Posts Tagged ‘Charles Tillman’

Bears clinch and Devin Hester breaks the record

Tuesday, December 21st, 2010

If you were to tell me that the Bears would be the division champs right after the fourth preseason game ended, I would of called you a liar. I think the only people who knew the Bears would be in this position right now would be the players themselves. It was an amazing win that will love forever in our minds as the day the Bears won the division, possibly ended Favre’s career and Devin Hester breaking the return record. Lovie Smith, Rod Marinelli, and Mike Martz all coached very well. I was happy to see some adjustments during the game and the way it worked out. Now time to break down the offense, defense and special teams.

The offense struggled sometimes, but overall I’m very happy with the result of the game. Jay Cutler looked pretty solid minus that interception he threw after they called back a touchdown to Devin Aromashodu. Totally bad call by the refs, even the MNF crew was baffled with the call.  The line played extremely well, only gave up one sack and created some holes for Matt Forte to run through. Taylor ran the ball a few times, mostly for a couple of yards but no big runs. I don’t know what’s wrong with him, he’s a good running back. He could just be out of gas unfortunately. Rashied Davis caught his first touchdown in two years and it completely surprised the heck out of me. I had to double take to see who caught that ball. Knox had a great, no wait, AMAZING touchdown catch and run. I thought it was going to be picked off the way the ball dipped. Knox just snagged it and ran it back and surprised everyone in that stadium. Devin Hester not only had a punt return for a touchdown, but a receiving touchdown as well. He was all over the place last night. Greg Olsen had a few key catches as well. Was a good game for the Bears receivers last night.

The Defense scared me after they gave up an easy touchdown when the Vikings went up 7-0. After they settled down and started getting to Brett Favre and created pressure which led to interceptions. It was a beautiful day for the defense as soon as Henry Melton tipped a pass that resulted in a pick by Peppers. I figured it was over when Corey Wootton slammed Brett to the ground for his first sack of his career. Go figure, it was a Bears rookie who took out Favre in his last game against the Bears. Everyone on defense played their best last night and I couldn’t be happier about their performance. I didn’t see Peanut slip at all last night, even on that icy surface. He made a great pick that pretty much took the life out of the Vikings and the same goes to Chris ‘Hitman’ Harris. The Bears defense were swarming around the ball last night and it showed. There was one play that there were 10 Bears players around the ball. Something I like to see, never give up on a play because you think three guys are going to stop one player.

The Special teams played phenomenal last night. DEVIN HESTER IS RIDICULOUS!!! The Windy City Flyer broke the return record in epic proportions. He broke it on MNF against a division rival, and a game that resulted in clinching the division. It was his time to shine and he did it on a national level again. I was yelling and screaming watching him break that first wave. My heart stopped when I saw the flag and was very relieved when it was against the Vikings. So happy for him and the Bears special teams to be involved with making history. So congratulations to the Bears special teams for breaking a NFL record.

GammaBears

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Another team falls to the Patriots

Monday, December 13th, 2010

Add the Bears to the list that fell to the Patriots. Don’t know what was worse in that game, the weather, the calls, or the Bears. After thinking about that, it was a combination of all three. It was easily the most ugliest game since the Giants game earlier in the year. It was so bad it set a record for the Bears. The Bears have never given up 33 points before halftime, and that’s saying a lot because there were some really bad Bears teams in the past. Thankfully the defense showed up in the second half and held them to three points.

It was a pretty depressing game, I stopped paying attention around the fourth quarter and helped with the Christmas tree. The defense looked horrible in the first half, and was getting picked apart on the ground and the air. They had the Patriots stopped so many times, then bam they give up a huge third and long. It was like watching a car accident about to happen and you can’t do anything about it. They just ran over the Bears and kept driving. I don’t think the Cover-2 helped the Bears much yesterday, and I doubt that Lovie will change his game plan going into the remaining games of the season.

The offense didn’t do any better than the defense. Coughing up the ball and throwing interceptions didn’t help. The run game wasn’t there and the line barely blocked long enough for Jay Cutler to take three steps back and avoid tacklers. There were several times where he ran for his life for first downs. It didn’t help that the refs blew that fumble call that resulted in a Patriots touchdown. It was just bad overall for the offense, I’m just glad that they scored points and didn’t go down without a fight.

One way to look at this loss, the Bears are still in first place after the Packers fell to the Detroit Lions. Thank you Detroit for putting up a fight and not giving up.

Oh and someone needs to replace the equipment manager for the Bears. Charles Tillman continues to slip and fall when in coverage. From what I remember Tillman slipped on the Branch touchdown at the end of the first half. He’s been doing this all season long and its frustrating that he keeps on giving up big plays because he slips.

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 vs Packers prediction

Sunday, September 26th, 2010

The NFL’s oldest rivalry is set to resume this Monday when the Bears face off against the Packers. Unlike the past few games between the Packers and Bears, this one very important. Both teams are undefeated and this division game could end up being the game that separates the two teams at the end of the season. If the Bears win this one, it will finally prove to everyone outside of Chicago that they are contenders. With that being said, it will be a very physical and hard fought game. I’m expecting at least two fights and plenty of hard hits from both teams.

The Bears offensive line will have to find an answer for a beast that roams the field for the Packers. No, I’m not talking about a flock of sheep on steroids, I’m talking about the beast in Clay Matthews. He has six sacks in two games… six sacks! I have to give a lot of credit for a player doing that, even if it’s a Packer. If the offensive line finds a way to stop Mathews from sacking Cutler, it will be a good game for the offense. I’m not too worried about the Packers secondary.

The Bears defense needs to continue what they are doing. Just stop the run and force bad throws by Rodgers to create turnovers. I expect Tillman to create at least one turnover this game. I’m guessing it will be a forced fumble, he is so good at doing that. My friends here said on one of their podcast’s  that Tillman must punch footballs in his sleep and I completely agree.

So here’s my prediction. It will be a very well fought game, but the Bears will win this one.

Bears 21
Packers 17

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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.

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GammaBears

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Bears win ugly against the Lions

Monday, September 13th, 2010

The Bears won an ugly and hard fought game against the Lions yesterday and are now tied for first in the NFC North. I know what your thinking, it was all because of the call in the end zone and you’re right. It was an iffy call and I couldn’t be happier about that right now. I just look at it this way, the Bears were screwed over last year many times because of non-calls. Now the Bears are finally even with that ruling in the end zone. It’s done and no one can do anything about it, so let’s look forward to taking on a miffed Dallas team.

Jay Cutler preformed well against the Lions, throwing over 300 yards and two touchdown passes. I’m very pleased with the Mike Martz offense, minus the inability to score when you’re three inches away from the goal line. I’m positive would have at least two more touchdowns if the Bears didn’t cough up the ball four times.

The Offensive line was okay during the first half and looked awful after that. If Jerry Angelo can’t see the problem with the offensive line after yesterdays game, then I think he’s legally blind. They did help Forte on that monster screen pass that gave the Bears a touchdown. They need to step up there game when they face Dallas next Sunday.

Matt Forte returned to his rookie form on Sunday in my opinion. Haven’t seen that kind of burst from him since he first joined the Bears in 2008. It was just unfortunate that the line didn’t block for him or create holes for him to run through. He did have a wonderful game catching passes though. He had 7 receptions for 151 yards and two touchdowns. I would of liked to see him have more yards on the ground, but I’m happy with those receiving yards. Chester Taylor saw some action against the Lions too. Only running for 29 yards, but catching for 44. I think there’s still plenty of gas left in his engine to make some big plays for the Bears this year. Mark my words folks.

The wide receivers had a good game as well even if they didn’t really find the end zone. Devin Aromashodu led the receivers with 5 catches for 71 yards. After Sunday’s game, it’s clear that ‘Shodu is Jay Cutler’s favorite target. I expect to see a lot more from him this season as well. Johnny Knox also had a few receptions on the day, but nothing spectacular.

So the offense overall still needs some work, but they played OK out there even with all those turnovers.

The defense played fairly well in the first half and completely dominated in the second half… except for the last drive of the game. They are experts in the Lovie Smith Prevent defense where they barely win games and lose a lot.

The D-Line had pressure on Stafford and Shaun Hill for the most part of the game. Julius Peppers looked fantastic out there with a sack and forced fumble on the same play. He also injured the second year quarterback Stafford, knocking him out of the game and possibly two to six weeks. Which is a shame, he’s a nice guy. It’s just that he’s playing for the wrong team. The Bears d-line will have a tough game against Dallas next week. Hopefully Peppers and crew will dominate that line and have at least five sacks total.

The Linebackers were on fire Sunday, creating all sorts of havoc. Lance Briggs created a turnover on the two yard line, unfortunately the Bears offense didn’t capitalize on that. Briggs had a solid day and I hope he keeps that up. The same goes with Brian Urlacher who looked like his rookie self out there. He was energetic and hit folks like there was no tomorrow. Urlacher also had a sack in that game, which rarely happens because they usually keep him back in coverage where he’s monster.

The Defensive Backs looked alright in that game, didn’t give up too many big plays. Charles “Peanut” Tillman had a nice interception when Calvin Johnson tripped himself. That won’t happen too often so I’m glad that Peanut was able to capitalize on that gift. I just don’t know if the Bears secondary will be able to handle all the weapons Dallas has at their disposal. I just hope they step up their “A” game and create lots of turnovers.

GammaBears

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Bears Defensive Backs

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

The Bears pride themselves on defense and hard hitting players. That’s exactly what they got in Doug Plank, Gary Fencik and Mike Brown. The Bears hoped to continue this tradition of hard hitting defensive backs when they drafted safety, Major Wright this year. I personally think they did. We saw a bright shining light in Wright when he played against the Chargers in preseason this year. Unfortunately he fracture a finger and will miss the rest of the preseason. I just hope his finger heals fast enough so he can play opening day against the Detroit Lions. Anyways, time to break down the defensive back positions.

Lets start it off with the Left Cornerbacks. There are four players currently listed on the Bears depth chart at LCB. Zackary Bowman, Corey Graham, Joshua Moore and Woodny Turenne. The Bears listed Bowman as the starter and Graham as the back up. I would rather have Joshua Moore as the back up this year. He is having a wonderful camp this year, but I think the main reason why they don’t have him as the back up is the lack of experience in the NFL. Which I can understand, I have a feeling if Moore continues to develop he will be starting in the next year or two. Depending on how good Bowman plays that is. I haven’t forgot Woodny Turrene folks. He looked good in preseason last year in my opinion, but the Bears never kept him on the final roster. They did put him on the practice squad though. I just don’t think he will make the final roster again this year, but will be placed on the practice squad.

Time to go over the right side of the field. Charles Tillman is easily the starter and I have no problems with that. He’s been a force for the Bears since the Bears had drafted him in 2003. Since then, he’s had a total of 540 tackles, 22 interceptions (3 of which were returned for touchdowns), 22 forced fumbles (1 was returned for a touchdown), and 2 sacks. Last year had 2 interceptions (1 interception return for a touchdown), and 6 forced fumbles. Not bad for someone who is in his 8th year of his career. He did have one scary moment last season when he cracked some of ribs and bruised a lung when he collided with Craig Steltz, but I think he has recovered nicely since then. So in my opinion he rightfully deserves the start, but if you disagree let me know by replying to this blog post. All feedback is greatly appreciated. Unfortunately for the Bears, Tillman’s back ups don’t have a lot of experience besides Tim Jennings. He was with the Colts in 2006 and was cut in 2009. He doesn’t have that many turnovers and not a lot of tackles. He only has 4 career interceptions and 3 forced fumbles. Not something I would look for, but the Bears really have no other choice right now. The other two back ups are D.J. Moore and Cornelius Brown, and out of the two I’m sure the Bears will be keeping Moore and might place Brown on the practice squad or just cut him completely. Moore who’s in his second season didn’t do anything last year and this year might look the same. Just depends on how healthy Tillman and Jennings are throughout the season. I really hope Tillman stays healthy throughout the season. He’s a force to be reckoned with when he’s on a roll.

Now onto the Chicago Bears’ Safeties. The Safety position has been missing leadership and a hard hitting player since Mike Brown was cut. I’ve mentioned Brown a few times in this entry and for good reason. He was a monster out on the field, a true definition of a Chicago Bear. The only downside is that he played so rough he often hurt himself. Just the Bears luck he remained healthy after he was cut. I’m happy for that, don’t get me wrong. I want to see him succeed year after year and hope the Bears resign him. Mark my words, Mike Brown will be coaching one day, and I hope that he’s coaching for the Bears after he retires.

The starting Strong Safety of the Bears so far is Danieal Manning. I would much rather have Chris Harris playing Strong instead of Free Safety. Manning just doesn’t have what it takes to be the starter. He is best suited for back up work and now a full time punt/kick off return man. From what I recall, Chris played Strong while with the Carolina Panthers and excelled. So I would much rather have Harris as the starter instead of Manning. Since the Bears have Harris listed as the starter for Free Safety I would move up Major Wright to be the starter and have Al Afalava be the backup and Josh Bullocks cut. From what I’ve seen from Major Wright in the preseason he has the knack for the position. I know it was just one game, but from that one game he has shown he can handle it. That’s just my opinion. I know it won’t happen anytime soon, but I would very much like it to happen. Al Afalava showed some promise on the field last year but Major Wright is far better in my opinion. That’s why I would have Afalava play as the back up. Now with Chris Harris playing Strong in my scenario, I would have Craig Steltz as the back up. I know a lot of folks knock Steltz playing ability but he has shown he can play in the NFL, but at best he will be a back up so far.

The Bears have listed two other players as the back ups for Strong Safety. Quentin Scott and Aaron Webster will most likely be cut or put on the practice squad. I haven’t heard much from Aaron Webster, but I did have a conversation with someone who knew Quentin Scott’s secondary coach/d-coordinator. He said that Scott has a great shot to make the team and do well on special teams. So Quentin could very well be kept on the roster for special teams only. I can’t say for sure, but we’ll find out won’t we?

GammaBears

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