Chicago Bears

Oct 28, 2012; Nashville, TN, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck (12) greets wide receiver T. Y. Hilton (13) before the game against the Tennessee Titans at LP Field. Mandatory credit: Don McPeak-USA TODAY Sports 2012 #82- T.Y. Hilton WR Indianapolis Colts- What a rookie season by Hilton and probably one of the best free agent pickups in your league.  Hilton after 8 weeks of average performance blew up the 2nd half of the season along with Andre Luck and the entire Colts organization. Hilton gets the privilege of having Reggie Wayne on the other side usually taking the #1 cornerback. Hilton scored 7 touchdowns and all of them were after Week #9! Retro #82 2002-Todd Heap TE Baltimore Ravens- Heap never was in the upper echelon of Tight Ends but if you waited in your draft to pick one up he was always dependable to give you points weekly. Look ahead #82 ESPN-Jeremy Maclin WR Philadelphia Eagles- Like we said yesterday Maclin is a huge question mark with the Chip Kelly offense.  What do you think about the Philly offense? Do you like the Philly offense or only take McCoy? CBS Sports- Mark Ingram RB New Orleans Saints- The former Heisman award winner could become a much bigger factor in 2013 with the return of Sean Payton as Head Coach.  Ingram has the potential to become a TD machine or he could just be a bust. This really is the season to determine if Ingram is a fantasy star or  bust.

We bring you film of Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte working as a pass catcher during mandatory veteran minicamp.

A day after three Atlanta radio hosts were fired for a skit making fun of Steve Gleason, the former New Orleans Saints safety who suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) said Tuesday he had accepted their apologies and hoped the incident would call attention to his disease.

Mark J. Rebilas USA Today Sports If Julius Peppers is the rock star/lead singer of the Chicago Bears defensive ends,  that means that collectively Turk McBride, Shea McClellin, Israel Idonije and Corey Wootton are the nameless band members/backup singers in this analogy. That’s not to say the other defensive ends not named Peppers were slouches and unproductive, however. The 109th pick by the Bears in 2010, Wootton announced himself to the NFL his rookie season by being the man to finally ‘retire’ the Highlander of the league, Brett Favre. Over the course of the 2012 season, Wootton took advantage of the extra attention paid to Peppers to the tune of 26 total tackles, eight sacks and two forced fumbles. Now, entering into his fourth year in the league, Wootton is developing into a solid pass rusher. So much so, that the Bears organization decided to let former starting defensive end Idonije go. With the subtraction of Idonije, Wootton as well as McClellin look to seize the starting rush end position opposite Peppers. With three years experience in the league,  the 6’6″, 270 lb., Wotton appears to have the inside position entering training camp to claim that spot. In the short term, Wootton and McClellin should continue to compete and push one another not only through training camp but throughout the season as well. In the long term, the defensive end position will continue to be one of the strengths on the roster for the Bears well after the now 33-year-old, 12 year veteran Peppers is no longer with the team. M. Quann Boyd is a writer for RantSports.com Follow him on Twitter @MQuannBoyd. “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google+.

ProFootballTalk seems to be beating a drum for the Bears to dump Devin Hester. First they jumped on the fact that a local publication noted that Hester is “competing” to be the Bears’ primary kick returner. Then they opined that it wouldn’t cost much for the Bears to cut or trade him. I fully understand that Hester had a bad 2012 season, as well as bad 2008 and 2009 seasons. In 2012 he looked like he was spending more time running backwards on returns than forward, granted. But in 2012, he still had better averages on returns than he did in ’08 and ’09. Despite those bad years, the Bears stuck with him, and he responded in 2010 and 2011 by returning five punts and one kickoff for touchdowns. Think about it, in just two seasons (following two poor seasons) Hester returned more kicks for touchdowns than arguably the vast majority of returners do in their entire careers! I think it would be ridiculous to release Hester without giving him a chance in 2013. If he flops, his contract is up after this season. I truly believe, although I very well could be wrong, that now that he doesn’t have to flood his brain with trying to become a receiver, we will see a resurgence from the NFL’s all-time best kick returner. Even trading Hester, which I doubt would bring more than a fifth-round pick, would be insane.

May 10, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears wide receiver Brittan Golden (82) warms up during the rookie minicamp on Friday. Mandatory Credit: Reid Compton-USA TODAY Sports I decided to do a countdown to the Chicago Bears season opener on September 8th versus the Cincinnati Bengals.  Thanks to one of my followers on Twitter @Beneiserle, I decided to combine the countdown with a roster preview of sorts. We’re Brittan Golden days away from kickoff.  Who in the heck is Brittan Golden?  I’m glad you asked.  Golden is a wide receiver who played his college ball at West Texas A&M.  The Bears signed him following the 2012 draft as a free agent.   His claim to fame was returning a blocked punt 22 yards for a touchdown in the 2012 preseason finale vs the Cleveland Browns.  The Bears promptly cut him two days later.  After a brief stint on the Jaguars practice squad late last season, the Bears picked him back up this offseason.   (more…)

Last week we wanted to know, Which current player do you think is overrated on the Chicago Bears? And now today we're asking you to think about the entire 93 year history of the franchise, and tell us who is the most overrated Bear of all time. NFL.com is running a poll with their five most overrated Chicago Bears ever, and asking their readers to vote on the options. Earlier today we asked you who you thought was the most underrated Bear in franchise history, so if you still want to weigh in on that topic go here. Here are the five Bears NFL.com came up with, and a little bit of what they had to say on each player. William Perry, DT - 1985-93 This pick was almost too easy. The Fridge lives on in NFL lore more for his persona than his actual play on the field. The Fridge is knocked for playing with some legends, but I do think he was a very productive player. Never a Pro Bowler, but he had a solid career. I do agree, his hype far outshines his productivity. Jim McMahon, QB - 1982-88 The fact of the matter remains that 1985 was his peak. He had career highs in yards and touchdowns, and because of injuries and other mitigating factors was never able to reclaim that magic he had when he played lights out during the Bears' Super Bowl run. What is this a 'pick on the 85 Bears' list? McMahon was a very popular player, but he was another guy whose celebrity was bigger than his play. Adewale Ogunleye, DE - 2004-09 Ogunleye had productive seasons, but not enough to warrant what the Bears gave up for him in the trade (Marty Booker and a 3rd round draft pick) or for his contract. In the underrated portion of the NFL.com article, they heap praise on the DE that played opposite Ogunleye, Alex Brown. And I agree, Brown was a much better football player. Nathan Vasher, CB - 2004-09 Vasher signed a nice extension after the Bears' Super Bowl run in 2006. However, injuries and mediocre play prevented him from living up to that contract. Vasher was a solid player, but too many people remember him for his outstanding 2005 season, and not the four average seasons he posted after. What is this a 'pick on the 06 Super Bowl team' list? I wholeheartedly agree with Vasher's inclusion as a most overrated Bear. He received a bunch of fortunate bounce interceptions, and I always thought Corey Graham should have replaced him after he filled in during the '08 season. Jay Cutler, QB - 2009-present Cutler is often regarded as just outside the cusp of the "elite" quarterbacks in the NFL thanks to his cannon arm, but in reality his stats don't merit that level of consideration. Even in 2012, when he was finally reunited with Brandon Marshall, Cutler only threw 19 touchdowns and completed less than 60 percent of his passes. Oh please, please, please, don't let this turn into another 300+ comment argument about Jay Cutler. So now it's your turn. Who do you think is the most overrated Chicago Bears player of all time? And remember if you want to discuss the most underrated Bears player ever, go here. More From Windy City Gridiron: Confidence Check: Safeties Ten Thoughts on the NFL: Chicago Bears and beyond Bears Working to Speed Up Jay Cutler's Release Time Story Stream - Breaking Down the 2013 Chicago Bears Schedule

Bruce Kluckholn- USA TODAY Sports It’s hard to believe that the owners of the 28th ranked offense in the league were playoff contenders last season, but remarkably enough, the Chicago Bears were. The offense was slow, unreliable, and it was marred by three-and-outs, turnovers, sacks, and a general inability to produce. It isn’t hard to remember the many times the defense recovered the ball inside the opponent’s 20 yard line, or when the Bears were given a short field to score on and simply could not get the job done. Frankly, the Bears’ offensive ineptitude is what cost the Bears a playoff spot and what ultimately cost Lovie Smith his job. With all of that said, it is totally fair to expect a new look offense from the Bears this season. Most importantly, coaching styles have changed. With the arrival of head coach Marc Trestman and offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer, the Bears have swapped traditionally defensive-minded staff members in favor of offensive juggernauts. Trestman, for one, was the mind behind the Montreal Alouettes’ hugely successful offensive scheme in the CFL. Kromer was the offensive line coach for the New Orleans Saints, and also served as offensive coordinator and interim head coach. But what do these additions mean for the Bears? Simply, without any changes in personnel, the Bears will be better schematically this season. They will adopt a less run-heavy offense and certainly find productive ways to use Matt Forte and Michael Bush out of the backfield. Brandon Marshall should continue to be a force in the passing game, but other receivers will be creatively integrated to take pressure off of Marshall and to exploit defensive mismatches.The new offense will almost certainly be audible friendly, and allow Jay Cutler to change plays after diagnosing defensive alignments and evaluating matchups. There should be better protection and a new, zone-based blocking scheme in the run game. The passing game should improve significantly, and Jay Cutler will be utilized to his fullest extent. With the caliber of receivers, running backs, and quarterbacks the Bears have, offensive production should not be difficult to achieve. Even without the Bears’ draft picks and recent acquisitions, it should be expected that the Bears offense come out as powerful as ever for the 2013 season. Jake Wittenberg is a writer for RantSports.com. You can follow him on Twitter here.

David Beckham received an invitation from an NFL team to tryout as a placekicker, the London Mirror reported.

Former NFL wide receiver Chad Johnson appeared Tuesday on "Good Morning America" to ask for one more chance to play football.