It was, Sign this contract or we are going to move on. And I didn't feel like that was the direction I wanted to go." The parting with Urlacher is just the latest change in what's been a busy offseason for Chicago. The Bears fired coach Lovie Smith after a second straight late collapse left them out of the playoffs for the fifth time in six years, although they did finish with 10 wins.Offensive rookie:Cam Newton was supposed to be one of the biggest victims of the labor lockout. Instead, he has epitomized this season of eyepopping offense . Newton passed for 290 yards and three touchdowns in Sunday's loss to join Peyton Manning as the only rookie signal callers with four 290yard passing games..

Smith became aware of their plight just days after he was drafted in 2005. His mother, Pam, who works in social services, took him to visit , a residential school for foster teens outside San Diego. The trip had an unspoken purpose: She wanted her son to have an impact beyond f