Kaspers Korner

The Chicago Bears made one of the biggest moves of the offseason as they traded for quarterback Jay Cutler.  As good as Cutler is the Bears need another wide receiver if the passing game is going to be effective.

The Chicago Bears for the first time, since the mid 1980’s, have a legitament quarterback.

The fact of the matter is that even Hall of Fame quarterbacks like Brett Farve, Indianapolis Colts Peyton Manning, and New England Patriots Tom Brady need decent wide receivers to be able to pass the football.

What made Cutler successful with the Denver Broncos is that he had two good wide receiver in Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal.  Along with tight end Daniel Graham.

The Bears do have two options on the offense in tight end Gregg Olsen and wide receiver Devin Hester who both caught over 50 passes in 2008.

Also, with Hester being under six feet there are certain things he cannot do like run a jump fade in the endzone.

As the Buffalo Bills have quickly learned a passing game is in trouble when you do not have a wide receiver over six feet that is one of the best in the game.

With the Chicago Bears trading for quarterback Jay Cutler many believe that the next step is getting some better weapons for him.  However, the Bears already have some weapons on their roster.

The Chicago Bears do not have a superstar weapon last year on offense.  The reason is that their two best weapons were only in their second year at their positions.

Wide receiver Devin Hester had the most catches amongst wide receivers with 51 catches.

Hester only started eight games last season due to the fact it was his second season as a wide receiver as he made the change over from cornerback.

With the 2009 season being his third at wide reciever look for Hester to explode on the scene starting all sixteen games with over 70 catches, 1,000 yards receiving, and 10 touchdowns.

The person that the second most receptions on the team was tight end Gregg Olson who had 54.

Olson will also be going into his third year in the league, but with 54 catches he is already a weapon.

The player with the most catches on the Bears last year was running back Matt Forte with 63, which was the most of all running back in the National Football League.

The Bears do still have a second round pick in the upcoming draft, so the Bears could still add another wide receiver.

In anywhich case the Bears offense should improve.

The Chicago Bears in last April’s draft used a first-round pick on tackle Chris Williams.  Now, the Bears have learned that they are in a huge bind.

The Chicago Sun Times is reporting that tackle John Tait is expected to retire. Tait is 34 and has one year left on his contract.
That leaves only Williams under contract as back up tackles Fred Miller and John St. Clair are both unrestricted free agents.

St. Clair started all 16 games at left tackle last year as Williams missed half his rookie season with an injury prior to the season.

Williams being the 14th overall pick last years should be the starter at left tackle next year.

St. Clair was the Bears backup swing tackle, meaning that he is able to play at both tackle positions, and even both guard positions.

That means getting St. Clair under contract is vital right now.  The reason being that if the either guard go hurt St Clair can shift down to start at the guard spot.  Then another high draft pick can go in at right tackle.

Another reason to get St Clair done is the news that wide receiver Marty Booker was released and are not expected to bring back fellow wide out Brandon Lloyd as well.

The Bears did pick a wide receiver in last April’s draft in the third round picking Earl Bennett.  So, most likely him and another draft pick will fight it out for the other starting wide receiver position.

In any which way the Bears are going to be shelling out a lot of money to fill out both positions.

Mike Brown S unrestricted

Rex Grossman QB unrestricted

Terrance Holt FS unrestricted

Kevin Jones RB unrestricted resigned with team two years $3.5 million one million signing bonus.
Brandon Lloyd WR unrestricted

Darrell McClover LB unrestricted

Brandon McGowan S unrestricted

Fred Miller OT unrestricted

John St. Clair OT unrestrictedsigned with Browns three years nine million $600 thousand guaranteed

Chicago Bears general manager Jerry Angelo stated today that he is not 100 percent committed to quarterback Kyle Orton.  Angelo’s statement is simply wrong.

Orton started his first full season this year starting, and missed only one of them to a sprained ankle, which also hampered his play in a couple more.  Looking at the full picture Orton had a good season overall.

Orton threw for 2972 yards passing for 18 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions.  That is a pretty darn good rookie starting campaign for a quarterback.  Most quarterback have the same amount of touchdowns, and interceptions.

Orton has what it takes to be an elite quarterback in this league.  The numbers are very good considering that they do not have an elite wide receiver or tight end on their roster.  Their leading wide receiver was tight end Greg Olsen who caught 54 passes for 574 yards receiving with five touchdowns.

What helps all quarterbacks is the fact that the Bears have a solid running game again.  Rookie running back Matt Forte ran for 1,238 yards rushing, and eight touchdowns. 

When the Bears finally find a elite wide receiver the Bears are going to be a hard team to beat.  That is if Angelo does the right thing, and stick with Orton. 

Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher his been embroiled in a divorce case for over the past year.  Today news, along with other factors, will force the Bears to look long and hard if they really want Urlacher around.

Today in court the mother of Urlacher’s son, Tyna Robertson, has accused, and provided evidence of, that Urlacher is causing genger confusion.  He is causing it, allegedly, by paint his son’s toe nails blue, and dressing him in Cinderella diapers.

Robertson provided a photograph to The Herald news, which can be seen by clicking here: http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/heraldnews/news/1300144,4_1_JO26_URLACHER_S1.article

As a parent the news is simply sickening.  Both the front office of the Bears, and National Football League commisioner Roger Goodell, need to step in and take action in the case.  For what Urlacher is doing is nothing short than physical, and mental, abuse.

Urlacher on top of this has developed arthritis in his back, and is 30 years old.  Keeping him around is the stupid thing to do.

Urlacher should be suspended, and never allowed to see the field again for his crimes against a defenseless human being. 

However, the Bears are in the middle of a playoff hunt, and Goodell has turned out to be no better than his predecessor Paul Tagliabue.

If one of us was doing this we would be fired from out job.  However, thanks to the government the people that have the most money get off.

The Chicago Bears won a key division game agaisnt the Detroit Lions.  However, they lost a key player in starting quarterback Kyle Orton.

It is looking like Orton is going to be out a month with the dreaded high ankle sprain.  When a player sufferes this injury it is anywhere from a month, and beyond, before a player comes back.

So, what does that mean for the Bears? Most likely a trip to third place in the division.  Backup Rex Grossman is not Matt Cassell, and that means disaster for the Bears.

The Bears scehdule is not an easy one.  They face the Tennessee Titans this upcoming Sunday, and that is most likely a loss with the way the Titans offensive and defensive lines are playing.

Simply, losing a quarterback for an extended period of time usually spells doom.  Especially, when you are in a bruising division in the NFC North.

Chicago Bears general manager Jerry Angelo took tackle Chris Williams in the first round of this past years draft.  He did it knowing full well that Williams had a herniated disc in his neck, thus looking like an idiot.

A herniated disc is a more serious form of a disc bulge.  Both are the petruding of matter out of its normal position within a disc, which thus affects nerves.  These discs are located in between vertabrates along the spinal column.  

A herniated disc or a bulge can still shift around, and cause even more problems if not treated. 

The reason being is that the disc can rupture even more.  Also, the matter that is currently out of position can shift to affect nerves even more.

Now, the question that needs to be asked is who did the Bears consult when going over Williams medical records?

Who ever the Bears consulted should be fired, along with Williams former college team’s medical staff.

This is a serious matter to the point that Williams is lucky to be walking.  If the disc ruptured completely the vertabrate could have slipped, and damaged the spinal cord.  Thus, leaving him paralyzed, or even dead.

Do not be surprised if National Football League commissioner Roger Goodell looks into the matter further in the near future.

Chicago Bears middle linebacker Brian Urlacher has been seeking a new deal, citing that he has out performed his old one that had four years left on it.  The two sides have reached an agreement that has essentially killed long term deals.

The two sides agreement added one more year, and $25 million in new money to the deal.  With six million of it is for his signing bonus.  Thus bringing the average yearly salary to nine million dollars.

What the Bears did made no sense.  Urlacer did not out perform his contract if anything he maintained his performance level. 

The only areas that Urlacher had career highs in was passes defended (12), interceptions (5), and touchdowns (1).

Urlacher knew what he was getting into when he signed a nine year deal.  What he signed up for was a huge pay day.  Also, knowing full well that he negotiate a new deal later if the open market sky rockets.

What the Bears did was two fold.  First, they killed any deals that are longer than five years.  Secondly, it opened up the door that at any time if you have one great year it gives you the right to ask for a new deal.  That even includes rookie contracts. 

Smooth move Bears you just gave every veteran holdout even more reason to whine, moan, and complain. 

In the words of former hockey player, and former head coach, Larry Robinson, “What a bunch of ffffffffff fricken sissies.” 

Makes it even more the reason to route for Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Marcus Stroud.  Stroud did not ask for a new contract when he was traded.  All he asked for was a little bit of what was left in his contract to be accelerated in the form of guaranteed money. 

It has been reported that former Green Bay Packer quarterback Brett Farve has been mulling over the possibility of returning to the National Football League.  With that the Chicago Bears will never get even a sniff of the possibility of Farve going there.

If Farve is going to comeback he has to write to NFL heaquarters, and the Green Bay Packers, that he intends to play this season.  That has yet to be done.  If he did do that the Packers have two options release him, or place him on the active roster.

Rick Morrissey of the Chicago Tribune writes that the Bears should make a play for Farve immediately after he comes out of retirement.  This is premised on the Packers releasing Farve out right.

Seriously, are you kidding me.  The Packers would never relase Farve outright.  Teams always when wanting to get rid of a player search the trade market to see if there are any other teams that are interested in him.  

So, who are the teams that would be possibly be interested in him?  In the AFC the only two teams that be interested in Farve would be the Cleveland Browns and the Buffalo Bills. 

Both teams just missed the playoffs last year.  Also, both teams made moves to improve their defenses vastly.  Each team is just a quarterback away from being a serious contender in the AFC.

The NFC is now the tricky one.  Farve will never be traded to another team in the NFC North division.  Just doing that alone could get general manager Ted Thompson fired. 

In the NFC east all four teams have established quarterback.  

 In the NFC West the only playoff contender is the Seahawks, but they have Matt Hasselback. 

In the NFC South there are rumours of Farve possibly wanting to go to the Panthers.  The Falcons could have made a play for Farve if they took Glenn Dorsey in the draft. 

The Falcons defense has already defensive end John Abraham and linebacker Keith Brookings.  With Dorsey they could have the makings of a decent defense.

On the offensive side of the ball.  They have wide receiver Roddy White who caught 83 receptions for over 1,200 yards receiving.  Also, the Falcons signed running back Michael Turner.  Who as a backup to Ladanian Tomlinson was spectacular. 

Also, Atlanta is just a stone throw away from his home in Mississippi.  However, the Falcons took Matt Ryan, and now the possiblity of landing him is gone.

Farve pickings is slim.  Do not be surprised that if he makes it official that he is coming back that the Packers relegate him to bckup status.  It would be a crazy thing to do, but it is a better option of just releasing him, and watching him go to their rival  Chicago Bears.