LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Here are the 10 most important things you need to know from Halas Hall Wednesday as the Bears get set to travel to Atlanta this weekend to face the Falcons:
1. Devin Hester admits he is still bothered that the Bears didn’t offer him a contract.
“If you’ve been with a team for over six, seven, eight years, if you’ve been there for a long time, it bothers you when your contract is up and the team doesn’t even come to offer you anything,” Hester said on a conference call with Chicago reporters Wednesday. “So it bothered me, but at the same time everything happens for a reason.”
Meanwhile, Hester maintains that the Bears didn’t even call him this offseason.
“They didn’t call me or nothing. They didn’t call me, period, pretty much,” he said. “I didn’t hear from Chicago. They didn’t say they were going to re-sign me. All I know is that they were going to go in a different direction.”
While it’s true that the Bears did not offer Hester a contract, it’s unclear whether or not a phone call was made directly to the returner. At the very least, the Bears did have contact with Hester’s agent and it’s very possible that in that conversation it became quickly apparent that the Bears were not going to be able to meet Hester’s demands. Hence, no contract offer.
Hester ended up signing with the Falcons for $9 million over three years, which is virtually the same exact contract defensive end Willie Young signed with the Bears.
That’s the kind of perspective that needs to be kept in mind when discussing whether or not it was a mistake for the Bears to let Hester go. Young has been the Bears’ best defender through five games, and while it’s obvious the Bears could use Hester in the return game, he clearly is happier and rejuvenated in Atlanta.
The mistake wasn’t letting Hester go, it was not finding a suitable replacement for him in the offseason.
2. Robbie Gould is ready to face Hester in a game for the first time. Gould has kicked to Hester thousands of times in practice, but now that the returner is on the Falcons he’ll have to do in a game.
“I’m looking forward to it, I’m excited,” Gould said. “Devin, I’m coming, buddy, I’m coming, I’m ready.”
Hester had his own message regarding Gould: “I know what he’s good at. I know what his weaknesses are.”
Asked specifically what those weakness are, Hester laughed and said, “Robbie knows.”
The two are good friends and Gould credits Hester with making him a better kicker.
“Trust me, Devin and I talked a lot. I think he’s a big reason why I developed as much as I did as a kickoff guy, because having him back there, picking his brain the past year and a half as just a returner for us is not something that every guy gets,” Gould said. “He knows my tendencies, but I’ll tell you what, I’ve got a good game plan ready for him. So if he knows my tendencies after this game, I’m in trouble.”
The battle should be a fun one to watch and if Hester returns a kick for a touchdown on Gould, you know the kicker will never live it down.
3. The Bears’ top four linebackers all missed practice Wednesday. While Shea McClellin continues to be out with a broken hand, Lance Briggs (ribs), D.J. Williams (neck) and Jon Bostic (back) all sat out practice Wednesday.
Williams also missed last Wednesday’s practice with a neck injury and returned Thursday and Friday, so his injury might not be all that serious, but Briggs’ and Bostic’s injuries are something to monitor throughout the week. Briggs was able to finish Sunday’s game in Carolina, but he received lengthy treatment after the game and did not speak with reporters.
Meanwhile, undrafted rookie linebacker Christian Jones, who filled in at strong-side linebacker with Bostic out, was talking Wednesday like he expects to play this Sunday in Atlanta:
“When you’re well prepared, you don’t really think, you just kind of react. I think that’s how it’s going to be on Sunday,” he said.
With the top four linebackers all out of practice, Wednesday’s starting unit consisted of Jones, Khaseem Greene and Darryl Sharpton.
4. Just three days after suffering his second concussion of the season, safety Chris Conte was back on the practice field. He practiced on a limited basis, but it was still surprising to see him back in any capacity already after suffering two concussions in a 45-day span.
Of course, that doesn’t mean Conte will play Sunday. He will need to be cleared by the doctors to play. If he can’t go, expect Danny McCray to start in his place.
5. Left tackle Jermon Bushrod remains out with right ankle and knee injuries. He was among the long list of eight players who did not practice Wednedsay. In addition to Bushrod and the linebackers, the others included center Taylor Boggs (hamstring), safety Ahmad Dixon (hamstring) and running back Matt Forte (coaches’ decision).
It would be surprising to see Bushrod recover in time to play Sunday, but next week could be a different story.
Meanwhile, depending on the status of Conte, cornerback Sherrick McManis (quad) and defensive tackle Jeremiah Ratliff (concussion) — all of whom were limited Wednesday — it’s possible the Bears won’t be able to dress a full 46-man roster Sunday.
6. With nickelback Isaiah Frey getting cut Tuesday, the Bears are working out different players in the nickel package. Head coach Marc Trestman mentioned McManis, Demontre Hurst and rookie safety Brock Vereen as options in the slot corner.
The most obvious option would be McManis, who the Bears believe has improved as a corner, but his game is more suited to the outside. Thus, if McManis is used you’d likely see Tim Jennings kick inside to the slot when the Bears are in nickel personnel. Hurst, meanwhile, got a ton of reps in the slot in the preseason.
Vereen is an interesting option, however. He played both the outside and slot corner positions in addition to safety during his career at Minnesota and he performed well as the emergency nickelback earlier this season against the 49ers. Following that game, Trestman indicated that Vereen was only an emergency option at the position and wouldn’t move from safety, but the Bears could be changing their tune now.
“We’re processing through that,” Trestman said. “Sherrick’s availability will be a part of that, Brock’s capabilities will be a part of that. We’ll move guys around through the week. We’ve got a plan for that from a competitive standpoint to be at our best in that regard.”
7. Joe DeCamillis said penalties like the “blindside blocks” have changed the way the coaches teach techniques. And that’s despite the fact that both blindside blocks called on the Bears Sunday were probably bad calls and were both turned into the league for review.
“It’s already changed a lot of things,” the special teams coordinator said. “We try to manage that a different way than we used to. You used to give points out for that, those de-cleaters and all that stuff. And (the first one called on Darryl Sharpton) wasn’t even close to being a de-cleater. It’s how they get off the ground, he didn’t move, it wasn’t towards the head or anything like that. But yes, we’ve had to change some things as far as teaching-wise goes.”
8. Lamarr Houston admitted that he shouldn’t have sent out the tweets Sunday in which he told fans to “eat dirt.” You can read the exclusive story here.
9. As the Bears try to block out the noise this week, Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall had camouflage t-shirts made that say “Bunker Down” on the front and “No Noise” on the back.
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10. The Bears signed safety Shamiel Gary to the 53-man roster Wednesday. Gary went undrafted out of Oklahoma State this offseason and spent the preseason with the Patriots. He started every game at strong safety the last two seasons for the Pokes.
Bonus Thing: According to a league source, referee Walt Anderson has been assigned to Sunday’s game between the Bears and Falcons.
Adam Hoge covers the Bears for 87.7 The Game and TheGameChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AdamHoge.