According to bodog.com, the Chicago Bears chances of winning Super Bowl XLV next year in Arlington, Texas are 35-1.

The losers of last night’s Super Bowl, the Colts are actually the favorite to win next year at 13-2.

The Bears find themselves behind almost half of the league including the Super Bowl Champion Saints (10-1), New England Patriots (10-1) and the Chargers (8-1).

The Lions, Browns, Chiefs, Rams, Raiders and Bucs are all (100-1).

Hopefully these odds mean absolutely nothing because after watching last nights Super Bowl its time for some new and exciting to get in the big game. I mean obviously it would be sweet to see the Bears in the Super Bowl, but I think it might take a while for this offseason to get in the groove.

The end of the Bears season is a hopefully a nice preview to the 2010 year. Free agency officially starts March 5th, so will see what the Bears have up there sleeves.

Go Bears!

By Pedro Gonzalez (Guest writer)

After another disappointing season, (The Bears had a losing season this year and have missed the playoffs the last three years) obviously the Bears need to make some changes on both sides of the ball.

The Bears promised a drastic change. But after filling out their coaching staff, it didn’t seem like they had done much, so I think  (or should I say, hope) they’ll pick up some playmakers either on free agency, the draft or even by trade.

Here is which are the biggest offseason needs for the Windy City team.

Offseason need #1: The Offensive Line

The O-Line is, without a doubt, the reason why the Bears simply sucked carrying the rock and were a big part on Jay Cutler throwing so many interceptions.

They specially need a major improvement in the tackle position; Orlando Pace was just a temporary solution and didn’t exactly perform at a high level.

The team simply couldn’t run the ball and Mike Martz is known for his willingness to let the QB sacked. So if the team wants to really exploit Jay Cutler and Matt Forte’s abilities, they need to get some solid players for this aging line.

If I was the Bears front office: I would try to pick up a veteran free agent (but not to old, I’d be a happy with a player that’s been around the league for at least 5 years) and in the Draft a project pick in the 6^th or 7^th round.

Offseason need #2: The Defensive Line

The main problem for the Bears was their inability to stop the run and the defensive line has to take a lot of the blame.

The team drafted with their first pick in the ’09 Draft, defensive end Jarron Gilbert. But he didn’t impress enough the team and they decided to trade for Gaines Adams (R.I.P) and still he didn’t help the team much.

They were ranked 29^th in rush defense and they just didn’t get to the quarterback enough. Cedric Benson and Ryan Grant had career days and both of those games made a huge impact on the Bears.

If I was the Bears front office: I would pursue Julius Peppers if the Panthers don’t resign him and trade their 3^rd and/or 4^th pick for a young talented player. But I would change the defensive system because the Bears have the talent to play the 3-4 not the Tampa 2 blitzing with Hillenmeyer or Nick Roach sounds much better than what they have now.

The Chicago Bears have hired a new tight ends coach, his name is Mike DeBord.

Debord spent the last two seasons as the Seattle Seahawks assistant offensive line coach and tight ends coach.

The 53 year old coach started his coaching career in 1992 with the Michigan Wolverines in the college ranks, he stayed there until 1999, until he was hired as the Central Michigan head coach. After four unsuccessful years there, he went back to Michigan and stayed there until 2007. Then he got his shot at the NFL with the Seahawks.

DeBord should have some fun working with a good mixture of tight ends in Chicago. Greg Olsen is about to be a star in this league, Dez Clark is a very crafty veteran, and Kellen Davis has showed some signs of life.

Mike Martz is an offensive guru. He coached one of the most prolific offensives of all time in St. Louis, “The Greatest Show on Turf.” But he failed with San Francisco and Detroit, but it might have been because the players didn’t fit his scheme.

The key to his offense is the receivers and the offensive line. The Bears have some solid receivers in Devin Hester, Johnny Knox, Devin Aromashodu and Earl Bennett. I think with the right coaching and play calling they could be the best group in the league.

The offensive line could be the downfall for this team next season. With Chris Williams, Frank Omiyale, Olin Kreutz, Roberto Garza and Kevin Shaffer as the projected starters, I think they could be in trouble. When Williams was put into the lineup the line was much better, but the right side of the line is the real problem to me. Garza and Shaffer might not be worthy starters in the NFL anymore. Josh Beekman might be an option for the right guard position, but I think the Bears should look at the NFL Draft or free agency to find a solid lineman.

Mike Martz has the smarts and Jay Cutler has the arm, I really think it’s a good mix. Cutler needs the protection and time to get the ball down the field, but most importantly he needs to learn to throw the ball away.

Will the Bears be a much improved offense next season? The answer is most likely, but I don’t know if they will be a great offense. Mike Martz is the key to the success of not only Jay Cutler but also Lovie Smith’s job security. In the meantime Mike Martz should be very excited to work with this young group of up and coming stars mainly the quarterback Jay Cutler.

According to Chicagobears.com,  ”The Bears on Monday hired Mike Martz to be their offensive coordinator.”

Lovie Smith and Mike Martz chat before a joint Bears-Rams practice at Western Illinois in 2004. Martz, 58, worked with Bears coach Lovie Smith in St. Louis, operating an explosive Rams offense that was dubbed “The Greatest Show on Turf.” The unit featured quarterback Kurt Warner, running back Marshall Faulk, and wide receivers Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt.
As offensive coordinator under head coach Dick Vermeil in 1999, Martz helped the Rams win Super Bowl XXXIV by directing an offense that recorded the first of three straight 500-point seasons, an NFL record.

In his first year as a starter, Warner passed for 4,353 yards and 41 touchdowns.

Martz replaced Vermeil as head coach in 2000 and went on to compile a 56-36 record in five and a half seasons in that role. The four coaches who have followed Martz have combined to go 18-51 since he left.

Martz hired Smith to be his defensive coordinator in 2001. In their first year together, they helped lead the Rams to their second Super Bowl in three seasons, cruising to a 14-2 record, including 8-0 on the road.

After departing St. Louis, Martz served as offensive coordinator with the Detroit Lions in 2006-07 and the San Francisco 49ers in 2008. In his first season with the Lions, unheralded quarterback Jon Kitna passed for a career-high 4,208 yards at the age of 34.

After serving as an offensive assistant at Arizona State from 1983-91, Martz coached quarterbacks and receivers with the Rams from 1992-96. He left St. Louis to become quarterbacks coach with the Washington Redskins in 1997-98 before returning to the Rams in 1999.

With the addition of Martz, Smith now has three former NFL head coaches on his staff. The other two are defensive line coach Rod Marinelli and new offensive line coach Mike Tice.

all quotes from chicagobears.com

Bears defensive end Gaines Adams died Sunday morning of cardiac arrest resulting from an enlarged heart, according to Greenwood County, S.C., chief deputy coroner Marcia Kelley-Clark.

Bears players and NFL commissioner reacted today to the defensive end’s tragic death:

Bears’ Brian Urlacher called Adams’ death was “crazy.”

“I didn’t know him that well because he came in during the middle of the season,” Urlacher said. “But I did know him. I still saw him every day when I went into work. It’s just weird.

“I had a teammate die when I was in college. You just don’t know how to handle it. It’s just sad, man. It’s a bad deal.”

Bears’ Alex Brown posted on his Twitter page: “Please send out your prayers to Gaines Adams family he was a great teammate and will be missed. Cherish life, we only get one. God Bless!”

Bears’ Jason McKie post on his Twitter page: “please keep Gaines Adams family in your prayers he was a great person and teammate..life is too short …we love you Gaines.”

Bears DT Marcus Harrison “We knew we were the younger crew, we felt like since we would be the D-line of the future, we knew we needed to try to click together.

“This (stuff) really tore me down this morning. I was totally not prepared for something like this. That’s my dude, for real. At work, at practice, that’s who I got down with: Gaines. This hurts.”

NFL Commisoner Roger Goodell “It’s a sad outcome, he was a terrific young man. I met him at the draft when he came in, and he stood out. He was a very caring individual. I’d seen him a couple of times, most recently in Chicago” when Goodell spoke to the Bears in November.

“He seemed like a very genuine, nice man. He seemed focused on being a good person, not just an NFL player. I was always taken with him.”

all quotes from chicagotribune.com

The Chicago Sun Times reporter Neil Hayes is reporting that Bears DE Gaines Adams has passed away at age 26.

Bears’ defensive end Gaines Adams died this morning after he was taken to the emergency room at Self Regional Hospital in Greenwood, S.C., according to Greenwood County Coroner James T. Coursey. He was 26.

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, Pete Carroll has reportedly agreed to leave Southern California after nine years to return to the NFL and coach the Seattle Seahawks. The Los Angeles Times has reported Carroll also will be team president.

The Seahawks also are speaking with former Bears player and current Minnesota defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier. According to SI.com’s Peter King, the Seahawks front office spoke with Leslie Frazier today for about 4-5 hours, if this is true I don’t know if Carroll is a lock to become the head coach in Seattle. Also, former Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera is scheduled to interview for the head coaching position.

Carroll didn’t have the greatest success in the NFL when he coached the New York Jets and New England Patriots. He posted a 33-31 record.

The Seahawks are reportedly giving Carroll $35 million dollars over five years. His offensive coordinator at USC Jeremy Bates was rumored to be following him to Seattle by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, but Schefter said something different about 20 minutes ago via his twitter account.

Schefter: “USC OC Jeremy Bates to Seattle no sure thing just yet. Chicago still in play on him, as well as Univ of Minn OC Jedd Fisch.”

I hope Schefter is right about Bates not definitely going to Seattle because I would love to see Cutler-Bates reunite in the Windy City.

all quotes from twitter.com.

I know it’s only Wednesday, but I am bringing you my quotes of the week.

To start it off, we all know Lovie Smith was brought back for another season to supposedly “get” the Bears back to the playoffs, it seems like so long ago we were in the Super Bowl, anyway here’s what Lovie had to say yesterday during his press conference:

Lovie: “We’re not happy with where we are, we realize it has been three years since we have been to the playoffs. We realize all of that. We know we need to improve, and we will. It’s kind of as simple as that. We can get back. We’re not the first franchise to go through a tough spell, and we won’t be the first one to be able to come out of that, so from this day forward it is about doing what we need to do to put a better product out on the field next year.”

Ron Turner talked to the Chicago Tribune after he got canned, here’s what he said:

Turner: “You look at where we were at the start and then at the end, they’re different players. You don’t just bring in a quarterback with that many new players and click right away. It takes time, sometimes years. There’s no question, it’s going to take off, I did the best job I could with what I had.”

Dez Clark was very upset about the firing of tight ends coach Rob Boras, here’s what he had to say yesterday via text message:

Clark: “I’m very disappointed that they fired Rob because I know that they know he is the best coach on the staff, I don’t see how it can be justified unless they are going to get rid of the whole staff and fire everybody, one of the finest coaches I’ve been around in 11 years in the league, he’ll land on his feet and be an asset to another coaching staff.”

Former NFL executive and current NFL Network analyst Michael Lombardi spoke up about the possibility of Jeremy Bates becoming the next Bears offensive coordinator, here’s what he said:

Lombardi: “He is exactly what the Bears need right now because there is an element of toughness that he brings to the table, he is going to be able to get into the quarterback’s head and he is going to be able to get into his mind. And the quarterback — this is the key point now — the quarterback accepts what he says as coaching.”

“Does (Bates) tell him what he wants to hear? No way. I’ve watched it, I’ve seen it. I love Jay Cutler. I think Jay Cuter can win for him. However, I do know that he needs to be coached, and coaching done the right way is not being afraid of confrontation and telling a player when he is doing something wrong.”

Those are the quotes of the week, Chicago Bears style. Check back next week to see the new set of quotes.

All quotes from chicagotribune.com

Some of you Bears fans might be asking who is Jeremy Bates? Why wouldn’t we just hire Mike Martz or Charlie Weis?

First off, Jeremy Bates is the 33-year-old son to recently fired Bucs defensive coordinator, Jim Bates. Jeremy began his coaching career with the Bucs in 2002 as the offensive quality control coach. By the way the Bucs went on to win the Super Bowl that season. He spent two more seasons in Tampa and then spent one year with the Jets as the quarterbacks coach.

From 2006-2008, he was the quarterbacks for the Denver Broncos. Those three years he spent with quarterback Jay Cutler. This offseason he bolted for USC to be the assistant head coach/quarterbacks coach.

This guy knows football. He knows quarterbacks and most importantly he knows Jay Cutler.

Jay Cutler trusts this guy a lot and that is a good thing to have between your quarterback and your offensive coordinator.

Cutler said this when he heard Bates was heading to the college ranks back in January:

“Jeremy is one of the best offensive minds in football. He was extremely innovative with our offense and took our playbook to the next level with some of the things he did, keeping defenses off balance and changing our look but at the same time keeping it simple for us players. Some of the things he did were amazing to watch. He was always watching other teams and coming up with new ideas for our offense.

“He helped me grow into my third NFL season and helped me reach the Pro Bowl along with some of the other goals I set for myself. As a unit, our offense became one of the most productive in the league with Jeremy calling plays. He brought a lot of excitement to the meeting room and on the field.

“He made me want to come to work every day and get better. Jeremy will do great things in his new role, and USC couldn’t have picked a better guy.”

If the Bears decided to hire Jeremy Bates as their new offensive coordinator I would be all for it because of his strong relationship with the Bears future star Jay Cutler.

The comparisons to Rex Grossman and Jeff George should come to an end next season, if the Bears decide to hire Bates. In 2008, the Denver Broncos offense (w/Jay Cutler & Jeremy Bates) ranked second in NFL overall.  The passing game was ranked third and the rushing attack was ranked 12th.

This addition could already be in the works, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Bears have reached out to USC offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates about succeeding Ron Turner in that role for them. The firing of Ron Turner who didn’t know how to use Jay Cutler correctly and the hiring of someone who is smart and capable of working with Jay Cutler again is the greatest idea the Bears could have.

I hope the Bears strike a deal with Jeremy Bates before someone else snags him away. The offense is what’s going to help this team win games not the defense which could get better with some adjustments, but who knows.

Mike Martz or Charlie Weis are not the answer for the Bears, Jeremy Bates is because of unique relationship with the Bears most important piece to the puzzle Jay Cutler.

all quotes from The LA Times