Cowboys sign Anthony Thomas

Yahoo! Sports - NFL - Cowboys sign Thomas: "Cowboys sign Thomas"

Well, the A-Train found a new home. Maybe he will get a fair shake there... Good luck to you...

2005 NFL Draft top 10 pick Projection.

Here is my projection for the top 10 picks in the upcoming draft.

1. San Francisco 49ers
Aaron Rodgers, QB, California

2. Miami Dolphins
Ronnie Brown, RB, Auburn

3. Cleveland Browns
Alex Smith, QB, Utah

4. Chicago Bears
Braylon Edwards, WR, Michigan

5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Carnell Williams, RB, Auburn

6. Tennessee Titans
Antrel Rolle, CB, Miami

7. Minnesota Vikings
Mike Williams, WR, USC

8. Arizona Cardinals
Cedric Benson, RB, Texas

9. Washington Redskins
Adam Jones, CB, West Virginia

10. Detroit Lions
Derrick Johnson, LB, Texas

- Slim Tim.

Chicago Bears - 2005 Schedule News and Notes

Chicago Bears: "SCHEDULE QUICK FACTS "

Regular Season
Date Opponent Time Network Score
September 11 @ Redskins Noon FOX
September 18 vs.Lions Noon FOX
September 25 vs.Bengals Noon CBS
October 9 @ Browns Noon FOX
October 16 vs.Vikings Noon FOX
October 23 vs.Ravens 3:15 p.m. CBS
October 30 @ Lions Noon FOX
November 6 @ Saints Noon FOX
November 13 vs.49ers Noon FOX
November 20 vs.Panthers Noon FOX
November 27 @ Buccaneers Noon FOX
December 4 vs.Packers Noon FOX
December 11 @ Steelers Noon FOX
December 18 vs.Falcons 7:30 p.m. ESPN
December 25 @ Packers 4:00 p.m. FOX
January 1 @ Vikings Noon FOX

All times listed are (CST) Central Standard Time

ROAD OPENER: The Bears open their 2005 season on the road for the third time in the last six seasons, but only the sixth time in the last 24 years, when they open in our nation's capital against the Washington Redskins on Sept. 11. Chicago is 1-4 in its last five road games to open a season, including three consecutive losses with the most recent loss being at San Francisco in 2003. The Bears last opened a season with a win on the road in 1970 with a 24-16 triumph over the New York Giants at Yankee Stadium on Sept. 19.

HOLIDAY ROAD SHOW: The Chicago Bears 2005 regular season schedule is highlighted by one holiday road trip each month of the season, totaling five. Beginning with their season-opening game at Washington on Patriot Day (Sept. 11), the Bears will spend every holiday weekend on the road this season by playing at Detroit the day before Halloween (Oct. 30), at Tampa Bay following Thanksgiving (Nov. 27), at Green Bay on Christmas Day (Dec. 25) and at Minnesota on New Year's Day (Jan. 1). Chicago's nationally televised game against the Packers marks the first-ever appearance for the Bears on Christmas Day. Minnesota was the site of the Bears only other appearance on New Year's Day with Chicago beating the Vikings, 35-18, in an NFC First Round Playoff contest on Jan. 1, 1995.

HAIL TO THE CHIEF: The Bears kick off the 2005 season for the first time in franchise history at Washington. Chicago and the Redskins have met only once previously in a season opener with Washington winning, 38-28 on Sept. 15, 1968 at Wrigley Field.

DIVISION DELAY: Chicago will not play Green Bay in 2005 until Week 13, the latest the two long-time rivals have met for the first time in a season since playing for the first time in 1998 on Dec. 13. The Bears have played the Packers in the first half of each of the previous five seasons. The Bears will not play the Vikings until Week Six of the season this year, traveling to Minnesota on Oct. 16, making 2005 the first season this decade in which Chicago will not play Minnesota in one of the first three games of the season.

PUDDLE JUMPERS: Two years removed from traveling nearly 17,000 air miles, the most since the figure began being calculated in 1995, the Bears will average just 850 miles per road trip in 2005, lowest in the last 11 years. The 9,350 air miles amassed for the 11 road games in 2005 is the fewest since 2001 (9,314 miles) and the third-fewest since 1995. For the second consecutive year, the team's farthest trip will be to Tampa which at 2,024 miles accounts for 21.7 percent of the season's total travel.

HIGH NOON: For the third consecutive season, the Bears play 13 of their 16 games at Noon (Chicago Time) in 2005. Chicago's only appearance on primetime this season will be against Atlanta on Dec. 18 on ESPN's Sunday Night Football. The Bears had five game times other than Noon in 2002.

SUPER TRIP: For the second-straight year and tenth time in franchise history, the Bears play a road game at the site which hosts that season's Super Bowl. When Chicago plays at Detroit's Ford Field on Oct. 30 it will be the same venue that hosts Super Bowl XL on Feb. 5, 2006. The Bears are 4-5 overall at stadiums in the year that they host the Super Bowl, dating back to a 31-17 loss to the L.A. Rams at the L.A. Coliseum on Sept. 16, 1966 prior to Super Bowl I. Chicago has lost three straight games at Super Bowl sites since winning four in a row between 1983 to 1994. The Bears are scheduled to play Miami next year, hosts of Super Bowl XLI, but the game will be played in Chicago.

SALUTATIONS TO STEELERS: The Bears roll into the Steel City for the first time in the regular season since Sept. 13, 1998 when they face the Pittsburgh Steelers on Dec. 11. The Week 14 match-up is the first regular-season contest between the two storied franchises in seven seasons, the longest drought of any Bears opponent in the league. After playing the Steelers, the team with the distinction of being the NFL team that Chicago has gone the longest without facing falls to Buffalo who last played the Bears in Orchard Park, N.Y. on Sept. 29, 2002. The two teams are slated to meet in 2006.

CLEVELAND ROCKS: From the beaches of Lake Michigan to the banks of Lake Erie, the Bears play at Cleveland in the regular season for the first time since Nov. 29, 1992. The Bears regular-season absence in the home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is the second longest among all NFL cities behind only Indianapolis (Nov. 17, 1991). The game against the Browns marks the 16th consecutive season in which the Bears play a regular-season game against a squad they also played in the preseason.

MISCELLANEOUS SCHEDULE NOTES


The Bears open the home portion of their schedule in Week 2 against Detroit, the second consecutive season in which the Lions are the first NFL team to travel to Chicago for a regular season game. Detroit defeated Chicago 20-16 on Sept. 12 in the 2004 season opener.

Chicago plays Baltimore for just the third time ever with the Ravens making just their second trip to Soldier Field, the last one being Dec. 20, 1998.

Cincinnati makes its first visit to Chicago since Nov. 8, 1992, a 31-28 Cincinnati win in overtime on Sunday night.

Chicago has three sets of consecutive home games in 2005 and two sets of consecutive road games.

The 2005 schedule will mark the second time in three years in which the Bears will open and close the season on the road with 2003 being the other occurrence. Chicago has opened and closed its season on the road just six times since 1970.

The last time the Bears concluded a season with consecutive games on the road was 2000. Chicago has not finished a regular season with a game at Minnesota since 1988 when the Bears lost 28-27 on Dec. 19.

Chicago appears on ESPN's Sunday Night Football for the second consecutive season while not appearing on ABC's Monday Night Football for the sixth time in eight years.

The Bears play three AFC North teams in a four-week stretch from Week 3-7 and play three NFC South teams in a four-week stretch from Week 8-11.

Subtraction by Addition - Terrell to Land with Champs

Yahoo! Sports - NFL - Terrell to Land with Champs: "Terrell to Land with Champs"

In an unheralded move today, the New England Patriots apparently are seriously considering signing David Terrell. In other somewhat similar news, the Patriots chance to win the Superbowl in '06 has dropped from 2-1 to 200-1. - Slim Tim

Rex Grossman: ACL Healed

Yahoo! Sports - NFL - Rex Grossman: ACL Healed: "Grossman said if there was a game this week, he could play on his right knee,"

Well, I just hope that the Bears do not evaluate and release injury information to the public like the Chicago Cubs do... Oh Rex, you saviour of Bear fans everywhere, we hope ye are healed!!! - Slim Tim

Bears and the running back part 1...

NFL In the Trenches: James, Alexander on the block - CBS SportsLine.com: " The team has been tied to a trade rumor that involves James"

So, is there a trade rumor involving Thomas Jones and Edgerrin James? If so, this is the first mention of it I have seen... More to come on the RB situation... - Slim Tim

Bears should sign Brad Johnson

Yahoo! Sports - NFL - Domino Effect: "a passer rating on 79.5, better than 14 NFL starters last season and also better than the four Bears"

Seems to me that if he *wants* to come to the Bears, he is as good an option for a backup as any other QB out there. I like him as a QB knowing if *and when* he needs to step up and play... and you know he will... that he will be able to perform as good if not better than any QB that we have had on our roster in a long time. - Slim Tim.

Bears agree to five-year deal with Fred Miller

Yahoo! Sports - NFL - Bears agree to five-year deal with Fred Miller: "the 32-year-old veteran who hasn't missed a start since 1998"


Fred Miller 

Could we be so lucky??? A solid offensive lineman starter who hasn't missed a start in 7 years!!! That speaks volumes in my book. Nice signing!!! - Slim Tim

Bears trade 4th pick down to...

So today I hear my thoughts of a few days ago echoed by a friend of mine who heard on the sports talk radio about the possibility of the Bears trading their 4th selection in this draft to Dallas for their two first round picks (11th and 20th). The radio guy says it may be a reality because Dallas is really interested in Mike Williams at the 4th spot. Since Dallas now has Drew Bledsoe and Julius Jones, the receiver would make a very interesting triple threat similar to that of Indianapolis... For me that would be tremendous, the Bears could then address their need at tight end and offensive tackle in the first round, they could even draft two offensive tackles with the two first round picks, that'd be OK with me... I even like the possibility of trading the high first round pick then to a team for their lower first round pick and their 3rd round pick (The Bears traded away their 3rd round pick this year along with #86 to Miami for Adewale Ogunleye). No matter what happens with the draft, I would like the Bears to stay away from any defensive player until the second day, that seems to be where we pick up a lot of defensive talent for a bargain. - Slim Tim

Bears release WR Terrell

Yahoo! Sports - NFL - Bears release WR Terrell: "Two days after signing two-time Pro Bowl receiver Muhsin Muhammad, the Chicago Bears have released David Terrell. "

Wow, who saw that coming? As mentioned in previous posts, this writer firmly believes that Bears are better off without David Terrell. This move parallels the Cubs saying goodbye to Sammy Sosa a little. Sammy Sosa has accomplished something, though where David Terrell really has not lived up to his potential. I only mention the Sammy thing because it seems both teams let go of players so that they could provide addition by subtraction. - Slim Tim.

Draft Possibilities 02/26/2005 - Trade Down.

OK, now we have secured Moose Muhammad, the draft now has interesting possibilities. There are two teams who have two first round picks. The first team is Dallas with the 11th and 20th picks. The other team is San Diego with the 12th and 28th picks. If either of these teams would be willing to trade both of their picks to the Bear for their 4th overall, I would like to see them trade down. If this situation presents itself, the Bears could then use the 11th or 12th pick to select Heath Miller TE from Virginia. With the 20th or 28th pick they could then select an offensive lineman such as Jammal Brown, Khalif Barnes or Alex Barron. I love these perfect world scenarios... I wonder how it will play out. - Slim Tim

Muhammad reportedly agrees to terms

Yahoo! Sports - NFL - Bears: Muhammad reportedly agrees to terms: "Bears: Muhammad reportedly agrees to terms"


Muhsin Muhammad 

Yes, Yes!!! I love it. Moose immediately upgrades the receiver squad. We now have a legitimate number one receiver. I think this signing will also help draw a backup QB like Brad Johnson or Kurt Warner to the Bear. The signing of Moose now makes their 4th pick in the draft more interesting, does this mean that we still keep the pick to select a Wide Receiver? It seems that we could use that pick to select one of the Running Backs that will be on the board at that time. Either way, it seems to me that the Bear will address the Offensive Tackle position at the beginning of the second round now instead of trading down to select an OT. WOOOOO HOOOOO: Muhsin Muhammad!!!! - Slim Tim

Sign Jerry Rice.

As soon as is possible, sign Jerry Rice. Sign him and sign him now. Let him retire a Chicago Bear. An old Jerry Rice is still Jerry Rice. Wow, the Seahawks just released him, he is free to sign with whoever, why not the Chicago Bear??? - Slim Tim.

Bears waive QB Quinn

Bears waive QB Quinn. - 'Nuff said. - Slim Tim.

Bears vs. Saints 08/27/04 Picture

This picture is from the Bears vs. Saints preseason game on August 27th 2004. The Bear lost, but at least we had excellent seats for the game. That's me on the right and my brother-in-law on the left. 

Derrick Mason a possiblility???

Yahoo! Sports - NFL - Mason Could be the Go-To Wideout Bears Crave: "With only $2.5 million under the salary cap it will be difficult to lure Mason, who made a base salary of $3.3 million last season and would have made $3.2 million this year. "

Slim Tim Speaks: "Well, he isn't the local prospect like Justin McCariens was when we should have gotten him, but this free agent receiver deserves the best look of all the free agent receivers currently. He lead all receivers in 2004 with 96 catches and was second only to Tony Gonzalez for all players (Tony had 102 catches).

Rank Player Team Rec Yds Avg TDs Long
1 Tony Gonzalez KC 102 1258 12.3 7 32
2 Derrick Mason TEN 96 1168 12.2 7 37
3 Chad Johnson CIN 95 1274 13.4 9 53
4 Joe Horn NO 94 1399 14.9 11 57
5 Torry Holt STL 94 1372 14.6 10 75

At 31 years old, this player would really do well with our pool of young receivers." - Slim Tim.

Re: Bears Training Camp Concern

The following is the response I received less than 24 hours after my original letter written to the Chicago Bears:

Timothy,

From our Advertising and Events department:

The change in the format of ONU Appreciation Day was made for several reasons, but the primary reason was the health and safety of the players. The format for this summer has not been determined yet, but there will be changes made. As soon as the format is finalized, information can be found on ONU's Training Camp site. We truly appreciate your feedback.

Thanks for your support of the Chicago Bears.

Jacinta Williams

Chicago Bears, Fan Services Assistant


Nice to have such a timely response, I guess I was looking for more specifics. I will update as I find out more. - SlimTim

Bears Training Camp Concern

** Copy of letter sent to fanservices@bears.nfl.com **

Hello,

Each year since the Bears moved to Bourbonnais my family and I have attended the Appreciation Day held at Olivet Nazarene University. The 2002 experience was incredible, we paid the extra money for the paid admission and got an up close seat to see the Bears practice. After practice, the spectators that participated in the Appreciation Day event got an opportunity to go to a special meet and greet session with the players. Although it was awkward to see all of the players having to stand and meet their fans directly after practice, it was a nice opportunity for the fans to get close to the Bears players and wish them well on the season. It afforded me a memorable opportunity to tell Brad Maynard how much he meant to the team the year before. The players signed autographs and shook hands with fans from behind a yellow roped off area for 45 minutes (I know that because of overhearing a conversation between Jim Miller and Chris Chandler while they were signing autographs).

The Appreciation Day was repeated in much the same manner in 2003 as fans were treated to the same meet and greet session after practice. In 2003 however, the players were comfortably seated in groups of two at folding tables while signing autographs and shaking hands. That year, I got to see the humanity of several players and I appreciated the interaction that I had the opportunity to witness between fans and the players. There was a young boy who was concerned he would not have time to wait in the line to get an autograph from Kordell Stewart while getting an autograph from Ted Washington. Ted Washington overheard this and took the page from the boy and handed it to Kordell for him to sign for the boy. In another memorable moment of interaction between the fans, the same Ted Washington laughed out loud as a fan lauded Adrian Peterson as he was going to go to the pro bowl after the upcoming season. I got to kid Chris Villarrial about how the media pointed him out as him being the strongest Bear player to which he said it was actually Rex Tucker who was the strongest player. I remember thinking that they should have had their numbers on the tables though as we hardly have the opportunity to see many of the players with their helmets off.

Last year, as we drove down the same hour drive with six of us in the minivan, we were pleased to park in a special section reserved for the fans who had pre-paid their admission. We piled out of the minivan decked out in Bears attire such as Enis, Urlacher, Payton and Waddle jerseys and entered through the special entrance reserved for VIPs. As we entered, we were given a scratch-off card for a chance to win an autograph by one of the players, unfortunately none of our group was a winner. We got to our seats in plenty of time and as the players came out we cheered, because they are our home team, the only team, the Chicago Bears. We stood and cheered when a long pass was caught and voiced disappointment when a pass was dropped. The bleacher seating afforded an excellent vantage point at which to view all of the activities going on.

I want to stress how impersonal the end of practice was compared to the past two years. The experience was drastically different and I am wondering why. If it will be the same as last year, I probably will not attend the Training Camp in 2005. Instead of the special meet and greet session that we had come to look forward to every year, there was an odd march of winners in a single file line. These lucky few were separated into groups of 10 winners separated by a ONU employee. These lucky winners were paraded out to the edge of the practice field and the players came over to the sideline, signed the piece of paper and turned and went to the locker room. Oh yes, they were given a t-shirt as well. One of these winners was a 11 year old boy, whose mother works with me, and had gone to the training camp on my recommendation based on the two previous years. Although he won and he received other autographs from the other players who hung around, it was definitely not at all like I had described to his mother. I am not bitter because I did not win the scratch-off game, but more disappointed for the boy who did not get his wish fulfilled to meet all of the players like he had expected.

As there was a coaching change from the 2003-2004 season to the 2004-2005 season, we were left to wonder if that was the reason for the change or was it some policy shift that Olivet Nazarene had for the Chicago Bears. More importantly, we were wondering what to expect for the upcoming training camp in 2005.

Thank you for your time,

A Concerned Bears Fan
- SlimTim
Downers Grove, IL



I found a picture that I took during the Appreciation Day on August 14th, 2004. This picture illustrates the winners of the contest being paraded along the sidelines to get their autograph. 

2005 Free Agent Wide Receivers.

This is a list of 2005 Free Agent Wide Receivers.

Arizona Cardinals
Reggie Newhouse, WR
Contract Details: Newhouse was signed to the Cardinals practice squad on November 26, 2003. He was then added to the active squad on January 13, 2004.

Baltimore
Travis Taylor, WR
Contract Details: Taylor agreed to a five-year, $10.9 million contract with the Baltimore Ravens on August 1, 2000, according to the Associated Press.

Carolina Panthers
Karl Hankton, WR
Micah Ross, WR

Cincinnati Bengals
T.J. Houshmandzadeh, WR
Contract Details: Houshmandzadeh signed a one-year contract with the Bengals on April 14, 2004.
Freddie Milons, WR
Contract Details: Signed a three-year deal in June 2002.
Clifford Russell, WR
Contract Details: Russell signed a three-year contract in July 2002. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Cleveland Browns
Richard Alston, WR
Frisman Jackson, WR
Contract Details: Jackson signed a one-year deal with the Browns in September 2004.
C.J. Jones, WR
Contract Details: Jones was cut at the end of the 2004 preseason but then re-signed to the Browns' practice squad.
Andre King, WR
Contract Details: King, a restricted free agent, re-signed with the Browns in April 2004.

Dallas Cowboys
Tom Crowder, WR
Contract Details: The Cowboys signed Crowder off their practice squad on December 28, 2004. He will be a UFA after the season, but the Cowboys retain exclusive negotiating rights.

Detroit Lions
Tai Streets, WR
Contract Details: The Lions signed Streets to a one-year contract on March 10, 2004. The Detroit Free Press reports the deal to be worth $1.5 million, including a $750,000 signing bonus.
Reggie Swinton, WR
Contract Details: The Lions signed Swinton to a one-year contract on April 19, 2004.

Houston Texans
Corey Bradford, WR
Contract Details: In March of 2002, the Texans and Bradford agreed on a three-year deal.
Kendrick Starling, WR

Indianapolis Colts
Troy Walters, WR
Contract Details: Walters signed a two-year contract extension in January 2003.

Miami Dolphins
Sam Simmons, WR
Contract Details: Simmons signed a three-year contract with the Dolphins in July of 2002.
Terrence Wilkins, WR
Contract Details: Wilkins signed a one-year contract with the Dolphins on March 16, 2004. The Miami Herald reports the deal is worth $535,000.

New England Patriots
Troy Brown, WR
Contract Details: Brown reworked his contract with New England in July of 2002. He remains signed through the 2004 season.

New Orleans Saints
Talman Gardner, WR

Pittsburgh Steelers
Plaxico Burress, WR

San Francisco 49ers
Curtis Conway, WR
Contract Details: Conway signed a one-year deal with the 49ers on May 25, 2004. The contract is worth $760,000 and did not include a signing bonus, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
Cedrick Wilson, WR
Contract Details: Wilson signed the restricted free agent tender on April 14, 2004. The one-year deal is presumably worth $628,000, although reports in the local papers did not list the amount.

Seattle Seahawks
Alex Bannister, WR
Contract Details: Bannister signed his one-year, $628,000 RFA tender in May of 2004, according to the Seattle Times.

St. Louis Rams
Mike Furrey, WR
Contract Details: Furrey signed a one-year contract extension with the Rams on January 26, 2003, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Dane Looker, WR
Contract Details: Looker signed the one-year RFA tender on May 6, 2004. He will be an unrestricted free agent after the 2004 season.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tim Brown, WR
Contract Details: Brown signed with the Buccaneers on August 10, 2004. The length and financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
Joey Galloway, WR
Contract Details: Galloway signed a one-year, $2 million deal with the Buccaneers on March 19, 2004, according to the Associated Press.
Charles Lee, WR
Frank Murphy, WR
Edell Shepherd, WR

Tennessee Titans
Jason McAddley, WR
Contract Details: McAddley signed a three-year deal in June 2002, according to the Associated Press. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The receivers that interest me the most are: T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Joey Galloway, Dane Looker, Corey Bradford, and Plaxico Burress... Comments? - Slim Tim.

Bears '05 Offseason Options.

Bears '05 offseason needs: OT, WR, TE, QB.

1. Stand pat, build offense through draft: use fourth pick on premiere WR.

2. Trade down and select offensive lineman Alex Barron, Jammal Brown, or Khalif Barnes later in first round. Use additional picks based on need.

3. Sign Walter Jones from Seattle on March 2nd, draft Wide Receiver through draft.

4. Trade first round pick for premiere Wide receiver such as Ron Gardner, Reggie Wayne, Donte' Stallworth, or Randy Moss on March 2nd and pick up other needs through later rounds of draft.

I invite your comments on the subject to add your comments, click the comments link. - Slim Tim