The Bears have released 26-year old DT Tank Tyler.  He didn’t play in any games last season in the NFL.  He has played in 43 games in his first 4 years in the NFL and he has 82 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss and 1 fumble recovery.  This is no loss for the Bears as Tyler has never turned into the player he was expected to be when he was drafted.

The Bears have released 31-year old RB Chester Taylor.  Taylor played in all 16 games for the Bears last year and he carried the ball 112 times for 267 yards (2.4 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He also caught 20 passes for 139 yards (7.0 avg) last year.  Kahlil Bell’s play plus the addition of Marion Barber in free agency pretty much pushed Chester Taylor out the door.  He should have played better last season, instead of sucking, if he wanted to keep his job in 2011.

UPDATE:  (8/29/2011) – Taylor hasn’t been released yet as the Bears are trying to trade him right now.

UPDATE:  (9/4/2011) – The Bears have officially released Chester Taylor.

The Bears rolled up a ton of yards last night but they just couldn’t convert them into points, and it cost them this game.  Jay Cutler completed 13 of 21 passes for 170 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT last night.  Caleb Hanie finished up the game and he didn’t look too sharp.  Hanie completed 9 of 18 passes for 107 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT (it was returned 90 yards for a TD by Titans’ safety Tommie Campbell).  Hanie also carried the ball 3 times for 22 yards (7.3 ypc) last night.  Matt Forte led the way on the ground for the Bears last night with 74 yards rushing on 17 carries (4.4 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 1 pass for 15 yards in this game.  Kahlil Bell was also busy with 48 yards rushing on 11 carries (4.4 ypc).  He also caught 3 passes for 20 yards (6.7 avg) last night.  WR Earl Bennett led the way in the passing game for the Bears last night with 6 grabs for 89 yards (14.8 avg).  The Bears finished up with 148 yards rushing on 35 carries (4.2 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 39 passes (56.4%) for 268 yards as they had possession of the ball for 35:37.

The defense was rock solid for the Bears last night.  Cb Zack Bowman (4 tackles, 1 pass defensed), Safety Major Wright (4 tackles), LB Dom DiCicco (4 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) and LB Brian Urlacher (4 tackles) led the way for the D last night.  DT Amobi Okoye (3 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 sack and 2 QB hits) also was a standout on D last night.  The Titans finished up with 81 yards rushing on 24 carries (3.4 ypc) and they also completed 14 of 26 passes (53.8%) for 139 yards last night.  The Bears are now 1-2 on the preseason.

I just can’t see an scenario where offensive coordinator Mike Martz will run the ball more in 2011 than they did in 2010.  That being said, 25-year old Matt Forte is likely to have a heavy workload.  Forte played in 16 games (all starts) for the Bears last year and he carried the ball 237 times for 1,069 yards (4.5 ypc) with 6 TD runs.  He also caught 51 passes for 547 yards (10.7 avg) with 3 TD grabs last year.  Forte is a great all-around player as he is a good runner and receiver, which allows the Bears to keep him on the field most of the time.  Forte has now played in 48 games (all starts) in his first three years with the Bears and he has carried the ball 811 times for 3,236 yards (4.0 ypc) with 18 TD runs.  He has also caught 171 passes for 1,495 yards (8.7 avg) with 7 TD grabs so far in his NFL career.

28-year old Marion Barber will likely give Matt Forte a break whenever he needs one in 2011.  Barber played in 13 games (10 starts) for the Cowboys last year and he carried the ball 113 times for 374 yards (3.3 ypc) with 4 TD carries.  He also caught 11 passes for 49 yards (4.5 avg) last year.  Barber could thrive with a change of scenery and that is what the Bears are hoping here.  Barber has now played in 88 games (41 starts) in his first six years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 1,042 times for 4,358 yards (4.2 ypc) with 47 TD runs.  He also has caught 174 passes for 1,280 yards (7.4 avg) with 6 TD grabs in his NFL career.  The Bears will likely benefit from signing this battering ram.

31-year old Chester Taylor might have a hard time getting on the field in 2011.  He played in 16 games (1 start) for the Bears last year and he carried the ball 112 times for 267 yards (2.4 ypc) with 3 TD carries.  Taylor also caught 20 passes for 139 yards (7.0 avg) last season.  He looks like he’s running out of gas very quickly.  Taylor has now played in 139 games (33 starts) in his first 9 years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 1,140 times for 4,663 yards (4.1 ypc) with 25 TD runs.  He also has caught 285 passes for 2,233 yards (7.8 avg) with 6 TD grabs in his NFL career.

24-year old Kahlil Bell is trying to get back into the good graces of the Bears.  He didn’t play at all for the Bears last year.  He has played in 7 games (0 starts) in his first two years with the Bears and he has carried the ball 40 times for 220 yards (5.5 ypc).  Bell has also caught 1 pass for 4 yards in his NFL career.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BEARS RBS IN 2011:  B

The Chicago Bears looked pathetic last night on both sides of the football, despite rolling up a lot of offensive yards.  Jay Cutler started at QB and he completed 12 of 21 passes for 171 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Caleb Hanie followed Cutler and he completed 17 of 28 passes for 166 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 8 yards (4.0 ypc) last night.  The offensive line was much better last night though as Bears’ QBs were only sacked 1 time by the Giants.  Marion Barber led the way on the ground with 49 yards rushing on 13 carries (3.8 ypc) and he also caught 5 passes for 31 yards (6.2 avg) last night.  Kahlil Bell pitched in with 10 yards rushing on 4 carries (2.5 ypc) with 1 TD run and has also caught 1 pass for 9 yards last night.  WRs Earl Bennett (3 rec, 58 yards), Onrea Jones (3 rec, 48 yards) and Devin Hester (3 rec, 46 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Bears last night.  The Bears finished up with 81 yards on 26 carries (3.1 ypc) and they also completed 29 of 49 passes (59.2%) for 333 yards as they had possession of the ball for 33:14.

The Bears’ D got pushed around by the Giants last night.  CB Corey Graham (8 tackles, 1 pass defensed), CB D.J. Moore (6 tackles) and safety Craig Steltz (6 tackles) led the way for the Bears’ D last night.  The Giants rushed for 218 yards on 27 carries (8.1 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 27 passes (63%) for 162 yards last night.  The Bears are now 1-1 on the pre-season.

The Chicago Bears have lost 24-year old DE Corey Wootton for the next 4 weeks due to knee surgery.  He injured his knee in the pre-season opener against the Bills.  The Bears took a chance on DE Corey Wootton who slipped to them in the 2010 NFL Draft because he was injury prone.  He played in 6 games for the Bears last year and he had 5 tackles and 1 sack.  Wootton still has a nice upside but it won’t matter until he can stay healthy for a while.

The Chicago Bears were incredible defensively while the offense was stuck in neutral most of the night.  Jay Cutler made a brief appearance in which he completed his only pass attempt (it was good for 1 yard) and he also carried the ball 1 time for 10 yards.  Caleb Hanie only completed 3 of 7 passes for 32 yards but he also carried the ball 1 time and it went for a 4 yard TD.  Nathan Enderle finished up the game at QB by completing 7 of 10 passes for 110 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT.  The Bears’ QBs were under heat all night long as they were sacked a combined 9 times by the Bills!  RB Kahlil Bell led the way on the ground for the Bills last night with 73 yards rushing on 13 carries (5.6 ypc).  He also caught 2 passes for 46 yards (23.0 avg) last night.  Marion Barber looked solid in his debut for the Bears with 45 yards rushing on 7 carries (6.4 ypc) last night.  WR Kris Adams led the way for the Bears in the passing game last night with 3 grabs for 58 yards (19.3 avg).  The Bears finished up with 164 yards rushing on 35 carries (4.7 ypc) and they also completed 11 of 18 passes (61.1%) for 94 yards.

The defense was amazing for the Bears last night.  Safety Major Wright (5 tackles), CB Corey Graham (4 tackles) and LB Dom DeCicco (4 tackles) led the way for the Bears’ D last night.  DT Amobi Okoye made a good first impression with the Bills with 3 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks and 2 QB hits.  CB Michael Holmes pitched in with a interception last night.  The Bills finished up with 89 yards rushing on 23 carries (3.9 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 32 passes (50%) for 101 yards.

The Bears have improved in the off-season on both the offensive line and at WR, which should make 28-year old Jay Cutler a better QB.  He took a lot of heat for not coming back into last year’s NFC Championship Game after he was injured.  I look for him to be very motivated this year to have a great season for the Bears.  Cutler played in 15 games (all starts) for the Bears last year and he completed 261 of 432 passes (60.4%) for 3,274 yards with 23 TD passes and 16 INTs (86.3 QB Rating).  Cutler also carried the ball 50 times for 232 yards (4.6 ypc) with 1 TD run last year.  Cutler won’t likely get treated like a pinata in games this year, and if he has time to throw the ball, he’s going to make a lot of big plays for the Bears this year.  Cutler has now played in 68 games (all starts) in his first five years in the NFL and he has completed 1,359 of 2,207 passes (61.6%) for 15,964 yards with 104 TD passes and 79 INTs (84.3 QB Rating).  Cutler has also carried the ball 203 times for 828 yards (4.1 ypc) with 5 TD runs in his NFL career.  Cutler is 34-34 (50%) during the regular season as a starting QB so far in his NFL career.

25-year old Caleb Hanie will be the Bears’ #2 QB in 2011.  He gave a good effort in the NFL Championship Game last year when Cutler went down to injury but it just wasn’t good enough to win the game.  Hanie played in 2 games (0 starts) for the Bears last year and he completed 5 of 7 passes (71.4%) for 55 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (94.3 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 1 time for -1 yard last year.  Hanie has now played in 5 games (0 starts) in his first two years in the NFL and he has completed 8 of 14 passes (57.1%) for 66 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT (39.6 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 1 time for -1 yard in his career.

23-year old rookie QB Nathan Enderle was hand picked by offensive co-ordinator Mike Martz as a developmental project.  Enderle was a fifth round pick out of Idaho in last April’s NFL Draft.  The Bears are hoping to be able to bring Enderle along slowly.

23-year old undrafted rookie Trevor Vittatoe out of UTEP will be the #4 QB when training camp begins.  The only way he likely moves up is if one of the other QBs on the roster get injured.  If he impresses in the pre-season, the Bears might ink him to the practice squad.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BEARS QBS IN 2011:  B

The Bears have re-signed 34-year old TE Desmond Clark.  Clark played in 5 games (0 starts) for the Bears last year and he caught 1 pass for 12 yards.  Clark has now played in 110 games in his first 8 years with the Bears and he has caught 242 passes for 2,639 yards (10.9 avg) with 18 TD grabs.  Don’t look for Clark to have a big role in the passing game for the Bears but they are still happy to have him back.

UPDATE:  (9/4/2011) – The Bears have released Desmond Clark.

The Bears have re-signed 27-year old linebacker Brian Iwuh to a 1-year deal.  Iwuh played in all 16 games for the Bears last year and he had 26 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 1 sack and he forced 2 fumbles.  He has now played in 74 games in his first five years in the NFL and he has 109 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 3 forced fumbles and 1 fumble recovery.  This was a smart move for the Bears as Iwuh gives them solid depth at linebacker.