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Stephen A. Smith, Skip Bayless and Herm Edwards debate whether the Bears can win their division this season.

The road to the NFL has been full of speed bumps for Carmel Catholic High School graduate Sean McGrath.

A 6-foot-5, 247-pound tight end/long snapper from Chicago's northwest suburbs, McGrath is trying to overcome a series of football related obstacles to earn a spot on an NFL 53-man roster next fall. The early outlook for McGrath, who spent the last two seasons playing for Division II Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, appears to be either a late-round draft pick or priority free agent.

McGrath began his collegiate career at Eastern Illinois where he started as a sophomore, but he was dismissed from the team for a violation of team rules. He then transferred to Henderson State but was forced to sit out the 2009 season.

"You really learn to respect the game once it's taken away from you," McGrath said. "Sometimes you don't appreciate things until they are gone. I grew up a lot from that experience."

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Jerry Markbreit still has the newspaper photos framed in his den. The first shows Packers defensive tackle Charles Martin on one knee with Bears quarterback Jim McMahon lying on the Soldier Field turf. The second has the NFL veteran referee escorting Martin off the field following his ejection.

Why keep them?

"It was a nothing game but the very biggest of my entire 43-year officiating career," Markbreit said Monday, 26 years after the November 1986 game, which is getting more attention today for the fact that the Packers were accused of having a bounty on Bears' players, whose numbers were scrawled on a towel fastened to Martin's belt.

Markbreit, 76, now serving as one of nine "trainers" who attends games weekly and mentors NFL officials, relived the play and the moments after for ESPNChicago.com:

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The Oakland Raiders will hire Green Bay Packers director of football operations Reggie McKenzie as their next general manager, according to a league source.

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How will you rate the Bears after a 35-21 loss that ended their already slim playoff chances? Weigh in on in five categories in the Bears Performance Rating for Week 16.

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The Josh McCown era got off to solid start as the veteran quarterback played a relatively smart half of football, but the Chicago Bears still trail the Green Bay Packers 14-3 as Green Bay's high-powered offense struck quickly right before halftime.

Green Bay certainly didn't resemble a 13-1 team the majority of the half, however quarterback Aaron Rodgers marched the Packers down the field with long pass plays to James Jones (32) and Jordy Nelson (17) before hitting Jones for a 2-yard touchdown with less than 20 seconds left on the clock.

Surrendering such a late score must be a tough blow for the Bears, who controlled much of the tempo over the first 30 minutes.

McCown did throw a costly second-quarter red zone interception to Green Bay linebacker Clay Matthews, who did a terrific job of jumping in front of a screen pass intended for Kahlil Bell in the flat, but he also engineered several efficient drives and finished 6 of 9 for 81 yards. Bell (89 yards) and Armando Allen (38 yards) racked up sizeable chunks of yards on the ground.

Although the Bears compiled 207 total yards of offense, they were only able to manage three points on a 35-yard Robbie Gould field goal in the second quarter.

On the injury front: Bears starting right tackle Lance Louis fell ill and was taken back to the locker room. His return is officially listed as questionable. Louis was replaced by veteran Frank Omiyale, who made three starts at right tackle earlier this season.

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Apparently, keeping Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers off the field Sunday night wasn't the top priority for the Chicago Bears.

The Bears won the toss and deferred, only to watch Rodgers light up their defense for 77 yards and a touchdown on 8-of-8 passing in Green Bay's opening drive to take a 7-0 lead.

The Packers called only one run in their opening possession, choosing instead to let Rodgers do the majority of the work in an 80-yard drive. With Bears linebacker Nick Roach covering him, Packers tight end Jermichael Finley easily hauled in a 2-yard touchdown with 10:26 left in the first quarter.

The Bears responded with a promising drive. But it's clear they plan to lean on the rushing attack with Josh McCown starting at quarterback. Running back Kahlil Bell carried the ball six times before the Bears finally called a passing play.

When they did, McCown hit Roy Williams for a 17-yard gain. McCown completed 2 of 3 for 29 yards, and Bell ran for 36 yards on seven attempts during the team's opening possession. The drive ended on a missed 49-yard field goal attempt by Robbie Gould at the 4:16 mark.

Bell finished the first quarter with 59 yards on 11 carries.

Jeff Dickerson, Michael Wright, and Tom Waddle take a look at the injury ravaged Bears offense and what they can do to stop the Packers this week

When the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers kick off on Christmas Day, Ron Matula, the general manager of Sawicki Motors in Rochelle, Ill., will be watching with much more at stake than civic pride.

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Prim Siripipat goes inside the numbers and gives Accuscore's Bears-Packers prediction for Christmas night.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- The Chicago Bears announced on Wednesday that Josh McCown will start at quarterback on Sunday night against the Green Bay Packers in Lambeau Field.

ESPNChicago.com reported on Tuesday that McCown was being given the chance to secure the starting spot in practice this week after Caleb Hanie suffered another disappointing performance Sunday in a 38-14 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Hanie threw three interceptions -- with two being returned for touchdowns -- extending the Bears' losing streak to four. That gave Hanie nine interceptions in the four games since Jay Cutler fractured his thumb.

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CHICAGO -- Chicago Bears quarterbacks Caleb Hanie and Josh McCown combined to throw four interceptions -- two returned for touchdowns -- Sunday in a 38-14 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, but coach Lovie Smith wasn't prepared to disclose plans to make a change.

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