SB Nation Chicago - Bears News: Cutler Faces Criticism From Teammates

Chicago Bears Add TE Gabe Miller To Practice Squad

2012-09-17T21:31:27Z

The Chicago Bears have signed tight end Gabe Miller and placed him on the practice squad, according to Vaughn McClure of the Chicago Tribune.

Miller was most recently a tight end with the Seattle Seahawks, but began his career as a linebacker with the Kansas City Chiefs, who selected him in the fifth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. Miller played his college ball at Oregon State, where he caught eight passes for 124 yards and a touchdown in his freshman year before switching to defensive end. On that side of the ball, Miller accumulated 67 tackles -- including 13 for a loss -- and eight sacks in two seasons.

Miller has yet to appear in an NFL regular season game at either position. However, if nothing else, it appears that he is versatile and up for a challenge.

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D.J. Moore On Jay Cutler: 'He's Always Been That Way So I Wouldn't Expect Him To Change'

2012-09-17T20:50:23Z

During the Chicago Bears' 23-10 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Thursday, quarterback Jay Cutler bumped offensive tackle J'Marcus Webb on the sideline. Cutler's actions have already been criticized as unfair by cornerback D.J. Moore in the Chicago Tribune on Monday. Moore followed up in a Q&A later in the day Monday, in which he did not reverse his position on Cutler or paint the quarterback in a good light.

But I mean, just, you know, he is what he is. He's always been that way so I wouldn't expect him to change.

Moore also doesn't expect for Cutler to apologize to the team for his actions:

I think it's just him. That's the type of guy he is. He's not going to hold anything back. So I mean, if he was to talk to the team I guess you would kind of feel weird about it because it's really not just his thing.

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Jay Cutler's Treatment Of J'Marcus Webb Draws Criticism From Teammate D.J. Moore

2012-09-17T17:56:51Z

If you happened to watch Thursday's game between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers, you probably saw three things: Chicago losing 23-10, quarterback Jay Cutler getting sacked and hit like clockwork, and Cutler shoulder-bumping his left tackle, J'Marcus Webb, after a long rant following a stalled drive. Cutler has been incredibly vocal about his criticisms for his teammate, and now someone else has chimed in: D.J. Moore.

D.J. Moore on Cutler-Web situation, "Shoot, it's unfair to be like that toward J'Marcus.''
— vaughn mcclure (@vxmcclure23) September 17, 2012

That's definitely a fair criticism, and lends even more weight to much of the doubt regarding Cutler's leadership. Cutler has said he won't back down from his comments to Webb, saying that he made them "because he cares." Not openly criticizing Webb and intentionally bumping into him on the sidelines would evidently be a sign that Cutler does not care and, in fact, enjoys being sacked.

The fact that a fellow teammate is coming out and saying this is definitely a bad sign. Moore also followed it up with two more Tweets (here and here), saying that Cutler "just can't do that." We'll see if the Bears come out and force Cutler to make some kind of apology to Webb in the media.

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Matt Forte Injury: Chicago Bears RB Doesn't Have High Ankle Sprain, According To Lovie Smith

2012-09-17T15:13:27Z

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Friday that Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte suffered a high ankle sprain in Thursday night's loss to the Green Bay Packers, but that diagnosis was refuted on Monday by Bears head coach Lovie Smith.

"Matt did go down with an ankle injury. It's not a high ankle sprain, as has been reported," Smith said. "He still has some soreness. We'll continue to monitor it, but we felt like we needed another running back here, so we brought back a guy that knows our system and has played good ball for us in Kahlil Bell."

(via CBS Chicago)

Forte left Thursday night's game after his ankle was rolled up on by a Packers defender. Michael Bush took over the lion's share of the carries, and will likely start for Chicago this coming Sunday vs. the Rams if Forte is unable to play.

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Chicago Bears Pursuing RB Steve Slaton After Matt Forte's Ankle Injury

2012-09-14T19:33:05Z

The Chicago Bears have scheduled a Saturday workout for former Houston Texans running Steve Slaton in the wake of news that Matt Forte suffered a high ankle sprain during the team's 23-10 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night. The report of Slaton's scheduled workout comes via Vaughn McClure of the Chicago Tribune. The Bears will use Michael Bush as the primary running back during any games where Forte is unable play, but the lack of depth behind Bush is worrisome. Unproven RB Lorenzo Booker beat out Armando Allen during the preseason in the competition for the No. 3 RB on the roster, but Booker was later placed on injured reserve with a head injury and Allen is back as the current third option. A team with playoff aspirations can't afford to gamble on Allen if anything should happen to Bush while Forte is out.

Slaton burst onto the NFL scene as a member of the Texans during his rookie season in 2008, when he rushed for 1,282 yards and nine touchdowns while adding 377 receiving yards and another score. Since that spectacular season, Slaton struggled to stay on the field and got phased out in Houston when Arian Foster rose to prominence. The Dolphins released Slaton -- who is just 26 years old -- on Sept. 1 before the start of the current season.

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Sam Hurd's Partner Pleads Guilty To Federal Drug Charges

2012-09-13T15:39:25Z

A defendant in the Sam Hurd drug case pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a cocaine possession charge in a Dallas courtroom. Toby Lujan, who was accused of attempting to set up a large drug network with the former Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys wide receiver, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute at least 500 grams of cocaine. Following a plea deal, the suggested sentencing was five to 40 years in prison.

Lujan's plea deal requires him to cooperate with authorities, including testifying in the case against Hurd if he is asked to do so. Hurd was arrested on Dec. 14, 2011, for allegedly attempting to purchase and distribute large amounts of cocaine and marijuana. He is currently in jail in Texas after violating his the conditions of his bond by failing two drug tests.

Hurd graduated from Northern Illinois before playing five seasons for the Cowboys and one season with the Bears.

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Bears Vs. Packers: Dave Toub Lauds Randall Cobb As One Of NFL's Top Return Specalists

2012-09-13T14:57:23Z

Chicago Bears special teams coordinator Dave Toub was quick to praise Green Bay Packers return man Randall Cobb. The second-year player returned a punt 75 yards for a touchdown in the Packers' Week 1 loss to the San Francisco 49ers and has three returns for touchdowns in his 16 career games. Toub took note of Cobb's skills and knows the Bears must be aware of him:

"We have to manage our kicks very well this week with Cobb back there," Bears special teams coordinator Dave Toub said. "He's excellent. He is, if not the best, besides Devin (Hester), I don't who else there is. Maybe the guy down in Arizona (Patrick Peterson), he's pretty good too."

The Bears' special teams unit will be ready for Cobb, as they are always one of the NFL's best and performed strongly in their Week 1 victory over the Colts.

The Bears and Packers will kickoff at 7:20 p.m. CT on Thursday.

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Bears Vs. Packers: Windy City Gridiron Explains How Matt Forte Can Thrive

2012-09-13T13:42:46Z

The Chicago Bears are expected to showcase a more potent passing attack on Thursday night in their Week 2 matchup against the Green Bay Packers, but running backs Matt Forte and Michael Bush should still play a big role in the game as well. The 3-4 defense employed by the Packers can leave holes for RBs to break through the first level of the defense, so the question is whether Bears offensive coordinator Mike Tice can get the looks he wants and help the Bears keep the ball out of Aaron Rodgers' hands.

Steve Ronkowski of Bears blog Windy City Gridiron has taken a look at some specific plays and formations that Chicago may employ on Thursday:

Someone more clever than me will need to name this new player set: the Bears come out with Forte ("F") lined up as a fullback and Michael Bush ("T") lined up as the tailback. The red lines show the pre-snap motion. Forte motions out of the backfield, and the strong safety swings over to cover him. At the snap, all four receivers head pretty much straight upfield. The key to preventing the pass rush is Kellen Davis' ("Y") route: Davis gets a good jump off the line and quickly comes open, forcing the linebacker across from him into coverage. With Forte now occupying the flat and Bush a threat to creep out of the backfield, the linebacker on the left edge of the line has to stay in a short zone to defend against these two running backs.

For more of this excellent chalk talk, be sure to check out the full article.

During Week 1 the Bears produced 114 yards and three touchdowns on 33 rushes against the Indianapolis Colts' 3-4 defense.

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