The Bears signed former Miami and Philadelphia fullback Stanley Pritchett Wednesday, giving them additional depth at fullback where starter Daimon Shelton still faces a possible four-game suspension over a disputed drug test.
Shelton, who is appealing a positive test believed to be traced to a dietary supplement, practiced Wednesday and is expected to play Sunday at Cincinnati and against San Francisco the following Sunday. He has until the end of the month before a ruling is handed down.
“Daimon wants to play this week and probably next week and help the Bears get as many wins as possible,” said agent Angelo Wright. “By then we hope to have this resolved in Daimon’s favor.”
Pritchett gives the Bears a 6-foot-1-inch, 240-pound veteran of five seasons. He rushed for a career-high 225 yards in 58 carries last season for the Eagles, starting two games, but was released before this season. Pritchett previously started 40 of 52 games for Miami, where he was primarily a lead blocker, the role Shelton has filled.
Marshall Dillon: The Cincinnati Bengals ran the ball with ease against the various Bears defensive units in the Bears’ overtime exhibition victory. And they did it without No. 1 tailback Corey Dillon, who also is the one who broke Walter Payton’s single-game rushing record.
“All we know is when we played Cincinnati last time they rushed the ball for 231 yards against us with a 4.8-yard rushing average and their big gun wasn’t there,” said defensive coordinator Greg Blache. “Preseason, post, it doesn’t matter. When we lined up, the Bengals ran the football up our nose, period.”
Linebacker Brian Urlacher noted that “last game [against Cleveland] he got 140 yards. But we feel if we stop the run and we blitz them, we’ll probably win.”
More notice: Victories continue to attract notice for top performances as cornerback R.W. McQuarters became the fourth Bear in two weeks to be nominated for either NFC offensive or defensive player of the week.
