Well, that could have gone better. Not that you should be too concerned with the outcome, but the Chicago Bears lost in their first preseason outing last night to the Buffalo Bills in a score of 27 – 20. It was an inconsistent performance at best from the Bears, who were without key pieces on both sides of the ball.

Jay Cutler made his long-awaited debut under center for Chicago and the immediate results were less than stellar. Cutler did his best to get developing receiver Devin Hester the ball on numerous occasions, as the two still need to feel each other out. This led to a few off throws and even an interception deep down the field on an underthrown pass to Hester.

It wasn’t all bad for Cutler however. On throws aimed to Desmond Clark and Hester, you could see the quarterback skill and arm strength for which the Bears traded. Looking off receivers and whipping tight spirals were little snippets of the offense to come. Little effort was made to establish the run, so back-up tailbacks Kevin Jones and Garrett Wolfe did not provide significant contributions.

Continue reading "Cutler Doesn't Meet Hype Against the Bills"

Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer is reporting that he expects the recently “retired” Brett Favre to join the Vikings sometime in the next few weeks. 

Glazer quotes a few anonymous Vikings about Favre’s signing, with one saying “I’m telling you it’s already done.” Yet another Viking told him “I don’t know if it’s done, but I think he’ll be in by the third preseason game.”

Jay goes on to describe a conversation between he and Fox NFL Sunday host Curt Menefee where they discussed how “matter-of-fact the issue seemed to be” among the team. Menefee expressed his shock, telling Glazer “It wasn’t even like it was a secret. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

The fact that the Vikings are just assuming Brett will still sign with the team definitely has merit. Glazer’s usually right on these stories, so I’d put money on a Minnesota-Favre union sometime soon.

Continue reading "Is Favre STILL Not Retired?"

Can all the naysayers please sit down?

After a sub-par performance in his first preseason game as a Bear, Jay Cutler had to listen to a week of Chicago fans moan and groan about the offense’s slow progress. That certainly won’t be the case this week.

In a convincing response, Cutler showed us an elongated glimpse of what this Bears offense could achieve. However, Cutler wasn’t the biggest difference between game one and game two. In Buffalo, he was missing his two best weapons, Matt Forte and Greg Olsen. For Chicago’s home preseason opener, both players were available and anxious to make plays for their new franchise QB.

After a long Earl Bennett reception led to a field goal on their opening drive, the Bears’ first team offense was nowhere near satisfied. Matt Forte broke through a ginormous hole in the Giants defense for a 32 yard TD run, increasing the lead to 10-0.

Continue reading "Cutler and Bears Dominate Giants"

After last week’s impressive performance, the Chicago Bears are looking to improve on the little things and settle some key position battles. This week, they visit the mile-high city for one of the most hotly anticipated preseason match-ups in recent memory. As much as Jay Cutler and Josh McDaniels say this game doesn’t matter, you know they’re itching to embarrass the other guy just a little bit. I personally can’t wait to see our defense pick off Kyle Orton, but that’s just me.

Here are a few things to keep your eye on during Sunday night’s mega-hyped contest:

Wide Receiver:

So I guess Devin Hester is our number one receiver by default. The real question is: who is number two? For that matter, who are three and four? Earl Bennett has shown glimpses, but he hasn’t locked in that spot as far as I’m concerned. Rashied Davis is the only receiver besides Hester to have caught a regular season pass, but he’s buried on the depth chart. Rookies Juaquin Iglesias and Johnny Knox have barely seen action with the first team, so how high can our expectations be? Devin Aromashodu made a great catch last week, but doesn’t have the complete body of work. Brandon Rideau has the size, but hasn’t produced. Look for someone to step and cement their status on the starting squad.

Continue reading "What to Watch for: Bears at Broncos"

The game’s over. Can you shut up about it now? As the most exciting and drama-filled preseason game I can remember, Sunday night’s Bears v. Broncos match-up didn’t disappoint. Well, unless you’re a Broncos fan that is.

Amongst the “Crybaby Cutler” t-shirts and “There’s no “Jay” in team” signs, Jay Cutler came out and delivered a strong performance against his former team. Fighting a raucous crowd and two near safeties on the first drive, Cutler handled the pressure and led Chicago to seventeen points in the first half, matching the output of the Giants contest.

After fighting poor field position and a few three-and-outs to start the game, the Bears offense got some help from an almost forgotten friend. Devin Hester returned a punt fifty-four yards to Denver’s four-yard line, where Matt Forte punched it in to go up 10-3.

Continue reading "Cutler Embarasses Broncos in Denver"