LAKE FOREST http://www.brownsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-austin-seibert-jersey , Ill. (AP) — Linebacker Roquan Smith, safety Eddie Jackson and other Chicago Bears defensive players felt ready to begin hitting last week when organized team activities ended.A weekend around the likes of Dick Butkus, Doug Plank, Richard Dent and other Bears greats at the franchise’s 100th anniversary celebration hardly doused those flames.They’ll have to wait six weeks, but the Bears started wrapping up offseason work on Tuesday with mandatory minicamp by saying they’re already prepared to begin making up for the way last season ended.“That first-round game, that’s just fuel to our fire,” Jackson said after the first of three minicamp practices. “We came up short. We’re just ready to get back at it.“You could tell everyone was here 100 percent for OTAs. So that just shows you that everyone is on board and we’re just ready to chase greatness.”Everyone, perhaps, except the kicking candidates.Elliott Fry, Chris Blewitt and Eddy Pineiro each missed in succession from 42 yards during Tuesday’s practice, a yard shorter than Cody Parkey missed from to end the Bears’ playoff loss to the Eagles.“For today, we can’t have that,” coach Matt Nagy said. “We are going to figure this thing out. But 0-for-3 today Trysten Hill Jersey , no good.”A positive going forward is their team’s overall health. Almost every Bears player is back for the minicamp, which ends Thursday.Injured receiver Anthony Miller (shoulder), tight end Trey Burton (hernia surgery) and rookie Emanuel Hall (hernia surgery) are out, but are all expected back for training camp.Jackson returned after he missed time last week when someone stepped on his heel, and tackle Bobby Massie returned earlier after missing time in OTAs with a neck injury.The defense continues to try to get down different terminology under new defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano.“I will say we’re certainly at that point right now where our guys are ready,” Nagy said. “They’re ready to put the pads on.“They’re sick and tired of me saying, ‘don’t you get close to that quarterback, don’t tip the ball, don’t grab jerseys, don’t do that.”Tuesday’s practice came with more Bears alumni around. A group of 20 watched current players who were a bit in awe of them last weekend.Defensive players expressed everything from gratification to shock to inspiration after visiting with past Bears greats.“You want to kind of mimic that,” cornerback Kyle Fuller said.Smith spent time taking tips from Butkus and linebacker Otis Wilson.“Pretty much Butkus was like, ‘Just be violent. By all means be violent.’ That was his main thing,” Smith said. “And pretty much Otis http://www.cowboysauthorizedshops.com/authentic-connor-mcgovern-jersey , from the ’85 team, it was more saying the same thing: ‘get the quarterback, knock him out,’ stuff like that. It was very similar.”Jackson was on a panel with safeties Plank, Gary Fencik and Mike Brown, and couldn’t believe it when he heard Plank once tackled a woman who at a public appearance wanted to challenge him.“The story about him tackling the woman — that was like one of the craziest things I ever heard,” Jackson said. “We thought he, like, either gave a love tap, but we heard he really tackled her. I couldn’t believe it. And everybody vouched for the story.”Pass rusher Khalil Mack appreciated listening to franchise sacks leader Richard Dent offer advice on how to use his hands differently against blockers.“It definitely gives you a confidence boost,” Mack said. “But just being a player and being a leader on the team, you understand that we could talk all day. It’s ultimately about going out and showing our actions and balling as one unit, as one team and as one family.”The lesson Nagy said they all took from the convention and former players was unity.“It was a brotherhood Tony Pollard Jersey , it was a family, it was a bond,” Nagy said. “It’s not about being better than any other team that was here, it’s about just carrying on that tradition.” Paul Goldschmidt struck out his first two at-bats against Jack Flaherty, once on a slider. With two on in the fifth inning, Goldschmidt fell behind against the St. Louis right-hander and laid off two sliders like the one he chased earlier.

Another slider found too much of the plate and the reigning NL player of the month sent it over the wall in right.

Goldschmidt hit a three-run homer, Zack Greinke pitched effectively into the seventh inning and the Arizona Diamondbacks ended a four-game losing streak with a 4-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night.

”Paul’s gifted,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. ”You can’t make mistakes like that. He’s going to make you pay.”

Greinke (9-5) gave up two runs in the second inning to end his 13-inning scoreless streak but was otherwise sharp in winning his fourth straight game. Yoshihisa Hirano needed one pitch to get a groundout with the bases loaded in the seventh and extend his team record with a 26th straight scoreless appearance.

Brad Boxberger worked around a walk in the ninth for his 20th save in 24 chances.

Goldschmidt had the big blow, following a four-hit night Monday with a three-run homer off Flaherty (3-4) in the fifth inning. The NL player of the month for June, Goldschmidt is hitting .413 with 11 homers and 28 RBIs his past 26 games.

”It wasn’t the best slider I had thrown all night and you get a guy like that, who is red hot like that, he put a good swing on it,” Flaherty said.

Greinke entered Tuesday’s game with the 13-inning scoreless streak after tossing seven scoreless innings against Miami his last start. His streak lasted one more inning; the Cardinals scored two runs in the second inning on Yairo Munoz’s single and Kolten Wong’s sacrifice fly.

Greinke shook off the shaky second by mixing his pitches well Noah Fant Jersey , keeping the Cardinals off-balance with low-90s fastballs and looping curves that dipped to 63 mph. He was lifted with two outs in the seventh inning after giving up consecutive hits, allowing two runs on seven hits and four strikeouts.

”I felt good, there was good defense behind me and we scored some runs,” Greinke said.

Flaherty allowed four runs on six hits in six innings in a loss to Cleveland his last start. He was sharp after giving up David Peralta’s run-scoring single in the first inning, retiring 10 straight batters.

Flaherty ran into trouble in the fifth inning, giving up a double and hitting a batter before Goldschmidt lifted a three-run homer just over the wall in right to put Arizona up 4-2.

Flaherty allowed four runs on four hits and struck out seven in six innings.

”He threw the ball well,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. ”(He) got into a tough situation with a good hitter, got to two strikes, the guy got the best of that matchup, but overall his stuff was very good today.”

TRANLATOR BOOTED

Lovullo brought Hirano’s translator, Kelvin Kondo, with him to the mound after making a pitching change in the seventh inning, just to make sure the Japanese right-hander was clear on what he wanted. The mound meeting turned a bit chaotic when Lovullo left the mound and Kondo was still talking to Hirano.

Under big-league rules http://www.broncosauthorizedshops.com/authentic-dalton-risner-jersey , a translator has to stay next to the manager while on the mound, so when Lovullo started to walk away, plate umpire Bill Welke started shouting and told Kondo to leave the field.

”I didn’t even know what was going on up there. It was crazy, chaotic,” Lovullo said. ”There’s a clear rule and it’s so new to us having the interpreter and exchanging information. I just left the mound too soon, the dirt area too soon and that was my responsibility to stay there until all the instructions were made.”

TRAINER’S TABLE

Cardinals: SS Paul DeJong (broken left hand) went 0 for 4 for Triple-A Memphis on Monday night, his third rehab game with the Redbirds.

Diamondbacks: RHP Randall Delgado (strained left oblique) allowed a run on three hits in an inning for Triple-A Reno Monday night in a rehab appearance. … OF Steven Souza Jr. went 1 for 4 with a solo homer for the Aces as he works back from a strained right pectoral.

UP NEXT

Diamondbacks LHP Patrick Corbin has allowed a run in 13 innings his past two starts heading into Wednesday’s game against the Cardinals. St. Louis sends out RHP Miles Mikolas, who lost his last start despite allowing a run in 6 2/3 innings against Atlanta.

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