Management should hold their ground just like they have with Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs. Olsen is still under contract and I expect the Bears to keep up their end of the contract as should Olsen. The Bears aren’t stupid. They know Olsen is a talented tight end. They brought in Mike Tice to help coach the offensive line and he could help improve Olsen’s blocking. If anything, Olsen needs to improve his blocking to stay relevant in a Martz offense and increase his market value.

Fact is, all the top pass catching tight ends aren’t great blockers, they hold their own, but aren’t that good. Manumaleuna happens to be an excellent blocker, an extra lineman that will help protect Jay Cutler. Trading a disgruntled Olsen for a draft pick would be a move in the wrong direction.

Why do fans think the McCaskey’s are cheap? The Bears are a family organization that has lived of old values that guides the decisions the Bears make every year. They don’t just sign their first round draft picks to guaranteed money they demand, when they haven’t proven anything. Look at, most notably, Cedric Benson. He held out for more money than his market value, lost the respect of his teammates, and ultimately was a bust with the Bears.

Management has also held their ground when players have demanded contract extensions or pay raises. They didn’t give in to Lance Briggs’ demand for a contract extension when he was under contract and he has played his best football since. When Brian Urlacher demanded a pay raise, they held their ground long enough.

The Bears always reward their players and coaches first. They signed Lovie Smith at a discounted rate because he wasn’t a proven head coach. When he took the Bears to the Super Bowl, he was rewarded with contract that made him one of the highest paid coaches in the league.

Ted Phillips has always been given the green light to pursue the top players in the offseason through free agency or trade players. Look at Thomas Jones, Muhsin Muhammad, Ted Washington, Keith Traylor, John Tait, Ruben Brown and they even traded for Adewale Ogunleye and signed to him to a long term contract.

Bottom line, the “McCaskey’s are cheap” sentiment has always been unfounded and the signings of Julius Peppers, Chester Taylor and Brandon Manumaleuna will help dispel that thrifty perception.

Many speculated that Julius Peppers was going to get Albert Haynesworth-type money and according to his representatives, his did. Haynesworth cashed in big when the Redskins signed him to a 7 year, $100 million contract. The Bears opened their check book and signed Peppers to a 6 year, $91.5 million contract. The success of Lovie Smith’s Cover 2 depends on pressure from the defensive line, now they have a premier pass rusher that will take the consistent double team off Tommie Harris. The pressure Peppers brings can make everyone better – including the secondary. Opposing offensive lines now have to line up against four Pro Bowl-caliber players in Peppers, Harris, Urlacher and Briggs.

The acquisition of Chester Taylor gives the Bears the depth and running back they thought they would have with Kevin Jones. Taylor is a running back that fits Martz’s system and can push Matt Forte to really produce. Although he is on the wrong side of 30 years old, he still has enough miles in him as he has always been in a two-back system.

Brandon Manumaleuna gives Jay Cutler an extra lineman that Martz covets. This does make Greg Olsen expendable but not too many tight ends have Olsen’s ability. The Bears might try to shop him around in time for the draft but I think it’s unlikely.

Angelo and Smith’s jobs are on the line and they had to aim high to win in free agency to give them the best chance to keep their jobs past 2010.  Their win on Friday keeps them in the NFC elite conversation especially with the maturation of Cutler and Brian Urlacher’s return from injury.

In addition to the downloads, there is a great behind the scenes video featuring the original Bears crew and directors Tim & Eric goofing around and telling old stories.

“The Boost Mobile Shuffle” is a lot of fun. It reminds us of the good times and memories the ‘85 Bears gave us. The team and their personality still resonates with the city and will forever be with us.

With the 25th anniversary of the NFL’s Greatest Team Ever, lets hope the present day Bears can bring us another championship. Besides, it was only fitting that Jim McMahon had to show us his backside.

Source: “The Boost Mobile Shuffle” Behind the scenes footage & exclusive ringtone for charity! | M80 Newsroom.

Bobby DePaul was relieved of his duties today. He was the Senior Director of Pro Personnel. He was basically the one getting the deals done – in unison with Lovie Smith, although sometimes not in agreement, with Jerry Angelo writing the checks.

He did bring in Thomas Jones, Fred Miller, Muhsin Muhammed, John Tait, Roberto Garza and traded for Adewale Ogunleye. He also orchestrated the Jay Cutler trade but also brought in Orlando Pace.

What happened? Who knows. Maybe he was ousted a year before the what’s to come if the Bears don’t succeed.

Source: ChicagoBears.com – Pro personnel boss relieved of duties

When I think about Jaws and the rest of the Monday Night Football crew, I think about their man-love for Brett Favre but know they also bring an enthusiastic approach to analysis. With that, I figured I’d listen to the Cutler man-hate.

After going through the slide show, taking a step back from the emotions I felt when I watched the games, it all made sense. Jaws and Jansen are right on the money.

Was it mostly Cutler’s fault? Yes. But I think Cutler felt that he had to make a play because of the defense’s inability to hold anyone down. Now there were close games, like the game against Green Bay (2x’s), Atlanta, and San Francisco where he made Rex Grossman-like mistakes. Then there were those train-wreck losses against Cincinnati, Arizona, Minnesota, and Baltimore. The point is, Cutler’s woes were only part of the reason why the Bears were disappointing.

With Mike Martz now in charge with orchestrating the “Greatest Show on Sod”, Cutler will no doubt be a better quarterback, but the Bears defense will have to help in taking the pressure off Cutler.

Source: Picking Jay Cutler apart :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Sean Jensen.

We all know what the rationale is. Get Hester the ball as many times as possible. Getting him the ball more times would increase the chances of Hester making the same electrifying plays on the field. The only thing wrong with this logic is that Hester has never been a wide receiver and clearly lacks the instinct to make it as a number one receiver.

With Martz now calling the offensive shots, he needs to let his ego take over and tell Lovie Smith and Jerry Angelo that Hester is not a number one receiver.

Smith wanted to hire Martz as soon as the offensive coordinator job opened up and there has been speculation of infighting between Smith and Angelo. Hester’s role as a number one wide receiver was probably a main issue between the two.

Fans, local media, national media and everyone in between can see that Hester is not a number one wide receiver. He has improved by leaps and bounds in learning an entirely new position, but Hester even eluded to it himself. He knows what he’s best at and he is best at returning kicks not as a wide receiver.

Source: Chicago Bears’ Devin Hester would like to get back to return game – ESPN Chicago

No, they didn’t get Jeremy Bates or Rob Chudzinski. For all we know, they could have been the next Gary Crowton, John Shoop, Terry Shea, or even Ron Turner.

Remember when the Bears brought in Terry Shea? There was excitement in the air because he was going to bring in the same system. The system the Kansas Chiefs adopted from the St. Louis Rams. The only difference now is that the Bears brought in the master. Besides, back then they had Jonathan Quinn, probably the worst quarterback in Bears history. Even worse than Cade McNown.

The Bears got the best coach available, Mike Martz and I am really excited all over again about the Bears. I’m excited about the potential of this offense.

As fans, we tend to compare players. We compare young players to old players. I’m going to do it here. Earl Bennett – Isaac Bruce. Johnny Knox – Torry Holt. Matt Forte – Marshall Faulk. Devin Hester – Az-Zahir Hakim. Jay Cutler – Kurt Warner. Okay, I know… far-fetched but the weapons are there or at the very least the potential of all these players are there. Besides, who’s to say they won’t be great? Besides, I didn’t mention Greg Olsen and Devin Aromashodu.

Source: ChicagoBears.com – Martz eager to start working with Cutler.

Martz has something to prove. He wants to be back in the NFL as a coach rather than being an analyst on the NFL Network. After being away from the game, I’m sure he will have made some adjustments to his offense after watching all the film and some time to think.

A couple of things we should be aware of is that he gets his quarterback killed. His teams have consistently ranked in the top five in allowing sacks. His tight ends have also been required to block, something Greg Olsen has not been successful at. Let’s hope Mike Tice can fix that.

We can expect Jay Cutler to put up big numbers and further his development. Many of us wanted Jeremy Bates, but what Cutler needs is a teacher, not a friend. Cutler has earned the Peyton Manning say-so just yet. Let’s hope the recievers can develop and grasp Martz’ complicated play book.

Martz also has a big enough ego to not just be another Lovie Smith yes-man. His ego is also big enough to not let Jay Cutler be undisciplined. His approach is demanding and his offensive philosophy demands precision.

After starting the off season in tumultuous fashion, the Bears are starting to settle down but still have a long way to go. The Bears coaching staff now has three former head coaches, all who’ve had success, now lets see who they bring in to tutor Cutler and call the defense.

Source: ChicagoBears.com – Bears hire Martz to coordinate offense.

Sure he had Marshall Faulk and Isaac Bruce, who were both entering their primes and a rookie Torry Holt. All three were formidable, but they had an unproven second year player and former grocery bagger, Kurt Warner. Who would have thought that Warner would become one of the most prolific passers in the history of the NFL?

When Dick Vermeil retired, Martz took over as head coach and his offenses ranked in the top ten, five times in six years.

Check out the rest of his résumé with the Rams… His passing offense ranked in the top five in all of his six years. The rushing offense ranked in the top five in three out of six years. The Rams were ranked in the top ten in overall offense in five out of six years. In his first two years as the head coach, the Rams ranked first in the points scored, making that three in a row.

Martz compiled a regular season record of 53-32, won three division championships and one NFC championship and an Adam Vinatieri last second field goal from winning a Super Bowl. By comparison, Lovie has a 52-44 record. He didn’t have the same success with the Lions or the 49ers as their offensive coordinator, granted, he didn’t have the talent around him to work with. The Lions did however have a top five passing attack in two out of the three years he was there, with John Kitna.

We can safely assume that John Kitna is no Jay Cutler. Cutler is better… way better – he’s more talented, more athletic and has a stronger. If you really believe that Johnny Knox, Devin Aromashodu and Earl Bennett won’t progress and Matt Forte is as good as he’s going to get, then yeah, the Bears are going to be bad for many years to come. As an optimistic Bears fan, we really haven’t seen anything yet and the last two games this past season is a clear indication of what the offensive could be.

At least Martz comes in with a demanding personality and an ego to counter Jay Cutler’s and Lovie Smith’s. He would be stubborn enough to not fall into group think and just be another Lovie Smith minion. Martz gives the Bears the checks and balance they’ve needed.

There are concerned about his seven step drops and that the Bears don’t have the dominant book end tackles that can give him enough time. When Chris Williams moved over to left tackle, the pass protection was noticeably improved. With Mike Tice now on board, he can continue to help Williams progress. Tice’s background as an offensive line coach puts him in a position to adjust blocking schemes to fit Martz’s offensive philosophy. What if Martz adjusted those seven step drops to move Cutler outside the pocket to take advantage of his mobility? Both coaches possess the strengths the Bears need and what they lacked last season.

We all remember Martz from his days in Detroit and San Francisco, but we have to remember that he didn’t have anything to work with. Bill Walsh wouldn’t have made a difference. Here in Chicago, he does. We have Cutler, Aromashodu, Knox, Bennett, Forte and Olsen. Wouldn’t you agree that all five have potential? Martz comes in with, by far, the most accomplished résumé and is best coach for the job.