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On Wednesday morning, the Chicago Bears’ eight-time Pro Bowl linebacker, Brian Urlacher, decided to call it quits and retire forever a member of the Green Bay Packers most historic rival.
Packers fans should and will celebrate the retirement of a future hall-of-famer and one of the best linebackers to play in the NFL over the past twenty years.
Here’s a look back at his career, specifically against the Packers: [Read more…]
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Breaking up is hard to do. After a 10-6 season that will leave the Chicago Bears watching the NFL Playoffs from their couches, the team cut their ties with head coach Lovie Smith after 9 seasons.
Many players have already voiced their displeasure with GM Phil Emery’s decision to fire Smith. Devin Hester is even threatening retirement now that Lovie will no longer be calling the shots.
But as Emery stated in his press conference this past Tuesday, a lack of offensive consistency and playoff appearances are what did Lovie in. The Bears only managed 3 postseason berths, a 3-3 postseason record, and ranked in the top half of the NFL in yards per game just once (15th in 2006) in the past 9 seasons.
That track record would’ve done anyone in, not just Lovie. Despite being a defensive genius and a true “leader of men”, Emery knows that it’s in the best interest of the team to find a coach who will bring the offensive production to the same level that the defense has been producing at for decades.
Finally, someone understands.
The Bears will now be testing the free agent coaching waters for the first time since 2004. There are 7 names that have already emerged as candidates for the job, most of them being offensive coordinators.
While it’s nice to imagine all of the big name coaches on the market in blue and orange, I’m going to stick to the 7 men who have been granted permission to interview for the job.
My apologies to anyone hoping to hear Nick Saban or Andy Reid.
Emery has a lot of deciphering to do in the coming weeks, but he hopes to have picked his replacement before the East-West Shrine Game (college football’s “all star game”) on January 19th.
Without further ado, let’s meet the contestants.
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What follows isn’t a ranking or rating of any kind, but a list. I’ll let you decide for yourself which NFC North QB, the leader of the Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, or Detroit Lions, landed the best arm-candy.
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Blair Kiel, a backup quarterback for the Green Bay Packers in the early 1990s, and of the last Pack signal callers to start at the position before Brett Favre began his phenomenal streak has died. Kiel last started for the Packers in 1991. Favre took over the position from 1992-2007.
Kiel passed away Sunday in Columbus, Ind., of what Bartholomew County authorities said was a heart attack. He also had Crohn’s disease. Blair Kiel’s nephew, Gunner Kiel, is a freshman quarterback on the 2012 Notre Dame football roster, and was the nation’s top rated signal caller by most recruiting services.
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Nobody — nobody — wanted it to end this way.
Not you or me. Not Indianapolis Colts fans, who are sure to be divided — many of them irate — about the franchise’s decision to part ways with Peyton Manning. Not Manning himself. Not owner Jim Irsay, who undoubtedly will be the recipient of the aforementioned fan ire. Not Indianapolis Star columnist Bob Kravitz, who was among the first (if not the first) to opine that parting ways with Manning was the only decision that made sense for the franchise and subsequently became an easy target for angry Colts fans as someone who was running the four-time MVP out of town.
Nobody wanted it to end this way.
But it must.
With the official announcement — a joint one — that the Colts will release Manning after 14 seasons with the club coming at noon today, the news we’ve been expecting really hits home. And it hits home hard — for many reasons. But as heartbreaking as it might be to see the departure of someone who essentially put football on the map in Indiana, there was just no way around it.
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I would start getting used to seeing Kerry Collins under center for the Indianapolis Colts this season.
Colts owner Jim Irsay all but said that would be the case on Twitter this morning.
Irsay, a regular on Twitter, wrote the following message on his account: “NFL Season opens 2nite!We had a good practice yesterday and r guys r fired up 4 the season.#18’s out for awhile,but compete,we will/BELIEVE.”
The development was a follow-up to confirmations by the team’s vice chairman, Bill Polian, and Manning himself, that the four-time MVP would miss Sunday’s season opener in Houston, ending an unprecedented streak of 208 (227 including playoffs) consecutive starts to begin a NFL career.
(Update: Manning’s 2011 is likely over, is this a career ender?)
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The addition of Donovan McNabb and Michael Jenkins on the offensive side of the ball have been the two most notable positive amendments during the offseason. The most newsworthy departure is undoubtedly the exit by offensive lineman and consistent Pro Bowler Bryant McKinnie.
After taking a look at the depth chart on the team’s official site, it is puzzling to note that Joe Webb has taken a stronghold on the number two quarterback position. All the fans heard on draft day was how smart and crafty Christian Ponder was. It’s hard to fathom that we would be third at this time then if Cam Newton is starting in Carolina. The Auburn product couldn’t even name a play that he liked when prompted. I am shocked that there would be hyperbole surrounding a prospect on draft day!
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Brett Favre’s people claim he hasn’t been in Green Bay since the Minnesota Vikings played there last season. Even though Favre is no longer in the tiny hamlet where he made his legend with the Packers, a reasonable facsimile is. Or perhaps not such a reasonable facsimile, you can tell him apart from the ole text message slinger, but some of Green Bay’s dumber football fans cannot.
The unidentified Fake Favre has been seen in the stands at Packer practices posing for pictures with fans.
Uhm yeah, why would the real Favre be randomly sitting in the stands at practice? Don’t you think he’d have the connections with the club to be in a more secure, exclusive location?
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The Chicago Bear’s Olin Kreutz has a new team, Brett Favre is not joining the Miami Dolphins and the Oakland Raiders replace Zach Miller. What are the latest 2011 NFL signings? NFL trade rumors? News from around the NFL?
The Sportsbank has NFL fans covered with the latest from around the league.
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Is Brett Favre making a comeback again? Why might Braylon Edwards draw criticism from Terrell Owens? Should Oakland Raiders fans be worried about Darren McFadden’s latest injury? What are the latest 2011 NFL Signings? NFL trade rumors? NFL News?
The Sportsbank is all over the latest NFL News like Osi Umenyiora on a quarterback Tom Brady.
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Randy Moss is retiring from football. In what is sure to top any NFL free agent signing or trade rumor on the day, the 13-year pro and future Hall of Famer is calling it quits. After an off-season in which his agent said Moss was in the best shape of his life, he’s walking away from the game.
Why did Randy Moss decide to retire?
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The consensus on national media outlets seems to be that the Vikings hit a home run in their acquisition of Donovan McNabb. Much of the reaction to all the transactions has been positive because there is a collective sigh of relief that they are relevant once again. Chris Mortenson and John Clayton obviously grew tiresome of commenting on the court proceedings.
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