Not much fazes Bears cornerback Charles Tillman, but catching a glimpse of his freshly printed NFL rookie card the other day did.
“Wow,” Tillman said. “It’d be sweet if it was worth one of those Michael Jordan cards one day.”
Now Tillman can relate to how players and coaches feel the first time they see him on film. Most are taken aback by his ability to stay fundamentally sound yet fearless.
At the rate Tillman has improved, the rookie looks destined to be an All-Pro. “I thought [linebacker Lance] Briggs should be rookie of the year,” linebacker Brian Urlacher said, “but now I think it’s Tillman.”
Chances are Cardinals wide receiver Anquan Boldin has a better chance than either Bear at winning the award, and that sets up an intriguing showdown Sunday.
At 6 foot 1 and 218 pounds, Boldin has the size and strength that many receivers lack and possesses a savvy that belies his inexperience. He caught 10 passes for an NFL-record 217 yards against Detroit in his debut.
Bears defensive backs coach Vance Bedford “called [Boldin] a throwback receiver because he does everything they did out of the old school,” Tillman said. “He runs good routes, he blocks, he runs the ball after the catch and gains a lot of yards.”
Boldin’s 66 catches for 999 yards, including six touchdowns, rank third in the NFL, and he’s on pace to break rookie records for receptions (90 by Terry Glenn) and yardage (1,313 by Randy Moss).
“The way that he has come into this league and the way that he has handled his position … I’ve only seen one other rookie do that in my 18 years in this league, and that’s when we drafted [safety] Mark Carrier there in Chicago [in 1990],” said Cardinals coach Dave McGinnis, a Bears assistant from 1986-95.
McGinnis called Boldin “the best second-round draft pick ever.”
Tillman might have something to say about that before his career is over. “I think he’s a pretty good corner, a pretty aggressive corner, and it’ll be a good matchup,” Boldin said.
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Edited by Phillip Thompson (plthompson@tribune.com) and Chris Courtney (cdcourtney@tribune.com)
