Good morning, folks! Welcome to the NFC North News for Wednesday, January 16th, 2013.
R&B singer Aaliyah was born on this date in 1979. She died in a plane crash in 2001 at the age of 22.
Who wants to hear some interesting things that happened on this day in history? You don’t? Too bad! You’ll read them and you’ll like them.
More important than all those events (at least to their parents) is the fact that these fine celebrities were born: the only non-elite quarterback still in the playoffs, Joe Flacco; Halloween director John Carpenter; and singer-songwriter Jill Sobule.
I kissed a link . . . for the first time.
Morning Update: The Chicago Bears have hired their new head coach and it’s… Marc Trestman, long-time NFL coach most recently of the CFL. They also hired former New Orleans Saint interim head coach Aaron Kromer as their offensive coordinator. Trestman will call the plays, so Kromer will most likely be working with the offensive line, similar to what his job in New Orleans.
Apparently, losing your special teams coordinator is all the rage these days. Yesterday it was the Detroit Lions; today it’s the Chicago Bears.
The Chicago Tribune reports that the team will part ways with their special teams coach Dave Toub. I’m sure Bears fans will be sad to see him go considering his success under previous head coach Lovie Smith. Toub’s special teams unit was ranked in the top ten eight of the nine seasons he was with the organization and helped Devin Hester set the NFL record for special teams scores.
It’s believed that he is leaving the team because he didn’t want to be in the difficult situation of working under a head coach against whom he competed for the Bears job. He may be heading to Kansas City to reunite with Andy Reid, who, according to the article, gave Toub his first NFL job with the Philadelphia Eagles back in 2001.
All is not lost, though. ESPN Chicago reports that there won’t be a shortage of candidates for the newly opened position.
Michael C. Wright passes along that Brandon Marshall will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his hip. He only expects to be out about two weeks. No word on whether or not he’ll attend the Pro Bowl.
Outgoing Chicago Bears special teams coach, says his time in Chicago was “a great run.”
Detroit Lions defensive end Cliff Avril’s future is up in the air, according to a recent Detroit Free Press article.
Avril was a free agent last year but was franchised tagged by the Lions and played out his one year, $10.6 millions dollar tender in 2012. Now that general manager Martin Mayhew has confirmed that Avril will not be franchised for a second time, it looks like it’s time for him to return to the bargaining tables.
The article notes that his stats decreased a little this year, but that it could have been due to a back injury in the second half of the season or, as Mayhew pointed out:
We didn’t play with a lot of leads. We played with some leads last year, so we had some opportunities really to tee off and get our pass rush going, where everybody can just cut loose and just go.
When asked about his plans, Avril stated that he’d love to return to the Lions, but he’s going to take things slowly and see how they shake out when free agency opens.
The Green Bay Packers lost right tackle Bryan Bulaga to a hip injury in 2012.
The Free Press also notes that wide receiver Calvin Johnson has pulled out of the Pro Bowl due to nagging injuries sustained throughout his record-setting season. He is, however, still taking all his fellow receivers to Hawaii to watch the game. Classy, dude. He’ll be replaced by Tampa Bay’s Vincent Jackson.
The Green Bay Packers didn’t have the best season when it kept to keeping Aaron Rodgers upright. One of the reasons for that was the absence of offensive lineman Bryan Bulaga as he dealt with a hip injury.
According to a the “Packers Blog” over at the Journal Sentinel, Bulaga says he’s “pretty confident” he’ll be ready for training camp. According to the former Hawkeye:
If it were up to me, I would do everything. That’s just the way I operate. We’ll see. It’s a little bit far out in advance to tell what I’m going to be doing but I’m pretty confident training camp is a good goal to definitely look at.
The article delves a little bit more into the offensive line and Bulaga’s rehab, so give it a look if you’re interested.
According to Jason Wilde, Rodgers will not participate in this year’s Pro Bowl, due to multiple injuries. It sounds like Rodgers didn’t even pass his exit physical. He did acknowledge that one of the injuries was to his ankle, but stated that none of the injuries will require surgery.
Former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton was a self-described freak when he took the field in the 1960s.
During his end of season press conference, Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy spoke on several topics, including defensive coordinator Dom Capers. Mike Vandermause passes along that McCarthy didn’t really give him any votes of confidence, but did say that he is “very confident” Capers will return for the 2013 season.
The Minnesota Vikings official site wants you to know about some important offseason dates for the team. It ranges from the East-West Shrine Game all the way up to the NFL’s spring meeting in May. You don’t even have to be a Vikings fan to view it!
Writing in the Twin Cities Pioneer Press, legendary Minnesota Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton reflects on his own career as a running passer and compares it to today’s NFL.Tarkenton says that he was a “freak” back in 1961, when his skill set was one not normally seen in professional football. Now, you see a quarterback like Colin Kaepernick who runs for 181 yards in a single game and can still make NFL-caliber throws.
It’s an interesting read, so give it a look if you like Vikings, football, running, or Fran Tarkenton.
"The Bears own Cutler for the next three years. You won't find anyone who says Cutler doesn't have the tools to be one of the best." - Bearss honk who will remain mercifully nameless
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Sure you will. Somebody on this blog has posted repeatedly about the very compelling evidence that NFL QBs don't just suddenly get better after 5-6 years
He is who he is.
He is: Bad Jay Cuntler (a/k/a SlapNutz) Perennial Packers Whipping Boy / INT machine.
pfffttt!!!!
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@Pugs R Kewl his number one goal is ti get the game over with so he can watch hockey night in canada.
Come to think about it HNIC has some vastly different meanings
so the NFL Network was talking about places Ed Reed coul go if he doesnt go back to Baltimore. and i hear they said New Orleans as a spot.
DO.IT.NOW.
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In the category of "Gushing Like Old Faithful With a Mixture Of Hope, Optimism, and Wishful Thinking" I hereby nominate:
Every honking fan of Da Bearss posting here, today.
This is shades of the bullshit frenzy of Loins fans after the team finally had one (1) winning season.
Bad Jay Cuntler (a/k/a SlapNutz) is still your QB and he's not getting any younger.
*evil-est laugh of 2013 - so far*
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I've been "gushing" since the Bears moved on to George McCaskey, and hired Phil Emery. This isn't something that came about today.
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It's going to be weird watching the bears receivers get a running start on all the plays next year
Here's what else you'd be scooped on:
the rouge
punting on 3rd down
wider field
goalpost location
no running game to speak of
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No then it would be:
"It's gonna be wicked weahd wahtchin the beahs receivahs get a runnin staht ahn all the plays next yeah."
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@Preparation_A @Pugs R Kewl Oh well. I said it in a Boston wise-guy accent so I win.
" Marshall also told Jensen that he “absolutely” loves the choice of Marc Trestman as head coach and that he’s started reading Trestman’s book to help prepare for working with the new man in charge on the sideline."
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Brandon Marshall is an indiscriminate cheerleader. Which I usually like, but his Y chromosome makes it an issue.
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@Preparation_A @adambballn yah, he was the one last year praising hester on his route running
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I dont get the lure of going from the ncaa into the nfl. If you have a perennial top ten program you will always get recruits and always be good and become king in town. In the nfl there is a 50-50 shot you are jobless in 3 years
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@Gabes22 and the $$ you make isn't all that different. I can see two reasons:
1) Ego. Want to prove you can do it against the best of the best.
2) Don't have to deal with dumbass NCAA rules and shit (Oregon being investigated, remember).
Plus, he can always scurry back to college, a la Saban to Bama.
@Gabes22 Word is Oregon is about to get hit with sanctions... I think he's pulling a Carroll.
@Preparation_A @Gabes22 Oregon's OC will take over... i don't know how much they will drop off....
@First job: Beat the Packers @Preparation_A @Gabes22
A bottom who really loved his work.
@Preparation_A No... the link I posted earlier was from my Iphone while I was pooping... this is the first time I've sat down in front of my computer today.
@Preparation_A @adambballn I live in Clairemont... right off of Clairemont Drive down the road from Mission Bay Park.
