The Bears like to talk about attacking opponents in waves with their defensive line, using a rotation that keeps them fresh and eventually wears down an offensive line.
Their wave at defensive end was at low tide for much of last season when they failed to get Julius Peppers and Israel Idonije off the field as much as they would have liked. Peppers' playing time was over 90 percent for a portion of the year before finishing at 87.9. Idonije was on the field for 80.2 percent of the snaps.
But the lack of a swing end prevented much of a rotation, a problem the club hopes to solve this season with Corey Wootton. Now eight days removed from arthroscopic surgery to repair some cartilage damage in his right knee, Wootton is on track to return sometime next month. It was considered a 4-5 week injury.
Wootton looked strong to begin training camp but the team isn't quite sure what he'll look like when he returns.
"Right now, there is a concern,"
general manager Jerry Angelo said. "We're going to get Corey back, that's the good news, and hopefully we're going to get him back like he was looking prior to the injury, or close to it anyway. I thought for the first time we really saw what he looked like pre-injury in college and he said it too, that's the best he felt."
"It's a concern so hopefully we will see some guys step up. We'll keep looking as well. We're just looking for potential guys who can come in here and help."
Vernon Gholston, Mario Addison and Nick Reed have all gotten turns. None has been too exciting. Angelo mentioned switching Henry Melton, who has started two preseason games at under tackle, to end is a possibility even though he's bulked up to 292 pounds to play an every-down role on the interior. Would the Bears want to relocate a starter at one position to a reserve role at another?
"If it is what it is, we've got to have a quality third end,"
Angelo said. "We're not going to keep a guy if we don't feel like he can contribute. Maybe we could (move Melton). We'll see."
Whatever solution the Bears find — and they're hoping it is Wootton — getting 40 percent playing time from the swing end would be helpful.
Lots of new faces: When you consider some of the special teams errors that have happened and the new faces in the lineup, like undrafted rookie free agent Dom DeCicco, realize there are lots of roles to fill. Josh Bullocks, Rashied Davis, Danieal Manning, Pisa Tinoisamoa, Rod Wilson and Garrett Wolfe combined for 1,432 snaps on special teams last season. Just imagine where the Bears would be if they hadn't re-signed Corey Graham.
Getting trim: First cuts to an 80-man roster are due Tuesday. The Bears now have 86 players on their roster. Final cuts to 53 are due Sept. 3.
