The Bears’ defense had a mostly horrible night Friday against the Saints, but Anthony Marshall definitely made his case for the starting free safety job with three big hits and an interception.
Marshall, who has been playing behind John Mangum since straining a hamstring early in training camp, made his first statement in the second quarter when he intercepted a Heath Shuler pass.
A few minutes later, he leveled Derek Brown on a short run up the middle. The hit sent Brown out of the game with a torn quadriceps tendon. In the third quarter, Marshall nailed running back Wes Bender, forcing a fumble that backup tackle Mark Spindler recovered for the Bears.
Marshall also gave a bad play a good ending. Saints receiver Daryl Hobbs already had made several second-string Bears defensive backs look pathetic, breaking several tackles on a pass from Danny Wuerffel and turning upfield for a big gain. Marshall finally stopped him with a straight-up, bone-crunching, textbook tackle.
Simpson sack: Defensive tackle Carl Simpson came up big on two first-half pass rushes. On the first play from scrimmage, he sacked Shuler, forcing a fumble. The ball was recovered by the Saints, but the play resulted in a loss of 18 yards back to the New Orleans 1-yard line. Simpson had another sack toward the end of the second quarter, taking down Wuerffel for a 10-yard loss.
Mirer-ed down: Rick Mirer certainly looked like a backup quarterback Friday, throwing two interceptions and completing two of six passes for 15 yards. The second interception was a long pass down the middle intended for Jack Jackson, but it was picked off by safety Sammy Knight before Jackson even turned around.
Third-down problems: The Bears didn’t convert on third down until the sixth minute of the fourth quarter. They were 0 for their first 5. The Saints were 8 for 14 (57 percent) through three quarters.
Injuries: Second-string Bears safety Van Hiles injured his right hip in the third quarter and didn’t return. Cornerback James Burton injured his right shoulder on Spindler’s fumble recovery and also didn’t play again.
Back in action: Jeff Jaeger was back handling the placekicking duties after missing two games with a strained groin. Fullback Tony Carter, who broke his right thumb early in camp, played his first game of the preseason.
Bad week: Curtis Conway definitely has had better weeks than this one. His broken collarbone forced him to sleep upright in a chair all week because doctors feared if he laid down or reclined, he might displace the collarbone.
“I’d take a pain-killer, fall asleep for an hour, get up, take another pain-killer and fall asleep for an hour,” he said. “That has been the toughest part about this.”
Ditka fan: Defensive end Alonzo Spellman, Mike Ditka’s last first-round draft choice with the Bears, views Ditka almost as reverentially as some Chicago fans.
“I can’t really explain how much respect I have for him and how good it is to see him back in the game,” Spellman said. “You always knew where you stood with him. He either liked you or he didn’t. You had to respect that. I expect him to do well this year.”
Spellman said he has been answering questions about Ditka for years. “When most of the guys on the D-line got here, we talked about it, how the old regime handled things. Just being here, knowing what kind of mystique (Ditka) brought to the field, you have to be happy for him now.”
Turnbull cut: The Saints cut veteran defensive end Renaldo Turnbull a few hours before game time because he refused to take a pay cut. At least he got a free trip out of the deal: He already had traveled to Chicago with the team.
