- This topic has 117 replies, 11 voices, and was last updated 18 years, 4 months ago by
.
-
For Some Football….
:aliensmile:The Mighty BEARS play the lambs…er Rams tonite, hooked up with nfl field pass so I can at least hear the audio
We’ve had some horrifying injuries during camp, Brian Urlacher out with pulled hamstring
, Jerry Azumah out for probably the season with a neck injury 
, tons of other key players banged up 
Lovie changed the preseason workouts in a huge way, hopefully it pays off…Keep your eyes on this game. . .
Sure, it’s only an exhibition game–and the first one at that–but when Lovie Smith leads the Bears onto the field Thursday night in St. Louis, there will be quite a bit at stake
By David Haugh
Tribune staff reporterAugust 12, 2004
BOURBONNAIS, Ill. — Many NFL coaches probably believe the cliche "It doesn’t matter if you win or lose, it’s how you play the game" came from one of their colleagues while devising a game plan for an exhibition game.
Truer words were never spoken about the NFL preseason.
But the score being irrelevant Thursday night in St. Louis when the Bears play the Rams doesn’t mean nothing is at stake.
Here are five points of emphasis that matter to Bears fans getting their first glimpse of Lovie Smith’s team.
Quarterback play should be revealing
1. Rex Grossman will play one quarter Thursday, but he played only nine quarters last season and look what an impression he made. It will be telling to watch Grossman’s decision-making running an offense that he has devoted the off-season to learning–an offense so voluminous that it’s not entirely installed yet.
When backup Jonathan Quinn takes over, he cannot pass on his first real opportunity to show that he deserves the faith the Bears have placed in him. A bad outing in his first game action with the Bears would negate much of the progress Quinn made last week at the scrimmage in Macomb against the Rams.
Finally, No. 3 quarterback Craig Krenzel gets his first shot to show Bears fans that molecular biologists can throw tight spirals too.
Kick returners’ opening auditions
2. Let the auditions begin. Rookie Bernard Berrian gets the first opportunity Thursday to reward the confidence the coaching staff has placed in him by naming him the No. 1 return man in place of injured Jerry Azumah.
Berrian’s blazing speed provides the Bears’ passing offense a dimension it has lacked, but finding seams in the kickoff coverage requires patience, elusiveness and discipline. The Bears think Berrian, an explosive kick returner at Fresno State, can duplicate that success in the NFL.
If not, scrappy veteran Ahmad Merritt gives the Bears some insurance.
Merritt says his experience returning kicks should give him an edge over Berrian, and his first chance to prove it could come Thursday. On punt returns, R.W. McQuarters does it as well as anybody in the NFC, but if either Bobby Wade or Nathan Vasher look like they can be trusted beginning Thursday night, it might not be worth risking injury to another starting cornerback.
Pressure already on defensive line
3. How well the Bears stop the run, especially with the much-ballyhooed tandem of defensive tackles Tommie Harris and Tank Johnson expected to see plenty of action, should provide an early barometer on the rookies’ progress and a long-term prognosis on the defense’s prospects. Defending the run looks like it could be one of the big weaknesses of the unit, adding pressure to the front four.
The other anticipated weakness, rushing the passer, looked like a team strength against the Rams in Macomb when the Bears had four sacks. None of them came from ends Michael Haynes and Alex Brown, however, and those two must show something Thursday to indicate the Bears’ edge rushers lost all that weight for a reason.
Smith’s game management
4. Lovie Smith called this game huge. That was his exact word. It’s a Thursday night game in August against a team not even on the regular-season schedule, and Smith was worried whether he would be able to sleep. That’s a good thing. It illustrates that the first-year head coach, leading a team onto the field for the first time, understands and embraces the responsibilities before him. But it also suggests a level of anxiety that might exist in Smith, and the two coordinators calling an NFL game for the first time, or the eight assistant coaches making their debuts in an NFL game. How efficiently the Bears get in and out of huddles, make situational substitutions on defense, and handle their sideline decorum represents one of the more subtle aspects to monitor this preseason.
The offensive metamorphosis
5. Nobody signifies the new offensive look and style of the Bears more than running back Thomas Jones, whose jet-like quickness and combustible strength will be on display for the first time. So far in camp, Jones has been used in a variety of ways–on toss sweeps or in motion and on pass routes–designed to get him the ball on the perimeter. Seeing him run between the tackles will offer a good measure of whether the Bears really will need Anthony Thomas to come back to get the tough yard. Moreover, the entire offense’s revamped philosophy of taking smart, aggressive risks downfield in the passing game should remind Bears’ fans that a new season is indeed upon us.
Definitely
I actually got to watch the game last night, KTLA5 didn’t block the game like they did last year…
:aliensmile: We won 13-10, 1st quarter was pleasing, Grossman looked good, Thomas Jones made some great runs, David Terrell made a wicked catch…nice change
Way too many penalties, had a td called back d/t offensive holding, 19 penalties for ~180 yards 
2nd qb Quinn is tough, got no time to throw the ball…wicked sandwich sack b/t two huge ram rushers
Molecular Biologist Krenzel showed he can play qb in the nfl, wicked hail mary that should have been caught to end the game but no, went to OT. Wicked 93 yd run by Merritt on the kick off, BEARS kicked fg to win the game… 
:aliensmile:Definitely a cool thing…Go BEARS Go
Raiders fan, good luck this year! Glad you guys got blabbermouth Warren Sapp, was worried the BEARS were gonna pick him up. Maybe Ricky pot head Williams will return to play for you guys, read that somewhere recently
I can’t wait for the regular season, usually can’t get past the 1st quarter in preseason games
Tonite Eli Manning starts for the Giants against the Panthers…
BEARS vs San Fran Saturday :aliensmile:
We beat San Fran on Saturday, the game was completely overshadowed by the trade of our only established receiver Marty Booker to Miami for a huge defensive pass rusher Ogunleye. Love getting a pass rusher, would have preferred to trade David Terrell & Anthony Thomas for him versus our only established pro bowl receiver…
I’ll miss Booker
Ogunleye happy, Booker bummed after big trade
By Bob LeGere Daily Herald Sports Writer
Posted Monday, August 23, 2004While Marty Booker’s departure from the Bears was acrimonious, new Bear Adewale Ogunleye couldn’t be happier about leaving his former Miami Dolphins team.
"Everybody wants to feel like they belong," Ogunleye said, "and I can’t wait to show the Bears I appreciate their faith in me."
The Bears made Ogunleye feel wanted with $15 million in guaranteed bonus money. Booker wasn’t feeling much love, though.
"I am hurt," Booker said. "This is where I signed a long-term contract. All of a sudden, they don’t want me. I am stunned."
It’s not that the Bears didn’t want Booker, it’s that they needed a dominant pass rusher more than a go-to wide receiver.
"We said this to Marty: ‘Marty, this had nothing to do with you personally. This was in the best interests of our football team,’æ" said Bears general manager Jerry Angelo. "He was a very valued player for us, and obviously the Dolphins felt the same way."
Ogunleye promised to be a valued player for the Bears.
"I know I’m going to get better," he told WSCR 670-AM. "I will get sacks and pressure on the quarterback. That’s what I’m getting paid for."
Ogunleye recorded 15 sacks last season, the most in the AFC, but he said he’s more than a pass rusher. He’s a left end, and players on the left side generally have more run-stopping responsibilities than those on the right side, who are typically the better pass rushers.
Angelo said that’s what makes Ogunleye unique.
"Most great pass rushers do it from the right side," Angelo said. "This guy’s doing it from the left side. It’s a little more difficult to do from the left side given the fact that he’s always in the view of the quarterback. So it tells you that he has some special prowess as a pass rusher."
But Ogunleye insists he’s more than a quarterback stalker.
"For me to make an impact in Miami, I had to prove I could play the run very strongly, and that’s what I did," said the 6-foot-4, 260-pounder. "I’ve learned in the NFL you have to do that first, and then you get to pin your ears back and go after the quarterback.
Quote:I was my fathers only son, so he turned me into a lover of football, I now have become very fond of our college games here in Athens.hey, i went to see the bulldogs play once … many, many years ago … in fact it must have been early sept 1993
… the atmosphere there was really great … + i remember thinking, hey i wish i lived closer so i could come here on a regular basis … you know ? :aliensmile:BEARS vs Saints tonite @ Soldier Field… :aliensmile:
:aliensmile:Wish I could watch it, at least I can get the radio replay later…
Go BEARS Go
We lost, it was emBEARassing, no completed passes in the 1st quarter, qb Grossman was 1-6 at the half…our 3rd down conversions…non existant
Fingers crossed it was just a bad day, we play Cleveland this friday…
Clark won’t blast boastful WinslowBy David Haugh
Tribune staff reporterAugust 30, 2004
In a show of tight end unity, Desmond Clark reserved judgment on bombastic Browns rookie Kellen Winslow Jr. and the boast that the player the Bears will see Friday night will revolutionize the positionâ€â€
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.