Friday, March 5, 2010

Chester Taylor is a Bear!

According to ProFootballTalk.com:

Chester Taylor will stay in the NFC North.

The former Viking agreed to a four-year, $12.5 million contract with Chicago, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. $7 million is guaranteed in the first year.

The Bears are just getting their checkbook warmed up, with a deal for Julius Peppers on the way shortly.

Taylor's contract, like the one for Kyle Vanden Bosch, includes a lot of front-loaded money in the uncapped year.

Look for Taylor and Matt Forte to split up the workload in Chicago next season. Both excel on passing downs; now the Bears just need to find someone that can block for them.

Somewhere, LaDainian Tomlinson is wondering why he can't get any love.

Bears Sign TE Manumaleuna Creating Questions About Olsen and Clark

As reported earlier this week, the Bears signed blocking tight end Brandon Manumaleuna. Manumaleuna, who at 6-foot-2 and 295 pounds, is the size of an offensive lineman, will sign a five-year contract with the Bears later Friday pending a physical.

Does Manumaleuna's signing mean the end for Greg Olsen due to Mike Martz' Martz uses of tight ends to block both the running game and the passing game? (Note: It's been rumored that Olsen has asked the Bears to trade him).

According to the Chicago Tribune, Olsen still could play a role in the Mike Martz offense, but Manumaleuna signing does cast doubt on the status of veteran tight end Desmond Clark.

Clark has a $475,000 roster bonus that is due Friday and a base salary for 2010 of $1 million. He is entering the final year of his contract. Clark, who turns 33 next month, had missed only two games in his first six seasons with the club since being a free-agent deal in 2003. But broken ribs and a neck injury kept him out of five games last season and he made only 19 receptions for 145 yards and two touchdowns.

Rexy to the Redskins?

Rumor has it that the Redskins are interested in Rex Grossman. Yikes!

ProFootballTalk.com reports: Could Mike Shanahan revive the career of failed Bears quarterback Rex Grossman?

Shanahan's new team, the Washington Redskins, are said to be interested in acquiring Grossman, who barely got off the bench last season while backing up Matt Schaub with the Houston Texans.

Bears Closing in on Deals with Peppers, Taylor

The Bears' pursuit of free agent Julius Peppers appears to be paying off. Coach Lovie Smith personally escorted the pass rusher from Charlotte, N.C., to Halas Hall on Friday.

Fox Sports' Jay Glazer tweeted that Peppers and free-agent running back Chester Taylor are undergoing physicals. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune points out that this is a positive sign for the Bears.

Fingers crossed that the deals will get inked and that the deals that are inked are worth the effort (and the ink).

Pace Not the Bears' Pace

Whoo hoo! Left Tackle Orlando Pace was released by the Bears on Monday as were tight end Fontel Mines and guard Tyler Reed.

Pace added nothing to the Bears roster last season. He was slow on the outside and consequently got beat all the time.

GOOD RIDDANCE!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Cato June lands in Chicago

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN as posted on Mike Florio’s blog on MSNBC.com, former Tampa Bay linebacker Cato June has been signed by the Bears to help shore up a bad defense.

June won a Super Bowl with the Colts in the weakside position of the Tampa Two defense, a stats-friendly assignment that puts the player in position to make a ton of tackles.

After capturing a championship, June signed a so-so deal with the Bucs, who included him in an offseason purge of veterans. June then signed with the Texans, and he eventually landed on injured reserve with a broken forearm.

I've Been in Denial...

Well, I haven't posted in a while. I’d like to say that it’s because I’ve just bee too busy. While that is true, I’ve also been in denial about the Bears’ season.

Sunday afternoon’s game against Favre and the Vikings made me face reality. It was the first time in years that I turned off the game early. I chose to watch a TIVOed episode of CBS’ Numbers instead. Lame? Yes, the Bears are lame this season (but I still love them!).