Omiyale Signed As Newest Bear

The Chicago Bears are working hard to solidify their offensive tackle position. John Tait told the team of his intentions to retire, leading the Bears to extend a three-year offer to John St. Clair. Once St. Clair rejected the offer, he went on the market as a free agent. The Bears seem unwilling to wait around and made an early move to sign former Carolina Panthers offensive tackle Frank Omiyale to a four-year contract.

Former Bear and Panther teammate Muhsin Muhammad said about Omiyale, “Frank is just a really hard-working guy. He came in and filled a couple vacancies on our offensive line, and we never missed a beat. He’s got really long arms. He’s a strong, determined player. And he’ll be one of those guys that is really good in the locker room with his personality. Just tell Olin Kreutz to take it easy on him.”

Prior to his two-year stint with the Panthers, he was with the Atlanta Falcons. The 6-4, 310-pound tackle hasn’t been a starter in his seasons in the NFL save for one game, but that could all change with his move to Chicago. See Omiyale and all of the other new Bears with Chicago Bears tickets from StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on February 27, 2009 - Post a comment

Free Agency May Not Solve Problems

With free agency kicking off tonight, the expectations are growing that the Chicago Bears will fill one of their many holes soon. Unfortunately, the last couple of days have seen major names get resigned instead of released to free agency. The result has been that the prospects about to enter the open market aren’t looking nearly as promising as once hoped.

Jerry Angelo recently made comments about free agency, saying, ““I don’t really look at free agency like we did way back when, when there were going to be probably a pretty good pool of players. There are going to be some players. [But] you have to pick the right player. What you really have to know is who your team is on terms of its identity. You’ve really got to know your player profile and what you’re looking for in positions because there’s not going to be anybody out there that’s going to be a perfect player and you’re trying to get a square peg in a square hole.”

If the Bears don’t pick up any big names during free agency, they will have to rely on the draft to add everything from a defensive end to a wide receiver. Get your Chicago Bears tickets from StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on February 26, 2009 - Post a comment

Orton Sees Himself as Bears Starter

Many people interpreted Jerry Angelo’s talk about the quarterback position to mean that he didn’t have confidence in last year’s starter Kyle Orton. Angelo said that the quarterback position needed to improve and that he would be bringing in new talent to compete in that position. Instead of seeing that as a dig, Orton sees it as a call for him to step up even more than the strides he took during the 2008 season.

Orton said, “I just try to play as hard as I can, and people can view my season.  We’re close [to becoming a playoff team]. I don’t think we need a complete overhaul or anything. I know Jerry’s behind me. A lot of that stuff can be taken out of context. I feel I have the support of this organization. I’m going to do everything I can to prove to them that I’m the guy.”

After winning the starting position from Rex Grossman last season, Orton finished with 2,972 yards, 18 touchdowns and a passer rating of 79.6. He missed one game because of an ankle injury, and some of his worst games came soon after his return from that injury. See him fight for the starting spot next season with Chicago Bears tickets from StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on February 25, 2009 - Post a comment

Angelo Lays Out Plan for Defense

The Chicago Bears have always prided themselves on their stellar defense, but their rankings for the 2008 season were not nearly as high as years past, especially not against the pass, where they ranked near the bottom. Surprisingly, it was the offense that stepped up and impressed, keeping the Bears in many games.

The Bears general manager Jerry Angelo knows that fans expect more from the defense, and recently said, “Two things—attitude and coaching. I think both of those things could get our defense back and going and being a very good defense. Do we want to infuse it with more talent? Yes, we do, and we’re going to be looking at some positions to do that. But I certainly feel like we have a pretty good nucleus and there’s no reason to believe that we can’t play good defense this year and be the defense maybe not that we were a few years ago but certainly be a more consistent defense and a more opportunistic defense.”

To help with the revamp, the Bears hired Rod Marinelli for the 2009 season, and they will likely add a defensive end through the draft. See how the Bears do next season with Chicago Bears tickets from StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on February 24, 2009 - Post a comment

Tait Gives Notice of Intent to Retire

It’s official. Offensive tackle John Tait has given the Chicago Bears notice that he will be retiring instead of returning for the 2009 season. The 34-year-old has been with the Bears since 2004 and has started at least 13 games every season since then.  Tait has yet to file his paperwork with the league.

Head coach Lovie Smith said, “I think after you’ve played as many years as John has you get to the point where you’ve had enough… I tried to talk him out of it, but for the guys that know John, you know that he doesn’t come to decisions overnight. He put a little bit of thought into it, so we wish him the best and we’ll go from there.”

The loss of Tait will likely have a bearing on the contract negotiations with John St. Clair, who is set to be an unrestricted free agent. The Bears also have last year’s first round draft pick, Chris Williams, at tackle. The loss of Tait will likely mean that the Bears take at least one backup in that position during the draft, probably in the later rounds. See next year’s team with Chicago Bears tickets from StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on February 23, 2009 - Post a comment

Could the Bears Pass on Sanchez?

Would the Chicago Bears take USC quarterback Matt Sanchez in the draft? Sanchez will likely be long gone by the time the Bears have their first pick at number 18, but it is unclear whether the Bears would be able to pass on Sanchez in the moment.

ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay expressed his opinion why Sanchez wouldn’t be a great fit, saying, “If Mark Sanchez happens to fall to No. 18, he would be a steal of a pick for that spot. But you’re dealing with an inexperienced quarterback in a town that wants to win now. He doesn’t have a bad arm. He’s not Chad Pennington. But you’d probably like to see a guy with a stronger arm. It would be a great value, but I just don’t know if Chicago is the best place for him.”

The Bears are more likely to use their first round pick on a wide receiver or a defensive end. Since the quarterback class is so shallow for the 2009 NFL Draft, the Bears may look for a backup instead of a starter in the later rounds. See all of next year’s rookies by reserving Chicago Bears tickets from StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on February 20, 2009 - Post a comment

Butkus Scariest Player Ever

Recently, NFL Network’s show Total Access compiled a list of the scariest players in the NFL.  Players like Mean Joe Greene, Larry Allen, Jim Brown, Lawrence Taylor and Ray Lewis were on the list, but not at the top. The honor of being the absolute scariest player in NFL history goes to none other than Chicago Bears middle linebacker Dick Butkus.

It takes quite a player to make other football stars shake in their boots, but Butkus had that effect on people. Green Bay Packers running back MacArthur Lane said, “If I had a choice, I’d sooner go one on one with a grizzly bear. I pray that I can get up after every time Butkus hits me.”

Butkus is a through and through Bear, being raised in Chicago and attending the University of Illinois. During his career, he had 47 takeaways and 25 fumble recoveries. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979, which was also the first year he was eligible. He joined the Bears as a first-round draft pick and made the Pro Bowl for eight seasons right out of the gate. See the team that has produced some of the top defensive players ever with Chicago Bears tickets from StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on February 19, 2009 - Post a comment

Bears Bid Farewell to Brown

Unless all teams pass on him during free agency, the Chicago Bears will have to bid farewell to a favorite player in 2009: safety Mike Brown. Although Brown has struggled through injuries for many of his seasons with the Bears, he is widely considered to be the heart and soul of the defense because of his unmatched leadership skills.

Tommie Harris summed up many of his teammates sentiments about Brown, saying, “Mike Brown is a special person, a special player and a special friend. It’s going to be different, seeing him leave, but I know he will be productive wherever he goes and with whatever he does. He will always be remembered in my book as one of the toughest guys to play this game.”

Most of the time when a player is released during the offseason, even if that player is well-liked, it feels like a business decision that has to be made. With Brown, however, it is different. Even when he had to sit the sidelines with an injury, he was the person to whom younger players (and even older players) looked to for guidance and support. Although the Bears defense will press on, there will be an obvious difference without Brown. Get Chicago Bears tickets at StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on February 18, 2009 - Post a comment

Tait May Retire

The status of John St. Clair may become a whole lot more important to the Chicago Bears. St. Clair is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the month, and the Bears have yet to make a move to keep him. Now, the situation has changed since sources have said that offensive tackle John Tait is considering retiring. The retirement would mean a bigger need to keep veteran offensive linemen.

Tait said, “You notice little things that didn’t happen when you were younger,” he said. ”It just takes a little bit longer to recover from games. I think you have to do a lot more maintenance, just the upkeep. That’s the biggest thing.”

The offensive tackle is 34 years old and has been in the league since 1999. In 2004, Tait signed a six-year deal worth $33 million. He will turn away a base salary of $4.8 million if he does choose to retire. Tait started every game in 2008, and his retirement could mean that St. Clair gets a contract as a starter. His retirement could also mean the Bears look to supplement their offensive line early in this year’s draft. Reserve your Chicago Bears tickets at StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on February 17, 2009 - Post a comment

Booker One of First Released

Every off season means a roster shakeup, and this season wide receiver Marty Booker was one of the first players to be released. This is the second time the Bears have chosen to get rid of Booker, the first time was in a trade to the Dolphins in 2004. Booker has a long and storied history with the Bears, having his top two years with the Bears in 2001 and 2002 when he had a combined 2,260 receiving yards and 14 receiving touchdowns. Those were also the last and only two seasons of his career where he started and played in every regular season game. He is tied for third in Bears history for receptions with 329 and holds the record for consecutive games with at least one reception with 60.

This year, however, wasn’t as strong for Booker as he started five out of the 13 games he played in for 211 yards and two touchdowns.  This was Booker’s first year back with the Bears after being waived by the Dolphins. Along with Booker, the Bears waived linebacker Marcus Riley and released linebacker Gilbert Gardner.  Gardner played in one game this season, and Riley was on the practice squad. See next year’s squad with Chicago Bears tickets from StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on February 16, 2009 - Post a comment


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