Bears' D tackle Dvoracek eager to get back on field

BOURBONNAIS - Defensive tackle Dusty Dvoracek's personal goals for this season might seem modest to some.

"One personal goal is stay healthy all year and play in every game," Dvoracek said. "That's my No. 1 goal. Start all the games and stay healthy and finish the season strong and no more season-ending injuries."

Considering the former third-round pick has been healthy enough to play just 29 snaps in two seasons and is currently sidelined with a calf injury that has kept him out of all 11 training-camp practices through Thursday, achieving that goal would be huge - not just for Dvoracek, but for a Bears defense that expects to play at a dominant level.

No one wants to see Dvoracek back on the field more than defensive tackle Tommie Harris, who lines up next to the 6-foot-3, 303-pounder in the Bears' base defense.

They played together for three years at Oklahoma, but their playing time together with the Bears has been limited by Dvoracek's preseason foot injury that snuffed out his rookie season in 2006 and the torn ACL that felled him in last year's season opener.

"It'd be a great thing to get him back out there, so we can get our chemistry back together," Harris said. "He's consistent. He's very smart when it comes down to (figuring out) what the offense is trying to do.

"And it's just his attitude. He's a wild man; he's an animal. He's got his (long) hair and his tattoos, and he's amazing. He'll give us a boost."

Dvoracek's stay-at-home, run-stuffing style is an ideal complement to Harris' quickness and ability to cause disruption and sacks in opposing backfields.

Dvoracek's injury last season was the beginning of a near epidemic on the defensive side and especially at the tackle position that reduced the Bears' defense from dominant to ordinary.

In addition to Dvoracek, who won the starting nose-tackle job in the 2007 preseason, Anthony Adams, who started eight games, ended the season on injured reserve.

Harris played hurt for much of the season. Darwin Walker, who was expected to add quality depth, also missed five games and was ineffective in the others.

This year Harris and Adams are healthy, Dvoracek should be soon, and Israel Idonije is focusing more on tackle after playing more at end in the past.

General manager Jerry Angelo always has emphasized building his defense from the inside out, which is why the Bears have drafted six defensive linemen in the first three rounds over the past six seasons.

If this year's defensive line stays intact, chances are the whole unit will excel.

"Our goal is to be the No. 1 defense in the league, lead the league in turnovers, sacks, pretty much every category," Dvoracek said. "If we all just take care of our own jobs, we're going to be really good."

Getting and keeping Dvoracek healthy is a priority, and it seems that the third-year player is overdue for some good luck on the injury front.

He never was an injury-prone player until he got to the NFL, and he never missed a game in college because of injury. Dvoracek had to think awhile before he could recall the last time, pre-NFL, that he missed a game because of injury.

"I had a sprained ankle my sophomore year in high school," he said. "I went a long time never missing any games, or practice really.

"It's so different. I don't like standing on the side, but just talking to (Jerry) Angelo, I feel like the clouds are breaking up and I've got blue skies in my future. Hopefully we've got all the injuries and the little nicks out of the way and I can get going."

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