The Chicago Bears will host the Cleveland Browns tonight in their last preseason game of 2011. That means the players on the edge will get a chance to showcase what they have.
By Saturday the Bears have to cut their roster from 80 to 53, so expect a lot of undrafted free agents and some overpaid players to get the boot.
QB’s Caleb Hanie and Nathan Enderle will get a lot of work tonight, Enderle needs to showcase what he has because the Bears plan on keeping a third quarterback and he clearly wants to stick.
RB’s Kahlil Bell and Chester Taylor could get a lot of the carries. Undrafted free agent Robert Hughes and second-year back Harvey Unga could also get some looks as well.
It will be interesting to see if Taylor gets any carries. All the rumors last week were that the Bears released him, but it is likely that this will be the last game he plays in a Bears uniform.
WR’s Dane Sanzenbacher, Kris Adams, Onrea Jones and Jimmy Young will get some time to show what they can do. Sanzenbacher, an undrafted free agent out of Ohio State is likely going to be the sixth receiver on the Bears this season.
Kris Adams is destined for the practice squad after some solid games during the earlier parts of the preseason. The other two, Jones and Young may be on the outside looking in at this point
Some could be wondering what happened to Andy Fantuz. That’s a good question. The guy has done nothing to separate himself from the undrafted receivers and will likely be released come Saturday. Maybe the Canadian league will take him back.
Kyle Adams is a big undrafted tight end, who the Bears switched to H-back, so he will have to compete with Eddie Williams, the favorite to win that spot. It will be interesting to see who the Bears pick for the starting job here.
The defensive line could be the unit that shines this season, they used nine linemen last season and they could use the same number again. DT Marcus Harrison needs a big game to show why he is still valuable and defensive ends Nick Reed and Mario Addison need to do the same.
With Corey Wootton’s injury a concern, the Bears have started to use Amobi Okoye at defensive end a little bit in practice. If Addison can’t get it done, Okoye or even Henry Melton could move over to the end position in the rotation.
The Bears will likely be looking for a veteran linebacker once the cuts are made on Saturday. As of now J.T. Thomas and undrafted free agent Dom DeCicco are the fifth and sixth linebackers. Both will earn spots on the team through special teams.
The secondary is pretty much set with a total of ten players. The cornerbacks are probably deeper than the safeties, but both could use an additional veteran if one becomes available.
Tonight shouldn’t be an exciting game, but it will help Bears management figure out who should stay and who should go. Saturday is the day of the final cuts, so some tough moves will have to be made.
Bear Down!
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