The Bears didn’t look too good last night against the Cardinals.  Jay Cutler had a terrible game as he completed 10 of 20 passes for 129 yards with 2 INTs.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 11 yards (5.5 ypc) last night.  Rookie Dan LeFevour finished up this game and he looked pretty sharp in completing 10 of 12 passes for 100 yards with 1 TD pass.  He also carried the ball 1 time for 18 yards in this game.  Chester Taylor carried the ball 5 times for 36 yards (7.2 ypc) last night and he also caught 1 pass for 12 yards.  Khalil Bell pitched in with 17 yards rushing on 5 carries (3.4 ypc) and he added 2 grabs with 12 yards (6.0 avg).  WRs Johnny Knox (3 rec, 57 yards), Devin Hester (3 rec, 31 yards) and Juaquin Iglesius (2 rec, 28 yards, TD) all pitched in on the passing game for the Bears last night.  The Bears finished up with 82 yards rushing (4.3 ypc) and 210 yards passing last night.

Safety Danieal Manning (7 tackles) and LB Pisa Tinoisamoa (6 tackles) led the way for the Bears’ D last night.  The Cardinals finished up with 82 yards rushing (4.3 ypc) and 210 yards passing in this game last night.  The Bears fell to 0-3 on the pre-season with this loss.

When the Bears signed Chester Taylor you had to figure that Matt Forte was going to lose playing time and possibly his starting job.  But he has really stepped up his game this pre-season as he has been outstanding.  Forte has carried the ball 9 times for 116 yards (12.9 ypc) with 1 TD grab so far this pre-season.  I expect that Forte will be able to hold off Taylor for the starting job but it will be nice for him to have a RB the Bears feel confident in so that he gets a break once in a while.

The Bears have signed 38-year old QB Todd Collins.  Collins played in 3 games for the Redskins last season and he completed 12 of 23 passes (52.2%) for 144 yards with 0 TDs and 0 INTs (71.6 QB Rating).  He also had 1 carry for 0 yards.  Collins has now played in 49 games (20 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 381 of 674 passes (56.5%) for 4,479 yards with 22 TD passes and 19 INTs (76.0 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 83 times for 152 yards (1.8 ypc) in his career.  Collins has a 10-10 record as a starting QB in the NFL.  Collins instantly becomes the Bears’ #2 QB behind Jay Cutler, bumping Caleb Hanie to #3.

The Bears looked pretty awful against the Raiders last Saturday Night.  Jay Cutler wasn’t very sharp as he completed 7 of 15 passes for 99 yards with 1 TD pass.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 11 yards (5.5 ypc) in this game.  Rookie QB Dan LeFevour finished up the game by completed 3 of 10 passes for 39 yards with 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 10 yards last Saturday Night.  Matt Forte was the star of the game for the Bears’ offense as he carried the ball 5 times for 109 yards (21.8 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Devin Hester only caught 1 pass for 29 yards but he also added 20 yards rushing on 2 carries.  TE Greg Olsen pitched in with 3 grabs for 26 yards (8.7 avg).  The Bears finished up with 174 yards rushing (7.0 ypc) but only 100 yards passing in this game.

LB Hunter Hillenmeyer led the way for the Bears’ D in this game with 7 tackles.  DE Julius Peppers also had a solid game with 5 tackles, 1 sack and 1 pass defensed.  The Raiders finished up with 113 yards rushing (3.0 ypc) and 225 yards passing in this game.

The Bears have signed 26-year old QB Matt Gutierrez.  Gutierrez played in 1 game (0 starts) for the Chiefs last season and he completed his only pass attempt for 3 yards.  He has now played in 6 games (0 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 2 of 2 passes for 18 yards (104.2 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 5 times for -13 yards (-2.6 ypc) but most of those, if not all of them, were kneel downs to run out the clock.  Gutierrez will likely get a chance to battle for the #2 or #3 QB for the Bears the rest of this pre-season.

UPDATE:  (8/31/2010) – The Bears have released Matt Gutierrez.  You could see this was going to happen as soon as the Bears inked Todd Collins.

The NFL is becoming more and more of a passing league, as the number of quality quarterbacks continues to rise.

Last season an NFL record 10 quarterbacks each threw for 4000+ yards, and let’s not forget that the Championship Game consisted of two of the top passing attacks in the game today.

So, who should fanatics back as the leading passer in 2010?

Well, let’s take a closer look at some of the Football Predictions.  Here are some of the favorites for most passing yards:

Football Picks: If you’re looking for a NFL dark horse pick, Jay Cutler offers some nice value.

 Even though he doesn’t have elite players at the wide receiver position, Cutler benefits from having one of the top offensive minds in the game in offensive coordinator Mike Martz.

Martz will utilize Cutler’s tremendous arm strength and he will find ways to get the ball into the hands of his speedsters Devin Hester and Johnny Knox. Cutler has all the tools to be the leading passer in the NFL; just two years ago he managed to throw for over 4,500 yards.

The two favorites are:

1.Drew Brees: Brees is listed as the favourite and rightfully so, as he has passed for over 4,300 yards in each of his 4 seasons with New Orleans.

I don’t expect that trend to change this year, especially considering the fact that he has the same playmakers surrounding him as he did a year ago.

2. Peyton Manning - Not far behind Brees is Peyton Manning. Manning has never missed a start in his remarkable 12 year career.

One thing you will get with Manning is consistency; he has thrown for over 4,000 yards in 10 of his 12 seasons behind center.

The Bears have lost rookie safety Major Wright for the rest of the pre-season.  He will have surgery today to repair a fractured left index finger.  Wright had 7 tackles in the pre-season opener over the weekend.  This will set back Wright a bit as the Bears had big plans for him.  Hopefully, he’ll be ready for the start of the 2010 regular season as the Bears planned on giving him quite a bit of P.T.

The Bears looked pretty awful in this game on Saturday night.  Jay Cutler’s appearance was very brief but he looked good completing both of his pass attempts for 47 yards.  Caleb Hanie was so-so before leaving the game with a injury.  He completed 10 of 17 passes for 148 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  He lost a fumble on the play he was hurt on as he was driven into the ground hard by a defender.  Rookie Dan LeFevour didn’t look to good in his first taste of NFL action as he completed 2 of 10 passes for 21 yards.  Kahlil Bell led the way on the ground for the Bears in this game with 12 whole yards on 6 carries (2.0 ypc).  He also caught 1 pass for 13 yards in this game.  WR Devin Aromashodu had a excellent game for the Bears on Saturday night with 4 grabs for 78 yards (19.5 avg) with 1 TD grab.  The Bears only rushed for 48 yards (2.3 ypc) and they passed for 168 yards in this game.

The defense really didn’t play that well either.  Linebacker Kevin Malast (7 tackles, 1 pass defensed) and rookie safety Major Wright (7 tackles) led the way for the Bears on D in this game.  The Chargers finished up with 120 yards rushing (3.6 ypc) and 215 passing yards on Saturday night.

23-year old WR Johnny Knox was outstanding on kickoff returns last season.  He played in 15 games for the Bears last season and he returned 32 kickoffs for 927 yards (29.0 avg) with 1 TD (it was a 102-yarder).  It will be interesting to see if the special teams coach or the offensive co-ordinator win out about Knox.  After all, Knox could be the Bears’ #1 WR in 2010.

28-year old safety Danieal Manning is a back up safety for the Bears and he’s also a solid return man.  He played in 15 games for the Bears last season and he returned 28 kickoffs for 744 yards (26.6 avg).  Manning has now played in 61 games in his NFL career and he has returned 68 kickoffs for 1,895 yards (27.9 avg) with 1 TD return.  If the Bears choose to only play Johnny Knox on offense then Manning will be the starter on kickoff returns.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE KICKOFF RETURNERS OF THE BEARS in 2010:  A

Only three positions on the offensive line appear to be locked up before training camp with battles looming at left guard and right tackle.  The left tackle will be Chris Williams.  Williams started part of the season at RT before moving to left tackle to replace the injured Orlando Pace.  Williams had a lot of penalties last season and he will need to improve his pass protection or Jay Cutler is going to need eyes in the back of his head.  But, Williams is a very good run blocker which is something to build on.  LG will feature a battle between Josh Beekman (who started all 16 games for the Bears two years ago) and Johan Asiata.  Center Olin Kreutz is the anchor of the offensive line as he has been one of the best centers in the NFL for a long time.  RG Roberto Garza is a masher in the run game as he’s just plain nasty.  At right tackle the Bears will decide between Kevin Shaffer (a superior run blocker) and Frank Omiyale (a better pass blocker).  With Mike Martz calling the plays I would put my money on Omiyale starting the year at right tackle.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BEARS O-LINE in 2010:  C