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 2^nd 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 1^st 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 5^th 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 2^nd 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 3^rd or 4^th 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 6^th 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 3^rd 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 3^rd 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