Bears work through another glitch
BOURBONNAIS — The Bears already had a practice cut short by heavy rain and lightning Monday, and last Friday they had an entire practice moved back to home base here when the new sod at Soldier Field was deemed dangerous.
So Wednesday, when the lights went out on all the practice fields at Olivet Nazarene University at 8:10 p.m., it seemed somewhat fitting.
After a delay of about 30 minutes, practice was moved a few blocks, over to Bradley-Bourbonnais High School, which coincidentally has new FieldTurf, the artificial surface that a majority of Bears players favor.
“It’s been a weird series of events here,” quarterback Jay Cutler said. “There’s nothing we can really do about it; we just have to work through it and try to get our work in. Who knows what’s going to happen tomorrow now?”
Players were bused over and practice resumed about 9:15, about the same time power was restored to the part of campus that was affected, and it finished by 10:15.
“Every once in awhile things like this happen,” coach Lovie Smith said. “That’s not all bad. In training camp you want to put the guys in different situations. We’re going to London, and we’ll have to get out of the routine (for that).
“We’ve got a normal size field here, and we were able to get in the same work we would have got in over there. We got better tonight. That’s what we wanted to do.”
Asked how he liked the playing surface, Cutler laughed and said, “Nice. I think it’s something we could get used to.”
Apples and oranges:Mike Martz was at the Hall of Fame ceremonies in Canton, Ohio, last weekend, the guest of inductee Marshall Faulk, who put up some extraordinary rushing and receiving numbers under Martz when both were with the St. Louis Rams.Martz believes that Matt Forte has some of the skills that made Faulk a Hall of Famer but that he should not yet be compared to Faulk.#147;I think Matt has terrific receiving skills,#148; Martz said. #147;Marshall could immediately go outside and line up (as a wide receiver). Matt can do those things.#147;He#146;s a tall guy who has that exceptional speed and the quick change of direction, so there are some things we can do #8212; we did them last year, put him outside, for instance, in the Dallas Cowboy game. We#146;ll continue to do things like that with Matt.#147;And he#146;s really terrific inside. He has a great jump cut, he#146;s still learning the run reads, and he#146;s refining his skills, but he#146;s got terrific skills and I think he could be absolutely exceptional.#148;Forte tied for the team lead last season with 51 receptions (547 yards) and also rushed for 1,069 yards, averaging a career-best 4.5 yards per carry. But he#146;s not in the same league as Faulk.#147;I don#146;t know if anyone is on Marshall#146;s level,#148; Martz said. #147;That#146;s a whole different stratosphere.#148;Johnny on the spot:Even though last year#146;s leading receiver Johnny Knox is listed on the second team behind free-agent addition Roy Williams, quarterback Jay Cutler said the third-year player from Abilene Christian has a huge role.#147;We#146;ve got a lot of receivers, and it#146;s fun to have all those guys and all those weapons,#148; Cutler said. #147;Johnny#146;s definitely going to be a part of this offense, and he#146;s got to prepare like that.#148;Bumps and bruises:Defensive tackle Anthony Adams was wearing a protective boot on his left foot Wednesday to protect his injured calf, and he did not practice and is not expected to play Saturday.#147;It#146;s frustrating, but that#146;s part of football,#148; Adams said. #147;You can#146;t climb the mountain if it#146;s smooth, right?#148;Wide receiver Sam Hurd limped off with a foot/ankle injury during practice, but after icing for a few minutes he walked back to the sideline without a limp.ŸFollow Bob#146;s Bears reports via Twitter @Bob LeGere and check out our Bear Essentials blog at dailyherald.com.