Silva: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for NFC teams.
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
Ryan Callahan scored for the fifth time in four days and defenseman Ryan McDonagh snapped a second-period tie to lift the New York Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Sunday.
Kobe Bryant hit a baseline jump shot with 4.2 seconds left and the Los Angeles Lakers wrapped up a six-game road trip by holding on to beat the Raptors 94-92 on Sunday, their eighth victory in nine meetings with Toronto
Arc's five up, five down: After No. 11 Michigan State's 58-48 upset of No. 3 Ohio State, you'd be a fool to discount the Spartans' national title chances now.
Miami coach Al Golden says the worst is behind him, but his headaches figure to continue now that former booster Nevin Shapiro, now in jail, says his involvement with the Hurricanes program will result in stiff penalties.
Golf's dream pairing - Woods and Mickelson - is on the course in the final round at Pebble Beach. Jason Sobel has hole-by-hole reports.
The United States completed a 5-0 rout of Switzerland in the Davis Cup on Sunday, with 19-year-old Ryan Harrison and John Isner winning closing singles matches.
Zambia has won the African Cup of Nations, beating pre-tournament favorite Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties in a dramatic final at Stade de l'Amitie.
Tessa Worley of France fought off gusting winds to win a second consecutive World Cup giant slalom Sunday in the Andorran Pyrenees. Overall leader Lindsey Vonn was more than a second behind and finished eighth.
Robins: It’s the Year of the Dragon on the Lunar calendar, and this Chinese influence could extend to it also being the year of the Pekingese on the green carpet at the 136th Westminster Dog Show on Tuesday.
APOn defense, the team had to release another trouble-plagued player, Tank Johnson (now with the Cowboys) in June 2007. Injuries to defensive tackles Dusty Dvoracek and Tommie Harris, corners Nathan Vasher and Charles Tillman and linebacker Lance Briggs all hit before the end of September. And without an offense built to carry the team, the Bears were doomed. They didn’t have enough depth.
The simple reason? They selected poorly at the top of the draft. And for all the success Angelo’s had in later rounds, that dearth of talent is damning.
Only one top selection choice made by the Bears since 2002 — Tommie Harris taken in 2004 — is a current starter. Offensive Marc Colombo (2002) is now a starter in Dallas. Defensive lineman Michael Haynes (2003) is out of the league and Grossman (2003) now backs up Kyle Orton. Benson (2005) is out of the league. Corner Danieal Manning (2006) is a non-starting reserve DB and tight end Greg Olsen (2007) backs up Desmond Clark. This year’s top selection, offensive tackle Chris Williams, was taken despite a herniated disc in his back that was a concern before the draft. Williams suffered an injury to the disc in a non-contact drill during training camp and has had surgery.
Smith hasn’t covered himself in glory either. After the Super Bowl, defensive coordinator Ron Rivera was effectively run off the coaching staff by Smith who replaced Rivera with old friend Bob Babitch. Then, when the season began, he stuck steadfastly with Grossman as his starter despite mountains of evidence he was more lucky than good. And, even if Angelo made the calls on trading Thomas Jones or the draft picks, what voice has Smith had in lobbying Angelo to do otherwise?
And 2008 doesn’t hold much promise either. Not with Orton at quarterback, rookie Matt Forte at running back, underwhelming receivers, an offensive line that is old and slow and only Devin Hester as a true game-breaking threat. Defensively, they are aging as well — Brian Urlacher turned 30 in the offseason — and they have a horrible track record of staying healthy.
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And consider this: over the final two games of the preseason, the first-team defense was on the field for nine possessions. The opposition scored on seven of those drives and on one of the non-scoring drives, blocked field goal was the only thing that kept the scoreboard clean.
It could be a while before the Bears even approach the level they were at in 2006. Maybe, in hindsight, they were a product of a down year for the NFC in general. Maybe that 13-3 record was a bit of a mirage. It’s been a number of things, really.
And when the Colts and Bears take the field Sunday night, America will be looking at one team that was built to last and another team whose time has passed.
Silva: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for NFC teams.
Wesseling: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for AFC teams.
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Wesseling: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for AFC teams.
After leading by 18 points in the first half, the Los Angeles Lakers were staring at a four-point deficit with less than two minutes to play.
Ryan Callahan scored for the fifth time in four days and defenseman Ryan McDonagh snapped a second-period tie to lift the New York Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Sunday.
