Bears Blitz

Published by Bryan Dietzler on August 5, 2010
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

The Bears have almost completed their first week of practice and the injury bug continues to bite them. They have also signed someone new, and things are looking up in the first week of Bear’s camp.

New Faces

The Bears signed former Penn State defensive end Maurice Evans to the roster.

Evans, an undrafted free agent from 2009, will help increase the number defensive ends that the Bears have on the roster. Evans has been on the Tampa Bay and New York (Giants) rosters in the past. 

The Bears let punter Richmond McGee go in order to make room for Evans.

Injury Woes

The injury woes continued for the Bears this week.

Linebacker/Safety Brian Iwuh was taken off of the practice field on a cart and will have an MRI done on his knee to see just how badly he is injured. No one seems to think that his injury is that serious, and that the MRI is just a precautionary measure.

Both Major Wright (groin) and Chris Harris (back) continued to sit on the sideline as practices moved forward. The Bears state that they are taking things slowly with these two, and many experts feel that both Harris and Wright could end up being the Bears’ starts at both safety positions when the season starts.

After having suffered a groin injury, linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer, returned to practice after missing a little bit of time. 

Running back Harvey Unga continues to sit out with a sore hamstring and may be out for awhile. This definitely has an effect on competition for the third and fourth running back slots (behind Chester Taylor and Matt Forte).

Also sitting out practice was wide receiver Juaquin Iglesias, who still remains sidelined with a quad injury, quarterback Mike Teel (with a hamstring) and Charles Tillman (ankle soreness). 

Backup QB

The coaching staff has stated that they really like the way that backup quarterback Caleb Hanie has been performing in training camp, and he is starting to cement himself as the second quarterback behind Cutler. 

If the Bears decide to keep three quarterbacks, the battle for the third string spot could be interesting with Dan LeFevour and Teel battling it out for that spot.

Red Zone Woes

The Bears passing game was horrid last season in the red zone, so during training camp the team has been taking extra measures to ensure that it has some success there. 

In recent action during a seven on seven practice, Cutler completed nine of 12 passes, with nine of those completions going for touchdowns. Granted, he’s going against his own defense, but perhaps he will make smarter decisions this season when the offense is in the red zone and won’t put his team in a bind. 

More success in the red zone will lead to more wins for the Bears in 2010.

Shooting Stars

Wide receiver Devin Aromashodu had a pretty good night the other night, as he caught seven passes from Cutler. With a good training camp, Aromashodu should earn a lot more playing time this season.

Martz Speaks

The Bears have been well known for talking in circles—at least their coaching staff and management team do—and now new offensive coordinator Mike Martz has joined that prestigious club. 

Martz said all the right things when he (finally) spoke to the media, saying the offense was looking good and that he expected a lot of good things out of this group.

He did point out that he had a lot of faith in what offensive line coach Mike Tice could do with the offensive line, possibly alluding to the help that’s needed there.

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