Bleacher Report - Articles by Nick Shepkowski

Bears-Giants: What a Difference a Week Makes as Jay Cutler Shines

Nick Shepkowski — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 12:07:47 -0400

A week ago Chicago Bears fans were convinced that Jay Cutler was going to be a bust as a Bear, and that even if Kyle Orton struggled in Denver, the Broncos still got the better of the offseason deal.

Fast-forward to Saturday night at Soldier Field on Chicago's lakefront, and you would think that Jay Cutler was a 26-year-old John Elway that arrived from Denver.

He showed that he was human by overthrowing Devin Hester by a hair on a deep ball that would have resulted in a Bears score, but he also showed why he is an elite quarterback in the NFL with a couple of his passes during his first half playing time.

What passes exactly am I talking about? We'll go in order.

13:44, First Quarter: 3rd-and-8 from the Bears 26

Obvious passing down, and he reads blitz. You don't see him panic and leave the pocket like so many quarterbacks do; instead he stands and waits until the last possible second to release the ball.

Sure, he gets clobbered by the blitzing cornerback, but he also throws a strike in stride to Earl Bennett, who caught the ball on the run and was able to pick up additional 15 yards because of the placement on the pass.

6:53, First Quarter: 1st-and-10 from the Bears 20

His fake toss to Matt Forte doesn't get any of the defensive line to bite, but his initial step to the left is able to get Justin Tuck to pursue heavy that way, creating a lane when Cutler runs back to his right.

This buys time for Cutler, who throws a laser to Bennett in a place where only he could make the catch for 15 yards. Great ability to throw on the run displayed here that we haven't seen in Chicago in quite some time.

11:12, Second Quarter: 1st-and-10 from the Giants 39

No blitz this time or heavy pressure, just a picture perfect pass where the form and placement are shown to be exactly how coaches draw these plays up.

Cutler has much time to make the pass and does. Once again, even with just a hint of pressure from the right side, he is able to stand in and deliver an on-target pass to Devin Aromashodu inside the five-yard line.

Credit Aromashodu for making an athletic move to bring the pass in, but this is further proof of how much a legitimate quarterback can help a group of unproven receivers.

These three plays showed me that Jay Cutler is indeed "The Realness" or however you want to put it. It's obvious to me that the receivers won't be as bad as so many believe based on the fact that the ball will be placed where it needs to be placed for a change.

I can't possibly overstate how much of a difference that will make in the passing game.

Other thoughts from Saturday's game

The Bears struggle with tackling the bigger running backs in the NFL and have for a long time. Their issues come from trying to tackle high though and obviously not getting low enough. On a third down and two for the Giants in the first quarter, Brian Urlacher had a chance to make a drive-ending tackle on Brandon Jacobs but instead tried to tackle him around Jacobs' shoulder.

You can guess the rest, as Jacobs ran Urlacher over and picked up the first down along with some extra yardage.

I've been telling everyone I know both on here and outside of the Internet that Matt Forte is entirely healthy and will be downright scary this year for opposing defenses if he stays that way. He looked excellent all camp and had a solid game on Saturday, including his 32-yard touchdown run.

His YPC number outside of the long run may be a bit lower than expected, but factor in second half carries in a regular season game against a more tired defense, and that will likely rise.

The Bears coaching staff loves Garrett Wolfe for some reason, and I really don't see why. They included him with the first team many times in camp to try to pass to out of the backfield and included him on a pass play Saturday night.

Upon making the reception and a nice move for some extra yards, he promptly fumbled and lost possession for the Bears. Anyone want him? I really don't, but that decision was made in my head well before Saturday's game.

In full, it was a stronger showing than that against the Buffalo Bills. The Giants ran a very vanilla offense, so seeing the secondary get tested was not in the plans like I wish it had been. I am still very worried about that this year.

The defensive line also had major issues controlling the line of scrimmage, as the Giants averaged nearly 4.5 yards per carry. There's room for improvement there as well.

Nothing is perfect yet, but it sure did look better as a whole.

One More Day in Bourbonnais for Chicago Bears

Nick Shepkowski — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 01:40:18 -0400

Find all of your Chicago Bears news and opinions at Love Your Smith

And so it seems it's over as soon as it started for the Bears in Bourbonnais.

To me there are very few things in sports that seem to come and go as quickly as NFL training camp. Maybe because it never really has an off day because there are games on the off days of camp and it seems that news is made even during the off days.

Time flies by when you are an observer at an NFL training camp.

Here are my thoughts from the second-to-last day in Bourbonnais. I'm not going to necessarily say who looked great/poor today, but instead give more of a summary of training camp.

The players that impressed me the most at training camp this year were Earl Bennett, Matt Forte, Chris Williams, and Al Afalava.

By this, do I mean these were the best players? No. Instead these were players who I was not entirely sold on coming into camp who have done a good job making their sales pitch during the past couple of weeks.

Bennett will be among the Bears' starting receivers in Week One in Green Bay, barring any injury. He seems to have turned into a wideout who can be put on the field and actually make a play if need be, not only a guy you are hoping doesn't embarrass himself.

Quarterback Jay Cutler deserves some credit for being able to get the ball to Bennett better than Orton did, but credit must be given to Bennett for coming to camp on top of the playbook and understanding plays after that whole experience a season ago.

Forte turned some heads last season as he put up monster numbers as a rookie in the Bears' backfield. I knew he was going to look good in Bourbonnais, but after watching Bears running backs for a while now, I don't have any problems ranking Forte among the elite running backs in the NFL in 2009.

To me, it seems like his football speed got faster over the offseason and I expect big things from the Cajun this fall.

Williams entered camp under much scrutiny after having to have back surgery in camp a year ago. He entered camp healthy and in great shape this season and picked up where everyone only hoped he would be at right tackle.

He has room to grow, don't get me wrong, but I would be lying if I told you he didn't hold his own in one-on-one drills against the veteran defensive linemen the Chicago Bears have to offer. The road ahead seems to be a good one for Williams.

Afalava is the final Chicago Bear that really made me turn my head over the past few weeks. In this case, it was especially the last 10 days or so. There is no doubt he has a lot of room to grow, much to learn, and strength to gain but he has been the most impressive of any Bears rookie to me in camp.

Afalava is likely going to be a starting safety this year for the Bears and I fully expect there to be growing pains along the way, but from all signs in camp, he's going to make the secondary's losses from a year ago hurt a little less than we first expected.

The Bears will have plenty of questions and flaws as they enter the 2009 regular season.

Will the defensive line produce? How bad will the secondary be? Who will Cutler throw to besides his tight ends?

All of these are fair questions that we have had answered to some degree, but much time remains for them to be answered in full.

After seeing this team perform I am fully aware they don't look like a team that is going to be playing the first weekend of February in Miami but they are a far cry from the Bears teams from the mid-'90s that simply made your stomach hurt.

Outside of Cutler, what are you most looking forward to as a Bears fan in 2009?

Chicago Bears: Decision All but Announced at Cornerback

Nick Shepkowski — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 02:51:17 -0400

Want more breaking Bears news? Visit Love Your Smith

After allowing 23 of 26 passes to be completed on Saturday night against the Buffalo Bills, it comes to nobody's surprise that Lovie Smith has decided to change things up in the secondary.

The Nathan Vasher troubles appear to have found their way to the bench, while Trumaine McBride and Corey Graham had gone runs but aren't in line to start at the beginning of the 2009 regular season.

Smith made it fairly clear on Monday evening that a couple of wounded defensive backs will get the nod at the starting cornerback positions in Week 1, as long as they are both ready to play.

Everyone expected Charles Tillman to have a job when he was healthy enough to play, so that is no surprise, but it does come as a bit of a shock to some that Zack Bowman will get the start on the right side.

Bowman has been injured much of his short career, which is something he also had problems with while at Nebraska. With the Cornhuskers, a torn ACL kept him sidelined in 2006.

Last year, Bowman tore his bicep after playing in only one regular season game, a 48-41 win over the the Minnesota Vikings at Solider Field. Bowman had an interception and two tackles in that contest.

Bowman has now missed practice for over a week with a hamstring injury.

How close are either of the two starters to getting back on the field in full pads?

There were rumors that Bowman would do so on Monday, but the Bears chose to not risk things and kept him away from furthering his injury instead. In all likelihood, he will return fully before the Bears break camp on Thursday.

There were rumors circulating in camp late last week that Tillman may be ready to play against the Broncos in Week 3 of the preseason. But those rumors appear to have gone away, and the Bears now seem to be thinking his first game action will come in Week 1 at Green Bay.

We'd all like to see Peanut get some game reps that don't really count in the realm of things under his belt after undergoing back surgery just before training camp opened, but it doesn't seem like that will be the case. But as long as he gets a full week of practice in, I don't think any Bears fans will have to worry. He's still in fine shape, as he's been keeping up on conditioning very well.

The news of the day is that Tillman and Bowman will be your starting cornerbacks in Green Bay on Sept. 13, as long as they're both healthy and ready to go.

How does this make you feel, Bears fans? Are you OK with having two injured players as the pegged starters for now?

Chicago Bears: Final Monday in Bourbonnais for 2009

Nick Shepkowski — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 19:12:05 -0400

Bears fan? Visit Love Your Smith for all of your Monsters of the Midway needs...

The Bears were back at it in Bourbonnais on Monday as they practiced in helmets and shoulder pads. The warm and windy day in Kankakee County went as follows:

Returning from injury today were Patrick Mannelly and Greg Olsen, while Danieal Manning and linebacker Nick Roach sat out.

Zack Bowman returned in part as he was seen doing some conditioning drills alongside Charles Tillman. The latest rumor has Peanut being ready to play by the third preseason game in Denver on the 30th.

The wide receivers were interchanged this afternoon. Earl Bennett was responsible for making the crowd roar when he made a diving/sliding catch in the area of Nathan Vasher. As a result of the slide, Bennett's shorts slid down a little bit, much to the pleasure of some female fans in attendance.

Rashied Davis saw reps with the first team on Monday as well.

Outside of the Bennett catch, how did Vasher look? He still had first team reps, but Corey Graham substituted in for him and worked with the first team early in practice. Graham then switched to the opposite side as he took Trumaine McBride's spot on the field.

In all honesty, Peanut can't get healthy soon enough because this whole situation in the defensive backfield is that bad.

Toward the end of practice, Alex Brown made an outstanding interception on Jay Cutler. Brown was in the air and made a leaping grab on a ball that was thrown from a yard and a half away at the farthest. It was a heck of a play by Brown. He is someone the defensive front will need to be at his best this season.

No word if Cutler is worried about his starting spot just yet...

3:00 pm start time for practice tomorrow, if anything breaks before then I'll have it for you here.

Chicago Bears: Jay Cutler Comments Overblown

Nick Shepkowski — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 01:16:47 -0400

This article along with plenty of other Bears news can be found at: Love Your Smith

A lot of people are crawling on Jay Cutler's back today due to his comments regarding the interception thrown in the direction of Devin Hester.

In case you aren't familiar with the comments, "Devin's more of a go get it guy, he's not really an over the shoulder or jump up and get it so you learn from it, ya know, we made some mistakes, its the first preseason game and luckily enough we have some time to correct them and keep going."

Did I miss something? I must have because I have no clue why there has been even a hint of an uproar about these comments.

Cutler included nothing that any Bears fan didn't already know in the fact that Devin Hester isn't a go-get-it type, nor did he say anything negative towards the former Miami Hurricane.

Any Bears fan or observer is aware that Hester is a receiver who likes to catch the ball on the run or when it is thrown to a spot that he doesn't have to worry about getting hit. It's the truth and I'm sure Hester himself wouldn't even argue the point. However, the new star quarterback called out a flaw in another player's game, so everyone has to act like Cutler was completely shedding the blame.

Did he say that Hester has to get better? No, he stated that "we" made the mistakes, not "him" or "Devin". Cutler is well aware that the pass was anything but pretty and he never denied that fact. I have no doubt that these comments by J-C didn't do anything to divide the locker room like some sports media types in the city of Chicago have stated.

It's entirely ludicrous to think anything less of Jay Cutler for what happened on Saturday night in Buffalo. He made a bad throw that he didn't once deny and made a statement that his game along with Devin Hester's needs to improve.

Would anyone argue this? Not one bit, now let's stop making a big deal out of this please.

Bears-Bills: Pre-season Recap

Nick Shepkowski — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 04:05:39 -0400

For all of your Bears needs visit: Love Your Smith

It wasn't the prettiest quarter any of us have ever seen, but we have finally seen Jay Cutler take a snap as a member of the Chicago Bears on an actual game field.

His numbers were far from great, as he went 5-of-10 for 64 yards and one interception. The pick was ugly as Cutler threw off his back foot on a pass headed towards Devin Hester, who happened to be double-covered.

The two Cutler highlights of the night occurred on passes to Hester and Desmond Clark. Cutler had a Hester 20-yard stop route timed perfectly and hit Hester with a pass in the chest right between the 2 and the 3 on his jersey, spot-on toss.

On the Clark reception, we saw Cutler hit the tight end 20 yards downfield in stride. A year ago, that pass is one that is caught by Clark but chances are he needs to make an adjustment to do so and is unable to pick up those valuable YAC's.

Its obvious to me that Devin Hester doesn't quite have this receiver thing down the way Bears fans would like him to have it down just yet.

He gave up on a few plays tonight that weren't dead. When he did so and was out of position on others, this left Jay Cutler obviously upset at times.

It was one game, don't take a whole lot from it. Cutler didn't have perhaps his two biggest weapons tonight as both Matt Forte and Greg Olsen sat out for precautionary reasons.

He was far from great, but don't let that worry you one bit, we were still able to see some of his flashes of glory.

Other thoughts to note:

I was very impressed with the way Corey Graham showed up tonight. He was able to pick up a sack early on when he blitzed, also made a few open-field tackles that prevented first downs.

Nathan Vasher, man I have liked him for years as a Chicago Bear but that's a something right there, a something in a bad way.

Multiple times he was burned and out of position, I really hope whatever is wrong there gets fixed quickly because the secondary needs all the help it can get, especially from one of its highest paid veterans.

Ron Turner is said to be in love with Garrett Wolfe, it sounds more and more like Wolfe is safe to be a Bear this regular season while the same can't be said for Adrian Peterson.

Peterson picked up 27 yards on seven carries tonight, I honestly feel he would help the Bears in more situations in 2009 than Garrett Wolfe will, I doubt we will get to see this claim come true.

I liked what I saw from Al Afalava this evening at the free safety position. For the most part he kept himself in position to make a play and showed the necessary speed to compete at the NFL level. Time will tell if he will hold up but I thought he had a solid debut for the Bears.

Johnny Knox is quick as hell, his kick return tonight further proved that. If Manning and Hester are to be worn out from playing the majority of downs on defense and offense respectably, Knox has as much of a case as anyone at this point to fill the void.

Finally, I was sad to see the Bears face the Bills without Terrell Owens. I was really hoping to see these defensive backs against an elite receiver, not just Lee Evans.

It wasn't a miserable showing by any means and you can't take a whole heck of a lot from preseason like many think you can but the good news is the Bears escaped western New York healthy and can now prepare for the New York Giants, who come in next Saturday.

Chicago Bears: Saturday Night Scratches

Nick Shepkowski — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 18:41:55 -0400

I know we are all anxiously awaiting the first half of tonight's game, but news has come out that we won't get to see the Bears offense with all its weapons this evening.

On offense, the Bears will be without both Matt Forte and Greg Olsen. Kevin Jones will start in Forte's place while Olsen will be replaced by Desmond Clark for the evening.

Having a limited playbook already, it will be interesting to see what Ron Turner tries to get Jay Cutler to do in the first pre-season game.

Defensively, we are now sure that Danieal Manning will not play due to a sore hamstring. Replacing him is rookie Al Afalava from Oregon State at free safety.

Afalava has seen much time with the starting defense this summer but starting alongside Kevin Payne in the defensive backfield, it could be an ugly evening.

Star wide out Terrell Owens will not play tonight for the Bills after suffering a toe injury last Sunday night against the Titans. Bills head coach Dick Jauron made it clear that there was no reason to risk further injury in a meaningless pre-season game.

As a Bears fan I would have liked to see the Bears secondary against one of the premier wide outs in the NFL today. You have to grow up sometime...better tonight than later in the year, right?

Bears Game Day: Sort Of...

Nick Shepkowski — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 11:04:33 -0400

Be sure to check out Love Your Smith for all of your Chicago Bears needs...

Tonight the Bears open up their set of four preseason games in Buffalo against the Bills. No I am not there this evening but am as excited as anyone about the fact that preseason football is here for us. It sounds funny to say but I really am excited about this, I know we won't see the offense or defense play to their full capabilities but there is something about seeing the all white road uniforms again and the Bears not just hitting each other that excites me.

So what is there to watch for tonight? The Bears will have a pretty vanilla offense by our normal standards, don't expect anything out of the norm to be shown. The starters will play roughly one quarter according to Lovie Smith from earlier in the week, I wouldn't be surprised if that's even stretching it just a hair.

The biggest thing to make sure of tonight is to get out of Buffalo without any injuries. I understand that any team has to stay healthy if they have any real dreams of advancing to the Super Bowl but for the Bears it will be especially key this year as they aren't as deep as most teams that are truly contenders at this point.

Position battles are also going to play a key in the game tonight. The second and third wide receivers are yet to be decided with Earl Bennett, Brandon Rideau, Rashied Davis, and Devin Aromashodu all being in some kind of contention for that second starters spot. This is where you will see this position battle be decided, if players are out of position on routes not only will they get a talking to from the coaching staff and their quarterback, their chances of starting will also get brought down.

The other battle that will especially catch my eye this evening is the strong-side (Sam) linebacker. We have seen what Hunter Hillenmeyer can do in the past but he has been pushed away for the most part from the position, instead being a backup to Brian Urlacher at Mac this year. Pisa Tinoisamoa, Nick Roach, and Jamar Williams are all listed as contenders for the position. Williams was having a good but not great camp from all reports, while Tinoisamoa hasn't been quite the player he was advertised to be.

I don't want to just throw predicitions around left and right but I don't see how Tino doesn't win this job come the end of the preseason. I feel that he has the highest ceiling and is also the lowest risk to really mess anything up considerably there. Now if he reaches that ceiling is a whole other question but the fact that he has the highest potential makes me at least want to see him be the starter come week one. With that said, if he stumbles in the preseason then my opinion can be changed.

Other thoughts before I go to the workplace:

Buffalo has an awful offensive line. I really would like to see the Bears defensive line against a more talented offensive group. However, if the d-line of the Bears struggles to get pressure early on in tonight's game it could very easily be a sign of bad things to come for the rest of the defense.

Caleb Hanie is listed as the second string quarterback which means he will likely get to play the second and third quarters for the Bears. Remember all those calls for him to get a chance to start from a lot of Bears fans last August? Take a look when he gets reps not only tonight but all preseason and please realize why that never took place.

Don't get me wrong, I like Kyle Orton as a person but he continues to make sure that Josh McDaniels doesn't have a job in Denver for long after he threw three interceptions in the first half last night for the Broncos against San Francisco. Anything else that the Bears may be able to raid from Denver?

Enjoy week one of the preseason my friends, I'll let you know my thoughts after the game!

Chicago Bears Training Camp Recap: August 12th

Nick Shepkowski — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 03:40:36 -0400

On a bad baseball night in the city of Chicago, the Bears took part in what was their final full pads practice before Saturday night's preseason opener in Buffalo.

Bears coach, Lovie Smith, claimed the starters will: On the upcoming preseason game Lovie Smith claims the starters will: "Probably play a little more than you probably think they will." He also went on to say they will play until the second quarter.

What Lovie did fail to kill were the rumors of Michael Vick; but he did say he thinks Vick will find an NFL team this year; and that having Tony Dungy in his corner speaks volumes for him.

But the chances of his happening in Chicago are slim to none. I even doubt that Vick gets a shot to play this season at all.

On the injury front: Jamar Williams sat out today with a shoulder injury, while Zack Bowman still remains sidelined with a hamstring injury from last week. Charles Tillman has yet to practice, but has continued to keep up on conditioning. Kevin Payne was taken off the field early this afternoon, but did return. Daniel Manning sat out with a sore hamstring on Wednesday; and Greg Olsen and Desmond Clark sat out as they were both granted "Veteran's Day" passes.

Tommie Harris Watch '09: The veteran defensive tackle practiced today as he participated in individual drills. He still hasn't taken part in full team drills, and we have no word yet on his status for Saturday night's game or a potential play count that he may be on.

On the offensive front, Bears Offensive Coordinator Ron Turner continues to experiment with the Wildcat offense in camp.

Today saw RB Matt Forte complete one pass to WR Devin Hester. Hester also took a snap and ran on a keeper with Brian Urlacher stopping him quickly right around the line of scrimmage. Jay Cutler also lined up out wide on both occasions.

Since the wildcat craze began last season in Miami, why have so many teams adopted it? And why do I feel like this "Wildcat" phenomenon is going to go terribly wrong at least once this season?

Finally, Jay Cutler feels he will have at least some say in who is ultimately selected as the #2 receiver. The odds on favorite in my eyes have to be Cutler's old go-to-guy at Vanderbilt, Earl Bennett.

In final, no more full pads in practice the remainder of the week.

Tomorrow, the Bears will wear helmets and shoulder pads before they take a break from Bourbonnais and head to Buffalo for their game Saturday night. The Bears will be back in Kankakee County for practice at 3pm on Monday.

For all of your Chicago Bears news and needs visit Love Your Smith

Michael Vick a Chicago Bear?

Nick Shepkowski — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:32:43 -0400

This article, along with plenty of Chicago Bears news, can be found at Love Your Smith

In an odd turn of events, just hours after the "inner circle" of Michael Vick claimed the former Falcons quarterback was close to signing a contract, he was spotted at O'Hare Airport. Could he be close to signing a deal with the Chicago Bears and be getting ready to head to camp in Bourbonnais?

Ha!!! As soon Bears officials were tipped off to the news Vick was in the Chicagoland area they made it clear that his trip to the Windy City had nothing to do with the Chicago professional football team.

Sorry to get your hopes up with the headline but I have real doubt that Vick will play in the NFL in 2009, perhaps ever again. With all the off the field issues that he brings to the table involved the Bears will have no interest in having him be a part of their team.

What good could come of it? He's not going to get the chance to be a starting quarterback, that's why that Cutler fellow was brought in. Do you really think he's going to get reps as a running back?

Hello, Forte and Kevin Jones already have created a log jam at the position and Garrett Wolfe and Adrian Peterson already both have to be at least somewhat worried about getting cut before week one.

How about as a wide receiver? Hellooo!!!! Is it just me or are there already enough "experiments" at wide out?

Devin Hester has been made a wideout with grave results, yet the Bears still feel the need to use him there instead of allowing him to be the greatest kick returner in NFL history. Earl Bennett is a "project" according to the Bears staff, there's your projected No. 1 and No. 2 according to the first depth chart.

Michael Vick doesn't have a position with the Bears. The juice isn't worth the squeeze in this case. Don't get me wrong, I personally believe Vick should be at least invited to a camp where he could fit in. He has payed his debt to society and that's good enough for me.

We shouldn't hold him to a different standard than we do Donte Stallworth.
I get where Bears fans make a connection to Vick with Lovie Smith and Tony Dungy (Vick's personal adviser) being close friends and the Bears lacking a backup quarterback with much skill.

Learn to deal with not having a solid second string QB Bears fans, its part of the plan. Perhaps Vick gets signed elsewhere but I have no doubt it will not be with the Chicago Bears. I doubt he is signed in the NFL in 2009, perhaps in the future though. A fun story to look into but trust me, no chance in hell.

Chicago Bears Injuries: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Nick Shepkowski — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 10:53:25 -0400

Find all of your Chicago Bears needs at: Love Your Smith

Everyone knows that any hopes of making the playoffs and in turn making a playoff run rely on the core players of the Chicago Bears to stay healthy. There were plenty of stories coming into camp that surfaced around often injured players and there are plenty of instances that have occurred that justify us doing some catching up as we wait for practice this evening...

The Good: Offensive Line, Running Backs - Orlando Pace was a major acquisition but a big question mark when he was signed this off-season. Chris Williams was another big question mark after having back surgery last year and not getting on the field. Both appear to be in top shape early on in camp and have been performing excellent. As a result expect the entire offense to benefit from a quarterback having considerably more time and a running game with even a higher ceiling this year.

Matt Forte had some trouble with his hamstring in OTA's and took it a bit easy the first days of camp this year. From what I have seen I don't see any signs that this injury ever even occurred as he has had an outstanding summer. Kevin Jones could play a pivotal roll in the running game as well, he appears to be his healthiest in the his best shape since his early days with the Detroit Lions.

The Bad: Defensive Line - For the most part the defensive line has stayed healthy in preparation for the 2009 campaign with the only exception being its most important cog, Tommie Harris. When he is on, Harris is perhaps the best defensive tackle in the NFL. You can debate that but there is no question he is in the conversation.

The problem is that as of right now, he is behind schedule in where Bears fans would like to see Harris be after word came out that he underwent knee surgery again this past spring. As of now the Bears claim he will be ready to go on time and certain Chicago reporters (David Haugh) actually believe them. If Harris isn't 100 percent then the entire defensive front suffers. It takes away a double down on a tackle and allows there to be a double team elsewhere.

I understand he may be ready to play and be used a few downs against the Packers in week one but he's not on pace to be ready the way the Bears need him to be ready until at least week four or five. The rest of the defensive line being healthy helps a ton but the fact that Harris alone is injured makes this a bad situation a brewing for the Bears.

The Ugly: Defensive Backfield - This is a bad situation if all members are 100 percent and ready to go for week one but the fact that this is the most injured unit on the team is a scary thought. We all know that Charles Tillman had back surgery just before camp opened. He has been running and conditioning but is not ready to return to the field just yet.

I understand he may be in game shape come week one but do you really expect him to be at the top of the game if he hasn't practiced more than a week? Unlikely for even the best players in any sport, let alone a slightly above average corner back.

When it comes to everything physical with Nathan Vasher he appears healthy, just bad. Zack Bowman was supposed to be the saviour for the backfield in a safety position but he continues to fight the injury bug as he has a hamstring injury. Danaiel Manning has missed some time this pre-season but seems like he should be ready to go barring any major news. What does this all mean?

Potentially the starting defensive backfield could look something like this week one in Packerland: CB: Nathan Vasher

CB: Trumaine McBride/Corey Graham

Safeties: Kevin Payne/Danaiel Manning

Tell me that opposing quarterbacks won't look at that and just think to themselves, "time to eat".

With Tillman back they are still a weak group but he has the potential to be a pro bowler when healthy. We'll see how long it takes for Peanut to return to the field but as of now this is a very weak, weakest unit on the team. Due to what is left here this gets filed under "The Ugly."

Monday Chicago Bears News: Harris Surgery As Well As Other Tidbits

Nick Shepkowski — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:53:48 -0400

This article along with other Bears news can be found at: Love Your Smith

The biggest news of Monday came from the defensive tackle position as we found out that Tommie Harris did undergo a second knee surgery in the spring, this time to repair scar tissue that was troubling him.

Harris still feels he will be a valuable piece of the puzzle in 2009, but as every day goes on I keep losing a little more faith in what No.91 will do this season.

Today was supposed to be the day he was in full pads and fully participating, instead we got to see him in pads, but out of any real action.

The weak secondary saw rookie Al Afalava practice with the first team defense as the free safety in the nickel set on Monday.

Afalava doesn't come into camp with a ton of praise and admits to feeling "a step behind" due to not being fully aware of the defense yet. He did go on to say that he does study his playbook on a nightly basis.

I was most impressed with the running game of Matt Forte this afternoon, even more than the passing of Cutler. Credit the offensive line as he was getting very large holes to run through, he also seems to be a step quicker to me this year.

The running game as a whole was very impressive to me today.

Devin Armashadu has been receiving much publicity the last couple of days, as has Brandon Rideau.

Both were on the receiving end of long Jay Cutler passes today that made the crowd cheer as loud as they did all day.

Earl Bennett made a couple nice plays in practice as well, but was also seen vomiting on the sideline towards the end of practice.

I just hope this group of wide outs can be somewhere near average this year because the rest of the offense appears to be fairly strong.

It wouldn't be a Bears practice without an injury or two to pass along: Tight End Fontel Mines was carted off the field with a knee injury this afternoon while linebacker Jamar Williams walked off the field with a shoulder injury.

No word yet on how serious either of the two injuries are.

Finally, depth charts for Saturday's game will be made available in the next day or two.

There were rumors flying that we would see them today but it didn't quite happen that way, I'll keep you posted when I hear.

Practice is set for 7pm on Tuesday night in Bourbonnais, talk to you again after that.

Chicago Bears: Family Day Recap

Nick Shepkowski — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 21:20:58 -0400

This article can be found at: Love Your Smith

27,793 fans sat through a muggy afternoon at Soldier Field to watch the Bears practice Saturday at Family Day.

Hot and steamy is a nice way of putting it as temperatures reached the mid-90s in the city of Chicago.

Some news and highlights from Saturday:

Zack Bowman was in uniform on Saturday but did not practice.

He was working with Bears director of rehabilitation, Bobby Slater.

Bowman injured his hamstring on Wednesday after impressing during the Bears first week of camp.

Charles Tillman continues to try and get back on the field after his surgery two weeks ago.

He was seen working on his stamina as he was running laps around the field in sweat pants on Saturday. No word yet on when we can expect to see Peanut back.

Daniel Manning was held out of Saturday's practice while Orlando Pace and Devin Hester returned after missing Friday's practice.

Hester and Juaquin Iglesias both made some pretty athletic catches during 1-on-1 drills.

In player introductions many of the units were introduced as a group instead of the players coming out individually. Jay Cutler was not one of these as he was introduced by himself last as he ran out to the largest ovation of any player.

Tommie Harris saw more work on Saturday, but in a very limited role.

The more I see, read, and hear, the less and less I expect to see from from #91.

The Bears had an off day on Sunday but return to Bourbonnais on Monday. Practice starts at noon to start off the work week, keep it here for all of your updates.

Friday Chicago Bears Notes

Nick Shepkowski — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 02:21:35 -0400

You may also find this artice at Love Your Smith

Friday was the seventh day in a row of practice in pads for the Bears as they took the field on a very rainy day in Bourbonnais. Here's a summary of what happened on Friday afternoon:

Brandon Rideau was the receptionist of three deep passes from Jay Cutler as the pair connected multiple times deep on Friday. Rideau and Earl Bennett seem to be the two favorites for the No. 2 receiver spot, likely going to take a few preseason games to decide it.

Either way, if the receivers can even be even average this year then the offense should far exceed most skeptics predictions.

Friday Off-Day: Tommie Harris, Hunter Hillenmeyer, and Devin Hester all sat out of practice on Friday. With all the off-days that Tommie is having I have my doubts he will see time in any more than eight regular season games this season. He can't be as healthy as himself and the Bears coaching staff lead us all to believe.

The defense got good work in on short yardage defensive situations. Lovie Smith was excited not exactly for what he saw but instead just being able to have the players face one-another in real-time speed.

"Always good to let the guys do a little bit of tackling that's live" were his exact words, that's because this form of hitting happens so rarely in practice.

It seems that Josh Beekman is well ahead of free agent acquisition Frank Omiyale for the starting left guard position. If this is the case, Omiyale will be making just over $6 million from the bench...a ton of money to have "sitting around."

More good reports about Chris Williams from Bourbonnais today. His footwork is said to be spot-on so far, his awareness has also been top notch. His best compliment may have come from Adawle Ogunleye who made the claim that Williams will be the most athletic right tackle he faces in 2009.

Anger management? Mark Anderson and Chris Williams got into a scrum on Friday. Everyone seems fine by evening as the two compared it to being brothers and that they are still part of the family who is focused on the "big picture." Anderson may be having a solid camp in Lovie's eyes but I just do not see him being a major contributor this year.

Finally, Jay Cutler feels Bears fans are more passionate than the football fans out in Denver. He told Tom Waddle and Marc Silverman of ESPN 1000 on Friday afternoon. The question came after Kyle Orton was of course heavily booed by the Broncos faithful on Thursday night.

Saturday brings "Family Day" to Soldier Field, the annual Bears preseason practice at their home stadium. If you attend between bands at Lollapalooza you likely won't see a lot out of the "football ordinary" but it's a pretty cheap way to be entertained by your hometown team if you can't make it to Bourbonnais at all this summer.

I'll be back after it's completed. It begins at noon for those interested.

Chicago Bears Training Camp: Catching Up Through Thursday

Nick Shepkowski — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 00:34:45 -0400

This article is originally from Love Your Smith. Please check it out!

I apologize for missing everyone after Wednesday's practice but will catch you with the main things that happened both Wednesday and Thursday in order to get back on track. Thursday's practice ended a couple of short hours ago, here's what has happened in the last two days:

The big news of Wednesday was the injury to Zack Bowman's hamstring. Bowman did not practice on Thursday and is expected to miss a couple more days. Many have stated that Bowman has been the most impressive Bear this camp as he has battled for an open cornerback position.

In the meantime Trumaine McBride and Corey Graham have been getting the majority of reps at corner. Nathan Vasher, The Interceptor if you will, continues to struggle. I don't see it being in the Bears likely plans to have him see much time on the field early in the season.

Thursday turned into a light "Veteran's Day" for many of the more experienced Bears who participated only lightly in practice. Orlando Pace, Hunter Hillenmeyer, Tommie Harris, Danieal Manning, and Kevin Payne all had lesser loads than normal on Thursday.

Staying with Tommie Harris, many have been critical of his workouts this camp. Lovie Smith stated at the start of camp that Tommie was 100% and ready to go for 2009, yet Harris still remains less involved in most drills and practice sessions than his teammates.

The Bears say this is because his knee can't take the beating it used to be able to take on a daily basis and this way the Bears can keep Tommie healthy, longer. If this is the case then Lovie lied and Tommie is obviously not 100% healthy.

Many looked to Jay Cutler on Wednesday for a reaction to the contract extension New York Giants QB Eli Manning signed (six years/$97 Million). Cutler made it known that he's not in a rush to get his big payday but there is little doubt he will be making close to "Manning Money" in the next year or so.

DB help? With all the injuries to the secondary are the Bears likely to make a move to bring in an extra defensive back to help out, especially at the corner position? Rumors may not be circulating yet but names like Ty Law and David Macklin remain unsigned at this point.

The Bears are close to signing/signed center Donovan Raiola. The 26 year old Wisconsin graduate has been a part of the Rams, Steelers, Seahawks, and Cardinals practice squads, chances are likely he will end up there in Chicago.

Finally a few out of town notes to end with...

Former fan favorite Marty Booker has signed with the Atlanta Falcons while the Bears continue to feel their current receivers have done enough to avoid moves at the position. This I will agree with and wish Marty nothing but the best in the ATL...

And the other, not so pretty side of the "Cutler Effect" showed its head in Denver on Thursday. The 13,000 or so Bronco fans in attendance at Invesco Field made it known that they would prefer Jay Cutler to former Bear Kyle Orton as they "booed" Orton on multiple occasions.

I really hope this is their way of booing Josh McDaniels for running that team like an immature child and not the quarterback who happened to be part of the trade.

That's all for tonight, practice is slated for 3:00 pm on Friday, I'll update you Friday evening. Goodnight all!

Chicago Bears Training Camp Recap: August 4th

Nick Shepkowski — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 05:00:24 -0400

This article can also be found at: Love Your Smith

The biggest news of the day came with defensive tackle Marcus Harrison being taken off the non-football injury list and finally practicing with the team.

Harrison is fully aware what this whole fiasco has done to him, commenting: "Lovie wants maturity from me...just move on and grow up." It was previously speculated that Harrison would not be available until Saturday.

Former Mississippi OG Maurice Miller was at camp today taking a physical in hopes of joining this years Bears cast...only problem was that Miller failed the physical and will not be a Bear in 2009.

Danieal Manning showed a little aggression in the chippiest practice of the year so far as he threw Rashied Davis to the ground after allowing a completion. Tyler Reed and Mark Anderson also got into it a bit during a 1-on-1 pass rush drill on Tuesday.

Jerry Angelo made it clear that he is happy with the way the wide receivers are shaping up and adapting early on to Jay Cutler. From the sounds of it we will not see the Brandon Lloyd or Marty Booker types in a Bears uniform this year.

Finally, Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais has been announced as the Bears training camp facility in the summer of 2010. There was speculation that the Bears could move to Lake Forest or Romeoville but this announcement put those rumors aside.

Practice is set for noon on Wednesday, talk to you shortly after!

Chicago Bears Training Camp Recap: August 3rd

Nick Shepkowski — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:18:18 -0400

This article can also be found at: Love Your Smith

Today marked the third day in a row that Lovie Smith had the Bears practice in full pads as the crowd shrunk from Sunday's record with the work week re-starting. Lance Briggs and Hunter Hillenmeyer both fully participated after not doing so on Sunday.

Orlando Pace appears to be fully healthy as he continues to put on a show in one-on-one pass rushing drills. Staying on the offensive line, Roberto Garza reportedly has dropped twenty pounds last season and is in phenomenal shape. He was also named amongst the top right guards in the league by The Football Scientist who use a scientific method in ranking players.

It's been said that Jay Cutler did not look as crisp on his passes early on in practice but he made up for in the "Two Minute Drill" as he looked spectacular. Lovie Smith was quoted as saying "That's the money part of the game...(Cutler) knows how to take us down the field."

No exact word when Marcus Harrison (still fat) may be back on the practice field participating in team drills Saturday. Lovie Smith indicated today that Dusty Dvoracek and Anthony Adams both stated they weren't worried about the whole situation. Tommie Harris also continues to participate in a limited roll but despite claiming he was healthy when he first arrived at camp.

Finally Matt Forte's workload was pushed up a bit today after the Bears eased him into things fully because of a hamstring injury sustained in OTAs.

Chicago Bears: Recap From Camp On Sunday

Nick Shepkowski — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 22:56:02 -0400

This article can be found at: Love Your Smith

Matt Forte continues a light load early on in camp with much of that being because of a hamstring injury that occurred in the off-season. Better safe than sorry with him after how he turned out to be last year, but getting him more used to game speed again soon would only be doing the offense favors. Staying in the backfield, Kevin Jones appears to be his healthiest since prior to tearing his ACL in Detroit.

Nathan Vasher continues to struggle for the Bears early on in Bourbonnais while Zack Bowman continues to impress. Bowman has a pair of picks in camp already and seems like he may be a very good option at corner. Earl Bennett was taking him to the woodshed on Sunday in 7-on-7 drills, catching several balls and burning him deep more than once. Bennett has clicked early on with Jay Cutler, his former quarterback at Vanderbilt. Maybe he will actually see the game field this fall.

The Bears showed off the, "Wildcat" formation with Devin Hester being the quarterback for a play on Sunday, he ran the ball on a keeper in that one snap. The Bears call the formation "Cane" with Hester at QB and "Cajun" when Forte is under center. Rumor has it that Garrett Wolfe may also see reps in this situation.

Lance Briggs and Hunter Hillenmeyer both missed practice on Sunday with "soreness" according to Lovie Smith. Neither sounds like anything too serious, Hillenmeyer won't be rushed into things after his off-season hernia surgery.

11,000 Bears fans showed up at Olivet Nazarene University on Sunday, a team record. Will that number increase in the next couple of weeks? With the hype only growing I can only imagine so.

Chicago Bears Camp Report

Nick Shepkowski — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 13:32:00 -0400

As you all know, Chicago Bears training camp opened this week with the lead story being Brian Urlacher calling Jay Cutler a "pussy" via former Bears wide out and now Minnesota Viking, Bobby Wade.

I'm sure that Wade was trying to stir the pot a little bit by making this public knowledge while I am also sure that Urlacher did say something along those lines. The Bears played it off as if Brian and Jay are best friends and that drama never occurs in their locker room.

Look, I don't care if they aren't friends off the field. Please just don't let the locker room get divided by something as stupid as this and make it turn into something it shouldn't. After a couple days of camp it seems that this tiff has ended, let's hope it stays that way.

Charles Tillman's surgery has created a possible opening for a corner position in the first few weeks of the season if Tillman doesn't bounce back as quick as he plans.

From the reports of camps in various newspapers, and radio stations it sounds like Nathan Vasher has struggled mightily. Danieal Manning sat out part of practice on Friday night due to cramping, nothing serious, but what is scary is the fact Craig Steltz and Kevin Payne were in a defensive backfield together.

Manning is fine now but this secondary has the potential to be monumentaly bad.

From the sounds of it, Mark Anderson is living on his spin move but nothing else. Four years into the league and that's still all he has come up with?

Orlando Pace and Chris Williams were both said to have had their way with him during one-on-one drills.

Marcus Harrison (fat) is still overweight and no timetable has been set for his return to day-to-day activities. No word on his exact weight but reports all say it is "considerably heavier than his listed 312".

Not sure what amount of weight the Bears want him to lose before he puts the pads on but this is disappointing for a guy who appeared in all 16 games a year ago.

Big XII The Class of College Football? Hold Your Horses...

Nick Shepkowski — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 12:29:12 -0400

Article also found on: Unprofessional Football

It seems that everyone outside the southeast region of this country feels the need to tell everyone else that the Big XII has taken over as the class conference of college football in 2009. Obviously future games will be what determines the best conference in the 2009 season, but where exactly does anyone get off thinking that the Big XII has surpassed the SEC? Unless I missed something people really are living in a haze.

Those who feel that the Big XII is better than the SEC at this point feel so because Oklahoma, Texas, and Oklahoma State should all be rated in the top ten of the national polls when they are first released before week one of the season. That's great, three teams in the top ten overall, it couldn't possibly get any better, right?

Wrong.

Florida will be your preseason number one and they still reside in the Southeastern Conference. After the Gators, Alabama is nearly a shoe-in to be in the top ten despite losing the majority of their offense from a year ago. Ole Miss has an excellent chance to be the third SEC team ranked in the top ten to start the season which would match the three that the Big XII is able to offer.

Oklahoma and Texas are pegged as teams that just need to get by each other in order to reach the BCS National Championship Game while people see Alabama or Ole Miss as an upset or two away from being able to. I won't argue that I think that both Oklahoma and Texas are better than Alabama or the Rebels but with Florida being #1 in everyone's eyes at this point the Sooners and Longhorns get canceled out.

Both conferences will have three teams in the preseason top-10 in all likelihood. With that said, Nebraska will probably be the only other member of the Big XII in the top-25. A case can be made for Kansas but it will be a close call. The SEC will see Georgia and LSU without a doubt in the top 25 giving them one more in the first set of rankings than the Big XII.

So many people want to come out and say that the Big XII is the elite conference this season when in fact they are very good but still come up short of being the best. With the Pac 10 having USC in the top five to start the season with Cal and Oregon both likely top fifteen teams the Big XII may be closer to being on par with the boys out west than they are the SEC.

College Football On an MLB Field: Dream Matchups

Nick Shepkowski — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 04:10:16 -0400

What does it take to attract even more attention to an already popular sporting event? How about an interesting curve. Recently Notre Dame and Army have announced that they will meet in Yankee Stadium for a college football game in the fall of 2010. Ron Zook also made his urge for Illinois to play Northwestern at Wrigley Field in the future felt on Monday.

These are alright matchups, sure. Notre Dame and Army have a strong history back in the early days of collegiate football and Illinois and Northwestern has turned into an okay match-up over the past decade in the last week of Big Ten play.

It would be cool to see the Wildcats play the Illini in the Chicago Cubs' home ballpark, but what would be the neatest match-ups to have played in a professional baseball stadium? Here's my answer to that very question...

No. 5: Georgia vs. Florida at Turner Field

The two have met in Jacksonville, FL in every meeting except twice during the nineties since 1929. Jacksonville is nearly five hours closer to the campus of Florida, making it that much more of a home game for the Gators. Wouldn't it make sense to see this teams play closer to UGA's backyard once in a while?

No. 4: USC vs. UCLA in Dodger Stadium

Rick Neuheisel has UCLA headed in the right direction, or at least he makes it sound that way while USC continues to be a power. Instead of worrying about who's home field the game is on, wouldn't it be cool to see the two meet in a true neutral site game? Heck, they could even both wear their home uniforms without worrying about losing a timeout.

No. 3: Boston College vs. Miami (FL) in Fenway Park

Sure the days of Bernie Kosar and Doug Flutie may be behind us but a college football game at Fenway Park? The Winter Classic this coming New Year's Day will garner enough attention, imagine if a more popular sport were to be held there...even if the quality of competition wasn't at its peak.

No. 2: Army vs. Navy at Camden Yards

Speaking of talent levels being down, Army and Navy hasn't been much to write home about in forty some odd years. This is still a national game however and it gains attention even when one is one the verge of a win less season. I enjoy that they always play on a neutral site but seeing a football game at Camden Yards in Baltimore would be pretty neat through my eyes and these two seem like the perfect matchup.

No. 1: Penn State vs. Pittsburgh at PNC Park

First off you bring back an old rivalry that hasn't been played in a decade. The only two true football powers in the football-crazy state of Pennsylvania once again can meet each other, this time not in either home stadium.

Sure the game is in Pittsburgh but the Nittany Lions would bring plenty of support to make it feel like a neutral site game. I would love to see this rivalry be revisited and having a game at PNC Park would outstanding for all sports fans to see.

-Note that I never said I see in any likelihood that these would ever happen. They are simply baseball stadiums that would be neat in my eyes to see a football game played at.

I simply chose the two teams that would make the most sense in my eyes for an event to take place. Once again, let me know some of the ideas of matchups and ballparks that come to your head!

Five Players Notre Dame Needs to Make an Impact in '09

Nick Shepkowski — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 02:57:49 -0400

Coming off of 3-9 and 7-6 campaigns after starting the Charlie Weis Era with two BCS appearances there is no doubt Notre Dame feels the pressure to make a run towards the BCS in 2009. If they can get improvement and a more positive impact from these five men in 2009, they could very well be on their way...

Begin Slideshow

College Gameday 2009: Coming to Your City?

Nick Shepkowski — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 02:28:40 -0400

This article may also be found here: http://unprofootball.blogspot.com/

A year ago I wrote my most viewed article to date, an article previewing where the ESPN College Gameday crew would broadcast in 2008. I started the season by correctly picking six of the first eight locations but struggled down the stretch, ending with only 8 of 14 Gameday sites correctly picked. This year brings another season and another chance for me to improve where these guys will be headed, so lets get started...

September 5th:

Only two real contenders here, both being early out of conference matchups. Georgia travels west to play Oklahoma State while Alabama meets VaTech in the Georgia Dome, the second year in a row the Tide start the year versus the ACC in Atlanta.

OKState has a couple chances to be included on the show as they host Texas and travel to Oklahoma. Don't forget the potential of playing in the Big XII Championship.

This may be the one of only two chances all year for ESPN to feature a game with Alabama or Virginia Tech. With both teams likely being ranked in front of OK State and Georgia, I have to guess Gameday starts in Atlanta for a second straight season.

Pick: Virginia Tech vs. Alabama in Atlanta, GA

September 12th:

There isn't a whole lot of question to this one so why waste all the suspense? Sure Ohio State has laid an egg on the big-stage over the past three seasons but having an OSU/USC matchup is still a matchup made in heaven for all parties involved. This will be a prime time game in Columbus and you better believe the Gameday crew will be there that morning.

Pick: USC at Ohio State

September 19th:

The first week of the season there isn't a real clear cut first or second choice for the four letter network. The biggest games of the day include Florida traveling to take on Lane Kiffin, and the Vols at Neyland and Texas playing host to Texas Tech. I understand that Kiffin has given the Gators plenty of reason to develop dislike for the lighter shade of orange in the SEC East, but Tennessee lacks talent this year, much like Texas Tech. The Vols aren't the draw in 2009 that they normally are, Texas Tech should be 2-0 against the 2-0 Longhorns at this point and ESPN wouldn't skip a chance to go to Austin, especially after how this one ended a year ago.

Pick: Texas Tech at Texas

September 26th:

There are certain weeks that lack an extremely "sexy" matchup and as of right now, this weekend is one of those weekends. Ohio State hosting Illinois will be a great game that could go a long way in deciding the Big Ten. but if OSU gets blown out by USC there is no way the Boo-Yah's are back in Columbus two weeks later. I fully expect USC to beat the Buckeyes again so throw this one out. Other matchups feature Penn State hosting Iowa and VaTech hosting Miami (FL). Since I feel that VaTech will be taken care of in week one I'll bet that ESPN heads to Happy Valley for this one.

Pick: Iowa at Penn State

October 3rd:

A month in and the season is starting to take shape. A couple upsets will have taken place, and some teams thought of as contenders just weeks ago are now battling for a chance to even make a January bowl game. What does today bring? Once again I feel there are two main parties that could host Gameday this morning.

Once again, I feel that the Fighting Illini of Illinois will be passed over. I feel Illinois will have a great chance to go to a BCS game this season, but this early in the year the hype won't be around the Fightin's as much as it needs to be to host Gameday. Instead an undefeated match up with Cal hosting USC out west will take the cake, even if the Nittany Lions and Fighting Illini are both unbeaten at this point.

Pick: USC at Cal

October 10th:

This is one of those weekends that guns are a blazing in the SEC. Alabama at Ole Miss, Florida at LSU, Georgia at Tennessee? Also be weary of Florida State hosting Georgia Tech as both seem primed for runs at the ACC crown. If LSU gets by Georgia the week before the Tigers and Gators should both be unbeaten on October 10th when they meet in Death Valley which would be impossible for ESPN to pass up.

Pick: Florida at LSU

October 17th:

The last week of the year with multiple unbeatens battling for positioning in the BCS Standings? Not a certainty but a strong possibility. The odds-on favorite for this is the Red River Shootout in Dallas as both Oklahoma and Texas should be ranked in the top five. If either is to fall early then my money would be on Notre Dame hosting USC as both could very likely be undefeated at this point. Until the Irish beat USC they will lack the hype and I doubt the Longhorns or Sooners fall before this date.

Pick: Oklahoma vs. Texas in Dallas, TX

October 24th:

If you are going to miss a weekend of college football then this may be the weekend to step away and catch your breath. Looking ahead I can almost guarantee I predict this week incorrectly. As of now I do not see any two top 25 teams playing each other this week which will make picking a "Game of the Week" nearly impossible. Because I have to pick one I'll say Kansas hosting Oklahoma could feature teams who could very well both be unbeaten or only have one loss between the two. If the Sooners win the Shootout the week before this almost a guarantee...

Pick: Oklahoma at Kansas

October 31st:

Happy Halloween, what is the treat for today? These aren't the dead weeks but there is no doubt this is a stretch of the season that really does lack a true "marquee game". Depending how Georgia holds up early on their match up with Florida may be picked as the choice. I don't expect the Bulldogs to have a great season which will take eyes away from this game, I instead have this week staying in Big XII country.

Pick: Texas at Oklahoma State

November 7th:

Finally we are back on track with getting a huge game in the Midwest occurring this evening. The SEC lacks a killer match up and ESPN will want to get out of the Big XII after spending almost a month straight there. I have Penn State hosting Ohio State this week as the game that decides the Big Ten champ with a strong likelihood that at least one of the two is undefeated at this point.

Pick: Ohio State at Penn State

November 14th:

I'm conceding already, this week is nearly impossible to find a stellar match up in. This will be a week that a lesser major conference is put on display. Cal at Arizona could be a big game but it has the equal chance to have one team in it who has been a major disappointment to this point. Auburn and Georgia seems like the biggest SEC game, don't expect the coverage to be happening there. Instead, this week will go outside the BCS conferences with a couple of teams who look to crash the BCS party later in the season.

Pick: Utah at TCU

November 21st:

It's starting to come to an end as we only have two weeks of regular season action left. Penn State could clinch the Big Ten this week on the road in East Lansing. Oregon and Arizona has the potential to be a meaningless game as well while Florida is playing FIU so count the Swamp out of this one. My bet will be for this week to be in East Lansing as the last two times Joe Paterno won the Big Ten, ESPN has been done Gameday from the game's location.

Pick: Penn State at Michigan State

November 28th:

The final regular season weekend of the year and there are multiple places we could end up. Oklahoma/Oklahoma State could decide who represents the Big XII South in its conference title but the biggest game of the day will be an out of conference battle in the Southeast. No, I'm not talking about UGA/GTech, I'm talking about Florida/Florida State. I expect the Noles to have more of a "Bobby Bowden type year" and be in contention for a BCS game at this point. Unless major injuries I see Florida being unbeaten as well, a game that Gameday would not miss if its of this magnitude.

Pick: Florida State at Florida

There you are, my picks as to where College Gameday will be broadcast from each of the Saturday's this fall. I struggled the first time I did this, going only 8 for 14 in regular season games, hopefully I improve this year. Agree or disagree with my predictions? Feel free to comment away!

Notre Dame Football Picks up 13th Commitment!

Nick Shepkowski — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 20:52:00 -0400

Spencer Boyd
5'10'', 178 lbs.
Cape Coral, FL
Three Stars—Defensive Back
Notre Dame's 13th Verbal Commit

Notre Dame received its 13th commitment in the recruiting class of 2010 on Friday as Spencer Boyd gave word that he will be attending college in South Bend.

Boyd made his commitment after there was much speculation that Notre Dame would end up his college choice.

The recruiting class now grows to 13, as Boyd becomes the third defensive back to commit so far this season. He comes in as another three-star recruit, the same ranking given to fellow defensive backs Chris Badger and Lo Wood who have already given their word to Notre Dame for next year.

He is also the second commitment to come from the state of Florida so far this year with Lo Wood being the other.

Boyd brings the fastest listed 40-time of any of the three defensive backs so far in this class as he was clocked at 4.56 seconds. He also checks in nearly 20 pounds heavier than Lo Wood as he tips the scale at 178 pounds.

What I have liked while watching Boyd in his highlight videos is that he can really pack a punch at the cornerback position. He isn't perfect size for a college cornerback but he does have the tools that will likely carry him a long way at Notre Dame.

In successfully recruiting Boyd to Notre Dame, the Fighting Irish coaching staff has addressed a severe need by bringing in now three defensive backs in this years class. After bringing in only one DB a year ago, it was of utter importance to stockpile them this year.

It can safely be said that they are off to a good start, but I would be shocked if at least one more defensive back isn't brought in this year.

Boyd shows that he is bound to make mistakes in his highlight video, but has the speed to be able to make up for those at the high school level. Sure he is a three-star recruit just like the other two defensive backs in this years class but from what I have seen I feel that Boyd has the greatest chance to make a major impact in the defensive backfield of the three.

Welcome to Notre Dame, Spencer Boyd!

Notre Dame Football: Daddy Says!

Nick Shepkowski — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:46:00 -0400

The Irish continue to bring in numbers in this years recruiting class as it seems that Spencer Boyd is headed to South Bend.

Boyd's announcement was supposed to come at some point on Friday and still probably will, but according to The News Press in Southwest Florida, Boyd's father claims he will choose Notre Dame.

“We’re all stoked,” Scott Boyd said. “We kind of wanted him to choose Notre Dame all along.”

You can read the entire story here if you like: Cape Coral High's Boyd to verbally commit to Notre Dame

This will be Notre Dame's 13th commitment if the story is indeed true and Boyd will become the third defensive back in this years class as he is set to join fellow Sunshine-Stater Lo Wood and California product, Chris Badger.

Once again, Spencer Boyd himself has not yet said anything regarding the situation and at times that can be important. Everything does seem to be pointing the way of the Fighting Irish however since this story broke.

I won't break down Spencer just yet for you, I'll wait until he gives his official commitment but once again, it seems like he's South Bend bound.

Irish to Gain Cornerback? Notre Dame a Finalist for Spencer Boyd

Nick Shepkowski — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 03:17:00 -0400

Spencer Boyd, a 5'10", 177-pound, three-star prospect from the Sunshine State, has announced that he will make his verbal commitment on Friday. The good news for Notre Dame is the Fighting Irish are finalists for his commitment along with rival Michigan, as well as the University of Georgia.

The glass is half empty

Boyd was quoted as saying he is very close to Wolverines' head coach Rich Rodriguez and that he likes the size of the University of Michigan. If a bigger school is something he craves, Notre Dame is not going to be his place. He also noted that he would be able to play early at Michigan.

The glass is half full

Boyd is yet to make a visit to Georgia and it's pretty rare that a player commits to a college without actually stepping on the campus. He was also quoted as saying he "had that feeling" when he was on Notre Dame's campus. Boyd noted that he would be able to play early at Notre Dame as well.

I don't know which way I lean in predicting where Boyd will end up. If the Irish get him, great...if not, it's not the end of the world. Obviously, it is nice to see players choose Notre Dame over the likes of Michigan and Georgia, but don't confuse yourself—this isn't a Jimmy Clausen or Manti we're waiting on here.

Boyd has not yet mentioned a time or setting for his announcement this Friday, but I'll let you know if I hear any news before then.

Kendall Moore Makes It a Dirty-Dozen for Irish

Nick Shepkowski — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 17:41:44 -0400

Notre Dame's recruiting class of 2010 grew by one more on Saturday as linebacker Kendall Moore gave word of his verbal commitment. Moore is the 12th prospect to commit to the growing class, but only the fifth to come in with a ranking greater than three stars by Rivals.com. (Scout.com ranks Moore as a three-star prospect.)

Moore comes from Raleigh, NC, where he is getting his third and final season on the varsity roster at Southeast Raleigh High School. In his two previous seasons, he has a combined 230 tackles and six sacks. He also caught 30 passes last season, good for seven touchdowns, but he will be used exclusively on defense at Notre Dame.

Moore is listed at 6'3'', 232 pounds with a 40 time around 4.6 seconds. He has also squatted 500 pounds and bench pressed 320. There's room to grow, but it's a great starting point in his strength.

Moore chose the University of Notre Dame over several southeastern schools, but Florida State and North Carolina State sound like they were the closest competitors for his commitment. As of now, it is not certain whether Moore will play on the inside or outside, but he will remain a linebacker when he makes his way on campus.

Notre Dame now has 12 commitments and is currently ranked as the ninth best class in the nation according to Scout.com. There is still a lot of time left on the recruiting trail for the class of 2010 and the Irish remain a player in the game for several top ranked recruits.

Welcome to Notre Dame, Kendall Moore!

Nick Shepkowski
Bleacher Report
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Irish Get Lo Lo Lo Lo...

Nick Shepkowski — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 02:30:00 -0400

Lo Wood
5'10'' - 160 Lbs.
Apopka, FL
3 Star - Defensive Back
Notre Dame's 8th Verbal Commit

After the way this week started it seemed that Notre Dame's recruiting class of 2010 was headed for the gutter.

Chris Martin was gone and so was any shot at a top-25 class according to many of you message-boarders out there (you know who you are).

However, the last two days have gone Notre Dame's way in the sense that they picked up a quarterback, as well as now two more defensive players, one being Blake Lueders and the newest being Lo Wood, a defensive back from Florida.

It is tough to tell what head coach Charlie Weis and company are going to expect Lo to bring to the table when he arrives in South Bend.

Nobody was expecting a commitment from Wood this weekend but a surprise visit to Notre Dame's campus on Friday proved otherwise.

I would be lying if I were to tell you that Wood is an elite recruit that was stolen right out of SEC country because he really isn't.

He is going to take time to turn into a starting corner for the Irish, one look at his overall size will tell you everything you need to know. His height and arm length are there but he needs to get stronger.

Only weighing 160 pounds right now, Wood can be strong for his size but could afford to put on more than a couple of pounds. His speed is alright but nothing that is going to demand attention when placed around other superb athletes.

He clocked in at 4.58 in the forty yard dash while also putting together a 4.3 shuttle time. He changes direction quickly but will need to cut that forty time down a hair still.

The Irish failed to pick up and defensive backs in the 2009 class so it seems that Lo will likely be called upon to have a pretty solid chance at a starting roll down the road for Notre Dame.

He's not going to be a lock-down corner, like we expect to see from guys like Darrin Walls or Gary Gray, but he is still going to possess the speed and size to compete

Let's just hope he will be able to put on some muscle before he arrives on campus in a year.

Irish Football Rolls In Another Recruit

Nick Shepkowski — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 22:46:47 -0400

On Thursday morning the Notre Dame Fighting Irish received word they had won the verbal commitment of Ohio quarterback Andrew Hendrix. This gives them six commits so far in the class of 2010. By Thursday afternoon the class again grew by one as projected defensive end Blake Lueders chose Charlie Weis' crew over other academic powers such as Northwestern, Stanford, Boston College, and Wake Forest.

Lueders is a 6'5'', 250 pound middle linebacker from Zionsville High School in Zionsville, Ind. He currently leads the Eagles defense from the middle linebacker position but is being recruited to be a defensive end once he arrives in South Bend. The four-star recruit made 128 tackles as a junior with three of those coming behind the line of scrimmage. He also picked off one pass.

Lueders becomes the second Irish verbal commit at the defensive end with Chris Martin being the first. Martin has been in the news of late as it was announced that he will be taking visits to other schools he had interest in despite already being a verbal commit to the Irish in 2010. However, those reports seem to have gone away after Martin made it clear that he is not a soft verbal because in his own words, "Soft means you're looking. I'm not."

Lueders does not appear to be a blockbuster get for the Irish but instead a guy who is going to take some time to develop into a solid defensive end. His athleticism will help him make strides a lot quicker but the fact that he has played linebacker throughout high school means he likely will not walk in and become and overwhelming presence for the Irish.

Even if it is a bit of a work in progress, Notre Dame received a verbal commitment from a solid athlete who will one day help with the pass rush. That has been a non-factor for the Irish for quite some time now. Notre Dame fans can hope the team takes strides to improve the issue this fall and hopefully won't have to wait until 2010 to see results.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish Land Their Voodoo Child

Nick Shepkowski — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:42:00 -0400

He's here at last.

The Voodoo Child himself, Andrew Hendrix, picked Notre Dame as his college choice this morning after talking things over with his parents. Hendrix becomes Notre Dame's sixth commitment in the class of 2010.

A little background on the prospect himself:

Andrew Hendrix—QB, Moeller HS, Cincinnati, OH (yes, same school as Gerry Faust),
6'3'', 220 Lbs.—4-star recruit according to Rivals, 3 stars per Scout.

A few people have tried to compare him to Brady Quinn in articles and on some of these "oh-so-genius" Notre Dame message boards.

Guess what?

Just because he is a white quarterback from Ohio does not mean he is Brady by any means so get over that idea. The only similarity is the spread styles of offense they both ran in high school.

Hendrix comes from a pistol offense which requires a lot of moving outside of the pocket and running the ball himself or throwing on the run. He seems to do it particularly well.

So there he is.

Commit No. 6 of the class of 2010 is quarterback Andrew Hendrix.

Also for anyone who cares, und.com has tickets to both the Nevada and Washington State games available for purchase today.