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Family night cancellation couldn’t be avoided
Family night cancellation couldn’t be avoided
By Steve Soucie, on August 6th, 2011
It took all of about two seconds for Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith to express regret in regards to the cancellation of Family Night at Soldier Field on Friday night.
“We feel terrible about having to cancel our fan night down at Soldier Field,” Smith said. “It’s a special night for our fans, but for our players too to play on our home turf. It’s always a good break from camp.”
But practice was simply not an option at Soldier Field, where the playing surface was damaged to the point where player injuries might have been a possibility.
“The field was just not in the condition where I could allow the team to go out and practice,” Smith said. “Everything we are doing is to get ready for the Falcons (the regular season opener) and we feel like we couldn’t do that.”
Instead, the Bears returned to Olivet Nazarene where the team conducted a closed practice that wrapped up around 11 p.m.
“We had to leave as soon as we possibly could because we had to get a practice in,” Smith said.
Many wondered if the natural grass surface would be up to standards for next Saturday’s preseason opener against the Buffalo Bills, but Smith was certain the playing surface would not be an issue come next week.
“I’m sure it will be ready for the next time,” Smith said. “Over the course of the season, we are going to play on natural surfaces and we’re going to play on artificial surfaces too. I’m sure the turf will be in great shape and the guys won’t be able to tell if its natural or artificial.”
The Smurfs
Veteran wide receiver Roy Williams is trying to inject a few smiles amongst his fellow receivers.
“I’m also trying to loosen these guys up are really uptight. They don’t talk,” Williams said. “Sam (Hurd) and I have come in here and let them know that this game is fun and try to put some smiles on their faces while you’re playing.”
Williams, the elder statesman of a very young receiving group, welcomes serving up advice and information about a complicated offense engineered by offensive coordinator Mike Martz. But admits that the team has a long way to go to catch up with all of the complexities of a Martz offense.
“We’re not even close,” Williams said. ““This man (Martz), I think he just makes up stuff. But he knows what he’s doing. He’s big on details that’s what a lot of people don’t understand.”
At 6-foot-3, Williams is easily the tallest of the receivers expected to make the roster, but he bristles at the notion that the team definitely needed a big target for the unit.
“This team did a great job, with what I call them The Smurfs out there,” Williams said. “They didn’t have to have a big guy out there to get the ball and they still made it to the NFC Championship.”
One of those “Smurfs” Johnny Knox, sat out his second consecutive practice with what he termed a minor back ailment.
“It is nothing major, little bumps and bruises,” Knox said. “I just can’t wait to get back out here with the guys. The preseason counts. But I’d rather wait until the regular season to really go.”
Knox has added some bulk to his frame and is adjusting to the different feel it has led to. He does not feel the decision to add the bulk and strength will slow him down however.
“My legs are still going to be able to run,” Knox said. “I played in college at about 190, but my goal was to get bigger. Catching a 5 yard pass and breaking it for a longer one, that’s pretty much why I tried to get a little bit stronger.”
Quick hits
Offensive coordinator Mike Martz was absent from Saturday’s practice as he was attending the Hall of Fame induction of one of his all-time best pupils, running back Marshall Faulk….Defensive tackle Marcus Harrison was finally in uniform and expressed disappointment that he was unable to get on the field until this somewhat late date: “I was disappointed, I worked out real hard, but not as hard as I guess I was expected.” Harrison has fallen well behind Henry Melton in the race for playing time at defensive tackle and has to deal with newcomers Amobi Okoye and Vernon Gholston biting into even more potential repetitions……Former Bears quarterback Jim Miller (1998-2002) was on the premises during work on his Sirius Network NFL show and United States Congressman Adam Kinzinger also took in the festivities at Bears camp.
Winston Churchill:
"Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright until you hear them speak."
"If you're not a liberal at twenty you have no heart, if you're not a conservative at forty you have no brain."
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Poor field conditions caused Family Fest cancellation
By Caleb Benoit, on August 6th, 2011
CHICAGO — Disappointed fans walked away from Soldier Field in all directions.
Some towed their children in plastic wagons back to nearby apartments. Others congregated at the 18th Street Metra stop to take the next train headed south. Others who drove four hours to Chicago found their vehicles in the parking lot. Their nights ended prematurely.
The Chicago Bears’ annual Fan Fest practice was canceled Friday night due to inadequate field conditions. The field wasn’t watered enough prior to Friday, team spokesman Scott Hagel said, which caused the seams in the sod to separate and made the dry turf unsuitable for practice.
The decision to cancel practice was made at about 5 p.m., Hagel said, the same time gates were supposed to open. Instead, fans waited in lines outside the stadium, and Bears players and coaches left for Bourbonnais. They had a closed practice session at Olivet Nazarene University on Friday night.
Fans who had bought tickets in advance were still invited into the stadium for complementary foods and non-alcoholic drinks, as well as fireworks, which started at 8:30 p.m. Team president Ted Phillips apologized over the public address system to fans who stayed and responded with a mix of cheers and jeers.
Winston Churchill:
"Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright until you hear them speak."
"If you're not a liberal at twenty you have no heart, if you're not a conservative at forty you have no brain."
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McCaskey weighs in on Soldier Field turf, Forte contract
Bears Chairman George McCaskey says the team will take a more hands-on approach to Soldier Field turf maintenance. (Chris Sweda/Tribune Photo)
Staff report 9:17 a.m. CDT, August 8, 2011
Chicago Bears Chairman George McCaskey expressed regret Monday for the Family Fest fiasco, said the team would be taking a more active role in the maintenance of the grass surface at Soldier Field and also expressed confidence that running back Matt Forte soon will be getting a contract extension.
"We feel terrible for the fans that made an effort to be there (for Friday's canceled practice), that fought through the traffic, that arranged their day, (dealt with) the heat," McCaskey told "The Mully & Hanley Show" on WSCR-AM 670. "We made the difficult decision that the practice element of Family Fest, of course the most important thing, had to be canceled. But we're grateful for people that stayed around."
Chicago Park District officials accepted the blame for the field not being watered sufficiently to keep the sod in playable condition. McCaskey acknowledged that the team's interaction with the Park District needs to improve.
"The Park District defers to us on what type of surface, and this is something we look at constantly on an annual basis," McCaskey said. "At this time, studies indicate and our medical staff recommends that we stay with a natural-grass surface. Now, a natural-grass surface has to be properly maintained. We are going to take a more active role in the maintenance of the grass surface at Soldier Field."
That process already has begun, McCaskey said.
"I was there down there (Sunday) as a matter of fact, and the first person I bumped into was Ken Mrock, the Bears' groundskeeper, and the second person I saw was John Nolan, the Soldier Field groundskeeper," McCaskey said. "We're going to have a collaborative effort, and the Bears are going to take a more active role in the maintanence of the field."
McCaskey said all parties involved are confident the field will be ready for the preseason opener Saturday against Buffalo.
"Ken Mrock told me that he's confident and John Nolan told me that he's confident, so we're expecting to play at home on Saturday. Aug. 13," McCaskey said.
As for Forte,McCaskey is aware that the running back has talked about possibly not playing Saturday unless he gets the contract extension he and his agent have been discussing with the Bears.
"Matt's been an outstanding contributor for us," McCaskey said. "He knows we want to extend him, (general manager) Jerry Angelo told him that. Jerry also asked him to be patient. ... We signed 48 guys in four days and wanted to get that taken care of before directing our attentions to extending guys that have existing contracts. Matt knows how highly we value him and how much we want him to be a Chicago Bear for some time to come."
Asked if the deal could be done before Saturday's preseason opener, McCaskey said, "I don't know what the timetable is, but I think (contract negotiator) Cliff Stein's track record and Jerry Angelo's track record are pretty good on that subject."
Winston Churchill:
"Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright until you hear them speak."
"If you're not a liberal at twenty you have no heart, if you're not a conservative at forty you have no brain."
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Bears’ Brian Urlacher: Turf situation is a joke
BY MARK POTASH mpotash@suntimes.com August 6, 2011 10:04PM
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Brian Urlacher would like to have FieldTurf at Soldier Field and said it would benefit the Bears, but safety Chris Harris (above) said he still prefers grass. | Jonathan Daniel~Getty Images
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Updated: August 7, 2011 2:27AM
BOURBONNAIS, Ill. — Linebacker Brian Urlacher is just as incredulous as a lot of Bears regarding the chronic turf issues at Soldier Field.
‘‘I don’t understand why they don’t have FieldTurf yet,’’ Urlacher said Saturday at training camp. ‘‘We’re a fast team. We play fast on FieldTurf. The injury issues aren’t as bad as they used to be. They’ve gone down a lot in the last few years with the way they’ve made the turf. So I don’t understand it. Use our speed. Let us get out there and run.”
The artificial turf became an issue again Friday night when the Bears’ Family Fest had to be canceled because open seams from a recent resodding at Soldier Field made the playing conditions hazardous. The Bears returned to Bourbonnais and practiced late Friday night.
‘‘The situation’s a joke,’’ Urlacher said. ‘‘I don’t understand why you can’t have the field ready. It sucks for the fans because I’m sure it was a pain in the butt to get down there with all the traffic. But I think Coach [Lovie Smith] did the right thing in not letting us practice on that stuff. We ended up having a late practice, but it’s too bad it had to end that way.’’
An apology
Bears president George McCaskey, in Canton, Ohio, for Richard Dent’s enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, apologized to Bears fans for the Family Fest fiasco.
While McCaskey said the Bears and the Chicago Park District grounds crew have a “good working relationship,” he also said the organization will attempt to work even closer with the Park District crew to make sure nothing like that happens again.
‘‘We feel so bad for the fans,’’ McCaskey said. ‘‘We’re so sorry for those people who sat in traffic. We rely on the Park District to make sure the field is playable. We need to make sure that’s the case.’’
Grass is greener
Not all the Bears prefer the artificial surface.
‘‘I love playing on natural grass compared to FieldTurf,’’ safety Chris Harris said. ‘‘But you would think we wouldn’t have a problem with grass in August. I couldn’t figure that one out.’’
Harris celebrated his 29th birthday by practicing in steamy conditions, signing autographs for fans near the practice fields afterward, then going to team meetings.
‘‘I’m just happy to be in the NFL — that’s a great-enough birthday gift for me,’’ the native of Little Rock, Ark., said. ‘‘My wife sent me a video message on the phone, so I got to see the kids. They sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to me this morning, so that was cool.’’
Roy: Jay’s ‘my guy’
Wide receiver Roy Williams said quarterback Jay Cutler ‘‘is going to get it done’’ and deserves the full support of Bears fans.
‘‘[He’s] still learning,’’ Williams said. ‘‘Still young — that’s what a lot of people don’t understand. He’s still young and growing and learning the game. He’s going to get it done. I want the city of Chicago to believe in this guy and back him up. Of course he’s going to make mistakes. Who doesn’t? He’s my guy.’’
Melton’s time
Third-year defensive tackle Henry Melton did not start a game last season but played well enough in a reserve role to get first shot at Tommie Harris’ vacated tackle spot. Matt Toeaina, who started 10 games in place of Harris last season, has been rotating with the first unit.
‘‘[Melton is] everything you’re looking for in a defensive lineman — quickness, speed, strength,’’ Smith said of the 6-3, 295-pound Melton. ‘‘He’s gotten his weight up [from 260 last season]. He just needs to continue to get reps. He’s working hard, and I’m expecting a big year from him.’’
Contributing: Neil Hayes
Winston Churchill:
"Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright until you hear them speak."
"If you're not a liberal at twenty you have no heart, if you're not a conservative at forty you have no brain."
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It couldn't be avoided, but they sure to hell could of let people know before they showed up! They knew of this mess at 1pm that day. They didn't cancel until what 5-6pm?
by the way, can we merge this thread w/the existing turf bitching thread?
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Originally Posted by
Riczaj01 
by the way, can we merge this thread w/the existing turf bitching thread?
Eventually, yes, I just wanted to give those that may have tried to attend a place for venting. Will merge in another day or so.
Winston Churchill:
"Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright until you hear them speak."
"If you're not a liberal at twenty you have no heart, if you're not a conservative at forty you have no brain."
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High Fives / Like - 1 BEAR DOWN!, 0 Dislikes
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Originally Posted by
Riczaj01 It couldn't be avoided, but they sure to hell could of let people know before they showed up! They knew of this mess at 1pm that day. They didn't cancel until what 5-6pm?
by the way, can we merge this thread w/the existing turf bitching thread?
Sure they waited until 6PM...!!! They were charging for parking...weren't they...???
I am SURE the CPD did not give THAT money back...!!!
3nagurski
"...Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue...."
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High Fives / Like - 3 BEAR DOWN!, 0 Dislikes
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I'm not buying this unavoidable nonsense either. If the field was deemed unplayable by early afternoon it wasn't gonna improve by 6:00PM in the evening. Instead of giving Lovie credit for canceling the scrimmage why not question why in the hell they even wasted the time to bring the team up to Chicago to begin with. So that's poor communications to go along with poor management and poor PR?
The fact that both the Bears groundskeeper and the CPD groundskeeper both express "confidence" the field will be ready for this Saturday's game means zero. I'm sure they were just as confident a week ago that it would be ready for this past Saturday as well. Let's face facts it a very nice stadium with a very crappy playing surface. The means to replace it are there but apparently the motivation is not. Like someone else posted, wait until it's a regular season game of a playoff game that gets affected. Is that what it will take for them to finally make a decision to do something about it permanently?
Just put in that Grassmaster System like they use in Lambeau Field, where it's even harder to grow grass in November, and keep all the other Tom, Dick and Harry's who want to use the field from July through February off of it. Problem solved!
I'm getting to that age where a lifetime warranty just doesn't mean as much to me anymore as an afternoon nap. 
Honey Badger Don't Care. Honey Badger Don't Give a Shit.
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