Hester's absence creates opportunities for others

In the second day of the Devin Hester holdout, Bears wide receivers coach Darryl Drake joked, "If Devin's not here, I'm probably going to leave."

As much as anyone, Drake would love to have Hester in camp so he could continue working with the player that he says can be better than anyone he has ever coached and already would be working with the starters.

But Hester's absence creates additional opportunities for every other receiver on the roster.

"Wally Pipp," Drake said. "Nobody ever heard of Lou Gehrig until Wally Pipp got sick one day and he was held out. Next thing you know (Yankees manager) Miller Huggins said, 'Hey, Gehrig, get in here.' (Two thousand, one hundred and thirty) games later, who ever heard of Wally Pipp?"

That's not precisely the way the story went. And none of the Bears' wipeouts who benefit from extra practice reps while Hester stays away looks to be the football equivalent of the "Iron Horse."

But Drake's point is that there exists an excellent opportunity for one or more players to climb up the depth chart at an unsettled position.

During Thursday's practice, four-year veteran Rashied Davis and rookie Earl Bennett made the strongest impressions.

Davis caught a pair of long TD passes, 1 each from Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton, who are battling for the No. 1 quarterback gig.

Davis, a former Arena League stud, has created a niche as an extra receiver in passing situations, primarily in the slot. He made it with the Bears in 2005 as a defensive back and kick-returner, then converted to wide receiver the next season. He has a modest 39 catches in the NFL, but he's looking to step up to another level this season.

Without Hester in the mix, he will get more passes thrown his way.

"It's a great opportunity for everyone, for myself especially because I know the offense pretty well," Davis said. "I've been here the longest, so it's a great opportunity for me to come out here and make plays."

Bennett, the third-round pick from Vanderbilt, could easily have been lost in the shuffle of bodies at receiver. But in his first two days of practice, he has lived up to the praise of first-round offensive tackle Chris Williams, his teammate at Vanderbilt who claimed Bennett "catches everything."

Davis, Marty Booker, Brandon Lloyd and Mark Bradley all have gotten reps with the first team, but Bennett still has made his presence known. He had a highlight catch Thursday when he made a diving catch deep downfield of a pass from Caleb Hanie, who is battling Nick Hill for the No. 3 QB spot.

"It's raised my confidence a lot," Bennett said of his early success. "But I have to stay focused. It's only two days. You see the ball in the air, you just gotta make a play. Anytime the ball's in the air, I feel like it's mine, so I gotta go get it."

Lloyd caught 43 and 48 passes in back-to-back seasons with the San Francisco 49ers in 2004 and '05, but after signing with the Redskins as a free agent in 2006, he regressed in Washington and had just 2 receptions last season. He looked excellent in off-season practices but still has a lot to prove.

"Brandon has got an awful lot of ability," Drake said. "But I'm not ready to stamp him and say he's the savior. He's got a ways to go, too. He's demonstrated an ability to make plays.

"Now we've got pads on and we've got to continue to work in this kind of environment and see how he functions."

Bradley cracked the starting lineup as a rookie for the Bears in 2005, but injuries and inconsistency have derailed his career since then.

He still possesses the best size-speed combination among the wipeouts. But Bradley knows he needs to make much more of an impact than he did last season, when he caught 6 passes.

"We've got some receivers out there who can do what I can do just as well out there on the field," Bradley said. "It's a competition deal."

And it's wide open with Hester missing from the action.

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