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The Chicago Bears painted it as a red-letter day. There are two ways to look at it, of course. It was both a day to be positive about the future, and a day to remember the horrors of the past. When defensive end Julius Peppers, running back Chester Taylor, and tight end Brandon Manumaleuna signed free agent contracts Friday worth about $121 million total, including $91.5 million for Peppers, thereÆs little doubt ...

Julius Peppers' first unrestricted free agency stop will be in Lake Forest on Friday to talk to the Bears. It's up to general manager Jerry Angelo and ownership to make it his last stop. According to the Chicago Tribune, an offer has already been extended and Peppers likes the team because veterans Brian Urlacher, Tommie Harris, and Lance Briggs are already in place on the defense. Such a signing has been compared in ...

The Bears have finally decided to get serious about replacing free safety Mike Brown. It took a year of watching Al Afalava and Kevin Payne being too slow to get to receivers on third down and Danieal Manning lining up incorrectly, before they realized what everyone else knew going into last offseason. No one on their roster is a legitimate starting NFL free safety. “After we came out of our meetings, that was ...

Former Bears coach Mike Ditka coined the phrase ôGrabowskisö for his 1985 Super Bowl team when they prepared to play the Los Angeles Rams for the NFC championship. He referred to the Bears as Grabowskis and the Rams as ôSmiths.ö The Bears were the colorful, blue collar, hard-working group with a lot of personality while the Rams were considered an anonymous bunch without distinction. The Bears have come full circle now: They are ...

LAKE FOREST, ILùWhen some one says something stupid, itÆs funny how fast these stupid things can come back to haunt someone. Take Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith, for instance. When asked Tuesday, whether team president Ted Phillips had given him a win-or-else ultimatum for 2010, Smith responded by skirting the issue. However, at the end of his answer he chose to change subjects and brought up an earlier question given to general manager ...

LAKE FOREST, IL -- Not only will Bears coach Lovie Smith be back, but so too will the cover-2 defensive scheme that has been his trademark. ôWe havenÆt played it as well as we need to,ö Smith said. ôBut as long as I am the head football coach here, that is something that I believe in and we will keep continuing to make our scheme better, but we will be running ...

LAKE FORESTù Bears defensive tackle Tommie Harris expressed the viewpoint on coach Lovie SmithÆs future held by every player in the teamÆs locker room. ôI know heÆll be back,ö Harris said Wednesday. ôHe deserves every reason to; we just went to the Super Bowl a couple of years ago. ôHeÆs done some great things and Monday night everybody played their heart out and weÆre going to do the same on Sunday.ö When it ...

About four hours after his boss failed to offer a vote of confidence Sunday, Bears coach Lovie Smith understood the reason. The scoreboard told that reason: Ravens 31, Bears 7. ôWeÆre disappointed in our play, disappointed in our record,ö Smith said. ôIÆm the head football coach so IÆm sure a lot of people arenÆt knocking down the door wanting to pat me on the back.ö Smith had said the Bears had three ôlegitimate ...

In a wide-ranging interview with media Sunday afternoon prior to the Bears-Baltimore Ravens game, Chicago general manager Jerry Angelo answered questions about the team's disappointing 5-8 season and some about the future. Angelo suggested that a Comcast Sportsnet report saying Smith would be retainedámight beápremature, and that an evaluation process will be made with the final few games having an impact. The Bears' general manager saidáthe $11 million still owed to Smith ...

CHICAGO -- To find truth in the Chicago Bears' locker room, one must go to defensive players, and particularly, the defensive ends. Alex Brown has the right team-oriented attitude, but usually will not look through the same rose-colored or Lovie-tinted glasses that everyone else does. He didn't Sunday. ôWe canÆt play the way we played today and expect to beat a Minnesota. But it is good to get a win," Brown said. ...