Archives for October 2006

‘”We hear quite a bit about the ’85 Bears and you should, that was a great, dominant team and that gives us something to shoot for,” said Smith, whose Bears are off to a 4-0 start and have yielded just 29 points. “The standard has been set by them and that’s what we’re trying to shoot for.”‘

‘”Coach (Dick) Jauron has been preaching it all week: ‘A great challenge equals a great opportunity.’ That’s how we’re taking it,” Preston said. “People are saying they’re the best team in the league, so we’re excited about that challenge, to go out there and see how you stack up.”‘

‘Shortening the field for the offense may become even more important Sunday when the Bills face the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. The Bears defense hasn’t allowed 10 or more points in its last eight regular-season home games.’

‘”It feels like a homecoming,” Price said yesterday. “It seems like I never left, because the fans welcomed me from day one. There was never a fan that I know of that shook their head or shrugged their shoulders about me coming back — they all welcomed me and said they missed me. And that’s a great feeling, especially what I’ve been through these last few years.”‘

‘Many Bears will be just as happy to see Jauron. But upon reflection, probably not too unhappy he left in the first place.’

‘Jauron coached many current Bears players, including linebackers Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs, safety Mike Brown, defensive end Alex Brown, center Olin Kreutz and tight end Desmond Clark. He also knows well the conditions that exist at Soldier Field. “I know it is a tough stadium to play in, with their fans behind them,” Jauron said. “It will be loud, and we will have to deal with that, just as we have to deal with a very talented football team.”‘

New coach, big difference for Bears (Chicago Tribune)

Bears issue at hand (Chicago Tribune)

The word from Buffalo: Jauron’s return (Chicago Tribune)

Tough assignment facing Brown (Chicago Tribune)

20 Questions with Mark Anderson (Chicago Tribune)

Money in bank at nickel (Chicago Sun Times)

Thankfully, Lovie not type for hype (Chicago Sun Times)

And the winner is … (Chicago Sun Times)

Jauron returns a winner (Chicago Sun Times)

Rhyme and reason to this Bears season (Chicago Sun Times)

Lovie: Red-hot Harris could rank with Sapp, other greats (Chicago Sun Times)

Bears have confidence, minus swagger of 2005 (Arlington Heights Daily Herald)

Former Bears coach knows the feeling (Arlington Heights Daily Herald)

Clark proud to be leading receiver among NFL TEs (Arlington Heights Daily Herald)

The calm man cometh (Tinley Park Daily Southtown)

In linemen’s eyes, they’ve got Grossman’s front (Tinley Park Daily Southtown)

Bears Notebook (Tinley Park Daily Southtown)

Bears to face former coach Jauron (Northwest Herald)

Harris earns NFC defensive honor (Northwest Herald)

There, I said it: Unbeaten Bears will be perfect (Beacon News)

Bears see room to improve on defense (AP)

Inside slant (The Sports Xchange)

Strategy and personnel (The Sports Xchange)

Notes, quotes (The Sports Xchange)

Bears concentrating solely on task at hand (ChicagoBears.com)

Rookie Anderson’s stock continues to soar (ChicagoBears.com)

Where does Grossman’s poise come from? (ChicagoBears.com)

Runnels wowed by home-field advantage (ChicagoBears.com)

Harris named NFC Defensive Player of Week (ChicagoBears.com)

Bears host Bills at Soldier Field (ChicagoBears.com)

‘The foursome has been doubted all year, so this weekend will be just one more opportunity to possibly prove naysayers wrong. Frankly, this group of misfits (excluding the ultra-talented Evans) probably wouldn’t want it any other way.’

‘Bills quarterback J.P. Losman has been practicing against the scheme he’ll face, but that knowledge only goes so far. “It’s similar but again the execution and the speed of what they do is a little bit different because they’re a little bit bigger, they’re a little bit stronger and they’re a little bit faster (than us),” Fewell said. “So game day is always different. I watch those guys every week on tape and you can see if a mistake’s made, they’ll turn to each other and they’re telling each other ‘You’re supposed to do this, you’re supposed to do that.’ It’s really fun to watch. They’re a fast playing unit. They’re an intimidating unit. For me as a coach to see where they were to where they are now, it’s really fun to watch those guys play.”‘

‘With one previous career start, last season as a rookie, Preston is the most experienced backup offensive lineman on the roster. The Bills released several veterans at the roster cut to 53, electing to keep three late-round draft picks: Terrance Pennington, Aaron Merz and Brad Butler. The wisdom of going that young is now being tested.’

‘”If you polled the guys on the team, we have high expectations. It’s great to be 2-2 but our goal is to keep winning and get better every week. I mean, you just have to keep pounding away and eventually that rock is going to break. We’re going to always play hard. Some games the ball didn’t bounce our way but we’re going to keep pounding.” — DT Larry Tripplett, commenting on Buffalo’s .500 mark after one quarter of the season.’

Talk about the contributions of Willis McGahee, and how he’s done since he entered the league – The interesting thing for me is that I only know him one way, so I only know him for what he is right now and what he was when I first met him, which was off-season workouts and OTAs. I don’t have anything else to compare it to. But what I know of Willis is he’s a tireless worker. He’s not afraid to work, he practices hard, which is huge for us. He likes it. He likes to play. He’s a tough guy. He enjoys the game. He’s a very competitive person. In terms of his conditioning, it’s not an issue with him. And that’s the only guy I know you’re not worried if this guy’s gonna get out of shape.’

‘"You wouldn’t know when he’s excited," said Bills guard Chris Villarrial, who also played under Jauron in Chicago. "He keeps the same demeanor if it’s a life and death situation or if it’s a happy situation."’

‘Villarrial, who suffered an ankle injury last week against Minnesota, is officially listed as doubtful on the injury report, but the veteran may be sidelined as many as three weeks. Duke Preston, a second-year pro from Illinois, is expected to start in his place.’