Thread: Jennings Looks Great in Opener........................

No WR duties coming for sure-handed Jennings

	Tim Jennings picked off 2 passes during the Bears’ win over the Colts on Sunday. Associated Press
	Tim Jennings picked off 2 passes during the Bears’ win over the Colts on Sunday. Associated Press

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By Bob LeGere



After his two leaping interceptions Sunday, when he showed great hands and ability to adjust to the ball in the air, cornerback Tim Jennings was asked if the offense might be able to use him at wide receiver.


“I hope so,” he said, laughing. “That would be a good sign that they’re confident in my hands, but we’ll see. We’ve got enough weapons out there on offense.”


Coach Lovie Smith is content to keep Jennings’ new-found sure-handedness on defense.


“You know how much of an emphasis we put on taking the ball away,” Smith said. “Tim’s been playing with a lot of confidence. It’s not like we have to give him a George Halas, get-fired-up speech each day. He’s making those plays. But you want to see a guy finish, and it was good for him to do that.”


Turn the page:


Wide receiver Brandon Marshall clearly is not living in the past or attempting to rest on his laurels from Denver, when he caught 100-plus passes in back-to-back seasons with Jay Cutler as his quarterback. So he didn’t look at Sunday’s 9-catch, 119-yard performance as an extension of his glory days with the Broncos.


“I think where we’re at now, we’re trying to leave our production and our chemistry in Denver, as we speak and build a new thing here in Chicago,” Marshall said. “It’s going to take a lot of hard work, and it was a great start.”


Injury update:


The Bears came out of the season opener fairly healthy, but with just three days between games several players are questionable.


The most serious appears to be cornerback Charles Tillman, whose lower leg injury sidelined him before halftime. If Monday would have been a normal practice day, the Pro Bowl corner could not have participated. But coach Lovie Smith hopes to have him back by Thursday, and his presence could be crucial, considering how often the Packers use three- and four-wide receiver sets.
Linebacker Brian Urlacher (knee) will continue to be brought along slowly after playing just over a half Sunday. Left tackle J’Marcus Webb suffered a thumb injury that is considered minor, and tight end Kyle Adams has a bruised shoulder.


Coming and going:


Offensive tackle Jonathan Scott was added to the 53-man roster and defensive tackle Nate Collins was reinstated from the suspended list, while undrafted rookie punter Ryan Quigley was waived.


The 6-6, 318-pound Scott has started 28 games and played in 58 for the Lions (2006-07), Bills (’09) and Steelers (2010-11). He was as a fifth-round pick (141st overall) of the Lions in ’06.


Tight end Dedrick Epps was added to the practice squad.