Thread: Bears' Paea in walking boot after injury

Originally Posted by JustAnotherBearsFan99

It could be. But didn't we read somewhere that one reason Idonije improved as a DE, was that they adjusted his weight quite a bit. If that's the case, he may not be at ideal weight for DT duty. I don't know this for a fact at all (I may be thinking of another player we moved to another position).

Izzy can move inside to pass rush but he can't play NT. Hopefully this isn't too serious and it's only a sprain or something. At least we have Collins and Price along with "Toe" to add some depth but a healthy Paea is a beast and we need him playing.

Originally Posted by Blue Horse-shoe

All the more reason for Wootton to come through.

And I know it's really early in the guys career , but what I've seen outta Paea so far says nothing much more than another Chris Zorich to me ... which = decent to sometimes good but never anything great.

The guy gets handled with regularity. Hope he proves me wrong.

( and I'm starting to take the " this guys having a great camp " stuff with a grain of salt now, cuz I ain't been seeing it translate on the field much ... with whoever they say it about )

I can get where you see the similarity with the high motor aspect and all but Paea is taller, heavier, stronger and much much quicker than Chris Zorich. CZ was the all time over achiever type and Ditka loved him for it which one of the main reasons he stuck around so long. Paea is already shown things that CZ never did.

Originally Posted by soulman

I can get where you see the similarity with the high motor aspect and all but Paea is taller, heavier, stronger and much much quicker than Chris Zorich. CZ was the all time over achiever type and Ditka loved him for it which one of the main reasons he stuck around so long. Paea is already shown things that CZ never did.

When ? What am I missing ? Where's this mythical beast ?

Cuz I think we get caught up with making proclamations about our players sometimes that sound like wishful thinking more than the tangible results show ... ( or maybe it's the Bears PR Handjob Machine hoodwinking us ? ).

I just found this:

LINK to the article
Bears' Paea out a week or two with sprained left ankle

Increases focus on battle for backup spot at defensive tackle

Defensive tackle Stephen Paea (92) rushes by offensive tackle Chris Williams (74) during training camp. (Brian Cassella/Tribune Photo / August 12, 2012)

By Brad Biggs, Chicago Tribune reporter 7:40 p.m. CDT, August 12, 2012

BOURBONNAIS — Stephen Paea is expected to miss a week or two as he recovers from a sprained left ankle, and that could increase the focus on a crowded battle for a backup position at defensive tackle.

Paea, a second-round draft pick last season, had passed Matt Toeaina on the depth chart for the starting nose tackle job. Now, he'll have to bide his time as he recovers from an injury suffered in practice Saturday. He watched from the sideline while wearing a walking boot on Sunday.

After arthroscopic knee surgery in January, Paea was much more athletic and had been one of the bright spots in training camp.

"It sucks to go back and start over again, but we'll see," he said about having to recapture the starting job. "It's competition every day. As far as I see it, I come back and I have to compete for it again."

The bottom of the depth chart is crowded at tackle. Nate Collins, John McCargo, Jordan Miller and DeMario Pressley, who remains sidelined with a foot/ankle injury, are in the mix for what appears to be one roster spot. Brian Price, acquired from the Buccaneers in a trade, also is in the mix. He left practice with a stinger Sunday, but coach Lovie Smith said it wasn't serious.

Collins had a sack in the exhibition opener against the Broncos and showed up while getting a heavy workload with 37 snaps. The Bears had interest in Collins when he came out of Virginia in 2010, bringing him in for a predraft visit. He wound up bouncing around from the Giants to the Jaguars.

"When you start trying to figure who is here and who already has a spot, you really never know what they are thinking in the top office," he said. "What I can control is having good tape."

Collins must serve a one-game suspension to start the season as a result of being caught with marijuana this offseason.

"I'm just trying to do everything I can so in the long run the suspension won't matter," he said. "Hopefully, by my play in the rest of camp and preseason, that's not a big issue for the Bears."

McCargo, a first-round pick of the Bills in 2006, knew it would be a numbers game.

"I looked at it like they were looking for one guy," he said. "We are all out there competing for that same job. I knew it was going to be multiple guys fighting for one position. I've got three weeks left to make some plays and get these coaches on my side. They look at practice real hard and what we're doing and how we're developing."

McCargo said he's working to show up more in pass-rushing situations. It's what the Bears are constantly seeking from linemen.

"If you can't pass rush, coach (Rod) Marinelli tells us all the time, you're not going to be on the team," McCargo said. "He wants to see us fighting for that spot."

Originally Posted by Blue Horse-shoe

When ? What am I missing ? Where's this mythical beast ?

Cuz I think we get caught up with making proclamations about our players sometimes that sound like wishful thinking more than the tangible results show ... ( or maybe it's the Bears PR Handjob Machine hoodwinking us ? ).

Did you sleep through that Minny game last year when Paea shot that A gap and sacked the Vikes QB for a safety? Chris Zorich never had the burst to make a play like that. That was John Randle kind of quick and with a bum knee to boot. Chris Zorich was also 5'11" and went 280lbs on a fat day and never benched 225lbs 47 times at his combine or pro day.

Blue I'm not biting on what the Bears PR machine is telling us I'm going with what I saw and even though it hasn't been much so far he's a lot more player than CZ was especially his potential as a pass rusher which Zorich never really was.

I hope Paea takes his time coming back. Even if it meant sitting for the opener. I really want to see what he can do fully healed. I think Paea does much better than CZ and I was a huge CZ fan. I'm also starting to get on the Collins bandwagon a bit.

Hoping Wootton comes on here in the preseason pretty quick.