32 year old defensive end Adewale Ogunleye came to the Bears in 2004 in a trade with the Miami Dolphins, which sent WR Marty Booker to Miami and Ogunleye to the Windy City.

Ogunleye had 25 sacks in three seasons with Miami and in six seasons with the Bears he has 42 sacks but has only had two seasons with nine or more sacks.

Ogunleye has his own blog on Chicagonow.com called Wale’s World and this is what he said last Wednesday when he learned his season was officially over after he broke his leg against Baltimore:

First let me say this … I will do everything in my power to return to Chicago. With that said, it’s somewhat out of my hands. In the near future my agent and the Bears’ management will sit down and discuss whether we fit into each others plans.

I look forward to resuming this blog in 2010 (fingers crossed).

‘Till then BEAR DOWN!!!

My Thoughts:

I hope Ogunleye returns next season, but it might be difficult because the Bears don’t want to give to much money to a 32 year old defensive end, who seems to be declining. Plus, Mark Anderson is young and is a cheaper option and they did give up a 2nd round pick to acquire disappointing DE Gaines Adams. We’ll have to wait and see what the Bears management does with Adewale.

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Bucs have sent the fourth overall pick in the 2007 draft to Chicago for a 2010 draft pick.  According to the Chicagobears.com, the bears gave up a second-round selection. That means the Bears won’t have first round and second round picks for the second straight draft.

This is a surprise move considering the Bears have been very good at getting to the quarterback this season. But you have to remember Adewale Ogunleye, who is leading the team this season with four and half sacks will be a free agent after this season along with fellow defensive end Mark Anderson.

Gaines Adams disappointed many in Tampa Bay including their head coach Raheem Morris, but the Bears probably think defensive line coach Rod Marinelli will get the first round potential out of Adams. Adams has appeared in 37 games with 29 starts in three seasons, registering 86 tackles, 13½ sacks, two interceptions and two forced fumbles. I like this trade a lot considering how good of player Adams can be, but I really like Adewale Ogunleye and I think this trade signals the end of his time with the Bears. Ogunleye will demand a lot of money this off-season, but the Bears won’t want to give a 33 year old player that kind of dough, I think they’ll go younger and keep Anderson and Adams over Ogunleye. Gaines Adams is signed through 2012, so if he looks good this season the Bears will look very smart. Adams won’t take over Ogunleye’s starting spot, but he’ll be part of the rotation.

If you take a look at the box score from this game, you would think that the Detroit Lions won the game. The Lions had 25 first downs (eight more than the Bears), 308 passing yards (183 more than the Bears) and had the ball for 36 minutes (13 minutes more than the Bears). So, how did the Bears win this game. Well it was mix of great special teams play throughout and some good defense in the second half.

Special Special Teams:

The Bears saw Robbie Gould make two field goals today, one of them was a 52 yarder, which was his longest attempt ever made. Punter Brad Maynard punted four times and every time the ball landed inside the Lions 20 yard line. Devin Hester returned a punt 35 yards in the first quarter to set up a touchdown drive, Earl Bennett returned a punt 20 yards and set up a field goal, and Danieal Manning returned a kick off 43 yards to set up a touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter. Also, how can you forget about Johnny Knox, he returned three kickoffs for a total of 147 yards and returned the opening kickoff of the second half 102 yards for a touchdown. I mean I knew the Bears had good special teams, but wow today was amazing. They set the offense up with a great field position all day and the defense was playing inside the Detroit 20 yard line most of the day.

Surprising Lions:

The Lions came out firing on all cylinders in the first half, by racking up 21 points. Calvin Johnson couldn’t be stopped and Matthew Stafford looked the real deal. He did get sacked five times in this game, fumbling the ball once and throwing an interception once as well. The Bears pass rush looked unstoppable at times. Alex Brown (0.5), Adewale Ogunleye (2.5), Nick Roach (1)and Israel Idonije (1) all got to Matthew Stafford today. Also, Mark Anderson, Tommie Harris and Lance Briggs were everywhere. The pass coverage looked soft during the first half, but they came back in the second half by only allowing Detroit to score three points.

Jay Jay:

Jay Cutler threw two touchdowns, both in the red zone, to tight ends Greg Olsen and Kellen Davis. Cutler also scrambled in for a touchdown, where he jumped over Lions linebacker Julian Peterson and risked his body just for the score. That was an incredible play. The Bears had short fields all day, so they didn’t really need to throw the ball deep too often. Cutler hooked up with seven different receivers.

Injury Bug:

Unfortunately injuries hit the Bears in this game, but luckily it didn’t affect them too much. Running back Adrian Peterson went out in the first quarter with a knee injury, wide receiver Devin Hester left the game with a shoulder injury in the second quarter and Johnny Knox left the game in the third quarter with a bruised shin. The Bears do have a bye week next week, so they will get to rest those players and see how serious the injuries are. The Bears should have linebackers Hunter Hillenmeyer and Pisa Tinoisamoa back for the week six Sunday night match-up against the Falcons.

Bears offensive coordinator Ron Turner had this to say about the injuries to his wide receivers:

“I think they’re going to be fine, it sounds like.”

Running Game Looked Good At Times:

Matt Forte had runs of 61 and 37, but had only 23 yards on ten other carries. Forte broke into the end zone late in the fourth quarter on his 37 yard run. Garrett Wolfe had five carries for 22 yards and a touchdown (the first of his career). The Bears out gained the Lions 151-90 on the ground.

Things To Improve On:

The Bears offense was two of ten on third down conversions, and that must improve. The Bears must start fast on both offense and defense today, we saw it from the offense, but not so much from the defense. Those are my two biggest concerns heading into the bye week. I’m sure Lovie Smith and Co. will patch things up, they sure looked good with their half time adjustments today.

Overall the Bears should be happy with their 3-1 record with a quarter of the season in the books. Also they should be pleased with their pass rush because they have 14 sacks through four games so far this season and only had 27 sacks all last season.

all quotes from chicagosuntimes.com

The Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers will meet for the 178th time tonight. The Bears currently lead the all-time series 91-80-6.

Since his hiring in 2004, Head coach Lovie Smith has recorded a 7-3 record against Green Bay including a 4-1 at Lambeau Field. The Bears got demolished in Green Bay last season, 37-3 and won in overtime at Soldier Field 20-17 (I was at that game).

All that stuff is in the past. It’s time for some football and tonight we should see some of that. Everyone is saying this game will be a shootout because the quarterbacks are so talented. Their also saying that the Green Bay Packers wide receivers are way better than the Bears young group of receivers.

Let me just say this. Who was Eddie Royal before Jay Cutler? Nobody!

Mr. Cutler should make the inexperienced receivers on the Bears look good tonight.

I think if the cornerback tandem of Tillman and Bowman play tonight, than the Bears should have an easier time on defense. They should start Kevin Payne and Al Afalava at the safety positions, because you need Danieal Manning fresh for kick returns and nickel situations on defense.

Players Who Must Step Up:

1) Earl Bennett- Last years third round pick has earned the number two receiving spot across from Devin Hester. He must play like he did with Cutler at Vanderbilt. Look for him to be solid.

Prediction: five catches, 68 yards and one touchdown

2) Brian Urlacher- He showed me how he was aging the last two seasons, I’ve heard his back feels better than ever this season. He is the key to success on defense because he drops back in coverage on many plays. Watch for Urlacher to step up to his Pro Bowl form this season.

Prediction: 12 tackles, one interception

3) Adewale Ogunleye/Alex Brown- These veteran starters have to get pressure on Aaron Rodgers all night, if they can’t the defense could be in big trouble. I hope Rod Marinelli brought these players back to there 2006 forms. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Prediction: Ogunleye (8 tackles, 2 sacks), Brown (7 tackles, 1 sack)

Who will win?

Final Score: 28-23. Bears Win!

The Bears have announced their captains for the 2009 season: Olin Kreutz, Jay Cutler, Brian Urlacher, Adewale Ogunleye and Patrick Mannelly.

These captains have a combined 14 Pro Bowl appearances between them (Kreutz 6, Urlacher 6, Cutler 1, Ogunleye 1).

Bears players Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs and Adewale Ogunleye spoke up about Brett Favre’s return to the NFC North with the Minnesota Vikings, here’s what they said:

Urlacher: “What will he bring to the division? The same thing he did last time, it doesn’t matter [that he's getting older]. He’s still Brett Favre. I don’t think it’s going to be that big of a change. Better running game, obviously, than he had in the past. Other than that, he’s the same guy, he’s a great competitor; he likes to compete, man. He’s going to go out there and give it his best every Sunday; you know that. He’s won a bunch of games, thrown a lot of touchdown passes and broken a bunch of records.”

Briggs: “I hope he’s going to change his mind when he’s going to throw the ball away [and] throws it into coverage, the bottom line is, Brett Favre’s a great quarterback.”

Ogunleye: “I really thought he probably was going to come back anyway, so I’m glad the saga’s over, now I guess everybody can rest , we know Brett Favre. We’ve played him a lot. He’s a hell of a competitor, a [future] Hall of Famer, and anytime you get to play against a guy like that, we’ll be up for it. We play him two times this year, so I’m excited. But I’m really just trying to focus on what we need to do to get better.”

all quotes from chicagobears.com

Bears veteran defensive end Adewale Ogunleye understands what GM Jerry Angelo is saying, “players need to take care of their business in order to have business take care of itself.”

Ogunleye, who will be 32 years old at the start of the season had this to say about the contract discussions:

“I’m in agreement with Jerry, last year, we gave out a lot of extensions and a lot of contracts to guys, and we didn’t win. So you can’t expect that to happen two years in a row.

“I’m not going to stress it out. I know what I bring to the table. What I’m going to do is go out there and have the best year I can have. Maybe then hopefully before the season is over, we’ll get something done. Or maybe when the season’s over. But I would love to be in Chicago, finish my career here.’’

Ogunleye struggled to get to the quarterback last season, recording five sacks, his lowest total since coming to the Bears in 2004.

In eight seasons, Ogunleye has played 112 games, recording 352 tackles, 60.5 sacks and 14 forced fumbles.

I know if Ogunleye plays a like the leader  that he is, than he’ll definitely get his contract extension.

all quotes from chicagotribune.com

The Bears added five players during the rounds four through seven.

Starting with the fourth round, at #105, Henry Melton DE.

Melton was arrested and charged with DUI while at Texas, but last season was his first full season as a defensive end. He spent his freshman year as a FB, and it took him some time to learn a new position. Melton is said to be a project, but at 6′3″. 270 pounds and a 4.65 40 yard dash, he has some potential. Plus Mark Anderson, Adewale Ogunleye and Israel Idonije are all free agents come the end of next season.

My Rating: C+

The next fourth round pick was 119th, where I think the Bears found a gem.

D.J. Moore from Vanderbilt is a great addition to the cornerback position. The Bears now have enough cornerback depth, where they should feel comfortable. Moore is considered small at 5′9″, 185 pounds, but he has recorded 12 interceptions over the last two seasons at Vandy and was nominated for All-American Honors by Sports Illustrated. I love this pick for the Bears, he’s athletic, fast and has great hands. He was ranked 6th out of his position by scout.com. I think for him to be available in the 4th round is ridiculous.

My Grade: B+

Now the fifth round, where the Bears picked up another receiver with the 140 pick.

They picked up Albiene Christian star receiver, Johnny Knox. This kid ran the third fastest 40 yard dash with a 4.34. He is 5′11″, 180 pounds and broke almost all of Albiene Christian’s receiving records. Knox started 33 of the 38 games he played at the Division II Albiene Christian, recording 163 receptions for 3,250 yards and 43 touchdowns. The problem with this Knox is he spent two seasons at a junior college before transferring to this Division II school. Knox was ranked 31st at his position by scout.com. He has a shot at getting some playing time, considering who the Bears have that position.

My Grade: B-

The other pick in the fifth round (154th) for the Bears, was a linebacker by the name of Marcus Freeman.

Freeman, from Ohio State, spent time banged up last season with an injured ankle, but had 109 tackles in his junior season. He is 6′1″, 235 pounds and is a guy who can compete for a spot on special teams. He might even get in the competition with Hunter Hillenmeyer and Nick Roach, will have to see. This is an okay pick, I would have rather seen them take an offensive lineman or a safety with this pick.

My Grade: C-

With the Bears only 6th round pick (190th), they selected a safety by the name Al Afalava.

This kid is a hard hitter, who played strong safety in college, but could be converted to free safety with the Bears. He reminds me a lot of former Bear Mike Brown. At 5′11″, 210 pounds ran a 4.47 40 yard dash at Oregon State’s Pro Day. The Bears brought Afalava in for a pre-draft visit. Afalava played in 47 games, recording 167 tackles and three interceptions in four seasons at Oregon State. He has a lot of potential. Although he had some off-the-field concerns following a DUI hit-and-run incident.

Greg Gabriel, the Bears director of college scouting said this about his incident and his potential:

He’s gone through the court system, checked into everything, did our research. Everything came back good. We’re very comfortable with the situation. Gabriel expects Afalava to start at strong safety but said he is capable of playing free safety.

My Grade: C

The NFL Draft is coming up soon, and just because the Chicago Bears don’t have a first round pick this year doesn’t mean they won’t be studying hard to find potential stars.

Here is the list of the Bears’ Areas of Concern going into the NFL Draft:

1) Wide Receiver—The Bears desperately need a big time receiver.

They have converted cornerback Devin Hester slated at the No. 1 spot, Rashied Davis, Earl Bennett, and Brandon Rideau in the mix at receiver.

The Bears should look at UNC receiver Hakeem Nicks, Ohio State receiver Brian Robiskie, Penn State receiver Derrick Williams, Florida receiver Louis Murphy, Cal Poly receiver Ramses Barden, or Georgia receiver Mohamed Massaquoi with the 49th pick.

2) Safety—The Bears let veteran safety and locker room leader Mike Brown leave this offseason. They brought in veteran Glenn Earl, who hasn’t played since 2006, and former second round pick Josh Bullocks.

Bullocks fell out of favor in New Orleans, where he started his career in 2005. Earl was a nice player with the Texans from 2004-2006.

The Bears really like last year’s fifth round pick, Zackary Bowman. He was injury-prone in college and he only played in one game last season with the Bears. They like his playmaker ability. If he can stay healthy, expect him to be a big help at the free safety position.

At free safety, Josh Bullocks is listed as the starter, while Zackary Bowman is his backup. At strong safety, Kevin Payne is listed as the starter, while Craig Steltz is his backup. I don’t know where Glenn Earl fits in.

Look for the Bears to go after a free safety in either the third or fourth round in the draft.

Players to look at are Patrick Chung from Oregon, Darcel McBath from Texas Tech, Chris Clemons from Clemson, Courtney Greene from Rutgers, and Chip Vaughn from Wake Forest.

3) Cornerback—The Bears could use some depth at a position that was hit hard by injuries last season.

Charles Tillman is clearly still a starter, Nathan Vasher has been involved in trade rumors and is on a short leash, Danieal Manning will probably be the starting nickel back, Corey Graham really shined last season taking over for the injured Vasher, Trumaine McBride and Marcus Hamilton are reserves at best.

The Bears should look at loading up the cornerback position in the third or fourth round.

Players to look at are Brandon Underwood from Cincinnati, Jairus Byrd from Oregon, Sherrod Martin from Troy, and Domonique Johnson from Jackson State.

4) Defensive End—With the Bears having two fifth round picks, expect them to find a gem at defensive end. They found Mark Anderson there. He was good a couple of seasons ago, maybe Rod Marinelli can fix that.

Anyway, the Bears have Alex Brown, Israel Idonije, Adewale Ogunleye, Mark Anderson, Ervin Baldwin, and Joe Clermond at the defensive end position.

Expect Alex Brown and Adewale Ogunleye to start and Idonije and Anderson to come in with the rotation. Many were disappointed with the play of Ogunleye, but expect him to be much improved come the start of the season.

Israel Idonije slimmed down from his defensive tackle size to help out not only at the defensive end position, but also on special teams. Mark Anderson will hopefully have more than one sack. Alex Brown will continue his pro bowl style of play once again. I don’t know much Ervin Baldwin and Joe Clermond, but I know they both spent last season on the practice squad.

Players to look at the defensive end position are Kyle Moore from USC, Will Davis from Illinois, Phillip Hunt from Houston, and Orion Martin from Virginia Tech.

Other positions the Bears need to address are OT, DT, TE, and G.

Warren Sapp, the future Hall of Fame defensive tackle, has long credited Rod Marinelli with his success in the league. He joined Mully & Hanley the other day on the Score, 670-AM to talk about Marinelli and the Bears’ prized defensive tackle Tommie Harris.

Here’s the interview with Warren:

WHAT ARE THE BEARS GETTING IN ROD MARINELLI?

Warren Sapp: The architect of the one of the greatest pass rushes the NFL has ever known. We went on a string of 70 straight games with a sack. It was all of us. That was our little string. Him, it was all of us. We attacked quarterbacks like it was nobody’s business. I just spoke to him the other day. He said, `Yeah, it’s going to be fun again. Here we go.’ He has a good group and he’s excited. I spoke to him [Tuesday] night and said he was packing up and going to Chicago today. Look out Windy City, here comes the man.

IS IT THE X’S AND O’S OF ROD MARINELLI OR IS IT SOMETHING ELSE?

Warren Sapp: No, it’s the passion. It’s his conviction. You don’t see many men stand and do what he did up in Detroit, going 0-16 and people attacking him and talking about his daughter and different stuff. He’s a man of dignity who served his country in the Vietnam War. I love the man. I absolutely adore him because he took me on a path to greatness and wouldn’t let me deter off it even a little bit. After I won my defensive player of the year award, he looked at me said, `Let’s see if your play can catch up with your athletic ability.’

I said, `What do you mean my athletic ability?’

He said, `What can you do?’

I said, `I can do anything.’

He said, `Well, let’s see.’

I came back and up put 16 1/2 [sacks] so he’ll challenge you in a way that just is going to push your boundaries. If [Adewale] Ogunleye and Alex Brown and Tommie Harris and the rest of them, [Israel Idonije] and [Marcus Harrison] and the rest of those guys up there buy into a system that lives off the front four, that’s what the defense does, it lives off the front four. If they want that, greatness is right in front of them. Just go get it.

HOW DID ROD MARINELLI MAKE YOU A BETTER PLAYER?

Warren Sapp: I tell you, it’s boots on the ground. I went in there and we worked everyday. I was in there with Eric Curry and some of those old-school Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Santana Dotson, and Mark Wheeler, big grunt guys that held up the place, did a great job. It is what it is. We were going a different direction. We started doing those pass-rushing drills where we were hanging and on our toes and we came out like the third day in a row and we were all looking at each other, me, Regan [Upshaw] and all those young guys like, `Yeah, let’s go!’ They looked at us, and turned to Rod and said, `Are we going to do this every day?’ That let’s you know who wants it and who doesn’t, trust me, my friend. We used to call it 30 minutes of hell. It will be an absolute grind the first 30 minutes of practice because you have to put the work in on the practice field to be able to go out on Sunday and have the type of fun that defense will allow you to have as a group.

TOMMIE HARRIS HAS THE KNEE ISSUE AND WE KNOW HIS PRACTICE WAS LIMITED DURING THE WEEK. HOW DOES HE GO THROUGH THE 30 MINUTES OF HELL THAT MAKES YOU THAT PLAYER ON SUNDAY AND YOU HAVE THE KNEE AND YOU CAN’T GET THAT THING RIGHT?

Warren Sapp: I guarantee you he is going to be healthy this year and if he’s not, it will be obvious. You have to put him together before he gets there. Rod will do a great job with that. He’s always done a great job with me because I had a little trick knee sometimes and I didn’t practice at times but you know when you need to grind and the grind happens. I talked to Tommie the other day and I told him, `Me and you are going to start this offseason as soon as I get out of Tampa [after Super Bowl XLIII] buddy because the under tackle position is something that not many people even want to be talked about because it’s not a defensive tackle and it’s not something else, it’s an under tackle, a unique guy that goes both ways, that does special things. I only know two other ones other than myself and that’s John Randle and Keith Millard that even consider themselves as under tackles. If you want to be in that class with me and those other two dudes, we’re going to have to look each other in the eye and we’re going to have to talk about this the right way and see what he’s thinking. Because if he’s not thinking about it the right way, with me and Rod, we’re going to get some work out of Tommie, I guarantee you this because he’s too good of a player to be sitting in that system looking like he’s not a player.

SO YOU ARE GOING TO WORK WITH TOMMIE?

Warren Sapp: I am going to work with him, yes.