Bears defensive end Alex Brown hadn’t felt so alone in the open field since he was a quarterback seven years ago at Hamilton County High School in Florida. It showed.
Brown displayed exceptional athleticism in the second quarter Friday night by batting a Jeff Blake pass into the air and intercepting it at the Arizona 40. That’s when the problems started. Brown took off and returned the ball 11 yards before it slipped out of his hands for reasons that still escape him.
“I think with the sweat it just came out,” Brown said. “I just fumbled it. I don’t think I was even hit.”
The Cardinals’ Anquan Boldin recovered, and instead of the Bears taking over inside the 30, the defense stayed on the field.
“I’ve got to tuck the ball,” Brown said. “That’s totally bad. I’ve got to finish the deal. If I just go down on the ground, we’re on the 25-yard line and maybe we’ll get seven. I’ve got to be smarter. Sometimes you can’t run with the ball like [safety] Mike Brown did [in scoring four career TDs on defense].”
Three-man rotation
The tinkering will continue at defensive tackle, where Alfonso Boone and Keith Traylor started against the Cardinals, but Traylor also paired with Bryan Robinson. Boone made three tackles, Traylor one and Robinson none on a night that reminded the defensive line how far it has to go.
“We need to find out what’s going to work,” Robinson said. “I thought it was pretty good when me and Keith were in there together. I’m not real worried about anything. We don’t game-plan in preseason. Game-planning will take care of a lot of stuff you saw tonight. Thank God for preseason.”
A close race
In the battle for the starting strong-side linebacker spot between starter Bryan Knight and rookie Lance Briggs, neither player distinguished himself Friday. Each had two tackles. Briggs got beaten in coverage on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Blake to Freddie Jones, while Knight saw his first game action in two weeks due to a strained knee. He believes he will only improve with experience.
“My knee felt fine, and the speed of the game I think I adjusted to,” Knight said. “I wanted to get a few more snaps, but I’m only playing what they tell me to play.”
Lots to learn
Rex Grossman’s shortest stint of the preseason resulted in his longest night.
Grossman took over with 14:09 left in the game and led the Bears on three unsuccessful drives, two of which ended with interceptions. He completed 5-of-11 for 51 yards but finished with a quarterback rating of 19.7.
“Rex has to learn to value the ball a little bit more,” offensive coordinator John Shoop said. “But he did make some good throws as well.”
