Some draft picks excelling, some falling behind

BOURBONNAIS - It has been a mixed bag so far for the Bears' 12-member draft class.

Second-round running back Matt Forte and third-round wide receiver Earl Bennett have impressed coaches on a daily basis, and fifth-round tight end Kellen Davis has also had a few moments. But first-round offensive tackle Chris Williams missed his third straight day of work after suffering a back injury early in his second training camp practice. Seventh-round guard Chester Adams remains on the non-football injury list with a stomach ailment.

"Chester Adams is getting better (and) Chris Williams is also getting better," coach Lovie Smith said after Sunday's practice in full pads. "We need to get them out on the field."

Williams' situation is much more urgent if he is to win the starting left tackle job from John St. Clair.

Forte appears on pace to wrest the No. 1 running back job from veteran Adrian Peterson, although they continue to share the work with the first team. Smith was pleased with the running game in general during 11-on-11 contact drills.

"Matt Forte does something that you like each day," Smith said. "We say we're a running team. We get off the bus running the ball. We need to be able to that. We're making progress with it. "

Last year the Bears were last in the NFL in average gain per run and 30th in rushing yards.

Same old Devin: Neither the phantom hamstring injury nor missing the first four days of camp practices appear to have adversely affected Devin Hester, who looked sharp on his first day of work.

"He fit right in today," coach Lovie Smith said. "It's not like we were out there coaching him up a lot on what to do. He's a playmaker, and he made plays today."

In addition to beating Charles Tillman on a deep sideline route, Hester made an acrobatic, leaping grab on an overthrown shorter sideline route but came down out of bounds. Smith said Hester's mind and body will get much more of a workout this season as he attempts the double duty of return specialist and starting wide receiver.

"There's the mental part; you have to get ready for that," Smith said. "We're going to ask him to play a lot more plays this year. He needs to be able to do that. He needs to be in top shape. But that's him anyway. It's not like he's doing a lot different. We'll just tax his body a little bit more this year."

Busy off-season: Since the end of last season the Bears have extended contracts for Devin Hester, Brian Urlacher, Tommie Harris, Robbie Gould, Kyle Orton, Desmond Clark and Alex Brown.

"These are very, very difficult things to do when you go to a player prior to his contract expiring," general manager Jerry Angelo said. "We have been able to do this a good number of times. I don't think I've ever been this busy in an off-season, and I don't think I ever will again. We did a lot. Hopefully we accomplished a lot. We certainly kept a good foundation in place for a good while, and that was our goal going into our off-season."