Vick to stop him from gaining at least 10 yards. I’m pretty sure he shut his critics up with that play. He also had a forced fumble in that game as well. Izzy had a great game as well, seemed like he was around the ball each time the Eagles ran it. So many players had a great game yesterday. It was a beautiful day in Bears football for sure. If there was anyone I missed please let me know.

Oh also, the Bears are now in first place after the Packers lost to the Atlanta Falcons. The Bears remaining schedule includes the Lions, Patriots, Jets, Vikings and Packers. They will all be challenging games, but I think they can pull out some more wins.

Bear Down!

GammaBears

Be sure to check out the new podcast!

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Bears earn 700th win and first shutout since 2006

Friday, November 19th, 2010

I wasn’t able to watch the game last night, but I’ll try my best to review the game from the highlights and from what I’ve read. The Bears earned their 700th regular season win last night, the first team to do that in NFL history. The Bears are also in first place, and hope to keep that lead when the Vikings take on the Packers this Sunday.

Jay Cutler had an okay game, didn’t throw any touchdowns and threw one interception. Sorry fantasy football owners. He didn’t make any mistakes besides that interception though. The last Thursday night game I personally witnessed was one of Jay Cutlers worst outings so I was pretty worried that it would be a repeat.

Matt Forte had a lot of yards on the ground last night and rushed for a touchdown. Was glad to hear that, he needed a rushing touchdown. Taylor also had a pretty solid game. I just wish the line was able to hold and create lanes more often for a one-two punch from Forte and Taylor. Speaking of the offensive line, they gave up three sacks last night. I also heard that J’Marcus Webb had a horrid outing last night and some folks wanted the Bears to bench him. He was called for three holding penalties and gave up a sack. To be fair, he was going up against one of AFC’s best pass rushers, Cameron Wake.

The receiving game was pretty solid, was really hoping Jay Cutler would of thrown a few touchdowns. Knox, Hester and Olsen led the Bears with receiving. The Bears offense went 10-18 on third downs, and I’m pretty sure the Bears receiving game was partly responsible for converting those third downs. I am very happy they are converting third downs. Four weeks ago they were pretty much the worse team converting third downs. They are improving that makes these wins all the better.

The defense was outstanding, stopping the Fins on third down. Holding them to 1-11 on third down was key to that win. They also broke their slump in sacking the quarterback. They sacked Tyler Thigpen six times and Julius Peppers caused half of that sack total. Israel Idonije, Brian Urlacher and Henry Melton was responsible for the other half. Let me tell you, Israel Idonije and Henry Melton are having career years and I’m very excited for both of them. Especially Israel, he has been a back up for pretty much his whole career till this year and he’s proving why he should of been starting. Israel has put up six sacks and two forced fumbles this year. He’s doing great and I hope he gets double digits in sacks. Henry Melton is also having a good year. So far he’s had two sacks and a forced fumble in the last two games. He hasn’t even started a game yet. The Bears have great depth on the defensive line this year.

The Bears also held Ronnie Brown and company to just 39 yards and Tyler Thigpen to just 187 yards passing. They have been on fire as of late and they need that when they go against Vick next week. I’m hoping the Bears can force a lot of key turnovers in the Eagles game. Speaking of turnovers, Charles Tillman registered his 25th career interception last night. Grats Peanut! Also congrats on shutting out the Fins in Miami, the firs time they were able to shut out an opponent since 2006.

GammaBears

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Bears win, 23-6

Monday, October 11th, 2010

The Bears defeated a limping Panthers team, but the Bears weren’t all that healthy either. Todd Collins started in place of Jay Cutler due to an injury and then was replaced by Caleb Hanie in the fourth quarter after throwing four picks. It was clear that Hanie should of been the starting QB soon after he took over.

Matt Forte had a career best today, rushing 22 times for 166 with two touchdowns. He also lead the teams with receptions with 2 catches for 22 yards. So the Bears finally had a good day running the ball. The line blocked for a few good runs but most of the time it seemed like there was two Panthers in the backfield when they handed off to Forte and Taylor. There is still a lot of room for improvement for the line. I would say at least three new players type of improvement.

The Defense played extremely well today. I can’t describe how proud I am of the Bears defense right now. They were able to stop the run and create pressure throughout most of the game. They were able to stop the Panthers drive after drive, only surrendering two field goals. The Bears defensive line played extremely well, Israel Idonije had three sacks and a forced fumble, which was a career best. Lance Briggs and Pisa Tinoisamoa were also credited with one sack each. Julius Peppers, Charles Tillman and Brian Urlacher had an interception a piece. The Bears defense was pretty dominant throughout the game, no problems there.

Grades
Offense: B
Only a B because of the stellar performance by Matt Forte and Chester Taylor.
Defense: A
Caused four turnovers and held the Panthers to 6 points.
Special Teams: A
Didn’t give up any big plays and Gould set a career long field goal, 53 yards.

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Bears MNF grades

Wednesday, September 29th, 2010

Sorry it took so late to post the grades.

Quarterback: B
- Made some mistakes throughout the game, including a lot of bad throws. If there hadn’t been penalties called against the Packers there would of been a lot more interceptions. He did have a nice run and had the sense to run out of bounds right after the first down yard marker. I’m so happy we have a mobile quarterback.

Running back: C
- They weren’t able to get a lot of yards on the ground, but as usual they helped out the passing game. I would of liked to see them run the ball efficiently, but the offensive line needs to create holes instead of being pushed back five yards.


Wide Receivers: B
- There’s a lot of B’s going around this week. They weren’t too spectacular, but they did their job. Knox was the same old tough as nails receiver we love. He had four receptions for 94 yards which led the Bears receivers. Earl Bennett almost had a touchdown, but it was called down at the one barely.

Tight Ends: B-
- I know Greg Olsen had the only receiving touchdown for the Bears, but he also had a fumble and Dez Clark dropped a pass in the end zone. Other than those two things they played fairly well and that’s why I gave the TE’s a B-

Offensive Line: C+
- They could of done a better job in the passing and running game, especially when it came to running the ball. It’s ridiculous that they can’t even run block for Matt Forte, who is just itching to break a big one to the end zone.  I do have one thing to say, and that is good job Kevin Shaffer for blocking Clay Matthews.

Defensive Line: B+
- Even though they haven’t registered a sack in two games, they played well against the run. They pressured Aaron Rodgers enough to get the Pack for holding numerous times and false starts. I think at one point the line was afraid of the defense to bring all fury down upon them.  Also kudos for Peppers blocking a key field goal.

Linebackers: A+
- It was another beautiful outing for the linebackers this week. Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs are beasts, both registered a turnover during the game and one came on a very important play. They also were tied for tackles that game with nine. From what I remember hearing before the game, Urlacher was 50 tackles away from becoming the all-time tackle leader for the Bears. He is now 41 tackles from becoming the all-time leader. Keep it up Brian!

Defensive Backs: B
- The DB’s played fairly well, I just wish they could of done a lot better. They gave up way too many passing yards and weren’t able to pick Rodgers off. They were able to stop the Packers receivers on a lot of plays, so kudos to them for doing that. Packers receivers are experts for getting yards after the catch. Also thank you Tim Jennings for making some great plays and jumping on the football while staying in bounds.

Special Teams: A+
- The Windy City Flyer is back. His two year absence is finally over and I think know, this is the year of Devin Hester.  He looked great returning punts on Monday and it was a thing of beauty to see him run one back, even better that it was against the Packers. Also, thank you Robbie Gould for making the game winning field goal. Stay gold my friend.

Be sure to check out the DaBearsCast on Facebook and Twitter!

-GammaBears

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Bears need to watch out for Clay Matthews

Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010

I don’t like to compliment many Packers on my blog but… Clay Matthews is a wrecking ball. So far he has compiled six sacks in two games, along with a forced fumble. The Bears need to find an answer to stop him from clobbering Jay Cutler. With a thin and a bit of a weak offensive line that was exposed for most of the game against the Cowboys, it’s going to be a challenge.

Frank Omiyale/Kevin Shaffer or pretty much whoever is lined up at Right Tackle needs to block Matthews like their life depends on it. If the Bears want to continue this winning streak they need to block for Jay Cutler and prevent him from going down for the rest of the season. The only way the Bears will get into the playoffs this year is if Jay Cutler is the QB, not a back up because the line failed to protect Jay.

Also be prepared to see a very violent game in Chicago this Monday. The Bears defense was lighting folks up on the Cowboys, and they aren’t even a division rival. Imagine what Lance Briggs, Urlacher, Chris Harris, and Tillman might do to the Packers. I’m hoping for a very physical game from the defense. The Packers need to understand there are eleven hungry Bears coming after Aaron Rodgers every down of the game.

Be sure to check out the Da Bears Cast on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/dabearcast . Also check out the message board to chat with your fellow Bears fans.

GammaBears

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