Pisa Tinoisamoa Out for Chicago Bears vs. Miami Dolphins
Published by Bob Warja on November 17, 2010
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears starting strongside linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa has been ruled out of Thursday night’s game against the Miami Dolphins because of a knee injury.
This is a setback for a Bears team that was thought to have come out of Sunday’s win against the Vikings unscathed. Tinoisamoa is sixth on the team with 46 tackles, and he has one sack, one forced fumble and four tackles for a loss.
Meanwhile, Johnny Knox will play, but his ankle is still sore and the Bears top deep threat may be limited against Miami.
Nick Roach will take the place of Tinoisamoa in the starting lineup. This is somewhat ironic as it was Roach who lost his starting spot to Tinoisamoa with a knee injury suffered in training camp.
The remaining banged up Bears include Zack Bowman, who is scheduled to play on Thursday for the first time since week six, Devin Hester, who has a dinged shoulder and Rashied Davis with a quad injury. They are all probable and should play but each bears watching.
We all know about the Dolphins injuries, but Tyler Thigpen is not a Caleb Hanie-type of QB—the man can play a little. He will make his first NFL start since 2008, when he was with Kansas City. Chad Henne sat out the team’s only workout, and while he may suit up for the game, he will only play in an emergency, if at all.
The biggest question mark is on the Dolphins offensive line, where all-world tackle Jake Long will apparently line up against Julius Peppers despite a dislocated shoulder. This will be a key matchup to watch, as Peppers plays well on national tv and Long may not be as effective due to injury.
Another thing to watch will be Devin Hester, who needs one more return TD to break the all-time NFL record and would love to do it in front of his friends and family in his native Florida.
This is shaping up to be a very tough game for the Bears, as the pass defense Jay Cutler will face will likely be the best he has seen all season. They will need to run the ball effectively and continue to roll Cutler out if they are going to win.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Bears will need to stop the wildcat and a bunch of tricky formations and stunts, designed to confuse the Bears. While the Bears stop the run with the best of them, Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown have combined for 844 yards and four touchdowns.
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