The Bears have signed fullback Lousaka Polite who has played the last three seasons in Dallas. He’s a big guy at 6’0″, 242 pounds so he should help out as a lead blocker in the running game. He has carried the football only 9 times for 26 yards (2.9 ypc) in his NFL career and he has also caught 12 passes for 97 yards (8.1 avg) with 1 TD grab. The Bears also placed 2nd year linebacker Michael Okwo on the Injured Reserve List with a shoulder injury ending his season.

“Smiling on the outside, crying on the inside”

We here at the Robbie Gould Fan Club (RGFC) are still a bit steamed over yesterday’s game. We spent the early afternoon pumping ourselves up by watching Old Man River Favre beat Chunky Soup McNabb (Sporadic, Anti-Fantasy Gold Quarterbacks UNITE!) and doing all sorts of ab work in advance of the game. We put on our homemade Robbie Gould jerseys, did some more ab work and settled in to watch our Bears, lead by #9, take on the Chargers lead by #10 PK Nate Kaeding.

However, we should have known that something wasn’t right when we sent Chris Leak (cut by the Bears, signed by the RGFC to our practice squad) out to pick up the squad some goodies. We were thinking some chips/salsa, maybe Funyuns, definitely bagel bites and he comes back with a half-eaten bag of Salsa Verde doritos, some Slim Jims from the nearby gas station and two cans of Jolt! cola from 1994.

Just like the old adage says, you don’t send a washed up Florida QB to do a man’s job

To make matters worse, Joe Buck was announcing the game which, in the land of the RGFC, is akin to a hard kick in the junk. This guy couldn’t be more anti-Chicago (except for maybe that serial killer in Devil in the White City). Seriously, I would have taken all-time white WR Hall of Famer Tom Waddle instead of Buck (too easy to make an Aikman gay joke here).

So, before the game even started, we had lost. Leak dropped the ball. Buck was announcing the game and one of the RGFC interns misspelled “Gould” on their jersey as “Gold”. We sent him to the penalty box to feel shame.

Bears lose 14-3.
Only points coming on an extra smooth, extra perfect Robbie Gould FG. Still pissed about this one…

RobbieGouldFanClub.BlogSpot.com

This game was a slobber knocker but the Bears were just too sloppy with the football to win this game. Rex Grossman looked pretty shaky against a fierce pass rush by the Chargers as he completed 12 of 23 passes for only 145 yards and he threw a pickoff. Cedric Benson couldn’t get anything going against the tough interior of the Chargers’ D-Line as he carried the ball 19 times for only 42 yards (2.2 ypc) and he lost a fumble. Adrian Peterson ran better than Benson as he carried the ball 7 times for 38 yards (5.4 ypc) but he also lost a fumble. WR Bernard Berrian was the only receiver getting open for the Bears as he caught 5 passes for 83 yards (16.6 avg). The Bears finished up this game with only 80 yards rushing on 26 carries (3.1 ypc) and they only completed 12 of 23 passes for 122 yards. The Bears only had possession of the football for 22:57 of the game.

The Bears offense wasted a outstanding effort from the defense. OLBs Hunter Hillenmeyer (9 tackles) and Lance Briggs (8 tackles) were both outstanding at stopping the Chargers high powered running game. The Chargers finished up with only 77 yards on 36 carries (2.1 ypc) and they completed 23 of 32 passes for 186 yards. One of the Chargers TDs came on a trick play when RB LaDainian Tomlinson threw a TD to TE Antonio Gates. Overall, the defense was outstanding in holding the Chargers high powered offense to only 263 yards despite being on the football field for 37:03 of the game.

I would say the under would be the bet here but I don’t see anyone in the NFC North that can beat team. With that in mind the Bears would only have to go 5-5 to make the over the winning side so that’s the way I’ll go. They still have a fantastic defense as well as superb special teams units. So it all comes down to Cedric Benson and Rex Grossman. I think Benson will make everyone forget about Thomas Jones as long as he stays healthy. Grossman however has a knack for giving away points and he must protect the football. Still, the over is the play here.

I just came across this brochure the other day win I was golfing at Indian Lakes Resort.
Thought some you might find this interesting and would want to get a chance to hang out with some of the superbowl champs of the 1985 Chicago Bears. It looks like they are having a dinner and an auction on Monday September 10 at 6:00pm. The cost is $100 per person for dinner and auction. Some of the Bears that will be their include Otis Wilson, Dave Duerson, and Mickey Pruitt. For more information check out www.indianlakesresort.com/badpantsopen.html The best part it all benefits the Muscular Dystrophy Assocation.

This should be a hard-hitting, fun football game to watch. The Bears will want to run the football behind their outstanding offensive line with RB Cedric Benson but that will be easier said than done. It will be up to C Olin Kreutz to handle NT Jamal Williams by himself which will be tough as Williams’ is one of the best run defending linemen in the NFL. If Kreutz wins the battle in the middle, guards Ruben Brown and Roberto Garza will be free to attack the young middle linebackers on the Chargers defense (Matt Wilhelm and Stephen Cooper). OTs John Tait and Fred Miller will have their hands full with DEs Luis Castillo and Igor Olshansky who are both outstanding against the run. The line must be able to block OLBs Shaun Phillips and Shawne Merriman when passing the ball or Rex Grossman will make big mistakes and start throwing the football to the Chargers DBs. If he has time though the Chargers’ secondary is vulnerable. WR Bernard Berrian is mush faster than any of the Chargers DBs but the issue will be whether or not Grossman has the time to throw deep. More likely the Bears will try to throw the ball short to WR Mushin Muhammad and TE Desmond Clark.

The San Diego Chargers have one of the best offensive lines in football and that’s what makes things go. It will be interesting to see how the revamped defensive line of the Bears does against the Chargers O-Line. Especially interesting will be how DT Dusty Dvoracek and RE Mark Anderson deal with the outstanding pair of LG Kris Dielman and LT Marcus McNeal. Look for the Chargers to run left often behind their two best offensive linemen with FB Lorenzo Neal targeting MLB Brian Urlacher for some high impact collisions. The Bears also must get good efforts from OLBs Lance Briggs and Hunter Hillenmeyer as they try to contain RB LaDainian Tomlinson. The Bears do have an outstanding set of CBs in Nathan Vasher and Charles Tillman who match up really well with WRs Vincent Jackson and rookie Chris Davis. Still, look for the Chargers to take some deep shots with QB Philip Rivers on early downs. Also, look for the Chargers to attack the Bears safeties by throwing often to the best TE in the NFL….Antonio Gates. SS Adam Archuleta and FS Mike Brown could be in for a very long day.

Both teams have outstanding special teams. PR/KR Devin Hester is the best return man in the NFL bar none! The Chargers would be smart to kick away from him despite having one of the very best punters in the NFL (Mike Scifres). The Chargers also have an electric returner with the smallish Darren Sproles who also can go the distance on any return. Both teams have great kickers (Chi-Robbie Gould, SD-Nate Kaeding) who are clutch and can hit the long ones.

PREDICTION: To me the matchups in this game are outstanding. So I’m going with the QB least likely to blow the game which means that I must pick the Chargers in a close football game.

Everyone pretty much knew that undrafted rookie Chris Leak was going to need an injury to make the Bears opening day roster so this move comes as no surprise. He completed 11 of 17 passes (64.7 %) for 88 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception (72.7 QB Rating). It will be interesting to see if another team gives him a chance or not.

The Bears have placed rookie DE/OLB Dan Bazuin on the Injured Reserve List ending his rookie season. It’s a shame that he hurt his knee as he looked good this pre-season with 9 tackles and a sack. The Bears likely won’t miss him much this season but they hope he will have a complete recovery because he’s a talented young football player.

The Chicago Bears didn’t take their game with the Browns too seriously on Thursday Night and it showed on the field. Kyle Orton completed 12 of 19 passes for 102 yards with 1 interception. Chris Leak finished up the game by completing 11 of 16 passes for 88 yards with a pickoff. RB Josh Allen led the way in the running game for the Bears with 43 yards on 13 carries (3.3 ypc). Rookie RB Garrett Wolfe was busy but he wasn’t getting many yards. He carried the ball 11 times for 20 yards (1.8 ypc) but he did catch 6 passes for 53 yards (8.8 avg). WR David Bale got his time in the spotlight with 4 grabs for 40 yards to lead the way for the Bears. The Bears finished with 74 yards rushing on 28 carries (2.6 ypc) and they completed 25 of 39 passes for 183 yards.

The Bears defense played pretty well but the special teams hurt them. Browns’ punt returner Joshua Cribbs returned for punts for 111 yards (27.8 avg) and he scored a TD on a 70-yard return! The defense allowed the Browns to rush for 95 yards on 22 carries (4.3 ypc) and the Browns completed 17 of 28 passes for 133 yards.