Earl Bennett

In a small classroom in the Boys & Girls Club of Logan Square, reporters, children and employees of both the Boys & Girls Club and Aaron's waited Thursday night for Earl Bennett. Through his Legends For Literacy charity, Bennett had raised money to purchase 132 Kindles, to be distributed to 11 Boys & Girls Clubs throughout Chicago. Now he was ready to donate the Kindles, but the inclement weather had him running behind. Still, all were excited to see him when he arrived, and he immediately faced their questioning.

In a small classroom in the Boys & Girls Club of Logan Square, reporters, children and employees of both the Boys & Girls Club and Aaron's waited Thursday night for Earl Bennett. Through his Legends For Literacy charity, Bennett had raised money to purchase 132 Kindles, to be distributed to 11 Boys & Girls Clubs throughout Chicago. Now he was ready to donate the Kindles, but the inclement weather had him running behind. Still, all were excited to see him when he arrived, and he immediately faced their questioning.

It's never too early to start thinking about the NFL playoffs. In fact, now is the perfect time to start thinking about the NFL playoffs. With struggling San Diego in town to face the Bears and just six games remaining after this week, Sunday's matchup at Soldier Field was what you might call a huge game. By the time the Bears took the field, NFC North rival Detroit had already won to move a game ahead of the Bears. The Chargers had lost four straight games and had watched as two AFC West teams won before kickoff.

It came down to this. The Bears needed a win over Detroit and a Minnesota loss to Green Bay on Sunday to make the playoffs. It's likely coach Lovie Smith's job hung in the balance, too, considering his teams had just one playoff berth since the 2006 season. And as luck would have it, Sunday's games were staggered, meaning that for six-plus hours Bears fans' nerves were in overdrive. Here's how the day played out, and how fans were feeling at the time, from dejected, to doubtful, to hopeful, to elated.

Jay Cutler apparently knows how to take a compliment. The Bears quarterback maintained a sense of humor Wednesday when asked if it was true that he had the nicest rear end in the NFL. "According to one person. I guess she's biased," Cutler replied with a big smile at the end of his weekly media session at Halas Hall. The question was in reference to the tweet Cutler's former fiancee, Kristin Cavallari, delivered before Monday's game in Philadelphia. "To the man with the best butt in football, good luck tonight @jaycutler6 ill be watching," Cavallari wrote Monday on her Twitter account,...

In case you missed it, Bears minicamp wrapped up Thursday. And although the season's still a few months away, there were a few things to take from the three-day warm-up before the team reports to training camp in Bourbonnais on July 24. Tribune contributed   Not everyone's 100 percent … yet Some players are still licking their wounds. Wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, the team's second-round draft pick, missed the first day of minicamp with a lower leg injury, returned to the field Wednesday and sat out again Thursday.

The number of Bears who have missed entire games this season gets scarier each week. Jay Cutler, Shea McClellin and Earl Bennett are on that list, and they may at least hope to play next week. Among the Bears who are done for the year or whose status is in doubt, we ranked them on our worry scale from 1 (they can get by) to 4 (prepare for disaster). - Tribune contributed Lance Louis, OL (knee) The offensive line is thin as it is, and Cutler's health is shaky at best.

Sure, several key Bears were injured last week. But there were still upbeat entering Sunday. They simply had to deal with Marshawn "Beast Mode" Lynch and a Seattle team that had beaten them the past two regular-season meetings at Soldier Field. However, when the dust settled, the Seahawks emerged with a 23-17 overtime win, relegating the Bears to a first-place tie with Green Bay. Who played like a beast and who ended up a bust?   BEAST Sidney Rice The former Minnesota Viking hauled in one clutch catch after another, including the game-winning touchdown in overtime.

Are you still ticked about Sunday's Bears loss? It was a special kind of frustrating, a level of hair-pulling and flat-screen shooting that only a few of Lovie Smith's 61 losses have reached. Here are the five worst games for frustrating Bears fans, ranked by amount of yelling we did at our TVs: No. 5: Dec. 11, 2011: Getting Tebowed With Jay Cutler out, the Bears weren't expected to do much. But entering this Denver tilt, Chicago was 7-5 and still had wild-card hopes with a win over a terrible Broncos offense "led" by Tim Tebow.

It was Dec. 5, a regular Wednesday at Halas Hall, and Brandon Marshall was at the podium talking about injuries. Devin Hester and Alshon Jeffery had missed the recent game against Seattle, while fellow receiver Earl Bennett had suffered a concussion in that game. Were the Bears healthy? Marshall gave the answer all players give, one that amounts to: It's Week 14 in the NFL. Nobody's healthy. Then he paused, and smiled slightly. "Maybe a kicker," he said, as reporters chuckled.

It was Dec. 5, a regular Wednesday at Halas Hall, and Brandon Marshall was at the podium talking about injuries. Devin Hester and Alshon Jeffery had missed the recent game against Seattle, while fellow receiver Earl Bennett had suffered a concussion in that game. Were the Bears healthy? Marshall gave the answer all players give, one that amounts to: It's Week 14 in the NFL. Nobody's healthy. Then he paused, and smiled slightly. "Maybe a kicker," he said, as reporters chuckled.

Are you still ticked about Sunday's Bears loss? It was a special kind of frustrating, a level of hair-pulling and flat-screen shooting that only a few of Lovie Smith's 61 losses have reached. Here are the five worst games for frustrating Bears fans, ranked by amount of yelling we did at our TVs: No. 5: Dec. 11, 2011: Getting Tebowed With Jay Cutler out, the Bears weren't expected to do much. But entering this Denver tilt, Chicago was 7-5 and still had wild-card hopes with a win over a terrible Broncos offense "led" by Tim Tebow.

Sure, several key Bears were injured last week. But there were still upbeat entering Sunday. They simply had to deal with Marshawn "Beast Mode" Lynch and a Seattle team that had beaten them the past two regular-season meetings at Soldier Field. However, when the dust settled, the Seahawks emerged with a 23-17 overtime win, relegating the Bears to a first-place tie with Green Bay. Who played like a beast and who ended up a bust?   BEAST Sidney Rice The former Minnesota Viking hauled in one clutch catch after another, including the game-winning touchdown...

The number of Bears who have missed entire games this season gets scarier each week. Jay Cutler, Shea McClellin and Earl Bennett are on that list, and they may at least hope to play next week. Among the Bears who are done for the year or whose status is in doubt, we ranked them on our worry scale from 1 (they can get by) to 4 (prepare for disaster). - Tribune contributed Lance Louis, OL (knee) The offensive line is thin as it is, and Cutler's health is shaky at best.

You notice Brandon Marshall on the practice field. Damn, there he is. There's Brandon Marshall. Long. Tall. Agile. Fast. Stretching for the football. Leaning so far looks like the field is tilting beneath him. It's a cool, sunny afternoon at Soldier Field, and the quarterbacks and receivers are running drills. Marshall makes his catch. Devin Hester and Earl Bennett do the same. "Great job, Earl!" Marshall yells from the other side of the field. Now comes Jason Campbell and the second team.

The Bears and Detroit Lions love to hate each other. The last time they faced off, the Lions' Ndamukong Suh ripped off Jay Cutler's helmet, Detroit's Nate Burleson shoved Tim Jennings out of bounds and Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford grabbed D.J. Moore by the helmet and threw him to the ground. The fact these teams dislike each other is nothing new, of course, and the stakes were high enough to keep things chippy Monday. The Bears were trying to hold on to first place in the NFC North, and the Lions were attempting to revive their playoff hopes.

Michael Vick is turning heads lately, thanks to his (usually) outstanding play. He's also still a polarizing figure, thanks to his dogfighting conviction and the prison sentence that followed. Forbes.com reported Monday that Vick is the NFL's most disliked player, according to a poll by Nielsen and E-Poll Market Research. The website reports that 60 percent of those polled said they “dislike,” “dislike somewhat” or “dislike a lot” the Philadelphia quarterback. Joining Vick on the list is Jay Cutler (No. 5, 38 percent)

Jay Cutler had a rough game last week against Green Bay - his 28.2 passer rating was the second worst of his Bears career. But the NFL has a short memory, and you're only as good (or bad) as your last game. What will Bears fans be saying Monday? RedEye takes a look at some of Cutler's worst games as a Bear and his follow-up performances.   THE BAD WEEK 2009, Week 1: Green Bay 21, Bears 15 Rating: 43.2 The Jay Cutler Hype Machine began in September 2009 with a nationally-televised loss to the Packers.

Jay Cutler had a rough game last week against Green Bay - his 28.2 passer rating was the second worst of his Bears career. But the NFL has a short memory, and you're only as good (or bad) as your last game. What will Bears fans be saying Monday? RedEye takes a look at some of Cutler's worst games as a Bear and his follow-up performances.   THE BAD WEEK 2009, Week 1: Green Bay 21, Bears 15 Rating: 43.2 The Jay Cutler Hype Machine began in September 2009 with a nationally-televised loss to the Packers.

In case you missed it, Bears minicamp wrapped up Thursday. And although the season's still a few months away, there were a few things to take from the three-day warm-up before the team reports to training camp in Bourbonnais on July 24. Tribune contributed   Not everyone's 100 percent … yet Some players are still licking their wounds. Wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, the team's second-round draft pick, missed the first day of minicamp with a lower leg injury, returned to the field Wednesday and sat out again Thursday.