So after spending the last few months telling everybody that he was going to skip OTAs, and that he wouldn't be attending training camp without a new contract with the Chicago Bears, Brian Urlacher reversed ship when he showed up at Halas Hall yesterday to prepare for a mandatory mini-camp that begins today.
If Brian Urlacher was going to find a resolution to his contract squabble, let alone a happy one, he wasn't going to do it away from Halas Hall.
The face of the Bears knows that much, and he took a step in that direction by reporting for the mandatory minicamp that begins today. Urlacher was at the facility Thursday, when players were required to be present for a physical, weigh-in and team meeting. Now he's expected to have the opportunity to show off how he's moving on the field with his rehabilitated back and repaired neck.
What does this mean? Well, it means Brian is going to be getting that new contract he wanted sometime very soon. After all, the negotiations have already started between him and the Bears. The two sides spent the entire off-season basically saying that they weren't going to budge, but then in the last few days the Bears came up with a one-year extension for $18 million that included $5 million guaranteed and would add $1 million to each year remaining on Brian's contract.
That was the first sign that they're willing to talk, but it was also a proposal they probably knew would get rejected. Urlacher's main beef about his contract is the fact that most of the money he's scheduled to make isn't guaranteed, so by only guaranteeing $5 of the $18 million, the Bears were pretty sure Brian would reject it.
Which he did, but the offer still served it's purpose, as Urlacher is at Halas Hall now. Now that Brian knows the team is willing to talk, he's willing to show up and show them that he's okay and deserves the new deal.
Though I didn't really agree with Brian's quest for new money, saying that he should have known when he signed a 9-year deal that it would be pretty outdated and obsolete in the NFL before its conclusion, I have to admit he's been going about it the right way.
While last year we saw Lance Briggs make threat after threat through the media, saying he wouldn't show up to camp, that he'd never be a Bear again, Urlacher's kept pretty quiet about the whole thing. Lance took shots at the team in his negotiations, while Brian hasn't had anything bad to say about the Bears as much as he's had to say about his contract and the current situation for all players in the league.
Of course, this probably has a lot to do with their agents, as Briggs is represented by Drew Rosenhaus who's almost as interested in getting money for his clients as he is in getting attention for himself.
So now that Urlacher is in camp, and both sides have shown that they're willing to bend, I can only figure it will be a matter of time before he's got a new contract, and angry Bears fans can move on and forgive him. Then everybody can go back to hating Cedric Benson.
Remember last year when Lance Briggs was threatening to sit out the season because the Bears had franchised him, and he wanted a long-term deal? Remember how ridiculous it was to hear a guy complain about the fact he was only going to be making $7.2 million?
Then the season came along, Lance played better than just about everybody on the defense, and he signed a contract with the Bears for less money than he was originally offered. Personally, I found it pretty funny that after all the crap he pulled, Briggs ended up with a smaller payday than anybody thought he'd get. Hell, even after signing the damn thing, he still wasn't exactly thrilled with it.
The question is: Why would Briggs accept less money to stay with the Bears when he was previously threatening to leave the team for paying him more? Is he just stupid? Insane? Was he just desperate to buy a new Lamborghini?
Nope, none of the above. It turns out it's just all those damn mouths to feed.
Chicago Bears linebacker Lance Briggs is close to settling a high-profile paternity claim filed against him, but his baby mama drama may just be starting.
In court Wednesday, Briggs' ex-girlfriend Brittini Tribbett, 21, again pleaded for Briggs to provide adequate emotional and financial support for their baby girl, while another pregnant woman stood by, listening to talk of how she's set to deliver a Briggs baby.
Briggs, 27, wasn't in court. He is living in Arizona with yet another woman who recently gave birth to another daughter of Briggs, those involved in the case alleged.
Tribbett's attorney, Enrico Mirabelli, argued that in a sworn deposition, Briggs denied knowing Yesenaya Toledo, a 20-year-old Chicago woman due to deliver a baby this summer.
First of all, kudos to Stephen Patterson for fitting the phrase "baby mama drama" into an actual newspaper article. Nice to see the papers are finally adapting to this Maury Povich world we live in.
Speaking of which, wouldn't it save Lance a lot of money to just go on Maury to find out if he's the father, instead of paying all these lawyer fees? Drew Rosenhaus should get on that.
Anyway, where was I? Ahh, yes, Lance Briggs and his super sperm that seem to impregnate any woman who gets within 15 feet of him.
Just a little piece of advice for you, Lance. If the kids are yours, just pay the damn money. It's not like you're scraping by. I know of at least $19 million you have in your pocket already. Also, maybe start investing in some condoms. I know it doesn't feel the same, but they're a lot cheaper in the long run.
You don't want to waste all your money on your unwanted responsibilities, do you?
Football season is still about four months away, but teams around the league have already begun their voluntary off-season workout programs. Now, they're called voluntary, and teams can't punish their players for missing them, but for the most part you're expected to show up.
A few years ago Thomas Jones and Lance Briggs skipped the workouts, and Lovie Smith took away their starting jobs. Last season it was Briggs again who skipped the workouts as a protest to his being franchised by the team, and wanting a long-term contract. Well, this year Lance finally has his money, and he's showing up to the workouts. Still, there's another Bears linebacker who's not going to be able to make it.
Brian Urlacher told the Tribune on Sunday he plans to skip the first day of workouts, slated to begin Monday, and left open the strong possibility that he will bypass the Bears' entire voluntary off-season program, which includes organized team activities (OTAs).
The face of the Bears franchise informed the team of his intentions to remain in Arizona rather than attend the program at Halas Hall.
Brian did miss a few workouts last season, but it had nothing to do with his contract as much as it had to do with taking parenting classes and going to court. This year, it's the contract.
Though Brian has gone about it in a much quieter way than Lance Briggs did last season, he wants a contract extension and his agent has been in constant contact with the Bears the last few weeks. Urlacher, of course, signed an extension with the Bears back in 2002 that at the time was the biggest contract in team history: Nine years, $56.65 million.
The problem is that Brian's contract is outdated now in 2008. He'll only be making $3.95 million this season, and while that's a lot of money to you and me, in the world of NFL linebackers it's pretty average these days.
This could turn out to be quite problematic for the Bears though, because I'm not sure signing Brian to an extension now is the right thing to do. He did just have neck surgery in the off-season, and I'm not sure committing a bunch of money to a soon-to-be 30 year old linebacker coming off of neck surgery is the wisest financial decision. Whether he likes it or not, he's still under contract with the team until 2011. Frankly, Brian should have known how outdated this deal would have become when he signed it, and maybe signed a 5-year deal instead which would have allowed him to test the free agent market and really strike it rich.
I think most of us have been there. You're dating a girl, and you have been for a while. Things have gone pretty well for the most part, but lately, lately things have been a little rough. She is looking for more from you, and honestly, you're just not ready to make that type of commitment. You're still young! You've all sorts of adventures waiting to be had!
So you start fighting a lot more often, nothing major, but sometimes in public in front of all your friends. Then one night when you're out at your friend's party after a fight with her, you see she's on the other side of the room flirting with that asshole from accounting.
Now you're pissed.
You walk right over to that douchebag CPA and let him know he's not to mess with your girl. She's yours.
You know what I'm saying, right?
Well, that's exactly what the Bears did, except it wasn't their girlfriend exactly, it was Lance Briggs. And the CPA was the San Francisco 49ers, and instead of letting the Niners know how they felt, they ran to their mommy to take care of it for them. And mommy did just that.
The NFL found the 49ers guilty of tampering with the Bears linebacker last season and punished the NFC West team Monday by taking away its fifth-round selection in the April 26-27 draft. San Francisco violated the league's anti-tampering policy by contacting Briggs' agent, Drew Rosenhaus, last season without the Bears' permission.
Briggs was on a one-year tender as the team's franchise player. He declined to comment when reached by phone Monday. Rosenhaus did not return a message.
What's even better? Not only do the Niners have to give up their 5th round pick for lookin at out girl, but they have to swap their third round pick (7th of round) with ours (12th of round). So not only do we keep our girl, but we took their beer and copped a feel on his wife! We're total bad asses right now, and if our lady doesn't want to be with us anymore, there are 20 other girls at the party that wouldn't mind changing places with her.
The moral of the story here, kids, is always tattle. Everybody loves a tattler, and good things come to those who snitch.
Free agency in the NFL started on Friday, and over the weekend there was a ton of player movement throughout the league.
Well, not here.
The Bears re-signed Lance Briggs, and at less money than they paid him last season, which is absolutely awesome.
I did not want to lose Lance Briggs, especially with Brian Urlacher's back problems. He's too big a part of the defense to just assume you can plug anybody else in there, and things will be fine.
Still, like a lot of teams, the Bears have a ton of cap space this offseason and I was hoping to see them use it somewhere else than just re-signing their own players. If you're going to let Bernard Berrian leave to sign a ridiculously over-priced contract with the Vikings, fine, but you better use that money somewhere else.
Like, say, on the offensive line where Alan Faneca would have looked really good. Instead, Faneca signed a deal with the Jets. Okay, well how about Cowboys left tackle, and my former high school teammate, Flozell Adams? Oh, he re-signed with the Cowboys.
Don't get me wrong, what bothers me is not that we didn't get them. Faneca never got to Chicago before the Jets blew him away with an offer, so I can't blame the Bears for that, and as far as I know Flozell never talked to anybody besides Dallas.
It's that I haven't heard that the Bears aren't talking about signing anybody who isn't already on the roster. For a team that finished 7-9 last season, and has a ton of needs at different positions, is sitting still during free agency really the smartest thing to do?
I know that Jerry Angelo doesn't want to fall in the trap that a lot of teams are right now, mistaking tons of cap room now for cap room in the future (seriously, let's see how the Vikings feel about that Berrian contract in a few years), but at the same time there's something to be said about taking a shot at winning now.
This Bears team as currently constructed is nowhere near good enough to get back to, much less win, a Super Bowl. Not even in the NFC. Within the Bears' own division the Vikings have already gotten better, and there are rumors Randy Moss is considering going to Green Bay to play with Brett Favre.
Of course, there are also rumors that Randy Moss and Daunte Culpepper are going to reunite in Minnesota. So who knows what we can actually believe.
While a lot of the big name (and I use that term loosely this offseason) free agents have already signed, there are still a lot of quality players available who can help this Bears team. Javon Walker would be a nice addition to the offense, but there are a lot of teams interested in him, so he'll probably cost way too much.
But while teams focus on trying to get Javon, why don't the Bears contact Bryant Johnson or D.J. Hackett? Sure, neither are Pro Bowl type of players, but they're both better options than what the team currently has, and no matter which mediocre quarterback wins the job, he'll need somebody to throw the ball to.
Just do something. If for no other reason than to make me think you're trying to win next season.
Free agency in the NFL began at 11 PM local time last night, and now all those unrestricted free agents like Bernard Berrian, Lance Briggs, and Brendon Ayanbedejo are on the market.
Odds that all three will return to the Bears next year aren't good. I'm actually writing this on Thursday night before going to bed, and I wouldn't be surprised if by the time I posted it, Lance Briggs was a San Francisco 49er.
So while I don't want to lose Lance Briggs, I'm already resigned to the fact he's likely out the door.
I also want to keep Bernard Berrian around, though for different reasons. Briggs is such a huge part of our defense, and I fear what will happen if he's gone. If Berrian, well, we're incredibly thin at wide receiver.
Last week the Bears had a chance to place the franchise tag on Berrian, but chose not to, thinking that $7.8 million was a bit much to pay for him. I agreed with the move.
Of course, I never thought that the Texans would go and do this.
What is expected to be a hot free agent market continued to sizzle Thursday when Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Davis became the second free agent receiver to come off the market to re-sign with his team.
Davis agreed to a four-year, $16 million deal that included $8 million in guarantees. On Wednesday, the Tennessee Titans re-signed Justin Gage to a four-year, $14 million deal. They came off the market, but Randy Moss continues his negotiations with the Patriots.
Okay, so let's look at this a bit more carefully.
Andre Davis got $16 million for 4 years after catching 33 passes for 583 yards and three scores.
Justin Gage gets $14 million for his 55 catches, 750 yards, and 2 touchdowns last season.
Bernard Berrian had 71 catches, 951 yards, and 5 touchdowns with the Triumvirate of Terror as quarterbacks. And his agent is Drew Rosenhaus.
You think he's going to ask for a lot of money?
No wonder Berrian already turned down the Bears offer of 5 years and $25 million. After Randy Moss re-signs with New England, he's going to hit the jackpot. He's the only option left on the free agent market.
So here are the Bears options. They can either let Berrian walk, and go into next season with what little they have left at receiver and presumingly one they draft. Or they can severely overpay for Berrian with a long-term deal that will be a huge cap filler in a few seasons.
Oh, to be Jerry Angelo right now.
Finally, just because I'm having too much fun with my new RedLasso account, here's some video of Peanut Tillman at Disneyworld.
I knew yesterday when I wrote that the Bears should try and sign Randy Moss that not everybody was going to agree. Moss is just too polarizing a figure amongst football fans to assume everybody would go along with the idea.
Plus, I'm kind of an idiot, so if everybody agreed with me all the time, this world would be in a lot of trouble.
Gepetto from Luol's Dong was so adamantly against my theory that a comment on the post just didn't suffice. Instead, he was kind enough to write a whole post about it, breaking it down with three reasons why the Bears shouldn't go after Moss.
#1. Personality. The Bears of the 1980's were all about flashiness and style, things that Moss would have excelled in. However, the current Bears team is very much about teamwork and selflessness (see: universal hatred of Cedric Benson for his holdout). If Moss continues to be his usual entertaining self, he may find that he doesn't have an audience for it.
Oh, and then there's all the crime and anti-team behavior. You know: not playing games when you don't feel like it, marijuana, and, of course, the Straight Cash Homey incident.
I agree that Moss' personality could clash with any team, but it wasn't evident in New England this season. It's important to note that when Moss was getting in all sorts of trouble, he was still in his early 20's. He's 31 now, and maybe you haven't noticed, but he hasn't really gotten into any trouble the last few years. When I'm 31, if I'm still being judged by things I did in my early 20's, well, that would just be fucked.
Also, as for the Bears selflessness and hatred for Cedric Benson for holding out, they sure didn't seem to mind when Lance Briggs was threatening to sit out an entire season because he was only going to be paid a palty $7 million. The team was resentful of Benson not because he was holding out, but because he was holding out before he'd ever set foot on an NFL playing field and hadn't earned that right.
The Bears knew what Lance Briggs was worth, and trust me, they've been victimized by Randy Moss enough to know what he's worth as well.
#2. Oakland. I cannot stress this enough. Bringing in an A+ receiver does not a good team make. The Raiders brought in Moss to give their team a legit receiving threat (to go along with LaMont Jordan on the ground) in what seemed like a surefire move to get the Raiders back into contention. Well, except that the rest of the team still sucked, and Moss didn't see why he should put himself on the line for a bad team. This says it all.
Moss flopped around like a dead fish, and underperformed for a team that likes to throw the deep ball. Heck, they even had a speedster (Porter) to take some heat off of Moss on the deep routes. It just doesn't matter if Moss doesn't care. If Moss can turn his back on Oakland (which had a much better run game than we do), why not Chicago?
Again, a very valid point, but before we all just turn to Moss' tenure in Oakland as a reason he won't work in Chicago, we have to actually look at the situation in Oakland. There's quite a difference between the Raiders and the Bears, and it starts with Al Davis, who's clearly lost his mind as he approaches his 150th birthday.
Besides, when your owner gives up on finding a real coach and instead recycles one that couldn't do the job the first time around, Art Shell, it's hard to stay motivated. Not that I'm trying to give Moss an excuse for the way he played in Oakland, but why should he run out his routes? The Raiders kept sacrificing mediocre quarterback after mediocre quarterback, putting them behind an offensive line that couldn't block a Pop-Warner team. By the time Randy was getting to his cut, his quarterback was on his back.
Sure, Oakland had talent at running back and wide receiver when Moss came to the team, but none of that works without an offensive line.
#3. Money. As much cap room as we've saved, I find it hard to believe that the Bears would go after the top WR available with so many other holes to fill. Moss had a 2007 performance that nets him the big bucks, and it's not likely that the Bears would blow all that cap room on just one player (Unless his name is Lance Briggs).
This is the best reason of the three. It's the one reason why I don't think the Bears would sign Moss. Like I said in my post yesterday, I think the Bears have to try and sign Moss. Just find out exactly what he's looking for, you never know, it might be financially reasonable.
Much like the Raiders, the Bears need help on the offensive line first or Moss wouldn't be able to make any difference.
Foul Balls
The Sox Have Not Made An Offer To Bartolo Colon - Late last night I wrote about a rumor over at FanHouse that the White Sox had made an offer to Bartolo Colon. I openly questioned the validity of the report I found on Impacto Deportivo, and as it turns out, my suspicion was well founded.
Manager Ozzie Guillen shot down a report that the White Sox were on the verge of signing free agent pitcher Bartolo Colon.
According to Dominican site Impactodeportivo.com.do, Colon is close to finalizing a contract with the White Sox. The media outlet states that the pitcher needs only to pass a physical examination.
Guillen, who personally scouted Colon and met earlier Wednesday morning with assistant general manager Rick Hahn, said he hasn't spoken to Colon's representatives in a few weeks. That doesn't mean that the Sox have completely closed the door on Colon, but merely that a signing isn't imminent.
As I said in my FanHouse post, I wouldn't mind if the White Sox did sign Colon for an encore performance on the south side. He's been plagued by injuries the last few seasons, but if he were able to recover and have a strong season, the Sox would be in a much better position to make a playoff run.
If he isn't able to recover, it's not like he could be much worse than Gavin Floyd.
Northwestern Sucks - After losing to the Iowa Hawkeyes on Tuesday night, the Northwestern Wildcats are now 7-17 on the season, and 0-13 in the Big Ten. It's enough to make me wonder, are the Wildcats the worst team in the history of the Big Ten conference?
Looking at the Wildcats remaining schedule, I won't be surprised if they're 0-18 by the end of the season.
I know that Northwestern is one of those academic schools that foolishly values education over its sports programs, but could the school really keep coach Bill Carmody around if they manage to finish the season without a win? Don't they have to at least try to make it look like they're trying to win? The Knicks Show Team Unity - With the Bulls set to get back to action tonight against what used to be the New Jersey Nets, I'm sure you're all as depressed as I am. I've noticed that over the last few days, without the Bulls to drag me down, there's been a certain bounce in my step.
Colors are brighter. Jokes are funnier. I'm just happier.
I'm afraid it's all going to end tonight when I watch the Bulls play, even if Luol Deng does return.
Still, I just have to remind myself things could be worse. I could be watching the Knicks. Though, at least if I was watching the Knicks I'd be able to laugh at my team fighting each other.
Well the Bears can say goodbye to the playoffs after losing to the Lions 16-7 on Sunday at Soldier Field. There will be no defense of their NFC championship. There will be no division championship.
There won't be anything but eight more games of frustration having to watch this team. The only thing the Bears do consistently is play inconsistently. One week the offense and defense look like they're finally coming around, and then the next week they look like they did yesterday.
Missed tackles, dropped passes, turnovers, anything that can hurt the team, the Bears find a way to do it.
The Lions managed 365 yards of offense against the Bears yesterday, and did a great job of keeping the ball away from Devin Hester. Kevin Jones, in only his second game of the season, rushed for 105 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries.
Cedric Benson meanwhile could only manage 50 yards on 13 carries. That's a whopping 3.8 yards per carry, which isn't exactly good, but I'm guessing it's probably one of Benson's better averages this season.
Brian Griese threw for 208 yards and a touchdown, but the four interceptions he threw didn't help much. What made it worse was that three of the four interceptions came in the end zone.
That's three touchdowns the Lions took away. Those touchdowns probably would have made a difference, but at the same time, who's to say the Lions wouldn't have answered each of those touchdowns with ones of their own?
In an exclusive interview with FOX Sports, Urlacher finally revealed he's been fighting through a back injury that's caused pain and problems.
"It's a problem that started all the way back in camp," Urlacher said. "We've done x-rays, bone scans, MRI's, cat scans and this week I flew to Pittsburgh and met with a specialist. He confirmed what the team told me, that they think it's an arthritis type of thing. The thing that's so frustrating is there is no clear-cut solution to give me relief. I just have to deal with the pain."
So now Urlacher has an arthritic back. Fantastic. I'm no doctor, but the last time I checked, I'm pretty sure arthritis isn't one of those injuries that goes away after a few weeks. This is going to effect Urlacher for the rest of his career.
We may start to see a serious decline in his play over the rest of this season, and into next as well. All of which means I hope the Bears are seriously reconsidering their stance on what they want to do with Lance Briggs. It's already become pretty obvious this season that he is the best player on the defense right now, so losing him is already a scary possibility. Now that we know of Urlacher's back, it's terrifying.
If there's any good news to report today, it's that the Bears don't have to play next Sunday. So that means we won't have to watch them.
Monster of the Midway
Lance Briggs - I wanted to give this to Hester again. After all, the one time he was able to return a punt, he returned it 39 yards and set the Bears up for the only touchdown they scored yesterday. But I'm going to give it to Briggs, because he was the only person on defense yesterday who didn't do something to piss me off. He didn't over pursue on any plays. He didn't miss any tackles that I noticed. He just made plays, which is what he always does, so he gets the award today.
Dumbass of the Day
Brian Griese - It's only fair that Griese be here even though yesterday's game wasn't completely his fault. But if you took Griese's stats and credited them to Rex Grossman, we'd be all over him. You can't throw four interceptions and expect to win a game, especially when three of them come in the end zone.
Yesterday's Bears game was just a swift kick in the nuts. It was painful. The way the Bears defense played, the way the Bears came back, and then the way it ended, nothing but pain.
Adrian Peterson is a monster. A terrifying monster, one that when I think about the fact the Bears have to face him twice a season from here on out, gives me nightmares. Remember that great feeling you had on the day Barry Sanders retired?
Remember how relieved you were that you'd never have to see Sanders making the Bears look bad again? Well, meet the new Barry Sanders. Except this one is a lot bigger and a little faster.
The manchild known as Purple Jesus destroyed the Bears on Sunday. The Purple Messiah rushed for 221 yards on 20 carries, and had three touchdowns. If you're not that great at math, that means Peterson averaged 11 yards a carry. The average no doubt being helped by the three touchdown runs of 35, 67, and 73 yards.
Despite all of that, the Bears were able to make a comeback late. Peterson's third touchdown put Minnesota up 31-17 with just over four minutes left, but the Bears battled back. Minnesota's defense relaxed on the next Bears drive, and Brian Griese moved the team downfield before finding Muhsin Muhammed for a 33-yard touchdown.
Then, after a failed onside kick, the Bears held the Vikings offense to a three and out and forced them to punt the ball back. On the second play of the drive, Griese found Devin Hester streaking past Dwight Smith on the sideline, and made a perfect throw that resulted in a 81-yard touchdown to tie the game.
Because, even though Adrian Peterson is Purple Jesus, Devin Hester is God.
Of course, Purple Jesus wasn't done there. On the ensuing kickoff, Peterson returned the kick into Chicago territory to set up Ryan Longwell's game winning field goal as time expired.
So now the Bears are 2-4, and with Green Bay's win, now sit three games behind the Pack and in last place of the NFC North. It's really not fair either. Now that Brian Griese has taken over as quarterback, and the offense actually looks like an offense, the defense is horrible.
Do you realize the Bears are giving up 134.2 yards a game on the ground? That's good enough for 26th in the NFL. Overall, the defense is giving up 361.3 yards per game, which places them 27th in the NFL.
Where the hell did the defense go?
I'm hoping that this week in practice, Lovie Smith emphasizes only one thing. Tackling. Because the Bears don't seem to know how. Smith and the Bears coaches have stressed creating turnovers so much, by coaching players to go for the ball, that it seems they've all forgotten how to tackle.
The most symbolic play of this phenomenon came on Purple Jesus' 35-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Danieal Manning had Peterson on the sidelines at about the ten yard line, all he had to do was push Peterson and he was out of bounds. What did Manning do?
He tried to strip the ball.
Peterson shrugged him off and continued toward the end zone.
Every single player on the Bears defense should feel embarrassed right now. It seems they've all bought into their hype. Apparently this season they feel they've already proven they're a great defense, so there's no need to actually try. I mean, opponents will crumble with fear at the mere sight of them.
There are only two guys on the defense right now who don't suck right now: Charles Tillman and Lance Briggs. Briggs is playing so well that I'm seriously hoping the Bears reconsider that long term deal for him.
Urlacher isn't running to the ball like we're used to seeing him do.
Tommie Harris isn't getting into the backfield.
Brandon McGowan is horrible at safety.
And don't even get me started on Adam Archuleta. I warned you about that a long time ago.
This team is in a lot of trouble, and it's not going to get any easier with a trip to Philadelphia coming up. Last week I thought this team had figured it out, and now I'm not sure they'll win another game.
Monster of the Midway
Devin Hester - Seriously, is anybody else ever going to step up and win this award besides Devin? He did it again on Sunday, an 89-yard punt return for a touchdown, and his first career touchdown reception. Why don't the Bears just do that on every play? Send Hester streaking down the sidelines. There isn't a single defensive back in the NFL that's going to be able to stay with him for more than 25 yards. I love you, Devin. I mean, I'm not gay or anything, but I want to have Devin's babies. I want to be held in his arms as he tells me everything's going to be okay. I'll believe him too.
Dumbass of the Day
Brandon McGowan - You can pick a Bears defender, as long as they aren't named Briggs, and they'd deserve this award today. I'm going to give it to Brandon McGowan though for showing all the agility of a statue as he watched Adrian Peterson run by him time after time. JUST DIVE AT HIS LEGS FOR CHRIST'S SAKE! He can't run without legs! Is this that difficult?!
Just as I was getting ready for work yesterday, NFL Network reported that Brian Griese would be starting for Rex Grossman on Sunday. So I quickly began typing up a post here on Foul Balls, when a storm ran through town and knocked my power out.
I'm hoping that wasn't some sort of sign.
Either way, it's official now. Rex Grossman has been benched, and a city rejoices. Jay Mariotti got his first erection in 15 years when he heard the news. Bears fans who have long been calling for Griese, along with the media, have all gotten what they wanted.
The question now is, will it even matter?
I was one of the millions who called for Griese to start after Sunday night's loss to the Cowboys, and now that I've gotten what I asked for, I don't actually feel any better about the Bears. I know that Griese isn't a great quarterback, so it's not like I'm expecting him to lead the Bears on a 13-game win streak before marching back to the Super Bowl.
I just want a guy who can throw for around 200 yards, and limit turnovers. I'm hoping Griese is that guy.
Like I said a minute ago though, will it even matter?
With all the injuries to the Bears defense, I don't think it matters who plays quarterback this Sunday at Detroit. I get the feeling he'll have to lead the Bears to at least 30 points if we're going to win.
Tommie Harris is out. So that means our run defense is going to suffer. That's fine though, because all the Lions do is throw the ball anyway.
Of course, come Sunday the Bears will be without both of their starting cornerbacks, Nathan Vasher (thanks to a partially torn groin) and Charles Tillman. Adam Archuleta felt left out of the injury party, so he went and broke his right hand to fit in.
That means every single starter from Week 1 in the secondary is now injured.
Oh, and let's not forget that Lance Briggs may miss the game on Sunday as well. So the Bears will be missing five starters on defense this week.
I shared the first episode of Bears Brothers with you last week, and even though I'm extremely pissed off at the team right now, I'll still post episode 2 for you. After all, neither of the Ayanbadejo brothers did anything to cost the Bears the game on Sunday.
At least not that I noticed. Though Brendon did recover one of Devin's fumbles.
Carlos Zambrano's last start wasn't pretty - he lasted only six innings and walked five - but it was his first win since late July. It also was his first start since he was booed at Wrigley, which he complained about afterwards.
But over the weekend Carlos seemed a lot calmer on the mound. Maybe he was so tired after throwing so many pitches that he couldn't be as demonstrative after each pitch.
"I've been listening to Latin soft music, more relaxing music," he said. "It's a guy that is very well known, Marcos Witt. Plus, he's my friend."
Witt sings contemporary Christian music, and Zambrano credits the music for helping him throw six innings of two-hit ball against the Pirates.
Ah yes, Marcos Witt. He is very well known. Why I just learned about him 5 seconds ago!
Whether or not Witt's music is responsible for helping Zambrano get a win, I don't know, but it's obvious that it didn't hurt. So with that in mind, I've thought of some songs other Chicago athletes and coaches should listen to before a game.
Ozzie Guillen - "Crazy Train" by Ozzy Osbourne
Lance Briggs - "I Can't Drive 55" by Sammy Hagar
Jimmy Clausen - "The Freshman" by Verve Pipe
Mike Brown - "Big Girls Don't Cry" by Frankie Valli
Seriously, he's got a fantastic strategy to avoid trouble with the law. Nobody knows for sure what Briggs was doing out at 3AM on Monday morning, besides driving fast, but that's the beauty of everything.
Is leaving the scene of an accident a crime? Yeah, but it's not as bad as a DUI could have been. I'm not saying Briggs was drunk, but I doubt his blood-alcohol count was at 0.0. I mean, Lance has already seen first-hand what can happen to a Bears player who gets pulled over, even when they're not drunk. He doesn't need that to happen to him, so he left.
During a 30-minute meeting with state police investigators, Briggs confirmed that he was the driver of the car but offered no details regarding the crash.
After the meeting, state police announced Briggs had been charged with leaving the scene of an accident, a misdemeanor. He also was ticketed for failure to immediately notify police of a crash and for improper lane usage.
Briggs posted $100 bond and has an Oct. 4 court date in Skokie.
Leaving the scene of an accident can be punished by up to a year in prison, but how many people do you know in prison right now for that? Odds are Lance will have to pay a fine, and maybe undergo some kind of probation. Especially after considering this is Lance's first traffic incident in the state of Illinois.
It's a good thing Lance Briggs signed that contract and showed up to camp on time this season. If he hadn't, it'd be a lot harder to replace the $350,000 Lamborghini he destroyed this morning. (Link includes video)
Illinois State Police today were investigating an overnight crash on the Edens Expressway of a Lamborghini luxury sports car belonging to Chicago Bears linebacker Lance Briggs.
The heavily damaged 2007 Lamborghini Roadster was found around 3:14 a.m. off the northbound lanes of Interstate Highway 94 near Devon Avenue, Illinois State Police Sgt. Theodore Whittier said. No one was found inside the car and there was no indication that anyone was injured in the crash, Whittier said.
One tiny problem for Lance, he left the scene of the accident. Briggs called the police to let them know about it, and then took off.
What that means, well, I'm not sure. Is it possible that Lance had been drinking and didn't want to be around when the cops showed up? Yes. Especially considering he walked away from that crash unscathed. Sober people never walk away from those things without some injuries.
Am I saying he was definitely drunk? No! Never!! Sober people drive their Lamborghini's in the oncoming traffic lane at 3 AM all the time!
Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher is elated that bestest buddy Lance Briggs has solved his contract dispute with the Bears and will be in training camp today.
The closeness between the two didn't waver during the dispute but Urlacher is relieved to have it behind them.
When the two players weren't hanging out at Urlacher's house, they constantly sent text messages back and forth to keep in touch. Not to mention Urlacher wore Briggs' No. 55 during the last day of organized team activities as a show of support.
"Just talking [trash] to each other," Urlacher said of his conversations with Briggs over the last month. "I'm [really] happy he's coming back. I know what Lance can do, know what he's capable of. I love playing with him. We have great camaraderie. We feed off each other. And we kind of have a competition between each other—tackles, picks. In everything, we want to compete against each other."
No offense, Brian, but say much more and I'm gonna get creeped out.
"I like Michael. He's a good guy. Just a bad deal, man. You have to be smarter than that. I feel for him. Until proven guilty, he hasn't done anything wrong. But at the same time, you can't be involved with stuff like that. … I've heard of chicken fights. They had that in New Mexico. I didn't even know [dogfighting] was to the extent that it is. I just got a dog. I got him Father's Day and my daughter named him 'Bear.' Dogfighting, that's not right."
Reading this, it suddenly occurred to me that if the NFL really wanted to punish Michael Vick, they should have just let him play this season. Imagine Urlacher racing toward Vick in the pocket yelling, "This is for Bear, motherfucker!"
When I woke up this morning, this was not a story I was expecting to see. Lance Briggs is about to sign his one-year $7.2 million contract, and report to camp on time. No holdout, and no sitting out any games.
Reached on his cell phone, Briggs said "no comment" when asked if he had agreed to sign the one-year contract tender worth a guaranteed $7.2 million and report on time Thursday to the start of training camp in Bourbonnais.
But earlier in the night a Bears teammate who had spoken with both Briggs and a league source said the linebacker had agreed to sign the deal and avoid a holdout the Bears had been dreading.
Asked about the rumors Briggs had agreed to sign the contract and report on time, the player said, "True."
Efforts to reach his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, were unsuccessful.
I never expected that Briggs would sit out any games, but I figured a long hold out into training camp was inevitable. The reason the two sides have actually gotten closer to agreeing are some changes the Bears appear willing to make in the deal.
They're going to give Briggs more of the money up front as a small signing bonus, and they've promised Lance they will not franchise him after next season if he signs and shows up on time. Seeing as how Briggs really has no other options left than playing for the Bears this season under the franchise tag, this is about the best he can hope for.
Redding was designated as the team's franchise player, which means today was the last day he could have signed a long-term contract extension to remain in Detroit. After today, unsigned franchise players (including New England's Asante Samuel and Chicago's Lance Briggs) can only sign the one-year tender offer they've been given.
The deal includes $16 million guaranteed, and makes Redding the highest paid defensive tackle in the NFL.
This news is sure to cause a stir here in Chicago in a couple of ways.
First, it probably pisses Lance Briggs off quite a bit that Redding could get this kind of deal and he couldn't. Especially when you consider Briggs is a better football player. Still, Lance will only be in Chicago for another season.
But this affects the Bears in the future. Tommie Harris is in line for a contract extension soon, and if Redding can get $49 million, what's Tommie Harris worth?
Last season Redding finished the season with 48 tackles and 8 sacks in 16 games. Tommie Harris finished with 28 tackles and 5 sacks in only 12 games thanks to injuries.
The Bears run defense also seemed to crumble after Harris left with the hamstring injury. The memory of Joseph Addai and Dominic Rhodes tearing the Bears apart in the Super Bowl is still a fresh wound for the Bears and their fans.
Add in the fact that Tank Johnson, Alfonso Boone, and Ian Scott are all gone and Tommie's value to the Bears absolutely skyrockets.
If he can recover from the hamstring injury, and get back to playing like he did last year for a full season, and I think it's safe to say Cory Redding won't be the highest paid DT in the NFL for long.
So if Lance Briggs is going to work out a new deal with the Chicago Bears, he's got about three hours to do it.
The clock is ticking for Bears linebacker Lance Briggs, who has until 3 p.m. Monday to sign a long-term contract extension.
If no deal is completed -- and little progress has been evident since last year -- NFL rules stipulate that the only deal Briggs can sign is the franchise-tag tender offer of $7.2 million for 2007.
I don't think Lance is in any rush. There isn't going to be a new contract. He's either going to have to accept the $7.2 million or he can sit out the first ten games like he's threatened.
Of course, that will only cost him $425,000 a week, or $4.25 of that $7.2 million.
Avoiding a potential crisis at cornerback, the Chicago Bears signed starting cornerback Nathan Vasher to a five-year contract extension on Monday that can be worth as much as $28 million.
The new deal, which runs through the 2012 season, includes $14 million in guarantees. Vasher, 25, was set to enter the final year of his original rookie contract with Chicago, at a base salary of $850,000.
"It feels good. It's been a great relief," Vasher said. "I know a lot of people have contract issues about this time. It's one less thing I have to worry about."
Had he not been signed to an extension, Vasher would have become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the upcoming season.
Apparently, the Bears aren't finished there. They're currently working on signing their other corner, Peanut Tillman, to an extension, as well.
And I can't help but think that somewhere, Lance Briggs is really fucking pissed off.
I bet you're looking at that photo thinking, "Man, I could have sworn Brian Urlacher's number was 54" or "They should fire the equipment manager for giving Brian the wrong shirt" or "I love the way that jersey drapes over his massive, sweaty frame."
But you should be thinking, "Bring back Lance Briggs!"
Urlacher said that without speaking yesterday, wearing Briggs' No. 55 during the Bears' final pre-training camp organized team activity.
Other Bears players traded jerseys to break up the monotony of the final day of off-season practice but Urlacher was the only guy whose wardrobe choice turned heads. Team officials couldn't have liked the look.
"What's in a number?" coach Lovie Smith answered when asked about Urlacher's jersey.
His reasons? Devin Hester and Greg Olsen on the offense, three proven defensive ends (Alex Brown, Adewale Ogunleye and Mark Anderson) and a year's more experience in QB Rex Grossman.
Apparently, they even hired quarterbacks coach Pep Hamilton to refine Grossman's game. Looks like it's working already. Check out the Pep in Rex's step.
So after spending the last few months telling everybody that he was going to skip OTAs, and that he wouldn't be attending training camp without a new contract with the Chicago Bears, Brian Urlacher reversed ship when he showed up at Halas Hall yesterday to prepare for a mandatory mini-camp that begins today.
