Football season is upon us as a slew of preaseason games went down tonight accross the NFL. Among them, the Chicago Bears took on the KC Chiefs at home at Soldier Field. Despite the 24-20 loss, it was a great chance to get a look at some of the new players, as well as players who don't get much playing time during the regular season. During the first half, the Bears were held to just a field goal, however rookie RB Matt Forte got 7 carries under his belt to start his NFL career, as he rushed for 25 yards. The second half was where the Bears really started to shine and show some depth. Backup LB Rod Wilson had an interception, which opened the door to a 25-yd TD on a Grossman-to-Wolfe screen play. On that offensive play, Wolfe showed extreme speed and elusiveness that could prove valuable in the regular season. Wolfe had that reception TD, as well as 64 rushing-yds on 7 carries (including a 42 yd burst). RB PJ Pope also provided some steady running, as he had 8 carries and 4 receptions for a total of 56 yds. Another surprisingly solid performance came from young Bear QB Caleb Hanie, and undrafted free agent out of Colorado State. Hanie entered the game in the third quarter and went 9/16 for 101 yds and a TD. He showed great poise as he led the Bears on a scoring drive in the 3rd quarter that included a 25-yd completion to rookie TE Kellen Davis, and 13-yd TD pass to WR Brandon Rideau. Hanie then led the Bears on the final drive of the game, again showing poise down the stretch. He made two fine passes (which could have won the game for the Bears) that were unfortunately dropped by rookies Marcus Monk and Earl Bennett (rookie jitters, hopefully). In other notes, the young O-Line provided some nice pass protection, despite the news that first-rounder Chris Williams had undergone back surgery the night before to repair a herniated-disk. Also, youngsters S Kevin Payne, DT Marcus Harrison, and LB Nick Roach turned in solid performances on defense. Overall, this was a good night that gave the players some valuable game experience, and also gave us a look at some of our rookies who may be able to fill key roles during the regular season.
Tonight's stats:
Passing- Caleb Hanie 9/16...101 yds...1 TD
Receiving-Pope 4 rec/39 yds...Wolfe 1/25 yds/TD...Davis 1/25 yds
Rushing-Wolfe 7 car/64 yds...Forte 7 car/25 yds...Hanie 2/21 yds
