Thread: THURS BEAR NEWS- Cutler,collins,louis,grant,wright,williams,tillman

Quick exit: Grant’s arrival followed the Bears’ decision to release defensive end Mark Anderson, who had 12 sacks as a rookie in 2006 but only 4½ sacks in his past 36 games.

The Houston Texans reportedly agreed to a deal with Anderson a day after his release.

“Mark Anderson did a lot of good things for us while he was here,” Smith said. “He helped us win a lot of football games, but it was time for us to go in a different direction.”

The Bears let veteran defensive end Adewale Ogunleye depart via free agency this summer and released defensive end Alex Brown. Smith insisted that he would not change a thing.

“We don’t have any regrets,” Smith said. “We’re looking forward to our future.”

Extra point: Bears kicker Robbie Gould became the fourth player in franchise history to reach the 600-point plateau this week with a 40-yard field goal against the New York Giants.

Gould, 28, has scored 602 points in five-plus seasons with the Bears. He trails top scorers Kevin Butler (1,116 points), Walter Payton (750 points) and Bob Thomas (629 points).

Injury update: In addition to quarterback Jay Cutler (concussion), starting right guard Lance Louis was limited in practice because of a knee injury. … Safety Major Wright (hamstring) remained sidelined, while left tackle Chris Williams (hamstring) worked on a side field.

DavidHaugh Say this for Mike Martz: He may be stubborn but he's put himself out there 2x now to accept blame when things went bad. Have to respect that

BradBiggs I'll be talking #Bears, Cutler, #Panthers, Peppers etc. with @MullyHanley tomorrow morning at 7:20 on the Score. http://670thescore.com

if cutler doesnt play straight up Im picking up Carolina Defense in fantasy football cause Collins is a joke

Originally Posted by motownbear

if cutler doesnt play straight up Im picking up Carolina Defense in fantasy football cause Collins is a joke

I guess I'm missing something in the thought process where a statue gives the Bears a better chance to win over a QB with mobility and better arm strength, especially with the turnstile offensive line

Originally Posted by sph34

I guess I'm missing something in the thought process where a statue gives the Bears a better chance to win over a QB with mobility and better arm strength, especially with the turnstile offensive line

With Collins in we are going to have to be able to run the ball. Martz has to be game planning and practicing as if he's the one playing while awaiting word on Cutler, no way Collins can play Jay's game.

skjensen #Bears o-line coach Mike Tice wants to run the ball: "I've said this many, many times: Big guys aren't big when they're going backwards."

YOU WILL ALWAYS BE IN OUR HEARTS SWEETNESS!

ChicagoBearscom LM: #Bears superstar Walter Payton broke NFL's all-time rushing record 26 years ago today.

Continuing around the NFC North:

• The Bears made clear that veteran Todd Collins remains the backup to quarterback Jay Cutler and would start Sunday against the Carolina Panthers if Cutler (concussion) is unable to, notes Vaughn McClure of the Chicago Tribune. That scenario would be confusing, however, after Cutler was cleared for limited participation in Wednesday's practice.

• Bears tailback Matt Forte on the running game, via Sean Jensen of the Chicago Sun-Times: "It's frustrating to the nth power. It's very disappointing and frustrating. I'm a running back; you want to run the ball.''
• Bears offensive coordinator Mike Martz took the blame for his group's performance Sunday night at the New York Giants, via Michael C. Wright of ESPNChicago.com: "Let me tell you this: I just feel terrible. I tried to do waaaay too much in a short week with these guys. They're not ready for that. We've got a bunch of young guys trying to learn how to play, and we lost our poise, and got on our heels. We couldn't do much of anything right. That's just an old coach's fault right there. The calls, whatever, whatever went wrong, that game is my responsibility. The preparation for that game, we felt good about it. But it was way too much stuff for those guys to deal with. Just leave it at that, if you would. These guys are going to be fine. I promise they will be just fine. We'll make sure of that."

• It sure looks like receiver Nate Burleson (ankle) will return to the Detroit Lions' lineup this week, writes Shawn Windsor of the Detroit Free Press.

• Chris McCosky of the Detroit News on Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford's throwing session Wednesday: "He played three-way catch before practice, throwing soft 15-yard passes with [Shaun] Hill and Drew Stanton. He did not have his helmet and will not take part in practice all week."

• The Lions are missing Stafford for several reasons, writes Tom Kowalski of Mlive.com. Among them: They're not finding out whether he made the progress they hoped he had made in the offseason.

• Pete Dougherty of the Green Bay Press-Gazette digs deeper into the Green Bay Packers' offensive issues.
• Packers cornerback Charles Woodson during an appearance on the Jim Rome radio show, via Greg A. Bedard of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "It would be a logical thing to do to get another big-time back like Marshawn Lynch. And it didn't pan out."

• Packers safety Nick Collins on the failed Lynch deal and the Vikings' acquisition of Moss, via Jason Wilde of ESPNMilwaukee.com: "What can I say? Anybody is going to say, 'Yes, Lynch would have helped; Randy Moss would have helped.' But who cares? We can't make that decision. We're going to stick with the guys we have here and move forward. It's out of my hands. I'm just a player. It's out of my hands. I'm going to do my job, and my job is to perfom and go out there and win games. That's my duty. [And the front office's job is] to make all the calls."

• Former Vikings owner Red McCombs, who originally traded Moss away in 2004, told Judd Zulgad of the Star Tribune that the trade to bring him back was "dynamite."
• Bob Sansevere of the St. Paul Pioneer Press: "Putting Moss back in a Vikings uniform has this team going back to being a favorite to win the Super Bowl. Considering what's at stake, this could go down as the franchise's biggest blockbuster deal, knocking down to second place the trade that brought back Fran Tarkenton from the New York Giants."

• Tom Pelissero of 1500ESPN.com: "At 33, though, Moss increasingly has enhanced his reputation around the league as a contact-averse, one-trick pony -- albeit a productive one who remains capable of changing a game downfield and commanding coverage adjustments that open things up for teammates."

skjensen John Fox on Todd Collins: "I’ve seen him a few times over the years... Been around the game a long time and knows how to play the position."

ZachZaidman Major Wright is not practicing

BobLeGere #Bears injured OLT Chris Williams doing some stretching and agility work off to the side with trainer Bobby Slater. Also some light jogging.

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Cutler with a helmet on in practice. But he's out for Sunday.