The Brandon Marshall Saga

This won't be all that long, mainly because I really don't feel there's a whole lot to talk about. I'll go a little bit more into it, but the comments he made this past week were nothing to look too far into. However, in typical Chicago sports media fashion, they've been entirely over-analyzed.

My Bears Final Roster Predictions: Special Teams and Oopses

I gave it away when I did my post on the defense, but it's not like there were really any surprises. The Bears will have 4 special teams only players on the team this year.

The first of the specialists is the man who has worn the uniform for more games than any other Bears player in team history, oh, and he's the son in law of THE Tommy John. Enough useless trivia though, it's Patrick Mannelly. Mannelly has not only played in more games than any other Bear in history, he's flown under the radar more than any other Bears player in history. When you're a longsnapper, that's a very good thing. Your job is to get the ball to the punter or holder, block, and then run down the field to tackle whoever caught the ball, although there's a good chance that by that time he's been tackled already. The only reason Bears fans know him now is because he's been on the team for so long. Eventually if you're there long enough you'll get noticed. Mannelly's only gaffe that I can remember was when he snapped the ball to the QB on a punt years ago that made it a fake. This wound up being a failure of a play. Other than that, he's been as solid as can be.

My Bears Final Roster Predictions: The Defense

So now with the offense picked, it's time to pick the defense for the Bears this coming season. The defense looks different from the start with Brian Urlacher retired, but as a whole it's very much the same with almost everyone else (Idonije being another exception) returning. So, instead of blabbing, I'll get right into it.

My Bears Final Roster Predictions: The Offense

The Bears have to cut down the final roster to 75 men tomorrow. Several days after that it's time for them to get that roster down to 53 men. There's going to be some tough choices for the Bears coaching staff.

I don't have a whole lot to go on here. I have 3 preseason games that I've watched, and for most of the players who will make the team I have past performances in previous seasons. As far as training camp goes, I'm working on hearsay while the coaches and beat writers actually saw everything happen. I would have loved to go down to Bourbonnais and catch the camp, but I have a demanding job that keeps me more than busy. I have to prioritize, and work had to take priority.

Chicago Bears Preseason Game 3 Thoughts

The preseason is a time of the season where fans and the media often look way too far into everything. However, if it was completely meaningless then there really wouldn't be any reason to play it. Game 3 in itself is the most important game of the preseason. It has the starters out on the field for at least a half (outside of individual cases, like Julius Peppers who was coming off of an injury). This gives the starters on both teams, on both sides of the ball, a chance to get into a groove and gives the players, fans, and other teams a chance of what things will look like once the regular season gets underway.

Getting to Know Khaseem Greene, Jordan Mills, Cornelius Washington, and Marquess Wilson

Outside of all of the excitement generated by Jon Bostic, Khaseem Greene has quietly been putting together a nice preseason as well. The linebacker out of Rutgers was drafted by the Bears in the 4th round of this past year's draft after a very impressive college career.

There really wasn't much drama by the time he was picked. Sure, Bears fans were paying attention to see who the Bears picked, but once a draft gets into the fourth round there is rarely too much fanfare for any pick, maybe one or two each year that is considered news in any way. Still, Bears fans knew that another linebacker wouldn't be a bad idea, and given his successful college career, the pick was fairly well received.

Getting to Know Jon Bostic

Already this is a name that is all over Chicago sports, and he's not a first round pick, he's not a foreign superstar, and he's never played in a professional regular season game. Jon Bostic has been the one of the rookie toasts of the town so far for the Bears, along with first round pick Kyle Long. The most recent talk has been of his recently handed down fine, which, if you ask me was a complete joke. The receiver was not defenseless in any way, and anyone who things that fine was warranted really needs to learn what the rule states, including the person who handed down that fine. Another embarrassing fine handed down by the NFL if you ask me.

Getting to Know Kyle Long

Seeing as how the Bears are the team that has already started their preseason, they're probably the better team to really introduce the rookies of. I'm starting at the top with first round, and #20 overall pick, Kyle Long.

There's a lot that is already known about Long. From his pedigree to his struggles to what he has done so far in the preseason. Still, we're going to go over all of it, just in case there's something that was missed in there.

Getting to Know Tony Snell

In the 2013 NBA Draft, the Bulls made sure to not be the only team in Chicago raising eyebrows with their first round pick. The Bears had raised eyebrows just a couple of months earlier when they picked Jake Long with their first pick, #20 overall. The Bulls were at a VERY similar position as the Bears were. In fact, they also had the #20 overall pick. Both teams also had a big guard on their list of team needs. The Bears got their big guard, and the Bulls got theirs as well in the form of the 6'7" Tony Snell.

Where Do Chicago's Baseball Teams Go?

Last season saw an embarrassingly bad season for the Cubs and an embarrassingly bad finish for the White Sox. The Cubs had the excuse of being in the opening stages of a rebuild. The White Sox had an aging team that they were trying to get just a little bit more out of. Sure, the White Sox also had guys like Chris Sale and Dayan Viciedo, both of which were and still very likely are building blocks for the future. However, the bottom line was that for the 93rd time in the last 94 seasons, despite having two baseball teams, Chicago was without a championship.

Gauging Excitement For Bears Rookies And Other Young Players

It's been only two preseason games, but the entire city of Chicago seems to be giddy with how Kyle Long, Jon Bostic, Khaseem Greene, Jordan Mills, and Isaiah Frey have been playing. Corey Wootton and Shea McClellin are also starting to turn heads, as it's looking more and more like they might be turning a corner as well. Although, in the case of Wootton, anyone who didn't notice what he started doing last season must have not have been watching.

Chicago Bears Preseason Game 1 Rundown

I am bringing this blog back after 4 years of absence! Why? Well, I just feel like it's a good time to do so. Honest and sharp opinions, but with reason and thought. Anyway, what better way to bring it back than with a discussion of the first preseason game from the Chicago Bears?

While preseason games are virtually meaningless as far as final score goes, there's a lot that can be looked at throughout the game that is very meaningful. Keep in mind though that a lot of the guys I'm going to talk about did not play against first string guys. However, they are still guys that are currently on an NFL roster, so it's not like they played against a bunch of guys from the team's local Y or anything like that.