Quarterback Chris Simms is one of many free agent quarterbacks the Bears will be looking at once the signing period begins, February 27. Rex Grossman won’t be back and that creates an availablity for a veteran presence. Simms isn’t the frontrunner, by any means, but he, along with Kurt Warner, Jeff Garcia, Kerry Collins, and others will be on the Bears’ radar as they try to get stronger at one of their historically more mediocre positions.

But back to Simms. The Bears were interested in Simms last season, but decided to move forward with Caleb Hanie as their No. 3 quarterback. If the Bears interest in Simms this year has materialized into any type of contact with Simms, Papa Phil isn’t saying so.

In fact, Phil Simms seems adamant to keep indifferent about the whole thing. Is it just because he wants to play it cool or because he knows Chicago is where receivers come to die?

For the second straight week, the Bears lose a game in which they dominated for the vast majority of it. And while the Bears running attack lived up to it’s recent reputation, Tampa Bay defied the expectation and ran only 17 times. Instead, it was quarterback Brian Griese who ended up hurting the Bears, throwing an amazing 67 passes while keeping his arm and shoulder surprisingly connected.

You could say the Bears lost it in overtime when Charles Tillman was flagged for unnecessary roughness on a play that would have resulted in a Bucs fourth down. However, we’ll have more on that later.

The truth is, the Bears’ defense grew tired — once again — as the game transpired. The Beard and Co. weren’t able to convert on enough third downs and keep the offense on the field. (more…)

The Chicago Bears shipped Brian Griese to Tampa Bay this offseason essentially for rookie cornerback Zack Bowman. Now, the squinty-eyed quarterback would like nothing more than to get revenge on his former team as the starting quarterback of his new…er…former team.

The Buccaneers feature a strong running attack with Earnest Graham and Warrick Dunn averaging a combined 165 yards per game thus far. The talented trio of rookie Matt Forte, Kevin Jones, and Garrett Wolfe are responsible for 149 yards per game themselves.

Thus, don’t expect either Griese or Bears quarterback Kyle Orton to throw much. Considering the Bucs’ No. 1 receiver, Joey Galloway, is out with injury and the Bears don’t really have a No. 1, the winner of this game will be the team that exhibits the best run defense. (more…)