Meet Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Finalist, Trey Burton

By Wanda Wiedman // @WandaW63

Since 1970, the Man of the Year award was given to players who went over and beyond in outstanding community service on and off the field, and still perform with extreme excellence on the field. It was renamed after the Chicago Bears greatest running back of all-time in 1999.

Alongside Payton, who won his award in 1977, is Dave Duerson (1987), Mike Singletary (1990), Jim Flanigan (2000), and Charles Tillman (2013). Former Bears Julius Peppers (Panthers) and Robbie Gould (49ers) are also finalists for their prospective causes.

This year, the Chicago Bears have chosen tight end Trey Burton as their nominee.

I want to address the work that Burton has been pouring his heart and soul into, and that is the International Justice Mission. This organization aims at eliminating slave trade.

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Bears-Rams matchup has familiar feel

By Wanda Wiedman // @WandaW63

The Chicago Bears will be hosting the Los Angeles Rams this Sunday night at Soldier Field and Bears fans are both excited and nervous.

And for good reason.

The Rams are the number one seeded team in the NFC with a record of 11-1. The Bears hold the 3rd seed spot at 8-4 and currently first in the NFC North division.

With Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky back under center, after he sustained a shoulder injury against the Minnesota Vikings, it will be interesting to see what kind of game churns out. Currently, the Bears have a 5-1 record at home and fans have been coming out in droves to bring some noise to opposing teams.

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A Giant Leap Over Bears in OT Loss

By Wanda Wiedman // @WandaW63

It was bound to happen. A backup quarterback with not enough playing time slotted to win two back-to-back games? That was wishful thinking. But there were many factors that resulted in a painful Chicago Bears loss to the New York Giants on the road.

First, let’s start with the positives.

– Running back Jordan Howard actually had more than 50 plus yards in this game. As a matter of fact, he rushed for 76 yards, one as long as 25 yards! Hey, this is huge because he hasn’t been a factor in the run game for a while.

– Cornerback Kyle Fuller caught his 6th interception which he read in anticipation to the throw by Eli Manning. He surpassed his rookie high in 2014 of four.

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Bears must take Giant step at MetLife Stadium

By Wanda Wiedman // @WandaW63

The Chicago Bears have won five straight games after their loss to New England. They won three division games within a span of 11 days. No one can question their hunger to win.

Even with starting quarterback Mitchell Trubisky unable to play on Thanksgiving due to a shoulder sprain, his sideline presences and leadership were evident on every pass and every tackle. The entire team put their confidence on backup QB, veteran Chase Daniel to carry the team and with the help of the defense, it was a done deal.

Going into Sunday’s matchup, the Bears will have to take it on the road one more time to MetLife Stadium as they battle the Giants on their home turf. The Giants are coming off a close game against the Philadelphia Eagles, only to lose by a field goal. The Bears were able to enjoy the holidays and enjoy a few days of rest. But now it’s back to the grind and a win mindset for the hungry Monsters of the Midway.

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The Detroit Lions Week 12 Pride Report

Sonja Greenfield, Detroit Lions Reporter

By Sonja Greenfield // @Mom23RN

Chicago Bears 23 – Detroit Lions 16

First off….I was eating before I wrote this, so forgive me if it goes astray. I’m quite literally tryptophan wasted as I write this. I was determined not to let the Detroit Lions ruin the dinner that my mom worked hard all day to cook.

Coming off of a win against the Carolina Panthers, that quite frankly not too many people were expecting, expectations were starting to creep up that the Lions may actually fare better in Detroit on Thanksgiving against the Chicago Bears than they did in Chicago. Plus, the Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky wasn’t going to be playing, it could be a win!

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The new Monsters of the Midway are real

By Wanda Wiedman // @WandaW63

In 1940-1941 the Chicago Bears were the most dominant team in the NFL.

It resurged again in 1984-1985 when the Bears built another dominant defense that consisted of “Samurai” Mike Singletary, Dan Hampton, Richard Dent, Otis Wilson, Ron Rivera, Steve “Mongo” McMichael, and William “Refridgerator” Perry, Lezlie Frasier, Dave Duerson, and Gary Fencik.

These prolific players took Chicago by storm. But shortly after that, the monsters hibernated, showing only glimpses in 1990-1991 and then again in 2005-2006 and 2010.

Fast forward to 2013 when Marc Trestman was hired as head coach. His winning record in the CFL was enough to hire him as head coach to replace Lovie Smith, but he didn’t have the fire to back it up.

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The day Walter Payton made the Vikings pay

By Wanda Wiedman // @WandaW63

November 20, 1977. The Chicago Bears were coming off a last second, come from behind 28-27 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. They were 4-5 entering Week 10 and the Bears would face the division rival Minnesota Vikings.

The field was damp and although the temperature was mild for late November, the Windy City hosted 25-30 mph winds from the south to play havoc on the Bears passing game.

Running back Walter Payton carried the ball 33 times against the Chiefs the previous week, rushing for 192 yards and three touchdowns.

Though Payton was battling flu-like symptoms that day, he made it seem effortless in what would be his career day.

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Three things Cody Parkey must fix

By Wanda Wiedman // @WandaW63

Bears 34 – Lions 22

It wasn’t a good day for Chicago Bear’s kicker Cody Parkey. In four attempted kicks, Parkey missed all of them, hitting the uprights with the oh so sweet sound of “doink”.

There were some Bears fans who thought he didn’t take it seriously, accusing him of laughing or smiling after a missed kick. But when asked what happened he said, “I was just pointing the ball down the middle today, and every time I kicked it down the middle, it just kept fading to the right,” Parkey said. “The wind was pushing it a little bit on me, but I have to be better than that. That’s why I’m here.”

Don’t expect the Bears to release him any time soon. He has about $9-10 million in guaranteed money. Despite the big time errors, his teammates were right there supporting him.

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This Ain’t It: Detroit Lions twitter reaction after loss to Bears

By Sonja Greenfield // @Mom23RN

Chicago Bears 34 – Detroit Lions 22

The Lions traveled today to take on the 1st place Chicago Bears. I must admit, as the season has gone on, I felt that the Lions dominance of the Bears was going to end but I thought that the Lions could at least put up a fight. They didn’t.

One good thing about this week was quarterback Matthew Stafford was sacked only 6 times! An improvement from last weeks 10 sacks. Aside from quarterback play, the defense wasn’t too much better. Let me clarify: the run defense was good, the rest was not. No pressure on QB Mitchell Trubisky, and there was blown coverages throughout the secondary.

However, the Bears averaged 2.5 yards per carry and only rushed for 54 yards total. They were able to hold running back Jordan Howard to just 21 yards rushing. Shout out to defensive tackle Damon “Snacks” Harrison for keeping Chicago’s run game at bay.

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Four Interesting Similarities of the 2006 & 2018 Bears Seasons

By Wanda Wiedman // @WandaW63

Right now the Chicago Bears lead the NFC North with a 5-3 record. But there are a lot of similarities to the 2006 season that cannot be ignored, or at least are worth a look at.

Some of these interesting facts can give Bears fans hope of a better record to end the season. Obviously, it is contingent on how well the Bears prepare, respond, and attack their opportunities and opponents.

With that being said, let’s look at the facts, which can be verified at pro-football-reference.com.

In the first nine weeks of the 2006 season, the Bears were 7-1, losing to the Miami Dolphins. However, in those nine weeks, the Bears scored a total of 234 points. As of now, the Bears have scored 235 total points! That is including the three losses that the Bears decided to get out of the way. In 2006 the Bears reached a record of 5 wins against the Buffalo Bills winning 40-7. Last Sunday, they reached 5 wins by beating the Buffalo Bills, 41-9. Fascinating!
Currently, the Bears are right on schedule in regards to matching passing yards from 2006. Rex Grossman was the quarterback at the time and tallied 1,810 passing yards. As of now, QB Mitchell Trubisky has thrown for 1,842 passing yards. What is interesting is the rushing yards. Bears fans have been begging to see more of running back Jordan Howard. But the Bears have actually surpassed the 2006 rushing yards in the first 9 weeks.

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