Chicago Bears

Charles Woodson's career has come full circle, as the defensive back signed with the  Raiders following a visit with the team Tuesday.

And that's somewhat fitting as Bears hopeful spent formative athletic years playing basketballYou have to be cautious about what you see from a football team when buds still are on the trees and pads still are in the lockers.

Our new Confidence Check series kicked off on Saturday by looking at the Bears quarterback depth chart, and over 70% of respondents had a high level of confidence in Jay Cutler, Josh McCown, and Matt Blanchard. This time around we'll examine the running back position, which has had some movement at the bottom of the depth chart this offseason, which may or may not impact the regular season depth chart. A refresher for how this series works: we examine the individual players at each respective position on the depth chart and assign them a level of confidence (high, low, or zero) based on their ability to perform their role (relative to their position on the depth chart). So as you read through these, don't infer that I like a third-stringer better just because I have more confidence in them than the starter (like with the quarterbacks), its just that I have greater confidence in them fulfilling the duties of their place on the depth chart. MORE: Bears Players Optimistic About New Offense (Again) Starting Running Back: Matt Forte (6th year with Bears) Job Responsibilities: Serve as the teaming primary option in the ground game, provide adequate passing blocking and reception skills, stay healthy and productive over the course of the entire season. Job So Far: Forte has been a consistently good (very good) but not great running back for the Bears. In five years, his lowest season rushing total is 929 yards, while his highest came in his rookie season (1,238). Over the past three years he's averaging 1,053 rushing yards a season and averaging 4.6 yards per carry. His yardage totals have been affected by injuries - with Forte missing five games over the past two seasons - but his ypc average is excellent. He's never been a big touchdown guy (career high eight in his rookie season), but is an adept receiver out of the backfield (averaging over fifty catches and 450 receiving yards a season). Confidence Level: High. The only knocks about Forte are his recent injury concerns and his inability to be a quality short-yardage back. His receiving abilities will be better utilized in Trestman's west coast offense, and the additions to the offensive line should help Forte to stop dancing in the backfield whether there is a hole to run through or not. Forte should be effective this season regardless of how many combined touches he gets, and if the team really leans hard on him and he delivers, I could see a possible All-Pro season for him. Backup Running Back: Michael Bush (2nd year with Bears, 6th year in NFL) Job Responsibilities: Provide quality backfield play in relief of the starting running back, contribute in passing game via blocking and receiving out of the backfield, and be the primary back for short-yardage situations. Job So Far: Bush finally broke the mold of veteran free agent the Bears have signed to backup Forte, meaning that he was somewhat successful in his fulfilling his duties. His season totals are not especially exciting (411 rushing yards, 5 touchdowns) and his 3.6 yards per carry average were a career-low, but remember that Bush was a backup and the short-yardage specialist, so of course his ypc would go down. With three yards or less to go, Bush had fourteen carries this season on third or fourth down, and converted for a first down 71% of the time. Forte, Kahlil Bell, and Armando Allen had fourteen carries in those situations, but only converted 50%. That may not seem like much, but its a crucial aspect to their offense the Bears have struggled with for years. Confidence Level: High. Bush was solid in short yardage situations, and while I would have liked to see him up his ypc average when he has a lot of carries in a game (only once averaged over 3.5 ypc in 2012 when having ten or more carries), I have no reason to assume his role changes drastically or he falters badly. Another reason to have high confidence: Bush can catch just as well as Forte (averages twenty catches a year) despite spending the

Bears rookie cornerback C.J. Wilson has caught the eye of Chicago’s coaches during OTAs and even took reps with the second team today. Bear Report goes one-on-one with the undrafted free agent.

The second week of Chicago Bears organized team activities is under way and Bear Report was front and center at today’s practice. We go over all the on-field action during this afternoon’s session.

For a guy who says he would like things to remain the same, Lance Briggs sure has embraced change.

Chicago Bears rookie punter Tress Way was sitting in a meeting room at Halas Hall on Monday when his cell phone blew up.

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.

A Jacksonville man has pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing a Chicago Bears fan at a popular waterfront shopping area before a Bears/Jaguars football game last fall.

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.