Bears Blitz

Published by Max Kienzler on September 6, 2009
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

The Bears made their final roster cuts today, lets take a look at how it broke down:

OFFENSE

Quarterbacks:

The Bears only kept two QBs on their roster, keeping Caleb Hanie as the primary back up to Jay Cutler and parting ways with Brett Basanez. Look for Basanez to land on the practice squad.

Rumor mill is currently swirling that the Bears might be in the market for a veteran backup, and with the big news being that Jeff Garcia was cut, expect some media members to make a plea for him.

Running Backs:

With an injury sending Kevin Jones to the IR, the Bears stuck with their normal duo of Adrian Peterson and Garrett Wolfe to support sophomore standout Matt Forte.

The Bears also continue to keep Jason McKie…I won’t comment on this move to much, but I swear I will beat my head against the wall if I see more than two fullback dives for no gain this year… I swear to god.

Wide Receivers:

Well, the Bears went ahead and kept six, with poor Brandon Rideau being the odd man out again.

Look, I understand why the Bears did this and I can’t really fault them, but I feel for Rideau. This makes the third year in a row where Brandon has fallen short of making the roster out of camp. He has played his heart out on special teams and he was brought up from the practice squad near the end of last year, but never recorded a reception.

It is just to bad. Guy has a lot of heart.

That of course leaves Devin Hester, Earl Bennett, rookies Juaquin Iglesias and Johnny Knox, Devin Aromashodu and everyones favorite, Rashied Davis. Davis made this team for two reasons.

1. He is an excellent special teamer

2. If he can hold on to the ball, he can perform well in the slot position.

I know many won’t like this decision, but it is what it is.

Tight Ends:

The Bears kept four, as expected with only three RBs and two QBs. No surprises here. Very happy the Bears kept Kellen Davis. He will be replacing Dez Clark in the next few years.

Offensive Line:

A little bit of a surprise here. Not on the starting side, with Pace, Omiyale, Kreutz, Garza and Williams. But the back ups included seventh round pick Lance Louis. It says a lot about what the Bears coaching staff think about his potential.

DEFENSE

Defensive line:

The Bears pulled their normal sneaky move and placed Henry Melton on the IR. They lost Dusty Dvoracek to ANOTHER knee injury and that left a spot for “Big Toe” Matt Toeaina. No other surprises here. Starting line up stays pretty much the same as last year with Adewale Ogunleye, Tommie Harris, Marcus Harrison, and Alex Brown. 

And the depth behind them is solid, as long as it stays healthy with Israel Idonije, Jarron Gilbert, Anthony Adams, and Mark Anderson.

Linebackers:

I was personally surprised when the Bears cut rookie Marcus Freeman. But other than that, the Bears still have the best linebackers from #1-6. Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs, Pisa Tinoisamoa, Hunter Hillenmeyer, Nick Roach and Jamar Williams.

Defensive backs:

The Bears kept 11, count that 11, defensive backs. They dropped Rod Hood and kept Trumaine McBride which surprised me, but they must be banking on his youth and development so I can’t really argue against it.

I was a little surprised they kept BOTH Craig Steltz and Josh Bullocks. Then again, after the injury mess last year, it is best to be over prepared.

SPECIAL TEAMS:

No surprises. Robbie Gould. Brad Maynard. Patrick Mannelly.

OVERALL:

The Bears coaching staff did not make any real mistakes in my eyes. I hope that Freeman drops to the practice squad, as he is my only concern. But everything else looked pretty good.

Now they just have to stay healthy…Knock on wood.

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