[CBFF] ESPN: Bears need young defensive linemen to produce

[Steve Behrens]

 Bears need young defensive linemen to produce
<http://x.go.com/cgi/x.pl?goto=http://search.espn.go.com/keyword/search?searchString=len_pasquarelli&name=SEARCH_m_archive&srvc=sz>

By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com

If the Chicago Bears <http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/clubhouse?team=chi> are
to successfully compensate for the absence of defensive tackle Tank
Johnson<http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=6806>,
who will miss at least the first six games of the 2007 season after being
suspended by commissioner Roger Goodell on Monday, it's obvious that youth
must be served.

And it is just as apparent that the team's young defensive tackles must be *
serviceable* as well.

The loss of Johnson means that the Bears will open defense of their NFC
championship minus their top three tackles from Super Bowl XLI only four
months ago. The starter next to Johnson in that game was Ian
Scott<http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=6452>,
and he signed with the Philadelphia
Eagles<http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/clubhouse?team=phi>in April as an
unrestricted free agent. The club's No. 3 tackle in the title
game, Alfonso Boone<http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=5283>,
departed as an unrestricted free agent, too, joining the Kansas City
Chiefs<http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/clubhouse?team=kan>.


Chicago signed one unrestricted free agent tackle, Anthony
Adams<http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=6393>of
San Francisco, a four-year veteran and former second-round draft
choice.
The Bears did not use any of their nine picks in this year's draft for
reinforcements at the position. Nor did Chicago officials try very hard to
retain Scott or Boone.

Instead, they will bank on younger players to fill the breach.

The key for the Bears' interior line is the return to health of Pro Bowl
tackle Tommie Harris<http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=6773>,
one of the NFL's emerging, young stars at the position before he sustained a
season-ending hamstring injury that sidelined him for the final four
regular-season games in 2006 and the playoffs.

  Israel Idonije<http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=7037>
Defensive
Tackle
Chicago Bears

Profile <http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=7037>   2006
SEASON STATISTICS Tot Solo Ast FF Sack Int 19 13 6 0 0 0Still rehabilitating
from surgery to repair his left hamstring, Harris, who had five sacks in his
dozen appearances last season, is making steady progress and his recovery is
on pace. But even if Harris returns at full strength and to his prior form,
Chicago will feature a drastically revamped tackle corps for 2007. And part
of replacing Tank means relying on relative NFL toddlers such as Dusty
Dvoracek <http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=7822>, Antonio
Garay <http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=6531> and Israel
Idonije <http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=7037>.

Long on potential, but woefully shy of production and playing time, the trio
has combined for just two regular-season starts. Both of those belong to
Idonije, who usually deploys as an end, but who might be counted on this
season to slide inside and take some snaps at tackle.

The Bears like Idonije, 26, enough to have matched a restricted free agent
offer sheet to which the Buffalo
Bills<http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/clubhouse?team=buf>signed him last
year. Still, the four-year veteran, who played college
football in Canada, has appeared in just 39 games and registered 53 tackles
and two sacks.

Like Idonije, three-year veteran Antonio Garay, who originally entered the
NFL in 2003, has been around for a while and is possessed of undeniable yet
unrefined physical skills. He is, again like Idonije, a defender who can
align at end or tackle, but the Bears' coaches have recently worked him more
at the latter spot. The former Boston College standout has played in only
eight games and recorded seven tackles.

Probably the most intriguing member of the young trio is Dvoracek, a
third-round pick from Oklahoma in 2006, but a player who spent his entire
rookie season on injured reserve with a foot injury. Dvoracek's toughness
and skills-set means that he probably projects best to nose tackle, which
would make him a potential replacement during Johnson's forced hiatus. But,
like the other young tackles on the roster, he simply hasn't played much
football recently.

In 2004, Dvoracek was suspended from the Sooners' squad after appearing in
the first two games of the season. To his credit, he stayed in school,
worked hard to regain a spot on the roster, and played in 12 contests as a
redshirt senior in 2005. But the foot injury last year means Dvoracek has
played in only 14 games, and started 12, the past three seasons.

That could cast the 26-year-old Adams, whose résumé from San Francisco
included 34 starts, into a critical role. The former Penn State star played
well for the 49ers, particularly early in his stint in the Bay Area, and
produced 134 tackles and six sacks in four seasons. But when San Francisco
moved to a 3-4 front under head coach Mike Nolan, the transition was not a
very good fit for the undersized Adams (6-feet-0, 299 pounds), and his
playing time was reduced.

His quickness and penetrating style might be better suited to the Tampa-2
defense favored by Bears' coach Lovie Smith.