2002 Chicago Bears season
The 2002 season was the Chicago Bears' 83rd in the National Football League and their fourth under head coach Dick Jauron.
2002 Chicago Bears season | |
---|---|
Owner | The McCaskey Family |
Head coach | Dick Jauron |
General manager | Jerry Angelo |
Home field | Memorial Stadium (Champaign, Illinois) |
Results | |
Record | 4–12 |
Division place | 3rd NFC North |
Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Pro Bowlers | Marty Booker Olin Kreutz Brian Urlacher[1] |
AP All-Pros | LB Brian Urlacher (1st team) |
The team had hopes of returning to the playoffs after an unexpected 13–3 season the previous year, However, the team failed to improve on that record and finished with a 4–12 record and missed the postseason for the second time in three years. The Bears had problems on both sides of the ball, finishing 27th in the league in points scored and 23rd in points allowed.[1] The Bears began the season 2–0, but things quickly fell apart as the team fell into an eight-game losing streak, including a loss at home to the New England Patriots where, despite having a 27–6 lead at some point, the Patriots came back and won the game late in the fourth quarter. After this, the Bears never recovered, finishing 4–12 and in third place in their division, the newly aligned NFC North.
Because Soldier Field was being rebuilt, the Bears were forced to play all of their home games Downstate in Champaign, at Memorial Stadium on the campus of the University of Illinois.[2] The Bears never seemed to get used to their new home field, and injuries piled up as the season went on for both offense and defense. Starting QB Jim Miller was injured throughout the year, leaving the team no choice but to use backup Chris Chandler and rookie third-string QB Henry Burris for both spot relief and as starters. 2001 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Anthony Thomas suffered a broken right index finger in Week 15 against the Green Bay Packers.[3] These injuries and the league's 23rd worst turnover differential contributed to the team's franchise record-tying eight-game losing streak and their poor record.[4]
Offseason
Signings | Departures |
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QB Chris Chandler (Falcons) | QB Shane Matthews (Redskins) |
DB Damon Moore (Eagles) | RB James Allen (Texans) |
LB Mike Caldwell (Eagles) | WR D'Wayne Bates (Vikings) |
DT Christian Peter (Colts) | T Blake Brockermeyer (Broncos) |
CB Walt Harris (Colts) | |
FS Tony Parrish (49ers) |
2002 Expansion Draft
Round | Overall | Name | Position | Expansion Team |
---|---|---|---|---|
— | 17 | Danny Wuerffel | Quarterback | Houston Texans |
Draft
Round | Overall pick | Player | Position | College |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 29 | Marc Colombo | Offensive tackle | Boston College |
3 | 72 | Roosevelt Williams | Cornerback | Tuskegee |
3 | 93 | Terrence Metcalf | Guard | Ole Miss |
4 | 104 | Alex Brown | Defensive end | Florida |
5 | 140 | Bobby Gray | Safety | Louisiana Tech |
5 | 165 | Bryan Knight | Linebacker | Pittsburgh |
6 | 199 | Adrian Peterson | Running back | Georgia Southern |
6 | 203 | Jamin Elliott | Wide receiver | Delaware |
6 | 210 | Bryan Fletcher | Tight end | UCLA |
Undrafted free agents
Player | Position | College |
---|---|---|
Luke Butkus | Center | Illinois |
Travis Coleman | Defensive back | Hampton |
Eric McCoo | Running back | Penn State |
Edell Shepherd | Wide receiver | San Jose State |
Training camp
2002 marked the first Bears Training Camp at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois, after practicing at University of Wisconsin–Platteville from 1984 to 2001. Other candidates in the selection process included universities like Eastern Illinois in Charleston, Illinois State in Normal, Millikin in Decatur, Northern Illinois in DeKalb, Southern Illinois Carbondale and Edwardsville, and Urbana–Champaign; smaller schools like Knox College in Galesburg, Monmouth College in Monmouth, and Rockford College in Rockford; and the Chanute Air Force Base near Rantoul, where the Illinois Fighting Illini held their offseason camps.[6]
The list was eventually narrowed to Eastern Illinois, Millikin, Northern Illinois, and Olivet Nazarene. On July 17, 2001, the Bears announced Olivet Nazarene as the new Training Camp site on a two-year deal.[7]
Staff
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
|
Roster
Preseason
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | NFL.com recap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | August 10 | Denver Broncos | L 3–27 | 0–1 | Memorial Stadium | Summary |
2 | August 16 | St. Louis Rams | W 19–17 | 1–1 | Edward Jones Dome | Summary |
3 | August 23 | Jacksonville Jaguars | L 16–24 | 1–2 | Memorial Stadium | Summary |
4 | August 29 | Miami Dolphins | L 22–24 | 1–3 | Pro Player Stadium | Summary |
Regular season
Schedule
Week 1: vs. Minnesota Vikings
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Vikings | 3 | 17 | 0 | 3 | 23 |
Bears | 7 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 27 |
at Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Illinois
- Date: September 8, 2002
- Game time: 1:00 p.m.
- Game weather: Partly Cloudy, 85 °F (29 °C)
- Game attendance: 63,226
- Referee: Mike Carey (94)
- TV: FOX
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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Week 2: at Atlanta Falcons
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bears | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
Falcons | 0 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
at Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia
- Date: September 15, 2002
- Game time: 1:00 pm
- Game weather: None (indoor stadium)
- Game attendance: 68,081
- Referee: Jeff Triplette (42)
- TV: FOX
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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Week 3: vs. New Orleans Saints
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saints | 0 | 14 | 7 | 8 | 29 |
Bears | 10 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 23 |
at Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Illinois
Game information | ||
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Week 4: at Buffalo Bills
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bears | 7 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 27 |
Bills | 7 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 33 |
Game information | ||
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Week 5: vs. Green Bay Packers
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Packers | 14 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 34 |
Bears | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
at Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Illinois
- Date: October 7, 2002
- Game time: 9:00 p.m.
- Game weather: Clear, 46 °F (8 °C)
- Game attendance: 63,226
- Referee: Ed Hochuli (85)
- TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels, John Madden and Melissa Stark
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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Week 7: at Detroit Lions
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bears | 0 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
Lions | 0 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 23 |
at Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan
- Date: October 20, 2002
- Game time: 1:00 p.m.
- Game weather: none (indoor stadium)
- Game attendance: 60,421
- Referee: Bernie Kukar (86)
- TV: FOX
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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Week 8: at Minnesota Vikings
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bears | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
Vikings | 0 | 13 | 12 | 0 | 25 |
at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Date: October 27, 2002
- Game time: 1:00 p.m.
- Game weather: none (indoor stadium)
- Game attendance: 64,122
- Referee: Bill Leavy (127)
- TV: FOX
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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Week 9: vs. Philadelphia Eagles
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Eagles | 0 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 19 |
Bears | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
at Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Illinois
- Date: November 3, 2002
- Game time: 1:00 p.m.
- Game weather: Light rain 38 °F (3 °C)
- Game attendance: 54,049
- Referee: Terry McAulay (77)
- TV: FOX
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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Week 10: vs. New England Patriots
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Patriots | 0 | 6 | 10 | 17 | 33 |
Bears | 0 | 6 | 21 | 3 | 30 |
at Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Illinois
- Date: November 10, 2002
- Game time: 4:15 p.m.
- Game weather: Overcast, 60 °F (16 °C)
- Game attendance: 63,105
- Referee: Bob McElwee (95)
- TV: CBS
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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Week 11: at St. Louis Rams
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bears | 0 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 16 |
Rams | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
at Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis, Missouri
- Date: November 18, 2002
- Game time: 9:00 p.m.
- Game weather: None (indoor stadium)
- Game attendance: 66,250
- Referee: Gerry Austin (34)
- TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels, John Madden and Melissa Stark
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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Week 12: vs. Detroit Lions
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lions | 0 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
Bears | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 20 |
at Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Illinois
- Date: November 24, 2002
- Game time: 1:00 p.m.
- Game weather: Partly cloudy 45 °F (7 °C)
- Game attendance: 62,375
- Referee: Tony Corrente (99)
- TV announcers (FOX): Pat Summerall, Brian Baldinger and Dan Jiggetts
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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Week 13: at Green Bay Packers
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bears | 7 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 20 |
Packers | 3 | 3 | 10 | 14 | 30 |
at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin
- Date: December 1, 2002
- Game time: 1:00 pm
- Game weather: Cloudy, 23 °F (−5 °C)
- Game attendance: 64,196
- Referee: Ron Winter (14)
- TV: FOX
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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Week 14: at Miami Dolphins
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bears | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 12 |
Dolphins | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 27 |
at Pro Player Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida
- Date: December 9, 2002
- Game time: 9:00 p.m.
- Game weather: Cloudy, 72 °F (22 °C)
- Game attendance: 73,609
- Referee: Ron Blum (7)
- TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels, John Madden and Melissa Stark
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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Week 15: vs. New York Jets
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jets | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 13 |
Bears | 0 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 20 |
at Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Illinois
Game information | ||
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Week 16: at Carolina Panthers
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bears | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
Panthers | 0 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 24 |
Game information | ||
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Week 17: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Buccaneers | 0 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 15 |
Bears | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Illinois
- Date: December 29, 2002
- Game time: 8:30 pm
- Game weather: Partly Cloudy, 43 °F (6 °C)
- Game attendance: 55,832
- Referee: Bernie Kukar (86)
- TV announcers (ESPN): Mike Patrick, Joe Theismann and Suzy Kolber
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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Standings
NFC North | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
(3) Green Bay Packers | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 5–1 | 9–3 | 398 | 328 | L1 |
Minnesota Vikings | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 4–2 | 5–7 | 390 | 442 | W3 |
Chicago Bears | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 2–4 | 3–9 | 281 | 379 | L2 |
Detroit Lions | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 1–5 | 3–9 | 306 | 451 | L8 |
References
- "2002 Chicago Bears Statistics and Players". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on May 14, 2009. Retrieved April 1, 2009.
- "2002 Chicago Bears". Chicago Bears History. Archived from the original on 26 March 2009. Retrieved April 1, 2009.
- "Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers – Recap – December 01, 2002". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 1, 2009.
- "Chicago Bears vs. Detroit Lions – Recap – October 20, 2002". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 1, 2009.
- "2002 NFL Draft". NFL.com. Archived from the original on January 4, 2007. Retrieved January 8, 2007.
- Isaacson, Melissa (May 4, 2001). "The state of camp-site wooing". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
- "Bears choose Olivet Nazarene in Bourbonnais as new training camp location". The Pantagraph. Associated Press. July 17, 2001. Retrieved August 20, 2018.