Grossman talks about being a free agent:

“Basically what I told my agent [Eugene Parker], the ceiling is I want to compete to start and that is really what I want. But the floor is I want to have a good job. If that’s being a backup, that’s being a backup. I really want to compete to start. There are a few situations out there where I feel like they don’t have a solidified starter and I’d love to get on one of those teams and I’m not sure if that’s the case, but whatever happens I am going to be more motivated than I’ve ever been in my life to get back to the Super Bowl and be a starter and finish what I started in Chicago.”

Grossman said things began to turn on him in 2005 when he missed the majority of the season with a broken ankle. He said that is when the “culture” of fans following the Good Rex/Bad Rex phenomenon began.

“For whatever reason I was kind of a lightning rod for the media and the fans, it was kind of a topic of conversation for several years, Good Rex/Bad Rex and all this. It just seems like I was the focal point. The negative fans and the negative people tend to be louder than the people supporting you so I just kind of tried to ignore it as much as possible. But it kind of had a culture starting in ’05.

“It was something I had to deal with. Some of my home games felt like away games. Every incompletion was booed. We had a practice that they booed me when they introduced me [at Soldier Field] to start the year which is not how you want to start the year but you know, it was something I had to deal with. They cheered good plays. Every little detail was magnified as far as my performance.”

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If it wasn’t for Bleacher Report, I don’t think Bears Backer would exist.

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The Bears have sent contract tenders to exclusive rights free agents Nick Roach (above) and Marcus Hamilton, NFL sources confirmed.

Roach started nine games at strong-side linebacker and finished with 40 tackles including a season-high eight in the final game at Houston.

Roach is expected to enter minicamp atop the depth chart at the position although he will be pushed by seven-year veteran Hunter Hillenmeyer, 28.

Hillenmeyer has made 56 career starts but fell out of favor.

Nathan Vasher spoke about all the rumors floating around:

“I don’t feel like I’m above the rumors or speculation, just like any other player this off-season, but I’m still here. Nobody has told me anything.”

“Definitely I feel I am a starter, I’ve shown the talent. The proof is out there. I feel like people around the league know that. And I’ve never kept myself from feeling like that.”

All quotes from chicagotribune.com

Today the Bears made a contract offer to offensive tackle John St. Clair.

Financial terms discussed were not disclosed.

John St. Clair would like a five-year deal, I’m sure he would settle for the three-year deal the Bears are believed to have offered.

St. Clair had this to say today:

“It’s great to have dialogue, I don’t want to get into whether [the offer] was good or not good. I’ll let my agent [Ben Dogra] handle the contract negotiations. He knows what I’m looking for. And he knows I want to be back.”

“My agent knows what I should get, I’m just letting him handle it.

“You don’t want to reach free agency. You want to stick with your team. But you have to do what’s best your family. And wherever God wants me to be, that’s where I’ll be.”

Lovie Smith talks about John St. Clair:

“John St. Clair was big for us even before John Tait retired. John played well for us throughout the year. He was consistent each week, we knew what we were gonna get from him. Of course we’d like for him to remain a member of our team.”

all quotes from chicagotribune.com

This is a move the Bears had to make considering how thin they are at the offensive tackle position.

St. Clair was a solid player, starting all 16 games last season at left tackle.

If, St. Clair signs the contract, this makes him the starting right tackle and Chris Williams the starting left tackle heading into training camp, unless the Bears bring someone else in via free agency or the NFL Draft.

The Bears made the right move by only offering St. Clair a three year deal, he’s already 32 years old and you don’t know how much he has left in the tank.

Let’s all hope John St. Clair resigns with the Bears.

Today, Feburuary 22 marks many accomplishments in Chicago Bears history including:

06/24/1922 – AFPA changes name to NFL, Chicago Staleys become Chicago Bears

12/18/1932 – Chicago Bears beat the Portsmouth Spartans 9-0 in the 1st ever NFL playoff game

04/17/1933 – Chicago Bears won their 1st NFL Game beating NY Giants 23-21

12/21/1941 – Chicago bears won the NFL championship

above: this is a picture of the 1920 Chicago Staleys

Is Nathan Vasher returning to the Bears next season?

Many think he has grossly underachieved since receiving a big contract two seasons ago.

It definitely appears that way.

Vasher has only played in 12 games in the last two seasons, recording 29 tackles and only two interceptions.

Jerry Angelo spoke about Vasher’s future at the NFL Scouting Combine this weekend:

“I don’t know where he is now, I touched on that. He has to re-establish himself, he’s competing to start. We talked about that, he’s got to take his game to another level. I didn’t see anything physically speaking that would tell me that he can’t, but he’s got to get it going. He’s had some injuries that’s kind of retarded some of the things maybe that we’re used to seeing from him, but he hasn’t been the guy that we’ve been accustomed to seeing and certainly not the guy that [we saw] when we gave him his contract extension. He needs to be a better player. He knows that. I feel strongly he’s going to accept that challenge and we’re going to see a much better Nathan Vasher.”

all quotes from chicagosuntimes.com

What do I think?

I think you have to keep a guy that has talent in the mix.

You have many talented cornerbacks, including Corey Graham and Zack Bowman, who should provide depth behind Tillman and Vasher.

If, Vasher can stay healthy I think he can regain his form from 2006, but we’ll just have to wait and see.

When the Cincinnati Bengals used the franchise tag on K Shayne Graham, TJ Housmandzadeh spoke about his future with the team:

Houshmandzadeh told ESPN’s Bob Holtzman last week that there is a “90-something percent chance” he won’t return to the Bengals.

Houshmandzadeh said he also thinks Chad Johnson’s days in Cincinnati are over.

What are the chances of both of these elite wide receivers coming to the Bears?

The chances are pretty slim, but could you imagine Devin Hester, Chad Johnson, and TJ Houshmandzadeh all in a Bears uniform together.

That would be pretty sweet.

But, Housh wants a lot of dough this off season and you’d probably have to give up a 2nd and a 3rd draft pick to get Ocho Cinco from the Bengals.

If this did actually happen, the Bears would be one of the better offensive teams.

They could have Orton, Forte, Hester, Housh, Chad Johnson, Greg Olsen and Dez Clark all on the field at once.

I know every Bears fan would love this, but it would not only take a lot of money, but also a lot of decisions out of Jerry Angelo.

Angelo probably wouldn’t make these moves considering what he said at this weekend’s combine about the Bears receivers:

‘I like what we have [at receiver], they need to continue to develop. But again, our play starts with our lines. I don’t want to get so focused on the receiver position — although, yes, we do need to look at the receiver position, as well. And that’s why I say we can go a lot of ways on draft day. And that’s the silver lining because it will allow us to create more options and allow us then to get the best players at those particular rounds.”

all quotes from chicagosuntimes.com

Is it possible that Tank Johnson could play for the Chicago Bears again?

I don’t know.

It’s defiantly a long shot.

The Bears drafted Johnson in the 2nd round of the 2004 NFL Draft.

In three years (2004-2006) with the Bears, Tank Johnson played in 46 games, recorded 63 tackles and nine sacks.

The Bears released him after he found himself in trouble with the law too often.

In two years (2007-2008) with the Cowboys, Tank played in only 24 games and recorded 33 tackles and 3 sacks.

The Bears could make this move, just because defensive tackles Tommie Harris and Dusty Dvoracek have been disappointing the last couple of seasons.

The other defensive tackles on the Bears’ roster are Anthony Adams, Marcus Harrison and Matt Toeaina.

This probably won’t happen, but it’s a possibility.

The Bears could probably get him cheap.

The teams that I see signing Tank Johnson would be the Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, or the St. Louis Rams.

Adam Schefter of NFL Network reported today that after contract talks failed to produce a deal, the St. Louis Rams designated safety O.J. Atogwe as their franchise player.

The safety franchise number for Atogwe is $6.342 million.

Atogwe has 17 interceptions in four seasons with the St. Louis Rams, five of those came last season.

Atogwe was considered the top safety in this years free agency class.

Bears fans you can cross this guy off your wish list.