The Bears announced three starting lineup changes Monday in the wake of their 32-7 dismantling at the hands of the Detroit Lions. But not all of the Bears’ moves will necessarily show up in the starting lineup or be especially obvious.
Rookie tight end John Allred will not take Keith Jennings’ starting spot. But the Bears are using more two-tight-end packages and Allred, who made his first two NFL catches against the Lions, will play more and considers himself ready to start.
“Any player wants to be confident of his ability, thinking they can be out on the field,” Allred said. “I’m feeling more and more confident, and should be right now. I made a couple of rookie mistakes, but each week it gets better.”
With Rashaan Salaam out for the year with a broken ankle, Tony Carter is again a starter in the backfield, something he was for 23 games over the last two seasons, catching 40-plus passes in each.
Carter is not the rushing threat that Salaam was. But he is a better blocker and receiver than Salaam, meaning the offense both gains and loses something.
“Tony can catch the ball, and we’ll come up with a couple of runs for him,” said offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh. “I think the threat of two running backs back there is obviously gone from when Raymont (Harris) and Rashaan were both back there, so we’ll have to work around that.”
The alternative to Carter was rookie Darnell Autry, who led the Bears in rushing during the exhibition games. But Autry’s strengths and weaknesses are precisely the reverse of Carter’s, not what the offense needs right now.
“I think run game-wise, he (Autry) is ready to go,” Cavanaugh said. “He’s very good with the ball in his hands. I just think he’s got a lot of catching up to do with (pass) protections, when he’s asked to block, route-running, catching the ball, things like that.”
James Burton replaces Walt Harris as the starting right cornerback, a move Burton acknowledges may be anything but permanent. The Bears traded up for Harris in the 1996 draft, and Burton’s role now may be part motivational.
“That (Harris) is their first-rounder last year, so I’m pretty sure they want to light a spark under him,” Burton said. “At the same time, I’ve got to make the best out of this. I’m not trying to give the position back to him.”
Burton likely will be involved in a future change no matter how he plays. If he plays poorly–Harris now comes in on nickel downs and Burton moves inside–Harris will be reinstated. If Burton plays well, he will earn starting money when he becomes an unrestricted free agent after this season and the Bears will be hard-pressed to keep him as a third cornerback.
“This is my fourth year, but I’m still going through my growing pains,” Burton said. “I haven’t really been on the field on a consistent basis, and I’m very anxious to see myself how good I can be. I know I’m good, but I don’t know how good.”
Coaches opted to leave the defensive line and linebacker group unchanged despite Barry Sanders’ rushing for 161 yards. The most likely changes would have been to restore two training camp starters to their spots–Anthony Marshall at free safety, Sean Harris at strong-side linebacker–but John Mangum and Ron Cox, respectively, have not lost their starting jobs.
“I think Anthony is ready to play anytime we put him in there,” said secondary coach Carlos Mainord. “But as far as making a change, no. I don’t know that he (Mangum) played as good a game as he’s played in previous games. But he’s not the only one there. And he still made a lot of plays.”
Sean Harris is not fully recovered from a sprained knee suffered in the Miami exhibition game Aug. 10. He is playing on special teams, as he did almost exclusively his first two years, and can only wait.
“I’m ready to play if I’m needed, so that’s my job right now, getting mentally prepared,” Harris said. “If somebody goes down, be ready to go.”
