While the Bears await word on the status of injured quarterback Jim Miller for Sunday, running back Anthony Thomas and safety Mike Brown were held out of practice Wednesday in hopes of having them at 100 percent for the game against the Cleveland Browns.
Thomas has been bothered by a sore toe and Brown sustained a slight knee sprain last Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers. Both are expected to start against the Browns.
“We’re resting [Thomas], seeing if we can get that toe back,” said coach Dick Jauron. “It’s better than it was a week ago, but still sore. He didn’t do anything out there [Wednesday] except watch, stay on top of our game plan.
“According to Tim (Bream, trainer), [holding Brown out was] more precautionary than anything, trying to get the soreness out of his knee. Mike says he feels pretty good and we anticipate he’ll be fine.”
Hut-2-3-4: It isn’t likely that many troops in combat say to each other, “Wow, this is just like football.” But defensive coordinator Greg Blache, whose use of military analogies and hyperbole is reaching legendary levels, likes that his players refer to themselves as “soldiers.”
“These guys are real good soldiers,” Blache said. “No officers, just a bunch of grunts. That’s all we are, just blue-collar guys fighting a battle each week. `Yes sir, no sir.’ We march to the same beat. Nobody needs any special attention.
“I’m pleased that they chose that [identity] because that’s what they are. That’s very, very fitting for them. I heard they were cheering that over in the end zone the other night, after the game.”
Jauron chose to put a less purely militaristic spin on the “soldier” identity of his defense.
“A soldier needs to do everything he can to learn about his business and hopefully that’s the reference,” Jauron said.
Food drive: The Bears and WBBM-Ch. 2 will conduct a food drive Sunday, benefiting the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Non-perishable canned foods will be collected at several entry points to Soldier Field before the game.
