chimpy2121

I'm in.

My Training Camp Article

Thanks, wish i had a better camera so i could get better pictures but o well. I'm going to be doing an article for ProFootballCentral.com about training camp, as soon as I'm done with it I'll post it here.

Haha, sorry i didnt get a better pic of him.

DT caught the ball behind his back...

Sorry Minny, DT dropped this one...

It's blury but thats where Clark hurt his hammy.

Hey guys, just got back from training camp (pictures coming soon). Rex looked mediocre today, had a lot of balls thrown in the ground. Recievers were great though. No one dropped any easy throws during scrimmages. However DT dropped some in warm ups. During a red zone drill, Desmond Clark cut across the middle and came up limp. (Hammy injury, not sure how serious, got a picture though). The D looked really good. Always got to the quaterback on there plays. A-train wasnt in pads. Azumah and Urlacher were on the side as well. AP broke some big runs and caught some nice passes. Jones caught a very nice pass as well. One hander while getting his feet in before goin out of bounds. Best play of the practice was a 2 minute drill play where Grossman threw it to Merritt, and then Merritt pitched it to Jones as he was going down, then Jones went downfield (would have been a touchdown.) I probably have forgot a lot but ill try to remember. I did get Joe Tafoya's autograph, came close to getting Tank, he was right next to me. Also came close to getting Mike Browns. Pictures coming soon!

As am I.

Gage studying his way to No. 2 By Adam Caldarelli ChicagoSports.com July 31, 2004, 2:54 PM CDT BOURBONNAIS, Ill. -- Justin Gage would've been perfect in Bill Walsh's style of offense--a big, tall receiver in the mold of John Taylor who can catch the ball over the middle. That's what he was until Terry Shea showed up this year to run the Bears' offense. Now Gage has had to adjust his game to a style he has never played. Shea wants his receivers playing at full speed the entire time--right off the line and in and out of their cuts up field. Being 6-foot-4-inches tall, it was a struggle at first for Gage, a former basketball player at Missouri, to control his body to make precision cuts at full speed, sometimes in tight quarters in order to shed a defensive back. "It's something I couldn't do in the first mini-camp that we had," Gage said. "I've seen it done and I tried it a few times but it's something that I've gotten more and more comfortable with and I feel it's a lot easier. I'm doing it a lot better now." Shea would go even further than that. "He's done a nice job of mastering that technique," Shea said. "It is not easy, especially for the longer-legged receivers. And he's got that catching skill that is probably about as good as we have on our football team right now." Gage doesn't possess the flat-out break away speed to blow by a cornerback. With all types of double-moves in the offense, he doesn't need it. Shea's offense has other ways to get a receiver open deep. Like during Thursday night's practice in the Olivet Nazarene stadium. Gage provided the highlight of the night for the capacity crowd when he caught a deep touchdown in stride from Rex Grossman after Grossman pump-faked the safety off. Both may only be second-year players but they know each other well. It's a receiver-quarterback rapport forged last season on the depths of the scout team, which prepares the starting defense by mimicking the offense used by the upcoming opponent. It's a daunting task for rookies and peripheral players but Grossman, Gage and receiver Bobby Wade held their own at times against the likes of Brian Urlacher and Mike Brown. "I think that really helped us and got us prepared for the end of last year and what's to come," Gage said. It was no coincidence that Grossman's first pass in the NFL was a deep one to Gage, who jumped high and drew a pass interference penalty on the cornerback for close to a 40-yard gain. That experience has provided Gage and Wade with a slight advantage in this camp and it's been evident by how many times Grossman has found them during team passing drills. "Gage is certainly one of Rex's hot buttons right now," Shea said. "He and Bobby Wade are both pretty dynamic for Rex at this point." That doesn't bode well for David Terrell, a former No. 8 overall pick, who some have speculated could be cut at the end of camp. Terrell did turn in the play of the day on Thursday when he caught a ball in heavy traffic and held on after being pin-balled by the safety and cornerback. But as No. 1 receiver Marty Booker sits with a minor hamstring injury, the pressure is squarely on Terrell as Gage presses him for the No. 2 receiver spot. Darryl Drake has seen it all before. The wide receivers coach is hardly surprised by Gage's ascension. He coached the receivers at the University of Texas for six years and saw Gage twice a year in Big 12 battles. "This offense fits him well," Drake said. "There are certain things that will allow him to use his size and his speed and his athletic ability. But, heck, I always knew he could play." Drake, however, didn't know Gage was such a good a listener, someone who digests coaching advice and quickly turns it into receptions on the field. Case in point: During Friday's afternoon practice under a steady rain, Gage went up for a jump ball but instead of stretching high he attempted a basket catch. The ball slipped through his arms and fell incomplete. Drake ran over and instructed the receiver to use his height and his hands over his head, especially in bad conditions. "The next opportunity he'll get to do that he'll make that catch because he'll know how to do that," Drake said. "That's my job to teach him those things and help him with those things, and that's his job to transfer it and be able to do those things. He's really a coachable guy. He'll make those adjustments." Teams traditionally keep five receivers. Besides Booker, who is entrenched in the first spot, Gage and Terrell are locked in a battle for the second spot, while Bobby Wade appears to be the front-runner at No. 3. Coach Lovie Smith will ultimately make the final call on who lines up wide in the second receiver spot. So far he's impressed. "Justin Gage has made a couple good catches just about every practice we've had," Smith said. While most players descend on training camp in luxury SUVs, Gage last year got a ride from his parents, who then left them their car from him to use. He's since scored his own ride, but still retains some of that innocence when he speaks of just wanting to make the team and using each practice as a way to impress the coaches. "With 10 receivers [in camp] and you're competing and only keeping five or six, it's a big battle," he said. "But that's what it's about." So far Gage is winning that battle and then some.

A-Train impressing coaches as runner, receiver By Larry Mayer July 31, 2004 Anthony Thomas rushed for 1,024 yards and 6 TDs on 244 carries in 13 games in 2003. BOURBONNAIS, Ill. - Darting across the middle, Bears running back Anthony Thomas reached up high to pluck a Rex Grossman pass out of the air with one hand like a seasoned wide receiver during Saturday's morning practice in Bourbonnais. Thomas, the first Bear to rush over 1,000 yards in two of his first three seasons since Walter Payton, is proving that he's adept at catching the ball after not being called upon in the passing game under the previous coaching regime. "I can catch," Thomas said. "It's just something that they didn't have to use. We had a lot of receivers that went out and did a good job, so they didn't really have to use a running back as much. But this offense is different. They're passing the ball a lot to the backs and I've got a skill that I can use now." Thomas no doubt will contribute more as a receiver than he did last season when he had just nine receptions for 36 yards. Coordinator Terry Shea's offense utilizes a high volume of passes to the backs, which is a major reason the Bears signed running back Thomas Jones on the first day of free agency. With his speed, elusiveness and breakaway ability, Jones is a better fit in the scheme than Thomas. But when asked to identify which player has been the most pleasant surprise so far in training camp, Shea didn't hesitate in naming the A-Train. "One of the real pluses has been Anthony Thomas," Shea said. "He's done it with his catching skill. He's done it with his reading of running lanes. He's done really a very consistent job, not that Thomas Jones hasn't. (Jones) has made some brilliant runs with his vision. In my opinion, we've got two of the better backs that we need for this offense." There's a long way to go before the regular season opener, but Jones has already solidified his spot atop the depth chart. "Right now Thomas Jones has been able to win that job, and he won it in the offseason," Shea said. "We brought him here to be a real sold player for us and start. I wouldn't say Anthony Thomas can't win it, but right now, if we were to play tomorrow, it would be Thomas Jones '1' and Anthony Thomas '1A.'" In training camp, Thomas Jones has proven to be the speedy breakaway threat the Bears envisioned when they signed him as a free agent. The Bears insist there are enough footballs to go around for both running backs, but their exact roles have yet to be finalized. "We really haven't addressed with the individual players what their roles are," Shea said. "We were going to let training camp unfold. We're still brand new to each other. We were going to go probably 10 days into training camp and then really start to solidify, 'OK, here's how you're going to play into the offense.' "But Anthony will play. If Thomas Jones is our starter, Anthony will play. He will complement Jones. We'll play them both in the same backfield at times and we'll just go from there." Appearing a bit revitalized by the new coaching staff, Thomas is performing like the back who was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2001 after rushing for 1,183 yards and 7 TDs. After one run during a recent practice, a fan remarked, "Either the entire Bears defense is a lot slower or Thomas is much quicker." The A-Train is unfazed by Jones' presence and insists he doesn't need to be pushed by other players to excel. "No matter what, if he was here or if he wasn't here, it would be the same thing," Thomas said. "I just want to go out here and have a good camp and work real hard and try to get this (play) book down. It's nothing about me and Thomas against each other." Thomas produced one of the most impressive plays of training camp Thursday night when he ran over linebacker Marcus Reese, delivering a bone-crushing hit that reverberated throughout Ward Field and brought the crowd to its feet. "I'm just trying to show (the coaches) that I can play football," Thomas said. "The rest they can see from films and stuff like that. They know I can play. I just want to go out and work hard and play my best."

Goal-line offense owns the end zone By Larry Mayer July 31, 2004 BOURBONNAIS, Ill. - The Bears' offense dominated the defense in a spirited goal-line drill late in Saturday's morning practice. Thomas Jones is proving to be as an effective runner in goal-line situations as he is on the rest of the field. Running backs Thomas Jones, Anthony Thomas and Adrian Peterson all got into the end zone as the offense scored from the three-yard line on the first nine plays of the 12-play drill. "When we get inside the three-yard line, we go to our big formation and we try to get a 'hat on a hat,' so that allows the ballcarrier to at least get back to the line of scrimmage," said offensive coordinator Terry Shea. "That's our whole philosophy on the goal line. Some teams spread you out, some teams do other things. But we'll compact it." The "hat on a hat" philosophy was evident on two particular touchdown runs. Fullback Bryan Johnson's block on safety Bobby Gray sprung Jones into the end zone and tight end Gabe Reid's block on linebacker Marcus Reese allowed Peterson to waltz in. When Shea was quarterbacks coach in Kansas City last season, the Chiefs scored 42 TDs on 54 red-zone possessions, a 77.8 success rate that was easily the best in the NFL. The Bears mustered 22 TDs on 45 red-zone possessions (48.9 percent), ranking 16th in the league. While the Bears are still not certain which running back will be utilized in short-yardage situations, Shea was pleased with all three of the ballcarriers who saw action in the goal-line drill. "What we tried to do today is give each back that we selected some reps," he said. "It sure appeared to me that Thomas Jones is just as effective on the goal line as he is the open field. Anthony Thomas made some real tough runs and Peterson stepped up too." Bears coach Lovie Smith wasn't surprised that the offense held such a decisive advantage in the drill. "It kind of goes like that; one side or the other kind of dominates for a certain time," he said. "When you haven't tackled live, you think you can go live but you really don't know for sure. I think it's a little of that, but I think our offense was ready to play a little bit more than the defense, and that's normally what it comes down to. We have a good offensive line and we should be able to get the ball in the end zone once we get it down there." Pay-back time: The defense bounced back in 11-on-11 team drills as rookie end Claude Harriott and rookie tackle Dan Rumishek both returned interceptions for what would have been touchdowns on nearly identical plays. Harriott picked off Rex Grossman and Rumishek victimized Jonathan Quinn . Claude Harriott showed his athleticism by intercepting a Rex Grossman pass and returning it for what would have been a touchdown. "It was a zone (blitz) and they had me dropping in coverage," said Harriott, a fifth-round pick from Pittsburgh. "I dropped in the right place at the right time and the quarterback didn't see me, so it worked out pretty good for me." Harriott was elated with the interception, but he didn't celebrate long. "It helps, but I have to remember that I have a play after that," he said. "It has to be short-lived and I have to try to do just as good on the next play or better." Though the interception was nice, Harriott's primary objective is to prove to coaches that after a disappointing senior season last year, he's the same dominant pass-rusher who compiled 9 ½ sacks, 21 tackles-for-loss and seven forced fumbles as a junior. "They didn't bring me here to drop in coverage," Harriott said. "That's a bonus. My real job is to find a way to get around these big tackles." Aches & pains: Fans gave wide receiver Marty Booker balloons and presents to celebrate his 28th birthday Saturday. The six-year veteran, who remains sidelined with a hamstring injury, said he hopes to return to practice on Monday. Defensive end Alex Brown (calf), guard Mike Gandy (groin) and rookie receiver Bernard Berrian (hamstring) also remain sidelined. Cornerback Jerry Azumah (stinger) wore shoulder pads and a helmet but not did participate in contact drills. A day at camp: Several former Bears attended Saturday's morning practice. The group included Bob Avellini, Brian Baschnagel, Ronnie Bull, Wendell Davis, Shaun Gayle, Roland Harper, Dennis McKinnon, Emery Moorehead, Jim Morrissey, Jim Osborne, Revie Sorey and Bob Thomas. Cornerback Todd McMillon made two excellent plays in the session, batting down a Grossman pass on a blitz and breaking up a pass intended for tight end Mark Anelli. The best pass of the practice was a connection between Grossman and wide receiver Ahmad Merritt deep down the right sideline. Undrafted rookie quarterback Ryan Dinwiddie took advantage of a rare rep by stepping up in the pocket and hitting Reid near the right sideline.

Bears message board=Hacked.

Espn radio saying Sox still have good shot to win the Central.

hey, he'll be a perfect fit for the cubs...A Clubhouse Cancer.

Boston is gonna be pissed off for a while....Theo destroyed this trade for the red sox.

I think end of August.

I feel your pain I know there are still waiver trades, but if its anywhere near a big trade it will probably get blocked.

That's all for the sox, just este for contreras. So much for a consistent hitter.

They did NOT get clement.

KW on now!!!

ummm Shingo?

This just in...I am now selling my Este All-Star Jersey, PM me if interested!!!

twins only getting prospects, bo sox not getting clement