One of the disappointments on offense Friday was the continued absence of tight end John Allred, whose hamstring strain caused the 1997 second-round pick to miss the Baltimore game and some practice this week.
Injuries limited his effectiveness in his first season and now are undercutting his push to establish himself as the starter ahead of promising rookie Alonzo Mayes, who started against Arizona.
“I don’t think it’s really shown yet, but to my eyes (Allred) has made a lot of improvement,” offensive coordinator Matt Cavanaugh said. “I always knew he was going to be a battler and not quit until the whistle, but he’s worked on his technique very hard and is catching the ball a lot better than he did last year.”
Power on: Running back Bam Morris, who saw his first action as a Bear Friday, is working to get his conditioning up and his weight down. But no amount of weight loss is going to change the essential Bam.
“I like to pound it up in there,” Morris said. “That’s my style. I’m not a finesse guy, I’m not going to go out and run a 4.35 (40-yard dash). If you want that, better get a trackster. That’s not me.”
Return engagement: The Bears will face the Cardinals and the heat of Sun Devil Stadium again on Oct. 11. They are 2-0 in the regular season in Tempe.
Bad break: The Bears’ 1997 season took a disastrous turn in their preseason game against Arizona, which was postponed one night because of lightning and torrential rains at Soldier Field. Curtis Conway fell and broke his collarbone, causing him to miss the first six games of the regular season. His loss contributed to the Bears’ 0-7 start.
