March 2006 - Chicago Bears Wiretap

Pro Bowl Rosters Announced

Jun 23, 2014 4:57 AM

Nine members of the AFC roster are first-time All-Stars, including Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers, in his first year as a starter, and three of his San Diego teammates. The Chargers own the conference's best record at 12-2. Helping Rivers at the AFC's quarterback position will be Indianapolis' Peyton Manning and Carson Palmer of Cincinnati. Manning leads the NFL in touchdowns (26) and passer rating (99.0) and will start for the AFC in his seventh trip to Aloha Stadium. The Colts' QB led all NFL players in Pro Bowl fan balloting with 1,183,468 votes. Palmer earned his second consecutive All-Star selection, standing No. 2 in the AFC to Manning in both TD passes (24) and passing yards (3,575). A pair of Chargers will start in the AFC's backfield: running back LaDainian Tomlinson and fullback Lorenzo Neal. Named to his fourth Pro Bowl, Tomlinson already has scored an NFL-record 31 touchdowns on the season. Playing in his third Pro Bowl and his second as a Charger, Neal has helped open holes for Tomlinson, who leads the NFL with 1,626 rushing yards. Neal boasts the NFL's best mark of seven-for-seven on third-and-one rushes for first downs. Adding to the AFC's backfield's punch will be Kansas City's Larry Johnson and Willie Parker of Pittsburgh. This is the second consecutive Pro Bowl trip for Johnson, who ranks second in the league with 1,516 yards rushing. Parker ties for third in the NFL with 11 rushing TDs and will wear the AFC Pro Bowl uniform for the first time in his three-year career. QB Manning will have familiar faces to throw to as Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne suit up for their eighth and first Pro Bowls, respectively. The Indianapolis receiving duo marks the first time that two Colts receivers have been All-Star selections. Harrison has five Pro Bowl TDs, tied for the game's career record. Starting at the team's wideout positions will be a "Johnson & Johnson" combination -- Andre Johnson of Houston, who leads the NFL with 97 receptions, and Cincinnati's Chad Johnson, whose 1,247 receiving yards top the league. The '07 game is the Texans' Johnson's second Pro Bowl while the Bengals' Johnson makes his fourth trip. Representing the AFC at tight end will be eight-time all-star Tony Gonzalez of the Chiefs and the Chargers' Antonio Gates, who will play in his third consecutive Pro Bowl and get the start. Equaling a Pro Bowl record for games played will be guard Will Shields, who will wear his Chiefs helmet under the Hawaii sun for the 12th time, tying Randall McDaniel (12) for the game's career service record. Joining Shields at the other starting guard position is Pittsburgh's Alan Faneca, making his sixth consecutive AFC squad. Shields' KC teammate Brian Waters was tabbed for his third straight Pro Bowl for the American Conference. This is the first time in history that a team has had the same two guards selected for three consecutive Pro Bowls. AFC starting center Jeff saturday will snap to Manning for the second consecutive Pro Bowl as he has for the past eight years in Indy. First-time AFC All-Star Nick Hardwick of San Diego is the conference's center of choice behind Saturday. Charged with keeping NFC defensive ends at bay are a pair of AFC North tackle mainstays: Jonathan Ogden of Baltimore, playing in his 10th consecutive Pro Bowl in his 11 NFL seasons, and Cincinnati's Willie Anderson, who will travel to Hawaii for the fourth consecutive year. Fans, players, and coaches also voted in Tarik Glenn of Indianapolis for his third Pro Bowl in a row. Starting defensive interior linemen Richard Seymour of New England and San Diego's Jamal Williams are the core of the AFC defensive unit. Seymour, the lone Patriot on the squad, faces the NFC's best for the fifth time. Williams will play in Hawaii for a second time. Casey Hampton, one of four Steelers in the game, fortifies this AFC DL position in his third Pro Bowl. A trio of double-digit sack artists will aim to hurry NFC passers: Buffalo's Aaron Schobel (13.5), Jason Taylor (12.5) of Miami, and Oakland's Derrick Burgess (11.0). Schobel, a former college teammate of Tomlinson's at TCU, joins him on the AFC sideline in his first Pro Bowl selection. Starting opposite Schobel is five-time All-Star Taylor. Burgess represents the Raiders in Hawaii for the second consecutive year. Outside linebacker Adalius Thomas, who has added to his sack total of 10.5 in eight of the past 10 games, is one of four Ravens on defense. Playing in his second Pro Bowl, Thomas is joined by fellow outside linebacker Terrell Suggs, free safety Ed Reed and cornerback Chris McAlister. Thomas and Reed, in his third NFL All-Star Game, have starting assignments. This marks McAlister's third Pro Bowl and Suggs' second. Joining Thomas and Suggs at outside linebacker and starting is San Diego's Shawne Merriman, participating in the game for the second time in his two-year career. Patrolling the middle of the AFC defense will be middle linebackers Al Wilson of Denver and Miami's Zach Thomas. Wilson gets the start in his third Pro Bowl while Thomas represents the Dolphins a seventh time -- the most All-Star distinctions by any defender in team history. A total of 15 interceptions are shared between starting cornerbacks Champ Bailey (eight) of Denver and Jacksonville's Rashean Mathis (seven). This marks Bailey's seventh consecutive Pro Bowl and his third in a Denver uniform. Mathis makes his All-Star debut and is the first corner in Jaguars history selected to the AFC roster. Along with the Ravens' Reed in the defense's deep center is free safety John Lynch of Denver and starting strong safety Troy Polamalu of Pittsburgh. This will be Polamalu's third consecutive Pro Bowl trip and the eighth such honor for Lynch, his third consecutive as a Bronco. The AFC special teams feature three first-time Pro Bowl honorees. New York kick returner Justin Miller tops the NFL with a 28.7-yard average and is the only player in the AFC this season to return two kickoffs for touchdowns. San Diego wide receiver Kassim Osgood, who will serve as the AFC's special teamer, makes his Hawaii debut as will teammate Nate Kaeding, who has split the uprights on 22 of 25 field-goal attempts (88.0 percent) on the year. The All-Star veteran of the group is Buffalo punter Brian Moorman, who earned his second consecutive honor. Moorman tops the AFC with a 39.5 net average and has placed 29 of his 83 punts inside his opponents' 20-yard line. The Chicago Bears placed a conference-high seven players on the National Football Conference All-Star team that will face the American Football Conference All-Stars in the 2007 Pro Bowl on Saturday, February 10 in Honolulu, Hawaii (CBS, 6:00 PM ET), the NFL announced today. Thirteen NFC players will participate in their first Pro Bowl, including Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, who has won six of his first eight career starts and guided the Cowboys to a playoff birth. Three of the Bears' Pro Bowl players -- special teamer Brendon Ayanbadejo, kicker Robbie Gould and rookie kick return specialist Devin Hester -- are also first-time All-Stars. They join six-time All-Stars Olin Kreutz and Brian Urlacher and two-time All-Stars Lance Briggs and Tommie Harris to form the largest Chicago contingent in Hawaii since seven Bears were chosen to participate in the 1987 Pro Bowl.

NFL.com

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Bears' Johnson At Bar When Shooting Took Place; Inactive Sunday

Jun 23, 2014 4:57 AM

Troubled Bears tackle Tank Johnson was at a nightclub early Saturday morning when a man who called himself the player's bodyguard was shot to death, authorities said. The shooting occurred about 12 hours after Johnson offered a public apology to teammates and family for his third arrest in the past 18 months. Johnson, the Bears' starting nose tackle, will be inactive for Sunday's game against Tampa Bay.

AP

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Tank Johnson Charged With Six Misdemeanors

May 18, 2014 7:23 AM

Bears defensive tackle Tank Johnson on Thursday was charged with six misdemeanor counts of possession of a firearm without a Firearm Owner?s Identification card. He was released after posting a $1,000 bond. The Gurnee Police Department executed a search warrant at Johnson?s home late Thursday morning Entry to the home was made at 10:58 a.m. and the home and the occupants were secured at 11:04 a.m. Present in the home were a 26-year-old male, a 25-year-old female, a toddler and an infant. Johnson was at Halas Hall when the search took place. ?I know that a search warrant was executed,? said coach Lovie Smith. ?Tank Johnson was with us the entire day. I found out about it a little before practice. He?s cooperating right now.

NFL.com

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Hester, Grossman Lead Bears To Victory Over Rams

May 30, 2014 2:25 AM

Bears rookie Devin Hester set an NFL record with his fifth and sixth returns for touchdowns, a 94-yard kickoff runback in the second quarter and a 96-yarder in the final period Monday night. That sparked a 42-27 victory over the Rams. The NFC North champions (11-2) clinched a bye for the first week of the playoffs as quarterback Rex Grossman had a solid effort and the running attack dominated the second half.

Yahoo.com

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Chicago Can Clinch First-Round Bye Tonight

Oct 14, 2014 12:00 PM

The Bears can clinch a first-round bye with a win Monday night. They would also like to see Rex Grossman sure up the quarterback position. Bears coach Lovie Smith is sticking with Grossman as his starting quarterback when the Bears visit the Rams on Monday night.

Yahoo.com

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Lovie Smith: 'We Are Not Making A Change'

Nov 17, 2014 2:10 AM

Lovie Smith stubbornly stuck with Rex Grossman even when a humble Grossman sounded afterward as if he would have understood being pulled in the third quarter when he had thrown as many interceptions as completions. "We are not making a change," Smith reiterated Monday at Halas Hall. "We have, of course, evaluated Rex's performance, as we have our entire team's. Rex didn't play as well as he needed to. It was a bad game for Rex. Whenever you turn the football over, it's not good. We have to get better at the position. We can't make the mistakes that we made. But Rex is our starting quarterback and we're trying to get him better."

Chicago Tribune

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Bears Clinch Playoff Spot, But Grossman Struggles

Apr 26, 2014 12:51 PM

Rex Grossman heard the boos through the cold air at Soldier Field. On a day the Bears captured a second straight division title and became the first team to clinch a playoff spot, their young quarterback struggled again.

AP

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