Bears Football Blog

Parking spots going up$

The cost of thousands of parking spots near Soldier Field will spike nearly 50 percent for Bears games this fall.

A lot beneath McCormick Place Lakeside Center and another at 31st and S. Moe Drive will cost $25, up from $17 last season. RV drivers must pay $50, up from $34.

The steep increase covers "the cost of security, portable toilet facility rental, shuttle buses, cleaning and parking taxes,'' said Mary Kay Marquisos, spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Pier & Exposition Authority, which controls the lots.

Both lots have about 2,000 spaces each. Continue

Bears need WR for Cutler

Third-round draft pick Juaquin Iglesias ran under a bomb from Caleb Hanie in the two-minute drill to score a touchdown on the final play of the Bears' offseason training activities Wednesday at Halas Hall.

There might not have been a more fitting conclusion to the voluntary offseason program for a team that has remade itself since stumbling at Houston last season, a loss that prevented it from reaching the playoffs for the second straight year. Newcomer Jay Cutler didn't throw the pass, but the second team finishes practice, and it was a different sight for the Bears, who had just two touchdown catches of more than 23 yards in 2008. Continue

Cutler deflects critics

Being anointed a franchise quarterback for a franchise with a history of quarterbacking as dire as the Bears can’t be easy.

Throw in some flak from former NFL coaches and the media and things can only get tougher.

But Jay Cutler is taking it all in stride.

‘‘I think every quarterback in the NFL has a lot of pressure,’’ Cutler said Saturday after a diabetes awareness event at La Rabida Children’s Hospital on the South Side. ‘‘You are trying to lead a team offensively. You are trying to do the best you can out there. Anywhere you go you’re going to have pressure. Obviously, Chicago has great fans and great tradition. They expect a lot. And, I expect a lot out of myself. It’s going to be a fun year.’’ Continue

Bears serious about Plaxico?

Jerry Angelo's door remains open when it comes to adding a veteran wide receiver. Bears players would like to say ''come on in'' to Plaxico Burress.

The general manager has not ruled out anything, and in an offseason like none the franchise has seen, everything is in play eight weeks before training camp. That includes Burress, the former New York Giants receiver who remains without a team while the NFL waits to see how his gun charge proceeds in New York courts. Continue

Bears add LB Tinoisamoa

Clearly, the Bears and Lovie Smith want to do everything possible to make their new defensive coordinator look good.

Adding strong-side linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa to the defense gives Smith -- who appointed himself the defensive play-caller in January -- no obvious depth concerns or inexperience among the Bears' front seven. Expect Tinoisamoa, the Rams' leading tackler four times in his first six seasons, to beat out question marks Nick Roach and Hunter Hillenmeyer, who could battle for a roster spot.

Tinoisamoa (pronounced Tino-EE-sah-moe-AH) is as difficult on offensive linemen as he is on play-by-play announcers. A salary cap casualty in St. Louis, he is strong, smart, quick and motivated by a one-year deal that will make the entire season a salary drive. Beyond that, Tinoisamoa has a believer in Smith, who was his rookie-year defensive coordinator in St. Louis and is known to favor smallish, speedy linebackers. Smith had a lot to do with the Rams taking a chance on drafting Tinoisamoa, who had a felony assault conviction on his record, and probably was the biggest reason Tinoisamoa picked the Bears over the Bills. Continue

Cutler displays arm

On a sunny Wednesday afternoon, the Bears finally unveiled prized quarterback Jay Cutler at the first organized team activity of the offseason.

His fastball was as advertised -- wide receivers can hear it before they see it if they don't turn their heads in time. But the best Cutler has to offer is impossible to see in such a scaled-back setting.

The Bears forked over two first-round draft picks and Kyle Orton to acquire a player with the athleticism to keep a play alive in the pocket and make a play downfield. Combined with running back Matt Forte, the Bears should have a more potent play-action game. It's hard to see any of that when there are no shoulder pads, let alone no live rush. Continue

Bears sign TE Gaines

Michael Gaines knows he has missed the first half of the Bears' offseason workout program, but the new tight end isn't wasting time getting up to speed.

''I'll be back at Halas Hall [this] morning,'' Gaines said Monday as he traveled to his home in Detroit following a visit with the team, physical and quick contract negotiation.

Gaines' contract is for one year and can reach $1.25 million. He was also being pursued by the New York Jets before they changed direction and re-signed veteran Bubba Franks. Provided he makes the team, Gaines could become the best blocking tight end on a roster that missed John Gilmore last season. The Bears converted just 23 of 35 (65.7 percent) situations where it was third- or fourth-and-one. Continue

Bears willing to stand pat at WR

Although a veteran receiver -- even Anquan Boldin -- remains an option for the Bears, general manager Jerry Angelo dismissed talk of Amani Toomer being on the radar Saturday night.

The NFL Network reported Thursday that the Bears placed a call inquiring about Toomer, a 34-year-old free agent who spent 13 seasons with the New York Giants.

"We have not talked about [Toomer]," Angelo said Saturday before the Bears Care Gala at Solier Field
"A veteran receiver is something we could do. We've looked at just about everybody. But right now we're in a holding pattern. If we go to camp and go into the season with the hand we dealt ourselves, we're very comfortable with that as well." Continue

Lovie wants Hester to continue punt returns

It seems reasonable for Devin Hester to get less work on special teams as he continues to evolve into a No. 1 receiver. Of the 32 receivers with 60-plus catches last season, only four -- Wes Welker, Steve Breaston , Eddie Royal and DeSean Jackson -- doubled as primary punt returners.

But even with a couple of capable rookies at the Bears' disposal, coach Lovie Smith has no plans to give Hester a break from punt-return duties. "No way," he said. "Devin has the chance to score every time. If one of those [rookies] is a better returner than Devin, then we will put them back there.

"Devin can be a full-time receiver and handle one other return." Continue

Marinelli can't wait to mold Melton, Gilbert

If you haven't seen new Bears defensive tackle Jarron Gilbert jump out of a swimming pool by now, well, you're just not trying. Gilbert, a third-round pick, was the Bears' first selection in the draft. He's a YouTube sensation, but he's no more of a genetic freak than fourth-round pick Henry Melton, a defensive end and the Bears' third pick in the draft.

Melton was a running back at Texas who scored 10 touchdowns during the Longhorns' championship season his freshman year. He grew into a defensive end while growing out of a running back's body, but he retained the remarkable athletic ability that once allowed him to vie for the job as Cedric Benson's college replacement. Continue