BOURBONNAIS, Ill. — When the Bears take the practice field Thursday morning, they’ll do so with more position battles wide open than ever before in the 14 years they’ve been coming to Olivet Nazarene University.
At least eight of 11 spots on defense are unsolved (Pernell McPhee, Kyle Fuller and Antrel Rolle look like locks to start), while three other key position battles will take place on the offensive side of the ball (right tackle, back-up running back and the No. 4 wide receiver spot).
Asked Wednesday if he’d ever been part of a team with so much unsolved going into training camp, general manager Ryan Pace pointed to a team Bears fans should remember well: the 2006 New Orleans Saints.
“There were a lot of unknown factors and I think we might have gotten two or three starters off the final cuts of the preseason that weren’t even with us during training camp,” Pace said. “So it kind of tells you where that roster was.”
2006 was the year the Saints moved back into the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina and they went on to win the NFC South with a 10-6 record before ultimately losing to the Bears in the NFC Championship Game.
Fox, meanwhile, answered the same question by pointing to his is first year in Denver.
“The last time I spent as a first-year head coach was coming off the dag-gone lockout,” Fox said. “I never even saw the team until right now. I don’t know that I can ever recreate that. I don’t know that I would want to. Not much surprises you when you do this for a living.”
Quick Hits
– One item left on the notebook yesterday was that Pace said cornerback Alan Ball is “full-go” after sitting out much of the offseason program. Ball ended last season on injured reserve with a biceps injury and is expected to compete for a starting job.
– If you missed anything from the first day in Bourbonnais, check out my “10 Bears Things” column from yesterday to catch up. There’s a ton in there, including some phenomenal insight from safety Ryan Mundy on how the secondary responsibilities have changed in Vic Fangio’s defense.
Thursday’s Schedule
The Bears practice at 9:35 a.m. The gates open at ONU at 8:30 a.m. and stretching begins at 9:20 a.m.
On The Air
I’ll have live updates from Bourbonnais at the following times:
9:55 a.m – “Kap & Haugh” on WGN Plus and Comcast Sports Net
7:20 p.m. – “The Download” with Justin Kaufmann on WGN Radio
6:40 a.m. (Friday) – “The Steve Cochran Show” on WGN Radio
Adam Hoge covers the Chicago Bears for WGN Radio and WGNRadio.com. He also co-hosts The Beat, weekends on 720 WGN. Follow him on Twitter at @AdamHoge.
