Chicago Bears

The numbers are in on the contract for Chicago Bears first-round draft pick Kyle Long, who eclipsed $8.3 million in total value for his four-year contract.

Well, it's official, the Chicago Bears are going to win Super Bowl L in San Francisco, 2016. They will also win Super Bowl LI in Houston in the year 2017. Well, the Bears victories may not be promised, but those locations are, as reported by the worldwide leader in layoffs, ESPN. NFL owners were deciding between finalists San Francisco and South Florida for the right to host the prestigious 50th Super Bowl. Owners picked between South Florida and Houston for the 51st Super Bowl. The general logic is that South Florida got frozen out when they couldn't secure any financing for stadium work. There have been a lot of Super Bowls held there and in New Orleans, but this'll be the first time since 1985 for the Bay Area. "The Bay Area has been waiting for a [title] game since 1985. We have a stadium now … we are just thrilled and couldn't be happier about this," said Daniel Lurie, a leader of the San Francisco bid. These new announcements come after some other bold moves by the league. They should be bolstered by what could be a great success or an abject failure - holding the game in a cold-weather stadium, like Super Bowl XLVIII will be in New York in February. This breakaway from the standard locations means that many more cities may have a chance to host, though the sizes and ages of their stadiums will play critical factors. Don't keep your fingers crossed for that Soldier Field Super Bowl anytime soon. Your fingers might get stuck that way.

Potential is a word that has followed Jay Cutler around since he was the 11th overall selection in the 2006 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos. He was starting to live up to that potential, when in 2008 he was voted to play in the Pro Bowl. After that season he was traded to the Chicago Bears, and he hasn't been able to recapture his 2008 form. Was that more due to his supporting cast, to his coaching, the offensive scheme, or did Jay simply regress as a player? Honestly, I think it may be a combination of all four. Until last season he was missing the security blanket of a legitimate #1 receiver. When he was in Denver he not only had Brandon Marshall, but a competent tight end, a good #2 wide out, and a solid slot receiver. Not to mention a very good offensive line that only allowed Cutler to be sacked 11 times in 2008. Remember Cutler was dropped 10 times in one game in 2010 with the Bears. Cutler has been pressured a lot during his time in Chicago, and that has led to some sloppier fundamentals. When you start quarterbacking gun shy, your footwork starts to slip, as does your follow through. He spent so much time being hit, that he started anticipating pressure that wasn't always there. Jay Cutler also spent the first three years of his career being coached by an offensive minded coach in Mike Shanahan, who utilizes a version of the West Coast Offense. The WCO was also what he ran during his first year as a Bear, before giving way to the Martzfense for a couple years, and then last year to what ever you want to call the Mike Tice O Which catches us up to 2013 and the current scheme being implemented by Marc Trestman. While we don't know the specifics of his offense, we do know it's rooted in the WCO. An style of offense that Jay had his season bests in yards, touchdowns, completion percentage, and QB rating. You can check out his entire seven year totals by clicking here, and this table represents his four years in the WCO. YEAR G GS Cmp Att Cmp% Yds TD TD% Int Int% 2006 5 5 81 137 59.1 1001 9 6.6 5 3.6 2007 16 16 297 467 63.6 3497 20 4.3 14 3 2008* 16 16 384 616 62.3 4526 25 4.1 18 2.9 2009 16 16 336 555 60.5 3666 27 4.9 26 4.7 WCO Totals 53 53 1098 1775 61.9 12690 81 4.6 63 3.5 If you take his four year WCO totals, then do a little math, you come up with a per game average of 21 completions, 33 attempts, and 239 yards per game. You then extrapolate that out to a 16 game season, and you have 336 completions, 528 attempts, 3824 yards, and to take it even further the TD to Interceptions would be 24 to 19. During his WCO years, the percentage of times he was sacked per attempt was 4.6%. While those extrapolated numbers aren't world beating, that would be a solid stat line. For comparisons sake here are his per game averages during his last three years, 17 comp., 30 att., and 216 yards. Do a little fancy math extrapolation and we have a 16 game season stat line of 272 of 480, for 3456 yards, with 22 TD, and 14 Ints. His sack percentage per attempt in the Mike Martz and Mike Tice years was 8.7%. The big difference between the two eras is obviously the sack percentage. So it begs the question, is his success in the WCO more due to his actually having time to throw those few years, or to his skill set translating more to the scheme? The 2013 Chicago Bears offensive line has the potential to be the best one he's played with since his Denver days. The '13 Chicago receiving combination of Marshall, Alshon Jeffery, Martellus Bennett, Earl Bennett, and Matt Forte is potentially better than the Marshall, Eddie Royal, Tony Scheffler, Brandon Stokley, and Peyton HiIlis that Cutler worked with in his Pro Bowl 2008 season. There's no question Jay Cutler has the potential to pop off 4,000 yards passing, complete over 60% of his passes, and throw 25 TD

Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports The Chicago Bears cut ties with veteran defensive tackle Andre Fluellen on Monday. Even though Fluellen did not spend much time in Chicago, the Bears made the right move to part ways with the five-year player. Fluellen recorded 51 total tackles, 2.5 sacks, one forced fumble and one defended pass in 54 career games (six starts) with the Detroit Lions. The former third round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft out of Florida State has never truly been able to solidify himself at the professional level. The Lions always had high hopes for him to become a difference maker on the defensive line, but unfortunately, he was never able to take his game to the next level. The 28-year-old was signed by Chicago on April 9, 2013 in an attempt to bolster the depth of the defensive line. However, after selecting defensive end Cornelius Washington in the sixth round of the 2013 NFL Draft, along with making other offseason acquisitions, the Bears still have more than enough defensive linemen to choose from for their 53-man roster. In fact, Chicago still has seven defensive tackles after cutting Fluellen. There is a good chance some other team will pick up Fluellen for the summer, but it is more than likely that he will be sitting at home once the regular season begins in September. The fact is the Georgia native has not shown enough in his professional career for some general manager to take a legitimate chance on him. With that being said, Fluellen’s back is clearly up against the wall. There is the possibility he will break out the best training camp of his life if given one more opportunity with a new team. Michael Terrill is a Senior Writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @MichaelTerrill, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

1. Bears QB coach Matt Cavanaugh called Jay Cutler ‘brilliant’ in regard to his football IQ. Do you agree? I’ve never been around Jay a whole lot, but I think he’s a smart kid. I think he really understands the game. I know Matt is not going to say something if he doesn’t mean it. That must be Matt’s impression, and I’ll go with his impression. I think the sky’s the limit for Jay Cutler. But the only guy that has to realize that is Jay Cutler. It’s not you or me or Matt Cavanaugh or Marc Trestman. He’s got …

Media today will have access to the Chicago Bears as they continue organized team activities (OTAs). Bear Report will be front and center looking to answer the following five questions.

Carimi is betting on himself - Brad Biggs: Former Pro Bowl lineman LeCharles Bentley, who runs O-Line Performance Academy in Arizona where Carimi is currently training, admits the Bear is taking a calculated risk as he works to get his career back on track. Dan Hanzus: Carimi 'light years from where he was' in training. Lester: Is Carimi making a mistake missing OTAs? Peter King's MMQB - Tom Brady more confident than ever as Patriots need him more than ever. Follow WCG on Twitter; like us on Facebook (& click on 'Subscribed to'). Click for Chicago Bears Tickets for next season. Check out David "OSS" Taylor's CheekyMonkeyArt prints and shirts. ---------- Bearsss Trestman and Smith different, yet similar - Moon Mullin: The change from Smith to Trestman lies on side of the ball: Smith from a defensive background, Trestman from offense. Bears vets helped rookie Hardin cope during lost ‘12 - Moon Mullin: Teammates didn’t forget about him Hey Brandon, learn to tackle so you we won't have to watch you kill yourself. Gould could be cleared this week - Jeff Dickerson: If all goes according to plan, Robbie Gould is expected to receive medical clearance to officially resume kicking duties by this Thursday. Roster notes - Michael C. Wright: The Bears terminated the contract of veteran DT Andre Fluellen on Monday. Brad Biggs: Bears only have UDFAs as backup DTs, but no signs at present of Izzy returning. [Video] - Speaking of Izzy, here's a piece on his new comic book venture. Know who else really likes comics? Lance Briggs. Bears doing good things - Larry Mayer: Bushrod hosting golf benefit, football camp in Virginia. Dane: Robbie Gould, Adam Podlesh, & Gavin Waterman ---------- Polish sausage NFL.com: Around the League - Gregg Rosenthal: The NFL's effort to change its offseason calendar is starting to make some progress. The first potential change is the 2014 Draft, which may be moved to May. Numbers say TE production explosion only growing - Pat Kirwan: Play-making TEs have become key to all rosters. The numbers reflect the importance in how TEs are used and even how many hold roster spots. Know thy enemy: Lions - Chris McCosky: Lions OTAs should begin to answer looming questions. Know thy enemy: Lions - Brad Biggs: Lions web site says Megatron played with broken fingers, now it doesn't. Get the cool shoeshine!

Whenever I get a little bit behind on posts, I try to sum up the news of the day on Bear Dawn.  Here we go: Gabe Carimi is Betting Big on Himself We’ve all been ragging on Carimi for staying away from Halas Hall but someone out there thinks he’s doing the right thing and betting big on himself. “Now, where it gets a little sketchy, you can’t go back and be OK. You can’t go back and be good. You’ve got to go back and be damn good. That’s where the pressure falls back onto the player and, to be quite frank, that is where it belongs. Let these guys stand up and man up for themselves. These are their careers. If Gabe Carimi is going to be labeled as a bust, let this man do it on his own terms.” Preach on!  If he’s going to be a bust, better he stay away from Halas Hall so as to not spread around whatever he’s got in case it’s contagious.  Robbie Expects to Return as Good as Gould Robbie Gould expects to be cleared to return by the Dallas surgeon who worked on his injured calf on Tuesday and the Bears to clear him by Wednesday so he can re-join his teammates in workouts by Thursday. “I’ll be just as good. I have busted my butt to get healthy and I can’t wait to get out there and show everyone.” Can’t wait to see Robbie back in action. Draft Move The NFL draft could be on the move in 2014. Thanks to a Rockettes show scheduled for Radio City Music Hall, the draft is getting pushed back, likely to May 15th on a 1-year trial basis.   No other changes are confirmed at this time, but there’s been some talk about moving free agency and the start of the league year up to the end of February and the scouting combine to mid-March. And all the NFL bloggers out there let out a big cheer! Bears Player Tweet of the Day Yesterday’s tweet of the day, from Kyle Long: It’s amazing what we are able to do thanks to technology — Kyle Long (@Ky1eLong) May 21, 2013 So long… Defensive tackle Andre Fluellen.  We hardly knew ye. Hello… Undrafted rookie cornerback Maurice Jones out of Temple. And Finally… If you’d like to help the folks in Oklahoma, donate to the Red Cross or other reputable charities, watch out for scams and for God’s sake, go hug your kids and loved ones.

Kicker says he has busted his butt to get healthy after hamstring surgeryRobbie Gould has committed to play in the Pro-Am portion of the Encompass Championship, the June 21-23 Champions Tour event at North Shore Country Club.

Robbie Gould suffered a ruptured tendon (my lord) last season, and was promptly placed on the season-ending Injured Reserve list, missing the final three games of the year. Olindo Mare was signed to a one-year deal, but there was no indication after 2012 that the team would be interested in bringing him back for another round. Then, the landscape changed significantly... The Chicago Bears signed kicker Austin Signor to a three year contract last month, prompting some to wonder if Robbie would be able to make it back in time to compete. It does appear, though, that Gould could be re-joining the team soon, as he is expected to be medically cleared to get back on the field and start kicking again. "I'm excited about it, I really am," Gould said last month. "Competition is healthy, at every position, and it only makes all the players better. Hopefully I can learn a little bit from Austin, and he can learn a little bit from me. This is exactly what the Bears are supposed to do. All good organizations create competition. It's healthy. I'm looking forward to it. Competition brings out the best in everybody." Robbie Gould will be 31 years old this season, which in theory should leave him with a few more years to kick the old pigskin around. He's ranks second all-time on the Bears scoring list, trailing Kevin Butler by a mere 214 points. A healthy Gould could knock that out in two seasons. But how healthy will he be... Stay tuned. Speaking of guys who kick the ball around, Adam Podlesh is making some headlines this offseason, and for fantastic reasons. He, along with other Chicago Bears players, will be shaving their heads and raising money for a young man named Gavin Waterman, who is getting ready to undergo chemotherapy. You can read all the details HERE, but suffice it to say, there's an entire Chicago Bears army rooting for Gavin and his family, and Windy City Gridiron is proud to be a supporter. Get your mouses to clicking HERE... Let's help this family and this brave young man face their challenges with a little more confidence. "Adam's a great guy, said Jacob Waterman, Gavin's father. "We're really blessed to have him in our lives. He's been awesome getting things together and helping us out with the funds." Of course, donations can be kept confidential, but as loud and proud as our Bears Nation is, feel free to sound off in the comments section if you made a donation. I'm sure it would mean the world to Gavin and his family.