Posts Tagged ‘Chester Taylor’

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Bears win in Toronto

Monday, November 8th, 2010

The Bears ended the two game losing streak against a very good win-less Bills team. For the past few weeks the Bills have barely lost games, two of those came in overtime.

The Bears offense struggled at times throughout the game and it really surprised me. Especially when running the ball against the worst run defense in the league. But hey, at least the Bears won. That’s all that matters right now. A win is a win.

The passing game just seemed a little off throughout the game, but Jay Cutler did not throw an interception. It wasn’t his greatest performance but he got the job done. I think the Mike Martz offense is a bit more complicated than people think. Jay Cutler is a pretty smart guy and he’s still struggling with it. Earl Bennett had a good game yesterday. He caught his first touchdown of the season. Greg Olsen also reeled in a touchdown as well.

The running game wasn’t real pretty. The Bears ran the balls the four times in their first two possessions. Matt Forte rushed for 49 yards on 14 carries. He didn’t really play an excellent game but he did have a key play when scored the two point conversion late in the fourth quarter. Chester Taylor scored his first touchdown of the year and the line actually blocked for him It was the first time all year I think the Bears have scored from the goal line.

The defense struggled some, but as usual they came up big when they were able to create turnovers. Israel Idonije played extremely well throughout the game. He blocked an extra point and registered half a sack. The blocked extra point was key in the game and it was the kickers first blocked extra point in his career. Leave it to a Bear to create a stat like that. If you have ever noticed, Israel actually resembles a Bear. He his tall, full of muscles and has a pretty cool beard. Tim Jennings came up big in the game by intercepting Ryan Fitzpatrick. The Bears would score a touchdown from that turnover. Chris Harris also caused a key turnover by sealing the game with an interception. Seeing Chris intercept Fitzpatrick reminded me of his days in 2005-2006.

Overall the Bears defense played a good game besides getting burned a few times. Can’t help but wonder why Lovie kept calling plays on defense where the CB’s were lined up about 5-10 yards from the line of scrimmage instead of having them bump the receivers. I personally don’t like seeing that type of coverage because the QB can easily pick the defense apart with short slant routes that go for 5-7 yards.

Grades:
Offense: B+
Defense: A
Special Teams: B

GammaBears

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By all means, the Bears should win tomorrow

Saturday, November 6th, 2010

The Bears should win tomorrow against the win-less Bills, but if they don’t they are in more trouble than we imagined. The Bears offensive line is the key to this game. If they have a great game and actually block for Cutler instead of letting everyone just run by, then they can win.

I have a feeling the Bears will be running the ball a lot more this game, due to the Bills horrible horrible run defense. I don’t expect Forte to have a career record day, but he will be running the ball efficiently. The same goes for Chester Taylor. I’m sure they will get the ball evenly throughout the game.

The passing game is what worries me. Every time Jay Cutler steps back to throw, I’m worried that he is going to be crushed by a 300 pound defensive linemen or he’ll throw an interception on a bad pass or the receiver actually running the wrong route. That’s one of the main reasons why the passing game is struggling so much. It seems like no one is able to run a simple route and go after the ball. Speaking of the passing game, where the heck is Dez Clark? He is able to run routes and catch the ball more often than not.

I’m not really worried about the defense. They’ve been spot on and Lance Briggs had plenty of time to rest this week so he should be able to go. I also read that Major Wright could be back playing this week, so it could be a very good day for the defense.

Final Score
Bears 24
Bills 14

GammaBears

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Another Ugly Loss

Monday, October 25th, 2010

Another ugly loss was handed to the Bears yesterday after the defense gave the offense ample opportunities to score. The Bears defense turned the ball over multiple times and held McNabb to only 17 points. Then of course Jay Cutler throws four interceptions in one half and you know the rest of the story. The defense played amazing, easily their best game of the year. Too bad it was over shadowed by the offense’s constant mistakes.

I think Lovie made a big mistake as well by not challenging Jay Cutlers touchdown. The ball clearly broke the plane. Turned out to be just another Lovie mistake. Don’t know how many bad challenges or non-challenges he has done so far. The folks in the box and Lovie need to be on the same page.

One of my major concerns going into the bye week is Forte’s ability to hold onto the ball. His rookie season he had one fumble and it was an iffy call too. Since his rookie season he’s had 9 fumbles, and 5 of those were lost. They really need to work on it during the bye week and get some ball control.

There was some improvement by the offensive line yesterday. After giving up some early sacks they were able to give Jay Cutler some time to throw the ball and some lanes for Chester Taylor and Matt Forte to run through. They just need to stop committing dumb penalties, such as holding and false starts.

Grades

Offense: D-

Defense: A

Special Teams: B

GammaBears

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Week One Grades by GammaBears

Thursday, September 16th, 2010

Quarterbacks: A-
Jay Cutler had a solid outing against the Lions. He passed for 372 yards and threw two touchdowns, and both of those were to Matt Forte. He had one mistake, and that was throwing the interception. Completely his fault, but otherwise he threw the ball away if there was no one open instead of forcing the throw.

Running backs: B
I gave the RB’s a ‘B’ for one real reason, their ability to catch the ball and create yards after the catch. Forte had an abysmal 50 yards rushing but ended up with 151 yards in receiving. He had two receiving touchdowns, which were the Bears only touchdowns in that game. One thing that hurt the Bears was his inability to hold onto, he can’t do that against good teams like Dallas. Chester Taylor had an okay outing, he had 29 yards rushing on the day and 44 receiving on the day.

Wide Receivers: B+
It’s pretty obvious that Jay Cutler’s new best friend is Devin Aromashodu. He had an excellent game with 5 catches for 71 yards, but unfortunately no touchdowns. He dropped an easy touchdown in the endzone. He needs to capitalize on those opportunities. Cutler would of had 3 touchdowns in that game if he had caught that ball.  Johnny Knox had a pretty good game, catching the ball three times for 52 yards. He had a successful season in his rookie year and I expect him to continue that. Devin Hester was once again quiet with only one catch. I don’t think he will be too spectacular this year, but will help distract defense backs with double coverage.

Tight End: C+
Greg Olsen had… an okay outing. He could of done a lot better by holding onto that ball. Just one of four turnovers by the Bears. If he hadn’t of done that, the TE’s would of gotten a better grade. He needs some work holding onto that ball.

Offensive line: D+
Their inability to create holes for Forte and Taylor and protect Jay Cutler deserves this grade. Also for not pushing the Lions back on the one yard line for Forte to get a touchdown. It was just horrendous out there. They were being pushed around like rookies. They gave up four sacks to the Detroit Lions. They are going to be in trouble when they face Dallas, Green Bay and Minnesota this year.

Defensive line: A
They were harassing Matt Stafford and Shaun Hill all day long. They were only to get two sacks total, but the numbers lie. They were creating lots of pressure, causing Stafford and Hill to make bad throws. They were able to shut down the Lions running game for the most part. Both of Jahvid Best’s touchdowns were little run-ins.  Julius Peppers proved his worth by sacking Stafford and causing a fumble. Unfortunately for Stafford he was injured on the play and could be out for 2-6 weeks.

Linebackers: A+
Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs and Pisa Tinoisomoa were a force to be reckoned with. They were all over the place delivering pain. Urlacher shut up his critics in the first game of the season by registering 8 tackles and one sack. Having a year to rest does wonders in my opinion. Briggs was also a key player on Sunday when he forced that fumble inside the five yard line. Too bad the offense wasn’t able to do much with the gift.

Secondary: B+
The Bears secondary didn’t give up really any big plays, but they didn’t look too spectacular when Lovie called in the prevent defense. I know that the defense isn’t designed to bring the pressure in the prevent defense, but they should of at least got in the receivers face in the first five yards. They should of also double teamed Calvin Johnson. This whole debacle in the end zone wouldn’t of happened and the Bears wouldn’t of won on an iffy ruling.

Special Teams: B
They didn’t up any big returns, but they also didn’t have many themselves. I wished Hester would of ran one back when they kicked to the fifty yard line. Every time a team does that, it reminds me of a PR TD in a Vikings game at home.

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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 Offensive Line

Thursday, August 12th, 2010

There’s probably one thing that worries me about the Bears this year. Something that hasn’t been stable and top notch in quite a few years, and that something is the offensive line. I don’t know how Jay Cutler does it. I would be scared every time when I would drop back, knowing there could be some behemoth chasing after me. I really hope they don’t have to scrape Cutler off the turf this year, but there’s one thing that makes me feel a little better about the Bears offensive line. The fact that folks are saying they are improving each day at training camp makes me feel a little better. It probably helps that they have an excellent coach for the offensive line in Mike Tice. If they continue to get better like what folks are saying, then Jay Cutler, Matt Forte and Chester Taylor will be very happy. As well as Bear fans too.

The Chicago Bears offensive line did end on a high note. They protected Jay Cutler against the Vikings like pros. Especially Chris Williams, who in my opinion will be the future of the offensive line. He blocked Jared Allen like he was some high school punk with a bad attitude. He looked like a five year veteran out there and I hope he continues that. The rest of the offensive line is… well. In my opinion needs to be upgraded. I know that Kreutz is not too far from retiring. I wouldn’t be surprised if he retired after this season. I really wish they had won that Super Bowl in 2006, so then he would be voted into the Hall of Fame faster. Same goes with Brian Urlacher, but don’t want to get off topic. Olin Kreutz’s back up Josh Beekman would do a fine job. I believe he has proven himself he can do the job. Especially with all the mentoring he is getting from Olin Kreutz. Hopefully he will pass on that, I’m going to punch you in the face type of blocking attitude. Need that kind of attitude in the trenches. I do believe it’s time to say goodbye to Roberto Garza and Frank Omiyale. Especially to Frank, he was horrible and I do mean horrible last year. When the Bears picked him up, I thought to myself “Oh hey, the Bears are upgrading their offensive line. Cool!”. I was very wrong unfortunately. The only back up on the Bears roster for Frank would be J’Marcus Webb. Who is an unproven rookie unfortunately. I don’t know much about Lance Louis except he had a run in with the law when he pleaded guilty to assault when he beat up his former teammate at SDSU.

That was the first string of the offensive line, the second string has two proven back ups (Shaffer and Beekman) and three unproven players. Johan Asiata who is slated at LG. He hasn’t played in any NFL games, but has been on the roster since 2009 on the practice squad. I do have a feeling he might replace Garza if he continues to commit stupid penalties. Here’s a fun fact, Johan didn’t allow a sack in his senior year at UNLV. The second unproven player is James Marten, who is slated as Lance Louis’ back up. He hasn’t played many games in the NFL unfortunately, so I don’t know much about him. Wish there was more info available about him out there. Lastly there is the lone offensive lineman in the 2010 Bears draft class, J’Marcus Webb. He was taken in the seventh round and doesn’t really have a good chance to be starting come opening day of the season. If he has learned enough and improved enough to replace Frank, they will start him immediately in my opinion.

I hope the Bears line holds up this year, they really need to Cutler some time to pass the ball and give some running room for Forte and Taylor. No one could of run the ball efficiently last year, except maybe Walter Payton.

GammaBears

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Bears Running Backs

Sunday, August 8th, 2010

The Bears have plenty of depth at the running back position this year thankfully. This will give Forte a breather during games instead of having to be depended upon every play so it seemed last year. That’s one of the reasons why he didn’t have a stellar sophomore season, and it didn’t help either that he was injured all year long either. My prediction is that the Bears will use Forte and Taylor as a one-two punch to keep the defense on their toes at all times, but I also have a feeling that Forte will have more carries than Taylor. Forte tends to be agile and elude tacklers and Taylor tends to be the smash mouth “I’m going to rock you” running back the Bears have been lacking for the past few years.  With a semi-improved offensive line it will help create holes for those two. From what BearsAddict and DecaturNate said in their latest podcast (#68), they weren’t all too impressed with the way the line looked and that worries me a bit. I have a feeling they will get better as training camp goes on… Hopefully. They need to open up holes for the running and give Cutler plenty of time for those extensive planned out plays that Martz likes to call.

I didn’t forget about the rest of the RB crew. The Bears have recently acquired Harvey Unga from the supplemental draft. They only gave up a seventh round draft pick for him, which isn’t too bad. Unga was slated to go in the second to fourth round in the regular draft. So I think it was a win for both sides. I think he will help out in short yard situations, and the same goes for Kahlil Bell. Who was most known for breaking that huge gain last year. I don’t think they will be getting a lot of carries this year, mainly because the Bears have a stellar duo in Forte and Taylor. You are probably thinking, what about Garrett Wolfe and Brandon Minor? Well, I think they will put Minor on the practice squad and Wolfe will be a special teams player mainly. He just didn’t pan out in the Turner offense and I don’t think he will in Martz’s playbook either. It also doesn’t help the Bears didn’t really block all that well for him either.

How do you feel about the depth of the Bears current RB Corps?

Gammabears

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