Bears preseason winners, losers

By Paul Eide  |   Thursday, September 07, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

Chicago Bears
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Winners:

Jerry Angelo's draft class - Angelo, the Chicago Bears' general manager, has made his share of questionable decisions in his time with the team, but one thing that cannot be questioned is his ability to draft late-round prospects and turn them into effective starters. This year's draft class appears to be no different. His first selection, cornerback Danieal Manning, played great during the preseason, returning kickoffs, punts and lining up with the first- team defense. His second selection, receiver Devin Hester, excelled in the return game, averaging a gaudy 22.8 yards per punt return. J.D. Runnels, a sixth-round pick, was vying for the starting fullback spot until a leg injury sidelined him in the last exhibition game against Cleveland. Six of the seven draft picks made the final roster, and with the exception of Dusty Dvoracek (who was placed on IR with a foot injury), all could make an immediate impact.

Rashied Davis - "Who is this guy?" Davis had many a Bears fan asking this question after his performance during the preseason, when he led the Bears in receiving. A converted cornerback, Davis made the switch to wide receiver seamlessly and developed great chemistry with both quarterbacks. With neither Bernard Berrian nor Mark Bradley asserting themselves for the vacant starting receiver position, Davis' great preseason cemented a roster spot and provided the offense and special teams with big-play ability that the 2005 team sorely needed.

Brian Griese - Griese's preseason success not only fueled a growing QB controversy, but proved there is a capable backup to oft-injured youngster Rex Grossman. Griese has already proven that he can succeed at the NFL level, whereas previous backups like Chad Hutchinson and Craig Krenzel had not. Thanks to Griese, the Bears' season no longer hinges on whether or not Grossman can stay healthy.

Rex Grossman - Statistically, he didn't have a great preseason, but Bears fans are excited Grossman made it through without getting hurt. The preseason enabled Grossman to experience extended game action and further his confidence within the offense. Grossman looked much more comfortable in the final preseason game against the Browns than he did in the opener against the 49ers and, hopefully for the Bears, that will carry over to Week 1 against the Packers.

Robbie Gould- How many times will the phrase "As good as Gould" be uttered in 2006? Gould, a kicker, improved his accuracy from beyond 40 yards to 66 percent (2-of-3), up from last season's abysmal 37 percent (3-of-8), but more importantly, looked more confident in doing so. Soldier Field is arguably the toughest NFL stadium to kick in and the Bears think the confidence Gould gained from the preseason will translate into more converted opportunities with the game on the line.

Losers:

Mark Bradley and Bernard Berrian - Going into training camp, it was assumed that one of these two wide receivers would step up to fill the vacant starting spot opposite Muhsin Muhammad. While they didn't look horrible, both were outperformed during the preseason by lesser-known players (Rashied Davis, Airese Currie), and neither looked like special players capable of changing a game. Further illustrating the lackluster play of these two wideouts and the receiving corps in general, the Bears brought in recently cut pass catchers Darius Watts and Rod Gardner for tryouts during the last week.

Bears Offense - While the ineptitude wasn't a shocker, the fact that it took until the final preseason game for the first unit to score a touchdown was bad, even by Chicago standards. While it's true the team was without Cedric Benson, and Thomas Jones was active for only one game, all of the other starters played and saw significant time during the exhibition schedule.

Michael Haynes - The former 14th overall pick of the 2003 NFL Draft was released after a disappointing three-year tenure with the Bears. Haynes led the Big Ten in sacks the year before he was drafted but was quickly buried behind Alex Brown and Adewale Ogunleye on the depth chart. Haynes never fit in with the regime of Lovie Smith and found his way to the waiver wire as a result.
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