Nate Collins

The Bears were facing one of the best special teams units in the NFL on Sunday, but special teams played a significant role in the Bears' victory. On the blocked punt that Corey Wootton returned for a touchdown, the Bears surprised the Titans by sending...

The player most responsible for keeping Jay Cutler clean Sunday was Jay Cutler. The quarterback did a number of things well. What he did best was avoid pressure. Cutler moved in the pocket before throwing six times. Cutler also rolled out four times....

Jay Cutler was sacked six times Sunday, which usually is grounds for putting the offensive line in solitary confinement with no visitation privileges. But a review of the tape revealed the big boys didn't play all that poorly. In fact, the linemen were...

We should not get too excited or upset about anything we see on a football field before the start of the regular season, with the possible exception of the Democratic National Convention at the Panthers' stadium. But it is a tad concerning that the...

Stephen Paea is injured. Of course he is. It’s what he does, occasionally finding a spasm of health and talent to rush the passer. Paea had a bad knee last season, then underwent arthroscopic surgery and looked like a player during the early...

The Sports Xchange NFL Team Report - Chicago Bears - INSIDE SLANT For the first 10 years of his NFL career, weak-side linebacker Lance Briggs lined up next to middle linebacker Brian Urlacher in the Bears' defense. That combination resulted in eight...

The Sports Xchange NFL Team Report - Chicago Bears - INSIDE SLANT If 2011 first-round pick Gabe Carimi is trying to punch his ticket out of Chicago after two disappointing seasons, he's on the right path. Carimi is absent from OTAs that started this...

NFL Team Report - Chicago Bears - INSIDE SLANT In his one season of major-college football, Bears first-round pick Kyle Long started his only five games at left guard. But he lined up exclusively at right guard during the weekend's rookie minicamp...

The Sports Xchange NFL Team Report - Chicago Bears - INSIDE SLANT The last time the Bears drafted a linebacker who was a converted safety -- as they did with this year's fourth-round pick Khaseem Greene -- it turned out pretty well. In 2000 the Bears...

The Sports Xchange NFL Team Report - Chicago Bears - INSIDE SLANT Most analysts will look at the Bears' first-round pick as a reach for a player who is a project, but that's not the way they see it. Few anticipated the Bears would choose the eighth...

TODAY HIGH SCHOOL BOYS' BASKETBALL State tourneys continue in Aberdeen (B), Rapid City (A) and Sioux Falls (AA). See results and pairings on front of sports. JUNIOR HOCKEY Aberdeen Wing at Bismarck, 7:15 p.m. COLLEGE BASEBALL Presentation vs....

For the first time since the 1985 season, the Bears landed two defensive linemen in the Pro Bowl as Julius Peppers and Henry Melton were selected as all-stars. Peppers led the defense with 111/2 sacks, his most since joining the club in 2010, and...