TOO HOT
Adewale Ogunleye, defensive end
Ogunleye picked up where he left off in exhibition action, getting consistent pressure on quarterbacks Patrick Ramsey and Mark Brunell. The Bears failed to sustain a strong defensive tone set early by Ogunleye, who disrupted Washington’s second possession in dominating fashion. First, he batted down a Ramsey pass. Later on the possession, he sacked Ramsey, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Washington. The Redskins punted. Ogunleye also recorded five solo tackles. That he accomplished all of this against Redskins right tackle Jon Jansen made Ogunleye’s effort even more impressive. “He did some good things,” defensive coordinator Ron Rivera said. “We need consistent pressure from our front four, and we believe that a healthy ‘Wale’ will help us get that all year.”
TOO COLD
Jerry Azumah, cornerback
Washington converted six of 16 thirddown chances, and Azumah’s comeback from hip surgery allowed him to play only in nickel situations. Santana Moss had a 52-yard gain on a play where Azumah finally ran the receiver down. And Moss gained space on Azumah for another third-down conversion to keep alive Washington’s clock-killing final possession, which chewed up four minutes overall. Fellow defensive back Mike Green erased Nathan Vasher’s second interception by committing a questionable pass-interference penalty on Moss, good for 36 yards. Green sat for much of the second half in favor of Todd Johnson.
JUST RIGHT
Kyle Orton, quarterback
The statistics aren’t overwhelming. And those don’t even include a category for the three passes Orton had blocked at the line of scrimmage. But the rookie also showed enough poise to have his teammates talking confidently about his future afterward. The seventh straight different openingday quarterback for the Bears, Orton looked stronger in the second half. “I think for a rookie starting his first game in a hostile environment, he gave us a chance to pull it out,” coach Lovie Smith said. Orton played about how most would expect from a rookie quarterback–some bad decisions, some good ones. “I saw a lot of pressure,” Orton said. “But we were pretty prepared. We saw things pretty well. I didn’t have too many sacks and got the ball out of my hand pretty well.”
