Thread: TUES BEAR NEWS-roach,hunter,steltz,wright,

Report: Ex-Bears CB Vasher signs with Lions

September 13, 2010 4:39 PM | No Comments

The Detroit Free Press reports: Former Bears cornerback Nathan Vasher, who failed to latch on with the Chargers in training camp, said he has signed with the Lions.

Vasher had 19 career interceptions in six seasons with the Bears and could replace nickel cornerback Aaron Berry, who suffered a shoulder injury in Sunday's season-opening loss to the Bears and could end up on injured reserve.

Get the full story: Freep.com

Play of game in slo-mo

Dan Pompei On the NFL

Situation: The Bears lead the Lions 19-14 with 31 seconds remaining.

Result: Lions quarterback Shaun Hill throws a deep pass to the right side of the end zone to Calvin Johnson, who outjumps Bears cornerback Zack Bowman to make a spectacular grab. The play initially is ruled a touchdown, but another official overrules that call on the field. The replay review then confirms the call because Johnson touches the ball to the ground before completing the entire process of the catch.

The tape shows: Lions offensive coordinator Scott Linehan dials up a perfect play against this defense. Bears nickel corner D.J. Moore blitzes on the play, as does linebacker Brian Urlacher. Both are picked up, however, giving Hill time to complete the throw.

Because Moore blitzes, safety Major Wright is forced to cover slot receiver Nate Burleson. The only safety playing back on this play is Danieal Manning. When Lions tight end Tony Scheffler runs a seam route, it forces Manning to come up and cover him after Lance Briggs releases him.


This results in a one-on-one matchup on the outside. Hill delivers a perfect throw and Johnson gets higher than Bowman

Martz addresses key issues from Lions game

By Neil Hayeson September 13, 2010 8:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Mike Martz and Lovie Smith don't know what all the fuss is about when it comes to Calvin Johnson's touchdown catch that wasn't a touchdown catch.

The Bears coach and offensive coordinator appeared on WBBM's (AM 780) "Bears Insider" Show on Monday night and said there was never any doubt in their minds that Johnson's leaping catch with 25 seconds left in Sunday's 19-14 win over the Lions was not a catch.



"That rule has been in effect for quite some time," Martz told host Jeff Joniak. "It's the only way for an official to evaluate a catch or not. Otherwise, it's just shades of gray -- did he catch or did he not catch It? It's impossible to officiate a game without a clear-cut rule like that. And that rule is not going to change."

"Cut and dried," Smith interjected. "The officials were in agreement right away. Everybody who really counts and knows what's going on were in agreement."

The Bears failure to score on four straight plays from the Lions' 1-yard line midway through the fourth quarter drew loud boos from the Soldier Field crowd. It wasn't the first time it happened in the game, either. The Bears had a third-and-goal from the 1 on their first drive and Forte ended up losing a yard. Robbie Gould kicked a 20-yard field goal.

"It was just execution and preparation," Martz said of the failure. "They were a little bit different on the goal line in what they did by structure and we should've from a coaching standpoint spent more time going over if-they-did-this-we-do-that kind of thing. They did a nice job down there. We just didn't execute some things that we could've and should've. We have to clean that up and we will.

"That leaves a bad taste in your mouth no matter what happens. When you get down to the 1-yard line you want to be able to punch that thing in."

Martz said the idea is to do for Matt Forte what he did for Marshall Faulk when he was coaching the Rams, and that means using him as a receiver as much as a running back, which is what Forte did on Sunday when he had seven catches for 151 yards and two touchdowns, including a twisting, 28-yard game-winner with 1:32 left.

"I don't think there's any question about it. Matt as a receiver is very unique, his ability to change direction and adjust to defenders. We can all see his speed. He's a very difficult guy for guys to match up [with]. I don't care if its a safety or linebacker. We can put him out there against a corner and he'll do well.

Martz was also asked whether calling Cutler out as often as he did was planned or whether the result of an in-game adjustment. Martz said it "just kind of came out that way." The one thing he wanted to do against the Lions was run lots of screen passes, which he did with great success. Forte's 89-yard catch and run came on a screen.

"You're obviously very excited with a win and happy with it and then reality sets in and you look at the details and there's always things to fix and complain about," Martz said. "All in all the effort was outstanding. We were a little nervous in the very beginning. We weren't real sure of ourselves and then we settled in."

Martz said he thought the offensive line, which allowed four sacks and seven quarterback hits, improved as the game went on.
"There are some things we have to clean up, obviously," he said. "We have to protect the football. You're not going to win games like that turning the ball over the way we did."

Smith was as optimistic as ever, saying the positives outweighed the negatives after an uneven performance.
"Look at all the weapons we have," he said. "Just think about when we tighten up a few things how good we could be."

Feeling the same: Coach Lovie Smith said he hadn't changed his mind about the decision to go for the touchdown on fourth-and-inches at the goal line rather than take a field goal, which would have given the Bears a 16-14 lead with nine minutes left in the game.

"Nothing has changed," Smith said. "Still feel good about it. First off, I went for it because I thought we could get it. I wanted the offense to see that I thought that. And we needed to get a touchdown, to keep it close like it ended up being there at the end. One big play really could have bad results for us. So felt good about it going for it then, and I feel good about it now. In those situations, probably will do the same thing again."

Matt Forte was stopped short of the goal line on fourth down, but he caught a game-winning TD pass two possessions later.

Job share: Rookie Major Wright played the third series and the final series in place of Chris Harris at free safety and could be in line for more playing time against the Cowboys on Sunday.

"Some positions on our football team, we rotate players," coach Lovie Smith said. "We went into the game thinking safety was one. We thought all three of those players (including strong safety Danieal Manning) would play winning football for us; (and we) still feel the same way about them. It's like the defensive end position. We rotated Israel Idonije and Mark Anderson, so some of the spots on our team we'll rotate a little bit based on thinking we can win with that guy."

After further review: Coach Lovie Smith said he likes the rule that negated an apparent TD catch by Calvin Johnson that would have given the Lions a 20-19 lead with 24 seconds left.

"I like all the rules that we agreed on," Smith said. "We all agreed on those rules. We've been on the other side of that rule before, so to me you can't really get too caught up into those kinds of things. They go both ways. You have rules; you go by them. The officials make calls based on that, cut and dried."

Bottom line: Thirteen-year veteran Olin Kreutz doesn't buy any talk of an ugly win.
"As veterans, the thing you understand is how hard it is to win in the NFL, and you just take it and you move on," the center said. "People can say whatever they want, but on Wednesday we'll be 1-0 and we'll be looking at Dallas."

By the numbers: The 463 yards of total offense the Bears generated Sunday was their most since Oct. 27, 1997 in a 36-33 Monday night overtime victory against the Dolphins in Miami. The last time they had more than 463 yards in a regulation game was Oct. 22, 1995 in a 35-32 win against the Oilers.

The defense allowed just 168 yards, the fewest by a Bears team since Oct. 8, 2006, when the Bills were held to 145 yards.

A look at Bears upcoming schedule, Sunday recap

By John Mullin
CSNChicago.com

Sept. 12 vs. Detroit Lions (0-1) 19-14
Bears survived 4 turnovers and red-zone failures to escape with a “W” after officials ruled Calvin Johnson did not complete a potential winning TD catch. Jay Cutler passes for 372 yards, Matt Forte nets 201 yards on 24 touches.

Sept. 19 At Dallas Cowboys (0-1) Next: vs. Bears
Think the Bears looked suspect on offense? The supposed juggernaut in Big D looked like anything but in a slog-fest against Washington.

Sept. 27 (Mon.) Green Bay Packers (1-0) Next: vs. Buffalo
The Pack ran off 20 straight points at Philadelphia, then held off an Eagles comeback led by Michael Vick filling in for Kevin Kolb (concussion).

Oct. 3 At New York Giants (1-0) Next: at Indianapolis
Giants’ pulled away from Carolina after trailing at halftime with Hakeem Nicks catching 3 TD passes from Eli Manning.

Oct. 10 At Carolina Panthers (0-1) Next: vs. Tampa Bay
Five turnovers in the second half and outscored by New York 17-2 over the final two quarters as Panthers total just 237 yards.

Oct. 17 Seattle Seahawks (1-0) Next: at Denver
‘Hawks shocked San Francisco 31-6 in a game where neither team managed 270 yards and Mike Singletary thanked Seattle coach Pete Carroll “for kicking our tails.”

Oct. 24 Washington Redskins (1-0) Next: vs. Houston
Defense shut out Dallas for two quarters and shut down the apparently not Super Bowl-ready offense of Tony Romo.

Oct. 31 Off week

Nov.7 At Buffalo Bills (0-1) in Toronto Next: at Green Bay
Offense managed just 166 yards vs. Miami in a pedestrian outing for QB Trent Edwards as Bills had the ball for only 23 minutes.

Nov. 14 Minnesota Vikings (0-1) Next: vs. Miami
The rematch with New Orleans didn’t turn out any different than the NFC Championship game. Brett Favre put up a 71.7 passer rating running an offense that looked nothing like the ’09 version.

Nov. 18 At Miami Dolphins (1-0) Next: at Minnesota
Dolphins learned last year that 0-3 is no way to start a season and handled Buffalo defensively while turning WR Brandon Marshall loose for 8 catches.

Nov. 28 Philadelphia Eagles (0-1) Next: at Detroit
If Kevin Kolb is OK after his concussion, he’ll take the starting QB job back from Michael Vick.

Dec. 5 at Detroit Lions (0-1) Next: vs. Philadelphia
Lions need a rebound after disappointment at Bears. Eagles scored 20 on Green Bay but Detroit is not a pushover.

Dec. 12 New England Patriots (1-0) Next: at N.Y. Jets
Randy Moss is already chirping and after a win over Cincinnati. Divisional play gets serious now with trip to Jets.

Dec. 20 At Minnesota Vikings (0-1) Next: vs. Miami

Dec. 26 New York Jets (0-0) Next: Tonight, MNF vs. Baltimore

Jan. 2 at Green Bay Packers (1-0) Next: vs. Buffalo

Marc Colombo, Kyle Kosier will practice, but game status uncertain


Todd Archer / Reporter
Marc Colombo and Kyle Kosier will practice Wednesday, according to Wade Phillips, but he is not ready to proclaim either fit yet to play against Chicago on Sunday.

Colombo had knee surgery on Aug. 16 and Kosier hurt his knee a few days later in Oxnard, Calif. Colombo was scheduled to miss 2-4 weeks, while Kosier was in the 4-6 week range. Last week, Phillips said Kosier has come along faster than expected.
"I don't know about optimistic, but I think there's a possibility certainly," Phillips said of having his starters back for the Bears game. "I don't really know which one or both or neither. We just have to wait until Wednesday and see what happens."

If Colombo can't go, then Alex Barron would make his second straight start at right tackle. Barron had three holding penalties against Washington, including one that wiped out the game-winning score on the final play of the game.

"I know he'll work at it," Phillips said. "He's tried to do everything that we've asked him to do. I'm not happy that he had the penalties but I think he'll try to correct that. I think he's the right kind of guy that way."

Originally Posted by dabears54

, charger's "D" awful( guess rivera no savior),

Wow. I know you have a hard on for Rivera (for some reason) but 4th in overall in total defense and second in pass defense on the road/ I guess that's awfull now.

BBAO: Percy Harvin confirms sleep apnea

September, 14, 2010 Sep 14
7:20
AM ET
By Kevin Seifert


We're Black and Blue All Over:

Minnesota Vikings receiver Percy Harvin confirmed to reporters Monday that he is being treated for sleep apnea, a condition that might have triggered his increasing frequency of migraine episodes this summer. Harvin said the diagnosis came when he was hospitalized after an Aug. 19 collapse during a Vikings practice.

Harvin (via Jeremy Fowler of the St. Paul Pioneer Press): "They'd just barge in the room and be like, 'Harvin, you OK?' I'd say, 'I think so.' [They said] 'Well, your heart just wasn't beating.' I was like, 'What do you want me to do?'"

Indeed, doctors determined his heart was stopping and then re-starting during the night, a common symptom of sleep apnea. He now sleeps with an oxygen device and said he feels a "100 percent difference" when he wakes up in the morning.

Whether this cures his migraines, slows them down or merely helps him sleep better, Harvin appears to be in a better place than he was a month ago.

Continuing around the NFC North:

• Vikings owner Zygi Wilf's enthusiasm hasn't dampened following a Week 1 loss at New Orleans. According to Judd Zulgad of the Star Tribune, Wilf said: "We built a team that we expect to go all the way. We're not holding back right now. ... We pretty much feel that we're all in. We're going to try our best to fulfill our goal."
• Tom Pelissero of 1500ESPN.com: "Sidney Rice expects to remain on crutches for a couple more weeks, and the Minnesota Vikings' top receiver said on Monday he hasn't set a target date for returning to practice following last month's hip surgery."
• Lori Nickel of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel lists these veteran agent running backs as available if the Green Bay Packers look for outside help to replace Ryan Grant (ankle): Willie Parker, Ahman Green, Justin Fargas and J.J. Arrington.
• Because the Packers spent the entire game at Philadelphia in the nickel, A.J. Hawk did not receive a single defensive snap, notes Kareem Copeland of the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Inside linebackers coach Winston Moss: "If I was in that same situation, I would be upset if I didn't play and I was going into an opening game ... and I had a very good preseason. I would have wanted to play. I'm sure a highly competitive guy would have wanted to play. I would use it as -- if I have to do whatever it takes and do more to stay on the field as much as possible, I've got to do whatever it takes. That would be my attitude."
• The Packers plan to re-sign defensive lineman Jarius Wynn to replace the injured Justin Harrell (knee), confirms Jason Wilde of ESPNMilwaukee.com.
• The Detroit Lions agreed to terms with former Chicago Bears cornerback Nate Vasher, notes Tom Kowalski of Mlive.com. Vasher could replace injured nickelback Aaron Berry.
• Lions coach Jim Schwartz called backup quarterback Shaun Hill "one of our biggest offseason acquisitions," writes John Niyo of the Detroit News.
• Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford on his series of injuries in the NFL: "Pretty perfect hits. Guys dropped me on my shoulder pretty hard both times. I'd call them weird, freaky injuries more than anything." Michel Rosenberg of the Detroit Free Press has more.
• Bears quarterback Jay Cutler is willing to gain yards on the ground, notes Bob LeGere of the Daily Herald.
• Michael C. Wright of ESPNChicago.com questions the Bears' decision to match Lions receiver Calvin Johnson in single coverage on the play that nearly beat them Sunday.
• Bears offensive coordinator Mike Martz made a number of concessions Sunday for his still-developing offensive line, writes Dan Pompei of the Chicago Tribune.
• Sean Jensen of the Chicago Sun-Times: "Devin Aromashodu started the 2010 season the way he ended the 2009 season: as the Bears' hottest receiver."