The Bears pride themselves on defense and hard hitting players. That’s exactly what they got in Doug Plank, Gary Fencik and Mike Brown. The Bears hoped to continue this tradition of hard hitting defensive backs when they drafted safety, Major Wright this year. I personally think they did. We saw a bright shining light in Wright when he played against the Chargers in preseason this year. Unfortunately he fracture a finger and will miss the rest of the preseason. I just hope his finger heals fast enough so he can play opening day against the Detroit Lions. Anyways, time to break down the defensive back positions.
Lets start it off with the Left Cornerbacks. There are four players currently listed on the Bears depth chart at LCB. Zackary Bowman, Corey Graham, Joshua Moore and Woodny Turenne. The Bears listed Bowman as the starter and Graham as the back up. I would rather have Joshua Moore as the back up this year. He is having a wonderful camp this year, but I think the main reason why they don’t have him as the back up is the lack of experience in the NFL. Which I can understand, I have a feeling if Moore continues to develop he will be starting in the next year or two. Depending on how good Bowman plays that is. I haven’t forgot Woodny Turrene folks. He looked good in preseason last year in my opinion, but the Bears never kept him on the final roster. They did put him on the practice squad though. I just don’t think he will make the final roster again this year, but will be placed on the practice squad.
Time to go over the right side of the field. Charles Tillman is easily the starter and I have no problems with that. He’s been a force for the Bears since the Bears had drafted him in 2003. Since then, he’s had a total of 540 tackles, 22 interceptions (3 of which were returned for touchdowns), 22 forced fumbles (1 was returned for a touchdown), and 2 sacks. Last year had 2 interceptions (1 interception return for a touchdown), and 6 forced fumbles. Not bad for someone who is in his 8th year of his career. He did have one scary moment last season when he cracked some of ribs and bruised a lung when he collided with Craig Steltz, but I think he has recovered nicely since then. So in my opinion he rightfully deserves the start, but if you disagree let me know by replying to this blog post. All feedback is greatly appreciated. Unfortunately for the Bears, Tillman’s back ups don’t have a lot of experience besides Tim Jennings. He was with the Colts in 2006 and was cut in 2009. He doesn’t have that many turnovers and not a lot of tackles. He only has 4 career interceptions and 3 forced fumbles. Not something I would look for, but the Bears really have no other choice right now. The other two back ups are D.J. Moore and Cornelius Brown, and out of the two I’m sure the Bears will be keeping Moore and might place Brown on the practice squad or just cut him completely. Moore who’s in his second season didn’t do anything last year and this year might look the same. Just depends on how healthy Tillman and Jennings are throughout the season. I really hope Tillman stays healthy throughout the season. He’s a force to be reckoned with when he’s on a roll.
Now onto the Chicago Bears’ Safeties. The Safety position has been missing leadership and a hard hitting player since Mike Brown was cut. I’ve mentioned Brown a few times in this entry and for good reason. He was a monster out on the field, a true definition of a Chicago Bear. The only downside is that he played so rough he often hurt himself. Just the Bears luck he remained healthy after he was cut. I’m happy for that, don’t get me wrong. I want to see him succeed year after year and hope the Bears resign him. Mark my words, Mike Brown will be coaching one day, and I hope that he’s coaching for the Bears after he retires.
The starting Strong Safety of the Bears so far is Danieal Manning. I would much rather have Chris Harris playing Strong instead of Free Safety. Manning just doesn’t have what it takes to be the starter. He is best suited for back up work and now a full time punt/kick off return man. From what I recall, Chris played Strong while with the Carolina Panthers and excelled. So I would much rather have Harris as the starter instead of Manning. Since the Bears have Harris listed as the starter for Free Safety I would move up Major Wright to be the starter and have Al Afalava be the backup and Josh Bullocks cut. From what I’ve seen from Major Wright in the preseason he has the knack for the position. I know it was just one game, but from that one game he has shown he can handle it. That’s just my opinion. I know it won’t happen anytime soon, but I would very much like it to happen. Al Afalava showed some promise on the field last year but Major Wright is far better in my opinion. That’s why I would have Afalava play as the back up. Now with Chris Harris playing Strong in my scenario, I would have Craig Steltz as the back up. I know a lot of folks knock Steltz playing ability but he has shown he can play in the NFL, but at best he will be a back up so far.
The Bears have listed two other players as the back ups for Strong Safety. Quentin Scott and Aaron Webster will most likely be cut or put on the practice squad. I haven’t heard much from Aaron Webster, but I did have a conversation with someone who knew Quentin Scott’s secondary coach/d-coordinator. He said that Scott has a great shot to make the team and do well on special teams. So Quentin could very well be kept on the roster for special teams only. I can’t say for sure, but we’ll find out won’t we?
GammaBears
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