Seeding breakdown

Curious who we might end up playing in two and a half weeks? Check this out:
NFC Playoff seeding possibilities.

Awesome, awesome weekend

Lousy punt coverage notwithstanding, what a great job by the Bears on setting up for a postseason run. Now we can rest some guys, play around with the playbook some on Sunday and let Cedric shake off a little rust. I want to see Rex play at least a half. I want to see Muhsin catch every ball that touches his hands.

I don't want to see any injured defensive starters on the field.

I want to see an alternate center play some. We need Olin healthy.

I want to see the ball being passed down the field.

And if we win, awesome.

Falcons Wrapup

Not much to say about the game that hadn't already been said.

The game was half over when, with 11:52 on the clock in the 1st quarter, Vick tried to scramble. He went left, got past Alex Brown, and saw Brian Urlacher right in front of him. He immediately doubled back through the pocket to the right, where Brian Urlacher went right through a block and knocked him down.

The game was mostly over at 5:23 left in the 2nd quarter when DeAngelo Hall committed a pretty blatant pass interference penalty for 25 yards after a Bernard Berrian punt return started the Bears in Atlanta territory. 3 short rushes later, the Gould kicked his second field goal and the Bears had a lead they would not relinquish.

The game was completely over the moment Rex Grossman stepped on the field. When the Atlanta defense had to respect the pass, the Bears would be able to grind the clock and keep their defense off the field.

But as always, the defense got the final word in when they hammered T.J. Duckett for a loss on two consecutive plays starting with 3rd and 1. That's just pure ownership. Vick got a few passing yards in garbage time, but the Bears defense basically shut down the entire operation. Great game all the way.

A few postgame tidbits:

One, Gado is out.

Two, Mike Brown was reportedly ok to play if they needed him but the coaches decided to have him sit out the game after they learned Minnesota lost.

Three, the Bears defense now needs to give up 13 or fewer points to break the points allowed record by the 2000 Ravens. Given the way the the Vikings and Packers looked this weekend I think it's possible.

Fourth, as I'm sure we all know, there are three games left to decide the NFC North champion. If the Bears win one of the Vikings lose one, the Bears win the division.

Finally, Welcome back Rex Grossman! Now let's see some high flyin' offense. The 85 Bears won games 44-0! Come on!

WSCR Daily Bears Report

Lawrence Holmes reports:

• Lovie says Rex is healthy enough to play "if he had to", but that Kyle "gives us the best chance to win." No answer on the record as to exactly how he does that.


• Injured (replacement): Hunter Hillenmeyer (Leon Joe), Todd Johnson (Mike Green), Terrence Metcalf (Orza). Adrian Peterson is ill but should be ok tomorrow.


• The team practiced in shorts.

Tonight's punt return update

WSCR's Lawrence Holmes reporting that Bernard Berrian could be the new guy, despite the busted thumb. 4 guys are in the mix, including Nate Vasher.

In Kyle Orton news, he doesn't want to run the shotgun. He doesn't want to be looking for the safety and the ball coming back to him at the same time.

Quote of the Week: "If he runs he has to understand there is a price that will be paid." -- Lovie Smith on Michael Vick

The final note is that the DBs all had to go through a basic tackling drill today after last Sunday's performance.

You can listen to WSCR's Bears Report at online with windows media player, nightly at 5pm CT.

Bobby Wade released

Bears released Bobby Wade today.

Fumbling punts during the runback was bad. Muffing punts was worse. Muffing punts on the 5 -- ok, we've had enough.

Tom Cross (R-Oswego) is an idiot

This is utterly stupid. Do you really want to see idiots in Florida trying to pass similar legislation about the 72 Dolphins? They have more idiots than us!

Hat tip: WCG

Wednesday Injury Report

Wednesday Injury Report:

Safety Chris Harris (knee) and running back Cedric Benson (knee) are doubtful; right guard Terrence Metcalf (shoulder) is questionable; and cornerback Jerry Azumah (hip), left guard Ruben Brown (elbow), middle linebacker Brian Urlacher (finger), receiver Muhsin Muhammad (hand) and right tackle Fred Miller (ankle) are probable.

52 Reasons ESPN sucks

The only thing I can say about this list is that it's not long enough.

Kid KO

Kyle Orton sucks.

The reason he's not riding pine is not that the Bears are winning.

The reason he is still our starting QB is that Rex isn't healthy.

Injury report and Punt Brain Injury Report

Lawrence Holmes of WSCR-AM just reported that the injury report, other than Cedric Benson, is clear. That means Azumah, Kreutz, Ruben Brown and Tommie Harris are all cleared to play (all 4 were probable yesterday).

He also predicted Bobby Wade will probably return punts on Sunday. Oy. I hope not.

Update: Oh yeah, one more thing -- Grossman split snaps with Blake during warmups. When asked about it, Coach Lovie would only snap "Rex is our #3 QB."

Bears QBs drafted since 1960

Here they are in all their glory. Not corrected for immediately traded, etc.

Data from NFL.com and drafthistory.com

year	pos	Name	College
2005	106	Kyle Orton	Purdue
2004	148	Craig Krenzel	Ohio State
2003	22	Rex Grossman	Florida
2002	none
2001	none
2000	none
1999	12	Cade McNown	UCLA
1998	232	Moses Moreno	Colorado State
1997	none
1996	none
1995	none
1994	none
1993	none
1992	107	Will Furrer	Virginia Tech
1991	190	Paul Justin	Arizona State
1990	63	Peter Tom Willis	Florida State
1989	192	Brent Snyder	Utah State
1988	none
1987	26	Jim Harbaugh	Michigan
1986	none
1985	none
1984	244	Mark Casale	Montclair State
1983	none
1982	5	Jim McMahon	Brigham Young
1981	260	Tim Clifford	Indiana
1980	242	Turk Schonert	Stanford
1979	none
1978	none
1977	140	Vince Evans	USC
1976	none
1975	135	Bob Avellini	Maryland
1974	186	Alan Chadwick	East Tennessee State
	420	Craig Holland	Texas-Arlington
1973	33	Gary Huff	Florida State
1972	167	Jim Fassel	Long Beach State
1971	167	Buddy Lee	Louisiana State
	376	Ron Maciejowski	Ohio State
1970	131	Bob Cutburth	Oklahoma State
1969	41	Bob Douglass	Kansas
1968	none
1967	142	Virgil Carter	Brigham Young
1966	107	Ron Meyer	South Dakota State
1965	228	Tom LaFramboise	Louisville
1964	112	Larry Rakestraw	Georgia
1963	81	Dave Mathieson	Washington State
1962	none
1961	160	Howard Dyer	Virginia Military Inst
	257	Ben Charles	South Carolina
1960	32	Don Meredith	Southern Methodist
	57	Dick Norman	Stanford