Sanz's Spot Looks Secure................

**soulman** · 08-30-2012, 02:48 PM

Roster spot looks safe for Sanzenbacher

With Bears releasing Davis, 2nd-year receiver-special teams player probably sticks

Bears wide receiver Dane Sanzenbacher gets away from Giants linebacker Jay Muasau during the second half at Metlife Stadium. (Joe Camporeale-US PRESSWIRE / August 29, 2012)

By Vaughn McClure, Chicago Tribune reporter 9:01 p.m. CDT, August 29, 2012

CLEVELAND — If the competition for the final receiver spot was supposed to come down to Thursday's exhibition game against the Browns, then Dane Sanzenbacher should have no problem making the 53-man roster.

Veteran Rashied Davis, who was believed to be in a duel with Sanzenbacher, told the Tribune the Bears released him Wednesday morning. Davis, in his second stint with the team, suffered an undisclosed injury and did not practice Tuesday.

The Bears kept six receivers on the 53-man roster at the start of last season. With Brandon Marshall, Devin Hester, Earl Bennett, Alshon Jeffery and Eric Weems locks to make the roster, the sixth receiver spot appeared to come down to Davis and Sanzenbacher. Special teams coordinator Dave Toub even acknowledged Sanzenbacher was "in a battle'' for a roster spot.

Davis, who was signed during training camp, had experience on his side in terms of special teams play, but Sanzenbacher showed great progress in that area this preseason.

"He has done a good job,'' Toub said. "He caught some tough punts in the last game. He got hit one time on the catch and still stayed with it. … He's playing hard. He's doing everything he can to make this team.

Not to mention quarterback Jay Cutler previously has lobbied for Sanzenbacher to stick.

"Jay wants what he wants and he's entitled to his own feelings and opinions, and I respect that about Jay,'' Davis said Tuesday. "If he wants Dane, that's probably who he's going to get.''

The 33-year-old Davis, who played for the Lions last season, felt he was a little behind after joining the team late. He also was accustomed to playing the slot on offense and only saw time outside in the previous exhibition games.

The Bears have to shave their roster to 53 by 8 p.m. Friday, and their roster will be at 74 once the Davis move is announced.

Roster moves, Part II: The Bears waived/injured linebacker Dom DeCicco, who had been sidelined with what was called a groin injury. DeCicco went to Philadelphia on Tuesday for a second opinion and found out he had a sports hernia injury. He is scheduled to have surgery next week and will be sidelined three weeks.

"I would love to come back to Chicago, but I don't know if I actually see that happening,'' DeCicco said.

The Bears will do an injury settlement with DeCicco. He wouldn't be able to re-sign with them until six weeks after the length of the settlement. For example, if he received a three-week settlement, he wouldn't be able to re-sign until Week 9.

The Bears now have nine linebackers and are expected to keep six on the 53-man roster.

The Bears also re-signed receiver Terriun Crump, who was waived on Sunday.

Is the Price right? The Bears gave up a seventh-round pick to acquire defensive tackle Brian Price from the Bucs. Although Price struggled at the beginning of training camp while coming off a leg injury, he showed signs of life in exhibition play.

Price definitely has a chance to make the 53-man roster, based on how many defensive tackles the Bears decide to keep. But he's not a lock, and he knows it.

"No, you can never do enough,'' Price said. "There's always something to be done. They made it clear here that nothing is handed to you and no one is promised a job. There's always new talent out there, and that's what keeps guys going.''

Price came to the team with a compelling story after losing both his brothers to gang violence while growing up in south central Los Angeles. One of Price's sister died in hit-and-run car accident back in March, and Price was in the process of adopting his late-sister's two young sons.

"The saying is 'bend but don't break,' and I've definitely been through a lot of things that people would have been broke already,'' Price said. "But being here has given me a whole new outlook on life. I'm just grateful to be here.''

In terms of interior linemen, the Bears have projected starters Henry Melton and Stephen Paea along with Matt Toeaina. Newcomer Nate Collins has impressed although Collins is suspended for the first game of the season for violating the league's drug policy. And starting defensive end Israel Idonije has lined up inside in certain situations.

Copyright © 2012, Chicago Tribune

**soulman** · 08-30-2012, 03:04 PM

I think most of us have a tendency to root for the underdog at times and here's a story about three of them.

Sanz makes it not just because he had Cutler on his side but because he was told he needed to show that he could contribute on STeams and he has. Handling some tough catches on punts probably put to rest any lingering concerns the coaches may have had about his "hands" too.

I feel bad for Dom DeCicco but it looks like he's far from through as an NFL player once he recovers. We picked this kid up as an UDFA SS out of Pitt and all he's done is everything that's been asked of him as far as making progress as an NFL player. He was second in tackles on STeams last year ranking only behind a Pro Bowler and he led the defense in the OTAs in June while Urlacher was out and despite being slowed by his injuries did a fair job at it.

I think if it was just the groin pull they may have kept him around or even put him on the IR buy that in combination with his surgery for the sports hernia meant he wouldn't be available to even practice for a month or more and he'd already missed too many to keep up defensively. Let's hope he'll be back. He may never be a great MLB but I see a lot of Hunter Hillenmeyer in this kid and Hilly was a damn fine SLB and backup MLB for us for many years.

I love the idea of Price sticking around and resurrecting his career with the Bears. This is probably the perfect place for him to be right now. Paea is still hurting and won't be 100% for a while so that means limited snaps and Collins has to sit out game one. So there's room for him on the roster and that buys him time to get into better shape and get his play back up to par.

He was a hell of a prospect coming out of college, think Tommie Harris type of skills, and I think if we're patient enough he could be the perfect partner for Paea at NT just as Collins is shaping up as the perfect backup for Melton. I love "Toe", another underdog of sorts, but he's never gonna be a great pass rusher and that's what we need from these guys playing DT.

We usually get a good edge rush from our DEs but smart QBs find a way to step up to avoid it. Once we can penetrate and get push up the middle consistently that escape route disappears and there is no way even the best of the mobile QBs can out run Pep and McClellin all game long.

**JustAnotherBearsFan99** · 08-30-2012, 03:11 PM

We usually get a good edge rush from our DEs but smart QBs find a way to step up to avoid it. Once we can penetrate and get push up the middle consistently that escape route disappears and there is no way even the best of the mobile QBs can out run Pep and McClellin all game long.

Having a DT who could routinely crush the pocket & just get enough penetration to take that refuge away from the QB - would be huge. Our dline would be dominate.

**MPBears68** · 08-30-2012, 03:42 PM

I like all 3 of these depth players for us to keep (Sanz, Price, & Collins). Feel bad for DD too as like Soul said he was shaping up to be a HH ver. 2.0 for us especially after bulking up 10-15 lbs like he did. I hope he recovers well from his injury/surgery and somehow we get a shot at re-signing him mid-season. I fear though that he's got just too much to offer and some other team will grab him before we can. It really sucks that there is no "6 week DL" system akin to what baseball has. We found him and started developing him and he was on our roster last year...yet we probably lose him for good due to an ill-timed injury. Sucks

**Zelezo Vlk** · 08-30-2012, 03:43 PM

Hopefully Paea gets healthy soon and Melton keeps his motor up.

**soulman** · 08-30-2012, 06:12 PM

Originally Posted by MPBears68

I like all 3 of these depth players for us to keep (Sanz, Price, & Collins). Feel bad for DD too as like Soul said he was shaping up to be a HH ver. 2.0 for us especially after bulking up 10-15 lbs like he did. I hope he recovers well from his injury/surgery and somehow we get a shot at re-signing him mid-season. I fear though that he's got just too much to offer and some other team will grab him before we can. It really sucks that there is no "6 week DL" system akin to what baseball has. We found him and started developing him and he was on our roster last year...yet we probably lose him for good due to an ill-timed injury. Sucks

I think it all comes down to $$$ MP. Since the MLB contracts are guaranteed telling an owner he has to keep paying a guy who is healthy enough to return isn't something they'd like. Although once the NFL guys make the final cut there deals are now guaranteed for the season as well at least against injury.

Keeping DeCicco on the roster and then moving him to IR meant paying him for the year knowing that he'd never play or practice. I guess that would be a waste of $$$ no matter how little. He says he'd like to return to the Bears and I think with the progress he's made they might like him back if there's some way of doing it. His career in Chicago may not be over just yet.

**Riczaj01** · 08-30-2012, 10:09 PM

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports...0,251392.story

Sanzenbacher makes roster bid with diving, 30-yard TD reception

By Vaughn McClure, Chicago Tribune reporter 8:34 p.m. CDT, August 30, 2012

CLEVELAND — There shouldn't be any doubt about Dane Sanzenbacher's roster status now.
The second-year player from Ohio State was believed to be on the bubble when the Bears started practice this week. His situation got a boost after veteran Rashied Davis, who suffered an undisclosed injury, told the Tribune he had been released. Sanzenbacher and Davis had seemed to be in a battle for a spot on the 53-man roster.
If the Bears were weighing whether or not to keep six receivers, Sanzenbacher likely made up their minds Thursday night. His diving, 30-yard touchdown reception from Josh McCown in the first quarter was a thing of beauty. Sanzenbacher kept possession of the ball with Browns defensive back Trevin Wade smothering him.
Sanzenbacher, who also returned punts, got plenty of action Thursday with the starters and backups mostly resting. Brandon Marshall, Devin Hester, Alshon Jeffery, Earl Bennett and Eric Weems are locks for the roster. The Bears had six receivers on the 53-man for Week 1 of last season.
Standing out: Bears coach Lovie Smith was looking for a few guys to stand out in the final exhibition. Two defensive players did just that in the first half against the Browns.
Linebacker Xavier Adibi, a late addition to the team during training camp, earned notice when he sacked quarterback Colt McCoy for a 9-yard loss. Adibi also dropped Browns running back Montario Hardesty for a 2-yard loss.
Rookie safety Jeremy Jones opened some eyes when he leaped high to pick off a McCoy pass. Jones returned it 13 yards, helping set up McCown's touchdown pass to Sanzenbacher.
Neither Adibi nor Jones were considered candidates for the 53-man roster. Jones looks like an ideal candidate for the practice squad, considering the bad luck the Bears have had with injuries at safety.
Road to recovery: Stephen Paea was in full pads during pre-game warm-ups as defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli put him through drills. The second-year nose tackle also did light running down the sideline.
Paea, who hasn't practiced since spraining his left ankle Aug. 11, said he wanted to return to practice Monday but the trainers advised him to take it easy. Paea plans to play in the Sept. 9 season opener against the Colts but admitted the ankle injury might linger. Matt Toeaina could start at nose in the opener if Paea is not fully recovered.
Smith already said he expects Brian Urlacher to return to practice next week, three weeks after the middle linebacker had arthroscopic surgery on his ailing left knee. Urlacher made the trip to Cleveland but did not dress. He wore a compression sock to cover the knee.
And punter Adam Podlesh, who said he is ahead of schedule in his recovery from a left hip flexor injury, was not in uniform Thursday. Podlesh wants to play in the season opener. If not, he is expected to be back at least by Week 3.
Extra points: Robbie Gould missed a 35-yard field goal in the first quarter. Gould made all seven of his previous field goal attempts in exhibition play, including 3 of 3 between 40-49 yards and 1-for-1 from 50-plus. … Smith entered Thursday night's game with an 18-18 exhibition record. … Rookie defensive end Shea McClellin was treated like a veteran as he rested on the sideline with the starters.

Copyright © 2012, Chicago Tribune

**soulman** · 08-30-2012, 10:50 PM

Adibi may have been the reason they weren't keeping an injured DeCicco. There's a guy with some NFL experience and tonight it showed. I just don't know if they can find room for him though.

**Riczaj01** · 08-30-2012, 10:59 PM

Again, a good spot to be in when you have to cut real talent. I hope we can keep him too though, we need the depth at LB. Real happy for Sanz.

Talk again down here in Tx about how Dallas needs a WR, I'm stunned we haven't called them about one of these guys: Bennett/Hester/Weems/Sanz; lot of varying picks you could take from Dallas for those guys, and Jerry has said this year decides if Dallas is a contender or in rebuild mode. We have our 2 starters, and any of these guys would make a solid 3/4 if one were gone.

**soulman** · 08-31-2012, 12:38 AM

Originally Posted by Riczaj01

Again, a good spot to be in when you have to cut real talent. I hope we can keep him too though, we need the depth at LB. Real happy for Sanz.

Talk again down here in Tx about how Dallas needs a WR, I'm stunned we haven't called them about one of these guys: Bennett/Hester/Weems/Sanz; lot of varying picks you could take from Dallas for those guys, and Jerry has said this year decides if Dallas is a contender or in rebuild mode. We have our 2 starters, and any of these guys would make a solid 3/4 if one were gone.

Are you serious? You're thinking or trading a HOF KOR/PR/WR, or a guy we just extended with a $6mil SB who is one of the top two or three 3rd down receivers in football, or the STeams star we just signed to replace the one we lost, or Sanz? You're crazy.

For the first time since Halas roamed the sidelines we have incredible talent and depth at two WR spots and the Slot and you want to trade one of them. For what. What kind of a pick could we get for Weems or Sanz? Could you even get a 3rd for either Hester or Bennett. These guys are all far more valuable to the Bears than anything we could reasonably expect in trade.

Jerry Jones can go fuck himself. It's about time someone else was SOL on the WR front besides the Bears.

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