As reported earlier on FanHouse, Cedric Benson has finally been given his long overdue walking papers by the Monsters of the Midway. I opined on the value of Benson vs. rookie-to-be Matt Forte already. What I said then remains for Benson -- he's pretty much worthless no matter where he plays -- Forte becomes an intriguing option in yearly and keeper leagues alike.
The Bears are going to run the football. Even if they aren't successful at doing so, they will keep pounding it. The defense won't be what it was in '05-'06, but when healthy it is certainly better than the version we saw for most of last season. The offense flat-out sucks. That means they have to find a way to eat some clock with the ball and win low-scoring affairs. Enter Forte and a hopefully rejuvenated offensive line. At this point, I like him as a quality flex guy (RB3) or bye-week RB2 replacement for this season and nothing worse moving forward (keeper leagues) as you'd hope the Bears offense improves around him as he matures and learns the NFL game.
Things could change -- Travis Henry and Shaun Alexander are still looking for work, among others. For right now, though, the competition for Forte isn't exactly daunting with the ungood Adrian Peterson (sorry, I have to make mention that he's not the good one per the fantasy writers guild rulebook) and the diminutive Garrett Wolfe as his backfield mates.
For Matt, it's time to take down Joe as the most famous Forte.
For Ced, it's time to wait until Alexander and Henry are signed before even getting a look because no one will want him over those two. Or at least time to find a freaking chauffeur for God's sake.
Ok, who the hell really knows what's going on. I have heard so many different things about Harris' injury I am surprised he even still has a leg. First it's his knee and it's not too bad and now it's both his knee and his hammy but his hammy may be torn, blah blah blah. Basically, no one is saying anything concrete and Tommie will at minimum be out for the rest of the regular season.
Original Post: Despite what other headline's would have you believe, I am not going to try and trick you with a headline that say's Tommie Harris is out for the season. Tommie will more then likely be out for the rest of the regular season but should be ready to go by the playoffs.
This is fine by me because it could have been worse. The Bears already own the division. Plus the only need to win two games to secure the #1 seed as well as only win one game to secure at least a first round bye.
What does concern me is missing his presence on my fantasy team's Bear Defense that already is without Mike Brown and gives up a ton of rushing yards. Alfonso Boone will take Harris' place in the ever rotating interior line who I think will fill in just nicely, but he's no Tommie Harris.
Rookie DE Mark Anderson and Kicker Robbie Gould were given awards for the Month of October. Anderson recieved the NFL Defensive Player of the Month award while Robbie Gould grabbed the NFC Special Teams Player of the Month.
During October Anderson registered six sacks and forced three fumbles in four games, helping the Bears remain undefeated with victories over the Seahawks, Bills, Cardinals and 49ers. The fifth-round draft pick from Alabama is tied for fourth in the NFL with a team-leading 7½ sacks. Which is the most by a rookie through seven games since sacks became an official statistic in 1982.
Robbie Gould has made all 20 field goals and 23 extra points he has attempted this season, converting 10 field goals and 16 extra points in four games in October.
This is completely awesome because I picked him up as a FA in two of my three fantasy leagues in which he is also the top kicker.
This week it is really hard to pick just one Monster of the Midway. I could give it to Tommie Harris for causing Chester Taylor to fumble late in the game giving the offense a chance to come back and win the game. I could give it to Rex Grossman for the guts he showed by shrugging off the dumbest decision he has made being a pro and leading the Bears offense to the game winning touchdown with just under two minutes remaining. Or I could give it to the man that really deserves it. Robbie Gould!
Robbie Gould is my weekly Monster of the Midway! Robbie's feats Sunday mostly went unnoticed because of the way the game ended with the offense chucking our emotions around like a 10 foot boat in 30ft. waves. But, if not for Robbie's perfect 4 for 4 day of field goals that included his personal longest 49 yarder with ten minutes left in the game, the Bears don't win this game. Period. On the year Robbie is a perfect 10 for 10 on FG's and 7-7 on extra points.Equally, I was highly impressed with his ability to put the ball into the Minnesota end zone on most of his kickoffs.
As if it could have been anyone else? Rex Grossman is our weekly "Monster of the Midway"! In fact I think he was the "Monster of the NFL", with his almost 300 yards passing and 4 touchdowns. I bet there are alot of people out that wish they had started him in there fantasy league!
So far Grossman is well on his way to making me look like an idiot with my quarterback controversy blog a few weeks ago. Some may say that it was against inferior Packer and Lions teams but hey, he looks damn good against them. An NFL team is an NFL team! Grossman looks poised and confident while making limited mistakes. In two games Rex Grossman has 5 touchdown passes to 1 interception with a 128 something QB rating. All I have to say is if he can come remotely close these types of games all year, with our defense, Lord help the NFL!
Sunday at 1PM EST our Chicago Bears play host to the Detroit Lions at Soldier Field. After blanking the Green Bay Packers last week, Bears fans everywhere hope they can make history two weeks in a row. The Bears have never posted two shutouts in consecutive weeks to open the season. A fact that I would love to see changed by shutting down Roy Williams and the Lions. But this is the first home game of the season. What this means is this very proud city is going to have the stadium as loud and miserable as possible for it's team and I agree with John Mullin at chicagosports.com,.and then you have to deal with all of the in your face defensive players who will let's say...not go easy on you.
"If I scored six points and lost, I don't know if I'd be guaranteeing victories," said Brian Urlacher and then laughed.
I think the Lions are a much better team then some people think, while others are thinking they have a chance against Chicago in Soldier Field. Yes, they held the league's MVP to 51 yards rushing, Do I think they will score? Yes, it's possible that they get a few big plays and get a field goal or even a touchdown. I just don't think that they are "that good" to beat the defense enough to outweigh the mistakes they will be FORCED to make. But overall, the Bears are just a better team and will ram it's will on the Detroit offense with a very fast and aggressive defense, and surprise a lot more people with it's progressing offense. Dre' Bly is also no match for the Moose! Hunter Hillenmeyer will be the only one not suiting up and being subbed by Brendan Ayenbedajo on the injury list for the Bears, Detroit game. So here's how I see it playing out.
T.J . and Cedric combine for 135 yards rushing, 38 receiving, and a touch
The waiting is over. No more training camp, no more fantasy drafts, The 2006 NFL Season is here and the Bears start their quest for dominance against rival Green Bay at Lambeu Field. I can think of no better way to start off a season then by dominating notorious Bear killer Brett Favre on his home turf. I am usually not one to actually say things like that to not jinx anything but I am being honest here. What you are going to see tomorrow is going to be Bear football at it's best.
Defense, a strong running game, and more defense is key to winning and to send a message. Last year was no fluke! Last year the Bears did not overachieve. The Bears are hungry, talented, and underrated, which is a dangerous combination. Led by All Universe Middle Linebacker Brian Urlacher you can expect to see some big hitting and lots of turnovers. You will see a ball controlling run game that was missing in the pre-season with Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson handling the duties.
I expect big things tomorrow from Lovie Smith and The Chicago Bears. I really have this feeling that this is just the beginning of what can be a championship year. It's is officially time to put all that hard work in motion. Come out and execute what we do best, beating the opposing offense into big mistakes and lots of points!
My man Thomas Jones was named the starting RB for the Chicago Bears season opener again rival Green Bay. Maybe Lovie ready my article (see two articles below)? Most likely the job was given to TJ becuase he earned it! Although earning the job this year meant you were merely able to stay healthy. Which is something unproven second year back Cedric Benson has been unable to do. Although Benson will suit up Sunday it is not yet determined how much he will play if at all. I am sure this just drives fantasy owners nuts! I know in two of my leagues Benson was taken in at least the 3rd or 4th rounds, withTJ going in the 6-8th rounds! WOW! Man, I can't wait until Sunday!
There are a lot of people in Chicago and more importantly in the Chicago Bears front office that want Cedric Benson to be the #1 ball carrier. He was the fourth overall player taken out of Texas in the 2005 draft. Even after his lengthy hold out the Bears paid him very well to be the running back of the future. That statement should remain true, "Running Back of the Future!" Not the present. The starting RB this year should be Thomas Jones.
Once Benson was done griping over a few million dollars and became the longest draft pick holdout in Bear history he was slow to learn the offense and then missed the last six games of the season to a knee injury. Far from what you want to see from your number one pick. Cedric however, did show the fans and management flashes of the ball carrier we hope will ultimately become. Finally getting a chance to carry the ball when Jones went down with a minor injury. Cedric averaged 5.6 yards per carry by gaining 79 yards on 14 carries against the Saints in week 9. He followed that up nicely and was on his way to a career game against the 49ers in week 10 when he ran for 50 yards on 12 carries before leaving the game with a regular season ending injury shortly before the half was over. When you add up the less then impressive year that Benson had and the breakout year that Thomas Jones had, one would think the 06' starting RB job would be handed to Jones.
Now the clouds begin to roll in. Despite Thomas Jones' stellar year, there were trade rumors floating around during draft time. The Indianapolis Colt's needing to replace Edgerrin James reportedly offered their 3rd round pick (Thanks for not biting on that one Angelo) for our stud back who in the previous year gained just under 1500 yards and went in for 9 scores. Jones increasingly became bitter about the trade rumors and the fact that he was getting paid well less then Benson. This amounted to Thomas skipping all of voluntary work outs and mini-camps thus allowing Benson to work fully with the first team. Although Jones was into training camp on time when it opened it was already clear that at that point Benson was going to get the bulk of the carries and start. Compound this with TJ coming up lame in the first practice with a tweaked hammy and the sky cleared like a 15 year olds pimpled face after taking a good dose of Oxy! Cedric was to be main man in Chicago!
But, this is Chicago. The skies can change rapidly and they did. Cedric Benson injured his shoulder and was carted off the practice field just a week before the first pre-season game. Benson was listed as day-to-day but we are now approaching week three (Status Still Uncertain) of this injury and he's hasn't seen a live snap since week 10 of last year. On the other hand Thomas Jones is now fully healthy and has regained the number one slot. Right where he should be! I have always been a fan of Jones who was the 7th overall pick by the Arizona but never really panned out for the Cardinals due to a few things. For one he played behind arguably the worst offensive line for several years. Two, he could never get out from behind Michael Pittman's shadow. Even when he got traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers he was still behind Pittman because the Cardinals trade Pittman to the Bucs also. At the end of the 2003 season Thomas finally got a chance to shine. He carried the ball 84 times the final four games averaging just over four yards a carry. When the 2004 free agent period came the Bears and new offensive coordinator (I can't even remember his name because he was only around for one season) viewed Thomas as their version of Priest Holmes. Not quite, but Thomas had a gained a career best in carries and finished with just under a thousand yards. In his first year under new offensive coordinator Ron Turner in 2005 Jones' exploded! Rushing for thirteen hundred yards and nine touchdowns despite being a marked man and missing two games!
Ultimately Cedric Benson's shoulder will heal and he will get more and more carries, which I am OK with because we did pay him all those millions and we can't just have him ride the pine. I would just like to see Thomas Jones get the respect he's earned handle the bulk of the rushing duties this year and until Cedric can prove himself. Jones' is in my mind a more talented and hungrier running back then Cedric Benson and should rightfully be the man carrying the ball and this team. He did it last year! Let him do it again this year.
As reported earlier on FanHouse, Cedric Benson has finally been given his long overdue walking papers by the Monsters of the Midway. I opined on the value of Benson vs. rookie-to-be Matt Forte already. What I said then remains for Benson -- he's pretty much worthless no matter where he plays -- Forte becomes an intriguing option in yearly and keeper leagues alike. 
Rookie DE Mark Anderson and Kicker Robbie Gould were given awards for the Month of October. Anderson recieved the NFL Defensive Player of the Month award while Robbie Gould grabbed the NFC Special Teams Player of the Month.
This week it is really hard to pick just one Monster of the Midway. I could give it to Tommie Harris for 
As if it could have been anyone else? Rex Grossman is our weekly "Monster of the Midway"! In fact I think he was the "Monster of the NFL", with his almost 300 yards passing and 4 touchdowns. I bet there are alot of people out that wish they had started him in there fantasy league!
Sunday at 1PM EST our Chicago Bears play host to the Detroit Lions at Soldier Field. After blanking the Green Bay Packers last week, Bears fans everywhere hope they can make history two weeks in a row. The Bears have 
The waiting is over. No more training camp, no more fantasy drafts, The 2006 NFL Season is here and the Bears start their quest for dominance against rival Green Bay at Lambeu Field. I can think of no better way to start off a season then by dominating notorious Bear killer Brett Favre on his home turf. I am usually not one to actually say things like that to not jinx anything but I am being honest here. What you are going to see tomorrow is going to be Bear football at it's best. 
My man Thomas Jones was named the starting RB for the Chicago Bears season opener again rival Green Bay. Maybe Lovie ready my article (see two articles below)? Most likely the job was given to TJ becuase he earned it! Although earning the job this year meant you were merely able to stay healthy. Which is something unproven second year back Cedric Benson has been unable to do. Although Benson will suit up Sunday it is not yet determined how much he will play if at all. I am sure this just drives fantasy owners nuts! I know in two of my leagues Benson was taken in at least the 3rd or 4th rounds, withTJ going in the 6-8th rounds! WOW! Man, I can't wait until Sunday!
There are a lot of people in Chicago and more importantly in the Chicago Bears front office that want 
