Ten Most Underrated Bears of my Lifetime

I enjoyed writing the first two articles on former Chicago Bears, so lets cap it off with the ten most underrated Bears.

1. Neil Anderson

Following up a legend is hard to do. Neil Anderson was a great running back and the second best one I saw in a Bears uniform. He had great speed and was a tough runner on the inside. It is too bad his career got cut short by personal issues off the field.

2. Lance Briggs

Brian Urlacher steals all the headlines and Briggs did himself no favors by complaining about his contract, but Briggs is a great linebacker who has never gotten the credit he has deserved around the league. Sure he has made a few Pro Bowls, but this guy deserves stronger praise.

3. Matt Suhey

Guys are crossing my lists, but Suhey was an awesome football player. Notice people do not often mention the drought of fullbacks in Chicago, but the Bears have not had one since number 26.

4. Brendon Ayanbadejo

Lovie loves talking about the four phases of the game, and Special Teams are on of these. So why did the Bears let this guy go. He was one of the best in football and the Bears rewarded him by not paying him what he deserved.

5. Jeff Graham

Erik Kramer had an awesome year with the Bears, and Graham was a huge part of it. He was a good receiver that was not afraid to go over the middle and make plays. For some reason, the Bears did not see his value and let him go.

6. Peanut Tillman

For some unknown reason many Bears fans seem to take issue with Tillman. He is a great cornerback and has proven his talents with the team. I just wish people would cut him some slack.

7. Brad Maynard

He is unspectacular but amazing. He always seems to come up with big punts and puts the opposing teams in poor field position.

8. Leslie Frazier

Its too bad he got hurt on a trick play in the Super Bowl because he was getting to be a really good player for the Bears. Still not sure why Ditka decided to risk his top corner on a punt return with a big lead.

9. Bernard Berrian

I really liked Berrian as a Bear and was upset the team let him go. I am not sure why a team that is so far under the cap would not match the Vikings offer. He was a really nice football player.

10. Jim Morrissey

A last round pick with the Bears in 1985 and played several productive seasons with the Bears, a guy that never really got credit for being a good football player.

Your thoughts???

Chicago Bears Management Changes

The Chicago Bears front office appears to be rivaling some of our favorite mafia movies minus the actually murdering of individuals. Throughout the off-season, much more publicity has been given to the retention of Lovie Smith and the influx of new coaches. As I have said before, these changes were needed and it appears the organization made good hires. But my focus here is on the changes in the front office.

The Bears have done a terrible job of evaluating talent across on the NFL level both within the organization and through free agency. That is why they fired Bobby DePaul  (who’s title was Director of Pro Personnel). Since the Bears appeared in the Super Bowl, many questionable pro personnel moves have been made by the organization. This includes losing Bernard Berrian, trading Chris Harris, releasing Cedric Benson, trading Thomas Jones, signing Orlando Pace and Frank Omiyale on the offensive line and trading for Gaines Adams (OK, I understand it was a tragedy that he died but to be honest, he wasn’t showing much as a player). Plus, how could anyone honestly believe that the Bears secondary was any good going into last season. One of the most important things an individual can do is scout the organization from the top. Mr. DePaul did not seem to do much of that.

Greg Gabriel’s job was the scout college talent. He also was let go immediately after this year’s draft. With the exception of Johnny Knox from last season, there were few contributors from that draft class. Now granted they traded the first pick for Jay Cutler, but the Bears failed to get much talent. Now, in the Bear’s defense, it can take some players a few years to develop. But as it stands, last year’s draft was poor. This year’s draft was supposedly orchestrated by Gabriel before his departure. Jury is still out…

To solve all of the organization’s issues, they hired one person to do the job of DePaul and Gabriel. Tim Ruskell was an old running mate of Jerry Angelo’s from Tampa and now rejoins his pal in Chicago. Ruskell comes from Seattle with mixed reviews. He did win in Seattle and his previous stop of Atlanta, but there were some moves he made that Seattle could not forgive, including the loss of Steve Hutchinson to the Minnesota Vikings. I think the Bears needed a new perspective, and hopefully Ruskell can bring this to the table. However, I have a real difficult time letting Angelo off the hook for several of the fires burning at Halas Hall.

As a lifelong fan, I am heartbroken that the Bears went from a Super Bowl team to a mediocre product so quickly. To not even make the playoffs and invent ways to lose is pathetic. Changes needed to be made, but I am not sure these went high enough. When does the buck stop with the General Manager or team president? Jerry Angelo and Ted Phillips were both given free passes by the organization. Lovie Smith was protected by his overinflated contract. The press conference the Bears held after the season was beyond a joke and any reasonable person would have found the three stooges sitting on the stage as being condescending jerks. All I know is that Lovie had the brains to take over the defense last season and prove little value as the coach. Plus, his famous time out, challenge loss, additional time out loss series against the Packers was perhaps the dumbest thing ever done in Chicago football history. The Chicago Bears are lucky to have some of the best and most loyal fans in sports, but the attitude from the off season was ‘we know what we’re doing and you can go screw yourself if you disagree’.  OK, so some redemption on their part was made possible by a strong free agent class and getting back Chris Harris from the Panthers. But until we see this team in action, the Halas Hall crew have a lot to prove.

Your thoughts please!!!

Around the Division: Week 4

This is our first installment of ‘Around the Division.’ Each week we will look around the division to see whats going on. Find the scores from the previous week, and any other notes we feel you should know about.

Green Bay Packers (2-2): Lost 30-21 at Tampa Bay Bucaneers

The Green Bay Packers may have lost more than just the game in week 4, quarter back Aaron Rodgers sprained his throwing shoulder during the fourth quarter and missed a series. He returned, but did not look like himself. Rodgers wasn’t the same he had been the previous three weeks, as he threw his first interception in the game, which was one of three he three. The Packers run game wasn’t much either, as Ron Grant ran fur just 20 yards on 15 carries. Packers fans must be cringing after Brett Favre thew 6 touchdowns for the Jets. Next week the packers host the Atlanta Falcons at home.

Minnesota Vikings (1-3): Lost 30-17 at Tennessee Titans

The Minnesota Vikings may also have lost more than just the game, as quarter back Gus Frerotte left with an injury during the fourth quarter. Star running back Adrian Peterson continued to run over defenders as he rushed for 80 yards and two scores, but also lost two costly fumbles. Former Bear Bernard Berrian has 5 catches for 78 yards. Defensively the Vikings gave up 74 rushing yards and 3 rushing tuchdowns to Lindale White and rookie Chris Johnson combined. Next week the Vikings travel to New Orleans to face the Saints on Monday Night Football.

Detroit Lions (0-3): Bye Week

The Detroit Lions had a bye in week 4, but made news by firing general manager Matt Millen early in the week. The Lions will host our Chicago Bears in week 5.