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2002 Chicago Bears season
NFL team season From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 2002 season was the Chicago Bears' 83rd in the National Football League (NFL) and their fourth under head coach Dick Jauron.
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.
With Soldier Field being rebuilt, the Bears opted to play all of their home games Downstate in Champaign, at Memorial Stadium on the campus of the University of Illinois.[2] The arrangement was similar to the one made by the newly-relocated Tennessee Oilers five years earlier, in that the Bears continued to be based in Chicago and travelled to Champaign (a two-hour drive to the southwest) only for games, essentially consigning themselves to playing sixteen games on the road.
While (unlike the 1997 Oilers) the venture was reasonably successful at the box office, with the Bears drawing more than 50,000 fans to every game in Champaign and more than 60,000 to all but two games, the Bears never seemed to get used to their "new" home field. Injuries piled up as the season went on for both offense and defense. Starting quarterback Jim Miller was injured throughout the year, leaving the team no choice but to use backup Chris Chandler and rookie third-string quarterback 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]
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Offseason
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2002 expansion draft
Draft
Undrafted free agents
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]
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Staff
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
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Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
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Roster
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Preseason
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Regular season
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Schedule
Game summaries
Week 1: vs. Minnesota Vikings
Week 1: Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears
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
Week 2: at Atlanta Falcons
Week 2: Chicago Bears at Atlanta Falcons
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
Week 3: vs. New Orleans Saints
Week 4: at Buffalo Bills
Week 4: Chicago Bears at Buffalo Bills
Week 5: vs. Green Bay Packers
Week 5: Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears
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
Week 7: at Detroit Lions
Week 7: Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions
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
Week 8: at Minnesota Vikings
Week 8: Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings
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
Week 9: vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Week 9: Philadelphia Eagles at Chicago Bears
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
Week 10: vs. New England Patriots
Week 10: New England Patriots at Chicago Bears
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
Week 11: at St. Louis Rams
Week 11: Chicago Bears at St. Louis Rams
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
Week 12: vs. Detroit Lions
Week 12: Detroit Lions at Chicago Bears
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
Week 13: at Green Bay Packers
Week 13: Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers
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
Week 14: at Miami Dolphins
Week 14: Chicago Bears at Miami Dolphins
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
Week 15: vs. New York Jets
Week 16: at Carolina Panthers
Week 16: Chicago Bears at Carolina Panthers
Week 17: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 17: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Chicago Bears
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
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Standings
Division
Conference
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References
External links
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