Ulracher will be at Minicamp

The Brian Urlacher situation has caused massive speculation within the media as to whether or not the star linebacker would be present at the team’s first mandatory mini-camp.  Urlacher himself fueled the fire by saying first that he did not see himself showing up for any of the Bears’ team activities until this contract dispute had been resolved.  However, as it was reported recently, holding out and missing mandatory team camps could wind up costing Urlacher more than he stands to make in his contract holdout, so Urlacher has decided to show up for the team mini-camp.

Now that this part of the saga has been put to rest, we can move on to more pressing questions.  First and foremost, how much of a distraction will the disgruntled linebacker be?  The Bears count on Brian Ulracher to be a team leader.  If the Pro Bowl defensive player is unhappy, could that spill over to the rest of the team?  On top of this, we can now begin to look at the contract itself.  Will the Bears be able to reach an amicable compromise that both parties are happy with?  Only time will now, but at least Urlacher will be at mini-camp.

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Permalink - Posted in General on May 30, 2008 - Post a comment

Urlacher Watch ‘08

Will he or won’t he show up?  That is the question on the minds of all Bears fans around the world as the team’s first mandatory mini-camp approaches.  The player in question is of course Brian Urlacher.  The superstar linebacker has gone on record and said that he does not expect to attend the mini-camp.  However, it is now being reported that if he does not attend the mini-camp, Urlacher stands to lose millions of dollars in pro-rated signing bonus money.  The whole deal is very convoluted and bogged down in contract semantics, but I’ll do my best to explain it as I understand the situation.

Basically, as I understand it, Urlacher’s present contract requires him to show up for all mandatory camps and practices and other team events.  Urlacher’s signing bonus is contingent upon him fulfilling his every contractual obligation.  That means that if Urlacher misses this mandatory mini-camp, the Bears could come after him for a pro-rated portion of his signing bonus.  This portion would total more than five million dollars.  It will be interesting to see if a cool five million is enough money to keep Urlacher from boycotting the mini-camp.

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Permalink - Posted in General on May 29, 2008 - Post a comment

Four Minutes with Lance Briggs

It’s hard to talk about the NFL during the offseason.  I mean, it’s not hard to talk about the NFL during the offseason, but rather it’s more difficult to find things to blog about during the NFL offseason than it is during the actual season.  I suppose this shouldn’t come as much of a shock to anyone, as it seems rather intuitive that it would be harder to write about people when they’re doing nothing than it is to write about them when they’re doing something.  However, today one of the Chicago Bears has helped me out by giving me this Lance Briggs interview on ESPN to blog about.

Lance talks about a few things, shying away from some of the more pressing and possibly scandalous topics of Urlacher and the like.  But he does talk about the Bears defense and how they fell off a bit last year.  He looks forward to the future and then starts discussing his sports drink of choice.  I would never have pegged Lance Briggs as a Pedialite drinker, but apparently the big man is way into the drink for little babies.  I guess maybe it has extra nutrients in it.  He swears it works better than Gatorade.  To each his own, I guess.

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Permalink - Posted in General on May 28, 2008 - Post a comment

Bears Make Clayton’s List

Generally, making a list on ESPN.com is a good thing.  When someone is trying to make a list, you’d generally think that list would be of the 10 best something or others.  Therefore, you would think that any team would want to  be on said list, as that would mean they were the best at something.  However, when it comes to John Clayton’s list of surprising offseason non-moves, you probably want to steer clear from this one.  The Chicago Bears were unable to avoid Clayton’s glare, unfortunately, and their lack of improvement to the pass offense puts them high atop this particularly list.

The Bears can’t truly be surprised at being included in this set of teams.  Their fan base and local media have been all over them for the duration of the offseason up to this point for their failure to address their passing woes.  Now Clayton is calling them out too.  The Bears’ brass seems to care very little about the criticisms from the outside, though.  They believe they have their air attack exactly where they need it, and no amount of nay-saying - not from the fans, the local media or John Clayton himself - is going to change the minds of the men in charge of the Chicago Bears.

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Permalink - Posted in General on May 27, 2008 - Post a comment

Salaam Doesn’t Care for Benson

While the Chicago Bears as a team and organization seem content to give Cedric Benson one more chance, the rabid Chicago media has no problem jumping all over him.  In fact, not only are they ready to label Benson a failure on par with the other massive failures of first round running backs, but they go so far as to insinuate that he deserves what he’s getting right now.  Adding further insult to injury, they got Rashaan Salaam’s opinion on the Benson matter, as if that’s even remotely important or at all appropriate at this juncture.

If the Bears media wants to figure out whey they have so many high-profile first round draft picks flaming out so early in their careers, they might want to turn the microscope back on themselves.  Benson was boating in the wrong place at the wrong time.  He may well not be blameless in the matter, but the Chicago media seems intent on raking him over the coals for something he did during the offseason.  Perhaps they think of it as tough love, but from the outside looking in this just seems like mean-spirited bitterness.  Attack a man for a lack of performance on the field, but if he is a victim of possible police brutality, perhaps you should lay off.

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Permalink - Posted in General on May 23, 2008 - Post a comment

Benson Reports to Voluntary Camp

A couple of days ago, it was reported that at the start of the Chicago Bears voluntary team workouts, neither Brian Urlacher nor Cedric Benson had reported to the camp.  While Urlacher remains a no-show, it is now being reported that Benson has arrived at the voluntary workout session.  This is a very good sign, as Benson will need to get his reps in if he wants to win the starting job.  This year there will be a bit of a preseason competition for the 1st string running back position, and Benson needs to show his dedication to the Bears if he wants to win the job back.

Benson showed up to camp saying all the right things.  No one seems bothered that he was a few days late.  Benson has begun to speak very favorably about his teammates.  People will remember that Benson famously said he didn’t feel a part of the team early in his career.  Apparently he now feels the Bears have his back.  Also, Benson’s attitude toward the competition for the starting job is exactly where it needs to be.  It seems as though Benson has really grown up.  I hope this new approach translates to on-field success.

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Permalink - Posted in General on May 22, 2008 - Post a comment

Bears Make Chadiha’s Top 10 List

The Bears have made it into an offseason top 10 list.  While you may be thinking that this is a very good thing, not all lists are great to make.  This list is probably neither good nor bad, as it is simply Chadiha’s list of the top 10 most compelling minicamp story lines in the NFL.  However, that doesn’t change the fact that the Bears would likely wish to remain off such a list, especially given that they are a compelling story line due to the holdout of Brian Urlacher.  The disgruntled linebacker is certainly not showing the kind of character and leadership the Bears wanted out of him when they initially gave him a long-term contract.

Chadiha takes an interesting approach to the Urlacher situation.  He initially says that Urlacher’s holdout should not pose much of a distraction to this Chicago Bears team, as they have dealt with this type of situation in recent years.  But at the end of the section, he states outright that the Urlacher holdout will be more of a distraction than the Bears have had to deal with in the past.  So which is it?  I tend to believe that this will not be a hindrance to the Bears in their minicamp, but it would certainly be to everyone’s benefit to get this situation dealt with quickly.

You can get all your Chicago Bears tickets at www.stubhub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on May 21, 2008 - Post a comment

Benson, Urlacher not at Bears’ Voluntary Workout

Cedric Benson and Brian Urlacher did not report to the Chicago Bears voluntary camp. While Urlacher’s absence was expected and went by with little notice, Benson’s absence is slightly troubling. Benson has of course been dealing with his off-field issues stemming from a boating incident a few weeks ago. Since the incident, new information seems to leak out every few days or so to muddle the situation more and more with each passing news story. However, none of this was expected to keep Benson from the team’s workout.

While I have defended Benson in the past, this is the type of behavior that just does not win him any brownie points in the NFL. The running back needed to be at camp. He should have handled his business in the proper time frame. While I’m not privy to all the information, this really rubs me the wrong way as a sports fan. This type of action smacks of self-involvement and an inability to put the team’s needs ahead of your own. It’s the reason many Bears fans don’t believe Cedric Benson has the heart of a champion.

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Permalink - Posted in General on May 20, 2008 - Post a comment

Benson Still Bears Starter

It’s been a bit of a tumultuous offseason for the Chicago Bears.  Brian Urlacher hasn’t helped that cause by creating a contract dispute where, quite frankly, there just should not be one at all.  Then of course, you have the Cedric Benson situation - another incident that never should have been.  However, luckily for Bears fans, whether they realize it or not, they have top-tier NFL coach helming their team.  And Lovie Smith is doing his best to diffuse the situation over which he has control.  Smith has named Benson the Chicago Bears’ starting running back, for now.

This is a small vote of confidence, but it is tangible nonetheless.  Smith could have come out and left things up in the air, allowing for rampant media speculation as to Benson’s future after having an incident that basically amounts to hanging out with a few of his friends and then getting roughed up by police officers.  While the media has jumped on this story, it really should become a non-issue as time passes.  Benson will get his chance to defend his right to be the Chicago Bears’ starting running back.  How he responds to that chance is totally up to him.

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Permalink - Posted in General on May 19, 2008 - Post a comment

Earl Campbell Weighs in on Benson Ordeal

Texas great Earl Campbell has given his opinion on the Cedric Benson issue.  At a golf tournament in Texas, the 1997 Heisman Trophy winner laid into Benson verbally, basically attacking him for being on a boat in the summertime.  He went on to state that Benson not only represents himself and his family, and not only the Chicago Bears, but the entire University of Texas legacy.  I wanted to make it through an entire paragraph of actual facts and information before i gave my opinion on this matter, but I’m not sure I’m going to make it.

This is ridiculous.  Earl Campbell needs to shut his mouth about things that have nothing to do with him.  First of all, Benson was boating with friends.  Second, nothing is proven yet, and it seems that the evidence points to police brutality, not a problem with Benson.  People drink on boats all the time.  Benson cannot be expected to remain indoors are all times just because he plays professional football. The idea that this reflects poorly on the Longhorns is just ludicrous.  If Cedric Benson is guilty of anything at the moment, he is guilty of not doing his boating someplace with less (allegedly) racist police officers.

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Permalink - Posted in General on May 16, 2008 - Post a comment


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