[CBFF] Bears get first close-up of draft picks at rookie camp -- chicagotribune.com

[Tom Shannon]

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www.chicagotribune.com/sports/cs-080502-chicago-bears-mini-camp-quarterbacks,0,7148442.story


  chicagotribune.com


    Bears get first close-up of draft picks at rookie camp


      2nd rounder Forte looking first class

By Vaughn McClure

Tribune staff reporter

9:26 PM CDT, May 2, 2008

The pressure was on Earl Bennett to back his college teammate's words. 
But he'll have to wait another day to prove Chris Williams right.

Bennett, the Bears' third-round draft pick from Vanderbilt, was touted 
as a receiver who "catches everything," as fellow rookie Williams put it 
before Friday's first day of rookie mini-camp indoors at the Walter 
Payton Center. But Bennett, who admitted suffering from a case of the 
jitters, had a few drops.

"I'm human," he said. "I try to hustle and make the next catch, just put 
it in the back of my mind and continue to play hard."

Of course, dropped balls were expected on a day new players were 
introduced to each other for the first time. Routes weren't always 
sharp, and neither were the passes. But Bennett didn't make excuses.

"Any time the ball hits [off] my hands, I consider it a drop," he said. 
"So, yeah, I dropped a couple."

Don't expect Bennett to be in the doghouse. Offensive coordinator Ron 
Turner raved about his newest receiver's potential. But Turner said 
Bennett was a bit overwhelmed.

"He was thinking too much," Turner said. "We put in 27 passes, with two 
hours to do it with no walk-through. He had no idea where to line up. So 
he was thinking. He was uptight. I told him, 'Earl, relax. Smile.' I'm 
sure he'll come out Saturday much more relaxed. Right now they're kind 
of walking around the building with a deer-in-headlights look. [Matt] 
Forte wasn't, but the rest of them were."

Forte, the running back from Tulane, looked as good as advertised. He 
displayed a good burst, was sharp with his cuts and was nearly flawless 
catching the ball. He also saw some time as a slot receiver.

Cedric Benson on high alert?.

"Guys come in, they tell you they want you to start, they want you to do 
all this and create controversy and all that," Forte said, "but I'm 
really just here to create competition in the backfield, because 
competition is going to make every one of the running backs better. 
We're here for the team, to make the whole team better."

Forte, a second-round pick, was one of the new players coach Lovie Smith 
singled out. He also mentioned safety Craig Steltz and cornerback Zack 
Bowman.Williams wouldn't take the bait when asked about his first 
practice as a starter, opting to move on to the next question. He seems 
well-schooled on handling media attention and hype.

"For me, it doesn't really matter what the media says," he said. "I know 
I'm going to be a great player here and I'm going to work my butt off."


    Extra points

*Caleb Hanie* (6 feet 2 inches, 236 pounds) from Colorado State, one of 
two undrafted rookie quarterbacks signed by the Bears, showed the big 
arm ESPN draft analyst *Mel Kiper Jr.* raved about. Kiper said Hanie 
will be the Bears' No. 3 quarterback and could start in the future.

"I told people that I should have paid him, as much as he was putting my 
name out there," Hanie said of Kiper. "It was nice to have some pub."

Hanie and former Southern Illinois standout *Nick Hill* were the only 
two quarterbacks on the field Friday. While Hill struggled with some of 
his throws, Hanie was fairly accurate throughout. ...

Steltz had to get some counseling from defensive coordinator *Bob 
Babich* after taking down tight end *Kellen Davis* during a drill. 
Steltz said, "I was just out there competing.'" vxmcclure at tribune.com 
<mailto:vxmcclure at tribune.com>

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