Players to watch, Chicago Bears 2006 pre season
It's that time of year
again. Having followed the team like a madman this off season I decided to
write up a little scouting report for some of the deeper guys on the Bears that
will likely see a lot of PT during the pre season, maybe this will help keep
your intrest during the later stages of these oft-times brutal pre season
games. Feel free to forward this to anyone who might be interested, and
feedback, as always, is most welcome. Enjoy!
#1 Josh Houston
Position: Kicker
Reasoning: Robbie Gould was downright dreadful from 40+
yards on his field goals last season, Houston played only one year at Ohio
State sitting behind New York Jets 2005 2nd round pick Mike Nugent
all but his senior year. Houston
hasn’t impressed much in camp but it will be interesting to see how he performs
when the chips are down.
#19 Reggie Harrell
Position: Wide Receiver
Reasoning: With WRs #2 and #2a Bernard Berrian and Mark
Bradley both coming off of injuries and being slightly banged up thus far in
training camp, don’t expect to see much from either, especially in the 1st
pre season game. Expect to see bears backup QBs throwing a lot of balls to guys
who will be on other rosters or bagging groceries before the leaves turn. One
with an outside chance to snag a roster spot is undrafted rookie free agent
Reggie Harrell who caught almost every pass thrown to him the first week of
camp. Every year one Bears receiver on the bottom of the depth chart has a huge
pre season, and then usually gets cut, occasionally they catch on elsewhere.
Harrell probably won’t make the final 53, but he could land on the practice
squad.
#21 Dante Wesley
Position: Defensive Back
Reasoning: The Bears did little in free agency this off
season, but one of the additions was this 5th year pro from Carolina.
Wesley was expected to contribute on special teams compete for the starting
spot at Nickel. He’s had a training camp that has exceeded all expectations and
some have suggested that he could challenge Chris Harris and bears top draft
pick Danieal Manning for the safety spot opposite Mike Brown. While that may be
a bit overzealous, Wesley is a player who will likely get a lot of playing time
this pre season due to his position on the depth chart and will undoubtedly be
a tangible presence of the Bears D during the regular season.
#23 Devin Hester
Position: Return Specialist
Reasoning: Remember Willie Gault? Hester’s that fast. Listed
position is cornerback but unfortunately is dumb as a box of rocks. If you see him
lining up on D this season something went horribly wrong, but he can catch a
kick and run really, really fast with excellent wiggle. The bears punt returns
were abysmal last year with the long since departed Bobby Wade dropping punts
left and right. Hester was the bears 2nd overall pick in this years
draft and he’ll prove his worth in the return game this year. Might get to run
a few fly patterns on offense in the regular season too.
#24 Rickey Manning Jr
Position: Cornerback
Reasoning: Best known for being arrested for allegedly
beating a guy because he was using a laptop and looked like a “nerd” in a
Denny’s not 24 hours after signing a contract worth a guaranteed $7 million
with the Bears, Manning could compete for the starting Cornerback position opposite
Nathan Vasher.
#38 Danieal Manning
Position: Safety
Reasoning: The bears first overall pick out of D2 Abilene
Christian Manning could also start opposite Mike Brown on D. Very few had heard
of him going into the draft but most expert opinion and scouting say the Bears
might have a real steal on their hands. Likely to see extended playing time
#45 Dwayne Slay
Position: Outside Linebacker
Reasoning: MY GUY! Slay was converted from safety to OLB
late last week An undrafted free agent from Texas Tech, Slay’s biggest question
is his speed. Projected to be a 3rd or 4th round pick, he
fell off of most draft boards after the combine when he posted a god awful 4.78
in the 40 yard dash. A modern day Doug Plank, there is zero question where
Slay’s talent lies. Quite simply, Slay can lay the wood. Nicknamed “Bullet” in
college he was the Big 12 defensive player of the year last season along with
forcing 8 fumbles. If he sticks, Slay could be to fumbles what Nathan Vasher is
to interceptions in the Bears D. Unfortunately, Slay only carries 215 pounds on
his 6’3’’ frame, undersized to say the least, but then again, so is 6’0’’ 223lb
Bronco Ian Gold. It will be an uphill
battle for Slay to make this team, and even if he does stick, he’s not likely
to see the field much this year, but you will see him de-cleat a few 49ers on
Friday night. He might be wearing a
number in the 50s or 90s come Friday night thanks to the position switch,
though as of Monday the only such number available is 50.
#48 JD Runnels
Position: Fullback
Reasoning: Bears starter Bryan Johnson can’t stay healthy
and Bears backup Jason McKey isn’t very good. Johnson might not play, look for
the 6th round pick out of Oklahoma
to assume the starting fullback position and never receive a handoff because
Ron Turner’s offense doesn’t use the fullback for much besides blocking and the
occasional swing pass.
#81 Rashied Davis
Position: Wide Receiver
Reasoning: Davis
is the Bears other position project. A defensive back last season he played
Wide Receiver during the Minnesota
game and during the playoff game vs the Panthers because of how thin the bears
were at the position. Pleased with his progress they made the switch official
during the off season, slapped an 8 on his back and sent him out with most pundits
picking him to be camp fodder and in the first round of cuts. Everything went
as planned until Davis started
catching everything thrown his way in mini camp and thus far in training camp.
Davis looks like a good bet to make the team make the team and could return
kicks until the coaching staff feel Hester has “earned” his position which will
likely take about 9 seconds, the same amount of time it will take Hester to run
a ball 70 or so yards.
#s 86 Tim Day and 89 Cooper Wallace.
Position: Tight End
Reasoning: Many were critical of the bears for neglecting
the tight end position in the draft but the truth is it’s just not utilized for
very much besides blocking in the Ron Turner offense. Oregon’s
Day and Auburn’s Wallace were
signed after going undrafted. The rub: Day can’t block and Wallace can’t catch,
so expect the bears to keep Wallace if they end up keeping either in favor of 3rd
TE Gabe Reid.
#98 Dusty Dvoracek
Position: Defensive Tackle
Reasoning: For as deep as the bears are on the defensive
line, especially on the inside, no one predicted the Bears would draft another
DT, especially as high as the 3rd round. The Bears drafted the 305
pounder from Oklahoma for one
main reason: he’s a mean son of a bitch. Kicked off the team after almost beating
one of his roommates to death, he was reinstated after going through anger and
alcohol counseling. If not for the off the field issues, Dusty likely would
have been a first round pick, he posted one of the highest Wonderlic scores of
any player drafted last year (41 if memory serves) and is explosive right out
of his break. The bears like Ian Scott an awful lot, but are looking for more
big play ability out of the guy that plays next to Pro Bowler Tommie Harris.
Tank Johnson was supposed to be that player but he’s had injury problems in
each of his first two seasons and hasn’t seen the field much. Dvoracek was
Harris’ teammate in college and the Bears hope that reuniting the two can bring
the D line to a level not seen since the days of Mongo and Fridge. I expect Dvoracek to be a starter by seasons
end.
-John
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