I’m not usually a big links posting guy but there’s some interesting stuff out there worth paying attention to.

MOON MULLIN is predicting the Bears repeat as NFC North champs with a record of 10-6.  I see them with a similar record but how can anyone predict whether that’ll be enough to win division/make playoffs.

LANCE LOUIS left practice Wednesday due to vomiting all over the field and Chris Spencer lined up at center this afternoon due to it.  Last night he was lined up at guard in pass protection drills.  I don’t believe for a second that Spencer was brought here to provide OL depth.  He was brought here to play center.  And it’s going to happen before too long.

ANY PLAYER CONNECTION TO “THE U” is going to be asked to comment on the allegations that have folks recalling the SMU death penalty.  Devin Hester is no exception.  Whatever Hester did while down in Coral Gables, I don’t care.  I’m not stupid enough to believe any Division I university’s athletics program is on the level and you shouldn’t be either.

ROY WILLIAMS WANTS TO BE THE MAN.  And I would love him to be the man, even if it remains he starts to pull a little prima donna receiver shit off the top shelf.  Seeing a rapport between Roy and Cutty will be perhaps the only offensive plays of interest this preseason outside the work of the fellas up front.

SEAN JENSEN’S TWITTER ACCOUNT featured these back-to-back posts:

Caplan reports #Bears put in a claim RT @caplannfl: LB Thadedeus Gibson, who was waived by the 49ers, was claimed by the Redskins.

As I’ve said before, I still believe linebacker is one of the positions the #Bears are more inclined to make an addition at.

So…can someone out there explain to me why Lofa Tatupu is not already a Chicago Bear?  Is he not in football shape?  Tatupu is capable, when healthy, of being an elite linebacker.

I’ll be part of the Mouth of the Midwest show at ESPN radio Des Moines for much of the 2011 season and hopefully beyond.  Click here to listen live: http://www.1700thechamp.com/.

When I started to think about the Chicago Bears training camp, I had positions at the forefront of my mind.  Second corner.  Third safety.  Third linebacker.  Back end of defensive line.  Offensive tackle.  Never, not once, did I think we’d see a newspaper article (never mind about 7) about Caleb Hanie’s status as the backup quarterback.  Especially considering the only man challenging him for his position is Idaho’s Nathan Enderle.

But that is exactly what has happened.  Watching the sideline interactions Saturday night between Mike Martz and Caleb Hanie made one thing abundantly clear: Martz is not thrilled with his backup quarterback.  As Hanie puts it:

‘‘Mike’s done that before with me; last season in training camp, too,’’ Hanie said. ‘‘Mike’s tough on his backup quarterbacks. It’s been his m.o. his whole career. I’m glad he is because it pushes me and makes me better.’’

Every kid on the playground knows one universal truth.  Pushing someone is fine.  Cracking him in the jaw means ‘game on’.  And demoting Hanie off his disappointing performance in the first meaningless game of 2011 was inching its way close to a closed fist to the chin.

Folks around here like to say the Bears stay luckily unscathed injury-wise last season.  Poppycock!  That would be true if you didn’t count losing their best offensive weapon (#6) at intervals due to a toll booth of an offensive line.  And losing him for the second half of the NFC Championship Game might have been the biggest injury blow to a franchise all season.  We would all prefer the only action Hanie see all season be mop duty during a couple of blowout victories over the Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers (how they will be referred to on this site until it is no longer true).  But while I expect rampant improvement from the offensive line, it would be a bit unfair to expect one of the league’s worst units to become one of the league’s best in one non-existent offseason.

The Bears need their backup quarterback ready and they need Hanie confident.  If Nathan Enderle ever takes a snap in a regular season game for the Chicago Bears, the car has ventured well off the road.  Hanie must be put in the position to succeed, even if it’s only for the next three meaningless games.

The Giants may be taking a roundhouse kick from the New York media (and deservedly so) but they can’t complain when they look at their depth chart at defensive end.  If there’s another team in the league, wait, forget it.  There simply isn’t another team in the league with three guys like Tuck, Umenyiori and Pierre-Paul on the edges.

That is why the Bears may consider their second preseason game more important than either their third or fourth – both of those coming against subpar defensive opponents in Tennessee and Cleveland.  The Bears understand their most glaring weakness is along the offensive line and also understand their most important task is developing that line into a cohesive unit by the time John Abraham & Friends arrive at Soldier Field on the eleventh of September.

They’ll be presented with no better opportunity than Monday night.  They’re back in the New Meadowlands, the Air Conditioner in the Swamp, where it all seemed to fall apart for the line a year ago.  They’re back in the stadium that allowed Bears fans their first look at the great Todd Collins in 2010.  They’ll also be on Monday Night Football, and based on the almost-ridiculous preseason ratings thus far, in front of a huge audience.  If the line falters triumphantly early, the criticism from the local media will spread to the national media quicker than an STD spread among the original Broadway cast of Hair.  If the edge blockers neutralize the Giants edge attack, hope and optimism will spring eternal from the murky depths of Mike Tice’s post-practice bath water.

It is only preseason, of course.  Any errors made Monday night can surely be rectified in the three weeks until the real games start.  But Monday night can and should serve as the litmus test.  Who’s ready?  Who’s not?  Who needs help?  Who’s helpless?  If Tice is having trouble figuring that out in practice, he’ll get proper assistance from Tuck, Umenyiora and Pierre-Paul.

I sat down to watch the Bears first preseason game expecting to be bored out of my mind.  Surprisingly, I was not.  I actually found the game quite entertaining and also very, very interesting.  Here are my rapid fire thoughts, in order of importance.

• Even elite, top of the first round left tackles struggle their first year at the position.  J’Marcus Webb clearly has the ability to succeed there but I have a feeling 2011 will be up-and-down.  I’d imagine the Bears will slide protection schemes in his direction to minimize damage.
• Roberto Garza’s center exchanges were solid and he, like the rest of the line, had a great push in the run game.  His pass protection?  Shaky.
• I was surprised to see the defense play with such speed and intensity this early in the preseason.  Three distinct standouts: Henry Melton, Major Wright, Tim Jennings.
• Amobi Okoye will have a terrific chance to make this roster, especially with Marcus Harrison looking like he spent the entirety of the lockout eating corned beef hash directly out of the can.
• Vernon Gholston played like Vernon Gholston but I was surprised to see the attention Rod Marinelli was giving him on the sideline.
• I may have overstated the importance of the Bears re-signing Corey Graham.  He looked in no way capable of playing corner for this team.
• Jay Cutler and Caleb Hanie give the Bears their best quarterback tandem since McMahon/Fuller.  It’s clear from just what the cameras captured that Jay Cutler is taking a more active role in leading this team.  (And Mel Kiper Jr. deserves credit for predicting Hanie would be a very successful pro.)
• Who the hell is Eddie Williams and can he go away now?
• Same for Josh Davis.  Even on a team with a subpar offensive line, #76 took the cake.
• Marion Barber and Kahlil Bell both looked like elite downhill runners.  I don’t know that the Bears will consider carrying four backs but I’d hate to see Bell drop to the practice squad and end up in the Lions or Packers backfield.  Chester Taylor’s days may truly be numbered.
• I liked what I saw from Brian Iwuh.
• I did not like what I saw from Chris Conte. He’s small and Steltz-like.
• Kris Adams is smallish but might be a player worth developing at wide receiver.  As most eyes were on Dane Sanzenbacher, it was Adams who stole the spotlight in the second half.
• Nathan Enderle displayed touch and poise throughout the second half.  He’s very raw but the tools are there.
• Here’s something I read in between the lines: I think the Bears are going to combat some protection woes with a dynamic screen game in 2011.  It was the most practiced play on the field Saturday night.

I hate the preseason, especially for the Chicago Bears.  Because it means we’ll have to endure a month of hearing how bad the defense is going to be before they have yet another terrific season.

Who to watch tonight?

1. Dane Sanzenbacher.  Can he make an impact while catching passes from second and third-string QBs?

2. Chris Conte.  Will he cement his role as the third safety on the roster?

3. Vernon Gholston and Amobi Okoye.  Will either of these former first-round retreads be able to work their way into the d-line rotation?

4. Chester Taylor.  Does he need a good preseason to keep Marion Barber from thieving away all his touches?

5. The Offensive Line.  All of em.

Here is the report on last night’s preseason openers from PFT:

With the kickoff point moving from the 30 back to the 35, the NFL hopes to reduce injuries during kickoff returns by reducing the raw number of kickoff returns.

And while it’s too early to make a reliable comparison to pre-2011 stats, the ball seems to be flying deep into the end zone, and beyond.

In the Ravens-Eagles game, five kickoffs resulted in touchbacks.  In the Jaguars-Pats game, there were two touchbacks (even though 59 points were scored).  The Broncos-Cowboys game has featured five touchbacks as of this posting.  In Seahawks-Chargers, there has been two touchbacks as of this posting.

But perhaps the most glaring example of the new rule came on the first play of the Cardinals-Raiders game, when kicker Sebastian Janikowski boomed the ball out of the end zone — and possibly through the uprights.

Over time, the rule undoubtedly will result in more touchbacks.  In turn, that will result in fewer points.  And so this rule will have been one of the few changes over the years that will, over time, reduce scoring.

I continue to maintain that this rule change will have a more drastic impact on the Chicago Bears than any other franchise in the sport.  If kickers are able to kick the ball square out of the end zone, it will eliminate the most exciting weapon the Bears possess: Devin Hester.

Outside of conditions (field doesn’t work, lights don’t work) prohibiting the Bears from actually practicing in a normal way, this has been a relatively unexciting training camp from a roster perspective.

KNOX NOT READY IN 2010?

Here is the quote from Mike Martz regarding Johnny Knox not being on the field as a starter right now:

“He just has to get better. He has to play better,” Martz told the Tribune on Wednesday. “That’s all. It’s just like when Johnny came in, Earl (Bennett) was the starter. We pushed Earl aside for Johnny because of the speed. We kind of gave that job to Johnny. That wasn’t really earned. And once you get in this league, you should earn.

“He just was not ready, not because he can’t do it or he’s not talented. The preparation, the consistency that’s required … he does a lot of good things, but they have to be good all the time. That’s what Roy is.

It’s very interesting to hear the Bears tell us they were fielding a player at the starting x receiver position a year ago who they did not feel had earned the right to be a starting receiver.  Wasn’t this what the media wrote and fans argued and was constantly bashed by the coaching staff and front office?  So they’re admitting to lying about “liking their wide receivers”?

WATCH SANZENBACHER, CONTE SATURDAY NIGHT

Dane Sanzenbacher and Chris Conte are the focal points of this camp wrap-up in the Sun-Times and they’ll be the focal points for coaches and fans Saturday night.  Sanzenbacher finds himself behind Roy, Devin, Knox, Earl and Hurd at WR but a solid preseason might enable him to leap into a consistent role in the slot.  Safety remains a position where the Bears have zero depth and Conte may be called upon for real action if injuries attack Major Wright or Chris Harris.  Conte needs solid showings this summer, staring against Buffalo Saturday night.

TICE SETS HIS O-LINE…REALLY?

Apparently Roberto Garza’s leadership and performance at the center position, couple with Lance Louis taking strides at right guard, has caused Mike Tice to anoint Webb-Williams-Garza-Louis-Carimi as his starting offensive line.  That is, of course, unless they falter.  Another word for falter?  Stink.  The line has performed well early in camp, especially in the run department, but I don’t believe the front office brought Chris Spencer in here to ride the pine and I also don’t believe in a magical turnaround for Chris Williams.  I see one more change coming.

A FINAL NOTE ON HAYDEN, TATUPU

If you follow DaBearsBlog on Twitter (@dabearsblog) you’d know I’m quite obsessed on a moment-to-moment basis with the availability of both Kelvin Hayden and Lofa Tatupu.  Hayden would immediately become the starter opposite Peanut and allow the Bears to use Bowman, Jennings for depth at the corner position.  He has half a career’s worth experience playing in the exact same system.  Tatupu would not just battle and beat Nick Roach for the starting linebacker spot but also provide the Bears with their first true backup to Brian Urlacher since Urlacher lit the city ablaze with his raw skills a decade ago.  This means do not even seem interesting to me.  They seem obvious.  And a championship club makes them.

Congrats to the one of the greats.