The Chicago Bears have signed 27-year old linebacker Blake Costanzo.  Costanzo played in 16 games for the 49ers last year and he had 12 tackles.  He has played in 61 games in his first five years in the NFL and he has 54 tackles, 6 forced fumbles and 3 fumble recoveries.  Costanzo is a special teams ace, so I like this addition for the Bears.

The Bears have signed 30-year old QB Jason Campbell to a 1-year deal.  Campbell played in 6 games for the Raiders last year (before breaking his collar bone) in which he completed 100 of 165 passes (60.6%) for 1,170 yards with 6 TD passes and 4 INTs (84.2 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 18 times for 60 yards (3.3 ypc) with 2 TD runs last year.  Campbell has now played in 71 games (70 starts) in his first six years in the NFL and he has completed 1,296 of 2,131 passes (60.8%) for 14,417 yards with 74 TD passes and 50 INTs (82.8 QB Rating).  Campbell has also carried the ball 218 times for 1,068 yards (4.9 ypc) with 6 TD runs in his NFL career.  Campbell is 31-39 (44.3%) as a starting QB in the NFL.  This was an outstanding move for the Bears as Campbell gives them a great insurance policy behind Jay Cutler.

The Chicago Bears have acquired 27-year old WR Brandon Marshall from the Miami Dolphins for a 3rd round pick in 2012 and a 3rd rounder in 2013.  Marshall played in all 16 games for the Fins last year and he caught 81 passes for 1,214 yards (15.0 avg) with 6 TD grabs.  Marshall has now played in 91 games in his first six years in the NFL and he has caught 494 passes for 6,247 yards (12.6 avg) with 34 TD grabs.  Marshall also has carried the ball 19 times for 120 yards (6.3 ypc) in his NFL career so far.  Marshall started his career in Denver with Bears’ QB Jay Cutler and he was his favorite target there.  Look for that to be the case with Marshall reuniting with Cutler in Chicago.  This was an outstanding move for the Bears, as they have been searching for a legit #1 WR for a long, long time.

The Bears have re-signed 28-year old CB Tim Jennings to a 2-year deal.  Jennings played in all 16 games for the Bears last year and he had 77 tackles, 10 passes defensed, 2 interceptions, 4 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery.  Jennings has now played in 32 games in his first two years with the Bears and he has 123 tackles, 17 passes defensed, 3 interceptions, 6 tackles for a loss, 2 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries.  This was a big move for the Bears as Jennings has played well for them in his first two years with the team.

The Chicago Bears have used the franchise tag on 26-year old RB Matt Forte.  Forte played in 12 games for the Bears last year and he carried the ball 203 times for 997 yards (4.9 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He also caught 52 passes for 490 yards (9.4 avg) with 1 TD grab last year.  Forte has now played in 60 games in his first four years with the Bears in which he has carried the ball 1,014 times for 4,233 yards (4.2 ypc) with 21 TD runs.  He has also caught 223 passes for 1,985 yards (8.9 avg) with 8 TD grabs so far in his career with the Bears.  It was smart of the Bears to keep Forte out of the free agent market.

The Bears have released 29-year old OT Frank Omiyale.  Omiyale played in 16 games (3 starts) for the Bears last year.  He played in 48 games (31 starts) in his three years with the Bears.  This is not much of a loss for the Bears as they need to rebuild the offensive line.  Jay Cutler has been like a pinata since coming over from the Broncos and that can’t continue.

The Bears have released 31-year old DT Anthony Adams.  Adams played in 11 games for the Bears last year and he had 16 tackles and 2 tackles for a loss.  Adams played in 63 games in his five years with the Bears and he had 144 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 14 tackles for a loss, 2 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries and 2 passes defensed.  This could be the end of Adams’ NFL career.  He has played in 121 games in his 9 years in the NFL and he has 278 tackles, 10.5 sacks, 25 tackles for a loss, 3 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries and 9 passes defensed.  This isn’t much of a loss for the Bears with the way Adams played for them last year.

The Bears’ 2011 NFL Draft was an utter disaster, plain and simple.  Here is a look at what the Bears’ rookie draft class did in 2011:

23-year old OT Gabe Carimi came to the Bears in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft.  He filled a huge need for the Bears until his season ended very early due to knee surgery.  Carimi played in 2 games (both starts) for the Bears last year.  He will likely be a fixture at RT for the Bears down the road.

23-year old DT Stephen Paea was a second round pick by the Bears last year.  He played in 11 games for the Bears last year and he had 14 tackles and 2 sacks.  He might get more P.T. starting in 2o12.

22-year old safety Chris Conte came to the Bears in the 3rd round last April.  He played in 14 games for the Bears last year and he had 30 tackles, 1 interception, 1 tackle for a loss and 2 passes defensed.  Conte played pretty decent late in the year for the Bears.

23-year old QB Nathan Enderle was picked in the 5th round by the Bears last April.  He didn’t get into any games for the Bears last year and that really says something about him due to the play of Caleb Hanie and Josh McCown.

23-year old LB James T. Thomas was picked in the sixth round last April.  He didn’t get  into any games as he spent his rookie season on the Injured Reserve List due to a back injury.

GRADE FOR THE 2011 SEASON:  D-

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  C

The Chicago Bears’ season really went down the tubes when 28-year old QB Jay Cutler broke his right thumb.  The Bears were 7-3 with Cutler at QB and 1-5 with everyone else.  Cutler played in 10 games (all starts) for the Bears last year and he completed 182 of 314 passes (58%) for 2,319 yards with 13 TD passes and 7 INTs (85.7 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 18 times for 55 yards (3.1 ypc) with 1 TD run last year.  Cutler has now played in 78 games (all starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 1,541 of 2,521 passes (61.1%) for 18,283 yards with 117 TD passes and 86 INTs (84.5 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 221 times for 883 yards (4.0 ypc) with 6 TD runs in his NFL career so far.  Cutler is 41-37 (52.6%) during the regular season as a starting QB in his NFL career so far.

26-year old Caleb Hanie replaced Jay Cutler and QB and he was pathetic.  The Bears were 0-4 in games started by Hanie.  He played in 6 games (4 starts) for the Bears last year and he completed 51 of 102 passes (50%) for 613 yards with 3 TD passes and 9 INTs (41.8 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 13 times for 98 yards (7.5 ypc) for the Bears last year.  Hanie has now played in 11 games (4 starts) so far in his NFL career and he has completed 59 of 116 passes (50.9%) for 679 yards with 3 TD passes and 10 INTs (41.6 QB Rating).  Hanie has also carried the ball 14 times for 97 yards (6.9 ypc) so far in his NFL career.  His time is likely up in Chicago.

32-year old Josh McCown replaced Caleb Hanie and the Bears were 1-1 in his starts.  McCown played in 3 games (2 starts) for the Bears last year and he completed 35 of 55 passes (63.6%) for 414 yards with 2 TD passes and 4 INTs (68.3 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 12 times for 68 yards (5.7 ypc) last year.  McCown has now played in 52 games (33 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 645 of 1,113 passes (58%) for 6,998 yards with 37 TD passes and 44 INTs (71.2 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 139 times for 637 yards (4.6 ypc) with 3 TD runs so far in his NFL career.  McCown is now 13-20 (39.4%) as a starting QB in the NFL.

The Bears won this game with defense, plain and simple.  LB Brian Urlacher (10 points and 3 tackles for a loss) and safety Major Wright (9 tackles and 1 pass defensed) led the way for the Bears on D in this game.  CBs Tim Jennings (6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass defensed and a interception) and Charles Tillman (6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass defensed and a interception that he returned 22 yards for a TD) also had rock solid games for the Bears yesterday.  DE Israel Idonije (5 tackles, 1 sack, 2 tackles for a loss and 2 QB hits) and CB D.J. Moore (interception) also had solid games for the Bears.  The Vikings finished up with 79 yards rushing on 27 carries (2.9 ypc) and they completed 21 of 42 passes (50%) for 222 yards.

The Bears’ O-Line had issues in this game as Josh McCown was sacked 7 times yesterday.  McCown still completed 15 of 25 passes for 160 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 4 times for 30 yards (7.5 ypc) in this game.  Kahlil Bell led the way on the ground for the Bears yesterday with 54 yards rushing on 17 carries (3.2 ypc) and he also caught 5 passes for 28 yards (5.6 avg).  WR Roy Williams (4 rec, 60 yards, TD) and WR Earl Bennett (3 rec, 31 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Bears.  The Bears finished up with 92 yards rushing on 25 carries (3.7 ypc) and they also completed 15 of 25 passes (60%) for 117 yards as they had possession of the ball for 28:46.  The Bears finished up the 2011 season with an 8-8 record.